There were 1,048 generals in New China, of which only one was a female general, who was awarded the founding major general, and she was the first female general in New China, Li Zhen.
Li Zhen's fame spread at home and abroad, and her husband Gan Siqi was awarded the rank of founding general, and the couple was known as the "Two Stars of Shenzhou Husband and Wife".
As the first female general of New China, Li Zhen's prestige has long been known. The hardships of her growth are little known, and like many revolutionary predecessors who have endured hardships, she has experienced the bitterness of marriage and life in the old society in the military career where blood and fire blend.
Pictured| Major General Li Zhen
Li Zhen's life
In the first month of 1908, in Liuyang County (now Liuyang City), Hunan Province, Li Zhen was born in a poor peasant family. Parents think traditionally, preferring sons over daughters. The family always wanted a boy, and the mother had already given birth to 4 of them, all girls. Li Zhen is the fifth girl, and her family struggles to survive on two acres of land.
A few years later, the mother became pregnant again, and the father had great expectations of the fetus, hoping that it would be a boy. After giving birth, the mother disappointed her father and was still a girl. After Li Zhen's youngest sister was born, her father fell ill, and the family did not have money to see his father at that time, and he died within a few days.
At that time, social turmoil was turbulent, the people were not happy, the mother alone could not maintain the family's livelihood, orphans and widows were often clothed and hungry. When Li Zhen was 6 years old, her mother finally couldn't bear the pressure of life and decided to send some of her children away (in disguise). The mother said to Li Zhen with tears: "Child, I plan to send you to a good family, where you can eat and drink." They have never had a daughter in the family, they want an adopted daughter, the mother thinks you are very suitable, do you want to go? ”
Young Li Zhen, very sensible, nodded her head and agreed to her mother in order to reduce her burden.
The family that "adopted" Li Zhen was the local landlord's family, and the conditions in the local area were not bad. When Li Zhen came to the Gu family, she found that the family already had three daughters, and there was no shortage of daughters. Xiao Lizhen had doubts in her heart, she was not here to be an adopted daughter, what was she here for?
The eldest son of the Gu family laughed and told her the truth: "My family has a little brother, and you are my brother's mother-in-law." After Li Zhen knew that she had been deceived, she cried sadly. She didn't know if her mother had lied or if the family had lied to her. She never thought of being a child bride to someone else.
Li Zhen suffered a lot as a child bride in the old society
In that era, although it was for a rich family to be a child bride, it was not to be a young grandmother, and there was nothing to do to enjoy happiness, on the contrary, the child bride was a low-level maid. Everyone in the family can call her, and all the housework in the house is done by her.
Young Li Zhen, who has not yet fully developed, has to do adult work. The affairs of the landlord's family fell to her. Li Zhen took a basin of water larger than her to fetch water, but because she could not pick it up with little strength, she overturned it. When the landlord's mother-in-law saw it, she was beaten severely.
Li Zhen was forced to go up the mountain every day to cut firewood, and when she was young, she would not bundle firewood; it was difficult to tie the firewood firmly, and she could not pick it. After some delay outside, she went back very late and was beaten by the Gu family. After she came to the Gu family, she also had to take care of a girl who was a year older than herself.
"Miss Landlord" asked Li Zhen to carry her, but Li Zhen could not stand up and fell. When the landlord's mother-in-law found out, she beat Li Zhen badly and did not even give her food. At the age of six, Li Zhen became the family's nanny, taking care of all the household chores. Since coming to the Gu family, Li Zhen can't remember how many beatings she has been beaten, and she has lived a cautious and cautious life every day, even so, she will still be beaten.
Li Zhen hopes that someone can change her fate, and at first she puts her hopes on her husband, after all, she is his future daughter-in-law. The Gu family was a young master, and Li Zhen thought that although life was very difficult now, one day it would get better.
As the days passed, the ancient young master had grown up, but he was not as gentle and considerate as he imagined. The young master of the Gu family has a very violent personality, and he will beat people at every turn, as long as he does not follow him or he is unhappy, he will look for someone to vent. The person who often took care of him was Li Zhen, so Li Zhen became the object of abuse.
