In December 1940, a rebellion occurred within the Sixth Detachment of the New Fourth Army of our Party, stationed in the Henan-Anhui-Suzhou Border Region. A commander of the Sixth Detachment, together with two regiment commanders, led more than 2,000 troops to openly rebel agains

Readers, before reading the article, thank you for your hard work, click "Follow" and we will continue to update the historical story, which will not only facilitate your subsequent reading, but also discuss with like-minded readers. Thank you for your support.

In December 1940, a rebellion occurred within the Sixth Detachment of the New Fourth Army of our Party, which was stationed in , Henan, Anhui and Jiangsu Border Area, which shocked the whole party. A commander of the Sixth Detachment, together with two regiment leaders, led more than 2,000 troops to openly rebel against the party and surrender to the Kuomintang reactionaries who were preparing to attack the New Fourth Army at the time.

This was the "Geng, Wu and Liu betrayal incident" that the whole party paid close attention to at that time. The cause of the

incident also starts with the origins of these three people

1. The motive for rebellion

Geng, who was Geng Yunzhai, the captain of the Third Corps of the Sixth Detachment of the New Fourth Army of our party at that time. This person was not an old cadre who followed our party since the Agrarian Revolution.

Originally, he was the mayor of the Kuomintang stationed in Xiao County on the eve of the Anti-Japanese War.

After the Anti-Japanese War broke out, Xiao County fell, and Geng Yunzhai then formed an anti-Japanese armed force in the local area. Because he was once a local high-ranking official and was trusted by the people, his team quickly expanded to hundreds of people, and he had a great say in the anti-Japanese armed forces in the entire region.

At that time, our party was actively carrying out united front work, trying not to see the background of the family and trying to unite all forces that can be united.

Although Geng Yunzhai was once a landlord and also served as an official of the Kuomintang, he was still incorporated by our party and appointed him as the third commander of the Sixth Detachment of the New Fourth Army.

However, Geng Yunzhai did not think about how to better carry out the work of combating the Japanese invaders in this position. Instead, he still acted like a Kuomintang bureaucratic. has been thinking about how to be promoted, and has also led to his later betrayal.

Time was in 1940, when the Anti-Japanese War had entered a stalemate stage. On the front battlefield, the Japanese army and the Kuomintang army did not make any major moves with each other, so both sides began to free up their hands to launch a systematic attack on our party. In the Japanese occupied areas, the Japanese invaders frequently carried out sweeping work;

, and the Kuomintang reactionaries also actively launched a crackdown on our party's anti-Japanese base areas.

In November of that year, senior Kuomintang generals Bai Chongxi and Li Zongren jointly put pressure on the senior management of the New Fourth Army, requiring the New Fourth Army to transport all its troops to north of the Yellow River .

The senior leaders of our party immediately realized that this was the Kuomintang’s intention to sabotage, so in order to respond, a series of organizational adjustments were made.

. The adjustments included Geng Yunzhai being incorporated into the Fourth Division, and himself was promoted to the security commander of the Henan-Anhui-Suzhou Border Region.

However, this decision was the fuse of the entire incident.

In Geng Yunzhai's eyes, there was no overall situation at all, and he was unwilling to understand his superiors. He could only see that the team of his own thousands of people was only one battalion left. This adjustment of

led to Geng Yunzhai's extreme dissatisfaction, and he had no intention of restraining this emotion at all. Not long after the order was issued, he led the troops away from the headquarters without authorization, returned to his hometown Xiaoxian area, and began to contact another protagonist, Wu Xinrong.

New Fourth Army Armband

Wu Xinrong, also a local landlord, served as deputy brigade commander of the Sixth Brigade after being adapted by our party. Like Geng Yunzhai, he has been looking forward to the position of the brigade commander. However, after finally letting the brigade commander go, the organization transferred another person to succeed him.

is so angry that Wu Xinrong was thinking that he had surrendered to you guys back then, and now he has stole my official position again. How can he tolerate this?

So he also began to disobey orders and often led his team to leave without permission. At the same time, he also began to contact Geng Yunzhai, who was also "unfulfilled".

The movements of the two people's interactions at that time attracted high attention from the Party Central Committee. The Central Committee finally made many discussions and did not rule out the possibility that the two people had a tendency to rebel.

