Chapter 72 Central instructions conveyed by Zhang Tailei

The 20th Army and the 24th Division of the 11th Army led by Zhou Enlai, He Long, Ye Ting, Liu Bocheng, etc., went straight to Chaoshan as planned. As Zhou Enlai and Ye Ting estimated, the Chaoshan enemy did not put up any resistance, so they withdrew separately.They successfully occupied Chaozhou on September 23, and on the morning of September 24, Shantou was also liberated. Zhou Enlai, together with most leaders of the former committee, followed the army into the city where he had been parted for more than a year.The Chaoshan area has experienced the baptism of revolution many times. Although there have been ups and downs, the people here still have hope in this team holding the red flag.An old lady grabbed a rebel soldier and said: "My eldest son was arrested and thrown into prison by the reactionaries because he joined the Peasant Association, and he was tortured to death. They wanted to arrest my youngest son. He escaped and has never died. But those dog officials have to pay fines, forcing the daughter-in-law to marry, and the child is sold, and the 200 yuan has not been collected, and they are still forcing, and now I am the only old woman in her 60s, begging for food and living alone. Revenge for my family!" She burst into tears as she spoke.People around also wiped their tears.

The general headquarters of the rebel army was located in the Dapu Guild Hall in the middle of Minquan Road, and a red flag was planted on the roof of the building.Seeing the fluttering red flag, the old lady went home and brought a chicken. She came to the gate of the Tai Po Guild Hall and said to the guard: "I only have one poor life and this chicken in my family. I am old. There is nothing to help the revolution, so I will give this chicken to comrades, so that you will have more strength to fight the enemy. Our revolution will succeed as soon as possible, and the revenge of my son and daughter-in-law will be avenged!"

After the troops were stationed, the party organization set up a condolence team to go around to condolences to the families of the sacrificed comrades. Some workers asked to go with the rebel army and refused to leave even if they died.They were willing to be guides, carry stretchers, cook, and rushed to lead horses and carry guns. Many citizens also went on a diet, collected food, and sent chickens, ducks, and eggs raised at home to the rebels. When he was at the Whampoa Military Academy, Zhou Enlai was appointed as the chief executive here. Naturally, he was familiar with everything here and the revolutionary enthusiasm of the people here, so Shantou was designated as the temporary capital.

According to Zhou Enlai's suggestion, Li Lisan was quickly appointed as the director of the Shantou Public Security Bureau; Liu Bocheng was the principal of the military and political school; Peng Pai was the commander-in-chief of the Dongjiang Workers' and Peasants' Self-Defense Force; It seems that the rebel army is going to set up camp here. But then the situation took a turn for the worse, which changed the good wishes of the rebel army. The rebel army came here to obtain international assistance, but standing on tiptoe, there was only a vast sea, and the mast top of the "International" could not be seen protruding from the sea level.

The rebel army came here to get in touch with the central government, but they didn't say a word or a half-sentence instruction. The Guangdong Provincial Party Committee showed Zhou Enlai and others a letter from the Central Committee. The letter was written on August 4, and it has been more than a month.The letter mentioned the Nanchang Uprising as follows: He Long and Ye Ting's armies had been mobilized in Nanchang as early as August 1, and they had solved the six armies, three armies and one weapon.Wang and others planned to go to Jiujiang for a meeting on the 2nd. After hearing the letter, they returned to Wuhan to issue an order to crusade He Long and Ye Ting, and declared the Communist Party a traitor, and should be sentenced to death.Zhang Fakui's attitude is unknown, but he can't do it either.Our original plan was to attack Zhu Jun and go straight to the Dongjiang River. The Central Committee decided at yesterday's meeting that the Guangdong Provincial Committee should immediately respond with all its strength in the Dongjiang River.The Central Committee organizes the Front Enemy Committee to direct all affairs of the front enemy. Enlai, Lisan, Daiying, and Peng Pai are the four people who organize it. Please try to communicate with them in order to proceed.The success or failure of our military depends on one action. Guangdong Province is requested to pay special attention and proceed quickly.

These situations are a matter of yesterday.Zhou Enlai learned another situation from this old letter, which is: "The representative of the New International has come and decided to hold an emergency meeting. This meeting criticized the opportunism of the central government in the past and decided on new policies. Guangdong is too far away and work is intense, so it is impossible to attend. This meeting. I think comrades in Guangdong will be able to agree with the criticism. In the past, the central government’s wavering of Hunan affairs and the policy of the Kuomintang resulted in failure, and it must also feel the need for new guidelines and guidelines.” Waiting is a kind of torture.

