Chapter 40 (2) Zhang Guotao fights for power

When the First Red Army and the Fourth Front Army joined forces, Zhang Guotao's qualifications in the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China can be said to be unmatched. During the "May 4th" Movement, he was the student leader of Peking University. He was elected as the director of the central organization during the "1st National Congress" of the party. Together with Chen Duxiu and Li Da, the director of propaganda, he was the first three central leaders of the Communist Party of China.From the "1st" to "6th" of the party, he was a member of the Central Committee and a member of the Politburo, and he joined the Central Standing Committee many times. After being sent by the central government to the Hubei, Henan, Anhui and Soviet Areas in April 1931, he began to take power there and stand alone.While Zhu Mao's Red Army was organized into the First Front Army, the troops he led were organized into the Fourth Front Army. At this time, there were more than 80,000 troops, three times more than the Red Front Army.

He moved his base areas twice, the first time he moved from the Hubei-Henan-Anhui border area to Shaanxi, and the second time he moved from Shaanxi to the Sichuan-Shanxi border.He was the chairman of the Northwest Revolutionary Military Committee at the time. Among the two vice-chairmen, Xu Xiangqian was the commander-in-chief of the Red Fourth Front Army, and Chen Changhao was the political commissar; the deputy commander-in-chief of the Front Army was Wang Shusheng.At this time, he and Zhou Enlai were the only members of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee elected at the First Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held in Moscow.Other leaders, including Mao Zedong, Luo Fu, Zhu De, Bogu, Wang Jiaxiang, etc., were by-elected into the Central Committee and Politburo only after the First Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee.Therefore, in his mind, except for Zhou Enlai who can compete with him, he doesn't pay attention to the rest.

After the Lianghekou meeting, the troops should capture Songpan in accordance with the decision of the meeting and clear away the obstacles to going north.But Zhang Guotao stood still.He clearly knew that the Red Front Army and the central government were concentrated between Maogong and Lianghekou at this time. This area centered on Maogong was surrounded by deep mountains and poor valleys for thousands of miles, sparsely populated, and difficult to provide for.The situation is similar from both sides of the Dadu River to the vicinity of Mount Emei.As for Xikang Province, the situation is even worse.If the Red Army stays in this area and Jiang Jun blocks the upper reaches of the Minjiang River, it will be even more difficult to go north in the future.Therefore, at the Lianghekou meeting, he also agreed with Zhou Enlai on behalf of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee's proposal that the Red Army continue to march northward and establish a revolutionary base in the Sichuan-Shaanxi-Gansu border region.After the meeting, he thought it over and felt that for him, the army's northward movement was not the top priority, and the distribution of power was an important issue that should be urgently resolved.Although the central government added him, Chen Changhao, and Xu Xiangqian to the Military Commission, he believed that this was far from enough. The mere entry into the Military Commission was just a name, and the real power was still in the hands of others.How can I obey others and be at the mercy of others with strong soldiers and horses under my own hands!The more he thought about it, the more indignant he felt.

In order to find out the strength of the Red Army on the one hand and the relationship between the leaders of the central government, Zhang Guotao sent his secretary Huang Chao to spy on it.Huang Chao has followed Zhang Guotao for many years. He is smooth and capable in handling things. He has won Zhang Guotao's trust and respect, and is Zhang Guotao's confidant.He played all kinds of tricks, and he did not disgrace his mission. He quickly grasped the strength of the army on the one hand and the relationship between the leaders of the central government. Huang Chao came back and reported to Zhang Guotao and Chen Changhao what he had heard about the situation of the Red Front Army.He said that the Red Front Army dispersed the armies, apparently to guard against them and prevent them from knowing the strength of the Red Front Army.Although the Red Front Army had been on guard for a long time, and the arrangements were more careful, they still couldn't hide it from his eyes.Although he couldn't get the exact figure for a while, he dared to conclude that the current strength of the Red Army on the one hand was between 20,000 and 30,000, and it would never exceed 30,000.As the main force, Lin Biao's 1st Army and Peng Dehuai's 3rd Army, each with only 3 to 4 thousand people, is equivalent to a division of the Red Fourth Front Army. The 5th Army and the 9th Army are even fewer, which are only equal to the strength of a regiment of the Red Fourth Front Army.

When Zhang Guotao asked about the equipment of the Red Front Army, Huang Chao said that the equipment of the Red Front Army was unimaginably poor. They looked like an army, no different from beggars!They lost all their heavy equipment, and now each company only has one or two light machine guns, and some companies don't even have a light machine gun.Most soldiers only have a few bullets on their bodies, and many soldiers have no bullets for a long time.Chen Changhao also said that even leaders like Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai of the Red Army were dressed in rags, how good would the troops they lead be!After hearing Huang Chao's report, Zhang Guotao concluded that the Red Army on the one hand could not fight at all now.Chen Changhao said that such a team would not be able to fight Jiang Jun, and that the future battles would all depend on the Red Fourth Front Army.Thinking of this, they became indignant. Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai suffered consecutive defeats and beat the Red Front Army like this. Why should the Red Fourth Front Army be at their mercy in the end?

Huang Chao said: "Then we, Chairman Zhang, have to show a high style and obey their leadership regardless of personal position!" Zhang Guotao sneered and said: "My personal position is a trivial matter. The key question is that they have fought so many defeats and turned an already very strong army into what it is now. How can we obey them? Even if I, Zhang Guotao, can figure it out alone, can our more than 80,000 soldiers of the Fourth Front Army figure it out?" Chen Changhao said: "Chairman Zhang is right, we can't take orders from them, absolutely not! How to fight in the future, we have to follow our way."

