Text/Liu Minggang

Hong Xuezhi, the founding general of the People's Liberation Army, is a senior general with outstanding military exploits in the People's Liberation Army. He served in the army for decades and devoted all his efforts to the success of the revolution and the construction of New China. He not only adhered to justice and principles, but also lived a long life with good fortune and wealth. He was one of the few generals among many, and he could be said to be a blessed general.

He had a close brush with death many times, but he always came back to life.

Hong Xuezhi spent his entire life in the military, experienced hundreds of battles, and miraculously saved the day several times. He was a man of great fortune and great fortune. people.

In 1929, 16-year-old Hong Xuezhi participated in the Shangnan Uprising and was later incorporated into the Fourth Front Army of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. From the day he joined the Red Army, Hong Xuezhi was not afraid of sacrifice and dared to fight and charge. At the age of 19, he was appointed commander of a heavy machine gun company. Whenever he encountered dangerous battles, he charged forward. Hong Xuezhi later wrote: "My idea is very simple: kill one to get enough, kill two to earn money, as long as you are not killed, continue to fight the enemy desperately!" In a battle, Hong Xuezhi was seriously injured, and everyone was injured. Thought he was sacrificed. When his injuries improved and he reappeared in his hometown, the villagers couldn't believe their eyes.

During the Long March across the grassland, Hong Xuezhi contracted typhoid fever and was in danger. The troops found a well-known local old Chinese medicine doctor. The old Chinese doctor prescribed a prescription, but it lacked some important medicinal materials. The soldiers searched all over the mountains and fields, and sure enough they found it. Hong Xuezhi came back to life, which is really a blessing. Later, Hong Xuezhi's son, Hong Hu, talked about this matter and said: "It was precisely because I could find herbs in the grassland that my father's illness was cured. It can also be said that the Long March saved him!"

Hong Xuezhi during the Anti-Japanese War.

During the Anti-Japanese War, Hong Xuezhi served as the commander of the Eighth Route Army, and later the deputy division commander and chief of staff of the 3rd Division of the New Fourth Army; during the War of Liberation, he was transferred to the Northeast Field Army and participated in commanding the offensive that swept across the entire Northeast. then entered the Pass and went south, defeated Tianjin, fought Hunan and Jiangxi, and liberated Hainan Island; during the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, he was urgently ordered to become Marshal Peng Dehuai's right-hand assistant and the supreme commander of the Chinese army's logistics support.

In the long and brutal revolutionary war, Hong Xuezhi survived a narrow escape and was tempered into steel.

When Hong Xuezhi recalled his revolutionary career in his later years, his heart couldn't calm down for a long time. He said: "Those who survived the war survived the catastrophe, and those who survived the Fourth Front Army even narrowly escaped death." He also said, "When I was a teenager, I followed the Communist Party in the revolution. From the Hubei, Henan, and Anhui base areas to fighting in Sichuan and Shaanxi to participating in the Long March, from persisting in the anti-Japanese struggle behind enemy lines to the liberation war of joining forces in the Northeast and moving south, and then being ordered to participate in the command of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, in more than 20 years of fighting, there was no day when I was not fighting a desperate battle with the enemy. Fighting, there is no day when we are not faced with the choice of life and death... We have fought decades of war just to gain today's peace!"

He was awarded the rank of general twice! , unique in the history of our army

Hong Xuezhi is a senior general with outstanding merits in the People's Liberation Army. He is also an all-rounder who is excellent in both military and political affairs, is resourceful and decisive, and is courageous and knowledgeable. On the Korean battlefield, he led his troops to resist the indiscriminate bombing of the US military and established a "steel transportation line" that could not be defeated or bombed, which played an important role in winning the victory of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. Hong Xuezhi's creative logistics command art was highly praised by the central leadership. Mao Zedong requested "to study the status and experience of logistics work in the Korean War in order to achieve the purpose of modernizing and regularizing our army's logistics work." Commander-in-Chief Zhu De said that "logistics played half the role" in the victory of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.

Mrs. Liao Zhongkai and Ms. He Xiangning, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, are well-known social activists. After the outbreak of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, she has been paying attention to the feats of the Chinese People's Volunteers in defending their homeland and the country. She learned that Hong Xuezhi had outstanding military exploits. This veteran revolutionary during the Revolution of 1911 was very excited and happily painted "Wealth and Longevity" for Hong Xuezhi to encourage him to fight against the U.S. aggression and aid Korea. great contribution to the war.

In September 1955, the Chinese People's Liberation Army awarded its first title. The 42-year-old Hong Xuezhi was awarded the rank of general and became one of the founding generals of the Communist Party of China and the People's Republic of China.

