Boling said:
Now many people are not familiar with Xiang Ying,
But Xiang Ying is a very complicated person,
The southern Anhui incident also had a great relationship with him.
In this article, let’s talk about Xiang Ying,
He is on the left in the front row of the cover.
I
Like most Communists, Xiang Ying, who was born in Wuchang in 1898, was also a poor man.
His father, xiangwenxuan, is the accountant of the cash and grain cabinet in Wuchang county. Although he manages the cash and grain accounts of the whole county, his salary is not much. When Xiangying was ten years old, xiangwenxuan died, and his family lost their only source of income.
In order to support the family, Xiang Ying’s mother does some washing, spinning and embroidery for people, while Xiang Ying and her sister pick up junk and sell money to maintain a life of eating every meal.
In 1913, the Republic of China had been established for two years, but the change of dynasties had not changed Xiang Ying’s life, and his family was still poor. Since he could not count on the relief of the new government, Xiang Ying, 16, became a worker in a textile factory in Wuchang, earning 8 or 9 yuan a month.
It is obviously not enough to use this money to support the family. In addition, if you want to earn this money, you must pay all your time and energy. Xiang Ying later recalled:
“I work more than 10 hours a day. It is stipulated that I have a rest on Sundays, but I don’t get paid when I take a holiday, so most workers don’t try to take a holiday. The darkness of the factory makes workers suffer too much.”
The contrast between work intensity and wage income is much worse than the current 996.
However, after years of working in the textile factory, Xiang Ying has developed a strong worker habit. Although she is very young, she already knows what workers need and what to say to resonate with them.
This ability to “come from the masses and go to the masses” enabled Xiang Ying to rise in the 1920s’ workers’ movement.
The three towns of Wuhan are the thoroughfares of nine provinces. They are all over land and water wharves. They are a perfect place to develop the workers’ movement. Therefore, after the founding of the Communist Party of China in July 1921, the three towns of Wuhan were taken as the key breakthrough of the workers’ movement.
In December of the same year, rickshaw drivers in Hankou Concession opposed the rent increase by the owners of the car dealership and launched a large-scale alliance strike.
It’s not like people handed pillows when they were sleepy. As soon as the rickshaw pullers went on strike, the Wuhan party organization sent Lin Yunan and Shi Yang to lead the strike. On the one hand, it can develop the party organization and on the other hand, it can expand the influence of the workers’ movement.
With the progress of the workers’ movement, there are more and more jobs. Lin Yunan and Shi Yang are becoming too busy. They think, how about finding a worker who can do things to help?
It is also a coincidence that lishuqu, who works in Wuhan Branch of China’s labor union secretary department, and Xiangying are schoolmates in primary school. They feel that Xiangying works in a textile factory all the year round and is very familiar with workers’ ideas and lives. She should be absorbed into the organization and participate in the workers’ movement.
Therefore, lishuqu recommended Xiang Ying to the Wuhan party organization. After some investigation, the Wuhan party organization also thought that Xiang Ying was good, so it assigned tasks to Xiang Ying to prepare for the workers’ Club of the Jiang’an section of the Beijing Wuhan railway.
They all read Xiang Ying correctly.
After receiving the task, Xiang Ying took advantage of her “old worker” to connect workers everywhere. With her careless character, she said to the workers that “we workers should unite” and “workers should defeat the capitalists”. She soon became one with the workers and became the leader of the workers’ movement.
On January 22nd, 1922, the Jiang’an workers’ Club of Beijing Wuhan railway was established. Xiang Ying convened more than 900 people to attend the founding meeting. Wuhan party organization and the Secretary Department of China Labor Union sent people to congratulate him. At the same time, the meeting elected yangdefu as the director, huangguirong as the deputy director and Xiang Ying as the secretary.
In just two months, Xiang Ying was promoted from an “old worker” to a leader of the labor movement, and became famous in this turbulent era.
II
Xiang Ying, who has just become the leader of the labor movement, is also enthusiastic. He is very different from Xiang Ying, who later looked forward and backward.
In January, 1923, the preparatory meeting of the Beijing Wuhan Railway Federation of trade unions was held in Zhengzhou. After discussion, it was unanimously decided that the inaugural meeting of the Beijing Wuhan Railway Federation of trade unions was officially held on February 1.
