Chapter 48 Chapter Nine: The Imprisoned Central "Visitor"——Liao Chengzhi

Liao Chengzhi served as Secretary-General of the General Political Department of the Fourth Front Army of the Red Army.But at the beginning of the Long March, he was expelled from the party by Zhang Guotao and arrested.Speaking of the charges, it is ridiculous: just because his father Liao Zhongkai was a member of the Central Executive Committee of the Kuomintang, and his mother He Xiangning was the head of the Women's Department of the Kuomintang Central Committee.Not to mention that both Liao and He are well-known representatives of the leftists of the Kuomintang and have made immortal contributions to the Chinese revolution. Even if Liao Chengzhi really has a bad family background, what does this have to do with his participation in the revolution?

In fact, Zhang Guotao is not confused, this is just a means for him to eliminate dissidents! After Liao Chengzhi was rescued from Shanghai Kuomintang Prison in March 1933, he was dispatched by the CPC Central Committee to the Sichuan-Shanxi Revolutionary Base in August of that year.Not long after joining the Red Army, he caught up with the "six-way siege" that smashed Liu Xiang, and was immediately appointed as the secretary-general of the General Political Department of the Front Army. At this time, Liao Chengzhi was only 26 years old.He can write and draw, is knowledgeable and quick-witted, and is an outstanding political work leader.No matter how difficult the work is and how tough the environment is, as long as he is there, the work and life there will be full of vigor and vitality.Zhang Guotao saw that Liao Chengzhi was talented, young and promising, so he deliberately transferred him to work by his side.

Not long after the campaign to crush the "six-way siege" in August 1934, Liao Chengzhi was directly transferred away by Zhang Guotao in the name of his writing.Zhang wanted Liao to be his imperial literati.However, Liao Chengzhi couldn't understand Zhang Guotao's warlordism and patriarchal work style. In actual work, the two often had disagreements, which laid the root of disaster ever since.Once, he met Fu Zhong, deputy director of the General Political Department, and said to him worriedly, "I'm afraid I won't be able to return to the General Political Department to work with you."

In October of the same year, when Liao Chengzhi participated in the Fourth Party Congress of the Sichuan-Shaanxi Base Area, he was arrested by Zhang Guotao. The arrest of Liao Chengzhi is a microcosm of the persecution of intellectuals and cadres in the Sichuan-Shaanxi Soviet Area.After the establishment of the Sichuan-Shaanxi Soviet Area, in order to strengthen the construction of the Party and the Red Army in the base areas, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China sent a large number of intellectuals and cadres to the Soviet Area, many of whom studied in the Soviet Union.Zhang Guotao was determined to build the Sichuan-Shaanxi Soviet Area into his own independent kingdom. He knew that these intellectuals and cadres were well-informed, active in thinking, and relatively strong in distinguishing right from wrong.How can you allow others to snore on the side of the couch?So Zhang Guotao used the excuse of "suppressing counter-revolutionaries" to kill almost all these cadres in a planned and step-by-step manner.Due to Zhang Guotao's cruel killing of intellectual cadres, the education level of military and local cadres was extremely low.In the Red Fourth Front Army, except for a very small number of intellectuals such as Zhang Guotao, Chen Changhao, Xu Qianqian, Fu Zhong, Li Te, Huang Chao, Zhang Qinqiu and other cadres at the headquarters, the cadres below the army level were almost all workers and peasants. I can't read a few big characters, and accepting tasks depends entirely on memory.A division commander who was very brave in combat did not know how to write his name, so he had to draw a circle when signing for the document.This left-leaning policy of ignoring the people made the Sichuan-Shaanxi Soviet Area a veritable "illiterate area".

Hu Di was also arrested with Liao Chengzhi.Hu Di was also sent by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. Together with Li Kenong and Qian Zhuangfei, he made decisive contributions to the security of the Shanghai Party Central Committee.Soon after Hu Di was arrested, he was secretly killed by Zhang Guotao, while Liao Chengzhi, Luo Shiwen, Zhu Guang and others were imprisoned for a long time. After the victory of the Red Fourth Front Army's forced crossing of the Jialing River, Liao Chengzhi embarked on the unpredictable and arduous Long March in handcuffs. So many intellectuals and cadres were killed, why did Liao Chengzhi stay alive?It's not that Zhang Guotao didn't want to kill him.Only because he could draw posters and edit wall newspapers did Zhang Guotao let him participate in the Long March in handcuffs.What a life-saving "craft"!It seems that Zhang Guotao is still very pragmatic.

