Chapter 11 rational choice

According to the agreement between Mao Zedong and Yuan Wencai, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army must first go to the ancient city of Ninggang.Only there can the final decision be made on whether to agree to the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army's going to Jinggangshan. On October 3, Mao Zedong led the Revolutionary Army of Workers and Peasants to leave Sanwan for the ancient city of Ninggang.The ancient city is not far from Sanwan, only 30 miles away; in addition, after the troops were reorganized and rested, the commanders and fighters were in high spirits, so at noon, the troops arrived at the ancient city smoothly.

The ancient city is a small market town with mountains on one side and a river on the other, with more than a hundred families living there.It used to be called Sheng Township, and it was named the ancient city because it used to be the seat of the ancient county town of Ninggang County. The troops arrived in the ancient city, and under the arrangement of Long Chaoqing and Chen Muping, they quickly settled down. The regiment headquarters was set up in the Liankui Academy in the center of the village, and Mao Zedong lived in the back room of the academy. The health team is also arranged at Lien Quay College.

The placement of the sick and wounded was one of Mao Zedong's greatest concerns.Anyone who has led soldiers knows that whether the wounded and sick can be properly placed will directly affect the morale of the troops.Since the Autumn Harvest Uprising, the number of wounded and sick has continued to increase, and because the troops have been in a state of flux, the wounded and sick can only move with the army. This can neither provide a stable treatment environment for the wounded and sick, but also involves more manpower and energy of the troops.In order to strengthen the work of the wounded and sick, Mao Zedong specially appointed He Changgong as the party representative of the health team when Sanwan was reorganized.

He Changgong, formerly known as He Kun, was born in Huarong County, Hunan Province. He went to France for a work-study program. After returning to China, he engaged in peasant movements and revolutionary activities in Huarong County. After the failure of the Great Revolution, he joined the Wuhan Guard Corps under the pseudonym He Changgong and joined the army until he participated in the Autumn Harvest Uprising. . At Liankui Academy, seeing the wounded and sick everywhere, Mao Zedong couldn't help asking He Changgong to understand the situation: "How are the wounded feeling?"

He Changgong answered truthfully: "Although there are no major problems, many wounded and sick are worried about the future. Some people are afraid that if things go on like this, they will drag down the troops, and some are emotionally unstable. For treatment, just carry them into the mountains, it’s better to shoot them to death.” After hearing this, Mao Zedong pondered for a long time. The army really needs a foothold!From the point of view of arranging the wounded and sick, this is a matter of urgency. Mao Zedong felt that the Workers’ and Peasants’ Revolutionary Army had been reorganized in Sanwan, and now it had a relatively stable environment. At this time, it was very necessary to seriously summarize the experience and lessons since the Autumn Harvest Uprising, and discuss and study major issues such as the foothold of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Revolutionary Army. , to unify the understanding of Wang Zuo, Yuan Wencai and other local green forest armed forces.

Therefore, Mao Zedong decided to hold a front committee, and it was an expanded front committee. Since the Autumn Harvest Uprising, Mao Zedong presided over two meetings of the Front Committee. One was in Liren School in Wenjia City, Liuyang County, where the decision to withdraw troops was made; the other was in Sanwan Village, Yongxin County, where the decision to reorganize the troops was made. Decide.Both times, the front committee made correct choices on issues related to the life and death of the troops.Now, when the troops arrived at the foot of Jinggang Mountain, they had to make a choice whether to go up the mountain to find a foothold, or continue walking, or go to Guangdong to find the troops of the Nanchang Uprising.So Mao Zedong thought of setting up a front committee.

On the evening when the troops arrived in the ancient city, the front meeting was held in Wenchang Pavilion of Liankui Academy.More than 40 former committee members Mao Zedong, Yu Sadu, Yu Benmin, Chen Hao, He Tingying, Wan Xixian, Xiong Shouqi, and cadres above the battalion attended the meeting.The difference from the previous two former committees is that a group of battalion and company cadres were newly appointed due to the reorganization of Sanwan, so that some grassroots party members replaced the original old military officers to attend the meeting; Long Chaoqing, the head of the party organization in Ninggang County , Xie Hanchang, Xiao Zinan, and representatives of Yuan Wencai were also invited to attend the meeting.

