Chapter 11 Chapter 11 "Holding a Banquet" on the Grassland, Mao Zedong Invited Peng Dehuai to Feed His Sheep in the Late Night

Zhang Guotao, determined to go south to compete with the Party Central Committee's policy of going north, received a telegram from Xu Chen and was not moved by the sincere words in the telegram.Because he had planned for a long time, was pessimistic about the future of the revolution, wanted to avoid major struggles, preserve his own strength, settle down in a corner, temporarily become the "King of the Southwest", and then spy on the trend of the revolution to decide his own actions and destination. Zhang Guotao carefully analyzed the content of the telegram. Although the wording was tactful, he urged me to give up my plan to go south and go north with Mao, Zhou, Zhang and Bo.Whether it was the opinions of Mao Zedong, Luo Fu, or Zhou Enlai's views, they were all raised to suppress me and make Zhang Guotao submit.As long as it is beneficial to go south, we can exchange opinions. This is a trick played by Mao Zedong, trying to trick me into going with them.If it is possible to exchange opinions, why have they always refused to listen to my opinions since the Lianghekou meeting, and insisted on going their own way!Going north is right, going south is treason!Who is right and who is wrong?Let history be the verdict.The central government is correct, why there are only 10,000 to 20,000 troops left now, I, Zhang Guotao, don't believe it, just wait and see!Going north, whether there is a future, whether there is a way out, is still a big question mark.The Left Route Army doesn't want to follow Mao Zedong and others to do risky things. The Shaanxi-Gansu base area is just empty talk and nonsense.I, Zhang Guotao, have my own considerations.

Therefore, on the day Zhang Guotao received the telegram from Xu and Chen, he immediately called Xu Xiangqian and Chen Changhao, and ordered them to lead the right army southward as the general political commissar. The words were quite fierce, without any room for consideration. Chen Changhao first saw Zhang Guotao's telegram, and was secretly surprised. He felt that Zhang Guotao's will to go south was very firm, and there was nothing to discuss. He felt the complexity and seriousness of the problem, and he was in a dilemma. After Chen Changhao joined the Chinese Communist Youth League in 1926, the party sent him to study at Sun Yat-sen University in Moscow, Soviet Union. In 1930, he became a member of the Communist Party of China. After returning to China, he served as a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League, member of the Standing Committee of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the Communist Youth League and Minister of Propaganda. In the spring of 1931, he went to the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Revolutionary Base and began to work with Zhang Guotao. He was always Zhang Guotao's right-hand man and was trusted and reused by Zhang Guotao.Then he served as the political commissar of the Fourth Red Army and the Political Commissar of the Fourth Front Army of the Red Army.Together with Xu Xiangqian, he organized the battles of Huang'an, Shangcheng, Huangchuan, Sujiabu, Huangchuan and Guangshan, and won major victories. At the beginning of 1933, after the Red Fourth Front Army arrived in the northern Sichuan area, Chen Changhao concurrently served as the vice chairman of the Northwest Revolutionary Military Committee and the director of the Political Department of the Northwest Military Region.After Zhang Guotao, Zeng Zhongsheng, another leader who founded the Hubei, Henan, Anhui and the Fourth Red Army, was beaten down, Zhang Guotao, Xu Xiangqian, and Chen Changhao were naturally the leaders of this base and this army.The history of Chen Changhao's personal struggle, his fame, and his achievements, although they come from his own talent.But the cooperation with Zhang Guotao and the relationship with Zhang Guotao are not unrelated.As a result, he always followed Zhang Guotao and agreed with Zhang Guotao in dealing with some major issues.Since he was incorporated into the Right Route Army and became the political commissar of the former enemy headquarters, he had to obey the orders of the Central Committee because he marched with the Central Committee and was directly under the leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.Under the sharp conflict between the central government and Zhang Guotao about the two opposing strategic policies of going north and going south, for Chen Changhao, it was really a dilemma, and it was difficult to decide.He was still unwilling to offend Zhang Guotao after he had complied with the central government; how would he explain to the central government if he had complied with Zhang Guotao?what to do?He took the telegram to Xu Xiangqian to see how Xu Xiangqian would deal with it.