Indeed.During the nearly two years of detention, Liao Chengzhi maintained a high degree of revolutionary optimism, no matter how hard it was to climb snow-capped mountains and cross grasslands, and no matter how harshly he was tortured by hunger and cold. What is particularly commendable is that he has always maintained his loyalty to the party, always put the overall situation of the revolution first, never cared about personal gains and losses, and worked hard to do more work for the revolution.Because he can write and draw, sometimes when the troops need to hang portraits of Marx, Engels, and Lenin in military meetings, he will come out and draw them;

In the early days of the Long March of the Fourth Red Army, Liao Chengzhi's task was to carve comic strips.The text descriptions of the comic strips were first engraved by mimeographers, and then the comic strips were engraved by Liao Chengzhi.At that time, Liao Chengzhi's body was very thin, and his daily tasks were very heavy. He had to work until late at night almost every day, but Zhang Guotao didn't even provide him with a single animal along the way, and let him trek through mountains and rivers, eat wind and sleep in dew like ordinary soldiers.And his every move is closely monitored.

The person monitoring Liao Chengzhi was a tall man who lost an arm due to an injury in the battle.Because they didn't know much about the background of Liao Chengzhi's arrest, both the mimeographer and the big man held a vigilant and suspicious attitude towards Liao Chengzhi, and no one wanted to talk to him more.The big man once said to others: "I want to know all about his activities, and the task given to me is to report his words and actions for a day. I hope everyone will actively cooperate." Liao Chengzhi didn't care about the attitudes of these people, and he knew it was no wonder them.In order to eliminate the barrier, he used down-to-earth work to influence them on the one hand, and approached them proactively on the other hand, asking them what their names were, how old they were, where their homes were, and so on.Especially for the few little soldiers in the mimeograph unit, they are very concerned, and they always ask how they are when they meet.When the comrades saw that he was serious about his work, knowledgeable, and approachable, they gradually forgot that he was still under surveillance and were happy to approach him. Even the big man said, "I don't see anything wrong with him, and I really don't want to follow him." Monitor him, but dare not say." Liao Chengzhi joked when he found out: "You should monitor me, change another one, I don't know what the rules are!" The mimeographers are relatively young and have not experienced any wars , In case of an emergency, it may seem a little flustered.Once encountered enemy bombing, a few young soldiers didn't know what to do, he hurriedly called everyone to the woods to hide.Said: "Don't be afraid, planes can't see things in the woods." After speaking, he took out a book from his satchel and read it as if nothing had happened.His calm demeanor infected everyone, and the soldiers gradually calmed down.

Although Liao Chengzhi himself was in a dangerous situation, the simplicity of the Red Army soldiers still made him often raise the awareness level of the Red Army soldiers within his ability.One day, several young soldiers aged seventeen or eighteen sandwiched him in the middle and asked this and that.As he walked, he said: "The difficulty is getting bigger and bigger. Now that we eat barley, we may not even be able to eat barley in a few days. We must be mentally prepared to overcome difficulties. Are you afraid? Can you overcome difficulties?" "Not afraid Yes! " Hearing everyone's firm answers, Liao Chengzhi smiled comfortably.

A comrade asked again: "Last time you said that we must stick to our destination. Where is this destination?" Liao Chengzhi patiently told them that Japanese imperialism had invaded our three northeastern provinces.The people of the three northeastern provinces became subjugated slaves and were ravaged by the Japanese invaders. Chiang Kai-shek advocated that if you fight against the outside world, you must first settle down inside, and instead of fighting Japan, you will only fight the Red Army.Comrades Mao Zedong and Zhu De issued a call to drive the Japanese devils out of China, and now we are going to join forces with the Central Red Army to fight the Japanese devils....Liao Chengzhi used many simple principles to answer the questions raised by the soldiers, which suddenly enlightened their minds and seemed to understand many principles at once.Walking and walking, Liao Chengzhi sang again:

