Chapter 18 Chapter Eighteen

Harrison Salisbury wrote of the early days of the Long March: At first, the Red Army marched at night.During the day, the soldiers either lay in the shade of the camphor trees or curled up in the alder bushes to sleep. When they marched, they took all the paths.There are no roads in southern Jiangxi and neighboring Guangdong. Even if there were, the Red Army would try to avoid them as much as possible. …Night marches were not boring, as one Red Army cadre told Smedley: "Night marches are very pleasant when the moon is shining and the wind is blowing. If there are no enemy troops nearby, there is still a lot of time between companies. I want to sing!"

... When the moon is covered by clouds, the troops will march with torches.The torch is usually a bundle of split and bundled bamboo, sometimes pine branches, and a bamboo tube filled with oil.At this time, no matter looking up from the foot of the mountain or looking down on the flickering and circling fire dragon from the cliff, it is a wonderful picture.But marching is not always so wonderful. In the dark night when you can't see your fingers, soldiers sometimes tie strips of white cloth on their backs so that the comrades behind can see clearly and follow them. Sometimes they march on dangerous paths. Comrades should put their hands on the shoulders of the comrades in front to prevent them from deviating from the narrow path.The trails are often slippery, and if one person falls, the group behind them will also fall, sometimes falling off a 200-foot drop.

Generally speaking, Red Army soldiers have very clear goals, and the propaganda team cheers them on.What to do, how to do it, someone told them.But no one did that in the early days of the Long March. Yu Ying never experienced the romance and beauty of the early days of the Long March described by Salisbury.In front of her eyes was a mess of migrant workers, and there was an endless mountain road. The huge team of migrant workers at the beginning of the journey, once they crossed the Guangdong-Han Railway, the number of migrant workers decreased significantly.No one came to do their work, they could only follow the front line, and when the front line stopped, the back line also stopped.The bombing by enemy planes often made this team run around like a swarm of bees that had been blown up, and when the enemy planes passed by, there was a mess everywhere.There were scattered loads everywhere, and a man who was walking in front of Yu Ying suddenly fell down. Yu Ying thought that the man accidentally fell, so she stood and waited for him to stand up again, but she waited for a long time Still don't see the man get up.Yu Ying stretched out her hand to pull it, only to find that the man was dead.

Yu Ying had no choice but to step over the man, and the people behind also stepped over one by one. At first Yu Ying was still feeling sorry for those abandoned supplies, but after seeing more, she became numb. The burden on the shoulders seems to be getting heavier and heavier.It was a load tied up with straw ropes, and the underside of the straw ropes was wrapped with rainproof cloth. For so many days, Yu Ying didn't know what she was carrying.At first, she didn't feel that the burden was too heavy, but now that the burden was on her shoulders, she seemed to be carrying two mountains.The shoulder was red and swollen at first, and then two big blisters formed. When the blister burst, the flesh rotted, and the rotten flesh stuck to the clothes, causing burning pain.Later, the shoulders also became numb, and the clothes on the shoulders were worn out and two big holes were opened, exposing the flesh inside.The corners of Yu Ying's trousers were also cut, so she simply rolled up the corners of her trousers up to above her knees.She wore out two pairs of straw sandals, and now she can only walk barefoot.

Her bare feet felt like they were being pricked by rocks, and a thick layer of calluses formed on the soles of her feet. She walked staggeringly, her legs moved forward mechanically, she didn't know where she was going, the end was where she went.But she firmly believed in her heart that the road she was walking was walked by Wang Tie, and Wang Tie was ahead, and she would follow Wang Tie down. Thinking of Wang Tie, my heart is filled with tenderness.When I first left the Soviet area, the weather was still so hot, but now, the weather has started to turn cold, the leaves are withered, and the autumn rain is cold and dense, often making her shiver.A kind-hearted man took off his jacket and asked her to put it on, but he still couldn't resist the bursts of cold.

