Podcasts about national governments

Last time we spoke about Japan's preparations for War. In late 1936, tensions soared in China as Nationalist General Chiang Kai-shek was detained by dissenting commanders who were frustrated with his focus on communism instead of the growing Japanese threat. Faced with escalating Japanese aggression, these leaders forced Chiang into a reluctant alliance with the Chinese Communist Party, marking a pivotal shift in China's strategy. Despite this union, China remained unprepared, lacking sufficient military supplies and modern equipment. Conversely, Japan, wary of Chinese modernization efforts, pushed for a preemptive strike to dismantle Chiang's regime before it could pose a serious threat. As aggressive military exercises intensified, Japan underestimated Chinese resilience. By spring 1937, both nations found themselves on the brink of war, with Japan's divided military leadership struggling to formulate a coherent strategy. Ultimately, these miscalculations would lead to the full-scale Sino-Japanese War, altering the course of history in East Asia.   #154 The Marco Polo Bridge Incident  Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. Here we are at last, the beginning of the absolute cataclysm between China and Japan. Now as many of you know I run the Pacific War week by week podcast, which technically covers the second sino-japanese war, nearly to a T. So for this podcast I want to try and portray the event from the Chinese and Japanese point of view, but not in the rather dry manner of the other podcast. In the other podcast I am hampered by the week by week format and can never dig deep into the nitty gritty as they say. On the same hand I don't want to simply regurgitate every single battle of this conflict, it would be absolutely nuts. So bear with me friends as we fall down in the rabbit hole of madness together, who knows how long it will take to get out. On the night of July 7, 1937, at approximately 19:30, the 8th Squadron of the 3rd Battalion of the 1st Regiment of the Hebian Brigade of the Japanese Army, stationed in Fengtai and led by Squadron Leader Shimizu Seiro, conducted a military exercise, heading toward Lungwangmiao, approximately just under a mile northwest of the Marco Polo Bridge The exercise simulated an operation to capture the bridge. As you may have guessed it was named after the Italian explorer Marco Polo, who described it in his travels, the bridge is renowned for its intricate carvings of lions and other sculptures. However after 1937, the Marco Polo Bridge would be far less known for its history dealing with the venetian explorer and more so with an event that many would contend to be the start of WW2. At that time, troops from Japan, Britain, France, and Italy were stationed near Peiping in accordance with the Boxer Protocol of 1901. The Japanese China Garrison Army, comprising around 4,000 soldiers and commanded by Lieutenant-General Tashiro Kan'ichirō, was based in Tientsin. Its mission was to "maintain communication lines between Peiping and the seaports in the Gulf of Chihli and to protect Japanese citizens living in key areas of North China." The protocol also permitted the garrison forces of the signatory nations to conduct field drills and rifle practice without notifying the Chinese authorities, with the exception of cases involving live fire. During this period, Japanese troops were conducting nightly exercises in anticipation of a scheduled review on July 9. The night maneuver was within the army's rights under the Boxer Protocol and was not an illegal act, as later claimed by the Chinese. However, the Japanese army had courteously informed the Chinese authorities about its training plans in advance. Despite this, the atmosphere was charged with tension, and the Japanese decision to use blank ammunition during their night exercise further escalated the already volatile situation. Earlier that evening, Captain Shimizu Setsurö, a company commander, arrived at the banks of the Yungting River, where the maneuver was to take place. He noticed that the site looked different since the last exercise had occurred; Chinese troops had recently constructed new trenches and parapets from the embankment to the Lungwangmiao shelter. While eating his dinner and surveying the area, Shimizu felt a sense of unease, harboring a premonition that “something might happen that night.” After completing the first stage of the maneuver around 10:30 PM, several live rounds were fired into the assembled company from the direction of the riverbank. Shimizu immediately conducted a roll call and found one soldier missing. He promptly sent a messenger to inform the battalion commander. The exercise was then called off, and the company moved eastward to await further orders at Hsiwulitien. Battalion Commander Itsuki Kiyonaho, upon receiving the report, deemed the situation serious. Aside from the gunfire heard in the darkness from an unknown source, he expressed concern over the soldier's disappearance and sought permission from Regiment Commander Mutaguchi Renya, an absolute moron, if you listen to the pacific war podcast, well you know. Anyways to relocate the battalion to the area where the shots had been fired and to establish surveillance. As dawn approached, the troops heard several more gunshots. Within twenty minutes of the soldier's disappearance, he returned to his ranks, but Shimizu did not report this update until four hours later. Meanwhile, midnight negotiations included a Japanese request for permission to search the city of Wanping, leading both sides to believe the incident was significant. Around 11:00 PM, the Japanese forces falsely reported that one of their soldiers had gone missing during the drill and demanded permission to enter the city for a search. This request was firmly denied by Ji Xingwen, the commander of the 219th Regiment of the 37th Division of the Chinese Army. In response, Japanese troops swiftly surrounded Wanping County. To prevent further escalation, at 2:00 AM the following morning, Qin Dechun, deputy commander of the 29th Army and mayor of Beiping, agreed with the Japanese to allow both sides to send personnel for an investigation. While Matsui, the head of the Japanese secret service in Peiping, was negotiating with North Chinese authorities based on unverified reports from Japanese troops in Fengtai, Ikki Kiyonao, the battalion commander of the Japanese garrison in Fengtai, had already reported to his regiment commander, Mutaguchi Lianya. The latter approved orders for the Japanese troops in Fengtai to “immediately move out” to the Marco Polo Bridge.  On July 8, a large contingent of Japanese troops appeared at Lugou Bridge. Shen Zhongming, the platoon leader of the 10th Company of the Reserve Force of the 3rd Battalion of the 219th Regiment of the 37th Division of the 29th Army, was assisting in guarding the bridgehead. He jumped out of the trench, stood in front of the bunker, and raised his right hand to halt the advancing Japanese troops. However, the Japanese military threatened to search for their missing soldiers, pushed forward, and opened fire. Shen Zhongming was shot and died on the spot. At 4:50 AM, the Japanese army launched a fierce assault on Wanping County, capturing Shagang in the northeast of Wanping and firing the first shot of the siege. Unable to withstand the aggression, the Chinese defenders mounted a counterattack. That day, the Japanese army assaulted Wanping City three times, targeting the Pinghan Railway Bridge and the Chinese defenders at the Huilong Temple position on the left. He Jifeng, the commander of the 110th Brigade of the Chinese defenders, issued a resolute order to “live and die with the bridge” and personally commanded the front-line battle. The Chinese defenders engaged in fierce combat, fighting valiantly despite exhausting their ammunition and resorting to hand-to-hand combat with swords against the Japanese soldiers. Tragically, over 80 Chinese defenders from two platoons were killed at the bridgehead. On the same day, the Beijing authorities instructed the garrison to hold firm at the Marco Polo Bridge. Song Queyuan sent a telegram to Chiang Kai-shek to report the true events of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. The National Government's Ministry of Foreign Affairs lodged a verbal protest with the Japanese ambassador regarding the incident. Additionally, the CPC Central Committee issued a telegram urging all Chinese soldiers and civilians to unite and resist Japanese aggression. The Japanese cabinet, in a bid to mislead global public opinion, proposed a so-called policy of “resolving the incident locally without escalating it,” aiming to paralyze the KMT authorities and buy time to mobilize additional forces. In the wake of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, generals of the 29th Army, including Qin Dechun, Feng Zhian, and Zhang Zizhong, convened an emergency meeting. Following their discussions, they issued a statement demanding that their troops withdraw from the Marco Polo Bridge to de-escalate tensions. However, they expressed deep concerns about national sovereignty, stating, “We cannot simply back down. If they continue to oppress us, we will do our utmost to defend ourselves.” Concurrently, the 29th Army commanded the troops defending the Marco Polo Bridge: “The Marco Polo Bridge is your grave. You must live and die with the bridge and must not retreat.” Brigade Commander He Jifeng reinforced three directives for the defenders:  1. Do not allow the Japanese army to enter the city;  2. Firmly counterattack if the Japanese invade;  3. You are responsible for defending the territory and will never yield. If you abandon your position, you will face military law. On July 9, the 29th Army successfully eliminated a Japanese squadron and reclaimed control of the railway bridge and Longwang Temple. A temporary lull settled over the Marco Polo Bridge battlefield, during which the Japanese military made false claims that "missing Japanese soldiers had returned to their units" and described the situation as a misunderstanding that could be resolved peacefully. Subsequently, Chinese and Japanese representatives in Beijing and Tianjin engaged in negotiations. The Beijing authorities reached an agreement with the Japanese forces, which included:  (1) an immediate cessation of hostilities by both parties;  (2) the Japanese army withdrawing to the left bank of the Yongding River while the Chinese army retreated to the right bank; and  (3) the defense of Lugou Bridge being assigned to Shi Yousan's unit of the Hebei Security Team. However, the following day, while the Chinese army withdrew as agreed, the Japanese army not only failed to uphold its commitments but also dispatched a significant number of troops to launch an offensive against the Chinese forces. Reports on July 10 indicated that the Japanese army had arrived from Tianjin, Gubeikou, Yuguan, and other locations, advancing toward the Lugou Bridge with artillery and tanks, and had occupied Dajing Village and Wulidian, signaling that another outbreak of conflict was imminent. On July 11, the Japanese Cabinet decided to deploy seven divisions from the Kwantung Army, the Korean Army, and Japan to North China. On the same day, the Beiping-Tianjin authorities reached a localized agreement with the Japanese army, which entailed:  (1) a formal apology from a representative of the 29th Army to the Japanese forces, along with assurances that those responsible for the initial conflict would be held accountable;  (2) a ban on anti-Japanese activities conducted by the Communist Party, the Blue Shirts Society, and other resistance groups; and  (3) an agreement ensuring that no Chinese troops would be stationed east of the Yongding River. Concurrently, the Japanese army positioned their forces at strategic points in Wuqing, Fengtai, Wanping, and Changping, effectively encircling the city of Beijing and continuing to advance troops into its surrounding suburbs. Starting on July 11, the Japanese army began bombarding Wanping City and its surrounding areas with artillery, resulting in numerous casualties among the local population. Following the injury of regiment commander Ji Xingwen, residents were evacuated to safer locations outside the city. The conflict then spread to Babaoshan, Changxindian, Langfang, Yangcun, and other areas, with the 29th Army being deployed to various locations to confront the enemy. The Japanese military also dispatched aircraft for reconnaissance and strafing missions, leading to intermittent fighting. On July 13, Mao Zedong urged "every Communist Party member and anti-Japanese revolutionary to be prepared to mobilize to the frontline of the anti-Japanese war at any time" from Yan'an. By July 15, a CPC representative presented the "Communist Party Declaration on Cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party" to Chiang Kai-shek, proposing that this declaration serve as the political foundation for cooperation between the two parties and be publicly issued by the Kuomintang. Zhou Enlai, Qin Bangxian, and Lin Boqu continued negotiations with Chiang Kai-shek, Shao Lizi, and Zhang Chong in Lushan. Although Chiang Kai-shek recognized the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, disagreements remained regarding the reorganization of the Red Army. On July 16, the Five Ministers Conference in Tokyo resolved to mobilize 400,000 Japanese troops to invade China and to enforce a policy aimed at rapidly destroying the entire country. The following day, more than 100 Japanese soldiers arrived in Shunyi and Changping, where they reinforced fortifications on the city wall of Changping. On July 18, the Japanese army invaded Changping, Tongzhou, and other counties in the pseudo-border areas by maneuvering through various passes of the Great Wall. Japanese plainclothes teams were reported to be active in the Xiaotangshan area of Changping, raising alert levels within the Chinese army. On July 20, the Kuomintang Military and Political Department became aware that the Japanese army intended to first occupy strategic locations such as the Indigo Factory, Wanshou Mountain, and Balizhuang in the Pingxi area, before cutting off the Pingsui Road and controlling the route from Beiping to Changping. On July 21, the Japanese army violated the agreement by bombarding Wanping County and the garrison at Changxindian.  On the night of July 25, a confrontation took place at the railway station in Langfang, located between Peiping and Tientsin. The clash involved Chinese troops and a Japanese company dispatched to repair telegraph lines. General Kazuki promptly sought Tokyo's permission to respond with military force, believing that the situation required immediate action. Without waiting for authorization, he ordered a regiment from Tientsin to engage the Chinese forces and issued an ultimatum to Sung Che-yuan, stating that if the 37th Division did not completely withdraw from Peiping by noon on July 28, the Garrison Army would take unilateral action. The 77th Infantry Regiment of the 20th Division was dispatched with the Gonoi Squadron to escort a repair team to Langfang Station. Stationed near Langfang were the headquarters of the 113th Brigade of the 38th Division, along with the main force of the 226th Regiment, led by Brigade Commander Liu Zhensan and Regiment Commander Cui Zhenlun. Although the leadership of the 29th Army adopted a passive stance in the war of resistance, the forces in Langfang prepared for conflict in an organized manner. They not only evacuated the families of servicemen and relocated the regiment headquarters, but also built fortifications and deployed plainclothes teams at Wanzhuang Station, Luofa Station, and Langfang Station to swiftly destroy the railway if necessary. Despite their preparations, the commanders of the 38th Division adhered to Song Queyuan's directives. When the 5th Company, stationed at Yangcun, observed Japanese supply units continually moving toward Lugou Bridge, they sought permission to engage the enemy. However, the 38th Division later reassigned this company. The Bac Ninh Line, established after the Boxer Protocol, had granted the Japanese the right to station troops, placing the 38th Division in a vulnerable position and preventing them from stopping the Japanese before they reached Langfang. Upon the arrival of Japanese forces at Langfang Station, Chinese guards initiated negotiations, requesting the Japanese to withdraw quickly after completing their mission. The Japanese, however, insisted on establishing camps outside the station, leading to repeated arguments. As tensions mounted, the Japanese began constructing positions near the station, ultimately forcing Chinese troops to retreat and escalating the conflict. The situation reached a boiling point around 11:10 pm, when fierce gunfire and explosions erupted near Langfang Station. The Japanese army claimed they were defending the station from an attack by Chinese forces armed with rifles, machine guns, and mortars throughout the night. According to Cui Zhenlun, the head of the 226th Regiment, it was the 9th and 10th companies that could no longer tolerate the Japanese provocation and fired first, catching the enemy off guard. As the battle intensified, reinforcements from the main force of the 77th Infantry Regiment “Li Deng Unit” arrived at the scene after receiving reports of the skirmish and gradually joined the fight after 6:30 am on July 26. When dawn broke, Japanese troops stationed at Langfang began to rush out to counterattack, seeing their reinforcements arrive. Recognizing they could not eliminate the Japanese presence at the station quickly, the 226th Regiment faced heavy bombardment from the Japanese Air Force later that morning. Consequently, the headquarters of the 113th Brigade and the primary forces of the 226th Regiment hastily retreated to Tongbai Town, suffering significant losses in equipment during their withdrawal. That night, Kazuki made the unilateral decision to abandon the policy of restraint and decided to use force on July 28 "to punish the Chinese troops in the Peiping-Tientsin area." On the morning of July 27, the army high command endorsed his decision and submitted a plan to the cabinet for mobilizing divisions in Japan. The cabinet agreed, and imperial approval was sought. At that time, the Chinese army was gathering in significant numbers in Baoding and Shijiazhuang in southern Hebei, as well as in Datong, Shanxi. They had effectively surrounded the Japanese army on all sides in the Fengtai District. Meanwhile, newly mobilized units of the Kwantung Army and the Japanese Korean Army were en route to the Tianjin and Beiping areas. The 2nd Battalion of the 2nd China Garrison Infantry Regiment, commanded by Major Hirobe, was dispatched with 26 trucks to the Japanese barracks within the walls of Beiping to ensure the protection of Japanese residents. Prior discussions had taken place between Takuro Matsui, head of the Special Service Agency, and officials from the Hebei–Chahar Political Council regarding the passage of troops through the Guang'anmen gate just outside Beiping. The mayor, Qin Dechun, had granted approval for this movement. However, when Major Tokutaro Sakurai, a military and political advisor to the Council, arrived at Guang'anmen, a famous gate to Beiping, around 6:00 pm to establish contact, he found that the Chinese troops on guard had closed the gate. After further negotiations, the gates were opened at approximately 7:30 pm, allowing the Japanese units to begin passing through. Unfortunately, as the first three trucks crossed, the Chinese opened fire on them. Two-thirds of the units managed to get through before the gate was abruptly shut, leaving a portion of Hirobe's troops trapped both inside and outside. As they faced unexpectedly heavy fire from machine guns and grenades, efforts by Japanese and Chinese advisors to pacify the Chinese troops proved futile. By 8:00 pm, the Japanese launched a counterattack from both sides of the gate. The Chinese received reinforcements and encircled the Japanese forces. Despite a relief column being dispatched by Brigadier Masakazu Kawabe, commander of the brigade in the Fengtai District, by 9:30 pm, negotiations with the Chinese yielded a proposal for de-escalation: the Chinese army would maintain a distance while the Japanese inside the gate would relocate to the grounds of their legation, and those outside would return to Fengtai. Fighting ceased shortly after 10:00 pm, and at approximately 2:00 am the following day, Hirobe's unit successfully entered the barracks in the legation. The total casualties reported for the Japanese army during these confrontations were 2 dead and 17 wounded. Both fatalities were superior privates. The wounded included one major, one captain, one sergeant, two superior privates, one private first class, seven privates second class, two attached civilians, and one news reporter. Additionally, the interpreter accompanying Tokutaro Sakurai was also killed in action. On July 27, the Japanese army launched attacks on the 29th Army garrisons in Tongxian, Tuanhe, Xiaotangshan, and other locations, forcing the defenders to retreat to Nanyuan and Beiyuan. At 8:00 am on July 28, under the command of Army Commander Kiyoshi Kozuki, the Japanese army initiated a general assault on the 29th Army in the Beiping area. The primary attacking force, the 20th Division, supported by aircraft and artillery, targeted the 29th Army Special Brigade, the 114th Brigade of the 38th Division, and the 9th Cavalry Division stationed in Nanyuan. Overwhelmed by the Japanese assault, Nanyuan's defenders struggled to maintain command, leading to chaotic individual combat. Meanwhile, the main Japanese garrison brigade in Fengtai advanced to Dahongmen, effectively cutting off the Nanyuan troops' route to the city and blocking their retreat. The battle for Nanyuan concluded at 1:00 pm, resulting in the deaths of Tong Lingge, deputy commander of the 29th Army, and Zhao Dengyu, commander of the 132nd Division. As this unfolded, elements of the 37th Division of the 29th Army launched an attack on the Japanese forces in Fengtai but were repulsed by Japanese reinforcements. On that day, the Japanese Army's 1st Independent Mixed Brigade captured Qinghe Town, prompting the 2nd Brigade of the Hebei-Northern Security Force, stationed there, to retreat to Huangsi. The Japanese also occupied Shahe. In the afternoon of July 28, Song Qeyuan appointed Zhang Zizhong as the acting chairman of the Hebei-Chahar Political Affairs Committee and director of the Hebei-Chahar Pacification Office, as well as the mayor of Beiping, before leaving the city for Baoding that evening. The 37th Division was ordered to retreat to Baoding. On July 29th, a significant mutiny broke out at Tongzhou. If you remember our episode covering the Tanggu truce, Tongzhou had become the capital of the East Hubei Anti-Communist Autonomous Government headed by Yin Jukeng. In response Chiang Kai-Shek had established the East Hebei Administrative Affairs Committee, chaired by Song Queyuan. In Tongzhou, Japanese troops were stationed under the pretext of protecting Japanese residents, as stipulated by the Boxer Protocol. Initially, a unit was intended to be stationed in Tongzhou; however, Vice Minister of the Army Umezu Yoshijiro strongly opposed this plan, arguing that placing forces in Tongzhou, far from the Beiping-Tianjin Line was inconsistent with the spirit of the Boxer Protocol. Consequently, this unit was stationed in Fengtai, located southwest of Beiping. At the time of the Tongzhou Incident, the main force of the Japanese Second Regiment, which was responsible for defending Tongzhou, had been deployed to Nanyuan, south of Beijing. Consequently, only non-combat personnel remained in Tongzhou. Japan regarded the Jidong Anti-Communist Autonomous Government Security Force as a friendly ally. Back on July 27, the primary forces of the Japanese Army stationed in Tongzhou, comprising the Kayashima Unit and the Koyama Artillery Unit, received orders to advance toward Nanyuan, Beiping, leaving Tongzhou significantly under-defended. The following day, the Japanese launched a substantial attack on Nanyuan, employing aircraft to bomb Beiping. Sensing a critical opportunity, Zhang Qingyu conferred with Zhang Yantian and Shen Weigan to initiate an uprising that very night. The insurgent force included elements from the first and second corps and the teaching corps, totaling approximately 4,000 personnel. Zhang Qingyu orchestrated the uprising with a focused strategy: the first corps was divided into three groups targeting Japanese forces in Xicang, the puppet government, and various establishments such as opium dens, casinos, and brothels operated by Japanese ronin. Meanwhile, the second corps secured key intersections and facilities in Chengguan, and the teaching corps managed defenses against potential reinforcements