On January 10, 1972, after lunch, Chairman Mao, wearing pale yellow pajamas, tossed and turned in a bed full of books, according to Chairman Mao's living habits at that time, after lunch, he was going to sleep, but on this day, he could not sleep under any circumstances.
Because he knew that at three o'clock in the afternoon, the masses from all walks of life in the capital would hold a memorial service for Chen Yi in the auditorium of the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery and send Comrade Chen Yi on his last journey.
The secretary, Zhang Yufeng, saw Chairman Mao's irritability and advised him to take a break, and he said to sit down on the sofa.
On the couch, he would turn on the radio, listen to it for a while, his left ear was also in, his right ear was bubbling, so he turned it off, the ear did not work, he opened the book again, looked at the book, but today his eyes could not see into it, angry, he directly left the book aside.
Zhang Yufeng did not dare to ask more, finished her own business and left, after a while, Chairman Mao asked her what time it was.
Zhang Yufeng looked at his watch and told the chairman, "It's one and a half o'clock now." ”
Chairman Mao immediately said, "Shunting the car, I am going to attend Comrade Chen Yi's memorial service." ”
Because this decision was too sudden, Zhang Yufeng quickly notified the relevant staff to transfer the car, and then notified Wang Dongxing and other leading comrades.
You must know that after the founding of New China, Chairman Mao, as the supreme leader of the country, took care of every day every day, worked very busy, since the death of Comrade Ren Bishi, the founding father of the People's Republic of China, Mao Zedong participated in his memorial service, and has never participated in the memorial service again.
Therefore, when Chairman Mao suddenly proposed to attend the memorial service, everyone was a little surprised, and Chairman Mao was still wearing pajamas and a pair of thin wool pants underneath.
The staff around him took the gray "Mao-style" costume that he usually wore when he went out to meet guests to change into him, and Chairman Mao said: "Don't change it, I just put it on the outside of my nightgown." ”
When the staff put on the shirt for Chairman Mao and then put on the uniform pants, Chairman Mao felt troublesome and delayed the time, so he refused to let him wear it.
In this way, Chairman Mao sat in a small car wearing a pair of thin woolen pants and drove straight along Chang'an Avenue in the direction of Babaoshan Mountain.
Before Chairman Mao left, Zhou Enlai was also surprised to receive this news: "The chairman wants to attend the memorial service? ”
Although he was very surprised, Zhou Enlai quickly calmed down, he knew that Chairman Mao's relationship with Chen Yi was not ordinary...
Chairman Mao's relationship with Chen Yi can be traced back to the Jinggangshan period, when on August 1, 1927, the Communist Party of China led part of the National Revolutionary Army to launch an armed uprising in Nanchang, Jiangxi.
Under the leadership of Zhou Enlai, He Long, Zhu De, and others, the Nanchang Uprising was victorious, and after the uprising, in order to avoid being surrounded by the enemy, the CPC Central Committee commanded the rebel army to withdraw from Nanchang in batches and prepare to attack Guangzhou to the south, but it encountered a frenzied counterattack by the Kuomintang reactionaries, and the rebel army suffered heavy casualties.
After the Battle of Sanheba, Zhu De and Chen Yi moved to fight in The Xiangbian of Fujian, Guangdong, and Gansu, and in January 1928, they set off the Shonan Uprising in Chenzhou, at which time they heard that Mao Zedong led the team of the Autumn Harvest Uprising to operate at Jinggangshan, and Zhu De and Chen Yi immediately sent Mao Zeqin to contact each other, hoping that the two teams would be able to successfully meet the division.
On April 28, 1928, Zhu De and Chen Yi led the team up Jinggangshan under the fervent expectation of Mao Zedong, and Mao Zedong and Zhu De held their hands tightly together, opening a new milestone chapter in China's agrarian revolution.
On May 4, Chen Yi, as the executive chairman of the congress, solemnly announced the establishment of the Fourth Army of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army at the meeting of the two armies, with Zhu De as the commander and Mao Zedong as the party representative, and the troops were reorganized into the 28th Regiment, the 29th Regiment, the 31st Regiment, the 32nd Regiment, and the 33rd Regiment.
