On May 13, 1939, Ye Ting, at the request of the Anhui Provincial Government, went to Lihuang County to meet Liao Lei, chairman of the Anhui Provincial Government, to carry out the united front work of the New Fourth Army and the Fifth Theater. During the talks, Liao Lei first welcomed Ye Ting's arrival and thanked the New Fourth Army for its support for the work of the Anhui Provincial Government. The provincial department of finance ordered and printed two million yuan each in the public ledger and the local bank small banknotes in Wuhan, as well as the national government's joint payment of eight million yuan, and the Anhui local bank's newly printed auxiliary coins of half a million yuan, after being transported to southern Anhui, the New Fourth Army sent people to cover the yangtze River.
Ye Ting said that this is the proper meaning of cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, and it is also what subordinates should do.
The two sides start with housework. Ye Ting spoke first: "Junza, I heard that Lady Sister-in-law qianli was looking for a husband and came to Lihuang, Anhui From Liuzhou?" ”
"The War of Resistance has also separated us from our wives and children. My wife Hu Hui, together with Xu's chief of staff and the wife of Deputy Commander Zhang Yichun, left his former residence on the Liu River in Liuzhou and traveled half of China from the rear of Guangxi to the front line of the War of Resistance on May 8. At present, they are busy setting up the Lihuang County Women's Anti-Japanese Support Association, and they are now busy with anti-Japanese propaganda. Resist the war and fight the devils, we soldiers are used to fighting in the war life is accustomed! Heard that your lady is not around? ”
A piece of homely talk that brought the two sides closer together.
"In order to save the people and seek the implementation of the Three People's Principles, China fought against Japan in a revolutionary spirit. The purpose of our national cooperation, sincere unity, not afraid of hardship and sacrifice, to resist the war to the end, will win the final victory. These were Ye Ting's words.
"At the beginning of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, on September 1, 1937, after the Gui Seventh Army published in the Nanning Republic Daily that 'the Seventh Army was ordered to set out to resist Japan and save the country and bid farewell to all walks of life in Liuzhou', it went north to the anti-Japanese battlefield. Especially in the First World War in Shanghai, our Gui seventh army suffered a lot of losses. I withdrew two division commanders and shot one deputy division commander. ”
"Yes, at the beginning of the War of Resistance, the military and the people resonated. In order to quickly determine the victory or defeat of the war, the two sides fought the battles of Taiyuan, Songhu, Nanjing, Xuzhou and Wuhan, and our side wiped out 150,000 Japanese troops with huge casualties. Now we have finally entered the stage of strategic stalemate and achieved the goal of protracted resistance and final victory. In the future, we will also turn to the Great Counteroffensive and recover the fallen land! ”
"There is a folk proverb, the two are not moving, and the war of resistance is useless." Wang Shi bei ding Zhongyuan Day, youth together good homecoming ah. At that time, we will go back to Liangguang and swim between the Yongjiang River and the Pearl River land, wouldn't it be nice! With that, the two laughed happily.
