Chapter 53 53. The three-armed general master with twists and turns

In August 1936, the Red Fourth Front Army and the Red Second Front Army successively walked out of the vast grassland and arrived at Baozuo area to gather. Xu Xiangqian and other commanders and fighters of the Fourth Front Army of the Red Army rushed to the tomb of martyr Wang Youjun to lay flowers.Martyr Wang Youjun was the commander of the Tenth Division of the Fourth Army of the Red Fourth Front Army before his death, and he was the famous "General Yemo" in the whole army. In August 1935, the First Red Army and the Fourth Front Army crossed the grassland together. In order to open the passage to the north, he took the lead, put a machine gun on the shoulder of the guard and violently shot the enemy. Unexpectedly, he gave his precious life at the age of 24.In front of the tomb of the martyrs, the commanders and fighters of the Red Fourth Front Army were very heavy-hearted: If Zhang Guotao hadn’t conspired, the Red Fourth Front Army would have followed the central government to northern Shaanxi at that time, and the blood of Wang Youjun and other martyrs would not have been shed in vain, and everyone would not have to eat it up It's hard to pass the grass.

In order to join forces with the Red Front Army as soon as possible, the Red Fourth Front Army launched the Battle of Mintao Xigu. On August 9, the Fourth Front Army of the Red Army captured Lazikou of Tianxian. On the 10th, Chen Changhao personally led the Fifth and Ninth Red Army soldiers to the city of Minzhou, and fought fiercely with the Lu Dachang Department of the Kuomintang, causing heavy casualties on both sides.The Lu Dachang Department relied on the strong city wall to resist stubbornly. Although the Red Army wiped out more than 3,000 enemies, it was still unable to break into the city.During this period, other units of the Red Fourth Front bypassed Minzhou City and continued to advance northward. They captured Zhang County on the 19th, the old city of Taozhou on the 20th, Weiyuan on the 26th, and Tongwei County on September 7th. A situation that threatened Lanzhou was formed.

The Red Second Front Army responded accordingly and launched the Longnan Campaign.From September 7th to 19th, in just 12 days, the Red Second Front Army captured the four counties of Chengxian, Huixian, Liangdang, and Kangxian. Chiang Kai-shek was shocked by the situation that the three main forces of the Red Army were about to assemble. After he hurriedly quelled the rebellion of the warlords in Guangdong and Guangxi, he dispatched the elite Kuomintang troops under the command of Hu Zongnan, the First Army, to the north and drove back to Lanzhou to deal with the Red Army. He was also brewing a conspiracy to replace Zhang Xueliang and divide the Northeast Army.Under such circumstances, the Red Army had to adjust its original strategic deployment. On September 13, Zhu De, Zhang Guotao, Chen Changhao and others called the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to propose a plan for the Red First and Fourth Front Army to attack Hu Zongnan from north to south in Jingning and Huining areas.This coincided with the intention of the central government. The central government replied clearly that the occupation of Jingning, Huining and other areas was the most important part of the victory of the three main Red Army forces. The central government decided to send the first division of the Red Army to go south to Jing Ning agreed.

From September 16th to 18th, Zhang Guotao and Zhu De called senior cadres of the Fourth Front Army of the Red Army to hold a three-day meeting in Sanshili, Minzhou, to study the Fourth Front Army's next march plan.Zhang Guotao worried that he would collapse after meeting with the Red Army on the one hand, so at this meeting he talked about the barrenness and poverty of the people in northern Shaanxi, revealing his unwillingness to go north to join the Red Army on the one hand, and at the same time proposed the Red Army The plan for the Fourth Front Army to advance westward to Xining, Qinghai.In the meeting, there was a heated debate on whether to go north or go west.Zhu De and Chen Changhao tried their best to state the great significance of the northward march, and won the support of the vast majority of cadres present at the meeting.Finally, the Minzhou meeting passed the decision to go north to launch the Jinghui Campaign.

