On March 11, 1990, a sad news spread throughout the country: the founding female general of New China, the former deputy procurator general of the Military Procuratorate of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and the female general of the Anti-Japanese War who had made great achievements for the country and the people, passed away. In the last moments of her life, she was still concerned about the education of her hometown and motherland.
Major General Li Zhen. In her will, she arranged her belongings like this:
"One gold bar was donated to his hometown of Liuyang County, and one was donated to Gan Siqi's hometown of Ningxiang County for the development of education; The deposit was divided into two, one part was donated to the Beijing Children's Palace, and the other part was used as their own party dues. ”This great woman, her name is Li Zhen. She participated in the Agrarian Revolution, the Autumn Harvest Uprising on the Hunan and Jiangxi borders, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the War of Liberation, and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
In 1955, Li Zhen was awarded the rank of major general, becoming the first female general in the history of New China.
YetLi Zhen's life was not all smooth sailing, and she experienced three marriages. Although the latter two marriages made her feel happy, in the first marriage, she was a child bride of someone else's family, and she was tortured and suffered.
How did she become someone else's child bride? How happy was her last two marriages? Let's walk into her history and relive those heart-wrenching years.
In 1907, in a poor peasant family in Liuyang County, Hunan Province (now Yonghe Town, Liuyang City), with a loud cry, a baby girl fell to the ground, she was Li Zhen. Because the parents always wanted a son, a total of 6 children were born, and they were all daughters. When her parents were disappointed, they casually gave her a nickname, called "Dan Wazi".
Li Zhen's family only has a few low-rise thatched houses and a few acres of barren land, and the family lives a stretched life. Her father was the breadwinner of her family, but when her youngest sister was born just two days ago, her father died of illness. In that era when the people were struggling to make a living, the lives of orphans and widows were difficult.
When Li Zhen was six years old, her mother told her with tears in her eyes: "Zhen'er, there is a family surnamed Gu, there is no girl in the family, and they want to find an adopted daughter. Mom wants you to go, would you like to? Faced with the situation of not having enough food and not wearing warm clothes, Li Zhen nodded sensibly.
However, when she stepped into the door of the Gu family, she realized that she was not here to be an adopted daughter. The eldest daughter of the Gu family laughed and told her, "Hehe! You don't know yet, you're here to be my brother's daughter-in-law. Li Zhen burst into tears after hearing this. She never thought that she was actually here to be a child daughter-in-law.
Li Zhen's life as a child bride is not as easy as we think. In fact, she has endured far more than an ordinary child bride should endure. She is not so much a child daughter-in-law as a maid, busy with heavy housework day after day. Whether it is sweeping the floor and boiling water in the morning, or washing and cooking in the evening, all housework is inseparable from her thin figure.
However, this strenuous labor is not the only stress in her life. If she doesn't do a good job, Li Zhen will be beaten and scolded by her in-laws. For example, if the water is spilled, you will be scolded; If the rice is not cooked well, you will be scolded; If you get up late in the morning and work late, you will be scolded ......During the days at her mother-in-law's house, Li Zhen didn't know how many beatings she received, and every time she was beaten, it was like a hammer on her heart.
As she grew older, Li Zhen gradually developed a sense of resistance. When she was fifteen or sixteen years old, she consulted with several good child daughters-in-law and decided to escape from the shackles of her in-laws and pursue freedom and happiness together. However, her plan was discovered by her mother-in-law, who was worried that Li Zhen would really leave, so she immediately decided to let her have sex with her son to ensure the stability of her marriage.
In the first month of 1924, Li Zhen, who was only 16 years old, was forced to hold an old-style wedding with her husband, and since then her married life has begun. This marriage is the product of the orders of the parents and the words of the matchmaker, and there is no emotional basis. Li Zhen and her husband are strangers, without any understanding and feelings, and they haven't even said a word.
