Albert Einstein once said: "A person's value should be based on what he contributes, not on what he achieves." When people live in the world, we all hope that we can achieve a high social status, accumulate a lot of wealth, and have a happy and happy life. But even if we exhaust our lives and really find these, will the meaning and value of our lives be satisfied?
As Albert Einstein once said, "Only by devoting oneself to society can one find the meaning of life that is actually short and risky." Maybe we might be living a life of abundance right now. But this kind of thing, which has no value to society, will not be washed away in the torrent of history for many years.
What is truly valuable and meaningful is the contribution we make to the world. When you think of Van Gogh, what comes to mind? Whether it's Van Gogh's Starry Night, or Van Gogh's self-portrait, or Van Gogh's sunflower. The first thing that comes to mind will not be Van Gogh's wealth during his lifetime. In fact, Van Gogh had nothing in his lifetime, and was so poor that he clanged.
What do you think of Jobs? Is it "Do you want to spend your life selling sugar water, or do you want a chance to change the world?" "Or the iPhone that subverts humanity's understanding of mobile phones?" Nor would you have thought that Jobs's personal assets would be in the top two hundred of the Forbes list.
Zhan Caifang fully realized this. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Zhan Caifang, who was highly qualified, was only awarded the rank of lieutenant general. Many people are indignant for Zhan Caifang. But Zhan Caifang said: "I did not revolution for the sake of military ranks, I remembered how many comrades I lost in those years, and what merits they gained?" What rank? ”
Embark on the revolution
On September 12, 1907, the 33rd year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty, Zhan Caifang was born in a farming family in Huang'an County, Hubei Province. As Chairman Mao once said: "Now there are also two big mountains that weigh down on the heads of the Chinese people, one called imperialism and the other called feudalism. The Chinese Communist Party has long been determined to dig up these two mountains. ”
At that time, the mountain of feudalism was firmly pressed on the Zhan Caifang family. Due to the hard work every day, Zhan Caifang's mother has been plagued by illness. But because the family was very poor, there was no money to treat his mother. Finally, when Zhan Caifang was 7 years old, her mother, who was only in her 40s, died of illness.
The departure of her mother made life even more difficult for this dilapidated family. Life still has to go on, Zhan Caifang's family has been eating the last meal without eating. When Zhan Caifang was 12 years old, because he was too hungry, Zhan Caifang's father and second sister ate wild vegetables to fill their hunger. Unfortunately, wild vegetables were poisonous, and Zhan Caifang's father and second sister were all killed.
Fortunately, Zhan Caifang's eldest sister is already married, and her life is relatively stable. Zhan Caifang was taken to her eldest sister's house. As Haidi Zhang once said, "Even if you fall a hundred times, you must stand up a hundred and one times." Although Zhan Caifang's life has encountered various misfortunes, Zhan Caifang has also been living positively and optimistically.
In the eldest sister's home, due to the careful care of the eldest sister and brother-in-law, Zhan Caifang was well taken care of and also had some time to study. Plato once said, "Knowledge is the food of the spirit." Through reading books, Zhan Caifang accumulated a lot of knowledge, which also laid a good foundation for his subsequent path.
Zhan Caifang, who is getting older, decides to go to the outside world. Under the arrangement of Zhan Caifang's brother-in-law, Zhan Caifang was able to get to know Mr. Dong Biwu and work as a school worker at the Wuhan Middle School founded by Dong Biwu at that time, and began to come into contact with some progressive ideas.
It was also in this year that Zhan Caifang joined the Chinese Socialist Youth League. The following year, Zhan Caifang returned to his hometown to join the peasant movement.
After that, Zhan Caifang went through the period of agrarian revolution, the period of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the period of the War of Liberation. On the battlefield, Zhan Caifang had courage and strategy and made outstanding military achievements. He participated in the jute uprising, leading a commando force of more than thirty people, destroying the Kuomintang Huang'an County government and capturing a large amount of supplies.
In 1932, Zhan Caifang also commanded 30 regiments to participate in the Battle of Sujiabu. In full cooperation with other armies, Zhan Caifang annihilated more than 30,000 Kuomintang troops in one fell swoop and won a great victory in the history of the Red Army's battles. During the Liberation War, Zhan Caifang also led the People's Liberation Army to liberate a number of county towns and annihilate a large number of Kuomintang troops.
