The Eleventh Chapter: The Northern Expedition

  Debate competition, Huangpu elite debut, team A led by Jiang Xianyun, He Zonghan, Deng Wenyi, Zeng Kuoxing, Song Xiliang; Team B led by Li Zhilong, Yu Jishi, Huang Xie, Xu Jishen, Gui Yongqing as team members; Team C surprisingly led by Cao Yuan, Chen Gong, Du Yuming, Guan Linzheng, Sun Yuanliang as team members; Team D also made Zhuang Jihua somewhat unexpected, led by Liu Yun, with team members Hu Zongnan, Fan Hanjie, Xuan Tiwu, Leng Xin; Team E led by Cai Shenxi, with team members Zuo Quan, Li Miankun, Chen Mingren, Huang Yong.

  The five teams on the scene were eloquent and quoted classics, coming and going to argue with each other. Military academy students naturally couldn't leave out military clichés, such as luring the enemy in deep, pursuing and attacking fiercely, and trying every trick in the book except for the "beauty trap". Zhuang Jihua's hosting was exceptionally humorous, often causing the audience to burst into laughter. The three "experts" (Liao Zhongkai couldn't attend due to being too busy) also became increasingly enthusiastic as the competition progressed.

  Chiang Kai-shek basically attended every session, and at first, he was a bit unhappy when he heard that Zhuang Jihua wouldn't be participating and would only be hosting. However, as the debate went on, he realized that Zhuang's presence wasn't necessary after all, just as Zhuang had predicted. The opposing students had already come up with all the reasons they needed, and the Xuan Xiaobo incident was starting to fade away. In his heart, Chiang couldn't help but praise Zhuang Jihua for resolving the "crisis" without any bloodshed, quietly manipulating everyone into becoming his pawns without offending anyone in the process. If Cloud Bridge had only just begun to understand Zhuang Jihua before, now Zhuang had become the first person on his list of people he wanted to recruit.

  The success of the debate competition not only made Jiang Xianyun famous among his classmates, but also made his mouth a synonym for eloquence. Zhuang Jihua was not without gain either, as his organizational skills were recognized by everyone, to the point where going to find Zhuang Jihua became the best solution to solving difficult problems.

  Apart from hosting debate competitions, Zhuang Jihua also devoted considerable energy to setting up a drama troupe, which was a test for him. Debate competitions are easy to talk about, and he had participated in them before, but a drama troupe... At the beginning, he wasn't a professional in the entertainment industry, so he decided to find actors first. Inexperienced is inexperienced, the most important thing for a drama troupe to start with is the script, just like a director, confirming the actors and then finding the script is definitely not the style of a graduate from Claremont University.

  The selected actors brought unexpected surprises to the organizing committee, and they actually dug up a small band, of course, with Erhu as the main instrument and Western instruments as auxiliary. The first band of Huangpu Military Academy was composed of Chinese and Western musical instruments. Surprises returned to surprises, excitement returned to excitement, what did they perform?

  There are many talented people in the Whampoa Military Academy, and there are many masters of writing, propaganda, and performance. When discussing the program, Zhuang Jihua whispered that if the program is good, they can perform in Guangzhou on Sunday to earn some living expenses. The classmates all burst out laughing, but the laughter was tinged with bitterness. At this time, the Whampoa Military Academy was like Yang Bailao, a typical case of having no food for the next meal after eating the previous one. Liao Zhongkai, as the provincial governor, had no money in his hands, and the tax revenue of Guangzhou was mainly controlled by the Yunnan-Guizhou army. Every time, they had to beg for it everywhere, and when they were in a hurry, they even pawned their wives' dowries. It can be imagined how hard life was at school.

  However, Jiang Xianyun did not smile and proposed a suggestion after thinking for a while: instead of performing these messy programs, let's perform a play. His suggestion immediately received He Zonghan's approval, and He Zonghan suggested performing Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet". Li Zhilong immediately opposed it, pointing out that this kind of aristocratic drama would affect the school's morale, and everyone felt the same way. Later, people proposed various suggestions in a flurry of voices, and Jiang Xianyun's proposal was tacitly approved.

  Zhuang Jihua didn't speak, seemingly deep in thought. In fact, he was reminiscing. Jiang Xianyun first noticed his silence and asked him what he was thinking about. Zhuang Jihua said he had an idea for a script and brought out the famous "堵枪眼" (Blocking Gunfire), of course with changes to the background set in the Northern Expedition. He also thought of many other stories, such as Wang Cheng opening fire on me, Dong Cunrui blowing up the bunker, the Five Heroes of Langya Mountain, etc., and after comparing them, this one was still the most suitable; like blowing up the bunker, I don't know if the explosives pack appeared.

  In his narration, everyone was deeply attracted and immediately decided to let him write it out and perform it. So Zhuang Jihua immediately started writing, and Jiang Xianyun He Zonghan began selecting actors.

