This is a little-known history of the revolution. In the turbulent era, two classmates of the Whampoa Military Academy, who were from different backgrounds and personalities, eventually fought side by side and established a deep revolutionary friendship. What is the reason for Chen Geng's impression of Xu Xiangqian to change so much? What kind of story did the two finally influence each other and achieve each other? Let's walk into the revolutionary story of these years together.
The talents of the Whampoa Military Academy gathered
In 1924, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party worked together to establish the Whampoa Military Academy, which is well-known at home and abroad. The establishment of this military academy marks a great progress in China's modern military education and lays a solid foundation for cultivating revolutionary military talents.
As students of the first phase of Whampoa, Chen Geng and Xu Xiangqian are both outstanding here. Chen Geng has been in the army since he was 13 years old and has accumulated rich experience in combat formations. After entering the school, with his extraordinary intelligence and lively and clever personality, he soon became a "popular responsibility" loved by teachers and students. In contrast, Xu Xiangqian's experience is much more prosaic. This young man from a scholarly family, who was originally a teacher, was expelled from school for promoting progressive ideas, and was admitted to Whampoa by chance.
Although the origins and personalities of the two are very different, they are both one of the best talents in the Whampoa Military Academy. Chen Geng is resolute and capable, and has a good command; Xu Xiangqian is humble and introverted, and his style is rigorous and meticulous. Soon after entering the school, Chen Geng became the beloved "learning benchmark" of teachers and students with his extraordinary military talent and active performance. Xu Xiangqian's outstanding command ability and excellent theoretical skills soon made him the object of "learning model" regarded by teachers and students in Huangpu.
Although the two were the most admired students by instructors and classmates during their studies at the Whampoa Military Academy, due to the huge difference in personality, they never really entered each other's life circle and rarely intersected with each other. The active and outgoing Chen Geng likes to take a group of friends around to play, while the calm and introverted Xu Xiangqian prefers to stay in the dormitory and focus on studying. Chen Geng thinks that Xu Xiangqian is too dull, a difficult person to deal with, and he can't get along with him at all.
Until many years after graduation, by chance, the two intersected with fate and became revolutionary comrades-in-arms. When Chen Geng was transferred to the Red Fourth Front Army led by Xu Xiangqian, the strangeness and estrangement made the two full of doubts and worries about future cooperation. However, it was in the ensuing fierce battle that the revolutionary friendship between the two was gradually established, and the friendship between them became indestructible.
The first cooperation on the road to revolution
In 1931, the front of the National Revolutionary Army underwent a major adjustment, and Chen Geng was ordered to leave Tianjin and was requisitioned to join the Red Fourth Front Army led by Xu Xiangqian. This is the first time the two have worked together since graduating from the Whampoa Military Academy.
At this time, Chen Geng was already a veteran of the battlefield, and he had fought with the main force of the Red Army in the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base area, and made great achievements. He was entrusted with the important task of serving as the commander of the 12th Division of the Fourth Army of the Red Fourth Front Army, and was directly ordered by Xu Xiangqian. In contrast, Xu Xiangqian, as the commander-in-chief of the Red Fourth Front Army and the commander of the Fourth Army, shouldered a more important command responsibility.
As classmates of the former Whampoa Military Academy, Chen Geng and Xu Xiangqian know each other a lot. Chen Geng, who has an active and outgoing personality, has always had a bad impression of the calm and introverted Xu Xiangqian, and even bluntly said that he was unwilling to cooperate with him. And Xu Xiangqian's understanding of Chen Geng is limited to the latter's outstanding performance in school. This appointment made the two inevitably have some doubts and estrangement.
Chen Geng's doubts about Xu Xiangqian mainly stem from the latter's quiet and rigorous personality. He was worried that Xu Xiangqian was too restrained, lacked flexibility and adaptability, and found it difficult to command well on the battlefield. Xu Xiangqian, on the other hand, was more worried about Chen Geng's impulsiveness and recklessness, for fear that the latter would be too flamboyant and affect the stability of the army's morale.
Despite their misgivings, both men know that this is a critical time for them to work together. For the sake of the revolutionary cause, they had no choice but to abandon their prejudices and face the grim military situation together. Soon, a decisive anti-encirclement and suppression operation began.
In this battle of unprecedented scale, the Red Army fought back bravely and encountered more than ten large-scale battles with the enemy. At the beginning of the war, Chen Geng's troops were bombarded indiscriminately by the enemy. Surrounded by heavy artillery fire, Chen Geng performed brilliantly with calm and calm command, skillfully strategizing, which not only resolved the crisis, but also opened the way for the subsequent victory.
