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One day in 1936, when Chairman Mao was experiencing the people's conditions in Yan'an City, he found several children from the Children's League quarreling with another child in front of the gate of an agency.
It turned out that the child insisted that he was a Red Army soldier who came to deliver the letter, but the children's group on guard did not believe what he said, so he refused to let him in, so he started arguing.
After Chairman Mao learned about the situation, he also said to the child skeptically: "You have to tell evidence when speaking and doing things. If you say you are a Red Army soldier, who can prove it?"
As a result, the child said with confidence: "I am a Red Army soldier. I have also participated in Long March , and my uncle can prove it!"
Chairman Mao patiently asked, "Who is your uncle?" The child replied loudly: "My uncle is He Long!" Chairman Mao suddenly thought of something and hurriedly asked his name.
"My name is Xiang Xuan !"
"So it's you, you stubborn!"
Then Chairman Mao turned around and said to the children of the Children's League, "What he said is true, I can prove it."
What is Xiang Xuan's identity? Why has even Chairman Mao heard of his "big name"? Has he really participated in the Long March? What is his relationship with He Long?
Revolutionary families have been tempered by many, and their aunts all died and became orphans
1926, Xiang Xuan was born in a revolutionary family in Hunan. His biological mother was named He Mangu, who was known as the earliest female military cadre in the western Hunan-Hubei base area.
His aunt is named He Ying, known as "Double Gun He Female Hero". He is the founder of the famous Honghu Red Guards; his cousin is the founding lieutenant general with the highest position - Liao Hansheng; , and his uncle is He Long, one of the top ten marshals.
Growing up in such a revolutionary family, Xiang Xuan's life when he was a child would naturally not be peaceful and comfortable. When Xiang Xuan was one year old, his mother He Mangu and his aunt He Ying brought up local guerrillas in their hometown of Sang Zhi.
, and his uncle He Long even put the high-ranking official of the Kuomintang, Hou Mu, and decisively led his troops to join Nanchang Uprising . After the failure of the Nanchang Uprising, He Long was ordered to return to Hunan, sneak back to his hometown, recruit troops again, and form a revolutionary army of workers and peasants.
At that time, He Ying and He Mangu's guerrillas had grown to more than 2,000, but in order to support He Long's revolutionary cause, they resolutely handed over all their troops to He Long.
and these men later became the basis of Red Second Legion . He Long and these men launched the New Year's Eve riots and the Xiangxi Uprising, and finally opened up the revolutionary base in western Hunan and Hubei.
But He Mangu was eventually besieged by the enemy at the home of Sangzhi Taozixi because of his empty troops.
He Mangu struggled to break through, but was unfortunately arrested in the end. Xiang Xuan was not yet two years old and was still in his infancy, but the cruel Kuomintang still arrested him in prison.
After Xiang Xuan's aunt He Ying learned the news, she was anxious and dealt with everywhere. Finally, she raised money to buy the prison guards, trying to save the mother and son from prison.
But the guard did not dare to let He Mangu privately escape. In desperation, He Ying could only rescue Xiang Xuan, who was already dying.
After Xiang Xuan was rescued, the Kuomintang was so angry that he tortured He Mangu and forced her to tell him about the whereabouts of He Long and He Ying, but she would rather die than surrender and never confessed to the Kuomintang.
He Mangu
Finally, the Kuomintang, who had no choice but to threaten He Mangu to punish her with Lingchi, but she still refused to surrender and calmly walked onto the execution ground.
On the execution ground, the enemy cut her a piece of meat, and she shouted: "Down with local tyrants and evil gentry." Until the last moment, she did not shed a single tear.
After He Mangu died, He Ying brought Xiang Xuan to his side and took him around to fight guerrilla warfare.But Xiang Xuan is a child under two years old after all. Even if he is well-behaved, he will cry from time to time.
The guerrillas at that time were very difficult, and there was no way to buy Xiang Xuan any decent toys. He Ying could only let him play with his pistol that had been retracted. After a while, Xiang Xuan was fascinated by shooting.
At the beginning, he just gestured with an empty pistol, but later he developed to stealing He Ying's loaded shell gun to practice.
