Chapter 16 Chapter Fifteen

After the Red Fourth Front Army arrived in Daofu, Ganzi, and Luhuo in March 1936, they lived there for three months.On the one hand, the troops needed to rest and reorganize because of the hard work going south, and the more important reason was to wait for the Red Second and Sixth Army Corps in the Long March to join up and go north together. The Second Red Army and the Sixth Army were composed of two Red Army units that persisted in the struggle in the Hunan-Hubei Soviet Area—the Second Red Army led by He Long and Guan Xiangying, and the Sixth Red Army led by Ren Bishi, Xiao Ke, and Wang Zhen.Although they were the last large unit of the Red Army to go north, in fact, the Sixth Red Army had already embarked on the journey before the Long March of the Central Red Army.

In July 1934, the Red Sixth Army Corps operating in Yongxin and Ninggang in the border areas of Hunan and Jiangxi suddenly received an order from the Central Revolutionary Military Commission to evacuate the Hunan and Jiangxi base areas and move to central Hunan to create new base areas there.At that time, Chiang Kai-shek launched the fifth "encirclement and suppression" campaign against the Central Soviet Area. Under the command of the wrong line of "Left" opportunism, the Red Army was forced to shrink step by step, and the situation became more and more difficult.In the order of the Military Commission, specific regulations were made on the route and territory of the Red Sixth Army.Ren Bishi, the representative of the Central Committee, Xiao Ke, the head of the army, and Wang Zhen, the political commissar, resolutely carried out the order of the Military Commission and led more than 9,000 people from the whole army on the road to the west on August 7, 1934.At first everyone didn't understand the intention of the Military Commission, but Xiao Ke later understood: "The Central Red Army is also going to withdraw westward, and the Central Committee ordered us to move, so that we can play the role of an advance team."

Before the Long March of the Central Red Army, two advance teams were dispatched: one was Fang Zhimin's Seventh Red Army Corps; the other was the Sixth Red Army Corps.Their task is to attract the enemy, open up new areas, find a way for the central government and relieve the pressure on the central Soviet area.They are all fighting alone, and it is impossible for the Central Soviet Area to reinforce and respond to them.If you fight well, you will survive independently, if you fight poorly, your entire army will be wiped out.Fang Zhimin marched to the northeast where the enemy was strong, and soon fell into the siege of the Kuomintang army and failed in Huaiyu Mountain.The Sixth Army marched to the mountainous area of ​​Western Hunan, and the situation was much better.

In accordance with the instructions of the Military Commission, the Sixth Army took all the pots and pans when they set off.Xiao Ke recalled: "The prisoners from the Security Bureau, the hospital, the arsenal, the lithography machine, and even a pliers were taken away. There was a radio station with a heavy engine, so I took it with me. If you walk 10 miles, it will fall behind by 1 or 2 The follow-up troops also fell behind." This kind of moving march completely restricted the mobility of the Red Army.In the territory of Guizhou, where "the sky is not sunny for three days, and the land is not three feet flat", the mountain roads are rugged and it is impossible to walk.Leaders such as Xiao Ke made a quick decision and threw away these cumbersome belongings as they walked, so that the troops were lightly dressed and looked like they were fighting.They reported the situation to the central government, but the central government ignored it and followed up with a big move.The Kuomintang newspapers ridiculed the Red Army as "the tortoise in the front paved the way, and the tortoise in the back followed."It's heartbreaking.

The westward march of the Sixth Red Army caused tension among warlords in Hunan and Guangxi.They dispatched troops and generals, blocking the front and chasing after them.Originally, the Sixth Army Corps planned to rush across the Xiangjiang River in the Lingling area, but the enemy had already heavily fortified the west bank of the Xiangjiang River, so they had to abandon the plan to cross the river and moved to the Yangmingshan area at the junction of Hunan and Guangxi, hoping to gain a foothold there.When I went there, I found that the population was sparsely populated, the land was barren and the people were poor, and it was really difficult to survive. So the Sixth Army continued to march westward, jumped out of the encirclement of warlords, and entered Guizhou from Guangxi.The Sixth Corps flexibly played hide-and-seek with the enemy, going around in circles, which exhausted the Hunan warlord He Jian's troops.However, in Ganxi, Shiqian County, Guizhou Province, the Sixth Army was surrounded by 24 regiments of warlords in Hunan, Guangxi, and Guizhou provinces.The reason for this defeat was the negligence of the Red Army commander. Xiao Ke said: "We thought that the Guangxi Army was in the south of us, and we didn't expect to encounter Liao Lei, so we didn't have a battle plan. The vanguard troops met the postman and said that there was no enemy ahead. As a result, as soon as the postman left, the battle started."

