Chapter 19 Letter to Lin Biao[1]

(June 14, 1929) Comrade Lin Biao: 1. Your letter [2] moved me a lot. Because of your brave advance, my courage has also grown up. I will definitely join you and all comrades who seek to advance in the interests of party unity and revolution. Fight against all harmful ideas, habits, and systems.Because the current controversy is not a personal or temporary issue, but a problem of the entire Fourth Army Party and the long-term struggle of the past year. However, it was concealed for various reasons in the past, and it has only recently been exposed.In fact, the concealment in the past was wrong, but the exposure now is right. Controversy within the party is a progress of the party, not a step backward.Only by quickly reconciling and perfunctory, erasing the boundary between the two parties, and turning the so-called vulgar matter into a trivial matter is a step backward. I think this time there will be no terrible evil results.Less than a few days after the Baisha meeting[3], the issue has already been discussed enthusiastically among the masses within the party. I think comrades must demand that this issue be thoroughly clarified, and they must not be reconciled and perfunctory, ambiguous, right from wrong, and We must be able to choose and support an opinion that is conducive to the unity of the party and the advancement of the revolution.There is no doubt that the work of reforming the Fourth Army will be completed and the Party of the Fourth Army will make great progress in this way.

2. If you don't understand the history of the Fourth Army's struggle, you won't understand the source of the current controversy, and if you don't understand its source, you won't understand the nature of the entire issue of the struggle between the two ideological systems from the Fourth Army to the present.The main points of the question are as follows: (1) individual leadership and party leadership, (2) military viewpoints and political viewpoints, (3) cliqueism and anti-cliqueism, (4) rogue thinking and anti-rogue thinking, ( 5) Issues of political power in the middle of the Luoxiao Mountains, (6) Issues of local armed forces, (7) Issues of urban policy and the discipline of the Red Army, (8) Assessment of the current situation, (9) The failure of southern Hunan, (10) Scientific and regularization Problems, (11) military technical issues of the Fourth Army, (12) formalism and necessities, (13) decentralization and centralization, and (14) other corrupt ideas.Let me preface it below.

3. Individual leadership and party leadership, this is the main problem of the Fourth Army Party.Discussing this issue, we must first remember that most of the Fourth Army was born out of the old army, and it was dragged out of the defeat environment.When we remember these two points, we can understand why all ideas, habits, and systems are so hard to change, and why the leadership of the party and the leadership of individuals are always in conflict[4], growing in a state of struggle.Since the Red Army was transformed from the old-style army, it brought all the supporters of the old ideas, old habits, and old systems to fight against those who opposed these ideas, habits, and systems. The first reason has not yet been absolutely established.Not only that, most of the Fourth Army was dragged out of the defeat (this was 1927), and the assembly was the party organization before the defeat. Since it was very weak, it lost its leadership completely during the defeat.At that time, it can be said that 9 out of 10 reasons for being saved were saved by personal leadership, which resulted in huge personal leadership.This is the second reason why Party leadership cannot be absolutely established in the Fourth Army.After understanding these two reasons, let's take a look at the history of the party organizations of the Fourth Army to better understand the opportunities for growth and decline in the struggle between individuals and the party.Since the founding of the Fourth Army, the Party has built a general foundation from company to company. Now the higher-level guidance organs have corrected the struggle strategy (the Hunan-Jiangxi Border Special Committee, the Front Committee of the Fourth Army Military Commission), the establishment of local party headquarters in border counties, and mass struggle. The development of individualism has gradually reduced the role of individuals, and the leadership of the party has gradually strengthened.It can be roughly divided into three periods: the first period from the establishment of the Fourth Army to its return to the border in September last year. This period included the victory of repeated border wars and the defeat of southern Hunan[5].During this period, the party could not have absolute command power. Small groupism fully existed and developed. The party did not dare to try to mobilize guns. Laws and regulations have not been established, and individuals often dominate politics and weapons. At this time, the party from the company to the army is essentially in a subordinate position, and it absolutely obeys the orders of individuals on certain issues.

