The Fourth Outstanding Person of Huangpu Military Academy

……

"Yuan Zhongxian, where is Yuan Zhongxian?"

"I'm here, I have something urgent to do and I've been out all afternoon."

Party representative Yuan Zhongxian had just returned to division headquarters and patted the few posters he hadn't finished putting up: "The people from the Political Department and I ran all over the city to put up these things."

【announcement】

While temporarily stationed in Jiujiang, the First Army's First Division will not collect any taxes or fees from citizens, businesses, or factories, nor will it levy donations or requests. If anyone solicits money or supplies from citizens in the name of the First Division, please do not believe them and report them to the First Division headquarters at the Zen Temple.

Political Department of the First Division of the First Army of the National Revolutionary Army, November 22, 1926. (Seal)

Yuan Zhongxian: "A few days ago, there was a scammer who claimed to be raising funds for the First Division and was asking people for money in Jiujiang City. By the time we found him, he had already scammed an entire street and collected over 3,000 yuan. He was arrested yesterday, and the money was returned last night and this morning. After the money was returned, a notice was immediately posted."

Chen Tianheng: "Wait a minute, how did he know that the First Division's superiors hadn't allocated military pay? Did anyone from our internal staff tell him?"

"No, we interrogated him. He read in the newspaper that not only the First Division, but the entire Central Army of the Northern Expedition was owed a month's pay. He saw this as an opportunity to make a fortune, so he went to get the money."

Chen Tianheng looked through the newspapers he found when he raided the scammers' den. The earliest newspaper he collected that published the news was Shenbao.

The Shenbao in Shanghai also knew that the Northern Expedition Army was short of military pay.

——Because T.V. Soong took the Northern Expedition bonds to the Shanghai Concession to sell them, everyone in Shanghai now knew that the Northern Expedition Army was short of military funds.

The First Division headquarters also had a newspaper, but the military information sent from Nanchang was sometimes not as fast as the newspaper.

"The An Guo Army was formed? Fifteen provinces nominated Zhang Zuolin as the commander-in-chief of the An Guo Army?"

The latest front-page headlines of Shen Bao that Chen Tianheng saw.

"To all military and civilian leaders, all legal organizations, and all newspapers in all provinces, take note: The Republic of China is facing a natural disaster, and its political platform is unraveling. The Communist Party in the South is becoming increasingly rampant. The entire nation is in a state of panic, not knowing where to go. The country is without a government, the people are without a leader, and chaos and turmoil have continued for generations. Now the Communist atmosphere is pervasive, darkening the sky and poisoning the entire country, reaching every corner. The people's expectations, the accusations of friendly nations, all point to the suppression of the Communists as the only way to ensure national security..."

Electricity was available throughout the country.

By this time in the Northern Expedition, the Northern Expedition had captured Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, and Fujian, with Wu Peifu defeated and Sun Chuanfang severely damaged. Consequently, the previously fragmented Beiyang warlords finally agreed to unite.

The most powerful warlord now was Zhang Zuolin, who had an army of 500,000 under his command and was well-equipped. So he became the leader of the alliance - the commander-in-chief of the An Guo Military Government. Zhang Zuolin also became the last head of state of the Beiyang government.

The An Guo Army had two deputy commanders-in-chief: Sun Chuanfang and Zhang Zongchang.

Sun Chuanfang transferred all his troops north of the Yangtze River to the south of the Yangtze River to concentrate his forces against the Northern Expedition's attack on Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Naturally, Sun Chuanfang's territory north of the Yangtze River also fell to Zhang Zongchang. Zhang Zuolin and Zhang Zongchang's Zhili-Shandong Allied Forces, a semi-independent military force within the Fengtian clique, then advanced south along the Jinpu Railway, attacking the Northern Expedition's forces in Jiangxi and Hubei from north of the Yangtze River.