The landlord young master was called Gu Tianshun, moody, and did not regard Li Zhen as a relative at all. When he was angry, he would call Li Zhen over, grab her hair, hit her against the wall, and then hit her violently.
Li Zhen grew up, and when she reached the age of fifteen or sixteen, she was tortured on the way to growing up. Unwilling, Li Zhen decided to fight against fate, and she made an appointment with several child brides-in-law who usually played well, and secretly got together to discuss how to get rid of this living situation. Several girls with a bitter fate, after discussion, unanimously decided to escape together. They fled to the city, worked for others, and could still support themselves.
Li Zhen agreed with this idea and returned home to prepare for escape. Unexpectedly, it was still discovered by the Gu family, and Li Zhen went out with the baggage only a few hours, and the Gu family took someone to arrest Li Zhen back. In that era, people believed that child brides were the private property of the master's family. The life and death of the child bride is determined by the host's family, and even the local government will not care about this file.
Li Zhen was taken back to the Gu family, and they surrounded him with a beating, and Li Zhen was almost beaten to death. In recent years, there have been many incidents of child brides-in-law escaping, and the Gu family is very sensitive to Li Zhen's behavior. Even if the mother-in-law did not look at it one day, Li Zhen ran away, and they decided to advance the wedding date, thinking that they could trap Li Zhen with a child.
In the first month of 1924, the 16-year-old Li Zhen married her husband Gu Tianshun, who was 4 years older than herself, and this marriage that had been brewing for ten years did not bring happiness to Li Zhen, but pushed her to a deeper abyss. Gu Tianshun was straight, grumpy and irritable. He did not love this rough servant in the family as a wife. After they got married, life didn't go on sweetly.
Li Zhen was still the same as before, the work on her hands had not decreased, and the Gu family still scolded her. Once, Li Zhen went up the mountain to cut firewood as usual, and when she was about to go home, it rained heavily. She carried the firewood back home, soaking wet. The Gu family also just came back from the ground, and their whole body was also wet with heavy rain. No one collected the clothes they had put out, and li Zhen had not yet had time to wash the clothes they had changed.
The soaked mother-in-law scolded Li Zhen, and when it rained, she did not accept her clothes, and the clothes changed at home were not washed. Li Zhen explained: "I went up the mountain today to cut firewood, and I was not at home when it rained. Gu Tianshun saw that she dared to argue, grabbed the stick, and pulled Li Zhen to beat her.
Such torture is never-ending, and Li Zhen is very sad, and she is disappointed by this dark day. Dressed in wet clothes and with her hair scattered and disheartened, Li Zhen came to the river to prepare for the end of her life.
The old woman next door was also sold by the family to others as a child bride since she was a child, and the old woman felt empathy for Li Zhen's suffering, grabbed Li Zhen and said to her with tears: "Baby girl, as a woman, we are born to suffer!" You see me, half of my body is almost in the ground, every day I have to wash the whole family's clothes, cook rice, go up the mountain to cut firewood, and my husband scolds me. This is the life of a woman! We have to recognize. ”
Li Zhen hugged the old woman and cried loudly, if she lived her life like this, she was really very unwilling!
If there is no accident, the life of the old woman next door will be a mirror of Li Zhen's future. Maybe Li Zhen will be like the old woman, confess her fate, and be a subordinate who is scolded by her husband's in-laws.
Fortunately, history is not a backwater, and new ideas have been introduced to China. The undercurrent of revolution surged and Li Zhen's fate changed.
Li Zhenyi joined the revolution without hesitation
In 1926, revolutionaries turned from underground organizations to public activities, and revolutionary ideas poured into Hunan and spread widely in the countryside. Li Zhen, 18, heard the theory of new ideas and decided that she must save herself. In October of that year, the Northern Expeditionary Army came to Li Zhen's hometown to propagate revolutionary theory.
Li Zhen, who had been married for two years, threw away the axe, burden, and rope in his hand to cut firewood, and ran all the way to the Communist Party and threw himself into the torrent of revolution. Li Zhen had a genius in organizing, and she led some women in the city to join the revolutionary struggle. Together, they carried out propaganda and made shoes for the soldiers. Li Zhen's work performance is very outstanding, and it has been affirmed by the organization. In the winter of the same year, she was elected as a member of the Women's Federation of Liuyang District.
