The Fourth Outstanding Person of Huangpu Military Academy

This time, the words released by the Nanjing government were not from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or Lin Sen. They were said directly by the teachers and students of the military academy in an auditorium and the reporters present when Chiang Kai-shek was giving a speech at the Nanjing Army Academy.

"Zhang Zuolin, Vice Chairman of the National Government, issued a statement in Fengtian, supporting the speech of Chiang Kai-shek, President of the Kuomintang, on reclaiming sovereignty over the Chinese Eastern Railway, and expressing the determination of the Northeast Army to fight for the sovereignty and independence of the Republic of China and the restoration of the right to use the railway.

Chen Tianheng: "Hmm...

Or give Moscow a call.

"Comrade Instructor Triandafilov. I am Medvedev.

Chen Tianheng contacted senior infantry tactics instructor Triandafilov, who happened to be in the office today.

"I saw in our domestic news that Chiang Kai-shek's Nanjing government had issued a strong statement regarding the Chinese Eastern Railway. I also noticed that Zhang Zuolin, the warlord in Northeast China, had also publicly echoed Chiang Kai-shek's views, a rare move. So I'm not sure what the final outcome will be.

Liandafillov: "You mean to say that you want to know the final solution of the Soviet Union's conflict over the Chinese Eastern Railway?

Chen Tianheng: “No, what I want to know is whether Zhang Zuolin had any secret communication with the Soviet Union before publicly supporting Chiang Kai-shek’s speech on reclaiming sovereignty.

"Well, this..."

Chen Tianheng: "I wonder if you could ask Chief of the General Staff Shaposhnikov about this matter?

Since it was an indirect inquiry, Liandafeilov reluctantly agreed. The next day, Chen Tianheng called Liandafeilov's office again.

"Zhang Zuolin has been exchanging information with us through secret channels. You are absolutely right, Medvedev.

"Zhang Zuolin asked whether the Chinese Eastern Railway could transfer its rights and interests to him in name only.

"Zhang Zuolin also said that, in fact, Soviet engineers and managers could still remain in the Chinese part of the Chinese Eastern Railway and continue their original work. The two sides were just playing along.

Chapter 14: Who is calling for Marshal Sun to return to govern the five provinces?

Belgodro Oblast.

“This is the town of Prokhorovka.

"We are at the October State Farm. To the right is the village of Ramki, and in front of us is Storodevoye. The fork in the road ahead leads to the Komsomol State Farm. This plateau is 252.2 meters above sea level.

Yesterday, Chen Tianheng and three members of the General Staff traveled south from Kursk Oblast to Belgodro Oblast. Chen Tianheng didn't actually plan to enter Belgodro, but instead headed straight for the town of Prokhorovka.

The site of the largest tank battle in the Battle of Kursk, and the famous squat map in World of Tanks.

Fifteen years later, will the Battle of Kursk still happen?

Regardless of whether it will happen or not, let’s take a look first.

The war 15 years from now may not exactly replicate every battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, but the overall trend is still predictable.

The combat plan that Chen Tianheng is formulating not only involves Kiev and Kharkiv, but also takes into account Russia's Kursk Oblast and Belgorod Oblast, which are adjacent to Ukraine. The two states will be responsible for evacuating non-combat personnel from Ukraine and assembling reserves to launch a tactical counterattack at the appropriate time.

"Comrade Medvedev!"

A truck drove up from a distance and stopped near the four horses of Chen Tianheng's group.

"Comrade Medvedev, the Military Academy and the General Staff demand your immediate return to Moscow. This is an order.

Chen Tianheng: "Return to Moscow?

"Yes, not Kharkov, but Moscow.

Kremlin.

“I heard from the General Staff and Ukrainian comrades that you, at the Ukrainian Military District Staff, developed an operational plan based on the most pessimistic war forecasts.

Stalin spoke slowly, filling his pipe with tobacco.

Chen Tianheng: "The General Staff has many overall assumptions for the future second international intervention war. Half of them are that capitalist countries will launch a full-scale attack on the Soviet Union. Under this premise, we must consider the worst-case scenario, that is, almost all of Ukraine will be occupied by the intervention forces or the invading forces.

