Chapter 20 Chapter 20 Xiao Ke in the Long March

Xiao Ke is a warrior, born on July 14, 1907 in Jiahe, Hunan.Participated in the Northern Expedition and the Nanchang Uprising, and participated in the struggle to establish the Jinggangshan base and defend the Central Soviet Area. He is one of the youngest senior military commanders in the history of our army: he became the commander of the army at the age of 25; , kicked off the prelude to the Long March; at the age of 29, he was appointed as the deputy commander-in-chief of the Second Red Army; The Long March of the Red Army was not an accidental military operation, which can be proved from the westward expedition of the 6th Red Army and the northward march of the 7th Red Army in 1934.Zhou Enlai once said: "(The Sixth Army and the Seventh Army) all the way is to explore the way, and the whole way is to adjust the enemy."Bo Gu explained directly, "At that time, the military plan was to move to the west of Hunan and Hubei, and the Sixth Army was the vanguard."

Xiao Ke, who was 27 years old at the time, has become one of the main leaders of the 6th Army of the Red Army.The situation they faced at that time was: in 1934, the Central Red Army’s fifth campaign against “encirclement and suppression” failed repeatedly, and was oppressed by the superior enemy to the border of Fujian and Jiangxi. There was little hope of breaking the fifth “encirclement and suppression” campaign; After June, the Soviet area was also continuously compressed by the superior enemy. On July 23, the Hunan-Jiangxi Provincial Party Committee and the Military Region Party Committee received an order from the Party Central Committee and the Central Revolutionary Military Commission: "The Central Secretariat and the Military Commission decided that the Sixth Army Corps would leave the current Hunan-Jiangxi Soviet Area and move to central Hunan to develop and expand guerrilla warfare and create The new Soviet area." The central government also decided: Comrade Ren Bishi, Secretary of the Hunan and Jiangxi Provincial Party Committee, will be the representative of the Central Committee and will act with the army; Comrade Wang Zhen, the former commander of the military region, will be re-elected as the political commissar of the 6th Red Army and the political commissar of the 17th Division; Comrade Li Da served as chief of staff; Comrade Zhang Ziyi served as director of the Political Department.At the same time, the Military and Political Committee of the Red 6th Army was established with Comrade Ren Bishi as the chairman and Comrades Xiao Ke and Wang Zhen as members, as the highest leading body of the Red 6th Army's Long March.

The Central Revolutionary Military Commission did not explain the intentions of the Central Red Army. Ren Bishi sensitively told Xiao Ke that the Central Red Army might go west, to Hunan... It was only later that the 6th Red Army realized its role as the "Long March advance team". After receiving the telegram from the central government, the 6th Army beat straw sandals, made dry food, and carried out education on marching, reconnaissance, and vigilance.Local administrative organs also streamlined their troops and streamlined their administration to enrich their troops.Arrangements were made to stick to the base areas for the remaining armed forces. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon on August 7, about 9,000 people from the whole army embarked on the westward journey.

In this operation, the Central Military Commission instructed that everything should be taken away.So the 6th Army brought prisoners from the Provincial Security Bureau, hospitals, arsenals, lithography machines, and even a vice.There was a radio station with a heavy engine, and it was also carried away. This kind of moving action greatly weakened the maneuverability of the troops, made it inconvenient to march, and made them more worried about fighting, which objectively affected the commander's determination to find opportunities to fight.The Central Red Army did not learn a lesson when it started the Long March three months later. Affected by the wrong route of the left leaning at that time, the "big move" march was more powerful than the 6th Army.

Xiao Ke recalled that at that time he had different opinions on this kind of "moving" action, but on the one hand, he felt that this was the order of the Military Commission, and it would be bad if it was not implemented; on the other hand, everyone was reluctant to lose their belongings, including public, Personal, want to move out.So although they have their own ideas, "but they don't have the courage to persist, dare not mention them, and let them go." As a result, they lost all the way, which affected their combat effectiveness, and almost lost all their things in the end.

However, from a strategic point of view, under the leadership of Xiao Ke and others, the Red Army's western expedition was successful.As soon as they broke through, they immediately shocked the warlords in Hunan and Guangxi provinces.Hunan warlord He Jian hastily ordered two divisions to pursue, while ordering a brigade and four security regiments to intercept. The Guangxi warlord also ordered two divisions to move to the northern border. The 6th Army's plan to rush across the Xiangjiang River to the west in the Lingling area had to be changed due to the mobilization of the enemy. They turned eastward to the Yangming Mountains, and then went southward into Guangxi day and night, defeating 8 enemy troops in the entire county of Guangxi in one fell swoop. The regiment, on the morning of September 4, crossed the Xiangjiang River westward at Jieshou, south of the county.