At the same time as the "Zhu MaoHui Division", the armed forces of the Kuomintang reactionaries also arrived immediately, and the day after the end of the division, Zhu De and Chen Yi led the 28th Regiment and the 29th Regiment to eliminate the two battalions of the Jiangxi warlords attacking Jinggangshan in one fell swoop at Huang'ao, and won the battle that opened the door after the division.
On May 6, Chen Yi received a letter from Mao Zedong in which Mao Zedong wrote: "Seeing each other and hating each other late, comforting each other for life, hoping to meet things and discussing things." The 28th regiment is a promising regiment and hopes to be well mastered. ”
Soon after the end of the war, Mao Zedong met with Chen Yi in Yongxin, and Chen Yi reported to Mao Zedong in detail on the situation of the Huang'ao operation, and repeatedly said that the 28th Regiment was very capable of fighting, so please rest assured by the superiors.
That year, Mao Zedong was 34 years old, one of the founders of the Chinese Communist Party, and Chen Yi was 27 years old, a middle-level cadre of the Red Army, and the two men have since introduced each other as confidants.
On the way back to Jinggangshan, Mao Zedong originally had a horse, but did not ride it, but talked with Chen Yi while walking, walking for a day, talking for a day.
Mao Zedong started with the Chinese revolution, talked about the founding of the Communist Party of China, then went to the creation of his own revolutionary armed forces, and then talked about leading the Chinese revolution to integrate theory with practice, and so on.
Mao Zedong's incisive exposition and his understanding of the Chinese revolution deeply touched Chen Yi, who said that he had been at the grass-roots level of the army for some time, had done little research on theoretical issues, and when he heard Mao Zedong's views, he felt suddenly enlightened.
Since then, Chen Yi has become a staunch political supporter of Mao Zedong, and their friendship is based on this common political belief.
During the initial period of the establishment of the Jinggangshan base area, the environment of struggle was very harsh, and it was often necessary not only to face sieges by the Kuomintang reactionaries, but also to face difficult living conditions.
At that time, the 28th Regiment was reorganized from the remnants of the former Nanchang Uprising, and some of the cadres who had been trained as old officers were shaken by this, unwilling to fight for a long time at Jinggangshan, but wanted to develop rapidly, preferring to risk attacking big cities.
The problem of the 29th Regiment is even more serious, the 29th Regiment was reorganized from the Yizhang Peasant Army in the Shonan Uprising, the concept of hometown is relatively heavy, after coming from Hunan to Jinggangshan, always want to fight back to the hometown.
In June 1928, the Hunan Provincial Party Committee made a plan for a second Shonan Uprising, asking the Red Fourth Army to fight back to Shonan.
In his first conversation with Chen Yi, Mao Zedong analyzed the reason why after the first Shonan Uprising, they could not stand in Shonan because they were located on the main road of communication, and the enemy's strength in Hunan was too strong.
Therefore, Mao Zedong presided over the Yongxin Conference, decided not to implement the unrealistic instructions of the Hunan Provincial CPC Committee, and made a resolution to continue to build the Jinggangshan base area.
However, the plan of the Hunan Provincial Party Committee coincided with that of some backward cadres of the Red 28th Regiment and the Red 29th Regiment, and soon the Xiang Army sent two divisions to attack Jinggangshan, and Zhu De and Chen Yi led the 28th Regiment and the 29th Regiment down the mountain to take the initiative.
The cadres and soldiers of the 29th Regiment decided to return to Shonan with the whole regiment, fearing that they would be blocked, and did not inform the superior leaders.
When Zhu De and Chen Yi learned of this, they wrote a letter to Mao Zedong and went to the 29th Regiment to persuade them, but the persuasion was unsuccessful, and Zhu De forced the regiment to return to Jinggangshan.
However, the 29th Regiment was very passive, and even resisted with the passive action of marching 30 miles a day, and under the leadership of the 29th Regiment, the 28th Regiment was not willing to return to Jinggangshan.
