Chapter 28 upright official of the people

In the early days of the War of Resistance Against Japan, I was investigating the rural areas of northern Shaanxi. When I heard farmers celebrating their liberation, they proudly told me: "We have three 'blue sky' in northern Shaanxi, namely Liu Zhidan, Xie Zichang, and Ma Mingfang." The people in northern Shaanxi have been oppressed by landlords, evil gentry, and warlords for a long time, and they live a life that is not as good as cattle and horses.In the years when grievances were everywhere and there was no place to complain, there was a sudden thunder, the Communist Party led the people to make revolution, beat local tyrants, divide the land, and farmers rose up to seek liberation; then, people saw guerrillas led by Liu Zhidan, Xie Zichang, and Ma Mingfang The army surged like a storm, from small to large, from small to large, sparks started a prairie fire, and soon burned in more than a dozen counties in northern Shaanxi; and then people saw that the Red Twenty-sixth Army and the Red Twenty-seventh Army were established successively, and the enemy collapsed. On the northwest plateau, the banners of the two base areas of "Shaanxi-Gansu Border" and "Northern Shaanxi" were erected; finally, six counties were liberated, and the two base areas were connected into one.The people are the masters of the country, proudly singing: "Liu Zhidan, the hero of the people", "Xie Zichang, the leader of the people", "Ma Qingtian, an upright official of the people".

On the eve of the Anti-Japanese War, Xie Zichang and Liu Zhidan died unfortunately.At the beginning of the Anti-Japanese War, Ma Mingfang was unfortunately imprisoned by the Kuomintang reactionaries on his way back from being sent to the Soviet Union for medical treatment.But the people still miss them, and stories of their heroic struggles are passed on. Comrade Ming Fang engaged in the party's underground work after the failure of the Great Revolution.He has engaged in military operations, and has served as the party secretary of the district committee, the county committee secretary, the secretary of the special committee of northern Shaanxi, and the secretary of the provincial committee of northern Shaanxi.In the harsh white terror of the enemy, he disguised himself as a peddler, a primary school teacher, and an accountant, and ran around in the vast fields of Xi'an, Taiyuan, Yan'an, Suide, etc., often appearing under the eyes of the enemy, and organized peasants to fight against taxes and crimes. Donation, anti-rent, anti-grain, successfully led thousands of farmers to conquer the "egg factory" in Suide County and other famous struggles.The enemy hated him deeply, offered rewards for his arrest many times, and vowed to eliminate the Communist Party in northern Shaanxi.He was arrested twice, but each time he closely relied on the masses, escaped from the tiger's mouth bravely and wisely, smashed the enemy's conspiracy, and preserved and developed the party organization.Especially when the Soviet government in northern Shaanxi Province was established, he was elected as the chairman, cared more about the sufferings of the masses, often went to the homes of the masses, shared joys and sorrows, arranged production, worried about the urgency of the masses, thought about their thoughts, did everything possible to solve the problems for the masses, and handled disputes fairly The farmers affectionately called him "Old Horse", "Uncle Ma", and "Ma Qingguan".

In 1946, after more than four years of living behind bars, Comrade Mingfang returned to Yan'an from Xinjiang Prison under the rescue of the central government.I was working in the Organization Department of the Northwest Bureau at the time, and he was arranged in the cave on the same floor.Due to the long-term life in prison, his expression was a little dull. Most people he saw smiled and didn't talk much, but his eyes were shining brightly.Because he likes to take a walk in front of the cave, we have more contacts and conversations. I found that he is a bit cold on the outside, but his inner world is very warm.He has a strong interest in the production and life of the people in the border areas, and is very concerned about the cadres.Whenever he talked about a certain cadre, he was always full of passion and joy, and talked about his strengths and strengths with relish.He told me several times that we must maintain a comprehensive view of cadres, not only looking at his present, but also looking at the past, and more importantly, thinking about his future; we must treat each other with sincerity and open our hearts to cadres; we must follow good advice and help them improve; We should care about their sufferings, solve their problems, and more importantly, cultivate them.He said: The quality of work in a place depends not only on the performance of the work, but also on the number of cadres trained.His views are still relevant today.

