Chapter 23 Chapter Twenty-Two Through Tribulations and Tribulations

On the night of March 16, 1937, Xu Xiangqian and Chen Changhao, escorted by a guard platoon, quietly left the West Route Army and walked towards northern Shaanxi.In order to avoid the cavalry of the Ma family army, they traveled day and night.When they walked out of Qilian Mountains, Xu Xiangqian ordered the guard staff Chen Mingyi and Xiao Yongyin to lead the guard platoon to fight guerrillas on the spot, and everyone dispersed.Chen, Xiao and others had no choice but to obey the order. Xu and Chen left only one security cadre with them and marched forward in disguise.When they arrived at Xidongbao, they stopped to rest and asked the security cadres to find water to drink.When it was almost dawn, the people looking for water did not come back.Xu Xiangqian guessed that something was wrong with him, so he pulled Chen Changhao away quickly.The next day they went to Damaying to stay and found a Hubei family who was practicing medicine there.Chen Changhao was very happy to meet fellow villagers.The fellow entertained them with a full meal, and the next morning Xu Xiangqian urged Chen Changhao to go on the road. Chen said he was too tired and would rest for a few days before leaving.Xu Xiangqian thought: You have fellow villagers as cover, so it doesn't matter if you stay for a few days.My accent is wrong and it's dangerous here.So with Chen's consent, Xu Xiangqian left alone.

In order to avoid Ma Jiajun's arrest, Xu Xiangqian tried not to contact anyone on the road.Xiaoxing stayed overnight and hurried on his way.He was wearing a tattered sheepskin jacket, black and thin, like a shepherd on the Gobi desert.When I was hungry, I went to the common people's house to beg for a meal.On the way from Yongchang to Liangzhou, he met Commander Cao of the Secret Service Battalion and walked with him.After crossing the Yellow River and out of Ma's army's territory, Xu Xiangqian felt a little relieved.When they arrived at Dalachi, Xu Xiangqian exchanged a gold ring for his padded robe and clothes, and he and Cao Battalion Commander Cao crossed Liupan Mountain to Pingliang City. They heard that the Red Army was very close to here, and immediately rushed towards Beishan.In a place called Xiaotun, Xu Xiangqian met Geng Biao, chief of staff of the 4th Army, who was on a mission. It was difficult to express his mixed feelings of sorrow and joy in words.The next day, Xu Xiangqian was escorted to the headquarters of the West Aid Army in Zhenyuan and met Liu Bocheng.It's April 30th.After a month and a half of homelessness, Xu Xiangqian finally returned home.A few days later, Mao Zedong, Zhang Wentian, and Zhu De sent condolences: "Comrade Qianqian, congratulations on your return from danger, and I believe that you will be able to continue to fight for the revolution under the leadership of the Central Committee. I hope that you will come to the Central Committee after you recover from your illness."

Xu Xiangqian's return was relatively smooth in the West Route Army.According to Xu Xiangqian's report, Mao Zedong instructed Ye Jianying to send people to Liangzhou to look for Chen Changhao, but they were not found.It turned out that he had been ill at the hometown of a fellow in Hubei. After recovering from his illness, perhaps the defeated general had no face to see his elders in Jiangdong. Pull up a Red Army team.But the local situation was not good, so Chen Changhao returned to Yan'an.It was October 1937 when he arrived in Yan'an, which was at the climax of Yan'an's criticism of Zhang Guotao's line.Chen Changhao was strictly censored by the central government and later sent to the Soviet Union to study. This figure who once held a senior leadership position in the Red Army has since withdrawn from the stage of history.

After Xu Chen left, the remaining more than 1,000 cadres and soldiers of the West Route Army had to arrange for themselves.According to the decision of the Shiwo meeting, Wang Shusheng, deputy commander-in-chief of the West Route Army and commander of the 9th Army, Li Jukui, chief of staff, and Sun Yuqing, commander of the 5th Army, led more than 400 remnants of the 9th Army along the way.Li Zhuoran, Li Te, Huang Chao, Zeng Chuanliu, etc., the heads of the West Route Army Working Committee, and other cadres from the headquarters, accompanied Li Xiannian, political commissar of the 30th Red Army, Cheng Shicai, commander of the Red Army, and the remaining 1,300 members of the 30th Army.

Wang Shusheng walked with the remaining cavalry of the 9th Army. Due to the exhaustion of the past few days, all the riders fell asleep.When they woke up, the troops all ran away.Only 20 people including Wang Shusheng and Du Yide were left to climb the mountains and drill the ravines. On the third day, they thought they had got rid of the enemy, but they didn't expect the enemy to catch up with the horseshoe marks.Wang Shusheng ordered several comrades to cover and block the enemy.As a result, Wang Shusheng and his party escaped from danger, but the people who covered them never came back.

