Original subtitles

HUBEI YANGTZE RIVER FILM GROUP CO.,LTD

EMEI FILM GROUP

AUGUST FIRST FILM STUDIO

In 1934, under the erroneous leadership of Bo Gu, Li De, and their "Left" dogmatism,

the Fifth Counter-Encirclement Campaign failed.

The Central Red Army was forced to abandon the Central Soviet Area, planning to rendezvous...

...with the Second and Sixth Army Groups. Chiang Kai-shek dispatched massive forces in pursuit.

After five days and nights of bloody fighting along the Xiang River,

the Central Red Army and Central organs were reduced from over 86,000 at departure to barely 30,000.

These 30,000 sons of workers and peasants were the spark of revolution...

and now their survival hung by a thread.

Crossing

The Xiang River battle was devastating.

Our entire platoon was wiped out.

All our comrades are dead.

Why won't they let Chairman Mao lead?

Is there no one at the top with the sense to speak the truth?

This foreign strategist...

copying positional warfare... has nearly bled us dry.

There is nothing wrong with our strategy and tactics.

If the soldiers had followed our orders,

the casualties would not have been so severe.

Who exactly are you trying to convince?

Every one of them is cursing us in their hearts.

The Battle of the Xiang River

How many Red Army soldiers have fallen?

Forty thousand.

Fifty thousand.

Fifty thousand.

Bo Gu, what are you doing?

Let go of me!

Dying is easy.

Living...

then what is your brilliant plan?

What use are my plans?

I told you...

positional warfare cannot defeat encirclement.

You refused to listen.

I opposed crossing the Xiang River.

You still refused to listen.

I opposed defeatist retreat.

You refused even more.

Mao Zedong...

I must remind you, since 1932,

you have held no command over the Red Army.

I...

Comrade Li De, Comrade Enlai,

our Three-Man Military Group

is the leadership here.

Enough.

The enemy blocks us ahead,

and pursues us from behind.

This is not the time for arguments.

I know only this...

death solves nothing.

Only by living,

by surviving with courage,

Chiang Kai-shek will surely anticipate

that we intend to march north to western Hunan

to link up with the Second and Sixth Army Groups.

We cannot walk into his trap.

I believe

we must turn toward Guizhou.

Our immediate priority is to establish a base area

and give these 30,000 Red Army soldiers

a chance to breathe.

What is your assessment of the Communist westward flight?

Generalissimo,

the bandit suppression campaign

could have been airtight.

Secretary-General, Nanchang Office, National Military Commission... But the warlords each harbor their own schemes.

Their blockades are like beating a drum...

all noise, no substance.

Their pursuit is more like a farewell send-off,

which is how the Communists escaped.

Now these agitators

have wandered into our heartland.

The warlords are of no concern.

The Communists...

they are the true threat.

Drive the tiger to devour the wolf.

If the warlords feign obedience while defying us,

the Central Army can deal with them along the way.

Telegraph Xue Yue to prepare for immediate deployment.

We must ascertain the Communists' movements.

To Nanjing.

In barely a month,

she became like a sister to Madame Chiang

Chairman, Guizhou Provincial Government... and brought back

ten thousand silver dollars.

And a thousand rifles.

Madam,

remarkable.

The moment I left Nanjing,

Xue Yue was at our heels in Guiyang.

On the surface, helping us defend against bandits,

but in truth...

a cuckoo in another's nest.

A necklace may be beautiful,

but worn carelessly, it can strangle you.

So what if he is a strong dragon? He cannot overpower the local serpent.

Besides, I have money, I have guns, and I have opium.

Most importantly,

the Wan family of Tongren is Madam's own kin.

They will certainly stand behind me.

Chiang Kai-shek...

even if he wants to pull us up by the roots,

it won't be that easy.

You fool.

The Central Army and the Communists are fighting like gods here.

In the end, it's us little devils who suffer.

You'd better find out quickly

where the Communists have gone.

Guns...

are not for killing Communists on Chiang Kai-shek's behalf.

They are for protecting ourselves.

Which unit are you from?

We were guarding the Wu River at Huilongchang.

The Communists broke through the crossing.

The division commander fled.

Our battalion commander...

was killed in action.

Our battalion commander was from Zunyi.

He wanted to be buried at the ancestral graves.

Your battalion commander...

what was his name?

Xia Dashan.

Where did he live?

Sir! Sir!

Sir!

Sir!

Our battalion commander

lived on Guanxiang Street, Renhe Lane, Number 25.

Huilongchang.

Absolutely certain, sir.

Doesn't sound right.

Sir!

Sir, what a tragic end!

Sir!

Without you to lead us,

how are we to fight the Communists?

You never got a last smoke before you died.

Take this opium pipe with you.

Smoke it on the road.

Don't touch my pipe!

It's my treasure!

Wretched thing!

Get out of my sight immediately!

Tell them to leave.

Go.

I helped you.

Give me a silver dollar.

Don't look back.

The Communists are here!

Move!

Careful!

Don't run around.

Open the city gate!

Old Zhu!

Open the gate... I'll cover you!

Move!

Charge!

All they do is give blind orders.

If this goes on,

the Red Army is truly finished.

All they talk about is the Comintern.

Do they know anything about China's mountains and rivers?

Wang Jialie forced the people of Guizhou

to destroy their grain and grow opium.

There is not enough food here

to sustain 30,000 Red Army soldiers.

Only he can lead us out of this deadly situation.

You and I are both commanders.

We know what the soldiers are thinking.

They trust us.

We must be worthy of that trust.

Comrades,

military matters

ultimately come down to strength.

We are too weak.

The enemy is too strong.

Those who constantly spread dissent...

I question their loyalty to the Party.

You...

During the Fourth Counter-Encirclement Campaign,

my intestines were blown open.

I would rather bleed

than leave the ranks.

That is proof enough of my loyalty.

Bo Gu,

Comrade Li De, you keep citing objective factors.

Tell me...

can you command a battle

by sitting in a room studying maps with a ruler?

I agree with Comrade Jiaxiang.

Without capital, how can we fight?

If this leadership continues,

we cannot follow any further.

I agree with Commander Zhu.

I agree with Commander Zhu.

This battle was fought in confusion.

Our soldiers bled and died for nothing.

You...

have deeply disappointed the comrades.

Comrade Peng Dehuai,

what is your attitude?

Men are still bleeding and dying.

How am I supposed to answer to the soldiers?

Calm down, comrades. Calm down.

Calm down.

The Communists have occupied Zunyi.

The Red bandits are like a diseased tooth.

If not extracted, they will become a mortal threat.

What is this thing?

You wouldn't know.

It's dried prickly pear.

When in Rome, you know?

Three days without something sour,

and your legs won't carry you straight.

A bit of sour gives you real strength.

Liming.

This character is read...

Do you know how to write "sleep"?

"Sleep"...

Get down here, you rascal!

