Chapter 79 The ancient town of Moutai

On the evening of December 29, 1934, the Central Guard Division set out from Zhongzhuang, Honghuagang, Zunyi, and headed for Maotai Town, Renhuai County, kicking off the Central Red Army's campaign over the Chengdu Plain.

Liu Yimin stood at the intersection, watching troops passing by one after another. Until the team from the field rescue center came over, he saw the seriously wounded and lightly wounded from the battles in Qingxi Town and Yangping Town being carried on stretchers, as well as doctors and nurses.

After they were all riding on mules, Liu Yimin turned his horse's head with confidence and rushed towards the front of the team.

As soon as they left the entrance of Zhongzhuang Village, they saw a group of cavalry rushing from the direction of Zunyi City, carrying torches and heading in their direction.

Liu Yimin thought to himself, there is no emergency at the headquarters, right? He just stopped and waited.

After a while, Wu Zheng caught up from behind, his eyes full of joy, and he shouted: "Commander, it's Chairman Mao, Vice Chairman Zhou, Commander-in-Chief Zhu and Comrade Luo Fu, the leaders are here to see us off!"

Liu Yimin put his legs under the horse's belly and stepped forward to greet him.

From a distance, I saw that Chairman Mao and his party had dismounted and met Cai Zhong and the others.

Liu Yimin jumped off his horse, ran forward quickly, saluted and said hello.

Mao Zedong said: "Comrade Liu Yimin, we have a long way to go and a long way to go! Everything depends on your flexibility and determination. When necessary, you can send troops to distract the enemy. The Ninth Army Corps has already taken action here, trying to attract

The main force of the Sichuan Army on the South Road and the Fourth Front Army on the North Road are also ready for action. Xiangxi He Long and Xiao Ke are also actively moving

Move. The 1st, 3rd, and 5th Army Corps have concentrated their forces and are ready to annihilate the enemy's pursuing troops at any time and confine the enemy to the front line of northern Guizhou. After you succeed in attacking Chengdu, you must quickly divide your forces to occupy the counties and key points near Chengdu to welcome the main force heading north. If

If an accident occurs, the troops must move quickly and look for fighter opportunities in the movement, and must not collide head-on with the enemy's main force."

After speaking, Mao Zedong turned to Cai Zhong, Feng Dafei, and Huang Su: "Comrade Cai Zhong, Comrade Dafei, and Comrade Huang Su, I emphasize once again that the battle of the guard division is decided by Comrade Liu Yimin. You must obey orders and follow the command, and master it well."

troops to ensure the realization of the central government’s strategic intentions.”

The wart on Cai Zhong's brow was shining black under the light of the torch, and he looked more energetic. He shouted loudly: "Please rest assured, Chairman, I will assist the division commander in commanding the troops and resolutely complete the tasks assigned by the Central Committee to the guard division."

Task!"

Feng Dafei and Huang Su also expressed their determination to obey orders and ensure the completion of their tasks.

Mao Zedong nodded with satisfaction: "I believe that the guard division will be able to fulfill its glorious mission."

Mr. Zhu looked at Liu Yimin kindly and explained: "The key is concealment and camouflage. After occupying Yibin, quickly go north without entangled with the enemy all the way. Resolutely not fight if you can, and go straight to Chengdu. Once Chengdu is occupied, stand

It's stable, it's up to you whoever you want to fight. Don't be so angry for a moment that you only focus on how many enemies you can kill on the road and forget about the mission of capturing Chengdu."

Liu Yimin nodded: "I know."

Vice Chairman Zhou said: "Comrade Liu Yimin and Comrade Cai Zhong, when they can tell the soldiers the goal of this march, they must make it clear to everyone the importance of our army's operation. They must tell party members and cadres to overcome all difficulties and quickly

Occupying Chengdu is the greatest loyalty to the party at this stage."

Liu Yimin and Cai Zhong saluted Vice Chairman Zhou together: "Yes, follow Vice Chairman Zhou's instructions."

Seeing that it was getting late, and everything he wanted to explain was done, Mao Zedong waved his hand: "Let's go, see you in Chengdu!"

After Liu Yimin and others said goodbye to the leaders, they set off. Looking at the mighty guard division, Zhang Wentian, who had been silent, spoke: "Lao Mao, Enlai, boss, I think the guard division can be upgraded to a legion."

Mr. Zhu’s eyes have been following the team of the guard division. He watched the cavalry, artillery, infantry, engineers, and baggage troops passing by in groups. His eyes were a little moist. After listening to Zhang Wentian’s words, Mr. Zhu received: "

They are actually a legion, and they are a first-class main legion."

Zhou Enlai said excitedly: "Everyone, think about it, what will Chiang Kai-shek and Liu Xiang's expressions be when a powerful guard division suddenly appears on the Chengdu Plain?"

