The Fourth Outstanding Person of Huangpu Military Academy

As the delegation boarded a train to San Francisco and then sailed back home, headlines in Washington newspapers and tabloids reported the passage of U.S. Public Law 71-361, known as the Smoot-Hawley Tariff.

"Will President Hoover veto this bill?"

As the train traveled on the Pacific Railroad, the delegation members speculated about this. Now 28 American economists from various American universities have signed a petition asking President Hoover to veto the bill.

Not only the academic circle, but also automobile industry tycoon Henry Ford went to the White House and spent an entire night trying to persuade Hoover to veto the bill, calling it "a stupid economic policy."

Chen Youren looked at the translator beside him: "Not necessarily."

At the State Council meeting before the delegation left, the members gave advice to the delegation and also made predictions about the political developments in Britain and the United States within two months. The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, which was already being hotly debated in Congress at the time, was naturally an important part of the meeting.

The State Council meeting expressed a high probability that the US would implement this bill. Therefore, regarding the tariff exemption agreement between China, the UK, and the US, our unspoken commitment is that it must be signed. We can make some concessions on the details, but we must not refuse to sign it.

What American experts and think tanks see may not be apparent to Americans. They lack such foresight; they only see their own joblessness and their own misery. And the joblessness stems from factory closures. Now, someone claims they can drive foreign goods out of the American market and replace them with American goods. If the factory gets orders, it can reopen. The workers don't care; they just support it.

As for the fact that after the bill was passed, more factories closed down and I became even more miserable, so I decided to kick Hoover out.

Unfortunately, one of President Herbert Hoover's bases was these rednecks, and Hoover made this promise to them during his campaign.

San Francisco.

"Extra number! Extra number!"

"President Hoover signed the bill!"

Outside the train station, an American newsboy waving a newspaper called out. Chen Youren and the delegation members said, "Oh wow."

"Minister Chen, landmines around the world will explode one after another, but we are wearing two bulletproof armor suits, so we can withstand it for a while."

Chen Youren: "Thank goodness."

During the negotiations with the UK, the British side presented numerous obstacles. Originally, China had agreed to lower tariffs on agricultural products in exchange for lower tariffs on British industrial goods. However, the British suddenly added a demand, demanding that the tax rate on tea, a type of agricultural product, also be adjusted to reflect future UK tariff fluctuations. Chen Youren, reflecting on the bottom line outlined by the coalition government during his visit, finally signed the agreement after a day of wrangling with the British.

"Hello, sir! Please make way, sir!"

An American dressed in typical Yankee attire, carrying a small suitcase, squeezed through the crowd. He studied the blurry photo on the newspaper in his left hand, then looked up at Chen Youren. "Hello, are you Mr. Chen, Youren Chen?"

Chen Youren: "It's me."

"Great! My name is Wells Huggins, and I'm a salesperson for FN Herstal, the most powerful arms company in the United States. I'd like to discuss a big deal with you."

Taking the business card, Chen Youren discovered it was from an arms dealer. He politely shook hands with Huggins and said, "Hello, Mr. Huggins. Arms are indeed one of the items our coalition government will be purchasing from abroad, but it seems that there are relevant laws in the United States that restrict us from purchasing arms directly."

Huggins leaned close to Chen Youren and whispered, "All bills can be circumvented, Mr. Foreign Minister. FN Herstal manufactures the world's most sophisticated weapons. If they can't be sold to China, it's because the politicians in Washington are too stupid. If China doesn't have FN weapons, it will also be a regret for China."

Chen Youren smiled and said, "It seems that you are an excellent salesman and advertising copywriter, Mr. Huggins. If you are confident that you can circumvent the bill, you might as well go directly to Guangzhou, China."

Huggins: "That's exactly what I was thinking. Besides, I'd like to buy a ticket on the same cruise as you. ... Can we exchange business cards?"

Of course, Huggins didn't just want to sail to China with Chen Youren; he wanted to use this opportunity to build closer ties with Guangzhou. Regardless of whether the Foreign Minister had a say in the arms order, he was at least a Foreign Minister, so knowing anybody counted.

