Chapter 14 Chapter 4 Triumphs and Setbacks

In September 1931, after crushing the enemy's third counter-revolutionary "encirclement and suppression campaign", the Third Red Army took a short-term rest and reorganization in the Lefeng area of ​​Yudu County, northwest of Huichang. Red Fifth Army: Our Red Sixth Division was renamed the Red Second Division. Guo Bingsheng was still the division commander, Peng Xuefeng was still the political commissar, and the numbers of the fifth, sixth, and seventh regiments under it remained unchanged.After reorganization, Long Changhan and I were ordered to lead the Seventh Red Regiment to Anyuan to carry out mass work and consolidate and develop new revolutionary bases.

In late October, the Kuomintang army besieging our Central Soviet Area was forced to retreat to the two lines from Ji'an to Ganzhou and Ningdu to Guangchang, and switched to the defensive position. Our army took advantage of this favorable opportunity to mobilize the masses in the vast rural areas on the border between Fujian and Jiangxi to attack local tyrants and divide their fields. Or fundraising, popularization, and it is in full swing.The poor peasants rejoiced, and many young and middle-aged peasants enthusiastically joined the Red Army; while the landlords and gentry were frightened by the prestige of our army, they took their families and led their Jingwei regiments to flee to the county or to other places, stubbornly resisting.

At the beginning of November, the Third Red Army ordered the Third Red Division operating in Xunzhou and Huichang to attack Huichang City, wipe out the local tyrants and bandits who had fled into Huichang City from Ruijin, Yudu, Ningdu, Xingguo, Shicheng and other areas, and dug out the area. The poisonous root of the reactionary forces.However, Huichang City is relatively strong, and the local tyrants and bandits entrenched in the city continue to receive air support from the Kuomintang army, so they are more stubborn. They built fortifications and defended to the death. very big.On the 26th, the head of the Fifth Red Army ordered the Second Red Division to send our Seventh Regiment to quickly reinforce Huichang and take over the Ninth Red Regiment to capture the South Gate.

At that time, our Red Seventh Regiment was doing mass work in the Anyuan area, which is nearly a hundred miles away from Huichang City. After receiving the order, the regiment leader Long Changhan and I immediately assembled the team and rushed to Huichang overnight.At dawn on the 27th, we rushed to the south gate of Huichang City on time to take over the siege task of the Red Ninth Regiment after a whole night of rapid march of nearly a hundred miles. After digging through the tunnel and blasting the city wall, they attacked the city again, and refused to give us the task. After repeated persuasion by the head of the Red Third Division, they reluctantly withdrew to rest.I have long been known for the tenacious fighting style of the Red Ninth Regiment. I have fought many beautiful battles in the past. This time I encountered Huichang, a hard nail. Although the casualties were heavy, the morale was still very strong. This fighting spirit inspired our Red Seventh Regiment commanders and fighters It was very big, and everyone promised the comrades in the Ninth Regiment with one voice: "You can go at ease, we will definitely capture Huichang City and avenge the martyrs who died!"

Captain Long and I went close to the city wall to observe. From the analysis of the battle situation for many days, although the brothers' troops have not yet overcome the attack, the casualties of the defending enemy are also very large. Carry out a political offensive, and then concentrate firepower on assault. When our Red Seventh Regiment was preparing to attack the city, we suddenly heard a loud bang, and then saw a column of flames and smoke rising from the enemy's south gate wall, and the enemy's city wall was blown open a big gap , The city tower was also shaken to the point where most of it collapsed.It turned out that the engineer company of the Third Red Division dug the tunnel on the evening of the 26th, and successfully blasted it at dawn today.