Young fellow,

isn't this...

you saved us that night.

Good that you remember.

Without me, you wouldn't have made it into the city.

Those double-gun soldiers would have wiped you out.

Those worthless lot...

We Red Army soldiers could handle them one-handed.

Whatever you say.

Your payment.

I don't want money.

You killed my boss, Ma Yousan.

My hideout is gone.

I've got nowhere to go.

Ma Yousan?

From Liping.

A bandit.

Burning houses, looting grain,

sending half-grown boys to stop bullets.

He deserved to die.

If that's the case,

then thank me.

Thank you? I'll thank you to hell!

All right, all right.

You've seen for yourself...

our situation right now is rather difficult.

People die in marches and battles.

I don't care.

Whoever feeds me, that's who I follow.

You little...

you're trying to latch onto us, aren't you?

From the Ningdu Conference until now,

we have taken too many wrong turns.

As for our future strategy and tactics,

I propose we hear Comrade Mao Zedong's views.

Comrade Mao Zedong...

is his method of warfare truly so brilliant?

I say he

relies on nothing but two books...

one is Romance of the Three Kingdoms,

the other is The Art of War.

To be perfectly honest,

I have indeed read the Three Kingdoms.

Sun Tzu, I have not.

Since Comrade Kai Feng is so familiar with it,

may I ask...

how many chapters does The Art of War contain?

The Art of War is barely six thousand words.

I am quite familiar with it.

Which chapter would you like to hear?

I'll recite it for you.

Since Comrade Enlai has asked me to speak,

I will not hold back.

In military command,

the errors our army has committed include...

in offense,

adventurism;

in defense,

conservatism;

in withdrawal, defeatism.

Foreign strategy and tactics may be sound,

but applied blindly,

they will not take root here.

To fight in China,

we must develop our own way of fighting.

We must not repeat the mistakes of "Left" dogmatism.

Comrade Xiaoping, bring the map over.

This map is more precious than our lives.

Don't scribble on it.

The Second

and Sixth Army Groups...

the Fourth Front Army

is in Sichuan.

We

are in Guizhou.

Thirty thousand against four hundred thousand.

How do we fight this?

The Sixth Army Group

has just concluded the western Hunan offensive.

Only twenty thousand troops remain.

They face a counterattack by over one hundred thousand Hunan troops

and have no capacity to advance west to meet us.

As for the Fourth Front Army,

after fierce fighting against Liu Xiang's six-route siege in Sichuan,

though victorious,

they are severely depleted.

Our Central Red Army

can only rely on ourselves to break through the encirclement.

Our only option at present

is to concentrate superior forces

and strike the enemy's weak points.

In mobile warfare,

we must destroy the enemy's vulnerable elements

... part or all... one by one,

until we achieve a complete breakthrough.

Comrades, our situation is now extremely critical.

The enemy is advancing from four directions,

closing in like an avalanche.

Wang Jialie... we have only three roads before us.

Wang Jialie...

Either north, or east, or we stay and fight

like a cornered beast.

Whichever road they take,

I will turn it into a dead end.

Hear my orders.

Central Army columns under Zhou Hunyuan and Wu Qiwei...

two columns, eight divisions...

pursue the Communists closely from the rear.

In Sichuan,

order Liu Xiang to dispatch ten brigades

to concentrate in southern Sichuan by separate routes.

Long Yun of Yunnan...

send Sun Du with three brigades

to advance northwest toward the Bijie region of Guizhou.

Wang Jialie's two divisions

advance on Daobashui and Laibannang.

One division advances on Meitan.

This is what we call

an iron-bucket encirclement.

Not even wings will save them.

The Sixth Division of the Third Army Group is in heavy fighting.

What happened?

Peng Dehuai of the Third Army Group reports...

Daobashui cannot be held.

Wang Jialie's forces under Bai Huizhang will reach Zunyi shortly.

Comrades, we must accelerate the conference.

I propose the by-election of Comrade Mao Zedong

as a Standing Member of the Central Politburo.

The motion carries.

It cannot be denied that the Three-Man Group

bears inescapable responsibility

for the failure of the Counter-Encirclement Campaign.

I propose the dissolution of the Three-Man Group.

I agree.

Carried.

I propose

that following the dissolution of the Three-Man Group,

Comrade Zhou Enlai retain military command authority.

Comrades Zhou Enlai and Zhu De

shall be responsible for military command,

with Comrade Enlai as the final authority

on military decisions.

Comrade Mao Zedong shall serve as Comrade Enlai's

military advisor.

Carried.

Guizhou is critically short of grain.

This is no place to linger.

Agreed.

Cross the Yangtze northward into Sichuan

and link up with the Fourth Front Army.

Agreed.

Liu Xiang is no Wang Jialie.

He will not easily allow the Central Army into Sichuan.

That also reduces

considerable pressure on us.

Look...

the sky above this courtyard

is so small,

it can barely hold us all.

But the sky beyond

is boundless.

It depends on whether we have the courage

to step out and forge ahead.

The Communists marching north is a grave threat.

But I, if I play one bold move,

can turn danger into safety.

The Communists flee northward in panic.

I shall pursue without striking...

a show of force to rattle them.

Simply scare them away.

You have long been known for your ties to the Communists.

Everyone knows.

In 1927, you personally released quite a few Communists.

The most famous of them

was Chen Yi.

Do you think the Generalissimo will believe that?

Then let the Communists come and try.

We shall see if their teeth are harder

or my bones, Guo Xunqi's, are harder.

But once the Communists enter Sichuan,

the Central Army will cling to us like a bone disease, right on our heels.

When that happens,

you and I will be the next Wang Jialie.

We must still pursue.

But at a measured pace...

neither too close nor too far.

Qinggangpo.

The Sichuan Army is preparing another assault.

Hold the line, comrades!

Hold!

Comrades, forward!

Heavy fire from Baima Mountain.

There must be a Communist leader there.

Brigade Commander Pan?

Take Jianshanzi immediately,

then push west

straight into Baima Mountain.

Take Baima Mountain and the first merit is yours.

Brothers!

The Communist headquarters

is on that hill ahead.

Their leader's head

is worth a sack of silver dollars.

One wretched life

for a lifetime of ease.

Which brave brother

will follow me

to kill the Communists?

Let's go!

Centered on this position,

establish three defensive fire lines.

Qinggangpo... we will not yield a single step.

Set up the machine guns!

You bastards!

I'll fight you to the death!

Get the wounded to the rear!

Move the wounded back, quickly!

Was the intelligence wrong,

or was my judgment flawed?

If the enemy sent only four regiments,

they could not have this many troops.

Give me a rifle.

Here.

Commander Zhu, where are you going?

If we cannot hold now,

the enemy's encirclement will close completely.

Only by taking Yong'an Temple

is there a chance of survival.

I know that terrain best.

I will command there.

