The Fourth Outstanding Person of Huangpu Military Academy

Chen Tianheng thought that Qian Zhuangfei was now in charge of delivering letters, and he could make a round trip between him and Chen Duxiu in one day. If he wanted to know, he could really find out which branch this superior organization was.

But if General Secretary Chen Duxiu knew about this, it wouldn't just be this worker Party member and the small Party branch above that would be struck by lightning...

"Then you're wrong. If you keep messing around like this, tomorrow's Shenbao will report the Jiangxin Chemical Factory workers' strike in full, detailing the strike conditions verbatim, and even your names. Do you think your 'higher-level organizations' will read Shenbao and find out?"

A worker who looks like a small leader:

After choking the workers, Chen Tianheng returned to the boss of the chemical factory and said, "If the workers don't work or only work four hours, the losses and disadvantages caused to you will be far greater than a wage increase. If you find a tripled wage increase unacceptable, I suggest that you, the boss, also propose a number that you think is reasonable, and choose a time to start labor-management negotiations with the workers until both sides reach an agreement."

After persuading the large group of workers and the angry boss to stop, Chen Tianheng asked them about the situation of the Xinyi Factory they had just mentioned.

It turned out that the owner of Xinyi Weaving Factory had resigned. Anyway, this weaving factory had no spinning machines or looms. It was a semi-garment processing factory with no valuable machinery and equipment. The workers could not move the factory land, so the owner did not come. Now it is a worker-governed factory.

"Hello, sir! I am the factory director, Du Huwen.

Chen Tianheng: "Are you working 4 hours a day now?

"It's not 4 hours. The working hours are not fixed. Workers will go home on their own after finishing their work." Du Huwen said.

Chen Tianheng: "Pay attention to the flow of funds, don't let it get cut off.

1)

After taking away the officers and soldiers of the First Division at the scene, Chen Tianheng set a discipline for all soldiers standing guard or on standby at the concession ports. If there were any labor-management conflicts, they should be reported to the battalion level first, and the battalion commander would be responsible for handling them on the spot.

During his time stationed in Shanghai, Chen Tianheng obtained more detailed data on Shanghai's current industries.

Shanghai is a place with developed light industry, especially the textile industry. Not only are the East and West Districts of the International Settlement filled with textile factories, but there are also many in Zhabei. Other industries are also built around the textile industry. For example, the Jiangxin Chemical Factory is actually a dye factory.

You're overthinking it, it's not made of yellow dye.

If the textile industry along China's coast had continued along OTL's trajectory, it would have become a giant by 1936. The Great Depression forced European and American industrial machinery manufacturers to slash prices and engage in aggressive sales. The Soviet Union, in particular, aggressively bought up heavy equipment manufacturing's industrial machine tools, while manufacturers in the Republic of China (R.O.C.) aggressively bought textile machinery. As a result, by 1936, the cotton yarn production of Shangqingtian and Guangzhouwan in the R.O.C. accounted for 19% of the world's total.

But this was 1936, not 1996.

The world was far from peaceful in 1936. This world-class cotton yarn industry, ravaged by war and blockades over the following years, gradually declined, benefiting India. A tens-million-strong army was assembled from thin air during World War II, and even the Soviet Union received cotton cloth purchased in India and then donated to the USSR. Even India's rapid postwar independence was due to the wealth and power of Indian capitalists, who had profited greatly from World War II.

"Division Commander, the Fourth Army has captured Wuhu."

At the division headquarters, Chen Mingren had just received the battle report from the Fourth Army.

Chen Tianheng: ": Ye Ting's 25th Division also participated in the Wuhu battle, right?

"Yes, both the 25th and 12th Divisions participated, annihilating Sun Chuanfang's divisions and brigades at Wuhu. It seems the Seventh Army launched an attack on Dangtu County next. After Dangtu County was captured, the Northern Expedition Army had no defenses left between Sun Chuanfang and Nanjing, and that army was about to begin its attack on Nanjing."

Chen Tianheng: "If Nanjing is recovered, the allied forces of Zhang Zuolin and Zhang Zongchang will move south.

Chapter 54: It could be a surprise, or it could be a trouble

On January 31, 1927, the day before the Spring Festival, Chiang Kai-shek came to Shanghai

The.

Chiang Kai-shek came to Shanghai to get money; he wouldn't leave without it. If he couldn't get 200 million yuan, he wouldn't be able to celebrate the New Year.

Since the Northern Expedition Army occupied Nanchang in October, its headquarters (headquarters) has been located in Nanchang, which has become the "military center" of the revolutionary government. Army commanders, local powerful figures, and financial group bosses all frequently enter and exit Nanchang.

After capturing Shanghai, Chiang Kai-shek was also planning to move the headquarters to Shanghai, but moving was not so easy and it would take some time.

