Chapter 76 Lin Biao, head of the Red Twenty-Eight Regiment recommended by Mao Zedong

During the "Cultural Revolution", the huge oil painting "Jinggang Mountain Meeting" that stood on the streets of Ninggang changed overnight from the handshake between Mao Zedong and Zhu De to the handshake between Mao Zedong and "Vice Commander Lin". Marshal Chen Yi, who was far away in Beijing, was furious when he heard about it, and scolded Lin Biao: "Who is he, but a 'spirit card'!" "Ling Pai" is a homonym of "Lin Pai", because Lin Biao was once a platoon leader under Chen Yi. Chen Yi's anger is not unreasonable, because the truth of history cannot be tampered with.

When Lin Biao followed Zhu De and Chen Yi to Jinggangshan, he was just a small company commander in Zhu De's team, and it was impossible to become the protagonist of the Jinggangshan meeting. However, with his wit, flexibility, courage and strategy, he quickly won the appreciation and respect of Mao Zedong in Jinggangshan. In August 1928, when Wang Erzhuo, chief of staff of the Fourth Red Army and head of the 28th regiment, the fourth person in the Fourth Red Army after Mao Zedong, Zhu De, and Chen Yi, died unfortunately, Lin Biao was entrusted by Mao Zedong with an important task , took over the head of the 28th regiment with the strongest combat effectiveness of the Fourth Red Army, and has since become an important military leader of the Fourth Red Army.

Lin Biao was born in Huanggang County, Hubei Province. His original name was Lin Yurong. Lin Yunan and Lin Yuying (Zhang Hao), famous leaders of the early labor movement in China, were his cousins.With the help of the influence of his two cousins, he embarked on the road of revolution earlier. In 1925, he was admitted to the fourth phase of the Whampoa Military Academy and joined the Communist Party of China.After graduation, he was assigned to serve as a trainee platoon leader in the Fourth Army of the National Revolutionary Army.Due to his meritorious service in combat, he was promoted to the commander of the seventh company of the first battalion of the seventy-third regiment of the twenty-fifth division. In August 1927, he participated in the Nanchang Uprising with his ministry.After the failure of Chaoshan, the main force of the uprising army withdrew from Sanheba with Zhu De and Chen Yi, and moved to the border of Hunan, Guangdong and Jiangxi.On the way, because he lost confidence in the future of the army, he left the army and took a desertion, but he did not escape and returned to the army soon.Due to the special circumstances at that time, the leader did not pursue his private departure from the team, and let him return to the original company as the company commander.During the Shonan Uprising, in the battle against Leiyang City, he led the Seventh Company to fight bravely and flexibly. He wiped out one company of the enemy at the cost of 4 minor injuries, and surrendered more than 100 guns, which made Zhu De admire.

On April 28, 1928, Zhu De and Chen Yi led troops to join forces with the Autumn Harvest Uprising led by Mao Zedong in Long City at the foot of Jinggang Mountain.The two units were combined into the Fourth Army of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, and Lin Biao served as the commander of the first battalion of the 28th Regiment, which was headed by Wang Erzhuo, chief of staff of the army. The first time Lin Biao met Mao Zedong and was praised by Mao Zedong was on a sunny day not long after Zhu Mao joined forces. This morning, Lin Biao learned that Mao Zedong and other leaders were coming to inspect the troops, so he quickly said to the correspondent standing aside: "Notify the troops to assemble, I have important announcements."

The troops immediately assembled on a river beach. Lin Biao stood at the front of the queue and said to everyone: "Comrades, I have some good news for you. Just now, the regiment headquarters sent someone to say that Commissar Mao is coming to see us soon." Applause and cheers erupted immediately on the court.Lin Biao waved his hand and said: "Committee Mao is one of the founders of our party and an important leader of our Red Army. We will meet with Commissar Mao soon. Please clean your weapons and tidy up your clothes. Let Commissar Mao have a good impression of our army. Commissar Mao once said that although our army is not the most powerful in the world, no matter whether it is a warlord or a bandit, as long as there is a gun, there is a territory , there is a piece of the world. Our Red Army also has guns, and we can also control the world.”

At this time, Mao Zedong, Zhu De, and Chen Yi had already arrived here.After listening to Lin Biao's speech, Mao Zedong couldn't help boasting: "You speak well." Lin Biao said shyly, "Thank you, Chairman Mao, for your compliment. My name is Lin Biao." "No need to introduce, I have heard about you, a hero with outstanding military exploits, from Commander Zhu and Master Chen." Mao Zedong said with a hearty smile. At the end, Mao Zedong said again: "You are so young, and you dare to fight skillfully, it is very good." Lin Biao felt that it was a rare opportunity for Mao Zedong to come to the First Battalion, and he should be invited to give a speech to the troops, so he said to Mao Zedong: "Committee Mao, please give a speech to our comrades in the First Battalion."

