The Fourth Outstanding Person of Huangpu Military Academy

This group firmly believed in the concepts that "Soviet Russia/the USSR leads the world revolution" and "the Communist International is the world proletarian party and the sole leading body for proletarian liberation." Upon completing their studies in the Soviet Union and returning to China, the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Communist Party (CPC) were collaborating, and the Nationalist Revolution was based in Guangdong. Therefore, the vast majority of these young people who had studied abroad returned to Guangzhou, where they began their work and formed the so-called "internationalist faction."

Those who studied in Japan were not necessarily internationalists, and those who studied in Europe and the United States or went to France to work and study were not necessarily internationalists even if they later joined the party. However, those who graduated from the Party and Government Training School in Moscow were basically internationalists.

If the Central Committee decided to withdraw from the Communist International and work on its own, it might not be able to convince these young overseas party members in Guangdong.

Due to the KMT-CCP ​​collaboration and the impending Northern Expedition, the Party organization in Guangdong Province was extremely large, with numerous personnel and ample funding. If the Guangdong District Committee disobeyed the Central Committee and preferred to follow the Comintern directly, the Party could split, becoming the CCP (Chen) and the CCP (Chen)… no, the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese Section of the Comintern, just as the French Communist Party split into the SFIC and the PCF in December 1920.

The next day, Li Dazhao arrived in Shanghai.

Whether to withdraw from the Communist International was a major issue, and Chen Duxiu had to discuss it with others no matter what. Li Dazhao received Chen Duxiu's telegram three days ago, and after receiving the telegram, he went straight to the train station and went to Shanghai.

Li Dazhao was also deeply involved in the KMT-CCP ​​collaboration. Just three months earlier, in January 1926, the KMT Northern District Party Committee held a flag-raising ceremony in Beijing. Li, as head of the KMT's Beijing Executive Committee, attended and delivered a speech entitled "Under the Blue Sky, White Sun Banner." At the end of 1925, Li Dazhao also founded the Beijing Federation of Trade Unions, a joint KMT-CCP ​​federation of labor unions that also displayed the Blue Sky, White Sun emblem.

"Shou Chang, in 1920, we traveled to various locations to form communist groups. In 1921, these groups merged to form the Communist Party of China, which held its first congress in Shanghai. But before the congress began, you and I decided not to attend. Instead, we each sent an assistant to represent us. We discussed this decision before it was made. What was our reasoning for not attending?"

Li Dazhao: "It was because of the relationship between our communist groups and the Communist International. At that time, right up until the First Congress, the attitudes of the members of the communist groups in various places toward the Communist International were still controversial. If the two of us didn't attend, there would still be room for maneuver if there were major disagreements during the discussion of these issues at the Congress."

Chen Duxiu: "Yes, we both thought of this at the time. In 1923, after the KMT-CCP ​​cooperation began, the Party Central Committee moved to Guangzhou. But after much consideration, I decided that the Party Central Committee should not remain in Guangzhou, so we moved back to Shanghai. I also considered that there were too many Soviet advisory groups in Guangzhou. Although moving to Shanghai was cramped and dangerous, it would at least allow the central government to operate with a certain degree of independence."

"Zhongfu, regarding the relationship between the Party and the Communist International, even now, comrades still have different opinions. Many insist that the Chinese revolution should be led by the Party and that we should learn from the experience of the Communist International, but that the Communist International should provide guidance, not lead us. It is only because of the constraints of organizational discipline that they reserve their opinions but do not actually act in accordance with them. To this day, the 'Twenty-One Demands of the Communist International' are still something we are best not to discuss at formal Party meetings."

Chen Duxiu: "Yes, the Comintern's Twenty-One Demands. Why not just twenty-one, no more, no less, just twenty-one..."

……

The Twenty-One Demands of the Communist International, officially known as the "Conditions for Admission to the Communist International", were a document drafted by Lenin and adopted at the Second Congress of the Communist International on July 30, 1920.

Only if a communist party accepts these 21 points can it be recognized by the Communist International as a branch.

The 21 theses included some basic principles, such as carrying out communist propaganda and agitation; removing reformists and centrists from the organization; establishing legal and illegal (underground) party organizations in parallel; carrying out propaganda and agitation in the army; rejecting the program of the Social Democratic Party and resolutely fighting against it; building the party according to the principles of democratic centralism, etc.

However, some of the articles restrict subordinate branches, such as Article 16: The resolutions of the Congress of the Communist International and the Executive Committee of the Communist International are binding on the member parties.

