The Fourth Outstanding Person of Huangpu Military Academy

……

"Master."

The chief of staff of the Second Regiment, Xu Jishen, came to find Chen Tianheng. He rolled his eyes, and the two went to the corner to talk in private.

"Commander, yesterday, Commander Wei subtly asked me if it was possible for him to join 'your organization,'" Xu Jishen said. "This is the second time he's asked me this recently."

"Well, haha," Chen Tianheng laughed. "You and Captain Wei work together all day, so I wanted to hear your opinion. What do you think of him?"

Xu Jishen: "Captain Wei is a very upright person. He is not greedy for money or lustful, and he is willing to learn new things. I'm talking about our training methods and tactics. After he thoroughly understood the ins and outs of it, he let us do it. If anyone can participate, he will participate."

"We are... the People's Armed Forces Department of the Hunan Provincial Committee. Well, not being greedy for money or lustful is a standard that revolutionary soldiers must meet, but just meeting this doesn't mean he fully meets the criteria for a core member of the War Research Association," Chen Tianheng said. "How are his professional abilities?"

Xu Jishen: "In terms of military command and tactical qualities, his foundation is average, but his comprehension is very strong."

Chen Tianheng: "Wei Lihuang's experience is actually quite unique. He joined the army after the Xinhai Revolution and never attended any military academy or received officer training. Yet, from 1912 to the present, he rose through the ranks from private to platoon leader, company commander, regimental commander, and commander of a supplementary brigade, before ultimately becoming commander of the main regiment of the First Division. For someone without a military academy background, at the age of 29, to have achieved this level of success, one must be considered quite gifted. Have you ever asked him about his attitude towards the Communist Party and communism?"

Xu Jishen: "We touched on some of these topics during our conversation. It was an open discussion without preconceived notions. He wasn't opposed to communism. Generally speaking, he didn't express many political views, but I guess that was because he wasn't sure what kind of organization we were."

Chen Tianheng: "This is a really difficult matter. He's already thinking about joining our organization, so whether it's an open discussion or a private conversation, we can't trust everything he says. Old Wei might be cherry-picking his words just to please us. We need to find an opportunity for him to express his own worldview and outlook on life without interruption."

Xu Jishen: "I think so. But how can we find such an opportunity?"

Chen Tianheng: "Let me think about it... next week it's your Second Regiment's turn to be on duty in Jiujiang City, right?"

"Yes."

Chen Tianheng: "Then let him lead the duty team."

Chapter 125

Nanchang.

Chen Tianheng was a little surprised that he hadn't been to Nanchang for more than half a month. The city had changed so fast.

All the roadblocks on the streets have been removed, the collapsed houses damaged by the war have been cleared, and some houses have even begun to be rebuilt, with small piles of bricks and wood stacked next to the ruins. These are superficial changes.

Nanchang's "humanistic spirit" had changed dramatically, even beyond Chen Tianheng's expectations.

From Niuxing Station, we crossed the Ganjiang River and entered the old city of Nanchang. In the city decorated with lights, the largest banner read:

"Closely unite around Standing Committee Member Chiang and carry the national revolution forward to the end"

Next to the banner was a large hammer and sickle flag.

What? This isn't a banner held by the Kuomintang, it's one held by the Communist Party?

If you walk from the city gate to the Northern Expedition Army Headquarters, you can see more of the existing sickle and hammer logos, as well as slogans and posters that strongly support and advocate for Chiang Kai-shek.

In addition to supporting Chiang Kai-shek, there are also contents that angrily denounce Wang Jingwei for being unrevolutionary, obstructing the Northern Expedition, and attacking progressive forces.

Yu Jishi: "Commander Chen, this is because the Communist Party and Chairman Wang have fallen out."

……

The current chairman of the Kuomintang and president of the Central Executive Committee is Wang Jingwei.

He has been the top leader of the Kuomintang since the death of Sun Yat-sen, and Chiang Kai-shek has not served as the president of the Kuomintang.

Driven by Wang Jingwei and the left-wing Kuomintang led by him, from March to October 1926, the left-wing always had the greatest say in the Kuomintang's Central Committee and Central Executive Committee: the Communist Party members and the Kuomintang left-wing together had nearly 60% of the votes, and they were often able to force through resolutions. Even if they failed to pass their own resolutions by a majority vote, it was easy for them to veto proposals initiated by the Kuomintang right-wing.

