Qilian Mountain is located in the Hexi Corridor, which is an extremely dangerous mountain range, perhaps for the current Chinese, Qilian Mountain is not a special place, but more than eighty years ago, a mighty and majestic Red Army team, tens of thousands of people sprinkled their blood here, they and Qilian Mountain integrated, they are the West Road Army.
For the Western Route Army, Qilian Mountain has become a testimony of their enthusiasm, and in the depths of the Qilian Mountains, there is a place called Shiwo by the local people, which is a remote place that cannot be found on the map of China, but the Western Route Army held a meeting of life and death here, which is the Shiwo Conference.
The background of this meeting was even more difficult, when the Western Route Army fought hard against the Majia Army, and the soldiers suffered huge casualties. Under such circumstances, the members of the Military and Political Committee of the Western Route Army, under the presidency of Chen Changhao, chairman of the Military and Political Committee, unanimously decided to convene an enlarged meeting.
The meeting finally made a decision on the question of the whereabouts of the Western Route Army, the first of which was to set up the Western Route Army Working Committee, with Li Xiannian in charge of military command and Li Zhuoran in charge of political work. It is worth mentioning that at this time, because Chen Changhao decided to return to northern Shaanxi with Xu Xiangqian and report the situation to the central authorities, the Western Route Army Working Committee replaced the Western Route Army Military and Political Committee, and at the same time reorganized all the remaining troops into three detachments, which were commanded by Wang Shusheng, Zhang Rong, and Li Xiannian. Then, at the moment of the life and death of the Western Route Army, why did Chen Changhao, who was the chairman of the Military and Political Committee of the Western Route Army, insist on returning to northern Shaanxi and reporting the situation to the central authorities?
To make this question clear, we must start from before the Battle of Nijiayingzi, when in fact, the Western Route Army had already jumped out of the encirclement of the Majia Army, and Chen Changhao and Xu Xiangqian had also requested the central authorities to avoid the strong enemy and go to Qinghai and establish a base area where the enemy's strength was weak. However, the Central Committee did not agree to this decision, because the Central Committee felt that the Western Route Army had made a mistake in the line, and finally the Central Committee sent a telegram to the Western Route Army saying: "What degree of understanding do you have about the political mistakes made in the past?" ”
This mistake made in the past refers to the fact that the Red Fourth Front had lost in the south, and because of this telegram, the Western Route Army hesitated, and finally Chen Changhao decided to lead the Western Route Army back to the Ni family camp. According to Xu Xiangqian's memoirs, he was very surprised by this decision at that time, he thought: "We fought in the Ni family camp for five or six days, and the dead and wounded were not easy to rush out, how can we go back, is this not carrying a coffin into the grave?" ”
However, no matter how Xu Xiangqian objected, Chen Changhao still insisted on returning to the Ni family camp, and in the end it was this decision that doomed the tragedy of the Western Route Army, and after the Battle of the Ni family camp, it also declared the defeat of the western expedition. Later, in his memoirs, Marshal Xu Qianqian also revealed the reason why Chen Changhao resolutely wanted to return to northern Shaanxi with himself after the Battle of Nijiayingzi.
In his memoirs, Marshal Xu Qianqian said sadly: "I took his hand and said earnestly, Comrade Changhao, our troops have collapsed, and the lonely people are going back to northern Shaanxi to do something. As a result, Chen Changhao heard these words of Marshal Xu Qianqian, and he became very excited, according to Xu Shuai's recollection, at that time Chen Changhao reacted strongly and said: "No, we will go back to fight with the central authorities."
The reason why Chen Changhao at the Shiwo Conference resolutely wanted to return to northern Shaanxi was precisely this reason, and as for what he really wanted to fight, Marshal Xu Xiangqian believed that this was nothing more than a question of responsibility for the defeat of the Western Route Army. However, on the way back later, only Xu Xiangqian returned to northern Shaanxi, and Chen Changhao, because of illness on the way, returned to the old area of Eyu and Anhui, and then returned to Yan'an. At this time, the War of Resistance Against Japan had broken out in full swing, and he went to the Soviet Union to study, of course, Chen Changhao's departure changed his fate from then on, and when he returned again, New China had already been established.