Hu was one of the youngest veterans of the Long March. Once Mao was removed from power, shortly before the beginning of the Fourth Encirclement Campaign, Mao's supporters were persecuted, and Hu Yaobang was sentenced to death. Just before the beginning of the Long March, he and others were on their way to be beheaded. However, a powerful local communist commander named Tan Yubao intervened at the last minute, saving Hu's life. Because of Hu's support of Mao, he was deemed unreliable and ordered to join the Long March so that he could be placed under surveillance.