Chapter 7 Chapter 07 Eliminate banditry in western Sichuan and open the door to Kangzang

Like a hobbled old man, Tibet is walking towards the Eighteenth Army from the ancient snow-capped mountains. With a kind of distance, a kind of strangeness, a kind of separation. There is very little information on Tibet. In Chengdu, Zhang Guohua went into the bookstore whenever he saw it, and he would not let go of any related books, but there were very few such books.There is only the thread-bound book "General History of Wei Zang" in the Qing Dynasty, which was completed in the Qianlong period; there is also "Tibet General View" edited by the Japanese Ichiro Kurosawa; "Kangzang Jinzheng" written by Liu Manqing, a legendary woman who made great contributions, "Tibet History and Geography Outline" written by Hong Dichen, etc.The books were yellowed and covered with a thick layer of dust.

Li Jue, who came from the Second Field Operations Department to serve as the second chief of staff, brought an old map, which became the treasure of the Eighteenth Army.The map was taken from a rotten package of the Nationalist Resource Committee.This was left by Zhao Erfeng, drawing his road maps for entering Tibet, as simple as a wriggling black caterpillar. "Eight stations for the poor, eight stations for the rich, eight stations for the neither poor nor rich", this sentence comes from this map, that is to say, there were 24 horse stations from Qamdo to Lhasa in the old days.A horse station basically takes a day to ride a horse.At a scale of 500,000 to 1, this map is very simple and crude, not even a single accurate road.The marked mountains, rivers and residential villages are extremely rare, and the place names are very imprecise.

How to make the mountains, rivers and land on this map plump and full of flesh and blood? There must be a living "soul"! As a strategist, Mao Zedong was a big deal.However, since he ordered the Southwest to enter Tibet, he sent letters and sent letters many times, giving specific instructions on every detail of the march into Tibet.Tibet's special geographical, historical, and political conditions made Mao Zedong extraordinarily prudent and meticulous.According to the instructions of the Central Committee and Mao Zedong, the Southwest Bureau and the Southwest Military Region have established the policy of "politics is more important than military affairs, and supplies are more important than combat."

According to this policy, the formulation of policies will be the "soul" that affects the success or failure of the entire great process of liberating Tibet.The Policy Research Office of the Eighteenth Army came into being, and immediately began to conduct research on Tibet's political, economic, cultural, military, and social conditions, as well as Tibetan religious beliefs and customs. In early 1950, the research office was formally established in a building on Dongsheng Street, Chengdu.The director is Wang Qimei, deputy political commissar of the 18th Army.The staff of the research office include not only experts and scholars who study Tibet issues, such as Li Anzhai, Yu Shiyu, Xie Guoan, Liu Liqian, etc., but also "scholars" of the 18th Army, such as Chen Jingbo, Xia Zhongyuan, Xu Dawen, Zhao Zhuoru, etc.For a time, a group of talents arrived.Li Anzhai has taught in famous Western universities such as Harvard and Cambridge, and is proficient in English, French, Hindi and other languages.After returning to China, he conducted on-the-spot investigations in Gannan Tibetan areas for three years, and in the Xikang area from 1944 to 1945. He has a very good understanding of the situation in Tibetan areas.His wife, Yu Shiyu, is a relative of Chen Yun and a famous Tibetologist.They have a close relationship with Xie Guoan.Xie Guoan once worked as a lama in a Tibetan monastery and is proficient in Tibetan.

The 18th Army respects these seniors very much.In addition to board and lodging, each expert is also paid 30 oceans of salary every month.Every time there was a meeting, the most advanced jeeps at that time were used to pick them up.Deng Xiaoping, Liu Bocheng, He Long and the heads of the Eighteenth Army also attached great importance to their suggestions. A scholar dies for his confidant.In order to sort out the detailed situation in Tibet, the experts tried their best.Mr. Fu Shizhong had sores behind his ears, and the pain was so painful that he couldn’t even sleep well, but he still insisted on working; Mr. Li Anzhai, who is 66 years old, is attending the Congress of Representatives from All walks of life in Chengdu. Still working late into the night, compiling materials, and even writing the original lithograph by himself.Mr. Fu Xiang and Mr. Liu Liqian are responsible for compiling the textbooks, carefully considering every word and sentence, and deliberating day and night.

