Chapter 41 Hanging sheep everywhere, terrifying killings 1928

Mao: “On February 18, 1928, my forces captured the county seat of Ninggang. It was my first time commanding an operation, although I was only observing from the opposite mountain through a telescope. Three days later, I held a ‘Grand Assembly of Ten Thousand People’ to celebrate our victory, and the climax of the assembly was the execution of the captured county magistrate, Zhang Kaiming. At the Workers, Peasants, Merchants, and Soldiers Grand Assembly of Ten Thousand People, we set up a three- pronged gallows, wooden stakes on all sides, ropes in place, and hung up slogans. Everyone used javelins to stab Zhang Kaiming to death, and I gave a speech at the assembly.”

Journalist: “Wow, your first move was capturing the county magistrate and orchestrating a ten-thousand-person assembly to stab him to death. That’s quite intimidating, and terrifying!”

Mao: “That’s exactly what I intended, to create terror and establish authority. Ever since I arrived in the Jinggang Mountains, the ‘Grand Assembly of Ten Thousand People’ became a part of the local life, and such scenes of murder were common during the assembly. When we celebrated the establishment of the Red Political Power in Suichuan County, I wrote a couplet on red paper and placed it on the wooden pillars on both sides of the podium. One side read, ‘In the past, exploiting the workers and peasants was good, benefiting oneself was beneficial,’ and the other side read, ‘Today, killing the wicked landowners, are you afraid or not? Adding knife upon knife.’ After my speech, ‘big wicked landlord’ Guo Weijian was stabbed to death with ‘adding knife upon knife.’

Public executions have a long history, but I added to the spectacle by organizing a mass assembly to witness the killings. It was necessary to attend and witness the organized use of terror. By employing terror in such an organized manner, even bandits couldn’t compare, and it left Yuan Wencai and Wang Zuo frightened, willingly surrendering.”

Journalist: “Wow, you’re even more ruthless than the bandits themselves.

The bandits are in awe of you?”

Mao: “Yes. As soon as I arrived at Jinggang Mountain, I dispatched people to establish contact with the Hunan Provincial Committee in Changsha. Despite being secluded in the deep mountains, I was not cut off from the world and our connection was established within a few days. The Central Committee in Shanghai had already received a series of reports about my ‘Autumn Harvest Uprising.’ However, they realized that I had dismantled the uprising and taken the troops with me. The Central Committee instructed me to go to Shanghai for a meeting. Sensing trouble, I decided not to leave my stronghold and chose to feign deafness. On November 14, 1927, I was expelled from the Political Bureau and the Hunan Provincial Committee.

The Central Committee wanted to seize my power. On December 31, they sent a letter to the Hunan Provincial Committee, accusing me of committing ‘extremely serious political mistakes.’ They demanded the committee to send a ‘responsible comrade’ to convene a large meeting of comrades in the military to discuss the reorganization of the party. If necessary, they were to send a ‘courageous and clear-minded worker comrade’ to serve as the party representative.”

Journalist: “So, the Central Committee saw your actions as those of a bandit and wanted to intervene?”

Mao: “Yes, indeed. However, my ability to command the troops was because I represented the party. Without the authority of the party, the troops would not follow my orders. Perhaps it was by chance, but shortly after the Central Committee issued its directive, the Hunan Provincial Committee was completely wiped out by the Kuomintang, and my issue was left unresolved.”

Journalist: “So, you managed to escape that situation?”

Mao: “Yes. It wasn’t until March 1928 that the first party envoy arrived at Jinggang Mountain, carrying the Central Committee’s decision to dissolve the ‘preparatory committee’ and relieve me of my party responsibilities. However, as they say, ‘the higher the pedestal, the harder the fall.’ I arranged for the central resolution to be communicated only to a few trusted individuals. The party secretary even sent one of my trusted confidants to assume the position, while I acted as the mentor, retaining the actual power.”

Journalist: “Wow, you were quite resourceful, pulling off a switcheroo?”

Mao: “Yes, I still held onto real power. My troops survived by engaging in banditry and robbery in neighboring counties, which we justified as ‘suppressing the landlords.’ The local peasants in Jiangxi didn’t understand the term ‘landlords,’ so they used the terms ‘wealthy individuals’ or ‘rich people’ instead. The locals in Jinggang Mountain referred to suppressing the landlords as ‘hanging sheep’ or ‘taking hostages.’

My activities often made it to the headlines in newspapers, gaining nationwide notoriety. I was commonly known as ‘Mao the bandit.’ The local residents held a deep grudge against us. Once, during a ‘suppress the landlords’ operation, hundreds of villagers stormed in, capturing more than 40 of us and locking us up in a temple. They tied us up, subjected us to beatings and hangings, and even had women trample us with their feet. After the ordeal, they covered us with a grain basket and placed a large stone on top.”

Journalist: “So, the villagers saw you as even worse than regular bandits and took their frustrations out on you?”

Mao: “Yes, the soldiers understood that their lives were not much different from that of bandits. Many of them were reluctant, especially the officers. In December 1927, the commanding officer Chen Hao attempted to take the troops away in Chaling County. When I heard the news, I led my men to pursue and captured Chen Hao, publicly executing him. For me, this was an extremely critical crisis, and I almost lost control of the troops.”

Journalist: “The soldiers didn’t want to become bandits and you suppressed them?”

Mao: “Yes, that’s right. I showed no mercy.”