Chapter 49 49. The "Ren Huzi" who gave Zhang Guotao a headache

When the Second and Sixth Red Army Corps came to Ganzi to join forces, Zhang Guotao seemed to cheer up again. His wishful thinking was: to control the Second Red Army and Sixth Army Corps in his own hands, and increase his weight in asking the central government for a price.However, on July 1, 1936, when Zhang Guotao met the leaders of the Second and Sixth Army Corps in Ganzi, he felt that he was a barber and encountered a big beard—difficult to shave (difficulty).The three bearded leaders of the Second and Sixth Army Corps left Zhang Guotao with an unforgettable impression that he was difficult to deal with as soon as they met.

The first leader with a beard was Ren Bishi. Many years ago, Zhang Guotao always liked to call the youthful Ren Bishi his younger brother. Now Zhang Guotao was surprised that after years of training, Ren Bishi had become quite mature, so Zhang Guotao could only laugh. Roubuxiao changed his name to "Ren Huzi".The second leader with a beard was He Long. Zhang Guotao and He Long had dealt with each other during the Nanchang Uprising. Because Zhang Guotao prevented the Nanchang Uprising, they had a big quarrel over it. Then Zhang Guotao said that He Long was a warlord and a bandit. Do not agree with He Long joining the Communist Party of China.Zhang Guotao now found that He Long had completely become a Communist soldier with strong organizational discipline.The third bearded leader is Guan Xiangying, deputy political commissar of the Second Red Army.In Zhang Guotao's view, although Guan Xiangying is still full of youthful spirit, he is already very principled and difficult to deal with.

Zhang Guotao first complimented and flattered the three "bearded men" Ren Bishi, He Long, and Guan Xiangying, and then proposed to them to hold a party meeting to discuss issues between the Red Army and the Fourth Front Army. The 2nd and 6th Army Corps pulled on his way to split the Red Army.Ren Bishi immediately saw through his plot, and asked Zhang Guotao: "Which one should make the report, and what should we do if there are disputed conclusions?" The meeting, trying to force the majority over the minority, forced his resolution.Ren Bishi, He Long, and Guan Xiangying discussed it and told Zhang Guotao: "We have no objection to joining together for a meeting, but the ugly words must be said first, and the majority is not allowed to overwhelm the minority." Zhang Guotao's plan came to naught again.Ren Bishi, He Long and others seized the opportunity to turn from defense to offense. They knew that Zhang Guotao's biggest capital for splitting was the large number of people and guns, so He Long came forward to make a request to Zhang Guotao: The Red Second and Sixth Army lost too much along the way. The man was short of guns, so he asked General Political Commissar Zhang to solve the problem.Zhang Guotao was tortured to no avail by them, so he had to assign the Red Thirty-Second Army (formerly the Ninth Army of the Red Front Army) to command Ren Bishi, He Long and others.After that, a call came from northern Shaanxi, and the Party Central Committee decided to form the Second Red Army with the Second Red Army, the Sixth Army, and the Thirty-second Red Army. .

Zhang Guotao continued to play tricks.He sent a working group to the Red Second Front Army to do propaganda, and used the method of the villain to sue first, in an attempt to incite the Red Second Front Army's dissatisfaction with the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.He also asked people to send "Must Read for Cadres" to the Red Second Front Army, which was a book viciously attacking Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Zhang Wentian, Bogu and other central leaders.In order to strengthen the unity within the Red Army, Ren Bishi wrote a letter to Gan Siqi, Director of the Political Department of the Second Red Front Army, requesting that the cadres from the Fourth Red Front Army should only talk about unity, and that no discussion about the First Red Army and the Fourth Red Army was allowed within the Second Red Army. All documents sent by Zhang Guotao shall not be issued.He Long read the "Must-Read for Cadres" sent by Zhang Guotao, and said very angrily: "You are not allowed to read "Must-Read for Cadres". If you read it, you will be punished and placed in the Political Department!" The Red Sixth Army was entrusted to him to command, and he planned to replace the political commissars of more than four divisions of the Red Second Front Army, but he was unanimously resisted by Ren Bishi, He Long, Guan Xiangying and others.He Long told the commanders and fighters of the Red Second Front Army: Comrades, this is the false central government set up by Zhang Guotao. He is carrying out criminal activities to split the party and the Red Army. The real central government is led by Marshal Mao and is now in northern Shaanxi; If anyone does not listen to the Party Central Committee and opposes General Mao, he will not be able to do it even if he is the king of heaven. He is the king fish with eight horns, and he will have to break off one horn!

