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On September 9, 1976, Chairman Mao passed away. A reporter from the London Daily found Chairman Mao’s “nemesis” Zhang Guotao, after hearing that he was in Canada, he found him maliciously.
But unexpectedly, after hearing the news of Chairman Mao’s death, Zhang Guotao was surprisingly sad. After was silent for a long time, he slowly said 10 words: "Our era is over."
So, what kind of past is there between Zhang Guotao and Chairman Mao? What does the ten words he said to the reporter mean in the end? How did Zhang Guotao make one mistake at a time?
Former student leader
After the news of Chairman Mao’s death on September 9, 1976, a reporter from the London Daily specially found Zhang Guotao, who was far away in Canada.
Since Zhang Guotao wrote articles many times before, the reporter wanted to listen to his negative comments on Chairman Mao again.
But unexpectedly, Zhang Guotao was too late at this time. Maybe he was guilty or regretful, and his thoughts had changed a lot.
Zhang Guotao
He finally said ten words with emotion: "Our era is over."
This sentence has at least two meanings. The first meaning is that his grudges with Chairman Mao were from the previous era and he didn't want to mention them anymore. implied that he had already realized that the truth was on Chairman Mao’s side.
The second layer means that he always regards Chairman Mao as a respectable opponent. Once Chairman Mao left, he felt the sadness that the hero had passed away.
The previous merits, demerits, right and wrong, and scenes of past events also emerged in front of him.
Zhang Guotao was born in Pingxiang County, Jiangxi Province in 1897. His father was originally a tribute gift in the late Qing Dynasty, but after , Xinhai Revolution, he switched to the revolutionary party, and thus took the high position of secretary-general of the Nanchang Municipal Department.
Then he used his position to open a money house. In just a few years, he became a local wealthy family that "power overwhelms two towns and wealth covers the entire county."
The rich and powerful father attached great importance to Zhang Guotao's education and asked famous teachers to teach him since he was a child. Zhang Guotao was also very successful. He was admitted to the preparatory department of science and engineering at the time when he was less than 19 years old.
But after Zhang Guotao entered the school, he found out that he liked liberal arts but not science, so he often went to liberal arts to attend professors' lectures.
He also met Chen Duxiu, the then director of liberal arts science at Peking University, and Li Dazhao, director of Peking University Library. It was also under the introduction of Li Dazhao that Zhang Guotao met Mao Zedong, who was an administrator at the Peking University Library at that time.
But Zhang Guotao has a high opinion of himself and does not take Mao Zedong seriously at all, so the two did not have much intersection.
1919, the news that the Beiyang government representatives had lost their power and humiliated the country at the Paris Peace Conference was sent back to the country, arousing unanimous indignation from the majority of patriotic students.
Under the leadership of Chen Duxiu and others, Beijing students organized a massive demonstration movement, which is the famous "May Fourth Movement".
Zhang Guotao organized students to give speeches on the streets many times during the campaign, calling on people to boycott Japanese goods, so he was arrested by the Beiyang government. But less than a month after being imprisoned, the Beiyang government released him under public pressure, and Zhang Guotao became famous and became a famous student leader.
Not long after, Chen Duxiu was arrested again. After learning about the situation, Zhang Guotao used his identity as a student leader to participate in the rescue many times.
May Fourth Movement Painting
Although Chen Duxiu's final release from prison had nothing to do with him, he still gained the trust of Chen Duxiu himself. In the second half of 1919, when he avoided trouble in Shanghai, he lived at Chen Duxiu's home.
At this time, Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao had the idea of "approaching to build a party", and Zhang Guotao, who was trusted by both, became their contact person.
Zhang Guotao secretly traveled between Beijing and Shanghai many times to convey messages to Chen and Li.
In October 1920, after the situation in Beijing eased, Zhang Guotao returned to Beijing, and , together with Li Dazhao and others, founded the first Communist Party organization in Beijing. Zhang Guotao was also entrusted with the important task of leading the workers' movement.
Chen Duxiu
In order to better mobilize workers, Zhang Guotao opened a labor cram school in Changxindian area of Beijing where railway workers gathered to inspire the awareness of the working class.
Through the active efforts of Zhang Guotao and others, on May 1st Labor Day in 1921, the first organized workers' movement in Chinese history broke out, and it was also led by Zhang Guotao.