At the beginning of the battle, the Red Army was in an extremely disadvantaged position.The Sixth Army Corps was cut into three sections, and the forward troops, led by Chief of Staff Li Da, rushed out of the encirclement and went to Xiangxi to find He Long's troops to rendezvous.Ren Bishi, Xiao Ke, and Wang Zhen led the main force and the direct subordinate team to "move to fight in the areas of Shiqian, Zhenyuan, Yuqing, and Shibing, and encountered serious difficulties. In this area, the mountains are steep, the population is sparsely populated, and supplies are scarce. The troops are often in the Climbing on the cliffs, horses and luggage had to be lost. Some troops sometimes walked and fought hungry with porridge a day. The commanders and soldiers had no shoes to wear and marched barefoot in the deep mountains and dense forests. Severe malaria, in the case of a shortage of medicine, he led the whole army with a strong revolutionary will and a stick in his hand. When our army moved south from Zhujiaba, our 52nd regiment of the rear guard suffered another attack. The enemy intercepted and surrounded, and the comrades of the whole regiment fought bloody battles for three days and nights. In the end, because the enemy was outnumbered and the ammunition and food were exhausted, they suffered heavy losses. Comrade Long Yun, the division commander, was arrested and killed by the warlord He Jian. After more than ten days of hard fighting , In the afternoon of one day, they entered the enemy's blockade line from Shiqian to Zhenyuan, defeated the enemy's patrol and security forces, occupied the intersection going east, and sent a strong guard to Zhenyuan in the south and Shiqian in the north The main force was guided by local old hunters, and filed eastward, passing through an inaccessible valley stream in the middle of the night. It was not until midnight that all the troops passed through, and we were relieved at dawn. This is an extremely tense situation. And a combat action that is related to the overall situation of the Sixth Army, until now, once I recall it, my heart is shocked and my spirit is lifted."After this near-death battle, when Xiao Ke joined forces with He Long, Xiao Ke counted the number of people, and there were only more than 3,000 people left, which was more than half less than when he set off from the Hunan-Jiangxi border area.

On October 24, 1934, the Sixth Red Army joined forces with the 3rd Red Army (predecessor of the Second Red Army) led by He Long, Guan Xiangying, and Xia Xi in Muhuang Town, Yinjiang County, eastern Guizhou.At that time, the 3rd Red Army still had 3,200 people, and their situation was not much better than that of the Sixth Army. In 1932, He Long and Duan Dechang made great efforts in the Honghu base area, and the Red Army once grew to more than 20,000 people.Since Xia Xi, the representative of the Central Sub-bureau who followed the left-leaning opportunist line, came to Honghu, he began to fight against the counter-revolutionaries.He labeled a large number of Red Army cadres, especially cadres above the regiment level, as "reorganization faction", "third party", and "KMT". He tortured and killed a large number of Red Army cadres. The head was unavailable, but was killed by Xia Xi during the purge of counter-revolutionaries.Xia Xi killed more than 3,000 cadres and soldiers in the Honghu Soviet Area, and most of the division-level cadres were killed.Nine out of ten village Soviet cadres were also killed, including He Long's two brothers.Even He Long's life was threatened, Marshal He Long recalled sadly: "At that time, the Soviet area was lost, the cadres were killed, and there were only 4 party members left (Xia Xi, He Long, Guan Xiangying, Lu Dongsheng), and the rest were not party members. Those who are party members dare not admit that they are party members. It is like a child who has lost his support and only has one red flag left. The 3rd Red Army heard that the Sixth Red Army was coming, but we didn’t know when it would arrive. We set off to meet the Sixth Red Army. Yes. We set off for a day, and the Sixth Army came. The first time Li Da led more than 200 people to find us, the second time Guo Peng, and the third time Ren Bishi, Wang Zhen, and Xiao Ke all came." After the reunion of the hard-working troops, they are like brothers reunited after a long absence.

On the second day after the meeting, Ren Bishi and Xiao Ke called the Central Committee to report the news of the meeting with He Long.They suggested: "Based on the current enemy situation and the strength of the Second and Sixth Army Corps, the two Army Corps should concentrate their actions." Unexpectedly, on October 26, the Military Commission called and opposed their merger.Telegram says: At this time, the Central Red Army had just left the Soviet area and started the Long March.The order of the Military Commission is that the Sixth Army Corps continue to serve as an advance team to attract and contain enemy troops for the Central Red Army, so as to reduce the pressure on the Central Committee.The leaders of the Second and Sixth Corps jointly studied the telegram and believed that the order of the Military Commission was inappropriate, so they jointly replied:

Facts have proved that the decision-making of He Long, Ren Bishi and other comrades was correct, and the central government did not insist on it.According to the instructions of the Military Commission, the Red Army after the division will be unified under the leadership of the Second Red Army Command.He Long was the head of the army, and Ren Bishi was the political commissar.The Sixth Army was downsized into three regiments, and the organizational structure was initially established.After the rendezvous of the two legions, they showed a high degree of unity.Ren Bishi presided over the meeting, severely criticized Xia Xi's "Left" opportunist line, restored the reputation of the victimized and hit comrades, and dispelled the dark clouds over the hearts of cadres and soldiers.The Red Army adopted flexible and maneuverable tactics to develop and expand the Soviet area in the Hunan-Guizhou border area, and quickly took control of Sangzhi, Dayong, Cili, Changde and other counties. The passive situation of a base area leads the troops to shuttle back and forth, looking for the enemy's weaknesses and loopholes to fight.He Long vividly said: "When a fisherman trawls the net, the fish still jump out. We are worse than fish? We can go out wherever we want. We go out like ducks in water, and we can go wherever we want. (Left-leaning route) insists on eating the Soviet area. If everything is clean, one family will be promoted to another family. Is it better to eat all the altars buried by others, or open a big warehouse?"

In the year after the rendezvous of the Second and Sixth Army Corps, the situation developed smoothly for a time.But after the Central Red Army went north, Chiang Kai-shek freed up his hands and dispatched four columns to encircle and suppress the Hunan, Guizhou and Soviet areas.The Kuomintang army built fortresses to block the Red Army's way out.The big and small bandits in western Hunan also occupied one side, opposing the Red Army.Life in the Red Army became more and more difficult.In order to break the enemy's blockade, He Long, Ren Bishi and others decided to retreat from the Hunan-Guizhou Soviet Area and go to central Guizhou to open up a new base. On November 19, 1935, the Red Second and Sixth Army Corps began to transfer and embarked on the journey of the Long March.

