The Fourth Outstanding Person of Huangpu Military Academy

National Revolution Magazine.

"Hello everyone, I'm here."

Chen Tianheng walked into the editorial department. The editors-in-chief were Kuomintang officials, including Miao Bin, Yang Yinzhi, Leng Xin, and Du Congrong, all of whom Chen Tianheng had dealt with at the Whampoa Military Academy.

"Director Dai's instructions,"

Chen Tianheng walked with an air of levity, as if he had received the highest order, and said:

"Director Dai said that politics requires style. Director Dai also said, Chen Tianheng, you must submit an article to the magazine to elevate the political style."

Miao Bin: "Ah, Captain Chen, of course we will publish your article. I just don't know what kind of article it is."

"Of course it's an article that aligns with your publication's purpose, but I have to say this upfront: I put a lot of effort into this, so please don't make any changes."

"Captain Chen, please stop keeping us in suspense."

Chen Tianheng pulled out a few pages of manuscript. "Here it is. I spent a long time writing this, combining scattered reports from the Soviet Union, as well as interviews with more than a dozen eyewitnesses and survivors from Finnish and Norwegian newspapers between 1921 and 1923."

……

The third issue of "National Revolution" was published.

The cheesy, smear-filled jokes were still there, but they had been moved to the back of the magazine.

The main articles of the third issue are:

The Kronstadt Sailors' Rebellion: The First Interrogation of the Soviets

"In the autumn of 1920, the Soviets drove the White Army out of the European part of Russia. However, having won a decisive victory in the civil war, the Soviet government still faced serious internal and external problems."

"The Soviet economy had been devastated and disorganized by the previous war, and the policies of War Communism (including the forced confiscation of all surplus grain from farmers) had caused dissatisfaction among the peasants. After the White Army no longer threatened the region, the peasants became increasingly dissatisfied with the burdensome agricultural confiscation policy."

“但城市的情况比农村糟糕得多。严重的食品配送问题导致城市居民陷入“饥饿配给”：1921年初，彼得格勒钢铁生产的工人每天只能收到800克黑面包；普通体力工作者600克，其他工人400克甚至200克。”

"At the end of 1920, as hostilities by the White Army gradually ceased, the soldiers and sailors of Kronstadt were given leave for the first time and were able to return to their hometowns – the countryside or small and medium-sized cities. However, they were faced with starvation rationing in the cities and forced grain requisition in the countryside."

On February 26, 1921, the crews of the battleships Sevastopol and Petropavlovsk, anchored side by side in the frozen harbor of Kronstadt, held an emergency meeting. They decided to send a delegation to Petrograd to learn about what was happening in the city and the reasons for the workers' strike..."

……

"Oh my god, how did the Sun Yat-sen Society make such big news?!"

The impact of this issue of "National Revolution" is a bit too strong.

The article is very long, filling four pages.

Unlike the magazine's previous troll and rumor-mongering articles, this article simply recounts the Kronstadt sailors' mutiny from beginning to end, without even deliberately inciting any emotions.

However, this was enough to make many Whampoa cadets and instructors go crazy.

First of all, the members of the Sun Yat-sen Society and those who were more inclined towards the Sun Yat-sen Society saw this article as a treasure and immediately derived various opinions from the article to attack the Soviet Union.

These lower-level members naturally spitted, while higher-level members used this with great interest as an argument to prove how irrational the Soviet regime was. Even right-wing leader Hu Hanmin commented on this, saying that "the Kronstadt uprising was the Soviet Union's own fault."

Hu Hanmin even inquired with great interest: the Kronstadt sailors' mutiny had been rarely reported in Soviet newspapers and magazines in the past few years, as if it had never happened. How did this article obtain such detailed information? Oh, it turned out that after the mutiny was suppressed, some sailors and officers fled to Norway and Sweden, and they gave interviews to local newspapers.

