The Fourth Outstanding Person of Huangpu Military Academy

Guo Moruo: "But writing this should not be difficult for you."

"That's not necessarily the case."

Chen Tianheng: "Mr. Tao, what if we already have a ready-made outline, a very detailed outline, and you just need to flesh it out into a real novel?"

Tao Jingsun thought about it and shook his head: "Is it the work of the author of the outline or mine? It's hard to say. To be honest, if it's in this format, I don't really want to write it."

Guo Moruo: "Jingsun, why don't you expand the plot of your Osmanthus fragrans. I think it has the potential to become a popular novel..."

Led by Guo Moruo, the writers present began to discuss literary themes enthusiastically.

"Tianheng, it doesn't look like things are going well."

The writers present were talking loudly, while Jiang Xianyun and Chen Tianheng, who were sitting in the corner, were whispering to each other.

"That's to be expected. Writers are arrogant and reluctant to follow the outline. We'll have to find someone who isn't a writer to write next. They'll be more useful and command lower fees."

Jiang Xianyun: "Is this the 'coding migrant worker' you mentioned?"

……

"Guo! Mo! Ruo!!"

The door of the salon room was flung open, and a high-pitched female voice came in before anyone else:

"You big liar!"

As soon as the woman's voice rang out, everyone in the salon tacitly fell silent, their literary discussions pausing. When a woman with a round face and a Chinese-style bun entered the room, the writers from the Creation Society quickly found a book or newspaper to read, quietly moving to a seat more than two meters away from Guo Moruo.

Guo Moruo stood up suddenly: "My friends and I are discussing literature! It's very serious! What are you doing here?"

"Discuss literature? Then what did you do last night? Discuss literature too? Go to the movie theater in Hongkou to discuss literature? My friends saw you and that Wan'er not only go to the movies, but also stay the night in a hotel!"

The round-faced woman yelled loudly, while Guo Moruo tried desperately to defend himself. The quarrel between the two seemed to have no intention of stopping. Chen Tianheng had no choice but to step in to smooth things over:

"Ms. Tomiko, I'm sorry, but we're really talking about some serious business here..."

"Who is Fu Zi? Great, you hooked up with another one?!"

The woman heard another female name from Chen Tianheng's mouth, and her anger finally broke through the threshold. She took two steps forward, raised her palm, and with a "snap", five finger marks appeared on Guo Moruo's face.

Chen Tianheng was stunned.

Guo Moruo burst into tears: "Classmate Tianheng! He is not Fu Zi! He is Feng Xing'er!"

Chapter 9

Before Chen Tianheng traveled through time, he had seen a photo of Sato Tomiko on the Internet, but the historical photo was small and blurry, and there was only one. Chen Tianheng did not remember the person's appearance very clearly. The only clear impression he had was that she had a round face.

Because the woman who broke into the salon also had a round face, Chen Tianheng naturally thought she was Sato Tomiko, which ended up causing a big misunderstanding.

However, this big mistake did not cause much loss to Chen Tianheng, except that Guo Moruo was slapped in the face.

"Anna (Guo Moruo's nickname for Sato Tomiko) is in Japan and has to take care of my children. How could she possibly be in Shanghai?"

After the writers' salon ended, Guo Moruo left and said something to Chen Tianheng downstairs.

"So that's it..."

Guo Moruo: "But it's actually a small matter. Xing'er will calm down in two days."

"Old Guo, there's something else I want to discuss with you in advance."

Guo Moruo: "Is this another money-making business?"

Chen Tianheng: "I guess so. Lao Guo, are you interested in setting up an antique auction house?"

……

Antique auction houses are currently a major industry "blind spot" in Shanghai. Besides commissions on sales, these auction houses also generate substantial revenue through consulting, pricing, and appraisal services. Lao Guo's expertise in this area is a natural fit.

However, this cultural relics auction house requires a lot of capital, and it cannot be opened without hundreds of thousands of dollars, so it can only be said to be a "long-term goal."

"Another room full of people. Do I have to wait in line?"

Fudan University Library. Jiang Xianyun arrived to return a book. The library's reading room was packed with students checking in and out, so Chen Tianheng gestured for Jiang Xianyun to wait at the end of the line. By the time Jiang Xianyun's book was done, it was almost time to leave.

"Hello, principal."

"Hello, Principal Li!"

On his way home from get off work, Chen Tianheng spotted President Lee Teng-hui and his group inspecting a soon-to-be-opened teaching building. Chen Tianheng and Jiang Xianyun stopped to greet Lee, who, though unfamiliar with them, politely nodded in greeting.