Among the four Long March teams, the Red Second and Sixth Army can be regarded as the most peculiar and legendary team.Among the nearly 20,000 troops, there are not only Red Army commanders and fighters, but also recruits with smoking guns, lieutenant generals and division commanders of the Kuomintang army, foreign missionaries with high noses and blue eyes, gray-haired enlightened gentlemen, and girls under the age of one. infant. When the Red Army came to Xiangxi, the first task was to expand the Red Army.But the source of soldiers here is really not ideal.Xiao Ke said: "Opium is grown everywhere there, and many people smoke opium. Landlords and warlords think that the general tax revenue is not much, so they ask the people to grow opium, and stipulate how much opium should be paid per mu of land. If the people don't grow it, they will receive "lazy donations". They made a lot of money from buying and selling opium, so opium was everywhere. The people are more commonly poisoned by tobacco. When children have a cold, they just use opium smoke. So there are many children in their teens who smoke opium This brings us a question: Are opium smokers allowed to serve as soldiers? When we were in Jiangxi, we said that opium smokers were hooligans, of course not. In Xiangxi, opium smokers are not allowed, and the source of soldiers is not easy to handle. OK Well, as long as they are young peasants, those who are willing to join the army should do so. Therefore, most of the new recruits smoke opium. The Red Army can smoke opium, which is unimaginable in Jiangxi. In order to mobilize them to quit smoking, the supply department prepared opium and smoked in a ration; At the same time, explain the truth, do political work, and then gradually reduce the amount of smoke, and finally dissolve the sulfur bitterness with distilled water, inject it intravenously, and quit after a few months. This work was done by Comrade Dai Zhenhua, the health minister of our army.” On October 1, 1934, when the Sixth Red Army was marching in Huangping County, Guizhou, it suddenly encountered a foreign missionary——Rudolf Bosahart.He is an English-born Swiss, devout Protestant.With a beautiful ideal, he voluntarily traveled across the ocean and came to the impoverished and backward Guizhou, China to preach.He also gave himself a Chinese name——Bo Fuli, which was taken from the allusion of Confucius' "restraining oneself and returning to ritual".It is astonishing that these devout missionaries, with their religious zeal, should spread throughout the most desolate corners of China.On this day, Bo Fuli and his wife participated in a religious ceremony. On the way back to Zhenyuan from Anshun, they encountered the Red Army unexpectedly and became prisoners. The Red Army was very happy to catch the two foreigners.In their eyes, these two "imperialists" could be used as hostages for the KMT to redeem with money.Xiao Ke recalled: "Frankly speaking, the main reason why we detained the two of them at this time was from the perspective of military needs. Because since our Western Expedition, we have fought for more than 50 days and marched in summer, and the number of wounded and sick soldiers is increasing. We know that these missionaries have the conditions to get medicines and funds, so we propose to release them on the condition that they provide a certain amount of medicines or funds.” It’s just that the Red Army’s asking price is too high. When interrogating Bo Fuli When Judge Wu (it should be Wu Defeng, chief of the Legion Security Bureau—author's note) announced that he wanted a ransom of 100,000 yuan, Bo Fuli shouted desperately: "100,000? Impossible!" The Red Army captured Jiuzhou City the next day and captured New Zealand missionary Hayman's family.The Red Army released Mrs. Boveli and the Hayman family, but the two missionaries would not release them without a ransom. Later, an accident made Bo Fuli improve the relationship with the Red Army.In Huangping Church, the Red Army found a one-square-meter map of Guizhou.But the place names are all in French.Xiao Ke heard that Bo Fuli knew Chinese, so he sent someone to escort him here.Bo Fuli recalled: "When we met, he asked me to translate a French map for him. He asked me to tell him the names of all the roads and villages and towns on the map. He hoped to avoid encountering car roads during the exercise. My conscience was immediately questioned. , he is only 25 years old, and he is a passionate and energetic leader. A pair of bright big eyes are shining, full of confidence and strength. He is unyielding in the difficult and tortuous journey." Apparently, Bo Fuli was moved by Xiao Ke's charm .So, he began to translate for Xiao Ke in blunt Chinese, and Xiao Ke recorded it carefully.They worked most of the night under dim oil lamps.After work, Xiao Ke asked about Bo Fuli's life experience, and the two chatted.The hearts of a Red Army general and foreign missionaries are gradually communicating. Half a century later, when the American writer Salisbury interviewed General Xiao Ke in Beijing and talked about this night in the Long March, Xiao Ke was still very excited.He said: "After so many years, the reason why I can't forget it is because this is a military activity that cannot be forgotten. At that time, when we fought in Guizhou, we used the map in the old Chinese middle school textbook. In 32 format, we can only see the provincial capital, The general locations of