Written by Yuan Guoxiang
At the end of 1968, the leadership of the army was adjusted, and a new director Huang Ruixiang came to the Political Department of the Southern Xinjiang Military Region. He is tall and fat, with a majestic demeanor, measured in words and deeds, shrewd and capable. It is said that he was a division political commissar selected and transferred by the Central Military Commission from the Fujian front. At that time, the factionalism brought about by the Cultural Revolution seriously affected the building of the army. He resolutely implemented the principles and policies of the central authorities, leveled the bucket of water, correctly appointed cadres, and did a lot of work to do a good job in the "three branches and two armies" in the localities and to strengthen the building of the troops.
In the following year, Huang Ruixiang was promoted to political commissar of the Southern Xinjiang Military Region, and he and the newly arrived commander Zheng Zhiwen cooperated with each other tacitly, and led the party committee to unite and work hard, not only vigorously grasping military and political training, rectifying the discipline of the troops, strengthening the construction of border defense, and enhancing the combat effectiveness of the troops. At the same time, he paid close attention to the situation in various regions and sent Li Shuangsheng, deputy commander and chief of staff of Li Offensive, to serve as directors of the revolutionary committees of Kashgar Prefecture and Kizilsu Autonomous Prefecture.
In the summer of 1970, Political Commissar Huang decided to go to Kunlun Mountain to inspect and guide the Sino-Indian border defense work. He was accompanied by Minister of Logistics Hou Mupo, and I, who was the head of the Secretariat at the time. The two small jeeps set off, and after inspecting the Yecheng base, visiting the officers and men of the automobile regiment, and visiting the remaining office of the Ali Army Division, they drove towards the majestic snow-covered Kunlun Mountain. On the way, every military station stopped not only to refuel and eat, but also to comfort the soldiers. At the 30-mile barracks, they stopped for two days, not only to adapt to the alpine climate, but also to visit the front commander of the frontier regiment, the medical station of the 18th Hospital, the communications hub department, and other units one by one. We then walked to the Karakoram Mountains, first to the astronomical point and then to the Kongkashan Pass, where I was briefed on the war fought in 1962 in the car. At every checkpoint, Political Commissar Huang had to go to the position to observe the enemy's situation and terrain despite his serious alpine reaction; after listening to the cadres' work reports, he had to check the lives of the soldiers after work. I remember that when we drove up the 5620 heights to visit the antiaircraft artillery detachment stationed there, the soldiers wept excitedly when they heard the speech of the political commissar. Minister Hou learned more about the supply of materials and decided to give them more canned food and other foods that they loved to eat.
We were on our way south to Fort Kurnak and met a few wild sheep on the way. Commissar Huang called for a stop, took the guard's automatic rifle, and actually hit a wild sheep 200 miles away. This surprised us, and we thought that the leaders who came out of the regular army really had excellent military skills. At that time, there was no Wildlife Protection Act, and hunting to improve life was fun. We tied the wild sheep to the back of the wagon, pulled them to the Niyagzu outpost, slaughtered them with the soldiers, and had a good meal. I brought back the pair of long antelope horns and gave them to the art team to make two "sabayi" (a hand-cranked percussion instrument of the Uyghur people).
When the working group arrived on the shores of Pangong Lake, everyone was very happy. Because it is 4,000 meters above sea level, you don't have to worry about breathing and you can sleep comfortably. Political Commissar Huang and Minister Hou not only visited the border defense company of Fort Kurnak, but also went to see the outpost squad. The next day, he also went to Ban Mozhang to visit the water squadron, and took a boat to cross the lake to the opposite shore to see the snow-capped mountain vegetable garden cultivated by the soldiers in the red willow bush.
In order to alleviate the long-distance bumps in Ali, Political Commissar Huang asked the car to climb Osaka and take the highway around to Japan. The working group took a small motorboat from Pangong Lake to Japan and Turkey. This is really a rare trip to the highland god lake, and the scenery along the way is calm and charming. In the narrow part of the lake, you can see the rippling water and grass, and the shallow bottom of the fish, and in the wide part of the lake, it is common to see a flock of ducklings and eagles flying geese. We also made a stop at Mouse Island and Bird Island. When we went to Mouse Island, the instructor of the water squadron told us to tighten our trousers, saying that there were many rats and fleas here, so we should not let the insects get in. On Bird Island, you can see all kinds of birds flying all over the world, and there are nests and eggs everywhere. At that time, the troops were strictly forbidden to pick up duck eggs and catch geese. We had enough of the birds chirping, so we quickly boarded the boat and left. I went ashore on the edge of Ritu Lake, and walked more than 120 kilometers in three hours.
