Chapter 17 Chapter Seventeen

December 1947 to February 1948 Northern Anhui, Dabie Mountains The snowy Dabie Mountains are covered in white, and everything in nature is covered in ice and snow.However, those holly pines and cypresses that took root and hugged the mountains heard the sound of running water at the bottom of the frozen soil, smelled the breath of spring, and felt the surge of spring. Zhang Yanji, secretary of the Jinzhai County Committee of the Communist Party of China and political commissar of the Independent League, Wang Xiangqing, county magistrate, and Zhang Jiansan, deputy secretary of the county party committee, received an urgent notice from Jiang Chuan, secretary of the Qidian District Party Committee: to rush to Qidian Loufang Village.Gao Feng and Du Bingru, the political commissars of the fifth brigade teaching team of the second column and the fifth brigade who were working in the Guanwangmiao area, were also notified.

Pass through Qilipong, cross Yuwo Mountain, more than 30 miles of mountain roads, and arrive in two hours.As soon as I walked to the village, I saw a few army comrades coming down from the mountain with pine firewood on their backs; when I entered the village, I saw that the place was cleaned up, so I knew that the regular troops must have come. Jiang Chuan received them.Jiang Chuan was originally the deputy director of the Democratic Movement Department of the Second Column. As soon as he entered the Dabie Mountains, he was assigned to do local work in western Anhui. Jiang Chuan said, "There's good news, take a guess."

"Er Zong is here?" "Win the battle ahead?" Jiang Chuan shook his head. Du Bingru was in a hurry to guess: "You have no leader in the article, who can guess it? Just say it." Only then did Jiang Chuan smile and say, "Commissioner Deng and the former leaders are here, and I invite you to have a talk." Everyone was stunned, but they didn't believe it.In the past few months, I have been separated from the main force and carried out work scattered in the north and south of the Dabie Mountains. The enemy came and went, and the turmoil was turbulent. Not to mention seeing the head of the field army, I was very happy to see the shadow of the regular army.Deng Xiaoping "came out of nowhere" and asked to talk to them by name. No wonder the county magistrates and secretaries were shocked and excited.

The "Qianzhi" correspondent led them around the small river in the village and into a small courtyard. The sun had set and the room was dark.Deng Xiaoping, Li Xiannian, and Duan Junyi, political commissar of the Hubei-Henan Military Region, were warming up around a pile of burning firewood.Deng Xiaoping invited them to sit by the fire, and said, "After traveling such a long distance, it's getting colder, so let's warm up first." The guards lit two pine tar woods, and the room was brightened immediately.Deng Xiaoping lost weight and hadn't shaved his beard for a long time, only his sunken eyes were the same as before, reflecting the firelight, giving people an appealing confidence.

It was cold in the house.The fire was not burning well, but the smoke from it was very choking.Li Xiannian lowered his head and coughed while blowing; Deng Xiaoping also fanned the fire with a book.The chai was too wet. Jiang Chuan whispered to Du Bingru: "The chief just brought these firewood from the mountain." Only then did Du Bingru remember that when he entered the village, he saw the comrades carrying firewood down from the mountain. They turned out to be the chiefs.In such a cold weather, Deng Xiaoping and the others only wore thin, coarse cotton-padded jackets.In contrast, Du Bingru was dressed much thicker than them.Du Bingru felt uncomfortable.The county magistrate Wang Xiangqing was probably also embarrassed. Du Bingru saw that he always tucked in the wool that was exposed from the bottom corner of the torn fur coat on his body;

The fire finally burned a little more vigorously, and the room was slightly warmer.Deng Xiaoping patted the ashes on his hands and said: "We pass by here, and I will talk to you by the way. Let me first listen to what you have done after arriving in Dabie Mountains, how the masses mobilized, and any difficulties. You can talk about it. " The county magistrate and secretary of the county party committee reported on the mobilization of the masses, the establishment of farmers' associations, the elimination of bandits and anti-tyrants, and the small security teams in various districts of Jinzhai.They also specifically mentioned that "Left" phenomena appeared during the land reform process of dividing land, distributing floating wealth, and cracking down on local tyrants, which have been corrected according to the instructions of Liu Deng and the Central Plains Bureau.

