In January 1948, in order to cooperate with the troops to go south to the Central Plains and open up new areas, the Communist Party of China mobilized more than 90 students from North China United University to Xibaipo, where the Working Committee was stationed, for centralized training, which was called the "Southbound Cadre Training Class of the Central Organization Department". In Xibaipo, they listened to the in-depth lectures of Peng Zhen, Qian Junrui, Ai Siqi, etc., and realized the ideological transformation from intellectuals to revolutionaries.
1) In June 1947, groups of students who participated in the "anti-hunger, anti-civil war, and anti-**" movement in the Chiang administrative area came to North China United University in Shulu County (now Xinji) through the introduction of the underground organization of the Communist Party of China. At that time, the president of North China United University was Cheng Fangwu, and the school motto was "unity, progress, hard work, and firmness".
In order to enable the students to understand the new ideas and achievements on the literary and artistic front in the liberated areas after the Yan'an Forum on Literature and Art, the famous writer Ding Ling made a special report for the students, taking "The Sun Shines on the Sanggan River," which she had just finished and was yet to be published, as an example, and talked about land reform, especially emphasizing that the people's literature comes from the people and that the masses should have the viewpoint of the masses when considering problems. When Ai Qing gave a lecture, people asked him why his surname was Ai, and he explained that he had put a cross under Chiang Kai-shek's cursive prefix, which meant to break with Chiang Kai-shek.
After five months of study, when the students were about to graduate, the Communist Party of China sent An Ziwen, deputy director of the Organization Department, to the school to discuss with the principal Cheng Fangwu to send some students to the ** residence to participate in the training camp and prepare to go south. On the one hand, it was necessary to meet the needs of the situation at that time when the troops moved south; On the other hand, we also consider making these intellectuals tempered as soon as possible and grow up rapidly. As soon as I heard that I went to study and then went to the south to open up a new area, everyone was very excited, and the students rushed to write applications, and some even wrote blood letters, and asked to go. After careful consideration, the school decided to convert the Faculty of Political Science.
90 students from 3 classes of 8, 9 and 10 were transferred to the ** Organization Department.
On January 11, 1948, the students set out from the North China Associated University, crossed from the east of the Pinghan Railway to the west of the road, entered the mountains from the plains, laughed all the way, sang all the way, and came to Xibaipo in Jianping County (now Pingshan County) at dusk on the 17th. The trainees stayed in Nanzhuang Village, less than two kilometers away from Xibaipo, where the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee is located. Here, there are more than 90 trainees in the training class, divided into 10 study groups, which is called the "Southbound Cadre Training Class of the ** Organization Department of the Communist Party of China".
2) The Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee is specifically responsible for the affairs of the training course, presided over by An Ziwen, deputy director of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, and his secretary Mo Yanzhong assists in the daily specific teaching work, is responsible for contacting the students, and collects the students' learning situation and ideological dynamics in a timely manner. An Ziwen often listens to the reports of various study groups, so that the leading comrades can connect with reality when they give lectures, speak more purposefully, vividly and lively, and penetrate into the hearts of students. Mo Yanzhong recalled that at that time, although the leading comrades had every opportunity, no matter who they invited to give a lecture, they would always respond to requests, and no matter how busy they were with their work, they would always give lectures a few times. **Secretary of the Working Committee*** also often visits the trainees to visit everyone and solve practical problems, which shows the importance of ** to the training course.
On January 29, 1948, ** came to Nanzhuang Village and made a mobilization report on "Our Aims and Tasks" at the opening ceremony of the training class. This was the first time the students had met Comrade Shaoqi, and they had read "On the Self-cultivation of Communist Party Members" before, and they were very excited to listen to the teachings in person this time.
Comrade Shaoqi was very serious, but he said kindly: You want to go to the Central Plains New Area to work, it is very arduous, and many comrades have sacrificed, and when you go there, you must have the determination not to be afraid of hardships and sacrifices.
On February 29, the trainees went south to the Central Plains, and before leaving, Comrade Shaoqi gave another speech to the training class. After fully affirming everyone's learning results, he said in response to everyone's eagerness to go to work and "show their talents": I heard that you have great enthusiasm, which is commendable, but, first, don't commit acute illness. You have great enthusiasm, you are anxious to achieve something, and you are prone to acute diseases, and as a result, you do not show your merits, but you show your faults, you are criticized instead of being rewarded, and you do not seek benefits for the people, but you cause the people to suffer. We should do our work honestly and responsibly to the people. Be very cautious in what you do and don't make things bad. Second, it is required to go one step further, and the work will be of some help to the people. Third, we should ask ourselves to help the people more. Everyone should do their work in such an order and attitude, and they can improve in a down-to-earth and step-by-step manner.
On January 30, 1948, the commander-in-chief of the **, whom everyone had admired for a long time, came to the training class. He pursed his lips and smiled, frequently beckoning to his classmates and gesturing to sit down with the students who warmly welcomed him. He sat down on a square stool behind the lectern, put on his reading glasses, and began to lecture.
*The content of this lecture is to introduce the "Declaration of the People's Liberation Army of Chinese" drafted by ***. First of all, he pointed out that the declaration analyzed the domestic political situation and put forward the slogan of "Down with Chiang Kai-shek and liberate all of China." The eight basic policies of the People's Liberation Army announced are actually the minimum political program of our party, which represents the urgent demands of the Chinese people and concentrates the will of the Chinese people.
