The Leak of the “Iron Barrel Plan” resulted in the miraculous escape of the Red Army; the extraordinary achievements, however, ended in a tragic fate; was Mo Xiong truly a hero, or a criminal?
He was once a loyal follower of Sun Yat-sen, a senior general of the Kuomintang, even Chiang Kai-shek had to show him respect; yet he became the Communist Party’s “savior”, even Mao Zedong had to personally thank him.
Who is he? His name is Mo Xiong, a figure who went from a cowherd in Guangdong to a major general in the Kuomintang, to a “old friend, old comrade” of the Communist Party. Was his choice a heroic feat, or a misguided path? Let’s listen to his story.
Born in 1891 in a poor rural family in Guangdong, Mo Xiong was a cowherd in his childhood, enduring hardships under the scorching sun. However, with his strong physique and a stroke of luck, he was chosen by a Catholic church in Guangdong to work as a cook’s assistant. Despite the humble nature of this job, it exposed Mo Xiong to the outside world and ignited the revolutionary spark within him.
As a young man, Mo Xiong witnessed the corruption and incompetence of the Qing government, feeling a deep concern for the country and its people. At the age of 16, he decisively joined the Revolutionary Alliance founded by Sun Yat-sen, embarking on the path of revolution. He was not a mere armchair strategist, but a true warrior who risked his life in the Qing’s New Army to pave the way for the revolution.
From the Wuchang Uprising to the Huanghuagang Uprising, from defending the nation against warlords to fighting against Chen Jiongming… Mo Xiong played a role in these key historical battles. Rising from an ordinary soldier to becoming a brigade commander and division commander in the Guangdong Army, he became known as “Brother Mo” in the Kuomintang. Despite his short stature, he was brave and skilled in battles, a true “Tiger General” on the battlefield!
In 1925, during Sun Yat-sen’s first Eastern Expedition, Mo Xiong’s military achievements brought him fame. It was during this time that he befriended members of the Communist Party such as Zhou Enlai and Ye Jianying. Sun Yat-sen’s “ally with Russia, be lenient towards the Communists” policy led to a brief cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, laying the groundwork for Mo Xiong’s future transformation.
In 1925, after Sun Yat-sen’s passing, turmoil erupted within the Kuomintang. Chiang Kai-shek gained leadership of the Guangdong Army, disarming Mo Xiong’s forces and forcing him to retreat to Macau, temporarily stepping out of the political stage.
In 1930, Mo Xiong arrived in Shanghai and followed Song Ziwen. Here, he came into contact with the Communist Party’s Special Operations Department, known as the “Special Department.” This secretive organization was dedicated to intelligence and united front work, and swiftly identified Mo Xiong as a key target. Members of the Special Department frequently contacted him, instilling in him the “beautiful vision” of communism.
Under the influence of these ideas, Mo Xiong began to waver. He came to believe that communism was an “upgrade” of Sun Yat-sen’s Three Principles of the People, capable of realizing true nationalism, democracy, and livelihood for China!
In 1930, he voluntarily proposed to join the Communist Party, but the leader of the Special Department, Li Kengnong, said: “You have seniority and connections within the Kuomintang, it would be more beneficial for you to stay outside rather than join us!”
Although he did not formally join the party, Mo Xiong’s heart had already fully leaned towards the Communist Party. Li Kengnong gave him two instructions: first, do your best to help the party with what it needs from you; second, proactively do things that you believe are beneficial to the party.
Mo Xiong engraved these two sentences in his heart, thus setting foot on an irreversible path.
In 1933, Mo Xiong went to Nanchang to meet an old friend, Yang Yongtai, who was then Secretary-General of Chiang Kai-shek’s Nanchang Campaign Headquarters, and recounted his long-standing unemployment difficulties. Yang Yongtai, out of old friendship, recommended him as the Administrative Inspector and Security Commander of the Fourth District of Jiangxi Province, also serving as the county magistrate of Dean. What’s more, Yang gave him two blank organization forms to freely recruit personnel.
For Mo Xiong, this was truly a heaven-sent opportunity! He hurried to Shanghai, found the Communist Party contact, and boldly said, “If you trust me, send Communist Party members to work with me! I’ll be the commander, you’ll be the subordinates. He’ll suppress communists, I’ll suppress Chiang!”
And thus, the Jiangxi Fourth District Anti-Communist Security Command that Mo Xiong formed had a majority of Communist Party members among its 90 members. He even sent some Communist Party members to the Kuomintang’s advanced special agent training class, and introduced ten people to Chiang Kai-shek’s Nanchang Campaign Headquarters to gather intelligence around Chiang Kai-shek.
To gain Chiang Kai-shek’s trust, Mo Xiong and the Communist Party cooperated in staging a play. Dean was originally an area where the Communist Party was active, but to help Mo Xiong gain merit, the Communist Party temporarily ceased public activities, creating the impression that the “Communist bandits” had disappeared. As a result, Chiang Kai-shek praised Mo Xiong as “first in performance evaluation” and even publicly commended him!
Mo Xiong’s biggest contribution to the Communist Party occurred in 1933. That year, Chiang Kai-shek gathered a million troops, preparing for the Fifth Encirclement Campaign against the Central Soviet Area in Jiangxi. This time, he adopted the “Iron Barrel Encirclement Plan” proposed by German military experts – advancing step by step, vowing to annihilate the Communist Red Army!
Chiang Kai-shek was confident in this plan, but to his dismay, after attending a military meeting, Mo Xiong directly leaked the entire plan to the Communist Party!
