Foreword: After the incident, the "Second Artillery" unit needed a new manager.
In this difficult problem that bothered everyone, ** and *** jointly recommended Xiang Shouzhi. Even *** said, "He has to be!" So, what kind of experience did Xiang Shouzhi have, and what is the connection with the "Second Artillery" unit?
Why do *** and *** unanimously recommend him?
Xiang Shouzhi was a veteran soldier with rich revolutionary experience, who joined the Red Army at the age of 17 and became an outstanding Communist Party member at the age of 19. His revolutionary career began during the agrarian revolution, and from then on he was a loyal fighter of our army and our party.
However, what best demonstrated his tenacious revolutionary will was undoubtedly the 25,000-mile Long March in which he participated. In this arduous journey, he relied on his firm belief in the party's leadership to overcome countless difficulties and finally won the victory.
At the beginning of the Long March, Xiang Shouzhi suffered an accident when a soldier accidentally fell and injured his foot with the butt of his rifle. The instep of the foot was bloody and blurred, and every step was painful like being pierced by an awl.
However, he did not back down, and did not even use a drop of alcohol or bandages for simple treatment, but insisted on healing his foot injury. He risked the wound infection by not doing it, just to save the scarce nutrients for his seriously injured comrades.
This spirit is admirable, and this tenacious will is even more moving.
FigXiang Shouzhi followed the troops through a difficult journey. The biggest difficulties they face are the perennial wind and snow in Jiajin Mountain, which no birds can fly over, the steep mountain road is covered with thick snow and ice, and the altitude sickness makes people desperate.
Many warriors fell on the snowy mountains, but Xiang Shouzhi, with tenacity and perseverance, overcame the difficulties, although his voice was hoarse and his hands and feet were frozen. They finally climbed over the snowy mountains and reached the meadow.
The meadow was actually a mud swamp, but Xiang Shouzhi and his comrades used sticks to find their way and rescue their comrades who were stuck in the quagmire, and when they were thirsty and hungry, they used local materials, first eating turf and roots, and later chopping up preserved eggs and straw sandals and boiling them.
In the end, they completed the 25,000-mile long march and ushered in the red.
1. The division of the Red Second and Red Fourth Front armies. There was thunderous applause as *** and ** led everyone into the city, and everyone was proud of their feat.
Xiang Shouzhi's answer was concise and profound: "Without the correct leadership of the Party and the guidance of the correct line, the Long March would not have been successful!" With this belief, he went through the revolutionary years, resisted the Japanese invaders, fought fiercely, and finally ushered in the liberation of the whole of China.
Xiang Shouzhi's contribution does not stop there. In 1955, he was awarded the rank of Major General and began a series of teaching assignments. In addition, he served as the president of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Artillery Technical College and the first commander of the "Second Artillery" unit, although he only served for 43 days.
Xiang Shouzhi's experience as the artillery chief and commander of the 43 days shows his important role in the building of the Strategic Missile Forces. Note that although the "Second Artillery" and "First Artillery" units have similar names, they are very different in nature.
The first artillery is the traditional artillery, while the second artillery is the strategic missile forces. This transformation can be traced back to the 50s of the last century, when our country urgently needed to break the imperialist nuclear threat and nuclear blackmail and have its own nuclear counterforces.
To do this, we need to study nuclear **, and create the Strategic Missile Forces.
At the critical moment of the readjustment and reform of the armed forces, I must not only consider my own future development, but also have the overall situation in mind. The interests of the motherland are above all else, and I am willing to be this trailblazer and stepping stone! ”
Xiang Shouzhi left the 15th Army and went to Xi'an to serve as the principal. However, at that time, the school was still in its infancy, and there were many deficiencies in teaching materials, equipment and talents.
In order to make up for these deficiencies for the school, Xiang Shouzhi ran around and tried his best.
Xiang Shouzhi: Finally, all aspects are almost ready, and Xiang Shouzhi proposed to *** to change the name of the school. "This is to train missile engineers, technicians and junior commanders, and it is very inconvenient to use the current name to contact and work with the outside world, so it is better to change the school into an academy. ”
**After thinking about it, I agreed. Later, in order to strengthen the teaching force, Xiang Shouzhi specially proposed a plan to pull out green seedlings, which was personally approved and supported by various units, which led to the first test launch of a surface-to-surface missile in October 1963.
In the end, under the command of Xiang Shouzhi, the surface-to-surface missile achieved unprecedented success. It is precisely because Xiang Shouzhi has always dealt with missiles and has achieved proud results. Therefore, in July 1967, ** personally issued a letter of appointment appointing Xiang Shouzhi as the commander of the Second Artillery Corps.
Xiang Shouzhi also said, "I was the first commander of the Second Artillery. As a newly formed technical arm, the 'Second Artillery' refers to the Strategic Missile Forces, and this name is taken to distinguish it from the traditional artillery (First Artillery). ”
No one expected that Xiang Shouzhi would only hold the post for 43 days because he was intervened by **. Since then, the main person in charge of the Second Artillery Corps has become **, until"Ninety-one-three"When the incident broke out, ** fled and died, ** took over the relevant work of the Second Artillery Corps.
However, at that time, he needed to concentrate on the work of the Military Commission and could not carry out in-depth management of the Second Artillery Corps, so he decided to re-select a general to take over as the commander of the Second Artillery Corps.
However, the position of the Second Artillery Corps is important and special, and ordinary generals may not be able to do it. On this issue, ** is bothered. That's when a suggestion was made:"Let Xiang Shouzhi take this position, he is very good at this field. "
**After hearing it, he agreed and said:"It must be him! "So, in November 1974, ** and Xiang Shouzhi had an in-depth discussion and reached a consensus on this issue.
