1

Yes, it was a terrible battle. Many years later, when I accompanied Shangguan Xiong, who was already a general of the Republic, back to Songmaoling to pay his respects, I could still see the white bones exposed in the wilderness, which glowed white in the sun, stabbing my eyes with extreme pain. It's hard for me to guess how Shangguan Xiong felt inside, there was already a deep chasm between the two of us at that time, and we were no longer good brothers who were born and died together, and we didn't have as many things to say as before, and I couldn't understand a lot of what he said. I regret accompanying him to Songmaoling, after he left western Fujian and returned to the capital, I had a knife in my heart for a long time, if not for anything else, just for those brothers who died in Songmaoling!

2

Songmaoling is a big mountain in the southeast of Changting, which is a necessary way to enter the Central Soviet Area, and it is also the last barrier to enter the Central Soviet Area. Songmaoling is more than 40 kilometers from south to north, there are lofty mountains and mountains everywhere, the forest is dense, the middle section is the whole line to rush, there are only two passages, one is in the main peak of Baiyangling, the other passage is called Liu Kengkou, the distance between the two places is about five miles, the terrain is very dangerous, it has always been a place where soldiers must fight.

In the battle of Wenfang half a month before the Battle of Songmaoling, the Red Army wiped out a brigade and a regiment of the Kuomintang Li Yutang's department, and the brigade commander Xu Yongxiang, who had fled back, was shot dead by Chiang Kai-shek, and the division commander Li Yutang was also demoted from lieutenant general to colonel. Chiang Kai-shek transferred six more divisions and advanced towards Songmaoling. In the battle of Wenfang, the commander did not consult Wang Ming and made his own decisions, and despite the victory, the commander did not sleep for two days and two nights, for fear of being blamed. However, because Jiangxi's rejuvenation was in an emergency, the Military Commission could not take much care of it, and instead of criticizing, it also transferred thousands of men and horses from here back to the division for reinforcements.

The Red Ninth Army Corps and the Red 24th Division laid heavy troops in Songmaoling, Baiyangling and Liukengkou, built fortifications and carved forts, and stood in a high position and waited for the battle. The carved castle was dug in a circle from the ground, and large logs were erected on top of the pit, and a layer of earth several feet thick was laid on top of it, and the soil was camouflaged with turf or branches. Careful arrangements were also made on several other main peaks, with large and small strongholds forming firepower crossings, and communication trenches dug between the main strongholds in the positions to connect and communicate with each other. There were outer trenches in front of the position, and deer firewood or bamboo sticks were used as obstacles. The front-line high ground in front of the main front belt was also built with improvised fortifications as a position for the advance of the Red Army or as a position for the Red Army's advance or for guard.

The "Tiger Battalion" led by Zhang Zongfu was stationed on the first line of high ground in front of the main peak of Baiyeling early, that is to say, we will be the first to engage fire with the White Army, our position is a few hundred meters away from the main position, and the White Army can only go up to attack the main position by crossing our forward position. On the eve of the war, Zhang Zongfu convened a meeting of cadres at and above the company level, and his speech at this meeting was very brief, unlike the previous speech. I could tell from his face that this battle was extraordinary! He finally said: "I still have the old saying, if you die in battle, you are a martyr, and if you live, you must fight to the end!" Go back and get ready! ”

3

It was a dewy morning, and you could hear the chirping of birds in the mountains and forests. Actually, I woke up before dawn, and I poked my head out of the trench, and it was pitch black in front of me, and it was the darkness before dawn. Shangguan Xiong, who was in charge of guarding, came to my side and whispered to me, "Why don't you sleep more?" When the battle starts, I don't know when I'll be able to sleep! I said to him, "Sleep for a while, and I'll be on guard!" Shangguan Xiong smiled: "I can't sleep, I don't have the heart to sleep, you see the brothers lying on their stomachs in this trench, how many of them are really asleep, and they are all awake." "In the dark, I couldn't see his eyes clearly, but I could feel the warmth emanating from his body. I reached out and punched him: "Are you scared?" Shangguan Xiong smiled: "What do you say?" I said, "Who is afraid of death?" Shangguan Xiong said in a deep voice: "I'm not afraid of death!" I'm really not afraid! I whispered, "I'm afraid." ”

The sky is getting brighter.

It was a sunny day, and the sky was so clean that there was not a single cloud, which made me feel the coolness of autumn. I suddenly remembered Huang Qigu on this sunny morning, as if she was standing at the door of the little mud house, looking far away, waiting for me to come home. It was a fleeting emotion that I couldn't grasp.

On the position, the fighters were preparing for battle.

