In late October 1936, in order to implement the decision of the Party Central Committee to go north to resist Japan, after the three main forces of the Red First, Second, and Fourth Fronts met in Huining, Gansu Province, the headquarters of the Red Fourth Front and more than 20,000 people of the Fifth, Ninth, and Thirty Armies under it formed the Western Route Army, and were ordered to implement the Ningxia Campaign Plan and open up international routes.
After Chiang Kai-shek received the news, he hurriedly sent a telegram ordering the northwestern warlords Ma Bufang, Ma Buqing, Ma Hongkui, and Ma Hongbin to block and encircle and suppress the Red Army.
Among them, Ma Bufang and Ma Buqing transferred 115,000 troops to Hexi, 34,800 regular troops, more than 80,000 local corps, 60,000 warhorses, and one artillery regiment.
In addition, Chiang Kai-shek also sent a flying squadron to assist in the battle.
Therefore, after crossing the Yellow River from the Mouth of the Tiger and Leopard in Jingyuan, the Western Route Army encountered a series of fierce battles in the Hexi Corridor, and the battle was extremely hard. Although he killed many enemies, his own casualties were also extremely heavy.
In March 1937, after the Western Route Army broke through the Nijiayingzi and Sandaoliugou in Linze County, only more than 3,000 people were left, and they had to withdraw from Liyuankou to Qilian Mountain.
On March 11, the Military and Political Committee of the Western Route Army held a meeting at Shiwo Mountain (historically known as the Shiwo Conference) at Shiwo Mountain in Kanglong Temple, and the meeting made a decision: The remaining 3,000 or so people were organized into left and right detachments, headquarters special task forces, and women's regiments to disperse their actions, relying on Qilian Mountain to fight guerrillas.
The Ma family army stationed in Jiuquan and the militia groups along the mountain immediately strengthened their defenses.
Stationed in Jiuquan was the 298th Brigade of the 100th Division of the MaJia Army, and the brigade commander was Ma Bukang, Ma Bufang's cousin, who, in addition to having regular soldiers and horses at his headquarters, also formed the "Kangzhou District Security Regiment" according to the county administrative division, which was organized into six regiments, with 2,624 regiments, guarding various mountain passes and searching for the Red Army's diaspora throughout the mountains.
Ma Bukang said: Grab a Red Army officer with a bounty of 50 taels, grab a Red Army bounty of 5 taels, and Bai Yang 5 yuan.
One morning in early April 1937, Ru Daben, commander of the Second Brigade of the Fifth Militia Regiment of the "Kangzhou District Security Regiment", led the regimental commanders Ru Hou and Duan Dexian and forty other regimental soldiers carrying large knives and spears into the Guanshan Pass to search the mountain.
At about ten o'clock in the afternoon of the same day, Ru Daben and others were sharpening at the Xigou Temple, and after eating, they turned over the mountain beams on the south side, walked along the Guanshan River Ditch for two or three hours, and found a single Red Army in a large grass beach full of red willows and flat hemp seedlings.
This Red Army man was not tall, but his hair was very long, his face was round, his face was black, he was wearing a gray hat, he was wearing a gray cotton uniform, his cotton pants had been worn off, he had no shoes, his feet were wrapped in torn felt and cloth, tied with rope, he had a sick face, his demeanor was weak, and he could no longer walk.
The regimental men rushed up, grabbed their arms, pressed their thighs, and pressed the Red Army to the ground, making it impossible to move for half a minute.
Ru Daben asked Ru Qihou to search for the things on the Red Army and obtained: a box gun, seventy-five rounds of bullets, a dagger, a compass for a pocket watch, a water pen, a notebook, a teapot, a toothbrush, a hundred and seventy-five yuan in banknotes, and a small cloth bag containing a bowl of fried noodles and a little salt.
Ru Daben inserted the box gun that Ru Qihou had taken from the Red Army into his waist, cleared his throat in a vivid spirit, and asked a series of questions: What is the name? What is the position? How many people are there together?
As soon as this Red Army opened its mouth, it was a thick Hubei tone, and he said, My surname is Chen, my name is Chen Zegong, I am a correspondent, I met the Majiajun pistol team in the mountains, the two sides fought, the team was scattered, I was left alone, walked for several days, I could not go out of the mountain, there was no food on me, and if I went on, I would only die.
Ru Daben nodded satisfactorily, patted the box gun around his waist, snorted, and said in a long voice, fortunately you did not shoot at us, otherwise it would be a dead end, and now, we will not kill you, first send you back to our regimental headquarters, waiting for the commander to send you down.
