Chapter 55 Party representatives and the political work of the Red Army

The Communist Party of China is the vanguard of the proletariat and the party of the proletariat.The army led by the Party is a people's army of a proletarian nature. The army of a proletarian nature is mainly composed of peasants. This is a major feature of the Chinese revolution. The Red Army of Workers and Peasants on the Hunan-Kiangsi border has already shown this characteristic. Mao Zedong talked about the composition of the Hunan-Jiangxi Border Red Army in his article "The Struggle in Jinggang Mountains": "The sources of the Border Red Army: (1) the former Chaoshan Yehe Department; (2) the former Wuchang National Government Guard Corps; (3) the farmers in Pingliu; (4) farmers in southern Hunan and workers in Shuikoushan; (5) captive soldiers from the ministries of Xu Kexiang, Tang Shengzhi, Bai Chongxi, Zhu Peide, Wu Shang, and Xiong Shihui; (6) peasants from border counties."

Among the six sections that make up the Red Army on the border, three sections are composed of out-and-out peasants, while the other three sections are composed of former National Revolutionary Army soldiers who participated in the Nanchang Uprising and Autumn Harvest Uprising, or Hunan and Jiangxi provinces captured by the Red Army. Many of the soldiers of the provincial warlord army were farmers before they put on their uniforms.It is not difficult to see that, except for a very small number of proletarians like the Shuikoushan workers and a small number of professional soldiers, the basic composition of the Red Army of Workers and Peasants on the border between Hunan and Jiangxi is peasants.

Farmers are the basic components of the Red Army, which is determined by the basic national conditions that China is an agricultural country and farmers account for the vast majority of the population. Then, in such a country, building a new type of army led by the proletariat with peasants as the main body is a new task that has never been encountered before. After all, the old-style peasants under the feudal patriarchal system were small producers with a lot of backwardness. In ancient China, large-scale peasants could also be mobilized by calling on the peasants to rise up and seize the property of the landlords. The war established a large number of peasant rebels.But because there is no class and ideological leadership representing advanced productive forces, this old-style peasant war can only be "destroyed" but not "established", and ultimately it is nothing but fruitless flowers.The military system of the peasant army is also in accordance with the old system of the feudal dynasty army, and the direction of its struggle must also return to the old road of regime change.

The communists are different from Huang Chao and Li Zicheng. Mao Zedong led the establishment of the army with peasants as the main body different from the Red Eyebrow Army and the Taiping Army because he injected the leadership of the advanced class and revolutionary democracy into the army, and successfully created A whole set of brand-new ways to raise, train, lead and use soldiers. The most distinctive of these are party representation and political work in the military. The establishment of a party representative system in the Red Army at all levels was a major move in the construction of the People's Army during the early days of the Red Army.The establishment of party representatives effectively guaranteed the implementation of the party's line, principles, and policies in the army, guaranteed the party's absolute leadership over the army, and played an important role in the implementation of the three major tasks of the Red Army and the implementation of revolutionary discipline.For this reason, Mao Zedong fully affirmed in "The Struggle in Jinggangshan": "The party representative system, experience has proved that it cannot be abolished. Especially at the company level, because the party branch is built on the company, the party representative is more important.  … ...Facts have proved that whichever company has the better party representative is more healthy, and the company commander is not easy to play such a big role in politics.... On the surface, it seems that since the name of the Red Army is called, the party representative can be dispensed with Well, it's really absurd."

Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the Fourth Red Army not only established a party representative system at all levels, but also specially formulated a "Outline of the Work of Party Representatives", which is divided into "military aspects", "people's aspects", "party aspects", and "reporting aspects". ", "Investigation of the public" five parts, the tasks, responsibilities, and working methods of the party representatives are clearly and detailedly stipulated. This important document on the construction of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army was lost during the long revolutionary struggle, and it was not discovered in the Anhua County Archives in Hunan Province until a few years ago.This extremely precious historical material was lost when the Fourth Red Army failed to fight against the enemy in Chenzhou in July 1928. It was obtained by the Political Department of the 16th Army of the Kuomintang and published in its internal bulletin, thus being preserved.

It can be seen from this document: (1) It stipulates the tasks of party representatives. "Party representatives represent the party's work in the army, so soldiers should always be aware of the party's principles and policies." It is necessary to ensure that the party's propositions, principles and policies are implemented in the Red Army and red areas. It has two tasks: (1) pay attention to the education and management of soldiers; (2) work in combat. (2) It specifies the duties and responsibilities of party representatives.Party representatives should be responsible for five aspects of work: the army, the public, party affairs, reports, and investigations. The "Outline" puts forward specific requirements for each job, so that the party representatives have rules to follow in their work and clear responsibilities, which reflects the scientific and institutionalization of the party representative system.

