In August 1949, Hunan was peacefully liberated, and an old farmer living in Radish Chong, Dongxiang, Changsha County, Hunan Province, was very excited when he heard the news.
When I looked at the newspaper, I found a photo of my son
First, Hunan Province has been persecuted by the Kuomintang reactionaries for many years, and the people have been living in misery and misery, and they have been eagerly looking forward to liberation for many years.
Second, after the liberation of Hunan, the old peasants got a newspaper to publicize the liberation of Hunan. Although he was illiterate, he could read the photographs printed in the newspapers, and the photo of a PLA general happened to be seen by him. The general's face was familiar to him, much like his son, who had been away from home for 20 years.
For a long time, the old farmer's family thought that their son had been away from home for 20 years without news, and that when he left, it was a war era, and he was wanted by warlords before he was forced to leave his hometown, and it was likely that he had died outside, and no longer had hope. But at this time, when the old farmer saw the photo of this person, his heart was silent and set off a monstrous wave again, whether this person was his son or not, he had to confirm it personally, so he stepped on the train to Changsha, Hunan.
On August 4, the old peasant came all the way to the office building of the Changsha City Military Management Commission in Changsha, and lingered in front of the door for a long time because he did not know how to speak, which attracted the attention of the guards standing guard, so he stepped forward to inquire about the situation. The old farmer hurriedly took out the newspaper he had brought with him and showed it to the guards, he pointed to the photo on the newspaper, and explained that the person in the photo was like his son who had been cut off for 20 years.
The guards were very curious, and carefully looked at the person on the old peasant's finger, because the newspaper had been carried with him for several days and was a little worn, and it took the guards a long time to recognize it, and the person in the photo turned out to be a corps commander of their unit.
Confirm your identity
Such a discovery made the guard soldiers feel a little incredible, but it was not uncommon to cut off contact with their families because of the war, and the guard soldiers did not dare to determine the authenticity of the matter, so they reported the matter level by level, and finally the news reached Xiao Jinguang's ears directly.
At that time, Xiao Jinguang was busy dealing with the reception and reorganization of the rebel troops, and also had to deal with the stability of social order. But after hearing about this, he still took time out of his busy schedule to meet with the old farmer who was looking for his son.
Before Xiao Jinguang saw the old farmer, he first learned from the guard soldier that the person the old farmer was looking for was called "Xu Dehua", and the name of the guard soldier felt very unfamiliar, because the army had never heard of such a person. However, the newspaper held by the old farmer was printed with a photo of Xu Guangda, the commander of the Second Corps of Yiye, and the guards could not determine the matter, so they took the initiative to report it.
Xiao Jinguang didn't know who "Xu Dehua" was at that time, so he decided to meet the old farmer first. After the two met, the old farmer took out a newspaper and pointed to a photograph saying that the person in it was his son. After Xiao Jinguang took the newspaper, he found that the photo was a photo of Lanzhou when it was liberated, and the person the old farmer was referring to was really Xu Guangda, but he was not called Xu Dehua?
Xiao Jinguang asked the old farmer if he would make a mistake, but the old farmer was very sure and insisted that he would not admit his mistake. Seeing this, Xiao Jinguang decided to verify the matter, so he sent a telegram to the Central Military Commission for help, hoping that the Military Commission could help verify the information, and whether Xu Guangda had any other names.
Since this matter is not difficult to handle, the Central Military Commission quickly gave a reply, it turned out that Xu Guangda did have other names before, one was the name of "Wu Yanzi" used in childhood, and the other was the former name "Xu Dehua", and later after participating in the revolution, he was wanted by the warlords, so he changed his name to Xu Guangda.
After receiving this news, Xiao Jinguang was very happy, this information was completely consistent with what the old farmer said, he should be Xu Zigui, the father of General Xu Guangda. Xu Zigui has been nervous during the waiting, after all, the father and son have been cut off for 20 years, what if they recognize the wrong person? At this moment, Xu Zigui waited for the definite news, which made him breathe a long sigh of relief and suddenly became happy.
The national interest always comes first
After Xu Guangda learned the news that his father was looking for, he was very excited, and immediately wrote a letter to his father, pouring out the pain of missing the 20 years of separation, and briefly told his experience in the past 20 years in the letter, so that his father Xu Zigui saw the old tears, and knew that his son had experienced so many hardships for the revolutionary cause in the past 20 years.
At the beginning of Xu Guangda's participation in the revolution, he was ordered to go to Nanchang to participate in the uprising, but when he arrived, he found that the Nanchang uprising team had failed and had already left Nanchang. Xu Guangda was in hot pursuit at that time, and finally caught up with the revolutionary team, this matter is still puzzled many years later, and asked Xu Guangda that he knew that the uprising team had failed, why did he chase it?
Xu Guangda's answer at that time was, "Although defeated, it is still glorious." The other party continued to ask, chasing the failed rebel troops, aren't you afraid that you will be sent to death? Xu Guangda replied with four more words: "Although dead, still alive." The two simple questions and the firm eight-character answer fully demonstrated General Xu Guangda's revolutionary conviction.
This is also one of the important reasons why Xu Guangda has never been able to get in touch with his family for 20 years, because Xu Guangda has always devoted his energy to the revolution, and after the liberation of Lanzhou, he was busy with urban rectification and construction. Xu Guangda once said that he served the country and the people, not the family.
Xu Guangda said this and did the same. After getting in touch with his father, he took the time to go back to his hometown the following year, and was warmly welcomed, and the villagers from Shili and Eight Villages gathered. During this period, many of Xu Guangda's immediate family members approached him, hoping that he could arrange jobs for them in Beijing, but Xu Guangda refused on the spot, and said that he was a member of the Communist Party and would not do the kind of thing of "one person who has attained the Tao and a chicken and a dog ascending to heaven".
In 1957, Xu Zigui died of illness, and Xu Guangda's brother hoped that he could go back to handle his father's funeral. Originally, this requirement was not excessive, but Xu Guangda's identity was special, Xu Guangda was already the founding general at this time, if he personally returned to his hometown to do a funeral for his father, I am afraid that the officials and cadres of the entire province will be alarmed, and the scale of the funeral may be difficult to control, which is contrary to the "simple funeral" advocated by the state.
Therefore, Xu Guangda was in a dilemma, he could only choose to give up his own interests in the face of major rights and wrongs, and did not plan to return to his hometown to hold a funeral for his father, but to send a cadre to return to his hometown on his behalf, and handle the funeral simply. Xu Guangda's elder brother did not understand Xu Guangda and was very dissatisfied with his refusal to go back to his hometown to hold his father's funeral.
In order to alleviate the relationship between the two brothers, his wife Zou Jinghua planned to go back to handle her father's funeral on behalf of Xu Guangda, but was stopped by Xu Guangda. Xu Guangda believes that Zou Jinghua's return has the same effect as his own return, which will affect the party's image, and in the end he still did not go back, resolutely fight against the old feudal customs, and take the lead in establishing a new style!
Later, the cadres sent by Xu Guangda came back from the funeral, counted the total expenses, and found that only 150 yuan was used.