Chapter 20 Political battles in the Western Expedition

On May 14, 1936, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held a meeting of cadres above the regiment level (the "Daxiangsi Meeting") in Daxiangsi Village, Yanchuan County, northern Shaanxi, to summarize the experience of the Anti-Japanese Vanguard Army's "Eastern Expedition Campaign".At the same time, in order to consolidate the Shaanxi-Gansu base areas, develop westward, expand the Red Army and anti-Japanese base areas, and open up connections with the Red Fourth Front Army and the Red Second Front Army in the south, so as to realize the joining forces of the three main forces of the Red Army. On May 18, the Central Revolutionary Military Commission According to the political and military situation at that time, it was decided to use the 1st, 15th Army Corps, 28th Army, 29th Army, 81st Division and Cavalry Regiment of the Red Front Army with a total of more than 15,000 troops. The Western Field Army was formed, with Peng Dehuai as the commander and political commissar, Nie Heting as the chief of staff, and Liu Xiao as the director of the political department, leading the troops to march westward to Gansu and Ningxia.

In late May, just a few days after I returned to the 11th Regiment of the 4th Red Division after attending the "Daxiangsi Conference", I received an order from the Military Commission to serve as the director of the Political Department of the 81st Red Division and participate in the Western Expedition.The 81st Red Army Division was drawn down from the 26th Red Army that had persisted in the struggle in the Shaanxi-Gansu base areas. Most of the troops were peasants who had turned over from northern Shaanxi. The spirit of bearing hardships and standing hard work is very good, and has a certain combat effectiveness.He Jinnian, the division commander, and Li Zonggui, director of the Political Department, were both from northern Shaanxi; Zhang Mingxian, the political commissar, was a cadre of the former 15th Red Army.On the eve of the Western Expedition, both He Jinnian and Zhang Mingxian were transferred to study at the Anti-Japanese Red Army University, and Li Zonggui succeeded as political commissar.In order to strengthen the leadership of the 81st Division, the Military Commission successively transferred Wen Niansheng, Li Shouxuan and me, as well as several regiment-level cadres, from the First Front Army to work in the 81st Division.Wen Niansheng served as the teacher, and Li Shouxuan served as the chief of staff.

When I received the transfer order, the 81st Division had been combined with the 15th Army Corps and the Cavalry Corps to form the Right Route Army, which was assembled from Yanchuan to New Castle with the Western Field Army Command.Wen Niansheng and I hurried to catch up with the troops.As soon as we arrived in New Castle, Political Commissar Li Zonggui enthusiastically introduced the situation to us, and personally presided over a welcome meeting attended by all the commanders and fighters of the division.Mr. Wen Niansheng and I both spoke at the meeting, and the whole venue was filled with an atmosphere of unity and fighting.This meeting can also be said to be a mobilization meeting for the Western Expedition.

On May 27, the main force of the Red Fifteenth Army of the Right Route Army set off from New Castle.On the 28th, the 73rd Division attacked and occupied Ningtiaoliang (now Liangzhen); the 75th Division attacked Anbian Weike, and continued westward, and the 78th Division besieged Anbian.At this time, just a few days after I arrived in New Castle, the 81st Division was stationed in Ningtiaoliang with the Field Army Command to stand by.Our division took advantage of this opportunity to carry out combat readiness training and educate the troops on the situation and tasks, repeatedly clarifying the great significance of the Western Expedition and boosting morale.In education, based on the fact that the Anbian and Dingbian areas are places where Hui compatriots live together, as well as our work experience when we passed through Hui areas during the Long March, we focused on educating the troops on ethnic policies and mass discipline, and reiterated that "it is forbidden to station mosques, It is forbidden to eat big meat in Hui people's homes, and it is forbidden to beat local tyrants among Hui people" and other "prohibitions"; the troops are required to strictly abide by the three major disciplines and eight points of attention, especially to respect the customs and habits of Hui compatriots, for example: it is not allowed to say in front of Hui people The word "pig" is not allowed to borrow Hui people's tableware, and it is not allowed to bring pork into Hui people's homes, etc.The troops have been educated and trained, and their fighting spirit is more high-spirited.

On June 10, the Western Field Army, according to the instructions of the Military Commission, decided that the Red 15th Army, the main force of the Right Route Army (the 78th Division was temporarily absent), would continue to advance southwest and seize Xiaotaizi, Mengcheng, Yuwang County and the area to the north. , and occupied Tongxin City with some troops.In addition, the Red 28th Army, our 81st Division and the Cavalry Regiment formed the Central Route Army (also known as the North Route Army), responsible for capturing Anbian, Dingbian, Duiziliang and other places, and in the south to Xuehaokou and Xiaohe. , to Dingbian and Yanchi in the west, to Suiyuan (now Inner Mongolia) in the north, and to the old base in the east to carry out the task of redification work in this vast area and prepare to destroy the enemy's reinforcements.In order to strengthen the strength of the Central Route Army, the Military Commission decided that our 81st Division would take over the tasks of the Red 78th Division to besiege Anbian and attack and aid the enemy. After his mission, he returned to the establishment of the Red Fifteenth Army.

