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Preface
During a work inspection in 1957, the founding general Xiao Hua had an in-depth conversation with the founding major general Gan Zuchang. Due to serious health problems, Gan Zuchang expressed a strong desire to leave the army and return to his hometown to work as a farmer. Despite having experienced a car accident with serious after-effects, Gan Zuchang still insisted on this decision. Although Xiao Hua understood his situation, he questioned whether he could live past the age of 60 out of concern for Gan Zuchang's health. This conversation is thought-provoking: Is Xiao Hua's concern just a matter of urgency, or is there something else? Let's take a little history to learn about it.
In 1905, Gan Zuchang was born in an ordinary peasant family in Qiaotou Township, Lianhua County, Jiangxi Province, and grew up in a simple peasant family. In his early years, due to his family's financial difficulties, he only received a short year of private school education with the financial support of his uncle. Unable to continue his education due to poverty, he had to drop out of school and return home to help his family with farm work, occasionally at the call of a landlord to do labor.
In 1920, a chance encounter changed the trajectory of Gan Zuchang's life. He met Chen Jingjin and Xie Yunpeng, among other returnees from Lianhua County, who had returned to their hometowns to promote the peasant movement, set up Xincheng Primary School, and set up the first basic organization of the Communist Party in the area. Gan Zuchang was seen as an ideal candidate for the development of peasant work because of his honest and reliable character, so he was absorbed into the party.
As a native farmer, Gan Zuchang was well aware of the needs and pain points of farmers, and he performed well in the party's work, which greatly promoted the revolutionary activities in Lianhua County. In 1925, with the establishment of the Lianhua County Independent Regiment, he was nominated as the head of the regiment's quartermaster department for his outstanding work. In order to improve his ability in logistics management, Gan Zuchang was sent to Jinggangshan to participate in the training class of the Red Fourth Army.
During his stay in Jinggangshan, Gan Zuchang had the honor of meeting Chairman Mao and briefed him on the current situation of the struggle in Lianhua County and the difficulties it faced. Chairman Mao was deeply impressed by Gan Zuchang's firmness and seriousness, and personally instructed him: "The enemy's attack is imminent, and our training activities may be about to be interrupted, so you must return to Lianhua County and inform your comrades to strengthen your defense and contribute to the defense of the revolutionary base areas." Inspired by Chairman Mao's words, Gan Zuchang felt a great responsibility and resolutely returned to Lianhua County to support the revolutionary cause with all his might.
In the early stages of the revolution, Gan Zuchang was promoted to deputy section chief of the Hunan and Jiangxi Military Region Arsenal for his outstanding performance in the field of logistics. His main responsibilities include overseeing the production of weapons and ammunition, ensuring the stability of the supply chain, and strictly managing procurement and logistics. Gan Zuchang's work ensured that the front-line fighters received adequate material support on the eve of the battle, which greatly improved their combat effectiveness and morale.
With the outbreak of the full-scale war of resistance against Japan, Gan Zuchang was eager to personally participate in the war and avenge the death of his comrades on the front line. He was assigned to the 359th Brigade of the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army and served as the chief of the quartermaster section of the brigade. While preparing to go to the front, the rear of the liberated areas was disturbed by the Kuomintang reactionaries, including cutting off supply lines, leaving the fighters in the liberated areas facing severe shortages of supplies.
Under these circumstances, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China made a strategic adjustment and ordered the 359th Brigade to return to northern Shaanxi, not only to defend the Party Central Committee, but also to devote itself to the production battle. The burden of this task fell on the shoulders of Gan Zuchang, who was tasked with setting up a production base in a very short time to ensure the logistical supply of the Red Army.
In the face of many difficulties, such as a lack of workers, a shortage of raw materials, and the lack of adequate factory facilities, Gan Zuchang showed extraordinary leadership. He personally coordinated resources, mobilized the masses, and solved problems at all costs. As a result of his efforts, several temporary factories, including a textile factory, were soon set up to produce essential military supplies such as clothing, shoes and socks.