When Xiang Shouzhi walked into the office and saw *** in good spirits and full of silver hair, he couldn't help but drum in his heart. ** Get straight to the point and tell him: "We thought about it for a long time, but we decided to let you return to the Second Artillery as commander."
What do you think? Xiang Shouzhi hesitated, "It's been a while since I left the team, and I'm afraid I'm lagging behind a lot in understanding and learning, and I'm afraid it's difficult to be up to the task." ”
** insisted that Xiang Shouzhi be appointed commander, and repeatedly emphasized that Xiang Shouzhi considered it for four months and finally decided to accept the appointment. During this time, he worked hard to learn about missiles and confirmed that he was qualified for the position.
From this process, it can be seen that Xiang Shouzhi's conscientiousness and responsibility are very high.
In 1974, Xiang Shouzhi once again served as the commander of the Second Artillery Corps, becoming the only general to serve as the main leader of the Second Artillery Corps twice. **As the old chief of Xiang Shouzhi, it may also be because he understands Xiang Shouzhi's characteristics, so he recommends him to ***
In the past years, Xiang Shouzhi's performance in Erye left a deep impression on ***, especially the three ambush battles, which fully reflected Xiang Shouzhi's carefulness, seriousness and wisdom and bravery.
In the first Shentouling ambush battle, Xiang Shouzhi laid out an ambush circle in advance and successfully annihilated more than 1,500 Japanese troops. Although the number of enemies annihilated in the Xiangtangpu ambush was not as large as the previous one, it also annihilated more than 400 enemies, showing Xiang Shouzhi's resourcefulness and ability to predict.
The Lingshitun ambush is Xiang Shouzhi's masterpiece, he led his troops to skillfully circle the rear and successfully defeated the Japanese army, and only a few Japanese troops were able to escape. This battle made Xiang Shouzhi famous, and ** and *** also began to pay attention to him.
However, when Xiang Shouzhi assumed the post of commander of the Second Artillery Corps, he felt very sorry because of the appointment and dismissal of his post. But after the position of commander became vacant, he immediately thought of Xiang Shouzhi.
This is a testament to Xiang Shouzhi's talent and influence. When Xiang Shouzhi once again assumed the post of commander of the Second Artillery Corps, although he only served for more than two years, he played a key role in the rectification and reform of the Second Artillery Corps.
However, when he first took office, some people were dissatisfied with him, and some even mocked him with sentences from "Dream of Red Mansions". Despite the challenges, Xiang Shouzhi managed to turn the tide with his talent and determination.
FigGeneral Xiang Shouzhi inspected the troops, and General Xiang Shouzhi strictly abided by the instructions of *** and *** and others, and carried out camping and troop reorganization of the troops according to the plan, and finally lived up to the high expectations of the ** Military Commission.
In September 1977, he was transferred to the Nanjing Military Region as deputy commander, and although he left the Second Artillery Corps, which he loved so much, this was a normal job transfer, and General Xiang Shouzhi had no complaints about it.
He held leadership positions in the Nanjing Military Region until his retirement in 1990. Although General Xiang Shouzhi's life has experienced many twists and turns, it is still full of wonderful, and his spiritual will shines more brightly in the tempering of the years.
The most striking characteristic of General Xiang Shouzhi is that he adheres to the party's leadership and always has a grateful heart. We mentioned his first point at the beginning of the article, and the second point is vividly reflected in the Long March.
In an interview with General Xiang Shouzhi in his later years, he often mentioned the kindness of the old squad leader on the Long March to him.
In that battle, he almost died from a shell, and at the critical moment, it was the old squad leader who sacrificed his life and forgot to throw him to the ground. Afterwards, the old squad leader also warned him: "Calm down, be sure to protect yourself!" ”
Although the old squad leader's voice was hoarse and stern, Xiang Shouzhi felt extremely warm in his ears. In the following difficult journey of climbing snowy mountains and crossing grasslands, Xiang Shouzhi also received help from many comrades.
For example, when his hands and feet were frozen and unconscious, his comrades-in-arms endured the bitter cold and collected weeds to light a bonfire for him. When he was stuck in the quagmire, feeling his body slowly sinking and almost desperate, his comrades stretched out bamboo poles to scoop him up from the swamp ......Of course, the fighters of our army help each other.
During the 25,000-mile Long March, Xiang Shouzhi also helped many people, and there were more than a dozen comrades-in-arms rescued from the grassland alone. As Xiang Shouzhi later recalled: "The reason why the Red Army was able to break through the limits of mankind again and again was that it understood the power of unity and fraternity. ”
FigGeneral Xiang Shouzhi and his wife The story of General Xiang Shouzhi and his wife deeply illustrates the importance of unity and friendship. On this basis, they cherish each other more and are grateful.
Whenever he recalled those verdant years, Xiang Shouzhi's eyes couldn't help but moisten, and he said: "I ate a lot, and my comrades-in-arms gave me all the food, so I was able to finish that journey."
On that stretch of the road, how many comrades fell forever in the middle of the way. The deeds of General Xiang Shouzhi let us see an ordinary but shining heart with infinite brilliance.
No matter whether the artillery academy needed him or the artillery unit needed him, he never hesitated and never took personal honor and disgrace to heart. For him, only those years with his comrades-in-arms, and only the motherland that countless compatriots have devoted themselves to building, is the "wealth" he cherishes in his heart.