Zhang Zongchang gave up the territory of Hebei (Zhili), and Zhang Xueliang's Fengtian Army entered Henan from Hebei and counterattacked Hubei together with the remaining forces of Wu Peifu.

Chen Mingren: "It's a pity that the Fengtian Army didn't come. I've always said that the First Division's artillery should be replaced."

Chapter 129

Jiujiang Wharf.

Chen Qiaonian disembarked from the ferry and stepped onto the shores of Jiujiang. Before leaving the dock, he took a moment to gaze upstream at the former Jiujiang British Concession, now the Jiujiang Economic and Trade Park, situated on that stretch of shore.

I couldn't see too many details. I only noticed that the flag of the Republic of China was hung on the tall flagpole of the Institute of Economics and Trade. In addition, the Yangtze River wharf belonging to the Institute of Economics and Trade was quite busy with ships coming and going.

However, the Yangtze River wharf in Jiujiang City is also prosperous now, and there is not much difference.

...I hope that when I arrive in Wuhan next week, I will see the same city appearance.

"Hello, Minister Chen, why are you here? Aren't you afraid someone might recognize you on the street?"

Chen Qiaonian was currently the Organization Minister of the Northern District Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. However, Chen Duxiu had just transferred him back from Beijing to head the Wuhan District Committee—preparing for the Nationalist government's relocation of the capital to Wuhan. Instead of traveling directly to Wuhan via the Beijing-Hankou Railway, Chen Qiaonian took a detour via the Jinpu Road to Shanghai, where he met his father. He then took Chen Duxiu's letter to Chen Tianheng and sailed up the Yangtze River, delivering it to Chen Tianheng as he passed through Jiujiang.

"I'm not some social elite, so no one remembers my face," Chen Qiaonian said with a smile. "With such a large-scale move from north to south, from the Beiyang-controlled area to the Northern Expedition-controlled area, if I don't have any acquaintances around me, no one will recognize me. The key is that General Secretary Chen believes that the communication with you must be carried out by the most reliable person, so that he can feel at ease."

Chen Tianheng nodded. What Chen Qiaonian said was right. Later historical researchers had been searching for almost a century, and there was only one photo of Chen Qiaonian as an adult left in the world. In this era, even wanted posters often drew pictures of people in weird shapes.

However, in order to meet Chen Qiaonian, Chen Tianheng still arranged a whole afternoon, and finally sent Chen Qiaonian to Jiujiang Economic and Trade Park, where the two met in the office building of Jiujiang Jardine Shipping Company (Jardine Matheson had sold Jiujiang Jardine to Yingzhe Investment).

Chen Qiaonian handed Chen Tianheng a letter with a complete stamp. Chen Tianheng took the letter and asked: "Are the orders between the Central Committee and the Guangdong District Committee still in smooth communication?"

Chen Qiaonian: "The Central Committee obeyed the Communist International, and the Guangdong District Committee obeyed the Central Committee. That was basically the case. However, after General Secretary Chen signed and forwarded the Communist International's orders, if he disagreed with the spirit of the Communist International's instructions, he would publish articles in newspapers and periodicals to express his own political views. I believe you have often seen General Secretary Chen's articles."

Chen Tianheng: "Yes, I have been paying attention."

Chen Qiaonian: "My brother and he often debated, or rather, argued very passionately. Recently, under the instructions of the Communist International, the Central Committee established a Military Department. Wang Yifei was appointed as the Minister of Military Affairs, and Ren Bishi, Yan Changyi, and Xi Zuoyao were appointed as technical secretaries. The main focus was on military work in Guangzhou and Wuhan."

Chen Tianheng: "Hmm..."

Chen Tianheng did not answer for the time being. He was currently opening a letter from Chen Duxiu.

"…The Central Military Department was established under the instructions of the International. It was actually an emergency measure taken by the International after Wang Jingwei alienated the Communist Party of China. The International demanded that military preparations be made against Wang Jingwei. The 25th Division of the Fourth Army was already under the control of the Military Commission."

