In 1936, the Red Army's First and Second Fronts successfully met the division in Huining, Gansu, marking the end of the 25,000-mile Long March. But not long after the end of the Long March, there was an interesting thing that made Chairman Mao laugh, and a small child was questioned about whether he had participated in the Long March or not, and asked Chairman Mao for comment.
One night in 1936, after Chairman Mao's work was over, he left the book case to go out to relax, and he happened to see several hairy children from a group of children arguing at the head of the village, so he curiously went over to observe. It turned out that the reason they were arguing was because one of the children said he had participated in the Long March, and several other children did not believe it.
Several children argue constantly. I happened to see Chairman Mao come over and said that the children who had participated in the Long March quickly pulled Chairman Mao to let him evaluate and reason. Chairman Mao asked, "You said you participated in the Long March, who can testify?" The little guy said, "He Long can testify!" After saying a word, Chairman Mao was also amused, and Chairman Mao laughed and said, "I believe!" "So who is the real identity of this little boy?" Why did you participate in the Long March at such a young age? Why did Chairman Mao choose to believe the little boy by virtue of his words?
One. Bitter boy, little XiangXuan
Xiang Xuan was born in March 1926 in Hunan, and his life was bumpy and legendary. In Xiang Xuan's life, there were two mothers, one was his biological mother He Mangu, and the other was his adoptive mother He Ying. And He Ying and He Mangu are both relatives of He Long!
He Mangu was very strong and strong since childhood, living away from a female man, even her eldest sister He Ying, she dared to go up and sharpen her mouth, this love-hate personality made her very indignant about what Rikou did. Therefore, He Mangu followed in the footsteps of his eldest sister He Ying, participated in the revolution, and then with the help of his brother He Long, quickly built an anti-Japanese armed force.
At that time, the seven sisters of the He family all followed He Long in the revolution, so the he family was targeted by the enemy. In May 1928, He Mangu's party was bitten by the enemy and everyone broke through, which caused He Mangu to lose contact with his brothers and sisters. He Mangu, who could not contact the team, could only choose to return to his hometown.
What makes her happy is that although the He family is out for the revolution, her three sons have been well taken care of by their husbands, and looking at the three Xiangxuan brothers, He Mangu will continue to put the revolutionary mind back into her belly and concentrate on taking care of the children.
However, the good times did not last long, the local bandit bullies were already dissatisfied with He Mangu, and soon after He Mangu returned, a group of bandit bullies led people to surround He Mangu's house, and He Mangu broke through in a bloody battle and finally escaped from the enemy. However, the enemy's heart did not die, and he chased and fought fiercely all the way, and in the end, He Mangu was captured by the bully, and the three children were immediately arrested.
After He Mangu was arrested, the local bandit bullies offered it to the Kuomintang. In order to lure He Long, the Kuomintang made a big report on He Mangu's arrest, but in the end it failed to lure He Long out. He Mangu suffered terribly in prison and was tortured every day.
In the end, under torture, He Mangu had the idea of taking her own life, and entrusted someone to commit suicide with some opium for her. But He Mangu, who had just finished eating opium, was discovered by the Kuomintang reactionaries. When the enemy saw that He Long had not appeared for a long time, He Mangu did not want to reveal a trace of the bag, so he wanted to execute He Mangu and Xiang Xuan's brothers and sisters together.
The news of Xiang Xuan's three brothers and sisters being executed soon reached He Ying's ears. You must know that Xiang Xuan was only more than 1 year old at that time, and He Ying really couldn't bear to see his sister's child suffer so much, and he did not hesitate to spend a lot of money to save Xiao Xiangxuan's brothers and sisters. Xiao Xiangxuan, who had just come out of prison, was as thin as wood, and his clothes were not only tattered but also stained with feces and urine, which looked very distressing.
Editor Sotu looked at xiang Xuan so poorly, He Long originally wanted to take the child with him, but he had been fighting on the front line for many years, and taking Shang Xuan with him was undoubtedly equivalent to sending Shang Xuan to the household registration. Therefore, He Long said to He Ying: "Elder sister, this child is so pitiful, he has no mother since he was a child, so it is better to follow you."
Since then, Xiang Xuan has been eating and living with He Ying, and affectionately called "He Ying's mother", and He Ying regards it as his own, it can be said that Xiang Xuan has been doing everything from small to large and small affairs, and He Ying has almost done it himself. But soon, Xiang Xuan suffered another blow from losing his mother, and because Xiang Xuan already had a memory at this time, this time the parting of life and death was even more profound for him.
Two. The young man Xiang Xuan, life and death
Xiang Xuan has followed He Ying since he was a child, and even his personality is very similar to He Ying under the influence of his ears. Xiang Xuan has been jealous and hateful since childhood, and whenever he sees bandits bullying and oppressing the people, he always comes forward. After learning the truth about the death of his birth mother, Xiang Xuan became more and more resentful of the bandit bully, and this hatred made the little Xiang Xuan plant a revolutionary seed in his heart, he was eager to change this turbulent society, and he hoped to let his relatives and family live a stable life.
