Chapter 1586 Extra 8, Grand Finale

  Elected a new party's overall person in charge and military commander. The question is, where will the Red Army go and what will it do?

  This matter is not easy to decide at the moment, and it needs to be communicated with comrades. Therefore, after the meeting in the afternoon, Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and Zhu De respectively found the comrades who attended the meeting to discuss and solicit opinions.

  Liu Yimin saw the end of the meeting early, and let Li Chengwei and Tang Xingying send the leather coats, wool blankets, leather boots, and cigarettes to be given to the central leaders to the Red Army headquarters. Then he led Li Chengwei and Tang Xingying one by one to deliver them.

  The first to receive was Mao Zedong. Mao Zedong took the cigarettes handed over by Liu Yimin and said with joy: "Now we have dry rations!", then put on the leather coat and boots to try them on, feeling very suitable. Liu Yimin also brought out a leather coat for He Zizhen, He Zizhen put down the child, wore it and let Mao Zedong see, Chairman Mao smiled and said: "Wearing this leather coat, Zizhen is like an immortal fairy descending to the mortal world!" He Zizhen was so delighted that she asked Liu Yimin repeatedly how he managed to choose something so suitable.

  Liu Yimin hastily said: "It wasn't me who chose it, but several old Red Army cadres from the Guard Regiment, Cai Zhong, Liu Jianli, Li Qing and Wu Zheng, they all knew the Chairman's and He Dajie's height and shoe size. I'm a new recruit, I didn't know!"

  Mao Zedong asked Liu Yimin to sit down and inquired in detail about the battles of Xiaoshui, Xikou, Qingxitown and Yangpingtown, asking about the equipment situation and actual combat effectiveness of He Jian's troops, Bai Chongxi's troops and the Central Army.

  Liu Yimin made a response.

  Mao Zedong then inquired about the organization, troop strength, equipment and cadres of the Guard Division. When he heard that the Guard Division currently had 15,000 troops, was well-equipped and had sufficient ammunition, Mao Zedong was extremely pleased and asked if there were any other problems.

  Liu Yimin reported in a hurry: "It's still the problem of cadres. Due to the rapid expansion of the troops, the proportion of new soldiers who were former captives is too high. The old Red Army soldiers are mainly divided into two groups. One group consists of 1,000 people, including the remnants of the 18th Regiment during the reorganization at the Xiangjiang River, the sharp knife company of the 34th Division, and the cadres who stayed on the east bank of the Xiangjiang River. The other group is made up of 3,382 Red Army soldiers rescued from the Guangxi clique and He Jian, among whom 1,382 were old Red Army soldiers rescued from He Jian, who were either wounded or captured due to exhaustion during battles and are now the backbone of the fighting force. In contrast, the 2,000 soldiers rescued from the Guangxi army, although in better physical condition, are mostly new soldiers scattered from the Eighth and Ninth Army Corps, who have hardly received any training and can barely be considered to have any combat effectiveness, requiring further training. As for the other soldiers, apart from the new recruits who joined through the communication channels, they are basically all captive soldiers. Among them, the Xiangjiang War and the Xiaoshui, Xikou War captives of the Xiang Army and Guangxi Army soldiers, after undergoing the 'suingku' educational movement, have now thoroughly integrated into the Red Army and become the backbone of the troops. However, there is still an educational process for the captive soldiers who joined in Qingxitown and Yangpingtown."

