As mentioned earlier, the 47th Army launched the last battle to eradicate the century-old bandit plague in western Hunan Province, yao Dabang, the leader of the new Bandits, refused to surrender and drowned, miao wang Longyun flew down the grass and was surrounded by tens of thousands of people and finally pulled out his gun to commit suicide, and it took only 45 days to completely remove the bandit plague in western Xiangxi in the past century. Subsequently, the 47th Army went to Korea to join the order of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
Many of the young people who joined the army in western Hunan were bandits who had fought with the People's Liberation Army, and when the 47th Army left Hunan after the crackdown on bandits, it also took away a number of bandits who committed minor crimes and performed well from the study classes in Zhijiang, Yuanling, and other places. At that time, they were organized in the supplementary regiments of each division, numbering about 1,000 people.
In October 1950, the Chinese Volunteer Army participated in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and in several units that successively entered the DPRK, there were some soldiers from western Hunan Province.
These special warriors, who used blood and bravery to justify their names on the battlefield, have changed their destiny ever since.
The Great Pursuit of Annihilation - Documentary of the Suppression of Bandits by the 47th Army: Chapter Seven, Seven Battles, Yongshun Absolute Bandit Roots
Chen Ruiqing, a former soldier of the 421st Regiment of the 141st Division of the 47th Army, now lives near yongshun Martyrs' Park.
The 91-year-old Chen Lao, from the age of 20, has developed a habit that no matter whether it is windy or rainy, he has to go to the Yongshun Bandit Memorial Tower every day to take a look.
Looking back on that past, the old man's vicissitudes flashed a trace of uneasiness in his eyes, and finally, the old man firmly spat out a word.
Chen Ruiqing, a 421st soldier of the 141st Division of the 47th Army at the time: "I used to be a bandit, when the bandit grinned, at that time there was no way to be a bandit, there were too many bandits in the village, there was nothing to eat at home, I was young, I only had to go out with the bandits to grab food." ”
Shicun Township, Yongshun County, once the most rampant area for banditry, the beautiful and quiet village of Xinzhuang, there were only 30 families in that year. Among the villagers of less than 100 people, many young and middle-aged men were once bandits carrying guns.
Forced by life, Chen Ruiqing, who was not yet an adult, followed the famous local bandit Leader Cao Zhenya up the mountain.
In October 1949, the 47th Army was ordered to enter western Hunan to suppress bandits. Soon, the 141st Division pursued the nationalist Song Xilian troops, passing through the Yongshun area.
Looking at the mighty People's Liberation Army, the bandit Cao Zhenya let his men let out a wind sound: Cao Zhenya jumped into the sinkhole and died, and Cao Zhenya went to Taiwan. In fact, at this time, Cao Zhenya entered the Jiulong Mountain, assumed the pseudonym Li Beard, and hid under the cover of teaching.
Chen Ruiqing, who did not have the boss, also sneaked back home with the bandits who scattered.
Chen Ruiqing, then a soldier of the 421st Division of the 47th Army, said: "As soon as the People's Liberation Army came, we dispersed, and I hid, afraid of the People's Liberation Army." ”
However, it wasn't long before the bandits suddenly noticed that the People's Liberation Army had suddenly disappeared from sight.
Subsequently, the boss Cao Zhenya, as a military commander, suddenly magically returned to Yongshun.
Chen Ruiqing, then a soldier of the 421st Division of the 47th Army, said: "It seems that in February 1950, I became a bandit again, and if I was not a bandit, there would be nothing to do. ”
In late October 1949, after the xiang-e-sichuan border was launched, the 1st, 2nd battalion, and 1st battalion of the 423rd regiment of the 141st Division were fully responsible for the clearance and suppression of the northern area of Yongshun.
In the face of the fierce offensive of the People's Liberation Army, Chen Ruiqing was a little panicked in his heart.
