At nearly 5 p.m. on October 22, 1985, General Xu Shiyou died of illness in Nanjing at the age of 80.
After some meticulous preparations, nine days later, on October 31, the farewell ceremony and burial ceremony of General Xu Shiyou's body were solemnly held in the auditorium of the organs of the Nanjing Military Region.
At noon that day, the weather over Nanjing was relatively clear, and according to the forecast of the meteorological department, there would be a shower in the afternoon. At 2 o'clock in the afternoon, the square outside the auditorium was already full of people, most of them revolutionary comrades who had fought side by side with General Xu Shiyou.
The breeze blows through the plane trees on both sides of the square, and the sound of "whooshing" is like a person crying. The people in the square, wearing a small white flower in front of their chests, looked solemn and sad, and some even sobbed quietly.
By 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the sky was already obscured by dark clouds, and raindrops of all sizes fell rapidly. With this shower, the farewell ceremony and burial ceremony of General Xu Shiyou's body officially began.
Seeing such a scene, someone whispered, "This is God sending the old commander!" ”
The people who came to mourn General Xu Shiyou lined up in a long line and entered the great hall in turn. When people walked one by one to the body of General Xu Shiyou, they would pause their steps, some of them standing up to salute the military, and some of them bowed deeply. The entire farewell ceremony lasted for more than two hours, and more than 3,000 people came to attend the ceremony.
After the farewell ceremony, the burial ceremony will soon be carried out. For the funeral of General Xu Shiyou, the organization had "special" instructions. Comrade Deng Xiaoping once wrote in the report written by General Xu Shiyou on the request for burial before his death, and instructed: "Handle it according to this, and the next example will not be given." ”
In addition, after General Xu Shiyou's illness and death, General Wang Zhen, who was then deputy director of the Central Consultative Committee, rushed to the Nanjing Military Region on the entrustment of Comrade Deng Xiaoping to solemnly convey Comrade Deng Xiaoping's opinion on handling the funeral of General Xu Shiyou. General Wang Zhen said: "In his sixty-year career on horseback, Xu Shiyou has made great achievements in battle and died a hundred deaths, and is a special person with a special character, special experience, and special contributions. The special permit signed by Comrade Deng Xiaoping (referring to the consent to General Xu Shiyou's request for burial) is a special special. ”
Therefore, the body of General Xu Shiyou was gently placed into a coffin of Nanmu that emitted a unique fragrance of wood, and a bright party flag covered the body of General Xu Shiyou. The raw material for this Nanmu coffin was specially sent by General You Taizhong, an old subordinate of General Xu Shiyou, to harvest in the primeval forest of Guangxi. Soon after, the Nanmu coffin containing the body of General Xu Shiyou will be transported to Xujiawa in Xinxian County, Henan Province, for burial. When the time comes, the heroic spirit of General Xu Shiyou will return his soul to his hometown and accompany him next to his mother's grave.
In the gap between the farewell ceremony and the burial ceremony, General Wang Zhen found Xiang Shouzhi, then commander of the Nanjing Military Region, and Nie Fengzhi, the previous commander of the Nanjing Military Region, and specifically instructed: "At present, all major newspapers across the country are reporting the news of Xu Shiyou's death, but none of the reports can accurately and completely summarize Xu Shiyou's life. Xu Shiyou is an old commander of the Nanjing Military Region and also an old leader of your old superiors; on the basis of your own recollections and war history materials, you must conscientiously organize and write a memorial article on Xu Shiyou's historical merits, and you must write it out and publish it in the newspaper. ”
Xiang Shouzhi and Nie Fengzhi listened to Wang Zhen's instructions and were very touched and said that they must handle this matter well.
Here, we would like to talk more about the situation of the Nanjing Military Region and the commanders of the previous military regions, so that readers can understand the general situation. Nanjing Military Region was founded in 1955, its predecessor experienced the New Fourth Army, East China Field Army, the Third Field Army, East China Military Region and other major development periods, was in charge of Jiangsu Province, Anhui Province, Zhejiang Province, Jiangxi Province, Fujian Province, Shanghai Municipality (five provinces and one city) military affairs of the large military region. Because the military region is headquartered in Nanjing, it is called the Nanjing Military Region.
In April 1956, the Fujian and Jiangxi provincial military districts, which were originally subordinate to the Nanjing Military Region, were separated and the Fuzhou Military Region was separately established (the same as the Nanjing Military Region). In July 1985, the Fuzhou Military Region was abolished, and its subordinate Fujian and Jiangxi Provincial Military Regions were reorganized into the Nanjing Military Region. By February 2016, the country's seven major military regions were reorganized into five major theaters, and the Nanjing Military Region was abolished.
