In the spring of 1985, the Anxi County Party Committee and the county government put the matter of erecting a stone monument for the Xilu Army on the agenda. They do not "discretionary", but do it with all their might. County Magistrate Zhang Shixiong immediately convened a government working meeting to study various issues of financing for the construction of towers. After that, Zhang Xueli, Zhang Shixiong, and the deputy county governor An Mingzhe personally surveyed the terrain and selected a memorial tower to be built on 20 acres of flower beds on the south side of the city. The Propaganda Department of the county party committee and workers, young people, and women jointly discussed that in conjunction with the construction of towers and gardens, a profound educational activity of "building towers and educating people" should be carried out.
Fundraising, design, mobilization, education and other tasks are carried out separately, everywhere green lights, all the way:
-- On December 21 of that year, President Li Xiannian, at the request of the people of the whole county, wrote an inscription for Anxi County in the midst of daily opportunities and busy state affairs: The martyrs who sacrificed for the cause of the liberation of the Chinese people will never die!
——On April 24, 1987, the 50th anniversary of the Anxi Campaign of the Red West Road Army, more than 1,500 people from all walks of life and garrisons in the county solemnly gathered to lay the foundation stone for the "Memorial Tower of the Last Battle of the West Road Army". The central and provincial enterprises and garrison units in Anxi County and at the junction of the two provinces and districts of Gansu and Singapore, as well as the surrounding counties and cities of Dunhuang, Jiayuguan, Subei, Jinta, Aksai, Hami, and the Qinghai Petroleum Administration, all sent representatives to attend the groundbreaking ceremony and give support.
——On October 6, 1987, the groundbreaking ceremony of the "Memorial Tower of the Last Battle of the Western Route Army" was held. Sheng Weide, the new secretary of the county party committee, expressed his heartfelt thanks to the units and individuals who funded the memorial tower project. The meeting revealed that all parties donated a total of 95,000 yuan.
On December 29, 1987, Chen Jing, a veteran Red Army and general who left Hugh, led a group of "Re-walking the Long March" to Anxi and wrote a poem for the memorial tower under construction, "Qingping Le Anxi".
——In January 1988, Marshal Xu Qianqian, at the request of the Anxi County Party Committee and the county government, personally inscribed "Memorial Tower of the Last Battle of the Western Route Army" and sent it to Anxi County, and the people in the county were greatly encouraged.
-- On August 23, 1988, Lu Liping, deputy commander of the Air Force of the Shenyang Military Region of the Chinese People's Liberation Army and a veteran soldier of the Former Red West Road Army, revisited Anxi, climbed the memorial tower under construction, pointed to the Xingxing Gorge in the northwest direction, and said to the entourage with great emotion: "At that time, there were representatives of the Party Central Committee waiting to receive the commanders and fighters of the West Road Army in xingxingxia, so at that time, in the minds of the commanders and fighters, xingxingxia was the party, and as long as everyone still had a breath, they would not stop, even if they were the last person left, they would have to climb to the xingxing gorge. Go back to the Party Central Committee. This is all the power of faith! ”
-- In September 1988, Chen Mingyi, deputy commander of the Chengdu Military Region of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, escorted Xu Xiangqian and Chen Changhao back to Yan'an from the east to Anxi, and after the general heard about the process of the people of the whole county raising funds to build the tower, he said in a loud voice: "On behalf of the veteran soldiers of the Red Army, I thank the people of Anxi!" ”
——On October 17, 1988, on the eve of the completion of the Red West Road Army Memorial Tower, the county town held a grand literary and art evening, and thousands of people sang the "Long March Suite" together, recalling the past, lyrical pride, and sending lofty ambitions.
——On October 18, 1988, 5,000 people in Anxi County gathered, and in the sound of 19 salutes, the "Memorial Tower of the Last Battle of the Western Route Army" was unveiled. After the speeches of leaders at all levels, Comrade Zhao Mingxiang, a veteran soldier of the Hongxi Road Army who settled in Anxi County, delivered an exciting speech on education in revolutionary traditions. The sound of 500 Young Pioneers raising their arms and swearing an oath was like a roar of spring thunder.
