【Background】
In this ancient and young land of China, there was a figure who was revered as the "God of the Army", and he was Liu Bocheng, one of the founding fathers of the Republic. In that era of artillery fire, with extraordinary wisdom and courage, he commanded one victory after another, and made great contributions to the independence and freedom of the country and the nation.
Marshal Liu Bocheng
However, as the years passed, when the smoke of gunpowder dissipated and people enjoyed the sunshine of peace, the former battlefield commander often could not forget the experience of fighting in the past, according to his wife Wang Ronghua's recollection: whenever he saw the war pictures on the TV, Liu Bocheng would silently get up and turn off the TV, and then sit on the rattan chair and close his eyes...... Why did the former "god of war" avoid reproducing the war scene? Is it as the old saying goes, "those who have experienced wind and rain know better the preciousness of rainbows"? Or is there a hidden story behind it, which is thought-provoking?
[Text]
The name Liu Bocheng is closely associated with countless glorious battles. From Sichuan to North China, from the anti-Japanese beacon fire to the liberation battlefield, his footprints have traveled all over the motherland, leaving his strategizing figure everywhere. Especially the Battle of Huaihai, which was a decisive victory, was also the most painful memory in his heart. Behind the joy of victory are countless souls and broken families. Whenever the night falls low and the city lights are dim, Liu Bocheng's footsteps look particularly heavy on the familiar streets of Beijing, but his heart floats and sinks in the sea of memories.
War, for most people, may be cold numbers and words in history books, but for Liu Bocheng, it is a vivid scene of joys and sorrows, a comrade-in-arms who fell heroically on the battlefield, and a mother and wife who waited at home in a distant place but could not wait for their return. He remembered the smiles of every soldier, the resolute eyes of them in the midst of artillery fire, and the silent wails of those lives that disappeared in an instant. These memories, like heavy stones, weighed on his heart, making him avoid war movies in his later years.
Especially after the Battle of Huaihai, Liu Bocheng's dreams were often occupied by those dead souls, and their silent accusations made him full of tears when he woke up from his dreams. The cost of victory in that battle was so heavy that he could no longer face any kind of reappearance of war. War films on TV, for him, are not entertainment, but salt that tears through old wounds. So, whenever there is a war scene on the screen, he always silently chooses to turn off or change the channel, as if this can temporarily calm those memories.
In his later years, Liu Bocheng became a walking messenger of peace. He is not good at words, but he conveys his desire for peace with his actions. Attending lectures and conferences, he sat there quietly, using himself as a living historical witness to silently call on people to cherish the hard-won peace and remember those heroic souls who sacrificed for today.
His transformation makes people think that true heroism may not lie in how heroic he is on the battlefield, but in whether he can take peace as the ultimate goal and reduce sacrifice as his own responsibility.
[Ending]
Marshal Liu Bocheng's choice in his later years is the most profound interpretation of war and peace. He taught us that history should not be just a triumphant show-off, but an eternal quest for peace. In this era of peace, when we enjoy the tranquility of life, we might as well slow down occasionally and think about the ancestors who paved the way for peace, the wounds in their hearts, and their hopes for the future.
Liu Bocheng's story is like a lamp, illuminating the path to understanding and peace, reminding us that although the flower of peace is beautiful, it is watered with countless blood, and it deserves the care of each and every one of us, so that the lessons of history can be turned into a force to promote the progress of society.