"Junza, the four detachments of the vocational army, since the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, have taken it as their only task to follow the national policy and obey orders and persist in the War of Resistance. In the past year, the four detachments have resisted many enemy troops and recovered a vast number of lost lands, and all the achievements have been recognized by the people of the country and have been commended by the orders of the commission. Xi Yi came to visit Chief Liao and thanked Chief Liao for his attention and support to the four detachments of the New Fourth Army in Jiangbei. Second, the last time Chief of Staff Yunyi said that the grain and salaries of the four detachments were uneven, and the funds given to us were intermittent, with tens of thousands of people receiving the salaries of three thousand people, and they were still in arrears and not paying. The four detachments were part of the National Revolutionary Army, but they were not treated in general by the National Revolutionary Army, and it was hoped that the commander would, as always, be regarded as his subordinate. ”
Liao Lei looked at Ye Ting, smiled, and said: "Xiyi, with regard to military pay, the provincial government asked the central authorities for money, and the reply was to balance the budget, but there was no one for the time being. The Department of Finance is also looking for ways to increase revenue and save money. Chief Li asked us to support this broken ship, and we could not shirk it. It's a lot of difficulty, and you're right to come to the interview. Last time I said that the monthly expenditure was thirty thousand, which should be cashed. Regarding combat command, the guerrilla fighters of the four detachments, no matter what kind of political beliefs they have, are also brothers who resisted Japan, and I have always regarded the four detachments in Jiangbei as my subordinates. But some people say that your war of resistance is a unique and unusual one, and you refuse to obey orders. Think about it, my four detachments let go to the area of Jinpu Road in Eastern Anhui, are you obedient? The last time Chief of Staff Zhang came to discuss this topic! A conference was also held to announce it! It hasn't been fully fulfilled until now. Your Anhui central defense areas have not yet made a good handover with our 176th Division. ”
Ye Ting's face turned blood red: "Our Party Central Committee and military headquarters have also instructed four detachments to go to eastern Anhui, and our four detachments have already had quite a few troops going to eastern Anhui." Xi Yi came this time, first, to sort out the troops in jiangbei, and second, to supervise the troops to advance eastward. All four detachments will march to eastern Anhui to fight in a vast area between the Huainan Railway, the Jinpu Railway, and the Puxin Highway. However, the four detachments were ordered to the eastern section of the Huainan Railway and the southern section of the Jinpu Railway, and in order to fulfill this huge and serious responsibility, the expansion and enrichment of the four detachments was very necessary. Our troops need to be expanded. We have reduced the standard of living of everyone to a minimum, but without the minimum necessary supply guarantee of the material economy, it will be difficult to accomplish our strategic tasks. ”
"Xiyi, please understand me, the arrears of military salaries are a common phenomenon, and the country is in trouble!" But I must fulfill my promise when Chief of Staff Zhang came last time and pay the provincial government thirty thousand yuan per month for the four detachments. ”
Liao Lei did not dare to openly sabotage the united front, but in his heart the Chu River and han boundaries were very clear. In April 1938, he received orders that the four detachments be controlled by the Twenty-first Group, and he called the governor of Shucheng County in Hefei to warn the governor of Shucheng County to prevent the four detachments from "swimming without attacking and not listening to commands." During this meeting, Liao Lei also told Ye Ting about Gao Jingting's seven counts of "rampant harassment in Anhui Province." He showed Ye Ting the report of the Kuomintang county government to the four detachments, saying that the four detachments had undermined the united front. In the old society, there was such a saying: "The cow eats the grass on the house, and the wind blows a thousand pounds of stones; once it enters the public gate, the rogue does not become a word." This means that the writing paper must expand the facts, and many of them are fabricated false accusations by the Kuomintang side. Liao Lei obviously understood the mystery of litigation, so he repeatedly sued Gao Jingting in front of Ye Ting.
As long as the Communist Party adheres to its independence and self-determination, it is normal for the Kuomintang to say bad things about the Communist Party, and if the Kuomintang does not say bad things about the Communist Party, it is abnormal, and it is not afraid of criticism from the Kuomintang. The key is how the Communists view it and how they analyze it. In the first half of 1938, the Kuomintang troops in central Anhui and eastern Anhui had withdrawn, and most of the county towns and large market towns were occupied by Japanese devils, and the localities became anarchic. Local tycoons and inferior gentry and local hooligans used the name of anti-Japanese resistance to expand their own power and practice feudal division. If there is a card to collect taxes, there is even a tax card in ten miles and eight miles. Everything that passes through here will be taxed, which will make the people unhappy. Especially without salt to eat, the people are in great pain. Gao Jingting adopted a two-sided policy toward these armed forces, and those who could do the united front talked to him about the united front and won them over The Resistance. What is too bad, what the masses hate the most, and what cannot be won over, will adopt a policy of elimination. Of course, this has won the support of the people, and the local order has begun to improve. The Kuomintang township office in Shengjiaqiao, Lujiang County, even had to stay and follow the four detachments. Of course, Gao Jingting also did not realize that only the establishment of armed forces, the establishment of political power and base areas can completely solve the problem. But the Kuomintang government was not satisfied. The Kuomintang's resistance to Japan was originally passive, wavering, and unreliable, and they wanted to use the united front to suppress and restrict the Communist Party in order to achieve the goal of killing people with a knife. They do nothing themselves, but they are afraid that others will do something. On the one hand, the Kuomintang authorities in Anhui Province slandered Gao Jingting as "ignoring the united front" and "acting without authorization" in the two party central committees; on the other hand, they ordered all four detachments of the New Fourth Army to move east of the Huainan Railway and the southern section of the Jinpu Railway, and ceded the anti-Japanese base areas in Anhui and Central Anhui to the Shounian 176th Division of the Kuomintang Military Region, hoping to take the entire Dabie Mountains into guizhou ownership and at the same time restrict the development of the four detachments. But at this time, the contradictions between the two sides had not intensified.
