The Forty-Seventh Chapter: Sprouting

  The battle was raging below Tamsui City, but Zhuang Jihua was training the captured prisoners at Zhangmu Head. Over 1,000 enemy officers and soldiers were captured in the Battle of Zhangmu Head, not counting those who were wounded. This was an unexpected task assigned to Zhuang Jihua by Director Zhou, which originated from the reward of $500.

  Chiang Kai-shek's 500 yuan made Zhuang Jihua feel a bit embarrassed, the simplest way was to divide it up, with each person getting a share. However, he felt that this wasn't right, so after some thought, he decided to divide the money into three parts. First, he gave 200 yuan to Huang Mingcheng, making it clear that this wasn't for him, but rather consolation money for their fallen comrades. Although the amount was small, they deserved it. He took out 50 yuan from the remaining 300 yuan to improve the living conditions of the soldiers in the regiment, and gave the rest to the families of the fallen soldiers, along with their consolation money. When he announced this distribution plan in the regiment, surprisingly no one objected, which made him a bit puzzled. Later, Zhao Hanjie told him that not only did the brothers have no objections, but they were also more willing to follow him, because the company commander hadn't forgotten even the dead, let alone the living.

  On the eve of Chiang Kai-shek's headquarters advancing to Tamsui, Director Zhou came to ask him to help sort out the prisoners. In this era, prisoners were either dispersed directly into the troops or released; the so-called release was actually taking away their guns and then pulling them to the edge of the controlled area, letting them go. As for travel expenses, some gave two mantou (steamed buns), while others didn't give anything. Killing prisoners of war was rare, especially among generals, who were generally treated with good food and drink before being sent away or exchanged for their own captured generals, unless there was a personal vendetta. This had become a habitual practice during the warlord era of the Republic of China. Because of this habit, when Sun Chuanfang launched the Anti-Fengtian War later on, he killed the captured Fengtian general Shi Congbin, which led to opposition from military leaders across the country, including his own subordinates, and ultimately laid the groundwork for his own downfall.

  Chiang Kai-shek did not intend to disperse the prisoners of war, more accurately, Xu Chongzhi did not intend to disperse these prisoners of war. The vast majority of these prisoners of war were from Guangdong Province, and Xu Chongzhi wanted to incorporate them into his own Guangdong Army. However, at present, they are fighting against Chen Jiongming, so these former subordinates of Chen Jiongming cannot be directly taken onto the battlefield for the Eastern Expedition.

  Zhuang Jihua couldn't shirk or dodge the task, so he had to accept it and temporarily become a guard at the prisoner-of-war camp. After headquarters departed, Zhuang Jihua began to work with Political Department cadres He Zhenhan and Yang Qigang on reorganizing and educating the prisoners of war.

  What surprised Zhuang Jihua was that the measures he had prepared, such as recalling past sufferings and proclaiming revolutionary principles, were not used at all. A soldier stood up and asked if there would be military pay and whether it could be issued on time. Of course, this was unquestionable, and after Zhuang Jihua answered truthfully, these prisoners of war clamored to join the Eastern Expeditionary Army. Now Zhuang Jihua understood that in this era, being a soldier was just a means of making a living, and as for who they were fighting for and why they were fighting, these soldiers didn't care at all. What they feared most was being disbanded, because after experiencing the hardships of war, going back to farming or working would be even more unbearable.

  Zhuang Jihua, however, did not dare to accept them in such a state. Could such soldiers fight? Perhaps they could, but absolutely not in a fierce battle. Nevertheless, Zhuang Jihua was unwilling to let them off so easily; since it had become a buyer's market, the captives should be prepared to face selection.

  Next, Zhuang Jihua announced that to participate in the Eastern Expedition Army, one must meet the following conditions: First, they cannot smoke opium; second, they must be physically strong, with a standard of running 5 kilometers in 30 minutes, and this standard is relaxed; third, they must be literate, with a standard of 50 characters; fourth, they must understand revolutionary principles, as taught by Deng Wen-yi and Yang Qi-gang, and remember them in their hearts and minds.

  These prisoners immediately exploded, the first and second items are nothing, many armies do not accept opium smoking, Chen Jiongming's troops did not accept opium smoking at the beginning, it is just that in the past two years some opium ghosts have mixed in, so the first item they are mostly satisfied with, as for the second item, being a soldier naturally requires physical strength, this goes without saying; The problem is the third and fourth items. These soldiers are almost all illiterate, they can't recognize a single character, let alone revolutionary principles.

  After they had made enough noise, Zhuang Jihua finally spoke up: "We are not that kind of warlord army, fighting for our superiors to grab land, fighting for our superiors to grab money and women; we don't fight such battles, we only fight for our faith, for the country, and for the people; this is the difference between a revolutionary army and a warlord army. Only those who understand the principles of revolution can join the revolutionary army. As for what faith is and what revolution is, Instructor Deng and Instructor Yang will tell you later."

  "Of course, if someone is unwilling; it's okay, after the Eastern Expedition ends, we'll send him back home." Zhuang Jihua's tone was firm, these people were captives and a bunch of soldiers who had been softened by comfort, they couldn't be treated kindly at first.

  The POW camp turned into a new recruit camp, and most of the prisoners of war became new recruits. Only a small number of people wanted to go home, so they formed a separate camp, working every day, with treatment that was naturally worse than in the new recruit camp.

  "The new soldiers" started class, He Zhenhan and Yang Qigang were in charge of spouting slogans. After listening for a while, Zhuang Jihua discovered that the two men's speeches were not entirely consistent, and they even criticized each other. Yang Qigang was talking about communism, criticizing He Zhenhan as right-leaning, while Deng Wenxi was talking about Three Principles of the People, attacking Yang Qigang as left-leaning; Zhuang Jihua saw this wouldn't work, pulled the two together, hoping to come up with a unified teaching material, but who knew they immediately started arguing.

