In the early days of the building of our party and our army, the military strength was actually very weak, and only the red ones were able to have a certain scale of formation.
1. Red. 2. The Red Fourth Front Army and the Red Army of Northern Shaanxi. These four teams later developed into the four major field armies with two or three million people and amazing combat effectiveness in the world, and they trained a very large number of military talents. In 1955, when the state conferred the title, both red.
First, the Red Second Army or the Red Fourth Front Army all had people who became marshals, but the Red Army in northern Shaanxi did not. Could it be that the historical contribution of the Red Army in northern Shaanxi is not enough?Of course not. The Red Army in northern Shaanxi hung alone in the barren northern land, creating a free sky for the Chinese revolution, without which the Red Army's Long March would have lost its end. The reason why there was no marshal in the Red Army in Northern Shaanxi was actually very poignant: Those who could represent the Red Army in Northern Shaanxi had already fallen on the road of national liberation and had not been able to see the subsequent victory. 
Speaking of which, someone may have come up with a name. Liu Zhidan!Liu Zhidan was the leader of the Red Army and the base area in northern Shaanxi in those years, and he made great historical contributions and was deeply loved by the people. There is even a song that sings: There is a Liu Zhidan in northern Shaanxi!But in fact, the former Red Army of Northern Shaanxi was a "double star shining", and another star other than Liu Zhidan used to shine even more than him. As long as this person is alive, not only will he be at least a marshal, but even the leadership core of New China will be rematched. This person is Xie Zichang, the number one founder of the Red Army in Northern Shaanxi. 
The first edge Xie Zichang, formerly known as Xie Shiyuan, is a native of Anding County, Shaanxi Province. He was born in January 1897 into a relatively wealthy peasant family and received a relatively good education. When he was 18 years old, he witnessed the indiscriminate killing of innocent people by county officials, so he risked his life to file a joint complaint. You know, he was just an ordinary student at that time!If one is not done well, the suing official may even get into it himself. Although the matter was not resolved later, the fire of jealousy and hatred had been deeply planted in Xie Zichang's heart. In 1919, Xie Zichang was admitted to Xi'an Provincial No. 1 Middle School, and then transferred to Yulin Middle School of Northern Shaanxi Union County. Soon Xie Zichang interrupted his studies and returned to his hometown to establish a primary school. However, he always had a dream of being a soldier to help the world and be the master of the people, so in the autumn of 1922, Xie Zichang was admitted to the Taiyuan Student Corps founded by Yan Xishan and devoted himself to studying Xi military. In June 1923, he graduated with excellent grades, and then traveled to Henan, Beiping, Tianjin and other places to find a way to save the country and the people. 
The way to save the country is not easy to find. At that time, the middle and top valves were in a scuffle, and the society was so dark that people couldn't see the edge. Xie Zichang, who could not see the light, returned to Anding County in the spring of 1924 and founded the county militia and served as the head of the league. He led the militia to exterminate bandits, punish local tyrants and inferior gentry, and strictly enforce military discipline, and was called "Xie Qingtian" by the local people. Even after the liberation, there were still local people who said: "In the old society, we settled down Lao Xie, and the county officials at that time did not dare to mess around, and the team did not dare to mess around, and he did many good things for the people!"In 1925, Xie Zichang went to Beiping and Tianjin again, and under the influence of Li Dazhao, Liu Bozhuang, Geng Bingguang and others, he accepted new advanced ideas. Soon, Xie Zichang joined the Communist Party of China in the Peking University branch. He has a very unique view of the domestic political struggle, believing that the apparent cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party will break down sooner or later. If we want to survive, our party should grasp the barrel of the gun and develop and strengthen its armed forces!His thoughts coincide with those who have never met. 
