Mention the founding general Chen Xilian, presumably everyone is not unfamiliar, he is a Hubei Hong'an people, a family of 6 people only 2 acres of thin land, the annual harvest is less than 200 pounds of grain, can not maintain their livelihood at all. Fortunately, his father was a well-known stonemason, and he could earn some money by doing work for people in addition to farming, barely able to maintain the family's food and clothing. Unfortunately, when Chen Xilian was three years old, his father died of illness, losing his top pillar, and the family life was suddenly in trouble.
At that time, Chen Xilian had two older sisters above, a younger brother below, and the dressing and eating of 4 children, all relying on their mothers to spin and weave fabrics day and night, and life was quite difficult. In the blink of an eye, when it was time to study, the children of rich families went to school, but Chen Xilian could only go to the landlord's house to herd cattle. Every day, I came out early and returned late, ate leftovers, and lived in a cowshed that was ventilated on all sides. After working for a few years, Chen Xilian really couldn't stay any longer, so he ran out of the landlord's house, but he didn't dare to go home, afraid of being reprimanded by his mother, so he had to walk around in the woods on the hill in front of his house.
The neighbor who went up the mountain to cut firewood saw Chen Xilian and told his mother. Chen Xilian's mother hurried up the mountain to find it, shouting while looking for it, but Chen Xilian hid in the woods and did not dare to come out. Later, I heard my mother shouting urgently, and then I cried out. After the mother and son met, they hugged their heads and cried, and the mother said, "Go back with your mother, that is, eat leaves at home, and don't go to herd cattle." After returning home, Chen Xilian began to help his mother farm and do housework.
In the summer of 1929, the Red Army came to Hong'an, beat up local tycoons and divided up the fields, and the lives of the poor people soon improved, and Chen Xilian's family was also allocated several acres of good land. In order to defend the fruits of victory, many young and middle-aged people joined the army, and the 14-year-old Chen Xilian also became a member of the Red Army. Don't look at his young age, he fought but was particularly brave, and the battalion commander affectionately gave him a nickname: Small Steel Cannon. Later, Chen Xilian participated in battles such as the anti-three-way siege and the anti-six-way siege, and was promoted to the commander of the Red 10th Division with his military merits, when he was only 20 years old.
One day in July 1935, the superior sent a commander to Chen Xilian's traffic team, and he was Li Desheng. A native of Xinxian County, Henan Province, Li Desheng joined the revolution earlier than Chen Xilian, became the leader of the Children's Regiment at the age of 12, and officially joined the Red Army two years later. In mid-February 1933, Tian Songyao mobilized 38 regiments of troops to besiege the Sichuan-Shaanxi Su district, and the enemy and we launched a fierce battle in the area of Bamiaoya. As usual, Li Desheng took the lead in charging at the enemy.
The front row is Li Desheng
During the fierce battle, an enemy bullet shot through his left front shoulder blade and penetrated between the seventh and eighth ribs of his back, almost injuring his heart. At that time, the conditions of the Red Army were very bitter, there was a lack of medical treatment and medicine, and Li Desheng was so seriously injured, but he could only rely on internal anti-inflammatory drugs for treatment. Because of the nerve injury and the lack of specific medicine, his left hand was left with a disability and he was unable to straighten and clench. Six months later, Li Desheng returned to the 12th Division and was soon promoted to secretary of the division's traffic brigade branch. After Maogong joined the division, he was suppressed by Zhang Guotao for opposing the southward movement, and was demoted to the position of commander of the chuanling soldiers.
Chen Xilian expressed deep sympathy for Li Desheng after learning the reasons for his demotion, and he himself had a similar experience. It was October 1930, when the Red Army had conquered Guangshan County, and Chen Xilian met his old squad leader, Sun Yuqing, on the street. At this time, Sun Yuqing had already become a company commander, and he said to Chen Xilian: "I still have a few copper plates, and I will invite you to eat something tomorrow morning." The next morning, Chen Xilian called a few comrades-in-arms, and Sun Yuqing paid for it and bought a few fritters and a bowl of duck blood soup on the street, and everyone tasted it.
Unexpectedly, this matter was reflected, and Zhang Guotao gave Chen Xilian a hat of "Eating and Drinking Committee" and sent someone to arrest him and shoot him. This matter was just discovered by Xu Xiangqian, and he became angry on the spot: "A few small children, poor in the family, ran out to join the revolution. Hungry, let's eat something together, what 'eat and drink committee'! Grab it, let it go! If you don't catch it, don't catch it! For Xu Xiangqian's life-saving grace, Chen Xilian will remember it for life.
Now that Li Desheng has also been demoted because of Zhang Guotao, Chen Xilian is very sympathetic to him and encourages him to put down his baggage and move forward lightly. During the conversation, Chen Xilian found that Li Desheng was very talented in commanding operations, so he often taught him some combat experience and combat skills, and Li Desheng benefited a lot from it. Soon after the Outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Chen Xilian became the commander of the 769th Regiment of the 385th Brigade of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army, and Li Desheng served as the commander of the regimental special agent company.
Under the leadership of Chen Xilian, Li Desheng successively participated in the night attack on Yangmingbao, The Shifu Xiangtangpu, and the Lion Brain Mountain of the Soldiers, and made many military achievements, and his personal position was also continuously promoted. After the establishment of the Second Military Subdistrict of the Taihang Military Region, Li Desheng served as the commander of the 30th Regiment. In January 1945, Li Desheng took the initiative to ask for help and led his troops to attack the Japanese Mafang stronghold. At that time, the firepower of the 30 regiments was weak, and it was difficult to attack strongly. Li Desheng personally disguised himself into the Japanese military stronghold to reconnoiter, and then led 82 commandos to destroy the stronghold in one fell swoop and completely annihilate the enemy, which is also known as the typical annihilation battle of our army during the War of Resistance.
After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Chen Xilian and Li Desheng participated in the War of Liberation and followed Erye in the Southern Expedition to the North, making many military achievements. In the spring of 1949, Li Desheng was promoted to commander of the 35th Division of the 12th Army of the 3rd Corps of the Erye Corps, and the commander of the corps was his old superior, Chen Xilian. After the founding of New China, Chen Xilian successively served as commander of the Shenyang Military Region and commander of the Beijing Military Region, and was elected as a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee at the Tenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China held in 1973, with the rank of vice state. Such achievements will be regarded as very high in the founding of the country.
Unexpectedly, his former old subordinate Li Desheng was even more powerful, and at this meeting, he was elected as a member of the Politburo Standing Committee (at the level of zhengguo), and he was one head higher than Chen Xilian in his personal position. Although he surpassed the old leader in status, Li Desheng still had great respect for Chen Xilian, and every holiday, he had to personally visit his home, and sometimes he couldn't leave, so he personally called to greet him. Such a deep sense of comradeship is really touching.