Chapter 48 48. Crossing Shangri-La to Ganzi to join forces

In 1933, the famous British writer James?Hilton published a novel called Lost Horizon.Immediately after its publication, the novel became the best-selling book at that time, and the author won the prestigious Hawthorne Prize for Literature for this reason. In 1944, a Hollywood producer made the novel into a movie, which caused a sensation in the world.This novel shows people a beautiful and charming paradise——Shangri-La, which the author says is in the west of China.In order to see the beautiful face of Shangri-La, explorers from all over the world came to China in an endless stream, looking for traces of Shangri-La.Through in-depth and meticulous scientific investigation and research by experts, countless evidences show that Shangri-La, which bears the beautiful ideals of human beings in Hilton's works, is a vast area centered on Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and Lijiang City in Yunnan Province today. In 2001, the State Council approved the renaming of Zhongdian County in Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture as Shangri-La County.

In 1936, the Red Second and Sixth Army Corps passed through this mysterious Shangri-La area. At the end of March 1936, the Second and Sixth Red Army Corps occupied Pan County, Guizhou Province, and entered the South and North Panjiang areas.The headquarters of the Red Army sent two telegrams advising them to cross the Jinsha River as soon as possible, join the Fourth Front Army of the Red Army, and march northward.The Second and Sixth Army Corps of the Red Army gave up their plans to establish bases in the South and North Panjiang areas, and decided to cross the Jinsha River to the north to join the Fourth Front Army of the Red Army.

On March 31, 1936, the Second and Sixth Army Corps of the Red Army left the Panxian area and rushed towards central Yunnan, approaching Long Yun's old nest - Kunming, so frightened that Long Yun hurriedly withdrew his troops and returned to defend the provincial capital.In this way, the Second and Sixth Army Corps of the Red Army opened the passage to the north, taking advantage of the momentum and driving straight into northwest Yunnan. When the Second and Sixth Army Corps of the Red Army were approaching Lijiang, the Kuomintang spread rumors that the Red Army was a "bandit that murdered and set fire", and the residents of the whole city were panicked.A gentleman over seventy years old stood up to appease everyone: "The Red Army of the Communist Party is a political party with its own program, and will not kill or set fire!" Everyone saw that this man was Jinshi and Gengji in the late Qing Dynasty, and he was the only one in the city. With the highest prestige, everyone suddenly calmed down.The local authorities accepted He Gengji's suggestion and did not stop the Red Army.Under the mobilization of He Gengji, the people of Lijiang held colorful flags printed with "Welcome the Rebels" and went out of the city to welcome the Red Army seven or eight miles away. On April 24, soldiers of the Red Second and Sixth Army entered Lijiang, a famous cultural city with a history of 800 years, without bloodshed.He Gengji vacated his study room for He Long to be the headquarters.

The Red Second and Sixth Corps chose to cross the Jinsha River from Shigu Town, Lijiang County.Shigu Town is 50 kilometers away from Lijiang County. The Wanli Yangtze River rushes down from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and turns its first big bend here, so it is also known as the first bay of the Yangtze River.Backed by Castle Peak and facing the Jinsha River, Shigu Town has always been a strategically important place for military strategists.During the Three Kingdoms period, Zhuge Liang once "crossed Lu in May" here.So far, there are still Zhugeling, Wuhoupo and other sites here. He Long instructed the troops to quickly find ships along the coast of Shigu Town.Prior to this, Wang Xueding, a native Tibetan official and the commander-in-chief of the Kuomintang Jiangfang, had asked his men to transport the boats to the other side of the river and hide them.The Red Army scouts found only one boat that was too late to hide.He Long personally wrote a sincere letter to Wang Zanxian, the deputy head of Luqiao Township and an enlightened gentry of the Naxi nationality, asking him to help solve the boats crossing the river.This moved deputy mayor Wang very much. He donated a boat hidden on the east bank and found four sailors for the Red Army.

When the sun was setting on April 25th, the Second and Sixth Army Corps of the Red Army lit a red torch at the Papaya Village Ferry in Shigu Town, and began to cross the Jinsha River day and night.The 12th Regiment of the Fourth Red Division, which was the first to cross the river, marched north along the Yangchang trail on the east bank of the river.The Red Sixth Division, under the leadership of the division commander Lu Dongsheng, went north along the west bank of the river, and marched side by side with the Red Twelve Regiment across the bank.These two teams quickly wiped out the enemies more than a hundred miles above Shigu.Later, the Red Second and Sixth Army found 7 large and small boats, 28 sailors, and made some rafts.At the five ferry crossings from Shigu in the east to Judian in the west, the work of crossing the river by the Red Second and Sixth Army Corps was in full swing.

