Chapter 3: The Storm Rises in Guangdong Section 7: The Tempest

  In a small courtyard west of the East Campus in Guangzhou, a two-story grey building is hidden behind green trees. This is the residence of the famous Chief Adviser Borodin, also known as the Borodin Mansion. The Borodin Mansion is currently the political heart of Guangzhou, which is consistent with the status of its owner. For the Nationalist Party, Borodin was invited by Sun Yat-sen as the chief adviser, and for the Communist Party, he was a representative of the Comintern. Therefore, many people come in and out of this mansion every day. According to Borodin's habit, if there were no other people present, he would discuss with the Communists and left-wing Nationalist Party members like Liao Zhongkai in the study on the upper floor, while others would be received in the office on the lower floor.

  “Bang” Borodin's face turned iron-green, and he slapped the newspaper on the table with a loud noise. The headline on the newspaper read "National Government, Constitution and National Revolution". Borodin shouted loudly, his mustache trembling with anger: "Hu Hanmin asked me today whether Communist Party members should withdraw from the Kuomintang, and whether the Communist Party should give up cooperation with the Kuomintang. I don't know why you wrote such an article. Don't you know that this kind of article will seriously affect our relationship with the Kuomintang? I want to know who wrote this article. And what do you think about this article, Yang? Does your propaganda department know about it?"

  Yang Huian, the secretary of the Propaganda Department, was a slender young man with a common big bun hairstyle of this era. After listening to Zhang Tailai's translation, he said: "We in the Propaganda Department are not aware of this matter. Although last month we put the Minguo Daily under our jurisdiction, it is actually still operated by the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee, and the people in the newspaper are also the same old batch, so specifically, you'd better ask Chen Qiulin."

  "Comrade Nian, was this article written by a comrade within our party?" Zhang Tai Lei asked. He was Borodin's secretary and translator, often attending meetings of the Guangdong Provincial Committee as Borodin's representative, reporting the decisions of the Guangdong Provincial Committee to Borodin while also conveying Borodin's opinions or orders.

  He knew why Borodin was angry. In the morning, Hu Hanmin came to Borodin's residence on behalf of Chiang Kai-shek and directly asked if the Communist Party would withdraw from the Kuomintang, then took out that newspaper.

  Chen Yannian shook his head: "I don't think so, look, 'without a government, laws cannot be formulated, and the people cannot be provided with legal guarantees. Workers and peasants can only maintain their own interests through means such as strikes and rent resistance. In this process, due to the lack of government guidance and legal constraints, it often appears simple or rough, and the outcome cannot be guaranteed; The process is more likely to cause some people to fear the revolution.' Our party members will never recognize the workers' and peasants' movement in this way, which is consistent with Zou Lu Xie's point of view."

  After listening to Zhang Tailei's translation, Borodin calmed down and carefully savored the content that Zhang Tailei had just read to him. He felt that Chen Danyan was right, this kind of talk didn't sound like something a Communist Party member would say.

  "The Beiyang government is like a young girl, whoever comes to power rearranges her appearance, but this rearrangement is only superficial. In reality, these governments are all the same, none of them do anything other than sell out their country and rush to sign one treaty after another that betrays the nation." The scolding was satisfying.

  Qu Qiubai hadn't even read the article when he was called to a meeting, so he quickly grabbed some time to take a look at what exactly had been written to make the chief advisor so angry. As he looked through it, his literary habits got the better of him and he couldn't help but praise certain phrases.

  "Chief Adviser, I think this proposal to establish a national government and formulate a constitution as soon as possible is acceptable. The Beiyang government in Beijing, which is emitting the stench of rotting corpses, should be swept into the dustbin of history. It's time for us to form a new government. Moreover, I believe he is sympathetic to our party, and the two parties are on an equal footing, doesn't that mean our party can gain open and legal status?" Chen Duxiu was somewhat dismissive of Chen Yannian's excitement. The General Secretary had always opposed internal cooperation with the Nationalist Party, and in the past year, this cooperation had restricted the development of the party, with membership numbers basically stagnant, and even declining in some areas, with some comrades starting to complain.

  "No, Chen, you still haven't realized its mistake. This is using the law as a pretext to oppose the development of the worker-peasant movement, with the temptation of raising our party's status, and undermining the three major policies of uniting with Russia and the Communist Party. This revision is even worse than the rightist Zou Lu Xie, it's a counter-revolutionary move with extremely sinister intentions." Borodin glared at Qu Qiubai with dissatisfaction, pounding on the table as he spoke loudly.

  "The chief consultant is right, using Western methodological viewpoints to slander the great worker-peasant movement, saying that it will cause fear among some people. Who are these people? Are they not the bourgeoisie? Of course, they would be afraid of a worker-peasant revolution." Yang Pai-an interjected.