Our intelligence must be wrong.

We must reassess the situation before deciding.

But the enemy will not give us time.

As long as the Red Army endures,

what is one Zhu De

worth mourning?

The enemy's bullets

cannot find Zhu De.

Chen Geng.

Don't worry.

We will hold the enemy at the foot of the mountain.

Commander Zhu is here!

Hold on, comrades!

Third Platoon, follow me!

Comrades, drive the enemy back!

Enemy aircraft!

Just when I was craving milk, mother arrives.

Xingshan!

No!

Xingshan!

This is called dried prickly pear.

Three days without something sour,

and your legs won't carry you straight.

Old roads make your feet stumble.

A bit of sour gives you real strength.

Find cover quickly!

Move! Find shelter! Hurry!

Watch for artillery!

Move!

Hurry, hurry, hurry!

Fall back!

Xingshan!

Get inside!

We cannot keep fighting.

Notify the front-line units

to withdraw immediately.

Adventurism in offense, conservatism in defense,

defeatism in retreat...

this is your strategy and tactics, Mao Zedong?

From Ruijin,

step by step, how did we arrive at this point?

Do you still not understand?

Chiang Kai-shek is desperate for victory

and pursues us relentlessly.

The enemy is forming a pincer.

If we keep meeting force with force,

there is only one road... death.

Only in mobile warfare

can we find a way to survive.

Do you understand?

Remember this...

it is not only Comrade Li De and I who can lose battles.

Mao Zedong is no different.

I propose

we shelve the plan to cross the Yangtze northward.

Before dawn,

cross the Chishui River in full.

This is our only way out.

But this crossing point

has no bridge.

There is no time.

No bridge...

then we borrow one from the people.

Our survival

depends on this single move.

Once across the Chishui River,

we aim to take Xuyong and Shaquan.

From there, march north

and continue toward the Yangtze crossing.

Comrades,

no matter how many obstacles

lie ahead,

we must fight our way through with everything we have.

As long as our feet keep moving,

the flame will not be extinguished.

Hold your heads high.

So sour.

Why did Xingshan love this so much?

Old Guo,

there is no more time.

Headquarters has ordered us to cover the engineer unit

building the pontoon bridge.

But right now, what they lack most is boats and timber.

We must find some quickly.

Move!

We have no time to waste.

Zhao Defa, how can your heart be so hard?

Comrades around us have fallen one after another.

Only a few of us remain.

Does your heart not ache?

How could it not ache?

But we cannot stop.

Shicheng.

I know where to find timber.

If you don't want to die, follow me.

We are the Red Army.

We'd like to borrow your door panels.

Of course.

Be careful.

Come help, brothers!

This way.

Hurry.

Take it.

Borrowed two door panels from household head Zhang Erniu,

for pontoon bridge construction.

Twenty copper coins paid.

Comrades,

everything in our hands

represents the people's trust in us.

We must treasure it doubly and keep our promises.

Door panels can be removed and put back.

But once people's trust is broken,

it cannot be restored.

No good.

Take it.

Thank you.

Sister, don't be afraid.

We just want to borrow your door panels

and any wooden boards you have.

If the double-gun soldiers or militia find out,

people will die.

Then I'll add another copper coin.

Don't waste time with her.... How about three?

There's no time.

What are you doing?

Removing door panels.

Fang Er.

Do you still think you're a bandit?

Old Zhao,

mind the discipline.

Sister, this is payment for the door panels,

and for the clay pot we broke earlier.

Here, take it all.

No need.

Please, take it.

You've got strength and nowhere to use it.

I've got plenty of strength.

Don't crush that small frame of yours.

Need a hand?

No thanks.

Still stubborn.

This boy reminds me of you.

Like hell he does.

After we cross the Chishui River, send A-Jin back.

What tomorrow brings,

no one can say.

This way.

Make haste.

The pontoon bridge must be ready before dawn.

The Red Army's lifeline

is in our hands.

Hurry!

Hold tight!

Faster!

Enemy reconnaissance aircraft incoming!

Everyone, hurry!

Report, sir.

According to aerial reconnaissance,

the Communists are in the Tucheng area,

crossing the Chishui westward.

Make way! Make way!

Make way!

Make way!

What's the situation? Report.

A small enemy force

is heading this way.

Old Zhu,

this is yours.

Yes, sir.

Guo Chuang, bring your squad and follow me.

Soldiers, follow me!

Hurry!

Make haste!

The enemy has spotted us!

Hurry!

Move, move, move!

Hurry! A-Jin! A-Jin!

Patch the gap behind!

Come, make way!

Make way!

Get up!

Dodge!

Zhao Defa.

Comrades around us have fallen one after another.

Only a few of us remain.

Does your heart not ache?

Medic!

Yes, Chairman?

Gauze.

Quickly.

Chairman, the enemy is closing in!

Chairman, the enemy is about to... Stand aside!

All the wounded...

take them all.

Save them!

Anyone still alive...

not one shall be left behind.

If we go,

we go together.

Our pontoon bridge is almost ready.

Push harder!

The bridge is ready!

Cross the Chishui River!

Lower it!

Move it forward, quickly!

Hurry!

Lower it!

One, two, three... lift!

Lower it!

Push!

One... two... three!

Push the cannons into the water!

Push the cannons into the water!

Without them,

what do we fight the enemy with?

Sink the cannons?

Sink me first!

Do you have shells?

Look behind me.

So many men are bleeding.

So many are waiting for treatment.

Without the cannons,

we are still the Red Army.

But without our people,

what do we have to fight with?

Survive.

Only by surviving do we have a chance.

Only by surviving

can we carve a path through the blood.

Sink the cannons!

Sink them!

Yes, sir!

Push them in!

Cross the bridge!

Cross the bridge!

Hurry!

Everyone, follow!

Cross the bridge!

Hurry, hurry!

Zhao Defa,

why won't you take me?

I am not a bandit.

Ma Yousan said we were nothing but his livestock.

He never treated us as human beings.

I don't want to die.

I want to eat.

What's wrong with that?

Old Zhao,

how can you be so cold-hearted?

Think about it...

we don't even know where we're going.

Zhao Defa,

alive today, perhaps dead tomorrow.

You want to bring a child?...- I...

Isn't he a burden?... am not a bandit.

I don't think so.

He is not a burden.

He will be a seed of the Red Army.

All right.

I have only one condition.

Red Army soldiers are not allowed to call themselves 'Laozi'

That is bandit talk.

Understood.

Old Zhao means well.

He doesn't want you in danger.

Fools!

A pack of incompetents!

I told you to keep the Communists out of Sichuan.

How did you let them in?

He's back.

Now that the Communists have left, who knows where they've gone.

Perhaps we should send scouts.

Rest easy, Madam.

If not Sichuan, then Yunnan.

If not Liu Xiang's headache,

then Long Yun's misery.

It is their turn to treat the Communists to a meal.

