Chapter 24 24. The Red Army does not have the surname "Shi"

At the end of May, the Red Army crossed the 800-mile Liangshan Mountains and came to the Dadu River. Like the Jinsha River, the Dadu River belongs to the Yangtze River system.It originates from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, passes through Daxue Mountain, Qionglai Mountain, Daxiangling Mountain, Xiaoxiangling Mountain, Daliang Mountain, Emei Mountain and many other mountain ranges. It flows into the Minjiang River in Leshan, Sichuan, and then flows into the Yangtze River. The drop from the source to the mouth is 4177. rice.Every year in May and June, when the weather gets warmer and the snow-capped mountains in the upper reaches of the Dadu River melt, the water potential will rise sharply, and the water flow will be wider and more urgent than that of the Jinsha River.

In the Anshun field of Shimian, the Dadu River made a 90-degree turn, and the flow direction from north to south suddenly changed to flow from west to east.Since ancient times, Anshunchang has been an important ferry for Liangshan in southwest Sichuan to enter the plateau in northwest Sichuan, an important post on the ancient tea-horse road, and the junction of Yi and Tibetan areas.About 110 kilometers to the north of Anshunchang is Luding. There are two dangerous passes in the south and the north, guarding the Dadu River. They are like "two twin brothers on a shoulder pole", and they are battlegrounds for military strategists.

Anshunchang, also known as Zidadi, means "a place suitable for growing vegetables" in Tibetan.For more than a hundred years, two major battles in Zidadi have made this place famous. One was the defeat of Shi Dakai, and the other was the Red Army's forced crossing of the Dadu River. The time was 72 years apart.History is an incredible coincidence, the same season, the same marching route, the same heavy siege-fortunately, there was no coincidence. On May 14, 1863, Yiwang Shi Dakai, a general of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, led more than 40,000 Taiping troops and crossed into Sichuan via Qiaojia, Yunnan.They followed Huili and Dechang to Zidadi.At this time, Shi Dakai's fourteenth concubine gave birth to a son, and Shi Dakai ordered the whole army to rest for three days to celebrate.During these three days when fate was at stake and life and death were at stake, Governor Luo Bingzhang of Sichuan dispatched troops to complete the encirclement of Shi Dakai.However, the calm river three days ago, due to the torrential rain for several days, suddenly surged and surged, becoming a natural barrier for Shi Dakai's northward advance.After Shi Dakai was besieged, he wanted to lead the army northward to Luding, but the Tibetan chieftain had already cut off the iron chain bridge on the Songlin River (the main road to the north); and wanted to lead the army back, the Yi chieftain blocked the mountain pass road with huge stones and logs.Shi Dakai was in a dilemma, trapped in Anshunchang, and failed to break through several times.After several days and nights of fierce fighting, the Dadu River was stained red with blood.Shi Dakai had no way to survive. In order to save the lives of the remaining soldiers, he surrendered to the Qing army.He originally wanted to exchange his own life for the survival of other soldiers, but the Qing army still slaughtered his subordinates.Shi Dakai's army was wiped out.Shi Dakai himself was taken to Chengdu to be executed at Ling Chi, and none of his wives and children survived.

At the end of May 1935, Mao Zedong, the leader of the Red Army, led more than 20,000 people, and also moved to Anshun Field.Whether it is Mao Zedong or Shi Dakai, they all know the importance of the geographical location of Anshunchang, otherwise they would not choose to come here rashly.Moreover, they all knew in their hearts that they could not cross the Dadu River to the west, and if they went west, they would enter the Tibetan area, which would be extremely detrimental to the survival of the army. After the Red Army crossed the Jinsha River, Chiang Kai-shek deployed hundreds of thousands of troops to chase and encircle the Red Army, while the Sichuan warlords set up defenses along the ferry of the Dadu River.With the Jinsha River behind and the Dadu River in front of the Red Army, the pursuers were approaching, and the situation was very dangerous.If he can't cross the river as soon as possible, Mao Zedong is likely to repeat the mistakes of history and become the second Shi Dakai.

On the night of May 24, the Red First Army, the vanguard of the Red Army, rushed to Anshun Field.They launched a surprise attack, and after more than 20 minutes of fighting, they occupied the ferry on the south bank of the Dadu River and captured a wooden boat. The wooden boat was left at the ferry by Lai Zhizhong, the township head of Anshunchang. He was also a battalion commander in the Sichuan Army and was in charge of Yi affairs.At that time, most of the houses on Anshunchang Street belonged to Lai Zhizhong. During the day on the 24th, he returned to his home on the south bank by boat from the north bank.Because the South Bank is preparing to burn the streets and boats to prevent the Red Army from advancing.Lai Zhizhong didn't want to burn down the street. Once the street was burned, his family business and reputation would be ruined.As a result, he had a fierce quarrel with the chief of the Sichuan army who was carrying out the order to burn the streets, and almost shot.