After He Ying learned of the situation, he was not allowed to play with guns again, but when he encountered a battle, he would give him the guns to let him defend himself. is like this. Xiang Xuan was less than five years old and had mastered his skills in shooting skills.
is by He Ying's side. Although Xiang Xuan has a hard life, he is also considered happy and warm. But the good times didn't last long, and He Ying's guerrillas were betrayed by the traitors.
One night in May 1933, He Ying was about to coax Xiangxuan to bed when she heard a burst of rapid gunfire. She immediately realized that the guerrillas might have been exposed.
She first asked Xiang Xuan to hide in the cellar under the floor, and then immediately summoned the guerrillas to guard the main gate first, and at the same time arranged for the wounded and sick and their families to quickly retreat from the back gate.
But just when the breakthrough was about to succeed, He Ying was unfortunately bombed by a bomb.
Xiang Xuan hurriedly ran out to check it out after hearing the explosion. When he found that He Ying's stomach was blown open and his intestines were flowing all over the floor, he was so scared that he cried loudly.
At this time, He Ying calmly comforted him and said: "Don't cry, go find the Red Army, go find my uncle!"
Then, she took out five silver dollars from her arms and told Xiang Xuan to give it to He Long as the military expenses of the Red Army.
After a while, Liao Hansheng, the son-in-law of He Ying and the deputy captain of the guerrillas, also rushed over and wanted to stay at the scene to cover her evacuation, but He Ying insisted on saying to Liao Hansheng: "You go quickly, I will cover!"
Liao Hansheng had no choice but to take Xiang Xuan to retreat first.
After Xiang Xuan and the others retreated, He Ying still dealt with the enemy with pain for a long time, but eventually died of excessive blood loss.
Later, the enemy attacked the room. After seeing He Ying lying on the ground, no one dared to check it out, which shows how strong He Ying's shock is.
Later they found out that He Ying had indeed sacrificed, so they took on the "Ying Dilemma" again and cruelly divided her body into pieces and hung it outside several city gates to show public.
Because He Ying dragged the enemy, Xiang Xuan and the others' evacuation went smoothly, but even so, Xiang Xuan was still injured by a bomb and almost lost his life.
Finally, under the care of Liao Hansheng, he successfully returned to Mashui, where the Helong headquarters was located, and met his uncle He Long.
was only seven years old and became the Red Army. After the Long March was less than nine years old, Xiang Xuan fell into his arms with a "wow" sound and handed over the five silver dollars that He Ying ordered to die to He Long.
He Long was also very sad, but in front of the child, he still held back his tears and comforted Xiang Xuan with a spirit of gratitude: "Follow your uncle to be a Red Army, do the revolution, and avenge your aunt, your mother and others!"
From then on, Xiang Xuan, who was less than seven years old, officially joined the Red Army and worked as an communication soldier in He Long's headquarters.
At that time, the communication class took in many orphans of martyrs like Xiang Xuan. He Long called them the red ghost, but Xiang Xuan was the youngest and the hardest "backstage".
However, Xiang Xuan did not receive any care or preferential treatment because of this. is still the same as other children. He still does everything he sends letters, sends orders, and stands guard, and he can't miss it.
Xiang Xuan was tortured at a young age, so he was more mature and sensible than ordinary children. He never took advantage of being He Long's nephew and was cheating on his own. Instead, he took the lead in everything and took the lead.
When children over 10 years old in the army were on duty, they had to work in shifts of one person, while children under 10 years old could work in shifts of three persons.
At that time, Xiang Xuan was only 8 years old, but he took the initiative to follow the children over 10 years old and insisted on standing one shift one by one. , because of her modesty and low-key performance, Xiang Xuan became the deputy squad leader of the communications class in less than a year.
But shortly after he became the squad leader, news came that the fifth anti-encirclement and suppression of the Central Soviet Area had failed. The First Red Army was forced to start the 25,000-mile Long March.
He Long first led the Red Second Front Army to launch the Xiangxi offensive, successfully covering the Long March break through on the Red First side. Then, according to the central order, he also led his troops to embark on the Long March.
At that time, someone suggested keeping the children in the communication class locally, but He Long was worried about their safety and insisted on letting the large army take them with him, so Xiang Xuan became the youngest soldier on the Long March.