After the Second Red Army and the Fourth Front Army successfully rendezvoused, the conditions for a joint northward march were ripe. On July 2, Zhu De called the leaders of the Red Second and Fourth Front Army to hold a meeting in Ganzi.Before Zhang Guotao spoke, He Long, who was sitting next to him, whispered softly to him: "Guo Tao, only talk about unity, not division, otherwise, be careful that I will shoot you with a black gun!" Although the voice was small, it was extremely deterrent. Zhang Guotao felt uncomfortable.At the meeting, Zhang Guotao couldn't say a word to disagree with the central government.The meeting decided that the Second and Fourth Front Army of the Red Army should seize the time to cross the grass and go northward this month, and join up with the First Front Army of the Red Army as soon as possible. Starting from Ganzi, Xu Xiangqian led the middle column to start from Luhuo, Dong Zhentang led the right column to start from Suijing, and the Red Second Front Army followed the left column to go north.The meeting adopted Zhu De's suggestion that Ren Bishi acted with the Red Army General Command, and Liu Bocheng acted with the Red Second Front Army and was responsible for teaching tactics against cavalry.Zhu De's move was very ingenious, allowing Ren Bishi to act with the Red Army headquarters, which invisibly strengthened his struggle against Zhang Guotao.Ren Bishi, like Zhu De and Zhang Guotao, is a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee and has a high prestige in the party.Ren Bishi's fighting spirit is obvious to all. He was a figure who dared to pull the emperor down for the truth.Long before the August 7th meeting, he boldly stood up to criticize Chen Duxiu, then general secretary, and opposed Chen Duxiu's right-leaning mistakes.Zhu De arranged for Liu Bocheng to act with the Red Second Front Army, in the name of teaching the Second Front Army to fight cavalry. In fact, it was to protect Liu Bocheng and prevent Zhang Guotao from poisoning Liu Bocheng. At the same time, he strengthened the leadership of the Red Second Front Army and restrained Zhang Guotao from the outside.

During the grassland, Ren Bishi was worried about the split of the Red Army and the Fourth Army. He spared no expense in discussing with Zhu De, Zhang Guotao, Xu Xiangqian, Chen Changhao, Fu Zhong, Li Zhuoran and others in detail to study the crux of the struggle between going north and going south, so as to Find a more satisfactory solution to strengthen the unity of the whole party and the whole army.Zhang Guotao sneered and asked him: Do you want to be "Bao Zheng".Ren Bishi did not completely deny this point, he told Zhang Guotao that he was not involved in this dispute, and if he studies it now, he may do his best to reconcile everyone in the future.

On the second night after crossing the grassland, Ren Bishi approached Fu Zhong, deputy director of the Political Department of the Fourth Red Front Army.Both of them had studied in Moscow, and they both spoke Russian very well. For the convenience of conversation, they simply talked in Russian.Ren Bishi said bluntly: "The pamphlet you distributed talked about the differences with the Party Central Committee, and said that the army on the one hand 'leave without saying goodbye'. This spreads discord and damages unity. Why did you send it to us? It shouldn't have been distributed." , He asked Fu Zhong again, "Last year when we went north, the Central Committee left, why didn't you go?" Fu Zhong said without hesitation, "I don't know." in the drum.Ren Bishi asked seriously: "Is there a resolution in the north?" Fu Zhong replied: "Yes." Ren Bishi asked again: "Yes, why not implement it?" Only then did Fu Zhong fully understand the truth of Zhang Guotao's split.Ren Bishi said earnestly: "It seems that the central government did not leave you behind, but that the central government left first if you didn't follow the central government. The responsibility is not with the central government, but with you!" After reading the meeting minutes of the Central Committee, Ren Bishi said: "Zhang Guotao is responsible for everything. He did what he did and decided who he should be. Who can control it?" Since then, Ren Bishi has not criticized any comrade for this.Regarding Zhang Guotao's behavior, Ren Bishi said very angrily: "It is Zhang Guotao's old problem to engage in factional activities. Stalin knew it. He never thought it would develop so seriously." There was a fundamental change in the thinking of the cadres, and then these people went to influence and change the views of others, and Zhang Guotao fell into a more isolated situation.

