A sabre ■ Jiangzi one It is two fingers wide and nearly one meter long. It is curved and made of bronze and steel. If it doesn't rust, it must be like a shiny hairtail. But now, its body is covered with the rust formed by the prolonged moisture in the south, and its true colors can no longer be seen - if it is put together with the hoes, sickles, ploughshares and other farm tools of the farmers in the south, no one can find its heterogeneity. Its point and blade are still very sharp. If you hold it in your hand and wave it gently, you can still hear the buzzing. Its dark and shiny handle makes people speculate that it may have an extraordinary life experience. Yes, it is a military knife, a military command knife made in the late Qing Dynasty. More precisely, it is the sabre worn by the "new army" generals. When it comes to the "new army", we can easily think of Zhang Zhidong and Yuan Shikai. After the Sino Japanese War of 1894-1895, in order to strengthen the army, the Qing government ordered that Zhang Zhidong, the governor of Liangjiang, nieshicheng, and Yuan Shikai, the governor of Zhili, compile and train the new army, "learn foreign guns and western France", which is known as the "new army" in history and the full name of the "new army". This knife is a special pendant of the early modern army of old China. This sharp weapon, which was forged at the end of the 19th century and related to national dignity, was carefully preserved by a Chen family in Bafang village, Qinglang Township, Yuanling County, Hunan Province in 1935. It was not made public until a few years ago. two Who is its owner? What happened to it? Its story needs to be told from Marshal he long—— On february16,1925, he long was appointed the first division commander of the Sichuan army of the founding coalition. He got a sabre, the "new army" command sabre. This is his 11th year in the army. He long, who was born in 1896, joined the Chinese Revolutionary Party led by Sun Yat sen in 1914 and organized the military movement in his hometown. From then on, he has been sneaking into the army. By 1925, at the age of 29, he was already a general with extraordinary fighting experience. He led the uprising in Western Hunan successively, and served as the commander in chief of Sangzhi's anti Yuan National Army, the commander of the 2nd Battalion of the 1st ladder regiment of the left wing of the Western Hunan national army, the guerrilla commander of the 1st road of the military and civil army of the Western Hunan law protection and aid Hubei, the commander of the 1st Battalion of the 5th regiment of the Western Hunan law protection army, the commander of the 3rd ladder regiment of the Western Hunan Jingguo army, and the commander of the 2nd detachment of the Western Hunan patrol army. No one in Xiangxi doesn't know the name of he long. The sabre with "new army" blood is the proof of his outstanding military achievements and the symbol of his military position. We found the trace of this sabre in a photo said to be taken when he was appointed commander of the Sichuan army of the founding of the people's Republic of China. In the photo, he long has a mustache, a military uniform, and a necklace hanging from his epaulet and hat. He is 12% heroic and handsome. His left hand held the handle of a sabre tightly. Although the whole body of the saber is not photographed in the photo, we can almost be sure that it is the commanding saber. The 11 years' military career has also brought intense turbulence to Helong's thoughts. Born in poverty, he followed Dr. Sun Yat Sen for many years to discuss yuan, protect the law and seek for thieves. He had a deep understanding of the reality of the scuffle between Chinese warlords and the suffering of the people, and had deep doubts about whether Mr. Sun Yat Sen could successfully rely on local warlords to carry out the revolution. Later, his position changed again and again: in July, 1926, he led his troops to join the National Revolutionary Army and served as the division commander of the 6th Division of the 8th Army and the garrison envoy of Xiangxi. In August, he was appointed as the commander of the first division of the 9th army, and he was electrified to participate in the northern expedition. In february1927, he was appointed commander of the independent 15th division directly under the general headquarters of the national revolutionary army. In May of the same year, he was defeated by the Feng army in Xiaoyao Town, Xihua county and xiaoshangqiao, Linying County, Henan Province, and became a famous general in the northern expedition. He long, who holds the command knife, is invincible. That knife is far more majestic than the two firewood knives he and wuyulin used to attack the guard of Cili County Magistrate and pull up the team in the winter of 1917. How many enemies are terrified by it, and how many Xiangxi children follow it! During this period, he long met Zhou Yiqun, a Communist Party member. Zhou Yiqun was Zhou Enlai's comrade in arms and colleague who served as director of the Political Department of the Whampoa Military Academy, and later became his comrade in arms - Zhou Yiqun became director of the Political Department of his army. Zhou Yiqun's Marxist theory aroused his great interest. Because of Zhou Yiqun, he eventually became a believer in communism. This means that the sabre in his hand has changed the "Sabre technique" -- from the three people's principles to communism. This is a new beginning and a new era for he long, who started from the old army, and even for the entire Chinese army. three The first actual battle of the new "knife technique" was the Nanchang Uprising. He long was appointed by former Party Secretary Zhou Enlai as commander