Preface
Speaking of Chen Yi, he was the founding marshal who could not fight the most war, known as the "Confucian marshal", commanding thousands of troops on the battlefield of the Chinese revolution, and was famous.
He is a poet, leaning on his horse and writing freely, expressing his ambition freely, and he is an eclectic diplomat, who is well-informed and powerful on the ever-changing international stage.
Chen Xilian, the founding general of the People's Republic of China, who was also a good friend, was also a famous general of our army, known as the "small steel cannon" in the army, and the two were close friends in their revolutionary careers, and they got acquainted with a deep friendship in the revolutionary years.
In 1971, Marshal Chen Yi suffered from rectal cancer, but Chen Yi, who has always regarded work as the first place, attended the meeting and presided over the work despite his illness.
At this moment, General Chen Xilian walked towards Chen Yi angrily and went straight to his side, Chen Yi was very surprised, but Chen Xilian complained: "Mr. Chen, do you have any opinions about me?"
Chen Yi was surprised and said, "Xilian, what's wrong? ”
Why did Chen Xilian angrily question Chen Yi, and what was the secret in it?
Strict self-discipline, selfless
Chen Yi said:
"The cadres of the Communist Party serve the people..... and the higher their status, the more they must set an example and play an exemplary and leading role. ”
Chen Yi was very strict with himself, his family, his children, his relatives and friends, he never engaged in specialization, never stretched out his hand to the people, and was a model of strict self-discipline.
Soon after Chen Yi became the mayor of Shanghai, in order to take care of his elderly and sick parents, the organization took them to Shanghai, and his little sister Chen Chongkun also came to Shanghai.
"The second brother is the mayor of Shanghai, and I can rely on him to eat and enjoy happiness until I am old. ”
Who knows, after living for a while, Chen Yi said to Chongkun:
"The new society must be self-reliant, not a parasite. ”
After hearing this, he asked his second brother to write a note and let her go to college, but Chen Yi disagreed, he said:
"I can't write this note, I'm the mayor of Shanghai of the Communist Party! If you have the ability to take the test yourself, if you can't pass the test, go back to Sichuan." ”
Later, his sister Chen Chongkun still prepared seriously and was admitted to the medical college with her own skills.
In 1958, Chen Yi returned to his hometown in Sichuan, and before leaving, he kept telling the staff:
"The first is to send the two old people directly to my sister's house, so as not to alarm the provincial party committee, the second is to find an ordinary tiled house to live in, and not to ask the authorities for a house, and the third is to settle down and solve the matter by themselves. ”
Later, the staff acted in accordance with Chen Yi's "Three Chapters of the Law" and helped the two elderly people rent two bungalows in Xinglong Lane in Chengdu to live, so that none of the leaders of the Chengdu army and the Chengdu Municipal Party Committee knew that Chen Yi's parents lived in Chengdu.
It was not until 1959 that Premier Zhou passed by Chengdu and asked He Bingyan, the commander of the Chengdu army at the time, about Chen Yi's parents.
In 1961, Chen Yi's parents were sick, and the leaders of the local military region visited them at home and gave the second elder 100 yuan for medical expenses.
"It is very undesirable for the family to accept money like this, the second elder lives in Chengdu, and it is enough to trouble the party, government, and military organs in all aspects, so all the problems that they can solve by themselves should be solved by themselves, especially at present, the financial difficulties are relatively difficult, and they must be more conscious. ”
Mr. Chen has always been like this, like this to his parents, relatives and friends have never taken exceptional care of him, and he has not engaged in specialization, for this reason, he has written a letter asking his brother to serve the people, the letter wrote:
"Brother Meng Xi, you received the letter on March 23, Yi Nanquan has read it, very good, but I hope you put away the celebrity faction and earnestly serve the people, you have high blood pressure, mainly to reduce food and exercise more, please agree with my suggestion, forgive me or not. ”
Once, Chen Yi's father-in-law lived in Chen Yi's house for a few more days, and Chen Yi thought that now the supply system is implemented, food, clothing, and use are all provided by the state, and one more person will add a burden to the country.
