1932: Playing with the Japanese Communist Party with a doll

"Although you and Yang Hucheng have reached a series of agreements that are very beneficial to us, he is still a warlord at heart. If we act too actively, it will likely cause his dissatisfaction and affect the relationship between the two sides..."

Seeing that Li Desheng did not reprimand him, Meng Yongqian became more blunt:

"If our Party wants to gain a firm foothold in Shaanxi and truly develop, Yang Hucheng's support is absolutely indispensable in the early and middle stages. Therefore, we should maintain a respectful and low-key attitude towards him, rather than provoking him;"

"So, I think, at least in Shaanxi, we should continue to develop our power in secret rather than putting all our relationships out in the open, so as to avoid being too passive when unexpected events occur in the future;"

"h,

This guy has taken into account the possibility of a falling out between the two sides...

Ignoring UMP45's warning look of "If you dare to smoke, I will complain to you", Li Desheng lit a cigarette and began to think.

In fact, he also had this idea in his mind, but he had not conducted any systematic research and had not said it out loud.

After arriving in Shaanxi, Li Desheng was surprised by Yang Hucheng's attitude, and he also thought that he should get along with the other party in a friendly manner while developing his own strength.

Not only that, Shao Zilii, chairman of the Gansu Provincial Government, was once a member of the Communist Party of China. Although he has left the party, his attitude towards the Communist Party is still relatively good. We should establish a good relationship with him instead of attacking him.

After the great victory in Wuhan, Li Desheng keenly discovered one thing: blind optimism was generally on the rise both inside and outside the Party.

Putting aside the fact that some of the Red Fourth Front Army’s troops were beginning to show signs of arrogance, this can be seen simply through the telegrams exchanged with the Party Central Committee and the many orders and documents issued;

For example, in the telegram, while the Party Central Committee praised him in various ways, it also consulted him, hoping that he could write an article on the issues concerning the national revolutionary situation.

Li Desheng could see that someone was hoping to get confirmation and endorsement from him that "the revolutionary situation is very good," so that they could start the revolutionary movement vigorously again.

For example, the Central Committee issued documents such as "Resolution on Carrying out Guerrilla Movement and Creating the Northern Soviet Area" and "Resolution on Creating the New Soviet Area in the Shaanxi-Gansu Border Area and the 26th Red Army" (the "August 1st Directive") to the Shaanxi Provincial Committee.

Without exception, the content is full of busy optimism. The implicit meaning is that Wuhan has won a great victory, the revolutionary situation is on the rise, the Red Army's strength has greatly increased, and we should take advantage of the opportunity to do this and that.

But Li Desheng doesn't see it that way.

Just as Meng Yongqian said, up to now, the balance of power between the KMT and the CPC has not changed substantially, with the KMT still being strong and the CPC still being weak.

The reactionaries still held the majority, the Soviet base areas were still fragile, the CCP and the Red Army were still weak, and relations with the Soviet Union were still not properly handled...

It is true that it is necessary to seize the opportunity to develop a base, but it is pure dreaming to blindly believe that the Communist Party of China can overthrow the Kuomintang and unify China at this time.

Even with the support of the World Revolutionary Party, it won't work!

Uh... okay, maybe it is possible;

However, Comrade Shiwu made it very clear that over-reliance on external forces without focusing on strengthening its own strength will only turn the CCP into a useless party, so the World Revolutionary Party can only support it from behind and will not take action personally.

Meng Yongqian's suggestion is indeed very reasonable...

The CCP should not take advantage of this opportunity to expand recklessly. Instead, it should seize the time to rectify its internal affairs, cultivate its inner strength, and act when the time is right.

After thinking for a while, Li Desheng gave his answer:

"Well, don't rush to convey the document. Let's talk to Liu Zhidan and other local comrades in Shaanxi first. If it's truly inappropriate, we'll revise it."

After all, Li Desheng is no longer the Li Desheng he used to be. Although he thinks this is the right thing to do, he knows that he must gain the approval of the majority of people, otherwise all his ideas will be in vain.

The central government's document had just been prepared and sent to him, and he had not yet had time to countersign it, so it was not considered effective. As the "second in command", he had the right to raise objections to the central government, and if the central government agreed, he could make revisions;

In fact, the decision was made at a meeting on August 1, but it has not yet been issued in the form of a formal document. The central government may have also considered this.

