The Fourth Outstanding Person of Huangpu Military Academy

"But the Story Club is already thirty thousand silver dollars in debt!"

"A debt of 30,000 silver dollars isn't a problem, as long as we keep paying the interest on time. The bank thinks that after deducting the 30,000 silver dollars in debt, Story Club can still use it as collateral and lend out 40,000 yuan. Old Chen, this isn't a bad thing. The fact that we can get a loan proves we're capable."

"Chen Yun! You!..."

"Old Chen, calm down. However, Manager Yang, we may need to borrow money from the Story Club to pay the interest on Reader's Digest's loan for the first two months."

"That's easy to say."

"Wait a minute, how much is the monthly loan interest? I won't mention the principal."

"Not much. The two magazines' loans combined are probably over four hundred but less than five hundred silver dollars a month."

"Manager Yang, I, I, I, I have to go to Guangzhou for a meeting soon. You will be in charge of everything while I'm away."

Chen Duxiu's last words were spoken in a trembling voice. He stood up and was about to open the door to the courtyard when Chen Tianheng and Jiang Xianyun pushed it open first.

……

"Tianheng, Xianyun, you've arrived in Shanghai. ...That's good to see you there."

"Secretary Chen."

Chen Tianheng suppressed his laughter and greeted them first. "Secretary Chen, Commissioner Mao arrived with us, along with his brother Mao Runmin. They're still staying at the same hotel as last time."

"Oh, oh. Okay. Now that you're here, I have to explain to you about the discussion with Mr. Sun..."

Chen Tianheng: "This matter seems to be something that should be discussed at a meeting of the Secretariat, no, the Central Committee. Hey, Manager Yang, Chen Yun, has the inaugural issue of Reader's Digest been printed yet?"

Chen Yun handed over a magazine, freshly printed, still fragrant with ink. Chen Tianheng flipped through it and thought it was okay. Although he hadn't directly intervened, the finished product had the right basic flavor.

Reader's Digest, the editor-in-chief is——

Xu Zhimo?

"This Xu Zhimo, is it expensive for you to hire him?"

Chen Yun: "It's not expensive. Even though he has a PhD, he won't have a formal job after returning to China. We don't need to ask too high a price."

Chen Duxiu: "This United Reading Group gives me a feeling of danger, of being on the brink of collapse. If it's not managed well, I'll be deeply in debt."

Jiang Xianyun: "Secretary Chen, it's okay. The Republic of China now has a personal bankruptcy system. If you can't pay back your debts, you can just declare personal bankruptcy."

Chen Tianheng: "I think Secretary Chen should borrow more, take on a debt of several hundred thousand silver dollars, no, even several hundred thousand pounds. Those creditors, that is, the banks, must protect you carefully and can't let you lose all your money. If you lose this money, your debt will be completely ruined, right? Even if you are imprisoned by the Beiyang government, they will find a way to rescue you."

Chen Duxiu: "I..."

……

As soon as the group arrived in Shanghai, the Secretariat held a meeting to discuss the issue of the independence of our party in the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. The core focus was of course "whether the party should independently negotiate cooperation with Sun Yat-sen as Chen Duxiu proposed last time."

However, Chen Tianheng did not attend this meeting.

Well, Jiang Xianyun was at least Chen Duxiu's secretary, but Chen Tianheng was not even that.

Thinking back to the last time Chen Duxiu discussed this matter at a Secretariat meeting, and how a comrade had reported it to the Communist International, Chen Tianheng decided he didn't need to beg Chen Duxiu for a meeting. He also hoped to conceal his Party membership and apply to the Whampoa Military Academy as a "Fudan librarian."

Now that I'm back in Shanghai, I'll just go around Fudan University and Shanghai University and attend a couple of classes.

The word "novel" first appeared in Zhuangzi's "External Things": "To embellish novels in order to become a county magistrate is far from achieving great things." The novels mentioned here refer to trivial conversations and small truths, which are very different from the novels we use today.

"Novels are a genre of literature. Novels generally describe stories and portray a variety of characters, but there are exceptions."

"Abstractly speaking, it is a literary work with a complete structure, development and theme."

"The ten chapters in the Book of Han describe novelists as originating from the 稗官 (稗官). Ru Chun said, 'Fine rice is 稗 (稗). Street talk and alley talk are very trivial. The king wanted to know the customs of the streets and alleys, so he established the 稗官 (稗官) to report on them.' Unfortunately, none of the novels recorded in the 'Han Zhi' exist today."

The chief planner behind the now popular novel magazine "Story Club" in Shanghai, is auditing classes at Fudan University, listening to the teacher talk about what constitutes a novel.

There is no other reason, the teacher is quite famous.

Lu Xun didn't live in Shanghai permanently yet; his "home base" was still in Beijing. However, Fudan University invited Lu Xun to give a three-day lecture, and he came for the three hundred yuan he was offered.

