The Fourth Outstanding Person of Huangpu Military Academy

"That's an order! Let Steiner attack, that's an order!

Sorry, the last one is a car rollover scene.

Xinyu (Xinyu).

At that time, no iron ore had been discovered in Xinyu, which was just a small county town 100 kilometers southwest of Nanchang.

The rebels will divide their forces here.

The Fourth Army and Zhu De's Officer Training Corps formed a southward corps, heading south to Ji'an, restoring troops between Ji'an and Ganzhou, and at least restoring the combat capability of the 24th Division. If possible, Zhu De's officer corps would also be expanded into a combat force, and then Ningdu would be captured and approached the Fujian border, making a move to enter Fujian to obtain access to the sea.

The First Army and He Long's 15th Independent Division were the westward-bound corps, passing through Yichun to Anyuan and Pingxiang. Here, they relied on local farmers' associations and Pingxiang miners to regroup, then attacked Zhuzhou and Changsha. Their strategic intention, as they externally indicated, was to capture Wuhan and re-establish the Nationalist government. After attracting a large number of Nationalist troops to rescue Changsha, they abandoned Changsha and retreated to Hengyang, taking advantage of the situation to retreat to Shaoguan.

After making the illusion of entering Fujian, the Fourth Army retreated back to Ningdu and captured Ganzhou, pretending to occupy Chaoshan to gain access to the sea. Of course, this was also an illusion, as the Fourth Army would eventually join the First Army in capturing Shaoguan and then march south along the Yuehan Railway to Guangzhou.

All these were done to prevent the National Army from mobilizing reinforcements to Guangzhou via sea transport, especially the Seventh, Fourth and Eleventh Armies. It would be better to keep them between Changsha and Hengyang so that they would be difficult to catch up and it would be too late to retreat via the Yangtze River, sea transport and Guangzhou.

"General He, Commander He, the 15th Independent Division can't do this. In a few days, without even having to fight, the 15th Independent Division will be disbanded!"

In the two days from Xinyu to Yichun, the 15th Independent Division lost more than 300 men. In addition to the officers and soldiers who fled during the previous march, the 15th Independent Division, which originally had 3,000 men (which was actually not full), now had only 2200 men left.

General He is about to be demoted from division commander to regiment commander.

He Long: "Comrade Mao, those soldiers don't want to stay in the revolutionary ranks, there's nothing we can do. Hurry and find a place for me to recruit soldiers. I can recruit seven or eight thousand people in ten days or half a month. Oh, and ask Commander Chen Tianheng to write a military song for my troops."

Mao Runzhi: "..."

Chen Tianheng: "If writing a military song can stabilize a team, then I can write 10 songs a day. General He, this is just icing on the cake. To stabilize the team and control the team, we must first make adjustments and reorganizations.

He Long: I am now modifying the system according to the First Division’s model.

Mao Runzhi: "Commander He, the system of Chen Tianheng's First Division cannot be copied to your unit, and I'm afraid it can't be copied to other rebel units in the future. Our original plan was to march to Pingxiang and then reorganize the troops, but now it seems that this is not possible. We will resolve this matter in Yichun.

He Long: "Can't we just copy it?"

Chen Tianheng: "The First Army, especially the First Division, has had a strictly unified political orientation among its officers since its founding, and its ranks have remained stable for a long time. I've also learned about the 15th Independent Division. While your position as Division Commander He is sound, since you came under your command, the various regimental, battalion, and company commanders have wavered in their commitment to the revolution, as these individuals were all latecomers. In this situation, simply sending garrison representatives to the troops will not completely stabilize their ideology, nor will it ensure that the officers wholeheartedly follow the revolution.

"One of the missing people today is the battalion commander. He ran away with more than 170 people from his battalion... The Party organization of the 15th Independent Division must be transferred down to the company level. Instead of Party representatives, there must be Party branches and soldiers' committees within the company. The decision-making bodies of troops below the division level must include a political commissar or instructor.

He Long: “There aren’t that many party members now.

Mao Runzhi: "First, establish a soldiers' committee.

The westward-bound corps changed its plan and stayed in Yichun for three days until the problem of He Long's 15th Division was resolved.

