German Red Prince

Page 161

For Germany, Thorne is simply waiting for an opportunity. Germany already has a lot of problems, but there's no breaking point yet. Once that breaking point arrives, the flood will come in an instant. Thorne doesn't know when that breaking point will appear, but he thinks it should be soon.

The military reforms in the Kingdom of Rhine have begun to show results, and dealing with domestic issues should not pose any major problems. Thorne is very confident in dealing with the Prussian army, which has not undergone reforms for a long time.

Joseph's business in South America is also doing very well. He has only been in Patagonia for a short time, but the effects of his reforms are already evident. Patagonia now has its own industry, and with the regular trade between Thorne and Patagonia, they should be able to get through this period without any problems.

Argentina's political situation is actually quite complex, with significant conflicts between the military dictator and politicians, so Joseph still has a chance.

In the last letter sent from Patagonia, Joseph and Thorne explained the current situation in Patagonia and expressed their hope that Thorne could send professionals there to train the troops.

Joseph also hoped to introduce mature industrial technologies. The Patagonian defense forces needed not only light weapons but also tanks and armored vehicles. Of course, they would pay for these technologies; they wouldn't take them for free.

When Joseph said this in the letter, Thorne immediately realized that something was wrong. Patagonia is located in the southernmost part of South America and is a notoriously poor and remote area. It would cost a lot of money to introduce industrial technology there. Joseph wanted quite a lot of technology in his letter. Where would they get so much money?

Thinking about what happened in Argentina, Thorne could roughly guess the reason. Argentina was on the verge of falling out with Chile over this matter. They had already conducted several investigations within their own country and even wiped out several large gangs.

They even began to suspect that the Southern Province was the embezzler. The Argentine government had already purged the political circles in the South, but still couldn't find the reason. Those who were arrested started to make false accusations in order to clear their names or reduce their sentences. The more they investigated, the more people were implicated, and the worse and more complicated things became.

The matter couldn't be traced domestically. Argentina and Chile have now fallen out. Argentina is demanding that Chile return the five million dollars they stole. Chile, having not received the money, naturally won't admit it. This has become a hot news story, a rare international event in South America.

Joseph was unexpectedly capable. Although he didn't say it explicitly, the money was probably in Patagonia. With such a large sum of money, there would be less resistance. Since Joseph had expressed his hope, Thorne naturally had to help and arm their red regime before Argentina discovered it.

Patagonia has a complex terrain, including high-altitude areas, which is ideal for training another unit that Thorne has always wanted to develop. Mountain divisions will also be indispensable in the future. Although Europe is mainly plains, Thorne is not particularly at ease with the south.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire is still alive today, although it is an aging empire. However, it still retains the dignity of an empire and is unlikely to be annexed by Germany with little effort, unlike Austria in its time.

Thorne also needed to leave enough troops stationed in the south. Austria-Hungary was now waiting for an opportunity to compete with Germany for national leadership. Germany's mountain divisions were quite famous during World War II, fighting back and forth with the Soviet army in the Caucasus.

In 1939, when Germany invaded Poland, the German mountain troops participated in the battle alongside Army Group South. This force started from Slovakia in southern Poland, crossed the Polish defenses, and penetrated deep into the Polish heartland. In the Norwegian campaign of 1940, the German mountain divisions once again demonstrated their prowess. In the battle for the port of Narvik, 6000 German troops, with the mountain troops at their core, withstood an attack by more than 20,000 British and French troops for more than a month.

Mountain divisions are absolutely elite in land warfare. The training of the German mountain divisions in later generations was also an expansion of the Austrian mountain troops. Now, Thorne wants to train a pure German mountain division to see whether the Austro-Hungarian mountain divisions or his mountain divisions will be more effective in the future.

After dealing with these matters, there's nothing else to do for a while. We can continue to accumulate experience and start preparing for battle.

