Chapter 18 Chapter 6 The "Party Representative" who worked with Lin Biao - Nie Rongzhen

On a country road in Ruijin City, the Central Revolutionary Base, two high-spirited soldiers walked side by side. Among them, the short man was born with a pair of thick eyebrows, and a pair of small eyes under the thick eyebrows were piercing. He is only 27 years old; a tall man with big eyes and a smile on his face all the time. He is Lin Biao's "partner" - Nie Rongzhen, political commissar of the First Red Army, who is 8 years older than Lin Biao. They were going to visit the old leader, Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic.A few days ago, Zhou Enlai, vice-chairman of the Military Commission, approached them for a private conversation and informed them that the Central Committee had decided that the Red Army would make a strategic shift and that preparations should be made as soon as possible, but he did not specify the direction of the transfer.Nie Rongzhen proposed to take time to visit Mao Zedong, and maybe he could learn the direction of the transfer and the implementation plan from him. Lin Biao felt that it was just what he wanted.

It was the autumn of 1934, and the world-famous 25,000-mile Long March was about to start from here. "Oh, it's really a rare guest, no, it's an honored guest!" Mao Zedong greeted the guest with a hearty smile.He looked exceedingly happy.For a period of time, Mao Zedong, who was deprived of the leadership of the Red Army by Bogu and Li De, felt a little lonely because of his leisure.Seeing two old subordinates coming to visit, he deliberately asked: "Why are you here?" Lin Biao and Nie Rongzhen looked at each other, and almost blurted out at the same time: "I heard that there is a new mission." "What mission?" Mao Zedong continued to ask .Nie Rongzhen replied: "It needs to be transferred." "It's good that you know." Mao Zedong stopped talking here, which disappointed Lin and Nie who wanted to hear the following.But they know the party's discipline, they don't ask what they shouldn't ask, and they don't say what they shouldn't say, so they don't ask again.

On the second day after bidding farewell to Mao Zedong, Nie Rongzhen and Lin Biao were ordered to lead the troops to Xingguo to the north of Xingguo to stop the enemy, and then rushed to the scheduled assembly area. When the First Red Army set off on the Long March, it was the moment when the sun was setting.Nie Rongzhen, who rode his horse and walked in the procession, looked back from time to time, the Yudu River winding away, the village shrouded in bloody sunset, the towering ancient pagoda, and the Soviet area that came to see him off with tears The folks are deeply engraved in his memory.Thinking of the catastrophe that the Soviet area would suffer after the Red Army left, his heart ached like being stabbed by an awl.

After breaking through the enemy's two blockade lines, the Red Army Corps took control of Jiufeng Mountain, the commanding height north of Lechang, in case the Cantonese army attacked or intercepted us after occupying Lechang, so as to cover the Military Commission's column between Jiufeng Mountain and Wuzhi Mountain. passed tasks.How to accomplish this daunting task?Nie Rongzhen and Lin Biao disagreed, and the first dispute occurred after the start of the Long March. "Instead of trying hard to seize the top of the mountain, it is better to rush over before the enemy has occupied Lechang." Lin Biao has always fought whatever battles are easy to fight, and he is unwilling to fight thankless battles.

"There is still a distance from Lechang. If the enemy arrives before us, and we do not effectively control the commanding height of Jiufeng Mountain, it will be a big mistake!" He only cared about the convenience of his own army, and disregarded the luck of the central government and other troops, and raised objections. "How do you know that the enemy will occupy Lechang before us? You can't be too rigid in executing the orders of the Military Commission!" Lin Biao, who has always been confident in military command, still insisted on fighting according to his ideas.

Nie Rongzhen reminded: "We walk on two feet, and the enemy travels by car. Even if we rush past Lechang, what if the enemy cuts off the troops behind?" "I think we should send a reconnaissance team to Lechang to touch How about clearing up the situation?" Seeing that the two main leaders were arguing, Zuo Quan, chief of staff of the First Red Army Corps, proposed this suggestion in order to ease the atmosphere. Lin Biao agreed.Nie Rongzhen insisted on the principle and never backed down: "Reconnaissance can be done, but the troops must continue to advance, and must follow the instructions of the Military Commission to control Jiufeng Mountain." Head north. "Fortunately, I didn't take chances," Nie Rongzhen thought to himself.

Lin Biao seemed to believe it, but this time he wanted to investigate it himself.In a place called Makengxu, he used the enemy's telephone line, pretended to be an enemy, and got on the phone with a militia leader near Lechang. "Where is Lin Biao's Red Army now?" "Three regiments of the Cantonese Army arrived in Lechang the day before yesterday, and one regiment marched towards Jiufeng Mountain today." This vital news. Now Lin Biao was in a hurry.Putting down the phone, he immediately ordered the Fourth Regiment of the Second Red Division to go straight to Jiufeng Mountain in a starry night, taking this commanding height at all costs.Then, powerful troops were sent to attack Chaling on the flank of Jiufeng Mountain to ensure the smooth passage of the covering Military Commission column and follow-up troops.Nie Rongzhen, who was on the side, smiled gratifiedly.