"The Central Committee believed that under the current situation of the Northern Expedition revolution, it was inappropriate to militarily overthrow Wang Jingwei, and it was also inappropriate and extremely frivolous to show closeness to Chiang Kai-shek."

"For this purpose, the Central Committee has established a parallel organization: the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China. The current members are me, Mao Runzhi, and you. Only members of the Military Commission are aware of the situation."

"Comrade Chen Tianheng, under the current circumstances, you are the only armed force controlled by the Military Commission."

Raising his head, Chen Tianheng looked at Chen Qiaonian and did not answer for a moment.

Chen Qiaonian: "I knew about the 25th Division of the Fourth Army in Shanghai, and I knew that the Military Department had established contact with Ye Ting. My trip to Wuhan this time included work in this area. However, I did not see General Secretary Chen's work at the Military Department regarding any arrangements for your unit. So, I think General Secretary Chen did make some preparations."

Chen Tianheng: "Why isn't Zhou Enlai, the former director of the Whampoa Military Academy's Political Department, in the Military Department?"

Chen Qiaonian: "Director Zhou should have been in the Military Department, and Chen Yannian believed that he should be the Minister of the Military Department. After all, he had the most military experience and was more suitable than those who had returned from studying in the Soviet Union. However, just before the establishment of the military department, Director Zhou went to Shanghai. This was an arrangement made by the Kuomintang Supreme Military Committee. Since he was not in Guangzhou, he could not lead the work of the Military Department in Guangzhou in real time."

……

Zhou Enlai's trip to Shanghai was actually directed by both the CCP and the KMT. He planned a Shanghai workers' uprising and also provided support for the Northern Expedition, which was why the KMT Central Committee arranged it this way. It also allowed him to leave Guangzhou and avoid having to work in the military department planning how to launch an uprising, establish a Paris Commune in Guangzhou, or anything like that.

Chen Duxiu's letter was not unexpected. In previous letters, Chen Duxiu had mentioned his intention to withdraw from the Comintern, but the matter had been postponed after discussions with Li Dazhao. Now that Chen Duxiu had established a military committee independent of the Comintern, it was clear that this matter, this plan, had always been on his mind and had never been cleared.

However, as a result, two military-related organizations emerged within the party: the Military Department and the Military Commission.

When Chen Qiaonian goes to Wuhan, he will deal with the military department's organizations in Wuhan.

"Minister Chen, do you know why the Communist International stood firmly on Chiang Kai-shek's side in the Wang-Chiang conflict?" Chen Tianheng asked.

"Because Wang Jingwei had recently been negative about the Northern Expedition, while Chiang Kai-shek was very resolute in his advocacy of it," Chen Qiaonian said, "General Secretary Chen's view, and my own, is that the various Beiyang warlords tended to be close to Britain, the United States, and Japan, and hostile to the Soviet Union. Their main support came from Japan. Before the Northern Expedition began, some powerful Beiyang factions were still wavering between the Soviet Union and Japan, but after the Northern Expedition began, they all clung to Japan tightly and refused to let go. Therefore, the Soviet Union had no choice but to let it go. Now that the Northern Expedition had begun, it had to be completed. If it was not completed, the Soviet Union's situation in the Far East would be even worse."

When Chen Qiaonian analyzed this issue, he was not influenced by the propaganda of the Communist International.

Chen Tianheng: "I agree with your analysis. Moreover, completing the Northern Expedition would also be a progressive achievement for China. It would not only provide security for the Soviet Far East, but also unify the country, which is first and foremost our own business. But the question is, how much positive impact would launching an armed uprising to drive Wang Jingwei out of power actually have on the Northern Expedition?"

Chen Qiaonian: "The opposition to Wang Jingwei was mainly political, which prompted him to return to the strategy of the Northern Expedition and use armed uprising as a backup plan."

