One day in the spring of 1960, Chairman Mao strolled into the meeting hall of the Central Military Commission at the three gates in Beijing. At this time, hundreds of generals attending the enlarged meeting of the Central Military Commission were waiting for Chairman Mao's reception in good spirits and neatly dressed.
I. Chairman Mao called Sun Yi "Sun Xinger."
When Chairman Mao walked over to the generals attending the meeting, the generals standing in the front row raised their hands to salute Chairman Mao. The radiant Chairman Mao looked cordially at the familiar faces in front of him and frequently nodded his head in return.
At the same time, Chairman Mao also glanced at the generals in the back rows from time to time. Suddenly, Chairman Mao raised his hand, pointed to a general with a short beard in the back rows of the queue, smiled and greeted: "You! Surname Sun, Sun Walker! ”
Lieutenant General Sun Yi (image)
At this time, the generals present and the other comrades present invariably focused their attention on the general to whom Chairman Mao was referring.
When the general saw Chairman Mao greeting him, his face instantly turned red with excitement, and he hurried to salute his old man. This "Sun Xinger" is our founding lieutenant general Comrade Sun Yi.
Chairman Mao, who read a lot of books, is very fond of the character of Sun Wukong in "Journey to the West". The Sun Wukong in the work is clever and witty, full of resistance, and is also known as "Sun Xing".
Today, when Chairman Mao spotted General Sun Yi in the queue, he humorously referred to him as "Sun Xinger."
It can be seen from this that Chairman Mao was very familiar with and loved General Sun Yi. In fact, during General Sun Yi's decades-long career as a horseman, he did not directly accompany Chairman Mao.
Chairman Mao and the Generals (Image)
Second, the lieutenant colonel who embarked on the revolutionary road.
Sun Yi, formerly known as Sun Junhua, is a native of Dacheng County, Langfang City, Hebei Province. Born into a poor peasant family in 1904, he joined the Communist Party of China in 1933.
In order to live, at the age of sixteen, Sun Yi went out to earn a living. At that time, he changed his name to Sun Yi and explained it this way: "Yi" takes the meaning of "killing the enemy as a result, and causing the result as a result".
In that era, warlords were constantly fighting, society was dark, the economy was depressed, and the people were not happy. After several years of wandering and wandering, in desperation, Sun Yi signed up to become a soldier. When he was mixed in the old army, he witnessed the dirty deeds of the warlords, such as conspiracy, bullying and oppressing the good, and reactionary corruption.
A social scene of ruin during warlord melee (image)
In 1931, Sun Yi was appointed as a staff officer of the Lieutenant Colonel of the 26th Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army. In December of the same year, under the influence of Zhao Bosheng ( a member of the Communist Party ) , chief of staff of the 26th Route Army , Sun Yi, who already had a certain class consciousness , participated in the Ningdu Uprising, embarked on the revolutionary road, and was received by Chairman Mao. This was the first time he had met Chairman Mao.
Third, the personality of the "sun beard".
General Sun Yi also has a beautiful name, "Sun Beard", which is because of the Gorky beard he has.
Among the generals of our army, there are several generals who always have beards, such as Marshal He Long and Admiral Li Kenong. They, as well as General Sun Yi's beard, were all retained by Chairman Mao's permission.
Marshal He Long (image)
Sun Yi's beard has been grown since 1925. At that time, he was a soldier in Feng Yuxiang's Northwest Army.
One day after joining the Red Army, Mr. Zhu saw Sun Yi and when he found that he had a beard, he asked him: We stipulate that Red Army soldiers cannot grow beards. Why do you keep it?
After Sun Yi listened, he said aloud without scruples: Once a person has an illness, the oil, water and muscles on his body will be reduced, but this beard, not only a lot, but also grows outward. Therefore, I think that this beard lecture qi, like the spirit of man, can not be shaved!
Sun Yi during the Red Army period (image)
Mr. Zhu laughed and did not force him to shave. When Chairman Mao learned of this, he felt that Sun Yi was a comrade with a very personal personality, so he made an exception and allowed Sun Yi to leave his "spirit of spirit."
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Sun Yi successively served as the commander of the 115th Division's teaching brigade, the chief of staff of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, the chief of staff of the Third Column of the Eighth Route Army, and the commander of the Third Military Sub-district of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region.
One day in the early spring of 1939, when Nie Rongzhen, commander of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, was studying with relevant personnel a plan to meet the Japanese Kou, sun Yi, then chief of staff, and Commander Nie Rongzhen had their own opinions and did not give in to each other for a certain operational deployment.
Nie Shuai and General Sun Yi (image)
When the fight was inextricable, Sun Yi, who was blushing and thick in neck, unexpectedly slapped the table for a while, which made Nie Shuai and other comrades very embarrassed for a while.
Fourth, a lieutenant general who is indifferent to fame and fortune.
1. Not moved by demotion. At the beginning of joining the Red Army, Sun Yi served as the chief of the espionage section of the headquarters of the Fourteenth Army of the Fifth Army of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. Later, he served as chief of staff of the 41st Division, chief of staff of the Central Military Commission, chief of the Operations Section of the Red Army School, chief of staff of the State Political Protection Bureau, and chief of staff of the Red First Army.
During the Long March, Li De, a military adviser of the Comintern to the Red Army, believed that Sun Yi, who was then the chief of staff of the Central Military Commission's instructor, came from the White Army and was not qualified to ride a horse.
Li De (stills)
After Sun Yi was told, he smiled disapprovingly and said, "Without four legs, I still have two legs!" Subsequently, Li De believed that Sun Yi could not be reused. As a result, Sun Yi was demoted to the position of chief of the operations section of the Red Army School. In the end, he was demoted to an ordinary teacher.
Although Sun Yi's post was demoted again and again, his revolutionary fighting spirit did not drop in the slightest!
2. Self-requested as a major general. Whether it was during the Red Army period, or during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation (he was the commander of the Jizhong Military Region), Sun Yi was always loyal to the party's revolutionary cause and made meritorious contributions to the liberation of the Chinese people.
After the founding of New China, he successively served as the principal of the Second Senior Infantry School, the deputy chief of staff of the North China Military Region, the deputy director of the Military Academy of the Central Military Commission, and the deputy director of the Military Training Department of the General Staff.
Sun Yi after the founding of the People's Republic of China (image)
In 1955, when our army was awarded the rank, some comrades made a fuss because of their fame and fortune and status, and even cried their noses for the sake of the rank. In response to this undesirable phenomenon, Chairman Mao said with a critical meaning afterwards: "Boys have tears and do not flick, only because they have not encountered the opportunity to rate." ”
At this time, General Sun Yi wrote to Chairman Mao: "I only have the hardships of hard work, but I lack the merits of achievements... It is enough to award me the rank of major general. I have not thrown myself into the revolution for the sake of elevating officials, but for the sake of being generous. The party and the people have given me a lot more than I have dedicated. ”
Later, Chairman Mao personally designated General Sun Yi as lieutenant general. This may be one of the reasons why Chairman Mao particularly appreciated and paid attention to General Sun Yi.
Main references: "Mao Zedong and his contemporaries", "Directory of Generals of the Chinese People's Liberation Army", "Following Mao Zedong Chronicle"