The Fourth Outstanding Person of Huangpu Military Academy

"Don't pull me, don't pull me!"

"What am I doing in a place like this? There are so many people!"

Chen Tianheng stood up. Hey, which social anxiety patient was dragged here?

Outside the door were Jiang Xianyun and Wang Erzhuo, one on each side, bringing a student with them. The student looked reluctant.

"Huh~~~~~Finally, they've pulled him over," Jiang Xianyun wiped his sweat. "I don't think he wants to introduce himself either, so let me introduce him. He's from Team One. His original name was Xu Xiangqian, but he's now called Xu Xiangqian."

Chapter 35

Restore two updates.

This book was a tricky one to write…

Needless to say, the subject matter is very sensitive and has nothing to do with my current job, so I don't have the convenience of "killing two birds with one stone" or "stealing something while I have it" as before. I have to read all the information from the beginning.

I started planning and trial writing the book more than half a year ago. I was very dissatisfied halfway through the planning, so I directly killed the No. 1 time traveler and replaced him.

(If this continues, my friends in the same field will be exhausted very quickly)

Fortunately, after reading a lot of information, I finally understood this history.

The book will be on the shelves in 2 to 3 days. I hope everyone will subscribe and support it then.

Thank you~

Chapter 36

Xu Xiangqian graduated from Shanxi Provincial Normal School. After graduation, he first worked as a teacher at a modern school. However, because he taught students about "unstable" topics like the Opium War, the Taiping Rebellion, and the May Fourth Movement, the school authorities intervened. Xu Xiangqian argued with the principal and was dismissed. Later, after reading about Sun Yat-sen's plans to establish a military academy and an advertisement for enrollment in the New Youth magazine, he traveled thousands of miles to Guangzhou to attend the Whampoa Military Academy.

But then again, there are quite a few students in this class of Whampoa who graduated from normal schools and have worked as teachers.

"Oh, books, so many books."

The introverted Xu Xiangqian finally found his joy at the War Research Society: books. He pulled out book after book from the shelf, muttering to himself, "Which one should I read first today... Oh, an English book?"

Xu Xiangqian discovered that the book he pulled out was in English.

Huang Wei: "As someone who studied at a normal school, I can understand the general meaning of this English book with some effort, but the Russian book is like a mystery to us."

"I'm also a teacher's college student. So I'll try my best to understand it. Army, Field Service Regulations? Second edition?"

Xu Xiangqian struggled to read the title of the book on the cover.

Chen Tianheng: "This is the British Army's field manual, published in 1922. It summarizes the practical experience of several battles that Britain participated in during the European War."

Xu Xiangqian: "We now train on the playground for half a day and attend classes in the classroom for half a day. The training and teaching content seem to be based on the methods of squad leaders and platoon leaders. These battles and campaigns are a bit far-fetched for us."

Chen Tianheng: "Precisely because the daily teaching content focuses on non-commissioned officers and junior officers, we need to supplement their knowledge during extracurricular time. This is the main purpose of the War Research Society."

……

Xu Xiangqian also discovered that what Huangpu was teaching now was the knowledge that squad leaders and platoon leaders should use.

In fact, even these introductory courses were taught extremely briefly by Huangpu.

The first batch of students took a total of 8 courses, including 3 political courses and 5 military courses: military system, tactics, weapons, topography, and military transportation.

These courses were actually taught in an extremely simple manner, in fact, far inferior to the military academy textbooks of the same name that could be found later through search engines. For example, the military system course basically just explained to students what the army, division, brigade, regiment, battalion, company, and platoon were, how many people they had, and how many sub-units they had. That was it.

Because there are only four and a half months in total, there are only a dozen classes allocated to military system studies.

However, we cannot cut out the drills for the first-term students and use them all for lectures, because only a small number of them have military experience, and most of them are "educated youth" who have never served in the army, so drills are also necessary.

"The principal is here! Salute!"

On the playground, the instructor who was training the second team of students suddenly shouted, then turned around and saluted with more than a hundred students.

"Hello, Principal!"

Chiang Kai-shek is here.

The military uniform is straight, from the collar to the brim of the hat to the belt.

Behind Chiang Kai-shek were the Whampoa Military Academy’s Party representative Liao Zhongkai, chief instructor He Yingqin, and several internet celebrities who came to visit, no, celebrities from Guangzhou.

Seeing the second team saluting him collectively, Chiang Kai-shek smiled and replied:

"You all practiced very well! Very well! Very spirited!"

"...It has been a month since our school opened. During this month, we have made remarkable progress. Not only are we very pleased, but our guests also agree that such rapid progress is rare."