After 4 days and 3 nights of non-stop ferrying, by the dawn of the 28th, all 18,000 troops of the Red Second and Sixth Army had crossed the Jinsha River.The clarion call of victory sang along with the waves of the Jinsha River, and the commanders and fighters were all rejoicing.A few hours later, the enemy rushed to the bank of the Jinsha River panting, and the Red Army had already disappeared without a trace.Liu Zhengfu's brigade of Sundu Column entered Shigu Town, only to find the slogan left by the Red Army: "When you come, you will receive Xuanwei, and when you leave, you will send it to Shigu Town. Don't worry, don't worry, please come back, please come back!" They got smoke from their seven orifices, and fired a burst of guns into the air to vent their hatred.

On May 1, the Second and Sixth Army Corps of the Red Army crossed the Haba Snow Mountain, a branch of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, and arrived at Zhongdian County (now Shangri-La County), a famous city on the Kangzang Plateau.The temperature here is very low, and there is a time difference of two or three months with Lijiang in terms of seasons.The problem of lack of clothing and food for the Red Army is even more serious.Originally, the Second and Sixth Army Corps of the Red Army planned to rest in Zhongdian County for a period of time, only to find out that this famous city with hundreds of years of history is actually a desolate small city with only a few hundred Tibetan households.

When the Red Army entered Zhongdian County, there were no pedestrians on the street, and the doors of small shops on the side of the street were closed tightly, and it was a deserted scene.It took a lot of effort before the Red Army found a few widowed and lonely old people.It was learned from them that the city residents had been subjected to the reactionary propaganda of the Kuomintang, and either hid in the mountains or stayed behind closed doors.For this reason, the Second and Sixth Army Corps of the Red Army issued a notice in the name of He Long, explaining the purpose, nature, discipline, and political views of the Red Army, and asked the commanders and fighters to strictly implement the party's ethnic policy, so that they must pay for drinking a bowl of water and eating a piece of cake. In cash, people are also paid for mending clothes and grinding barley noodles.The local Tibetan people found that when the Kuomintang officers and soldiers usually came, they always liked to forcibly pull out the red cloth prayer flags they had inserted on the beams of the house to express good luck.The actions of the Red Army touched the local Tibetans, and they came out one after another to grind fried noodles, beat straw sandals, and sew clothes for the Red Army.

At the foot of Foping Mountain, five kilometers outside Zhongdian City, there is a Lama Temple built by Emperor Kangxi and the fifth Dalai Lama——Guihua Temple, also known as Songzanlin Temple. It is one of the thirteen famous temples in Tibetan areas. It is also the largest Lama Temple in Yunnan, known as the "Little Potala Palace" in Sichuan and Yunnan.There are at least hundreds of lamas living in Guihua Temple, with guns and cannons, and its supreme ruler is the eight old monks.Knowing that the Second and Sixth Army Corps of the Red Army had come to Zhongdian, the lamas of Guihua Temple were terrified at first, and they closed the temple door tightly, not daring to come out.Later, seeing that the Red Army was becoming more and more popular among Tibetans, the eight old monks, with the attitude of giving it a try, sent representatives Xana Guwa to negotiate with the Red Army.Before leaving, Xanaguwa was very scared, and specifically asked the eight old monks: "If I die, please ask the temple to support my family." Unexpectedly by Xanaguwa, He Long received him warmly, And patiently explained the party's religious policy and the significance of the Red Army going north to fight against Japan, Shanaguwa realized that his original worries were completely unnecessary.When parting, He Long wrote a letter and asked him to bring it to the eight old monks.The letter reads:

(1) It is a great pleasure for your representative to come here. (2) The Red Army allows people to have freedom of religious belief, so it will never infringe on the lives and property of all monks in Gui Lamasery, and is responsible for protecting them. (3) You must return to the monastery immediately, take care of your livelihood, and ask all the people to go home. Don't listen to rumors lightly and create panic. (4) Please help arrange the rations and fodder for this army, and we will pay according to the price. (5) Please send a representative to contact us immediately. After reading the letter and listening to Shanaguwa's vivid description, the eight old monks immediately cleared up their misunderstanding about the Red Army.In order to express their admiration for General He Long and their support for the Second and Sixth Army Corps of the Red Army, the eight old monks decided that Guihua Temple should make an exception to hold a grand ceremony of dancing gods. "Tiaoshen", also known as "Baqiang", "Ba" is a mask, and "Qiang" is dancing, so it is also called "mask dance".Its purpose is to celebrate the harvest and pray for good luck.The spectacle of the God Trance Festival at Guihua Temple is second to none in Yunnan, and it is generally only held on the annual Tibetan Winter Festival (December 26-29 in the Gregorian calendar).

