In order to replenish troops, the Kuomintang troops "recruited strong men" became a common method. So, what will happen to these strong men after they join the army? Today we will understand what happened to a 16-year-old boy.
Chengdu shop in the Republic of China
Li Yaxiong, a Sichuan boy, was very poor in his family and could not afford to eat every day. He had no choice but to work as a handyman in a company in Chengdu in the autumn of 1948. The difference between a handyman and an apprentice is that the apprentice can learn some skills from the master. The handyman can only sweep the floor and clean the table, serve tea and pour water, and do some chores every day.
At night, Li Yaxiong closed the door, then placed two benches behind the door, set up a wooden board as a bed, and slept in the company. According to the agreement, Li Yaxiong did not receive a salary in the first year, but only paid for meals. If I continue to work in a year, I can get a bucket of rice every month. At that time, it was good to have food to eat, and Li Yaxiong felt very satisfied.
In May 1949, Li Yaxiong was 16 years old. He had been working as a handyman in the company for less than a year and was still penniless. At this time, the Kuomintang troops were retreating on the battlefield, Chengdu was in chaos, and the company was basically paralyzed. Seeing that his job was not guaranteed, Li Yaxiong was very anxious and thought about finding another job.
It was a coincidence that the brother of the company's accountant was a doctor in the Kuomintang army in the suburbs, so the accountant wrote a letter of introduction and asked Li Yaxiong to take the letter to the station to beg for food at the military hospital . Li Yaxiong was very grateful and thought that it would be good to work beside a military doctor and not have to go to the battlefield.
Soon, Li Yaxiong packed up a few clothes, left the company with his baggage, and went straight to the northern suburbs of Chengdu. As a result, halfway through, he suddenly encountered two Kuomintang soldiers. They stopped Li Yaxiong and wanted to go together. Li Yaxiong felt bad in his heart, so he said: "I don't know you, why should I go with you?" As soon as he said this, the other party's face immediately changed and he said viciously: "Little brother, tell me clearly, now The national crisis is approaching, and everyone should serve as a soldier to defend the country. Come with us today."
Li Yaxiong immediately understood that he was encountering a "strong man."
Pulling Zhuangding
Existing information in the Sichuan Archives records that the Kuomintang's shortage of troops led to "drawing Zhuangding" intensified in various places, even to the point where "the roads were deserted and sparsely populated, and no passers-by were seen for ten or eight days." Later, it developed to the point where "there are not many men of service age, and the number of soldiers is drying up day by day." Therefore, regardless of age, many children became men of strength.
Li Yaxiong had already heard about the plight of "La Zhuang Ding" and did not dare to resist. He could only explain as he walked that he was going to be a soldier. But the two soldiers ignored him at all and pushed Li Yaxiong all the way to a large yard in the suburbs.
This is a green-tiled house with a wooden structure, divided into front and back yards. Later, Li Yaxiong learned that the third battalion and eighth company of the 95th Army of the Kuomintang's newly formed army was stationed here.
Li Yaxiong was taken to the yard, and a group of soldiers gathered around to watch the fun. He quickly took out the letter of introduction and wanted to show it to the superior. An officer who claimed to be the company commander, after reading this letter, said directly: "I am the person you are looking for. You are here." This statement was most likely false, but Li Yaxiong did not dare to ask any more questions. , had no choice but to stay. After he was assigned to the class, he received a military uniform, a straw mat, a quilt and other things, which meant he was officially enlisted as a soldier.
Li Yaxiong originally thought that he would be able to have enough to eat as a soldier, but this was not the case in reality. According to regulations, each soldier has a daily quota (old balance system) of 24 taels of grain, which is now 1 and a half kilograms. Plus a certain amount of vegetables, it is reasonable to say that it is enough to fill him up. However, the Kuomintang army's withholding of food and salary was very serious, and it was impossible to pay it in full.
