In 1927, the Northern Expedition, based on the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communists, achieved great victories. But then Chiang Kai-shek, Wang Jingwei and other Kuomintang reactionaries launched a counter-revolutionary coup d'état and wantonly slaughtered the Communists and the revolutionary masses. At a time of desperate struggle with the counter-revolutionary forces, the revolutionaries who became the great generals of the republic 28 years later either directly participated in the Nanchang Uprising, or obeyed the arrangements of the Party organization to carry out other forms of revolutionary activities, or joined the Communist Party of China through ups and downs and plunged into the magnificent revolutionary tide.
Directly participated in the Nanchang Uprising
Su Yu, 20, serves as director of the Preparatory Office of the Farmers' Association in his hometown of Huitong County, Hunan Province. After the Ma-Ri Incident, he was trained in the teaching brigade of the 24th Division of the Party-led Northern Expeditionary Army, and officially became a member of the Communist Party of China in June 1927. After the Party Central Committee made a decision to arm against the Kuomintang reactionaries, Su Yu participated in the Nanchang Uprising, served as the head of the guard team of the General Headquarters of the Rebel Army, and worked with his comrades-in-arms to complete the task of planning the uprising of the Officer Education Corps of the 3rd Army of the National Revolutionary Army led by Zhu De. During the fierce battle with the enemy, he was shot in the head unconscious, and with the help of his comrades-in-arms, he was able to escape and catch up with the rebel troops.
Chen Geng, 24, served as a battalion commander in the 2nd Front of the Northern Expeditionary Army while commanding pickets of workers in Wuhan. A native of Xiangxiang, Hunan, he joined the Communist Party of China in 1922. After Chiang Kai-shek launched the April 12 counter-revolutionary coup, Chen Geng used the armed forces at his disposal to ensure the safe convening of the Fifth National Congress of the Party in Wuhan. After Wang Jingwei "split the communists" in July 15, Chen Geng obeyed the arrangements of the party organization and directly participated in the Nanchang uprising and was responsible for the protection of the general headquarters of the uprising. Seriously wounded in a fierce battle with the enemy, he had to seek medical treatment everywhere.
Tan Zheng, 21, is also from Xiangxiang, Hunan. During his studies, he not only consciously accepted the advanced ideas propagated by progressive publications such as New Youth and actively participated in the anti-imperialist patriotic movement, but also eagerly hoped to devote himself to the fiery practice of the national revolution. With the help of his classmate Chen Geng, he joined the Special Service Battalion of the General Headquarters of the 4th Front of the National Revolutionary Army in Hankou in March 1927. The special service battalion was a revolutionary armed force under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, and Tan Zheng came into contact with many Communist Party members and further absorbed progressive ideas. Under the white terror of the counter-revolutionary clique's purge, Tan Zheng closely followed the steps of the party organization and resolutely participated in the Nanchang uprising. After that, he participated in the Autumn Harvest Uprising on the Xianggan border led by Mao Zedong, arrived at Jinggangshan with his troops, and joined the Communist Party of China in October 1927.
Xu Guangda, 19, served as a trainee platoon leader in an artillery battalion in the 4th Army of the National Revolutionary Army. A native of Changsha County, Hunan Province, he joined the Communist Party of China in 1925. In August 1927, he was ordered from Jiujiang to Nanchang to participate in the uprising. Although the rebel forces had withdrawn by the time he reached Nanchang, he then caught up with the Zhou Shi of the 25th Division, which served as the rear guard of the rebel army, in Ningdu, Jiangxi. He was assigned to the 75th Regiment of the Division as a platoon commander in the 3rd Battalion, 11th Company, and soon entered the Battle of Huichang.
Carry out revolutionary activities under the arrangements of party organizations
Xu Haidong, 27, worked as an artillery battalion trainee platoon leader in the 4th Army of the National Revolutionary Army. A native of Xujiaqiao Village (now part of Dawu County) in Huangpi County, Hubei Province, he joined the Communist Party of China in 1925. After the April 12 counter-revolutionary coup, left-wingers in the army were persecuted, and he left the army under the arrangement of the party organization to sneak back to his hometown. In Huangpi, Xu Haidong was appointed commander of the peasant self-defense army in Hekou District. He effectively dealt a blow to the reactionary armed forces of the landlords by creating party branches, secretly recruiting party members, and organizing guerrilla groups to develop revolutionary forces. In view of the problems of the scattered revolutionary ranks, backward thinking, and poor discipline, he formulated four disciplines for the Peasants' Self-Defense Army: no speech, no wearing robes, no eating of the villagers, and no beatings and cursing of the villagers.
