Chapter 42 (1) The coming of the disease

In Songpan, Zhou Enlai fell ill. Mao Zedong, Luo Fu, Bogu, Peng Dehuai and other central and military leaders stood in front of Zhou Enlai's sickbed, watching with concern the two doctors Wang Bin and Li Zhi who consulted Zhou Enlai.After the Shawo meeting, Zhou Enlai could no longer eat, had a high fever, and was often unconscious.The doctor initially treated it for malaria, which was more prevalent, but the fever did not subside after several days, and the liver was swollen and the skin was yellow. Zhou Enlai fell ill at this time. For Mao Zedong and the others, the members of the Central Standing Committee, it was really not the right time.Although they made some concessions to Zhang Guotao and restrained his power struggle, they knew very well that this could only be said to have come to an end, and the turmoil was far from over.Zhang Guotao's desires are hard to fill, and he is full of ambitions. He will definitely play tricks and attack the central government.In the Standing Committee of the Central Committee, Zhou Enlai was the best candidate to counter Zhang Guotao, and Zhang Guotao gave him three points of courtesy.Therefore, at the Shawo meeting, in order to prevent Zhang Guotao from provoking trouble again, even though Zhou Enlai was seriously ill, Mao Zedong and the others still let him serve as the commander and political commissar of the newly formed Red Front Army Command. After taking power, it still cannot take over the entire Red Army.Zhang Guotao wanted to cover the sky with one hand even in his dreams.

After the two doctors examined Zhou Enlai, their complexions were not right.Mao Zedong asked eagerly: "How is the situation?" Wang Bin said: "It's hepatitis, and it has turned into amebic liver abscess." Mao Zedong's complexion changed drastically.Luo Fu and the others were also shocked.Amebic liver abscess urgently needs to be drained, but it cannot be sterilized, operated or punctured in this environment.This means that the patient's life is in danger! Mao Zedong stared at Wang Bin and Li Zhi and said: "You must do everything possible to rescue Comrade Zhou Enlai!"

Wang Bin's face was full of sadness, and he said: "Now we only have Emidin for dysentery, and there is no other medicine." "Then..." Mao Zedong opened his eyes and was speechless. Li Zhi said: "The only thing we can do now is to get ice cubes and apply cold compresses on his liver area. But the snow-capped mountains are more than 60 miles away!..." "Even if it is more than six hundred miles, you will get me ice!" Mao Zedong said, staring at Peng Dehuai. Peng Dehuai nodded and said, "I'll call a guard squad to listen to the doctors' orders."

At this time, there was a rush of horseshoes outside the door.The guard came in and reported that it was Deng Yingchao who had arrived.Seeing that Zhou Enlai was unconscious, Mao Zedong sent people to the recuperation company station tens of miles away to fetch Deng Yingchao.Usually recuperation company does not march with the central government, and the couple rarely see each other.Several times Zhou Enlai passed by the recuperation company, came to his wife, could only say a few words and left.There was a Jiang Jun plane bombing that killed or injured more than a dozen people while recuperating. He rushed to visit her in the middle of the night and only talked with her for a few minutes before breaking up.

Deng Yingchao came into the room panting, and rushed to Zhou Enlai's hospital bed.At this time, Zhou Enlai was still in a coma.Seeing her husband lying quietly on the plank bed, with a sallow complexion and weak breathing, Deng Yingchao was heartbroken.She held her husband's hand tightly and called out eagerly: "Enlai, wake up!...Wake up, Enlai!..." Zhou Enlai closed his eyes tightly and remained motionless. "Enlai, I'm here, wake up!..." Deng Yingchao's voice was trembling, calling out while shaking her husband's cold and thin hand. "Enlai, wake up!.....Wake up, Enlai!..."

Zhou Enlai didn't respond at all, the beard that grew to his chest trembled slightly with Deng Yingchao's gentle shaking. All the people present couldn't help being moved and shed tears. Mao Zedong walked over and comforted: "Comrade Deng Yingchao, don't worry, we will do everything possible to rescue Comrade Enlai!" Deng Yingchao looked at Mao Zedong, wept like rain, and sobbed, "Enlai is too tired, he needs to rest..." Mao Zedong said: "Comrade Enlai is too tired, but he can't rest yet. The party and the army need him, and he is very much needed!"

Deng Yingchao looked at her unconscious husband, then at Mao Zedong, wiped away tears, and said, "May the spirit of Marx in heaven bless him!..." Deng Yingchao sat beside her husband's bed with her head bowed, as if she was praying for her husband.Mao Zedong winked at the people present, and everyone retreated.The sun shines through the window, directly in front of the bed.The room was a little stuffy.Only then did Deng Yingchao notice that her husband was sweating.She took off the gray woolen vest for him, and wiped the sweat from his face and body with a towel that looked like tattered cloth.She found something on the woolen vest, picked it up, and saw that it was covered with lice, and she couldn't help but get goose bumps.She squeezed and searched on the woolen vest, killing more than one hundred and seventy lice in one go, and the blood from squeezing the lice stained her fingernails red.

