Former Commanders of the New Fourth Army - Director of the Political Department Deng Zihui (13)

In February 1940, it was taken in the half-tower. From left: Li Shinong, Zhou Junming, Deng Zihui, Guo Shushen, Zhang Jinfu.

In the autumn of that year, Liu Shaoqi, secretary of the Central Plains Bureau, under the pseudonym Hu Fu, led the Central Plains Bureau from Yan'an to the Jiangbei Headquarters of the New Fourth Army in The town of Xiqiao, Jinpu Road, Huainan. In December, the first meeting of the Central Plains Bureau was held. At the meeting, Liu Shaoqi conveyed the correct line of the central authorities' demand that the New Fourth Army develop behind enemy lines. Liu Shaoqi pointed out: "Going deep behind enemy lines to develop guerrilla warfare played an extremely important role in the entire War of Resistance Against Japan. He called on the troops in Jiangbei to take practical actions to realize the determination of the Party Central Committee to advance eastward: "Develop to the east, all the way to the Yellow Sea, not to the Yellow Sea, not to stop for a minute." When discussing Liu Shaoqi's transmission report, Deng Zihui was the first to express his support, saying: "Comrade Shaoqi's thinking is correct, we were not clear in the past, the work was not done well, and we had to spank. Liu Shaoqi listened to the witty and said: "It is not good at studying, don't spanking, you have to study." The meeting decided that the main task of the fourth and fifth detachments was to continue to develop east of Jinpu Road, and to add Xu Haidong and Deng Zihui as members of the Central Plains Bureau. In accordance with the instructions of the Central Plains Bureau and Liu Shaoqi, the front committee of the Jiangbei Headquarters made comprehensive arrangements for all kinds of work and divided the four and five detachments into divisions: Liu Shaoqi and Xu Haidong led four detachments in the west of Jinpu Road, and deng Zihui, Luo Binghui, and Guo Shushen led five detachments in Ludong to carry out the work of the anti-Japanese enemy rear base areas separately. Deng Zihui returned to the garrison of the five detachments and immediately conveyed the strategic arrangements of the party Central Committee and the content of Liu Shaoqi's instructions, so that the vast number of cadres had a clear understanding of the current situation and the central authorities' policy on developing the anti-Japanese base areas in central China.

In accordance with the new arrangements, Deng Zihui, Luo Binghui, and others divided the troops into regiments as units, adopted the principle of "dividing troops to mobilize the masses" during the Red Army period, centered on the half-tower on the border between Suzhou and Anhui, and divided their troops into eight counties, including Tianchang, Yangzhou, Liuhe, Yizheng, Lai'an, Chuxian, Jiashan, and Xuyi, to open up and develop guerrilla base areas behind enemy lines in eastern Anhui.

During his stay in Huainan, Deng Zihui always adhered to the correct policy of the party Central Committee on the united front, with special emphasis on class education for the troops and party spirit education for party members. He personally wrote the army's political textbook, and the first lesson was "What is class, what is exploitation?" He also placed great emphasis on political work cadres going deep into reality, investigating and studying, and repeatedly asking political cadres to understand and publicize the principles and policies of the Party Central Committee. Deng Zihui and the leaders of the detachment persisted in building the troops in accordance with the principles of proletarian party spirit and vigorously strengthened their political and ideological work, so the five detachments grew rapidly in a very short period of time and became a powerful force in creating the anti-Japanese base area in eastern Anhui. From the end of 1939 to March 1940, the mass work and united front work of the five detachments developed rapidly, and the troops were greatly expanded, continuously smashing the "sweeping" of Lai'an, Zhuzhen, Xuyi, and Jiashan by the Japanese Kou, resolutely countering the provocative friction of the diehards, and initially opening up the anti-Japanese guerrilla base area east of Jinpu Road.

Deng Zihui was intimate with the cadres and fighters of the five detachments, and his political work was very in-depth and meticulous. On hot summer days, he hung a towel around his neck, wore an undershirt, shook a fan, and spoke like a puller. Whether it was a military assembly or a peasant mass rally, he almost always had to come and speak. It not only talks about the political situation, but also links it to the issue of outlook on life and enhances the ideological consciousness of commanders and fighters. At that time, many cadres had a low theoretical level and did not understand what a revolutionary outlook on life was and how to establish a revolutionary outlook on life. He gave a vivid and concrete explanation of the process of ideological development in connection with his own ideological development, and gave great education to cadres and fighters. Most of the soldiers of the five detachments were from the Dabie Mountains, and he often told the soldiers about the geographical, economic and political conditions of the Dabie Mountains and the glorious history of the Dabie Mountain Revolution. Everyone admired Deng Zihui's profound knowledge and amazing intelligence, and they were willing to get close to him and listen to his funny and eclectic speech.

In December 1939, Chiang Kai-shek launched the first anti-communist upsurge. In March of the following year, Chiang Kai-shek ordered Li Pinxian's army of the Gui clan to attack our army west of Jinpu Road; then ordered Han Deqin's troops to mobilize ten regiments of troops to attack our army east of Jinpu Road, in a vain attempt to attack the new Fourth Army in central China by dividing the eastern flanks with heavy troops. In February, Liu Shaoqi held the third meeting of the Central Plains Bureau in the west of Jinpu Road, and Deng Zihui rushed from Ludong to attend. In accordance with the instructions of the Party Central Committee, the meeting established a policy of anti-friction. On the one hand, the Central Plains Bureau ordered the Jiangbei Command headquarters to make full preparations for self-defense and counterattack, and on the other hand, it called for unity and resistance to the Recalcitrant Army of the Guizhou clan, proposing to take the Huainan Railway as the boundary, not to invade each other, and to divide the anti-Japanese resistance. However, Gui stubbornly ignored it and pressed forward to our army with his superior strength. To this end, the Central Plains Bureau and the Jiangbei Command immediately formulated a combat deployment, first concentrating the main force on the west of Jinpu Road to attack Li Pinxian's troops, which posed the greatest threat to our army; and then swinging eastward to break han's stubborn attack.