The Red Army soldier smiled softly and said, I see that you are carrying spear rods on your shoulders, that is, some local peasants, and I don't want to shoot and hurt you, if it is a regular Ma family army, I just don't have the strength to shoot a few.
Hearing him say this, Ru Daben felt that he was definitely not an ordinary correspondent, so he asked in a loud voice, you are not a small soldier, you must be an official, quickly say, what is the official?
After asking questions for a while, the Red Army smiled bitterly and had to say that he had been a company commander of the teaching company, and then he was dismissed from his post and became an ordinary communication soldier.
Ru Daben then sent Ding Wang Xingfu, Duan Dexian and others to help him get on a donkey, escort him back to the regimental headquarters, and continue to search forward along the river.
Wang Xingfu, Duan Dexian, and others escorted Chen Zegong to the south courtyard of the Huang family compound where a large contingent of troops were stationed.
It was already dusk, and a large group leader, Xie Zhanyuan, and Ren Zicai, deputy of the brigade, had just eaten dinner, were gritting their teeth, smoking a big cigarette, and did not bother to interrogate him, so that people could arrange for him to eat and stay.
The next day, the captain of the brigade, Xie Zhanyuan, had Chen Zegong escorted to the Regiment Headquarters of the North Courtyard Gate and handed over to the regimental commander Yu Honglin.
From this day on, Chen Zegong lived with four Zhuang Ding in the west room of the North Courtyard for nearly a month.
During this month, although Chen Zegong was abused, eating leftovers and wearing tattered clothes, he was optimistic by nature and did not have a sad face.
What deserves a big book is that Chen Zegong often talked with the four Zhuang Ding who guarded him about ideals and life, told the story of the Red Army's battle, talked about the benefits of the Communist Party to the common people, and had a good relationship with the Zhuang Ding.
After that, Duan Juxian, a cook of the vigilante group, often secretly brought some good meals and good dishes from the gang room to him to eat, and Zhuang Ding Ma Xixuan bought medicine for him, shaved his head, and helped him catch lice.
In just over ten days of kung fu, Chen Zegong became an admirer and object of conversation among the Zhuang Dings.
One night, Liu Jialin and others told Chen Zegong about the various bad deeds of Ru Daben, the leader of the militia brigade, who had beaten and oppressed them, and Chen Zegong gave them support, provided them with various methods to fight against Ru Daben, and educated them to unite as one.
In early May 1937, Chen Zegong's foot wound had healed, and the tuanding were preparing to plan to help him escape. Suddenly, the Majia Army Brigade In Jiuquan City informed the militia regiments to send the captured Red Army to the city for concentration.
Yu Honglin, the fifth commander of the militia regiment, then sent a regimental commander to order the soldier Ru Qihou to escort Chen Zegong into the city.
At the MaBukang Brigade Headquarters at Dayemun (now the site of the Bayi Service Office on Shangwu Street) in Jiuquan City, Han Deqing, chief of staff of the brigade, personally received Ru Qihou and Chen Zegong, who was escorted by him.
Han Deqing looked up and down at Chen Zegong and felt that this person was dignified, calm, and extraordinary, and he should not be small in the future, and no matter how he was, he had to be an officer at or above the rank of the Red Army.
Han Deqing immediately interrogated Chen Zegong.
Chen Zegong's answer was exactly the same as what he had said to Ru Daben when he was arrested, and there was nothing new about it.
Helplessly, Han Deqing led him to the campus where the brigade commander Ma Bukang lived and asked him how to deal with it.
Ma Bukang was playing mahjong, grabbed a good hand in his hand, and was nervously waiting for the draw card, and said impatiently: Hand it over to the adjutant and send it to the Fire Temple for supervision.
In the Fire Temple, the Brigade Headquarters of the Great Yamen was not far away, only two or three hundred meters away, and more than a hundred captured Red Army soldiers were imprisoned inside.
As soon as Chen Zegong entered the Fire Temple, many Red Army soldiers stood up involuntarily.
The adjutant in charge of escorting Chen Zegong was taken aback, drew his gun and asked the Red Army, who stood up: "Why do you want to stand up?" ”
The imprisoned Red Army was stunned, but none of them answered, and they all sat down on the ground.
Although the red army soldiers did not say it, the adjutant had already anticipated that Chen Zegong was a big man and hurriedly brought him back to the brigade headquarters.