The enemy could no longer catch up with their legs, so they sent planes for reconnaissance and bombing.Just when the 6th Army was taking a breather, it received a telegram from the Central Committee, requiring the 6th Army to attack the enemy in the Suining and Wugangshan areas, at least until September 20, and then contact the 3rd Red Army led by He Long.The main purpose of the telegram is to ask the Red Sixth Army to contain the enemy and reduce the pressure on the Central Red Army. Xiao Ke, Ren Bishi and others had the overall situation in mind and acted immediately.At this time, the enemy troops in the three provinces of Hunan, Guangxi, and Guizhou also successively assembled to prevent the army from advancing northward.So they took the road south, and then went west to Guizhou. The 6th Legion moved around in this way, from east to west, making it difficult for the enemy to figure out.He Jian once resignedly said that the Red Army "moves from east to west, moves erratically, and acts in circles", and he also cursed his subordinates for their incompetence.

"The sky is not sunny for three days, and the land is flat for three feet." Guizhou is a mountainous, rainy and relatively closed province. After the 6th Army entered Guizhou, they encountered a big problem that they were not familiar with the terrain and did not have a military map, so they had to find a guide to ask directions.The common people in Guizhou didn't know much about the Red Army and listened to the propaganda of the Kuomintang.Some people don't know what "Communist" is and what "Bandit" is. Seeing that the 6th Army is well-disciplined, although they dispel their worries, they still call them the same, and say kindly: "You Communists are good!".

Since the Western Expedition, the 6th Army has attached great importance to propaganda work and mass work, which has enabled them to gradually gain the trust and support of the masses.They walked to Liping and entered the Qingshui River Basin where the Miao and Dong ethnic groups live together.When preparing to cross the Qingshui River to the north, the Miao and Dong people actively searched for ferry crossings for them, collected boats, tied rafts, and erected pontoon bridges.After crossing the Qingshui River, they broke through the encirclement of 18 enemy regiments in Hunan, Wa, and Guizhou provinces, forcibly crossed the Dasha River, and attacked Jiuzhou, the old Huangping County, about 100 kilometers east and north of Guiyang City.

In the old state area, they detained two foreign missionaries, Bo Fuli and Heyman.Xiao Ke recalled, "The main reason why we detained the two of them was from a military point of view. Since the Western Expedition, we have been fighting for more than 50 days, marching in summer, and the number of injured and sick soldiers is increasing day by day. They suffer from no medical treatment. We know that several missionaries Therefore, the condition for their release is to provide the Red Army with a certain amount of medicine or funds.” Xiao Ke was a well-educated general in the Red Army at that time, and he had a certain affection for the two missionaries because the missionaries helped the Red Army.In the Jiuzhou Church, the 6th Army accidentally found a map of Guizhou. The place names on it were all in foreign languages. Zhang Ziyi, who knew a little foreign language, said it was not English. Xiao Ke asked Bo Fuli to help translate it. Remember, after working for most of the night, I wrote down the place names in Chinese that Xiao Ke wanted to know in the direction where he met He Long's troops.This map played a crucial role in their subsequent military operations.

Bo Fuli has been marching with Xiao Ke, talking about faith with Xiao Ke, engaging in entertainment activities together, and having dinner together on the rare rest days during the Long March. In April 1936, when the 2nd and 6th Red Corps entered Kunming, Xiao Ke released Bo Fuli, who had been detained for 18 months.Later, Xiao Ke learned from Snow's "Westward Journey" that Bo Fuli not only did not slander the Red Army, but also said a lot of praise for the Red Army. With a clear direction, walking seemed much easier. However, Xiao Ke and others didn't know that a danger that almost wiped out their entire army was coming to them. After leaving Laohuangping, Xiao Ke led the troops to advance eastward, while the enemy was mobilizing frequently, encircling the 6th Army with nearly 24 regiments.The Red Sixth Army did not notice all this.Until Xiao Ke encountered the enemy in the Ganxi area, as a result, the entire army was cut into four sections, and the number of personnel was seriously reduced. The 52nd Regiment was the rear guard of the whole army and was surrounded by the enemy. The whole regiment fought hard for several days and suffered heavy losses. Long Yun, the commander of the 18th Division, was brutally killed.Troops often climb cliffs and trails, and some troops eat porridge a day.Ren Bishi, the representative of the Central Committee, was suffering from malaria and commanded actions with a stick in his hand. One afternoon, the 6th Army defeated the enemy's patrol and security forces on the enemy's blockade from Shiqian to Zhenyuan, occupied the intersection east to Jiangkou, and sent a strong guard to Zhenyuan to the south and Shiqian to the north.Xiao Ke's biggest concern at the time was that if the enemy controlled this intersection and blocked the road to the east, he would have to return to the original unfavorable strategic area.Fortunately, they controlled the intersection in