The Fourth Outstanding Person of Huangpu Military Academy

Promoting national education was no easy task, but the Guangzhou coalition government had to do it. Children throughout Guangdong, southern Hunan, southern Jiangxi, and even in the Hunan-Jiangxi and Hubei-Henan-Anhui base areas were to receive basic literacy and arithmetic education.

The Guangzhou Joint Government can barely find literate people to be teachers, but the government cannot afford to support them. The final solution adopted is to raise funds from the society and divide teachers into public teachers and private teachers. Private teachers refer to teachers in rural national schools and literacy schools. Their salary is only one-third of that of public teachers. However, during the rural land reform, teachers were also given a piece of land, and the land was distributed as good as possible. This can increase the actual income of private teachers.

To save as much money as possible, the duration of national education must be shortened. Guangzhou's goal is to have three years of elementary school, a full six years of study, and another stage of high school graduation. The former would enable farmers to read notices and calculate change when buying things at the market, while the latter would allow them to read less complex books and calculate the agricultural tax rate. This requires the implementation of simplified Chinese characters or a phonetic alphabet.

Lu Xun in Guangzhou spoke out strongly, calling for the immediate pinyinization of Chinese characters and the invention of a phonetic "new Chinese" based on the Latin alphabet.

Lu Xun's statement aroused strong repercussions across the country. Scholars who opposed the pinyinization of Chinese characters, such as Tao Xingzhi, Hu Shi, Tao Menghe, Liu Bannong, etc., gathered in Guangzhou from all over the country to confront Lu Xun.

In the first half of 1928, Lu Xun announced his defeat, and the Guangzhou United Government chose to simplify Chinese characters and compile a new set of simpler and easier-to-recognize Chinese pinyin to assist in learning.

This is the main Chinese language program for national education now being implemented by the Guangzhou United Government.

At this point, people who are familiar with the governments of Guangzhou and Nanjing can already see that although Guangzhou and Nanjing have recently been in dire straits, the reasons for their poverty are different.

The Nanjing government was still supporting a huge army of 140 million, while Guangzhou was dealing with all these miscellaneous expenses.

Changshan, Zhejiang.

Zhang Jingjiang came to inspect the progress of land reform in Changshan County.

In the land reform in Zhejiang, Zhang Jingjiang originally planned to adopt a redemption system, where the government would buy the land from the landlords and then redistribute it to the farmers.

However, a quick calculation will reveal that there is not enough money to buy land.

Zhang Jingjiang ultimately adopted a redistribution system that was part redemption and part confiscation. Landowners whose per capita land area was more than five times the local average would have their land confiscated. Landowners whose per capita land area was between two and five times (with a ceiling of 20 times per household) would have their land redeemed by the government. Former landowners could retain up to twice the local average for personal cultivation.

Even this partial redemption system was a heavy burden on Zhejiang's finances, forcing land reform to be implemented county by county. Zhang Jingjiang chose two counties on the Zhejiang-Jiangxi border, which were relatively poor and faced intense land conflicts. Implementing land reform would alleviate these simmering social tensions. Another reason was that land prices were lower in poorer areas, making the government able to afford redemption.

However, when Zhang Jingjiang's car entered Changshan County, he found the local Zhejiang Land Reform Office deserted. Upon inquiry, he learned that Zhou Ruiqi, after arriving in Changshan County, had taken personnel from the local Land Reform Office to the countryside to implement the land equalization policy. Zhang Jingjiang then drove for another two hours on bumpy, muddy roads before reaching a rural village 20 kilometers from the county seat.

"What land reform? We in Cangwu will not have land reform! Why should you take away our ancestral land?"

At the entrance of the village, local elders categorically denied the news that Cangwu was about to carry out land reform.

Zhang Jingjiang looked at the accompanying county magistrate and asked, "Land ownership reform is a directive of the Zhejiang Provincial Government. Why is Changshan County resisting so much?"

The county magistrate lowered his head and said, "Chairman Zhang, there's not much we can do about this. Even if we send out the military and police, the wealthy people here all have their own towers and guns. We might not gain the upper hand if we fight them."

Zhang Jingjiang: "... I won't say anything more about this. You decide for yourself: after one year, will the land reform be completed, or will you step down?