Zhu De and Chen Yi had no choice but to stop their troops to hold an enlarged meeting of the Central Military Commission, at which Du Xiu, commissioner of the Hunan Provincial CPC Committee, proposed to carry out the instructions of the provincial party committee and send troops to Shonan, which was supported by the majority of cadres.
Under such circumstances, Zhu De and others had to agree, changed course and marched to Shonan, and in August, when the troops attacked Chenzhou, they encountered a fierce attack by the enemy, the 29th Regiment was scattered, leaving only one company, the 28th Regiment also lost a battalion, and the regimental commander Wang Erzhuo was killed.
After Mao Zedong learned of Zhu De's defeat, he hurriedly led his troops down the mountain to meet him, and after Mao Zedong rushed to the county seat of Guidong County, he presided over a meeting of cadres, with Mao Zedong as secretary and commanding the troops to act.
This is the famous "August defeat" in the history of the Red Army, after the main force of the Red Army left the base area, the enemy army took the opportunity to enter, resulting in the loss of a part of the base area.
Chen Yi was deeply saddened that he could not stop the division of troops and caused losses to the troops and base areas, and felt that he did not see Mao Zedong in the face, but Mao Zedong did not criticize Chen Yi and the 28th Regiment, but on the contrary, he would do this to the advantage, mobilize the masses, and expand the influence of the Red Army.
Under the guidance of Mao Zedong, the cadres and soldiers of the 28th Regiment were deeply moved, and soon reunited, so that Chen Yi fully realized Mao Zedong's broad political mind and superb command ability, and sincerely felt that Mao Zedong was really a rare leader talent, and from then on he cherished this rare friendship with Mao Zedong even more.
In addition to the revolutionary comradeship, Chen Yi and Mao Zedong were also literary friends, often exchanging ideas and exchanges in poetry.
Mao Zedong is a poet and has a great love for literature, although Chen Yi is inferior to Mao Zedong in the level of poetry, but he has commonalities in poetry creation, and he is known for his heroism.
Many years later, when Chen Yi recalled the first time he talked to Chairman Mao about poetry, both of them were very fond of the Song Dynasty poet Chen Youyi's "Linjiang Xian", in which there is a sentence that "reminiscing about drinking on the bridge of the afternoon bridge, sitting in the middle is mostly Haojie." ”
This sentence vividly expresses the pride and ambition of the two of them, and when Mao Zedong created "Qinyuan Chun Changsha", the sentence in it, "Ask the vast earth, who is the master of the ups and downs" is simply a domineering side leak.
And Chen Yi also wrote in a poem: "By virtue of Jun Mo's words, he will become a thousand bones." ”
Mao Zedong's favorite poem of Chen Yi was "Three Chapters of Meiling", and once when someone asked Chairman Mao's most revolutionary views, he quoted the first of Chen Yi's "Three Chapters of Meiling": "What is the meaning of the severed head today?" Entrepreneurship is difficult and difficult, this goes to Quantai to recruit the old department, and the flag is 100,000 Yan Luo. ”
In this poem, the difficult situation of revolutionaries in starting a business is reflected, and the spirit of fearlessness, no matter what kind of setbacks they face, they can start from scratch.
After Mao Zedong created his poems, Chen Yi was often one of the first readers to read them, and would ask him what he thought of the works, and some of the poems were given to him by Mao Zedong himself, which Chen Yi cherished as a treasure.
However, during the Long March, the main force of the Central Red Army was strategically shifted, and Chen Yi remained in the base area to continue to struggle with the enemy because of a leg injury, and needed to go east and west in guerrilla warfare, resulting in the loss of many of Mao Zedong's manuscripts in his collection, which made Chen Yi very sad later.
Fortunately, Mao Zedong's more famous poem "Qinyuan Spring and Snow" has been well preserved because Chen Yi likes it and has always been with him.
Later, Chen Yi often used Mao Zedong's poems to educate his children, and it can be said that in the difficult revolutionary struggle, it is a fortunate thing that the two people can work together.