At the end of 1925, Xie Zichang returned to northern Shaanxi, and under the leadership of the Suide Prefectural Committee, he and his comrade Li Xiangjiu and others joined the team of Shi Qian, the brigade commander of Jing Yuexiu, the "King of Yulin", and became the governor of Anding County. Shi Qian's position was brigade commander, so Xie and Li soon became company commanders and began to use their public identities to carry out revolutionary activities in the area of Anding County. During this period, Xie Zichang secretly established a special branch of the Communist Party of China. Soon, the special branch was changed to the military branch, and Xie Zichang served as a member. Thanks to his efforts, more than 100 of the 12 companies of the brigade have been developed into lieutenant members, and most of the company commanders and most of the squad and platoon commanders of 6 companies have also become party members. Even the brigade commander Shi Qian was influenced by him and became a supporter of our party. The Qingjian Uprising, which took place in northern Shaanxi, soon saw a rift between the KMT and the CCP. In 1927, Chiang Kai-shek launched the April 12 counter-revolutionary coup d'état, and the revolutionary situation in the whole country took a sharp turn for the worse, and the smell of gunpowder appeared in the air. In early August, under the instructions of the Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, Xie Zichang, Li Xiangjiu and others secretly made preparations for armed resistance against the warlords. In late August, Jing Yuexiu, the "King of Yulin", sent assassins to kill Shi Qian, a brigade commander who was sympathetic to the revolution. The enemy's butcher's knife has been raised!Li Xiang.
9. Xie Zichang and others immediately convened a meeting to analyze the situation and study countermeasures, and soon set up the Northern Shaanxi Military Committee, with Xie Zichang and Li Xiangjiu as members. Soon after, Xie Zichang and others held a meeting of party members and cadres above the platoon level in Qingjian County to prepare for an armed uprising. After studying, it was decided that the four companies of Qingjian would revolt first, and then join up with other companies and companies to go south to Yichuan and join the local three companies. As for the slogan of the uprising, it was set as a sentence that was both hidden and a little charlatan:"Avenge Brigadier Shi Qian"。This is the very famous "Qingjian Uprising" in the history of northern Shaanxi. 
On the evening of October 12, the Qingjian Uprising officially began. The rebel forces joined forces inside and out, annihilating two enemy companies and a battalion headquarters. On October 20, the rebel troops reached the city of Yichuan, and the enemy's acting brigade commander Kang Zixiang abandoned the city and fled, and the three rebel troops successfully joined forces in Yichuan. However, a large number of enemy troops arrived to reinforce them, and the rebel troops were surrounded in Yichuan and suffered heavy losses. In order to preserve the flame of revolution, Xie Zichang led a part of his men and horses to break out of the siege and moved to the vicinity of Hancheng. In accordance with the instructions of the Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee, Xie Zichang reorganized the Military Commission and reorganized the unit into the First Detachment of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Guerrilla Detachment in Northwest China, with Xie Zichang as deputy commander. In January 1928, the uprising failed due to the failure of the attack on Yichuan Castle and the heavy losses of the troops. At the beginning of the following year, the Weihua Uprising led by Tang Shu and Liu Zhidan also ended in failure, and the revolutionary situation in the northwest fell into a trough. At the beginning of 1929, Xie Zichang was ordered to go to Fenghuang Mountain in Yichuan to fight for the transformation of Liang Zhankui's bandit troops, and won the support of some people. Later, Xie Zichang was ordered to Ningxia, where he operated in Pingluo and Helan, and together with Liu Zhidan, he broke into the department of Tan Shilin, a local warlord in Longdong, and served as the regiment commander and battalion commander respectively. They took advantage of their public positions to collect some members of the Central League who were still on the run, and won over the strength of the local militia and the elders' associations to carry out activities in the border areas of Shaanxi, Gansu, and Ningbo, where the enemy's strength was weak. However, the warlords' blows were still fierce, and the troops incorporated by Xie Zichang and Liu Zhidan had not yet undergone political training, and their combat effectiveness was not strong, and their will was not firm, and they could be bought at any time. After several failures, Xie Zichang realized that in order to build a revolutionary armed force, it was not possible to rely on recruiting troops from the ranks of warlordsA new path must be found. From then on, he began to explore the path of establishing an independent armed force under the direct leadership of our party. 