We came to Ritu, an important town in northern Tibet, and stayed at the military station here for three days. Political Commissar Huang and Minister Hou ate the home-cooked meal cooked by the old model Wu Deshou, and were full of praise. I inspected all aspects of the work of the military station and was very satisfied. Then he went to the compound of the armed forces department next to it, listened to the work reports of Wang Lianshou, head of the intelligence station and director of the Ritu County Revolutionary Committee, and other comrades, and also inspected their barracks and the vegetable fields left next to the old barracks in Ritu. One day later, he also drove to visit the Xiaqulong production team of "Ali Dazhai" to visit the production and living conditions of Tibetan compatriots and meet with the leaders of the production team and militia cadres. I also took a meaningful photo under the hundred-year-old willow tree, Ali's famous sacred tree.
When the working group arrived at Shiquanhe, it first attended a meeting of the Ali Army Sub-district and listened to a report by Political Commissar Liu Shaozhi. Then he visited the newly restored Ali regional party committee, because the secretary Liu Shaozhi had already reported once in the military sub-district, so he asked the deputy secretaries Wang Yijiang and Feng Peizheng to talk about Ali's general situation and current work respectively. As the main leader of the Southern Xinjiang Military Region, Huang Ruixiang is responsible for the security of the border. It is also an important duty to properly manage local work, correct the negative impact of the Cultural Revolution, and protect and develop mass production. Therefore, he not only listened very carefully and asked for information, but also studied some problems, explored solutions, and finally clearly put forward his own opinions and supported the Ali Prefectural Committee to carry out its work freely.
After a few days of suspension in the military sub-district, the working group went deep into the organs and detachments to conduct investigation and study, and not only found out the basic situation of the sub-division, but also grasped the problems existing in some leading cadres. Then they went deep into the border defense separately to conduct investigation and study. Political Commissar Huang and Minister Hou brought a group of people to inspect four or five checkpoints on the southern front, Zada and Pulan. And let me go to the northern front and Kan and Spangul to understand the situation and comfort the soldiers. Ten days later, we met at Shiquan River, and after reviewing the situation and studying the problems, Political Commissar Huang made a concluding speech at a meeting of military sub-district cadres. On behalf of the working group, he paid tribute and expressed condolences to the commanders and fighters who were fighting the Ali Plateau, and also pointed out the existing problems and the direction of future efforts. Minister Hou also made a speech on the issue of logistical supply and improvement of material and cultural life. As a result, Yuan Man completed the task of the working group of the Southern Xinjiang Military Region and went down the mountain.
However, because I learned about the close military-civilian relations in Jikan, the cases of joint border defense are very vivid. Therefore, with his unique political sensitivity and experience in grasping typical Fengfu, Political Commissar Huang asked me to dig deeper and understand, and strive to write advanced deeds and materials for publicity. In this way, I went with Wang Yaquan, the propaganda officer of the military sub-district, and stayed for a month, not only mingling with the soldiers. Moreover, together with Jiang Deren, the stationmaster, and Su Shengcai, the translator, he spurred his horse, traveled all the ravines in Jiagang, visited every household of farmers and herdsmen, and worked with them, patrolled, and entertained, understood and took a lot of real and touching photos, and wrote the advanced deeds of the joint defense of the military and the people in Jiagang.