He Long readily accepted the invitation of the eight old monks. On May 2, he led more than 40 representatives of the Red Army to Guihua Temple, where he was warmly welcomed by all the monks in the temple.Before the start of the ceremony, the two sides offered khatas to each other. He Long first expressed his gratitude to all the staff of Guihua Temple on behalf of the Red Army commanders and fighters, and presented a red brocade scroll to Guihua Temple in his own name, with the words "Xingsheng Fanzu" on it. The vigorous and powerful characters wish the Tibetan people prosperity and prosperity.Then the eight old monks invited He Long and others into the upper seat, and the cheerful gongs and drums rang, and the ceremony of dancing the gods officially began. More than 30 lamas wore masks and held law enforcement weapons, playing the role of the horned god, the land god and other dharma gods. They first circled the field and performed a large-scale dance.Afterwards, dances such as the Skeleton Dance, the Bull God Dance, and the Deer God Dance were staged in sections, and each dance had certain religious content.There are also performances by clown lamas interspersed between paragraphs.The last is to exorcise ghosts. Everyone escorts the devil made of ghee - "Torma" to an open place outside the temple and burns it to get rid of evil spirits for a year and pray for a year of blessings.He Long and the others tasted the delicious butter tea, watching with relish. On May 3rd and 4th, the eight old monks ordered to open the granary of Guihua Temple to help the Red Army, a benevolent and righteous army, solve the food problem.For a while, a long altar cloth was spread on the small street next to the Lama Temple. Groups of young lamas carried highland barley and poured it on the altar cloth. The representatives of the Red Army happily paid the money and received the food.Guihua Temple also donated a lot of "bowls of sugar" to the Red Army (Kangzang Plateau does not produce sugar, and sugar is extremely precious in this area).In two days, the Red Army raised a total of about 100,000 catties of grain. It is not easy to raise so much grain in a county with only a few hundred households. In early May, the Second Red Army and the Sixth Red Army left Zhongdian in two routes.It took less than 10 days for the Red Army to arrive in Zhongdian, but they formed deep friendship with local Tibetans and lamas.When leaving Zhongdian, the monks and common people lined the road to see them off, which was extremely lively. Some people in the crowd kept shouting: "Galesong (go slowly), Newbahuo (come back quickly)!" Two teams of monk soldiers, let them lead the way for the Red Army on horseback. On the way to Ganzi, the Second Red Army crossed three snow-capped mountains in succession.The Red Sixth Army climbed two high snow mountains.The weather on the snow-capped mountains changes rapidly, and the air becomes thinner as you go up, making it more difficult to breathe, making it difficult for the red soldiers in thin clothes to catch their breath. However, if they stop on the mountain to rest or drink snow water, their lives are in danger.He Long's brother-in-law, Jian Xianchao, stopped to rest and never got up when he was crossing the snow-capped mountains, sleeping forever in the white snow. Gan Siqi, director of the Political Department of the Second Red Army Corps, recorded the following astonishing data: About 100 Red Army soldiers died on the snow mountain because of resting and eating snow water.Dozens of Red Army soldiers died when crossing a snow mountain from Baisong to Tswu because they took the wrong road.When crossing another snow-capped mountain from the southeast, the front troops were unable to move because the road ahead was damaged, and the rear troops were forced to stay on the mountain. However, severe cold, lack of oxygen, and hunger could not shake the confidence of the commanders and fighters to join forces with the Fourth Red Army. Everyone helped and loved each other along the way, with strict military discipline, and overcame one difficulty after another with strong will.There is also such a moving story that happened during the march: When it was several days away from Derong County, Hong Erlian didn't even have a grain of grain. Hunger brought Quanlian to the critical point of life and death.The soldiers couldn't find a horse bone on the road, and they couldn't even find the undigested barley in the horse manure.The officers and soldiers of the whole company had to find some wild vegetables to boil and drink.Everyone is looking forward to having a "big dinner" in Derong County.The patients who could walk insisted on walking forward, and the patients who could not walk