In Shanghai, Yu Qiaqing, Chen Guangfu and others met with Chiang Kai-shek. After they flattered each other, the consortiums readily offered Chiang Kai-shek 200 million in military funds.

In the past half month, the consortiums also bought up eastern Zhejiang. Two divisions of Sun Chuanfang's army in eastern Zhejiang revolted. The remaining two divisions and two brigades were unable to defend because their defense lines were torn apart, and they were quickly defeated. Sun Chuanfang's general Meng Zhaoyue, who was guarding eastern Zhejiang, refused to defect and took a boat to Tianjin.

“Guangfu is a generous man.

"But Chen and Yu advocated that the Northern Expeditionary Army only reach Yangzhou at most, and they also said that the north has little economic value. Their vision is very narrow.

When meeting with Chen Tianheng, Chiang Kai-shek was quite casual and talked freely about these big bosses of the consortium.

Chen Tianheng: "Principal, if we can reach Yangzhou at the longest, then we will become the Southern Song Dynasty.

"Yes, yes, yes," Chiang Kai-shek said, "The Prime Minister fought for the revolution for decades, but in the end he could only stay in the south and failed to unify the country. How could he give up?

This was the case with Chiang Kai-shek. As an ambitious man, he sought political capital, but in the end, he only managed to establish the Southern Song Dynasty. His meager military "achievements" clearly couldn't be considered political capital, or rather, negative capital. Who was he? He compared himself to the Napoleon of the East.

Wang Jingwei was different. He had already accumulated enough political capital and reputation and did not need to take risks to earn anything. Therefore, although Wang Jingwei did not support the Southern Song Dynasty, he was not in a hurry to launch a northern expedition.

Wang Jingwei actually hoped that the Nationalist government would take some time to digest the several southern provinces it had conquered, turn them into bases capable of supplying funds to the central government's finances, and then slowly march north.

"Principal, in the current Battle of Nanjing, isn't it militarily unsafe for the Jiangyou Army to capture Nanjing alone?"

Chen Tianheng asked a question.

"Tang Shengzhi wants to take Nanjing by himself. Chairman Wang also supports Tang Shengzhi in doing so." Chiang Kai-shek stated the decision of the Wuhan government.

Chen Tianheng: "Nanjing is the ancient capital of six dynasties and the former capital of the Ming Dynasty. Recovering Nanjing has great political significance. In fact, if we consider it purely from the political perspective, recovering Nanjing is no less important than recovering Shanghai."

"I also want to send the First and Second Divisions to Nanjing," Chiang Kai-shek said, "but Chairman Wang's opinion must be considered. Shanghai is the national financial center and the intersection of the concessions and the Chinese area. It will not do without a reliable army to guard it."

Chiang Kai-shek did not fall into the trap. Although he did not want to lead his troops to capture Nanjing personally, after weighing the pros and cons, he still gave Nanjing to Wang Jingwei.

Chen Tianheng's interest in Nanjing was certainly not to gain military merit or fame for the First Division.

….It can only be said that the military discipline of the Northern Expedition Army is not as good as that of the First Division.

Compared with the Beiyang Army, the overall military discipline of the Northern Expedition Army was much better, but some armies were not very good.

此次南京战役如果由江右军包办，可能进入南京的就是2、4、6、7、8军。

Only Chen Tianheng felt somewhat assured of the Fourth Army. Ye Ting's 25th Division was undoubtedly sound, and the discipline of the Guangdong Army's 12th Division was also acceptable. The other armies were more difficult to predict, including the Seventh Army. While the Seventh Army was certainly formidable, having been one of the three most powerful armies of the Northern Expedition, ever since leaving Guangxi, the Seventh Army had become accustomed to the habit of "mine, mine" when presented with any good item.

"The headquarters issued a battle plan. The first wave of the Nanjing Campaign was to be carried out by the 2nd and 6th Armies, and the second wave was to be carried out by the 4th and 7th Armies.

Chen Tianheng said at the 1st Division's General Staff, "If the 4th and 7th Armies attack together, Sun Chuanfang will be finished no matter how many troops he has. Besides, there are only 30,000 Beiyang troops in Nanjing now, and their combat effectiveness is very average. We don't even need to consider attacking Nanjing.

Chen Mingren: "Then it seems we can skip Nanjing and directly consider Bengbu and Xuzhou.

Chen Tianheng: "Sun Chuanfang's Jiangnan region suddenly fell, and Zhang Zuolin was extremely shocked. The Fengtian Army has now transferred 12 divisions to form the Eastern Route Corps. Some of the old troops stationed outside the Great Wall are gradually gathering in Tianjin, and the plan is to move south along the Jinpu Railway. Another 6-division Western Route Corps, plus Wu Peifu's remaining troops, will compete with the Northern Expedition Army on the Pinghan Railway.

