German Red Prince

Before he could think further, Shi Xinghuai was lifted up. "You'd better go to jail and think things through again, think about who you've gone against!" the leader snorted. "Take him away!"

That night, several key intelligence networks of the revolutionary government in Wuhan were destroyed silently. The revolutionary government was completely unaware of this; a conspiracy was unfolding.

"Sir, we've got it!" a soldier ran over excitedly. After intense interrogation, someone finally broke down and revealed all the information about the intelligence network in Nanchang.

"Very good, go and arrest them, arrest them according to the list! Be careful not to alert them," the officer ordered.

"What about the people in the prison?" the soldier asked.

"They're useless now, kill them all," the officer said casually.

The underground workers were executed overnight; it took only three hours from their arrest to their execution.

Goodbye, China.

Revolutionary martyr Shi Xinghuai was killed in Nanchang Prison in 1925 at the age of 23.

In 1950, the People's Republic of China posthumously awarded Shi Xinghuai the title of Revolutionary Martyr and First-Class National Hero.

"Reporting to the commander, all the flies have been caught."

"Hmph." Sun Chuanfang sneered, letting the Northern Expeditionary Army be completely fooled by his intelligence!

At this time, 20,000 German-equipped troops and more than 40,000 Allied troops were secretly being transferred to Nanchang.

More than 10,000 German-equipped troops and 30,000 Allied troops were also heading to Hangzhou.

On this ancient land, another bloody storm is about to break out.

Chapter Sixteen: The Peasant Movement

"You little rascal, where are you going?" Zheng Laogen couldn't help but scold as he watched his son run outside again.

"I'm going to the farmers' association." Zheng Jiawang didn't even turn his head and walked towards the village on his own.

"You little brat, you think I can't handle you? Yeah, right."

Zheng Laogen was a little angry. He stood up from the threshold, took out his shoe, and threw it at the person.

"You brat, why aren't you in the fields? You're wasting your time in that damned farmers' association all day!" Zheng Laogen grabbed Zheng Jiawang's ear and pulled him back.

A while ago, some kind of farmers' association was established here, and people in the village were asked to sign up. This old farmer, who had farmed all his life, didn't know anything about it and thought it was probably some kind of association for requisitioning grain and conscripting men. When he heard that it was an association established by the revolutionary army, he relaxed a little and joined. He didn't understand what the revolutionary army was doing, but as long as it didn't interfere with his farming, he was fine with it.

This farmers' association also regularly organizes some kind of lectures, which he initially went to listen to out of curiosity. He thought it was quite good, and there were even some fruits and pastries to eat, so he went every day just like going to a play, sitting there and chatting with the villagers.

Anyway, he didn't understand any of those grand principles like the Three Principles of the People or the necessity of revolution. All he wanted in this life was to have land to farm and food to eat.

Later, when there was no fruit to eat at any of the propaganda meetings, he stopped going. But his son seemed to be possessed; he stopped farming and went to the farmers' association every day.

Zheng Laogen also heard that he had recently been named an advanced farmer and became some kind of committee member. People in the village were laughing at him for raising a son who was destined to be a scholar, spending his days doing propaganda instead of farming, which made him feel extremely ashamed.

"Hey! Hey! Dad, don't pull me!" Zheng Jiawang cried out as he was being pulled. "Don't pull me, I have a meeting to attend, I'm running late."

Old Zheng was already angry, and when he heard his son say such things, he almost fainted.

"Meetings, meetings! You're not even farming anymore, all you do is hold these stupid meetings every day! Do you really think you're some kind of scholar, trying to imitate others just because you have some knowledge in your head? You're always holding these stupid meetings, what are you going to eat if you don't farm? I want to see what kind of meetings you're holding!"

After saying that, he dragged Zheng Jiawang to the farmers' association, wanting to see what they were busy with every day.

"Fellow villager, can you understand what they're saying?" Mao Zedong asked an old farmer who was smoking a cigarette, mingling in the crowd.

"If you young man don't even know, how would I know? I don't know what they're talking about either." The old farmer glanced at the young man beside him and tapped his pipe.

