Yang Xiufeng's past in founding the anti-Japanese base area in western Hebei

After the Beginning of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Yang Xiufeng was ordered by his superiors to lead the patriotic students of Peiping to form a guerrilla group and undertake the task of establishing an anti-Japanese national united front in western Hebei.

　　The western Hebei guerrilla group quickly grew to 9 brigades and more than 700 people. They adopted the principle of "fighting small battles and fighting more wars", actively harassed the enemy, and trained their troops in continuous battles. When Yang Xiufeng learned that there were only a few pseudo-policemen in lincheng to defend, he immediately organized an attack on the city at night. After conquering the county seat, Yang Xiufeng organized the soldiers to distribute a large amount of grain to the poor people, which not only mobilized the masses, but also expanded the influence of the guerrillas. After that, Yang Xiufeng organized guerrillas to attack Qicun and Fengcun Railway Station at night, and in addition to annihilating the enemy garrison, he also captured a large amount of military materials. In the ensuing Battle of Heishui River, Yang Xiufeng led his soldiers to successfully kill and wound more than 200 enemy soldiers, capturing one mountain cannon and three light machine guns. Among them, more than 100 Japanese troops belong to the "Non-Commissioned Officer Training Team", all of whom are officers of the rank of lieutenant and veterans who are about to be promoted to the rank of lieutenant. The enemy became angry and dispatched three planes the next day to bomb and strafe. The guerrillas returned fire with captured enemy weapons, resulting in the shooting down of an enemy plane on the spot, a battle that made the Japanese army never dare to despise the jixi guerrillas again.

　　Since then, Yang Xiufeng has organized many battles, which has greatly improved the combat effectiveness of the troops, and the equipment of the troops has also improved rapidly with the continuous capture of enemy weapons. After a few months, each company of the guerrillas was equipped with at least 1-2 light machine guns, each battalion had at least 1 heavy machine gun, and the regiment also formed a mortar unit.

　　In view of the development and growth of the troops, Yang Xiufeng began to lead the soldiers to take the initiative to find fighters to attack the regular japanese troops. At the same time, Yang Xiufeng also sent people to establish local armed forces in nearby counties and districts, and their main work was to cooperate with the western Hebei guerrillas in destroying enemy communication lines, cutting power lines, manufacturing mines, ambushing small groups of Japanese puppets, and punishing traitors. Yang Xiufeng's guerrillas, with the cooperation of local armed forces, repeatedly sabotaged the Pinghan Railway, which the enemy had strengthened control, and on May 13, 1938 alone, Yang Xiufeng and others organized thousands of people and demolished more than 140 miles of the railway, resulting in the complete interruption of the enemy's Pinghan Railway transportation. This battle was a strong complement to the frontal battlefield, after which the enemy had to draw a large number of elite troops from the attacking troops to retreat along the way.

　　The enemy's forces have strengthened and the guerrilla zone in western Hebei has been severely blockaded. At this time, Yang Xiufeng began to seriously consider how to ensure the liaison between the guerrillas on both sides of the Pinghan Line, the Taihang Mountain base area in southern Hebei, and even with our army units in central China, Shandong, and northern Shaanxi. In just two months, Yang Xiufeng relied on the broad masses to establish intelligence contact points and three lines of communication in the enemy-occupied areas, ensuring the smooth flow of cadres, letters, and materials, and consolidating the achievements of the struggle in western Hebei.

　　Under the inspiration of "defending the homeland, defending North China, and defending the whole of China," Yang Xiufeng put forward the policy of "some people come out, there is grain out of the grain, there is money to pay, and there are guns out of guns." The broad masses of the people saw the hope of the nation from the activities of the jixi guerrillas who truly sympathized with the people's suffering and resisted the invaders, and regarded the jixi guerrillas as the disciples and soldiers who protected the interests of the people. As a result, the call to "go out and find a trip to Ji" went away, and there was an upsurge of support and participation in the War of Resistance. In a small village with more than a hundred households in Lincheng, seventy or eighty people joined the guerrillas, and nearly a hundred young people in the Nanling area of Neiqiu participated in the Ji tour. Among them, there are many scenes of fathers sending sons, wives sending husbands, and fathers and sons joining the army together. At the same time, the general public donated large knives, spears, shotguns, rifles and even grenades and other military supplies. Some landlords also donated guns from nursing homes. Yang Xiufeng collected hundreds of weapons.