Furthermore, cooperation with China continues. The Nationalist government has moved its political center from Guangzhou to Changsha and the government has moved to the front lines of the war. Trade with the Kingdom of the Rhine during this period has allowed the Nationalist government to accumulate sufficient strength. They are now waiting for an opportunity, an opportunity to launch a northern expedition.

Another batch of supplies has left the port. This is the most help Thorne can provide. He hopes that this can help the Nationalist government finish the War of Liberation as soon as possible.

333. The Military Question

"A warm welcome to the relocation of the Nationalist government's central government to Changsha."

After discussions and preparations, the relocation of the Nationalist government's capital officially began.

The relocation of the capital was a major change in the political landscape of the Party. Everyone knows the location of Changsha. Before the Eight Provinces Alliance turned against the Revolutionary Army, Changsha was the largest base of the CCP.

The move to Changsha signifies a shift in domestic political power, with the government essentially transferred from the Kuomintang. This smooth transfer of power prevented a second blow to the Nationalist government from internal strife. At the same time, the Nationalist government's relocation to Changsha also means that preparations for the Second Northern Expedition have officially begun.

Changsha was brightly decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations. It had been a long time since the city had been as lively as it was today. Since Hunan Province was liberated from Tang Shengzhi's reactionary regime, the Red Army had been stationed in this area. The Red Army's force of several thousand people grew to tens of thousands. This was the source of Mao Zedong's confidence to go to Guangzhou for a meeting.

Commander-in-Chief Zhu De's Red Army had been stationed in Hunan. Now that the government had officially moved, the crisis was considered resolved, and the Nationalist government could continue to operate stably.

The streets were filled with cheering crowds, and it was a rare sight to see such a lively scene in Changsha. However, there was still considerable resistance to the relocation, with many people within the government expressing their opposition.

Guangzhou was the original base chosen by Premier Sun Yat-sen and was also the old base of the entire revolutionary government. Moreover, it was the stronghold of the Kuomintang, and many Kuomintang veterans were unwilling to leave from here.

However, just as Premier Sun Yat-sen said before, the tide of the times is mighty and unstoppable; those who follow it prosper while those who oppose it perish. After the successful conclusion of the Party Congress, all of this was a foregone conclusion. It was an indisputable fact that the Kuomintang could no longer lead the Chinese revolution, and the transfer of power had been completed smoothly.

Mao Zedong was also among the crowd. After the government moved to Changsha, he had no time to rest. The relocation and arrangement of party and government organs had to be handled properly, so it was rare for him to have time to come out and take a walk.

This place is all too familiar to him. Back when he hadn't fallen out with Sun Chuanfang, he was working at the Party branch in Changsha. He was the first to notice something was wrong and led his men to successfully evacuate to the mountains to fight as guerrillas. Now he's back with his team, and he's leading the entire government back with him.

"It's so lively."

Looking at the crowds running and cheering in the streets, Mao Zedong couldn't help but sigh.

"Yes, it's been a long time since it's been this lively. Since Sun Chuanfang's counter-revolution, Changsha has not been this lively for a long time. If we're talking about the last time it was lively, it was probably when we stormed into Changsha and kicked Tang Shengzhi's ass."

"Haha, yeah, we gave Tang Shengzhi a good kick back then."

Chairman Mao responded with a smile, saying that the Battle of Changsha laid the foundation for the liberation of Hunan, and the current revolutionary situation can be described as excellent, with the National Revolutionary Army having almost controlled the entire south.

The National Revolutionary Red Army is now divided into two main forces: one following Lin Biao to liberate the west, and the other following Wang Erzhuo to advance southward and liberate the southwest. It is estimated that these two main forces will be able to complete their missions smoothly in no time, at which point the Nationalist government can focus on preparing for the Northern Expedition.

"Our troops are now concentrated in the southwest region. We must liberate the southwest region quickly so that we can free up our resources to deal with the Qing government in the north."

