Chapter 21 Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth

  Actually, with Liu Yimin's keen sense, he had already known that someone was quietly approaching and listening to him, but he had joined the Red Army for too short a time and many people were not familiar with him. Moreover, later generations have hardly preserved any pictorial materials of those in the Red Army who opposed Chairman Mao, so he couldn't judge clearly who these people were.

  Considering the current brutal war period, bullets are blind to eyes. Although he has excellent martial arts skills and received super education for this era, no one can guarantee that they will survive the next battle. Therefore, Liu Yimin wanted to communicate more with Chairman Mao. After all, although Chairman Mao is a great talent with remarkable achievements, he also has strong limitations and made many mistakes after the founding of the country. If he could help him clarify his thoughts and make some changes, it would be a blessing for the country and the nation. It would not be in vain that he had traveled through time once.

  In any case, even if one doesn't say these things, relying on human wisdom, they will still be corrected according to historical inertia. However, the detour will be longer and the sacrifices will be greater. As for whether saying these words would bring any disadvantage to himself and Chairman Mao, Liu Yimin had thought about it, but thinking of the Red Army soldiers falling one by one, he couldn't control himself, after all, he was a young and impulsive radical. Besides, judging from the situation after the Battle of Xiangjiang, people's minds are changing, and it's estimated that Chairman Mao won't be too badly affected, after all, Li De and others aren't completely foolish.

  When he heard someone speaking rudely and mocking him, Liu Yimin turned around and saw six people standing there staring at him.

  Liu Yimin took one glance and saw Vice Chairman Zhou and Commander-in-Chief Zhu, the foreigner with a high nose bridge must be Li De, the person following behind him was probably interpreter Wu Xiuren, another wearing glasses, gentle and refined should be Bo Gu, as for the person speaking, he had no idea who it was.

  Seeing the respected Zhou Enlai and Zhu De, Liu Yimin stepped forward to pay his respects: "Reporting to Vice Chairman Zhou and Commander-in-Chief Zhu, Deputy Regimental Commander of the 18th Red Regiment Liu Yimin reporting. My regiment occupied Tongdao County town three days ago in the evening without any casualties, and captured a large amount of goods. Currently, under orders, we are carrying out guard duties in Tongdao County town to welcome the Central Column and the First Army Corps. Please instruct!"

  Before Zhou Enlai and Zhu De could speak, the person who spoke earlier said: "Liu Yimin? Acting commander of the 18th Regiment? A small acting commander dares to spout nonsense and criticize the Central Committee's decisions. I think you've lived long enough."

  "Who are you?" Liu Yimin asked.

  Vice Chairman Zhou said: "Comrade Ston (this name is fictional, please do not take it seriously. Author's note), let Comrade Liu Yimin speak, don't try to intimidate people with big hats. You are Comrade Liu Yimin, our hero, come and shake hands."

  Seeing Zhou Enlai and Liu Yimin shake hands, Li De, who had listened to the last part of Liu Yimin's speech through an interpreter, became displeased. He suddenly pulled out a revolver, stepped forward, pointed it at Liu Yimin's head, and roared: "You are a coward, an unsteady element, a disruptor of military morale, I will shoot you!"

  "Stop!" "Be careful!" exclaimed Zhang Wentian, Wang Jiaxiang, Zhou Enlai and Zhu De at the same time.

  Liu Yimin smiled slightly, and several people didn't notice his movement. Li De was suddenly knocked to the ground with a loud thud, and the pistol also fell into Liu Yimin's hands.

  "Liuyi Min, how dare you lay hands on Comrade Hua Fu?" Shi shouted. "Tie him up!"

  Ston looked around at the motionless Red Army soldiers and was about to step forward himself.

  Liu Yimin waved his hand at him: "You're Comrade Stoun, aren't you? Just now when Li De was about to shoot me with a gun, why didn't you intervene? Is this how you treat your Red Army cadres?"

