Chapter 8 Chapter 08 Learning Survival Skills is a Test for People Who Enter Tibet

While Sichuan was preparing supplies and stepping up efforts to suppress bandits, the Eighteenth Army also sent two advance detachments to approach the east bank of the Jinsha River. On March 14, the 18th Army formally established a forward headquarters centered on Li Jue and Wang Qimei, and dispatched the 14th Regiment and the 157th Regiment to organize two advance detachments. Deputy political commissar Miao Pi led them to Ganzi and Batang. On March 29, Qianzhi set off from Leshan and arrived in Ya'an the next day.The advance detachment led by Chen Zizhi and Chen Jingbo was merged into the front finger.

The task of the Advance Command is to investigate and collect political and cultural materials related to the march into Tibet on the front line of the Jinsha River, provide the basis and opinions for determining policies, explore the marching route, and formulate operational plans. Since then, the troops of the 18th Army have advanced towards Tibet in a ladder shape. Wu Zhong led the 154th regiment to arrive at Ganzi, an important town in northern Kangbei, on April 28. Like all Tibetan towns, nature is the most beautiful background in Ganzi.Ganzi is surrounded by mountains, with continuous peaks on the west and south sides, and the peaks are silvery white.The Yalong River meanders through the south of the city. The water is not deep but very fast.The architecture here is not as symmetrical and harmonious as in the Han Dynasty. It reveals a kind of thought in a disorganized manner, and expresses a social and spiritual structure in a concrete way: a temple is located on the mountainside, accounting for two-thirds of the city.The houses in the city are dilapidated, less than a hundred households, and a narrow and dirty street is about 100 meters long.Most of the watchtowers here are khaki, divided into three floors: the first floor is for livestock, the second floor is for people, and the third floor is a Buddhist hall.The worlds of heaven, earth, and man are clearly defined, and the small watchtower actually embodies the religious and world outlook of the Tibetan people.In this world besides people, there are also wild dogs wandering like ghosts.

If you walk on foot, it takes 6 days to go from Ya'an to Kangding, 13 days to go from Kangding to Ganzi, and 15 days to go from Ganzi to Chang.From Ya'an to Ganzi, you have to pass several high mountains such as Erlang Mountain and Zheduo Mountain. Erlang Mountain is more than 3,600 meters above sea level, and Zheduo Mountain is more than 4,000 meters above sea level.At the same time, we have to cross the Dadu River, Yalong River and other big rivers. The pain sharpened Bingfeng, and the true love blossomed into a wonderful flower. Going to Tibet is a bitter journey where life is forged and questioned.

The shadow of the mountain is always shaking in the depths of the body and mind. The advance troops of the 52nd Division set off from Leshan.Every period of the Chinese nation has an emotional excitement.After the founding of New China, the liberation of Tibet became the focus of China. On March 29, the advance troops of the 52nd Division set off from Jiajiang to Ganzi.At dawn, except for the two sides of the road, Jiajiang became an empty city.There are people on the roadside like a sea tide.When Wu Zhong's jeep slowly drove into the crowd, the sound of firecrackers, gongs and drums and slogans sounded together, shaking the sky:

"The advance detachment marching into Tibet is the most glorious!" "The comrades who liberate Tibet and defend national defense are the most honorable!" "Wherever you go, we will support you!" The feelings of the Chinese nation are erupting strongly in Jiajiang. A command car drove up to the colored gate with the words "March into the Pioneer", and the farewell military band and representatives of various units swarmed up, surrounded Qie Jinwu, the commander of the 154th regiment, and Yang Jun, the political commissar, and presented a pennant. At this moment, they become true national heroes.

In the crowd, some people shed tears, some people raised their thumbs up, and more people were sending things to every car and every soldier: condolence letters, condolence bags, cigarettes, peanuts, eggs, candies, raindrops fell like Bowls of hot tea and boiled sugar water were delivered to the soldiers with warm steam.When a car with a huge portrait of Mao Zedong came by, the male and female students cheered and couldn't help throwing colorful flags, flower bouquets, hats and handkerchiefs into the air. People can't wait to take out their hearts and throw them to the soldiers. This strong emotion, like bunches of fire that will never be extinguished, shines on the soldiers towards the mountains.