In the early morning of June 16th, the Red Seventy-eighth Division took advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness, attacked and occupied the border town in one fell swoop, and wiped out Ma Hongkui's troops to defend the enemy; Annihilate Ma Hongkui's two cavalry companies and militia regiments defending the enemy with a total of more than 200 people, surrendering more than 200 guns and more than 200 horses, and dealt a powerful blow to the anti-communist diehard Ma Hongfeng.During this period, our division attacked Anbian again but it didn't work. Anbian is located in the west of northern Shaanxi, adjacent to Ningxia and Suiyuan. It is close to the ancient Great Wall in the north and Dingbian in the west. important.But Anbian Town is small, with strong walls, and defending the enemy is about one regiment of the 86th Division of the Kuomintang, Gao Shuangcheng, with sufficient troops; while our 81st Division has only two regiments, the 242nd and 243rd (less than the 24th) One regiment), the strength is only about a thousand people, and there is a lack of firearms for attacking fortifications.Moreover, Anbian City is surrounded by deserts, and the terrain is open, so fortifications cannot be built.Therefore, although Anbian is small, it is a "hard bone" that is very difficult to chew.The Red 75th Division and our 81st Division attacked twice and failed to conquer. Later, the field army headquarters ordered our division to "siege the city and fight for aid" according to the actual situation.

On June 24, a regiment under Gao Shuangcheng of the 86th Division of the Kuomintang stationed in Hengshan, northern Shaanxi, was ordered to advance westward in an attempt to break the siege of Anbian and control our army's line of communication.Hengshan is only more than 200 kilometers away from Anbian. According to the normal marching speed, it can be reached in four or five days.However, the Gao Shuangcheng Department is a local miscellaneous army with poor military quality; at that time, the Japanese imperialist claws of aggression had extended to North China, endangering the security of the Northwest region. They were already dissatisfied with the reactionary policy of "the outside must first secure the inside" and were already tired of fighting a civil war. Therefore, the regiment dawdled on the way for nearly twenty days, and only arrived outside Anbian City on July 13.

The enemy's aid was long overdue, and our teacher waited for work with ease.Before the war, the whole division carried out full political mobilization and put forward specific battle slogans.We propose to the besieging company: "Be brave and firm, and prevent the enemy from breaking through!" to the aiding company: "Calmly face the battle, and resolutely beat the enemy back!" Meetings were also held to ensure that they played an exemplary role and led the masses to complete combat tasks.After mobilization before the war, the whole division was very eager to fight, and they all wanted to make contributions on the battlefield.

At that time, although Anbian City was surrounded by a desert, it was impossible to build fortifications, but the ancient Great Wall extending from the north to the southeast of Anbian City, after thousands of years of wind and sand erosion and burial, still faintly exposed a line of ancient Great Wall ruins, just like a long line. Snaking up and down in the desert like a snake, it can barely be used as a support for our defense.Before the start of the battle, Master Wen considered that if Anbian was allowed to defend the enemy to break through and cooperate with the aid of the enemy, our division would fall into the predicament of "being attacked by the enemy".Therefore, he deployed a small number of troops and deployed several light and heavy machine guns to seal off the gate of Anbian City to prevent the defending enemy from breaking through, and flanked our division back and forth.

When Gao Shuangcheng's troops started to attack, they came aggressively, attacking from east to west, trying to break through our division's defense line in one fell swoop, and join up with Anbian defending the enemy.They first shot at me with fierce manpower, and then the officials drove the soldiers towards my position shouting "Chong" and "Kill".Our division occupies favorable terrain, and the enemy's actions in the desert are completely exposed to my sight and range of fire.Mr. Wen Niansheng is usually mature and prudent, he is kind to people, and is loved by the soldiers; he is very calm and calm in battle, and often goes to the front line in person, commands flexibly and decisively, and is very heroic.Li Zonggui's political commissar is a cadre trained and grown from the company. He usually practiced good marksmanship. He took part in the battle while commanding. The heroism that overwhelms all enemies.Teacher Wen, Political Commissar Li, Chief of Staff Li and I were all in command on the ground, and put forward some encouraging slogans at the right time to inspire fighting spirit.On the surface, although the enemy's firepower is fierce and their shouts of "kill" are loud, most of them are either tired of fighting, or greedy for life and fear of death.When they approached my position, our army responded with sudden and heavy fire, and they immediately turned around and ran back.In this way, from morning to evening, we repelled several attacks by the reinforcements, and the enemies in Anbian City did not dare to leave the city.At night, the enemy aid quietly retreated to Duiziliang.