"It's not good, the city wall has been blown down!" Cries and shouts came from the enemy's half-collapsed city tower, and the defenders were completely thrown into chaos.This is a good time to launch a political offensive against the enemy.I immediately organized the soldiers to shout: "Brothers in the White Army, your city wall has collapsed, and you will die if you continue to resist!" "You are already surrounded, surrender quickly, and surrender your guns!" When the reinforcements arrived, the morale of the army was shaken, and they dared not resist any longer. The gunshots on the towers gradually faded away.Taking advantage of the moment when the enemy's firepower weakened, Captain Long and I personally led the troops to attack the city from the gap in the city wall, and took down the guns of the remaining enemies on the half-collapsed tower. The battle was over in three hours.After more than 20 days of siege of Huichang City, the battle finally won. More than 800 defenders were annihilated, Ouyang Lin, the commander-in-chief of the Jing Bandit, was killed, and Shi Chenghan, the county magistrate of the Kuomintang, was captured alive.This battle made me realize the power of combining political offensive and assault.After conquering Huichang City, the Fifth Red Army successively conquered the two counties of Xunzou and Anyuan, further mobilized the masses, established political power, formed local armed forces, and expanded the Red Army. The situation in the Central Soviet Area was excellent.At this time, our Red Seventh Regiment was ordered to enter Luotianwei in Huichang County to continue to carry out mass work.

Before we settled in Luotianxu, several local tyrants who had heard the news had fled to a lonely mountain more than 20 miles west of Luotianxu under the protection of their family members and secretly ordered them to instigate The dog legs went down the mountain to inquire about news, threatened the masses, and made it difficult for us to carry out our work. The mountain occupied by landlords and local tyrants is a bare isolated rocky mountain, about 200 to 300 meters high, with a temple on the top of the mountain. People usually go up to the mountain to worship the gods. The incense is very strong, and the landlords and local tyrants hide in the temple.The east, south, and north sides of this mountain are all cliffs, which cannot be climbed. Only a winding path can lead to the top of the mountain on the west side, but you must pass a small suspension bridge to enter the earth buried in front of the temple. Relying on this dangerous terrain, a fortress was built at the head of the suspension bridge, and a few guns were used to guard the mountain road and the suspension bridge.On the second day after we were stationed at the fair, we sent the reconnaissance platoon leader to take a few scouts up the mountain in the dark, but the enemy sentries usually put away the suspension bridge, and only put the suspension bridge when they saw their own people.The reconnaissance platoon leader could not pass and had to return.I went to the foot of the mountain to observe the terrain with the head of the regiment Long Changhan and the deputy head of Wu Zhili. Everyone believed that if the troops were used to attack from the front, it would definitely cause heavy casualties.Deputy head Wu Zhili volunteered to organize the surprise attack.

One day in early December, Wu Zhili disguised himself as an old woman, scout Long Feihu and other seven or eight young people dressed up as little girls.They carried bamboo baskets containing incense, candles, paper money and offerings, pistols and lemon grenades hidden in their waists, and walked up the mountain like village girls going to temples to offer incense.Wu Zhili was born as an old scout. He is not tall, with a thin body and a dark face. In addition, he imitates the walking posture of an old woman. Dressing up as a village woman is really lifelike.Long Feihu and other scouts selected some handsome, intelligent and quick-witted teenagers in their 14th or 15th year. After disguised and dressed up, they looked like a group of beautiful village girls, and it was difficult to find any flaws.

When the scouts climbed to the top of the mountain and approached the suspension bridge, the enemy sentry yelled, "What are you doing?" Wu Zhili stepped forward calmly and answered, "Cousin, my grandson is sick, and I'm here to ask the Buddha to bless me!" "What about them?" the enemy sentinel asked again.The scouts answered in a haphazard manner on purpose, some said: "The village is haunted by ghosts, it's not peaceful, go up the mountain to worship the gods to keep you safe"; The enemy sentries didn't mind much when they saw that the people who came were old women and girls, and lowered the suspension bridge to let "them" pass.