time.And under the guidance of an old local hunter, he entered a rare valley stream ditch in the middle of the night, and filed eastward from the bottom of the ditch.At this time, the enemy forces on the north and south sides discovered the main force of the Red Army and attacked from both sides.Covering troops take advantage of the terrain to carry out effective blocking.At dawn the next day, the covering force was changed to a rear guard, and walked out of the deep valley with the large force. Xiao Ke, who was standing at the mouth of the valley and personally commanded, saw the sun rising in the east, and finally heaved a sigh of relief. It is a military operation related to the overall situation of the entire army. Until now, once I recall it, I am shocked." On October 24, 1934, the 6th Red Army jumped out of the siege of the warlords of the 3 provinces. After more than 80 days, they moved to Muhuang, Yinjiang County, Guizhou, and joined forces with the 2nd Red Army.From more than 9,000 people at the time of departure, it dropped sharply to less than 4,000 people. The actions of the 6th Army found out the reality of the enemy's strength along the way, as well as the road and people's conditions, and played the role of an advance team for the Central Red Army's Long March to conduct reconnaissance and explore the way.On this day, the Central Red Army officially began the eighth day of the Long March. At the beginning of the meeting of the two armies, there were more than 4,000 people in He Long's army, and the two armies combined had only 8,000 children. There were few people but strong morale and complete weapons.He Long, Ren Bishi, Guan Xiangying, Xiao Ke, Wang Zhen and others analyzed that the Central Red Army, which had just withdrawn from the Central Soviet Area, was fighting bitterly with the superior enemy forces in Hunan, Guangdong, and Guangxi borders. Work closely. After inspecting the surrounding situation, they believed that the two armies should act in unison and develop towards western Hunan.Although Xiangxi’s economy is backward, our party’s influence is relatively large. Some counties there had a party foundation during the Great Revolution. During the Agrarian Revolution, it was the area where the 2nd Corps was active and had relatively good relations with the masses; He Long had a great political influence in these areas Familiarity is conducive to development; the enemy in western Hunan is only three security regiments of Chen Quzhen's department, plus the total strength of the miscellaneous army is only 20,000, and its combat effectiveness is not strong; only by marching to western Hunan can we achieve containment and mobilization of the enemies in Hunan and Hubei , Coordinating the purpose of the transfer of the Central Red Army, in order to establish a base in guerrilla warfare and mobile warfare, develop, grow, and expand the army. However, the Central Committee, which was still under the rule of the "Leftist" dogmatic line at that time, did not clearly judge the situation, and made the decision that the 2nd Army would stay in eastern Guizhou and the 6th Army would attack Hunan.Under the urgent military situation, the 2nd and 6th Army Corps continued to explain the situation to the central government, and at the same time acted in a unified manner first, acting by ear, and captured Hunan Dayong (now Zhangjiajie). Until the middle and late November of 1934, the Central Committee agreed in principle to the unified action of the two armies.In terms of military affairs, the two armies were changed into one division in the current establishment, and the names of the 2nd and 6th armies were still retained. He, Ren, Xiao, and Wang were the army commanders and political commissars of the 2nd and 6th armies respectively. "The two armies are directly under the leadership of the Military Commission, but when the two armies act together, He Ren is under the unified command." He Long and Ren Bishi are also the commanders and political commissars of the Hunan, Sichuan, and Guizhou military regions respectively. After the unified actions of the 2nd and 6th Army Corps, the Sixth Army Corps led by Xiao Ke made another major contribution, which was to strengthen the political work of the Second Army Corps.Because Xia Xi carried out the "leftist" anti-revolutionary line in the 2nd Army Corps, he mistakenly killed a large number of leading cadres who had experienced the test of long-term revolutionary struggle. Many people, in an extremely difficult situation. Xia Xi was sent by the Central Committee to the Honghu Soviet Area. The "Left" line he implemented was completely in accordance with the instructions of the Central Committee at that time. Therefore, according to the instructions of the Central Committee, the Provincial Party Committee arranged for him to serve as a member of the Provincial Party Committee, a member of the Military Commission Branch, and the Vice Chairman of the Revolutionary Committee. position.On the one hand, Xiao Ke and Wang Zhen sent cadres to strengthen the political organs of the 2nd Army, and on the other hand, they also eased the tension within the 2nd Army.They also took the initiative to invite Xia Xi to be the director of the Political Department of the 6th Army. Later, on the Long March, Xia Xi actively publicized the party's policies wherever he went, and made some contributions to the united front work of the local enlightened gentry. In February 1936, They passed through the Qian (west), Da (Ding), and Bi (jie) areas of Guizhou on the Long March. Xia unfortunately