After I returned to the military sub-district, Deputy Political Commissar Yan Changfa asked me to brief the cadres of the three major ministries and organs on the situation and affirmed this advanced model. On the recommendation of Political Commissar Huang, the Southern Xinjiang Military Region issued a document publicizing this advanced unit on the frontier front. Later, it was set up as a model at the militia congress. In 1972, the Xinjiang Military Region sent Lei Kangzhan, chief of the Information Section, and Tang Jing, a reporter from the People's Liberation Army Daily, to southern Xinjiang to further write about this weighty typical deed. The Southern Xinjiang Military Region sent me up the mountain with them to accomplish this task together. We stayed in Jikan for another 10 days, and on the basis of further grasping the situation, Tang Jing wrote the first draft of "The Red Flag Flying on the West Gate", which was sent directly to the Xinhua News Agency in Beijing by Wang Yaquan and me. Director Chen of the Military Department attached great importance to it, and after putting forward his opinions for us to delete and correct, he added an eye-catching title: "Heroic Sentinels in the Gangdis Mountains," accompanied by the photo I took of "The Army and the Civilian People Patrol Side by Side," and sent a press release to the whole country, which was reprinted by the central and provincial newspapers one after another, and the Central Radio Station also broadcast it. For this reason, the radio editing and broadcasting department also invited Wang Yaquan and I to go to them and give a briefing on the arduous struggle of the border defense line in a snowstorm. When I talked about the fact that the border guards relied on a Japanese-made high-sensitivity radio and insisted on listening to the Central People's Radio every day, so as to understand the situation of the motherland and the policies of the central authorities, and formed a moving scene of "leaving Beijing with thousands of mountains and rivers, and never leaving Chairman Mao." The male and female editors and announcers applauded excitedly.
Huang Ruixiang has worked in the Southern Xinjiang Military Region for eight years and has made outstanding achievements, not only raising the building of the troops to a new level and making great progress in the work of the militia, but also successfully completing the task of "three branches and two armies" and stabilizing the entire southern Xinjiang region. According to everyone's observation, he is a standard old Eighth Route Army, neatly dressed, well-behaved, fair, and with clean sleeves. He is not only a military expert, but also an expert in political work. His level of leadership is well known, and his care for his subordinates is touching. political commissar huang was also a typical shandong man, when he was helping the people to work, he took the lead and cut the wheat quickly and well, and at a glance he knew that he was a steel and iron figure born from a poor peasant and had been tempered by the army. At the same time, he is also a person who loves his family, has flesh and blood, and attaches great importance to friendship. His wife, Lin Shuyuan, is also an old Eighth Road, and served as the deputy director of the Revolutionary Committee in Shule County. In a combat readiness exercise, she led the march and walked 30 kilometers at once. Everyone saw that she was walking hard, and let her sit in a car, but she resolutely refused. As a result, kidney disease flares up and is never cured. Their youngest daughter contracted lupus erythematosus while serving in the army, and the doctor did not allow her to participate in labor or sunbath. But she didn't do anything special, and still went to dig a ditch in the Gobi Desert, but her illness broke out and she died. Political Commissar Huang endured his grief and buried himself in his work even more. But Mrs. Lao Lin did not withstand the blow and passed away soon. In this way, Huang Ruixiang fought in southern Xinjiang for 8 years, but he lost two relatives, and his heart was very heavy. He destroyed the bones of his wife and youngest daughter, wrapped two small bags in plastic paper, and put them in his shirt pocket. Until he left his job in Xinjiang, went to Yantai Dry Rest House in Shandong Province to rest, and finally went to his eldest daughter's house in Xiamen to enjoy the joy of family together, he never left the two bags of relatives ashes attached to his chest.
In 2001, I assisted the Southern Xinjiang Military Region in preparing for the establishment of the Military History Museum, and visited veteran cadres at the Xinjiang Military Region Cadre Rest House in Yantai. I remember that a forum was held there for veteran comrades of the former Southern Xinjiang Military Region to express the greetings of the head of the military region and explain the purpose of collecting cultural relics. Comrade Huang Ruixiang spoke first, and he recalled with deep affection some of the work he had done in the vast desert areas and snow-capped mountain outposts in southern Xinjiang. He expressed his sincere love for the people of all ethnic groups in the border areas and the border guards. Finally, when he spoke of his two relatives left in the wilderness of Shule, he could not help but wash up his tears. Yes, the boy doesn't flick when he has tears, just because he hasn't reached the sad place. Huang Ruixiang, a steel man who has made great contributions to Xinjiang's border defense, is selfless and heroic, and he has paid such a painful price.