The county magistrate said: "I will do my best. If I cannot finish it in one year, I will have no choice but to resign.

Zhang Jingjiang: "Let's talk about your matter later. I have to find Zhou Ruiqi first. Xiao Zhou came to your place to supervise the land reform. How could he just disappear?"

The county magistrate went up to ask the local scholar, who replied, "He is tied up in the Wang family's dungeon.

Zhang Jingjiang: . . . .

County Magistrate: "What about the commissioner of the County Land Reform Office?

The local elder pointed directly at the big tree behind him.

There were three heads hanging on the tree, swaying in the wind.

Zhang Jingjiang: “…”

The County Magistrate: "Mr. Wang! How dare you kill a government official without authorization? Do you know what happened to those who killed an official in the Qing Dynasty?!"

"We don't know if the county magistrate is a government official, but we think he's a Communist. Only the Communist Party would demand land from the landlords.

little little little

Zhang Jingjiang's car returned the same way and he did not eat a single meal in Changshan County.

The only achievement was bringing back his beloved Zhou Ruiqi. Although three ribs were broken, Zhou Ruiqi's head was not hanging on the tree, which was a blessing.

Zhang Jingjiang felt that he would never come to Changshan County again.

"Guangfu.

Zhang Jingjiang called Chen Guangfu in Shanghai.

"That Everbright Bank, right?"

"I'll invest some money in the shares, too."

Chapter 16: Deep Operation Beta 1.0

"The new 6.5mm ammunition production line at the Guangdong First Arsenal has begun producing copper shells. The new workshop of the propellant factory has started production. The primer workshop, using newly purchased equipment, is undergoing trial production of primers, and their quality is being assessed."

"After updating seven processing machines and improving the process, the 6.5 version of the Madsen light machine gun production line has produced the first batch of 20 samples, and the quality is being assessed.

The installation of a small electric furnace at the Second Corps' Xisuo Plant has been completed and will soon be officially operational. Equipment for the 6.5mm and 7.9mm ammunition production lines has also arrived.

Telegram sent from China to Chen Tianheng.

After almost a year of expansion or new construction, the two arsenals have produced results.

The First Arsenal (Ishii Arsenal) originally produced 70 rounds of ammunition per month. If the entire army conducted live-fire target practice once a month, firing three rounds per session, most of the ammunition would be used up. Now, with expanded production and the use of newly imported machinery, the monthly output is 200 million rounds of 6.5mm ammunition and 100 million rounds of 7.9mm ammunition, and the quality of the ammunition is significantly higher than before. If the workers' operation and factory quality control are correct, the ammunition will reach the level of the original Arisaka 6.5mm rifle ammunition.

After summarizing the experience of dozens of large and small battles at the beginning of the Northern Expedition, the revolutionary army's gun and ammunition standard was also determined:

The squad weapons use 6.5X50mm Arisaka rifle bullets, and the heavy support weapons use German 7.92X57mm rifle bullets.

Weapons using 6.5 ammunition include the Type 38 rifle, Type 38 carbine and light machine gun, while weapons using 7.92 ammunition are currently the heavy machine guns of the battalion's machine gun company.

If conditions permit, a 7.92mm sniper rifle could also be added, also at the battalion level, to be used as a wartime reinforcement. However, while the First Arsenal can currently produce the Mauser 79 rifle, it is manufactured in an older workshop, resulting in poor quality control and extremely low accuracy, even inferior to the Mauser 98 and its variants captured in combat. Therefore, the Ministry of Military Industry plans to discontinue production of the Mauser 98 in the older workshop.

Don’t even think about dreaming of a sniper rifle in the next few years.

Arrangements are already underway to replicate the Type 38 rifle and Type 38 carbine, which will be the models that both arsenals will produce in the future and will be standardized for the entire army.

The First Division used captured Type 24 rifles, but now they're also producing domestically: the Ishii Arsenal produces the 7.92 Madsen modified to 6.5 caliber. In fact, the original Danish Madsen has also produced several sub-models in various calibers, from 6.5mm to 8mm, and in over a dozen different ammunition formats, to meet customer demand over the decades.

"In addition to rifle ammunition and 9mm Parabellum pistol ammunition, the country also needs to add 12.7mm gun and ammunition production lines. The ammunition must be produced by both the first and second ordnance factories. The guns include anti-aircraft machine guns and single-shot anti-tank rifles.