Wang Shusheng and the others walked west for a few days and met Sun Yuqing, the commander of the 9th Army.On the day of the separate operation, Sun Yuqing and Li Jukui took a radio station and a few staff members to insert behind the enemy, trying to use radio waves to attract the main force of the enemy so that the large forces could break through.They went into the mountains to hide, hoping to wait for the Ma's army to retreat before coming out.When marching to the southeast, the radio crew fell behind and met Ma Jiajun Soushan, the captain Liu Junying, the crew Liu Yuting, Huang Liangcheng, and Zeng Qingliang were all captured.Sun Yuqing and others also failed to go out, and were still wandering around in the mountains.Just at this time, I met Wang Shusheng and others.They walked along the ravine together, and after more than ten days in the mountains, the Ma Jiajun who searched the mountains should also leave.They decided to camp and rest.Unexpectedly, they suddenly encountered a small group of enemies. In the melee, the wounded such as Wang Shusheng and Sun Yuqing separated again.Wang Shusheng felt that there was no way out in the mountains, so he decided to go out of the mountains and go north to get rid of the enemy.On the way out of the mountain, they met a shepherd of the Han nationality, who was a commoner who sympathized with the Red Army.He found a hidden cave for Wang Shusheng and others to live in, and he also told the situation of the mountain pass and the safe route.With the help of this good man, Wang Shusheng and others finally walked out of Qilian Mountains.

On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival in 1937, they walked to the plain area.At this time, there were only 8 people left following Wang Shusheng and Du Yide.Wang Shusheng said: We have passed the most difficult period, and now we can go back with ease.After more than three months of homeless life, they still insist on going east.Because they didn't know the way, Wang Shusheng and others walked all the way to the edge of the Tengger Desert, and encountered the enemy again.During the retreat, he ran away with several comrades around him, leaving only Wang Shusheng alone.He was hungry and thirsty, and passed out in the desert.Fortunately, an old man in a local small business found him, gave him water and dry food, saved him from the brink of death, and took him to the Tongxin City Ferry to send him across the Yellow River.When Wang Shusheng returned to Yan'an alone, it was already August 1937.

Sun Yuqing couldn't walk because of his injuries, and was captured by Ma's army who searched the mountain shortly after being separated from Wang Shusheng.He was escorted to the 298th brigade of the Majia Army in Jiuquan. The brigade commander Ma Bukang asked: "What kind of official are you?"But unfortunately, Sun Yuqing was soon identified by the enemy.Ma Bukang was overjoyed when he heard that the commander of the Red Army had fallen into his hands.Following Ma Bufang's instructions, Sun Yuqing was escorted to Xining. In mid-May, Sun Yuqing was escorted to Xining.Ma Bufang met him at the provincial government.According to Chen Bingyuan, a reporter from the Kuomintang "Qinghai Daily" who was present at the time, Ma Bufang hosted a banquet in an attempt to induce Sun Yuqing to surrender.He asked Sun: "Are you Commander Sun? You are young, how old are you?"

Sun replied, "Twenty-eight years old." Ma asked, "Why did you join the Red Army? When did you become the commander?" Sun replied: "I participated in Hunan when I was nineteen years old. I worked since I was a child, and my family was very poor. After joining the Red Army, I fought in Hunan and Yunnan, and was promoted step by step." Ask: "Why did you come here as a prisoner for us?" Answer: "I've run out of ammunition, and I'm in a desperate situation." Question: "With bullets, what do you still do?" Answer: "Yes, the Red Army cannot do without guns on the battlefield. It is the military discipline of the Red Army."

At this time, Ma Zhongyi, the division commander present, interjected: "We suffered heavy losses in the Nijiayingzi. The battles at Sanliugou and Liyuanbao suffered heavy casualties. Even when he was captured alive, more than two platoons were also killed or injured." Sun Yuqing said in grief and indignation: "Our army forcibly crossed the Yellow River and embarked on a westward expedition. Unfortunately, we came to a dead end. We were short of food and ammunition, supplies were interrupted, there was no rear, and the geography was unfamiliar. The strategy was wrong, and the tactics could not achieve great results. It is very unfortunate to be captured, and I am ashamed of the comrades who have died."

