The Fourth Outstanding Person of Huangpu Military Academy

"Chief Chen."

At Guangzhou Airport, a transport plane flying from the Yingshan Air Force Base in Hubei, Henan and Anhui landed, and Zhou Shidi crawled out of the cabin.

Chen Tianheng: "Finally, we arrived safely. How was the flight? Was it smooth? Did the plane make any creaking noises?"

Zhou Shidi: "We only took off after checking for clear weather along the way. The flight was very smooth. Besides, this plane has three engines, so it won't fall."

Zhou Shidi returned to Guangzhou from Hubei, Henan and Anhui and served as Chief of Operations of the General Staff.

Chen Mingren will fly to Hubei, Henan and Anhui later to take over as commander of the Sixth Army and commander of the Hubei, Henan and Anhui Military Region.

Given the current size of the revolutionary army, the Chief of the General Staff and the Army Group Commander have the same rank, General; the Army Commander and the Minister under the General Staff are Lieutenant Generals.

因为革命军现在总共就两个集团军，第一集团军下辖1、2、5、8军，第二集团军下辖3、4、7军。

The Sixth Army currently operates independently north of the Yangtze River, not affiliated with any group army. The Military Commission has plans to expand the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Military Region, but whether this can be established as a second field army will depend on the progress of grassroots political power development in the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base area over the next year.

In other words, it depends on Chen Mingren's work in the coming year.

Zhou Shidi: "Comrade Guo Moruo, um, he didn't come back with me this time." Chen Tianheng: "Why, is he afraid of flying?"

"It's not that I'm afraid of flying, it's that I'm afraid of something else." Zhou Shidi said, "Comrade Guo Moruo wants you to say a few words to Huang Mulan on his behalf, saying..."

Chen Tianheng: “?”

"Comrade Guo Moruo said that he still loved Comrade Huang Mulan. He was like a piece of coal buried underground, finally seeing the light of day after many years. For the first time, he burned for the one he loved, and that was for her."

Zhou Shidi spoke with great difficulty, but still repeated the passage word for word.

"No, I can't help him with this!"

Lu Xun rejected this idea without hesitation.

"During his three months in Yingshan, Guo Moruo deciphered over 40 characters from oracle bone inscriptions, most of which were unanimously recognized by the oracle bone literature community. If he had returned to Guangzhou, would he still be in the mood to decipher oracle bone inscriptions?"

Lu Xun waved his hand decisively and said, "Don't ask Huang Mulan to intercede for him. Just let him stay in Yingshan and study oracle bone script."

Chen Tianheng: “….”

Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Abrashanka, the Soviet Consul General in Guangzhou, came again.

During his last visit to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ablashenka suggested that the Soviet Union wish to learn about the specifics of armored warfare during the anti-encirclement and suppression campaign. Chen Youren politely declined, stating that the Military Commission and the Central Committee had decided not to release details for the time being. Until the Central Committee changed its mind, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs could not reveal any details (and it didn't know yet) or make any promises.

Abrashanka returned to the consulate and probably contacted the Soviet Union and received new instructions from the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs.

"Comrade Foreign Minister Chen, the Soviet People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs would like to invite you to make a diplomatic visit to the Soviet Union."

Chen Youren: "Yes, I also received Comrade Stalin's opinion on this matter, which was forwarded by the Central Committee. I will leave for Europe next month, in August, and the first stop of my visit will be the Soviet Union."

"Both China and the Soviet Union faced considerable military threats, so there was a basis for military cooperation between the two sides."

Military Commission meeting.

Before Chen Youren's trip, the Military Commission discussed the extent to which military cooperation with the Soviet Union should proceed.

"The basic requirement is one: combat theory in exchange for military technology."

Mao Runzhi: "Even if we teach them theory, they must be able to integrate it thoroughly. Just like we cannot blindly copy the Soviet Union's experience in revolution, the Soviet Union cannot blindly copy China's experience in military affairs."

