The Fourth Outstanding Person of Huangpu Military Academy

Luo Zhanglong discovered this himself. Chen Duxiu had been paying a special personal party dues annually since the beginning of the year, with the amount increasing in recent months. As the accountant for the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Luo Zhanglong became curious and asked Chen Duxiu about it, which is how he learned about the joint reading program.

Next door to Story Club is the editorial office of Reader's Digest. Like Story Club, Reader's Digest's editorial staff is extremely streamlined because it does not directly accept manuscripts or commission articles from authors. Instead, it selects articles that readers like from various current journals and magazines and publishes them.

Chen Tianheng: "Shi Yang did a lot of work for Reader's Digest, especially registering it in the United States, and he even filed a lawsuit for it."

Shi Yang: "The Ministry of Justice even sent someone to the United States for this matter. There were some results. They took down the English title of Reader's Digest."

Luo Zhanglong: "That's amazing! This magazine is going to be sold in the United States?"

Chen Tianheng: "We will publish an English version of Reader's Digest in the United States, but it won't be a Chinese-English translation of the magazine we have here. American readers have their own tastes, and we will select interesting articles from North American magazines and publish them in Reader's Digest. This will be the approach we'll follow in the future. The United States will have its own American Reader's Digest, as well as Japanese, British, and French editions... I'm not sure if the Soviet Union will be able to replicate this in the future."

Luo Zhanglong: "You conceived and planned both magazines, but you've always been behind the scenes, right?"

Mao Dun: "Not only did he avoid the public eye, he also refused to write novels for storytelling clubs, even under a pen name. But if you dined with him, he could give you the outlines of two brilliant stories in one meal."

Chen Tianheng smiled and said, "No, Old Shen, I wrote a few jokes for the 'Happy Forest' in it."

"Can it be called an article if it's just a few dozen or a hundred words..."

Chen Tianheng: "Hey, Comrade Runmin is here."

……

Mao Runmin arrived in Shanghai and went to the Bund for an inspection the next day. He spent more than half a month exploring the foreign concessions and drafted a business plan.

Mao Runmin believed that the current United Reading Group was not a business that could make a lot of money and that the ceiling for success was not high. He suggested setting up a trading company focusing on import and export trade.

As for the company's name, Mao Runmin rejected Chen Tianheng's suggestion of "China Resources" and instead named it "Chu Lianhang", mainly engaged in goods trade in Hunan and Hubei.

The relationship between Chulian Bank and United Reading Group should be relatively independent operations in the near future, and Chulian Bank may inject capital into United Reading Group in the future.

"So, Chulianhang's capital volume in the future will be very large, and its liquidity will also be very strong?" Chen Tianheng asked.

“I plan to issue Chulian Bank’s commercial bills, but there will indeed be a lot of funds.”

In the past two years, when Mao Runmin followed Mao Runzhi in the workers' movement in Anyuan and Shuikoushan, he issued stocks to the workers to raise funds for the workers' club. This was because a strike required funds, and when the strike entered a stalemate, some money needed to be advanced to the workers so that some financially strapped workers could survive.

The issuance of commercial bills today is also in the same vein.

Chen Tianheng: "Since Chulianhang will have a lot of funds and employees in the future, and the company's employees are also widely distributed, it seems that United Reading Group can start another magazine."

Luo Zhanglong: "United Reading Group's third magazine? What you just said means that this magazine requires a huge investment and is more troublesome to produce?"

Chen Tianheng nodded. "Yes, the period of profitability and cost recovery will be relatively long. But considering myself, Mao Runzhi, and the work of our Party in the coming years, this magazine must be published. It will be of great help to us."

Luo Zhanglong: "Let me guess... World Military?"

Chen Tianheng: "No, China National Geographic."

……

Chen Duxiu has really gone to Guangzhou now.

It's not that I'm afraid of the foreign company coming to collect the debt, it's a serious matter.

The KMT and the CPC had been cooperating for more than half a year. By the end of 1923, after half a year of preparation, the KMT's "First National Congress" was about to be held.

It has been ten years since the Kuomintang was founded in 1913, and more than twenty years since the Tongmenghui. Only then did the Kuomintang hold its first national conference with representatives from all over the country with the help and support of the Soviet Union.

Of course, as Chen Duxiu's secretary, Jiang Xianyun also went to Guangzhou with Chen Duxiu.