From returning to the border last September to occupying Tingzhou on March 14 is the second period.During this period, the party was able to build theoretically[6] small groupism (although in practice it was not yet possible), the military supply system was established, and a system of seventy-five long spears was established[7], but it has not yet been able to touch For short guns[8], it is not as difficult as it was in the first period to pick up the gun and hand it over to the place.During this period, a small number of comrades tried their best to lower their heads, and the party was indeed in a commanding position. This was generally the case from the branch to the front committee.There are several notable features during this period: first, under the circumstances of the defeat in southern Hunan and the escape of Dayu all the way, individuals did not show any great leadership. In the first period, there were repeated military victories, which was the number one reason why the party leadership rose.Second, the political level and struggle experience of the party organizations and comrades in this period has indeed improved compared with the first period. It is not easy for a few comrades to speak and act incorrectly to win the support of ordinary people, so I have to restrain myself. It is the second reason why the party leadership has raised its head.Third, during this period, we encountered two new friendly armies, namely the Fifth Army [9] and the Second and Fourth Regiments [10].The Fifth Army could not have much influence on the Fourth Army, but it did give the Fourth Army a considerable stimulus in breaking the small groupism, especially when the Bolu Conference[11] discussed the joint formation of the Fourth and Fifth Armies, Peng Dehuai[12] Comrades' expressions of indignation dealt a considerable blow to a small number of comrades.As for the 2nd and 4th regiments, the comrades of the 4th Army felt extremely ashamed when they saw them. They were commanded by the instructors. They are absolute party leaders.This can also be said to be the reason that helped strengthen the leadership of the Fourth Army Party.

From Tingzhou to the present is the third period.In this period, the Party and the Red Army have actually improved in all aspects compared with before.Due to the organization of the first, second, and third columns, small groupism has actually begun to weaken. [14] Column committees are more effective than front committees.Party departments at all levels can discuss various issues more freely, and the number of short guns can also be stipulated.The Political Department was established, and the authority of the headquarters was also limited.It's all about the organizational aspect.With regard to the political line, the political tasks instructed by the Sixth Congress[15] can be realized in work, the implementation of urban policies is better, and the propaganda has improved.Large-scale guerrilla tactics have been learned, and the organization of the Red Army has also expanded due to the development of the current situation.However, because the will of the party has been stretched to the maximum extent, personal will has never felt pain like never before, several victories in a row, and a formalistic theory has come from afar.The focus of the debate is whether the military party headquarters should be needed in the current era. Because a small number of comrades are determined to want the military committee, they have to attack the front committee, which involves the problems of the party's own organs. Centralize the front committee" is their slogan of attack.When talking about the work of the branch in the debate, some people said that the branch only educates comrades. This is also due to the issue of the party's jurisdiction. Because they advocate that the scope of the party's involvement must be limited, they have to advocate that the branch Work is also limited.Because the will of the party is expanded and the will of individuals is reduced, all issues must be resolved at the party meetings at all levels before individual party members are allowed to carry out work in accordance with the resolutions, so that individuals do not have heroic freedom, so there must be considerable freedom requirements "Do you have to ask the party about a gun?" "Should the party take care of the groom if he has no food?" This became their slogan for laughing at the delicate and small work of the party department.The above are their opinions expressed at the meeting of the Hulei Front Committee[16]. Although the discussion issues are divided into three (the scope of the party's influence, the work of the branch, and the individual has no freedom), the spirit is consistent, that is, the individual The specific performance of the leader and the party leader competing for supremacy.Since the recent controversy, some comrades feel that the Party of the Fourth Army is facing a crisis. If the individualistic leadership of a small number of comrades wins, then, as your letter said, there will be a kind of destruction of the unity of the Party and it will not be conducive to the revolution. future will come.But I believe this is not the case, because the Party of the Fourth Army has clearly improved compared to the first and second periods. Thirty-six votes to five in the 41-person meeting canceled the fact that a few comrades insisted on establishing a military committee, and we can know that the majority of people will definitely not support their "unfavorable to unity and unfavorable to revolution" Claimed.Individualism and anti-individualism, that is, the struggle between individual leadership and party leadership, is the general thread of the history of the Fourth Army.Generally speaking (with all its branches) there are two opposite opinions on the following items. Let us try to briefly list them.