"Among them, Zhang Zuolin attached the most importance to the Jinpu Route. He has now appointed his son Zhang Xueliang as the acting commander of the Eastern Route Corps, intending to let Zhang Zuoliang gain some experience there. If the prediction is correct, when the Northern Expedition Army prepares to move north of the Yangtze River, the Eastern Route Corps will pass through Xuzhou and even Bengbu.

Chen Mingren: "But Zhang Zuolin would not cross the Yangtze River. His strategic goal should be to fight to the Yangtze River and form a Northern and Southern Dynasty with the revolutionary government, with the Yangtze River as the boundary."

Chen Tianheng: "From another perspective, the army sent by Zhang Zuolin to the south was also a military adventure.

Nanjing was removed from the 1st Division's possible combat theater, and the 1st Division's staff now began to prepare combat plans for the northern plains.

Moreover, since the Fengtian clique's marching target was very clear, it was almost certain that the battlefield was in Xuzhou, Bengbu, or these two cities, or the nearby Jinpu Railway station.

Of course, in addition to battle planning, the training of the 1st Division also began to be more targeted.

"Ready—go!"

At the training site of the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Regiment in Songjiang, a platoon of over 30 soldiers engaged in a small-scale tactical drill using live ammunition.

At the sound of a whistle, the entire platoon rose from their prone position and charged. Ahead of them lay pre-dug trenches and set up half-body and full-body targets. After charging for a distance, the soldiers lay prone. The submachine gunners in the combat group opened fire, knocking over six of the ten half-body targets in the first trench.

Then the grenade thrower threw out the grenade, which was also live ammunition.

After the deafening explosion, the infantry platoon of three people rushed forward again.

hit.

In the rear, the operators at the training ground desperately pressed the buttons, and a series of "boom, boom, boom" explosions occurred between the second trench and the third trench.

Wei Lihuang: "Third Platoon has actually experienced even more violent explosions than this. Not only were they deafening, but they also produced shrapnel.

Yu Chengwan, Director of the Operations and Training Department, said: "You have to consider that although there are veterans in the third platoon who have fought in many actual combat battles, there are also six or seven new recruits.

Wei Lihuang put his hands on his hips and said, "You said that the Second Regiment has already produced its first batch of 'Kings of Soldiers'. As we fight more and more battles in the future, will these 'Kings of Soldiers' suffer casualties?"

Yu Chengwan: "Elite basic soldiers will suffer casualties in battle, but not many. At the same time, new battles allow new recruits and ordinary skilled soldiers to accumulate experience and form new top soldiers. The important thing is that there are actual battles, and actual battles must be won, and they cannot be loss-making battles with heavy casualties. This so-called loss is not so much about consuming a lot of ammunition and military expenses while capturing little, but rather that the top soldiers are consumed, and new top soldiers are not forged in battle.

Wei Lihuang: "This is the strength of Commander Chen. He wins every battle, and they are always quick and decisive.

Yu Chengwan: "In fact, the only battle in which the First Regiment or the First Division suffered heavy casualties was the Battle of Mianhu, right after its launch. After that, every time the First Regiment fought, the enemy's attacks never caused us any serious casualties. The Second Division was far worse than that."

4海

Liu Zhi's Second Division now not only has its artillery battalion assisted in training by a team of instructors from the First Division's artillery battalion, but the First Division has also sent a team of instructors to assist in the training of its infantry.

The teaching team arrived at the Second Division, and after detailed communication and investigation, they came back and said that the personnel of the Second Division were really not complete.

Liu Zhi's former Fourth Regiment was slightly better off, as many members of the War Research Society served as junior and mid-level officers there. However, even within the Fourth Regiment, there was a serious loss of veterans.

As for the 5th and 6th Regiments, that's a lot to say. During the First Battle of Nanchang, the 5th and 6th Regiments of the 2nd Division were completely annihilated in Nanchang by Zheng Junyan and Lu Xiangting, with even one of their commanders killed. Almost all of the soldiers and over 80% of the officers in the current 5th and 6th Regiments were recruited after October 1926.

"After a period of training with us, what level can the various regiments of the Second Division reach?"

Chen Tianheng asked Yu Chengwan.

"It's definitely stronger than the other armies of the Northern Expedition, but it's not comparable to the First Division or the 25th Division," Yu Chengwan said. "If we work hard and the Second Division cooperates, it will probably reach the level of the 12th Division of the Fourth Army. The artillery battalion will be at the level of the artillery battalions of Sun Chuanfang's main divisions."

Chen Tianheng: "Yuan Zhongxian, how many soldiers and junior officers of the Second Division can we contact after our training?

"The Fourth Regiment is in pretty good shape, thanks to the groundwork and preparations they've laid. The Fifth and Sixth Regiments aren't quite as good. As for the specific numbers, well..."