More than 40 people packed the small hall of Wenchang Pavilion to the brim. Mao Zedong, who presided over the meeting, briefly conveyed the spirit of the August 7th Meeting of the CPC Central Committee, and then summarized the experience and lessons of the Autumn Harvest Uprising: "Our riot was launched in accordance with the decision of the Central Committee and the Hunan Provincial Party Committee, although we were at a disadvantage militarily. , but we openly unfurled the banner of the Revolutionary Army of Workers and Peasants, and we used our actions to show the Kuomintang reactionaries that the Communists cannot be chased away or killed! Of course, since the riots, we have failed to fight a few battles, mainly due to the loss of our troops. Scattered. To sum it up now, the three regiments should not have been scattered and one regiment would attack one county, but the north and the south should have coordinated and concentrated the three regiments between Xiushui and Tonggu to attack Liuyang."

Those who listened nodded repeatedly. Mao Zedong then analyzed in detail the military gains and losses since the uprising, and analyzed the situation of the enemy's strength and our weakness, and then said: "Although the Autumn Harvest Rebellion suffered a little setback and suffered a military defeat, we should not be pessimistic. Because From a strategic point of view, we have not failed. After all, we have not been wiped out or scattered, but we have preserved this team. rear." Mao Zedong's summary of the experience and lessons of the Autumn Harvest Uprising convinced many people present.However, I don't quite understand Mao Zedong's last mention about "establishing the rear".

Regarding the idea of ​​establishing a rear, Mao Zedong talked with Long Chaoqing before the meeting.He told Long Chaoqing that he would set up a rear area in Maoping, put the health team there, and settle down.In this way, the troops can go into battle lightly, prepare for military operations, and carry out guerrilla warfare. Long Chaoqing was of course happy that the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army settled down in Ninggang. At this time, Mao Zedong introduced Long Chaoqing to the comrades attending the meeting, and asked Long Chaoqing to talk about the situation in Ninggang and the border between Hunan and Jiangxi.