Chief of Staff Han Deqing listened to the adjutant's description and also felt that the stakes were high, and immediately returned to Ma Bukang.
Ma Bukang also did not play mahjong and personally interrogated Chen Zegong.
Chen Zegong's face was fearless, calm, and he was convinced that he had been a battalion-level officer in the past, and that was all.
Ma Bukang was irritable, and while instructing Han Deqing to accompany Sun Yuqing to take a bath, he ordered someone to interrogate the Red Army soldiers imprisoned in the Fire Temple.
While taking a bath, Han Deqing kept asking about this and that, and mentioned that the brigade commander Ma Bukang had already interrogated the Red Army soldiers of the Fire Temple.
Perhaps, "Chen Zegong" did not want to involve the innocent Red Army soldiers, and finally said bitterly and happily: "To tell you the truth, I am Sun Yuqing, the commander of the Ninth Army, in the Battle of Gulang, my army was severely damaged, I was removed from my post as commander, dai sin made meritorious deeds, I did not expect to be caught by you." ”
Hearing the three words "Sun Yuqing", Han Deqing was messy in a flash.
Sun Yuqing was a native of Huang'an County (present-day Hong'an County), Hubei Province, a Red Army general who stood out in the Jute Uprising, and in the campaign against the Sichuan warlord Tian Songyao's Three Roads Siege, he annihilated three regiments of the enemy with the strength of one regiment, won the "One Victory with One Hundred" award flag, and was a famous general in the Fourth Front Army of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. During his tenure as commander of the 31st Army of the Red Fourth Front, he captured qinglongguan and annihilated 1 brigade of the enemy, laying the foundation for the complete smashing of Liu Xiang's 6-way siege, and winning the title of "Night Attack Changsheng Army". After the Mao'ergai Conference, Sun Yuqing was transferred to the 9th Army of the Red 4th Front as a commander. In the Battle of Gulangcheng, Sun Yuqing, under the fierce attack of 3 cavalry brigades, 2 infantry brigades and 4 militia regiments of the Majia Army, as well as aircraft artillery, calmly responded to the battle, killing and wounding more than 2,000 enemy troops, and turning the troops into danger. However, in the Battle of Gulang, the Red Ninth Army wounded a thousand enemies and lost eight hundred to itself, and Sun Yuqing was removed from the post of commander.
Han Deqing really did not expect that the person in front of him was the famous and shocking Sun Yuqing!
When he woke up from his confusion, he immediately reported to Ma Bukang.
Hearing that Chen Zegong was Sun Yuqing, Ma Bukang jumped three feet high with joy, immediately came to see Sun Yuqing, shook hands and said incoherently: "Hard! laborious! Give us a glimpse! Enjoy the light! ”
Looking back, Ma Bukang asked people to bring a new costume for Sun Yuqing to put on, patted his chest and said to Sun Yuqing: "I am Ma Bufang's brother, he listens to me everything, I guarantee that he will not hurt you, you can rest assured." ”
The next day, Ma Bukang held a celebration banquet at the Jiuquan South Guild Hall (Shaanxi Tongxiang Guild Hall, now a primary school in Minyi Street, in Jiuquan City's East Culture Street), found a drama team to sing opera, and announced a three-day carnival.
Ma Bufang, who was far away in Xining, received Ma Bukang's report and called back to instruct: "Take proper care of Commander Sun Jun, and when Brigadier Ma Zhongyi returns to Suzhou, entrust Commander Sun to be responsible for bringing him back to Xining." ”
Thus, a few days later, on May 17, Sun Yuqing was escorted by Ma Zhongyi to Xining and imprisoned in dongguan Ma Zhongyi's residence (now the backyard of the Xinhua cloth shoe factory on Dongguan Avenue). )
Sun Yuqing's detention to Xining alarmed all strata of society.
On May 18, 1937, the Qinghai Daily reported impressively: "Ma commanded Zhongyi to search and suppress Huang Fan, seized Sun Yuqing, commander of the Ninth Army of the Fourth Front, and 4 key members of the General Political Department, and escorted them to Qingdao yesterday." Sun Yuqing is a native of Hunan, about 30 years old, and after his wife's former captivity arrived in the province, he is now placed in the hospital Zhongyun. ”
On May 18, Ma Bufang summoned military and political dignitaries to meet sun Yuqing in the east living room of the second hall of the provincial government.