Chen Ruiqing, a 421st soldier of the 141st Division of the 47th Army at the time, said: "The People's Liberation Army fought a fierce battle and was not afraid of death, our place was rushed by the People's Liberation Army one by one, we were beaten to pieces, there was no way, only to hide in the mountains." ”
At this time, the stubborn Cao Zhenya had fled east and west, and finally ran to the home of one of his subordinates to release the duck.
Faced with the situation of the leaderless dragons, Chen Ruiqing finally decided to lay down his weapons, and finally led his own squad to take the initiative to surrender.
Chen Ruiqing, then a soldier of the 421st Division of the 47th Army, said: "At that time, we were called to a village to study and learn the spirit of the Communist Party, and as soon as we went, we had to take the initiative to explain our own affairs, and those who had major problems were suppressed. I was assigned to a place to study, and then I went to Changsha to study for a while, mainly to learn the discipline of the People's Liberation Army. Later, we learned that we were going to fight in Korea. ”
In 1950, the Korean War broke out, and China sent troops to fight in Korea.
After learning the news, Chen Ruiqing tore off his clothes, bit his index finger, and wrote a blood letter to sign up for the army. Subsequently, Chen Ruiqing began to wait anxiously.
In February 1951, Chen Ruiqing appeared in the ranks of the heroic and energetic volunteer army.
By January 15, 1951, in addition to the suppression of a group of bandits who had committed the most heinous crimes, 30,000 bandits and other counter-revolutionaries were imprisoned in Xiangxi.
Most of them were repatriated to the countryside after intensive training and education, and relied on the well-conscious peasant masses to jointly supervise labor and solve their living problems, so that they could produce with peace of mind and no longer do evil deeds.
After a period of control, the peasant association deliberated, took off its "bandit" hat, and returned its peasant duty.
Another part is to join the army and enter the army, and in this special furnace, grow into a strong and brave warrior.
On the battlefield of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, Chen Ruiqing fought bravely and tenaciously, repeatedly made great achievements, and then returned to his hometown and lived in Yongshun all the time.
After the suppression of the bandits, many commanders and fighters of the 47th Army were transferred to local cadres on the spot.
In the hearts of many veteran soldiers of the 47th Army, they even have the same longing for this place of great significance in Xiangxi. Just as the Siye headquarters gave the 47th Army an instruction that year: to operate Xiangxi.
Zhai Lanting, former instructor of the reconnaissance company of the 420th Regiment of the 140th Division of the 47th Army, after the end of the Korean battlefield, Zhai Lanting transferred to the northeast to work.
In 1962, the deputy commander of the Guangzhou Military Region found Zhai Lanting, who was far in the northeast, and invited him to return to Zhijiang to work, and Zhai Lanting agreed without hesitation.
Zhai Lanting, instructor of the reconnaissance company of the 420th Regiment of the 140th Division: "Later, when the Guangdong Military Region talked to me, they assigned me to Zhijiang, where we had suppressed bandits before, and we were more familiar with them. I have been from 1962 to the present. ”
In 1946, at the age of 25, Zhai Lanting gloriously joined the revolutionary army, and after the Battle of Pingjin, he went south to Hunan with the army to participate in the suppression of bandits. Faced with the complicated bandit situation in western Hunan Province, Zhai Lanting, who had just arrived, fought with the bandits at the same time.
Zhai Lanting, instructor of the reconnaissance company of the 420th Regiment of the 140th Division: "Once we cooperated with the troops to fight, the bandits were also cunning, and they would not let us eat. After we finished fighting, we came here to cook, and the bandits came up as soon as the rice was ready, so they continued to fight with him, and they couldn't even eat a dozen meals. It caused us to eat all day long without eating at all. ”
Once, in Western Hunan Province, Zhai Lanting was carried off the battlefield due to acute appendicitis. A soldier of the reinforcement squad, armed with a machine gun, escorted the instructor Zhai Lanting to the 140th Division's health brigade station more than twenty kilometers away.
Zhai Lanting, instructor of the reconnaissance company of the 420th Regiment of the 140th Division: "How far is Huaihua to Zhijiang, more than 70 miles, the result is to use a platoon, drive a car to send, when you get to the Huaihua area, the car does not dare to drive, just stop the car, people carry stretchers, a class opens the road to send me over." The road is so close that it doesn't make sense, and you have to worry about the bandits attacking..."
