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In October 1934, after the failure of the Fifth Counter-Encirclement Campaign, the Central Red Army was forced to withdraw from the Central Soviet Area and begin a strategic retreat to escape the encirclement and pursuit of Nationalist forces. Along the way, under relentless ground assaults and aerial bombings, the Red Army fought bravely, breaking through enemy lines time and again. During one such breakout, in Shazhou Village, Rucheng County, Hunan, three female Red Army soldiers stayed overnight at the home of an elderly woman named Xu Jiexiu. Before leaving, they cut their only quilt in half and left one part for the old woman. Later, Xu said, “What is the Communist Party? The Communist Party is the people who would cut their only quilt in half and give one part to the people.”