I saw the trumpeter Xu Liangfa rubbing the military horn, and I walked up to him. He looked up at me, smiled, and said, "I'm going to blow the trumpet today!" I didn't say anything, just tapped him on the shoulder and made my rounds around the position.

Before the sun could show up, the White Army launched the first wave of attacks.

The White artillery bombarded the positions of the Red Army with ** guns, mountain artillery and mortars, and this beautiful morning was blown to pieces. Under the cover of artillery fire, the White Army charged at our positions. I slung my box gun to the belt around my waist, picked up a 38 rifle, and aimed it at the rushing white troops. The White Army was getting closer and closer to us, and when I saw that it was almost there, I fired the first shot and shouted: "Brothers, hit me!" "My shot pierced the forehead of a junior White officer, and he was unlucky enough to run into me, a sharpshooter.

The fighters shouted and fired angry bullets at the rushing White Army.

The White soldiers fell in rows, and corpses fell in front of the positions.

……

Another charge of the White Army was repulsed.

Battalion commander Zhang Zongfu ran over to me and asked, "Li Mazi, what is the casualty situation of your company?" ”

I said, "The situation is very bad, I have even more than 100 people, and more than 40 people have been sacrificed!" ”

Zhang Zongfu frowned and said, "Damn, if you continue to fight like this, you have to fight all the brothers in our tiger camp!" ”

I said, "Battalion Commander Zhang, we've been on guard for a whole day, I don't know how long we can keep watch!" ”

Zhang Zongfu said again: "No matter what, before receiving the order to retreat, we must hold our position to the death, even if all the brothers in our tiger battalion are dead!" Who made us a tiger camp! ”

I have nothing more to say.

It was a bloody dusk, completely different from the scene in the early morning, with gunsmoke and the painful cries of the wounded sounding from time to time. I gazed at the bloody sun, feeling the thirst I had never felt before, how long had it been since I had taken a sip of water, I picked up the kettle, the kettle was empty, there was not a drop of water, it turned out that my kettle had been pierced by a bullet, and the water had flowed out to feed the scorched earth of the war. I shouted, "Xu Liangfa, give me water, Lao Tzu wants to drink water!" ”

Shangguan Xiong walked up to me, handed me his kettle and said, "Drink mine!" ”

I took his kettle, desperately unscrewed the lid of the kettle, and poured it into my mouth, and as I gulped down my throat, I could feel the sizzling sound of cool water passing through my throat, like the sound of water pouring over a piece of red-hot iron.

I actually drank all the water in Shangguan Xiong's kettle in one go, and when I handed the kettle back to Shangguan Xiong, my eyes fell on his left arm wrapped in gauze, which was stained red with oozing blood. My eyes widened: "Ah Xiong, you have hung the lottery!" ”

Shangguan Xiong smiled faintly: "It's nothing, it's just a layer of skin." ”

After speaking, he took the empty kettle, turned around and walked towards the other side of the ditch, the setting sun shone on his broad back, and I suddenly remembered Shangguan Ming's back. Shangguan Xiong turned back to me as he walked: "Earth dog, Xu Liangfa sacrificed, he died in the morning, why did you forget?" ”

What kind of blade stabbed me in the heart, so sharp, so painful.

Yes, Xu Liangfa, the trumpeter of our company, died in the morning, and a piece of shrapnel was inserted deep into his temple...... Before he could blow the trumpet, he had already collapsed on the scorched earth. How can I forget, forget that Xu Liangfa has been sacrificed? I even asked him for water after he died, what a wolf-hearted dog!

I sat down on the ground in a gloomy state, when the setting sun set on the western mountains, and the earth suddenly became dark.

4

It was a very quiet night, it was the third night of the defense of Songmaoling. In three days, we suffered heavy losses, more than half of our company had been killed and wounded, and the entire Tiger Battalion had also been killed or wounded. We licked our wounds in the night, and with the White Army resting at night, we also had a chance to breathe.

Shangguan Xiong and I sat back to back. At that time, I felt that we were two homeless children, and in the deepest part of my heart, the sense of loss was ever-changing, even though I was already a bloody man who had forged me into invulnerability by war.

I said, "Ah Xiong, can we still go back to Changling Town?" ”

Shangguan Xiong said firmly: "I can't go back, the day we left, we were destined to not go back." Do you want to go back? ”

I said, "Yes! The master doesn't know what's going on? ”

Shangguan Xiong sighed: "Tugou, don't think about it so much, it's useless to think about it, the master has the master's way of living, and it's useless for us to think about it." Do you remember the words of the master? He said we're not in the pool, you know, Changling Town isn't the place for us to stay! As long as we don't die, anything is possible! ”

I suddenly didn't want to say anything and closed my eyes in the dark.