Li Anzhai and Yu Shiyu gave an example to illustrate the influence of religion on Tibetans: Before the People's Liberation Army peacefully liberated Xikang, it was occupied by the 24th Army of the Kuomintang Liu Wenhui. Liu Wenhui and Liu Xiang competed for power in Sichuan Province. They were defeated and entered Xikang. The forces have heavy troops.It can be said that Liu Wenhui, who is already weak, has many difficulties in order to gain a foothold in Xikang.The senior counselors made suggestions. After Liu Wenhui was stationed in Kangding, he first set up a Buddhist hall upstairs in his house to worship Buddha statues. He invited Tibetan Buddhist lamas to recite scriptures.He also ordered the troops not to interfere with the religious order of the monastery and not to infringe upon the interests of the monastery.It didn't take long for him to get the nickname of "Buddhist General", and he won the favor of the religious upper class in Xikang. He gained a firm foothold and regained his own territory in Sichuan.

Xie Guoan also often gave lectures to everyone. He said that Tibet was a feudal serfdom society with strict hierarchy.The chief lord was both the oppressor and the spokesman for the serfs.When the common people saw them, they would bow their heads, stick out their tongues, and keep saying "La So La So".Even the rulers are divided into ranks and ranks.When the petty official saw the people, he was arrogant and spoke loudly.But before he finished speaking, a bigger official came behind him, the junior official's voice suddenly dropped, and he quickly bowed his head and stuck out his tongue.

All kinds of information inspired the thinking of the Southwest Bureau and the Eighteenth Army.With the efforts of experts, the outline of Tibet has gradually become clear.First, due to the unique plateau shape, Tibet is closed, backward and isolated from the world; second, Tibet is a Tibetan-inhabited area; third, Tibet’s religious power is strong, and almost all the people believe in it; fourth, its social form is still Feudal serfdom; Fifth, there has never been any activity of the Communist Party here before, and the people have not been baptized by the democratic revolution. In response to this situation, the experts spent more than a month writing a series of reference articles about marching into Tibet, such as "Analysis of the Attitudes of People from All walks of life in Tibet to our Marching", "Preliminary Opinions on Various Policies in Tibet", " The Trend of British and American Imperialists Interfering in the Tibet Issue and My Countermeasures", "Tibetan Customs and Taboos", "Research on the Qing Dynasty's Military Use in Tibet", etc.

Then, the Policy Research Office of the 18th Army wrote "Items to Pay Attention to and Prepare for Marching into Kangzang" and "Rules for Marching", etc., which restricted every specific behavior of personnel entering Tibet, including eating, lodging, collecting firewood, shitting, etc. There are rules for peeing. The "Rules for Marching" has four aspects and 34 articles, including "Aspects of Troop Management", "Aspects of Organizational Discipline", "Aspects of Customs and Habits", and "Aspects of Policies". In times of difficulty, purchases should be made at local prices in an organized manner, and even the following units and sporadic personnel should not buy indiscriminately or forcibly.” “In Kham and Tibetan areas, silver dollars and Tibetan coins are the main currency, and the use of renminbi is strictly prohibited.” "In the Kham-Tibet area, propaganda is only allowed in accordance with the content stipulated by the Work Committee, and land reform and class struggle are not allowed." "Guarantee the freedom of religious belief of the Tibetan people, protect lama temples and all religious facilities, and do not disturb them out of curiosity, let alone propagate anti-superstition or dissatisfaction with religion among the masses." "Without consent, you are not allowed to live in temples or scripture halls." "It is strictly forbidden to live in or visit lama temples during wartime. If you want to visit in normal times, you must contact them first. During the visit, you are not allowed to touch the Buddha statues at will, and you are not allowed to spit or fart." "Fishing, hunting, eagle hunting, and slaughtering of livestock are not allowed near the temple; they are not allowed to chop firewood or wander around the 'Sacred Mountain', and they are not allowed to shoot at will."

When it comes to related customs, the code stipulates: "Tibetans can accept one of the gifts: khata or other light gifts, and they should return khata and other appropriate gifts." We can nod in return, but not laugh out of curiosity." These regulations created a new image of "new Han people" and "Bodhisattva soldiers" in the minds of ordinary Tibetans.Later, these elderly experts resolutely entered Tibet with the troops.They put the family members and children in a good place, and carried the rest of the things on their backs in a backpack. They laughed and said, "It's really going to Tibet for thousands of miles, and Wanguan's family wealth is packed in one bag."