In addition, there is Article 18: The main printing press of each political party must print all important documents of the Executive Committee of the Communist International.

The Twenty-One Points also included disciplinary provisions for members of subordinate branches: any member who refused to accept the Comintern's commitments and theses must be expelled from the party. This was to prevent the emergence of factions within the subordinate branches that opposed the Comintern.

(There are also some unconfirmed unofficial histories that say there were actually 22 rules set by Lenin, and the secret rule of the 22nd rule was that Freemasons must be excluded from the Communist Party.)

Chen Yannian was also present during the discussion between Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao. When Chen and Li were entangled, Chen Yannian added:

"Old Chen, Old Li, you said that the Party raised nearly 30,000 yuan last year, which covered the Party Central Committee's annual activity funds. This is certainly a huge improvement, but we also need to remember that the Guangdong District Party Committee spent 110,000 yuan on activity funds last year."

"The Guangdong District Committee's spending of 11 yuan isn't actually a lot. It's just that Party organizations in other provinces and regions don't operate as frequently and don't have as many members. Only the Guangdong District Committee is actually carrying out normal Party activities. Oh, and maybe Hunan should be included. Those are the only two places."

"Party activities are one thing. If we were to separate ourselves from the Communist International and launch a revolution on our own and lead it to victory, then the annual budget of 11 yuan for a province would not be sufficient. I would like to illustrate this with the operation of the Guangzhou Nationalist Government last year. Last year, the Guangzhou Nationalist Government received a total of 85 silver dollars worth of operating funds from the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union provided gold rubles, which the Nationalist Government then exchanged for silver dollars."

"We're only talking about currency here. There's also physical goods. The Soviet Union provided 4 rifles, hundreds of machine guns, and 40 artillery pieces, along with matching bullets and shells. If converted into silver dollars, these weapons and ammunition could be worth millions. Since China is still under an arms embargo, if the Soviet Union doesn't send them directly to you, you'll be penniless if you risk purchasing them on the international arms market."

Chen Duxiu was thoughtful after hearing this: "It seems that Mao Runzhi's ideas do make sense."

Li Dazhao: "What is Mao Runzhi's proposal?"

Chen Duxiu: "His idea is that this method is like fighting with soldiers and covering up the water with earth. You raise money and I raise money, you recruit soldiers and I recruit soldiers. It is not suitable for us because it is difficult to win the victory of the revolution. ... No, the topic has gone too far. Regarding the Communist International, I am actually hesitant about whether it is now..."

Li Dazhao: "Zhongfu, we may consider withdrawing in the future, but not now. We have just been discussing the Northern Expedition, which is obviously the most urgent thing for China to do right now. If we withdraw from the Communist International, suspend the implementation of the Communist International's current demands, and withdraw from the Kuomintang, it means that we will not participate in the Northern Expedition."

"We cannot withdraw from the Communist International and at the same time remain detached from nationalist positions. If we do so, it would mean the Party has completely bid farewell to China's political stage. If you don't even participate in the Northern Expedition, who among the workers and peasants will support your future advocacy and actions?"

……

Whampoa Military Academy.

"Xianyun, Chen Geng."

Yun Daiying came to the First Regiment camp to find Jiang Xianyun and Chen Geng.

"The higher authorities have issued instructions to the Huangpu Party League branch," Yun Daiying said, "and the branch's current responsibility is to fully support the National Revolutionary Army's Northern Expedition."

Jiang Xianyun: "What about other things? What are the results of the Kuomintang's party affairs reorganization?"

Yun Daiying: "There were no major changes to the KMT Central Executive Committee and its alternate members. We adhered to Article 4, the Communist Party's instructions to KMT members. The Communist Party can still command members of its subordinate branches in the form of a party organization. Regarding Article 5, we made a compromise. The first six armies of the National Revolutionary Army were allowed to retain Communist Party members, but the first army was not."

Chen Geng: “…Ah.”

Jiang Xianyun: "Is this the final decision of the Guangdong District Committee?"

Yun Daiying: "Yes, and it was Secretary Chen Yannian who personally drafted the notice after he returned from the Central Committee meeting in Shanghai. We have indeed made a huge concession in this matter, a very big one. You two may have to leave the First Regiment. But no matter what, we must obey the organization's decision."

Jiang Xianyun: "Yes, we will obey."

……

"Chen Tianheng, have you received any notification?"

