In 1988, Longxing Township, Hechuan County, Sichuan Province, received a letter of meritorious service that was 36 years late: "Comrade Jiang Cheng of your residence established and completed his meritorious service in the Battle of Shangganling, and was approved as a first-class official." In addition to giving rewards according to merit, the locals were surprised to find that Jiang Cheng, a 60-year-old temporary worker at the sericulture station in front of them, was actually a well-known battlefield hero. At that time, he had been living in his hometown incognito for 33 years, and he had spent most of his life without even being recognized as a formal worker.

Jiang Cheng, a hero who single-handedly annihilated more than 400 enemies in the Battle of Shangganling to resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea, was willing to owe a huge sum of money in order to improve the backwardness of his hometown and "repay his father's debt and his son" ?enthusiastic person.

In a hundred years of life, whether on the battlefield or in his hometown, Jiang Cheng has never taken credit or enjoyed any preferential treatment. Such a low profile cannot cover up the hardship and dedication of the old hero along the way.

And what kind of ups and downs has he experienced? What did the old hero silently stick to? In this article, the author will focus on the ordinary and extraordinary life of this unsung hero.

In 1928, Jiang Cheng was born into a poor rural family. As a farmer's son who grew up during the war, Jiang Cheng understood the sufferings of China's lower class people better than anyone else.

In order to survive, he begged along the streets and alleys, and also worked in other people’s fields. According to Jiang Cheng’s recollection:

“My family only had two acres of land. With two tenant houses and one cow, he had to support a family of seven people."

In such difficult years, Jiang Cheng also witnessed the majestic cause of China's liberation of Senying, until December 1949. , when the Second Field Army of the People's Liberation Army swept across the southwest and the liberation battle of Chengdu began, 21-year-old Jiang Cheng also became a member of the People's Liberation Army as he wished.

In the years when gunfire was everywhere, what a passionate man longed for most was to pick up a gun and rush to the battlefield. This was especially true for Jiang Cheng. As long as he could contribute his own strength to the motherland, he would sacrifice his life. No matter what.

At the beginning of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, Jiang Cheng, who had just been promoted to the deputy squad leader of the machine gun company, rushed to the Korean battlefield carrying machine guns with countless comrades. He who failed to defend his family and country on the liberation battlefield, this time I am determined to fulfill my mission.

On November 8, 1952, Jiang Cheng’s 92nd Regiment arrived at Shangganling. What awaited them was a difficult and fierce battle.

Before this, after four consecutive days and nights of bloody fighting by the vanguard, the situation at the 537.7 Highland in Shangganling where they were located was still critical. There were only 24 troops left in the entire regiment, and they all retreated to Tunnel No. 7. This lovely group of The Warriors have not made any water or rice for 11 consecutive days.

In front of the position, Jiang Cheng's troops received instructions from their superiors: "Launch a counterattack on the 11th!" When the sound of artillery fire pierced the sky, the air was filled with the chilling smell of death

< p>Seeing the corpses of his comrades piled up in the trench, Jiang Cheng forgot his fear. He stood alone at the bottom of the trench, put the machine gun on his head, and fired at the enemy desperately.

When a cannonball exploded near the tunnel where Jiang Cheng was, a high-speed rotating shrapnel instantly opened a regular wound on his stomach. In an instant, Jiang Cheng was bleeding and even his intestines were bleeding. come out.

"If the intestines fall out, just rub them in and continue beating!"

Jiang Cheng, who had witnessed Huang Jiguang's heroic sacrifice, completely forgot about the fear of death after being injured. He wants to give the enemy the most fatal blow before dying in battle.

At that time, Jiang Cheng's company was responsible for frontal defense, and the heavy machine gun he was responsible for was at the front of the position where the firepower was most concentrated. Don't look at the position where Jiang Cheng was responsible for only one dustpan. Width, the importance is self-evident.

Severely injured, Jiang Cheng remained calm-headed. He fired angry bullets at enemies in the distance, annihilating more than 400 enemies by himself, and successfully suppressed the enemy's firepower. .