4. There have always been some comrades in the Fourth Army who have a military viewpoint and disagree with those who stand on the political viewpoint, that is, the viewpoint of the masses. This is a very serious problem of political line.Due to the long-term struggle experience and the influence of the workers and peasants, this kind of mind of simple views has gradually been washed away, and the simple concepts of "fighting a big battle" and "taking dozens of states and counties" have been relatively reduced, but they have not been completely eliminated. It will happen when there is a chance, especially in the event of military failure, almost anything can be canceled, as long as the barrel of the gun is saved.What these comrades find most annoying at meetings is the discussion of propaganda and organizational issues, and the development of purely military influence in guerrilla work rather than political influence.The remaining cliqueism in the warlord army was one of the biggest problems that harmed the Red Army.Not only are a small number of comrades unwilling to work hard to eliminate cliqueism, but they tend to encourage cliqueism.If cliqueism is not eliminated and cannot be completely led by a collective party like the Second and Fourth Regiments, then the Red Army is just a nice name!

The idea of ​​rogue bandits has always been very powerful in the Red Army, and it arose because of the vagrant elements in the Fourth Army.The Party has fought many struggles against this ideology, but its tail still exists today, and those who represented this ideology in the past cannot be said to have abandoned this ideology.The most obvious manifestation of the influence of bandit thinking on politics is the different views on the political issue in the middle of the Luo Xiao Mountains.Let us not forget that the consensus among the four armies on the issue of the border separation between Hunan and Jiangxi is only superficial. In the heart, there are some comrades who want to break away from the border struggle at all times. Everyone who has struggled across the Hunan-Kiangsi border knows that.The issue of building armed forces on the Hunan-Kiangsi border has always been a struggle because of the need to draw guns from the Red Army.The vagrant elements of the Red Army gave rise to the rogue ideology, which at the same time affected urban policy and the discipline of the Red Army.The comrades in charge obviously expressed different opinions. One kind thought that it was no big deal to destroy some cities and destroy military discipline; the other was the opposite.Regarding the violation of military discipline, some comrades thought that it would be better not to have this victory than to have this violation of military discipline; some comrades did not have such a deep feeling, and let it go with a casual sigh.This is the most recent example, and there have been many previous examples.The issue of military discipline is a big political issue in the Red Army, but because one kind of people advocates strictness and another kind of people advocates leniency, the effect is negated.In the psychology of the masses, because the majority of people do it and the few people do it well, it will have a bad influence as a result.

There have always been different opinions on the assessment of the current situation, so opinions on the actions of the Red Army also differed, especially on the frontier.Most of the comrades admitted that they were wrong when most of the Fourth Army went to southern Shonan in July last year, and the representative meeting in Shatian also admitted it in the same way. Unexpectedly, a few comrades recently had a strange opinion, saying that it was right to go to southern Shonan. It is wrong to stay on the border.This is also one of the extreme opposite examples of opinion. The thoughts and actions of communists should always be a little scientific, but some comrades are just the opposite of science. A speech or an action can find many contradictions.Speak completely regardless of the impact that the words will have, whether it is right or not, just talk nonsense. "You talk nonsense, they only know so much", what kind of unscientific attitude is this! A slightly more advanced army needs to be regularized. We have to accept the "messy" phenomenon of the Red Army. It is a phenomenon of primitive vagrant bands, against which we must strive.However, some comrades obviously support this phenomenon intentionally or unconsciously. At least they have no determination to fight against this phenomenon. As a result, the Red Army has not yet been able to build a large-scale army. It is still far behind the bourgeois army. It is a lamentable phenomenon.

"Rotten cowhide is not rotten cowhide, and rotten tofu is not rotten tofu." This was Comrade Zhu Yunqing's indignant remark when describing the poor military technology of the Fourth Army.Anyone who has lived in the Fourth Army probably admits that the military skills of the Fourth Army have reached a very poor level. However, some comrades are unwilling to take care of their duties of training officers, but they do some political agitation every day. What happened? The strange saying that "the local tyrants can't fight and have nothing to do".If this phenomenon does not change, there is no way to solve the military-technical problems of the Fourth Army.