Xu Xiangqian read Zhang Guotao's call, and he was also very surprised, as if a big stone fell into his heart, extremely heavy.I feel that the Party Central Committee's northward policy and Zhang Guotao's southward route have developed to the point of irreconcilable tit-for-tat, and have become the focus of struggle that affects the overall situation and affects the fate and future of the Red Army.Things got so serious that Xu Xiangqian didn't know what to do?Because he was not mentally prepared, he thought that the telegram he and Chen Changhao sent to Zhang Guotao would have some effect. Zhang Guotao would listen to everyone's advice and lead the left army northward.But contrary to Xu Xiangqian's expectations, Zhang Guotao did not accept their opinions at all, but insisted on going south to issue orders to them as the general political commissar.The matter is of great importance and should not be followed rashly. Xu Xiangqian said to Chen Changhao in a very complicated mood:

"It's impossible not to report such a major issue to the central government. You should go there!" Hearing Xu Xiangqian's words, Chen Changhao rode his horse to the base of the Asi Central Team with this telegram that was crucial to the fate of the Red Army, met Luo Fu and Bogu, and handed the telegram to them for the Party Central Committee to decide. That night, Chen Changhao called Xu Xiangqian from Asi and informed Xu Xiangqian to go to the place where Zhou Enlai was stationed for a meeting.Zhou Enlai was still seriously ill and was very weak, unable to get out of bed. Xu Xiangqian received a call and didn't dare to neglect, so he ate something hastily, whipped and urged the horse, and rushed towards Asi.

Along the way, Xu Xiangqian was in a rather restless mood, thinking back and forth, his heart was like fifteen buckets fetching water, up and down, a kind of ominous premonition surrounded him, tormented him, and made him uneasy.I thought, this is the end of the matter, I can only listen to the central government. Xu Xiangqian ran to Zhou Enlai's residence. It was already night. Under the horse lights, Mao Zedong, Luo Fu, Bogu, Wang Jiaxiang, and Chen Changhao were all there. Everyone's expressions were very serious. Humorous sentiment.He lit a curling cigarette in his hand, but he didn't smoke it, as if he also had many unspeakable hidden worries.

Zhou Enlai half-lyed on the plank bed and gave Xu Xiangqian an affectionate glance as he walked in.Xu Xiangqian nodded cordially to Zhou Enlai as a greeting.In normal times, he would approach Zhou Enlai and ask about his superior, the commander-in-chief of the Red Army, about his health. everything! Mao Zedong said to Xu Xiangqian: "Just wait for you to come, we will have a meeting right away." Then Luo Fu said to everyone: "Comrade Guotao called and asked the former enemy headquarters to lead the right-hand army to go south. Let's see, what should we do?" Bogu said:

"Comrade Guotao agrees with the policy of going north, and now it is called going south. What is the purpose?" Mao Zedong asked Chen Changhao: "Comrade Changhao, tell me." Chen Changhao replied: "Since it is the established policy of the central government, we still need to persuade Political Commissar Zhang to go north." Mao Zedong asked Xu Xiangqian again: "Comrade Qianqian, what's your opinion?" Xu Xiangqian said: "I agree with Comrade Changhao's opinion. However, Commissar Zhang has also issued an order to go south, so we have to find a way to answer him."

Zhou Enlai: "Immediately send a telegram to Comrade Guotao, and persuade him again in the name of the seven of us." Wang Jiaxiang took Zhou Enlai's words and said: "At present, this is the only way, there is no other way." Luo Fu then said to everyone: "I have prepared a telegram, which is a draft, and I will read it to everyone. If you have no comments, send it to Comrade Guotao immediately." Mao Zedong said: "Quickly read it and listen." After Luo Fu finished reading, Mao Zedong asked Chen Changhao: "Comrade Changhao, what's your opinion?"

