Text: Lao Yan Kanshi
Editor|Lao Yan Kanshi
In 1952, India, which had been eyeing the border areas of the mainland, suddenly discovered its conscience and decided to sell a batch of rice to the mainland People's Liberation Army at a low price when the soldiers stationed in Tibet on the mainland were short of food.
Although relations between the mainland and India were very tense at that time, the situation of the soldiers at that time was very urgent. Therefore, Chairman Mao still ordered the purchase of rice from India.
But no one expected that after receiving the rice for consumption, the PLA soldiers would have a swelling condition all over their bodies. This frightened General Zhang Guohua, who was then leading the army stationed in Zang, and asked if there was poison in this rice? So, did India really poison the rice? Did the PLA survive in the end?
Pacify Tibet
In 1949, the People's Republic of China was founded. But the liberated areas at that time did not include Tibet. After the founding ceremony, Chairman Mao and others held several meetings on the issue of Tibet's recovery. In the end, it was decided to carry out the "peaceful liberation" of Tibet.
However, at that time, Tibet's internal forces were redundant, and not only was neighboring India eyeing it, but also some of the Kuomintang's previously dispersed troops had fled to Tibet and became the king of Tibet.
As a result, the local government of Tibet was extremely uncooperative with the rule issued by the new China, and even took the move of resisting by force. For this reason, the central government ordered the People's Liberation Army to go to Tibet to recover it. After the liberation of Tibet by the People's Liberation Army, in order to avoid a counterattack by the remnants of Tibet, the mainland government decided to send an experienced general to lead a force to Tibet to station.
As a result, the founding lieutenant general Zhang Guohua took on this important task. After receiving the order, Zhang Guoguo led the 18th Route Army to embark on a journey into Tibet.
Into Tibet
At that time, New China had just been established, and all the equipment was not perfect, and the funds were very short. If you want to travel with a car and a plane like today, you can't even think about it. If the People's Liberation Army wants to enter Tibet, it can only choose to walk.
The reason why Tibet was not liberated by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) before the founding of New China was that it was located on the border and its forces were redundant, and the PLA did not dare to act rashly without a foolproof guarantee, and the other was because Tibet's terrain was complex and remote, and the weather was unpredictable, making it difficult for the PLA to adapt.
Therefore, on the way to Tibet under the leadership of Zhang Guohua, the PLA encountered an unprecedentedly harsh environment. Since most of the PLA soldiers of the 18th Route Army led by Zhang Guohua came from the south, they were very unaccustomed to the harsh environment in Tibet.
In addition, Tibet is a high-altitude area, and after the PLA fighters who live at low altitudes all year round enter Tibet, they obviously feel very uncomfortable as soon as they climb to an altitude of 1,000 meters, and the lack of oxygen on the plateau has begun to spread among the PLA soldiers. However, in order to complete the tasks assigned by the organization, the PLA soldiers still gritted their teeth and persevered.
However, the average altitude in Tibet is 4,000 meters, and in some places it is even 5,000-6,000 meters. As soon as they entered Tibet, the discomfort of 1,000 meters was just the beginning for the PLA soldiers.
At an altitude of 3,000 meters, the soldiers suffered the real torture. The higher the altitude, the thinner the air. It will also take more effort. This is a great test of the physical strength of the fighters.
There are many snow-capped mountains in Tibet, when the warriors climbed to an altitude of 3,000 meters. On weekdays, the strong and strong young men lean on each other one by one, and they can't exert any strength. Some can't bear it, and even want to fall directly on the snow and fall asleep.
Zhang Guohua felt that the situation was not good, and if he slept in this kind of place, he would never be able to get up. Zhang Guohua encouraged the soldiers to persevere, and he told the PLA soldiers that as long as they persevered, Tibet would be stabilized, so that our future generations would live under a sky without war.
So, the PLA soldiers supported each other and continued to hurry. Inspired by the spirit in their hearts, the PLA soldiers crossed Tibet at an altitude of 5,000 meters, and even though they were stimulated by the snow and could not open their eyes, the PLA soldiers did not stop advancing.
Zhang Guohua thought that when he arrived at the destination, the soldiers' conditions would improve. However, unexpectedly, after arriving in Tibet, the soldiers would also face the risk of lack of food.
After a long journey, the food carried by the warriors had long since been exhausted. Zhang Guohua looked at the weak appearance of the soldiers, so he turned to the local government in Tibet for help.
Unexpectedly, although the local government of Tibet agreed to transport the grain, the grain was robbed by Tibetan bandits halfway through. There was no way, Zhang Guohua had no choice but to send a telegram to Chairman Mao and ask Chairman Mao to find a way.
A false alarm
However, if supplies are to be transported from outside Tibet, not to mention whether the PLA can wait for the time, the cost alone is a large expense.
Just when Chairman Mao and others were anxious, the Indian government offered to sell a batch of rice to the PLA at a low price. Unable to find the rest of the options, Chairman Mao had no choice but to choose this method. But who expected that after this batch of rice was delivered to the PLA soldiers, the PLA actually ate it all over the body.
At that time, the logistics department of the People's Liberation Army found that the soldiers were swollen, and immediately reported the situation to Zhang Guohua, and speculated whether they were poisoned.
After Zhang Guohua found out, he immediately went to check the situation. He had thought that India had poisoned the rice with bad intentions, but when he saw that one of the battalions was safe and sound, he dispelled the idea. But how can this battalion be okay?
After Zhang Guohua's inquiry, he learned that the camp was not allowed to let go of such fine grain as rice, so it was mixed with tsamba.
The people from the logistics department immediately studied it and found out. It turns out that Indian rice is missing a substance - vitamin B2, and if you eat it for a long time, people will be swollen.
To solve this situation, just eat Indian rice with foods rich in vitamin B2, such as tsampa or barley. After figuring it out, the PLA realized that it was a false alarm.
Zhang Guohua ordered that when the rice was boiled, it was mixed with tsamba or barley and boiled together. In this way, this problem of the PLA was solved.
After Chairman Mao supplemented the rear military needs to keep up, Zhang Guohua led the 18th Route People's Liberation Army to begin the stabilization work in Tibet.
After waiting for the stability work to be carried out, Zhang Guohua took up the post of commander of the Tibet Military Region and stationed Tibet for the mainland. It was not until the situation stabilized that he returned to Sichuan, where he lived until 1972, and finally died in Chengdu.