With the booming rise of the workers' movement, communist groups from all over the country have been established like mushrooms after a rain, and the time for the party has been ripe.
In June 1921, Communist International sent Malin to China to discuss with Chen Duxiu, Li Dazhao and others.
finally decided to hold the first party congress in Shanghai in July of that year, officially announcing the founding of the Communist Party of China.
For the sake of confidentiality, the Communist International recommends that each party organization only send two representatives to attend the meeting.
For the Beijing Party organization, Li Dazhao is definitely the most suitable candidate. But because he had other important things at that time and could not get out of here, the Beijing Party organization elected Zhang Guotao and Liu Renjing as representatives of the National Congress.
On Shanghai, because Ma Lin always acted in a domineering manner, it attracted collective disgust from the host Shanghai Party organization, which made the preparations unable to proceed normally.
At the critical moment, Chen Duxiu appointed Zhang Guotao to be responsible for the preparations. After Zhang Guotao came to Shanghai, he successfully resolved the conflict, which was also viewed by Marin.
Malin
Therefore, in the absence of Chen Duxiu, Malin supported Zhang Guotao as the chairman of the meeting. Mao Zedong was just a clerk at that time. After the First National Congress of
, Zhang Guotao was also successfully elected as a member of the Central Bureau. But at the Third National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 1923, he was removed from his leadership position for opposing the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party.
, and Mao Zedong successfully entered the Central Bureau and officially took up the leadership position of the Party.
But Zhang Guotao's fate quickly reversed. In May 1924, due to the betrayal of the traitor, he was arrested by the then Beiyang warlord Cao. Later, under the rescue of the organization, he was finally released from prison.
According to Zhang Guotao's own confession, he "growned his teeth, endured the severe pain, and said nothing." said it was to "avoid giving them the materials that were not conducive to me", and she looked like a "hard man in the iron prison".
Li Dazhao
But in the world does not have an impermeable wall . It was not until 1949 that the party organization was sorting out the Beijing enemy and puppet archives that Zhang Guotao had sold the party organization to Cao Kun in order to save his life.
and he also confessed that a large number of Communist Party members including Li Dazhao were finally solved.
After Zhang Guotao was released from prison, he not only concealed the truth from the party organization, but also constantly exaggerated his "heroic" performance in prison, thus winning the sympathy of comrades in the party, and he also returned to the central leadership.
927 After the failure of the revolution in , the central government appointed Zhou Enlai and others to prepare for the uprising in Nanchang .
But on the eve of the uprising, the Communist International suddenly generated electricity to the central government, suggesting that our party "if there is no chance of victory, we can not hold the Nanchang Uprising ".
Young Zhou Enlai
Cominist International's telegram was originally just a suggestion, but Zhang Guotao regarded it as an "executive order". He first ordered Zhou Enlai and others to suspend the uprising, and then went to Nanchang in person to try to stop the uprising.
was already on the string at that time. The rash cancellation of the uprising would inevitably completely expose the party organization. In a critical moment, Zhou Enlai, who had always been tolerant and restrained, slapped the table and angrily scolded Zhang Guotao and said:
"The task given to me by the Communist International and the Central Committee is to ask me to host this movement. Now the order given to you is like this, I can't take responsibility. I will go back to Hankou immediately!"
Zhang Guotao was under pressure and finally agreed to hold an uprising as scheduled. Zhou Enlai said 20 years later: "The act of slapping the table is the only time I have in my life."
After the victory of the Nanchang Uprising, Zhou Enlai and others followed the original plan to command the rebel army to withdraw from Nanchang, transfer to Guangdong, and attack Chaoshan.
At the critical moment, Zhang Guotao left the rebel army and ran to the Soviet Union alone.
But Zhang Guotao's behavior of escape at the last minute did not affect his career. He was still openly elected as a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee at the Sixth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, and remained in Moscow and became the representative of the Communist Party of China to the Communist International.
When it was critical, it was Mao Zedong who stepped forward, summed up the experience and lessons, determined the revolutionary line of surrounding the cities in the countryside, opened up the Jinggangshan revolutionary base , and founded the Central Soviet Area.
Under Mao Zedong's leadership and demonstration, by 1931, 11 revolutionary bases had been created nationwide.