"Mr. Lu Xun, in the preface to 'Call to Arms,' you said, 'You can imagine how far apart my novels are from art. However, the fact that they can still be called novels today, and even have the opportunity to be published as a collection, is undoubtedly a stroke of luck.' But why do you feel that novels are so far apart from art?"

Chen Tianheng raised his hand to ask a question.

"This is a common perception in today's literary and artistic circles. Since I've written these novels and published them in a collection, rather than being criticized by literary and artistic figures after publication as 'this is far from art,' I'd rather write this in the preface so that they have nothing to refute."

All the students in the class laughed.

Chen Tianheng: "I think that novels and stories, as literary forms, have a wider audience than poetry and songs, and they can also convey richer messages that authors want to convey to readers. Therefore, I am afraid that novels and stories will dominate the literary works in the future."

"In fact, it's already like this. Whether in terms of word count or the number of works, novels are the largest. The monthly novel magazine is as thick as this one. A short story can be thousands of words long. Have you ever seen a poem this long? Except for those written by Guo Moruo."

"Teacher Lu Xun, I read novels. Besides Novel Monthly, I also often buy Story Club."

Behind Chen Tianheng, a student asked a question.

These are readers of the story club? Such kindred spirits!

"Oh? You are Lu Xiaoming, right? What do you think of the story club?" Lu Xun stopped what he was doing and looked at the Fudan student.

"I think the stories will be much better than those in Novel Monthly."

Lu Xun pointed at the classroom door and said, "Xiao Ming, you, get out."

……

"Xianyun? Why are you here too? It's only three in the afternoon."

After the first class, during the break, Jiang Xianyun walked into the classroom with a schoolbag slung over his shoulder.

"I didn't attend the Secretariat meeting either." Jiang Xianyun spread his hands. "I prepared the document, and then Secretary Chen Duxiu thought about it and hesitated for a long time. He told me not to show up at the meeting. I think the debate today will be very intense."

Chen Tianheng: "Then wouldn't it be Commissioner Mao who would debate with them alone?"

"That's probably true. But Li Dazhao, Cai Hesen, and others should be on Comrade Mao's side. Oh, and there's another important matter. Borodin, the representative of the Communist International, heard about the peasant movement in Hunan and wants to learn about the recent series of peasant movements. So, tomorrow night, he wants to hear a detailed report from Comrade Mao, you, and me."

Chen Tianheng: "Is it still a meeting of the entire Secretariat?"

"No, there were only three of us, plus Borodin and his interpreter."

Chapter 22

Mikhail Markovich Borodin was a Latvian Jew. Born a dockworker, he joined the revolution in 1903 and in 1904 followed Lenin in his revolutionary activities while he was in exile in Switzerland. He came to China in July 1923 as the representative of the Communist International.

After entering China from the Soviet Far East along the Chinese Eastern Railway, Borodin did not go directly to Guangdong, the revolutionary center of the Kuomintang, but first went to Fengtian to meet with Zhang Zuolin, then went to Beijing to meet with the Soviet ambassador to China, Karakhan, and then went to Shanghai.

He attended the Central Secretariat meeting yesterday, and at the meeting he became interested in Mao Runzhi's Hunan peasant movement a few months ago and the idea of ​​a peasant uprising he proposed. So today he met with the participants of the Hunan peasant movement alone to learn more information.

Mao Runzhi was the main speaker. He briefly described the peasant movement that had been going on in Hunan some time ago, centering on the Hengyang area. He said that at its peak, the movement had garnered the support of hundreds of thousands of farmers, and Hengyang had even become an isolated island, just one step away from a peasant uprising.

The figure of hundreds of thousands of peasants slightly interested Borodin, but he then said that the peasants were unwilling to give up their property, were selfish and short-sighted, and could not become the main force of the revolution.

"In Soviet Russia, after the victory of the revolution, the peasants had become an obstacle to the revolution, even becoming counter-revolutionary and the target of dictatorship," Borodin said. "The Soviet Red Army recently suppressed a large number of counter-revolutionary peasants and farms."

Mao Runzhi: "China is not Russia. Although I have never been to Russia, the national conditions of the two countries are different, and we cannot judge everything by the same standard. Moreover, if what you say is true, the Soviet Red Army's deployment to suppress Soviet peasants and farms is a serious matter."

Chen Tianheng: "In 1861, Tsarist Russia implemented reforms to the serfdom system. Serfs were freed from their personal dependence on the landlords and could redeem themselves with a piece of land, repayable over 49 years, becoming self-employed farmers. At that time, in the plains of Tsarist Russia, each serf could obtain 10 mu of arable land."

