In spring, explore the red code on the Northern Shaanxi Plateau

Standing high in the mountains of the Loess Plateau in northern Shaanxi, I could vaguely see the footprints of the revolution covering this magical land. Nowadays, the dust of the years has increasingly covered up this precious imprint...

On the watershed of Yanhe River and Xiuyan River, at the junction of Ansai County and Zichang County, there is a temple called Laoling temple. The terrain of this area is a bit special. The surrounding mountains are far away, like a pot with a spoon placed diagonally in the pot. Laoling Temple is built on a round spoon, and the road swoops down from the mountain to enter the temple. Rumor has it that this is a geomantic treasure land. If someone’s ancestors are buried here, at least one of their descendants will be able to produce a great official. Of course, no one has visited the old mausoleum here so far, because the good Feng Shui spot happens to be occupied by the temple. This temple has been popular for more than a hundred years. It is said that Mongolians from Beicao and Hui people from Ningxia also come to make pilgrimages, which shows its influence. About three years ago, the Provincial Religious Committee officially approved it as a venue for religious activities. The government's attention and the efforts of the private sector have further restored and expanded its scale.

The day of the temple fair here is on the third day of the third lunar month every year. At that time, tens of thousands of self-growing lilac bushes surrounding the temple bloom with purple flowers, and the fresh fragrance permeates the air. Intoxicating. In 1928, Xie Zichang had his first uprising here. There is a cave dwelling at the handle of this spoon, which is a chain of cave dwellings. That is, a door opening is opened on the back of a kiln, and another kiln hole is drilled, one smaller than the other. Five cave dwellings are connected, and the last cave dwelling has a door leading to the outside. Thick chimney. The opening was under an extremely hidden bush. It was probably built this way so that the enemy could retreat calmly after being discovered. There are four or five similar chain kilns, facing each other from a distance. When there is an emergency in one place, other people can respond and alert each other. This construction method and layout are full of wisdom and admirable.

This was chosen as the first camp for the uprising because the two counties here intersect and are remote, allowing both advance and retreat. The reason for being close to the temple was probably so that even if someone found someone coming in or out, they would think they were pilgrims and would not arouse the suspicion of the rulers. Xie Zichang's first formal armed uprising meeting was held here. During the meeting, it is said that a lot was drawn at Laoling Temple, and the question was which direction to draw in order to succeed. Since then, Xie Zichang's guerrillas have continued to grow, frightening the enemy.

Laoling Temple has also held many important military meetings and hidden military incidents. Now, the lamps and counter tables used by the son are kept in the hands of Xie Ti's family in a village called Tuanzhuanghe across the mountain. Ren Guozhang, the president of Laoling Temple, once envisioned taking the site of the uprising and developing it into a tourist destination, both to commemorate Xie Zichang and to prosper the temple. I have also been in contact with Xie Zichang's descendants in Beijing, but now I have not recovered well.

Two years ago, I came here. After an on-site inspection, I always felt that this place was full of mystery. Revolution, at first, is like a spring rising from the ground, emerging from under the grass in the mountains. Inadvertently, a stream or a big river appears in front of you. It's like a little bit of fire, starting to start a prairie fire. And here is a small flooding spring, a starting point of fire. To explore the mystery of the revolution and the mystery of success, perhaps we should start from a similar place. It should be said that the story behind this is much more vivid than what is recorded in party history. How many places like this are there on the northern Shaanxi Plateau? I don't know.

But I remembered another place. This place is Majiagou near Ansai County. Around the spring of 2003, comrades from the Provincial Public Security Department came to Ansai in order to prepare for the construction of the former site of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region Security Office. They said that back then, the Security Office built a detention center in Majiagou and used it for two or three years. Probably because it was kept secret at that time, there is no record in Ansai County Revolutionary Chronicles, and I have never heard anyone say it.

During the visit, we finally found the place, which had been filled with cave dwellings by residents. The comrades from the provincial department had no choice but to take a few photos. There is an old man named Gao Xiangcheng, who we saw on TV with a goatee playing the waist drum with a child. He said he immigrated here from Hengshan when he was seven years old, and that two companies were once stationed here. One night, the comrades in the army took the prisoner to the mountain and executed him. The troops were all withdrawn the next day. It was probably that the enemy was about to attack, so emergency measures were taken to facilitate a rapid march.

The comrades who collected the information said that they visited many old comrades who were still alive. At that time, the enthusiastic young people who rushed to Yan'an from the Kuomintang-controlled areas had just joined the revolutionary ranks and their thoughts had not yet been fully integrated into the revolutionary melting pot. They said some inappropriate words and complained, and as a result, they were censored. Have such people been imprisoned or executed here?

While meditating, I seemed to smell the flavor of the later Cultural Revolution. Mao Zedong said: "Revolution is not a dinner party or embroidery, revolution is an act of violent testing." When the torrent of revolution comes, those who follow me will prosper, and those who go against me will perish. No reversal allowed. To ensure strike power externally, we must ensure iron-clad unity internally.

Deng Xiaoping later said: "China must guard against the right, but it must guard against the left even more. A good thing was destroyed at once."

On this spring morning, I write this. I call those unsolved mysteries "Code Red."