At that moment, there was a commotion on the other side of the trench.

I said, "What's going on?" ”

Shangguan Xiong was always quicker than me, and he stood up and walked over there. I also stood up and followed him. We saw a few soldiers pushing a man with a big tie up walking towards us, and Wu Youcai, the commander of the third platoon carrying a horse lantern, who was walking in front, walked up to us and said: "Company commander, deputy company commander, Liu Xiaoshan was caught deserting by us, see how to deal with it!" ”

Liu Xiaoshan's expression was panicked, his head was still wrapped in bandages, and there were still coagulated blood stains on his face.

What kind of crime is it to be a deserter at this time? A stream of hot blood rushed to my brain, I took out a box gun from my waist and pressed the gun against Liu Xiaoshan's head: "Son of a bitch, escape from the battle, Lao Tzu will kill you!" ”

Liu Xiaoshan knelt down in front of me: "Company commander, I, I really don't want to fight, I want to vomit when I see the corpse, I can't stand it, company commander, just let me go!" ”

My hand holding the gun trembled slightly, and I wanted to vomit when I thought of those corpses, but we had no way out, and we had to go down this road! I gritted my teeth and said, "So many battles have been fought, why didn't you plant at this time, you are ashamed, you know, shame!" Throw on our Tiger Camp people! If Lao Tzu doesn't kill you, what's the use of keeping you? ”

Liu Xiaoshan's tears flowed: "I really can't stand it Wow, if you don't let me go, just give me a shot, I really can't stand it-"

Shangguan Xiong asked me to put away the gun and whispered to Liu Xiaoshan: "Liu Xiaoshan, you stand up for Lao Tzu, a manly man stands up to the sky, kneels to the heavens and the earth, kneels down to his parents, even if he dies, he has to straighten his waist and die, why do you kneel down and stand up for Lao Tzu!" ”

Liu Xiaoshan stood up, trembling all over.

Shangguan Xiong pulled me aside: "Earth dog, are you really going to shoot him?" ”

I said, "If you don't kill him, it's hard to stabilize the morale of the army!" ”

Shangguan Xiong said: "Is it stable to kill him?" ”

I said, "So what do you say?" ”

Shangguan Xiong said: "Leave him to me to deal with!" ”

I was speechless.

Shangguan Xiong knew that I was speechless at some point, and he didn't say anything to me again, so he walked up to Liu Xiaoshan and said to the soldier who escorted him behind him: "Untie him!" After the soldiers untied Liu Xiaoshan, Shangguan Xiong said to Wu Youcai: "Youcai, you leave Liu Xiaoshan behind and take the others to rest, there will be a tough battle to fight tomorrow!" ”

Wu Youcai led the soldiers away, and they whispered as they went.

Shangguan Xiong took Liu Xiaoshan to a corner, not knowing what to talk to him.

……

Early the next morning, the White Army attacked again.

The flames of war continue to burn, the bloodshed continues, and the dead continue...... At noon, we had repelled another attack by the White Army, and before we could breathe our breath, we heard a roar in the sky, and one of the soldiers beside me pointed to the sky not far away, and I saw many huge blackbirds swooping towards our position. I yelled, "Hidden—"

Swooping in from the sky were the "Black Widow" planes of the White Army.

"Black Widow" threw down a lot of ** on our position and around the position, and then flew away. After a while, he swooped over again and threw down a lot of **...... I distinctly saw a man snatch the machine gun from the machine gun next to him, stand up, rush out of cover, stand on the hillside, roar and raise the machine gun to shoot at the "Black Widow" in the sky.

I lay on my stomach and stared at him blankly.

That soldier is Liu Xiaoshan, a deserter who was not shot by me last night! I heard Shangguan Xiong shouting loudly: "Xiaoshan, you come back to Lao Tzu!" Come back! ”

Many fighters were also shouting: "Xiaoshan, danger, you come back-"

Liu Xiaoshan didn't seem to hear their shouts, and shouted frantically: "Fuck your mother, come and blow me up!" Bastard, come and blow me up! It's kind of blowing me up—"

My eyes were full of blood.

One of the "Black Widows" was hit, dragged with a long plume of smoke, planted in a forest and exploded, and the forest suddenly became full of smoke.

Liu Xiaoshan stopped shooting, held the machine gun, and laughed maniacally.

Just as he was laughing maniacally, a "black widow" swooped down on him and threw a ** beside him.

My mouth opened wide.

