Revolutionary Series (1) Returning from Europe

Introduction: "With the perseverance of charity and the dedication of welfare to the people", Premier Zhou Enlai's life series stories: Difficult to repay, brave even in the face of the sea - the story of Zhou Enlai during the Great Revolution

Episode 1: Returning from Europe

Berlin Photography

On a sunny day in early September 1924. The "Foshan" sea vessel, departing from Hong Kong, broke through the calm sea and headed towards Guangzhou.

On the deck of the ship, a young and handsome man leaned against the railing, gazing into the distance. He was Zhou Enlai, who had returned from Europe. Looking at the approaching Guangzhou city, Zhou Enlai's usually deep gaze could no longer conceal his inner excitement.

Returning from this long journey, Zhou Enlai is no longer the Zhou Enlai he was four years ago. After four years of practice and exploration in Europe, he has grown from a simple, naive, and energetic youth to a steady, mature, and capable Communist Party member. All his actions must comply with the needs and arrangements of the organization.

Originally, Zhou Enlai should have returned to Tianjin, at least to visit his relatives. However, the rapidly developing revolutionary situation domestically required him to immediately rush to the unfamiliar south.

At that time, there were earth shattering changes happening domestically in China. With the help of the Soviet Union, the first cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party was achieved, and a vigorous national revolutionary movement against imperialism and feudal warlords was emerging. Guangzhou became the center of the national revolution. This was a severe test for the CPC, which was founded in 1921.

Before Zhou Enlai left France, the Executive Committee of the Communist Youth League of China in Europe wrote the following comments to him:

"周恩来--浙江，年二十六，诚恳温和，活动能力足，作文敏捷，对主义有深刻的研究，故能完全无产阶级化，英文较好，法文德文亦可读书看报，本区成立的发起人，他是其中的一个。曾任本区三届执行委员，热心耐苦，成绩卓著。"

Perhaps it was this excellent comment that led the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to send Zhou Enlai to Guangdong, where revolutionary forms were most needed. This decision led Zhou Enlai to join the front line of the national revolution as soon as he stepped onto the land of the motherland.

The ship is about to approach the Changdi Port in Guangzhou. On the dock, two people were anxiously watching the passengers rushing off the ship, searching for the guests to be picked up.

One of them is Ruan Xiaoxian, a member of the Communist Youth League of China's local committee, and the other is Pengpai, a member of the Guangzhou local committee's agricultural and industrial committee and a famous leader of the peasant movement.

Although they had never met Zhou Enlai before, they quickly took over based on the clues provided by the organization. Pengpai tightly held Zhou Enlai's hand and happily said, "Welcome to work in Guangzhou. We have been looking forward to it for a long time. In one sentence, the sense of unfamiliarity between them was eliminated.

At this time, Guangzhou was filled with a revolutionary atmosphere everywhere. Red, yellow, green and other slogans were posted on the walls on both sides of the streets, which read: "Overthrow imperialism," "Overthrow the Beiyang warlords," and "Long live the national revolution!" Loud songs could be heard from the depths of the streets or alleys from time to time. Along the way, you can also see teams of students and workers holding small flags and slogans, shouting slogans and walking towards you.

Zhou Enlai really felt a bit overwhelmed. The stark contrast between the scene before him and the dull political atmosphere in the country when he left Tianjin four years ago made him very excited. Along the way, he kept asking Pengpai and Ruan Xiaoxian about the development of cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, as well as the workers' and peasants' movements. Pengpai provided a detailed answer.

They arrived together at Pengpai's residence on Sixian Street in Guangzhou, where Zhou Enlai was arranged to live. He didn't care about relieving the fatigue of the journey and quickly immersed himself in the hot struggle.

After coming into contact with reality, Zhou Enlai quickly discovered that behind the grandiose form were various crises. At that time, a prominent issue was the conflict between the Guangdong revolutionary government led by Sun Yat sen and the business group.

The commercial group was established in the early years of the Republic of China. At that time, due to the chaotic local security, rampant banditry, and merchants suffering greatly. For armed self-defense, merchants obtained government consent, purchased weapons, formed merchant groups, and gradually grew stronger.

On the eve of Zhou Enlai's arrival in Guangzhou, the business group, with the support and instigation of British imperialism, plotted to launch a counter revolutionary military rebellion in Guangzhou and strangle the revolutionary government of Guangdong. It is obvious that without eliminating the merchant group, the revolutionary government of Guangdong will face a huge threat.

Zhou Enlai immediately joined the struggle against the merchant group upon his arrival in Guangzhou.

September 7th marks the 23rd anniversary of the signing of the humiliating and humiliating Boxer Protocol. Zhou Enlai wrote the article "The Boxer Protocol and Imperialism" on this day. In the article, Zhou Enlai targetedly refuted the right-wing elements within the Kuomintang who were fantasizing about implementing appeasement and compromise with the business group.