"Japanese imperialism, it's really hateful to mention..." As soon as he opened his mouth, several little soldiers sang loudly: In a difficult environment and under tremendous mental pressure, Liao Chengzhi not only maintained an optimistic mood, but also was meticulous in his work and kept improving.He knows that the army is in urgent need of spiritual food, and he will not rest until he completes the engraving task, no matter how late.He marched dozens of miles every day, and at night others fell asleep, but he still worked under the oil lamp until late at night. One day, Liao Chengzhi was very angry when he saw that the proofs just printed were blurred, so he called the soldier in charge of the printing and severely criticized: "Look at what you printed, can you see it clearly? When you Are you in a hurry to read something that is not clearly printed? You must be careful and meticulous when doing our kind of work. Such a person would get so angry, with a look of embarrassment, rubbing the corners of his clothes with his hands, not knowing what to do.After a long time, he murmured, "The ink is frozen, and the rolling is uneven..." At this time, Liao Chengzhi also felt a little angry, so he pulled the soldier to his side and patted him on the shoulder kindly, and said gently: "Go back and find a way to bake the ink and warm the house. You must print it clearly." Ask if you have any difficulties." After speaking, Liao Chengzhi stuffed his dry food bag into his hand.Looking at Liao Chengzhi's haggard and weak face, and his sunken red eyes, the soldier shed tears in shame. After the victory of the First Red Army and the Fourth Front Army joined forces, the Central Army appointed a radio station to work in the Red Fourth Front Army. However, Zhang Guotao was guilty of a thief and was very worried about this radio station, thinking that it was sent by the Central Committee to monitor him. At first, this radio station was kept away from the headquarters of the Fourth Front Army of the Red Army and followed the Sichuan-Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee. Later, this radio station was simply assigned the task of copying and receiving news, and even the station's transmitter was confiscated. The task of the news station is to copy the daily broadcasts of the Kuomintang Central News Agency and the Red China News Agency of the Northern Shaanxi Party Central Committee, as well as English, Japanese, French, and German news broadcast by foreign news agencies.According to the regulations of the higher authorities, the news station should send all the Chinese and foreign language news it received to the Security Bureau for translation by the three people imprisoned there.The person in charge of the news station, Yue Xia, discovered that one of the three translators, named He Liuhua, could not only translate news in Chinese code, but also translate news in English, Japanese, French and German. "What a strange person", Yue Xia admired this person's proficiency in foreign languages ​​very much, so she tried to approach and talk to him, but this person just smiled every time and did not speak. This person who is proficient in many foreign languages ​​is Liao Chengzhi.When the two front armies joined forces, Liao Chengzhi was very excited. He believed that the Party Central Committee would rescue him.Later, the Central Red Army of the Route Army went far to the north, which plunged him into painful worries. Combining and dividing is a taboo for military strategists, and it seems that he still needs to wait patiently.Of course he was very happy when the person delivering the press release greeted him, but he knew that Zhang Guotao was ruthless, and in order to protect the people in the Red Army, he could only avoid answering. The Party Central Committee was very concerned about the safety of Liao Chengzhi, Luo Shiwen, and Zhu Guang. It asked Zhang Guotao to hand Liao Chengzhi and other three people over to the Party Central Committee, but Zhang Guotao lied that he did not know the whereabouts of these three people. Fortunately, during the march after the reunion of the Red First and Fourth Front Army, members of the Red First Front Army saw them being escorted by the Red Fourth Front Army Security Bureau. Zhang Guotao could not continue to renege on his debts, but he still refused to release him.In a blink of an eye, in June 1936, the Red Second and Sixth Army Corps and the Red Fourth Front Army successfully joined forces. On this day, He Long, Ren Bishi, and Guan Xiangying rode straight to Ganzi to meet Zhang Guotao.After a burst of warm hugs and inquiries, Zhang Guotao walked towards the Lama Temple where he lived while holding He Long with his left hand and Ren Porridge with his right hand. As they were walking, He and Ren saw that some people were tied by ropes on the grass, and felt very strange, so they wanted to go and have a