Chapter 38 38. The sky is high and the clouds are light.

Liupan Mountain, formerly known as Lupan Mountain, is one of the youngest mountain ranges in my country. It straddles Gansu and Ningxia, and is located at the junction of Longde and Guyuan counties in southern Ningxia today.It is connected to the Qinling Mountains in the south and the Dahe River in the north, with a meander of more than 200 kilometers and an altitude of about 3,000 meters.The steep towering rocks and dangerous peaks make the mountain more majestic and majestic, and it really lives up to the name of "the back of Guanzhong and the throat of Helong".There is an ancient poem: "The peak is 3,000 feet high, and it is 200 feet tall at Qinguan." Call it "Liupan Mountain", but gradually forget its real name "Lupan Mountain".

In 1227, Genghis Khan fell ill and died in Liupan Mountain while leading his army to attack Xixia.There are different opinions from ancient to modern times on where a generation of Tianjiao will be buried after death. On October 7, 1935, the Shaanxi-Gansu Detachment of the Central Red Army crossed Liupan Mountain.This was the last high mountain that the Red Army climbed before reaching northern Shaanxi. After passing this mountain, they never encountered high mountains and dangerous peaks until they reached northern Shaanxi.Here Mao Zedong left a majestic and eternal quatrain "Qing Ping Le. Liupan Mountain", which reviewed the battle history of the Red Army's Long March, and expressed the lofty ambition of a generation of great men to climb the peak of the Northwest and guide the country.

The commanders and fighters of the Red Army, full of the joy of victory, climbed up Liupan Mountain in one breath, hunting the red flags, and fluttering in the wind, which was extraordinarily magnificent.Heroes of the Red Army, how excited they are to climb to the top and look forward to the future! In Liupan Mountain, the Red Army began to have its own cavalry.Cavalry, in combat in the 1930s, was the rapid troop. The advantage of cavalry fighting lies in speed, like a gust of wind coming suddenly, the sword is shining, the momentum is overwhelming, and it drifts away without a trace.On the way to the north, the Red Army gradually moved from the mountains to the hilly plains. The natural environment was relatively better and better. However, the cavalry troops of the Kuomintang Army became a strong enemy of the Red Army who had just arrived on the Longdong Plateau. The Red Army troops fought several times. Army cavalry encounter.

For the Red Army at this time, not to mention cavalry, it was horses. Many southern soldiers only saw it in northwest Sichuan; horse difference.When they were still crossing the grass, the Red Army was first threatened by cavalry, mainly from sporadic armed attacks in Tibetan areas.The Red Army had never fought against cavalry in the past. In previous battles, they mostly fought against enemies with only two legs, but now they encountered "six-legged" enemies, which has indeed become a big problem.At the beginning of the battle, they suffered a lot of losses. Later, the Red Army accumulated some experience and thought of many ways to deal with the Kuomintang cavalry.At that time, "Song of Fighting the Cavalry" with different lyrics and music reflected the Red Army's method of destroying the enemy's cavalry.The song says:

Commanders and combatants, study hard to fight cavalry. Four basic principles, one by one to keep in mind: The first calm and calm, brave and resolute and firm, Concentrate firepower and release it together, resolutely hit it without mercy. The second posture should be distinct, standing upright shooting kneeling shooting long-distance riding, Sit, shoot, lie down and shoot close soldiers. ... Aim at the enemy and fight quickly to eliminate them one by one. This time the Red Army had just crossed the peak of Liupan Mountain, and when they walked near Qingshizui, they encountered the cavalry unit of He Zhuguo of the Northeast Army. Two companies of the 19th Regiment of his Seventh Division were stationed here.At that time, there was smoke in the air, all the saddles on the horses were removed, and the horses were scattered on both sides of the road to graze, and their owners were gathering 100 meters away to eat.Nie Rongzhen, Lin Biao, and Zuo Quan saw all this clearly through the telescope: the enemy is resting.This is a good opportunity to attack the enemy. Mao Zedong summoned the leading cadres of each brigade. He personally ordered the first and fifth brigades to attack from both sides, and the fourth brigade to attack from the front.The three brigades rushed down the mountain like tigers pouncing on their food. The Kuomintang cavalry troops were resting. They never expected that the Red Army would rush down from Liupan Mountain.

In this battle, the Red Army wiped out and captured soldiers from two companies of the enemy, seized more than 100 horses, bullets and uniforms from more than 10 carriages.This is really a batch of "gifts" sent by the Kuomintang.According to Mao Zedong's instructions, the Red Army equipped a cavalry reconnaissance company with captured horses, and Liang Xingchu served as the company commander. Since then, the Red Army has its own cavalry unit.This time the infantry of the Red Army defeated the cavalry of the Kuomintang, which greatly enhanced the confidence of the Red Army in fighting cavalry.

Later, this Red Army cavalry unit formed by Mao Zedong himself in Longdong at the foot of Liupan Mountain was expanded into the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei base cavalry regiment, which was a powerful force during the Anti-Japanese War. However, not all the memories left by the Red Army at the foot of Liupan Mountain are good ones.After the Red Army came down from Liupan Mountain, some of them arrived at Gengwan along the Mafangchuan, Luoshanchuan and other valleys. At that time, it was getting dark, and the troops were tired, thirsty and hungry. Looking for clear spring water to drink, I never expected that more than 300 people died silently the next day.

This unexpected tragedy shocked everyone. There are more than 300 people. This number is simply too large for the Central Red Army, which has gone through all kinds of difficulties and dangers. big!What's more, their deaths are too bizarre. Who is the murderer who killed these Red Army soldiers?The Red Army Security Bureau thought it was counter-revolutionaries who poisoned the Red Army and arrested some suspicious people, but no results were found. Half a century later, the matter was finally clarified. It turned out that the Red Army soldiers died of poisoning.Soldiers from the water supply regiment of the People's Liberation Army stationed in Ningxia found that the water quality of the ditch water drunk by the Red Army was problematic.According to their scientific tests, the water at the bottom of Liupan Mountain Valley contains high concentrations of potassium and sodium ions, and the pure potassium content in 1 ton of water can reach 1 to 3 kilograms.Under normal circumstances, the pure potassium content of 1 ton of water is only 500 grams.Since this area is an oil distribution area, a large amount of cyanide spilled from the oil layer during the activity of the structural layer.Cyanide has an affinity with potassium and sodium, and first combines with potassium to form potassium cyanide, and secondly combines with sodium to form sodium cyanide.Potassium cyanide and sodium cyanide are two highly toxic compounds, which are extremely toxic. If the human body ingests 50 micrograms, it can cause central nervous system blockage death, and die silently without any pain or sensation.

The Red Army who had an accident that year drank this kind of water at the bottom of the ditch, and soon died of poisoning and suffocation. The murder case of the Red Army under Liupan Mountain was finally revealed.At that time, many soldiers who passed Liupan Mountain had passed away, and they didn't understand the cause of death of their comrades until they died.