The fire was getting hotter and hotter. Li Xiannian put his hands together above the fire, slapped his hands back and forth, then grabbed Du Bingru's hand, and said, "Your hands are so cold that they are almost turning into ice balls. You have done a good job this time. The masses have mobilized, and the base areas have held fast. Chiang Kai-shek and Bai Chongxi have nothing to do with us. Political Commissar Deng, now I have the money to speak hard to the landlady.” Du Bingru's hand was held by Li Xiannian all the time, and he really felt a warm current all over his body.Hearing Li Xiannian mention the "landlord" and "hard words", he didn't understand, so he asked, "Deputy Commander Li, what's the matter with the landlady?"

Deng Xiaoping said with a smile: "That day in Xuanhuadian, Comrade Xiannian lived in his old landlord's house. He was a backbone of the masses before the Fifth Division of the New Fourth Army broke out. The landlord's wife shed tears when she saw him. The first sentence she asked The question is, "This time we enter the Dabie Mountains, do you still want to leave?" How did Comrade Xiannian answer? He said, "Mother, if we leave again this time, you will spank Li Xiannian's ass!" Look, how amazing you are, you Save Comrade Xiannian’s butt.” Everyone laughed loudly.Deng Xiaoping heated up the fire again, stopped laughing, and said: "We have smashed the Kuomintang's large-scale 'encirclement and suppression' campaign and stopped in the Dabie Mountains. A while ago, Bai Chongxi had 33 brigades to 'encircle and suppress' the Dabie Mountains. Er Chen As soon as the Han line was tied, he had to withdraw 13 brigades. Now we still have 20 brigades on our backs. We will work harder and carry a few more brigades in the Dabie Mountains. Er Chen and Commander Liu are on the outside You can annihilate some more enemies, which is worthwhile. I think that if the strategy requires it in the future, some more main forces can be drawn out to fight outside. Of course, this will put more pressure on your comrades working in the local area. Tell me, If you reduce the main force, can you hold on?"

Du Bingru and the others said: "There will be more difficulties, but we can persevere." "Okay! Admitting difficulties, not being afraid of them, and overcoming them is the character of our communists. I have a bottom line in my heart." Deng Xiaoping turned around and said, "I'm here to talk to you, and I have something else to talk about. Tonight, Xinhua Radio Station is going to broadcast an important article by Chairman Mao. It's almost time..." Deng Xiaoping got up and went to a corner of the room to adjust the radio station.Li Da came in with a fresh bundle of wet firewood on his back, and was about to say hello when Deng Xiaoping made a gesture to signal everyone to pay attention——

"The revolutionary war of the Chinese people has now reached a turning point. "This means that the Chinese People's Liberation Army has repelled the attack of the millions of reactionary troops of Chiang Kai-shek, the running dog of the United States, and turned itself into the offensive...From the first quarter of the second year of the war, that is, in July 1947 By September, the People's Liberation Army had shifted to a nationwide offensive, thwarting Chiang Kai-shek's counter-revolutionary plan to lead the war to the liberated areas and attempt to completely destroy the liberated areas. Now, the main war is not in the liberated areas, but in the Kuomintang The main force of the People's Liberation Army has already entered the Kuomintang ruled area... This is a turning point in history. This is the turning point from the development of Chiang Kai-shek's 20-year counter-revolutionary rule to its elimination. This is more than a hundred years Since then, the imperialist rule in China has changed from development to elimination. This is a great event... Once this event occurs, it will inevitably lead to the victory of the whole country..."