For example, in 1938, several young men were recruited in Linshui County, Sichuan. On October 10 of that year, Li Xunmin, captain of the 36th Young Men Brigade, reported to his superiors that three young men were shirtless. Asked them why, "It is said that they ate half-cooked rice once on the first day from Linshui, and only porridge on the next day... After a long march, they were so hungry that they wore casual clothes and sold top clothes for meals. After saying this, I burst into tears. "
A strong man with better luck can barely make ends meet if he meets a boss who is not too greedy.
In order to replenish troops, the Kuomintang troops "recruited strong men" became a common method. So, what will happen to these strong men after they join the army? Today we will understand what happened to a 16-year-old boy.
Chengdu shop in the Republic of China
Li Yaxiong, a Sichuan boy, was very poor in his family and could not afford to eat every day. He had no choice but to work as a handyman in a company in Chengdu in the autumn of 1948. The difference between a handyman and an apprentice is that the apprentice can learn some skills from the master. The handyman can only sweep the floor and clean the table, serve tea and pour water, and do some chores every day.
At night, Li Yaxiong closed the door, then placed two benches behind the door, set up a wooden board as a bed, and slept in the company. According to the agreement, Li Yaxiong did not receive a salary in the first year, but only paid for meals. If I continue to work in a year, I can get a bucket of rice every month. At that time, it was good to have food to eat, and Li Yaxiong felt very satisfied.
In May 1949, Li Yaxiong was 16 years old. He had been working as a handyman in the company for less than a year and was still penniless. At this time, the Kuomintang troops were retreating on the battlefield, Chengdu was in chaos, and the company was basically paralyzed. Seeing that his job was not guaranteed, Li Yaxiong was very anxious and thought about finding another job.
It was a coincidence that the brother of the company's accountant was a doctor in the Kuomintang army in the suburbs, so the accountant wrote a letter of introduction and asked Li Yaxiong to take the letter to the station to beg for food at the military hospital . Li Yaxiong was very grateful and thought that it would be good to work beside a military doctor and not have to go to the battlefield.
Soon, Li Yaxiong packed up a few clothes, left the company with his baggage, and went straight to the northern suburbs of Chengdu. As a result, halfway through, he suddenly encountered two Kuomintang soldiers. They stopped Li Yaxiong and wanted to go together. Li Yaxiong felt bad in his heart, so he said: "I don't know you, why should I go with you?" As soon as he said this, the other party's face immediately changed and he said viciously: "Little brother, tell me clearly, now The national crisis is approaching, and everyone should serve as a soldier to defend the country. Come with us today."
Li Yaxiong immediately understood that he was encountering a "strong man."
Pulling Zhuangding
Existing information in the Sichuan Archives records that the Kuomintang's shortage of troops led to "drawing Zhuangding" intensified in various places, even to the point where "the roads were deserted and sparsely populated, and no passers-by were seen for ten or eight days." Later, it developed to the point where "there are not many men of service age, and the number of soldiers is drying up day by day." Therefore, regardless of age, many children became men of strength.
Li Yaxiong had already heard about the plight of "La Zhuang Ding" and did not dare to resist. He could only explain as he walked that he was going to be a soldier. But the two soldiers ignored him at all and pushed Li Yaxiong all the way to a large yard in the suburbs.
This is a green-tiled house with a wooden structure, divided into front and back yards. Later, Li Yaxiong learned that the third battalion and eighth company of the 95th Army of the Kuomintang's newly formed army was stationed here.
Li Yaxiong was taken to the yard, and a group of soldiers gathered around to watch the fun. He quickly took out the letter of introduction and wanted to show it to the superior. An officer who claimed to be the company commander, after reading this letter, said directly: "I am the person you are looking for. You are here." This statement was most likely false, but Li Yaxiong did not dare to ask any more questions. , had no choice but to stay. After he was assigned to the class, he received a military uniform, a straw mat, a quilt and other things, which meant he was officially enlisted as a soldier.