However, because they have a high reputation in the local area, if they attack directly, it may cause chaos. So, in mid-December, Peng Xuefeng, commander-in-chief of the Fourth Column of the Eighth Route Army, sent a secret telegram to Huang Sipei, then Chief of Staff of the Henan-Anhui-Su Border Region Security Command, asking him to set off immediately to persuade Geng and Wu to return to the team again.

Huang Sipei

With Peng Xuefeng, he did not fully hope for persuasion. After asking the central government for instructions, he once again telegrammed Huang Sipei to go to the 17th Regiment to inform the regiment commander Liu Ziren that if the persuasion was fruitless, he could immediately dispatch the 17th Regiment to take it down with force.

What the central government did not expect was that when Huang Sipei conveyed the instructions from his superiors to Liu Ziren, Liu Ziren expressed his absolute obedience in person. However, afterwards, he secretly went to Xiao County, and told Geng and Wu the meaning of his superiors to Geng and Wu.

And Liu Ziren is the third protagonist of this rebellion. Although Liu Ziren and the other two were both landlords, Liu himself was once a brigade commander in the Northwest Army of Feng Yuxiang, , and later followed the famous anti-Japanese general Lu Yuting. He was later incorporated by our army. After being killed in Lu, Liu succeeded as the commander of the First Corps.

Liu Ziren has rich combat experience and is good at strategy. He was very brave in the battle and successfully joined the party under the education of the political commissar and others.

Originally, he should have become a model figure in the united front work of our party and was commemorated by future generations. However, as we mentioned in the previous article, the struggle situation at that time was very serious.

Nearly 200,000 people from the Kuomintang army Tang Enbo's troops are near the Henan-Anhui-Suzhou base areas, and a large-scale attack may be launched at any time.

Tang Enbo

Under this pressure, Liu Ziren finally gave up on resistance and began to plot against rebellion.

When he received a superior asking him to take down Geng and Wu by force, he decided to join forces with these two people. By then, he would definitely get a lot of rewards if he brought so many people to fight.

So, under the guidance of this idea, the relationship between the three gradually heated up, the connection became closer and closer, and the day when they started planning was getting closer.

2. Plan to implement

After Liu Ziren heard about Geng and Wu's activities in Xiao County, he took advantage of the excuse of attacking the Japanese and puppet strongholds to Xiao County while the political commissar went to the headquarters to report. On December 9, the three met locally, and jointly conspired on the plan of the rebellion for a day and a night.

Regarding Liu's rebellion, the local prefectural party secretary Li Zhongdao had long expected it and had done ideological work for him many times, but all of them had failed.

So Li Zhongdao reported the matter to the central government. So the central government sent Wu Zhipu to the local area to do Liu's work.

Some people must be curious about why our party is facing such a situation. I immediately acted and actively persuaded, giving people a feeling of weakness.

You should know that the situation was very critical at that time. The Kuomintang army was eyeing it and could take action directly at any time. , and our party has always insisted on the united front policy of uniting all forces that can be united.

Of course, our party is not completely unprepared. Sending Wu Zhipu is the last chance the Fourth Column gives the three.

Wu Zhipu

On December 10, Wu Zhipu and the cadres held an emergency meeting in Mangdang Mountain. At the

meeting, Liu Ziren disguised himself as a revolutionary fighter and said with heartache that he would severely punish Geng and Wu.

But Wu Zhipu was not confused by his words, so he decided not to use force for the time being.

and wanted Liu Ziren to invite the two to the banquet, Wu Zhipu wanted to persuade them again.

However, this request changed its flavor in Liu Ziren's ears. He immediately notified the two of them, saying that there was a sharpshooter named Wu Shouxun beside Wu Zhipu. invites you to dinner this time, which is the Hongmen Banquet!

Geng and Wu were extremely frightened after hearing this, so the three of them made plans overnight and finally decided to start before Wu Zhipu took action.

So, a large-scale rebellion began in .

According to the recollection of old comrade Xu Chunyang who was working in the Political Department of the 17th Regiment at that time, after the transfer of the station in the early morning of December 11, they suddenly found that the number of checkpoints in the village had increased. He was still confused, and then he heard a few gunshots, and then there was chaos.

When it was dawn, Xu Chunyang found that several cadres of the Second Battalion where he was located were controlled, and even the political commissar of the Xiao County Independent Regiment who passed by and wanted to visit Liu Ziren was arrested.

According to the old man's recollection, they were angry all day long and discussed how to deal with the rebellion. At the same time, they also told the soldiers who were detaining them that they should stand with the party. The soldiers were a little moved, but they still dared not release everyone under the pressure of their superiors.

