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How did Lin Biao build support among peasants in Manchuria?

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Lin Biao, Zhou Enlai, and other Chinese officials stand in uniform, holding up Little Red Books during a 1967 Red Guard rally in China. — Lin Biao At a 1967 Red Guard rally, Lin Biao (left) and Zhou Enlai publicly display copies of *The Little Red Book*.

In Manchuria, Lin Biao built support among the peasantry by employing a strategy that prioritized securing the countryside over holding urban centers. By abandoning the cities to the Nationalists, Lin was able to focus his efforts on the rural population, where he utilized guerrilla warfare to methodically weaken his numerically superior enemy.1

This approach was complemented by the broader communist practice of maintaining a Spartan lifestyle that remained close to the common people, bolstered by effective propaganda and political indoctrination. Furthermore, the communists initiated land reform in 1946, which involved redistributing land among the peasants and eliminating the power of landlords. These efforts were instrumental in transforming his forces from an initial strength of 100,000 to 800,000 by the end of 1948, ultimately allowing him to capture all of Manchuria.231