county towns and big cities, and the general direction of mountains and rivers have no tactical value. When we got a large map, Bo Fuli helped translate it into Chinese, and it solved a big problem for us when we needed it most. At the same time , While translating and chatting, he also provided a lot of useful information, which played a certain role in our decision on the actions of the troops. The map he helped us translate became a good guide for our battle march in Guizhou." Since then, Bo Fuli's treatment has improved significantly.When the Red Army distributed the spoils, they also gave him a large piece of beef.During the march, his shoes were broken. Wu Defeng ordered a soldier to take off his overshoes for Bo Fuli, while the soldier was walking barefoot on the mountain road in pain.Later, Wu Defeng found mules for the two missionaries, and the ransom was reduced to 6,000 yuan. With the hard work of the church colleagues, part of the ransom was delivered.The Red Army decided to release the older Heyman, and continued marching with Bo Fuli under their custody.In this way, Bo Fuli marched with the Second and Sixth Army Corps of the Red Army across Guizhou and into Yunnan. On March 21, 1935, when the Red Army was only tens of miles away from Kunming, Bo Fuli was suddenly summoned by Xiao Ke. He was told that the Red Army had decided to release him.At the farewell dinner, Wang Zhen said to him: "You have to remember, we are friends. You have seen how good we are to the poor. We are not bandits. This is the enemy's slander." Xiao Ke welcomed him If you stay in China, you can run schools, but you are not allowed to use God to anesthetize students.Early the next morning, the Red Army set off.Bo Fuli walked to Fumin County on foot and ended his 18-month captive life in the Red Army. Bo Fuli returned to England and became a news figure.People were very interested in his legendary experience and invited him to give a speech.But unexpectedly, Bo Fuli said to everyone: "The amazing enthusiasm of the Chinese Red Army, the pursuit and hope for the new world, and the persistence in their own beliefs are unprecedented. Their enthusiasm is sincere and impressive. Surprising. They believe that the revolution they are engaged in is part of the world revolution. They are young and fighting bravely for their cause, full of youthful vigor and revolutionary passion." He returned to China to preach again, in his memoirs written in his later years , made a truthful record of the Red Army's Long March.General Xiao Ke was deeply moved by this. In his preface to the Chinese translation of Bo Fuli's memoirs, he said: "Mr. Bo Fuli was imprisoned by us, but he never misses the past. This kind of mind and attitude is admirable. This kind of person It’s also worth dating.” The Kuomintang division commander who followed the Long March of the Second and Sixth Red Army was Zhang Zhenhan. In June 1935, the Second and Sixth Army Corps marched towards Yi'en, Hubei. Zhang Zhenhan, commander of the 41st Division of the Kuomintang, commanded four brigades to encircle the Red Army.He Long transferred the main force to Zhongbao, caught the enemy by surprise during the movement, and surrounded Zhang Zhenhan's division headquarters in a valley.The battle started, and Wang Zhen led the 51st regiment to attack.He Long called to pull Wang Zhen down and told him not to attack hard.He Long ordered the Red Army to fire a few mortars at the enemy. The enemy did not expect the Red Army to have artillery, and they became a mess.He Long commanded the troops to charge and annihilate this group of enemies, and Zhang Zhenhan also became a prisoner.It is said that Zhang Zhenhan's family sent a sum of money to request that Zhang Zhenhan be released.He Long believed that Zhang Zhenhan was of some use to the Red Army and treated him with courtesy.Zhang Zhenhan thanked the Red Army for its generosity and was willing to do things for the Red Army.The Second and Sixth Army Corps of the Red Army established the Red Army School, and Zhang Zhenhan became an instructor of the advanced class, teaching tactical principles and military knowledge to the Red Army commanders.He can also connect with reality, combining military teaching with some examples of warlords' civil wars and his own failures in fighting the Red Army, which is very popular.Some officers under him also served as instructors and played a role in the construction of the Red Army.Later, Zhang Zhenhan participated in the whole process of the Long March of the Red Second Front Army until he arrived in Yan'an.After the Kuomintang and the Communist Party cooperated, the central government decided to let him go home.Zhang Zhenhan returned to Changsha, participated in revolutionary work after liberation, and served as the deputy mayor of Changsha. In late February 1936, the Second and Sixth Red Army marched to Bijie, Guizhou, where they rested and expanded their red.The Red Army organized a propaganda team to publicize the northward anti-Japanese war to the common people.There is an enlightened gentleman in the area, Zhou Suyuan, who was a scholar in the late Qing Dynasty and served in the Beiyang government.At that time, he was nearly 60 years old, and he had personally experienced the turmoil and darkness of old China, and his desire to serve the country had never been realized.Before the Red Army came to Bijie, the KMT commissioner told him to run away together. He said: "I don't have