The Choice: Locating the Revolutionary Deeds in the Taihang Mountains

The Choice： Locating the"Revolutionary Deeds in"the Taihang Mountains

Miao Junqing， An Zhiwei， Yang Binqing （chief editors）

Shanxi Education Press

July 2021

36.00 （CNY）

In the years when the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression raged， on all over China， the people in the old district of Wuxiang， Shanxi Province， partook in many tragic and heroic stories. Fighting the Japanese invaders， supporting the frontline， delivering intelligence， rescuing the wounded， nurturing the next generation of revolutionaries... In a time of national crisis， members of the CPC， militia members， model workers， and millions of ordinary people in Wuxiang sacrificed their blood and lives to offer a sad yet inspiring answer to their motherland. The admiring authors of this book visited the majestic Taihang Mountains and those who experienced and knew of the past， writing moving stories of the Reds， vividly interpreting “the people’s choice” ---" the Chinese Communist Party is rooted in the people， and so are its bloodline and its strength; the people have no complaints or regret in trusting， supporting， and following the CPC， as they write these soul-stirring chapters filled with heroic stories.

Miao Junqing

Chief Editor of Learning Weekly， Taiyuan， Shanxi Province.

Old Liang’s hometown is the Village of Zifangmiao， Hanbei Township， Wuxiang County， Shanxi Province—dozens of kilometers away from the county seat. It takes an hour to drive there， and more than two hours to visit the graves and talk to the village folks. Old Liang was anxiously taking note of the time， because something was bothering him. There was someone constantly in his heart. He wanted to take soup to that person， a bowl of hot soup.

Old Liang respectfully called that man in his heart Old Lei. He was a martyr of the Eighth Route Army. In Old Liang’s heart， Old Lei is family， a relative. At the request of his grandparents and parents， he is to take soup to the man’s grave—something he has had to do as long as he has remembered on Tomb-sweeping Day and the first day of the tenth lunar month each year.

When he was a child， Old Liang used to hear stories about the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression told by village elders. Of these many stories， the one he most vividly remembered was the Battle of Guanjia’nao. The three-day battle was horrendous， heroic， and tragic.

A few dusty mounds away， north of the Village of Zifangmiao， is the Village of Guanjia’nao， where the battle took place. At the beginning of October 1940， the famous Hundred Regiments Offensive which shocked both China and abroad was won. The Japanese army suffered heavy losses in Northern China due to the continuous large-scale raids and attacks of the Eighth Route Army. After the defeat， starting from October 6， the Japanese army carried out a series of frantic， retaliatory “exterminations” against the anti-Japanese base in the Taihang Mountains. Their tactics were extremely cruel—burning， killing， and looting everywhere， in a “scorched-earth policy”.

The cruelty and tyranny of the Japanese army aroused the anger and hatred of Peng Dehuai， Zuo Quan， and other leaders of the Eighth Route Army. They secretly resolved to fight one or two big battles to annihilate the advancing enemy and combat its arrogance.

On October 28， the 800-strong Okazaki Brigade belonging to the 36th Division of the Japanese army failed to destroy the Huangyadong Arsenal at the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army. They retreated to Wuxiang County， around the village of Guanjia’nao near Panlong Town， ready to take Wuxiang and pull back to Qin County.

It was just after the Battle of Yuliao. The 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army happened to be near Panlong Town， resting. The unavoidable confrontation deep in the Taihang Mountains at the Village of Guanjia’nao will be permanently recorded in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression annals of the Eighth Route Army.

A life-and-death battle took place in this small village， written with the blood of sacrificed soldiers and civilians. They would never let the Okazaki Brigade retreat to their base！ They must destroy the Okazaki Brigade！

In the afternoon of October 29， Peng Dehuai rushed from Licheng to the Village of Shimen， Panlong Town， Wuxiang County. Together with Zuo Quan， the Commander of the 129th Division Liu Bocheng， and Political Commissar Deng Xiaoping， he drew up the specific battle plan and sat personally in command of the battle.

The Village of Guanjia’nao is located 6.5 kilometers north of Zhuanbi Village， the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army in Panlong Town， Wuxiang County. With rolling hills and ravines， Guanjia’nao is a high hillock surrounded by mountains. The top of the hill is a several-hundred-square-meter plateau， suitable for mustering troops. There is a steep cliff to the north and a deep gully below， with steeper slopes on the east and west sides. Opposite Guanjia’nao to the south is a higher hillock called Liushu’nao， nao， which sandwiched the area with Guanjia’nao. The road to Guanjia’nao can be controlled from Liushu’nao using heavy firepower. After occupying Guanjia’nao， the Okazaki Brigade spent the night digging tunnels and building fortifications in the two hillocks. At the same time， they broke down the village construction walls partitioning the house caves and made the place a base for machine guns. Each house cave made up an independent firing point， with other house caves forming a cross-fire network covering one another. Trenches were dug in front of the machine guns and the fortifications outside the caves， forming a circular combat defense connecting the caves and the outer and inner areas. The Japanese also set up several machine guns on the plateau on atop Guanjia’nao. Due to their favorable terrain positions， the Japanese formed a dense firing network between Guanjia’nao and Liushu’nao.