Ma Bufang asked: "You are the commander of the army, and I am also the commander of the army. Today you are captured, what else can you say?" Sun replied: "I am doing a just revolutionary cause. Since I have been captured, I have endless words to say, and I have successors." He refused to drink with Ma Bufang and others at the same table, and Ma Bufang had to ask someone to take him away.Ask Chiang Kai-shek for instructions on how to deal with it.Chiang Kai-shek's reply was: "The crime of endangering the Republic of China shall be punished with capital punishment." Soon, Sun Yuqing was secretly killed. Of the more than 20,000 soldiers of the West Route Army, about 6,000 were captured by the Ma's army.Some of them fell behind after being wounded in previous battles and were resettled on the spot, some were captured by the enemy who searched the mountain when they were scattered in Qilian Mountains, and some were intercepted by Ma's army in Ganzhou and Liangzhou on the way back to northern Shaanxi. .Once captured, what awaits them is human torture and endless suffering.According to an investigation document after liberation, these captured soldiers of the West Route Army were escorted to Xining, and they were detained in several places around Xining, such as the Military Horse Department, Dongjiaochang, and Lejiawan.Ma Bufang first massacred these Red Army troops, secondly forced them to do hard labor, and thirdly "probated" them to make them work for him. Ma Bufang organized more than 3,000 Red Army soldiers under the age of 25 into his own unit, called the "Supplementary Regiment", consisting of four battalions.The main task is to engage in heavy physical labor, build bridges and open roads for Ma Bufang, cut wood to build houses, open mines and open up wasteland for production.They successively opened the road from Minhe to Xining, built the Huangshui Bridge, built the Zhangye Airport, and reclaimed large areas of wasteland in Xunhua and Hualong.Others were assigned to Ma Bufang's Yiyuan factory to produce military supplies for the Ma's army.Others were sent to coal mines to dig coal. The officers of the "supplementary regiment" are all served by Ma Jiajun, and they are a group of tormenting demons.They carried out forced labor and various tortures on Red Army soldiers.When repairing roads, they worked for more than ten hours a day, and if they moved slowly, the officers would beat them severely.Construction is not allowed on rainy days, and stones have to be moved, and no rest is allowed.When building the highway from Zhangye to Xining, it is necessary to cross a mountain ridge at an altitude of 3,700 meters.Many Red Army soldiers were frostbitten by the severe cold climate, but the officers refused to treat their diseases and improve their living conditions, but cut off the Red Army's frostbitten toes inhumanely.The torment these Red Army soldiers endured while doing hard labor in Qinghai is unimaginable to ordinary people. I don’t know how many people died of hatred in the suffering.Even Ma Bufang himself did not deny these facts. He said to his subordinates: "In any battle, if you don't fight to the end for the group, once you are captured, you will inevitably not be treated like today's supplementary regiment in the future." 1938 In 1999, the Kuomintang authorities recruited troops from Qinghai, and Ma Bufang sent 2,400 members of the "Supplementary Regiment" to Lanzhou instead of the locals, and incorporated them into the Eighth War Zone.These Red Army soldiers escaped Ma Bufang's clutches.After arriving in Xi'an, Hu Zongnan heard that these strong men were members of the West Route Army of the Red Army, and he was afraid that he would not want them.The Office of the Eighth Route Army in Xi'an immediately negotiated after hearing the news, and finally these comrades who had suffered so much returned to the revolutionary base in northern Shaanxi. Only a small number of people can get "probation" treatment.Some of them are specialized talents with special skills.After Huang Liangcheng, Liu Yuting, and Zeng Qingliang, former communicators of the 9th Army, were captured, the enemy division commander Ma Biao said to them: "How are your officers (referring to technicians) different? Don't be afraid, don't make things difficult for you, even if you are captured Xu Xiangqian didn't make things difficult for him, the central government has orders." After they were taken to Xining, they were assigned to work in Ma Bufang's radio station, and they still had some freedom of movement.Zeng Qingliang also found his lost wife in Xining, and the two finally managed to reunite.Ma Bufang originally wanted to "probate" these people to serve him, but these Red Army cadres did not give in and often used the radio to listen to news from northern Shaanxi.Later, the Kuomintang issued an order to transfer all Red Army cadres to Nanjing.They also insisted on leaving Qinghai.Ma Bufang’s radio director said puzzledly: “The Communist Party doesn’t know what method to use to educate people. It is reasonable to say that Zeng Qingliang and others have gone through untold hardships and narrowly escaped death. They have escaped from the difficult environment and their lives have improved somewhat. There is no nostalgic expression." Later, they were transferred to the Gongxingdun Kuomintang