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Text | Edit: Shi Zai has no money
Preface
One summer day in 1976, the news of Marshal Zhu De's death shook the whole of China. This veteran general, who has never been wounded on the battlefield, is known as the "lucky general", and his longevity and health have always been praised. So what was the reason for his sudden death? Why did this veteran, who had survived countless battles, fall in obscurity in peacetime?
From an early age, Zhu De was educated in Xijiatou's private school, where Mr. Xi often emphasized the importance of reading and instilled the idea of saving the country and the people, which had a profound impact on the young Zhu De and inspired his later revolutionary spirit.
In 1906, Zhu De walked into the gate of Shunqingfu Middle School, where his ideas were more systematically cultivated. Three years later, in 1909, Zhu De was admitted to the Yunnan Army Martial Arts Hall, which was the beginning of his military career. In 1911, after graduating from the Jiangwutang, Zhu De was assigned to Cai Yi's command and became his deputy staff, and soon participated in the Chongjiu Uprising in Yunnan.
On the eve of the uprising, the company commander of Zhu De's company led two platoons of soldiers to flee the battlefield, and Zhu De acted quickly to chase the deserters, and he influenced them with great righteousness, and finally persuaded the soldiers to return to the battlefield and continue to participate in the uprising. This act was highly praised by Cai Yi, who immediately promoted Zhu De to the company commander of the "Dare to Die Company" and sent him to lead a team to attack the governor's yamen, in which Zhu De began his military career and won widespread praise.
In 1916, in the Protectorate War, Zhu De showed outstanding military talent. Taking advantage of the cover of darkness at night, he led his troops to quietly approach the enemy position, launched a surprise attack, threw the enemy army into chaos, and successfully occupied Zhuping Mountain. After that, Zhu De made outstanding military achievements, and was promoted several ranks, and was finally promoted to major general and brigade commander.
However, with Cai's death, Zhu De became tired of the deceit in the army, and he began to seek a new direction in life. At this time, he heard that the Chinese Communist Party was being formed and was determined to join to resist foreign aggression. When Zhu De came into contact with Chen Duxiu, Chen Duxiu asked him to study the Communist Party's theories in depth first. Chen Duxiu handed him several important political books and encouraged him to understand them deeply.
In order to better understand the ideas of communism, Zhu De and Sun Bingwen then went to France to further deepen his political ideas, and then to Germany. Zhu De met Zhou Enlai in Germany, and the interaction between the two deepened Zhu De's belief in communism. Zhu De frankly told Zhou Enlai that he was willing to join the Communist Party of China no matter how long he had to wait, reflecting his firm commitment and enthusiasm for his ideals.
In 1926, at the call of the Chinese Communist Party, Zhu De ended his studies in the Soviet Union and returned to his homeland to participate in the extensive Northern Expedition. He successfully persuaded the Sichuan Army Yang Sen in Sichuan to be reorganized into the 20th Army of the National Revolutionary Army, and he himself participated in military operations as a party representative, and worked with the Northern Expeditionary Army to promote the reunification of the country.
At the beginning of 1927, according to the arrangement of the Central Committee, Zhu De went to Nanchang, Jiangxi, and founded the Third Army Officer Education Corps of the National Revolutionary Army, and served as the head of the education corps. Under his leadership, the Education Corps trained a group of officers loyal to the revolutionary cause.
In Nanchang, Zhu De not only demonstrated his talents in the military field, but was also appointed chief of the Nanchang City Public Security Bureau, shouldering the heavy responsibility of maintaining local law and order. During this period, his multifaceted ability was fully manifested. Although Zhu De had already made a name for himself in the "War to Protect the Country" and became one of the fierce generals under General Cai Yi, after joining the Communist Party of China, compared with many senior party members, his party age and party positions were relatively shallow.
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, Zhu De has been at the forefront of national construction despite his aging and aging. In that era when heroes and leaders were needed, Zhu De was well aware of the heavy responsibility on his shoulders and was determined to lead the road of national reconstruction.
