The youngest female Red Army in the Long March

According to relevant historical data, more than 2000 female Red Army soldiers participated in the long march. They fought bloody and trekked like male soldiers, creating miracles in the history of war at all times and at home and abroad. So, among these heroic daughters, who is the youngest female Red Army? The current accepted theory is that Wang Xinlan, born in 1924 in Xuanhan, Sichuan, joined the Red Army at the age of 9 and followed the Red Fourth Front Army on the Long March at the age of 11. After liberation, he served as deputy political commissar of the joint logistics department of the Lanzhou military region and was the wife of the founding general Xiao Hua.

In fact, Su Li, who was born in Qingchuan, Sichuan in 1926, and Wan Manlin, who was born in Nanjiang, Sichuan, were the youngest female Red Army in the Long March. When they embarked on the long March, they were only 8-year-old girls. However, they measured a bloody bumpy road with their immature footsteps, and experienced a historical legend of earth-shattering and sobbing ghosts and gods. According to Su Li: "After walking, I didn't know it was the Long March."

Su Li is the youngest surviving veteran Red Army in the country, and is now 93 years old.

Unwilling to be humiliated little girl

In 1926, Su Li was born in a poor peasant family in Qiaozhuang Town, Qingchuan County, Sichuan Province.

Su Li's childhood was unfortunate. Her father died when she was 1 year old. The sickly mother, who smoked marijuana and was unable to support her, sold her 7-year-old only daughter to the landlord's maid. In addition to helping the landlord take care of the children, Xiao Su Li also kept doing farm work, sweeping the floor, washing dishes and feeding pigs every day, with almost no rest time. Because of her young age, she inevitably made some mistakes in her work, so she was often beaten to pieces by the landlady, and her body was festering and inflamed in many places. On one occasion, Su Li accidentally made the landlord's child cry. The ferocious landlord woman tied Su Li's hand to the stool and whipped it with a leather whip. Su Li's head, left forehead and left arm still have scars.

"Run, as long as you can't die, run." Unwilling to be humiliated, Su Li has been looking for a chance to escape, but after running out, he was sent back, saying that the landlord's girl did not dare to accept it, for fear of causing trouble. The stubborn Su Li escaped five times and was sent back to the landlord's house, each time he was beaten violently. The inhumane landlady even slashed her forehead with the back of a knife......

"This was beaten by the landlord's wife when I was a child. If I don't follow the Red Army, I will die." Su Li was still scared when he talked about the reasons for joining the Red Army.

In the autumn of 1934, the Red Army came to Qiaozhuang Town. The Kuomintang slandered the Red Army as bandits and murderers, specializing in some harmful things. "I hid for two months, and the landlord took the servants and maids to hide up the mountain." Su Li said.

Later, Su Li heard that the Red Army was dedicated to saving the poor, and the team was full of poor people like her. So, on a dark night, Su Li and three maids stole down the mountain to find the Red Army, but they walked a few miles. The other three were scared and ran back. Su Li is also a little scared, after all, she is only 8 years old. However, she thought to herself that she was not only abused in the landlord's house, but also had no food and clothing. She joined the Red Army and avoided the hateful landlord woman. At least she would never be beaten again. So, the little girl got up the courage and went forward regardless of everything. After walking more than ten miles, she met a distant relative. With the help of the distant relative, she found a group of female Red Army from the Red Army clothing factory.

But when people saw that she was a "little girl", no matter how they pleaded, they would not agree to take her in. Su Li did not give up. The next day, she came to the Red Army clothing factory again. People say, I have already told you not to do it, why are you still here? Su Li's tears came out. On the third day, Su Li came to the Red Army's clothing factory again, saying good or bad, but still not good. The elder sister who brought Su Li also helped Su Li to put in a good word. At this time, a female red army asked what Su Li could do. The clever Su Li immediately said that he could nail the buttons of his clothes. Looking at the scars on Su Li's body and the buttons she nailed on the spot, the Red Army sisters accepted the poor girl. In this way, Su Li became the "Little Red Army" in the clothing factory of the 31st Army of the Fourth Red Army ".

After joining the Red Army, Su Li was like a happy bird, chattering all day long, helping the Red Army brothers and sisters pour boiling water, asking questions curiously, and running around mischievously, making everyone amused. Everyone regarded her as their little sister and did everything possible to take care of her and help her. In particular, the elder sister who brought Su Li here is the closest person to her in the clothing factory. She usually teaches her how to cut clothes, read and read, military knowledge, etc., and gives her meticulous care in life.

however, in a bombing run by a kuomintang plane, the elder sister's leg was blown off. Little Su Li desperately ran to her big sister and wanted to move her to a safe place. She had little strength and couldn't move. She had to hug the injured big sister and wail: "Big sister, big sister!" By the time the comrades arrived, the big sister had closed her eyes. Su Li and his comrades dug a hole in the valley with their hands and buried the body of the eldest sister with tears.

