"April 8th", a day of common sorrow for heaven and man.

April 8, 1946.

Early morning.

The mountain city of Chongqing.

The weather was cloudy. Although the visibility is not as good as usual, the fog is not like the usual catkins, but there seems to be a thick layer of lead cast in the air, which invisibly gives people a sense of heaviness.

On the gravel road from the Eighth Route Army Office in Hongyan Village to Baishiyi Airport, there are several American-style jeeps and sedans galloping, one of which sits Ye Ting, who is wearing a gray woolen tunic and black serge suit pants, and next to him is his wife Li Xiuwen and daughter Meimei, nanny Gao Qiong is holding Ye Ting's youngest son A Jiu, sitting in the seat next to the driver, the family is beaming, everyone has a sweet smile on their faces, and the joyful look also contains a kind of eagerness, a kind of longing.

Several cars came to an abrupt stop in front of the tarmac, and those who got out of the cars were Wang Ruofei, Qin Bangxian, and Deng Fa, senior cadres of the party Central Committee, Mr. Huang Qisheng, and his grandson Huang Xiaozhuang, senior in Guizhou's educational circles and Wang Ruofei's uncle, and in the last car were Li Shaohua, staff officers of the 18th Group Army, Wei Wanji, and Zhao Dengjun, who were adjutants, plus Ye Ting's family, a total of 13 people.

On the tarmac, a US Air Force C47 transport plane was ready to go, and the sound of the "booming" engine was like a loud song, accompaniment to the scene of talking and laughing in front of him.

"I wish you all a safe journey!"

"Xiuwen, I must be very happy to see my son Zhengming and Huaming in Yan'an, right?"

"It's a pleasure, it's a pleasure."

"I hope you will return to Yan'an as soon as possible!"

Deng Yingchao, Liao Chengzhi and others who came to see them off shook hands with Wang Ruofei, Ye Ting and Li Xiuwen happily.

Not long after, the C47 transport plane piloted by the American pilot Captain Ranch took off into the air, the propellers on the wings shredding the clouds and mist, singing all the way, making a circle over the airport, joining the route, and flying in the direction of Yan'an. Also involved in the operation and repair of the aircraft were Sergeant Vais of the United States Air Force and mechanics Mai Ou and Mardin.

Ye Ting, who was sitting in the front seat, couldn't stop talking with Wang Ruofei and Qin Bangxian, his face was filled with irrepressible joy and expectation.

Ye Ting, who was a prisoner of the Kuomintang in the past, who went to Yan'an today to attend the all-army reorganization meeting convened by the party Central Committee, is about to meet Chairman Mao **, who has been absent for nine years, and will study and formulate a plan for the reorganization of the army together with the leading comrades of the Central Military Commission and the commanders of various units.

Ye Ting knew very well that without the unremitting negotiations and struggle of the Communist Party against the Kuomintang in judging the situation, Chiang Kai-shek would not have released Ye Ting. Then, it is difficult for Ye Ting to get a new life.

On the day he was released from prison, in front of the residence of the CPC negotiating delegation at No. 50 Zeng Jiayan, red and green were draped in red and green, and several eye-catching slogans such as "Welcome Commander Ye Ting" and "General Ye Ting's release from prison is a victory for the people" and other large-character slogans lay across the lintel, and all the leaders and senior cadres of the CPC Central Committee in Chongqing gathered in front of the door to greet Ye Ting. When Ye Ting, who was wearing a gray-yellow prison uniform with cotton wool on the cuffs and hem, walked out of the car, warmly hugged and shook hands passionately, which made Ye Ting, a steel man who "has tears and doesn't flick", so excited that he couldn't help but cry.

That night, Ye Ting, who had been unable to calm down for a long time, tossed and turned. He simply got up, put on his clothes, and came to Liao Chengzhi's room, who was released from prison with him, and the two of them drank and talked about their confidants in the Hakka dialect of their hometown in Huiyang.

"Cheng Zhi, I want to rejoin the Communist Party," Ye Ting said firmly, and judging from the tone of his voice, there was no element of soliciting opinions.

