History is really wonderful: Ye Ting, who has changed from a "double" party member to a "non-party" person, has actually become Mao's "guest" and the commander of the New Fourth Army "approved" by Chiang Kai-shek.

November 3, 1937.

Yan'an.

It was close to noon, and the scorching sun was blazing the yellow earth. Although it is winter, whenever the sun is shining, the sun shoots down like thousands of arrows, and the sting makes people's scalps still itch.

The winter sun on the Loess Plateau also resembles a strong man full of masculinity, neither the charm of the sun in the south of the Yangtze River, nor the softness of the sun in the south, and always maintains a rough, honest and bold nature.

An American-style military jeep flew into Yan'an, the capital of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo Border Region, on the Loess Plateau in northern Shaanxi Province.

It is the seat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

It is the holy land and cradle of the Chinese revolution.

The leading comrades of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China live here.

Mao **, who was called the "great savior" by the working people.

Commander-in-Chief Zhu De, who has experienced a hundred battles.

The wise and dignified Zhou Enlai.

Liu Shaoqi on the outside and square on the inside.

Ye Jianying, who is both civil and military.

Wait a minute.

It can be said that it is a place where heroes gather, a stage for great people to display their ambitions, and a great wall of steel that constitutes the backbone of the nation.

Sitting in the American jeep was Ye Ting, who was over the age of confusion.

Today's Ye Ting is no longer wearing a tweed officer uniform, a cowhide armed belt around his waist, and tall black cowhide boots, with an awe-inspiring military image, but wearing a dark blue Zhongshan suit on his upper body, a pair of half-new black cowhide shoes on his feet, his hair is not short or long, his forehead is carved by the years, leaving a few obvious wrinkles, and the crow's feet at the corners of his eyes are like early blooming autumn chrysanthemums. In contrast, compared with Ye Ting during the "August 1" Nanchang Uprising and the fierce battle of the 24th and 25th Divisions in Huichang, compared with Ye Ting before the Spring and Autumn Period, he is indeed a little less handsome and young, and indeed a little more mature, sophisticated and profound.

Judging from Ye Ting's attire at this time, he is no longer a senior military commander of the National Revolutionary Army; is no longer a warrior who fights on the battlefield. People who are well versed in Ye Ting's internal affairs know that at this moment he is neither a member of the Communist Party nor a member of the Kuomintang, but a wanderer who has just returned to China from overseas, and is an out-and-out "non-party" person. The wrinkles on his forehead and the crow's feet at the corners of his eyes are a copy of the glory and disgrace, the ups and downs, and the bitter wind and rain and severe cold and frost of his life over the years. However, judging from the expression on his face, he was not lost, depressed, depressed, and depressed by the injustice of the world and the tribulations of fate, but forged a masculine and majestic strength from setbacks, with an inner insight and discernment.

Yan'an, which catches Ye Ting's eye, is an ancient and magical land. The open and majestic Loess Plateau, the unique mountains and mountains, the trapezoidal ditches and ridges, and the knife-like ridges and rivers give people a feeling of broadness, magnificence, majesty and honesty. It is surrounded by the Yellow River in the east, the Great Wall in the north, the Huangling in the south, the desert in the west, the Weibei Mountain Range, the Yinshan Mountain Range, the Luliang Mountain Range and the Helan Mountain Range in the south, the north, the east and the west are surrounded by the Weibei Mountain Range, the Yinshan Mountain Range, the Luliang Mountain and the Helan Mountain are surrounded by each other, forming a unique glorious appearance, coupled with the Yan River flowing through, the towering Pagoda Mountain is majestic and the world is majestic, and the Qingliang Mountain and the Phoenix Mountain are paved with green and green, thus forming a mysterious world that is unique in the Loess Plateau.

Although Yan'an does not have the bright lights and high-rise skyscrapers of Shanghai, nor does it have the busy traffic and precious flowers and grass of Yangcheng and Guangzhou, nor is it like the rumbling of military vehicles and the cruising of warships in the three towns of Wuhan, it has a steaming revolutionary enthusiasm and the intimacy of the army and the people that cannot be compared with Shanghai, Guangzhou and Wuhan, as well as the simple feelings of the communists.

Rows of simple caves, cheerful gongs and drums, indulgent songs, bold Xintianyou, assassination teams on the playground, and a gathering of contemporary Chinese political, military, literary, artistic and other elites make Yan'an indeed a veritable holy place.