Jiang Xianyun asked Chen Tianheng.

"My notice might be delayed a bit; it has to go through several channels," Chen Tianheng said. "It went through the Shanghai Central Committee, the Hunan Provincial Committee in Changsha, and then Secretary Mao to get it to me. It used to be several days late. But since your Party and League branch has already passed on this information, I think I'll make the same request."

Jiang Xianyun: "The Party made concessions, and the Soviet Union supported the Northern Expedition, which completed the task of overthrowing the Beiyang warlords. This was a step forward for China. However, this did not constitute victory for the Chinese Revolution, as subsequent issues still needed to be resolved. I'm afraid Borodin's directive will become a source of great controversy in the future, and may even be recorded in history."

Chen Tianheng: "But, for now, we must obey the discipline of the Party organization."

Chapter 88

"Hey, we're leaving in a few days. Chen Tianheng, why don't you try to convince us again?"

It’s Chen Geng.

"Still doing it? The three of us have had 'talks' three times this month." Chen Tianheng was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

"But there's still one restaurant on Changdi Road that I haven't tried yet."

"That's enough," Jiang Xianyun said. "The restaurants we ate at were just so-so. Even though the principal paid for the food, the food wasn't as good as Chef Liang's. ... I wonder how far Zhou Shidi has gotten in the 34th Regiment."

Chen Tianheng: "His 1st Battalion was alright. He'd led it back when it was still called the Grand Marshal's Armored Vehicle Team. They were well-trained, but they had less actual combat experience. The 2nd and 3rd Battalions were formed by Ye Ting recruiting men from the Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guangdong armies. According to Zhou Shidi, the coordination wasn't ideal yet."

Chen Geng: "Even Zhou Shidi feels that the running-in process is not ideal. By our standards, it must be even worse."

Chen Tianheng: "This is the problem you, as Chief of Staff, will focus on solving when you arrive."

Most of the Communist Party members in the 1st Regiment were transferred to Ye Ting's 34th Regiment.

Jiang Xianyun's position did not change, he was promoted from the Party representative of the 1st Regiment to the Party representative of the 34th Regiment.

Chen Geng was transferred from battalion commander to chief of staff of the 34th Regiment.

Chen Tianheng had discussed the matter of the Chief of Staff and the Regimental Staff with Ye Ting. Ye Ting had studied abroad two years earlier, attending a military academy in the Soviet Union. He had a good understanding of the modern staff system, but he was unsure whether the quality of domestic officers could support a modern staff system. Chen Tianheng asked him to come to the regiment to take a look, and Ye Ting was reassured.

Let Ye Ting tinker with his 34th Regiment/Ye Ting Independent Regiment, and it would be best if it could be made stronger than the Ye Ting Independent Regiment in history... But unfortunately, there is not much time left for Ye Ting.

In May 1926, the situation in Hunan changed again.

A new round of infighting among the Hunan warlords began in March.

Hunan was originally ruled by the Xiang clique of Zhao Hengxi, a branch of the Zhili clique. In early March, Tang Shengzhi, commander of the 3th Hunan Division, launched a mutiny. Suddenly, Tang stabbed Zhao Hengxi in the back, forcing him to flee Changsha in disgrace. Tang Shengzhi then proclaimed himself governor and expelled the Zhili clique from the province.

But the Zhili clique soon launched a counterattack. Wu Peifu sent the "Hunan Protection Army" into Hunan to reinforce, forming a "anti-bandit coalition force" with the Hunan Army's 1st Division, led by He Yaozu, and the 3rd Division, led by Ye Kaixin, who remained loyal to the Zhili clique. In early May, Tang Shengzhi was driven out of Changsha and took refuge in southern Hunan.

In fact, in March, when Tang Shengzhi entered Changsha, he sent a telegram expressing his support for the Guangzhou revolutionary government and hoping that Guangzhou would send troops north to reinforce him. However, March was when Ji Shangjia was serving as the chief political and military advisor, suppressing the Kuomintang's northern expedition. Therefore, Guangzhou only responded to Tang Shengzhi's telegram with an "acknowledgement" and did not send troops.

By May, Wu Peifu had fought back, and Tang Shengzhi had withdrawn from Changsha and was struggling to hold out in southern Hunan. Failure to support him at this point would have been a missed opportunity. The KMT Military Commission immediately decided to designate Tang Shengzhi and his unit as the Eighth Army of the National Revolutionary Army and to send troops from Guangdong and Guangxi to Hunan to support him.