  "You're spreading rumors and shaking the morale of the troops! You should be shot!" Ston shouted with a red face and thick neck.

  Liu Yimin looked at Stun, who was also a staunch revolutionary, but had been deeply influenced by dogmatism and needed to be properly guided.

  "Comrade Shi, tell me, which point of what I just said was incorrect? Which point was deceitful and misleading the masses? Which point was shaking the morale of the army? We communists uphold Marxism, a fundamental principle of Marxism is to respect objective facts. Tell me, let me listen, see where I went wrong."

  "You say let * come out and command the Red Army, this is a denial of the leadership of the Central Committee, it's a conspiracy."

  "Is that so? Chairman Mao launched the Autumn Harvest Uprising, went up to Jinggang Mountain, and successfully joined forces with the Nanchang Uprising troops, creating the Red Army and establishing the Central Soviet Area. Isn't this a fact? Chairman Mao led the Central Red Army in breaking through the enemy's three encirclements and was invincible everywhere. Isn't this a fact? All the people in the country know about the Zhu-Mao Red Army, even Chiang Kai-shek thinks that Chairman Mao is the commander-in-chief of the Red Army. Have you ever heard of you, Li De, or Bo Gu being the commander-in-chief of the Red Army? Not allowing comrades with correct strategic thinking to lead the Red Army, should we continue to let Bo Gu and Li De, who lost the Soviet Area and suffered a disastrous defeat at the Xiang River, lead the Red Army?"

  "Comrade Li De is the representative of the Communist International, Comrade Bo Gu is the temporary Central General Secretary appointed by Comrade Wang Ming, who is now the Party's General Secretary. How can you talk about them like this?"

  "Comrade Stalin, as far as I know, Li De is a military adviser sent by the Comintern, not a representative. You should be clear that an adviser can only provide reference opinions when others need to consult him, and he cannot express his opinion if no one asks. It's like what people often say: 'an adviser advises, and it's up to others to ask or not'. In China and the Red Army, Li De has only the right to make suggestions, but not the power of decision-making. If Comrade Stalin can really know about Li De's actions and the losses he caused to the Red Army, what awaits Li De is a military tribunal and execution by firing squad. You have studied in the Soviet Union, so you should be clearer on this point than I am."

  "As for Comrade Wang Ming, I joined the Red Army late and have never seen him. But when our Red Army was fighting for life and death, where was he? No matter what reason you give me or where he was, I will tell you that at the critical moment of the party's and Red Army's survival, a leader who is not with his troops, no matter how beautifully he covers himself, cannot hide his cowardly and fleeing nature. Our Red Army soldiers do not need such leaders.

  Moreover, although I have just joined the party, I also know that any top leader of a political party must be elected. What qualifications does Wang Ming have to appoint the top responsible person of the Party Central Committee? Not to mention that he has never been the General Secretary of the Party, even if he becomes the General Secretary, he cannot appoint the top responsible person of the Party Central Committee by himself. We are a political party, not a feudal gang.

  Wang Ming's behavior seriously tramples on the party's organizational principles and is a contempt for the power of all party members. Comrade Sotan, as an old party member and high-ranking leader, why didn't you stop him? You only talk about Wang Ming, don't you know that you are assisting him in his evil deeds?

  As for Comrade Bo Gu, although he is a loyal communist, he is just a student who has read some foreign books. Ask him what he can do without the remote control of Wang Ming and the wrong command of Li De? Look at the blood of the Red Army soldiers on both sides of the Xiangjiang River, those are all precious lives!

  Comrade Sotan, you can still point fingers at me here today because many martyrs have protected you. If we let Li De and Bo Gu continue to command like this, our army will soon be annihilated. At that time, no one will protect you, do you plan to kill yourself or surrender? Comrade Sotan, wake up! You won't let our soldiers die in vain, will you?"