It was in this year that Zhang Guotao suddenly returned to China and as a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee, he was parachuted to the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Revolutionary Base established by the Red Fourth Front Army.
supports troops and coerces the central government, and goes south to the west to lose troops and lose generals
As soon as he arrives in Hubei, Henan and Anhui, he launched the "Great Anti-Counterfeiting" movement in the Baique Garden in Guangshan, Henan.
Xu Xiangqian recalled that in just three months, Zhang Guotao "suppressed more than 2,500 Red Army commanders and fighters. Sixty-seventh of the 10th regiment-level cadres were arrested and killed, greatly weakening the combat effectiveness of the Red Army."
It is precisely because of this that the Fourth Red Front Army lost the fourth "encirclement and suppression" and had to withdraw from the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Soviet Area in October 1932, and moved to the southern Shaanxi and northern Sichuan areas, creating the Sichuan-Shaanxi Soviet Area.
Because the Central Soviet Area restrained most of the troops of Chiang Kai-shek , there was a serious emptiness in southern Shaanxi and northern Sichuan.
The Red Fourth Front Army was therefore well developed, and in just three years, it has grown to a scale of nearly 100,000 people.
The situation was very good, but Zhang Guotao was frightened by the rumors that Chiang Kai-shek wanted to encircle him. He once again gave up his base and led his troops to the western Sichuan area.
At this moment, news came from the front that Central Red Army was coming to meet.
Zhang Guotao was still quite excited at first. He estimated that the Central Red Army should have at least 300,000 people, and thought that he had finally found a support and no longer had to worry about Chiang Kai-shek's encirclement and suppression.
But after Maogong met with , he found that the Red Army had less than 10,000 people, and there was still a shortage of guns and bullets, and there was less food and clothing, so he had a strange intention.
First at the Lianghekou meeting, he knew that the central government’s plan was to go to north to Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu , but he still proposed the plan of south to Sichuan, Kang, .
But in the Politburo meeting, the emphasis was on " minority obeys the majority ". He could not defeat the general trend with his own strength, and in the end he could only agree to the north plan unwillingly.
But Zhang Guotao did not give up. He believed that the reason why he was isolated was mainly related to the fact that there was no one in the Politburo, so he began to "take power".
He first called the Party Central Committee in the name of the Sichuan-Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee, requesting the Central Military Commission and the Red Army General Command to re-elect, and even formulated a specific list of personnel.
As a provincial party organization, it actually directly ordered the central government to reorganize the leadership, which is unprecedented in the history of the party. Although the central government was very angry, it still started from the overall situation and adopted a cold treatment method, without replying to the telegram.
Seeing that the central government did not reply, Zhang Guotao simply played the procrastination tactic and refused to set out north for a long time.
Mao Zedong realized that "Zhang Guotao is a powerful man, he has ambitions." He had to arrange a considerable position for him so that the two armies could be sent together.
In the end, Zhou Enlai, who was the General Political Commissar of the Red Army at that time, resolutely gave up his position to Zhang Guotao regardless of personal gains and losses. After seizing military power, Zhang Guotao refused to give up. He also proposed that the election results of the Zunyi Conference were illegal in organization and demanded the reorganization of the Politburo and the Central Committee. In order to take the overall situation into consideration, the Central Committee made another concession, allowing the four people elected by Zhang Guotao to enter the Central Committee and the two to enter the Political Bureau of the Central Committee. Only then did Zhang Guotao reluctantly agree to go north.
Chairman Mao and Zhang Guotao
In terms of marching arrangements, the Central Committee originally planned to concentrate the two fronts of the army into one route and go north together, but Zhang Guotao proposed a plan to divide the troops into two routes. Although the Central Committee agreed to his plan, it also proposed that the two armies must be mixed and re-divided.
In this way, the 5th Army and the 32nd Army of the First Red Front Army and the 9th Army, the 31st Army and the 33rd Army of the Fourth Red Front Army formed the left line army. Leading by Zhang Guotao, Zhu De and others, we set out from Zhuokeji to advance Aba .
The 1st and 3rd Army of the Red Front Army and the 4th and 30th Army of the Red Front Army formed the right-wing army, led by Mao Zedong, Chen Changhao and others, set out from Maoergai to advance Ban You, and the two armies decided to finally meet in the Xiahe area. After the division of labor was completed, the right army quickly embarked on the itinerary. It took no time for it to cross the grassland and conquered Ban You. But after Zhang Guotao arrived in Aba, he set up a plan to go south again.
