In November 1927, a vigorous jute uprising broke out in Hubei, Henan, and Anhui regions, and many local armed forces quickly organized themselves and gradually began to establish base areas to fight against the reactionaries.
For example, the founding general Xu Shiyou led more than 100 Red Guards to join the Red Army, and began a legendary revolutionary career.
Due to the difficult road, among the more than 100 people, not many can survive to the founding of the People's Republic of China, and even fewer are still alive in the 80s, and in the end, only Xu Shiyou and Wang Bicheng remained.
It stands to reason that the relationship between the two must be very good, but the reality is just the opposite, Wang Bicheng was transferred from the Nanjing Military Region, mainly because of Xu Shiyou, and by 1984, Xu Shiyou had criticized Wang Bicheng by name.
Why did the two get to this point, and did the conflict finally resolve it?
Xu Shiyou and Wang Bicheng's hometown are two adjacent villages and have known each other for a long time. After the rise of the peasant movement in the local area, both of them also joined it, Xu Shiyou became the captain of the Red Guards because of his military experience, and Wang Bicheng was a member of the team below.
Later, they joined the Red Army together and became famous together in the Red Fourth Front Army, and it was not until the Anti-Japanese War that they developed in different regions. When the Liberation War arrived, the two fought together under Huaye, and their headquarters were the main columns.
To resist US aggression and aid Korea, they also led their troops into North Korea in 1953, and they also had exchanges in foreign countries. After returning to China, Xu Shiyou served as deputy commander of the East China Military Region, and after the reorganization in 55, he became the commander of the Nanjing Military Region.
Wang Bicheng first studied at the Nanjing Military Academy, and then was transferred to the Shanghai Garrison District, where he belonged to Xu Shiyou's subordinate of the Nanjing Military Region. The famous "Good Eight Companies on Nanjing Road" is also related to Xu Shiyou and Wang Bicheng.
At the beginning of 1960, Xu Shiyou passed by Shanghai, and Wang Bicheng specially invited him to a banquet and bought a few bottles of Moutai.
After pushing the cup and changing the lamp several times, Wang Bicheng said that he had to leave "money to buy the road" for this meal, and asked Shen Simong, a propaganda cadre who was traveling with Xu Shiyou, to write a play for the 8th Company of the 3rd Battalion of the Shanghai Garrison Special Service Regiment.
The 8th Company is stationed in the red light and green wine, but it has always maintained a hard and simple style, the entire Nanjing Military Region has heard of it, Shen Simon has heard of these things for a long time, and now Wang Bicheng personally invited, naturally there is no reason to refuse.
Later, Simon Shen stayed in the Eighth Company for 40 days, experiencing life and collecting materials at the same time.
After many revisions, the drama "Sentinel under the Neon Light" was completed and put on the stage and screen, and "Good Eighth Company on Nanjing Road" became famous all over the world, and it has been a banner of our army until now.
The two generals, Xu and Wang, got along well and had a good relationship, and they could have persevered this revolutionary friendship to the end, but that unprecedented turmoil changed all that.
According to Xu Shiyou's secretary Li Wenqing in "A Closer Look at Xu Shiyou," in the early days of the Great Movement, the Nanjing Military Region was also affected, and the "rebels" repeatedly targeted Xu Shiyou, making him so unbearable that they simply sent a report to the Central Military Commission and went to the military region's farm in the Dabie Mountains to recuperate.
Wang Bicheng, then deputy commander of the Nanjing Military Region, Lin Weixian, another deputy commander, and Bao Xianzhi, deputy political commissar, presided over part of the work on their behalf.
During this period, the "rebels" continued to attack the organs of the military region many times, and the situation continued to deteriorate. Xu Shiyou, who was in the Dabie Mountains, was very angry and ordered Wang Bicheng and others to resolutely resist this kind of behavior, and shoot if necessary.
But at this time, the central government did not give instructions, and taking extreme measures would only intensify the contradictions, so Wang Bicheng and they did not do it, which made Xu Shiyou think that he did not listen to his own words.
In order to stabilize the situation, Wang Bicheng and others had no choice but to meet with the representatives of the "rebels" and were forced to sign a letter of opinion agreeing to carry out the "four major congresses," which further added to Xu Shiyou's anger.
Those "rebels" had smashed Xu Shiyou's residence before, but now there are people in the military region who are making compromises, and in Xu Shiyou's view, they just want to unite to get themselves down.
Therefore, when a batch of materials that needed to be signed by the commander of the military region were sent to Xu Shiyou, he pushed them away and said angrily: This is a chaotic army, and he wants to destroy the Great Wall, and he told the military region that it is not allowed to be released.
In fact, as far as that situation is concerned, it is not easy for Wang, Lin, and Bao. In the face of chaos, the chief officer Xu Shiyou couldn't bear the pressure and fell ill, but they couldn't leave and had to stay to deal with it.
It is also a last resort to sign the opinion, who can withstand the attack of so many people. At this time, the attitude of the superiors was also unclear, and at the moment the "rebels" were very strong, and no one knew who instructed them, so they could only respond according to what they saw.
Xu Shiyou, who couldn't rub the sand in his eyes, didn't think about these hardships, he only thought that Wang Bicheng and others were "fanning the flames" behind their backs and wanted to seize the power of the military region, so he had prejudices in his heart.
Later, the central authorities believed that the turmoil had seriously affected the lives of the masses and that it would be difficult to control it if the turmoil continued, so they made a series of adjustments. Some units, provinces, and municipalities exercised military management, and Xu Shiyou also returned to the Nanjing Military Region to continue to take power.
Time has passed, and Wang Bicheng, Lin Weixian, Bao Xianzhi and others, who had previously compromised with the "rebels", are in a rather awkward situation.
