Looking back at the long journey, the first thing that comes to mind is the word hardship.
Except for the harassment of the Kuomintang reactionaries and the bandits along the road, the Red Army most of the time fought fiercely against nature and physiological instincts.
After the Battle of the Xiangjiang River, the Red Army went north along the road, and it became increasingly difficult to raise food, and the barley noodles brought with them were eaten as early as a few days after entering the meadow.
In order to maintain physical strength, there were not a few soldiers who nibbled on tree bark and ate belts, and Red Army cadres who killed their horses and distributed meat to soldiers abounded.
Later, some extremely hungry warriors even picked out the undeested barley grains from their own feces, put them in the water to wash and eat, and then they would have a meal.
Everyone says that the Long March is bitter, but the hardship is far beyond the imagination of those of us who have not experienced it firsthand.
Cheng Fangwu, a witness to the Long March, was a teacher at the Central Party School at the time, and in his later years he wrote in the book "Memoirs of the Long March":
“...... The commanders and fighters who had not been soaked in oil and salt for several months had eaten several full meals happily, and the General Political Department also ordered all units to invite the surrounding people to dinner. ”
--------------------------------------- In fact, what Mr. Cheng Fanwu recorded was the scene when the Red Army first arrived in a small town in Longnan City, Gansu Province.
On September 18, 1935, the vanguard of the Red Army arrived in the town of Hadapu.
After experiencing the harsh tests of the national army's encirclement, pursuit, blockade, and snowy mountains and grasslands, the Red Army at this time was extremely tired, with a yellow face and thin muscles, describing it as a mess.
And as soon as they entered Hadapu, they felt the richness and friendliness of this town.
Today's Hada Shop
In the town, hui and Han were mixed, commerce and trade were prosperous, the people were warm and simple, and they entertained the Red Army like relatives, and they were very supportive of the Red Army troops.
Two days later, the central organs and the main forces of the Red Army arrived one after another, and under the instructions of Chairman Mao, the Political Department put forward the slogan:
"Everybody have to eat well!"
Everyone in the whole army had a piece of the ocean, and they bought whatever they wanted, and the morale of the Soldiers of the Red Army was greatly boosted, and the various food units slaughtered cattle and sheep, cooked chickens and ducks, and the aroma of meat drifted above the town for a long time.
Here, the soldiers of the Red Army lived a period of time that they had never dared to dream of before, and many food units even had a meal of three meats and two vegetarian dishes, and the soldiers greeted each other with joy and joy:
"Hello comrades, we have a New Year!"
While the troops were resting, the vast number of commanders and fighters still did not forget to conscientiously implement the "Rules for Huimin Areas," and when all catering units invited the common people to dinner, they would set up halal seats and greet the Muslims with special halal meals.
When did the people of Hadapu ever see such a disciplined force? At one time, countless young and middle-aged people signed up for the Red Army, and the Red Army team once again developed and grew.
Regarding the town of Hadapu, there is such a record in Peng Dehuai's Self-Description:
"On our march to Hadapu, when we smelled the smell of wheat, some comrades fell to the ground and died for no reason."
Hunger was fatal, but for the Red Army soldiers with a steely will, what was more deadly than hunger was the unknown direction of the troops.
Chairman Mao lived in the Yihechang Medicine Shop in Hadapu, and the dim light reflected his mighty body.
While the soldiers were immersed in the joy of eating and drinking, he was still smoking a cigarette alone, trying to find a way out of the Red Army in the chaos.
The balance of forces between the Kuomintang and the Communists is very different, and it is not a way to transfer all the way, where will the Red Army eventually settle down and develop? Where is the end of the Long March?
Chairman Mao pondered day and night, and he spread out the newspapers collected by the Red Army from all sides on the table and analyzed them in detail.
The Ta Kung Pao, Shanxi Daily, Jinyang Daily, and other newspapers carried the latest movements of the Nationalist army, and one of the circulars on "suppressing the Communists" read:
"Of the twenty-three counties in northern Shaanxi, there is hardly a single county that is not red, eight are completely red, and as many as a dozen are semi-red."
Seeing this, Chairman Mao and others were overjoyed, and after carefully combing through all the information about the Red Army in the newspapers, they finally determined that there was a Red Army and a Red Army base area in the border areas of Shaanxi and Gansu!
Subsequently, several central leaders quickly convened a meeting and decided to make northern Shaanxi the foothold of the Red Army's Long March and the Shaanxi-Gansu revolutionary base area as the cradle of the Chinese revolution.
At the meeting, Chairman Mao announced this decision and said humorously: "Thank you to the Kuomintang newspaper for providing us with more detailed information about the Red Army in northern Shaanxi." ”
I am afraid that Chiang Kai-shek did not expect that the angry and corrupt information on the Kuomintang organs on the "suppression of bandits" would actually change the fate of the Red Army.
"Comrades, advance victoriously! There are only seven or eight hundred miles to northern Shaanxi, and that is our destination. ”
Chairman Mao stood in front of the Guandi Temple, and his voice spoke loudly to all the commanders and fighters, and the crowd immediately applauded and cheered excitedly.
On the side of the stage, 12-year-old Zhou Shangren did not understand what the people on the stage were saying, but he also clapped with a clap.
86 years have passed, the little boy of that year has been dying of old age, and whenever he recalls that historic scene, he is still very excited.
"At that time, the villagers heard that an army was coming, and they were scared to death, but this team was different from other armies. Their clothes were worn out and varied in color, some wearing straw shoes and some wearing cloth shoes. ”
"They said, folks, don't be afraid. We're a family and we're not going to take your stuff. ”
Today, this ancient town has become a famous historical and cultural town of the Chinese revolution, and the mottled "Long live the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army" on the adobe walls still tells the dusty red storm.
For decades, the villagers of Hadapu have spontaneously protected these revolutionary sites, and almost every household has a story of military and civilian fish and water conditions.
Hadapu is a milestone in the Red Army's northward march and a "land of hope" in the long march. The revolutionary ancestors have gone through hardships and dangers to ensure peace for future generations, and we should remember history and draw impetus from it.
Text/Wood In-Green
References: "Literature and History spring and autumn", "Memoirs of the Long March", "Peng Dehuai's Self-Description"