In the history of the Nanjing Military Region, ten people have successively served as commanders of the Nanjing Military Region, of whom Xu Shiyou was the first commander of the Nanjing Military Region, Nie Fengzhi was the third commander of the Nanjing Military Region, and Xiang Shouzhi was the fourth commander of the Nanjing Military Region. In October 1985, when General Xu Shiyou died of illness, it was Xiang Shouzhi who served as the commander of the Nanjing Military Region.
Whether it was Nie Fengzhi or Xiang Shouzhi, they had both worked under Xu Shiyou and were close revolutionary comrades-in-arms with Xu Shiyou. In particular, Nie Fengzhi, who had long served under Xu Shiyou during the war years, was a very important general of Xu Shiyou.
Nie Fengzhi was born in 1913, 8 years younger than Xu Shiyou. As early as the struggle in the Eyu-Anhui base area and the Long March of the Red Fourth Front, Nie Fengzhi served under Xu Shiyou. During this period, Xu Shiyou successively served as the commander of the 34th Regiment of the 12th Division of the 4th Army of the Red Fourth Front, the deputy commander of the 9th Army and the commander of the 25th Division, the deputy commander and commander of the 4th Army, and the commander of the cavalry of the Red Fourth Front; Nie Fengzhi successively served as the platoon commander and company commander of the 34th Regiment of the 12th Division of the 4th Army of the Red Fourth Front, and the battalion commander, deputy regimental commander and regimental political commissar of the 27th Division of the 9th Army.
By the time of the All-out War of Resistance, Nie Fengzhi and Xu Shiyou had a closer relationship. Xu Shiyou served as commander of the Jiaodong Military Region of the Shandong Military Region of the Eighth Route Army, and Nie Fengzhi served as commander and political commissar of the 13th Regiment of the Jiaodong Military Region, commander of the Wei Naval Sub-district of the Jiaodong Military Region, and commander of the 5th Division of the Jiaodong Military Region.
After the victory of the all-out War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, in order to implement the strategic plan for the development of the northeast, the main force of the Shandong Military Region of the Eighth Route Army was ordered to go to the northeast region. At that time, the organization originally planned to dispatch Nie Fengzhi, commander of the 5th Division of the Jiaodong Military Region, to lead the troops to work in the northeast region. However, when Xu Shiyou received the order from the organization, he suppressed the matter, falsely claiming that "Nie Fengzhi had a serious tuberculosis and was inconvenient to go to the northeast, and suggested that the organization choose another person."
There was no way, the organization had no choice but to let Wu Kehua, deputy commander of the Jiaodong Military Region, command the 5th Division of the Jiaodong Military Region to go to the northeast region. Later, this unit slowly developed into the Fourth Column of the Northeast Field Army and the 41st Army of the Fourth Field Army, and Wu Kehua successively served as the commander of the Fourth Column of the Northeast Field Army and the commander of the 41st Army of the Fourth Field Army. In 1955, Wu Kehua was awarded the rank of lieutenant general.
Then again, Nie Fengzhi saw that the troops had all gone to the northeast region, and he was still staying in Shandong, so he mistakenly thought that the organization intended to let him stay in Shandong to work. After a while, Nie Fengzhi learned the origin of the matter, it turned out that Xu Shiyou had taken "sick leave" for him and "forcibly stayed" in Shandong. From this incident, it can be seen how much Xu Shiyou attaches importance to Nie Fengzhi. Fortunately, Nie Fengzhi's later rank was also a lieutenant general like Wu Kehua.
During the Liberation War, Xu Shiyou served as commander of the Ninth Column of the East China Field Army, And Nie Fengzhi served as the commander of the 25th Division of the Ninth Column of the East China Field Army, deputy commander and chief of staff of the Ninth Column of the East China Field Army; Xu Shiyou served as the commander of the Shandong Corps of the East China Field Army; and Nie Fengzhi succeeded Xu Shiyou as the commander of the Ninth Column of the East China Field Army.
When Nie Fengzhi was the commander of the 25th Division of the Ninth Column of the East China Field Army, he once fought side by side with two other divisions, Sun Duanfu and Liu Yong. However, due to the stubborn resistance of the enemy, the battle did not go well. At this time, Xu Shiyou lost his temper in the column headquarters and scolded the three division commanders, including Nie Fengzhi, for a while.
