The founding general Xu Shiyou fought for 60 years, and successively fought against warlords, the Kuomintang, the puppet army, the Japanese army, the American army and the Vietnamese army. Even at the age of 74, he still wore a battle uniform and led his troops to the battlefield.
How high is Xu Shiyou's status? After the founding of the People's Republic of China, what important positions did Xu Shiyou hold? Xu Shiyou died of illness, and Comrade Deng Xiaoping said seven "special" in a row, what happened?
The position is very high, and the relationship is very hard
Xu Shiyou was born in poverty and didn't read much, but he was martial, jealous and hateful all his life, his personality was like fire, he was unruly, he had a heroic temperament, and he was a great revolutionary.
On the battlefield, Xu Shiyou was known for his bravery. During the Red Army, he charged with a broadsword, and even if he became the commander of the regiment, he still took the lead and killed countless enemies; In the face of any danger, he was not afraid and dared to face the sea of swords and fires.
Mao Zedong often said that Xu Shiyou made half of the sky popular in Shandong.
As early as the Anti-Japanese War, Xu Shiyou made outstanding contributions to the liberation of Jiaodong. In September 1940, Mao Zedong personally appointed Xu Shiyou as the commander of the 3rd Brigade of the Shandong Column of the Eighth Route Army, and led his troops to advance into the Jiaodong area of Shandong.
At that time, there was a huge disparity between the forces of the enemy and us, and the anti-Japanese forces of our army in Jiaodong were divided into several pieces and were almost expelled from Jiaodong. At the mobilization meeting of the anti-surrender campaign, Xu Shiyou said categorically: "I came to Jiaodong to fight, I won't come to peace, I won't come to peace." ”
Xu Shiyou really lived up to Mao Zedong's expectations, and from the spring of 1941 to August 1945, for more than four years, he fought bloodily against the Japanese puppet army. In the first battle of Ashan, the unfavorable situation of our army in Jiaodong was reversed.
Subsequently, he conquered Haiyang, fought Yushan, and trapped Fa City, eliminated twenty or thirty puppet army forces led by Zhao Baoyuan, and smashed many large-scale "sweeping" and "encroachment" operations of the Japanese puppet army.
By 1945, the Jiaodong base area and the Luzhong base area were connected, and the whole of Shandong became the world of the Eighth Route Army. The base areas of the Eighth Route Army generally spanned several provinces, but only the Shandong base area completely controlled one province.
Xu Shiyou successively participated in major battles such as the Battle of Laiwu, the Battle of Menglianggu, and the Battle of Jiaodong. Mao Zedong once said: "Chen Yi beat Meng Lianggu, listened to Su Yu in the south, and listened to Xu Shiyou in the north." ”
In the War of Liberation, the Shandong battlefield annihilated a total of 300,000 enemy troops with the strength of three columns, and successfully recovered and re-established the Shandong strategic base area, creating a miracle in the history of our army's war in which the weak defeated the strong.
During the revolutionary war that lasted for more than 20 years, Xu Shiyou fought in the south and the north, made outstanding achievements, and made indelible historical contributions to the victory of the new democratic revolution and the liberation of the Chinese people.
Chairman Mao and Liu Huaqing once said that Xu Shiyou, as the commander of an army, still dared to personally lead the death squad to charge, which is unique in Chinese history.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Xu Shiyou mainly served as commander of the Shandong Military Region, commander of the Nanjing Military Region, commander of the Guangzhou Military Region, deputy chief of general staff of the People's Liberation Army, and vice minister of national defense. Among them, the most famous is that he made history by serving as the commander of the Nanjing Military Region for 18 years.
In addition to these positions, Xu Shiyou was also elected as a member of the Standing Committee of the Central Military Commission, a member of the National Defense Commission, a member of the Central Committee, and a member of the Politburo.
Among Xu Shiyou's subordinates, there are at least 7 founding generals, 36 founding lieutenant generals, and 65 founding major generals, a total of 108 founding generals, which is only an incomplete statistics. This status is enough to be comparable to that of a general.
It is also worth mentioning that when Xu Shiyou was the commander of the Jiaodong Military Region, there were two little soldiers in the military region, although their status was not high when they were awarded the title in 1955, but later they made great achievements, even surpassing Xu Shiyou's status.
These two little soldiers were Zhang Wannian and Chi Haotian, who joined the army in 1944 and 1945 respectively at the age of 16. However, they all later became vice chairmen of the Central Military Commission, an achievement that even Xu Shiyou did not achieve.
In the eyes of many people, Xu Shiyou, who has been a legend all his life, is known as "Black Li Kui". In the eyes of Chairman Mao, he was compared to Zhou Bo, who was "thick and uneducated" in the early Han Dynasty. At critical moments, Xu Shiyou is always reliable and able to choose the right direction. This also shows Xu Shiyou's important position in Chairman Mao's heart.