drowned and died when returning to the army to cross the river after finishing a united front work. The troops took a rest in Dayong, then turned to the south, because the enemy relied on solid defense, they turned to the east and surrounded Changde.A week later, they turned to the north and captured Cili County... Within a month or two, the 2nd and 6th Red Corps galloped across the border areas of Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan and Guizhou, defeated the independent 34th Brigade sent by Chen Quzhen and Chiang Kai-shek, and surrounded Changde, the second largest city in Hunan, disrupted Chiang Kai-shek's pursuit of the Central Red Army in Hunan and Guizhou.Chiang Kai-shek and the two Hunan warlords ordered the 16th and 26th divisions that were pursuing the Central Red Army to be transferred northward, which relieved the pressure on the Central Red Army and effectively supported the westward advance of the Central Red Army. This period was the fastest growing period of the 2nd and 6th legions, and the army doubled in size.Xiao Ke's lover, Jian Xianfo, joined the Red Army when the troops attacked Cili.Jian Xianfo's brother and sister were both party members during the Great Revolution.The elder sister was the first female Red Army in western Hunan; the elder brother first joined the Red Army in the autumn of 1928, and served successively as the commander of the guard battalion, the chief of staff of the guerrilla echelon, and the inspector of the special committee. Unfortunately, she died in 1931; up... In 1935, the term "Xiao He bandits" began to appear frequently in Kuomintang newspapers and in Chiang Kai-shek's mouth.After the Central Red Army lost 50,000 people in the battle of Xiangjiang, Chiang Kai-shek was very optimistic about the prospect of "suppressing bandits". More than 100 regiments were drawn from the troops that were chasing and intercepting the Central Red Army to deal with it, so that the Central Red Army could hold the Zunyi meeting more calmly and move northward relatively calmly. At the beginning of 1935, Chiang Kai-shek mobilized 6 columns to launch an attack on the Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan and Guizhou bases, which had been established less than 3 months ago. This was the enemy's first "encirclement and suppression".The enemy's strategic policy is still basically fortressism.After learning of the Hunan-Hubei enemy's plan for joint operations, the Military Commission called on February 1, requesting that "the lack of unity in the command of the Hunan-Hubei enemy and the exhaustion of He Jian's troops should be used to concentrate the main force of the Red Army when the enemy leaves the bunker and advances." , choose the weak points of the enemy, and break them one by one in the movement without losing the opportunity." Xiao Ke and others immediately noticed that the formulation of the Military Commission was different from the past. What's going on?The central government telegraphed the excerpts of the resolutions of the Zunyi meeting, and only then did they know that there was a Zunyi meeting. In March, they wiped out an enemy regiment in Yongshun; in mid-April, they moved to Chenjiahe, Sangzhi County, and wiped out an enemy brigade; immediately, Xiao Ke personally led two regiments to send Chen Yaohan's division headquarters and another brigade stationed in Sangzhi County. The brigade was also wiped out.The successive victories deterred the enemy, and the enemies of "encirclement and suppression" from all walks of life retreated one after another, and the enemy's first "encirclement and suppression" was successfully shattered. In May, the enemy increased its strength and concentrated 80 regiments for the second "encirclement and suppression".At this time, the enemy transferred 3 divisions from Hubei, and the 2nd and 6th Army Corps decided to adopt the policy of defending from the east and attacking from the west, taking a defensive position against Hunan in the southeast and an offensive against Hubei and Guizhou in the northwest.From May to the beginning of August, within three months, they wiped out the enemy's 41st division headquarters, the division's direct team, the 121st brigade and the secret service battalion, captured the enemy's lieutenant-general column commander and division commander Zhang Zhenhan; wiped out the enemy's 85th division, killed Xie Bin, the commander of the enemy division, shattered the enemy's second "encirclement and suppression". Xiao Ke learned from Zhang Zhenhan, the captured enemy commander, that Zhang graduated from Baoding Military Academy with military knowledge and combat experience, so Xiao Ke arranged for Zhang to give lectures at the Red Army School that had just been expanded. Class students listen to his lecture.This approach aroused the doubts of some commanders and fighters. Some people asked, how can a person who has lost a battle teach him to win a battle?Xiao Ke explained that military technology has no hierarchy, and general tactical principles, such as marching, organizing battles, coordinated operations, and using terrain and features, are all military sciences, regardless of whether the red army or the white army must use them.After the October Revolution in Russia, Lenin not only used bourgeois intellectuals and various experts to engage in industrial construction, but also used old military officers to serve as teachers in senior command and technical schools.During the Long March, Xiao Ke decided to take Zhang Zhenhan with him. When they arrived in Yan'an, the central government decided to let Zhang go back.Later Zhang participated in the War of Resistance.When our army liberated Changsha, Zhang also did useful work. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he served as a member of the Changsha CPPCC and deputy mayor. The Red 2nd and 6th Corps smashed the enemy's "encirclement and suppression" twice in a row, and both the base area and the Red Army expanded.By October 1935, it had grown to more than 21,000 people.After the Central Red Army went north, the revolutionary situation in the South was mainly supported by the 2nd and 6th Army Corps. They became the hope and banner of the revolutionary masses in the South. On November 19, 1935, 18,000 members of the 2nd and 6th Red Corps set off from Liujiaping and Ruitapu, Sangzhi, Hunan, respectively, and began the Long March. The two victories against "encirclement and suppression" brought about more enemies and larger-scale "encirclement and suppression".The enemy organized 130 regiments, and changed the state of the miscellaneous army to fight on their own. Instead, Chiang Kai-shek's direct and half-directed descendants were the main ones. Chiang Kai-shek also sent Chen Cheng to Yichang to set up a battalion for unified command.Surrounding Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, and Guisu areas, there is Dongting Lake in the east, the Yangtze River in the north, and mountains in the northwest, so food is difficult.The enemy used the mountains and rivers to build a strategic bunker line, and defended with an absolutely superior force, forming a strategic pattern of heavy encirclement, strict blockade, and internal and external isolation. So Xiao Ke and others decided to withdraw from the Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan and Guizhou base areas.Before withdrawing from the Soviet area, I just wanted to transfer, get rid of the encirclement of the enemy, preserve the vitality, and establish a new base in the Hunan-Guizhou border or the Medong area. I didn't think of crossing the Jinsha River, let alone the Long March to northern Shaanxi. On the night of the first day of the Long March, Xiao Ke lived in a small village on the edge of Zhangjiajie.On that day, the vanguard troops marched 120 li, the main force marched 80 li, and rested after camping.Until 1990, when Xiao Ke returned to Xiangxi, he found that Zhangjiajie had become a famous tourist scenic spot, but he didn't notice such a beautiful scenery at all. In this retreat, I learned the lessons of the Red Army, only brought dry food for one or two days, simplified luggage, moved forward lightly, and moved freely.For several days in a row, he marched in a hurry and marched southeast to central Hunan.Central Hunan is a rich area with rich products, dense population, and developed culture and education.Seeing such good conditions, the 2nd and 6th Army Corps planned to stop and establish a new base. The Political Department of the 6th Corps issued the "Anti-Japanese and Anti-Chiang" statement drafted by Xia Xi, and held a meeting every day to promote it.At that time, the Kuomintang newspaper said: "Xia Xi and Xiao Ke took the stage to give a speech..." They called on all those who wanted to fight Japan to be welcome, and the masses enthusiastically joined the army, and the number increased by 1,000 in just 7 days. After only staying in central Hunan for about a week, the enemy came in from the north in two directions. The battle was not going well. Several enemy columns came together and surrounded them. Xiao Ke could only give up his idea of ​​gaining a foothold in central Hunan and continue westward. Go, and enter the border of Hunan and Guizhou.In order to stand firm on the border of Hunan and Guizhou, the 6th Army counterattacked and chased the enemy, but the battle became a war of attrition and failed to achieve the expected victory. Although the base area was lost, the troops were preserved, the enemy's pressing was stopped, and a certain period of rest was won.The Sixth Army took a short rest in the area south of Shiqian, passed through Yuqing, Weng'an, and Pingyue, and went west while fighting, entering 60 miles north of Guiyang to wipe out two battalions of the enemy. Seeing that the Red Army was approaching Guiyang in the south and was about to cross the Wujiang River in the north, the enemy rushed to assist Guiyang with troops from Guizhou and Hunan. Guo Rudong and Fan Gaofu's column turned to the Zunyi area. After death, the Sixth Army Corps crossed the Yachi River westward and entered Qianxi, Dading (now Dafang), Bijie and other areas in western Guizhou. At this time, the Military Commission also sent a telegram, instructing to "speed to Qianxi, Dading, and Bijie areas, and the terrain of the masses can be temporarily used as bases."After arriving in Guizhou, Da, and Bi, Xiao Ke led the 17th Division of the Sixth Red Army to go to Daguxinchang (now Jinsha County) in the west of Zunyi for a guerrilla attack to restrain the enemy from Guiyang to the west.At this time, an enemy division came after them and occupied Dading.Xiao Ke immediately led his troops back to Dading, and wiped out all the enemies in only one and a half hours, preventing the unfavorable situation of the enemy rushing westward after crossing the Yachi River. After the battle, Xiao Ke boarded Jiangjun Mountain and saw that the mountain range spanned more than 10 miles between Dading and Bijie. He immediately decided to control Jiangjun Mountain and do fortifications on the mountain.Xiao Ke and the soldiers guarded the position strictly. A few days