This situation was certainly exciting, but as time went on, Wang Jingwei became a little unhappy because the Communist Party, especially the Guangzhou District Committee of the Communist Party, was interfering more and more in the internal affairs of the Kuomintang, and there was a trend of sidelining Wang Jingwei.

So in October, Wang Jingwei colluded with the left-wing Kuomintang and, using the Sun Yue Declaration as a guideline, distanced himself from the Communist Party. Because Wang Jingwei signed the Chairman's Order, clearly stating that anyone who violated the Sun Yue Declaration would be expelled from the party, on October 10, this event was called the "Double Tenth Party" by the left-wing Kuomintang and the "Double Tenth Communist" by the Communist Party.

The current KMT Central Committee is no longer divided into left and right camps, but into three groups: left, center, and right: the Communist Party is the real left, the center is the original KMT left, and the right is the original KMT right and center.

Although Wang Jingwei's behavior was somewhat "frivolous," his seniority and popularity within the KMT were evident, earning him support from both the left and the center. Furthermore, another crucial factor was that Soong Ching Ling belonged to the KMT's left wing, leading to a significant number of Central Committee members converging on the KMT's left wing.

Chen Tianheng: "During the Jishi period, Guangzhou cut off the military funds for the Northern Expedition. Was this a decision made before Double Tenth, or after Double Tenth, by Chairman Wang?"

Yu Jishi: "In my opinion, neither is true. Guangdong is really out of money..."

Chen Tianheng arrived in Nanchang on time. The Jiangsu and Zhejiang merchants invited by Chiang Kai-shek were almost all there, and General Galen left Nanchang for Changsha.

Galen, the chief military adviser of the Northern Expedition Army/National Revolutionary Army, was very dissatisfied with Wang Jingwei's crackdown on the Communists in the Kuomintang, and was even more dissatisfied with Wang Jingwei's suspension of military funds for the Northern Expedition Army. He wanted to return to Guangzhou to settle the matter with Borodin.

"Wang Jingwei dismissed four Central Committee members and three ministers in one day, disrupting the functioning of the Kuomintang's party affairs," Galen said. "Also, I disagree with moving the seat of the Nationalist government from Guangzhou to Wuhan. General Chiang, you and your subordinates must clearly express your stance on this matter."

Chiang Kai-shek: "My position is very clear. The Northern Expedition must go on. The person I have invited here today is the commander of the strongest division of the National Revolutionary Army. He shares my views."

Chen Tianheng: "...Yes, General Galen. Sun Chuanfang's main force was defeated at Nanxun Road, but he still controls the two provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, which are sources of revenue. He must advance quickly. Sun Chuanfang and Zhang Zuolin have fully understood the combat effectiveness of the Northern Expedition Army and have stepped up efforts to obtain support from Japan. Moreover, with Japan's mediation, Sun Chuanfang and Zhang Zuolin are about to unite, or have likely already done so."

Galen: "That's exactly what I and the Soviet Union are most worried about."

Chiang Kai-shek: "At the same time, the Northern Expedition must be led by the Kuomintang, not the Communist Party. This is also my clear attitude. You must also make a guarantee to me here."

Galen nodded. "Regardless, the Soviet Union does not believe it is realistic for another political party to replace the Kuomintang in China today. Guangzhou's recent actions were not Comrade Stalin's original intention."

Chiang Kai-shek: "Not only is this not true now, it will also be unrealistic in the future. General Galen, you said this was not Stalin's original intention. Then whose idea was it?"

Galen: "General Jiang, you are an honorary member of the Standing Committee of the Supreme Executive Committee of the Communist International. You should understand the complexity of this matter."

"Hmph." Chiang Kai-shek didn't want to talk about the Supreme Executive Committee of the Communist International. "General Galen, the Northern Expedition Army is away, and military funding cannot be cut off."

Galen: "All I can say about this is that the Soviet Union will guarantee the supply of ammunition and weapons to the Northern Expedition Army. This will not change. With these weapons and ammunition, even if you can't attack, you can be sure to defend against Sun Chuanfang's counterattack. As for military expenses, we will entrust Feng Yuxiang to send one or two tons of opium from the northwest to the area under your control. You will exchange it for currency to temporarily cover military expenses."

