1932: Playing with the Japanese Communist Party with a doll

Central Soviet Area.

Before the people sent to Shanghai to regroup, reorganize, and rescue their comrades set out, the radio station of the Central Revolutionary Military Commission's General Staff Headquarters received a broadcast from the Kuomintang, which was the "declaration of withdrawal from the Party" by the five individuals mentioned above.

In fact, it should be called "Declaration of Betrayal".

This is one of the tactics commonly used by the Kuomintang.

Anyone who published a "Declaration of Withdrawal from the Party" in a newspaper almost without exception would serve the Kuomintang wholeheartedly and would at least never join the Communist Party again. During the early days of the Communist Party, this tactic was almost always effective.

Once, after a Communist Party cadre was arrested, the enemy used his name in the newspaper to spread rumors, causing the Communist Party to believe that he had defected and hunt him down, which eventually led to his actual defection. However, after playing with this practice too many times and even making mistakes (such as getting the name and position wrong), people gradually became less credulous.

So, when seeing this kind of "declaration of withdrawal from the Party," the CCP organization usually conducts multiple verifications before deciding whether to save people, kill people, or ignore them. But this time...

"It can't be fake..."

Wu Hao looked at the declarations of withdrawal from the party one after another, feeling pain, hatred and regret in his heart. He sighed softly: "I didn't expect that these five people...ah..."

Name, position, former name... These key information, even with the big traitor Gu Shunzhang, it would be impossible for the Kuomintang to know them so clearly if the new traitor had not taken the initiative to tell them; what's more, although those high-level CCP secrets published in the newspapers did not pose any great harm, they were indeed not something that non-high-level personnel were qualified to know.

Therefore, combined with the telegram that the comrade risked his life to send back earlier, it is absolutely certain that all nine members of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee have indeed been arrested, and five of them have already defected. In other words, four more comrades are currently being tortured by the enemy...

In fact, Wu Hao and others had long been mentally prepared for rebellion, even rebellion by high-level leaders; since even Xiang Zhongfa and Gu Shunzhang had rebelled, it would not be surprising if anyone else rebelled.

However, what is embarrassing and infuriating is that these few people rebelled...too quickly!

Judging by the time it took to receive the telegram, the newspaper advertisement, and the KMT broadcast, they defected almost as soon as they were captured! It's possible that the enemy didn't even torture them to extract a confession!

Even Wu Hao, who has a good temper, couldn't help but lose his temper at this moment.

These are the members of the Central Political Bureau that you, Mif, and Wang Ming, painstakingly forced us to arrange before you left? Nine of them betrayed us, and five!

Such a straightforward rebellion!

If you betray me after enduring some torture, I will consider it your effort! Wu Hao was particularly angry about Kang Sheng's declaration of betrayal. Why?

Because, although all five of them wrote "Declarations of Withdrawal from the Party," only this guy used to call the CCP "Communist Bandits" from beginning to end!

Moreover, he also wrote this:

...In fact, I have never joined the Communist Party, nor am I an official member. I have only been pretending to be one. Today, I finally found my opportunity and embraced the light. No wonder Kang Sheng couldn't find the name of the person who introduced me to the Party!

Originally, everyone thought it was due to data loss and the chaos in the early days of the CCP, and no one took it seriously.

After all this trouble, it turns out we accepted a fake member who had never identified with the Party or its principles, and hadn't even joined the Party! It seems the review process for Party membership needs to be even stricter...

Furthermore, the Kuomintang's Party Affairs Investigation Division proved a formidable opponent, and the Central Special Branch needed to be even stricter, otherwise it would be insufficient to deal with the enemy. Wu Hao had no idea how these two ideas would affect future members and the CCP's intelligence apparatus. His only concern now was how to handle this situation. The entire Central Politburo leadership had been arrested, five had defected, the fate of four was unknown, all radio stations had been destroyed, and contact with the Communist International had been completely cut off. We...

Wait, lose contact with the CPC Central Committee and the Communist International?

Wu Hao's eyes narrowed.