Eighth War Zone Prison in Lanzhou, where they met Fang Qiang, Xu Taixian and other leading cadres of the Red Army, connected with the organization, and fought in the prison.At that time, it was the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, and the Kuomintang authorities did not dare to do anything to these Red Army.Rescued by the CCP representative Zhang Wenbin and the party organization, when they were escorted to Pingliang, they finally escaped and fled back to the headquarters of the Western Aid Army, where they were warmly welcomed by Commander Liu Bocheng. What happened to the female soldiers of the West Route Army was a tear-jerking tragedy.Among the units of the Red Army, the West Route Army has the most female soldiers, forming a women's regiment.There are also lesbians from the New Theater Troupe engaged in propaganda work in the Political Department and the hospital of the Logistics Department. There were about 1,300 people when they crossed the Yellow River.Wang Quanyuan, head of the women's regiment, and Wu Fulian, political commissar, were all cadres transferred from the First Army.In the fierce battle in the Hexi Corridor, the women's regiment fought like other troops.More than 200 people were sacrificed when Linze broke through. In the bloody battle in Nijiayingzi for nearly a month, the women's regiment suffered more than 600 casualties, almost wiped out.During the Battle of Kanglong Temple, the women's regiment lost contact with the headquarters and was dispersed by Ma Jiajun.The superiors asked them to disperse the guerrillas, and Wang Quanyuan led the rest of the Red Army around the mountains to avoid the Ma's army's search.When they were exhausted and sleeping soundly in the woods, they were all captured by the enemy.When Wang Quanyuan and others were escorted to Liangzhou, they found that political commissar Wu Fulian was also in prison, and there were more than 100 female soldiers in total. During the detention, the female Red Army was constantly raped and humiliated by Ma Jiajun.Wu Fulian was already ill and died of illness in prison soon after.Ma Buqing felt that it was always troublesome to lock up these female soldiers. Many of his officers and cronies did not have wives, so he tried to assign female Red Army soldiers to his subordinates as wives and concubines.The female soldiers struggled desperately to resist. Ma Buqing said to the female Red Army: "Now that the Kuomintang and the Communist Party have cooperated, you can settle down here and enjoy your happiness." Unexpectedly, the female Red Army made more trouble.Wang Quanyuan angrily reprimanded Ma Buqing for his shameless behavior. Ma Buqing said: "I will not marry you to soldiers. Whatever officials you are, you can marry you. You are well-matched." He rationed Wang Quanyuan to Ma Jinchang, the head of the engineering corps.Wang was taken to Ma's house, refused to obey, and resolutely resisted. Ma Jinchang whipped him with a willow stick and got bruises all over his body.Although Ma Jinchang was married to the head of the female regiment of the Red Army, but he heard that Wang Quanyuan was good at marksmanship, so he was not at ease after all.One day he found a knife under the bedding, which was hidden by Wang Quanyuan.Ma Jinchang broke out in a cold sweat, and beat Wang again.Later Wang Quanyuan ran away, and Ma Jinchang did not look for her again. Mrs. Chen Changhao and Zhang Qinqiu, head of the Organization Department of the Political Department of the West Route Army, were captured near Ganzhou.At that time, she was weak after giving birth and could not walk.After wandering in the mountains for a few days, unfortunately, he was caught by the militia and sent to Xining.At that time, she did not reveal her identity, and she used the pseudonym Gou Xiuying, saying that she was a cook in the Red Army.Seeing that she was a sick old woman, Ma Jiajun didn't take it seriously and asked her to cook in the new troupe.Most of the members of the new troupe were members of the new troupe of the West Route Army. Yang Wancai, the music chief of the new troupe of the West Route Army, trained the military band and received preferential treatment from Ma Bufang.He kept Zhang Qinqiu at home under the pretext of needing a cook.But there are no impenetrable walls.Zhang Qinqiu was later found out by the Kuomintang Provincial Party Headquarters, and was sent to Nanjing "Reformation Institute" for imprisonment on August 14, 1937. At that time, the Japanese army attacked on a large scale, and the situation in Nanjing was tense.Zhou Enlai, the negotiator of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in Nanjing, strongly urged Chiang Kai-shek to release the imprisoned Communist Party members and patriots, and to visit the "reformation school".Zhou Enlai accidentally found Zhang Qinqiu and others, and said excitedly: "I found you, I found Xi'an from Xining, and I found Nanjing from Xi'an!" After several days of negotiations, the Kuomintang agreed to release them. Ri walked out of the gate of the prison and embarked on the journey back to Yan'an. After the dispersed personnel of the West Route Army returned to northern Shaanxi one after another, the central government also actively rescued and helped the personnel of the West Route Army.Zhou Enlai sought relationships in many ways