Chen Tianheng: "Yes, they also need to consider their own national conditions. The most taboo thing about theory is dogmatism, and this is also my biggest concern about the Soviet military. When I was studying at the Frunze Military Academy in the Soviet Union, although I met several young and middle-aged officers with particularly flexible minds and active thinking, the majority of officers at the Military Academy and in the Soviet Army were veterans who had made great contributions in World War I and the Civil War. They were not very interested in the current revolution in military theory and operational theory."

Deng Yanda: "Then, if we offer them military theory in exchange, and they fail to learn it, wouldn't they be at a great disadvantage?"

Chen Tianheng: "That's not our concern. Vice Premier Deng, we should still consider Soviet military technology. The Soviets can't export the mother machines needed to manufacture military equipment, as they can't actually produce them themselves. However, they can export blueprints and complete sets of technical specifications for weapons developed in recent years, or even during World War I, or purchased from the West. Once we obtain the specifications, we'll then select and purchase industrial machinery from the West to manufacture them based on the information provided. Therefore, for both parties, this deal isn't a one-time solution. They need to integrate the information into their actual circumstances, and we, too, still have a lot of work to do and a lot of money to spend, so don't feel any pressure. This deal is fair."

Chapter 49: Sulfonamide Takes Effect

Guangzhou Zhongshan Hospital.

Xu Guangda, commander of the artillery battalion of the 3rd Division of the 1st Army, threw away his crutches and stood on his own two feet. He had actually been able to stand without crutches two weeks ago, but his thigh muscles still cramped when he took a step.

"Try taking two steps."

During today's physical examination, the doctor asked him to walk a few more steps.

Xu Guangda took a step carefully and found that the pain in his thigh had eased. The key was that the muscles in his legs seemed to be able to exert force normally.

"Doctor Zhao, I think I'm better now." "Try taking two more steps."

Xu Guangda walked to the wall of the ward, then turned back and said, "Look, is everything okay?"

The doctor nodded: "Discharge."

"I was fighting in Zhuzhou. At the time, the Third Division was responsible for breaking through the defense line west of the town. Our artillery battalion was also deployed to the west, using mountain artillery to support the siege. Suddenly, a volley of shells came in, landing more than 200 meters to the left of the artillery position. I ordered the artillery to relocate, and as we were relocating, another volley of shells came in, one of which hit me right next to me."

"I feel that during the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Tanzhou Campaign, the Guangxi clique's artillerymen were somewhat aware of the importance of counter-artillery operations. However, while they had the awareness to counter artillery, they did not have a complete counter-artillery combat system in place."

Xu Guangda recounted how he was injured.

"Oh, that's not what I want to know today. What I want to know is how you were treated after being injured and how you saved your leg."

Chen Tianheng called together the dozen or so wounded soldiers who had just recovered and been discharged from the hospital, not to hold a combat summary meeting, but to learn from the side about the progress in the rescue and treatment of the wounded after the introduction of sulfa drugs in field hospitals and battlefield rescue.

Xu Guangda: "While my life wasn't in danger from that shelling, my thigh was seriously injured. A piece of shrapnel tore a very long gash in my thigh. Although it didn't sever any major blood vessels, the nurse said that after peeling back the wound, you could see the bone."

"The medic cleaned the wound first, then sprinkled some yellow powder on it. I felt a sizzling sensation, and my leg hurt even more than before."

Chen Tianheng: "What you sprinkle on the wound is 'Xiaoyanhuang' external use powder, which can kill bacteria that invade the body, so that you don't have to amputate due to wound infection."

Xu Guangda: "The medics simply stopped the bleeding and protected the wound, and then I was evacuated to a field hospital. The doctor removed the shrapnel, sewed it up, and then, with a sizzle, sprinkled the powder into my wound again."

"Later, I stopped applying the powder while I was recovering. It was fine. I don't know about the anti-inflammatory effect. For a few days after the wound was sutured, there was still redness and a little swelling around it, but the swelling and redness went away, and then I started to itch and grow flesh."

Chen Tianheng: "After your surgery, you'll need to take two tablets of this 'Xiao Yan Huang' every day."