at vital stations. At dawn on July 29, the gunfire signaling the uprising erupted. The second unit of the first corps launched an assault on the Xicang Barracks, which housed 120 troops and non-combat personnel, including the Tongzhou Guard, Yamada Motor Vehicle Unit, a Military Police Detachment, and a host of military and police units, totaling about 500 individuals. At around 3 a.m. on July 29, the sound of gunfire filled the air as the insurgents engaged the Japanese forces. Although equipped with only four field guns, several mortars, and a few heavy machine guns, the uprising's numerical superiority enabled simultaneous attacks from the east, south, and northwest. Despite their well-fortified positions and rigorous defense, the Japanese troops struggled against the relentless onslaught. For over six hours, fierce fighting ensued. The uprising troops escalated their firepower but failed to breach the Xicang Barracks initially. More than 200 members of the Japanese security forces lost their lives in the conflict. Concerned that reinforcements might arrive and flank the uprising, Zhang Qingyu ordered artillery assaults around 11 a.m., prompting a shift in the battle's dynamics. The artillery targeted a Japanese motor vehicle convoy transporting supplies and munitions, leading to the destruction of all 17 vehicles, triggering explosions that scattered bullets and shrapnel across the area. Subsequently, nearby fuel depots ignited, engulfing the surroundings in flames and creating chaos among Japanese ranks. The insurgent infantry capitalized on this confusion, wiping out most of the remaining Japanese forces, with only a handful managing to escape. As the uprising signal rang out, another faction of insurgents swiftly blocked access to Tongzhou, disrupting traffic and occupying the telecommunications bureau and radio station. They encircled the offices of the Jidong puppet government, capturing traitor Yin Rugeng, who was taken to the Beiguan Lu Zu Temple. Despite being urged to resist the Japanese, Yin hesitated and was subsequently imprisoned. The third group then targeted the Japanese secret service agency in Nishicang. Hosoki Shigeru, residing a mere lane away from the pseudo-office, responded to the gunfire by mobilizing a contingent of secret agents to confront the uprising. However, the insurgents swiftly overtook the secret service agency, resulting in Shigeru's death and the annihilation of all secret personnel. At 4:00 p.m. on July 29, the Japanese command dispatched reinforcements, compelling the insurgents to retreat from Tongzhou. The Japanese Chinese Garrison ordered air attacks on the uprising forces, with over ten bombers targeting Tongzhou. Concurrently, the Japanese Fengtai Infantry Brigade and the Second Regiment were mobilized for a rescue operation, arriving on the morning of July 30. The Japanese headquarters issued a night defense order requiring all units to be on high alert. By 5:30 p.m., commanding officers assembled to devise a strategy. With the uprising forces still positioned around the eastern, southern, and northern walls of the barracks, Tsujimura's troops implemented strict measures: all units were instructed to fortify defenses throughout the night, with the Tongzhou Guard directly protecting the barracks and the Yamada unit securing the warehouse and supply areas. They enforced silence, prohibiting any lights at night, coordinating operations under the code name "plum cherry." As the Japanese planes repeatedly bombed the area, the insurgents, lacking anti-aircraft defenses, could only mount futile counterattacks with machine guns, leading to disorder among their ranks. Many insurgents abandoned their uniforms and weapons and fled, prompting Zhang Qingyu to make the difficult decision to evacuate Tongzhou before Japanese reinforcements arrived, regrouping in Beiping with the remnants of the 29th Army. In the late hours of July 29, the security team retreated to Beiping in two groups. Upon arrival, they discovered the 29th Army had already evacuated, forcing them to retreat to Changxindian and Baoding. En route, they encountered part of the Suzuki Brigade of the Japanese Kwantung Army near Beiyuan and Xizhimen, where they faced concentrated attacks. Officers Shen Weigan and Zhang Hanming were both killed in the subsequent battles as they led their teams in desperate fights for survival. Amid the confusion, Yin Rugeng managed to escape when the convoy escorting him was broken up by Japanese forces. In a last-ditch effort, Zhang Qingyu ordered the army to split into small groups of 50 to 60, navigating through Mentougou to regroup with the 29th Army. By the time they reached Baoding, only about 4,000 personnel remained. On the morning of July 30, over a thousand troops from the Sakai Army entered Tongzhou City. They rounded up all men they encountered, searching residences for insurgents, and exhibited intentions of massacring the local population. By 4 p.m., the Kayashima Army arrived and sealed all city gates, deploying surveillance units to oversee the city and "restore public order." The Tsujimura Army removed perimeter defenses and concentrated their forces in barracks and storage facilities. Japanese troops combed through residences based on household registries, detaining those they deemed suspicious, with many later executed. As reported by the puppet county magistrate Wang Jizhang, roughly 700 to 800 individuals were executed within a few days. This brutal retaliation instilled terror throughout Tongzhou City, leading many to flee and seek refuge, often in American churches. The pervasive atmosphere of fear lasted for two to three months. The Japanese authorities framed their violent suppression as "restoring stability to East Asia" and derided the legitimate resistance of Chinese citizens as "communist harassment" and "treason." In response to the uprising, the Japanese embassy, concerned that it could trigger a repeat of the Temple Street Incident and instigate political upheaval at home, acted without government instructions. They appointed Morishima Morito to oversee negotiations with Chi Zongmo, who had replaced Yin Rugeng as the head of the "Hebei Anti-Communist Autonomous Government." On December 24, 1937, Chi submitted a formal apology to the Japanese embassy, committing to pay a total of 1.2 million yuan in reparations, with an immediate payment of 400,000 yuan, while the remaining 800,000 yuan would be disbursed by the "Provisional Government of the Republic of China." Furthermore, the Japanese demanded that the "Hebei Anti-Communist Autonomous Government" relinquish the territories where Japanese nationals had been killed and take responsibility for constructing "comfort towers." They compelled Chinese laborers to build these structures at the former site of the Governor's Office of Canal Transport in Shuiyueyuan Hutong, Nanmenli, and the northeastern corner of Xicang Square to commemorate Japanese casualties from the uprising. Additionally, they forcibly uprooted ancient trees from the Temple of Heaven, transplanting them around the "comfort towers." The Japanese military also demolished white marble guardrails at the Confucian Temple to erect a monument honoring their soldiers, resulting in the destruction of centuries-old cultural artifacts. On the morning of July 29, the Japanese Army's 11th Independent Mixed Brigade attacked Beiyuan and Huangsi. The Hebei-Northern Security Force, stationed in Huangsi, engaged the Japanese forces until 6:00 PM before retreating. Meanwhile, the 39th Independent Brigade, garrisoned in Beiyuan, fought the Japanese before withdrawing to Gucheng, eventually returning to Beiyuan. On July 31, this brigade was disarmed by the Japanese army, while the Independent 27th Brigade in the city was reorganized into a security team to maintain public order, later breaking through to Chahar Province a few days later and being assigned to the 143rd Division. Meanwhile, the 38th Division of the 29th Army, stationed in Tianjin, proactively attacked Japanese troops in Tianjin early on July 29, capturing the Japanese garrison at Tianjin General Station and launching an assault on the Japanese headquarters at Haiguang Temple and the Dongjuzi Airport. Initially, the battle progressed favorably; however, due to counterattacks from Japanese aircraft and artillery, the Chinese forces began to retreat around 3:00 PM, leading to the fall of Tianjin. Later that afternoon, the rebel forces evacuated Tong County and advanced toward Beiping. En route, they were attacked by the Japanese army north of the city and subsequently retreated to Baoding. As the 37th Division of the 29th Army received orders to retreat southward, the 110th Brigade covered the army headquarters and the Beiping troops from Wanping to Babaoshan, eventually retreating southward through Mentougou. After completing their task, they withdrew to Baoding on July 30. By the end of the 30th, the Japanese army had occupied both Beiping and Tianjin. The Japanese Independent Mixed Brigade No. 1 and the garrison brigade occupied high ground west of Changxindian and the area near Dahuichang on the evenings of the 30th and 31st, respectively. With this, the battles in Beiping and Tianjin effectively came to a close. China and Japan were at war. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. It has finally happened, China and Japan are officially at war. From 1931 until now, it had been an unofficial war between the two, yet another incident had finally broke the camel's back. There was no turning back as Japan would unleash horror upon the Chinese people. The fight for China's survival had begun. China was completely alone against a fierce enemy, how would she manage? 

It was very clever of the Government announcing that it was going to pump $12 billion into defence before saying anything about where the money's coming from. A lot of us got all excited about the defence money because, even if you're a pacifist, you would have to agree that our defence force has been running on the smell of an oily rag for a very long time. That's just a fact. And we kind of accepted that there would have to be trade-offs. We just didn't know, and we still don't know, what those trade-offs are going to be. Today though it's being proposed that NZ Super should be the Peter that pays Paul, and that we need to sort out the elephant in the room and make people wait longer before they get the pension. And I agree. It's come from economist Cameron Bagrie who has been trying to find out where the defence spend money is coming from. Without any detail forthcoming from the Government, he's suggesting the Super scheme. He's saying: “We cannot continue to shy away from that rising expense if other priorities, such as defence, are going to be met.” He's not the only one talking about the pension scheme needing a reworking. The NZ Herald's head of business Fran O'Sullivan says it was a National Government that increased the entitlement age for NZ Super from 60 to 65. But that the current National Party leadership is sticking with the idea of not doing anything about the eligibility age until 2044. The party's current commitment is to keep the age at 65 for another 19 years. Fran O'Sullivan describes that as “nonsense”. And I agree with her too. There is no way we can afford to keep paying the pension to anyone and everyone once they turn 65 for another 19 years. National's policy at the moment commits it to increasing the age of entitlement to 67 after 2044, which means no one born before 1979 will be affected. So someone who is 47 now, for example, would still get the pension when they turn 65. Crazy. There's also nothing in National's policy about doing something about the other nonsensical part of all this – where people still get the pension if they keep working beyond 65. Because the pension —when it comes down to it— is to help stop people falling into poverty after they retire. That's what it's designed for. It's not there to pay for some joker's beer on a Friday and Saturday night, who doesn't need it for anything else because he's still working and earning a salary or wages. Or he might be someone who's made a truckload of money running a business and still earns a dividend or maybe even still draws a salary. Back to Cameron Bagrie. He's saying today that health and NZ Super make up 37% of government operational expenses and that things are only going to get tighter with more defence spending. He says: “We now have a new pressure in the mix: national security - which is being prioritised. No credible political party can ignore that.” Referring to the pension, he says: “We cannot continue to shy away from that rising expense if other priorities, such as defence, are going to be met.” It's not something former National Prime Minister Jim Bolger shied away from. Somehow, he managed to convince New Zealanders that increasing the qualifying age for was “plain common sense”, because people were living longer and receiving the pension for a lot longer. Age eligibility went up to 61 within a year of that and it's been 65 since 2001. And just like it was looking less affordable then, it's looking even less affordable now. That's why we need to have the same fortitude - or our politicians do - and they need to bite the bullet, instead of ignoring it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

John Maytham speaks with Advocate Stefanie Fick of OUTA about mounting frustration over ongoing delays in issuing driving licence cards. Cape Town’s DLTCs have processed nearly 60,000 licence and PrDP applications this year, yet not a single card has been delivered due to a production failure at the national Driving Licence Card Account (DLCA) in Pretoria. With over 26 years’ experience in the justice system, Adv. Fick unpacks the accountability and governance breakdowns behind this national backlog.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last time we spoke about the January 28th Incident. In January of 1932, tensions escalated in Shanghai as anti-Japanese sentiments surged after Japan's invasion of Manchuria. Orchestrated by Yoshiko Kawashima, a Japanese spy, a provocation led to violence, sparking outrage among Japanese expatriates. Japan demanded apologies and compensation from China, threatening military action if their demands were unmet. As the Japanese military amassed forces in Shanghai, the Chinese 19th Route Army prepared to resist, igniting the conflict known as the January 28th Incident, marking the beginning of a fierce struggle for control. Amidst chaos, the Nanjing government struggled to respond to Japan's escalating aggression in Shanghai. Chiang Kai-Shek prioritized avoiding war, urging a diplomatic approach to protect Shanghai's economy. Despite pressure, the 19th Route Army was ordered to withdraw, but tensions flared when Japan attacked the Chinese garrison. The 19th Route Army fiercely resisted, leading to intense battles. As Japan sent reinforcements, Chiang faced mounting protests and criticism for his passive stance, questioning whether he could maintain his strategy against the encroaching enemy.   #144 The First Battle of Shanghai 1932 Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. In the last episode we covered the January 28th Incident. At 11:30 pm on January 28, Japan ordered 2,300 Japanese Marines to advance westward along every branch road on the west side of North Sichuan Road, without waiting for a response. This road, which crosses into the northern area of the International Settlement and has frequently been designated as a Japanese defense zone, includes Target Road (now known as Wujin Road in Hongkou District, Shanghai), Qiujiang Road, and Yokohama Road. Their objective was to seize the Songhu Railway defense line at Tiantong'an Station. They faced strong resistance from the 19th Route Army, further escalating the conflict. In the early hours of the 29th, Japanese aircraft launched from the Notoro seaplane carrier, which was moored on the Huangpu River, attacked the Chinese district of Zhabei. Both the Commercial Press located at No. 584 Baoshan Road and the Oriental Library, the largest private library in China with over 300,000 books, were completely destroyed. That same day the 19th Route Army sent a telegram to the entire nation concerning the situation: Do forgive me it's a rough translation “Urgent. Dear Sir and Madam, the Japanese have occupied our three northeastern provinces, changing the color of our territory and making our nation perish. Recently, they have killed and set fire in Shanghai, and vagrants are everywhere, doing the most despicable and violent things in the world. Gunboats are coming one after another, and the Marines are all landed. At 12:00 a.m. on the 28th, they openly invaded our defense line in Zhabei, Shanghai, and challenged us. Guang Nai and others are soldiers, and they only know that it is their duty to defend themselves and defend their land. They cannot give up even an inch of land or an inch of grass. They resist to save the country and protect the race. Even if they sacrifice only one person and one bullet, they will never retreat and lose the personality of the soldiers of the Republic of China. This thing and this ambition are exposed to the sun and the sun and are known to the world. The spirits of our ancestors in heaven are truly relying on it”. On the morning of January 29, Chiang Kai-shek met with He Yingqin and Zhu Peide to discuss countermeasures. Simultaneously Zhu Peide convened a meeting with He Yingqin, Gu Zhutong, Li Jishen, Deng Shizeng, Lin Wei, and others to address issues such as defense deployment, the security of Nanjing and the Yangtze River, and resistance against Japan. Chiang Kai-Shek established the principles going forward for negotiations with Japan, emphasizing the need to prepare for talks while actively resisting. He stated that negotiations must have a clear final line of defense and a maximum limit that would not compromise administrative and territorial integrity, undermine the spirit of the Nine-Power Treaty, or jeopardize national sovereignty. If these limits were exceeded and unacceptable concessions were made, a decisive battle would be fought, even at the cost of defeat and death.  The defense and military strategy for Beijing and Shanghai included the 19th Route Army defending Shanghai with full strength, while the front guard army consisting of the 87th and 88th divisions would protect Nanjing. He Yingqin would remain in Nanjing, overseeing all party, government, and military personnel left behind. Chiang, along with the Central Political Council of the Kuomintang, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the National Government, and Chen Mingshu, all expressed their commitment to resisting Japanese aggression. Chiang also sent a telegram to He Chengjun, director of the Hubei Province Pacification Office, and Xu Tingyao, commander of the Fourth Division, stating "Last night, the Japanese invaders attacked our 19th Route Defense Line in Zhabei, Shanghai, and the battle is ongoing. Our army is determined to fight to the death. Their naval forces in Han and Xun will likely engage in military operations. We urge you to remain vigilant and defend yourselves, never yielding to them. The Fourth Division should concentrate on strict defense in Wuhan and avoid dispersal. If military funds become scarce, local governments will need to raise them independently." The National Government Military Committee appointed Chiang Kai-shek, Feng Yuxiang, Yan Xishan, and Zhang Xueliang as members responsible for mobilizing the army and commanding the Shanghai War. Chiang Kai-Shek officially resumed power after resigning to prevent a surrender and committed to a prolonged resistance. On January 30, the Chinese Nationalist Government announced the relocation of the capital to Luoyang. Chiang Kai-shek sent a telegram urging resistance against the Japanese and dispatched the elite Fifth Army to reinforce Shanghai. That night, Dai Ji, the commander of the Songhu Garrison, took charge of military operations in Shanghai, overseeing the 19th Route Army. The commander-in-chief was Jiang Guangnai, with Cai Tingkai as the army commander and division commanders Qu Shounian, Mao Weishou, and Shen Guanghan. Chiang Kai-Shek then issued a telegram to his troops across the nation and again I apologize for the rough translation. "Since the Northeast Incident began, the Central Government has been enduring humiliation and maintaining peace in order to avoid war and protect the lifeline of the country. It hopes to use justice and fairness to awaken the Japanese pirates. Unexpectedly, the more we tolerate, the more arrogant they become. When the Shanghai Incident occurred, we accepted their demands with great pain, but the Japanese pirates still brazenly pressed on, repeatedly attacking our Shanghai Defense Force, bombing civilian houses, throwing bombs on the streets, and our compatriots were ravaged. The country is about to perish. Anyone with blood in his veins would rather endure it. Since the 19th Route Army has risen up to defend itself bravely, our entire army In this time of national destruction and extinction, when the revolutionary soldiers are facing imminent danger, they should fight for the dignity of the country, strive for the survival of the nation, fulfill their responsibilities for the revolution, and be determined to die rather than live in disgrace, so as to deal with the brutal Japan that destroys peace and despises faith and integrity... Chiang Kai-shek and his comrades have shared hardships for a long time. Although I am now in the opposition, I am willing to swear to live and die with the soldiers and fulfill my bounden duty. I am here to inform you in advance with my blood and sincerity, and ask you to be determined and work hard, share the same hatred with the enemy, do not be arrogant, maintain the spirit of sacrifice, stay ready to fight, and save the country from danger." From that day on, the various ministries, commissions and committees of the National Government began to move to Luoyang, but the Military Commission and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs remained in Nanjing . At the same time, the frontline troops were ordered to be jointly commanded by the Minister of Military Affairs He Yingqin and the Chief of the General Staff Zhu Peide.  Typically Chinese sources breakdown what is known as the First Battle of Shanghai into three phases. In the previous episode we looked through the event up until the point of the first phase. After the initial fighting, both the 19th route army and Japanese agreed to a ceasefire so they could strengthen their positions and at least allow some form of diplomacy to occur. This went into effect on the 29th. As we mentioned, immediately afterwards the Japanese rapidly began reinforcing their position in Shanghai. They first sent the Sasebo 26th Squadron on the 30th, bearing 474 troops of the Sasebo 3rd Special Marine Corps alongside supplies. The next day the aircraft carriers Kaga and Hosho came over with 30 aircraft from the 1st air fleet. Then the cruisers Naka, Yura and Abukuma alongside 4 torpedo boats came bearing another 2000 marines. On February 1st the Terukoku Maru brought over the Yokosuka 1st Special Marine corps, roughly 525 men who landed at Huishan Wharf. With all that said and done, roughly 7000 Japanese troops had been brought over. On February 1st, the IJN warships began bombarding Nanjing from the Yangtze River, prompting Yu Jishi to frantically demand Chiang Kai-Shek transfer more troops to Shanghai. That night the Japanese light cruiser Tenryu, the protected cruisers Hirado and Taima, and the seven ships of the Navy's 23rd Destroyer Squadron fired upon Nanjing using four 140mm guns, 12 152mm single-mounted rapid-fire guns, 12 120mm single-mounted guns, and 20 76mm single-mounted rapid-fire guns. The rich and officials fled the city for refuge, but the Japanese army did not land any men to follow up the attack. Simultaneously 40,000 Shanghai workers from over 20 Japanese owned cotton mills began an anti-Japanese strike, being heavily backed by Communists. The workers began aiding the 19th route army to blockade the Japanese in the factories and streets and sabotage what they could.  