Chapter 389 Jade shatters into scorched earth, and blood lasts forever
In the morning, He Huan sent a message to the group: "Today I am going to the Memorial Cemetery to pay homage to the heroes. Please dress neatly and solemnly, and do not wear hats."
Visitors all responded in the group: OK.
After having breakfast at the hotel, He Huan set off with the Little White Dragon Group.
"At the foot of Laifeng Mountain and by the Dieshui River, nine thousand heroes lie buried. This is the National Memorial Cemetery we are going to now. National Memorial was taken from the Songs of Chu by Mr. Li Gengen, a revolutionary veteran who called himself a native of Gaoligong Mountain.
"
Entering the Memorial Cemetery, you will see a huge bell in the square with a pair of doves of peace on it.
"This is a warning bell!"
Everyone couldn't help but feel solemn.
Walking to the front, the warning bell is engraved on both sides - Don't forget the national humiliation, cherish peace.
As you walk past, you will see a long wall.
"This is the list of the expeditionary force. There are 105,231 names and they are still being added." He Huan said, "During World War II, our country's expeditionary force regained western Yunnan. The National Memorial Cemetery was built to commemorate the fallen soldiers of the 20th Group Army that conquered Tengchong.
Martyrs."
Everyone walked along the wall of the expeditionary force list, and tears gradually filled their eyes.
He Huan led the Little White Dragon Group into the Western Yunnan Anti-Japanese War Memorial Hall. As soon as they entered, everyone was shocked by the helmets all over the wall.
He Huan explained the War of Resistance in Western Yunnan, and other tourists gathered around to listen.
"On July 7, 1937, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident broke out and the Anti-Japanese War broke out. Port cities such as Shanghai and Nanjing were in danger. The Yunnan Army set out to join forces in the Central Plains.
Soon, a large area of our country fell. The Japanese army blocked our sea lanes and planned to encircle and fight. At this time, Yunzhou, a mountainous area, became the rear area.
Long Yun, the highest official in Yunzhou, went to Nanjing for a meeting and proposed that there is another channel in Yunzhou that can receive international aid supplies. That is, the Shushen Poison Road! The Southern Silk Road! The Ancient Tea Horse Road!"
The little white dragon group was so excited that they didn’t expect that the Ancient Tea Horse Road would appear here again!
“The Ancient Tea Horse Road at that time had to go through Ailao Mountain, Wuliang Mountain, Gaoligong Mountain, Nushan Mountain, Yunling Mountain, and cross the Red River, Lancang River, and Nu River. It was the hairy path traveled by caravans for two thousand years.
How long would it take to transport anti-war materials to our country's rear areas through this small road? But at that time, this was the only channel left. Nanjing finally decided to build the Burma Highway.
At that time, 80% of the road section was covered by high mountains and rivers and canyons. The United States said that it would take at least three years to complete the road! In November, Nanjing ordered Yunzhou to build the Burma Highway within one year.
Long Yun returned to Yunzhou and issued an emergency notice. The local governors in Chuncheng, Chuxiong, Dali, and Baoshan received a letter and a pair of handcuffs. Roads were built within a time limit in each area. If they could not be completed, they were sent to Chuncheng with handcuffs.
at.
In December, 200,000 laborers from more than 20 ethnic groups went to work on road sections in their respective counties to build the Burma Highway. At that time, young and middle-aged people were on the front lines, and most of the people building this road were the elderly, women and children."
He Huan pointed to an old photo on the wall. Everyone looked at the black and white photo on the wall, their young shoulders were carrying a heavy load, and their eyes were red.
"At that time, the road construction team brought their own dry food and tools. The technicians in the front were measuring, and the laborers behind were digging. In order to build the road, about 3,000 people sacrificed their lives at the bottom of the cliff and in the river.
Finally, eight months later, 200,000 hands holding plowing tools built the Burma Highway. The first batch of 6,000 tons of international aid supplies was transported into our country from the Burma Highway. At that time, the world was shocked! This is
A passage built with life!”