Chen Changhao said: "I agree with the content of the telegram, and suggest that the left and right armies go north together. If that fails, can you consider going south? It is best not to separate the two armies." Mao Zedong nodded, and then asked Xu Xiangqian: "Comrade Qianqian, what about you?" Xu Xiangqian did not express his position because he was immature in thinking about the issue of going south, and he was noncommittal. After the telegram to Zhang Guotao was sent, Mao Zedong returned to the station in the dark, deeply disturbed.He thought about the various experiences of dealing with Zhang Guotao since Mao Gong joined forces.I feel that this person is really difficult to deal with.Zhang Guotao's reluctance to go north is not a problem with him alone. It is related to the vast Fourth Front Army, the overall situation, and the future of the revolution.The reason why Zhang Guotao did not agree with the central government was nothing more than self-confidence that there were more people and more guns. At this time, we must not fall out with Zhang Guotao, and we must try our best to persuade him to accept the central government's policy and unite the four fronts to advance together.In the dispute with Zhang Guotao on the disagreement on the strategic policy, you can't take any radical words or deeds. At this time, a little carelessness will lead to the loss of the revolution.After the right army crossed the grassland, they suffered heavy losses, and the surviving commanders and fighters were all in poor health and needed to recover.Also deal with the enemy's invasion.If there are major contradictions within the Red Army again, and if they cannot be united, it will be even more serious.Although a telegram was sent to Zhang Guotao tonight, urging him to go north, did Zhang Guotao accept it?Still a problem.Judging from the situation with him in the past few months, it is difficult for him to change his attitude.If Zhang Guotao is unwilling to accept the policy of going north, what should he do next.

Mao Zedong thought about it seriously, trying to find a perfect plan to unite Zhang Guotao and go north.But after thinking for a long time, he found nothing, and smoked several cigarettes. "Bang bang bang bang", a knock on the door interrupted Mao Zedong's complicated thoughts. Mao Zedong opened the door and saw that it was Peng Dehuai, and asked: "Old Peng, what's the matter? Didn't you rest in the middle of the night?" Peng Dehuai said rather worriedly: "can not fall asleep." Mao Zedong asked with concern: "What are you thinking about?"

