The marshal convened the last meeting of the Military and Political Committee of the Western Route Army in Qilian Mountain in mid-March 1937, when there were less than 3,000 men left in the Western Route Army.
Prior to this, after the three main forces of the Red Army met, the ** Military Commission planned to carry out the Ningxia Campaign, with the aim of realizing the great alliance of the Northwest, opening up the connection with the Soviet Union, and sending troops to Suiyuan to participate in the War of Resistance.
The Kuomintang army did not allow the Red Army to cross the river easily, and they concentrated more than a dozen divisions on the southern front, preparing to attack the Red Army from the south to the north. Therefore, the Red Fourth Front Army was required to form a fan-shaped movement defense in the area of the Sealand Pass to ensure that the main forces of the Red Army were deployed in the predetermined area, and to quickly complete the shipbuilding task to cross the Yellow River west with three armies to attack Ningxia.
Under the command of Chen Changhao and **, the 30th, 9th, and 5th armies of the Red Fourth Front Army totaled 2On the orders of the First Military Commission, 20,000 commanders and fighters successively crossed the Yellow River in Jingyuan County, Gansu Province, entered the Hexi Corridor, and carried out the Ningxia campaign plan to open up international routes.
The Military Commission appointed *** as the commander-in-chief of the former enemy and ** as the chief of staff, preparing to carry out the Haida campaign plan, focusing on dealing with tens of thousands of Kuomintang troops on the southern front. However, due to the reasons of Zhang Guotao, the main leader of the Red Fourth Front Army, the Red Fourth Army and the Red 31st Army failed to enter the predetermined combat position, resulting in the failure to carry out the Haida campaign plan.
The Kuomintang army successfully opened up support for Ningxia and cut off the connection between the Red Fourth Front Army (Hexi Red Army), which had already crossed the river, and the Hedong Red Army, making the Hexi Red Army a lone army.
Although the Military Commission hoped that the Hexi Army would turn to the east and join the main force, due to the influence of Zhang Guotao, the Hexi Army decided to undertake the heavy task of establishing the Hexi base area and implement the campaign plan to open up contact with the Soviet Union.
On November 8, 1936, the Communist Party of China and the Military Commission of the Communist Party of China sent a telegram to the Red Army Headquarters and the Red Fourth Front Army, and the Hexi Army was called the West Route Army, with Chen Changhao and *** as the chairman and vice chairman of the Military and Political Committee of the West Route Army.
Since then, the Western Route Army has embarked on a revolutionary journey full of challenges and difficulties. However, the Western Route Army faced great difficulties. First of all, the Western Route Army lacked sufficient equipment, and although they had the spirit of sacrificing for the revolution, they were powerless in the face of the encirclement and suppression of the superior forces of the warlords of the Second Horse in the northwest.
Second, the Western Route Army was severely undersupported and had difficulty obtaining supplies locally, which led to a decline in the number and morale of the troops, which ultimately led to defeat. In March 1937, the commander-in-chief ordered that when the whole army entered the Qilian Mountains, there were less than 3,000 people left in the Western Route Army.
On March 14, the Military and Political Committee of the Western Route Army held a meeting in Shiwozi, Sunan County, to discuss the future of the Western Route Army. Surprisingly, the meeting, chaired by the chairman of the Military and Political Committee, Chen Changhao, made a decision: "The existing troops disperse the guerrilla and persist in the struggle; **Chen Changhao broke away from the army and returned to northern Shaanxi to report the situation; The Working Committee of the Western Route Army was established to lead the actions of all detachments in a unified manner. ”
Pictured: Chen Changhao resolutely refused to let *** leave the army. ** Said sincerely: "This army was brought out of Hubei, Henan and Anhui together, and we will die together." ”
However, Chen Changhao resolutely disagreed: "This is the decision of the Military and Political Committee, and the goal of staying in the army forward is too big, which is not conducive to the scattered actions of the troops." After the meeting, ** still hoped that Chen Changhao could stay: "Comrade Changhao, our troops have collapsed, what are you doing when you are alone in northern Shaanxi."
