Chapter 27 (2) Get rid of "foreign consultants"

The Red 34th Division was dispersed at Xinxuwen City and failed to cross the Xiangjiang River.A main regiment of the Red 6th Division also failed to cross the Xiangjiang River.It was reported to the outside world that they were staying to fight guerrillas on the east bank of the Xiangjiang River to adjust the enemy.Now, anyone with a discerning eye can tell at a glance that this is pure nonsense. The troops that failed to cross the Xiangjiang River were clearly surrounded by the enemy and wiped out. As a result, the commanders and fighters of the Red Army began to discuss how the foreign consultants commanded, and the entire division was eaten by the enemy. This has never happened before! He was sent by the Communist International!Could it be that the Communist International misjudged the person? ... Several Red Army commanders and fighters who were resting by the side of the mountain road were discussing, but they stopped discussing when they saw Li De coming on horseback.

Li De looked gloomy, he was much thinner than half a month ago, and he looked very weak when riding a horse.Riding up a steep slope, seeing Bogu resting in front of a cave by the road, he dismounted and walked towards Bogu. Seeing Li De coming, Bogu just nodded his head, and the respectful smile he used to have disappeared.At this time, the Central Red Army had more than 86,000 people when it set out from Jiangxi, and lost more than half of it when it broke through the Xiangjiang River, dropping sharply to more than 30,000 people.As the head of the Party Central Committee, how will he explain to the Communist International?For this reason, he was frustrated and helpless.

Li De, smoking a cigar, told Bo Gu that Mao Zedong was moving around these days. He was in this unit today and that unit tomorrow. What did he want to do?This situation should cause vigilance.Bogu didn't think so.In his view, Mao Zedong is now nothing more than an empty-headed chairman of the country marching with the army. What tricks can he come up with? Li De warned Bogu not to be too careless with Mao Zedong. Mao Zedong had recently become intimate with Luo Fu and Wang Jiaxiang.Luo Fu had a disagreement with Bo Gu, and he tried to persuade Luo Fu to reconcile with Bo Gu, but Luo Fu refused.Lian explained that Luo Fu had a deep prejudice against Bo Gu, and the possibility of falling to Mao Zedong was the greatest at this time.Wang Jiaxiang had long intended to be pro-Mao Zedong, but his relationship with them had become increasingly tense recently, and he had already defected to Mao Zedong.If these three people form an alliance, who dares to say that they will not be successful?

Li De analyzed to Bogu that when crossing the Xiangjiang River, the troops suffered some setbacks.If anyone wants to use these setbacks to turn against the trio now, it seems the time has come.Mao Zedong, Luo Fu, and Wang Jiaxiang are doing this.He suggested that Zhou Enlai be brought in, and the trio meet to study countermeasures. At this time, Zhou Enlai was studying the deployment of operations with Zhu De at the Field Command.The field headquarters is located in a small cave on the top of a high mountain. Although there is only one mountain away from the mountain where Bogu and Li De rested, it still takes more than two hours to walk.Since crossing the Xiangjiang River, the work of commanding the troops has been completely undertaken by Zhou Enlai alone.Marching in the mountainous area on the border of Hunan and Guangxi, temporarily escaped from the chasing and interception of a large number of Jiang Jun, but faced the attack of the Guangxi Army.Taking advantage of their familiarity with the terrain, the Gui army adopted guerrilla tactics to attack the Red Army.

Bo Gu called Zhou Enlai and said: "Comrade Li De suggested that we have a meeting right away to study some new situations." Zhou Enlai asked: "What's new?" Bo Gu said: "These days Mao Zedong is moving around, together with Luo Fu and Wang Jiaxiang, they are instigating against our trio! This is a conspiracy! We..." "What are you talking about?" Zhou Enlai interrupted Bogu and said, "How can you say that? Comrades Mao Zedong, Comrade Luo Fu, and Comrades Jiaxiang are all members of the Politburo. It is normal for them to discuss matters together! How can you say yes? What about conspiracy?"

Bogu said: "Comrade Enlai, things are not that simple! Mao Zedong was criticized at the Ningdu meeting and dismissed. He was unconvinced and dreamed of making a comeback; They have resentment against us. They must think that the opportunity to revenge us has come!" Zhou Enlai smiled bitterly and said, "Comrade Bogu, I don't agree with your views! It's a very common question, why do you think it so complicated?" Bo Gu said: "Actually, Comrade Li De reminded me of this matter first. Comrade Li De meant it!" "I don't agree with your point of view. Besides, there is no time for a meeting now." Zhou Enlai frowned, looking a little impatient.He wanted to hang up the phone, but after thinking for a while, he said in a more relaxed tone: "Comrade Bogu, the troops are now being blocked by the Hunan Army and Gui Army every day and night. This place is also very dangerous! How to lead the troops?" Getting out of this place as soon as possible is our top priority!"