After repelling and aiding the enemy, within a few days, I received a call from Liu Xiao, director of the Political Department of the Western Field Army, asking me to go to the Political Department of the Dingbian Field Army immediately.I urged my horse to Dingbian Town.Director Liu Xiao told me that after our army conquered Dingbian and Yanchi, it spread anti-Japanese and national salvation propaganda in this area, which had a great political influence.Gao Gang, director of the Mongolian Work Department of the Northwest Nationalities Committee, carried out anti-Japanese national united front work among the Mongolian leaders in the Suiyuan area, and achieved results.Now, the leaders of the Mongolian nationality sent people to contact us, wanting to form an alliance with us and jointly resist the Japanese.This is a good opportunity for the united front. In the future, the 81st Division may enter the Suiyuan area to carry out the redification work, so I was specially invited to Dingbian to form an alliance with the Mongolian representatives. The long-term nomadic life of the Mongolian compatriots has made them like the boundless grassland, and they have developed a magnanimous, bold and broad mind, and a strong character that is not afraid of ice, snow, and storms.The nature of the Mongolian alliance is similar to that of the Han nationality's "worship of others". Once they become brothers, they will share joys and sorrows and help each other sincerely.In this alliance, our army has Liu Xiao, Gao Gang and me; the Mongolian compatriots have four representatives of Mongolian leaders. The alliance ceremony was solemnly held according to Mongolian customs.First of all, everyone reports their own birthday, and then arranges them according to the year and month of birth. The older ones are brothers, and the younger ones are younger brothers.At that time, a Mongolian compatriot was the oldest and respected as the elder brother: I was the youngest, the seventh.After the ceremony started, I brought a basin of clear water with a copper washbasin and brought it to the eldest brother. The eldest brother took out a silver dollar from his robe, gently put it into the basin, and then washed his hands in the copper basin.Then, from the second child to the sixth child, wash their hands in turn, but no longer put in silver dollars.Finally, it was my turn to wash my hands, and I went to the gate with the copper basin, fished out the silver dollar, put it in my arms (the silver dollar belongs to my younger brother), and then poured the water from washing on the courtyard wall.After everyone washes their hands, it means that their bodies and minds are clean and they will be united forever. After the ceremony, put on a banquet and indulge in concentric wine.This banquet was very rich, not only beef and mutton, but also seafood delicacies such as sea cucumber and shark's fin.I heard that high-grade seafood such as sea cucumbers are the victorious products seized from Ma Hongkui's troops. I tasted sea cucumbers for the first time and felt very delicious.The drinking capacity of the Mongolian brothers is astonishing.I drank a few sips of baijiu, and my face turned red, but each of them drank at least a catty of baijiu, and sang while drinking, dancing, seeming drunk but not drunk. . This alliance is the result of the united front work of our Western Field Army.Unfortunately, within a few days, my 81st Division was transferred to Tianshui Fort on standby, and I was unable to continue to communicate with my Mongolian compatriots.Since then, the soldiers and horses have been hustling, and the world has been separated.In September 1948, when we marched into Suiyuan and liberated Baotou, I also inquired about the whereabouts of these Mongolian compatriots who were allied with me. In late July, our division was ordered to hand over the task of besieging Anbian to the 28th Red Army, and moved westward to Tianshuibao at the junction of Gansu and Ningxia to rest and stand by for the second and fourth front armies to join forces.Sweet Water Fort, as the name suggests, is famous for its sweet water.In the Loess Plateau area, the water flowing out of the valleys in many places looks clear and crystal clear, which is very gratifying, but when you drink it, it is bitter and astringent, and it also has a smell of nitrate, so you can't drink it at all; Just diarrhea.Therefore, the local people rely on digging puddles to store some rainwater and snowwater for a year during the rainy season. Dripping water is as expensive as oil.The troops stationed in these areas, in order not to compete with the masses for water, often have to send tolerances to far away valleys to find puddles, and scoop up some sweet water for cooking.Now stationed in Tianshui Castle, with Tianshui, the troops are in a particularly high mood. On August 1st, the ninth anniversary of the founding of the army, the whole division held a sports meeting in Tianshuibao. There were tug-of-war competitions between companies, track and field competitions such as high jump, long jump, and parallel bars, as well as armed running, shooting, and bombing. , Assassination and other military sports competitions, as well as the "Current Affairs, Political Questions and Answers, Literacy and Arithmetic Race" created by the Red Army itself, that is, athletes run 100 meters first, and