When He Long and Chairman Mao first met, they were exactly 40 years old and Chairman Mao was 43 years old. Both were tall and tall, both of them were dignified, but Chairman Mao was thinner and taller. Chairman Mao, who was profound and wise, was full of the temperament of a leader; he Long, who was mighty and loyal, was full of handsome and capable people.
He Long also has a very loud nickname, called "Yue Fei Yue Pengju". It means a national hero who "serves the country with loyalty". Moreover, this title was long before the "August 1st" Nanchang Uprising, long before the birth of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. That is to say, the Communist Party calls him "Yue Fei" and the Kuomintang also calls him "Yue Fei", which shows the broadness of He Long's being called a hero.
Specifically, Zhu De, the "father of the Red Army," praised He Long this way: "Comrade He Long is tall and strong, really strong like a tiger. Not once did I see him look tired during the Long March. Several times, he was carrying wounded comrades on his back! ”
Chairman Mao greatly admired He Long's peaceful and magnanimous temperament in his might. Indeed, if you look at He Long's appearance, his whole body, from head to toe, is full of pulsating vitality. His playful eyes were always smiling, as if looking for good material for humor. He is not happy to be quiet, and his walking movements are as eye-catching as his southern rural voice like a hong bell. His personal hobbies are also charismatic, he likes to use a pipe, and his beard is dark and neat.
Chairman Mao was very lenient with He Long, and even liked the way he had a beard. He Long once said to Chairman Mao: "When I began to grow a beard, I was still a doll who drove horses. At that time, only the landlord warlords grew beards, and I thought, I don't believe why peasants can't have beards. So, I grew a beard. ”
Chairman Mao laughed after hearing this: "Bosses with beards all have a story against the trend. ”
Among the plastered GENERALS, there were not many bearded people, one was He Longhe bearded, and the other was Sun Yisun beard. On the one hand they came from the old army, and on the other hand, they showed Chairman Mao's love for them.
He Long's life is full of legends. He was born on March 22, 1896 in Hongjiaguan, Sangzhi County, Hunan. His father, He Shidao, made a living as a tailor; his mother, Wang Jingu, worked as a farmer. The family is very poor, and the field is 3 acres. According to the family tree, his father named He Long He Wenchang. Despite the family's poverty, Qiang's father still gritted his teeth and let 5-year-old He Long enter a private school and take the scientific name He Pingxuan.
He Long seemed to be born a fighter. Born in the mountains of western Hunan Province, on the one hand, he inherited the kind and simple characteristics of his predecessors, and on the other hand, he gave full play to the personality of the mountain people who fought and defended themselves to the extreme. He Long learned boxing at the age of 4, studied at the age of 5, went to the paddy field at the age of 6, could swim at the age of 7, played Tang Yong at the age of 8, overturned Wu Xiucai at the age of 12, became a "mule guest" at the age of 13, and Bai Himself made a living. Growing up on the difficult and dangerous road of life in the mountains and rivers, bandits, strongmen, and tax police.
He Long participated in organized activities, which began at the age of 16 when he participated in the "Brotherhood of Brothers" a non-governmental secret organization that "opposed the Qing Dynasty and restored the Ming Dynasty". At the age of 18, he was introduced by Chen Tunan, a student studying in Japan who taught at Sangzhi Higher Primary School, to join the Chinese Revolutionary Party led by Sun Yat-sen and join the struggle against Yuan Shikai's restoration of the imperial system and the traitor's pursuit of glory. At the age of 20, He Long did several great things, one was to lead more than 20 neighbors to destroy the tax card of the Bamaoxi Salt Bureau, pay 12 guns, and serve as the commander-in-chief of the Yuan Army. The second was to serve as the commander of the second battalion of the first echelon regiment of the left wing of the Xiangxi Protectorate Army. The third was to go to Changsha to get in touch with the Chinese Revolutionary Party, officially change his name to He Long, and continue to participate in the revolutionary struggle.
It was in Changsha that He Long knew Chairman Mao. Interestingly, He Long's admiration for Chairman Mao began under his pen name. He Long heard from a friend that there was a student named "Twenty-Eight Painters" in the changsha First Normal School, which was very famous throughout Hunan, who was tall and thin, had a dignified appearance, was proficient in literature, history and philosophy, and could be called a prodigy of the world. He Long was curious and found it interesting, and for the first time he heard of such a name.
Friends asked him to guess the origin of the name, but He Long couldn't guess it. The friend explained that the twenty-eight paintings just formed a name, called "Mao Zedong". He Long suddenly realized, and sighed and said, "Fantastic ideas, fantastic ideas, if it is really a world wizard, ordinary people can't think of taking a name like this." Since then, He Long, who has a rough understanding of literature and ink, has suddenly admired Chairman Mao's talent.