  Looking at the pale faces of Bo Gu and Otto Braun, Liu Yiming continued: "I know that you and Comrade Bo Gu are both back from Moscow, having learned a lot of Marxism-Leninism. However, you have violated the most basic principles of Marxism, which is to combine theory with practice and accept the test of reality. Lenin was able to lead the Russian Revolution to success mainly because he combined Marxist principles with the specific realities of Russia. If Lenin had not acted according to Russian realities and simply followed Marx's words that a proletarian revolution should first take place in a country with highly developed capitalism, there would have been no October Revolution! Therefore, Marxism is a developing scientific theory that requires each generation to combine it with the actual conditions of their own country or region, constantly developing and innovating. This development and innovation means liberating thought and seeking truth from facts. Through seeking truth from facts, we use revolutionary practice to test our revolutionary theories. If you don't understand how to combine Marxist principles with reality, then you are just a bookworm who only understands book knowledge. This is very simple, for example, Comrade Braun, how good is your marksmanship? It's not enough to just say it's good or bad, you have to actually shoot a few rounds and then you'll know. Similarly, if you want to know what an apple tastes like, you can just take a bite and you'll know. Therefore, practice is the standard for testing all truths. You claim that your strategic and tactical thinking is correct, but through the practice of the five encirclement campaigns, it has been proven by the blood of Red Army soldiers that your strategic ideas and tactical principles are wrong. I think that as true revolutionaries, Comrades Bo Gu, Li De, and Braun will not even have the consciousness to correct their mistakes? Do you need to become sinners of the Red Army and be nailed to the pillar of historical shame?"

  Look at several central leaders who are deep in thought about their own words. Liu Yimin stepped forward, pulled up Li De, patted the dust off his body, and said: "Comrade Li De, your military theory is a German textbook theory. Not to mention that it's not suitable for commanding the poorly equipped Red Army, even if you were commanding the well-equipped National Army, it wouldn't work either. You're not material for a commander-in-chief, nor can you be a chief of staff. You've already caused irreparable losses to the Red Army. If you don't want the Red Army soldiers to despise and spit on you forever, if you still want to help the Red Army win victories, I suggest you go be an artillery regiment commander or an artillery instructor at the Red Army school, do something practical for once. Otherwise, even if we don't report your situation to Comrade Stalin, let you escape the Soviet Union's internal affairs department's rectification and military tribunal's trial, the vengeful spirits of those who died in battle on both sides of the Xiangjiang River will haunt you for a lifetime. Take care of yourself."

  Wu Xiurong looked at Liu Yimin in surprise, and Liu Yimin said: "Please translate my words accurately."

  After Wu Xiu's translation, Li De opened his fearful eyes and exclaimed: "What, what!"

  Liu Yimin turned to Ston and said, "There is an old Chinese saying that does not judge heroes by success or failure. That's what scholars study in peacetime. We are now in a life-and-death bloody battle and must judge heroes by success or failure. Whoever can lead the Red Army out of trouble and win victories is a hero. Our Red Army soldiers need unity of thought, unity, and strength at the highest decision-making level to lead us to continuously win victories. Comrade Ston, think about it, now the Nationalist Party's newspapers have openly reported that they are garrisoning tens of thousands of troops in western Hunan. Do we still want to hold onto the unrealistic idea of going to western Hunan to meet with the 2nd and 6th army corps? Isn't this like hitting an egg against a stone? Even new soldiers who just joined the army understand this common sense, let alone you, a high-level leader with a belly full of strategies?"

  Stone's face was covered in sweat: "What you said may make sense, I need to think about it seriously."