Therefore, Long Chaoqing introduced the basic situation of Ninggang in detail. Ninggang County, located on the border of Hunan and Jiangxi, belongs to Jiangxi Province and is located in the middle of Luoxiao Mountains.Basically, it belongs to the mountainous area. The area of ​​high mountains and hills accounts for more than 90% of the total area of ​​the county. There are many mountains and mountains in the territory, and the terrain is dangerous. There are many hills and semi-hilly basins in the mountains. In addition, it has a subtropical humid climate, abundant rainfall, sufficient sunlight, mild climate, and long frost-free period, which provide favorable conditions for the growth of crops, so it is rich in grain and oil. It is recorded in the ancient county annals that "one year can be cultivated and three years can be eaten"; Among the vast mountains, covered with dense forests, the mountains are covered by trees all over the mountains.All these provided unique natural conditions for the troops to settle down. Long Chaoqing specifically mentioned a mountain that everyone is not familiar with: "In the south of the county, not far from here is Jinggang Mountain, which spans Hunan and Jiangxi provinces. Gong, it’s really a good place to go.” The more favorable condition is that this place has also been baptized by the vigorous wave of the Great Revolution and has a relatively solid revolutionary foundation. Long Chaoqing said: "Although we belong to a remote area, during the period of the Great Revolution, there were Communist Party organizations, peasant associations, trade unions, women's committees and other revolutionary organizations were established, and the workers' and peasants' revolutionary movement was launched. In the Peasant Self-Defense Army, Yuan Wencai's unit alone had more than 60 guns. The native and Hakka revolutionary masses in Ningkang once united to kill and drive away three reactionary county magistrates who came to Ningkang to take power, and once seized the entire county. regime." Long Chaoqing's introduction gave the participants a preliminary understanding of this relatively unfamiliar place, and they began to express some interest in making a home here. Mao Zedong's long-standing thought of "going up the mountain" has gradually become clear and concrete, and his goal has been clear, that is, to establish a revolutionary base in the middle of the Luoxiao Mountains with Ninggang as the center, and implement armed separatism.The problem now is to turn our own understanding into that of commanders at all levels, and through them into the understanding of the entire army. This is not an easy task! Sure enough, some people raised objections at the meeting, and among them was Yu Sadu, who still held the title of teacher. Ever since Mao Zedong decisively made the decision to give up attacking Changsha in Shangping, Liuyang, Yu Sadu has always been dissatisfied. He always advocated the attack under the banner of implementing the central decision.When his opinions were rejected by the front committee again and again, although he expressed obedience on the surface, he was full of complaints and slackened his work. I remember that during the march from Lianhua to Yongxin, the troops prepared to camp after walking for a day. Mao Zedong saw that it was still dark, so for safety reasons, he proposed to go another 10 miles before camping.Yu Sadu was very worried about this, and would mutter whenever he had a chance: "What kind of teacher am I, I don't even have the command of the 10-mile road." Now, when the troops retreated again and again under the command of Mao Zedong, Yu Sadu couldn't hold back when he was about to go deep into the mountains to settle down. The decision of the Hunan Provincial Party Committee must be carried out to the letter. Now we are not organizing forces to counterattack, but retreating blindly. And the retreat is getting more and more outrageous. We have to retreat to the mountains and set up camps, to be "kings of the mountains". Could it be possible to defeat the Kuomintang reactionaries by staying in this ravine?" Yu Sadu's words indeed expressed the doubts in some people's hearts.Didn't the October Revolution led by Lenin succeed through urban riots?Wouldn't it be contrary to Lenin's practice that we go to the valleys?Can this really defeat the Kuomintang reactionaries and seize power? Mao Zedong didn't care much about Yu Sadu's accusation, because Yu Sadu had always had such an attitude during these days.However, in order to eliminate some comrades’ doubts about establishing a revolutionary base in the mountains, Mao Zedong patiently explained the truth: “We can now be said to be in a period of low revolution, and the enemy is strong and we are weak. The so-called enemy is strong, which means that the enemy occupies a dominant position. , control large and medium-sized cities, and they are strong in the cities. But China is very large, and in places where the reactionaries can’t take care of, they are weak in remote rural areas. We avoid strong enemies, and in rural areas where the enemy is weak Go, you can survive, seek development, and finally defeat powerful enemies and win victory. "There are 108 heroes, relying on the water and Liangshan, which made the officers and soldiers helpless. The feudal rulers have never been able to wipe out the 'King of the Mountain'. Then, for the recovery and development of the revolutionary force, it is red What's wrong with the 'King of the Mountain'? "The middle section of the Luoxiao Mountains is majestic. It can be advanced or retreated. It is easy to hide troops and has room for maneuver. On the one hand, it is far away from big cities such as Nanchang, Changsha, and Wuhan. It is a place where the reactionary forces are weak, so it is convenient for us to accumulate strength; On the one hand, it can affect the two provinces of Hunan and Jiangxi, and even the lower reaches of the two provinces, which is conducive to the development of the revolution.” ...The meeting lasted for two full days, and finally, except for a few people, finally unified their opinions and made a decision to establish a revolutionary base in Jinggangshan. This is a wise choice.Many years later, when the Communist Party had seized and controlled the country's political power, some people who were at this crossroads spoke highly of Mao Zedong's decision. He Changgong said: "The adaptation from Sanwan to the ancient city meeting solved some major problems in army building and establishing base areas. The first rural revolutionary base area and a new type of people's army were created, which ignited the 'armed separatism of workers and peasants'. Sparks." Of course, Mao Zedong chose to settle down in Jinggangshan.But whether he can go to Jinggangshan depends on Yuan Wencai's permission. At this time, Yuan Wencai's attitude is still unknown, but Yuan Wencai's representative expressed his gratitude to the guests: We can help your army with some supplies, please "choose another mountain." Mao Zedong immediately expressed his righteousness to Yuan Wencai's representative, stating the pros and cons.With the help of Long Chaoqing and others, Yuan Wencai's representative was persuaded to change his mind. After unifying the internal understanding and persuading Yuan Wencai's representative, Mao Zedong was still worried. He told Long Chaoqing: "I want to see Yuan Wencai tomorrow."