"Light machine guns: It is recommended that the First and Second Arsenals each research a 6.5 light machine gun. After the prototypes are produced, a performance competition will be held. The winner will become the official standard light machine gun.

Now Chen Tianheng is at the shooting range of the Military Academy, holding a Fedorov 1916 automatic rifle in his hand.

Automatic rifle from 1916... early enough.

Pulling the trigger, "Da da da da da..." Fedorov fired a burst of bullets.

Pull the trigger again, "da da da da da..." The 25-round magazine is empty.

Chen Tianheng felt that he could fully control the continuous firing of this gun.

Because among the ancient automatic rifles, this gun has the smallest muzzle energy and the smallest recoil.

When designing his automatic rifle, Fedorov initially used the Russian 7.62mm round. Test firings of the prototype proved unsuccessful, with excessive recoil and difficulty controlling rapid fire. Fedorov had an idea: wouldn't a less powerful round be easier to control? He switched to 6.5mm. Later, Fedorov discovered that Tsarist Russia had purchased a large number of Japanese rifles and ammunition, including a 6.5mm bullet production line, in preparation for World War I. Ultimately, he decided to use the 6.5mm Arisaka round for the automatic rifle.

Chen Tianheng believes that the Fedorov automatic rifle's main flaw, besides a slightly high failure rate, is probably its low muzzle velocity of 650 m/s. This is due to the Arisaka round-nosed rifle cartridge, which is too heavy.

If it is replaced with the 6.5mm pointed bullet used in the current Type 38 rifle, the initial velocity should be at least not lower than that of the Type 99 rifle (730 m/s). Add a bipod and even thicken the barrel (the bare Fedorov gun weighs only 4.4 kg), and this will be a good squad light machine gun.

"When the European war broke out, the Russian army possessed a total of 7,000 field guns, but only 240 of them were heavy guns with a caliber greater than 100 mm, and only 100 of them were used on the Eastern Front."

“In comparison, the German army fighting on the Eastern Front had fewer field artillery pieces than the Tsarist Russian army, but far more heavy artillery pieces.

The Advanced Staff Institute of the Frunze Military Academy was chaired by Tukhachevsky and attended by many staff members of the institute to discuss issues of front-level artillery operations, including Chen Tianheng.

Before the outbreak of the European war, the Tsarist Russian army adopted French principles for artillery development and employment, adhering to the theory of mobile artillery. They believed that large-caliber artillery was too cumbersome to keep up with the pace of infantry, and particularly preferred field guns with a caliber of around 75mm. However, in the war, 75-76mm field guns were simply not enough to complete campaign combat missions. Both the Tsarist Russian army and the French army in World War I proved this point with blood and lives.

The speaker was Grigory Ivanovich Kulik, director of the Soviet Red Army's Armaments Department and former artillery chief of staff. He was later promoted to the second batch of Soviet Marshals in 1940, but was demoted to Major General for his mediocre performance in the Great Patriotic War.

"The Eastern Front proved the role of large-caliber howitzers. The larger the caliber, the better. The British QF4.5 howitzer was superior to the 76.2mm gun. At that time, the most suitable support artillery for breakthrough operations in the hands of the Tsarist Russia was the Schneider 1910 152mm howitzer.

"A 150mm howitzer can blast a permanent field fortification reinforced with reinforced concrete into pieces with just three or four shells.

"In addition to the destructive power of individual shells, the number of artillery groups is also crucial to the success of a breakthrough. During the Western Front campaign, the density of heavy artillery deployed per kilometer of frontage was as high as 20. If we want to achieve a breakthrough more quickly, I believe this number should be further increased."

Tukhachevsky: "But we must note that in the battles on the Western Front, even after heavy artillery support enabled breakthroughs in the first line of trench fortifications, the front lines remained stalemate. The Western Front often had trench lines stretching for hundreds of kilometers and exceeding 10 kilometers in depth. Large-caliber heavy artillery helped infantry break through the first or second line of trenches, but they were quickly stopped at the third and fourth lines. The advancing troops were then counterattacked and annihilated by the defenders' mobilized reserves."