Chen Tianheng: "My guess is that the Soviet Union probably never formulated a plan to launch an armed uprising to drive Wang Jingwei from power. Because even if it succeeded, the southern revolutionary camp would be violently shaken and fall into civil unrest. Even if we ultimately prevailed in the civil unrest, the situation we faced would be different from what it is now. Sun Chuanfang and Zhang Zuolin would use foreign aid and loans to train a large army. They might even launch a gradual counterattack during this period of civil unrest and retake the areas previously occupied by the Northern Expedition Army. In the best case scenario, we would have to start all over again."

Chen Qiaonian: "In our party, or rather in the Guangdong party organization, some comrades have acted on their own initiative?"

Chen Tianheng: "It is also possible that the top leaders of the Executive Committee of the Communist International lacked policy continuity when drafting some resolutions."

Chen Qiaonian: "I have indeed heard such a rumor. Stalin often had no time to inquire about the daily work of the Executive Committee of the Communist International. When Stalin had free time, he would look at the resolutions and instructions issued by the Communist International in the past month and be shocked. He would issue many orders in succession, reversing the previous instructions of the Communist International. This led to a lack of continuity in the policies of the Communist International."

Chen Tianheng: "It might not be bad to follow only the resolutions of the Executive Committee of the Communist International, or only the resolutions of Stalin. What is bad is to waver between the two."

Chen Qiaonian: "I guess this is why General Secretary Chen has said more than once that the CCP should withdraw from the Communist International. I will arrive in Wuhan a month earlier than Wang Jingwei and the Nationalist government. It seems that arranging work in Wuhan is not so easy."

Chen Tianheng: "Ye Ting, the key is Ye Ting. The Military Department has contacted Ye Ting, and you can also contact Ye Ting."

Chen Qiaonian: "I feel that Ye Ting would still obey the organizational procedures. He is a soldier and usually follows the instructions of the Military Department."

"Although Ye Ting also studied in the Soviet Union, I have come into contact with him and he is reliable on matters of right and wrong. Moreover," Chen Tianheng said, "the mid-level officers under Ye Ting's 25th Division are also trustworthy."

……

Wuhan.

Ye Ting's Independent Regiment was expanded into the 25th Division, and the recruitment of soldiers and the arrangement of officers have now been basically completed.

第四军北伐时带10、12师和叶挺独立团出发，现在第10师分出去建了第11军，张发奎的第四军的基本盘就是12师和25师了。

The commander of the 73rd Regiment of the 25th Division was Zhou Shidi, the commander of the 74th Regiment was Chen Geng, and the commander of the 75th Regiment was Jiang Xianyun.

The division chief of staff was Zuo Quan, and the division commander was Ye Ting, who was also the deputy commander of the Fourth Army.

In early October, the 25th Division, still understaffed, set out from Wuhan and marched northward, pursuing the remnants of Wu Peifu's forces. South of Xinyang, the 25th Division engaged in a fierce battle with a section of Fengtian Army troops heading south to support Wu Peifu. After a fierce battle, both sides retreated 20 li. This marked the Northern Expedition's first encounter with Zhang Zuolin's Fengtian Army.

Just as Zhang Fakui and Ye Ting were preparing to reorganize their forces and resume their campaign against the Fengtian Army, news arrived from Chairman Wang in Guangzhou that the campaign against Henan had been suspended. A week later, the same news arrived from Chiang Kai-shek's Northern Expedition headquarters.

After returning to Wuhan, the 25th Division followed the 4th Army down the Yangtze River, intending to attack Jiujiang from both land and sea. However, Sun Chuanfang's forces in Jiujiang collapsed so quickly that only the 7th Army of the Gui Army, which was at the forefront, wiped out 20,000 of Sun Chuanfang's troops. The 4th Army only managed to defeat two of Sun Chuanfang's security regiments in Huanggang and Huangshi.