were supported by their comrades. When they arrived in Derong County, everyone realized that there were only three houses in the entire county.After searching for a long time, I couldn't find even a grain of grain.Just when everyone was disappointed, a sergeant made a new discovery in a cattle pen. He called everyone to come over, and then he gently removed the dry cow dung piled on the ground with his hands, scraped off the new soil, and lifted a wooden board , and then a large vat of highland barley was exposed. Whether or not to move this big vat of highland barley, everyone had another difficulty.If they don't move, there will be no food to eat, especially for a dozen sick patients, I'm afraid they won't be able to survive, and they may starve to death; if they move, they will violate the discipline of the army.As a result, the Red Erlian held an emergency party branch committee next to the cattle pen.After discussion, the branch committee made a decision to buy grain with silver dollars.All the branch committee members worked together, and in a short while they dug out all the 400 catties of highland barley buried in the ground.The branch committee started distributing food, each patient was given 8 small bowls, ordinary comrades were given 5 small bowls each, and cadres were each given 3 small bowls.The patient was saved, the whole company was saved, the soldiers were all smiling, and the desolate and deserted Derong County suddenly seemed to be alive. When burying the silver coins, Hong Erlian specially wrote a note on it, which said: "Boss, I'm really sorry, we dug up your highland barley. Now I will convert the highland barley into fifty silver coins and leave it to you. Please Take it." After putting 50 silver coins and notes into the jar, the soldier feared that it would not be enough, so he added 12 more Yunnan silver coins.After burying it intact, everyone left in peace. Knowing that the Red Second and Sixth Army Corps are coming, the commanders and fighters of the Red Fourth Front Army are very happy. On April 27, Xu Xiangqian sent Luo Binghui to lead the 32nd Army to Yajiang and Daocheng to meet the Red Second and Sixth Army.Xu Xiangqian said affectionately at the mobilization meeting: "The Red Army is a family. Our relationship with the Central Red Army and the Second Front Army is like the relationship between the fourth brother, the boss, and the second brother. Last time we did not have a good relationship with the boss. Accept the lesson. Quarrels are quarrels, unity is unity, and families cannot be separated. Now that the second child is about to come up, it is unreasonable to have a bad relationship." His words resonated.The commanders and fighters of the Red Fourth Front Army took action one after another. In addition to preparing food and lodging, they also collected a lot of wool, washed, kneaded, twisted, and weaved day and night, and prepared a set of sweaters and wool socks for each commander and fighter of the Red Second and Sixth Army Corps. . On June 3, the 6th Red Army joined forces with the 22nd Red Army who came from afar to greet them at Jiawa Temple in the south of Lihua. On the 22nd, the Sixth Red Army arrived at Puyulong in Ganzi and joined the General Political Department of the Fourth Red Army. On the 30th, the Red Sixth Army moved to Ganhaizi in Ganzi.On the same day, the Second Red Army arrived at Rongbacha near Ganzi and joined forces with the Thirty Red Fourth Front Army. On July 1, He Long and Ren Bishi led their troops to Ganzi Ganhaizi. Commander-in-Chief Zhu De was very happy and specially led a team of cavalry for more than ten miles to meet him on the way.As soon as he saw He Long, Ren Bishi and others, Zhu De shook hands with them tightly, and said to them excitedly: "It's all right now, my back is hard when you come here!" Ren Bishi, He Long and others laughed He replied: "Commander-in-Chief, we are here to listen to your command!" Zhu De said firmly: "You are here, we will go north together, and the Party Central Committee is with Chairman Mao." He told He Long, Ren Bishi and others in a timely manner, and told them to be resilient in solving this problem, like eating brown sugar, don't be in a hurry, and find a way to urge Zhang Guotao to go north to join the Central Committee. Arriving at the headquarters of the Red Army in Ganhaizi, they met with Zhang Guotao, Chen Changhao and other commanders and fighters of the Fourth Red Army.Many Tibetan compatriots also crowded around the roadside, holding crispy green oil tsampa to welcome them, and couldn't help but praise: "Yemo! Yemo!" (meaning top-notch). So far, the Red Army and the Sixth Army have all fought with each other in the Ganzi area. The Fourth Red Army joins.