October 1960, Beijing. In the study of his Zhongnanhai residence, Mao Zedong met with an old friend from the West, the American writer Edgar Snow. Among Mao Zedong's few foreign friends, Snow was undoubtedly the one with the deepest friendship.Mao Zedong will never forget that in 1936, he led the First Front Army of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, which had just completed the 25,000-mile Long March, arrived in northern Shaanxi after going through untold hardships, and faced Chiang Kai-shek's military siege.At that difficult time, the young American reporter Snow resolutely came to Yan'an to interview him and the Red Army soldiers, risking his life.In the dim cave dwelling, under the dim candlelight, Mao Zedong and Snow chatted all night long.Mao Zedong's legendary experience and the story of the heroic battle of the Red Army fascinated this curious American.Snow truthfully recorded what he saw and heard in the Red Zone, and wrote it in the book "Red Star Shines Over China".Since then, Mao Zedong's name has spread all over the world, and the Red Army's Long March is like a heroic epic, which is deeply admired by future generations.

The reunion after 24 years made them very excited. Mao Zedong and Snow talked for several days and lasted for nine hours. "We talked about things that have happened over the years, as well as some things that haven't happened yet." Snow recalled that Mao appeared "calmly, with steady movements, and could quickly grasp the subtle meanings in other people's words. Shimmering, but with a mocking smile. He has an infectious laugh and a penchant for witty conversation." The atmosphere of the conversation was friendly and pleasant, but Snow, with his professional sensitivity, detected some hidden worries deep in Mao Zedong's heart. "At that time, China was in economic difficulties, which was caused by the cruel combination of natural disasters and man-made disasters in China. Soviet experts were suddenly withdrawn, and the supply of industrial machinery was interrupted. The contracts of more than 300 key projects were suddenly torn up For the second year in a row, agriculture was hit by floods and droughts, with almost half the crops partially or totally destroyed. Large-scale famine was averted only by strict rationing."

So Snow asked Mao Zedong a question, a question that only Snow dared to ask: "When was the darkest moment in your life?" Unexpectedly, Mao Zedong replied that it was the struggle between Cao Di and Zhang Guotao during the Long March in 1935. "At the time the party was facing splits and even a civil war with an uncertain future." At this time, in a hut in a crowded slum area in Hong Kong, a poor old man is writing his long memoir, "My Memories" word by word.This person who was prominent in the history of the Chinese revolution was a representative of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China, a member of the Sixth Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, a member of the Standing Committee, secretary of the Hubei, Henan and Anhui Central Branch of the Communist Party of China and chairman of the Revolutionary Military Committee, and a member of the Chinese Soviet Union. Zhang Guotao, Vice President of the Republic and General Political Commissar of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army.The struggle with Mao Zedong on the grass during the Long March turned out to be a turning point in his political career, from a leader of the 100,000 Red Army to a traitor abandoned by the Chinese revolution.He poignantly recalled the past, and wrote two large characters in the title of the chapter on the grass - "split".

Seventy years have passed since the Long March. In the history books of the Communist Party of China, Zhang Guotao was dubbed the "Right Opportunist Line" to draw conclusions.However, history is not so simple.What are the reasons and contradictions that turned these comrades who fought side by side for the victory of the Chinese revolution against each other? During the most difficult time of the Long March, shortly after the two main forces of the First and Fourth Fronts joined forces, such a heartbreaking split occurred. ?To be sure, there must be many reasons, many hidden insiders.Today, most of the parties involved in that struggle have passed away, but the historical files and memoirs left by them are still intact as true witnesses.Let us explore and restore the history of that year from those precious documents.Although it is a sad history, a history full of blood and tears.