The Fourth Outstanding Person of Huangpu Military Academy

Bukharin quickly adjusted the organizational structure of the Communist International. The political parties that joined the Communist International were divided into "branch parties" and "council parties" (ruling parties). The former are the Communist parties of various countries today, and the latter are the Chinese Communist Party.

This not only satisfies the CCP's demand for independence, but also continues to maintain the constraints and leadership functions of the "21 Articles of the Communist International" on the branch party.

The 21 Points of the Communist International were set by Lenin. If the 21 Points or some of the key clauses are abandoned, the Communist International will no longer be the same Communist International.

Failure to meet the CCP's demands would have serious consequences. First, China is the world's most populous country and, after all, a major Eastern power. If China's Communist Party were to break up with the Comintern, the latter would suffer a significant blow. Furthermore, the CCP, through a series of impressive military victories, has established a regional regime for itself. This regional regime—with a population of nearly 40 million, is equivalent to the size of a medium-sized European power.

"The branch party remains a subordinate branch of the Communist International, while the governing party is not. The relationship between the Communist International and the governing party is one of equality, not a relationship of leadership and being led.

"In reality, the Communist Party, listed as a governing party, has the power to provide guidance and make recommendations to the various branch parties of the Communist International. This is why the ruling party is called a 'governing party' within the Communist International. Of course, this is only guidance and advice; the leadership of the branch party rests with the Communist International."

Berkovalskii gives a detailed account of these recent changes in the Comintern.

Chen Tianheng: "Then did the CPSU also, like the CCP, exercise the power of guidance and advice over the Party branches?"

"No." Berkovalski shook his head. "The CPSU leads the Communist International, and the Communist International leads the individual party branches.

Mao Runzhi: "So, now we are the only member party in the Communist International camp?

Berkovalski: "That's the case for now. But as time goes on, I believe more and more communist parties will seize power in their countries and become governing parties, just like the CCP's revolutionary path."

"Hoho." Mao Runzhi took a puff of cigarette and smiled.

Chen Tianheng also laughed. In the original historical dimension, the Communist International was dissolved until 1943, and none of its affiliated party branches achieved national power. Spain might have briefly gained power, but it was quickly lost. There was only one local government, the Chinese Soviet Republic, which was forced to embark on the Long March just two years after its establishment.

Berkovalskii then learned from the Military Commission about the military situation facing the coalition government, understanding that the coalition government now had sufficient means and power to maintain the security of the revolutionary regime. Chen Tianheng also bluntly suggested to Berkovalskii that the revolutionary government needed to establish external contacts to obtain ammunition and quickly establish a sufficient arms industry.

Chen Shuoxiu said, "Comrade Consul Berkovsky, the coalition government is an alliance of revolutionary civil rights among workers, peasants, and the petty bourgeoisie. This is a stage that the Chinese revolution must inevitably go through and the necessary foundation for the victory of the revolution. We will not destroy this alliance now."

Berkovalyski: "This is also what I have seen and heard recently in Guangzhou. Of course, hearing you say this yourself makes me even more certain."

Chen Duxiu: "The Coalition Government hopes to develop friendly relations with the Soviet Union on the basis of equality and non-infringement of each other's national interests. Of course, I can also frankly say that the Coalition Government will also develop equal and friendly relations with other countries in the world, whether capitalist or socialist, based on this principle."

"So, the coalition government is now an anti-imperialist, democratic coalition government, not a government that has accomplished the proletarian revolution?"

Chen Duxiu nodded affirmatively: "Yes.

Berkwalski leaves.

"Comrade Berkovalysky didn't say anything when he left," Mao Runzhi said. "It seems he needs to consult Moscow before making a decision."

Chen Duxiu: “We spoke to them frankly and openly about our current stage of revolution and how Moscow would react.

Chen Tianheng: "General Secretary, Moscow will definitely give a positive response.

The news that the Chinese Communist Party had established a coalition government in Guangzhou only made Stalin and the Communist International feel that "fortunately, we did not fail in China."

But this was not necessarily a victory for Stalin.

It could also be Trotsky's.

Leon Davidovich Trotsky lost his position as a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union last year, but Trotsky was still a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. He continued to express his views and expound his theories, and a group of people who supported Trotsky's theories emerged within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

In April 1927, 84 members of the Central Committee of the CPSU and senior party cadres issued a statement expressing opposition to Stalin and Bukharin's international policies and support for Trotsky's line.

In fact, Trotsky's previous followers were also gathered together in this way, not because Trotsky paid them salaries or gave them official hats.

This is what makes Trotsky so formidable. He delved so thoroughly into the works of Marx and Lenin, their revolutionary theories, and their philosophical thought, that not only was every word of Trotsky's theory based on the teachings of Marx and Engels, but his logic was also autonomous within his writings, and the average reader, at least on their own, could find no fault with it.