Peng Dehuai replied cautiously: "Lin and Nie led an army to the Russian border area. I heard that they couldn't find a guide and couldn't ask the way. The vast grassland, where is the Russian border? We prepared a radio station and compiled a secret book to inform the outside world. It is said to be in contact with the First Army, but in fact it is to prevent sudden accidents. I have sent Comrade Wu Ting to take a compass to find the traces of the First Army, and be sure to hand over the secret copy of the radio station to Lin Nie." Mao Zedong smiled: "Old Peng, some people say you are a rough person, but I don't think you are rough at all." Peng Dehuai continued: "Since Mao Gong joined forces, I think Zhang Guotao's smell is a bit unhealthy, and Huang Chao is even more of a problem. Why didn't the Left Route Army come here so late? What is Zhang Guotao trying to do? We are getting a little impatient waiting." Mao Zedong smiled wryly and said: "Send another telegram to Zhang Guotao tonight, urging him to go north quickly." Peng Dehuai said anxiously: "These days, some comrades of the Fourth Front Army have listened to the instigation of Zhang Guotao, Huang Chao and others, and are very unfriendly to the comrades of the First Front Army. The comrades of the First Front Army have also said some excessive things to the comrades of the Fourth Front Army. The two armies The unity of China is a problem, and it will become more serious if it continues to develop.” Mao Zedong explained: "The comrades below are mainly because they don't understand the truth of the matter. We can't blame them. Comrades in the First Army should take the initiative to establish unity with comrades in the Fourth Army. If it is not conducive to the unity of the two armies, let alone what is not conducive to the unity of the two armies." Nothing to do." Peng Dehuai said angrily: "We insist on marching north and support the central government's line. If Chen Changhao and the others support Zhang Guotao's southward policy, and the first army has marched two days ago, what should we do if the fourth army forcibly disbands the three armies? In order to avoid the unfortunate incident of the Red Army fighting the Red Army , in this forced situation, can we take hostages?" Mao Zedong thought for a moment and replied: "No! To fight Zhang Guotao, you have to pay attention to a little bit of strategy. If you don't handle it properly, something bad will happen." Peng Dehuai said seriously: "If Zhang Guotao forced the three armies to march southward, then one army would not be able to march northward alone, nor would the central government. It would not be effective if one army marched northward alone. If Zhang Guotao marched southward together, Zhang Guotao might rely on his many men and guns to engage in Drop the center." Mao Zedong thought about Peng Dehuai's words, and said sternly: "If that's the case, Zhang Guotao is a full-fledged warlord and conspirator." Peng Dehuai went on to say to Mao Zedong: "Beware of Zhang Guotao's tricks, I have secretly sent the 11th Regiment to hide around the headquarters of the Central Team and the Military Commission, just in case." Mao Zedong smiled and nodded Peng Dehuai's head with his hand and said: "Old Peng, I can't see that you are quite scheming, and you are so vigilant." Peng Dehuai said: "When dealing with Zhang Guotao, you need to have a few more eyes. You can't have the heart of punishing others, but you must have the heart of guarding against others." Mao Zedong nodded: "Yes, I am always on guard against him. Especially at present, when the front army is at a disadvantage and the fourth front army is in an advantage, we must be more cautious." Peng Dehuai said to Mao Zedong: "It's getting late, I'm afraid it's early in the morning, I should go, what else do you have to explain." Mao Zedong thought about it and said: "There are some things that I haven't thought about clearly for a while, so let's talk about them later. It's good that you are highly vigilant. At present, our situation is a bit bad. If Zhang Guotao doesn't make trouble, the situation will be much better. Now, many of you I spend all my time doing work for Zhang Guotao. This person is really difficult to deal with! After you go back, you must do a good job of uniting the Fourth Front Army. Pay attention to the word 'tough', you can't imitate Zhang Fei. Jump. When dealing with Zhang Guotao, you have to be a 'beef candy', you can't stop talking, don't be a glass, the glass will shatter when you hit it." Peng Dehuai listened carefully to Mao Zedong's instructions, pondered the meaning of each sentence, and kept nodding his head.Finally said: "Chairman, it's time for me to go, and it's time for you to rest." "Don't go!" Mao Zedong said immediately: "I'm hungry and want to eat something, we two have supper together. I'll treat you." Mao Zedong added with a smile: "It's not easy for me to invite you to eat something good. Eat it." Peng Dehuai thought to himself, since he crossed the grassland, Mao Zedong ate green trees like everyone else. The barley was gone, he ate wild vegetables, swallowed grass, and gnawed bark.Now, in order to improve Mao Zedong’s life, the Ministry of Supply provides him with something good. I can’t get involved, so I keep saying: "I'm not hungry, I don't want to eat, I'm leaving." "What are you busy with?" Mao Zedong hurriedly dissuaded: "This thing is not here, you can't eat it if you want." Now, Peng Dehuai felt even more uneasy, and had to insist on walking.Mao Zedong pulled his sleeve and said with a smile: "Old