1953 was a period of deep memory for Liu Zheng. He returned to China with great anticipation after a diplomatic mission in the Soviet Union, about to face a crucial turning point in his life - his first meeting with Marshal Zhu De, who was about to become his father-in-law.
Before the actual meeting, Liu Zheng repeatedly simulated various scenes in his mind, and his mood was both nervous and excited. After all, it was not only the elders of the family who were about to meet, but also a well-known revolutionary leader. The pressure of this dual identity made Liu Zheng feel extremely heavy.
Every parent wants to see their future son-in-law for themselves and make sure he can spend the rest of his life with his daughter. Liu Zheng didn't realize at that time that his every movement was under the observation of his future mother-in-law. The meeting in Moscow was brief and direct, with Kang Keqing asking questions about his personal life and career plans, and Liu Zheng answered them earnestly, trying to put the best foot forward.
After Kang Keqing was satisfied with the future son-in-law, Liu Zheng and Zhu Min's marriage was also able to proceed smoothly with the support of the embassy. Therefore, before Liu Zheng and Zhu De officially met, they had become a family through law and emotion.
The moment he arrived at Zhongnanhai Yongfu Hall, Zhu Min and Kang Keqing accompanied him into Zhu De's study. He vividly remembered that Zhu De was concentrating on reading the newspaper at that time. Seeing Liu Zheng enter, Zhu De immediately put down the newspaper and got up to greet him, with a kind smile on his face, as if he wanted to relieve his nervousness in this warm way.
Although Zhu De showed a cordial and unpretentious side, Liu Zheng still found it difficult to completely relax. He clearly felt his distance from the great man, but Jude's approachability apparently helped him gradually adapt to the atmosphere.
Zhu De not only briefly cared for and inquired about Liu Zheng, but also emphasized that as a young man returning to China, he needed to study hard and adapt to the new environment. Although this meeting was short, it was of great significance to Liu Zheng and profoundly influenced his later life and work.
The family of four originally lived under the same roof, with Zhu De and his wife living on the second floor and Liu Zheng and his wife living on the first floor. This intimate living arrangement gave Liu Zheng the opportunity to observe Zhu De's daily life and work more closely, to understand Zhu De's indifferent memories of the past war years, and his enthusiasm and focus on his current work and future plans.
Although Zhu Min and Liu Zheng sometimes make small mistakes in their work, Zhu De always treats them with a tolerant attitude and helps them grow through guidance and teaching. This peaceful and steady parenting style made Liu Zheng deeply respect and love this father-in-law.
When their child Liu Jian was born, Zhu De enthusiastically offered to help take care of the child, and encouraged Zhu Min and Liu Zheng to move to a group dormitory to promote their independent life. For Liu Zheng, these memories are precious and warm experiences.
From 1959 to 1976, Zhu De served as chairman of the Standing Committee of the Second, Third and Fourth National People's Congress. During his tenure of office, he presided over more than 170 meetings of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, and worked day and night to devote himself to the building of state power institutions, the improvement of the organizational structure, and the development of the socialist legal system. Zhu De's political wisdom and unremitting efforts have provided valuable experience for the establishment of the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
When Zhu De was young, he made an oath: "Everyone is responsible for the safety of the motherland; This ambition has not changed even in the later years of his life. He has always been busy planning the country's major policies, committed to maintaining the country's stability and development, and took "serving the country and the people" as his life's creed.
These years of continuous labor have put Zhu De's body under tremendous pressure, leaving countless battle scars and illnesses. However, he never had any remorse, because for him, it was all for the future of the country and its people.
In 1975, although Premier Zhou Enlai's health continued to decline, he still stuck to his post and did not relax his control of state affairs for a moment. Even while in his hospital, he insisted on meeting with visiting African delegations, demonstrating his commitment to international responsibility.