Since the Long March, no one has been busier and harder than him along the way.Every time he arrives at the station, he has to attend the meeting of the central government or the three-person group. After the meeting makes a decision on military issues, he must implement the specific deployment of the troops.He also had to deal with telegrams from various legions day and night, study the war situation with the three-member regiment or other leaders of the Military Commission, and issue combat and marching orders.In an emergency, it is often a sleepless night.The heavy workload made him sick from overwork.

The guard squad quickly fetched ice from the snow-capped mountains more than 60 miles away.Doctors Wang Bin and Li Zhi put ice cubes on Zhou Enlai's liver area, which was the only treatment.The ice cubes melt easily, and the guards took turns going up the snow-capped mountains to fetch ice cubes.Relying on partial freezing with ice cubes, from ten o'clock in the morning to five or six o'clock in the afternoon, Zhou Enlai began to twitch and groan slightly. Deng Yingchao, who was in the midst of grief and depression, heard her husband moaning, her red and swollen eyes lit up, she grabbed her husband's hand and called out loudly: "Enlai, wake up!...Enlai, it's me ah!……"

Zhou Enlai's body convulsed one after another, his face was distorted by the convulsions, and he groaned in pain.Deng Yingchao and Wang Bin lifted him up to defecate, and finally discharged half a basin of green pus.In this way, the fever on his body slowly subsided.When he opened his eyes and saw Deng Yingchao, he asked in surprise, "Is that you?" "It's me, Enlai!..." Deng Yingchao held her husband's hand tightly, with a pleasant smile on her face, but she couldn't help but burst into tears. "When did you come?" Zhou Enlai's voice was as weak as a gossamer.

"I came this morning." "Oh!..." Zhou Enlai stared at his wife as if in a lifetime. "I fell asleep when you came." "I finally waited until you woke up!" "Why did I sleep for so long?" "You are too tired." Knowing that Zhou Enlai woke up, Mao Zedong, Luo Fu, Bo Gu and Peng Dehuai rushed to the scene.Seeing that Zhou Enlai was able to talk to Deng Yingchao, they were both surprised and happy.Mao Zedong took Dr. Wang Bin aside, and asked if it could be concluded that Zhou Enlai was out of danger. Wang Bin said: "With our current medical conditions, it is impossible for the General Political Commissar to be treated. Although it cannot be said that he is out of danger, it can be said that there is a glimmer of hope." Mao Zedong said: "That is to say, a miracle may occur?" Wang Bin nodded. "Old Peng!" Mao Zedong called Peng Dehuai, and solemnly ordered: "The troops will march across the grass soon, and I will leave it to you, Comrade Enlai." "Leave it to me!" Peng Dehuai said in a firm tone.In fact, he also had difficulties. The soldiers who used to carry the stretchers fell ill one by one due to fatigue and hunger.What is needed to carry a stretcher across the grass is a strong fighter. Where can I find such a fighter?Back at the military headquarters, he saw several soldiers outside the military department cleaning two mortars. He had an idea and said to Chief of Staff Xiao Jinguang, "Throw away those two mortars and ask them to carry a stretcher for the General Political Commissar." "Mr. Peng, there are only these two cannons left in our army!" Xiao Jinguang hesitated. "Besides, it doesn't take so many people to carry the stretcher?" "If the General Political Commissar can't live across the grass, what's the use of these two cannons?" Peng Dehuai said in an irrefutable tone. "Execute the order." Xiao Jinguang said. When Zhang Guotao was bargaining with the central government for "unifying military command" and "solving organizational problems", Hu Zongnan had concentrated his troops in Songpan City and built a fortress line in the area around Songpan, which made the Red Army lose the favorable opportunity to conquer Songpan.For a period of time before this, people in Songpan City were already in panic.Even Hu Zongnan was uneasy.His large army had not yet arrived in Songpan, and there were only a small number of troops inside and outside the city. As soon as the Red Army attacked the city, he would be captured quickly.He is the first graduate of the Whampoa Military Academy, the favorite student of Chiang Kai-shek, and a student of Zhou Enlai.He had already made preparations to be a prisoner of the Red Army, thinking that if he could see Zhou Enlai, the teacher would not embarrass the students.Now, he doesn't have to ask the teacher for help. The Red Army could only bypass Songpan City and head north from the vast grassland. At this time, according to the decision of the Central Committee and the Military Commission, the First and Fourth Front Army of the Red Army were mixed and formed, and went northward in two directions, left and right.The Right Route Army is composed of the First and Third Armies of the Red Front Army (formerly the First and Third Army Corps) and the Fourth and Thirty Armies of the Red Fourth Front Army. .The Left Route Army is composed of the Ninth, Thirty-first, and Thirty-third Armies of the Red Fourth Front Army and the Fifth and Thirty-second Armies (formerly the Fifth and Ninth Army Corps) of the Red Front Army. It is led by the Red Army General Command, with Zhu De as the general manager. In command, Zhang Guotao was the political commissar and Liu Bocheng was the chief of staff.The right and left armies went north from Maoergai and Zhuo Keji respectively.