Speech at the 34th Session of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee[1]

(July 4, 1927)

The Changsha Incident was He Jian’s seizure of power from Tang Shengzhi. Tang Shengzhi originally wanted to draw us in to oppose He, but we lacked the strength, so he then roped in He Jian’s subordinates to strike at He; therefore Tang could not strike at Xu Kexiang.

Within the National Revolutionary Army, there are several divisions and armies opposing Chiang Kai-shek. We should promote a split between Tang Shengzhi and He Jian, and draw Tang over to oppose Chiang.

There are two tactics: (1) Reorganize into a pacification army for legal existence—this is truly difficult to accomplish. (2)

[1] Part one of this text is a portion of Mao Zedong’s speech during discussions on the Hunan question; part two is a portion of Mao Zedong’s speech during discussions on the question of allying with Tang Shengzhi to oppose Chiang Kai-shek; part three is a portion of Mao Zedong’s speech on the question of the Provincial Peasant Association’s tactics.

In addition, there remain two paths: (1) go up into the mountains, (2) throw ourselves into the army. Going up into the mountains can create a foundation for military power. If we do not preserve armed force, then when an incident occurs in the future we will have no recourse.