One of the major achievements of the northern Shaanxi party organization is that it has trained a large number of cadres with both ability and political integrity for the party, providing the backbone for the liberation of the whole country.This group of cadres played an important role on all fronts, which is the contribution of the people of northern Shaanxi to the national revolution.This contribution is inseparable from the hard work of Comrade Mingfang.Later, I came into contact with a large number of leading cadres such as Cui Tianfu, Cui Tianmin, Zhang Dazhi, He Jinnian, Gao Langting, Howard, Bai Dongcai, Huang Luobin, Qiang Xiaochu, Gao Dengbang, Xie Huaide, Li Wanchun, and Ma Wanli. All of them are full of admiration for him, and have repeatedly praised him for his noble character of being loyal and honest to the party and the people, being fair and upright, being strict with himself, being lenient to others, being approachable, and being kind, especially his persuasive and tireless spirit of teaching comrades. The cadres have never forgotten that he is not only a good leader, but also a good teacher.

Before the war of self-defense began, the Central and Northwest Bureau decided to mobilize the masses to carry out land reform in order to meet the enemy's attack.The central government sent Kang Sheng and Hu Qiaomu to lead more than 200 cadres from the central government, and Ma Mingfang, Ma Wenrui, and Chang Lifu led the Longdong work team composed of some members of our Northwest Bureau.At that time, on the one hand, the enemy situation was serious, and at the same time, people's thinking was relatively chaotic.There is a erroneous idea that physically eliminates the landlords and attacks the middle peasants.He believed that the middle peasants were centrists, and that "the centrists are the most reactionary", and even suggested that "the middle peasants should be stained with blood" and "force them to go to Liangshan".Those who supported and agreed with this view were mainly Kang Sheng, and those who firmly opposed it were Hu Qiaomu and Ma Mingfang.Comrade Qiao Mu refuted it in theory, while Comrade Ming Fang pointed out from practical experience: "The land should be confiscated and distributed, and at the same time, it should be given a way out so that they can support themselves." Reliable friends, you must not infringe on their interests." It is precisely because they resolutely resisted this kind of "left" thinking that the land reform in the border areas was completed healthily and smoothly.Later, the central government first held the "December meeting" in Yangjiagou, Mizhi, and then held a land meeting in Xibaipo, Hebei. We saw the documents of the central government and became more aware of the harm of "Left" ideas, and we couldn't help but feel deeply. I appreciate Comrade Mingfang's spirit of seeking truth from facts.

After the enemy occupied Yan'an, in order to lure the enemy to go deep, our army moved northward. The enemy mistakenly thought that our army was going to cross the Yellow River eastward, so they attacked Wubao and Jiaxian all day and night.Comrade Ming Fang served as the deputy secretary of the Northwest Bureau, the competent authority and logistics.He judged that the enemy might have reached the bank of the Yellow River at noon the next day, but the families and supplies of the Northwest Bureau were still in Shuanghuyu, Jia County.In the afternoon of the same day, he immediately ordered me to take a correspondent to convey the order to send the troops and horses across the Yellow River as quickly as possible.We rushed all night, and finally arrived at the rear headquarters before dawn, and used all means to complete the mission of crossing the river.When we settled our family members and supplies in the village of Hedong, the enemy's vanguard troops indeed occupied the hills of Hexi. Although the enemy fired wildly, our troops were safe and sound, and the enemy could only look at the river and sigh.When we rejoice in our own luck, we can't help but sincerely praise Comrade Mingfang's foresight.However, the leading comrades of the Bank of the Border Region were not very vigilant at that time, and did not organize the crossing of the river until the enemy reached the bank. When the enemy fired violently from the hills, they panicked and dumped a large amount of gold and silver into the Yellow River, causing people's property to be destroyed. For undue losses, the main leaders of the bank were also punished.This makes us admire Comrade Mingfang's pragmatic and courageous style.