On February 2nd, the Japanese army attacked Wusong several times, but was repelled each time. On the 3rd the Japanese expanded their attacks against Zhabei, Baziqiao and other locations, but the Chinese defenders successfully repelled these assaults as well. On the 4th, the Japanese launched their first major offensive, which extended the conflict to Jiangwan and Wusong. Following a day of intense fighting, the Wusong fort was destroyed by enemy bombardment; however, the Japanese army was unable to land due to the determined resistance of the Chinese defenders. The anti-aircraft artillery company from the 88th Division, reassigned to the 4th Regiment of the 156th Brigade of the 19th Route Army, managed to shoot down a Japanese aircraft. After the failure of the general offensive, Yukiichi Shiozawa was dismissed and sent back to Japan. Vice Admiral Yoshisaburo Nomura, the newly appointed commander of the Third Fleet, succeeded Shiozawa. After Nomura assumed his role, the Japanese army began to bolster its forces. Japan had initially planned to deploy troops when tensions escalated in Shanghai, but the navy had opposed this move. However, as the situation deteriorated, the navy was compelled to seek assistance from the army. On February 2, the Japanese cabinet officially decided to send troops. In response to the urgent circumstances in Shanghai, they resolved to dispatch the Shanghai Dispatch Mixed Brigade, led by Brigade Commander Major General Shimomoto Kuma, along with the 9th Division, commanded by Lieutenant General Ueda Kenkichi. The Shanghai Dispatch Mixed Brigade and the Second Independent Tank Squadron were prioritized for transport. Concurrently, the Japanese Navy also sent the Yokosuka 2nd Special Marine Corps to Shanghai. The 24th Mixed Brigade landed in Wusong on the afternoon of February 7. By this time, the combined forces of the Japanese navy, army, and air force had exceeded 10,000 personnel. At dawn on February 8, the Japanese Army's 24th Mixed Brigade launched an attack on Zhanghuabang, Yunzaobang, and Wusong Town along three routes, but they were repelled by our forces. Meanwhile on February 4, the National Government Military Commission sent out a telegram that divided the country into four defense zones. The first zone, which includes the area north of the Yellow River, was assigned to Zhang Xueliang as the commander-in-chief. The second zone, covering the area south of the Yellow River, was placed under the command of Chiang Kai-shek. The third zone, encompassing the area south of the Yangtze River as well as Fujian and Zhejiang provinces, was led by He Yingqin. The fourth zone, which includes Guangdong and Guangxi, was commanded by Chen Jitang. The telegram also stated that, aside from maintaining troops for local stability, all commanders were to concentrate their forces within their respective defense zones to confront the aggressive Japanese. Additionally, a directive was issued for the provinces of Sichuan, Hunan, Guizhou, Hubei, Shaanxi, and Henan to send troops to serve as a general reserve. On February 5, upon learning that the Japanese army had been redeployed from mainland China to Shanghai, Chairman of the Military Commission Chiang Kai-shek sent a telegram from Luoyang to He Yingqin. He instructed that if the Japanese forces landed, the Chinese Air Force would engage in combat. Additionally, Chiang sent a message of condolence to Jiang Guangnai, Cai Tingkai, and Dai Ji of the 19th Route Army, stating "Brothers, you have been fighting valiantly for a week. Each time I reflect on the tremendous sacrifices made by the soldiers and their dedication, I feel a deep sadness... If necessary, Zhong (Zheng) can come to lead in person. When the Air Force enters the fray, the Army must establish various signals in advance to communicate with it and ensure coordinated efforts..." On the same day, the 88th Division arrived in Suzhou. On February 6, Chiang ordered the 261st Brigade of the 87th Division to move from Nanjing to reinforce Kunshan. The troops reached Kunshan on February 7. On February 8, Chiang directed He Yingqin to transfer an artillery battalion to support the 19th Route Army. Then, on February 9, Chiang Kai-shek mobilized the First Division, led by Commander Hu Zongnan, and the Seventh Division, commanded by Wang Jun, to prepare for reinforcement of the 19th Route Army in Shanghai. February 8th marks the second phase of the battle. On the 10th, to ensure that the 88th Division of the Central Army complied with the orders from the 19th Route Army of the Guangdong Army, Chiang Kai-shek sent a telegram to Yu Jishi insisting that "your troops must strictly follow the commands of Commander-in-Chief Chiang and coordinate their movements with allied forces." The Japanese Marine Corps, under Yukio Shiozawa, initiated a three-pronged encirclement attack from Hongkou. The National Army mounted a determined defense and ultimately repelled the Japanese forces, pursuing and destroying them, which significantly lowered their morale. On February 11, Chen Cheng, commander of the Central Army's 18th Army, sent a telegram to Chiang Kai-shek from Ji'an, Jiangxi, reporting that the troops had not been paid for nearly two months and were lacking food. At that time, the National Government was planning to redeploy the National Army that had been engaged in suppressing the Communists in Jiangxi to Zhejiang and Shanghai and to relocate the capital to Luoyang.  On February 12, following a battle at Caojiaqiao, the Japanese army's strategy to consolidate their forces was entirely disrupted. The next morning, February 13, the Japanese 24th Mixed Brigade crossed the Caojiaqiao Bridge in Zhuozaobang and engaged with the Nationalist army. Seizing the moment, the 19th Route Army Headquarters aimed to annihilate the Japanese forces. The Nationalist army surrounded the Japanese troops near the Yong'an Cotton Mill. Additionally, 60 members of a suicide squad launched a suicide attack, resulting in the complete destruction of 1,600 Japanese soldiers. The Japanese army faced significant losses, thwarting their attempt to swiftly capture Wusong. On February 14, Chiang ordered the 88th and 87th Divisions, which were already stationed in Nanxiang and Kunshan near Shanghai, to be reorganized into the Fifth Army. He appointed Zhang Zhizhong, a volunteer eager to fight against the Japanese, as the commander of the Fifth Army. This new army was placed under the unified command of the 19th Route Army and took over the defense line stretching from the northern end of Jiangwan through Miaoxing to the western end of Wusong. It served as the left-wing army, while the 19th Route Army acted as the right-wing, tasked with defending Jiangwan, the area south of Dachang, and the urban region of Shanghai. To replenish the 19th Route Army's losses, Chiang repeatedly ordered reinforcements from various locations. For instance, on February 15, Shangguan Yunxiang dispatched 500 active soldiers from Bengbu to the 19th Route Army; on February 17, Liang Guanying sent 500 unarmed soldiers from Qingjiangpu; and on February 19, Liu Zhi contributed 1,000 active unarmed soldiers from Henan. On February 16, Chiang Kai-shek communicated with Finance Minister Song Ziwen via telegram, stating, "Since the Japanese refuse to withdraw their troops from Shanghai, we must resist until the end. ... Food supplies in Jiangxi and Henan will dwindle, and assistance will be completely halted. Please arrange to deposit 10 million yuan in central banknotes in Nanchang and 20 million yuan in Zhengzhou. This will allow the government to continue functioning, the army to be sustained, and perhaps we can navigate this crisis and avert collapse. This is my final request. I hope you can find a way to assist." To prevent any friction between the Fifth Army and the Nineteenth Route Army over competing for military accolades, Chiang Kai-shek sent a telegram to Zhang Zhizhong and Yu Jishi on February 18. "The fight against Japan is a matter of national survival and is not a matter of honor for an individual or a certain unit. Our frontline officers and men should fully understand this. Therefore, the honor of the 19th Route Army is the honor of our entire National Revolutionary Army. There is absolutely no distinction between honor and disgrace. The Fifth Army's joining the front line is feared by the enemy and will also be slandered by the reactionaries (those who oppose the Nanjing Central Government). If we can continue to fight in the name of the 19th Route Army, it will be enough to demonstrate the strength of our National Revolutionary Army. We will share life and death, let alone honor and disgrace. I hope that this will be conveyed to the officers and men of the Fifth Army. They must unite and fight with our 19th Route Army and make no sacrifices to complete the revolutionary mission." Over on the other side, following reports of significant losses suffered by the Japanese army in Wusong, Tokyo received an imperial decree from Emperor Hirohito demanding the Shanghai incident get settled quick. In response, Chief of Staff Zairen urgently ordered the 9th Army Division, commanded by Ueda Kenkichi, to swiftly reinforce Shanghai. By the afternoon of February 13, the main contingent of the 9th Division had arrived at Shanghai Port, and by February 16, all personnel had disembarked in Wusong. Consequently, Lieutenant General Ueda took over command from Nomura. At this point, the Japanese invading forces comprised over 30,000 troops from naval, land, and air units, along with 60 to 70 field artillery pieces, more than 60 aircraft, and dozens of ships concentrated at the Wusong mouth. Ueda issued a statement late on the night of the 13th, asserting, "If anyone obstructs our division from fulfilling its mission, we will take decisive action without hesitation." On the 18th, he sent an ultimatum to Cai Tingkai, demanding, "Your army must immediately cease hostilities and withdraw from the following areas by 5:00 p.m. on February 20: on the west bank of the Huangpu River, retreat from areas connecting the western end of the concession, Caojiadu Town, Zhoujiaqiao Town, and Pushong Town to the north; on the east bank, withdraw from areas connecting Lannidu and Zhangjialou Town to the north, and retreat to a zone 20 kilometers away from the border of each concession Additionally, all military installations in the specified areas must be dismantled and no new ones established. If these demands are not met, the Japanese army will have no choice but to act freely against your forces, and your army will bear all resulting consequences." In response to Ueda's ultimatum, Tsai and Chiang ordered their front-line troops to fire heavily at Japanese positions as a warning. On the morning of February 20, Ueda commanded a full-scale attack across the front, employing tactics to break through the center while flanking from both sides. The 9th Division led the assault on the junction of Jiangwan and Miaohang, aiming to encircle Wusong from the north with the Kurume Brigade and Zhabei with the Marine Corps from the south. The Japanese began with artillery bombardments, followed by infantry and tank assaults on the Zhanghuabang and Yangshupu lines, both of which were successfully repelled by Chinese defenders. Over a thousand Japanese soldiers and several tanks in Zhabei were killed or wounded due to landmines. On February 21, Ueda personally directed thousands of infantry, supported by aircraft and artillery, to attack the Chinese defensive positions. Both sides incurred heavy casualties, and the battle continued until dawn on the 23rd. The Japanese forces attempted to encircle Jiangwan Town from Jiangwan Station, but the Chinese defenders fought valiantly, launching multiple charges and capturing Japanese Major Kong Sheng along with hundreds of soldiers. Ultimately, the Japanese army was unable to withstand the resistance and began to retreat. After the Japanese 9th Division arrived in Shanghai, it prepared to initiate a second major assault on the defenders of the city. The strategy involved a comprehensive attack stretching from Zhabei to Wusong to contain the Chinese army's strength, with primary forces concentrated on Jiangwan and Miaohang. The goal was to seize these two strategic points, achieve a breakthrough in the center, sever the link between the 5th Army and the 19th Route Army, and then defeat them individually. At dawn on February 20, the Japanese dispatched over ten aircraft for reconnaissance and bombing missions over the Miaohang area. Naval artillery and heavy army cannons heavily shelled the Miaohang positions. Simultaneously, Japanese artillery bombarded the Yunzaobang area in an effort to force a crossing and facilitate the Miaohang offensive.   By 9 am, part of the Japanese forces advanced towards the Xiaochang Temple and the Maijiazhai position, immediately conducting a fire search on our troops' positions. At noon, 3,000 Japanese soldiers launched an attack against our forces. The officers and soldiers of the 527th Regiment, defending the Maijiazhai and Zhuyuandun positions, mounted a counterattack, marking the beginning of the Battle of Miaohang. After three hours of intense fighting, the Japanese suffered significant casualties and were unable to continue, retreating to their original positions. Following this, over 2,000 Japanese troops attacked the Xiaochang Temple and Jinjiatang positions. The officers and soldiers of the 523rd Regiment, taking cover in the trenches, launched counterattacks and successfully repelled the Japanese forces. As dusk fell, the Japanese infantry halted their assaults, but naval and land artillery continued to bombard our positions in an attempt to weaken our defenses and personnel for a renewed attack the following day. On February 21, Japanese artillery relentlessly shelled the positions of the 88th Division of the Fifth Army in Miaohang. Following this, thousands of Japanese infantry launched an assault on the Yanjiazhai and Miaohang Town front. As the Japanese forces advanced, the officers and soldiers of the 523rd and 524th Regiments bravely counterattacked and successfully repelled them. However, a significant number of enemy troops coordinated a comprehensive assault on the Maijiazhai, Zhuyuandun, Xiaochangmiao, and Yanjiazhai lines south of Miaohang. Our 523rd, 524th, and 527th Regiments engaged in intense combat with the enemy, particularly at the Zhuyuandun front near Maijiazhai and Xu Xu, where the fighting was especially fierce. After a day of conflict, the enemy was temporarily pushed back. On February 22, the Japanese 9th Division launched a full-scale attack on the Miaohang position held by the 88th Division of the Fifth Army. Throughout the day, aircraft bombed the Chinese defenders, and thousands of artillery shells were fired at them. However, under the direct command of Zhang Zhizhong, the enemy faced a devastating defeat due to the coordinated three-pronged assault by the Sun Yuanliang Brigade, the Song Xilian Brigade, and the 61st Division of the 19th Route Army. The Miaohang position was ultimately saved from peril, inflicting heavy casualties on the elite forces of the Japanese 9th Division and the Kurume Mixed Brigade. This victory became known as the "Miaohang Victory." In the days that followed, the enemy continued their bombardment and attacks but were consistently repelled by the defenders. The Japanese army suffered significant losses, shifting from an all-out offensive to a more focused approach before ultimately halting their attacks. By the 25th, Ueda's overall offensive strategy had also failed. On February 24, the Japanese army decided to escalate the conflict once more, transferring the 11th and 14th divisions from Japan to join the Shanghai Expeditionary Force, which included troops already engaged in the war. At that time, the flagship of the Japanese Navy's Third Fleet, the Izumo, sustained damage from a bombing raid carried out by the suicide squad of the 19th Route Army, which sent shockwaves through Japan. Additionally, the large troop presence made a quick resolution to the war impossible. Consequently, on the 23rd, the Japanese cabinet decided to promptly reinforce the army. The General Staff then established the Shanghai Expeditionary Army Command, appointing General Shirakawa Yoshinori, the former Minister of War in the Tanaka Cabinet, to replace Ueda. They dispatched the 11th Division (led by Lieutenant General Atsutarou Atsuto), the 14th Division (led by Lieutenant General Naoaki Matsuki), and over 100 aircraft to China to initiate a larger-scale offensive in Shanghai. After several reinforcements, the Japanese forces in Shanghai, under Shirakawa's command, grew to over 90,000 troops, supported by 80 warships and 300 aircraft, significantly enhancing their combat effectiveness. In contrast, the total strength of the Chinese defenders was less than 50,000, with inadequate equipment. After a month of intense fighting, the Chinese forces had suffered heavy losses, leaving their river defenses in the Taicang Liuhe area vulnerable. Learning from the failures of the previous three commanders' frontal assaults, Shirakawa opted to land at Liuhe and flank the Songhu defenders. He directed the 9th Division and other units to launch a direct attack on Songhu and Shanghai while using the 3rd Fleet to escort the 11th Division into the Yangtze River estuary. They executed surprise landings at Liuhekou, Yanglinkou, and Qiyakou, quickly outflanking the defenders. On March 1, the Japanese forces initiated attacks in Naobei, Jiangwan, and Miaohang, employing heavy artillery, field guns, and aircraft for continuous bombardment. The infantry capitalized on this to engage in close-quarters combat, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides. Meanwhile, Shirakawa secretly instructed the 11th Division to exploit the weakness of the Chinese troops in Liuhe, forcibly landing at Qiyakou, Yanglinkou, and Liubinkou, ultimately capturing Liuhe. The fall of Liuhe posed a significant threat to the flank and rear of the Chinese army, compelling the entire force to retreat to the second line of defense (the Jiading-Huangdu line) by the evening of March 1.  After 34 days of intense fighting, they were forced to retreat to their second line of defense. At this point, the war had entered its final phase, resulting in a stalemate between the two sides. On the 2nd, the Japanese army seized Shanghai, and by March 3, they occupied Zhenru and Nanxiang, subsequently announcing a ceasefire. Now while we have been focused on the Japanese and Chinese perspectives in this, the international community was also heavily involved in the background. After the outbreak of hostilities, the British and American consuls in Shanghai offered to mediate. However despite a ceasefire being implemented the hostilities continued. So on February 2nd, Britain, America, France, Italy and Germany sent a notice to China and Japan "proposing to stop the conflict; (1) both sides immediately stop all violent acts according to the following conditions; (2) there will be no mobilization or preparation for any hostile acts between the two countries; (3) the Chinese and Japanese combatants in Shanghai will withdraw from the contact points; (4) a neutral zone will be established to separate the combatants of both sides to protect the public concession. The area will be garrisoned by neutral military and police, and various methods will be formulated by the consular corps; (5) once the two countries accept the treaty, they will not make any demands or reservations in advance, but will quickly negotiate with the assistance of neutral observers or participants in accordance with the spirit of the Kellogg-War Pact and the December 9th League of Nations resolution to resolve all outstanding issues..." Nanjing generally accepted the terms, but Japan instead proposed non-military zones be established 20 miles around the major ports of Shanghai, Hankou, Tianjin, Qingdao and Guangzhou as a sort of counter proposal. Meanwhile at the League of Nations, Yan Huiqing was drawing attention to the Shanghai incident, obviously linking it to the Manchuria incident and advocated for Article 10 of the League of Nations Charter, which was in regards to respecting territorial integrity and political independence of league nations. The League of Nations agreed and organized a committee to investigate the Shanghai incident. On February 4th Chiang Kai-Shek would write in his diary "As long as we do not lose our national sovereignty and territory, and the Japanese invaders do not put forward unacceptable conditions, we can take advantage of the opportunity of British and American intervention to negotiate with them; we cannot take a tough stance when other countries intervene, which will lead to adverse effects." By late February US Secretary of State Henry Stimson warned Japan for the second time, that the Nine Power Treaty and other treaties had to be maintained. Then on the 23rd he sent a letter reiterating the nine-power treaty and Kellogg War Pact to the League of Nations in regards to the Shanghai situation. On the 29th, a four-point plan for mediating the Shanghai incident was adopted at the League of Nations. The objective was to swiftly establish a local ceasefire agreement with the assistance of civil and military officials from various countries present in Shanghai. Following this, a round-table meeting was to be convened with representatives from nations with vested interests in Shanghai to discuss security measures for the International Settlement, the French Concession, and the local residents, as well as to address other issues. Subsequently, representatives from Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, and other nations unanimously supported the plan, with Chinese representative Yan Huiqing and Japanese representative Sato Naotake also indicating their general agreement in principle. However, on March 2, the situation escalated when the Japanese army compelled the Chinese forces to retreat to their second line of defense. The Japanese side adopted a more aggressive stance, presenting four stringent conditions and insisting that the Chinese army withdraw first before halting their attacks. The Japanese forces were only willing to withdraw to the Shanghai and Wusong areas and refused to do so under the supervision of neutral countries, which the Chinese government firmly rejected. On March 3, the Japanese army launched another offensive. On that same day, U.S. Secretary of State Stimson summoned Japanese Ambassador to the United States Idebuchi, condemning Japan for accepting the League of Nations resolution on February 29 while simultaneously escalating military operations. On March 3rd a ceasefire came into effect as a formal meeting was held at the British consulate. The Chinese delegation was led by Guo Taiqi, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, along with military representatives Dai Ji, Huang Qiang, and seven others. The Japanese delegation included Shigemitsu Mamoru, Minister to China, and military representatives Ueda, Tashiro, and nine others. Officials from Britain, the United States, France, and other nations also participated in the meeting. During the negotiations, numerous contentious issues arose, particularly regarding the timing and location of the Japanese army's withdrawal. It would take until May 5th for a armistice agreement to be signed. The agreement designated Shanghai as a demilitarized zone, prohibiting China from stationing troops in the areas around Shanghai, Suzhou, and Kunshan, while permitting a limited number of Japanese units to remain in the city. China was permitted to maintain only a small police force within Shanghai. According to Chinese war reports, a total of 10,254 Japanese soldiers were killed or wounded in the Battle of Shanghai on January 28. According to Japanese data, a total of 3,091 Japanese soldiers were killed or wounded in the invasion of Shanghai: 620 Japanese soldiers were killed and 1,622 were wounded in the army; 149 Japanese soldiers were killed and 700 were wounded in the navy. Another Chinese report, stated the 19th Route Army and the Fifth Army suffered a total of 14,104 casualties 4,274 killed and 9,830 wounded. Among them, the 19th Route Army suffered 8,792 casualties, while the Fifth Army suffered 5,312 casualties. Shanghai residents faced bombardments from Japanese aircraft and artillery, resulting in over 6,080 fatalities, more than 2,000 injuries, 10,400 missing persons, and property losses totaling 1.6 billion yuan. At the onset of the war, the Japanese military intentionally targeted cultural institutions in Shanghai, such as the Commercial Press and the Oriental Library, leading to the total destruction of the Commercial Press, the oldest and largest publishing house in China. The Oriental Library, which housed millions of volumes, including over 100,000 rare ancient texts from the Song and Yuan dynasties and the Sikuquanshu compiled during the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty, was first devastated by artillery fire and then looted by Japanese forces. Reports from that time indicated that the Japanese army used trucks to transport the remaining books for seven consecutive days. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. Thus what became known as the first battle of Shanghai had come to a not so swift end. Was its resolvement a victory for the League of Nations? Or was it just another indicator that the League of Nations was nothing but promises and pieces of paper? One man took notice of the Manchuria and Shanghai incidents, and he would soon bring Europe into a global war.  