much property, so I don't have to leave." Book.Mr. Zhou said: "I have studied Marxism for ten years, and I believe in Marxism. Your Communist Party and the Red Army also teach Marxism, so I don't need to leave." Everyone asked him: "Is it good for you to study Marxism? Now we The policy of the Communist Party is to oppose Chiang Kai-shek and resist Japan, do you agree or not?" He said he totally agreed.So the Red Army asked him to be the commander of the Guizhou Anti-Japanese National Salvation Army, and he readily agreed.With his local reputation, he raised his arms and recruited 1,000 people in a few days, and went north with the Red Army.When they arrived in Yunnan, the Red Army was intercepted by Yunnan warlords Long Yun and Sun Du in front of them, and was chased by the Central Army of the Kuomintang.Mr. Zhou and Sun Du had an old relationship, so he wrote to Sun Du and Long Yun to show his righteousness.Long Yun considered again and again, and decided to stand still and let the Red Army go north.It is such an old man who, with a patriotic heart, climbed snow-capped mountains and crossed grasslands with the Red Army to reach northern Shaanxi, which became a good story among the Red Army.After the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, he also returned to his hometown, and served as the vice chairman of the CPPCC Guizhou Province after liberation. Not long after the Red Second and Sixth Army Corps joined forces, He Long and Xiao Ke tied the knot.They married a pair of sisters, He Long's wife was his elder sister Jian Xianren, and Xiao Ke's wife was his younger sister Jian Xianfo.The Jian sisters had studied in middle school and were rare talented women in the army.Jian Xian taught He Long culture, known as "Mr. Jian". In November 1935, Jian Xianren gave birth to a daughter.He Long happened to have won a big battle ahead, and was very happy to hear the good news from Wang Zhen, so he named his daughter "Jiesheng".Soon, the base area was encircled and suppressed by the enemy, the situation was tense, and the Red Army prepared to switch to outside operations.He Long wanted to foster the child with a relative.He rode for dozens of miles with the child on his back, and found that the door of his relative's house was locked and he had disappeared.So He Long decided to take his children to the expedition.Along the way, this baby under one year old added a lot of joy to everyone.Bo Fuli recalled the situation at that time and said: "On the eve of the Long March, when people were fighting bravely for survival, a baby girl was born in this team. General He Long held the child, so kind and kind, just like the child's mother Same, full of tenderness." When the soldiers discovered that Bo Fuli could knit sweaters, "He Long asked the messenger to send me a ball of high-quality wool with a German trademark on it. I think it may be stolen from the church resident. The booty. The colors of the wool are various, black, green, purple, brown, white, and colorful. They also gave a small Chinese-style windbreaker as a reference, and I designed some myself Match it with various colors.” Bo Fuli rushed to weave overnight, but when he was nearly finished, he fell ill.Whether this sweater was worn by Xiao Jiesheng himself is not clear. During the arduous Long March, everyone took turns carrying this little girl on their backs. When she passed the blockade, her mother was afraid that she would expose her target by crying, so she tightly gagged her mouth, making her suffocated.During a battle, He Long rode a war horse, holding his daughter in his arms, and struggling to break through.After protruding out, it was discovered that the child was knocked out of his arms at some point.I hurried back to search and found that she was picked up by a fellow villager and held in his arms.When crossing the grass, there is no food to eat, let alone milk, and the child survives tenaciously by feeding the batter.When he arrived in northern Shaanxi, the child was only one year old.She is the youngest one in the Long March, which is a miracle and a touching story in the Long March.This girl who was born with hardships, later inherited her father's career and became a female general of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. After the Red Second and Sixth Army Corps started the Long March, no one expected that they would go to northern Shaanxi.After receiving a telegram from the Central Committee conveying the spirit of the Zunyi Conference in February 1935, the Second and Sixth Army Corps lost contact with the Central Committee.In late September, they suddenly received a clear-coded telegram from Zhou Enlai asking about the whereabouts of the Second and Sixth Army Corps.When He Long received the telegram, he was both happy and alert.In order to confirm the authenticity of the telegram, they returned a telegram as a test. The next day they received a coded call back from the Red Army headquarters: The call from the headquarters caused cheers among the Second and Sixth Army Corps.When everyone was happy to connect with the Central Committee, they did not expect that this telegram was not sent by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, but by Zhang Guotao.At that time, Zhang Guotao had split from the Central Committee. He had the code of the Red Army, so he received a telegram from the Second Front Army of the Second and Sixth Army Corps.He contacted the Second and Sixth Army Corps