Kulik: "I have also noticed this problem. But at the same time, we must also take into account the development of military technology. I believe that in the future, the barrel of large-caliber howitzers will be longer and the range will be longer, reaching an effective range of 20 kilometers, which will be able to support breakthrough operations in a wider range and at a longer distance.

Tukhachevsky: "If we consider the future, as the range of large-caliber howitzers increases, the depth of the enemy's defense line will also increase. Only by armored penetration and a large number of tanks pouring into the breakthrough point can we completely and thoroughly break through the trench fortification line and achieve deep operations.

Tukhachevsky believed that tank groups were king, and that heavy artillery only needed to help them achieve the initial breakthrough. After that, it was just a matter of the tank groups stirring up trouble in the enemy's belly. Kulik, on the other hand, advocated that future artillery should have increasingly long ranges, capable of "strike across the entire map."

Chen Tianheng: "Comrade Kulik, I would like to express my opinion. The long-range artillery can provide continuous fire support to the front-line troops that are constantly breaking through during the breakthrough campaign. In fact, this can be achieved by moving the artillery positions forward. The distance of the artillery forward is not limited by the technical upper limit of the artillery's range increase, which is another advantage.

Kulik: "Comrade, your idea is certainly feasible. However, it's difficult to move 150mm heavy artillery forward, and considering the pace of the battle, it's almost impossible."

Tukhachevsky: "The breakthrough would be carried out in the fields rather than along the roads. In fact, the General Staff chose to break through from a position far away from the enemy's road line. We could not move 150mm heavy artillery through the abandoned trenches to a closer position to support the subsequent breakthrough, not to mention the thousands of craters left by the heavy artillery bombardment in the trench area."

"Comrade Tukhachevsky," Chen Tianheng said, "then how did the tanks get through the abandoned trenches and shell craters one after another?

little little little

At the brainstorming session of the Institute of Advanced Staff, Soviet military officers were working hard to construct the prototype of the future deep combat theory.

Similar brain-opening conferences are actually also being held in the general staffs or higher military academies of Germany, France, Britain, and Japan.

Tukhachevsky and other Soviet officers and staff realized that even on the Western Front, a sea of ​​trenches and barbed wire, the attackers could still sacrifice lives to break through a few trench lines and advance a few kilometers. This was the case at Verdun, the Somme, and the Kaiser Offensive. The battles ultimately ended in stalemates because these few kilometers of penetration were insufficient and quickly destroyed by the defenders' reserves.

Therefore, what the Soviet Union emphasizes now is "great depth", but how to achieve the great depth is still being explored by people including Tukhachevsky.

The last question raised by Chen Tianheng shocked everyone present, and then Tukhachevsky quickly revised his tank cluster theory -

Ah, tanks also need to be able to launch large-mass explosives, isn't that right?

Chen Tianheng:…

What I mean is to use the chassis of a tank or other tracked armored vehicle to carry a howitzer of 100mm or more, not to make the tank a panacea.

Forget it, keep exploring.

As for another indispensable breakthrough weapon on the future battlefield, close air support (Stuka), it is too early to bring it up now. There are no truly usable attack aircraft in front of everyone, and if we talk about it, it is air-to-air.

Compared with these cutting-edge explorations, Chen Tianheng was more interested in the dispatching, command and tactical application of the front-line artillery groups.

Kulik had noticed that the battle would require the deployment of hundreds of heavy artillery pieces and the coordination of these pieces so that they would bombard the same point and crush the defensive lines.

Moving a seven- or eight-ton artillery piece was a huge challenge. During World War I, Tsarist Russia imported 150mm heavy artillery from France, ultimately requiring tracked tractors to tow it. Without tractors, the artillery would have been pulled inch by inch along the road by dozens of draft horses, as was done in Germany.

How should tractors and heavy artillery be organized? If there were 300 pieces of heavy artillery and 100 tractors, how would they be deployed? There weren't enough cars, and artillery shells were transported by horse-drawn carriages. How would the ammunition be delivered to the various artillery groups covering several square kilometers? How would firing parameters be communicated between artillery groups? What if the telephone lines couldn't be connected? And so on.

It's worth mentioning that although Kulik performed mediocrely in World War II, the regulations and tactics he summarized in the use of front-line artillery are not problematic.

