Chapter 8 4. Lost Li Chuan, Xiao Jinguang was taken to a military court

Li De wrote in the book "China Chronicle": "In the fifth counter-campaign against 'encirclement and suppression', Xiao Jinguang gave up without a fight, led his independent troops to retreat hastily, and left the local troops at the mercy of fate." At that time, "Red China" made a sensational report, saying: "Xiao Jinguang gave the red city of Lichuan and some military supplies exchanged by the Red Army to the enemy, acting as the enemy's internal response." In January 1934, Bogu, the provisional general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and Li De, the military advisor of the Communist International, carried out a public trial and sentenced Xiao Jinguang, the political commissar of the Seventh Red Army Corps, in the Supreme Temporary Military Court of Ruijin on the basis of this "crime".This was the sensational "Lichuan Incident".

At the beginning of the "Big Battle", both Chiang Kai-shek and Bo Gu took a fancy to Li Chuan.Lichuan is located in the northeast of Ruijin, adjacent to Fujian, and is the northern gate of the Central Soviet Area.It is not only the junction of the Central Soviet Area and the Fujian, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi Soviet Areas, but also the confluence of Chiang Kai-shek's encirclement of the Eastern and Western Fronts of the Central Soviet Area. The Fujian-Jiangxi Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Military Region Headquarters are located in Lichuan. The Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee is Gu Zuolin, the Chairman of the Provincial Soviet Government is Shao Shiping, and the Commander of the Provincial Military Region is Xiao Jinguang.

With the enemy at hand, disagreements arose within the CCP as to whether or not to use Lichuan City.Regardless of the fact that the enemy is strong and we are weak, Bo Gu and Li De insisted on "defending the enemy outside the country" and demanded to stick to Li Chuan.Mao Zedong, who was deprived of his military command, advocated abandoning Lichuan, luring the enemy to Jianning and Taining in Fujian, concentrating the main force of the Red Army, and destroying the enemy during the campaign. Xiao Jinguang, head of the frontline military in Lichuan, agreed with Mao Zedong.He gave power to the former general manager, suggesting to let go of the empty city and attack the enemy from the side.

However, the opinions of Mao Zedong and Xiao Jinguang were not considered at all, and Xiao Jinguang received the order to "stick to Lichuan." In mid-September 1933, three divisions of the enemy Zhou Hunyuan approached the city of Lichuan. Just a week before Lichuan was in an emergency, Xiao Jinguang's main force was transferred by Bogu. The 19th Division went to Fujian, and another independent division participated in the Battle of Saltpeter. Lichuan only had a teaching team of 70 people and some local guerrillas. Team. In a few days, the Fujian-Jiangxi Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Soviet Government led their agencies to withdraw from Lichuan City.

Zhou Hun had no three divisions, and was cautious at first, but later discovered the secret of the "empty city", so he boldly attacked. Xiao Jinguang couldn't "defend to the death", and led the teaching team to withdraw from Lichuan and retreat to Xikou, sixty miles away. On September 28, Lichuan fell. Lost in Lichuan, Xiao Jinguang has not been "questioned" for a while, because the reasons are not sufficient.Seventy people resisted three divisions, and it was impossible to justify it. Xiao Jinguang was called to Ruijin to accept the task.According to the Central Revolutionary Military Commission's decision to reorganize small regiments and small divisions into regular troops of large regiment masters, Xiao Jinguang was ordered to form the Red Seventh Army based on the former Red Tenth Army in Northeast Jiangxi, the Independent Division in Northern Fujian, and the Fujian-Jiangxi Military Region under his leadership. On October 28, 1933, the Red Seventh Army was formally established. Xunhuaizhou was appointed as the head of the army, Xiao Jinguang was appointed as the political commissar.

On November 10, 1933, the "former general" of the Red Front Army issued an order to "recover the Red Lichuan", requiring Xiao Jinguang to lead the Seventh Red Army Corps to cooperate with Peng Dehuai's Third Red Army Corps to attack Huwan, the outer stronghold of Lichuan.However, in the battle of Huwan, instead of "making up for his mistakes", Xiao Jinguang suffered another defeat. After Huwan's defeat, Xiao Jinguang was called to Jianning, Fujian, where the "former president" is located. Before the conversation, a person in charge of the "former president" handed Xiao Jinguang a copy of "Iron Fist", which is the frontline publication of the "former president."After receiving "Iron Fist", Xiao Jinguang was taken aback. The general title of the publication was "Anti-Xiao Jinguang Opportunism" special issue, and it contained articles by Gu Zuolin, secretary of the Fujian-Jiangxi Provincial Party Committee, and three others.

In fact, the "opportunistic" struggle to criticize Xiao Jinguang has already begun, but he is still in the dark. A week ago, the Political Department of the Red Front Army held a meeting of party members and cadres to fight against "opportunism" represented by Xiao Jinguang.The person in charge of the Red Army headquarters personally attended and presided over the meeting. At the meeting, "the vacillating nature of Xiao Jinguang's opportunism was exposed" and "the evils caused by this opportunistic line", "the venue was full of fighting spirit", and it was emphasized that the struggle against "Xiao Jinguang's opportunism" should go deep into every branch Every party member and even every Red Army soldier went.

Gu Zuolin wrote critical articles as Secretary of the Fujian-Jiangxi Provincial Party Committee.The article said: Although the fall of Lichuan was caused by our many mistakes, Xiao Jinguang was actually directly responsible. At that time, not only did Xiao Jinguang have one division strong enough to stop the enemy from the saltpeter line, but the local troops and masses near Lichuan could also extensively develop guerrilla warfare and fortify the wall to clear the country to stop the enemy from advancing. Xiao Jinguang is the most typical representative of the Luo Ming line in the Red Army...

After reading "Iron Fist", Xiao Jinguang felt unspeakable resentment. "What does this mean?!" Xiao Jinguang asked, "The loss of Lichuan, the loss of Huwan, what is the reason, did the former president investigate? The matter is not clear, the problem is settled, and the critical article has come out, and so quickly, It's only been two days. Isn't this already prepared." "I'm opportunistic?! I don't think this style of play is right." Xiao Jinguang was not convinced, and defended sharply. "You should obey the party's decision." The former general manager made a final decision. "Although the facts may be different, the party has decided to launch a struggle against the right opportunist line represented by you in the army in order to educate the whole party and the whole army."

"If I don't tell the facts, what else can I say." Xiao Jinguang said. After the conversation, Xiao Jinguang was detained. Xiao Jinguang, a group of "former presidents", was followed by the Fujian and Jiangxi provincial committees. At the first meeting of representatives of workers, peasants and soldiers of Fujian and Jiangxi provinces, Shao Shiping, chairman of the Provincial Soviet Government, accused Xiao Jinguang of leading the "opportunistic Luo Ming line", which made "Red Lichuan fall into the enemy's hands and caused a stain in the history of the work of the Provincial Revolutionary Committee".The meeting emphasized that government workers who retreated and fled like Xiao Jinguang "should be blamed."