Peng, we share the blessings and share the difficulties." Mao Zedong asked Peng Dehuai to sit down, and walked into the room where the secret agent lived next door alone.When Mao Zedong left, Peng Dehuai's eyes stayed on the small table in front of Mao Zedong's bed.I saw two small books written by Lenin, "Infantile Disease of the "Leftists"" and "Two Strategies" under the lantern.So familiar, these two books were sent to him by Mao Zedong in 1933 and read.I remember that Mao Zedong also wrote on the title page of "Two Strategies", "If you read this book during the Great Revolution, you will not make mistakes." That book is called knowing one but not knowing the other; you will know that the 'left' and the right are equally dangerous after reading "'Leftist' Childhood Diseases." Peng Dehuai flipped through the two books, feeling overwhelmed, and saw Mao Zedong drawing many lines with red and blue pencils on the books.I also wrote down a lot of reading experience in the world of some pages, which are densely packed. As Peng Dehuai flipped through the pages, he thought to himself, what good food did Mao Zedong invite me to eat tonight?Anyway, I'm already hungry, so eat as soon as you eat, and get Mao Zedong once. After a while, Mao Zedong came out from the hut next door, holding a big earthen bowl in his hand, and the contents in the bowl were steaming. Mao Zedong put the earthen bowl on the table and said cheerfully: "Zhe Peng, please eat lamb intestines and tripe. These things are not easy to eat, so I shouldn't lie to you." Peng Dehuai asked puzzledly: "Where did you get it?" "I went to Enlai's place during the day, and on the way back, I found a pair of sheep thrown into the water in the ditch by the side of the road. It was frozen hard, and the cook picked them up, cleaned them up and cooked them." "Uh!—" Peng Dehuai sighed in distress. Mao Zedong smiled and said: "Old Peng, why are you sighing! Do you think that you can't eat what people throw away? In fact, after washing it, you can still eat. It's been a long time since I had a 'tooth sacrifice'. Come on, let's have a 'tooth sacrifice' today." , open a 'foreign (sheep) meat'". Peng Dehuai smiled wryly and shook his head. Then Mao Zedong poured two bowls of boiling water into a small earthen bowl, and said to Peng Dehuai: "Come on, let's replace wine with water and 'drink' happily." Peng Dehuai took the clay bowl and said: "Chairman, you are so optimistic! At what time is it now, you still seem to have nothing to do." Mao Zedong said: "It doesn't matter, if the sky falls, we can hold it up, as long as you, General Peng, are there." Then Mao Zedong ate it with relish, and while chewing, he was full of praise for the cooked lamb offal.Peng Dehuai saw Mao Zedong gobbling it up, and thought to himself, Mao Zedong was really hungry. Mao Zedong asked Peng Dehuai while eating: "Have you ever eaten dog meat? The dog meat is delicious too." Peng Dehuai replied that he had eaten it.Mao Zedong went on to say: "In Jinggangshan, I ate pumpkin and eggplant all day long, and drank red rice soup. The intestines were so rusty, I got dogs to eat them. At first I was not used to it, and I wanted to vomit. I felt uncomfortable for a while, but gradually I got better." Mao Zedong sent Peng Dehuai away, and called to the side room: "Zizhen!" There is no sound. Mao Zedong wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and walked straight to the side room. Mao Zedong pushed open the wooden door, and saw He Zizhen sobbing on a bed made of door panels under the faint lantern light.Mao Zedong was startled, and tentatively asked: "Zizhen, I think you're about to turn into He Daiyu. What makes you so sentimental and cry?" He Zizhen ignored Mao Zedong and turned his face to the inner wall. Mao Zedong took out a cigarette from his pocket, took off the lantern cover, tilted his head to inhale, took a puff, and paced back and forth in the small room, wondering why He Zizhen was unhappy tonight. Mao Zedong walked back and forth a few times, stopped and said to He Zizhen: "Zizhen, is the little thing in your stomach playing tricks and making you uncomfortable?" Mao Zedong blamed himself.I thought of the scene of my wife giving birth in Baisha when the troops crossed the Chishui River for the first time to Gulan in Sichuan five or six months ago.Although I didn't witness it at the time, but I heard from the comrades of the recuperation company that He Zizhen almost lost his life.Because he had to deploy a battle to cross Chishui and return to the north of Guizhou, he couldn't get away to guard his wife and fulfill his unshirkable responsibility as a husband.After his wife gave birth, when the baby who was waiting to be fed was left alone by an old lady in Sichuan, he rushed to visit his frail wife's bedside. Today, his wife is pregnant again, Mao Zedong never hoped!But it is a fact after all.Due to the dangerous environment and the scarcity of food, there was no need to talk about nutrition at this time. Mao Zedong was quite distressed by this. Seeing He Zizhen's emaciated face and difficult steps during the march, he felt uneasy for a while. But the strong He Zizhen never blamed Mao Zedong!On the way to the west of the disaster, it can be said that I have never shed tears because of the physical discomfort caused by pregnancy.But what made her sad today?Mao Zedong asked again and again, but she always kept silent. It turned out that He Zizhen had just heard a very unfortunate news. She didn't want to tell her husband for fear of distracting him, because the difficult revolution