At the same time, Xu Xiangqian, as the commander-in-chief, also exerted his extraordinary command ability. He judged the hour and sized up the situation, formulated a thorough battle plan, and demonstrated outstanding overall planning and consideration ability in the deployment of the troops, thus ensuring the orderly conduct of the entire operation. What's even more valuable is that when Chen Geng's troops were in a desperate situation, Xu Xiangqian was not afraid of danger and personally led reinforcements to rescue him.
After months of hard fighting, the two finally worked together to annihilate 12 enemy brigades and wipe out more than 50,000 living forces. This huge battle not only consolidated the base of the Red Fourth Front Army in the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Soviet Region, but also allowed Chen Geng and Xu Xiangqian to learn each other's heroism in actual combat, thus dispelling the doubts and estrangements in their hearts.
The turning point of the anti-encirclement and suppression operation in the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Soviet region
The decisive turning point in the anti-encirclement and suppression operations in the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Soviet Region occurred in the Battle of Xinyang in early 1933. This battle was later called the "Xinyang 500 Million Yuan General Battle", which means that it caused a huge loss equivalent to 500 million yuan to the Kuomintang government.
As the commander-in-chief of the Red Fourth Front Army, Xu Xiangqian showed outstanding commanding talent in this battle. He dug deep into the defense, judged the situation, and drew up a series of meticulous battle plans. What is even more commendable is that he has demonstrated his outstanding ability to make overall plans and balance in the deployment of the troops, commanding all the generals in an orderly manner, and ensuring the steady progress of the entire operation.
And Chen Geng scolded Fang Xuan in this battle, showing his extraordinary ability to strategize. As the commander of the 12th Division of the Red Fourth Front Army, Chen Geng was not afraid of danger, commanded steadily, and calmly coped with all kinds of emergencies. In view of the battlefield situation, he made temporary arrangements and constantly fine-tuned the deployment, so that the armies of all walks of life won victories and marched step by step. More importantly, when Xu Xiangqian personally led his troops to reinforcements, Chen Geng skillfully used roundabout tactics to join forces with Xu Xiangqian's troops, forming a strong encirclement of the enemy.
In this way, under the steady command of Xu Xiangqian and Chen Geng's elite strategy, the Red Army won a complete victory in the Battle of Xinyang, annihilating 4 enemy brigades and capturing more than 5,000 prisoners. This victory not only laid the foundation for the subsequent anti-encirclement and suppression operations, but also allowed Chen Geng and Xu Xiangqian to completely dispel the doubts in their hearts.
In fact, the Battle of Xinyang was only the beginning of the anti-encirclement and suppression campaign in the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Soviet region. In the following months, the Red Fourth Front Army won a number of great victories one after another, annihilating the enemy troops in Huangchuan, Gushi and other places, and finally completely defeated the "encirclement and suppression" troops led by Chiang Kai-shek himself in this unprecedented battle.
During the whole combat process, Xu Xiangqian commanded steadily, Chen Geng strategized, and the two cooperated seamlessly, gathering the power of the two swords. In the end, the two worked together to annihilate 12 brigades of the Kuomintang Army, wiped out more than 50,000 living forces, and consolidated the revolutionary base area in the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Soviet Region. This huge battle was praised by later generations as the "Hubei-Henan-Anhui War against encirclement and suppression".
It was in this arduous battle that Xu Xiangqian and Chen Geng learned each other's heroic talents, and their revolutionary friendship was established. The two with very different personalities finally found a tacit cooperation that complements each other. Since then, they have forged an unbreakable friendship of comrades-in-arms, fought side by side, and won one brilliant victory after another for the revolutionary cause.
A rare sincere friendship
After the life and death of the anti-encirclement and suppression operations in the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Soviet Region, Chen Geng and Xu Xiangqian formed an unbreakable friendship of comrades-in-arms. This revolutionary friendship not only witnessed their transformation from strangeness to understanding, from estrangement to trust, but also allowed the two to influence each other, and their respective personalities have undergone tremendous changes.
In the early days of getting along, Chen Geng had doubts about Xu Xiangqian's calm and introverted. But after this huge military battle, Chen Geng not only saw Xu Xiangqian's extraordinary commanding talent, but also felt the wisdom and stability behind the latter's humility and restraint. Xu Xiangqian's calm and calm style can well balance the impulsiveness and recklessness of Chen Geng's command. And Chen Geng's ability to calmly deal with various emergencies on the battlefield also made Xu Xiangqian reassess him and marvel at his extraordinary wisdom in strategizing.
