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Wen ▎ Xu Xiaoxiong
In September 1927, Yu Benmin, a member of the Party committee of mao Zedong personally developed, participated in the Autumn Harvest Uprising, served as a member of the Committee of Former Enemies of the Uprising, and the deputy commander of the First Division of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army. After following Mao Zedong to Jinggangshan, he served as the director of the rear guard department and the minister of finance of the workers, peasants, and soldiers on the border of Xianggan and Gansu. In 1930, Yu Returned to the Revolutionary Base Area of Xiang'egan. In February 1933, he died in Xiaoyuan, Wanzai County, Jiangxi Province. Yu Benmin was a student and comrade-in-arms of Mao Zedong, the main general of the Autumn Harvest Uprising, and a staunch supporter of Mao Zedong's transfer of revolutionary forces to the countryside, and made great contributions to the Chinese revolution, but it is difficult to find him in the historical records except for the records of being the deputy division commander at the time of the Autumn Harvest Uprising. What made this hero obscure? Let's step into the world of this lonely hero.
First, in Qingshuitang, Changsha, Mao Zedong introduced Yu Benmin to join the Communist Party of China
Yu Benmin, also known as Jinbang and Chulong, was born in 1888 to a wealthy merchant family in Chengguan Town, Pingjiang County, Hunan Province. In 1909, he was admitted to the Hunan Military Academy, and after graduation, he participated in the Xinhai Revolution, was wounded in the battle to conquer Wuchang, and soon retired to his hometown and moved to Yingruidong outside the north gate of the county town, where he farmed and raised silkworms. After the Qiming Girls' School moved into the county seat, Yu Benmin was invited to serve as the director of the horticulture department of the school.
After the "May Fourth" Movement, Yu Benmin actively engaged in patriotic struggle against imperialism and anti-feudalism with Li Liuru, Chen Maozhang, and others in the county seat, organizing the "Ten People's Group for Saving the Country," the "National Goods Maintenance Association," and the "Snow Shame Society," and was elected president of the Snow Shame Association and mobilized the masses to boycott Japanese goods. They organized students and set up a Japanese goods inspection team to inspect various businesses in the county. Destroyed the Yuchang Company, which obstructed the boycott of Japanese goods, and collected all the seized Japanese goods in the Moon Pond and burned them. Since then, the trend of burning Japanese goods has quickly swept through all market towns in the county. Japanese goods in the market disappeared for a while, and Pingjiang, a mountainous county with closed traffic, became an outpost to boycott Japanese goods.
A series of anti-imperialist and patriotic struggles showed the great revolutionary enthusiasm and organizational ability of Yu Benmin, and soon he was elected president of the county peasant association.
After the founding of the Communist Party of China, the workers' movement was made the central task of the party. Mao Zedong, who returned to Hunan after the "First Congress," paid great attention to the development of the workers' and peasants' movement in Hunan. He learned from the progressives of Pingjiang Brigade Province that Chen Maozhang, chairman of the Pingjiang County Trade Union, and Yu Benmin, president of the Peasants' Association, had actively set up night schools for workers and peasants to spread revolutionary ideas and train revolutionary backbones. Subsequently, Mao Zedong talked to Chen Maozhang and Yu Benmin, talked about the nature, program, and tasks of the Communist Party of China and the future of the Chinese revolution, and introduced them to join the Communist Party of China.
After returning to Pingjiang, Chen Hongzhang and Yu Benmin followed Mao Zedong's instructions to identify and train revolutionary backbones and actively recruit party members. In the autumn of 1922, they recruited the chinese medicine practitioner Li Zeming into the party, and in the winter of the same year, the first party group in Pingjiang was established. He also trained and developed Chen Jingqian, Fang Xin and other 8 people to join the Socialist Communist Youth League, and established the "Pingjiang Local League Organization" in the winter of 1922. In 1923, Yu Benmin and other party group members introduced Yu Benjian, Li Zongbai, Li Shutao, Liu Qiuchen and others to the party, so in the winter of that year, the first party branch in Pingjiang was established at the Pingjiang Qiming Girls' School. Under the cover of the public identity of the director of the art department of the Qiming Female Campus, Yu Benmin secretly carried out party work. On April 27, 1925, the Pingjiang Local Executive Committee of the Communist Party of China was established. In June, the first party branch in Pingjiang countryside was established in Xianzhong, one of the earliest rural party branches established in the province. Under the leadership of Yu Benmin and others, the Pingjiang Workers' and Peasants' Movement was in full swing.