On the 19th, Zhu De and Chen Changhao formulated the "Jingning and Huining Campaign Program", Zhang Guotao signed it, and the three of them also jointly called the Central Committee to report the conclusions of the Minzhou meeting.The central government replied on the same day, agreeing to launch the Jing-hui campaign immediately, and informed that after the meeting, the Red Army and the Fourth Army would work together to capture Ningxia and open up a channel to connect with the Soviet Union. However, only one day later, on the 20th, when Zhu De led the staff to formulate and implement the specific plan for the Jingning and Hui campaigns, Zhang Guotao suddenly changed his mind. Ning Beishanghui will ruin the Red Fourth Front Army, and the Jing and Hui battles must be cancelled.Zhu De patiently persuaded Zhang Guotao, asking him to uphold the principle of democratic centralism and not to personally overthrow collective decisions.Zhang Guotao dismissed this. He said that he was the general political commissar of the Red Army and had the final decision-making power, and the troops had to turn around and move westward under his orders.Zhang Guotao's practice of putting the individual above the party organization aroused strong dissatisfaction among the commanders and fighters of the Red Fourth Front Army present.After Zhang Guotao left, Chen Changhao came, and when he heard the news, he was furious.Chen Changhao felt that as the political commissar of the Fourth Red Front Army and a participant in the Minzhou Conference, he had the responsibility to uphold the decisions made at the Ganzi Conference and the Minzhou Conference. In the name of the Ministry, an order was issued to all units of the Red Fourth Front Army to stand by and not to advance westward.

In the evening, Zhang Guotao learned that Chen Changhao had overturned his decision, and he was so anxious that he ran across the river to find Chen Changhao at 3 o'clock in the middle of the night, so the two had their first sharp conflict since they worked together.Zhang Guotao angrily accused Chen Changhao: first, you have no right to change the orders issued by the General Political Commissar of our Red Army; When it's over, the central government will definitely let us surrender our military power, and then expel us from the party, and we will follow the military law.Speaking of this, Zhang Guotao was so sad that he burst into tears.Chen Changhao did not follow Zhang Guotao's example, and refuted Zhang Guotao's unreasonable accusations with reason and restraint: First, who has the right to decide whether it meets the requirements of the central government, but your decision is wrong.Second, the revolutionary situation requires rendezvous, and after rendezvous, there will be a solution, and splitting is not good for the revolution. The Ganzi Conference has long decided to go north to rendezvous with the central government. Why do you want to change it?Third, we are all members of the Communist Party. We must admit to the central government when we make mistakes and wait for the central government to deal with them. Crying is useless.Zhang Guotao had never seen Chen Changhao be so righteous in front of him as he is today, without giving in, and not at all polite to his superior.Zhang Guotao knew that it was useless to say any more, so he had to leave dejectedly.

Chen Changhao thought that Zhang Guotao would stop there, but he never thought that Zhang Guotao would ride his horse to Xu Qianqian's headquarters in Zhang County in the dark when he left the house.As soon as he entered the headquarters, Zhang Guotao asked Xu Xiangqian to find Zhou Chunquan, Li Te, Li Xiannian and other senior generals of the Fourth Front Army of the Red Army.Then he repeated the old trick and said to Xu Xiangqian and others with infinite sadness: "I, the chairman, will quit! I, the general political commissar, will quit! Let Changhao do it!" This surprised Xu Xiangqian and others very inexplicably. wonderful.Then, Zhang Guotao told everyone about his conflict with Chen Changhao. The more he talked about it, the more excited he became, and the more sad he became, and he said with tears in his eyes: "I can't do it anymore. I will go to northern Shaanxi to go to prison and be expelled from the party. The Central Committee will leave it to Chen Changhao." The Red Fourth Front Army generals who were present rarely saw Zhang Guotao cry, and seeing him so heartbroken, everyone sympathized with him, and some people inevitably had the illusion that Chen Changhao Having such a stalemate with "Chairman Zhang", it seems that he wants to "replace him".Everyone came to persuade Zhang Guotao one after another, saying to him: Regarding the issue of military action policy, we can continue to discuss it.Hearing this sentence, Zhang Guotao stopped his tears and began to talk and draw in front of the map with great energy.Everyone felt that from a military point of view, Zhang Guotao's opinion was not unreasonable.Therefore, Zhang Guotao personally formulated the specific action plan for the westward advance on the spot.