  A few days later, Zhuang Jihua handed over the script. Of course, this script was very rough, and he wasn't a professional in the first place. Fortunately, everyone was about the same, so they didn't mind. When it came to confirming the actors, there were more troubles. This was because everyone wanted to get on stage and "show off" a bit, and the competition was extremely fierce. Each role had three or four people competing for it. The only role that no one wanted was the protagonist's fiancée. As a result, this role was confirmed first and was assigned to Chen Gang by Zhuang Jihua. Possibly because he had offended too many people in the past, Chen Gang "generously" accepted this role amidst everyone's teasing. Later, using Li Zhilong's sunny image as an excuse, he gave the protagonist role to him. After much effort, they finally managed to assign all the roles. During rehearsals, there were constant changes and many jokes emerged, but through everyone's hard work, they eventually solved various problems.

  On the day of the formal performance, a stage was set up on the drill ground of the Huangpu Military Academy. The political commissar Liao Zhongkai and Principal Chiang Kai-shek attended the premiere ceremony. Chiang Kai-shek had originally not planned to attend, as he was not interested in such matters. He had agreed to establish the drama troupe only because he hoped that the students would no longer focus on the Deng Yanda incident, which had already dissipated, at least in his view. However, when Zhuang Jihua and Jiang Xiyun came to invite him, he changed his mind and also wanted to see what impact this drama troupe could have.

  The curtain opens with the protagonist discussing China's dark warlord rule and imperialist oppression with his classmates and fiancée at home. News arrives that Mr. Sun Yat-sen is organizing the Northern Expeditionary Army, which will soon embark on a northern expedition. The protagonist and others express their desire to join the Northern Expeditionary Army to fight for China's salvation, but this move is blocked by his parents. With the support and help of his fiancée, the protagonist and his classmates leave home to join the Northern Expeditionary Army. On the battlefield, the protagonist fights bravely and earns many merits. In one attack, an enemy bunker blocks the advance of the troops. He volunteers to blow up the bunker, suffering three injuries and running out of ammunition. The protagonist shouts to his comrades to overthrow the warlords and fight for a new China, throwing himself in front of the enemy's gun muzzle to open the way for the army's victory. When news of his sacrifice reaches home, his fiancée leaves home and joins the Northern Expeditionary Army with determination amidst her grief.

  The play's plot is simple, but the dialogue is extremely motivational. Li Zhi-long performed with great enthusiasm and passion, and under the musical accompaniment, the atmosphere was solemn and tragic. Zhuang Ji-hua also incorporated some elements of later stage plays, deeply captivating all the audience members. After the performance ended, the entire audience stood up to applaud and shout slogans. Liao Zhong-kai wrote on the spot: "The blood of martyrs, the flower of revolution." The people around were emotionally stirred, and Chiang Kai-shek was also infected, proposing that the drama troupe be named the Blood Flower Drama Troupe. He delivered a passionate speech, saying that revolution requires fearlessness in sacrifice, revolution is about dying for one's ideals, martyrs have fallen before us, and we who come later must follow in their footsteps, our responsibility is to save the country and its people...

  "The Northern Expedition" became the hottest topic on Huangpu Island for a while, and the theme song "Northern Expeditionary Army" (see the theme song of "The Legend of Sword and Fairy") became a popular song on Huangpu Island. Chiang Kai-shek was finally able to confirm that the Xuan Xiafu incident had completely dissipated, and because the debate and drama were all organized under Chiang's direct instructions, Chiang's prestige among students did not decline but rose instead. In the second executive committee election, he was unexpectedly elected with a high vote. The butterfly effect only stirred for the first time, but Zhuang Jihua's weak historical knowledge made him unaware that history had quietly drawn an arc here.

  The successful performance left Zhuang Jihua in a state of excitement, and he didn't expect Li Zhilong to grasp the role so wonderfully. In the end, he also watched with tears in his eyes. The huge success gave Liao Zongkai the idea of letting the drama troupe go out, knowing that Huangpu was like their children hidden in a deep house, and now the child's growth exceeded the parents' expectations, making them feel happy and wanting others to know about the child's excellence. At the beginning, when the Huangpu Military Academy was established, not only the Yunnan-Guizhou army but also many party elders did not support it, Yang Ximin even said in front of Chiang Kai-shek that they were just a group of children, and one platoon could defeat them. The military academy not only had various material costs embezzled, but was also constantly in danger, with enemies all around, now they can use this opportunity to expand Huangpu's influence.

  After receiving the order, the troupe quickly divided their work, with Zhuang Jihua becoming the de facto person in charge of the drama club, and all tasks were assigned by him. Li Zhilong led a team to contact the Naval Military Academy, Jiang Xiuyun led Yunnan classmates to contact the Dian Army Cadet School, He Zhanhan contacted Guangzhou Normal University, Zhuang Jihua wanted to go with He Zhanhan, thinking that communicating with female students at the normal university was still quite suitable. Unexpectedly, Jiang Xiuyun thought that there were several places in the script that needed to be revised and suggested that he stay in school to revise the script to ensure the success of the performance. Everyone else expressed their agreement, so Zhuang Jihua had no choice but to stay behind, temporarily giving up on understanding women in the 1920s.

