The people who waved the August red flag were a great inspiration to me.

The people who waved the August red flag were a great inspiration to me.

1. In my creative journey, it can be said that Viet Que Border Zone is one of the works that I have devoted a lot of effort to, because I always consider the book as a stick of incense to commemorate and offer to the souls of the Vietnamese Liberation Army soldiers who crossed the majestic Thap Van Dai Son mountain range to liberate a large border area of ​​the two provinces of Guangxi and Guangdong (China) in 1949. This is a campaign that is rarely mentioned, and there are not many in-depth research works.

Delegates at the launch of the novel "Bin Khu Viet Que" by writer Pham Van Anh.

Therefore, I spent many days in Bang village in Bac Giang province (now Bac Ninh province) to re-imagine the space of the great army “re-training” for nearly a month before the expedition. I went to Dinh Lap district, Lang Son province, where the great army was sent to the other side of the border. I went to burn incense at Po Hang communal house, where Uncle Ho presented a banner embroidered with Chinese characters “Resistance to protect the nation”.

I also went to the border district of Binh Lieu in Quang Ninh province, climbed to the top of the mountain to easily feel and imagine how the elders crossed that mountain range. The characters in Viet Que Border Zone are mostly based on real characters who directly participated in large and small battles during the 4 months from June to October 1949.

In the novel, I devoted many pages to writing about the people of Bac Giang and Lang Son provinces who helped the army during the campaign during those years, the prototypes that I could not meet but gave me a lot of emotions. Witnesses recounted that when Bang village learned about international missions, learned about the customs and language of the Chinese people... they received a lot of help from the people in the area. Coming from Cao Bang, Bac Kan , Thai Nguyen to join the army, the army saw small huts on both sides of the road, where the people had placed in front of the door dried gourds filled with spring water boiled with guava leaves and a tray full of fresh fig leaves to quench the soldiers' thirst.

Or the desolate villages inhabited only by women, mothers whose children had been away on campaigns for two or three years without stopping by home, wives whose husbands had died somewhere unknown… struggling to stay on the fields to survive. People ate wild vegetables, forest leaves, and the corn and rice that were just full of grain, and were eagerly waiting for the harvest. But more than half of the food they harvested, the people gave to the soldiers in Bang village.

I looked up at the mountain ranges, imagining those years, the people diligently transported food, their feet stuck in the rocks and the winding rice fields gradually advancing. The Kinh women had teeth but aching custard apple seeds, wrapped in crow-beak scarves, heavy carrying poles bent over their thin shoulders and faded brown blouses; the Man women had colorful scarves and shirts, their heads shaved clean and shiny, their pleated skirts flared in rhythm with the rhythm of their baskets; the Tay and Nung women were more gentle, their indigo clothes with a little green fabric trimmed at the collars… Wherever the army went, the people followed to receive food.

3. The character of Political Commissar Long Xuyen was created by me from the prototype of Colonel Hoang Long Xuyen, former Director of the Viet Bac Autonomous Region Police. In the 1940s, the young man Hoang Long Xuyen was selected by Uncle Ho to study at the Hoang Pho Military School.

When the Vietnam Propaganda Liberation Army was established, Hoang Long Xuyen was assigned to build a revolutionary base in Hoa An district, Cao Bang province. At that time, the revolutionary movement in Hoa An district was developing strongly, with the arrival of military cadres, it became more formal and its activities more systematic.

Author and Meritorious Physician Than Van Nha.

Entering the peak of the anti-Japanese national salvation movement, the unit led by Hoang Long Xuyen received orders from superiors to deploy "Eastward" to open a communication route to Lang Son and expand the Cao Bang base to districts in Lang Son province. From August 18 to August 22, 1945, Unit Leader Hoang Long Xuyen commanded the unit to support the revolutionary masses to rise up and attack the Japanese army.