In the middle of the night, Wu Zhipu and others were taken by the rebel team to the Dongcaozhuang area, and at night, a reinforced platoon and more than a dozen cavalrymen came to "invite" Wu Zhipu to negotiate.

At that time, many people advised Wu Zhipu not to go, as it would be a big disaster if he went there like this.

However, Wu Zhipu believes that most of the people who are detained now are outstanding cadres trained by the Red Army for many years. If they don’t lose their lives, their lives will probably be in danger. At this time, he must stand up. If he can exchange his life for these young cadres to continue to shine and heat, he will be worth it!

So, in the middle of the night, Wu Zhipu went to the main rebel camp in almost escorts, meeting Geng, Wu and Liu.

Geng Yunzhai

At around 11:00 a.m., Wu Zhipu arrived at the three-person station. Under the "welcome" of a group of troops, Wu Zhipu met Geng and Wu. At this time, the two were holding a banquet to host a banquet for Wu Zhipu. Wu Zhipu was not vague and even had a few drinks. Although we are in danger, we must not lose in terms of momentum!

did not look like Wu Zhipu's expectations. At the wine table, the two of them made things difficult for him. Wu Xinrong even slapped the table and shouted at Wu Zhipu, saying that it was the Party Central Committee that was intimidating them and not rebelling himself.

Wu Zhipu was also unambiguous in the face of the loaded guns around him. He stood up and threw the cup, and replied to "You have been educated by the Party for many years. The Party and the People have entrusted an important task to defend the people and kill the enemy. Is this how you repay the Party and the people?"

Geng and Wu were speechless because the two were not real bandits. They had to put their hats on our party for the sake of the rationality and legality of the rebellion. This is why they had to negotiate and not directly kill the cadres. After

, Geng Yunzhai changed his perspective again and said that they were just dissatisfied with some leaders.

Wu Zhipu immediately expressed his dissatisfaction to reflect, but the Party Central Committee did not receive your feedback, and only your rebellion was seen.

The two of them had nothing to say now and could only hesitate and not understand what they said. However, the danger is far from over, and Liu Ziren takes all this out of the house.

So he sent someone into the house and came to the two of them, conveying his meaning -

"Kill him quickly!"

The two were a little impatient and answered "I know" and asked the person who was sending the message to retreat.

But at this time the two of them were in trouble again. It is easy to kill one person now, but what about it afterwards?

The strength of the three of them may be fine to be a local rich man, but the New Fourth Army still has a large number of troops in the local area. If Wu Zhipu is killed now, will they come to take revenge at that time, will they still be a joke? They would not believe that the Kuomintang would support themselves.

Liu Ziren

So the two decided to leave the seat temporarily and go to the yard to discuss secretly.

At this moment, Wu Zhipu and Li Zhongdao discussed, believing that Geng and Wu still had the mentality of returning, but Liu Ziren was hopeless and even wanted to kill them. It is not advisable to stay here for a long time.

So, after Geng and Wu returned to the house, Wu Zhipu continued to say "Since all problems can be resolved peacefully, I will report your opinions to the Sixth Brigade of Xiao County and the Independent Group of to urge them to avoid conflicts."

Geng and Wu were unwilling to break up with our party in their hearts, so they agreed, but asked Wu and Li to confront the previous Hongmen Banquet in the future.

So, after saying goodbye, Wu and Li successfully escaped, and two fast horses went straight to Xiao County Anti-Japanese Democratic Government.

And here, Liu Ziren was shocked when he heard that his two pig teammates had let the other party go, and immediately sent someone to chase him, but it was too late.

3. Breakthrough in the bloody battle

So, Liu Ziren decided to strictly manage the group of cadres he seized and regarded it as a game with our party. Bargaining chips.

But how could this group of Red Army cadres who had experienced many battles be so easy to deal with?

At that time, after reporting to their superiors to return to the army, Cai Yong, the political commissar of the 17th Regiment, was detained by Liu Ziren in the name of a meeting.

According to the memories of the old man Xu Yangchun, in the house where he was detained, Political Commissar Cai analyzed the current situation with everyone and concluded that this rebellion was not accidental, but the prelude to the Kuomintang’s persecution of our party. If the rebels succeeded, it would be irreversible to have an impact on the struggle situation in the entire border area.

