The Process of the Dangdang Uprising and Its Historical Significance

During the Agrarian Revolutionary War, under the direct leadership of Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, Xi Zhongxun and other communist party people specifically planned, organized and implemented a relatively complete military movement struggle. The uprising was constantly prepared and planned in Binxian County, Fengxiang County and Fengxian County, Shaanxi Province. It was decided in Fengxian County, and with the consent of the provincial party committee, the troops were transferred to Gansu at that time, so it was called "two mutinies".

First, the uprising preparation

Beginning in 1929, according to the instructions of the Central Committee on Shaanxi’s work, the Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China (the temporary provincial Committee of Shaanxi from March 1929 to July 1930) proposed that the key tasks of carrying out the agrarian revolution and armed struggle were to organize political strikes, organize local riots, organize mutiny, expand the Red Army, and demand that capable comrades be sent to the "counter-revolutionary" army in a planned way to launch the daily struggle of soldiers and carry out organized mutiny.

Yang Hucheng, commander-in-chief of the 17th Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army stationed in Shaanxi, had secret contacts with communist party people and was inclined to communist party’s principles and policies ideologically. The Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China secretly sent Lee Beom Young, Li Tesheng, Xi Zhongxun and other party member to the Ministry to carry out the troop transport work.

On February 6, 1930, according to the instructions of the Wuzi District Organization of the Communist Party of China, Xi Zhongxun used his relationship to infiltrate the local armed forces against Feng (Yuxiang) in Changwu County to carry out the troop transport work, and used his hometown relationship with Wang Dexiu, the division leader of the department, to temporarily stay in the detachment activities. According to the specific instructions of the provincial party committee, "party member tried his best to serve in the next company", he then went to the detachment for a second term as a trainee officer.

In late March 1930, Xi Zhongxun, Lee Beom Young and Li Tesheng held a meeting in Yaowangdong, Changwu County, and set up a party group, which was headed by Lee Beom Young. It is decided to take Erlian as the center, develop party member, establish a party organization, and strive for the whole detachment to become a force completely controlled by the Party. Soon, the party group held its second meeting and decided to send party member and Liu Shulin, the Communist Party of China who served as munitions documents in the detachment, to report to Xi ‘an for instructions. The provincial party Committee agreed to establish a party organization in the detachment and mobilize soldiers to carry out daily struggles. In July, Xi Zhongxun moved to Tingkou Town, Changwu County with Erlian, and became sworn brothers with Wang Zixuan, the owner of the town mule shop, and made the mule shop a secret contact point of the party.

In 1930, during the Central Plains War, Yang Hucheng was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the 17th Route Army and the chairman of the Shaanxi Provincial Government. Wang Dexiu’s department was incorporated into the 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Regiment of the 3rd Brigade of Shaanxi Cavalry, and Xi Zhongxun was appointed as the spy chief of the 2nd Battalion and 2nd Company, responsible for the work of the underground party. Subsequently, the troops moved to Bin County. With the development of the 17th Route Army, the Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China sent personnel and issued instructions to the Ministry, and planned to form a large-scale joint armed force. The brigade was listed as one of the three armed forces striving for unity. According to the requirements of the provincial party committee, after a year’s efforts, Xi Zhongxun and others, the second battalion of the Ministry has more than 30 people in party member, established a soldiers’ branch and established a battalion party committee.

In May 1931, the 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Regiment of the 3rd Brigade of Shaanxi Cavalry was reorganized into the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Regiment of the 3rd Brigade of Shaanxi Police, and moved to Fengxiang County for centralized training and consolidation, with Xi Zhongxun as the party secretary of the battalion. In November, the Ministry was ordered to arrive in Fengxian to fight against the Sichuan army in Liangdang and Chengxian. After the war, the first battalion of the regiment was stationed in Fengxian, among which the battalion, Company One and Machine Gun Company were stationed in Fengzhou, the county seat of Fengxian, Company Two was stationed in Shuangshipu, Fengxian and Company Three was stationed in liangdang county, Gansu. During this period, Xi Zhongxun, under the cover of being a spy chief, inspired soldiers’ consciousness through publicity and education, cared about soldiers’ sufferings through personal words and deeds, mastered the army through rectifying military discipline, constantly developed party member and established a party organization, which enhanced the cohesion and appeal of the party organization. With Xi Zhongxun as the secretary, the battalion party committee and all company branches are well organized and often carry out party activities, which plays a central role in mastering and controlling the whole battalion. At the same time, actively understand and master the situation in Fengxian, get to know progressive people, and establish a secret meeting place. At the beginning of 1932, Xi Zhongxun and Liu Shangzhi (word Xixian), a model elementary school teacher in Fengzhou City, tied the knot in Jin Lan and took photos to commemorate it. Subsequently, Xi Zhongxun took Liu Shangzhi’s home as a secret meeting point, and often held underground party member meetings, research work, and carried out military activities; Under the cover of hunting and playing, they often gather in Nanqi Mountain, Houshi Mountain and Zhang Guolao Cave outside Fengzhou City to exchange information and arrange work, which laid the foundation for the implementation of the mutiny ideologically and organizationally.