"I'm old, and sitting at home all day gets boring. I came here to hear some noise and have some fun." The old farmer rubbed his eyes as he watched the propagandist giving a passionate speech on stage.

"There's no big show to watch anyway, and I can't understand a word of this chatter. They used to send out fruit and pastries, and people would chat with them, but they don't do that anymore, so nobody watches it or talks to anyone."

The old farmer yawned and stood up. "That's a good point, but it makes me sleepy after a while." With that, he leaned on his long stick and walked away, leaving the young man standing there silently in thought.

This kind of propaganda is too inefficient; it can be said to be completely ineffective. It cannot mobilize the enthusiasm of farmers at all, nor can it organize an effective farmers' movement.

He returned to his residence and said, "Inform all the cadres and the returning speakers that we will have a meeting later."

Zhao Caiying returned to the village, but the result was the same as always. This time, his efforts were in vain; hardly anyone came to listen.

"Hey, Xiao Zhao, how's it going?" Old Song said with a smile as he looked at Zhao Caiying who had returned.

"Don't even mention it, it's the same old story," Zhao Caiying sighed. "We just can't persuade them."

"Don't be discouraged, take it slow," Old Song encouraged. "The chairman has a meeting later, go listen in, don't forget."

"Understood," Zhao Caiying replied, waving her hand.

"Let's hear from the speakers," Chairman Mao said first from inside the room.

"Comrade Zhao Caiying, tell us about your situation."

"Yes, Chairman." Zhao Caiying stood up.

"Based on the propaganda over the past few days, I have found that our propaganda content has failed to truly mobilize the enthusiasm of the peasants and has failed to arouse the revolutionary fervor of the vast number of poor peasants. Although we have repeatedly emphasized that the fundamental purpose of the revolutionary army is to safeguard the interests of the broad masses of people, it seems to have little effect."

"Yes, that's right."

The group of speakers below nodded in agreement. They were spreading the revolutionary program, but it had no effect and they hadn't mobilized anyone.

Chairman Mao pondered for a moment, then asked, "Comrade Lin Biao, how many people do we have left?"

The young man standing to the side answered at attention: "Back then, we recruited and incorporated about a thousand people along the way from Changsha. Now, we've developed about five hundred more here." He paused for a moment, "However, only about seven hundred of them carry guns. The rest either have machetes or wooden sticks."

"Ah."

Chairman Mao nodded and pondered for a moment.

"Our current propaganda direction is seriously flawed. Comrades, you must understand, this isn't a big city like Changsha or Wuhan. This is a poor rural area. You can't just talk grand principles and expect people to come to you. Throughout history, peasants have always suffered the most. They've received far too many empty promises. Those feudal tyrants used them and then discarded them. We say we want to work for the benefit of the people, but we can't just shout slogans. Otherwise, wouldn't we become like those tyrants in our revolution?"

"So, what does the Chairman mean?"

"Down with the landlords, distribute the land, and let the peasants rule the world!"

"this......"

The group exchanged bewildered glances. "Chairman, isn't this...aren't we being a bit too extreme?" someone asked cautiously.

"Extremist? Where is it extreme? How can we make a revolution without uniting the peasants?"

"This deviates somewhat from Mr. Sun's Three Principles of the People. Mr. Sun advocated for equal land ownership, but this directly seizes people's land. Isn't that a bit too much..."

"Equalize land ownership? Do you think those landlords will obediently wait for you to equalize it? Do you think they will spit out the meat they've already eaten? You can solve the problem by discussing it with them properly. Think about how many dynasties have perished because of land annexation. Why didn't those feudal emperors discuss it with them?"

Chairman Mao smiled and lit a cigarette.

"Revolution is not a dinner party, not an essay, not a painting, not an embroidery; it cannot be so elegant, so leisurely, so refined, so gentle and courteous. Revolution is an insurrection, a violent act of one class overthrowing another. If you try to reason with them, they will take advantage of you; revolution involves bloodshed. It cannot be gentle and refined; it must be resolute, tough, and thorough."