  He Zizhen poured tea, and after Liu Yimin took a sip, he continued: "The cadres are mainly divided into five groups. The first group is the original 18th Regiment and the 34th Division's spearhead company and platoon cadres. The second group is the team-level cadres who were dismissed during the Su District defense war and were taken in during the Hunan River reorganization. The main officers of the Guard Brigade are these people. The third group is the 30 cadres from the Third Army who supported us during our time in Xiyue Mountain, at that time it was to train the Guangxi prisoners of war, I requested from Peng Dehuai, the army commander, to transfer some old Red Army soldiers from the Fifth Division who were from Guangxi. The fourth group is the 200 cadres supported by the Central Committee during our journey through Tongdao, now the cadres in the Seventh Regiment, Artillery Regiment, Engineer Regiment, Heavy Machine Gun Regiment, Logistics Regiment, Cavalry Battalion and the Brigade Staff Department, Political Department, and Logistics Department are all composed of these people. The fifth group is the cadres and soldiers supported by Peng, Lin, Dong, and Luo, the four army commanders who went to welcome the Guard Brigade the night before last, one regiment from the First Army was incorporated into the First Guard Regiment, one regiment from the Fifth Army was incorporated into the Second Regiment, 80-90 people from the Third Army and Ninth Army were respectively added to the Sixth Regiment and Seventh Regiment."

  Mao Zedong said: "Drink tea and talk while drinking!"

  Liu Yimin took another sip of tea. After He Zizhen added water, he continued to report: "At present, our division lacks one deputy division commander, one deputy political commissar, two deputy chiefs of staff and a head of the security department or deputy director of the political department in charge of internal security. Each regiment needs to be equipped with a deputy regimental commander, deputy political commissar, political department director, and logistics department director. Some regiments also need to be equipped with a chief of staff. I calculated that we need two division-level cadres, six regiment-level cadres, 52 battalion-level cadres, and at least 60 company-level cadres. In total, we need 120 key cadres. Please consider this, Chairman Mao. Can we select cadres from the Military Commission's column?"

  Mao Zedong took a puff of smoke and said, "The central government will send you the necessary cadres. You can go to report for duty after the meeting is over. What's the story with you withdrawing over 10 million silver dollars in Zhenyuan last time?"

  Liu Yimin thought to himself. He's here. Hurriedly, he made a detailed report of the situation at that time, his own thoughts, the measures taken and their effects.

  Mao Zedong extinguished the cigarette butt. Sighed and said: "It seems that our policy is a bit left-leaning, needs to be adjusted. You go see Comrade Chen Yun and Comrade Li Fuchun later, repeat what I just said to them. The three of you are responsible for drafting a basic policy outline for the party's current stage regarding industry and commerce, submit it to the Politburo for review."

  Liu Yimin quickly stood up and saluted. He said loudly: "Guarantee the completion of the task!"

  "Sit down, sit down. Don't be so serious. I still have something to say!"

  Liu Yimin hastily sat down in a proper and dignified manner.

  Mao Zedong lit another cigarette and said, "Our main force is heading north and must pass through Sichuan. The Sichuan warlords will certainly try to intercept us with all their might. Do you have any ideas?"

  Liu Yimin said: "Report to the Chairman, after our army left Guangxi, the Gui Army's pursuit was not active, and the Xiang Army was also like this. This shows that the warlords adopted a policy of dead-end defense against us, and only pretended to pursue us. As long as we didn't plan to expand in their territory, they wouldn't engage in a fierce battle with us. Liu Xiang and other Sichuan warlords should be the same. Currently, I judge that the Sichuan warlords must have received strict orders from Chiang Kai-shek, deploying heavy troops in southern Sichuan to prevent our entry into Sichuan. In this way, the Sichuan army was divided into two major parts: one part in northern Sichuan facing off against the Fourth Route Army, and another part in southern Sichuan facing off against us. As long as we made up our minds to head north, the best strategy would be to negotiate with Liu Xiang and borrow a path to pass through. The middle strategy would be for our army to leave a small force to pretend to be the main force and engage in a diversionary battle with the enemy, while the main force adopted a flanking maneuver to sneak into the Chengdu Plain, directly attacking Chengdu, gathering supplies and funds on the Chengdu Plain, thoroughly disrupting the deployment of the Sichuan enemy forces. After that, we would join forces with the Fourth Route Army and head north to Shaanxi.

