This is a seemingly ordinary but not ordinary military blanket, because it originally belonged to Chen Yi, who later gifted it to Fang Bin (formerly known as Fang Gan). What kind of stories are there inside?

Fang Bin, born in Yancheng, Jiangsu, officially joined the revolution in February 1943 and was subordinate to the Third Division of the New Fourth Army. Participated in the battles of Lianshui, Laiwu, Menglianggu, Huaihai, and Crossing the Yangtze River. He successively served as a security guard for Su Yu, Tang Liang, Tan Zhenglin, Rao Shushi, and Huang Kecheng. In August 1946, due to his tall stature and precise marksmanship, he was named by Chen Yi as his personal security guard.

This military blanket is a trophy from the Battle of Lianshui. In October 1946, Chen Yi commanded his troops to defeat the Nationalist Party's 74th Division's attack and captured it. Chen Yi works under this military blanket until late at night every night. Later, he was assigned a new military blanket and gave it to Fang Bin as a gift. As a personal security guard, Fang Bin must always protect Chen Yi's safety. Sometimes he rests at Chen Yi's desk at night. Marching and fighting are difficult, and equipment should not be too much. A military blanket is the best thing to keep warm and cool.

This military blanket also witnessed the dangerous situation that Fang Bin and Chen Yi experienced together. After the Battle of Laiwu, the troops underwent a rest and reorganization, and the command center was suddenly attacked with "precision" by Nationalist bombers. The nearest bomb was only a dozen meters away from the house where Chen Yi was located. At that time, Chen Yi and Fang Bin were inside the house. Chen Yi remained calm and ordered everyone inside not to leave. This was the order that saved the lives of the command center personnel. I didn't expect that a radio station director in our army was actually a hidden spy. She used the radio to transmit messages and used mirrors to direct bombers to bomb when the plane arrived. However, the female station director was caught on the second day of her escape, tried and executed by firing squad.

After more than 70 years, what are the memories left by the old leader Chen Yi to Fang Bin?

Chen Yi values emotions. Fang Bin followed Mr. Chen twice, the first time from August 1946 to September 1947, and later went to Nanjing for treatment due to illness. The second time was from April 1949 to July 1949, when he followed General Chen to Shanghai for liberation from the Crossing of the Yangtze River Campaign. However, he had to go to the hospital for treatment again due to illness. This time, his condition was severe, and Fang Bin was critically ill several times. After learning the news, Chen Yi issued an order that moved Fang Bin for a lifetime: "Nanjing Army General Hospital must do its best to treat him

Chen Yi is decisive. Chen Yi's personality is different from that of ordinary people. He is quite calm and composed. He won seven battles in the Liberation War and often fought on the front lines. He also played chess while commanding battles, explaining problems, and didn't say much. He was decisive and powerful with a few simple sentences

Chen Yi is righteous. In the Battle of Menglianggu, the East China Field Army achieved victory, completely eliminating the Nationalist Army's flagship 74th Division and killing its commander Zhang Lingfu. However, the People's Liberation Army still bought a high-quality coffin and held a memorial service for him. It was pouring rain that day, and Chen Yi personally attended Zhang Lingfu's memorial service wearing a raincoat, bidding farewell to this senior Kuomintang general and his former opponent who had fought with us on the battlefield.

At the donation ceremony, Fang Bin said, "I have always been reluctant to part with this military blanket. Many people have asked me for it and are reluctant to give it to them because there is a bond between me and Chen Yi here. But now that I am old, I think it would be more meaningful to entrust it to you for safekeeping." We take this precious gift and hope that through research and exhibition, more people can experience the difficult years of war and smoke, and revisit that magnificent history.