Back at the FN Herstal store in San Francisco, Huggins showed the store manager Chen Youren's business card, saying that he had established connections with Chinese officials and was going to China.

"Huggins, how do you know these Chinese people?" the manager was shocked. "You're only responsible for selling pistols and shotguns to gun stores in San Francisco!"

"Foreign Minister Chen and I hit it off right away. After just half an hour of chatting, we finalized a huge contract for the future weapons and equipment of the Chinese military!"

"Um, Manager Sherman, can you prepare some samples for me?" "Also, advance my travel expenses."

At the cruise terminal, Chen Youren and his group met Wells Huggins. He had brought an assistant with him, but even two people couldn't move his luggage, so they had to hire several dock workers.

"Mr. Huggins, what's in these big wooden boxes?"

Chen Youren asked. Huggins didn't answer for the time being. He was looking at the receding coastline, calculating when the cruise ship would reach the high seas.

"I brought some samples. Of course, we are an arms company, so the samples are of course some of the more powerful ones—"

Arriving on the high seas, Huggins went to the luggage compartment, found his wooden box, opened it, and showed Chen Youren the weapons buried in the haystacks.

"FN24/30 rifle, the best 7.92 bolt-action rifle." "FN M1910 semi-automatic pistol." "FN Browning automatic rifle." "And this, oh my god, this is our company's most precious treasure, the M2 machine gun, one bullet can cut a person in two..."

China.

Guangxi.

Chairman Yu takes office, Guangxi changes the world

"Nanjing's Letter to the Guangxi Army (forwarded by this newspaper)" Nanning Republic Daily.

Since the end of May, the situation in Guangxi has become unstable.

From this we can also see that the information Li Mingrui brought back was indeed the deepest inside information, more than a month earlier than the news the outside world learned from newspapers.

After a long period of planning and foreplay, the conspiracy was finally revealed in early June. Huang Xuchu, who was loyal to Li Zongren, resigned from his post as chairman of Guangxi Province and went to Nanjing government to take up his post.

The newly appointed Chairman of Guangxi Province was Yu Zuobai. Based on both the history of the Guangxi Clique and Yu Zuobai's own attitude, he favored Huang Shaohong over the other three leaders. Huang wanted to support Yu Zuobai and eliminate Li Zongren's influence in Guangxi.

This was also what Chiang Kai-shek meant. In addition to Yu Zuobai's own sufficient qualifications, another factor Chiang Kai-shek considered was Li Mingrui. This cousin of Yu Zuobai would definitely help his cousin when the Guangxi clique was in internal strife.

Yu Zuobai... Of course, Huang Shaohong and Chiang Kai-shek's previous understanding had always been correct. Yu Zuobai and Li Zongren had always been at odds. However, after Li Mingrui's repeated explanations and persuasions, Yu Zuobai's attitude was now completely different from before.

Yu Zuobai read these two articles in the Nanning Republic Daily in his new office and slammed the table.

Secretary: "Chairman Yu?"

Yu Zuobai: "Who wrote these two articles? Especially the second one, who asked them to reprint it?"

Secretary: “Um…”

Yu Zuobai: "Can you, Republic Daily, bear the charge of disrupting the stability and unity of Guangxi? Call the president of the Republic Daily over here. You should drive there yourself. When you return, the president should be in the car."

Chapter 70: I asked you to overthrow Li Youxuan, but you turned around and overthrew Chiang?

"A Letter to the Guangxi Clique" was Chiang Kai-shek's manifesto targeting the Guangxi clique's troops, controlled by Li Zongren. Written in the name of the Nanjing Military and Political Department, it denounced Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi for their monopoly of military and political power in the pacification zone, their disobedience to central government orders, their exclusion of dissidents, their cowardice in suppressing the Communists but their willingness to engage in internal strife, and their heavy taxes and levies on the pacification zone, tantamount to rebellion.

Chiang Kai-shek asked Li Zongren and Bai Chongqi to resign from their positions as commander of the pacification zone and chief of staff of the pacification zone, and go abroad to investigate democracy and people's livelihood.

