Chapter 31 31. The high morale of the General Political Commissar of the Red Army

When mentioning Zhou Enlai in the Long March, hundreds of millions of people will respect him from the bottom of their hearts.During the Long March, Zhou Enlai took the overall situation into consideration. Starting from strengthening the unity of the Red Army and the Fourth Army and realizing the policy of going north, regardless of personal gains and losses, Zhou Enlai offered to resign from the post of General Political Commissar of the Red Army and hand over to Zhang Guotao.This period of history has been passed down as a good story. The Lianghekou meeting determined the strategic policy of establishing bases in Beishangchuan, Shaanxi and Gansu, and believed that this was the need for the Anti-Japanese War and the development of the Red Army, and it was also feasible. On June 29, Zhou Enlai formulated the "Songpan Battle Plan" on behalf of the Central Revolutionary Military Commission based on this strategic policy, but Zhang Guozhen secretly brewed and implemented his idea of ​​going south after the meeting.In order to seize the supreme leadership of the party and the army, on the one hand, he used small favors in an attempt to win over some cadres of the first army: he sent his secretary-general Huang Chao to send beef jerky, rice and silver dollars to Peng Dehuai, the head of the Red Army Corps, and persuaded Peng Dehuai to oppose going north. Of course it didn't work out in the end.On the other hand, he encouraged some people in the Fourth Army who did not know the truth to write to the Central Committee, requesting the reorganization of the Central Committee and asking for power from the Central Committee.

Regarding Zhang Guotao's rude attitude and ambition to fight for power since he arrived in Lianghekou, Mao Zedong made careful consideration and believed that Zhang Guotao led several troops with tens of thousands of troops. There should be some arrangements.Not long after the Lianghekou meeting ended, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held a meeting of the Standing Committee and decided to add Zhang Guotao as the vice chairman of the Central Revolutionary Military Commission.Zhang Guotao readily agreed with this decision, thinking that it was a natural step to unify the command after joining forces, and he benefited from this promotion.But he also attacked this decision because of "the Central Committee's eagerness to control the Fourth Front Army's intention" and "actually the Central Committee will directly command the Fourth Front Army and immediately implement the northward advance."The position of vice chairman of the Military Commission did not satisfy Zhang Guotao's appetite. He deliberately delayed the implementation of the Songpan Campaign plan by the Fourth Red Front Army on the pretext that "unified command" and "organizational problems" had not been resolved.The dispute between the Central Committee and Zhang Guotao of the Fourth Front Army went on going north and going south. The marching route was tortuous and twists and turns.The key to the unity and unity of the Red First and Fourth Front Army lies in Zhang Guotao alone.Zhou Enlai had a high fever, and he was still worried about the unity of the two main forces.

Since the Long March, Zhou Enlai has been very busy. He marched with the soldiers during the day, and after arriving at the camp, he had to work until late at night before going to rest.His rest is just lying on the table and taking a nap.He was too tired, his body was getting thinner and thinner, and his beard, which was not short, seemed longer.After arriving in Maoergai, he worked until late every day as usual.After crossing the snow-capped mountains, he has been in poor health and often coughs.This time he was very ill, suddenly had a high fever, the body temperature was as high as 40 ℃, and he was unconscious all day long.Deng Yingchao has been taking good care of him by his side. Mao Zedong, Liu Bocheng, Ye Jianying and others all came to visit.Mao Zedong was very concerned about Zhou Enlai's condition and treatment. He asked the comrades of the General Health Department to invite Fu Lianzhang, the director of the Red Army Hospital, a famous doctor in the Red Army. But at that time, Dr. Fu was too far away to come back.At this time, comrades from the General Health Department said that on the one hand, there was a doctor nicknamed "Dai Beard" in the army.Mao Zedong asked the Ministry of Health to immediately send a telegram telling that Dr. Dai to come to Maoergai immediately.Dr. Dai will come soon.He ordered the guards to bring ice water from the nearby snow-capped mountains, and soak a towel in a cold compress to cool Zhou Enlai down. After a few days, Zhou Enlai's body temperature gradually returned to normal, and his mind became clear.Doctor Dai diagnosed that Zhou Enlai was suffering from a type of acute hepatitis, also known as amebic liver abscess.There are very few chances of curing this disease, especially under the extremely difficult conditions of the Long March.But after more than two months of careful treatment and nursing, Zhou Enlai miraculously recovered.

