The Flames of Resistance Against Japan in Jiangnan

Under Yao Hutou's leadership, the 19th Red Army Division's controlled area quickly returned to normal work order, and the Party organizations of several central county committees were restored. The guerrilla forces in various places were reorganized. On the one hand, elite personnel were selected to participate in guerrilla tactics training courses held by the military region to make their actions more flexible and mobile. At the same time, it was determined to select some backbone members of the main force to strengthen the guerrilla forces.

At the same time, based on local cadres who followed the guerrillas, Soviet governments at all levels were established; with the strong support of the masses, the Soviet regime made great progress in the three major tasks of fighting, raising funds, and doing mass work...

After boasting outside Jinhua City, the 56th and 58th Regiments of the 19th Division of the Red Army, led by Chief of Staff Hu Jiu, swiftly marched westward, passing through Longyou County and Kaihua, entering Dexing County and Wuyuan, where they annihilated a battalion of the 562nd Regiment, which they had unexpectedly encountered. Their advance was swift and decisive, sweeping away the local landlord militias in every county they passed through, causing local bullies and tyrants to flee in droves.

The reactionary governments of Zhejiang and Jiangxi provinces were shaken and hurriedly mobilized troops in all directions.

On January 9, 1935, the main forces of the attacking troops returned to the prefectural capital to reunite, and each regiment of the 19th Red Army Division had more than 1,000 men; guerrilla brigades were also established in each county; for a time, the red flag of Zhejiang and Jiangxi was flying high.

On the morning of January 10th, a grand celebration was held in the square east of the prefectural capital. With the help of the engineering battalion, the political department erected a platform using door panels and bamboo poles, surrounded by countless red flags. Banners were displayed on both sides of the platform, proclaiming, "Warmly welcome the main force! Down with the White Party reactionaries!"

Early in the morning, tens of thousands of people, carrying flags, surged towards the square. The main force of the Red Army, organized by regiment, marched in neat ranks, rifles in hand, to the meeting place, singing in unison along the way:

"Workers, peasants and soldiers unite and march forward with one heart and one mind!"

Workers, peasants and soldiers unite and march forward to kill the enemy!

We unite, we move forward, we struggle, we sacrifice.

March towards the stronghold of imperialism.

Final victory will surely belong to us workers, peasants, and soldiers!

The soldiers' song resonated with millions, and the onlookers joined in singing the battle song. The song, like a mighty wave, violently crashed against the entire old world, echoing for a long time over the capital city of Nianzhou.

The leadership of the 19th Red Army Division had begun operating at high speed, laying a solid foundation for the arduous guerrilla warfare to come. Following the Red Army celebration rally, in addition to dispatching necessary guard forces, the main forces of the 19th Red Army Division launched a vigorous large-scale military training campaign. The Party Committee of the 19th Red Army Division also held a meeting, where Political Commissar Yao Hutou first proposed the theme of the meeting:

"In order to actively prepare for the response plan should the enemy reoccupy the Soviet area, it is urgent to establish a guerrilla area in Anhui, Zhejiang and Jiangxi. What do you all think should be the center?"

"I think it would be best to center it on Wuyuan County, which straddles the border between Anhui and Jiangxi provinces. The entire mountainous area is about 400 li in circumference and has a rugged terrain. This is conducive to the guerrillas carrying out flexible guerrilla warfare!"

Hu Jiu, chief of staff of the 19th Division, said confidently:

"Moreover, there is plenty of food in the surrounding area. The mountains also produce wild vegetables, bamboo shoots and other things that can fill our stomachs. More importantly, this is a large mountainous area with simple and honest people who are trustworthy and have a good foundation for revolution."

Wu Jinshan, the political commissar of the 55th Regiment, who had been silent nearby, then chimed in:

"By waging guerrilla warfare in the Wuyuan mountain area, we can also take advantage of the internal contradictions between the enemy in Anhui and Jiangxi provinces to expand and strengthen our revolutionary ranks!"