The mountains rise and the rivers flow.In Deng Xiaoping's mind, the outline of Tibet became more and more clear.He knew very well that Mao Zedong's consistent style was to investigate and study first, find out the situation accurately, and then draw conclusions to formulate policies with a definite purpose.Because of this, Mao Zedong's handling of the Tibet issue has reached a perfect state, and he has truly achieved a high degree of integration of historical materialism and dialectical materialism, and a high degree of integration of the lofty ideals of communism and the specific practice of Tibet, which is both principled and flexible. Where did this "Tibet reality" come from? It includes not only Mao Zedong's own investigation and research, but also correct suggestions from the Southwest Bureau and the 18th Army. Deng Xiaoping summarized and analyzed the situation collected by the Eighteenth Army, wrote a detailed investigation report, and submitted it to Mao Zedong. This survey report is divided into two parts. The first part introduces Tibet's geography, society, military and many other conditions, and details the road conditions for marching from Xikang, Qinghai, Yunnan, and Xinjiang.When introducing the general situation of Tibet, the survey report said that the area where the Tibetan ethnic group is distributed is traditionally divided into five parts: 1 Ali: A part of the northwest corner of Tibet, with Kardak as the center. 2 Tibet: It is commonly known as Hou Tibet, with Shigatse as the center. 3 Guards: It is commonly known as Qianzang, with Lhasa as the center. 4 Kang: the area west of the Jinsha River in Xikang Province. 5 Amdo: Including southwestern Qinghai, Sichuan Song, Pan, Li, Zi, etc. According to statistics, the population of Tibetan areas except Tibet is distributed in the area west of the Jinsha River in Xikang, Lijiang in northwest Yunnan, Song, Pan, Li, Zi in Sichuan, Yushu in southwest Qinghai and other places!It can be said that the land is vast and the population is sparse, the means of living are insufficient, the restriction of population growth, and the large number of lamas have a direct impact on population reproduction.Tibet's population is distributed in the southeast and the Yarlung Zangbo River Basin as agricultural and pastoral areas. The agricultural products can only be self-sufficient. The rest are nomadic areas, and food is extremely scarce. After talking about the topography of Tibet, the route to Tibet, and the military situation in Tibet, the investigation report talked about the old society in Tibet.Tibetan people all believe in Buddhism. Because Tibet is a feudal serf system under the joint dictatorship of monks, laymen and aristocrats, lamas enjoy a high reputation.Each monastery has fiefdoms and manors, and has become a monastery economic group. Only the three major monasteries in Lhasa, Drepung, Sera, and Ganden, have 321 manors, more than 1.47 million grams of land, 26 pastures, 110,000 heads of livestock, and There are more than 40,000 shepherds.There are two types of manors owned by monasteries, one is the public property of the monastery, and its tax revenue is the funds of the monastery; the other is the private property of living Buddhas and upper lamas, and some private manors of living Buddhas are comparable to those of big VIPs.There are about 500 large and small living Buddhas belonging to monasteries in Tibet, and about 4,000 upper-level monks with real economic power. Tibet's feudal serfdom consisted of two basic antagonistic classes: one was the serf-owning class, which accounted for about 5% of Tibet's population, and consisted of the three major lords of officials, nobles, monasteries and their agents.The second is the serf class, which is composed of several classes such as Chaba, Duiqiong, Langsheng, and vagrants. "Tibetans regard birds and fish as gods, so they neither eat fish nor catch birds."The first part of the investigation report also made a special reminder on this. In the second part of the investigation report, Deng Xiaoping expounded the strategic policy of governing Tibet from eight aspects. He first expressed his attitude towards the theocratic system in Tibet and the Dalai Panchen Lama.The purpose of the People's Liberation Army's liberation of Tibet was to unite the Tibetan people, improve the economic and cultural life of the Tibetan people, and enable the Tibetan people to be truly liberated from imperialist aggression and feudal oppression and exploitation.Therefore, of course, the current system of theocracy in Tibet must be reformed step by step to achieve the separation of church and state and move towards true democratic autonomy.However, due to the backwardness of Tibet and the deep-rooted religious beliefs of the Tibetan people, this kind of reform can only be achieved in a planned and step-by-step manner according to the degree of consciousness of the Tibetan people.Therefore, our attitude is: 1. For the time being, the principle is to retain the original political institutions. 