Yu Ying also discovered a strange phenomenon, her body should have turned red a long time ago, but she never did.After several days of marching, what she was afraid of was that she would be inconvenient, and she never got red, which made her feel relieved.But then she felt bouts of nausea that made her often stop and squat on the side of the road to retch.As a result, only gastric juice was vomited out. This feeling became more and more intense, and often made her feel weak and short of breath.At first she didn't understand what was going on, she was afraid that she would fall ill, and if she fell ill, she would not be able to go on, so she would never see Wang Tie again.Later, she linked this feeling with the matter of Laihong, and she was taken aback.She thought: she might be pregnant.She has never been a mother, and when she was doing women's work, she often listened to pregnant women talking about pregnancy.Thinking about it this way, she was sure that she was pregnant.A great joy rushed in her heart.She remembered the night when she parted from Wang Tie, Wang Tie was so powerful, and she could never forget that feeling for the rest of her life.At that time, she once said moaningly: You are really energetic.Later she bit Wang Tie's shoulder hard.Wang Tie yelled, and then hugged her even harder...

As soon as Yu Ying thought of this, she was still blushing.She wants to catch up with her sweetheart Wang Tie.As long as she has one breath, she will go on, go on... When Wang Tie left the Soviet area, the troops kept walking in front at the beginning.At that time, the troops were in a good mood, and the soldiers only knew that the troops were going to take major actions and fight big battles.Didn't expect to go this far.As soon as they left Jiangxi, the soldiers were all dumbfounded and stopped talking and laughing.They didn't know where they were going. Many soldiers carried a handful of soil from Jiangxi in their pockets. They said it was the soil from their hometown. If they felt homesick in the future, they should take a look at the soil from their hometown.

The soldiers kept asking Wang Tie where the troops were going and what they were doing.Wang Tie said: Going to fight, leaving the Soviet area now is to defend the Soviet area.Although he said so with his mouth, he didn't have any confidence in his heart.He didn't know when he would be tall if he walked like this. When Wang Tie left Jiangxi, he secretly put a handful of soil in his pocket.With this handful of soil in my hands, I also feel that my mother and Yu Ying are much closer to me.Ever since the troops left the Soviet area, he had been thinking about his mother and Yu Ying.He didn't know how they would live when the troops left the Soviet area, and what would they do when the enemy came?What about the people in the Soviet area?When fighting in the Soviet area, he always felt that behind him was his mother and relatives, and he could not let the enemy move forward, and defended the safety of the Soviet area and his relatives with his own blood and life.The battle at that time was very clear, and he felt at ease in his heart. As soon as he left Jiangxi, he lost that sense of steadfastness. He also felt guilty when he answered some questions raised by the soldiers. He did not know how to stabilize the hearts of the soldiers in the battalion .

Ronaldinho is still his correspondent. After the baptism of war, Ronaldinho has become much more mature.Ronaldinho is loyal to his duty and is almost inseparable from him.During the march, Ronaldinho often talked to him indifferently. That day Ronaldinho said as he walked: Battalion Commander, I had a dream just now. Wang Tie said: Nonsense, we haven't slept for two days, you have a ghost dream. Xiao Luo looked serious: Battalion Commander, I'm not lying to you, just now I dreamed of my mother when I closed my eyes. Wang Tie glanced at Xiao Luo, Wang Tie knew that his mother was already dead.

Xiao Luo still said: I dreamed that my mother was crying.I don't know why my mother is crying. Wang Tie comforted him: That's your imagination. Xiao Luo said sadly: "I'm not lying to you, my mother even touched my head and said that I have grown taller." Wang Tie felt a little uncomfortable. He always regarded Xiao Luo as his brother. This child was too miserable. His father died and his mother died.Thinking of this, Wang Tie said: Xiao Luo, after winning the battle and returning to the Soviet area, I will ask my mother to adopt you as a godson, will you do it? Xiao Luo smiled, wiped the sweat off his brow, grinned and said: That's good, I have a mother too.