"Ten dessiatines equal 163 mu. In the eyes of the Tsar, 163 mu per capita was merely the 'Russian average,' given to serfs to make them self-cultivating farmers. But in China, 163 mu per capita already constituted a landlord. In Hunan, that's considered a large landlord, and in northern China, it's considered a medium to large landlord. Comrade Borodin, both Marx and Lenin saw peasants as self-cultivating farmers in Germany and Tsarist Russia. Their assessment of peasants was based on what they saw, and this doesn't apply to China."

Mao Runzhi: "China's national conditions are such that the process of the fall of the Qing Dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China did not significantly change the situation of land annexation, nor did it fundamentally change China's rural land ownership. As a result, in China today, the extreme population expansion since the Qing Dynasty has intersected with the extreme land annexation in the late Qing Dynasty. The vast majority of land is concentrated in the hands of a few landlords, and the peasants are mainly hired farmers or semi-self-cultivators. Why would the peasants not want to give up their property? They have almost no property to begin with."

Jiang Xianyun: "The area around Hengyang has above-average agricultural conditions compared to rural Hunan, but farmers there are still very poor. Poor peasants have to pay high rents to farm the land owned by landlords, and even the amount of land each farmer can rent from the landlords is very small. In Yuebei Village, farmers can only eat rice during the spring plowing and autumn harvest seasons. The other nine months are limited to porridge or corn and sweet potatoes."

"A few miles south of Yuebei Village, there's a rural village built at the foot of a mountain. After paying rent, the farmers there receive only 53 kilograms of paddy per person per year, equivalent to 35 to 40 kilograms of rice. The poor peasants there not only have no land or real estate of their own, but also almost no other monetary or physical property, and spend most of their time in a state of hunger."

……

Borodin had previously thought that tonight would be a battle between him and Mao Runzhi, and that they would mainly listen to Mao Runzhi's report (there might be a debate), and the two young men would be his followers carrying bags.

But when he got to the scene, he found out that it wasn't him, he was facing a triple-barreled cannon...

Not only can they all speak and argue, but their guns are all pointed in the same direction...

Borodin did not understand Chinese, so the fire from the triple turret first hit the translator.

But it must be said that Qu Qiubai's translation was very fast and accurate. After all, he was one of the people who witnessed the birth of modern Chinese during the New Culture Movement in the 10s, and he had a high level of attainment in both Chinese and Russian.

"Would you like to take a short break?"

When Jiang Xianyun made another long speech, Qu Qiubai mumbled it into Russian and translated it to Borodin, and Chen Tianheng asked with concern.

"No need," Qu Qiubai responded hoarsely, picked up the water cup and drank water, "cough cough"

Borodin thought for a moment and began to respond to Jiang Xianyun. Chen Tianheng waved to Qu Qiubai. After Borodin finished speaking, Chen Tianheng directly continued in Russian:

"Three years ago, a warlord in Guangxi issued a telegram verbally endorsing Sun Yat-sen's proposals. Sun Yat-sen immediately used 6 yuan from overseas Chinese donations to purchase over 1000 rifles and sent them to Guangxi as a gesture of support. However, the Guangxi warlord's revolutionary actions lasted only two months before ending abruptly. So it's not that Sun Yat-sen couldn't produce over a thousand rifles. Given that the KMT-CCP ​​cooperation mechanism had already been established, there was a high possibility that Sun Yat-sen would reach an agreement with us."

Chen Tianheng turned around and briefly translated to Mao Runzhi what Borodin had just asked.

Qu Qiubai was shocked, but he just drank some water to cool his hot throat.

Borodin: "Well, I partially accept your point of view. There are a large number of extremely poor farmers in rural China. They have a strong desire to change their current situation and save themselves from hunger. And, based on your personal experience working in the countryside, they have the courage to fight for this."

"As for Sun Yat-sen, we no longer need to worry about whether he has the financial resources. The Soviet Union was not ready in June or July, but the Soviet advisory group has already arrived in Guangzhou. We can provide support by shipping arms."

"But one thing that must be made clear is that to launch a revolutionary war, having soldiers and weapons is not enough. You must also learn to organize and manage an army and learn to command it. You need officers. And now, apart from Comrade Mao and a few of your subordinates, the rest of the Chinese Communist Party, frankly speaking, is still a Marxist academic research group. This is why the Communist International decided that cooperation with China can only be cooperation with the Kuomintang, and that all Communist Party members should join the Kuomintang as individuals."

Mao Runzhi: "I also support the establishment of a military academy. The Kuomintang and the Communist Party should cooperate to open a military academy in Guangzhou to train military talents for both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. The revolutionary army formed by these military talents will be fundamentally different from the warlord troops of the past. However, the peasants gathered by the movement launched by the Communist Party in the countryside will also form an army loyal to the revolution and fundamentally different from the warlords. Peasants, especially the advanced elements among them, should also receive military education."