If people who have read his books already have similar thoughts in their hearts, it will be like meeting a close friend and they will gradually believe in Trotskyism.

Trotsky also paid attention to the revolutionary issues in China and expressed his views several times. Party members who believed in Trotskyism and worked in the Communist International used this as a guide for their behavior.

Where the CPSU Central Committee had not issued explicit directives, they "acted on their own," ultimately following Trotsky's lead. Even where the CPSU Central Committee had issued explicit directives, some daring Comintern officials dared to pretend to obey them in secret, because they believed in Trotsky.

Stalin advocated maintaining the union between the Communist Party of China and the Kuomintang and carrying out an anti-imperialist national revolution in China. He believed that China was not yet able to achieve victory in the proletarian revolution.

Trotsky had been comparing the two since the beginning of the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, saying that the Communist Party's merger with the Kuomintang was a terrible mistake. After the Northern Expedition began in 1926, Trotsky said that the Chinese Communist Party should withdraw from the Kuomintang, have a clear class struggle nature, and complete an orthodox proletarian revolution.

In short, this is how the two men's quarrel over China went on in Moscow.

Now, the Communist Party occupied Guangdong, southern Jiangxi, southern Hunan and the Hunan-Jiangxi border, and established a regime in Guangzhou.

If this regime is a purely proletarian regime, Trotsky wins.

If this regime is not yet a proletarian regime, but a democratic coalition government based on the alliance of workers, peasants and the petty bourgeoisie -

Stalin wins.

The Fifth Congress was brief. After electing the Central Committee, the Politburo, and other bodies, Chen Tianheng and Mao Runzhi traveled to Shaoguan. From Shaoguan, Mao Runzhi then headed to southern Hunan. Fan Shisheng's 16th Army in Shaoguan was to be reorganized into the Guangzhou Coast Guard. Chen Tianheng supervised the 16th Army's final reorganization. Furthermore, the revolutionary base areas in southern Hunan required further mass work, otherwise Peng Dehuai's army would be unable to gain momentum.

In southern Jiangxi, Zhu De had just returned to the Third Army when he sent back a report saying that the Nanjing government intended to attack Ganzhou. So Chen Tianheng, who had stayed in Shaoguan for three days, returned to Guangzhou.

Everyone knows the locations of our First Army and Fourth Army. Nanjing knows that these two armies are near Guangzhou and Chaoshan, which are relatively far away from Ganzhou. They want to use a rapid advance to capture Ganzhou before the First Army and Fourth Army arrive.

At this time, there were two Kuomintang armies in Nanchang, but neither army had moved. Liu Bocheng made this analysis based on insider intelligence.

Ye Ting: "The First Army from Shaoguan and the Fourth Army from Meizhou are both 200 to 300 kilometers away from Ganzhou. The distance from Nanchang to Ganzhou is also 300 kilometers. They will not be faster than us.

Liu Bocheng: "If Nanjing first transfers its troops from Nanchang to Ji'an, it will be closer to Ganzhou.

Chen Tianheng: "Chief of Staff Liu, are the Second and Third Armies taking advantage of the situation while waiting for the Nanjing troops to be transferred from Nanchang to Ji'an, or are they taking advantage of the situation while marching from Ji'an to Ganzhou?

Liu Bocheng: "If Nanjing really launches this kind of tentative encirclement and suppression, I am inclined to adopt the first option you mentioned.

Because the enemy had not taken any substantial action, the discussion between the three of them ended here. As a preparatory measure, Guangzhou sent 15 rounds of ammunition to the Second and Third Armies respectively. - Not much, each soldier only received 10 rounds of ammunition.

The coalition government's base was now connected, and ammunition produced in Guangzhou could be delivered to any location within the base, though some mountain roads were difficult to navigate. This was enough to give the Second and Third Armies ammunition supply capabilities far exceeding those of the Soviet Red Army in the original historical dimension.

Heya style

"Chen Tianheng, come here. Government building.

Chen Duxiu called the General Headquarters of the Revolutionary Army. After receiving the call, Chen Tianheng rushed to the Guangzhou Municipal Government building (now the seat of the United Government).

Deng Yanda was also there.

Chen Duxiu: "That Berkovalskii just came again. He told me that the Soviet side highly appreciates the current policies of the coalition government."

Deng Yanda: "Comrade Stalin seems to still stick to his original ideas.

Chen Tianheng: "Did you say... well, anything substantial?

Chen Duxiu: "Yes. First, the Soviet comrades hope that we can mine some manganese ore, which the Soviet Union needs. Second, the Soviet comrades cannot directly sell arms to either side in the Chinese Civil War, but they can sell us their British and Japanese guns, artillery and ammunition stocks.

