The founding general Xu Shiyou had many children in his life, and his second son, Xu Jianjun, worried him the most.
At that time, the reason why he gave his son the name "Jianjun" was because his son was born surrounded by soldiers. He felt that the army could not be defeated, and this name was just right and suitable for him, but he didn't expect that this did not bring good luck to the child.
In 1979, Xu Jianjun was arrested for making mistakes and violating party rules and discipline.
In this regard, Xu Shiyou's performance is also iron-faced and selfless, he did not plead for his son at all, and said to the people around him, don't take care of his own face, and he must bring his son to justice.
Xu Shiyou has always treated his children equally. Except for Xu Jianjun, who made a mistake, he refused all the other children who asked him for his career, not wanting to bring any inappropriate benefits to the children because of his relationship.
He had 7 children, including 3 sons and 4 daughters, but none of them became great officials because of his connections. Before his death, they were only cadres or demobilized personnel below the regimental level.
Especially his eldest son, Xu Guang, who was busy fighting in the Red Army when the child was born. During the Long March, Xu Guang's mother also became a "bandit", and was forced to remarry by the Kuomintang reactionaries.
After liberation, Xu Shiyou saw his eldest son for the first time, and he was already 17 years old.
Later, Xu Guang became a soldier and returned to his hometown of Henan Xinxian Armed Forces Department, but after 20 years of work, he was still a deputy regiment-level position, and compared with his old comrades-in-arms who were promoted all the way in the same period, it was inevitable that he would be a little unbalanced.
Xu Guang understands his father's temper, and when Xu Shiyou was still in office, he never complained much about his position. When his father retired, he thought in his heart that there should be no big problem, so he brought it up.
Unexpectedly, his father's reaction was great, Xu Guang only mentioned this matter slightly, Xu Shiyou's expression immediately changed, and he said to him:"Study hard Xi work honestly, don't think too much about what you are not doing to serve the people. ”
After this conversation, Xu Guang never talked to his father about his position, and he worked in peace, and later he was transferred to Xinxian County to serve as deputy director of the people's congress until his retirement.
There is also his youngest son, Xu Yuanchao, who was originally a staff officer at the Nanjing Military Region Headquarters, but when he encountered the trend of younger cadres in the army in 1983, many young people in their early 30s took up department-level posts.
It is said that with his work ability and actual performance, he can also take up a department-level post. However, Xu Shiyou had his own considerations, and he did not help his youngest son to facilitate this matter, nor did he let others ask.
It was not until after his death that Xu Yuanchao relied on his own ability to sit in the position of deputy director of the Equipment Department of the Nanjing Military Region, with the rank of deputy military officer.
His second daughter, Xu Sangyuan, also said that despite his father's high salary, he did not leave them much wealth after his death. They later counted it and found that he had left behind only half a cupboard of wine, five guns, two sabers, four pairs of straw sandals, and a few old military uniforms.
In Xu Shiyou's view, the children's lives still have to rely on themselves, and they don't need to help them with anything, and they don't have to leave wealth for them to cover up, even if they farm and work by themselves, they can live their lives.
Xu Jianjun originally worked in the organ unit of the Nanjing Air Force, but he was sentenced for engaging in smuggling with several ** disciples.
At first, Xu Shiyou didn't know about it, and his family and people around him hid it from him, afraid that he would be angry. Two years have passed since this incident, and he went to Beijing for a meeting, only to learn about it from the mouth of a ** leader.
Xu Shiyou was very angry at the time, and shouted directly:"Shoot, you have to shoot!”The implication is that Xu Jianjun was arrested this time because he was caught correctly, and he did it well, and he caught it well.
Many people still remember Xu Shiyou's performance at that time, and some people even said that looking at his appearance, if Xu Jianjun was really present, he might really pull out his gun and kill his own son.
Xu Shiyou treats his children strictly, but it doesn't mean that he doesn't cherish his children.
He himself started as an ordinary soldier, step by step, and reached the later position. He was familiar with the road and understood the stakes, so he let his children join the army.