later, the enemy attacked from two directions. Xiao Ke ordered the troops to hide in the fortifications and not make any noise. With more than 100 rifles and more than 10,000 rounds of ammunition, the enemy did not dare to come again for a short time. The 2nd and 6th Army Corps actively carried out local work in this area.In Bijie, Zhou Suyuan, an enlightened gentry, made friends with the Red Army. After the Red Army arrived, they found many books on Marxism-Leninism in his home. Wang Zhen and Xia Xi immediately went to him, asked him about his experience, and asked him why he read Marxism. Doctrine books?He said: "I believe in Marxism. I have studied Marxism-Leninism for ten years." So the Red Army asked him to come out and become the commander of the Guizhou Anti-Japanese National Salvation Army. In a short time, it developed to more than a thousand people. In order to establish new bases in Guizhou, Da, and Bi, the Red Army asked Zhou Suyuan to write a letter to the Kuomintang troops in Yunnan, because he was familiar with Long Yun, Sun Du and other upper-level figures.He informed the Yunnan warlords of the political views of the Communist Party and the Red Army, and said: "Chiang Kai-shek sent the Central Committee's direct descendants into Yunnan and Guizhou to fight the Red Army, and he told you to fight the Red Army. The Red Army is not easy to fight. Take a step back, even if you beat the Red Army If it is lost, both sides will suffer. Is Yunnan still yours at that time? History has a clear lesson for "false way to destroy Guo". As a result, the Yunnan warlords did not move their troops, which allowed the 2nd and 6th Red Army to stay in the Bijie area for 20 days, and the troops were rested and replenished. The enemy's 4 columns, a total of 7 divisions and 1 brigade, quickly approached the Bijie area. The 2nd and 6th Red Army retreated in mid-February 1936, passed the defense line of the Sundu Column of the Yunnan Army, and headed southward to the east of Yunnan, occupying the Xuanwei, Yunnan, and Panxian, Guizhou, enter between the north and south Panjiang.The branch of the Military Commission decided to launch activities to establish guerrilla bases in this area. This was the third attempt by Xiao Ke and others to establish guerrilla bases during the Long March. From the Wumengshan area to the south, the 2nd Red Army reached Pan County, and the 6th Red Army entered Xuanwei.At this time, the Red Army Commander-in-Chief called, and the telegram was signed by Commander-in-Chief Zhu De and Chief Political Commissar Zhang Guotao, asking the 2nd and 6th Army Corps to cross the Jinsha River to join the Fourth Red Army and march northward. The leaders of the two legions gathered in Pan County for a meeting. They originally wanted to stay here. , Bijie area is less, but there are still more than 50 regiments. Over time, the enemy's situation may also change. It is unknown whether it can stand in this area; from the perspective of the national situation, Japanese imperialism is constantly advancing to North China. Young students in North China were outraged and demanded resistance to Japan.Now that the headquarters is going northward to join the Fourth Front Army, it can be seen that the general trend of the national revolution has turned to the north, and the instructions of the headquarters should be resolutely implemented.The meeting in Pan County played a decisive role in joining forces with Ganzi in the second and fourth areas.It is also of great significance for the three major main forces to join forces in northern Shaanxi. Once the intention of the Red 2nd and 6th Corps to go north was clear, their actions became decisive. From the perspective of the Kuomintang army, preventing the Red 2nd and 6th Army from joining forces with the Central Red Army and the Red Fourth Front Army is a strategic consideration that is placed at the top of the list.As a result, the two armies launched a strategic contest in the east of Yunnan and near Kunming. The road from the north to the south of the Panjiang River to the north has long been blocked by the enemy. The Red 2nd and 6th Army formulated a strategic policy of first going west and then going north.This large military operation can be divided into three stages.The first stage is from Pan County to the west, across the central part of Yunnan, and reaches the Pudu River in the north of Kunming. The movement distance is 500 li. This action got rid of the main force of the enemy.But after arriving at the Pudu River, the 6 regiments of the Dian army came to intercept them. The 6 regiments fought fiercely with the enemy. Traveling south to the headquarters of the 2nd Army, seeing He Long, Ren Bishi, and Guan Xiangying, everyone immediately discussed the direction of action.Xiao Ke suggested that the enemy's main force was at the Pudu River, and Kunming had only 4 regiments, which were insufficient in strength. The Red Army entered near Kunming, and then went west, leaving the main force of the Yunnan Army behind. The 2nd and 6th armies quickly retreated on their own, turned south from more than 10 miles behind the battlefield, and approached 30 miles north of Kunming City. This trick caught the enemy by surprise. The second stage is to attack Kunming feignedly, but actually continue westward. 