then answer several current affairs and political questions or write several new words and do several arithmetic. Finally, run another 100 meters to the finish line, skillfully combining the study of politics, culture and sports.The athletes fought for the championship as if they were on the battlefield. Although the venue was not good and some rules were not so strict, the fierce anger everyone showed was indeed a review of the combat effectiveness of the troops. In August, our teacher carried out mass work while training in Tianshuibao.On August 31, the field army headquarters issued an order to continue to develop westward. In early September, our division set off from Tianshui Fort and marched towards Liwang Fort southwest of Yuwang Fort in Ningxia. Liwangbao is located on the west bank of Qingshui River. It was the dry season at that time. The river was very shallow and the river beach was open. The city wall of Liwangbao was relatively high. small town.To attack the city, the Red Army had to pass hundreds of meters of open land on the river beach before wading close to the city wall.Therefore, after inspecting the terrain, the leading cadres of our division agreed that: Liwangbao has sufficient troops and favorable terrain, but we are in a disadvantaged position and lack weapons to attack fortified areas. At the combat meeting, Master Wen and Political Commissar Li talked about their opinions on outsmarting, and I also talked about my own views and opinions: ""Sun Tzu's Art of War" said: "Soldiers who surrender without fighting are the ones who are good," meaning Making the enemy submit without fighting is the most brilliant of all wisdom. I think the strategy proposed by everyone is indeed the best policy, because although Ma Hongbin obeyed Chiang Kai-shek’s orders and had a relatively stubborn reactionary stance, most Hui officers and soldiers have strong national self-esteem Moreover, when our Western Expeditionary Army first entered Ningxia, Ma Hongbin's troops were attacked by our Red Front Army in Huanxian County and Quzi Town, and he still had lingering fears when he saw our Red Army. , they are now trapped in an isolated city, isolated, helpless, and terrified. Under such circumstances, as Commander Peng Dehuai pointed out: "One slogan is worth ten bullets." As long as we follow the instructions of the Central Committee on carrying out the work of the enemy army, and actively promote the anti-Japanese national salvation According to the principle, doing a good job in the united front can turn the enemy into a friend and strive for the peaceful liberation of Liwangbao.” After the division party committee researched and agreed with my suggestion, I sent Tan Guansan, the political commissar of the 242nd regiment, Wang Xueli, the secretary of the general branch, Luo Yuanxin, the political commissar of the 243rd regiment, Li Hansheng, the secretary of the general branch, and Hu Baoshun, the chief of the propaganda section of the division, and the chief of the sabotage section ( That is, Yuan Lin, the head of the enemy's engineering section, came to him and conveyed the division's party committee's instructions to outmaneuver Li Wangbao, and asked the two regiments to go back to mobilize the masses and actively launch political offensives against the enemy. When the masses are mobilized, there are many ways.For a while, all the teachers worked together, some made paper microphones, carved bows and arrows, some made kites and pasted "Kongming lanterns", some wrote slogans and printed leaflets. preparations for a political offensive.The soldiers tied up the kite, tied the leaflets to the tail of the kite, and then lit incense. When the kite flew downwind over Liwangbao, the incense burned the thin silk that bound the leaflets, and the colorful leaflets looked like "the goddess scattered flowers". The ground fell into the city of Liwangbao.However, due to inexperience and lack of incense when starting to fly kites, some kites scattered before flying over Liwangbao.The next day, I personally went to inspect the fall of the leaflets and instructed the regiments to improve their operations. This kind of "political shell" soon hit almost every shot. What's more interesting is to put the "Kung Ming Lantern".It is said that before the death of Zhuge Liang in the late period of the Three Kingdoms, he was afraid that the "handsome star" would fall after his death. Sima Yi, the general of the Wei State, came to attack him. The sealed paper tube is pasted on the bamboo ring, and a piece of rag is tied with iron wire in the middle of the bamboo ring, dipped in oil, and then lit on fire. Using the rising force of the oil fume, the paper lanterns fly into the night sky, just like there are still lights in the sky. It's like hanging a "handsome star".Of course, this is a folklore, not necessarily a fact, but the folk custom of setting off "Kongming Lanterns" on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival exists everywhere.The soldiers then used the "Kung Ming Lantern" as a tool of political offensive, and put it in the city of Liwangbao with the wind.Ma Hongbin's officers and soldiers looked up at the night sky to watch the "Kongming Lantern", and they were able to pick up the leaflets floating down! I also led the propaganda teams of each company through the propaganda team of