Founding Lieutenant General Wu Xian'en, born in 1907 in Jianchanghe, Xinxian County, Henan (then part of Huang'an County, Hubei), was one of the participants in the Jute Uprising, successively serving as political commissar of the Huang'an Independent Regiment Battalion, director of the Independent Division Manager's Division, director of the Quartermaster Department of the General Manager Department of the Red Fourth Front, and director of the General Station Department. In November 1936, when the Western Route Army conquered the Hexi Corridor, Wu Xian'en served as the director of the Supply Department of the Red Ninth Army. He was a survivor of the Western Route Army, who returned to Yan'an alone for 108 days, and what did he experience along the way?
The Red Ninth Army had four divisions: the 25th Division, the 26th Division, the 27th Division, and the Instructor, with Sun Yuqing as the commander and Chen Haisong as the political commissar. After crossing the Yellow River, the Red Ninth Army was seriously injured after the Battle of Gulang, and then through the breakthrough of Ganjun Fort, the bitter battle of Nijiayingzi, and the blockade of Liyuankou, the Ninth Army suffered heavy losses, and the army commander Sun Yuqing was captured (later killed by Ma Bufang), political commissar Chen Haisong, chief of staff Chen Bozhi and other senior generals and warriors on the battlefield. On March 14, 1937, the remnants of the Western Route Army held a meeting at Shiwoshan and decided to disperse and transfer the troops. Wu Xian'en and the rest of the Red Ninth Army moved with the right detachment, led by deputy commander-in-chief Wang Shusheng.
Wang Shusheng
Under the cover of night, the three detachments of the Western Route Army bid farewell to each other, and each of them did not know what awaited them. Soon, the right detachment led by Wang Shusheng, Du Yide and others was scattered by the enemy, and Wu Xian'en, Fang Zhongliang, the leader of the 20th Regiment, and Zhou Kaihe, the political commissar, and more than 100 other fighters were besieged by majiajun on a hilltop.
It's a Jedi. Behind the top of the mountain is a cliff, tens of meters high, under the cliff is the Black River, across the river is an open field, and beyond the open land is Niumao Mountain. When it finally got dark, ma jiajun stopped attacking, lit a fire at the bottom of the mountain, and the whole night sky was illuminated red.
Zhou Kaihe, the political commissar of the regiment, looked pale, leaned weakly against the rock wall, and looked at the distant firelight and pondered. Wu Xian'en, Fang Zhongliang and others sat around, and the night was so quiet that people felt frightened.
Zhou Kaihe was shot in the abdomen during the day's fighting and was seriously injured. However, there are no doctors here, no medicines, and some are just the murderous Ma Jiajun under the mountain. He didn't think much about it, and while ordering the soldiers to use the terrain to set up a position to prevent the Ma family army from raiding, on the other hand, he sent someone to survey the front and back of the mountaintop.
He found that it was a Jedi and there was no way back. Zhou Kaihe immediately had a breakthrough plan in his mind, and decided that he and several wounded warriors would stay behind to block the enemy, and let Wu Xian'en and Fang Zhongliang lead the uninjured warriors to twist their leggings into ropes and climb down from the cliff, and then dive across the river from the Heihe River, passing through an open field to enter the Qilian Mountains.
Wu Xian'en and others knew that by this time, the chances of whoever stayed and survived were very slim. But Zhou Kaihe stressed that when the battle is fought at this time, one can live and count one, and if everyone walks together, they may not be able to go away.
Qilian Snow Mountain
According to Zhou Kaihe's plan, Fang Zhongliang immediately determined the number of people who broke through, and there were a total of 49 soldiers who were not injured. Late at night, everyone said goodbye to Zhou Kaihe and other comrades-in-arms with tears in their eyes! The warriors slid down the cliff with ropes and then waded across the Black River.
The regimental commander Fang Zhongliang asked Wu Xian'en to go down first, and he was the last to go. Wu Xian'en didn't think much of it, he slid down the rope, who knew that just after sliding a few meters away, Fang Zhongliang spoke: Xian'en, you lead everyone to go first, I want to stay with these brothers, I am the leader of the regiment, I can't leave them alone! Wu Xian'en knew that it was useless to say anything more, so he vowed in his heart that he would definitely take these 47 warriors out of Qilian Mountain and back to Yan'an.
In the cold wind of Qilian Mountain in March, Wu Xian'en and his party of 48 people faced the test of survival in the wild of life and death. If there is no water to drink, he grabs a handful of snow and stuffs it into his mouth; if there is nothing to eat, he can only hunt wild yellow sheep, sometimes for a few days to eat a meal. Hunger, cold, and ma jiajun threaten the lives of each and every one of them at all times.