Unfortunately, although Zhan Caifang had made great military achievements, at the awarding ceremony, Zhan Caifang was only awarded the rank of lieutenant general, which was lower than many people promoted by Zhan Caifang. The reasons for this result are not unrelated to the objective facts such as the restructuring of the troops at that time and Zhan Caifang's position in the army. But the specific reason, we do not know.
The Grace of Knowing
General Chen Xilian embarked on the revolutionary road at the very beginning under the attraction of Zhan Caifang, and later received great help from Zhan Caifang. Chen Xilian was born on January 4, 1915 in Pengjia Village, Gaoqiao Town, Hong'an, Hubei Province. Although Chen Xilian's family conditions are better than Zhan Caifang's, they are all poor people.
Zhan Caifang once hid in the rice jar in Chen Xilian's home while hiding from the Japanese army. Marx once said: "Life is like the ocean, only the strong-willed can reach the other shore." In the face of repeated questioning by the Japanese army, Chen Xilian's mother did not reveal the whereabouts of Zhan Caifang. Gradually, Chen Xilian's home became a secret contact point for Zhan Caifang.
Fu Xuan of the Jin Dynasty wrote in "Prince Shao Fu Zhen": "Therefore, those who are close to Zhu are red, and those who are close to ink are black; the sound and harmony are clear, and the shape is straight." After a long period of being exaggerated by the atmosphere of the Red Revolution, Chen Xilian soon had the desire to join the Red Army. But Chen Xilian's age was too young, and Zhan Caifang had never promised him.
Until one time, when Chen Xilian was herding cattle for the landlord's family, he lay on the ground rolling on the ground due to eating a bad stomach. However, after being seen by the landlord's son, he thought that Chen Xilian was lazy and did not work, so he took up the whip and beat Chen Xilian severely.
Chen Xilian, who had been wronged, had nowhere to cry. At this time, Chen Xi thought of Zhan Caifang. Chen Xilian ran several kilometers to find Zhan Caifang. Seeing this bitter child in front of him, Zhan Caifang couldn't bear to refuse, so he said that he would wait until next year to pick him up and join the army.
In April 1929, Zhan Caifang, who was elected as the commander of the Eighth Brigade of the Seventh Army of the Red Army, came to fulfill his promise and accepted Chen Xilian as the army. Since then, Chen Xilian has officially entered his military life.
Zhan Caifang also treated Chen Xilian like his younger brother on weekdays. Later, with the continuous help and promotion of Zhan Caifang, Chen Xilian also went farther and farther down the road of revolution. He was awarded the rank of admiral at a later ceremony.
Cherish talent
Hu Yan once said: "Those who rule the world are talented, and those who become talented in the world are educated." "Talent is very important for all aspects of a country's development and military governance. Zhan Caifang knew this truth deeply. During Zhan Caifang's life, he helped promote many famous generals and helped them to various degrees.
During the Red Army's Long March through the meadows, Zhan Caifang saw several soldiers carrying a sick number, ready to carry it to another place. Zhan Caifang immediately stopped them, and said: "Still so young, it looks like he has a good physique, don't throw him here, in the future he will be a good hand carrying a machine gun when he is well, give him the horse's tail, let him pull it, watch him create, resign himself to fate!" “
This man later managed to survive with tenacious perseverance. He was Admiral You Taizhong. In addition, there are many people who have more or less received the help of Zhan Caifang. Wang Jinshan, the guard next to Zhan Caifang, also gradually became a famous general with his help.
As people often say: "Draught does not forget the person who digs the well". After the award ceremony, the three admirals, Xu Shiyou, Chen Xilian, and Hong Xuezhi, went to Zhan Caifang's side and saluted Zhan Caifang. Looking at all this, Zhan Caifang's eyes were already completely red.
brief summary:
Shakespeare once said: "In the turmoil of fate, it is easiest to see a person's integrity." Life can't always go according to our expectations, what matters is how we adjust our mindset, recognize our shortcomings and continue to improve in the process. In this way, we can dominate our own lives, rather than let life dominate us!