Chen Tianheng knew that the General Staff had never predicted the loss of the entire Ukraine when predicting future wars (not that they didn't think of it, but that they didn't dare), but Chen Tianheng also knew that Stalin and the leaders of the Politburo of the CPSU actually knew that this situation was not impossible.

"Hmm. So, after losing all of Ukraine in the war, do we still have hope of winning this war?"

Chen Tianheng: "The Soviet Union had a territory of 2200 million square kilometers, and Ukraine's was 60 square kilometers."

Stalin chuckled.

Chen Tianheng: "We have also simulated future counter-aggression wars against foreign invaders. We imagined even worse scenarios, even considering how to achieve final victory in a war after losing one-third of the country and a region with a population of 1 to 2 million. Ukraine was one of the Soviet republics, not very large in area, and indeed quite densely populated... But compared to the crisis China might face, this is nothing."

Stalin: "China, in modern times, has not won a single victory against Western invasion. Japan also won its war of aggression against China, and they gained a lot of benefits from China. In contrast, Soviet Russia can at least maintain a certain deterrent military strength.

Chen Tianheng: "This is exactly why I am seeking help from the Soviet Union and all countries willing to provide assistance.

"The Soviet Union will provide assistance, but only within its capabilities. Regarding the Ukrainian problem," Stalin suddenly changed the subject seamlessly. "Ukraine, invaded by the intervention forces, will face even more difficult problems than the powerful invaders: the resurgent local bandit army."

Chen Tianheng: "Indeed, we need to consider that after the interventionist forces invade Ukraine, some Ukrainians will support or even join the interventionist forces, becoming puppet troops aiding the foreign invasion."

Stalin: "If you were in charge of Ukraine, what measures would you take to reduce the possibility of war before it breaks out?

Chen Tianheng: “I have only studied how to deal with the puppet army in China’s future anti-aggression war, and what I can think of now is relatively rough.

Stalin looked at Chen Tianheng and chuckled again, but did not go any further into the topic.

"Chen Tianheng, you've only been in the Soviet Union for less than four months, and Stalin has already met with you three times.

At the liaison office, Wang Ruofei looked at Chen Tianheng in disbelief.

"The first time was when I met with He Cheng, both of us trainees in the Soviet Union. The second time was when Stalin commissioned me to investigate a matter. This time, it was related to my work as an intern at the Ukrainian General Staff," Chen Tianheng said. "I always wrote a report on the meeting and sent it back to China afterwards."

Wang Ruofei: “I think it’s mainly because you’re a good talker and can find topics to talk about with anyone. … Foreign Minister Chen also met with Stalin and will have formal talks with the People’s Commissar of Foreign Affairs tomorrow.

Chen Tianheng: "Foreign Minister Chen, didn't Stalin make any substantive promises or commitments?

Chen Youren: "Yes. It was mainly about Sino-Soviet friendship. As for the issue of the Chinese Eastern Railway, Comrade Stalin only told me to discuss it with the People's Commissar of Foreign Affairs.

Chen Tianheng: "As for the dispute over the rights of way of the Middle East Railway, we simply cannot intervene in the Northeast at this point. What we needed to do was actually already done when we issued the statement."

Chen Youren: "Commissioner Chen, there is still one aspect of this matter that remains to be confirmed. Zhang Zuolin, or the Nanjing government, cannot obtain the 50% operating income. If this cannot be done, it will be a mistake in diplomatic work."

Chen Tianheng: "The operating income of the Chinese Eastern Railway is considered the Soviet Union's overseas operating income, and the money earned is also international hard currency. Although it is silver, it can be used to purchase goods internationally. Given the current economic situation of the Soviet Union, they are unwilling to give up this overseas operating income, which is over 400 million silver dollars per year."

Chen Youren changed the itinerary of his visit to Europe and went from France to the Soviet Union, mainly to discuss the issue of reclaiming the rights to the Middle East Railway.

After confirming that the Soviet Union would not give up its share of the operating income of the Chinese Eastern Railway, the dispute over the Chinese Eastern Railway remained only for the Guangzhou government: before Zhang Zuolin's troops entered the Chinese Eastern Railway and resumed the exercise of sovereignty, China and the Soviet Union issued a statement that "the Soviet Union would return the right of way of the Chinese Eastern Railway to China (Guangzhou government)."