Under the leadership of Gan Zuchang, the factory was quickly put into production, and a large number of urgently needed military supplies were quickly sent to the front. He not only ensured the logistics supply of the Eighth Route Army, but also improved the quality of life and combat efficiency of the soldiers. These efforts of Gan Zuchang played an indispensable role in the war and laid a solid foundation for the final victory.
On a cold winter day in 1941, Gan Zuchang was appointed deputy director of the supply department of the 359th Brigade. In the same year, the brigade was tasked with going to Nanniwan to carry out large-scale production activities. During this period of transition, Gan Zuchang showed extraordinary leadership, not only personally participating in labor, but also actively promoting the participation of all officers and soldiers of the brigade, achieving self-sufficiency in the troops.
By 1947, Gan Zuchang's career ushered in a new peak. He was transferred to the logistics department of the Second Column, participated in the important task of enlarging the northwest, and was later promoted to the logistics director of the First Corps, leading the 100,000 army to Xinjiang.
Gan Zuchang came up with a bold plan at this critical moment. He suggested sending a crack vanguard team into four teams to comprehensively survey Xinjiang's terrain and resources. The operation took 20 days, and the pioneers went deep into the Gobi and pastures, and finally brought back important information: Xinjiang had a bumper harvest for three consecutive years, and the local people had hidden a large amount of grain in cellars, which was not requisitioned by the Nationalist army.
Faced with this discovery, Gan Zuchang proposed a mutually beneficial strategy. He suggested working with the Soviet embassy to use the wool of Xinjiang herders that had not been purchased by the Nationalist army as a trading resource in exchange for Soviet daily necessities. These supplies are then exchanged with herders for their food reserves, a strategy that avoids direct requisition and solves the problem of supply.
Under the careful organization of Gan Zuchang, the Soviet embassy provided salt, cloth, tea and other daily necessities in advance. Subsequently, Gan Zuchang assigned a team from the logistics department to use these materials and silver dollars to conduct extensive material exchanges with herdsmen in various parts of Xinjiang, effectively relieving the supply pressure of the PLA.
In 1949, with the founding of the People's Republic of China, although Gan Zuchang was excited, he clearly knew that the road to revolution was still long. He decided to stay in Xinjiang to maintain and build this frontier. While in Xinjiang, Gan Zuchang met Gong Quanzhen, a revolutionary woman who was a decade younger than him, who came from a wealthy background but chose the path of revolution and eventually became a teacher.
The acquaintance between the two was quite dramatic, Gan Zuchang himself was born in the countryside, and his frankness and frankness deeply touched the well-educated Gong Quanzhen when they first met. Gong Quanzhen works at the school, and Gan Zuchang often goes to the school "in the name of studying", but in fact it is to get close to Gong Quanzhen.
Their relationship gradually warmed up in their daily interactions. Although Gong Quanzhen was reserved towards Gan Zuchang at first, Gan Zuchang's sincerity eventually moved her. At a critical moment when a misunderstanding was about to happen, Gan Zuchang boldly confessed at the train station, a move that eventually led to the marriage of the two.
In the cold of January 1952, General Gan Zuchang, then head of the logistics department of the Xinjiang Military Region, braved the bitter cold to travel to the outskirts of Urumqi to secure funding for a key industrial investment. An accident occurred during the trip: when the car he was riding in crossed a wooden bridge, the bridge suddenly broke due to the deliberate sabotage of hostile forces, and the car fell from a height and was seriously damaged. Gan Zuchang was seriously injured in the accident, especially the head injury he had suffered and suffered a strong blow again, causing long-term sequelae of concussion.
After the incident, Gan Zuchang was rushed to the hospital, and the minister of health of the Corps personally operated on him. Although the trauma had largely healed after a month or two of treatment, his brain injury had a profound impact, with frequent fainting disrupting his work and life.
Although he was later arranged to recuperate in Lushan, Gan Zuchang's condition did not improve significantly. The authorities even suggested that he go to Shanghai or Qingdao for a long period of recuperation, but he resolutely refused, always feeling guilty that he had not been able to contribute more to the revolution.
