Chapter 8 "Keeping people under the knife"

Since entering the Shaanxi-Gansu Soviet Area, the leaders of the Party Central Committee have been asking the masses and guerrillas about the situation of Liu Zhidan and the base areas, about the armed establishment of the Northwest Red Army, the political construction of the local Soviets, and the garrison of the Kuomintang in the surrounding areas. On the day the Central Red Army arrived in Wuqi Town, Zhang Wentian, Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and Bogu heard several responsible comrades in the army say: The common people rumored that Liu Zhidan was imprisoned by the 25th Red Army.Mao Zedong was shocked: Why did the Communists who founded this base sit in the Communist Party's prison?The news made Mao Zedong very disturbed, and he quickly sent someone to contact the head of the local guerrillas. Zhang Mingke, the political commissar of the Chi'an guerrillas, received the chicken hair letter and flew to Mao Zedong's residence Xinyaoyuan.

Zhang Mingke wrote in his memory: When Chairman Mao saw me, his enthusiasm for me was indescribable in words.Chairman Mao spoke the Hunan dialect, which I couldn't understand most of.Chairman Mao said a sentence, and a comrade "translated" a sentence.Chairman Mao first asked me where I was from, and I said I was a local.In the past, he was a long-term worker in Liu Zhidan's family. Liu Zhidan and Liu Jingfan called him to join the revolution.Chairman Mao raised his hand and said: Good, good, good. Chairman Mao asked again: How many people are there in your guerrillas?How many guns?I said: There are less than one hundred people, there are fifty or sixty guns, and the rest are big knives.Chairman Mao said: The Central Red Army will give you guns.I said: very good!Chairman Mao asked again, is the relationship between your guerrillas and the government good?Is the crowd disciplined?I said, well, our relationship with the government is very good, and our relationship with the masses is also very good.We rely on the masses to help us eat food and fight wars.

Chairman Mao said: You must have a good relationship with the government and the masses. Only when the masses support you can you exist, the Soviet area expand, and your guerrillas expand. Our army and the masses are fish and water, do you understand?I said: Chairman, I understand.The wounded and sick of our detachment are raised in the peasants' homes. When they recover, the peasants are sent back to the army. The peasants are well. Chairman Mao said in his speech: The purpose of the Central Red Army from the south to the north is to resist Japan, and the north will be the front line of resistance against Japan in the future.The Kuomintang itself did not resist Japan and did not allow the Communist Party to resist Japan.The Central Red Army traveled from the south to the north for a whole year, with a journey of more than 20,000 miles, passing through snow-capped mountains and grasslands. It was bitter. This was bought by the revolutionary comrades with blood and sweat, and it was hard-won!He went on to say: Yesterday, several comrades from the Central Committee held a meeting to study whether we entered the Shaanxi-Gansu Soviet Area and brought victory or harm to the people of the Shaanxi-Gansu Soviet Area.Everyone agrees that it can only bring in victory, and must not bring in harm.Therefore, it was decided to fight a battle west of Wuqi Town, wipe out the following enemy cavalry, and beat some of them back, so that it would not dare to come again.

Chairman Mao said: You guerrilla fighters are familiar with the terrain here. Let the fighters lead the way for the main Red Army. First, you learn how to fight, and second, you bring more guns to arm yourself and the Red Guards, okay?I said, ok, ok.Chairman Mao said: You arrange the tasks and stay with me.Then Chairman Mao asked seriously: Where is Liu Zhidan now?do you know where he isI was suddenly nervous, and I didn't dare to tell the truth.Chairman Mao asked again and again, and only then did I say that Liu Zhidan was imprisoned. Chairman Mao immediately stood up: why?When was he imprisoned?I said: I have been detained for almost a month, but I don't know why.An old man with a long beard sitting across from me (I heard that it was Zhou Enlai later) asked me: Where are you being detained now?I said: I heard that hundreds of people were detained in Wayaobao.Chairman Mao asked again: Who can know the details?I said: Only Gong Fengchun, political commissar of the cavalry regiment, knows the details.Chairman Mao asked: Where is he?Can you find it?I said: Yes!Chairman Mao asked me: When can you find me?I said: I can't find it tomorrow, but I will definitely find it the day after tomorrow.Zhou Enlai said: Can you send someone to find it quickly on horseback? ... Afterwards, Wo sent Lei Taoqing, the instructor of the No. 1 Squadron, with a soldier to find Gong Fengchun.

Gong Fengchun, who served as political commissar of the Shaanxi-Gansu Bian Er Road Guerrilla Army at the time, recalled: After I reported to Chairman Mao the deployment of Kuomintang troops around northern Shaanxi, I specifically talked about the suppression of counter-revolutionaries in northern Shaanxi and the arrest of Liu Zhidan.I expressed my opinion to Chairman Mao.I think Liu Zhidan and other comrades should not be arrested, because Liu Zhidan and other comrades are not counter-revolutionaries.Chairman Mao was very concerned about the issue of eliminating counter-revolutionaries in northern Shaanxi.Chairman Mai kindly told me that after the Central Red Army arrived in northern Shaanxi, the problem of eliminating counter-revolutionaries in northern Shaanxi and the problem of Liu Zhidan could be solved correctly, which greatly encouraged me.

Veteran cadre Wang Yuhai recalled: "Zhou Xing led me to the new kiln and introduced me to Yang Shangkun, the deputy director of the Political Department. There were several comrades beside me. I heard that they were named Jia Tuofu, Wang Zhiwei, and Liu You'an. They led me to a cave where three people were sitting. Personally, I couldn't tell which was Chairman Mao and which was Vice-Chairman Zhou. There were three short guns hanging on the wall, and two butter cloths on the kang. I saluted them immediately. Because their language Some of them did not understand, so they were "translated" by Jia Tuofu who was present. They asked about the Red Army, guerrillas, local government and geography in northern Shaanxi, and I answered them one by one. I also reported to the 25th Red Army to go to northern Shaanxi It has been more than a month, and Liu Zhidan and all cadres above the 26th Army Battalion have been detained. Finally, they said, let me send 20 guerrillas to send radio stations to Xiasiwan.”

From the reports of Zhang Mingke, Gong Fengchun, and Wang Yuhai, Mao Zedong and others knew exactly that the Northern Shaanxi Soviet Area was carrying out a mistaken suppression of counter-revolutionaries. A large number of people were killed. The northern Shaanxi base is already in a dangerous situation of internal and external troubles.For this reason, the central government immediately decided to send Jia Tuofu, director of the White Area Work Department, Li Weihan, director of the Central Organization Bureau, Wang Shoudao of the Security Bureau, Liu Xiangshan, and others to lead a company and a radio station to Xiasiwan to learn about the situation.Mao Zedong said to everyone emotionally: "We have just arrived in northern Shaanxi and only learned a few things, but I saw that the people's political enthusiasm is very high and they understand many revolutionary principles. Persevere, and I believe that the comrades who created this base area are good cadres of the party.”

As soon as Li Weihan and the others arrived in Xiasiwan, they confirmed the exact news of the mistaken suppression of counter-revolutionaries, and immediately sent a telegram to Zhang Wentian, Mao Zedong and other comrades.The Party Central Committee immediately issued an order: stop the arrests, stop the censorship, stop killing people, and let the central government handle everything!