Author: Shi Qian
Spring in Xinjiang is always late. After dinner, Tao Zhiyue habitually walked out of the room and turned around a few times in front of the door. The biting cold wind is mercilessly lapping at this vast desert, and the snow and hard ice have made this outer plateau a bit monotonous and cold, and General Tao, who loves to fight hard battles, still likes this land. He folded his hands back and recited the Liangzhou Zi of Wang Zhizhuo as he walked:
The Yellow River is far above the white clouds, a lonely city of WanlingShan.
Qiang Di why should he complain about Yang Liu, the spring wind does not pass the jade door.
"Spring breeze does not close the jade door?!" He chanted repeatedly in his heart. A strong desire and conviction surged in my chest: I want the spring wind to blow over as soon as possible, didn't General Zuo Zongtang say long ago, "If you plant a new willow for three thousand miles, you will lead the spring wind to the jade pass"? Now, under my command, there are more than 100,000 heroic soldiers of the People's Liberation Army, and it is necessary to plant it for not 3,000 miles, but for 30,000 miles, and turn Xinjiang into "Saiwai Jiangnan".
When the 22nd Corps was first established, in order to transform the world outlook of the old officers and men and turn them into true soldiers of the People's Liberation Army, Wang Zhen decided to adopt the principle of "unity, education, struggle, and transformation" and transferred more than 1,000 cadres and more than 600 students from the 2nd and 6th armies of the 1st Platon Corps of the PLA to serve as political backbones in various insurrectionary units and undertake propaganda and education work. At the same time, corresponding political work institutions and systems have been established at all levels, and party committees at all levels have been established. The standing work of the corps party committee was presided over by Li Quan, director of the Political Department. In accordance with the military ideology of "the party commands the gun," the party's leadership over the corps was established.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="5" > First, when the army's grievance campaign and the activities of respecting cadres and loving soldiers are underway and developed, the clarion call of military reclamation is sounded</h1>
As early as December 5, 1949, Chairman Mao issued the Instruction on the Participation of the Army in Production and Construction in 1950. In order not to miss the time of farming, to open up the land, plough in the spring, and sow seeds in a timely manner, Wang Zhen and Tao Zhiyue actively responded to the orders of the Party Central Committee and Chairman Mao, and resolutely decided: The troops should quickly go to the reclamation areas. In late January, Wang Zhen and Tao Zhiyue issued an order for large-scale production in the Xinjiang Military Region.
After receiving the order to develop and build Xinjiang and carry out a large-scale production campaign, the vast number of commanders and fighters underwent profound changes in their mental outlook as a result of the campaign of democratic grievances and the education of respecting cadres and loving soldiers. The officers and men were eager to try to realize Zuo Zongtang's unfulfilled wishes. Tao Zhiyue charged forward, and he led all the officers and men to the front line of production with great interest.
The reclamation area in front of all the officers and men is all ancient wasteland, sparsely populated, there are no houses, there are very few tents, weeds are everywhere, all kinds of wild beasts are infested, and at night you can often see jackals staring at blue-green eyes, which is terrifying. There is not enough food and the means of production are extremely scarce. It is not easy to open up land for production in such a place and under such conditions.
"Can the troops fight this hard battle?" Tao Zhiyue, who had always been a pioneer, thought about it repeatedly in his heart. Although the mental outlook of the officers and men of the troops has changed greatly, and the relations between officers and men have also improved greatly, can the troops maintain their long-term and vigorous combat effectiveness in the face of reclamation under such arduous conditions? Tao Zhiyue learned many skills from Wang Zhen that he did not have before. He thought that he should make friends with the reclamation army throughout Xinjiang and clarify the confused understanding that existed in the thinking of even a very small number of people. Therefore, as soon as the troops arrived in the reclamation areas, Tao Zhiyue led Zhao Xiguang, Zhang Zhonghan, and others to go deep into the reclamation areas to do the ideological work of officers and men.
After dinner, Tao Zhiyue sat in front of the map and carefully sketched the reclamation areas to which the officers and soldiers of the whole of Xinjiang were going. The red and blue pencil in his hand kept leaving one red line and blue circle after another on the map, like the crisscrossing arrows left on the map before each battle. In the eyes of the old general, this is another prelude to a large-scale war. There is obviously no sword and light sword shadow here, and there is no shrapnel smoke, but the degree of hardship and intensity is definitely no less than a real gun, blood and fire battle.
The map shows yellow-green and light brown ancient wastelands. Hail, snow, cold, hunger and thirst, no means of production, no tent to stay, not even a way to walk, Tao Zhiyue's weathered face looked even older at this time.
After a while, Wang Zhen came over. He watched Tao Zhiyue circle the map so seriously, so he rushed over and said to Tao Zhiyue, "Commander Tao, you should rest for a while!" You see, the wind is blowing outside, and tomorrow we will go to the troops! ”
"In terms of fighting wars, you are a victorious general and a tiger general; in terms of production, you are even more an expert, and the achievements of the 359th Brigade in Nanniwan have long been famous throughout the country, but now, we are facing a more arduous and important production task than Nanniwan, Commissar Wang, where do you say we start?"