Before issuing this manifesto, Chiang Kai-shek had spent two months individually dismantling the Guangxi clique's forces outside of Guangxi. While Li Mingrui in Nanchang was secretly colluding with Li Zongren, the Guangxi clique troops in Wuhan had completely defected. Even the commander of the 27th Army, composed of Guangxi natives, Tao Jun, accepted bribes and resigned from his command in Nanjing along with Hu Zongduo, Li Pinxian, and other commanders.

Bai Chongxi, Chief of Staff of the First Pacification Zone in Wuhan, was nearly arrested. Commander Chen Cheng personally went to his official residence to arrest him, but Bai Chongxi managed to escape the encirclement by boarding a British passenger ship near Wuhan, taking refuge in the French Concession in Shanghai.

In the Second Pacification Zone, in the direction of Jiangxi, Chiang Kai-shek's offensive was aimed at inciting the people to "overthrow Li." Chen Tiaoyuan, a former warlord of the Five Provinces Allied Forces, who Chiang Kai-shek had been supporting in Shanghai with a pension, recently issued a high-profile telegram denouncing Li Zongren for exploiting the people of Jiangxi:

"Every penny of Jiangxi's wealth is earned through the blood and sweat of the people, not the private pockets of any faction or sect. The young men of Jiangxi who join the army do so to serve their country, not to risk their lives for the selfish interests of any faction or sect..."

As the public began to protest against Li, Chiang Kai-shek's plan to alienate the troops of the Second Suiyuan District in Nanchang was also on the verge of a showdown. However, Li Mingrui had already informed Li Zongren of Chiang Kai-shek's attempt to bribe the commanders of the Guangxi clique's armies and divisions. Li Zongren then met with Liao Lei, commander of the Seventh Army, and essentially stabilized the Seventh Army.

After the Seventh Army was stabilized, the 1st and 8th Divisions of the Seventh Army stationed in Nanchang quickly controlled a division of the 47th Army also stationed in Nanchang. The 2nd Guangxi Division of the Seventh Army stationed in Jiujiang monitored the two divisions of the 47th Army stationed in Jiujiang, thus stabilizing the two armies composed of the descendants of the Guangxi clique.

驻南昌的还有两个军:第3军和32军。第3军军长王钧见李宗仁已重新控制住南昌附近的7、47军两支精锐军力，马上表示第三军一定唯司令官马首是瞻，维持南昌、二绥区的安定团结。

Now there is only the 32nd Army left, which is the army that Xue Yue was arrested by Li Zongren last year on the charge of collaborating with the Communists. Now Han Deqin is the army commander. He is weak and has nothing to say, so he has to give up the idea of ​​"overthrowing Li".

After the army regained its stability, Chiang Kai-shek's third move came:

It was not enough for the gentry headed by Chen Tiaoyuan to send a telegram to denounce Li Zongren. Chiang Kai-shek wanted to instigate the citizens of Nanchang to march and demonstrate, shouting "Down with Li."

"Commander-in-Chief, the streets of Nanchang have been unstable recently. Yesterday, thousands of citizens and students took to the streets to protest. Today, over 20,000 citizens and students have gathered. The protests are disrupting city order and shouting political slogans. I request that troops be dispatched to disperse the protesters."

Li Zongren asked for instructions from Nanjing via long-distance phone call.

"Citizens of the Republic of China have the freedom to express their political opinions. My dear German neighbor, do you intend to undermine the legal system of the Republic of China and persecute the people?"

Li Zongren: "Citizens gathering in the streets seriously affects the work of the Second Pacification Zone. If this is not stopped quickly, it will affect the military security of the Second Pacification Zone."

"—that's nonsense. All troops in the Second Sui District are not allowed to stop the people! If anyone acts rashly and undermines the democratic freedoms and rights of our citizens, I will hold the Second Sui District's military and political leaders accountable!"

Chiang Kai-shek on the other end hung up the phone with a snap.

Li Zongren hung up the phone and said, "Fuck you, Baldy Chiang."

Liao Lei: "Why didn't he say these things when he suppressed the demonstrations?"

