The Fourth Outstanding Person of Huangpu Military Academy

"Stand at attention!" "Salute!"

The Zhongshan ship was flying full flags, and the sailors were lined up at the dock. The captain of the Zhongshan ship, Chen Di, was at the front of the line, accepting inspection.

Nine months later, Chen Tianheng reviewed the officers and soldiers of the Zhongshan Ship for the second time. The more than one hundred sailors lined up in front of him not only had changed their uniforms, but also had a completely different spirit and energy from nine months ago.

After nine months of inspection, mobilization, education, and reorganization, and two combat patrols with the "Seagull" in November last year and January this year, the Military Commission and the General Political Department believed that the Zhongshan ship had met the standards for joining the Revolutionary Army Navy.

"Comrades." Chen Tianheng spoke.

When the Zhongshan Ship came to Guangzhou nine months ago, Chen Tianheng did not refer to his comrades, but rather to the "officers and soldiers of the Zhongshan Ship."

"Now, you have become part of the revolutionary navy and the maritime armed forces of the Chinese people. This is a glorious beginning."

"The Navy is the armed force of the revolution, the armed force of the people. You will be a powerful maritime force with strong political integrity, excellent military skills, and a fine style of work. You will fight for the liberation of the Chinese people, for the overthrow of the Chiang Kai-shek reactionaries, and for the unification of all China."

"A strong navy is a long-cherished wish of the Chinese nation. Since modern times, our country has suffered from the invasion and erosion of Western powers, most of which came from the sea. Resisting foreign aggression and defending the sea borders are the historical mission entrusted to the navy by the Chinese nation. The navy must fight to stop imperialist aggression and fight for the peace of the Chinese nation and the world."

"The navy is not only a defensive force, but also a force for progress. Striving for maritime power has been the dream of the Chinese people for thousands of years, and the navy is the fundamental prerequisite for realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Both the navy and the Chinese nation must forge ahead amidst the global tide of the 20th century. Building a powerful maritime force at the forefront of world military technology and theory, traversing vast seas and oceans, and keeping pace with the development of the times—this is the arduous yet great task entrusted to the navy by the revolutionary army."

"Raise the Revolutionary Navy Flag!"

In the "Naval March", the Zhongshan Ship raised the revolutionary army's naval flag for the first time.

In May of the previous year, the Zhongshan ship revolted, leaving Chiang Kai-shek's territory and arriving in Guangzhou. The Military Commission accepted the ship, but temporarily disintegrated it into the Revolutionary Navy. Instead, it became a special unit directly under the Military Commission—the Zhongshan ship. At that time, the Zhongshan ship also flew the blue sky, white sun flag.

"Comrade Chen Di, the Navy Political Department has discussed with you the rank system of the Revolutionary Navy."

On the bridge of the Zhongshan ship, Chen Tianheng talked with Chen Di.

Chen Di: "We have discussed it. I now fully understand and comprehend the rank system of the Revolutionary Navy."

Chen Tianheng: "For ships of the Zhongshan class, the Revolutionary Navy, in accordance with the prescribed correspondence between ship class and military rank, sets the captain's rank as Lieutenant Colonel, so your rank here has been downgraded. Captains with the rank of Colonel should be captains of fleet destroyers, destroyer leaders, light and heavy cruisers, and ocean-going submarines. Captains with the rank of Senior Colonel are captains of battleships and aircraft carriers."

Chen Di: "Battleships, aircraft carriers, yes, yes..."

Chen Tianheng: "In the future, everything is possible. What do you think, Comrade Chen Di, do you have this confidence?"

"Yes! To be honest, no one would not be tempted by such a future."

Chen Tianheng: "The Guangzhou Coalition Government has formulated a five-year development plan. The military, especially the navy, also has its own five-year development plan. Of course, we won't see our own cruisers and battleships within five years, and we might not see them after two five-year plans. But the navy will definitely move forward, and after a certain historical period, the navy will receive higher attention and development priority."

Chen Di: "I understand. The country isn't strong yet, so we can only take things one step at a time. Things always develop gradually."