After the September 18 Incident in 1931, the anti-Japanese salvation movement across the country was unprecedentedly high. On October 30 of the same year, on the order of the Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee, Xie Zichang came to the Nanliang area of northern Shaanxi to unify the leadership of the local armed forces. The Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee decided to merge the Jinxi guerrillas led by Yang Zhongyuan, Yan Hongyan, and others with the troops led by Liu Zhidan into the Northwest Anti-Japanese and Anti-Imperialist Allied Army, with Xie Zichang and Liu Zhidan serving as the principal and deputy commanders-in-chief respectively. Under the leadership of Xie Zichang, Liu Zhidan, and others, the Red Army's Shaanxi-Gansu guerrillas opened up the Sicun Yuan Revolutionary Base Area, and after winning many victories in Yangpotou, Zhaojin, and Xunyi County, they established the Zhaojin Soviet District. 
On December 24, 1932, the Shaanxi-Gansu guerrillas were reorganized into the Second Regiment of the 26th Army of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, and Du Heng, secretary of the provincial party committee, appointed himself as the political commissar of the army and the regiment. During the reorganization of Yijun Yangjiadian, Du Heng suddenly came to the guerrillas and slandered Xie Zichang and Liu Zhidan for committing the so-called"Right-leaning opportunism""Bandit routes""Kozanism"mistakenly, brutally removed them from their leadership positions, and decided to send them to the ** Bureau of the CCP in Shanghai"Trained"。After fighting hard, Liu Zhidan was able to stay in the team, while Xie Zichang could only embark on the road to the south again. In May 1933, Xie Zichang's "training" period expired and he was sent to work in the 18th Division of the Chahar Anti-Japanese Allied Army. Here, Xie Zichang's new position is a party representative. The Chahar Anti-Japanese Allied Army did not exist for long, and under the blows of many domestic and international forces, it soon suffered defeat. 
In June 1933, Du Heng carried out a military adventure in the northwest and forced the Second Regiment of the Red 26th Army to go south to Weihua to create a Soviet area. As a result, the operation failed, the troops suffered heavy losses, and only dozens of people including Liu Zhidan and Wang Shitai returned to the Zhaojin base area. Soon after, Du Heng was arrested by the enemy during a meeting and immediately defected. Affected by this, a certain detachment in northern Shaanxi was disbanded en masse, and the revolutionary situation in the northwest once again fell into a downturn. Xie Zichang was once again ordered to return to the northwest and set about restoring the Red First Detachment in Northern Shaanxi and rectifying the Red 26th Army. At this time, the party organizations and guerrillas in northern Shaanxi were in a very difficult situation, and their influence was already very weak. Xie Zichang tried all means, and finally found the party organization and officially started work. Soon, he resumed the Northern Shaanxi Red Detachment. Under the leadership of the Northern Shaanxi Special Committee, Xie Zichang led the troops to crack down on the local tyrants and shoddy gentry, raised funds, and almost started all over again. However, at this time, his tactical style gradually took shape, and he adopted night battles and sports warfare as the main combat methods, and won several victories one after another, and the morale of the troops was restored. He also assisted the local party organizations in establishing many pioneer organizations, and established the Anding and Yanchuan base areas. 
The local warlords were still very frightened by the first anti-"encirclement and suppression" of the emerging red regime, and they immediately decided to send troops to "encircle and suppress". In order to crush the enemy's attack, Xie Zichang led the Red Army in northern Shaanxi.
The 1st, 2nd, and 5th detachments met with the 42nd Division of the 26th Red Army to discuss the plan. After the meeting, it was decided that Xie Zichang would serve as the political commissar of the 42nd Red Division and go to northern Shaanxi to cooperate with the local army and people to resist the enemy's attack. On August 15, 1934, Xie Zichang led the 3rd Regiment of the Headquarters and Northern Shaanxi.
The 1st, 2nd, and 5th detachments went to Anding, and launched several battles at Jingwujiawu and Zhangjiaqitai in Suide County, and won one after another, and the morale of the soldiers rose at once. In late August, Xie Zichang decided to attack Hekou Town in Qingjian County. On the evening of the 26th, the battle officially began. The enemy put up stubborn resistance with the help of fortifications and favorable terrain, and the Red Army attacked several times, but still could not overcome it. Xie Zichang then decided to personally go to the front line to command. Under his correct orders, the Red Army reorganized its forces and continued its offensive against the enemy. At this time, the enemy's morale had collapsed, and he could no longer withstand it, so he had to abandon his position and flee to Qingjian County. 