  Liu Yimin thought, since we're going to take drastic measures, we might as well do it all at once. He then spoke loudly to Sidorov: "Comrade Sidorov, the key to studying Marxism-Leninism is to study the theoretical essence of Marxism-Leninism in relation to reality, not to learn about violent dictatorship. I don't know if you're aware, but on my way to find the Red Army, I heard from ordinary people that your classmate at Sun Yat-sen University in Moscow, Xia Xi, who is a staunch supporter of Wang Ming, was carrying out large-scale purges in the Honghu area with the Third Red Army, killing Red Army cadres and soldiers as well as revolutionary masses. He killed more than 2 million people, leaving only 3,000 people remaining. I heard he even killed three of his own bodyguards. I'm thinking, Chiang Kai-shek kills with planes and artillery, while you guys kill in the name of purges, one by one. The difference is that Chiang Kai-shek's killings are open and not always successful, whereas your killings are done under the guise of revolution, and each one is a sure hit. I heard that when Xia Xi killed Duan Dechang, Duan said don't waste bullets, just use a knife to chop him off. The people in Honghu area say these purge masters are wolves in sheep's clothing from the northern grasslands."

  With a "thud", Stun fell onto his butt on the ground.

  Liu Yimin knew his words were more terrifying than an 8-magnitude earthquake.

  Li De felt as if all the strength had been sucked out of his body at once.

  Ston even felt that his idol Wang Ming was as ugly as if he had been stripped of his skin, and so was he.

  Zhou Enlai blamed himself, such a simple truth, why didn't he think seriously about it in the past? Why did Wang Ming appoint Bo Gu as the central general responsible person, and he knew clearly that it was Wang Ming's puppet but did not actively oppose it? Looking back at what happened after the Central Committee moved to the Soviet area, it seems that all the disasters in the Soviet area were caused by the arrival of the Central Committee. This is a crime! This Xia Xi must be investigated immediately and cannot be allowed to continue like this.

  Zhu De felt very uncomfortable, the Central Red Army was brought out by himself and Old Mao, why did Bo Gu and Li De come to let him hand over power? In the past, he just thought that he was a party member, the party told him what to do, how could he not think about whether the motives of these young guys were pure or not? Could they represent the vast number of party members? Thinking about it, it's really fucking embarrassing!

  Lao Mao was secretly admiring, finally someone spoke the truth. Amazing! Truly amazing! A newly appointed deputy regimental commander of the Red Army could explain the Marxist theory guiding the Chinese revolution so clearly and thoroughly, exposing the essence of Wang Ming and his followers who were pretending to be something they're not, and even foresaw the leadership core system problem in the peaceful construction period after victory. He's truly a great talent! Moreover, at critical moments, he said critical words and did critical things, amazing! Saved himself so much trouble! This person must be carefully cultivated!

  Zhang Wentian was thinking, he himself is focused on learning and research, everyone says he is a bookworm, how can he study and not understand such an important yet ordinary principle that practice is the standard for testing truth? Is he a member of the Politburo based on his ability or seniority? Can he represent the interests of the Red Army and party members? He feels guilty. He must make some contributions to the party and the Red Army, he needs to take action immediately, requesting a meeting of the Politburo, canceling Li De's and Bo Gu's command powers, cannot be a sinner.

  Wang Jiaxiang felt that this Liu Yimin was somehow in line with the thoughts of Old Mao, no, it seemed to be even more thorough, he talked about liberating thought and seeking truth from facts, so incisive, really hitting the nail on the head. Putting his words together would be a great way to deal with the three top leaders. And what about Xia Xi and Wang Ming? How could they have been classmates with these bastards? If the Red Army soldiers knew what they were up to, oh god, it's unthinkable.

  Bo Gu thought, it's all over, completely over. Although he himself had also carried out the Rectification Campaign and killed many people, he never expected Xia Xi to be so bold, what a sin! When can these sins be redeemed?

  Liu Yimin looked at the leaders who were deep in thought with their heads bowed, knowing that he had said all that needed to be said. Now it was time to let these great men take a short rest. After all, since the Long March, they had been working just as hard as the Red Army soldiers, and even harder than them. He raised his hand again in salute: "Chairman Mao, Vice-Chairman Zhou, Commander-in-Chief Zhu, and all the leaders, we have arranged for the Central Column and the First Army Corps comrades to rest and eat. We have prepared food, killed 12 fat pigs, prepared wine, cigarettes, hot water for bathing, and made some new military uniforms. Please, leaders and comrades, take a short rest at your quarters, have something to eat, take a bath, comb your hair, and change into some clean clothes. If you need anything, our cadres and soldiers are at your service."

