Chapter 3 The new situation and new tasks after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War[1]

(August 23, 1945) one The present situation is that the stage of our country's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression has ended and we have entered the stage of peaceful construction.The whole world, including Europe and the East, has entered a stage of peaceful construction.It is certain that World War III will not break out at present.We may enter the stage of peaceful construction under two circumstances, one is that we can get a part of the big cities, and the other is that we cannot get it.I can't get it now.We have tried to enter several big cities, such as Peiping, Tianjin, and Taiyuan, before entering the peaceful stage, but without success.There are two reasons: First, for the sake of international peace and restricted by the Sino-Soviet Treaty[2], the Soviet Union cannot and is not suitable to help us.Our weapons are rifles, and it is very difficult to take down the big cities occupied by the Japanese army without foreign aid.The Sino-Soviet Treaty was signed after Japan announced its surrender, and the content has not yet been announced. It is estimated that the Soviet army’s advance was limited to the three northeastern provinces, and the entry into Re and Cha[3] was temporary in nature.If the Soviet Union openly helps me, the United States will definitely help Chiang openly, and war may break out, and peace will not be achieved.The second is that Chiang Kai-shek used his legal status to make the Japanese invaders surrender only to the Kuomintang army. We wanted to fight for a part of the right to surrender, but we couldn't get it because we had no legal status.Although we still have to raise the issue of surrender to the Kuomintang, it is actually hopeless.Because of these two points, the fruits of victory that we wanted to strive for could not be obtained.We can only admit the fact that this is not the result of not striving, we can only enter the peaceful stage without getting big cities.This is the first point.

Second, about Chiang Kai-shek's status.On his plus side, he has legal status and a big city.His disadvantage is that there are powerful liberated areas in front of him, he has internal contradictions, and he cannot meet the people's demands for democracy and people's livelihood. Third, about our status.Our advantage is that Chiang Kai-shek cannot deny the merits of the resistance to Japan, and our party has never had such a high status in the eyes of the people of the whole country during the period of the Great Revolution and the Civil War; The party has a program of struggle for democracy and people's livelihood, and can solve problems that Chiang Kai-shek could not solve.On the downside, we don't get big cities, no mechanized armies, no legal status.

Fourth, the reason why we did not get big cities and mechanized troops was that on the one hand we did not have foreign aid, and on the other hand we did not do a good job in urban and military work (for the puppet and Kuomintang troops).Of course, even if the work is done well and we get Beiping and Tianjin, we may not be able to keep them.But it is a fact that we have not done a good job, so we cannot stop the Kuomintang army from occupying big cities. Fifth, can peace be achieved? Can civil war be avoided? Our current slogans are peace, democracy, and unity. In the past, the slogans were war of resistance, unity, and progress.Peace is possible because the Chinese people need peace, and the Soviet Union, the United States, and Britain also need peace, and they do not approve of civil war in China.China used to be the enemy, but now it is full of devastation, and the liberated areas in the front have suffered heavy losses. The people need peace, and our party needs peace.The Kuomintang cannot make up its mind to fight a civil war for the time being, because its stalls are not properly set up and its forces are scattered.Hu Tsung-nan[4] now only has three armies surrounding us (the other three armies have gone to Shanxi, three are in Henan, and the location of one army is unknown), and he has nothing to do when we stretch out our fists.At the same time, there are many internal contradictions in the Kuomintang army. This time they handed over one million guns from the Japanese invading army, which may cause new contradictions.The central army and the miscellaneous army totaled 2 million, plus the 800,000 puppet troops incorporated, a total of 2.8 million. Its strength was weaker than the Japanese army plus the puppet army, and our army could still be expanded.The Kuomintang itself has these difficulties, plus the existence of the Liberated Areas, the Communist Party is not easy to be eliminated, and the people at home and abroad oppose the Kuomintang to fight a civil war. Therefore, a civil war can and must be avoided.The three slogans of peace, democracy, and unity put forward by our party have a realistic basis and can win broad sympathy at home and abroad.