  The worst-case scenario is to concentrate our main force, and before the enemy's central army arrives, engage in battle with the enemy's Sichuan army, annihilate one of their units, and then take a detour through northern Sichuan. However, it should be noted that when engaging in battle with the Sichuan enemy, first, strict secrecy must be maintained. Second, pre-war intelligence must be accurate, because the Sichuan army has strong military strength and rapid reinforcements, and the terrain here is very complex, if the battle becomes a stalemate, it will be unfavorable to our army. Third, we cannot underestimate the combat effectiveness of the Sichuan army, once engaged in battle, there is a high possibility that the Sichuan army will engage in fierce fighting with us, but we are not capable of matching them.

  Mao Zedong asked again: "If the police"

  "Firstly, for the entire army to open up a path northward, are you confident or not?"

  Liu Yimin replied: "Report to the Chairman, as long as the Guards Division can have 10 days to regroup and integrate, the troops will be fully united. Not only can we face the Sichuan Army, but also Chiang Kai-shek's most elite troops, and we will have a sure victory."

  I can assure the Chairman that the Guards Division will be the vanguard of the entire army and will never betray the Chairman's high expectations!

  Mao Zedong nodded and called over Hu Ban Zhang, telling him to deliver the poem he had written in Huangping last time to Liu Yimin.

  Huang Banao brought Mao Zedong's handwritten "Sixteen-Character Commandment". As soon as he opened it, it was indeed the Chairman's handwriting. The strokes were bold and powerful, the meaning vast and unrestrained. It can be seen that when the great man wrote this, his heart must have been surging with emotion, his brush moving freely, creating an invaluable treasure of ink.

  Liu Yimin handed the handwritten letter to Tang Xingying, took a step back and said with a smile: "Chairman, in the future when you have new poems, can you also handwrite one for me?"

  Mao Zedong smiled and said: "My handwriting is quite ordinary, if I write too much for you, it won't be valuable anymore."

  Liu Yimin said: "The Chairman's handwriting is a priceless treasure. In the future, when the revolution succeeds, I will hang the Chairman's handwriting on the wall of my home and admire it every day. When I die, if one day my son has no money to spend, he can take out one piece to auction off, at least it will sell for 10,000 yuan per piece. At that time, my son will definitely be very grateful to his old man for having the foresight to save a large sum of money for him."

  At this point, Mao Zedong and He Zizhen burst out laughing together.

  After laughing, Mao Zedong said: "It seems that our little general is not only a hero in battle, but also a master of making money. Last time you extorted He Jian and Li Zongren, Bai Chongxi, I saw the telegrams. Tell me, what were you thinking at the time?"

  Liu Yimin immediately replied seriously: "Report to the Chairman, at that time I felt that He Jian must be eager to redeem those officers and keep his three divisions' numbers. He should have accepted our conditions. As for Li and Bai, Li has strategic vision, while Bai's strategic vision is slightly worse. I estimated that they were afraid of our army's misfortune being transferred eastward, drawing the Central Army into Guangxi, and wanted to use us as a gun to weaken Chiang Kai-shek's armed forces with the Red Army's hands. They should have accepted our demands, so I made a deal with them. Now thinking about it, I regret that we asked for too little and should have asked for 100 more, which was a bargain for them!"

  Mao Zedong laughed again, and the ash in his hand fell to the ground. After laughing, he said: "Little Comrade Ge, that's enough, don't be too greedy! Probably only you in all of China dare to openly extort He Jian, Li Zongren, and Bai Chongxi. Who knows, maybe they'll burst their lungs! Let me calculate for you: 305 yuan from the tunnel, 120 yuan from He Jian, 30 yuan from the Guangxi clique, 200 yuan from Zhenyuan, and 3,000 yuan from Xue Yue, totaling 685 silver dollars. You joined the Red Army less than a month ago, not only saving the troops stationed on the east bank of the Xiangjiang River but also annihilating six or seven enemy divisions, mobilizing over 15,000 main forces, and greatly improving the Red Army's finances, weapons, ammunition, and personnel replenishment. Recently, several comrades from the Central Committee mentioned your name with a smile. You're truly our hero! Don't be proud, our road is still long, and everyone is watching you create new achievements for the Red Army!"