Cai Yong

So, under the leadership of Political Commissar Cai, everyone decided to give this A group of rebels attacked severely.

The father and uncle of the Political Commissar Cai Yong had died at the gun of the reactionaries during the Long March of . Political Commissar Cai decided to inherit their will and could not fall here no matter what!

So, a thrilling escape began. After

made a plan, everyone entered the state of fighting.

Suddenly, the light in the west room went out, and the soldiers guarding came to check. As soon as they entered the house, they were hit by a cadre and snatched the rifle in their hands. At this time, two other comrades rushed out of the door, kicked the machine gunner who was holding the door, and fired at the guards around them.

According to Mr. Xu Yangchun's recollection, they shouted loudly in the house and rushed out. Everyone rushed out. Several comrades in the front row were shot and fell to the ground. The comrades behind rushed out. After losing several comrades, Political Commissar Cai led the comrades to finally get rid of Liu Ziren's pursuit troops at dawn, so they immediately began to look for directions and run towards the organization.

This time, although the breakthrough was finally successful, they also sacrificed more than a dozen comrades, including deputy regiment commander Zhou Dacan, director of the Political Department, Mi Yunhui, and special commissioner Wen Zhiping.

and several comrades were arrested again because of the break. It was not until later that our party and Liu Ziren negotiated.

4. Severely punish

After the cadre regiment broke through, he came to the garrison of the Sixth Brigade. Brigade Commander Rao Zijian reported to the commander of the Fourth Column Peng Xuefeng. After discussion, the central committee of the

Column made the policy of "beating Liu, isolating Geng, and fighting for Wu". On the 13th, the second day after the cadre regiment escaped, he ordered the 14th Regiment of the Fifth Brigade and the 16th Regiment of the Sixth Brigade to advance to Xiaoxian County, preparing to encircle and annihilate the rebels. The three rebel troops of

were almost wiped out under the attack of our army, and eventually ended up escaping alone.

5. The final outcome of the three

was the same as they thought at the time. The Kuomintang did not give any help to these three troops and let them be defeated.

And after the rebellion ended, what happened to these three traitors?

A few months after the rebellion ended, the southern Anhui Incident broke out and the New Fourth Army was hit hard by the Kuomintang army.

The three rebels at that time were also discovered by Tang Enbo and expressed their high appreciation. Therefore, Geng was awarded the Major General Commander of the First Column of the Su-Lu-Yuan Border Region, Liu Ren's Deputy Commander and Second Detachment Captain, and Wu Wei's Third Detachment.

Geng Yunzhai's position looks very big, but he has no real power, so he was soon replaced by Liu Ziren.

was later kicked out for making a mistake, and in the end, the former captain of had to go home to farm.

Wu Zhipu

In 1950, our party was arrested when he suppressed the reactionaries. In the end, it was Wu Zhipu, the then chairman of Hunan Province, who wrote a letter to prevent him from dying. He eventually died of illness in 1955.

Wu Xinrong's ending is much more positive, because our party's policies were to strive for them before, so after defecting, our party still sent underground personnel to persuade him, and finally there were some changes in 1942.

However, this change was soon discovered by the Kuomintang spies.

So in the spring of 1942, the spy poisoned him to death at a dinner party.

After his death, his younger brother Wu Xinyuan succeeded as the captain of the detachment and led his troops to revolt in 1944. After that, Wu Zhipu also personally wrote an epitaph for Wu Xinrong's Fei Mu, titled "Biography of Comrade Xinrong, the captain of Wu Detachment".

and Liu Ziren is the most sinister among the three. When the Kuomintang army was defeated in 1949, he instigated an army to rebel and finally fled to Sichuan. However, in the end he could not escape his destined fate. On December 5, 1949, he was forced to "revolt" in Bazhong , and was later sent by our army to study at the advanced research class of Southwest Military and Political University.

However, because he also had an uprising, after the retrial, decided to revoke the death penalty for Liu Ziren in 1980.

At this point, this rebellion incident that shocked the whole party back then has come to a successful end.

References:

1. Xu Chunyang. I personally experienced the rebellion incidents of Geng, Wu and Liu [C]//. Tieliu (31)., 2016:302-312.
2. Hou Yongzhi. Shuangche Hongmen Banquet—Before and after the rebellion between Geng, Wu and Liu in Dong of Henan during the War of Resistance Against Japan [J]. Zhongzhou United Front, 1996(09):30-33.