However, due to the collusion between the Yunnan military warlords stationed in Guangzhou at that time and the commercial groups, they acted under the guise of third-party mediation, forcing the Guangdong revolutionary government to return some firearms to the commercial groups before October 10th. This incident has caused great indignation among the people of Guangzhou, and a struggle is quietly brewing.

On October 10th, people from all walks of life in Guangzhou held a grand gathering in the first park under Guanyin Mountain. The theme of the meeting is to issue a stern warning to reactionary business groups.

Zhou Enlai attended the rally as a representative of the National Liberation Association. At the meeting, Zhou Enlai delivered an impassioned speech, pointing out: "We should not think that the counter revolutionary forces are extremely powerful. We just need to unite our hearts. We have workers to arm, farmers to defend ourselves, soldiers to be pioneers, students to preach, and businessmen to support us. Our strength lies here." Finally, Zhou Enlai shouted: "Revive the spirit of the Xinhai Revolution! Overthrow the warlords in the north and south! Overthrow all counter revolutionaries! All revolutionary masses, unite and rush out of the park to demonstrate and march against the counter revolutionaries

For a moment, revolutionary slogans echoed through the sky one after another. The revolutionary sentiment of the masses reached a boiling point, and a struggle finally erupted.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, the parade took to the streets. At this moment, the merchant group was unloading the returned weapons in the western moat. The parade clashed with the business group while passing through. A witness recalled, "While arguing with reason, the regiment soldiers actually opened fire on the crowd, killing more than 20 people on the spot and injuring even more. They then added brutal killings to the injured, digging their bellies and hearts, and were extremely cruel

The next day, the Federation of Trade Unions distributed flyers, conducted armed patrols, and forced all shops to strike. They also posted notices demanding that Sun Yat sen step down and welcome Chen Jiongming back to Guangzhou to take office.

The situation in Guangzhou suddenly became very serious.

At that time, Sun Yat sen had already led his troops on a northern expedition and was supervising the battle in Shaoguan. The news from Guangzhou made him very sad and angry.

With the assistance of Soviet advisors, left-wing members of the Kuomintang, and local organizations of the Communist Party of China in Guangdong, Sun Yat sen issued a decree to pacify the merchant group and quickly established the Revolutionary Committee as the anti rebellion authority.

Zhou Enlai, Yang Bao'an and other Communist Party members participated in the temporary military command work of the Revolutionary Committee and played an important role in suppressing the rebellion of the merchant group.

On October 15th, with the active support of the vast masses of workers and peasants, the revolutionary army quickly defeated the merchant army, turning the situation in Guangzhou from danger to safety.

Zhou Enlai quickly familiarized himself with the domestic political situation within just over a month of returning to his homeland. His leadership skills and sensitivity to affairs demonstrated in the struggle have been highly valued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. Just this month, Zhou Enlai received instructions from the central government to rebuild the Communist Party of China's Guangdong and Guangxi Regional Committees.

Zhou Enlai not only served as the Chairman of the Communist Party of China's Guangdong and Guangxi Regional Committees, but also concurrently as the Minister of Propaganda. At that time, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was far away in Shanghai, and many matters needed to be independently handled and dealt with by the Guangdong and Guangxi regional committees. In this sense, Zhou Enlai's burden has become heavier. After Zhou Enlai took office, one of the important things he did in the Guangdong and Guangxi regional committees was to organize an armored convoy for Sun Yat sen's Grand Marshal's Office, which was the first armed force actually controlled by the Communist Party and later evolved into the Ye Ting Independent Regiment. Zhou Enlai paid great attention to promoting the work of the masses. In order to improve the ideological consciousness and cultural quality of the workers, he personally wrote the popular reading material "A Brief History of Imperialist Aggression on in China".

In that year, after the direct general Feng Yuxiang launched the "Beijing Coup", Sun Yat sen was invited to go north to discuss the grand plan of peaceful reunification between the north and the south. But Sun Yat sen had just left Guangzhou, and the right-wing of the Kuomintang manipulated the Guangzhou mayoral election, excluding the vast majority of workers and peasants. After hearing the news, Zhou Enlai was very angry and immediately wrote an article titled "The Worker Peasant Class and the Worker Peasant Market Selection" to criticize the right-wing approach. Not long after, he wrote an article for the weekly magazine "Guide" titled "Zhongshan Goes North to Guangdong", exposing the right-wing of the Guangdong Nationalist Party's "uprising to seize the power and status of Guangdong" and the "ambitions of various warlords who have been trapped in Guangdong for a long time to seek greater development abroad".

Under the leadership of Zhou Enlai, the Party's work in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions was highly effective, and the workers' and peasants' movements flourished. Zhou Enlai's name gradually became familiar to people.

However, not long after, a more important burden fell on Zhou Enlai's shoulders.