The current Nationalist government has three major armies: the National Revolutionary Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, which is commanded by Zhu De; the former National Revolutionary Army, which is now led by Cheng Qian, Li Jishen, and Deng Yanda; and the Southeast Revolutionary Army, which is led by Jiang Guangnai, Cai Tingkai, and Zhou Enlai with the 19th Route Army as its backbone.

To successfully carry out the Northern Expedition, the first step is to integrate the domestic armed forces and establish a unified ideological framework. This is crucial for the smooth progress of the Northern Expedition, but it is no easy task.

"Although we are a revolutionary force, there are quite a few factions within the army."

Although the transfer of government power has been smooth, there are still many people in the military with their own agendas. These must be dealt with as soon as possible. If the conflicts escalate, it may trigger a second Guangzhou Incident.

"We must handle military matters properly. This is not only a matter for the military, but also for the government. However, we are not the right wing of the Kuomintang, so this matter must be handled properly."

Many veteran generals made contributions during the Northern Expedition, and they may be dissatisfied with the current situation, feeling neglected. We cannot condemn them outright, otherwise we will become no different from the reactionaries.

"Yes, the situation has just stabilized, and we must not let things get out of control. The military is the most important issue, and we should resolve it as soon as possible. If we drag it out, we won't be able to shake off this mess."

"There are still serious divisions within the government. The National Revolutionary Army Headquarters has drafted a report explaining the current situation in the National Liberated Areas and the expansion of the Hunan-Jiangxi Border Revolutionary Base Area after the last battle. The consensus among various departments is that we should act cautiously and avoid launching a premature northward campaign against the Zhili warlords before the economic strength of the southeastern provinces and the completion of our military reforms."

"On this point, many veteran comrades of the National Revolutionary Army advocated the Yangtze River strategy, that is, to first unify the South and then boldly cross the Huai River to launch a northern expedition. However, some radicals in the army felt that they should quickly move north and take Jingzhao, believing that the warlords in the North were as vulnerable as Sun Chuanfang. This kind of sentiment must be reversed."

Chairman Mao was somewhat worried that the army was becoming too radical. After winning a few battles, they thought they were invincible and wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to liberate the north in one fell swoop. This was very unrealistic. The two warlords in the north were not easy to deal with. The Qing government had industrial areas in Shandong, Shanxi and Hebei, not to mention the Northeast, whose industry was almost the strongest in all of China.

With the help of their German friends, the Nationalist government's industry has only just begun to recover and is not yet fully prepared. Although their enemies are currently facing various troubles, this does not mean that the Nationalist government can easily defeat them. They still need to wait for the right opportunity. Only when that opportunity arrives can they rightfully declare themselves the central government, thus providing great convenience for the subsequent unification.

"Aren't all the Kuomintang representatives here in Changsha? Zhou Enlai and his 19th Route Army are here too. Let's sit down and have a good talk about the army. Command must be unified. We are a revolutionary government and a revolutionary army. We can't be like those warlords who hold the army and rule over a region. Our goal is not to be a king in one place. Our goal is to liberate all of China."

Just as Zhu De and Chairman Mao were about to leave, a child suddenly rushed out from somewhere and bumped into Mao Zedong, who was walking forward.

The child was running very fast, and the impact caused him to fall directly to the ground.

"Hartmann!"

A woman ran over, helped the child up from the ground, and scolded him.

"Why are you running so fast? You even bumped into someone. Go apologize right now."

"It's alright, it's alright. Kids are just kids, it's normal for them to love to play and make a fuss. It's just that there are all kinds of cars on the road, so we have to be careful." Chairman Mao saw that the child was quite frightened, so he went over to comfort him.

"Thank you, sir. The city was bustling today, and the child ran out of his father's clinic to play. He disappeared in the blink of an eye."

"It's lively. After liberation, it will be this lively every day."

Chairman Mao picked up the toy airplane that the child had dropped and returned it to the child. The child thanked him in return. He was surprised that this foreign child could speak such fluent Changsha dialect.

