Chapter 1: The Willow is Dark and the Flowers are Bright Section 3: Discussing the Affairs of the World

  He folded up the newspaper, put on a smile, and returned in front of the bespectacled man in a western suit. This time no one stopped him.

  "Thank you, sir." He returned the newspaper, although controlling his emotions, but these three people were all old hands at reading people, with rich social experience, and still saw that he was in high spirits.

  "Hey young fellow, what's the news outside?" Eyeglasses asked with a smile.

  "You finish your turn, I take the stage, the outside world is very colorful." He smiled and made a joke, after confirming his target, he was in an exceptionally good mood, besides, he never got nervous on stage, and had a bit of a familiar tone, it's just his personality.

  "Hehe, there's a sacred aura outside the Valley of Gods. Well said! Let's chat, young ones." The glasses-wearing person pointed to the chair across from them.

  "So sorry to have disturbed you at such a late hour." Zhuang Jihua detected the sarcasm, but remained expressionless and turned back to call out to his assistant to bring another pot of tea.

  The glasses seemed to be intentionally teasing Zhuang Jihua, with a sarcastic smile and asked: "The outside world is very colorful, I've never seen such a description of today's society. However, it's indeed very incisive, young man, how do you describe this colorfulness?" With a smile on his face, the question was sharp, but the tone was somewhat mocking and disdainful.

  "You see the northern Cao Kun's bribery election, the whole country is condemning; Mr. Sun Yat-sen of the south reorganized the Kuomintang, allied with Russia and tolerated communism, opinions within the party were divided between support and opposition, both north and south are in a mess. A single leaf knows autumn, the Republic is at the beginning of a great change, we young people should rise up to take action." Zhuang Jihua gradually became indignant in his heart, so he spoke freely without realizing what was wrong.

  "It's a major change in the Republic! This is a bit too serious, how did you come to know this? Young people should focus on doing practical things and avoid boasting. Western suit couldn't help but speak out to rebuke him as he talked big."

  "It's true that one should focus on practical actions and avoid empty talk, but I think it's also important to be humble and look ahead at the same time. By doing so, we can achieve twice the result with half the effort. As for how to know this?" Zhuang Jihua paused for a moment, intentionally creating suspense, picked up the newspaper, and said: "I learned it from the news."

  "Hmm", now even the glasses seem a bit strange, "From this newspaper? Let's take a look", thinking to myself that I've also read it, how come I didn't notice any major changes, you little kid, if you can't explain it clearly, watch me deal with you.

  "Cao Kun became the president, this step was actually a misstep for the Beiyang clique. With the Beiyang clique's power, whether it was Xu Shichang or Li Yuanhong who became president, they would all be puppets under their command. The move of bribery and corruption has just begun, and now you see that Zhang Zuolin in Fengtian is speaking out to maintain the rule of law and clean up politics; Zhang Zuolin in Northeast China has started sharpening his knife, and Lu Yongxiang, the military governor of Zhejiang, also issued a statement opposing it. It seems that he is not a member of the Beiyang clique, nor does he seem to be a follower of Mr. Sun Yat-sen. I estimate that he is one of Duan Qirui's men, which means that the Anhui clique has also begun to plot its comeback; I don't know if Wu Peifu's troops are well-trained or not, but... no matter how they train, I estimate that it will be difficult for them to avoid defeat."

  This remark surprised the three men. Since the Republic of China, no one has been more famous for his military prowess than Wu Peifu, who had been training troops in Luoyang and had increased his strength dramatically over the past four years, earning recognition even from Europe and America. Yet this young man casually said he would defeat him. Although the three men were all enemies of Wu Peifu, they did not dare to underestimate him, let alone say that he was bound to be defeated before the battle had even begun.

  "Wu Peifu has been training troops in Luoyang for four years, and his army is elite. People at home and abroad have praised him. Moreover, the war has not yet started, how can you say he will lose?" Guangtou interrupted.

  "According to this... I think that whether it's the Zhili clique, Anhui clique or Fengtian clique, they are all agents of Western powers in China, and their actions must conform to the needs of their masters. For the Western powers, a divided China is far better than a unified one, as a divided China is more conducive to their plundering. Moreover, once China is unified, with its population, land area and resources, it will inevitably dominate the East, and at that time, the Western powers will not only be unable to plunder China but also worry about being retaliated against. Therefore, dividing China is a deeply ingrained understanding of the Western powers. If the Zhili clique wins this war, they may occupy the Northeast and then move south to Guangdong and Guangxi, and it's possible that they could unify China within a few years. This does not align with the interests of the Western powers, so they will definitely lose, and must lose. As for how they will lose, I'm not clear, but according to common sense, it's likely to be internal rebellion, grain supply cuts, or direct military intervention by the Western powers; all methods are possible." This speech was plagiarized from later historical records, didn't Wu Peifu eventually disappear? What else could make someone like him disappear besides failure?