Since such a major event had occurred and the intelligence had been verified, it was natural to inform all members of the Central Bureau of the Soviet Area, members of the Central Revolutionary Military Commission and members of the Central Executive Committee. In addition to the teachers and Marshal Peng who was commanding the battle at the front line, Ren Bishi, Wang Jiaxiang, Xiang Yin, Commander-in-Chief Zhu, Gu Zuolin, Deng Fa... were all present.

"Hahaha! What a Kang Sheng! What a Li Zhusheng! What a Lu Futan! What a... cough cough cough..."

After hearing Wu Hao's report, the ailing Gu Zuolin was furious, cursing and coughing non-stop. The others were also silent, unsure how to respond.

The reason Wu Hao was pissed was the same—were you guys surrendering a little too quickly? Five of the nine members of the Politburo Standing Committee surrendered immediately!

The other 4 are hard to say!

If the leader, Bo Gu, also surrendered, the CCP would have truly created a historical "miracle"—two consecutive "general secretaries" surrendered. (The previous one was Xiang Zhongfa, who surrendered and was killed last year.)

Someone asked weakly:

"Should we not jump to conclusions so quickly? Perhaps this is an enemy trick. We should send comrades to investigate first. What exactly is going on..." Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted:

"What is there to check? Could this information be written by someone else? Hey! I didn't expect that the enemy knew these secrets of our central government before me!" Obviously, this was a mockery and rebuttal.

Since Comrade Wu Hao verified the authenticity of the contents in the newspaper, it means that the betrayal of those five people could not be false!

His real name and position have been published in the newspaper. This is nothing but treason!

Besides, the newspaper said that there were their handwritten letters. This kind of thing can be verified by going to Shanghai! The person who was retorted blushed, but was unable to refute, nor did he dare to refute.

Someone added sarcastically:

"As I recall, except for Lu Futan, the other four people all studied in the Soviet Union, right?"

Everyone was horrified.

If no one mentions it, no one will notice it;

Now when someone brings it up, it's easy to think: Why were all those who surrendered... people who had been to Moscow?

"Comrade Wang Jiaxiang! What do you mean?" "Nothing."

"Are you trying to take this opportunity to attack the Party Central Committee and the Communist International?"

"Stop putting accusations on me, Comrade Ren Bishi! I'm from Moscow, too! I'm just telling the truth! This is the truth!"

"you!"

Seeing the two people arguing, others went to persuade them, but after a while, they started to support each other; the atmosphere in the room became quite bad, fully reflecting the torn atmosphere in the Central Soviet Area at that time.

In fact, after several events such as the "International October Letter" and the "Gannan Conference", the Soviet Central Committee was completely plunged into endless internal strife. You listen to Wang, I listen to Mao;

You support this faction, I support that faction;

You accuse me of "leftist adventurism," I attack you for "rightist capitulation"...

This split even had a huge impact on the construction of the entire Soviet area and the operations of the Red Army.

For example, in August 1932, the First Red Army attacked Nancheng, a key town in eastern Jiangxi. The instructors discovered that the enemy had already heavily defended the area with three divisions and 17 regiments. They advocated holding off until another opportunity arose. After discussion, Zhou, Mao, Zhu, and Wang agreed and sent a telegram back to the rear. However, Ren, Xiang, Gu, and Deng strongly objected, demanding they "find Chen Cheng's main force to engage in battle." With no other choice, as the rear was the central government, the First Red Army complied. As they moved toward Yihuang, they were attacked by the enemy, and more than one regiment was annihilated.

After such a mess, logically, the rear should have known about their level many times, right?

No, not at all.

A month later, on September 23, a similar situation occurred again. The four commanders in the front opposed the rash attack on the enemy's six divisions of reinforcements, while the four commanders in the rear demanded "actively attacking the enemy..."

This time, the front was resolute and refused to advance despite the pressure. The two sides argued back and forth in telegrams until the end of December, when the Provisional Central Committee simply sent a telegram - "We must attack Nancheng!" The officers and soldiers of the Red Army combat units were filled with doubts and had no idea who to listen to. They even dared not fight for fear of political struggle.

The Red Army's much-needed radio station, originally intended to provide quick communications and make operations more efficient, ultimately hindered the operation. To put it bluntly, all of these events were the product of a struggle over political lines.