Yuan Zhongxian made an estimate and gave an answer: "Except for Hu Zongnan, almost all the others in the 4th Regiment are within our control, at least 80% or more.

“We can get three or four hundred men from the 56th Regiment, all of whom are the most capable officers and elite soldiers.

"Commander, Commander!"

The communicator from the Communications Office came running from the Jiangnan Manufacturing General Administration.

Towards Nanjing, we have captured Nanjing City!

"Some of Sun Chuanfang's troops abandoned the city and fled. The 2nd and 6th Armies attacked for only one day before breaking into the inner city of Nanjing!"

Yuan Zhongxian: "On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Nanjing was captured. This was a real surprise."

Chen Tianheng frowned: "It could be a surprise, or it could be a trouble.

Chapter 55: It’s Really a Trouble

Zhabei District.

February 2, the fourth day of the first lunar month.

"Beep beep beep" "Company One is done!" "Company Two is done!" "Company Three is done!"

The entire First Battalion of the Second Regiment set off from Songjiang Camp by train and was urgently deployed to Zhabei.

For the past half month, there were few officers and soldiers of the Northern Expedition Army in Shanghai. Now, during the New Year, hundreds of fully armed Northern Expedition Army soldiers have come again.

"Second Company, deploy towards the girls' school; First and Third Companies, deploy at the Suzhou River port. Mortars, follow First Company to the north bank of the Suzhou River. Let's go!" Battalion Commander Wang Erzhuo issued an order to the entire battalion.

A similar scene was seen in Nancheng, the old city of Shanghai. The First Regiment sent out all three battalions, heading for the three ports (main intersections) between the French Concession and the Chinese Concession. More than a thousand officers and soldiers formed a long offensive formation near the intersections, and all the mortars and infantry guns were pulled out and set up.

Not only did the Shanghai First Division in Puxi mobilize in large numbers, but even in Pudong County, there were Northern Expedition soldiers openly active today.

The entire French army in the French Concession was urgently assembled. The International Settlement was led by the British army, which numbered over 2,000 soldiers. Over 700 soldiers from the US Marine Battalion, the Japanese Marine Battalion, and the Italian Battalion also blew the call to assemble.

The volunteer army composed of residents of the concession (civilian mobilization army of the concession + a small number of standing army, the main force of which was the standing White Russian mercenaries) was re-mobilized. The situation between China and foreign countries was tense.

Chen Tianheng and the First Regiment were in Nancheng. Accompanied by two squads from the division's reconnaissance battalion, they arrived at the concession port and negotiated with the concession garrison.

"General Chen, we've had a great time working together over the past three weeks, haven't we?

The atmosphere of mutual trust is also very strong. Why do you want to do this today?

French Army Colonel Kunz Aparettiere was scowling. Chinese New Year celebrations were fervent within the concession, as 90% of the residents were Chinese. Kunz had been enjoying himself these past few days with banquets, cocktails featuring red and white wine, and French, Chinese, and Russian cuisine. Suddenly, he had to assemble his troops for battle readiness so early in the morning. It was sheer torture.

Chen Tianheng: "I'm very sorry, Colonel Kuntz, for ending your Spring Festival vacation early. But it's something that must be done.

British Major Lescott, no, he had just been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel: "General Chen, you just bought hundreds of lunch boxes and bullet packs from me, buying out the Volunteer Army's inventory. I thought we had a cooperative and harmonious relationship.

Chen Tianheng: "Lieutenant Colonel Lescott, under normal circumstances, we do cooperate and have a harmonious relationship. But today is different.

Lescott: "General Chen, it's New Year's Day, can't we just calm down?"

Chen Tianheng: "Lieutenant Colonel Lescott, the person is already dead, can you British please stop pursuing this matter?

Nanjing Incident.

On February 2, the first day of the Lunar New Year, the 2nd and 6th Armies of the Jiangyou Army of the Northern Expedition stormed Nanjing. The Beiyang Army and Sun Chuanfang's Nanjing military and political leaders had already evacuated, and the main force of the Beiyang Army had fled north across the river. The capture of Nanjing was virtually non-combatant. On the afternoon of February 2, the 2nd and 6th Armies began searching the city for remnants of the Beiyang Army.

At first, order in Nanjing was very calm. The Jiangyou Army only sent officer representatives to inquire about foreign consulates and expatriate communities. After receiving a definitive answer that no Beiyang remnants were hiding in the consulate area, the Jiangyou Army representatives left.

From the early hours of the next morning, the search for stragglers gradually got out of control.

On the morning of February 3rd, consuls from various countries stationed in Nanjing reported that civilians and soldiers had begun looting the British, American, and Japanese consulates, as well as the homes and shops of expatriates. By the afternoon of February 3rd, the British, American, French, and Japanese consulates, churches, schools, trading companies, hospitals, and the homes of expatriates had been invaded and looted.