At that time, Wu Peifu was domiciled in Luoyang and supported hundreds of thousands of soldiers. His influence could radiate half of China. Some foreigners even said that he was the strongest in China. Such a person naturally did not allow anyone to sleep on the side of his bed. The upcoming Beijing Wuhan Railway Federation of trade unions in Zhengzhou has also touched Wu Peifu’s scales.
On January 28, wupeifu gave an order to huangdianchen, chief of Zhengzhou police, forbidding the workers of Beijing Wuhan railway from holding the founding meeting of the Federation of trade unions.
What now?
The arrow is already on the string. If it is taken back, it will dampen the spirit of the workers’ movement. If it is sent out, it will be life-threatening.
So some people said that Wu Peifu’s face should be taken care of and the founding meeting should not be held. Some people said that the meeting would still be held, but it would have to be rescheduled and then talk to wupeifu.
Xiang Ying disagreed with these remarks. He stood up and opposed all the above opinions in his real name:
“Workers must pay a considerable price for organizing trade unions and seeking liberation. If workers have to get Wu Peifu’s approval to form trade unions, then we must listen to them. How can this be done? We must hold a trade union founding meeting. Whoever dares to say no is our enemy, and we will fight with him.”
As Xiangying spoke, her eyes flushed and her hands trembled. Obviously, she was angry to a certain extent.
Infected by Xiang Ying’s emotions, everyone agreed to hold the inaugural meeting of the Beijing Wuhan Railway Federation of trade unions on February 1 according to the established plan.
On the day of the founding meeting, Wu Peifu sent military and police officers to fill the streets. In addition, there were more than 1000 armed troops in formation to prevent workers from gathering for the meeting. However, Xiang Ying, with the workers’ representatives and pickets, rushed through the military and police to arrive at the meeting, and was not afraid of death at all.
If people at that time rated Xiang Ying, who would dare say that he was not a hero?
After the meeting, the general strike of Beijing Wuhan Railway began.
More than 20000 workers went on strike along the 1000 kilometer railway line. For a time, the labor movement was lively. The warlord governments along the railway also began to mobilize troops to suppress the strike.
Xiaoyaonan, the Hubei supervisor, ordered the military police to enter the Jiang’an station and arrested two train drivers. In order to counterattack the crackdown of the warlord government, more than 2000 workers and pickets rushed into the station and grabbed the two arrested drivers. However, five more workers were arrested in this operation.
After this conflict, the workers and the army and police were completely opposed.
Zhang housheng, who was in charge of the operation, was worried that things would end badly, so he proposed that the trade union send representatives to negotiate.
It is not so easy to negotiate at the military and police stations? It’s light to be taken hostage. If things don’t go well, they will be directly shot. Those workers’ leaders dare not go.
But Xiangying said, I am the director general of the strike committee, I will go.
Sure enough, Xiang Ying was detained by armed men as soon as he arrived at the military and police station to prepare for negotiations. Zhanghousheng told Xiang Ying that if he wanted to live, he would order the workers to return to work.
Xiang Ying was also very tough. She said that I would not betray the workers. Kill me.
Zhanghousheng and Xiang Ying struggled for several hours, but they didn’t get satisfactory results. They were particularly helpless. The workers were afraid of Xiang Ying’s accident and began to surround the military and police overnight, asking them to release the workers’ representative Xiang Ying. In the early morning of February 6, Zhang housheng was forced to release Xiang Ying.
As a result, Xiang Ying, who had just left hukou, demonstrated with the workers led by linyunan and Shiyang after dawn. Thousands of people joined the procession along the way, while Xiang Ying, linyunan and Shiyang always led the procession.
Is such a tough Xiang Ying a hero?
However, there is no substitute for criticism. On the afternoon of February 7, Zhang housheng sent military and police forces to suppress it, killing hundreds of workers. At about the same time, workers along the Beijing Wuhan railway were suppressed by armed forces.
Xiangying hid by the river all night before she found her life. A month later, she obeyed the organization and moved to Changsha for a long talk with the teacher.