"Our land revolution line is to rely on poor peasants and farm laborers, unite with middle peasants, restrict rich peasants, eliminate the landlord class, and transform feudal land into peasant land ownership. We must make our own people as numerous as possible and our enemies as few as possible."

At the same time, we must not arbitrarily define standards or label people. We must do our work well, guard against the mischief of some scoundrels and proletarians, and prevent thugs and ruffians from infiltrating the ranks.

"Besides," he said, shrugging. "We believe in communism! When Mr. Sun organized the cooperation between the two parties, he pointed out that the common mission of both parties was to safeguard the interests of the vast majority of people, and to cooperate on this basis. We represent the interests of the vast majority of the proletariat! Nobody dared to carry out the land revolution, so we'll be the first to try it!"

"Lin Biao, you should prepare yourself in case you encounter some die-hards with a tough stance. At the same time, all propagandists, please note that you will need to conduct extensive political mobilization, solid organizational work, and real implementation efforts. You can't just shout slogans and talk empty words."

After saying that, he took out a booklet he had written down over the past few days.

"Everyone, take a good look and get ready. We're about to start a revolutionary revolution!"

"Yes!" everyone answered in unison.

Chapter Seventeen: Transport Captain

"Sir, everything is here."

An officer from eight provinces bowed and scraped to the bald man beside him, who looked very proud and imposing.

"Photographer, where's the photographer?"

The bald man shouted, "Come take my picture." He struck a pose and beckoned the photographer to take his picture.

"Sir, Sun Chuanfang bought ten cannons from the Germans. You captured four during the attack on Fuzhou, and I'm sending you two more." The officer beside him was extremely respectful, and then pulled a bag from his pocket. "Then tell me, can our company...?"

"Haha, no problem, no problem." The bald man opened the bag and looked inside. Good heavens, there were four or five small, golden yellow croakers.

He tucked the bag into his coat and scratched his head. He said with a smile, "Your revolutionary spirit is still a bit stronger than those other warlords. We need more comrades like you to carry out the revolution. You can continue to be my company commander. When we capture Nanchang, I'll promote you."

"Thank you, sir, thank you, sir." The officer walked back, repeatedly nodding and bowing to the bald man, leaving him stunned.

"Send a secret telegram to the general: the nail has been driven in." The officer who had retreated quickly wiped the smile off his face and whispered to his adjutant beside him.

Not far ahead lies Nanchang City. His troops were the first to arrive near Nanchang City. As an important city in eight provinces, capturing Nanchang City was of great significance.

Similarly, if he were the commander-in-chief who captured Nanchang, his status and influence within the revolutionary government would certainly rise accordingly.

"Have the troops advance quickly and strive to reach Nanchang City this afternoon." The bald man was very smug, as if Nanchang City was already within his grasp.

"Principal, isn't this too reckless and underestimating the enemy? Should we wait for the rest of the group?" He Yingqin asked with some concern.

"Underestimating the enemy and advancing rashly?"

Chiang Kai-shek glanced at He Yingqin beside him and said with some disdain, "Damn it, back then I said we should fight, but the revolutionary government was so afraid of the enemy that we missed a great opportunity."

"Now take a look." Chiang Kai-shek pointed to the prisoners from the eight provinces next to him.

"What's there to be afraid of with a paper tiger-like army? Sun Chuanfang has already sent us so much equipment. I think he's the transport captain of our Northern Expeditionary Army, hahaha."

Chiang Kai-shek was quite pleased with himself and gave Sun Chuanfang a nickname.

"Besides, the Communist troops are right behind us! If we don't hurry, they'll snatch all the benefits." Jiang Guangtou said somewhat displeased. The Communist troops had been stealing the show all the way, making his elite Whampoa Military Academy troops seem almost invisible.

After listening, He Yingqin said nothing more, sighed, and silently walked away.

Logically speaking, the Northern Expeditionary Army should have stopped for a while wherever it went to do propaganda and implement Dr. Sun Yat-sen's ideas of civil rights, people's livelihood and nationalism.

Explain to the public what the new Three Principles of the People are, as well as the revolutionary ideals and the ultimate goal of the revolution. Expand the mass base of the revolutionary government and mobilize the broadest masses of people to support it.

