Chapter 8 08. The place where the stars are above the head and the horse's tail is pulled forward - Laoshanjie

After the Central Red Army crossed the Xiangjiang River in early December 1934, Chiang Kai-shek judged that the Red Army would still go north to Xiangxi to join the Red Second and Sixth Army Corps, and hurriedly adjusted its deployment. The other ministries were organized into the First Corps, with Liu Jianxu as the commander-in-chief; the Second and Third Route Army were organized into the Second Corps, with Xue Yue as the commander-in-chief.The two corps advanced from Huangshahe and Quanzhou to Xinning, Chengbu, Suining, Jingxian, Huitong and Zhijiang respectively.At the same time, the Wang Jialie Department of the Guizhou Army was ordered to block the Red Army at Jinping and Liping;

On December 3, 1934, He Jian issued an order to Liu Jianxu and Xue Yue in accordance with Chiang Kai-shek's will: "Commander Liu of the First Corps will use a group of bandits to pursue and suppress them, and the main force will search for bandits through Xinning and Chengbu. Commander Xue of the Second Corps first met with most of them from Wugang via Changpuzi and Zhujiangzhou, and contacted Hongjiang Wang Dongyuan's division to intercept the bandits fleeing west and block them fleeing north, so as to One is supporting the First Corps, and it is supposed to stop the bandits."

At this time, Bo Gu, Li De, etc. did not notice the changes in the enemy's situation, and made a decision on December 4: the Red Army marched westward to the south of the channel and the area of ​​​​Broadcasting Station and Chang'an Fort, and prepared to go north to western Hunan to join the Second and Sixth Red Army.At this time, the advancing queue of the Red Army is based on the Red First and Ninth Army Corps as the right wing, and the Red Third Army Corps as the left wing. On the 5th, Lin Biao and Nie Rongzhen led the 1st and 9th Red Army Corps to cross the Yuecheng Ridge on the border of Hunan and Guangxi, which is also the old mountain boundary, and pass through Baimao Pass, a key pass in the Yao area.

Laoshanjie is the first difficult mountain that the Red Army has passed through since starting from Jiangxi. The mountain here is very steep, with many peaks and few people.Laoshanjie is also called Yuecheng Ridge. The mountain is very large, more than 600 miles long from east to west, more than 200 miles wide from north to south, 30 miles uphill and 15 miles downhill.The Red Army went through all kinds of hardships, and it took more than two days to cross the old mountain boundary that the Kuomintang troops dared not go up.Chen Yun pretended to be a military doctor, and there was a record about it:

"Laoshanjie, the peak of the Xiyan Mountain Range, is indeed the first time I have been to a high mountain in more than ten years. Qianjia Temple is at the foot of Laoshanjie. I remember that it was one afternoon when the General Health Department arrived at Qianjia Temple. At that time, after resting and eating, we went up the mountain. We went up 20 miles to a small village with only seven or eight families. At this time, the sun was setting, and the master and groom were busy looking for torches. Some of them didn't find the torches (because there were few people, and they couldn't find the materials for the torches), so they walked very slowly in the dark. Just a moment. The weather is cold, the wind is strong, and the sound of running water below the mountain is like ten thousand horses galloping. I am tired, but I dare not close my eyes because the road is too narrow, only one foot wide. There was a nurse who was marching, Because it was dark and I couldn't find the torch, and because I was walking with sleepiness, I suddenly stumbled and rolled into the ditch. At that time, I ordered the messenger to hold the torch, and slowly climbed into the ditch by the roots of the tree. The nursing student was not only covered in muddy water, but also unable to speak. This reminded everyone to walk carefully and slowly. Because of the slow walking, even the person who prepared the torches in the afternoon had already put two The torches were burnt out, and there were no torches in sight, only the lights of a few lanterns moving around. The procession became slower and slower. Walking a few steps and stopping for 5 to 10 minutes, it was neither like walking nor resting It was already two o'clock in the morning, and the commander's verbal order was handed down in sequence: "All units camped by the roadside. Each company's fireman went to the front to cook." Biography'——I was so exhausted, no matter whether the ground was dry or wet, everyone fell to the ground in disorder and put the sheets on their bodies and fell asleep. There is no better place to sleep than this time and place in life, not two minutes already Sniffing and falling asleep...