A stretcher made of two bamboo poles and a rope net carried Nie Rongzhen on the rugged mountain road. When passing Jiufeng Mountain, Nie Rongzhen's foot was punctured. Because the military situation was urgent, he didn't care about it at the time. He didn't expect the infection to fester.After the bloody battle on the Xiangjiang River, let alone walking, even riding a horse was difficult.So, at the home of a villager of the Zhuang nationality in Guangxi, a doctor nicknamed "Dai Huzi" operated on him. Sitting on a stretcher gave Nie Rongzhen the opportunity to march with the column of the Military Commission, and also allowed him to calmly think about the lessons learned from the Red Army's victories and failures.

"Facts have proved that Bogu, Li De and others are not good enough, and the leadership must be reorganized!" Nie Rongzhen said to Wang Jiaxiang, director of the General Political Department of the Red Army. Wang Jiaxiang was still lying on a stretcher because he was injured by an enemy plane during the fourth counter-campaign against "encirclement and suppression". He also thought about this issue and said: "Comrade Mao Zedong should be allowed to lead." Nie Rongzhen expressed "fully agree." At the Zunyi meeting, Nie Rongzhen spoke up and criticized the "foreign consultant" Li De blindly commanding, interfering with the position of a military post and a mortar in the troops, completely restraining the hands and feet of the front-line commanders.Before and during the meeting, Kai Feng, an alternate member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee and secretary of the Communist Youth League, talked to Nie Rongzhen in private many times, asking him to support Bogu, but he failed.

After the Zunyi meeting, Mao Zedong commanded the Red Army to cross the Chishui River back and forth, avoiding the real and attacking the weak, making the enemy hard to defend.Nie Rongzhen, who had basically recovered from his foot disease and returned to the First Army, commanded the troops together with Lin Biao and won several beautiful victories. Once, the First Red Army Corps chased and wiped out two divisions of Wu Qiwei's Department of the Kuomintang Central Army, and it was already dark.The Red Army commanders and fighters who fought all day without food were exhausted.Nie Rongzhen mobilized everyone: "We didn't eat, and the enemy didn't eat either. We are tired, isn't the enemy more tired than us? We must take advantage of the victory and chase the enemy to the Wujiang River to drink water!" So the troops chased to the Wujiang River in one go.