the division to go to the surrounding villages during the day to promote the anti-Japanese war. people!" "The guns are open, unite to resist the Japanese!" Shouted for a while, and sang some anti-Japanese songs.Propaganda team member Liu Zhanrong and other comrades are all thirteen or fourteen-year-old "red ghosts", and their songs are particularly beautiful.The defenders in the city listened with bated breath, and every sentence touched their heartstrings and aroused a strong resonance.Sometimes the propaganda team also stuck leaflets and letters on arrow shafts without arrowheads and shot them at the top of the city. Suddenly, a message was sent from the battlements: "The dog is coming!" Then, two clear gunshots of "Pua, Ba" broke the silence of the night.The propaganda team members knew that in order to strengthen the control of the non-directed troops, the Kuomintang secret service would send several "Blue Shirts" spies to monitor it.The lower-level officers and soldiers hated these spies very much and called them "running dogs" behind their backs.Therefore, when the spies came out to inspect, Ma Hongbin's soldiers on the battlements called the Red Army in this way.After the propaganda team received the alarm, they immediately suspended the propaganda and hid on the spot, and waited for the city spies to inform: "The dog has escaped, let's sing again!" The propaganda team continued the propaganda. We promoted it for several days.At the beginning, only the soldiers in the city quietly listened to the propaganda and read the leaflets. Later, the lower-ranking officers, battalion and regiment commanders also came to listen. Friendly too. I reported the situation to the division party committee, and everyone thought it was time for the fire, so I wrote an "open letter" to the head of the enemy cavalry regiment horse and the officers and soldiers of the whole regiment, and told Yuan Lin, the chief of the sabotage section, to send someone to send the Send this letter, and bring a few sheep as presents.In the evening of the next day, Section Chief Yuan sent someone to lead a few fat sheep and took the "open letter" to the Qingshui River Beach. They pressed the sheep rope under a big rock, and then pressed the letter on the big rock with a small stone. Come back to our position. The main idea of ​​this "open letter" I wrote is: the Japanese invaders are rampant, people are dying, and the Chinese people are at the critical moment of national subjugation and genocide.Our army was ordered to march westward, to promote and mobilize the masses to fight against Japan. I hope that your army will use the spirit of "brothers read outside the wall to resist their insults" and not obey Chiang Kai-shek's orders to fight the Anti-Japanese Red Army, but to join forces with the Red Army to fight against Japan.At the same time, he pointed out that Liwangbao was surrounded by our anti-Japanese soldiers and civilians, and asked your army to withdraw from Liwangbao automatically and return to the original station. Our army guarantees the safety of your army and will send you off warmly.Sure enough, after a while, the defenders of Liwangbao sent people to wade across the river bank to take away the sheep, and brought back the "open letter". Wanburg. On the morning when Ma Hongbin’s cavalry regiment withdrew, the sky was exceptionally clear. The rising sun reflected the Qingshui River and the wide sandy beach.I checked the movement on both sides of the Qingshui River and found nothing unusual, so I sent some troops to line up on the beach on the east bank of the Qingshui River with their hands (most of the troops were still preparing for sudden incidents). The buglers gathered together to improvise a marching band.When the Liwangbao garrison cavalry regiment opened the city gate and retreated south along the west bank of the river, our military band immediately blew a friendly and solemn salute on the east bank of the river; the soldiers in line beat gongs, drums, Shout slogans to express a warm farewell.The officers and soldiers of the cavalry regiment were very moved when they saw that our Red Army treated each other sincerely. After walking a long distance, they stopped their horses and turned back to wave goodbye to our army frequently. After we sent Ma Hongbin's cavalry regiment away, we immediately assembled our troops and stationed in Fort Liwang to rest and stand by. We used this opportunity to go deep into towns and nearby villages to mobilize the masses and expand the Red Army.Late September is late autumn, the autumn wind is howling, and the temperature is dropping day by day. It is time to prepare winter quilts for the troops.Although the Loess Plateau does not produce cotton, it is rich in wool. According to the instructions of the headquarters, we used local materials and mobilized the entire division to twist woolen yarn, knit sweaters, woolen socks, and woolen gloves. Most of the soldiers came from peasants in northern Shaanxi. According to the old traditional concept, spinning and twisting is the work of women, so they were unwilling to do it at the beginning of the mobilization; and the hands who are used to holding hoe handles and guns are really awkward and clumsy in doing the work of twisting and weaving wool Yes, the thickness of the twisted thread is uneven, the knitting stitches are