Xu Guangda: "Yes, it's a very large tablet, yellow with a whitish interior."

Over the past six months, the Sun Yat-sen University Medical Laboratory has been conducting a small-scale trial of the sulfonamide sulfonamide-19. During the second anti-encirclement campaign, all field hospitals and emergency rooms were issued "Xiaoyanhuang" powder for external use and oral tablets.

Xu Guangda's leg was severely scratched by shrapnel. After cleaning and suture, the wound healed naturally, with only a slight infection in the early stages.

Xu Guangda himself was unaware of the extent of his injury, but the doctor's surgical report indicated that his condition was not simple. The shrapnel that struck him had grazed another area before becoming lodged in his thigh. Doctors even removed particles of cow dung while cleaning the wound.

Apart from the case of Xu Guangda, looking at the statistical data and the results of small-scale trials, there has indeed been a significant reduction in severe infections among the wounded after this war.

In the words of Dr. Zhao, "For these wounded patients admitted to our hospital, at least forty legs would have had to be amputated in the past, but this time only 22 were amputated."

Many of the 22 amputations had broken bones that could not be repaired surgically with current medical methods.

"This is the world's first highly effective antibacterial drug, and possibly the first antibacterial drug with visible efficacy. Furthermore, it is not only highly effective but also broad-spectrum. It has a significant killing effect on common cocci and bacilli that infect the human body."

"That's really sharp! I didn't know we were so powerful!"

Zhong Zaiquan, director of the medical laboratory, was stunned by his own research results. Chen Ying said, "Tianheng, this sulfonyl-19 drug can not only save the lives of wounded soldiers in war, it is also a huge source of money."

Chen Tianheng: "I know."

A few years ago, Chen Tianheng had the company pouring money into antibiotic research. Chen Ying felt that Chen Tianheng's spending was definitely motivated by the war effort—antibiotics saving lives was part of the war effort. After the development of sulfa antibiotics, their incredible effects made Chen Ying realize that they could be very profitable.

Chen Tianheng: "Doctor Zhong, finding the molecular formula for this chemical is important, but developing the process to produce it is equally crucial. In the past six months, you've updated and iterated three times. Your equipment is now capable of producing high-purity sulfonyl-19 at a low cost. However, the process lab needs to continue its research to further reduce production costs."

Zhong Zaiquan: "Ah, yes, but this Sulfon 19 is a completely profit-generating product. The trial drug we produced was 3 cents per tablet, and a course of 14 tablets over 7 days cost a little over 4 yuan, or 2 US dollars. But with the current production process, the cost is less than 1 yuan."

Chen Tianheng: "It's easy to patent a drug domestically, but if you want to sell it overseas, you have to include a list of ingredients, which means you have to register a patent overseas. Once the patent is registered, counterfeit products will immediately appear. Everyone will use the molecular formula in your drug registration documents to tinker with it themselves."

Although countries have patent and copyright laws these days, infringement is commonplace. As long as it is a cross-border infringement, even between the UK and the US, prosecution is basically useless.

Chen Ying: "That's what I've been thinking about. It's a real headache. From the perspective of maximizing revenue, we can maximize profits by licensing our overseas patents to the UK."

Chen Tianheng: "That's what I thought. Of course, they'll have to give concessions to the British agents, but with British agents, they can mobilize the power of the British government. At least within the Commonwealth, they'll work hard to crack down on pirated drugs. Isn't the sulfa production equipment simple?"

Zhong Zaiquan: "The production process we've figured out is not simple. It requires more than a dozen sophisticated machines, which together would form a small factory. This means that small workshops can't copy our products, but if you have the money and the space to open a legitimate pharmaceutical factory, it shouldn't be difficult to copy them."

Chen Ying: "British agents control piracy within the Commonwealth. As for the rest, if France and Germany pirate drugs, it's up to the British to control them. They'll control them if they can. They control such a large area of ​​the Commonwealth, and the US controls them, so that's barely acceptable."

