Tan Zhenlin East Road Anti-Japanese War Documentary

People's Daily - Chinese Communist Party News Network

With this article, I would like to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Tan Zhenlin's order to go to The East Road of Southern Jiangsu in 1940 to develop a new "Jiangkang" and open up the "Shajiabang" anti-Japanese base area.

First, I was ordered to go to the East Road and study all the way

The spring of 1940 was late, and the harsh winter was followed by a cold spring. Thick gray clouds covered the sky over the north and south of the great river, and weighed heavily on the hearts of the vast number of anti-Japanese soldiers and civilians.

At this time, Tan Zhenlin served as the deputy commander (political commissar) of the three detachments of the New Fourth Army, and commanded the troops to achieve five major victories in the defense of Fanchang.

In view of the war situation in Jiangnan at that time, the Southern Bureau and the New Fourth Army Department formally decided to transfer Tan Zhenlin to "strengthen the work of the East Road," and on March 23 telegraphed this decision to the Jiangsu Provincial CPC Committee: "Now in order to strengthen the work on the East Road, Comrade Tan Zhenlin has been transferred to be responsible for organizing the military and political meeting to unify the command of the party and the army. Tan Zhenlin recalled that on the same day, he arranged for his wife Ge Huimin, who was about to give birth, to receive instructions from the military headquarters Xiang Ying, and after dinner, he set off from Yunling in Jing County.

The journey is arduous and legendary. Tan Zhenlin pseudonym "Lin Jun". A temporary party branch was established on the way, and Tan Zhenlin appointed himself as the head of the party group and held a party group meeting before leaving. At the meeting, as a disciplinary rule: no matter what situation occurs on the road, even if it happens, Tan Zhenlin's real name cannot be said. Accompanying him were Liao Haitao, Yu Binghui, and Bai Shuzhang, all of whom also used pseudonyms. Dressed as Kuomintang soldiers in the three theaters, they carried "letters of introduction" (passes) that were carefully crafted in advance and wrote, "Go to the place where Leng Xin went to check the work." Lin Jun's identity was the "chief of staff of the three theaters" with the rank of "colonel"; Liao Haitao, who accompanied him, alias "Liao Tao", was a "secretary"; Yu Binghui, alias "Zhang Debiao", was an "aide-de-camp", and was like an important member of the "national army", crossing the Qingyi River from Nanling, Wuhu through Xuan (Cheng), Lang (Xi), and Guang (De), crossing the enemy, pseudo, and stubborn blockade lines, from LangXi to the New Fourth Army ChenglouQiao Bing Station (Sixth Soldier Station), and heading to the Jiangnan Headquarters of the New Fourth Army in Shuixi Village. He walked all the way and grabbed all the way to study. The focus is on studying Mao Zedong's important works such as "Strategic Issues in the Anti-Japanese Guerrilla War" and "On Protracted War" in light of the situation and tasks of the Eastern Road, as well as a series of important instructions of the Party Central Committee on the anti-Japanese national united front. Every time he went to a place to stay, he disregarded his fatigue and organized everyone to contact reality and discuss while learning. Bai Shuzhang, who served as the secretary of the temporary branch on the way, recalled: "Along the way, I studied and discussed topics every night, and from southern Anhui to Maoshan, I walked for eighteen days and studied sixteen times. Every time everyone opened his speech, he made a concluding statement, which was a great education for us and felt a great responsibility. ”

Chen Yi, who was then the commander of the Jiangnan Headquarters of the New Fourth Army, warmly received and convened a cadre meeting to welcome the arrival of Tan Zhenlin and his party. Yuan Guoping, director of the Political Department of the New Fourth Army, who is inspecting the work at the Jiangnan Headquarters, made a report on the situation and encouraged everyone to go to the South Jiangsu East Road to open up the situation. After a brief discussion in Shuixi Village, the personnel who followed the east road were adjusted, and they came to a village called Zhuanghu near Yanling, a strategic point at the junction of Dan (Yang), Ju (Rong), and Li (Yang) counties. It is a remote place surrounded by water and reeds. Tan Zhenlin preached the spirit of the instructions of the Party Central Committee to the comrades of the Dannan Central County Cpc Committee who were hiding here for the meeting. He highly praised Chen Yi and Su Yu for leading their troops to advance into southern Jiangsu and promptly march north to develop northern Jiangsu; this time he was ordered to go to the East Road to strengthen the leadership of the East Road War of Resistance.