2. The 6th Legion took advantage of the Yunnan warlord's mentality of keeping the provincial capital Kunming, and feinted to attack Kunming with a small force at night, which had a certain impact on the Yunnan warlord's psychology. enough space. The third stage is to go all the way to the Lijiang area beside the Jinsha River, leaving the enemy far behind, and being able to cross the river calmly.Except for the defenses of the county militias along the way, there was no major enemy blocking them. The enemies chasing behind were delayed by rear guards and roadblocks, and they were far away from the main force of the Red Army.The Red 2nd and 6th Army Corps crossed the Jinsha River from Lijiang, Shigu, and Zhongdian respectively. Chiang Kai-shek took Long Yun and circled over the Lijiang area in the south of the Jinsha River by plane, helpless.When the pursuing enemy reached the river, the Red Army had already gone.After meeting with the Fourth Front Army of the Red Army, Li Bozhao and others led a theater troupe to give a condolence performance to the troops. They performed a play called "Broken Straw Sandals". It said that the enemy chased to the Jinsha River and only picked up a broken straw sandal left by the Red Army before retreating. . After crossing the river, the "enemy" faced by the 2nd and 6th Red Corps was the severe snow mountain.The general headquarters sent a telegram early to remind them to bring enough clothes, peppers and wine when crossing the snow-capped mountains.The Second Army is the left column, and the Sixth Army is the right column, marching towards the snow mountain.It was the end of April in 1936, and the weather in Yunnan was very hot. Some troops lost their cotton coats and sweaters. When they went up the mountain in the morning, they walked in the primeval forest that covered the sky and the sun. tree, still a little hot.As we walked, the ground was covered with snow, and the temperature dropped suddenly.At the halfway up the mountain, everyone drank a bowl of ginger water or chili water, and then climbed up. Every step required a lot of effort. The large and small snow pits and the deep abyss covered with snow made people feel uneasy all the time. was in danger.Today's Jade Dragon Snow Mountain has a cableway, and there are artificially built stairs and handrails at the difficult places. The snow is also pitiful, and the majestic appearance of the Red Army's Long March has long been lost.But in those days, it was a place that any Red Army soldier who crossed it would never forget in his life.Xiao Ke made a principle that he must not spend the night on the mountain.I walked for more than ten hours that day, up and down 150 li... The 6th Army arrived in Zhongchao (Shangri-La) on April 30, and then turned over two snow-capped mountains and entered Daocheng.This route has now become a classic tourist route, and the scenery along the way is like a dream. At that time, even a cultured person like Xiao Ke never had the mood to enjoy the scenery. One morning, when the troops gathered in a square, Wang Zhen announced the exciting news that the Fourth Red Army was in Ganzi City.They have sent the 32nd Army to Lihua to meet the Red Sixth Army. On June 3, the Red 6th Army and the 32nd Army of the Red Fourth Front Army met in Physical and Chemical; on the 22nd, the Red Sixth Army arrived in Ganzi and joined the Red Fourth Front Army Headquarters; on the 30th, the Red 2nd Army led by Ren Bishi, He Long, and Guan Xiangying The Legion and the 30th Army of the Red Fourth Front Army joined forces; on July 2, the 2nd and 6th Army Corps and the Red Fourth Front Army joined forces in victory.Although Xu Xiangqian was still on the front line, he instructed, "We didn't do a good job joining forces last year. Now that the Second Front Army is here, we must do it well." Singing and dancing along the way to welcome them, cleaning the camping houses for the 2nd and 6th legions in advance, boiling water, and helping to raise food.The most rare thing is that the top and bottom of the Fourth Front Army cut, washed and twisted wool together to weave thousands of sweaters and wool socks, and gave them to the 2nd and 6th armies who came from the expedition. On July 5, according to the order of the Central Military Commission, the Red 2nd and 6th Army Corps formed the Red Second Front Army (the 32nd Army was incorporated into the Red Second Front Army), He Long was the commander-in-chief, Ren Bishi was the political commissar, Xiao Ke was the deputy commander-in-chief, and Guan Xiangying was the commander-in-chief. The deputy political commissar, since then the 2nd and 6th armies have changed to the designation of the Red Second Front Army. At the age of 29, Xiao Ke became the youngest front army leader in the history of the Red Army. To celebrate the meeting of the two armies, a party was held.Zhu De, the commander-in-chief of the Red Army at the time, gave a speech at the meeting. He congratulated the 2nd and 6th corps for successfully climbing the snow-capped mountains, and then said: We came to Ganzi not our destination. There must be unity.We will be crossing sparsely populated meadows and must be prepared to overcome all odds.The comrades of the Second Front Army were unaware of Zhang Guotao's splitting of the party and the Red Army, and they could hear the overtones of Commander-in-Chief Zhu's speech. When Xiao Ke and others chatted with Zhu De, they talked about the situation of the Central Red Army before and after the Zunyi Conference, and they were very happy about confirming the leadership of Comrade Mao Zedong in the party and the army; It was a big mistake. This person has ambitions, but in the future, we must pay attention to fighting for and uniting with him, and urge him to go north to fight against Japan. At this time, the Fourth Front Army was strong