In order to take care of these red ghosts, He Long specially gave up his horse to them and asked them to ride for a while in rotation and walk for a while.
, Xiang Xuan always takes the initiative to give the horse to other children first. He usually uses steps as a car. If he really can't walk, he will ride the horse for a while. After he has enough rest, he will immediately give it to others.
The biggest difficulty on the Long March was the lack of food, but the vanguard troops could at least find some wild grass and fruits along the way, but He Long's troops set out the last. When they set off, there were almost no grass roots left along the way.
Although Xiang Xuan is still a child, he can only share the joys and sorrows with adults.
But he didn't complain. Whenever the team was having a picnic, he took the initiative to help the kitchen, sweeping the floor and picking vegetables, running around and running around. When the team started eating, he did not compete or compete, let alone eat more. Xiang Xuan recalled in his later years:
"Although the Long March was very hard and there were many sacrifices, everyone always had a belief, a belief that they had to go on anyway. I was the same."
In addition to doing a good job as a communication soldier, whenever they went to a town, Xiang Xuan would also wear his beloved military cap, put on his huge old military uniform, and go to the market to be a "expanding red" propagandist.
Because he is a baby Red Army, it is particularly eye-catching and the mobilization effect is surprisingly good, so he gained almost every time. Once, one person actually mobilized 37 people.
Although Xiang Xuan is very sensible, he has also been seriously criticized by He Long.
Once, Xiang Xuan was so hungry that he secretly dug up the potatoes of the masses. After He Long learned of the situation, he grabbed Xiang Xuan's ear and personally went to the masses' homes to apologize.
After the people learned that Xiang Xuan was He Long's nephew, they all persuaded him: "Chief, let it go!" But He Long said seriously:
"Because it is my He Long's nephew, I feel even more sorry for my fellow villager! I can't tolerate him doing it nonsense!"
Returning to the camp, He Long stood in Xiang Xuan's military posture for three hours.
Another time, the troops marched near Zhongdian County, Yunnan. In order to unite the ethnic minority compatriots, He Long asked Xiang Xuan to be his guard and accompanied him to Songzanlin Temple, a famous Tibetan Buddhist temple, to give gifts.
After Xiang Xuan followed He Long into the temple, he was curious for a moment and couldn't help but touch the Buddha statue in the temple. After He Long found out, he slapped Xiang Xuan heavily without saying anything, and beat Xiang Xuan to cry on the spot. After
came back, He Long explained to him that the Buddha statues in Tibetan Buddhism cannot be touched. If he touched them so simply, he would say that it was a blasphemy from a small way. From a big point, it would be possible to touch the good relationship between the Red Army and the Tibetan compatriots in .
Finally, He Long said earnestly: "Don't forget that it was the revolutionary mule that carried you!"
This sentence, Xiang Xuan remembered it firmly for the rest of his life, and has been encouraged by it in his future revolutionary career.
made new contributions to the liberation of Japan, and kept the true nature regardless of fame and fortune
In October 1936, 10-year-old Xiang Xuan finally followed the team to Yan'an, northern Shaanxi, and then He Long deliberately "promoted" Xiang Xuan into a "document" of the Service Management Office.
Xiang Xuan has been in the guerrillas since he was a child and has wandered around with the army since he was a child. Because he did not have a stable study environment, he had never read a book for a day, and he could not even write his own name at that time.
He Long urged him to study hard many times, but he said with confidence that he could be a good soldier if he didn't study. He Long then converted him into a document, with the purpose of promoting his learning.
When Xiang Xuan took office, he found that he could do nothing. He obediently went to Yan'an Middle School to study, and later he studied all the way to China Anti-Japanese University.
In his later years, he was a clerk. One day he received a task to send a letter to a certain unit, but the children's group on duty did not believe that he was a Red Army soldier and said he would not let him in.
At this moment, Chairman Mao passed by. After he learned the situation, he asked Xiang Xuan skeptically, "You said you are the Red Army, who can prove it?"
Xiang Xuan said with confidence: "My uncle He Long can prove it!"
Although Chairman Mao did not know Xiang Xuan, he also knew about the heroes of the He family. After hearing Xiang Xuan said this, he immediately understood and said to Xiang Xuan with a smile:
"You stubborn son, you are from the He Huzi family, and now I believe it."
