The Fourth Outstanding Person of Huangpu Military Academy

"Yes." Chiang Kai-shek replied to Yu Qiaqing with one word, then turned to Chen Guangfu and said, "Brother Guangfu, do you have any requests to make?"

Chen Guangfu: "The Banking Association, which includes dozens of banks, large and small, has a request...the request is just to find more money. The same is true for Xinzhi's Bank of Communications.

Chiang Kai-shek: "Perhaps Finance Minister Song has some ideas for this.

Qian Xinzhi: "Forget it, forget it. Minister Song is just issuing government bonds and our bank used to subscribe to them. If we can't get the money back, we have to pay more.

Chen Guangfu: "Commander-in-Chief Chiang, one last question. Now that a large sum of military funds has been allocated, can the Party army be sure of victory on the battlefield? Although the Guangdong troops are small, they are all elite forces.

"Hmph. ...Although the Cantonese bandits are temporarily stronger, they cannot sustain this. I have already re-established the Party Army Military Academy in Nanjing. Our Party Army has mastered many of the Cantonese bandits' training techniques. This is not difficult. It is nothing more than hard training to strengthen the army."

Chen Guangfu: "Then, Commander-in-Chief, I would like to visit the Party Army camp near Nanjing.

Pukou, Nanjing.

"Is this the Ninth Army? I'd like to ask, how are the armies of the National Revolutionary Army ranked?"

Chen Guangfu and Qian Xinzhi led a delegation to observe the Ninth Army in Nanjing, accompanied by Zhang Zhizhong.

Yu Qiaqing still had no interest in places where soldiers gathered, but Chen Guangfu was somewhat interested. Last year, when Chiang Kai-shek first sought fundraising, Chen Guangfu visited the First Division's headquarters in Jiujiang and was quite impressed.

Zhang Zhizhong: "Our army's designations are still being adjusted. Initially, there were eight armies at the start of the Northern Expedition, but under the onslaught of the Northern Expedition, many troops across the country revolted and joined the Northern Expedition, leading to a rather chaotic numbering process. The designation of the Ninth Army was originally given to the Guizhou Qian Army, which revolted. However, the commander later changed his mind, so we disposed of him and disbanded the Ninth Army. Recently, a new Ninth Army was formed in Nanjing. By the way, I'd like to thank you both for your substantial financial support."

Chen Guangfu nodded, got off the car and walked into the military camp accompanied by Zhang Zhizhong.

Zhang Zhizhong: "Chen Tianheng's troops were also stationed in this military camp for a period of time.

"Yes. Chen Tianheng..." Chen Guangfu said, "The last time I visited in Jiujiang was Chen Tianheng's unit.

Zhang Zhizhong: "Ah.

Chen Guangfu: "Your Commander-in-Chief Chiang said that training troops is simple. All you need to do is learn the training methods and practice them diligently. I want to see if this Ninth Army is any better than Chen Tianheng's troops."

Lieutenant Zhang Zhizhong: "Ah.

The first thing Chen Guangfu saw when he entered the military camp was two soldiers in disheveled clothes walking out of the camp.

Zhang Zhizhong: "Maybe we can give them a break between training sessions.

"No, General Zhang," Chen Guangfu said, "Shouldn't soldiers salute their superiors first? ... Forget it. Let me take a look."

Then Chen Guangfu saw a dozen soldiers sitting in a row in a corner sheltered from the wind, basking in the early winter sun.

Chen Guangfu: . . . .

Qian Xinzhi: "Guangfu, I think it's better not to watch it.

Chen Guangfu: "Okay, it's noon now, let's go to the barracks cafeteria for a meal."

"Hello, sir!" At the headquarters of the 26th Division of the 9th Army, an officer with the rank of colonel saluted Zhang Zhizhong.

"These two are special guests invited by Commander-in-Chief Chiang Kai-shek to observe the Ninth Army. Please receive them well." Zhang Zhizhong said, "Chairman Chen, this is Tang Qingji, commander of the 77th Regiment of the 26th Division.

Chen Guangfu: "Captain Tang, what class were you in at Whampoa Military Academy?

"Me? I'm from Guizhou Military Academy.

"Oh, oh," Chen Guangfu said, noting that he was not familiar with the Guizhou Military Academy at all. "Captain Tang, did you participate in any battles during the Northern Expedition?"

Tang Qingji raised his head and said, "We fought hundreds of battles, large and small, it's hard to describe them in detail.

Chen Guangfu, who has been in the banking industry for half his life, felt that Captain Tang must be bragging, but he could not find any evidence.

At this time, several people have been seated in the canteen. The officers have their own table. The guards bring the wine jug up and pour wine for everyone. Outside the window, the soldiers of the 77th Regiment approach the canteen in a chaotic manner. They are also going to eat.