The battle for the Northern Expedition actually began before the oath-taking ceremony in Guangzhou.

In early May, the 7th Army (Guangxi Army) set out from Guilin and marched north. By May 12, the 8th Brigade, the vanguard of the 7th Army, had entered Hunan and joined forces with Tang Shengzhi. Unable to react, Wu Peifu's anti-bandit coalition forces continued their planned attack southward from Hengyang. However, they were quickly defeated by Bai Chongxi's 8th Brigade, resulting in the loss of a brigade and the advance of the Gui Army towards Hengyang.

Hunan required support from at least two armies, not only to recapture Changsha but also to advance along the railway line toward Wuhan. However, Tang Shengzhi added a minor request when requesting assistance: he did not want reinforcements from Tan Yankai's 2nd Army and Cheng Qian's 6th Army. These were the armies of two men who had fled to Guangzhou to join Sun Yat-sen after being defeated in the Hunan warlord infighting in the past few years. If they returned, the current Hunan governor would be squeezed in with his predecessor, and his predecessor, and so on, which would be difficult to deal with.

The second army in Guangzhou to support Tang Shengzhi was Li Jishen's Fourth Army (Guangdong Army), and Ye Ting's regiment was the 34th Regiment of the 12th Division of the Fourth Army.

So, a few days after Jiang Xianyun and Chen Geng reported to Ye Ting, the 34th Regiment took all their belongings and took a train to Shaoguan.

"Xu Xiangqian, let's discuss the replacement for the missing player."

"Commander, there are basically replacements for military command posts, but there are a lot of Party representatives who are suddenly lacking."

Xu Xiangqian was promoted from battalion commander of the 1st Battalion to regimental chief of staff of Zuo Quan.

Chen Tianheng frowned. "This is a problem. The reorganization of party affairs is a precise attack on the party representative system of the First Regiment. Jiang Xianyun has been transferred, and Zhou Yiqun, the party representative of the 1st Battalion, has also been transferred. These two most outstanding political cadres are gone at once, and I don't know how to replace them."

Xu Xiangqian: "Yuan Zhongxian from the Quartermaster Battalion is actually quite good at political work. Why not change his direction?"

Chen Tianheng: "Who is the candidate for the quartermaster?"

"Liu Yongyao."

Chen Tianheng scribbled on the paper and added a few names: "League Party Representative Yuan Zhongxian, 1st Battalion Party Representative Li Hanfan, 2nd Battalion Ma Buyi, 3rd Battalion Tang Zhen... OK."

……

The reorganization of party affairs and the withdrawal of Communist Party members (with public identities) from the First Army caused considerable trouble to Chen Tianheng. It is conceivable that this matter would only cause more trouble for the Second and Third Regiments.

However, the First Regiment has reserve political cadres or political workers seedlings, plus those who have temporarily transferred, so they can basically fill the gap.

After this round of adjustments, Zheng Dongguo, the former operations officer of the regimental staff, took over Xu Xiangqian's previous position as commander of the 1st Battalion, while Xu Jishen took over Chen Geng's position as commander of the 2nd Battalion. Another significant change was the addition of company commanders from the second batch of the Whampoa Military Academy, including Qiu Qingquan, commander of the 3rd Company of the 1st Battalion. Lu Deming even joined the regimental staff, becoming one of the five staff officers.

In Chen Tianheng's pocket, there are not only a lot of cards of second-term students, but also a lot of cards of famous generals from the third term.

The third batch has already been obtained, and Chen Tianheng has already reached out to the fourth batch of students who are still in school...

"Chen Tianheng, Captain Chen?"

Xiao Chunv was standing at the door of the War Research Institute classroom, looking inside.

"Here I am. Instructor Xiao, why are you here today?"

Xiao Chunv: "Today I actually came to see Lin Biao. He's having some issues. Doesn't Lin Biao come here whenever he's free? But he doesn't seem to be here right now?"

Chen Tianheng: "Yes, I came at noon, but he wasn't here at noon or in the afternoon. What happened to Lin Biao?"

Xiao Chunv: "This child said in class yesterday, 'Teacher, what you teach is useless,' and it caused a disturbance in the whole class."

Chen Tianheng: ...

Xiao Chu'nu and Lin Biao's cousin Lin Yuying had worked together and had a good relationship. So at the Whampoa Military Academy, Xiao Chu'nu followed Lin Yuying's instructions and often paid attention to and took care of Lin Biao. After all, Lin Biao was just a teenager under the age of 19 and had never traveled far before being admitted to the Whampoa Military Academy.

