Lu ZhengcaoOn the birthday, the family asked how to spend it? Written on the blackboardQuietly
In mid-October 2009, Founding General Lu Zhengcao died of illness in Beijing at the age of 106. Seven days later, he held a grand memorial service at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery, and the leaders came to the scene to bid farewell to the old general and lay a wreath to show respect.
Outside the gate of the east courtyard of the cemetery auditorium, at about 8 o'clock in the morning, nearly 1,000 people spontaneously came to bid farewell to Lu Zhengcao and gathered to remember Lu Zhengcao. Holding chrysanthemums and wearing white flowers on their chests, they formed a long line outside the east wall, some of them holding Lu Zhengcao's obituary.
Zhang Weizhou, an old man from Shenyang, recalled his father, Zhang Zihou, who had served as Zhang Xueliang's adjutant with Lü Zhengcao and later joined the Northeast Army.
Lü Zhengcao served as a staff officer and regiment commander, while Zhang Zihou worked in the regiment's logistics department. Once, a Japanese plane dropped a bomb and hit Zhang Zihou's back, but fortunately, Lu Zhengcao personally bandaged him and saved his life.
Zhang Weizhou has always remembered his father's last wish, and although he could not meet Lu Zhengcao in person, he still hoped to be able to say "thank you" to him. Although their "first meeting" is also "the last meeting", he hopes that Lu Zhengcao can go all the way.
Liu Fengxia, a native of Hengshui, said that her mother and Lu Zhengcao had a special "fate".
During the Anti-Japanese War, Lu Zhengcao unfortunately suffered a leg injury and took refuge in the village where Xu Zhifang's mother lived. He led the villagers to dig tunnels and had many contacts with Xu Zhifang's mother and daughter.
Later, Xu Zhifang was captured by the Japanese, and Lu Zhengcao kept thinking about her. It wasn't until a few years before his death that Xu Zhifang and his daughter came to Beijing to visit him, and Lu Zhengcao learned that Xu Zhifang was still alive.
This experience has led to a deep bond between them.
Whenever Liu Fengxia mentioned the scene of her mother meeting Lu Lao, she always burst into tears. "Although Elder Lu has left us, his story of the War of Resistance has endured in our hometown. ”
Fang Xiaoning, the author of Lu Zhengcao's biography, has been friends with Lu Zhengcao for many years, and she shared with her visitors that she was deeply impressed by Lu Zhengcao's sincerity and equal treatment of others.
In the face of the interview, she was nervous, but unexpectedly, Lu Zhengcao also expressed her worries about her, worried about being "tested" by Fang Xiaoning. In 2007, this was the last conversation between Fang Xiaoning and Lu Zhengcao.
Lu Zhengcao personally inscribed "Interview for the People" for Fang Xiaoning, and told her that she must walk with the truth and move forward fearlessly.
When people come to the world, they come with a 'task', and if they are alive, they must keep moving forward", this is the teaching of Lu Lao to Fang Xiaoning. Although Lu Zhengcao has passed away, his words and deeds, his heroic deeds, are still circulating in the world, inspiring Fang Xiaoning and countless latecomers, inspiring them to keep moving forward.
Zhang Luxuan, Zhang Xueliang's niece, used to deliver information to his uncle and Lu Zhengcao. When the news of Lu Zhengcao's death came, she rushed back to attend his memorial service despite the busy overseas, as a way to express her deep respect for him.
When I heard the news of Lu Lao's passing, I felt very sad. He has always cared about the Zhang family, and our hearts have always been closely connected. The deepest impression that Lu Lao left on me was his patriotism and love for his relatives and friends, although I lived abroad and was far away from him, we kept in touch and talked on the phone often.
Yang Shangkun's son Yang Shaoming also bid farewell to Lu Zhengcao at the scene. He praised Lu Zhengcao as a funny and easy-going old man, who was deeply fascinated by tennis in his later years, and although he was older and not as physically fit as young people, he would ask the other party to help him serve, and jokingly called this way "feeding tennis".
Yang Shaoming emphasized that perhaps it is this optimistic spirit that allows Lu Zhengcao to live to the age of 106, which is a real "blessing and longevity".
Lu Zhengcao has left us, but this does not mean the end of history, but the beginning of a new chapter. Although the legendary story of Lu Zhengcao has become a thing of the past, his outstanding contributions to the revolutionary cause and his spirit of selfless dedication should be remembered forever and become a model for future generations to follow.
His name and deeds should be recorded in the annals of Chinese history and become our eternal pride and admiration.
Lv Zhengcao, formerly known as "Zhengchao", was born in 1905 in war-torn Liaoning Province and witnessed the suffering of China. His mother, in order to protect him, hid him in a haystack.
His family was poor, and after only four years of primary school, he was forced to drop out of school to work as an apprentice, learn to farm, and earn a meager income to support his family. However, even in such a difficult environment, he did not give up, he took up the barrel of a gun, rose up to resist, and eventually became the last founding general.