"You, you..." Chen Guangfu carefully recalled what he had seen and heard in the First Division last year, "Don't your soldiers line up before entering the mess hall and sing a song before eating? For example, the military song of the Ninth Army or something like that?

"Sing? Why should I sing? Singing is useless.

Chen Guangfu and Qian Xinzhi hurriedly left the military camp and got on the bus without even eating a single bite of food.

"Oh no, oh no, Chiang Kai-shek is such a big liar!" In the car, Chen Guangfu beat his chest and stamped his feet.

Qian Xinzhi: "Guangfu, ... I didn't go to Jiujiang. Is this unit that much different from the First Division?

"Very far! Very, very far!" Chen Guangfu covered his eyes. "With an army like this, how can we suppress the Guangdong bandits? We're finished, we're finished!"

Chapter 142: International Investigation Report

After visiting the Ninth Army, Chen Guangfu became a "pill party" and was extremely pessimistic about the prospects of the Kuomintang's large-scale anti-communist campaign.

He was also extremely distressed about the millions of silver dollars he had raised for war expenses.

Among the Jiangzhe consortium that raised funds for Chiang Kai-shek, Yu Qiaqing was a comprador spokesperson (he himself was a comprador). Zhang Jingjiang, a member of a Jiangnan silk merchant family, was now a semi-professional politician. Chen Guangfu and Qian Xinzhi were bankers.

There is a saying that goes: Entrepreneurs exploit workers, and bankers exploit entrepreneurs. In the food chain, bankers should be at the top, but Chen Guangfu and Qian Xinzhi do not seem to enjoy such a status.

Because Chinese bankers have a problem: their country simply doesn't have a modern financial system.

To put it bluntly, China currently lacks a modern currency. The currency currently in circulation in China consists of physical metal (silver coins and gold bars), supplemented by surviving copper coins minted throughout history. Chinese banks do not have the right to issue banknotes. Your bank only has so much silver or Yuan Datou notes as it can obtain.

Therefore, whether it was Qian Xinzhi, the chairman of the Bank of Communications, or Chen Guangfu, the chairman of the alliance of more than a dozen banks, they could only cautiously make money in the cracks. They lived within their means, taking deposits and then issuing loans, or they kept their eyes open and observed, taking control of some projects with high potential for making big money.

Raising more than 8 million silver dollars for Chiang Kai-shek really hurt the vitality of the banking alliance.

If the more than 8 million silver dollars raised by Chen Guangfu and the 30 million silver dollars raised by various consortiums were wasted, it would be even more devastating.

"We should still try to persuade Chiang Kai-shek to let go of his obsession, manage the business properly, and take a long-term view," Chen Guangfu said, "but our advice is not very effective. Where has Brother Jingjiang been recently? Let him tell us, Chiang Kai-shek might listen.

Qian Xinzhi: "Senior Zhang asked Chiang Kai-shek for an official position in Zhejiang and returned to Zhejiang to work on rural construction and land reform. He didn't want to get involved in Nanjing anymore."

Chen Guangfu sighed, "Brother Jingjiang is truly open-minded. Shouldn't I find something to do to distract myself? Does the Nationalist government have any plans to reform the domestic banking industry?"

"No. But, Brother Guangfu, there is one in Guangzhou. They are setting up a Central Reserve Bank."

Chen Guangfu: "What? The Central Bank? Just like the Federal Reserve?

"It's not clear yet, news spreads slowly over there, but judging by the name, it should be about the same.

Chen Guangfu: "Guangzhou is going to issue banknotes.

"Yeah," Qian Xinzhi said with a wry smile, "If the 'Red Bandits' in Guangzhou had sorted out the banking and financial system before Nanjing, we wouldn't have to work in the financial world."

"No, no," Chen Guangfu shook his head. "Brother Qian, let's set up a clone in Guangzhou."

Guangzhou.

After the Fifth Congress concluded, Mao Runzhi, who had gone to the Hunan base, returned to Guangzhou.

"Many problems still exist in rural work in central Hunan, southern Hunan, and northern Guangdong. Furthermore, problems are also emerging in rural work along the Hunan-Jiangxi border and in southern Jiangxi.

"It would be unfair to blame the Communist International for all these problems. These are not issues left over from the Communist International; they are problems within our own comradely consciousness.

Mao Runzhi was now a member of both the Military Commission and the committee in charge of rural work. He returned to Guangzhou with the results of the previous month:

An investigative report on the rural work of international missionaries.

When Chen Tianheng walked into the meeting room, Mao Runzhi, Peng Pai and Chen Duxiu were having a heated discussion.

Or rather, the discussion was very lively.

"Mao Runzhi, why are you picking up those anarchist ideas again!" Chen Duxiu said seriously.