However, with the increase of age, everyone's body gradually became worse, in September 1970, Chen Yi's physical condition began to deteriorate, one day, Chen Yi suddenly had severe stomach pain, was sent to the hospital, diagnosed by the doctor as appendicitis, appendicitis is a common disease, as long as after surgery and resection, after a period of recovery is good.
Unexpectedly, however, during the doctor's operation, it was unexpectedly found that he had developed colon cancer and spread to the liver.
Although the surgery went well, doctors didn't have a good idea for a disease like cancer.
After being discharged from the hospital, Chen Yi was able to fight the disease with his tenacious spirit, but at the end of the year, his condition suddenly deteriorated and he had to undergo a second operation.
In order to treat Chen Yi, Zhou Enlai personally instructed Chen Yi to live in Beijing Ritan Hospital, so that the doctors could do everything they could to treat Chen Yi, after the doctors prepared the operation plan, Zhou Enlai personally inquired, and on the day of the operation, Zhou Enlai also sent the director of the Zhongnanhai Health Office into the operating room to report to himself on Chen Yi's surgical condition at any time.
Although the doctors did their best, due to the medical level at that time and the deterioration of cancer, They could not reverse Chen Yi's body after the operation.
On New Year's Day 1972, Chen Yi, who was seriously ill, went through several coma, and after Receiving the notice, Zhou Enlai rushed to the hospital where Chen Yi was located, and also talked with Chen Yi, who explained many things to Zhou Enlai.
Knowing that Chen Yi was seriously ill, many old comrades rushed to the 301 Hospital on January 6 to visit Chen Yi and conveyed Chairman Mao's deep concern for him.
At 11:55 p.m. that night, Chen Yi left despite his reluctance, and according to Chen Yi's daughter Chen Shanshan, her father was still concerned about the future of the party and the country in the last moments of his life, shouting "Chairman Mao, Premier Zhou."
Knowing that Chen Yi had died, those comrades-in-arms before his death were plunged into extreme sadness, Liu Bocheng ignored the persuasion of others, and came down to the ward with the help of others, at that time Liu Bocheng's eyes could no longer see, came to Chen Yi's bed, touched Chen Yi's body with his hand, and said: "Mr. Chen, Mr. Chen, I, the blind man, can't do without you this 'crutch'!" ”
Zhou Enlai also arrived quickly, he walked to Chen Yi's body, carefully opened the corner of the sheet, touched the back of Chen Yi's hand, once fought side by side, now there is no consciousness, unconsciously burst into tears.
Chen Yi's wife, Zhang Qian, stood aside, crying even more bitterly, knowing that Zhou Enlai's health was not good, so she went forward and persuaded: "Premier, you need to take more care of your body!" Sister Deng is also worried about your body! ”
Soon, Zhu De, who first led Chen Yi up Jinggang Mountain, also came, when Zhu De's body was suffering from a high fever, everyone did not agree with him to go, he still insisted on sending Chen Yi on his last journey, came to the ward, And Zhu Said with tears: "Comrade Chen Yi is good, he died too early." ”
After Chen Yi's death, a real problem soon appeared, and Chen Yi's funeral standards could not be set.
Chen Yi was one of the ten marshals of New China, the founder and leader of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, and once served as vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the COMMUNIST Party of China, which belonged to the leading cadres of the party and the state, but later, Chen Yi no longer held important posts in the party and the government, and according to regulations, it could only be organized by the Central Military Commission.
To this end, the memorial service was better organized, and a funeral committee was specially set up, and after Zhou Enlai consulted with several veteran marshals, the provisional funeral standard was slightly higher than that of the general and the deputy chief of the general staff, and the memorial service was tentatively scheduled for January 10, with a number of five hundred people, and the politburo members were not necessarily present.
In the past, the memorial service of party and state leaders was held at the Working People's Cultural Palace, but this time Chen Yi's memorial service was held at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery, which was the first time that the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery had held such a high-level memorial service.
On the same day, the leaders of the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery came to the Central General Office to attend the emergency meeting, and Zhou Enlai assigned tasks to them; after the meeting, the leaders of the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery immediately rushed back, conveyed instructions to the heads of various departments, and then began to make intensive preparations.