While the two sides were fighting, an enemy plane made repeated low-altitude dives and bombings because the volunteers had no anti-aircraft fire. This move completely angered Jiang Cheng, who pointed his gun at the enemy plane. He shot the enemy plane hard in the head. Unexpectedly, Jiang Cheng, who was chasing the enemy plane from beginning to end, actually shot it down!

Fortunately, Jiang Cheng was dragged back to the tunnel by his comrades for rescue, and his life was saved. This feat was also awarded first-class merit by the Volunteer Army Headquarters.

In 1953, when the Political Department and Headquarters of the Volunteer Army sent Jiang Cheng’s father good news of his meritorious service, what was unexpected was that this good news was actually 36 years late.

In 1954, when Jiang Cheng returned victoriously with his troops, he built military barracks in Jiangshan, Zhejiang, where he was stationed, and was awarded the third-class merit again.

On February 10, 1955, in response to the call of the country, Jiang Cheng decided to demobilize and return to his hometown. However, when he returned to his hometown, he was not welcomed by the villagers as a fighting hero. To the villagers, they were just Knowing that Jiang Cheng in front of him was a demobilized soldier, he had no idea about his deeds as a first-class hero in resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea.

Without the heroic aura he had in the army, Jiang Cheng returned to his hometown. He had neither a job placement nor corresponding benefits from the local government, not even a basic living allowance. At this time, However, Jiang Cheng willingly became an ordinary farmer, plowing the fields, planting mulberry and raising silkworms every day, which was ordinary and stable.

At that time, Jiang Cheng and his family lived in poverty. According to the memories of his youngest son Jiang Minghui:

Afterwards, Jiang Cheng also served as a militiaman in Longxing Township, and was still in The Jiangjin area participated in railway construction until April 1964, when Longxing Township was vigorously developing sericulture breeding. Jiang Cheng, who had excellent breeding technology, returned to his hometown again to make contributions.

From mulberry tree grafting to silkworm seed breeding and cocoon harvesting and drying, Jiang Cheng works day in and day out among sericulture farmers, and the hard work is beyond imagination.

At that time, thanks to Jiang Cheng’s efforts, almost all the villagers in Longxing Township made a living through sericulture breeding.

After years of hard work, Jiang Cheng never bothers the folks easily. He is a hard-working husband in the eyes of his wife, and an "incompetent" father in the eyes of his children.

But despite such hard work, Jiang Cheng, as a technician, is still outside the establishment. For many years, he has been just a low-paid temporary worker, and his salary income is not enough to support his family.

The children never wore new clothes that fit well when they went to school, and they were not even able to buy a decent banquet when they got married. Even so, Jiang Cheng never thought of applying for preferential treatment from his superiors, let alone the people around him. He has revealed his identity as a first-class hero in resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea.

At that time, only his younger brother Jiang Qipeng knew something about Jiang Cheng’s identity as a hero. Whenever he advised him to report the situation to his superiors, Jiang Cheng’s answer was always the same: “Don’t cause trouble to the organization. ”

In this way, a hero who had experienced life and death on the battlefield locked all the medals representing military industry in the cabinet. For him, it was a blessing to be able to live peacefully in peacetime.

In 1983, in order to change the current situation of poor traffic in Longxing Township, without funds and road construction equipment, all work could only be completed manually.

Seeing that road construction was a thankless job, no one took the initiative to take the lead in the planning. This time, Jiang Cheng stood up again. He led the villagers just like he fought on the front line of Shangganling. .

Halfway through the project, the hard-earned funds were used up, and even the wages could not be paid.

"Brother Jiang, we still want to go back to farming."

Faced with the villagers and elders, Jiang Cheng, who has always been taciturn, smoked a cigarette and fell into thinking.

After smoking three cigarettes, Jiang Cheng said in a muffled voice: "Everyone, keep on working, I will find a way to pay for it."

Not long after, Jiang Cheng really brought back a piece of money. A sum of funds was provided to support the road construction until it was successfully completed, but as to where the money came from, only Jiang Cheng himself knew.