2 Oppose and cleanse the few reactionary elements who are pro-British, resolutely opposed to the Communist Party and the People's Liberation Army and betray the interests of the Tibetan people, unite with the progressive elements who have connections with the masses, and win over the middle elements, so as to transform the leading elements in the old regime, but must First obtain the consent and support of the Tibetan people. 3 Expand the foundation of the original state-religious joint meeting (that is, the assembly of monks and laymen), and seek the participation of civilian representatives, so that it will gradually transform into a real people's representative meeting, and the leadership of the meeting will gradually become democratic. 4. It is recommended to establish the Tibet Military and Political Committee to realize the leadership of the Central People's Government over the local government of old Tibet and the connection between the People's Liberation Army in this area and the local government of old Tibet. About the attitude towards Dalai: 1. If the People's Liberation Army enters Tibet, if the Dalai Lama escapes, according to Tibetan habits, the Panchen Lama should not be used as the Dalai Lama's representative, so as not to cause major disputes and the repercussions of the Tibetan people. According to Tibetan habits, the regent should represent the leadership of the Dalai Lama. In order for the Kashag to exercise power, we should try our best to win over the Dalai Lama, so as not to be used by the imperialists. 2. If the regent is involved in the escape of the Dalai Lama, a joint church-state meeting must be convened in accordance with Tibetan custom to re-elect the regent. 3 The Kashag (equivalent to the Council of Government Affairs) is the highest administrative body in Tibet. If all or part of the four major Kalons (approximately equal to the members of the Council of Government Affairs) flee with the Dalai Lama, new Kalons can be appointed to supplement the fixed number of people (the original four) to perform government affairs. Regarding the attitude towards the Panchen Lama.The Panchen Lama is the two religious leaders alongside the Dalai Lama in Tibet, but the Panchen Lama does not care about political affairs, and his religious status is slightly inferior to the Dalai Lama. Deng Xiaoping also talked about the attitudes that should be adopted towards Tibetan nobles, officials, lamas, farmers and herdsmen, the welfare policy for the Tibetan people's society, and his opinions on the reform of the Kham-Tibetan-Ula servant system, etc. Beijing always hopes to liberate the last piece of land in mainland China through peaceful negotiations.In the process of the peaceful liberation of Tibet, peace is the main thread, which is very prominent.Even if forced to go to war, it is to promote peace. From September 21 to 23, 1949, the first plenary session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference was held in Beijing. The meeting passed the "Common Program" with the nature of a provisional constitution, which stated that all ethnic groups in the People's Republic of China have equal rights and obligations, and implemented Ethnic equality, ethnic unity, ethnic regional autonomy policies, and religious freedom policies are clearly regulated.These policies with Chinese characteristics proposed by the CCP have been fixed in legal form. On October 1, the People's Republic of China was solemnly established.Zhu De, commander-in-chief of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, read out the "Order of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Headquarters", ordering the People's Liberation Army to quickly liberate all lands that have not yet been liberated.The People's Liberation Army has reported frequent successes on the battlefields of East China, South Central and Northwest China.Facing the special situation in Tibet, what countermeasures will the Communist Party adopt? This has long been revealed in the conversations of Deng Xiaoping and others. In mid-January 1950, when Deng Xiaoping assigned the 18th Army the task of entering Tibet, he proposed: "The Tibet issue has military issues and requires a certain number of troops. However, compared with military affairs and politics, politics is the main one." "Policy issues are extremely important. "To go to Tibet is to rely on policy to walk, rely on policy to live, and policy is life. We must closely connect with the masses and rely on the masses. We must use correct policies to sweep away the false rumors of Chinese and foreign reactionaries, and to eliminate ethnic barriers and prejudices caused by history. To unite the monks, lay people and patriots in Kham and Tibet under the banner of anti-imperialism and patriotism.” Liu Bocheng also pointed out at that time: "We must first start with national unity, and then we can talk about class issues." "If you don't have a deep understanding of religious issues, if you start indiscriminately, you will be in trouble." These actually put forward the guidelines for the peaceful liberation of Tibet. In February 1950, the Central Committee instructed the Southwest Bureau and the Northwest Bureau: "The PLA's plan to enter Tibet is unwavering. However, all methods can be used to negotiate with the Dalai clique." The Southwest