What is it?

Communist traces found near Gulin, Sichuan,

heading toward our Yunnan.

Telegraph the Generalissimo.

Tell him the Communists...

Block the key passes at Zhenxiong.

Even if the Communists tear the sky open elsewhere,

we do not move an inch.

Remember.

Here.

Take it.

For you.

You eat.

Eat.

You eat.

The enemy is everywhere.

Xuyong was not taken either.

Where are we supposed to go?

Here.

This kid.

Old Zhu.

Here.

What is it?

Eat.

What is it?

Turnip.

Where did you get it?

It's not for you.

None of your business.

I'm asking where you got it.

I'm talking to you.

Where?

The White Dogs' camp at the foot of the mountain.

I stole it from them.

What?

The White Dogs...

Disobeying orders, acting on your own...

you've exposed our position.

You could get everyone killed.

Do you understand?

Zhao, who is really getting whom killed?

We've been circling this valley for days.

No one knows where we're going.

No food, no water.

Worse than animals.

You're even worse than the bandit Ma Yousan!

You... Come on!

Right now, the fact that we can still stand here breathing

was bought with the lives of so many comrades.

Guo Chuang.

Luo Xingshan.

Gone.

Have you forgotten?

And so many more comrades

who died at the Xiang River, who died at Guangchang.

I wish it were me who died,

and they who lived.

Do you understand?

The New Year is coming.

I just wanted them to have something to eat.

Take it.

What,

missing home?

They're all long dead.

Starved to death.

Generalissimo,

Japan's ambition to swallow China is no secret.

The entire nation... Hanqing,

I understand your feelings perfectly.

But the nation is not yet united under my command.

What do I fight Japan with?

Internal pacification must come before external resistance.

The Communists are currently

our gravest internal threat.

Throughout history, when bandits and rebels

reach their final desperate stage,

they flee to Sichuan and Guizhou.

The further west, the closer to death.

Once the Communists are destroyed and the warlords eliminated,

we can concentrate our strength

against the Japanese.

You men never stop once you start discussing state affairs.

It's the New Year.

Today, let's not talk about destroying this or that.

Let us devote ourselves entirely

to conquering the feast on this table.

Runzhi,

eat something.

I'm not hungry.

Eat.

Xiao Chen.

Chairman.

Take this to Comrade Zizhen.

She needs the nourishment.

Yes, Chairman.

At Tucheng,

the enemy lost three thousand.

But that is three thousand out of four hundred thousand.

We also lost three thousand soldiers.

But that is three thousand out of thirty thousand.

An ambush turned into a war of attrition.

We lost the battle.

Who has never lost a battle?

In 1927,

when Chiang Kai-shek purged the Party

and unleashed a bloodbath,

was I not the same?

From Shanghai, I barely escaped with my life.

Exactly.

Back then, at the Sanheba blocking action in Guangdong,

was I not also... Commander Zhu, that was no defeat.

The division at Sanheba preserved a vital spark

for the revolution.

Yes.

Without Sanheba,

there would have been no rendezvous at Jinggang Mountain.

You have all studied abroad,

properly trained in military science.

Do you truly believe

I can do this?

Runzhi,

from Jinggang Mountain to now,

you and I have had our disagreements.

But facts have proven

that in military matters,

you have been right.

You have always been right.

Who can truly lead this force

out of this crisis?

Runzhi,

you must believe in yourself.

The world may think we are finished.

Thirty thousand against four hundred thousand.

But our thirty thousand

wear straw sandals.

Surely we need not fear those in military boots.

Pas à pas,

nous irons loin.

I just praised you for your foreign education,

and already you're bullying this country teacher.

An honest man speaks plainly.

I have come to ask you to step aside.

Bo Gu, we must acknowledge

that our adversary is far stronger than we are.

Chiang Kai-shek is unfathomable.

I worked alongside him at Whampoa for two years.

I know him well.

Whether in the factional struggles within the Kuomintang

or against the warlords great and small across the nation,

no one has been his equal.

If we are to defeat him,

we must find someone

even stronger.

Enlai, your prestige in the Party is so great.

I do not understand... I truly do not understand

why you are always willing to sacrifice yourself

for others.... At a moment of life and death,

what use is prestige?

Extraordinary deeds

require extraordinary men.

The road ahead is long and arduous;

I shall search high and low for the truth.

These characters...

you must pay attention.

This character "Man"...

Look at Old Zhu, so cultured.

He studied abroad, a university man.

Old Zhao,

I've taught you quite a few characters already.

Why not teach A-Jin?

I won't learn from him.

Listen well.

This character is read...

We are human beings,

not another man's livestock.

We must stand tall and upright.

Understand?

I'll teach you another.

I know what you want to write.

It's this character, isn't it?

Yes.

"Xin."

This character is read "xin"...

"new," as in New Year.

Put the two characters together,

and you get "new person."

It represents someone with a future,

someone with hope.

Hope?

We are so few.

The White Dogs chasing us outnumber us ten to one.

If they link arms in a circle, we couldn't escape.

What hope is there?

Youngster,

you are right,

but also wrong.

Chairman.

You are...

Zhao Defa, the boy from Jinggang Mountain.

Yes, sir.

Former commander of the Third Company,

now platoon leader of the Second Platoon, First Company... Zhao Defa.

Combat casualties have been severe.

The Zhaxi reorganization...

some companies have ten commanders for a single squad.

Reorganization

is to make our forces more mobile and flexible,

and strengthen our combat effectiveness.

Zhao Defa, future reconnaissance missions

will depend on your company.

Only then can we, under this iron-bucket encirclement,

carve a path through the blood.

Our Red Army

is here now.

To the north, the Sichuan Army.

To the west,

the Yunnan Army.

To the southeast,

the Central Army pursues us relentlessly.

So where do we go now?

Where do we go?

I say...

if the enemy will not let us advance,

then we simply

retreat.

Strike Wang Jialie once more.

We cross the Chishui a second time

and return to Zunyi.

Agreed.

First, we send a small force northward

to make Chiang Kai-shek believe

we still intend to cross the Yangtze northward.

But at the same time, the main force

marches east,

seizing Taipingdu and Erlangtan,

and crosses the Chishui River once more.

The Central Revolutionary Military Commission issued from Gulin

an open letter to all Red Army commanders and fighters.

Chairman Mao wrote it brilliantly.

The Red Army must

constantly shift its area of operations...

sometimes east,

sometimes west,

sometimes by narrow trails,

sometimes by old roads,

sometimes by new paths.

The only constant

is to seek victory in battle

under favorable conditions.

Chairman Mao is personally commanding again.

Now we can breathe easy.

Our hearts are steady.

The Chairman we know is back to lead us.

Chairman Mao is ten times sharper than Chiang Kai-shek.

If the enemy wants to catch us, it won't be that easy.

Good. Comrades,

gather round.

