Chinese Soviet Republic

The communists appeared doomed when attacked by the nationalists. However, Zhou Enlai had planted more than a dozen moles in Chiang Kai-shek's inner circle, including his general headquarters at Nanchang. One of Zhou's most important agents, Mo Xiong (莫雄), was not a communist; however, his contributions saved the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese Red Army.

With recommendations from Chiang Kai-shek's secretary-general Yang Yongtai (楊永泰) (who was unaware of Mo's communist activities), Mo rose in Chiang Kai-shek's regime and became an important member in his general headquarters during the early 1930s. In January 1934, Chiang Kai-shek appointed him administrator and commander-in-chief of the Fourth Special District in northern Jiangxi. Mo used his position to plant more than a dozen communist agents in Chiang's general headquarters, including Liu Yafo (劉亞佛) (who introduced the Chinese Communist Party), Xiang Yunian (項與年) (his communist handler, whom he hired as his secretary) and Lu Zhiying (盧志英) (acting head of the spy ring, under the command of Zhou Enlai).

After successfully besieging the Ruijin area (the CSR capital) and occupying most of the CSR itself, Chiang was confident that he could defeat the communists in a final decisive strike. In late September 1934 he distributed his top-secret "Iron Bucket Plan" to general headquarters at Lushan (the summer substitute for Nanchang), which detailed the final push to annihilate the communist forces. Chiang planned 30 blockade lines supported by 30 barbed wire fences (most electrified) in a 150-kilometre (93 mi) radius around Ruijin to starve the communists. In addition, more than 1,000 trucks were to be mobilized in a rapid-reaction force to prevent a communist breakout. Realizing the certainty of communist annihilation, Mo Xiong (莫雄) handed the several-kilogram document to Xiang Yunian (項與年) the same night—risking his life and those of his family.

With help from Liu Yafo (劉亞佛) and Lu Zhiying (盧志英), communist agents copied the intelligence into four dictionaries and Xiang Yunian (項與年) was tasked with bringing it to the CSR. The trip was hazardous, since the nationalist forces arrested and executed anyone attempting to cross the blockade. Xiang Yunian (項與年) hid in the mountains, knocking out four of his teeth with a rock and causing his face to swell. Disguised as a beggar, he tore off the covers of the four dictionaries and covered them with spoiled food at the bottom of his bag. Crossing several blockade lines, he reached Ruijin on 7 October 1934. The intelligence provided by Mo Xiong (莫雄) convinced the communists in the CSR to abandon their base and retreat before Chiang could reinforce his blockade lines with barbed-wire fences. They mobilized trucks and troops, saving themselves from annihilation.

On 1 February 1932, the Chinese Soviet Republic National Bank was established, with Mao Zemin as president. The CSR Central Mint issued three types of currency: a paper bill, a copper coin and a silver dollar.

A one yuan banknote with Lenin's image in the centre

The Central Mint briefly issued both paper bills and copper coins. Neither circulated for long, primarily because the currency could not be used in the rest of China. The paper bill had "Chinese Soviet Republic National Bank" (中華蘇維埃共和國國家銀行) printed on the bill in traditional Chinese characters and a picture of Vladimir Lenin.

Like the paper bill, copper coins issued by the Central Mint also had "Chinese Soviet Republic" (中華蘇維埃共和國) engraved in traditional Chinese. Since coins last longer than paper bills, these coins were issued (and circulated) in a much greater quantity. However, these coins are rarer than the paper bill; copper was needed for ammunition, and these copper coins were recalled and replaced by silver dollars.

The predominant currency produced by the Central Mint was the silver dollar. Unlike the bills and copper coins, the silver dollars had no communist symbols; they were a copy of silver dollars produced by other mints in China (including the popular coin with the head of Yuan Shikai and the eagle silver dollar of the Mexican peso). This, and the fact that the coin was made of silver, enabled them to be circulated in the rest of China; thus, it was the currency of choice.

When the Chinese Red Army's First Front began its Long March in October 1934, the communist bank was part of the retreating force; fourteen bank employees, over a hundred coolies and a company of soldiers escorted them with the money and mint machinery. An important duty of the bank was, when the Chinese Red Army stayed in a location for longer than a day, to have the local populace exchange communist paper bills and copper coins for currency used in the nationalist-controlled regions to avoid prosecution by the nationalists after the communists left. After the Zunyi Conference it was decided that carrying the entire bank on the march was impractical, and on 29 January 1935, at Tucheng (土城) the bank employees burned all communist paper bills and destroyed the mint machinery. By the end of the Long March in October 1935, only eight of the original fourteen employees were left; the other six had died along the way.

In November 1931, the National Tax Bureau was founded. In 2002, the original building was renovated for the public.

The Directorate General of Chinese Soviet Posts was founded in Ruijin on 1 May 1932.[4] The first stamps were designed by Huang Yaguang and printed lithographically by the Printing House of the Ministry of Finance in Ruijin. White paper or newspaper was used. They were imperforate, and denominated in the Chinese Soviet silver-dollar currency. They are fairly rare, and sought after by collectors. There are also many forgeries and bogus issues imitating early stamps from the communist areas.

The portion of the First Front Red Army engaged in mobile warfare was actually the bulk of the communist force making a general retreat, and was much diminished from its peak of more than 140,000 men. With most of its equipment lost, many Chinese Red Army soldiers were forced to arm themselves with ancient weaponry. According to the Statistical Chart of Field Army Personnel, Weaponry, Ammunition, and Supply' completed by the Chinese Red Army on 8 October 1934 (two days before the Long March began), the Long March forces consisted of:

Combat formations

• Five combat corps, totaling 72,313 men:
  • First Corps (the largest, with 19,880 men)
  • Third Corps
  • Fifth Corps
  • Eighth Corps (the newest and smallest, with 10,922 men)
  • Ninth Corps
• Two columns:
  • Central Committee First Column
  • Central Committee Second Column

The corps and columns had a total of 86,859 men.

Weaponry

The Statistical Chart of Field Army Personnel, Weaponry, Ammunition, and Supply (in the People's Liberation Army Archives) provided weapons and provisions for the Long March. The weapons included:

• Artillery: 39 total
  • Mortars: 38
  • Mountain gun: 1 (originally not included; added later)
• Breech-loading firearms: 33,244 total (with 1,858,156 rounds of ammunition); of these a total of 29,016 were distributed to the five corps, including:
  • Rifles: 25,317
  • Heavy machine guns: 333
  • Light machine guns: 285
  • Submachine guns: 28
  • Handguns: 2,804
• Other weapons included:
  • Lances: 6,101
  • Sabers: 882

Other weapons were also deployed which were not counted. These included:

• Muzzle-loading and smooth-bore muskets
• Flintlock and snaphance guns
• Matchlock and wheellock guns
• Spears and rakes: Later in the Long March, spears were more useful as canes.
• Axes and poles: Later in the Long March, poles were useful as building material and for stretchers.
• Daggers and knives

Provisions included:

• Winter clothing: 83,100 sets
• Horses: 338
• Herbal medicines: 35,700 kg
• Salt: 17,413 kg
• Currency: 1.642 million CSR dollars