Li Zhen's husband's name is Gu Tianshun, who is 4 years older than Li Zhen. Gu Tianshun's personality is upright and loyal, but his temper is a little short-tempered. As a result of her long-term abuse, Li Zhen harbored a hostility towards the Gu family, which even extended to her husband. Although Li Zhen behaved very obediently in front of outsiders, in fact, she did not have any love for her husband in her heart.
For this wife, who has been treated as a rough maid by the family since childhood, it is difficult for Gu Tianshun to give birth to much tenderness and sweetness, and he often speaks viciously to each other, punches and kicks.
One day, Li Zhen was chopping firewood on the mountain, and his clothes were soaked by the rain. The Gu family came back from working in the fields, and their clothes were also wet, and their mother-in-law scolded Li Zhen for not washing the clothes out, and Li Zhen replied angrily: "I also went up to the mountain to chop wood, ** have time to do laundry?" ”
How dare you talk back to my mother? Impatient?! After Gu Tianshun finished speaking, he picked up a stick and hit Li Zhen on the head.
In those painful days, Li Zhen wanted to escape all the time, and finally waited for the opportunity. In October 1924, when the Northern Expeditionary Army entered Liuyang, Li Zhen did not hesitate to devote herself to the revolutionary movement, and despite the Gu family's attempts to stop it, she did not hesitate.
During the revolutionary activities, Li Zhen was elected as a member of the Liuyang District Women's Federation because of her excellent organizational and propaganda skills. At the same time, she actively pursued ideological progress and moved closer to the party organization.
In March 1927, Li Zhen resolutely joined the Chinese Communist Party. At the same time, her timid and cowardly in-laws, fearing that they would be implicated, could not wait to send a letter of resignation. From that moment on, Li Zhen was finally freed from the shackles of marriage and was able to devote herself to the revolutionary cause.
In 1926, on the first day Li Zhen stepped out of her mother-in-law's house, she was fortunate to get acquainted with Zhang Qilong, then secretary of the Liuyang District Committee of the Communist Party of China. When Zhang Qilong saw her, he had a good impression of her.
Later, when Li Zhen's mother was seriously ill, due to the poverty of the family and unable to afford the expensive medical expenses, Zhang Qilong learned the news and did not hesitate to take out his living allowance to help Li Zhen's mother tide over the difficulties. Li Zhen is full of gratitude for this selfless help.
The Great Revolution was at a low ebb, the reactionaries carried out a frenzied attack on the revolutionaries, and Zhang Qilong's family unfortunately died in this catastrophe. In order to comfort Zhang Qilong's inner pain, Li Zhen silently brought him hot meals, carefully helped him wash his clothes, and specially prepared a pair of cloth shoes for him.
Zhang Qilong. Over time, the two developed a deep affection. In 1932, Li Zhen and Zhang Qilong finally tied the knot. However, happy days are always short-lived. Soon after, Zhang Qilong was mistakenly branded as a "reorganization faction" and "AB group member" and fell into a low point in his life.
In order not to implicate Li Zhen, he signed the divorce application with tears. At that moment, Li Zhen's world collapsed, and she couldn't understand why fate was so cruel to force two people who loved each other to separate. She appealed to the organization again and again, asking for the restoration of the marriage between the two, but was ruthlessly rejected again and again.
However, Li Zhen did not give up. She firmly believes in the power of love and Zhang Qilong's innocence. During the Long March, she endured pain and pressure alone, silently waiting for the moment of reunion.
On the eve of the departure of the Long March, the commander-in-chief of the Red Second Front Army introduced Li Zhen, who was then the head of the organization of the Red Sixth Army, to Gan Siqi.
Gan Siqi, formerly known as Jiang Fengwei and Jiang Bingkun, was born on December 21, 1903 in a poor peasant family in Nanzhushan Village, Ningxiang County, Hunan Province. He endured hardships in his childhood, and it was not until he was 10 years old that he had the opportunity to enter the village primary school. Later, he was promoted to Yunshan High School in Ningxiang County, where he was enlightened by the ideas of Xie Jueya and other revolutionary pioneers. In the summer of 1919, Gan Siqi was admitted to Changsha Changjun Middle School with excellent results, and then transferred to Hunan College of Political Science and Law to continue his studies. Just two years later, he resolutely joined the Chinese Communist Youth League and became an honorable member of the Chinese Communist Party in 1926.