In 1922, 17-year-old Lu Zhengcao witnessed the oppression and exploitation of the people in his hometown by the Japanese, so he resolutely joined the Northeast Army. He recalled: "When I first entered the school when I was younger, my teacher gave me the name 'Zhengyan', but I later changed it to 'Zhengcao' because my goal was simple, that is, to train myself well enough to fight the Japanese invading army. ”
Lu Zhengcao is a self-taught person, he was appreciated by Zhang Xueliang with his beautiful hand, and was recommended to enter the Northeast Lecture Hall to study. Two years later, he graduated from his studies and returned to Zhang Xueliang and began to serve as a major adjutant, secretary and other positions.
In 1929, he was transferred to the chief of staff of the 116th Brigade of the 16th Division; In 1932, he was promoted to the commander of the 647th Regiment and led the soldiers to fight the Japanese in Rehe. In that year, Lu Zhengcao had brief contact with members of the CCP and had a preliminary understanding of the CCP's anti-Japanese position.
In 1934, Lü Zhengcao was ordered to Beiping City and successfully thwarted the Japanese attempt; In 1935, he commanded the troops to fight fiercely with the rebels and the Japanese army, and almost completely annihilated the enemy, and no one **; In the following year, Lü Zhengcao participated in the "Xi'an Incident" launched by Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng, and under the teaching of CCP members, he deepened his knowledge and understanding of the idea of national reunification against Japan.
After the end of the "incident", Lü Zhengcao returned to the Kuomintang army and continued to serve, and then the Northern Bureau was accepted as a member of the CCP organization. In the second year, the "77 Incident" occurred, and Lu Zhengcao witnessed the continuous defeat of the Kuomintang army, so in the same year, he led his troops to break away and established the "People's Self-Defense Army" in the Jizhong Plain, and stepped forward to shoulder the heavy responsibility of the CCP's anti-Japanese armed forces.
The old hero Lu Zhengcao recalled that autumn night, where the bright moonlight reflected their anti-Japanese journey. He once led the people in guerrilla warfare in the Jizhong Plain and created a miracle of the War of Resistance in the Plain.
These classic guerrilla war films, such as "Tunnel Warfare" and "Mine Warfare", are almost all based on his battles and tell the story of a hero who leads the people to rise up and resist.
He was a hero in the hearts of the people of Jizhong, calm and courageous, making the Japanese invaders fearful. ** He was praised as "a model of guerrilla warfare on the plains and a model of the people's armed struggle." ”
Many years later, Lu Zhengcao quipped: "Even if I was transferred to the commander of the Jinsui District, the Japanese newspapers were still reporting that they had captured Lu Zhengcao of the Jizhong Military Region." ”
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Lu Zhengcao was keen to devote himself to the railway cause of the motherland, and he served as a minister and member of a number of railway-related departments, making great contributions to the development of China's railway transportation industry.
02, his deep friendship with Zhang Xueliang: In Lu Zhengcao's life, the most unforgettable thing is his friendship with Zhang Xueliang for more than half a century. At the age of 17, Lü Zhengcao joined the Northeast Army and was soon recommended to Zhang Xueliang's Guards Brigade as a soldier.
At that time, he met Zhang Xueliang and spent many unforgettable times together. However, after the Xi'an Incident, they lost contact for various reasons, but this did not affect their friendship.
Even as the years passed, their relationship remained deep and became an important part of each other's lives.
In 1984, after the strait eased somewhat, Zhang Xueliang's niece Zhang Lulu made a special trip to visit Lu Zhengcao during the business negotiation period in Beijing, and resumed the correspondence between them.
Zhang Lulu as theirs"Courier", frequently traveling back and forth between the two sides of the strait to convey information to the elderly couple and make them more connected.
In 1987, Zhang Lulu gave Lu Zhengcao a poem by Tao Yuanming inscribed by his uncle's father. Lu Zhengcao sighed softly, looked at the last sentence that Zhang Xueliang had specially corrected, "I have no words to distinguish", and gave Zhang Xueliang a poem by Tao Yuanming, expressing his belief that Zhang Xueliang can regain his freedom.
The following year, before Zhang Lulu left Beijing, Lu Zhengcao brought two poems to Zhang Xueliang through her, one praising the deep friendship between Zhang Xueliang and Miss Zhao Si, and the other was an old poem left by Lu Zhengcao when he inspected Xuedou Temple, which conveyed his deep thoughts and expectations for Zhang Xueliang.
In 1990, Lu Zhengcao sincerely invited Zhang Xueliang to return to the mainland, and Zhang Xueliang replied with a poem expressing his ardent hope for the reunification of the motherland. The following year, Zhang Xueliang and Miss Zhao Si left China to visit relatives, and Lu Zhengcao learned about it and invited Zhang Xueliang to return to the mainland again.
Zhang Xueliang entrusted Zhang Lulu to convey his hope that the mainland would send people to the United States to meet him.