Wang Tie also smiled, but the smile was a bit bitter. As the troops moved forward, there were more deserters. In order to prevent the momentum of desertion from spreading, Wang Tie's battalion was transferred from the front of the troops to the rear, specifically to accommodate those soldiers who deserted home.In other words, Wang Tieying was a little behind in the ranks of migrant workers. Wang Tie, who became the battalion commander, after leaving his hometown, misses his hometown and his relatives no more indifferently than those Red Army soldiers.He not only misses his mother, but also misses Yu Ying deeply.Yu Ying's voice and smile flashed before his eyes from time to time. At dawn that day, when he knelt at the door of his mother's room, he had a premonition that he might never see his mother again in this life. He listened to every movement of his elderly mother in the room, and his heart felt like it was torn apart. .When he bid farewell to Yu Ying, Yu Ying saw deeper thoughts in his eyes.He suppressed his tears and did not shed his tears. Thousands of words condensed into a choked voice: When the Red Army comes back, we will get married.He spoke like he was swearing at her, and she nodded.He left, walking faster and faster, he was afraid that he would stop, he didn't look back, but he knew what kind of teary eyes Yu Ying was saying goodbye to him standing behind him.When he reached the back mountain ridge, he stopped and looked back affectionately at Wangjiaping, the small mountain village where he was born and raised. The dim Wangjiaping was getting farther and farther away, and his heart fluttered along with it. . Wang Tie was ordered to take in those soldiers who had fled back, but he felt deep sympathy for those soldiers in his heart. Liu Erwa didn't make up her mind to escape back at first.After Liu Erwa followed the team into the high mountains at the junction of Guangxi and Guangdong, she had to walk dozens of miles every day. When passing Dageng Mountain, the troops could only march across the mountain with torches at night. Erwa was shocked, he thought it was so fresh.But this novelty was quickly replaced by fear, the mountain road became more and more difficult to walk, the sky was tight and it was raining intermittently, the road was steep and slippery, the surrounding area was dark, and the raindrops were crackling on the ground. On the face, Liu Erwa could hardly open her eyes.The backpack on my back was drenched in the rain and became heavier and heavier.Liu Erwa was pulling the skirt of the soldier in front, and the people behind were also pulling his.Erwa did not know how many somersaults she fell, and the rain and mud on her body stuck together. Erwa wanted to cry, but she couldn't. Walking and walking, suddenly there will be a series of exclamations. It is a few soldiers who are pulled together and fell off the cliff together. Their exclamations have been transmitted down the mountain and echoed in the hollow valley. After that, there is no Live.Hearing this creepy voice, Erwa finally burst into tears. After crying for a while, he realized that he was not the only one crying in the team, but many people were crying. Erwa cried for a while, hunger and sleepiness hit his whole body.It had been several days since he had been walking in the deep mountains and old forests, and he hadn't seen a trace of human fireworks. The dry food he carried had already been eaten, and now they could only go hungry.Erwa felt that there was no heat left all over his body, and his stomach hurt like a cat biting him. He raised his head to let the rainwater flow into his mouth.At this time, he no longer had the energy to cry.The army was walking, but stopped for some reason. Erwa ignored the mud and water around him, and fell down with a "gudong". He found that the people around him fell down with him, and his eyes just closed. The brain loses consciousness. After an unknown amount of time, Erwa woke up, surrounded by people, some were squatting on the ground, some were still lying on the mud, the sky was gradually getting brighter, and the rain seemed to be a little less.Only then did Erwa realize that on the mountain road in front of them, a big box blocked their way. Many people gathered around the big box, and a cadre was directing them. They tied a few ropes to the box. Many Red Army soldiers took off their leggings and tied them to the big box. Dozens of them chanted slogans together. The box contained something heavy.Fifty or sixty people worked hard together, and the big guy only moved forward.A dozen people lay on the ground like cows, pulling ropes on their backs. They gnashed their teeth and cursed, but the big guy only moved a little bit forward. The teams behind