Northwest Years 西北岁月 Episode 26

The 167th Brigade of the Kuomintang Army arrived at Panlong, Yan'an, and quickly built fortifications for defense. However, due to the serious shortage of wood, the brigade commander Li Kungang ordered everyone to rob wood, capture able-bodied men, and demolished the homes of local people by all means. His behavior was comparable to that of bandits, or even worse.

In May 1947, the Northwest Field Army Command decided to conceal the main force to prepare to attack Panlong, the enemy's supply station. However, the Panlong Campaign was about to start, and suddenly encountered heavy rain and other bad weather. If they attacked rashly, they might become a live target of the enemy. Xi Zhongxun and others felt that time was running out. In order to avoid Liu Kan's return within three days, Peng Dehuai agreed with everyone's suggestions and required that the battle must be ended within three days.

Then the battle was about to start. The enemy had layers of fortifications and strong bunkers. The battle was extremely difficult. Fortunately, Panlong was finally captured, and more than 6,700 defenders were wiped out. A large amount of food, clothing, weapons and ammunition were seized, and the enemy brigade commander Li Kungang was captured. So far, the Northwest Field Army had won three battles and three victories, stabilizing the situation in northern Shaanxi and laying the foundation for the strategic counterattack.

At the suggestion of Xi Zhongxun, the Northwest Field Army held a victory celebration in Zhenwu Cave to further encourage the soldiers and civilians in the border area. Xiong Xianghui was caught by Hu Zongnan while listening to the radio commenting on Hu Zongnan's incompetence. Hu Zongnan thought that he had followed him for ten years, so he found a reason to send him abroad to study. But in fact, Xiong Xianghui was not a real Kuomintang. He joined the Communist Party as early as 1936 and accepted the dispatch mission. He had been engaged in secret work beside Hu Zongnan and made special contributions to the Communist Party.

At the victory celebration, Peng Dehuai personally delivered a speech, believing that one day Chiang Kai-shek would be eliminated and the Northwest would be liberated. The soldiers and civilians present were deeply inspired. After the end, Xi Zhongxun returned to his residence and saw Qi Xin, with mixed feelings in his heart. The couple separated for the revolutionary cause, met in a hurry, and had to say goodbye in a hurry.

During this period of time, the Kuomintang army was at a loss as to where to go. The main reason was the intelligence errors of Wei Hai and others. The Communist Party was too cunning and deliberately misled them with the radio. Wei Hai found that there was a place where the transmission points were very concentrated and frequent recently. In order to make Hu Zongnan obey his orders, he decided to report it directly to the Ministry of National Defense in Nanjing. Chiang Kai-shek issued the order and Hu Zongnan would definitely execute it.

As Wei Hai expected, Hu Zongnan did not fully believe the content of the telegram. It was not until Chiang Kai-shek called that he had to act according to the plan. He ordered Liu Kan's troops to set off immediately and attack Wangjiawan directly. Dong Zhao's troops would support in the northwest. Once the main force of the Communist army moved east, they would wait for an opportunity to fight a decisive battle.

Wang Dongxing, director of the Central Security Department, reported the situation to Mao Zedong and requested to leave a reinforced platoon to cover the ambush, hoping that Mao Zedong and others would evacuate as soon as possible. Soon, the large army set off in a mighty manner and took the most difficult waterway. There were cliffs next to it, which was easy to hide, but also very physically demanding.

After marching for a whole day, everyone still did not stop. When it was dusk, they suddenly found the enemy ahead. The team immediately stayed where they were and kept quiet, sticking close to the stone wall to listen for any movement. A group of people stood on the top of the cliff and peeked down, and ordered to shoot down. Fortunately, there were no casualties.

After the Kuomintang left, Wang Dongxing told everyone that the nearest contact point was in Xiaohe Village. Because the troops could not turn on lights when marching, it would be difficult to find Xiaohe Village. Mao Zedong felt that difficulties could be overcome, and told everyone to continue on their way. On the other side, Xi Zhongxun saw the news sent by the Kuomintang Central News Agency, which said that the Kuomintang swept northward from Yan'an on the 9th, Ren Bishi was seriously injured, Zhou Enlai's mount was seriously injured and fell into the valley, Mao Zedong's whereabouts were unknown, and the large army was still being pursued by the Kuomintang army. However, this was just a smoke bomb for the Kuomintang. Mao Zedong and others were still safe and temporarily lost contact with the headquarters until they successfully entered Xiaohe Village.