"The sooner the better." Liao Chengzhi also said it unequivocally.

"Then I'll write an application for joining the party right away." Ye Ting said and stood up.

"It's almost dawn, and you can hand it over to Sister Deng before breakfast." Liao Chengzhi urged tactfully.

Ye Ting returned to the dormitory with enthusiasm, unfolded the letterhead printed with "The Eighteenth Group Army Office in Chongqing" on the desk, held the pen in his hand, dipped it in ink, and cast the oath-like handwriting at the end of the pen:

Comrade Mao ** transferred to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China:

I was released from prison last night. I am determined to carry out my long-standing wishes. Join the great Communist Party of China. Under your leadership, I will contribute everything I have to the liberation of the Chinese people. I request the central government to review whether my history is qualified or not, and please reply.

(Signed)

March 5th

Sure enough, at six o'clock in the morning, Ye Ting handed over his application for joining the party to Deng Yingchao, and Deng Yingchao immediately handed it over to Dong Biwu, deputy secretary of the Southern Bureau, who presided over the work.

The next day, Zhou Enlai returned to Chongqing from the north.

Ye Ting followed Dong Biwu and Wang Ruo to Coral Dam Airport to greet Zhou Enlai, who had not seen each other for six years. Zhou Enlai: On the plane, Ye Ting told him that he had proposed to the Party Central Committee to rejoin the party. "The Party Central Committee will welcome you and will reply immediately." Zhou Enlai's bright eyes were full of appreciation and trust for Ye Ting.

Sure enough, the day after Zhou Enlai returned to Chongqing, a telegram from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China flew from Yan'an over the mountains and fell into Ye Ting's hands.

Dear Comrade Ye Ting,

The telegram was received on the 5th. Glad to hear that he had been released from prison, everyone rejoiced. You have fought for the cause of China's national liberation and the people's liberation for more than 20 years and have gone through all kinds of serious tests, and the whole of China is well aware of your boundless loyalty to the nation and the people. I have decided to accept you as a member of the Communist Party of China and extend my warm condolences and welcome to you.

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, March 7

When Ye Ting received the telegram from Zhou Enlai that the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China approved him to join the Communist Party of China, the blood around him was surging like waves. From his writing to the party...... It only took two days to approve the Communist Party! The fiery title of "dear Comrade Ye Ting" in the telegram of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the highly praised evaluation of "infinite loyalty to the nation and the people", and the fiery feelings of "warm condolences and welcome" made Ye Ting let his tears flow freely for the second time after he was released from prison.

A week later, Ye Ting learned that Zhou Enlai personally instructed the party organizations in Guangdong to arrange Li Xiuwen's trip to Chongqing as soon as possible, so that Ye Ting and his wife could be reunited, so as to take care of Ye Ting's life and enable him to recover his health as soon as possible. This kind of meticulous care can only be found in the big revolutionary family of the Communist Party, and this is completely different from the deceit and coldness between the Kuomintang troops. Ye Ting deeply felt that returning to the embrace of the party was really warm as spring!

What made Ye Ting even more suddenly suddenly began to understand that it was no wonder that the commanders and fighters of the communist army were particularly capable of fighting; in addition to having lofty ambitions, lofty beliefs, and strict discipline, they also had a strong class feeling of caring for each other, loving each other, and helping each other, and the power of this feeling was invisible and infinite!

At this time, Chiang Kai-shek took advantage of Japan's surrender and deliberately prepared for a full-scale civil war. On the one hand, he pretended to invite the Communist Party to negotiate "peaceful nation-building," and on the other hand, he arrogantly "regained lost territory" in the liberated areas and launched a large-scale attack on the Communist troops. The purpose of this army reorganization meeting convened by the Central Military Commission is to comprehensively smash Chiang Kai-shek's conspiracy and military offensive, completely thwart his ambition to rebuild the fascist dictatorship, and push the revolution to the whole of China!

