Xinhua News Agency broadcast a long newsletter "Yimeng Sisters Walking Through the Smoke of Gunpowder" on September 7, 2009. Elder Ji Zhenlan was interviewed and recalled the past.
In May 1947, the East China Field Army, under the command of Chen Yi and Su Yu, annihilated the 74th Reorganized Division of the elite Kuomintang troops and the First Reinforcement Division in Menglianggu, killing more than 32,000 people. In Yanzhuang, a small mountain village less than 30 kilometers away from Menglianggu, six young girls who were only 18 or 19 years old at the time were the "Six Sisters of Yimeng" known as the model for Zhiqian.
The title "Six Sisters of Yimeng" was named by Marshal Chen Yi himself. Old man Ji Zhenlan can still clearly remember the first time he met Chen Yi. "He came on a horse, wearing leggings. I don't know who he was. He was a very kind man." The old man said. At that time, he couldn't see clearly who the leader was, and he was in a hurry. There was about to be a war. He didn't know him at all. It will be Chen Yi.
Later one day, the six sisters were notified to go to Mengyin’s headquarters. There, Ji Zhenlan once again saw the man who rode the horse last time, and asked the sisters cordially how many pancakes they had spread out these days, how many shoes they had made, and whether they had any difficulties.
Ji Zhenlan said that after asking about the situation, the man smiled and said, give you a name. He said he would call you sister-in-law. If you are not married, call him sister-in-law. If you are married, call him sister-in-law. Yes, let's just call them "Six Sisters of Yimeng".
Ji Zhenlan knew at this time that this man was a big leader, but she still didn’t know that he was actually the famous Chen Yi. Many years later, when she saw Chen Yi's photo in the Meng Lianggu Memorial Hall, Ji Zhenlan thought it looked familiar, and the people next to her told her that it was Chen Yi.
According to the old man's recollection, as soon as they heard that there was going to be a war, the six sisters got together and took the initiative to shoulder the heavy responsibility of supporting the army in the village. They mobilized the whole village, men, women and children, to serve as guides, deliver ammunition, and Food and grass, cooking pancakes, washing military uniforms, making military shoes, caring for the sick and wounded, etc. During the battle, the guns were rumbling, and the six sisters and their fellow villagers only ate one meal a day and were busy all day long. For half a month, they woke up at midnight and went to bed in the middle of the night. Sometimes they stayed up all night without rest. They often ate only one meal a day. They transported more than 5,000 kilograms of grain from the wild store back to the village, processed it into pancakes, and sent it back. We transported 24 boxes of ammunition, burned more than 700 kilograms of firewood, and traveled more than 20 miles back and forth. We washed more than 800 clothes for the troops and made more than 300 pairs of shoes... When we stopped, we also sang for the soldiers, conducted propaganda, and boosted morale.
On June 10, 1947, the Luzhong Dazhong Daily, the official newspaper of the Shandong Military Region at that time, reported on this model group with the title "It's good for women to support the army in front of the army". From then on, the name of the "Six Sisters of Yimeng" spread throughout the Yimeng Mountain area.