In 1974, Yang Dezhi, then commander of the Wuhan Military Region, came to Jingzhou and took the opportunity of the inspection to see his old comrades-in-arms. However, when he told the local cadres the names of their old comrades-in-arms, the local cadres did not find relevant records in the veterans' files.
It wasn't until Yang Dezhi's subordinates found the residence of this comrade-in-arms that everyone suddenly realized: it turned out that this comrade-in-arms used to be a spy, but now he has become an old comrade-in-arms of the commander.
As for why Yang Dezhi's old comrades-in-arms were mistaken for "spies" by the locals, the hidden story behind that is curious. Don't miss it, follow the experience of the old man Hou Lixiang and unveil the veil of history together.
Hou Lixiang, an old man who was mistaken for a "spy", once fought side by side with Yang Dezhi and other founding generals, and also helped Yang Dezhi on the battlefield. When Yang Dezhi went to visit him, he found that the locals had mistaken him for a "spy", and Yang Dezhi deeply regretted it, assuring everyone that Hou Lixiang was a loyal old revolutionary.
After a re-investigation by the local **, everyone was surprised to find that Hou Lixiang had such great achievements, and in order to restore his identity, he made great efforts.
Hou Lixiang was born in 1912 in Xionghe Town, Jiangling County, and his parents died unexpectedly when he was 12 years old, leaving him orphaned and his family poor. Despite this, Hou Lixiang still struggled to live, and after the death of his parents, he had only a little food left, but he still struggled until he finally found his identity and dignity.
At that time, life was difficult, and every family was not well-off. Because of the opposition of his relatives, Hou Lixiang was unwilling to have an extra mouth to eat at home, so he had no choice but to become a little beggar.
On the way he wandered, he wandered to Jingzhou. Life in Jingzhou did not change for him, he was too young to hire him, so he could only huddle with other beggars in a dilapidated temple.
Fortunately, during his wandering career, he met a noble man - Liang Zi. Liang Zi was different from other beggars, he spoke sonorously and powerfully, and although he lived in a harsh environment and could not even eat enough every day, his eyes were full of hope for the future, and he even said words to overthrow the landlords.
The beggar, named "Liang Zi", was actually an underground party member who was forced by the situation to blend in with the beggars to conceal his identity. In his time with Hou Lixiang, Liang Zi sympathized with Hou Lixiang's tragic plight and asked him if he had ever thought about overthrowing the landlords who oppressed them.
Hou Lixiang was deeply moved by Liang Zi's words, and he realized that as a beggar with no future, he might die in the corner if he couldn't survive a winter. Therefore, he decided to join the army, looking for an opportunity to change his fate.
Hou Lixiang, formerly known as Liang Zi, was a Red Army soldier. With the help of Liang Zi, he joined the New Army recruitment and became a member of the Red Army. However, when registering his name, because Hou Lixiang had a strong accent, the registration staff mistakenly wrote his name as Li Xiang.
Although Hou Lixiang was illiterate, he happily followed when he saw others writing on paper. In 1928, Hou Lixiang joined the Communist Party and was accepted into the organization the following year for his outstanding performance.
With the encouragement of the organization, Hou Lixiang's revolutionary will was strengthened, and it was like home to him. Although life in the ranks of the Red Army was extremely difficult, and if he was not careful, he would die in the war, but for Hou Lixiang, who had been wandering, it was already a happy day.
After joining the army, Hou Lixiang met Yang Dezhi, and the two were only one year apart. Although Yang Dezhi is Hou Lixiang's superior, he cherishes young talents like Hou Lixiang. The two often exchanged combat experience, and they also had revolutionary experiences.
In 1934, Hou Lixiang showed bravery and control in the fierce battle, won the appreciation of his superiors and was promoted to the commander of the Red First Army. During the Long March, he bravely shouldered heavy burdens, opened the way for the Red Army, and cleared the obstacles to its progress.
This task was extremely dangerous, and he often confronted enemy forces head-on, risking his life to find a way for the Red Army. In 1935, Hou Lixiang and Yang Dezhi's troops were heavily surrounded by enemy troops, and although they resisted stubbornly, the enemy's fire was too fierce, and Yang Dezhi was soon seriously wounded and collapsed under enemy fire.