Zhu De was deeply worried about this. He planned to visit Premier Zhou many times, but he was unable to make the trip for fear of disturbing the recuperation of his old comrades-in-arms. Finally on July 11, after a period of recuperation, Premier Zhou's health improved. At four o'clock that afternoon, he said to the guards, "How is Zhu De? I want to meet him."
After thinking for a moment, Premier Zhou instructed: "It's four o'clock now, if Zhu De can come, he should be able to arrive at five o'clock." We could talk for half an hour so he could go home for dinner by six o'clock. If he can't come today, let him take the time to come over before he goes to Beidaihe. Zhu De is old, and we can't disrupt his daily routine. After receiving the notice, Zhu De did not hesitate and immediately went to the 305 Hospital of the People's Liberation Army in Beijing.
Knowing that his old friend was coming, Premier Zhou got up from bed, took off his hospital gown, changed into a neat tunic, and sat in the living room waiting. The two old soldiers had not seen each other for a long time, and when they saw each other, they shook hands tightly, and they were so emotional that they couldn't speak. Their conversation continued until 6:15 p.m., a little longer than scheduled.
In the end, Premier Zhou personally sent Zhu De out of the hospital and watched him go away until his figure disappeared outside the hospital gate. At that moment, no one realized that this was the last time the two old friends saw each other. Since they first met, it has been 54 years since they met. This farewell has become the last chapter of the friendship between the two great men, and it is also a touching memory in their common history.
In the early spring of 1976, with the death of Premier Zhou Enlai, Marshal Zhu De assumed even heavier responsibilities. Nearly 90 years old, he gets up in the early morning every day, and can only rest late at night, and devotes himself to the increasingly busy state affairs.
Zhu De's wife, Kang Keqing, often advised him to pay attention to his health, but he always replied: "Chairman Mao's health is not good, Enlai has passed away, and now the burden of the country falls on the shoulders of Hua Guofeng and me." I must do my best to maintain the stability of the country.
Although he is nearly 90 years old, Zhu De is still busy with various meetings, reviewing documents, and receiving foreign guests, each of which requires a lot of physical and mental energy. Especially when receiving foreign guests, this task is not only physically exhausting, but also psychologically stressful. At the end of the day, he often felt exhausted.
Despite this, Zhu De strives for perfection every time, putting the image of the party and the country first. His military instinct drove him to arrive half an hour early for each reception to avoid the loss of national face caused by being late. But for the elderly Jude, this practice was a huge drain on his physical strength.
Liu Zheng watched his father-in-law repeatedly arrive at the venue in advance for the sake of the country's image, and he couldn't help but feel sour in his heart. He proposed to Zhu De's secretary that he wanted to adjust Zhu De's arrival time so that he didn't have to arrive so early. The secretary accepted this suggestion and began to adjust the time of the meeting, so that Zhu De and the foreign guests arrived almost at the same time, reducing the burden on the old man.
During one meeting, because the foreign guests arrived early, Zhu Debi arrived more than 10 minutes later than scheduled. Although he was not late, the incident made Jude very unhappy, and he felt that this arrangement had damaged the etiquette and image of the state. After that, no matter how Liu Zheng persuaded him, Zhu De insisted on resuming his original habit of arriving half an hour early.
During a meeting on June 21, Zhu De arrived half an hour early as usual, but the foreign guests were late, so he waited for more than an hour in the air-conditioned venue in the summer heat. Due to a mistake in information communication, Zhu De was not informed of the change of itinerary of the foreign guests in time.
Soon after returning home, Zhu De suffered from a severe cold due to prolonged exposure to air-conditioning, which subsequently worsened. A few days later, on July 6, Zhu De died of illness in the hospital, ending his life dedicated to the party and the country.
Sadly, after Zhu De's death, he could not find a single new clothes in good condition in his closet, only some patched and white-washed old clothes. In the end, people hurriedly made a set of underwear for him to wear. Before his death, Zhu De handed over all the more than 20,000 yuan he had accumulated to the party organization, and did not leave a penny to his children.