Chapter 28 1. The people of Xiangxi made great sacrifices

China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was actually a people's war.From the very beginning of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Communist Party of China called for the implementation of the general mobilization of the whole country and the implementation of a national war in which tens of millions of people unitedly resisted Japan.Practice has proved that only by implementing this line can we lead the Chinese War of Resistance to final victory.Comrade Mao Zedong brilliantly pointed out: soldiers and people are the foundation of victory. Throughout the course of the war of resistance, there has always been a struggle between the two lines of comprehensive resistance and partial resistance.The all-round war of resistance is to mobilize the masses freely, strengthen the people's power, implement the broadest united front, and unite and lead millions of people to fight against the Japanese aggressors in unison.Chiang Kai-shek did not advocate this point. He was afraid that the Communist Party would use the name of the War of Resistance to develop its own strength and harm the interests of the Kuomintang. Therefore, he always emphasized that the War of Resistance was a matter for the Kuomintang government and the army, and strongly advocated the line of one-sided war of resistance.

In the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, no matter how big or small the battle was, there was never one in which the masses of the people did not participate, and this was the case in all battlefields across the country.The army alone cannot win a war, but a war cannot be separated from the army, and the army is the main force in the war.This main force is inseparable from the strong backing of the masses of the people in a war. Without the support of the strong backing of the people, no army can persist in the war.Therefore, soldiers and civilians are the foundation of victory, and both are indispensable.

Chiang Kai-shek couldn't understand this problem dialectically, so in practice he couldn't handle the relationship between the army and the masses well, and raising fish without water was like a dream.Ordinarily, as an outstanding figure, Chiang Kai-shek should understand this truth. Without the army, the sovereignty of the country and the lives and property of the people cannot be protected. Similarly, the army is doomed to defeat without the support of the people.For example, in the three-year decisive battle between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party after the Anti-Japanese War, the Kuomintang army was armed to the teeth, but they became blind, deaf and lame during the battle, unable to see, hear or walk, and finally died in the people's war. In the vast ocean, he was devoured by the usual inconspicuous shrimps and fishes.This is a historical lesson for rulers of all dynasties and generations.

The Battle of Xiangxi has received strong support and concern from the people across the country from beginning to end, especially the people in Xiangxi of Hunan, Eastern Guizhou, and Eastern Sichuan.They went to the front to deliver guns, ammunition, and food for the Kuomintang army, rescue and resettle the wounded, boil water for cooking, selfless dedication, hard work, and even their own lives. In order to defend their homeland, the people of Xiangxi led the way for the Chinese army, built fortifications, organized the people to destroy roads and bridges, harassed the Japanese army, and organized anti-Japanese armed forces in various villages to participate in the battle against Japan. Many heroic figures and tragic stories emerged.

Xiangxi, as the name suggests, is the western part of Hunan Province.Miao, Dong, Tujia and other ethnic minorities have lived here for generations.The Xuefeng Mountains in western Hunan run from north to south, and the Ruan River, Zijiang River, Chenshui River, Zishui River, Wushui River, and Youshui River originating from Guizhou spread all over the territory.It borders Hubei and Chongqing in the north, Tongren in Guizhou and Southeast Guizhou in the west, and Guangxi in the south.In terms of landform, it is the transition zone between the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and the Yangtze River Plain, where mountains, hills and basins intersect.Due to the unique geographical environment and pleasant climate conditions, Xiangxi is rich in products and can be said to be a land of fish and rice.

Before the Japanese invaded, the Xiangxi area was peaceful, and the Miao compatriots were busy preparing for their own grand festival "April 8".The Dong compatriots are also preparing their own festive festival to catch up with the Au Festival. "April 8" is a traditional festival of the Miao people.According to legend, in ancient times, Yayi, a wise and brave leader of the Miao nationality, led the Miao people to resist oppression and held a large-scale uprising.The rebel army fought bravely and fought all the way to Hunan, Sichuan, Guizhou and other places.On the eighth day of April, Yayi unfortunately died in battle in Guiyang, Guizhou.In order to commemorate this national hero, remember Yayi's achievements and carry forward the national spirit, the Miao people hold a series of grand commemorative activities every year on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month.

This day is the happiest day for the Miao people.They wore silver ornaments and Miao embroidered new clothes. Thousands of girls and boys gathered towards the event venue and began to perform Nuo opera, Nuo skills, going up the mountain of knives, going down into the sea of ​​fire, lion dance, playing flower drums, playing songs, playing suona, playing Swings, martial arts, tea lights. Especially the antiphonal folk songs between young men and women of the Miao nationality, it is a matter of fighting wits and courage. Girls choose their wishful husband from the antiphonal songs.The Miao nationality is the most civilized nation in China. When a girl falls in love with a boy, they may have sex, but the girl does not necessarily marry him.Marriage is, after all, a serious matter.Sex is nothing more than a passing fascination and impulse.The Miao people are all singers, and they have been influenced by songs since childhood.Singing can bring joy, it can bring life, it can bring madness.They longed for this day to come.

However, the beautiful festival of the Miao compatriots was shattered by the tanks and cannons of Japanese beasts.The beautiful homeland in the past turned to ashes in a blink of an eye, and the lush forest became bare barren mountains.The demons of the Japanese army crazily burned, killed and looted in western Hunan, creating a no-man's land with every village and township. Hundreds of women from good families were brutally raped. The Miao, Dong, Tujia and Han people were cornered. They rose up to resist, armed themselves with knives, spears, bows and crossbows, and fought against the evil wolves of the Japanese invaders.Even more than a dozen bandits in the mountainous area of ​​western Hunan held high the banner of justice, risking their lives to fight the Japanese army.

The broad masses of the people threw themselves into the anti-Japanese battlefield, and they served as guides for the Chinese army, shuttling among the high mountains.They deliver ammunition and food for the troops, organize stretcher teams, ambulance teams, and reconnaissance of the enemy's situation. They actively do whatever the Chinese army needs.For example, to expand the Zhijiang Airport, more than 40,000 migrant workers were mobilized in Xiangxi, and there are more than 5,000 in Xupu County alone.When the Chinese army counterattacked the Japanese army, Xupu County organized a stretcher team and a transport team with more than 20,000 migrant workers.The people of Xiangxi carried forward the glorious traditions of the Hunan people and made great sacrifices and outstanding contributions to the victory of China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

In particular, the good natural ecology of Xiangxi was destroyed by the Japanese army and was not restored until decades later.The crimes committed by the aggressors in western Hunan are too numerous to write down. Tens of thousands of families were destroyed and tens of thousands of innocent civilians died in the flames of war. Generations of Xiangxi people will never forget the wounds brought to them by the war.Today, more than 60 years later, the people of Xiangxi held the International Peace Culture Festival in Zhijiang, cast the World Peace Bell, and built the World Peace Garden.They prayed for peace to last forever, so that the heroes' spirits could find peace in this blood-stained land.