  Liu Yimin thought to himself, "So the central leadership has been paying attention to every single thing I've done." His blood was boiling with excitement. He immediately stood at attention and saluted: "Reporting to the Chairman, from the day I joined the Red Army, I have dedicated my life to it. I will follow the Chairman to conquer the world, fighting tirelessly until death, sharing life and death together, never betraying. Please be assured, Chairman, under any circumstances, the Central Guard Regiment will carry out all tasks according to your orders!"

  These words made Mao Zedong feel extremely warm. Looking at this young and rising high-ranking Red Army general who had brought him so many surprises, Mao Zedong said: "You have a global perspective, strategic vision, loyalty to the party, and come up with amazing tactics in battle, brave and tenacious. In the future, you will bear even greater responsibilities. Do well, our Red Army will create miracles! I won't keep you, go busy, remember to find Comrade Chen Yun and Comrade Fu Chun!"

  Liu Yimin bowed and took his leave.

  Looking at Liu Yimin's back, Mao Zedong muttered: "The Red Army is indeed blessed by heaven!"

  When meeting with Vice Chairman Zhou, Liu Yimin focused on reporting the ideological education work in the construction of the troops. He particularly requested support for the security personnel and radio station staff. He told Vice Chairman Zhou that since the new recruits were mostly from various regions, it would be best to send security personnel who had experience working in the Central Special Branch. Those who were enthusiastic about carrying out purges should definitely not be sent.

  Vice Chairman Zhou said: "It seems that you are afraid of the anti-rightist campaign like a snake and scorpion! Okay, there are several suitable candidates with very old qualifications, I'm afraid you don't dare to use them!"

  Liu Yimin immediately stood up straight and reported: "We are all Red Army, we have come together for a common goal, as long as it is beneficial to the development of the Red Army, everyone will obey the organization's arrangement. The Guard Division is part of the Central Red Army, personnel adjustments are very normal, for example, if tomorrow the Central Committee assigns me to work in another unit, I will also obey the organizational decision and execute orders. Please rest assured, Chairman Zhou, that I will protect the cadres who have been transferred to the Guard Division like my own eyes, let them be comfortable and play their role."

  Vice Chairman Zhou said: "Good, you have such a broad mind and demeanor, I believe the comrades who are appointed will be very happy to take office."

  Vice President Zhou was very busy, so Liu Yimin hurriedly bid farewell. When he went out the door, he found that Tang Xingyan had not come out yet, and could only wait for a while at the door.

  Tang Xingying came out with a red face, looking very shy. Liu Yimin thought to himself, girls are really troublesome, they can get excited like this even when seeing Aunt Deng.

  Zhu Laozong and Kang Dajie live right across from Vice Chairman Zhou, Liu Yimin led Li Chengwei and Tang Xingyan to report and then went straight in.

  Zhu Laozong and Kang Dajie put on the leather coats and boots sent by the Guards Division, tried them on, and they fit well. Zhu Laozong then asked how much money was spent and how many were bought. When he heard that every central leader had one, Zhu Laozong smiled and said: "It's still better to win battles, with spoils of war, the conditions will be a little better." Then, pulling Liu Yimin to the map in front of the combat room, together with Liu Bocheng, they studied the enemy and our situation. Liu Yimin took the opportunity to let Li Chengwei send all the leather coats and boots for Liu Canmou and other leaders to himself.

  The map used by the Red Army headquarters was very old, and Liu Yimin knew at a glance that it was an ancient spoil captured from the enemy. He thought to himself, "How can we command battles with such a map and not be defeated?"