Then, the Soviet instructors were in a state of panic, and they went around the world asking who the author named "Li Wen" was. However, the editorial department of "National Revolution" refused to answer, saying that "this is the author's personal privacy."

Then, the ordinary members of the Youth Army Association and its peripheral organizations with communist leanings were all confused. Like the students of the Sun Yat-sen Society, the peripheral organizations of the Youth Army Association also began to make various excuses based on the article.

However, the Youth Army Association’s president Jiang Xianyun, and vice presidents Chen Tianheng and Chen Geng were not among those who were confused.

Now the Youth Army Association is expecting a strong counterattack from "Young Soldiers".

(Chen Geng has not yet been discharged from the hospital)

"Have the members of the Youth Army Association and the peripheral students formed their opinions now?" Chen Tianheng asked Jiang Xianyun when they were still in Guangzhou City and there were only three people present.

"It has formed and divided into several viewpoints or factions," Jiang Xianyun said, "but there is bad news. Many people from our previous peripheral organizations have disbanded."

Chen Geng: "Let it be, let it be. Don't force it."

Chen Tianheng: "Those who have dispersed will come back. I am more interested in those comrades whose reactions are particularly extreme."

Jiang Xianyun: "Are you talking about those who argue that the Kronstadt uprising never happened?"

Chen Tianheng: "Some say the Kronstadt uprising was orchestrated by the White Army, or that it was a British-French conspiracy. Oh, and isn't there someone who says it was a Jewish conspiracy?"

"Correct."

"Now that the attitudes and positions of each group and each person have been made clear, let's publish that article."

Three weeks after the third issue of "National Revolution" was published, the new issue of "Young Soldiers" was completed.

This issue of the magazine will of course make a formal response to the last article in "National Revolution".

This response was also on the front page, the first article in the entire magazine.

"Remember the Past and Learn from It: The Path of Communism Needs Correction"

——Wu Fusheng

Chapter 64

The great debate surrounding the Kronstadt sailors' riot not only occurred in the Whampoa Military Academy and the two teaching regiments, but also spread to universities in Guangzhou.

Because the Sun Yat-sen Society's actual "home base" was at Guangdong University, where Dai Jitao and Zhang Ji were both based. By the way, Dai Jitao had already been designated as president, and he would have been the first president of Guangdong University after it was renamed Sun Yat-sen University.

After the two articles in "National Revolution" and "Young Soldiers" were published, the next one or two issues of the magazine contained many more articles expressing views on the matter. Some people even felt that the magazine debates were not enough, so they set up a podium in the school and expressed their own views on the matter.

The Young Military Personnel Association has also completed a "distillation" of its members and peripheral organizations. This was the main purpose of the debate, and it has now been achieved.

Amidst the quarrels, verbal and physical fights between the two societies, the third batch of students from the Whampoa Military Academy reported for duty.

The third term of the Whampoa Military Academy enrolled over 1200 students, more than the first and second terms combined. The third term wasn't much of a surprise; the fourth term, which opened six months later, was truly enormous, with enrollment more than double that of the third term, and over 2600 graduates.

Huangpu's rapid expansion was fueled by the gradual integration of Guangdong's finances into the Guangdong Revolutionary Government, as well as financial support from the Soviet Union—the gold ruble proved highly effective. With Soviet aid, buildings at Xiahuangpu were built one after another. Thanks to the collaboration between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party and the support of additional Soviet advisors, the instructor staff expanded to accommodate over 1200 cadets.

Although the third phase of teaching is still a short-term intensive training lasting several months.

After the third batch of students entered the school, the military academy’s clubs set up stalls as usual to promote themselves and recruit members for the third batch.

When the Youth Army Association's banner was hung out, a large crowd immediately gathered in this corner of the playground.

This group of people were not all newcomers, there were also many troublemakers. Jiang Xianyun, along with Xu Jishen, Wang Erzhuo, Lu Deming and others, had to work hard to restore order.