  According to Zhuang Jihua's estimation, they would first perform in a military school. Unexpectedly, the Guangzhou Advanced Normal School was the first to agree to let the Blood Flower Drama Society perform, while other military schools refused for various reasons.

  For Zhuang Jihua, the normal school was not unfamiliar. He had signed up for the exam here and met people like Hu Zongnan and He Zhancheng here. However, nowadays most students are on summer vacation, and the school is empty. Whether to go or not, Zhuang Jihua was hesitant and felt that this opportunity could not be missed. On August 10th, Sunday, all members of the drama troupe gathered at the school gate, preparing to head to Guangzhou. As people were chatting and laughing, a sudden military horn sounded, Jiang Xianyun and Zhuang Jihua looked at each other, shouting "Emergency assembly!" The others immediately reacted, but did not move. Zhuang Jihua was anxious and shouted loudly: "The performance is cancelled, return to the team immediately!" After finishing speaking, he quickly ran towards the playground, and everyone understood and followed closely behind.

  When he ran to the playground, his classmates who stayed in school also rushed from all directions. Within a few minutes, all students in school stood neatly on the playground. Deng Yanda, fully armed, stood at the front and nodded with satisfaction after checking his watch. After the duty officer finished reporting loudly, he returned a standard military salute, then walked to the front of the team and said loudly: "There are smugglers smuggling military weapons, the Generalissimo's headquarters has ordered the Changzhou fortress and the Huangpu Military Academy to be responsible for seizure. Now Principal Chiang has led the warship to investigate, ordering all students to go to the Changzhou fortress to await orders. One team in front, each team follows in sequence, depart."

  Zhuang Jihua felt that something big was definitely going to happen, so he walked while recalling what had happened in history, whether there were any records, but after thinking for half a day, he couldn't remember anything. He could only secretly scold himself for not studying enough and now being unable to keep up with the situation. There was no way out, so he could only take things one step at a time.

  All the confiscated items were military weapons. Moving these boxes made everyone sweat, but the classmates were excited and whispered to each other about whether these guns would stay in the military school and if they could get one each. However, Zhuang Jihua did not make a sound, instinctively thinking that things wouldn't be so simple.

  Sure, here is the translation:

  "Sure enough, the next day's newspaper reported that Chen Bojun, the leader of the merchant group, protested to the Generalissimo's headquarters, stating that the confiscated firearms had already obtained import permits and that the government's confiscation was purely illegal. He declared that if the government did not return the confiscated firearms, the Guangdong Chamber of Commerce would go on strike throughout the province. Subsequently, the situation escalated further, with the arms seizure becoming the focus of discussion among Huangpu students. The newly established Blood Flower Drama Society also lost interest in performing, and soon Huangpu Island was placed under martial law, with all teachers and students strictly forbidden from going out. At the same time, defensive fortifications began to be set up within the school."

  This series of orders made the air on the island suddenly tense, and then the Nagato fortress was put under martial law. The students began to dig trenches and conduct field training, but were strictly forbidden from firing guns.

  Later, news came that the merchant group incident escalated, the Chamber of Commerce went on strike, and thousands of team members surrounded the Grand Marshal's Mansion in the name of petitioning. The Yunnan-Guizhou army leaders who held heavy troops hoped that Sun Yat-sen would agree to return the confiscated firearms, while the Guangdong army leaders also disagreed with revoking the permit, and the Hunan-Henan-Yue army stood by and watched. Liao Zhongkai urgently dispatched the second and third teams of military school students to enter Guangzhou City to maintain law and order, while proclaiming the truth about the confiscation of arms. At this time, the only troops that Sun Yat-sen could rely on were still being trained at the Whampoa Military Academy, but Yang Ximin, the commander-in-chief of the Yunnan army, had already declared that he would send a company to Huangpu Island to confiscate the military school's arms.

  The news caused a stir among the teachers and students of the whole school, with tensions running high. Sun Yat-sen was furious and ordered the merchant corps to reopen within a time limit, otherwise he would bombard the most prosperous area of Guangzhou, Xiguan. This order not only caused tension among the Yunnan army but also among the Hong Kong authorities. Nine British warships sailed into Guangzhou's Baishizhou, and the British Consul-General notified the Grand Marshal's Office that if the government used force to suppress the incident, the British Navy would intervene. Sun Yat-sen was even more furious and sent a diplomatic note to the British government, asking whether they were involved in the merchant corps incident. The British government hastily came out to deny it, claiming that this was an ultra vires act by the Hong Kong authorities, and that the British government would not interfere with China's internal affairs.

  On September 5th, the Jiang-Zhe War broke out. Zhuang Jihua's "prophecy" at Yunqiao marked the beginning of a major upheaval.