Chapter 23: The Chairman's Wrath
On a winter day, Nanjing was damp and cold. Although ships could sail up the Yangtze River to reach Nanjing's Xiaguan Wharf, it was still far from the coast, lacking some of the warmth and prosperity of coastal cities like Shanghai and Guangzhou. Nevertheless, as the seat of the central government, the streets were bustling with people, including many government officials in suits and long gowns; cars with government license plates were also more numerous than elsewhere. Unlike other areas of the city, where pedestrians thronged the streets, San yuan xiang (Three-source Lane) in the southern part of the city was relatively deserted, with rows of cars bearing government license plates parked along the street. The burly men strolling about in twos and threes were clearly not ordinary citizens, nor even regular government employees; their vigilant eyes gave them away as military or police personnel. This was where China's de facto ruler, Chiang Kai-shek, Chairman of the National Government Committee, resided. His official residence was located in a larger old house on San yuan xiang.
Unlike the chilly atmosphere outside, the living room of the official residence was warm and cozy. Chiang Kai-shek sat in his large, red-wooden desk chair, scanning the several high-ranking officials seated on sofas around him with his stern, sharp, all-knowing gaze. These individuals included He Yingqin, Vice Minister of Military Affairs and Chief of Staff of the Navy, Army and Air Force; Yang Yongtai, Councilor of the National Government's Military Commission; Soong Tse-ven, Finance Minister of the National Government; Zhang Zhizhong, Director of Education at the Central Military Academy of the Kuomintang; Zhang Qun, Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Central Political Conference of the Kuomintang; Chen Lifu, Secretary-General of the Central Party Department of the Kuomintang; and Lin Ju, Chief of the General Staff Headquarters.
Since the disarmament and demobilization conference was held in Tangshan on July 11 last year, after the second plenary session of the Fifth Plenary Session made a resolution through special discussions in August, until the national disarmament and demobilization conference was held on January 1, it has been more than half a year.
After repeated delays, a resolution was finally formed: "The country is divided into 12 military regions: 1. Jiangsu, Anhui and Jiangxi, 2. Fujian and Zhejiang, 3. Guangdong and Guangxi, 4. Hunan and Hubei, 5. Sichuan and Xikang, 6. Yunnan and Guizhou, 7. Shaanxi and Gansu, 8. Shandong and Henan, 9. Hebei and Shanxi, 10. Rehe, Chahar and Suiyuan, 11. The three provinces in the northeast, 12. Xinjiang and Qinghai (Outer Mongolia and Tibet will be dealt with separately), each military region is limited to 40,000 troops. The commanders of each military region are recommended by the commander-in-chief and the general commander of each group army, reviewed by the Military Affairs Committee, and appointed separately. Each military region has full authority to demobilize troops, eliminate bandits, and handle all matters related to troop reorganization, with a deadline of one year to complete. If there is suspicion that the military region system may lead to division of territory, it can be clearly stipulated that the commander of each military region cannot concurrently serve as the chairman of the provincial government, in order to prevent the abuse of holding political power.
Today, Chiang Kai-shek convened his trusted aides to discuss how to finally implement the disarmament plan. Intelligence gathered from all sides indicated that none of the factions would ultimately carry out the disarmament plan, which infuriated Chiang Kai-shek. After He Yingqin finished introducing the disarmament resolution, the discussion topic had already deviated from the tone at the beginning of the meeting and turned to venting anger and verbal attacks on each faction.
Chiang Kai-shek had already lost patience with the various factions, and today he actually wanted to set the tone for a military solution. Chiang Kai-shek coughed lightly, and everyone knew that the Chairman was about to speak, so they stopped discussing.
Chiang Kai-shek said in his slow and distinct Zhejiang-accented voice: "Since the beginning of the military reduction, each faction has only considered its own private interests, completely disregarding the interests of the party and the country. At first, they strongly opposed it, and then made things difficult for the central government. Feng Huanzhang proposed three 'no reductions', and Li Dening even suggested that officers and soldiers be reduced together, which was a hidden evil intention. The military officers of the Central Army are all from Huangpu, the elite of the party and the country, the pillars of the national army. How can it be said that they will be reduced just because they are told to? And how can those mobs in their troops compare with them? After the resolution was formed, they all pretended to obey but actually disobeyed, and deceived the central government. The various factions in the country, led by the Guangxi clique, Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, and Northwest Army, divided up territories and ruled autonomously. Although the central government nominally unified the whole country, it actually only controlled a few provinces such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Jiangxi. It can be said that the government's power does not extend beyond the Yangtze River, and its orders do not go beyond the Yangtze River.
Chiang Kai-shek's voice grew louder and more agitated as he spoke: "Among them, the Guangxi clique is the most egregious. They are based in Guangxi, colluding with Guangdong, and controlling Hubei and Hunan. The Northeast Army has already withdrawn from Hebei and defected to the central government, but Bai Jianyun still refuses to leave Hebei. The two provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi, combined with the five provinces of Hebei, form a long snake-like territory that splits the country in half, and yet it is still not enough for Bai Jianyun. He even proposed the 'real border' case, wanting to send troops into Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, and Xinjiang. Damn it, he might as well just march on Nanjing!" Chiang Kai-shek slammed his fist on the table in indignation.