Sun Yuqing sneered and entered with a negative hand, and the first sentence revealed his identity: "Lao Tzu is Sun Yuqing, the commander of the Red Ninth Army!" ”
This momentum was overwhelming, and the momentum suddenly overshadowed all the Qing Navy dignitaries on the spot.
Xiong Weibang, director of the radio station of the MaJiajun 100th Division, who personally experienced the scene, later recalled: "Commander Sun Jun was short in stature, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, a dark and yellow complexion, and was very talkative. On the table was a large pile of peanut rice and spiced melon seeds, eating and talking. Commander Sun criticized the victory or defeat of the two armies. He said: 'Our failure this time was mainly caused by the violation of the taboo of the art of war.' First, the lone expedition had no supplies, and second, the weather was cold and unfounded. Your situation is exactly the opposite of our army's, and if you change positions, even if you have two hundred regiments, we can easily crush them. Because your battle is blind and reckless and has no battle plan, are you saying that I am right?'"
Ma Bufang did not expect such a scene to occur at all, and was greatly frustrated.
After that, Ma Bufang adopted a series of softening policies in an attempt to soften and induce Sun Yuqing to surrender. He ordered his men to send Sun Yuqing to the Army Hospital twice to visit his lover Yue Lanfang, who was in custody.
Years later, Yue Lanfang described her story with Sun Yuqing, the process of arrest, and the circumstances of her parting from Sun Yuqing's life and death:
In 1933, when I was 18 years old, the Red Fourth Front expanded its army in Nanjiang County. I joined the Red Army because I could not stand the abuse of my mother-in-law, and was assigned to the Red Ninth Army Theater Troupe, and after the Long March, I worked in the Political Department of the Red Ninth Army. After crossing the meadow for the second time, I went south to Tianquan and Lushan, and at the Ganziqu River, I married Sun Yuqing, the commander of the Ninth Army, and at the same time married several pairs, including the chief of staff. Sun Yuqing is not tall, not black or fat, treats me very well, and gave me a new military uniform when I got married.
After crossing the Yellow River in Jingyuan, Gansu, I served as a platoon leader in the three companies of the women's regiment. In the Battle of Hexi, I was wounded in my right arm, leaving bruises. In the entire Battle of Hexi, I never met Commander Sun again.
When we entered the pear garden mouth, we ran out of food. The leader called everyone to a meeting and told each of them to find a way to survive. We went up the hill, and the horse bandits set fire to the mountain, only to get out, and they were captured. Along with me, Zhao Bixian, Wan Yuxiu and others were escorted to Xining.
When he went to Xining, he first tore wool at the wool factory, and then he was sent to the Majia Army Hospital to wash the wounds and clothes of the wounded soldiers. There were thirty or forty female Red Army men in our group, and a few men.
Every day, when I heard the horse bandit call me by name, my heart pounded, thinking that I was going to pull out and kill.
Once, I didn't wash the wounds of a wounded soldier in time. The wounded soldier came to me on crutches, raised it, and hit me on the right side of the face, making me dizzy and my ears buzzing. I was so angry that I grabbed a knife and slashed at the wounded soldier, and was pulled by a group of female Red Army soldiers, otherwise I would have died.
One day, I was in the house. "Yue Lanfang!" A horse bandit called my name. Startled, I turned around and saw Commander Sun walking to his side escorted by three or four horse bandits. The horse bandit asked Commander Sun if this was your wife, and Commander Sun said yes, and said to me, "Don't be afraid." Because the horse bandits were standing nearby, the commander didn't say anything more. A few days later, the commander came again and didn't say anything, because the horse bandits were always around.
A few days later, the female Red Army soldiers we were with secretly told me that Commander Sun had been killed by horse bandits. I was so upset that I hadn't eaten in a day and fell asleep in bed.
……
The reason why Ma Bufang killed Sun Yuqing was that on the one hand, he saw that the softening policy did not work, and on the other hand, Sun Yuqing always encouraged the fighting spirit of the captured Red Army. Therefore, when Chiang Kai-shek issued a telegram order to "sentence Sun Yuqing to capital punishment," he tied Sun Yuqing to a pillar in the stable of Ma Zhongyi's backyard and killed him.
Before Sun Yuqing took the righteousness, he looked at him angrily, was unyielding, shouted "Long live communism" in his mouth, and calmly became righteous, at the age of 28.
That night, Ma Zhongyi's aide-de-camp, La Wenbin, pulled Sun Yuqing's body outside the south gate and buried it secretly, and sent the head of Sun Junchang to Ma Bufang's military headquarters.