Chen Tianheng noticed that Galen had been trying desperately to appease Chiang Kai-shek these past few days, trying to calm him down. After all, Chiang Kai-shek now controlled a 200,000-man Northern Expeditionary Army. Galen was quite dissatisfied with Wang Jingwei regarding the political turmoil in Guangzhou. Galen and Borodin supported Chiang Kai-shek, who was hunkered down in Nanchang, because he was the only one who advocated a resolute Northern Expedition, regardless of the consequences.

Galen left in a hurry. He was going to meet Borodin in Changsha to discuss how to deal with the situation in which the original Kuomintang-Communist Party coalition was now divided into three parts.

"Wang Jingwei now knows he can't tolerate the Communists, but all of this is his fault. He's constantly criticizing the Party and the military, constantly putting obstacles in their way, fearing they might affect his power. How can such a narrow-minded person, as the chairman of the Kuomintang, run the country well?"

Chiang Kai-shek spoke to Chen Tianheng.

Chen Tianheng, the mastermind behind all this, remained calm: "When I came here, I heard Yu Jishi say that Chairman Wang didn't give money to the Northern Expedition Army. It might be that Guangdong really has no money."

Chiang Kai-shek: "T.V. Soong also has a prejudice against me. ... Let's not discuss this matter. I have ordered Nanchang to issue 12 million yuan in special dollar notes for the Northern Expedition Army to cover military expenses. I expect that by December, our army's military expenditure problem will be temporarily resolved. The final redemption of the dollar notes will then be handled by T.V. Soong. If he does not accept it, I can find someone else to do so."

Chen Tianheng: "Commander-in-Chief, have you already negotiated with those people?"

Chiang Kai-shek showed a trace of uneasiness: "That's definitely settled. Ahem! Ahem!"

……

Jiujiang.

Because the party representative of the second regiment was ill, Wei Lihuang took his place at the Jiujiang Police Station and coordinated the patrols in Jiujiang City that week.

Although the defeated soldiers in the city had been cleared out and identified, Jiujiang's police system was being rebuilt. Before the police system completely took over public security work, the Northern Expedition Army still had to march in formation on the streets to deter criminals.

"Report! There are people gathering at the East Street Rice Shop. It seems like the owner is having a conflict with someone!"

"Isn't there a patrol nearby?"

"There were too many people gathered, and the patrol team of eight wasn't enough to mediate. It was quite complicated."

Wei Lihuang listened to the police and soldiers of the First Division discussing their response. After being idle for the whole morning, he stood up and said, "Okay, okay, I'll handle this matter. As a regimental commander, I think that's enough respect."

Wei Lihuang led two squads of soldiers to East Street.

"Here's what happened. A few days ago, this rice shop went to the countryside to buy rice. After they bought the rice, they gave us silver dollars, but the quality of the silver dollars was not good. The rice shop said they would add a few more dollars for the next batch of rice, and yesterday they gave us silver dollars of poor quality again."

Gathering in front of the rice shop were farmers from near Jiujiang, about seventy or eighty of them. It seemed that this rice shop was doing quite a large business.

Wei Lihuang: "Let me see the money you got."

A farmer brought over a cloth bag of silver dollars, which turned out to be of poor quality and very worn out.

The shop owner said: "These rice are not of good quality, but I gave you a 95% discount. We give you 105 rice for 100 yuan."

Farmer: "These dollars should only be sold at a 10% discount based on the market price. You have to give me 110."

"No, it's for 111." The farmer who spoke next to him was better at math.

Wei Lihuang: "Let the bank tell you about this. Take this bag of silver to the bank and let them determine its value."

Silver became a common currency in China during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. At that time, everyone was an expert at weighing, and the manufacturing industry for various scales flourished. In modern times, silver dollars replaced silver ingots and loose silver, and determining their fineness and calculating their value became a traditional Chinese skill.

But even for traditional arts, there are many controversies regarding the identification results.

Wei Lihuang, along with several representatives from the peasants, went to the bank with the merchants to appraise the silver. The matter was resolved, and Wei Lihuang was very satisfied with the outcome.

