Former Commanders of the New Fourth Army - Director of the Political Department Deng Zihui (5)

The CCP is "big" in western Fujian, and the rostrum is from left: Mao Zedong, Tan Zhenlin, Guo Diren, Deng Zihui, and Zhang Dingcheng. (Oil painting)

Three

On July 15, 1928, the Minxi Special Committee of the Communist Party of China was formally established, with Guo Muliang as secretary, Zhang Dingcheng as the director of organization, and Deng Zihui as propaganda minister. At the same time, the Western Fujian Riot Committee was also established to direct the rebel forces in the counties of western Fujian. The commander-in-chief is Wang Haiping, commissioner of the provincial party committee, and Deng Zihui, Zhang Dingcheng and Fu Baicui are deputy commanders- It was decided to merge the armed forces of the counties in western Fujian into the Nineteenth Division of the Seventh Red Army, under the jurisdiction of the Fifty-fifth, Fifty-sixth, and Fifty-seventh Regiments, and Deng Zihui concurrently served as the Party representative of the Fifty-seventh Regiment. According to the actual situation, the Minxi Special Committee decided to stop the open large-scale military activities, retain a small number of elite insurgent forces, form guerrilla groups, shoot at the enemy, and protect the masses and the fruits of the agrarian revolution.

In January 1929, Mao Zedong, Zhu De, and Chen Yi led the main force of the Red Fourth Army and left Jinggangshan to march towards Gannan and western Fujian. In mid-March, the Red Fourth Army entered Changting, western Fujian, and defeated more than 2,000 people of the warlord Guo Fengming's brigade in changting, killed the brigade commander Guo Fengming, liberated Changting City, and helped establish the first county-level red regime in western Fujian, the Changting County Revolutionary Committee. At this time, Deng Zihui had just taken over as the secretary of the special committee. He rushed from Longyan to the office of the Muhangshui Nan Special Committee, and then immediately set off for Changting, preparing to report to the former committee of the Red Fourth Army and ask for instructions. When he reached Shexin, he heard that the Red Army had marched westward and turned to Gannan Province. In order to enable the Red Fourth Army to understand the situation in western Fujian and to demand that the main forces of the Red Army return to western Fujian again, help eliminate the reactionary forces, and establish a revolutionary base area, Deng Zihui wrote a report on "The Struggle in Western Fujian and the Situation of the Enemy and Ourselves over the Years" and sent people to Gannan to be sent to the Former Committee of the Red Army.

Around May 20, Mao Zedong sent Song Yuhe to the special commissar with a letter he signed to send to Deng Zihui. The letter said that the Red Army was preparing to re-enter Fujian, and that the special committee must make preparations and ask Deng Zi to rush to Jiaoyang on May 22 to discuss a plan to retreat from the enemy. After Receiving the letter, Deng Zihui immediately convened an emergency meeting of the special committee and demanded that all counties quickly send people to notify all localities, carry out riots, and respond to the Entry of the Red Fourth Army into Fujian. After the meeting, Deng Ziwei set out for Mao Zedong, Zhu De, and the Red Fourth Army at night. He only walked to the small pond of Longyan, and then he heard that the Red Fourth Army had conquered Longyan, so he rushed to Longyan. On the evening of May 23, Deng Zihui met Mao Zedong, Zhu De, Chen Yi and other comrades at Longmen Market. Mao Zedong told Deng Zihui that it is necessary to attach importance to armed building and build up as soon as possible a local Red Army that is politically firm, organizationally consolidated, and militarily strong in combat; this is the basic condition for ensuring the victory of the revolution and establishing people's power. Deng Zihui briefed Mao Zedong on the development of the revolutionary struggle in western Fujian, believing that the armed forces in western Fujian were still relatively weak, and asked the Red Army to transfer some capable military cadres to strengthen the local armed forces in western Fujian. Mao Zedong agreed to this request and dispatched a group of military and political cadres of the Red Fourth Army to the Minxi Special Committee.

On June 3 and 19, the Red Fourth Army, with the cooperation of local armed forces, attacked longyan city twice, eliminating the first mixed brigade of Chen Guohui of the Fujian Provincial Defense Army, which was entrenched in Longyan and other places, laying the foundation for further creating a base area in western Fujian. On June 4, the Longyan County Revolutionary Committee was established in Zhongshan Park, with Deng Zihui as chairman. At this point, the revolutionary base areas in western Fujian centered on the three counties of Longyan, Yongding, and Shanghang were initially formed, and the revolutionary movement in western Fujian also entered a new period.

After the victory in the Battle of Longyan, Mao Zedong told Deng Zihui: "The situation in western Fujian has been greatly determined, and it is only good for the special committee to have a program for the work of various localities." He also said that the basic task of the Party now is to fully mobilize the masses, realize the agrarian revolution, completely eliminate the local tyrants and inferior gentry, establish workers' and peasants' political power and armed forces, and consolidate and develop the red areas. Deng Zihui returned to the special committee organs and, on the basis of Mao Zedong's opinions and combined with the experience of struggle in various parts of western Fujian, drafted a program of agrarian revolutionary struggle. Deng Zihui sent the draft to Mao Zedong for review. After reading this, Mao Zedong said "very good", and made appropriate amendments, and officially issued them to the counties for implementation. With the strong support of the Red Fourth Army, red political powers and workers' and peasants' armed forces at all levels were quickly established in various parts of western Fujian, setting off an agrarian revolutionary upsurge of cracking down on local tycoons and dividing up the land.

In accordance with the instructions of the Committee of Former Enemies of the Red Fourth Army, on July 20, the first congress of the Communist Party of China in western Fujian was officially opened in Jiaoyang Wenchang Pavilion. Mao Zedong, Tan Zhenlin, Jiang Hua, Cai Xiemin, Zeng Zhi, and others represented the front committee in attending, helping, and guiding the convening of the meeting, and Mao Zedong made a report on behalf of the front committee at the meeting. Deng Zihui made a report on behalf of the CPC Minxi Special Committee. During the meeting, Deng Zihui drafted a "Political Resolution of the First Congress of the Communist Party of China in Western Fujian" for the congress in light of the political and military situation in western Fujian and a large number of investigation and research materials. The resolution set for the congress the party's current general line in western Fujian: "Resolutely lead the masses and strive to realize the division of the workers' and peasants' power in western Fujian." The resolution also set forth the main tasks of consolidating and expanding the Party organizations, mobilizing the masses, establishing soviets, carrying out the agrarian revolution, and expanding the armed forces of the workers and peasants. After mao zedong revised this resolution, it was unanimously adopted by all the deputies. The congress elected a new Special Committee for Western Fujian, with Deng Zihui as secretary, Zhang Dingcheng as secretary of the Central Military Commission, Cai Xiemin as director of the organization, Lan Hongxiang as propaganda minister, and Jiang Hua as secretary general.