After crossing the Xiangjiang River, the Red Army marched towards Yuecheng Ridge and the westward extension area to the west. On December 2, the Military Commission's column crossed the Three Thousand Realms of Yuecheng Ridge and arrived at Huwei Ridge; the Red 1st Corps on the right entered the Yaojiatang and Qingshui River areas in the north of Yuecheng Ridge and east of Qingping Boundary; the Red 3rd Corps on the left In the area from Lutang, Luojiang to Beiwei in the south of Yuechengling; under the cover of the Red 1st Army, the Red 9th Army advanced to the area of ​​Youzaping; Zhai and Jiaochuan areas; the troops of the Red 8th Army crossing the river were scattered in the areas where the 1st, 5th, and 9th Army were located.

Just after crossing the Xiangjiang River, the troops were very tired. The Military Commission decided to rest for a day or two in the west extension area in order to gather troops and move on to fight the enemy.In order to leave Hunan from Dabutou along the route of the 6th Red Army, and then join the 2nd and 6th Red Army, the Military Commission made careful arrangements for the rest.The Red 1st Army is responsible for blocking the enemy from the direction of Quanzhou and guarding the direction of Meixikou Xinning. The Red 3rd Army is responsible for blocking the Gui Army in the direction of Xing'an.

Chiang Kai-shek has ascertained the intention of the Red Army's actions.He was worried that the Central Red Army would go to the west of Hunan and Hubei to join the 2nd and 6th Red Army. In addition to calling Wang Jialie to lead the Qian army to intercept in the east of Guizhou, he also called He Jian and Li Zongren to send troops to chase after him, and at the same time called Xue Yue to lead the main force to pass through Wugang and Zhijiang. Entering Guizhou to prevent the Red Army from rendezvous. When the Red Army assembled in the west extension area, He Jian reorganized his troops and adjusted them into the 1st Corps, 2nd Corps and Reserve Corps.With Liu Jianxu as the commander-in-chief of the 1st Corps, under the jurisdiction of the 1st, 4th, and 5th divisions, there are 7 divisions; with Xue Yue as the commander-in-chief of the 2nd Corps, under the jurisdiction of the 2nd and 3rd divisions, and 8 divisions. A detachment; with Liu Yinggu as the commander-in-chief of the reserve corps, he governs two divisions and one brigade.Use the 1st and 2nd Corps to pursue the Red Army, and the Reserve Corps will deal with the Red 2nd and 6th Corps in western Hunan.

At the same time, the Guangxi faction also reorganized the five divisions of its two armies, with Xia Wei, the deputy commander of the 15th Army, as the commander of the first pursuit team, under the jurisdiction of the 43rd and 44th divisions; Liao Lei, the commander, was the commander of the 2nd pursuit team, under the jurisdiction of the 19th and 24th divisions; the 45th division of the 15th army stayed behind. At that time, both the Hunan and Guangxi factions judged that the Red Army would leave the city from Dabutou via Chetian.He Jian ordered the 15 divisions and detachments of his 1st and 2nd Corps to quickly move to Xinning, Chengbu, Suining, and Wugang in an attempt to cooperate with the Guangxi Army in chasing and blocking the Red Army.Among them, the 1st Corps pursued with one division, two divisions were stationed in Wugang, three divisions intercepted the Red Army along the Meixikou via Xinning to Chengbu, and the other division went out of Hongjiang to prepare for the attack.Eight divisions and one detachment of the 2nd Corps assembled towards Wugang.The Gui army pursued the Red Army with the 1st pursuit team at the left rear, and the 2nd pursuit team entered Longsheng.On the surface, the Gui army seems to be cooperating with He Jian, but in fact, it is forcing the Red Army to leave Guangxi as soon as possible, and to prevent the Red Army from returning to Longsheng and Sanjiang, threatening Liuzhou.