He Ying's armed forces just gave this revolutionary seed the opportunity to take root. Xiang Xuan, who has been in contact with the armed forces for many years, has been exposed to guns since childhood, and is very fascinated by guns and ammunition, often stealing guns and going out to practice target shooting.
However, the good times did not last long, and when Xiang Xuan was 7 years old, the revolutionary progress in western Xiang'e became more and more difficult, and the reactionaries repeatedly carried out large-scale searches and arrests of the Communist Party, causing heavy losses to the Red Army. Under such circumstances, guerrilla warfare became the only option for the Red Army to resist. As a result, large troops gradually began to withdraw from western Xiang'e, while He Ying led the guerrillas around to fight guerrillas with the enemy.
Everything was proceeding in an orderly manner, and unexpectedly, in a guerrilla attack, a traitor appeared in the ranks. The traitor reported He Ying's location to the enemy. In May 1933, the enemy surrounded He Ying's location. With a gunshot, He Ying was shot and fell to the ground without any defense.
Seeing that He Ying was shot, Xiang Xuan rushed forward to rescue He Ying. But at this time, He Ying was already exhausted, and he continued to fight with all his will, and after Xiang Xuan's arrival, He Ying reluctantly handed Xiang Xuan the pistol with blood in his hand and 4 silver dollars, asking him to leave this place and go to his uncle He Long.
Before he could tell more, He Ying was shot again and died with hatred. Xiang Xuan ran away in pain, but he himself was seriously injured and eventually fell unconscious. When Xiang Xuan woke up, he had already reached He Long's side. Originally, after He Long learned that He Ying was surrounded, he ordered someone to go to meet him, but unfortunately, when the reinforcements arrived, they only found the unconscious Xiang Xuan, and He Ying had already died.
When Xiang Xuan woke up and saw his uncle, he burst into tears, telling the story of He Ying's murder and handing He Long the last relic of He Ying, the bloody pistol. He Long looked at the relics of the eldest sister, and his heart was also full of grief, and he once wanted to rush out of the camp and fight the enemy to the death. But Xiao Xiangxuan can't be left unattended, He Long can only suppress his anger, leave Xiangxuan by his side, let him become a service soldier, and hope that when he grows up, he can become a man who defends his family and country like himself.
Xiang Xuan did not disappoint He Long, even after a series of life and death partings, Xiang Xuan was not defeated, on the contrary, his will became more determined. He always reminded himself that from now on, he would not only avenge his two mothers, but also carry the revolution through to the end!
Three. Long march, the smallest Red Army
In 1935, the encirclement and suppression of the Kuomintang reactionaries was even worse. A total of 21,000 people from the Red Second and Sixth Red Fronts embarked on the Long March from Hunan under the leadership of He Long, Ren Bishi, Guan Xiangying and others. At this time, Xiang Xuan was only 9 years old, but his military position was already the deputy of the communications class.
The long march is long and arduous, which is a path of suffering that even adults cannot bear, not to mention that Xiang Xuan is still a child. But although Xiang Xuan was young, he was very sensible. Along the way, many warriors fell hungry in the middle of the road, and Xiang Xuan found food for them and took care of them.
At the beginning of the Long March, Xiang Xuan's leg was still injured, and there were three small Red Army members in the team, so He Long assigned these three small Red Army horses, and the three people took turns riding. But along the way, Xiang Xuan rarely rode a horse, and most of the way was led by himself for the other two partners.
When the large troops were tired and needed to rest, he rushed to the cooking class and helped the comrades of the cooking class to pick vegetables, sweep the floor, and lay hands together. As long as there is a vacant position in the army, whether it is a communication soldier, standing guard, or delivering letters, no matter how hard and tired he is, he will definitely go over to help.
This is not only because Xiang Xuan has been sensible since childhood, but more importantly, He Long is extremely strict with his discipline. When crossing the meadow, Xiang Xuan saw a very beautiful flower horse, and naughtily he directly rode the horse away. When He Long learned of this, he was very angry, angrily rebuked him, and ordered him to quickly return the horse.
Editor Search map not only that, when working, Xiang Xuan will also play some heart eyes. The winter of 1935 was very cold, and the troops needed large amounts of coal for heating. Among the soldiers carrying coal at that time was Xiang Xuan. When crossing the snow, due to the cold and freezing, the road is very slippery, and many fighters accidentally slip and fall, but slowly everyone adapts to the road conditions, and there are few cases of slipping. But Xiang Xuan was very slippery, and he always deliberately fell down to reduce the amount of coal he was carrying. Due to their relatively young age, the other warriors turned a blind eye when they saw it.