After listening to the broadcast, it was already midnight, Deng Xiaoping asked the guard: "Is there anything else to eat?" The guard said, "There are some chaff cakes and a packet of sunflower seeds." Deng Xiaoping: "Okay, bring them all, and pour some more boiling water." The guards put out bran cakes and sunflower seeds, and poured everyone a glass of boiled water. Deng Xiaoping smiled all over his face, and raised the cup in his hand: "There are food, drinks, and dishes. It's very rich! Let's toast to Chairman Mao's important speech and to the new year!" Dawn shines through the window, and the rooster sings loudly.It was the first dawn of 1948. It has been fifty-two days since the "Front Finger" and "Back Finger" led by Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping separated. For nearly two months, Liu and Deng broke up, but their names did not separate. Whether it was sent to the central government or sent to the major theaters, the inseparable "Liu Deng" was still signed as before. After the second column covered the tenth column and went west to Tongbai, in order to drag the enemy outward, it marched eastward from the Guangshan and Luoshan areas, headed straight for Huangchuan and Gushi, and attracted the new army that had gone south into the "front finger" The 48th and 58th divisions of the enemy in the county and Shangcheng area rushed back to rescue.When the two enemies were about to approach, the second column branched from Gushi to the west of Anhui, wiped out part of the enemy's 46th division, and forced the enemy to continue eastward.Entering January 1948, Chen Zaidao once again took advantage of the enemy's desire to find Liu and Deng's main force for a decisive battle, and led his troops from east to west, leading the enemy's 10th and 11th divisions to the north of the Huaihe River; then suddenly crossed the river Turning back to Huainan, regaining Guangshan again, and inflicting heavy damage on the enemy's 11th Division in the Hongdianzi area of ​​the Shangcheng.If so, pull the enemy to walk a circle. At the same time as the second column was operating, the third column stationed in Taihu, Huoshan and other places in western Anhui was also led by Chen Xilian, and moved to the east of Hubei in great strides, holding back several main enemy divisions in Macheng, Xinxian, Huangan and other places. , Shangcheng, Huangchuan, and Gushi areas, they got rid of the combined attacks of the enemy's 7th, 28th, 48th, 58th, and 46th divisions three times successively. The arduous task of attracting multiple powerful enemies and dragging them away. After the start of the enemy's "clearance and suppression" of the sixth column, the troops dispersed to operate in units of brigades and regiments.The deputy political commissar of the column, Bao Zhixian, led the 16th brigade in central areas such as Luotian, Yingshan, and Macheng, clearing the stubborn soil, and covering the work in the base areas; The enemy fought against Songport, attacked Guangji, and attacked Huangpi during the movement, and approached the defense lines of Huang (pi) and Ma (city) defending the Wuhan base camp, forcing the enemy to be exhausted. The first column led by Yang Yong crossed the Huai River and Ru River under the personal command of Liu Bocheng, and captured Runan; it also cooperated with the Chen Su and Chen Xie Group to complete the Ping-Han Campaign, and quickly cooperated with the Henan-Anhui Soviet Area to open up Xixian, Linquan, Local work in more than ten counties, including Xiangcheng, Shangcai, and Zhengyang, established the fourth division of the Henan, Anhui, and Su military regions, filling the gap in the Huaixi area, and connecting Henan, Anhui, and the Dabie Mountains.At the same time, the Jianghan and Tongbai base areas opened up by the 10th and 12th columns have also been consolidated, making the Hanshui and Huaihe rivers gradually become inland rivers in the liberated areas after the Yellow River, creating natural geography and manpower and material resources for the large-scale operations in the Central Plains in the future. conditions of. If all these battles are clearly marked on the map, you will be surprised to find: Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping, a "front finger" and a "back finger", seem to be tied to them by an invisible soul thread, with a radius of hundreds of miles. Every movement of Blooming Everywhere is a demonstration of the distinction between "form" and "spirit". Liu Bocheng left Zhangzhuang, Linquan County last night and traveled 60 miles to Weilou.At this time, the main force of the enemy had already crossed the Huaihe River in the north, in an attempt to "encircle and suppress" again, and its plainclothes agents had already approached the rear guard of the field army headquarters. Liu Bocheng originally had a horse, but it was dark and the rugged path was covered with snow. The horse staggered step by step, so Liu Bocheng had to get off the horse and trek in the snow with the soldiers.The guards brought the stretcher several times, but he refused. It was getting dark, and Liu Bocheng immediately ordered the radio station to be set up.Since breaking up with Deng Xiaoping, Liu Bocheng has actually changed his habit for many years. The first thing he does every day is no longer to ask about the weather, ask about the enemy’s situation, or read a map. Ask: "Where is Political Commissar Deng?" "How many enemies are there around him?" "How far is our army from him?" Sometimes it was difficult to connect to the radio station, so he personally guarded the telegraph.Once the signal from the Dabie Mountains came from the receiver, he leaned over and