His eldest daughter Xu Li likes literature and art, so she joined the Nanjing Military Region Frontline Repertory Troupe. The third daughter, Xu Huashan, and Xu Jianjun both went to the air force. There are also Xu Sangyuan and his fourth daughter Tian Xiaobing, who were sent by him to the troops in the Dabie Mountains, which are sparsely populated, but also more trained.
When these children grew up, they did not criticize their father's attitude towards them, especially Xu Guang. He took care of his grandmother in his hometown all the year round and made great sacrifices, and people said that he was a dutiful son like his father.
The emphasis on filial piety is the tradition of the Xu family, and people say that the Xu family is "full of filial piety". Xu Shiyou's father died early, and it was his mother who brought him up. He has always been full of gratitude to his mother, who neglected to take care of her in his early years because of the war, and wanted to serve her well in his later years.
After the end of the Korean War, he took his mother back to him from Dabie Mountain, brought her face and feet water every day, and personally lit a brazier for her to keep warm, and did not let anyone else do it for her.
He felt that this was all owed by him, a son, who was busy with the revolution in his early years and could not fulfill his filial piety, and now he has to repay it well.
It's just that her mother is used to life in the mountains and is not suitable for the good life in the city, so she didn't stay with Xu Shiyou for long, so she insisted on going back to her hometown. Xu Shiyou tried to stay, but his mother soon fell ill because of homesickness.
Xu Shiyou knows that his mother's life in the mountains is more fulfilling, she can weave, raise chickens, feed pigs, and grow vegetables, which is quieter than life in the city, and she doesn't need to worry about her daughter-in-law.
In this way, Xu Shiyou sent his mother back to his hometown in Dabie Mountain, but he still didn't worry that she was living there alone, so he thought of his eldest son Xu Guang.
Xu Guang was brought up by this grandmother, and he was close to her, so Xu Shiyou was relieved to hand over his mother to him. At that time, Xu Guangshang was a navigator in the North Sea Fleet, and Xu Shiyou called him to his side, had a long talk with him, and persuaded him to return to his hometown in Dabie Mountain to work, so as to take care of his grandmother.
Xu Guang agreed to his father's request, and then took care of his grandmother without complaining.
In his opinion, this is the right thing to do. His father was entangled in military affairs abroad, and he returned to his hometown to take care of his grandmother, not only for his father, but also for himself.
In 1957, Xu Shiyou, accompanied by his secretary, personnel from the War Department and the Administration Bureau, went to his hometown to visit his 78-year-old mother.
He has not returned home for a long time, and he has a lot of affection for the grass and trees in his hometown, and from time to time he points to the scenery along the way, and tells the people around him about the scene when he fought with the Red Army.
When I got home, it was already 5 o'clock in the afternoon, and my mother was feeding the pigs at home, and I was excited to see Xu Shiyou come back. She put down the work in her hand, kept looking at this son, and muttered, "Three sons." Then he choked.
Xu Shiyou's mood couldn't be calm, he hugged his mother tightly with both hands, and the two of them snuggled together, and suddenly the general was like a child.
Later, the local ** people said that they had specially arranged room and board for Xu Shiyou, but he also refused, insisting on living at home and staying with his mother.
My mother lived a simple life, there was no decent furniture in the house, only a table for eating, a few stools, a cabinet for clothes, and a mosquito net that had been patched. He had been away from home for too long, and it was only nice to be able to stay with his mother.
Xu Shiyou lived at home for a total of one day and two nights, never leaving his mother's side, and kept talking to her at night until late.
The people outside looked at a small oil lamp lit in the house, and the mother and son spoke in a cordial local accent, and the scene was very warm.
Xu Shiyou's strictness to his children and concern for his mother all show that he does not forget his roots, and always remembers where his power comes from, who he represents, and who he serves.
He said that he is the general of the people, not the general of the Xu family, and the power is given to him by the people and cannot be used indiscriminately. The responsibility of the general is very simple, that is, to lead the troops to fight in the war years, to defend the family and the country in the peace years, and not to serve the country "for the family", so it is the other way around, so he will never tolerate his son's mistakes, and never say a word more about the promotion of his children.