Second, at the Guangzhou Peasant Movement Training Institute, Mao Zedong taught Yu Benmin how to carry out the peasant movement
In 1926, on the recommendation of the Pingjiang County Committee of the Communist Party of China, Yu Benmin went to Guangdong to participate in the Sixth Peasant Movement Training Institute. At that time, Mao Zedong personally presided over the work of this seminar.
The training center was located at the Panyu Xuegong on Hui'ai East Road (now Zhongshan 4th Road) in Guangzhou. After Yu Benmin reported to the police, he reported to Mao Zedong on the situation of the Pingjiang workers' and peasants' movement. The series of revolutionary struggles led by the Pingjiang Party organization were highly praised by Mao Zedong.
The Institute offers 25 courses, all of which revolve around the basic theories of the Chinese revolution, with a focus on the chinese peasant question. In order to cultivate the trainees' practical work ability, Mao Zedong arranged for many peasant movement leaders with practical struggle experience to give lectures in the heavy peasant issues and peasant movement courses, such as Peng Pan, Ruan Xiaoxian, and others. Organize trainees to conduct field trips and studies in areas where the peasant movement is better carried out. He organized 50 trainees to intern in shaoguan rural areas in northern Guangdong for one week. Peng Pan and Zhao were appointed to lead a team to Haifeng County for an internship for half a month. Let the trainees go deep into the peasant association and the peasant self-defense army department, and visit and study on the spot.
Yu Benmin himself was the backbone of the workers' and peasants' movement and a party member personally developed by Mao Zedong, and he cherished this opportunity to study. Mao Zedong's theory of the peasant question and his analysis of the various classes of Chinese society opened Yu Benmin's eyes, gave him a clear and systematic understanding of the basic problems of the Chinese revolution, and greatly improved his theoretical level and level of understanding. When there was a problem he did not understand, he always humbly asked Mao Zedong for advice. The East Ear Room of the Peasant Movement Institute is Mao Zedong's office and bedroom, and Yu Benmin is a regular visitor here. Mao Zedong was also very good at investigation and study, and when he encountered some practical problems at the grass-roots level in the peasant movement, he also repeatedly learned about the situation from the remnants of the people and solicited opinions. In the field investigation activities organized by Mao Zedong, Yu Benmin was an active participant in the activities and a powerful assistant to Mao Zedong in organizing the activities.
In order to support the Northern Expedition that had already begun, in September 1926, the Sixth Agricultural Lecture Institute was closed ahead of schedule. Mao Zedong was very concerned about the revolution in Pingjiang, and when he was leaving, he again talked to Yu Benmin and instructed him to go deep among the peasants after he returned, organize and arm the peasants, wage a resolute struggle against the landlords and local tycoons and inferior gentry, and push the revolution in Pingjiang to a new stage.
After Yu Benmin returned to Pingjiang, relying on the support of social progressive forces, he served as the leader of the county regimental defense team, so that this armed force was in the hands of our party.
Yu Benmin used the platform of the regimental defense team to actively implement Mao Zedong's thinking on the peasant movement. On the one hand, he sent Zhou Kun and other cadres with fairly strong organizational ability to go deep into Ludong, Gujiadong, and other places to develop party organizations. Thanks to the efforts of Zhou Kun and others, among the paper workers in Ludong and Gujiadong, party branches were quickly established, and Qiu Yihan, one of the 28 female cadres who participated in the Long March, and Zhou Biquan, who later served as the director of the organization department of the Anhui Provincial CPC Committee, were introduced to the party by Zhou Kun at this time; on the other hand, they actively cultivated revolutionary talents. In 1927, he and a group of people from the county party committee founded the "Pingjiang County Agricultural Movement Training Institute" at the Sanliyuan Peiyuan School in the county town, and he personally served as the director. There are two courses, political and military courses. Politics mainly teaches Marxism-Leninism and class struggle, and military courses mainly teach infantry drills and bomb shooting techniques. Most of these trainees later joined the Pingjiang Workers' and Peasants' Volunteer Army, participated in the Autumn Harvest Uprising on the border of Xianggan and Gansu, and followed the remnants to Jinggang Mountain.