Li Yaxiong originally thought that he would be able to have enough to eat as a soldier, but this was not the case in reality. According to regulations, each soldier has a daily quota (old balance system) of 24 taels of grain, which is now 1 and a half kilograms. Plus a certain amount of vegetables, it is reasonable to say that it is enough to fill him up. However, the Kuomintang army's withholding of food and salary was very serious, and it was impossible to pay it in full.
For example, in 1938, several young men were recruited in Linshui County, Sichuan. On October 10 of that year, Li Xunmin, captain of the 36th Young Men Brigade, reported to his superiors that three young men were shirtless. Asked them why, "It is said that they ate half-cooked rice once on the first day from Linshui, and only porridge on the next day... After a long march, they were so hungry that they wore casual clothes and sold top clothes for meals. After saying this, I burst into tears. "
A strong man with better luck can barely make ends meet if he meets a boss who is not too greedy.If you encounter an insatiable leader who rushes hungry every day, it is very common for him to die of illness due to hunger and fatigue. Therefore, being able to have enough to eat is the first hurdle that a strong man must pass.
At the beginning, Li Yaxiong really couldn't eat enough.
Kuomintang soldier
Li Yaxiong later recalled that it was difficult to eat three meals a day at that time. Under normal circumstances, there is a big pot of porridge in the morning, and each class can get two or three spoons of beans. The beans are dry-fried, soaked in water, and then mixed with some salt and eaten as a vegetable. At noon and evening, there is a big bucket of steamed rice in the yard. Each class is given a pot of vegetables, usually radish and cabbage. Simply put a little salt, black bean and chili. It can be eaten after it is cooked. It is rare. Oil and water. Only on the second and sixteenth day of each month can you see a little bit of meat.
Officers have separate small stoves, while all soldiers in the company gather together to eat. They must wait for orders to eat, otherwise they will be punished by standing still. At that time, everyone was fighting for food. The new recruits could not compete with the veterans and they often went hungry. In the first few days after Li Yaxiong arrived, he was so hungry that he staggered when walking and became thinner and thinner.
Later, class monitor Chen Haiyun couldn't stand it anymore, so he secretly told Li Yaxiong the "skills" of eating. For example, for breakfast, Li Yaxiong originally served a bowl of porridge. After eating, he tried to serve a second bowl, but it had already been snatched away by others. The squad leader told him that after serving the first bowl of rice and carrying it back, he should keep stirring it with chopsticks and blowing air at the same time, so that the rice in the bowl could cool down quickly. He should turn the edge of the bowl while eating. Eat, so you can eat quickly. Finish the first bowl quickly and you'll have a chance to eat the second bowl.
There are also techniques for eating at noon and evening. First of all, don’t fill the first bowl with too much. Eat as fast as you can as soon as you give the command to start eating. After finishing the rice in the bowl in a few mouthfuls, rush to fill the second bowl. The technique of serving rice is very important. If you can grab a wooden spoon, be sure to hold a few more spoons to compact the rice in the bowl.
If you can't grab the wooden spoon, just push the bowl into the 粲箕, press hard and rotate, so that the rice in the bowl can be pressed tightly and more. After the second bowl of rice is served, don't be in a hurry to eat. Grab the food first and wait until the food is finished before eating. If you master these techniques, you will definitely be able to eat more and not be hungry easily.
After Li Yaxiong learned these skills, he was able to eat an extra bowl of rice and no longer went hungry every day.
Another thing that impressed Li Yaxiong deeply was the monitor's surgery.
Kuomintang soldiers
Lack of medical treatment and medicine is very common in the Kuomintang army. There is basically no medical equipment at the battalion and company level, and military doctors are not attached to the company. The superiors rarely care about the life and death of their soldiers. Therefore, once you get sick, you can only survive it. If you can't survive it, you will die.
In Li Yaxiong's class, there is a veteran named Zhang who is about 40 years old. He is relatively strong, but he has a hard lump on his buttocks, which is slightly larger than an egg and has become suppurative. The veteran was tortured to the point of wailing all day, and later he could only lie on the bed, crying for his father and mother in the middle of the night in pain. However, a low-level soldier like him has no chance to find a military doctor for surgery, so he can only endure it.