There are a total of 57 founding generals in the Republic, and Xu Shiyou's military exploits and contributions can definitely rank in the top five.
drank all his life and lived to be 80 years old
Xu Shiyou not only loves to drink, but also drinks an amazing amount of alcohol, even when he is fighting. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he drank alcohol almost every day. So, why can Xu Shiyou drink so much wine and be healthy all the time?
Some people get drunk as soon as they get drunk, and even have to go to the hospital after drinking a bottle of beer, while some people are not drunk for a thousand glasses, and the more they drink, the more energetic they become. Xu Shiyou is the latter.
After participating in the revolution, Xu Shiyou enjoyed the privilege of drinking alcohol during the war. Some people were not convinced, and the leader said: "If you have Xu Shiyou's ability, you can also drink it!" ”
Xu Shiyou is very sports-oriented. After participating in the revolution, he practiced martial arts every day, often learning from the soldiers, and meeting friends with martial arts.
Even after the founding of the People's Republic of China, when he was older, he still exercised regularly and played several sets of punches whenever he had time. These exercises strengthened his physique, improved immunity, resolved the harm of alcohol to the body, and also had a good effect on the prevention of various diseases.
Although Xu Shiyou drinks every day, he is very restrained. In his later years, doctors kept his drinking under strict control, drinking up to three drinks at a time, and drinking slowly, sipping one sip.
Xu Shiyou likes to eat meat, and these high-fat foods help relieve the irritation of alcohol.
In his later years, Xu Shiyou paid more attention to the reasonable combination of diet, both meat and vegetarian.
A menu of Xu Shiyou in his later years: breakfast was two fried eggs, a plate of shredded mustard, a plate of pickled cucumbers, and a small bowl of rice porridge; Lunch is four dishes and one soup, two meat and two vegetarian dishes, all of which are home-cooked dishes; Dinner is also very simple, a small bowl of rice or noodles, plus a green vegetable and a meat dish.
This menu is both light and nutritious, ensuring that Xu Shiyou's body is nutritionally balanced and there will be no major problems.
Deng Xiaoping called 7 "special"
In 1979, after the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam, Xu Shiyou felt that his body was no longer as tough as before, so he began to think about his future. His belief is that he must be loyal to the party, and to Chairman Mao in life; When you die, you must fulfill your filial piety and be buried next to your mother.
Xu Shiyou's mother was lonely all her life and worked hard to raise her children, and he was always unable to fulfill his filial piety because he was busy with the revolutionary cause.
In 1958, Xu Shiyou's mother died of illness at the age of 94. Xu Shiyou told his son in front of his mother's grave that he would also be buried next to his mother in the future.
Burial is not easy for Xu Shiyou's status. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, in order to protect cultivated land, save land resources, and advocate materialism, on April 27, 1956, Mao Zedong, Zhu De, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping and other 151 celebrities from all walks of life jointly signed to advocate cremation.
Five months later, at the Eighth National Congress, leaders at all levels of the party, government, and military signed the initiative, but only one did not, and he was the founding general Xu Shiyou. At that time, he was already an alternate member of the Central Committee and a high-ranking official in the government.
At the meeting, Xu Shiyou personally confessed to Chairman Mao that he did not want to be cremated after his death, but only willing to be buried, and wanted to return to his mother to fulfill his filial piety. Chairman Mao did not explicitly agree or disagree after hearing this, but only smiled.
In 1985, as Xu Shiyou's condition continued to deteriorate, he felt that his time was short. Under such circumstances, he asked his secretary to write a report to the Party Central Committee, stating that he had nothing else to ask for from the organization but to be able to bury him after his death. Buried next to his mother as a filial piety.
After the report was sent to Beijing, the leaders of the Central Committee and the Central Military Commission circulated it in a timely manner. However, because of the cremation proposal of that year, no one dared to give a definitive answer.
Eventually, the report was forwarded to Deng Xiaoping. Deng Xiaoping knew Xu Shiyou's personality and his debt to his mother. After careful consideration, Deng Xiaoping made an instruction: "Handle it as such, and don't make an example." ”
On October 22, 1985, the founding general Xu Shiyou died of illness at the age of 80. Wang Zhen went to the Nanjing Military Region with Deng Xiaoping's order to deal with Xu Shiyou's funeral.
"Xu Shiyou has made great achievements in his 60-year career as a horseman, and he is a special person with a special character, special experience and special contributions. The special pass signed by Comrade Deng Xiaoping is a special one. ”
The last special treatment fulfilled Xu Shiyou's wish.
On November 7, a convoy from Nanjing to Henan secretly set off. Along the way, the convoy did not honk its horn or turn on its lights, but it was solemn and solemn throughout the whole process, and was specially escorted by the People's Liberation Army.
Xu Shiyou was loyal to the country during his lifetime, and his soul returned to his hometown after his death to guard his mother's grave. People who knew Xu Shiyou's military deeds were all moved. This veteran general, who has fought for the country and the people for decades, was finally buried next to his mother and will always accompany his mother.