Chapter 50 Chapter 2 "Life is a Red Army soldier and Death is a Red Army ghost" - Returning Heart Like an Arrow

The thirty-seventh regiment of the Fifth Red Army started marching before dawn.They headed towards Maoergai along the mountain road. "Leader, there is a river ahead!" The correspondent reported. Li Lianxiang, the head of the group, looked up and saw a meandering river in front of him, with dense forests beside it, and the sun was hanging in the sky, emitting dazzling rays of light.The troops have been walking for a long time, it's time to eat something. "Stop advancing! Stay where you are!" he ordered. By the river or by the woods, some soldiers ate dry food, some drank water; some leaned on trees, some sat on rocks; some told jokes, and some played happily...

No one noticed that a figure flashed out from the depths of the woods, quietly approaching the troops step by step. He opened his eyes wide, looking ahead.It was too far away to see clearly, so he tiptoed forward tens of meters. Still can't see clearly, he moved forward again!Move forward!move…… Ah, see clearly!He sprang out from the woods with a "whoosh", hugging the nearest soldier with both hands tightly, shaking vigorously. The soldier was startled and cried out loudly.The Red Army soldiers next to him were also taken aback: Where did such a person come from?One arm is bare, and a felt hat is worn on the head.What does he want to do?

Everyone rushed forward, trying to pull this "Tibetan" away.But this "Tibetan" laughed loudly, let go of his hands, and shouted while jumping: "I found it, I found it!" The soldier was surprised: How could he speak Chinese?what did he findDoes he know one of us? When everyone was wondering, the "Tibetan" carefully took out a hat from his arms.Ah, it's the Red Army cap. Why does he have a red army cap?Before everyone had time to think about it, the "Tibetans" said loudly: "Comrades, I am looking forward to seeing you, I am also a Red Army!"

Everyone was even more surprised: this "Tibetan" is also the Red Army, what's going on? "Don't cry, talk to him slowly if you have something to say." A cadre walked up to him and comforted him. "This is our regiment leader." The soldier next to him told him. The "Tibetans" called out "Regimental Commander" like a child seeing their relatives, threw their heads into Li Lianxiang's arms, cried for a while before raising their heads, threw the broken felt hat on the ground, and said: " What kind of Tibetan am I? My surname is Yang, I live in Xingguo, Jiangxi, and I am a bugleman in the First Red Army." He told everyone everything...

When the First Red Army passed by this area last summer, Xiao Yang's comrade-in-arms, Xiao Liu, fell ill. He had a high fever and coughed constantly. The northern Sichuan Plateau is desolate.They walked north with difficulty. "I...go...not moving..." Xiao Liu slid off Xiao Yang's shoulders and sat down on the ground, panting badly, "You...go...go...!" "No ! How could I leave you behind? Let's go together!" Xiao Yang firmly disagreed. They rested for a while and went on the road again. Xiao Yang carried Xiao Liu on his back and walked forward slowly.

It was dusk.Suddenly there was a sound of hooves.No, there is a situation! Xiao Yang tactfully hugged Xiao Liu, turned over and rolled into the pit next to him. It's too late!They were found.Those who came were brown-faced and murderous Tibetan soldiers, holding long guns and double-barreled guns in their hands, staring at them viciously. Xiao Yang thought: It's over, and there is no weapon on him, only a bugle.The troops had gone so far that they could not hear the trumpet blowing.Anyway, go all out and fight for one.He picked up the bugle and was ready to fight them desperately.

A guy with riding boots, gold teeth, and a gray cloak waved his hand, and a dozen thugs swarmed up, knocked Xiao Yang to the ground, tied them up, and brought them back The chieftain's family was thrown in the dungeon. One or two days passed, and no one came to deal with them, nor did they give them food or drink. On the third day, the door was opened and a little food was thrown to them.A thug, holding a whip, grunted at the two of them a few times, but they didn't understand what he said, and the two stood still. "Crack", the thug whipped Xiao Yang violently. The two of them were driven outside, pointed at a pile of stones, and grunted a few more times.

This time they understood that they were originally told to move stones.They are already the chieftain's slaves. From then on, the two of them were escorted to do heavy work during the day and put into this dungeon at night.The food he ate was worse than cattle and horses, and he was whipped every day, and his body was covered with scars. "The chief and comrades must miss us very much. They don't know that we are slaves here." Xiao Liu cried anxiously. "We must escape from the 'tiger's mouth' and return to the army." Xiao Yang took out the red military cap hidden in his bosom and said firmly.