  "It doesn't seem like something written by Zou Lu Xie, 'The three major policies have become the foundation of revolutionary development, but there are some abnormal remarks about the relationship between the KMT and the CCP. These abnormal remarks are actually caused by the unequal status of the two parties. Some KMT members regard the Communist Party as an appendage of the KMT. The reason for this understanding is not only due to the KMT's long-term occupation of the first party in the country, but also because there is no constitution that guarantees equal status for all parties.' This obviously goes against Zou Lu Xie's proposal and seems more like a proposal for cooperation outside the party." Qu Qiubai read the entire article at this time and put forward his views.

  "Cooperation outside the party, isn't that Chen Duxiu?" Borodin immediately thought of Chen Duxiu's fierce debate with himself at the beginning, firmly opposing intra-party cooperation and demanding the independence of the Communist Party.

  "Comrade Du Xiu advocates for the confiscation of all land and its redistribution, whereas this amendment proposes to establish a land law to regulate the highest rent in order to improve the economic situation of peasants," Tan Ping-shan analyzed.

  Today, all the main figures of the Communist Party in Guangzhou have been summoned to a meeting at the Bao Gong Guan. Now, except for Zhou Enlai, the new head of the Guangdong District Committee and the political commissar of the Whampoa Military Academy, who has not yet arrived, everyone else is present.

  "Yang, check this out, who exactly wrote this?" Borodin was now somewhat calm, as long as it wasn't written by a Communist Party member, the KMT wouldn't be able to use it to attack the CCP.

  "No need, I know," As the voice faded away, Zhou E Lai walked in from outside. Seeing him come in, Qu Aibai stood up and pulled over a chair: "E Lai, sit down, you've finally arrived."

  "I had no choice, I only received the notice after class was over, and I came right away," Zhou explained as he sat down: "This article was written by a student at the military academy named Zhuang Jihua. He is not a member of our party, but rather a member of the Nationalist Party."

  Borodin visibly breathed a sigh of relief, then vigilantly asked: "What is his political attitude? Why did he want to write such an article? Is there someone behind him giving instructions?"

  "There shouldn't be, Zhuang Jihua has a high prestige among military school students, is one of the student leaders, is the initiator of the Blood Flower Drama Society, and one of the initiators of the Young Military Personnel Representative Conference; he and our party member Jiang Xianyun are known as the Huangpu Double Heroes, politically should belong to the middle faction, relatively sympathetic to our party, supporting the KMT-CPC cooperation." Next, Zhou E came to briefly introduce some of Zhuang Jihua's remarks at Huangpu to the attendees.

  "Judging from this article, it is consistent with Zhuang Jihua's usual remarks and should be his own work."

  "Comrade E Lai, you should pay attention to your stance. Someone who writes such an article is still relatively sympathetic to our party?" Zhang Tai Lei was extremely dissatisfied with Zhou E Lai's judgment of Zhuang Ji Hua: "This is a typical rightist ideology, it's a deeply hidden rightist, and we should mobilize the military academy students to criticize him."

  "Comrade Tai Lei, as far as I know, he used to be a temporary deputy officer of Sun Yat-sen and was highly appreciated by Liao Zhongkai and Chiang Kai-shek. If we rashly launch criticism against him, it will intensify the contradictions between our party and the left wing of the Kuomintang." Zhou Erlai explained patiently.

  When Zhou Enlai arrived, Borodin swallowed the words he was about to say. Borodin hesitated, and a few days ago he received a letter from Vissinsky, secretary of the Far Eastern Bureau, in which Vissinsky told him that the Far Eastern Bureau had a new plan for the Chinese Revolution: the Northern Plan. The focus of this plan is to promote the alliance between Feng Yuxiang and Sun Yat-sen against the warlord Zhang Zuolin, so the next step will be to greatly increase support for Feng Yuxiang, allowing him to launch an armed rebellion against Zhang, and Borodin will have to persuade Sun Yat-sen to give up Guangdong and transport his troops to the north by sea.

  The task itself is extremely difficult to complete, and at this critical juncture, Zhuang Jihua jumps out and says something about establishing a new national government, and also wants the two parties to be equal. It's really hard to imagine how Zhuang Jihua could be so clever, adding difficulty to the plan out of thin air. Fortunately, he is not a Communist Party member, otherwise Sun Yat-sen would think what, only heaven knows.

  If Zhuang Jihua knew that the Communist International had such a plan, he would definitely demolish this building and refuse to be the landlord. He only wanted to test the reaction of various political groups in Guangzhou to his proposal, but unexpectedly stirred up a hornet's nest.

  However, Zhou's words changed Borodin's mind, deciding to handle the matter in a low-key manner, but also making a statement. So Borodin said: "Zhou, ideological work among military school students must be strengthened, and we cannot lose to the rightists in this battle for students. You should criticize this article in the military school, but don't make too much noise. Yang, your propaganda department's newspapers need to strengthen management, there must be party members of our party in the Republic Daily, and "The Guide" also needs to publish several critical articles. I will go north in a few days, during my absence from Guangzhou, the situation must remain stable."

  In contrast to Borodin's anger, the Minister of Commerce of the Nationalist Party, Wu Chaoshu, was chatting with Lu Shanming, the deputy editor-in-chief of Guangzhou's "Minguo Daily", sitting relaxedly on a stone bench under the camphor tree in the courtyard. At this time, a servant led in a middle-aged man wearing a gray long gown, who greeted the two from afar.