in the name of the headquarters, and the central government knew almost nothing about the situation of the Second and Sixth Army Corps until Ganzi joined forces.Zhang Guotao did not disclose the situation of the struggle within the party, so the Second and Sixth Army Corps naturally did not know.Looking back on this period of history, Zhu De said: "Before the second and fourth front armies met, there was no instruction from the central government. We sent reports through him (Zhang Guotao). At that time, he had to listen to me when it came to war, but he had to listen to him when it came to politics. of." In the early days of the Long March, the Red Second and Sixth Army Corps acted independently, which on the contrary avoided many unnecessary restraints and losses. In November 1935, the Kuomintang army intensified its encirclement and suppression of the Hunan and Guizhou base areas, and the economic difficulties in the base areas, which were not rich in the first place, became even more difficult.In order to change the passive situation, the Second and Sixth Army plans to transfer.Xiao Ke said: The plan of the Red Army "just wants to shift, get rid of the enemy's siege, preserve the vitality, and establish a new base in Hunan and Guizhou or in the east of Guizhou. But it didn't expect to cross the Yangtze River or the Jinsha River, let alone the Long March to the Northern Shaanxi".Therefore, the transfer of the Second and Sixth Army Corps was neither a rogue-style aimless movement nor a moving-style escape.Everyone wants to turn back after winning a few battles, so they set off lightly.Luggage is the simplest, food is only for a few days. On a stormy night on October 23, 1935, the Red Army broke through the enemy's fortress defense line at Tankou near Dayong, and took the first step of the Long March. The Red Army began to fight eastward, and marched quickly to Xinhua, Chenxi and other places, which are the most affluent in central Hunan.The enemy thought that the Red Army was going to attack Changde and threaten Changsha, so frightened the county magistrates and local tyrants in central Hunan to ask for troops.Chiang Kai-shek ordered Fan Songfu, Li Jue and other five columns to encircle the Red Army, and the Second and Sixth Army Corps prepared to fight a battle in Bianshui, Huang County, to stop the enemy's pursuit.But the command went wrong. The Sixth Army fought a war of attrition with the enemy for a day, and went west without notifying the Second Army.Ren Bishi lived in Longxikou with the Legion Headquarters, and he didn't know that the Sixth Army Corps had left.He Long and Guan Xiangying saw that the Sixth Army's position did not fire their guns, and guessing that they had left, they quickly sent troops to seize Longxikou to avoid being cut off by the enemy.He Long simply resorted to a trick, and marched swaggeringly the next day.The enemy thought there was an ambush, so they dared not pursue.The Red Army marched west to Shiqian, Guizhou, where they rested. The Red Army went from east to west, changing constantly, which made the Kuomintang army panic.Fan Songfu, the commander of the 3rd column, was ordered to pursue and suppress, and followed the Red Army in the mountainous area of ​​western Hunan.At the time of departure, more than a dozen officials, family members, and staff members carried sedan chairs, and it was impossible to walk in the mountainous area.Fan Songfu had no choice but to throw away the idlers and sedan chairs and led the troops to climb the mountain.He complained: "The troops have traveled a lot of winding mountain trails and Tianan roads from Cili to Xupu. If the battle is not fought, the march will be exhausting. The adults who take the plane and the car don't care about your life and death. According to their The next order restricts you to arrive on time, otherwise you will be charged with delaying the military opportunity, and the officers and soldiers will have no place to sue.” He was afraid of He Long’s ambush, so he dared not walk on the mountain road, marching around the road, and he could not even see the shadow of the Red Army .After chasing for some days, I heard that the Red Army had crossed the Zhijiang River and was going west, so I asked He Jian and Liu Jianxu in Changsha whether to pursue or see them off.For the sake of preserving their strength, He and Liu hoped that they could drive the Red Army out of Hunan.Fan Songfu followed the Red Army, neither chasing nor fighting, but kept a certain distance, allowing the Red Army to advance westward calmly. Seeing that the Red Army had entered Guizhou, Chen Cheng ordered the Hunan Army to continue their pursuit.This unlucky job fell to Li Jue, the commander of the 4th column.When the Red Army broke through from the base area, Li Jue did not block it, and was recorded as a major demerit twice, and dared not refuse to carry out the order.He followed Huangping, Longli, and Guiyang all the way to Anshun, and only rested for two days before he was ordered to march towards Weining.It is not at all clear where the Red Army is.In Weining, Li Jue suddenly received a 100,000 urgent telegram from Chief of Staff Gu Zhutong, asking him to arrive at Qixingguan before the evening of the next day.Li Jue looked at the map and found that there are 180 miles of land, all of which are high mountains and narrow trails. It is impossible to arrive at the designated time.Fortunately, the Kuomintang officers have a