If we stay, we can at least play a role in stabilizing the morale of the military. However, Chen Changhao always firmly disagreed: "No. Years later, ** wrote: "I really didn't want to go, but I didn't insist on staying, in fact, ** they didn't want me to go, I accommodated Chen Changhao's opinion, and made a mistake that I regret for the rest of my life." ”
** Led a detachment of the Western Route Army, after an arduous struggle, and finally successfully arrived in Xinjiang at the expense of most of them, with only more than 400 people left.
The other two troops, also led by Wang Shusheng and Bi Zhanzhi, fought guerrillas in the Qilian Mountains and eventually returned to Yan'an, although they were small in number, but they succeeded. On the night of Qilian Mountain, ** and Chen Changhao left the army.
At first, they still had some people acting together, but in the end, only *** was left. When he left the army, the organization gave him a dozen gold rings as a coil, but he was useless, because in this harsh environment, it was difficult to buy food and clothing even if he had money, and he could also be robbed.
What's even more dangerous is that the enemy has plastered bounty notices all the way to arrest the main person in charge of the Western Route Army, and the situation of ** is even more dangerous. However, he only has one firm idea, that is, to go to Yan'an and explain his situation to ***.
In late March 1937, when ** begged all the way to the junction of Yongchang and Liangzhou, he unexpectedly met an acquaintance. He was Cai Guangbo, the commander of the special service battalion of the headquarters of the Western Route Army at the time.
At the forefront of the fierce battle between Ni Jiayingzi and Ma Jiajun, ** reunited with Cai Guangbo. It stands to reason that Cai Guangbo should not appear here, because the Western Route Army has been divided into three detachments after Chen Changhao left the army, and Cai Guangbo should have acted alone with more than 100 people such as the headquarters special service group and the women's group led by Bi Zhanzhi at that time.
However, due to the battle between the troops and the enemy in Baiwo, although the large army escaped by luck, many people were scattered, and Cai Guangbo himself lost contact with the troops.
So, Cai Guangbo had to beg all the way, hoping to return to Yan'an, and happened to meet ***. Cai Guangbo reported to *** the situation of the troops after the separation, and also told him: "The enemy posted notices everywhere and offered rewards for the capture of the commander-in-chief and Political Commissar Chen. ”
After hearing this, he felt a little helpless, and then asked Cai Guangbo: "Are you going to ** now?" Cai Guangbo said: "Go to northern Shaanxi and find troops." "Then let's go back to northern Shaanxi together." ”
Of course, Cai Guangbo was willing to follow the old chief, so the two immediately decided to go together. **The reason why I chose to believe in Cai Guangbo is also because Cai Guangbo himself is also a Red Army soldier with a strong revolutionary will.
At this critical moment, the reunion of the two comrades-in-arms is undoubtedly exciting.
Cai Guangbo, formerly known as Cai Dayi, was born in 1911 in a poor family in Jinzhai, Anhui Province. However, in 1927, his fortunes took a turn when he joined the Communist Youth League with his brother Cai Guangyin and joined the local peasant Red Guards.
Soon after, they became Red Army soldiers, and Cai Guangbo performed well in the army, rose through the ranks, and participated in the creation of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Revolutionary Base Area, as well as the Sichuan-Shaanxi Anti-Six-Route Siege and the Long March of the Red Fourth Front Army.
The old man remembered his heroic deeds vividly, he rode a tall horse, wore a military uniform, and carried two guns in his waist, and he was majestic. In a difficult environment, ** met Cai Guangbo, which was undoubtedly his luck.
Cai Guangbo actually took on the security work, they had to avoid the search and arrest of Ma Jiajun, and they also had to watch out for the dangers along the way. Every time Cai Guangbo goes out to look for food, he will first arrange *** to a safe place and go out to find out the news by himself.
Despite the dangers, Cai Guangbo was determined to send the commander-in-chief to Yan'an safely. His bravery and determination earned him respect and trust in the Red Army.
** After going through hardships and walking for more than 20 days, he finally crossed the Yellow River. There, ** used the two gold rings given by the organization to change into clothes, dressed up as a merchant and continued to travel, walking for another month.
In Xiaotun, they met the chief of staff of the Red Fourth Army**, and took them to Zhenyuan, the headquarters of the Western Army, where the two rested for a few days and were sent back to northern Shaanxi.