  "Yun Lao, Song Hao Lao Di, outside the wind is gathering and clouds are surging, but you two are hiding here in leisure, what a wonderful carefree life!"

  "Zhiyuan brother, never mind what's going on outside, Yunlao has a stabilizing needle here, don't worry." Lu Shaning seemed to know what he was talking about.

  Ji You walked over, and at a glance saw the "Minguo Daily" on the stone table, and sneered: "Brother Songhao, when did Minguo Daily change its allegiance? Why didn't you invite me to have a drink?"

  "Haha, if I really have to change my ways, I'll definitely invite you." Lu Shanming laughed.

  Wu Chao lifted the teapot and lightly poured tea into each cup, then smiled and invited Ji Yuan: "This is this year's Mao Feng, which is best for relieving internal heat."

  "I'm not angry, but I must say this beforehand: tomorrow's Guangzhou Daily and this week's Xiangjiang Weekly will both have a showdown with Song Hao."

  "Alright, count me in." A voice came from the entrance, and an old man wearing a suit walked in. Lu Shanming naturally recognized him as Xie Chi, a member of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

  "Ming San, you've arrived just in time, this tea is just right." Wu Chaozhui greeted the newcomer.

  "Old Ming."

  "Old Ming."

  Lushan Ming and Jiyuan stood up to greet the newcomer with a bow, but Xie Chi ignored Lushan Ming and walked in front of Jiyuan: "I discussed it with Lu Sheng before I came, and he will send the article to the Republic Daily later. You, as the deputy editor-in-chief, won't refuse to publish it, will you?"

  "What's going on? I'm still thrilled." Lu Shanming laughed and said: "You two misunderstood, this was all arranged by Yun Lao."

  "Oh..." Xie looked at Lu Shanming and Wu Chaozhuan with suspicion.

  "Hehe, this thing, I'm not very clear about it now, but at the beginning, I took the article to find Yun Lao, Yun Lao looked at it and let me publish it first. Today, I also came to ask Yun Lao what he really thinks."

  Wu Chaoxuan brought the teacup to his lips, gently sipped the tea into his mouth, and then slowly put the cup down. He leisurely looked at the three people and said: "I just want to publish this article because it is a lead-in that can bring out an even bigger article. At first, we couldn't understand it clearly, but now it's very clear. The Communist Party's intention is to use our party's power to develop its own organization and then subvert our party from within. However, just because we understand it doesn't mean other comrades do. Now that this article has been published, more comrades can be alerted."

  "The reorganization is just the premier being deceived by the Russians, despite our repeated advice, the premier has never come to his senses. Why? Because the Communist Party is good at disguise, now everything is in black and white, the Communist Party cannot deny it. This article, apart from seeking equal status, everything else is intentionally thrown out by the Communist Party to confuse people's ears. So we seize this point, attack this point, disrupt the Communist Party's formation. Let the premier and those who are deceived by the Communist Party wake up and see the true face of Soviet Russia and the Chinese Communist Party."

  The three of them suddenly realized and cheered in unison.

  "This is going to be a disaster for the Communist Party, and it's all because of your meddling. I don't know what you're thinking, but please don't take offense." Ji Yuan smiled as he apologized to Lu Shanming.

  Lushan chuckled and said: "What merit do I have? This is all due to Yun Lao's planning."

  "Haohan, little brother, you've made a great achievement this time. Tell me, old man, how did you discover this article?" Xie Chi asked.

  "Mr. Ming, it so happened that the day before, a man came to our newspaper office looking for Editor-in-Chief Chen Qiulin. Coincidentally, Chen Qiulin was out on a business trip and wouldn't be back for two days. So I asked him what he wanted with Editor-in-Chief Chen, and he handed me an article. At the time, I didn't pay much attention to it and chatted with him for a few more sentences before realizing that he was a student from Huangpu and had come through Gan Naiguang to find Editor-in-Chief Chen. Because of some delay, he hadn't expected Editor-in-Chief Chen to be out on a business trip. After hearing this, I became more attentive and thought about how Gan Naiguang had gone to Huangpu with his tail between his legs, getting along famously with the Communist Party. I wanted to see what kind of article it was, and upon reading it, I discovered that there were ulterior motives behind it. So I went to find Yun Lao, and Yun Lao told me to just send it out like this."

  "But it seems that Zhuang Jihua is not a Communist Party member." Lu Shanming said hesitantly.

  "All Communist Party members are secret party members, how would you know he isn't?" Ji Yuan said resolutely.

  "Ji Yuan's younger brother is right, he has no choice but to be so, whether he likes it or not," Wu Chaozhui said resolutely.

  "What is Huangpu? Who are Liao Zhongkai and Chiang Kai-shek? They're all pro-communist elements. Without these pro-communist elements, the Premier wouldn't be misled either. Without them, our party would be much cleaner." Xie Zhi said bluntly.

  "Right, overthrow them."

  ….