"Sir, don't you know who is asking for money?"

Someone on the street reminded Wei Lihuang: "There are Communists from Jiujiang County inside."

Wei Lihuang: "Is there any problem with this?"

"Well, the money house they went to for appraisal was owned by someone from the Jiujiang Municipal Party Committee. I mean the Kuomintang."

Wei Lihuang groaned, "You guys stay here and maintain order. I'm going to the bank."

Jiujiang City and Jiujiang County are now distinct geographical entities. Jiujiang City encompasses the area within and outside Jiujiang City, while Jiujiang County lies to the south, now part of Chaisang District within Greater Jiujiang. Jiujiang County has a Communist Party organization; even the county governor, Shuai Gunong, is a member of the Communist Party. The new mayor of Jiujiang City is a member of the Kuomintang (KMT), and the entire civil affairs department in Jiujiang is essentially a KMT stronghold.

Today, three Party members representing the farmers came to negotiate with the rice shop. They were all members of the Shuaigunong Party branch: Wen Juanxue, Yan Yanseng, and Xiang Resheng. When they arrived at the bank and took out the several hundred dollars, the bank manager asked where they were from. Upon learning that they were from Jiujiang County, he quickly concluded that the dollars were worth 95% or even 97% off.

Wei Lihuang arrived on horseback and said, "Everyone, wait a moment. Farming is not easy for farmers. You can't cheat others."

The bank manager asked, "Sir, are you going to arbitrate?"

Wei Lihuang: "Exactly."

Chapter 126

The matter that Wei Lihuang had to deal with was between the Jiujiang Party Committee of the Kuomintang on one side and the Jiujiang County Party Organization of the Communist Party of China on the other.

As far as Wei Lihuang knew, the Jiujiang County Party organization had no connection with the First Division, and the Jiujiang KMT Party Committee had no financial dealings with the First Division. However, the Jiujiang KMT Party Committee had made several advances towards Chen Tianheng. These local KMT members could clearly see that Chen Tianheng was Chiang Kai-shek's "disciple of the emperor," and they believed that by building a close relationship with Chen Tianheng, they could potentially gain some benefits.

Wei Lihuang pondered for half a minute, then shook his head, telling the bank to stop playing dirty and just authenticate the fineness of the silver. While merchants in Jiujiang City could still barely get by, the rural areas of several surrounding counties had already been taxed by Deng Ruzhuo of the Gan Army until 1931, before the Northern Expedition arrived.

After watching the rice shops, peasant representatives, and money houses finalize all the transactions, Wei Lihuang returned and the matter was settled.

"After resolving the dispute over the money, Captain Wei gave us a ride, and we chatted with him for a few more minutes on the way."

"Oh, really? What did you talk about?"

"Captain Wei said that the Three Principles of the People could theoretically save the nation, but the Kuomintang might not be able to implement Sun Yat-sen's ideal. The peasants' problems might have to be solved by the Communist Party."

Chen Tianheng was in Nanchang, but the training center continued operations, and the Third Regiment continued its drills there. Xiang Resheng from the Jiujiang County Party Branch arrived at the training center the next day. Of course, Xiang Resheng didn't meet Chen Tianheng, but Yuan Zhongxian and Xiang Resheng were able to gather information about the situation.

Everyone thought that even if there were Communists in Jiujiang County, it had nothing to do with the First Division, because Jiujiang County was not captured by the First Division during the Battle of Nanxun.

However…Jiujiang County was captured by the 4th Regiment of the 2nd Division. Chen Lie, a member of the War Research Committee of the 4th Regiment of the 2nd Division and a Communist Party member, secretly contacted the party organization in Jiujiang County.

In today's incident, Chen Tianheng went through three levels of connections and asked the Jiujiang County Party organization to investigate Wei Lihuang's position.

Knowing what Wei Lihuang said and did in the absence of his colleagues and subordinates, Yuan Zhongxian felt that everything was basically done, but he had to wait for Chen Tianheng to return from Nanchang before starting the follow-up work.

……

"Principal, the division's reconnaissance battalion and engineering battalion. I plan to increase the establishment of these two division-affiliated units within the First Division."