When the vanguard troops chased to a village, they saw the enemy army was starting a gang. There was an old hen boiling in a pot. They picked it up and ate it. ! Don’t eat!” In this pursuit and annihilation battle, more than 5,000 enemy troops were eliminated, which was the biggest victory since the Long March. Mao Zedong later claimed that crossing Chishui four times was his "sweet stroke" in his life.This "sweet stroke" did make the enemy dizzy, from active pursuit to passive beating, but it also confused some leaders in the Red Army, and Lin Biao was one of them. "Walking around like this will destroy the troops." Lin Biao complained.Although he has won some battles, he feels that this is too tiring, like a bow, and he should take the shortcut of "bow string". Now he is taking the "bow back" road.Nie Rongzhen explained: "We are attacking east and west, mobilizing the enemy, which is conducive to concealing our intentions and changing from passive to active." But Lin Biao refused to listen, and insisted on writing to the Central Revolutionary Military Commission, proposing to change the leader to take command. The letter is finished.Perhaps Lin Biao felt that his own opinions were weak, so he handed the letter to Nie Rongzhen and asked him to sign it. "I will not sign this letter," Nie Rongzhen said firmly in an unquestionable tone, "not only will I not sign it, but I will also object to your submission of this letter." Believe him and ask him to step down?Besides, the Zunyi meeting has just ended, and the decision to reorganize the leadership has just been made. You participated in it, so why did you object?In the end, seeing that Lin Biao was still stubborn, Nie Rongzhen said, "I didn't convince you today. You can submit it, but you are responsible for it." As a result, Lin Biao signed his own name and sent the letter. At the enlarged meeting of the Politburo held in the suburbs of Huili, he was severely criticized by Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and others. In the famous battle of rushing to cross the Dadu River and flying over the Huding Bridge, Nie Rongzhen was left behind in command.As the political commissar of the advance team of the Central Red Army, Nie Rongzhen, together with Commander Liu Bocheng, played a pioneering role in the Long March. From Shanghai to the north, the troops entered the virgin forest of Erlang Mountain.Thick kudzu vines were tangled in the forest, dead tree trunks knocked down by lightning blocked the road in all directions, and the sky was covered tightly by dense leaves.Nie Rongzhen led the Red Army commanders and fighters of the contingent, chopping vines and trees, and marched with difficulty. Greater difficulties await them.On the journey to Tianquan, Lushan, and Baoxing, there are dense rivers and canyons, and the suspended cableway has become the only way to pass.The mule that had been following Nie Rongzhen on the Long March got stuck in the grommet when crossing the bridge, and couldn't get it out no matter what he did.In order not to delay the follow-up troops from crossing the bridge, they had to reluctantly push it off the bridge.Nie Rongzhen's foot wound was infected and festered again. In June 1935, Nie Rongzhen, who had crossed Jiajin Mountain, led his troops to join the Red Fourth Front Army in Maogong.Li Xiannian, political commissar of the 30th Army of the Red Fourth Front Army who came to meet them, warmly entertained them and gave Nie Rongzhen a mule.When Nie Rongzhen recalled the scene of the meeting of the two armies, he said: "The joy is beyond description." On June 26, the Central Committee held a Politburo meeting in Lianghekou.The meeting determined the development policy of going north. Zhang Guotao boasted that he had a crowd of 80,000 people. He spoke rudely and arrogantly at the meeting. He advocated establishing a base area on the Sichuan-Kangzhou border. After being rejected by the meeting, he still deliberately carried out separatist activities. The next day, Nie Rongzhen received an invitation from Zhang Guotao to treat him to dinner, and Peng Dehuai was also invited. Nie Rongzhen knew Zhang Guotao during the Nanchang Uprising, and he had a bad impression of Zhang Guotao because of his hesitation.So, I had some doubts after receiving the invitation, but I went anyway. "One of you is in the First Army Corps and the other is in the Third Army Corps. Both of you are the main force of the Central Red Army. You are very motivated." Zhang Guotao first praised them at the table, and then said, "You are very tired, and the number of staff has been greatly reduced. Is that right?" Then he put on a generous face, stretched out two fingers and said, "I'll allocate two regiments for you to supplement the troops." During the dinner, Zhang Guotao seemed very enthusiastic, but he rambled on and on. People are talking.Nie Rongzhen and Peng Dehuai hardly even had a chance to interrupt. Coming out of Zhang Guotao's residence, Nie Rongzhen couldn't help asking Peng Dehuai: "Why did he invite the two of us to eat?" They also laughed, and broke up tacitly with each other. Soon, the Central Revolutionary Military Commission decided to form the Left Army and the Right Army. The Left Army was commanded by Commander-in-Chief Zhu and Zhang Guotao, the new Red Army General Political Commissar;The Red First Army, which followed the Right Route Army, was renamed the First Army, and Lin Biao and Nie Rongzhen were still the commander and political commissar respectively. One day, Lin Biao and Nie Rongzhen went to the right army headquarters for a meeting.After the meeting, we all had dinner together.Because I ate earlier, the day after dinner is still not dark. "Comrade Lin Biao, you can go first, Comrade Rong Zhen, you stay, we still have to talk." Chen Changhao said.Nie Rongzhen was a little surprised. "What do you think of the Zunyi meeting? Also, what do you think of the Huili meeting?" Chen Changhao asked. "I support and approve of them all." Nie Rongzhen said bluntly, but he couldn't help muttering in his heart: "Why does he ask these questions?" Thinking of someone proposing Zhang Guotao as the chairman of the Military Commission a while ago, and the last time Zhang Guotao invited him to dinner, He became vigilant: "Could it be that they all want to win me over to oppose Mao Zedong?" Chen Changhao realized that it was not easy to change Nie Rongzhen's attitude, so he talked for a while, from dusk to around 10 o'clock in the evening.Nie Rongzhen was already impatient, so he said: "It's getting late, Comrade Changhao, I have to march