"Chen Tianheng's regiment directly wiped out Sun Chuanfang's main division in the battle north of Xiushui. Now I heard that he is leading the First Division to train every day in Jiujiang. I think we should also train well."

At the 25th Division's headquarters in Wuhan, Ye Ting and the division's chief of staff, Zuo Quan, were forcing Chen Geng's 74th Regiment to train intensively.

25师扩编之后，73团仍然是叶挺独立团的正宗继承，74、75团只有调过去的两百多名73团的老兵和军官做底子，因此这两个团的训练工作量也蛮大，现在的状态和第一师的2、3团有点相似。——可能74、75团的训练工作比2、3团更繁重。

"Chen Tianheng hasn't written the 25th Division's song for us yet."

Chen Geng was talking about something else.

Ye Ting: "Hey, can you please be more ambitious? This requires a lot of people. Can't we write it ourselves?"

Chen Geng took out a pen and handed it to Ye Ting: "Commander, that pen is for you."

Ye Ting: “…”

Party representative Zhou Yiqun said: "Commander, comrades from the Wuhan District Committee are here to see you."

Ye Ting frowned in dissatisfaction: "He claims to be from the Wuhan District Committee?"

"Yes. They have already arrived at the division headquarters."

Chen Geng and Zuo Quan: "It's okay, division commander, we all know about this."

"But the division headquarters and the division guard company don't know, and they don't need to know!" Ye Ting straightened his uniform. "I'm leaving first."

Chapter 130

Ye Ting invited the newcomers to a closed reception room at the division headquarters. In this way, even if the news leaked out and someone asked about it, it would only be attributed to "too close contacts with some Communist Party members."

Ye Ting joined the party when he was studying in the Soviet Union, but his party membership is now kept secret, known only to the Central Committee, the Guangdong District Party Committee Secretary and the Central Military Department.

In stark contrast, under Ye Ting's current 25th Division, Chen Geng, Jiang Xianyun, Zuo Quan, and others were all known to the public as Party members. They had joined the Party while at Whampoa Military Academy and were listed on the Party membership roster. Chen Geng and the others knew that Ye Ting was a Party member, but of course they never disclosed this to the public.

Yang Yin was a secretary of the Central Military Department. He was transferred from Guangzhou to Wuhan to serve as the military commissioner of the Hubei District Committee. There was no problem for him to meet Ye Ting, but this rash and semi-public meeting was too frivolous.

But think about it, at the beginning of this year, General Secretary Chen Duxiu of the Central Committee dared to disappear for a month and no one knew where he went. The party during this period... we can only say that the system needs to be improved.

"Comrade Ye, I want to confirm whether you can fully control the 25th Division?"

Yang Yinwen's first sentence was straight to the point.

"I am the commander of the 25th Division, so naturally I have the final say on combat command," Ye Ting said. "Also, Commissioner Yang, you should also be aware that the 25th Division has a Party representative system, and there are many Party members among the officers, who can ensure that the entire division obeys my orders."

Yang Yin: "The Military Department considered this. As the Northern Expedition progressed, the workers' and peasants' movement across the country also reached a climax. At this time, the Kuomintang government took actions to hinder the Northern Expedition. This made it possible for the Party to take advantage of the climax of the workers' and peasants' movement to launch a proletarian revolution and overthrow the Kuomintang regime. What the Military Department is doing now is to contact the units in the Northern Expedition controlled by the Communist Party or where Communist Party members hold a large number of military command positions to plan this matter."

Ye Ting: "I don't know exactly how many Northern Expeditionary troops were controlled by Communist Party members, but Commissioner Yang, you might want to note that the Northern Expedition has now grown to over 20 army units. Our division is considered a Communist division, that's fine, but how many such divisions can the Military Department find?"