Sixth, Chiang Kai-shek's policy of eliminating the Communist Party has not changed and will not change.The reason why he may adopt temporary peace is due to the existence of the above-mentioned various conditions. He still needs to heal his wounds and strengthen his strength so that he can destroy us in the future.We should take advantage of his temporary period of peace. Seventh, the conditions we require are Article 14 of the "Current Urgent Requirements" [5]. If everyone agrees, it will be passed and the Secretariat will make amendments.Among the fourteen articles, except for the third, fourth, and fifth articles, they are all old requirements, focusing on issues of democracy and people's livelihood.The most realistic thing now and what the two sides are striving for is the first one, which is to recognize the Liberated Areas and the People's Liberation Army.Articles 3, 4, and 5 require participation in handling all important tasks after Japan’s surrender and accepting the surrender of the Japanese army. Among them, except for participation in peace conferences and United Nations conferences, which may have the hope of San Francisco[6], the rest are is hopeless.The debate on the first point must be very intense. The two sides may have to fight and stop, and may even have to beat Chiang Kai-shek to force him to make concessions. He will not meet our requirements anyway.After arguing for many years in the past, he only admitted that we had twelve divisions in order to bargain with us after we got a big city. Now that the Japanese are gone, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party are face to face, and the problem cannot be dragged on.

Eighth, the criticism of the Kuomintang was originally decided to stop for a while, but because Japan announced its surrender and Chiang Kai-shek ordered us to "garrison and stand by", we had to criticize it again and gradually ease it down in the future.In the future, our policy will still be "When Jiang opposes, we will also oppose, and when Jiang stops, we will also stop", to achieve unity through struggle, and to be reasonable, beneficial and restrained.It is impossible to imagine that under Chiang Kai-shek's high pressure, we can gain our position without a struggle.

Ninth, the march[7] in the last two weeks is necessary, the army has been concentrated, and the hearts of the people have been inspired. The number of counties under our control has increased to 134.In the future, we will march for a period of time to capture more small and medium-sized cities, mobilize the masses, and train the army.The population and the army in the liberated areas have expanded, financial difficulties, how to solve the problem of clothing and food? In the future, we will have to downsize and start production.This winter, we will retrain the army and show Chiang Kai-shek and the United States that civil war is not easy to fight, so that we can achieve a more favorable solution in the negotiations.If you can't relax, you won't be able to talk well if you relax.

Tenth, the two important tasks in peacetime—urban work and military work—are very important. We did not do them well in the past, and we must do our best to do them seriously in the future.If we do not learn to do these two tasks well, the final liberation of the Chinese people will be impossible. Eleventh, the long-term twists and turns mentioned at the Seventh National Congress of the Communist Party of China are preparing for the greatest difficulties, and now they are going to be implemented.It is now possible in our country to form a government led by the bourgeoisie with the participation of the proletariat.If China establishes a coalition government, there may be several forms.One of them is the current dictatorship plus some democracy, which will exist for quite a long time.For this form of coalition government, we still have to participate in it to "wash face" for Chiang Kai-shek, not to "behead".Taking this detour will make our party more mature in all aspects, and the Chinese people more enlightened, and then establish a new democratic China.China with 450 million people is almost equal to a Europe. Many countries in Europe have not yet won, or are not fully led by the Communist Party.We have to be prepared to compromise.We have to be prepared to deal with the greatest difficulties, such as no help from foreign countries, the possible shrinking of the army due to negotiations, internal inconsistency, and so on.The situation in Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang is very dangerous now.But the decisive point is our internal unity. As long as we ourselves are united, the enemy cannot overwhelm us.

Twelfth, prepare to issue a manifesto[8] in the name of the Central Committee, appearing in a new posture of peace, democracy, and unity.Comrade Enlai immediately went to Chongqing for negotiations, and he returned after two days of talks. Hurley and I will then go [9].This time I can't delay, I should go, and it is estimated that there will be no major danger. Thirteenth, the liberated areas must make long-term plans.It is good to concentrate the army this time, but it is not convenient to concentrate too much, and it should be changed according to the conditions such as food, clothing, and guns.In the liberated areas, there may be another streamlining of troops and administration.Wars must be profitable, and wars that are not sure should not be fought, as long as the army is in hand, there will be a solution.Don't increase the burden on the people. We will implement a large-scale rent reduction this winter and large-scale production next spring.As long as we have a firm foothold and a clear mind, we are not afraid of all strong winds and waves.

two Everyone's opinions are very good. Today's policy was decided by the Seventh National Congress, and the policy of the Seventh National Congress is the policy of opposing civil war.The current threat of civil war exists, but the Kuomintang has great difficulties. At least this year there will be no major civil war, and peace is possible.Under such circumstances, should we attack or retreat? The main thing is of course the offensive, the offensive in peace, but some will retreat.Chiang Kai-shek will not fully admit the ten million people and one million troops in the Liberated Areas.We must be prepared to make some concessions, some quantitative concessions, in order to obtain legal status, and partial concessions in exchange for legal status in the whole country, so as to prepare for the new situation.We must be prepared for such concessions.On the other hand, we have to be prepared to attack in legal work, use the forum of Congress to attack, and learn to fight legally.This is a new environment for us, and it is different from the three periods of the Northern Expedition, Civil War, and Anti-Japanese War, because this is a period of peace.We need to use such a period to educate the people of the whole country and to train ourselves.Only after you have learned to do a lot of work can you be able to do work in the whole country and big cities.