listened attentively. The "Houzhi" radio station in Weilou and the "Qianzhi" radio station in Xin County were connected, and the staff reported to Liu Bocheng: "Political Commissar Deng is now at the telegraph." "Okay. Hurry up and tell Commissar Deng the location of 'Back Finger', and then report the enemy situation we have." After marching all night, Liu Bocheng was not tired yet.He stood outside the house for a few minutes, letting the cold wind blow on his face, then turned back and said, "Finally, hello to Political Commissar Deng." At the same time, in Xinxian County, "Qianzhi". Deng Xiaoping stood guard in front of the telegraph.The transmitter knocked out the last set of passwords, and Deng Xiaoping said: "Tell the commander, I am good. Greetings to the commander." The sky is full of sunshine outside the window. Deng Xiaoping entered Xinxian county the day before yesterday, and he was going to give a situation report for the Hubei and Henan prefectural committees here. The Spring Festival is approaching, and the village already has a New Year's atmosphere. Many people are slaughtering pigs and sheep to steam rice cakes, and post red couplets and door gods.Deng Xiaoping's interest was aroused by a family's couplet. He stopped to read it several times and couldn't help laughing.The couplet is left and right: the Dabie Mountains run from north to south, and Chiang Kai-shek doesn't know anything.Banner: The Red Army will win. Deng Xiaoping said to himself: "The homophony of 'knowledge' and 'is' is very interesting." At the temporary meeting place, all the participants of the meeting have arrived. Deng Xiaoping said with a smile: "Comrades are working very hard. The Spring Festival is coming soon, so let me wish you all an early New Year!" The venue burst into applause.Deng Xiaoping continued: "We Chinese people always talk about auspiciousness during festivals. Today I am talking about 'auspicious words'. Some comrades asked, how successful have we achieved in the counter-offensive? Chairman Mao said that since the counter-offensive, we have wiped out 60% of the enemy. 90,000. This number is not an exaggeration at all. Adding the 110,000 annihilated in December, the total is 800,000. Since we entered the Dabie Mountains, we did not fight much from September to December, but we still wiped out The enemy's five brigades wiped out 50,000 enemies, which is greater than the first year of the self-defense war. The central government assigned combat tasks, and in the second year, another 96 enemy brigades were wiped out. Two brigades were assigned to us every month. We have completed the task. Chen Su, Chen Xie, the results of the battle in the Northeast are even greater. "More importantly, we have advanced a thousand miles, created three major liberated areas, increased the population by 45 million, and established various levels of political power and military regional organizations. The Dabie Mountains are the most serious enemy situation, and we have not only launched strategies, but also tactics. Unfolded. We have established a foothold in the new liberated area!" Deng Xiaoping analyzed the national war situation, revealed the enemy's fatal strategic weakness, and finally made a conclusion: "We must see two points: first, the basic - the enemy is defensive; ——We call it the dying struggle. Dying is fundamental. If you don’t see this, you will not understand the victory of the counterattack. Struggle is the other side. If you don’t see this, you will relax, paralyze, and lose your fighting spirit. In short, victory Not far away!" On February 7, the Central Military Commission requested Liu Deng to lead the headquarters and the main force of the field army to move out of the Dabie Mountains and enter between the Huaihe River, Longhai Road, Shahe River, and Funiu Mountain, and set up a command center on the southern line to uniformly command the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Field Army and the East China Army. The Chen and Tang Groups of the Field Army launched the Central Plains Operation. On February 9, Deng Xiaoping called the Central Military Commission: In order to deal with the enemy's brutal raids and deploy the work after the main force has been transferred, the main force of the field army must stay in the Dabie Mountains and fight a "circle" with the enemy. On February 22, Deng Xiaoping met with the leaders of the Hubei-Henan District, deployed the work after the transfer of the main force, and demanded that preparations be made to deal with the enemy's brutal "clearance and suppression".Later, the Central Plains Bureau issued the "Instructions on Conducting Guerrilla Warfare", requiring that after the main force of the field army was transferred out, the military region troops and local armed forces should independently stick to the strategic position of the Dabie Mountains with a wider and more active guerrilla warfare. So far, all the preparations for the transfer of the main force of the Dabie Mountains and the persistence of the inside line have been completed, and the new strategic vision is about to become a glorious reality.It is not difficult to imagine that after the main force of the field army is transferred to the Central Plains to fight, the Dabie Mountains will face an even more arduous struggle.However, at this time, no one doubts the fact that the strategic position of the Dabie Mountains is stable under the insistence of the Western Anhui, Hubei-Yuhan, Jianghan, Tongbai Military Regions and the local masses. The Communists have a firm foothold here. Will not be shaken! Because the time of suffering is passing. Lantern Festival. After dusk, the