Last time we spoke about the Jinzhou Operation and Defense of Harbin. After the Mukden Incident, Zhang Xueliang, despite commanding a large army, was pressured into non-resistance against Japan. As tensions escalated, the Japanese bombed Jinzhou to intimidate Zhang Xueliang and the Kwantung Army prepared to invade. By January 1, 1932, Zhang's forces retreated, marking a significant loss for China. Meanwhile, Ma Zhanshan emerged as a resistance hero, navigating complex alliances against Japanese aggression. In the face of Japanese aggression, Ding Chao rallied forces in Harbin, a crucial city in Northeast China. Together with Ma Zhanshan and other generals, they formed the Kirin self-defense army to resist the Japanese advance. Despite fierce battles, including victories at Shuiqu and Shulan, the Japanese ultimately launched a full-scale assault. After intense fighting, Harbin fell on February 5, 1932. The resistance crumbled, leading to Ma Zhanshan's defection and the establishment of the puppet state of Manchukuo.   #143 The January 28th Incident Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. In the words of Ron Burgundy, “phew, Boy, that escalated quickly... I mean, that really got out of hand fast”. Ishiwara Kanji unleashed the Mukden Incident, beginning a series of military conflicts. The Kwantung army invaded all three provinces of Manchuria, Ma Zhanshan tried to fight back at Heilongjiang, Ding Chao at Harbin and Zhang Xueliang at Jinhouz. All of this culminated in the conquest of Manchuria and the establishment of the new puppet state of Manchukuo. Yet another significant conflict also broke out in Shanghai of all places.  Now before we start this one I want to point out there are a lot of bias issues with how this incident began. It is known as the January 28th Incident or the First Battle of Shanghai. There are a few arguments as to how exactly it began, but the two main narratives are as such. During the invasion of Manchuria, anti-Japanese demonstrations broke out across China, particularly in large cities like Shanghai and Guangzhou. In most Japanese sources, these demonstrations got out of hand, requiring military action to defend Japanese citizens and property in Shanghai. Now as for Chinese sources, and I will say it here, I place a lot more credibility on the Chinese side on this one, during the Invasion of Manchuria, the League of Nations passed resolutions to get the Japanese to withdraw their troops and many of the members expressed support for China. Although the United States was not a member of the League, Secretary of State Stimson issued a "non-recognition" note in response to Japan's occupation of Jinzhou, aiming to pressure Japan. This isolation in the international arena heightened anxiety within the Japanese government and military, prompting them to seek conflicts in other regions of China to divert attention from their invasion of Manchuria.  Now a lot of trouble had been stirred up in Shanghai ever since the Mukden Incident broke out. Shanghai's business community initiated a boycott of Japanese trade, significantly impacting Japan's coastal and Yangtze River shipping industries. To give one example the "Nissin Steamship Company" halted all operations since the incident. Between July 1931 and the end of March 1932, Japanese merchants in Shanghai reportedly suffered losses amounting to 41,204,000 yen . To give you an idea, in 1930, Japanese goods accounted for 29% of Shanghai's average monthly imports, but by December 1931, this figure had plummeted to 3%. On October 5, 1931, the Japanese government convened a cabinet meeting, resolving that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would issue a stern warning to the National Government, with the Foreign Minister and Navy Minister overseeing the issue of ship deployment. Shanghai was the key hub for Western powers in China. It was here they made significant investments and maintained strong commercial interests in the region. The political and economic dynamics among these powers were intricate. Shanghai held the largest amount of foreign settlements and concessions. Any outbreak of war in Shanghai would inevitably capture international attention and prompt intervention from nations with vested interests, such as Britain, the United States, and France.  On October 1, Tanaka Takayoshi, the assistant military attaché at the Japanese Consulate in Shanghai and head of the Shanghai Secret Service, was summoned to Shenyang by Colonel Seishirō Itagaki who told him "Our next move is to occupy Harbin and make Manchuria independent. We have sent Colonel Doihara to pick up Puyi. If we succeed, the League of Nations will have a big fight and the Tokyo government will have a headache. I want you to do something in Shanghai to divert the attention of other countries. When you cause a commotion, we will take Manchuria." Tanaka promised to complete the task and said that he was "training an excellent spy who can bribe Chinese troublemakers in Shanghai to start this fake war".  Itagaki then withdrew 20,000 yen from the Kwantung Army's secret service funds and provided it to Tanaka for operational purposes. Now here it gets wild. Tanaka took the funds and paid a Japanese female spy named Kawashima Yoshiko, known also as Jin Bihui, but whose birthname was Aisin Giori Xianyu with the courtesy name of Dongzhen, meaning “eastern jewel”. Yes Manchu royalty, to be more precise the 14th daughter of Shanqi a Manchu prince of the Aisin Gioro clan of the former Qing Dynasty. Shanqi was a descendant of Hooge, the eldest son of Hong Taiji, it all comes full circle sometimes. After the Xinhai revolution, Xianyu was given up for adoption in 1915 to her fathers friend Naniwa Kawashima, a Japanese spy and adventurer. Thus here she took the name Yoshiko Kawashima. She was raised in Tokyo and excelled at judo and fencing. In 1922 he biological father Shanqi died and as Manchu royal tradition dictated, her biological mother committed suicide to join her husband in death. On November 22nd of 1925, Yoshiko stated the she “decided to cease being a woman forever”. Henceforth she stopped wearing a kimono, undid her traditional female hair style and took a final photo to commemorate “my farewell to life as a woman”. That same evening she went to a barbershop and got a crew cut and from there went to a men's clothing store. A photo of this dramatic transformation appeared 5 days later in the Asahi Shimbun under the headline "Kawashima Yoshiko's Beautiful Black Hair Completely Cut Off - Because of Unfounded 'Rumors,' Makes Firm Decision to Become a Man - Touching Secret Tale of Her Shooting Herself". This title was in reference to a prior scandal where she allegedly shot herself in the chest with a pistol given to her by Iwata Ainosuke. Historians believe it is much more likely she chose to become a man because of the death of her parents, failed romances or possibly sexual abuse from her foster father. Kawashima would go on to explain to a new reporter two days later "I was born with what the doctors call a tendency toward the third sex, and so I cannot pursue an ordinary woman's goals in life... Since I was young I've been dying to do the things that boys do. My impossible dream is to work hard like a man for China, for Asia." She was in fact something of a tomboy in her youth, despite being quite beautiful.  Now obviously the times being the times, those close to her were, lets just say not very receptive to this dramatic change. Thus in November of 1927, at the age of 20, her brother and adoptive father arranged her marriage in Port Arthur to one Ganjuurjab, the son of the Inner Mongolian Army General Babojab, who had led the Mongolian-Manchurian Independence Movement in 1911. The marriage lasted only three years, ending in divorce. Following this, she left Mongolia and began touring coastal cities of China before adopting a bohemian lifestyle back in Tokyo, where she had relationships with both men and women. She then moved to Shanghai's foreign concession, where she met the Japanese military attaché and intelligence officer Ryukichi Tanaka. This takes us back to our story at hand.  On the afternoon of January 18th, 1932, Yoshiko Kawashima orchestrated an incident by enlisting two Japanese Nichiren monks and three other Japanese supporters to stir up trouble at the Sanyou Industrial Company headquarters on Mayushan Road, located near the East District of the Shanghai International Settlement. The group of five Japanese individuals watched the worker volunteer army training outside the factory and threw stones to provoke a confrontation, intentionally sparking a conflict. Prior to this, Yoshiko Kawashima had also hired thugs disguised as workers to blend in with the crowd. During the altercation, the five Japanese individuals were attacked by unknown assailants. The Japanese Consulate General later reported that one of the Japanese individuals had died and another was seriously injured. However, the police were unable to apprehend the culprits, prompting Japan to accuse the Chinese factory patrol team of being behind the attack. This event became known as the "Japanese monk incident."   At 2:40 am on January 20, following orders from  Yoshiko, the military police captain Chiharu Shigeto led 32 members of the Shanghai "Japanese Youth Comrades Association in China" to sneak into the Sanyou Industrial Company factory. They brought guns, bayonets, and other weapons, along with flammable materials such as saltpeter and kerosene. Dozens of members of the Japanese Youth Association set fire to the Sanyou Industrial Society at night , and hacked to death and injured two Chinese policemen from the Municipal Council who came to organize firefighting. That afternoon, Tanaka Takayoshi instigated 1,200 Japanese expatriates to gather at the Japanese Residents' Association on Wenjianshi Road, and marched along Beichuan Road to the Japanese Marine Corps Headquarters at the north end of the road, demanding that the Japanese Marine Corps intervene. When they reached Qiujiang Road, they started rioting and attacked Chinese shops. In response, Shanghai Mayor Wu Tiecheng formally protested to Japan. Japan in return demanding a formal apology from the mayor and the apprehension of the person responsible for the death of the Japanese monk. Japan also insisted that China pay compensation for medical and funeral expenses, handle the anti-Japanese protests, and immediately disband any groups hostile to Japan. China had the option to firmly reject these unreasonable demands. On the morning of January 21, Japanese Consul General Murai Kuramatsu met with Shanghai Mayor Wu Tiecheng to express regret for the Japanese arson and the killing of Chinese police officers. He promised to arrest the Japanese ronin responsible for the fire. At the same time, he presented a formal protest regarding the "Japanese monk incident" and outlined four demands: (1) The mayor must issue an apology to the Consul General; (2) The authorities should swiftly and effectively search for, arrest, and punish the perpetrators; (3) The five victims should receive medical compensation and consolation money; (4) All illegal actions against Japan should be prohibited, with the Shanghai Anti-Japanese National Salvation Association and other anti-Japanese groups disbanded promptly.  Starting on January 22, Admiral Shiozawa of the Japanese Navy and Consul General Murai demanded that Shanghai Mayor Wu dissolve anti-Japanese groups and halt any boycott activities. Representatives of Japanese business conglomerates also filed complaints with the Shanghai International Settlement's Municipal Council, calling for an official apology from China for the offensive report and attacks on monks, and demanding that the attackers be punished. As tensions rose, the Japanese Residents Association urged Japanese naval forces in Shanghai to take measures to protect their safety. That same day Yukichi Shiozawa, Commander of the 1st Japanese Expeditionary Fleet in Shanghai, made a threatening declaration, stating that if the mayor of Shanghai failed to respond adequately to the four demands presented by Matsui, the Japanese Navy would take "appropriate action." Even before this the Japanese Navy had deployed troops and sent additional warships to Shanghai under the pretext of protecting its citizens In addition to the warships that arrived in Shanghai after the Mukden incident, the Japanese Navy sent the cruiser Oi and the 15th Destroyer Squadron (comprising four destroyers) from the mainland Wu Port on January 21. They carried over 450 personnel from the 1st Special Marine Corps along with a large supply of arms and arrived in Shanghai on January 23. The following day, the Notoro special service ship (an aircraft carrier of 14,000 tons, carrying six aircraft) anchored in Port Arthur, also arrived in Shanghai. On January 22, the Japanese government convened a meeting and decided to take appropriate measures, with Navy Minister Osumi Tsuneo handling the situation as deemed necessary. By January 25, the heads of the Japanese Navy Ministry and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a joint session, where they agreed that if the Chinese side failed to demonstrate sincerity or meet Japan's demands, force would be used to ensure compliance. They also agreed on specific “emergency actions." On January 26, the Navy Ministry met again and resolved to demonstrate Japan's military strength within the next day or two. The proposed measures were as follows: (1) If the Shanghai garrison was insufficient, the Second Fleet would be deployed; (2) Japanese citizens in Shanghai would be directly protected; (3) The Japanese Navy would secure the route from Wusong to Shanghai; (4) All Chinese vessels would be detained outside Wusongkou; (5) Additional warships would be sent to ports in Nanjing, Hankou, Guangzhou, Shantou, Xiamen, and other locations, with civil unrest in those areas also being addressed. Emperor Hirohito authorized the Japanese Navy's military actions. On the 26th, Hirohito's military meeting, led by Chief of Staff Prince Kan'in (Prince Zaihito), ordered Yukichi Shiozawa in Shanghai to "exercise the right of self-defense." That same day, the Japanese Navy Ministry urgently deployed the 1st Torpedo Squadron (flagship "Yubari" cruiser, accompanied by the 22nd, 23rd, and 30th Destroyer Squadrons, totaling 12 destroyers), with over 460 personnel from the 2nd Special Marine Corps, which arrived in Shanghai on the afternoon of January 28. By this time, the Japanese military had gathered 24 warships, over 40 aircraft, more than 1,830 marines, and between 3,000 to 4,000 armed personnel in Shanghai, stationed across the Japanese concession and along the Huangpu River. On January 28, the Japanese Navy Ministry instructed the deployment of the aircraft carriers Kaga and Hosho, the cruisers Naka, Yura, and Abukuma, and four mine carriers from the mainland to Shanghai. Back on the 24th, 1932, Japanese intelligence agents set fire to the residence of the Japanese Ambassador to China, Shigemitsu Mamoru, in Shanghai, falsely accusing the Chinese of the act. On the 27th, Murai issued an ultimatum to the Shanghai authorities, demanding a satisfactory response to four conditions by 18:00 on the 28th, threatening necessary actions if the deadline was not met. Meanwhile, with threats and rumors of a Japanese naval landing circulating in Shanghai, the nearby 19th route army units moved closer to the International Settlement's Little Tokyo. The 19th Route Army of the Guangdong Army was in charge of defending Shanghai at the time, with Jiang Guangnai serving as the commander-in-chief and Cai Tingkai as the commander. Chen Mingshu, the leader of the 19th Route Army and commander of the Beijing-Shanghai garrison, was a strong proponent of responding to the Japanese army's provocations. The Chinese public, along with critics of the Nanjing government, called for punishment of the Manchurian warlord forces who had failed to halt the Kwantung Army's blitzkrieg, which encouraged officers of the 19th Route army to take a firm stance. As the Nanjing government had not enacted any policies, General Cai Tingkai and his colleagues convened an emergency meeting on January 23, pledging to resist any potential Japanese naval invasion of Shanghai at all costs. Now the Nanjing government response to this crisis was quite chaotic as you can imagine. There was still a anti communist campaign going on, Manchuria was being taken over and Chiang Kai-Shek fully understood they could ill afford an all out war with Japan. There was a general feeling things were getting out of hand, the league of nations were failing to do anything. Thus Chiang Kai-Shek retained his passive stance. On January 23rd after extensive consultations with Wang Jingwei and Chiang Kai-shek, newly appointed Executive Yuan President Sun Ke urgently telegraphed Shanghai Mayor Wu Tiecheng. "Our priority should be the preservation of Shanghai as the economic center, adopting a moderate stance towards Japan's demands. We must immediately gather all sectors to diplomatically explain our position and avoid conflict to prevent Shanghai from being seized by force." That same day, Minister of Military Affairs He Yingqin also sent a telegram to Wu Tiecheng, emphasizing, "Shanghai is our economic hub, and we must continue peaceful negotiations and avoid conflict." On that same day He Yingqin instructed the 19th Route Army to withdraw from Shanghai and relocate west of Nanxiang within five days. Zhang Jingjiang then invited Cai Tingkai to Du Yuesheng's home, where he convinced the 19th Route Army to "withdraw to the Nanxiang area to avoid confrontation with the Japanese." Upon learning of the Nationalist government's position, both Chiang Kai-shek and Cai Ying-ying were disappointed, but they expressed willingness to follow military orders and withdraw from Shanghai. As Chiang Guangnai put it, "We must simply obey the government's orders." On the afternoon of January 27, Chief of Staff Zhu Peide and Minister of Military Affairs He Yingqin deployed the 6th Military Police Regiment to assume responsibility for defending the 19th Route Army's positions in the Zhabei area of Shanghai. The regiment departed Nanjing Station at 8 pm on January 27, reaching Zhenru by noon on the 28th. The first battalion arrived at Shanghai North Station that afternoon, preparing to take over defense from the 6th Regiment of the 156th Brigade of the 78th Division of the 19th Route Army in Zhabei at dawn on January 29. Back on the 27th, after Murai issued an ultimatum to the Chinese authorities in Shanghai, Mayor Wu Tiecheng, responding to a request from both the Nanjing National Government and various sectors of Shanghai, sent a letter on the 28th at 13:45 accepting all the unreasonable demands made by the Japanese. Later, at 11:05 pm the Shanghai Public Security Bureau received a response from Murai, which was directed to both Mayor Wu Tiecheng and the head of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau. In the letter, Murai expressed "satisfaction" with Shanghai's acceptance of Japan's four demands, but also insisted on the withdrawal of Chinese troops from Zhabei, citing the need to protect overseas Chinese. Wu Tiecheng received this response at 11:25 pm At 11:30 pm, without waiting for a reply from the Chinese side, the Japanese military launched an attack on the Chinese garrison in Zhabei. In response, Weng Zhaoyuan's troops from the 156th Brigade of the 78th Division of the 19th Route Army, along with part of the 6th Regiment of the Military Police that had been sent to reinforce the defense, fought back.  During the January 28 Incident, the 19th Route Army, stationed in the Beijing-Shanghai area, was the Chinese military force involved. Following the September 18 Incident, Chiang Kai-shek entered into negotiations with the Guangdong faction. As part of these discussions between Nanjing and Guangdong, the Guangdong side proposed that Chen Mingshu, a Cantonese leader, be appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Beijing-Shanghai garrison. On September 30, 1931, Chiang Kai-shek agreed to this proposal. Consequently, the 19th Route Army, under Chen Mingshu's command, was transferred from Ganzhou, Jiangxi, where it had been stationed after the September 18 Incident (following Chiang's decision to halt "suppressing the Communists"), to defend the Beijing-Shanghai area. By November, the army was fully deployed along the Beijing-Shanghai line. The military leadership included Jiang Guangnai as commander-in-chief, Cai Tingkai as army commander, and Dai Ji as the garrison commander. The army was composed of the 60th Division, led by Shen Guanghan, stationed in Suzhou and Changzhou; the 61st Division, led by Mao Weishou, stationed in Nanjing and Zhenjiang; and the 78th Division, led by Qu Shounian, stationed in Shanghai, Wusong, Kunshan, and Jiading. The total strength of the army was over 33,000 soldiers. By early November, after the 19th Route Army had secured the Beijing and Shanghai areas, the military leadership, influenced by the Shanghai populace's strong anti-Japanese sentiment, resolved to resist the impending Japanese invasion. On January 15th the 19th Route Army assessed intelligence indicating an inevitable Japanese attack and began preparing for defense, less than two weeks before the invasion. On th 19th Jiang Guangnai convened a meeting of the 19th Route Army officers in Shanghai. During the meeting, several strategic policies were decided, as recalled by Cai Tingkai. These included. Maintaining an invisible state of alert in response to potential enemy harassment. Ensuring that frontline units were adequately reinforced, with Qu Shounian's division tasked with holding for at least five days. Rapidly constructing fortifications in each defense zone, while rear units pre-select lines of resistance. Ensuring that the 60th and 61st divisions could reinforce Shanghai within five days of the start of hostilities. Establishing a stance on the Shanghai Concession. Issuing an order that, starting January 20, no officers or soldiers were to remain in the concession unless on official duty. On January 23, 1932, under mounting pressure from Japan, Chen Mingshu, Jiang Guangnai, Cai Tingkai, and others issued a "Letter to All Officers and Soldiers of the 19th Route Army," urging a great spirit of sacrifice. On the same day, the army issued a secret combat order, stating that they must be fully prepared for war to defend the nation. If the Japanese attacked, all efforts should be focused on repelling them. The 19th Route Army was poised to resist the Japanese invasion in the Songhu area.   On January 24, 1932, Cai Tingkai and his colleagues arrived in Suzhou and held an emergency meeting with senior garrison commanders, including Shen Guanghan, to communicate the secret order issued on January 23. The generals unanimously supported the directive. However, under pressure from the National Government to avoid war, Chiang, Cai, and others reluctantly agreed to comply with an order to withdraw from Shanghai. They ordered the Zhabei garrison to exchange duties with the 6th Military Police Regiment on the morning of January 29. Due to the tense situation, the commander of the 156th Brigade of the 78th Division instructed the 6th Regiment at Zhabei to remain on high alert. At 11:00 PM on January 28, Dai Ji also ordered strict vigilance to prevent the Japanese army from occupying Zhabei during the guard change, instructing all units to take their positions and be on high alert. At 11:30 pm on January 28, 1932, Major General Shiozawa and the Japanese Marine Corps unexpectedly attacked the Chinese garrison located on the west side of North Sichuan Road. In response, the 6th Regiment of the 156th Brigade of the 19th Route Army, commanded by Zhang Junsong, promptly initiated a strong counteroffensive. At that moment, the Japanese forces, spearheaded by over 20 armored vehicles, split into five groups and launched assaults from different intersections in Zhabei. Upon receiving news of the Japanese attack, Jiang Guangnai, Cai Tingkai, and Dai Ji hurried to Zhenru Station on foot during the night, established a temporary command center, and instructed the rear troops to advance swiftly to Shanghai as per the original plan. At dawn on the 29th, the Japanese forces launched a series of intense assaults, supported by armored vehicles. Aircraft from the carrier "Notoro" bombed the Zhabei and Nanshi districts, leading to rapid escalation of the conflict. The 156th Brigade of the defending forces fiercely resisted the Japanese advances, using cluster grenades against the enemy's armored units and organizing stealth squads to sabotage enemy vehicles. They held their positions and counterattacked at opportune moments under artillery cover, successfully repelling the relentless Japanese assaults. According to Japanese accounts, the battle was described as "extremely fierce, with fires raging everywhere, flames filling the sky, and the battlefield in a state of devastation." At around 10 am, Japanese aircraft dropped bombs, causing the Commercial Press and the Oriental Library to catch fire, resulting in the destruction of over 300,000 books, including many rare ancient texts. More than a thousand Japanese soldiers, shielded by heavy artillery and armored vehicles, launched a vigorous attack at the intersection of Baoshan Road and Qiujiang Road, aiming to seize the Shanghai North Railway Station. This station was a crucial land transport hub, and its control was vital for the safety of the entire Zhabei area. At 2 pm on the 29th, taking advantage of the chaos at the North Station, the Japanese forces mounted a fierce assault. A company from our military police engaged in combat with the Japanese for an hour before withdrawing from the station. By 5 pm on the 29th, the main force of the 156th Brigade entered the fray and launched a counteroffensive, reclaiming both the North Station and Tiantong'an Station. They pressed their advantage and captured the Japanese Shanghai Marine Corps Headquarters, forcing the Japanese troops to retreat east of North Sichuan Road and south of Target Road. The initial Japanese offensive ended in defeat. Following the setback, British and American consuls intervened to mediate in the afternoon of the 29th (the Shanghai government stated it was at the request of the Japanese consuls, while the League of Nations report indicated it was initiated by the mayor of Shanghai). The Chinese and Japanese forces agreed to cease hostilities at 8 pm that night. Although the 19th Route Army recognized this as a delaying tactic, they consented to the ceasefire to allow for troop redeployment. Concurrently, the 19th Route Army strengthened their positions, urgently ordering the 60th Division from east of Zhenjiang to move into Nanxiang and Zhenru, while transferring the 61st Division to Shanghai. The 78th Division, stationed in Shanghai, was fully mobilized to the front lines to bolster defenses and prepare for further combat. Following the ceasefire, the Japanese army made significant efforts to bolster its forces. The Japanese Navy Ministry promptly dispatched four destroyers from the Sasebo 26th Squadron, under the command of the cruiser "Tatsuta," to reach Shanghai on January 30 and dock at Huangpu Wharf. Accompanying the vessels were 474 soldiers from the Sasebo 3rd Special Marine Corps, along with a substantial supply of ammunition. On the morning of January 31, the Japanese aircraft carriers Kaga and Hosho reached Shanghai, bringing approximately 30 aircraft from the First Air Fleet. They anchored off the coast of the Ma'an Islands, about 130 kilometers east of Shanghai. By 4 pm, three cruisers Naka , Yura , and Abukuma along with four torpedo boats arrived in Shanghai, transporting over 2,000 marines who disembarked in groups. On February 1, the Japanese cruise ship "Terukoku Maru," carrying the Yokosuka 1st Special Marine Corps 525 men, docked at Shanghai Huishan Wharf. On the 2nd, the Japanese Navy Central Headquarters established the Third Fleet with ships from the First Overseas Fleet in the Yangtze River area, with the Izumo serving as the flagship (the Izumo arrived in Shanghai on February 6) under the command of Vice Admiral Yoshisaburo Nomura, to execute coordinated military operations. Following the reinforcement of Japanese forces, they resumed attacks on Chinese defenders in Zhabei, Baziqiao, and other locations on February 3 but were still repelled. On February 4, the Japanese launched their first major offensive, expanding the conflict to Jiangwan and Wusong. After a day of intense fighting, the Wusong open-air artillery fort suffered destruction from enemy bombardment, yet the Chinese defenders successfully prevented a Japanese landing. The anti-aircraft artillery unit from the 88th Division, assigned to the 4th Regiment of the 156th Brigade of the 19th Route Army, shot down a Japanese aircraft. Following the failure of the general offensive, Yukiichi Shiozawa was relieved of his command and sent back to Japan. Vice Admiral Yoshisaburo Nomura, the newly appointed commander of the Third Fleet, took over Shiozawa's position. Upon his appointment, the Japanese military began to bolster its forces. Even before the situation in Shanghai escalated, Japan had planned to deploy ground troops, but this was initially rejected by the navy. However, as the situation deteriorated, the navy had to request assistance from the army. On February 2, the Japanese cabinet officially decided to deploy ground forces. Due to the urgent circumstances in Shanghai, they resolved to send the Shanghai Dispatch Mixed Brigade, led by Major General Shimomoto Kuma and the 9th Division, led by Lieutenant General Ueda Kenkichi, with the Shanghai Dispatch Mixed Brigade and the Second Independent Tank Squadron being transported first. Concurrently, the Japanese Navy dispatched the Yokosuka 2nd Special Marine Corps to Shanghai. The 24th Mixed Brigade landed in Wusong on the afternoon of February 7.  Now within the backdrop of all of this Nanjing was certainly freaking out. What had started as a small incident, had escalated into a full blown battle. The Japanese were continuously sending reinforcements, and now so was China. Chiang Kai-Shek had recently resigned and came back as Generalissimo ushering in the slogan "first internal pacification, then external resistance." With that he had led a massive campaign against the Jiangxi Soviet, while avoiding a frontal war against Japan. Obviously this led to wide scale protest in China, which in turn contributed to this new incident in Shanghai. The Shanghai incident was certainly disrupting Chiang Kai-Shek's offensives against the communists, allowing those like Hu Hanmin's Guangdong based 19th Route Army to deal with the Japanese at Shanghai. Yet how long could Chiang Kai-Shek keep this up? Should he divert all attention to the Japanese? Will he step down again in shame for not facing the encroaching foreign empire?  I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. The January 28th Incident was yet another powder keg like moment for the very vulnerable and still fractured Chinese nation. Chiang Kai-Shek had internal enemies left-right and center and now the Empire of Japan was pressing its luck to keep seizing more and more from his nation. What was the Generalissimo to do in the face of these insurmountable odds?   

