Chapter 28 "Serf Uprising Yizhang"

In mid-January 1928, when the remaining troops of the Nanchang Uprising led by Zhu De entered southern Shonan, it was close to the end of the year according to the old calendar.In the rural areas of the past, this is a time when conflicts tend to intensify. The southern Shonan region has a solid foundation for the peasant movement.A few months ago, when Mao Zedong led the Autumn Harvest Uprising in northeastern Hunan, although the Southern Hunan Special Committee of the Communist Party of China wanted to respond, it was suppressed before it was launched due to lack of military support.At this moment, Zhu De led an army with a glorious fighting tradition into southern Hunan, which happened to add a catalyst for the local New Year's Eve riots.

When Zhu De led his troops to station in Liputou, the Southern Hunan Special Committee of the Communist Party of China and its subordinate Yizhang County Committee sent people to connect with them, and repeatedly expressed the hope that this army could go to them in the future. On January 8, Zhu De led his troops to Yangjiazhai at the junction of Hunan and Guangdong. Under the guidance of Yang Zida, former member of the Yizhang County Committee of the Communist Party of China and chairman of the County Agricultural Association who had taken refuge here, he soon met with Hu Shijian, Secretary of the Yizhang County Party Committee, Gao Jingshan, member of the County Party Committee, and Chen Dongri, Mao Kewen and others got in touch, convened a joint meeting, and made a decision to launch the Yizhang riot first.After a comprehensive analysis of the situation in Yizhang City, a clever plan was made to outwit Yizhang County.The specific method is: first, Hu Shaohai wrote a letter to the Yizhang county magistrate in the name of the deputy head of the 140th Regiment of Fan Shisheng's 16th Army, saying that he was ordered by Commander Fan to return to his hometown to resist the Communist army going north from Guangdong. To paralyze the enemy; then Hu Shaohai led two reinforced companies into the city to control the situation in advance, and invited all the reactionary leaders headed by the county magistrate to a banquet, to catch them all; the main force was followed by Zhu De and others into the city, Completely solve the county regiment defense forces as quickly as possible.

The Hu Shaohai mentioned here is the son of a well-known noble gentry in Yizhang County. After witnessing the tragic scenes of poor peasants since childhood, he developed hatred for landlord families and went out to find revolutionary truth.He went to Guangzhou and was admitted to the fifth phase of the Whampoa Military Academy, where he was educated by the Communist Party.During the Northern Expedition, he served as a battalion commander in the National Revolutionary Army. He was brave and good at fighting.After the failure of the Great Revolution, he still persisted in the revolution, hiding in the mountains at the junction of Hunan and Guangdong to fight guerrillas.When Zhu De and Chen Yi led their troops to Yangjiazhai, he came here to join the uprising army.But none of Yizhang knew about his experiences.He didn't even know that he had secretly returned to his hometown for activities, which created favorable conditions for him to appear publicly to confuse the enemy.After seeing Zhu De, he immediately expressed his willingness to use his identity as a guide for the rebel army to capture Yizhang County.

According to the scheduled plan, on the afternoon of January 11, Hu Shaohai, who was wearing a gray military uniform, rode a horse, took a few entourages into Yizhang County, and went straight to the county government.The county magistrate hurried out to meet him, and after asking, he found out that the "Fifth Hu" who had been away from home for a long time was already the deputy commander of the 140th Regiment of the 16th Army of the National Revolutionary Army. The large troops led by the head of the regiment "Wang Kai" arrived shortly thereafter.The government officials and local tyrants and evil gentry in the city were overjoyed, and they went out of the city to greet them one by one.

At 2 o'clock in the afternoon the next day, Zhu De and Chen Yi led the main force and swaggered into Yizhang County.The headquarters was set up at the County Women's Vocational School. In the name of defense, Chen Yi and Wang Erzhuo quickly commanded the troops to quietly surround Yangzheng Academy, where the county government, police station, and regiment defense bureau are located.After Zhu De listened to the county party committee's report on the preparations before the riot at the headquarters, he gave some specific instructions on the riot. That night, county magistrate Yang Xiaobin hosted a banquet on the second floor of the county council in honor of the chief of the 140th Regiment.When the banquet started, Zhu De and others brought more than a dozen capable guards, fully armed, to the banquet hall.After drinking for three rounds, Zhu De suddenly stood up, slammed his wine glass, and the accompanying guards came out of the mountain one by one like tigers, and handed over the weapons of the county sentries.Officials, local tyrants, wealthy businessmen, and their families who attended the banquet were astonished and did not know what had happened.