  Take another look at the enemy's situation marked on the map, Xiang Army, Gui Army and Yue Army have entered southern Hunan and southeastern Guizhou, Sichuan Army has been ordered to enter Guizhou territory, Xue Yue's troops have arrived near Zunyi. Only there is no information about the central army reinforcements and the heavy gathering of Sichuan Army. I thought, no wonder the Tucheng Battle happened in history, it turns out that the Red Army headquarters knew nothing about the heavy gathering of Sichuan Army. They relied solely on radio intercepts and reconnaissance intelligence, unclear about enemy strategic intelligence.

  Thinking of the Zunyi Conference in history

  Liu Bocheng and Nie Rongzhen proposed to develop towards Sichuan, then advanced into the Sichuan border, encountered the main force of the Sichuan Army in Tucheng, fought fiercely with the enemy at Qinggangpo, suffered heavy casualties, and had to withdraw from the battle, starting the Four Crossings of the Chishui River.

  Since I've crossed over, these unfavorable factors can be avoided.

  Report to Commander-in-Chief Zhu and Chief of Staff Liu, according to the intelligence gathered by our department, Chiang Kai-shek has again mobilized a large number of troops from Jiangxi to support Xue Yue's battle. I estimate that this batch of Central Army is at least 100,000 people and should have arrived near Liping. The Sichuan army has also completed its mobilization, Liu Xiang may have concentrated the strength of 11 brigades, with Pan Wenhu as the commander-in-chief, defending in southern Sichuan, ready to attack our army at any time.

  "Is this intelligence accurate?" Old Zhu asked in surprise.

  Liu Yimin replied: "It is intercepted enemy radio intelligence and should be accurate."

  Liu Bocheng said: "After you finished the Qingxi Town battle, the Central Army's code seems to have changed again, and the Military Commission has not cracked it yet. How did you know?"

  Liu Yimin said: "Report to the Chief of Staff, on the day when our division fought in Qingxi Town, we could still intercept enemy radio messages. The movement of the Central Army was intercepted more than once, and Chiang Kai-shek ordered Xue Yue's unit to supplement the insufficient part with reinforcements from other places. In addition, after interrogating the commander of the 59th Division of the enemy, Han Hanying, we learned about Chiang Kai-shek's deployment. As for the Sichuan enemy, no intelligence is needed, and analysis alone can infer that Liu Xiang and He Jian, Bai Chongxi will inevitably be strictly defensive and block our army from entering Sichuan, and may even put up a fight in the north to come and attack."

  Liu Bocheng quickly marked them one by one on the map with a pencil.

  Fortunately, Zhu Laozong and Liu Canmou were very familiar with the Sichuan Army and Pan Wenhua. Liu Yimin's reminder prompted them to quickly review the intercepted telegrams and the Fourth Route Army's telegrams to study the situation of the Sichuan Army's movements.

  Liu Yimin knew that these were people with the title of military god, and with a slight reminder, the situation would naturally undergo great changes. Looking at Zhu Laozong and Liu Canmou, neither of them bothered to reason with him, so he went to find Comrade Chen Yun and Comrade Li Fuchun instead.

  Comrade Chen Yun and Comrade Li Fuchun have received Chairman Mao's phone call and are waiting for him at the General Political Department located in the Catholic Church.

  At first glance, Liu Yimin found that the two were not much different from their images in later generations' photos, only looking younger.

  Comrade Chen Yun took Liu Yimin's hand as soon as he saw him, thanking the guards regiment for sending supplies and funds several times, making Liu Yimin feel embarrassed.

  Comrade Li Fuchun didn't have much small talk and directly asked why the 10 million yuan had to be returned.

  Liu Yimin knew that these two people were the economic giants within the party, with good character and high moral standing, deeply respected by everyone. He hastily made a report in a flurry of activity.

  After listening to the report, Comrade Chen Yun said: "You did the right thing. Our Red Army is not a bandit, we cannot do things that harm the Great Wall. At first, when I heard that you returned the captured silver of over 10 million yuan, I was so heartbroken that I stomped my feet. Over 10 million yuan! How many things could we have done with it?! To be honest, I had thoughts of going to fight against you. After listening to your report, I understood why all the businessmen ran away during the Su District's rectification campaign - our policy was not on the right track. Chairman Mao said that the three of us should come up with a draft of the Red Army's industrial and commercial policy. I think you should draft it, and Comrade Fu Chun and I will review and finalize it. What do you think?"