"Everyone, please be quiet and keep quiet. We have to line up to fill out the forms. Please go to the end of the line, thank you. No rush! Everyone can fill out the form! Whether you are qualified to join the War Research Society is another matter, but we will provide enough forms!"

Zheng Dongguo was behind a long table, facing a long line of about 4 or 5 people. At the table, there were four or five other students who had received forms and were filling them out. Only after they finished could the others in the queue get a spot to lean over and fill out their own personal information.

"Senior, I heard that joining the War Research Society will lead to rapid promotions after graduation?"

Zheng Dongguo stared at the student. "The late Premier said, 'If we want the revolution to succeed, we must make a resolution from this day forward: for the rest of our lives, we will not pursue officialdom or wealth, but will focus solely on saving the nation and its people.' Student, I suggest you go back and read the Premier's founding speech at Whampoa Military Academy and his will carefully."

The third-term student realized that he had said the wrong thing, stuck out his tongue and continued filling out the form.

Chen Tianheng was also present, but he was not responsible for distributing the forms.

"There are so many people in the third term," Xu Xiangqian said. "They alone could form an entire regiment."

"The third batch of students will form a division in the future." The speaker was Song Xilian.

Chen Tianheng: "After the Eastern Expedition, the First and Second Training Regiments suffered considerable casualties, and the lower-level company and platoon leaders were trained. Those with great ability and military merit were promoted. The third-term students were actually needed to fill the vacancies of company and platoon leaders and squad leaders. However, the school announced the establishment of the Fourth and Fifth Training Regiments at the same time as the third-term students reported for duty. This was probably to tie the majority of the third-term students to these two regiments."

Song Xilian: "How about we talk to the principal and pick some people from the third term to fill out the class?"

"I've already spoken to the principal. Let me see who this is—"

Chen Tianheng took a completed form and asked, "Shi Jue?"

"Yes, I'm Shi Jue," the third-term student replied. "I'm from Yining County, Guangxi Province."

Chen Tianheng: "You look so young."

"Well, I just turned 18 this year. Um, eighteen years old in lunar age."

Chen Tianheng was clearly the central figure among the several members who appeared at the War Research Society. Noticing this, the third-term freshmen began to hand the completed forms directly to him.

Chen Tianheng: "Zhang Pengyi, from Nanchong, Sichuan."

"Yes, yes, it was a lot of trouble for me to come to Guangdong from Sichuan."

"Miao Xiulin."

"Gao Wenhua."

"Huang Dingxin."

"Dai Anlan? Who is Dai Anlan?"

"To!"

Chen Tianheng: "Have you ever been a soldier?"

"Yes, I came to Guangzhou from Anhui last year. I wanted to apply for the Whampoa Military Academy, but I didn't make it on time, so I signed up for the army in Guangzhou and served for half a year. When the third Whampoa Military Academy enrollment came around, I was admitted."

Chen Tianheng: "Really? Did you ever participate in the Eastern Expedition?"

"No... no," Dai Anlan answered honestly, "I signed up to join the Jianguo Yue Army, but during the Eastern Expedition, my troops were always guarding Guangzhou."

"It's okay. There are still many battles to fight in the future." Chen Tianheng patted Dai Anlan's shoulder. "Prepare well for the test."

Song Xilian was examining the form Dai Anlan had filled out: "Dai, your handwriting is really good."

Dai Anlan: "Report to the senior, I studied under Zhou Shaofeng when I was studying at a local private school. He taught me to write these characters. I attended the high school department of Anhui Public School."

Chen Tianheng: "Is it the Anhui Public School founded by Tao Xingzhi?"

"Yes."

From Gubeikou to Taierzhuang, to Kunlun Pass, Dai Anlan, who played every game in the early and middle stages of the War of Resistance Against Japan, was actually a primary school bully in his youth...

"Let me ask you something. Is the student district captain considered a student? I mean, am I considered one of your criteria for membership?"

Chen Tianheng looked up: "The captain of the third phase, who are you?"