Taking a shortcut from Jiajiang to Ya'an is only 100 kilometers away, but due to the impassability of roads, the advance troops had to detour through Xinjin, Qionglai, and Baizhang, which took a full three days.The highway only leads to Ya'an, and the only way to go further is to march on foot. In Ya'an, Wu Zhong met Tianbao.They served as the secretary and deputy secretary of the party committee of the advance detachment respectively.The troops replenished supplies in Ya'an and received a batch of mules and horses drawn from the brother troops.Beginning on April 4th, the troops left Ya'an in multiple echelons and marched westward—the west of Ya'an was restricted by terrain, roads, camping and supply conditions, and it was extremely difficult for large troops to move. In addition, considering the difficulty of supply along the way, we should bring as much rations as possible, and the personal load should be more than 40 kg.At the beginning, everyone didn't get used to it, so they put on leather shoes and leather pants, with only a vest on their upper body, divided the things into two parts, and carried them forward alternately.

Mount Erlang is the first barrier of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, covered by clouds and fog all day long, like a mysterious girl wearing a veil.It belongs to the remaining range of Jiajin Mountain, the main peak is more than 3600 meters above sea level, and the mountain pass is more than 3000 meters above sea level.The Sichuan-Tibet Highway is like a thin hemp rope, winding in the gap-like canyons, and the Guangshan Highway is more than 40 kilometers long. When climbing a mountain, many people feel quite strenuous. Qie Jinwu, the head of the 154 regiment who was walking in the front, was sweating profusely, and his cotton clothes were soaked.He looked at the temperature and temperature watch, and it was minus 2 degrees Celsius.

Walking out of Kangding, a small town famous for Paoma Mountain, the troops began to cross Zheduo Mountain.Zheduo Mountain is a real mountain. It is not high and the slope is not too steep. There are bushes such as Rhododendron on the mountain, but the altitude here has reached more than 4,000 meters. Gao Shan reacted like an enemy who had been in ambush for a long time, attacking the troops strongly.Many people felt headaches, chest tightness, nausea, gasping for breath with their mouths wide open, their legs fluttering, as if they were stepping on cotton piles, and they staggered when they walked.Someone walked mechanically, his knees softened, and he sat on the ground with a plop. It was difficult to get up without the help of others.No one had the energy to speak, and the rough breathing sounded in the mountains.

Iron Man became limp and limp, not only because of bad weather, but also because of hunger. After crossing many mountains, we encountered the black yak tent of the first herdsman.This indicates that the real Tibetan area has arrived. On the way, the number of pilgrims prostrating their heads continued to increase.Their eyes are devout, they tap every step, their foreheads are covered with mud, and there are often two big holes in their knees.Some people spend their whole lives on this long pilgrimage.Their spirit strongly shakes everyone.At the end of the long journey of life, they long for a paradise in the afterlife.

The soldiers of the Eighteenth Army are more typical "pilgrims". The shepherd kowtows to ascend to heaven for himself, and our fighters sacrifice everything in order to smash the invisible chains tied to the Tibetans. They have no utilitarianism, so they can overcome all hardships. Since the advance detachment of the 18th Army, Tibet has raised the first question that must be answered for people from the interior of the motherland: How can we truly integrate into Tibet? Ideals and beliefs are indispensable. They hang in the air like the sun and the moon, making life brilliant and bright. To integrate into Tibet, it is necessary to penetrate the potential differences brought about by geography and culture.If those estrangements and differences can be effectively overcome at one level, that level can only be based on the survival of human beings.Learning to eat tsampa and speak Tibetan is a shortcut to enter Tibet. The experience of the advance detachment can attest to this. After a long journey of more than 20 days, the advance detachment arrived in Ganzi on April 28, 1950.Later, Yang Jun, political commissar of the 154th regiment, led the 2nd Battalion to station in Dengke County, located in the northwest of Ganzi and on the east bank of the Jinsha River. The Sichuan-Tibet Highway has not yet reached Ganzi.The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is also known as a restricted area in the air, and it is extremely difficult for the PLA to conduct airdrops.The Ganzi advance detachment alone has 4,500 people and 1,400 mules and horses. According to the supply standard, 150,000 catties of human rations and horse feed are needed every day.Not long after entering Ganzi, the grain on their backs was exhausted.In order to make an emergency, the People's Liberation Army asked local leaders to help purchase 130,000 catties of highland barley with 1.56 million silver dollars.But the shadow of food shortage soon floated over the advance