If we listen to the teachers, that would be called "the revival of right-wing opportunism (capitulation)"! Wouldn't that be contrary to the ideas of the Communist International and the Shanghai Central Committee?

In terms of internal strife, there is not much difference between the Communist Party and the Kuomintang.

But what's different from the KMT is that many KMT members engage in internal strife to gain power and profit, even when they know they're wrong. Meanwhile, with the exception of a few, most of the Communist Party's leaders engage in internal strife because they truly believe their line is right. Is this a good thing?

That's a good thing, because the struggle for faith is always cleaner than the struggle for interests.

But in a sense, a struggle initiated purely because of ideological differences can actually make it more intense and cruel. This is the reason why Confucius executed Shao Zhengmao.

Wu Hao sighed and ended the argument with one sentence:

"Let's first confirm one thing: should we call Comrade Peng Dehuai back for a meeting?"

064 Attitude towards Li Desheng and the Soviet Union

"...called back for a meeting?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the scene fell silent.

Wu Hao...what does he want to do?

It was not surprising that Peng Dehuai was informed of the matter, because he was, after all, the Vice Chairman of the Central Revolutionary Military Commission. It was impossible not to inform him of such a major incident.

But the problem was that Peng was currently at the front line, and the Ganzhou Campaign was about to officially launch a general offensive. Calling him back at this time would mean that the Ganzhou Campaign had to be stopped, or at least paused;

Once the highly anticipated Ganzhou Campaign was called off, it would be a major setback for the "Wang Ming Line" from a political perspective.

Therefore, Ren Bishi immediately objected:

"The war is imminent, and changes in the rear should not interfere with operations on the front lines."

He seemed to have completely forgotten that it was he who had previously ignored the opinions of Li Desheng and the commanders and fighters on the front line and insisted on "resolutely launching an active attack on the enemy."

Therefore, Wang Jiaxiang, who had been stabbing him in the lungs and whose relationship with him had become increasingly strained after entering the Soviet area, immediately retorted:

"The entire central government is destroyed, and the radio station has been seized by the enemy. If we don't notify the frontline troops and formulate new countermeasures, what if the enemy takes advantage of this?" "This..."

Dong Renbishi, who knew nothing about military affairs, was immediately speechless.

But Xiang Yin shook his head and said:

"That won't happen. Comrade Peng Dehuai currently only has a 15-watt radio that can only communicate with us. It's impossible for him to get in touch directly with Shanghai."

So far, there were a total of 14 intact, usable radio stations in the entire Soviet area. Of these, only the 100-watt radio station in Ruijin could communicate with the Shanghai Central Committee. The others were unable to do so. Therefore, Xiang Yin's statement was indeed reasonable. Even if all the radio stations in Shanghai were destroyed or looted, it would indeed prevent the enemy from carrying out any conspiracy through telegrams.

Out of a pragmatic standpoint, Wang Jiaxiang did not raise any further objections.

"What's your opinion?"

Wu Hao asked, and Xiang Yin replied:

"I think it's necessary to inform them, but it only needs to be done by telegram. There's no need to call them back."

After asking around, everyone either agreed with Xiang Yin's opinion or remained silent. So, Wu Hao hesitated and said, "Okay... then... let's quickly send a telegram to Comrade Peng Dehuai and ask for his opinion..."

Then he asked:

"My second question is about Comrade Li Desheng. Should we call him back for a meeting?"

Now, the scene became even quieter.

In the Soviet area and the central government, "Li Desheng" is indeed an extremely sensitive name.

In terms of prestige, military achievements, theoretical and practical level, at least in the Central Soviet Area, almost no one could compare to him. There was a saying among the old Red Army:

"When Bai Ma was there, Committee Member Mao was there, and we could relax and sleep when camping at night. Now, Bai Ma is gone, Committee Member Mao is gone, and we have to tie our leg braces tightly when we sleep at night, and be prepared for failure at any time!" This shows how great the prestige of instructors is in the army, at least among grassroots commanders and fighters.

Yet, it was precisely this person whom Moscow, the Communist International, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and Wang Ming singled out for vigorous suppression. (Note: A considerable number of people in the Central Committee of the Soviet Area were completely unaware of the true views of the Moscow Communist Party on Li Desheng.)

