Reread the Long March - (Children's Edition)

Author: Deng Xiangzi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-04-01
Features: "Little Clever" on the Long March
One day, a 14-year-old boy named Bu Li was selling firewood in a nearby market while carrying a load on his shoulders. Coincidentally, the Red Army was recruiting new soldiers at the market and gave him several kilograms of rice, asking if he wanted to join. The three acquaintances who came with him all enlisted, and Bu Li was tempted too. He asked someone to send the rice home for him and followed the recruiting soldiers.
When he arrived at the unit, the commander saw how young he was and that he was shorter than his rifle. He told Bu Li to go home. Bu Li refused stubbornly. For the next few days, he followed the recruiting comrades everywhere they went. The commander, seeing no other option, had a messenger take him to the hospital to work as a nurse. Bu Li, however, insisted on going back to the unit with the messenger. To get rid of him, the messenger took a shortcut and swam across a river. Unbeknownst to him, Bu Li swam across too.
Back at the unit, the messenger reported the incident to the commander. The commander was both amused and exasperated. Seeing that Bu Li was clever and knew how to swim, he agreed to let him stay. The unit soon began a major relocation, with daily marches and constant gunfire and artillery explosions. The young soldier Bu Li followed the unit for three months. When crossing the Jinsha River, the enemy was right on their tail. With hundreds of people having no boats, they cut down trees to make rafts and crossed the river before the enemy caught up.
Next, they prepared to cross the Snow Mountain. The mountain was covered in snow year-round, with thin air, extreme cold, and oxygen deprivation, where no birds or animals could survive. The higher-ups urged everyone to prepare water and chili peppers. The next day, when climbing, it didn’t seem too bad at first, but the colder it got as they ascended, making them shiver uncontrollably. Eating chili peppers did nothing to help. The mountain weather changed unpredictably—sometimes it was sunny, then rain, then snow, and even hail. The hail was as big as eggs, pounding on their heads. Halfway up the mountain, Bu Li couldn’t walk anymore and kept wanting to sit down and rest. The older soldiers wouldn’t let him sit and forcibly pulled him forward.
As they neared the summit, the commander had Bu Li hold onto the horse’s tail, and only then did he cross the Snow Mountain. Many soldiers couldn’t walk anymore and either sat or lay by the roadside, never to rise again.