China News Service, Xinyang, October 27 (Wang Jianing) At the end of October, the wind at the northern foot of the Dabie Mountains was cool. There are a total of 97 steps from the bottom of the mountain to the nine tombstones of Red Army martyrs. 89-year-old Wang Maogui walked up step by step, trying to keep his breath steady, "I am getting older!"
He has been walking this road for 58 years.
Arriving in front of the tombstone, Wang Maogui bent down, slowly wiped off the floating dust, and swept away the fallen leaves in front of the stage with a broom. After cleaning the last tombstone, he straightened up and saluted the tombstone with a military salute.
Nine tombstones of Red Army martyrs are located in Huashan Village, Xinguangshan County, Henan Province. In November 1934, the Huashanzhai Conference was held here, and the decision was made to shift the strategy of the 25th Red Army and start the Long March. After that, the 25th Red Army lasted 10 months and fought nearly thousands of miles, becoming the first Red Army to reach northern Shaanxi and laying a solid foundation for the development of the northwest revolutionary base area.
Wang Maogui is from Guangshan. In 1955, he went to the battlefield to resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea as a health worker. In addition to taking care of the wounded, he and his comrades were also responsible for burying the remains of volunteer martyrs who died. They carefully collected the remains and placed them in coffins so that the martyrs could be buried with dignity.
After retiring, Wang Maogui returned to his hometown to work in farming. In 1968, he discovered that there were nine tombstones of martyrs on the hill where the Huashanzhai Conference was located. Except for three martyrs, Yao Zhixiu, Hu Zhuxian, and Kuang Zhanhua, the rest were all unknown martyrs. They fell on this land without even leaving their names.
Wang Maogui said that most of these martyrs died in the battle of Hushan Village of the 25th Red Army in November 1934. Their remains were properly placed here by local people, but their relatives have never been found. He said: "They have no relatives, so I will be their relative."
Since then, Wang Maogui has become the tombkeeper. In spring and summer, weeds grew wildly in front of the tomb, and in autumn and winter, the fallen leaves could not be swept away. So he insisted on going up the mountain every day, cutting out a path with a hatchet, and carrying cypress saplings up the mountain one by one and planting them with his own hands. After giving birth, while others were resting, Wang Maogui went to the tomb to pull weeds and talk to his "old friends". Later, he simply built two mud houses more than 200 meters down the mountain, and lived with his wife for decades.
In 58 years, Wang Maogui used more than 100 brooms and dozens of hatchets, and planted more than 500 cypress trees around the martyrs' tombs.
In 2014, Guangshan County built the Red Army Martyrs Cemetery, and the dirt road turned into neat 97 stone steps. Later, the former site of the Huashazhai Conference was included in the core area of the Long March National Cultural Park (Henan Section), and groups of students and young people came to look for the red footprints.
Seeing more and more visitors, Wang Maogui felt happy from the bottom of his heart. He read the materials, practiced his expressions, and took the initiative to act as a lecturer. After giving more than 1,500 voluntary lectures, he became the "most popular red lecturer" among tourists.
Wang Maogui often said to the children who came to study, "The martyrs fought with their lives to fight for the country, but we cannot let the blood be shed in vain."
The wind of late autumn blew by, and the mountains were filled with cypresses speechless.
This year, Wang Maogui, who is nearly 90 years old, walks slower and his waist is bent, but he still insists on visiting the tombs of the martyrs every morning. He said: "After I leave, my son, grandson, and great-grandson will protect the martyrs for me."