The heads of the relevant departments renovated the auditorium, the original two crematoriums were built in the cremation workshop, and the farewell room was converted into a lounge.
After the construction was completed, the auditorium was still gray and slippery, not only was the sanitation chaotic, but there was still a lot of work to be done, and the day of the memorial service was getting closer and closer.
The funeral committee learned of the problems encountered in the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery and immediately summoned a company from the troops, more than a hundred soldiers, to help the revolutionary cemetery clean up.
At this time, another problem was encountered, the funeral committee had no funds, and at that time, the auditorium and the lounge did not even have chairs.
Under such circumstances, the funeral committee borrowed some sofas and chairs from the Beijing Hotel and the municipal government, and when these units heard that the chairs were for the memorial service for Marshal Chen Yi, they did not hesitate to grant their request, and soon they arranged the lounge and the auditorium in an orderly manner.
After the auditorium and lounge were arranged, the staff received another request, that is, on the day of the memorial service, the indoor temperature should be at least 20 degrees above.
Because it was winter, it was the coldest time in the north, and it was likely that the old comrades who came to send Marshal Chen Yi on their last journey were those old comrades-in-arms, who had suffered the ravages of war, most of whom were not in good health, and if they froze out of a disease during the memorial service, it would be difficult to explain.
The auditorium had just been repaired, and there was no time to install heating, and in order to keep it warm, the comrades hung cotton curtains on each door of the auditorium, and then set up several large stoves in the city to keep warm, after the comrades of the Funeral Committee and the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery were busy opening.
Chairman Mao learned of this on January 8 when he issued the documents for Chen Yi's memorial service sent by the Politburo for trial.
Chairman Mao did not express his views on the matter of the specifications of Chen Yi's memorial service, and could only handle it in accordance with the original agreement.
At that time, many comrades, including Song Qingling, applied to attend the memorial service, but because of the specification problem, they were all blocked by Zhou Enlai, and he was also helpless.
On the afternoon of January 10, Chairman Mao suddenly said that he wanted to attend the memorial service, but Zhou Enlai was busy, because the chairman's participation had to temporarily raise the specifications of the memorial service.
To this end, he first picked up the phone, dialed the phone of the General Office of the Central Committee, and said in a loud voice: "I am Zhou Enlai, and the chairman wants to attend Chen Yi's memorial service." Please inform the members and alternate members of the Political Bureau in Beijing immediately, and be sure to participate... Inform the secretary of Vice Chairman Soong Ching Ling, the people's congress, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and the National Defense Commission that all those who are willing to attend Comrade Chen Yi's memorial service must be arranged for them to attend. ”
After putting down the phone, Zhou Enlai rushed to Babaoshan, where he first went to the babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery auditorium to rest and told Chen Yi's wife Zhang Qian about Chairman Mao's upcoming memorial service, when Zhang Qian was too busy for several days, her body became very weak, and she had to walk hard, so she had to be supported by her daughter.
After Zhang Qian heard this news, she suddenly became a little excited, and seeing Zhang Qian's appearance, Zhou Enlai comforted her: "Zhang Qian, you need to be calm. ”
Zhang Qian tried to suppress her tears and asked doubtfully, "Why did Chairman Mao and his old man come?" For Chairman Mao's sudden move, Zhou Enlai was able to understand his feelings and comfortEd Zhang Qian: "The chairman must come, and the comrade-in-arms on Jinggang Mountain is him." ”
By the time Chairman Mao got out of the car, everything was ready, and we had to admire Zhou Enlai's ability to do things.
After Chairman Mao came to BabaoShan, he looked around for a moment, but when he didn't see Zhang Qian, he said to Zhang Yufeng, who was holding him: "Go and ask Zhang Qian and her children if they are coming, and invite them to come." ”
Soon, Zhang Yufeng found Zhang Qian in the lounge, when Zhang Qian was not in a very good state due to excessive sadness, or Zhou Enlai's persuasion made her regain her spirits, and after a while, Zhang Qian was led to the head lounge on the west side of the auditorium, and Zhou Enlai and some state leaders were already sitting next to Chairman Mao.