This is the February 7th tragedy that shocked China and the rest of the world.
Although the strike on the Beijing Wuhan Railway failed, the workers’ movement did not stop. In the following years, Xiang Ying led the workers’ movement and accumulated great fame until he was elected as a member of the Central Committee at the “Fifth National Congress” in 1927.
At the “Sixth National Congress” in 1928, Xiang Ying was elected as a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau because his qualifications of “worker origin” and his status as a leader of the workers’ movement met the requirements of the Communist International for “leading cadres to be workers”.
Xiang Ying had just turned 30 that year. This achievement had the element of luck, but it was more earned by his own life.
III
During the Red Army period, Xiang Ying ushered in a great turning point in her life.
In january1931, Xiang Ying entered the Central Soviet Area and served as Acting Secretary of the Central Bureau of the Soviet Area and chairman of the Military Commission. In terms of position and power, he was the leader of president Zhu and his teachers.
At that time, the “Futian Incident” had just happened in the Central Soviet Area, and a large number of Red Army officers and soldiers were killed by mistake. Therefore, after Xiang Ying arrived in the Central Soviet Area, the first thing to deal with was the “Futian Incident”
He went to the Red Army and local governments to conduct in-depth research and mastered a lot of first-hand information. After careful analysis, Xiang Ying believed that the “Futian Incident” was not a counter revolutionary riot, but the development of the party’s petty bourgeois consciousness and the tendency of unprincipled small organizations and factions.
That is to say, in Xiang Ying’s view, the matter was caused by internal contradictions, so we should not use “murder” as a means to solve external contradictions, but “education” as a means to solve internal contradictions.
But the Central Committee in Shanghai disagreed with Xiang Ying.
While Xiang Ying was handling the “Futian Incident” and preventing the expansion of the elimination of counter revolutionaries, Wang Ming and other international delegations elected at the Fourth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in January 1931 sent a delegation to the Central Soviet area to handle the “Futian Incident” with full authority. They not only denied Xiang Ying’s handling opinions, but also dismissed Xiang Ying’s Acting Secretary of the Central Bureau of the Soviet area.
This incident caused a great blow to Xiang Ying, so the “seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages” side of others’ nature was exposed. He soon went to Wang Ming’s Wharf and became the backbone of the international school.
In the following ten years, Xiang Ying actually followed Wang Ming’s lead.
Of course, in that volatile revolutionary era, personal pursuit of advantages and avoidance of disadvantages were often intertwined with the line struggle.
Xiang Ying was a cadre born as a worker. He also went to Moscow to attend the “Sixth National Congress” and received a small pistol from Stalin. From the perspective of the revolutionary line, Xiang Ying supported the workers’ revolution and urban riots from the bottom of his heart.
This revolutionary line is exactly the one supported by Moscow and the international faction.
If Xiang Ying did not go along with the international school and instead supported the teachers’ revolutionary line, would he not deny his own achievements in the labor movement and his persistence in the past ten years?
Once we deny ourselves, we will have no right to speak in the future.
Therefore, there is a difference between Xiang Ying and intellectuals studying in the Soviet Union.
Those intellectuals who stayed in the Soviet Union had no political foundation. Their authority came entirely from Moscow and they could only follow the baton of Moscow. However, Xiang Ying had to follow the baton of the international school according to her origin.
For Xiang Ying, the wharf must be worshiped. At first, I paid tribute to Xiang Zhongfa, then to lilisan, and now to Wang Ming. As long as he is supported by Moscow, he must bow down.
After all, he only wants to be the wife of the county magistrate. As for who is the county magistrate, he doesn’t care.
Therefore, at the “Ningdu conference”, Xiang Ying followed the international school in criticizing the teachers. He first expressed his support for the line of the Communist International and the decision of the interim Central Committee, and then criticized the teachers for not respecting leadership, not having a strong organizational concept, and slackening on the policy of seizing central cities.
After the meeting, the teachers left the decision-making core, and after three years when no one came, Xiang Ying was like a duck to water in the Central Soviet area.
Therefore, when studying a person’s transformation, we should also study his origin, education and work history.