Yesterday, the fourth-term students took a cultural course titled "Basics of Tactics." After the instructor finished the textbook, he invited the students to engage in a spontaneous discussion, and they enthusiastically spoke up. For some reason, Lin Biao, who had remained silent, watching the students debate, suddenly snapped at the end of the discussion, "Teacher, nothing you teach is useful."

Chen Tianheng: "When we first took the course, the teaching materials and instructions for this tactics course were indeed a bit outdated. It seems that the textbooks haven't been updated in more than two years."

Xiao Chunv: "Two years is really not enough time. Even with the current textbooks, translating them is a huge workload. You should remember when you were in class as first-term students, some of the textbooks were still in Russian. The Soviet instructor on the stage spoke in Russian, and a translator next to him translated what he said for you. Now Huangpu has at least translated all the Russian textbooks, and we have a group of lecturers who can replace the Soviet instructors."

Chen Tianheng: "After Lin Biao joined the War Research Society, he became particularly interested in studying battle examples and maps. We had a large number of books, especially works on tactics. Lin Biao probably scanned all of them and then discovered some problems in his 'Basics of Tactics' class at school."

"But this kid contradicted the teacher in front of so many students, which really embarrassed the teacher. I think I should talk to him and make him think before he says anything."

Chen Tianheng: "We should indeed talk about it. Hey, Lin Biao is not here. Where did he go?"

……

Lin Biao asked for leave and went into the city alone, returning to the military academy at dusk.

"I went to Xiguan. I went to see the original battlefield where the Merchant Corps put down the rebellion in 24."

Chen Tianheng: "I see."

Lin Biao: "I also read the battle summary reports written by several people who witnessed the battle and looked at the map, but the information I got was still not enough to reconstruct the entire battle, so I went to the original battlefield. The main problem was that the map did not mark the floors of all the buildings."

Chen Tianheng nodded: "This is indeed a blind spot."

Xiao Chunv: "In Xiguan, the streets are almost entirely lined with single- or two-story houses, so this map assumes that all buildings have this level of height."

Lin Biao: "There really isn't much difference in tactics between a one-story and a two-story house. But if the future urban battlefield isn't Guangzhou, but a more developed industrial city, when buildings exceed six stories, this factor must be taken into account. Tall buildings will make the battlefield three-dimensional."

Chen Tianheng: "Your inference is reasonable. By the way, if you have any new discoveries or new ideas, you can write a battlefield investigation and combat analysis. ...By the way, Instructor Xiao, I have a question."

"what is the problem?"

"Looking at the current situation, it's only a matter of time before the First Army goes on the Northern Expedition. The earliest they could be sworn in as early as July, and march off in August. When we leave Whampoa Military Academy for the Northern Expedition, can you incorporate some of the fourth-term students into my regiment? After all, the Northern Expedition will involve actual combat. In a real combat environment, students can learn a lot that they can't learn in military academy, and they will grow faster."

Lin Biao: "Then I'll sign up first."

Chapter 89

"Reporting to the commander, Lin Biao, the fourth team of the fourth batch of students, reports to the first regiment!"

Lin Biao carried all his luggage and personal belongings, and his quilt was bundled into a block shaped like a bomb and carried on his back.

The same was true for all the cadets from the Fourth Batch, whose accommodations were moved from the student dormitories to the First Regiment's barracks. However, the First Regiment's barracks and the Whampoa Military Academy were already adjacent, separated only by a wall. Before the First Army's departure, these cadets from the Fourth Batch could return to the Whampoa Military Academy for assessments and examinations at any time.

Xu Xiangqian looked at Lin Biao, who was standing at the head of the line, and the new recruits from the fourth batch who were standing in two neat rows in front of him. "Good, all of you are very good. The first regiment has transferred more than a dozen people. I hope you can be as good as those first and second batch cadres who were transferred."

Lin Biao: "Report to Chief of Staff Xu, is the regimental commander not here?"

Xu Xiangqian: "The regimental commander has gone out to look for treasure as usual. ... You will leave the unit now. Follow me."

Lin Biao applied for an internship in the First Regiment, and his application was quickly approved. However, before leaving, Xiao Chunv approached him again and repeatedly reminded him to respect his superiors, respect and unite with his colleagues, and not to always act so self-centered.