At this time, the regimental and battalion cadres who accompanied Tan Zhenlin to the east, as well as Zhang Kaijing, Liu Fei (Liu Songqing, a Liu Qing), Dai Kelin, and Wu Shimeng, also took off their pseudonyms, took off their military uniforms, and changed into Merchants dressed in Chinese trousers and hooded long shirts. Tan Zhenlin is a snow-white shirt, wool trousers, beep long shirt, but also added a top felt top hat (commonly known as "copper pot hat"), and borrowed the name of "Li Ming", the owner of a silk cloth shop in Yanling Town, played "Good Citizen Certificate", which is completely a "big boss" style, leading everyone from the waterway to Changzhou transit. In order to ensure safety, Tan Zhenlin and a group of 7 people arrived in Changzhou and lived in reliable transportation points and "related households" homes. Tan Zhenlin, as a "big merchant", lived in Cuichang Bean Shop, and paid a high price, opened up relations, and handled the "pass" of the "bean shop boss" from the person who filled out the pass from the Japanese military organ. The name "Boss Tan" began here. They took the train to Suzhou and spent the night at the Donglai Hotel outside the zhangmen gate near the dock. The next day, he took a boat to dock at Dong Bang outside the south gate of Changshu and temporarily stopped at the "Hanfangge Tea House" opened by underground party members Chen Guanlin and Chen Ermei. In May 1982, Tan Zhenlin revisited Changshu and said with a fresh memory: "In 1940, I came to East Road, and as soon as I came, I went to dongbang Chen Guanlin Tea House, and this Guan Lin sister-in-law, who was the owner of the tea house shop at that time, once received us. She is one of the prototypes of the Peking opera "Sha Jiabang" "Ah Qing Sister-in-law".

Second, we would like to say: "Jiangsu Resistance" and "People's Resistance" are under the leadership of the Communist Party!

It was the twilight of spring in Gangnam. In the twilight, you can faintly see the golden canola flowers in the surrounding fields. Tan Zhenlin went into the countryside to ask about customs, cared about the villages and households here, and loved the grass and trees here. He is well aware that when he came to the East Road this time, he shouldered the heavy trust of the party and the heavy responsibility of history. From the overall strategic point of view, as Jiang Weiqing summed up, "the anti-Japanese base area in southern Jiangsu, from Ningning (Nanjing) Wuhu (Wuhu) in the west, to Songhu in the east, to the Yangtze River in the north, to the foothills of Tianmu Mountain in the south, including all of southern Jiangsu, north of Hangzhou in Zhejiang and the eastern corner of southern Anhui." It is vast and densely populated. There are only 25 counties and cities in southern Jiangsu, with an area of more than 24,900 square kilometers and a population of about 20 million. This is one of the eight strategic zones opened by the New Fourth Army in central China during the entire period of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and it is also one of the 19 liberated areas in the country created by the anti-Japanese army and people under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. Located in the Yangtze River Delta, in the East Road area of the eastern section of the Beijing(Nanjing) Shanghai(Shanghai) Railway, in the west there is the headquarters of the Japanese invasion of China and nanjing, where the Wang puppet government is located, in the east, Shanghai, which has long been in the hands of the enemy, and Suzhou, the seat of the Wang pseudo-Jiangsu Provincial Government, in the middle, the strategic position is particularly important.

The Party Central Committee is very concerned about the anti-Japanese struggle in the East Road area. In May 1939, Chen Yi ordered Ye Fei to lead the sixth regiment of the New Fourth Army to the east, and met with Mei Guangdi and He Kexi, who were awarded the title of Mei Guangdi and He Kexi by the Jiangnan Headquarters of the New Fourth Army, and formed and commanded the "Jiangnan Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army" (referred to as "Jiang Kang"). In just a few months, the "Jiangsu Resistance" troops crossed the Beijing-Shanghai line, passed through Wuxi, arrived in Changshu, attacked Hushu Pass, fought fiercely in Qingpu, and rushed to Attack Hongqiao Airport. According to Tan Zhenlin's description at the time, "the silent suburbs of Shanghai have been turned into a battlefield full of flames." The enemy was shocked, and the bandits were stubbornly trembling. The people of The East Road greeted the "Master of the King" and the "Division of Benevolence" that liberated the people from the upside down, which greatly enhanced the prestige of the New Fourth Army in Jiangnan. However, in order to realize the overall situation of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in Central China, Ye Fei had to be ordered to lead the main force of the "Jiangsu Resistance" in September of that year, withdraw to Yangzhong in the west, meet with Guan Wenwei, reorganize the troops, and go to the anti-Japanese battlefield in northern Jiangsu. This creates a "vacuum" in the East Road area. At the Yangcheng Lake base, where the anti-Japanese fire was once lit, only a few "Jiangkang" leading cadres, such as Xia Guang, Liu Fei, and Huang Feng, did not withdraw with the west due to illness treatment. Just like the famous song "You Are a Guerrilla Corps" sang: "On the shores of Yangcheng Lake, at the foot of Yushan Mountain, in the severe winter of thirty-nine years, thirty-six wounded and sick people, holding high the banner of the Communist Party, in the land of fish and rice shrouded in shadows, bleeding and sweating for the people!" Hard work to cultivate the countryside ravaged by wild dogs. ......”