Ye Ting had just been released from prison and had just joined the Communist Party, and he was approved by the Central Committee to attend the all-army reorganization meeting, so how could he not deeply feel the party's incomparable trust and expectations for him? Just before he got on the plane, he was still full of pride and silently recited Yue Fei's "Man Jianghong": "...... Drive a long car and step through the lack of Helan Mountain. Zhuang is hungry for Hulu meat, laughing and thirsty for Xiongnu blood. To start from the beginning, clean up the old mountains and rivers, and face the sky. ”

The C47 transport aircraft is flying towards Yan'an according to the scheduled route.

At noon, the C47 transport plane landed smoothly at Xi'an Airport. After the plane was refueled, the mechanics Mai Ou and Mardin checked the parts of the plane, and at 12:25, the plane rose from the ground again, and flew to Yan'an with a happy song.

At this time, Yan'an was jubilant.

The Central Committee has decided to organize a grand welcoming ceremony for these party and government organs, troops, workers, young women, and other mass organizations stationed in Yan'an in order to welcome these people inside and outside the party who have worked hard and made great contributions to Yan'an.

At 12 o'clock at noon, Chairman Mao, together with Commander-in-Chief Zhu De, Comrade Ren Bishi, Comrade Lin Boqu, as well as Qin Bangxian's wife Zhang Yuexia and her children, Deng Fa's wife Chen Huiqing and her children, Ye Ting's sons Ye Zhengming and Ye Huaming, and several hundred representatives of organs, troops, and mass organizations, arrived on the tarmac of the airport at the foot of Baota Mountain and on the banks of the Yanshui River.

At this time, the sky over Yan'an was suddenly covered with dark clouds, and the rolling clouds were like wild horses on the loose, colliding, neighing, and galloping; It is like a devil, with his teeth and claws, swallowing clouds and spitting mist, calling for wind and rain, hideous and terrifying.

"It's raining!"

"Can the plane still land in such bad weather?"

There was a small commotion in the welcoming procession.

Chairman Mao, who couldn't stop coughing, looked very weak. As everyone knows, at this time, Mao ** was already ill, and the doctor strictly restrained him to rest and recuperate, but when he heard the report of Wang Ruofei and Ye Ting waiting for the plane to Yan'an, he insisted on going to the airport to welcome him. The doctor dissuaded, but he did not listen; The doctor reported his condition to Commander-in-Chief Zhu De and asked the Commander-in-Chief to dissuade him, but he had to go. He said: "Comrade Ye Ting was detained by the Kuomintang for a long time, but he showed the noble integrity of a revolutionary, and I admire him, and all comrades in the party should learn from him." Ye Ting came to Yan'an soon after he was released from prison, and Ruofei went to Chongqing to participate in the negotiations, and returned on the same plane. As the chairman of the Communist Party, how can I not welcome it? Commander-in-Chief Zhu had no choice but to say to the doctor: "I don't agree with the chairman, there is no way!" Then you should take your medicine and follow the chairman closely, and don't let him get too tired! The doctor had to obey.

"Chairman, seeing that you're coughing again, why don't you go back and rest?" The doctor said anxiously to Mao**.

Mao ** took a deep breath, calmed his stuffy and feverish chest, and hurriedly said to the guards beside him: "Go and ask, why hasn't the plane arrived yet?" It seems that he didn't hear the doctor's persuasion at all, and of course he didn't care about his own body, he was concerned about the safety of the plane at the moment!

Not far from Chairman Mao**, the brothers Ye Zhengming and Ye Huaming, who were still smiling with a smile on their faces, were missing the smiles on their faces at the moment. They craned their necks, stared straight at the direction in which the plane should appear, and muttered, "Why hasn't the plane come yet!" Dad, Mom, as well as Meimei and Ah Jiu, we miss you so much! ”

At this time, Chairman Mao ** received a report from the guards that according to the telecommunications of the radio station of the US military observation group stationed in Yan'an, the plane had reached the Ganquan area, which is about 30 kilometers southwest of Yan'an.

