In a military cadre rest house near Xiaoxitian in Beijing in the last century, three generals' wives lived side by side. They used to be "rivals", but after the death of their respective husbands, the three ladies gradually developed a deep sisterly friendship. They take care of each other and are considerate, like biological sisters. Every Qingming Festival, the three of them will always go to the Babaoshan Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery together to pay tribute to their late husband.
One of the most puzzling things is that the two ladies, after paying tribute to their husbands, always make a special trip to the third lady to mourn her husband with her. Why is that? Is there any special relationship between the husbands of the three of them? Or is there an unforgettable experience between the three wives? What is the story behind this?
The three of them became acquainted with the Yimeng anti-Japanese base area
In 1942, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression entered a difficult phase of stalemate. In the Yimeng Mountains of Shandong, a guerrilla force formed by underground CCP members was unremittingly fighting against the Japanese puppet army. This team is the independent regiment of the Shandong Column of the Eighth Route Army, and the young political commissar Ni Zhengming is the backbone of it.
Ni Zhengming was born in Liaocheng, Shandong, and joined the underground party organization of the Communist Party of China in 1936 when he was a student at Jinan No. 1 Normal School and participated in the anti-Japanese salvation movement. In October of the following year, when the Japanese army attacked Shandong, he was transferred to Tai'an with the Shandong Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, participated in the Culai Mountain Uprising, and became a fighter of the Fourth Detachment of the Shandong People's Anti-Japanese Guerrilla. In December 1938, the Shandong Column of the Eighth Route Army was established, and Ni Zhengming was assigned to the Independent Regiment in the Yimeng Mountains as political commissar.
has a similar experience with Ni Zhengming, as well as two female comrades, Han Guanghui and Zhao Hao. Han Guanghui was a student at Qilu University and participated in the student movement and armed uprising in Jinan in 1937 with Ni Zhengming. Zhao Hao was the director of the Yishui County Women's Rescue Association, and became acquainted with Ni Zhengming shortly after he moved to the Yimeng Mountains. Both developed a crush on the young and promising commissar.
In addition to Han Guanghui and Zhao Hao, Ren Meijuan, the Propaganda Minister of the Mengyin County Party Committee, also has a love for Ni Zhengming. Ren Meijuan was originally a student at Peking University, and in 1936, she went south to Shandong with the Beiping Student Petition Group, and later stayed there to engage in anti-Japanese rescue activities. She and Ni Zhengming are fellow villagers, and the two met in the special committee study class, and found that they had similar family backgrounds and experiences, and soon narrowed the distance.
In this way, in that turbulent era, three young women from different backgrounds successively met Ni Zhengming, a young and heroic political commissar, and fell in love with him. They all hoped to marry Ni Zhengming, but according to the rules at the time, Ni Zhengming could only choose one of them. Under the pursuit of the three, Ni Zhengming finally chose Zhao Hao after careful consideration.
On a winter day in 1943, under the auspices of Secretary Lin, the wedding of Ni Zhengming and Zhao Hao was held in the Yimeng Mountains. This is a rare happy event in the difficult environment of the Anti-Japanese War era, and the scene is filled with the soldiers' longing for a better life. Just when the bride and groom were beaming, and halfway through the wedding, a sudden emergency mission interrupted the grand occasion, and the bride Zhao Hao had to leave temporarily...
Zhao Hao and Ren Meijuan courted Ni Zhengming from the organization
In the spring of 1943, the anti-Japanese armed forces in the Yimeng Mountains had passed the most difficult period, and the fighting situation began to improve. At this moment of hope, Ni Zhengming, the political commissar of the army, received two special letters.
A letter from Zhao Hao, director of the Yishui County Women's Rescue Association, frankly expressed his admiration for Ni Zhengming and hoped to marry him. The other letter was written by Ren Meijuan, the propaganda minister of the Mengyin County Party Committee, and she also made no secret of her admiration and affection for this young and heroic political commissar.
