Chapter 7 A division is reduced to a regiment

The Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army continued southward, and the further south they went, the more rugged the mountain road became.The troops who had been fighting and marching non-stop for several days were exhausted at this time, and the march became more and more difficult. Mao Zedong limped along the mountain road with the team.On the day when the Autumn Harvest Uprising broke out, the foot injury he suffered when he was in danger in Zhangjiafang, Liuyang, not only did not heal, but it became more serious because of continuous marching and fighting. Seeing that Commissar Mao was having trouble walking, several soldiers gathered together and tied a stretcher to Mao Zedong: "Commissioner Mao, please sit on it!"

Mao Zedong looked at the simple but strong stretcher, waved his hands and said, "The road to revolution is blazed, not just sitting!" He declined the kindness of the soldiers and asked them to carry the stretcher to The wounded go to sit. The stretcher was given over to the sick and wounded, and Mao Zedong, leaning on a stick, still insisted on walking with everyone.The soldiers were moved by Commissar Mao's spirit of sharing weal and woe with the soldiers; Mao Zedong felt the crisis of this team more directly and deeply in the communication with the soldiers. Crisis comes from two aspects, tangible and intangible.

Days of marching and fighting against the besieged and intercepted enemies caused a large number of troops to be reduced. Some died and were scattered in the battle, and some escaped and deserted due to disappointment. In addition, the number of malaria and dysentery cases increased day by day, which made the number of troops increase day by day. One day less.Seeing that the number of personnel was decreasing day by day, they continued to withdraw into the mountains, so pessimism shrouded the troops.Some officials were full of complaints; while the desertion of soldiers became an open matter. Some people even asked each other: "Are you going?" "Where are you going?" It’s better to go home and do something than here.” Without saying goodbye, he left.

What's more serious is that the army still follows many practices and traditions of the old army to maintain the relationship between officers and soldiers. The will of officers and the style of warlords can be seen everywhere, and the phenomenon of beating, scolding and insulting soldiers at will occurs from time to time.Some former military officers still have the kind of employment thinking of being an officer and getting a salary. When the battle is defeated and the conditions are difficult, they will show pessimistic and wavering emotions.Some people, regardless of the situation at the time, still maintained the demeanor of an old military officer: leather boots, leather bags, leather leggings, leather belts, and leather whips, which were nicknamed "five-skin doctrine" by the soldiers.These are like building an invisible wall between the officers and soldiers of the army, seriously affecting the unity of the officers and soldiers, making the officers lack prestige in front of the soldiers, and the command is weak.What is particularly worrying is that many officers are not aware of this.

This situation must be changed as soon as possible, otherwise, this team will wear itself down without the enemy fighting! Mao Zedong thought: The troops should undergo a reorganization. On the 29th, the troops arrived at a place called Sanwan Village in Yongxin County. This village, consisting of Chen's family, Zhong's family, Shangli's family, Xiali's family and Sanwan Street, is located at the foot of Jiulong Mountain on the border between Hunan and Jiangxi, surrounded by mountains, and has a quiet environment; because it is located in Chaling, Lianhua, Yongxin, The junction of the four counties in Ninggang can be said to be a largely neglected area, although it is remote, it is relatively safe.In addition, the pursuers seemed to have temporarily stopped their pursuit, giving the troops some time to breathe.Mao Zedong decided to live here for a few days.

That night, at the Taihexiang grocery store in Sanwan Village, Mao Zedong hosted a meeting of the Front Enemy Committee. The topic of the meeting was very clear: to reorganize the Revolutionary Army of Workers and Peasants.This was proposed by Mao Zedong after careful consideration after an in-depth understanding of the current situation of the troops. The meeting lasted until midnight, and Mao Zedong's proposal was finally approved by the majority of the people present at the meeting, thus making three decisions that had a profound impact on the consolidation of this army, and even on the later construction of the People's Army: There is a unit organized by a division that is reduced to a regiment, called the First Regiment of the First Division of the First Army of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Revolutionary Army; a democratic system is implemented within the army, and soldiers’ committees must be established in units above the company; the party branch is established in the company, and above the company. The unit has a party representative to determine the absolute leadership of the party over the army.