"The mountain in Laoshanjie is so high that it makes people anxious. When I reached the top of a mountain, I saw that there was only one peak in front of me. I didn't expect that there was another peak in front of me. I climbed the mountains one after another, and everyone kept panting and sweating. ... "The old mountain boundary of eighty miles is certainly not higher than the high mountains that the Red Army later crossed. However, the Red Army marched continuously on the high mountains for two days and two nights without many soldiers falling behind. This is not an easy task. This is really due to the unity of the soldiers in the Red Army. At the same time, when marching on the mountain, the Political Department of the Red Army can try to reduce marching fatigue and raise the marching spirit, such as using propaganda booths, etc. This is indeed their thoughtfulness.”

When the Red Army crossed the old mountain boundary, although it had already got rid of the Kuomintang heavy troops, it often encountered local reactionary militia groups and landlord armed forces. On December 4th, in Baimao Pass, the Second Division of the Red First Army defeated the local reactionary militia, allowing the main force of the Red First Army to pass through here smoothly that day.According to the order of the Red Army Command, the Three Army Corps arrived at the Hekou and Badan areas from Qianjia Temple on the morning of December 5, and stood on both sides of the river mouth to cover the passage of the first and second columns of the Military Commission.This area is under the jurisdiction of Guangxi, and the troops are still threatened by the Guangxi local army, so they can only march and fight at the same time.

Usually the diary remembers Wu Yunfu, the political commissar of the Second Bureau of the Military Commission, who is very brief. This day, he used 120 words to describe the experience of the day.He wrote in his diary: "Depart from Liao's house at five o'clock, pass through Longtang River and Da'ao, and arrive at Tangdong camp around 8:00 pm. The journey is 60 miles. Abnormally, the steepest section is called 3,700 ridges by the natives, which is named after 3,700 ridges. The residents of Longtang River are all Yao people, and they can speak Chinese fluently. They talk to each other, just like I don’t understand.” He also mentioned work problems in his diary, saying: “Squad No. 6 didn’t bring kerosene for charging; The first column of the Military Commission began to cross the famous old mountain boundary, a mountain that is said to be 30 miles uphill and 15 miles downhill.

Lu Dingyi, who marched with the second column of the Military Commission, described the crossing of the old mountain boundary in more detail. He said: "I heard that there is a 30-mile high mountain that is called Yuecheng Ridge on the map, and the soil is called Laoshanjie. I started walking in the afternoon, and walked up the ravine. I didn’t know why I couldn’t walk ahead. I waited for a long time before I walked a few steps, and I had to stop and wait. The team was tightly packed, and I was tired of standing, so I sat down by the roadside , when someone in front shouted 'Let's go, let's go!' So I stood up and walked again. I was hoping to walk a little longer, but I had to stop after a few steps. It was getting late, and many people were so annoyed that they cursed, Shout out." At night, when we reached a cliff that was only two feet wide, an order was sent from above to rest on the spot and climb the mountain early tomorrow morning.Lu Ding was shocked when he heard the news, sleeping in such a place, he turned over and fell into the abyss, but there was no way.Lu Ding made up his mind and fell asleep wrapped in a blanket.He said: "In the middle of the night, I woke up suddenly, only to feel that the cold was overwhelming, and I was shivering all over. I wrapped the blanket tighter and curled up, but I still couldn't fall asleep."

On this day, the Third Red Army Corps led by Peng Dehuai and Yang Shangkun set off from Qianjia Temple and arrived at Zhongdong, while the Fifth Red Army Corps led by Dong Zhentang and Li Zhuoran set off from Fengmu Mountain to camp at Qianjia Temple that day.Chen Bojun said that at this time the enemy was only 10 miles away from Qianjia Temple, and after the 38th regiment arrived, there was a confrontation.This is Li Zongren's tail-chasing troops from the Guangxi Clan harassing. On December 6, the Red Army Corps led by Peng Dehuai and Yang Shangkun fought fiercely with the Guangxi Army all day long on the way to Hekou.Xue Yue, who was named the commander-in-chief of the Second Corps of the "Pursuing and Suppressing" Army by Chiang Kai-shek, said in an instruction issued that day: "It is reported that the remnants of the enemy's 1st, 3rd, 5th, 8th, and 9th corps are now heading west of the Suining Passage. The area is fleeing, and our army has decided to attack Hongjiang from tomorrow." The Red Army's right-wing First and Ninth Army Corps led by Lin Biao and Nie Rongzhen set off from Henglukou to advance towards the Chayuan area that day.