Bureau and the Northwest Bureau put forward four and six opinions respectively on how to negotiate with the Dalai clique. On May 17, after affirming the four opinions put forward by the Southwest Bureau, the central government further instructed that the terms of negotiations with the old Tibetan local government should be drafted according to the following principles: Tibet must expel imperialist aggressive forces and assist the People’s Liberation Army to enter Tibet.On the other hand, we can admit that Tibet's political and religious systems, together with the status of the Dalai Lama, as well as the existing armed forces and customs, will not be changed at all, and all of them will be protected. In accordance with the above principles, on May 27, Deng Xiaoping presided over the drafting and personally revised the 10 articles for the peace talks, which were reported to the Central Committee for approval in the name of the Southwest Bureau, and then issued to all the troops entering Tibet on June 2. People call it the "Ten Policies" for the peaceful liberation of Tibet.It concretized the instructions of the Party Central Committee and laid a solid foundation for the signing of the "Agreement on the Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet". The details of the “Ten Policies” are as follows: (1) The Tibetan people unite to expel the British and American imperialist forces from Tibet, and the Tibetan people return to the big family of the motherland of the People's Republic of China; (2) Tibet implements regional ethnic autonomy; (3) The various existing political systems in Tibet will remain as they are without change, the status and powers of the Dalai Lama will not be changed, and officials at all levels will continue to work as usual; (4) Practicing religious freedom, protecting lama temples, and respecting the religious beliefs and customs of the Tibetan people; (5) To maintain the current military system in Tibet and not change it, and the existing army in Tibet will become part of the national defense forces of the People's Republic of China; (6) Develop the Tibetan language and school education; (7) Issues related to Tibet's reforms shall be resolved entirely in accordance with the will of the Tibetan people, and shall be resolved through consultations between the Tibetan people and their leaders; (9) As for officials who were pro-British, American and Kuomintang in the past, as long as they break away from their relationship with the British and American imperialists and the Kuomintang, and do not sabotage or resist, they will continue to serve and forget the past; (10) The Chinese People's Liberation Army enters Tibet to consolidate national defense.The People's Liberation Army abides by the policies listed above.The People's Liberation Army is completely funded by the Central People's Government, and the People's Liberation Army buys and sells fairly. These ten policies were also conveyed to the rulers of Tibet through radio waves, leaflets, and persuasion missions. Like an arrow on the string, pointing directly to the western sky. Before the departure of the large troops, the Eighteenth Army sent an advance detachment, ready to go straight to the Jinsha River, and feed back the Tibetan situation back to the military headquarters like a radar.On the way to Tibet, the Eighteenth Army organized four advance detachments, and this was the first one.The army appointed Chen Zizhi as the commander of the advance detachment, Chen Jingbo, the head of the 18th Army's enemy industry department, as the political commissar, and deployed the army's reconnaissance battalion and engineering battalion as the backbone of the advance detachment. On February 3, Chen Jingbo led a team from Dongshan, joined Chen Zizhi in Xinjin, and then went straight to Ya'an. At this moment, the Kuomintang bandits appeared like ants. They are all dressed as peasants in western Sichuan: wearing long robes and jackets, white towels on their heads, and bamboo baskets on their backs. They are very arrogant. Arriving at a village in Qionglai, the advance detachment was surrounded. After the troops broke through, they came to Qionglai City where the 62nd Army was stationed.The atmosphere here is also very tense, no store is open, and ordinary people dare not sleep on the bed, so they can only lay some hay under the bed.Outside the city walls, mines and explosives were planted. The Kuomintang bandits are very stubborn.After all, Sichuan is the place where Chiang Kai-shek has worked hard for many years. With the liberation of the motherland, all the bandits were compressed to the western Sichuan area. They have a lot of combat experience, are equipped with small-caliber guns and other equipment, and have undergone formal training.After their gathering, there are at least a hundred, as many as tens of thousands, and they have become the confidant of the Eighteenth Army. The advance detachment came to Ya'an under the escort of a regiment of the 62nd Army. The bandits attacked Ya'an City with artillery fire all day long, and the road to Ganzi was also controlled by the bandits. The advance detachment telegraphed the above situation to