Chapter 64 Creating a deception scheme to deceive Zhang Guotao, involving Zhang Hao 1935-1936

Journalist: “After Zhang Hao returned from Moscow to Yan’an, he forged an imperial decree to proclaim you as the leader. Later, Zhang Hao died under mysterious circumstances. What happened?”

Mao: “In 1936, Zhang Hao’s forged Moscow imperial decree was a scam, designed to elevate me as the leader. I participated in creating this scam. However, fearing that the deception would be exposed and my credibility would be undermined, I secretly dealt with Zhang Hao. It was announced to the public that Zhang Hao died of illness at the young age of 45, but in reality, he was poisoned to silence him.”

Journalist: “Did you use Zhang Hao to create the deception and deceive Zhang Guotao into going north?”

Mao: “Yes, on the night of September 10, 1935, I secretly departed and headed north. On October 5, 1935, Zhang Guotao held a meeting of 3,000 people in Sichuan and established a new Central Committee, declaring my departure as illegal. At that time, Zhang Guotao had 80,000 followers, while I had only a little over 6,000. We were in contact via telegrams, each urging the other to meet and join forces. I used Zhang Hao (Lin Yuying), the liaison sent by the Soviet Union, to create the deception.”

In mid-December 1935, I had a secret meeting with Zhang Hao to conspire and deceive Zhang Guotao. On December 22, 1935, Zhang Hao sent his first telegram to Zhang Guotao, advising him to avoid sharp internal debates. Meanwhile, on January 1, 1936, I sent a telegram to Zhu De, falsely claiming that I had established contact with the International, declaring it a great victory. On January 6, 1936, Zhang Guotao responded with a telegram, stating that he would follow the instructions of the Communist International. On January 16, Zhang Hao sent his second telegram to Zhang Guotao, falsely claiming that he was sent by the Communist International to resolve the issues of the First and Fourth Front Armies, and that he had the means to communicate with the International. However, in reality, Zhang Hao was merely a messenger sent by the Communist International to convey the spirit of the 7th Congress and had no direct means of contacting the International after arriving in northern Shaanxi.

On January 22, 1936, the Central Committee of the Party in northern Shaanxi made a decision to sever ties with Zhang Guotao and demanded the cancellation of the Second Central Committee.

On January 23, Zhu De telegraphed Zhang Wen Tian, proposing the Yuan-Zhang Agreement, in which an international delegation would temporarily assume the leadership of the Central Committee.

On January 24, I instructed Zhang Hao, in the guise of a representative of the Communist International, to send a third telegram to Zhang Guotao and Zhu De, declaring the assumption of temporary central leadership and identifying himself as a representative of the Communist International.

In late May 1936, Zhang Guotao sent his final telegram to Zhang Hao, seeking verification: whether he was indeed in constant communication with the Internationa and how the International represented the Central Committee.

After not receiving a response, Zhang Guotao gave up his resistance.

On May 30, 1936, he cancelled the Second Central Committee, and on June 6, he officially announced the cancellation of the Party Central Committee, replacing it with the Northwest Bureau of the Central Committee.

On June 16, 1936, the Central Committee in northern Shaanxi established genuine telegraphic communication with the Communist International, this time is real.

Zhang Guotao did not see through my deception. In October 1936, he led the Red Army to northern Shaanxi. After he surrendered, I became the Chairman of the Central Military Commission in December 1936, gaining full control over the command of the Red Army.

By the end of 1936, Zhang Wentian had a conversation with Zhang Guotao, suggesting that Zhang Hao had some mental issues and that his previous words could not be trusted. It implied that his proclamation of the imperial decree was a scam. Zhang Guotao pressed on, questioning if the telegrams he had sent also could not be trusted. Zhang Wentian evaded the question and did not provide a clear answer.

During the Rectification Movement in Yan’an in March 1942, fearing that Zhang Hao’s scam would be exposed, I instructed for him to be “dead due to illness” and had him poisoned to silence him. He died at the age of 45.