Preface
Red 25th Army was originally affiliated with Red 4th Front Army . In October 1932, after the main force of the Red Fourth Front Army evacuated the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Soviet Area and moved to the Sichuan-Shaanxi border, the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China will remain in the Soviet Area and rebuild the Red 25th Army. Due to the age of time, a lot of information about the Red 25th Army is gone. did not expect that decades later, descendants of two families found precious information about the Red 25th Army from their own walls. One of them was even more precious than the one stored in the Central Archives of .
front row starts right: Xu Haidong and Zheng Weisan; back row starts right: Chen Xianrui, Cheng Zihua, Li Longgui
Secrets in the cracks of the wall of the Ruan family’s old house
In October 1980, when Ruan Banzhu, a teacher at Miaogouan Primary School in Yuanjiagoukou Township, Shanyang County, Shaanxi Province was repairing his old house, his mother told him: "When your father was alive, he said something was wrong in the cracks of the wall at the other end of the beam of the burden in the room, and it was not touching."
Ruan Banzhu carefully reached into the cracks of the wall to touch it, and finally found a bullet shell and a yellow paper note. The note is about 20, and there are some traditional characters written on it. Due to the long-term and dust and misty, it is a little blurred. He suddenly remembered that when he followed his father up the mountain to collect firewood seven or eight years ago, his father had climbed to a dangerous cliff, brought a rusted gun and a bullet from a hidden place, and took out a roll of yellow paper tube stacked into inches of inch long from a bullet, opened it and watched it for a long time. His father burst into tears at that time.
So, Ruan Banzhu concluded that this was the note brought back by his father, and guessed that it might be a souvenir left by his grandfather. Just carefully clip it in a notebook and save it properly.
In October 1983, Jiang Tianbo, the head of the township central primary school, went to the primary school where Ruan Banzhu was inspecting the work, and talked with Ruan Banzhu about his grandfather's affairs. It turns out that Ruan Banzhu’s grandfather Ruan Yinghao was once one of the leaders of the Big Sword Association, the Organisation of the Yuanjiagoukou altar.
Chinese Workers and Peasants Red Army Long March Roadmap
In December 1934, the 25th Army of the Chinese Workers and Peasants Red Army entered Shaanxi in the Long March. Under the leadership of the newly established Central Hubei, Henan and Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee, the struggle to create an Hubei, Henan and Shaanxi revolutionary base area with Shangluo as the center. Yuanjiagoukou Dashaohui was incorporated into the Fourth Route Guerrilla Division under the leadership of the Hubei-Shaanxi Special Committee of the Communist Party of China, and actively participated in the struggle to create a base. In the information obtained at that time, the revolutionary base in Hubei, Henan and Shaanxi established three-level Soviet governments at the county, district and township levels. Yuanjiagoukou is the hinterland and consolidation area of the base area. The district Soviet government was established earlier. Chairman Cheng Jiasheng and Vice Chairman Ruan Yinghao are all locals.
However, as the data investigation continues to deepen, there are great differences on the issue of whether has a higher level of Soviet regime above the county, and it cannot be confirmed because there is no basis.
This conversation reminded Ruan Banzhu of the note his father collected in the crack of the wall. In order to find out the truth, he invited Cheng Xianzheng, the son of the Cheng family martyr. Cheng Xianzheng has read ancient books and knows traditional Chinese characters, and has a little impression of what happened back then. He carefully wiped away the dust from the note and finally recognized the words above.
That is Cheng Jiasheng's handwriting, the content is:
Vice Chairman Ruan Yinghao
This office decided that you would transfer the things from Jiujianfang No. 1 library to the Hongyan Temple Five-Star Preparation Office, hereby prove it.
Chairman Cheng Jiasheng
May 3, 1935
The precious thing about this piece is the square red seal stamp on the top. The nine vermilion seals are: "European Government of the Hubei-Shaanxi Border Region."
Cheng Jiasheng
Because the original paper is very poor, over the years, a piece of the upper left corner has been damaged, and there are several worn holes. Ruan Banzhu then pasted it on a piece of paper with paste. , but when it was placed next to the kerosene lamp and dried, accidentally burned the two words "E-Shaanxi" in the seal, resulting in the incomplete impression, leaving endless regrets.
According to the investigation, the "European Border Region Soviet Government" was originally square copper and has always been in charge of Chairman Cheng Jiasheng himself. In the spring of 1936, the situation in the base area deteriorated, and Cheng Jiasheng handed over the copper seal to his wife Ni Shilian for preservation before being arrested. Ni Shilian went through a lot of hardships to preserve the copper seal and handed it over to the People's Government after liberation. However, after being sent to the provincial exhibition in 1952, the copper seal stained with the blood of the Cheng family martyr disappeared, and after many searches, there was no result. Now, the impression on this official letter has become the only strong basis for proving that the highest Soviet government in the Hubei-Henan-Shaanxi Revolutionary Base Area, the Hubei-Shaanxi Border Region Soviet Government, did exist and carried out work. This is of great value for the research on the Hubei-Henan-Shaanxi Revolutionary Base Area and even the revolutionary base areas during the Agrarian Revolutionary War.