in Xi'an, hoping that the two horses would cease fighting with the Red Army.He heard that more than 500 Red Army soldiers were besieged in Huangfan Temple in Zhangye, so he asked someone to find Ma Dehan, an old Hui man who knew Ma Lin, chairman of Qinghai Province, and went to Liangzhou to convey a message to Ma Buqing, hoping that Ma's family would not harm the Red Army.When Ma Dehan saw Ma Buqing, he heard that the Red Army in Huangfan Temple had been disarmed and sent to Qinghai. In late April 1937, Zhou Enlai met Ma Lin, chairman of Qinghai Province who had just returned from an Arab pilgrimage, at Ma Dehan's home in Xi'an, and asked him to stop the destruction of the Red Army.Under the general situation of cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party at that time, the Ma family did not dare to go their own way.The persecution of the prisoners of the West Route Army has also been restrained. In the area ruled by the Kuomintang, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China used the background of the united front to carry out effective search and rescue work.At that time, the diaspora of the West Route Army captured by the Kuomintang army and local militia in the Hexi Corridor, as well as the West Route Army personnel transferred from Liangzhou and Xining by Erma, were all imprisoned in the Gongxingdun Prison of the Eighth War Zone of the Kuomintang in Lanzhou.There are 1300 people in total.Among them were the military division of the West Route, regiment-level cadres Fang Qiang, Xu Taixian, Bu Shengguang, Xu Liqing, etc., as well as Red Army radio workers Liu Yuting, Huang Liangcheng, Zeng Qingliang, etc. transferred from Xining.They set up an underground party branch in the prison to lead everyone in the struggle against the persecution. In mid-May 1937, Zhou Enlai sent Zhang Wenbin to Lanzhou as a representative of the Communist Party of China to learn about the situation of the Central and Western Route Army personnel in Gongxingdun Prison and to rescue them.After Zhang Wenbin left, he conveyed the Party Central Committee's greetings and care to the comrades in prison.Everyone was very excited, burst into tears, shouted slogans, sang Red Army songs, and expressed their determination to persevere in the struggle.The party branch handed over the report on the situation in the prison to Zhang Wenbin and asked him to send it to the Party Central Committee. Upon hearing the news, Zhou Enlai immediately negotiated with He Yaozu, the head of the Lanzhou Kuomintang, and asked him to transfer the detained Red Army to Xi'an as soon as possible. In June, when the Red Army was transferred to the Kuomintang 43rd Division defense area in Pingliang, Gansu, everyone knew that this place was very close to the station of the Western Aid Army. Fang Qiang and other party branch leaders decided to take the opportunity to escape and run back to northern Shaanxi.So everyone deliberately dawdled on the road to find trouble, and the team of hundreds of people was scattered and stretched for several miles.The Kuomintang soldiers couldn't see it either, and one fell behind for a while, and one didn't see one for a while.Everyone whispered to each other: Going east to Sishilipu is a guerrilla zone.At night, Fang Qiang and others led everyone to escape victoriously, and most of them successfully arrived at the station of the Zhenyuan West Aid Army.When Commander Liu Bocheng and Political Commissar Zhang Hao came to visit everyone cordially, these strong fighters who had gone through all kinds of hardships burst into tears. After rescuing the captured people of the West Route Army in Lanzhou, Zhou Enlai appointed Xie Juezai and Zhu Liangcai to set up an office of the Eighth Route Army in Lanzhou, which was responsible for housing and investigating the displaced persons of the West Route Army.In the Han Qigong Brigade of the Majia Army in Zhangye, a group of West Route Army personnel were also detained.Among them were female soldiers Wang Dingguo, Sun Guiying, and Xu Shishu from the Red Army New Theater Troupe, as well as officials such as Liu Ruilong, director of propaganda of the Political Department of the West Route Army.One day, Ma Henian, the magistrate of Zhangye County of the Kuomintang, came to the troupe of Han Qigong's department and met Wang Dingguo and others.Said: "When the Red Army attacked Gaotai, I was the magistrate of Gaotai County. You Junjun Dong and Director Yang treated me very well and let me back. Now I will treat you preferentially." None of the female Red Army could believe him, Ma Henian explained It is said that he was a party member during the Great Revolution, but later lost contact and left the party, but he sympathized with the Red Army.According to the information provided by Wang Dingguo, Ma Henian visited Liu Ruilong and others in prison.He was also entrusted by the CCP to find out the whereabouts of Chen Changhao, and reported the situation to the Lanzhou Office of the Eighth Route Army. Commander-in-Chief Zhu De asked the Kuomintang authorities for Liu Ruilong and others by name.The Kuomintang couldn't hide it, so it had to inform Ma Bufang to release him.Gao Jincheng, a progressive doctor who sympathized with the revolution, also came to Zhangye and took the opportunity of seeing a doctor to take in the scattered Red