Last time we spoke about Gokokujo and Collaborators. In September 1931, the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters aimed to contain the Mukden Incident but faced resistance from the Kwantung Command. Led by General Honjo, Japanese forces quickly overwhelmed Chinese troops, seizing key cities in Manchuria. Despite Tokyo's disapproval, military leaders acted independently, invoking the Emperor's authority. Amidst the chaos, local Chinese leaders cooperated with the invaders, leading to a swift Japanese victory. As the military expanded its power, the civilian government struggled to regain control, illustrating the complexities of Japan's political landscape. In 1931, the Kwantung Army's officers, led by Ishiwara and Itegaki, aimed for a military occupation of Manchuria, initially allowing local officials autonomy. However, Tokyo's rejection of annexation forced them to claim Manchurian independence. Amidst confusion and infighting, Komai Tokuzo emerged as a key figure, manipulating local elites to establish control. The Japanese employed violence and persuasion, swiftly occupying cities while puppet leaders maintained a facade of governance. As resistance brewed, Zhang Xueliang and others sought to reclaim their homeland from Japanese dominance.   #140 The Jiangqiao Campaign: The Resistance of Ma Zhanshan Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. For quite some time we have spoken about countless variables involved with the conquest of Manchuria. More or less we broke down three sorts of players in this invasion: those Chinese who chose to collaborate with the Japanese, those who tried to act neutral and sit upon the fence and then there were those who resisted. The resistance against the Japanese was not unified, often it was pockets of groups trying to hold out as long as possible. The resistance took on various forms for various reasons. One of the resistance stories I always found more interesting than the rest was the story of Ma Zhanshan. Ma Zhanshan was born in 1885 in Gongzhuling of Jilin province to a poor shepherding family. Ma was of Manchu heritage as stated by his grandson Ma Zhiwei who became a member of the Chinese Peoples' political consultative conference. At a very young age, Ma joined a bandit group in Heihushan. This bandit group gradually was incorporated into some troops of Huaide county yamen. During the Russo-Japanese War, Ma was one of the many local soldiers who served under the Japanese. At the age of 20, as a result of his exceptional marksmanship and equestrianism, Ma was promoted to Guard Monitor of the 4th security Guard Battalion under Wu Junsheng. Wu Junsheng commanded the Tianhou Road Patrol and defense battalion for Mukden in 1908. In 1913 Ma was appointed as Major and Company commander over the 3rd company, 3rd regiment, 2nd Brigade of the Central Cavalry Army of Republic China. By 1920 he was promoted to Colonel and followed his superior Wu Junsheng who became a warlord. He gradually found himself serving Zhang Zuolin's Northeastern Army, serving as a brigade commander of the 5th cavalry brigade, 17th cavalry division. By 1927 he was transferred to Heilongjiang where he became a garrison commander at Heihe, along the Soviet border. After Zhang Zuolins death in 1928 Ma was nominated as Heilongjiang's Provincial Bandit Suppression Commander and the provincial cavalry commander in chief. During the Mukden Incident of September 18th, 1931, General Xie Ke, the deputy commander in chief of Qiqihar took a series of strategic measures to block the Japanese and their Chinese collaborationist troops from invading their territory. Xie Ke dispatched two battalions of infantry and an artillery regiment to defend Qiqihar under Park Bingshan; a regiment led by Zhu Fengyang from Xiaohaozi station to Tailai to guard in the direction of Taonan; the first cavalry brigade of Wu Shongli from Baiquan to Qiqihar; a guard regiment under Xu Baozhen, with a battalion of artillery, a company of engineers and a company of baggage, roughly 2000 people to take up a position north of Jiangqiao where they began building fortifications, laid minefields south of the critical Nenjiang bridge there and mounted 100 Czech made light machine guns to the front lines.  Now when the Mukden Incident broke out, the Governor of Heilongjiang province, Wan Fulin was in Beiping leaving no one of real authority in the province to take charge of its defenses against the Japanese. Meanwhile Liaoning and Jilin were basically trampled upon without much incident. From Beiping Zhang Xueliang telegraphed the Nanjing government to ask for instructions as what he should do, but in the meantime he appointed Ma Zhanshan as acting Governor and Military commander in chief of Heilongjiang Province on October 10th, 1931. Now a full General, Ma Zhanshan arrived at the capital Qiqihar on the 19th and began personally inspecting the troops and defensive positions. By this point Chiang Kai-Shek had made it known the stance of Nanjing was one of passiveness, to wait for negotiations to unfold to settle the matter. Zhang Xueliang loyally followed said commands, but multiple parties within Manchuria sought to either surrender, openly collaborate or resist the Japanese. Under the circumstances, Ma Zhanshan told his troops “I am appointed as Chairman of the Province, and I have the responsibility to defend the Province and I will never be a surrendering general". Thus Ma Zhanshan chose to disobey the Kuomintang's orders not to resist the Japanese. Meanwhile also during the month of October, General Zhang Haipeng of the 2nd Provincial Defense Brigade at Taonan had just been approached by the Japanese seeking collaboration. Zhang Haipeng had been a Honghuzi irregular cavalry commander during the first sino-japanese war. He later became a mercenary during the Russo-Japanese War and went on to study at the Northeast Military academy. After the Xinhai revolution he was assigned command of an infantry regiment, but was one of the morons who supported Zhang Xun's attempt to restore the Qing Dynasty in 1917. After that debacle he went to work for Zhang Zuolin and in 1923 was appointed a commissioner of the Chinese Eastern Railway. When the Japanese asked him to collaborate, Zhang Haipeng immediately seized command of the local forces including the Xing'an Reclamation Army to declare the district independent from China. He did this in return for a shipment of military supplies from the IJA. Upon taking charge on October 23, Zhang Haipeng dispatched 3 regiments from Baichengzi to attack Jiangqiao led by General Xu Jinglong. Xu Jinglong's advance guard with an engineering company was attacked by forces led by General Dou Lianfang defending the north bank around the Nenjiang Bridge. During the battle, Ma Zhanshan had his forces use dynamite to damage the Nenjiang railroad bridge. The Japanese began to repeatedly demand Ma Zhanshan allow them to repair the bridge, but he continuously refused and had his forces defend the area near Daxing preventing Zhang Haipengs men from proceeding north. By October the 15th, the Japanese provided some fighter-bomber support, but Zhang Haipengs forces suffered heavy casualties and were counterattacked until they retreated. At this time Ma Zhanshan was traveling from Heihe to Qiqihar. By the 20th Ma officially took office as the acting chairman of Heilongjiang and went to the front lines to encourage the men. He issued a reward for the head of Zhang Haipeng and announced the establishment of the Heilongjiang Army Provincial HQ. Xi Ke became his chief of staff and deputy commander. On October 22nd, Ma Zhanshan issued a declaration in response to the Japanese massing forces along the border of Heilongjiang. "In this difficult time for the country, two of the three provinces have been lost. Those who have a little conscience will all sleep on straw and taste gall, and swear to survive. Although our Heilongjiang is still a clean piece of land... From now on, anyone who invades our province will fight to the death." Ma Zhanshan then went to work, grabbing reports from his generals such as Xie Ke about the state of their defenses. He immediately began adjusting the deployment of forces: He appointed Pu Bingshan as the commander of the provincial capital garrison to enhance the defense of the area. Wang Nanping was designated as the commander of the Heihe garrison, taking over from Ma Zhanshan. Additionally, he organized three infantry regiments, one cavalry regiment, and one artillery battalion from the Northeast Reclamation Army into the 1st Infantry Brigade, positioning them south of Daxing. The cavalry unit was deployed to the west of Fulaerji to secure the Jingxing direction. By October 29, 1931, the establishment of three defensive positions, extending approximately 40 kilometers in depth and 10 kilometers in width from Jiangqiao to Yushutun and Ang'angxi, was largely completed, with the railway serving as the central axis. Liu Wankui, the former head of the Ning'an Public Security Bureau, led over 1,000 troops to be reorganized west of Ning'an on the 15th, forming the 5th Independent Regiment of the Self-Defense Army. Following the defeat of Zhang Haipeng's rebels, the Kwantung Army was prepared to deploy troops directly. They viewed the destruction of the Nenjiang Bridge by the Chinese army as a prime justification for action. Consequently, they decided to establish the Nenjiang Detachment, consisting of one infantry battalion, one artillery battalion, and an engineering squadron from the 16th Regiment of the 2nd Division, supported by the 8th Independent Flying Squadron. Their plan was to use military force to secure the bridge repair, incite trouble, and launch an attack. However, the Japanese Army Ministry and General Staff Headquarters were still wary of the Soviet Union at that time and did not endorse the Kwantung Army's offensive. Kanaya Nobumitsu sent a telegram to the Kwantung Army stating, "You may proceed to repair the river bridge. However, you are not permitted to deploy troops to North Manchuria, far from the Nenjiang River, without my approval, regardless of the circumstances." However, when Hirota Koki, the Japanese ambassador to the Soviet Union, learned from Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Kajiekan on October 29 that the Soviet Union would not support either side in the conflict and would maintain a "strict non-interference policy," the stance of the Japanese Army Ministry shifted, leading them to back the Kwantung Army. On November 2, 1931, Honjo Shigeru instructed Hayashi Yoshihide, the head of the Qiqihar Japanese secret service, to deliver an ultimatum to Ma Zhanshan. The ultimatum demanded that Ma Zhanshan's troops withdraw to a location at least 10 kilometers from the Nenjiang Iron Bridge by noon on the 3rd, and refrain from entering the area until the Japanese army had completed repairs on the bridge. If these conditions were not met, the Japanese army would resort to force.  On November 4th Ma Zhanshan sent subordinates to accompany Major Hayashi Yoshihide “so that the Japanese might begin work, and so that I could order my army to start to retreat”. Ma Zhanshan gave assurances the Japanese repairing operation would not be interfered with, meanwhile teelgraming his subordinates “paint all Manchuria red with the blood of Japanese troops”. A force of 800 Japanese led by Major General Shogo Hasebe with repair crews came to the area to find Daxing a warzone. Shogo found Ma Zhanshans subordinate on the ground, Xu Baozhen and demanded the fighting cease so they could repair the bridge. Xu Baozhen said he never received any orders to cease fighting. The Japanese claim the nearby 2500 Chinese forces of Ma Zhanshan began opening fire upon them using rifles and machine guns. The Japanese retaliated likewise and Japanese aircraft began strafing the Chinese forcing them to retreat towards Qiqihar. The Chinese suffered 120 casualties, the Japanese 15. That day the Japanese Nenjiang Detachment's advance squadron moved northward from Jiangqiao Station, supported by aircraft. After crossing the Nenjiang Bridge, they launched an assault on the Chinese army positions south of Daxing Station. At that time, Xu Baozhen's and Zhang Jingdu's troops from Ma Zhanshan's Guard Regiment, totaling 2,700 soldiers, rose to confront the enemy and successfully repelled them. In the afternoon, the Japanese forces, now numbering around 4,000 and led by Colonel Hamamoto, attacked Jiangqiao with the support of aircraft, tanks, and heavy artillery. They initially penetrated the left flank of Jiangqiao before launching a fierce assault on the main Daxing Line position in front of the town. Despite the Chinese defenders' resistance, the Japanese managed to breach their positions, leading to intense hand-to-hand combat. Despite this the Japanese forces were forced to retreat to the riverbank, where they were ambushed by Chinese troops concealed in the reeds. As reinforcements for the Japanese arrived, they were quickly flanked by the defending cavalry, forcing them to retreat once more. By 20:00, the Japanese forces had completely pulled out, leaving behind over 400 casualties. That night, following a sustained artillery bombardment, the Japanese attempted a surprise boat attack. As their boats neared the northern bank, the Chinese troops hidden in the reeds opened fire, resulting in many Japanese soldiers falling into the water, either killed or wounded, while the remainder retreated. On that day, the Chinese army suffered over 300 casualties, while the Japanese and their puppet forces incurred more than 1,000 losses. Despite concentrating their forces and launching continuous attacks with air and artillery support, the Japanese were ultimately repelled by the defenders. Lieutenant Shinichiro Ojin, a Japanese pilot flying low and dropping bombs, was also injured during the conflict. The Japanese sent word to Ma Zhanshan, demanding he make true on his promise, but Ma Zhanshan responded that of his 15,000 troops he could only nominally control a third. Ma Zhanshan then sent a telegram to the League of Nations reading this “I am helpless. I have exhausted all attempts to preserve peace. I have strictly instructed my commanders to act only on the defensive, and that they must not attack. But Major Hayashi has seen this behavior by the Japanese military, and not only has not stopped it but, on the contrary, wants our army to withdraw from Heilongjiang province, so that they can carve up the whole lot... Since the 4th, the Japanese army has started to attack our army . . . They are coordinating land and air attacks, carrying out utterly horrible bombings!”  On the morning of the 5th, the Japanese army focused all its efforts on launching another assault. At 6 am., the Japanese forces bombarded the defenders' positions with numerous cannons. By 7 am, over 8,000 Japanese and puppet troops crossed the river via the central route, while additional puppet forces advanced from the left and right, shielded by artillery and aircraft. As the boats reached the midpoint of the river, the Chinese army mounted a vigorous counterattack. Despite suffering significant casualties, the Japanese and puppet troops persisted in their attempt to cross. By 10 am, the Japanese army had taken the frontline positions on the riverbank, forcing the defenders to retreat to the flanks. The Japanese then launched an assault on the second line of defense at Daxing, where they faced staunch resistance from the defenders. At noon, Ma Zhanshan arrived at the front lines to direct Wu Delin's and Xu Baozhen's regiments in a counteroffensive, urgently sending the Sabli Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Brigade to encircle the Japanese forces from both sides. The brutal fighting continued from 3pm until dusk. The Japanese acknowledged, "The Chinese army executed an encirclement counterattack using infantry and cavalry. The Japanese army suffered heavy losses and was compelled to retreat" . The Japanese forces were forced to shift from an offensive to a defensive stance, with many of their support units annihilated by our cavalry. In this engagement, the Chinese army incurred over 200 casualties, while the Japanese army lost 167 soldiers and sustained more than 600 injuries. That night, a battalion from the 29th Regiment of the Japanese Army arrived as reinforcements. Upon their arrival, they immediately launched an attack but were quickly surrounded by Ma Zhanshan's forces. In response, Honjo Shigeru urgently dispatched an infantry battalion and three artillery squadrons from the 16th Regiment to assist. On the morning of the 6th, Japanese reinforcements arrived and launched a vigorous assault, supported by aircraft that conducted strafing and bombing runs in an attempt to rescue the encircled Japanese forces. On that day, Ma Zhanshan personally visited the front lines to oversee the battle. Both sides incurred significant casualties. Despite the fierce resistance from Ma Zhanshan's troops, the Japanese offensive struggled to gain ground. In response, Honjo Shigeru ordered Tamon Jiro of the 2nd Division to lead the 29th Regiment, the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, the 2nd Field Artillery Regiment, the Temporary Field Heavy Artillery Battalion, the Engineer Squadron, and a battalion from the 39th Mixed Brigade in the Shenyang area to rush to the vicinity of Kaijiang Bridge. Their objective was to reinforce their forces, attack the defenders, and capture the key position at Daxing. The Chinese army fought desperately, with the sounds of hand-to-hand combat echoing loudly as they repeatedly recaptured lost positions. That day, the Chinese forces suffered over 1,850 casualties, while inflicting more than 2,000 deaths on Japanese and puppet troops and shooting down one aircraft. The Japanese Hamamoto Detachment was nearly annihilated, and the Gaobo Cavalry Team sustained almost total losses. After three days and two nights of continuous fighting without reinforcements, the soldiers were extremely fatigued, and the Daxing position had been heavily damaged. General Ma Zhanshan then ordered the main forces to withdraw to the secondary position at Sanjianfang, located 18 kilometers from Daxing Station, to reorganize defenses alongside the 1st Cavalry Brigade and the 1st Infantry Brigade. On the morning of the 7th, a significant force of Japanese