Chen Yi expressed this idea to his wife Zhang Qian, and when his father-in-law heard about it, he was a little unhappy and said:
"My son-in-law became the mayor, such a big official, I drove me away after a few meals, it was too ruthless and unjust. ”
Chen Yi said patiently:
"The cadres of the Communist Party serve the people and are the servants of the people, and the higher their status, the more they must set an example and play an exemplary and leading role, so that the people will support them, the country will have hope, and the revolutionary cause will have a future. ”
After hearing this, the old man's mood eased a lot, and Chen Yi saw that his father-in-law was in a better mood, and then said:
"I know that your old man loves us and supports us, I take the lead in doing a good job, and if you don't do a good job, your old man's face will be dull!"
The next day, my father-in-law left Shanghai happily.
After the liberation of Shanghai, some of Chen Yi's relatives in his hometown once made various requests to him, hoping to get some "care" from him.
"You came all the way to see me and stayed for ten days and a half months, I welcome it, but if you want me to give me a job, I don't agree with you saying that it will last for ten days and half a month, because I am a member of the Communist Party, and I am engaged in the principles of party spirit, not the set of feudal society. ”
Chen Yi's niece, Chen Dezhen, served as the director of the Women's Federation in Penglai District, Pengxi County, Sichuan Province in the early days of liberation, and worked actively, especially in her work in charge of the Daji Township Supply and Marketing Cooperative, and made outstanding contributions.
For this reason, the county political commissar asked her to write a work experience and promote it, but Chen Dezhen couldn't write because she had little reading and low education in the old society, so she asked someone to ask Chen Yi to go to school in Shanghai.
However, Chen Yi did not agree to her request, and wrote a letter in his busy schedule, allowing her to work at the grassroots level with peace of mind, study hard in practical work, and increase her talents.
In the letter, Chen Yi also warmly encouraged her:
"You should have ambition and be determined to fight for the people's cause to the end all your life!"
Not only that, as a proletarian revolutionary of the older generation, Chen Yi also attached great importance to the education and training of his sons and daughters, so that they could all grow into useful talents for the construction of the motherland.
Chen Xilian questioned Chen Yi: "Mr. Chen, do you have any opinions about me?"
Chen Yi has a total of three sons, named "Haosu" and "Haozhi" The vast world is also called, the second son was born in the military headquarters of the New Fourth Army in Huainan and was named "Danhuai", and the third son was born in the liberated area of Shandong and was named "Xiaolu".
The three sons were all born in the war years, and the names of these three are full of Chen Yi's heartfelt prayers for his career, and the three sons are very good, and Chen Yi never seeks rights for them.
Chen Yi has made several rules for rats since he was a child:
"First, we must go to school in the nearest school, and we should not go to any school for the children of cadres to prevent them from being contaminated with special ideas; second, we should not let our children go to school in a car and go out to visit and buy things alive; third, we must strictly follow the system in everything we do, abide by discipline, devote ourselves to the public good, and do not seek personal gain. ”
Chen Yi said to his children:
"You must always pay attention to the fact that Dad is a member of the Communist Party and serves the people, and cannot engage in any privileges. ”
Son Chen Xiaolu is also very good, he has become a regiment-level cadre at the age of 29, Chen Xiaolu is Chen Yi's youngest son, he was born in a military family, and he has been pinned on by his parents since he was a child.
In 1968, Chen Xiaolu listened to Premier Zhou's advice and went to the 39th Army in Shenyang.