　　With the growing strength of the troops, the Jixi guerrilla group was renamed the "Jixi Guerrilla Zone Headquarters", with Yang Xiufeng as the commander, and the whole team was more than 1,000 people at that time. Over the past year, through Yang Xiufeng's training and meticulous ideological and political work, the guerrillas in western Hebei have greatly improved their political and military quality. In particular, once, when Yang Xiufeng led his troops through a field, the mount was frightened and ran to the field to trample on the crops, and Yang Xiufeng immediately paid money to compensate the compatriots in the field. The incident gave great education to the soldiers present. Under the personal demonstration and leadership of Yang Xiufeng and other leaders, the guerrillas cherished every grass and tree of the masses, did not take a needle or a thread from the masses, bought and sold fairly to the masses, returned borrowed things on time, and resolutely compensated the damaged things according to the price. It is a practice in the troops that whenever they go to a locality, they must take the initiative to help the local masses to carry water and chop wood, clean the streets of the yards and courtyards, and help the masses, especially military dependents, solve practical problems. Once, Yang Xiufeng led a team into a village and found that the villagers did not have salt to eat, so he and the cadres and soldiers gave all the salt they brought to the villagers. A soldier borrowed a small half-cut pencil from the landlord, but did not return it to his fellow villagers when he set out, and as a result, he ran ten miles back to his hometown and returned the pencils. In the Spring Festival of 1939, the troops marched into a village in Neiqiu County, and in order not to disturb the masses, they camped under the wall of the empty field and rested for a night. On another occasion, Yang Xiufeng led his troops to a village at night, and in order to prevent bandits and traitors from invading, the village set up a self-defense force under Yang Xiufeng's organization. The patrolling self-defense officers found such a large group of people coming, thinking that it was a bandit invasion, and hurriedly summoned a large number of brothers, regardless of the three seven twenty-one downward shooting. Yang Xiufeng ordered the troops not to return fire, while asking the soldiers to sing the "March of the Volunteer Army" and asking the cadres to shout "We are partisans in western Hebei." The SDF heard the shouting and, although they stopped firing, were still worried that the bandits were impersonating and did not open the gate throughout the night. Yang Xiufeng and the warriors warmed each other back to back and camped outside the village. After dawn, the self-defense team members found that it was their own team and quickly opened the door to apologize, but Yang Xiufeng praised them for their high vigilance.

　　Due to strict military discipline and a resolute attitude toward resistance, Yang Xiufeng and the western Hebei guerrillas grew in prestige, and the thirteen counties in western Hebei were quickly established as a fighting fortress for the CCP. Throughout the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, there was a folk song called "Yang Xiufeng Walks Through Thirteen Counties" in Jixi:

　　Yang Xiufeng, strong will, organized the people to resist the war; the Self-Defense Force, the Youth Resistance First; the Women's Rescue Association, the Children's League, and the General Mobilization of the Whole People. Commander Yang, really capable, armed millions of people and carried out guerrilla warfare everywhere. Bombing bunkers, collapsing traitors, picking up railways, passing through the plains, and beating the enemy and the hypocrites in their hearts.

　　With the increasing consolidation of the base areas, Yang Xiufeng began to work on the establishment of a broader anti-Japanese national united front. Under the leadership of Yang Xiufeng, the Civil Training Office and the Jixi Guerrillas worked closely with the Eighth Route Army, starting with the villages and then developing to the districts and counties to establish nongovernmental anti-Japanese organizations at all levels, which promoted the all-round development of the mass war of resistance: Since the founding of the Peasants' Salvation Congress and the Youth Salvation Congress, they have actively mobilized young people to join the army to participate in the war, support the front line, and take care of the daily lives of the families of military martyrs; since the establishment of the Women's Salvation Congress, they have organized women to grind rice and grind noodles, make military shoes, and take care of the wounded; and the children have also organized into children's regiments, responsible for standing guard, checking pedestrians, and passing on documents The Self-Defense Forces are responsible for local security, eliminating traitors, and participating in activities such as destroying enemy lines of communication. On this basis, Yang Xiufeng also promoted the anti-Japanese organization to districts and counties.

　　Yang Xiufeng attaches great importance to listening to the opinions of deputies from all walks of life, and on the basis of full democratic consultation, leads the election of district and county chiefs. In January 1938, 7 counties in western Hebei had established anti-Japanese democratic governments.

　After the establishment of governments in various counties, Yang Xiufeng also began to establish anti-Japanese armed forces in districts and counties. In a very short period of time, it shows that there is a self-defense unit in the village, a district squadron in the district, and a county brigade in the county. Under the guidance of Yang Xiufeng and others, all districts and counties have implemented the policy of "abolishing harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes and implementing reasonable burdens"; while implementing rent reduction and interest reduction, they have also guaranteed "rent payment and interest payment", and encouraged the development of industry and commerce on the basis of ensuring agricultural production. Yang Xiufeng personally piloted the experiment, and the people judged the amount of grain supplied to the troops and the regime according to the quality of the land occupied by each household. Yang Xiufeng's many spells have won the unanimous support of the broad masses of the people, and the vast number of poor peasants have enthusiastically joined the army. More than 100 intellectuals in Lincheng County participated in the anti-Japanese government, and Chen Zixin, a primary school teacher, not only participated in the anti-Japanese war work, but also donated 100 oceans of his savings over the years, while Yang Fengjiu, former principal of Cangzhou Middle School, donated 500 oceans, and Zhao Zhuang's enlightened gentleman Yongming donated more than 20,000 kilograms of grain.

　　In order to reduce the burden on the people, Yang Xiufeng still led the cadres and fighters to reduce their clothes and food, and shared happiness and hardships. Although the cadres and fighters below Yang Xiufeng have stipulated a monthly allowance of 2 yuan, they have almost never received it. Yang Xiufeng and others took the initiative to reduce the monthly supply level to far below the Eighth Route Army, which was active in the same area, and effectively supported the Eighth Route Army and the regular Kuomintang troops in the War of Resistance. Kang Jinzhong, a member of the Kuomintang's North China Consolidation Committee, inspected Jixi and saw that although the guerrillas in western Hebei were not equipped as well as the Kuomintang, they were strictly disciplined and enthusiastic about resisting Japan, and praised "Mr. Yang's contingent as a sophisticated teacher and a teacher of benevolence and righteousness." (Source: People's Political Consultative Conference Daily)