"Wow, tell everyone to get ready to welcome!" Chairman Mao ** was in good spirits, and his tall body stood upright in the wind and rain.

Then, the dull welcoming procession was like a stone thrown from a calm lake, and immediately stirred up jubilation.

However, a minute passed, five minutes passed, ten minutes passed, half an hour passed, and there was still no trace of the plane.

People's chests are like being clamped by a huge iron tongs, centimeter, centimeter, centimeter, decimeter, decimeter, tighter and tighter, deeper and deeper, gradually, the heart is almost squeezed out of the throat.

Worried, puzzled, uneasy, gloomy atmosphere enveloped everyone's heart, an ominous premonition like a poisonous snake made everyone shocked, frightened, panicked, and everyone was anxious!

The rain became heavier and heavier, and God wailed.

Soon, the Party Central Committee and Chairman Mao ** received a report: due to bad weather, the C47 transport plane deviated from its course when it crossed the clouds and entered the border of Liuxian County, Shanxi. The weather here is more complicated, the thick black clouds hold the plane to death, the plane seems to fall into a dark and bottomless pit, the pilot can not see a trace of landmarks, so he has to maintain an altitude of a thousand meters, bumping, crawling, and colliding in the black cloud waves. Unbeknownst to him, not far ahead, the Black Tea Mountain, which is more than 2,000 meters above sea level, is opening its mouth viciously and staring at the moth-throwing fire-like plane. With a "boom", the plane crashed into the rocks of Heicha Mountain, and suddenly exploded and caught fire, destroying the plane and killing people!

An extremely cruel historical tragedy has happened!

When the bad news came, the leading comrades of the Party Central Committee were stunned! The Central organs of the Communist Party of China, the troops, and the mass organizations were stunned! The people of Yan'an were stunned! Wang Ruofei and Ye Ting and other relatives of the martyrs were stunned! Everyone was immersed in deep grief.

The Party Central Committee immediately issued an obituary in Yan'an:

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China announced with great sorrow that Comrade Wang Ruofei, Comrade Qin Bangxian, members of the CPC Central Committee, Comrade Deng Fa, secretary of the CPC Central Committee Workers' Committee, Comrade Ye Ting, commander of the New Fourth Army, Comrade Ye Ting's wife and sons, Mr. Huang Qisheng, a veteran educator from Guizhou, Comrade Li Shaohua, a staff officer of the 18th Group Army, Comrade Peng Zhuozuo (who should be Mr. Huang Xiaozhuang's grandson), and 13 other people, including Comrades Wei Wanji, Comrade Zhao Dengjun, and Comrade Gao Qiong (female), and Captain C.E.L.a., an American driver, Captain Lanch

Ge, Sergeant Dal-lasWice, M.S. Maie

, Mardin E.R.Ma

ti

On the way to Yan'an on a US plane from Chongqing to Yan'an on 8 July, the plane lost its way and at around 2 p.m. they encountered fog in the Black Tea Mountain, 80 miles southeast of Xing County, Shanxi Province, and crashed into the mountain and burned down, killing all of them instantly.

The funeral committee headed by Chairman Mao ** composed of 26 famous people inside and outside the party was established!

The funeral committee decided to build a mourning altar and cemetery for the "April 8" martyrs in Yan'an, and solemnly hold a funeral ceremony to welcome the soul. Telegraphed to the families of the martyrs to come to Yan'an for funeral. And ordered the whole district: hang the flag at half-mast for three days and stop entertainment for one month.

Yan'an's Jiefang Ribao and Chongqing's Xinhua Ribao successively published editorials in which they mourned the great martyrs of Wang Ruofei and Ye Ting and highly praised their lofty revolutionary sentiments.

On the more than 500-kilometer road from the Jinsui Prefecture where the martyrs were martyred to Yan'an, there was a tragic scene of thousands of young and middle-aged people carrying the souls and tens of thousands of people shedding tears to escort the bodies of the martyrs.