In October of 1934, the Central Red Army began the long march. According to Bogu and Lide’s original plan, the so-called strategic shift was actually going out for a turn and coming back after winning the war. Therefore, they had to choose a reliable person to stay in the Soviet area.
The family they chose to watch was Xiang Ying.
Before the Long March, the Central Committee set up the central sub Bureau and the Central Military Region in the Central Soviet Area, and appointed Xiang Ying as the Secretary of the central sub Bureau and the commander and political commissar of the Central Military Region, with 30000 Red Army under its jurisdiction.
Bogu and Lide gave Xiang Ying a very clear order:
“Protect the safe transfer of the main force of the Red Army and the central organs, protect the Central Soviet Area, so that the enemy who occupied the Soviet area can not rule smoothly, and cooperate with the field troops to counter attack, restore and develop the Soviet Area under favorable conditions in the future.”
This is to place all our hopes on Xiang Ying.
However, things were unpredictable. The Central Red Army finally made the long march to northern Shaanxi. Xiang Ying was also unable to see his home in the Soviet area because of his poor military ability.
At that time, the national army had surrounded the Soviet Area and restored the system of protecting the first class of the countryside under the rule of the landlords and rich peasants. As a result, the left behind Red Army became an isolated army with a very narrow space for activities.
Chen Yi was not able to follow the long march team because of his injury. He also stayed with Xiangying.
He suggested to Xiangying:
“The fact of defeat has proved that the tactics of the big regiment have gone bankrupt. Now we must change our methods of struggle, disperse the remaining Red Army and local armed forces to the counties, organize hundreds and thousands of guerrillas, and carry on the fast guns to fight guerrillas in order to survive.”
According to the successful experience of the Red Army, Chen Yi’s proposal is right, but Xiang Ying disagrees.
Xiang Ying believes that:
“In another two months, the main Red Army will triumph with a large number of captives and weapons. We just need to take the triangle area between Ruijin, Ningdu and Huichang as the core position to hold on to, expand the Red Army to create new legions, fight hard with the national army, and wait for the main Red Army.”
This analysis is really moving. If the Red Army can fight a hard battle with the national army, it will not need the long march.
Xiang Ying did not learn from her failure at all.
As a result, by the end of November, all the counties in the Central Soviet area had been lost, and the remaining Red Army troops broke through to Western Fujian, Fujian and Jiangxi, respectively, and began the three-year guerrilla war.
If I had known this, why should I have done so? A general would be incompetent to kill the three armed forces.
IV
The three-year guerrilla war was hard. Xiang Ying later recalled:
“For almost two years, I never took off my clothes to sleep at night, as most of our soldiers did. Moreover, we were always short of food. What was more difficult was that the Red Army guerrillas had no medical personnel, let alone hospitals. Many commanders and fighters died of illness.”
Under such difficult conditions, Xiang Ying still persevered and did not betray like Gong Chu. This is worth affirming.
In October of 1937, Xiang Ying returned to Yan’an after reconciling with the central government. He was warmly welcomed by the teachers and comrades. The teachers also called on the whole party to learn from Comrade Xiang Ying.
Xiangying also responded that we revolutionaries are used to coming back from the dead. Look at zhumaopeng. They have been “killed” more than ten times. We are nothing.
Say and do.
Xiangying is a firm revolutionary soldier, but he has his own limitations, helplessness and ambition.
In the same year, the Red Army guerrillas in the eight southern provinces were reorganized into the New Fourth Army, with yeting as the commander and Xiangying as the deputy commander. They also served as the Secretary of the southeast branch of the Central Committee and the Secretary of the branch of the New Fourth Army, with more than 10000 people under the jurisdiction of four branches.
In fact, this arrangement is an expanded version of the left behind Red Army in the Soviet area. The people are still those people, and the structure is still the same. It is just that the commander is replaced by yeting.
Historically, officers and men of the New Fourth Army have always fought with Xiang Ying. In terms of the principle that the party commands guns, Xiang Ying has two secretaries.
In terms of prestige and position, Xiang Ying is a bit higher than Ye Ting. Although Ye Ting is a military commander, it is Xiang Ying who has the final say.