As a result, a split immediately emerged among the vast majority of CCP members and cadres who viewed the Soviet Union and the Communist International as "emperors," "forerunners," and "mentor parties." Some believed that no matter how powerful Li Desheng was, he could never be more powerful than those "foreigners" who had studied abroad, or even the Soviets.

Some people themselves are "foreign masters" who have just returned from abroad, and they think that teachers are just "country bumpkins" who are always thinking about running away and "don't understand Marxism-Leninism at all";

Some believed that the instructor was the one who had always stood by them and was more familiar with the situation, while those outsiders, despite their eloquence, ultimately knew nothing. Some had previously misunderstood the instructor's thinking and had tried to remove him several times. Now that even the "emperor" had spoken out against this person, he must be wrong. Thus, some in Moscow had achieved their goal—the Chinese Communist Party and even the entire Red Army were plunged into profound confusion and division, allowing them to seize power. This was particularly evident among the top CCP leaders in the Soviet areas.

Some people supported Li Desheng from the beginning;

Some looked down on Li Desheng at first, but were later impressed by him;

Although some people admired Li Desheng's abilities, they opposed him because they couldn't stand his bad temper.

More people have been wavering and in a "Schrödinger state", choosing to support or not support him according to the political situation, whether to suppress him or protect him or both... So, after hearing Wu Hao's words, whether they openly opposed Li Desheng or secretly supported Li Desheng, they all became extremely cautious.

Because the current political situation within the Party has undergone a tremendous and subversive change!

First, the Shanghai Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, which had been working hard to suppress the "Li Desheng faction," is gone!

This wasn't just a minor change like the "General Secretary defecting" or "the head of the Central Special Branch defecting," but the entire Central Committee was gone! Secondly, the Communist International, which remotely controlled the CPC Central Committee, was no longer contactable!

All the responsible persons were arrested and all the radio stations were destroyed. Now, even if the Central Committee was reorganized, it would be impossible to find a new high-power radio station to contact the Communist International and Moscow in a short time.

In other words, the two biggest factors suppressing Li Desheng and preventing him from leading the Soviet Central Bureau and the Red Army disappeared at this moment, creating a huge power vacuum within the CCP. Consequently, those who had previously opposed Li Desheng, or those who had been orchestrated by Wang Ming to suppress him, naturally became extremely cautious, knowing that they alone could not suppress him. So, why did those who (intentionally) supported Li Desheng remain so cautious?

The reason lies in that "temporary period".

The central government is gone, but it can be reorganized at any time;

The Communist International is temporarily out of contact, but they will eventually get a new radio station.

If they invite Li Desheng back to take power now, what will they do if the Communist International intervenes again in a few months and demands that they remove Li Desheng?

If they rush out to support Li Desheng now, what will they do if the situation changes in the future and they are suppressed, liquidated, or even purged as in the past? By then, the forces supporting Li Desheng will only suffer greater losses, and the entire CCP will only be more divided than it is now.

Therefore, both sides remained silent.

After a long while, Wang Jiaxiang, who was less than 26 years old, finally spoke first:

"I think we should call Comrade Desheng back for a meeting to hear his opinions. His ability and vision are far greater than most of us."

This statement aroused the dissatisfaction of several members of the "Wang Ming faction". Just as they were about to explode, Commander-in-Chief Zhu suddenly interrupted and said:

"No matter what, Comrade Li Desheng was a member of the Central Revolutionary Military Commission, a member of the Central Committee, and even a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Soviet Area and Chairman of the Central Government. He was qualified to know about this matter."

General Zhu's words are too "politically correct" and anyone with a little organizational sense in their heart would not object.

Of course, if it were before, even General Zhu, the Chairman of the Central Revolutionary Military Commission, would never dare to say such a thing;

Because if he dared to say so, someone would dare to rely on the support of the Communist International, Mif and Wang Ming and say "supporting Li Desheng is supporting escapism." Now, there is no such scruple;

At least not for now.

So, the resolution was passed, and everyone quickly arranged for Xiang Yin to take his guards on horseback to Donghua Mountain to find the instructor, while they continued to discuss what the CPC Central Committee should do.