  He Zhonghan accused Yang Qigang of spreading red ideology under the banner of the Nationalist Party, promoting communism; Yang Qigang believed that He Zhonghan intentionally disrupted public opinion, had always been leaning to the right and was sliding into the camp of counter-revolution. He Zhonghan thought he was talking about Three Principles of the People, which were preached by the Premier, how could it be right-leaning? Yang Qigang countered that Deng Wen-yi's speech did not represent the Premier's views but rather a right-wing view, using the Premier's banner to oppose him.

  The two then quarreled over the school's affairs, with Yang Qigang accusing He Zhenhuan of publishing "Revolutionary Youth" to split Huangpu and the youth; He Zhenhuan countered that Yang Qigang monopolized "Soldier's Friend" to promote communism, not allowing any articles with differing opinions from the Communist Party to be published. He then explained to Zhuang Jihua that he and Xue Bing had listened to his opinion and discussed forming an editorial committee with them, but the result was that the committee was formed with five members, three of whom were Communist Party members, and only two were Nationalist Party members; articles could only be published with the agreement of three committee members, rendering the purpose of establishing the committee completely futile.

  Yang Qigang only then realized that it was Zhuang Jihua's idea for the two to demand the establishment of an editorial committee, and he couldn't help but feel suspicious of Zhuang Jihua as well.

  He then told Zhuang Jihua that he, Deng Wen-yi and Zeng Kuo-ching were planning to establish a Sun Yat-senism Association to promote the Premier's teachings among young people, and hoped that Zhuang would also join. The more Zhuang listened, the less comfortable he felt, while Yang Qigang coldly smiled on the side, seemingly indifferent to them.

  After listening to He Zonghan's words, Zhuang Jihua said to He Zonghan: "Junshan, I don't agree with you setting up a society. You can completely rely on the Youth Military United Association to carry out such propaganda. I think Wushan and others will not object, and you are still the general affairs director of Qingjunhui."

  "Unbelievable! I don't believe that among the four members of the Executive Committee, there are four Communist Party members from the Youth Army, and only three of us are KMT members. And now you're saying we need four votes to pass something? Doesn't that make us just decorations?"

  "You were originally harboring evil intentions. For someone like you who is engaged in divisive sabotage, we must resolutely struggle against." Yang Qigang said with disdain.

  "Just now, I didn't agree with your evaluation of Junshan. I think that if we put ourselves in their shoes and consider Junshan's concerns, although they may be a bit extreme, it also shows their worries." Zhuang Jihua started to mediate.

  "What are they worried about? They're worried that the revolutionary forces have developed. Zhuang Jihua, I think you're a two-faced person, why didn't you attend the Youth League meeting, why did you give them ideas? Your stance is problematic. I think Wushan was too accommodating to you, but I won't accommodate you, if you're a rightist, I'll fight with you just the same." Upon hearing Zhuang Jihua say that He Zhenhan's worries were reasonable, he became angry and pointed his spearhead at Zhuang Jihua again.

  Zhuang Jihua couldn't help but smile wryly in his heart. Nowadays, people are all like this, either one way or the other. Two-faced people will always be two-faced. Seeing Yang Qigang accusing Zhuang Jihua, He Zhenhan was delighted. He had long wanted to pull Zhuang Jihua into their circle, but every time he tried to probe him, Zhuang would dodge and slip away. Last time, Yu Saodu didn't let them achieve their goal, and now Yang Qigang has come again. Fine, I'll add more fuel to the fire.

  "Two-faced, this hat is not good to wear. The storm of your article has not completely passed, and in two days you may become a rightist. Except for them, everyone else is a rightist." He Leng said with a cold smile.

  "Whether you are right-wing or not is not what I say, but what you do." Yang Qigang did not back down.

  "In other words, unless you advocate for the Communist Party's views, all other behaviors are considered rightist. He Zhenhan began to prepare a trap for Yang Qigang, and among his classmates, except for Jiang Xiyun and Zhuang Jihua, He Zhenhan did not debate with anyone, including Li Zhilong."

  "Nonsense! Splitting the cooperation between the Communist Party and other parties, opposing the Premier's three major policies is a rightist behavior." Yang Qigang keenly sensed He Zhenhuan's conspiracy.

  "So I ask you, what's wrong with that article about the Cultural Revolution? You and the rightists want to gang up on it." He Xian asked.

  "Restricting the peasant-worker movement is wrong." Yang Qigang was taken in, but he immediately realized: "Didn't the Premier also say that he had a small mistake? Is the Premier also wrong?"

  He Zonghan was speechless now, and Zhuang Jihua could only look at them helplessly.

  "You must be like this to truly split. Unity, what unity? It's just seeking common ground while putting aside differences." He recalled a famous saying from his previous life: "You two have great influence among the students of the Nationalist and Communist parties in school. If you both can't unite, then isn't it even more likely that other students will split?" Unity first requires uniting with those around you. If you can't even unite with your classmates who study together every day, how can you talk about unity with others?

  "Junshan, I don't agree with your association, so I won't join; also, Junshan, its just my suggestion that you should think about how to unite classmates instead of just using harsh criticism. And another thing, didn't we talk about democracy? One important principle of democracy is letting people speak."

  After finishing, Zhuang Jihua felt very tired. He didn't plan to talk about it anymore. It was impossible for him to force the two of them together. They were not blind followers, but rather people with sharp minds and extraordinary insight.

  "Ah, you're all here."

  Three people turned their heads to look, and Li Zhilong was enthusiastically greeting them with a smile, alongside him were Pan Huiqin and Gong Xiujuan, both wearing military uniforms and armed belts.

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