"Zeng Zesheng."

Chen Tianheng: "Our War Research Association holds seminars from time to time, and we invite instructors to support or participate. We have never invited student district captains before, nor have we accepted any as members. If you are willing to join as a member, we welcome you. Did you graduate from the Yunnan Army Military Academy?"

Zeng Zesheng: "Yes. I first entered the National Revolutionary Army Sergeant Corps founded by Tang Jiyao for training. Later, I ranked among the top students and was admitted to the Military Academy. After graduating from the Military Academy, I came to Huangpu."

Song Xilian: "Among our Huangpu instructors, quite a few graduated from the Yunnan Military Academy. After you graduate a district team, you may stay on campus, and then you will be promoted from district captain to instructor."

Chen Tianheng: "That's true. Zeng Zesheng, do you want to be an instructor or lead troops in the future?

Zeng Zesheng: "Anything is fine."

……

Lao Zeng is quite Buddhist.

After a day of recruiting new members for the club, Chen Tianheng looked through all the registration forms in the evening and found that almost all the students who he thought were the most capable in the third term had signed up.

Besides Dai Anlan and Zeng Zesheng, there was also Wang Yaowu. This guy had been waiting at the playground at 8 a.m. for the recruitment to open, and was the first to submit his form at 8:01 a.m. Chen Tianheng was elsewhere at 8 a.m. When he arrived at the recruitment site, Wang Yaowu had already left, so he didn't meet him.

Wang Yaowu is from Tai'an, Shandong. Are all Shandong people this curly?

"Tianheng, I have an idea."

Chiang Kai-shek summoned Chen Tianheng to discuss matters.

"Can the War Research Society become a part of the Whampoa Military Academy's teaching system instead of a club?"

Chen Tianheng: "Establish a war research institute?"

"Yes, yes," Chiang Kai-shek said, "Your War Research Society is inspired by the Prussian War Research Institute. It makes perfect sense for us to establish our own War Research Institute as well."

Chen Tianheng: "President, if we want to establish a war research institute, we should only recruit and select young officers from the military. Right now, the Revolutionary Army and the Whampoa Military Academy haven't reached such a large scale, and the various units of the Revolutionary Army haven't had enough time to mature. I think we can consider this in three to five years, when the time is right."

"Three to five years from now..." Chiang Kai-shek mused, "What I'm thinking is that after three to five years, there may not be so many Soviet instructors at Whampoa anymore."

Chen Tianheng: "Why must we use Soviet instructors?"

"That makes sense. Then, let's do it in three to five years. However, Tianheng," the principal said sternly, "the conflict between the Sun Wenxue Society and the Qingjun Society within the military academy has intensified recently. Your War Research Society must absolutely not get involved. Especially the Communist Party members in the War Research Society, they must draw a clear line between themselves and politics."

Chen Tianheng: "President, rest assured, in the daily work of the War Research Society, we will not be involved in the struggle between the two associations. However, as a standing committee member of the Sun Wenxue Society and vice president of the Youth Army Association, when I am not at the War Research Society and come to the two associations to work, I must do what is required of me."

"I know that," Chiang Kai-shek said. "Yesterday, Director Dai Xuantang told me privately that the author of the article about the sailors' mutiny in Kronstadt, Russia, published in the National Revolution, Li Wen, was actually you?"

Chen Tianheng: "Principal, why did Director Dai reveal this to you?"

"I have a special relationship with Xuan Tang. I know about this, but Xuan Tang should not reveal it to anyone else. Well," Chiang Kai-shek said, "Tian Heng, I trust you, but there are many Communist Party members in the War Research Society, and now the Communist Party instructors are saying many things that are not conducive to unity."

"The military academy is a union of both communist and non-communist elements within the Kuomintang, as passed down by the Prime Minister. It must not be disintegrated."

"If there is no unity of thought, there will inevitably be internal strife, and if there is internal strife, it will be difficult to win external battles."