Record of the Red Army's Long March through the Grasslands

Author: Shi Xiaoyong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-10-01
Features: Lianghekou refers to the confluence of two streams flowing from Mengbishan in the northwest and Qionglai Mountain in the northeast, hence the name "Lianghekou." Now, one army is coming from Dabie Mountain, and another is about to arrive from Jinggang Mountain. Mao Zedong and Zhang Guotao's armies are like Lianghekou—two streams from different directions, having traversed mountains and ridges, finally converging on the western Sichuan Plateau. On the plateau, the leaders of the two armies sincerely embrace each other, patting each other's shoulders. In their hearts, they feel that they have finally been able to strengthen their forces. In the early days after the founding of the Communist Party of China, Zhang Guotao held a prominent position in the party's top leadership, primarily responsible for the party's workers' movement. He once led the Jinghan Railway Workers' Strike and the Shanghai May Thirtieth Movement, represented the CCP at the Far Eastern Communist and National Revolutionary Organizations Conference held in the Soviet Union, and even met with Lenin. However, he also made many mistakes and was criticized by the Communist International. During his tenure as the Secretary of the Central Committee Bureau of Hubei, Henan, and Anhui, with the strong support of generals like Xu Forward, the Red Fourth Front Army expanded the Soviet Red Army to over 100,000 people. Zhang Guotao was accustomed to giving orders rather than following commands. With the Central Red Army and the Red Fourth Front Army about to converge, no one in the party had more seniority than him. However, Mao Zedong did not enjoy the same prominence as Zhang Guotao. On May 25, 1926, after resigning from his position as Acting Minister of the Nationalist Party's Propaganda Department, Mao spent most of his time living and fighting in Jinggang Mountain. Mao rooted himself in the vast rural masses of China, constantly working at the grassroots level. With his astute abilities, he organized the broad peasants' movement, and under his leadership, the number of members in the peasants' associations across Hunan reached 400,000. He established and expanded the party's basic organizations in Shaoshan, continuously strengthening the revolutionary forces. Before the Central Committee moved from Shanghai to the Central Soviet Region, the Red Army in this area had also grown to over 100,000 people. After the Central Committee moved to Ruijin, Mao Zedong suffered repeated setbacks and suppression until the Zunyi Conference, when he spent his time in frustration and solitude. Only after the Zunyi Conference did Mao Zedong enter the Standing Committee of the Central Political Bureau and gain leadership power.
Zhang Guotao's Red Fourth Front Army moved from Tongjiang, Nanjiang, and Bazhong to the western Sichuan Plateau, waiting for the arrival of the Central Red Army. When the Red Fourth Front Army entered the western Sichuan Plateau, it had grown to 80,000 people. Facing a powerful enemy, Zhang Guotao was clearly no match for Jiang Jieshi. His ideal of attacking major cities repeatedly failed. If he carried out the plan to attack southern Shaanxi, fighting against the regular forces of Hu Zongnan and Yang Huicheng would only be a losing proposition. Before the Zunyi Conference, the Central Red Army suffered even heavier losses under the erroneous leadership of Bo Gu, the acting secretary of the Central Committee, and "military expert" Li De, reducing its strength to less than 30,000 by the time it was forced to embark on the Long March.
After years of fighting across mountains, both Mao Zedong and Zhang Guotao were unaware of each other's true strength until they met. They soon realized that their expectations had been too high, especially Zhang Guotao, who had never imagined that the Red First Front Army would be in such a sorry state. For this reunion, Mao Zedong and Zhang Guotao had long been yearning for...