Zhang Guotao is most concerned about who holds the actual military power of the central government.According to Huang Chao's recent inquiries, Hui reported: "When they left Jiangxi for transfer, a three-person regiment composed of Bogu, Li De, and Zhou Enlai was in charge of everything. Because of the defeat, the troops suffered heavy losses when they crossed the Xiangjiang River. , asked to change the military command. The Politburo meeting was held in Zunyi, Bogu and Li De were replaced, Zhou Enlai’s original position was retained, and Mao Zedong was added to the military command. Later, a three-person regiment composed of Zhou Enlai, Mao Zedong, and Wang Jiaxiang was established. Fully responsible for commanding the military.”

Hearing what Huang Chao said, Zhang Guotao concluded that the central military command was in the hands of Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai.Chen Changhao was a little puzzled, thinking that from the perspective of organizational form, Mao Zedong was only the chairman of the government and a member of the Military Commission, and he did not have important positions in the army.According to his understanding, in the army on the one hand, all military issues are decided by Zhou Enlai.Zhang Guotao smiled and said: "You don't understand the mystery! It stands to reason that Zhu De is the chairman of the Military Commission and the commander-in-chief of the Red Army, so he should have the final say, but he only plays the role of the former enemy commander-in-chief. Zhou Enlai and Mao Zedong were the decision-makers. I know Zhou Enlai very well. He does practical work, has no desire for power, and does not fight for power. I can conclude that he must have given way to Mao Zedong.”

Chen Changhao said: "They can't let them occupy all the power. Chairman Zhang, in the central leadership, our Fourth Front Army must occupy at least half of the country!" Zhang Guotao said: "I want to fight for these rights. I will fight for our entire Fourth Front Army. The defeated generals are not brave enough. How can we obey their orders?" Chen Changhao said: "We ask the central government to hold a meeting to discuss the issue of unified military leadership." Zhang Guotao believes that this matter is very important, but it should not be rushed.He asked Chen Changhao to go to his old classmates Luo Fu and Wang Jiaxiang in Moscow, and first understand the specific situation within the Central Committee and the Red Front Army.If possible, pull them over to increase their strength and increase the weight to compete with Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai.Chen Changhao reassured Zhang Guotao that this matter would not be a problem because it was his responsibility.Zhang Guotao told Huang Chao to continue his activities in the Red Front Army. They are a bunch of poor ghosts now. If you give them a little favor, they will be grateful.He emphatically mentioned that it is necessary to do everything possible to contact army-level commanders like Lin Biao, Peng Dehuai, and Nie Rongzhen, and win over these people as much as possible.

In order to achieve the goal of fighting for power, Zhang Guotao not only sent his cronies to the Central Committee and the Red Front Army to carry out activities, but he also went out personally. On July 6, he approached Li Fuchun, the head of the delegation who came to express condolences to the commanders and fighters of the Fourth Front Army of the Red Army on behalf of the Central Committee, and Li Fuchun, the deputy director of the Red Army General Political Department in charge of organizational work, and proposed to solve the organizational problem.He strongly demanded that after the two armies join forces, they must first solve the organizational problem of unified military command, otherwise, they will not be able to command operations in a unified manner, and they will not be able to capture Songpan and eliminate Hu Zongnan with confidence.

Li Fuchun was puzzled by Zhang Guotao's request.The Standing Committee of the Central Committee decided to add Zhang Guotao as vice chairman of the Military Commission, and Comrades Xu Xiangqian and Chen Changhao as members of the Military Commission. Isn't the organizational problem of unified military command solved?Zhang Guotao said that adding the three of them to the Military Commission would solve the organizational problem of unified military command, which would be too simple.Besides, the Military Commission is a decision-making body, and if there are no comrades from the Red Fourth Front Army in the commanding body, it will be difficult to unify the command.Therefore, he proposed that the Red Army headquarters should be adjusted so as to truly reflect the unified military command organization.He suggested that Xu Xiang be the deputy commander-in-chief of the Red Army and Chen Changhao be the chief political commissar.Zhang Guotao wants Chen Changhao to replace Zhou Enlai!Li Fuchun was very surprised.Zhang Guotao naturally had a well-thought-out plan, and told Li Fuchun the plan to adjust the Central Military Commission and the Red Army Headquarters.He suggested that the Central Military Commission could set up a standing committee, and that Zhou Enlai, Mao Zedong, and others would specialize in planning strategic issues in the standing committee of the Military Commission, and not directly participate in command.This adjustment can reflect the unified military command and is also conducive to the next step of military operations. Li Fuchun felt that this matter was of great importance, and it had to be decided by the members of the Standing Committee of the Central Committee.He is just a deputy director of the General Political Department, why did Zhang Guotao come to tell him these things?Zhang Guotao said that he was in charge of the organization, and his words carried a lot of weight.Li Fuchun did not dare to express his opinion, and reported the situation to the central government in time. Under the instigation of Zhang Guotao, the Sichuan-Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China came forward and called the Central Committee on July 9, suggesting that in order to "unify the command and act quickly and attack the enemy, the general headquarters must be strengthened", and Chen Changhao was proposed to be the general political commissar; the military commission Set up a Standing Committee to decide on military strategy issues, and urged the Political Bureau of the Central Committee to "make a quick decision."Only one day later, Zhang Guotao impatiently proposed to the Central Committee that "our army should solve the organizational issue of unified command quickly." On the 16th and 18th, under Zhang Guotao's instigation, Chen Changhao called the Central Military Commission: "I firmly advocate the centralization of military leadership, otherwise I will not be able to successfully destroy the enemy. I still ask Tao to be the chairman of the Military Commission, Zhu to be the commander of the former enemy, and vice chairman Zhou." He is also the chief of staff. After the Central Political Bureau shows the big policy, it will be given to the Military Commission to make arbitrary decisions." Zhang Guotao's momentum in fighting for power is aggressive.