A Letter of Victory in Reply: What If, One Day, the Organization Gives You Only Three Artillery Rounds

What If, One Day, the Organization Gives You Only Three Artillery Rounds

Li Zhen, who lamented that "these comrades died too early and got nothing"; Liu Bojian, who vowed that "living is for China, dying is for China"; Chen Jue, who believed that "our unfulfilled aspirations will be carried out by comrades who have not yet died"… This year, this column has published many handwritten letters from revolutionary forebears. Many comrades-in-arms have written back to say that every word in those letters is written in blood and every sentence breaks the heart, filled with longing for family and with hope for the future.

Today, very few people write letters anymore. But if you were to write a reply to those forebears, what would you say? Would you describe the prosperous age you have witnessed with your own eyes, or the unceasing journey of struggle? Not long ago, to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the victory of the Long March of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, China Military Online and the PLA Daily's Weibo and WeChat accounts jointly launched a "Letter of Victory in Reply" collection campaign, inviting people running along the Long March road of the new era to send letters across time and space to the martyrs of the Long March. In this issue, we have selected a letter written by Lin Dong, political instructor (指导员) of a certain brigade of the 77th Group Army, to the old veteran Zhao Zhangcheng.

— Recommended by Hao Xiaobing

Respected Old Veteran Zhao Zhangcheng:

Greetings!

I am Lin Dong, the current political instructor (政治指导员) of the "Hero Artillery Company" — the unit in which you once served. On May 25 of this year, I led the company's "history-seeking, roots-tracing" (访史寻根) small team on a special trip to Anshunchang in Shimian County, Ya'an, Sichuan. Standing on the bank of the Dadu River, I thought to myself: Veteran, your descendants have come back to see you!

In the years I have served as political instructor, I have told the company's soldiers many times the story of how you "turned the tide with three artillery rounds" (三发炮弹挽狂澜) during the Long March. I thought I knew you well, thought I knew those three rounds well — but standing at the very position where you set up your gun, watching the river rushing more fiercely than I had imagined, and listening to Shuai Fei, the grandson of Shuai Shigao — the boatman on the first boat in the forced crossing of the Dadu River — recount that breathtaking moment, my throat tightened and I could not say a single word. I suddenly realized that I had never truly explained one thing: when you fired that first round, what were you thinking?

Only three rounds of ammunition. No sighting scope. No gun mount. You could only cradle the barrel with your hands and aim entirely by experience. On the far bank were the enemy's blockhouses. In the middle of the river was the wooden boat carrying the seventeen brave warriors. Behind you was the hope of the entire Red Army.

If it had been me — would my hands have trembled? Would my heart have panicked? What if the shot went wide?

Old veteran, I know that you held firm under immense pressure and hit the target with complete accuracy. Behind that lay the muscle memory you had built through day after day of practice, and the absolute resolve of a battle-hardened veteran staking his own life. That bedrock of confidence is precisely what our company needs.

This is my fourth year leading the company. The very first thing new soldiers do when they join the company is to study the company's history and learn about your deeds. The soldiers can all recite the company spirit (连魂): "forge the soul with conviction, let the artillery rounds do the talking" (以信念铸魂，用炮弹说话). But I know clearly that there are times when people still harbor a lucky-break mentality (侥幸心理) — if a live-fire exercise doesn't go well, they think "I'll try harder next time." You had no "next time" back then — ranging shots were impossible, time did not permit it, and a single lethal hit had to be guaranteed.

After returning from our roots-tracing trip, I assembled the entire company, played a video we had recorded on-site at the river crossing, showing the rushing current of the Dadu River…

The tent at the field training site was very quiet. When it finished, I said one thing to the whole company: "Old Veteran Zhao Zhangcheng's three artillery rounds were not shouted into existence — they were drilled into existence, one round at a time. From today on, before every training session, ask yourself: can you be the kind of person others can rely on without worry, the way the old veteran was? Do you dare to carry the lives of so many people on your shoulders, the way the old veteran did?"

During this visit to Anshunchang, we also went to the place where the ashes of General Sun Jixian were scattered. In accordance with his last wishes, half of Sun Jixian's ashes were scattered into the Dadu River and half were buried at Dongfeng Space City.

We laid flowers, bowed, and saluted… Thinking of your story and of Sun Jixian's last wishes, I fell into deep reflection: inheriting the red gene (红色基因) is not only about telling the stories of revolutionary forebears in a compelling way — it is also about enabling every soldier to find his own reflection in your stories. Just as your becoming a "divine artilleryman" (神炮手) and Sun Jixian's "doing earth-shaking deeds" (干惊天动地事) were not innate fighting spirit and ability, but were tempered through practice.

So I discussed it with the company commander, and we added a new element to training: simulating fire support under extreme conditions (模拟极限条件下火力支援). The ammunition load is reduced to the minimum, targets appear at random, and interference is not ruled out. We do not pursue shooting "beautifully" — we pursue hitting the target — just as you did back then: three rounds, every one of them counted.

I also brought back a handful of sand and a stone from the bank of the Dadu River, and placed them in the company's honor room, right next to the model of the mortar you used back then. As soldiers pass in and out of the honor room, they can see them, and be reminded at all times: if one day the organization gives you only three artillery rounds, can you shoot to the standard of the old veteran?

Old veteran, there is one more thing — when you hear it, you will surely feel heartened. At Anshunchang, we met the children of the "Seventeen Warriors Squadron" (十七勇士中队) of the August First Hope Primary School. They admire the military greatly and look up to the officers and soldiers. One little boy said he wants to join the army when he grows up.

They crowded around us, laughing and playing, and my eyes grew warm: wasn't it exactly this kind of smile that you fought with your life to protect back then? Please rest assured — the company spirit you passed down, we will uphold it; the peace you won with your artillery rounds, we will uphold it even more!

Respectfully,

Political Instructor of the "Hero Artillery Company," Lin Dong

(Compiled by Liu Zhucheng)

This article is selected from the "Letter of Victory in Reply" convergent media (融媒) report. Scan the code to read the original.