The Chinese Revolution took this as a foothold.

The Chinese Revolution took this as its starting point.

The tension formed by these two points will become an indestructible explosive force and indomitable tenacity.

This place called Yan'an, with his flesh and blood bred golden millet, nurtured the revolution, and the revolution was also nourished by the yellow earth to develop a strong body that could not be matched. The Juche spirit of the Chinese revolution is flying here, and the Chinese nation will rise here. "General Ye Ting, welcome!" When Ye Ting's American-style jeep stopped in front of the cave where Mao ** lived at the foot of Phoenix Mountain, Mao ** and Zhu De, commander-in-chief of the Eighth Route Army, and other CCP leaders walked out of the cave to welcome.

"General Ye Ting, Nanchang farewell, I haven't seen you for a few years, I miss you very much!" Commander-in-Chief Zhu De grabbed Ye Ting's hand with both hands and shook it again and again, with sincerity.

"Captain Ye, welcome, welcome!" The restrained Ye Jianying also stepped forward and shook hands with Ye Ting happily.

So many leaders walked out of the cave together, and it was almost noon, and it was obvious that Mao ** and the CCP leaders in Yan'an had been waiting to greet Ye Ting for a long time.

"Thank you, thank you!" Ye Tingjian Mao ** standing in front of him, tall and burly, like a towering mountain rising from the twilight, majestic, with a kind of awe-inspiring charm. Since Ye Ting returned to China, through reading newspapers and introducing friends, he has gained a certain understanding of Mao's superb military command ability and extraordinary achievements. He successfully organized and led the "Autumn Harvest Uprising" and established the first Soviet revolutionary base area in Jinggangshan, successfully smashing the large-scale counter-revolutionary encirclement and suppression launched by Chiang Kai-shek against the Jinggangshan revolutionary base area again and again. At the critical juncture of the survival of the revolutionary life, he led the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army to carry out the world-famous 25,000-mile Long March, crossed the Chishui River four times, dispatched like a miraculous calculation, broke through the Wujiang River, rushed to cross the Dadu River, climbed snow-capped mountains, crossed grasslands, conquered rare difficulties and obstacles in the history of human existence, overcame the death lines beyond the limits of human life, and victoriously arrived in Yan'an, northern Shaanxi, composing a tragic and magnificent human epic that has never been seen before.

However, the great man Mao **, who roughly supported the Chinese revolution with his eloquence, was dressed in a gray cloth shirt, with a patch more than a foot long at the knees of his trousers, and a pair of cloth shoes worn by old farmers in Shaanxi on his feet, his burning eyes flashed with superhuman wisdom and fortitude, as well as a heart-warming love, ease and the modesty of Corporal Lixian, elegant and erudite demeanor, and there was no trace of arrogance and self-esteem.

This is the great personality and great character of a great man.

This is the great demeanor of a generation of Tianjiao.

No wonder the self-righteous Chiang Kai-shek regarded him as a real opponent.

It is no wonder that the arrogant and arrogant Kuomintang troops have been played with by him again and again.

Ye Ting felt that through the big hand that he held tightly with Mao **, the distance between him and this great man was suddenly shortened.

"Come, come and sit in my cave. This cave is warm in winter and cool in summer, but it is a 'specialty' of Yan'an. Mao ** smiled humorously, and waved his hand to ask Ye Ting to go first.

"Or the chairman goes first." Ye Ting stood straight, still looking like a soldier.

"Xiyi, you are a guest, the chairman asks you to go first, you can go to the cave first." Zhu De, the commander-in-chief of the Eighth Route Army, who is also dressed in cloth, and Ye Ting have become close friends since they met since the "August 1" Nanchang Uprising, so they are more cordial to Ye Ting with "words".

"I'm not a guest, I'm here to accept the leadership of the party." Ye Ting walked towards the cave and said with his chest exposed.

"That's right." Mao ** nodded slightly, "General Ye Ting in the Northern Expedition in order to realize Mr. Sun Yat-sen's democratic revolution, and the Communist Party are like-minded, today for the Kuomintang and the Communist Party to unite to resist Japan, we are together again, we can be described as a family!" ”

Ye Ting walked into Mao's simplely furnished cave and saw that it was a bright and dark three-room house made of blue bricks. In the middle is a living room, an old square table and a few benches, one on the left or where the guards and secretaries live, and on the right is Mao's living room and office, wooden benches, wooden beds, horse lamps, and standard farm furnishings.