Tourists wiped away tears.
“After the completion of the Burma Highway, it immediately began to play an important role in the Anti-Japanese War in our country and the entire Pacific region. This Burma Road, which circled between high mountains and canyons, was the only channel between our country and foreign countries at that time.
In the three years since it was opened to traffic, more than 15,000 vehicles on the Burma Highway transported a total of 500,000 tons of military supplies and countless other materials. It was a lifeline to support the Anti-Japanese War.
At the same time, this was the only transportation line that allowed entry and exit, and it was also the key to the desperate struggle between the two sides in the war. In 1940, Japanese aircraft discovered the Burma Road and began to bomb the Burma Road on a large scale.
They bombed, and we built it, building a Burma Highway that was constantly bombed. Cars couldn't get through, so they used horses to carry them. Look at this photo."
He Huan pointed to a black and white photo on the wall, "It's a team of mules and horses transporting our army's artillery shells on the Burma Highway by the Nu River. The Southern Silk Road not only has tea and coffee, silk and jade, but also artillery shells."
Everyone looked at the team of mules and horses.
He Huan showed them another photo, "This is a road that was blown up, a truck carrying supplies was blocked, and a group of migrant workers were digging earth and rocks to clear the road."
"It was an era of national resistance to the war." He Huan led everyone to talk while walking, "The Burma Road was bombed and rebuilt again. People on this road were not afraid of artillery fire and kept going back and forth.
The Japanese army changed their strategy and attacked Thailand, Malaysia, and Myanmar adjacent to Yunzhou, intending to block our material transportation and surround Yunzhou.
After the Japanese army occupied Myanmar, in 1942, one hundred thousand expeditionary troops set off from the Burma Highway and entered Myanmar to fight against Japan. Sixty thousand soldiers shed blood in a foreign country and died for the country.
Subsequently, the Japanese troops rushed through the Wanding Port and entered the southwest gate of our country."
Everyone looked at the pictures and listened to He Huan's description of the tragic battle to defend the country's gate and highway. They couldn't help but be shocked.
"After the Yunnan-Burma Highway was cut off, the Japanese army occupied Tengchong and Longling and carried out brutal massacres. The rear area of the Anti-Japanese War became the front line of the Anti-Japanese War. The Japanese army formed a strategic encirclement of our country.
In order to transport supplies, the Allies opened the Hump Route. However, the Hump Route cannot supply our large, enclosed battlefield.
In May 1944, the 20th Group Army of the Expeditionary Force forcibly crossed the Nujiang Grand Canyon, attacked Gaoligong Mountain, and launched a return war in western Yunnan..."
While He Huan was talking, everyone was crying.
"Gaoligong Mountain passes through Tengchong City. In order to consolidate Tengchong they occupied, the Japanese army also built fortifications on the Ancient Tea Horse Road in Gaoligong Mountain.
After nine days of bloody fighting, the expeditionary force seized the Nanbeizhai Gongfu in Gaoligong Mountain. The altitude of Gaoligong Mountain is 3,000 meters. This battle is also known as the Battle of Yuntian.
The expeditionary force used their flesh and blood to rush through the enemy's artillery fire, captured Laifeng Mountain, and rushed to the stone city built by the Japanese army with high walls! The stone city is Tengchong.
Since ancient times, volcanic rocks have been built as city walls. After the Japanese occupation, they also enslaved and forced our people to build walls.
Stone City could not be attacked repeatedly, and the people inside and outside carried military supplies and weapons to support the expeditionary force. The Allied army Stilwell used a plane to blow a gap in the city wall. The expeditionary force climbed over the wall and entered the city, filling the streets with corpses and covering the city walls with blood."
Looking at the old photos, even in black and white, we can still see the cruelty and bloodshed at that time. Everyone turned their heads and couldn't bear to witness it.