Xie Zi took the lead, which did boost morale, but it also brought danger to himself. In the battle of Qingjian estuary, Xie Zichang was unfortunately shot and was hit in the chest. But he still refused to withdraw his position and continued to command the battle until victory was achieved. After the war, despite his serious injuries, he continued to lead his troops north, attacked Dongjiasi near Anding, and defeated a battalion of the warlord Jing Yuexiu, the enemy's first attack on the revolutionary base area in northern Shaanxi"Encirclement and suppression", which has been completely crushed at this time!On September 15, 1934, Xie Zichang was still wounded and continued to command the troops. With the efforts of the commanders and fighters of the whole army, they successfully attacked Anding County, killed Li Picheng, the head of the Anding People's League, and incorporated his militia group. On September 18, 1934, the Red Army unit was transferred to Cui Yaogou in Anding County, and then it was reorganized. Former northern Shaanxi guerrillas.
The first and eighth detachments, with a total of more than 200 people, were combined into the first regiment of the Northern Shaanxi Independent Division of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. Xie Zichang was still wounded and participated in the reorganization, and awarded the new unit a military flag.
After all the arrangements were stopped, Xie Zichang's injury was already very serious, and he could no longer continue to work, so he could only leave the team temporarily and go to Yang Daoyuan Village to recuperate. As a senior commander of the Red Army in northern Shaanxi, it was not easy for Xie Zichang to recuperate from his injuries with peace of mind. The enemy received the news of Xie Zichang's injury, and immediately set out to reconnoiter his cultivation place and plot to assassinate him. In order to avoid the enemy's tracking, the commanders and fighters of the Red Army and the masses of the people could only take Xie Zichang to move continuously between Yang Daoyuan and Hanheli Village in Ciqiwan. Xie Zichang's injuries have not improved because of this. The wind is light and the revolution means that you have to be prepared to sacrifice, which Xie Zichang has been mentally prepared for. As early as the early summer of 1934, when Xie Zichang and his children talked about their relatives who sacrificed for the revolution, they said: "Communists are like willow trees, if they cut this stubble, that stubble will grow again." The Communist Party will not be killed, and the Red Army will be stronger. However, when the sacrifice was really imminent, Xie Zichang's unwillingness was very obvious. When he realized that his injuries had no hope of healing, Xie Zichang said to his family in pain"I died like this, I'm sorry for the common people. I do so little for them!"
In addition to his concern for the people, there is another thing that Xie Zichang can't rest assured about, which is the revolutionary situation in northern Shaanxi. After the first anti-"encirclement and suppression" campaign, the situation in the base area has just improved, and he is about to leave his job, so how can he not worry!In fact, when I was just injured, I had already begun to prepare for the handover. On September 5, 1934, Xie Zichang wrote a letter to the ** northern representative, reporting his work after returning to the northwest, and at the same time suggesting that Zhang Xiushan, who was also a veteran of the same qualifications, replace him as the political commissar of the Red 42nd Division. In October, Huang Han, an inspector of the Northern Bureau, arrived in northern Shaanxi and came to Yangdaoyuan to visit Xie Zichang. The two held a meeting, and Huang Han listened to Xie Zichang's suggestion to unify the command of the two base areas in northern Shaanxi and Shaanxi-Gansu. Xie Zichang also specifically pointed out that Liu Zhidan should be allowed to command the army in a unified manner. Huang Han brought Xie Zichang's opinion back to Beiping, and it was quickly approved by the leadership.
In December 1934, Liu Zhidan led the Red Second Regiment and Shaanxi-Ganbian.
