In October 1936, in front of an organ unit in Yan'an, the fierce quarrel between two children attracted Chairman Mao, who had just returned from a walk outside.
"I am really the Red Army, I just participated in the Long March, you believe me!"
"Don't brag, no is no, let's go!"
Seeing that the two were arguing and neither of them would give in, Chairman Mao suddenly became interested, and he walked over and inquired about it, only to learn that one of the little boys wanted to go in and deliver a letter, he claimed to be a Red Army and had participated in the Long March, but the children's regiment in charge of the sentry did not believe it, and kept persuading him to leave.
Chairman Mao was very surprised that this little boy had even participated in the Long March, but he looked only eight or nine years old.
Out of curiosity, Chairman Mao crouched down and asked the little boy with a smile who could prove his identity, but he did not hesitate to say a name: He Long!
So who is this little boy? Why did he call himself the "Red Army"? What kind of relationship does it have with He Long?
He lost his mother at the age of two and joined the army at the age of seven
In March 1926, a baby boy was born in the He family in Hongjiaguan Town, Sangzhi County, Hunan Province, bringing long-lost joy to the whole family.
And He Mangu, who had just become a mother, looked at her precious son in her arms, her eyes were full of love, and she immediately named him Xiang Xuan.
At this time, He Long, who was accompanying him, saw that his sister was happy to have Takako, and he became an uncle again, so he happily fired two shots into the sky.
Ever since the Incident of the Bamaoxi Salt Water Bureau taking guns and organizing the peasant revolutionary armed forces, He Long has been constantly participating in various battles in the old society where warlords are lined up, and has established many military feats. And He Mangu saw that the eldest brother was so heroic, and he also resolutely embarked on the revolutionary road.
After giving birth to her son Xiang Xuan, He Mangu did not rest too much, and soon followed the eldest sister He Ying and people with lofty ideals to jointly establish a guerrilla group and carry out armed struggle everywhere.
Because he had martial arts and was good at using double guns, everywhere He Mangu went at that time, he would make the enemy feel frightened.
Unfortunately, however, in August 1928, because of the attack of the reactionary group, He Mangu was outnumbered and imprisoned, and her children were not spared.
In order to get words out of He Mangu's mouth, the reactionary group tortured her to extract a confession, and even so, she vowed not to open her mouth.
Soon, the news of He Mangu's arrest reached He Ying, in order to rescue her sister and several children, she tried all kinds of methods, and finally it was difficult to raise a lot of money to buy the guards, but only rescued a few children, and her sister He Mangu was unable to escape, and was soon taken to the execution ground and brutally killed.
At that time, Xiang Xuan was only two years old, and he did not know that his biological mother had died tragically, he could only vaguely remember that from that day on, the person who had been accompanying him had been replaced by He Ying's mother. Under the constant influence of this "female Haojie", by the age of four or five, Xiang Xuan was already able to shoot with a gun.
He Long and He Ying saw that the child was still young and worried that he would hurt himself, so they did not allow him to play with guns, but the young and mischievous Xiang Xuan was obedient, he always secretly took the pistols of the two men and fired at the tree, often beating the whole trunk of the tree full of holes, and the result was a scolding.
It is said that "the soldiers already know the sword and gun", He Long and He Ying both know that they are now in a chaotic world, where is not peaceful, although they usually do not let Xiang Xuan take the gun, but once they encounter a war, both of them will take the initiative to send the gun to him, at least in a critical moment to defend themselves.
In the next few years, Xiang Xuan followed his uncle He Long and aunt He Ying everywhere to participate in armed struggle, because he witnessed the brutality of the enemy and also witnessed a lot of life and death, so although he had not yet been able to kill the enemy, the young Xiang Xuan had already decided to defend his family and defend the country like countless Red Army soldiers.
In April 1933, Xiang Xuan, who was 7 years old at the time, under the leadership of He Ying, followed the guerrillas to prepare to stay in DongChang Bay, and did not know which traitor had informed them and revealed the whereabouts of the guerrillas, so the group did not rest for long, and they were attacked by the enemy without knowing it.
With the sound of two gunshots, He Ying just walked out of the door no more than two steps, her right leg was hit by a bullet, she endured the pain and knelt down to continue shooting at the enemy, and after a while she heard the other party shouting to catch the mouth.
Before He Ying could resist, he was shot again by the enemy's machine gun, and he was shot many times in the chest and abdomen, and he could no longer hold on to falling to the ground.
