In 1935, the Red Army was forced to go on a long march and had to pass through areas where the Yi people gathered on the way. Since ancient times, Chinese dynasties have not truly ruled the Yi area and have continued to use troops, causing the Yi people to reject the Han people. This area is also known as the "Han restricted area." The Red Army was blocked by the local Yi people and was not allowed to advance. At the same time, the engineering company behind was besieged by armed Yi people at Ewa Pass, and its machinery, river crossing equipment and other supplies were robbed.
The headquarters immediately decided that Commander Liu would set up self-defense positions, Political Commissar Nie would lead people to make propaganda, and the guide would continue to use Yi dialect to promote the situation. Xiaoye Dan, who lives in Yangpingzi, is proficient in Chinese and eloquent. After understanding the propaganda of the Red Army, he followed Feng Wenbin and met Liu at the Yi Sea. Liu reiterated to him the purpose of the Red Army's march north and the party's policy of ethnic equality.
Xiao Yedan was moved by the strict enforcement of military discipline and the magnanimity of the Red Army, and proposed to become brothers with Liu, and the other party readily agreed. Then he asked someone to fetch a chicken and sent someone to scoop a bowl of water from the sea. As long as you are sincere, water can also be used as wine. Use water instead of wine, kill a chicken and drip its blood into a bowl, divide the water into two bowls, and swear together.
After the Yihai alliance was established, because it was too late, the Red Army's advance troops returned to the bridge, and Xiaoye Dan also went with them to show their sincerity. The Red Army awarded Xiaoyedan a letter with "Guji Detachment of the Red Army of the Chinese Yi People" written on it. red flag and part of gun.
Extended information
Xiaoyedan (Guojiyoda, 1894-1942), Yi nationality, was from Mianning County (now Yihai Town), Sichuan Province. In 1935, he formed an alliance with Liu Bocheng Yihai and established the Red Army Guoji Detachment, the first ethnic minority local red armed force. He persisted in fighting the Kuomintang for five years and defended to the death the "China Yi People's Red Army Guoji Detachment" flag awarded to him by the Red Army.
In 1941, the local warlord Deng Xiuting of Sichuan, with the support of reactionary warlords, sowed discord, divided the alliance, suppressed the Yi people's revolution, and captured the political commissar of the Red Army. Deng Xiuting wanted to hold Xiao Yedan accountable for his alliance with the Red Army. He was forced to hand over 12,000 taels of silver and 120 ewes to Deng Xiuting as a fine, but he would rather lose his fortune than hand over the flag of the "Guji Detachment of the Chinese Yi People's Red Army" . Later, Xiao Yedan's letter of appointment was also searched by Deng Xiuting.
On June 18, 1942, Xiao Yedan and his entourage were chased and ambushed by the Luohong tribe of the local Yi ethnic group who had been bribed by the Kuomintang when they went to Mianning Bridge Town for a banquet. Gunmen from the Hong tribe killed him outside the Mianning Bridge town. In the spring of 1950, Mrs. Xiao Yedan and other relatives dedicated the preserved flag of the "Guoji Detachment of the Chinese Yi People's Red Army" to the people's government.
People's Daily Online - "Looking Back at the Long March" No. 15: Liu Bocheng's story of forming an alliance with the Yihai Sea