detachment like a dark cloud. From May 1st, the troops began to go on a diet. Each person was given only one catty of highland barley per day, and there were only seven or eight taels of flour left after grinding.Three meals a day were changed to two meals, and people generally reported that they were not full. Wu Zhong called on everyone to dig wild vegetables.Ganzi is an area of ​​both agriculture and animal husbandry. There are wild vegetables all over the mountains and plains, such as gray vegetables, wild onions, wild garlic, wild leeks, dandelions, etc. There are piles of green vegetables piled up next to the marching pot. Put a little barley noodles and stir it into soup, after drinking it for a while, it will be digested without a trace; some people are so hungry that they pick up the dry skin of a dead horse and boil it, and some people smash the bones of a dead horse to make soup drink.Although this does not solve many problems, there are still more and more people with edema. Someone thought of the prairie gopher. This is a small animal that can still be seen in the Sichuan-Tibet area. It is called "Aja" in Tibetan. It has no tail, gray and white fur, short legs and sharp claws, and a head like a bunny.This kind of gopher has a strong reproductive ability and lives by eating grass roots, which greatly damages the grassland.The holes it dug make the grassland full of holes, and the pastures are often withered and yellow.Its meat is very delicious. The advance detachment spontaneously started mouse hunting.In the beginning, they had no experience and beat with wooden sticks and stones, but the effect was not great. One day, a herdsman ran over and pointed out: the burrows of field mice are connected together.Pour water through the hole here, and groups of gophers will come out there.People cover the entrance of the cave with something like a bag, and just sit and wait for the "rat".After the field mouse escaped into the bag, it quickly tightened the opening, threw it on the ground, and then peeled the skin and removed the internal organs. There are so many gophers on the grassland, no matter how much you catch them, they will not decrease.Everyone's complexion gradually turned rosy. At this time, the lamas in the temple let out the wind, saying that these little things were gods, "the horses of the gods on the grassland", and they could not kill these creatures.For this reason, the army ordered: we must respect the customs and habits of the Tibetan people, and it is forbidden to catch field mice. The advance detachment has four major tasks: repairing airports, repairing roads, building ships, and conducting social investigations.Physical exertion, but half hungry and half full.Coupled with the hypoxic reaction, a wave of complaints spread. Some soldiers said that the superior said that an air force division would be sent to drop us, and 500 cars would be sent to transport them. Everyone in Ganzi ate half a catty of beef a day. Now half a catty of beef is not eaten. Come on, eat a catty of highland barley.Some soldiers said that the 18th Army was unlucky, and they were exiled to Tibet. I will not believe what the superiors say in the future.Some grassroots cadres and backbones think that the soldiers are not full and have nothing to say to everyone.As long as the soldiers are full, nothing will happen. In order to reverse this passive situation, the advance detachment held a battalion-level cadre meeting in May. The meeting was held at the residence of Wu Zhong and Tian Bao.At that time, the army regulations were strict, and large troops were stationed in tents and caves.Wu Zhong and Tianbao were arranged to live on the second floor of a headman's house. The downstairs was a livestock pen. The stairs were a single log, very thin, with several ridges cut out with a knife on it. Early in the morning, when several battalion-level cadres arrived on the single-plank stairs, Wu Zhong and Tianbao hadn't eaten yet.They neither saluted nor spoke, and sat down with their backs to Wu Zhong and Tian Bao, without saying a word. The air freezes.This is a situation that has never happened before. You must know that all the soldiers of the 52nd Division respect and fear the division commander Wu Zhong the most.Wu Zhong is a general, and he has a violent temper when fighting, even the king of heaven and the old man dare to scold him.Who made him Wu Zhong.He participated in the revolution at the age of 14, went through life and death, fought bravely and was wounded 7 times.During the period of the Red Army, he took part in the Battle of Wanyuan and the Battle of Jialing River. During the Long March, he crossed the grass three times; He severely damaged the Japanese and puppet troops and made important contributions to the defense of Hebei, Shandong and Henan. During the War of Liberation, he led his troops to fight from Hebei, Shandong and Henan to the southwest. During the famous Zhangjiaoji Battle, Wu Zhong led hundreds of people into the enemy's "heart" , Cooperating with the main force to wipe out more than 3,000 enemies, his story was compiled into ballads and sung in the liberated areas, and Chief Liu Deng specially rewarded him.The scars all over his body are Wu Zhong's most dazzling medals.As for Tianbao, he is also a legend.He is from Xikang, the Red Army passed by Xikang during the Long March, and 18-year-old Tianbao (his name was Sangji Yuexi at that time) joined the Red Army.During the Liberation War, Tianbao worked in Inner Mongolia. After the central government decided to march into Tibet, he was sent back to work in the southwest as a member of the Tibet Working Committee.The Southwest Bureau also appointed him as the deputy secretary of the party committee of the advance detachment.He was familiar with the situation in Tibetan areas. According to Tianbao's later recollection, in 1938, the central government held a class for minority cadres in Yan'an.Tianbao is the squad leader.Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and Zhu De often give lectures.That day, after Mao Zedong finished his report, Tianbao was waiting at the door to introduce students to him.Mao asked him, what's your name?Where are you from?Hearing that his name is Sanji Yuexi, Mao Zedong smiled, your name is too long, you are innocent and lively, Wuhua Tianbao, you are really a treasure in our team, you are called Tianbao.People around applauded vigorously.Since then, the name Tianbao has been called Kailai. The battalion-level cadres of the advance detachment dared to get angry with these two respectable people because they had too much resentment in their hearts. The guard brought breakfast, which consisted of three things: a pot of boiling water, a bowl of fried noodles, and a plate of wild vegetables.Wu Zhong and Tianbao poured half a cup of boiling water into their own enamel cups, grabbed two handfuls of fried noodles, stirred them into a batter with chopsticks, and then mixed them with some wild vegetables.Three times and two times, the meal is over.When they were eating, some battalion commanders pretended to be casual, looked at their enamel cups, and then whispered something to the people next to them.After the meal, Wu Zhong asked a question, and someone spoke up.Wu Zhong asked everyone to express their pent-up opinions. "There is a lack of food, and the superiors have not fulfilled their responsibilities." After a little silence, someone started the attack. "Soldiers can't eat enough, we have nothing to say to everyone, and we can't explain without capital." "Sick comrades are more pessimistic. Seeing how far it is to go to Lhasa, I heard that there are many mountains higher than Erlang Mountain and Zheduo Mountain. If this continues, they will die on the way." Everyone speaks out what is in their stomachs. Wu Zhong's face sank: "Can you still remember the taste of candy stuffed into our mouths by the people in Jiajiang? Our difficulties are not only concerned by the higher authorities, but also by the people of the whole country. Therefore, the difficult situation will be improved soon; but in our thinking, It would be better to prepare for a longer period of time; there will always be difficulties in making a revolution. At best, we can’t get enough to eat now. The difficulties you face are insignificant. You have nothing to say to the soldiers. First of all, your thinking is not clear. Leading cadres, whether in wartime or peacetime, must set an example for soldiers, be resolute, calm, firm and optimistic, and do a good job in the ideological work of the troops. If there is chaos, the army will not be chaotic." When the meeting adjourned, these grassroots cadres walked out of Wu Zhong's residence confidently with smiles on their faces. On May 28, the advance detachment held a meeting of cadres above the platoon and key elements.Wu Zhong once again pointed out that it is important to actively try to improve the food supply situation. However, if we focus on the facts and only emphasize the solution of material problems, but do not pay attention to strengthening fighting spirit and establishing correct bitterness and optimism, it will be like making a soup stop boiling and cannot fundamentally solve the problem. question. After a short period of education, most of the cadres and soldiers of the advance detachment regained their strength. At this meeting, Wu Zhong put forward the call for "Life Kangzangization, Plateauization".Its main content is: learning to drink buttered tea, eat tsampa, learn to speak Tibetan, learn to live in tents, and to play woolen socks. Survival is the primary factor for successful integration into Tibet, but this does not mean that when you drink butter tea, eat tsampa, speak Tibetan, and appreciatively comment on the snow-capped mountains and blue-sky tents, cattle and sheep, you are a real Tibet. people.Integrating into Tibet, the land that grew highland barley becomes your body, the mountains with cattle and sheep become the bones embedded in your body, and the rivers with cowhide boats become the blood gushing in your veins : You are no longer an outsider.Your thoughts will present a tough line like a mountain.Your emotions boil like lava.As part of this, you will think with the land of Tibet: Where is the real "Shangri-La"?For thousands of years, Tibet has been as if time has stood still. Facing the arrival of a new society, can we not feel restless and bewildered?We hope to be a thread that pulls Tibet out of its long-term primitive state. Because we have eaten tsampa and drank butter tea. In Ganzi, Wu Zhong found that Tibetan compatriots were very healthy even in the