Zhao Hao and Ren Meijuan both met Ni Zhengming on the front line of resistance against Japan. In the winter of 1942, shortly after Ni Zhengming led his troops to move to the Yimeng Mountains, he met Zhao Hao, a local women's cadre. In an anti-sweeping battle, Zhao Hao risked his life to organize the transfer of the masses, and was almost unexpected, but was finally rescued by Ni Zhengming heroically. Since then, Zhao Hao has great admiration for this well-commanded and fearless political commissar.
The acquaintance with Ren Meijuan came from a special committee study class. Both of them are from Liaocheng, Shandong, and when they were studying Marxist works, Ren Meijuan's speech left a deep impression on Ni Zhengming. Later, they found out that they not only had similar backgrounds, but also participated in the same anti-Japanese salvation movement in Beiping and Jinan. A common pursuit of the revolutionary cause quickly brought them closer.
Under the dual pursuit of Zhao Hao and Ren Meijuan, Ni Zhengming fell into a dilemma. According to the rules of the time, a Communist Party member was not allowed to engage in a "love triangle", and he had to choose between the two. After careful consideration, Ni Zhengming finally decided to establish a relationship with Zhao Hao.
In the winter of 1943, under the auspices of Secretary Lin, the wedding of Ni Zhengming and Zhao Hao was held in the Yimeng Mountains. Just when the bride and groom were beaming and halfway through the wedding, a sudden emergency mission interrupted the grand occasion, and the bride Zhao Hao had to temporarily leave to carry out the task.
Zhao Hao unfortunately died in the line of duty, and Ni Zhengming was very sad. A year later, he and Ren Meijuan got married, and the two got along with each other and worked together to overcome the difficult years of the revolutionary era.
At the wedding of Ni Zhengming and Zhao Hao, although Ren Meijuan hid the sadness in her heart, she sincerely blessed the newlyweds, hoping that they could grow old together. When she learned the news of Zhao Hao's unfortunate death, she had mixed feelings in her heart, but she quickly adjusted her mentality and fully supported Ni Zhengming to tide over the difficulties.
In this way, a revolutionary love story with twists and turns bloomed with a different brilliance in those cruel years. Although the three young women once had a "love rival" relationship for the same person, they all finally resolved the entanglement of love with the mind of a fearless revolutionary and jointly contributed their youth to the revolutionary cause.
A love story in the difficult years of the Anti-Japanese War
In the winter of 1943, the anti-Japanese armed forces in the Yimeng Mountains finally passed the most difficult period, and the fighting situation began to improve. At this moment of hope, the wedding of Ni Zhengming and Zhao Hao was held under the auspices of Secretary Lin.
On the day of the wedding, the special commissar and the cadres of the army gathered together to celebrate the union of the newlyweds. Secretary Lin said happily that this was the first time in several years that the special committee had held a happy event, which showed that the situation of the struggle had taken a turn for the better. He issued a marriage certificate from the Shandong Anti-Japanese Military and Political Committee, placing high hopes on the newlyweds to continue the revolutionary cause.
The wedding was held in accordance with the tradition, and the table was filled with special delicacies from the Yimeng Mountains and two bottles of Lanling wine. Just when the bride and groom were beaming and halfway through the wedding, a sudden emergency mission interrupted the pomp.
A scout hurried over and whispered a few words in Zhao Hao's ear. Zhao Hao immediately got up and said to Secretary Lin: "I have a task, I have to go!" Secretary Lin nodded helplessly. It was dark, the northwest wind was howling, and snowflakes were blowing. Zhao Hao simply put on a cloth sheet and was about to leave to carry out the task.
Ni Zhengming was very reluctant, he stepped forward to hold Zhao Hao's hand, and said earnestly: "Newlywed Yan'er, are you leaving like this?" Zhao Hao replied firmly: "The revolution is still on the way, and we rarely have today, just for tomorrow." With that, she broke free of Ni Zhengming's hand and walked out without looking back.