According to Wu Yunfu's diary, a column of the Military Commission had climbed over Leigongyan, the highest peak in Laoshanjie, and traveled 70 miles from Tangdong to the bottom of the river.Wu Yunfu said in his diary that day: "It was careless when lighting the torch at night, and the grass and trees in the mountain caught fire in several places, spreading for more than ten miles." Lu Dingyi also mentioned torches in his memoir "Old Mountain World".Lu Dingyi said that he knew that the troops were going to march at night. He was afraid that some people would use the bamboo fences of his hometown as torches, so their political department wrote a few slogans and pasted them on a conspicuous place outside with rice soup, warning the troops to keep them and pointing out where there are bamboo forests that can be used as torches. torches.These small works have played a great role in understanding the Red Army for the ethnic minority compatriots.Lu Dingyi remembered that at dawn that day, he was woken up by someone, saying that he was going to leave.At this time, someone from the mountain brought food up.Lu Dingyi said: "No matter what happens, I'll 'grab' a bowl to eat." An instruction was passed down from above that the troops would cross this mountain no matter what.In order to encourage the soldiers, Lu Dingyi said: "So a few of us stopped again, immediately wrote slogans, and assigned people to the various sections up and down the mountain to shout slogans, make speeches, and help the wounded, sick, and transporters, so that today this cumbersome The red star column (that is, the second column of the Military Commission) was transported across the mountain." Lu Dingyi said, "It was more than two o'clock in the afternoon when we reached the top of the mountain, and I suddenly remembered that a monument will be erected here in the future, and it will be written on a certain year. On a certain day in the month, the Red Army went north to fight against Japan and passed by here."Lu Dingyi also gasped when he saw Lei Gongyan where he camped last night.He said that Leigongyan is really steep, almost a 90-degree stone ladder, only a few feet wide, and there is a cliff next to it.At that time, many horses had gathered at the foot of the cliff, and they would not go up the mountain until tomorrow. Several horses fell from the cliff and their legs were broken.In the distance, gunfire was intense.Lu Dingyi judged that it came from the place where he set off yesterday. He estimated that the Red Fifth and Eighth Army Corps were exchanging fire with the enemy. According to the diary of Chen Bojun, commander of the 13th Division of the Fifth Red Army Corps, in the past two days, from Fengmu Mountain to Qianjia Temple, and from Qianjia Temple to cross the old mountain boundary, the 13th Division still walked at the end of the army and played the role of rear guard, so it often fought with the pursuers. When the enemy forces are fighting, the military situation is sometimes tight and sometimes loose.Chen Bojun also mentioned in his diary that day: "Supply along the way became even more problematic, resulting in a sharp increase in the number of laggards, and the troops were in chaos." The Red Army was not afraid of difficulties, braved the bombing of enemy planes, climbed hard, and finally successfully crossed the old mountain boundary and entered Longsheng County on the afternoon of December 7.Longsheng belongs to Guangxi, where the Miao, Yao and Dong people live.The economy and culture in this area are relatively backward. Most of the local people live in mountainous areas, where houses are made of thatch. Most of their production is not self-sufficient, and their lives are quite poor.According to Lu Dingyi's recollection, they went to rest at a Yao farmer's house when they passed through Laoshanjie.Lu Dingyi said that there were three Yao people in this family. The men were scared away when they heard about the army, and there were only mother and son left in the house. The arrival of strangers, especially those who were soldiers, made the hostess somewhat panicked.After Lu Dingyi and the others chatted cordially with the Yao aunt, the aunt cried and expressed her bitterness to her relatives, the Red Army.Before leaving, Lu Dingyi and the others endured their own hunger and gave her a bag of rice.Lu Dingyi said, "She accepted it very much."After the Red Army crossed the old mountain boundary, it encountered new difficulties.This is because the Kuomintang, in order to drive a wedge between the Red Army and the ethnic minorities and prevent the Red Army from passing through the ethnic minority areas, sent agents to set fire to houses in the Central Red Army garrison and blame the Red Army.However, after the Red Army worked hard to extinguish the fire, they conducted strict inspections and finally captured the spies and handed them over to the masses for public trial, thereby exposing the enemy's conspiracy;