When Tan Zhenlin came to the Dongtang City Office of "Jiang Kang" dressed as a "big boss," he was greeted by He Kexi, Wu Zhongchao, Xia Guang, Yang Haolu, Zhang Ying, Wang Chengye, Li Modeling, Ren Tianshi, and other responsible persons of the troops and local party. After meeting with everyone, Tan Zhenlin, escorted by troops, took a boat overnight, brushed past the enemy's stronghold in Baimaotang, and quietly entered the countryside in the center of the new "river resistance" and "people's resistance" activities near Xushi. In the "patio" of a peasant home where the Changshu "People's Resistance" Headquarters is located, he asked everyone in detail about the military, political, and people's conditions since the "Jiangsu Resistance" was withdrawn to the west, listened to a report on the struggle between the enemy and ourselves in the Suchangtai area, and pointedly pointed out: Only by resolutely mobilizing the masses, expanding the armed forces, and establishing base areas under the strong leadership of the party can we effectively strike at the enemy and eliminate the reactionary forces. He raised his fist passionately and shouted loudly: "We want to say that the 'Jiang Resistance' and 'People's Resistance' are led by the Communist Party!" We want to make the name of the Communist Party public..."

In view of the situation of the struggle on the east road after the "Jiangsu Resistance" withdrew from the west, Tan Zhenlin followed the spirit of the instructions of the party Central Committee on the current situation and tasks, linked with the historical experience of the defeat of the Great Revolution in 1927, expounded the principle of independence and self-determination in the party's united front in a simple and concise manner, and earnestly admonished Ren Tianshi and other leaders: "The struggle must be actively developed outwards, and if we stand alone, we will eventually be eliminated." And with his own experience in the struggle against guerrilla warfare in southern Fujian and the anti-"sweeping" in southern Anhui, he enlightened everyone in a good way: "Cowering in the middle of the way is a dead end, and only by resolutely struggling can we survive." "It has enabled comrades to strengthen their confidence and strength to see the light in the darkness, to strive for development in the low tide, and to open up the situation in the midst of difficulties." Tan Zhenlin also went deep into the troops to understand the struggles, lives, and ideologies of the cadres and fighters of the new "Jiangsu Resistance" and "people's resistance," and put forward the requirements for strengthening the ideological and political work of the troops. After several days of intense investigation and research, on April 23, Tan Zhenlin presided over the "XuShi Conference" with turning significance in the history of the anti-Japanese struggle on East Sunsu Road at the Jiangjia residence in Chenjiajiao near the Beigang Temple in Xushi City, Changshu. According to the decision of the Southern Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and the New Fourth Army, it was announced that the New Fourth Army East Military Political Committee would be established, with Tan Zhenlin as secretary. At the same time, the "Jiangnan Anti-Japanese National Salvation Army East Road Headquarters" (still referred to as the new "Jiang Kang" was established), and Tan Zhenlin served as commander and political commissar and director of the political department under the pseudonym of Lin Jun; He Kexi assumed the pseudonym Wang Qi and served as deputy commander; Wu Zhongchao, alias Wu Hao, was appointed deputy director of the political department; and Zhang Kaijing was appointed chief of staff. The meeting determined the reorganization of local units and carried out preliminary organization of the former "Jiangsu Resistance" and "People's Resistance" armed forces. An important document entitled "Ten Work Programs of the CPC Jiangsu Province's Beijing-Shanghai Line East Road Special Committee on Adhering to the East Road War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression" was discussed and adopted, "Ten Work Programs of the CPC Jiangsu Province Beijing-Shanghai Line East Road Special Committee on Upholding the East Road War of Resistance."