"After 42 days of fierce fighting, the 20th Group Army completely wiped out the 6,000 Japanese troops stationed in Tengchong. The Japanese troops burned their military flags."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"Subsequently, the expeditionary force entered Longling. Longling was the end of the Longjiang Bridge we came from yesterday. The expeditionary force again launched a fierce battle with the Japanese army at Songshan Mountain in Longling.
After three months of bloody fighting, 2,000 Japanese troops were wiped out and Longling was recovered. The Japanese army burned the military flag for the second time. There is a Songshan Battle site over there in Songshan."
The tourists' eyes were red.
"Speaking of this military flag, because it was awarded by the emperor, as long as the military flag is not completely damaged, it will not be re-awarded. And the more damaged the military flag is, the prouder they are, as it represents military merit.
The Japanese army attached great importance to their military flags to a perverted degree, so on the battlefield against Japan in World War II, both our army and the Allied forces wanted to steal their military flags.
But they refused to let anyone capture the military flag even if they died. Even if the regiment was destroyed, they would still set aside time for a solemn ceremony - burning the military flag.
On three occasions on our country's battlefields, the Japanese army was forced to burn their flags in desperation. One was in Yichang, and the other two were in Tengchong and Songshan."
"Ah!" Everyone couldn't help but feel proud.
"Because the regiment was destroyed, Japan called these two battles the Yusui War. They still know about Yusui, which shows that our country's culture has been inherited very well."
The tourists finally smiled.
"But they call themselves jade, which is not worthy. Since ancient times, jade has emerged from Tengyue. In the Tengchong and Songshan battles, our army was limited by terrain and equipment. The death toll was several times that of the Japanese army, and there were a thousand child soldiers. But we did not let them go.
An enemy. We are called Yusui, they are just stinking stones."
Everyone laughed.
"It was the victory of the Battle of Songshan and the Battle of Tengchong that kicked off our army's counterattack. The Battle of Yushang saved our arteries, the Yunnan-Burma Highway came into play again, and the expeditionary force subsequently recovered Wanding.
The counterattack in western Yunnan lasted for eight months and wiped out 20,000 Japanese troops. In January 1945, the western Yunnan expeditionary force successfully joined forces with the Chinese expeditionary force in India and drove the invaders out of the southwest gate.
The southwestern rear area was stabilized, the siege situation was opened, supplies were sufficient, and new forces moved to the eastern battlefield. In May, the eastern battlefield began to counterattack, and the Battle of Western Hunan was victorious. In August 1945, Japan surrendered."
Everyone's eyes filled with tears.
"The hump route in the sky, the Burma Highway on the ground, and the mountains and rivers are bloody every step of the way. Baoshan, as the first city on the far side of our country and the gateway to South Asia, history has never been interrupted and has been written."
Unknowingly, a large number of people had gathered around, but it was very quiet, and only the sound of sobbing could be heard.
He Huan walked out with the Little White Dragon Group, and many tourists followed.
Arriving at the solemn Chung Martyrs' Shrine, I wrote a letter with four big characters - Blood will last forever!
I just saw those old photos, heard about that period of history, and then watched the story of the film. Everyone couldn't help but burst into tears and their blood surged.
"This is the main building of the National Memorial Cemetery, a palace to pay homage to the heroes and martyrs." He Huan took everyone inside to visit and pay homage.
Coming out, behind the Chung Martyrs' Shrine, surrounded by green mountains, there is a protruding mountain.
A neat row of small tombstones, hidden among the white camellias and green pines and cypresses, looks like an array of soldiers, with the four characters "Heaven and Earth are righteous" written in front of them.
Most people will always feel panicked and uneasy when they go to a place with tombstones, especially a place with many tombstones.
But facing this mountain of tombstones and looking at this "righteousness of heaven and earth", there is no fear or uneasiness, only safety and emotion.
When you come to Fengshan, you will be accompanied by pines and cypresses, and your aura of righteousness will flow.