and puppet troops, supported by ten aircraft, launched an attack on the Nantangchi area of Sanjianfang. In response, a combined regiment from Zhang Dianjiu's Brigade and Su Bingwen's Brigade quickly mobilized to counterattack, successfully repelling the enemy by the afternoon. The Chinese forces incurred over 300 casualties, while the Japanese suffered more than 600 casualties, along with over 1,000 from the puppet troops. Notably, and take this one with a heavy grain of I am using a PRC source grain of salt quote “despite ongoing enemy air assaults and the lack of anti-aircraft artillery, the courageous soldiers displayed remarkable ingenuity by lying on the ground in groups of 20 and firing their rifles upward, ultimately managing to shoot down an enemy aircraft”. Upon inspection, the wreckage revealed 26 bullet holes in both wings, marking the first enemy plane downed in China's war against Japan. As a result, Japanese aircraft became hesitant to fly at low altitudes in subsequent battles. Observing the heavy losses inflicted on his forces, Honjo Shigeru ordered Duomen Jiro to halt their advance and return to their original positions. To conceal the reality of their defeat, the Japanese army circulated rumors claiming that the Soviet Union supplied ammunition to the defenders in Heilongjiang. They also propagated various falsehoods to downplay the number of Japanese casualties, worried that anti-war sentiments in Japan would gain momentum. In response, Ma Zhanshan sent a telegram to counter the Japanese army's claims. The Japanese army experienced significant losses during the initial phase of the battle. To resolve the stalemate quickly, they deployed additional troops and made every effort to prepare for a renewed attack. Simultaneously, they issued an ultimatum to Ma Zhanshan, pressuring him to resign, relinquish power, and withdraw Chinese forces from Qiqihar, but Ma Zhanshan firmly refused. The Kwantung Army recommended that the Japanese Army Central Department expedite the deployment of an extra division. In response, Honjo Shigeru ordered the "2nd Division to gather in Daxing with full force." By the 11th, the Japanese army had assembled the Hase Brigade Headquarters, the 16th Infantry Regiment, the 4th Regiment , the 1st Battalion of the 29th Regiment, the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, and the 2nd Squadron of the 28th Regiment, along with the 2nd Field Artillery Regiment and the 2nd Engineer Squadron on the north bank of the Nenjiang River. On the south bank, they had the 3rd Battalion of the 26th Field Artillery Regiment and a Temporary Field Heavy Artillery Battalion, totaling over 30,000 troops. In response to the Japanese army's troop deployment, Ma Zhanshan convened a military meeting on the evening of the 7th to discuss strategies for countering the enemy and to reorganize troop placements, establishing three lines of defense. The first line of defense was located in Tangchi, Wunotou, and Xinlitun, with front-line positions at Houyiriba, Qianguandi, and Houguandi, defended by two regiments from Wu Songlin's 1st Cavalry Brigade. After the 14th, Lu Zhiyuan's 2nd Cavalry Brigade was fully deployed to engage in combat in Tangchi and surrounding areas. The second line of defense was situated in Yinglaofen, Sanjianfang, Daxingtun, Xiaoxingtun, and Huotuoqi, serving as the primary position for the black army's frontal defense. This line was manned by four regiments from Yuan Chonggu's 1st Brigade, Wu Delin's 2nd Infantry Brigade, Li Qingshan's 3rd Infantry Brigade, Wang Kezhen's 1st Cavalry Brigade, as well as Park Bingshan's artillery regiment and various engineering and support units. Following the 14th, Sun Hongyu's 1st Infantry Brigade and 2,000 personnel from the Suihua Security Battalion joined the frontal defense efforts. The third line of defense was established in Zhujiakan, Fulaerji, Ang'angxi, and Yushutun, defended by two regiments from Zhang Dianjiu's 1st Infantry Brigade, the entire 2nd Cavalry Brigade, and the Guard Regiment, totaling over 13,000 troops. Sanjianfang is a station located on the railway line from Taonan to Ang'angxi, situated 70 li north of Qiqihar and 60 li south of Nenjiang Bridge. It served as a crucial defensive site for the Chinese army in protecting the capital of Heilongjiang Province. For the Japanese army to take control of Heilongjiang Province, capturing Sanjianfang was essential for a direct route to Qiqihar. Consequently, the struggle for Sanjianfang became a central point in the second phase of the Battle of Jiangqiao. On the morning of the 12th, a vanguard of 500 Japanese infantry and cavalry launched an assault on Ma Zhanshan's frontier positions at Qianguandi, Houguandi, and Zhanghuayuan. The defending forces under Wu Songlin mounted a counterattack. By 1:00 pm, the Japanese army had taken control of the positions, forcing over 600 defenders to retreat to the front lines. At 5:00 am on the 13th more than 500 Japanese soldiers, supported by two aircraft, attacked Xinlitun, but they faced a strong counteroffensive from the defenders. By 10:00 am, the defenders had successfully repelled the attack. At noon that day, the damaged Nenjiang Bridge was repaired, creating advantageous conditions for a large-scale Japanese offensive. At this time, Kwantung Army commander Honjo Shigeru issued a third reinforcement order: "Deploy the remaining troops of the 2nd Division, along with three infantry battalions from the 39th Mixed Brigade and the rescue squad, to the vicinity of Daxing." He also instructed Lieutenant General Duomen, the commander of the 2nd Division, to lead the Nenjiang Detachment. In response, the Japanese headquarters hastily dispatched three air squadrons to Heilongjiang Province and redirected the 4th Mixed Brigade, initially set to land in Dalian, to Busan, Korea, for a swift deployment to Heilongjiang. In the afternoon, over 3,000 Japanese infantry and cavalry, supported by artillery, launched a vigorous attack on Tangchi, Unotou, and Xinlitun. The defenders fought back fiercely until midnight, when the Japanese finally occupied Unotou. On the morning of the 14th, the Japanese army launched an attack on the Tangchi position, supported by two aircraft and heavy artillery, but they were repelled by the forces of Ma Zhanshan. Around 10 a.m., over 2,000 Japanese troops, led by Hase, split into two units—infantry and cavalry—and employed a strategy of large encirclement to assault Tangchi from both the left and right flanks. The cavalry engaged in combat but eventually retreated. The intense fighting continued until the morning of the 15th, when the Japanese army targeted Shuanma. By this time, Ma Zhanshan had already dispatched two cavalry regiments to quietly encircle the enemy's flanks. At his command, the front guard regiment charged into the Japanese positions first, while the cavalry regiments surged from both sides, forcing the Japanese to retreat hastily. Ma Zhanshan's forces captured two artillery pieces and 70 horses, killed 300 Japanese soldiers, and took 200 prisoners, while the puppet army suffered over 2,000 casualties and fled with their weapons. To bolster their defensive capabilities, the defenders organized the 2,000 members of the Suihua Security Battalion into an independent regiment and integrated them into the frontline. On the 15th, following orders from Japanese Army Minister Minami Jiro, Honjo Shigeru presented three demands to Ma Zhanshan: that Ma's troops withdraw from south of the Chinese Eastern Railway, that the area be administered by the Taomao Bureau, and that Ma refrain from interference. However, Ma Zhanshan rejected these demands. At 7:30 a.m. on the 15th, Lieutenant General Tamon, the commander of the Japanese 2nd Division, led the main contingent of his division to the Daxing front. By 11:00 am on the 16th, with the backing of 10 aircraft, heavy artillery, and tanks, 4,000 Japanese infantry and cavalry launched a vigorous assault on positions including Xinlitun and Sanjiazi. The defenders fought valiantly and managed to repel the Japanese forces by 3:00 pm, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides. At 10:10 a.m. on the 17th, Honjo Shigeru received orders from the Chief of Army General Staff to "advance north of Qiqihar and attempt to destabilize the enemy with bold maneuvers, and have the 2nd Division  capture Qiqihar in one decisive strike." He also instructed the 39th Mixed Brigade to "mobilize all remaining troops in Daxing, except for one infantry company and an engineering company, placing them under the command of the 2nd Division leader." At 1:00 p.m., Division Commander Duomen ordered the Japanese troops stationed at the Houyiriba train to launch a full-scale assault on the Black Army, particularly targeting Sanjianfang. By 10:00 pm on the 17th the Japanese forces, having received supplies and reinforcements, split into three groups and mounted a fierce attack on the Mabu position. Under Amano's command, the right-wing troops advanced from Wunotou to assault the left-wing positions in the Xinlitun area. Despite the Wu Songlin Brigade being exhausted from several days of fighting, they fiercely resisted the numerically superior enemy, repelling more than ten Japanese attacks. However, by early morning, most of the defenders' trenches had been destroyed, and their positions were compromised in numerous locations, forcing a retreat to the second line in the Daxingtun area. At 10:40 pm on the 17th, the left-wing Japanese forces, commanded by Hase, attacked the right-wing positions in the Tangchi area, where the Cheng Zhiyuan Brigade fought tenaciously. By 2:00 am the following day, the Japanese intensified their assault, deploying 8 tanks and over 30 artillery pieces. Unable to sustain their defense, the defenders retreated to the main position at Sanjianfang. At 3 am on the 18th, the Japanese army mobilized various units and moved to the designated staging area as planned. By 6:30, aircraft and artillery began a one-hour bombardment of the front-line positions at Sanjianfang, to which the defenders responded with their own artillery fire. The booming of the cannons echoed across the entire Shuobei wilderness. At that time, Japanese heavy artillery had a range of 30 kilometers, while the Ma army's heavy artillery could only reach 15 kilometers, resulting in significant losses. Around 8 o'clock, the Japanese forces launched a full-scale attack, supported by tanks. Despite the fierce fighting from the defenders, the Japanese advance was initially repelled. At 9:20, Duomen ordered reinforcements from the reserves and initiated another aggressive assault. By 10 o'clock, although the defenders on the right flank fought valiantly, they were unable to hold their ground and retreated to Mao Mao Creek. At 10:30, the left flank position at Xiaoxingtun fell, forcing the troops to fight their way back to Hongqiyingzi and Yushutun. At this point, Hase directed the infantry and cavalry to assault the main position at Sanjianfang with support from aircraft and tanks. The defending troops, including the Yuan Chonggu Brigade and Zhang Dianjiu Brigade, put up a fierce resistance. By 14:00, the Japanese 39th Mixed Brigade, followed by a regiment from Sanjiazi to the west of Sanjianfang, joined the fight. Together with the Hase Brigade launching a direct assault, they executed a coordinated pincer movement. After 15:00, the Japanese forces added 12 aircraft, 12 tanks, and over 30 artillery pieces, bombarding the trenches with intense fire. Due to insufficient reinforcements, the Japanese army captured Qiqihar on the 19th. Ma Zhanshan's army was on the brink of starvation after Japanese planes bombed their food storage facilities. The Chinese defenders, battling fiercely despite their empty stomachs, were undeterred by their enemy's overwhelming numbers. They engaged in hand-to-hand combat, fighting to the death, their battle cries echoing through the ground. Fighting in the Sanjianfang area continued throughout the night. Although the Chinese troops shared a common hatred and displayed "extraordinary bravery," many had gone several days without sleep due to relentless fighting, and their food supplies had been cut off, leaving them without reinforcements. The ammunition available at that time was part of a long-term stockpile from the Heilongjiang defenders, with much of it rendered unusable due to mold. Meanwhile, the invading forces were continuously bolstered by fresh supplies and reinforcements, creating a dire imbalance between the strong enemy and the weakened defenders. Furthermore, the position had been heavily damaged and was "truly unable to sustain" the fight. On the afternoon of the 18th, Ma Zhanshan was forced to make the difficult decision to order a withdrawal. By the 19th, over 5,000 Japanese troops had taken control of Qiqihar, marking the end of the Battle of Jiangqiao. The civilian population had pushed Ma Zhanshan to pull out, a long held Chinese tradition that did not mean losing face, but rather living to fight another day. On November the 18th, Ma Zhanshans forces evacuated Qiqihar and by the 19th he led them east to defend Baiquan and Hailun. His army suffered tremendous casualties, possibly up to 3000, with the Japanese claiming 300 casualties for themselves. Ma Zhanshans forces then retired to the Nonni river valley and eventually over the Soviet Border. The Japanese began an occupation of Qiqihar, thus securing the control of all three Manchurian provincial capitals. They quickly established a collaborist government under General Zhang Jinghui and secured control over the central section of the Chinese eastern railway. However the eastern section of the railway was still under the control of General Ting Chao operating in Harbin. Ting Chao would follow Ma Zhanshans example, inspiring local Chinese to aid and enlist in the resistance efforts.  Ma Zhanshan drew international attention through a series of telegrams he sent describing his campaign of resistance against the Japanese in Heilongjiang. His stand along the Nonni river near Qiqihar lionized him amongst the Chinese nationalists who sought to use his public image to shame Chiang Kai-shek into action against the Japanese.  During the Battle of Jiangqiao, Ma Zhanshan fought independently without any assistance from the Northeast Army based in Jinzhou. Although Zhang Xueliang instructed Ma to hold his position, the troops in Jinzhou were "not ready for combat." Following the battle, Zhang Xueliang faced significant public backlash. The Shanghai National Salvation Federation stated that "Ma's forces in Heilongjiang Province fought valiantly against the Japanese and demonstrated loyalty on the battlefield, while Zhang Xueliang failed to provide support." The Citizens' Federation sent a telegram to the National Government, accusing Zhang of "neglecting his responsibilities while allowing the Japanese invaders to attack the Northeast, leading to national humiliation and territorial loss." Additionally, the National Student Anti-Japanese National Salvation Federation sent a telegram urging the government to "severely punish Zhang Xueliang and deploy troops immediately." Chiang Kai-shek sent multiple telegrams to praise Ma Zhanshan for his brave resistance and instructed Zhang Xueliang to quickly provide reinforcements. For instance, on November 12th,, Chiang Kai-shek sent a message to Ma Zhanshan stating: "Japan has once again invaded Heilongjiang Province under the pretext of repairing the Jiangqiao Bridge. Our defensive actions were justified. Fortunately, due to your careful leadership and the bravery of the soldiers, we managed to defeat the relentless enemy and protect our territory. I was furious upon receiving the telegram. You and your comrades have brought honor to the party and the nation, fighting for our survival. The entire Chinese populace is inspired. The people's spirit remains unbroken, justice prevails, and the future is hopeful. We pledge to unite in our efforts. I shed tears in the wind and snow, unable to express all my thoughts. Chiang Kai-shek." Additionally, on the 19th, Chiang Kai-shek wrote to Ma Zhanshan: "I have read your telegram and am filled with sorrow and anger that words cannot capture. Our army has fought valiantly for days, bringing glory to our nation. Our reputation has spread widely, earning admiration both domestically and internationally, which is truly commendable. I have urged Deputy Commander Zhang to send troops to assist you. I miss you dearly as I write this message. Chiang Kai-shek." All major domestic newspapers covered the Jiangqiao Anti-Japanese War prominently, and various sectors of society conveyed their condolences to the frontline soldiers in numerous ways. Life Weekly, backed by Zou Taofen, remarked, "This spirit of defending the nation and refusing to surrender even in death is crucial for the future of the Chinese people. It demonstrates to the world that our soldiers are not entirely dishonorable and have restored significant pride for the nation." The Shanghai Fuchang Tobacco Company even created "General Ma Zhanshan Cigarettes," promoting the slogan, "May everyone emulate General Ma." On November 17th,, the Binjiang Times published an editorial stating, "The Chinese soldiers in Heilongjiang fought valiantly against the brutality of the Japanese army. The blood shed along the Nenjiang River is the legacy of our brave men. The Chinese army in Heilongjiang represents the true warriors defending the nation. After the September 18th Incident, we began to doubt how many Chinese soldiers could confront the enemy, and we were deeply disappointed. Fifty days after losing Liaoning and Jilin provinces, we realized that Ma Zhanshan in Heilongjiang truly deserves the title of Chinese soldier." People across the country spontaneously formed groups for condolences and support, donating money and supplies to aid Heilongjiang's resistance efforts. Many young students set aside their studies to join the Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. Thus ended the Jiangqiao Campaign. General Ma Zhanshan proved himself quite a formidable rebel leader in the face of pretty overwhelming odds. His name was propagandized heavily by the Chinese press to boost morale and try to awaken the Chinese that a fight for their very existence was at hand, but China simply did not have the means yet to face such an enemy. 