They began to discuss the escape plan, looking for opportunities to escape. One night, they discovered that the cell door was unlocked.In the dead of night, the two of them gently opened the cell door and escaped along the wall. They ran desperately in the direction of the Big Dipper.It was dawn, and I didn't know how many miles I had run.They did not dare to stop and continued to run north.Xiao Liu couldn't run anymore, so Xiao Yang helped him run, and finally ran with his back. They had only one thought in mind: to escape from the "tiger's mouth" and catch up with the Red Army.

When they ran to noon, they thought to themselves that they had escaped from the devil's lair, and couldn't help but feel happy.When they were about to sit down and rest, the sound of "Dedede"'s hooves came from far to near.not good!The chieftain's cavalry came.They wanted to find a place to hide, but they didn't expect that the surrounding area was bare and there was nowhere to hide. They were quickly spotted.The butler didn't allow any further explanation, and raised his whip and whipped them desperately, until their skins were torn apart and their blood flowed.The housekeeper was tired, so he asked his subordinates to drag them back.

When the chieftain saw the two of them, he became furious, and ordered the thugs to tie them to a stake and beat them violently with a whip. The whip was flying in the air, biting the flesh of the two of them like a poisonous snake. They uttered screams of pain, and passed out after a while. It took a long time for Xiao Yang to wake up, but Xiao Liu could never wake up. Xiao Yang called Xiao Liu's name loudly, gritted his teeth, and swore to God: "I must escape from the prison, find the Red Army, and avenge Xiao Liu!" Since the two of them escaped once, the housekeeper took good care of Xiao Yang. stricter.He never had a chance to escape. Winter has passed and spring has come, and a year of suffering has passed. One day in July 1936, he found that the chieftain's family was in a panic.The chieftain and the housekeeper came and went, and the cavalry sharpened their knives and guns.After a while, the butler came out and said to everyone: "The Red Army is here again. They kill people and set fire to them. Hurry up and hide the food and prepare to fight." , looking for their own troops.He waits for his chance. At night, the slaves carried grain outside the village.That night, there was no moon or stars, and the night was very dark.While the thugs were talking, he ran away. "Grab him!" the thugs shouted after they found out, while shooting randomly. Without turning his head, he ran forward desperately, the bullets whistled past his ears.As luck would have it, the dark sky helped him.The thugs chased and shot for a while, and then went back. Xiao Yang has been familiar with the terrain in this area for a year.He didn't dare to walk on the flat road, so he hid in the woods before dawn. For several days, he lived in the woods, waiting for the arrival of the Red Army.When you are hungry and thirsty, look for wild fruits and dig wild vegetables. Today, he finally looked forward to the Red Army and returned to his home... Xiao Yang held the regiment leader's hand tightly, burst into tears, and said: "I have been away from the army for a year, I am like a child without parents, tears can only flow down my stomach! When I saw my troops at a glance, I saw comrades The red star on our hats made me want to cry and laugh at the same time, and I was so excited!" Li Lianxiang comforted him kindly and said, "You have finally escaped from the 'tiger's mouth' and returned to our Red Army. We We must remember this blood and tear enmity, follow the Red Army to start a revolution, and eliminate all reactionaries." "Regimental Commander, I beg you to eliminate the reactionary chieftain and avenge Xiao Liu!" Xiao Yang said. The soldiers were also chattering: "Leader, let us fight this battle!" The leader did not speak, thought for a while, took Xiao Yang's hand and said: "Comrade, our task now is to go north to fight against Japan." , back to Chairman Mao and the Party Central Committee. That reactionary chieftain, we will have to settle accounts with him one day!" Xiao Yang nodded. Xiao Yang picked up the bugle again and followed the 37th regiment into the grass. When approaching Beichuan, the instructor of the Women's Engineer Battalion, Xiong Chaoxi, and the platoon leader, Li Kaiying, fell behind. The two of them had diarrhea last night. There was no medicine in the camp, and they had diarrhea more than ten times a night.In the morning, my legs felt weak and my stomach hurt even worse.The two of them clutched their stomachs and started on the road, but they fell behind after a short walk. They gritted their teeth, encouraged each other, and walked westward slowly along the mountain road. An hour later, the two of them found a man lying beside the tree with disheveled hair and a sallow complexion. Ah, it's Teacher Yang Wenju!What's