At the award ceremony in 1955, Lieutenant Colonel Jiang Weiping looked a little special, because he was the only one in the audience with a beard, but this special case was personally approved, so what contribution did he make?
Jiang Weiping was 77 years old when he participated in the award, and he became the oldest lieutenant colonel in the history of our army with white hair, but the old man was still full of spirits, and looking back on the past, he felt that there was no time when he was younger than now.
Jiang Weiping is a native of Shilou Village, Fangshan County, Beijing, his family is poor, and he made a living by working for landlords in his early years, and it was not easy to live in the late Qing Dynasty, but Jiang Weiping thought more, he hoped to protect his family and defend the country, so that the people could live a good life.
So, Jiang Weiping joined Li Hongzhang's army before he was 20 years old, he felt that Li Hongzhang was a capable minister and should be able to save the country, he stayed here for 15 years, and finally took the initiative to leave.
It's not that he was discouraged because he didn't get promoted, but he found that Li Hongzhang's army was only for Li Hongzhang's own benefit, and a private army like this was obviously unable to shoulder the heavy responsibility of saving the country.
Jiang Weiping began to look for new targets, and after that, he successively joined the armies of warlords such as Yuan Shikai, Duan Qirui, and Zhang Zuolin, but each of them disappointed him very much, these warlords fought only to grab territory, and the lives of the common people were still in dire straits.
Gradually, Jiang Weiping, who had been a soldier for decades, realized that joining the army could not save China, and he was extremely disappointed and returned to his hometown Shilou Village in 1929.
Since you can't serve the country, you should retreat to the next best thing and return to your hometown to keep your fellow villagers safe.
In order to protect the safety of the villagers, Jiang Weiping scattered his savings from decades of being a soldier and formed a self-defense regiment.
The external problem was temporarily eliminated, but seeing that the villagers were sick and could not be treated in time, he couldn't bear it, so Jiang Weiping took the initiative to go up the mountain to collect medicine and studied medical skills by himself.
In the old army, Jiang Weiping learned simple bandaging and diagnosis and treatment, this time after self-study, medical skills are advancing by leaps and bounds, at the beginning the villagers did not believe his level, Jiang Weiping took the initiative to test the medicine, seeing that there was an effect, the villagers let him see a doctor, Jiang Weiping saved a lot of people.
It is obviously not his wish to protect the water and soil, Jiang Weiping has seen the world, and he knows that only when the country is strong, can the people truly live a happy life.
However, the world is so big, should we go to ** to find an army that truly serves the country and the people? Jiang Weiping didn't know the answer, time passed day by day, and Jiang Weiping was also deeply respected by the local people.
It wasn't until one day in March 1938 that Jiang Weiping finally found his way.
At this time, the all-out war of resistance had already begun, and a certain unit of the Eighth Route Army came here to establish an anti-Japanese base behind enemy lines, Jiang Weiping was surprised to find that this unit not only never disturbed the people, but also took the initiative to help the local people develop production, and the officers and soldiers in the army were equal, and everyone was full of fighting spirit.
Jiang Weiping immediately made up his mind, left home, and joined the Eighth Route Army!
At this time, he was already 60 years old, and his son Jiang Zhigang was worried about his father's health, so he persuaded him to stay at home, and the villagers also came to persuade him when they heard the news, after all, age is there, and fighting is not child's play.
But Jiang Weiping felt that he was younger than ever, he believed that he had found the direction to save the country, and a strong sense of conviction supported him to move forward bravely.
In this way, Jiang Weiping took Jiang Zhigang to break through the blockade of the Japanese army and came to the garrison of the Eighth Route Army.
In the end, the chief learned that Jiang Weiping had joined the army for many years and still did not change his original intention, but he was still moved by his courage and specially approved him to enter the team.
Jiang Weiping has never dragged the troops back, every time he fights, he rushes to the front, because he has been a soldier for many years, his combat experience is richer than some small soldiers who have been in the army for a few years, and soon, the soldiers of the nearby Eighth Route Army have heard that there is an old hero who killed the enemy in the army, and everyone admires him very much.
In addition to the war, Jiang Weiping also took the initiative to participate in the treatment of the wounded, with superb medical skills, many soldiers survived, Jiang Weiping's fame was greater, he joined the party, and became a model for young soldiers to learn.
In 1942, Jiang Weiping was transferred to Nanniwan to participate in large-scale production, at that time, in the face of the blockade of the Japanese army, there were serious difficulties in the supply of materials for our army.
Jiang Weiping immediately threw himself into the "battle"; he served as the head of the farm of the 719th Regiment of the 359th Brigade, and got up early every day to participate in the labor, and with his rich production experience and tenacious will, under his leadership, the annual grain output of the farm far exceeded the standard set by the organization, and there was a surplus of as much as 4,800 stones.
Jiang Weiping was rated as a model worker, at the commendation meeting, ** personally met with him, and called on the whole army to learn from this old hero, Jiang Weiping was more motivated, and has been active on the battlefield in the next few years.
During the War of Liberation, Jiang Weiping treated and saved people in the field hospital, and during the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, he also served as the vice president of the 258 Hospital of the People's Liberation Army, saving many wounded people from North Korea, and the soldiers respected him even more.
With Jiang Weiping's merits, it is understandable to award the rank of lieutenant colonel, but his idea of wanting to grow a beard really made it difficult for the cadres in charge of military rank assessment, after all, it is against the regulations for officers to grow beards, which seems to be the most impressive.
The cadre patiently explained to Jiang Weiping that this was an organizational arrangement, but Jiang Weiping felt that his parents should not be damaged in the slightest, and he had grown a beard for decades, and he was used to it, so he really didn't want to shave it off.
Just when the old man was in a dilemma, ** learned of the situation and immediately instructed: "It's him, then make a special case!" ”
** Knowing that Jiang Weiping joined the army at the age of 60 is already commendable, and he has saved so many soldiers on the battlefield, the Communists should be informal, and a special case should be given to such an old hero who is dedicated to the country.
**The decision was unanimously approved by the cadres, and Jiang Weiping was also very excited, and in this way, he became the only officer with a beard at the award ceremony, at that time, Jiang Weiping was smiling and high-spirited, and he was proud that he had made the right choice.
A year later, at the Eighth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Jiang Weiping was received again as a representative, and he kindly inquired about the physical condition of the old hero, and his words were full of care, which made Jiang Weiping even more excited and determined to work for the country and the people until the last moment.
**Sincerely said to Jiang Weiping:"Your task now is to live healthily, because your life is a living teaching material, which will have an impact on society and be instructive ...... young people”Jiang Weiping was even more moved.
In fact, at his age, he could have left his post to recuperate, but the old hero still insisted on staying in the military hospital, and wanted to save more people and do more for the new country and people.
On July 12, 1964, Jiang Weiping died in Beijing at the age of 86. "Ambition is not old", this is the best interpretation.