chaotic, the spinning rudder is broken, the wool needle is folded, and the phenomenon of cursing is common.However, after repeated persuasion and education, everyone understands that weaving wool with twisted yarn can keep you warm in the winter and ensure your health. It is also for the purpose of resisting Japan and revolution.After everyone's thinking was cleared up, coupled with actively organizing mutual teaching and learning, and carrying out revolutionary competitions, they quickly mastered the essentials. The more they worked, the more proficient they became, the more emotional they became, and the progress was greatly accelerated.At this time, the comrades were very happy to learn that the Second and Fourth Front Army of the Red Army had advanced from Gannan to Ningxia and were about to join forces with the First Front Army of the Red Army. They were thinking about what gifts to give to the brothers?Everyone thought that the comrades of the Second and Fourth Front Army of the Red Army traveled long distances and went through hardships. Now that the cold winter is approaching, there must be a lack of warm clothes. Therefore, according to the spirit of the notice from the Political Department of the Field Army, we made more sweaters and knitted more pairs of gloves. , Wool socks, prepared as a meeting ceremony for the meeting of the three main forces. On October 9th, the First Red Army and the Fourth Red Army joined forces in Huining. A few days later, our division sent people to send a batch of sweaters, socks, and wool gloves to the Fourth Red Army of the Fourth Red Army as a token of condolence.When the cold winter came, comrades of the Fourth Red Army put on sweaters, wool socks, and wool gloves to keep out the cold, and they all felt the class affection of the comrades-in-arms of the Red Front Army from the bottom of their hearts. On October 22, the Second Red Army arrived at Jiangtaibao, north of Jingning, and joined forces with our First Red Army. So far, the three main forces of our Red Army have successfully joined forces in the northwest, which greatly encouraged the people of the whole country. It was a heavy blow to Chiang Kai-shek's reactionary policy of anti-communism.In a rage, Chiang Kai-shek flew to Lintong, Xi'an to supervise the battle, dispatched troops and generals to attack our Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia base area, trying to wipe out our army in one fell swoop when our army's foothold was not stable. In order to break the enemy's attack and consolidate the base areas of Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia, the Military Commission decided to concentrate its forces to wipe out the 78th Division of Hu Zongnan, the most stubborn enemy of Chiang Kai-shek's direct line.Our 81st Division was ordered to stand by near Liwangbao and on the east bank of the Qingshui River, preparing to block and delay the reinforcements of the Northeast Army so that the main force could better encircle and annihilate the enemy. On November 22, the brother troops successfully conquered the mountain castle and wiped out more than one brigade of the enemy's 78th Division, which gave Hu Zongnan a blow to the head and forced him to stop attacking our army.As early as April 9, 1936, Comrade Zhou Enlai and General Zhang Xueliang, Commander of the Northeast Army, held a secret meeting in Fushi (i.e. Yan'an) in northern Shaanxi to jointly resist Japan.On September 22, Comrade Mao Zedong on behalf of the Red Army and General Zhang Xueliang on behalf of the Northeast Army signed the "Anti-Japanese National Salvation Agreement".However, these secret talks and agreements were only known to the leading comrades of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and a few senior generals of the Northeast Army.At that time, we only studied the "Letter to All the Soldiers of the Northeast Army from the Red Army for Their Willingness to Join Forces with the Northeast Army in Anti-Japanese War" issued by 21 central leaders including Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De, and Peng Dehuai, and June 20, 1936. The spirit of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China's "Guiding Principles on the Work of the Northeast Army" and other relevant documents clearly stated that "it is our basic policy to win the Northeast Army to the anti-Japanese front." The method of winning the Northeast Army "mainly depends on our patient persuasion and explanation. political work." One day in early December 1936, I was leading the cadres of the department directly to study the relevant documents and materials of "the situation after the three main forces of the Red Army joined forces" and "strive for the Northeast Army to resist Japan in unison". While arguing, I suddenly received a notification from the headquarters: The 129th Division of Wang Yizhe's Department of the Northeast Army was advancing towards Liwangbao from west to east, and asked my 81st Division to do a good job of blocking the advance of the Northeast Army. Prepare. The leading cadres of our division held a meeting to study and analyze the current situation. They agreed that: on November 21, the main force of our Red Army launched the Battle of Shanbao. After many days, the Northeast Army arrived late. The purpose may not be to compete for the mountain castle, but Chiang Kai-shek forced