One day, the squad leader came over and pinched his butt, and said: "It's time, let's do it." It turned out that the squad leader wanted to perform the operation himself.
After dinner in the morning, the squad leader called a few soldiers to bring a wide and strong wooden bench, and asked the veteran named Zhang to take off his pants and lie on it. Afterwards, several soldiers held down his hands, his legs, and his head to prevent him from moving. The squad leader asked someone to fetch a basin of cold water from the well, and then prepared a lot of toilet paper.
The squad leader took out his dagger and roasted it on the oil lamp for a while. After that, he took a large mouthful of cold water in his mouth, and then used his left thumb and index finger to gently press around the carbuncle in a figure-eight shape. The veteran named Zhang shouted in pain and kept twisting his body, as if his whole body was shaking, and his forehead was covered with sweat.
After pressing for a short while, he seemed to be numb from the pain and no longer struggled. When the squad leader saw that the time had come, he gently approached the carbuncle with a dagger and sprayed the water from his mouth on it. At this time, the veteran named Zhang seemed to be frightened. He arched his body and raised his buttocks. The squad leader raised the knife without hesitation and made a big incision on the carbuncle.
The veteran named Zhang screamed and fainted immediately. A large amount of pus and blood emerged from the carbuncle on his buttocks. The squad leader kept squeezing the area around the wound with his hands, and pus and blood flowed out. It was everywhere on the stool and the floor. The soldiers next to him kept wiping it with straw paper.
After squeezing for a while, the squad leader opened the wound with both hands and asked the soldiers next to him to wash it with cold water. After rinsing it over and over for a while, the pus and blood in the wound disappeared, bright red blood gradually flowed out, and the muscles could be seen. The squad leader then took a large bag of prepared herbs from the person next to him and pressed it hard on the wound. After a while, when the bleeding stops, cover it with straw paper and tie it with leggings.
Li Yaxiong, who was watching from the side, was completely stunned and did not dare to express his anger. Unexpectedly, the veteran named Zhang recovered soon and was alive and kicking. It is said that he paid a month's salary for the operation.
If a "strong man" dares to run away, he will only die.
人成成
Many people are recruited into adulthood without any preparation. They may have families and children, so it is impossible for them to serve as soldiers with peace of mind. Therefore, most strong men want to escape, but as long as they are caught when they escape, they may be beaten severely, or they may lose their lives.
In early September 1949, Li Yaxiong moved to Shahechang with his company and was stationed in the farmyard beside the road. At that time, the number of troops in the team was insufficient, and each unit had to find its own way to "replenish troops", which was actually "recruiting more troops."
Not long after, there were two uncles and nephews named Wang. The uncle was about 60 years old and the nephew was in his early 20s. They were both farmers. They passed by here on business and were recruited into different classes. The new strong men are easy to escape, so the company specially arranged people to monitor them.
Unexpectedly, one afternoon, my nephew pretended to go to the toilet, took off his military uniform and ran over the wall. The company commander knew about this and immediately sent people to hunt him down. At the same time, he tied his uncle to a tree. That night, the escaped nephew was caught and hung from a tree.
The strong men who escaped must be beaten severely. This is to scare the monkeys and other recruits cannot take any chances. Therefore, the company commander asked the uncle and nephew to be whipped with leather whips until they cried for father and mother. The uncle was beaten so hard that he begged loudly for mercy, but the nephew was stubborn and just shouted loudly without begging for mercy.
The strong man's "Certificate of Glory"
The company commander asked them to explain how they plotted to escape. The uncle shouted that he was wronged and said that he had not spoken to his nephew these days and there was no chance of plotting. The company commander put his uncle down and asked his nephew to answer whether he would run away in the future. This young man also had a tough talk but didn't say a word. The company commander was so angry that he had someone beat him hard with a pole until he fainted.