The Party's current army consists of both newly created units and those from the old army, such as He Long, who have revolted and joined. If the plan to capture Guangzhou can be successfully implemented, we can continue to create new units, but we cannot ignore the continued revolt and joining of the old army. These rebellious old troops certainly cannot be turned away, but their reorganization will still require the methods that have proven effective in history.

"The soldiers' committee plays the primary role of enforcing military discipline, ensuring fair supply and fair military discipline. If there are insufficient Party members, the battalion's Party representatives will establish a soldiers' committee in each company. Soldiers from every platoon and squad in the company must serve on this committee, and then Party members will be recruited from among the progressive soldiers. When the number of Party members reaches a point where a Party branch can be established, a company Party branch will be established. The Party branch will urge the commanders to abandon the remnants of the mercenary army, educate the officers and soldiers, and understand their ideological situation. The Party will ensure that the army is under its control. All matters, including marching, fighting, camping, and supply, should be discussed and decided by the unit's Party committee and Party branch.

Mao Runzhi talked about his current ideas for the reorganization of the 15th Independent Division.

Chen Tianheng: "After leaving Nanchang, the officers and soldiers of the 1st and 2nd Divisions also began to waver. From now on, we were a force without a foundation. We had no rear, no ammunition supplies, and we didn't even know where to get food. Of course, we could find food, but for a period of time, our guns, ammunition, and any other industrial products would be worn out. Since Nanchang, the 1st Division has repeatedly carried out preventative ideological work to stabilize the officers and soldiers. However, the 15th Independent Division did not have the conditions to carry out such ideological work, which was the main reason why so many soldiers began to desert."

"Commissioner Mao, Commander, these commanders of the 15th Independent Division lack confidence in the future and have begun to disobey orders from their superiors. Why not withdraw them?" Ma Buyi, the Party representative of the 2nd Division, expressed his opinion.

Yuan Zhongxian: “This had a huge impact or shock on the troops.

Mao Runzhi: "We can't disperse these people in the short term. Most of these officers have fellow soldiers to support them. If one of them runs away, more than a hundred soldiers will run away with him. If we withdraw him alone and let him go, more than a hundred people will follow him in a few days. Even if we don't want to keep this officer, are the soldiers who ran away with them not worth keeping? Not really.

Chen Tianheng: "Add 20 more cadres to the 15th Independent Division, mainly students from the political course of the Whampoa Military Academy Wuhan Branch, to help the 15th Independent Division establish grassroots party branches. We can only add 20, no more.

He Long: "Commissar Mao, Commander Chen, I would like to ask, when will the 15th Independent Division be able to be raised to the same level as the 1st Division?"

"Oh," Du Yuming said, "My Second Division is thinking about this problem. I think it will take at least half a year.

"Report! Received an international telegram forwarded from the Central Committee!"

Mao Runzhi: "What new instructions have come from the international community?"

Mao Zedong opened the telegram and read it for a long time. He put it down only after his cigarette butt burned his hand.

Paper.

Chen Tianheng took the telegram.

This telegram from the Communist International was not to instruct the Central Committee on what to do, but to urgently inform them of something.

"Feng Yuxiang declared his opposition to the Communist Party in Xi'an and expelled all Communists from his jurisdiction yesterday and the day before yesterday."

"The original central leadership team that is currently moving to Guisui (Hohhot) will not stay in Guisui but will move directly to Kulun (Ulaanbaatar).

Mao Runzhi: "Feng Yuxiang also rebelled.

Chapter 99, Chen Yannian! You idiot!

Feng Yuxiang's plan to purge the Communists was actually a foregone conclusion a month ago.

At that time, Chiang Kai-shek's secret envoy Zhang Qun visited Feng Yuxiang and hinted that Zhang Zuolin had found "certain documents" from the Soviet Embassy in Beijing. Feng Yuxiang immediately knew what this meant.

The Soviet Union provided large-scale military aid to Feng Yuxiang, saving him from military failure three times. This was not free, as Feng Yuxiang also gave things to the Soviet Union.

The agreement reached between the Soviet Union and Feng Yuxiang even included the Soviet Union enjoying the right to a railway similar to the Chinese Eastern Railway in the northwest.