5. Until recently, the two different opinions are most obvious than the debate on the issue of the Military Commission.A small number of comrades insist on a military committee, and they really want a party's leading organization to hold in their hands, in order to uphold their long-suppressed ambitions (that is, another guiding line different from the previous guiding line), but they show The reason for this is still high-sounding, but it's just a formalism.They said: "Since it is called the Fourth Army, there must be a military committee" and "to complete the organizational system, there should be a military committee." Isn't this a completely formalistic statement? Now there is only a small army of more than 4,000 people, and there is no majority of "armies." Just like there are many provinces under the central government.The guerrilla era when there were many marches is completely different from the era of border separatism when there are many garrisons. Army guidance needs to be concentrated and agile.A small number of comrades don't care about these practical reasons at all. They just want to forcefully insert a military committee under the front committee and above the vertical committee. People are these people and things are also these things. Everyone understands this. Not actually needed.However, a small number of comrades have exhausted all their efforts and insisted on establishing it. What is the reason to explain it? To find out the reason, I can only say that this is the root of the wrong line of the small number of comrades. Two guiding lines As long as we find out the history of the Fourth Army, we can easily understand the practical significance of this debate.

In order to set up a new guiding organ - the Military Commission, we had to find out the old reasons and attack the old guiding organ - the front committee and even the branch.The most specific reasons for their attack were: (1) the party replaced the organization of the masses, and (2) there was a patriarchal system within the party of the Fourth Army.Their attack is all about formalism.The replacement of mass organizations by party organizations has been strictly prohibited since the establishment of the Fourth Army Party. As far as the workers’ and peasants’ organizations under the guidance of the Front Committee are concerned, no party branch has ever replaced the workers’ and peasants’ associations. Anyone with eyes in the Fourth Army has seen that the branch has replaced the company's soldiers' committee.As for the replacement of mass organizations or government organs by party organs, such as the replacement of column sergeant committees, column command headquarters, and column political departments by vertical committees, and the replacement of sergeant committees, military command headquarters, and military political departments by front committees, this has never happened before.But the formalism of a few comrades is here again. They say that although the party headquarters has not replaced the mass organs and government organs, in fact the column headquarters has seldom reported to the army headquarters, and the army headquarters has been weakened.A small number of comrades do not know that this phenomenon is the difference between formalism and necessities. The leadership of the vertical committee or the front committee is strengthened, and all issues (whatever they need to raise) can be discussed and decided at the meeting table, and then notified to the government organs The comrades in charge should implement it, otherwise it is called free action (such as free control of finances, free control of guns, etc.).This performance is an example of the strengthening of the leadership of the party, and we cannot but admit that this is a progressive phenomenon.At each meeting, the responsible comrades of the political organs are present at the meeting, and their opinions are also participated in, and many issues can only be discussed (such as combat plans, officers and soldiers training plans, etc.) when they are proposed by these responsible comrades. After discussing and voting, it was put into practice after the meeting, so I felt that the administrative organs were simpler and freer, but in fact, what was wrong with it? The army commander was idle, but the party representative (and the party secretary are two different things ) is even more idle, because there are no lower-level party representatives to report to him.Few reports from the column headquarters reached the army headquarters, but even fewer reports from the column political department reached the army political department.I don't ask whether the later state is more lively than the previous era of free administrative control and reporting-the early days of the Hunan-Kiangsi border, whether it is effective in work and whether it is more convenient for struggle, and it does not follow the needs. Estimate, estimate only from the form, what kind of communist attitude is this?! May I ask if it is not done well in practice, but what is the use of making it look good in form?! As for the administrative committee who accused the border of Hunan and Jiangxi [19] Regardless of how effective the administrative committee system has been in the border struggle, it is only formally thought that the party's organs have replaced the administrative organs and it is considered undesirable. This is also a mistake in formalism.If this theory of formalism continues to develop, it will inevitably ignore the effect of everything, but only its form, and the danger will be unspeakable.The border administrative committee system has had a great