The Fourth Outstanding Person of Huangpu Military Academy

Chen Tianheng: Uh-huh. (Continue reading the story)

Ju Zheng and Shi Qingyang were also expelled from the party for joining a "Beijing Gay Club."

Chen Tianheng: Continue reading the storytelling club. (This club also opposed KMT-CCP ​​cooperation and advocated for club members to replace the KMT Central Executive Committee. Their sexual orientations were all normal.)

The conference not only announced the things that had been decided before the meeting, but also included fierce debates and struggles, many of which were related to Whampoa and the Party Army.

On the third day, Wang Jingwei's faction attacked Chiang Kai-shek.

After the Second Eastern Expedition, Chiang Kai-shek deployed a division of troops in Chaoshan, where they began collecting taxes. Wang Jingwei's faction accused Chiang Kai-shek of entrenching himself in Chaoshan, causing it to disobey the civil administration in Guangzhou, and of acting as a modern-day Jiedushi. Chiang Kai-shek retorted that Chaoshan had been Chen Jiongming's former base, and that many families, large and small, still harbored discontent with the Nationalist government. Without using the military to force them to pay, how could the civil administration system truly compel them to pay?

Chen Tianheng: I know my principal is in danger now, but let’s continue watching the story.

陈天衡打酱油，他旁边的几位团长也都在打酱油。陈天衡手里是25年第12期故事会，钱大钧、蒋鼎文、刘峙手里分别是9、10、11期。

But these delegation leaders were forced to play bystanders. The debate at the meeting was full of topics, constantly discussing administrative power, legally encroaching standards, or lengthy discussions of the spirit of a particular clause in the Constitution of the Republic of China. They didn't quite understand it. To avoid appearing timid and further embarrassing the president, they chose to remain silent.

"What is our party? It's a political organization. The Book of Documents says, 'The Way harmonizes politics, benefiting the people.' Politics is the way to govern a country so that the people can live and work in peace and contentment. Soldiers are tools obeying politics, not participants in it. I don't understand why there are so many representatives in uniform at today's meeting..."

Chen Tianheng raised his head and saw that the speaker was Liu Shouzhong, a member of the Peking branch.

At this time, several Wang Wang factions were saying that the Second National Congress should not have officers with only military titles but no political qualifications. This Liu Shouzhong quoted from the Book of Documents in his speech, showing that he is a cultured person.

"Representative Liu, I would like to express my opinion."

You are the representative in black military uniform, and I am also a representative in military uniform.

I've been slacking off for three days, it's time to make a statement.

"First of all, we are a modern political party. Our organizational methods and management structure are derived from the West. The word politics as used in the West is very different from the word politics in ancient texts."

"Politics, its etymology is publicus, meaning public, and populus, meaning people. It means 'the common affairs of the people' rather than 'how the monarch and his ministers maintain their rule and govern the country,' which is generally called the art of kingship."

"Secondly, the greatest common concern of the Chinese people at present is to overthrow the warlords and unify the country. Under this situation, the military is bound to be a participant in politics. This is an objective fact that cannot be denied."

Liu Shouzhong: "Sir, if the military participates in politics and has guns, what else do we need to do? What's the point of overthrowing the warlords? Will we establish a new warlord regime with military rule?"

Chen Tianheng: "In liberal countries, military institutions are isolated from society, and the military's influence on politics is reduced to a negligible level. However, these countries have also minimized their military forces. However, China is not in a position to minimize its military forces now. It must maintain a relatively large military, and therefore the military is inevitably a participant in politics. This cannot be changed by simply writing a clause or adding a paragraph to a constitution or other laws."

"As for the potential for military rule, that depends on the quality of the politicians. Civilian policymakers should focus on determining the ultimate goals of national policy and allocating resources, while the military uses those resources to achieve those goals. The military's job is to direct resources toward achieving those goals."

"I must also say here that, as the Nationalist government was about to launch the Northern Expedition, the conference proposal in my hand was 68 pages long, but the 'proposal on military affairs' was only half a page. This shows that civilian policymakers have not done their due work and have not established a clear and sufficiently solid national policy."

Liu Shouzhong: "The military proposal is an outline. Although it is only half a page...it contains six resolutions, but they are all concise and to the point."

Chen Tianheng: "Representative Liu, that's not the case. These six resolutions cover the political training of soldiers, unified military supplies, the establishment of a budget system, the abolition of corporal punishment, improvements to soldiers' lives, and the treatment of wounded soldiers, but they omit the most important one: military cooperation with the Soviet Union."

At the Central Supervisory Committee seat at the meeting, Zhang Jingjiang held his glasses with his left hand and looked at Chen Tianheng who stood up from the back row and spoke eloquently.

"Tsk..."