At the critical moment of the Autumn Harvest Uprising, Yu Benmin resolutely supported Mao Zedong's transfer to Jinggangshan
After the defeat of the Great Revolution, the claws of the Kuomintang reactionaries reached into Pingjiang, organized a "group of people who supported Chiang Kai-shek and drank from them," and created a counter-revolutionary incident of snatching the guns of the peasant army. Yu Benmin resolutely resisted the reactionary countercurrent, led the regimental defense team to expel the Kuomintang rightist Cao Xiuli, he relied on the support of the Pingjiang progressive forces to control the regimental defense team, and expanded the regimental defense team as a regimental defense bureau, preparing to arm against Chiang Kai-shek.
In June 1927, the Pingjiang County Cpc Committee decided to combine the County League Defense Bureau, the Peasants' Self-Defense Army, and the Workers' Pickets into the Pingjiang Workers' and Peasants' Volunteer Army, with a total of more than 1,200 people, with Yu Benmin as the leader.
In late July, at the request of the central authorities, Yu Benmin led more than 500 people of the Workers' and Peasants' Volunteer Army to join the Liuyang Peasants' Self-Defense Army and rushed to Nanchang to participate in the uprising. After the troops arrived in Wuning, they learned that the rebel troops had left Nanchang, so they turned back to Repair water. In mid-August, he met with the Wuhan National Government Guard Corps in Xiushui and captured the county seat of Xiushui. On August 23, in accordance with the requirements of the central authorities, Yu Benmin incorporated the Pingjiang Workers' and Peasants' Volunteer Army into the First Division of the First Army of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, serving as deputy commander.
On September 9, 1927, the Autumn Harvest Uprising broke out. The headquarters of the First Division and the 1st Regiment, under the leadership of Lu Deming, Yu Shandu, and Yu Benmin, marched from Xiushui to Pingjiang. When the rebels arrived at Jinping, fifteen miles away from Changshou Street, Qiu Guoxuan defected to the enemy and secretly attacked the rebel troops. At the critical moment when the rebel forces suffered a heavy defeat, the remnants immediately rushed to the scene of the incident to collect the scattered troops and move them to the Golden Cave. At that time, the main force of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army had already shifted to Liuyang, and Yu Benmin led his troops to move closer to the main force day and night with firm revolutionary conviction.
On the 19th, various riot teams met in Wenjia City, Liuyang, and Mao Zedong held a meeting of the front committee at the Liren School in Wenjia City. The four former members of the committee attended the meeting: Mao Zedong, Lu Deming, Yu Shandu and Su Xianjun. At the front committee, Mao Zedong advocated abandoning the attack on Changsha and transferring the workers' and peasants' revolutionary army to the countryside where the enemy's strength was weak. Mao Zedong's proposal was opposed by Yu Shandu and Su Xianjun. They believe that "taking Liuyang and attacking Changsha" is an instruction of the central authorities and must be implemented. The two sides are at loggerheads and the debate is fierce. With the support of commander-in-chief Lu Deming, the meeting reluctantly adopted Mao Zedong's proposal to transfer revolutionary forces to the countryside.
On the 20th, under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army set out from Wenjia City in Liuyang and began to march towards Shonan Province, and on the 23rd, when the rebel troops marched to Luxi, Pingxiang, Jiangxi, they were attacked by the enemy, and the commander-in-chief Lu Deming was heroically sacrificed.
Lu Deming's sacrifice deprived Mao Zedong of an important supporter. Just when Mao Zedong was isolated and helpless, Yu Benmin led the collected men and horses to arrive. With the support of Yu Benmin and others, Mao Zedong gradually mastered this revolutionary contingent and achieved the goal of transferring revolutionary forces to the countryside.