Fortunately, Chairman Mao knew that the three of them did not want to work against the central government, but also made a choice out of desperation, so he took them to the No. 1 Guest House of the General Staff in Beijing to settle down, and this stay was more than a year.
At the end of 1969, the three were able to rearrange their work: Wang Bicheng was transferred to the deputy commander of the Kunming Military Region, Lin Weixian was transferred to the deputy commander of the Wuhan Military Region, and Bao Xianzhi was transferred to the deputy political commissar of the Jinan Military Region.
Although the people were transferred, Xu Shiyou was still angry, and Chairman Mao also knew about it, and tried to resolve it for them many times, but unfortunately it had no effect.
In August 1971, another major event was imminent, but the chairman was still concerned about the grievances of several generals, and when the special train passed through Nanchang on the evening of the 31st, the chairman gave Xu Shiyou.
After talking about some arrangements, he said: The three people you want to defeat are all good people, so this time you will raise your noble hand and keep people under the knife.
Xu Shiyou, who has always listened to the chairman's words, did not give an affirmative answer abnormally, and remained vague, and the chairman of course understood the meaning behind this, so he could only sigh and give up.
Among Wang Bicheng, Lin Weixian, and Bao Xianzhi, Xu Shiyou is the most unforgivable is Wang Bicheng, and the secretary Li Wenqing once asked the reason and replied:
I am a fellow countryman with Wang Bicheng, I brought him out to participate in the Jute Uprising together, such a close relationship, it doesn't matter if others oppose me, he shouldn't be.
On the eve of the Spring Festival in 1982, Wang Bicheng, then vice president of the Academy of Military Sciences, applied to Nanjing to recuperate and rest because he was not used to the weather in the north, and lived at No. 1 Putuo Road.
At this time, Xu Shiyou had already retired and lived at No. 8 Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, not far from each other. Wang Bicheng still wanted to explain what happened at the beginning, so he specially visited the meeting during the Chinese New Year.
Stretch out your hand not to hit the smiling person, Wang Bicheng did this, Xu Shiyou was not easy to turn away, and the two old comrades-in-arms finally sat down and chatted.
Starting from participating in the revolution, they recalled their past combat experience together, and Wang Bicheng choked up in the depths of their feelings: Commander Xu, there were more than 100 members of the Red Guards back then, and now there is only one captain and one member of my team, and we are all survivors of the revolution.
Hearing this, Xu Shiyou temporarily put aside his awkwardness, shook hands with Wang Bicheng, and sent him to the door when they parted. But Xu Shiyou always had a thorn in his heart, and he was reluctant to have too much contact with Wang Bicheng.
It can be said that it is not a bitter family, and the two settled in Nanjing after retiring from their leadership positions, so they were included in the South China Group of Foreign Ministers in Beijing together in the Central Advisory Committee.
In January 1984, the South China Group held its first meeting in Nanjing, and when it was Xu Shiyou's turn to speak, he once again turned over the past and criticized it without naming him:
Among our veteran comrades, there are also people who have made mistakes, such as the three old Red Army soldiers of the former Nanjing Military Region, who have not expressed their position on their mistakes to this day.
Everyone knows that these "three old Red Army" refer to Wang Bicheng, Lin Weixian, and Bao Xianzhi. After tossing and turning like this, Wang Bicheng couldn't stand it anymore no matter how good his temper was, so he immediately got up and left.
Nie Fengzhi, who participated in the meeting, had a good relationship with Xu Shiyou and Wang Bicheng, and still hoped that a few old comrades-in-arms would untie their hearts. If this matter is not handled well, I am afraid that the two of them will not want to see each other.
After thinking about it, Nie Fengzhi first found Xu Shiyou and pointed out that his remarks at the meeting were wrong, and the Nanjing Party Committee had already made a decision to vindicate the so-called mistakes of Wang Bicheng, Lin Weixian, and Luo Xianzhi in the past years. To say this is actually to disrespect the decision of the party committee of the Nanjing Military Region and to put the individual above the organization.
Xu Shiyou waved his hand after hearing this: I know it's wrong, so I won't say it in the future. After finishing this, Nie Fengzhi went to Wang Bicheng again and said: I apologize to you on behalf of Commander Xu, he has already expressed his position, and he will not say anything in the future.
Wang Bicheng is a cheerful person, and immediately said that the matter is over. Because of Nie Fengzhi's reconciliation, in June of the same year, Xu Shiyou and Wang Bicheng attended the second meeting of the South China Group.
Wang Bicheng still has feelings for Xu Shiyou, and when it was his turn to speak, he first told the ins and outs of the original situation, and then looked at Xu Shiyou sincerely and said:
"Old captain, we are all in our 70s, go and report to Marx. Chairman Mao said that we, the veteran comrades, should plant more flowers and less thorns, say more things that are conducive to unity, and do more things that are conducive to unity.
Back then, you asked me to shoot, but I consulted the General Staff Department and the Military Commission, and they all said that the army could not be transferred and the gun could not be fired. Chairman Mao also told you later that the three of them are good people, and I hope you will raise your noble hand. ”
After saying this, Wang Bicheng looked around: Comrades, today I have made some explanations on the past events of those years and put forward a few points for your reference only. I will not strengthen these explanations and opinions, there are different views and opinions, everyone can refute them!
As his words fell, everyone's eyes shifted to Xu Shiyou, only to see the old general stand up and say, "Comrade Wang Bicheng, you said very well. ”
Then he used to hold Wang Bicheng's hand tightly, and decades of grievances and grievances finally disappeared.
References: 1. Li Wenqing, "A Close Look at Xu Shiyou"
2, Kang Yuetian, "Grievances: Xu Shiyou and Wang Bicheng"