Nie Rongzhen: "Commissioner Chen, when we were in France, visiting the Brandt Arms Company, we happened to meet the arms delegation sent by the Nanjing government to France in the hotel. The head of the delegation was Zhang Qun, and there was a member who was also quite famous, He Zhonghan.

Chen Tianheng coughed and said, "Zhang Qun is now the Director of the Ordnance Department in Nanjing. I wonder how much money he plans to spend on guns and artillery during his European tour."

Chen Youren: "We can still come up with a lot of money. Song Ziwen is now going crazy in several southeastern provinces, and now in the business circles of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, even the word of 'welcoming Marshal Sun back to the five provinces' has begun to spread.

"Welcome Marshal Sun back to govern the five provinces" was really shouted by more than one or two people.

Sun Chuanfang, the commander-in-chief of the five-province coalition army at that time, was probably ousted from power because he had not been in power for long and had not yet exploited the land to the point of public outrage. Therefore, the people of the five southeastern provinces did not have a very bad impression of him.

Especially this year, Chiang Kai-shek and Song Ziwen have been looking for new financial revenues everywhere in order to repay the military funds raised last year. Now the five southeastern provinces feel that they are not as good as Marshal Sun Yat-sen.

The annual fiscal revenue of the Nanjing government, if calculated by adding up the revenue of each province, should be 1.5 million silver yuan. These added provinces do not include Guangdong.

However, the Nanjing government only received a small portion of this revenue. To put it bluntly, the Nanjing government's revenue primarily consisted of customs duties and the lijin (commercial tax collected at each stop along the way) collected from the five southeastern provinces. In other regions, such as the northwest, lijin was intercepted by Feng Yuxiang on the spot, and the lijin collected in Guangxi was naturally intercepted by the Guangxi clique. Customs duties also had to be deducted from various reparations, such as the Boxer Indemnity.

Chiang Kai-shek now gets angry whenever he thinks of this. The Red Bandits in Guangdong withheld the customs duties on goods imported into the province, but paid none of the Boxer Indemnity.

Not only did Guangdong refuse to pay any compensation, it also wanted to negotiate with the British in the name of the Republic of China to regain tariff autonomy! Damn it!

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the government's current fiscal revenue can guarantee the repayment of principal and interest within three years.

When meeting with the bigwigs of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang financial groups, Chiang Kai-shek made such remarks to the financial group representatives very politely.

Yu Qiaqing: "I have no objection. However, in addition to the 2500 million yuan raised, there are also donations from the Chamber of Commerce. Although this is money that individuals voluntarily contribute to the Northern Expedition and does not need to be repaid, it still amounts to over 300 million yuan, which is indeed a considerable amount. The dozen or so merchants under my control have all contributed a lot.

Chiang Kai-shek: "The Republic of China will not disappoint the merchants in terms of the donations from the Chamber of Commerce.

Yu Qiaqing: "Now the Chamber of Commerce, firstly, hopes that there will be no war, as it costs too much money. Secondly, we hope that as merchants, we will be subject to fewer taxes and levies, at least within the five southeastern provinces, and that there will be no checkpoints everywhere to collect our money.

Chiang Kai-shek: "Likin is also the cornerstone of finance and taxation.

Yu Qiaqing: "Commander-in-Chief, the standard of lijin and the power of local governments to collect lijin can remain unchanged. This is indeed an important source of revenue."

"That's fine then. The 17 companies under Mr. Yu's Chamber of Commerce can be given duty-free benefits. After all, you have made great contributions to supporting the National Revolution." Chiang Kai-shek understood what Yu Qiaqing meant. He just wanted some tax-free privileges, which was easy to do.

Yu Qiaqing: "That would be great.

Chiang Kai-shek looked at Chen Guangfu and said, "The Bankers' Association has also raised a lot of money for the National Revolution. I wonder if Mr. Chen has any requests?"

"The bank union also hopes that there will be no more fighting. What's the point of fighting?" Chen Guangfu said. "Other than that, there's nothing else.