harsh natural environment.In addition to the inheritance of the body's adaptation mechanism, it also lies in their unique diet structure. Beef and mutton, ghee and tsampa noodles are their main diet.Ganzi is a mixed area of ​​agriculture and animal husbandry, with many yaks and sheep.Tsampa is fried highland barley barley, ground into noodles, blended with butter tea and kneaded into balls by hand, and eaten by grabbing.Ghee is butter extracted by local methods. Wu Zhong requested that each person eat a little ghee and a moderate amount of beef every day, and learn to eat tsampa. A revolution from transforming your stomach to your brain has begun. Hear the thunder in the silent place. In the early days of Kangzangization of life, there were many jokes.A soldier saw that the landlord's milking hands were stained with cow dung, so he thought the milk was dirty and wanted to vomit after drinking it.Some people feel disgusted when they smell ghee and milk. The elderly comrades said: "I am so old, and I am still allowed to drink milk." A bucket of milk was placed among the soldiers, and no one drank it.The instructor ordered, lined up, each person had a tank, and squeezed his nose to fill it.As a result, there was a line of soldiers vomiting by the tent.There are also people who are not used to eating tsampa, and their stomachs are distended, saying that "the sores on their bodies are from eating tsampa". Everyone, invisibly, carries a piece of their own cultural outlook.Now, although the soldiers of the advance detachment have entered the Tibetan area physically, they still have not left their own culture mentally.To get out, you have to go through mountains and valleys. At this time, spiritual traction is particularly important. At a cadre meeting in Xianzhi, Wu Zhong talked about the benefits of Kangzangization of life: "Tsampa is small in size and light in weight. It is most suitable for long-distance marches and combat environments. When we arrive at the campsite, we only need to boil a pot of water and we can eat soon. There is a lot of time left every day to recover from fatigue and maintain energy to complete the march. For combat missions, if we are not used to eating tsampa, we can only bring rice. Rice is large in size and heavy in weight. It takes a long time to cook, takes a lot of effort, and is not easy to cook. During long-distance marches, it saves us a lot of precious rest time. In terms of nutrition, tsampa with milk and ghee is much stronger than Shandong’s sorghum buns with peppers and Sichuan’s rice with cabbage. Therefore, we will learn to eat tsampa in the future, and we are not allowed to eat barley pancakes.” Someone started clapping.Indeed, the formation of Tibetan culture is not only closely related to geography and religion, but also closely related to the basic necessities of life of ordinary people. The secular life of ordinary people is full of cultural atmosphere. Wu Zhong has initially realized this.He talks about eating ghee and drinking milk: "Milk has the most nutrients. In the mainland, only the aristocrats in the metropolises can eat it. Ghee is the essence extracted from milk and has more nutrients. Both of these things are the best health products. Why are Tibetans here so healthy? Okay? They are all provided with butter milk. We eat butter milk, so that we can ensure our health all the time. In the interior, we are hungry on the march, and we can buy something in the town to satisfy our hunger. In this place, there are only prairie and pastures , The only thing you can buy along the way is ghee and milk, so no matter in terms of strengthening your body and adapting to the environment, you need to learn to eat ghee and milk.” Wu Zhong also talked about the benefits of learning Tibetan and wearing Tibetan boots and woolen socks. In order to make life more convincing, the advance detachment found many examples from Tibetans and soldiers, and published them in the "Front" magazine sponsored by the division. Highland barley and milk are the essence and blood of this land, which give birth to the bodies of Tibetan compatriots, standing tall like mountains.A Tibetan robe can travel all over the world, keeping the ice, snow and cold out of one's own world. Many soldiers also talked about their experiences.Peng Yan fainted on Erlang Mountain, but after eating butter for more than a month, she is full of energy and can walk seven or eight miles with 60 catties of firewood in one breath.Zhang Shuntang said that in the past they had 13 or 14 patients in a row, but now there are only two patients who suffer from excessive diarrhea.When Zhang Zengfa first arrived in Ganzi, he was out of breath walking on the flat road, and his back hurt and his legs were sore when he went up a small slope. He had to take a break after carrying a bucket of water for more than 20 steps. Twenty or thirty miles is not tiring. The art troupe compiled a Henan pendant called "Wang Decheng Eating Ghee", which vividly described the scene at that time: ……Wang Decheng, Class Nine, Third Class／I couldn’t get through the butter at the first time／He said that the butter had a strong smell／My brain hurt when I smelled the butter／He didn’t eat butter for two months／The body was so thin that his face turned blue／When he got up in the morning he sweated／ Panting