Mao Zedong said: "Why don't you think about it? He must have fallen to the ground with a pale face! Let's go back to the city, guys." After that, Liu led everyone to unhorse their horses and return to Zunyi City.

Liu Yimin became more and more fond of marching at night. Without enemy plane harassment, the troops could advance along the main road, which accelerated the marching speed and reduced the difficulty of marching.

The soldiers of the Special Operations Brigade of the Secret Service Battalion had already set off with the guide, leaving road signs along the way to guide the troops' actions.

The first legion has already occupied Renhuai. From Zunyi to Renhuai, there is no need to worry about ambushes by large groups of enemies. When small groups of scattered enemies see such a large marching team, they have already stayed far away and do not dare to attack the tiger lightly.

Therefore, although the mountain road was difficult to walk, the overall situation of the march was still satisfactory.

At dawn, the troops arrived at Renhuai County and met up with the First Army Corps. Commander Lin Biao and political commissar Nie Rongzhen personally arranged for the guard division to camp. Liu Yimin was not polite and ordered the troops to disperse and camp according to the arrangements of the First Army Corps, and ordered the artillery regiment to stay

The first battalion of downhill artillery and mortars was put under the command of the first corps.

At noon, the troops ended their campsite and continued to advance toward Maotai Town.

Maotai Town is located on the beautiful Chishui River.

It is said that as early as the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Maotai Town produced the "sweet sauce-flavored" wolfberry sauce wine that fascinated Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and it became famous. In the 27th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty, that is, in 1599, the Wanli Emperor was exterminated.

After the Yang family in Bozhou, the Wu family who accompanied the army settled in Maotai Town and established the first

A formal brewing workshop. During the Jiaqing and Daoguang years of the Qing Dynasty, there were more than 20 Moutai breweries in the town, and their products were exported to Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Hunan. In 1915, the Beiyang government sent Moutai to the San Francisco International Exposition in the United States.

Exhibiting at the exhibition, foreigners saw that it was wine in earthenware cans

, simply dismissive of it. In desperation, a Beiyang government official grabbed a can of Moutai and threw it to the ground. At this moment, the strong aroma of the wine conquered everyone present. Moutai also won the Panama Prize.

Winning the gold medal at the World Exposition, it became a world-famous wine.

At that time, there were three professional brewing workshops in Maotai Town: "Chengyi Shaofang", "Ronghe Shaofang" and "Hengxing Shaofang". The Moutai of Chengyi Shaofang was commonly known as Huamao, and the Moutai of Ronghe Shaofang was commonly known as Huamao.

The Maotai liquor of Wangmao and Hengxing Shaofang is commonly known as Laimao. The annual output of the three Shaofang is less than 30,000 kilograms.

In the evening, the ancient town of Maotai is shrouded in the afterglow of the setting sun, looking even more primitive and ancient.

The pier was filled with boats that came from afar to transport wine. Because there is an ancient saying that Chishui never travels at night, the boatmen all docked early, went ashore to drink and rest.

At this time, the special brigade of the leading force of the Central Guard Division of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army and the regiment, battalion and company entered the ancient town one after another. Then, the guard division brigade entered the ancient town, and the quiet ancient town immediately became lively.

When approaching Maotai Town, Liu Yimin smelled the strong aroma of wine in the air. Thinking about the hundreds or even thousands of prices for a bottle of Maotai liquor in later generations and the strong stock price, Liu Yimin told Wu Zheng to give each soldier a silver dollar to spend on

Buy wine. But don't drink too much, so as not to affect the march at night. Li Qing also asked Li Qing to order the troops not to destroy any facilities in the town, including wine tanks, wine jars, and wine bottles.

After entering Maotai Town, except for the small troops who controlled the ferry and served as guard, the troops of the guard division quickly dispersed to rest and prepare for dinner under the guidance of the soldiers from the special brigade who arrived in advance. Many soldiers took the silver coins they had just received.

Buy wine in town.

Liu Yimin ordered the engineering corps to quickly build two pontoon bridges using ferries.

People in the ancient town suddenly found a large army marching in quietly, and looked at the team with surprised eyes: gray military uniforms, octagonal hats, red hat badges, red collar badges, dusty, as if they had walked a long way.

The merchants who arrived immediately wanted to close their doors quickly to avoid being robbed by the army. Ordinary people also called their children and hurriedly came to close their homes.

Soon, the people stopped panicking. This army was different from the armies that passed by in the past. They did not enter the people's yards and were scattered in piles in open spaces and fields in the town. Soon there were soldiers coming to buy wine with money.

God, instead of grabbing wine and stuff, the soldiers bought it with money. This is new.

So, the businessmen first smiled and started chatting with the Red Army soldiers who were buying wine. This chat, the purpose and nature of the Red Army, and the purpose of going north to fight against Japan spread in the town.