Third, skillfully use clever tactics to carry out guerrilla warfare in water networks

In order to open up a new situation in the War of Resistance on the Eastern Road, Tan Zhenlin considered that first of all, it is necessary to gain the courage to overwhelm the enemy militarily, strike a fierce blow at the invading enemy, and expand the influence of our party and our army.

At this time, the changshu defenders adopted the tactic of "dividing the roads to cooperate with the parade demonstrations and disrupting the countryside" to spy on the deployment of our troops. The "Battle of Beigang Temple", which took place on the third day of the Xushi Conference, on April 25, was the first battle directly against the Japanese army after Tan Zhenlin came to the East Road. At about 9:00 a.m. that day, I was on the lookout and found that the enemy of the North New Gate stronghold had moved. The enemy was divided into four columns, about seventy or eighty men, and the Japanese and puppet armies each accounted for half of them, and they were rushing towards us along the Zhitang Highway. Tan Zhenlin immediately made a decision, decided to block the attack, and ordered Dekelin to organize troops stationed outside the venue and be responsible for directing the battle. Xia Guang handed over a telescope, He Kexi sent a fast and slow plane, and Dekelin rushed out of the venue and flew up to the roof to monitor the enemy's movements. Seeing that the Japanese and puppet troops who were attacking were only more than 200 meters apart, he immediately ordered his troops to mount a Czech-style machine gun on the roof, wait for the enemy to enter the firing range, raise a shuttle of bullets from the fast and slow machines, and the machine gun followed with the opening of the fire port, aiming at the Japanese and puppet troops to shoot intensively. The rifles of the other fighters also rang out. The enemy was suddenly blocked by this and was so dizzy that four or five Japanese troops were killed. For the rest of the day, the puppet army fell to the ground one after another, fought and retreated, jumped into the Beigang Temple, seized the favorable terrain at the head of the temple, set up several machine guns, blocked the open area, and the grenadiers also came like a series of beads, and the battle was extremely fierce. In the middle of the battle, our reinforcements arrived, and the comrades flew to launch an attack, attacking back and forth, and the enemy position began to waver.

The fighting continued into the evening. Since we still lacked the conditions for an annihilation war, Tan Zhenlin promptly issued an order to withdraw from the battle on its own initiative. The Japanese and puppet troops were confused, and after a while, they dragged twenty or thirty dead and wounded soldiers and fled back to the stronghold in a hurry. After the evacuation of the battle, the cadres and soldiers could not figure it out, thinking that the enemy had become a turtle in an urn, why did they not continue to fight? When summing up the battle, Tan Zhenlin said to everyone: "In fighting guerrillas, we cannot be like gamblers, gamble with red eyes, gamble desperately, and fight for consumption; we have small capital and cannot do anything recklessly!" These words of his were very popular, but they revealed the basic tactical principle of guerrilla warfare without fighting and consuming, and making quick and quick decisions, so that everyone was deeply educated.

The Battle of Beigang Temple was the first battle fought in our central area after the "Jiangkang" retreated to the west. By its very nature, it is an encounter, but I am not passively responding to the battle, but actively blocking. Although the initial test was sharp, it played a military prestige, and was greatly encouraged by the soldiers and civilians of the East Road who had been waiting for the main force to return for a long time. In order to actively avoid the enemy's retaliatory "sweeping" and also to prepare for the westward march, after the Xushi Conference, Tan Zhenlin decided to personally lead the first detachment to advance into the Xidong area. On May 25, the troops were stationed in Xintangxi Village, 78 Miles South of Anzhen Town, Wuxi. In the afternoon of that day, more than 50 Japanese troops were dispatched from the two strongholds of Anzhen and Meicun to conduct armed reconnaissance, encountered us, and fiercely fought. Detachment Leader Dekelin, while organizing his troops and calmly confronting the enemy, quickly covered the transfer of Tan Zhenlin and other leaders of the command, circled around the Xidong area, and returned to Changshu. "Know thyself and know the other, and never lose a battle." After the war, Tan Zhenlin personally helped commanders and fighters sum up the battles, analyze and study the advantages and weaknesses of the enemy and us, including the "shortcomings of the westward advance," and use combat examples to educate the vast number of commanders and fighters on the tactics of guerrilla warfare.