gathered more and more, and they gathered on the mountain road noisily, and the crowd was lumpy. A cadre is still perseveringly directing dozens of Red Army soldiers to move the big guy forward.The sky was getting brighter, and the mist began to rise from the mountain streams and around the mountain tops, filling the sky in all directions.Erwa squatted on the ground numbly and sluggishly, the loud noises rang in his ears from far and near. What's the matter, why don't you go?A tall, bearded Red Army commander pushed his way from behind the troops. The Red Army officer who was in charge of moving the big guy turned around, saluted the bearded chief and said: This is a lithography machine for printing banknotes, and the road ahead is too steep to pass. The bearded chief looked at it, waved his hand and said: Throw it away. The officer's face turned pale, and he said in a crying voice: Chief, we can't, we've been moving so hard for more than a month. throw it away!The bearded chief waved his hand again without a doubt. The officer knelt down in front of the chief with a "gudong" sound, and said with a choked voice: This is the task Comrade Bogu entrusted to us, and we have no right to throw him away. The bearded chief glanced at the kneeling officer, and then at the troops behind him. More and more troops gathered on the mountain road, huddled together. Do you throw it away? !The bearded chief gritted his teeth. Chief, if you want to pass, you can step on us. Without Bogu's order, we can't throw him away.The officer's tears were mixed with muddy water. Then I will kill you first.After the chief finished speaking, he took the pistol from the guard beside him and loaded it with a clatter. The dumbfounded soldiers standing behind the officer saw that the unknown chief really got angry, so they also knelt down on the mountain road together. For a moment, the chief looked very bewildered. He looked back at the troops behind him helplessly, then took out a pocket watch from his pocket, looked at the time, and his eyes were filled with blood.He turned his head and shouted behind him: the third regiment leader. Someone in the crowd behind replied: Here! The chief said: Carry out my order and push down the obstacles. A group leader rushed over with a group of Red Army soldiers. The officer kneeling on the ground stretched out his hand to stop him, and shouted: No, no, you can’t, this is our task—the soldiers who rushed up lifted the big box and shouted With slogans, he pushed down the mountain stream. The officer lay on the wooden box like crazy, and said to the bearded chief in despair: To push me down together. The head of the executive team was a little stunned. He looked back at the bearded chief. The bearded chief was really angry and roared: "Drag them all away from me." The head of the regiment who carried out the order seemed to wake up at this moment, waved his hand, and several soldiers dragged the officer aside. In a blink of an eye, the big guy was pushed down the mountain stream, and there was a muffled "boom" from the mountain stream for a long time. . Run forward!Chief Beard issued an order. The troops rushing up from behind rushed forward quickly. The officer in charge of transporting the lithography machine uttered a piercing cry: Oh my God—and then fainted to the ground.All around him are the feet of warriors running forward. Erwa was stunned by the dazzling situation in front of her. Only after the troops behind had run past did they receive the order to move on.He saw the officer and his soldiers standing by the mountain stream and staring down the mountain. Liu Erwa walked along with the team drowsily. Suddenly, gunshots came from the front. It was not dense at first, but then it sounded like a gust of wind.There was one sound, and another sound, and the gunshots became farther away, and gradually became rarer. Liu Erwa thought that the troops that had just gone up must have caught fire with the enemy.Erwa's unit also received the preparations for the battle, and ran forward at a trot.Erwa felt that she was top-heavy, and her stomach pain was relieved, but the scene in front of her eyes became blurred. The troops turned over a mountain ridge, and there was a flat land in front of them.The battle just now started here. There are corpses everywhere in the valley, some from the Red Army and some from the National Army.In the valley after the rain, there is a small stream, the stream is soaked red by blood.The entire valley was in a mess, with countless corpses.The troops did not stop, and walked forward over the corpses of comrades and enemies.Erwa saw a hand moving in the pile of corpses, as if calling them. Erwa was stunned for a few seconds before realizing that it was