"No, no," Chen Tianheng said. "If they give the UK the license, they probably won't be able to control the US. The US is unscrupulous in producing counterfeit drugs, without any psychological pressure at all. In their words, 'the copyright fee has already been paid in Lexington.'"

Zhong Zaiquan: "......"

It's true that British copyright agencies can't stop Americans from producing pirated drugs. Furthermore, the US pharmaceutical industry and fine chemical industry are quite advanced, so it's almost inevitable that they will produce counterfeit drugs.

When choosing a pharmaceutical distributor in the UK, the main reason is that the Commonwealth has the largest population and market. Counterfeit American drugs cannot be easily imported into the Commonwealth.

"Mr. Lu Xun."

Lu Xun was in another ward at Zhongshan Hospital. Seeing Chen Tianheng coming to visit, Lu Xun muttered, "I just had a cough and shortness of breath, but the hospital staff dragged me to get an X-ray. This is clearly a minor ailment that can be cured with a few days of medication and rest." Chen Tianheng replied, "This hospital belongs to my cousin. You can't help yourself now that you're here. ...Doctor, did the X-rays reveal any hidden illness?"

"There's some emphysema, which should be a temporary symptom of bronchitis."

Chen Tianheng: "Are there any unexplained shadows in the lungs?"

"If there's a shadow, it's tuberculosis. You can't just say that. Looking at the X-ray now, there's nothing. But it's best to quit smoking completely. Otherwise, as you get older, the chances of developing chronic tuberculosis are quite high."

Chen Tianheng: "Look, Mr. Lu Xun, the doctor said so." Lu Xun: "......"

After a while, Chen Geng also came to visit. He had just been in the hospital, inspecting the treatment of the wounded evacuated by the Fourth Army.

As the founder of the Red Star Society, Chen Geng's position as president has now been taken away. Guo Moruo is now the president, and Lu Xun is the honorary president.

Of course, the three of them also discussed Guo Moruo. Guo had recently written back complaining that, while the mantises in Yingshan County weren't big, the mosquitoes were twice as big as those in Guangzhou. When Lu Xun brought this up, the three sighed again, saying that life was hard and that was just how it was.

"Mr. Lu Xun, in your article 'Mr. Fujino,' you said, 'China is a weak country...so it's no wonder they have doubts.' What kind of thoughts and feelings do you express in this passage?"

Chen Tianheng was being naughty again. He had asked this kind of reading comprehension questions that involved picking out sentences from other books before, and Lu Xun himself often didn't know how to answer them.

But this time Lu Xun planned to strike back.

"Chen Tianheng, I have a question too. There are two lines in the song 'Old Countryman': 'Can you speak the language of a foreign land? Do you love to sing the songs of a foreign land?' The word 'you' is repeated three times in both lines. What thoughts and feelings does this express for the lyricist—oh, you?

Chen Tianheng: "Hiss——"

Chen Geng: (pretending to be calm and composed)

"Mr. Lu Xun, well," Chen Tianheng replied calmly, "fellow countrymen meet, go to a restaurant, eat and drink, chat, and brag, but when both of them are about 70% to 80% drunk, they start to talk a lot."

In addition to the military songs of each unit, Chen Tianheng would also transfer a few popular songs from later generations when he had free time. Most of them had a strong rural flavor and were suitable for rough men to sing, such as "The Wine of September 9th" and "The Glory of the Soldiers" and "Old Villagers" which have become popular recently with the retirement of the first batch of veterans.

Lu Xun recently mentioned this, without naming anyone, while discussing Chinese vernacular poetry: "Actually, there's another person who also wrote vernacular poetry. It's just that I can't pronounce his words, but when I do, I can't help but sing them. ... Another important medium for vernacular poetry... is lyrics."

"General Chen, General Chen!"

When Chen Tianheng walked out of the hospital, another car from the General Staff drove up and stopped downstairs. Zhou Shidi got out of the car in a hurry and just saw Chen Tianheng.

"General Chen, Chiang Kai-shek's 11th Army stationed in Anqing has revolted! Commander Zhang Fakui has already led his troops into the Dabie Mountains and joined our forces!"

