[A novel submitted for the 80th-anniversary commemoration of the Long March]
Set against the bloody battle at the Xiang River, this book follows five people, including Song Yanhua, who carries a top-secret document from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. It is divided into two volumes. Volume One: The Last Rearguard focuses on the bloody history of the Red 34th Division. Six thousand stalwart soldiers, armed with unshakable faith, complete their mission of covering the Central Red Army’s retreat. First obeying orders from the Central Committee, then fighting to survive, they battle their way through northern Guangxi and southern Hunan until they have shed their very last drop of blood. Volume Two: The Tearstained Road Home follows Song Yanhua and the others after the Red 34th Division’s defeat, as they embark on a long search for the main Red Army force. They battle the forces of the Fuxing Society’s Secret Service, local militias, and mountain bandits along the way, finally returning to the Central Red Army with the protection of the underground Communist Party and the common people.