the matter with her?Xiong Chaoxi and Li Kaiying hurried over to support her head.Her head is so hot! "Sister Li, my head hurts!" Teacher Yang yelled. Li Kaiying's child is over 10 years old and has also joined the Red Army. Everyone calls her the eldest sister. "Be patient, let's go together." Xiong Chaoxi and Li Kaiying comforted her. Xiong Chaoxi, Li Kaiying, and Yang Wenju are on their way again.Along the way, they met Li Zhonglan, the squad leader of the company who was behind, and Xiao He, the bugler... The team quickly expanded to more than 10 people. According to the severity of the illness, Xiong Chaoxi divided the team into 4 mutual aid groups, and then said to everyone: "Comrades, we must twist into one rope, help each other, drive the team together, and no one is allowed to be pulled down." "We must catch up with the team!" Everyone said in unison. The team has moved on.Some leaned on crutches, some held their stomachs, and some supported each other. Li Zhonglan is lively by nature, like a magpie. Even though she is sick, she still chatters endlessly. Now she started chirping again: "Our team is really complete." "Why is it complete?" "Look, there are instructors, platoon leaders, squad leaders, cultural teachers, buglers, and cooks. A complete company?" Everyone laughed. "Our company should be called the 'Legator Company'... No! This name is too ugly, so we call it—" "The rear company or the cover company." Said a patient. "Yes, it's called a cover company. If you encounter an enemy, you will definitely win the battle!" This remark hit the mark. The team walked slowly across the field, turned over a small hill, and entered the ravine. Suddenly, Xiao He screamed: "Enemy!" Everyone looked up, no, there were one or two hundred enemies on the hillside on the right.They wore hats askew, and their upper bodies were bare. Some lit a bonfire to cook and eat, and some lay down and slept in disarray. Guns and ammunition were thrown all over the ground.And they only have more than 10 lesbians, all of whom are sick, and the power ratio is very different.The enemy army is on the hillside, condescending, and they are nested in the ravine, the terrain is extremely unfavorable. It was too late to hide.The enemy soldiers had already spotted them, grabbed the guns thrown on the ground one by one, and rushed down the mountain.While rushing, they shouted: "Catch the female communist army, catch the female communist army!" "Quick, seize the hill on the left!" Li Kaiying ordered loudly. Everyone didn't care about the stomachache, and rushed to the top of the mountain desperately.Xiong Chaoxi picked up his gun and knocked down an enemy running ahead with one shot.Other female fighters also fired. The enemy panicked, and more than 100 guns shot at them at the same time, causing landslides and rocks to fly. Seeing that the situation was critical, Xiong Chaoxi said to Yang Wenju, "Go!" Yang Wenju refused, "Let's go together!" "I have a shell gun, which can be used for a while. Leave me alone, and command everyone to rush out!" Yang Wenju still refused to leave.The enemy surrounded them and kept shooting. After a while, the enemy stopped shooting, half of his head was exposed in the grass, and he began to shout in a drake voice: "Surrender quickly! You are surrounded..." Xiong Chaoxi aimed at the half of the head, pulled the trigger, With a "snap", the enemy immediately became dumb. "Damn it, I don't believe that I can't beat these girls, hit me, hit me hard!" Abusive voices came from the enemy's position. The gunfire sounded suddenly again, more intense than before. "It's too bad for us to continue in this stalemate." Xiong Chaoxi was extremely anxious. "I have an idea." Li Kaiying was in a hurry. "What idea?" "Let Xiao He play the number one, two, and three numbers." "Okay, let's do that!" Xiong Chaoxi nodded. "Xiao He, come here! Blow the horn!" Li Kaiying ordered. "What, you want to charge?" Xiao He was puzzled. "No, you listen to my orders, you can blow whatever you are asked to play, and you can stop if you are told." "Yes!" Xiao He, the trumpeter, pulled out his horse horn tied with red silk and glittering with gold, With his left hand on his hip, he blew up. The sound of the trumpet shook the hills and echoed in the valley for a long time. Xiao He kept blowing, and Xiong Chaoxi, Li Kaiying and others fired a shot to change places.One shot to the east, one shot to the west; one shot to the south, one shot to the north. The enemy was stunned for a moment, thinking that the female Red Army was about to charge, but only the sound of trumpets was heard, but no one was seen. Later, gunshots were heard all around, and the sound of the trumpet was getting closer. "No, I fell into the trick of the Communist Army to lure the enemy!" An enemy shouted loudly. "Ah, reinforcements from the Communist Army have arrived!" Another exclaimed. An official took the lead in retreating, and the other enemies were in a mess and became