Chen Tianheng: "In the first five-year development plan, the navy plans to build some small boats weighing dozens of tons."

Chen Di: "...torpedo boat?"

Chen Tianheng: "Yes. The General Armament Department, the Ministry of Military Industry, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are looking for existing foreign products. The specific requirements are for a new type of torpedo boat with a high-power internal combustion engine, high speed, high maneuverability, and a large torpedo attack power."

Chen Di: "The Pearl River Estuary now has a relatively mature fortress artillery system. If supplemented with high-performance torpedo boats currently available in Europe and the United States, it can effectively defend Guangdong from invasion and landing by foreign invaders."

Chen Tianheng: "Actually, there are two places where we need to build a near-shore torpedo boat defense system: the Pearl River Estuary and the Yangtze River Estuary. Of course, we will build a defense system in the Pearl River Estuary first, but we will also consider the Yangtze River Estuary."

During the nine months of reorganization and training, the Zhongshan ship had developed a strong sense of readiness to fight Chiang Kai-shek's reactionaries. When ordered to do so by the Military Commission and the General Staff, they would not hesitate to engage. However, in reality, even if a showdown were to occur, the navy would likely not play a significant role.

The Zhongshan, a relatively large ship capable of operating out of Guangzhou Bay, lacked intelligence support and transit points for resupply. Furthermore, Guangzhou lacked dedicated landing craft and limited sea transport capacity, making cross-sea amphibious assaults and sea transport impossible.

But building a navy specialized in near-shore defense is something we must begin now. When Nagato, Mutsu, Fuso, and Yamashiro arrive at the Guangdong coast and their massive cannons rattle the shore, Guangzhou will need to have some countermeasures.

"Is it called the 'Whampoa Naval School' or the 'Whampoa Naval Aviation School'?"

Ye Jianying and Chen Tianheng discussed the establishment of a naval academy system.

Chen Tianheng: "In the past two years, we've only been able to build one new naval academy. Originally, we should have built one naval school and one naval aviation school. Let's establish the naval school first. Naval aviation training will be handed over to the Air Force Aviation School, which can then establish a naval aviation program. Director Ye, you visited the Soviet Workers' and Peasants' Red Navy Academy last year. What was it like? Are there any lessons we can learn from it?"

Ye Jianying: "That's basically a replica of the Soviet Army Academy. But this military academy actually has a very long history. The former Russian St. Petersburg Naval Academy was already 100 years old when I visited it. I don't know what happened in the intervening years, but it became a military academy for soldiers to go to sea. ... I won't rush to copy this. I'm going to the UK next month, so I'll discuss it after I visit the Royal Naval College in Greenwich."

Ye Jianying said, "Don't copy it right away," but before he went abroad to find out how an authentic naval academy operated, the preparatory work for the establishment of the Whampoa Naval Academy had already begun.

Guangzhou's current relationship with Fujian is acceptable, after all, Guangzhou's two modern warships were both operated by Fujianese. However, due to the increasingly heavy political pressure from the Nanjing government, naval officers and naval academy instructors from Fujian are basically under control, making it difficult for Guangzhou to poach them.

Some naval personnel from Guangdong in the late Qing Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty were recruited, and some talents studying ships and navigation were also found in Qingdao, Weihai and Tianjin. In this way, the framework was set up first.

We can take this opportunity to switch the common language of the navy and naval academies to standard Mandarin. Otherwise, Cantonese, Hokkien, Shandong and Tianjin dialects will be mixed together and people will not be able to understand each other.

Of course, if there are foreign naval talents available, they will be recruited. "Are you applying for a position as a teacher at the Naval Academy?"

Mao Zetan, a member of the Whampoa Naval Academy's preparatory committee, looked at the bearded, middle-aged European man before him. The man replied in heavily accented English, "Yes, my name is Argonne Senez, an Austrian, a naval captain."

Mao Zetan: "Austrian naval captain? From the Austro-Hungarian Empire, right?

"Yes, I served in the Austro-Hungarian Navy and participated in World War I." Mao Zetan: "So, what kind of ship did you drive?"

"submarine."