First, he stood as a model representative when Chiang Kai-shek met with the leaders of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Chamber of Commerce, and then he served as an assist when Chiang Kai-shek met with General Galen. After Chiang Kai-shek's work was done, Chen Tianheng asked Chiang Kai-shek for a position.

"Oh. Just two battalions. Just go and tell Zhang Wenbai that you want to increase the number of battalions." Chiang Kai-shek didn't even listen to Chen Tianheng's explanation of why the two battalions were needed. He just said, "And file a report with Jingzhi."

Zhang Zhizhong, director of the adjutant department of the General Headquarters, was at the Northern Expedition headquarters. He was now the steward of all affairs of the Northern Expedition. Chiang Kai-shek, the commander-in-chief, was basically daydreaming (fighting with Wang Jingwei).

"Divisional Reconnaissance Battalion. Oh, no, Chen Tianheng, doesn't every regiment have a reconnaissance company now?"

Chen Tianheng: "The regimental reconnaissance company and the divisional reconnaissance battalion serve different levels of troops and have different missions. The regimental reconnaissance company focuses on reconnaissance of the enemy situation on the battlefield, while the divisional reconnaissance battalion must be able to conduct reconnaissance and obtain information at a greater depth. In addition to long-range reconnaissance, the divisional reconnaissance battalion should also have soldiers or teams capable of completing missions such as sabotage, infiltration, and demolition. These elements may not be included in the Soviet infantry division organization chart, but they are essential in the infantry divisions of Britain, France, and Germany."

Zhang Zhizhong: "That's fine. But there's a problem. Last month's military pay hasn't arrived yet, and the soldiers you recruited may also be temporarily short of pay. I estimate it will take until late December for this problem to be resolved."

Chen Tianheng: "I will try my best to let those below overcome this difficulty."

Zhang Zhizhong: "But the good news is that General Galen said that although the economy is tight, there is sufficient weapons and ammunition. Have you recruited enough people?"

"We have manpower. We have recruited new soldiers. You also provided me with a batch of weapons and ammunition from the fourth and fifth classes of the Whampoa Military Academy. Director Zhang, the Ishii Arsenal said they wanted to produce replica mortar shells. Have they developed them yet?"

Zhang Zhizhong: "I've been asking about that too. Many troops fighting Sun Chuanfang have captured Stokes mortars from the Five Provinces Allied Forces, and they're all asking Ishii to make replicas of these shells. I suspect they'll be available soon."

Chen Tianheng: "Then I have to order a batch as soon as possible. The mortar shells are used up too quickly."

Zhang Zhizhong: "Ye Ting's Fourth Army is very prominent now. They fought well. After the Battle of Wuhan, his independent regiment was expanded. It is said that Ye Ting is training the 25th Division as hard as he can, and he wants the entire division to be as strong as the independent regiment. Therefore, we, the First Division, must also be trained to be a strong force. If you have any expansion or equipment you want, as long as the commander-in-chief agrees, I will definitely see to it."

"Thank you very much, Director Zhang."

Since the 4th Army split into the 4th and 11th Armies, Ye Ting's Independent Regiment has become the 25th Division, which includes the 73rd, 74th, and 75th Regiments. The 73rd Regiment is the original foundation of the Independent Regiment. Recently, Ye Ting, Jiang Xianyun, and Chen Geng have been frantically training the 74th and 75th Regiments, pulling key officers and Party representatives from the 73rd Regiment to bolster their ranks and also using some veterans from the 73rd Regiment as role models. Everything is similar to what the 1st Division is currently doing.

Basically, the current Fourth Army Commander Zhang Fakui, the 25th Division is the combat power of his troops.

Many in the Northern Expedition knew that the two new, powerful units, the 25th Division and the 1st Division of the 1st Army, were both connected to the Whampoa Military Academy's "War Research Society." Within the Whampoa Military Academy, the War Research Society's reputation was even greater, and the current fifth and sixth classes of students were proud to be members of the War Research Society.

Under the chairmanship of Ye Jianying (Ye Jianying is now the chief of staff of the 20th Division of the 1st Army stationed in Guangzhou), the War Research Society still did not recruit many members in the fifth and sixth term entrance examinations, which made the reputation of the War Research Society even more legendary.

As for those who were not admitted through examinations but were directly invited by the "high-level officials of the War Research Association", they are like gods in the eyes of their classmates.