Reading guide:Shortly after the Spring Festival in 1985, the founding general Xu Shiyou was diagnosed with liver cancer in Nanjing, and it was already at an advanced stage, and the situation was very unoptimistic. After learning the news, his children and old comrades-in-arms persuaded him to go to Beijing**, where the medical equipment and experts are among the top in the country. But Xu Shiyou did not follow their advice and still insisted on being in Nanjing**.
Why did the old general refuse to go north for treatment? Xu Shiyou knows his condition best, and knows that even if he goes to Beijing, he can't be cured. He didn't go to Beijing because he was worried that he wouldn't be able to come back, and he wouldn't be able to go back to his hometown to settle down and accompany his mother after he died.
In 1905, Xu Shiyou was born in Xinxian County, Henan, he lost his father when he was a child, and his mother raised him with hard work. Later, due to his poor family, he entered the Shaolin Temple to practice martial arts, joined the Red Army in 1928, and then fought in the south and north for decades, and gradually grew into a senior general of our army, and was awarded the rank of founding general in 1955.
From the beginning of joining the Red Army to the founding of New China for more than 20 years, Xu Shiyou has been loyal to the country, almost never returned to his hometown, let alone took care of his mother, for which he felt very guilty and said"Be faithful in life and filial piety in death"., decided to be buried next to his mother after his death, as a filial piety.
In 1956, it was decided to implement cremation throughout the country, and under the leadership of the chairman and the prime minister, the leaders and founding generals signed the "Proposal" on the implementation of cremation, and only Xu Shiyou did not sign it. For this reason, he even directly approached the chairman to express his debt to his mother, as well as the idea of "being loyal in life and filial piety after death".
In this regard, the chairman did not force Xu Shiyou, believing that he was only in his 50s, and there were still decades before his death, and maybe he would change his mind in the future. Unexpectedly, thirty years later, Xu Shiyou not only changed his mind, but also returned to his hometown to be buried by his mother's grave to fulfill his filial piety.
Because he didn't go to Beijing, Xu Shiyou's condition began to deteriorate rapidly, and he knew that his time was running out, so he began to report to ** and officially put forward a request for burial after death. On October 22, 1985, a generation of famous generals Xu Shiyou died in Nanjing, and when he was dying, he still kept asking whether the burial report had been approved.
At that time, after Xu Shiyou's report was sent to **, no one could do the master, so he did not approve it for a long time, and finally asked Deng Gong to make a decision and give instructions:"Do it as such, not as an example. ”
On October 26, 1985, four days after Xu Shiyou's death, the founding general ** personally rushed to Nanjing and conveyed the instructions of his superiors on Xu Shiyou's burial"Xu Shiyou is a special person with a special personality, special experience and special contributions. This is a special pass signed by the chief, which is special and special. ”
Although the report on the burial was approved, how to carry out the burial of General Xu Shiyou, as a senior general of our army, is still a tricky matter. At that time, cremation was being vigorously promoted across the country, and if General Xu Shiyou's burial was not handled well, it was likely to have a negative impact on society.
Just when Xu Shiyou's wife Tian Pu was at a loss, Xu Shiyou's two former comrades-in-arms and beloved generals extended a helping hand, one was Major General Xiao Yongyin, who was the first deputy commander and chief of staff of the Nanjing Military Region, and the other was Major General You Taizhong, who was then the commander of the Guangdong Military Region.
As Xu Shiyou's partner in his later years, Xiao Yongyin had a very good relationship with Xu Shiyou, and after hearing that the old chief had died, he immediately rushed to Nanjing to help prepare for the funeral. After discussing with Tian Pu, Xiao Yongyin believed that the old chief, as the founding general of New China, should have a grand funeral, but at the same time, in order to reduce the impact on society, it should be kept as secret as possible.
In the end, after discussion, everyone agreed that the departure of the hearse and the burial should be arranged at night, so that the funeral can be solemn and confidential. In order to smoothly transport the coffin from Nanjing back to Xu Shiyou's hometown, Xiao Yongyin specially found the county party secretary and county magistrate of Henan Xinxian County, informed them of the matter, and hoped that they would cooperate.
With the cooperation of the local authorities, the Nanjing Military Region quickly dispatched an engineering company to Xinxian County and built a side road on the hill leading to the tomb of Xu Shiyou's mother to ensure that the hearse could reach smoothly.
After the route and time were arranged, another Xu Shiyou's favorite general, General You Taizhong, transported a good nanmu coffin bought from the primeval forest of Guangxi. On the day of departure, the hearse transporting the general's body left Nanjing in the early morning, except for relatives, friends and comrades-in-arms who came to see them off, there were no troops, salutes, and even the mourning of the hearse was suspended as required, in order to reduce the impact as much as possible.
Starting all the way from Nanjing, the convoy passed through thousands of mountains and rivers, and finally slowly drove into Dabie Mountain, the hometown of General Xu Shiyou, in the middle of the night. The village deep in the mountains was quiet and peaceful, and in order to avoid onlookers, the county kept it a strict secret, and none of the people around knew that General Xu Shiyou's body had returned to his hometown for burial.
At three o'clock in the morning, the hearse arrived at the cemetery built in advance, and it took less than an hour for the coffin of Xu Shiyou, a famous general, to be placed.
According to the instructions of the higher authorities, the tomb of the old general was very simple, without any decoration, and there were no inscriptions and positions on the tombstone, only seven simple words:"The Tomb of Comrade Xu Shiyou".
Despite this, the news that General Xu Shiyou was buried in his hometown still spread far and wide, and the people of Dabie Mountain and his worshippers came to pay respects one after another, and the incense was flourishing for a while. To this day, there is still an endless stream of tourists who come to pay homage to the old general every year, perhaps this is the greatest affirmation of the old general's life.