"From now on, everyone must work even harder and be even more enthusiastic, so as not to disappoint the officials' kindness."

"As a soldier, obedience to orders is our first duty. As members of the revolutionary party and cadets of the revolutionary army, we must absolutely obey the party's orders and discipline. We must use the invisible spirit and the invisible discipline to carry out our concrete work!"

This was not the first time Chiang Kai-shek personally inspected the training of Whampoa students. It was probably the fourth time since the opening ceremony.

After all, Chiang Kai-shek attached great importance to the Whampoa Military Academy and treated it as a major event. The reason why he attached great importance to the Whampoa Military Academy was that he believed that the Whampoa Military Academy was his capital and base.

Since the military academy did not have guns for training, he rushed to Shijing to ask for guns... In fact, since the establishment of the military academy began last year, Chiang Kai-shek has been extremely active in running around, more active than any other Kuomintang official.

But what’s interesting is that Chiang Kai-shek always showed up to inspect when the students came to the playground for exercise. He never came when the students were in the classroom.

"Student Chen Tianheng."

After the main text of the speech ended, Chiang Kai-shek suddenly shouted.

Chen Tianheng: “Here!”

"You must have studied Premier Sun's Three Principles of the People in military school. What are your thoughts on them?"

Chen Tianheng: "When nationalism was first proposed by Premier Sun, it was based on the idea of ​​'expelling the Tartars and restoring China.' The Premier said, 'After driving out the Tartars, we must restore our nation. China is the China of the Chinese people, and Chinese politics are under the control of the Chinese people. Anyone who dares to do what Shi Jingtang and Wu Sangui did will be attacked by the whole world.'"

"Civil rights, the Prime Minister said, China has been an absolute monarchy for thousands of years. This kind of government is unacceptable to citizens who believe in equality and freedom. To get rid of this system, we cannot rely solely on national revolution. Instead, we must carry out national revolution and political revolution simultaneously. The result of the political revolution is the establishment of a democratic constitutional government. Anyone who dares to establish an imperial system will be condemned by the whole world."

"Minsheng Principles, first, promote equal land ownership and second, control capital. The Premier stated that anyone who dares to monopolize and control the lives of the people should be rejected by the public. The Premier also stated that only when Minsheng Principles are implemented can social problems be solved; and only when social problems are solved can humanity enjoy great happiness. Therefore, I believe that Minsheng Principles are the core of Premier Sun's Three Principles of the People, the goal of social revolution, and the destination of national independence and civil rights and freedoms."

Chen Tianheng's fluent and lengthy response made Chiang Kai-shek nod and applaud. "Excellent, excellent! Classmate Chen Tianheng, you took the top spot in the entrance exam, and since enrolling, you have also been outstanding in your studies. If all the students at Whampoa Military Academy can be as outstanding as you, and all of them become military commanders in the future, there will be great hope for the future of our Party!"

……

"This Chen Tianheng is truly a staunch believer in the Three Principles of the People. No wonder the president is so fond of him." He Yingqin said to Liao Zhongkai in the observation seats.

"Hmm..." Liao Zhongkai nodded slightly. "Among the top three students of the first term, Jiang Xianyun and Chen Geng were already members of the Communist Party before entering the school. They are now dual members of the Communist Party and the Kuomintang. Only Chen Tianheng was not a member of the Communist Party before."

He Yingqin: "However, even Jiang Xianyun and Chen Geng were highly valued by the president. When he inspected the first team, he also had this kind of conversation with them. Even though Jiang Xianyun and Chen Geng were members of the Communist Party, the president wanted to recruit them as his own disciples."

Liao Zhongkai: "I have to say, these three are indeed very outstanding."

He Yingqin: "Besides their excellence, I discovered that these three also had something in common: none of them blindly followed the Soviet Union. The same was true of Jiang Xianyun and Chen Geng, both Communists. Did you know that Chen Tianheng organized a society called the War Research Society?"

Liao Zhongkai: "I heard about it. I also heard that other clubs try their best to recruit people to join, and they recruit everyone they can. But this War Research Society is very selective. Those who want to join have to pass some strange tests. But sometimes the president Chen Tianheng will take the initiative to invite some students, and if they refuse, he will come to their door again and again to persuade them."

He Yingqin: "I'm not talking about their membership mechanism. I'm saying that this war research association is not actually modeled after the Soviet Union, but rather on the Prussian War Academy in Germany. It's said that this is something the president particularly likes."

Liao Zhongkai: "Oh? Really? But the German Army is indeed strong."