Chen Tianheng: "Oh! This is really unexpected news. The General Staff, no, the Military Commission, needs to hold a meeting to discuss this. Zhang Fakui...it seems he has finally figured it out."

"General Chen," Zhou Shidi said, "I don't know if you believe this, but the comrades in Hubei, Henan, and Anhui say that the officers and soldiers of the 11th Army...were inspired to revolt by the song 'Old Countryman.'"

Chapter 50: The 11th Army Revolts, How to Resettlement?

The homes of the Guangdong troops under Chiang Kai-shek were robbed.

It has been almost two years since it was stolen.

Those who were wandering outside included Nanjing government officials and generals such as Hu Hanmin, Li Jishen, Zhang Fakui, and Chen Shuming, as well as Guangdong soldiers from the 4th and 11th Armies.

The Guangdong-born military and political leaders in Nanjing were still a concern. Although they were all from Guangdong, they were always thinking about shooting each other in the back.

Li Jishen desperately sought to climb the ranks, hoping to dislodge Tongmenghui veteran Hu Hanmin from his position on the Central Executive Committee. Because Hu Hanmin was second only to Chiang Kai-shek on the Guangzhou Coalition Government's wanted list, he needed a sense of security. Oh, and by the way, Li Jishen was actually a Cantonese general born in Guangxi.

Zhang Fakui and Li Jishen also competed for the position of the leader of the drifting Guangdong armed forces. Of course, Zhang Fakui was defeated. Li Jishen became the commander of the Eighth Route Army (Guangdong Army), commanding the 4th and 11th Armies and concurrently serving as the commander of the 4th Army. Zhang Fakui only commanded the 11th Army.

Chen Shuming was also competing with Zhang Fakui. Chen Shuming wanted to be the commander of the 11th Army. Before the second encirclement and suppression campaign, Zhang Fakui temporarily suppressed Chen Shuming and led the 11th Army himself. Chen Shuming was only the deputy commander of the 4th Army.

Due to internal strife within the ranks and Chiang Kai-shek's deliberate weakening of the Guangdong Army, the two drifting armies were in poor condition. The 1th Army was still able to maintain a staff of three divisions, while the 2th Army had only two divisions before the second encirclement and suppression campaign. Military pay was often in arrears, and even when it was paid, it was usually given a lower priority.

The first counter-encirclement and suppression campaign ended with the Guangzhou United Government successfully defending and counterattacking, and establishing two huge buffer zones in southern Hunan and southern Jiangxi. Guangdong soldiers and low-ranking officers saw no hope of returning to Guangzhou.

Then came the second encirclement and suppression campaign. The 11th Army stationed in Anqing was driven to invade the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base area and was severely damaged by Zhou Shidi's Sixth Army.

In the Battle of Susong, the 11th Army fought extremely hard. The Guangdong Army was now homeless, so the 11th and 26th Divisions fought very closely together. When one of them was surrounded, the other rushed out overnight to rescue them. They fought very hard during the rescue, forcing the 48th Regiment of the 16th Division to rest, but ultimately the rescue was unsuccessful. The 26th Division was completely wiped out, and the 11th Division suffered heavy losses.

Unable to hold out for the second encirclement and suppression, Chiang Kai-shek hastily ended the war. At this time, Zhang Fakui received another piece of bad news:

The 26th Division of the 11th Army was disbanded!

Zhang Fakui still enjoyed the salary and all the benefits of an army commander (Chiang Kai-shek did not make things difficult for him in this regard), but an army only had one division under its command!

Two months after the encirclement and suppression campaign ended, Zhang Fakui gathered his remaining troops and defeated soldiers. Indeed, the 11th Army was only able to muster a division. Adding some soldiers and lower-ranking officers captured by Hubei, Henan and Anhui after the victory in the anti-encirclement and suppression campaign, the 11th Army only had 11 divisions and one army-affiliated regiment, totaling 9500 people.

What makes Zhang Fakui even more depressed now is that he is not feeling secure as the commander of this army which has one division under its command.