I heard Shangguan Xiong's heart-rending shout: "Liu Xiaoshan, my good brother-"

At the same time, the ** exploded, and I saw Liu Xiaoshan's body being blown to pieces, and a piece of skin and flesh splashed over and stuck to my face, and I felt the warmth, the warmth that stabbed my heart......

5

What a terrible battle it was? I can't put it into words, but I know that this is the biggest battle since I joined the Red Army, and that we have suffered heavy losses and countless casualties. Later, I learned that in the six months after the battle, people within a radius of dozens of miles did not dare to go up the mountain, because the corpses were all over the field, the smell was unpleasant, maggots were born, all over the trees, and the pine branches were bent all over the mountains. After we held on to the main peak of Baiyangling for seven days and seven nights, and after completing the task of covering the transfer of the Central Red Army, we had no time to bury the sacrificed brothers, so we hurriedly evacuated Songmaoling, gathered at Zhongwu Village at the foot of Songmaoling Mountain, and began the Long March.

On that day, it was pouring rain.

The heavy rain was God's tears, but it couldn't wash away the blood stains on Songmaoling, nor could it wash away the smell of blood on my body.

Before the Long March, Zhang Zongfu called me to a place where there was no one and asked me with a ** look: "Mazi, can you go?" If you can't do it, just stay, and I'll explain to the local comrades, let them take good care of you, and when you are healed, they will come after us. ”

The first time I got angry at him, I opened my eyes and roared: "Zhang Zongfu, who told you that I can't go!" Lao Tzu is not dead, why can't he go? ”

Zhang Zongfu said in a low voice: "Don't be so loud, I'm for your good, because of your injury, Shangguan Xiong also means this, I'm afraid that something will happen to you." You're our good brother, we can't look at you-"

I continued to roar, "Look at me for what? See my jokes? Lao Tzu is not afraid, Lao Tzu is not afraid of your jokes, isn't it just a break **, what's the big deal! If you really want to be good to me, let me go with the army, and don't mention my injuries again!" ”

Zhang Zongfu looked at me for a while and said, "Okay, I'll listen to your opinion and go!" But listen to me and let your men carry you on stretchers! If that place gets inflamed, it's going to kill you! ”

I sighed and lowered my head.

That's something I've been talking about for the rest of my life.

On the afternoon of the sixth day of the battle for the defense of Songmaoling, a hill next to the main peak of Baiyangling, which we were holding onto, was occupied by the White Army, and we had already abandoned the first-line position in front of the main position. What did it mean that the hill, which was one of the main positions, was occupied by the Whites? The division commander gave the regiment commander a death order: "Take back that hill at all costs!" The regiment commander gave Zhang Zongfu, the commander of the Tiger Battalion, a death order: "Take back that mountain at all costs!" ”

Zhang Zongfu gathered the officers and soldiers of the whole battalion and attacked the mountain. The White Army also fought very tenaciously, and the Tiger Battalion did not take it after attacking for a morning, and more and more people were killed. Zhang Zongfu asked the regiment commander for reinforcements, and the regiment commander scolded him, saying that there were no troops that could be reinforced, and ordered Zhang Zongfu to take the hill before dusk, and if he couldn't take it, let Zhang Zongfu carry his head to see him!

Zhang Zongfu, who was red-eyed, was in a hurry, he took off his clothes, held a box gun in one hand and a saber in the other, and shouted loudly: "Brothers who are not afraid of death rush me-"

Shangguan Xiong also took off his clothes, his upper body was naked, holding a box gun in one hand and a ghost head knife in the other, and followed behind Zhang Zongfu.

I didn't take off my clothes, but I also picked up the ghost knife and yelled and followed them. The warriors also got on their bayonets and rushed with us towards the hill. The earth-shattering shouts of killing echoed in the mountains and forests, and the ghost head knife that our master Hu Sande built for us drank enough blood at this time. Knives, like people, become sharper after killing people. The soul of the knife and my soul fused together, and my heart suddenly became extremely hard, and the white soldiers who were resisting in front of me fell one by one, and I could not hear their screams, but only saw blood flying all over the sky.

In the process of fighting, I didn't feel anything wrong, I just felt numb in my lower body, and I didn't care at the time, and I was not allowed to think about anything, if I had been distracted at that time, maybe I would have been stabbed to death by the bayonets of the White soldiers. After we recaptured the mountain, Shangguan Xiong looked at my crotch and said, "Tugou, are you injured?" I said, "No." He pointed to my crotch and said, "Then why is there so much blood?" I looked down and saw that both of my trousers were soaked with blood, and the blood was still running down the trouser tubes, and blood was dripping down the crotch of my pants. That's when I felt a sharp pain, I reached into my crotch and touched it, then screamed and almost passed out. I let a stray bullet knock it off......