"Commissioner Zhang, the person who spoke is Chen Tianheng, commander of the 1st Regiment of the 1st Division of the Party Army."

"I know that man's name is Chen Tianheng, a top student that Chiang Kai-shek plucked out from among the Whampoa Military Academy students," Zhang Jingjiang said. "Xiang Qin, I'd like to invite this kid out to meet him."

Chapter 75

Chen Tianheng followed up with his response and refuted Liu Shouzhong's point of view in just a few moves.

Liu Shouzhong's view is not that the party commands the gun. What he supports is the nationalization and depoliticization of the military, which means completely copying the civilian military system of Britain and the United States.

Military issues were rarely discussed at the conference, and the omission of military relations with the Soviet Union was a clear blind spot. Because the KMT leadership was collectively racking their brains over this issue, especially after Ji Shangjia replaced Jia Lun, it was even more problematic, so they simply didn't discuss it at the Second Congress.

Chen Tianheng's speech caught Zhang Jingjiang's attention.

Gu Yingfen: "Liu Shouzhong still wants to suppress the military's position in the Party, but now he's hitting a wall."

Zhang Jingjiang: "He responded to classics with classics, countered their arguments with reasoning, and won every battle without hesitation. This Chen Tianheng is no simple-minded warrior."

"Yes, if it were the other group leaders, they would be lucky if they could recite a paragraph or two from the Prime Minister's instructions, and they might not even be able to pick the right paragraphs to recite."

Zhang Jingjiang, a veteran of the Kuomintang, was Chiang Kai-shek's "benefactor".

In his early years, Zhang Jingjiang met Sun Yat-sen while doing business overseas and became his major financial backer. For several years, the Tongmenghui faced significant funding shortfalls for its revolution. To save on telegram fees, Sun Yat-sen kept his telegrams to Zhang Jingjiang concise, consisting of a single letter, A through E, representing 1 to 5 francs. Zhang Jingjiang remitted the corresponding amount to Sun Yat-sen upon receiving the telegram. Sun Yat-sen died of illness in Beijing in 1925, and Zhang Jingjiang was one of the witnesses present when he signed his will.

Chiang Kai-shek's life was particularly difficult for a time. His direct superior, Chen Qimei, was assassinated in 1916, and the already disorganized Kuomintang (KMT) forgot about him. Lost touch with the organization, Chiang Kai-shek wandered around in Shanghai, eventually resorting to the Green Gang to make a living. It was Zhang Jingjiang who discovered Chiang Kai-shek and rescued him. When Sun Yat-sen was driven out of Guangzhou by Chen Jiongming in 1922, it was Zhang Jingjiang who immediately sent a telegram to Chiang Kai-shek in Fenghua, urging him to rush to Guangzhou to board the warship Yongfeng.

Now Chiang Kai-shek was one of the top three Central Standing Committee members of the Kuomintang, the principal of Whampoa Military Academy and the commander of the party army, and his status was still rising. Zhang Jingjiang himself felt quite accomplished and often regarded himself as a mentor.

But since he is a talent scout, he cannot just discover Chiang Kai-shek.

……

The Second National Congress of the Kuomintang was about to end in two days, and the Sun Yat-sen Society also held a members' meeting at this time.

The party was held at the East Asia Hotel, one of the most luxurious hotels in Guangzhou invested and built by Australian overseas Chinese tycoon Ma Yingbiao.

The Sun Yat-sen Society is different from the Young Military Officers Association. The former has financial support from the big boss behind the scenes, and has to choose a cold restaurant in a big hotel to hold a party.

"Yinzhi, hello."

The first person Chen Tianheng saw was Yang Yinzhi, the deputy editor-in-chief of the Sun Yat-sen Society's journal "National Revolution", who was the organizer of the gathering.

"Oh, Captain Chen, you've come here so honored. I'm so sorry I couldn't come to greet you," Yang Yinzhi approached him warmly, "Captain Chen, our magazine is still waiting for your ink."

From the first half of last year until now, Chen Tianheng had written only two articles for National Revolution: one on the Kronstadt sailors' mutiny and the other on Soviet Russia's wartime economic policy. Both articles were powerful bombs, generating enormous backlash.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I've been very busy with official duties recently. The Party Army was formed, and then there was the Eastern Expedition to pacify the Dongjiang River. The Party Army was reorganized and reformed, so I haven't been able to calm down and write an article."

Dai Jitao had already arrived. When he saw Chen Tianheng coming, he came out and said, "Tianheng."

Chen Tianheng: "Hello, Director Dai."

"Today, several distinguished guests from the Sun Yat-sen Society have arrived," Dai Jitao said. "They heard you'd be attending the gathering, so they wanted to meet and chat with you. So, I'm acting as a middleman on their behalf."