In the end, the young man didn't say a word. His legs were broken and he couldn't even walk. The company commander was so angry that he could only ask his uncle to take care of his nephew. But the company couldn't support this disabled young man. After two days, the company commander asked their uncle and nephew to take off their military uniforms and leave.
These two uncles and nephews are actually lucky. If you encounter a more ruthless officer who can torture people to death, you will also be deducted from funeral expenses (the superior will pay funeral expenses when a soldier dies). Being able to leave here alive is considered to be the luckiest among the strong men.
Li Yaxiong stayed in the team for several months, and soon after Chengdu was liberated, he went home. It can be seen from his memories that the common people are suffering, the young men are suffering, the Kuomintang is unpopular, and failure is inevitable.
The veteran named Zhang screamed and fainted immediately. A large amount of pus and blood emerged from the carbuncle on his buttocks. The squad leader kept squeezing the area around the wound with his hands, and pus and blood flowed out. It was everywhere on the stool and the floor. The soldiers next to him kept wiping it with straw paper.
After squeezing for a while, the squad leader opened the wound with both hands and asked the soldiers next to him to wash it with cold water. After rinsing it over and over for a while, the pus and blood in the wound disappeared, bright red blood gradually flowed out, and the muscles could be seen. The squad leader then took a large bag of prepared herbs from the person next to him and pressed it hard on the wound. After a while, when the bleeding stops, cover it with straw paper and tie it with leggings.
Li Yaxiong, who was watching from the side, was completely stunned and did not dare to express his anger. Unexpectedly, the veteran named Zhang recovered soon and was alive and kicking. It is said that he paid a month's salary for the operation.
If a "strong man" dares to run away, he will only die.
人成成
Many people are recruited into adulthood without any preparation. They may have families and children, so it is impossible for them to serve as soldiers with peace of mind. Therefore, most strong men want to escape, but as long as they are caught when they escape, they may be beaten severely, or they may lose their lives.
In early September 1949, Li Yaxiong moved to Shahechang with his company and was stationed in the farmyard beside the road. At that time, the number of troops in the team was insufficient, and each unit had to find its own way to "replenish troops", which was actually "recruiting more troops."
Not long after, there were two uncles and nephews named Wang. The uncle was about 60 years old and the nephew was in his early 20s. They were both farmers. They passed by here on business and were recruited into different classes. The new strong men are easy to escape, so the company specially arranged people to monitor them.
Unexpectedly, one afternoon, my nephew pretended to go to the toilet, took off his military uniform and ran over the wall. The company commander knew about this and immediately sent people to hunt him down. At the same time, he tied his uncle to a tree. That night, the escaped nephew was caught and hung from a tree.
The strong men who escaped must be beaten severely. This is to scare the monkeys and other recruits cannot take any chances. Therefore, the company commander asked the uncle and nephew to be whipped with leather whips until they cried for father and mother. The uncle was beaten so hard that he begged loudly for mercy, but the nephew was stubborn and just shouted loudly without begging for mercy.
The strong man's "Certificate of Glory"
The company commander asked them to explain how they plotted to escape. The uncle shouted that he was wronged and said that he had not spoken to his nephew these days and there was no chance of plotting. The company commander put his uncle down and asked his nephew to answer whether he would run away in the future. This young man also had a tough talk but didn't say a word. The company commander was so angry that he had someone beat him hard with a pole until he fainted.
In the end, the young man didn't say a word. His legs were broken and he couldn't even walk. The company commander was so angry that he could only ask his uncle to take care of his nephew. But the company couldn't support this disabled young man. After two days, the company commander asked their uncle and nephew to take off their military uniforms and leave.
These two uncles and nephews are actually lucky. If you encounter a more ruthless officer who can torture people to death, you will also be deducted from funeral expenses (the superior will pay funeral expenses when a soldier dies). Being able to leave here alive is considered to be the luckiest among the strong men.
Li Yaxiong stayed in the team for several months, and soon after Chengdu was liberated, he went home. It can be seen from his memories that the common people are suffering, the young men are suffering, the Kuomintang is unpopular, and failure is inevitable.