On October 1, 1955, on the Tiananmen Gate Tower. From left: Hong Xuezhi, Xiao Hua, Su Yu, Chen Geng.

In September 1988, the Central Military Commission held a grand conferment ceremony for general officers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. There are 12 *** people who were awarded the rank of generals again, accounting for 0.75 of the original number of generals. People call them "second-time generals". Among them, 9 people were awarded the rank of generals by the former major generals, and 2 were awarded the title of generals by the former lieutenant generals. One of the people who was originally awarded the title of general was Hong Xuezhi. This is unique in the history of our military and has no precedent abroad. At the time of the second title conferment, the Central Military Commission had canceled the establishment of marshals and generals, and generals became the highest military rank in the new era.

Being awarded the highest military rank is the dream of many generals. But Hong Xuezhi's children never heard their father mention this matter. Hong Xuezhi treated it indifferently with an open heart, always saying, compared with those who died in the war, I was lucky. He believes that being an official means doing more and doing more useful things for the people.

Although Hong Xuezhi is well-deserved for receiving this honor, there is also an element of luck. Hong Hu explained: "In 1955, the military rank system was implemented, and my father was awarded the rank of general. Later, in 1959, due to the involvement of Peng Dehuai, my father left the army. In 1965, the military rank system was abolished due to the reform. , no longer have military ranks. In 1988, it was decided to restore military ranks. Some people no longer worked in the military, and of course they were no longer awarded the rank. At that time, my father was still a soldier because he was serving as the deputy secretary-general of the Military Commission, so he retained his military status. He was awarded the rank of general again. It should be said that he caught up with this opportunity. It was not anything special, but it was a happy marriage achieved by the Long March. , 20 years longer than the golden wedding

On May 30, 1936, after the Fourth Red Army climbed over two snowy mountains, they held an all-army sports meeting on the grass. Hong Xuezhi sat on the rostrum. After the sports competition, entertainment programs were performed. Zhang Wen (formerly known as Zhang Xize) took the female soldiers from the supply department to the stage and sang a song "Fighting the Cavalry". The singing was sonorous and powerful, drawing warm applause from the soldiers in the audience.

Seeing Zhang Wen's performance, Hong Xuezhi was so moved that decades later he still clearly remembered, "After singing, they were so ashamed that they lowered their heads and ran back to the team." . Under the "matchmaking" of Army Commander Wang Hongkun and others, Hong Xuezhi and Zhang Wen got married. The "wedding banquet" was a meal of gnocchi soup.

Just one month after getting married, Hong Xuezhi went to the "Red University" (the predecessor of the "Anti-Japanese University") to study. After three years of separation, there was no news.

"Are you in Yan'an or on the front line?" Zhang Wen thought about it day and night.

In August 1977, Hong Xuezhi took a photo with his wife Zhang Wen after returning to work in the army.

"If he is still here, why didn't he come to you? Don't wait for him, find another one." The female soldiers gave Zhang Wen advice one after another. But Zhang Wen insisted on waiting.

In the early summer of the first year, Zhang Wen came to study at "Kangkong University". One day, while she was reading in the cave, she suddenly heard a familiar voice calling her. When she opened the window, she saw Hong Xuezhi standing at the foot of the slope laughing. Later she learned that Hong Xuezhi was implicated in the "Zhang Guotao line" and "disappeared".

During the long march, on the vast grassland, Hong Xuezhi and Zhang Wen became husband and wife, and integrated their love into the revolutionary cause they had fought for throughout their lives. They are glorious and they are happy.

Since then, they have been close to each other, helping each other through adversity and hardship, and have weathered the ups and downs hand in hand. Until their later years, they are still in love as before, which makes many military and political leaders envious. People often say that 50 years of marriage is a golden wedding.

Hong Xuezhi and Zhang Wen were able to revolution and struggle together for 70 years, 20 years longer than their golden wedding. What a blessing!

After going through ups and downs, he was demoted and promoted three times

In his long revolutionary career, Hong Xuezhi was demoted and promoted three times, which is true to the saying that "good people have their own destiny" That old saying.

The first time was in June 1937, when Hong Xuezhi participated in the advanced class of the Red Army’s Anti-Japanese Military and Political University. During the study period, when discussing Zhang Guotao's harm to the party, Hong Xuezhi disagreed with some people's extreme "leftist" views. He said: "Zhang Guotao had both merits and demerits. He still did good things in Hubei, Henan, Anhui and later Sichuan and Kangxi. Otherwise, Zhang Guotao had both merits and demerits." How do you explain the fact that the Fourth Front Army has grown to 80,000 people?"