Before leaving, ** handed over the remaining dozen or so gold rings to ***, indicating that he didn't need them anymore and handed them all over to his father. In late May 1937, ** returned to Yan'an, ** personally received him, and congratulated him on his successful return.
After Cai Guangbo returned home, he was cared for and cultivated by the party organization and was arranged to study at Kang University. However, due to the unknown whereabouts of Chen Changhao, it was decided that Cai Guangbo would go to Ganzhou to find the separated personnel of the Western Route Army.
Chen Changhao finally got out of trouble, he returned to his hometown of Wuhan, Hubei, met his wife, children and mother, and originally planned to reorganize an anti-Japanese armed force in Wuhan, but due to environmental constraints, the plan could not be realized.
As a result, Chen Changhao returned to Yan'an and was sent to the Soviet Union due to stomach ulcers, and did not return to his homeland until 1952. However, despite Chen Changhao's safe return, Cai Guangbo, who was sent to find him, faced a difficult situation.
Gao Jincheng and Cai Guangbo went to Ganzhou together, using the gospel hall as a cover to collect many separated personnel of the Western Route Army, but they never found Chen Changhao.
Later, Cai Guangbo searched for the northern foot of Qilian Mountain, only to learn that Chen Changhao had been escorted east by an old Hubei Chinese medicine doctor and adopted son named Dan Fusan. At the end of November 1937, Xie Jueya arranged for Cai Guangbo to return to Yan'an and reported Chen Changhao's situation to ***.
Cai Guangbo hid his identification in the kang cave, but in March 1938, his condition still did not improve, and he decided to leave, but unfortunately, his identification was missing, probably destroyed when the kang was burned.
In the small place of Pingliang, Cai Guangbo lost contact with the party organization, and could not reveal his identity to others, so he could only work locally to survive. Since then, Cai Guangbo has settled in Pingliang and stayed for nearly 20 years.
FigCai Guangbo took Gao Jincheng's letter of introduction, successfully passed through the enemy's fortification, and sent the report of the underground party to the Lanzhou Eighth Office In 1942, Cai Guangbo married a Sichuan woman, and although life was hard, he was also harmonious and beautiful.
However, before the liberation of Pingliang, Cai Guangbo's family often ate the last meal without the next, and lived on the help of the people around them. Until 1949 after the liberation, the local ** to Cai Guangbo 5 acres of land, improve their family's life, when the farm is busy Cai Guangbo to farm for a living, when the farm is slack, on the back of coal, although the life is tight, but it is always a lot better than before the liberation.
Unfortunately, in 1950, Cai Guangbo's wife died in childbirth, and the burden of the whole family was all on Cai Guangbo, and his life fell to the bottom all of a sudden. Cai Guangbo himself is injured again, and his health is not very good, without such a helper as his wife, life is even more difficult.
couldn't even support his three children, so in desperation, Cai Guangbo had no choice but to give his eldest daughter to Dong Chengguang, a Henan native who lived in Ankouyao, as a daughter. In Cai Guangbo's heart, he still hopes to return to work in the party organization.
In 1951, Cai Guangbo wrote letters to ** and ***, but did not receive a reply, and wrote another one in 1956, but still did not receive a reply.
Cai Guangbo's health is getting worse and worse, especially after not farming, changed to become a coal miner, coal mine is a hard job, Cai Guangbo's body can not bear it at all, in 1958, Cai Guangbo returned to his hometown in Jinzhai, Anhui Province with his three daughters, it was a three-year difficult period, everyone was eating canteen cauldron stove, not full at all, can only eat elm bark, rice bran to survive, Cai Guangbo can't eat enough, can't get nutrition, plus frequent injuries, the condition is also very serious (face tumor).
In April 1961, Cai Guangbo died in his hometown at the age of 50.
Life is impermanent, and a small mistake can lead to irreparable regrets. During the rescue operation of the Western Route Army, Cai Guangbo was unable to get in touch with the commander-in-chief *** due to a misunderstood name, which became the regret of his life.
But his contribution to the Chinese revolution made his children proud and proud. Although his life was somewhat tragic, his perseverance and contributions to the country deserve to be remembered forever.