In this way, through the experience of fighting together, the two gradually discovered each other's unique strengths and were impressed by them. Originally with very different personalities, they were able to cooperate seamlessly on the battlefield and gather the power of the two swords. As a result, the former estrangement was overcome, and the two established a sincere revolutionary friendship.
When the war continued, Chen Geng and Xu Xiangqian always paid attention to each other's safety. Once, Chen Geng's troops were bombarded indiscriminately by enemy troops and fell into a desperate situation. Xu Xiangqian, who learned of this situation, did not hesitate to personally lead reinforcements to the front line, rescued Chen Geng's troops, and resolved the crisis. In another battle, the battle plan was temporarily wrong, and Chen Geng's troops were surrounded by the enemy alone, and their lives were in danger. When Xu Xiangqian learned about it, he hurriedly commanded the main force to open up a lifeline and save Chen Geng's troops.
In this way, at the moment of life and death, the two rescued each other, selflessly supported each other, and forged a deep revolutionary friendship with their actions. From strangeness to understanding, from estrangement to trust, they eventually became each other's most trusted comrades-in-arms and confidants.
On the road of revolution, Chen Geng and Xu Xiangqian influenced each other and promoted each other's growth. Xu Xiangqian's humble and introverted style gradually became a little more cheerful in getting along with Chen Geng; And Chen Geng, under the influence of Xu Xiangqian, became more stable and calm. In this way, it is precisely because of the complementarity of their personalities that the two can move forward side by side on the road of revolution and work together to create brilliance.
After years of baptism of war, the revolutionary friendship between Chen Geng and Xu Xiangqian has long been deep-rooted. Until the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the friendship between the two continued, but the stage shifted from the battlefield to the cause of peacetime construction. As the founding generals, they contributed their own strength to the construction of New China side by side. In their spare time, the two often walk together to reminisce about the eventful years. As Xu Xiangqian said: "Although the friendship between classmates has been 60 years, it is still the same as in the old days in the military academy." ＂
The revolutionary friendship of growing old together
The revolutionary friendship between Chen Geng and Xu Xiangqian did not stop at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China. On the contrary, after the advent of peace, the friendship between the two deepened and became each other's closest friends.
In 1949, at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Chen Geng and Xu Xiangqian were soon transferred to important positions, serving as members of the Central Military Commission and director of the General Political Department respectively. Although the focus of their work is different, while they contribute to the construction of New China, they often visit together to reminisce about the war-torn years.
Once, when the two were strolling along the Shicha beach in Beijing, Xu Xiangqian suddenly sighed: "Although the friendship between classmates has been 60 years, it is still the same as in the old military academy." Chen Geng laughed after hearing this, and couldn't help but recall the scene when he met Xu Xiangqian in the Whampoa Military Academy.
At that time, they had very different backgrounds and worlds of different personalities. And after today, they are close comrades-in-arms who fight side by side, life and death. Looking back, those once questioning and estranged psychology seem ridiculous now. It was in the baptism of revolution that they finally found the resonance of each other's souls and established an unbreakable revolutionary friendship.
After retirement, Chen Geng and Xu Xiangqian were inseparable. Whenever they have free time, the two will go for a walk in the park together, or make tea and chat. Sometimes, we will go to a farther place to relive the battlefield footprints of the revolutionary years. Before they knew it, they had become close friends who grew old together.
One year, during the spring outing, the two once again set foot in the war-torn Hubei-Henan-Anhui Soviet area. Old friends revisit their hometowns, and the scenes of those eventful years seem to be reproduced in front of your eyes. Chen Geng pointed to a mountain peak in the distance and said to Xu Xiangqian: "The past is like smoke, it was there that we worked together to annihilate a division of the enemy army!" Xu Xiangqian smiled and nodded, and couldn't help but sigh at the hardships of the revolutionary years.
In this way, in the era of peace without danger, the two founding generals continued their revolutionary friendship in the most simple way. They reminisced and parted; Revisit the old place and recount the grandeur. It was thanks to this experience that their friendship was immortalized in times of peace.
With the passage of time, Chen Geng and Xu Xiangqian have also entered the old age of their lives. But even when they are dying, the two are still close friends who talk about everything. One day, Xu Xiangqian suddenly said to Chen Geng: "The biggest fate in our lives is to form this revolutionary friendship, right?" Chen Geng smiled and said: "Yes, the most precious thing in this life is this friendship with you." ＂
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From strangeness to trust, from estrangement to hand in hand, the two spent their lives to create this moving revolutionary story. Their friendship not only witnessed the eventful journey of that turbulent era, but will forever inspire future generations to pursue the revolutionary spirit of one heart and one mind.