the military headquarters of the 18th Army, and Zhang Guohua immediately reported it to the Second Field and the Southwest Bureau.Deng Xiaoping, Liu Bocheng, and He Long issued an order on February 21, ordering the Eighteenth Army to do everything possible to wipe out the bandits in western Sichuan and ensure the smooth progress of the entry into Tibet.In view of the serious situation of banditry in western Sichuan, on February 26, the Southwest Bureau asked the central government to postpone the schedule of entering Tibet until next spring. Mao Zedong replied in a telegram on March 20, requesting that the plan to enter Tibet this year should not be shaken, and instructed that after the 18th Army advances, appropriate troops should be sent to ensure transportation in the rear and prepare food and supplies. Previously, Mao Zedong had proposed that "into Tibet, one must rely on the implementation of the party's ethnic policy, and the other must not eat local land." Mao Zedong remembered that during the Long March of the Red Army, the three front armies passed through Sichuan and Xikang. Life is even harder, and they can't afford food for tens of thousands of troops. Zhu De, who was far away in Beijing, called He Long on the supply of troops marching into Tibet, and put forward 10 specific opinions: First, use cash for food expenses, 5 jiao per day and 15 yuan per month; second, buy local beef and mutton as the main food, and buy ghee and highland barley as non-staple foods, all in cash; third, in Qinghai Buy and transport grain, and move forward with the army. After the grain is finished, you can eat beef. The Red Army has some experience when going north; Cook soup with wild vegetables and meat, then use tea, eat a small amount of highland barley, and get used to it within one month; sixth, mobilize the masses to cultivate grain and tea in summer; Tibetan experience and willingness to enter Tibet caravans and Tibetan businessmen to enter what they love and need in exchange for meat and grain, and transfer the goods that can be transported back to Tibet to go out of Sichuan for internal and external exchanges. According to the instructions of Mao Zedong and Zhu De, Liu Bocheng, Deng Xiaoping, He Long, etc. spent a lot of energy and time to study and solve the political and material preparations for marching into Tibet, and especially raised the issue of logistics support.They decided to set up the Marching Tibet Support Command to unify and lead the logistics support work of the troops entering Tibet.He Long issued the "Report of the Southwest Military Region to the Military Commission and the Southwest Bureau on Supporting the Work of Entering Tibet", stating that "whatever the troops in the front need, that is, supply with all their strength."And according to the Kham-Tibet terrain, climate, transportation, economy and enemy situation and the specific conditions of the PLA's horse equipment, a plan was made to implement the supply.He Long repeatedly explained to Li Da, deputy commander of the Southwest Military Region, that the troops entering Tibet should be provided with the best equipment and the best mules and horses.Whatever they need, as long as it can be done, try to meet their requirements.He Long, known for his love of horses, gave all his beloved horses to the troops entering Tibet. In early February 1950, the Southwest Military Region formed a support command to organize and implement various tasks to support the march, rush to repair roads, and strengthen transportation forces.The commander of the headquarters is Chang Binggui, the deputy commander of the 18th Army, and the political commissar is Xu Guangyi, the logistics minister of the Third Corps. After the establishment of the Support Command, on the one hand, it organized the receipt of a large number of weapons, equipment, clothing, silver dollars, and food collected and allocated from all over the country to the troops entering Tibet; Some supplies. The materials are so abundant that every soldier is like carrying a "hill" on his back. At that time, many special terms appeared, such as "seven skins" (some people said it was six skins or eight skins).Considering the severe cold in Tibet, each of the troops entering Tibet was provided with fur hats, leather jackets, leather pants, leather coats, leather gloves, leather shoes, leather belts, etc.A fur coat alone weighs 20 jin. Food replacement powder and egg yolk wax are also two foods that soldiers entering Tibet will remember for a lifetime, which are specially made for the troops entering Tibet.Some people later said that eating a bite of egg yolk wax is more effective than a elixir when you are hungry.Egg yolk wax is a kind of canned food, made of egg yolk, 10 sticks per box, each stick is as thick as a finger and about 20 centimeters long.Each soldier has to carry 10 boxes of egg yolk wax.The food replacement powder is fried from soybeans, wheat, peanuts, butter, etc., similar to the fried noodles in the north, and it is also packed in an iron bucket. The big bucket weighs 20 kilograms, and the small bucket weighs 10 kilograms.Other foods include biscuits, meat, water purification tablets and