Peng Dehuai first complained about Xiao Jinguang's grievances. He ran to the "former president" and said: "Xiao Jinguang is not to blame for the defeat in the Huwan battle. It is not his responsibility. How did this battle be directed? The Red Army rushed to Huwan, The enemy has planes, armored vehicles, and forest fortifications, and all the advantages are taken by others..." In fact, after Huwan lost the first battle, Bo Gu and Li De wanted to take the opportunity to punish Peng Dehuai.They got rid of Teng Daiyuan, political commissar of the Third Red Army, and Luo Ronghuan, director of the Political Department of the First Red Army, and they wanted to get rid of Peng Dehuai as well.Because Peng Dehuai was too influential, he dared not do anything.In order to oppose "opportunism" in the army and attack those who supported Mao Zedong's line, Xiao Jinguang was arrested and operated on. For Bo Gu and Li De, it was difficult to understand why Xiao Jinguang, who had been to the Soviet Union twice and graduated from the Lenin Military and Political Academy of the Soviet Union, was not keen on regular warfare and was obsessed with guerrilla warfare. Xiao Jinguang joined the Chinese Communist Youth League in 1920 and became a member of the Communist Party of China in 1922.When Lenin died, he, together with Ren Bishi, Liu Shaoqi and others, guarded Lenin's coffin as a representative of the Eastern nation.He participated in the Northern Expedition and served as the party representative of the Sixth Division of the National Revolutionary Army. In 1930, he returned from the Soviet Union and was sent to the Central Soviet Area. He served as the chief of staff and director of the Political Department of the Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi Military Region, the principal of the Red Army School, and the political commissar of the Fifth Red Army.In the anti-"encirclement and suppression" war, Xiao Jinxian quickly realized that Mao Zedong's military thought was more suitable for China's national conditions than what he learned in the Soviet Military Academy.Therefore, he became a staunch supporter and executor of Mao Zedong's line.At the beginning of the fifth counter-campaign against "encirclement and suppression", in order to fully implement their military line, Bogu and Li De took advantage of the "Lichuan Incident" to "operate" in the army, arrested and dealt with a group of people.Decades later, when talking about this matter, Xiao Jinguang said: "The issue of the 'Lichuan Incident' is not me personally, it is not an isolated incident, but the opposition to the 'Luo Ming Line' and the 'Jiangxi Luo Ming Line'. Continuation of the army." "Anti-Jiangxi Luo Ming's line" reversed the "big four" - Deng Mao Xiegu, and Bo Gu said there were "four small" - Xiao Jinguang, Li Jingquan, Chen Zhengren, and Yu Zehong. Li Jingquan once served as Secretary-General of the Political Commissar Office of the General Command of the Red Army, Director of the Political Department of the Division, and Political Commissar of the Division; Chen Zhengren was the Organization Director of the Jiangxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Committee, and the Vice Chairman of the Provincial Soviet Government; Yu Zehong was the Secretary of the Jianning Central County Committee , Jian (Ning) Li (Chuan) Tai (Ning) Military Division Political Commissar and Jianning Garrison Political Commissar. Bogu called his name, and they all had to be punished. After Xiao Jinguang was escorted to Ruijin, the central government held a meeting of party activists to carry out "cruel struggle and merciless blow" against Xiao Jinguang. Bogu made a long report at the meeting, proposing to carry out the struggle against "retreatism" and "guerrillaism" in the army.Anyone who does not understand or implements the temporary central military line is "Right opportunism". After this meeting, the "activists" carried out Bogut's report in the army. For a while, they made alarmist talk about Xiao Jinguang's struggle, and posted the slogan and slogan "Down with Chiang Kai-shek's running dog Xiao Jinguang" first shouted by Bo Gu, and also used various forms such as newspapers, comics, and dramas to criticize and fight against Xiao Jinguang with great fanfare.Bogu felt that this was not "cruel" or "ruthless" enough. He said to Xiao Jinguang: "The party decided to put you on public trial." On the morning of January 4, 1934, the Supreme Temporary Military Court of Ruijin held a public trial against Xiao Jinguang. The scale of the public trial was large and the atmosphere was tense. It was the first time in the Central Soviet Area. Representatives from the Central Committee and various rear agencies and nearly a thousand people attended the meeting.After a while of slogans, the clerk announced the indictment against Xiao Jinguang. There are two "crimes": the fall of Lichuan and the "losing of wounded soldiers" in the Huwan battle. Before the public trial, the military court did not conduct a preliminary trial, so Xiao Jinguang did not know what crime he was guilty of. After reading the indictment, the executive chairman asked Xiao Jinguang what he could say.Xiao Jinguang was puzzled, and defended himself in front of everyone: "Li Chuan fell and went to Huwan to fight. For a month, I was not held accountable, and I was asked to form the Red Seventh Army. I was dismissed and investigated. The crime was the failure of the battle at Huwan, so how could it be said that Lichuan was lost?" The initial "crime" against Xiao Jinguang was Huwan's defeat, but in this battle