In the decade from 1917 to 1927, when Chairman Mao was in the political field, He Long walked alone in the rain of bullets and bullets. Starting from the guerrilla commander of the Xiangxi ProtectorAte Army, he successively served as the commander and regimental commander of the Xiang Army, the brigade commander and division commander of the Sichuan Army, the division commander and commander of the National Revolutionary Army, and until the commander-in-chief of the August 1st Nanchang Rebel Army led by the Communist Party of China. He transformed from an anti-feudal fighter into a true revolutionary, a member of the Communist Party of China who believed in Marxism-Leninism.
At the end of 1917, He Long resolutely returned to his hometown to rebuild his forces under the dangerous situation of his own army being annexed. At the two wells at the junction of Shimen and Cili, he and Wu Yulin used two kitchen knives, surrendered 2 guns, and organized 18 partners to join the Protector Army of Hunan Aid to Hubei to fight against the Beiyang warlord troops.
In 1922, Sun Yat-sen's beloved general Chen Jiongming rebelled in Guangdong, forcing Sun Yat-sen to take refuge in Shanghai. He Long, then commander of the Ninth Mixed Brigade of the Sichuan Army, immediately sent a staff officer to Shanghai to meet Sun Yat-sen and expressed his best support for the revolutionary cause. Sun Yat-sen replied to the letter of encouragement, saying that he was "a long-term frontier emblem, hard work, but unswerving ambition, loyalty and self-determination, which can really be sent to the sub-city."
In 1923, when He Long was the commander of the first mixed brigade of the Sichuan Thief Army, the Thief Army was internally divided, the front collapsed, Chongqing fell, and the Battle of the Thief was lost. From this, he began to doubt That Sun Yat-sen relied on the old-style armed forces to carry out the revolution, believing: "Sun Yat-sen is a great man, but he still relies on the ranks of warlords, and sooner or later he will not be reliable." Revolution, you must have capital, not business, you can borrow money to do business. ”
At the same time, He Long learned that a notice posted on the streets of Changsha by Zhao Hengti, the governor of Hunan Province, offered a reward for the arrest of Chairman Mao, a member of the "radical faction," and lamented: "It seems that the revolution still requires us, the younger people, to do it." ”
In 1924, after reading many books and periodicals on the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communists, He Long said with great excitement: "If we do this, we will indeed find a way out politically." "He also had many contacts with the Communists and discussed the state of the country.
In 1925, after the outbreak of the "Wufen" massacre in Shanghai, a huge patriotic anti-imperialist movement was formed throughout Hunan. He Long, as the town guard envoy of Chengzhou town in Hunan Province, personally sent a support telegram to the students and workers in Changsha, Shanghai and other places, and donated 3,000 silver yuan to support it. At this time, Zhao Hengti was dissatisfied with What He Long had done in Chengzhou, and ordered a crusade and besieged Zhao Prefecture. He Long smiled: "Chairman Mao was wanted last year, and today I am he Long, and it seems that this decadent government is about to collapse." At the same time, He Long immediately led the division to transfer to the Area of Tongren and Songtao in Guizhou, and electrified the whole country to clarify right and wrong.
In 1926, He Long, then commander of the First Division of the Ninth Army of the National Revolutionary Army, asked Zhou Yiqun, a member of the Communist Party, to join the Communist Party of China. The Xiang District Province of the Communist Party of China was requested to send people to help open a political training center.
In July 1927, He Long, who had been promoted to commander of the 20th Army of the National Revolutionary Army, met for the first time in Wuhan with Zhou Enlai, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. He Long told Zhou Enlai that I believe that the Communist Party is the best, and I obey the leadership of the Communist Party.
On July 23, He Long led his troops to Jiujiang. Tan Pingshan, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, solicited opinions on the CPC Central Committee's decision to hold an armed uprising in Nanchang and hoped that He Long would lead the Twentieth Army to act together. He Long immediately said: "Thank you to the Party Central Committee for trusting me. I have only one word, yes! I completely followed the instructions of the Communist Party. ”
On July 28, Zhou En' arrival in the Twentieth Army informed him of the plans for the uprising and consulted him. He Long said: "I completely obey the orders of the Communist Party, and the Party will do whatever it wants me to do. "Zhou En, the Former Committee of the Communist Party of China appointed you as the commander-in-chief of the rebel army.
On August 1, He Long, together with Zhou Enlai, Ye Ting, Zhu De, and Liu Bocheng, commanded the uprising in Nanchang.
In early September, on the way south, in Ruijin, He Long was introduced by Zhou Yiqun and Tan Pingshan to join the Communist Party of China. Zhou Enlai attended the party joining ceremony and delivered a speech. Also present at the ceremony were Li Lisan, Yun Daiying, Tan Pingshan, and others.