fiercely when going uphill / I feel dizzy when I do small things / My legs are sore and my waist hurts when I walk / Just like this, he still can’t figure it out / He said that if he asked me to eat ghee / Even if he was shot, he would not be shot... the first time he ate it and then vomited / I ate it twice and vomited it up/I failed to learn to eat both times/The third class leader gave me another way/Cut a bowl of radish/Immediately handed it to Wang Decheng/I ate it like this once or twice/Wang Decheng succeeded after eating ghee/Eat ghee The problem was solved / He couldn’t get through after drinking milk / The squad leader mobilized patiently / Comrades poured two mouthfuls of milk into a bowl / Put brown sugar and boiled water / Give it to him and let everyone watch and drink it / Comrade Wang took it and drank it / I just felt light The sweetness is not fishy... After reading this, a living Wang Decheng stood in front of us with a simple smile. Once I got used to the diet, the problem of language was exposed again. After the advance detachment was stationed in Ganzi, they did not disturb the temples, occupied private houses, or sent missionaries. They respected the customs and habits of the Tibetan people everywhere, which was in stark contrast to the old troops of the past dynasties.Tibetans call them "Jiaseba", which means New Han people.However, due to the inability to communicate in language, the further development of military-civilian relations has been hindered. The 154th regiment allows everyone to learn Tibetan through various forms such as training classes.Some people said: "What's the use of learning it after changing shifts for three years?" "We didn't reform the Tibetans, but asked the Tibetans to reform us." The leaders of the regiment pointed out that those who have not established the idea of ​​long-term construction of Tibet are not willing to be plateauized, and at the same time, "transformation" is not good.Because he always thinks "I'll leave when the time comes, what's the use of him?" Therefore, plateauing is inseparable from the idea of ​​marching.If you learn the Tibetan language, you can exchange thoughts and feelings, and Tibetans will think that we are our own people, which is a bridge to get closer to Tibetans. The cadres and soldiers learned a few Tibetan words: smoke, eat, father, mother, please open the door, we are the People's Liberation Army. When they talked with the Tibetan compatriots in the Tibetan language they had just learned with hand gestures, the Tibetan compatriots looked excited and surprised, and from time to time they gave out "Ooh, Ooh" in approval.Some Tibetans had troops stationed near their homes. At first they were worried and locked the door when they went out. Later, not only did they no longer lock the door, but they even invited the soldiers to stay at home. Language builds a "bridge between hearts". Song Maozhi, the squad leader of the small artillery squad of the 3rd company of the 154th regiment, set up a wooden raft by the Yalong River, and accidentally dropped the borrowed carbine into the river.The gun belonged to the platoon leader. Xiao Song was in a hurry, and the troops also organized diving to search for it downstream, but there was no sign of it.Half a month later, Tibetan Geluo found the gun on the downstream river beach.Tibetan men love guns like life. Glo put this exquisite American carbine in his hand and stroked it repeatedly. He wanted to take it home, but when he heard that it was lost by the People's Liberation Army, he ran to give it to Wu Zhong. "Jinzhu Mami arrived in Ganzi, the airport was repaired, and they didn't send Ulacha. They fetched water for us, swept the floor, and talked kindly. Where can we find such a team? I picked up their guns and didn't return them. My The face will be gone..." Glo said agitatedly. Another time, a Tibetan traveled over mountains and ridges and sent two small tin boxes, which were airdropped, filled with silver dollars.This kind of return of air-dropped supplies happened dozens of times during the advance detachment's stay in Ganzi. The former Xikang Province included the vast areas of western Sichuan and eastern Tibet. The Jinsha River ran through the province from north to south, and Jiangdong and Jiangxi became two different spheres of influence.During the Kuomintang period, the rule over Xikang was limited to most of the areas east of the Jinsha River, and there was neither political organization nor a single soldier in the west of the Jinsha River.Even in many places east of the Jinsha River, the KMT ruled in name only, with real power in the hands of chieftains, chieftains, and temples. Faced with this situation, if the advance detachment wants to build a base here, it must obtain the support and cooperation of the local upper-level monks and laymen, and "mobilize the lower levels through the upper levels." The front finger and advance detachment of the Eighteenth Army have done a lot of work in this regard.Reputable people in Ganzi have joined the People's Liberation Army one after another.The female chieftains Jiangyang Baimu, Yulong Datou, and Xia Ke Daodeng in Dege, and the big businessman Bangda Duoji in Fujiakangzang, etc., are actively raising supplies for the People's Liberation Army.In the four counties of