Our target for this assault

is here...

the salt depot.

The reactionary militia hoards salt

and exploits the people.

For the poor, salt is a New Year's luxury.

We will open the stores and distribute salt to the villagers.

After that, we will enlist the villagers' help

to build our pontoon bridge

and complete the second crossing of the Chishui.

We will divide into three squads.

First squad... frontal assault.

Secure the main gate of the depot.

We will exploit the gaps in their patrol schedule

to close in.

Their guard will be weakest then.

Two men will suffice.

But remember...

use knives and rope.

Eliminate them without a sound.

Second squad...

flanking from the rear.

Near this depot there is a water channel.

The channel has a small gate.

It is narrow, but

poorly guarded.

We slip in quietly

straight into the depot interior

and seize it.

Third squad...

the assault team.

Strike

the enemy command post,

sever their command and communications.

Right now, the enemy believes they are safe.

While they are complacent

and careless,

we take them down.

Understood?

Understood.

Good.

Move.

The Communists!

What's going on?

The Communists are here!

Who's there?

Go.

Hurry.

Take the salt.

Old Zhu,

why have they barred the doors so tight?

Are they afraid of us?

Not afraid.

They don't dare believe it.

We're not here to take.

We're giving their salt back to them.

They've been robbed all their lives.

They've long accepted their fate.

Now that we tell them to take it back,

they can hardly believe it.

Move fast.

Quickly.

Hurry.

Go.

Move, move.

Pick up the pace. Move.

Sharp now.

Move.

You few, head that way.

Yes.

The rest, follow me.

Go.

Rifle.

Catch.

Some say

the Chairman's crossing in and out was a gamble.

No one else would dare it.

That's because he's never been chased by dogs.

If I were cornered, not twice...

three times, four times,

I'd wade back into the Chishui.

The real trials

likely still lie ahead.

How could the Communists turn back?

That's walking into a trap.

Why not?

It must be Mao Zedong.

Only Mao Zedong would make such a move.

But it defies logic.

It defies the art of war.

Whose art of war?

Baoding Academy?

Whampoa?

The Soviets?

The Germans?

He was always a wild monkey from the mountains.

He cares nothing for your art of war.

All Sichuan units rush to the Chishui

to block the Communists' northward advance.

The Central Army enters Songkan

to prevent a northeastward breakout.

Telegraph Wang Jialie...

hold Loushan Pass.

Block the Communists from entering Zunyi.

Await the encirclement's closure.

Annihilate the Communists.

Mao Zedong...

let us see how you escape my grasp this time.

Enlai,

Bocheng, the latest intelligence from Bureau Two...

the Sichuan Army and the Central Army

are tightening their fist,

trying to crush us.

This Chiang Kai-shek...

he moves too fast.

We must make a decision immediately.

In that case...

rather than wound ten fingers, better to sever one.

If we are to retake Zunyi

and seize the initiative,

we must break through swiftly...

Loushan Pass.

Loushan Pass is treacherous terrain,

ringed by mountains,

guarding the throat between Zunyi and Sichuan.

Take Loushan Pass,

and the gates of Zunyi swing open.

The Guizhou Sixth Regiment is entrenched on the main peak.

The Guizhou Tenth Regiment holds the high ground at Dianjinshan.

Chiang Kai-shek's Hankow Residence Tell Wang Jialie...

if he cannot hold Loushan Pass, he answers for the consequences.

Comrade Peng Dehuai,

take Loushan Pass before nightfall.

Any problems?

My Third Army Group...

all four regiments engage simultaneously.

The Thirteenth Regiment leads the vanguard.

The Twelfth Regiment strikes the center.

The Tenth and Eleventh Regiments flank left and right.

No reserve?

I am the reserve.

Fire!

If I had artillery,

I'd take that hilltop.

Charge!

Follow me.

Right.

Old Zhu,

come with me.

Yes.

Go.

The Thirteenth Regiment's Third Battalion is stalled.

The battalion commander is wounded.

The political instructor is dead.

The Thirteenth Regiment's First Battalion is advancing

but pinned down by enemy fire.

Heavy losses.

The Guizhou Fifteenth Regiment at Banqiao supports Loushan Pass,

forming a pincer with Dianjinshan.

The Communists are stretched thin.

Our fire covers the road below Dianjinshan.

Three Communist assaults have been repelled.

This Guizhou force...

heavier firepower than any we've faced,

and far more stubborn.

Our Third Army Group

has been attacking uphill at Dianjinshan.

It's a grinding fight.

This battle is turning into another war of attrition.

The double-gun soldiers' lives

hang on a pipe of opium.

They've fought all day.

They must be fading by now.

Send a strike force now...

climb the back of Dianjinshan

and close the pincer.

Hold tight. Climb toward me.

Over here...

there's a handhold.

One step at a time.

Don't rush.

Watch the rope.

Mind your footing.

Quickly.

Find a foothold.

Old Zhu, hold on.

What are you waiting for?

Climb to the summit and complete the mission.

Move.

That's an order.

There are more tasks ahead.

Old Zhao,

get a firm grip first.

Once you're secure, pull me up.

All right. Hold on.

Don't worry.

I tied it as tight as I could.

Old Zhu!

Old Zhu!

Comrades, charge!

Charge!

Follow me.

Turn the guns around.

Shells.

Loaded.

Ready.

Fire!

Old Zhao,

temper that foul temper of yours.

See the view from the summit for me.

Dianjinshan is taken.

The objective of taking Loushan Pass

is more than half achieved.

This is a major victory for the Red Army.

Returning to Zunyi

is within reach.

Say that again.

The Communists have taken Dianjinshan.

They are now assaulting the Loushan Pass main peak.

The enemy still holds the southern slope in trenches.

The Sixth Regiment has fallen back to Heishenmiao.

Bureau Two reports

Wu Qiwei is racing north with two Central Army divisions.

The Guizhou Army will fight to the last.

They will hold and wait for relief.

Comrade Peng Dehuai, from this moment,

the First and Third Army Groups are under your unified command.

Tomorrow will be a fierce battle.

Yes, sir.

Yes.

Once you've had your opium,

you are invincible warriors...

impervious to blade and bullet.

The Communists' machine guns and cannons

will mean nothing to you.

Prepare for battle.

Prepare for battle.

Prepare for battle.

Prepare for battle.

Does it hurt?

No.

Good. It shouldn't.

Get up.

Kill the Communists!

Fire!

The Guizhou Army is coming.

Grab your rifles.

Quickly.

Chairman.

Generalissimo.

Bureau Two intelligence indicates

the Guizhou Fifteenth Regiment will flank right around Loushan Pass

to strike our left.

Strike where they must defend.

Order Wang Jialie to send a force

to hammer the Communists' weak point.

Orders from the commander...

push through Niuwangtun at speed,

flank the Communist left wing.

The enemy ammunition depot is indeed at Banqiao.

