Chapter 18 18, proud pen

The Red Army crossed Chishui for the second time and achieved great victories in Tongzi and Zunyi. This was the first major victory since the Long March, and it was possible to establish a base in northern Guizhou.Luo Fu was very optimistic about the situation at that time. He said: "We are not running for our lives now. We have hope and we have a solution." In order to further reverse the situation of the battle, the Military Commission decided to take advantage of the good opportunity of winning the battle to attack Zhou Hunyuan's troops of the Central Army who had been chasing the Red Army.If Zhou Hunyuan's troops could not be wiped out, the Red Army would not be able to establish a base in northern Guizhou.

On March 4, 1935, the Military Commission specially established the Front Enemy Command, with Zhu De as the commander and Mao Zedong as the political commissar, in order to strengthen the command of the new battle that is coming.A big war was imminent, but at this time there was a disturbance within the leadership of the Red Army. On March 10, Lin Biao proposed to attack a division of the Yunnan Army stationed in Daguxinchang, which was supported by most people.However, Mao Zedong firmly opposed it. He believed that this proposal obviously interfered with the plan to attack the main force of the enemy's army.Mao Zedong was worried about attacking the enemy hard, and in the middle of the night, he went to discuss with Zhou Enlai alone with a lantern.Zhou Enlai was persuaded by Mao Zedong. Early the next morning, he held a meeting to calm down the turmoil and affirmed Mao Zedong's ideas.

Mao Zedong's opinions finally prevailed, and his strategy, foresight and wisdom were recognized by everyone, and the battle to attack Daguxinchang was cancelled. On March 11, in order to better command the battle, the Red Army decided to set up a new three-member military team, consisting of Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and Wang Jiaxiang to form a new "three-member regiment".It was not until this moment that Mao Zedong, who returned after the Zunyi Conference, truly gained the power to helm the Red Army.He began to command the Red Army wisely and unconstrainedly, leading the Red Army out of trouble.

However, in the immediate battle against Zhou Hunyuan, the Red Army still encountered difficulties.The enemy stood firm and refused to fight, and the Red Army could not take advantage of mobile warfare.Helpless, the Red Army was forced to launch a fortified battle against Lubanchang on March 15.Located in the southeast of Huairen, Lubanchang is the only way from Zunyi to the Chishui River. There are many mountains, complex terrain and dangerous terrain.Zhou Hunyuan's Department has 15 regiments, relying on favorable terrain, sticking to the fortifications, waiting for work at ease.The number of troops that the Red Army can invest is also 15 regiments, but excluding the troops for guarding, covering and fighting and aiding the enemy, the actual number of troops that can be invested is not as many as that of the enemy.The battle that started in the early morning continued until dusk. The Red Army suffered many casualties and failed to take Luban Field.The Military Commission ordered the withdrawal of the battle and ordered the Red Army to cross the Chishui River from the vicinity of Moutai.

Comparing the third crossing of Chishui and the first crossing of Chishui, we can find their similarities: the key battles were lost (Tucheng Battle and Lubanchang Battle), and the Red Army was forced to transfer to find a new way out. Maotai was a dirty and messy town at that time, overcrowded and built on steep rocks more than 20 meters high beside the Chishui River. The entire town was filled with the pungent smell of fermented sorghum and wheat mixture.Moutai, like Tucheng, deals in wine and salt, and also transships opium.Moutai is the most famous spirit on the Chishui River, with a concentration close to pure alcohol.

The Red Army took Moutai almost without firing a shot.The soldiers discovered a brewery "Yicheng Lao Shaofang".This winery is a very luxurious Western-style house, with more than a hundred large tanks inside, each of which can hold 20 tans of water. ——The soldiers who first discovered the burning house didn't know that the vat contained wine, so they used it to wash their feet.When I smelled the overflowing aroma, I suddenly realized that it was wine. Unfortunately, several tanks of fine wine have become foot soup for washing feet. It is said that when Li De (who likes to drink) heard the news, he invited several people to the winery, where they opened a vat of the oldest baijiu and had a swig.It is also rumored that Li De drank so much that he fell unconscious for a week.The troops passing by Moutai one after another came to this winery for a drink.When the last Red Army passed by, not even a drop of foot soup was left.