"I'm not an anarchist. I'm against some of the practices we're doing now. Our revolution in the countryside is about driving out the local tyrants and evil gentry. It's about liberating the peasants, not about driving out the local tyrants and evil gentry and then becoming the tyrants and evil gentry ourselves!"

Mao Runzhi replied.

Peng Pai seemed to be siding with Mao Zedong: "Comrade General Secretary, although the land reform in the rural areas of eastern Guangdong where I was working was different from that in Mao Zedong's area, the ultimate goal of the land revolution that Mao Zedong and I adopted was the same: to liberate the peasants, China's largest and most toiling group. We will fight alongside them, and the result of this struggle will be that everyone will have land. Once this result is achieved, we can retreat and supervise from the sidelines. This cannot be considered anarchism."

Chen Duxiu: "One of the signs of our revolutionary success is that the peasants have a sense of national identity. To give the peasants a sense of national identity, they must have a strong organization to back them up. We cannot deny politics and at the same time demand a culture that allows individuals to break free from authoritarian structural consciousness.

Chen Tianheng asked in a low voice: "Comrade Dazhao, where are the materials for this meeting?"

Li Dazhao: “There is no collected meeting materials, but you can take a look at this report by Mao Runzhi.

Chen Tianheng picked up the report and read it.

Mao Runzhi was referring to the current rural grassroots organizations, where some abnormal phenomena or signs of abnormal phenomena have generally appeared.

That is, grassroots organizations are increasingly interfering in farmers' farming and other labor.

The collective farms established in the "Revolutionary Axis" under the Communist International's remote control were discontinued. However, local Party organizations in many regions, sensing a taste of success, often issued regulations requiring all farmers within their jurisdiction to comply. For example, they required farmers to sell a certain amount of grain after the autumn harvest (in addition to agricultural taxes, which were paid). However, in reality, farmers used a portion of their grain (sweet potatoes and other coarse grains) to feed livestock, which they then sold for a higher income.

Other places have mobilized farmers to work on public works. Although some areas do have poor agricultural irrigation and transportation infrastructure and need some infrastructure projects, the "labor" imposed on farmers by grassroots organizations is so frequent that it affects the livelihood of farmers' families.

"Farmers don't just farm. In Hunan and Jiangxi, besides farming their own land, peasant families also have other livelihoods to support their families. If you take away all their time, what else can they do? In feudal society, labor service didn't require so many days.

Chen Tianheng: "From what I've learned, we've certainly over-requisitioned the labor of farmers in the rural areas of southern Hunan some time ago. In August and September, our army entered Guangdong from Hunan with a massive logistics, baggage, and ammunition load, not to mention the moving coalition government. I recall recruiting over 6 nearby farmers to help push carts for transportation. After the Guangzhou Campaign, if grassroots organizations continue to recruit farmers to work on water conservancy projects, it will likely disrupt their normal operations."

Li Dazhao: "If the labor is indeed too much, then the amount of labor can be reduced as appropriate, but the farmers cannot have the final say.

Mao Runzhi: "If the peasants cannot have the final say, then wouldn't that be like us riding on their heads?

Chen Tianheng was called to the meeting because it was a work meeting of the Central Committee members, which was related to the countryside and the next stage of military affairs in the future.

However, what Chen Tianheng found interesting was that the topic being discussed now would probably not appear in the original historical plane.

Because there was no short period of safety in the rural base areas in 1927. They were either fighting or about to fight, and every time they fought, it was a life-and-death battle.

At this time, in the rural areas of southern Hunan and southern Jiangxi, grassroots organizations were carrying out rural construction, and some rural Party organizations that did a more detailed job were able to engage in dialogue and negotiations with dissatisfied farmers. - Of course, not all rural Party organizations have achieved this now.

The investigative report on the rural work of the internationalists written by Mao Runzhi concluded that what the internationalists had done had now been reversed, but some subtle influences brought by the internationalists from the Soviet Union still existed.

For example, unlimited mobilization of peasant manpower and large-scale procurement of grain.

You must know that the international faction in this dimension, under the protection of Wang Jingwei (before he turned against the Soviet Union), began to attempt agricultural collectivization almost simultaneously with the Soviet Union.

Ultimately, the "Revolutionary Central Axis" was thrown into chaos, with 1500 people from one village joining the Homecoming Corps. Isn't that a bit too many landlords?

Chen Tianheng: "General Secretary Chen, I'd like to take advantage of this meeting to make a forecast. Chiang Kai-shek's large-scale encirclement and suppression campaign is about to begin, and the main battlefield will still be in southern Jiangxi and southern Hunan. In the fight against the encirclement and suppression, the army may need to recruit a large number of farmers to assist in transportation. I ask the grassroots organizations in southern Hunan and southern Jiangxi to reserve sufficient time for farmers to work."

Chen Duxiu: "Is it possible that the Pingjiang Uprising troops in southern Hunan were actually expanded into an army before the anti-encirclement and suppression campaign began?"