The Communists are critically short of supplies.

Commit everything.

Bleed the Communists' fighting strength.

The enemy is strong, we are weak.

Give ground one step, then strike by flanking.

Send a detachment to raid the enemy rear.

Charge! Forward!

Destroy the Banqiao ammunition depot.

Cut their supply line, break their morale.

Number Two gun in position.

Ready.

Fire!

Taking the pass is paramount.

The enforcement squad strictly ordered the Guizhou Army to attack the enemy.

Any who retreat will be shot.

Reconnoiter the enemy positions.

Find their weakest point and break through.

Then strike the vital point...

destroy the Guizhou command post.

This battle we will win.

Gentlemen, today is my mother's birthday.

Welcome.

Chiang Kai-shek and his lot

will be driven out sooner or later.

Guiyang will still answer to me, Wang Jialie.

Make way.

Make way.

Congratulations, Chairman Wang.

Chairman.

Chairman.

Make way.

The Communists...

The Communists are back!

Back?

They're back.

Why have they returned?

Move, move, move.

We'll take the trail to Zhongzhuangpu.

Brother Wu, save me!

The Communists have taken Zunyi.

Look...

south of Zunyi

there are two high points.

One is Laoyashan.

One is Honghuagang.

Only by taking both hills

can Zunyi

be retaken.

What is the situation on those two hills now?

In Communist hands.

Brother Wang,

go have a smoke and rest.

Set up a command post here.

We attack Laoyashan immediately.

Attack Laoyashan at once.

Enemy radio signals have intensified sharply.

They're at Zhongzhuangpu.

Chen Guang... I need you to move at full speed,

flank around, find Wu Qiwei's command post,

and drive a blade straight into it.

Peng Dehuai at Laoyashan can barely hold.

Where is Lin Biao?

What position has he reached?

Back in the Soviet area, they used to say...

the Third Army Group's flanking,

the Fifth Army Group's sabers,

and the First Army Group... what was it?

The First Army Group's...

charge.

Corps Commander, we...

Steady.

Wait a little longer.

It's Chen Guang.

He's found Wu Qiwei's headquarters.

But Wu has fled.

Pursue?

Pursue.

How far?

A hundred li.

Five days.

Only five days.

A rabble in rags

routed two divisions and eight regiments.

Wang Jialie was always soft, fine.

But even Wu Qiwei was sent fleeing in disgrace,

staging a suicide scene at the Wu River.

Disgraceful.

An utter disgrace.

Attention.

Telegraph all units...

I, the Generalissimo, have established command in Chongqing.

All forces in Sichuan and Guizhou

shall be under my unified command.

No unit shall advance or retreat without orders.

All forces

shall attack the bandits at Zunyi with full strength.

Yes, sir.

It seems Wang Jialie has been stung hard.

He's holed up in Daguxinchang and refuses to come out.

The other armies are all dragging their feet,

watching from the sidelines.

Only Zhou Hunyuan remains on the north bank of the Wu River,

not moving an inch.

Send a detachment to feint and lure...

harass his Xiao and Xie divisions,

draw the snake from its hole.

If both snakes come out,

which do we strike?

Since they are snakes, we need not fear them.

One comes, we strike one.

Two come, we strike both.

Destroying the enemy in mobile warfare...

that is our greatest strength.

The more restless Chiang Kai-shek becomes,

the more advantageous

it is for us.

We nearly fell for Mao Zedong's trick.

Notify Zhou Hunyuan...

halt the advance immediately.

Fortify his positions.

Remind him

to be like Guo Huai...

steady and methodical.

Not like Xiahou Yuan.

This Mao Zedong...

he is no simple man.

What is it?

This is the latest from Bureau Two.

Zhou Hunyuan has fallen back to Lubanchang

and is building blockhouses.

The surrounding enemy forces

are still employing the old tactics

from the encirclement campaigns against the Soviet Area...

scorched earth, closing in on us layer by layer.

They mean to starve us to death here.

Comrades Lin Biao and Nie Rongzhen suggest

we might consider striking Wang Jialie again...

taking Daguxinchang.

That would give us

much-needed supplies.

Wang Jialie is already a bird startled by the bow.

In our experience, we could likely take it

without firing a shot.

However,

always picking on Wang Jialie alone

hardly seems a worthy victory.

Generalissimo,

should we not guard against the Communists

raiding Daguxinchang?

In our previous campaigns,

even with an iron net cast,

there was always one gap.

The Communists always find

the weakest point in our defense

and slip away.

Now our forces advance step by step.

The Communists will soon be

out of ammunition and grain.

A hungry man

cannot think clearly.

At that point,

I dangle Wang Jialie before them like a fat prize.

Let them come.

If they dare come,

staying cooped up here is no solution either.

A fight is feasible.

Only movement brings victory.

As for how to fight...

the front-line political commissar decides.

I execute.

Very well. Let us put it to a vote.

I disagree.

Then tell us... why can we not attack?

If we strike Daguxinchang,

Zhou Hunyuan's forces

will certainly close in from the flank.

You worry over nothing.

Runzhi,

very well.

Who agrees with me?

It seems

only Enlai supports Runzhi's view.

Since you all disagree with me,

then what purpose does this front-line commissar

still serve?

I resign.

The decisions a man makes often hinge on small details.

You served alongside Chiang Kai-shek.

What manner of man is he?

Chiang Kai-shek...

even at Whampoa, he had already risen to prominence,

commanding considerable respect.

He keeps a diary.

No matter how busy, he makes time

to reflect and record each day.

For over twenty years, without a single break.

I often think...

a man who persists in one thing,

even a small thing, is a formidable man.

At this very moment,

while you study him,

he may well be studying you.

Runzhi,

your eloquence is unmatched.

Why did you not press your case at the meeting?

I believe you could have prevailed.

Enlai, secrecy brings success;

loose tongues bring ruin.

You are the final authority on military decisions.

Some things I can only say to you.

Daguxinchang

must not be attacked.

Commander Zhu was right.

In military matters, you are right.

And you have always been right.

Look...

these two intelligence reports in my hand

were just decrypted by Bureau Two.

Chiang Kai-shek's latest dispositions.

If we attack Daguxinchang,

the forces facing us head-on

would be the Guizhou remnants

and Yunnan reinforcements.

Flanking us from the side and rear...

the Central Army and the Sichuan Army.

Comrades,

attacked from front and rear...

nine deaths, one survival.

We now put it to a vote...

shall we rescind

the proposal to attack Daguxinchang?

Good. Carried.

Now then...

shall we restore

Mao Zedong

to his post as political commissar

of the Front Command?

Carried.

I have a plan.

We concentrate our forces

and strike Zhou Hunyuan at Lubanchang.

Once Chiang Kai-shek's armies converge,

we cross at Maotai

... the third crossing of the Chishui.

The entire army goes to ground.

