Ling Xiao’s deeds

Before the Dragon Boat Festival in 1929, Ling Xiao organized members of the special branch to secretly print a large number of leaflets at the Dajingtou Slaughter Tax Office, an activity location in the city, and prepared to distribute them widely in Guichi's urban and rural areas. The enemy implemented martial law in the county town, set up sentries at the city gates, and conducted strict searches on passers-by. It was very difficult to transport this batch of propaganda materials out of the city. Ling Xiao analyzed the situation, frowned, and came up with a clever plan.

On the Dragon Boat Festival, a funeral procession, holding banners to summon souls, holding paper figures and horses, played and played along the way to the city gate.

Ling Xiao, dressed in filial piety, approached the enemy sentry with a sad face, pointed at the coffin and said: "Boss, please have mercy on our filial piety. The person in this life has been in heaven for several days, so we must hurry up. Bury!" The enemy sentry raised his gun and said, "If you are not filial, your Majesty and his second uncle will also check it. Stop and open the coffin!" Ling Xiao pretended to have a last resort and asked someone to put the coffin down and said: " Boss, okay, forget it." "No, don't be wordy!" "Then please take a look!" The sentry came over, and Ling Xiao only opened the coffin a crack, and a stifling smell rushed out. It almost choked the sentry. The sentry covered his nose and frowned: "Get out, get out!" It turned out that Ling Xiao placed a rotting dead dog on the top layer of the coffin and leaflets on the bottom layer. Early the next morning, people discovered that slogans such as "Long Live the Red Soviet," "Long Live the Red Army," and "Down with the Reactionary Regime" were posted everywhere in and around Guichi.

On another occasion, Ling Xiao disguised himself as an enemy officer and went to Wuhu to contact the work, with many leaflets in his pocket. On the way, he met an enemy officer entering the tavern, and he followed him in. While eating, he deliberately hung the shirt he took off with the enemy officer's clothes, and started drinking with the enemy officer. While he was drinking heavily, he stood up and said goodbye: "I have official business, so I'm leaving first." The enemy officer returned the courtesy and said, "I'm sorry for sending you off so far. See you next time." Ling Xiao took the opportunity to put on the opponent's military uniform and put his Those leaflets were left with the enemy officer. The guy returned to the barracks drunkenly and took out a lot of leaflets in front of others. He became panicked and shouted, "You can't clean yourself even if you jump into the Yellow River!"

Ling Xiao was in his hometown Guichi County , using his wisdom and bravery to publicize revolutionary ideas and arouse the masses, gradually setting off a climax of revolutionary struggle in the county.

During this period, Ling Xiao led the struggle to expel Hu Yan, the principal of the Kuomintang spy, from Guichi County Junior High School. He also led two strikes by miners at the Mantoushan Coal Mine for increased wages. In early 1929, there was a spring famine, and landlords and profiteers worked together to hoard and make a lot of ill-gotten gains. The poor residents are hungry, have no rice to cook with, and are struggling on the verge of death. He promptly organized the hungry people and distributed the grain hoarded by profiteers.

Before and after the autumn harvest of this year, in order to mobilize the peasants to carry out the struggle against rent and reduce rent, Ling Xiao came and went in the wind and rain, running day and night among Baiyang, Maya and Meigeng, haunting the masses. among. In a short period of time, the rural areas of Guichi quickly set off a wave of struggles against rents and rent reductions. Farmers' associations and farmers' self-defense forces in various places were established during the struggle.

Ling Xiao attaches great importance to the establishment of revolutionary armed forces in leading mass struggles. Late one night in the autumn of 1929, in a peasant household in Liufenji Village on the outskirts of Guichi, several members of the special branch were studying the matter of organizing armed forces. Ling Xiao proposed: "Only by mastering the barrel of a gun can we attack the enemy more effectively, expand the influence of the Red Army, and support the struggle in the Jiangxi Soviet Area." "Where do guns come from?" asked a branch committee member. The flames of the vegetable oil lamps danced, and everyone turned their attention to Ling Xiao. Ling Xiao thought for a moment and said firmly: "I will break into the self-defense group and use the camera to seize the gun from the enemy." Some comrades were worried about his safety. Ling Xiao patiently persuaded everyone: "If you don't enter the tiger's den, you won't get the tiger cubs." "Revolution always involves risks."