Second, the main process

The Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China attaches great importance to the military transportation work of the Ministry. In the spring of 1931, when the Ministry was stationed in Bin County, the provincial party committee sent Jiao Weichi, a member of the provincial party committee, to discuss the uprising in the underground organization of the 1st battalion party. After the Ministry was stationed in Fengxiang, the provincial party Committee sent Li Jiefu, secretary of the Military Commission, to the first battalion to secretly hold a three-day party Committee meeting, proposing that the first battalion immediately hold a mutiny, pull out the team and go to the Soviet area. Xi Zhongxun and others thought that the conditions were not yet available, especially after the mutiny, the troops were thin and there was no external cooperation to meet them, which was very likely to be eliminated, so there was no uprising.

The activities of the Party organization of the 1st Battalion attracted the attention of the top officers of the Ministry. Cao Runhua, the head of the regiment, distrusted Wang Dexiu and his subordinate officers, and adopted the method of "mixing sand" to gradually replace the company-level officers. At the beginning of 1932, Cao Runhua decided to exchange the first battalion and the second battalion, and transferred the first battalion to Huixian and Chengxian in Gansu Province. After the news came out, there was a strong antagonism in the whole battalion, because most of the officers and men were from Ganxian county and Liquan, and they were unwilling to leave their hometown for further mountainous areas.

Xi Zhongxun hosted a meeting of the camp party committee outside the west gate of Fengxian County to discuss countermeasures. He believes that the party organization can basically control the troops, and the soldiers’ consciousness is improved and they yearn for the light; Especially after the news of the change of defense came out, the soldiers showed strong antagonism; The first battalion is far from the regimental headquarters, and there are few troops around. The meeting decided to take advantage of the relief to hold a mutiny, and sent Liu Shulin and Zhang Keqin to Xi ‘an to report to the provincial party committee. The provincial party committee agreed to hold an uprising, and instructed that after the uprising, the troops would be pulled to Xunyi to join the Liu Zhidan Department of the Shaanxi-Gansu Guerrilla of the Chinese Workers and Peasants Red Army. Subsequently, the provincial party committee sent Liu Linpu, secretary-general of the provincial military commission, as a special correspondent and Zhang Keqin as a guide to Fengxian County. After Liu Linpu arrived in Fengxian County, he went directly to Shuanglian Resident Shuangshipu to meet Xi Zhongxun and others. Xi Zhongxun presided over a meeting of the camp party committee, Liu Linpu announced the decision of the provincial party committee, and Xi Zhongxun and others expressed their firm determination to implement the decision of the provincial party committee, and agreed on specific matters such as the uprising action plan and marching route.

At the end of March, Cao Runhua issued an order to change the defense, requiring the first battalion and the second battalion to start operations on April 1. On the morning of the 1st, Wang Dexiu led a company and a machine gun company from Fengzhou with the battalion, passing through Shuangshipu; The second company went to Dangdang with the main force of the battalion. At dusk that day, the troops went to liangdang county City, Gansu Province, and camped after meeting with Sanlian. At about 9 pm, Liu Linpu, Xi Zhongxun and Li Tesheng hosted an enlarged meeting of the camp party committee in a mule shop in Chengbei Street, liangdang county, attended by party member cadres who were platoon leaders in the whole camp. Xi Zhongxun introduced Liu Linpu to everyone and talked about the intention of the meeting. Liu Linpu, as a special correspondent of the provincial party committee, announced the decision of the provincial party committee to hold an uprising and made specific arrangements for the uprising. The camp party Committee decided to hold an uprising at 12 o’clock that night. After the operation, they assembled outside the north gate and evacuated in a unified manner.