However, this army commander was only focused on winning battles and completely disregarded organizing and mobilizing the people. He stated that that was the Communist Party's job and had nothing to do with him.

He would only spare the wealthy and powerful if they paid him, and would arrest them severely if they didn't. To avoid trouble, the local tyrants and bullies had no choice but to pave their way with money.

Of course, they wouldn't take their own money; they could only ruthlessly exploit the peasants, making their burden even heavier. Along the way, resentment towards the Northern Expeditionary Army grew.

He even called himself "a loyal student of Dr. Sun Yat-sen" and "a staunch defender of the Three Principles of the People".

What troubled He Yingqin even more was that this army commander also liked to give orders blindly and haphazardly. Many division commanders had complained to him about this Principal Chiang's "micromanagement skills."

They were all fighting well on their own, but he insisted on interfering with the command system. He had no idea what the situation was like at the front, and he was just giving orders from the rear.

This often led to many laughable situations, such as issuing an order to move the machine gun position five meters to the left.

“Jingzhi, let me tell you, according to our reliable sources, there are only 2000 defenders in the entire city of Nanchang. Our Northern Expeditionary Army has been invincible all the way. The Eight Provinces Allied Army is terrified at the mere mention of the name of the Northern Expeditionary Army. Taking Nanchang is as easy as taking candy from a baby!” The bald man looked into the distance, full of pride.

"Remember to find a lot of reporters and photographers! We need to promote it well so that others can see the prestige and strength of our Party." After saying that, he walked forward.

"I hope so," He Yingqin thought to himself. How could Nanchang, one of the major cities in eight provinces, only have 2000 garrison troops? This worried him; he felt there was some conspiracy at play. But as you've seen, persuading our Commander-in-Chief Chiang to turn back won't be easy.

"Is Chiang Kai-shek almost in Nanchang?" Zhang Fakui asked his adjutant beside him.

"Yes, Commander. He'll be at the gates of Nanchang soon," the adjutant replied.

"Well!" Zhang Fakui chuckled. "This guy always says our Fourth Army is a Communist army, but now he's so disgusted with us? He's practically running all the way to Nanchang."

After looking at the map of Nanchang, he instructed, "Let's proceed according to the original plan, organize the masses to study and understand the new Three Principles of the People, implement the basic principles of the Three Principles of the People, stay for a few days, and then head to Nanchang."

He wanted to see what kind of trouble this First Army commander, Chiang Kai-shek, could cause in Nanchang. "What First Army commander? Does he really think he's something special just because he's the principal of the Whampoa Military Academy? I think he's only good enough to be an infantry battalion commander at best," Zhang Fakui chuckled to himself.

Despite the seemingly peaceful surface of Nanchang, undercurrents were already surging. According to intelligence, Shangguan Yunxiang had already captured many underground members of the revolutionary government, and he had also deployed spies and sentries around the city to monitor every move in the vicinity.

To avoid alerting the enemy, he transported his troops into Nanchang in batches, making thorough disguises.

"Oh my god, what's in this box? Why is it so heavy?" a handyman pushing the cart behind couldn't help but complain.

"I heard...I heard it belongs to...some master of which family?" a handyman said breathlessly.

"This...this...Nanchang is about to be attacked by war. We're trying to escape as fast as we can. Why are people moving in?" The handyman pushing the cart was puzzled.

"What do you know? This gentleman is here to defend Nanchang. He told the commander-in-chief that if he can't hold Nanchang, he'll die here." Clearly, some people did know some inside information.

"This revolutionary army is so powerful, can they really hold out?" The handyman sighed. "War every year, war every year, when will it ever stop?"

Ordinary people are always the ones who suffer the most in war.

The group finally managed to carry the large boxes to the designated location, but after they dispersed, another group of people came and moved the large boxes to another place.

"Commander, we're almost at Wuyang. Once we cross the river, we'll be in Nanchang," a soldier reported.

Commander Jiang looked up at the sky; it had gotten quite dark. His troops had been on a forced march for a day and needed a good rest.