Get a lot of help, friends everywhere. On this day, the county seat of Anxi in the northwest corner of China attracted many guests, and it was the people of Anxi who touched and educated people from all over the world for the sincere action of the martyrs' monument, from Hami in Xinjiang to Jiayuguan in Xinjiang, from Lenghu in Qinghai to Dunhuang in Qinghai, from Yumen to Jinta, more than 10 counties and cities, dozens of large and medium-sized enterprises and troops from inside and outside the province were sent to participate in the celebration, and the "cradle of China's nuclear industry" in the depths of the desert- the state-owned 404 Factory also sent the chairman of the factory trade union and others to celebrate the feats of the people of Anxi.
At the meeting, the prefectural and county leaders read out more than 10 congratulatory telegrams from the Gansu Provincial Government in turn, including one personal congratulatory telegram from Beijing, which read as follows:
Anxi County Party Committee and Anxi County People's Government:
Upon learning of your solemn inauguration ceremony of the "Memorial Tower for the Last Battle of the Western Route Army," I would like to express my heartfelt congratulations on this commemorative event and pay tribute to the people of Anxi. The completion of the memorial tower of the last battle of the Western Route Army will play a tremendous role in remembering the revolutionary martyrs and carrying forward the fine traditions of our party, and I hope that you will continue to carry forward the revolutionary spirit of the Western Route Army in overcoming all difficulties, unite as one, carry forward the spirit of arduous struggle, and strive to create a new situation in the construction of the four modernizations of Anxi under the guidance of the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh People's Republic of China.
Cheng Shicai, a member of the Central Advisory Committee
October 13, 1988, Beijing
"We are like Sun Wukong bullfighting demon king, killing from the mouth of a tiger and leopard, and after 180 days, we kill it from the tip of its tail!" Although we paid the price, we also turned this Bull Demon King upside down! The person who said these words heroically was the unforgettable "Commander Cheng" of the Red Army in the memory of the people of Anxi- Cheng Shicai.
In that long night, for the people of Anxi, who had long been under the cruel rule of the Jiang Ma gang, "Commander Cheng" was a lightning bolt that crossed their hearts. It was through this name that the poor people learned for the first time that there was an army in the world that bled and fought for the good of the poor. For the first time, they saw a benevolent and righteous division that was disciplined, loved the people, and fought bravely. Since then, a lamp has lit up in the hearts of the people. Since then, the name of "Commander Cheng" has been known to women and children in Anxi County, and it is still today.
Let our thoughts and memories still go back to more than 5D years ago: on April 24, 1937, the left detachment of the Red Army, which fought fiercely with the enemy, fought against the wind and snow, and fought against hunger for more than 40 days, carried the battle flag that had been burned by the flames of war, and finally walked out of the Qilian Mountains and entered the territory of Anxi County. One evening, when the troops came to Yulin Cave (then called Wanfo Gorge), when the weak division saw that this was the land of a Buddhist gate, the chief issued an order that the horses should not be relaxed, and no one should enter the house, camping on the edge of the cliff and under the big trees, and not to disturb the monastery.
When Guo Yuanheng and his disciples got up at dawn to chant the sutra, they were very surprised to see a group of soldiers sleeping on the beach in front of the door, wearing tattered clothes and their feet wrapped in torn felt. When they learned about the purpose and origin of this so-called "Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army," they were greatly moved. Guo Yuanheng personally arranged for the Red Army to enter the temple to rest, and also gave everything he had, supporting grain, clear oil, cattle and sheep, and a mule, sending charcoal in the snow, and relieving the Red Army's urgent needs.
Cheng Shicai, commander of the 30th Army, personally wrote an IOU to Mr. Guo Yuanheng and said to Guo Daoshi: "The Red Army led by the Communist Party of China will certainly succeed, and I will repay your help after the victory of the revolution. ”
Early the next morning, the Red Army stepped on the spring snow and left the Wanfo Gorge on its way to Xinjiang. The 57-year-old Guo Daoshi has experienced many vicissitudes in his life, and he has seen such a good army for the first time, and he is full of emotions. He stood on a high slope, watched the Red Army's troops go away, clasped his hands together, and wished Commander Cheng and his generals a smooth future. After that, he told the passers-by and the surrounding masses about the Red Army's fight for the poor, enlightened many people's consciousness, and covered and helped many Red Army diaspora.