Li Mingrui: "Commander, didn't you ask last time if you could help me with that...over there?"

Li Zongren: "That's what they said, but who knows if they will help?"

On the streets of Nanchang, the parade now numbered far more than 20,000 people, and appeared to be around 30,000 or even 35,000.

The streets of Nanchang at that time were not so spacious. More than 30,000 people were crowded together, occupying two or three streets. The several hundred meters of road from the provincial government to the Ersui District Office was particularly crowded.

The marchers chanted various slogans and held up various banners. The Nanchang police, presumably receiving a hint from the Nanchang Municipal Party Committee of the Kuomintang, mostly stayed away, and those who did were tactless.

"Li Zongren step down!" "Li Zongren step down!" "Down with Li!" "Down with Li!"

"We want democracy! We want freedom!" "We want democracy! We want freedom!" "Down with the Kuomintang reactionaries!"

Puff... "Down with... the Kuomintang... the reactionaries!"

The protesters actually shouted this slogan in unison. After they started shouting, the scene suddenly became chaotic. Some people were confused, some cheered, and some laughed, but few seemed to stop them.

"Chieftains of the Kuomintang reactionaries, Chiang Kai-shek and Li Zongren, step down!" "Chiang Kai-shek step down!" "Chiang Kai-shek step down!"

The final scene at the parade was that the slogans held by the team included those against Lee, but there were also a large number of slogans against Chiang, as well as slogans such as "Stop the civil war and build the country peacefully", "Long live democracy", "We want to work", "Oppose taxation", and "Welcome back Chairman Deng (Chairman of the Kuomintang Revolutionary Committee)".

"Commander Li, Commander Li!"

Qian Ruojiang, the head of the Nanchang Municipal Party Committee of the Kuomintang, hurried to the Pacification Zone Office and said, "Commander Li, the Communists are instigating people to march in the streets of Nanchang. They are rebelling! Rebelling!"

Li Mingrui: "What nonsense! Commander-in-Chief Chiang just told us in person that these were legal demonstrations spontaneously organized by Nanchang citizens in accordance with the laws of the Republic of China. Where did you see the Communist Party?"

"But they all shouted slogans against Chiang Kai-shek!"

Li Zongren: "I received a call this morning from Commander-in-Chief Chiang himself, telling me and my troops not to leave the camp and not to stop or suppress the people. I understood Commander-in-Chief Chiang's instructions this way: Opposing Chiang Kai-shek is also the right of the citizens. How can it be called rebellion? They are also calling for me to step down. Did I say anything?"

Li Mingrui: "Director Qian, if we send troops to stop it, we will be undermining the democratic freedoms of our people and disobeying the orders of Commander-in-Chief Chiang. The military and political leaders of the Second Suiyuan District disobeyed Chiang Kai-shek's orders? Can you bear this responsibility?"

By noon that day, the police chief was scrambling throughout Nanchang to get the police officers back from holiday. Dozens of people from the Kuomintang headquarters tried desperately to bring the parade back and disperse it, but they were unable to do so. The commotion lasted until 3 or 4 p.m., when the hungry citizens finally returned home.

Regarding the sudden deviation of the march slogans, Nanjing did not make any statement for several days, and Nanjing newspapers did not report on the march in Nanchang, as if the incident had never happened.

There are also voices in Nanning calling for an end to Li.

The main force behind the anti-Lee movement in Guangxi was not the KMT's local party organization, but Huang Shaozhan. Of course, Huang Shaozhan also sometimes worked through KMT branches across Guangxi.

Although Li Zongren was fighting wars or presiding over military and political affairs in other places for a long time, he also had a base of connections in Guangxi. The former governor Huang Xuchu was Li Zongren's man. Now that Huang Xuchu has stepped down, the mayors of Guilin and Liuzhou are still people from Li Zongren's family.

Huang Shaozhan hinted to Yu Zuobai that as the new chairman of Guangxi Province, you can replace the mayors of Liuzhou and Guilin with your own.

Yu Zuobai evaded the question by saying, "I'm still considering the candidate."

