Most of the veterans of the Founding Fathers retired and enjoyed the privileges that matched their status, and there was no need to worry about daily chores. However, there are always a few famous generals whose lives are in trouble, such as General Ding Sheng, who has been adrift for many years in the second half of his life.
Those who are familiar with military history know that General Ding Sheng was a brave and good general, especially in the War of Liberation. After the liberation, he rose through the ranks, becoming one of the first major generals to be appointed commander of a large military region, and successively served as the commander of two major military regions, ranking in the main post of the large military region.
If he is treated according to normal retirement, he will surely live happily in his old age. However, due to the reasons involved in two cases, in 1982, he was asked to retire from the military and be placed in the local area according to the treatment of regimental cadres.
Prior to this, the three generals Wu, Qiu, and Li were placed in Jinan, Xi'an, Taiyuan and other places respectively, while Ding Sheng went to Nanchang to settle down.
On July 28, 1984, Ding Sheng packed his bags and prepared to move to Nanchang. The Nanjing Military Region has completed the handover of the Nanchang Veteran Cadres Bureau, which also means that the army is no longer responsible for his future life.
However, when he arrived at the local retreat center in Nanchang, he found that the environment was extremely unsatisfactory. It was a hot summer, but there were no adequate sanitation facilities and electric lights had not yet been installed. He and his wife were alone, and their original plan to bring a child to him was never realized.
In this dry retreat, the director's attitude towards him was extremely unfair. On the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, a tea party was held at the dry rest house, and his grandson played under the tree, while the director only distributed fruit to others, ignoring him.
Ding Sheng felt angry, and some people couldn't bear to see him wronged and stand up for him. The next day, he was given pumpkins, corn, and peanuts as a token of sympathy for him.
In October, General Ding Sheng returned from Nanchang to the ancient capital of Nanjing, where he and his family settled in an old house deep in an alley. His neighbors were aware of him.
In the vegetable market, they met the old General Ding Sheng, and they were in awe of him. They used to affectionately call him "Commander Ding" in their spare time, but whenever this moment, General Ding Sheng always waved his hand humbly:
Oh, don't call me that, I'm not a commander now, just call me Lao Ding. ”
General Ding Sheng used to be strict in governing the army, but he also cared for his subordinates in his daily life, so he accumulated a deep revolutionary friendship. Although he has experienced ups and downs later, these old comrades-in-arms have always been concerned about his recent situation. Some of his old subordinates also invited him to live in their cities from time to time.
FigIn November 1950, Ding Sheng (first from left) was the commander of the 45th Army.
At this time, General Ding Sheng would gladly accept the invitation and visit various places. Because of the endless stream of people who came to visit and return visits, some well-wishers began to organize gatherings, and even reunited with old comrades-in-arms who had been separated from General Ding Sheng for decades.
On the occasion of parting, these old friends and subordinates will try their best to raise a part of the money as General Ding Sheng's travel expenses. Although some demobilized cadres also face difficulties in life, they still try to scrape together a few dollars to express their hearts.
Ding Sheng often put a sentence on his lips in his later years: "In my later years, I have three dependents, one is my wife and children, the second is the organization, and the third is my comrades-in-arms." ”
Whenever he recalled these past events, Ding Sheng felt extremely grateful. The words he often said in his later years drew a happy end to his life.
In 1990, Ding Sheng began to appeal for himself and embarked on a road full of hardships. Due to financial constraints, he had to travel to Beijing by train.
His problems will not be solved overnight, and he must be prepared for a long stay. Food, clothing, housing and transportation cost money, and the level of consumption in the capital is not low.
However, when Ding Sheng arrived in Beijing, the old subordinates of the 54th Army came to help. They knew very well that the old army commander was living in difficulty, and in addition to renting a house, Ding Sheng's food and clothing in Beijing were provided by his old subordinates.
During the months spent in Beijing, Ding Sheng was greatly helped in both his spirit and life. Although the matter had not been fully handled before leaving Beijing, Ding Sheng was still deeply grateful.
After leaving Beijing, Ding Sheng's old subordinates enthusiastically took them to Tianjin. Knowing that they did not leave with enough thick clothing, the old subordinates sent sweaters, cotton jackets, leather jackets, etc.
In the summer of 1991, Ding Sheng went to Wuhan and went to Xinyang to escape the summer. There, he was warmly welcomed by his old comrades-in-arms and subordinates. After leaving Wuhan, he went to Nanjing.
Perhaps due to the weather, when they arrived in Nanjing, they had a heart attack. During admission**, 5,000 yuan was spent. For Ding Sheng, this cost is unaffordable. Therefore, he had to find someone to vouch for and owe the fee first.
After his condition improved, he went to the Nanchang Health Bureau for reimbursement of medical expenses. In the process, he encountered some doubts: because he was seeking medical treatment outside the province, there were large gaps and loopholes in the connection between different places at that time, and the other party could not verify it, so it was normal for him to have doubts.
After that, he stayed in Jinan, during which more than 100 people came to visit him. Some of them he knew, others he didn't. When he left Jinan, due to the limited funds on hand, he did not buy a soft sleeper, but chose a hard sleeper to return to Nanjing.
That was time, he confided his heart to Nie Shuai, and Nie Shuai gave instructions on his appeal, ordering the relevant departments to conduct an in-depth investigation and properly handle it.
In Ding Sheng's words, the old marshal has left the position of power, and who is willing to touch this kind of case, if it is self-defeating, it will not only affect the individual, but also affect many aspects. As a result, many people shy away from it.
In this case, things did not take much of a turn for the better.
In 1995, with the approval of the leaders of the General Political Department, it was agreed that he would be called into the army and arranged for him to rest in the headquarters of the Guangzhou Military Region according to his wishes. The treatment has been improved, the original regiment-level treatment has been upgraded to the deputy division level treatment, and the living expenses have been adjusted from 200 yuan to 550 yuan.
For Ding Sheng, this is much better than before, at least the housing problem has been solved.
In fact, in 1989, the old couple was already old and had difficulty moving, so they decided to go south to join their daughter. But staying at their daughter's home for a long time is not a long-term solution, so they hope to be able to move their residence from their daughter's home to Shenzhen.
However, this wish has been too difficult to achieve and has not been realized. Now, they have finally found a chance to settle down in Guangzhou, where other children have settled, and it is not too far from Shenzhen, so it is not easy for the family to be reunited here.
The old man did not have much luxury in life, and in his later years he mainly focused on two issues, one was to move their relationship closer to their children, and the other was to appeal for themselves and fight for the restoration of party and military membership. However, before dying, they were only halfway through these wishes.
Ding Sheng's life was full of ups and downs, but he never gave up his love for life and responsibility for his family. In his later years, he relied on the help of his wife, children, organizations, and comrades-in-arms to spend a fulfilling and happy old age.