Facing a counter-attack from the Nationalists, the Communists decided to retreat towards the province of Guangdong to the south. Once there, they would try to take over the city of Guangzhou while spreading influence to the peasants and farms in that area. He Long strongly opposed this idea. He accurately pointed out that marching a thousand miles in the heat of summer would put a severe strain on the troops. He also pointed out that the popular support for the communists in Guangdong was merely a fraction of the huge peasantry support in Hunan. In the opinion of He Long, the new communist base should be established in the border region of Hunan. He suggested that in Hunan the communist troops would be easily resupplied and their troops strengthened by the enlistment of the local populace. However, He Long's suggestion was vetoed. Guangzhou was the target set by Comintern and, on August 3, the communist troops pulled out of Nanchang and began the march to Guangzhou. The communists would pay the ultimate price for their blunder during the Guangzhou Uprising. However, an insurrection in Hunan was not a success either.
Around the beginning of October, the Communist troops were in Chaozhou, Chaoshan area where they were defeated by the Nationalist troops. The Communists were separated and went in two general directions, one retreated to Shanwei and engaged the Nationalists in guerrilla warfare, and the other went to southern Hunan and eventually joined Mao Zedong's forces.
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