(3) It stipulates the working methods of party representatives.The working methods of the party representatives are mainly in two aspects, that is, making reports and conducting public investigations.Party representatives must implement a reporting system and "pay attention to private investigations and investigations by officers and soldiers."To this end, the detailed items of the investigation and report are specially listed. (4) It imposes strict requirements on party representatives. "Party representatives should set an example for all comrades, and make all comrades and non-comrades actively work under the party's policies"; "All speeches and actions of party representatives must stand on the party's point of view"; In the army and among the people, under the command of the party, actively develop the organization of the party and the regiment, and make the party and the regiment the core of the masses.It is required that the party representative must be an excellent party worker with a high sense of responsibility, not a "political worker" who just plays tricks.

The "Outline of the Work of Party Representatives" formulated during the Jinggangshan period was the first political work order of the People's Army.The basic spirits put forward and stipulated by it not only played an important guiding role in the work of party representatives at all levels of the Fourth Red Army at that time, but also had long-term reference significance for the construction of the people's army and the party. The party representatives at all levels of the Fourth Red Army strictly regulated their behavior in accordance with the requirements of the outline, and became a model for taking the lead in implementing the party's various principles and policies.Luo Ronghuan, who was the party representative of the Third Battalion and Ninth Company of the 31st Regiment, is such a model.He "has insisted on one thing since he was a company party representative: whatever is required of comrades to do it, he must first do it himself, and use his exemplary actions as a silent order. When fighting and charging, he stood shoulder to shoulder with the company commander Chen (Bojun) Standing at the forefront of the team, he was responsible for covering at the back when retreating. When marching, he often carried the guns of several sick or stragglers on his shoulders. When camping, he would check the bunk every night and pick up the soldiers one by one. Every time pocket money is distributed, he, the company commander, and the chief of staff are always the last to go to get it. He himself is sick, and he clenches his teeth and insists on working. But when the soldier is sick, he has to go several times a day to ask for his health. And order the kitchen to make delicious sick meals..."

It is precisely because of the presence of a group of party representatives like Luo Ronghuan who strictly implemented the "Outline of Work of Party Representatives" that most of the Red Army soldiers from the mercenary army "changed their nature as soon as they arrived in the Red Army" and "know that they are fighting for themselves and Workers and Peasants to fight". It is no wonder that when the Kuomintang army seized the "Outline of Work of Party Representatives", they couldn't help exclaiming, "The work and ability of the party representatives of the Red Army can also set an example to others. The enemy organization is like this, we should wake up more vigorously"!

The political work within the Red Army mainly involves political training.This work is organized and implemented by party representatives at all levels in accordance with the provisions of the "Outline of Work for Party Representatives".At the same time, some irregular training courses are also held to train political cadres and improve the political work level of the trainees. According to Chen Yi's "Report on the History and Conditions of Zhu Mao's Red Army", there are seven main methods of political training for the Fourth Red Army: 1. Speech.Party representatives or military chiefs address all soldiers, criticize life, or make political reports and reports on the general situation of the workers and peasants movement.

2. Lectures.If the army has more than three days of rest, the party representatives will give one hour of political lessons to the troops every day.The courses taught every month have plans, outlines, and coherent content, so that Red Army soldiers can learn systematic political knowledge. 3. Roll call speeches and slogans in the morning and evening.The content is a criticism of the soldier's life that day, and a brief mobilization and arrangement for the next day's operation. 4. After each battle or mass work, organize troops to sum up work experience and lessons, so that the Red Army can receive vivid and practical education. 5. Launch a literacy campaign.For example, teach Red Army soldiers to recognize revolutionary slogans and explain their political content, so that soldiers can be educated from them. 6. Organize the Red Army to participate in mass meetings, hold various commemorative meetings and parties, so that soldiers can receive political education. 7. In the Soldiers Council, organize soldiers into small groups for discussion of political issues and criticism of work. Mao Zedong said: "Through political education, the soldiers of the Red Army have class awareness, have common sense such as distributing land, establishing political power, and arming the workers and peasants. They all know that they are fighting for themselves and the workers and peasants. Therefore, they can fight hard in the face of hardships. No complaints."