In 1955, after the investiture ceremony, Gan Zuchang and his wife expressed deep self-reproach in a conversation with his wife: "Compared with those comrades-in-arms who sacrificed for the revolution, what I have done is far from enough, and the honor given to me by the organization is too high. At this time, he received a letter from his younger brother, mentioning that his hometown had completed land reform and was building an agricultural production cooperative, which inspired him to return to his hometown to support agricultural development.
Despite his serious illness, he firmly believed that his ability to work was not lost, and decided to return to his hometown to engage in agricultural work and get rich together with his fellow villagers. He repeatedly submitted requests to the party committee of the military region, but they were all rejected. Until 1957, during Xiao Hua's visit to the Xinjiang Military Region, Gan Zuchang seized the opportunity to apply again.
Although Xiao Hua also expressed concern about his health at first, in the end, at Gan Zuchang's insistence, Xiao Hua agreed to his request to recommend him to his superiors. After layers of approval, Gan Zuchang was finally allowed to return to his hometown.
So one day in 1957, Gan Zuchang and his family set off to return to their hometown in Jiangxi Province and start a new chapter in their lives. Before preparing to move, Gan Zuchang insisted that his family reduce their luggage as much as possible to reflect the principle of frugality.
Eventually, the 14 men's luggage was reduced to just three suitcases, but they deliberately carried eight cages containing six carefully selected York pigs, 15 pairs of Angora rabbits and 15 incoming chickens, all of which Gan Zuchang had brought back from Xinjiang to improve his hometown's farming techniques.
Gan Zuchang's return to his hometown is not just a simple geographical shift, but a profound life change. He led his family into every aspect of village life. Gan Zuchang worked with his children, starting with collecting manure, mowing grass, clearing wasteland, and planting trees.
He also led the villagers to complete large-scale infrastructure projects, including the construction of three reservoirs, 25 kilometers of irrigation canals, four hydropower stations, three roads and 12 bridges, which greatly improved local agriculture and living conditions.
In the following 29 years, Gan Zuchang was not only the leader of the villagers' labor, but also an active donor of rural construction. He donated more than 70% of his salary to the construction of his hometown, and these funds were used for the construction and maintenance of various public facilities, which greatly promoted the local economic and social development.
Gan Zuchang's life is a complete reflection of his beliefs and commitment to society. His contribution is not only material, but also in the cultivation of the spirit of his hometown community and his role model for future generations. Through his actions, he deepened the unity and collaboration of the community, and made the villagers see the possibility of working together to create a better future.
Shortly after the Spring Festival in 1986, General Gan Zuchang, a hero who devoted himself to agriculture and rural development, was dying. Even in the last moments of his life, he still remembered his hometown and land. Before his death, Gan Zuchang firmly left his last words: "The salary I received, except for the necessary living expenses, the rest was used to buy fertilizers and pesticides to support agricultural development." Don't build a house for me, I don't need any luxurious arrangements.
After Gan Zuchang returned to his hometown, although he was sick, he never stopped doing his best for the prosperity of his hometown. Under his leadership and efforts, three large reservoirs were built, 25 kilometers of irrigation canals were demarcated, four hydropower stations were built, three roads and 12 bridges were built, and the local infrastructure and agricultural production conditions were greatly improved.
Despite the declining physical condition, Gan Zuchang has always insisted on participating in every work, whether it is on-site guidance or planning and planning, he is always active in various construction sites. His efforts and dedication have deeply influenced and inspired the local villagers, and he has gradually transformed a barren village into a vibrant agricultural area.
What is even more admirable is that General Gan Zuchang used most of the salary paid to him by the organization to support the development of the country and region. Of the total 102452 yuan in his bank deposits, he selflessly took out 79,032 yuan for various social construction projects, making great contributions to the economic and social development of his hometown.
Gan Zuchang's selfless spirit and firm belief have earned him a high reputation among the people. He was not only a military general, but also a true builder of society and a hero of the people. His life is a perfect interpretation of his personal mission and social responsibility, leaving countless admiration and reflections for future generations.