Army.Wang Dingguo and several female Red Army soldiers were sent by him to work as nurses in the hospital, breaking away from Han Qigong's control.The underground party branch of the West Route Army in Zhangye was operating in the hospital in Gaojin City.Under the cover of Gaojincheng, many soldiers and wounded of the West Route Army transferred to Lanzhou from here to return to the revolutionary ranks.And Gao Jincheng himself was assassinated by the killer sent by Han Qigong. In 1951, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the People's Republic of China built a memorial tower for Mr. Gao Jincheng in Zhangye, and recognized Gao as a revolutionary martyr.Comrade Xie Juezai wrote to Mrs. Gao Jincheng: "Mr. Jincheng was assigned by the Lanzhou Office of the Eighth Route Army to do containment work in Ganzhou in the past years. Because of his enthusiasm and seriousness, the wounded soldiers depended on them for safety. However, he was arrested by the gang and died. He died gloriously. His loyalty to the cause of the people is worthy of respect!" History will never forget those who did good deeds for the Red Army in times of crisis. Within a year after the failure of the West Route Army, about 6,000 people returned to the northern Shaanxi base through various channels.Living in Qinghai and the Hexi Corridor, about 1,000 people survived to liberation.At least half of the 21,000 troops of the West Route Army crossing the river were buried in the wilderness under the Qilian Mountains. This was the biggest loss suffered by the Red Fourth Front Army in history.However, the West Route Army was not wiped out after all. The West Route Army Working Committee led by Li Xiannian, Li Zhuoran and other comrades brought the remaining 420 members of the West Route Army to Xinjiang. After the Shiwo meeting, Li Zhuoran, Li Xiannian, Li Te, Huang Chao, Cheng Shicai, Zeng Risan, Zeng Chuanliu, and Li Tianhuan, members of the West Route Army Working Committee, led the headquarters and the remaining 1,000 members of the 30th Army.Cheng Shicai recalled: "When our superiors separated from us, they simply told us that our mission was to find our own way out to fight guerrillas. But after the fiasco, we had no food and no guides, so it was very difficult to do. Moreover, the mission was not clear. Where, what should we do in the future? On the other hand, the enemy's situation is still serious, and the enemy is very close to us. If we don't move quickly to get away from the enemy, we may be wiped out by the enemy. We decided to get rid of the enemy as the first step, and we immediately went out of the stone nest Go south, drill into the mountains. After two or three days of extremely difficult marching, when you reach Baidaban, you will leave the enemy far behind." The troops have to march every day, and the wounded and sick cannot walk. After Xiong Houfa, the commander of the 88th Division, had his left arm broken, his injury worsened due to lack of medicine.The arm was swollen and thick, the wound festered, and it hurt excruciatingly when she moved.He said to Li Xiannian and Cheng Shicai: "If I leave again, I will die on the road. It's nothing if I die personally. It will add a lot of burden to the army. Commander, the army must move forward quickly. Put me here." Seriously injured " Zou Fengming, head of the Night Tiger, and Huang Yingxiang, political commissar, also asked to stay.Li Xiannian couldn't help crying when he heard this.They are all comrades-in-arms who get along day and night. They have fought many tough battles, but today they are separated from each other.Everyone hugged and cried together.But Xiong Houfa insisted on staying, and he wanted to leave the hope of survival to his comrades.He said to Li Xiannian: "I will stay here, you go to fight guerrillas. Just write me a letter of introduction, and when I return to Yan'an in the future, I will still be a member of the Communist Party." Li Xiannian had to leave some medicine and food for him, and sent a Line up to defend him.Arrange them under a rocky cliff, and bid farewell with tears.Sure enough, as everyone expected, soon after, Ma Jiajun found Mr. Xiong while searching the mountain.A row of soldiers were sacrificed, and Mr. Xiong unfortunately fell into the enemy's hands.Ma Bufang ordered Mr. Xiong to be taken to Xining, where he was brutally killed.Xiong Houfa was only 24 years old when he died. On March 23, the West Road Military Industry Committee held a cadre meeting to discuss the next action plan.On the same day, the West Road Military Industry Committee used the only radio station to send a telegram to the West Aid Army and the Central Committee: "It is reported that the teams led by Shusheng and Zhang Rong have been defeated by the horse enemy. The details are unknown. Xiannian, Shicai Our unit is a guerrilla column, which has already separated from the enemy and has gone deep into the Qilian Mountains. There is a lot of snow, no food, and we only find a piece of beef and mutton to satisfy our hunger. We are trapped. But we will never lose heart. Overcome any difficulties along the route to achieve the final victory.... We have reached the north of Qinghai Zhixunbao for about three days. Tomorrow morning we will continue to try to cross the west of the Qilian Mountains and reach Dunhuang. Because a few