Zhou Enlai wanted to know the instructions of the central government too much, and was full of worries.Finally, one night two days later, Zhang Tailei, the savior that people were looking forward to, sneaked to Shantou from Hong Kong under the command of the Central Committee. That night, the scene in the Tai Po Guild Hall was very exciting. Several generals who had fought a hundred battles and the commanders of thousands of armies put away their usual majesty and told each other like children: "The Central Committee is in contact!" "The Central Committee is here!" Marching and fighting and suffering from no one to guide them, they were overjoyed when they saw the central government coming, and their eyes were bright!

However, after Zhang Tailei rested for a while, the joy of reunion quietly faded from his face.The sensitive Zhou Enlai has already realized the strangeness.Sure enough, Zhang Tailei was unwilling to convey the instructions of the Central Committee at the meeting, and had to talk to Zhang Guotao and Zhou Enlai alone first. Zhang Tailei's tone was low, and sometimes he even hiccupped: "Because you were not here, the Central Committee held a meeting on August 7. In Hankou, Comrade Qiu Bai presided over it. It was mainly to summarize the experience and lessons of the failure of the Great Revolution. Chen Duxiu's right-leaning capitulationist rule has come to an end. , elected Qu Qiubai, Li Weihan, Comrades Su Zhaozheng, and myself to form a new temporary Central Political Bureau."

Although Zhang Tailei spoke vaguely, Zhou Enlai and Zhang Guotao could already hear clearly.That is to say, Tan Pingshan and Li Lisan were no longer members of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee, and Zhou Enlai and Zhang Guotao were also demoted to alternate members of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee. Neither Zhou Enlai nor Zhang Guotao spoke.Zhang Tailei himself felt a little embarrassed. Zhou Enlai broke the dullness and suggested: "Since the central government has given you full authority to guide our work, I think you should also take on the role of Secretary of the Front Enemy Committee."

Zhang Tailei refused: "I have to rush back to Guangzhou to perform my concurrent post as Secretary of the Guangdong District Committee. You are still in charge of the work of the former committee. When I came, the central government asked me to convey that Guotao and Li Sanying should return to Shanghai immediately." , to discuss future policies with the central government; after Tan Pingshan canceled his name as chairman of the Revolutionary Committee, he also left here." Zhang Guotao became angry when he heard this: "Isn't this throwing away the army and leaving everyone alone?"

Zhang Tailei became serious: "Please pay attention to your attitude. There are regulations after the August 7th meeting, and the orders of the central government must be strictly implemented." Zhou Enlai was more concerned about the central government's attitude towards the Nanchang Uprising. He asked Zhang Tailei what the central government thought of it. What Zhang Tailei said was very vague. The August 7th meeting did not discuss this matter much, but he heard from Qu Qiubai that it was generally good, but it had an opportunistic tendency and was a military adventure. Zhou Enlai and Zhang Guotao were stunned. Zhang Tailei said: "Let me convey these to you two first, so that you can be mentally prepared. For other instructions, let's listen to them together." Zhou Enlai, Zhang Guotao, and Zhang Tailei walked out of the inner room and met with other leaders waiting in the big room. Judging from the serious expressions on the faces of Zhou Enlai and Zhang Guotao, people felt ominous. Sure enough, Zhang Tailei did not exchange pleasantries, and directly conveyed: "According to the new policy of the Central Committee, the name of the Revolutionary Committee here will be changed to the Soviet, which means that the signboard of the 'Chinese Nationalist Party' will be completely discarded. Now we must abandon Chaoshan and transfer the army to the sea. Lu Feng, join the peasant army there and reorganize it into the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army." There was an uproar in the venue.This was no small matter: the insurgents were now under the banner of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Nationalist Party, and had a platform befitting that name.The most important thing is that the rebel army is confronting the enemy army, and a big battle is about to break out.At this critical juncture, immediately changing the name and political platform will make it difficult for the army waiting for battle to adapt. Zhou Enlai said: "These matters need to be discussed in the long term. If our army wants to move to Hailufeng, we must first defeat the enemy army in Tangkeng. All changes must be implemented after this battle. The problem of the signboard will be changed sooner or later. Yes, of course it’s good to change it. Shouldn’t it be changed after the war?” Zhang Tailei also knew that it would be difficult to carry out this matter immediately, so he said, "Let's push it a little bit. Let me announce again that Comrade Enlai is still in charge of the former enemy's affairs." While Zhou Enlai was speaking, there were staff members waiting outside the door with urgent enemy information sent by Liu Bocheng. After a while, Zhou Enlai received two or three reports.Looks like things are going badly on the front line.He stood up and said to Zhang Tailei: "The situation on the front line is tense, and I have to rush to command the battle immediately. Let's talk about other issues after the war." As soon as Zhou Enlai left, the atmosphere at the venue became even more dull.