According to General Zhang Lingbin, "After the autumn harvest riots, the broad masses of the people did not know what to do,...... The remnants approached the masses and patiently persuaded the masses. ...... When the peasants saw Yu Benmin, they did not call him deputy commander (should be deputy division commander), but affectionately called him "Ben Lao, Ben Lao". When the troops arrived near Zhajin, Jiangxi, there was a sudden rumor that the troops were going to go to Tonggu County, and many peasants rushed up and came to find Yu Benmin, saying that the old people were old and old, and our guns, darts, and knives were placed here (to leave the troops). Yu Benmin patiently persuaded and educated everyone. But some people did not listen, and finally, Yu Benmin said, Old master, you can't go back, and if you go back, the local tycoons and inferior gentry will kill your heads. The result was convincing everyone. It can be seen from this that The people of Yu ben have made meritorious contributions in uniting the peasants in Pingjiang to participate in the revolution. ①”
Fourth, obey the overall situation, stay in the rear, and go from the front desk to the backstage
Jinggangshan", "the population is less than 2,000, the production of grain is less than 10,000 quintals", after the rebel troops went up the mountain, logistical support became a major problem. Who's going to be the master of this? After some deliberation, Mao Zedong decided to let the remnants of the people take on this heavy burden.
Thousands of miles followed, but he wanted to let him, the deputy division commander with the troops, take charge of logistics, and Yu Benmin was a little reluctant at first.
"Ben min, do you know who the hero of Han Gao's ancestral title is?" He was not Zhang Liang, a military master who was strategic, nor Han Xin, a general who would win the battle and attack the enemy, but Xiao He, the logistics supervisor of the town and the country, who cared for the people, fed the people, and did not stop grain! The people and horses did not move, and the grain and grass went first. At present, our soldiers still have no winter clothes, grain and rice are difficult to sustain, and they cannot be solved by eating and wearing, so how can we struggle against the enemy? Under the enlightenment of Mao Zedong, Yu Benmin happily accepted this arduous task. Under very difficult conditions at that time, he mobilized the masses and tried every means to solve the problem of food for the troops and the winter clothes that the soldiers urgently needed. Since then, he has turned from the front desk to the backstage.
In May 1928, he was appointed Minister of Finance of the Workers' and Peasants' and Soldiers' Government on the Border of Hunan and Gansu. In January 1929, after the Red Fourth Army moved south to Gannan Province, Yu Benmin was ordered to stay with Peng Dehuai's Fifth Army at Jinggangshan. After the fall of Jinggangshan, the remnants of the people broke through the siege. In July 1930, Yu Returned to the Xiang'e-Gansu Border Region and served as the principal of the Military and Political School of the Red Army in Xiang'e-Gansu.
In 1932, Yu Benmin was transferred to the military minister of the Xiang'e-Gan Provincial Party Committee. At that time, Wang Ming's "Left" adventurism was implemented in the Revolutionary Base Areas of Xiang'e,Egan, and cadres from landlord and rich peasant backgrounds were excluded and purged, and Yu Benmin was forced to leave his leading posts. Despite being treated unfairly and in the face of adversity, he still kept the overall situation in mind, maintained a firm revolutionary conviction, and continued to work hard for the party. In December of the same year, the provincial party committee learned that the enemy had dispatched 1 division of troops to attack the Xiaoyuan area where the provincial party committee was stationed. In order to cover the transfer of more than 2,000 cadres from the provincial party committee and district and township cadres to the direction of Liuyang, Yu Benmin commanded the vanguard company, crushed a landlord's armed force guarding Shigu Mountain, and cleared the way for the troop transfer, but he himself was seriously wounded. After the remnants were injured, the security bureau that implemented the "left" adventurism isolated and examined the remnants on the grounds that there were problems with their family origins, resulting in a delay in valuable treatment time. On April 9, 1933, Yu Died at the Age of 45 at the Xiaoyuan Red Army Hospital in Wanzai County, Jiangxi Province, due to the deterioration of his injuries. The leader of the workers' and peasants' movement in Pingjiang, the main general of the Autumn Harvest Uprising, spent his last days in loneliness.
After Yu Benmin's sacrifice, Li Liuru specially wrote "Biography of Yu Benmin". According to the recollections of many veteran comrades, Chairman Mao spoke many times about Yu Benmin on the Long March Road, in Yan'an, and in Zhongnanhai, Beijing, praising his loyalty and hard work spirit. ②”
exegesis:
(1) Central Party History Publishing House, Jinggangshan Revolutionary Base Area, p. 156;
(2) Li Rui: "Remembering Six Like Old Uncles", in People, No. 2, 1986.