people along the way will run first , I can’t find a guide, so I can only move forward with a compass. Please give us instructions and information frequently. It’s best to send out a unit from the West Aid Army to threaten and attract horse enemies so that I can go west.” Although the number of people is getting smaller and smaller, everyone still insists on going west.Marching is extremely difficult.Cheng Shicai recalled: In order to reduce the burden, the working committee only left one radio station, and each company was equipped with two machine guns and several rifles, and destroyed the redundant radio stations and guns.The troops "advance along the towering Qilian Mountains, with snow-capped mountains on both sides. We walked on the rugged path in the middle. The wind in the ditch was strong, and although it was spring, the climate was still very cold. There were few people along the way. , There are only some sparse yurts. There is no guide for marching, so walk by a compass. When eating, you can’t find cooking utensils and food, so you cook beef and mutton with cattle and sheep dung. Bayonets are used as kitchen knives, washbasins are used as pots, and bougies are used to wear beef and mutton. There is no salt to eat, and sometimes no water to eat. Camping in the ravine at night, using the butt of the gun as a pillow. Everyone can’t sleep because of the cold, and some even freeze to death. Soldiers often don’t wash their faces, they are covered with lice, and some of them die on their faces. There are still wounded and sick who have no medicine to go to. In addition, everyone is always worried about the enemy's pursuit. At that time, the hardships are extremely extreme. There is pessimism among the soldiers, so we should pay close attention to political work and strengthen the unity of the troops. Constantly explaining to the soldiers. When marching, the cadres don’t ride horses, let the wounded and sick ride. They also find camels to ride, and some have five people on one camel.”In this way, they overcame severe cold, hunger and fatigue with superhuman strong will and endurance, and walked out of Qilian Mountains on April 5, 1937, and arrived in Jiuquan Nanshan. Before leaving Qilian Mountains, Song Kanfu and others used the only radio station to finally get in touch with Liu Bocheng and Zhang Hao, the heads of the Western Aid Army headquarters, and asked them to tell the Central Committee that the West Route Army troops were preparing to march towards Dunhuang: "It is estimated that the existing forces , if there is no foreign aid, it is absolutely difficult to gain a foothold in Dunhuang. Because the personnel are extremely hungry and tired, the weapons and ammunition are too few, and the terrain and the enemy's cavalry are limited, it is impossible to fight against a stronger enemy. We carefully consider the future. Dunhuang had less rest, and quickly went to Xinjiang to study in a distant place. Please transfer to the Central Committee and quickly negotiate with the international and Xinjiang.” Mao Zedong and Zhu De asked Liu Bocheng to call back and tell the West Road Military Industry Committee: “The issue of the West Route Army entering Xinjiang to study in a distant place has been resolved. It has been decided. For this reason, the West Route Army must reach Xingxingxia, where they will meet you. You should not stop at Dunhuang for a long time, but you should only rest for two or three days as much as possible, get food and camels as quickly as possible, and send to Xingxing Gap into." The central telegram caused cheers among the troops.Everyone scrambled to tell that after more than 40 days of hardship and confusion, now there is finally hope and a goal to move forward.Everyone's morale rose again.After 11 days of hard marching, they arrived at Shibao City in the southeast of Anxi, Gansu on April 16.At this time, there were still 850 people in the whole detachment.The West Road Military Industry Committee called Liu Bocheng and Zhang Hao and transferred to the Central Military Commission: "In order to gain the opportunity, I changed to Anxi. After arriving in Anxi, I made some adjustments and then went to Xingxing Gorge. Please try to negotiate with Xinjiang and call far away. Send people to Xingxing Gorge to pick us up, and it is best to bring food to the place by car." After leaving Qilian Mountains and entering the plains, considering that the troops are too tired, they need to take a rest.Li Te, chief of staff of the West Route Army, advocated opening Anxi City.The working committee agreed to his proposal, and the troops marched towards Anxi City.In Mushroom Terrace, 140 miles away from Anxi, Guo Yuanheng, a kind Taoist priest of Wanfo Gorge, supported the Red Army with grain, oil, salt, cattle, horses, and mules.It is really a timely help, which solves the urgent needs of the Red Army. On April 24, the West Route Army arrived at the edge of Anxi City.After the Red Army launched an attack on Anxi City, it was resisted by the enemy's powerful firepower.Experience has taught them that there are many more enemies in the city than originally thought.The leaders of the West Route Army gave up their plan to attack Anxi and quickly retreated to the northwest. Walking to the Red Willow Garden, the enemy caught up again.The head of the West Route