"Regarding cooperation with Russia, Russia's current New Economic Policy, namely state capitalism, is the same as our party's Three Principles of the People. Therefore, I do not think that alliance with Russia and tolerance of the Communist Party means that we are abandoning the Three Principles of the People. In essence, we are still one principle."

Over the past year, our party's enemies have exploited our pro-Russian policy to falsely claim that we have abandoned the Three Principles of the People and Five Rights and embraced communism. I would like to briefly dispel this rumor.

"Russia is Russia, China is China. Russia has its own doctrines, China has its own doctrines. In my last speech, I discussed Russia throughout, but I was referring to the organization of its revolutionary party, not to its revolutionary doctrines."

Sun Yat-sen and Chen Duxiu held a brief meeting in Guangzhou. This was their third meeting of the year, but their first one-on-one. The previous two meetings had been held at conferences on KMT-CCP ​​cooperation and preparations for the KMT's first congress.

Chen Duxiu: "Not long ago, we held the Third National Congress of the Communist Party of China. Before the meeting, most people were opposed to joining the Kuomintang, but the representatives of the Executive Committee of the Communist International persuaded the participants, and we decided to persuade all party members to join the Kuomintang."

"The doctrine we believed in was communism, but in practice we were always opposed to the warlords. We organized a strike by the Anyuan Railway miners and a strike by the Beijing-Hankou Railway employees. Although the latter strike failed, it dealt a severe blow to the ruling system of Wu Peifu and the Beiyang warlords, demonstrating the power of revolution."

"In short, the Chinese Communist Party and the Kuomintang share the same goal of overthrowing the warlords and unifying China. Under the slogan 'Down with imperialism and warlords,' this united front can be established."

Sun Yat-sen nodded slightly and changed the subject: "The Kuomintang delegation went to the Soviet Union for an inspection some time ago. It was led by Chiang Kai-shek and they just returned to Guangzhou."

Chen Duxiu: "Oh... I wonder what Chiang Kai-shek's impression of the Soviet Union was after his inspection?"

Sun Yat-sen: "I asked him about his impressions of his visit to Russia, and Chiang Kai-shek made some remarks that were somewhat extreme."

……

After the KMT-CCP ​​cooperation began, the Soviet Union invited Sun Yat-sen to visit and conduct an inspection, but Sun Yat-sen did not want to go. Chiang Kai-shek went on behalf of Sun Yat-sen, and the inspection team he led was also called the "Dr. Sun Yat-sen Delegation."

Chiang Kai-shek returned from his visit and reported to Sun Yat-sen that the Soviet Union's so-called world revolution was more dangerous than Western colonialism. Sun Yat-sen replied that this was an overreaction, as the CCP was now within the Party and under his unified leadership, and would not hinder the progress of the National Revolution. Furthermore, the Soviet Union recognized only the Kuomintang as the sole leading party in the Chinese Revolution, so there was no need to worry for the time being.

When Chen Duxiu met Sun Yat-sen, he always felt passive during the talks.

Of course, there would be people who stood up and opposed Chen Duxiu at party meetings, but he was the general secretary, so he just suppressed them.

There is no way to suppress Sun Yat-sen.

Speaking of the united front's goal of overthrowing the warlords, Chen Duxiu had just subconsciously mentioned the strikes organized by the Communist Party, but afterward, he felt his words weren't convincing enough. They were just organizing a few strikes, not attacking Zhengzhou.

...Oh right? There seems to be more?

Chen Duxiu: "I wonder if Mr. Sun Yat-sen has heard of the peasant movement in Hunan over the past six months and the peasant army that Mao Runzhi is planning?"

Chapter 24

"Farmers' Association? Sure! Of course there's a point!"

"I have told my comrades before that peasant associations should be established throughout Guangdong. By establishing these associations and arming the peasants, we can create a powerful tool. If the Hunan Peasant Association is established first, then Hunan will soon become a revolutionary base."

What surprised Chen Duxiu was that Sun Yat-sen became excited when talking about peasant associations and peasant movements.

"In the future, when Minshengism truly achieves its goal and the peasant problem is truly completely resolved, and when 'land to the tiller' is achieved, that will be considered our ultimate solution to the peasant problem."

