Chapter 1: Fury, Chapter 2: Fugitive
Summer 1938. In the Yunling Ink Garden in southern Anhui, where the headquarters of the New Fourth Army was located. Commander Ye Ting stood at the window, dressed in military uniform, his brow furrowed, gazing into the distance. It was after noon, and the beautiful summer scenery of the southern Anhui mountains unfolded before him: lush green hills, clear streams, luxuriant flowers and trees, and fields and paddies stretching out as far as the eye could see, all a vibrant green.
Although the sun was shining brightly outside, and the scenery was breathtaking, Ye Ting's heart remained shrouded in gloom. At the beginning of the year, more than 10,000 Red Army guerrilla fighters from various routes in Jiangnan had been ordered to gather for reorganization, with over 6,000 guns. Luo Zhuoying, who came to inspect them, stood with an air of authority, eyeing the group standing before him: their faces pale, clothes tattered, and firearms incomplete. Was this really the arch-nemesis that had made Chiang Kai-shek uneasy for so many years? Ha! Now that they were in our hands, they would have a good time to come.
This was not the case, however. The original application for the Second Division's Fourth Brigade and Eighth Regiment's organization and 180,000 yuan in mobilization fees and organizational expenses were not approved. After repeated efforts, the Military Affairs Ministry finally approved the establishment of four guerrilla columns with eight regiments, with a total monthly budget of only 65,000 yuan. At that time, the Nationalist Party's first-class, second-class, and third-class divisions had monthly allowances of 200,000, 150,000, and 100,000 yuan respectively. The New Fourth Army's four columns did not even receive the treatment of a third-rate division. An application for 10,000 sets of cotton military uniforms was also rejected, with the excuse that the New Fourth Army was engaged in guerrilla warfare and did not need uniforms. Even the allocation of ammunition was withheld because of a single typographical error in the New Fourth Army's report, resulting in the withholding of 500,000 rounds of ammunition. This was so outrageous that even the normally refined Ye Ting was furious.
Ye Ting endured the temper, and several times went to Chen Cheng, Gu Zhutong and others to negotiate. Zhou Enlai also mediated as the deputy head of the political department, and barely increased the monthly military expenses to 90,000 yuan. Other important military supplies such as uniforms, ammunition, medicine, etc., were still not available. A force of 10,000 people, let alone going to the front line to fight, the cost of military consumption, casualties, and medical treatment was a huge amount, and the monthly expenses of 90,000 yuan could not last for a few days. The whole army was struggling to make ends meet, and often couldn't even afford to cook meals. Fortunately, most of the officers and soldiers of the New Fourth Army came from the Red Army guerrilla teams, and they were used to the hardships of lack of food and clothing, and had few complaints. However, as a seasoned military leader who had experienced many battles and setbacks, and had broadened his horizons in Europe, what made him anxious day and night was not just the current difficulties, but the situation of the military department at present, and the strategic layout that concerned the life and death of the New Fourth Army. Without long-term planning, there will be near worries, and now it is necessary to plan and take action.
So he first went to Wuhan to apply for increased military funding and equipment, and used his resignation to pressure them into making concessions. The old masters of the Wuhan Military Commission pretended to be cooperative, playing a game of " Tai Chi", humming and hawing, which made Yeh Ting furious and helpless. Then he visited the CCP Yangtze Bureau and received a warm welcome. Yeh Ting proposed setting up an organization within the New Fourth Army to discuss and handle important military and political matters, and the Yangtze Bureau immediately sent a telegram to ask for instructions. A few days later, the Party Central Committee replied by telegram, approving the establishment of the "New Fourth Army Committee", with Zhou as director and Yeh as deputy director. Yeh Ting understood that this was the Center's intention to narrow the distance between him and Xiang Ying, but this still did not solve the problem of his direct participation in military department decision-making.
After returning empty-handed from Wuhan, Ye Ting deeply felt that it was difficult for him to fulfill his duties as a military commander and gradually lost interest. Just as he wanted to have a long talk with Comrade Xiang Ying and tell him that he didn't want to do it anymore, Xiang Ying received a notification from the Central Committee and left southern Anhui to attend the Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee in Yan'an, leaving Ye Ting in charge of the work. This made him feel even more neglected. Rather than being restricted in the rear, he might as well go to the front line to command battles early on.
Yeh Ting immediately summoned the director of the Political Department, Yuan Guoping, Deputy Chief of Staff Zhou Zikun, and Secretary General of the Military Department Li Yixiang, to explain his intentions in detail. The three men supplemented and perfected it, and on the spot they drafted a telegram to the Central Committee for instructions.