Simeon Brown has confirmed plans for Dunedin's new hospital, unveiling details of the project, which will cost 1.88 billion dollars to complete. The last government had promised to build a new hospital on the old Cadbury Chocolate Factory site, but initially the National Government put those plans on hold in September because of budget fears. After looking into two alternative options, the Health Minister has today come out and announced the Government will build a new hospital on the Cadbury site without blowing the budget out. But how are they doing it? Health Minister Simeon Brown discusses the details with Ryan Bridge. LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The state's approach to freedom in government is now taking over the federal government. The impact of Florida's talent, plus winter's impact on farming, and the need for youth in agriculture, with Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson

Last time we spoke about the complicated story of Xinjiang. Xinjiang, though part of China since the Han dynasty, has a distinct cultural and geographic identity aligned more with Central Asia than China's east. Its remote, mountainous landscapes divide its regions and isolate its ethnic groups, which include Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and Hui Muslims. Yang Zengxin, Xinjiang's Republican governor, ruled with shrewd, divisive tactics, maintaining peace by balancing loyalties but alienating many. His rule ended in 1928, when an ambitious subordinate, Fan Yaonan, assassinated him, marking a turning point. Yang attended a banquet hosted by Fan, where disguised soldiers fired on him, mortally wounding him. Fan seized power but was soon defeated and executed by Jin, who succeeded Yang as ruler of Xinjiang. Jin enforced strict policies, favoring Han Chinese officials and worsening the economy. He raised taxes, restricted Muslim customs, and monopolized industries. His annexation of the Kumul Khanate in 1931 incited unrest among the local Uyghurs, setting the stage for rebellion.   #132 The Beginning of the Kumul Rebellion Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. So last we left off, things had reached a boiling point in Kumul. The explosion at Kumul would begin mostly as a result of a religious and cultural slight against the Muslim population both Turkic speaking and Tungan. They became offended and banded together against the Chinese officials. As a result of the new administration and annexation of the Kumul Khanate, a young Han named Chang Mu from Gansu, was appointed tax collector and chief of police over the small village of Xiaopu, lying due north of Kumul. According to the Nanjing official Wu Aichen “this Chang Mu was a 'wastrel' whose conduct soon became a public scandal”. In early 1931, Chang Mu met a pretty Turkic Muslim girl in Xiaopu and tried to force her father, a Uyghur called Salih, to give him her hand in marriage. Now for those unaware shari law specifically prohibits marriage between Muslim women and men of other religions. What followed is described in two differing accounts. The first account has it that on April 4th of 1931, Chang Mu was invited to eat at the girls house, allegedly in honor of the forthcoming wedding. During the dinner, Chang Mu was attacked by Uyghur's and slaughtered alongside 32 members of his personal bodyguard. It was further implied by our friend Wu Aichen, Chang Mu had already seduced the girl and that the ulama, those being islamic scholars who act as a sort of authority under shari law, upon discovering so, took it upon themselves to correct the situation. On the night of the proposed ceremony a mob appeared in the streets of Xiaopu. Chang Mu and his guard detail were already thoroughly drunk and easily overcome by the pissed off Uyghurs. All were killed, including the poor Uyghur girl. The Uyghurs then took 30 rifles from the dead and turned their attention towards the Gansu Chinese who were said to number in about a hundred families in the area. All of them were massacred and “had their heads buried in the soil of their farms”. Following this the Uyghurs marched upon the Chinese outposts at Tuluhu and Laimahe killing their garrisons and tax collectors while acquiring even more weapons. Better armed, the Uyghurs elected to make a move against Kumul. Kumul held an overwhelming Uyghur majority and easily fell into the hands of the rebels with little to no fighting. Most of the Han fled into the fortified Old City barring its gates. The Han caught outside the Old City were massacred brutally. Soon the rebel forces controlled Kumul's Muslim part of the city and the surrounding countryside, but the provincial forces remained secure within the Old city and its key arsenal. It is unclear whether the Xiaopu incident was carefully planned prior or simply just came into being. Regardless it was a spark that ignited a much larger rebellion. According to Mildred Cable and Francesca French, two members of the China inland Mission, who resided in Xiaopu at the time, it was indeed a systematically planned rebellion. “While officials surreptitiously transferred their wealth to a place of safety, the instigators of trouble were equally persistent in their secret preparations for war. Camels and mules were requisitioned to transport weapons, ammunition and stocks of food over little-known tracks, that they might be stored in mountain caves known only to the few. Steady streams ofsmall caravans carrying ammunition to the mountains came from the South Road, from Tunhwang and across the most lonely tracks of the desert connecting Kansu with Barku!. All these converged on the Khan's summer palace grounds in AraHim, and the stronghold of Bardash was stocked with huge supplies of food and firearms”. Yulbars Khan, the former chancellor of Maqsud Shah claimed he was in the Tien Shah escaping heat when the fighting began. Many speculate he had a hand in planning the uprising. Cable and French argued the Tungan population of Kumul also joined the rebellion early on. The insurgents of Kumul were quickly joined by neighboring Kirhiz of the Karlik Tagh who also held grievances against Jin as he had imposed Chinese officials upon them in 1929. According to Wu Aichen the Barkul and Kazakhs in the area also joined the rebellion. Thus Jin had succeeded in alienating the Turkic speaking peoples of northeastern Xinjiang now had a full scale Muslim rising on his hands.  Jin reacted with a strong show of force despite his Commissioner of Education Liu Wenlung and Commissioner for Reconstruction Yen Yushan both arguing for a policy of conciliation. Jin ordered troops to crack down on the rebels without mercy. Meanwhile back in Kumul the rebels were unable to breach the Old City so they fanned out into the countryside hunting Han settlers and soldiers down. According to the British Vice Consul General at Kashgar, R.P Watts, an initial detachment of 300 troops sent by Jin relieved Kumul Old City were ambushed and killed nearly to a man. Its also implied they had lost so easily because many of them were sleeping off the effects of opium. Despite the initial success, the rebels were unable to prevent provincial forces led by Zhu Juiqi, the Taoyin of Aksu from relieving the Old City. By late April the siege was lifted, Zhu Juiqi occupied the Old City and ordered his second in command Xiong Fayu to occupy Kumul's Muslim quarters. The rebels still controlled the countryside and were harassing Zhu's forces whenever they strayed a bit too far from their forts, but overall were not much of a match. Meanwhile Chinese troops under the leadership of Xiong Fayu began a series of reprisal massacres against Muslim civilians in Kumul and the surrounding villages. The Uyghur leaders quickly determined they needed external help in their rebellion against Jin. According to testimony from Yulbars Khan, they sent an appeal to the KMT government in Nanjing. Then in June of 1931 Yulbars was chosen, most likely because he was fluent in Mandarin, to head out secretly to Nanjing to carry the appeal. Along the way, Yulbars went to Suzhou to meet with Ma Chongying, known as the youngest and most extreme of the 5 Ma Tungan warlords. Ma Chongying was a Gansu native. Very little is known about his early years nor about his father, but he shared the same paternal grandfather of the Gansu/Qinghai warlords Ma Puqing and Ma Pufang. He was also distantly related to the Gansu/Ningxia warlords Ma Hongkuei and Ma Hungpin. Altogether the 5 were known as the 5 Ma warlord clique. Ma Congying entered military service in 1924 at the age of 14 when he joined a local Muslim militia. A year later the Guominjun forces of Feng Yuxiang invaded Gansu, but the Tungan warlords of western Gansu remained for the most part untouched. Ma Chongying became an officer for the forces of his uncle Ma Kechong and laid a siege and captured the important city of Huzhou on his own initiative. His troops easily defeated reinforcements sent to relieve the city under the command of Ma Lin. With this great victory, at the age of 16, Ma Chongying earned the reputation of a military genius and the nickname Ga Ssuling or “little commander”. His triumph would be short lived however for his superior Ma Kuchung had not ordered the seizure of Huzhou and dismissed his nephew for insubordination. Thus Ma Chongying took his men to Xining in Qinghai and there began building a private army.  The Guominjun eventually left Gansu after devastating it. In 1927 the northwestern parts of Gansu was hit by a massive earthquake and this combined with Feng Yuxiang's regional commander Liu Yufen using much of its land for opium cultivation led to a mass famine. In the spring of 1928, the northwestern Tungans began a revolt against the Guominjun led by the Muslim General Ma Tingxiang. Ma Chongying tossed his lot into the fighting leading to three successive attacks against the Guominjun at Huzhou. According to Robert Ekvall, an American traveler in the region “The revolt had by this time assumed all the aspects of a holy war. Chanting prayers, forty or fifty thousand fighters went into battle with fanatical zeal ... the young rebel leader Ma Chong-ing [sic] seemed to bear a charmed life and by his reckless courage gained the utmost in obedience and devotion from his ruffian troops. The Chinese were panic-stricken at the desperate courage of the Moslems, but eventually, by machine gun fire and light artillery, proved superior”. Alongside this American diplomats reported that the famine and war in Gansu had reduced many to cannibalism with a possible two million people dying between 1926-1929. One of the many to die was Ma Chongyings father who was executed by Liu Yufen as a reprisal against him for his actions in 1929.  That year Ma Chongying had strengthened his position by defeating several Guominjun forces. He traveled to Nanjing where he enrolled briefly at the military academy there. Rumors had it there he offered his services to the KMT on the understanding that if he could win control over Xinjiang that they recognize him. After departing Nanjing he traveled to Chongwei along the Yellow River where he joined his army before marching across the southern friends of the Ala Shan desert to head into northwestern Gansu. There he seized control over 4 districts; Kanzhou, Suzhou, Anxi and Tunhuang. Thus by the time of the Kumul uprising in April of 1931, Ma Chongying had established himself the Tungan warlord over northwestern Gansu. In June of that year, Yulbars Khan visited him at Suzhou while enroute to Nanjing. After a dinner, Ma Chongying asked Yulbars what was going on with the Kumul rebellion and the state of Kumul. Ma Congying then proceeded to criticize Jin Shujen whom he thought was unfit to govern Xinjiang. Upon hearing this Yulbars disclosed why he was going to Nanjing. Yulbars told him that many in Gansu did not support Jin and that he was appealing to Nanjing to see if Jin could be replaced with a new governor. Ma Chongying sat silently for some time before asking if Yulbar's had any personal contacts in Nanjing, to which he replied he did not. He then advised Yulbars to not go to Nanjing because of three reasons: 1) The Kuomintang had just completed its Northern Expedition and was in need of stability, so it was not in a position to replace its frontier governors, despite any shortcomings they had.2) Even if the Nanking government agreed to remove Chin Shu-jen, implementing the decision would likely take two or three years due to the vast distances involved. 3) Furthermore, Chin's greed would likely make him unwilling to step down, and he might even seek support from a foreign power to secure his position. Under these conditions, Sinkiang could potentially come under foreign control. The points were sound, however Yulbars stated the people had sent him to Nanjing, what should he do if he failed? Ma Congying replied “I have a way ... I can meet the needs of the Uighurs of Ha-mi ... In the name of Muslim brotherhood, I shall take my army into Sinkiang. First I shall alleviate the suffering of the Uighurs of Ha-mi, then I shall drive Chin Shu-jen from the stage by force of arms.” A lot of this is conjecture, as it would seem impossible Ma Chongying spontaneously decided to invade Xinjiang over dinner. Ma Chongying was interested in the Kumul uprising long before the arrival of Yulbars in Suzhou and based on other sources it seems Yulbars was well aware of this prior to his visit. Ma Chongying most likely had decent information on the political ongoings of Xinjiang as two Muslim Turks from Istanbul had traveled to northwestern Gansu from Urumqi in early 1931 and entered Ma Chongying's military HQ. One was Kamal Kaya Efendi who went on to become his chief of staff. Ma Chongying was also gun running to places like Kumul, meaning he would have a lot of intel. Ma Chongyings powerbase in Kanzhou was also temporary. As pointing out by Mildred Cable and Francesca French “based on the assumption of the paralysing effect of frightfulness in action, and as a method of temporary invasion it answered his purpose well, but it never served him as a basis of true conquest, nor did he ever establish rule over one single acre of the land which he invaded. His was the method of the locust. . . and his army was always viewed as a plague. It came, it devoured, and when it had passed over, the patient, constructively minded peasants instantly began to repair the damage done to their fields, and to begetsons to replace those who had been swept away in his train” In 1931 Ma Chongyings private army was not a large one, it was perhaps no more than 1000 men and given the account of Mildred Cable and Francesca French, his army had to roam around like locusts to survive. Ma Chongying was a very ambitious and young warlord who like many in this part of China dreamed of carving out a Muslim empire in central asia. In the spring of 1931, Ma Chongying had only two possible directions to take. One was through China proper where he would most likely face his uncle Ma Pufang, whom at the time he was in this sort of propaganda war with. The other was to go through Xinjiang, where it seemed he could receive aid from other Muslim groups seeking to be rid of Jin Shujen. Ma Chongying assembled a force of 500 Tungan cavalry and swiftly crossed the desert between Anxi and Kumul during the full heat of midsummer, arriving in the oasis on the 28th of June, at around the same time as the French Citroen expedition. The French Citroen expedition got to see an encounter between Ma Chongyings Tungan Cavalry and some Chinese machine gun detachment outside of the village of Yikoshu. The French account indicated the Chinese forces also had some Mongol soldiers with them decisively beating back the Tungan riders. After witnessing this the French headed for Kumul's Old City which they found in a state of chaos. Everyone within the city was busy organizing defenses. The French were taken immediately to the local Chinese commander, Zhu Juichih. As they made their way they could see anxious Muslims peering out of their windows and on telegraph poles were heads, hearts and livers, most likely from captured insurgents. Commander Zhu gave the French permission to continue to Urumqi, stating they could do so at their own risk. Most of the French departed on July 1st, leaving behind 3 members at the Old City who would become eyewitnesses to Ma Chongyings attack.  On July 3rd, Ma Chongying dispatched two messangers to Zhu Juichich baring the following message. “By order of the National Government of China I have been appointed commander-in-chief of all military forces of Kansu and Sinkiang. Having assumed my new occasional pistol shot could be heard as hand-to-hand fighting began on the wall Its self ... Just when the place seemed to be doomed a machine gun, which up to this had been silent ... suddenly came to life. Emplaced in a blockhouse flanking the wall, It opened fire, mowing down the assault, and the glacis was soon cleared except for heaps of corpses”.  Ma Chongyings Tungan cavalry force lacked heavy artillery necessary to breach the Old city walls. Three separate attacks were made on the night of the 3rd, all beaten back. Zhu Juichih, a military veteran had zero intention of surrendering to the so called “little commander” whom he dismissed as a “thieving cub”. Ma Chongying seemed to have little stomach for siege warfare so on the 5th he led a large portion of his Tungan cavalry away from Kumul Old City. By doing so he had left roughly 1000 Uyghur insurgents with a handful of Tungans to continue a siege against the Kumul Old City who had 2000 provincial troops. Zhu Juichih was unaware of Ma Chongyings true purpose so he elected not to sortie fearing a trap. Meanwhile Ma Congying led his riders over the Karlik Tagh to Barkul surprising its defenders. Barkul would end up surrendering without much of a struggle. The commander at Barkul named Hedin handed over 2000 rifles and opened the Barkul arsenal to Ma Chongying. Ma Chongying left a hundred man garrison to capture the town as he turned south. According to Wu Aichen, the sudden small victories of the young commander emboldened other groups to join his cause such as the Kazakhs and Tungans north of Karlik Tagh. By mid-July Muslim insurgents were effectively controlling the entire territory of the Old Kumul Khanate, from Xingxingxia to Iwanquan. Groups of invading Tungans from Gansu formed an alliance with the Muslims of Xinjiang, notably from Xingxingxia and Barkul to hold the siege of Kumul Old City. Ma Chongying seemed to also hold the full support of indigenous Muslims of the area whether it be Hazakh, Kirghiz, Uyghur or Xinjiang Tungans.  Jin Shujen's received word of the young commander leading a force of Tungan cavalry attacking various places. It seemed his next target was to be Qiqiaoqing. Jin appointed his chief secretary, Lu Xiaozu to be his commander in chief of the provincial forces; Tu Qikuo and Sheng Shihtsai were to be his joint chiefs of staff. Lu Xiaozu was a younger brother to Jin Shujen, a civilian with little to no military experience and was the bitter rival of the current commissioner for military affairs at Urumqi, Jin Shuxin. Lu Xiaozu mustered a force roughly 1000 strong of men almost all lacking any military training or experience. They were immediately tossed over to Qiqiaoqing with orders to halt the Tungan advance pending further reinforcements. Shortly after their arrival, the troops were met by a surprise night attack and killed nearly to a man. Their commander Tu Qikuo committed suicide in disgrace. According to Kamal Kaya Efendi, the Tungans were led personally by Ma CHongying during the daring attack. He had taken his forces into the oasis through little known trails in Karlik Tagh and Bogdo Ula after his capture of Barkul.  Following this victory, Ma Chongying returned to Kumul Old City to see if the siege was providing any results. This was a rather bizarre decision as Jin Shujens capital of Urumqi was basically open for the taking, but perhaps the young commander had overestimated his enemy. When Ma Congying arrived at Kumul Old City, the besiegers' morale improved greatly. Between July 3rd to October 16th over 43 attacks had been levied against the Chinese garrison. The Tungans dug trenches and built barricades trying to storm the walls. Meanwhile within the old city walls the besieged people were forced to eat their camels, horses and mules to survive. By October 1st the defenders were reduced to a ration of 750 grammes of kaoliang floor per day and were expected to run out by the end of the month. Likewise ammunition was running low, prompting Zhu Juichih to resort to more archaic weapons such as fire arrows and Dao swords that the men had found preserved in the arsenal going back to the time of Zuo Zungtang's campaign in the 19th century. One of the French expeditionaries reported the only thing being sold in the bazaars was opium. One could not even obtain oil as it was boiled and hurled over the walls at the attackers. The Tungans attempted numerous times to breach the walls using mines, but they lacked sufficient powder to create large enough explosions. On one occasion a breach was made in the walls, but the defenders were quickly able to block the hole with wool before the attackers could get through. Afterwards a ditch was dug around the walls and flooded so the Tungan trenches would be unable to continue mining. Siege warfare is neat isn't it? Horrible to be sure, but so much ingenuity. By Mid-October the defenders were very desperate. According to the French expeditionaries inside after 108 days of siege, the defenders sortied out of the town on October 16th and tried to reach Urumqi. “What sustained the men was opium. They could not have held out without it, and so long as it lasted and no strenuous effort was demanded of them, they could get along on practically no food. At night the opium lamps of the sentries could be seen sparkling like little stars the length of the ramparts. The whole garrison was in fact intoxicated. It was fantastic!” It is quite probable the defenders chose to make a break for it because they were a majority Han Chinese and greatly feared their fate if the Tungans got in. If you know Islamic history, well you know. Ma Chongying had refused any terms other than unconditional surrender and given the feelings of Kumuls Muslim insurgents, it seemed highly unlikely any prisoners would be taken. Regardless, the siege had delayed the Tungans for a long time, allowing Jin Shujen to hastily organize provincial forces at Urumqi. After his first military campaign had failed horrendously, Jin now orderedTsetsen Puntsag Gegeen, the “living Buddha” of Xinjiang of the Torgut Mongols to lead his famous Torgut Cavalry regiment against the Tungans at Kumul. The Turgot troops were by far the best available at the time to Jin, and the most capable to go one on one with Tungan cavalry. However Tsetsen Puntsag Gegeen was one of the many Torguts who had grievances with Jin over his policy of enforcing Han Chinese officials upon his people to take positions of leadership. Moreover a plot had recently been discovered that one of his subordinates had been paid off to assassinate him. Tsetsen Puntsag Gegeen suspected Jin Shujen to be the culprit to the plot and when the said assassins fled to Urumqi, Jin refused to hand them over for justice, all but confirmed his suspicions.  Thus Tsetsen Puntsag Gegeen refused to become involved in the war over Kumul and instead took his forces to Kara Shahr as a demonstration of power. Lacking sufficient numbers or reliable Han Chinese troops, Jin turned next to the White Russian community. Lu Xiaozu who proved himself an imbecile at military matters was replaced with Chang Peiyuan, the Military commander of the Ili Region which also happened to be the region where most White Russians resided. Chang Peiyuan went to work rallying White Russian volunteers who more or less refused to fight for the Chinese, until Jin threatened to repatriate them to Stalin's USSR. In late September Chang Peiyuan had a force headed by 250 White Russians under the leadership of Colonel Pappengut with the mission of relieving Kumul Old City. During this time Ma Chongying decided to march upon the capital, drawing most of his Tungan cavalry away from Kumul heading westwards along the Qiqiaoqing road. This took him directly into the path of the advancing White Russians who began skirmishing around the village of Liaotun. At some point Ma Chongying was seriously wounded, shot through both of his legs. Despite this both sides had negligible casualties. Yet as a result of his grievous injury a large portion of Ma Congying's Tungan riders retreated back into northwestern Gansu. Rumor has it, at this time Ma Congying was bought off by Jin Shujen, regardless he had to take a prolonged time to recuperate and was away from the front lines. Once safely across the Gansu-Xinjiang frontier, Ma Chongying handed control of his four districts of Tunhuang, Anxi, Yumen and Suzhou to his uncle Ma Pufang. Meanwhile Chang Peiyuans forces with Pappenguts White Russians in the spearhead were still advancing towards Kumul Old City. They managed to relieve it on November 1st. The victorious Chinese troops sacked Kumul as a reward, that was denied to the White Russian forces. The provincial troops then performed a systematic destruction of large parts of Kumul, levelling entire villages and terrorizing the population. Zhu Juichih had returned to Urumqi, but his Lt Xing Fayu had remained at Kumul and began a series of mass executions. The reprisals were so heinous, all of the Uyghurs who had remained neutral during the ordeal threw their lot in with the rebellion. Refugees began to pour westwards towards Turfan while Uyghur insurgents withdrew to Karlik Tagh, notably to their well stocked mountain fort at Bardash. Those who went to Bardash unleashed a guerilla war against Jin troops in collaboration with Ma Chongyings Tungans who awaited their leader in Xinjiang. A communication network led from Bardash and Anxi for this purpose. While Ma Chongying was licking his wounds he reorganized his forces. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. Thus the Kumul Rebellion had just been unleashed. Those who were oppressed were gradually forming a rebellious coalition against Jin Shujen. Although Ma Chongying had literally been cut down at the legs so to say, he was not down for the count. The Rebellion had only just begun.