Borodin nodded. This viewpoint still fell within his scope. "I understand what you mean. After the military academy in Guangzhou is established and operational, the Soviet advisory group could consider allocating some advisors and instructors to that city? Hengyang?"

"Yes, Hengyang, open another military academy. This academy may be smaller than the one in Guangzhou, and the conditions may be more basic, but it will still be a regular military academy. It must be under your control, Comrade Mao, and no other comrades at the level of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China can do it."

Mao Runzhi: "The outcome of the Tan-Zhao War is clear. Tan Yankai reached Hengyang, but was beaten back by Wu Peifu. Even if our peasant movement is revived, we will not attack and occupy Hengyang. Hengyang is an important city in Hunan and a key railway transportation route. If we attack it, the Beiyang Army in Wuhan will quickly move to Hengyang. We are not in a position to occupy such a city now."

Borodin: "Where do you plan to base yourself?"

"We should not base ourselves in any large city now. I intend to establish a revolutionary base in the countryside."

Borodin: "What?"

Mao Runzhi: "Southern Hunan and the Hunan-Jiangxi border, one adjacent to Guangdong and the other located on the border controlled by two provinces and two factions of warlords, are far away. If we can establish a rural revolutionary base here and obtain some external support of guns and ammunition, this kind of armed separatist regime of workers and peasants can not only survive for a long time, but also continuously expand its territory until the victory of the revolution."

Borodin: "Rural areas? Armed separatism? No, no!"

"Davarich, this won't work!"

……

The meeting adjourned.

"What was accomplished today was convincing Comrade Borodin that the Chinese peasants were not selfish, short-sighted petty bourgeoisie. What was not accomplished today was that Borodin firmly opposed the idea of ​​rural revolutionary bases and believed that rural bases had no future."

Jiang Xianyun summarized tonight's meeting.

Mao Runzhi: "Soviet comrades are still too deeply influenced by the Soviet Revolution. As soon as the Aurora fired its cannons, the revolutionary sailors stormed the Winter Palace, and the Soviets were established. But in China, no matter which city or palace you fire at, even if you fire for a whole day or a whole year, you can't change the dynasty."

Chen Tianheng: "This is path dependence. I'm afraid it's not just Borodin. All the Soviet advisory comrades we'll deal with in the future will suffer from path dependence. Those who hold this view may constitute the majority."

Mao Runzhi: "Internally, we must continue to do our own work. Externally, we must strive to gain the support of our Soviet comrades, even if it is discounted. Even a little bit of support is good. Boss, add some chili powder!"

The meeting with Borodin wasn't held at the dinner table, so afterward the three of them had wonton noodles at a restaurant. The owner brought over a can of chili powder, and Mao Runzhi, Chen Tianheng, and Jiang Xianyun each scooped a large spoonful and mixed it into the noodles.

Chen Tianheng: "In addition to seeking support from Soviet comrades in a roundabout way, we must also seek resources from the Kuomintang in a roundabout way."

Mao Runzhi: "So you suggested hiding your party membership and attending the Whampoa Military Academy?"

"Yes. However, Xianyun's identity can no longer be hidden..."

Chapter 23

Editorial Department of Story Club of United Reading Group.

This magazine, the name of which made Lu Xun furious, has been published for a whole year and is now in its 9th issue.

The good news is: "Story Club" has become the most popular daily entertainment reading material for citizens in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai.

The bad news is that "Story Club" is so notorious in serious literary circles that its editor-in-chief Mao Dun has refused to write novels for it to this day.

But this is not a big problem. The sales of "Story Club" are large and the growth momentum is strong, and that's enough.

"So 'Story Club' was originally a magazine owned by Secretary Chen Duxiu. Haha, no one would believe it if I told them that."

"Commissioner Luo, perhaps it's precisely because of this stark contrast that the Story Club business is very secure. Of course, while it employs a strictly independent operating model to avoid attention, many of our comrades work within the magazine and the United Reading Group. There's Shi Yang, the Minister of Legal Affairs, Shen Yanbing, also a Party member, and several newly recruited Party activists, and now you."

——Chen Tianheng took Luo Zhanglong to visit the United Reading Group.

Luo Zhanglong, Mao Runzhi's middle school classmate and good friend, was the one who started the fire at Zhaojialou during the May Fourth Movement. He is now a member of the Central Bureau of the Third National Congress of the Communist Party of China and also serves as the accountant of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

Chen Tianheng's original intention in establishing the United Reading Industry in the name of Chen Duxiu was to encourage scholars to pay attention to economic work, especially the training of economic management cadres, in addition to studying classics and debating scriptures.

It seems that Chen Duxiu himself does not want to get involved in this business anymore. What about other comrades in the Central Committee?

After waiting for almost a year, I finally found someone who was interested in this.