The enemy advanced along the river, and Anqing, Madang, and Jiujiang fell one after another. Wuhan was in a precarious situation. In order to expand our military influence, develop anti-Japanese armed forces, and pin down the enemy's attack, I decided to take advantage of the enemy's delay in arriving at Wuhan and establish a Field Command Headquarters and Political Department. I left Yun Yi in the Nanjing area to reorganize the troops, while I led the Chief of Staff with two regiments formed into a light mobile detachment to move forward and operate in the southern Jiangsu region.
After the telegram was sent, the staff began to formulate a plan for the eastern campaign, and as soon as the central reply arrived, it could be organized and implemented. Perhaps the Central Committee was busy convening the Sixth Plenary Session and had no time to spare; or perhaps the matter of the Eastern Expedition was too important and needed careful study, and also needed to be communicated with the Third War Zone. Waiting left and right, more than a dozen days passed, but still no reply from the Central Committee was seen. Ye Ting was anxious in his heart, had trouble sleeping and eating, and saw that the opportunity for battle was ahead, yet there was nothing he could do, it was really difficult! Was it true that this monk was not suitable to be the abbot of the New Fourth Army?
Just as Ye Ting was sighing and lamenting in front of the window, a sudden and urgent phone call interrupted his thoughts. Ye Ting quickly walked to the desk, grabbed the receiver, and listened - it was a call from Zhou Zikun. After hearing just a few sentences, Ye Ting's face suddenly changed, and he felt a sharp pain in his heart: How could such a thing happen? When did it occur? Why wasn't it reported in time? Ah, it has just been verified, too slow! Immediately send someone to bring them back, take my guard squad with you. The Battle of Wuhan is imminent, they are deserting the army before the battle, this is unacceptable, must be severely punished! After finishing speaking, he hung up the phone with a huff, and sat heavily in his chair, his face not recovering for a long time.
Just formed and already had a gun escape incident, all three are still regimental cadres. If this gets out, wouldn't it make people laugh their teeth off? For the New Fourth Army, no matter how difficult the situation is, no matter how rampant the enemy is, they can always find a way to deal with it. But internal discord, lax discipline, and wavering morale are extremely dangerous, as they can directly destroy an army.
Ye Ting, fully aware of the severity of the incident, immediately came to the adjacent combat conference room and issued three orders: Strictly control personnel from going out in the near future; All troops stationed near the military department strengthened their vigilance against the enemy; The three departments of the staff office did a good job in collecting and analyzing intelligence, and reported any situation immediately.
Ten days later. South of Anhui Province, by the Qingyi River.
Early in the morning, the sun had not yet risen from behind the mountains. The thin mist drifting from between the trees, mixed with the water vapor rising from the river, was like a white silk veil, lightly shrouding Zhangjiadu Port. The Thousand Feet Tower, built by the river, seemed to be half-floating in mid-air, as if it had not yet awakened from its night's sleep. The scenery appeared somewhat hazy.
Suddenly, a burst of tramping footsteps broke the silence of the wilderness. A team of New Fourth Army soldiers emerged from the sandy road on the south bank, numbering only a dozen or so, but each with robust physique, equipped with uniform carbines and bulging ammunition pouches on their chests, clearly an elite force. At this moment, they were covered in grime and fatigue etched on their faces, obviously having traversed mountains and valleys to arrive after a long journey.
Leading the team was Li Zhi Gao, head of the military reconnaissance department, who was tall and thin, in his early twenties. Like Ye Daozhi and others, he was also a Red Army Long March cadre sent from Yan'an. He was a rare talent with both literary and military skills, deeply respected by the military leaders. This time, he was ordered to lead the team to track down and finally successfully captured Ye Shouzhi and others who were fleeing with guns in the mountains near Jingdezhen, and is now being escorted back to Yunling Military Department to report.
The two people walking in the middle of the team were the two escaped soldiers who were caught this time. Walking a little further back was Xu Changsheng, the chief of staff of the Military Department's Special Operations Brigade, who was also Ye Shouzhi's fellow townsman and comrade-in-arms. The two men were about the same age, both under thirty years old. Xu Changsheng was robust in build and straightforward in temperament, and when fighting, he would not mind risking his life. He was known as "Desperate Third Son" in the Fourth Route Army. Before going to Yan'an Anti-Japanese University for study, he had been the deputy regimental commander of the Red 31st Regiment. After coming to the New Fourth Army, he was assigned to be a staff officer in the Special Operations Brigade.