This intelligence was like a bolt from the blue, forcing Mao Zedong and others to immediately decide to flee. This hasty escape had no plan, no preparation, not even a clear destination, yet the Communist Party glorified it as the “Long March.”
Mao, who narrowly escaped, later said with lingering fear, “Comrades handling intelligence have merits!” It can be said that without Mo Xiong’s intelligence, the Communist Party might not exist today.
Upon learning that the main force of the Red Army had escaped, Chiang Kai-shek was furious and ordered a thorough investigation to find the leak. But Mo Xiong’s disguise was too good, Chiang Kai-shek never suspected him, instead appointing him as the Commissioner of Inspection and Security Commander in Bijie, Guizhou, to eliminate the local Red Army wounded.
Mo Xiong repeated his tactics, again passing on information, allowing around 7,000 to 8,000 Red Army wounded to relocate. He even deliberately led his troops to evade, enabling He Long’s Second and Sixth Army Corps to escape under circumstances of being besieged on three sides and entering Bijie city for more than half a month without a shot fired!
However, Mo Xiong’s double-dealing could not remain concealed forever. Intelligence personnel from the Central Police reported his actions, enraging Chiang Kai-shek, who arrested him on charges of “communicating with the Communists.” Local public opinion in Guizhou erupted, with “Guizhou Review” calling for a severe penalty against Mo Xiong.
Yet, with his deep connections within the Kuomintang and a decent relationship with Chiang Kai-shek, along with some senior officers’ intercessions, he was released unscathed after 150 days in detention without trial or sentencing! Nevertheless, Chiang Kai-shek’s trust in him had been completely shattered, never to be reinstated.
In 1938, with the fall of Guangzhou, Mo Xiong was appointed as the Commander of the North Jiang Advance Vertical Brigade of the Fourth War Zone. He reverted to his old ways, swiftly cooperating with the local Communist Party, inserting a large number of Communists into the forces, ranging from deputy commanders to ordinary intelligence agents, almost entirely constituting members of the Communist Party!
After the victory of the war against Japan in 1947, Mo Xiong was reassigned as the county magistrate of Yingde in October 1947, and promoted to the Administrative Inspector Commissioner for the Second District of Guangdong in 1948. During this period, he provided urgently needed supplies such as firearms and ammunition to the local Communist guerrilla forces free of charge, while delaying and neglecting orders from the Kuomintang for “suppression” operations.
Mo Xiong’s Communist activities were constantly reported. In 1949, even senior Kuomintang officers who had vouched for him, such as Xue Yue, suspected Mo Xiong of being a Communist Party member. The military commander Hu Changqing, who also served as the commander of the Guangzhou Garrison, issued the order to “Mo Xiong is the chief bandit of Beijiang, execute him on sight.” Upon learning of this, Mo Xiong fled to Hong Kong.
After the Communist Party seized power, Mao Zedong directed Ye Jianying, then the First Secretary of the Central South Bureau of the Communist Party, to find out about Mo Xiong’s whereabouts, stating that he was an “old friend, old comrade” of the Communist Party. Upon learning that Mo Xiong was in Hong Kong, Ye Jianying sent someone bearing his own handwritten letter to invite Mo Xiong to return to China.
In 1951, Mo Xiong returned to the mainland and was appointed as the Director of the North Jiang Security Committee, later transferred to the position of Councillor in the Department of Guangdong. However, his fortunes did not last long.
That same year, amidst the Communist Party’s land reform and anti-counterrevolutionary movements, Mo Xiong’s identity as a Kuomintang major general was exposed. During his interrogation by local public security, he remained silent like he had taken a “silencing pill.” Out of anger, public security officers classified him as a counter-revolutionary, preparing for a public trial and execution!
At the critical moment, Communist Party intelligence personnel he had once cooperated with received the news and urgently contacted Ye Jianying. Ye Jianying personally called Tao Zhu, the Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee at the time, requesting to “spare him,” on the grounds that Mo Xiong had once saved one hundred thousand Red Army soldiers. As a result, Mo Xiong’s life was spared.
In 1956, on behalf of Li Kengnong, messengers were sent to escort Mo Xiong to Beijing to witness the Communist Party celebrations. However, fate once again played a trick on him.
During the Anti-Rightist Movement of 1957, he was almost labeled as a rightist. During the Cultural Revolution, he was branded as the “chief spy of South China,” subjected to criticism, forced labor, and parading through the streets, suffering physically and mentally.
After the end of the Cultural Revolution, Mo Xiong was “rehabilitated.” He expressed his gratitude and even submitted an application to join the Communist Party, yet the Communist Party never accepted him. In 1979, Mo Xiong was elected as a member of the fifth National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, a member of the central committee of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Guomindang, and the vice chairman of the Political Consultative Conference of Guangdong Province. In 1980, he passed away in Guangzhou.
Until his death, the Communist Party never embraced him. Perhaps the Communist Party thought it was more useful to keep such a senior member of the Kuomintang than to have another ordinary Communist Party member.
Mo Xiong’s life was filled with contradictions and tragedies. He followed Sun Yat-sen, embracing the Three Principles of the People, yet believing in communism to achieve the republic and equality for all. However, during his 31-year tenure under the Communist Party, did he truly see the truth?
The Communist Party’s dictatorship ran counter to the word “republic”; the livelihood of the Chinese people has yet to achieve “equality for all.” The Communist Party persecuted him for decades yet demanded his gratitude.
Mo Xiong was like many Kuomintang individuals deceived by the lies of the Communist Party. They left the Kuomintang only to jump into a bigger trap. They believed they were pursuing ideals, yet unknowingly became historical criminals.
– “The Truth of a Century” Production Team