Dege, Baiyu, Shiqu, and Dengke alone, more than 60,000 yaks were dispatched to carry 260,000 packs of supplies in just over a year.Only Xia Ke Daodeng and others raised 150,000 kilograms of grain. Xia Ke Daodeng and Bangda Dorje also held leadership positions in the Kangding District Military Control Commission. In addition, Geda Living Buddha of Baili Temple went to Qamdo to promote our party's idea of ​​peaceful liberation of Tibet, and was killed and died. Just after the North Route Advance Detachment of the 18th Army entered Ganzi, the South Route Advance Detachment was also marching towards Batang. Among the high mountains, a beautiful small plain suddenly appeared, which is Batang on the east bank of the Jinsha River.It is rich in products, and the birds are singing and the flowers are fragrant. There is a local saying that "there are Suzhou and Hangzhou outside, and Batang inside".Because they are in the combined zone of Tibetan and Han cultures, Batang people have a strong ability to accept new things.The first batch of Tibetan compatriots who joined the People's Liberation Army came out from here.Later, it became a cadre base in Tibetan areas of China. According to preliminary estimates, among the first batch of Batang people to work, there were 6 provincial-level cadres, more than 40 prefectural-level cadres, and more than 100 county-level cadres. people.There are also a large number of people who have become well-known experts and scholars. Absorbing Tibetan cadres into the army is indeed a "smart move".Tibetan cadres played an irreplaceable role in language exchange, united front, logistical support, and understanding local conditions.They are marching in the ranks of the People's Liberation Army, which is a mobile propaganda poster.Isn't the Communist Party a "red man"?But suddenly there is a familiar compatriot in this team?The Communist Party uses Tibetans as cadres, and it seems that the Tibetans are not treated as outsiders.This is the best declaration of the Communist Party to abandon Han chauvinism. Speaking of Tibetan cadres in Batang, one cannot fail to mention Phuntsokwangjie.He currently lives in Beijing. Before his retirement, he was the deputy director of the Ethnic Affairs Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. Deng Xiaoping learned through various channels that there is a Tibetan youth progressive organization in Xikang Province - the Eastern Tibetan Democratic Youth League, headed by Pingtso Wanggye. Pingcuo Wangjie is from Batang and has attended elementary school. At the age of 14, he and Angwang Gesang, a progressive Tibetan youth, went to Nanjing Mongolian and Tibetan School to study. In 1942, Phuntsok Wanggye returned to Kangding at the risk of his life.He carried Mao Zedong's works and many progressive books, such as Snow's "Westward Journey", the Soviet novel "When the Grapes Are Ripe" and so on.At first he taught in Dege Primary School. Because the Kuomintang came to hunt him down, he had to sneak to Qamdo and then to Yunnan.In Yunnan he joined the Communist Party of China.In Deqin, Yunnan, Phuntsok Wangjie persuaded Hai Zhengtao, commander of the Deqin garrison, to prepare for an armed uprising.Hai Zhengtao, a Tibetan, promised to supply the ammunition, which had already been packed and was waiting to be shipped. Hai Zhengtao was killed for leaking the news.Phuntsok Wanggye fled to Lhasa and continued to work as a primary school teacher. In July 1949, the "expelling Han incident" occurred in Lhasa, and Phuntsok Wanggye was also "expelled from the country".He made a detour to India via Yunnan and returned to Batang, secretly organized the "Eastern Tibet Democratic Youth League", and his revolutionary activities gradually became public.Using the "House of New Culture" as their base, they propagated the revolutionary truth on the one hand and conducted social investigations on the other.After the founding of the People's Republic of China, they raised the five-star red flag in Tibetan areas for the first time, and sent a tribute message to the Party Central Committee, Chairman Mao and Commander-in-Chief Zhu De. On February 1, 1950, the People's Liberation Army held an entry ceremony in Ya'an, and then entered Kangding.Pingtso Wangjie took a group of Tibetan youths to Kangding to meet the liberation army.Here, he reported the history of the underground party and some important situations in Tibetan areas to the Party Central Committee through the radio station of the Military Control Commission.Mao Zedong was still visiting Moscow. Zhu De, who presided over the work of the Central Committee, called back and asked Pingtso Wangjie to go to Chongqing to report to the Southwest Bureau. After Pingtso Wangjie arrived in Chongqing, he was received by Deng Xiaoping, Liu Bocheng, and He Long. The Tang underground party regards cooperating with the People's Liberation Army to enter Tibet as the most important task to complete, and must concentrate and go all out.The Southwest Bureau appointed Phuntsok Wangje as a member of the Tibet Working Committee of the Communist Party of China and ordered Zhang Guohua to meet with him.Later, Pingcuo Wangjie returned to Xinjin, where the 18th Army was stationed, with Zhang Guohua, and was appointed as the Minister of the Democratic Movement Department of the 18th Army. The