Chapter 1: Seeking Advice in the Mausoleum Garden
In the spring of 1947, the comprehensive attack and key attack by the Nationalist Party army were crushed by the Communist Party. The military strength of the two parties underwent a huge change. The Communist Party Central Committee seized the opportunity to command the People's Liberation Army to launch a comprehensive large-scale counterattack plan. The strategic deployment of the counterattack first pointed to the central plains region where the Nationalist Party's military strength was weak. In the summer of the same year, Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping commanded the main force of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan People's Liberation Army to strongly cross the Yellow River in southwestern Shandong, advance into the central plains, and open the prelude to the strategic counterattack. After Liu-Deng's army advanced into the central plains, they crossed the Longhai Railway, passed through the Huangfan area, and advanced into the Dabie Mountains. Chen Geng and Xie Fuzhi commanded a part of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan army to cross the Yellow River in southern Shanxi and advance into western Henan. Chen Yi and Su Yu commanded the main force of the East China Field Army, crossed the Longhai Railway, and advanced into the Henan-Anhui-Jiangsu area. These two large armies formed a "品" shape with Liu-Deng's army, mutually supporting each other, controlling the central plains, and threatening Nanjing and Wuhan. The main forces of our army in various places also turned to counterattack one after another, forming a national-scale strategic counterattack situation.
The Communist Party's sphere of influence is expanding day by day, and its military power is growing stronger. Chiang Kai-shek, the president in Nanjing, was anxious like an ant on a hot pot, unable to calm down all day. He reorganized his own Chiang family's Imperial Guard into the 74th Division and sent it to Shandong, mobilizing hundreds of thousands of troops to launch a major attack on Chen Yi and Su Yu's forces in Shandong, claiming that they would be annihilated in one fell swoop. As a result, he lost his "number one ace army" - Zhang Lingfu's division was wiped out by our East China Liberation Army at Menglianggu, and Division Commander Zhang Lingfu also took his own life.
"Nonsense, Hu Zongnan's 'Great Victory in Shaanxi' is just a Communist ploy, an empty city strategy. He even boasted about annihilating and capturing so many? This is simply absurd. Zhang Lingfu's campaign against the Communists in Shandong was initially thought to be a success, but unexpectedly, Zhang fell into crisis, and the 76th and 79th divisions abandoned him without rescue. This is a tragedy and shame for our party-state. Those cowardly officers must be severely punished." Chiang Kai-shek paced back and forth in the Presidential Palace, fuming with anger. Chen Bulei, Chen Cheng, and others stood by, hanging their heads like defeated roosters, not daring to make a sound.
The autumn air is crisp and refreshing, with a gentle breeze. In the Zhongshan Mausoleum in Nanjing, flowers are blooming profusely, and trees provide shade. Chiang Kai-shek wears a doctoral hat, holds a staff of civilization, and dons a dark green long gown. He arrives at Sun Yat-sen's mausoleum accompanied by his trusted officials, including Song Ziwen, Kong Xiangxi, Chen Lifu, Chen Cheng, and Chen Bulei. They burn incense and offer prayers. Chiang Kai-shek removes his hat, holds the incense stick with reverence, and bows three times to the tombstone. He then falls silent, mourning: "Mr. Sun, I am incompetent and have not led the party and state well. Please guide me from the afterlife on what to do to complete the great mission of our party and state." Chiang Kai-shek continues, "I have thought deeply and worked tirelessly, pouring my heart and soul into unifying China, just as you wished. I had hoped that with the victory in the war of resistance, the party and state would be unified soon. But unexpectedly, the Communist Party has grown stronger, threatening our party's interests." Chiang Kai-shek's voice chokes with emotion, his eyes reddening. Song Ziwen, Kong Xiangxi, Dai Jitao, and others see their leader so grief-stricken and are reminded of the dire situation they face, which moves them to tears as well.
"Eating the salary of the ruler, shouldering the worries of the ruler. This is the duty of a minister. As a close friend and confidant of the leader, as well as a trusted advisor, in this time of national crisis, how can I not be moved?
Dai Jitao, who had long served as an advisor to the Nationalist Party, was thinking about how to help the leader share his worries. Dai Jitao's name is Xianzhen, and he was born in 1890 in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province. He studied abroad in Japan and joined the Tongmenghui. After the Xinhai Revolution, he worked under Chen Qimei, the military governor of Shanghai, along with Chiang Kai-shek. In 1924, he was elected as a member of the Nationalist Party's governing committee.
After Sun Yat-sen's death, Dai actively participated in the counter-revolutionary activities of the Western Hills Group, including Zou Lu, Xie Chi, and Lin Sen. He also published articles such as "The Philosophical Basis of Sun Yat-senism" and "National Revolution and the Nationalist Party of China", opposing the three major policies of allying with Russia, uniting with the Communist Party, and supporting farmers and workers, in order to provide theoretical basis for Chiang Kai-shek's betrayal of the revolution. His so-called theory was called Dai Jitaoism."
Under the shade of the cemetery trees, several Kuomintang leaders sat there to cool off, each with a worried look.
"Chuan Xian, you have always been wise and resourceful. Seeing the Communist Party's arrogant and overbearing attitude, what do you think we should do to dampen their morale and curb their momentum? How can we restore our country's military prestige?" Chiang Kai-shek asked, his eyes fixed on Dai Jitao, after a moment of silence.
"This is it - there are ways, but - it's probably not easy to implement." Dai Jitao said slowly and deliberately, stroking the sparse whiskers on his chin with his right hand.
"'Zhì Duō Xīng', stop being mysterious, what good ideas do you have to share with everyone, let's hear them, and also give me some advice." National uncle Song Ziwen said impatiently.
"For the time being, we can only recruit young talents from all over the country to form a new army that is younger, more knowledgeable, and professionally trained in modern special warfare. To cultivate such an army, however, requires a lot of funding." said Dai Jitao with a moment's thought.
"Hmm, this idea is not bad. Under the current situation, it's very necessary to train a new 'Iron Army' to boost our military prestige. Ziwu and Xiangxi, you two are in charge of the financial matters, remember, for the sake of the party and the country's future, no matter what cost, we must make this happen and do it well. Chuanxian, as the head of the Examination Yuan, I entrust you with the recruitment matters, you several have a heavy responsibility and a long way to go, absolutely cannot be careless." Chiang Kai-shek said solemnly.
"Please rest assured, we will definitely do our best to get this thing done well." The three people stood up in unison and said in chorus.