The next morning, all the officers and soldiers of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Revolutionary Army gathered in Fengshuping in front of the village. Compared with the meeting held in Wenjia City, Liuyang County 10 days ago, the number of officers and soldiers was reduced by almost half, and many people seemed tired and restless. . Facing the troops in poor mental condition, Mao Zedong seemed to have a plan in mind.Standing under a big tree, he announced the former committee's decision to downsize a division into a regiment, and then said firmly: "Comrades, the enemy only shoots cold shots behind us. What's so great about it? Everyone is a motherfucker." Raw, the enemy has two legs, and we also have two legs. He Long started his career with two kitchen knives and became the commander of the army. We have hundreds of people now, are we afraid that we will not be able to do it? Everyone came out of the uprising, and one person We can be ten enemies, ten can be a hundred, we now have a team of hundreds of people, what are we afraid of? Without setbacks and failures, there will be no success.”

Many people understand this truth.However, the army is currently in such a situation, where to go, after all, it is a practical issue that every officer and soldier has to consider, especially for those who hold the idea of ​​being a soldier to earn money and hire, keep going, let alone earn money, I'm afraid I have to take my life.However, many officers and soldiers did not expect that Mao Zedong then announced an unexpected decision: "Participation in the revolution is completely voluntary. Now, those who are willing to stay, those who do not want to stay, will be given 3 to 5 yuan according to the distance For the travel expenses, I issued a letter of permission to leave the team. I hope that even after returning, the revolution will continue. If anyone wants to come back in the future, we still welcome it!"

The officers and soldiers were astonished!Isn't the army absolutely forbidden to "desert"?Anyone who "deserts" will be punished with corporal punishment and shot at worst once they are caught. This has always been the case in the army.How can anyone not only allow voluntary departure from the team, but also pay travel expenses to go home?This is a practice that the old army dared not even think about!The officers and soldiers couldn't believe their ears. Just when some people were dubious, Mao Zedong went on to say: "We are doing revolution. First, we don't want to get promoted, second, we don't want to get rich, and third, we don't want to support our families. We only want to liberate the working people in the world. This trip, the mountains are high and the rivers are heavy." There is a long way to go. It may be difficult and dangerous for you to follow me, but it is also very honorable. Everyone has his own ambitions and cannot compete with each other. If you are willing to follow me, please stand to the left. We warmly welcome you; if you are willing to go home, Please stand to the right, we will not force you."

At this time, everyone believed that what Mao Zedong said was true!But no one acted right away.Although many people have talked about going and staying in private, when it comes to making a real choice, it is not so easy to make up your mind. The venue suddenly fell silent, Mao Zedong was waiting, and the officers and soldiers were thinking... Finally, someone walked to the left, Wan Xixian, Zhang Ziqing, Wu Zhonghao, Chen Bojun, He Changgong, Song Renqiong and other Communists, Communist Youth League members and revolutionary soldiers walked to the left one by one. On the left; Yu Sadu, Su Xianjun, Chen Hao and other commanders also came over.

Of course, some people went to the right, including some officers. For those who stood on the right and were willing to leave, Mao Zedong did not break his promise, and immediately asked someone to pay them 3 to 5 yuan in travel expenses each, so that they could leave. Counting those standing on the left, there are about 700 people left. Although the number has decreased compared to before, it is like a big wave washing the sand, and the rest are basically the backbone and the elite. Immediately afterwards, the more than 700 people were reorganized into a regiment, which was renamed the First Regiment of the First Division of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army.The troops were organized into two battalions and six companies, plus the secret service company, a total of seven companies, as well as a health team and a delivery team. Due to the surplus of officers after the downsizing, a special officer corps was organized.The establishment has shrunk, but the team has been enriched.Before the adaptation, the situation of more officials and fewer soldiers, and arrogance and fewer personnel has been completely changed. After the reorganization of the army, Mao Zedong still exercised the highest leadership as the secretary of the former enemy committee, while the specific command and management of the army were re-appointed cadres. Head of the regiment: Chen Hao; Party representative: He Tingying, deputy head of the regiment: Xu Shu; chief of staff: Han Zhuangjian; commander of the first battalion: Huang Ziji; party representative: Wan Xixian; commander of the third battalion: Zhang Ziqing; party representative: Li Yunqi; captain of the health team : Cao Rong; party representative: He Changgong; captain of the supply team: Fan Shude. The reorganization was successfully completed. Although the number of troops was not as large as before the reorganization, the organizational system was complete and the personnel were more capable.In particular, while reorganizing, the Party’s leadership over the army was strengthened, and a decision was made to establish the Party branch in the company and party representatives in units above the company; to promote the democratic system within the army, it was decided to establish a soldier’s committee in the units above the company.These have further strengthened the relationship between officers and soldiers, enhanced the unity of officers and soldiers, and improved the combat effectiveness of the troops. This is a bold and successful attempt by Mao Zedong to transform the old-style army. Its role and influence will gradually become apparent in the future as the people's army grows stronger.