On Christmas Eve 1941, Governor Yang Ge announced his surrender, and Hong Kong was occupied by the Japanese army.
Under this urgent situation, the Party Central Committee instructed us to brutally persecute progressives and some well-known figures in the press, literature, and art circles because of the Kuomintang's anti-communist and retrogressive policy, leaving hundreds of well-known democrats and cultural figures in Hong Kong in danger. We must do everything we can to rescue them without fear of difficulties and sacrifices. The Central Committee will send us a part of the funds, but it is limited to the inconvenience of transportation, and it is difficult to send them for the time being, so we must first try to raise funds, overcome difficulties, and complete this glorious task, and at the same time strive to rescue some international friends.
The task is daunting. In early January, Comrade Lin Ping rushed back from Hong Kong in a timely manner, and soon Liang Guang, Lian Guan, Zeng Sheng, and Comrade Yang Kanghua, who had been assigned to our troops, also came to Longhua to jointly hold a meeting to study the work of emergency rescue.
The meeting decided to make use of the two main lines of communication between our troops and the hong Kong-Kowloon area: those democrats who had influence at home and abroad, the elders of the Kuomintang leftists, and so on, would take a boat from Saigon Village to Shangdong, where the Peng Wo brigade would take them to Pingshan and then to Tamsui and take a boat to Huizhou; and most other progressive and cultural circles, in order to avoid persecution by the Kuomintang, would take the line of communication of Bao'an, that is, from Tsuen Wan to Yuen Long, and together with the refugees, would come from the Japanese blockade line in the occupied areas to the Baishilong base area, and then try to disperse to the rear. To this end, we have decided to locate the governing body in Baishilong. Tsuen Wan to Yuen Long is the route we have been connecting with Hong Kong-Kowloon for three years and is now the most important traffic route. In order to ensure the smooth progress of the work on this line of communication, I transferred the most capable traffic officers in our unit, Shen Biao, Xie Qianzhao, Mai Rong, and Zhao Lin, to be specially responsible for the work of picking up and dropping off.
There was more than a hundred miles from Hong Kong to Baishilong, along the way there were Japanese blockade lines, there were large and small bandits on the hill, we had to send enough vigilant personnel to ensure safety, and at that time, our armed forces entering Kowloon were still very small, and we had to rely on some good men in the green forest with a slight sense of justice and nationality, which required us to do the work in this regard. At the same time, in the case of insufficient funds for the troops, how can hundreds of famous cultural people not go hungry along the way? What if some of them fall ill? What if I can't walk on the road? Many, many questions, each small link, must be carefully considered. We have made a clear and meticulous division of labor: we have organized cultural people in Hong Kong and smuggled them from Hong Kong by boat to Kowloon, this route is arranged by Comrade Liu Shaowen, and comrades Pan Jing'an, Li Jianxing, He Dinghua, Wu Jisheng, He Zhu, He Qiming and other comrades are responsible for arranging the vigilance along the route from Kowloon to Zishilong, trying to raise funds, and solving the problem of eating The time is very urgent, we must take advantage of the fact that the Japanese army is unstable in Hong Kong, the society is in chaos, and Kowloon is constantly evacuating residents. Bring out the most influential celebrities first. Therefore, after we made a clear division of labor, we immediately went our separate ways.
At the time, fundraising was the most nerve-wracking. During the war, the number of merchants decreased, and the main source of funds for our troops, the tax stations, naturally reduced their income. Therefore, I mobilized my comrades to borrow grain from nearby merchants and landlords, and to expand the area and scope of tax collection at the tax stations. At the same time, the troops operating in the Hong Kong-Kowloon area also undertook the task of collecting materials and borrowing grain loans to help solve the supply of food and accommodation on the transportation line in the Kowloon New Territories area. However, this can only be barely sustained. In order to save food, the life of our troops has become even more difficult, and the soldiers can only eat porridge and sweet potatoes and wild vegetables every day, and sometimes only one meal a day. In addition, due to the war, Merlin Pass, a key transportation area, not only stopped tax revenues, but also had to take on the task of relieving thousands of refugees who passed by every day.
The work of emergency rescue behind enemy lines began. The armed workers and traffic officers operating in the Hong Kong-Kowloon area accepted the task, realized that the time was pressing, and could not be delayed, and immediately disguised themselves and went into the urban area.
