Li Tianyou was a combat hero during the Red Army, was wounded many times on the battlefield, and was sent to the Soviet Union for recuperation.
【Mr. and Mrs. Li Tianyou】
But what Li Tianyou never expected was that the fate of the husband and wife had long been destined, and the two families had been connected many years ago.
Hero of the Red Army Company Commander
Li Tianyou was born in a poor peasant, but his parents attached great importance to their children's education, and they had to send Li Tianyou to study because of his poor family, so Li Tianyou had to drop out of school and go home after two years of study.
At that time, it was very difficult for the bottom of China to survive, and Li Tianyou fled with his parents at a young age.
[During the war years, ordinary people fled the famine]
He saw too much injustice and darkness along the way, which gave Li Tianyou the belief and ideal of standing up for the poor.
In order to survive, 14-year-old Li Tianyou joined the team of Li Mingrui, a general of the Gui family, and soon stood out because of his excellent performance on the battlefield, but with Li Mingrui's failure to oppose Chiang, Li Tianyou could not do it anymore, so he chose to join the Communist Party-led armed forces.
Li Tianyou was a participant in the Baise Uprising, and after joining the Red Army, he repeatedly performed miraculous feats and successively held many extremely important posts and posts.
【Li Tianyou】
Because of his courage and youth, everyone called him the commander of the Little Tiger Company, who was brave and fearless on the battlefield, and the price was repeated wounds, the most dangerous time was when Li Tianyou attacked Ganzhou with the army, he was shot three times and lost consciousness.
After his comrades-in-arms turned him out of the pile of dead, they all thought that he had sacrificed, but they didn't expect Li Tianyou to wake up and pick up a life.
Li Tianyou is also the most famous young hero of the Red Army, he became the commander of the Red 5th Division when he was 20 years old, Chairman Mao once praised Li Tianyou is not simple, young but has strong ability.
【Li Tianyou and his comrades-in-arms】
But the human body has a limit, in 1938 Li Tianyou finally collapsed due to overwork, was sent to the Soviet Union for recuperation, and took this opportunity to study in the Soviet Union.
Originally, Li Tianyou thought that staying in the Soviet Union was just an episode in his revolutionary years, but he didn't expect it to affect his life.
During his stay in the Soviet Union, Li Tianyou met a friend, who was a political commissar of the Red Army named Chen Changhao, and the two hit it off at first sight and formed a deep friendship.
【Chen Changhao (right)】
Chen Changhao, who worked as a political commissar, was very concerned about Li Tianyou's personal situation, and when he learned that such a young talent was still single, he hurriedly said that he would introduce Li Tianyou to him.
Li Tianyou actually never thought about his personal problems, but seeing that Chen Changhao was so enthusiastic, he also agreed to the matter, saying that he would meet when they returned to China.
The girl introduced by Chen Changhao is called Du Qiyuan, the younger sister of the wife of Wu Liangping, deputy director of the Yan'an Propaganda Department.
Chen Changhao believes that the conditions of the two are very suitable. After graduating from the Frunze Military Academy, Li Tianyou was ready to return to China, planning to meet with this Du Qiyuan when he had time.
【Du Qiyuan and Li Tianyou】
But what Li Tianyou didn't expect was that as soon as he left the Soviet Union, the Soviet-German war broke out halfway through, the Soviet Union blocked the border, and Li Tianyou and others were forced to stay in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
After staying in Ulaanbaatar for 2 years, Li Tianyou realized that he might have to find a way to return to China by himself, so he pretended to be a businessman, entered the country from the Gobi Desert, crossed Ningxia and Gansu, and finally arrived in Yan'an, at this time Li Tianyou was already 27 years old.
A rare fate
After Li Tianyou returned to the team, he has been focusing on the Anti-Japanese War, but seeing that most of his comrades-in-arms around him have started families, he is still a little lonely in his heart.
Coincidentally, it was when Li Tianyou was looking for Du Qiyuan, who Chen Changhao introduced to him, that he and Du Qiyuan happened to meet at a dance party organized by the central organ.
[Group photo of Li Tianyou and his wife and comrades-in-arms]
Both generations had a good impression of each other, so it didn't take long for them to develop feelings and confirm their relationship.
Du Qiyuan's family education is very strict, after determining that Li Tianyou is the object she wants to stay with for the rest of her life, she decided to take Li Tianyou home to meet her parents, and Li Tianyou was nervous and excited when she learned about it.
Although he has been on the battlefield all these years, it is the first time he has met his future parents-in-law, and he will inevitably be nervous. In 1944, Du Qiyuan and Li Tianyou found a time to go to Du Qiyuan's parents' house together.
[Group photo of Du Qiyuan, Li Tianyou and others]
Unexpectedly, as soon as he opened the door, Li Tianyou's mouth opened wide, because he had obviously seen his future father-in-law, and the other party recognized Li Tianyou first, holding his hand and saying excitedly: It turned out to be you!
Li Tianyou slowly recalled the origin of the two, which went back to Xi'an in 1938, when Li Tianyou also needed to recuperate due to physical reasons, and a military office in Xi'an specially arranged a room for him to live in.
At that time, there were many people coming and going in the office, including the husband and wife, who were going to Yan'an and needed to stop in Xi'an on the way, but because the two arrived late, there were no empty rooms in the office.
Li Tianyou happened to pass by the two of them at that time, and when he heard that the old couple had no place to stay, he offered to let them borrow his room and go to sleep with the guards by himself, which solved the problem.
【Du Qiyuan】
Li Tianyou would never have thought that a couple he had inadvertently helped would become his parents-in-law in the future, after learning that his daughter's lover was Li Tianyou, the couple decisively agreed to the marriage, and 1 year later, Li Tianyou and Du Qiyuan got married in Yan'an.
Later, Li Tianyou talked about the fate with his wife's family, and he also felt very incredible, from 1938 to 1944, a total of 6 years, but he didn't expect that he had already formed a fate with his wife's family 6 years ago.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Li Tianyou was awarded the rank of general and became one of the founding generals, the youngest of the mainland generals.
【Li Tianyou】
Unfortunately, due to too many dark illnesses, Li Tianyou finally died in 1970 at the age of 56.
Sources:
[1] Li Tianyou: The Founding General of the People's Republic of China, who was brave and good at fighting and fighting all his life.Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China [Citation date: 2023-10-12]
[2] Li Tianyou: Tiger Courage General, Heroic and Heroic.Official Website of China Elite Semi-monthly Magazine [Citation date: 2023-10-12]