Wang Zhen looked at the map and found that Tao Zhiyue had already made a large red circle in the Manas area, and there were several roads drawn next to it, and he already knew Tao Zhiyue's thoughts. He then took up the topic and said: "There is a 'war' in the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, and according to the tasks divided by the troops, we use the method of creating red base areas to fight steadily and steadily, step by step, step by step, what do you say?" ”
Tao Zhiyue looked at the confident and decisive Wang Zhen and kept nodding.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="10" > second, Tao Zhiyue said to Wang Zhen disapprovingly: "I didn't think manas' rat hole could drown people!" ”</h1>
Tao Zhiyue came to the Manas Reclamation Area. This is a large reclaimable area with a large area of reclaimable wasteland, and it is also the first reclamation area determined by the Party Committee of the Corps, which is famous for the crossing of the Manas River from the middle. In addition to the fact that the reclamation area may be affected by the flooding of the Manas River, there is also a very troublesome problem that there are too many rat holes. These holes can be tens of meters long, and the short ones are three or five meters, and the water is poured in from this side of the hole, and soon it flows out of the hole on that side.
There is also a local legend that during the Qing Dynasty, there was a chen grandfather who came from Sichuan to become an official, who stepped down from his post and developed here and made a lot of money. Once, he rode to see a wheat field and accidentally fell into a rat hole and drowned. When he first heard this story, Tao Zhiyue said to Wang Zhen disapprovingly, "I didn't think manas' rat hole could drown people!" However, after coming to the reclamation area this time, Tao Zhiyue really felt how difficult the rat hole had brought to the officers and men of the reclamation area.
According to the leader of the 14th Regiment, once, a soldier accidentally fell into a rat hole, fortunately, the water washed out from the other end, otherwise the consequences would be tragic. In order to ensure safety, when working in the field, everyone first tied a wooden stick on their backs; in addition, due to the large number of underground rat holes, the leakage of water in the fields and channels was serious. Sometimes, as soon as the canal digging brigade brought drinking water from the channel, it flowed into the rat hole. In this way, drinking water is difficult to supply, not to mention laundry and bathing. Some warriors were so thirsty that they took off their clothes and lay on the ground soaked in moisture.
In order to catch up with the spring sowing, everyone spent day and night reclaiming wasteland without sleeping or eating. Now that the land has been reclaimed and there are no seeds to plant, it will become a new wasteland. Farm time does not wait for anyone! What to do? Transportation is so difficult, we have to transport people from other places, and it is difficult to quench the thirst of the near water. Tao Zhiyue consulted with Wang Zhen and couldn't think of a good way to do it. So they gritted their teeth and called on all the soldiers to save seeds from their mouths and save 2 taels of grain per person per day! Then, the rations are transported hundreds of miles away to find fellow villagers to exchange seeds.
The rations of the soldiers are already limited, so should saving the rations affect the combat effectiveness of the officers and men in the reclamation areas? Wang Zhen and Tao Zhiyue were thinking about this again. Our peasant reclamation fighters are already very hard, and it is also a big deal that the rations cannot be guaranteed under such harsh conditions.
"This is a special time, it is a last resort!" Wang Zhen waved his arm and said very seriously, "Now that the crabs and other fires have been caught, there is no way, I believe that our warriors can understand and overcome this temporary difficulty." Just sow the seeds and there will be a harvest in the fall! ”
Tao Zhiyue stood aside and nodded his head silently.
Through the hard work of the vast number of officers and men, by the end of the year, the reclamation areas had completed the set tasks of reclamation, reached self-sufficiency in vegetables and grain, or most of them, and won the first battle of reclamation and reclamation. Wang Zhen and Tao Zhiyue tasted with great interest the fruits of the great victory in the first battle.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="15" > Third, in the winter, the first production summary labor model conference of each division was held vigorously</h1>
At this time, Wang Zhen said to Tao Zhiyue with deep feeling: "Commander Tao, the merits of the 22nd Corps can be seen, and it is obvious that you have always set an example by example, taken the lead in setting an example, and shared weal and woe with the soldiers, laying a good foundation for our future large-scale production movement!" ”
Tao Zhiyue replied: "These achievements are all those of the Party Central Committee and Chairman Mao, and it is you who have personally laid a good foundation for everyone and are the result of the arduous struggle of the vast number of officers and men. I myself only listened to Chairman Mao of the Party and summed up and popularized the achievements created by everyone. Then, he continued, "I want to go to each division, personally listen to their experience summary, and learn from everyone!" ”
After listening to Tao Zhiyue's heartfelt words, Wang Zhen once again surged with admiration from his heart: The veteran general who is more than sixty years old, this kind of professionalism that dares to fight a hard battle and is fearless and arduous, is this not exactly an example for the military and the people of xinjiang to learn?!