In March 1927, Li Zhen officially became a communist. The timid and fearful Gu family, fearing that Li Zhengan's revolution would affect their family, hurriedly sent a letter of resignation to Li Zhen's mother's house. After Li Zhen heard about it, she was relieved that she was lucky that she could finally truly embrace her life.
Immediately afterward, Chiang Kai-shek launched a counter-revolutionary coup d'état to capture the Communists, and the revolution was blocked, and the whole country was shrouded in white terror. Our Party decided to launch an armed uprising, and in this vigorous armed movement, although Li Zhen was a female stream, she did not let her eyebrows be raised, and she was not afraid of the enemy's bullet cannons, and she went into battle with guns.
In October of the same year, the troops of the uprising in the Liuyang area were blocked, and the Kuomintang reactionaries pursued them and scattered the rebel army. The situation was critical, and the entire rebel army was in danger of being wiped out. In order to reduce casualties, the workers' and peasants' armed forces in Liuyang decided to retreat to the countryside and pull the front into the mountains and forests to engage in guerrilla warfare with the enemy.
In May 1928, an accident occurred, and Zhang Qilong, an important leader of our Party in Liuyang County, was arrested by the Kuomintang in an operation. The guerrilla leader Wang Shoudao held an emergency meeting to discuss plans to rescue Zhang Qilong. If you want to rescue Zhang Qilong, there is no way but to rob the prison.
At that time, the Communists were shortly armed in the uprising, weapons were in short supply, and the city was guarded by Kuomintang people, so it was not easy to bring guns in. Wang Shoudao had a sudden idea that he could pretend to be married, hide his weapons in the palanquin, and follow the palanquin into the city. Killing two birds with one stone, not only did the weapons come in, but the people who robbed the prison were also in place.
Carrying out this arduous task requires a bold, careful, brave female comrade, and only Li Zhen is suitable in the whole team. Wang Shoudao told Li Zhen of the plan, and she said firmly: "This method is very good, killing two birds with one stone." I am willing to pretend to be a bride and save Comrade Zhang Qilong. ”
Li Zhen was dressed in a big red wedding dress and sat in the bridal palanquin, and the team blew and beat all the way. In the dowry box of the relatives, there were more than a dozen guns, more than twenty grenades, and several boxes of bullets. They came all the way to the city gate, and the Kuomintang soldiers who were guarding the city stopped the line and said they wanted to check.
Wang Shoudao, who was headed by his relatives, took out the candy and tobacco and wine that had been prepared long ago, and distributed them to the soldiers guarding the city, saying that they were full of joy. The guards of the city held candy and tobacco and alcohol, and they were all happy to say that today was a good day, and they did not carefully check and sent the pro-team into the city.
Wang Shoudao led his comrades to a stronghold in the city, distributed weapons, re-aligned the maps prepared in advance, and assigned tasks. They came to the regimental defense bureau where Zhang Qilong was imprisoned, a shot was fired, a guard fell down in response, the regimental defense bureau had not experienced such a gunfight, they were like birds of fright, frightened and fled.
Li Zhen carried bullets and grenades on her back, following behind the team, and sent them to whoever needed them. Comrades outside the city heard the gunshots in the city and pretended to attack from outside, dragging the armed forces guarding the city. The armed forces in the city also thought that the Red Army was going to attack the county town, and they all rushed to the city gate.
This move screamed east and west, and Zhang Qilong was successfully rescued.
Li Zhen's second marriage
When Li Zhen joined the revolution, she met Zhang Qilong, secretary of the Liuyang District PARTY Committee. Once, Li Zhen's mother was seriously ill and there was no money at home for medical treatment, and Li Zhen was anxious about this. After Zhang Qilong knew, he did not hesitate to take out his own living allowance and asked his comrades to send them to Li Zhen's home. Li Zhen's mother turned the crisis into safety, and soon became ill and did not end up with the same end as her father.