Chiang Kai-shek: "Oh.

Chen Guangfu suddenly thought of something: "The government's financial situation is still very poor, and the banking industry is aware of this. I hope the deficit can be reversed as soon as possible."

Chiang Kai-shek: "Minister of Finance Song will strive to achieve a balance between revenue and expenditure. Our Party-State is now unified in all regions except Guangdong Province. In the future, as finances are gradually brought under the central government, Nanjing's financial situation will fundamentally improve."

Yu Qiaqing: "The Communist Party government in Guangzhou is said to be running out of money and has a huge deficit. In July, the Guangzhou government was almost unable to pay salaries.

Chiang Kai-shek snorted twice: "It would be a miracle if the Chen and Deng traitors could manage the finances well."

"Guangzhou," Chen Guangfu said, "it's true that they have a huge deficit! But they seem to be trying to complete the entire Guangdong-Hankou Railway themselves, that is, the Shaoguan to Hengyang section. In addition, they are also repairing roads and bridges in Guangdong.

Chiang Kai-shek said: "The Chen-Deng rebels now occupy Hengyang. Naturally, a railway is needed to connect the two places. Otherwise, Hengyang will be difficult to hold.

"But, Commander-in-Chief, these Cantonese bandits have now announced they're going to build the Yue-Han Railway, and construction has actually begun in Shaoguan. It seems their reputation among the people has improved quite a bit," Yu Qiaqing said. "I'm not just making this up. That guy in your National Revolutionary Army, Zhang Fakui—yes, that's him—told me that the Cantonese bandits in Guangzhou are using the money they collect from taxes to fund their military, and also using some of it to build the Yue-Han Railway. It seems like they're really managing Guangdong well."

"Humph," Chiang Kai-shek's face changed several times: "We can also build railways, and we can also run them."

Chapter 15: Saving the Nation through Industry: From Entry to Escape

"Construction of the Hangzhou-Jiangxi section of the Republic of China Zhejiang-Jiangxi Railway will officially begin today!"

"Bang bang bang bang"

"Please invite Chairman Zhang Jingjiang of the Provincial Government to lay the foundation stone for the project!

Hangzhou, Xixing Town, Xiaoshan County, across the Qiantang River, the construction site of the starting station of the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Railway.

Zhang Jingjiang appeared at the groundbreaking ceremony, leaning on a cane. He used a shovel to gently shovel some soil onto the foundation stone and said, "May the project go smoothly, be of high quality, and be safe! Good luck in starting the project!"

The Zhejiang-Jiangxi Railway, the first phase of the railway connecting Hangzhou and Nanchang, the section from Hangzhou to Yushan County, Jiangxi, was officially started in September 1928.

However, this railway does not reach Hangzhou City because the Qiantang River Bridge is too difficult to build. The entire railway line must avoid crossing the middle and lower reaches of the Qiantang River, so it can only choose Xixing Town on the other side of the Qiantang River as the starting point.

The Zhejiang-Jiangxi Railway also employed various methods to reduce engineering complexity and cost. Although the current design uses standard gauge, it is actually a light railway, requiring less stringent load-bearing requirements for bridges and roadbeds, thus saving construction costs.

Due to insufficient funds, the railway adopted a strategy of "opening up first, then backing up," operating the line as it was built, with construction and operation taking place in sections. The first phase of the line from Hangzhou to Yushan was divided into four sections, which were gradually completed. After the first phase opened to traffic, construction began on the second phase, from Yushan to Nanchang and from Nanchang to Zhuzhou.

It must also be said that although the Nanjing government’s propaganda mouthpiece has been vigorously promoting the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Railway in recent days, saying that this is the first railway to be started since the establishment of this government, in fact, the Nanjing finances did not inject any funds into the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Railway project at all, and the railway construction costs were all raised by Zhang Jingjiang.

"Brother Jingjiang.

Chen Guangfu came to Hangzhou from Shanghai to meet with Zhang Jingjiang and also to see whether the construction of the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Railway was proceeding normally.

Zhang Jingjiang was the governor-general of the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Railway, and Chen Guangfu was one of the investors of the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Railway. The Bank of Communications was also a senior member of the Banking Association.