At this time, Xiang Xuan had already risked moving to her side, and while he was shooting at the enemy with his gun, he helped He Ying up and wanted to take her away.
Perhaps sensing that he might not be able to live, He Ying tugged at Xiang Xuan's sleeve and handed Xiang Xuan a small bag containing two rings, five silver circles and a small pistol.
Immediately after, He Ying told him intermittently: "Quick, go fast, find the Red Army, find the uncle to go... avenge. After saying that, she pushed Xiang Xuan out with the last bit of strength.
Xiang Xuan's eyes were red, and he was reluctant to leave He Ying's mother alone, but seeing that the enemy was threatening, he could only bear the pain and obey and leave quickly. At that time, Xiang Xuan did not know where to find Uncle He Long and the Red Army team, and could only desperately run towards the path of the back mountain.
After struggling to get rid of the enemy's pursuit, Xiang Xuan suddenly sat down on the ground, just ran in a panic, and did not know what had scratched his foot, Xiang Xuan did not pay attention, who knew that after a while he was unconscious.
Just at this time, Liao Hansheng came to meet him with several warriors, and when he saw Xiao Xiangxuan lying on the ground, he hurried to save him.
The youngest "Brother of the Red Army"
A few days later, Xiang Xuan finally woke up, and the moment he opened his eyes, he saw not the dark mountain forest, but the glare of the sun and the bright house.
Xiang Xuan "brushed" and sat up, and as soon as he turned his head to find his uncle He Long sitting next to him, he immediately cried out, and told He Long everything about his previous encounter and the sacrifice of He Ying's mother, and then gave him everything that He Ying gave him.
Looking at these relics left by the eldest sister, He Long smoked a smouldering cigarette, and his brow never let go.
"The eldest sister is sacrificed, what are you going to do?" Still not doing it? He Long stared at Liao Hansheng and Xiang Xuan.
"Dry, horizontal and vertical to carry the revolution to the end!" Avenge your fallen comrades! ”
He Long slammed the cigarette bag on the table with a "snap" and ordered his men to hurry back to recruit people, and must re-establish the guerrillas.
Xiang Xuan was next arranged to join the Red Third Army and became a "Little Red Army" soldier.
At that time, there were many children in the team who were similar to Xiang Xuan's age, and although they could not go to the battlefield for the time being, they would also practice in private.
But after all, they were still young, and after practicing for a while, one by one they were dirty like mud monkeys, and some of them were beaten and cried, and when they thought of participating in the revolution in the future, they wiped away their tears and continued to fight.
When they saw this scene, the uncles who were watching could not help but laugh, and in the war years, such laughter was rarely seen.
After joining the Red Army, Xiang Xuan has always been very active, and every time he finished practicing with other little Red Army soldiers, he would gather everyone up again, carry a wooden gun tied with a red cloth strip, and consciously practice the queue.
After training in the army for a period of time, Soon, Xiang Xuan, together with his friends and other Red Army soldiers, officially embarked on the journey of the Long March.
Worried that the children would not be able to withstand the harsh environment and the rough distance, He Long gave them horses, and several people could take turns to ride, or the older uncles carried them for a while.
In this process, Xiang Xuan, who is "small and big", will also try his best to help everyone.
At that time, the tasks assigned to the "Little Red Army" in the army were generally attendants, messengers, scouts or propagandists, etc. Xiang Xuan chose propagandists and followed his uncles and brothers to expand the ranks of the Red Army as they walked.
Seeing that there were still dolls as soldiers, the masses also came to watch curiously, and when they heard him singing and mobilizing everyone, many people also began to have the heart to join the army.
However, when they suddenly heard the slogan "Crack down on local tyrants and divide the land," the poor people still did not dare to accept it, and seeing this situation, Xiang Xuan went door to door to mobilize and tell them the words he had heard from the veterans.
Unconsciously, the long march road has been gone for a long time, and Xiang Xuan has gradually grown in the process.
Compared with the previous naughty and noisy, he witnessed the sacrifice of many revolutionary comrades, and began to learn to be modest, know how to sacrifice himself, and understand what is a sense of responsibility.
Sometimes when he saw that other children really couldn't walk, Xiang Xuan would give up the horses to them and insist on walking, even if his legs were injured, he rarely cried out in pain.
When the team stopped to rest, Xiang Xuan would also take the initiative to choose dishes, sweep the floor, and stand guard, as long as it was where he could be used, he would always take the lead.