6

Two Red Army soldiers carried me through the mountains leading to Jiangxi with difficulty, no one in the team spoke, and I knew that everyone's hearts were very heavy, and the road ahead was long, and none of us knew what the future would hold. The rain makes the roads muddy and makes the road ahead even more confusing.

Ever since my life was broken, I have been burning a fire in my heart, a nameless fire, and I wonder if this fire will burn itself to charcoals! I was lying on the stretcher, panting for breath, what the fuck is this, it's not good to hurt, I have to hurt in this place, maybe the dog who shot the black gun has died under my ghost knife, but I am still full of hatred for him. Shangguan Xiong was always by my side, he didn't know how to comfort me, and I could see that he was also very sad in his heart. Walking and walking, he asked the warrior behind him to give him the stretcher, maybe he would be better in carrying my heart.

I was inexplicably angry at him: "Ah Xiong, do you sympathize with me? I don't want you to carry it, you put the stretcher down for me! ”

Shangguan Xiong's face was solemn and he didn't say a word, no matter what I said, he just carried me silently.

The more he didn't speak, the more angry I became.

I sat up on the stretcher, stretched out my hands and grabbed his shoulders, and shook him violently: "You stop Lao Tzu, Lao Tzu will go by himself, don't you carry it!" ”

They stopped, and Shangguan Xiong's face became very ugly, like a hazy sky.

At this time, Zhang Zongfu walked over. He glared at me and said, "Mazi, how can you do this! I told you to stay, you want to leave, and now you're fooling around, you know, the pursuers behind us are biting us to death! We can't drag down the entire army because of you alone! If you want to go, let them carry you honestly, or you stay! ”

I yelled at Zhang Zongfu: "When did I let you carry me, you forced me to lie on a stretcher!" Let Lao Tzu come down, I won't go slower than you! ”

Zhang Zongfu was also angry: "I don't know what to do!" Put this bull down on me and let him go on his own! Let's stop serving him, shameless! ”

I jumped off the stretcher, pulled out the ghost head knife inserted in Shangguan Xiong's back, and inserted it into the belt behind my back: "Lao Tzu's own knife is on his back, Lao Tzu will not drag you down, go!" ”

I ran frantically through the mud. The road was slippery, I walked too hard, I fell, I gritted my teeth and continued to run wildly, until I rushed to the front of the line. I endured the pain caused by the friction and thought to myself, what is this pain, I can't just be looked down upon!

If I obediently listen to Zhang Zongfu's words and lie on a stretcher and let them carry me on the march, or my lifeblood will not be inflamed. After walking for two days, I was so cold that I finally couldn't support it anymore and fell to the ground, unable to get up like a plague chicken. They put me back on the stretcher and moved on. I thought they would drop mine, but they didn't. Zhang Zongfu said: "As long as Li Mazi still has a breath, he will be carried away!" ”

That night, we camped in a small village.

At that fellow's house, Shangguan Xiong asked the fellow to burn a pot of charcoal for me and put it in front of my bunk, my fever did not subside, I shivered with cold, and the military doctor did not have fever reducer, Shangguan Xiong covered my forehead with a wet towel, afraid that I would burn my brain. The fellow was an old man, alone, and he said that his son had also joined the Red Army, and now he did not know where. When he saw me like this, he went up the mountain overnight to pick herbs for me, boiled them for me to drink, and used the only remaining salt to put them in boiling water to wash my festering lower body. In the second half of the night, my fever magically subsided. I wanted to talk to Shangguan Xiong who was lying next to me, and seeing that he slept so soundly and so deeply, I dispelled this thought.

The inflammation in my lower body is still there, and if I don't let it scab over and heal as soon as possible, let alone continue to march and fight, it may really kill me.

My eyes fell on the coal-fire.

I thought about my time as a blacksmith in Changling Town, and the red-hot iron gave me some kind of inspiration. An idea came to mind, and it excites me. I put the iron tongs that I used to hold the charcoal next to the brazier into the brazier, and I watched intently as the tongs gradually became red with the charcoals, and I believe my eyes became blood-red.

I let it go.

In ancient times, I used red-hot iron tongs to burn the wound on the root of my life, so that it would scab in the shortest time, and it also played a role in disinfection.

I took off my pants and walked around the dirty gauze that was holding my life.

My half of my life was miserable.

I shoved the towel into my mouth and bit it tightly. The long pain is better than the short pain, I put my heart down, picked up the iron tongs with the red burning head, and burned the root of life under me, I heard the sound of sizzling, saw a puff of smoke rushing up, and smelled a strong stench of burning...... My eyes were sudden, and the unbearable pain made me pass out......