Mao Zedong happily accepted the invitation and delivered a speech. Afterwards, Lin Biao talked with Mao Zedong alone for a while.When Mao Zedong learned that Lin Biao was the cousin of Lin Yuying and Lin Yunan, he couldn't help laughing: "I knew your two cousins ​​several years ago. They are very good." From what he saw and heard, Mao Zedong had a good impression of Lin Biao.I think he is a very promising military talent.Lin Biao also respected Mao Zedong very much. He gave Mao Zedong a white horse as a gift. From then on, Lin Biao entered Mao Zedong's field of vision. In early May 1928, Jiangxi enemy Yang Ruxuan led his troops to launch the second "suppression" to Ninggang, the center of Jinggangshan, in two routes.Following Mao Zedong and Zhu De's tactic of concentrating the elite and defeating the enemy all the way first, led by Zhu De and Wang Erzhuo, the 28th and 29th regiments went to Huang'ao to meet the enemy.

Huang'ao is the gateway to the south of Jinggang Mountain. It can go south to Suichuan and east to Yongxin via Wudou River. Its strategic position is very important. The enemy's 81st regiment occupied Huang'ao first.The Red Twenty-Nine Regiment seized a commanding height with lightning speed, and then launched an attack on the enemy.In just a few tens of minutes, the battle was over, and the remnants of the enemy fled to Wudoujiang. At this time, Lin Biao offered a plan: give up attacking Suichuan, and send his troops eastward to take Wudoujiang directly. The military department adopted his suggestion and sent the first battalion of the 28th regiment to take on the important task of attacking the main street.

This is the first battle after the establishment of the Fourth Red Army.Lin Biao looked forward to creating a miracle in this battle and leaving a deep impression on the new leadership, especially Mao Zedong. When he found that the enemy was attacking the main street, he ordered the whole battalion to assemble urgently, and quickly entered the natural fortification on the left side of the garrison - a Haogou. Lin Biao fired the first bullet into the night sky, and the battle began. The regiment headquarters and the second and third battalions who heard the gunshots also quickly entered the battle.The dense firepower made Wudoujiang Town red.In just two hours, the 28th Red Regiment and the Suichuan Red Guards won a complete victory, wiped out one battalion of the enemy, and surrendered more than 300 guns.

After the victory in the battle of Wudoujiang, the Red 28th Regiment took advantage of the victory and pursued. After easily clearing up the remnants of the enemy's 81st Regiment in Beiling, they defeated the 80th Regiment who came to block them, entered Chengguan, and occupied Yongxin County in one fell swoop.This is called "a dozen forever new" in history. After Mao Zedong and Zhu De led the army into Yongxin City, they received the commanders and fighters of the Red 28th Regiment.When Mao Zedong shook hands with Lin Biao, he praised: "You performed well in fighting Wudoujiang, and you are a good cadre."

