From the south end of the Zijiang Bridge in Yiyang City, go west, but ten minutes to the foot of a mountain. This mountain is surrounded by peaks and peaks, like a group of dragons gathering on the riverside, so it is called Huilongshan. Qingshan had the honor of burying loyal bones, and on the right side of the Libo Pavilion on the mountain stood a simple and solemn and sacred monument- the tombstone of the martyr Zeng Shi'e.
The 27-year-old burned his life for the revolutionary cause. The founding general Chen Shiyu once recalled that Chairman Mao had said that the death of two people was heavier than That of Mount Tai, one was Zhang Side, who was well known to everyone, and the other was Zeng Shi'e.
In March 1904, Zeng Shi'e was born in Daqiaochong, Fanjiamiao Township, Yiyang, Hunan. At the age of 22, he participated in the Northern Expedition and joined the Communist Party of China. At the age of 23, he participated in the Autumn Harvest Uprising. After the reorganization of Sanwan, he served as the commander of the special agent company, responsible for Chairman Mao's security work. After the Gutian Conference, Mao Zedong transferred Zeng Shi'e, Luo Ronghuan, and Luo Ruiqing to serve as commanders, political commissars, and directors of the Political Department of the Second Column of the Red Fourth Army, respectively, which was the earliest "experimental field" in the history of our army to implement the spirit of the Gutian Conference. Subsequently, Zeng Shi'e experienced dozens of major wars and vicious battles, was wounded many times, and made great achievements. The Second Column and later the Eleventh Division, with strict discipline, bravery and tenacity, were one of the most capable of fighting hard battles in the Red Army at that time, and were known as the "Steel Army".
In October 1930, Chiang Kai-shek mobilized 100,000 troops to attack the Central Soviet Region in a vain attempt to eliminate the Red Army in one fell swoop, adopting the operational policy of "attacking in parts and attacking in a long drive and advancing straight in". Zeng Shi'e and Luo Ruiqing led the 11th Division from Ji'an to the area around Huangpi and Xiaobu in the center of the base area. After more than 4 hours of bloody struggle, Zhang Huizhan's division was completely annihilated and the famous "Longgang Victory" was achieved. Hearing the good news from the front, Mao Zedong was overjoyed, and on horseback he chanted "Fisherman's Pride and Anti-First Great "Encirclement and Suppression": "The sky of Wanmu Frost is red, and the heavenly soldiers are angry. The fog was full of Longgang Qianling, and in unison, Zhang Huizhen was caught in front of him. Two hundred thousand troops re-entered Gansu, and the wind and smoke rolled in for half a day. Arouse millions of workers and peasants, work with one heart, and do not make red flags and chaos under the mountains. In July 1931, in the third anti-"encirclement and suppression" campaign, the command post of the Red Fourth Army was facing a critical moment, and Zeng Shi'e led a death squad composed of all the division party members and cadres above the platoon level to rush to the enemy position, was shot several times in the abdomen, and was seriously wounded and unfortunately died at the age of 27. Mao Zedong lamented bitterly: "Comrade Zeng Shi'e's sacrifice was heroic. He sacrificed at the most critical time. He personally led the troops to charge, changing the situation of the battle. ”
In 1987, the people of his hometown moved his remains from Jiangxi to his hometown, buried them at the top of Huilongshan Park, and erected a monument. The monument covers an area of more than 130 square meters, the height of the monument is 8.6 meters, the stele is in the shape of a tetrahedral column, the stele body and the stele are all made of granite marble, and the inscriptions of Yang Dezhi, Zhu Liangcai, Guo Moruo, Zeng San and other people are engraved on the front of the stele and the inlaid Han white jade stone around the stele. Pines are planted on both sides of the monument, and under the cover of green mountains, the monument is more solemn and majestic.
Zeng Shi'e's life is short and even more legendary; his life shines brightly, and his story is full of breath. Before stopping at the monument, I wondered: When his fellow members of the Whampoa Military Academy joined the Kuomintang one after another to enjoy the "bright career" and enjoy "glory and wealth," why was he able to firmly follow the Communist Party? What kind of strength dares to make him brave the enemy and move forward courageously? What kind of faith can teach him to throw his head, shed his blood, and devote his life? He answered all this in his last letter to his family in 1929: "Shi'e has been away from home for more than four years, although he has traveled from north to south and gone through thousands of hardships, he has always felt invisible happiness and refreshed spirits for the sake of the masses. "For the sake of the masses—this is the original mission and firm belief of thousands of communists who would rather sacrifice their lives than change."
27 years old, flourishing. If he had not lived in the old society of internal and external troubles and vicious dogs, he would have lived a quiet and good life like we do today. If we were in that era, would we have been as firm in revolutionary faith as he was, and would we not regret dying for the lives of the masses? Standing in front of the monument, savoring the hearts and feelings of the martyrs, people can't help but burst into tears, he makes us strongly aware of our mission of being born with history and the times. At the same time, he is also reminding us that across historical time and space, as long as generations of young people continue to inherit the red gene and continue the red bloodline, Zeng Shi'e will always be our "peer".
(From Xinxiang Review, No. 21, 2021)
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