"The Far Eastern Military District held the 'Defend 1928' exercise. Davarishi.

Senior combat science teacher Pokrovsky told Chen Tianheng something.

"The Far Eastern Military District deployed two divisions each in the Chita-Manchuria and Vladivostok-Shuangchengzi directions to participate in the exercise.

Chen Tianheng: "This is based on the assumption that if a military conflict occurs, the Soviet army will advance from the east and west ends of the Chinese Eastern Railway and enter China to regain control of the railway.

Pokrovsky: "Absolutely correct. The two armies will eventually meet in Harbin. But I don't think this is necessary. Zhang Zuolin has no intention of resorting to force."

Chen Tianheng: "It can only be said that the possibility of Zhang Zuolin using force is not high. Now that 'Defend 1928' has been held, the possibility of him using force is even lower.

Chapter 17: China is now peaceful

The Far Eastern Military District's holding of the "Defend 1928" exercise was not the first action taken by either side in the Sino-Soviet conflict.

Zhang Zuolin had already taken action a week before this.

Urged by Chiang Kai-shek's repeated telegrams and the national media, the Fengtian clique announced its repossession of police, municipal administration, taxation, education, and land ownership in the CER area. On October 7, the Fengtian Army entered Harbin Station, the Railway Telegraph Bureau, and the Harbin Automatic Telephone Bureau. The blue sky with a white sun flag was raised at both buildings. The Soviet soldiers on guard were replaced by Fengtian troops. However, the telegraph and telephone bureaus continued to operate normally, and the internal staff (roughly half Chinese and half Soviet) remained unchanged.

On the same day, the Fengtian Army also announced the recovery of 22 meteorological stations along the Chinese Eastern Railway.

station.

The repossession of the weather stations was symbolic, signifying China's acquisition of sovereignty over the 30-kilometer radius along the Chinese Eastern Railway. These 22 weather stations contained no Soviet troops, only personnel. In fact, the Soviets did not maintain a single station along the Chinese Eastern Railway; their garrisons were concentrated at Harbin Station, the three aforementioned locations.

On the morning of October 8, passengers entering and exiting Harbin Railway Station and passersby outside the station were curious to see the Chinese flag hoisted on the flagpole. The Fengtian Army had replaced the station garrison, but the patrol officers and traffic police inside the station remained the same.

Let’s take a look at the morning paper of that day. Oh, Marshal Zhang has taken back the Chinese Eastern Railway. Awesome.

At this point, China reclaimed the Chinese Eastern Railway from a sovereign perspective. Of course, from a commercial and capital perspective, the Soviet Union still held a 50% stake in the Chinese Eastern Railway, inherited from Tsarist Russia, and received dividends from the railway's operating profits. The ownership of the Harbin Railway Station, Telephone Exchange, and Telegraph Office buildings changed, but the property rights remained with the Soviet Union.

Two days later, on October 10, when the whole country celebrated Double Tenth Day, Zhang Zuolin had gained enough fame and Chiang Kai-shek's reputation also increased a lot.

On the Soviet side, Kuznetsov, the Soviet Consul General in Shenyang, lodged a verbal protest and demanded 70 silver dollars in resettlement fees for the Soviet troops stationed at the three offices. The reason for this was that the more than 200 Soviet troops originally stationed at the three offices had been forced to leave Harbin by train that same day, returning home earlier than planned, leaving them without a place to stay. Zhang Zuolin did not respond to Kuznetsov's protest.

On October 15, the "Defend 1928" exercise began. Forty thousand Soviet troops participated, with twenty thousand at the eastern end of the Chinese Eastern Railway and twenty thousand at the western end, just outside the border. The scene was extremely lively, with gunfire and artillery fire.

Zhang Zuolin could no longer sit still, so he quietly went to the Soviet Consulate General in the middle of the night to find Kuznetsov and asked, "My friend, you are not really here for the 70 silver dollars resettlement fee, are you?"

Kuznetsov, with an enigmatic air, stated that the exercises were aimed at maintaining peace and stability in Northeast Asia and eliminating potential instability, which would benefit both China and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union would not initiate a war, but restraint was required on both sides.

At this time, another voice began to appear in newspapers in the area controlled by the Nanjing government.