He Yingqin: "Because they imitated Prussia, the War Research Society had very high requirements for its members. They not only had to understand military affairs, but also science. And that wasn't enough. They also had to understand literature, art, and even music. I heard they even wanted to put a piano in the seminar room. This was also modeled after the Prussian officer corps."

Liao Zhongkai nodded and sighed, "However, Jieshi does have some excessive resistance to the Soviet Union, even malice. This is not appropriate at the moment, nor is it necessary. Ah, wait a minute, I have something to tell Jieshi."

Liao Zhongkai stood up from the observation seats.

Chiang Kai-shek was in front of the crowd of Team 2. After the Q&A session with Chen Tianheng, he enthusiastically "taught" the students the key points of the drill, and even talked about horse breeding techniques.

(However, Chiang Kai-shek learned the Japanese manual)

"Jie Shi, the logistics department has informed me that if no further funding is allocated, the school's funds will run out next month."

Chiang Kai-shek: "Alas, the military academy has hundreds of students and instructors. It really costs a lot of money. Hasn't the Generalissimo's Office allocated funds to the military academy yet?"

"The Generalissimo's Office is currently unable to allocate funds. It's said that the Soviet aid is still on its way... along with their weapons, and the Generalissimo's Office's previous income is not enough to support the operation of the military academy."

"Yibai (Liao Zhongkai's pen name), if the funds are insufficient, then I will go to Shanghai in a few days and buy and sell some stocks on the stock exchange, and use the profits to support the school's funding."

……

"Chen Tianheng, Chen Tianheng, what's wrong with you?"

Zheng Dongguo was standing next to Chen Tianheng. He noticed that Chen Tianheng, who was still alive just now, suddenly had an expression of [cardiopulmonary arrest], and immediately asked curiously.

Chen Tianheng: "Didn't you hear the conversation between the principal and Director Liao just now?"

"I heard that the school is having financial difficulties, and the principal is going to Shanghai to earn some money to cover the expenses."

"It's over," Chen Tianheng said. "We're eating boiled squid every day now. I guess we won't be able to eat squid next month. We'll have to eat radish sprouts instead."

Chapter 37

Cheung Chau Island, where Whampoa Military Academy is located, was a resting place for fishermen. Squid, a popular catch, was not easy to sell, so fishermen would sell it cheaply while resting here. A large basket could be bought for just a dozen yuan, so Whampoa cadets often ate squid and boiled peanuts until they vomited.

But there's something even scarier than eating squid: radish sprouts...

After eating radish sprouts for a week, when it was almost noon during the training that day, many students smelled the aroma of meat coming from the cafeteria, which indicated that the hard days in the military academy were finally over.

The principal made money by trading stocks... No.

The gold rubles aided by the Soviet Union have arrived...No.

It was the party representative Liao Zhongkai. His wife He Xiangning pawned the jewelry she had with her and used the money to supplement the funding of Huangpu.

He Xiangning's father was a wealthy tea merchant. Her family initially strongly opposed her marriage to Liao Zhongkai, a returned Chinese laborer who was then a low-ranking official at the Qing government's China Merchants Steam Navigation Company, working on foreign affairs. However, He Xiangning was so determined that her parents ultimately agreed to let her go.

At noon, the students wolfed down the stewed pork belly they hadn't eaten for over a month. Chen Tianheng thought to himself, I wonder if there will still be a CPPCC or a CPPCC vice-chairman in this timeline, but if there is any vote in the future, the students of the first class of Whampoa Military Academy will probably vote for He Xiangning.

……

"Boss, you're quite foresighted! The merchant group is truly dishonest, secretly purchasing such a large quantity of arms!"

Because of his great admiration for Chen Tianheng, Guan Linzheng now directly calls Chen Tianheng "Boss", and it seems that more and more members of the War Research Society call him that.

"The reason I only simulated two scenarios for the Guangzhou urban warfare—the Chen Jiongming Rebellion and the Merchant Corps Rebellion—is because these two forces are the most likely to defect," Chen Tianheng said. "Because of the arms smuggling incident, the possibility of a Merchant Corps Rebellion is increasing, so we need to conduct another on-site investigation of Xiguan."

Chen Tianheng, Jiang Xianyun, Chen Geng, Guan Linzheng and Xu Xiangqian, the five of them took leave and took a ferry from Changzhou Island into the city to inspect the West Gate of Guangzhou.

A few days ago, according to intelligence from the Kuomintang, the warships of the Grand Marshal's Office intercepted a merchant ship bound for Guangzhou, which was carrying a large amount of arms. The recipient of the arms was Chen Lianbo, the head of the Guangzhou Merchant Corps.