On October 7, the Nanchang Uprising failed, and He Long, Liu Bocheng, Ye Ting, Lin Boqu, Wu Yuzhang, and others arrived in Hong Kong from Lufeng. He traveled from Hong Kong to Shanghai and met with Zhou Enlai. Zhou Enlai said to He Long: "The CPC Central Committee arranged for you to study in the Soviet Union. "He Long was very happy. Later, he was discovered by the enemy, wanted, and failed to make the trip.
In mid-November, while waiting in Shanghai for the CPC Central Committee to arrange work, He Long, through Zhou Yiqun, asked Zhou Enlai to reorganize his forces in Xiang'ebian. He Long said to Zhou En: "In three years, I will definitely pull up another team like the Twentieth Army for the Communist Party." ”
From the above concise timeline, it is not difficult to see that He Long is a person who pursues light in the darkness, a tireless seeker for truth.
He Long is a man who must do what he says and does what he does. From the beginning of 1928, when the Standing Committee of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China agreed to his request to return to Western Hunan to organize armed forces, in less than three years, He Longguo really pulled up a Red Second Army for the Communist Party. Of course, the hardships involved need not be said.
On January 11, He Long, Zhou Yiqun, Lu Dongsheng, and others left Shanghai for Wuhan and joined Guo Liang, secretary of the Hubei Provincial Cpc Committee. Guo Liang tightly held He Long's hand and said, "As soon as you come, we will be like a tiger." The three towns of Wuhan want to carry out the Nianguan riots, set on the twenty-third day of the Waxing Moon, you have the appeal, be our commander-in-chief. ”
In accordance with the instructions of the central authorities, it was decided to form the CPC Special Committee for Northwest Hunan Province, with Guo Liang as secretary and He Long, Zhou Yiqun, Xu Teli, and Liu Keming as members, to develop the armed forces of workers and peasants in western Hunan and carry out guerrilla warfare, thus creating a situation of division.
He Long was a man who was good at using his brain, a person who dared to accept the lesson, and while he readily agreed, he said: "We must accept the lesson of the Nanchang riot and the thousand-mile expedition." If the Wuhan riots succeed, of course, it is very good, but if they fail, they should leave quickly and disperse to the countryside. You can go to southern Hubei and northern Hubei. You can also go to Xiangdong, where Chairman Mao carried out the autumn harvest peasant rebellion. Chairman Mao was very thoughtful, and what he wrote (An Analysis of the Classes of the Chinese Revolution) is a good article in which he points out that the broadest and most loyal allies of the Chinese proletariat are the peasantry. I believe that. Our southward action after the victory of the Nanchang uprising did not mobilize the peasants, so we failed. This time, I was determined to return to the countryside of xiangxi, my hometown, to mobilize the peasants and raise up the armed forces. ”
Later, when the riot was approaching, the printing house that printed the slogan for the riot was destroyed by the enemy, so that all the riot plans of the provincial party committee fell into the hands of the enemy, and the riot died prematurely.
On January 14, as planned, He Long and Zhou Yiqun went to Xiangxi to continue organizing their armed forces. On the way, they had an unexpected encounter with the Honghu guerrillas led by He Jinzhai, He Long's cousin. Immediately afterward, they took the lead with the Shishou Central County Committee and summoned the leaders of the various guerrilla groups to hold a joint meeting. It was decided to establish the 49th Road Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, with He Long as the commander-in-chief and He Jinzhai as the commander, with 3 brigades under its jurisdiction. The first action of the revolutionary army was to carry out the Nianguan rebellion on both sides of the Jingjiang River, and to teach the local local tyrants and inferior gentry and bully bandits a lesson. The common people said one after another: When He Long arrived at Honghu Lake, he was a living dragon who got water and wanted to ride on the clouds to the heavens.
On February 20, 1928, after He Long developed the peasant movement in western Hubei, he went to his hometown in Sangzhi County, Xiangxi Province, to organize armed forces. Less than half a month after returning to his hometown, He Long pulled up a team of 3,000 people. After reorganization, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army was established, with He Long as its commander, Zhou Yiqun as its party representative, and He Jinzhai as the commander of the First Division.
In April, Zhou Yiqun was ordered to return to western Hubei to carry out his work. In July, the Hunan Provincial Cpc Committee instructed the Abolition of the Northwest Hunan Special Committee and the establishment of the Cpc Committee for Former Enemies in Western Hunan Province, with He Long as secretary and formally organized into the Fourth Army of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, with He Long as its commander.
He Long's return to his hometown to make a revolution caused panic among the enemy. In the autumn, the Fourth Army was repeatedly attacked by the enemy, with huge casualties, and only about 200 people remained in the whole army, and He Long was forced to lead the rest of the troops to move to the mountains around Yanya in Hefeng County, Hubei Province, and fell into a situation of running out of ammunition and food.