Zhang Qun's implication was clear: if you surrender, submit to the central government, and burn all records of your negotiations with the Soviet Union, you can continue to rule as the King of Northwest China. Otherwise, you will become the target of public criticism.

Feng Yuxiang had no way of refusing, but he put forward his own "reasonable conditions": after surrendering, the central government would pay him 1000 million oceans in military expenses every month.

By early May, the two sides finally reached an agreement at a price of 300 million per month. Feng Yuxiang then politely escorted all members of the Communist Party (International Faction) in the country out of the country, including the International Faction Central Committee who had just escaped from Wuhan.

At this point, all the local powerful groups in the country stood on the side of eliminating the Communist Party.

field.

In Zhejiang and Jiangsu, almost all Kuomintang party branches were destroyed, regardless of whether there were Communist Party members or Kuomintang leftists in these party branches.

The party organization in the north was completely paralyzed under Zhang Zuolin's suppression. Zhang Zuolin had always believed that Guo Songling's rebellion was caused by the lobbying of the CCP's northern party organization. He had been holding a grudge for more than a year and took this opportunity to settle the old score.

Under He Jian's remote control, officers stationed in cities like Xu Kexiang directly hunted down and murdered Communists in Hunan and Hubei. They also sent troops into the countryside to destroy Party organizations, peasant associations, and collective farms. Although these Hunan and Hubei garrisons were derived from Tang Shengzhi's Eighth Hunan Army, Tang Shengzhi feigned ignorance of these anti-communist campaigns, hoping to maintain his position within the Wuhan/Nanjing Central Committee.

If the suppression of the rural movement in Hunan and Hubei was due to the excessive measures of the Internationalists, the rural cleanup in Jiangsu and Zhejiang seemed rather absurd. KMT Party headquarters in cities were merely raided and shut down, with casualties only occurring when armed clashes occurred during the raids. However, Party members sent to the countryside to carry out land reform often vanished inexplicably, their bodies never seen.

The exact number of people who died in the Wang-Chiang purge is still unknown, but it can only be roughly estimated to be between 2 and 5.

During the reorganization of the 15th Independent Division in Yichun, the pursuing troops from Nanchang rushed to Xinyu.

The 1st Division of the 30th Army looked around and entered Xinyu County cautiously. Without doing anything else in advance, they placed light and heavy machine guns on the top of the city wall and dug a circle of trenches outside the city to defend it.

The 30th Army was originally the Fengtian Army, but later defected to become Feng Yuxiang's 4th National Army. In March 1926, it defected again to join Wu Peifu. After the Northern Expedition began, it joined the Northern Expedition Army in December 1926 and was incorporated into the 30th Army of the National Revolutionary Army by Chiang Kai-shek.

This army was originally stationed in Xinyang, Henan. After the First Army and the Fourth Army revolted one after another, Chiang Kai-shek transferred the 30th Army south, via Wuhan and then transported it by water to Jiujiang to deal with the Nanchang Uprising Army.

Wei Yisan, commander of the 30th Army, was deeply resistant to this. His army had bounced between various factions over the past few years, now commanding three fully staffed infantry divisions and one cavalry brigade. Their goal was to simply lie low and fish, fighting fewer battles and suffering fewer losses. Now he was being asked to deal with the "Iron Army" and the "Sword of Revolution"? Was that even human work?

"Commander Wei said we shouldn't pursue the Communists too closely. So, is it appropriate to occupy Xinyu now?"

Wen Jie asked, commander of the 30-1 Division.

"The Communist army evacuated Xinyu three days ago before we entered the city, so we shouldn't have provoked them," said Hao Mengling, commander of the 30-2 Division, who was also in Xinyu. "The Communist army's current movement pattern is obviously to attack Changsha. We have been ordered to pursue them. As long as we follow them and don't stray too far away, it will be considered that we have tried our best."

Wen Jie: "Why didn't Chiang Kai-shek send his own direct subordinates?

Hao Mengling: "What Chiang's direct line? The one we are chasing is the real Chiang's direct line.

Wen Jie: ""

"Report, the commander called.