After the full outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War in 1937, the main force of the Red Army in northern Shaanxi was adapted into the Eighth Route Army. At that time, the Eighth Route Army had three ace main divisions under its command, and He Long was the commander of the 120th Division.
After Xiang Xuan learned that He Long had become the division commander, he took the initiative to find He Long and asked to go to the anti-Japanese front to join the army.
Xiang Xuan was less than twelve years old at that time and did not meet the requirements of going to the front line at all. But unexpectedly, He Long actually supported his ideas.
For this reason, he specially walked through the "back door" for Xiang Xuan and found Li Wenqing , who was then the chief of staff of the 715th Regiment of the 358th Brigade, and insisted on putting Xiang Xuan in the 715th Regiment and following the team to participate in the anti-Japanese war.
Li Wenqing
But Li Wenqing felt that Xiang Xuan was too young and it was too dangerous to put him on the front line, so he refused to "sell" Mr. He's face.
But Xiang Xuan was still rebellious and kept pestering Li Wenqing for two years. Li Wenqing could not resist him, so he finally transferred him to the 358th Brigade Guard Company.
After Xiang Xuan arrived at the guard company, he followed the troops to fight all the way, charging forward in every battle, making great achievements, and he was promoted to deputy company commander because of this.
During the War of Liberation, he transferred to Engineer Company as company commander, and participated in major battles such as the Yichuan Battle and the Baoji Battle.
In the summer of 1948, in the Libei Battle, the troops were unable to conquer the enemy's bunkers due to the lack of heavy weapons. At the critical moment, Xiang Xuan had a sudden idea to transform the traditional earth cannon into the powerful " flying thunder cannon ".
However, the "Flying Thunder Cannon" at that time had not been tested, and the safety performance could not be guaranteed. Xiang Xuan considered the safety of his comrades and insisted on operating the flying thunder cannon himself.
Flying Thunder Cannon really lived up to expectations, and instantly blew up the enemy's bunker. But when everyone was immersed in joy, a Kuomintang soldier who had not died threw an grenade to Xiang Xuan .
Xiang Xuan had no time to dodge, but unfortunately he was seriously injured. Not only did completely lose his right eye, but his right foot was also penetrated, and there were more than 20 other wounds.
The commander of the column at that time, He Bingyan, known as the one-armed general, was deeply guilty after hearing the news that Xiang Xuan was injured, but in the end he told He Long.
He Bingyan
But unexpectedly, He Long not only did not blame He Bingyan, but instead said openly:
"Even if sacrifice is done, it's nothing. Other people's children can sacrifice, so is my children!"
After the founding of New China , He Long served as Vice Premier of the State Council and Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, and was elected as one of the top ten marshals in 1955.
But Xiang Xuan was exposed to his uncle's little glory and only worked as a deputy section chief in the Ordnance Department of the Chengdu Military Region.
Later, after multiple arguments from the General Political Department of the People's Liberation Army, Xiang Xuan's joining army was finally set on May 6, 1933. Xiang Xuan has since become "the smallest Red Army soldier in China."
In 1983, Liao Hansheng had become the vice chairman of the country. When he went to Sichuan to inspect work, he heard that Xiang Xuan was in Chengdu, so he made a special trip to visit his "brother-in-law".
During the conversation, when Liao Hansheng learned that Xiang Xuan, who had been in military bell for 50 years, was still in the 16th level of administration, he immediately expressed his desire to help Xiang Xuan report the situation to the relevant departments.
But Xiang Xuan said calmly: "The whole army is quite like me. If I walk around and improve my treatment level, what about others?... You have to look at yourself from the perspective of others, otherwise you can't see yourself clearly!"
Hearing Xiang Xuan say this, Liao Hansheng was very moved and kept praising Xiang Xuan for "mature."
Now Xiang Xuan is 96 years old, but he still runs a convenience store in the courtyard of Chengdu Military Region . As he grows older, his memory is no longer as good as before.
But he still missed He Long's teachings and often warned his descendants:
"It was the mule of the revolution that carried me, and it was the milk of the revolution that nurtured me. You must always inherit He Long's will and be the successors of the dragon forever."