them to attack our army and retake the areas of Yuwangbao, Huanxian, and Qingyang that were reddened during our army's western expedition. How to fight this battle?According to the spirit of the instructions of the Party Central Committee, it is mainly to fight political battles, to fight for the Northeast Army to unite against Japan politically, and not to fight a civil war; At that time, our division was guarding the mountain area more than ten kilometers southeast of Liwangbao.The mountain ridges here run north-south, and our Red Army fought and retreated from west to east, and the mountain ridges naturally became a barrier for our army, which is convenient for fortification.Therefore, after we received the order, on the one hand, Division Commander Wen Niansheng and Political Commissar Li Zonggui organized troops to build fortifications on the hilltop, preparing to stop them, and sent people to mobilize the masses to fortify the food to prevent it from being robbed. Supplies caused some difficulties, lest they have enough ammunition and food to drive straight ahead.On the other hand, in the division of labor, I focused on the preparations for the political offensive, mobilizing commanders and fighters to write slogans, copy anti-Japanese songs, and engrave leaflets such as the Party Central Committee's "Letter to All Soldiers of the Northeast Army".Regardless of the walls, boards, stone cliffs, and tree trunks, wherever words can be written, slogans are written or leaflets and song papers are pasted, so that wherever the Northeast Army goes, they can see the slogans and pick them up everywhere. Leaflets and song papers seemed to be immersed in a sea of ​​slogans and leaflets, creating a strong atmosphere of mobilizing the Northeast Army to unite and resist Japan. Around December 6, the vanguard of the 129th Division of the Northeast Army began to approach our division's position.Master Wen immediately deployed four companies of troops to guard the four hills, and sent small teams on both sides for reconnaissance and security.At the beginning of contact, both sides were very cautious. After firing a burst of shots, the Northeast Army slowly approached our army's position; while our army generally did not shoot, and only fired a few shots into the air and shouted loudly when the Northeast Army approached the position. : "Brothers in the Northeast Army, don't start a civil war for Chiang Kai-shek!" "The Chinese don't fight the Chinese!" After a while, the Northeast Army retreated.We counted the number of people and found that although the Northeast Army fired a lot of guns, most of them were fired into the sky or underground, and there were no casualties on our side.In the evening of that day, our division was ordered to retreat seven or eight kilometers.Before evacuating the position, I arranged for each company to leave many slogans and leaflets on the position.That night, we sent a propaganda team to the front of the Northeast Army to launch a political offensive.In the dead of night, everything is silent.The propaganda team members sang anti-Japanese songs such as "My Home is on the Songhua River in the Northeast" and "Go Back to My Hometown". The tragic and sad songs echoed over the positions of the Northeast Army... Father and mother! When will we be able to return to my lovely hometown? When will we be able to gather together happily together." During the singing, some wept sadly, and some even sobbed bitterly. The next day, the Northeast Army fired fewer shots.They "rushed" to my position, and our soldiers shouted again: "Brothers of the Northeast Army! Chiang Kai-shek betrayed the Northeast, and now he is going to betray North China. Can the conscientious Chinese agree?" "Brothers of the Northeast Army! Where are your parents, brothers, wives and children now? Fight back to your hometown and save your parents, brothers, wives and children!" Army and Red Army unite and fight back home!" The Northeast Army stopped shooting, and they all crawled in front of the position to listen to our shouts with paper microphones.We took advantage of this brief moment of silence and said to them: "We still have a lot to talk about in person. Please come to our place tonight as a guest, have a glass of wine, and have a 'tasting festival', okay?" "Okay, see you tonight!" They readily agreed.This afternoon, we retreated another dozen kilometers.Because the Northeast Army may come to the party at night, I arranged Yuan Lin, the sabotage section chief, and Hu Baoshun, the propaganda section chief, to make preparations.They asked the adjutant (administrator) to buy pork, soybeans, and liquor, clean up a dilapidated temple in the middle of the mountain, and borrow a few stools to use it as a meeting place for gatherings and conversations.After dusk, four or five soldiers of the Northeast Army came as expected.Yuan Lin and Hu Baoshun talked with soldiers of the Northeast Army along with two officers and a few soldiers doing orderly work.They used facts to expose the aggressive ambitions of Japanese imperialism and Chiang Kai-shek's crimes of treason; The Northeast Army and the Red Army killed each other, and both sides were injured, so that he could sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight to reap the benefits of the fisherman's conspiracy.To persuade the brothers in the Northeast