Xu Xiangqian is a very famous marshal in the history of our military, and what makes us most impressed is that he has never become extravagant and high-profile because of his countless military achievements, he has always been very frugal in life, and even discussed with his subordinates whether to buy a coat.
This general can obviously live a luxurious life, but why is he so frugal in his life? Many people are very curious about this, and he has 3 last wishes before his death, hoping that others can help him realize them, but the central government says that except for the last one, what are his three last wishes?
First, Xu Xiangqian, who made heroic contributions
Xu Xiangqian and Yan Xishan's hometown are very close, the two people usually communicate with each other, and Xu Xiangqian once studied at the school founded by Yan Xishan. When Xu Xiangqian led his army to fight Chiang Kai-shek's army back and forth, Yan Xishan said very happily: This man is very good. Hopefully, I'll have a chance to talk to him.
In 1948, Xu Xiangqian was seriously ill, but he still led the soldiers in the war on the front line. During a battle, Yan Xishan knew that his army could no longer resist the people's army, so he chose to board a plane to Nanjing. After Yan Xishan boarded the plane, Xu Xiangqian led his troops to liberate nanjing, Taiyuan and all of Shanxi.
After Xu Qianqian liberated Taiyuan, there were many difficult problems, first of all, those rural people in the countryside, they did not expect that such a powerful official could appear around them, and immediately left some things to Xu Qianqian, hoping that he could help himself. Some of these people who hope that Xu Xiangqian will help themselves are even those who Xu Xiangqian has never met, or who only has one side.
Of course, there are also those who are relatively close to each other, for these, Xu Xiangqian is still kind enough to persuade them to do farm work at home with peace of mind, and the central government will introduce corresponding policies in the future. Therefore, I hope that they can let the children study hard and will be able to achieve something in the future.
However, Xu Xiangqian's persuasion was not approved by the people in the same village. These people think that Xu Xiangqian is a desperate person, but their thoughts cannot influence Xu Xiangqian's behavior, and what makes Xu Xiangqian feel guilty the most is his two sisters.
The sister went to the war to entrust the child to herself, but the battlefield was cruel after all, and his two nephews died on the battlefield. After this incident occurred, Xu Xiangqian did not dare to face his two sisters again.
But they could not hide from the first day of the first year, they could not hide from the fifteenth, the two sisters were getting older, their bodies were very weak, they could not do farm work for a long time, and their sons also died in the war, and they had no one to rely on, so the two sisters found him, hoping that Xu Xiangqian could give them some help.
Second, Xu Xiangqian, who is diligent and thrifty
When Xu Xiangqian learned of the purpose of his sisters coming to see him, he said with some embarrassment that he was just a poor commander, that everything was for the party and the people, and could not be for himself, and that the sisters could only eat what they ate in the past few days, and that he had nothing to provide them, because the things they used were all the state.
The two sisters didn't say anything when they heard this, and they never went to Xu Xiangqian for help since then.
Xu Xiangqian is even more simple to himself in his daily life, and the box containing documents in his home has always been one and has never been changed. Someone wanted to pay for him to change it, but Xu Xiangqian refused, saying that the box could still be used and did not need to be replaced.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, China's material life has been greatly improved, but Xu Xiangqian still lives a frugal life as before. Once he took a delegation to Moscow to discuss the purchase of weapons, and at first they went to Moscow in the summer, but because of the slow progress, they stayed in Moscow for more than 4 months.
The latitude of Moscow is far north, so the weather is getting colder, and the person in charge of managing life at that time asked Xu Xiangqian for instructions, hoping to ask for some funds to make a winter suit for everyone. The cost of making clothes is actually not large, but Xu Xiangqian still did not agree, he believes that the cost of the state's purchase of weapons this time is already very large, how can it still use the money in this insignificant place.
Xu Xiangqian asked the messengers who came to Moscow to bring some winter clothes, and some people did not understand him very much, thinking that a coat did not have much money, so why did they have to let others bring it back from China? Xu Xiangqian said: There are coats at home, why buy them here? It's still so expensive here, we're here to buy weapons, not to buy these clothes. Everyone listened to Xu Xiangqian's words and felt that it was very reasonable.
In 1956, Xu Xiangqian received a carpet given to him by a friend, and the children were very happy to see this carpet. But when they were happy, Xu Xiangqian frowned and said to the secretary: This carpet should be very expensive, how much does it cost? The secretary shook his head and did not speak.
On the second day, Xu Xiangqian asked the secretary to take his new carpet from his home to the guest house, and the secretary said: You don't have to worry about this, they will buy it themselves. As a result, Xu Xiangqian said: Not expensive is also money, now our country is not rich, every penny must be spent on construction, this new carpet is certainly not cheap, send my piece over.
In the 1980s. Xu Xiangqian because of years of fighting on the battlefield, his body has also been sick, in 1990, Xu Xiangqian was sent to the hospital because of his own lung disease, he has been staring at the house where he has lived for so many years before being sent to the hospital.
Xu Xiangqian fell into a coma after being sent to the hospital, his waking time was very small, Xu Xiangqian knew in his heart that his illness would not last long, so he called his son to his hospital bed and prepared to explain his last wishes to him. He said to his son: We must remember these three last wishes, 1: do not hold a farewell party for the body; 2: do not hold a memorial service; 3: Do not keep the ashes, scatter your ashes in Dabie Mountain, Daba Mountain, Taihang Mountain, hexi Corridor.
Soon after Xu Xiangqian died of illness in the hospital, Xu Xiangqian's son explained his father's last wish to the leader, and the leader said after listening: Except for the last one. This old general set a good example for the people of the world of bravery, good fighting, but also thriftiness and thrift, and if he was not given a memorial service, the country would not agree, and the people would not agree.
Finally, in order to respect Xu Xiangqian's last wishes, he changed his memorial service to a farewell party, and then scattered his ashes to the places where he had been worried about.