Army ordered the rest of the 30th Army to organize resistance on the sand dunes to cover the head to break through.A group of more than 80 members of the West Road Military Industry Committee rode into the desert under the protection of guards.Zeng Risan, former director of the Political Department of the 9th Army, who acted as a cover, persisted in fighting with several soldiers and attracted the enemy.When they were surrounded by the enemy, Zeng Risan, unwilling to be captured by the enemy, raised his pistol and committed suicide.It's a pity that this veteran Red Army soldier who came out of the Jiangxi Soviet Area died in this way when he was only one step away from the door of life after going through all kinds of hardships.How sad! After the battle of Hongliuyuanzi, there were fewer people left in the West Route Army.The team broke up, and everyone wandered around the desolate Gobi Desert, looking for each other.The telephone poles along the road became their guide, and they walked west to Xingxing Gorge.They braved the desert wind and marched hard in the dark night.After walking for a day and a night, in the afternoon of the next day, Liu Qingnan and Rao Zijian arrived at Xingxing Gorge with some soldiers.There are two sentries on the pass, ask which part they are from.When they answered that it was the Red Army, an officer from Sheng Shicai's unit stepped up to welcome them. Rao Zijian recalled: "At this moment, we are like children who have been away for a long time and have returned home. Everyone looked at each other, and everyone's clothes were in tatters, revealing flesh and blood stains. When we got closer, we saw groups of lice wriggling The friendly army from Xinjiang brought us water to wash our faces, and the water in the basin was as muddy as soy sauce.” The leaders of the West Route Army who had left before Rao Zijian and the others had not yet arrived.The Xinjiang friendly army sent scouts to look for them, and found them in the Gobi Desert more than 30 miles away from Xingxingxia.It turned out that after their team entered the Gobi Desert, they encountered a strong wind and sand, lost their way, and could only rely on the compass.Under the guidance of the friendly army in Xinjiang, Li Xiannian and his party joined the soldiers of the West Route Army who had arrived earlier at Xingxing Gorge.After counting the number of people, there are 420 people left in total.They are the last surviving troops of the more than 20,000 West Route Army.After the failure of the West Route Army, after more than 40 days of suffering, they finally arrived in Xinjiang under the red flag of the West Route Army. At that time, Sheng Shicai was still allied with the Soviet Union and the Communist International, so his attitude towards the soldiers of the West Route Army was relatively friendly.The Xingxingxia garrison warmly entertained these Red Army soldiers who came from afar. They had three meals a day, each of which consisted of meat and white rice. Everyone who had been hungry for a long time ate several bowls at each meal, and their exhausted bodies gradually recovered their strength. Before the West Route Army arrived in Xinjiang, representatives of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China Chen Yun (pseudonym Shi Ping) and Teng Daiyuan (pseudonym Li Guang) had already arrived in Xinjiang and worked in Dihua (now Urumqi) as the united front of Sheng Shicai, maintaining the relationship between the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Communist International. contact.Hearing that the West Route Army team had arrived at Xingxing Gorge, Sheng Shicai sent a car team to deliver winter clothes, food, and daily necessities to them.Chen Yun and Teng Daiyuan also went in the same car. On May 1, 1937, Chen Yun, Teng Daiyuan and his team arrived at Xingxing Gorge and were welcomed by more than 400 commanders and fighters of the West Route Army.Chen Yun gave everyone a set of jackets, a set of unlined clothes, a pair of bowls and chopsticks, and distributed Hami to everyone.Seeing the representatives of the Central Committee, everyone was like a homeless child seeing a relative in his hometown, and couldn't help crying.Chen Yun gave a speech to everyone, expressed cordial care to everyone on behalf of the Central Committee, and preached the current domestic situation and the development of the Anti-Japanese National United Front.He said: "There are victories and defeats in the revolution. Don't just see the failure, but also see the prospect of victory in the future. Don't think that we only have more than 400 people now. As long as we retain the vitality of the revolution, we will expand to four. Thousands, forty thousand or even four million people. The final victory of the Chinese revolution will surely belong to us!" Comrade Chen Yun's passionate speech greatly encouraged the soldiers of the West Route Army.Slogans and cheers resounded through the canyon. On May 4, under the leadership of Comrade Chen Yun, they left Xingxingxia and headed for Dihua by car.Since participating in the revolution, these Red Army soldiers marched in a car for the first time, and they were very happy.The car drove for four days on the road and arrived in Dihua on the 7th.The Red Army soldiers were arranged to rest in a factory and started a new life in Xinjiang.