Mao Runzhi: "Peng Dehuai and Huang Gonglue previously formed a division, and now they've reorganized it into two brigades, each with two regiments. This is equivalent to expanding a regiment in the past month. Rural work in southern Hunan can't be rushed. I no longer support a large-scale conscription this winter. In many rural areas, if winter conscription arrives during the busy spring farming season, I'm afraid soldiers will desert."

Chen Duxiu: "Then we still have four armies. How many men can we use to deal with Chiang Kai-shek?"

"According to my and Chief of Staff Liu's estimates," Chen Tianheng said, "Chief of Staff Chiang Kai-shek, with the support of the Jiangsu-Zhejiang financial group, could probably mobilize 15 to 20 armies. However, not all of these armies would be able to be deployed in the attack on Guangdong after being mobilized."

The Huangan and Macheng uprisings are brewing, as is the Liuhuo uprising. Our actions in Hubei, Henan, and Anhui can probably tie down one or two armies. Furthermore, the Fifth Division of the Third Army plans to lay siege to Fuzhou, forcing one or two enemy armies to reinforce from Nanchang and Yingtan.

"However, the biggest change should be the Guangxi clique. After annexing the Hunan Army, the Guangxi clique now has seven armies. When Chiang Kai-shek appoints his generals, he may select five of them to participate in the war.

"So," Chen Duxiu said, "if we succeed in persuading the Guangxi clique to remain passive in their campaign of suppression, the enemy we will have to face will only have ten armies at most."

Nanjing.

Chiang Kai-shek renamed the Northern Expedition Headquarters as the Bandit Suppression Headquarters and convened a meeting of military leaders from various factions to discuss plans to suppress bandits.

As expected, Li Zongren, representing the Guangxi clique, stated that the current situation in Hunan and Hubei presented numerous dangers. The presence of a highly effective Communist army in the mountainous valleys along the Hunan border was well known, and the Guangxi clique stated that at least two armies would be needed to guard against them. Furthermore, intelligence indicated that numerous Communist-controlled peasant associations in the mountainous areas of Hubei and Anhui north of the Yangtze River were actively mobilizing the peasants, potentially leading to an uprising in the future.

Therefore, Li Zongren felt that the Guangxi clique should not take on too many combat tasks.

Service.

"German neighbors!" Chiang Kai-shek said angrily, "The Guangxi troops were invincible in the Northern Expedition, so why are you so perfunctory when it comes to fighting the Guangdong bandits?"

Li Zongren: "Commander-in-Chief Jiang, so far, only our army has penetrated Guangdong Province and taken back part of its territory. We have also recaptured Qinzhou, Beihai, and Fangchenggang in the Beibu Gulf. Which other army can achieve this?"

He Yingqin, the head of the headquarters:

Chiang Kai-shek: "My dear neighbor, I will have a good talk with you tomorrow.

Chapter 143: Comrade General Secretary, You Can Also Win

Guangzhou.

The debate continues: Mao Runzhi in 1927 and Peng Pai in 1927 vs. Chen Du

Chen Duxiu's views at this time were similar to those of the "establishment faction", while Mao Runzhi in 1927 was certainly not the anarchism that Chen Duxiu had just criticized. Mao Runzhi's views at this time were more similar to the rural autonomy movement.

Rural autonomy based on equal land rights under the leadership of the proletarian party.

Compared with the two, Peng Pai's views are closer to Mao Runzhi.

During the great peasant movement of 1926-1927, Peng Pai focused on rural land reform in the Hailufeng-Chaoshan region. His land reform measures were extremely radical, but it was proven that violent land reform would not trigger a general crisis in the countryside. Only land reform in the "Revolutionary Central Axis," followed by the expropriation of peasants' land, would lead to widespread chaos.

Then, after completing the land reform in a region, Peng Pai handed over the management of the grassroots level of the village to the local party organization. The mission of the party organization - according to Peng Pai's opinion, is first and foremost to be responsible to the farmers.

Chen Duxiu: "Comrade Peng Pai, the rural self-government in Chaoshan, Hailufeng, and Haifeng has been implemented without any major crisis. This is because there is no great military pressure in eastern Guangdong. We are not conscripting large numbers of soldiers or civilians there. Therefore, it seems that rural self-government can be carried out.

Peng Pai shook his head. "There's also the Fourth Army in eastern Guangdong. The local farmers have given it significant support. Furthermore, the Chaoshan farmers have established two self-defense groups. Under the Fourth Army's training, these groups are quite effective."

Chen Duxiu: "The revolution is a revolution for the whole world. This world certainly doesn't refer to the whole world, but at least it refers to all of China. The regions that have completed land reform have gone on to live their own autonomous lives, and at most have established two self-defense groups. What about the rest of our country?"