Fudan University was founded in 1903, but the current Jiangwan campus is newly built. It was moved here from the Li Gong Temple in Xujiahui half a year ago. There are still two or three buildings on the campus that have not been completed.

"Fudan Library is such a big university, and all the students come here to borrow books. Isn't it normal for there to be a lot of people?"

Jiang Xianyun: "That doesn't seem to be the case. You're closed on Tuesdays. Last month, I came to borrow books on a Tuesday, and the library was less than a third of the number it is now. The librarian was so bored that he was clipping his nails."

Chen Tianheng: "This..."

Then I think about it, at least two-thirds of the people who come to the library to borrow and return books when I am on duty are girls, which is not good.

"This is just bad luck for me. I thought I'd have more free time on duty and could find some time to read."

"That's not what I wanted to ask."

"I know what you want to ask, but look at what happened yesterday with Guo Moruo. Well, with this lesson in mind, I won't make the same mistake as him."

……

"Tianheng, Xianyun, how was the book I recommended to you last time?"

"We took turns watching it and finished watching it all."

Chen Duxiu checked the homework of Chen Tianheng and Jiang Xianyun.

Mao Runzhi handed the people over to Chen Duxiu and sent them to Shanghai theoretically for "study tour", so Chen Duxiu recommended a list of books and asked about their reading progress regularly.

Chen Tianheng read very quickly. At that time, there were not many Marx works translated into Chinese, only the most famous ones, which Chen Tianheng was already familiar with. He said he was reading, but in fact he was adapting to the writing style of the Chinese translations that existed in the 1920s.

By the way, these translated works do not include "Das Kapital". It takes some effort to translate this long and voluminous work. Chen Wangdao has translated part of it, and Guo Moruo has translated part of it. The completed part is less than one-fifth of the total volume of the first volume.

Chen Duxiu simply asked a few questions about what knowledge and insights both of them had gained from the book, and then intended to end the conversation.

Because the last time Chen Duxiu asked about their reading, Chen Tianheng seized on the inconsistency between the two articles and debated with Chen Duxiu until the early morning...

"Secretary Chen, I found two books on the foreign language shelf at Fudan University. I gave them a quick read and found them quite useful, so I borrowed them."

Chen Tianheng pulled two books from his bag. Chen Duxiu smiled. "Tianheng, are you recommending books to me? ... Let me see what they are. Foreign language originals. 'Industrial Management and General Administration,' by Henri Fayol?"

Chen Tianheng: "This book puts forward the concept of management. The author argues that industrial management should be a systematic discipline and academic discipline. Management plays a role in all areas of human society, including industry, agriculture, commerce, religion, and even politics. This book describes how management plays a role in these areas and how to better play this role."

Chen Duxiu didn't comment and picked up the second book: "The Theory of Social and Economic Organization, Max Weber."

Chen Tianheng: "Max Weber died in 1920, so this book was never completed. This is also a book about management, but unlike the first one, he focuses on the theory of how administrative organizations manage society. He spends a lot of space in the book exploring administrative organizations, and his main point is that an ideal, good and efficient administrative organization should be a highly structured, impersonal, and formal organization."

After flipping through the table of contents, Chen Duxiu closed the book:

"When registering the publishing company, you insisted on naming it 'United Reading Media Group,' saying we'd be producing more than one type of book or magazine in the future and needed to reserve a spot. Then, you quietly pushed these two books on me... Leave them with the manager of United Reading. The manager manages United Reading on a day-to-day basis. We're behind the scenes, and we can't let outsiders trace the connection between the Party organization and the group."

"Secretary Chen, theories on administrative organization are not only needed by group managers, but also by our party organizations."

"Our primary task now is to address ideological and theoretical issues. This is the biggest challenge. Have we fully grasped the ideas of Marx and Engels? How can we implement them in China? Do our comrades have a correct understanding of the ideas of Marx and Lenin? There are actually differences in our understanding of the classics, so we need to unify our thinking. Shou Chang and I now spend a lot of time on this every day."

Chen Tianheng: "Last month, the Soviet Council of People's Commissars held its first Council of Ministers. The Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet regime, born during the October Revolution, is now being transformed into a state machine. This is an inevitable trend, and Lenin's 'State and Revolution' already described this path. With the end of the civil war, Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union must also establish the administrative organization of a socialist state. Therefore, we must at least read Max Weber's book."

Jiang Xianyun: "After our revolution is victorious, we will also establish our own regime like the Soviet Union and will also have to consider this issue."