No one would have imagined that this six-year-old child would become the world's top ace pilot in the future.

334.Meeting

The Guangzhou Revolutionary Government was established by Sun Yat-sen, the Premier, after several failed revolutions, under the leadership of Sun Chuanfang and the coalition of eight provinces, as the last revolutionary government in China.

The Nationalist government's victory in the civil war in eight provinces marked the rebirth of Sun Yat-sen's ideal of the National Revolution, and Guangzhou, as the holy land of the revolution, had been transformed into the power center of the National Revolutionary Government.

The first National Congress of the Kuomintang was held here, uniting like-minded revolutionaries under the same goal: to complete the Northern Expedition and create a free and equal China.

However, reality is always more cruel than ideals. Since the death of Premier Sun Yat-sen, bloodshed and underground transactions have been taking place in Guangzhou more than once. The Guangzhou Incident almost destroyed the entire government.

Fortunately, the counter-revolution was suppressed in time. This incident also made the Nationalist government determined to relocate. The coastal location was too dangerous, and in order to ensure the smooth progress of the Northern Expedition, the Nationalist government moved its capital to Changsha.

After relocating to Changsha, the Northern Expedition became the top priority and the overall goal of the Nationalist government at this stage. After defeating Sun Chuanfang, the Nationalist government was determined to launch a second Northern Expedition.

At the same time, it is very important to hold a meeting in order to complete the adjustment and reform of the military, after all, the ruling party has actually changed.

The ideological development of the army must also keep up, otherwise it will be very troublesome. It is very important who controls the army. When Chairman Mao reorganized the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, he made it clear that the Party should command the gun, not the other way around.

In addition to the Communist Party and the Kuomintang, military advisors from the Comintern and the Kingdom of the Rhineland also participated in this conference. The Guangdong Revolutionary Government had long received assistance from the Comintern, and its glorious victory today was also thanks to these major socialist powers in Europe.

This meeting was unusual in that four flags were displayed. Under a huge portrait of Sun Yat-sen, the flags of the Communist Party and the Kuomintang were hung simultaneously. This was also in consideration of the historical status of the Kuomintang, after all, they had made some contributions to the revolution.

Although many within the Party suggested that only the Communist Party's flag and military flag be displayed, Chairman Mao insisted on also displaying the Kuomintang flag. He believed that the Communist Party should always maintain a humble style, not be arrogant, and not act like the "father party" that always thinks it is number one in the world.

The country is not yet unified, and the Nationalist government is not very stable internally. We cannot afford any more trouble. The shadow of the Guangzhou Incident is already huge, affecting the entire Nationalist government. We cannot afford to create another Changsha Incident, which would make us a laughing stock for the reactionaries.

The number of attendees at this meeting was greater than ever before, even exceeding the number of attendees at the government meeting chaired by Chairman Mao in Guangzhou. All the military and political representatives from within the Nationalist government were present. As mentioned before, the Kuomintang, founded by Sun Yat-sen, was a hodgepodge, containing countless "small cliques."

These "small cliques" used to appear to be part of the Kuomintang under the banner of the "Three Principles of the People," but in reality, they were still independent groups. They only joined because they found common ground with the Three Principles of the People for certain reasons, and they did not fully endorse the theory.

After the Guangzhou reorganization meeting, Chairman Mao actually helped reduce the burden on the Kuomintang and streamlined its organization. The Kuomintang was now more efficient than before.

Chairman Mao delivered a speech, stating that the Kuomintang (KMT) had undergone several reorganizations and was no longer bloated. The right wing of the KMT had been completely kicked out of the ranks, and the left wing was also unwilling to stay under the KMT's banner. The new left wing, led by Soong Ching-ling, was breaking away from the KMT.

Many of the Kuomintang's left wing members had already joined the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Revolution, which was chaired by Soong Ching-ling. After Xu Chongzhi announced his retirement, the Kuomintang was leaderless for a time, and the internal divisions within the party meant that such a party could not shoulder the great responsibility of unifying China.