Ren Bishi confidently told Zhang Guotao his opinion, saying that the Zhuomudiao meeting decided to establish a provisional central government, which seemed to be too much.Zhang Guotao knew that he was wrong, and on the surface he didn't say yes or no, but he felt very uncomfortable in his heart, and felt more and more that this "Ren Huzi" really gave him a headache. In order to eliminate estrangement and promote unity, on July 10, Ren Bishi called the Central Committee on his way north, suggesting that when the First, Second, and Fourth Front Armies approach, an enlarged Central Committee meeting should be convened, and the Communist International should send representatives to attend to resolve the meeting of the First and Fourth Front Armies. A matter of debate within the post-party.The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China attached great importance to Ren Bishi's suggestion. Two days later, Zhang Wentian called back, telling Ren Bishi and the leaders of the Fourth Red Front Army that the Central Committee had requested the Comintern's approval to hold the Sixth Plenary Session, and asked the Comintern to send representatives to attend.

During the grassland, Ren Bishi also rescued a group of comrades who had been imprisoned and persecuted by Zhang Guotao for a long time, including the famous Communist Party member Liao Chengzhi.During the "elimination of counter-revolutionaries" in the Sichuan-Shaanxi Soviet Area, Zhang Guotao labeled Liao Chengzhi and others as "KMT reorganization elements" and imprisoned them.At that time, Liao Chengzhi didn't even dare to reveal that he was the son of Liao Zhongkai and He Xiangning, veterans of the Kuomintang, and he used the pseudonym "He Lihua" all the time.Zhang Guotao didn't kill Liao Chengzhi just because he knew how to draw pictures and engrave wax plates.During the long march being taken as a prisoner, Liao Chengzhi was unwilling to greet anyone, and no one dared to greet him, because a greeting would implicate others. One day in July 1936, Ren Bishi was talking with Zhang Guotao on a hillside when he suddenly saw a group of prisoners being escorted forward. He immediately stood up, walked over to shake hands with Liao Chengzhi, and asked with a smile: "Are you Liao Chengzhi Cheng Zhi? I’m Ren Bishi.” Zhang Guotao was embarrassed by the side, put on a tiger-like smile, and asked Ren Bishi in a strange tone: “Why, do you know him?” Ren Bishi replied: “I’ve known him for a long time.” In fact, They didn't know each other before.Ren Bishi said to Zhang Guotao seriously: "If he needs anything, I can help him, please tell me." Not long after, the troops arrived at Luhuo, and Liao Chengzhi and others regained some freedom.Liao Chengzhi said affectionately many years later: "Then we have to thank Comrade Bishi for expressing his attitude towards Zhang Guotao seriously at that time."

In the difficult days of living on the grassland, Ren Bishi always maintained the spirit of revolutionary optimism.So far, the Chinese Revolutionary History Museum still has a precious cultural relic in its collection. This cultural relic is a half cowhide belt left by Ren Bishi when he walked across the grass.There is a touching story hidden in it. Ren Bishi and the others walked on the grassland for more than ten days, until they had no dry food and even wild vegetables.His guard Li Shaoqing asked Ren Bishi sadly: "Commissar Ren, I have nothing to eat today, what should I do?" Ren Bishi pulled a handful of grass from the ground and replied with a smile: "The wild grass is sweet, the wild grass is fragrant, The Red Army’s grain is full of hills. Isn’t this something to eat?” Li Shaoqing told him that this grass is not edible.Ren Bishi said: "Don't worry, think of a way." He saw the pistol strap on the guard Li Shaoqing, and said happily: "There is a way. Look, the cowhide belt on your back is edible! Take it off quickly."

Therefore, Ren Bishi and Li Shaoqing each grabbed one end of the belt, cut a very long slit every inch on the belt with a knife, cut a total of 8 pieces, and then put it on the fire to roast.When it is burnt to char, scrape off the black char on the leather surface, and then put it in water to boil.After cooking for an hour or two, Ren Bishi said: "It's almost done, let's eat beef." He took the lead in chewing the belt "creakingly" and told everyone: "This stuff has a lot of flavor." He Long and Guan Xiangying came over, Ren Bishi hurriedly asked them to eat, He Long and others said repeatedly: "This is a good thing, better than wild vegetables!" "You really have a way!" has been promoted. When he walked out of the grass, only half of Ren Bishi's original two leather belts were eaten.He neatly wrote a line of words on it with a pen: "The more you eat, the healthier you are, carry the revolution to the end!"