Li Zhen was very grateful to Zhang Qilong and also felt the warmth of the big family of revolution. As the revolution was blocked, Zhang Qilong's family was persecuted by the reactionaries, and many relatives in the family were brutally killed. In 1930, Zhang Qilong's wife and daughter were also killed.
Zhang Qilong is experiencing unprecedented pain, Li Zhen in order to repay Zhang Qilong's love, began to take care of his life, when he was sad and never wanted to eat, brought him food, reminded him to pay attention to the body; the beaten Zhang Qilong's rhythm of life was also disrupted, did not have the heart to shave, wash clothes, and immerse himself in sadness all day. Li Zhen consciously came to clean up for him, helped him wash his clothes, dry the quilt, and made a pair of shoes under his bed.
Gradually, Zhang Qilong spoke out all the grief in his heart. On that day, he burst into tears and expressed his hatred for the Kuomintang reactionaries, and some of their dead relatives were still children!
Pictured| photograph of Zhang Qilong in his later years
Zhang Qilong and Li Zhen cherished each other on the revolutionary road, and unconsciously the friendship of the revolution sublimated into precious love. They supported and cared for each other in the arduous revolutionary road. In 1932, the two men cultivated the right fruit and tied the knot.
The good times were not long, the two were not married for a long time, Zhang Qilong was persecuted by Liu Shijie, resulting in Zhang Qilong becoming a "class dissident" and being imprisoned, Zhang Qilong did not want to involve his wife, and filed for divorce in prison. Li Zhen received a divorce application from her husband at home, resolutely refused, and requested to withdraw, but was rejected. A pair of sympathetic revolutionary partners were thus broken up.
Chen Chunying became a popular bride to connect Li Zhen with Gan Siqi
After the divorce, Li Zhen devoted all her energy and time to the revolution and devoted herself to the revolutionary cause. In 1932, Li Zhen was then the political commissar of the Red Army Women's League in the Xianggan Border Region, fighting against the Kuomintang reactionaries. In her revolutionary career of several years, Li Zhen has always been alone.
Chen Chunying saw that she was a woman, she had not yet started a family, her life was always unfinished, she was more optimistic about her and Gan Siqi, and wanted to match them together. At that time, Gan Siqi was Li Zhen's superior, and the two of them often discussed things in the revolution together and had a lot of contact. The man is not married, the woman is not married, and it is really a good marriage.
When Chen Chunying was chatting with Gan Siqi, he deliberately asked him about his impression of Li Zhen. Gan Siqi generously admitted that she was interested in Li Zhen, saying that she was a rare strange woman, admired her style of doing things, and liked her kindness. After Chen Chunying knew Gan Siqi's thoughts, he was overjoyed and patted his chest to ensure that he would definitely be able to say that this family affair would be able to be said.
Chen Chunying introduced Gan Siqi to Li Zhen, and when Li Zhen heard that she was his boss, she shook her head and said, "Thank you very much for caring about my life, but Gan Siqi is my superior, and I am a child bride with no culture." One heaven and one underground, there will be no intersection in the soul. ”
Chen Chunying smiled and said, "You can rest assured of this, people say that they appreciate you very much, that is, they like you as a hot and kind person." You haven't read a book, just so he can teach you culture! When Li Zhen heard this, she felt embarrassed instantly.
Picture | Gan Siqi
Chen Chunying laughed loudly, these two people have a play, Lang has feelings, and the concubines are intentional.
In 1935, Li Zhen and Gan Siqi were officially married. Ren Bishi officiated for them at the wedding, when the camp was very lively, and He Long also came to attend the wedding.
On November 19 of the same year, the Red 2nd and 6th Armies began the Long March, and Li Zhen and Gan Siqi were among them, and Li Zhen was pregnant at that time. In the course of the Long March, they took care of each other. But the conditions were too harsh, Li Zhen was born prematurely, due to the fatigue of the journey, there was no nutritional supplement, the child died in the Long March.
When Li Zhen gave birth to a child, the medical conditions were relatively simple, and the frequent and fierce battles made her fall ill and never give birth to a child.