  This reason made the three even more difficult to believe, simply because the powers did not want China to unify, and they asserted that Wu would definitely lose. The three looked at each other in dismay, this reason was a bit far-fetched, but you couldn't refute it. But soon Zhuang Jihua made them even more stunned, or perhaps shocked.

  "But the most important news on this newspaper is that the Whampoa Military Academy is recruiting students." Zhuang Jihua turned to the recruitment brochure of the Whampoa Military Academy and pointed it out to the three of them. The three of them were not ordinary people, they were stunned for a moment and immediately woke up, seeing what he was pointing at, they exchanged a glance with each other without making a sound. Yanjing asked back:

  "What else did you learn from it?"

  "This message, combined with several other reports in the newspapers, can lead to the conclusion that the Nationalist Party will undergo a major change. This change can be seen from two aspects: big and small. From the bigger aspect, Mr. Sun Yat-sen has found a correct path, the Nationalist Party will flourish and soon unify the country; from the smaller aspect, the Nationalist Party will have a military force completely loyal to it, and if development goes smoothly, Huangpu will dominate China's military circles in twenty years."

  The three of them were a bit stunned, the military forces that were completely loyal to the Nationalist Party agreed with this. Unifying the country and dominating China's military in twenty years was completely beyond their expectations. Unifying the country was naturally their wish, but they had to know that the current Nationalist Party was actually very weak, confined to Guangdong, saying Guangdong was an exaggeration, it should be said that it was only Guangzhou, or even just part of Guangzhou City, in this situation, they dared to say that they would unify the country soon, which was unbelievable.

  "The headline of this newspaper says that the three major policies have caused internal conflicts within the Kuomintang, and it seems that the Kuomintang is about to split. The Kuomintang will soon unify the whole country, I don't know how you came to such a conclusion, what does 'soon' mean?" Glasses asked intentionally.

  "It's inevitable for reporters to exaggerate when writing articles," this is a common phenomenon in later generations of news, "how long it takes depends on the extent to which the party supports Mr. Sun Yat-sen, the greater the extent, the faster the speed, and also depends on the solidity of the KMT-CPC alliance and its development." He didn't dare to say too much, but in the eyes of the three people, his words were already full to the brim.

  "So it seems you support the alliance of Russia and China as well as assistance to farmers and workers?" The man in the suit no longer dared to underestimate this young man.

  "Of course, this is the correct strategy, only this strategy can lead to the victory of the Chinese revolution." Zhuang Jihua was "full of confidence", and also understood that it was not a bad person but a Russian.

  "I can see that the Russians have ulterior motives, their fundamental goal is to experiment with communism in China and they haven't given up on their tsarist expansionist ambitions." The bald-headed man interjected, upon hearing this, the man in the suit furrowed his brow, about to retort.

  "This is also true." Zhuang Jihua took over, and as soon as he said this, the three of them couldn't help but be surprised. The man in the suit changed his expression, just about to speak sarcastically, but heard Zhuang Jihua continue: "From a long-term perspective, the Soviet Union's goal is indeed to promote communism in China, and they have not given up on their expansionist ambitions, such as their ambition for Outer Mongolia. However, this does not hinder our current cooperation with them, because this cooperation is based on interests rather than beliefs. Haven't you gentlemen heard of a saying that goes like this? In Chinese, it means there are no eternal friends, nor eternal enemies, only eternal interests. Therefore, we can fully cooperate with them at present."

  The suit was somewhat dissatisfied, thinking that this young man was wishy-washy and got a bit angry: "Young people should have firm beliefs and not be indecisive." The bald head, on the other hand, seemed to be deep in thought.

  "The gentleman is wrong, this is not a matter of three in the morning and four in the evening. Affairs between nations cannot be resolved by faith, but must be resolved by interests. When interests conflict, even if the faith is the same, conflicts and even wars will occur." After the founding of New China, several wars were fought, two of which were against countries with the same socialist faith. When interests conflicted, faith was immediately abandoned.

  "Do you think the Nationalist Party and Soviet Russia have common interests in those areas?" asked the bespectacled man.

  "It should be China's regime," seeing the three somewhat puzzled, Zhuang Jihua thought for a moment and explained: "The Nationalist Party is not to be mentioned, the Soviet Union also needs China's regime. Of course, this is not to say that the Soviet Union wants to swallow up China, its goal is to support a regime friendly to the Soviet Union. Originally, the Chinese Communist Party was their best choice, but currently, the Chinese Communist Party's strength is too weak and cannot independently lead the Chinese revolution, let alone obtain national power. It can only be listed as an alternative object of the Soviet Union or... ... should say it is their ultimate goal, but definitely not their current choice." As soon as these words came out, Guang Tou's eyes lit up, and Xizhuang seemed to want to say something, his lips moving but then closing again.