For more than 400 days and nights in western Hunan Province, this rugged and fierce Shandong Han blended in with the stubborn Xiangxi people.
Zhai Lanting, instructor of the reconnaissance company of the 420th Regiment of the 140th Division: "I went back once in 1956, there was no one in the family, just a nephew, my brother died. Everywhere I go, I say that I am a Hunan native, that I have spent the longest time in my life in Hunan, and that I have traveled too many winding roads. ”
Carrying a gun and being a bandit, but not willing to leave home, is the habit of bandits in western Hunan Province.
Faced with such a complicated situation, it was difficult for the anti-bandit troops to open up the situation at the beginning.
Zhai Lanting, instructor of the reconnaissance company of the 420th Regiment of the 140th Division: "At the beginning of our first visit, their sentries were like the common people, we walked very carefully, three soldiers walked in front, a platoon in the back, just walked like this, pulled away, three people opened the way in front. That road has a lot of thatch, it's very narrow, and there are ordinary people leading the way. There was a little girl with a sickle cutting wood next to me, and our sentry asked for directions, and the little girl cut our soldier with one knife, and the second one shot, and the one who cut the wood was a bandit, and ran downhill, and the other two kept shooting, but they ran anyway, and we were wounded. We've been more vigilant since then. ”
This experience allowed Zhai Lanting and his comrades-in-arms to slowly find some tricks.
Zhai Lanting, instructor of the reconnaissance company of the 420th Regiment of the 140th Division: "We all advocated making friends with the common people at that time, and after contact, we slowly exchanged good contacts." I had a beggar in Huaihua, I contacted, my family was poor, I joined the army, I took him away, took him to North Korea, came back injured, and had no legs. I bought him a car, and I helped him with his family's difficulties until he died. Contact, make friends, and slowly get better. ”
Having experienced bloody battles here and experienced friendships that can be tribulated, Zhai Lanting's heart has been placed on this beautiful land.
"After we finished suppressing the bandits at that time, we had the psychological preparation to run a good xiangxi, and we also planned the Xiangqian railway. At that time, Chairman Mao said that the fighting army should not only fight a good battle, but also cultivate good land, and the army should be localized. ”
In more than two years, the military and civilians in western Hunan annihilated a total of 92,081 bandits, and at the same time, 230,000 landless peasants were assigned to the fields, and the root cause of the bandit disease in western Hunan was eliminated from the system.
Qin Guoqing and Tian Yulian were the last bandits recorded in the history of banditry in western Hunan Province. Beginning in 1951, the local public security and armed forces in western Hunan organized dozens of large-scale mountain searches and joint encirclement and suppression operations in the Areas of Dayong and Sangzhi, but they were never able to capture them.
This pair of "bandit Mandarin ducks" who have been lurking in the mountains for more than 10 years have killed many PLA fighters and nearly 100 innocent people.
On March 24, 1965, Qin Guoqing and Tian Yulian were killed by soldiers of our bandit unit.
Thirteen years after the fundamental victory of the bandits in western Hunan Province, the last two remnants of the deadly mountains were finally eliminated.
Looking back at the contest between the 47th Army and the bandits in western Hunan Province, although the 47th Army has made great sacrifices, their efforts have been forever remembered by the people of western Hunan Province.
In 1951, Zhijiang had basically ended its suppression of bandits.
In order to remember this history and remember the soldiers of the 47th Army who spilled their blood here, together with the military region and the local government, decided to build a landmark building, and the task fell to Yang Zhenhuan, a propagandist of the propaganda team of the 140th Division.
After receiving the task, Yang Zhenhuan was excited for a long time, so that as soon as he opened the drawing paper, the sound of sacrificing his comrades appeared in front of his eyes.
Yang Zhenhuan, a propagandist of the propaganda team of the 140th Division: "My two closest comrades-in-arms died here..."