Army not to be fooled, to unite with the Red Army to fight against Japan and fight back to their hometown! We understand the great righteousness, and the soldiers of the Northeast Army deeply agree.Some said: "None of us is willing to let the Japanese not fight and come to fight the Red Army; only 'Forget Bazi' is willing to fight a civil war!" Someone said: "We will stop fighting, and neither will you. Whoever shoots will get the 'gun' (that is, the bullet) with the gun on his back." This was a popular spell in the Northeast Army at that time.Before leaving, they said that they would invite several senior officials to the party tomorrow.At that time, it was the late October of the lunar calendar, the season of "heavy snow" had passed, and the night was windy and snowflakes were fluttering.Section Chief Yuan and his adjutant, because of their lack of experience, fried pork and other dishes with too much fat, and they turned into lumps of lard when they were frozen, which was very unpalatable. Fortunately, they also fried some soybeans, which was barely enough to serve with wine.After listening to Section Chief Yuan's report, I told them to sum up their experience and make the discussion better. On the third night, the Northeast Army came to the party to more than a dozen people, including two company platoon leaders and an adjutant.This evening Section Chief Yuan learned his lesson and fried some more soybeans. He also fried a few dishes of chicken and lean pork, and a few dishes of stewed beef and mutton. The dishes served with wine were much richer.Seeing that the Red Army entertained them so well, the Northeast Army also took out a few packs of "Three Fort" cigarettes in return, and the two sides talked very affectionately.Before parting, they asked Section Chief Yuan to tell the head of the Red Army: "Brothers of the Red Army wrote slogans asking the Northeast Army to love the common people. We dare not take the common people's firewood for a fire, and the small village can't accommodate many people. It's too cold to sleep outside the village. When the Red Army brothers move tomorrow, it’s best to let us camp in one or two larger villages.” Section Chief Yuan also suggested to them: "Today you fired too few shots and the sound of the shots was not very intense. Your superiors will not be able to hand over to Chiang Kai-shek." Said: "Yes, yes! Each of our regiments has a political training office, and the spies sent by Chiang Kai-shek are running dogs. They will inform Chiang Kai-shek and embarrass our superiors." Sure enough, the "battle" started on the fourth day. The Northeast Army fired guns very fiercely, and even the water machine guns (heavy machine guns) also fought happily.But on closer inspection, the heavy machine gun has almost become an anti-aircraft machine gun.From a distance, the sound of gunshots was heard one after another, much like a fierce battle. This afternoon, we withdrew another dozen kilometers, leaving two large villages for the Northeast Army to camp.At that time, I considered that the party would be held in a ruined temple or cave dwelling outside the village, and the weather was too cold, so I asked Section Chief Yuan to arrange for the Northeast Army to come to the village where the Red Army was stationed for the party, and invited them to come more.That night, more than 20 people from the Northeast Army came, including a few school-level officers.Section Chief Yuan arranged for them to discuss in the cave dwellings of several households.In common people's homes, there are hot kangs to sit on, and the food and drinks are not cold. It is more energetic to talk while drinking.Some fellow villagers also interjected from the sidelines, asking the officers and soldiers of the Northeast Army who else is in the family like a family matter?一谈到家，东北军官兵就伤心落泪，有的还诉说家破人亡、妻离子散的惨景，边诉说边呜咽地哭起来。 有的老乡还问东北军官兵说：“红军是咱老百姓的队伍，专打日本鬼子的，当官的咋叫你们来打红军？” 东北军官兵马上表白：“我们不愿意打红军，我们东北军大部分长官也不愿意打内战，是蒋介石这个老小子硬下命令逼着我们打的……” 这样无拘无束地随便交谈，气氛更加融洽，教育作用更大，通过谈心把政治工作做到东北军官兵的心窝里了。这样，我们师同东北军一二九师白天“打仗”，夜晚联欢，“激战”五六天，双方无一伤亡，真是一场奇特的阻击战。 十二月十三日清晨，我军前沿阵地发现东北军第一二九师已经全部撤走，阵地上留下许多“红军弟兄们，再见！”“红军弟兄们，抗日前线再见！”的字条。不久，我们师就接到指挥部来电，得悉张学良、杨虎城将军发动了“西安事变”，扣留了内战祸首、卖国贼蒋介石以及四十多名国民党军政要员的好消息。全师指战员个个精神振奋，营区内外欢声雷动，比打胜一场歼灭战更加令人欢欣鼓舞，心花怒放。 “西安事变”发生后，国民党内亲日派何应钦在日本帝国主义的支持下，借口“讨伐叛逆”，调动大量军队，从东、西两个方面向西安推进，企图扩大内战，并乘机夺占蒋介石的统治地位。中共中央为了支援东北军和西北军粉碎何应钦的进攻，争取“西安事变”的和平解决，决定红军主力第一、第十五军团和第二、第六军团等部队由定边、环县地区南下，拟经长武、咸阳、兴平进到蓝田、商县以南地区，协同东北军、西北军突击敌东路集团军刘峙部左翼，力求歼其大部或一部；以第二十八、三十三军和陕甘宁独立师留在环县附近钳制敌西路集团军的第一军；以第二十九、三十军在定边、盐池、吴起警戒宁夏之敌；调我八十一师开往延安地区机动。 十二月二十六日，当我红军主力进到庆阳、正宁地区时，蒋介石已被释放，敌东路集团军由潼关东撤，主力即在原地休整待命。但蒋介石被释放以后，又背信弃义，令东面十个师、西面和北面十五个师向西安对进。红军主力奉命进到西安北的淳北、三原、耀县地区，第十五军团进到西安东南的商县，第二十八、三十二军进至崇信、灵台地区。我八十一师进驻洛川，准备支援东北军、西北军作战。一九三七年一月，中共中央、中央军委也从保安迁到了延安。 由于我们红军和东北军、西北军作了对付蒋介石“讨伐军”进攻的准备，加之全国人民同声遣责蒋介石，反对内战，“西安事变”终于和平解决，从而为国共两党第二次合作、共同抗日创造了一个必要的前提。此时，我红八十一师改编为红二十七军，贺晋年任军长，王平任政治委员，我任政治部主任，在洛川地区休整待命。不久，周恩来副主度从延安去西安，途经大劳山时遭到土匪袭击，幸亏警卫人员英勇阻击，保卫了周副主席的安全。事后，我红二十七军即奉命移防宜川县东北的秋林镇，边训练边清剿宜川、延长、甘泉之间的土匪。这些土匪大多是经济土匪，占山为王，打家劫舍、拦路抢劫；匪徒中不少是受生活所迫、挺而走险的农民。我们采取军事打击与政治瓦解相结合的手段，很快便加以剿灭。 我红二十六军进驻洛川和宣川秋林镇期间，为了同驻地周围的东北军搞好统战工作，剿灭土匪，共同维护延安至西安的交通安全，军的领导同志经常走访东北军驻军长官，有时还带着宣传队去慰问东北军官员，为他们演出，宣传我们党团结抗日的主张，双方关系日趋密切。东北军驻军长官也常有回访。有一次，驻宜川县城的东北军派代表来到我们驻地，慰问我军指战员，并向贺晋年军长献旗。锦旗上写着：“献给工农红军第二十七军军长贺公晋年”。当时我们军的领导干部都很年轻：贺晋年仅二十七岁；王平年纪稍长，才二十九岁；我的年纪最大，也才刚满三十岁。东北军尊称贺晋年军长为“贺公”，当然是旧军队官场上的客气话，但也使我们这些年轻的军的领导干部大为惊讶，一时传为美谈。