Mao ** is an excellent son of a farmer, and he has always maintained his true character as a farmer.

Ye Ting sat opposite Mao **.

"General Ye Ting, let's talk about the perception of Yan'an." Mao ** lit a cigarette, took a deep breath, and looked at Ye Ting affectionately and said.

"It's a lot of emotion." Ye Ting's face became solemn as he spoke.

"Let's talk about it." Commander-in-Chief Zhu De sat on Mao's side.

"Okay." After Ye Ting introduced what he had seen and heard from far and near on his way from Nanjing to Wuhan and then to Xi'an, he immediately said with a heavy heart: "Since Japanese imperialism invaded the three northeastern provinces of our country, and then the 'July 7 Lugou Bridge Incident' broke out, Shanghai was bombed repeatedly, and the vast area of North China was ravaged by the iron hooves of the invaders. Now that the country is in danger, it is fortunate that the KMT and the CCP have implemented the second cooperation, united and united to resist Japan. I have conscientiously read the "Letter to All Compatriots for Resisting Japan and Saving the Country" published in the name of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and I very much support the Communist Party's call for the people of the whole country to unite, stop the civil war, organize national defense and anti-Japanese coalition forces, and expel Japanese imperialism from China. Therefore, my visit to Yan'an this time is to express my will to continue to serve the country and my determination to persist in the War of Resistance to the end. ”

"General Ye, I would like to express my gratitude to you for your understanding of the Communist Party's dedication to promoting the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party and jointly resisting Japan, and I would like to express my admiration for your great ambition to serve the motherland as always." Mao ** habitually pricked cigarettes with his right hand, put his left hand into his waist, and paced back and forth while talking, "As the old saying goes, you are noble and faithful, and you lose a hundred skillful and sincere." I hope that Chairman Chiang Kai-shek should also be so sincere, and then the expulsion of Japanese imperialism from China will be just around the corner! ”

"Home and everything is prosperous! In recent years, China's national strength has been declining day by day, and the people are poor, because of the continuous fires and civil strife! Zhu De, the commander-in-chief from a poor family, said with deep emotion.

"Yes, some people, some political parties, have so far flattered the great powers on the outside, but they are arbitrary and dictatorial on the inside, bringing disaster to the country and the people. Therefore, we, the Communists, must arouse the toiling masses of the whole country to rely on our own revolutionary armed forces and unite all the forces that can be united; after a heroic struggle, no matter how ferocious the Japanese imperialism is, no matter how great its ambition to invade the country and the whole of Asia is, it is doomed to fail! Mao ** spoke with a Hunan accent, word by word, impassioned, like angry waves crashing on the shore, sending out the thunder of majestic mountains and rivers.

Ye Ting, who had been sitting upright, moved his eyes closely with Mao**'s walking posture. From Mao's surging words, he heard Mao's skillful policy adopted by the Communist Party in the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, the united front and strategic decisions implemented in the War of Resistance against Japan, and he was deeply proud that the Communist Party had such a genius leader with latitude and earth. He saw Mao's guards pushing the door several times as if there was something urgent to report, so he stood up: "Chairman, if you have any instructions for me, please give me." ”

"No hurry, no hurry." Mao ** and Ye Ting stood face to face, "I have already ordered you to arrange a stay, first sleep well in the cave in Yan'an, and then we will continue to set up the dragon gate array tomorrow." Wow, Commander-in-Chief Zhu? ”

"Yes! Fine! Zhu De nodded repeatedly.

"Then let's solve the stomach problem first, or he will protest again." Mao ** patted his stomach as he spoke.

"Yes! Fine! Zhu De laughed heartily.

After lunch, Ye Ting was accompanied by Ye Jianying to walk around the nearby Central Auditorium and the Yanhe River, rested in the afternoon, and slept in the cleaned Yan'an cave for the first time in his life at night.

That night, Ye Ting had insomnia.

Ye Ting's insomnia was not due to excessive fatigue along the way, nor was it due to the unaccustomed habit of sleeping on the clay kang in the caves of northern Shaanxi, but because he felt the pain and unspeakable reasons for his loss.

A few hours ago, Ye Ting felt that when Mao ** met him, he was praised, respected, and easy, but not cordial enough.

Why?

You don't see, as the **** of the Communist Party of China, Mao ** called Ye Ting "General Ye Ting" and "Commander Ye" when he called Ye Ting, not only did he not call him "Xiyi" affectionately, but he also never heard a "comrade" from beginning to end, which was called within the specific revolutionary team.