Yang Yin: "The Northern Expedition was not controlled by Wang Jingwei. As Chairman of the Kuomintang, Wang Jingwei was the nominal supreme commander. In reality, Chiang Kai-shek was the supreme leader of the Northern Expedition. If we launch a full-scale armed uprising and successfully establish a revolutionary regime in Guangzhou or Wuhan, we can win the support of Chiang Kai-shek and his Northern Expedition Army and gain their recognition of our new regime."

"Chiang Kai-shek?!" Ye Ting shook his head. "I don't think he would support the Communists. In fact, half a year ago, he was the one who strongly demanded that the Communists be excluded from the Whampoa Military Academy and the army. Ultimately, all the Communists were expelled from the First Army."

"Although this does have some of the selfishness of a warlord, Chiang Kai-shek was an honorary member of the Standing Committee of the Supreme Executive Committee of the Communist International."

"In this case, I think it would be better to work on Chiang Kai-shek first," Ye Ting said. "He is the commander-in-chief of the Northern Expedition. If he is willing to participate in the operation to overthrow the Kuomintang Wang Jingwei government, then everything will be successful."

Yang Yin: "That's not the case. You should understand the process of the October Revolution. Before the revolution, the Soviets controlled a relatively small number of revolutionary armies, but the first blow was dealt to the February government. After the February government was eliminated, the bourgeois army also disintegrated and divided. By then, Chiang Kai-shek and his Northern Expedition Army would be like the Tsarist Russian army. Although some troops would become White Army, the majority would still side with the new revolutionary government. Even if Chiang Kai-shek had become Kolchak, it would not have changed the final outcome."

Ye Ting was speechless. After thinking for a while, Ye Ting asked, "What if after we start the uprising, the army standing against us is larger than ours?"

"If the counter-revolutionary army is only slightly larger than the revolutionary army, we can mobilize the people and arm the workers and peasants. The revolutionary forces can still overwhelm the counter-revolutionary forces. Moreover, we have the elite troops of the Northern Expedition. Your unit is the famous Independent Regiment of the Northern Expedition. The Fourth Army's reputation as the Iron Army is largely due to the Independent Regiment."

Ye Ting: "Yes, when you say the Fourth Army is an iron army, you also know that Chiang Kai-shek also has a 'revolutionary sword'. The First Division of the First Army. The First Division was late to the battle, but on the Nanxun Line, the First Division successively destroyed Sun Chuanfang's two ace divisions, three miscellaneous divisions and two mixed brigades. One of the ace divisions was destroyed by the First Regiment of the First Division alone. My troops could not do this."

Yang Yin: "This..."

Ye Ting: "I also want to tell you that the three regimental commanders in my army, who are also the most capable officers under my command, were all trained by Chen Tianheng, the commander of the First Division. When Chen Tianheng was at Huangpu, he organized a war research society. Now, the people who come out of this war research society are basically the most capable mid-level officers in the Northern Expedition Army."

"This one……"

Yang Yin finally began to back down. It seemed that revolution was not a simple thing that could be accomplished overnight.

Jiujiang.

After seeing Chen Qiaonian off, Chen Tianheng continued to ponder the changes in the situation on the current timeline.

The Party has two military organizations, which can be abbreviated as "Military Headquarters" and "Military Commission" respectively.

What Chen Tianheng has to do now is that if the military acts on its own and messes things up, he, as the last trump card in the hands of the Military Commission, will be responsible for cleaning up the mess.

...It doesn't seem right. The military was established under the instructions of the Communist International, and the Military Commission acted independently.

Regardless, the First Division was a unit that the Party had assembled independently without relying on external forces. It was necessary to retain it as a last resort in the event of a disagreement between the Central Committee and the Comintern. Chen Duxiu's letter also mentioned that he and Mao Zedong had discussed this matter. Although they still disagreed on the path of revolution, they agreed that "the Chinese revolution should be led by the Chinese Communist Party, rather than deferring to the Comintern on all matters."

"Commander, Yu Qiaqing's ship has arrived in Jiujiang."