At that time, Maotai liquor was hidden deep in the mountains and was very cheap. A pound of wine cost only a few copper coins. Each Red Army soldier had one silver dollar, which was a lot of purchasing power. In addition, the production of Maotai liquor was limited. For a time, many stores sold the liquor.

The tank was empty, and I was busy going to the brewery to pick up the wine.

As soon as Boss Hua of Chengyi Shaofang, the largest restaurant in the town, heard that the army had entered the town, he panicked and didn't know what to do. He hurriedly told the clerks to close the door and hide the wine. He was afraid that if he didn't move too slowly, the hard work of several generations would be over.

.

After working for a long time, no soldiers came to harass me. Boss Hua was a little surprised. Could it be that this army had left? Soon, the people carrying wine in the store arrived, and there was an endless stream. Boss Hua thought, this is really strange.

In previous years, it would have been a disaster for the army to pass by. Could it be that today's army is the God of Wealth descending to earth or the incarnation of a Bodhisattva? Why don't they rob or kill, but instead give away a lot of money?

After asking a shop owner who came to pick up the wine, I found out that the people who came were the Red Army, and that the Red Army protected industry and commerce. Boss Hua thought that it was really the army of benevolence and righteousness that could do nothing to protect the poor and industry and commerce since ancient times.

I am afraid that only the troops of Emperor Taizong Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty can do this. It seems that this is a large army with ambitions for the world. It is also an opportunity to see such an army in my life. He hurriedly asked the guys to kill pigs and bottle wine, and he wanted to express his condolences.

Red Army.

As soon as Liu Yimin saw that the troops were settled, he asked Zhang Haitao and Li Chengyi to buy more wine and deliver it to the field ambulance. He and Cai Zhong went to the field ambulance to visit the wounded.

When they arrived at the field rescue center, they saw the director Chen Tong leading the medical staff to wipe the wounds of the wounded with wine. Liu Yimin was shocked. The purpose of his visit was to ask the doctors to wipe the wounds of the wounded with wine to reduce inflammation. He did not expect that Chen Tong

Self-taught without a teacher, I have already done it.

When he saw the division commander and the political commissar coming, Chen Tong quickly reported and saluted. Liu Yimin said: "Director Chen, you have worked hard all the way. Do you have any difficulties?"

Chen Tong was a doctor of the former 5th Red Division. After being rescued by Liu Yimin in Xinwei, he had been following the operations of the 18th Regiment. He respected Liu Yimin very much for the simple reason that Liu Yimin never abandoned the wounded. You must know that the Red Army was in a

During transfer, take the wounded with you

It affects the marching speed of the troops. If the marching speed is slow, it is easy for the enemy to catch up. Therefore, during the war years, the wounded Red Army soldiers were basically placed in the homes of ordinary people to recuperate. Many of them were later caught by the white bandits, and it is conceivable that they sacrificed their lives.

ending.

Since meeting Liu Yimin, this Red Army unit has always taken the wounded away no matter how difficult it is. According to Liu Yimin, the lives of the Red Army soldiers are the most precious. They would rather bring less supplies than the wounded. They take good care of them.

Wounds are the backbone. One person may be able to lead a platoon, a company, or even a battalion or a regiment in the future.

In addition, from the 18th Regiment to the Guard Division, this unit has won consecutive battles, captured large quantities of goods, and has no need to worry about medicine. Most of the wounded recovered quickly, so it is easy for this doctor to be a doctor.

Hearing the teacher ask himself, Chen Tong reported: "Thank you, teacher, for your concern. There are no difficulties for the time being. It's just that there are a few medical staff. It would be better if we could add more people."

Liu Yimin said: "The medical staff will be available soon. You don't need to think about this issue. I will remember it. By the way, how do you know that wiping the wounds of the wounded with wine can reduce inflammation?"

Chen Tong smiled: "Sir, I don't know, but most doctors know. Wine contains alcohol, which can not only reduce inflammation, but also promote blood circulation and remove blood clots. Soaking your feet in wine will make you walk very briskly. Unfortunately, this wine is so good

, it’s also too expensive and we can’t afford it.”

Liu Yimin said: "I have asked the guard camp to buy wine, and it will be delivered to you in a moment. You think of bringing more, and wipe the wounds of the wounded when camping on the road."

Before he finished speaking, a wounded man was heard shouting: "I won't wipe it, take it away, take it away quickly!"

The voice sounded familiar to Liu Yimin. When he walked over and took a look, he realized that it was Niu Liangzi, an old Red Army soldier who took the lead in complaining to the new recruits during the army reorganization in Xiyan. He said, "Niu Liangzi, why don't you let your comrades wipe your wounds?"
To be continued...