Chapter 74 Commander Xu led the troops to set up a fortress to resist 1967

Journalist: Did you go to Shanghai to find Xu Shiyu?

Mao: Yes, when I arrived in Shanghai, I asked Zhang Chunqiao where Commander Xu had gone. He told me that he had taken over ten thousand troops and went to Jinjiazhai in Anhui, declaring armed separatism and opposition to the Cultural Revolution. I asked Zhang to bring Commander Xu back to Shanghai.”

Journalist: Did you save Xu Shiyu in 1936?

Mao: “Yes, I was certain that I could bring Xu Shiyu under control. I remember in 1936, during the period of rectification of Zhang Guotao’s Red Fourth Army, I almost had him executed. He was indeed a fierce and tough person. He said that Zhang Guotao criticized Mao Zedong without criticizing a single soldier, and now Mao Zedong is criticizing Zhang Guotao, including all the soldiers. When he saw me, he immediately became an enraged lion, wearing shackles and handcuffs, and even wanted to come and fight me, cursing: ‘Mao, you son of a bitch, I have a gun, and today I’ll kill you, you worthless dog. You’re not even worth a single hair of Zhang Guotao!’ I decided to execute them. Before the execution, Luo Ruiqing reported to me that Xu Shiyu had three demands: to have a meal of dog meat, to drink ten bowls of sorghum liquor, and to see me, Mao Zedong, once to ‘discuss’ the matters of the Red Fourth Army.

After thinking it over, I realized that keeping a fierce hero like him might be useful. So I had Luo Ruiqing bring him over. Luo Ruiqing reported again, saying that Xu requested to have his shackles and handcuffs removed and his pistol returned, otherwise he wouldn’t come. When I heard that, I laughed heartily. What a man! Remove the restraints and give back his pistol. When he saw me, he immediately knelt down, handing me the pistol, and said, ‘Seeing you before I die is enough!’ I told Xu Shiyu just one sentence: ‘Xu, you’re a poor man, not a counter-revolutionary.’ Chen Zaidao and Hong Xuezhi, they are not counter-revolutionaries either. The Red Fourth Army is a force of the poor. Now, if you order me to be executed, go ahead!’ I lifted him up with both hands, acknowledged that the severe expansion of the ‘criticize Zhang’ campaign had committed bureaucratic errors, and dismissed it. I ordered Luo Ruiqing to release Chen Zaidao and the others, and arranged a feast in the small hall, where we ate dog meat and drank sorghum liquor. From then on, I recognized Xu Shiyu as a character like Li Kui and Lu Zhishen, a person with courage and strategy.”

Journalist: “Since Xu Shiyu didn’t come, did you ask his wife to come?”

Mao: “Yes, I had Yang Chengwu send two helicopters to invite Xu Shiyu, but he sent his office director, his wife Tian Pu, to see me instead. Why didn’t he come himself? I was annoyed, but I held back and met with his wife. Tian Pu was paving the way for her husband. As soon as she saw me, she complained bitterly. Their home had been searched three times, and two cabinets of Maotai liquor were confiscated. Over ten guns they had kept were taken away. This made Old Xu so angry that he punched the dining table and broke it. His old comrade-in-arms, Navy Commander Tao Yong, was criticized and struggled for seven days and nights until he was killed and thrown into a well. Tao Yong was falsely accused of committing suicide out of fear. Tao Yong’s wife came to Nanjing with their eight children and kneeled in front of Old Xu.

This made Old Xu so angry that he led a group of people out of Nanjing and took refuge in Jinjiazhai, Anhui. He said he wouldn’t be as honest as Chen Zaidao, who went to Beijing when asked to. He knew that Chen Damaizi (referring to Chen Zaidao) went to Beijing, the outcome would be bad. I told him, as a senior member of the Communist Party, how could he go into hiding? I, Mao Zedong, am the big boss. Xu Shiyu is my brother, and if a brother doesn’t come to pay respects, he may not be following Party rules, but he should follow the rules of the jianghu (a term for the world of martial arts). After I said that, Xu Shiyu finally came to Shanghai to see me and ease the situation.

Chen Zaidao indeed suffered from being too honest. As soon as he arrived in Beijing, he became the target of the Cultural Revolution in the Central Committee. Jiang Qing mobilized 3,000 Red Guards to demonstrate at the Jingxi Hotel, demanding to struggle against Chen Zaidao and completely humiliate him. The struggle at the Jingxi Hotel lasted for seven hours. Wu Faxian also got involved and used his fists. It’s no wonder Xu Shiyu said that he wouldn’t be so obedient. If anyone dared to provoke him, he would fight back.”