Later, after the battle, Nie Fengzhi, Sun Duanfu, and Liu Yong returned to the column headquarters together to report to Xu Shiyou on the situation. Sun Duanfu and Liu Yong walked to the door and stopped, and the two of them said to Nie Fengzhi, "Old Nie, you go to the front, we follow behind you." ”
Nie Fengzhi didn't know, so he asked, "What is this for?" Let's go in. ”
Sun Duanfu and Liu Yong laughed a little and said, "This battle is not going well, Commander Xu will definitely lose his temper and curse people, you and he are old acquaintances, you go to the front, he may not curse people." ”
After Nie Fengzhi listened, he looked embarrassed and said, "How is it possible, Commander Xu's temper, everyone knows, he started a fire, and everyone dares to scold." ”
At this time, Sun Duanfu and Liu Yong stepped back and pushed Nie Fengzhi forward from the left and right, and the three of them walked into the column headquarters.
Sure enough, after Xu Shiyou saw the three of them coming in, he immediately split his head and covered his face with a stinky scolding: "What are you doing to eat, usually one by one can blow, fight, everyone is straw bale, not to use... Three defeated generals, and the face back..."
Xu Shiyou's speech became more and more difficult to hear, and Sun Duanfu and Liu Yong stood next to them with their heads bowed, and no one dared to speak. At this time, Nie Fengzhi couldn't help it, he opened his mouth and said, "Commander, although the battle was not smooth, it was finally won." We guessed that you would lose your temper, and we had come to bear the sin of the thorns. However, you scold almost on the line, keep scolding, and let people not live? The three of us have not had time to eat a mouthful of food since yesterday, and our stomachs are hungry..."
After Xu Shiyou listened, he was stunned for a moment, then laughed and said, "You haven't eaten?" ”
Nie Fengzhi, Sun Duanfu, and Liu Yong said in unison, "Yes, the battle is not going well, we can still take care of eating!" ”
Xu Shiyou waved his hand at the staff of the column headquarters, signaling him to arrange some food and let Nie Fengzhi, Sun Duanfu, and Liu Yong, the three division commanders, hurry up and eat.
During the meal, Sun Duanfu and Liu Yong said to Nie Fengzhi, "Old Nie, do you see if the two of us are right, it is good to have you here today." Otherwise, it is estimated that the two of us are still hungry and scolded. ”
Nie Fengzhi took a nest head and stuffed it into his mouth, smiled and said, "Eat quickly, eat quickly." ”
In September 1948, the Battle of Jinan began. Xu Shiyou commanded the Shandong Corps to launch a general offensive against Jinan from the eastern and western fronts. According to the operational arrangements, Nie Fengzhi, then commander of the Ninth Column of the East China Field Army, led his troops to play "assists" on the eastern front to contain the enemy's strength so that the western front troops could enter the city of Jinan.
After Nie Fengzhi received the combat task, he didn't bat an eyelid and said, "What a famous person, when did I ever make an assist?" Later, Nie Fengzhi held a mobilization meeting and said to his soldiers: "This time to fight Jinan, our task is to attack the main attack, and you all give me a spirit." He invaded Jinan Province and captured Wang Yaowu alive. ”
Listening to Nie Fengzhi's mobilization, all the officers and men of the Ninth Column of the East China Field Army screamed, and their desire for battle and combat effectiveness were suddenly stimulated.
After the general attack was launched, Nie Fengzhi led the Ninth Column to overcome many difficulties and charge with all its strength, and soon broke through the jinan city wall. The enemy defending the city saw that the situation was not good, and hurriedly transferred troops from the west of the city to the east of the city to defend. After Xu Shiyou received this information at the headquarters, he did not understand why the enemy was doing this, so he called Nie Fengzhi and inquired about the situation on the eastern battlefield.
Nie Fengzhi, who was "bold and arrogant," replied: Commander, we have already broken through the walls of Jinan, and we vow to rush into Jinan City first...
After Xu Shiyou listened, he understood that this Nie Fengzhi changed the "assist" to "main attack" without authorization. Xu Shiyou was silent for a while and said, "Something went wrong, take you and ask." After the phone hung up, a hearty laugh came out of the headquarters, and it was no one else who made the laughter, it was Xu Shiyou.
In the end, Nie Fengzhi led the Ninth Column of the East China Field Army to successfully break into the city of Jinan, making outstanding contributions to the victory of the Jinan Campaign. After the victory of the Battle of Jinan, the 73rd Regiment of the 25th Division of the Ninth Column of the East China Field Army, which first rushed into Jinan City, was also awarded the glorious title of "Jinan First Regiment".