In 1954, the Gaorao incident occurred within the party. Comrade Ming Fang was then the deputy director of the Central Organization Department and the deputy secretary-general of the CPC Central Committee.In order to solve the problems of Gao Gang and Rao Shushi, the central government established two groups respectively.Comrade Mingfang was designated as the actual person in charge of the Gao Gang Group, and I was working in the Central Office at the time and was sent as a liaison officer.Gao Gang's issue is rather difficult and complicated, but he convened a meeting of people from all walks of life for more than 20 days, unified their understanding and made a conclusion.Since Gao Gang had a certain influence among the cadres in the northwest, after the meeting, the central government sent Comrade Mingfang to convey the message to the provinces in the northwest, and I also went with him.In dozens of days, I also received an extremely profound education.What particularly impresses me is that at the beginning, people had unrealistic views on the Gao Gang issue.Some people raised the issue very high and treated them as traitors and traitors; others thought it was just a matter of style.Comrade Ming Fang pointed out: (1) The essence of the Gao Gang problem is the vicious expansion of individualism, arrogance and complacency, and finally independence from the party, destroying the unity of the party. (2) The danger of the Gao Gang issue is the result of the bourgeoisie's corruption of the party.It is a manifestation of the bourgeoisie's attack. We must repel the bourgeoisie's attack and prevent it from happening. (3) The Gao Gang issue is Gao Gang's own business, and should not implicate anyone else.Gao Gang once made contributions to the revolution, and his ashes can still be stored in Babaoshan Cemetery.Comrade Mingfang's opinions not only clarified people's confused thoughts and relieved their worries, but also guided everyone to work hard to develop production and do a good job in economic construction.This is a manifestation of his responsibility to the party and the people, and it is also a concrete manifestation of his style of seeking truth from facts.

Comrade Ming Fang's fighting life in Xinjiang prison was originally a heroic song in his life.However, during the "Cultural Revolution", he was falsely accused of being the number one figure in the "traitor group" who "surrendered" to the enemy, and was detained and suffered a lot.The fact is that during the four years of imprisonment in Xinjiang, Comrade Mingfang first kept his name anonymous, and later became one of the leaders of the party organization in the prison. Water, standing on ashes, sitting in a black prison, stabbing his fingers, and sitting on a tiger bench, but his strong belief in the party and Chairman Mao has never wavered.The enemy used both soft and hard methods to sow discord, and they exposed them one by one. They also organized several hunger strikes without losing the opportunity, trying to improve the life in prison.Comrade Mingfang once told me solemnly: In the face of the enemy's torture and threats, you cannot waver in the slightest. As long as you stand firm, especially withstood the first torture, the enemy will have nothing to do with you, and you will be stronger in the future. Be strong.This is his valuable experience in the prison struggle, and it is also a concrete manifestation of his struggle in Xinjiang prisons.

However, during the "Cultural Revolution" when the "Gang of Four" was rampant, he was detained for eight years on the charge of "traitor", which made him suffer a lot.Although he repeatedly reported the truth about his detention in Xinjiang, it was of no avail.In the end, he was tortured to the point of insanity, even crawling and walking, but he still firmly believed in the Party and the Central Committee, often shouting in his sleep: "Chairman Mao! Chairman Mao, I did not rebel against the Party, I am not a traitor." But no one paid attention to him, He finally passed away on August 13, 1974.

What is extremely distressing is that shortly before his death, ironclad evidence was found from the enemy's archives, which read: Ma Mingfang was "obstinate by nature", "learned to sing the Internationale, and demanded the return of Marxist-Leninist books, making troubles unreasonable"; Said that he was "obsessed with obsession", "abnormally stubborn"...etc.This is the enemy's description of him from the negative side, and it is also ironclad evidence, which fully proves the fact that he is steadfast in front of the enemy.The central authorities finally rehabilitated him based on a large number of facts and enemy files.However, at this time, he had returned to the west by the crane, and he could not see the conclusion.Some people calculated that Ma Mingfang's rehabilitated conclusion was only 23 days away from his death. What a heartbreaking and heart-rending thing!This is the heinous crime of the "Gang of Four", and people will put hatred on their account.Comrade Mingfang was loyal, unyielding, and aboveboard all his life, and he will remain in people's hearts forever.