The female Red Army who is not afraid of life and death

The arduous Long March began. Su Li, like his comrades, received a bag of highland barley and a bag of fried noodles. Someone worried about Suli: "Can you walk?" "Can walk." Su Li said loudly. "You can go home if you can't walk." "No! I will be killed when I go back." She said as she showed everyone the bruises on her forehead.

Seeing Su Li struggling to carry two bags and marching so far, the big sisters were very distressed. They took turns to help Su Li carry a bag and specifically told her, little girl, don't eat indiscriminately. If you eat it all, you will be hungry. But when Su Li was hungry, he quietly walked and ate. When he arrived at the camp, he almost ran out of food. So, big sisters, you give a little, she gives a little, soon filled Su Li's tea jar.

When crossing the grass, the comrades walked cautiously on the relatively solid grass roots for fear of falling into the quagmire, but Su Li, who was small and light, walked briskly. She often jumped on the grass roots mischievously. At this time, there was always a big brother and sister who warned with concern: "Danger! Be careful!"

"in order to relieve the fatigue of the Red Army brothers and sisters, I danced on the grass roots many times and made all kinds of faces." Su Li said that later she learned that "dancing" on the grassroots not only did not make the big brothers and sisters happy, but increased their worries.

After a troop camp, Su Li and a sister went nearby to look for wild vegetables. A Red Army brother was uneasy to follow. When they returned to camp, the team had already set out and they were left behind. The elder brother of the Red Army took a "little one" in one hand and hurried to catch up with the team. Su Li couldn't walk any more. The Red Army brother carried her without saying anything. After about a hundred steps, Su Li couldn't bear to let him carry her any more. Tired, the elder brother helped; hungry, the elder brother took out his own dry food, "eat mine first, you keep it later". It took them about half a day to catch up with the team. Su Li still remembers that the elder brother's surname is Liu, a native of Sichuan, and he is very tall. After catching up with the troops, he followed the combat troops ahead. After that, Su Li never saw him again.

One day marching, Su Li accidentally lost the cup. When we set up camp for dinner, how could we eat without cups? Su Li had a brainwave, thinking that there was a wooden bowl on the confession in the Lama Temple, and it was more convenient to use a wooden bowl to scoop rice than a cup. The monitor saw the wooden bowl in Su Li's hand and asked her where it came from. Su Li said honestly. The squad leader's face immediately became very serious, saying: Three major disciplines and eight points of attention, requiring soldiers not to take a needle from the common people. How could you take things from the masses? This was not over. After the camp, the squad leader criticized Su Li again, and put Su Li in the sheep fold of the common people and squatted for a day. From then on, "not taking the masses a needle and a thread" was deeply imprinted in Su Li's heart.

Su Li can't play straw sandals. He marched barefoot for most of the year and suffered a lot. Su Li was most worried about falling behind. She knew that if she fell behind, she would starve to death or be taken as slaves by local Tibetans. But afraid of what to what, one night, Su Li fell behind. Helpless Su Li sat on the side of the road crying. Fortunately, Su Li was not far from the army at that time, and the Red Army's search and rescue team soon found her and sent her back to the clothing factory.

Young Su Li also experienced death several times. An enemy bombing, a bomb fell next to Su Li, with a loud noise she passed out. When he woke up, he was covered with blood and was pressing a big sister's arm. Su Li stood up hard and found that he was not injured. His body was full of blood from his big sister, who had already died. Su Li, with tears in his eyes, buried her with his comrades. Since Su Li was still a child at that time, he could not remember clearly where the bombing was, nor did he know the name of the benefactor's sister, let alone how the sister stood up and pressed herself under the body at that critical moment. After liberation, especially on the anniversary of the Long March, Su Li often thought of this sister. She wanted to find this sister's family and repay her for saving her life, but because she didn't know her sister's name, there was nowhere to find.

Later, because there was no clothing to do, the 31st army clothing factory of the red fourth front army was disbanded. At this time, in the march, Su Li went wherever he saw a large number of people, and went wherever he was busy. Everywhere he went, his big brother and sister took care of her, the "red kid. Young Su Li could not figure out the sequence and designation of the troops, so he had no way of knowing which troops he was marching.

In May 1935, Su Li was incorporated into the Women's Independent Division and worked as a correspondent for the division commander Zhang Qinqiu. Being able to work next to this famous heroine, Su Li was so excited that he sang three Red Army songs that he had just learned. However, she failed to complete the first task assigned by Zhang Qinqiu. At that time, Zhang Qinqiu asked Su Li to send a letter to someone 30 kilometers away, and repeatedly emphasized the importance of this letter. But when Su Li tried her best to get to that place, she could not find the person, but she knew the importance of the letter and must not fall into the hands of the enemy, and rushed back overnight. This day and night, she did not get a grain of rice.

After the end of the Long March, the main force of the Red Fourth Front Army formed the West Route Army, crossed the Yellow River westward, fought with the Ma Family Army, and prepared to open up international ties with the Soviet Union. When Su Li was preparing to cross the Yellow River with his team, he was blocked by Hu Zongnan's troops and did not pass.