Is it because I have left the Communist Party and am no longer a member of the Communist Party? No way!

Or did I come back from abroad and most of the people I came into contact with were Kuomintang, and the Communist Party did not approve of me, the commander of the "New Fourth Army of the National Revolutionary Army", which was first "approved" by Chiang Kai-shek?

Ye Ting thought.

Indeed, after Ye Ting returned from Europe, he felt like a motherless child and very lonely. Because he broke away from both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. Nowadays, whether it is anti-Japanese or openly and covertly fighting, it is a matter between the two parties. I am not a party anymore, who are I going to go to?

"Friendship between robes and rivers" is a virtue that Chinese soldiers have always admired and ostentatious, and Ye Ting, who should be included in the ranks of traditional soldiers, is naturally no exception.

If we talk about "robes," the figures who have worked together in the army for many years and can be contacted in time at the present time are Chen Jitang, a high-ranking general of the Kuomintang and the current chief general of Guangdong Province, and Chen Cheng, who is known as the "Chen Cheng group" and became the number one general of the "suppression of the communists" on the battlefield in Jiangxi.

Ye Ting and Chen Jitang became colleagues when they left the Baoding Military Academy to follow Sun Yat-sen to participate in the revolutionary war to unify Guangdong.

When Chen Jitang heard that Ye Ting had returned from Europe, he immediately wrote him a warm letter inviting him to "work together".

Ye Ting's sincerity was difficult, so he met Chen Jitang, who had a heavy army.

After the two people exchanged pleasantries, Chen Jitang revealed his "wolf ambition", trying to let Ye Ting lead his troops to blockade and encircle the Red Army.

"Honesty is lifted." When Ye Ting heard this, he became angry in his heart, and anger grew from his guts. Although he and Chen Jitang belong to the old "robe", they have never had a good impression of Chen Jitang. Chen Jitang has always been a political opportunist. Long before the rectification of the National Revolutionary Army, Chen Jitang left the army to go to the Soviet Union to "investigate" the gilding in order to gain political capital, and wrote a false "inspection report", and suddenly became the commander of the 11th Division of the Fourth Army. During the Northern Expedition, he stayed in Guangzhou under the pretext of staying in Guangzhou, and came to protect himself with a wise mind, and did not contribute to the revolutionary war launched by Sun Yat-sen. Later, during the revolutionary coup d'état launched by Chiang Kai-shek, he thought that Chiang Kai-shek would become a big weapon in the future, so he hurriedly hugged Chiang Kai-shek's thigh and helped to massacre the Communists in an abusive manner. After that, Chiang Kai-shek, who was originally a "fellow party," turned against Li Jishen, and Chen Jitang, who was originally Li Jishen's confidant, became a "grass on the wall" again, and fell to the side of Chiang Kai-shek, whose power was greater than Li Jishen, and became Chiang Kai-shek's hardcore accomplice. Now, he wants to call Ye Ting to be his cadre in the Red Army, Ye Tingyan can be with this kind of wolf-like guy!

Therefore, Ye Ting and Chen Jitang talked for less than an hour, and then got up to say goodbye because "words are not speculative". Moreover, as soon as Ye Tingyi walked out of the gate of Chen Jitang's "Southern Heavenly King" mansion, his teeth and bones suddenly bulged a fleshy edge, and he scolded fiercely in his heart: "You want to call me an accomplice and culprit in the encirclement and suppression of the Red Army, despicable!" ”

To say that Ye Ting and Chen Cheng's old friendship is not comparable to ordinary people.

As early as the early 20s, Deng Yanda, Ye Ting's close friend and then the commander of the Third Regiment of the First Division of the Guangdong Army, selected officers in Shanghai, brought back Chen Cheng, who was then the newly promoted officer of the Third Division of the Zhejiang Army, and immediately made him a company commander. After that, Deng Yanda took Chen Cheng to the Whampoa Military Academy to serve as a special officer of the school department and the commander of the artillery company.

Because Ye Ting and Deng Yanda are alumni of the Baoding Military Academy, and they have the same temperament as each other, they are very close. As Chen Cheng, who was appreciated by Deng Yanda, naturally there were many opportunities to meet Ye Ting. There are more opportunities to meet and talk about more topics, and the two people are almost the same age, and they are both ambitious and ambitious, so they have a good impression of each other.