After the end of the Battle of Jinan, Xu Shiyou, due to his poor physical condition, has been recuperating in Shandong, and regrettably missed the follow-up series of major battles such as the Battle of Huaihai and the Battle of Crossing the River. Nie Fengzhi led the Ninth Column of the East China Field Army to participate in the Battle of Huaihai, and later served as the commander of the 27th Army of the Third Field Army, and then participated in the Battle of Crossing the River and the Battle of Shanghai.
After the founding of New China, both Xu Shiyou and Nie Fengzhi participated in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, with Xu Shiyou serving as commander of the Third Corps of the Volunteer Army, and Nie Fengzhi as deputy commander of the Air Force of the Volunteer Army. In 1955, the Nanjing Military Region was established, with Xu Shiyou as commander of the Nanjing Military Region and Nie Fengzhi as the commander of the Air Force of the Nanjing Military Region.
In 1956, with the establishment of the Fuzhou Military Region, Nie Fengzhi went to the Fuzhou Military Region as the commander of the air force, and later served as the deputy commander of the Fuzhou Military Region and the commander of the air force of the military region. Soon after, Nie Fengzhi returned to the Nanjing Military Region and served as deputy commander of the military region and commander of the air force of the military region. In 1977, Nie Fengzhi was appointed as the third commander of the Nanjing Military Region.
It can be said that Nie Fengzhi and Xu Shiyou formed a deep revolutionary friendship. For Xu Shiyou, Nie Fengzhi was his most important subordinate; for Nie Fengzhi, Xu Shiyou was his most respected leader.
Therefore, when General Wang Zhen asked him to write a weighty memorial article for Xu Shiyou, Nie Fengzhi was very excited and said that he would definitely handle this matter well.
Later, based on his own personal experience and the large number of war history materials he consulted, Nie Fengzhi organized personnel to write a memorial article entitled "Deeply Remembering the Old Commander Xu Shiyou." The full text of this memorial article is nearly 9,000 words, focusing on Xu Shiyou's revolutionary career and historical achievements.
Soon after, the memorial article was published in the People's Liberation Army Daily. However, when Nie Fengzhi read this article in the newspaper, he was very angry. Because, not only was the title of this memorial article changed to "A Generation of Courageous General Xu Shiyou", but the content in the article was also greatly reduced, and even some of the meanings expressed in the article were also modified.
For example, when Nie Fengzhi recalled the Battle of Jinan, he wrote that "the troops led by him (Xu Shiyou) conquered the city of Jinan and killed and wounded more than 110,000 enemy prisoners", but the result was that the newspaper published that "the troops led by him (Xu Shiyou) and other troops jointly conquered the city of Jinan, killing and wounding more than 110,000 enemy prisoners." ”
People who know the historical data of the war know that before the Battle of Jinan began, the East China Field Army made two preparations for "siege" and "attack and reinforcement", and the person responsible for attacking Jinan City was the Shandong Corps of the East China Field Army led by Xu Shiyou (the political commissar was Tan Zhenlin, and the deputy commander was Wang Jian'an). Later, because the war progressed too quickly, the enemy did not have time to rescue Jinan. As a result, the originally envisaged plan of "fighting aid" has not been realized. The Battle of Jinan became a pure urban offensive, and the only troops participating in this urban offensive were the Shandong Corps of the East China Field Army led by Xu Shiyou.
Although Nie Fengzhi was dissatisfied with the editorial board of the "Jiefangjun Bao" for deleting and revising the content of the memorial article, the "Jiefangjun Bao" published a memorial article. What made Nie Fengzhi even more angry was that the Nanjing Military Region's newspaper "People's Front" did not move at all, and did not publish a memorial article at all.
Nie Fengzhi did not bat an eye, he found the relevant person in charge of the Nanjing Military Region, and said angrily: "Why have you not published a memorial article for a long time, and who are you targeting with this attitude?" Is it for Commander Xu, who has died of illness? Or is it directed at me? ”
Later, under the personal interrogation of Xiang Shouzhi, then commander of the Nanjing Military Region, the full text of "Deeply Remembering the Old Commander Xu Shiyou" organized by Nie Fengzhi was published in the "People's Front" newspaper of the Nanjing Military Region. At this point, the storm about the memorial article calmed down.
On April 3, 1992, General Nie Fengzhi died of illness in Nanjing at the age of 79 and was buried in the Red Star Garden Cemetery of Yuhuatai GongdeYuan in Nanjing.
Time flies, the years are like shuttles, and although the smoke of the war years has long since dissipated, the martyrs have left a strong mark for themselves in the long river of history and will never disperse. To this day, the noble character and glorious deeds of the martyrs still guide and encourage us not to forget our original intentions and forge ahead.