Chapter 40 40. Zhu Mao Zhu Mao, there is no Mao without Zhu Mao

When mentioning the Long March, people will think of the harsh natural environment, the tragic war, the difficulty of climbing snow-capped mountains and grasslands, and the battles with the Kuomintang troops.Little did they know that for the leaders of the Long March, the arduous struggle along the Long March also included serious political struggles within the party.Zhang Guotao, who commanded the Fourth Front Army, attempted to split the party and the Red Army, and Zhu De, who lived and fought with him as the commander-in-chief of the Red Army, was at the center of this political struggle.Mao Zedong praised Commander-in-Chief Zhu, who persisted in going north to oppose Zhang Guotao's separatist actions, as "as firm in his will and as big in his stomach as the sea." His great achievements will always be engraved on the historical monument of the victory of the Red Army's Long March.

In August 1935, in order to continue to implement the Party Central Committee's policy of going north, the Central Revolutionary Military Commission implemented the Xiatao campaign plan and divided the Red Army into left and right armies. The left army was led by Zhu De and Zhang Guotao, gathered around Matang and Zhuo Keji, advanced to the Aba area, and then moved closer to the right army, and jointly marched northward to Gannan.At this time, Zhu De bid farewell to Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and other comrades-in-arms who shared weal and woe and fought side by side, and began to work with Zhang Guotao. He knew that the road ahead would not be smooth.

Zhang Guotao had personal ambitions. He believed that he had more people and more guns, and opposed the Party Central Committee's policy of going north. He ordered the Red Fourth Front Army of the Left Army and the Right Army to go south from Aba County and Ruoergai County in Sichuan. Sichuan Kang Provincial Party Committee Enlarged Meeting".The meeting was held in a Lama Temple (Gerdi Temple) in Aba.On the thick pillars of the venue, two very eye-catching slogans were posted, which read: "Oppose Mao Zhou and Zhang Bo to escape to the north!" "Go south to create the Chuankang base!"

Zhang Guotao was the first to speak, attacking Mao Zedong and others for leading the first and third armies to the north as "escapeism", and advocating going south, the spearhead was naturally directed at Zhu De and Liu Bocheng who were sitting on the rostrum.Some people on and off the stage started booing, asking Zhu De to make a statement: "The mistake of fleeing north with the same surname is to draw a clear line", "oppose going north, support going south!" Zhu De sat there firmly, ignoring it, calmly Cope with everything in sight. Zhang Guotao said: "Commander-in-Chief, can you talk about it? What is your understanding of this issue? Is it going south or going north?" Zhu De stood up calmly, with a steady and slow voice. He said: The policy of the Party Central Committee to go north to resist Japan is correct. Yes, now that Japanese imperialism has invaded and occupied the three northeastern provinces of our country, our Red Army should shoulder the responsibility of resisting Japan and saving the country at this critical moment of national peril.I raised my hand at the Politburo meeting for the resolution on going north, and I can't go back on my word. "There is no way out going south!"

The atmosphere in the venue suddenly became tense.Zhang Guotao and Huang Chao were very annoyed by Zhu De's answer.Huang Chao yelled, "You are an old fool!" "Old rightist!" "Old stubborn!"... Someone shouted at Zhu De: Since you support going north, you should leave here now, go! "I was sent here by the central government to work. I can't go back privately. To go back, there must be an order from the central government. As I said just now, I am a member of the Communist Party, and I must follow the instructions of the party central committee. Since you insist on going south, the central government will If there is no order to let me go back, then I have no choice but to go south with you. But I should be allowed to reserve my opinion." Zhu De's words were still neither humble nor overbearing.The reason why Zhu De made this choice was because he believed that the cadres and soldiers of the Fourth Front Army were all good and revolutionary, and that the Fourth Front Army was a very important revolutionary force, so he could not be left to Zhang Guotao.

Seeing some people brutally attacking Zhu De, Liu Bocheng could no longer suppress his anger, and stepped forward, "You are holding a party meeting, how can you treat Commander-in-Chief Zhu like this!?" Next, the spearhead of the struggle on the venue immediately turned to Liu Bocheng.Liu Bocheng, like Zhu De, expressed his firm stance in support of the central government's policy of going north. Zhang Guotao saw that there was nothing he could do, so he walked back and forth on the stage twice, walked up to Zhu De, and said, "Okay, okay, as long as you are willing to go south. Don't mention that party-central-central! The meeting is over!"