Since the beginning of the Northern Expedition, Ye Ting led the independent regiment to the expedition first, Deng Yanda also followed the General Political Department to the north, and Chen Cheng's supplementary division followed Chiang Kai-shek's Eastern Route Army to East China.

Later, Ye Ting also knew that Chen Cheng followed Chiang Kai-shek, made steady progress, and had prosperous official fortunes, not only from battalion commander to regiment commander, from regiment commander to division commander, and then promoted to director of the Military Affairs Department of the Military Commission, commander of the guard of the general headquarters of the group army and commander of artillery, but also because he was good at clever words, tended to be inflammatory, and took Chiang Kai-shek as a "fellow countryman" of the geographical complex, fiercely hugged Chiang Kai-shek's thighs, and was willing to stick a knife in Chiang Kai-shek's ribs, go to the soup and fire, and serve the work of dogs and horses, so he became Chiang Kai-shek's henchman. became the commander of Chiang Kai-shek's most elite 18th Army. After Ye Ting returned from Europe, Chen Cheng said several times that he would "work together", because Ye Ting knew that Chen Cheng was acting as the vanguard of the "suppression of the Communist Party", although he had met with him, he had always adopted the strategy of "respecting and staying away".

During this period, Ye Ting went to Fuzhou to interact with Zhang Yunyi, and also learned some information about Zhu De, He Long, Liu Bocheng, Nie Rongzhen, Ye Jianying, Chen Yi, Xu Xiangqian, and other old colleagues and comrades-in-arms during the Nanchang and Guangzhou uprisings.

Ye Ting came into contact with Chen Cheng from the bottom of his heart, not long after the "cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party". He learned that because the patriotic generals Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng had launched a military campaign in Xi'an, they refused to accept coercion and encircled and suppressed the Red Army in northern Shaanxi, and because Chiang Kai-shek ordered the suppression of patriotic student demonstrations and the massacre of progressive youth, he detained Chiang Kai-shek. At the urgent invitation of Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng, the Communist Party sent Zhou Enlai as plenipotentiary to mediate, and after reasonable and restrained negotiations and struggles with Chiang Kai-shek, Chiang Kai-shek was forced to agree to "stop suppressing the Communist Party and join forces with the Red Army to resist Japan," thus reaching the proposition of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party uniting to jointly resist Japan.

Ye Ting received a more important piece of news: although Chiang Kai-shek promised not to exterminate the Red Army and that the Kuomintang and the Communist Party would unite to resist Japan, his proposition of "fighting outside the country must first secure the interior" absolutely did not change his course, but only made the means of eliminating the Communist Party more cunning, more insidious, and more hidden. Chiang Kai-shek agreed with the Communist Party's goal of "jointly resisting Japan" to reorganize the main force of the Red Army into the Eighth Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army, and at the same time he proposed to reorganize the Red Army guerrillas in the eight southern provinces. He deeply felt that the guerrillas in several southern provinces, under the leadership of Xiang Ying, were out of nowhere, and although the conditions were very difficult, they lacked equipment, little food and grass, and were constantly surrounded and suppressed by the Kuomintang troops, but the guerrillas could not be defeated. Chiang Kai-shek wanted to reorganize the southern guerrillas into a regular army, and if he sent a commander who was assigned to him, would it be tantamount to strangling the guerrillas in a cage.

At the end of the summer of 1937, Ye Ting had the opportunity to meet Zhou Enlai who was passing through Shanghai on the way to negotiate with Chiang Kai-shek in Lushan. Zhou Enlai, who was familiar with Ye Ting's character and ambitions, hoped that he would take advantage of this opportunity and recommend Chiang Kai-shek through Chen Cheng to participate in the reorganization of the guerrillas in the eight provinces south of the Yangtze River.

Ye Ting listened to Zhou Enlai's gesture and felt that the two were "heroes who see things in the same way", so he immediately found Chen Cheng and made it clear that he wanted him to promise Chiang Kai-shek that he would participate in the reorganization of the guerrillas in the eight southern provinces, and proposed that the reorganized guerrilla force be called the "New Fourth Army of the National Revolutionary Army."

"Xiyi, I have long planned to reorganize this guerrilla force, with you as the supreme commander." Chen Cheng listened to Ye Tinghe's request, and happily said that he also "saw the same thing as a hero" with Ye Ting.