Chairman Mao ** was in poor health, but he was so violently stimulated that he couldn't sleep and eat for several days, and he coughed heavily. He sent someone to take Ye Zhengming and Ye Huaming to his cave, and while having dinner with them, he said with concern: "Son, your father is a 'famous general of the Northern Expedition' and a hero who opposed the dictatorship of the Kuomintang, he is very remarkable!" He is not only the pride of yours, but also the pride of our communists. His unfortunate death in the line of duty is a huge loss to your family, and at the same time, it is also a great loss to the whole party and the whole army! Turn your grief into strength, carry on your father's unfinished business, and carry the revolution through to the end! When he said this, he caused a violent cough, and then stroked Zhengming and Huaming's heads lovingly, "Son, your parents have died, my home here is your home, I hope you will come to the house to play, I will take good care of you!" ”

"Uncle Mao, we remember!" Zhengming and Huaming were moved to tears, and kept "mmmmmm".

At the memorial meeting held in Yan'an, funeral committee members Zhu De, Liu Shaoqi, Lin Boqu, He Long, and more than 30,000 people from all walks of life gathered on the square of the public memorial meeting.

In the center of the majestic and solemn altar, the bright red flag of the Communist Party of China is hung, a horizontal plaque with six big characters written on the altar, "turn grief into strength", the remains of the martyrs are placed upright on the coffin, the wreaths are clustered on both sides of the martyr's coffin, and the banner is full of praise and regret for the martyrs:

Die for the people, even if you die, it is still glorious!

Mao** respectfully

Sacrifice for the peace and democracy of the people of the whole country!

Zhu De respectfully

Turn the grief given to our great dead into a positive force to consolidate peace and fight for democracy!

Liu Shaoqi respectfully

Due to the trivial life of the CPPCC, a group of outstanding talents of our party have been lost, and this responsibility should be borne by someone;

Seeing that reactionary conspiracies have emerged one after another, for the great cause of democracy in the motherland over the past century, this struggle should be inherited by our generation.

Zhou Enlai, Dong Biwu, Wu Yuzhang, Lu Dingyi, Deng Yingchao, and Liao Chengzhi are immortal for your achievements!

Ren Bi is respectful

Sacrifice for the **** democracy and unity will always be glorious!

Peng Dehuai respectfully

If the revolutionary cause is not completed, how can we smile with peace of mind;

The implementation of the agreement is taking hard work, and that is a miracle!

Lin Boqu mourned

At the beginning of the memorial meeting, the mourning music suddenly rose, and the salute rang out twenty-four times, shaking the heavens and the earth, and the mountains and rivers whimpered.

The relatives of the martyrs ascended the altar in turn to offer flowers and wine to the coffins of the martyrs......

The host, Lin Boqu, reported on the life of the martyrs.

The chief priest, Zhu De, delivered a eulogy.

Ye Ting's old comrade-in-arms Zhang Yunyi took the stage to deliver a speech. He burst into tears and his heart was rending with grief. Later, the mourning and music resumed, the martyr's coffin wrapped in red felt slowly moved to the altar, Zhu De and Liu Shaoqi personally held it, and the funeral procession of five or six miles was like a river filled with molten iron, surging heavily towards the cemetery.

"Boom!" The salute sounded twenty-four more times, the mourning music resumed, and the coffins of the martyrs slowly fell into the tomb amid the mournful weepings of tens of thousands. Then, amid the high-spirited international anthem, the members of the funeral committee and representatives from all walks of life shed tears and filled the graves of the martyrs with one spade after another......

At the same time, grand memorial rallies were held in Chongqing, in Beiping, in the military headquarters of the New Fourth Army in Linyi, Shandong, in Jiangsu, in Zhangjiakou, and in Shanghai.