In 1988, when Hechuan County was organizing the revision of the county annals, many files that had been sealed for many years were made public. Among them, the most special one was the "Good News of the Meritorious Service of Revolutionary Soldiers", and the editor Wang Jueying also It was discovered that the good news that year was not successfully delivered to the parties concerned, leaving only a line on the back of the good news: "Returned from the Eighth District, no such person was found."

After investigation, Wang Jueying It was discovered that the reason why the good news was not delivered properly was precisely because there was a problem with the address "Xinglong Township". Coincidentally, Jiang Cheng's younger brother Jiang Qipeng and Wang Jueying were teachers, students and colleagues. After some verification, Jiang Cheng Cheng's true identity, which he had hidden for 33 years, was finally confirmed.

After the news spread, everyone in the county was shocked. "Hechuan Daily" even published the good news that was 36 years late in the most prominent position. At this time, Jiang Cheng also He is over 60 years old, but he is still just a temporary worker without even a retirement salary.

In September 1988, the People's Government of Hechuan County issued the "Notice on Taking Comrade Jiang Cheng back to the Sericulture Station to provide workers with full employee benefits." The 60-year-old Jiang Cheng finally got a job after many years of demobilization. As a formal worker, his monthly salary is only 80 yuan.

At this time, the children in Jiang Cheng's family did not enjoy any preferential treatment due to the disclosure of their father's fighting hero status. The most important thing is that Jiang Cheng still did not receive the huge sum of money he borrowed for road construction. be resolved.

Faced with the children’s doubts, Jiang Cheng’s attitude was decisive and firm. In his opinion: “The country is still poor, and we cannot add any burden to the country.” In the eyes of heroes, the “country” Words are always above all else.

In 1991, the third son Jiang Minghui worked as a security guard at the silkworm breeding station. As a temporary worker, he still lived in poverty. At this time, he also learned something that was deeply troubled by his father, Jiang Cheng. Difficult matter.

When Jiang Minghui asked his father about the loan amount with a heavy heart, his father’s answer made him a little unbelievable:

Jiang Minghui has just been working for 3 years, and he has only saved money by living frugally. He had saved more than 1,000 yuan, but instead of complaining about his father's difficult situation, he directly said four words: "Father's debt is repaid by son!"

In this way, in order to pay off his father's loan, Jiang Minghui sold his wedding house, moved into a dormitory, and even owed a foreign debt. According to his later memories: "Because of this incident, I almost didn't get married!"

But Jiang Minghui has never complained about his father's refusal to report his difficulties to the government and his son's debt repayment. Whenever he mentioned the past, his answer was as decisive and firm as his father's: "It is only right that the father's debt be repaid by the son! ”

For Jiang Cheng, what he cares about is not the rewards after making achievements. On the contrary, as a party member and veteran, what he has to do is to always keep his mission in mind and contribute his part to the motherland and the people. We should take the lead in everything and strive to be the first in everything.

In 2014, the village began to introduce the olive cultivation poverty alleviation industry and called on villagers to transfer land.

For villagers whose ideas are not advanced, they are worried that land transfer will cause them to lose their jobs, and the village committee is also under tremendous pressure. At this moment, Jiang Cheng once again stood up come out.

In addition to transferring more than 3 acres of his own land, Jiang Cheng continued to convey the benefits of land transfer to the villagers. In this way, the rural poverty alleviation project was successfully implemented, and subsequent villagers also benefited from it. Very shallow.

Whenever people ask him whether he regrets being a soldier, Jiang Cheng’s simple answer is touching. In his opinion, he has no regrets about his military journey, and what he thinks about all the time is how to achieve success. Victory, how to contribute better.

In the blink of an eye, the young hero who made the decisive killing was already an octogenarian with a faltering pace. Jiang Cheng, who is over 90 years old, still lives with his wife in Guangfu Village. Every time I see him, I still feel... He is wearing an old-style green military uniform, with sparse white hair, a weathered face, a pair of cloth shoes, and a walking stick.

There is no deliberately exaggerated lofty ideals, no grandiose arrogance, but Jiang Cheng has illuminated the lives of countless people throughout his life. He and the "silent heroes" like him deserve to be remembered by future generations. This is the greatest love in the world!