so on.In addition to the kettle, each person also has an oil pot, which contains more than 1 catty of clear oil. As for other things, there are closed-light glasses to prevent snow blindness when marching, tents, raincoats and moisture-proof raincloths for camping, solid fuel for cooking and boiling water, and 700,000 vitamin C tablets are distributed to the troops.In addition to weapons, binoculars, etc., each person can carry up to seventy to eighty catties, and those carrying heavy machine guns can reach more than one hundred catties. This can really build a hill. This is a mountain that embodies Mao Zedong Thought. In order not to increase the burden on the Tibetan people, the soldiers who entered Tibet had to carry such heavy loads and walk thousands of kilometers on foot, and they marched in areas where ordinary people would suffer from shortness of breath and weak legs without carrying heavy loads. If possible, they would really like to throw away all these things and lie down on the ground to sleep beautifully, but unexpectedly, these bags not only did not get rid of them, but instead became the wealth they carried for a lifetime.This is their pride.Many veterans of the 18th Army mentioned this section, their faces glowed red.The heavier the burden, the heavier the weight of life.When the information highway is getting wider and wider, what can be carried that is heavier than the luggage of the year? On April 1, Mao Zedong instructed to "advance the army while building roads".Wherever the troops are required to go, the materials will be transported there. The Southwest Military Region is determined to quickly repair the road from Ya'an to Ganzi at all costs.The Southwest Military Region dispatched 6 engineering regiments, 3 regiments and 4 battalions of the 18th Army, and 180,000 people directly related to the army. They overcame the difficulties of lack of oxygen in the mountains and extremely poor construction conditions. They fought hard for 4 and a half months and defeated the Dadu River. Erlang Mountain with an altitude of more than 3,600 meters and Zheduo Mountain with an altitude of more than 4,200 meters were connected, and it was opened to traffic in Ganzi on August 26, 1950. In transporting supplies, the Southwest Military Region mobilized more than 850 vehicles and more than 3,300 mules and horses to form 4 car regiments and 4 baggage regiments for relay transportation on the Sichuan-Tibet line.In the case of poor conditions in all aspects, the Wang Hongzhi crew of the People's Air Force broke through the "plateau air restricted zone" on May 7, 1950 after dozens of test flights, and carried out airdrops in Ganzi, Dengke and other places.By the end of 1950, the automobile troops had delivered a total of 350,000 tons of materials, and the air force had dropped more than 900 tons of materials. Also at the end of the year, the Southwest Military Region decided that, except for the six engineering regiments led by Comrade Tan Shanhe, who had other major tasks, the rest of the Support Command would be merged with the Eighteenth Army’s rear forces to form the Eighteenth Army’s rear force command. Chen Mingyi, the 33-year-old chief of staff of the 18th Army, became the commander and political commissar of the rear division. While strengthening logistical support, the large forces of the Eighteenth Army devoted themselves to the struggle against bandits. On March 7, 1950, Liu Bocheng forwarded the instructions of the Central Military Commission that he must march into Tibet as originally planned, and go all out to suppress the bandits, eliminate the bandits between Chengdu and Ya'an as soon as possible, and enter Tibet as early as possible. The surviving bandits are preparing to "change the sky" in western Sichuan.This is a poisonous plan set up by the Kuomintang before fleeing the Southwest.This banditry is a trinity combination of bandits, spies, and local bullies, and it has a strong political nature, so the struggle to suppress bandits is very difficult. The Eighteenth Army made specific deployments to suppress bandits: the 53rd Division was dispatched from Jiajiang, Meishan, and Hongya to attack bandits in Mingshan, Ya'an, Tianquan, and Lushan areas; the 54th Division was dispatched from Qionglai area to destroy Xinjin and Dayi And the bandits in the Qionglai area; in addition to the 154th regiment of the 52nd Division, one regiment was stationed in Jiajiang, and the other regiment was stationed in Hongya and Danling to suppress the bandits, and was responsible for maintaining the Jia (Jiang) Mei (Mountain) communication line. From the beginning of March to the end of May, the participating troops of the 18th Army basically suppressed the rampant activities of the bandits after a large-scale campaign and repeated raids.By the end of October, 9,801 bandits had been wiped out in western Sichuan, and 29 guns of various types had been seized; 12,807 guns of various types, 44 horses and some other military supplies. The gate to Kangzang was suddenly opened, and the "poisonous snake" left by Chiang Kai-shek on the mainland was completely cut off.The social environment of marching into Tibet was purified.