In the face of the critical situation, Hou Lixiang did not panic, he commanded the soldiers to confuse the enemy with firepower, and at the same time led several people to successfully break through, and finally escaped with the injured Yang Dezhi.
Yang Dezhi is grateful to his life-saving benefactor Hou Lixiang, and the two are brothers with different surnames. During the Long March, they fought side by side and participated in major battles such as the capture of the Luding Bridge.
However, Hou Lixiang was injured in a war, and his leg bones and neck were injured, making him unfit to continue fighting. Fortunately, the Long March had ended, and the organization arranged for him to recuperate from his injuries at Wayaobao.
Although he could not go to the battlefield, he was not given up organizationally. In order to train more cadres, the organization arranged for him to study at the Red Army University. Here, he got acquainted with Xu Shiyou and other generals of the future New China, and even met ***
Hou Lixiang's pain did not stop his growth and progress, but became a precious asset in his life. Hou Lixiang's life can be said to have undergone earth-shaking changes after joining the Red Army. Before joining the Red Army, he could not even solve the problem of food and clothing, let alone study.
However, after entering the Red Army, he began to come into contact with and study the ideological monographs and revolutionary spirit of our Party, which was a completely new learning opportunity for him. What he didn't expect was that he also got the opportunity to go to university to study professional military theory, which was undoubtedly a major change in his fortunes.
After graduating, he was appointed deputy head of the 1st Regiment of Guards of the **Military Commission, specializing in the security work of the ** leader, and the expectations of him in the organization are self-evident.
At that time, Yang Dezhi was still leading troops to fight on the front line.
Hou Lixiang's life should have been smooth sailing, but an unexpected injury made him unable to continue to join the army, so he had no choice but to change jobs and return to his hometown. After returning to his hometown, he did not become depressed, but accepted the new task of the party organization - to carry out intelligence work behind enemy lines for our party.
In order to better complete the mission, he opened a teahouse in his hometown, and the teahouse was full of people, and he was able to easily obtain information and pass it on. In order to hide his identity as an underground party, he went all out to run a teahouse, carefully maintained it, and the business became increasingly popular, attracting many regular customers.
But what I didn't expect was that the booming business attracted the attention of thieves and caused some unnecessary trouble.
Hou Lixiang's home was rummaged through by thieves, and although the money and belongings were not lost, the box containing the documents and relevant certificates of the army was accidentally lost. Even so, when the other party found him, Hou Lixiang still resolutely served the party.
In order to penetrate the enemy, the secretary of the Jiangling County Party Committee arranged for him a new task of serving as the local Japanese puppet security chief, which enabled him to penetrate into the enemy, deliver news for the party, and help rescue the underground party personnel.
In the face of the misunderstanding and contempt of the people, Hou Lixiang silently endured it, only looking forward to the day when the revolution was victorious. Although the underground party organizations faced the danger of life at all times during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, and if there was a problem with the contact point, the underground party members would be transferred, our party never relaxed.
Hou Lixiang remained in place after the war, but the underground party members who had been assigned to him were nowhere to be found, and he did not even know if they were still alive.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Hou Lixiang was deeply troubled by prejudice and discrimination against people who had worked for the Japanese, and although he did not have any stains, the lack of evidence and human evidence to prove his innocence allowed him to make a living from farming in the local area.
Hou Lixiang has always been eager to make a name for himself, and after years of searching, he finally found news of Yang Dezhi, especially after hearing that he was awarded the rank of general, he was even more overjoyed, thinking that Yang Dezhi would definitely help him prove his innocence.
So, he wrote a letter and sent it to Yang Dezhi, and after a few months, the letter finally reached Yang Dezhi's hands. At that time, Yang Dezhi was the leader of the Jinan Military Region, and when he learned of Hou Lixiang's predicament, he immediately wrote a handwritten letter to prove it.
However, when Hou Lixiang went to the local area with the letter, he did not believe him at all, because they had already characterized him as a "counter-revolutionary" and decided that it was impossible for him to know Yang Dezhi.