Wei Yisan was stationed in Nanchang and sent a telegram to the two divisions in Xinyu, emphasizing again the importance of paying attention to the "sense of distance" and never forcing the Communist army to turn around and attack them.

Of course Wen Jie and Hao Mengling knew about this.

"The Communist army's next move will definitely be to attack Anyuan and Pingxiang. They are the direction of their advance, and the Hunan Army brigades there are also very weak in combat effectiveness. If they don't attack Pingxiang, they will first attack the 10th Army. They will surround the Communist army from Shanggao and Wanzai, attacking the flank of the Communist army, which is a greater threat. There is no reason to attack us.

Wen Jie expressed his own views and Hao Mengling agreed.

Next to them, groups of soldiers carrying Type 38 rifles passed by. Wen Jie turned and shouted at the passing officers: "Where's the Maxim? Where's my Maxim? Carry it to the top of the city wall! Don't be lazy!"

Thank you, thank you, thank you

"The 30th Army was originally a Fengtian Army unit, but later switched to Feng Yuxiang, and then to Wu Peifu and the National Revolutionary Army."

"The 30th Army's First Division's infantry was primarily equipped with the Type 38 rifle, while the Second Division's was equipped with the Mosin-Nagant. Both divisions were equipped with Soviet-supplied Maxim machine guns."

"It's rare for an army to be able to match the ammunition consumption of our two main forces at the same time.

Fifteen kilometers west of Xinyu City, the Fifth Regiment of the First and Second Divisions assembled here. Chen Tianheng and Xu Xiangqian were holding a final pre-battle preparation meeting.

Xu Xiangqian: "According to the reconnaissance report, the 1st Division of the 30th Army is stationed in Xinyu. Xinyu City is too small, so two regiments of the division are actually camped outside the city, and one regiment and the division headquarters are stationed inside the city. The 2nd Division of the 30th Army has two regiments 2 kilometers east of Xinyu City and another regiment 5 kilometers east, which is basically to protect the rear route.

"Given that our troops are well-equipped and that there are armed peasant associations around Xinyu providing intelligence support and assistance, we can swallow up the two divisions scattered over a 6-kilometer area in one fell swoop.

Chen Tianheng: "The battle plan will be drawn up by the First Division's General Staff, and you will oversee it, Xu Xiangqian. However, one thing we must do in this battle: give the Second Division's Fifth Regiment a chance to actually fight. Furthermore, we must fight within the First Division's tactical system and using our own tactics."

Xu Xiangqian: "Of course. The Fifth Regiment is commanded by Song Xilian. He will definitely use our tactics. It all depends on whether the battalions and companies under the Fifth Regiment are executing them effectively."

After briefly reminding them of a few things, Chen Tianheng returned to Yichun. He had truly let Xu Xiangqian and Wei Lihuang handle everything on their own in this battle.

This afternoon, several groups of comrades arrived in Yichun, all of whom came from various places to catch up with the uprising team.

"Sister Kaihui. Oh, An Ying? Oh, An Qing? And the third brother?"

"Haha, Chen Tianheng. Yes, Commander Chen.

Yang Kaihui arrived in Yichun with Mao Anying, Mao Anying, and Mao Anying, who was just one month old.

Mao Runzhi: "How can we march with these three children?

Chen Tianheng: "We can't stay in Changsha anyway. It's too dangerous to hide our identities there. If anyone tells anyone off, we might be arrested. The Nanmao caravan will be here in a couple of days. Sister Kaihui should take the kids and evacuate. First to Shanghai, then to Hong Kong. We should be able to be reunited after a few months in Hong Kong."

Mao Runzhi: "Is the return convoy of the Nanmao caravan safe?

Chen Tianheng: "Like Runmin's China Resources Caravan, Nanmao may be a little tougher, and it's basically unimpeded."

Yang Kaihui: "Hong Kong? I don't know anyone there, how can I stay there?"

"My cousin Chen Ying is there. She can take care of you and your three children." Chen Tianheng said briefly.

The second wave of comrades did not come from Changsha, but came to Jiangxi from Henan.

"Instructor Xiao."

