When I wrote this title, I suddenly thought that my reader friend might think it was fiction. It is important to state that what I am telling is a true story. Because the name of the female company commander of the Red Army, the protagonist, is not only passed down by the people, but her experience is also engraved in the history books with a heavy knife.
In late October 1936, more than 21,800 Red Army soldiers crossed the Yellow River in the west and reached Gansu. The northwestern warlord Ma Bufang was greatly shocked, and urgently dispatched his confidant Ma Yuanhai as the commander-in-chief of the infantry and cavalry, leading more than 100,000 cavalry and militia regiments, plus the 15th Brigade of the Kuomintang Air Force, to surround and intercept the Red Army. In early November, the Red Army and Ma Bufang's troops fought fiercely on a mountain in eastern Gansu. After three days and three nights of bloody fighting, the Red Army annihilated more than a thousand people in Ma Bufang, including Ma Bufang's commander-in-chief of the Yellow River defense and major general brigade commander Ma Tingxiang. In addition, destroy one enemy plane.
In the fierce battle of a mountain, Li Kaiying, a female Red Army, took He Fuxiang and more than a dozen other female wounded and fell behind when transferred. One afternoon, in a ravine in Jingtai territory, they found two hundred enemies cooking on a fire. When they found the enemy, the enemy also found them. The enemy distinguished that there was a group of female soldiers on the opposite side, clamoring to catch the one alive, and pounced on it with teeth and claws.
Li Kaiying, a female Red Army, took on more than a dozen female sick numbers, occupied favorable terrain, and shot at the enemy. They constantly knocked down the enemies who rushed in front of them, making it difficult for the enemy to get close for a while. Soon, their bullets will be finished. Li Kaiying was in a hurry, grabbed the military trumpet on the wounded and sick, and sounded the trumpet of the transfer of troops.
Ma Bufang's cavalry had just suffered a defeat at a mountain, and the two hundred cavalry did not know the truth, could not understand the mind, and mistakenly thought that the reinforcements of the Red Army had arrived. Fearing that they would be annihilated, the enemy hurriedly threw down the stove and supplies, turned around and fled in a hurry. Li Kaiying was bold and resourceful, and was not afraid of danger, saving more than a dozen female fighters.
This story of female Red Army soldiers retreating from the enemy alone was widely spread in Jingtai, Gansu. Not only that, as early as the 1980s, Dong Hanhe, a researcher at the Gansu Academy of Social Sciences, verified this story in the mouths of veterans. This fragment of the battle was also written by Mr. Dong into the book "The Death of female soldiers of the Red West Road Army".
After escaping from danger on a mountain, Li Kaiying was ordered to lead a company of female soldiers to the supply department of the Red Ninth Army to participate in transportation work. In the Battle of Gulang, she died nine times and rushed out of the enemy's killing circle. In terms of age, Li Kaiying is already forty years old, one of the oldest officers and men in the Western Route Army.
Li Kaiying, a native of Tongjiang County, Sichuan Province, joined the Red Army in 1932. At that time, she was 32 years old. Before she joined the Red Army, she asked her husband to quit smoking and mobilized him to join the army. A few months later, she joined the Red Army with her ten-year-old son. A family of three, together as the Red Army, participated in the Long March. Suddenly, it was rumored to be a good story in the ranks of the Red Army.
In mid-March 1937, the Women's Pioneer Regiment of the Western Route Army was ordered to evacuate at Qilian Mountain. Li Kaiying, with more than thirty female fighters, moved along a river toward Minle County in Gansu Province. The horse infantry cavalry that caught up with them forced them to a cliff. Some female warriors did not hesitate to jump off the cliff, while those who did not have time to jump off the cliff were caught by the enemy and escorted to a place called Huazhaizi in Zhangye, Gansu. Unfortunately, Li Kaiying was also captured.
Late one night a few days later, the enemy escorted Li Kaiying and his comrades-in-arms He Fuxiang and Li Wenying to the river to carry ice, preparing to use ice cubes to melt water and make a fire to cook. The three of them took the opportunity to flee the enemy camp and ran all the way to the east, in the direction of Yan'an. They lie out day and night, cautiously searching for their way. As soon as the locals heard their accents, they knew that the three of them were Red Army. Most of the simple and loyal compatriots gave them a little food and drink. But a few timid fellows, fearing that they would not be able to avoid it, even drove them away as soon as possible.
One day, the three of them passed by a village and saw a shepherd standing at the entrance of the village. Li Kaiying had the courage to carefully ask for directions, and it turned out that the shepherd had done the Mabu Qing militia. Without saying a word, he unleashed a few vicious dogs to bite them. Several vicious dogs roared and surrounded Li Kaiying. She herself was wounded in battle, and at that time she was older and could not run... As a result, a piece of flesh was bitten off the calf stomach and the intestines were bitten out. Comrades-in-arms He Fuxiang and Li Wenying beat away several evil dogs with sticks, while the shepherd who had done the militia stood on the side and laughed.
They carried Li Kaiying to a nearby earthen cave. On his deathbed, Li Kaiying confessed: "My son's name is Xian Bingwen, and he is a service soldier of the Ninth Army. When the two of you arrived in Yan'an and saw my son and husband, you told them that I was no longer alive! After saying that, it was not long before Li Kaiying lost his breath.
Comrades-in-arms He Fuxiang and Li Wenying, with the help of a local farmer, found a mat to bury their comrades-in-arms. They dried their tears and embarked on the road to Yan'an. Their hearts were very heavy, and they both knew that Li Kaiying had died with concern for her husband and son. In fact, they did not have time to tell Li Kaiying that before they were captured, they received news that Li Kaiying's husband and son had been killed in Gulang County.
Qilian Mountain
For the hero to have more ambition, dare to call the sun and the moon for a new day. During the period of the Red Army, thousands of heroes left us a long song of tragedy and righteousness, and also painted a tragic and inspiring picture for us. Re-reading the past, we deeply feel that the country is strong and prosperous, and the happiness of the people is not easy to come by. (Fan Forward)
Pictures according to Zhang Jiaying's oil painting "Female Red Army" series