Chen Duxiu: "But not now. In short, theory is the most pressing issue at present. Management, how to manage, let's put it aside for now. Let's eat, eat."

Chen Duxiu put down the two books, but did not hand them back to Chen Tianheng. He put the books on his desk and walked towards the dining room.

……

"Secretary Chen, how is the Beijing-Hankou Railway strike progressing now?"

The dinner table has its own topics.

Shanghai newspapers began to report on railway workers in Zhengzhou and Wuhan. This was the same process as when Mao Runzhi and Li Lisan prepared for the Anyuan Railway and Mine Strike, but the news from the north reached Shanghai with a lag of one or two days.

The Central Secretariat/Executive Committee had been following up and cooperating closely on the Beijing-Hankou Railway strike. However, Chen Tianheng and Jiang Xianyun were neither members of the Secretariat nor members of various departments of the party organization, so they could not learn about it through work channels. Asking Chen Duxiu at the dinner table was the fastest way to obtain the information.

Chen Duxiu put down his chopsticks. "The general strike should have started the day before yesterday, on January 4th. I received the telegram yesterday morning. If the plan is carried out correctly, it should stretch from Changxindian in Beijing in the north to Wuhan in the south. Over 20,000 workers and 16 trade unions along the entire railway line will go on strike simultaneously, which could paralyze the entire Beijing-Hankou Railway."

Jiang Xianyun: "According to the path we've charted, the Beijing-Hankou General Labor Union should have submitted a strike declaration for all workers on the evening of the 4th or the morning of the 5th. Then it would be a game of negotiation between the two sides. I wonder what arrangements Secretary Li has made this time."

Chen Duxiu: "The Secretariat transferred Li Lisan from the Anyuan branch to Zhengzhou to organize workers with Lin Xiangqian in order to draw on the experience of the successful Anyuan Railway and Mine strike. This strike should be more skilled and sophisticated than the Anyuan Railway and Mine strike. I am confident in the prospects for the success of the Beijing-Hankou labor movement."

Chen Tianheng: "But the Beijing-Hankou Railway is more important than the Anyuan Railway and Mining Project. The Beijing-Hankou Railway is controlled by Wu Peifu's family, so he may be more reckless in his actions. In short, the risks on the Beijing-Hankou Railway are much higher. We must be vigilant and raise the alert level."

“Zhongfu, Zhongfu!”

There was a quick knock on the door. As soon as the door opened, Li Da hurried in, holding a telegram in his hand: "Zhongfu, sudden incident! Wu Peifu has opened fire!"

Chen Duxiu was shocked and stepped forward to take the long telegram from Li Dazhao's hand and read it.

Chen Tianheng was also very shocked. What the hell was this? Wu Peifu fired shots during the February 7th strike, and then Wu Peifu fired shots again during the January 4th Beijing-Hankou Railway strike in this dimension?

The "Anyuan Model" that the Hunan Provincial Committee came up with half a year ago is completely different from the routine of the February 7th Strike that the Soviet Union taught us in history!

"Secretary Li, where are Lin Xiangqian and the Federation's legal advisor Shi Yang now? Are they safe?"

Li Da: "Chairman Lin Xiangqian and barrister Shi Yang are now taking shelter in a coworker's home. They are safe for now. Sigh, it's just..."

Li Dazhao was talking to Chen Tianheng in a low voice, while Chen Duxiu, who was reading the telegram, began to sob loudly.

"Comrade Li San has sacrificed his life!"

Chapter 10

"On January 8, workers resumed work under the coercion of the military and police. The Railway Bureau and the Hubei Governor did not agree to any of the workers' demands."

"The strike resulted in the deaths of 55 people, over 100 injured, and 3,000 expelled or forced to flee. Secretary Li Lisan...died."

Xia Xi arrived in Shanghai and Chen Tianheng met him.

Li Lisan truly...died. After the Wuhan Federation of Trade Unions (Jiang'an General Labor Union) headquarters were raided by military police, Lin Xiangqian, who hid in a fellow worker's home, his whereabouts unknown for a time. A few days later, when everyone assumed Lin Xiangqian had been arrested and executed like Li Lisan, he crossed the Han River and reunited with the organization at a secret assembly point, his head still bandaged from a blow.

Xia Xi came with Lin Xiangqian and Shi Yang. Half a month after the strike ended, the remaining members of the Pinghan Branch of the Chinese Labor Union Secretariat and the Pinghan Railway General Union went to Shanghai, both to report their work to the Central Committee and to avoid arrest by Wu Peifu.