In order to persist in the struggle, he carried out rectification in difficulties, dismissed the old, weak, sick and disabled and politically unstable elements, and the Red Fourth Army had only 91 men and 72 guns, but formed a strong leadership of the party. While he was struggling to survive, Lu Dongsheng, who had been sent down the mountain by He Long to look for the party organization, returned. He Long was overjoyed.
Lu Dongsheng brought a letter from Zhou Yiqun to He Long, in which he introduced the situation of the revolutionary struggle in the Honghu area and conveyed the spirit of the resolution of the Sixth National Congress of the Communist Party of China held in Moscow, Soviet Union, half a year ago. Subsequently, Lu Dongsheng repeated the situation in which the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army led by Chairman Mao and Zhu De met at Jinggangshan to establish a revolutionary base area in Jinggangshan.
He Long listened, very excited, he said excitedly: "Zhu and Mao did the right thing, Xianhe still has a beachhead, and to do revolution is to have a mountain." It is necessary to learn from Zhu and Mao, avoid the enemy's main force, and find a place to establish a base area. We should go to the western Hubei region, where the enemy's forces are weaker, to join forces with the guerrillas in western Hubei, to develop our armaments, and to establish revolutionary base areas. ”
At the beginning of 1929, He Long led the remaining 90 backbone cadres of the Red Fourth Army to go straight to western Hubei and occupy Hefeng, and the contingent suddenly grew to more than 300 people, established the Soviet government and the CPC Hefeng County Committee, the peasant association, and the peasant self-defense armed forces, and established the first revolutionary base area in western Xiang'e. By April, the Red Fourth Army had grown to more than a thousand men.
In May, He Long led the Red Fourth Army to attack the county seat of Sangzhi County, eliminating the local reactionary forces such as chen Cexun's security regiment, connecting Sangzhi and Hefeng, and initially forming the Xiang'e border base area. He Long then commanded the Red Fourth Army at the nancha and Chixi River crossings, and with more than 1,000 people, they attacked the 3,000 people of the Xiangziyun Department belonging to Chen Quzhen, the commander of the Hunan Garrison First Army, who had invaded Sangzhi. He Long took the strategy of luring the enemy deep into the depths and completely annihilated the arrogant Xiang Ziyun's troops. This battle, which shook the west of Xiang'e and shook Hunan, was the biggest victory he had won since the Nanchang uprising, captured countless ammunition, local tyrants and gentry from the counties around Sangzhi fled, and some indigenous armed forces also came to submit, so that the Red Fourth Army expanded to more than 3,000 people.
In September, Liu Mingxian, the central liaison officer, came to Sangzhi after many hardships to convey the instructions of the Party Central Committee to the Red Fourth Army, and He Long was very happy. The letter was written by Zhou Enlai on behalf of the Party Central Committee to the Former Committee and He Long, praising the heroic struggle of the Red Army under the leadership of the Former Committee and giving clear instructions on the political situation, guerrilla warfare, the future course of action of the Party and mass organizations, and the Red Fourth Army. The letter of instruction also gave a special introduction to the experience of army building summed up by Chairman Mao and Zhu De on Jinggang Mountain, saying:
In the Armies of Zhu and Mao, the Party organization was a company as a unit, with each company establishing a branch, sub-groups below the company level, and battalion committees, youth league committees, and other organizations at or above the company level. According to people from Zhu and Mao' offices, such an organization feels fine. In the future, when your troops are founded in the Party, this experience can be used as a reference for you.
He Long received the instructions of the Party Central Committee and immediately convened a meeting of cadres at and above the regimental level to convey the information. On the basis of Zhu and Mao's experience in building branches on the company level, the Red Fourth Army was reorganized again, and party branches were set up in each company so that the party's leadership could truly penetrate deep into the masses. At this point, the Red Fourth Army totaled more than 4,000 people, making the enemy in western Hunan tremble.
In the early spring of 1930, He Long was ordered to lead the Red Fourth Army to leave Hefeng and march east into Honghu Lake to join the Red Sixth Army. However, on the way east, it was blocked by the Kuomintang Sichuan Army and the local security regiment, and after several repeated and several tug-of-war battles, it finally met the Sixth Army of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army led by Zhou Yiqun in Gong'an County, Western Hubei in early July.
According to the instructions of the CPC Central Committee, the Red Fourth Army was renamed the Second Army of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, and the Red Second and Sixth Armies were merged into the Second Army of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, and the Former Committee of the Corps was established. He Long served as the commander-in-chief of the Red Second Army, Zhou Yiqun as the political commissar, Liu Zhixun as the director of the Political Department, and Kwong Jixun as the commander of the Red Sixth Army. At this point, the Red Second Army had more than 10,000 soldiers and more than 5,000 guns, and the famous Honghu Su District began to form.