Gan Siqi. In order to continue his studies, the party organization selected Gan Siqi to study at Sun Yat-sen University in Moscow, the Soviet Union, in 1927. While studying in a foreign country, he decided to change his name to Gan Siqi to express his firm belief in the revolutionary cause. Four years later, Gan Siqi returned from his studies, and he was sent by *** to the Hunan and Jiangxi Soviet Districts to serve as the party representative of the First Independent Division of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army.
At this time, there was a heroic female warrior Li Zhen in the Red Sixth Legion, she was good at fighting, and good at cooking, in order to match Li Zhen and Gan Siqi, ** said to Gan Siqi: "There are very few female soldiers in our legion, you must not miss this opportunity!" In fact, Gan Siqi has long been in love with Li Zhen, but he has no chance.
Soon after, Gan Siqi left the post of party representative of the First Independent Division and was transferred to the Hunan and Jiangxi Provincial Party Committee as the head of the propaganda department. In the Hunan and Jiangxi Provincial Party Committee, Gan Siqi quickly won high praise from his comrades for his outstanding work ability and firm revolutionary conviction.
Li Zhen and Gan Siqi.
Later, Gan Siqi was transferred to the Red Sixth Army as the director of the political department and acting political commissar, which provided him with more opportunities for contact with Li Zhen, the head of the organization. Once, Gan Siqi even directly found Li Zhen for a long talk, covering a wide range of topics, from work, ideals to love. Driven by a common work, a common goal, and a common language, the two hearts are getting closer.
In contact with Gan Siqi, Li Zhen gradually learned about his qualities and talents. She understands that Gan Siqi is a trustworthy comrade and a person worthy of lifelong trust. In order to express her gratitude, she specially made a pair of cloth shoes for him, which was also regarded by others as a gift from her. When the Long March was about to begin, they gladly accepted Mr. He's arrangement. Under the auspices of **, they held a simple wedding in the home of a common man and became a pair of passionate revolutionary couples.
Li Zhen and Gan Siqi.
During the arduous years of the Long March, Li Zhen and General Gan Siqi once had a precious child, but the cruel fate of this child died during the Long March.
After the end of the Long March, they adopted more than 20 orphans of martyrs and used their love to make up for the lost family affection of these children. These children may have lost their parents in the war, but here they have found a new home and felt warmth that they have never felt before.
General Li Zhen and General Gan Siqi treated these martyrs' orphans like their own children, and gave them the courage and hope to live with their love and care. They not only provided material support, but also gave the children endless encouragement and guidance spiritually.
Under their careful care, these children thrive and embark on their own paths in life. Some of them have become PLA soldiers, and some have become the pillars of the country. They remembered the nurturing grace of Li Zhen and General Gan Siqi, and repaid this selfless love with practical actions.
Li Zhen. The story of Li Zhen and General Gan Siqi has been passed down thousands of miles and touched countless people. They interpreted the greatness of their parents with deep love and showed the spiritual outlook of revolutionary martyrs. Their acts of kindness have not only brought a new life to the orphans of martyrs, but also set a noble moral example for us.
General Li Zhen, on the occasion of her death,The relics left behind only include 4 old rattan chairs, a marching box, 110,000 yuan, 2,500 yuan treasury bills, and two small gold bars. These simple relics silently tell the simplicity and frugality of her life. What is even more admirable is that she donated all these precious legacies to the country to express her last heart for the motherland.
This spiritual quality of General Li Zhen is undoubtedly a model worthy of our study. With her actions, she explained what is loyalty to the country and the people, and what is selfless dedication to the country and the people. Her story will inspire us and make us more determined to follow our own path in life and continue to fight for the cause of the country and the people.