Without Chen Youcai, I am afraid that Zhou Enlai would have died in 1937. Zhou Enlai always kept this in mind and never forgot Chen Youcai. Zhou Enlai always carried a photo with him. On the back of the photo was written "Laoshan was in danger, only four people survived." .
The "Laoshan Distress" caused a sensation throughout the country at the time. It was another major event after the " Xi'an Incident". Through Zhou Enlai's mediation, the "Xi'an Incident" was peacefully resolved, and the Kuomintang and the Communist Party achieved the second cooperation. The Red Army was adapted into The 18th Group Army, also known as the "Eighth Route Army".
and with the permission of Chiang Kai-shek , it had offices in Xi'an, Lanzhou and Wuhan. In early June 1937, Zhou Enlai and his party of more than 30 people traveled to Nanjing in three cars to negotiate cooperation issues with the Kuomintang personnel. , this trip is fully prepared.
At that time, Zhou Enlai was the plenipotentiary representative. He was accompanied by Zhang Yunyi, deputy chief of staff of the Red Army, Kong Shiquan, head of the Military Commission Staff Office, and Chen Youcai, Zhou Enlai's personal guard. There was a squad of guard soldiers, all of whom were selected from the guard regiment. Individual warriors are equipped with short guns, grenades and broadswords.
Zhou Enlai and Chen Youcai were sitting in the second car together. It can be seen from this that Chen Youcai and Zhou Enlai were very close. Chen Youcai was from Chenxian County, Hunan Province. He participated in the Shonan Uprising and later followed Zhu De to Jinggangshan. , he worked as a guard next to Chairman Mao on Jinggang Mountain.
Later Chen Youcai followed the main force on the Long March . On the Long March, in June 1935, Zhou Enlai fell ill while crossing the grass . Chairman Mao sent him to take care of Zhou Enlai. Under difficult conditions, he tried his best to take care of Zhou Enlai. , ensuring Zhou Enlai's safe arrival in northern Shaanxi.
In February 1936, Chen Youcai was transferred to Zhou Enlai's security staff. After that, he followed Zhou Enlai and protected Zhou Enlai many times. Once he was injured, but Zhou Enlai was unscathed. Later, when Zhou Enlai went to Xi'an to solve the problem, Chen Youcai also followed and protected him.
Since his figure and face shape were similar to Zhou Enlai's, he often wore the same coat or coat as Zhou Enlai to confuse the spies. This time he accompanied Zhou Enlai to Nanjing. Chen Youcai changed into a suit before departure, while Zhou Enlai wore a military uniform. .
Chen Youcai and Zhou Enlai were sitting in the second car together, but Zhou Enlai was sitting in the passenger seat, and Chen Youcai was sitting in the "leader" position in the back. These careful arrangements were not in vain. Unexpectedly, the convoy drove to the territory of Ganquan. There was an accident in the mountain, just over 3 hours before departure.
At a mountain col, the first vehicle was attacked. A salvo of bullets immediately knocked the first vehicle out of control. The vehicle crashed into the mountain wall. The guards on the vehicle fought back bravely, but soon Zhou Enlai and Chen Youcai jumped out of the car and used the car as a cover to conduct command.
After observation, Chen Youcai discovered that the mountains to the southeast could be used to break out and retreat. Chen Youcai then asked soldiers to cover the retreat of Zhou Enlai, Zhang Yunyi and others. Chen Youcai stayed to command the resistance. Seeing that Chen Youcai was wearing a suit and commanding calmly, the enemy who attacked by surprise concluded that he was Zhou Enlai. .
then concentrated fire and shot in the direction of Chen Youcai, regardless of others. It was in this way that Chen Youcai delayed the opportunity for Zhou Enlai and others to break out. In the end, Zhou Enlai, Zhang Yunyi, Kong Shiquan and Liu Jiuzhou broke out and arrived at a place thirty miles away. military depot.
Chen Youcai and more than ten soldiers who stayed behind to resist died. The enemy took away a photo of Zhou Enlai that Chen Youcai was carrying and stabbed his body more than 20 times. They mistakenly thought that they were done and left. Zhou Enlai followed the rescue cavalry company back to the scene of the incident.
After seeing Chen Youcai's body, Zhou Enlai couldn't help but burst into tears and said: "You are the one who sacrificed for me, Zhou Enlai!" Afterwards, a memorial service was held for Chen Youcai and others in Yan'an . Zhang Yunyi delivered a eulogy for him, and Zhou Enlai specially Wreaths were sent.
In 1973, when Zhou Enlai returned to Yan'an in his later years, he wanted to pay homage to Chen Youcai. He learned that Chen Youcai's tomb had been destroyed by Hu Zongnan. When he left, Zhou Enlai told him, "We must find the tomb of martyr Chen Youcai."