Soon, Tao Zhiyue invited Zhang Zhonghan, Li File and others to participate in the meeting along the Manas River to various reclamation areas. A group of more than 20 people, divided into 3 medium jeeps, galloped the wasteland on the banks of the Manas River. Tao Zhiyue, who was sitting in the car, was overjoyed and full of pride. One would point to this side, the other to that side, and he kept sketching his next strategic plan to his companions.
One morning, Tao Zhiyue drove from Hulatu and prepared to rush to Xiaojiao to attend the production summary meeting to be held by the 25th Division the next day. By the time the car reached Ulan-Usu on the way, it was more than 5 p.m. At this time, it was snowing heavily, and there were few villages along the way, the snow was getting thicker, the roads were very difficult to navigate, and the wind was whistling fiercely.
Suddenly, the driver shouted, "Oh my God, it's bad luck!" "I straightened my legs and tried desperately to step on the accelerator, but the car couldn't start again." Oops, what can I do if the fire is turned off halfway?! The driver said to himself anxiously.
At this time, Zhang Zhonghan's car, who was walking behind, also came up, and they immediately asked the driver to stop the car and come over to see what was wrong.
Tao Zhiyue got out of the car without hurrying and said, "Just let them repair the car, we just want to see how big this wasteland is!" With that, he walked towards the front in the wind and snow, and the entourage followed them.
After walking more than ten meters away, Tao Zhiyue stopped, took the telescope from the guard's hand, looked around, and said happily: "Such a big wasteland, I'm afraid there are eight or nine hundred thousand acres!" After saying that, he handed the telescope to Deputy Political Commissar Zhang Zhonghan, who was standing next to him.
When Tao Jinchu's chief of staff saw that the two generals were so excited, they blurted out poems:
Ulan-Wusu is white and vast, and the battlefield is extremely ancient.
The poor and desolate sun swept the north wind, and the general stepped on the snow and was proud.
"Good poetry, good poetry, you Huangpu Wu zhuangyuan, and Li Bai's style!" Zhang Zhonghan listened to Tao Jinchu's poems and laughed while talking.
"Don't make fun of it." Tao Jinchu said, "I am touching the scenery and making two nonsense, where is it comparable to you, a great literati, you still give a poem, help the commander inspect Yaxing!" ”
"No, let's ask the commander to improvise a song." Zhang Zhonghan turned to Tao Zhiyue and said, "The commander's seven-word poem is well written, so let's give a Ulan-Wusu poem." ”
Tao Zhiyue did not give in, took a few steps forward, and groaned:
The general came up in search of spring, and Ulan Ussuri was reclaimed.
100,000 athletes raised their pickaxes, and the wasteland Gobi turned into gold.
A reporter accompanying him was about to take notes on these four poems, but was immediately stopped by Tao Zhiyue, "This is a forced 'seven-step poem', which cannot be published, and it is necessary to laugh generously when it is written down." "After saying that, haha laughed...
The wind caught the snow, the snow helped the wind, constantly blowing the desolate Ulan-Usu, although everyone's interest was very high, but the hands and feet had been frozen numb. At this time, the car was repaired, and the driver beckoned everyone to get in the car quickly to warm up.
It was already dark, and Tao Zhiyue saw that the driver was nervous, knowing that he was afraid of getting the wrong direction, so he comforted him and said: "Don't panic, go forward, I see that the general direction is right, and it will arrive soon." In case we couldn't see the road clearly, we got out of the car and walked to the 23rd Regiment to have a meal, rest for an hour, and then go further. ”
Soon arrived at the 23rd Regiment, after eating, everyone felt much warmer. Comrades all advised Tao Zhiyue to stay overnight at the 23rd Regimental Headquarters and stay tomorrow. Li Zhen, Zhang Zhonghan, and Tao Jinchu all thought it was better, but Tao Zhiyue just wouldn't listen.
"None of you should say anything, I know your intentions." Tao Zhiyue said solemnly, "We are soldiers, the concept of time should be strong, time is victory, tomorrow there will be a summary meeting, we will not be able today, the conference will be postponed, then how can it be done?!" After saying that, he walked toward the car.
The first production summary labor model conference of the 25th Division was held in Xiaojiao. Tao Zhiyue attended the meeting there on time, and he conveyed the congratulations of Comrade Wang Zhen to the comrades of the whole division. When talking about the spring grain shortage, some fighters made up two songs: "Small crutches are really good, people have no food, horses and grass." Tao Zhiyue smiled and casually read a poem to the soldiers:
Small crutches are really good, and the labor model races past the original grass.
Grain, melons and vegetables cannot be eaten, and next year will be better than this year.
One by one, the officers and men smiled and applauded warmly, and everyone shared the joy of the harvest obtained through arduous struggle. Tao Zhiyue reveled in the atmosphere of happiness and harmony among the officers and soldiers.
About author:Shi Kui, history teacher at colleges and universities, history researcher. He has been cultivating the history of the Party, the Military and the History of War for a long time. History lovers are welcome to exchange criticisms.