A few days later, Ling Xiao used his connections as the president of the county chamber of commerce to find a job in the self-defense group.

The composition of the self-defense group is relatively complex. Many lower-level soldiers are forced to join the group because of their livelihood. There are also conflicts among the upper-level leaders due to factions and power struggles. Ling Xiao carefully analyzed the internal situation of the enemy and formulated a struggle strategy: on the one hand, he approached the soldiers who were born in poverty, told the revolutionary principles, inspired class consciousness, and united them around him; on the other hand, he actively did the work of the middle and small leaders to expand the Internal conflicts within the enemy. Taking advantage of the enemy's internal strife, he led more than 20 soldiers who had contacted in advance to seize the opportunity to bring guns to the uprising. Based on this, he established the first revolutionary armed force in Guichi.

At the beginning of 1930, the Guichi County Committee of the Communist Party of China was formally established.

Ling Xiao was the first county party secretary.

In February, Ling Xiao changed his name to Yan Kuan and went to Qianshan to participate in the leadership of the Jingshui Village Uprising. After the uprising, the Qianshan Independent Division of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army was established, and he served as deputy division commander and chief of staff.

After the Kuomintang Qianshan County Magistrate learned of the peasant uprising in Jingshui Village, he was furious and impatiently led hundreds of self-defense groups to "encircle and suppress" them.

The Qianshan Independent Division is in its infancy, and its weapons are very crude. Most of them are broadswords, spears, muskets, shotguns, etc., and there are only dozens of "Hanyang-made" guns. After learning the news of the enemy's invasion, the division and regiment leaders studied countermeasures together. In the face of a strong enemy, everyone disagrees on whether to fight or retreat. Many people are worried that losing the first battle will affect morale, and advocate avoiding the enemy's sharp edge. Ling Xiao calmly analyzed the situation between the enemy and ourselves and set out three favorable conditions for a successful first battle: First, our division has raised the flag of rebellion for the first time, and its morale is high, but the enemy has not yet figured out our details; second, the enemy relies on its sophisticated weapons and sufficient ammunition. Arrogant and arrogant soldiers will be defeated since ancient times; thirdly, when the enemy attacks and we defend, we can use the favorable terrain to set up ambushes, wait for work, and defeat the enemy by surprise. The words he spoke made his comrades more confident. He turned around and asked the division commander Wang Xiaoting for a fight, and personally led his team to ambush the enemy.

Shuihou Ridge is the only way for enemies to attack Jingshui Village. The mountains are high and the slopes are steep, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack. It is a good place for an ambush. Ling Xiao led his troops to quietly ambush here in the darkness. He divided the troops into two parts, one part of the personnel was placed on the top of the hill between the roads, and the other part was hidden in the trees at the foot of the mountain. Before the battle, he reminded his subordinates: "This battle will be won by surprise. You must obey the command. No one is allowed to act in advance without orders!" Before dawn, everything was arranged.

As soon as the sun appeared, the enemy's Qianshan County Magistrate appeared on the road with a large group of troops. When the enemy entered the fire range, Ling Xiao calmly gave the order: "Hit!" The earthen cannon made a "boom" sound, and a ball of fire was thrown towards the enemy group. At the same time, all the firearms were condescending and fired at the enemy together. The enemy group was crying and wolf howling, and they all fell down. The enemy's Qianshan County Magistrate fell off his horse in shock, fell down and gnawed on the mud, and the team was in chaos.

"Woo——" As the horns sounded, "Charge!" The troops ambushing on the side of the mountain took the opportunity to rush into the enemy's position and eliminated dozens of enemy troops. The enemy county magistrate was so beaten that he was so stunned that he did not bother to organize a counterattack. He threw down dozens of corpses, climbed on horseback, and fled with a group of defeated soldiers in a wolf gallop.