At that time, it was the early stage of cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communists, and although Ye Ting had led the Nanchang Uprising and the Guangzhou Uprising, and was the commander-in-chief and commander-in-chief of the former enemies of the two uprisings, Ye Ting did not have the experience of the Red Army's agrarian revolutionary war after all, and he would not fully believe Liao Lei's words, but he could not help but feel angry at Gao Jingting in his heart. Within the Communist Party, there are also people who believe that Gao Jingting has acted too much behind enemy lines in central Anhui and eastern Anhui, eliminated bandits, developed armed forces, stimulated friendly armies and friendly parties, and is not a "man, gun, and money doctrine" that does not talk about the united front.
During the period of cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, it can be said that the sublime and the lowly coexist, heaven and hell coexist, the noble is the epitaph of the noble, and the despicable is the passport of the despicable. On the surface, Chiang Kai-shek and Bai Chongxi were in control of everything Ye Ting had done, but in secret, they stumbled again, and on May 28, 1939, Bai Chongxi also sued Ye Ting and Gao Jingting in a telegram to Chiang Kai-shek:
According to Liao Lei, Gao Jingting's ministry cheated on taxes to buy guns, sabotage grass-roots organizations, destroy armor protection personnel, and distribute grain and money. Ye Ting crossed the river nearly to incite the people to expand their strength, and they should take precautions quickly. ”
This was Liao Lei's answer to Ye Ting's coming to Lihuang County.
Ye Ting was concerned about the eastward advance of the four detachments, and hurriedly left Jinjiazhai and went to the Qinglong Factory.
Under such a complicated situation, only by moving eastward can the four detachments develop and have a future. Dabie Mountain is next to Chiang Kai-shek and Liao Lei's bed, so why not allow others to sleep soundly? According to the requirements of the Kuomintang side, Gao Jingting can be said to be blamed at every turn.
In March, Lin Weixian led the detachment headquarters and Li Shihuai and Li Shiyan's special agent battalion to the Huainan Railway in the east and reached the vicinity of the Qinglong Factory in Hefei. At this time, the first part of the Seven Regiments had already opened to the Dingyuan area. The Ninth Regiment had the largest number of people, still in the shucheng, Tongcheng, and Lujiang areas.
The cadres and fighters below the four detachments and regiments did not know that there was such a complicated political background behind this eastward march.
Moving east, Gao Jingting raised his hand. At this time, the main force of the four detachments, the Eighth Regiment, the Northeast Advancing Column, and the Jiangbei Guerrilla Column had already advanced eastward behind the enemy; the Seventh and Ninth Regiments continued to advance eastward. In May 1939, Comrade Fang Yi led four companies of the second battalion of the Eighth Regiment Zhu Shaoqing as the battalion commander, crossed the east of Jinpu Road, reached Lai'an, Tianchang, Liuhe, xuyi and reconnaissance activities, and opened the way for the main force of the detachment to enter the Jinpu railway in the east.