In order to carry out extensive anti-Japanese guerrilla warfare in the Jiangnan water network area, Tan Zhenlin, while reorganizing and training the new "Jiangsu Resistance" troops, in May dispatched the backbone of local guerrilla warfare and young workers and students from Shanghai to form a teaching team of more than 100 people based on the cadets of the teaching team brought by the Southern Anhui Military Department to follow the headquarters.

On the day of the opening of the teaching team, Tan Zhenlin wore a neat and well-fitting gray cloth military uniform, and a revolver on his belt around his waist, and heroically and proudly reported the situation to all the teaching cadets. He then led by word, deployed and organized teaching teams for the actual battle of guerrilla warfare. At dawn on 3 June, the teaching team camped at The Station Dong (Zhan Bang) near the Zhitang stronghold, and the headquarters was stationed in a village behind the teaching team. The enemies of Mei Li, Zhitang, Bai Mao, and Changshu were divided into five roads and about 500 people went out to "sweep up." The surrounding cities of Xushi and Shenjia were occupied by the enemy; the enemy of Zhitang advanced towards the camp of our teaching team, and I was in the midst of the enemy's four bread raids, and the battle was about to break out, and the situation was extremely serious. Tan Zhenlin calmly exhorted everyone to "give play to the characteristics of guerrilla warfare, strike at the enemy with mobility and flexibility, quickly select the enemy's weaknesses, and organize a breakthrough." Finally, he led two squads of veteran soldiers escorting him aboard a farm boat rocking from Baimaotang, successfully broke through, and arrived safely in the village near the scheduled Hejia City. That night, in order to confuse the enemy and fully display the magic tactics of guerrilla warfare, Tan Zhenlin personally led the direct subordinate unit and the teaching team of the headquarters to move and began to advance from east to west in the direction of Wuxi Meicun; then turned backwards, walked for one night, and at dawn on June 4, returned to camp in a village only about three miles from the place where the battle had been fought the day before. At this time, the scouts reported that the Japanese and puppet troops who had originally been dispatched from the strongholds of Meili, Zhitang, Baimao, and Changshu were still searching and advancing in separate ways to the villages around our camp, looking for the target of our army! Tan Zhenlin couldn't help but laugh and blurted out a first oil poem:

I heard that you came to report, and the enemy came again;

You guys are ready to wipe it out!

Tan Zhenlin personally led the direct subordinate team and the teaching team to carry out the "Battle of Station Dong" this time, which opened the forefront of guerrilla warfare in the east road water network area. Subsequently, Tan Zhenlin was still picked up to safety by a farm boat shaken from Baimaotang. Under the cover of the local Party and the masses, he took the guard squad and the radio, set up the headquarters on the agricultural ships, interspersed between the water networks lined with enemy strongholds like plum blossom piles, and directed the battle. Looking back on the guerrilla battles in the water network area, Tan Zhenlin said affectionately: "The masses on the East Road are really good, and they have thought of many ways to protect us, and in the inland rivers in the water network area, many hidden dams have been built. The agricultural boats we were riding on had a shallow draft and could not travel unimpeded; the enemy's motorboats ran aground when they met the dark dam and could not drive in. I was on the boat and felt safe. I have always missed the peasant comrade who rocked the boat for me!" He also said that it was inspired by the fact that the Eighteenth Brigade of the Sixth Division of the New Fourth Army later built a dark dam to deal with the Japanese motorboats in the area of the Water Network of the Jiangsu River (Du) Gao (Post) Bao (Ying). Jiang Weiqing spoke of the era when the anti-Japanese guerrilla war was waged under the leadership of Tan Zhenlin, and he was even more excited, praising "Boss Tan for using the successful experience of the Jinggangshan struggle to a pure fire and developing from time to time."

Fourth, the east out of Kun Jiatai, the west into Cheng Xi Yu

In early June, Tan Zhenlin deployed two detachments led by He Kexi, Xia Guang, and Chen Ting, and drove from Changshu into Taicang. With the coordination of the local party and the masses, the enemy's communication facilities were destroyed and the pseudo-organizations were destroyed. Within a few days, all the wires, poles, and telephones in Taicang were demolished. The Japanese army panicked, and the bandits were terrified. The crowd cheered: "'Jiang Kang' has fought back again!" On June 5, the enemies of Qianjing, Pontoon Bridge, Taicang, and Shaxi attacked the two detachments in fractional roads. Under the command of He Kexi, Xia Guang, and Chen Ting, the commanders and fighters of the second detachment heroically attacked the enemy separately, and with divine speed guerrilla tactics, carried out the famous "three battles in one day" in Taicang on the East Road, and then returned to Changshu in safety. This operation not only further expanded the combat impact of the new "Jiangkang" East Road, but was actually a military reconnaissance of the newly organized "Jiangkang" troops after they had been reorganized and trained.