frightened birds. Some retracted their guns, some lay motionless on the ground, and some retreated... Seeing that the time had come, Xiong Chaoxi ordered decisively: "Rush over!" Li Kaiying jumped up and rushed to the front with a gun in hand.The other female warriors ran after her.While running, while firing a gun.After running for a full hour, when I looked back, the enemy army had been left without a trace. Everyone was out of breath from running, and their clothes were all soaked.Xiong Chaoxi has a small number of people, and there is no shortage of one. Li Zhonglan sat down on the ground, flapped his clothes freely, and shouted: "Oh, my intestines are broken!" Xiao He also shouted: "It's so dangerous, I almost died." Suddenly, Yang Wenju cried out: "Platoon Leader Li, are you awake?" Everyone turned their heads and saw Li Kaiying lying beside the tree, pale, sweaty, and panting heavily.It took a while to say: "I... can't.... You... don't... take care of me. Hurry... go.... The enemy... is coming, I... hold on!" "Then how can we do that? How can we leave you behind?" "We will also carry you to Beichuan!" Everyone said one after another. With a "wow", Li Kaiying spit out a mouthful of sour water, covered her stomach, and stammered, "Don't... fight, hurry... go!" "We agreed to drive together!" Xiao He As he spoke, he carried her on his back. The female soldiers are on the road again, Xiao He carries Li Kaiying on his back, Xiong Chaoxi supports Yang Wenju... It was dark, and they moved on... In the middle of the night, more than 10 female soldiers who had fallen behind finally caught up with the troops and returned to their home. One day in April 1935, a group of children's league members lined up, sang songs, and walked towards Wangcangba, their residence, in high spirits.Half a month ago, they were sent to the countryside to do publicity, and they just came back today. As they walked, they felt that something was wrong, and an ominous omen hung over their hearts. Why didn't they meet a Red Army on the road?Why is there no one to greet them at the gate?They looked at this house and that house in amazement, all the houses were empty, why was there no one there? The members of the children's league panicked: Where did the Red Army go, and where did the comrades from the provincial government go? They hurriedly asked their neighbors, and it turned out that the Red Army left 10 days ago, and the local government agencies also evacuated. The news stunned them like a bolt from the blue: Now that everyone has become motherless children, what should we do?Some people began to cry, and some stomped their feet. There are a total of 12 children in this group, the youngest is 8 years old and the oldest is 13 years old.They gathered together to discuss countermeasures. A member of the children's league suggested breaking up the group: "The Red Army is gone, and the big brothers and sisters are gone. Where can we find them? Let's go back to our respective homes." "No!" The others unanimously objected. "I want to spread the word, but the revolution is not firm at all!" said one. "If you want to go home, go back by yourself, we will never go back!" Another said. "Okay, okay, if you don't break up, you won't break up, so you have to think of a way!" said the child who originally proposed to go home. "Let's go up the mountain to fight guerrillas!" A child proposed. "We are small, we don't have guns, how can we do it?" Everyone shook their heads. "Let's follow the path that the Red Army walked, and rush to the big troops!" said He Lianying, the oldest. Everyone raised their hands unanimously: "Agree!" "What is the name of our small team?" A child asked. "Is it okay to call it 'Special Operations Team'?" "Who will be the team leader?" Everyone pointed to He Lianying. He Lianying was not humble, and said: "Ready to go!" The "special operations team" rushed west along the road that the Red Army had walked.On the way, He Lianying divided the 12 people into 4 groups of 3 people. In order to prevent encountering enemies, they pretended not to know each other and each went their own way. Only in the dead of night did everyone meet to discuss the next day's itinerary. Along the way, 12 little red ghosts stayed overnight.They climbed mountains when they saw mountains, forded rivers when they saw them, and hid when they saw Kuomintang troops.If you are thirsty, drink a mouthful of mountain spring water; if you are hungry, ask for food from people along the way; if it is raining, stand under a tree to shelter from the rain.At night, the earth makes the bed and the blue sky makes the quilt.Under the eaves, on the threshing field, and in the grass, they huddled back to back and spent the long dark night.In order to beat the dog and guard against the attack of wild animals, everyone prepared a stick. East Sichuan in April is full of vitality.In the field beside the road, rape blossoms are blooming, pea seedlings are growing tall, colorful butterflies