the arm of a Red Army soldier. He took two steps forward and saw the Red Army soldier's eyes wide open. Already dying, he was shot in two places in the chest, bleeding profusely. The Red Army soldier saw Erwa, moved his lips, and said weakly: I... I want... to go home... After speaking, he put down his shaking hands, and his eyes were still wide open. With a sound of "Wow--", Liu Erwa squatted on the ground and cried loudly. She was out of breath and dizzy, but she didn't know why she was crying. Erwa fell off the cliff one night. Although he was a little dizzy at first, he was sober.He tugged at the skirt of the person in front of him, stumbled forward, fell asleep as he walked, the gun on his shoulder swayed against the back of his head, and his legs moved forward mechanically.He finally stepped on the ground and fell.Erwa didn't have time to yell, the soldier who was pulling at the skirt of his shirt at the back pulled it hard, but he didn't catch it, and only tore off a piece of Erwa's skirt.The team was in disarray for a while, and then continued on their way.People fell down the cliff every day, and the marching team was used to it.Two veterans took off their hats and stood silently for a while at the place where Erwa fell. When Erwa woke up, it was already broad daylight.He found himself hanging from a branch of a tree with his belt hanging from the branch.There was a stream flowing under the tree, and there was fog on the stream. The gun fell on a stone and broke into several pieces. Erwa's backpack also fell into the stream.Erwa moved his legs and feet, but he was not injured, and he struggled to slip down from the tree.His hungry stomach was already numb, so he didn't feel very hungry at this moment, but he still squatted by the stream and drank a few sips of water. When he picked up the stream and prepared to wash his face, he realized that his face had been scratched by the branches of the tree. It was broken, and the blood was clotted on it, and it hurt deeply when touched. Erwa stood up, his mind was unusually clear.The surroundings are extremely quiet, the sky above is just a narrow gap, the cliffs and stone walls are covered with green moss, and the wet deer ground is dripping with water.A sudden fear welled up in Erwa's heart, and he shouted with all his strength: Come on——His voice was squashed by the mountain stream, narrowly spread out, and then came back quickly.He yelled several times in a row, but there was only an echo.Erwa was really scared at this time. Although he was born in a mountainous area, he had never felt this kind of primitive fear.Erwa thought of life at this time, and he thought that he would go out alive no matter what.There are only two roads in front of him now, going up or down the canyon. He remembered that when he left the Soviet area, he walked with his back to the sun.Now the sun's rays fell deep in the canyon.He wants to go out, there is a vast mountain in front of him, and there is also a vast mountain behind him.At this time, he thought of Yu Ying and that beautiful female cadre.She even promised him that if she won the battle, she would marry him.As soon as he thought of Yu Ying, he gained more strength, and the idea of ​​walking back to the Soviet area prevailed.Erwa thought to herself, the troops are gone, I can't find them.He walked a few steps to the east, and thought again, what if Yu Ying blamed himself for not going to war with the army?At that time, will Yu Ying agree to marry herself?He hesitated again. If he went back, he really wasn't sure to find the troops, so he might as well go back.Isn't there still so many troops left in the Soviet area? If you can't find the troops going west, it would be good if you can find the troops left in the Soviet area. That way, he still has a chance to see Yu Yingna.Thinking of this, he walked forward without looking back.The valley was surrounded by red fruits that fell from the mountains. After walking for a while, Erwa stopped to pick up a few red fruits to eat, and drank the stream water when she was thirsty.He walked forward with a firm goal. He stubbornly believed that if he walked down the canyon, one day he would get out of the canyon. When they came, they walked along this mountain range. It was dark and light again, light and dark again.Erwa stops and goes, stops and goes.He didn't know how long or how far he walked, and his mind began to become numb and dull.As he walked, he had an illusion, as if he was still walking in the team, with both hands pulling the front of the soldier's skirt.Under the control of this hallucination, he walked mechanically, his legs were swollen, and he felt some pain at first, but finally even the pain disappeared, and only a few pieces of clothes