On the 21st, Zhu De and Chen Changhao led the Red Army General Headquarters to march northward. On the way, they suddenly received a telegram from Zhang Guotao asking them to come to Zhang County to discuss, and ordered the troops to turn around and move westward, preparing to cross the Yellow River from the Xunhua area.Zhu De and Chen Changhao were shocked after seeing it.Chen Changhao immediately galloped to Zhang County on horseback, hoping to turn the situation around.Commander Zhu, who has always been calm and unhurried, frowned at this time. After thinking for a while, he decided to send a telegram to the Central Committee and the leaders of the Second Red Front Army, informing that a few comrades planned to overthrow the Jing and Hui campaign plan, and said: "I am determined to Abide by this original bill, and if this original bill is overturned, I cannot take responsibility." Zhu De expressed his insistence on going north, and at the same time actively sought assistance from the Central Committee and the Second Red Front Army. Early in the morning on the 22nd, as soon as Chen Changhao entered the Red Army headquarters in Zhang County, he was accused by some senior generals of the Red Fourth Army. Passive, isolated situation.Zhu De and others then rushed to Zhang County for a meeting.Before the meeting, Zhang Guotao had won the sympathy and support of most of the members who participated in the meeting, so during the meeting, he was in a good mood, his anger disappeared, and his complaints were gone. Talk about the "superiority" of his westward plan.Contrary to him, Chen Changhao was in a bad mood at the meeting. He expressed that he did not want to be a political commissar of the Fourth Army.Zhu De made a long speech at the meeting, comparing the two plans of going north and going west, and pointed out that the plan of going north has more advantages.Some participants came forward to support Zhang Guotao's proposal.Everyone knows that part of the Red Fourth Front Army has already marched westward, and it is impossible for Zhang Guotao to withdraw his order.Under such circumstances, Zhu De had no choice but to say that he would follow the second plan for the time being.Fu Zhong, director of the Northwest Bureau of Organization, suggested to report to the central government, and if the central government disagrees, resolutely implement the northward plan.His proposal was approved by everyone.

It was not until the entire Red Fourth Front Army had moved westward for 4 days that Zhang Guotao sent a telegram to the Central Committee on the 26th, reporting his plan for the westward advance. Appropriate, then please expressly stop the westward advance.After receiving the telegram, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China clearly expressed its opposition to the westward advance, and immediately called back to tell Zhang Guotao and others: The Red Fourth Front Army is completely sure to control the Long, Jing, Hui, and Ding Avenues, and there will be no serious battles, and the main force of the First Front Army can go south to respond , the Second Front Army can also move north to pinch the enemy.Zhang Guotao was very dissatisfied after reading it, and he planned to bargain with the central government again.On the same day, he sent a telegram back to the central government. While continuing to talk about the necessity of his westward expansion plan, he also specifically said: "Unified leadership is extremely important. Today, when the international line is implemented in unison and hard struggles, there should be no differences. Therefore We suggest asking Luo Fu and other comrades to guide us in the name of the Central Committee, how to organize and work the Northwest Bureau, how to lead the military, and how to organize and work by the Presidium of the Military Commission. Please make decisions and instructions, and we should follow them.” For the first time, Zhang Guotao publicly admitted to accept the leadership of the central government.His intention to make such a concession is obvious, in exchange for the central government agreeing to his westward advance plan, so that the Red Fourth Front Army can receive the Soviet Union's weapon assistance at the earliest.Once equipped with Soviet aircraft and cannons, the strength of the Red Fourth Front Army will undoubtedly double, so that no one can shake his position in the central government, and no one can do anything to him.

On the 27th, when the headquarters of the Fourth Red Army advanced westward to Taozhou, Zhang Guotao received another telegram from the Central Committee.This was a telegram with very strong wording and a very clear attitude, ordering the Red Fourth Front Army to go north immediately to join the Red Front Army, and told Zhang Guotao and others: rendezvous will strengthen the strength, and separation will weaken the strength.If they join forces, they can capture Ningxia and Ganxi and complete the tasks assigned by the Communist International; if they separate, it will be difficult to capture these two places, and there will be great danger.The telegram from the central government was issued as an order, without giving Zhang Guotao any room for bargaining.After seeing it, Zhang Guotao remained the same and ordered the troops to continue westward.