Chapter 64: The Japanese military is planning to completely control Manchuria

"This Senec had commanded a submarine in the Austro-Hungarian Navy, but he only served as a captain for three months before going ashore. I asked him indirectly, and his true thoughts were, 'Submarines are simply too abominable, not a place for humans.'"

"He was allowed to go ashore through his family connections and became a teacher at the Naval Academy. He fought in the European War for four years and was an instructor at the Royal Schiff Jungen Academy for three years."

Mao Zetan told Chen Tianheng about this matter.

Chen Tianheng: "The Austro-Hungarian submarines' greatest achievement in the European War was the heavy damage they inflicted on the French dreadnought Jean Bart. This was the only dreadnought damaged or sunk by a submarine during the entire war, but the captain who achieved this feat later perished along with his submarine. When we recruit naval academy professors, we're not looking for ace captains; the key is to assess their understanding of the navy and their perspective on the use of submarines in naval warfare."

Argon Senec actually retired in 1922. With the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Royal Schiff-Jungen Academy, the empire's highest naval academy, became a castle in the air, and all the instructors who could leave disbanded. Senec worked for a shipping company in Italy for several years, then moved on to work for a Greek shipowner. Last month, while sailing on a China route, he saw a job advertisement in Guangzhou and decided to try his luck as an instructor.

"I must correct an overly radical view. Submarines are not the main combat ships of the future and they cannot dominate the naval battlefield."

Chen Tianheng talked with Senec, focusing on the topic of submarines. Senec decisively said that submarines are a supporting role.

"U-12 damaged the Jean Bart. This was the Austro-Hungarian submarine's most glorious moment in that war, but it was also due to the captain's luck. Actually, I also encountered a French battleship in 1914. I saw its towering masts through the periscope, but I couldn't catch up. The battleship eventually sailed away, not even bothering to notice the periscope on the sea. In many cases, we and the battleship didn't even see each other. After returning to port and checking intelligence, we learned that there was also an Italian battleship in the same waters that day."

Chen Tianheng: "Submarines have poor observation and communication capabilities, and their top speed is a difficult-to-overcome shortcoming. This means that, given current technological advancements, submarines are unlikely to become the navy's primary vessels. However, what are your thoughts on the German submarines' record in intercepting commerce during the war?"

Senecz: "Those German cousins ​​did a good job. But commerce-breaking warfare didn't win Germany the war. As you said, submarines have poor observation and communication capabilities. Therefore, the so-called naval blockade formed by submarines can't actually blockade a country. Submarines only sank a few merchant ships when they had the chance, adding dazzling achievements to the records of some particularly lucky submarines. However, only a small part of the resources and raw materials needed by Britain in the war were sent to the seabed by submarines."

"Hmm." Chen Tianheng thought that Senec's understanding of submarines was quite realistic. "Captain Senec, our naval academy currently has no plans to add a submarine major because we don't have enough instructors..."

Senec: "I can, I can be a submarine instructor."

Chen Tianheng: "You are one of them. And based on our conversation just now, I think you are suitable for teaching advanced submarine warfare theory or naval battle theory. You will be a senior instructor in the submarine department in the future. But we still need a few instructors who can teach students the most basic submarine structure, mechanical operation, training and other basic technical aspects."

Torpedo boats are only part of the coastal defense system envisioned by Chen Tianheng. The entire near-shore coastal defense system is actually "air, submarine, and fast", which ensures that in future wars, the coastline will not be easily landed by the enemy when a powerful enemy approaches.

In addition, another element of the coastal defense system is the transportation system.

"On March 8, the groundbreaking ceremony for the Guangzhou Pearl River Bridge, invested and built by the joint government Guangzhou Municipal Construction Group, was held."

"The Pearl River Bridge, built on Datansa Island in the middle of the river, is divided into two parts: the East Bridge and the West Bridge. The East Bridge is approximately 336 meters long, and the West Bridge is approximately 415.5 meters long. In the first phase of the project, it was planned to be a highway bridge, but space was reserved for expansion into a railway bridge."

"This is another bridge across the Pearl River after the Haizhu Bridge, which began construction in June 1928."