advance detachment of the Eighteenth Army's South Road was divided into two batches and lived in Batang. As the "advance" of the advance detachment, the party committee of the 18th Army sent Chen Jingbo and Pingcuo Wangjie to take a reinforcement platoon and a radio station to Batang to start work. After arriving in Kangding, Pingcuo Wangjie sent a telegram to Batang, hoping that people from the "East Tibet Minqing" would come to Kangding. On May 7, 1950, more than 60 Tibetan youths left Batang for Kangding, including three girls.Each of them carried a gun on their backs, and held a red flag high, with the words "Eastern Tibet Democratic Youth League Going to Kangkang Study Group" written on it.After walking for nearly a month and 18 horse stations, they arrived in Kangding, where they were warmly welcomed by Li Jue and Wang Qimei.More than a dozen Tibetan youths joined the South Road advance detachment. On the way, a mule and horse died suddenly.Everyone carried heavy backpacks and moved to the depths of the plateau step by step. Climbing the 4000-meter mountain, the wind and sun are warm at the bottom of the mountain, but the top of the mountain is full of wind, snow and hail. Passing through Luding, this small lonely army entered the territory of Chongxi Chieftain and Maoya Chieftain.Pingcuo Wangjie and Chen Jingbo paid a visit to Chieftain Chongxi.The toast treats them with dried fruit and butter tea. In June, the troops arrived in Batang, and Chen Jingbo was the first "golden pearl mami" that Batang people saw. At this moment, Miao Piyi, deputy political commissar of the 53rd Division, is leading the 1st Battalion of the 157th Regiment to set off from Tianquan.After a four-day journey, they crossed Mount Erlang. On June 18, the 157th regiment assembled in Kangding. On July 9, Miao Pi led the first battalion to leave Kangding again and again. After climbing Zheduo Mountain, he climbed Risi Mountain on July 13.This mountain is higher than Zheduo Mountain.Before crossing the mountain, I heard that the top of the mountain is windy in the afternoon, and sometimes it snows or hails suddenly, so the troops set off before dawn and passed the top of the mountain before 2:00 noon. Only two or three people can embrace each other. On August 2, the troops arrived in Batang.The local people lined the road to welcome and sent fresh apples one by one. According to the instructions of the Party Committee of the 18th Army, the Party Committee of the Batang Advance Detachment was established, consisting of Miao Piyi, Pingcuo Wangjie, Chen Jingbo, Daodeng, and Zeng Chozha.Miao Piyi was the secretary, and Pingcuo Wangjie and Chen Jingbo were the deputy secretaries.After the establishment of the party committee, it will arrange comprehensive work.The first is to investigate all aspects of the situation on the west bank of the Jinsha River, to understand the deployment of troops and the internal situation of the Nine Generations.And carry out various forms of political propaganda work on the Tibetan officers and soldiers on the west bank of the Jinsha River.Then, the advance detachment studied the operation plan for crossing the river, selected the location for crossing the river, manufactured wooden boats and cowhide boats for crossing the river, and prepared a small number of rubber boats to strengthen the transportation force. Phuntso Wanggye and Zeng Chodrak also went to Yidun to do the work of Bangda Raogan in person.The three Pangdar Raogan brothers control the commercial network in Tibetan areas that extends south to Kalimpong, India, and east to Shanghai via Kangding.The eldest brother, Bangda Yangpi, is the fourth-rank official of the Kashag. He runs a wool business and owns huge commercial capital in Tibet and India.Daduoji, the third eldest, is engaged in domestic trade, and has a powerful mule-state caravan traveling between Lhasa, Qamdo, and Kangding. When the Red Army passed through Ganzi on the Long March, he served as the Minister of Finance of the Tibetan government. He got in touch with the People's Liberation Army when he entered Tibet. , and started work on the Tibetan upper class.Bangdar Raogan is the second eldest in the family, and has connections with the Kashag and the Kuomintang.He also served as the head of Jiangka County on the west bank of the Jinsha River. Remarkable results have been achieved in united front work against Bangda's family. In Batang, the advance detachment also absorbed a group of Tibetan youths to join the army.There is an extra wave of fresh blood in the army. Among them, the oldest is nearly forty years old, and the youngest is only nine years old. Caidan, who is now in the Tibet press station of the New Film Studio, was carried into Tibet by his mother.And Jiangcun Luobu, Liu Yongkang, etc., all walked into the revolutionary ranks barefoot.There is also a little soldier named Ge Lang who hides a shoe sole of the Living Buddha on his body as a treasure for protecting himself. They are as pure and flawless as white paper. In the revolutionary ranks, their souls were recast.In the trials of war and suffering, they became the "backbone" of building a new Tibet.Later, they became experts and scholars, generals, and important government officials. They are pushing the historical wheel of Tibet to roll forward with both hands.