"Although there are no large landlords in China today, 90% of ordinary peasants do not own land. The land they cultivate mostly belongs to the landlords. Peasants do not cultivate their own land, but work for the landlords, and most of the agricultural products they produce are taken away by the landlords. This is a very serious problem."

"We are now in a revolution and want to distribute all the land in the country to ordinary farmers, so that those who till the land can own it. Once they have land, they only need to pay taxes to the state, and there will be no landlords to collect rent. This is the most fair way."

(The Complete Works of Sun Yat-sen, Vol. 1, p. 510-511)

(From the context, Sun Yat-sen's definition of "big landlords" may be cross-provincial or American standards)

Sun Yat-sen inquired about the situation of the peasant movement near Hengyang, Hunan some time ago. He learned that seven peasant associations covered the rural areas of four counties. He was amazed and asked who organized these peasant associations. He then said that Mao Runzhi should work in the Kuomintang Central Peasant Movement Committee.

Chen Duxiu wanted to get an answer from Sun Yat-sen about a question they had hypothesized: "Mr. Sun, if the Communist Party were responsible for mobilizing the peasants to form an army and actually formed one, could the Kuomintang arm them with weapons and turn them into a revolutionary army?"

"We now have weapons. If we don't arm such an army, do we still have to rely on the various warlords? Such an army is certainly a revolutionary army. However, the revolutionary army must be under the unified command of the Grand Marshal's Office."

……

Shanghai.

"Ah? You haven't returned these two books yet? This is terrible. They've been borrowed for half a year. Fudan Library will fine you."

On Chen Yun's desk, Chen Tianheng saw the two books he had borrowed and recommended to Chen Duxiu before going to Yuebei: "Industrial Management and General Management" and "Theory of Social Organization and Economic Organization".

Together with these two books, there is also a thick English-Chinese dictionary.

Before he left for Yuebei last time, he told Chen Yun that these two books were worth reading, and Chen Yun took the two books from Chen Duxiu's bookshelf.

"No, not the two books I borrowed from Fudan. I found an identical pair in the Commercial Press library," Chen Yun showed Chen Tianheng the Commercial Press stamp on the spine of the book. "The Commercial Press has many more foreign books than the Fudan Library, and they buy a lot of new foreign books very quickly because the press needs to get the books as soon as possible to decide whether to organize translation and publication."

Chen Tianheng: "That's good. ... Actually, the overdue payment isn't a big deal."

Chen Yun: "When I was an apprentice at the Commercial Press, I was actually secretly learning their business methods and management regulations. After learning the general idea, I felt that the management of the Commercial Press was very impressive. But now, after reading these two books, I feel that their management methods still have room for improvement."

Chen Tianheng said, "Manager Yang, like you, jumped from the Commercial Press. Is United Reading also following their management style?"

"Yes, almost."

"Why don't you try and see if you can improve on this theory proposed by the foreigner."

"Isn't that using joint reading as a test subject? If we don't make the changes correctly, we'll lose money."

Chen Tianheng: "Collaborative reading is just an experiment."

Chen Yun: "..."

"By the way, are you a member of the Party or the League now?" Chen Tianheng suddenly remembered something.

"member."

The people Chen Tianheng interacted with most and had the closest relationships with seemed to be Party members or activists with revolutionary tendencies who were around his age (around 20 years old). Of course, among Party members of his age at that time, Chen Tianheng joined the Party relatively early.

Chen Tianheng is a few months younger than Chen Yun in this dimension. Chen Yun is still a member of the Communist Youth League, while Chen Tianheng has been a member of the Party for two years, counting from his probationary period.

The probationary period for party members is usually one year, but Chen Tianheng's was six months. The document for transferring from probationary to full member reads as follows:

"Comrade Chen Tianheng actively participated in the preparation and implementation of the Anyuan Railway and Mine Strike in June 1922, playing an important role in promoting the launch of the strike and its ultimate success."

Unfortunately, Comrade Li Lisan, who wrote this appraisal report, has passed away.

"Comrade Lisan also handed your little notebook to the Central Committee after the strike was successful, and it was filed. You can find it by searching the directory by file number."

Mao Runzhi was referring to the small notebook in which the Anyuan Railway and Mine Party branch expressed its resolve to launch an immediate strike. This notebook was purchased by Chen Tianheng at Hunan First Normal School. The paper was of poor quality, and the horizontal lines printed on it were crooked. This notebook may now be a crucial archival document of our Party's early leadership of the workers' movement.