look.Zhang Guotao hurriedly said: "What do you want to see? They are all AB regiments." Zhang Guotao didn't say anything, but Ren Bishi wanted to go and have a look.Arriving in front of these unkempt people, Ren Bishi suddenly recognized a person, and couldn't help saying loudly: "Aren't you Xiao Liao?" Hearing someone call, Liao Chengzhi was startled, and couldn't help calling: "Uncle Ren." He choked on his sobs I can't go on. Zhang Guotao on the side asked blushingly: "Bishi, do you know him?" Ren Bishi said: "Who doesn't know him, don't you know him? Is he the only son of Mr. Liao Zhongkai?" Zhang Guotao hesitated for a while: " Then let him go." "Not just let him go, but all the AB regiments. The Central Committee's anti-revolutionary campaign has expanded, and this has become a painful lesson for us." Ren Bishi said deeply. "We'll discuss this later." Zhang Guotao avoided the topic. Saying that he was going to let people go, the cunning Zhang Guotao wrote another empty promise.After that, Liao Chengzhi was still under custody, but thanks to the care and protection of Commander-in-Chief Zhu and Ren Bishi, he had some "freedom" and the handcuffs were removed. After crossing the Gaqu River, the troops rested. Liao Chengzhi walked around the crowd with a pencil and paper: "Who wants a portrait?" Liu Bocheng asked him to draw, and he also asked him to draw the ferry boat on the bank.Many people gathered around to watch him use the brush and praised the painting well.Then, he drew a side profile portrait of Fu Zhong (the head of the Northwest Bureau of the Communist Party of China at that time).At that time, if the troops hadn't set off soon, he could have done more portraits for some people. Liu Bocheng and Fu Zhong rewarded him with half a bag of highland barley.He shouted humorously: "Sell paintings, fair trade!"When he was in the detainee queue, he behaved well, and when he got out of the "team", he showed his true colors of humor and optimism. Wherever he went, he would drive away all the worries there. However, "deals" do exist.Not long after entering the grassland, his ration was lost, and he often had to rely on his painting skills to earn something to eat! After all the hardships and tribulations, Liao Chengzhi finally ushered in the master of the three front armies. In October 1936, in order to welcome the Second and Fourth Front Army of the Red Army, the First Front Army of the Red Army marched westward from northern Shaanxi.Along the way, Zhou Enlai kept inquiring about the whereabouts of Liao Chengzhi and some others, and finally saw Liao Chengzhi on the way to Yuwangbao. Liao Chengzhi was very excited when he saw Zhou Enlai.Since Guangzhou, I haven't seen Zhou Enlai for 10 years. 10 years ago, Liao Chengzhi was still a middle school student; when we met 10 years later, Liao Chengzhi was already a member of the Communist Party, but he was "expelled" from the party by Zhang Guotao!In this case, he didn't know what to do.He thought: "Should I avoid it or not? There are people guarding me next to me. If I greet Zhou Enlai, will it cause him trouble? Zhang Guotao is a vicious guy!" Liao Chengzhi was hesitating. At the time, Zhou Enlai had already walked towards him.He walked up to Liao Chengzhi who was being escorted, without any expression on his face, as if nothing had happened, and did not speak, but shook hands with him tightly. Zhou Enlai knew Zhang Guotao's personality well, so he was very artistic when dealing with this issue. That night, Zhou Enlai sent a correspondent to call Liao Chengzhi to the headquarters.At that time, the room was full of people, including Zhang Guotao.He clearly knew that Zhou Enlai knew Liao Chengzhi, but he asked eccentrically, "Have you known each other long ago?" Zhou Enlai did not answer him directly, but instead asked Liao Chengzhi three questions sharply: "Have you made a mistake?" "Is the understanding deep?" "Will you change it?" Liao Chengzhi understood that this was asking him to make a gesture, and by the way, also gave Zhang Guotao a step down, so he quickly answered them one by one.Then Zhou Enlai left him for dinner.During the meal, Zhou Enlai only talked to Zhang Guotao and ignored Liao Chengzhi.After dinner they asked him to go back, he saluted and left. Zhang Guotao originally wanted to clean up all the people detained in the Security Bureau of the Red Fourth Front Army before entering the northern Shaanxi base, lest these people go to northern Shaanxi and take out his old background.But seeing this situation and knowing that the general situation was over, he asked Fu Zhong to announce the release of Liao Chengzhi, Luo Shiwen, Zhu Guang and others on behalf of the Northwest Bureau. The dark clouds finally dissipated, and history turned a new page. Liao Chengzhi said to his international friend Ma Haide: "The future of the Chinese revolution is bright, and it will surely succeed."