The ambush lasted only more than 20 minutes, and dozens of rifles were seized. The soldiers carried the trophies on their backs and talked excitedly: "Deputy Commander Ling's troops are really equal to ten. He is brave and resourceful and beats the enemy to pieces." "Well, our deputy commander is a top student in the fourth phase of Huangpu. He participated in the Northern Expedition. He was 22 years old. He became the regimental deputy of the Northern Expeditionary Army, and he was very capable. This battle was just a piece of cake, nothing important."

In May of the same year, the Qianshan Independent Division was reorganized into the Second Central Independent Division of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. (called the Red 34th Division by the masses), Ling Xiao served as deputy division commander and chief of staff and commander of the first regiment. With Yaqian as its base, the division assisted the local government in establishing the Qianshan County Soviet government, and became part of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui revolutionary base area.

In order to further expand the revolutionary base area, the Second Independent Division of the Red Army, with the cooperation of fraternal troops, successively attacked the cities of Yingshan and Huoshan.

The battle in Huoshan was fierce. The enemy relied on the high walls and thick walls of the city and resisted desperately. They lay on the walls and kept shooting. Under the city wall, arrows flew everywhere and gunpowder smoke filled the air. The ladder used to attack the enemy was erected and then pushed down. The Red Army soldiers suffered heavy casualties, the ground was stained with blood, and the troops' attack was frustrated.

At this critical moment, Ling Xiao came to the offensive position and looked at his fallen comrades, sparks of anger bursting out of his red eyes. He quickly pulled out two shell guns from his waist, fired his bow from left to right, and hit the enemies on the wall so hard that they couldn't raise their heads. Then he quickly loaded two rounds of bullets and shouted: "Comrades, follow me!" He quickly moved forward. Jump out of the trench, take the lead in climbing up the ladder, and fight while climbing. An enemy just poked his head out and took aim at him. With quick eyes and quick hands, he raised his hand and fired, and the enemy soldier fell down the wall. His tall body was the first to reach the top of the city. The red flag was finally planted in Huoshan City!

After that, Ling Xiao led the first regiment to quickly expand the breakthrough point and start street fighting. Under his command, the troops rushed left and right, made rapid progress, and soon captured Huoshan County. The enemy county magistrate fled in panic with his remnants. Even the county government's seal, secret documents and cash were not able to be taken away, and they were all captured by the Red Army.

The Second Independent Division of the Red Army won consecutive battles and its influence continued to expand.

The reactionary authorities were horrified and furious. In July, taking advantage of the main force of the Red Army moving towards the Ping-Han Line, the Kuomintang mobilized the regular army and the provincial security regiment, divided into three groups, and attacked the Yaqian base area with great momentum. Ling Xiao commanded the troops to deal with the enemy skillfully, killing and wounding many enemy soldiers. However, due to the disparity in strength between the enemy and ourselves, the Red Army decided to break through the encirclement and evacuate Yaqian. After several days of fierce fighting, they finally broke out of the enemy's encirclement.

In order to preserve the revolutionary power, division commander Wang Xiaoting led the main force of the Second Independent Division of the Red Army to fight in Hubei. Ling Xiao led nearly a hundred soldiers, divided them into parts, and went to counties in southern Anhui to open up new areas and persist in the struggle. Soon, he returned to Guichi as Minister of Arms.

After the Red Army withdrew, the reactionary forces became more rampant, and they frantically searched for underground members of the Communist Party. Those who were unfortunately arrested were beheaded and displayed in public. The struggle was extremely cruel.

Under the grim situation of white terror shrouding the Guichi area, Ling Xiao fought against the enemy even more tenaciously. He gathered the soldiers who stayed in the area and formed an armed squad, which often attacked the enemy unexpectedly, eliminated traitors and rebelled against hegemons, and punished the culprits.