  "The Soviet Union, as the first socialist country, was surrounded by capitalist countries. In his view, these capitalist countries were always trying to subvert its government, so he had a strong sense of insecurity. He was most worried about fighting on two fronts. His economic and population center was in the Western Front, i.e., the European part of the Soviet Union, so he put his defensive emphasis on the Western Front. However, the Far East region had an important outlet to the sea, Vladivostok. If it were lost, the Pacific Fleet would lose its base and it would be difficult to establish a foothold in the Pacific. So how could the security of the Eastern Front be ensured?

  Zhuang Jihua asked himself, "If we put ourselves in the Soviet government's shoes and think about it, we can understand their approach. The main country bordering the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front is China. As long as China does not oppose the Soviet Union, there will be no great danger on the Eastern Front. The best way to prevent China from opposing the Soviet Union is to establish a pro-Soviet government in China. From a long-term perspective, this is the approach with the smallest cost and greatest gain. However, currently, among the political forces within China, apart from Mr. Sun Yat-sen's Nationalist Party, there seems to be no other choice. Therefore, they need Mr. Sun."

  "Going back to Mr. Sun Yat-sen's interests, I'm not talking about his personal interests, but the ideals he fought for, establishing an independent, strong and democratic new China, that is the interest. Mr. Sun was the founder and leader of the Kuomintang, the flag of the Chinese revolution, in the eyes of the world, Mr. Sun is the Kuomintang, the Kuomintang is Mr. Sun, the interests of the Kuomintang are Mr. Sun's interests."

  He licked his lips and continued: "After Chen Jiongming's betrayal, Mr. Sun suffered a great blow, this blow not only came from military strength but mainly from psychological impact. Mr. Sun had once placed high hopes on Chen Jiongming, even putting the hope of revolution on him, but Chen Jiongming betrayed him, making it impossible for him to trust any warlord again, I think this is the only good thing that came out of Chen Jiongming's betrayal. Destruction before construction, destruction and then construction. Relying on warlords to defeat warlords, in Mr. Sun's ideal, was undoubtedly a futile effort. The result of Mr. Sun's introspection was to ally with Russia, tolerate the Communists, and assist the peasants and workers, I think this is a correct path, a manifestation of his political wisdom."

  "But Chen Jiongming's betrayal had severely weakened Mr. Sun's military strength, even if he returned to Guangzhou, his strength was still extremely weak, like a patient with a serious illness, when the patient's own blood-making function is weak, they need a blood transfusion, so he urgently needed a blood transfusion, but except for the Soviet Union, he couldn't find any country willing to assist him, he needed the Soviet Union to help him establish an army loyal to the Three Principles of the People and the Kuomintang; he needed the Soviet Union to provide financial support for his Northern Expedition to establish a national government, so he needed the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union also needed Mr. Sun, because except for Mr. Sun, they had no other choice, supporting the Kuomintang, and helping China's little brother develop, I think it was based on this understanding that there was the Sun-Joffe talks, and the three major policies of allying with Russia, tolerating the Communists, and assisting the peasants and workers."

  "The three major policies can be said to be a win-win strategy."

  "As for someone opposing it, that's also normal. Every policy has people supporting and opposing it; if there weren't any opposition, that would be strange."

  After a long and eloquent speech, Zhuang Jihua's mouth was dry and he took a big gulp of tea. The bespectacled, bald-headed man in the suit was stunned into numbness. They had personally experienced the changes in party policies and heard Sun Yat-sen's countless speeches and conversations, but they had never had such a clear understanding, nor had they ever thought about the Three Principles from these angles. It seemed that no one else in the entire Nationalist Party could understand the Three Principles as thoroughly as Mr. Sun himself. From then on, the three men did not dare to underestimate this young man again.

  "But many important cadres within the Nationalist Party still oppose the Three Great Policies, didn't Mr. Sun tell them his thoughts?" Glasses asked in a probing tone, his intention of calling out Zhuang Jihua was actually to ease the tension. Among the three, he had the closest relationship with Baldy recently and knew that Baldy had a strong temper. Although he also disapproved of Baldy's actions this time, as a friend, he still wanted to help him. Seeing the two at an impasse, he was getting anxious in his heart, and Zhuang Jihua's sudden interruption provided him with an opportunity.

  "This can probably only be educated through actual events, if they really cannot accept it, there is no other way but to give up."

  "Give up? How can I give up? Expel me or shoot me?"

  "In any case, internal divisions should never be resolved through the use of force; instead, emphasis should be placed on persuasion and education. Within the party, there can be differing opinions - otherwise how can you talk about democracy? What I mean by 'abandon' is to remove him from an important position so that he cannot interfere with policy implementation. However, having different opinions is allowed, but causing trouble is not; if you want to cause trouble, then it can be handled according to party rules; if it violates the law, then it should be handled according to the law. There's a famous saying in American politics: 'Politics is the art of compromise.' A politician must learn how to compromise."