Dai Jitao and Chen Tianheng came to a private room in the corner of the restaurant. Zhang Jingjiang and Gu Yingfen were inside, one drinking coffee and the other tasting tea.

"Hello, Chief Inspector Zhang, hello, Chief Inspector Gu."

At the meeting the day before yesterday, Zhang Jingjiang was elected as the Inspector General of the Kuomintang Supervisory Committee.

"Yes, Colonel Chen Tianheng." Zhang Jingjiang looked at Chen Tianheng and nodded. "I heard your name during the Eastern Expedition. You are a famous young general."

Chen Tianheng: "The Eastern Expedition was a battle in which the revolutionary army demonstrated unwavering faith, strict discipline, and high morale. This was the key to defeating Chen Jiongming. As a commander, I did not dare to take all the credit, but simply seized the opportunity and made the right decision at the critical moment."

"I'm not familiar with military affairs," Zhang Jingjiang said, "but seizing crucial opportunities and making the right decisions on the battlefield doesn't seem to be an easy task. You're being modest."

Dai Jitao said: "Tianheng was not only a fierce general on the battlefield, but also an expert in military discipline and training. You know, a strong army doesn't just have high morale; it also requires training. Chen Tianheng's training methods were well-known among the teachers and students at Whampoa Military Academy."

Zhang Jingjiang shook his head and smiled, "Let's not talk about war. We're not good at that. Tianheng, your debate with Liu Shouzhong at the Kuomintang convention that day was very inspiring and I admire you deeply."

Chen Tianheng: "Inspector General, Commissioner Liu's point is that military personnel should not have the right to participate in and discuss political affairs within the Party. Unfortunately, I am also a military personnel, and from my own perspective, I have no choice but to argue with him."

"Just call me Uncle Zhang. It's certainly reasonable and natural to argue based on one's own interests. However, you said in your speech that the influence of Western militaries on politics has been greatly weakened because these countries have significantly reduced their military forces. Is that true?"

Chen Tianheng: "Yes. For example, the United States significantly reduced its military after the end of World War I, with a standing army of less than 5, including cadets. While Britain maintained a large standing army, most of it was stationed in overseas colonies, with very few troops stationed in the UK itself. This is why these countries were able to achieve this. All of these military forces refer specifically to the army; the navy is another matter, as it is the army that primarily influences domestic politics."

"As you said, even for a country like the United States, if its military remains strong, its soldiers will eventually get involved in politics?"

Chen Tianheng: "The military is a highly collectivist, disciplined, and team-oriented group, and military assets are extremely large and expensive. With so many troops, it would be abnormal if they didn't work together. If the US ever faces such a situation in the future, and maintains a large military force for a long time, it's only a matter of time. Even if we don't legally allow them access to Capitol Hill, they will still leave their mark there in their own ways."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jingjiang changed his posture to a more serious one and said to Chen Tianheng, "Tianheng, it seems that the debate that day really came from your heart, not from Chiang Kai-shek's teaching."

Chen Tianheng: "The president never does such a thing. As a soldier, I came up with this idea through my spontaneous reflections on the military and national politics."

Zhang Jingjiang nodded again.

"Tianheng, what year were you born? What's your birth date?"

"I was born in the 31st year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu, which is 1905, at midnight on the 17th day of the 12th lunar month."

"The seventeenth day of the twelfth lunar month, so you were actually born in January 1906. Hmm..."

Zhang Jingjiang once again changed his sitting posture to one that was even more serious than before:

"Tianheng, you're still unmarried, right? If you don't mind, I can act as a middleman and arrange a marriage for you. How about that?"

Zhang Jingjiang was already thinking: his peers in the Zhejiang business community probably had daughters who would be a good match for Chen Tianheng. He could pick a woman with better qualities. Even his own daughter... well, it wasn't out of the question.

Chen Tianheng: "Uncle Zhang, no need, I already have a girlfriend."

Zhang Jingjiang: "Oh?"

Gu Yingfen: “Oh?”

Dai Jitao: "Oh?! Tianheng, why didn't I know this before?"

Chen Tianheng: "My first batch of students were leading troops in the Party Army while continuing their studies. I met my current girlfriend while auditing classes at Guangdong University. We admired each other and fell in love. That's how it happened."

Zhang Jingjiang: "Even Brother Lian Chuanxian didn't know about this, so I was misled. Are all of you young people from Huangpu so radical in matters of sex, as if you were all influenced by the Communist Party?"

"Influenced by the Communist Party?" Gu Yingfen asked curiously, "Aren't they said that Communists are not interested in women and love to break up couples?"

Dai Jitao: "Xianqin, this is wrong, this is wrong. I have a good understanding of the Communist Party. Today's radical young communists advocate marital liberation, and marital liberation also requires sexual liberation. So it's not that they don't like women, but on the contrary, they are particularly radical in their relationships with men and women."