At this time, Zhou Enlai, who had initially got rid of Li De and actually commanded the Red Army's operations, immediately discussed with Zhu De after learning of the changes in the enemy's situation, and made a decisive decision on December 3 to break away from the enemy and continue westward, and gave up going out of Hunan from the west extension area. The original plan was to go westward to the Yuechengling Mountains. The Military Commission sent a telegram to the heads of the various regiments and columns, saying that Jiang's army in Quanzhou had about one division and occupied Dabutou on the 3rd.The Guangxi line in Quanzhou lost one, took the lead on the 2nd, and did not attack Lujiangyu (Luojiang) on ​​the 3rd.It is estimated that the main forces of the 16th and 19th Divisions of the Jiang Army in Quanzhou will pursue us through Dabutou; the main forces of the Guangxi faction will pursue from Xing'an, Darong Jiangkou, and Lingchuan to Longsheng in parallel, and attempt to intercept them in Longsheng; Xiang Huajiang will be his assisted pursuit.Our field army is now determined to separate from the enemy and continue westward.Its task is to try our best to delay the pursuit of the enemy with a part of our army, while the main force will open up a road to the west and restrain the enemy in Hunan and Guangxi who are trying to intercept our flank.My way forward is to go north through Xiaoli, Xishanling, Sheshui, Pishui, Ai to the north of Longsheng, south through Fengmu Mountain, Guangtang, Qianjia Temple, Zhongdong to Longsheng and in the middle from Fengmu Mountain to the edge of Tangfang , the roads of the Liangdu Bridge. The next day, it was decided to enter the south of the passage and the Boyangsuo and Chang'an Fort areas.The Military Commission sent a telegram to the heads of the corps and columns saying that after the 16th Division of the Jiang Army occupied Dabu, it is estimated that the main force of the Hunan enemy will go out of the city, Suining, and the passage to intercept me.One of them will follow my right column and chase after it.The Guangxi enemy may attack the left side of our army from Darongjiangkou and Longsheng.With the aim of continuing to advance westward to the south of the channel and the Boyangsuo and Chang'an Fort areas, our field army has decided to adjust the military deployment on the evening of the 5th: the main force of the First Army and the Ninth Army should advance to the Sheshui, Fengshui, and Chaping areas The main force of the Three Army Corps should enter the Zhongdong area; the second column of the Military Commission will advance to the Zhongdong area with the Three Army Corps; the first column of the Military Commission will enter the Tangdong, the source area; . Due to the ability to adjust the military deployment in time, the Red Army, which has just passed through the fierce battle on the Xiangjiang River and is still fatigued, can avoid fighting the enemy head-on under unfavorable conditions. The plan to attack the Red Army fell through. The three provinces of Guangxi, Guangdong, and Guizhou have common interests in the cultivation, distribution and marketing of opium tobacco.At this time, the Guangxi faction saw that Chiang Kai-shek's direct troops were assembled on the line from Wugang to Hongjiang, and the Hunan Army deployed heavy troops on the lines of Chengbu, Suining, and Jingxian. Southeast Guizhou was extremely empty.However, Chiang Kai-shek restricted the Guangxi army from entering Guizhou.Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi could tell at a glance that He Jian intended to protect himself, and Chiang Kai-shek intended to seek Guizhou.Once Guizhou fell into the hands of Chiang Kai-shek, Guangxi would not only lose its main source of income, but would also be a military threat. Therefore, the warlords of Guangdong and Guangxi jointly invited Chiang Kai-shek to go to Guizhou to pursue the Red Army through secret businessmen.Of course, Chiang Kai-shek would not be fooled by the warlords of Guangdong and Guangxi, and he had already seen through their ulterior motives.Then he ordered his descendant, Xue Yue, to enter Guizhou concurrently, and appointed Xue Yue as the director of appeasement in Guizhou.Chiang Kai-shek took the lead, and the warlords of Guangdong and Guangxi were helpless.The competition for interests within the Jiang army prevented them from concentrating on dealing with the Red Army, resulting in an empty state in southeast Guizhou, which was very beneficial for the Red Army to enter Guizhou. After crossing the Xiangjiang River and entering Laoshanjie, Mao Zedong, Luo Fu, and Wang Jiaxiang marched together and began to criticize the trio.Zhou Enlai was very clear about these situations. Criticism is mainly aimed at two aspects. One is that the failure since the fifth counter-campaign against "encirclement and suppression" was caused by strategic and tactical mistakes in military leadership. The policy of destroying a part or most of Jiang's army and defeating Jiang's army one by one; one is to turn the strategic shift into a big move, so that the combat team becomes a cover team, and the heavy burden drags down the entire army. Lost troops and lost generals. In this regard, Zhou Enlai was not as surprised as Bogu and Li De.He believes that it is normal for there to be differences of opinion and debate within the party.As for Mao Zedong and the others criticizing the Three-member Group, as long as this kind of criticism is carried out openly, no matter how sharp the criticism is, it is not surprising.The fifth counter-campaign against "encirclement and suppression" was indeed a failure, and the strategic transfer operation did suffer a major setback in the Xiangjiang River. However, as a member of the three-person group, Zhou Enlai could not be completely calm about the criticism from Mao Zedong and the others. He also had to bear certain responsibilities for the failure of the fifth counter-campaign against "encirclement and suppression" and the major setbacks suffered since the transfer of the Western Expedition.Although in terms of strategy and tactics, his views on many specific issues are different from those of Bogu and Li De, and there have been many disputes because of this, but when he was at a disadvantage with one vote against two votes, in order to preserve internal unity, he could only Yield to Bo Gu and Li De to implement a decision that he does not support. Now, when the army suffers a major setback and both Bogu and Li De are frowning, he has to bear the responsibility for the failure on the one hand, and on the other hand direct the troops out of danger and complete the historical mission of strategic transfer.At this time, his heavy responsibility and psychological pressure are unmatched in the party and army. Besides Zhou Enlai, who else can take on this important task at this time?