Although Xiang Xuan was young and it was normal to be greedy and clever, He Long did not know where to learn about this matter, and still severely criticized Xiang Xuan's lazy behavior. Also because He Long's right and wrong were clear, Xiang Xuan gradually realized his mistake and corrected it in time.
It can be said that on the Long March Road, Xiang Xuan completely dedicated his childhood. During the twenty-five-thousand-mile Long March, he was the youngest soldier of the Red Army. Although he was young, he was not overwhelmed by the harsh road conditions and climate, but showed amazing will, and finally completed a long journey with the troops, and made extraordinary contributions in the future War of Resistance Against Japan.
Four. Liberation hero, seriously injured
With the outbreak of the "918" incident in 1937, the Japanese army began a war of aggression against China. At that time, our country was in the midst of internal and external troubles, surrounded by the Kuomintang reactionaries, and constantly invaded by the Japanese aggressors. Xiang Xuan knew that he was raised by the revolutionary mule and was raised by the milk of the revolution, so he was obliged to devote himself to the revolutionary cause.
During the 8 years of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Xiang Xuan continued to learn knowledge and increase his experience in the war. In 1943, Xiang Xuan served as the deputy company commander of the Engineer Company of the Northwest Field Army. Serving as deputy company commander also made him realize that the reason why our army fell into the inferior position several times in the war was because of weapons. Of these weapons, the most scarce is the cannon.
In the 8 years of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the equipment of our army has always stayed on the basis of "millet plus rifles", fighting against the enemy army, encountering the enemy's sophisticated weapons, and can only rely on tenacious willpower to exchange life for victory in the war. Without the long-range coverage of artillery fire, such tragedies would only happen again and again.
Xiang Xuan did not want this kind of thing to happen again, so he racked his brains to find a cannon that was cheap, easy to make, and easy to operate. The kung fu paid off, and this kind of cannon really made him find it. The "Big Tiger" and "Flying Thunder Cannon" he conceived and designed were unanimously praised by the frontline soldiers. In fact, the so-called "big tiger" and "flying thunder cannon" are the flying thunder cannons that shined during the Liberation War.
This earthen cannon is not only powerful and long-range, but also extremely easy to operate. Its requirements for ammunition are not as high as those of howitzers, which means that our army can use such guns on the battlefield without slowing down the march because of the ammunition it carries. It can be said that the overall design of the flying thunder gun was almost perfectly adapted to the combat style of the Chinese People's Liberation Army at that time. With the addition of flying thunder cannons, the firepower configuration of our army has been greatly enhanced, and the number of casualties of our front-line soldiers has also been reduced.
Xiang Xuan's outstanding contribution can actually continue to do his own research and logistics work in the rear. However, in order to win, he repeatedly asked to go to the front line to personally verify the combat capability of the "flying thunder cannon" to make up for the defects.
When Xiang Xuan first made such a request, the head of the military region refused this request, because his two mothers and father had made great sacrifices for the Chinese revolution, and if he had sacrificed at this time, he would not only be sorry for his parents, but also unable to account to General He Long. However, Xiang Xuan's persistence finally made the head of the military region make concessions, and in the final battle of the march into the southwest, Xiang Xuan pushed the "flying thunder cannon" to the front line.
What everyone did not expect was that because the enemy did not suffer losses because of the "flying thunder cannon", therefore, in the previous campaign, the enemy deliberately changed its strategy and fought a position war with the People's Liberation Army. In the battle for positions, Xiang Xuan, who was firing in the rear, was attacked by enemy howitzers, and a bomb was falling near him, his right eye was blinded on the spot, his right leg was broken, and he fell in a pool of blood.
After Xiang Xuan was sent to the rear hospital, he was rescued by doctors and finally saved his life, but his right eye was completely blind and he was left with 21 wounds on his body. After He Long learned of this, he said to He Bingyan: "Xuan'er shed blood and sacrificed for the country, this is an unshirkable matter of the He family, please do not blame yourself."
Tribute to the heroes, old hearts do not fade
Xiang Xuan's life was rich and colorful, from the age of one year old, he fell into the hands of the enemy and escaped, and eventually grew into a staunch communist fighter after experiencing bloody rain and wind along the way. He Long summed up his life in words to Xiang Xuan: "It is the revolutionary mule that has raised you, and it is also the milk of the revolution that has nourished you." In this life, you will fight for the revolution all your life. And Xiang Xuan did exactly that, even after leaving the army.
After leaving the army, Xiang Xuan spent five years in the dark in the stable due to social unrest, but his fiery heart was not shaken by this, until Xiang Xuan retired in old age, and he always dedicated himself tirelessly to the country.
Xiang Xuan's life was unfortunate, but at the same time lucky. Under the tutelage of his uncle He Long, he understood the principle of being a man and the meaning of revolution at a very young age. This kind of growth that has gone through vicissitudes has made him maintain a red heart no matter how old he is, willing to sacrifice his personal gains and losses, and fight for China's revolutionary cause all his life!