In 1937, the national War of Resistance broke out, and the two parties of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party jointly resisted Japan. In order to unite the vast number of Chinese women in the War of Resistance, Chairman Mao founded a women's cadre school in Yan'an, and transferred Li Zhen, director of the political office of the 120th Division, to serve as the principal of the Eighth Route Army Women's School. Under the leadership of Li Zhen, the school established a new teaching model and trained many outstanding women cadres for the anti-Japanese battlefield.
Shortly after the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Chiang Kai-shek tore up the peace treaty and raised troops to attack the Liberated Areas, and the People's Liberation Army was forced to face the battle. Li Zhen did not let his eyebrows be raised, and put on a cloak to follow the First Field Army in the Eastern Expedition to the West. After the founding of New China, he marched on a prancing horse and followed the People's Volunteer Army to fight in Korea.
After the war, return home. In 1955, Li Zhen was awarded the title of founding major general.
The founding female major general went home to visit her relatives, and when her vicious ex-husband learned of his identity, he was terrified and trembled
In the winter of 1955, Li Zhen, who had spent half his life fighting for the revolution, returned to his hometown with his husband, Gan Siqi, to visit his family. The villagers in their hometown have long heard that there is a founding female major general in the village, and they have come to the village entrance one after another to witness the style of the founding female major general in their hearts. Li Zhen's ex-husband also squeezed in, and after seeing Li Zhen's face, he was shocked and quickly drilled into the back.
Pictured| Gan Siqi and Li Zhen
Gu Tianshun staggered all the way home and shouted, "It's over!" He never imagined that the wife of the child daughter-in-law, who had been abused by himself, had become the founding female major general of New China. Gu Tianshun thought that now he was a civilian, and if Li Zhen wanted to take revenge, the family would not know how to die.
In the past few days when Li Zhen returned to his hometown to visit his relatives, his ex-husband's family did not dare to go out at will, for fear of meeting the two founding generals. Gu Tianshun originally thought that he was doomed, and imagined in his mind countless times the picture of Li Zhen bringing people to kill him. As the days passed, Gu Tianshun found that no one had come to look for trouble. Instead, it was Li Zhen who entrusted the person with a sentence to the Gu family: "I have put everything down, the old era has passed, now it is New China, and our Chinese history is progressing." ”
After Gu Tianshun's family listened, the hanging heart finally let go.
The relics of the founding major general touched the world
Li Zhen and her husband Gan Siqi have not given birth in their lives, they raised more than 20 martyrs' orphans, Li Zhen dedicated her selfless maternal love to the children, and she and her husband gave the children a warm home. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, when Chen Xiyun, director of the Logistics Department of the 120th Division, was dying of his life, he was nagging that he could not let go of his young children at home, and Li Zhen burst into tears and promised him: "You can rest assured of your illness, and the people in your family, we old comrades-in-arms will take care of them as our own relatives." ”
Then she took Chen Xiyun's child to her home and took care of it herself. Later, in countless battles, Li Zhen gathered the descendants of the martyrs at home and raised them personally. Li Zhen's salary is not very high, but her living expenses are not small, and she has to support more than 20 children in the family to live and study.
Li Zhen's family will set up two or three tables of meals every time they eat, and the family will be happy and harmonious. As soon as there is time, a large family will go to the movies and take a walk, which is very warm. The children are growing up healthy and safe, and most of them have become talents through their own efforts.
On March 11, 1990, Li Zhen died of illness at the age of 83. When people sorted out her relics, they found that the female general who had participated in the revolution for 64 years was basically destitute except for a number of golden and shining merit medals. The only relics are: 4 old rattan chairs that have been used for 15 years; a marching box that has been used for 40 years; and a "snowflake" brand refrigerator that has not been replaced in 14 years.
General Li Zhen also had 11,000 yuan, 2,500 yuan of treasury bills and two small gold bars, which she confessed in her will: two gold bars were donated to her hometown of Liuyang County and her husband Gan Siqi's hometown of Ningxiang County; for the deposit, part of it was donated to the Beijing Children's Palace, and the other part was handed over to the organization as her own party fee