tomorrow, I'm going back." Chen Changhao, who was not finished talking, was stunned for a moment, then spread his hands helplessly and said: "Okay, You go." Two guards, one leading the mule in front, and the other in the back, Nie Rongzhen walked in the middle, thinking about the extraordinary conversation just now, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that something was wrong.He was never used to loading bullets, but now he loaded the pistol bullets.He felt that the goal of riding a mule was too big, and he was afraid of being sniped, so he preferred to walk and did not return to the military headquarters until midnight. Later, Nie Rongzhen learned that Zhang Guotao had a plan to transfer him to the 31st Red Army as a political commissar, and transfer Lin Biao to another army as commander.Under such circumstances, Nie Rongzhen reminded Lin Biao to prevent the First Army from being eaten by Zhang Guotao.Lin Biao didn't take it seriously, and instead blamed Nie Rongzhen for his "sectarian" tendencies. Nie Rongzhen was really angry when he heard this, and said loudly: "Zhang Guotao and the central government have always been inconsistent in their thinking. We should think about it. There is a problem with the line." "A problem with the line? Well, do you think his line is wrong?" Lin Biao also He raised his voice and said: "Why do they have so many people? We only have a few people!" "Chiang Kai-shek has more people. Can it be said that his line is more correct?" Nie Rongzhen refuted without showing any weakness. "You're talking up!" Lin Biao angrily slapped the table, and a plate was overturned and fell to the ground. Nie Rongzhen suddenly realized at this moment, why did Chen Changhao leave him alone instead of Lin Biao?Obviously, there would be no good results if the quarrel continued, and the two sides died down. Zhang Guotao's split conspiracy failed in the end.In this big struggle between right and wrong, Nie Rongzhen has a clear mind and a clear-cut stand, and has made due contributions. After the Red Army successfully arrived in northern Shaanxi, the organization of the Red First Army was restored, and Lin Biao and Nie Rongzhen served as the army commander and political commissar respectively.Soon, this team was ordered to march eastward, focusing on cracking down on the warlord Yan Xishan who was secretly colluding with Japanese imperialism on the other side of the Yellow River. On February 19, 1936, Mao Zedong called the Eastern Expeditionary Force: "The time for crossing the river must not vary. It will start at 20 o'clock on the 20th. The watch made by Nie Rongzhen shall prevail." First, sometimes the superiors were called together to criticize the subordinates for being late, and the subordinates showed their watches plausibly and said, "Look, according to my watch, it is still ahead of time!" For this reason, a system was later established to regularly check the watches with the superior headquarters every day. .A witty saying began to be popular in the army, saying that "whoever is an 'official' is the standard".This battle across the river was extraordinary. Mao Zedong specifically explained that Nie Rongzhen's watch shall prevail. For a while, Nie Rongzhen kept calling, and some of them couldn't get in, so they came to check the watch on horseback.The witty line was temporarily changed to "Commissioner Nie's watch is the most accurate". On the second night, Nie Rongzhen and Lin Biao issued the order to cross the river on time.At first, they wanted to sneak in at night, but when the boat reached the middle of the river, the enemy's guns rang out, so the sneaking was changed to forced crossing.The first army, which had been prepared for a long time, quickly tore through the gap in the river defense on the opposite bank, and took advantage of the victory to develop in depth. This expedition across the river lasted 75 days, and a total of 17,000 people from Yan Xishan's tribe were wiped out, and about 7,000 people from the Red Army were expanded.Mao Zedong affirmed the achievements and significance of the Eastern Expedition at the meeting of cadres above the regiment level summarizing the Eastern Expedition, and also pointed out the existing problems, criticizing the First Red Army Corps for its egotistical tendencies. The thing is this: During the Eastern Expedition, the Red Fifteenth Army Corps fighting on the northern front suffered heavy casualties. In addition, it was a mountainous area, making it difficult to raise funds and expand troops.Mao Zedong sent a telegram to the Red First Army to dispatch soldiers to the Fifteenth Army.When Lin Biao received this telegram, he threw the telegram angrily, and cursed: "Soldiers with birds!" Nie Rongzhen picked up the telegram and looked at it, and understood a little.He knew that the company of the Red First Army was not sufficient at present, and it would not be easy to send troops out to work below, so he and Lin Biao called Mao Zedong back and asked to be exempted from calling. After listening to Mao Zedong's criticism, Nie Rongzhen felt that he was a political commissar, and this "rudder" was not in good hands, so he took the initiative to take responsibility and made a serious review. In May, Lin Biao was transferred to be the president of the Red Army University, and Zuo Quan was acting as the head of the army.So far, the history of Lin Biao and Nie Rongzhen jointly leading the Red First Army is over.At the farewell meeting for Lin Biao, Nie Rongzhen reviewed Lin Biao's achievements and achievements in the work of the Red First Army. As for their differences and disputes, they were naturally not mentioned on such an occasion.Unexpectedly, before the breakup, Lin Biao brought up the matter again, shook his hand and said, "We have been together for several years, and now we are going to break up. The reason why we had differences in the past was because of the organization, and I was from the Political considerations." "Your statement is wrong." Nie Rongzhen said to him tit for tat: "It's completely wrong for you to make an absolute opposition between politics and organization." He wanted to continue, but when he thought something was wrong, he said in a tactful tone: "It's better to wait for the opportunity in the future." Let’s talk slowly. Today we mainly send you off.” The long river of history runs on and on.Lin Biao and Nie Rongzhen jointly led the Red First Army to create historical achievements in the Long March. As for their differences and disputes, they were just an episode, and history has already drawn its own conclusions.