In the early morning of April 2, the officers and men of each company acted at the same time as planned. About 300 soldiers from the third company and the machine gun company of the battalion gathered outside the north gate of the county, and the uprising was initially successful. In order to avoid unexpected changes, the party committee of the battalion decided to evacuate the mutiny team before dawn and move along the Guangxiang River in the direction of Taiyoji. At 9 o’clock in the morning, Xi Zhongxun called a meeting in Taiyoji to study the reorganization of troops, the allocation of cadres and the direction of marching. The meeting decided to reorganize the troops into "the fifth detachment of the Chinese Red Army of Workers and Peasants, but so do dungans", with Xi Zhongxun as the secretary of the team committee, Wu Jincai as the division commander and Liu Linpu as the political commissar, and the team consisted of three companies. After starting from Taiyoji, the troops crossed the Weihe River in the west of chencang district, Baoji City, passed through Tongdongyu, Chisha and Xiangquan, and entered the Gaoya and Huahua Temple in Badu, Dongfeng Town and Qianyang County of Longxian County. The journey was hundreds of miles, and they fought the local peace preservation corps for more than ten times, all of which won. When the troops went to Yeling, Lingtai County, Gansu Province, they met with Yang Ziheng, a regular Kuomintang army. In order to save strength, Xi Zhongxun immediately convened a team committee and decided to March to Yueyu Temple overnight. After arriving at the destination, they were surrounded by hundreds of infantry and cavalry of bandit Wang Jiezi, and fought fiercely for several hours. The officers and men of the detachment suffered heavy casualties, their ammunition was exhausted, and they lost their fighting ability. Except for a few who ran out, the rest were disarmed. Three days later, Xi Zhongxun and Zuo Wenhui, who were inquiring about the enemy situation and crossing the river in Tingkou, Changwu County, learned that the troops had lost northward, and regretted that they had not brought this army to the Soviet area in northern Shaanxi in the end.

三、历史意义

习仲勋等人领导组织的两当兵变，为陕甘地区革命武装的创建发展积累了宝贵经验，培养锻炼了一批干部，也有力地配合了陕甘边革命根据地的创建发展，在西北地区的革命斗争史上占有重要地位。

一是动摇了国民党在西北地区的统治基础。两当兵变是“一次具有重要的政治、军事意义”的武装起义，揭开了以“创造新的工农红军”为目的的西北第二轮“革命兵变”序幕，它和后来陕西党组织在陕甘地区组织领导的靖远起义、西华池起义、巉口起义、蒿店起义、耀县起义等武装起义一起，唤起了西北人民开展武装斗争的政治觉醒，沉重打击了国民党在西北地区的反动统治，对国民党军队起到了一定的瓦解和破坏作用。

二是探索了“白色”建军的具体模式。清涧、渭华、旬邑等武装起义失败后，刘志丹在陕北特委榆林红石峡会议上提出了著名的“三色建军”思想：即通过红色、白色、灰色三种模式创建党独立领导下的革命武装。两当兵变是我们党运用“比较完整的兵运工作”创建中国工农红军的一次武装兵变，形成了西北共产党人创建陕甘红军最实际、最简洁的方式，为陕甘边革命根据地的创建准备了条件。

Third, a number of key members of the Party have been trained and trained. Although the mutiny between the two armies failed to meet the original plan of the main force of the Red Army but Shaanxi-Gansu guerrillas led by Liu Zhidan, it trained and trained outstanding military and political cadres of Xi Zhongxun and other parties in the test of blood and fire. These ancestors actively developed party member, established party organizations and cultivated many revolutionary backbones according to the actual situation of the army. They played an important role in the mutiny, showed tenacious fighting spirit in the later revolutionary activities and made contributions to the liberation of the Chinese nation and the people of China.

Fourth, it had a far-reaching impact on Xi Zhongxun’s later revolutionary activities. The Dangdang mutiny was the first major revolutionary activity led by Xi Zhongxun after he participated in the revolution. At the age of 19, he was in the critical period of the formation of the revolutionary outlook on life and world, and the Dangdang mutiny left a deep impression on him. Marked by this incident, he grew from an activist in party member to a leader of the Party’s grass-roots organizations and a military commander. Together with Liu Zhidan and Xie Zichang, he founded and developed the Shaanxi-Gansu border revolutionary base area, which provided a foothold for the Party Central Committee and the Red Army of all walks, and created conditions for the strategic focus of China’s revolution to shift from the south to the northwest. (Contributed by Party History Research Office of Provincial Party Committee)