Reread the Long March - (Youth Version)

Author: Deng Xiangzi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-04-01
Features: Since crossing the Snow Mountain, Zhou Enlai's health had been poor, often coughing. Although he didn't mention it himself, the guards knew he was quite frail. They tried every means to get him rest, but Zhou Enlai always workedually until 2 a.m. He often didn't go to bed but would just rest on his desk for a nap, then continue working upon waking. His illness came on suddenly, with high fever for several days, reaching over 40 degrees Celsius. Due to the persistent high fever, he became delirious, talking nonsense, and hadn't eaten for five or six days. Red Army soldiers took turns going to the nearby mountains to fetch snow to cool him down. Mao Zedong, Liu Bocheng, Ye Jianying, and others all visited Zhou Enlai. Mao Zedong was very concerned about Zhou Enlai's condition and treatment. He ordered the Health Department to immediately find Dr. Fu to diagnose and treat Zhou Enlai, but Dr. Fu was with the Fourth Front Army, far away and unable to return. Upon learning that the First Front Army had a doctor nicknamed "Dai Huzi," Mao Zedong immediately ordered a telegraph to be sent for him. Dr. Dai arrived quickly, along with two other doctors, Li Zhi and Wang Bin. The doctors said Zhou Enlai suffered from acute hepatitis, specifically amoebic liver abscess. This disease had a very low chance of being cured, especially under the harsh conditions of the Long March. They proposed using ice to prepare a medicine for Zhou Enlai. Mao Zedong immediately ordered the engineering troops to risk their lives and return to the base of Snow Mountain to fetch dozens of kilograms of ice. The organization also transferred Deng Yingchao, Zhou Enlai's wife, to his side. Deng Yingchao, who suffered from tuberculosis and often coughed up blood during the Long March, ignored her own illness and cared for Zhou Enlai attentively. Zhou Enlai lay on a simple wooden bed, unconscious, while Deng Yingchao spread some straw beside him, sat by the dim oil lamp, and used ice to apply local cold compresses to lower his temperature. When Zhou Enlai woke up, he saw Deng Yingchao beside him, and their eyes met, but he didn't know what to say. After the Ma'ergai Conference, the Central Committee decided to cross the grasslands and head north. Deng Yingchao's recuperation unit was about to set out on the march, so she reluctantly returned to her unit. Before leaving, Deng Yingchao made the most of her time to pick lice off Zhou Enlai's clothes. In August, the Central Red Army began crossing the grasslands. The gravely ill Zhou Enlai had to be carried on a stretcher. Mao Zedong assigned this task to the Third Corps. At the time, Peng Dehuai's Third Corps was still marching with two mortars. Upon receiving the order, he immediately decided to abandon the mortars, freeing up 40 soldiers, and tasked Xiao Jinguang with organizing a stretcher team to carry the seriously ill Zhou Enlai and Wang Jiaxiang into the grasslands. Chen Geng volunteered to be the stretcher team leader. Zhou Enlai jokingly said to Chen Geng, "You saved's life before, and now you're saving mine." The soldiers, already frail, struggled to carry the stretchers, taking deep and shallow steps. Zhou Enlai, seeing this, felt pain in his heart, and multiple times struggled to climb off the stretcher. After six days and nights, they finally emerged from the grasslands. Two months later, Zhou Enlai gradually recovered.