Xiao Jinguang was only cooperating with the three armies to fight, not the commander-in-chief, and it didn't make sense to bear the overall responsibility or all the responsibilities, and Peng Dehuai didn't blame Xiao Jinguang either.Therefore, Li De said to Bo Gu: "If Li Chuan falls, Xiao Jinguang must be blamed." The executive chairman asked again: "Anyway, did you lose Li Chuan?" Xiao Jinguang continued to argue: "All my troops have been transferred away. The enemy has three divisions. I only have a teaching team of 70 people. How can I hold it? When I was almost surrounded by the enemy, I led the team out of Lichuan City. , what's wrong with that?" "Why not mobilize the masses?" asked again. "The provincial party committee and the provincial government have withdrawn, how can I mobilize the masses? Even if the masses are mobilized, how can they deal with the enemy with guns and cannons with bare hands?..." The Executive Chairman of the General Assembly has nothing to say. "As for the wounded soldiers," Xiao Jinguang continued to defend: "We had more than 300 casualties in the Bajiao Pavilion. I sent a battalion from Zhou Zikun's division to escort the wounded through the enemy-occupied area to the rear. They were attacked by the enemy on the way, and more than a dozen wounded fell behind. , most of the others have safely reached the rear base..." According to Xiao Jinguang, the two "crimes" were not established.The crowd who started shouting slogans without knowing the truth also stopped talking. Without sufficient reason, the executive chairman of the conference announced the results of the public trial: Xiao Jinguang was expelled from the party and military, and sentenced to five years in prison without the right to appeal. Mao Zedong did not know about the public trial of Xiao Jinguang.Although he is the chairman of the central government and a member of the Central Revolutionary Military Commission, the Military Commission has never held a meeting to discuss this matter.Bogu said to Li De: "Don't talk about this issue in the Central Military Commission. Mao Zedong is very sensitive about it. They all follow the same line." He also said: "Xiao Jinguang is a close fellow of Mao Zedong." After the public trial, Mao Zedong learned of this situation.He was very angry and said: "To beat Xiao Jinguang is to kill a chicken for monkeys to see, and to beat Xiao Jinguang is to beat me." Mao Zedong entrusted He Zizhen to see Xiao Jinguang, and conveyed the words: the fall of Lichuan was caused by the "Left" military line, and it was right to withdraw from Lichuan. Li De was very dissatisfied with Xiao Jinguang's treatment. He said to Bo Gu, "Five years' imprisonment is too light. I want to make an example and shoot Xiao Jinguang." Prior to this, Mai Nong, political commissar of the 5th Division and 14th Regiment of the Red Third Regiment, had been sentenced to death by the military court for his defeat in Huwan. This issue was brought up for discussion at the Central Military Commission.Mao Zedong firmly disagreed and tried his best to protect Xiao Jinguang.Wang Jiaxiang also disagreed, and he refused to sign the document.Wang Jiaxiang is not only the vice chairman of the CCP Military Commission, but also the director of the General Political Department of the Red Army. Under the protection of Mao Zedong, Wang Jiaxiang and others, Xiao Jinguang not only survived, but was also released and worked as a teacher at the Red Army University. Xiao Jinguang never expected that the situation would change like this.A "criminal" went to be a teacher at the Red Army University!Decades later, when he talked about this matter, he said with emotion: "I was released and I can live to this day because of the resolute struggle between Mao Zedong and other comrades and the 'Left' dogmatists. If there were no leading comrades like the Central Committee I was probably killed. Many good comrades were attacked at that time, and how many good comrades were wrongly killed. I am a survivor." Red Army University is located on a hillside more than ten miles away from Ruijin County.It used to be deserted.The students built rows of thatched huts by themselves. The Red Army University was set up according to Li De and Bogu's ideas, so from the guiding ideology to the teaching methods, it almost all imitated the Soviet Red Army School.The headmaster was Zhang Zongxun, who was later appointed by He Changgong. It is interesting to say that Xiao Jinguang, Song Shilun, Zhou Qidi, Su Jin, Feng Dafei and other senior Red Army commanders who made serious "mistakes" have now become faculty members of the Red Army University. In the autumn of 1934, the situation in the Central Soviet Area became increasingly tense, and the Red Army retreated steadily. Xiao Jinguang's mood became more and more heavy. On October 10, Xiao Jinguang participated in the Long March with the troops. In January 1935, Xiao Jinguang arrived in Zunyi City.That night, Zhou Enlai made an appointment with him.Zhou Enlai held Xiao Jinguang's hand and said: "This meeting of the central government has rehabilitated you. You have made a mistake in the past. The central government canceled your punishment, decided to restore your party and military membership, and rescheduled your work. .” After crossing Chishui four times, Xiao Jinguang was sent to Peng Dehuai's Red Army to replace Ye Jianying as the chief of staff of the army. After liberation, Xiao Jinguang took on the important task of establishing the People's Navy, served as the commander of the Navy, and was awarded the rank of general in 1955.