Chen Tianheng saluted Xiao Chunv.

Xiao Chu'nu was a political instructor at the founding of the Whampoa Military Academy and the chief political instructor at the Wuhan branch of the military academy. However, she also served as a member of the secretariat of the Central Military Department in Wuhan. When Wang Jingwei announced the expulsion of the Communist Party, Xiao Chu'nu did not leave with the faculty and students of the Wuhan branch of the military academy, but instead retreated north with the Central Military Department. Halfway through the retreat, internal disagreements within the military department led some comrades to abandon their northward march and instead return south to Wuhan, where they later concentrated in Jiangxi.

Xiao Chunv looked at Chen Tianheng and said, "When I was at Huangpu, I felt something was very strange when I looked at you. I asked Yun Daiying and Jiang Xianyun, but they both said that you were not a Communist.

Chen Tianheng: "Jiang Xianyun and Chen Geng knew about it, Yun Daiying knew a little bit, and I won't mention other comrades. If too many people knew about it, it would be very troublesome.

Xiao Chu'nu is the secretary of the Military Department. The other person who came with him is of a higher rank than him and is one of the seven executive members of the Military Department.

"Commissioner Qu."

Qu Qiubai looked at Mao Runzhi, then at Chen Tianheng: "Just call me Secretary Qu."

Mao Runzhi: "Qiubai, why did the Central Committee issue a directive in April asking Party members in all armies to take leave?"

Qu Qiubai: "At the time, the vast majority of the representatives our Party had planted in the various units of the Northern Expedition didn't control the troops; they simply served as supervisors. Even in some powerful local armies, the representatives were marginalized and sidelined. Wang Yifei and I believed that if we insisted on keeping these representatives in the army, they might be targeted when Wang Jingwei and Chiang Kai-shek purged the Communists."

Mao Runzhi: "Even if this is the case in other troops, it is not the case in Ye Ting's troops. There are many party members in his troops, not just serving as party representatives, but also serving as backbone officers.

Qu Qiujing just sighed but didn't say anything.

Xiao Chu'nu: "At the meeting, some comrades in the Military Department thought Ye Ting lived an extravagant life. Although he was a party member, they didn't know how he joined the party. He didn't look like a proletarian military leader, so they didn't trust him. Coincidentally, the Communist International sent another directive asking for leave from the army, and the Military Department strictly followed this instruction and notified lower-level organizations and party members."

Qu Qiubai: "The Military Department was wrong in this matter. The collective decision-making ultimately resulted in a wrong decision. Zhou Enlai was right.

Chen Tianheng: "What did Director Zhou say?"

"From the beginning, he disagreed with Communist Party members requesting leave to resign. He suggested notifying lower-level organizations and members, asking them to assess their influence within the army and, if they could instigate a mutiny, to do so on the spot. Later, as we moved north, he separated from us in Wuhan. Before we parted, he had a long conversation with us, saying that the Party was still so weak and couldn't be split by a dispute over whether the Communist International was legitimate or not."

Xiao Chunv: "Earlier this year, the Communist International remotely appointed a new general secretary. At that time, we thought Director Zhou would stay in Shanghai with Chen Duxiu. Who would have thought that two weeks later he returned to Wuhan. Now it seems that he returned to Wuhan to persuade us not to form two factions. Is Director Zhou still in the team?

Chen Tianheng: "According to the arrangements of the Military Commission, we split into two groups after evacuating Nanchang. Director Zhou is with the Fourth Army and is now located between Ji'an and Ganzhou. However, we have a radio station between us, and we will send the news of your return there now.

Ji'an.

At night, the radio stations of the First Army and the Fourth Army were turned on, and they had found the correct frequencies so that they could call and respond to each other. Ten minutes later, Ji'an received the news.

Chen Duxiu: "Comrade Qiubai and Comrade Chu are back, that's great.

Zhou Enlai: "Yes, three of the seven executive members of the Military Department have now joined us.

Chen Duxiu nodded: "Well, I'll go out for some fresh air." After walking out of the house, Chen Duxiu put his left hand on his waist in the farmyard and pointed to the sky with his right hand:

"Chen Yannian! You son of a bitch!!"