After Hsu Chung-chih stepped down, Li Chi-shen became the new leader of the Kuomintang (KMT). However, the KMT's strength was no longer what it used to be. The betrayal of the right wing and the split of the left wing made this "orthodox" force of the KMT dispensable within the government.

The list of the new Central Executive Committee has been released, with Mao Zedong as Chairman and Soong Ching-ling as Vice Chairman.

In addition, there were eighteen other members of the Central Committee, including Yun Daiying, Fang Zhimin, Cai Hesen, Zhu De, Deng Yanda, Dong Biwu, Zhou Enlai, Li Jishen, Lin Boqu, and Xu Teli.

The reshuffling of the Central Committee members was not significant, not much different from the Guangzhou period, because this was not the focus of the meeting. The focus of this meeting was the second topic, concerning the reform of the Nationalist government's army.

The actual leaders of the three armed forces within the Nationalist government have all arrived in Changsha. The military reform must be completed in one go. This is not the time for them to delay. The sooner it is completed, the sooner the Northern Expedition can begin.

The Military Commission of the National Revolutionary Army was founded in Guangzhou. It was the sole institution that commanded the National Revolutionary Army in its Northern Expedition and also served as a means of supervising, guiding, and managing the National Revolutionary Army.

The initial Military Council had nearly seventy members. While such a large organization dispersed the power of everyone on the council, it also led to an overly bloated structure, which was very detrimental to the development of the army. Under the guidance of advisors from the French Commune, the council was reduced to twenty members.

After Sun Yat-sen's death, factional struggles within the Kuomintang intensified. The Military Commission was the place where the factional strife was most evident. The twenty-member Military Commission was quickly reduced to eight people. After a series of changes, the Military Commission has always maintained a size of about fifteen people.

During the Northern Expedition, the internal strife within the Military Commission caused it to deteriorate further. Political struggles often led to erroneous orders, resulting in situations where troops broke free from the Military Commission's control. For example, Zhu De and Mao Zedong's Red Army, and the 19th Route Army led by Cai Tingkai, Jiang Guangnai, and Zhou Enlai, were not under the unified management of the Military Commission, nor were they members of the Military Commission.

Now that the National Government has been reborn, the National Revolutionary Army must also be readjusted and must be under the unified control of the government. Military commissions must be re-established.

All the delegates have arrived. The success or failure of this meeting is related to the future of the Northern Expedition, so the pressure is enormous. If it is not handled well, the problems may not be apparent now, but they will inevitably be exposed over time.

Therefore, the meeting also required representatives from the Comintern International Brigades and military advisors from the Kingdom of the Rhine to negotiate and strive to resolve the issue once and for all.

335. Central Military Commission

The problem now is that many people are worried that the Military Commission will once again fall into a power struggle and become a tool of various military leaders. If their interests are in conflict, they will all pull their troops back to their own territories.

Regarding the failures of the Military Commission in the past, officers often attributed the blame to the bloated organization and the complex relationships within it, which meant that it had to spend a lot of time and energy dealing with internal relationships.

These people believed that the Military Commission only needed to be composed of a general secretary and some senior officers, thus forming direct government leadership over the military and maximizing the efficiency of the military.

However, many people still objected to these people's proposals because the proposals did not actually change anything. The leaders of these armies still held absolute power, and the army was still their army. This was still the same old idea of ​​military independence.

This situation must be brought under control, otherwise, if it continues, the country will split again. It must be kept under supervision.

"Before we discuss this issue, we must first clarify whose army our army is, what its nature is, and who our army is protecting?"

“An army without a leader can only be a mob. We are a revolutionary force. No one can lead an army independently. Our military council needs a group of professionals to command it.”