After giving Meng Yongqian his instructions, Li Desheng subconsciously asked, "Comrade Shiwu, do you have any opinions?"

Although they asked, it was just out of courtesy, because UMP45 rarely speaks on the internal affairs of the CCP now.

However, this time, I got a response:

"Well, I do have a few questions for Comrade Meng Yongqian." "Huh?"

Meng Yongqian looked at UMP45 in surprise, curious about what this person, whose identity was so mysterious he wasn't even qualified to know, wanted to ask:

"Please tell me."

"Comrade Meng, you studied economics, right?"

"Yes, Comrade Ma, I graduated from the Economics Department of Yenching University."

Although this degree was considered among China's top elite talents at that time, Meng Yongqian did not dare to show off in front of UMP45.

Even though he had just arrived, he knew that this woman, who was as beautiful as a fairy and whose style of speaking and doing things was completely different from others, was a legendary figure in the army and was known as "omniscient and omnipotent."

"Well, since you're an economics major, why didn't you mention anything about economic and livelihood arrangements when Comrade Li Desheng asked you about how to carry out the work of the Provincial Party Committee?"

"what?"

Meng Yongqian was stunned for two seconds before he reacted. He said in embarrassment: "Comrade Ma, maybe it's not appropriate to talk about this now?"

It is no exaggeration to say that the CCP still has almost no territory in Shaanxi. Even Xie and Liu's troops can only be regarded as bandits, being chased and beaten by various nationalist troops including Yang Hucheng.

In this situation, what is the point of talking about “economy and people’s livelihood”?

Let's save ourselves first! Revolutionary work is the top priority!

Comrade Ma, isn't he thinking too far ahead too soon?

Meng Yongqian thought so, but Li Desheng, who was more familiar with UMP45, knew that this was not what he meant.

At least, it means more than that.

"Comrade Shiwu, when you ask about economic and livelihood issues, what problems do you want to point out?"

ee3,

Wow... As expected of him. So sensitive.

"Yes, Comrade Li Desheng."

UMP45 nodded:

"I asked this question because I saw anxiety, confusion, and lack of confidence in Comrade Meng Yongqian's speech."

"Not... not confident?"

Meng Yongqian and Li Desheng couldn't help but look at each other, both showing confused expressions.

I don’t think I/Comrade Meng Yongqian lacks confidence! “Yes, not confident.”

"How...do you say that?"

"First, we immediately informed local Party organizations of the great victory in Wuhan. It may seem encouraging, but it's precisely because the situation before was so dire that you were all affected, that's why we need to encourage you..."

Seeing that Li and Meng both wanted to talk, UMP45 waved her hand:

"I know that people are fragile and often need encouragement from good news like this, but truly strong people wouldn't take such small victories to heart..."

",

Tiny...tiny victories...

Meng Yongqian was stunned, and Li Desheng sighed secretly.

From the perspective of the World Revolutionary Party, which has global reach, the "Wuhan Victory" that shocked the entire country might actually be quite insignificant, right?

"Of course, this isn't the main issue. The main issue is that when asked about Shaanxi Province's future work arrangements, you only talked about organizational development, Party building, and military development, and barely mentioned anything about people's livelihoods and the economy."

"Comrade Ma, you should know that there are almost no bases in Shaanxi Province within our control. It seems meaningless to discuss people's livelihood and economic work at this time."

"In reality, it might not make much sense. After all, we don't even have a stable base, so it seems too early to talk about development. But..."

UMP45 shook her finger:

"However, this reflects the mentality of you and many party members and cadres."

"It's a question of mentality? What is mentality?"

"You can think of it as your true inner thoughts reflected when you do something, especially those thoughts that you don't express out loud, which can also be called subconscious."

3,

subconscious..

Li Desheng's heart moved.

"Comrade Shiwu, just tell me straight up! What exactly is the problem?"

"Comrade Li Desheng, haven't you noticed that all your plans and intentions so far have been based on 'defeating the Kuomintang and defeating the reactionaries'?"

"...Is there something wrong with this?"

"Have you ever thought about how you would govern such a vast country as China if you were in the Kuomintang's position?"

"Uh..."

Before Meng Yongqian could react, Li Desheng already understood: "What if we were the ruling party instead of the opposition?"