Lin Biao said modestly: "Thank you, Committee Member Mao, please give me more advice in the future." "There is nothing to be thankful for. We are all comrades in the same trench. Are you 20 years old this year? (Lin Biao gestures with his hand) 21 years old, still a baby, very young, and there will be battles in the future Fight, work hard!" Mao Zedong said with a smile. In July 1928, the Fourth Red Army ventured to attack southern Hunan, and Chenzhou was defeated. On August 28, during the transfer from eastern Guangxi to Jinggangshan, Yuan Chongquan, the commander of the Second Battalion, led his troops to defect to the enemy.Chief of Staff of the Fourth Red Army and head of the 28th Regiment Wang Erzhuo led a platoon to chase after him. Yuan Chongquan not only refused to listen to the advice, but instead raised his pistol and shot Wang fiercely.Wang Erzhuo immediately fell into a pool of blood. Wang Erzhuo's death caused great losses to the Fourth Red Army, but it also provided an opportunity for Lin Biao's promotion.Soon, at the suggestion of Mao Zedong, Lin Biao, who was only 21 years old, was promoted to two ranks in a row and replaced Wang Erzhuo as the head of the 28th regiment. Assuming this important position shows Mao Zedong's trust and respect for Lin Biao. From then on, Lin Biao was able to flex his muscles and give full play to his ingenuity. In the spring of 1929, the Fourth Red Army was reorganized and consisted of three columns. Mao Zedong proposed that Lin Biao be the commander of the main column, the first column.This year, Lin Biao was only 22 years old. Lin Biao is introverted, good at using his brain, and often has some good ideas.Regarding the "three major disciplines and six points of attention" proposed by Mao Zedong in the process of building the Red Army, he not only personally practiced, but also brought them into play.After the Fourth Red Army marched into southern Jiangxi and western Fujian, according to the actual local conditions, he suggested adding two items after the six points of attention, that is, "Look for toilets when you defecate, and avoid women when you take a bath."Mao Zedong adopted his suggestion, so the six points of attention became eight points of attention. In 1936, when Mao Zedong introduced the origin of the "Three Great Disciplines and Eight Points of Attention" to the American journalist Edgar Snow who came to interview him, he said: "The last two were added by Lin Biao. These eight points were implemented more and more. Success is still the discipline of the Red Army today, and they often recite it." In June 1930, the armed forces of the Central Revolutionary Base were expanded into the First Red Army, and the leaders of the army, Mao Zedong and Zhu De, no longer held concurrent positions in the Fourth Red Army.Under the support of Mao Zedong, the 23-year-old Lin Biao served as the commander of the Fourth Red Army and entered the senior leadership of the Red Army.In August of the same year, the First Red Army and the Third Army were combined into the First Red Army, and Lin Biao was elected as a member of the General Front Committee of the Front Army. In March 1932, the First Red Army was reorganized, and Lin Biao became the head of the First Red Army. From going to Jinggangshan to serving as the commander of the Red First Army, Lin Biao won Mao Zedong's appreciation step by step with his extraordinary military talents, and became Mao Zedong's favorite general. However, during this period, he was also criticized by Mao Zedong for lack of confidence in the future of the revolution. After the main force of the Fourth Red Army returned to the Jinggangshan base area from southern Hunan, although Mao Zedong corrected the "August failure" with his practice and won a series of military victories, the Kuomintang reactionaries continued to launch large-scale "suppression meetings" and the Red Army Under the difficult situation, a very harmful mood emerged within the Fourth Red Army. Some comrades were confused by temporary setbacks, pessimistic about the future, and expressed doubts about the struggle to persist in the rural revolutionary base areas. How long?" question.Lin Biao, the new head of the 28th regiment, held this view and wrote a letter to Mao Zedong at the end of 1929.The letter revealed a sense of pessimism, advocating that when the enemy is approaching, the Fourth Red Army should disperse to fight guerrillas and find their own way. While Mao Zedong was greatly surprised, he also aroused his great attention to this issue. Despite the hesitation of the army, Mao Zedong wrote a long letter to Lin Biao in Gutian Village on January 5, 1930, seriously criticizing Lin Biao's "pessimistic thinking" and "rogueism", and brilliantly expounding on the emergence and development of the Chinese revolution. The conditions and rules of the game answered the question of how long the red flag can be played. The full text of "Selected Works of Mao Zedong" published in 1947 is included in this letter. In 1948, when Lin Biao proposed to the central government that he hoped to publish "Selected Works of Mao Zedong" publicly, his name should not be made public, and Mao Zedong agreed to his request.When it was included in the first edition of "Selected Works of Mao Zedong", the title of this letter was changed to "A single spark can start a prairie fire", and at the same time, the text criticizing Lin Biao by name was deleted. Although Lin Biao was criticized by Mao Zedong, it did not affect Mao Zedong's regard for him.With a broad mind and his status as an elder, Mao Zedong forgave this Lin Biao who was still a baby in his eyes, and when the criticism was over, it disappeared.Later, during the Long March, Lin Biao wrote a letter against Mao Zedong. Lin Biao got tolerance from Mao Zedong and continued to reuse him.Because Mao Zedong felt that talents were rare. When the Red Army was reorganized into the Eighth Route Army in 1937, Lin Biao served as the commander of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army reorganized by the Central Red Army.He lived up to the great trust, and the command post won the first major victory after the beginning of the Anti-Japanese War - the victory of Pingxingguan.After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Lin Biao successively served as secretary of the Northeast Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, commander-in-chief of the Northeast Democratic Alliance Army, and commander of the Northeast Field Army at the suggestion of Mao Zedong. In 1955, Lin Biao was awarded the rank of Marshal of the People's Republic of China and became the youngest Marshal of the Republic. In 1959, Lin Biao succeeded Peng Dehuai as Minister of National Defense, and soon became Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, presiding over the daily work of the Military Commission. In 1969, at the Ninth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, he was written into the party constitution as Mao Zedong's successor. However, just as he was promoted step by step, Lin Biao's personal desires and political ambitions also continued to expand, and finally he couldn't wait to murder Mao Zedong and usurp the supreme leadership of the party and the country.After the conspiracy was revealed, On September 13, 1971, he defected by plane in a hurry and fell to the death of Ondur Khan in Mongolia, which ended in disgrace.