On March 16 and 17, the Red Army crossed the river at Maotai Ferry.The enemy army discovered this situation and sent planes to bomb it.A bomb hit a house next to Zhou Enlai's temporary office. Everyone advised him to hide, but Zhou Enlai refused.The bombing was not very violent, and sometimes the planes dropped not bombs but large rocks with white ammunition numbers painted on them. As soon as the Red Army crossed the river, Mao Zedong ordered the large troops to stop advancing, and only sent one regiment to make an emergency march north to Gulan, more than 100 kilometers away, and then marched towards Zhenlong Mountain, bluffing along the way to attract attention.They flicker from east to west, and their actions are confusing.Mao Zedong's purpose was to misunderstand Chiang Kai-shek: the Red Army was advancing towards a certain crossing of the Yangtze River, prompting Chiang Kai-shek to dispatch the enemy troops to the west of the Chishui River.

Chiang Kai-shek heard the news that the Red Army had crossed Chishui three times. He believed that the Red Army had wandered on both sides of the Chishui River for nearly two months. It was difficult for large troops to move and make no progress.So he adopted the old method of building blockhouses and besieging Jiangxi, and surrounded the Red Army step by step.Chiang Kai-shek set up blockhouses at various ferry crossings on the south bank of the Wujiang River, from Dading on the north bank of the Wujiang River to Zunyi and Tongzi, and on the west bank of the Chishui River.These bunkers are scattered all over the place, and almost every step the Red Army takes may be blocked by the enemy.

It took only one day for the Red Army to cross Chishui. On March 18, the Military Commission made a decision to cross Chishui four times: from Taipingdu, which crossed Chishui for the second time, and Erlangtan to the east.Liu Bocheng assigned a task to Wang Yaonan, the company commander of the engineering company, and sent him to check whether the pontoon bridge built last time was still there.And the Red First Army received a secret order to organize an advance team to cross the Wujiang River to Guiyang before March 26. The actions of the Red Army seemed strange and unpredictable. There must be something strange in the sudden departure from northern Guizhou and southward to Guiyang.

It turned out that the Red Army intercepted important information that Chiang Kai-shek was going to Guiyang to supervise the battle on March 24.Xiao Feng recorded in his "Long March Diary" on March 20, 1935: "According to the teacher's report, Chiang Kai-shek came to Guiyang to supervise the battle, and the enemy's new offensive began again." Attacking Guiyang threatened the safety of Chiang Kai-shek himself, which prompted a major change in the entire battle situation, and then seized the initiative and jumped out of the enemy's encirclement. The key to the whole strategy was to convince Chiang Kai-shek that the Red Army was still stranded north of the Wujiang River, with no way out. —The actions of the Red Army these days have become secretive and cautious.The order to cross the Chishui River east was issued at the last moment. "The field army acted secretly, quickly, and resolutely, out of the enemy's surprise, and turned eastward", "crossed the east bank of the Chishui River, and sought maneuvers."In order to prevent leaks, the Military Commission used "seek maneuver" in all orders issued. This vague word replaced the real and definite goal of the Red Army: a feigned attack on Guiyang.

If the Red Army threatened the enemy and Chiang Kai-shek canceled the trip to Guiyang, or transferred some of the scattered troops back to defend Guiyang, then Mao Zedong's flexible plan would not be successful. On March 21 and 22, the main force of the Red Army crossed the Chishui River for the fourth time, carefully approaching the Wujiang River.A small part of the Red Army continued to feign to the northeast of Guizhou to cover the main force's actions. On the evening of March 24, Chiang Kai-shek and his party arrived in Guiyang. On March 31, the main force of the Red Army crossed the Wujiang River south. On April 2, the Red Army forward approached Guiyang. Chiang Kai-shek may not have imagined that Mao Zedong decided to use his plan to use his trip to Guiyang to catch him by surprise. ——What happened later: the Red Army’s attack on the east and the west on the way to Guiyang, a series of tricks to divert tigers away from the mountains to threaten Kunming, and finally crossing the Jinsha River by tricks and tricks, all showed Mao Zedong’s superb commanding skills. In 1961, British Marshal Montgomery visited China. He praised the three major battles of Liaoshen, Huaihai, and Pingjin commanded by Mao Zedong, which were comparable to any great battles in the world.Mao Zedong replied unexpectedly: "The three major battles are nothing, and crossing Chishui four times is my favorite stroke."