Chen Tianheng rubbed his head. "Hey, those are all excerpts I copied from various books and periodicals in the library. They're like scraps of paper, so there are a lot of inaccuracies. I remember that after the strike began preparations, the Anyuan branch made temporary revisions and improvements based on the actual situation, right?"

"These should all be in the archives. I wrote the summary report on the Anyuan Railway and Mine Strike. Here are your letters of recommendation and Jiang Xianyun's."

Mao Runzhi handed over two letters of recommendation from the Whampoa Military Academy.

Recommended Fudan University librarian and progressive youth Chen Tianheng to take the entrance examination for the Kuomintang Army Officer School.

Recommended Jiang Xianyun, a member of the Communist Party of China and secretary of Chen Duxiu, the Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, to take the entrance examination for the Kuomintang Army Officer School.

Chen Tianheng: "Great, my party membership can remain private."

"I'm going to Guangzhou soon to attend the first National Congress of the Kuomintang. Please give Jiang Xianyun's letter of recommendation to him after you meet him."

……

At the end of 1923, when Sun Yat-sen decided to cooperate with the Communist Party of China and establish a military academy, he chose Huangpu Changzhou Island in the suburbs of Guangzhou as the site of the military academy.

Huangpu Island was once home to the former sites of the Guangdong Army School and the Guangdong Naval School of the Guangdong clique warlords, with some existing school buildings and docks. Therefore, the Kuomintang Army Officer School was named Huangpu Military Academy.

It is now January 1924, and the preparatory committee has little time left: in just a few months, they have to formulate a school charter, raise funds, renovate the school building, appoint and dismiss school management, review the qualifications of faculty and staff, formulate a training plan for the first batch of students,... and recruit students.

The Preparatory Committee stipulated that the Whampoa Military Academy's admissions would be based on a recommendation system, with recommendations available to members and alternate members of the Central Committees of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. This allowed the Whampoa Military Academy to recruit students from a relatively wide range of backgrounds. While it wasn't yet at the point where every province had an admissions office, students came from all over the country, including South China, North China, East China, and Northwest China. This was a significant achievement, as military academies in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China had never had such a broad student base.

Chen Tianheng: "This letter of recommendation means that Jiang Xianyun and I don't need to take the preliminary exam in Shanghai, and can go directly to Guangzhou to take the final exam?"

"Yes. I'll be organizing another preliminary exam in Shanghai some time. I'll also give letters of recommendation to those who take the exam and pass it."

This is how Hu Zongnan and his team likely obtained Mao's recommendation letter for the preliminary exam and went to Guangzhou to take the final exam (re-examination). Unexpectedly, the final exam required a physical examination before the exam, and Hu Zongnan, who didn't meet the height requirement, managed to get into the Whampoa Military Academy by crying his eyes out.

The final exam is on March 27th, which is two months away.

I've spent the past two months studying for the exam... I'm overthinking it.

Chen Tianheng returned home and occupied Chen Duxiu's study.

Old Chen will be staying in Guangzhou for a long time. Chen Yannian and Chen Qiaonian are currently studying abroad. So, he and the servant, Aunt Zhang, are the only ones left in this huge house.

Opening his notebook, Chen Tianheng tore off the page of "PLAN F" he had written last month and burned it.

Then on a new page write:

PLAN G

ABCDEF, the six roadmaps I had envisioned before are no longer applicable, and now it’s the seventh plan.

This is how miserable it is for a soul-traveling person. Does it have it easy for me? I...

Just like Plan F, which he had torn up, Chen Tianheng wrote Plan G on this blank page, then wrote the date and basically stopped writing on it. He mainly memorized it in his head.

"Dump Dump"

Someone came upstairs, it was Jiang Xianyun.

"Is the mail ship delayed another day?" Chen Tianheng asked. "Secretary Mao has written a letter of recommendation for us and has left it on your bedroom desk. The exam time and subjects have also been confirmed."

Jiang Xianyun: "The ship wasn't delayed. I arrived in Shanghai yesterday afternoon."

"Hey, so...what did you do all day?"

Jiang Xianyun was embarrassed by this question and said hesitantly:

"Ding Ling said she didn't love me anymore."

Chapter 25

When Chen Tianheng heard Jiang Xianyun say that Ding Ling had given him a good guy card, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.