However, Chen Cheng's idea to beat Ye Ting was that he felt that he was punished by the Communist Party after the failure of the Guangzhou Uprising, so he was so angry that he ran to Europe and broke away from the Communist Party. This time, the guerrillas in the eight southern provinces were reorganized and Ye Ting was sent there, so that he would no longer get close to the Communist Party, but would become Chiang Kai-shek's confidant, restrain the Communist cadres, and stand by to eliminate this guerrilla force in one fell swoop.

"Then please leave it to you, old robe." Ye Ting, who didn't know Chen Cheng's wishful thinking, clasped his fists with his hands in gratitude and thanked him again and again.

"Just wait for the good news." Chen Cheng, who was conceited, came to take a big package.

Sure enough, in less than a month, Chiang Kai-shek, without the consent of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, issued a circular by the Quanxu Department of the National Military Commission, announcing that it had been "approved by the chairman" and "appointed Ye Ting as the commander of the new Fourth Army".

It should be said that the CPC Central Committee is wary of treating the Communist Party as a beast of prey and not completely eliminating Chiang Kai-shek, who refused to give up, and arbitrarily and unilaterally "approving Ye Ting" as the commander of the New Fourth Army.

If Zhou Enlai, Zhu De, Ye Jianying and others know Ye Ting, it is also the impression of 10 years ago, Ye Ting has been abroad for so many years, what he has done abroad, and what he has done in the past few years after returning to China, they don't know either; What's more, as the chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China, Mao ** has only heard of Ye Ting's reputation in the Northern Expedition, but he has never seen him, let alone "knowing people and being good at work".

Therefore, in view of the complicated situation in the reorganization of the guerrilla forces in the eight southern provinces, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China repeatedly reminded Ye Jianying and Qin Bangxian, as negotiators, that they "must strictly guard against the Kuomintang's plots in the process of reorganization." At the same time, Zhou Enlai in Shanghai and other places repeatedly telegraphed to find out whether Ye Ting could become a military commander.

Zhou Enlai, Ye Jianying, Qin Bangxian, and others unanimously agreed: Ye Ting is a candidate for military commander acceptable to both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party.

This kind of expression, if condensed into a concise and clear sentence: Ye Ting is suitable to be the commander of the New Fourth Army.

Soon, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China made a decision: please invite Ye Ting to Yan'an to negotiate!

"Invite Ye Ting to come to Yan'an to negotiate", isn't it just to welcome Ye Ting to Yan'an to discuss the formation of the New Fourth Army? What else can you be guarded against?

The night of Yan'an in winter is like a splashed ink painting, the near view is a cave with rough lines, the middle ground is a towering pagoda, and the distant ground is a deep canopy, deep and atmospheric, pale and majestic.

The night in Yan'an in winter is very quiet again. Although the officers and men of the CPC Central Central Command Department were soundly asleep, although there was a slight sound of "tick-tick" sending and receiving reports from the cave of the CPC Central Command Department, and staff officers went out of the cave to urgently transmit war reports from various base areas across the country, the footsteps were not "thump" but "rustling", and they were swift and light. Then there is the bright lights of the cave where Chairman Mao ** lives all night, and the figures of the guards and soldiers outside the cave moving with guns. Tranquility marks calmness, represents profundity, symbolizes maturity, and implies generosity.

Ye Ting was lying on the wooden bed in the Yan'an cave, his hands crossed behind his head, staring straight at the white paper-framed ceiling with his eyes, his thoughts churning and surging.

Following.

After breakfast, Mao **, who was in charge of everything, first accompanied Ye Ting to visit the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University. Ye Ting was deeply admired and intoxicated by the educational policy of "firm and correct political direction, arduous and simple work style, flexible strategy and tactics" and the school spirit of "unity, tension, seriousness, and liveliness" written by Mao ** for the establishment of Kang Da, and was encouraged by the poor teaching conditions of Kang Da and the high learning enthusiasm of the students. Then, Mao ** invited Ye Ting to his cave and told him frankly that the CPC Central Committee, after careful consideration and study, had decided that it was desirable to reorganize the Red Army guerrillas in the eight southern provinces into a single army, and it was also very good that the reorganized army should be named the "New Fourth Army of the National Revolutionary Army." The establishment of the New Fourth Army was set at two divisions, four brigades, and eight regiments. Ye Ting served as the commander of the army, and Xiang Ying, a Communist Party member who always insisted on leading the Red Army guerrillas in the eight southern provinces, served as the deputy commander, and Zhou Zikun served as the chief of staff of the army. The commander of the first division is Chen Yi, and the deputy commander of the first division is Zhang Yunyi; The commander of the second division is Zhang Dingcheng, and the deputy commander of the second division is Tan Zhenlin.