The arms trade is legal under the current laws of the Republic of China, but there are two problems with this batch of arms.

The first is that when it was declared, it claimed to be a batch of scrapped British 13mm muzzle-loading rifles, imported as scrap steel. However, in fact, these guns were brand new, and they were all smokeless powder bolt-action rifles and even machine guns.

The second was that the merchant group claimed to have imported 4000 guns, but what was seized on the ship were 8000 bolt-action rifles, 40 machine guns, and 50 rounds of ammunition.

After discovering a large amount of arms, the merchant ship was taken by warships to the dock controlled by the Grand Marshal's Office, where the arms were unloaded and detained.

The Merchant Corps immediately sent people to the Grand Marshal's Office to explain the arms shipment:

1. When declaring goods, they were written as "scrapped rifles" imported as scrap steel. This was the unspoken rule for selling rifle-type weapons to China at that time. This was because the West believed that China was in a state of civil war and only allowed the export of pistols for self-protection to China. Rifles, machine guns, cannons, etc. could not be purchased through normal channels, so the goods had to be marked as "scrapped rifles" before they could be shipped in.

2. Of these 8000 guns, 4000 belong to the Merchant Corps, and the other 4000 are purchased on behalf of other warlords. The Merchant Corps is engaged in overseas purchasing business.

In short, the two sides have not yet torn their relations. Sun Yat-sen said that he respects private property, but since the extra 4000 rifles were imported, it would be considered smuggling and he would have to pay a fine of 50 silver dollars to the Merchant Corps. The Merchant Corps was bargaining.

Chen Tianheng: "The Merchant Corps is already quite well-armed, with over 1000 guns and several thousand men. This time, they imported 8,000 guns at once. Even if only 4,000 of them are kept for their own use, that's a quadrupling of their strength. I suspect the higher-ups have already made up their minds to take action against the Merchant Corps and are simply biding their time."

Guan Linzheng: "We, the Whampoa Military Academy students, only have over 400 of us and 500 guns..."

Chen Tianheng: "If we want to take action against the Merchant Corps, it certainly won't be just the Whampoa students. The Guangdong Army, as well as the Guangxi and Yunnan Armies in Guangzhou, will also be dispatched under the command of the Grand Marshal's Office. ... We've arrived at Xiguan. We have plenty of time today, so let's find a restaurant and have a meal. I'll treat you."

The dinner was not held at his second uncle's Sixi Restaurant. Chen Tianheng didn't want to have too much connection with his second uncle's family, especially in front of his classmates.

Just find a random restaurant on the street in Xiguan. A plate of oily fried rice noodles and a few pieces of roast goose is a delicious meal for students who usually eat bland cafeteria meals.

"Let's go with this one, 'Liang Fu Lai Fried Noodles'."

"Boss, five servings of fried rice noodles. Half a roast goose, topped off. Is the soup free?"

The boss, with thinning hair and a face resembling the Fire Cloud Evil God, glanced at the five young men and said, "Bring us some soup. Is half a roast goose enough for the five of you?"

Chen Tianheng looked at the menu again and it didn't seem expensive. "Then let's order a whole one."

Huoyun Evil God responded and went to the kitchen to fry noodles.

"The front wall of this shop is a thin single-walled structure, but the back wall looks very thick," Xu Xiangqian said. "This is a small house built next to a large house. I don't know how thick the back wall is."

Chen Tianheng: "After dinner, let's go to the big house in the back. In addition to measuring the walls, we also need to understand the architectural layout and style."

Chen Geng: "Where is Chen Lianbo's home?"

Jiang Xianyun: "I also wonder if it would be easiest to capture the leader of the gang. However, if we were to engage in a rebellion or quell the rebellion, we are not sure where Chen Lianbo would stay. He might stay at home, but he is more likely to stay at the Merchant Corps headquarters in the Thirteen Hongs."

Chen Tianheng: "There's another possibility. He fled to Hong Kong when the fighting broke out in Guangzhou. ... The head of the Merchant Corps' militia was definitely there. We might as well find a way out through him."

A few people were whispering to each other. Over here, Fire Cloud Evil God, no, Chef Liang had already fried the rice noodles at the speed of light, and then chopped up two large plates of roast goose at a speed so fast that one could not see the knife, and put them on the table.

Chen Tianheng tried the fried rice noodles. The Guangzhou fried rice noodles of the 20s were neither dry-fried nor wet-fried, but the taste was basically the same as later generations, with a "wok-fried" flavor.