"To defend whom, we must first clarify the nature of the Party. Whether it is the Kuomintang or the Communist Party, the primary task is to awaken the masses, to awaken the Chinese people. The current task is to unite all forces that can be united, to unite workers, peasants, students, and merchants to form a united front, and to defeat our common enemy, the imperialists and warlords."

"What we need to defend is the vast proletariat. In our revolution, class is an important issue. Class struggle is an inevitable evolution of the Chinese revolution. Although the main contradiction in China now is with imperialism and warlords, our army is not a temporary one. Our army is to exist for a long time, so its fundamental nature must be clearly defined."

“As Sun Yat-sen once said, the ultimate result of the National Revolution is to establish a socialist society. This is the common goal of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. Therefore, our National Revolutionary Army will become an army of proletarians, an army that serves socialism, and an army that serves the broad masses of people. So now we must establish the purpose of fighting for the people.”

Chairman Mao first expressed his thoughts: the future National Revolutionary Army will not be the army of any one person or any group, but an army armed with ideology, an army of a socialist nature.

"For our army to form a real fighting force, it must have a unified ideological leadership, which is the belief in communism. Therefore, the first thing we need to do is to re-educate the army."

Chairman Mao did not directly explain the arrangement of the Military Commission members at the beginning, but started with the organizational structure of the army and discussed the next reforms of the army from this aspect.

"Indeed, a highly effective army must have unified ideological leadership; this is indispensable."

The representative of the Comintern International Brigades also began to speak. He agreed with what Chairman Mao said: an army needs faith. Why was the French Revolution able to win so quickly? Their army was not a regular army, but a force composed of peasants and workers. However, their organization during the war was even higher than that of a regular army because they had faith. They were an army armed with communist beliefs.

"When an army has a belief, the soldiers know who they are fighting for. This will prevent it from becoming the private army of some people with ulterior motives, and instead make it a pure force, an army that will always be for the revolution."

"Our suggestion is to establish guidance within the army. The Kingdom of the Rhine has a long tradition of this, using ideological guidance within the army to motivate soldiers."

At this time, the military advisory group of the Kingdom of the Rhine also began to speak. It has always been a tradition of the kingdom to have political officers in the army. After it was incorporated into the German Empire, it was adjusted and improved in order to adapt to the empire's military management system and was abolished for a long time. However, the kingdom has now re-established this position in the army.

"The Rhine Kingdom's army now has military judges who are responsible for the ideological development of soldiers. Spiritual development is more effective than material rewards in building soldiers' fighting power."

"Lieutenant General Strachwitz, our Red Army also has this tradition. The reason why the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army has such a high degree of organization is because we also have our own military judges."

After hearing Lieutenant General Strachwitz's description, Chairman Mao smiled. The role of this military judge was very similar to that of the political commissar in the Red Army. In their Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, the political commissar was an indispensable role.

"Moreover, our army urgently needs reform. The revolutionary ranks are growing stronger and stronger, and our army is also expanding. Many of these people come from the old army and their understanding of the revolutionary situation and our revolutionary tasks is still not very clear."

“We still have many officers who come from the old army and carry many of the warlord habits of the old army. They rely on their high rank to beat and scold the soldiers. This is not good and makes the army chaotic. This also needs to be rectified. We need to carry out a major reform of the army.”

"To build a regular revolutionary army, we must break with the past and change from the inside out. Before launching the Northern Expedition, we must first solve our own problems and carry out a self-revolution."

"Our army has not yet completely shaken off the habits of the old army. Soldiers are afraid of officers, and officers often beat and scold soldiers. This is not good. It is not conducive to the unity of the army, nor to the ideological development of the army. If we want to create a country without oppression, our army must first be free of oppression and we must completely eliminate the difference between officers and soldiers."

"Why are soldiers afraid of officers? Isn't it because the other party is of a higher rank? Some platoon leaders and squad leaders, relying on their high positions, make their subordinates serve them tea and water. We must eliminate this phenomenon. Political commissars should go down to the grassroots level and establish Party branches in the army to curb this trend as soon as possible."