After the victory of the Anyuan Railway and Mine Strike and the conclusion of the Second National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party organizations and workers' clubs along the Pinghan Railway were emboldened and stepped up their efforts to organize and prepare for the strike. Not only were Party comrades in northern China mobilized, but Chen Duxiu also transferred Li Lisan to Wuhan to oversee the work of the labor union and to prepare for the establishment of the Jiang'an Workers' Club (trade union).

In December 1923, a dozen workers' clubs along the railway line decided to unite to form the Beijing-Hankou Railway General Union, holding their inaugural meeting in Zhengzhou. Upon learning of this, the Beiyang warlords, led by Wu Peifu, ordered Jin Yun'e, commander of the Zhengzhou garrison, to dispatch troops to the venue, disbanding the gathering and injuring over twenty people. The workers' representatives then held a secret meeting elsewhere and decided to hold a general strike along the entire Pinghan Railway on January 4th.

"Isn't it a bit hasty?" Chen Tianheng heard this and realized that the strike was because Wu Peifu raided the venue of the founding meeting, and the angry worker representatives met in a corner of the street at night and decided to do so.

Lin Xiangqian: "After the decision was made, workers' clubs across the country prepared for more than half a month. They had time to prepare, including material preparations, organizational preparations, and building momentum, but the warlords' reaction was too intense."

"Runzhi is right. ... The workers got a little carried away after the victory of the Anyuan strike."

Although Shi Yang did not participate in the Anyuan Railway Mine Strike, he also heard some of Mao Runzhi's views from comrades in the Labor Union Department.

Xia Xi: "I think one major flaw in this strike is that we didn't cut off the railway authorities' communications. That's because of you. If you had gone around and lobbied the foreigners at the Communications Bureau as part of the special strike group, as you did in Anyuan, the Beiyang warlords would have been caught off guard."

Chen Tianheng shook his head. "Even if the telegraph lines along the Beijing-Hankou Railway could be cut off, Wu Peifu had garrisons of at least rank 300 in several major cities along the railway. The Beiyang army was better equipped than the southern army, and these garrisons had wireless telegraphs. If pressed, they could even establish communication by radio. I believe the main culprit behind this strike was the inaugural meeting of the Railway General Union. Holding it created a sense of ceremony, but it also made too much noise. The Beiyang warlords raided the meeting and guessed the railway workers were planning a strike."

……

After reporting on their work, Xia Xi and Lin Xiangqian left Shanghai. This time they returned to Hunan to assist Mao Runzhi in carrying out the rural movement.

Shi Yang stayed in Shanghai. A member of the Communist Party since 22, he was also a lawyer with a business license. Now wanted by Wu Peifu, he couldn't return to Hubei or Henan, and there was something in Shanghai that needed his attention.

"United Reading Group? Ministry of Law?"

Chen Duxiu: "This is a company registered with 300 silver dollars each from Guo Moruo and I. Now that you are here, the legal aspects of the joint reading will be handed over to you."

Shi Yang: "I thought we needed to develop a party organization within the United Reading Group."

"The profits earned by this group will be used as party funds, but outsiders must not see that the United Reading Group is related to me or the Central Secretariat. The specific work to be done is... you should contact Shen Yanbing. You and he will be partners from now on. If there is anything you need to know, just go to him."

Chen Duxiu pointed at Chen Tianheng and said, "Tianheng is in charge of this matter."

Chen Duxiu was forced into the business to make money. Even after the establishment of United Reading and the magazine's preparations, he refused to directly intervene in the business, leaving everything he could to Chen Tianheng and Jiang Xianyun.

This is understandable. Chen Duxiu was born in 1879, and it would take more than one or two years for his ideas to change.

"Lawyer Shi, the first issue of the United Reading Group's first magazine is about to be published. Let's go to the editorial office first. Editor-in-Chief Shen is there."

A sign hung on the doorway read "United Reading Group · Story Club Editorial Department." The first room was labeled "Editor-in-Chief Shen Yanbing."

Shen Yanbing, pen name: Mao Dun.

A realist writer and literary critic, he initially advocated naturalism and neo-romanticism, and is now gradually turning to revolutionary literature and proletarian literature and art.

By the way, Mao Dun participated in the activities of the Shanghai Party group as early as 1920. When the Communist Party of China was founded in July 1921, he was one of more than 50 party members nationwide.

"Tianheng, the writers have submitted their manuscripts up to the third issue, all written according to your...detailed outline," said Mao Dun.