Zhu De slapped the table and announced loudly: "We are the Revolutionary Army of Workers and Peasants! I am Zhu De! You corrupt officials, who are domineering at ordinary times, exploit the people, slaughter workers and peasants, commit heinous crimes. All of you will be detained and await public trial." Hearing that it was the Revolutionary Army of Workers and Peasants, that group of officials, local tyrants, and rich businessmen were all trembling with fright. At the same time, the troops under the command of Chen Yi and Wang Erzhuo also quickly disarmed the police station and regimental defense bureau, seized nearly 400 guns, and captured more than 400 policemen and regiment members.

On January 13, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army and the Yizhang County Party Committee held a mass meeting in the west gate square of the city.Zhu De delivered an impassioned speech and announced the establishment of the First Division of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, the division commander Zhu De, the party representative Chen Yi, the chief of staff Wang Erzhuo, and the director of the Political Department Cai Xiemin.There are 1200 people in the whole division. "The serfs gather to revolt in Yizhang, swinging their spears to stab the sky."The success of outwitting Yizhang opened the prelude to the Shonan Uprising.

Based on the lessons learned from the lack of in-depth struggles of workers and peasants after the victory of the Nanchang Uprising, Zhu De and Chen Yi decided to combine the army with local party organizations and immediately launch uprisings in various places in Yizhang. Soon, armed riots were staged in the villages of Suyuan, Shi, Baisha and other places, and the revolutionary wave quickly swept through the whole county of Yizhang.With the help of Zhu De's troops, the Soviet government of Yizhang County was established, and the third division of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army was formed, with Hu Shaohai as the division commander and Gong Chu as the party representative.

Chiang Kai-shek, who was surprised to hear that the Nanchang Uprising Army had won in Yizhang, immediately ordered Xu Kexiang, the commander of the Third Independent Division of the Kuomintang Army: "Suppress immediately, and there must be no mistakes." Xu Kexiang, the executioner who launched the "Ma Day Incident" in Changsha and massacred communists, workers and peasants frantically, immediately led his entire army from Lechang, Guangdong to Yizhang in an attempt to extinguish the flames of the southern Hunan uprising.Before leaving, he proudly declared: I will use six regiments to compete with one of Zhu De's regiments, and I won't worry that I won't be able to eat him!

In order to preserve their strength, with the cooperation of the local people, Zhu De and Chen Yi led their troops to withdraw from Yizhang County, hide in the countryside, and launched flexible guerrilla warfare and mobile warfare with the enemy.Since January 31, they have successively won the battles of Yanshui, Suyuanbao, and Pingshi, captured more than 1,000 enemies, seized more than 1,000 guns, and countless bullets.In particular, the Battle of Pingshi, Guangdong, achieved brilliant results, created a glorious example of winning more with less, dealt a devastating blow to the enemy, greatly inspired the revolutionary sentiments of the entire workers and peasants in southern Hunan, and was of decisive significance in pushing the uprising in southern Hunan to an all-round climax .