Wu Zhili and the scouts crossed the suspension bridge and walked straight to the temple with their heads down, pretending to be pious, but they glanced around quietly from the corners of their eyes. They saw that most of the landlords and local tyrants and their families and servants were basking in the sun on the earthen square at the entrance of the temple. A lazy one, secretly happy in his heart.When they entered the temple gate, they put the prepared chicken, meat, fruit and other offerings on the incense table and burned the incense. Wu Zhili knelt on the straw mat in front of the incense table with three sticks of incense in his hands, kowtowed and prayed, and observed the movement around him; some scouts burned incense and candles, and some burned paper money. Concentrate on the deputy head Wu Zhili, waiting for his order.Wu Zhili saw that there were only seven or eight family members wandering back and forth in the temple, and watched them walking around curiously. Several rifles were set up by the wall, with bullet bags hanging from the muzzles. Prevent fire accident and kill your own family.After observing clearly, he signaled everyone to prepare to do something.

Seeing that the scouts were all ready, Wu Zhili immediately took out his pistol and shouted at the enemies in the temple: "Don't move, raise your hands. We are the Red Army, and anyone who dares to move will be killed!" , The scouts also showed their pistols and grenades.According to the division of labor before the battle, three scouts rushed out of the temple gate with their guns raised, aimed their guns at the backs of the enemy sentries, and surrendered their guns.The landlords and local tyrants were unprepared for this sudden attack, and they were all stunned.When they realized that standing in front of them was the Red Army they feared the most, they collapsed on the ground, kowtowed like garlic, and repeatedly shouted, "Red Army Lord, spare your life, Red Army Lord, spare your life!" Wu Zhili immediately gathered all the captives into the temple. There were about 30 to 40 people, old and young, and he warned them to sit quietly and not talk or move.At this time, some scouts temporarily unloaded the guns of the eight or nine captured rifles and wrapped them in flowered scarves to prevent the enemy from seizing the guns; .The response troops lying in ambush at the foot of the mountain heard the news and hurried up the mountain.Everyone happily escorted the captives and returned to Luotianxu with a lot of seized property. After listening to Wu Zhili's report on the smart capture of landlords and local tyrants, I admired their wit and bravery very much. On the same day, I wrote a simple report to Political Commissar Peng Xuefeng and asked the head of the division to give him praise.The next day, Political Commissar Peng wrote an article "Men Disguised as Women, Burned Incense and Worshiped Gods, Captured Landlords and Local Tyrants" in the "Smash News" run by the Ministry of Political Affairs based on my report, publicizing the deeds of Wu Zhili and the scouts. .This report had a very good response in the whole division. A few days later, Political Commissar Peng Xuefeng came to our Seventh Regiment to inspect the work. On the streets of Luotianxu, he saw a cadre of our regiment wandering in the street wearing a woolen suit paid by local tyrants. He was very angry and criticized him face to face. This cadre.After arriving at the regiment headquarters, he criticized the leaders of our regiment for not strictly implementing the discipline of "returning everything seized to the public" and strict military discipline, insufficient education for the troops, and lax management.I immediately made a self-criticism, accepted criticism humbly, and asked political commissar Peng to speak at the cadre meeting of the whole regiment, and educate the cadres of the whole regiment again.The next day, after political commissar Peng returned to the division headquarters, he wrote a critical article in the "Storm News" entitled "Extraordinary Clothes, Available in the Seventh Regiment". similar error.Seven or eight scouts, including Long Feihu, who dressed up as a village girl in the battle to capture landlords and local tyrants, returned to Luoxu, saw that the captured silver bowls and chopsticks were very delicately carved, and thought it was very interesting, so they secretly took them. A pair of silver bowls and chopsticks, if you want to use it to serve food, it is beautiful and unbreakable, making others greedy.Unexpectedly, the silver bowls and chopsticks would burn your hands and mouth when eating porridge.When they heard that Political Commissar Peng criticized the cadres' confiscation and not returning it to the public, and published it in the newspaper, they were so frightened that they hurriedly conducted a self-criticism and handed over the silver bowls and chopsticks. Commissar Peng Xuefeng used newspapers to praise and criticize these two things, which inspired me a lot. Since then, when I do political work, I have paid more attention to the role of newspapers. A powerful tool for this job.