After liberation, Mr. Guo Yuanheng was elected by the masses from all walks of life in Anxi County as the representative of the people of the county and the province and a member of the county people's committee because of his meritorious support for the Red Army. He often thought about Commander Cheng and his party, but thinking that the revolution had succeeded, he did not bother them. Moreover, Buddhist disciples originally believed in accumulating virtue and doing good deeds and helping the weak, and did not seek anything in return. In 1961, General Cheng Shicai, who served as deputy commander of the armored corps of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, and the political part of the armored corps wrote to the Anxi County People's Government and Mr. Guo Yuanheng, praising his noble sentiments of supporting the Red Army in times of danger. Guo Yuanheng was very pleased.
In July 1976, Guo Yuanheng died at the age of 80. Since the 1980s, every year during the Qingming Festival, students from local village primary schools have visited their graves and made simple offerings. Guo Yuanheng's grave is in yulin cave village in qilian township of present-day Anxi County.
"Commander Cheng" and the fate of the anxi people are linked together, the people miss him, and he also thinks of the anxi people.
In April 1988, the Anxi Hongxi Road Army Memorial Tower was basically completed. The people of the whole county looked forward to it, and on the eve of waiting for the unveiling, the county party committee and the county government once again touched the voice of the masses of the people, and decided to send personnel to Beijing to meet with General Cheng Shicai and other veterans, and to report to Xu Xiangqian and Li Xiannian on the construction of socialism in Anxi and the construction of the Martyrs' Memorial Tower.
Beijing's most fascinating May. Jiang Rongzhi, Zhang Changjiang, and Qin Anping, representatives of the 70,000 people of Anxi County, met General Cheng Shicai in a conference room on the 3rd floor of the Armored Corps Headquarters in the western suburbs.
This "fierce general" who commanded the army and fought for half his life was known for his majesty and back to the three armies all his life. He was a famous iron-blooded general in our army, and in the Liberation War, he dared to argue with Lin Biao on the northeast battlefield. At this moment, when he saw the emissaries of the people of Anxi County who had come from afar, his eyes were pulsating with sparks, the wrinkles on his face were stretched, and his words were full of warmth and sighs:
"Is that Guo Daoist in the Ten Thousand Buddhas Gorge okay?" How's it going at home? The old man helped greatly in the most difficult time for our army, we ate his cattle and sheep, and I wrote him an IOU. He was a man of great merit to the revolution. We Communists speak of revolutionary sentiments, and no one who has contributed to the revolution must forget it! ”
"When we walked out of the Qilian Mountains. The team was very tired, the path was unfamiliar, and the enemy situation was unknown. There are quite a few Anxi masses who show us the way. It is precious to support us with our own rations! In order to support the Red Army and cover the Red Army, the people of Hexi have suffered a lot, and they must tell these things more to future generations. ”
General Cheng Shicai listened to the reports of Jiang Rongzhi and others. Passionate, he stood up and stretched his arms, and wrote two inscriptions for the inscription of the Anxi Hongxi Road Army Memorial Cemetery:
First: the Battle of Ansi, defeating the enemy's attack, our army triumphantly marched westward. The comrades who died heroically in battle have long lived on.
Second: the mighty qi is connected, and the high wind is bright for posterity.
Through the ink-scented inscription, the general's broad mind and ardent hope for future generations jumped on the paper. The three deputies of Anxi County were greatly encouraged, as if they felt that the martyrs of the Western Route Army were starting a new Long March with the people of the whole county and building a beautiful future in the Qilian Mountains.
"Commander Cheng" does not forget the people of Anxi, and the people of Anxi also remember "Commander Cheng." In the autumn of 1989, when the news of General Cheng Shicai's illness and hospitalization reached Anxi, the county sent people to Beijing to visit and sent him the urgently needed "Gansu Zhiqi" and Anxi honeydew melon, so that he personally tasted the sweet fruits of this reform and opening up.
In the summer of 1990, General Cheng Shicai died of illness in Beijing at the age of 73. The Anxi County PARTY Committee and the county government sent condolence telegrams, expressing deep sorrow and nostalgia.