"The Pearl River Bridge will enable direct motorway access between Guangzhou and Foshan City in the southwest, significantly improving land transportation with Jiangmen and Xiangshan County. Furthermore, the joint government plans to continue building bridges along the main stream and tributaries of the Pearl River, connecting Jiangmen and Zhongshan, and ultimately completing Guangdong's provincial highway network."

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported the start of construction of the Pearl River Bridge on March 9, reacting quite quickly.

Below this news, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun also published news related to China:

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly criticized the Guangzhou government of China for arbitrarily raising steel import tariffs.

Japan does not have a consulate in Guangzhou.

So, the protest of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs was conveyed to...Nanjing.

The newly appointed Japanese Minister to China, Shigemitsu Mamoru, rushed to the Nanjing Ministry of Foreign Affairs and protested in unfriendly language, such as "I'm warning you, I'm warning you." The Nanjing Ministry of Foreign Affairs staff were stunned, but since Shigemitsu's words were so unfriendly, the reception staff did not treat him well, and they quickly retorted and sent him away.

Shigemitsu was furious and sent a telegram to report the incident to his country. Japanese Foreign Minister Kijuro Shidehara even flew to Nanjing himself.

"The Guangzhou local government in your country already imposes high import tariffs on steel, cotton yarn, and cotton cloth. Recently, Guangzhou brazenly raised the steel import tariff from 20% to 25%. This decision violates basic principles of global economics and seriously infringes on Japan's foreign trade interests. You represent the government of all of China and cannot sit idly by while Guangzhou arbitrarily increases tariffs. If Guangzhou continues to infringe on Japan's foreign trade interests, you will also bear responsibility."

Kijuro Shidehara spoke very seriously to Wang Zhengting, the Nanjing Foreign Minister.

Wang Zhengting: "Yes, we are the only legitimate government representing the Republic of China. Guangzhou is a rebellious communist government. If Japan also considers us the legitimate government, then it should impose a trade embargo on Guangzhou. Why are you still exporting steel to Guangzhou? Don't you know that steel can be made into weapons?"

Kijuro Shitahara: "..."

Wang Zhengting's superb performance during the talks almost made Kijuro Shidehara paralyzed.

The main reason for Japan's sudden explosion this time is that since Guangzhou actually regained its tariff autonomy (setting its own tariff rates), all previous tariff adjustments seemed to be aimed at Japan.

In Guangzhou's first batch of tariff adjustments, the tariffs on cotton yarn, cotton cloth, and steel increased the most. On the one hand, this was to increase tax revenue, and on the other hand, it was to support the steel, textile and weaving industries in Guangdong.

But the commodities exported by Japan to Guangzhou were mainly cotton yarn, cotton cloth, and steel! Britain was too far away, and the British textile industry was on the decline at that time. Cotton yarn, cotton cloth, and steel were no longer the main exports to China. On the contrary, the sales of machine tools and high-end industrial products exported by Britain grew rapidly in Guangzhou, and the tariffs were not that high.

In short, it is Japan that is being precisely targeted by tariffs.

The second tariff adjustment, which increased steel tariffs from 20% to 25%, basically caused the Japanese steel industry to lose its export market under the coalition government.

The two and a half provinces within the coalition government's jurisdiction now account for the highest steel consumption in China, thanks to their massive infrastructure development. The negative economic effects of the 1929 stock market crash are now becoming apparent, and both domestic and foreign demand for Japan's steel industry are slumping, causing considerable anxiety for the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In 1929, Guangzhou imported 300,000 tons of steel, nearly the same as Nanjing (Nanjing imported 330,000 tons). Most of this imports were common construction steel. Meanwhile, fueled by the extra profits from tariff increases, monthly steel production within Guangzhou's jurisdiction exceeded 10,000 tons by February 1930. Small steel mills sprang up across Guangdong, with new earthenware blast furnaces opening almost monthly in Yunfu. Small and miniature iron ore mines in northern and western Guangdong, regardless of their low reserves or poor quality, were dug wherever they could be mined and sent to Yunfu's small steel mills for smelting.

