In a 1969 session of the Ninth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Xu Haidong sat in the aisle of the second row, in stark contrast to the other leaders. As the founding general, General Xu Haidong made outstanding contributions to the Chinese revolution, so he was highly praised.
However, this ** also records General Xu Haidong's last public appearance on a major occasion, and people can't help but wonder why he was placed in this special position.
Xu Haidong: The founding general of the People's Republic of China with a poor background Xu Haidong, a native of Huangpi, Hubei, was born in poverty, worked as a potter for 11 years, joined the Communist Party at the age of 25, and participated in the Northern Expedition.
After the counter-revolutionary coup d'état of April 12, he organized a peasant movement in his hometown and participated in the Jute Uprising. In 1932, the main force of the Red Fourth Army was forced to transfer, and Xu Haidong led the 27th Division to successfully complete the covering task.
In 1933, the Red 28th Army was newly formed, and he served as its commander. In Dabie Mountain, he led only more than 2,000 people to fight with the 100,000 Kuomintang army for a long time, and in 1934, he annihilated the enemy's 161st Brigade of the 54th Division in the Getenshan area.
In the list of the first batch of founding generals awarded in 1955, Xu Haidong's name followed Su Yu and ranked second.
Xu Haidong demonstrated outstanding leadership skills in his youth. In 1934, the Red 28th Army was incorporated into the Red 25th Army, and Xu Haidong led the team to start the arduous Long March in the name of the "Anti-Japanese Advance Team".
They successfully established the Hubei-Henan-Shaanxi Revolutionary Base in southern Shaanxi, and in May 1935, Xu Haidong led the Red 25th Army to smash the enemy's "encirclement and suppression" conspiracy under the disparity between the enemy and our forces.
In July, after adopting Xu Haidong's proposal to move west into Gansu, the Red 25th Army repeatedly clashed with Hu Zongnan's troops and successfully pinned down the enemy. However, because he did not hear the news of the ** Red Army, and the enemy was still surrounding and approaching, Xu Haidong once again put forward the proposal of going north to join the Red Army in northern Shaanxi.
After 10 months and four provinces, the Red 25th Army became the first Long March force to reach northern Shaanxi. After joining the Red Army in northern Shaanxi, the Red 25th Army was merged into the Red 15th Army Corps, with Xu Haidong as the corps commander.
In the ** Archives, there is a letter with a special historical background. This letter is not a traditional letter, but an IOU written by *** to Xu Haidong.
The origin of this IOU stems from the historical background of the Red Army's northward march.
On the road of revolution, ** and Xu Haidong have the same beliefs. When the Red Army led by *** faced serious difficulties on the way to the Long March, Xu Haidong resolutely rode more than 100 miles on horseback to Ganquan County to greet *** and others, and warmly entertained them.
This move not only reflects Xu Haidong's loyalty and enthusiasm, but also shows their firm belief and selfless dedication. Although the 25th Army to which Xu Haidong belonged was theoretically the team of "Zhang Guotao", their actions made people see the spirit of revolutionaries uniting and fighting together for their ideals.
* Although the Red Army arrived in northern Shaanxi, a new challenge arose: a lack of winter clothing to withstand the cold and food to satisfy the appetite. In desperation, ** took up the pen and wrote down an IOU, asking the comrade in charge of logistics to find Xu Haidong and borrow 2,500 yuan from the Red 15th Army.
After receiving the letter, Xu Haidong immediately provided 5,000 yuan in funds. It should be pointed out that the total assets of the Red 15th Army at that time were only 7,000 yuan. Xu Haidong's generosity was undoubtedly a "charcoal in the snow" for the ** Red Army in distress, alleviating their urgent needs.
Later, ** once commented: If the Red 25th Army led by Comrade Xu Haidong had not arrived in northern Shaanxi first and developed and consolidated the base areas in northern Shaanxi, the Red Army would have no foothold.
Xu Haidong on the Long March Xu Haidong, a heroic general in the Red Army, his story on the Long March is touching. After the Red Army arrived in northern Shaanxi, the enemy launched the third "encirclement and suppression".
Under the command of Xu Haidong and others, the Red Army finally won the victory. When the Xi'an Incident broke out, Xu Haidong was ordered to lead the Red 15th Army to the south to cooperate with the political struggle. During the Anti-Japanese War, he served as the commander of the 344th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army and participated in major battles such as the Pingxingguan Victory.
Under the hard work day and night, Xu Haidong fell ill and had to leave the battlefield to return to Yan'an to recuperate. But as soon as his health improved, Xu Haidong asked to return to the battlefield and continue to fight.
In December 1939, he led the New Fourth Army to repel more than 2,000 Japanese troops in the Zhoujiagang area, crushing the enemy's first major "sweep" to eastern Anhui.
Xu Haidong fought bravely in the war, but his health deteriorated. He once fainted at the venue while speaking in Zhoujiagang, and then had to accept a long-term **. In order for him to concentrate on recuperation, ** even drafted a telegram himself, hoping that he would "never care".
In the blink of an eye, in 1955, the army was ready to award the rank of 10 generals, and Xu Haidong was among them. However, when he learned the news, he was very uneasy while recuperating in Dalian.
He wrote to *** that he was absent from major battles and revolutionary construction work after 1940, and that he felt ashamed to accept such an honor. He hoped that this honour would be given to others who had made significant contributions to the revolution.
However, ** did not agree to his request, but told him that he was a person who had made great contributions to the revolution, and his name should be ranked after Su Yu.
After Xu Haidong received ***'s reply, he was deeply moved and determined to repay the party with better work. He once presided over the compilation of the "War History of the Red 25th Army", but due to physical reasons, he was unable to work for a long time.
In 1969, the special Ninth National Congress of the Communist Party of China was about to be held. When the chairman saw the list of participants, he found that Xu Haidong was not listed, and he couldn't help but ask in confusion. The Chairman thought that there was nothing wrong with Xu Haidong, and that he would not come to the meeting, nor would he attend himself.
At this time, Xu Haidong, due to some reasons, suffered some impacts, and the situation was very difficult. However, when the staff came to inform him that he was invited to participate in the Ninth National Congress and nominated him as a member of the presidium, Xu Haidong was very excited and said that his physical condition could attend the meeting.
Considering his physical condition, medical aids such as oxygen are needed at all times. After asking for instructions, the staff arranged him alone in the second row of the rostrum of the venue, close to the aisle.
That way, he doesn't feel crowded, and others don't disturb him when they move around. Moreover, in the event of an emergency in his body, the staff can also help him quickly.
This is the scene mentioned at the beginning of the article.
With tenacity and perseverance and firm conviction, Comrade Xu Haidong stood up and reported to the chairman. It was his last public appearance and his last meeting with the chairman.
Comrade Xu Haidong was one of the main leaders of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army and the People's Liberation Army, and although he later retired for a long time due to illness, his contribution to the Chinese revolution was enormous.