needed him.At least she didn't want to tell him right now, so she drank the bitter wine brewed in pain alone. He Minren, the younger brother of He Zizhen, who served as a soldier in the First Army Corps, was executed by the army. Do you think her sister He Zizhen was sad when she heard that? What's going on? He Zizhen has five brothers and sisters.Her elder brother He Minxue participated in the revolution with her very early and was a secret party member in Jiangxi.The younger sister Xianyuan was killed by the enemy.There is also a younger sister He Yi and a younger brother He Minren. The younger brother He Minren was fostered at his uncle's house when his father He Huanwen and mother Wen Tuxiu fled Yongxin when the Great Revolution failed.When he was thirteen or fourteen years old, he joined the revolution with his older brothers and sisters and became a soldier in the third column of the guerrillas led by Huang Gonglue.Later, the third column expanded into the Sixth Red Army, and He Minren served as a trumpeter in the Sixth Red Army.Because he is very beautiful like his elder sister He Zizhen, and his name is "Minren", so the soldiers jokingly called him "Beauty".Because of his young age and well-behaved appearance, everyone loves to joke with him, and because of his sister He Zizhen, he feels that his status seems to be superior to others, and his life is a bit free and undisciplined. People don't get along very well.On Xizheng Road, He Minren was a bugler in a regiment.When the troops were stationed in Tibetan areas, once he passed a Lama Temple, he found that the Tibetans left some silver dollars and copper coins in a hurry when they fled under the anti-propaganda of the Kuomintang.The other soldiers did not dare to move when they saw it, and they all knew the discipline of the army.But He Minren didn't care about this, he quietly ran in and took some away, hoping to buy some food with it, because he was very hungry at this time, and he didn't care about anything in order to fill his stomach.But at the same time that He Minren took away the silver dollars privately, he was discovered by soldiers, so he told the regiment headquarters where He Minren was.The charge was to enter the Lama Temple without authorization and take away more than a thousand lace (silver dollars).Of course, this was a serious violation of discipline. If the Red Army did not stop them from breaking into houses and taking other things, what kind of army would this army fight for the poor? How could the people support it?Coupled with the fact that the Red Army passed through areas of brotherly ethnic groups, due to ethnic estrangement caused by historical reasons, the troops must enforce iron discipline, otherwise they will collapse without attack. The regiment headquarters where He Minren belonged quickly reported this major incident to the division headquarters.The division headquarters ordered He Minren to be tied up. Since He Minren usually did not have a good relationship with his comrades, and this time he violated discipline, someone suggested that he should be killed.He Minren shouted loudly that he was wronged, and he only took a hundred copper coins. It was completely because someone falsely accused him and took the opportunity to vent his anger.He begged a Yongxin fellow who joined the army with him to write a letter for him to tell his sister He Zizhen, hoping that her sister would intervene in this matter and save his life.The head of the regiment and the political commissar were also quite troubled by this matter, because considering the relationship between He Zizhen and Mao Zedong, they suggested that the division headquarters send a telegram to Mao Zedong and listen to Mao Zedong's opinion before dealing with it.Little did they know that it was not easy to send a telegram in that difficult environment. The battery had to be charged before the telegram could be sent, and sometimes it could not be sent when the battery was not fully charged.The telegram sent to Mao Zedong was delayed three times and two times, which delayed a lot of time.Forced by the voices of the soldiers and the discipline of maintaining the iron code of the Red Army, the political commissar of the division got impatient and decided to implement it immediately. The telegram asking for instructions from the division headquarters to Mao Zedong was finally sent out, but Mao Zedong did not know that it was handled by other comrades in the Central Committee.The opinion is to investigate and verify, and the execution is suspended.But when the telegram from the Central Committee came back, He Minren had already been executed.And the letter that the fellow from Yongxin wrote for He Minren was too late to write. When He Minren was executed, he cried bitterly: "Wow! I only took a hundred copper coins instead of more than a thousand silver dollars. I am wronged! Big brothers and sisters, where are you?" He Minren's grievances may be right.Because the strongest peasants on the West Expedition can only pick seven or eighty silver dollars.He Minren is a red kid under the age of 18, how could he take away more than a thousand silver dollars. If the fact of the crime is a bit exaggerated, even if it is found out in the future, the person is already dead.On the west road, the dead seem to be insignificant, even Mao Zedong's wife and brother were not spared.But this just shows that the Red Army is determined to enforce discipline and does not show favoritism. Even the relatives of the Red Army leader Mao Zedong who violated the discipline must be brought to justice.