bright moon hangs high in the sky, the lights on the ground are brightly lit, and even the evening wind in early spring brings warmth that is not cold on the face.The moon is full again every year, and on this traditional day of reunion, every household is filled with festive atmosphere. "Houzhi" left Zhang Dazhuang in the morning, passed through Shenqiu and Liqiao, traveled 80 miles, and arrived at Weizhai, Linquan County, Anhui after dark. Yang Guoyu tried every means to get some glutinous rice flour and a pack of sugar, and mobilized cadres and soldiers to pack Yuanxiao.As he made a fuss, he announced a proposal that surprised everyone: "You need to save some noodles, and you must pack enough - two for each person, one must not be missing. What's the point? One represents the 'rear finger' ', one represents 'front finger', eat it in the belly, it represents 'front finger' and 'back finger' happy reunion!" That night, Deng Xiaoping will lead the "Front Finger" to Weizhai and join forces with the "Hack Finger".The news spread like wings. Liu Bocheng had already been waiting in the field outside Weizhai Village, and behind him were two long lines of welcoming teams.Liu Bocheng was pacing, his eyes fixed on the front.Seventy-five days and nights is not a long time, but it was the longest parting between Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping. "Commissioner Deng is here!" a soldier shouted. In the night, the horseshoes trampled, shattering the coldness of winter. Liu Bocheng couldn't see clearly, so he took a few steps forward, stopped, and suddenly strode away. Deng Xiaoping jumped off his horse and ran towards Liu Bocheng. The two hands were clasped tightly together, and language seemed superfluous.Soldiers and commanders meet again, and the two pairs of clenched hands contain all the emotions. Time froze at the moment when these giant hands held each other. a long time.Deng Xiaoping looked at Liu Bocheng's wrinkled face and silver-white hair, and said solemnly: "Commander, you have more gray hair." Liu Bocheng also looked Deng Xiaoping up and down: "Commander Deng, you... have lost weight." Deng Xiaoping smiled: "In short, we are all still alive. This is the most troublesome problem for Chiang Kai-shek." Liu Bocheng laughed heartily: "I remember when I entered the Dabie Mountains, I said that I, Liu Bocheng, don't want to die yet. I still want to keep one eye open and try to see who wins the battle in the Central Plains! Now, this day is not far away." The welcome team that lined the road for ten miles gave bursts of applause. The troops who turned from the Dabie Mountains were crying.Strictly speaking, if it weren't for them still marching aggressively and neatly, this would hardly be called a "troop".The homemade cotton clothes were torn apart, revealing the cotton with cotton seeds; the cotton cloth dyed with grass ash and tree sap has long faded, showing the "original shape" of red, green and flowers... The clothes are ragged, the face is haggard, and the hair is messy Disheveled, bearded like weeds, shaped like a group of mighty "beggars". The author read the relevant information, which recorded such figures—— Before entering the Dabie Mountains, that is, in July 1947, the statistics of the strength of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Field Army when they went out: 33,357 people in the first column; 31,000 people in the second column; 31,000 people in the third column 26,468 people; 26,322 people in the sixth column; 6,370 people directly under the Field Army.A total of 124,147 people went south. On November 29, 1947, when the Dabie Mountain struggle persisted, the field army headquarters reported to the Military Commission the strength statistics: 23,000 people in the first column; 19,000 people in the second column; 20,000 people in the third column 4,000 people; 22,000 people in the sixth column; 3,000 people directly under the field army.A total of 91,000 people. At this time, there were 30,000 fewer people than before going south, of which 8,000 were captured. After the main force left the Dabie Mountains, the strength before supplementation: 15,363 people in the first column; 11,627 people in the second column; 15,300 people in the third column Eighty-four people; 14,280 people in the sixth column.Excluding the team directly under the Field Army, there are still 56,654 people left. When the main force turned out of the Dabie Mountains, a group of troops from the military region and personnel dispatched to carry out local work were left behind, tentatively counting more than 10,000—even if this number was added, it would be less than 70,000. From a vast army of 120,000 to less than 70,000, the author already feels that there is no need to give more examples and express more emotion.This cold number alone is enough to make people appreciate the hardships and heroic sacrifices Liu and Deng's army endured in order to realize the great strategic turning point. Xu Huaizhong, a well-known contemporary writer, was also a soldier of Liu Deng. He and some others were the last batch to leave the Dabie Mountains.They are dispatched to work in the Xinxian area, and they spend a longer time away from the main force, just like children spend a longer time away from their mothers, so they will naturally suffer more.He told the author: "That morning, when we crossed the Huai River and heard the sound of the trumpeter of the main force blowing the trumpet on the mountain, we couldn't stop crying." An old comrade who participated in the march of the Dabie Mountains recalled that he wrote a poem with passion, which recorded such a grand feeling for future generations: