The Flames of Resistance Against Japan in Jiangnan

Upon hearing the news, President Chiang Kai-shek immediately seized the opportunity to launch a tirade against the Jiangxi Army generals, demanding a thorough investigation of all those involved. In a letter to Hu Qinghai, the wounded and hospitalized commander of the First Regiment, a distraught and helpless division commander, wrote:

"Over the past two days, I have visited the wounded officers and soldiers who have returned. I have repeatedly held back my tears, not daring to let them out, for fear of hurting the feelings of my subordinates and demoralizing them. Today, I have become a great sinner in western Jiangxi."

To prevent the Central Army from intervening in western Jiangxi, Commander Lu politely declined General He's offer and hastily convened an emergency military meeting. He decided to recall his main forces and re-implement the "Iron Bucket Strategy," combining the construction of numerous fortifications with focused offensives. This strategy aimed to establish a widespread network of fortifications across Anhui, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi, particularly along the western Jiangxi border, effectively tying the Red Army's legs and hindering its movement. To ensure absolute success, Commander Lu in Nanchang decided to personally lead the campaign to Shangrao.

Thus, the 19th Red Army Division achieved a series of victories, marching hundreds of miles in five days, fighting across several counties, and defeating the enemy's combined forces of three divisions and over 20,000 men. The encirclement and suppression campaign launched from the north, south, and west eliminated nearly 10,000 enemy troops, annihilated four regiments of the White Army, captured over 3,000 prisoners, seized a large quantity of firearms and ammunition, 30 mortars, three radio sets, and a large amount of other supplies. More importantly, it bought precious time for preparation for the transformation of the revolutionary struggle in the Soviet area.

Seeing the soldiers' smiling faces warmed Xu Wenqing's heart, and he was overjoyed to be able to contribute to the revolution.

After breaking through the enemy's encirclement and suppression, in accordance with the resolution of the division's Party committee, we entered a formal stage of transformation in the revolutionary struggle.

According to the division's divisional divisional plan, Political Commissar Yao Hutou and the Chief of Staff led the main force of the division to hold the Anhui-Zhejiang-Jiangxi region, while Xu Wenqing led the 58th Regiment and the Special Service Brigade to carry out a task of diverting enemy attention away from the Anhui-Zhejiang-Jiangxi region, under the guise of the main force of the 19th Red Army Division.

Following Xu Wenqing's instructions, advance personnel were dispatched to carry out the work.

Winter in the Dabie Mountains brought another exceptionally cold day. A relentless north wind howled, and the icy mountain streams gurgled and tinkled as they flowed northward. Deep in the forests, leaves were whipped up by the biting wind, swirling in the air before slowly settling into gullies and thickets. The north wind howled, dust swirled, and the bare branches trembled incessantly in the cold wind…

On this day, on the Zhugan River in the upper reaches of the Huai River, a bamboo raft was going upstream. Several people were sitting on the raft, including a young man wearing a straw hat and a raincoat. He was Wang Xiaoming, the deputy commander of the 223rd Regiment of the 25th Red Army, who had been sent back to work.

At this moment, Wang Xiaoming anxiously stood up from the stool. He looked at the forests covering the mountains and fields, his face heavy and showing a very serious expression.

"Boatman, could you please go a little faster? It looks like it's going to rain soon!"

He urged the boatman in a low voice, and the boatman replied:

"It's already fast enough. The river is too narrow and the water is too shallow to navigate properly!"

Sure enough, a light drizzle began to fall again, and a fine mist shrouded the water, making the entire mountain gloomy.

The bamboo raft moved slowly along the river deep in the jungle, with leaves occasionally falling and drifting on the water, heading north with the gentle current.

Wang Xiaoming stood at the front of the bamboo raft, occasionally gazing into the jungle...

Before nightfall, Wang Xiaoming and his group finally arrived at a small mountain village in the southern part of Luoshan County. They quickly made contact with the underground courier who had come to meet them.

Led by the underground courier, Wang Xiaoming and his companions walked along the mountain path for another night and finally arrived at a place called Hongzhulin at the foot of Shougaoshan Mountain the next day at noon. There they found a small cave located at the foot of Huangzhai Mountain.

He Yaohua, Xu Hongji, Wu Guanglu, Luo Houfu, Fang Shuihua, Chen Wendong, and others who arrived earlier are gathering in the cave to discuss future strategies for dealing with the enemy.

At this moment, the courier brought Wang Xiaoming in.

As soon as everyone saw Wang Xiaoming, they all gathered around him and hurriedly asked about the situation of the main force of the Red Army's westward expedition.

Wang Xiaoming looked at everyone with deep emotion, then took the enamel mug that He Yaobang handed him, gulped it down in one go, and then said with a serious expression:

"Comrades, after the main force of the Red Army officially set off, it moved towards the Pinghan Railway area, and has already crossed the Pinghan Railway and moved westward!"

After a short pause, Wang Xiaoming continued:

"Comrades, after the main force of the Red Army moves away, the revolutionary struggle in Hubei, Henan and Anhui will become more severe and difficult. Before leaving, Secretary Xu and Political Commissar Wu repeatedly told us that no matter how difficult it is, the revolutionary struggle in northeastern Hubei must not be abandoned, the revolutionary activities must continue, and we must constantly develop and strengthen our revolutionary ranks!"

Everyone present watched Wang Xiaoming silently.

He Yaohua listened attentively to Wang Xiaoming's speech while lost in thought. He looked up at the mountains outside the cave without saying a word.

"Let's not be so somber, everyone. Let's have a short meeting here today to discuss the next steps and assign tasks clearly. Comrades, feel free to share your ideas and strategies so we can get our work started as soon as possible!"

Wang Xiaoming added.

Night deepened. Outside the cave, it was pitch black; inside, a lit oil lamp cast a dim light on several grim faces. They sat huddled together, their somber expressions revealing their exhaustion. For a long time, they remained silent. Faced with the grim situation, they were planning and pondering, and none of them felt at ease.

Before long, everyone started whispering among themselves, exchanging their opinions.

After everyone quieted down, Wang Xiaoming continued:

"Comrades, after the main force of the Red Army has moved away, how should we carry out our work and how should we conduct our struggle? These are all questions that deserve our serious discussion. Personally, I believe:"

Going forward, our work will primarily rely on the masses. We must actively mobilize them and make our work among them effective. In particular, we must actively organize plainclothes teams and utilize such mass organizations to fight against the enemy. Furthermore, we must organize the wounded and sick soldiers left behind by the main Red Army force, as well as the scattered Red Army soldiers, cadres left behind, and Red Army families, to establish our own armed force. We will organize an independent regiment, which we will call the Northeast Hubei Independent Regiment. In addition, each county should actively organize guerrilla divisions and self-defense battalions to resolutely fight against the enemy. Does anyone have any other opinions?

"there is none left!"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Wang Xiaoming paused for a moment, looked at everyone with deep emotion once more, and continued:

"The higher authorities have also instructed us to quickly organize a new Party organization in northeastern Hubei to specifically lead the struggle work in several counties and cities surrounding Hubei and Henan. Now, I have drafted a list of Party committee members. Please raise your hands to vote!"