Formation of the Southwest Service Corps of the Chinese People's Liberation Army to advance into the southwest
As early as the Politburo meetings and the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the CPC held in January and March 1949, it was decided that the Second Field Army would march into the southwest and be responsible for taking over the southwest provinces. Subsequently, specific instructions were given on the time, tasks, organization and leadership of the second field's march into the southwest. When we started to prepare for the march into the southwest, the outstanding problem was the shortage of cadres. When we went south, we brought a group of cadres from Taihang and Taiyue to prepare to go to the southwest. After arriving in Nanjing, Rao Shushi proposed to Comrade Deng Xiaoping that Fujian was short of cadres and hoped that all the cadres brought by Dahang and Dayue would be given to Fujian. He also said that some front-support cadres from Shandong could be sent to the southwest with Erye. Comrade Xiaoping took the overall situation into consideration and readily agreed, saying that we should think of other ways.
After that, in accordance with Comrade Xiaoping’s suggestion, in addition to selecting some cadres from the central government and old areas in the fields of journalism, postal and telecommunications, finance, and public security, we also recruited some intellectuals from Shanghai, Nanjing and other places to form the Southwest Service Corps of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. On June 25, 1949, the Southwest Service Corps was formally established, with me as its leader. Comrades Cao Huoqiu and Peng Tao are in charge of Shanghai and Nanjing respectively. At that time, young people were very enthusiastic about revolution and were very enthusiastic about signing up. The wave of joining the Southwest Service Corps swept many colleges, factories, and institutions. There was a long queue of people to sign up, with a total of 20,000 to 30,000 people. There are many college students and middle school students, including the backbone of the progressive student movement, members of the underground party of the Communist Party of China and members of the party's peripheral organizations. They have strong anti-American and anti-Chiang sentiments and the ambition to save the country and the people. They sincerely support the Communist Party and their political quality is generally relatively good. good.
We have done sufficient ideological mobilization work for the comrades who participated in the Southwest Service Corps and organized a training camp. The main contents of the study include " History of Social Development ", "The Main Sources of Marxism and Its Three Components", "Chinese Revolution and the Communist Party of China", and Chairman Mao's " Speech at the Yan'an Forum on Literature and Art " , as well as the domestic and international situation, the major principles and policies of the Party Central Committee, especially the central government’s policy on the new area. Liu Bocheng, Deng Xiaoping, Zhang Jichun and other leading comrades from the two fields personally delivered reports to everyone. In addition to talking about the situation and the spirit of the central government, they also made in-depth analysis and analysis of the vague understandings and common problems reflected by the students in their studies. Thorough explanation. These in-depth and simple reports are of great help in improving everyone's ideological understanding.
The title of Comrade Xiaoping's report is "On Honesty", which focuses on ideological and style issues. He also puts forward three requirements for everyone to do a good job in joining forces, doing a good job in mass work, and doing a good job in the united front. I also gave several lectures to students. During the mobilization, we also particularly emphasized that conditions in the southwestern region are difficult and we must be fully prepared to endure hardships. He said that Guizhou is a poor area where "the sky is never sunny, the land is not three feet flat, and the people don't have three cents of silver." Yunnan was once a place where troops were exiled in history. We will warmly welcome those who are willing to dedicate themselves to the revolution and do a good job, and who are not afraid of hardship if they want money but not money, officials but not officials. At the same time, the Nanjing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China organized forces to compile more than ten volumes of information on the situation in the southwest provinces and a compilation of relevant policies for the Southwest Service Group. Because the ideological mobilization and organizational work were done in detail, and the difficulties that may be encountered were discussed more, everyone was relatively well prepared mentally.
In August 1949, it was decided that I would lead the Yunnan detachment of the Southwest Service Corps to Yunnan. The detachment captain Liu Linyuan and the political commissar Ma Jikong. The Southwest Service Group also has two detachments: , east Sichuan, , and south Sichuan. According to the deployment of the central government, Comrade He Long led his troops to enter and take over Western Sichuan, Northern Sichuan, and Xikang Province, and the Second Field did not send anyone there. On October 3 of the same year, the third day after the founding of New China, the Yunnan detachment took a train from Xiaguan, Nanjing, and arrived in Changsha via Xuzhou, Kaifeng, Xuchang, and Wuhan. I discussed with Comrade Huang Kecheng, then Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, and hoped to recruit a group of educated young people in Hunan to join the Southwest Service Corps. Hunan Provincial Committee fully supports it. A small group of educated young people recruited in Hunan were organized into various brigades affiliated with the Yunnan detachment.In mid-November, I set off from Xiangtan, Hunan, and began a long-distance walking march, heading west along the Hunan-Guizhou Highway, walking an average of dozens of miles every day. During the march, the morale was high and the mood was full. Everyone marched and sang all the way. We also insisted on learning while marching, and at the same time required strict marching disciplines. We clearly stated: "You will not leave until the floor is swept clean, you will not leave until you borrow something, and you will not leave until the household's water tank is full." Wherever the troops go, they are closely connected with the local people. The relationship with the masses is very good. Young comrades also received good training during long-distance marches.
Comrades of the Southwest Service Corps were assigned to work in different departments after arriving in the southwest provinces. With a high degree of political consciousness and a strong sense of revolutionary responsibility, they took root in the border areas. Together with local cadres and the masses, they overcame various difficulties and contributed to the liberation of southwest and construction of the Southwest. Southwest has made indelible and important contributions. Many comrades have become the backbone of the work. Many comrades have sacrificed their precious lives. We should learn from them and commemorate them. Under the leadership of the party, the comrades of the Southwest Service Corps adhere to the path of integrating with the workers and peasants and grow into a generation that serves the people wholeheartedly and makes selfless contributions, providing another vivid example for the healthy growth of young people.