The comrades in charge of organizing rescue work in Hong Kong quickly contacted a group of well-known cultural people and helped them disguise themselves as merchants, seafarers, doctors, wives, workers, peddlers, etc., repeatedly transferred their places of residence, opened the eyes and ears of the enemy, and got rid of the enemy's surveillance and tracking. On the night of January 9, when the traffic officers entered the city, they immediately took a group of cultural people disguised as refugees to Causeway Bay to board a boat. On the moonlit river, small boats bypass the densely packed large and small boats and moored at the outermost part of Causeway Bay, waiting for the opportunity to smuggle in. Before dawn the next day, when the Japanese sentries guarding the exit of Causeway Bay changed their guards, the boat rushed out of the bay. The boatmen on the small boats were comrades who were familiar with the local situation, and they let the cultural people hide under the hatches, calmly coping with all kinds of sudden situations, and finally lost no time in drawing the boat out of the enemy's blockade line. At dawn, the boat arrived at Kowloon RedStone Survey. After going ashore, take out the money to deal with those "rotten boys" who specifically ask for "road money" from stowaways, and "smuggling" will succeed. In this way, within a few days, hundreds of cultural people in Hong Kong were safely transferred to the traffic station of our troops in Kowloon. Then, the comrades at the traffic station took on the task of taking them to Baishilong. In the early morning of the eleventh day, the first group of cultural people left Kowloon and set out for Qingshan Road, including Mao Dun, Zou Taofen, Ge Baoquan, Ye Yiqun, Yu Ling and dozens of others. Qingshan Road is the only way for refugees, they disguise themselves as refugees, some carry a small bag of rice, some carry some simple baggage, collect the glasses, pens and other things used by intellectuals, under the leadership of our best traffic officers Xie Yanzhao and Zhao Lin, through Tsuen Wan out of Yuen Long. We have a tea station, rest and meal station. One of the deserted mountain roads was infested with bandits, but we had already said hello beforehand, and they didn't dare to make a fuss. In some places, a few rotten boys who occasionally jumped out of the way to rob were disarmed by our ordination personnel. Therefore, this section of the road still passes relatively smoothly.
Crossing the river in Chiwei to pass through a blockade line of the Japanese army is a more dangerous pass, because these cultural people have famous people like Zou Taofen, and not only are they the targets of the Kuomintang diehards' secret orders to "arrest and punish them on the spot," but the Japanese army also hates them to the bone. On this road, the pseudo-maintenance president of our "white skin and red heart" came forward to cover up, handled documents for them, proved that they were refugees returning to Shilong Town, and under the care of the maintenance chairman, they reached Meilin Village through the occupied area of a section of Seven Mile Road, then climbed up Meilin Pass, and walked down the hill to Wangtianhu Village. At this time, the traffic officer leading the way cheerfully hummed the familiar "Guerrilla Song", and the comrades in the cultural circles immediately realized that this was home. They were ecstatic, forgot the fatigue of the long journey, and went straight to the densely forested hill in front of them and cheered loudly, even Comrade Zou Taofen, who had sprained his foot on the road.
They were like a flock of free birds that had burst out of their cages, unable to suppress their excitement after escaping. In the front, under the dense shade, a small two-story white building appeared, that is, our headquarters in Baishilong, and we greeted the first batch of cultural people who escaped from danger in this small horizontal.
In this way, on this secret line of communication, our comrades risked their lives to shuttle back and forth, overcoming many difficulties, and finally sending the cultural circles to Baishilong safely one by one.
In the process of rescuing cultural people, our soldiers encountered many difficulties, such as insufficient funds, changes in enemy situations, and language barriers with cultural people from other provinces. However, no matter what difficulties and obstacles they encountered, they tried their best to fulfill the tasks entrusted by the party, and even sacrificed their own lives. Along the way, in order to reduce the burden, cultural people often throw away their luggage one by one, and the warriors lift up one by one and carry themselves on their backs until they are sent to their destinations. Their every move has touched many cultural people. Once, we had a small traffic officer surnamed Zheng, covering two writers at a secret traffic station on the Dapeng Peninsula, waiting for the comrades to arrive.
However, there was an unexpected situation, the Japanese puppet army began three consecutive days of sweeping, the three of them were trapped in a cave, unable to go out to get food, Xiao Zheng gave the two writers all the five sweet potatoes they had brought, and he said that he had eaten them. On the fourth day, he had just handed over the two writers to the comrades who had come to meet him, and his eyes were dark and he fainted from hunger. Many famous writers picked up their pens and enthusiastically praised these ordinary warriors.
A group of comrades from the cultural circles came one after another, and the secluded Baishi Dragon became very lively. Under the hillside and in the bamboo forest, a grass hut was built. Here, the treasures of our country are housed. Dear comrades, you have suffered a lot of trouble from the persecution of the Kuomintang and the devastation of the Japanese invaders, so please take a break here! Everything is so simple here, only loyal comrades guard you.
In this small mountain village, we have received more than 300 well-known writers, artists, journalists, and democrats from all walks of life. In addition to the above, there are Zhang Youyu, Hu Sheng, Shen Zhiyuan, Song Zhi, Jin Zhonghua, Liu Qingyang, Yang Gang, Hu Zhongzhi, Hu Feng, Liao Mosha, Zhou Gangming, Zhang Tiesheng, Lan Ma and so on
On the night of the arrival of the first cultural celebrities, we invited them to a delicious meal of dog meat. After the meal, the campfire was lit on the mountainside, and everyone sat around the campfire and sat on a wild party to begin. The bonfire reflected the faces of the warriors, and the evening wind transmitted the melodious songs of the warriors.
The commentators who attracted several warriors to the side were the commentators, and the impromptu recitation was undoubtedly the poet. But who can sing Peking Opera and talk about big drum books, no one expected it to be the playwright Yu Ling.
The soldiers were of course most impressed by a young, beautiful, and outstanding girl, who received the warmest applause from all the comrades, although few people knew that she was the famous actress of the time.
