Chapter 20 (1) Planning the Western Expedition

The Communist International approved the strategic transfer plan of the Central Secretariat of the Communist Party of China. Bogu took out a secret message from his briefcase and placed it solemnly in front of the case.He first spoke to Li De in Russian, and then to Zhou Enlai in Chinese.This day is June 25, 1934.A month ago, at the meeting of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the decision to withdraw from the Central Soviet Area was made and submitted to the Communist International for approval. This is a house next to a rice field in Wushilong Village, Ruijin, not far from the Central Revolutionary Military Commission.This house was specially built for Li De, and there were no other houses around it. People called it an "independent house".Li De has lived here since he came to the Central Soviet Area.Over time, there were only three people in the room, the secretary was not present, and even the translator was turned away.At this time, these three people have been designated as the supreme command of the strategic transfer - the three-person group, and a formal decision will be made at the meeting of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to be held in the near future.

In fact, it was just going through the motions and asking everyone to raise their hands. At this time, Bogu alone had the final say on the big political issues in the Soviet area.The three of them will be fully responsible for the planning of the strategic transfer of the Red Army and the central government.Major decisions on strategic shifts are limited to discussions and decisions among these three people.Other party and military leaders, including Luo Fu, the second in command of the party, Xiang Ying, the fourth in command, Zhu De, chairman of the Central Revolutionary Military Commission and commander-in-chief of the Red Army, Wang Jiaxiang, vice chairman of the Central Revolutionary Military Commission and director of the General Political Department of the Red Army, and others have not yet and smell.

With a cigar in his mouth, Li De read the secret telegram from the Comintern, and then handed it to Zhou Enlai.There was a gratified smile on his face, because the reply from the Communist International was a reply to his suggestion.Bogu also had a happy expression on his face. With Li De here in command, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China's plan to report to the Communist International will definitely go smoothly. Zhou Enlai took the secret telegram from the Communist International and read it again and again.The Communist International replied in a telegram agreeing with the strategic transfer of the Central Red Army, and at the same time pointed out that "the mobilization of new armed forces has not dried up in the central region, and the resistance of the various units of the Red Army and the rear environment are not enough to make us panic. He even said that With regard to the withdrawal of the main force in the Soviet area, this is only for the purpose of preserving the living strength and avoiding possible attacks from the enemy. When discussing the resolutions of the 13th Plenary Session of the International and the Fifth Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, regarding the future of the struggle and the current situation of the International The circumstances and the flexible tactics of the Red Army are, first of all, to take advantage of the preservation of the living strength, and to consolidate and expand itself under the new conditions, so as to wait for the opportunity to launch a large-scale offensive against the imperialist Kuomintang."

He was silent, expressionless, obviously very heavy hearted.Two months ago, he sent Bogu and Li De to the front line to command the defense of Guangchang in this room with good expectations.It stands to reason that at this time they should sit here and study the Red Army's next battle plan after the victory of the Guangchang Battle.Unexpectedly, not long after, Li De and Bo Gu, who were optimistic about the war situation, were helpless and helpless after the disastrous defeat in the Guangchang Battle. They had to plan here how the Red Army would withdraw from the Central Soviet Area!As a member of the trio, how can he feel relaxed?

Seeing that Zhou Enlai had no objection to the secret telegram of the Communist International, Bogu said that since the Communist International approved their strategic transfer plan, the three-member group would be responsible for the division of labor.Obviously, Bogu had already prepared the draft, and without thinking, he revealed his plan for the division of labor.He is responsible for all political issues, including the removal and retention of cadres; Li De is responsible for military deployment and combat command; Zhou Enlai is responsible for supervising the implementation of the entire military plan.Li De agreed.Zhou Enlai remained silent.Both Bogu and Li De turned their attention to Zhou Enlai at the same time.

Zhou Enlai thought for a few minutes, then said solemnly: "The matter is of great importance. Shall we draft a plan first, and then submit it to the Politburo or the Secretariat for discussion and voting?" Bogu said: "The central government has entrusted our three-person group with full authority to handle everything. I don't think it is necessary to submit it to the Politburo or the Secretariat for discussion and voting." Li De echoed Bo Gu's words: "For the sake of confidentiality, all plans must be discussed only among the three of us, and no news can be revealed to the outside world."

Zhou Enlai opened his eyes, and asked: "Can't you let out a little bit of information to the outside world, but you can't let out a little bit of information to the Politburo and the Secretariat?" Bogu said: "It should be like this." Li De said: "I can't guarantee that there are no agents of Chiang Kai-shek in Ruijin. Once our detailed transfer plan is known to Chiang Kai-shek, it will be worse for us than the loss of Guangchang!" Zhou Enlai said: "It seems to make sense. But have you considered that the transfer of nearly 100,000 troops cannot be done without anyone noticing and leaving at will!"

"This transfer should not be the transfer of the entire Soviet area." Li De said slowly while smoking a cigar. "Our work focuses on two aspects: on the one hand, we break through the enemy's blockade with the three main armies of Red 1, 3, and 5, and join the Red 2 and 6 armies in western Hunan; on the one hand, we continue to fight in the Central Soviet Area Deploy strategic defenses to ensure that the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Red Corps will return to the Central Soviet Area in the future." "You are just wishful thinking, Chiang Kai-shek will agree with your idea?" Zhou Enlai retorted, "Guangchang fell, the northern gate of the Soviet area will be opened, and once the main force of the Red Army is transferred, Jiang's army will be able to drive straight in, and will soon occupy the entire Soviet area. In addition to keeping a small number of troops in the Soviet area to fight guerrillas and contain the enemy, it is impossible for us to deploy strategic defense. If we must do this, it will not be a strategic transfer, but another division of troops!"