Xu Wenqing chuckled softly. It seemed the inertia of history was still strong; the guerrilla warfare in the Anhui-Zhejiang-Jiangxi region would continue along its original trajectory. The commander of the 57th Regiment asked curiously:

"Commander, what are you laughing at?"

"People's vision is still very narrow. How many people can the Wuyuan mountain area accommodate for guerrilla warfare? Hundreds or thousands? The enemy might be too soft-hearted to carry out an encirclement and suppression."

Xu Wenqing picked up his water glass, took a sip, and asked in an inquiring tone.

Yao Hutou laughed upon hearing this:

"We can use guerrilla warfare to deal with them, which is what you advocated!"

Xu Wenqing shook his head, indicating his disagreement:

"Everyone underestimated the enemy's cruelty and ruthlessness. If the enemy uses the Wuyuan mountain area as the center, they can launch a two-pronged attack, encirclement and suppression, and implement the tactics of 'divide and conquer' and 'comb' to pursue and 'suppress' our guerrillas day and night."

In the towns and cities, fortifications and strongholds were built everywhere, along major transportation routes and on various hilltops, creating layers of blockades. Politically, a policy of isolation was implemented, forcing "immigrants to merge villages" and strengthening the "baojia" (local security system) system, enforcing the principle of "one family colluding with bandits, ten families implicated; one family harboring bandits, ten families punished together," distributing leaflets, posting notices, and coercing the families of guerrilla fighters to go up the mountains to plead for surrender to those who were not resolute. Economically, a strict blockade policy was implemented, limiting the purchase of supplies according to population, prohibiting people from carrying goods up the mountains, and severing the connection between the masses and the guerrillas. What were people supposed to do then?

Those attending the meeting gasped. They realized that if that were true, it would be very difficult to deal with. Seeing He Feng's calm demeanor, Hu Jiu sensed that he already had a plan. He hurriedly urged him to speak.

Xu Wenqing stood up, walked to the map, and said:

"Look, Huangshan is about 40 kilometers long from north to south and about 30 kilometers wide from east to west, with a mountain area of ​​about 1200 square kilometers. It is surrounded by hundreds of large and small peaks such as Taiping Mountain, Bijia Mountain, Qipan Mountain, Tiejing Mountain, and Wuzhi Mountain, covering an area of ​​more than 7,000 square kilometers. It has a lot of room for maneuver, which makes it an ideal place for guerrilla activities where one can attack or retreat as needed."

"But there still needs to be a central area, right?"

"A cunning rabbit has three burrows. Taiping is located at the northern end of the mountain range, while Wuyuan is located at the southern end. We will use these two places as our main areas. If we cannot hold out when the enemy besieges Taiping, we can move to Wuyuan, and vice versa!"

The meeting decided to plan ahead and quickly change the mode of operations, designating the area surrounding Taiping and Wuyuan mountains as the base for the later stages of the struggle. They would find concealed locations to store scarce supplies such as salt and medicine. Only then did everyone realize why Xu Wenqing had specifically used a large amount of transport capacity to bring back hundreds of thousands of kilograms of salt from the occupied cities. Yao Hutou, across the table, tightly grasped Xu Wenqing's hand, who was sitting opposite him, and repeatedly said:

"Commander, you are truly amazing! You always think ahead of us!"

"Political Commissar, it's all for the revolution, what's there to say!"

Xu Wenqing knew the difficulties faced by the Southern Red Army in terms of salt and medicine shortages. The movie "The Shining Red Star" includes scenes depicting the difficulties faced by the underground party in sending salt up the mountain.

"If we calculate based on 10 grams of salt per person per day, these tens of thousands of kilograms of salt would be enough to feed 10,000 people for three years, and might even be able to help the people."

Thinking of all this, He Feng smiled with immense satisfaction and said:

"Supplies must be dispersed and hidden. We must be mentally prepared for the enemy's ferocity and cunning!"