These small steel mills aren't the most formidable; the most formidable is Zhuzhou. Here, the Guangzhou government, leveraging the coal mines of Pingxiang and the iron mines of Ningxiang, has invested in a large, modern steel mill. The first blast furnace-converter system is designed to produce 30 tons annually.

"If Guangzhou continues to use tariff barriers to protect its steel industry, its steel production will reach 20 tons this year, 25 tons in 1931, and 60 tons in 1932 if its Zhuzhou Steel Plant is put into operation."

"This is the steel export quota that should have been shared between Japan and the United States! How can the Chinese be allowed to produce their own steel? Now, the annual trade volume of 60 tons is gone!"

The Minister of Commerce and Industry of Japan, Masahiro Ichi, came to see Kijuro Shidehara for the second time. Foreign Minister Shidehara had not been able to get things done properly during his visit to China, and Masahiro Ichi was getting anxious.

"Oh, Sun-san, but I looked at the latest export reports. Japan's monthly steel exports to China, I mean, to Guangzhou, are actually increasing. They're up 20% compared to the same month last year."

Dai Sunyi: "The overall operating conditions of my country's steel industry are extremely poor. Domestic and international demand has been drastically reduced. If the economy doesn't improve this year, our annual production capacity of 300 million tons will only produce a maximum of 240 million tons of steel, which means 20% of our steel mills will go bankrupt. We are now hoping that the increased demand for steel from the Guangzhou government in China will inject export growth into the Japanese steel industry."

Kijuro Shidehara: "The Nanjing government of China only claims sovereignty over all of China. In reality, it has absolutely no control over the two and a half provinces under the jurisdiction of the Guangzhou government. We only have diplomatic relations with Nanjing, so the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is powerless to do anything about this matter."

Dai Sunyi: "Then, can we secretly help the Nanjing government of China unify Guangzhou as soon as possible? I know that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has close ties with the military. If we can contact young military officers to do something, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry can allocate some... special funds for this purpose."

Kijuro Shidehara shook his head and smiled, "You may not know, Mr. Daisun, that the actual situation is quite the opposite. From what I've heard, the young military officers are secretly plotting to dismember China's Nanjing government."

Debt Sun Yi: "Ah? What?!"

Kijuro Shidehara: "The Northern Expeditionary Army split into two governments, Nanjing and Guangzhou. Initially, the military supported the Nanjing government's rapid victory over Guangzhou, supporting and expanding Northeast China's military industrial capacity. However, Nanjing's two campaigns against Guangzhou ended in failure. Not only did they fail to reduce Guangzhou's control, but they also lost significant territory. As a result, the military lost confidence in the Nanjing government's military capabilities."

"Some young military officers, however, believed that since the current situation in China could not be changed in the short term, Japan should first pocket any gains it could obtain and secure them. They were plotting to completely control Manchuria."

"Don't these logs in uniforms really have any brains?!" Osun said in despair.

Kijuro Shidehara: "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is privately trying to dissuade them from doing so. These officers are simply hoping to quickly secure the military merits that will lead to their promotions... But even if they were dissuaded, I'm afraid Japan's languishing industrial and commercial sectors wouldn't consider Guangzhou a life-saving new continent."

Chapter 65: Ishiwara Kanji's National Policy

"Yang Lin!"

"Here!" "Zhao Shangzhi!" "Here!"

Ganzhou, the headquarters of the 8th Division of the 3rd Army.

Chen Tianheng inspected the Jiangxi direction and first arrived in Fuzhou to inspect the frontier positions of the Seventh Army. Then he returned to Ganzhou and called out the names of the 8th Division Commander Yang Lin (Jin Xun) and the Chief of Staff of the 25th Regiment of the 9th Division Zhao Shangzhi at the division headquarters.

Jin Xun was born in North Pyongan Province, North Korea. In his early years, he participated in the March 1st Anti-Japanese Movement. After the failure, he fled to China. He first engaged in the anti-Japanese movement in Northeast China for two years. Later, because Tang Jiyao of the Yunnan Army engaged in the so-called "Asianism", the Yunnan Military Academy recruited students from various East Asian countries. Jin Xun changed his name and went to the Yunnan Military Academy. After graduating in 1924, he became a teacher at the Whampoa Military Academy. Later, he was recruited by Ye Ting into the Independent Regiment. He is now the commander of the 8th Division.