Gao Jingting's slow march to the east made all the higher-level organs greatly anxious, and the principal responsible persons of the various units under him already knew the significance of the eastward advance, and did their best to promote the four detachments to advance eastward, using their own efforts to change the fate of this heroic unit, and using their unremitting efforts to change the fate of the god of war in their minds.
Character determines destiny, and heroes are not gods. The revolution transformed Gao Jingting from a rural youth, an expert in farming, slaughtering pigs, and selling tofu, into a leader of a heroic army that made the enemy daunted. He has great power and responsibility, but due to the lack of communication with his superiors and the people around him, coupled with his personality and various misunderstandings, gao Jingting sometimes deformed.
What hung over Gao Jingting's heart was still a thick cloud of loneliness, dullness, and misery, and under the very emotions, it was inevitable that extraordinary actions would occur. At this time, Gao Jingting's dissatisfaction was ignited, so that he had no time to stand on a higher point of vision, and look at this team and his future with a more far-reaching vision. He felt that he himself and the cause he had devoted himself to were under great threat. He made a fatal mistake: Gao Jingting carried Ye Ting, Zhang Yunyi, and others on his back, and wrote a letter without authorization ordering the Seventh and Ninth Regiments to stop advancing eastward, openly disobeying orders. Soldiers regard obedience as their duty, and now Gao Jingting has actually called up with the commanders, military headquarters, and Jiangbei headquarters who must obey absolutely; if the military department complains to Chiang Kai-shek, what will be the result?
Gao Jingting's sudden change of mind made Ye Ting extremely disappointed and annoyed. Under these circumstances, Ye Ting and Zhang Yunyi directly ordered on May 18 that the 7th regiment and the ninth regiment, after receiving the order, began to march eastward on the 20th; the ninth regiment arrived at Caomiaoji and Liangyuan in the eastern part of Hefei at the end of the month to take on the task of guerrilla attack to huainan and Fengyang. On the same day, Dai Jiying called Lai Chuanzhu at the Qinglong Factory, saying that the commanders of the First and Third Companies of the Seventh Regiment were dissatisfied with Yang and Cao and demanded that they go home and not do it. Zheng Wei's third to ninth regiment talked to Hu Jiting. Guo Shushen also had a conversation with Hu Jiting, his secretary when he was the secretary of the Northwest Anhui Provincial Party Committee.
At this time, Gao Jingting had no one around to consult, and he was unwilling to consult with people, and he deeply felt that there was no general who could be appointed and a military division entrusted to his confidants. At this time, he had a sudden impulse in his heart. The insistence of those in power is often formed by the stimulation of opponents. Since three years of guerrilla warfare, Gao Jingting has become accustomed to the people around him agreeing with him without argument, which has become the norm. He forgot that he was no longer the head of a strategic zone, but a subordinate with many superiors. There are so many different opinions, from the CPC Central Committee, from the Central Plains Bureau, from the Five Theaters, from the Military Department, and from some subordinates, which has never been done before. During the Red Army period, he was the Twenty-eighth Army, and the Twenty-eighth Army was him. Gao Jingting actively participated in the Dabie Mountain Red Army Revolution, the three-year guerrilla war of the Red Twenty-Eighth Army and the peace talks between the Kuomintang and the Republic of China, he promoted history, but now he is driven by history, he feels that he has once again been manipulated and damaged by fate, and his arrogant heart naturally produces a feeling of resistance.
The Kuomintang wanted us to withdraw from central Anhui and march east into the Huainan and Jinpu railways in eastern Anhui, and they were afraid of our achievements and development in central Anhui; the CPC Central Committee and the military department also instructed us to go behind enemy lines in eastern Anhui to resist Japan. The Fifth Theater and Liao Lei must first issue us military salaries, clothing, and ammunition, and agree to the conditions we put forward, that is, to let them know that our four detachments are not soft persimmons, and they can pinch them as much as they want!