99 22:00 on September 8, Zhang Guotao sent a secret telegram to Chen Changhao, the political commissar of the Fourth Front Army of the Red Army, asking him to persuade Mao Zedong and others to go south. At the same time, he proposed:
"If they do not listen to the advice, they should monitor their actions immediately; if they are obsessed and insist on advancing north, they will solve it by force." The seal of
happened to be discovered by Ye Jianying, so he immediately reported the situation to Mao Zedong. After learning the content of the secret telegram, someone suggested that he should take the initiative first, but Mao Zedong insisted that the Red Army could not fight the Red Army.
So in a helpless situation, Mao Zedong led the two legions of the Red Front Army to take the lead.
When the Red Fourth Front Army discovered it early the next morning, the Red Fourth Front Army had already gone north for a long time, so they had to pass through the grassland again according to Zhang Guotao's orders and turn back to their original place.
After Zhang Guotao learned the news, he even said shamelessly:
"The Central Committee has lost its prestige and has lost the qualification to lead the entire party. A new temporary center should be formed."
Under Zhang Guotao's manipulation, the "Provisional Central Committee" not only revoked Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and others' positions as Central Committee members, but also "exposed" them from the party and publicly wanted. Not long after the Central Committee headed north, Zhang Guotao officially issued an order to go south to Sichuan Kang.
But his plan to move south was not smooth. After more than half a year of struggle, the 80,000 army lost most of its strength, and the soldiers of the Red Fourth Front Army also saw it.
At this moment, the representative of the Communist International sent another telegram, ordering Zhang Guotao to cancel the "Provisional Central Committee". After the political and military setbacks were successively set, in July 1936, Zhang Guotao had no choice but to agree to the plan to go north.
The Red Fourth Front Army crossed the grassland for the third time and broke through the blockade of the Kuomintang army. finally arrived in Huining, Gansu on October 9 and completed the meeting with the Red First Front Army.
At this time, Zhang Guotao no longer had the spirit of Maogong meeting. He was guilty and worried that after he arrived in Yan'an, the central government would "set the accounts" against him.
So he had the idea of moving westward and wanted to reopen a base area to "occupy the mountains and be king". But even Chen Changhao, who always supported him, no longer followed him this time.
So, Zhang Guotao played a tough trick again. He summoned the soldiers of the Red Fourth Front Army to hold a meeting and said crying and said: "I can't do it anymore. I'm going to northern Shaanxi to go to prison and expel it from the party."
. His performance and miserable performance really won sympathy. In late October 1936, the Red Fourth Front Army changed its name to West Route Army , crossed Yellow River from Gansu and started a tragic Western Expedition.
However, under the combined effect of factors such as harsh environment, strong enemy and weak us, insufficient support, the Western Expedition mission ultimately failed.
The 80,000 troops of the Red Fourth Front Army were almost tossed by Zhang Guotao. After coming to Yan'an, Zhang Guotao "judged the situation" wrote "My Error" in a false way, and made a painful "self-criticism".
, and Chairman Mao is broad-minded and always puts the overall situation of the revolution before personal gains and losses. not only forgave Zhang Guotao, but also recommended him as the acting chairman of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region Government.
However, Wang Ming's return broke the calm again.
Wang Ming
Resignation from the enemy and rebel against the party is difficult to reuse. In his later years, he realized his situation was desolate.
Wang Ming
Resignation from the enemy and rebelled against the party, and he realized his miserable situation in his later years. 3
Zhang Guotao and Wang Ming have always been disagreement. The reason why he returned to China was because he was excluded by Wang Ming at the Communist International.
After Wang Ming returned in November 1937, Zhang Guotao knew that he could not afford to provoke him, so he avoided his edge everywhere.
But Wang Ming did not have the same mind as Chairman Mao. Not only did he criticize Zhang Guotao as a Trotskyist in public many times, he also secretly executed two subordinates of Zhang Guotao in the Fourth Front Army.
Zhang Guotao was so anxious that he could not afford to provoke him all day long.
At this moment, the Kuomintang was superficial about the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. , specially sent an invitation to our party to worship the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum.
After Zhang Guotao learned the news, he took the initiative to take on this "heavy task". As the chairman of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, he was indeed a suitable candidate, so the Central Committee agreed to his request.