"This is Xiaotuan Mountain, a small, silent volcano where the heroes of the expeditionary army are buried. The layout of the cemetery shows four large blocks and eight small blocks, which means that the heroes who are buried here come from all directions of the motherland.
Loyal bones are buried everywhere in the mountains, so why return them wrapped in horse leather. They come from all over the world, and most of them are too young and have no descendants. We are their descendants."
The tourists burst into tears.
"It is precisely because they protected this gate with their lives that we can see the beauty and prosperity of the border town today, and we can stand in front of them to comfort the heroic spirits."
The tourists, led by the little white dragon, bowed three times and then presented white and yellow chrysanthemums in front of the small tombstones with names engraved on them.
He Huan took them to the National Heroes Monument again, "More heroes don't even have bones or names. We can only pay our respects here."
Everyone stood in silence and then offered white chrysanthemums.
After coming down, I saw an inconspicuous round mound in a corner overgrown with weeds, with a monument standing in front of it that read - Japanese Tomb.
He Huan said: "Look over there."
Everyone, look over.
"The place where the emperor is buried is called a mausoleum, the princes and nobles with military merit are called tombs, the common people are called graves, and the lonely ghosts are called tombs."
Everyone finally laughed here.
"The three corpses buried here are Colonel Yasumi Kurashige, captain of the 148th Regiment of the 56th Division of the Japanese Army, Captain Ota Masafumi, acting captain, and Captain Kuwahiro."
"ah!"
"The construction of the National Memorial Cemetery was started at the initiative of Mr. Li Gengen after the recapture of Tengchong and Longling. The local people suffered heavy casualties and were in a scorched earth, but they were not busy rebuilding their homes.
Use manpower and material resources to let the heroic spirits rest in peace and return their souls to the earth. It was completed on July 7, 1945, the day of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. It is the earliest martyrs cemetery established in our country.
At that time, for the sake of the environment, Japanese soldiers were also buried. In order to appease the pain of the soldiers and civilians, a Japanese grave was erected, and they were buried in a kneeling position with their hands tied behind their backs, so that they could face our mountains full of heroes and kneel with their hands tied behind their backs."
Everyone looked at the wazhong and felt like they had breathed a sigh of relief.
"Some tourists from the island country came to us and discovered this tomb, which spread to the island country. They sent people many times to take these corpses back for reburial. We never agreed.
In 1997, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries came to Tengchong and offered one billion to invest. The Tengchong government and people were very happy. Yunzhou was so poor at that time! Tengchong was also a poor county! Of course, such a large investment was welcomed.
But we also have to ask, why do you want to invest? What conditions do we need to provide?
At this time, they said that they had no other requirements but to dismantle the Japanese tomb and let them take the corpses back. They must want to send them to their sacred toilet."
The tourists started laughing again.
"At that time, we made three demands. First, stop enshrining war criminals and demolish the Yasukuni Shrine; second, stop tampering with the history of World War II and face the facts of aggression; third, publicly apologize to Tengchong and the victims of the war of aggression against China.
They didn't agree. You see, they still don't admit it. We don't agree either. We don't want a billion investment. So now you see that there is still no heavy industry here, only tourism, only blue sky and white clouds and tens of thousands of people sleeping here. Heroic soul!"
A large group of tourists burst into tears, "We must support Tengchong's tourism industry! We must come often to pay homage to the heroic souls!"
After leaving the Memorial Cemetery, He Huan looked at the tourists and said, "Now let's go to the Volcano Park, take a hot air balloon, and overlook the geographical miracle of this city in the center of Ailao, a city on the extreme edge."
The tourists’ eyes were still red.
"Today we are able to visit great rivers and mountains in this vast land and witness that the Ancient Tea Horse Road became the Shu Shen Po Road, then became the Yunnan-Burma Highway, and then became the beautiful Silk Road today. This is exactly what generations of people have built and protected!"