Zhao Shangzhi was a student of the fifth class of Whampoa Military Academy. When the Northern Expedition began, Zhao Shangzhi had not graduated yet. He was studying at the War Research Society. After the revolutionary army returned to Guangzhou, he was added to the First Army. After the first counter-encirclement and suppression campaign ended, he was transferred to the Third Army.

Chen Tianheng: "The coalition government will hold a seminar on the situation in Northeast China and North Korea. The Military Commission would like you two, one born in North Korea and the other from Northeast China, to attend. After the seminar, the General Staff of the Revolutionary Army will conduct a study on military and defense security in Northeast China, and you two will also participate."

Now it only takes 6 or 7 hours to drive from Ganzhou to Shaoguan by car, and then take the train from Shaoguan back to Guangzhou. If the itinerary is tight, one day is enough.

"Zhao Shangzhi, what do you think of Zhang Zuolin's current rule in Northeast China?" Chen Tianheng asked Zhao Shangzhi on the train.

"Zhang Zuolin was an old warlord who dominated Northeast China for nearly twenty years," Zhao Shangzhi said. "But objectively, Zhang Zuolin also managed Northeast China for twenty years and carried out a lot of industrial construction, although he did so to strengthen the power of his Fengtian clique. The Harbin Xugong Industrial School where I studied was precisely because Northeast China had extensive industry, which is why there were so many industrial schools. But Zhang Zuolin treated Northeast China as his private property. His family members and relatives firmly controlled the soldiers and money in Northeast China. Other merchants or military officers who were not directly under his command had little chance of getting ahead. Zhang Zuolin's Northeast was not a monolithic entity. What happened to Guo Songling might happen again."

Chen Tianheng: "Recently, there was a conflict between the Manchurian Railway and the Northeast Army. This matter was resolved through the coordination between Zhang Zuolin and the Japanese side, but the General Staff believes that there is more to the story behind it."

The armed conflict between the Manchurian Railway and the Northeastern Army began in early March. During a meeting with Japanese guests, Zhang Zuolin, perhaps drunk, casually remarked, "The Soviets have nominally renounced sovereignty over the Chinese Eastern Railway. Shouldn't you Japanese, ah, also express your own?"

The Japanese side reacted extremely strongly, characterizing the incident as a serious diplomatic incident.

Zhang Zuolin quickly changed his words, saying that it was a drunken slip of the tongue and that it was not true. He did not want to touch the South Manchuria Railway or Lüda.

Zhang Zuolin's correction didn't seem to have the desired effect. A week later, the Manchurian Railway's engineering team and armed escort detachment engaged the Fengtian Army, resulting in three Fengtian Army casualties and two wounded, while the Japanese suffered no casualties (because the armed escort's attack was a surprise attack). The Manchurian Railway later accused the Fengtian Army of stealing Manchurian Railway supplies or harboring thieves.

However, in reality, the armed personnel of the Manchurian Railway rushed to the Fengtian Army’s base and opened fire.

In order to quell the incident, Zhang Zuolin moved the military camp, which was closer to the South Manchuria Railway, back 5 kilometers, a move that triggered a surge of nationalism in Nanjing.

The Nanjing government mobilized some of its own intellectuals to accuse Zhang Zuolin of being "weak" and "traitorous", and the Nanjing government issued an official document to reprimand Zhang Zuolin.

Zhao Shangzhi: "Everyone in Northeast China knows that the Japanese will come one day. Not in the form of 'coming' now, but in a massive invasion."

Chen Tianheng: "This is exactly what the Military Commission and the General Staff are most worried about."

Jin Xun: "General Chen, the Korean Righteous Regiment has been displaced throughout Korea, Northeast China, and the interior of China. Jin Yuanfeng hopes to find a place to settle the troops. I wonder if he should contact the coalition government?"