Then we send one regiment

with a high-power radio set,

disguised as the main force,

to assault Gulin county seat.

The Communists have withdrawn from Lubanchang.

They've vanished.

What do you mean, vanished?

Because we still cannot break their cipher,

we can only rely on their transmission frequency

and location to estimate the Communist central command's position.

But since yesterday, the Communist central radio

has maintained complete silence.

Therefore, we cannot trace them.

Is their cipher truly that advanced?

Why can we not break it?

The Communist cipher

employs a double-encryption system.

Within a single message,

the same code yields different characters,

the same character yields different codes.

The difficulty of decryption is therefore immense.

If the problem cannot be solved,

can we not eliminate the man who created it?

Who designed their cipher?

This cipher is called the Hao Cipher.

The man who designed it is

Zhou Enlai.

Report.

Aerial reconnaissance reports

Communist main forces spotted near Maotai.

Bear with it.

Almost done.

Easy, easy.

The stairs are slippery.

Take it slow.

Careful.

Boss,

did they pay?

Sir,

they did.

I've long heard

that the Red Army never runs a tab wherever they go.

Selling this liquor to you

was well worth it.

Good.

Maotai is renowned for its fine liquor.

The reputation is well earned.

Boss,

your liquor...

it will be even more famous someday.

Thank you, sir.

Young comrade, let me take that.

Thank you.

Chairman, it's all right.

Let me.

We've never had enough gauze.

Before, we could only boil it in water,

but some soldiers still suffered reinfection.

Now, at last,

we can disinfect with liquor.

Wonderful.

The Third Crossing of the Chishui

I don't know why,

but every time I see you, I get angry.

Old Zhu said

you remind him of his younger self.

Like hell I do.

I'm the same as you.

Since I was small, I was treated less than human.

Plenty of whippings.

Until I met Old Zhu.

He told me...

only by joining the Red Army

can we protect people like us,

and help the poor stand up.

The Third Company that set out from Ruijin...

I'm the only one left.

These past two nights, when I close my eyes,

all I see is Old Zhu, smiling, saying...

every one of us soldiers is a seed.

As long as the seed endures,

the Third Company endures.

Why are you crying?

Hold it in.

In war, men die. That's how it is.

Have we taken a wrong turn?

Just keep walking.

We'll know soon enough.

Move.

Remember what Old Zhu said about Chairman Mao's tactics?

Sometimes west,

Generalissimo,

Mao Zedong is cunning by nature.

This crossing was done in broad daylight, with great fanfare.

It seems deliberate.

You do not know Mao Zedong.

His greatest skill is... when false, make it seem true;

when true, make it seem false.

Crossing in daylight

is a performance.

Orders...

concentrate all intelligence resources

to monitor Gulin in Sichuan and the Xuyong area.

Second, telegraph the air force.

Order them to intensify reconnaissance.

If all goes as expected,

within three days,

we will have results.

Guangshi Li Qing Shengdi Kesheng Shi Chongqing Zhuguo

Daodian

Report.

In the Gulin, Zhenlongshan area,

the Communist central command radio has been detected transmitting.

Just as you predicted.

The Generalissimo's foresight is unmatched.

Orders...

Zhou Hunyuan and Wu Qiwei pursue toward Gulin.

Sun Du at Bijie,

Wang Jialie intercepts north of Jinsha.

In Sichuan,

Pan Wenhua dispatches five brigades to block at Gulin and Xuyong.

The Fifty-Third Division advances from Shiqian toward Zunyi.

All columns construct blockhouses

to form a blockade line.

Yes, sir.

Prepare the car.

Generalissimo,

where are you going?

To Guiyang, of course, to direct operations.

The success of the bandit suppression

hinges on this moment.

Madam,

Madam Wan Shufen, wife of Wang Jialie, requests an audience.

Refuse her.

Chiang Kai-shek was conferred the rank of Special-Class General, becoming the only officer in National Government history to formally hold this rank.

Move aside.

Generalissimo,

forty li outside Guiyang,

Communist forces have been sighted.

I have a plan.

Step one... strike Zhou Hunyuan at Lubanchang.

If we cross the river right under Zhou Hunyuan's nose,

he will certainly send troops in pursuit.

But if we hit him hard at Lubanchang, hurt him enough,

he will bolt his gates and dare not sally forth.

Then step two...

cross in broad daylight.

The third crossing of the Chishui.

But Chiang Kai-shek

is suspicious by nature.

Doing this

may not

deceive him.

Crossing in daylight is a performance.

Monitor Gulin and Xuyong in Sichuan.

Telegraph the air force.

Order them to intensify reconnaissance.

The purpose of all this is to make him believe our plan

is to continue marching north and cross the Yangtze.

Let him redeploy his own forces,

tearing open a gap for us

in his iron wall of encirclement.

And if he continues to dig in deep and refuse to move?

Then good.

We proceed to the next step.

We send him a surprise force.

Have we taken a wrong turn?

Just keep walking.

We'll know soon enough.

Raise the torches high.

Let them see us clearly.

Yes, sir.

The fish has taken the bait.

Grab your weapons. Move.

In strategy, we must despise the enemy.

But in tactics, we must take the enemy seriously.

This strike force

may not be enough to move Chiang Kai-shek's grand army.

Step four...

this strike force carries the central radio.

All other unit radios maintain complete silence.

Report.

In the Gulin, Zhenlongshan area,

the Communist central command radio has been detected transmitting.

The Generalissimo's foresight is unmatched.

Once Chiang Kai-shek has redeployed his forces,

we begin the next phase of our plan.

Are the pontoon bridges from the second crossing still intact?

You mean Taipingdu and Erlangtan?

We use them to march east...

the fourth crossing of the Chishui.

We can shake off the enemy's pursuit entirely.

What comes next

depends on whether this army

can stand united, high and low,

each devising their own stratagem.

Comrade Peng Dehuai telegraphs...

he recommends we turn southwest.

Great minds think alike.

We must play our part well.

The Ninth Army Group continues to disguise itself as the main force,

drawing the enemy north.

Meanwhile, we

lead the main force

southward.

That won't work.

The Central Army is very close to us now.

A head-on collision would be disastrous.

Comrade Zeng Xisheng has a brilliant idea.

Bureau Two can mimic Chiang Kai-shek's tone

and the Nationalist Army's transmission style

to send telegrams to the Central Army,

altering their marching route.

Change direction.

Panshui, Xinchang.

We put a hundred li between us and Wu Qiwei's forces,

and we can march south safely.

We are here.

And Chiang Kai-shek?

Useless at everything else, but first in meddling.

Couldn't stay in his nest,

had to come poking out.

To Guiyang, of course, to direct operations.

The success of the bandit suppression

hinges on this moment.

For the next move,

perhaps we can play it this way...

swing wide into Yunnan.

That's good, but

Sun Du's Yunnan Army guards that key route.