In mid-June, Tan Zhenlin divided the division of labor he Kexi led two detachments to the west, armed to open up ChengXiyu. At that time, Ma Leming and Zhao Bei, the leaders of the "Jiangsu Provincial Security Third Column," who had long been appointed by the Kuomintang diehards, put together three detachments and a special task force, claiming to have more than a thousand guns, and were the most powerful anti-communist diehards in the East Road area. Tan Zhenlin analyzed the enemy's situation, conformed to the will of the people, and skillfully adopted the struggle strategy of "using contradictions and breaking through each one" for this westward military operation, so as to give full play to the superiority of our army and first annihilate one of the most reactionary and indignant parts of it, that is, the three detachments of Northern Zhao. Air was released from the march: "In this military operation, we will only fight three detachments, not one or two detachments!" For the prisoners captured in the battlefield, the first question is asked: "Which detachment are you from?" "If the other side answers that it is one or two teams, let it go immediately." This played a role in paralyzing Ma Leming and isolating Zhao Bei.

According to Tan Zhenlin's deployment, at one o'clock in the morning of the same day, our army crossed the Dayi Bridge and marched to Dongzhuang (also known as Xudongzhuang) near Dongluoba. Before dawn, I reconnoitred and reported that three detachments of Zhao Bei's unit were stationed in this area. Therefore, He Kexi quickly threw himself into battle, first attacking the three detachments of Northern Zhao, which not only disintegrated the enemy, but also hit the key point, opening a gap for the complete annihilation of zhao and Ma's second recalcitrant army. In particular, it should be pointed out that Tan Zhenlin's decision at this time to lead two detachments to chengxiyu in the west was an important strategic step to cooperate with Chen Yidong, who was far away from the Jiangnan headquarters in Shuixi Village, to comprehensively open up the situation of the War of Resistance in southern Jiangsu. At the same time, he deployed a detachment led by Zhang Kaijing to meet with the "independent detachment" in Wuxi and carried out the famous "Battle Under the Port" in the history of the East Road War of Resistance, killing and wounding more than 200 recalcitrant troops, capturing dozens of people, and capturing 1 heavy machine gun and dozens of rifles. After the battle under the port, the first and second detachments of ours converged their forces, adopted the "candy knocking tactic," and carried out several more annihilation attacks on the remnants of Northern Zhao within seven or eight days. Finally, this stubborn enemy was finally completely eliminated, and the huge obstacle to entering Chengxiyu in the west was swept away.

V. Strengthen the New "Jiang resistance" and become the "beacon of the East Road War of Resistance"

In addition to Tan Zhenlin' leadership in the South Jiangsu East Road region and military commander of the armed struggle, the most important thing in raising the overall situation is to educate the comrades of the whole party and strengthen the building of the anti-Japanese political power under the leadership of the party. Following the promulgation of the "Ten Programs" of the East Road War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, in accordance with the spirit of "establishing a political power of the anti-Japanese united front led by the Communist Party" in all areas occupied by the enemy, including nanjing in the west and to the coast of southern Jiangsu in the east, he pointed out: Doing a good job in the building of political power in the East Road area can not only further promote the expansion of the army and seek the "solution of people, guns, and funds" of the troops, but also has great strategic significance in political, military, and economic aspects, and is of great strategic significance, which is to enhance the party's prestige and expand the influence of the army. Strengthen the cohesion of the party and the army among the masses and adhere to the key to the war of resistance behind enemy lines in southern Jiangsu.