But after worshiping the tomb, Zhang Guotao went to Wuhan privately. After Chairman Mao learned the news, he first sent him a telegram, sincerely advising him:
"When this national crisis, our party should be united and be a model for the whole party and the whole nation, so that he can unite the whole country and save the danger. My brother loves the party and the country, so of course he clearly understands this. Government work is important, and I hope to return soon, and I am not much to look forward to. ”
Then Chairman Mao sent Zhou Enlai to Wuhan to do his work for him. Although Zhang Guotao admired Chairman Mao’s mind very much, he was still afraid of Wang Ming, so he refused to go back.
Finally, Zhou Enlai proposed three solutions. The first article of is to admit his mistakes, go back and continue to work for the party, and do not blame him.
The second article is "ask for leave from the party" , take a break for a while, and then go back to work. The third article is "declares to leave the party" . Zhang Guotao hesitated for a while, but still took the last path.
Just like that, Zhang Guotao publicly declared in Wuhan that he had left the Communist Party of China, which he personally participated in, and went on a journey. No way back.
On the surface, Chiang Kai-shek respected Zhang Guotao. Not only did he set up a "Special Political Issues Research Office" for him on Military Control Commission , he also awarded the rank of lieutenant general, which was higher than that of the military commander Dai Li, the leader of the Military Control Commission , and the rank of lieutenant general.
But behind his back, Chiang Kai-shek, who had a strong sense of loyalty and filial piety, looked down on him at all, and specially gave Dai Li "respect but disrespectful." Use and prevent the instructions.
Dai Li
After Zhang Guotao entered the Military Control Commission, Dai Li wanted to use his influence within the Communist Party to launch a large-scale rebellion movement, but there has been no progress in the past few years, so Dai Li said angrily:
"The principal came to surrender to Zhang Guotao, thinking it was a fatal blow to Yan'an, so he gave it to me to use it. I have been disappointed for several years and it is difficult to submit a job for the principal. "
After seeing that Zhang Guotao had no value in use, Chiang Kai-shek stopped pretending to be respectful and "don't" it on the side.
In November 1948, the victory of the Communist Party in the country was a foregone conclusion. Zhang Guotao knew that staying in the mainland would eventually lead to trial, so he brought his family to Taiwan early and later moved to Hong Kong.
Zhang Guotao had some savings, but after arriving in Hong Kong, he played " gold speculation ", and lost all his money.
And at this time, his wife broke her buttocks again. At a loss, Zhang Guotao had the idea of returning to the mainland. So he asked someone to bring a letter to Chairman Mao and expressed his thoughts.
After receiving Zhang Guotao's letter, Chairman Mao sent a special person to Zhang Guotao and said:
"It is okay to be willing to come back, but you must first write a report to the Central Committee to deeply review the wrong routes he insisted on in history and make a guarantee of reform."
Chairman Mao's words also touched and admired Zhang Guotao, but he still stubbornly refused to admit his mistakes. Finally, he said meaningfully: "I used to be an actor, but now I am an audience, so I should be an audience."
Until 1967, Zhang Guotao's son took him to Canada.
Zhang Guotao's family
In order not to increase the burden on his son, Zhang Guotao insisted on living in a free nursing home. The conditions in the nursing home are not good, and there is no heating in winter, but Zhang Guotao has no other choice but to live with him.
Until 1976, after learning that Chairman Mao passed away, Zhang Guotao, who knew that today was different from the past, slowly uttered those ten words: "Our era is over."
Not long after, Zhang Guotao also suffered a stroke and was paralyzed since then. In 1979, Canada's winter was extremely cold and heavy snow continued.
Late at night on December 3, Zhang Guotao accidentally dropped the quilt and blanket to the ground. He rang the bell several times and tried to call the nurse, but no one answered. In the end, was frozen to death in a miserable manner.
Zhang Guotao also succeeded at a young age and became famous in his prime. His name was left in the May Fourth Movement and the great cause of the founding of the Party.
But later he went further and further on the wrong line, and even left the Communist Party of China, which he personally participated in the establishment, and betrayed the revolution.
The more we understand Zhang Guotao’s experience, the more we can understand the hardships and difficulties on the development of the Communist Party of China.
can also understand that the establishment of Mao Zedong's leadership status is not only an inevitable result of the development of the Chinese revolution, but also an inevitable result of the historical development of the Communist Party of China.
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