Mortals Monument to Martyrs in Yuanjiagoukou Village, Shanyang County
Two precious notices
Coincidentally, In 1983, Chen Bingsheng, an employee of Zhen'an County Catering Service Company, remembered that before his father passed away, he solemnly told that one day if he wanted to renovate or demolish an old house, other places could be invited to demolish it, but the back wall should not be moved by outsiders, and he had to do it himself. Chen Bingsheng guessed that his father might have something important hidden in the wall, so he abides by his father's last words and demolished them by himself.
Finally, Chen Bingsheng found a small paper bag in a crack in a wall. When he expanded it, he found that there were two notices. First, the "Letter from the 25th Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army to the masses for occupying Zhen'an County", and the "Notice of the Headquarters and Political Department of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army to the North to the Anti-Japanese Advance Team-On Commercial Policy Issues". Both notices are mimeographed and printed on blue paper about 16-open size.
The announcement on "On Commercial Policy Issues" was published on December 20, 1934, on the 12th day of the Long March of the Red 25th Army entering Shaanxi. At that time, the 25th Red Army was advancing to Dihua Town, which is now in Danfeng County. Dihua is the Shangluochuan Road area, with fertile land and densely populated people, and business was once prosperous. However, due to the reactionary propaganda of the Kuomintang authorities, most of the people who did not understand the truth were scared away, which "caused business stagnation, businessmen suffered losses, and it was inconvenient for the masses to sell firewood and buy salt." The announcement on the Issues of Business Policy was born under this circumstances.
"Notice of the Political Department of the Headquarters of the Advance Team of the Chinese Workers and Peasants' Red Army to the North - On Commercial Policy Issues"
notice pointed out: "I hope that all merchants will be at peace with their own business, and do not believe in rumors." It stated that "the principle of Soviet commercial policy is to ensure freedom of trade, oppose profiteers, cancel all taxes and likin checkpoints, and implement a unified progressive tax ." It stated that "Any shops that do not participate in the counter-revolution (even if they are landlords) can abide by the Soviet laws, they will still ensure that they continue to operate." "Any business that does not participate in the counter-revolution will be allowed to transport and walk within the territory of the Red Army's operation." The notice is divided into seven articles, which specifically implements the spirit of the Provincial Party Committee Yujiahe Conference, and plays an important role in opening new areas, stabilizing the hearts of the people, and promoting material exchanges.
In the previous research on the combat history and party history of the Red 25th Army, the order of signatures and positions of the announcement on February 5, 1935 were based on: Army Commander Cheng Zihua, Political Commissar Wu Huanxian, Deputy Commander Xu Haidong, and Political Director Zheng Weisan. The notice found in Zhen'an County was one and a half months in advance, and was signed as: Commander Cheng Zihua, Deputy Commander Xu Haidong, Political Commissar Wu Huanxian, and Political Director Zheng Weisan. It was completely released in the name of the North-bound Anti-Japanese Advance Team. This makes this notice more precious than the one stored in the Central Archives.
"Letter to the masses for occupying Zhen'an County"
On January 9, 1935, the day when the Red 25th Army occupied the county town of Zhen'an, the "Letter to the masses for occupying Zhen'an County" was released. It announced: "The Red Army has occupied Zhen'an County, defeated the Jin'an County Government of the Kuomintang that oppressed and exploited our poor, and overthrew the base camp of the gentry and landlords who massacred and destroyed our! In the past, the world where the great men regarded the poor as cattle and horses is almost over.At present, we poor guys have embarked on the road of light. Let’s get up and create a world for us poor people! "
"Letter to the masses" After sending out seven specific calls to the people, it eagerly called on the workers, peasants and working people to unite quickly and "establish a government for the poor and create a Zhen'an County for the workers, peasants and poor people! "
While publishing the "Letter to the Mass", the 25th Red Army also posted the notice of "On Commercial Policy Issues" into Zhen'an County. These two documents complement each other, widely publicized the spirit of the provincial party committee meeting, and played a very important role in the struggle to create the revolutionary base in Hubei, Henan and Shaanxi.
The monument of the Red Army occupying Zhen'an County
The old house of Chen Bingsheng's family is located in the back street of Zhen'an County. His father seemed to be a visionary person, and he put these two A precious document was collected in the crack of the wall, allowing it to avoid the shadow of long-term wars and white terror, and was preserved intact, becoming a very precious material for revolutionary cultural relics, playing an important role in the study of party and military history.
The collectors of these revolutionary historical relics are not famous or profitable, and risk their lives to leave extremely precious historical evidence for future generations. Their descendants selflessly handed it over to the local people's government and the party history research department, making it play their full role. Their spirit is also worth learning from for our collection enthusiasts!
