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Text: He Yifei
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introduction
In the magnificent revolutionary history of the mainland in the last century, countless heroes who went to war for the war emerged one after another, including the well-known revolutionary pioneer Chen Duxiu, the amiable and respectable Premier Zhou, and the great leader Chairman Mao......
There was such a figure, who turned the tide during the revolutionary period and left a precious revolutionary spark for the Western Route Army; after the founding of New China, he played a leading role in the diplomatic and economic fields.
(Li Xiannian)
It stands to reason that such a famous hero should be loved and admired by many people. But what is surprising is that in the Babaoshang Cemetery, there is no name on his tombstone, and there is no life.
He is Li Xiannian, who was praised by Chairman Mao as "a general who does not dismount".
One or two silver dollars are affectionate
In Hong'an County, Huanggang City, Hubei Province, there is a small bungalow with a mountain and water in the background. Looking at this seemingly unsightly building, it is actually the former residence of Li Xiannian, a new Chinese hero.
Among the dazzling displays in the museum, there are wooden furniture made by Li Xiannian himself, self-made single-shot pistols used, iron tools used for work, and so on. These old objects bear witness to the achievements of Li Xiannian's life, and also confirm the history of the growth of New China.
(Carpentry tools used by Li Xiannian when he was doing underground work in Yejiatian)
But the most touching thing is the two silver dollars that have been stale and yellowed with the passage of time in a corner of the museum.
These two small silver dollars, like a letter in the ancient war, "the beacon fire lasted for three months, and the family letter was worth 10,000 gold", was full of Li Xiannian's mother's deep concern and longing for her son, and by mistake, it also became an irreparable regret in Li Xiannian's life from carpenter to president of the republic.
It was June 1932, in the scorching heat, and the Kuomintang and Communist armies were engaged in a scorching war under the scorching sun. At that time, in the Central Plains, he concentrated his efforts on attacking the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Soviet region, mobilized a large number of manpower, and gathered 300,000 troops to attack.
(The Eighth Route Army ploughs over the snow mountain)
Due to the huge difference in manpower and strength between the enemy and us, the Central Command of the Red Fourth Front Army carried out a strategic shift as soon as possible and withdrew from the revolutionary base areas. In order to smoothly carry out the transfer, the Red Army worked hard to break through the encirclement and fought a fierce battle with the Kuomintang army at the mouth of the Hong'an River, and Li Xiannian was the commander of the army this time.
Hearing that the troops were going to be transferred, the mother Wang was worried that she would say goodbye to her son from now on, so the small-footed Wang drove dozens of miles to the front line battlefield, and he had to see Li Xiannian again no matter what.
When the correspondent reported that Li Xiannian and his mother were coming on the front line of the war, Li Xiannian was taken aback, anxious and afraid, and shouted at his mother in excitement: "What are you doing here in such danger?
(2 silver dollars)
Mother Wang didn't speak, looked at her tired son, and left with a few tearful words in desperation. On the way to retreat, Li Xiannian heard the sound of ding dong ding dong in his pocket, and took it out to find that it was the two silver dollars that his mother secretly stuffed into him.
Under the harsh and impoverished conditions of the time, this may have been the family's entire savings.
2. From a small carpenter to the president of the Republic
On June 23, 1909, Li Xiannian was born in a poor peasant family in Mulan Township, Hubei. Among his siblings, he was the youngest and eighth.
Li Xiannian's mother's surname is Wang, but no one knows the specific name. She was born in a remote mountain village in Henan Province. In the era of material scarcity, the Wang family had no relatives and begged all the way to Huang'an, Hubei Province to marry a farmer.
Within a few years, because he couldn't stand her husband's beating and scolding, Wang ran away from home and remarried a tenant surnamed Chen. However, the Chen family died suddenly within a few years, and the Wang family, who dragged his children and daughters, married Li Chengyuan under the mediation of the villagers.
(Mao Zedong and Li Xiannian)
In the Li family, the Wang family gave birth to two sons, and Li Xiannian was her youngest son. Although her mother Wang had a troubled life, she never bowed to fate.
It was his mother's influence since he was a child that he had the excellent qualities of generosity and hard-working since he was a child, which laid a solid foundation for his later success.
Ten-year-old Li Xiannian spent three years as a student in a private school, but dropped out because his family could not afford the tuition fees. For the sake of Li Xiannian's future, his father begged someone to send Li Xiannian to his cousin Yuan Xuefu to learn the carpenter's trade.
(Young Li Xiannian)
During this period, Li Xiannian had extensive contact with the society with the carpenter's master, and although he was young, he had already understood the unequal social reality during the war. He deeply felt the exploitation and oppression of the foreign powers and landlords, and thus planted the fire of revolution in the depths of his heart.
Later, Li Xiannian returned to his hometown and devoted himself to the peasant movement, joining the Communist Party of China with a fearless spirit and firm will.
In March 1937, the Red Army's West Route Army on the Long March was outnumbered, and Li Xiannian led the remaining more than 1,000 people to cross the Qilian Mountains, paving a way for the revolutionary flame. It is precisely because of this that Chairman Mao gave him high praise as a "general who does not dismount".
(Li Xiannian speaks)
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Li Xiannian was appointed Minister of Finance. During the period of socialist transformation, Li Xiannian put forward many constructive suggestions on urban private retail and rural market trade.
During the period of reform and opening up, Li Xiannian conducted a detailed investigation of China's economic situation at that time, and immediately wrote a letter to communicate with Chen Yun in view of the fiscal deficit, actively exploring the path of socialist economy with Chinese characteristics. At the age of 74, he was elected president of the country and made an immortal contribution to the country's development.
3. Unresolved knots and lifelong regrets
Li Xiannian, who has experienced countless ups and downs in his life, has made great contributions to the motherland, but in a conversation in his later years, he told the regrets in his heart that cannot be erased.
It was originally from 1932, when I was on the battlefield and my mother, and this farewell was actually goodbye. When Li Xiannian, who had already made a small achievement, returned to his hometown in 1941, he learned that his mother had died of illness six years ago.
In his later years, Li Xiannian regretted talking to his children about this matter, but he never had a chance to make up for it.
(Li Xiannian in his later years)
In an interview with Li Xiannian's children, his daughter Li Xiaolin said that her father felt that her mother was the most indebted person in her life. One morning when Li Xiannian was dying, he said to his daughter: "I dreamed of my mother last night. ”
Hearing this, the daughter's vision blurred, she knew that although her father had made great achievements in his life and regarded death as home, she still retained the most sincere tenderness for her mother in her heart.
(Li Xiannian's daughter Li Xiaolin)
Today's prosperity of the motherland is precisely the result of the sweat and blood of countless revolutionary pioneers like Li Xiannian. Despite the changes of the years and the fact that things are different from people, their conscientious and tenacious spirit is still worthy of our admiration and learning.
In accordance with Li Xiannian's last wishes, his ashes were divided into two parts, some of which were scattered by his children in the great rivers and mountains of the motherland, and some of which were forever left in the Babaoshan National Cemetery in Beijing.
(Li Xiannian tombstone)
There is no name on his tombstone, and there is no life, except for the date of birth and death, it is these 24 big characters - "The worries of the world are worried, and the heaven and the earth are together; ”
This is the heartfelt sigh of the literati Fan Zhongyan on the Yueyang Tower thousands of years ago, and it is also the truest portrayal of Mr. Li Xiannian's life.
Bibliography:
A few silver dollars are deeply affectionate.People's Daily Online, 2019-08-06
Two silver dollars is his regret for his mother's life", China Youth Network, 2019-08-08