Getting past them won't be easy.

This iron turtle keeps its head in its shell.

We must find a way to draw him out.

I've been watching them for some time.

Director Zeng,

the combat units captured a batch of radio sets.

The Chairman sent me to deliver them.

Many thanks.

The Chairman also said

to keep a close watch on the Yunnan Army's movements.

The Yunnan Army's whereabouts we have always tracked.

In this world,

only one man

can draw them out.

And that man

happens to listen to us most readily.

Move.

We give him a move...

army at the gates of Guiyang,

check the general.

Take the chariot.

Telegraph Wu Qiwei, Zhou Hunyuan, and Sun Du...

come to Guiyang at once.

Immediately.

Generalissimo, the aircraft and airfield are ready.

Please depart at once.

Guiyang is not Zunyi.

If Zhu and Mao take it,

it will damage our standing abroad.

You wretches,

run faster! Run!

Commander! Commander!

Chairman Long ordered us to hold the Yunnan-Guizhou border.

Should we move?

You fool.

Since ancient times, what merit is greatest?

Saving the sovereign.

If I don't seize this credit,

am I to hand it to Zhou Hunyuan and Wu Qiwei for nothing?

Generalissimo,

Brother Zhizhou,

you've come at last.

I heard the Communists threatened the Generalissimo.

I was consumed with worry.

Four hundred li in four days.

Seeing the Generalissimo unharmed,

I can finally rest easy.

You've gone to great trouble. Great trouble indeed.

Quickly...

reward Commander Sun with thirty thousand silver dollars.

Also telegraph rewards for each regiment...

two hundred jin of pork,

sixty silver dollars in cash,

one hundred dollars in notes.

Saving the sovereign pays well.

Sun Du has struck it rich.

Comrade Bocheng, you miss the point.

This iron turtle guarding the western pass

has finally crawled out of its shell.

Naturally, the Generalissimo must pay us

a little errand fee.

A little errand fee.

A pity our forces are too few.

We could only give the Generalissimo a fright.

But he will never guess

what we truly intend.

Bypass Guiyang,

feint eastward.

Leave a detachment north of the Wu River

as a decoy to pin the enemy.

Once Chiang's main force swings east to chase us,

we turn immediately

and race toward Yunnan, straight for Kunming.

As long as we break out of the four-hundred-thousand-strong encirclement,

that is victory.

Move out.

Comrades,

these are orders from above.

We are to draw the enemy

and cover our main force

as it withdraws safely.

These two days of forced marches

have worn the enemy down.

You've done well.

But we cannot stop.

After a brief rest,

we march on.

And

every minute we hold the enemy, the main force

is safe for one more minute.

And I have good news for you all...

the main force

has left the enemy far behind.

And for that, we deserve full credit.

Good.

Chairman Mao said before

the White Dogs couldn't trap us.

I didn't believe it then.

Who would have thought, after all that circling,

we actually shook them off.

You still have much to learn.

All talk, no practice.

These past days it's been nothing but walking.

Old Zhao,

how many characters do you owe me?

Prepare to move out.

Yes, sir.

Old Zhao,

temper that foul temper of yours.

See the view from the summit for me.

Chairman Long,

the Communists are now near Kunming.

You must block their path.

Generalissimo, my elite main forces

are all with Sun Du.

They've all gone to protect you.

I don't care what method you use...

hold them back.

Hold them at all costs.

The fog is too thick.

Yunnan's terrain is the most treacherous.

We don't even have a map.

Rushing into the mountains like this...

it's like a blind man on a blind horse.

We can't keep going in circles.

We barely won a chance to catch our breath,

and we're squandering it.

Report, sir.

We've captured a truck.

Inside are gifts from Long Yun to Xue Yue.

Xuanwei ham, Pu'er tea, and the finest Yunnan Baiyao.

We were just dozing off, and someone delivered a pillow.

A military map, scale one to one hundred thousand.

This is a treasure.

When Liu Bei entered Sichuan,

Zhang Song presented him a map.

Diao Zhishang...

Now we pass through Yunnan into Sichuan,

and Long Yun presents us a map.

A good omen.

Chairman,

this Art of War...

I don't know if you're well versed in it,

but this Romance of the Three Kingdoms...

you must know it by heart.

Order Long Yun and Liu Wenhui to burn every boat.

Cut off the Communists' river crossing.

Burn them all.

Report, Commander.

They've all been burned.

Not one left.

Come here.

Brother, I've got some scarce opium here.

If you can help me get it across the river,

you'll be well rewarded.

Commander, no problem at all. Come, come.

This way, this way.

You see?

Don't move.

You...

Bocheng.

The people of Sichuan call you a dragon.

Without you, the Dragon King,

borrowing these seven boats, this Jinsha River...

would truly be impossible to cross.

What dragon am I?

These boatmen are the real dragons.

Wherever the Red Army goes,

we rely on the support of the people.

Commander Zhu,

we've shaken off the pursuers for now.

Why do you still look so troubled?

Do I?

I've been frowning so long

I've forgotten how to relax.

Thirty thousand against four hundred thousand.

And yet this battle...

Our soldiers lack food and clothing.

Our soldiers have no supplies.

Right in the middle of battle,

their stomachs still growl with hunger.

Come, come.

To our health.

Not only are our bellies empty,

our hands have no weapons either.

What are weapons for?

They're for protecting ourselves.

To buy weapons...

that takes money.

Do we have any?

These are gifts from the Generalissimo to you both.

He requests your presence in Hankou.

Guizhou...

think no more of it.

The one thing we never lack is enemies.

An enemy at the height of its power,

a formidable enemy.

Wire Xue Yue:

march through the night. Continue the pursuit.

Order Liu Xiang and Liu Wenhui to hold their lines at all costs.

I want Mao Zedong to meet the same fate as Shi Dakai...

at the Dadu River,

total annihilation.

They've been relentless in their pursuit,

determined to wipe us out entirely.

Now the road is wide open.

Each goes his own way.

Generalissimo Chiang,

there's no need to see us off.

Enlai.

What are you thinking?

I was thinking...

we've crossed so many rivers together.

We've shaken off Chiang Kai-shek's four hundred thousand troops.

And then?

We crossed the Xiang River.

We crossed the Chishui River.

Now we cross the Jinsha River.

One day,

we will cross the Yellow River,

cross the Yangtze,

even scale the highest mountains and cross the seas.

When that day comes,

all of China...

will be a new world.

Let's go.

The Four Crossings of Chishui lasted over three months.

The Central Red Army broke free of the enemy's encirclement and pursuit.

It shattered the enemy's plan of encirclement and annihilation.

At the most critical juncture of the Long March,

the Red Army turned from passivity to initiative,

from defeat to victory.

It laid a solid foundation for the northward march

to resist Japan and save the nation.

Mao Zedong once said the Four Crossings of Chishui

was the finest stroke of his entire military career.

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