  Liu Yimin smiled and said: "Obey orders and follow commands!"

  Three people climbed onto a table, Liu Yimin wrote, Chen Yun and Li Fuchun studied, and soon formed several opinions, which became the Red Army's first relatively standardized regulations for protecting industry and commerce, later commonly known as the "Liu Eight Articles".

  Regulations of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army for the Protection of Industrial and Commercial Enterprises

  The Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army is the vanguard of China's national independence and liberation, with the heavy responsibility of protecting and promoting the development of national industry and commerce.

  Article 2: National industrial and commercial enterprises are an important component of the country's development. All industrial and commercial entrepreneurs who abide by these regulations, operate legally, and reasonably earn profits, as well as their employees, are part of the Chinese working class.

  Article 3: The Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army protects the interests of national industries and businesses, financial enterprises, etc. within China's borders from infringement, opposing all bureaucratic capital and colonial capital that encroach upon national industrial and commercial enterprises.

  Article 4: Oppose all acts that damage the development of national industry and commerce.

  Article 5: The Red Army's various units are strictly forbidden from imposing levies or extorting money from industrial and commercial enterprises during battles, and are also strictly forbidden from detaining the owners of these enterprises and their employees.

  Article 6: Welcome knowledgeable individuals to enter the Red Army base to set up enterprises, engage in commodity trading and material exchange. The tax rate is uniformly calculated according to the preferential tax rate of the base.

  Article 7: Business enterprises shall be prohibited from engaging in the following activities:

  1. Those who provide financial, material or commodity assistance to Japanese invaders with the capital, means of production and products of Chinese enterprises shall be regarded as traitors.

  It is strictly forbidden for business enterprises to hoard goods, drive up prices and seek exorbitant profits.

  It is strictly forbidden for business enterprises to exploit workers and trample on their rights.

  Strictly prohibit enterprises in the Red Army base from evading taxes, concealing income and escaping tax payments.

  Article 8: Penalty

  1. For Hanjian business enterprises, in addition to confiscating assets, the parties involved will be held criminally liable.

  Confiscate all bureaucratic capital of the reactionary clique of the Nationalist Party. Treat captured bureaucratic capitalists as prisoners of war.

  Those who exploit workers, trample on workers' rights and have blood debts shall be confiscated of their assets and the persons involved shall be tried and punished.

  For hoarding and profiteering, price gouging and seeking exorbitant profits, in addition to confiscating illegal gains, the parties involved shall be prosecuted.

  For those who evade taxes, underreport taxes or escape taxes within the Red Army base, apart from recovering the taxes, the parties involved will be held accountable.

  Chinese Red Army

  December 1934

  After finishing writing, the three people exchanged opinions item by item again and finally decided to discuss and implement it with the central government at an appropriate time.

  Finally, Chen Yun sighed: "There are too few cadres in the Red Army who have studied economics like you. I would very much like to have you as my assistant, but unfortunately, the war is tense now and you also have high military talent, what a pity."

  Li Fuchun said: "No need to worry, as long as he makes money and gets supplies for us in the front, we'll take care of the rest."

  Liu Yimin smiled and said: "Look, after a while, I'll be assigned tasks again. If possible, send more cadres to support me, that's the real support for me."

  Chen Yun said: "No need to say anything else, I'll take care of the logistics personnel for you. Last time I sent Wu Zheng and a few cadres, if it's not enough, I'll send more. As long as you can get money, grain, and ammunition, I'll even go fight for you!"

  Liu Yimin hastily said he couldn't take it, and the three of them burst out laughing.

  Brothers: The monthly ticket ranking has entered the top 26, rush up and use your votes to support Liu Yimin's overwhelming battle spirit! Rush up!

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