and strong, and the strength of the Second Front Army was greatly reduced after the expedition. However, the leaders of the Second Front Army, including Xiao Ke, were very firm in their yearning for the Central Committee. In a sense, the Second Front Army was determined to go north and oppose Zhang Guotao The attitude of establishing a new central government determines the future development direction of the Chinese revolution, which has inestimable historical significance. Soon, the second and fourth front armies received a call from the central government, saying that the enemy forces in southern Gansu were empty, and they wanted to take this opportunity to quickly move northward to join the central government and establish an anti-Japanese base in the northwest.Before the Second Front Army arrived in Ganzi, Xu Xiangqian, Li Xiannian and others had led the vanguard of the Fourth Front Army to set off northward. On the 11th, the Red Second Front Army formed two echelons and marched towards the Hadapu area.From Ganzi to the north, there is a vast grassland stretching as far as the eye can see.The grassland is sparsely populated, and even some villages do not have much food.The local people live on animal husbandry, and the reactionary chieftains often take away cattle and sheep.The Fourth Front Army walked in the front, and although they took care of the rear, they also had difficulties themselves. The Second Front Army made serious ideological and material preparations during its stay in Ganzi for a week.Xiao Ke and other leaders have explained the favorable conditions and various difficulties of the grassland, and each company has carried out a detailed inspection of the soldiers' luggage and the things that each squad must carry.In addition to weapons, dry food, clothes, straw sandals, and quilts, each person has to carry a few kilograms of dry firewood, a water pot or a bamboo tube, and the whole body weighs 50 to 60 kilograms. The whole army marched in two columns.Although we work hard to prepare food, we often cannot complete the plan.The troops were exhausted due to lack of food, and their physical strength declined.Entering the grassland, there is only a steaming mist everywhere, and the rotten black grass is under the feet. It is rare to meet a person after several days of marching.The grassland is at a higher altitude and the climate is changeable, with wind, snow, rain and hail coming at any time.In the first few days, the march was relatively smooth. After a long time, the soldiers couldn't eat enough, couldn't sleep well, and gradually ran out of food, so they could only eat wild vegetables. Marching on grass is not without concerns about the enemy's situation.The Fourth Front Army has experience and has organized cavalry divisions, and each army and division also has small cavalry units.One day Xiao Ke went to the general headquarters for a meeting. The leaders of the headquarters pointed out the seriousness of the problem of having an awareness of the enemy's situation, and appointed Liu Bocheng to teach the Second Front Army's tactics against cavalry.Liu Bocheng talked about the precautions for fighting cavalry and marching on the grass. This was the first time Xiao Ke directly listened to Liu Bocheng's imparting military knowledge and combat experience. Liu Bocheng's academic quality left a deep impression on Xiao Ke.Due to the preparations in advance, the road was attacked by small groups of cavalry bandits several times, and there was no loss. In order to maintain the survival of the troops, the leaders mobilized all comrades to strictly save food, adjust each other, help each other, gather food, distribute it uniformly, and ration it per person.Later, food and wild vegetables could not be guaranteed, so the troops had to cook and eat cattle and sheep bones, cowhide, leather belts and leather strips from straw sandals.The number of stragglers and deaths continued to increase. After crossing Aba, the grass became even more difficult to walk on. The yellow-green sewage was poisonous at a glance. If the feet were injured and soaked in water, they would fester, and severe cases could even lead to death.The leaders of the Red Army, including Xiao Ke, endured this unprecedented life-and-death test together with the Red Army soldiers. They put forward the battle cry of "walking out of the grass is victory" to the troops. On the 1st, I walked out of the grass and arrived at Hadapu. At this time, the three main forces of the Red Army all entered the Shaanxi-Gansu region.Chiang Kai-shek dispatched troops to prevent the Red Army from rendezvous.The Central Revolutionary Military Commission drew up a strategic plan in September, which required: on the one hand, the army went west and went south; Out of the southwestern part of Gannan and Shaanxi provinces. Xiao Ke recalled that because Zhang Guotao stood still and missed the opportunity, the strategic intention of the Central Revolutionary Military Commission failed to be realized.On September 18, the Central Revolutionary Military Commission proposed a combat plan to attack Hu Zongnan in the Jingning and Huining areas. At this time, Xiao Ke was resting in the rear due to gastroenteritis.一日，萧克接到朱德总司令电话，叫到红军总司令部去一趟，赶到后，总司令说：“西北局决定要打胡宗南，以便同一方面军会合。现在31军军长王树声病了，你到31军去当军长，打胡宗南。”萧克二话没说，坚决服从。参加红军以来，他一直以服从中央、服从命令为天职，始终胸怀大局，表现了一个共产党人的高尚品格。 萧克到四方面军总指挥部报到，张国焘继续以自己的方式指挥四方面军的行动，与朱德的意见经常相左，部队拉来拉去耽搁了时间，以致胡宗南、毛炳文等部靠拢了，萧克这个军长，也因部队行动的辗转变化，直到10月20日才赶到31军军部任职。 就在这个过程中，一、四方面军于10月8日在会宁会师。红二方面军于10月22日也在会宁东北的将台堡与一方面军胜利会师。这就是中国革命战争史上有名的全国三大主力红军在陕甘宁的大会师，至此，标志着长征胜利结束。