are dancing in the fields, and birds are singing heartily on the branches. The children of the "Special Operations Team" rushed on their way in a hurry, and no one was in the mood to enjoy the beauty of spring. In May, northern Sichuan is the time when poppies bloom. The mountains and plains are full of red and white. In June in western Sichuan, there are bald mountains and snowy mountains everywhere. Below the mountains is a wasteland full of weeds. There are a few cows and sheep grazing, and sometimes sparse barley seedlings can be seen.This section is the most difficult part of the march.The local peasants were exploited by the landlords to have nothing, and they couldn't even eat enough, so how could there be anything for them to eat? The little red ghosts came up with a way: pretend to be willing to work for the rich man's family, without wages, as long as there is food.Of course the rich man was happy, so he gave them food.After the stomachs were full, the children brought some dry food and left without saying goodbye.That's it, they travel hungry most days. Once, they walked for a whole day without seeing a village, and everyone was hungry and hungry.As night fell, everyone couldn't move anymore and planned to spend the night in the wild. Suddenly, Li Xiuying pointed her finger and said: "There is a house in front." When everyone looked up, they could vaguely see a house halfway up the mountain.A closer look, is a temple. "There are ghosts inside, I'm afraid!" Several girls dare not go in. "We are the Little Red Army, what are we afraid of?!" The boy encouraged them. The red goblins walked into the temple gate together.The temple was gloomy, and the little girl was so frightened that she was trembling all over, not daring to look up.Everyone was close together, sitting under the wall, not daring to make a sound, until dawn. "Look, what is that?" Ma Xiangyun pointed to the shrine in the middle. Through the morning light, everyone found that there seemed to be offerings on the shrine. "Go!" Everyone rushed up, and it turned out that there were 5 dried steamed buns.It's a delicacy for hungry red imps. Everyone slowly gnawed on the steamed buns, regained their energy and talked more. This one said: "It seems that the Bodhisattva also supports our 'special action team'. In this wasteland, he arranged such a large hotel for us to stay in, and also sent steamed buns, so that we can catch up with the troops as soon as possible and return to our homes. "The other said: "This is because of our sincerity. As the saying goes, even the stones with sincerity will bloom. We wholeheartedly pursued the Red Army, but we still haven't touched the Bodhisattva?" Offerings, beware that the Bodhisattva will punish you." "Then let's leave here quickly, and we won't be able to run out when the Bodhisattva returns to the temple." "Hahaha!" Everyone left the temple with a smile. Under the leadership of He Lianying, the "special operations team" trekked mountains and rivers, ate and slept in the dew, and passed Jiange, Jiangyou, Zhongba, Beichuan, and Maoxian for more than three months, with a journey of nearly 2,000 miles.One evening, they chased to the edge of the grass. Looking at the endless grassland, everyone was very anxious.He Lianying's heart was even heavier: Where did the Red Army go, did they walk into the grass? The sun set quietly over the edge of the meadow, and it was pitch black.The red goblins sat on the wet grass with heavy thoughts, silent. "Fire, there is fire on the left!" He Lianying called out. A bonfire was lit far away, one pile, two piles, three piles... "That must be the Red Army!" Everyone jumped up happily. He Lianying suppressed his joy and said calmly: "Everyone, don't be too happy, go to two people to find out the truth first." The severe environment has honed He Lianying into an excellent "commander". "Ma Xiangyun, Li Xiuying, you two go and have a look first, be careful!" He Lianying ordered. "Yes!" The two girls quickly got into the night and disappeared without a trace.Everyone waited anxiously, always feeling that time passed too slowly. Finally came the voices of Ma Xiangyun and Li Xiuying: "I found it, I found it!" "Red Army, Red Army!" Everyone ran to the bonfire together. "We're back!" The red goblins rushed towards the Red Army soldiers by the bonfire. The comrades from the provincial government immediately gathered around, picked up this, and then picked up the other, and kindly asked about the health and well-being, and asked about the long and short. He Lianzhi, Minister of Women of the Communist Party of China, stretched out her arms, wishing to hold all 12 children in her arms.With tears streaming down her face, she gently stroked the heads of these children, like a loving mother meeting her own lost children.Finally, she said excitedly: "You have traveled so far, suffered so much, and caught up with the army. It's amazing! You deserve to be the heroic youths educated by the party."