He did neither, the revolutionaries kept out of all major battles, letting the nationalists and Japanese duke it out and then mop up the remains. He believed in violence and power and that everyone was like him.
Wikipedia lists multiple battles between the Chinese Red Army and the Nationalists, and also states they joined together to fight the Japanese. It lists multiple engagements/actions from 1927 to 1936.
Claiming Mao "believed in violence" adds nothing new, really. Most revolutionaries believed in violence as a means to reach an end. Nationalists did, too.
I think it's not controversial that Mao had a vision for his country which he tought would make China great, he was a visionary and an ideologue. You don't have to agree with his vision to acknowledge he had one.