were left that were cut by the branches. He stuck it on his chest and back.The trousers also rotted long ago, and the trousers became shorts.He was walking in the direction of the rising sun, he wanted to walk down, he wanted to walk out alive, Yu Ying's voice and smile flashed in front of his eyes from time to time, and he walked towards her... The canyon became wider and flatter, and Erwa turned a blind eye to everything around him. He just walked forward mechanically, and there was a ditch in front of him. He was very familiar with this place. He didn't know when he walked through this place. He climbed to the top of the ditch step by step. When he was almost at the mouth of the ditch, he tripped over something under his leg and fell down... Wang Tie took in many soldiers who fell behind and fled. According to the principle taught to him by his superiors, they had to carry those who fell behind.Those who run away should be educated, and those who still insist on leaving, leave their weapons and let them go.Along the way, Wang Tie led the whole battalion, and they encountered many laggards, who were sick and slow-moving soldiers, so Wang Tie sent two soldiers to help them walk, and those who were seriously ill were on the side of the road. Cut off two branches, make a simple stretcher out of leggings, and carry it up and down.As a result, their marching speed slowed down significantly.Some deserters were also discovered by them. The deserters knew that they were wronged and knelt on the ground begging for mercy and saying good things. Wang Tie did work for them, explaining some principles of the Red Army's transfer. Some cried bitterly and vowed not to move forward. Wang Tie It's not easy to say anything, leave the weapons on them and let them go.Some were afraid of being executed on the spot, and promised to go forward, but after walking for a while, they sneaked away again taking advantage of people's unpreparedness. After a long time, the entire battalion quickly became a stretcher team, and a group of people moved forward stop-and-go. When we reached the mountain fork, it was almost noon, and Xiao Luo, who was walking in front, suddenly called out: Battalion Commander, there is someone here. Wang Tie walked over and saw Erwa.Erwa passed out in the grass, and Xiao Luo, who came to relieve himself, found him.Wang Tie saw the red army cap on Erwa's head, and then recognized that it was his own.Wang Tie bent down, stretched out his hand to test Erwa's breath, and found that he was still breathing, so he asked Xiao Luo to carry Erwa out of the grass and bring water for Erwa to drink.Erwa drank a few sips of water and opened his eyes. He saw Wang Tie in front of him and thought he was dreaming. He often had this hallucination these days, so he closed his eyes again.Wang Tie took out a piece of horse meat from his bosom, which was the horse that died in the previous transport team yesterday, and shared some meat with them.Erwa smelled the meat in a dim way, grabbed it, and ate it voraciously. Erwa was panting and hiccupping, and Wang Tie asked Xiao Luo to drink some water for him. Only then did Erwa wake up.Erwa regained strength after eating the meat, he stared blankly at Wang Tie in front of him, and murmured: I am not dreaming, am I? Wang Tie said: Which unit are you in? Erwa's mind was in a mess, he couldn't remember exactly which unit he belonged to, he had just joined the Red Army and then joined the Long March.Erwa shook her head. Wang Tie asked again: Are you falling behind? Erwa remembered how he fell off the cliff, and he told Wang Tie. Wang Tie sighed, patted him on the shoulder and said: You are lucky.He looked at Erwa and said, "Where are you going?" Erwa thought of the Soviet area again, and thought of Yu Ying.He said to Wang Tie: I want to go home.After a pause, he said: I will also be a Red Army when I go home, beating white dogs. Wang Tie thought for a while, but didn't say anything. He looked at Erwa in front of him and thought: This is still a child.He called Xiao Luo and asked Xiao Luo to take out two silver dollars and give them to Erwa.Ronaldinho reluctantly threw two silver dollars in front of Erwa.Erwa did not expect to meet a kind person. After Wang Tie finished these, he followed Ronaldinho to catch up with the team.Ronaldinho said unhappily: You are so kind to a deserter. Wang Tie smiled at Xiao Luo, reached out and touched Xiao Luo's head. Erwa stared blankly at the two silver dollars in front of her, and as if remembering something, she knelt down towards Wang Tie's back. He said to the back of the team that was gradually going away: I want to beat the white dog, but I won't. White dogs are not raised by humans! Erwa's voice was only heard by him.