When Kang Keqing was interviewed by the author of "The Biography of Zhu De" in July 1938, he recalled the scene at that time: "Zhu De is very calm, no matter how you fight or scold him, he always keeps silent, like an unsinkable 'aircraft carrier'. After the other party finished fighting and cursing, he calmly reasoned with them." After the meeting, comrades from the Fifth and Ninth Army Corps of the First Red Army who followed the Left Route Army found Zhu De and said with indignation: "Commander-in-Chief, take us north alone to find the Party Central Committee and Chairman Mao!" He said: "If Zhang Guotao stops us, we will do it with him!" Zhu De understands the feelings of these comrades very well, but Zhu De, who has the overall situation in mind and is stable in dealing with changes, knows that if Zhang Guotao leaves, Zhang Guotao will definitely chase, and the two sides are likely to fight each other. Make the Red Army's rift bigger and the wound deeper.He advised these comrades to exercise restraint and patience, take into account the overall situation, and talk about revolution and unity.Under Zhu De's earnest instructions, the commanders and fighters of the former Red Front Army received a great education.This enabled them to work with peace of mind when they were rejected by Zhang Guotao, avoiding risky actions and unnecessary sacrifices, and maintaining the unity within the Red Army.Zhu De used various opportunities to contact and talk with cadres and soldiers of the Fourth Front Army at the lower levels of the army, publicized the correct policy of the Party Central Committee, and repeatedly emphasized the importance of unity within the Red Army.His approachable style and persuasive conversation won the respect of the majority of commanders and fighters.Even some people who didn't know the truth for a while and insulted him face to face gradually changed their attitudes and loved him very much.

Zhu De is open-minded and meticulous in the face of difficulties, and has truly achieved "the will is as firm as steel, and the belly is as big as the sea". At that time, Zhang Guotao and others further provoked the relationship between Zhu De and Mao Zedong, forcing Zhu De to express his opposition to Mao Zedong.Zhu De said solemnly: "Zhu Mao Zhu Mao, people and foreigners think that Zhu Mao is a person, how can Zhu oppose Mao!" In order to slander Mao Zedong and the Party Central Committee, Zhang Guotao even publicly spread rumors: Mao Zedong "When they left, Set fire to the guns, ammunition, food, and some wounded in the warehouse!" Zhu De was very angry when he heard this, and he immediately refuted: "This is purely a rumor! From Jinggangshan, Comrade Mao Zedong advocated Officers and soldiers are equal, they are not allowed to beat and swear, and treat prisoners preferentially. The Red Army’s captive policy was set by him personally, and prisoners are treated preferentially. How could he burn his own wounded to death? There is not enough dry food in the grassland, and everyone is mobilized to eat wild vegetables. Burn it? These out-of-the-box rumors were created by people with ulterior motives!"

After hearing this, Zhang Guotao was speechless and speechless.From then on, Zhang Guotao hated Zhu De even more, and used various methods of persecution, instructing people to take away the mules and horses of the headquarters at night, transfer all Zhu De's guards and miscellaneous personnel of the headquarters, and even remove the gate posts, saying that It is to ask them to participate in the study class and "change their minds", so that Zhu De's safety is not guaranteed.But Zhu De was upright and awe-inspiring, and dealt with everything calmly. Zhu De and Zhang Guotao, who has always been domineering, will inevitably be coerced and oppressed, but he will never compromise on major issues of principle.Later, when Mao Zedong talked about this period of history, he praised him for "not humiliating the big festival".

Later, Zhang Guotao established a separate "Central Committee" and announced Zhu De as a "member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee and Secretary of the Secretariat". Zhu De rejected this appointment and solemnly stated: You cannot start a new stove. Reserve your opinions and do revolutionary work in your own name.Xu Xiangqian recalled: "Comrade Zhu De resolutely opposed the establishment of a separate 'central government', which also played a powerful restrictive role on Zhang Guotao." In the struggle against Zhang Guotao, Zhu De insisted on being reasonable, beneficial, and restrained, and convinced others with reason. On the one hand, he emphasized struggle and on the other hand, he emphasized unity.In a difficult and dangerous situation, with his unique firmness and wisdom, he provoked the burden of overcoming this crisis, played a mainstay role in the struggle against Zhang Guotao's separatism, and made great contributions to maintaining the unity of the Red Army. contribute.

Mao Zedong once called him the "Red Commander" and said: "Zhu Mao, Zhu Mao, I am the hair on your body!" When the five-star red flag was raised on Tiananmen Square for the first time in October 1949, the people in the square shouted The most important are the two "long live" - ​​"Long live Chairman Mao!" "Long live Commander-in-Chief Zhu!" The voice of the people represents the correct choice made by history.