When Zhu De recalled this battle more than 30 years later, he said with emotion: "This battle was fought well. We captured a lot of prisoners, some of which supplemented our troops. It can be said that Xu Kexiang helped us start the war. Home." After the great victory in Pingshi, Zhu De presided over a military-political joint meeting in Guitang, and decided to immediately lead the flames of the uprising to the vast areas of southern Hunan. After the meeting, Hu Shaohai led the Third Division of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army back to Yizhang to carry out mass struggles and monitor the enemy's movements in Guangdong; Zhu De and Chen Yi led the First Division of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army to march northward to launch a general riot in southern Hunan. On February 4, the First Division of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army led by Zhu De and Chen Yi, with the support and cooperation of the local party organization and the Workers' and Peasants' Self-Defense Forces, successfully captured Chen County. On February 5th, based on the Chenzhou Peasant Self-Defense Army and workers' pickets, the Seventh Division of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army was formed, with the division commander Deng Yunting and the party representative Xia Mingzhen (later Cai Xiemin). On February 10, Zhu De led the main force of the First Division of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army to continue northward and march towards Leiyang.Chen Yi stayed in Chen County, helped establish the Chen County Soviet government, and prepared to flank Yongxing to the northeast. On February 16, Zhu De led his troops to capture Leiyang City.At the mass victory meeting held the next day, Zhu De delivered an inspiring speech. He said: The victory of the Yizhang Nianguan riot was just a good start, and the victories in Chenxian and Leiyang showed that the Hunan Uprising had reached its climax.The riots are about to fully blossom in southern Shonan, and the reactionaries are about to die in southern Shonan! With the help of Zhu De, the Soviet Government of Workers, Peasants, and Soldiers in Leiyang County was established, and the Fourth Division of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army was formed, with the division commander Kuang and the party representative Deng Zonghai. During this period, the First Division of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Revolutionary Army sent some troops to help Yongxing and Zixing peasants launch armed uprisings, established a county Soviet government, and established the Yongxing Red Guard Regiment and the Zixing Independent Regiment respectively, further expanding the scope of the southern Shonen The result of the riots. Affected by this, farmers in Anren, Guidong, Rucheng, Linwu, Jiahe, Guiyang, Changning and other counties also staged uprisings one after another, and Anren also established a county Soviet government.The revolutionary storm spread across more than 20 counties in southern Hunan. The number of people participating in the uprising reached one million, and the uprising team grew to more than 10,000 people. When good news of the Shonan Uprising spread frequently, Zhu De, who was over 40 years old, ushered in another spring of married life in Leiyang. One day in early March, he and Wu Ruolan, president of Leiyang County Women's Federation, were happily married in an earthen house near the Shuidongjiang Arsenal. Wu Ruolan is a well-known female talent in Leiyang County, with a medium build, a dark face, and a pair of bright big eyes. He joined the Socialist Youth League in 1924, and joined the Communist Party of China in 1925. After graduating from the Hengyang Provincial Third Women's Normal School in 1926, he returned to Leiyang to engage in youth and women's movements, and served as the Propaganda Director of the Leiyang County Executive Committee of the Communist Youth League.She is both intelligent and courageous, courageous and insightful, especially good at propaganda and agitation, and has strong organizational skills.In her book "The Great Road", American writer Smedley praised Wu Ruolan as "a persevering peasant organizer", "She can engage in propaganda and fight wars, capable of writing and military, wise and brave, Such a lady is rare!" Days and nights before the Leiyang riots, Wu Ruolan used what she had learned to give lectures to women in night schools.The text "Today's World Is Too Unjust" written by her is easy to understand and catchy. It is very popular among women and widely circulated in the local area.When the First Division of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army captured Leiyang City for the first time, she organized women to participate in a grand ceremony to welcome the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army into the city.It was on this day that she met Commander Zhu De after being introduced by Deng Zonghai, Secretary of the Leiyang County Committee of the Communist Party of China.In subsequent frequent contacts, Wu Ruolan fell in love with the wise and approachable Commander Zhu.Zhu De also likes this resourceful, strong and brave new revolutionary woman from the bottom of his heart. With the help of Deng Zonghai, they tied the knot. On the wedding day, Zhu De sincerely said to Wu Ruolan: "I'm not capable of anything, I only know how to lead troops to fight. Will you be able to endure this hardship in the future?" Wu Ruolan replied affectionately: "I am not afraid of suffering. As long as I can follow you, I will be satisfied." Zhu De said: "As long as you can look up to me, I will treat you well in the future." Wu Ruolan smiled happily. On the basis of the successive establishment of the Soviet governments of workers, peasants and soldiers in various counties in southern Hunan, from March 16 to 20, the Hunan Special Committee of the Communist Party of China held the Congress of Workers, Peasants and Soldiers in Yongxing Taiping Temple, elected Chen Youkui as the chairman, Zhu De, Chen Yi, The Hunan Workers, Peasants and Soldiers Soviet Government, with 21 members including Li Caijia and Yin Zishao, made a series of resolutions on the land issue.At the same time, mass organizations such as trade unions, peasant associations, women's associations, youth sports associations, and chambers of commerce in various counties in southern Shonen have also been restored and rebuilt.As a result, a large-scale mass revolutionary movement centered on labeling and dividing fields quickly and vigorously unfolded in southern Hunan. The rise of the Soviet movement in southern Hunan shocked the Kuomintang reactionaries.Under Chiang Kai-shek's dispatch, the two provinces of Hunan and Guangdong organized nearly 9 divisions to carry out a north-south attack on the revolutionary forces in southern Hunan. At this time, the Southern Hunan Special Committee of the Communist Party of China implemented the policy of "Left" blind activism, and implemented the so-called "clearing the walls and clearing the wilderness", burning down the houses on both sides of Chenyi Avenue, which caused dissatisfaction among the masses.The local tyrants and evil gentry took the opportunity to stir up trouble and launched a frenzied counterattack. In Chenzhou, a sensational "anti-white incident" was created. More than 200 people including county party secretary Xia Mingzhen were killed by mobs. The revolutionary situation has reversed. Under the situation that there are powerful enemies from outside and the revolution is facing serious difficulties due to the implementation of "Left" mistakes internally, Zhu De and Chen Yi tried their best to resist the "Left" mistakes of the Hunan Special Committee, and tried every means to reduce the losses caused by mistakes and restore the masses. On the one hand, in order to preserve the vitality of the Nanchang Uprising and the Shonan Uprising, he decided to lead the rebel army to take the initiative to transfer, withdraw from southern Shonan, and move closer to the Jinggangshan Revolutionary Base.