"Without soldiers, where would the commanders be?" — these words were spoken by Comrade Pi Dingjun. During the Red Army's crossing of the grasslands, a soldier surnamed Fang, overcome by hunger and exhaustion, could no longer walk and had abandoned his pack. That evening, Pi Dingjun made his rounds of the sleeping quarters and found the soldier had no blanket, huddled alone beside a mound of earth. Pi Dingjun felt deep compassion and brought his own blanket to cover the soldier. The soldier waved him off, saying: "I'm already nearly done for — don't let the commander catch cold." Pi Dingjun said: "Without soldiers, where would the commanders be?" With that, he lay down beside the soldier, pulled the blanket over both of them, and said: "We'll sleep together — that should do it." And so the two pressed close against each other for warmth, enduring the bitter cold of the grasslands.
During the war years, Pi Dingjun showed meticulous care for his soldiers, sharing his blanket with them and warming their hearts; in peacetime, his original convictions (初心) never changed — he loved his soldiers as his own children and set an example for his subordinates. Song Qingwei, former Political Commissar of the Jinan Military Region, recalled that one day in August 1964, Pi Dingjun rode a truck under a blazing sun to inspect a company. When he saw a livestock keeper chopping pig fodder in the scorching heat, Pi Dingjun called out loudly to Song Qingwei: "Come here — stand right here for one hour!" Song Qingwei grasped his meaning immediately and said: "Commander, are you criticizing us for making soldiers chop pig fodder in the sun without even putting up a shelter?" Pi Dingjun said gravely: "You're more or less right — that's exactly the matter." Song Qingwei immediately replied: "We'll put up a shelter for them at once — first a simple one with branches and bamboo mats, then a proper one afterward." After dinner, Pi Dingjun sent his secretary to check on implementation. Only when the secretary returned to report that the shelter had been built did a satisfied smile appear on Pi Dingjun's face.
"Who says we have no coats? We share our robes." Pure comradeship (战友情谊) and the fine tradition of unity between officers and soldiers (官兵一致) are a unique political advantage of our army and a powerful spiritual driving force for overcoming all enemies and difficulties. The generals and commanders of our army not only understand deeply the principle that "without soldiers, there would be no commanders" — caring for officers and soldiers in every way and keeping their hardships constantly in mind — they also translate this into resolving concrete practical problems, place themselves in the position of an ordinary soldier, eat, live, study, train, and labor together with their soldiers, forge deep bonds of comradeship with them, and leave behind many moving and celebrated stories.
In those years, Yang Dezhi, then Commander of the Jinan Military Region, took the lead in responding to Comrade Mao Zedong's directive on cadres going down to serve in companies as soldiers and participating in physical labor, becoming one of the first senior cadres to go down to serve as a soldier in a company. "Old Yang is a qualified veteran." The soldiers, not knowing his identity, gave him this assessment. Later, after learning who Yang Dezhi was, the soldiers of his squad offered a more specific evaluation of his one month of service: "Although Yang Dezhi is a commander, he was able to submit to the squad leader's leadership, showed good unity and mutual care, had a strong sense of labor, did not fear hardship in training, had no official airs, was a model in every respect, and was an example for everyone to learn from..." At parting, the company held a farewell heart-to-heart meeting, and the soldiers pinned a large red flower on him. When he returned home, he found a paper parcel in his satchel containing one apple and three pieces of candy — he was deeply moved by the soldiers' affection.
In handling relations between officers and soldiers, and between superiors and subordinates, not seeking special treatment is a bottom line. Hold that bottom line, and you hold your true character, hold your fine conduct; what is consolidated is military morale and combat effectiveness, and what is established is the good example of strict self-discipline and leading by example.
In the winter of 1928, Comrade He Long led his troops fighting across the high mountains and steep ridges of western Hunan and Hubei — ice and snow everywhere, the cold wind cutting to the bone. He Long, like his soldiers, wore a single layer of clothing and straw sandals, often going days without a single grain of salt or a mouthful of hot porridge. On one occasion, a cook managed by some means to obtain a small amount of salt and specially stir-fried a bowl of salted peppers for He Long. He Long tasted one mouthful, then poured the peppers into the large communal pot. The cook stepped forward to stop him, and He Long said earnestly: "We are the Red Army — we uphold unity between officers and soldiers (官兵一致): when there is salt, we share the saltiness; when there is no salt, we share the blandness (有盐同咸，无盐同淡)!" Perhaps that small amount of salt dissolved into the large pot of food was barely perceptible to the taste, but it was precisely this seemingly casual act that allowed the officers and soldiers to feel deeply the true character of the people's army and the strength of unity of one heart.
A general who seeks victory must first give his love to his soldiers. At the Sanjiao Mountain outpost, Chairman Xi was moved to say to sentry Zhang Wei: "Today, I will stand guard on duty together with you." At the Central Military Commission Logistics Work Conference, Chairman Xi reflected: "Whenever I go to units for research, I always make time to visit the dormitories, mess halls, and guard posts of grassroots companies to learn about the soldiers' clothing, food, warmth, and cold, and their urgent difficulties in life, and I require that within the prescribed standards, every effort be made to improve soldiers' lives." In inspection after inspection, in directive after directive, Chairman Xi has repeatedly required cadres at all levels to "uphold soldiers first, grassroots first (士兵至上、基层第一), genuinely care for and love officers and soldiers, and always keep the well-being of officers and soldiers at heart"; to "listen to the voices of officers and soldiers and respond to their expectations"; to "care for officers and soldiers with wholehearted enthusiasm, do everything possible to relieve their worries and resolve their difficulties, and continuously strengthen officers' and soldiers' sense of gain (获得感)."
Chairman Xi emphasized at the opening ceremony of the senior cadre training course for the entire army: "Senior cadres must take the lead in restoring and carrying forward the fine traditions of our Party and our army, set aside official airs, return to the true character of revolutionary soldiers (革命军人本色), and let a new healthy atmosphere (新风正气) become even more abundant throughout the forces." In ordinary times, close as brothers; in wartime, bound together through life and death; when there is a call today, there is a response; when there is a call tomorrow, there is a hundred-fold response. On the new journey, we must further strengthen our sense of purpose (宗旨意识), enhance our mass perspective (群众观念), persist in treating the small matters of grassroots officers and soldiers as our own great matters, share their worries and think their thoughts, unite hearts and pool strength, consolidate the foundation, and continue writing the song of unity and mutual care between officers and soldiers in the new era.