In addition, there is another thing that can be seen together with the establishment of the New Fourth Army. It is the establishment of the Yangtze River Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, with Wang Ming as secretary and Zhou Enlai as deputy secretary. Other members include Xiangying, Bogu, dongbiwu, etc., who are responsible for leading the work of the southern provinces.
The work of the southern provinces, of course, also includes the southeast branch and the New Fourth Army.
In other words, Wang Ming and Xiang Ying, who used to wear a pair of trousers, have now re established the relationship of direct leadership. In the next three years, Xiang Ying did a lot of things that were not understood. In fact, it came from this.
Xiang Ying listened to the teacher’s telegram instructing the New Fourth Army to advance behind the enemy lines to create a base area.
He and yeting jointly deployed, sending Chen Yi to lead the first detachment to establish Maoshan base in southern Jiangsu, Zhang Dingcheng to lead the second detachment to Gaochun and Lishui, Zhang Yunyi and tanzhenlin to lead the third detachment to the Yangtze River in southern Anhui, and the fourth detachment to eastern Anhui.
These four detachments, combined with the Eighth Route Army’s southward troops, gradually developed the later New Fourth Army base areas.
However, Xiang Ying did not listen to the teachers’ and the Central Committee’s resolutions calling for the independence of the New Fourth Army. He did not talk about the line of independence at every meeting, but repeatedly said that “everything passes through the united front and everything is subject to the United Front” proposed by Wang Ming
Su Yuqi’s scolding was questioned and warned by guzhutong every time he took military action against the Japanese aggressors. Comrade Xiangying not only accepted it, but also said that we were undermining the United Front.
Xiangying is an old revolutionary. He is not a fool who can’t tell right from wrong. He did this because military action is a technical issue and the United Front is a line issue.
Technical issues can be discussed, and the route issue can never be compromised. I think this is Xiang Ying’s idea.
By 1940, Xiang Ying had gone too far.
According to Liu Shaoqi’s suggestion, the Central Committee decided to vigorously develop central China, let Xiang Ying and Ye Ting lead the military headquarters across the river to open up a new situation in Central China, and said that pengxuefeng’s headquarters had grown from three companies to 12 regiments, Li Xiannian’s headquarters had grown from hundreds to 9000, and the military headquarters could do the same. Come on.
Xiangying refused directly and instead demanded that all Jiangbei troops of the New Fourth Army be transferred to the south.
On May 4, the central telegraph severely criticized Xiang Ying.
Chen Yi also felt that the friction between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party was becoming more and more serious. It was very dangerous for the military headquarters to stay in Jing County in southern Anhui. He sent people to persuade Xiang Ying to cross the river to the north. Xiang Ying refused.
Chen Yi was furious: “how dare you be so blind. If you don’t want to go to central Anhui and don’t want to come to Maoshan, Gu Zhutong will beat you one day.”
Since you Xiang Ying won’t go, I, Chen Yi, can go. So Chen Yi and Su Yu commanded the troops to cross the river, fought the Huangqiao battle, and established the northern Jiangsu headquarters of the New Fourth Army.
So far, the headquarters of the New Fourth Army and its subordinate units in southern Anhui have become an isolated army surrounded by 120000 national troops.
Jing County, Southern Anhui
On October 12, the teacher and president Zhu called Xiang Ying and yeting: “the whole South may become a dark world. The military headquarters should cross the river quickly and take east Anhui as the base area. There should be no further delay.”
Xiangying presided over the meeting and agreed to move northward. However, there were difficulties. Yeting and guzhutong need to be sent to discuss the route and military supplies.
Still procrastinating.
On November 13, Xiangying and yeting called the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and said they agreed to go north, but they had great difficulties. Nine days later, he sent a telegram and said, “our opinion is that we can’t take action in the short term. If it is estimated that there will be fighting, we might as well stay in southern Anhui.”
As the signs of the government’s action became more and more obvious, the best time for the military headquarters to cross the north had been missed.
On December 13, Xiang Ying also found the problem. Some of them were uncertain, so they sent a telegram to the teacher: “it is difficult to cross the North quickly at present. What should we do?”