Everyone present, except He Yingqin, was Chiang Kai-shek's absolute confidant. They all knew that as soon as Chiang uttered this famous Zhejiang dialect phrase, it meant he was extremely angry. Everyone felt that Chiang had reached the end of his patience and wanted to use force to solve the problem, with the Guangxi clique likely being the first target.
Yang Yongtai, who had suggested disarmament to Chiang Kai-shek last year, was the most clear about Chiang's thoughts. He knew that if Chairman Chiang wanted to provoke a military attack, he would take the lead and say: "Chairman is wise, the Guangxi clique, Shanxi-Suiyuan army, and Northwest Army each have tens of thousands of troops, not only secretly opposing the central government but also interfering with local politics and controlling local finances. What's the difference between this and warlordism? Now it has reached a point where it must be resolved. They should hand over local administration, finance, and military power; otherwise, we will not hesitate to use force to solve the problem."
He Yingqin curled his lip, thinking to himself: "A civilian who doesn't understand military affairs speaks so easily. Just the Guangxi clique, Shanxi-Suiyuan army and Northwest Army have nearly a million troops. The Central Army has at most 300,000 soldiers, even if their weapons, equipment and training are better, it's absolutely not enough to deal with nearly a million enemies."
At this time, several key officials expressed their opinions and supported Yang Yongtai, but they all had doubts about using force to resolve the issue. He Yingqin saw Chiang Kai-shek looking at him and knew that as the Chief of Staff, he could not remain silent. After collecting his thoughts, he spoke up: "Chairman, the Communist bandits led by Zhu Mao are currently occupying the Jiangxi Jinggang Mountains area. Several attempts to suppress them in Hunan and Jiangxi provinces have been unsuccessful, and the Communists are growing stronger by the day. In my opinion, we should first eliminate this group of Communists before dealing with other factions. If we forcibly take away their power now, it will inevitably lead to their dissatisfaction. Once they are pushed to the limit, they will unite against the central government, which would be very unfavorable for us. I agree with Brother Ziwu's approach: first recover the financial and taxation powers from the provinces, control their development, and then gradually reduce the military."
Chiang Kai-shek had a preconceived notion about He Yingqin since the last time he stepped down, due to He's ambiguous attitude. However, what He just said does make some sense. Chiang agrees with He's idea of eliminating the Zhu-Mao faction, as many people still underestimate the several thousand-strong communist forces. He's vision is indeed stronger than theirs in this regard. Nevertheless, Chiang cannot agree with delaying the handling of various factions. The Guangxi clique, Shanxi-Suiyuan army, and Northwest Army have nearly a million troops combined; if they unite, it would be difficult to resist them. However, not weakening their strength now means their power will only grow stronger, making things more difficult later on. Moreover, the three factions are currently wary of each other, with existing divisions between them - this is precisely the best opportunity to strike at them individually. If things drag on, it will become even more troublesome.
"Respectfully," Chiang Kai-shek's emotions had calmed down. "What you said makes sense, the Communist bandit Zhu Mao troops are armed and occupying the Jiangxi Jinggang Mountains area, which is a major threat to the party and state. Many people still haven't seen this point. Zhu De was previously just a division commander of the Yunnan Army and is not to be feared, but that Mao Runze is definitely not to be underestimated."
Before the Northern Expedition in the cooperation between the KMT and the CPC, Taizu served as the Minister of Propaganda in the National Government in Guangzhou. All of you present here have met him. The impression he gave to everyone was that his writing was sharp and full of flavor, he liked to engage in peasant movements, nothing more than that.
Chiang Kai-shek saw that everyone was not clear, and some people were even unconvinced. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly and explain to the crowd: "Mao Runze is a man you all don't understand very well. You probably think he's just a Hunanese country bumpkin who knows how to wield a pen. In fact, this person has an unyielding personality, extremely intelligent, extremely determined, and extremely powerful. There are only a few people in the Communist Party who can keep up with him." As Chiang Kai-shek spoke, his mind involuntarily conjured up the image of that unforgettable, handsome and talented political department director, who was now working in Shanghai as an important official in the Communist Central Committee.
Chiang Kai-shek used three "extreme" words to praise people, and these people were seeing him for the first time, so they all listened carefully.
Chiang Kai-shek continued: "From this man's name, it can be seen that his ambition is extremely large. Zedong, with the meaning of 'shining east', China being a great country in the east, one China is not enough, and he wants to bestow grace on the entire east. However, fortunately, his position within the Communist Party is still not high." After pausing for a moment, he continued: "The Zhu-Mao communist bandits must be eliminated while their wings are still weak. Zhu Peide and He Jian are not their match. The central organization should take charge of the extermination, Jing, you start making arrangements for the extermination plan now, after the troop reduction is completed, we will proceed with the annihilation. As for your concern about various factions joining hands, you can rest assured on this point, Feng Yuxiang has a short-sighted vision, he's just a brave warrior; Yan Baichuan is indecisive and hesitant, they absolutely do not have this kind of foresight. I have received accurate intelligence that if we take action against the Guangxi clique, the Shanxi faction will definitely not get involved. We should be on guard against Feng Yuxiang, but as long as we solve the Guangxi clique in a short period of time, he won't dare to make any rash moves."
Everyone at this moment understood that Chiang Kai-shek had made up his mind to take drastic action against the Guangxi clique.
———————————————————————————————