The green waters and green mountains of Baishilong have left traces of patriotic cultural celebrities flocking to the city. The breeze and bright moon of the White Stone Dragon crossed the East River with their laughter and joy, and moved to the interior. Who would have thought that this mountain full of thorns of the White Stone Dragon, the remote and desolate Yanghe Mountain, once lived so many famous Chinese and foreign celebrities and scholars.
Zou Taofen, Ge Baoquan, Hu Sheng, Shen Zhiyuan, and several other well-known cultural figures were not easy to pass through the Kuomintang-ruled areas because their identities were relatively exposed, so they stayed in our troops for more than two months, and only in April did they secretly return to the interior one after another.
Several of them can be said to have suffered the most among hundreds of cultural people who escaped from danger. Soon after they arrived at Baishilong, the Kuomintang cooperated with the Japanese army to attack Baishilong on both sides, and we repelled it. Then, the Kuomintang used the trick of negotiation to negotiate with us in Phuket, saying that it would cooperate with us in counter-attacking Hong Kong. In fact, "the meaning of drunken people is not wine", and their city eyes are always slipping on famous cultural figures at home and abroad. The longer Zou Taofen stayed in the army, the more risks they would experience. Soon, in order to ensure their safety, we took them to Balcony Hill in Longhua. On Balcony Hill, the situation was better, but from time to time they had to move with the troops at night to cope with sudden changes, so that they would have to trek with their warriors between the mountain roads and streams, haunted by thorny grass. When it comes to a stormy night without stars and moons, it is even more difficult. You know, they are all intellectuals who have never had this kind of training. But in such a difficult and difficult environment, they are so positive and pleasant, which is really admirable! During their stay in the troops, they helped the troops a lot in their political work, often going to the Political Affairs Department and nearby units to write leaflets and slogans, giving cultural lessons to the soldiers, teaching singing, telling stories, and introducing the struggles of people from cultural circles in the Chiang Kai-shek area. Comrades Ge Baoquan, Hu Sheng, and Li Yu also directly assisted the Work of the Political Department. They have not only adapted themselves to the hard life of the guerrilla zone, but have also followed the activities of the guerrilla zone with great interest and have made many useful suggestions to us. With the help of them and the many intellectuals who returned from Hong Kong to join our troops, the cultural level of our cadres and soldiers has been greatly improved. Many of these culturally renowned people are very fond of our warriors and often talk to them on their knees. Comrade Zou Taofen, in particular, is very concerned about the work of the "New People's Daily" of our troops, and he always loves to read that small newspaper. Comrade Zhu Zhi said: Comrade Zou Taofen has "addiction to running newspapers." It's not false at all. Once, Zou Taofen read a few paragraphs of the "New People's Daily" report in one breath, excitedly raised his thumb and said: "It is really not simple, you are going around for your home, working hard to start a business, and shouting for national liberation, which is really gratifying and commendable." Only a Communist Party member has such courage and foresight, and then he adds: "I wanted to be a journalist twenty years ago, and today I still want to be a journalist, to mention my bald pen to fight against the dark forces." Awakening the people of my country and rising up to save the royal insult is my wish in the winter of my life In your newspaper, I saw what I should learn. ”
Everyone knows that in the early days of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the progressive publications published by the Life Bookstore sponsored by Mr. Zou Taofen were well-known among the national magazines. His praise of our newspaper in this way is really a great encouragement to our comrades who run the newspaper. He also often wrote and revised manuscripts for the newspaper, and with his enthusiastic help, the comrades who ran the newspaper received great lessons in manuscript writing and layout.
When leaving Baishilong, Comrade Zou Taofen suggested that we concentrate our manpower and material resources to make the quality of newspapers higher. He said: "The New People's Daily and the Unity Daily are both led by your guerrilla headquarters, and I think that if we put them together, we will be called the Dongjiang Minbao, which may be better, and this will have more local characteristics and colors."
His proposal was endorsed. Therefore, at the request of the comrades, Comrade Zou Taofen gladly wrote down a few beautiful and beautiful characters of "Dongjiang Minbao," and Comrade Mao Dun also titled the supplement of this newspaper before going to the interior. Later, in order to adapt to the nature of the army, the newspaper was renamed "Forward".
In early April, Comrade Ge Baoquan received a notice from Comrade Zhou Enlai and went down the mountain with Shen Zhiyuan and his wife to Chongqing. Subsequently, Comrades Zou Bianfen and Hu Sheng finally left the Dongjiang guerrilla zone.
Their help and encouragement to our troops is unforgettable for every Dongjiang guerrilla!
This large-scale gun rescue work behind enemy lines lasted for more than three months. In addition to more than 300 well-known democrats and cultural figures, thousands of workers and students, as well as British and Indian officers and personnel from various countries who have been rescued from Hong Kong under the rule of the Japanese occupation forces, have also been rescued. At the same time, it has also provided relief to more than 10,000 refugees, which has been very influential in the whole country, among overseas Chinese, and even in the international community, and has become a matter of worldwide attention. For this reason, we received a call from the Party Central Committee to commend us.