Xinhua News Agency, Guiyang, September 25th: Title: Qianshan and Guishui witnessed the fish and water conditions of the military and civilians during the Long March
Xinhua News Agency reporters Li Jingya and Shi Qiangui
In the Red Army Martyrs Cemetery in Zunyi, Guizhou, a bronze statue covered with red silk stands quietly: a Red Army health worker holds a child in her arms, holds a spoon, and bends over to give medicine. The prototype of the bronze statue is Long Siquan, a Red Army health worker of the Third Red Army.
For a long time in the past, many people thought that Long Siquan was a woman. "The common people are full of affection for this Red Army soldier and affectionately call her 'Xiaohong'. People often burn incense and pay homage to express their remembrance." Yang Tong, the commentator of the Red Army Martyrs Cemetery in Zunyi, said, "Actually, Long Siquan is a male."
In January 1935, the Central Red Army stationed in Zunyi, an important town in northern Guizhou. As a health worker in the Red Army, Long Siquan always took the villagers' illness and pain into his heart and went to see doctors day and night, rain or shine. Once, Long Siquan went out to treat typhoid fever in the villagers, but he was busy all night and could not return to the team in time. While he was out practicing medicine, the army received an emergency evacuation order. The comrades had no time to wait, so they left notes. After Long Siquan came back, he immediately followed the direction of the troops' march according to the note and pursued hard. Unfortunately, he was killed by the enemy on the way. He was under 20 years old at the time.
"After Long Siquan died, the common people quietly buried his body in Sangmuta area in the southern suburbs of Zunyi with tears in his eyes. His grave was called the 'Red Army Tomb' by the masses. The local people took the risk to protect the grave." Yang Tong introduced that after the founding of New China, the "Red Army Tomb" was moved to the Martyrs Cemetery. "This period of history reflects the close connection between the Red Army and the people." Yang Tong said that during the Long March passing through Zunyi, thousands of local people joined the Red Army.
In 1995, after extensive research, it was confirmed that the owner of the unnamed "Red Army Grave" was Long Siquan, who disappeared in Zunyi during the Long March.
Nowadays, a large number of tourists come here every year to express their gratitude to this Red Army soldier who cared about the people.
During the long march of 25,000 miles, there were many stories of the close friendship between soldiers and civilians.
In the Sidu Chishui Memorial Hall in Xishui County, Zunyi City, Guizhou Province, there is a steel scale, which is nearly 1.6 meters long and weighs more than 5 kilograms. It is printed with the words "Guizhou Salt Transportation and Marketing Bureau System", telling the story of the Red Army opening warehouses to release salt.
Since ancient times, Guizhou has not produced salt and table salt has been scarce. There is a popular saying that "a pound of rice is exchanged for a pound of salt, and a pound of salt is eaten for half a year." When the Central Red Army stationed in Tucheng, Chishui County (now Tucheng Town, Xishui County), many poor people's families had been without salt for more than a month.
However, at that time, Tucheng not only had salt, but also had salt warehouses, but it was basically in the hands of salt merchants, local gentry and others. Tucheng Town is located on the banks of the Chishui River. It has been an important waterway linking Guizhou to Sichuan and Chongqing since ancient times. Salt produced in Zigong and other places in Sichuan is transported by ship to Tucheng and other places, and then sold to various parts of Guizhou by land.
"Learning that the local people were short of salt, the Red Army decided to open warehouses to release salt." He Li, a volunteer commentator at the Sidu Chishui Memorial Hall, told reporters that the Red Army used this steel scale to fairly distribute the salt and relieve the people's urgent needs. More than 90 years have passed, and the smoke of war has long since dissipated, and the once scarce salt has long become a common item in the kitchens of thousands of households. However, the touching story of the Red Army's dedication to the people has always been told locally.
"Three major disciplines and eight points of attention" are the code of conduct engraved in the bones of the Red Army. During the Long March to Guizhou, the Red Army soldiers kept discipline in mind.
Lei Guangren, who once served as the director of the Zunyi Conference Memorial Hall, recalled: "My mother told me that once the Red Army borrowed a Douqiang (a large bamboo woven utensil used for drying rice) to hide from the rain when he passed by the house. After the rain stopped, the Red Army had already walked to the neighboring village, but he still asked the villagers in the neighboring village to return the Douqiang."
The Red Army sincerely serves the people, and the masses reciprocate with sincerity.
In 1935, during the battle of Qinggangpo, Huang Wanxian, a Red Army soldier from Fujian, was seriously injured and fell behind. Father and son Zhang Xian'an and Zhang Zhixian from Gaoping Village, Tucheng, found the dying soldier and rescued him regardless of the danger to his life.
In order to save Huang Wanxian's life, the villagers hid him in a tomb deep in the mountains and entrusted him to the care of his neighbors. Within a year or so, the villagers changed dressings, fed him, collected medicines to treat his injuries, and tried their best to bring Huang Wanxian back from the brink of death. When he was recovering from his injuries and saying goodbye, everyone put together the money to send him back home.
Huang Wanxian, who narrowly escaped death, remembered his savior thousands of kilometers away throughout his life. In 1965, Huang Wanxian got in touch with his savior, the Zhang family. In the next 20 years or so, he sent ten letters to the Zhang family, every word of which was filled with gratitude from the bottom of his heart. "Three meals, tea and rice, dressing and washing of wounds, everything is better than flesh and blood." These simple words record the deep friendship forged in the flames of war.
During the Long March, the people along the way received kindness from the Red Army, and they repaid the favor by taking the initiative to place the sick and wounded, helping to build pontoon bridges, etc. Many young people signed up to join the army without hesitation.
At the end of 1934, when the Red Army passed by the Bazhou River in Liping County, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province, some people who did not know the truth ran out to hide. "When the Red Army came, my great-grandfather not only did not run away, but also actively helped the Red Army cut down trees and build bridges." Han Bing, founder of the cultural and creative brand "Guizhou Doll", said that his great-grandfather was a lumberjack. Since he traveled all over the country for a long time, he knew that the Red Army was a team that cared about the people, so he helped build bridges with some local people. Later, local people named this wooden bridge built by the army and civilians "Red Army Bridge".
This "Red Army Bridge" has been destroyed by floods many times, but local cadres and the masses have restored the bridge, and the "Red Army Bridge" has also become an important local red education point. Today, not far from the Red Army Bridge, Songcong passed through the Bazhou River on the highway. At the end of 2015, Guizhou achieved “county-county expressway connectivity”, and traffic conditions are no longer what they used to be.
From the bronze statue of the Red Army in Zunyi, to the salt scale in Tucheng, to the "Red Army Bridge" in Liping...the vivid stories connect the soldiers and civilians who shared weal and woe and rushed in both directions on the Long March. To this day, this friendship still continues. Zunyi City, Qiandongnan Prefecture and other places where these red stories took place have been awarded the National Double Support Model City (County). The red fire of "supporting the military and giving priority to their subordinates, supporting the government and loving the people" has been passed down from generation to generation.
