In 1952, Lu Ruilin, deputy political commissar of the Xikang Military Region, was ordered to direct the work of suppressing bandits in Daliangshan, where most of them were Yi people who could not understand Chinese. The troops urgently needed a man who knew Chinese to act as an interpreter who could mediate with the bandits.
At this time, a thin old man who was blind in his left eye volunteered to be an interpreter and took the initiative to lead the task force up the mountain to suppress the bandits. The old man lives in a cow and horse barn all year round, living in extremely difficult conditions, and relies on grazing for his master to survive. Later, when the old man learned that the national task force was the Red Army of that year, he was extremely excited, and with tears in his eyes, he told the story of helping the Red Army to cross the Dadu River.
The accompanying reporter wrote a report on the old man's deeds and handed it to Lu Ruilin for review. When Lu Ruilin looked at it, wasn't this old man the benefactor that the Southwest Military Region had been looking for for many years--the old shipwright Shuai Shigao? What did Shuai Shigao do to make the Red Army search for many years? What did he experience that made him flee his hometown to the Yi people as a slave?
First, do not fear hardships and dangers to help the Red Army cross the river
The fifth "anti-encirclement and suppression" struggle failed, and the Red Army was forced to abandon Ruijin and begin the Long March. However, Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang did not let this go, but instead pursued and intercepted the Red Army on the Long March Road in an attempt to exterminate them all. On May 12, 1935, after the Red Army arrived in Huili, it planned to continue north across the Dadu River to join the Red Fourth Front in northwest Sichuan.
However, Chiang Kai-shek's side tried in vain to completely annihilate our army south of the Dadu River. Early on, he seized the high ground on the other side of the Dadu River and set up submachine guns.
The only way for our Red Army to go north was the Dadu River, but the Kuomintang side not only built fortifications on the opposite side of the river, but also burned and destroyed many boats crossing the river, and even captured a number of old boatmen who were familiar with the nature of water, in an attempt to make our army the second Shi Dakai.
The Dadu River is one of the largest tributaries of the Min River, with a width of 300 meters, steep terrain and rapid water flow. There is a local saying that "do not cross the river in May", the Dadu River in May is high and the water is high, and if you are not familiar with the local water conditions, you are forced to cross the river is to die.
On the night of May 24, 1935, the Red Army's advance team went to find the local "boat boss" Shuai Shigao, who was familiar with the water. Shuai Shigao lived on an old street in Asbestos Anshunchang.
It was raining lightly that day, and when the Red Army advance team knocked on the door, the ordinary people who had been slaughtered by the Kuomintang army dared to open the door at will. Shuai Shigao saw through the crack in the door that the advance troops were dressed in rags, and some of them did not even have straw shoes, which was very different from the clothing of the Kuomintang army, and the Red Army soldiers hesitated
"Don't be afraid, we are the Red Army that fights for the poor..."
At this time, Shuai Shigao let down his guard and opened the door to the soldiers of the Red Army.
After listening to the Red Army's plan, Shuai Shigao was happy to help, but the ships were all destroyed by the Kuomintang troops, and how could they ferry without ships? Red Army fighters said that when they reached Anshun Field on the right bank of the Dadu River, they engaged in a fierce 20-minute battle with the enemy and defeated a battalion of the Sichuan Army. Not only did he successfully occupy Anshun Field, but he also found a boat.
Shuai Shigao then found several boatmen who knew each other and prepared to cross the river in the early morning of May 25.
In the early morning of May 25, Shuai Shigao and several boatmen carrying 17 warriors from the Red Army's advance team began to paddle across the river 300 meters away, with Shuai Shigao serving as the first helmsman for the forced crossing of the Dadu River. The enemy's artillery fire continued to attack, and Shuai Shigao later recalled that the bullets whizzed by his ears, and the Red Army soldiers comforted him:
"It's all right, you just have to punch the boat."
Shuai Shigao was infected by the spirit of the Red Army soldiers who were not afraid of sacrifice and bravery, and also accelerated their strength to prop up the oars. However, just 100 meters from the other side of the river, the boat encountered a reef and was in a dilemma.