way to deal with the blind command of the upper class. Li Jue selected 100 strong and strong men, all of whom were lightly dressed, and a third were unarmed to form a symbolic advancing column.Carry a small radio on their backs and prepay the bounty, so that no matter what method they take, as long as they reach the Seven Star Pass on time, they will send a report to the boss that they have occupied the Seven Star Pass.Li Jue walked slowly behind with a large army.This move really worked, it didn't matter whether he had the Red Army or not, as long as he fooled his boss over there. The Long March of the Red Second and Sixth Army Corps, starting from the Hunan-Guizhou base area to Bijie, Guizhou, was basically smooth.Although they climbed a lot of mountains, they did not encounter any major battles, and the losses of the troops were relatively small. On January 28, 1936, He Long, Ren Bishi, and Guan Xiangying received a call from the Red Army headquarters in Bijie: "There are two things about your actions: 1. Eliminate part of the enemy in mobile warfare in the vast area of ​​Guizhou, Yunnan, and Sichuan. Strive for base areas to cooperate with us in fighting. 2. After entering Sichuan, cross the Jinsha River in Yunnan to the south, pass through Bijie and enter the lower reaches, cross the Dajiang River in the upper and lower reaches of the south, and go deep into the middle of Sichuan to fight the enemy. All of them will join us directly In combat, the first and third armies can also go out of southern Shaanxi to cooperate....At present, your strategy should be based on the first item. The second item is of a decisive nature and can only be adopted under extremely favorable conditions." This instruction is consistent with Ren Bishi and other leaders. They all agreed: "The Second and Sixth Army Corps should maintain their activities on the south bank of the Yangtze River. Qian Dabi's terrain, masses, food, and reactionary ruling forces are all conducive to our army's activities. Therefore, it was decided to create a new army in this area. base." The Red Army lived in Bijie for more than 20 days, promoting anti-Japanese, expanding the Red Army, and carrying out united front work, making it very lively.Soon, the Kuomintang troops Wan Yaohuang, Fan Songfu, Hao Mengling, Li Jue and other units pressed from several directions.The transportation in Guizhou is inconvenient and the information is not effective. The Red Army cannot grasp the accurate enemy situation, and several attacks have little effect.The encirclement of the enemy was getting tighter and tighter. In order to avoid being passive, the Red Army withdrew from Bijie and originally planned to move towards Anshun.The enemy army blocked the way forward again, trying to destroy the Red Army on the way.Ren Bishi recalled: "Due to changes in the situation, it was difficult to move southward, so we moved to the east of Yunnan." Because the enemy army set up defenses in the Weining area, "the southwestern advance failed, but they were forced to be in the narrow area between Bi, Yiliang, and Zhenxiong in the north of Weidao. Difficult areas. Under the circumstances of difficult weather and supplies, the enemy used highly active actions to attempt to wipe out our army in this area, which was also a difficult period for our army's Long March." Therefore, the Red Army "take advantage of the emptiness to march around Weining and advance to the east of Yunnan, As a result, it finally broke away from the Guizhou-Yunnan Sichuan border and began to enter the vast area of ​​the Guizhou-Yunnan border.” During this period, the Red Army traveled through the mountains and mountains, the roads were rugged and dangerous, and there were few people.The food I brought was eaten up quickly, and I hadn't seen corn or buckwheat in a week.The climate in the mountains changes greatly, hot and cold, and the troops are hungry and cold. Some people can't stand it, complaining "I don't know where to drag it".The phenomenon of falling behind is serious, and some new soldiers who joined the army in Bijie deserted.The situation improved when the troops entered Yunnan and defeated Xuanwei. "Supplies have also suddenly improved. The hams from Xuanwei's local tyrants' homes are distributed to the masses in large quantities, and the troops can't eat them all. The mountains are lower, the roads are flat and wide, and fatigue is gradually disappearing." Soldiers The morale of the team has obviously increased. The Red Army entered Yunnan and frightened the local emperor Long Yun.Chiang Kai-shek just took the opportunity to hold him in the palm of his hand.On the surface, the central army that pursued the Red Army was handed over to Long Yun's command, which broke the situation where Long Yun dominated Yunnan.Sun Du, commander of the 3rd Column, followed the Red Army to Xuanwei and received a letter from the Red Army from Mr. Zhou Suyuan.He forwarded the letter to Long Yun, tacitly keeping his distance and not fighting the Red Army.One day, the subordinate said that there was an exchange of fire with the Red Army at Hutou Mountain on the outskirts of Xuanwei, and Sun Du rushed to the front. "I saw that the actual fighting situation was not as intense as I imagined. There were densely packed roads at the foot of the mountain and the nearby concave road occupied by the 1st Brigade. The army was resting. I asked the brigade commander Liu Zhengfu, is that our team? He said that