In late 1930, he was commissioned as commanding officer of the 18th Division, fought with the Red Army in the first Encirclement Campaign. On December 30, he lost the battle against the Red Army and was captured. On January 28, 1931, he was decapitated by the angry crowds. His head was thrown into the Gan River, the National Revolutionary Army salvaged his head and buried him at Yuelu Mountain, in northwestern Changsha. In reprisal, the National government killed more than one hundred Communist political prisoners in Nanchang, capital of Jiangxi province.