This distance was tantamount to completely exposing the Red Army to the enemy, and the longer the delay, the more dangerous it became. In a hurry, Shuai Shigao and several boatmen jumped into the rushing river, pushed the boat off the reef, and braved the gunfire to finally send 17 warriors to the left bank of the Dadu River.
Seventeen warriors fought fiercely against the enemy, seized the enemy fortifications, successfully occupied the left bank of the Dadu River, and rescued many captured boatmen.
Shuai Shigao told the old boatmen that the Red Army did not burn and rob like the Kuomintang army, they did not take the common people a needle and a thread, under the persuasion of Shuai Shigao, a total of 77 boatmen joined the river crossing operation. In order to help more than 7,000 soldiers cross the river smoothly, they adopted the strategy of "people stopping the boat without resting", and it took seven days and seven nights to finally send the Red Army safely to the left bank of the Dadu River.
Shuai Shigao recalled that the Red Army was particularly close to the people, and every time the ferry returned, he helped to pull the boat and distributed his rations to them. Shuai Shigao ate 3 bowls of white rice in a row, and he lived for more than 20 years without eating enough.
Second, hide in anonymity to avoid being hunted down by the Kuomintang
After forcibly crossing the Dadu River and capturing the Luding Bridge, the Red Army temporarily got rid of the enemy's encirclement and blockade. When the Kuomintang gathered a large number of troops to make a comeback, it found that the Red Army had long been empty, so it aimed its spearhead at the boatmen who helped the Red Army cross the river.
The relatives who got the news quickly informed Shuai Shigao, who did not dare to delay, packed up a few clothes and quickly fled for his life. However, the Kuomintang army was extremely brutal and could not catch him, so they arrested the handsome old father and brother-in-law, and tortured them in prison, and the old father died.
After hearing this news, Shuai Shigao did not dare to go home, afraid of affecting his family again. He hid in Tibet, worked as a short-term worker for others, dug mines, ran horses, and later went to the Yi area of Daliangshan to "sell himself as a slave" to eat in order to make a living.
He was a slave for 7 years, lived in a cow and horse barn for many years, lived in a harsh environment, and lost his sight in his left eye due to a bacterial infection and no money for treatment. However, our Party Central Committee has never forgotten this great benefactor of the Red Army, and after the founding of the People's Republic of China, it specially sent a telegram to Sichuan Province, asking local comrades to cooperate in finding Shuai Shigao, an old shipwright. However, over time, Shuai Shigao was forced to flee and has not gained anything. Until the Bandits of Daliang Mountain, Lu Ruilin found the old shipwright.
Lu Ruilin then took him to Ya'an, settled his life, and reported the matter to Marshal Peng Dehuai. In this regard, Shuai Shigao, who had been in exile for 17 years, finally returned to his hometown of Anshun field. The central government specifically instructed the local government to solve his living problems, and then with the help of the local government, Shuai Shigao married his wife and had children and settled down, and his life became better and better.
In 1965, Marshal Peng Dehuai met Shuai Shigao, who was curing eye diseases, at the Sichuan Asbestos Mine Hospital, and When Shuai Shigao heard that this was the head of the Dadu River of the Red Army 31 years ago, he excitedly got out of bed and hugged Marshal Peng Dehuai tightly.
Peng Dehuai lamented that he had suffered so much, Shuai Shigao said
"The Red Army has suffered more and more for the sake of the common people."
When Peng Dehuai left, he also left 30 yuan for Shuai Shigao, especially instructed the doctor to treat his eyes well, and instructed the local government to ensure the hero's old age.
Since then, Shuai Shigao has been given preferential treatment by the party and the government, and many founding generals have come to Anshunchang to visit him and sent him scarce daily necessities such as coats, sewing machines, and radios, which are now collected by his family. Shuai Shigao often said to his grandson, "He didn't do much, but the country and the people have always thought of him." Shuai Shigao died of illness in 1995 at the age of 84.
Shuai Fei, the grandson of Shuai Shigao, said that he became a soldier and understood his grandfather's words better, and countless revolutionary martyrs exchanged their blood for today's peace, and we should inherit and carry it forward.
Text/Crane Guihua Table
Resources:
1. "Why Military Writers Never Forget the Old Shipwright Shuai Shigao During the Long March", Hu Shizong
2. "Three Meritorious Old Shipwrights", Chen Dejie and Wang Litian