Ma Jiajun
The roof leaked and was subjected to continuous rain. Wu Xian'en and his party encountered the Ma family army again, and the soldiers desperately resisted, fighting and retreating, and finally only about 20 people were left. Wu Xian'en settled the wounded, led everyone to hide in an abandoned gold panning cave for a few days, and then led everyone to catch and hide with the enemy in the Qilian Mountains. They walked day and night, and they were so hungry that they scattered to beg for food.
The number of soldiers around them decreased day by day, some of them froze to death at night, some of them died of wound inflammation and infection, and some of them could not walk and could only be fostered in the homes of local people. After passing through Yongdeng and entering the Lanzhou territory, at this time, wu Xian'en only had 3 people left by his side: Cui Yuxiang, Shi Minghua and a warrior. Fortunately, in Lanzhou in June, the weather turned better, and Wu Xian'en and his party of 4 people saw the hope of going out.
Wu Xian'en and his party decided to cross the Yellow River to Lanzhou first, and then find a way to go to Yan'an. They lived in a peasant family by the Yellow River, and they were going to find a ferry to cross the river by boat, but the landlord Liu Laohan was a kind man, and he could see at a glance that Wu Xian'en and several people were Red Army, so he told them that the ferry had been tightly sealed by the Ma family army, and many of the boated Gonggong were made up by vigilante groups, waiting for the scattered Red Army to cross the river, and many Red Army had already been arrested when crossing the river.
Ma Jiajun brutally killed soldiers of the Western Route Army
Fortunately, with the help of Liu Laohan, Wu Xian'en met Niu Jiming, a cloth merchant who was also staying at the Liu family. This cattle boss had many ways, he asked Wu Xian'en and others to pretend to be buddies, and the next day he followed him across the river from the Yellow River Iron Bridge, once the officers and soldiers found out, don't talk, he has his own way to deal with it.
But at this time, Cui Yuxiang and another soldier had inflamed wounds, high fevers, and could not walk. Wu Xian'en didn't know what to do, the comrades who were born and died together were about to flee, and at this time, how to bear to leave them behind.
However, if you take them with you, on the Yellow River Bridge, if the sentries find their wounds, it is not easy to explain. Besides, even if they take them and cross the Yellow River Iron Bridge, they can't walk, and everyone can't walk at that time. After careful consideration, Wu Xian'en could only leave Cui Yuxiang and their two wounded behind, and entrusted the landlord's family to take good care of them.
The next day, Boss Niu took Wu Xian'en and Shi Minghua on the road. Niu Jiming was very good at socializing, and when the sentry asked, he enthusiastically handed over cigarettes, saying that he had crossed the river to do business and returned in the afternoon, so he crossed the Yellow River smoothly and safely. On the Sealand Highway, Wu Xian'en thanked the cattle boss and took Shi Huaming on the road.
The two men walked along the Sealand Highway, and on the way they actually encountered captured soldiers of the West Road Army, who were sent to the "Supplementary Regiment" to help Ma Bufang build the road. But Wu Xian'en did not dare to recognize them, and could only drag Shi Minghua along to the direction of Hanzhong.
Wu Xian'en
The money on his body had long gone, wu Xian'en and Wu Huaming gave others short-term work to earn money to eat mixed food, and later the two bought two pairs of goods, as porters, while rushing to the road, while earning some food money.
In this way, Wu Xian'en and the two walked all the way, sold coolies all the way, and after dozens of days, finally came to Shi Huaming's hometown of Bao town. As soon as I inquired, in Yunyang, there was a Red Army (aid to the Western Army) stationed there. Wu Xian'en was very happy that he could finally find the large red army, but Shi Huaming said that he was physically collapsed, and he wanted to stay at home to recuperate, and he was unwilling to leave again. Wu Xian'en persuaded that he could only go on the road alone.
The town of Baocheng is still a long way from Yunyang and has to cross the Qinling Mountains. But as soon as he thought of aiding the large troops of the Western Army, Wu Xian'en felt full of strength. He sped up the speed of his road, crossed the mountains and mountains, and made a difficult journey to the town of Yunyang, where he made contact with the Red Army.
Wu Xian'en arrived in Yan'an smoothly on July 2, 1937, he broke through from a mountain top in the Qilian Mountains to reach Yan'an, a whole 108 days, a journey of more than 2,000 miles, experienced dozens of battles, lived in ice caves, slept in the snow, begged for food, worked as a short-term worker, worked as a porter, broke through layers of checkpoints, died nine times, and finally returned to the embrace of the party, showing the infinite loyalty of a communist fighter to the party!
Wu Xian'en recalled this experience of the Western Route Army and said emotionally: "These 108 days are the most unforgettable experience in my life, I have suffered all the hardships and sins, and it can be said that I have broken through the ghost gate again and again. ”