A few days later, Huang Shao instructed the Nanning Republic Daily to forward Nanjing's "Letter to the Guangxi Clique Army." This morning, Chiang Kai-shek's manifesto was published, and at noon, Yu Zuobai dispatched troops to buy up that day's newspapers from all corners of the streets, regardless of whether they were sold at newsstands, by newsboys, or by private individuals, offering them double the price.

The editor-in-chief of the Nanning Republic Daily was criticized by Yu Zuobai, and Huang Shaozi also learned about it. He sent a telegram back to ask what was going on.

Yu Zuobai simply called back and told Huang Shao that Chiang Kai-shek was trying to alienate the Guangxi clique and instigate internal strife in Guangxi. He and Commander Li should communicate well and never fight against each other.

Huang Shao called back again, and simply stopped playing tricks and told Yu directly that Chiang Kai-shek was very determined to get rid of Li Zongren, and this matter was probably not subject to the will of Li Zongren or you and me.

Yu Zuobai pretended that he was out drinking at a social event and did not reply to the telegram.

The anti-Li movement in Nanning did not involve much street action, but was mainly concentrated in the Guangxi Provincial Council and the Nanning Municipal Government, with officials verbally and politically criticizing each other.

But as the anti-Li movement progressed, its voice gradually faded.

One reason was that Yu Zuobai separated the two factions of officials, and the other reason was that the officials and legislators who opposed Li's faction gradually felt bored and stopped attacking after making trouble for a few days.

In addition, a "Pro-Lee" demonstration began to appear on the streets of Nanning. Most of these people were veterans of the Guangxi Army who had returned home from other provinces due to retirement or injury in recent years, and their families.

Few of these veterans, their families, or even ordinary Guangxi residents have a clear understanding of Huang and Li's "Guangxi governance guidelines," let alone an assessment of who is superior. But if you ask them who they support, Huang or Li, most will back Li.

Because it was Li Zongren who led his own troops from Guangxi to fight in Henan and Anhui, not someone else. The last time people from Guangxi were so arrogant was during the Taiping Rebellion, but the Taiping Rebellion was defeated in the end, and Commander Li is still Commander Li now.

"I exchanged telegrams with Minister Huang Shaowang again, and this time we exchanged more opinions. Minister Huang didn't say as much, probably because he felt he couldn't continue."

"For the past ten days or so, I've been breaking up fights in Nanning. I didn't help Huang Shaozi, but I don't think I've offended him either, right, Lao Zhang?"

Huangpu Nanning Branch, Yu Zuobai came here to chat with the principal Zhang Yun逸.

Zhang Yun逸: "Huang Shaozi's attempt to overthrow Li was originally a selfish move that Chiang Kai-shek exploited. It might have been a different story if he had succeeded, but since he failed, he retreated knowing the difficulty. Therefore, he probably won't make things difficult for you, or even if he wanted to, he wouldn't be able to do so."

Yu Zuobai: "Huang Shao may have less contact with Guangxi in the future." Zhang Yun逸: "Yes, this internal conflict hurts feelings. Huang Shao will be assigned by Chiang Kai-shek to continue serving as a civilian in Nanjing. How is Commander Li now?"

Yu Zuobai: "He was entrenched in Nanchang. Chiang Kai-shek couldn't do anything about him. The most he could do was criticize him and recall the Guangxi people whom Commander Li had installed as local officials in Nanchang. ... My cousin, Li Mingrui, supported Commander Li. In fact, I also received telegrams from Li Mingrui one after another, and finally adopted his advice."

Zhang Yun逸: "That's good. The ending is good, and your cousin is also good. From now on, your Yu brothers and cousins ​​should be considered as Li Zongren's people."

"Ha, ha, ha, it doesn't matter."

Yu Zuobai shook his head. He still had some old scores to settle with Li Zongren. But after thinking about it, Yu Zuobai felt that it was not a big deal.

"Lao Zhang, what is this?"

Yu Zuobai saw a self-printed book without a cover on the bookshelf in Zhang Yun逸's office:

Mountain Infantry Offensive Tactics - Military Training Department of the General Staff of the Revolutionary Army