Unexpected things happened again. On the 27th, Xu Xiangqian ran from the front line to report to Zhang Guotao: After passing Taozhou, we will investigate with fellow villagers. According to the fellow villagers, the season on the other side of the Yellow River has entered the season of heavy snow and mountain closures. The weather is cold and the road is difficult; Due to terrain and climatic conditions, the plan to cross the Yellow River westward could not be realized.Zhang Guotao didn't expect that God would oppose him. He still didn't give up, and said stubbornly that there was no way ahead, so he could go west by detour.Zhu De persuaded him at this time: Comrade Guotao, it's time to turn around, and you can't make the same mistake again. Zhang Guotao had no choice but to hold the Taozhou Conference.Zhang Guotao first asked everyone: "The mountains are covered by heavy snow, can you take a detour from the south?" Chen Changhao replied: "From the map, it will take a large grassland again. How to bring it?" Xu Xiangqian said sincerely: "Comrades from Hubei, Henan and Anhui don't want to make trouble anymore!" Other senior cadres who participated in the meeting believed that the central government had a clear order and could no longer be hesitant and vague, and expressed their support for going north to carry out static, Will battle plan.Zhang Guotao became a loner at the meeting, and without the support of anyone else, he had to give up his plan to go west. On the 29th, Zhang Guotao reluctantly issued an order to march into Jingning for the second time.The first time was on the 19th, with a difference of 10 days.Zhang Guotao's back-and-forth undoubtedly delayed the opportunity of the war and delayed the meeting of the three main forces of the Red Army. On September 30, the Red Fourth Front Army divided into five columns and went northward, heading towards Tongwei, Zhuanglang, Huining, and Jingning.At the same time, the Red Front Army accelerated the pace of response. On October 2, the Red Front Army captured Huining City.Huining is an ancient town in Gansu Province, surrounded by tall walls, with more than 2,000 residents at that time. On October 9, Zhu De, Zhang Guotao, Xu Xiangqian and others led the headquarters of the Red Fourth Front Army into Huining City, and were warmly welcomed by the Red Front Army and the people of Huining City. On the 10th, the First Red Army and the Fourth Front Army held a grand meeting to celebrate the meeting at the Confucian Temple in Huining City. The time for the Red First and Second Front Armies to join forces will be a little later.The Red Second Front Army encountered far more difficulties than the Red Fourth Front Army during this period.After occupying Cheng County, Hui County, Liangdang, and Kang County, the task of the Red Second Front Army was to support the rendezvous of the Red First and Fourth Front Army. The Red Second Front Army could only go north after the Red Fourth Front Army went north.Zhang Guotao made a fuss about advancing westward, so that the Second Red Front Army could only wait in place in late September, losing the great opportunity to go north.However, the southern part of Hu Zong of the Kuomintang gained time to advance westward. In mid-September, Hu Zongnan's four divisions arrived in Xianyang by train from Changsha and Hengyang, but by the beginning of October, his troops had already reached the Qingshui and Qin'an areas, and were almost close to Mao Bingwen's department in Tianshui. The threat to the Red Second Front Army was eliminated.To the south, Wang Jun's Department of the Kuomintang launched an attack on Cheng County, and Sun Zhen's Department of the Sichuan Army launched an attack on Kang County.Zhang Guotao failed to advance westward, so he directed the Red Fourth Front Army to go north to join the Red First Front Army. These actions were not told to the Red Second Front Army.It was not until October 3 that the Red Second Front Army received an urgent telegram from the Central Committee, and then it marched northward.In order to get rid of the siege of the Kuomintang army on both sides, He Long and Ren Bishi ordered a rapid march to get rid of the enemy.However, the Kuomintang army persisted and pursued them relentlessly, and the Red Second Front Army suffered great losses, losing thousands of people in the haste march. On the 7th, the 16th Division of the Red Sixth Army Corps encountered the Kuomintang army. After a few hours of fierce fighting, the 16th Division was broken up, with heavy casualties and almost all logistical supplies. On the 9th, the Red Second Front Army crossed the Weihe River. Since there were no boats, the whole army had to cross the 200-meter-wide Weihe River on foot.Due to torrential rain upstream, the river swelled sharply during the crossing process, and some soldiers were washed away by the flood.After crossing the Weihe River, the enemy planes flew over and bombarded the Red Second Front Army again.He Long recalled: "Zhang Guotao violated the instructions of the Central Revolutionary Military Commission, and the Second Front Army was almost wiped out. The south bank of the Weihe River was also very dangerous. This was the most dangerous time in the Long March." The bomb killed him." Later, at the enlarged meeting of the Politburo in northern Shaanxi, He Long pointed at Zhang Guotao angrily and said: "When you were a member of the Communist Party, I was still a 'warlord'; now, I am a member of the Communist Party, and you Instead, you became a warlord. You, Zhang Guotao, have turned into a monkey from a human, and you have regressed!" On October 22, 1936, the Red Second Front Army went through all kinds of difficulties and obstacles, broke through the enemy's siege and interception, successfully arrived at Jiangtai Fort east of Huining, and joined forces with the Red First Front Army.At this point, the three main forces of the Red Army gathered in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia base area, the Red Army achieved a complete victory in the strategic shift, the Long March came to an end, and the Chinese revolution began to enter a new era.