A brigade of the security group is stationed at Shuishan Lake in Guichi. The leader is named Zhang Xiaotou. He often leads the group to the surrounding villages to rob property, molest women, harass the people, prey on the villagers, and make chickens and dogs restless. When Ling Xiao heard the crowd crying about Zhang Xiaotou's crimes, he couldn't help but feel angry and determined to eliminate harm for the people.

Late one night, the moon was dark and the wind was high. Ling Xiao led the small team, took several small boats, and entered the enclosure where the enemy was stationed. He found that there was a light on in a room, and laughter could be heard from time to time. A soldier poked through the window paper and looked inside, and saw Zhang Xiaotou fooling around with a woman. Ling Xiao calmly directed everyone to ambush around the house, then gently removed an outer door and rushed into the house. When Zhang Xiaotou saw someone coming in, he hurriedly reached under the pillow to feel for his gun. With quick eyes and quick hands, Ling Xiao stepped forward and heard a sound of "ah". The dagger had already been inserted into Zhang Xiaotou's chest. Then he took out a piece of paper and placed it on the body: "I am warning the perpetrators to suffer the same fate! "By the time the enemy found out, Ling Xiao and others had already flown away.

After Zhang Xiaotou was executed, the crowd applauded and rushed to tell each other: "The Red Army is back again, venting their anger on us and getting rid of a scourge." However, the security team members were trembling with fear and whispered to each other: "It's better to do less evil, otherwise your life will be hard to save!"

The reactionary authorities hated and feared Ling Xiao, so they posted notices everywhere offering a reward of two thousand oceans for his capture. Ling Xiao patted his head and said humorously to his comrades: "My head, a farmer's boy, is worth hundreds of oceans per pound. The authorities think too highly of me." He ignored the enemy's threat and relied on the cover of the masses. Still active in various parts of Guichi's urban and rural areas.

In October 1930, according to the decision of the Anqing Special Committee, Ling Xiao moved to Tongling Dingjiazhou to found the party and served as the leader of the Tongling Party Group. In the autumn of the following year, he participated in the establishment of the Huizhou Working Committee of the Communist Party of China and was in charge of military work. He often disguised himself as a salesman and traveled to Guichi, Xuancheng, Qimen, Qiupu and other places to guide the revolutionary struggles in various places.

Later, due to the destruction of the working committee, Ling Xiao lost contact with the working committee. As the white terror became increasingly serious, he was not discouraged and tried every means to find and arrange for the surviving comrades to go underground and hide and wait. In order to get rid of the enemy's increasingly intensifying search, he changed his name to Hu Xinhua, used his identity as a private school teacher as a cover, and continued to engage in underground revolutionary activities in the Jingxian area.

In the autumn of 1934, Ling Xiao was betrayed by the traitor Zhou Kongen and unfortunately was arrested. The enemy failed to induce him to surrender and tortured him. Ling Xiao was steadfast and unyielding, saying: "As long as my bones and muscles are not broken, I will not become a cartwheel!"

The party organization sent progressive student Chen Xiaozhong to visit Ling Xiao in prison. Chen Xiaozhong looked at the numerous scars and blood stains on his body and couldn't help crying. Ling Xiao said affectionately across the iron fence: "Please tell everyone, just say that I am fine and don't feel sorry for me. Revolutions always bleed, but the blood will not be shed in vain!" Later, he asked someone to carry him with him. The letter was written to his comrades, saying that "a general will die not by gun, but by sword", expressing his heroic spirit of not hesitating to sacrifice his life for the revolution.

On the twelfth day of the twelfth lunar month in 1934, Ling Xiao shouted the slogan "Long live the Communist Party" and died generously at the age of 29.

In August 1949, the party, government, military and civilians in the Chizhou area held a grand monument erecting ceremony for the martyr Ling Xiao. The monument is surrounded by green cypresses, standing cedars, and a solemn atmosphere.

Inscribed on the tall monument:

Comrade Ling Xiao, you live for the people and die for the people. On the land you have watered with your blood, the flowers of independence and democracy have grown. The People's Democratic Liberation War that you worked so hard for has won, and the reactionaries you hated have fallen...