According to Tan Zhenlin's instructions and the decision of the East Road Military Political Council, after a series of preparatory work, on August 4, it was announced that the first county-level anti-Japanese democratic regime on Sunan East Road, "Changshu County People's Anti-Japanese Self-Defense Association", chaired by Ren Tianshi, was officially established. In order to ensure safety, the establishment will move with the ship. Tan Zhenlin attended the meeting and delivered an important report entitled "The Current International Political Situation and the Significance and Tasks of the Self-Defense Association." Tan Zhenlin was the chairman of the first county-level workers' and peasants' and soldiers' government during the agrarian revolutionary war and one of the leaders of the Soviet district who participated in the creation of the Jinggangshan base area, and had rich experience in building government and long-term leadership practice. He not only made a profound exposition on the confrontation with the Japanese democratic regime and the relationship between the party, the regime and the masses in theory, but also proceeded from the new situation and new tasks of developing the anti-Japanese guerrilla war and opening up the anti-Japanese guerrilla base areas, combined with the characteristics of the East Road area, creatively applied and developed the experience of the red political power in the Soviet union, and specifically helped and deeply guided the leading comrades of the local party and the troops on "how to establish guerrilla base areas and establish their own political power."

Because Suzhou is an "experimental area" where Japan and Suzhou are practicing "co-prosperity in East Asia" and "the promised land of the king" in the hinterland of its rule, from cities to rural market towns, there are "many bandits, many prostitutes, many drug addicts, many gambling stalls, and many white people who carry bird cages." Bandits are rampant, there are many checkpoints, the society is dirty, and the people are not happy. Tan Zhenlin clearly pointed out that our anti-Japanese democratic regime should think of the people, lead them to crack down on reactionary forces, and earnestly seek their welfare. After the establishment of the Suzhou County People's Anti-Japanese Self-Defense Association, it first promulgated the "Temporary Simplicity of Guaranteeing the People," and in view of the conspiracy of Japan and the puppets to "arm force the collection of rents" and "use China's human, material, and financial resources to beat us to China and achieve the goal of 'using China to control China,'" it issued a "Letter to the People for The Collection of Rents."; it strengthened the work of the democracy movement, went deep into the newly opened areas to develop party organizations, established the Township People's Anti-Japanese Self-Defense Association, and launched the "autumn harvest struggle" to resist the forced payment of rent and taxes by the enemy and the puppets, and implemented reasonable burdens and "second five-year" rent reductions. The vast rural areas and market towns in the entire Suzhou (Prefecture) Chang (Shu) Tai (Cang) and Wuxi, Jiangyin, Shazhou and other counties became anti-Japanese guerrilla areas, showing the people rejoicing and encouraging, enthusiastically supporting the Communist Party and the anti-Japanese regime, loving their own children and soldiers, enthusiastically joining the army and supporting the front, and paying the prescribed taxes, bringing about the "golden period of prosperity" mentioned in the history of the anti-Japanese struggle on the East Jiangsu Road. According to statistics, the "Jiangsu Resistance" troops have grown to more than 3,000 people. At the beginning of November 1940, the new "Jiang Kang" held a military conference on the playground of a middle school in Hua City, Jiangyin, which Tan Zhenlin called a historically significant assembly. He presided over the assembly and shouted with his arms raised: "Go to Taihu Lake!" Go to Yodoyama Lake! Go to Eastern Zhejiang!" The congress announced the establishment of three columns for the new "Jiang Kang." With the first and fifth detachments as a column, commander Xia Guang and political commissar Liu Fei (Qing) were active in the Suchangtai area; the second and sixth detachments were the second column, with commander Chen Ting and zhang Feng, director of the political department, operating with the headquarters in the Jiangyin and Wuxi areas; the third and fourth detachments were three columns, with commander Zhu Changqing and political commissar Wen Yucheng, active along the Shanghai line of Xibei. Since then, the struggle on the East Road has entered the "second stage," and in the words of Tan Zhenlin's answer to the reporter of the "Mass Daily" at that time, it is to "go east, to the south, to the greater Shanghai -- the goal of our struggle, to advance toward Taihu Lake and Dianshan Lake!" Then, in Changshu Dongtang City, the "Celebration of the First Anniversary of the Establishment of the 'Jiangkang' East Road Headquarters" was held. Tan Zhenlin delivered a speech entitled "One Year on the East Road," enthusiastically praising the fighting course of Ye Fei's troops advancing into the East Road, speaking highly of the fighting spirit of the soldiers and people of the East Road who, under the leadership of the party, persisted in the struggle and rebuilt the new "Jiangkang," and pointed out: After a year of arduous struggle, bloody sacrifice, overcoming difficulties, and overcoming crises, the new "Jiangsu Resistance" that has developed and grown under the leadership of the Communist Party has become a "beacon of the East Road War of Resistance," and has ignited the "Shajiabang" anti-Japanese flame that was widely praised by the "thirty-six wounded and sick."

Originally published: Century Style, No. 8, 2020