Hou Lixiang's words and deeds aroused the dissatisfaction of the local cadres, who felt that Hou Lixiang took out Yang Dezhi's handwritten letter and proclaimed himself a revolutionary, which made them feel very uncomfortable.
Although many "counter-revolutionaries" chose to live a low-key life after the founding of New China, Hou Lixiang still went his own way, which made them feel helpless. In order to curb Hou Lixiang's arrogance, the local cadres decided to punish him.
Hou Lixiang was mistaken for a "spy" after losing his documents, and Yang Dezhi reached out to help many times but was never able to change the situation. The local cadres identified him as a "counter-revolutionary" and sent him to labor reform and strict supervision in order to "settle down" him.
He spent a full decade in the forest farm, during which he tried to write to Yang Dezhi many times, but he failed to do so, and was even ridiculed by others as wishful thinking. Although Yang Dezhi has always been concerned about his comrades-in-arms, due to work reasons, he has not been able to leave to come to Hubei to visit Hou Lixiang.
However, Hou Lixiang did not blame the cadres who made him suffer, nor did he resent the masses who did not know the truth, because he understood that his appointment as the chief of the Japanese puppet regime was a fact that everyone saw with their own eyes, and the cadres only acted according to their duties.
In 1971, Hou Lixiang firmly believed in the pursuit of identity restoration. After breaking free from the shackles, he immediately set off, fearless of hardships, and rushed all the way from the local area to the Jinan Military Region to find Yang Dezhi.
On the journey, in order to save money, he chose a free train, starved, drank river water, and trekked all the way, and finally succeeded in reaching Jinan. After arriving in Jinan, he came to the gate of the Jinan Military Region in tattered clothes, claiming that he was a Red Army and hoped to meet Yang Dezhi.
Despite the suspicions of his identity on the part of the guards at the door, they reported the incident. Yang Dezhi heard that there was no evidence for the person who came, and he was puzzled. He remembered that he had sent a handwritten letter to Hou Lixiang last year, why did he have no evidence now?
To be on the safe side, the guards suggested that Hou Lixiang write a written certificate detailing the relationship between Yang Dezhi and Hou Lixiang at that time, so as to verify the authenticity of his identity.
Hou Lixiang understood Yang Dezhi's caution, and the soldiers arranged for him to live in a quiet room and prepared daily necessities for him, which was a rare peaceful night that Hou Lixiang had obtained after going through hardships.
Hou Lixiang's written certificate was delivered to Yang Dezhi the next day, looking at the familiar handwriting and the bits and pieces of the past, Yang Dezhi firmly believed that it was Hou Lixiang. When the two met, Hou Lixiang looked much older because of the tempering of the years.
He recounted the past days to Yang Dezhi, which made Yang Dezhi very distressed, he said: "I don't have any demands, I just hope to be able to restore my political identity." Because Yang Dezhi couldn't get out of the barracks, he wrote a letter again, worried that the local cadres would not know his handwriting and that there would be a misunderstanding ten years ago, so he instructed Hou Lixiang to take the letter to Zeng Siyu of the Wuhan Military Region.
Before leaving, in order to stop his old comrades-in-arms from wandering, Yang Dezhi gave him 100 yuan and 20 catties of food stamps. However, fate always likes to play tricks on people, and before he saw Zeng Siyu, the food stamps in the bag were seen by the thief, and he not only lost the food stamps, but also the handwritten letter.
The setback left Hou disheartened, and he returned home to live in poverty, never to regain his political identity.
Hou Lixiang is a soldier with a twist and turn, he has been trying to prove himself, but he always makes mistakes. When he almost gave up hope, things turned around. In 1974, Yang Dezhi was transferred to the Wuhan Military Region, and after taking office, he personally came to Jingzhou to inspect and visited Hou Lixiang by the way.
Yang Dezhi's certificate made the local ** investigate and found that they had misunderstood Yang Dezhi over the years, restored his identity, and handled a second-class A disabled soldier certificate for him.
Since then, he has been able to enjoy state subsidies every month. This practice not only showed respect to those revolutionaries who disappeared in the war, but also warmed the hearts of the soldiers.
Because, the state understands that only by giving them the treatment they deserve can they truly get the reward they deserve for their efforts.