"It's grown so big. You should go to the army and exercise for exercise. ”
But Chen Xiaolu said:
"My father didn't agree with me joining the army, because I was a cadre's son, and it was easy to take special care in the army. ”
When Premier Zhou heard this, he also asked Chen Xiaolu to put down the worries in his heart and said:
"In the future, don't mention your family history in the army, and don't write letters to your family. ”
Chen Xiaolu, who just came to Shenyang, belongs to the supernumerary personnel, no military uniform, Chen Xiaolu does not care, in the three-year career, he has outstanding achievements, and has participated in many rescue operations, in a flood, Chen Xiaolu disregarded his own safety, saved many victims, and won the third-class merit.
To this end, the head of the military region made a special request to Premier Zhou:
"Can you let Chen Xiaolu officially enlist in the army?"
Premier Zhou said:
"Naturally, no problem, he did a good job. ”
Chen Xiaolu honorably joined the army and became a party member, at this time he had not returned home for three years, and the people in the army had no idea about his background.
And the commander of the Shenyang Military Region, Chen Xilian, did not know, before this Premier Zhou was going to tell Chen Xilian but was stopped by Chen Yi, he said:
"The arrangement for him to go to the Shenyang Military Region is for training, and he cannot enjoy any privileges because he is my son. ”
Until 1971, Marshal Chen Yi's condition became more and more serious, he felt unbearable pain in his abdomen, was diagnosed with cancer, and Chen Yi, who was tormented by the illness, wanted to see his son.
So he said to Premier Zhou with deep affection:
"Prime Minister, when I'm ready, there are still many things to do, and I still want to meet Xiao Lu. ”
Premier Zhou immediately called Chen Xilian, commander of the Shenyang Military Region, and asked Chen Xiaolu to return home immediately, but Chen Xilian learned that Chen Xiaolu was the son of Marshal Chen Yi, and he had no idea about it for three years.
So, at the Politburo meeting in 1971, Chen Yi met Chen Xilian, commander of the Shenyang Military Region, and Chen Xilian sat down next to Mr. Chen angrily and complained: "Mr. Chen, you have an opinion on me!"
Chen Yi was very puzzled, and Chen Xilian continued:
"What's going on with Chen Xiaolu?"
When Chen Yi heard this, he said with a smile:
"Commander Chen, my son is still with you, although he is my son and cadre, but he is an ordinary member of the army when he joins the army, and he cannot be treated specially. ”
Chen Xilian also nodded silently, understanding Mr. Chen's distress, and he exclaimed:
"Chen Xiaolu's performance was very good, and I gave him a leave to go home to visit his family. ”
In May, Chen Xiaolu returned home, and the three-year training was very huge, but at this time, Chen Yi had already described it as withered, gray, and suffering from illness, which made him very distressed, Chen Yi said:
"It's good that you didn't write to your family or mention your identity for three years, and that's your pride. ”
Chen Xiaolu was very pleased, and after the death of Marshal Chen Yi in 1972, Chen Xiaolu rushed back and cried bitterly:
"Dad, I'm back, look at my ......"
At the memorial service, Chairman Mao affectionately instructed Chen Xiaolu and other sons and daughters of Marshal Chen Yi, saying:
"You have to study hard, study hard".
Chen Xiaolu lived up to expectations, his performance in the army was very good, and he won the praise and awards of the leaders many times, after which Chen Xiaolu was transferred from his original post, and Chen Xiaolu went to Nanjing to realize his "university dream".
After graduating, he worked at the British Embassy for four years, and then after the reform and opening up, he quit his job, entered the business circle, and started his own business.
Finally, in Beijing, he and his friends succeeded in starting a business and opening a company, he inherited his father's fine style, lived a thrifty life, and was committed to public welfare undertakings, helping veterans improve their living conditions, he said:
"No matter where I go or what position I work in, I will never forget my father's education for me, and I will have a clear conscience in everything I do. ”
Marshal Chen Yi was selfless and served the people all his life, and after his death, Chairman Mao personally came to attend Marshal Chen Yi's memorial service with his illness, he said:
"Comrade Chen Yi is a good comrade!"