Then, Commander-in-Chief Zhu gave a lecture on the issue of the national united front, emphatically pointing out that our party's united front is very extensive, and it is necessary to unite all classes oppressed by the United States and Chiang to form a national united united front, and everyone can only succeed if they unite for revolution.
* The issue of clean politics was also specifically addressed. He pointed out that in the current society, corrupt politics is brought about by the feudal ruling class, and this trend is becoming more and more intense. Those **** filthy officials are enjoying the blood and sweat of the Chinese people, and the vast number of working people are bankrupt or even starving to death, so the declaration pays the most attention to the establishment of clean politics.
In response to the issue of confiscating the bureaucratic capital of the four major families in the declaration, Mr. Zhu said, since the first century, there is no distinction between public and private, the public is his, and his is his. Therefore, in the future, after overthrowing feudalism and bureaucratic capitalism through revolutionary wars, it is necessary to establish a clean **. Everyone must stand on the standpoint of the proletariat of impartiality and selflessness, do not want to be promoted to official positions and make a fortune, and do everything for the people, so that the revolution can be carried out well.
3) On February 28, 1948, he went to Xibaipo to attend the meeting of the Working Committee and came to the training class of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, and made an enthusiastic report to the trainees with the title of "Welcome everyone to the Central Plains in the south". The heroic demeanor of his speech, his voice and smile, and his bold and humorous conversation are still clearly imprinted in everyone's minds.
At the beginning, ** said warmly and humorously: I am here to see you off and welcome you! The main thing is to welcome you. I have just come from the front line of the Central Plains, and there is a great need for cadres to open up and stabilize the new areas, and I warmly welcome you to go south to the Central Plains and gallop through the vast Central Plains and East China regions of the Yangtze River, Huai, He, and Han to make contributions to opening up and stabilizing the Central Plains New Area.
* When analyzing the situation in the Central Plains, he pointed out that the Central Plains region has always been a battleground for soldiers, and those who take the Central Plains can win the world. The Central Plains region is already owned by our People's Liberation Army, and now the question is how to consolidate it. Therefore, you must be ideologically prepared to take part in the armed struggle, and you must also have a heroic and tenacious fighting spirit and a revolutionary spirit that is not afraid of sacrifice. Speaking of which, ** frankly used his experience of persisting in the harsh guerrilla warfare in the south for three years to educate the cadets. In the "Meiling Incident", Comrade ** "couldn't take it off, and he had to write three poems to keep the bottom of his clothes", which is the majestic "Meiling Three Chapters": "What does the severed head mean today?" Starting a business is difficult and there are many battles. This went to Quantai to recruit the old department, and the banner of 100,000 beheaded Yama ......”
Then, he talked about how to mobilize the masses after going south. He pointed out that the working masses are "God" because they created everything. Therefore, we must resolutely rely on the masses, have the determination to make sacrifices, have the determination to carry out armed struggle, and be prepared to endure hardships and stand hard work. This is hard work, we must learn the local language, put on the clothes of the common people, we must completely make the people, do not let them see them as superiors, treat them as guests, we must dissolve in them, do not distinguish between each other, say nothing, and truly integrate with the masses, and do all the work easily. If the common people are really organized, it will be more powerful than our army, and it will take root.
In March 1948, when the trainees of the training course were about to go south to the Central Plains, the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee issued each of them a set of new books. This set of books that have just been published in the liberated areas includes: "On New Democracy", "On Union", "Preface and Preface to Rural Survey", and "Literature on the Rectification of the Three Winds"; * "On the Party" and "On the Cultivation of Communist Party Members"; * "On the Battlefield in the Liberated Areas"; There is also a Chinese translation of the "Concise Course on the History of the Communist Party of the United States". This is the spiritual food that everyone desperately needs.
On March 3, the trainees of the training course set off from Nanzhuang Village, and after a 20-day march, arrived in the Puyang area on the north bank of the Yellow River, and were incorporated into the establishment of the East China Field Army Cadre School, which is also the principal, for intensive training and study. It is a place where all kinds of cadres from the party, government, military, culture and mass work are assembledMore than 20,000 people are a huge task force preparing to go south with the army to open up the new area and the Central Plains. According to the order of the principal**, these student cadres were organized into the 13th Independent Squadron, which was directly under the leadership of the school.
In June, with the rapid development of the war situation, the newly liberated areas continued to expand, and everyone was assigned work. The first batch was transferred to the East China Field Army and went with Chen Su's army. Some went to the Huaye Special Forces Unit, which had the most modern equipment at that time; Some went to the Wild Politics Art Troupe. The second group was transferred to the southern Shaanxi region and went with Chen Geng's corps. Most of these few are engaged in political or mass work. The third group was transferred to the Jianghan area and went with Liu Deng's army. This is the last group, and most of them are engaged in journalistic and propaganda work.
Excerpted from "Centennial Tide" Issue 3, 2023, Ran Zhong, Zhang Lan, Chu Zhen, Oral Narrative, Shi Jinping, Chen Lifen, Collation).