This incident was reported. Not long after, Xu Shiyou suggested that everyone gather troops and return to the Dabie Mountains. Hong Xuezhi, Wang Jianan, Zhan Caifang and others all responded. This was the origin of the so-called "Armed Group of Zhang Guotao's remnants plotted and organized resistance to the Party Central Committee" that later caused a sensation in Yan'an. .

With Mao Zedong's intervention, Hong Xuezhi was released. However, he did not change his view and said: "When evaluating the senior leaders of a party, one should never apply one-size-fits-all. We Communists are most concerned with materialism, so one-size-fits-all is not Marxism."

1957 In January, Hong Xuezhi (first from left) took a group photo with Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping and Peng Dehuai at the Logistics College of the People's Liberation Army.

The second time was in 1959, when he was implicated in the "Peng Dehuai issue." After the Lushan Conference, amid the criticism of Peng Dehuai, Hong Xuezhi spoke up and said: "At most, President Peng's Hundred Regiments War was just a matter of being late in asking for instructions. It is always right to fight the Japanese. Resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea was Chairman Mao's instruction, and President Peng carried it out very well." Very good, you can't say it wrong. A person has merits and demerits, and the faults cannot be wiped out as soon as he said it."

Just because he said a few fair words, Hong Xuezhi was classified as ". The main member of the "Peng Dehuai Military Club" was suddenly demoted from the post of Minister of General Logistics, Secretary of the Party Committee, and member of the Central Military Commission to Jilin, where he served as Director of the Provincial Agricultural Machinery Department. Faced with unfair treatment, Hong Xuezhi said: As long as I have work to do and can continue to do things for the party and the people, I have nothing to ask for. Summarizing this period of history, he wrote: A true Communist must firmly believe in the truth, adhere to principles, and speak impartially at all times. Our party's past struggles with political careerists and dissidents within the party, although without the smoke and fire, were still sharp and fierce and even life-and-death battles. In this intricate struggle, a true Communist must dare to adhere to the truth, adhere to principles, respect facts, and speak out impartially. If you act according to the wind, frame comrades, make up lies, and create lies, you are not a true revolutionary or communist, but can only be an opportunist. In previous intra-party struggles, some people failed to withstand severe tests for the sake of their own promotion, honor and disgrace, and spoke and acted in violation of party principles and personal conscience. The lessons are extremely profound.

After the "Cultural Revolution" began, Hong Xuezhi was hit again and was criticized and imprisoned by the rebels for a long time. In December 1970, he was transferred to the Shengli Farm in Jinbaotun, Tongliao, Jilin Province (now Shengli Farm in Jinbaotun, Zherim League, Inner Mongolia) at the age of 57. During this period, due to two inquiries and interventions by Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, Hong Xuezhicai was appointed director of the Jilin Provincial Department of Heavy Industry in 1973.

In 1987, Hong Xuezhi was again appointed deputy secretary-general of the Central Military Commission, together with Deng Xiaoping.

In August 1977, Hong Xuezhi was re-elected as a member of the Central Military Commission and appointed director of the National Defense Industry Office. In January 1980, Hong Xuezhi once again served as the Minister of General Logistics. This was his return to the position of General Logistics Commander after 20 years.

In his long revolutionary career, Hong Xuezhi went through many ups and downs, but his heart was selfless and broad.

Hong Xuezhi is open-minded, tolerant, open-minded, able to see through, able to take things in hand, and able to let go. This good mentality enables him to face misfortune calmly.

Of course, it should also be pointed out that whenever someone is in trouble, there is always a lucky person to come to the rescue and turn the danger into safety, which shows that Hong Xuezhi is a blessed person.

Hong Xuezhi has three boys and five girls, all of whom grew up healthily in the war-torn era. He once said that my greatest wealth is these eight children. In 1939, his eldest daughter was born in Panlong, Yan'an, and Hong Xuezhi named the child "Xinghua". Not long after the child was born, Hong Xuezhi led the "Anti-Japanese Forces" to move behind enemy lines and had to pass through the enemy's blockade at night. At the most dangerous moment, the child kept crying. Hong Xuezhi was afraid of being discovered by the enemy, so he made a prompt decision to leave the child behind. He had no time to look for a family, so he ran into a small thatched cottage on the roadside and hurriedly told a couple inside that we were the Eighth Route Army and could no longer take care of our children. "If we die in the war, you will treat our children as your biological daughters." Come on!" After saying that, he handed the child over to them without even asking for his name. Zhang Wen was more discerning and found out that the name of the place was "Dongxifang Mountain", so he kept it in mind and wrote down all the information about the moment he was separated from the child: the birthmark on the child's left arm, and the red cloth wrapped around his body. .