it was the Red Army. He pointed to the place with tents on the mountainside a little further away, and said that it was also the Red Army. I told him immediately Said: Fighting against the Red Army must be steady and steady, the situation is unpredictable, so don't act rashly."There were heavy gunshots at night, and Sun Du thought that the Red Army was going to attack, so he was extremely nervous.At dawn, the Red Army had already moved.After the Red Army crossed the Pudu River, Sun Du's troops arrived slowly. At this time, Chiang Kai-shek went to Kunming to supervise the battle, and took Long Yun to the plane to inspect the front line.Long Yun couldn't see where the ground was, and thought that Chiang Kai-shek was going to take him away, so he was very nervous and terrified.After seeing Chiang Kai-shek drop a letter from the plane to Sun Du, he was relieved knowing that he was still on the territory of Yunnan.Unexpectedly, the addiction to smoking was committed again, and he yawned and exchanged tears.When getting off the plane, Long Yun asked someone to help him, as if he was seriously ill. On March 25, 1936, the Second and Sixth Army Corps received a telegram from the Red Army Headquarters north of Xuanwei, instructing: "If it is still possible to cross the Jinsha River at this time, we recommend that you cross the river under the condition that you are sure of the technology and March in the old calendar × A few days ago, try to cross the Jinsha River and join us to march northward. If you are not very tired and you are sure of mobile warfare, you can also operate on the Sichuan-Yunnan border." The leaders of the Second and Sixth Army Corps studied the situation, Ren Bishi thought : "Because the Military Commission has no definite instructions, we don't know whether it is because of the strategic requirement that we must cross the river and join our forces to march northward, or fear that after the main force will march northward in the future, the Second and Sixth Army Corps will be too isolated and difficult to operate on the south bank of the Yangtze River. "He Long means "You can live here, and you can live there."Wang Zhen recalled: "When we arrived in Yunnan, we had no intention of crossing the river, and we wanted to fight back. At that time, Ren Bishi raised a question: Shi Dakai failed in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and now Chiang Kai-shek said that the Central Red Army would be wiped out if it took that road. We I doubt it. From today’s point of view, it’s okay to cross the river, and you can even go to Guizhou. We didn’t know that after crossing the river, we would have to cross the snow-capped mountains and grasslands. If we knew, we wouldn’t cross it.” Xiao Ke recalled: “In Pan County received a telegram from the General Headquarters, asking us to cross the Jinsha River westward, join the Fourth Front Army in Xikang, and go north to resist Japan. At this time, we knew nothing about Zhang Guotao’s split against the Central Committee when the First and Fourth Front Armies joined forces.当时我们还想在黔滇边站住脚。总司令部要我们北上抗日，我们是从当时整个的国内形势来看，认为北上抗日是大势所趋。经军分会的考虑，决定执行总司令部的指示，与四方面军会师，北上抗日。” 红军总部为什么要二、六军团北上呢？张国焘开始是不积极的。朱德回忆说：“二方面军始终都是好的，听指挥的。过江不过江不是个人决定，要以敌人的力量来决定。过江不是中央指示，是我们从中抓的，抓过来好，团结就搞起来，这里阴差阳错的把团结搞起来的。二方面军过江，我们气壮了，北上就有把握了。但二方面军在会合前是不知道张国焘反中央的。在会合后二方面军起了很好的作用，迫使他取消了伪中央。” 北上会师的大计已定，二、六军团迅速从宣威北上，一路经过楚雄、祥云、鹤庆等地，1936年4月25日占领丽江，接近金沙江。这段路都是走公路，却不像走山路安全。龙云急于把红军赶出云南，几乎每天派飞机轰炸，给红军的行军造成很大麻烦。干部、战士被炸死炸伤的不少。为了加快行军速度，政治部把一些不能走的伤病员寄托在老乡家里，留下休养费和粮食。伤势不重的干部才骑马或用担架抬着走。多数伤员知道让国民党抓住不会有好结果，痛哭着不愿留下，搞得干部十分为难。急行军的疲劳和轰炸，造成伤病员数量剧增，部队减员越来越多。 4月26日，先头部队到达金沙江畔。虽然只搞到几条船，但渡江组织得很好，短短三天就全部渡过了金沙江。过江后进入少数民族区域，这些地方人烟稀少，极为荒凉，一万多人的红军队伍吃饭住宿都成了问题。红军从中甸走了几百里山路到德荣，以为是个县城，可以补充粮食。谁知到德荣一看，竟然只有三家房子，以致大家怀疑是不是走错了地方。粮食没有，衣服也没有，政治部主任甘泗淇回忆：“西康气候非常寒冷，特别是雪山上空气稀薄，呼吸都感困难。近河处早晚很冷，日间又热，这种气候我们尚未习惯。战士在湘黔滇行动中，没有大批的准备衣服被褥。当时气候是和煦的，有些战士好似不感觉如何需要。一过金沙江后气候即顿觉寒冷，然而收集衣服已是非常困难了。当时我们的战士有些是穿单衣，甚至一层都是烂的，也无衣换洗，在搜山时亦未收集到什么羊皮衣服，被盖的缺乏是影响了战士的健康的。因受寒而致病，因病致死，这是我们一个严重的问题。……西康粮食缺乏，有些战士的掉队是因为挨了饿掉了队，常难得到充分的食料，有时弄点干粉吃又无开水，和之以冷水，吃了肚子不消化，常发生痢疾。病员中痢疾症占了一半以上。再则部队很难弄到油吃（酥油是很少的），盐也是缺乏。有些部队收集很多给养，常有战士过食无度。而另一部分常未得到而感觉饥饿，都足以致人于疾病的。” 从丽江到甘孜这段艰苦的行程，红二、六军团遭受前所未有的损失。据任弼时统计，掉队、逃亡、战斗中牺牲和负伤、因病寄养和失踪的总共有7381人。除千余伤员还能跟随行军，可谓损失近半。然而最严峻的考验是爬雪山。王震回忆：“从中甸到稻城、理化、瞻化到达甘孜等县，通过三个最大的雪山。一个是从格罗湾到小中甸的大雪山（一百几十里），正是5月2日。一个是从瓮水到易窝的大雪山，约120里，是在5月12日翻过的。最后是从那坡到德窝的大雪山，150里，是在6月1日翻过的。其次还翻了许多小雪山。” 二、六军团的行军路线，比一、四方面军更为艰苦。由于没有过雪山的经验，还按老规矩梯次行军，结果吃了大亏。甘泗淇说：“有的在雪山上停止休息和吃雪水以致死亡近百。由白松到茨乌走错了路，过了一雪山死亡亦数十。由东南多又过一雪山，4师当时因前面被番民破坏道路阻碍我军部队走不动，后面部队仍在山上，突然天变下大雪，冻死近40人。13团亦因前面队伍走不动停止被冻死近30人，6师亦死亡数十，仅军直死亡较少。”然而，与四方面军会师的信心并没有动摇，在贺龙带领下，红军战士以坚强的意志和顽强的耐力连续翻过大小雪山，走完了会师前最艰难的路程。 当二、六军团渡过金沙江后，四方面军这里又活跃起来，掀起了迎接二、六军团的热潮。4月12日朱德、张国焘就通知陈昌浩：“二、六军北上已成事实，四十日内可接通。望努力筹集资粮，完成4、5两月战斗准备工作，必能争取会合二、六军和实现北上的胜利。”4月20日红二方面军接近金沙江，朱德、张国焘又通知徐向前，要他做好接应准备。4月27日，朱、张命令徐向前派32军前往雅江、稻城路上迎接，在瞻化准备好住房。徐向前召开动员大会，要求各部全力开展迎接二方面军的组织准备工作。除了准备吃住，还要全军动手纺毛线、织毛衣，慰劳二、六军团的兄弟。徐向前强调：“红军是一家人，我们和中央红军、二方面军的关系，好比是老四和老大、老二的兄弟关系。上次我们和老大的关系没有搞好，要接受教训。吵架归吵架，团结归团结，不能分家。现在老二就要上来了，再搞不好关系，是说不过去的。”他的话引起大家的高度重视。 1936年6月3日，六军团的先头部队16师与四方面军的32军在理化（今四川理塘）南甲洼会师。6月27日，萧克、王震率六军团与四方面军会师于甘孜。7月1日，贺龙、任弼时在甘孜绒坝岔会见朱德、张国焘。二、六军团与四方面军实现会师，这是长征中的又一个节日。在甘孜的山坡上召开了欢迎大会，口号声、欢笑声此起彼伏。身着鲜艳服装、载歌载舞的藏族男女令二、六军团战士大开眼界，李伯钊率领的红军文工团演出了精彩的节目。二、六军团的同志经历了半年多的艰苦转战，这是第一次安心坐下来观看演出。 战士谭尚维回忆：“吃过晚饭后，我们每个人都领到一件毛衣或一双毛袜子。这些东西对我们南方人来说都有点稀罕。有些人过去在乡下根本就没见过这样厚的毛衣或毛袜子，有人问指导员：'这是哪里来的？'指导员说：'这是四方面军慰劳我们的。人家怕我们到草地受冻，全军上下几天几晚没睡觉，剪羊毛、洗净，捻成细细的毛线，又一针一针织成的。'大家感动地把毛衣左看右看，穿上脱下，脱下又穿上。从那密密的毛线里，我好像看到它渗透着四方面军同志的汗水和深情。”