"This is the first time I've heard of this. I thought the Communist Party allowed couples to not announce their relationship until they were three years old, and even if they did, they weren't allowed to live together. It was best not to touch hands before entering the bridal chamber."

Dai Jitao: "You are a radical communist youth from a hundred years from now, not now. ... Chen Tianheng, we certainly know you are not a communist, but regarding marriage, both men and women need to get to know each other's families thoroughly and thoroughly."

Chen Tianheng: "My girlfriend is from Yueyang, and her family is a small merchant. My family is also a clerk in a small shop, so we are a good match, right?"

Zhang Jingjiang: "Choosing a partner is actually very important for your future development, and I mean your development in all aspects of life."

Chen Tianheng: "Uncle Zhang, I understand all this. And I also hope that the future of the Party and the country will be peaceful and prosperous. When that happens, whatever I do, you will support me because it benefits the country and the people, not because of any in-law relationship. Similarly, if I do something wrong and you oppose me, it won't be troubled by the in-law relationship."

"Well--"

Dai Jitao took a deep drag on his cigarette. He was speechless.

Zhang Jingjiang: "Okay. All right then."

Chen Tianheng understood the meaning of Zhang Jingjiang's words and gave an answer that could not be more correct. What else could he say?

Young people are still too idealistic.

Yes, that’s too idealistic. So, I still have to continue looking for a woman who is a match for Chen Tianheng. Maybe she will be useful in the future.

……

Late at night on the streets of Guangzhou, Chen Tianheng walked from the East Asia Hotel to the hotel where he was staying.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!"

"What kind of people are you? I've been asking to join the Party so sincerely, and you..."

Ye Jianying appeared from another road and met Chen Tianheng on the street in front of the hotel. Ye Jianying, who had been talking to himself just now, immediately shut up.

Chen Tianheng: "Hello, Director Ye!"

Ye Jianying: "Chen Tianheng, you live here."

"Yes, the journey to and from Guangzhou is long. During the conference, the representatives of the First Army who don't have private homes in Guangzhou will all stay here."

"Oh, oh. Okay, see you later."

"Director Ye,"

Ye Jianying was about to continue walking when Chen Tianheng said, "Director Ye, can I treat you to a meal some other day?"

Chapter 76

"Ah! It's still more comfortable to eat in a restaurant like this!"

Ye Jianying picked up a piece of boiled chicken, dipped it in the sand ginger seasoning, put it in his mouth and started chewing.

Liang Fu Lai Cantonese Cuisine in Xiguan, Guangzhou. It's just the original Liang Fu Lai Fried Noodles, just a new brand, but it's still a small, run-of-the-mill street restaurant.

It was Ye Jianying's first time here, while Chen Tianheng, Jiang Xianyun and Chen Geng were old customers. As soon as Master Liang saw these four people appear, he went to prepare the ingredients, and soon four plates of fried noodles were served.

"Pretty chicken is ready."

The four of them also ordered a boiled chicken.

"Thank you, Master Liang. We'll close for dinner now. You can go about your business."

Chen Tianheng closed the door of the private room and asked, "So, Director Ye, you handed your application to join the Party to Xiong Rui, and Xiong Rui talked to you once, but then it didn't work out?"

Ye Jianying: "It was a rejection. In fact, I had previously discussed this with Yun Daiying and Xiao Chunv, but they declined before I could even write an application. The Communist Party organization at Huangpu couldn't find anyone willing to accept me, so I went to Guangdong University to find Xiong Rui. In the end, I was rejected as well."

Xiong Rui joined the party in 1922, served as an executive member of the Kuomintang's European branch in 1924, returned to China in 1925, and is now the deputy director of the Department of Sociology at Guangdong University.

After Ye Jianying expressed his desire to join the party, Xiong Rui and the Party Committee of Guangdong University held a special meeting to discuss the matter. The members of the Party Committee disagreed on this issue. After a heated discussion, they came to the conclusion that Ye Jianying was an old soldier who was highly regarded by Sun Yat-sen when he was alive. He was successful at a young age and was now a senior officer in Chiang Kai-shek's direct troops. He was a member of the exploiting class and should not be developed into a party member.

Chen Tianheng: "The Guangdong District Committee is now extremely large. It is said that its membership already accounts for nearly half of the national membership."

Jiang Xianyun: "If not half, then one-third. After all, the activities of the Guangdong District Committee were basically open, and the Guangdong District Committee directly received aid funds from the Soviet Union."

Chen Tianheng: "Because the Guangdong District Committee could carry out various activities without the funding provided by Chen Duxiu, in theory the Guangdong District Committee could even disobey the Central Committee."