effect in the border struggle. Anyone with eyes can understand this. Moreover, the executive committee is an internal party department on the one hand and an open administrative organ on the other. What about the agency system? As for attacking the patriarchal system within the Party of the Four Armies, this is also a formalistic observation.Here we must first ask what is patriarchal system, and then we can know whether there is patriarchal system in the Fourth Army, otherwise the random talk will definitely not correspond to the facts.The definition of paternalism is: only individual orders, no collective discussion, only superior appointments, no mass elections.If everyone accepts this definition, then we can see if there is any patriarchal system in the Party of the Fourth Army.The collective discussion of the Party of the Fourth Army has always been like this from the branch to the front committee. The party meetings at all levels, especially the two-level meetings of the front committee and the vertical committee, whether it is the standing committee or the plenary meeting, should go beyond the members, almost every day. The non-committee responsible comrades who arrived for the first time participated.If a small number of comrades suffer from amnesia, the minutes of the meetings of the various columns (the three vertical committees have all the minutes from last May, no less than once), the minutes of the front committee (there are meetings from this year) record, not missing once), you can check it.On major issues, such as the discussion on the departure from Chingkang Mountain, the discussion on the division of troops in Donggu, the current controversy and the discussion on the division of troops, etc., the opinions of the masses are always sought.It cannot be justified to say that there are only individual orders and no collective discussions in the Party of the Fourth Army, right?! When it comes to the formation of various guiding organs, from the branch committee[20] to the vertical committee and the front committee are appointed by the Central Committee, but this cannot be regarded as the fourth army party. Proof of internal paternalism, in fact no patriarchal system can be found in the Party of the Fourth Army.Why do a small number of comrades have such an excuse? What is the objective source of such remarks? Yes, there is a system in the Fourth Army where the party secretary also serves as the party representative of the Red Army. Some comrades cannot distinguish between the party representative and the secretary. Two things, because the authority of party representatives and military officers has never been clarified, and power struggles often occur, which has caused people who are not clear-headed to regard the work of party representatives as the party secretary's work there.The comrades of several companies in the third column called the branch secretary of that company the "boss", and that's how they worried about it.To get rid of this disadvantage, the only way to solve this problem is to separate the party representatives from the secretary. This can be solved by recruiting more people from the inside while recruiting more people from the outside. ).The source of formalism is idealism, and the source of idealism is the individualism produced by the vagrants, peasants and petty bourgeoisie. Yes, just a thing.The other side of this ideological development must be decentralism - also an idea representing the vagabonds, the peasants, the petty bourgeoisie, and the organization of struggle with the proletariat (whether it is a class organization - trade unions, with the class vanguard organization—the Communist Party, or its armed organization—the Red Army) are incompatible.This is the reason why the separation of powers between the Military Commission and the Front Commission cannot exist. Corrupt thoughts such as vanity, exaggeration, heroic thinking, etc. are all rooted in individualism. 6. We are historical materialists, and we must examine everything from both historical and environmental aspects to get the truth.I now cite all aspects of historical issues since the establishment of the Fourth Army to prove that the recent issues (the issue of the Military Commission, but the issue of principle) are just the knot of history, the last struggle on a wrong ideological line in history.We must not forget the origin and composition of the Red Army. According to statistics in May, among the 1,324 party members in the entire army, there were 311 workers, 626 peasants, 100 small businessmen, and 19 students. Twelve, other ninety-five, the ratio of workers to non-workers was twenty-three percent to seventy-seven percent.When discussing personal thoughts, don't forget his origin, education and work history, which is the research attitude of communists.Obviously, there is an incorrect idea based on the peasants, vagrants, and petty bourgeoisie in the Party of the Fourth Army. This kind of thinking is not conducive to the unity of the party and the future of the revolution, and there is a danger of departing from the standpoint of the proletarian revolution.We must struggle against this kind of thinking (the main thing is ideological problems, the rest are minor and substantive), [21] to overcome this kind of thinking in order to completely transform the Red Army. We must oppose it without hesitation. This is the goal of comrades' struggle in the future. As for my request to leave the Front Committee, it is not passive, and I have the following reasons for not participating in this struggle: (1) As for the struggle against erroneous ideas within the Party, I