In 1950, as the Spring Festival approached, Yang Yongqing, a large bandit stationed in Zhijiang, trumpeted a counterattack on Zhijiang City.
For a time, the situation in Zhijiang City was very tense, and the supply of living materials in the city was also very difficult.
Yang Zhenhuan, a propagandist of the propaganda team of the 140th Division: "Liu Chuanye, the leader of the cooking class, saw that everyone rehearsed "The White Haired Girl" day and night very hard, and he wanted to improve the food for everyone. ”
After the leaders agreed, Liu Chuanye came to the neighboring Huang County and walked with him, along with Yang Zhenhuan's closest comrades-in-arms Zheng Han, Fan Cunren, and Wu Ruqi.
Yang Zhenhuan, a propagandist of the propaganda team of the 140th Division: "When I went, I walked past, and when I came back, I was driving a boat, and Huang County was on the Zhi River, and driving the boat was faster." ”
On the way back, Liu Chuanye and others unfortunately entered the ambush circle of the bandits, and the two sides began to exchange fire fiercely. However, because they were outnumbered, Liu Chuanye and Zheng Han and four other comrades died heroically.
Yang Zhenhuan, propagandist of the propaganda team of the 140th Division: "At that time, in the course of a fierce firefight with the bandits, a soldier jumped into the grass, escaped, and ran for three days and three nights before returning to our camp. ”
After learning the bad news of the sacrifice of Zhijiang's closest comrade-in-arms, Yang Zhenhuan could not control his feelings and cried bitterly.
Yang Zhenhuan, propagandist of the Propaganda Team of the 140th Division, said: "As a literary and artistic soldier in the army at that time, the situation of sacrificing four people at the same time in a battle is rare in the history of our army, including my closest comrades-in-arms... Thinking of my comrades who died and my closest comrades-in-arms, I wanted to do something for them..."
Subsequently, Yang Zhenhuan found the "Northeast Liberation Martyrs Memorial Tower" in Harbin City as a reference from the limited materials and drew the design of this memorial tower.
However, at this moment, Yang Zhenhuan received orders to support the front line and participate in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
In 1999, in order to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the victory of the 140th Division in Zhijiang, Yang Zhenhuan gathered in Zhijiang with his former comrades-in-arms.
What he did not expect was that the memorial tower that was presented on the drawings was already standing in front of his eyes.
At this moment, a sense of joy and surprise surged into Yang Zhenhuan's heart.
Tang Zhaojun, former secretary of the party group of the Zhijiang County Archives Bureau, said: "Because the location of this historical memorial hall is the administrative center of the entire Huitong Special District, the 140th Division at that time was in Zhijiang, the Huitong Military Sub-district was in Zhijiang, and the Huitong Commissioner's Office was also in Zhijiang. Another important reason is that Yang Yongqing, a famous bandit leader in western Hunan Province, was shot and shot in this place by public trial, and Yang Yongqing was arrested at the end of 1950, and this tower was built in 1951. The capture and shooting of Yang Yongqing marked the smooth end of the bandit suppression in western Hunan province, and the task of suppressing bandits in the 140th Division was basically completed. Therefore, this position, the memorial tower is built here, is of commemorative significance. ”
The Fourth Field Army and the 47th Army of the Central And Southern Military Region were located in Yuanling County, Huaihua City, and after the victory of the Xiangxi Bandits, the Xiangxi Bandit Victory Park was built in Yuanling County of Huaihua City and Chenxi County of Huaihua City, and the Victory Park of Yuanling Victory Park was built by the 47th Army (51 years), and there was a statue of the People's Liberation Army on the front of the tower, and the preface to the construction of the tower was engraved, and four pavilions were built on both sides of the park, and stone tablets were erected inside, and the list of martyrs who died against the bandits was inscribed. Xiangxi Prefecture also has the "Xiangxi Bandit Museum".
With the passage of time, the suppression of bandits in western Hunan has become a thing of the past, but people's remembrance of their ancestors and their admiration for martyrs cannot pass.
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