The 5th and 6th detachments went to Anding County in person and arrived in January 1935. Since then, he has visited Xie Zichang, who is recuperating from his injuries, many times. When the two old comrades-in-arms met, they naturally talked about the military situation in the border area and the work of opposing "encirclement and suppression", and Xie Zichang never paid attention to his own body. In fact, he already felt that the flame of his life was slowly extinguishing, and he must seize all the time to carry out his work and do more for the people of northern Shaanxi. On the eighteenth (or nineteenth) of the first month of 1935, Liu Zhidan came to Dengzhan Bay again to visit Xie Zichang. The two men had a long talk and unanimously agreed to set up the Northwest Military Commission as soon as possible to unify leadership and command over the Shaanxi-Ganbian and Northern Shaanxi Red Army. As for who will bear the heavy burden of the chairman of the Northwest Military Commission, the two people have a disagreement. Liu Zhidan's opinion is to let Xie Zichang take the position, after all, his party, government and military achievements in the northwest are obvious to all. But Xie Zichang resolutely refused, saying: "My injury is not good, and I can't work at all now, this burden is up to you, don't hang my name anymore." Liu Zhidan said: "You are the big brother, and you are the military commissioner of the ** representative in the north stationed in the northwest." Your reputation in northern Shaanxi is so great that people call you Xie Qingtian, and as long as you are alive for one day, you can only be the chairman. He paused for a moment and continued: "You are injured, I can be responsible for the specific work, but you must put your name on it." The two of them repeatedly humbled to this.
Xie Zichang understood Liu Zhidan's concerns. On the one hand, I really can't bear to live above myself, and on the other hand, I am afraid that some of my subordinates will not be convinced. So he put forward a new opinion, saying: "In my capacity as a military commissioner in the northwest, I have determined that you will be the chairman of the Central Military Commission. The conversation between the two has been for a long time, and Xie Zichang's physical strength is gradually exhausted. Liu Zhidan saw that it was difficult for him to speak, so he no longer argued with him, and only said that he would wait until the joint meeting to decide. When Liu Zhidan was leaving, he touched Xie Zichang's futon and said with concern"Your quilt is too thin, you should change it to a thicker one. "Xie Zichang smiled and said"I slept on a fire kang and it wasn't cold. As long as you can heal the injury, it doesn't matter if the quilt breaks. "
On 5 February, the Northern Shaanxi Special Committee and the Shaanxi-Gansu Special Committee held a joint meeting in Zhoujialao, Chiyuan County. Although Xie Zichang did not attend the meeting due to injury, he was still elected chairman of the Military Commission, and Liu Zhidan served as vice chairman and commander-in-chief of the former enemy. On February 21, 1935, Xie Zichang finally died due to the deterioration of his injuries at the age of 38. At that time, it was snowing lightly, and the local people said: "This is God shedding tears for Xie Qingtian." After the posthumous mourning, Xie Zichang's funeral was simplified, no memorial service was held, and even the news of his death was not announced. His influence in the northwest is too great, and once the news of his death is announced, it will definitely affect the mood of the military and people in the base area, and the enemy is likely to take the opportunity to attack. So Xie Zichang was secretly buried on the night of his death, unaware. For some time to come, the Northwest Military Commission's proclamation would still be issued in the name of "Xie Haoru, Chairman of the Northwest Military Commission." It was not until May 1935, after the victory of the Red Army in the battles of Wujiaping and Majiaping, that the news of Xie Zichang's death was announced. In order to commemorate his great contribution to the Northwest Revolution, in the autumn of 1935, the Northwest Working Committee of the Communist Party of China decided to change Xie Zichang's hometown Anding County to Zichang County, which will be forever commemorated thereafter.
In the spring of 1939, ** met with Xie Zichang's relatives in Yan'an and gave the creator of the Northern Shaanxi Red Army a high evaluation: "Xie Zichang, the founder of the Northwest Red Army, was defeated and did not lose his mind, which is really remarkable!."After that, ** wrote two inscriptions for the tomb of Xie Zichang martyrs, namely "Xie Zichang, a national hero" and "Xie Zichang, although he is still alive". As a token of respect, ** also wrote the inscription of Xie Zichang's tombstone, with a word count of 277 words!In 1946, the Northwest Bureau of the Communist Party of China and the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo Border Region jointly built a cemetery for Xie Zichang in the famous Wayaobao and held a grand burial ceremony. ** Inscription again: "Xie Zi has been eternal, one after another, to defeat Chiang Kai-shek, the enemy of the people". * Ren Bishi and other revolutionaries of the older generation also wrote inscriptions, giving him a very high evaluation of his historical achievements. Because Liu Zhidan also died in 1936, and another founder of the Northwest Border Region was also transferred to civilian work, so when the medal was awarded in 1955, no one from the Red Army in Northern Shaanxi became a marshal. It is conceivable that with Xie Zichang's ability and status, if he can live healthily, he should be a marshal.