"Yes, if you are already the ruling party that has unified all of China, then what should you do when you take office as the provincial party secretary? Have you ever thought about the problem in this way?"

e3

Li Meng and the others were stunned.

Obviously, they didn't think so.

"So this is the problem. The way the opposition thinks is completely different from the way the ruling party thinks, and the results they bring are also completely different."

UMP45 snapped her fingers:

"I think that at this point, it's time for the CCP to change its mindset..."

Even if they win the battle in Wuhan, deep down, most of the CCP members still regard themselves as the weak.

It doesn’t matter whether we are weak or not. After all, the enemy is strong and we are weak is just a state that can be slowly transformed. The problem is that this state has greatly affected the mentality of the entire CCP.

A somewhat exaggerated description is:

I am in the opposition party. The only thing I have to do is to do everything possible to defeat the Kuomintang/Japanese/reactionaries. Everything else can be put on the back burner.

Therefore, all work in the Soviet area was centered on "revolutionary struggle", "military hostility" and "armed separatism".

Is there anything wrong with that?

Of course it's about seeking truth from facts, of course it's about prioritizing, of course it's right. You can't run before you've learned to walk, right?

However, this long-term situation has caused the CCP to lag behind in talent cultivation, organizational construction, national construction, economic construction, and people's livelihood work.

It’s not that they are not doing well, but that they are unable to adjust their mindset to the “one country, one chessboard” approach.

for example.

Historically, in 1945, just after the end of the Anti-Japanese War, people still believed in peace. In 1948, when the Kuomintang government was almost defeated, many CCP members actually believed that they should make peace with the Kuomintang and establish a coalition government!

In addition to considerations based on "international factors," "public opinion factors," and "public appeals" ("May 1st slogans"), many people really think this way!

Some senior officials even believed that the armed struggle should be abandoned and began to call for "peace"!

This is different from the capitulationism of some people during the Korean War who clamored that "going to war with the Americans would undoubtedly lead to defeat." This is not about surrendering to the Kuomintang;

Rather, it is their long-term status as an opposition party that has limited their thinking. They feel that it is not easy to get to this point today, and they should "quit while they are ahead."

This trend of thought and voice did not subside until after the three major battles. To be honest, it is not their fault. Even Li Desheng himself believed before November 1948 that it would take at least until 1951 or even 1952 to eliminate Chiang Kai-shek!

Because of this, before changing its mindset, almost all of the CCP’s work revolved around “how to defeat the Kuomintang,” and its exploration in other areas was naturally “lagging behind” a lot.

(To be fair – no matter how many mistakes the CCP has made, it is still ten thousand times stronger than the reactionary, useless KMT.)

Long-term military struggle and intra-party struggle can easily restrict people's thinking.

Historically, Meng Yongqian, a top graduate of Yenching University's Economics Department, failed to see the necessity of "unified purchase and marketing," "rural cooperatives," and "prioritized development of heavy industry," and even wrote a letter in his real name opposing Li Desheng!

In the end, Li Desheng was forced to step in personally and give a speech to the party about the principles of "great benevolence" and "small benevolence". He took off several hats and barely suppressed the opposition.

Again, the limitations of history have led many people to make mistakes, including Li Desheng himself;

Those who come later, standing at the lower reaches of history, will wantonly urinate on the upper reaches, and in the end they will end up urinating on themselves.

However, now that the "World Revolutionary Party" has intervened, things are different.

Although military struggle is still important, it would be a joke if the "People's Liberation Army" that is undergoing crazy and comprehensive evolution cannot defeat the Kuomintang and warlord forces at this stage - which are in disarray.

Therefore, economic development, people's livelihood development, and cultural development must be given equal importance. Only by accumulating experience from now on can we build a better country in the future.

Since we have to make mistakes, the cost of doing so during the revolutionary stage will always be much lower than after the founding of the People's Republic of China.

No one in this era understood better than Mark the extent of the harm that could be caused by being forced to accept a bunch of counter-revolutionaries and hidden rebels into the party and the government due to insufficient preparation.

and and,

After hearing UMP45's explanation, Meng Yongqian was surprised. He didn't know where she got such confidence from.

But Li Desheng, who knew the "inside story" of the World Revolutionary Party, remained silent.