By then， Guanjia’nao had become an easy place to defend and a difficult place to attack.

On the night of the 29th， the battle was launched by the 385th Brigade of the 129th Division and the 10th New Brigade under the command of Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping， the 386th Brigade of the 129th Division and the 25th and 38th Regiments of the First Death Squad under Chen Geng， and the Special Service Headquarters Regiment and Mountain Artillery Company of the Artillery Regiment under Peng Dehuai’s personal command.

Only the southern slope of the entire Guanjia’nao plateau is relatively gentle and can be used to launch attacks. Since the mountain road is very narrow， an effective offensive cannot be launched using a large number of troops. From the night of the 29th to that of the 30th， there were constant attacks and counterattacks on the Guanjia’nao plateau. The battle was locked in a stalemate. The Japanese， due to their favorable terrain on higher ground， defended stubbornly. On the morning of the 30th， at about 9 a.m.， a few Japanese aircraft arrived in reinforcement， bombing our army madly.

At that time， there was continuous air and ground artillery and gunfire on the small Guanjia’nao plateau， with yellow earth flying everywhere. Two days and two nights of fierce， extremely gruesome battle followed. After the Eighth Route Army captured Guanjia’nao， the wounded were quickly sent to the Nanweiquan Hospital in Licheng. The wounded who could not be transported over long distances were put up temporarily in villages en route for emergency treatment. Old Lei， the man on Old Liang’s mind， was one of them.

“The young men were so badly wounded that they would break your heart... ” Old Liang remembered his grandparents always shedding tears whenever they talked about that memory.

During the war， one must definitely pass through Zifangmiao Village in Hanbei Township， where Old Liang’s family is located， when traveling from Wuxiang to Licheng. Old Lei was very badly wounded when placed in his home. He had five or six wounds on his body oozing large amounts of blood. His face was pale and waxy， and his entire body extremely tired and weak.

During that time， the villages were ravaged by war， and medical conditions were very poor. There were many herbs growing in the local hills， so Old Liang’s grandfather went to pick some forsythia， Chinese goldthreads， bupleurum， and dandelions. Old Liang’s grandmother used a native rural method to treat the wounds of the Eighth Route Army soldier， carefully picking out Sichuan pepper plants with leaves， rinsing them in a sieve， and decocting them to wash his wounds. She carefully uncovered the clothes stuck to Old Lei’s wounds and put the man in her son’s clean clothes. She washed and pounded dandelion and applied it to Old Lei’s wounds， carefully brewing a Chinese herbal soup to clear up and soothe inflammation， feeding it to Old Lei thrice a day.

The days the Eighth Route Army soldier Lao Lei spent recovering from his wounds were ones that the Liang family would never forget.

Winters in the Taihang Mountains are arid and cold. Dripping water will freeze into ice. In the house cave， Grandfather collected firewood and heated up the earthen kang （a heatable brick bed in North China）. During the day， Grandmother would feed Old Lei medicine and food， change his herbal dressings and clean his wounds. Old Liang’s father would keep the soldier company through the night. The family took good care of Old Lei. Talking to him， they learned that the Eighth Route Army soldier came from Hui County， Henan Province， and was around the same age as Old Liang’s father. That cold winter， they lived like one family， a simple household in the Taihang Mountains. Old Lei called the grandparents “Uncle” and “Auntie”， and Old Liang’s father “Second Brother”.

Unfortunately， the family could not save Old Lei’s life in the end， and he died on a winter night in the 12th lunar month of 1940. After three months of constant care， he had become a member of the Liang family. The grandparents had treated him like he was their own son. As they watched helplessly the young man died， the Liang family was overcome with inconsolable grief. Grandma wept hoarsely and uncontrollably. After reporting his death to the village office， they buried Old Lei by the Dashan’er Wall in the village.

Since then， on each Tomb-sweeping Day and the first day of the tenth lunar month， when the members of the Liang family sweep their ancestors’ tombs， they will definitely visit that grave at Dashan’er.

Old Liang remembered one of his earliest memories as a boy， following his grandfather and father to the grave for the first time. When they came to Old Lei’s grave， his grandfather made him kneel and kowtow， reminding him： “Child， when you grow up， don’t forget to offer incense to your Uncle Lei and bring him soup whenever you visit the graves！”