He was born in a poor family, worked as a handyman for a martial arts master when he was young, and also learned martial arts in Shaolin Temple, this experience gave him a natural affinity for working people, and he always came together with them naturally.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Xu Shiyou was very close to the villagers of Zhanzhan Bo Village, Haiyang County, Shandong.
A local old man named Yang Kuishan recalled that once he was fetching water in his vegetable garden, Xu Shiyou saw it and immediately came to help, pressing the pole with one hand and grabbing the bucket rope with the other, and his movements were very skillful.
At that time, Xu Shiyou was working hard, and he was talking to himself, but the villagers didn't quite understand what he said, and only vaguely heard a few "good, save effort".
How could such a Red Army soldier, who was active in the fields and helping the common people everywhere, not be likable?
When he was in the village, he often played chess with the villagers, and the villagers came and went freely when they went to his headquarters, and the relationship between the military and the people was very harmonious.
At that time, his wife was still living in the house of a villager named Yang Jinan, and recognized Yang Jinan's sister as her goddaughter, so the local people regarded them as relatives and kept them firmly in their hearts.
In 1958, Xu Shiyou had already served as the commander of the Nanjing Military Region, but as soon as the call for "army cadres to become soldiers in the company" came out, he took the lead without hesitation and stood up, ready to be an ordinary soldier in the company.
He said that when they were soldiers 30 years ago, officers and men lived and fought together like brothers, regardless of each other, and it was precisely this good style that cultivated officers of their generation.
Now that they have become high-ranking cadres, they naturally cannot forget their roots, and it is a good exercise to become ordinary soldiers in the next company.
Xu Shiyou's application was quickly approved, and he became an ordinary soldier in a certain unit of the coastal defense front in Ningbo, Zhejiang.
Xu Shiyou has the courage to take root at the grassroots level and be willing to be in a lower position, but the soldiers in the company are still a little uncomfortable when they see him coming down as a "big official", and they still treat him as a commander when they see him.
When Xu Shiyou saw them like this, he also took the initiative to communicate with them and said that he had been a cadre for decades, and it was inevitable that there would be official structures, and if he wanted to change such Xi, he would have to rely on them to supervise more. A Communist Party member is to treat people equally, and he has made great determination to do this well.
Such an attitude made his relationship with the soldiers closer and closer, and later everyone no longer called him "chief", but directly called him "Old Xu", or even "Old Man Xu".
When Xu Shiyou heard such a change in title, he didn't look angry at all, but joked:"If I don't farm at home instead of being a soldier, the villagers will call me Xu Laohan. ”
During the three years of natural disasters, he was even more because he had lived a hard life, knew the pain of the people who could not eat enough, and knew that there was a shortage of food, so he hurried to talk to the leading cadres, so that they could actively think about it, work together, and solve the problem of eating.
For example, when he went to inspect the Shanghai garrison area, he deliberately did not say hello and went directly to the "Good Eighth Company on Nanjing Road" to see if the food they ate at noon was satisfactory.
After seeing the problem, he asked the soldiers of the Eighth Company to allocate a piece of land in the suburbs to grow vegetables and raise pigs, so that they could eat satisfactory meals without worrying about hunger.
Also, when he was the director of the Revolutionary Committee in Jiangsu, he once met a few people who came to beg for food, and when he asked, he learned that he was from the Huaiyin area. He took this matter to heart, and when he came to Huaiyin, he found the local leader and asked him about the situation.
At first, the leader was unimpressed, saying that the people in their place had a Xi of begging.
When Xu Shiyou heard this, he immediately lost his temper and asked him why he didn't go to beg for food, and said that "full of warm flesh and bones, hunger and cold make a thief's heart", and if the problem of eating for the common people is not solved, it is going to cause a theft incident, and we should pay attention to it.
In short, although Xu Shiyou is a general, he never uses his power for personal gain because he is a big official, thinking about seeking a future for his children, he always puts the country and the people in his heart, and will not move the big interest ties because of personal matters.
His style of action is also vigorous and resolute, he can't tolerate a little sand in his eyes, he doesn't tolerate his son's mistakes, and he doesn't condone cadres who don't care about the lives of the people, so he can handle family affairs and state affairs properly and win a good reputation.