There is no question of opportunism.The fact that the Soviet Red Army did not enter the customs is not a subjective problem of ours. The Japanese army did not hand over their guns to us. We have fought hard.As for whether we are "Left" opportunists in expanding the region? That is not the case either.We occupied some places and then withdrew. If we knew what we are today, why did we do it at the beginning? This kind of thinking is wrong. In places where we have withdrawn, the masses have also been educated.When planting grass as a mark, it should be bigger, and when it is time to live and work in peace and contentment, it should be smaller.After three periods of war, now comes a period of peace, and we are going to prepare for urban work.

How is the work in the Northeast? It is certain to send cadres there, but it is not yet decided to send troops. It depends on the situation, and it may not be possible. If the negotiations are unsuccessful and the Kuomintang attacks us, shall we fight? We should fight, but we must win the battle. Will the People's Representative Conference of the Liberated Areas be held? If peace is achieved, a peaceful, democratic and united meeting will be held. Should I go to Chongqing? Today's meeting decided to go, not not to go.But the timing to go is decided by the Politburo and the Secretariat.So the telegram[10] back to Hurley said Pine would come and go first.If Hurley and Shao Lizi[11] come to invite me, I will go with them. This gesture is better. When I went to Chongqing, it was decided that Comrade Shaoqi would act as my substitute, and the secretariat would recommend Comrades Chen Yun and Peng Zhen[12] as alternate secretaries, so that after Enlai and I left, there would still be five people in the secretariat who could hold meetings. We do not mention the issue of demarcating areas, because we demand the recognition of all liberated areas, but Chiang Kai-shek does.Comrade Bogu [13] proposed to summarize the fourteen articles into six articles. This is a very good idea, and it will be considered and decided by the Secretariat [14]. Published based on the transcript of the speech kept by the Central Archives. -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ note [1] This is Mao Zedong’s speech (Part 1) and conclusion (Part 2) at the enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. [2] Refers to the "Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance" signed in Moscow on August 14, 1945, between the Chinese Kuomintang government and the Soviet government.On August 26, the treaty was officially announced. [3] Re, referring to Rehe Province, was abolished in 1955. At that time, the jurisdiction was the northeast of Hebei Province, the southwest of Liaoning Province, and the southeast of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.Cha, refers to Chahar Province. At that time, the jurisdiction was the northwest of Hebei Province and the Xilin Gol League of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. In 1949, it was changed to the northwest of Hebei Province and the north of Shanxi Province. [4] Hu Zongnan (1896-1962), a native of Xiaofeng, Zhejiang (now Anji County).At that time, he was the commander-in-chief of the First Theater of the Kuomintang Army. [5] Article 14 of the "Current Urgent Requirements" was drafted by Zhou Enlai for the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and revised by Mao Zedong and proposed to the Kuomintang. The Kuomintang troops in the Liberated Areas of China shall avoid civil wars that endanger the people of the whole country and disrupt international peace. 3. Designate the areas where the Eighth Route Army, the New Fourth Army, and the South China Anti-Japanese Column accept the surrender of the Japanese Army. 4. Allow the Anti-Japanese Army and their representatives in the Liberated Areas of China to participate in the disposal of the victims of the Japanese surrender. All important tasks. Fifth, allow representatives from China's liberated areas to participate in future peace conferences and United Nations conferences on dealing with Japan. Sixth, severely punish traitors and disband the puppet army. Seventh, release patriotic political prisoners. Eighth, rescue compatriots in distress. Ninth, recognition The legal status of all parties. 10. Abolish the secret service. 11. Abolish all laws and regulations that hinder people's freedom and censorship of news publications. 12. In all recovered areas, organize local democratic coalition governments to accommodate the CCP and the Anti-Japanese democrats from all walks of life participated. Thirteen, reorganize the army in a fair and reasonable manner, and handle demobilization. Fourteen, immediately convene a political meeting of representatives of all parties and non-party affiliations to discuss emergency measures after the end of the War of Resistance, formulate a democratic governance program, and end Rectify the government, form a democratic coalition government with national unity, and prepare a national assembly for free and unfettered universal suffrage." [6] From April 25 to June 26, 1945, the founding meeting of the United Nations was held in San Francisco, USA.The members of the Chinese delegation attending the meeting consisted of representatives from the Kuomintang, the Communist Party, and the Democratic League.On the CCP side, Dong Biwu represented the