have exhausted my efforts in the past two years. Now that I have put forward the content of the problem, the majority of comrades can only win the final victory through continuous struggle. (2) I have been in the Fourth Army for too long, and the influence of a historical position is very bad. This is the central reason I want to point out. (3) I am physically weak and intellectually poor, so I hope to be sent to Moscow to study and rest for a period of time through the Central Committee.Before I got permission from the central government, the former commissioned me to do some things in the local area, so that I could make considerable progress due to the improvement of the environment. (4) The Party of the Fourth Army already has a relatively solid foundation. After I went there, there was absolutely no bad influence.Since ideological divisions and struggles in the party have already arisen, I will never fail to achieve the goal of victory because of my departure. Therefore, the latter paragraph of your letter is overwhelmed.Naturally, I can only put forward my opinions on my work, and I decided to stay at the party headquarters. I have not left for a day, and I can still fight with everyone for a day! C's salute [22]! Mao Zedong Xinquan on June 14 Printed from transcripts kept at the Central Archives. -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ note [1] Lin Biao (1907-1971), a native of Huanggang, Hubei (now Huangzhou City).At that time, he was the captain of the first column of the Fourth Army of the Red Army. [2] Refers to Lin Biao's letter to Mao Zedong on June 8, 1929. [3] The Baisha Conference refers to the enlarged meeting of the Front Committee of the Fourth Red Army of the Communist Party of China held in Baisha, Shanghang County, Fujian Province on June 8, 1929. [4] Eight or nine characters were missing after the word "anti-grading" in the original. [5] In the first ten days of July 1928, the enemies of Hunan and Jiangxi provinces launched the first "conference to suppress" the Jinggangshan revolutionary base.Du Xiujing, a representative of the Hunan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, did not realize that it was a period of temporary stability for the ruling class, and ignored the joint meeting of the Hunan-Jiangxi Special Committee, the Fourth Red Army Military Committee, and the Yongxin County Party Committee that the Fourth Red Army should continue to consolidate its bases on the Hunan-Jiangxi border. It was decided to only formally implement the instructions of the Hunan Provincial Party Committee on the development of the Fourth Red Army to the south of Hunan, and echoed the thought of the 29th Regiment of the Fourth Red Army wanting to return to its hometown (Southern Hunan), so the 28th and 29th Regiments As a result, the Fourth Red Army suffered heavy losses both in southern Hunan and on the Hunan-Kiangsi border, which is commonly known as the August defeat. [6] The word "construction" is suspected to be a mistake in the word "criticism" from the context analysis. [7] The original document missed seven or eight characters after "system". [8] The original text misses about thirty characters after "short gun". [9] Refers to the Fifth Army of the Red Army led by Peng Dehuai and Gen Daiyuan, which arrived at the Jinggangshan Revolutionary Base in December 1928 to join the Fourth Red Army. [10] Refers to the Jiangxi Red Army Independent Second and Fourth Regiments.In February 1929, the Fourth Army of the Red Army joined the Second and Fourth Regiments in Donggu, Ji'an. [11] Bailu Conference refers to the meeting held on January 4, 1929 in Bailu Village, Ninggang County, Jiangxi Province, where the Front Committee of the Fourth Army of the Red Army, the Special Committee of the Hunan-Jiangxi Border, and the Military Committee of the Fourth Army and Fifth Army of the Red Army were held. etc. joint meeting.The meeting conveyed the resolution of the Sixth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, discussed how to smash the third "suppression" of the Kuomintang troops in Hunan and Jiangxi provinces against the Jinggangshan base area and the Red Army's course of action, and decided that Peng Dehuai would lead the Red Army's Fifth Army and the Red Army's The 32nd Regiment of the Fourth Army stayed behind at Jinggang Mountains, and Mao Zedong and Zhu De led the main force of the Fourth Army of the Red Army to attack southern Jiangxi to implement external mobile operations. [12] Peng Dehuai (1898-1974), born in Xiangtan, Hunan.At that time, he was the commander of the Fifth Army of the Red Army. [13] This is the original, probably referring to the roster. [14] The original is in front of the "Column Committee", and there are three unclear words. [15] Refers to the Sixth National Congress of the Communist Party of China held from June 18 to July 11, 1928. [16] Hulei front committee meeting refers to the meeting of the front committee of the Fourth Red Army of the Communist Party of China held in Hulei, Yongding County, Fujian Province at the end of May or early June 1929. [17] The original text missed three or four words after "immediately". [18] Zhu Yunqing (1903-1931), a native of Meixian, Guangdong.At that time, he was the chief of staff of the Fourth Army of the Red Army. [19] Executive Committee, short for Action Committee. [20] Branch committee refers to the CCP detachment committee in the Red Army.The detachment was equivalent to a battalion at that time. [21] The original text missed seven or eight characters after "struggle". [22] That is, the communist salute. C is the first letter of the word Communism in English.