Chen Tianheng: "Selling British and Japanese-made weapons and ammunition wouldn't arouse suspicion. Unless they were caught in the act, the Soviet Union could deny any involvement. That's right."

...One more thing...Berkovalskii informed me that Chen Yannian, Chen Qiaonian, and a dozen or so comrades from the former Hubei District Party Committee have been transferred to Vladivostok and will return to Guangzhou by ship in a few days.

Chen Duxiu blinked his eyes. "Just this matter."

Deng Yanda: "Yes, these two comrades have been missing for several months and everyone is worried.

Chen Duxiu: "These two young boys, ah!"

Chen Tianheng: "Ah? What did they do in Kulun?

"Once Chen Yannian arrived in Kulun, he used Kulun as his base camp and organized a 'Southward Column,' claiming he was going to attack Suiyuan and Beijing and support the Nanchang Uprising! However, after working in Kulun for several months, he managed to raise less than a battalion! This one battalion, after marching 500 kilometers south from Kulun, fell apart! The battalion commander deserted and defected to the enemy! Not only that, Yan Shu and Qiao Nian both fell ill during the march!"

"You're not cut out for military work, what are you messing around with! Ah!

"Wait a minute, this isn't a random act, this isn't a random act," Chen Tianheng said. "General Secretary Chen, please think again about why Chen Yannian did this."

Chapter 133: Two People Return

Guangzhou Port.

The eagerly waiting crowd finally saw the boat at the dock.

Chen Yannian... No. Chen Yannian's passenger ship is still drifting in the East China Sea.

"Dragon!"

Chen Tianheng saw Li Zhilong on the approaching warship at the dock. Li Zhilong disembarked and saluted: "Chairman Chen, ...Commissioner Chen."

Chen Tianheng hadn't seen Li Zhilong for more than a year, so Li Zhilong still addressed Chen Tianheng as the president of the War Research Association.

"We last met in May of 1937, and we've lost contact since January of 1938. I thought you were kidnapped and sunk by the Fujianese during the purge," Chen Tianheng said. "You're fine now, which is great news. You even brought a ship to Guangzhou, which is doubly good news."

Li Zhilong: "I'm so sorry. The Republic of China Navy... is in a very difficult situation. Now I can only say that I have made a small contribution.

Chen Tianheng: "The Fujian, Guangdong, and Northeastern naval factions of the Republic of China were incompatible with each other. It must have been quite difficult for you, a lone outsider from the 'Whampoa clique', to gain a foothold in them.

Li Zhilong: “Indeed.

Book of Records

In March of 1937, when Li Zhilong was still serving as captain of the Zhongshan warship, Chen Tianheng visited him aboard the warship. He informed him of a significant undercurrent within the Kuomintang and warned him to be mindful of the political risks. Li Zhilong became increasingly cautious, rigorously checking any military deployments to ensure they would go aground.

However, although the Zhongshan ship did not encounter any accidents, in May, Li Zhilong was relieved of his post as captain and went to work in the National Government Navy Department on shore.

Because the revolutionary navy was overwhelmingly dominated by Fujian cliques at the time, they didn't welcome an outsider as a captain. The Fujian clique wouldn't care if you took an office ashore. You could be Navy Minister, but don't even think about commanding a warship.

Li Zhilong actually served as the Minister of the Navy for a period of time. However, as the Northern Expedition Army won victory after victory on the land battlefield, the naval generals of the Beiyang faction also sent telegrams to revolt, so Li Zhilong was squeezed out of the position of Minister of the Navy not long after he took office.

These naval generals who issued the telegram to revolt had very long experience. Most of them had been captains or even high-ranking officers during the late Qing Dynasty. How could Li Zhilong, a first-term graduate of Whampoa Military Academy, compete with them?

In January 1938, Li Zhilong realized that there was no future in working in an office at the Navy Ministry. Chen Tianheng also wrote to him suggesting that he move, so Li Zhilong made a decision.

At this time, Fujian was completely liberated under the offensive of the Northern Expedition Army, so Li Zhilong applied to the Fujian Naval Academy in Mawei, Fuzhou, to serve as the party representative of this naval academy.

The Mawei Naval Academy, founded by Shen Baozhen in 1866, was China's first modern naval academy and the cradle of the Fujian Navy. Graduates of the academy are considered Fujian-style, not necessarily from Fujian (though the vast majority of graduates are Fujianese).

Li Zhilong was humble and cautious at the Naval Academy, learned more, asked more questions and talked less, and never gave orders. He gradually gained the recognition of the supervisors and instructors of the Naval Academy.