Zhou Enlai said in his eulogy at a memorial meeting in Chongqing: "...... Xiyi! You are the creator of the people's ranks, and you have made great contributions to the liberation of the people for the revolutionary army during the Northern Expedition. Ten years of exile and five years in prison have made your hair pale, but they have strengthened your will. As soon as you are released from prison, you ask to rejoin the party; As soon as we met, you proposed that the comrades who had died in southern Anhui should review the incident in southern Anhui, and asked me to negotiate to continue to release them. I remember, I always remember. I dare to assure you: we will fight to the end to protect the people's army and release all political prisoners! Sun Yat-sen's wife Soong Ching-ling held a memorial service in Shanghai inscribed the elegy as follows:

The great cause of peace is still credited, and the virtuous and hard work is relied on, how can the middle way be abandoned, and the blue blood will always be hated in the sky;

The dawn of democracy is beginning to vomit, looking at Fang Yin, the embarrassing news is shocked, and the earth is full of sorrow.

Ye Ting's fellow countryman and old comrade-in-arms Ye Jianying presented a memorial service to Ye Ting at the memorial service held by the CPC delegation of the Beiping Military Adjustment Department and the Beiping Office of the 18th Group Army:

Thirty years of comrades, six years of parting into eternal secrets;

Five thousand miles of clouds are in sight, and a wave of tears is a conjuring spirit.

At the memorial service presided over by Nie Rongzhen in Zhangjiakou, based on his experience of studying with Ye Ting in the Soviet Union from 1924 to 1927, participating in the Northern Expedition together after returning to China, and creating the people's army, he wrote a sincere elegy:

At the age of fifty, he devoted himself to the revolution, exhausted the people, and was in the middle of the sea.

Tongqin solar terms, two expeditions to Fan for seven years, exile in foreign lands, suffering through ten degrees of spring and autumn,

The reactionary conspiracy is empty, and there are several prisoners, and the strength is especially fierce, and the party is on the side of the embankment,

Hongshu is a country that is unredeemable, and he will die after the hardships of the past!

Twenty years of sorrow and old friends, classmate Su Jing, side by side Northern Expedition, Nanchang and Guangzhou,

Raise the banner of righteousness, once broke up across the ocean, the anti-Japanese army prospered, and the bloody battle was fought in the north and south of the river.

Maolin tragedy fell into pain, happy to be released from prison this time, meet again after a long absence, who is the meaning of the black tea mountain,

Flying to the long star, I cry the old man into an eternal secret, and the whole world tears and loses the hero!

Chen Yi, the acting commander of the New Fourth Army, has always been deeply affectionate and respectful to Ye Ting, and after attending the memorial meeting in Linyi, Shandong, he wrote a hundred-line poem "Comrade Xiyi, Commander of the Crying Ye" with tears:

……

taciturn

Deep and unrevealed,

It reminds me of the abundance of you.

Brave and unbelievable,

withered,

It reminds me of the king's talents.

There is no city in the chest,

Light Wind and Moon,

It makes me remember the innocence of the king like a child.

I admire your loyalty and unyieldingness,

Serving the people,

Worthy of the spirit of a revolutionary.

I am looking forward to Jundong coming to Qilu,

There are great causes for you to take part in,

Waiting for you to arrange.

Unexpectedly, there was a wreck at a high altitude,

Once gone,

Never come back.

I don't believe in fate,

Therefore, it is not said that the misery of fate is not spoken;

I don't believe in the ways of heaven,

Therefore, it is not said that the injustice of heaven is not spoken;

I only say that the struggle needs your contributions, and I only say that Fascism is waiting for the people to be buried. Your sacrifice is the eternal hatred of the revolution, and people cannot redeem it.

I only hope that your legacy endures,

Cultivating countless successors.

The soul of the general,

Come back!

Ye Ting, the "famous general of the Northern Expedition", passed away.

He has been riding all his life, going through ups and downs, mighty and unyielding, righteous and awe-inspiring, strong and iron-clad, and heroic.

"Contribute everything I have to the liberation of the Chinese people!" General Ye Ting fulfilled his oath. "Eternal life in fire and blood!" Ye Ting's spirit will forever remain in the annals of revolutionary history and will surely turn into the noble feelings of generation after generation of revolutionary newcomers.

General Ye Ting's spirit is immortal!

General Ye Ting's demeanor will last forever!