"It seems that Brother Jingjiang has found the purpose of his life struggle and the source of his joy.

Zhang Jingjiang: "Actually, this is something I understood thirty years ago: industry. Only industry can strengthen a country. Without so many factories, so many mines, and so many railways, how can you make the country strong and the people rich? But after meeting Sun Yat-sen, I revised my view. While industry can certainly save the country, revolution is still necessary. That's why I supported Sun Yat-sen for over a decade, from the expulsion of the Tartars and the founding of the Republic of China to the current equalization of land rights... Without equal land rights, it's really hard to develop industry."

Chen Guangfu: "Equal land rights? Oh, it seems you are trying out land reform in Zhejiang.

Zhang Jingjiang: "Yes, my Land Reform Committee is fully responsible for land reform in Zhejiang Province. Director Zhou Ruiqi is my key person. Zhou Ruiqi studied in France and spent a long time in Turkey. He witnessed how the Ottoman Empire eliminated theocracy and tribal power through land reform. Guangfu, how is your banking industry doing now? I haven't left Zhejiang for a long time, so I don't know much about the latest developments in Shanghai and Nanjing.

"Don't even mention it. It's a complete mess," Chen Guangfu shook his head. "The Nanjing government's central fiscal revenue this year is estimated at 40 million silver dollars, which has already squeezed the five southeastern provinces to the point of suffering. Yet, the year-end deficit is estimated to be over 20 million silver dollars. I wonder which bank would dare to lend money to the government to settle its accounts at the end of the year."

Zhang Jingjiang: "Last year, various industries in Jiangsu and Zhejiang raised 30 million yuan. Is this money still owed?

Chen Guangfu: "A portion of the bonds were converted into government bonds, which can be considered a direct donation. Yu Qiaqing's goods now only need to pay a 5% tariff when they land in Shanghai, and they are then tax-free when sold in the five southeastern provinces. Other merchants who are not affiliated with Yu Qiaqing's chamber of commerce have to pay an additional 10 to 20 percentage points of lijin when selling goods in the five southeastern provinces. This is Yu Qiaqing's repayment for Chiang Kai-shek's donation. My bank cannot get such preferential policies.

"Brother Guangfu, you were the one who secretly opened the Everbright Bank in Guangzhou, right?" Zhang Jingjiang asked.

Chen Guangfu: "Yes, yes. How about it? Brother Jingjiang, are you interested in investing one million or five hundred thousand in Everbright Bank?"

Zhang Jingjiang: "Huohuo, huohuo, I'd better forget it. I'm already a local official in Zhejiang, so I can't just act like that.

"Brother Jingjiang, since we are talking about this, I will tell you in secret," Chen Guangfu said, "Now, I have paid for the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Railway and the completed section of the Guangdong-Hankou Railway under construction in Guangzhou.

"That's right, that's right," Zhang Jingjiang said. "By the way, I also worked in Guangdong before the Kuomintang and the Communist Party split up. The Guangdong-Hankou Railway was not easy to build. There were more bridges than roads.

Chen Guangfu: "That's right. The only thing missing from the Yue-Han Railway right now is the most difficult section to build, the Nanling section. From Shaoguan to the north, it's either a bridge or a tunnel. The longest tunnel is said to be three or four miles long. Workers dig from both ends of the mountain, and it takes a whole year to dig through both sides. And you may not know that the Guangzhou government didn't build a light railway when they built the Yue-Han Railway. They built it to accommodate standard-weight train cars."

Zhang Jingjiang: “The Communist Party is accustomed to playing big and long games.

Chen Guangfu: "That's the problem. Sometimes the Communist Party is really stupid. In July of this year, they almost couldn't pay government salaries. This is because they had just occupied Guangzhou last year and they wanted to build three colleges and universities. Then in 1918, they wanted to promote universal literacy. School started in September and teachers for national education were hired in July. They hired more teachers than civil servants, which immediately bankrupted the finances.

Zhang Jingjiang: "Haha, how did you resolve it later?

"We've raised funds from society to set up an education foundation, which has barely solved the problem. Hey, Jingjiang, you could also donate some to the education foundation; it's considered a public welfare endeavor."