However, the scar of liver abscess left by Zhou Enlai's illness caused tumors 40 years later. On March 20, 1975, Zhou Enlai wrote in a letter to Mao Zedong about his illness that the location of the tumor in his large intestine happened to be the location of the liver abscess he had suffered after the Shawo meeting 40 years ago. "Scars that are healed, now have tumors."It was this tumor that together with bladder cancer took Zhou Enlai's life. During his illness, Zhou Enlai was always concerned about the unity of the two armies, and repeatedly discussed with Mao Zedong and Zhang Wentian various ways to resolve the conflict with Zhang Guotao.Mao Zedong said: "Zhang Guotao is a powerful faction. He has ambitions. I don't think I can give him a considerable position. It is difficult for the First and Fourth Front Armies to form a single rope." Mao Zedong firmly refused to let Zhang Guotao openly ask for the post of Chairman of the Military Commission. , "This position is now held by Commander-in-Chief Zhu, and he cannot replace it. During the war, this position was too important to be left to careerists. But he is not reconciled to only being the vice-chairman and sitting on an equal footing with Enlai and Jiaxiang."Zhang Wentian said: "Give him the position of general secretary." Mao Zedong thought it was inappropriate and said, "No, he wants to seize military power. If you make him general secretary, he may not be satisfied, but if you really let him Sit on this throne, but it will be troublesome, and the political direction of the revolution will change." After repeated consideration, the few of them decided that to win over Zhang Guotao, they must consider his demands as much as possible, but they cannot let him capture all the military power. .Zhou Enlai, who served as the general political commissar, lowered his head and kept twirling his long beard, then suddenly raised his face and said, "I will give up the general political commissar to Zhang Guotao." The leaders present were respectful.

In this way, the Central Revolutionary Military Commission issued an order to appoint Zhu De as the commander-in-chief of the Red Army and Zhang Guotao as the general political commissar of the Red Army, stipulating that "after the first and fourth armies join forces, all armies will be directly under the command of the commander-in-chief and the general political commissar of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army."After that, Zhang Guotao began to mobilize the Red Fourth Front Army to go north. At the same time that Zhou Enlai handed over the post of General Political Commissar of the Red Army, the story of Chen Geng saving Zhou Enlai also happened.During Zhou Enlai's illness, he was too weak to move around. Mao Zedong appointed Peng Dehuai's three armies to take care of Zhou Enlai's actions. All troops marched with Zhou Enlai carried on stretchers.Peng Dehuai immediately found Chen Geng, the head of the cadre group of the Military Commission who has always been serious in his work, and ordered: "The task of carrying Vice Chairman Zhou to the march will be entrusted to you. From now on, you will be the captain of the stretcher team. I will assign you 40 people." Soldiers come." "Yes, I can carry it myself!" Chen Geng readily agreed.

The 32-year-old Chen Geng served as the commander of the 12th Division of the Fourth Front Army, the chief of staff of the Fourth Front Army and the principal of the Red Army School.He has a baby face with rosy cheeks and a low bridge of nose. He looks shy, but he is alert, chic and suave.He is a native of Xiangxiang, Hunan, a student of the Whampoa Military Academy, and joined the Communist Party of China in 1922. When Sun Yat-sen's National Revolutionary Army first fought against the Guangdong warlords, he served under Chiang Kai-shek.Chiang Kai-shek's troops were defeated. In desperation, Chiang Kai-shek pulled out his pistol and wanted to commit suicide. Chen Geng saved his life. "I must die here. I have no face to face people..." Chiang Kai-shek was about to pull the trigger when he was suddenly snatched by Chen Geng. Without any explanation, Chen Geng took Jiang on his back and retreated to a safe place. During the "Second Domestic Revolutionary War", once, Chen Geng was captured by the Kuomintang army while fighting in the Fourth Front Army. Chiang Kai-shek tried to lure him to surrender to the Kuomintang.Chen Geng snorted.Chiang Kai-shek thought he had the grace to save his life, so he let him go.

On the plateau in Northwest Sichuan, the terrain of the vast area in the southeast is obviously lower than that in the northwest, and the altitude gradually rises from 780 meters to more than 3,000 meters. From south to north, it is basically uphill.Chen Geng lifted Zhou Enlai's stretcher and steadily embarked on a new journey.Peng Dehuai made up his mind to throw away the only 2 mortars left by the Red Army (at that time, the entire First Army had only 8 such guns), and freed up 40 soldiers to take turns to carry Zhou Enlai's stretcher.Peng Dehuai made a calculation: "Not to mention two mortars, even 200 or 2,000 cannons cannot replace one of our Vice Chairman Zhou." This time, Chen Geng completed the task of taking care of Zhou Enlai very well. Humorously said to Chen Geng: "You saved Chiang Kai-shek's life back then, and now you are going to save mine."