On October 11, 1936, the three main forces of the Red Army finally had a chance to breathe, and after a month of rest, the soldiers of the first unit incarnated as the "Western Route Army" to face the more brutal battle across the Yellow River to capture Ningxia. The Western Route Army can be called the backbone of the Red Army, and once killed nearly 30,000 enemy troops in the war.
Due to the fact that the crossing points along the Yellow River were surrounded by Gobi and the terrain was dangerous, the Red Army did not establish a base here. The 20,000-strong Western Route Army, which forcibly crossed the Yellow River, was cut off from Hedong by the Kuomintang troops who had long been entrenched here and were familiar with the terrain, and the Battle of Ningxia was forced to be suspended, and the Western Route Army had to continue to advance west to try to solve the Majia Army first.
The Western Route Army once again fell into a very passive situation in northwestern Gansu, and although more than 20,000 Majiajun were killed and captured, the long-term lack of supplies and reinforcements could only be "chronic death". Four months later, the Western Route Army was helpless to return with great losses, and the remnants of less than 3,000 people were scattered and retreated, and Zheng Weishan was one of them.
▲ Part of the soldiers of the Western Route Army who traveled from Xinjiang to Yan'an on February 21, 1940
Zheng Weishan was severely injured in the head by stray bullets during the battle, but he did not notice the enemy until he walked down the Qilian Mountain trembling slowly, and then he fell to the ground with no strength, and the blood had already soaked his thin cotton jacket. A fellow farmer who returned home found him in time and took him home to save his wounds and save his life.
Zheng Weishan, who had been closed from the ghost gate, woke up and did not have the joy of the rest of his life, but felt that he should not live alone, and he should return to his hometown with his comrades-in-arms.
▲ Soldiers of the Western Route Army who were brutalized by maimed by ma jiajun
Under the care of his fellow soldiers, Zheng Weishan's body recovered quickly, and the fellow persuaded him that he should live well for his dead comrades-in-arms, kill more enemies to comfort the souls of the heroes, and Zheng Weishan also secretly vowed to avenge his dead comrades-in-arms.
Before leaving, his compatriots prepared coils and grain for him to use on the road, but Zheng Weishan remembered that the education organized did not take a needle and a thread from the people, and after only two days of rations, he embarked on a thousand kilometers of eastbound road to Yan'an to find an organizational confluence. The grain was quickly eaten, but less than a tenth of the way was walked, and Zheng Weishan did not have the slightest fear, begging for food all the way, and finally returned to the Yan'an army after wandering away.
▲ Zheng Weishan
When Zheng Weishan first arrived in Yan'an, the warriors were all surprised by his experience and regarded him as a hero, but only he knew that those who remained on the Qilian Mountain were heroes. Zheng Weishan did not slacken off at all, and took the initiative to apply to the organization to study military theory and advanced combat command technology at the Anti-Japanese University, and the organization readily agreed after learning of his experience.
After entering the school, Zheng Weishan often picked a lamp to read at night, and fought all night with the same window to simulate the battlefield situation, and when he graduated, his theoretical ability was already one of the best among the students in the same period. During his studies at the Anti-Japanese University, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party chose to unite to resist Japan, and after graduation, Zheng Weishan put his personal grudges behind the great national righteousness, chose to follow the arrangements of the party organization to resist the Japanese invaders, and was praised by his superiors for his meritorious service many times.
▲Zheng Weishan (left)
Zheng Weishan's rationality suppressed the anger of revenge for more than ten years, until after the end of the three major battles, the First Field Army liberated the Great Northwest according to the orders of the central government, and when it reached Lanzhou, Zheng Weishan, who was already the commander of the 63rd Army, met ma jiajun again. Under the command of Mr. Peng, Zheng Weishan's 63rd Army and the 65th Army jointly attacked the east of Lanzhou.
▲ Zheng Weishan (during the study of Kang Da)
The 63rd Army was facing Doujiashan, a strategic place that was easy to defend and difficult to attack, and Zheng Weishan did not dare to have the slightest idea of a light enemy. But the enemy was extremely red-eyed when they saw it, and remembering the comrades who died in the Hexi Corridor, Zheng Weishan was still eager to completely annihilate the Ma family army.
As soon as the war began, Zheng Weishan immediately ordered the artillery regiment to launch an all-out attack, and more than 10,000 shells rained down on the majia army's bunker, causing them to hold their heads and scurry. After several hours of fighting, the Majia Army no longer had the strength to resist, and the flag of the 63rd Army was also planted on the enemy's high ground.
▲ PLA soldiers shelled enemy positions
According to incomplete statistics, the First Field Army lost more than 9,500 people in seven days and nights in the Lanzhou Campaign and annihilated more than 27,000 Majia troops.
When the Battle of Lanzhou was clear and clear, Zheng Weishan stood alone on the mountain he had captured and looked in the direction of Qilian Mountain, and the wordless wilderness seemed to always hear the voices of comrades who had fought together. Zheng Weishan, a bloodied and injured tough guy who had never shed tears, hid his face and cried bitterly, took off his military hat and knelt on the ground three times to bow down, and he could not get up for a long time.
▲ Liberation of Lanzhou
In 1955, Zheng Weishan was awarded the rank of lieutenant general at the ceremony of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and later served as the commander of the Beijing and Lanzhou military regions respectively. In May of the millennium, Zheng Weishan passed away, and his will did not say much, only hoping to connect his ashes to the mountains and the Hexi Corridor so that he could find "old comrades-in-arms".
The merits of the soldiers of the Western Route Army are indelible, and their determination to never shrink back and resolutely fight the enemy demonstrates the spirit and strength of our army, and it is precisely because of this that the Chinese nation will always hold its head high. The soul of the hero will eventually return to his hometown and be remembered in the hearts of future generations.