Seeing Zhang Qian coming, Chairman Mao immediately stood up trembling and went forward to shake hands with Zhang Qian.
Zhang Qian quickly took two quick steps, grabbed Chairman Mao's hand and asked, "Chairman Mao, how did you come?" ”
Seeing such a haggard Zhang Qian, Chairman Mao thought that his former comrade-in-arms had left, and he couldn't help but shed tears, and before he could speak, he let her sit next to him.
After a while, Chairman Mao's mood eased a little, and he said slowly, "I have also come to mourn Comrade Chen Yi!" Comrade Chen Yi is a good comrade. ”
After saying that, he asked Zhang Qian again: "What about the children?" Tell them to come in. ”
After a while, Chen Yi's children were all called to the lounge, and Chairman Mao looked at the children in front of him with mixed feelings, and then learned some information from them, and after a cordial conversation, the children left.
After a while, some political leaders heard the news and Zhang Qian wanted to leave, but Chairman Mao stopped her and asked her to stay here.
When everyone talked about Chen Yi, Zhang Qian said next to him, Chen Yi was still thinking about Chairman Mao's birthday before he died, and on December 26, Chen Yi still thought that this day was Chairman Mao's birthday, and when it was already difficult for him to eat, he still insisted on eating some shou noodles and wished Chairman Mao health and longevity in the hospital.
After Chairman Mao listened, his emotions were even more agitated, and Zhang Qian saw the situation, considering that Chairman Mao's health was not good, he said that he would let the chairman sit for a while and then go back, there were too many people here, and it would tire out the chairman's body.
Chairman Mao rejected her proposal, saying, "No, I will also attend the memorial service and give me a black veil." ”
After Zhang Qian listened, she was immediately a little overwhelmed and resolutely said: "How dare you!" ”
Wearing black veil means dai filial piety, from the Republic of China period, began to promote the wearing of black veil as a way of filial piety, the purpose is to simplify the traditional Chinese mourning dress system, Chairman Mao's move is to let everyone know their revolutionary friendship with Chen Yi.
At Chairman Mao's insistence, the staff took a black veil and put it on Chairman Mao's sleeve, and after a while, Zhang Qian solemnly walked into the hall of the auditorium and sat down in the first row.
At 3 p.m., the memorial service was held on time, and the whole memorial service was very simple, there was no music in the auditorium, only a phonograph slowly playing mourning.
The memorial service was presided over by Li Desheng, zhou Enlai gave a eulogy, only six hundred words of eulogy, Zhou Enlai read very slowly, choked twice in the middle, completely unable to control his feelings.
Zhou Enlai said in his eulogy: "Chen Yi is an excellent member of the Communist Party of China and a loyal soldier of the Chinese people. For decades, under the leadership of the Party Central Committee, in the protracted revolutionary struggle, in the socialist revolution and socialist construction, he persisted in fighting, worked hard and served the people. His passing away has caused us to lose an old comrade-in-arms and comrade, and it is a great loss for our Party and our army..."
Chairman Mao was in the first row, listening quietly to the eulogy, tears flowing down uncontrollably, and the whole auditorium was crying one after another.
When the five-star red flag was draped over Chen Yi's urn, Chairman Mao bowed deeply three times, then raised his head and stared at Chen Yi's portrait.
Chairman Mao dragged his seriously ill body until the end of the memorial service, but he still held Zhang Qian's hand tightly and refused to let go, and with Zhang Qian's support, Chairman Mao came to the car.
Because of overwork, I didn't even have the strength to get on the bus, and I reluctantly went up with the support of the staff.
After the car started, Zhang Qian could not suppress her emotions even more, and cried loudly while holding Comrade Chen Yi's urn.
Chen Yi's memorial service was the first time chairman Mao attended in more than 20 years, and he did not participate in it since then, which made people see Chairman Mao's sincere feelings for Comrade Chen Yi.
Later, when recalling the memorial service, Zhang Qian said: "On January 10, 1972, the great leader Mao Zedong personally attended the memorial service for Comrade Chen Yi, which was the greatest honor for the dead and the greatest encouragement for the living. ”