In October 1936, the Red Army troops finally arrived in northern Shaanxi, and Xiang Xuan also stayed in Yan'an, during which time he and Chairman Mao still had a relationship.
At that time, Xiang Xuan was ordered to go to a certain unit to deliver a letter, but the children's regiment in charge of standing guard and guarding the guard did not believe in his Red Army status, so he refused to let him go.
Xiang Xuan was a little anxious, but he didn't know how to explain it, so he could only keep saying to the other party: "I am really the Red Army, I just participated in the Long March."
However, no matter how he explained it, the little soldier standing guard just did not listen, and urged him to go back quickly and stop bragging, and the two quarreled like this, and after a while, they directly attracted Chairman Mao.
When he had just returned from a walk outside, he saw that the two children did not know what they were arguing about, so he went forward to inquire about it, and when he learned that the child in front of him, who was almost only eight or nine years old, was a Red Army, Chairman Mao asked Xiang Xuan in a joking tone: "You said that you are a Red Army, what evidence do you have?" ”
"I participated in the Long March, climbed over snowy mountains, and crossed meadows!"
"If that's the case, but who can prove it to you?"
"My uncle and aunt!"
"Who is your uncle?"
"He Long!"
Chairman Mao laughed when he heard this answer, it turned out that this child was a member of the He Beard family, no wonder he was so sharp, and then he asked Xiang Xuan to put him in.
For the country for the party and for the people
In 1936, Xiang Xuan was just 10 years old, which was the age to go to school, and he himself understood the importance of reading, so he soon entered the middle school attached to the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region.
After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Xiang Xuan worked as a messenger at the headquarters of the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army, although the conditions were very difficult at that time and there were no good training conditions, Xiang Xuan studied very hard, and finally won great recognition from his superiors by virtue of his own efforts.
In 1943, at the age of seventeen, Xiang Xuan became a soldier in the guard company of the 358th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army, during which time he learned engineers and greatly improved his combat skills.
Later, in order to attack the Japanese army faster, Xiang Xuan, who was promoted to deputy company commander of the engineer company of the 358th Brigade, suddenly came up with the idea of making "big tigers" and "flying thunder cannons".
For his novel idea, the troops were very supportive, and through a painstaking research process, the crowd finally succeeded in making a very powerful earthen cannon.
The earthen guns have a range of more than 500 meters and can fire five kilograms of explosives at a time, and the Japanese barracks will be blown up in an instant.
Xiang Xuan was very happy to be able to participate in the development of such a powerful weapon, and in order to witness its effects with his own eyes, Xiang Xuan ignored the advice of his comrades and directly operated the earthen cannon to fight the enemy on the front line.
In the end, although the enemy army was blown down, Xiang Xuan also fell in a pool of blood because he was shot by a gun grenade.
The comrades-in-arms quickly took him to the hospital for treatment, and finally found that his right eye was covered with slag after the explosion, his right foot had been punctured, and there were 21 wounds all over his body...
Soon, the news of Xiang Xuan's serious injury reached He Long, and when he learned that his nephew was injured in the front line because of the killing of the enemy, and he was blind, he did not blame others for not taking good care of Xiang Xuan, but told everyone in a serious tone: "Other people's children can be sacrificed, and my children's lives are the same life, even if they are sacrificed, there is nothing!" ”
Xiang Xuan, like his uncle and all the warriors, was always ready to die for the country, so he did not care about his injury, but continued to stay in the team to fight the enemy.
After the founding of New China, Xiang Xuan successively served as the company commander of the engineering company, the deputy chief of the Ordnance Section of the Logistics Department of the Chengdu Military Subdistrict of the Chengdu Military Region, and the deputy director of the People's Armed Forces Department of the Xicheng District of the Chengdu Military Subdistrict of the Sichuan Provincial Military Region.
In 1982, at the age of fifty-six, Xiang Xuan officially retired, and six years later, he was awarded the Third Class Red Star Meritorious Service Medal.
Today, Xiang Xuan is already ninety-five years old.
Looking at China, which was once filled with smoke of gunfire, now that the country is rich and the people are strong, and he has been concerned about the development and construction of the national army all his life, he has also left a message to the younger generations: "Thousands of rivers meet the sea, and all the roots lie in the company." ”
Attach importance to the development of the company and the cultivation of grass-roots cadres, so that we can lead the troops well! I wish the elderly good health!