Liberated Areas to attend the conference.The "San Francisco style" mentioned here means that the Chinese delegation attending an international conference is composed of representatives from the Nationalist Party, the Communist Party, and other democratic parties. [7] Refers to the comprehensive counter-offensive launched by the armed forces in the Liberated Areas against the Japanese army during the two weeks from August 11th to 23rd.On August 10, 1945, Zhu De, commander-in-chief of the Yan'an headquarters, issued an order to all armed forces in the liberated areas, ordering the surrender of the Japanese and puppet troops.On August 11, the Yan'an headquarters issued six more orders in a row, ordering the armed forces led by He Long in the Jinsui Liberated Area, the armed forces led by Nie Rongzhen in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Liberated Area, and the armed forces in the Jireliao Liberated Area to march to Inner Mongolia and northeast; The armed forces in the liberated areas eliminated the Japanese and puppet troops along Tongpu Road and the Fen River Basin; ordered the armed forces in the liberated areas to launch active attacks on all enemy-occupied traffic arteries to force the Japanese and puppet troops to surrender.The armed forces in the liberated areas resolutely carried out these orders and won major victories. [8] That is, the "Communist Party Central Committee's Declaration on the Current Situation" published on August 25, 1945.The declaration stated: "The Communist Party of China believes that in this new historical period, the major tasks facing our entire nation are: to consolidate domestic unity, ensure domestic peace, realize democracy, and improve people's livelihood, so that on the basis of peace, democracy and unity, we can realize national prosperity. Reunification, building an independent, free and prosperous new China, and cooperating with Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union and all allied countries to consolidate the lasting peace among the nations".The manifesto required the Kuomintang government to immediately implement six emergency measures: "(1) Recognize the democratically elected government and the anti-Japanese troops in the Liberated Areas of China, and withdraw the armies surrounding and attacking the Liberated Areas in order to achieve peace immediately and avoid civil war. (2) Delineate the Eighth Route Army, the New Fourth Army and the The South China Anti-Japanese Column accepts the areas where the Japanese surrendered and gives them the right to participate in all the work of handling Japan, in order to show justice. (3) Severely punish the traitors and disband the puppet army. (4) Reorganize the army fairly and reasonably, handle demobilization, and provide relief Relieve the people, reduce taxes, and make the people of Su suffer. (5) Recognize the legal status of all parties, cancel all laws and decrees that hinder the freedom of people’s assembly, association, speech and publication, abolish the secret service agencies, and release patriotic political prisoners. (6) Immediately convene all parties and independent Meetings of party representatives to discuss major issues after the end of the war of resistance against Japan, formulate a democratic governance program, end political training, establish a democratic coalition government with unanimous national unity, and prepare for a free and unfettered national assembly for universal suffrage.” [9] The arrangement mentioned here for Zhou Enlai and Mao Zedong to go to Chongqing for negotiations was changed on August 25, 1945 by the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, which decided that Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai would go to Chongqing together to negotiate with the Kuomintang.On the same day, Mao Zedong replied to Wedemeyer, commander of the US military's China theater, welcoming Ambassador Hurley to Yan'an, and he and Zhou Enlai could fly to Chongqing together. [10] Refers to Mao Zedong's telegram to Wedemeyer on August 23, 1945.The telegram said: "I have received your call. I am very welcome. In order to seek the unity of China and the peace of the Far East, I sincerely hope to come to Chongqing to discuss with Chairman Chiang. I will send General Zhou Enlai to contact you. Please pass it on to Ambassador Hurley and send The transportation is convenient.” [11] Shao Lizi (1882-1966), a native of Shaoxing, Zhejiang.At that time, he was the secretary-general of the National Political Council and the representative of the Kuomintang to participate in the Chongqing negotiations. [12] Chen Yun (1905-1995), a native of Qingpu, Jiangsu (now part of Shanghai).Peng Zhen, born in 1902, is from Quwo, Shanxi.He was elected as a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee at the First Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. [13] Bogu, namely Qin Bangxian (1907-1946), was born in Wuxi, Jiangsu.He was a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. [14] After the enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee, the Secretariat of the Central Committee summarized the original 14 current emergency requirements into six emergency measures requiring the Kuomintang government to implement them immediately, and wrote them down on August 25, 1945. "Declaration of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the Current Situation".