On August 24, 1945, in Ba Xa (Diem He district), Squad Leader Hoang Long Xuyen attended a meeting of the Lang Son Provincial Party Committee. Under the command of the Viet Minh Committees of the districts and prefectures, the province's main armed forces and the revolutionary masses seized power in Cao Loc and Loc Binh districts, contributing to the overall victory of the August Revolution movement nationwide, moving towards independence and freedom for the nation, culminating in National Day September 2, 1945.

After the National Resistance Day, Hoang Long Xuyen, as the Commander of the 28th Regiment, participated in many important campaigns of the Viet Minh Front. In 1949, Platoon Leader Hoang Long Xuyen was appointed Deputy Commander of the Long Chau Front, participating in the Thap Van Dai Son campaign to help China liberate the border areas of Guangxi and Yunnan.

4. The character Tran Binh was inspired by the ca tru teacher that I had the chance to work with when I was a 10th grade student: Artist Nguyen Han - alias "Black Han", one of the leading drum artists in Vietnam later. In 1945, he was one of the "four tigers" protecting General Nguyen Binh, directly participating in the liberation of Dong Trieu area. He said that, with the revolutionary situation changing in a favorable direction, he and a 6-man guerrilla group led by comrade Nguyen Huu Han - alias "Fat Han" advanced to Dong Trieu.

On the night of July 20, 1945, the whole of Quang Yen shook with the sound of gunfire and the continuous cheers of the soldiers. We captured the headquarters and controlled the situation. All the soldiers in green uniforms surrendered, half asked to return to their families, the other half volunteered to continue fighting with us. In that battle, we captured over 200 guns and nearly 30,000 silver coins and established a provisional government there, contributing greatly to the overall success of the August Revolution movement throughout the country.

In his old age, artist Nguyen Han made many contributions to teaching the art of playing the Chau drum and composing new lyrics for Ca Tru melodies. His personal documents, knowledge and talent have been of great value to the Ca Tru Research Profile of the Institute of Culture and has been submitted to UNESCO for recognition as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Writer Pham Van Anh, author of the novel "Viet Que Border Zone".

5. The brave young man who took on the role of liaison soldier Van Nha in the Viet Que Border Zone was modeled after Meritorious Doctor Than Van Nha. I relied on valuable details in the memoirs he gave me to build this character. In the memoirs, he described the scene of Vietnamese Liberation Army soldiers walking barefoot on sharp rocks. The soldiers had no medicine, their feet were constantly injured, they had to find wild mugwort, crush it, chew it, apply it to the wound and wrap it with banana leaves and forest leaves.

Then, in the dark night, the army crossed the forest, without compasses, without torches or lights to ensure secrecy. Therefore, in addition to combat equipment, each person had to carry on their shoulders a rotten piece of firewood to emit a phosphorescent light in the dark night. Each platoon or company could see the bright spots like swarms of fireflies flying from the unit in front, helping the soldiers define the path. No one could imagine such details, only the soldiers who experienced them directly could recount them. These were truly “gold mines” that he had reserved for a writer like me.

After completing his mission in the campaign, Mr. Than Van Nha continued to fight in the border area of ​​Hai Ninh Province until the resistance war against the French was successful. He then asked to change his major, studied at Hanoi Medical University and worked at Bach Mai Hospital. The experiences accumulated from books and through practical work helped him acquire many quintessential national remedies and become a good doctor. He not only had a profound understanding of the human body as well as the uses of countless medicinal herbs in oriental medicine, but also stood out with his "golden hands" in the field of acupuncture.

To feel, share, and be moved by the achievements of our predecessors as well as the achievements of our comrades and teammates today and to transform them into pages of literature and poetry, is a source of pride for me. The prototypes that I have been fortunate to meet are all people who have made great contributions to the country and the nation, but later lived very simply. My book is like a tribute from today's young generation to those who have contributed to the history of the nation.

Pham Van Anh

Source: https://baobacninhtv.vn/nhung-nguoi-phat-cao-co-hong-thang-8-la-nguon-cam-hung-lon-lao-trong-toi-postid425330.bbg