  Chairman Mao smiled and said: "I'm telling you, Liu Yimin, this little guy is quite sensible, so well-prepared!"

  Vice-Chairman Zhou smiled and replied, "Comrade Zedong, you also know now, Liu Yimin and the others have made a great contribution this time. In the tunnel, they confiscated 3 million silver dollars and 200 gold bars, which is the largest seizure since the founding of our Red Army. Comrade Liu Yimin, in a while, the Central Column will send someone to handle the handover procedures for the seized funds with you. This time, we really need to thank comrades."

  Liu Yimin hastily said: "Report to Vice Chairman Zhou, these spoils of war were the enemy's exploitation of the people's wealth and blood, used to arm the Red Army to fight for the people's liberation, it is using things to their best advantage. If you want to say thank you, can't it be understood as you wanting to criticize our Red 18th Regiment's political thought work still having a gap, and the revolutionary awareness of our cadres and soldiers needing to be raised?" Having said this, Liu Yimin himself couldn't help but laugh. Several leaders also laughed, and the atmosphere was no longer as heavy as it had been earlier.

  Zhu Laozong smiled and said, "Enlai, don't just say thank you with your mouth. For such a heroic team, we should announce the reward to the whole army. Liu Yimin, speak up, what difficulties do you need us to solve?"

  Liu Yimin hastily reported: "Report to the Commander-in-Chief, my regiment has sufficient personnel, and the new recruits from the expanded Red Army can be trained to supplement the troops. Although our weapons are currently insufficient, I believe they will be fully supplemented after the next battle. What we lack now is political work personnel and staff officers, artillerymen, engineers, cavalrymen, communication personnel, and logistics management cadres. I hope leaders consider dispatching some cadres from the Red Army School or Cadre Regiment."

  Zhu said: "You don't have artillery and cavalry, what's the use of having artillery and cavalry officers?"

  "Report to the Commander-in-Chief, the Central Army, Hunan Army and Guangxi Army have many cannons and war horses, just waiting for us to take them. I believe we will soon have artillery and cavalry."

  Director Zhu said, "Your 18th Regiment has won a battle, but this time the rapid advance was a clever tactic, and it didn't test the combat effectiveness of your troops. After all, after the Xiangjiang Battle, the 18th Regiment suffered heavy losses, and in fact, you are a reorganized unit. If you really clashed with the Central Army, whether you can withstand it or not is still to be carefully considered."

  "Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, all officers and men of the 18th Red Division guarantee that our division is willing to take on the role of vanguard or rearguard for the entire army. Whether it's against the Central Army, the Guangxi Army, the Hunan Army, or the Japanese army in future battles against Japan, we will resolutely complete all combat tasks assigned by the Military Commission. Please rest assured, Commander-in-Chief, that if you use us to fight a tough battle, we will surely win!"

  "Good! Good! Good! What a Liu Yimin, what a Red 18th Regiment, what a tough battle with me, using me will surely win. How heroic!" Chairman Mao praised, his eyes twinkling as he looked at Liu Yimin: "Do your best, we're waiting for the news of the Red 18th Regiment's continuous victories."

  "Alright, the war situation is urgent and the enemy is still biting at our heels. After you hand over the funds, also transfer the mobilized materials to the Central Column. After completion, hurry up and train your troops, as combat tasks may arise at any time. Don't worry about us, as long as you win the battle, we will be safe. The necessary cadres will report to your regiment afterwards."

  "Yes, I will resolutely carry out the order. Please take care of yourselves, leaders!" Liu Yimin saluted and reluctantly left. *Laughing, he said: "Buddies, let's go! We can now solve our hunger problem."

  A group of people walked towards their designated residence under the guidance of Red Army soldiers.