The teacher was angry and told you to cross the river to the north. You didn’t listen. Now that you found the problem, you threw the pot and asked our opinions. What have you done? He called back the next day and ordered the headquarters of the New Fourth Army to complete the northward movement before the end of the month.
The headquarters of the New Fourth Army led by Xiang Ying still did not move.
On December 26, the teacher sent a critical telegram to Xiang Ying:
“You have repeatedly asked the Central Committee for guidelines in the face of difficulties, but the Central Committee gave you the guidelines a year ago, but you have never implemented them. We do not know what guidelines you want us to indicate, and whether you have your own guidelines. It seems that you have no definite idea and have no direction. You will suffer heavy losses in the future.”
At this point, Xiang Ying knew that she could not drag on and had to cross the river to the north.
After a series of meetings, arrangements and discussions, on January 4, 1941, Xiang Ying and Ye Ting, together with the headquarters of the New Fourth Army and more than 9000 troops in southern Anhui, moved north. Three days later, they were ambushed by the national army, and the “Southern Anhui Incident” took place.
The southern Anhui army of the new fourth army fought with the national army for eight days. Most of the officers and soldiers were killed. Yeting went down the mountain to negotiate and was detained. Xiangying, yuanguoping, zhouzikun and others left the team for a while. They found that there were enemies everywhere and there was no place to run. They returned to the army. On March 14, they were shot and killed by traitors in their sleep.
Here is a question. Why did Xiangying refuse to cross the river and go north and insist on staying in the south of the Yangtze River?
There are two reasons.
On the one hand, Xiang Ying’s army in southern Anhui is the only armed force in the hands of the international faction. Xiang Ying’s stay in the south of the Yangtze River far away from the emperor Tiangao can be the force backing of Wang Ming and other international faction, so that the international faction can speak with confidence.
After the long march to northern Shaanxi, some members of the international school separated from Wang Ming to support the teachers, but Xiang Ying never let up. That’s why.
He had soldiers in his hands, and there was no retreat.
On the other hand, it is selfish.
In November, 1940, the general headquarters of the Eighth Route Army of the New Fourth Army in Central China was established, which is responsible for the unified leadership of the New Fourth Army and the Eighth Route Army in the south of the Longhai Railway and the north of the Yangtze River. Ye Ting was appointed as the General Commander, Liu Shaoqi as the political commissar, Chen Yi as the Deputy General Commander and laichuanzhu as the chief of staff. It has jurisdiction over the northern Jiangsu headquarters of the New Fourth Army, the northern Jiangbei headquarters of the New Fourth Army, the Henan Hubei advance column and the fourth and fifth columns of the Eighth Route Army.
This headquarters has no place for Xiang Ying at all.
The Subei headquarters are owned by Chenyi and Suyu, the Jiangbei headquarters are owned by zhangyunyi, xuhaidong and luobinghui, the Henan Hubei advance column is owned by lixiannian, the fourth column of the Eighth Route Army is owned by pengxuefeng, and the fifth column is owned by huangkecheng. Similarly, there is no position for Xiangying’s troops.
I think Xiang Ying is worried that after crossing the river and going north, he will lose the leadership of the army and become politically marginalized, so he wants to stay in Jiangnan and support his troops.
For these two reasons, Xiang Ying always refused to cross the river to the north.
The “Southern Anhui Incident” could have been avoided, but because of selfishness, it eventually killed 9000 troops in southern Anhui and Xiang Ying himself.
V
Looking back on Xiang Ying’s life, from a passionate leader of the labor movement to a military officer who was full of foresight and self-respect, there were both occasional and inevitable changes.
His political ability was extremely strong, which made him famous in the first half of his life. His military ability was extremely strong, which directly led to the outcome of the second half of his life.
Xiang Ying, who was born as a worker, and zhangguotao, who was born as an intellectual, started from a different starting point, but eventually embarked on the same path.
They both came to the same goal by different paths because they were too selfish.
As a reference for Xiangying and zhangguotao, it should be xuhaidong, who has never met but “knows and respects the central government”. Whether before or after his death, xuhaidong is the most positive figure in the history of history. Xiangying and zhangguotao can only serve as a backdrop for others.
Man’s path is his own.
It’s nothing more than that the public and the private have been for a long time.