* The organization decided to send Lu Zhengcao to the United States to meet with Zhang Xueliang on behalf of the motherland. At the end of May, Lu Zhengcao and his entourage arrived in San Francisco by plane, and then went to New York, accompanied by Zhang Luxuan's family, and reunited with Zhang Xueliang at Mrs. Pei's home.
That day, Zhang Xueliang, who had gray hair, was waiting at the elevator entrance early, and when he saw Lu Zhengcao, who was also gray-haired, he immediately held Lu's hand tightly and did not let go for a long time.
Zhang Xueliang and Lu Zhengcao made a little joke on each other when they first met. Zhang Xueliang said that he was "superstitious about God", while Lu Zhengcao laughed and said that he was "superstitious about the people".
Their exchange was full of pleasant atmosphere, and Zhang Xueliang sent a congratulatory gift to Lu Zhengcao and agreed to meet again the next afternoon. At the second meeting, Lu Zhengcao conveyed **'s greetings and sent a letter written by Deng Yingchao.
Although Zhang Xueliang had poor eyesight, he still read the letter carefully and folded it carefully and put it in his pocket. He promised Lu Zhengcao that if he had the opportunity to return to the mainland, he would definitely visit the "Central Princes".
A few days after Zhang Xueliang personally replied to Deng Yingchao's letter, Lu Zhengcao decided not to attend Zhang Xueliang's birthday party. But under Zhang Xueliang's hope, the two met for the third time.
During the conversation, Zhang Xueliang expressed his concern about the mainland's policy toward Taiwan and hoped to bring it back to Taiwan and convey it to those in power and do his part to promote cross-strait reunification.
This is the last time Zhang Xueliang and Lu Zhengcao saw each other in their lives. Lu Zhengcao returned to China to "regain his life", and Zhang Xueliang left the United States and returned to Taiwan. When the news of Zhang Xueliang's death came back to the mainland, Lu Zhengcao, who had been waiting for him to return to the motherland, was extremely sad.
He was interviewed and said sadly: "General Zhang Xueliang is also a teacher and friend to me, he has devoted his life to the reunification of the motherland and the rejuvenation of the nation, I know that he hopes to return to China to deal with the aftermath, and now he is gone, leaving an eternal regret." ”
03, leisurely old age: He loves tennis, loves bridge, and at the same time misses his long-lost hometown. In July 2009, Lu Zhengcao met with the reporter of the special issue of "The Nation" in the 301 Hospital for the last interview in his life.
Special correspondent Xia Lina later recalled that that day, the old man in a wheelchair was quietly in front of the brightly lit hospital room, his favorite tennis game. The years have dyed his hair and eyebrows white, but those eyes that have witnessed the vicissitudes of a century still shine with a sharp and deep light.
After Xia Lina accompanied the old man Lu Zhengcao to watch the game, she heard that after he had cataract surgery, he didn't need to wear glasses to read newspapers and magazines, and she couldn't help but feel that the old man's vitality was strong.
You don't know, the wheat floor was the best tennis court at that time. "Whenever he wins, he celebrates with a friendly tennis match. According to his family, until his death at the age of 106, he still retained the title of "President of the Chinese Tennis Association", and his tennis ** was still hung in his home, and Samaranch's signed painting was treasured.
Lu Zhengcao's love for tennis can be said to be deep in his bone marrow and he has never given up all his life. In addition, he also has a hobby of playing bridge, and in his later years, he often spent his spare time with colleagues in the Ministry of Railways, leaving many interesting stories.
In January of the year of Lu Zhengcao's 106th birthday, in order to organize a special birthday for him, his family began planning as early as September 2009. But considering his poor hearing, the family wrote down a question on a small blackboard: "How are you going to spend your birthday?" ”
Lu Zhengcao simply replied with four words: "No need to make a noise."
Although many units and Lu Zhengcao's hometown ** wanted to celebrate his 100th birthday and expressed their willingness to visit, they were all politely declined by Lu Zhengcao. On his 100th birthday, Lu Zhengcao chose to stay at home quietly as usual and enjoy the pleasure of reading.
It's just that he wore a bright red sweater that day, which became the only highlight on his birthday. Unfortunately, Lu Zhengcao did not live to his 106th birthday in 2009.
When Lu Zhengcao died, a reporter went to the place where he was born and grew up, and learned from the villagers that Lu Zhengcao never forgot his hometown, he returned there three times, and witnessed the great changes in his hometown three times.
When Haicheng**, Lu Zhengcao resolutely opposed the proposal to rebuild the old house, and he asked the people of his hometown to use the aid money where it was most needed.
Lu Zhengcao's nephew, Lu Zonglun, said that they were not surprised or overly saddened by Lu Zhengcao's death, because he was 106 years old and could be regarded as a mourning.
Although Lu Zhengcao has left us, the legend of his life is still widely spread in the world.
Lu Zhengcao, a 100-year-old founding general, his life is full of legends. He has a deep relationship with Zhang Xueliang for the century, and what is even more admirable is that he has spent a 100-year-old legendary life with tennis as his companion.