Li De frowned, and turned to Zhou Enlai with a gloomy face: "According to your thinking, are we not going to return to the Soviet area?" "We still have to come back to the Soviet area!" Zhou Enlai said firmly, "However, the most important thing before us is how to preserve our strength, break through the enemy's blockade, jump out of the enemy's encirclement, and avoid annihilation of the entire army. Deploying a strategic defense in the Soviet area means fighting the enemy for consumption, and we will inevitably suffer disaster. Now, we no longer have the strength to fight the enemy head-on!"

The phone rang.The call came from the war room of the Military Commission, and there was important military information to report to Zhou Enlai.After answering the phone, Zhou Enlai frowned, said "I'm sorry" to Bo Gu and Li De, and left in a hurry. After Zhou Enlai left, Li De smoked his cigar sullenly, and asked Bogu just now that he was not happy that he had only asked Zhou Enlai to be in charge of supervising the implementation of the military plan, instead of letting him be in charge of the overall military command.Bo Gu said that Zhou Enlai was not this kind of person.Zhou Enlai is a man of action who has been in charge of practical work in the central government for a long time and has no ambitions for power.If he was a person with a great desire for power, he would have taken the top spot four years ago, and he would never give way to Qu Qiubai.

When the CPSU held its Sixteenth Congress, Stalin appointed Zhou Enlai to speak at the congress on behalf of the CCP delegation.This shows that Stalin not only appreciated Zhou Enlai's talent, but also planned to let Zhou Enlai succeed Li Lisan as the top leader of the CCP.But after returning to China, when arranging the Third Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Zhou Enlai consciously put Qu Qiubai in the first place, and asked Qu Qiubai to give a political report at the meeting, while he only gave a report on the communication of the resolutions of the Communist International.It turned out that Qu Qiubai succeeded Li Lisan, and Zhou Enlai was only Qu Qiubai's deputy.At the Fourth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee, Qu Qiubai was kicked out by Miff, but Zhou Enlai was spared. "I always feel that he has a prejudice against me." Li De's face was full of anxiety. "Although he didn't say it out loud, I still feel that his attitude towards me recently is not as good as before!..." In fact, since the defeat of the Guangchang Battle, not only Zhou Enlai, but also many party and army leaders who had respected Li De before, including Zhu De, Luo Fu, Wang Jiaxiang, etc., all looked at him differently. Li De began to feel this point vaguely.It's just that he doesn't care much about how other people treat him.As for Zhou Enlai's attitude towards him, he can't take it as an ordinary matter.He knows Zhou Enlai's historical background. This person's outstanding talent is well known, and his energy at work is unmatched. up.Li De knew very well what it would mean if he lost the support of such a person. "There are more or less differences of opinion, not to mention any prejudice." Bogu said in a comforting tone, "This person is well-trained and has a strong organizational discipline, and he will not hold any prejudice against you because of differences at work. of." Li De exhaled a long puff of smoke, and said displeasedly: "If according to what he said just now, the entire Soviet area is to be transferred, it is too far from my idea!" Bogu's face was distressed, and he buried his head in silence. According to the internal division of labor in the trio, the transfer plan was drawn up by Li De, and he would not withdraw from the entire Soviet area as Zhou Enlai said.He believes that in doing so, the Central Red Army will become an escape.No, this is a strategic diversion, not an escape.The Central Red Army did not completely abandon the Soviet area, but only temporarily left to make Chiang Kai-shek happy prematurely.The Central Red Army will soon attack the Soviet area.Bogu sighed, with a sad look on his face.If Li De said what he said a few months ago, with his firm support, no one would dare to challenge Li De's absolute authority. But there is an old saying in China, one moment is like that, and the other moment is also.Things have changed now.Due to the defeat in the Guangchang Battle, not to mention the officers at the lower level of the army, even the top leaders of the Central Committee and the Military Commission began to complain about him and Li De. Li De took away the cigar that was about to be delivered to his mouth, and looked at Bogu in surprise.Ever since Bogu handed over the military command to him, he has always been respectful and followed suit.Why did you treat him like this today?Did he even have an opinion about him? "Comrade Li De, we can no longer ignore Comrade Enlai's opinions like before." Bogu thought for a moment and said patiently to Li De. "We are starting preparations for a strategic shift. At this time, the unity of the three-person group is above all else. If the three of us go our own way, go our own way, or even split up, the consequences will be unimaginable! And at this time, it will be unimaginable for us to win Zhou Enlai's support. How important it is to say!" Bo Gu's words were from the bottom of his heart.After nearly a year of practice, he gradually felt that although Li De was excellent in military theory, and he was convincing when it came to tactical issues, Li De was still a foreigner and did not understand China. The actual situation, and the lack of Zhou Enlai's wit, meticulous, tactful, flexible spirit of hard work.The military plans formulated by Li De were all deployed and implemented by Zhou Enlai.Without Zhou Enlai in the three-person group, it would not be able to function at all. Li Demeng smoked his cigar, and after a lot of thinking, he said to Bogu in a compromising tone: "If I personally make concessions to Zhou Enlai, I can maintain the unity of the trio, then I am willing to make such a sacrifice." Bogu turned his worries into joy, and said gratefully to Li De: "It is really a great fortune for our three-person group that you can be so grievous at a critical moment! It is also a great fortune for our party's cause!"