Zhao Hao's mission was to go to the Linyi area to learn about the new movements of the Japanese puppet army and contact underground party members. During the march, he was attacked by the puppet army, and after a fierce battle, Zhao Hao was unfortunately shot and died. Before she died, she hid important information in a secret location, and used her last strength to write down the password and confess.
A few months later, Ni Zhengming inadvertently discovered the location where Zhao Hao hid intelligence while on a mission, and found valuable clues with the help of the password, which provided an important reference for the operational deployment of the Eighth Route Army. On the first anniversary of Zhao Hao's death, Ni Zhengming went to her cemetery to mourn this heroic soldier.
A year later, Ni Zhengming and Ren Meijuan became husband and wife, and the two fell in love with each other and worked together to overcome the difficult years of the revolutionary era. They fought together on the front line of resistance against Japan and experienced countless tests of life and death. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War in 1945, Ni Zhengming continued to serve in the army and was later awarded the rank of major general. Ren Meijuan has been working in the army's logistics system and has contributed all her strength to Ni Zhengming's cause.
In this way, a revolutionary love story with twists and turns bloomed with a different brilliance in those cruel years. Although the three young women once had a "love rival" relationship for the same person, they all finally resolved the entanglement of love with the mind of a fearless revolutionary and jointly contributed their youth to the revolutionary cause. Zhao Hao wrote a heroic chapter at the cost of his life.
The trio regained their sisterhood in their later years
In the early eighties, the husbands of Ni Zhengming, Han Guanghui and Zhao Hao died of illness one after another. Although the three generals' wives once had a "rival" relationship because of the same person, in their later years, they gradually established a deep sisterly friendship.
In 1985, Han Guanghui's husband died first. As the eldest, she moved into a military cadre retreat near Xiaoxitian in Beijing. Soon after, Zhao Hao's husband also died of illness, and she immediately joined Han Guanghui, and the two lived in an adjacent room to take care of each other. In 1987, Ren Meijuan's husband Ni Zhengming finally passed away, and she became a new member of the "sisters".
Although the three of them had a "rival" relationship because of Ni Zhengming, in their later years, they all resolved the contradictions of the year with a broad mind. After Ni Zhengming's death, Han Guanghui and Zhao Hao took the initiative to include Ren Meijuan in their life circle, and the three of them were inseparable, like a family.
Every year on the Qingming Festival, the three wives will go to the Babaoshan Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery together to pay tribute to their late husbands. After the memorial ceremony, Han Guanghui and Zhao Hao will make a special trip to Ren Meijuan to mourn General Ni Zhengming with her. This scene has puzzled many people, is there any special relationship between the husbands of the three of them?
In fact, this practice is a reflection of the deep sisterhood of the trio. In the revolutionary years, although they once had a "love enemy" relationship for the same person, they finally resolved the love entanglement with a fearless revolutionary mind and jointly contributed their youth to the revolutionary cause.
Zhao Hao died tragically in the execution of the mission, and wrote a heroic chapter with his life. Although her marriage to Ni Zhengming lasted only a short year, the revolutionary friendship between the two had already been forged. In their later years, Han Guanghui and Ren Meijuan both regarded Zhao Hao as their own sisters and admired her heroic deeds.
The three regained their sisterhood in their later years, helping each other, taking care of each other, and spending the rest of their lives together. They experienced the war-torn era, witnessed the rise and fall of the country, and their adherence to revolutionary ideals and friendship with each other became the most precious spiritual wealth in their later years.
Every year during the Qingming Festival, the three ladies will always go to Babaoshan to pay respects together with endless sorrow for their deceased husbands. There, they will relive the eventful course of the revolutionary years and remember the heroes who made contributions to national independence and the founding of New China. This sisterly friendship is the greatest comfort for them in their later life.