in chief of the rebel army and commander of the 20th army. It is well known that the uprising failed. He long led his troops South and joined the Communist Party of China at Ruijin introduced by zhouyiqun and tanpingshan. —— The first battle of the new "Sabre technique" was actually the end of this commanding sabre. The Nanchang Uprising was a great beginning for the Communist Party of China to independently lead the revolutionary war, create the people's army and seize power by armed force. The "new army" command knife was an object in the command system of the "new army" and the Kuomintang army in the late Qing Dynasty. Naturally, it was not suitable for the new people's army. But he long did not abandon it. It is the witness of He Long's military career and another bone of he long. Although it has lost its use value, it still does not prevent him from taking the command knife wherever he goes. In November, 1935, he long and Ren Bishi led the second and sixth corps of the Red Army to embark on the long march from his hometown Sangzhi. They successfully crossed the Yuanshui River in Yuanling County, Hunan Province, broke through the first blockade line of the Kuomintang army and settled down in qiaoziping village. The headquarters of the second Red Army Corps is located in the home of a poor peasant named chendingxiang in the local gangzhuyan natural village. The Red Army rested for four days at qiaoziping. They fought against local tyrants, distributed land, helped the local people to establish a red regime, and sent food, materials, and medicine to the people. The dilapidated old house of chendingxiang's house has become the liveliest place in the whole village. He long formed a deep friendship with the owner of the house, chendingxiang. It is said that the story of the sabre took place here: chendingxiang watched the Red Army open the granary of the landlord's rich family and send bags to the poor. The supreme commander, he long, was dressed like an ordinary soldier. He was very impressed. He learned that he long's wife Jian Xianren had just given birth to a daughter and had no milk. The child was so hungry that he cried all day. So he found an old hen that laid eggs to stew and urged Jian Xianren to milk. It was the iron rule of the people's army since the Nanchang Uprising that the masses should not be singled out. To thank old Chen, he long wanted to give him a sum of money, but old Chen refused to accept anything. He long finally gave Chen Dingxiang the command knife that had been with him for 10 years. He said, "Lao Chen, you should take this knife well, and the Red Army will come back!" Four days later, the second and sixth corps of the Red Army left qiaoziping by three routes and headed for the Yunnan Guizhou Plateau. As soon as the Red Army left, Chen Dingxiang quietly found a place to dig a hole and buried the knife. How can such a precious thing be found by the returning Kuomintang forces! After the founding of new China, Chen Dingxiang dug his knife out of the soil. Since then, it has become the most important thing for their whole family to cherish this meaningful knife. Time flies. At the beginning of this century, this Dao has been handed down to Chen Fei for five generations. In october2015, when the Red Army's victory day of the long march was approaching, the relevant departments of Yuanling County sent people to Bafang village, Qinglang township to investigate and verify the history of the long march. Chen Fei told this story to people and wanted to donate this command knife to the descendants of Marshal he long. In may2017, he Jiesheng, the 82 year old daughter of he long, arrived in Yuanling County from Beijing to accept the donation. She was the youngest child on the long march of the Red Army, and she was also the baby who cried at the farmer's home 82 years ago because she had no milk to eat. As a historical witness, seeing this knife, she couldn't help bursting into tears, because it was not only a relic of her father, but also contained incomparably rich historical information - it was a precious physical evidence of the people's army's cutting through thorns and thorns along the way, but also a vivid portrayal of the people's army and the people's fish and water situation. four Five years have passed. I don't know how many new stories have been added to this saber! I miss this legendary knife. I really want to have a chance to see this knife and look at this hero's Pendant. I really want to hear it tell about the historical situation of that year, quietly feel the frost and snow of more than 100 years rising and falling on the tip of its knife, and I don't know how much cognition and imagination full of literary beauty will be generated in my heart—— The owner of this Sabre is Marshal he long. It seems that he long's body temperature is still on the dragon shaped handle, and it has witnessed his great achievements and ideological changes. He long is the commander-in-chief of the Nanchang Uprising. This Dao was an important Pendant of the new army and even the Kuomintang army in the late Qing Dynasty. The revolutionary army independently led by the Communist Party of China since the Nanchang Uprising was born out of the old army. On that great night, the new army and the old army, the enemy and me, were only distinguished by the red scarf and the armband on their arms—— This knife not only witnessed the birth of he long from an old soldier to a new soldier, but also witnessed the rebirth of the Chinese army. Argentine poet Jorge Luis Borges' famous sentence seems to be written specifically for it: "such perseverance, such faith, such calm or naive pride, and the years pass by in vain without paying any attention." (outlook new era)