Don't forget the real old revolution

After the Red 2. and the Red Fourth Front Army joined forces, Su Li came to Yan'an.

at the end of 1936, su li joined the northwest field service regiment led by ding ling. This team of more than 40 people carried the red flag, sang anti-Japanese songs, and carried luggage and performance supplies with 7 little donkeys to the Shanxi Anti-Japanese Front in high spirits. Along the way, Su Li and his comrades in arms mobilized the masses in a form loved by the masses. During the day, they marched and publicized, and at night, they used drums, allegro, double reeds, cross talk, and live newspaper dramas to convey the truth of resisting Japan and saving the country to the masses. On August 1, 1938, at the party celebrating the "August 1st" Army Day in Yan'an, the Western War Group gave a wonderful report performance to the Party Central Committee and the people of Yan'an, which was highly praised by the cadres and the masses.

Su Li has no culture, but she also has ways to learn culture. During the march, she asked the soldiers in front to recite a piece of paper with words written on it, and Su Li read it in the back. When the troops arrived at the camp, Su Li took a stick and drew a gourd on the ground, slowly learning to read.

Later, Su Li joined the Fifth Regiment of the Shanxi Youth Death Team led by Bo Yibo (later adapted as the Great Wall Performance Troupe), and enthusiastically promoted the anti-Japanese national salvation movement with singing and dancing, and aroused the awakening of the general public. When recalling the hard life of guerrilla warfare in the Taihang Mountains of Luliang Mountain, Su Li sighed: "One day the combat troops went to war. Our propaganda team was trapped on a mountain by the enemy. It was raining cats and dogs on the head, and we were caught in the enemy's bullets. We didn't eat for three days and two nights during the breakout. A comrade of the propaganda team went down the mountain to look for food and was found by the enemy. The whole village at the bottom of the mountain was surrounded and the common people were gathered. The enemy took the method of the head of the household claiming his family to investigate the anti-Japanese elements. When all the common people turned to leave after recognizing their families, our comrade stood there alone and despaired. In a critical moment, a woman turned her head and scolded him: 'you damn fool, silly, scared, don't hurry up and come home with me! In this way, this sudden 'wife' saved his life."

During the Anti-Japanese War, Su Li grew up from an ignorant child to a revolutionary youth. Later, she went to Yan'an to study nursing. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, she came to the Northeast and served as the chief of the administrative section of the Acheng Public Security Bureau in Heilongjiang Province. Married in 1947.

In May 1948, Su Li went south with the Fourth Field Army to the Jinggangshan area, where he carried out land reform and other work. She often finished the county party committee in the evening, and carried her son under the age of one year, walked 70 or 80 miles of mountain road alone, and rushed to another village overnight to mobilize the masses.

After the establishment of the the People's Republic of China, Su Li successively served as the chief of the administrative section of the Ji'an Special Office of Jiangxi Province, the secretary of the Wan'an County Women's Committee and the director of the Women's Federation, and the deputy secretary of the General Branch of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Jiangxi Medical College. He went to Shanghai with his husband in 1960 and served as deputy director of the Civil Affairs Bureau of Luwan District. He retired in December 1983.

On the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Zhang Hua, deputy secretary of the Luwan District Committee of Shanghai, visited Su Li and personally sent condolences and letters of condolences. At Su Li's home, Zhang Hua had a heart-to-heart talk with Su Li and wished her good health and revolutionary qualities.

Su Li said with emotion that as an old Red Army and veteran cadre, we must not forget the past, cherish the present, and look forward to the future. While thanking all parties for their care and care for her, she also said that she would contribute to the construction and development of Luwan within her capacity.

On July 1, 2011, Luwan District held a red story meeting of "we are moving forward in the birthplace of the party", which reproduced the touching story of Su Li, the youngest female Red Army in the long march, who personally experienced the touching story of countless Red Army soldiers sacrificing their lives, not afraid of difficulties, unity and mutual assistance.

On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the victory of the Red Army's Long March, the 30-episode archival documentary "Forever Red Army" was broadcast in prime time on CCTV's military channel. The film was produced by the PLA TV Propaganda Center, the PLA Archives, the Chinese People's Revolutionary Military Museum, and the Xinhua News Agency PLA Branch. Co-produced by other units. "Forever Red Army" started filming in April 2010. It lasted 15 months, traveled 150000 kilometers, shot 310 hours of video data, and interviewed 150 old Red Army people, of which the oldest was 105 years old and the youngest was 86 years old. And the smallest Red Army is Su Li.

Su Li said, "The spirit of the Long March is the spiritual motivation that inspires me all my life, and every time I think of those comrades-in-arms who gave up their lives and were selfless and friendly, I think of all the difficulties I overcame on the Long March, and the difficulties I encountered later are nothing. I hope that young people today can also understand and understand the spirit of the Long March and be a person worthy of the Party and the people."

Reprinted from: Overview of Party History