In May of 1938, Chiang Kai-shek issued a strict order to carry out a purge in Fujian. Li Zhilong, like him, was at least to be removed from his position as Party representative and expelled from Fujian. However, the Naval Academy staff retained Li Zhilong. While the Naval Academy no longer had a Party representative, and Li Zhilong was no longer in Fujian, he remained. In reality, he remained virtually untouched and enjoyed almost complete freedom of movement, frequently visiting the Naval Academy and the homes of several Fujian clique veterans in Fujian.

In September, Shen Jinchen, the principal of the Naval Academy, suddenly and solemnly summoned Li Zhilong. Li Zhilong rushed to Shen's residence and found a group of Fujian clique bosses waiting for him.

"Principal Shen. Chief Du. Commander Chen. ...Senior Sa.

Principal Shen Jinchen is the great-grandson of Shen Baozhen.

Chief Du was Du Xigui, who had served as Chief of the Beiyang Navy and acting Prime Minister of the Beiyang. After the peace talks between the North and the South, Du Xigui resigned in June 1938 and returned to his hometown in Fuzhou in August. He did not want to be a director for the time being.

Chen Shaokuan was the commander of the Second Fleet. He was a generation younger than Du Xigui. When Du Xigui resigned and returned to his hometown, Chen Shaokuan drove a warship to send him back to Fuzhou.

Senior Sa is Sa Zhenbing. Sa Zhenbing also served as the Chief of the Navy of the Beiyang Navy, but has now completely retired from the navy. He is a gloomy old man in his seventies. Apart from walking around in the morning, he likes to sit upright in his armchair and stare blankly, wondering what he is thinking.

Shen Jinchen: "Director Du, is it still up to you to speak about this?"

"Me?...Okay. Dragon.

Du Xigui spoke, and Li Zhilong replied: "The student is here.

Du Xigui: "Zhilong, you are from Huangpu. But at the Naval Academy, the students, instructors, and Principal Shen all recognized you. You are a good young man."

Li Zhilong: “This is all due to the broad-mindedness of the Naval Academy staff, especially Principal Shen, who does not treat students as outsiders.

"Haha. Zhilong, we used to think you were Chiang Kai-shek's man because you were from Whampoa. Although you had Communist Party membership, the Communist Party was also within the Kuomintang. Now we know you're not Chiang Kai-shek's man, but are truly on the Communist side."

"The Party was purged in May, and if you didn't want to quit, then you were definitely going to follow the Communist Party. Moreover, you were a member of that 'War Research Society', and you were a member of the 'War Research Society'. If you didn't quit, you wouldn't be able to leave the Party ...

"The officers of the two ace armies of the Communist Party were all recruited by the War Research Association." Shen Jinchen continued.

Du Xigui said: "Now that Nanjing and Guangzhou are fighting, although the navy is on the Nanjing side, we, the naval officers, are reluctant to participate. Last year, we were all one family, so why would we fight? But Guangzhou doesn't have a single warship now. I am worried that if Nanjing attacks Guangzhou, Chiang Kai-shek will send the navy fleet to attack the Guangzhou artillery batteries and conduct a landing in Guangdong. This will only make us enemies, so why bother?"

"So we discussed it for a long time, and the idea was that we should also have some ships in Guangzhou. The two sides were evenly matched, and Chiang Kai-shek would not be willing to let our warships take risks.

"It just so happens, Zhilong, that you are a member of the Communist Party, a member of the first batch of Whampoa Military Academy, and a member of the War Research Society. We definitely can't keep you here. Sooner or later, you will have to report to Guangzhou.

"So, I'll let you sail a warship to Guangzhou. What do you call that? I think it's called an uprising, right?"

Chen Shaokuan: "Yes, it's called an uprising.

Li Zhilong: "Thank you so much, General Du, and all the seniors! I wonder which warship General Du would be willing to give me to take to Guangzhou?"

Du Xigui: "Zhilong, you should be familiar with the current warships of our navy. Guess one.

Li Zhilong: "I can only rule this out one by one. Sihai Yixin is definitely out of the question, and the Zhaohe is probably out of the question, too. Although the Zhaohe originally belonged to the Guangdong Navy, it's a large ship of over 2,000 tons. ... Chief Du, could it be the Zhongshan?

Du Xigui said: "The Zhongshan warship cannot be given to Guangzhou. This warship has an unusual name. If I give the Zhongshan warship away, Chiang Kai-shek will cause trouble for our Fujian clique."

Li Zhilong: "A certain Yong-class gunboat other than the Zhongshan?

Du Xigui shook his head.

Li Zhilong: "A 390-ton Changfeng-class destroyer?"

Du Xigui still shook his head, and suddenly, he laughed out loud

Chen Shaokuan: "General Du, I feel a bit reluctant to give away that ship.

Think about it again.

"That's it, Zhilong," Du Xigui said. "See that gunboat parked over there? Hahahaha, it's yours now."