After meeting Wang Ming, Mao still felt restless and wanted to see Zhang Guotao.

During the Long March, Mao secretly led his forces north, violating military discipline. Zhang Guotao had received reports and chose not to intercept, reasoning “Red Army does not fight Red Army,” letting Mao go. Mao then instructed Ye Jianying to forge a telegram in Zhang’s name, providing a pretext to absolve himself of unauthorized action. Zhang was misled to take the right route, which proved difficult, leaving him stranded in Sichuan while Mao proceeded to Shaanbei to coordinate with Moscow. The following year, Zhang’s troops reached southern Gansu, but Mao blocked Zhang from joining him in Shaanbei, sending Zhou Enlai and Peng Dehuai as negotiators. Zhang, tricked, brought only a small personal guard and temporarily handed command to Peng. From that point, Zhang Guotao’s Fourth Front Army came under Mao’s control, effectively trapped.

Zhang eventually died in Canada and was buried in Toronto’s Pine Hills Cemetery, though his actual body was interred several meters away from the headstone, with his wife later buried alongside in 1994.

Mao’s spirit arrived at Zhang’s grave, and underworld attendants guided him to meet Zhang’s spirit.

Zhang said: “I never expected you to come all this way to such a remote place.”

Mao, flattering, replied: “You were a leader of the First Congress, unforgettable to all.”

Zhang laughed: “Rarely hear you flatter others, but you’ve flattered the wrong horse. The real leader of the First Congress was Chen Duxiu. I only temporarily replaced him; actual leadership is another matter. You were older and already known from student activism at Peking University.”

Mao: “Later, you made contributions to the labor movement, especially after returning from the Soviet Union to build bases in Hubei, Henan, Anhui, Sichuan, and Shaanxi, expanding the Red Army and gaining nationwide fame.”

Zhang admitted: “I did develop the Red Army, but I also committed serious errors. The biggest was excessive purges that wrongfully killed many Red Army cadres, my greatest regret.”

Mao: “Your mistakes may have killed thousands, but in Jiangxi during the AB Group incident, I killed tens of thousands—your errors are minor by comparison.”

Zhang continued: “My fatal error was abandoning my base to join you on the Long March. In 1934, your forced relocation from Jiangxi was unavoidable due to Chiang Kai-shek’s encirclement. My base wasn’t yet under such pressure, so leaving turned us into bandits. Tens of thousands lacked supply, looting locals; survival was hard.”

Mao: “The move to northwest China, connecting with the Soviets, was Moscow’s directive; you were executing orders as well.”

Zhang: “Survival was key. Success was uncertain. Northwest was long and perilous; Moscow’s instructions didn’t preclude my southern base. Being able to survive was the priority.”

Mao: “I thought the same. After the Zunyi Conference, I tried Yunnan, but local warlords resisted. I was forced north into Sichuan, costing four months and 30,000 losses.”

Zhang: “You avoided me in Sichuan. Had we met, I’d have been senior, and you would be junior; you wanted independence. By forcing right-route deviation, I was trapped. Later, after hardships, I reached Shaanbei but was separated from the main force—your command caused my army’s near destruction.”

Mao: “History is written by the victors. I cannot put failure on myself.”

Zhang: “Arriving in Shaanbei, I became isolated, powerless, publicly humiliated, insulted, and struck. In 1938, I used a visit to worship the Yellow Emperor as cover to flee Yan’an, leaving my wife unaware.”

Mao: “You left, relieving me of trouble. I did not tell your wife immediately; she believed it was a secret mission. She was seven months pregnant; I deemed it best not to interfere.”

Zhang: “You let my wife and child go. Later we reunited in Hong Kong and eventually lived peacefully in Canada. Few former top CCP leaders ended on such terms.”

Mao: “I heard you wrote long memoirs. Were they widely read?”

Zhang: “In 1966, a US university commissioned me. Over three years I wrote 900,000 words, strictly factual, no name-calling, all to leave a record for future generations. I needed the fee to retire comfortably in Canada. By 1968, my family settled in Toronto.”

Mao: “You don’t wish for vindication?”

Zhang: “No, my faith and conscience have moved beyond it. Vindication would conflict with my full rejection of my communist past.”

Mao: “You’ve fully renounced your communist path. How do you think China should proceed?”

Zhang: “China’s path erred initially. The Qing Empire wasn’t that bad; its fall led to decades of chaos. After the CCP seized power with Stalin’s support and ruled, disasters ensued for thirty years. Only with Deng Xiaoping’s reforms did basic subsistence stabilize. The start of chaos was overthrowing the Qing.”

Mao: “So what now?”

Zhang: “Now, only the CCP rules. No other political power exists. Incremental reform along Deng Xiaoping’s path, merging traditional Chinese culture with modern civilization, is the only option. My family and I, Christians now, have renounced the past and found peace in faith. Vindication is meaningless; my repentance is complete.”

Mao: “I understand. And all those past strategic conflicts?”

Zhang: “Merely catching up, reminiscing. Whether future generations learn from it is their matter.”

Zhang Guotao then rose and bid farewell.

NEXT: 46. Li Wenlin (1900–1932) and the AB League