Hong Xuezhi’s family photo.

In 1951 after liberation, Zhang Wen began to try to find his eldest daughter. After such a long time and with extremely limited useful information, the chances of finding the child are slim. However, a miracle happened. The daughter who was given away was found back 12 years later! Hong Xuezhi's other daughter also stayed at a commoner's home and was found back four years later.

It is not easy to raise children in a war environment. Zhang Wen said: "Although the children who were given away have been separated from us for a long time, they have not suffered much because the people are very good to them. . And the children who have been following us during the war are actually even more pitiful!”

In that era, medical conditions were poor, and it was a war environment, and the child mortality rate was high. However, Hong Xuezhi’s eight children did not. One died young, but all survived in good health. Hong Xuezhi attaches great importance to the education of his children, which is also very effective. Although he suffered a heavy blow politically, the children were not depressed. They all strived to achieve their goals and studied hard. With their own abilities, they were all admitted to well-known universities in Beijing and had successful careers. The traditional Chinese concept is that having more children means more blessings; the modern concept believes that children's success is the greatest blessing for parents. Hong Xuezhi has 8 children, and all of them have successful careers. He is indeed a blessed person.

He was 94 years old. He was deeply loved by the people and had an excellent reputation.

On November 20, 2006, Hong Xuezhi completed his life journey at the age of 94.

During the condolence period, people express their grief in various ways. Countless wreaths filled the yard; party and state leaders and nearly 10,000 cadres and people in the capital attended the farewell ceremony; old leaders, old comrades, old comrades, old landlords, and fellow villagers from places where the general fought and worked during his lifetime passed the memorial ceremony at various places. Citizens came from Changchun to hold up a banner that read, "Have a good journey, old general, and I kowtow to you." A descendant of a volunteer soldier riding a bicycle from Shandong knelt in front of Hong Xuezhi's portrait and kowtowed repeatedly. 3 rings; in the cold wind of winter, tens of thousands of people came to Babao Mountain to see him off...

When Hong Xuezhi was seriously ill, he left his last words: "After his death, one will not hold a memorial service, the other will not He said goodbye to the body and sent the ashes back to his hometown in Jinzhai, Anhui Province. "He specially asked: "I have no inheritance in this life. The only thing that can be called inheritance is my three medals (that is, the People's Republic of China Award won in 1955). **The First Class August 1st Medal of China, the First Class Medal of Independence and the Medal of Liberation), leave it to my grandson Hong Kai as a legacy, so that he can remember his grandfather’s past. ”

On October 2, 2008, in accordance with Hong Xuezhi’s last wish, a solemn and simple burial ceremony was held in his hometown Jinzhai County, Anhui Province.

Huang Miaozi, a famous Chinese painter, calligrapher and epigrapher, personally revised the "Epitaph", which reads:

Hong Xuezhi, a two-year-old general and a distinguished minister of the country.

Born in a farm family in Shuanghe, he joined the army during the Shangnan Uprising, became prominent in the Southern and Northern Wars, showed his power in the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, shined in laying the foundation for modern logistics, and became brilliant in reform, opening up, and innovation. He is good at strategizing in times of hardship and danger, and becomes more loyal through twists and turns. He is brave yet elegant, upright yet tender-hearted. He stays true to his authority, and his position is high and his heart is for the people. His soul returns to his hometown, his love for his fellow villagers, and a monument erected in his hometown to forever shine upon his descendants.

This is a true portrayal of Hong Xuezhi’s revolutionary career.

Eighty years ago, Hong Xuezhi walked out of the Dabie Mountains to the song "Osmanthus flowers bloom everywhere in August" and embarked on the road to revolution without hesitation. 80 years later, on the days when the sweet-scented osmanthus was in full bloom, Hong Xuezhi returned to his roots, and his ashes returned to his hometown and hometown.

Chinese sages have wise sayings: "Great virtue will lead to longevity" and "The benevolent will live longer." Hong Xuezhi was indifferent to fame and fortune, broad-minded, and valued the interests of the party and the people more than Mount Tai. This is the virtue of a Communist, the greatest virtue in the world, and a secret to his longevity. Chinese people like to link good fortune and longevity together, and often say "many blessings and long life." The author believes that the reputation of the people is more important than longevity. Hong Xuezhi died at the age of 94. He was deeply loved by the people and had an excellent reputation. He was truly a blessing.