Huang Kecheng, 25, joined the Communist Party of China in 1925. He bravely participated in the Northern Expedition and served as a battalion and regimental political instructor in the 8th Army of the National Revolutionary Army. After the defeat of the Great Revolution, Huang Kecheng was ordered to return to his hometown of Yongxing County, Hunan Province, to secretly engage in agricultural movement work. At that time, the Yongxing County Special Branch of the CPC blindly implemented the "Left" blind activism of the PROVISIONAL CENTRAL Committee of the CPC and decided to organize an armed uprising of the peasants. Huang Kecheng made a prudent judgment on the objective situation of the revolution, believing that the time for an insurrection was not yet ripe, and put forward to the party branch the correct proposition of doing mass work first, accumulating revolutionary forces, and then holding an uprising at an appropriate time according to conditions.
Xiao Jinguang, 24, is from Changsha, Hunan. He joined the Communist Party of China and the Chinese Nationalist Party in 1922 and 1925, respectively, and was officially appointed as a party representative of the 6th Division of the 2nd Army of the National Revolutionary Army in 1925, and was awarded the rank of lieutenant general. After the April 12 counter-revolutionary coup, Xiao Jinguang took a clear-cut stand in the struggle against the counter-revolutionary forces. At the meeting of the 6th Division to discuss Chiang Kai-shek held at the Susong Catholic Church in Nanjing, he denounced Chiang Kai-shek's crime of betraying the revolution and shouted slogans such as "opposing dictatorship" and "overthrowing Chiang Kai-shek," which was warmly responded to by officers and men. After the "division of the Communist Party" in July 15, Xiao Jinguang went to the Leningrad Military and Political Academy in the Soviet Union in 1927 in accordance with the instructions of the CPC organization to systematically study military theory and political theory.
Zhang Yunyi, 35, served as chief of staff in the 25th Division of the 4th Army of the 2nd Front of the National Revolutionary Army. A native of Wenchang County, Guangdong Province (now part of Hainan Province), he joined the Communist Party of China in 1926. After the April 12 counter-revolutionary coup, Zhang Yunyi continued to work in the National Revolutionary Army in accordance with the instructions of the party organization. Under his cover of secrets and strong support, most of his troops participated in the Communist-led Nanchang Uprising.
Wang Shusheng, 22, is the head of the organization department of the Farmers' Association in his hometown of Macheng County, Hubei Province. Through the development of the CCP's macheng county secret organization, he had become a member of the Communist Party in 1926. After the April 12 counter-revolutionary coup, the reactionary local tycoons and inferior gentry who had fled from Macheng gathered tens of thousands of reactionary forces to attack the revolutionary zone, creating the Macheng Massacre that shocked the whole country. On the occasion of his death, Wang Shusheng was sent by the Macheng County Committee of the Communist Party of China to break through to Wuhan alone to ask for help. Under the guidance of Wang Shusheng, the reinforcements quickly relieved the siege of Macheng. After the complete rupture of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, in response to the increasingly rampant reactionary forces, Wang Shusheng participated in the organization and leadership of the "September Rebellion" in accordance with the spirit of the 1987 Conference, and in November 1927, he led his troops to participate in the jute uprising.
He became a member of the Communist Party
Mao Zedong commented on Luo Ruiqing: As soon as I stood next to me, I felt very relieved. The sky fell, and there was him on top. This national backbone who came out of Nanchong, Sichuan Province, had a different experience from other generals in 1927. In 1926, Luo Ruiqing was admitted to the Wuhan branch of the Whampoa Military Academy with excellent results and became a soldier in the National Revolutionary Army. In May 1927, he took part in a counterattack against the rebel Xia Douyin's attack on Wuhan. In the whirlpool of fierce struggle between the revolutionary and counter-revolutionary forces, he gradually recognized the corrupt nature of the old army and broke away from the old army. He wanted to join the Communist Party of China many times, but he was "too hard to get his way" and never had the opportunity to join the party. On the way to find the party organization, he suffered several deaths due to illness. Through unremitting efforts, Luo Ruiqing found a party organization in Shanghai in 1928 and became a member of the Chinese Communist Party as he wished.