"General Ye Ting, do you think the establishment of this army and the allocation of leading cadres of the army division are okay?" Mao ** took a deep breath of cigarette, looked at Ye Ting, who was straight, and said in an inquiring tone.

"I completely agree with the arrangement of the central government." Ye Ting replied as soon as he opened his mouth to show his firm support for the central government's decision. After a moment of contemplation, he added, "Still, I have one hope. ”

"Say, say." Mao ** told Ye Ting with a trusting gaze that he could be outspoken.

"I hope that the central authorities will send more effective brigade and regiment-level cadres to enrich the New Fourth Army." Ye Ting said his expectations briskly.

"Yes." Mao's bright eyes flashed like lightning, and he smiled happily, "However, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression has been in full swing, and it will be a protracted war, and Japanese imperialism will not be willing to accept their defeat." Therefore, our army needs a large number of outstanding military and political cadres on the battlefield in the northwest and in the battlefield in North China. Therefore, the New Fourth Army should select more cadres from the Red Army guerrillas in the eight southern provinces, uphold the principle of independence in the united front, and carry out guerrilla warfare on a wider scale. ”

"Yes." Ye Ting replied in a loud voice.

"Okay, General Ye Ting, the central government has organized a welcome meeting for your presence in the Kang Da Auditorium, then let's go." Mao ** stretched out his hand to extinguish the finished cigarette in the ashtray on the square table, and walked out of the cave with his legs.

Ye Ting wanted to say a few words of refusal, but before he could speak, Mao ** had already walked out of the cave, so he had to come as a guest.

The Kang Da Auditorium is bustling with activity today. The walls were posted with big-character slogans such as "Warmly welcome Commander Ye Ting" and "Salute to Ye Ting, a famous general of the Northern Expedition." When the relevant leaders of the CPC Central Committee, Mao **, Zhu De, Ren Bishi, and Dong Biwu, accompanied Ye Ting to appear on the rostrum of the Kang Da auditorium, the members of the Kang University and the responsible comrades of various departments of the CPC Central Committee and the representatives of the masses applauded warmly.

Mao ** first announced Ye Ting's decision to serve as the commander of the New Fourth Army in the name of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and then delivered a speech: "We solemnly welcome General Ye Ting today, not only because he is a famous general of the Northern Expedition and has made special contributions to the democratic revolution, but also because he is willing to serve as the commander of our New Fourth Army today, which shows his noble character of standing up at a time of national danger and putting the interests of the country first. General Ye Ting supported our party's policy of the anti-Japanese national united front and the anti-Japanese stand put forward by our party, and said that he would lead all the officers and men of the New Fourth Army to resolutely resist the aggression of Japanese imperialism! ”

Applause. Thunderous applause.

"Now I welcome General Ye Ting's speech." Mao ** smiled at Ye Ting, and then made a gesture to ask him to come forward and speak.

Ye Ting looked at this grand scene, stepped forward excitedly and said: "Thank you Chairman Mao ** for your love to me, thank you for welcoming me." Today, the CPC Central Committee has decided to appoint me as commander of the New Fourth Army, and I am deeply honored. But," he said after a slight pause here, he plucked up courage to say, "as you know, I have taken a detour on the revolutionary road for some time, and now I am following it again. In the future, I will unswervingly follow the path guided by the Communist Party and resolutely resist to the end under the leadership of the Party Central Committee! ”

Applause. It's also thunderous.

A few days later, when Ye Ting, who was inspired by the steaming revolutionary scene of the "Holy Land of Revolution", was about to leave Yan'an, Mao ** saw him off again.

"Commander Ye, regarding the appointment of Comrade Xiang Ying, Chen Yi and other comrades in the New Fourth Army, you still have to do more dredging work with Chairman Jiang!" Mao's tone was very heavy when he said this, which shows how much he attaches importance to the revolutionary armed forces of the Communist Party.

"Chairman, don't worry, I will do my best and not stop until I achieve my goal." Ye Ting's words were as firm as an oath.

"Well, I wish you success!"

"Thank you!"

The big hand of a great man and the big hand of a great general were tightly clenched together.

Tight.