Xu Changsheng was a straight shooter, and behind Chen Wu's back, he whispered about this matter, feeling very indignant for Ye Shilong. Unexpectedly, their complaints fell into someone else's ears, who added fuel to the fire and reported it upwards, saying that Ye Shouzhi and these cadres from the Fourth Route Army had complex thoughts and impure motives, and were seriously dissatisfied with their job arrangements. As a result, the Political Department issued an order, transferring Ye Shouzhi out of the combat troops, first putting him on the "cold bench" at the military department for a while, and then arranging for him to become the regiment commander of the Special Operations Regiment.
Xu Changsheng and Chen Wuhua felt that something was amiss, so they instigated Ye Shouzhi to leave without saying goodbye, returning to work for the Eighth Route Army. Ye Shouzhi had already intended to do this, nodding in agreement. As a result, there was the previous scene of the three men carrying guns and walking out in a dramatic fashion.
Xu Changsheng dragged his feet, walking while recalling the scene when they were just intercepted by the military pursuers, still feeling frightened. Li Zhihao led the pursuing soldiers to surround them and shouted at the three: "All of you, stand still! Under the order of the military commander, I'm here to capture you three deserters!" Xu Changsheng's temper flared up: "Who are deserters? We're not going back!" Before he finished speaking, Li Zhihao drew his gun and fired. Ye Shouzhi quickly pushed Xu Changsheng out of the way, avoiding the danger, as the bullet narrowly missed Xu Changsheng's head. This was clearly an attempt to kill them. Ye Shouzhi angrily shouted: "How dare you shoot at your own people? Who gave you the authority?" Li Zhihao showed no weakness: "I'm under orders to capture, and I'll shoot dead anyone who resists!" Ye Shouzhi swiftly moved his body, and before Li Zhihao came to his senses, he disarmed him of his handgun and accurately returned it to its holster with a brush.
What a beautiful empty-handed gun grab! Li Zhi Gao was shocked. Ye Shouzhong took a step back, and in a low voice said: "Put away your guns, guns are for dealing with the enemy. I'll go back with you all, let them go." Chen Wuhuo became anxious: "Commander, we can't go back, absolutely not!" Xu Changsheng shouted with his neck stiffened: "If we leave, we leave together, how can we abandon you?" Ye Shouzhong glared at the two of them fiercely, and with a sudden wave of his hand: "Still not leaving quickly?!" Chen Wuhuo saw that things had come to this, and suddenly gave Ye Shouzhong a military salute, turned around and ran swiftly.
Li Zhi Gao had not yet recovered from the shock of what had just happened, and he stood there in a daze, watching as Chen Wu He's figure disappeared into the forest. In fact, he also understood that if they really wanted to take action, he would have been the first to fall earlier. If they ran, then so be it, as long as Ye Shou Zhi didn't run, that was all that mattered.
Ye Shouzhong, walking in the team, had a sturdy build and steady steps. His dark face was full of determination. However, his heart was turbulent at this moment: seeing the pursuing soldiers coming so quickly with such ferocity, this matter seemed to have gotten out of hand.
At the beginning of the year, from Yan'an to Yunling in the south, when passing through Wuhan, the Yangtze Bureau informed everyone that Zhang Guotao had defected and betrayed, asking us people from the Fourth Front Army to stand firm and draw a clear line. Ye Shouzhi was the secretary of the temporary party branch of the cadres who went south from Yan'an, and he specially convened a branch meeting to organize everyone to criticize Zhang Guotao, and one by one expressed their political attitude. Zhang Guotao really harmed people, harming us people from the Fourth Front Army, making us lose face in Yan'an, and even unable to lift our heads when we arrived at Yunling. It's true that "when the commander is not clear, the soldiers suffer".
Just as Ye Shouzhong was feeling anxious, someone at the front of the team shouted that Zhangjiadu had arrived. Zhangjiadu is an important ferry terminal in Qingyi River, Jin County, where the military department has set up a general station. Originally, there was a pontoon bridge at the crossing, but last month's continuous heavy rain caused the river to surge and destroy the pontoon bridge, now people can only cross by boat.
Standing by the river, Ye Shouzhi gazed at the turbulent current, and glanced at Xu Changsheng beside him. His mind was also surging like the river water: This trip back seems to be fraught with danger, even if there's a catastrophic disaster, I'll take it upon myself to bear it, no matter what, I must ensure Old Xu's safety.
Little did he know that Xu Changsheng was also thinking the same way as Ye Shouzhong at this time: no matter what, he had to protect Old Ye's safety. After all, we are fellow countrymen and comrades-in-arms.