Lai Zhizhong finally forced the officer who carried out the order to compromise.He stayed at home, and the boat was moored at the ferry, and someone was guarded.However, the Red Army attacked them that night and captured the wooden boat (Lai Zhizhong escaped). It rained on the night of the 24th, and the rain stopped at dawn.The cliffs washed by the rain are particularly precipitous, and the water of the Dadu River keeps rolling and roaring. Yang Dezhi, the head of the Red Group, observed everything around him through the binoculars: there were hundreds of families on both sides of the Anshunchang Ferry, a half-person-high fence was built on the other side, and several blockhouses were built.Fortifications such as bunkers lean against the cliffs on the north bank, and a path of stone steps has been dug on the cliff, which is the only way to the opposite bank.

The river is very fast, the river is about 300 meters wide and about three or four feet deep.When people step into the water, they will be swept away by the rapids.The only hope of crossing the river is the captured wooden boat. The ferry boat on the Dadu River has a unique style.Its bow is raised high to withstand the rushing water.The way of crossing the river is also quite tortuous.Eight boatmen are needed on the boat. First, the boat must be pulled up 50 to 60 meters against the current, and then rowed obliquely along the current to the opposite bank.When the boat reaches the opposite bank, it must be aimed at the river port, and cannot lean forward or backward, otherwise the boat will hit the rocks if it is not careful.The Red Army found 12 experienced boatmen who were familiar with the waterway of the ferry and had the courage to carry the Red Army across the river at the risk of being killed by the enemy on the other side.

In the early morning of this day, Sun Jixian, the battalion commander of the first battalion of the Red Regiment, personally selected 17 soldiers to form a river-crossing commando.Sun Jixian studied martial arts since he was a child, specializing in the Yang family's guns, and his martial arts are superb.From his participation in the Ningdu riots in 1931 to the end of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, he experienced hundreds of battles without being injured. Each of the 17 warriors is equipped with a broadsword, a submachine gun, a short gun and five or six grenades.The covering lineup consists of gunner Zhao Zhangcheng and three special shooters.

The crossing starts at 7 am.As soon as the ship left the south bank, the enemy on the north bank opened fire.All attention was on the boat crossing the river.The boat was tossing in the wind and waves, surrounded by waves splashed by missed bullets.A shell happened to land beside the boat, shaking the boat violently.Yang Dezhi described in his memoirs: "My heart was tense for a while, and I saw the ferry boat heaving and falling with the huge waves, and then calmed down again..." The boat continued to move forward, and soon there was another danger.The current was too fast, and the boatmen couldn't grasp the direction. The boat slid down tens of meters quickly and hit the big rock.If you slide down into the vortex again, you will capsize.At this time, 4 boatmen jumped off the boat and stood in the water with their backs against the boat. The other 4 boatmen on the boat tried their best to push the pennies. After a while, the boat finally moved forward.

Zhao Zhangcheng, who was covering fire on the shore, was a sharpshooter with a hundred shots.His shots were unbiased and bloomed among the enemies who prevented the brave men from going ashore.The Sichuan army guarding the ferry fled north, and 17 warriors took the opportunity to go ashore and captured the north bank. Later, the Red Army found two more boats downstream, so they lit bonfires to ferry them day and night.However, the Anshunchang crossing is small, and if all the Red Army crossed the river here, it would take longer than crossing the Jinsha River, even a month.However, the chasing enemies will be able to reach Anshun Field within a few days.

The Red Army must cross the river quickly.Mao Zedong swore that he would never let the Red Army repeat Shi Dakai's mistakes.The Red Army changed its original plan and gave up crossing the river from Anshunchang.Mao Zedong, as he had done many times before, chose an unexpected and almost impassable path: sending commandos up the west bank of the Dadu Valley to capture another fortress, the Luding Bridge, through which the main Red Army crossed.The Red First Division that had already crossed the river, led by Liu Bocheng and Nie Rongzhen, marched northward along the east bank of the Dadu River to contain the enemy and cover the main force of the Red Army on the west bank. Among the commanders of the Red Army, only Zhu De had ever crossed the Luding Bridge.When he was fighting in the army of Sichuan warlords, he was forced to return to Sichuan from Yunnan with a few soldiers.They crossed the Jinsha River and crossed the Luding Bridge to reach a safe area. Usually, people passing Luding Bridge walk along the Chengdu-Lhasa line.Depart from Chengdu, go north along the east bank of the Dadu River, cross the Luding Bridge and go west to Lhasa.Or come from Lhasa and follow the same route in reverse.Few people will cross the west bank of the Dadu River and cross the Luding Bridge to the north.Whether the Red Army can cross the river safely depends on whether the troops can capture the Luding Bridge through the almost untrodden path on the west bank of the Dadu River before Chiang Kai-shek guesses Mao Zedong's intentions.