John Maytham speaks to Councillor Carl Pophaim, Mayoral Committee Member for Human Settlements at City of Cape Town, about their appeal to national government to urgently devolve the Emergency Housing Grant to the City, so they can assist the fire-affected residents as quickly as possible. In recent days fires have displaced thousands in Masiphumelele, Nomzamo: Dunoon and Langa.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National's first year in government has seen everything - phone bans, hikoi's, and harsher rules around law and order. It has been a big year for Christopher Luxon and he is confronting the challenges he faced. LISTEN ABOVE.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last time we spoke about the fifth encirclement campaign against the CCP. After surviving four encirclement campaigns by the NRA, the CCP faced an intensified fifth campaign in 1933, as the Japanese invaded Manchuria and North China. Despite growing in numbers, the CCP struggled against the KMT's modernized army, equipped with German weapons and strategies. A combination of blockades, fortified positions, and superior tactics eroded Red Army strength. By 1934, after significant losses, the Red Army retreated, marking the campaign's end and signaling the start of the CCP's eventual Long March. In the battle between the NRA and the Red Army, the NRA employed strategic counterinsurgency techniques to block Red infiltration and gained local support through loyalty and economic pressure. Meanwhile, the Red Army, hampered by internal issues and a shift in leadership towards the Twenty-eight Bolsheviks, struggled with morale and mass recruitment of untrained peasants. As the Red Army attempted aggressive tactics and reforms, they ultimately faced defeat, leading to their strategic retreat in the historic Long March.   #129 The Fujian Rebellion of 1933 Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. In the previous episode, during the fifth encirclement campaign, I briefly mentioned a rebellion that took place in Fujian province. Now this story actually crosses over a few we will be covering, such as the fifth encirclement campaign, already mentioned but also the Japanese invasion of Shanghai in 1931, part of the Mukden incident. So its a bit tricky for me to cover this one without giving away too much of what we will be speaking about later, but I will try my best to be mysterious.  Now the key player I guess you can say to this story is the 19th Route Army. The 19th Route Army's history can be traced back to the 1st division of the Guangdong Army. In 1926, this division underwent a significant transformation, becoming the 4th Army of the NRA. At that time, Li Jishen was appointed as the commander, with Chen Mingshu serving as the commander of the newly formed 10th Division. Other notable figures included Jiang Guangnai as the deputy commander and Cai Tingkai leading a subordinate regiment. All of these men will be key players in the Rebellion.  During the Northern Expedition, the 4th NRA Army distinguished itself with numerous successful campaigns. The 10th Division was subsequently expanded into the 11th Army. This new formation went on to play a pivotal role in during the Central Plains War of 1930, assisting Chiang Kai-shek in his struggle against warlords' anti-chiang coalition. As a result of this success, the 11th Army was reorganized into the 19th Route Army, with Jiang Guangnai assuming the role of overall commander and Cai Tingkai becoming the army commander. Following these developments, the 19th Route Army then went on to be part of the third encirclement campaign. Now again not to give away too much, but in 1931 the Mukden incident broke out initiating a 15 year war between China and Japan. Most of the action took place in Manchuria, pouring slightly into Northern China and Inner Mongolia, but there was an expedition performed in Shanghai. In many ways it was like a dress rehearsal for what would go down in 1937 during the battle of Shanghai. During the crisis, known then as the September 18th Incident, the 19th Route Army was redeployed to Shanghai.This transition occurred during a tumultuous period when Chiang Kai-shek faced significant political pressure and was forced to resign. The Nanjing National Government, dominated by the Guangdong faction, saw Chen Mingshu appointed as the commander of the garrison responsible for defending Beijing and Shanghai. Now this was a hyper chaotic time for China, and a particularly rough time for Chiang Kai-Shek. Chiang Kai-Shek was dealing with multiple external and internal threats to China and his position as Generalissimo. First off, his encirclement campaigns against the Reds were not going well at all. His men were not accustomed nor trained properly to face guerilla warfare. When they assaulted the Jiangxi Soviet they were entering strange territory and were greeted by the countryfolk as enemies. The Reds, in contrast, felt at home among the villages. For years, they had lived alongside the people and built friendships; forging connections was a key aspect of Communist strategy. Whenever Chiang Kai-Sheks forces came too close for comfort, the guerrillas seamlessly blended into the local population. They established their own Soviets, spread their ideology at will, and disappeared when soldiers approached. They were like a fluid army. Over time, the Chinese public became less concerned about the ongoing presence of the Red Army and more weary of the topic. Those not living in areas affected by Communist infiltration struggled to grasp the urgency of this endless conflict and began to question whether the costs outweighed the benefits. Very little news was reported on the situation, and what was published came primarily from government sources, portraying it as a series of victories for the Nationalists—this battle was a success for the Nationalists, that one ended in a glorious triumph; the KMT troops had the Reds on the run. A few days later, another dispatch would reiterate the same points, as if the earlier battles had never occurred. The front lines never seemed to shift significantly. Chiang Kai-Shek maintained his position as Generalissimo like any other politician, through alliances. One of his key friends was Hu Hanmin. The relationship between Chiang Kai-Shek and Hu Hanmin was never straightforward. Their shared history was marked by significant jealousy, and in February 1931, they faced another separation. During a KMT conference, Hu Hanmin challenged the provisional constitution proposed by Chiang Kai-Shek, arguing that it was prematurely defining various governmental functions. He claimed that Chiang Kai-Shek was consolidating too much power for himself. Chiang Kai-Shek countered that Hu Hanmins concerns were mainly about party authority. This situation echoed their earlier disputes in Canton, where they had debated theories under Dr Sun Yat-sen's influence, but now their conflicts held more weight and didn't end in mere discussion. Hu Hanmin, overwhelmed by his anger, resigned from the presidency of the Legislative Yuan, a significant position at the time. In response, a similarly agitated Chiang Kai-Shek placed him under house arrest, or as the Chinese more delicately termed it, “in soft detainment.” Initially, this fact was not disclosed; Hu Hanmin simply vanished. This was quite an extreme action for someone who advocated democratic processes, leading to a barrage of inquiries from curious Europeans directed at Chiang Kai-Shek. What had happened? Where was Hu? Why had the innocuous Lin Sen been appointed as president of the Legislative Yuan? For a considerable time, the Generalissimo remained silent, but eventually, he reluctantly stated that Hu was fine—indeed, quite fine; it was simply that his personal freedom was temporarily restricted. This was all for his own benefit and that of the KMT. Without this restriction, the misguided individual might attempt to flee to Shanghai, which would only incite dissenting factions and provoke disorder. He was perfectly fine. The incident was added to the ever-growing list of accusations made by Chiang Kai-Sheks opponents, who claimed he was becoming a dictator. They argued that he was squandering the nation's resources to maintain his army while pursuing insignificant Communists, who, if left alone, might actually become good citizens. Rumors circulated that he was nurturing a group of young bullies reminiscent of the Italian "Blue Shirts." Additionally, there were concerns about the shady Chen brothers. Furthermore, it was alleged that Chiang Kai-Shek was in close contact with gangster Tu Yueh-sen in Shanghai, profiting immensely from the opium trade through this connection. In fact, Chiang had recently declared that opium would now be a government monopoly, similar to that of the British in Hong Kong, as he needed the funds. And now, this latest scandal! Criticism of the Generalissimo was rampant, especially among students. April passed, and the uproar over Hu Hanmin faded into discontented whispers, as the People's Congress approached, providing an opportunity for open discussion about the provisional constitution. However, by May 5, people were preoccupied with other concerns. The South was once again causing unrest, led by Wang Jingwei, with Eugene Chen involved as well. It began with the typical manifesto or circular telegram, signed by Wang Jingwei and the Jiangxi generals, who "impeached" Chiang Kai-Shek for his wrongdoings. Another telegram soon followed from the warlord in Canton, accusing the Generalissimo of assuming dictatorial powers. In response, Chiang Kai-Shek convened an urgent meeting of KMT leaders, asserting that the allegations must be openly discussed and investigated. He should have been able to rely on the Party's support during such a crisis, but the situation was unusual due to Hu Hanmin's detention. Some members of his own faction seized the moment to betray him. Sun Fo and Wang Chunghui retreated to Shanghai before moving on to Canton. Shortly after, the Canton warlord declared an alliance between Jiangxi and Guangdong, united in their fight, this was the Chiang-Gui War. On May 25, the southerners issued an ultimatum: Chiang Kai-Shek had to resign within forty-eight hours or face the consequences. A few days later, they established a new national government in Canton. Chiang Kai-Shek announced his intention to suppress the rebels but did not rush into action. Instead, there were discussions—more discussions—in the neutral setting of Shanghai. Throughout June and most of July, these negotiations continued, with Chiang Kai-Shek hoping to prevent a conflict that the nation could ill afford. The southerners persisted with their demands, and their appeal to Japan for support would haunt them for a long time. Their determination ultimately prevailed, and on July 21, it was announced in Canton that a punitive expedition was underway. By mid-August, Bai Chongxi's army was advancing through Hunan on the old route to Nanking. Chiang Kai-Shek prepared for the confrontation, and the capital was on high alert. Meanwhile, in the North, the Mukden Incident broke out. In the South, the generals and their associates held back, anticipating that war could be declared at any moment. However, Chiang Kai-Shek and his advisers understood that he was even less equipped than Zhang Xueliang to initiate an offensive against a powerful foreign nation. There was the League of Nations, established presumably to address crises like this, as well as the Kellogg Pact. Chiang Kai-Shek decided to refer the matter to the League, though his chances of a favorable outcome were slim: America, which might have otherwise been involved, was preoccupied with its own economic depression, and Britain remained indifferent. The more impulsive factions in China believed this response was insufficient, and the dissidents in the South demanded a stronger approach. The students were the most incensed. On September 28, hundreds of students in Shanghai took matters into their own hands. They seized control of a train at the railway station and traveled to Nanking, where they joined forces with fellow students from the capital's university. Together, they marched—five thousand strong—toward the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. They pushed past the guards, stormed the Minister's office, forcibly dragged him outside, and assaulted him. After recovering from his injuries in the hospital, the Minister chose to resign. The students then initiated a sit-in strike, declaring they would remain in Nanking until they received tangible action rather than mere diplomatic efforts. Authorities were unsure how to respond to them, as more pressing issues demanded the government's attention. It was clear that the South and Nanking needed to resolve their differences, as public opinion strongly supported this. Despite the ungracious criticisms emanating from Canton, where Eugene Chen was vocally denouncing Chiang Kai-shek for his diplomatic failures, Nanking sought to negotiate. In October, Chiang Kai-Shek released Hu Hanmin from his mild detention, and he appeared none the worse for the unexpected break. Along with three others, he traveled to Shanghai for a peace conference with the southern leaders. Hu urged the southerners to be reasonable and to cease calls for Chiang Kai-Shek's resignation. Chiang Kai-Shek remarked, “Regardless of the right or wrong of the situation, if desired, all blame can be placed squarely on me.” However, this uplifting scene was short-lived. As the Canton faction continued to insist on Chiang's resignation, Hu abruptly changed his stance and escalated the demands. He suggested that not only should Chiang resign, but he should also be exiled from China entirely. The conference ended in chaos. Various proposals were discussed and quickly dismissed. The South remained resolute; Chiang had to go. The sit-in students, frustrated with just sitting idle, started to escalate their actions. Their numbers had been steadily increasing since the initial demonstration, with boys traveling to Nanking from distant places; by the end of November, there were twelve thousand of them. They marched again to the new government buildings, demanding that Chiang Kai-Shek come out to engage in a discussion. “War on Japan!” they shouted. Chiang Kai-Shek made them wait in the cold winter weather for a full twenty-four hours before he finally appeared. He reprimanded them harshly and ordered them to return to school, leading to a subdued dispersal of the crowd. On December 15th, Chiang Kai-Shek capitulated to public pressure and resigned. Chiang Kai-Shek yet again nonchalantly got up and left heading home into the mountains. This left an extremely uneasy Sun Fo in the presidential chair facing what looked like a full blown Japanese invasion. The Japanese kept reiterating they were merely defending their citizens after the Chinese had attacked the South Manchurian Railway…but yeah they were certainly conquering. Sun Fo desperately looked to any veteran figures for help, but Hu Hanmin fled to Hong Kong, Wang Jingwei, arguably the man responsible for forcing Chiang Kai-Shek yet again to step down was suddenly far too ill to do anything and retired to the Shanghai Hospital. Meanwhile, all of the bankers had lost interest in the Nanjing government since Chiang Kai-Shek had departed, the government literally lost its coffers. The government had no means to properly pay its armies. Now the entire time the government had been tossing offers to Chiang Kai-Shek to come back, but he bided his time. Meanwhile Eugene Chen demanded China break off diplomatic relations with Japan, was told no so he resigned, followed soon after by Sun Fo. Wang Jingwei was tossed into the presidency position, which he must have relished, however it was just then when Shanghai was invaded. Chiang Kai-Shek still held his honorary position as CEC over the special committee so he simply waited and watched. Yet no one could manage the military like the generalissimo nor open the coin purses to fund it. Thus Chiang Kai-Shek was brought back, but not really as Generalissimo, now he had to work collaboratively with others, such as Wang Jingwei.  In 1932, the January 28 Incident unfolded, basically the Japanese performed another false flag operation trying to legitimize an expedition into Shanghai. Japanese marines began to land and on January 28th they were attacking in full force. The 19th Route Army met the enemy in what became a month-long resistance against great odds. Chiang Kai-Shek was being labeled a coward for not doing more against the Japanese, but he was keeping in touch with the commanders of the 19th Rout Army by telegraph. He advised them to guard Liuho, a village just across the Yangtze, believing the Japanese would make other landings to cut them off there. General Tsai neglected to take the advice, and low and behold the Japanese made the landing forcing the 19th Route Army to pull out. The entire situation looked incredibly bad for China. Fingers were pointed at the inept Nanjing government. Yet Chiang Kai-Shek was much more focused on the encirclement campaigns against the Reds. The people angrily accused him of “making war on his own people instead of attending to the real threat, Japan”. To this Chiang Kai-Shek replied “It is useless for China to talk of resisting Japan. When it has not yet stamped out the enemy in its midst. If China ventures to fight the Japanese, the Communists will attack from the rear and chaos will quickly overtake the whole country.” The 19th Route Army were hailed as heroes, receiving a lot of recognition as a prominent anti-Japanese force. Despite Japan's attempts to reinforce its troops, Chiang Kai-shek's return to leadership saw further NRA forces dispatched to join the fight. Eventually, the conflict reached a resolution through diplomatic negotiations, resulting in the withdrawal of the 19th Route Army from Shanghai. With the Japanese threat averted for the time being Chiang Kai-Shek redirected his efforts against the Reds. On May 21, 1932, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the 19th Route Army to enter Fujian and forced the army to engage in a civil war against the Communists in Fujian. On December 6 of the same year, Jiang Guangnai took over as the chairman of Fujian Province, and Cai Tingkai was appointed as the director of the Fujian Pacification Office and commander of the 19th Route Army.  At this point the leadership of the 19th Route Army were not at all happy with Chiang Kai-Shek, who to them seemed to have done little to help face the Japanese. They were not friendly to the CCP by any means and were actively suppressing Communist organizations while fighting the Japanese. When they came to Fujian they continued to suppress communists and supported people's anti-Japanese patriotic movements. On August 18, 1932, the 61st Division of the 19th Route Army collectively executed 69 CCP members and suspected individuals outside the East Gate of Quanzhou, and they also carried out mass killings of government workers from the Soviet area during their offensive against it. Despite this the CCP and 19th Route Army did agree on one thing, the Japanese were a problem.  After November 22, 1933, as Japanese imperialism intensified its invasion of China, the people across the nation once again launched a wave of anti-Japanese salvation movements. On January 17 of the same year, the Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic and the Revolutionary Military Committee of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army issued a "Joint Anti-Japanese Declaration," proposing three conditions for cooperation with any armed forces to resist Japan: an immediate halt to attacks on the Soviet areas, immediate guarantees of the democratic rights of the people, and the immediate arming of the people to establish armed volunteer forces. However, Chiang Kai-shek's ruling group stubbornly persisted in its anti-Communist and anti-people policies, continuing to intensify attacks on the Red Army, and on May 31, he signed a peace agreement with the Japanese. Chiang Kai-Shek was met with another wave of opposition across the nation for appeasing the Japanese. The 19th Route Army basically concluded the Generalissimo was not going to help wage a war against their enemy. Thus in a rather insane fashion, the leadership of the 19th Route Army resolved to overthrow the Nanjing government so they could unite the anti-Japanese forces and push for a national resistance. At that time, Chen Mingshu, an early leader of the 19th Route Army who had gone abroad and had previously served as the vice president of the Executive Yuan of the National Government, returned to China in May 1933 and devoted all his efforts to opposing Chiang Kai-shek's Nanjing government. In Fuzhou, he secretly discussed three strategies with Jiang Guangnai, Cai Tingkai, and Deng Xizeng: the first was to unite with Guangdong and Guangxi to overthrow Chiang Kai-Shek, supporting Hu Hanmin to organize an independent government; the second was to unite with Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi of Guangxi, and Chen Jitang of Guangdong, seizing Guangdong; the last was to unite with the Red Army to resist Chiang Kai-Shek together.  As a result, neither the first nor the second strategies could be realized. Under Chiang Kai-shek's repeated orders to engage in civil war, the 78th Division and the 62nd Division of the 19th Route Army faced severe blows from the Red Army in Fujian between July and September 1933. Thus, the 19th Route Army found itself in a dire situation where not engaging in the "anti-Communist" actions would lead to its annihilation by Chiang Kai-shek, while engaging in "anti-Communist" actions would result in its destruction by the Red Army. In the context of rising national anti-Japanese sentiment, the upper leadership of the 19th Route Army had to swiftly make the choice to unite with the Communists to resist Chiang Kai-Shek and fight against Japan. On September 22, 1933, Chen Mingshu's main aide, Chen Gongpei, who had participated in the Nanchang Uprising and later left the CCP, secretly arrived at the command post of the 3rd Red Army Corps stationed at Wangtai, to express the political stance of the 19th Route Army to leaders of the Red Army, such as Peng Dehuai, Teng Daiyuan, and Yuan Guoping, regarding anti-Chiang resistance and cooperation with the Red Army. In October, Chen Gongpei accompanied Xu Minghong, the plenipotentiary representative of the 19th Route Army and secretary-general of its headquarters, to Ruijin. On the 26th, he signed the "Preliminary Agreement Against Japan and Against Chiang" with Pan Jianxing, a representative of the Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic and the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. The main contents included: both sides immediately cease military actions, temporarily define a military demarcation line, restore trade between both parties; the Fujian People's Revolutionary Government and the 19th Route Army agree to the existence and activities of all revolutionary organizations in Fujian, allow freedom of publication, speech, assembly, and strikes, and immediately release political prisoners, among other provisions. The Soviet Provisional Central Government also sent Pan Jianxing as a permanent representative in Fuzhou. Subsequently, Chen Mingshu, Li Jishen, Jiang Guangnai, Cai Tingkai, and others actively prepared to establish a new government and made military preparations against Chiang Kai-Shek. On November 20, 1933, Li Jishen, Jiang Guangnai, Cai Tingkai, and representatives from over 100 cities across the country, along with 100,000 people from various sectors in Fuzhou, convened the National People's Temporary Representative Assembly in Fuzhou. The assembly issued the "Declaration of People's Rights of the Chinese People's Temporary Representative Assembly" and decided to establish the People's Revolutionary Government of the Republic of China. They elected Li Jishen, Chen Mingshu, Chen Youren, Feng Yuxiang , Cai Tingkai, Jiang Guangnai, Huang Qixiang, Xu Qian, Fang Zhenwu, Li Zhangda, Sa Zhenbing, He Gonggan, and other 12 members to the government, with Li Jishen as the government chairman. On November 22, the People's Revolutionary Government was officially established, with the capital in Fuzhou. The People's Revolutionary Government Committee set up a Military Committee, an Economic Committee, and a Cultural Committee, chaired respectively by Li Jishen, Yu Xinqing, and Chen Mingshu; and established a Ministry of Finance, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a Supreme Court, and a Political Security Bureau, led respectively by Jiang Guangnai, Chen Youren, Xu Qian, and Li Zhangda. The People's Revolutionary Government successively issued: The People's Revolutionary Government's Internal Telegram. The People's Revolutionary Government's External Declaration.The People's Political Program - Eighteen Articles of the Minimum Program and other documents, openly announcing anti-Japanese and anti-Chiang, and proposing some domestic and foreign policies with certain progressive significance. The "Internal Telegram of the People's Revolutionary Government" announced the government's future mission: 1) to seek the liberation of the Chinese nation and establish a truly independent and free country; 2) to eliminate the counter-revolutionary Nanjing government and establish a political power of the productive people; 3) to realize the equal rights of all ethnic groups in the country; 4) to guarantee the absolute freedom and equality of all productive people; 5) to eliminate the influence of imperialism in China, overthrow the warlords, eradicate the remnants of the feudal system, develop the national economy, and liberate the working people. The "Declaration of the People's Revolutionary Government to Foreign Countries" sternly pointed out the Nanjing government's traitorous behavior and warned the powers not to cooperate with Chiang Kai-shek. The Declaration stated: "We believe that the policies of the pro-American and pro-League of Nations factions are based on dangerous principles... However, it must be recognized that the objective result of the pro-American and pro-League of Nations factions will put China under an international condominium system, which is no less harmful than Chiang Kai-shek's pro-Japanese policies... It is recognized that China's real power must be established on a national basis... We finally declare that overthrowing the Chiang regime is not only necessary for China's independence and national salvation, but also for the military and economic interests of the whole world... In order to enhance international security, we have to warn the powers not to make any loans to the Chiang Kai-shek government in Nanjing, whether it is money, goods, or weapons. We also declare that if any such loans are concluded in the future, the Chinese people and their revolutionary government will completely deny them." The People's Political Program - Eighteen Articles of the Minimum Program declared: "China is a semi-feudal society under the rule of imperialists. The greatest goal of the Chinese revolution is to eliminate the imperialist domination in China; at the same time, to sweep away all feudal forces and establish a government that fully represents the rights of the people..." The 18 articles of the minimum program are: (1) Abolish unequal treaties and renegotiate equal and mutually beneficial treaties with other countries; (2) Foreign-invested or foreign-managed enterprises and cultural undertakings that are harmful to the interests of the Chinese nation may be restricted or confiscated; (3) To sort out new and old foreign debts. All political loans that harm the country should be absolutely denied; others should be repaid conditionally; (4) Implementing foreign trade controls; (5) Strictly implement absolute tariff autonomy; (6) Open up the political system and deny all political rights to counter-revolutionaries who are dependent on imperialism and warlords; (7) All nationalities within China are equal, may freely unite for revolution, and recognize national self-determination; (8) Ensure the people's absolute freedom of body, residence, speech, assembly, association, strike, demonstration and publication; (9) Implement universal suffrage; (10) Abolish all excessive taxes and levies; (11) The principle of "everyone who tills the land owns the land" was established, and land was distributed according to the number of people. Forests, mines, and rivers were completely nationalized. (12) All important banking and transportation enterprises shall be under state control; (13) Use political power and state capital to support the scientific development of agricultural production; (14) Usury is strictly prohibited; (15) Unscrupulous merchants will be eliminated and the people's daily necessities will be sold under the state monopoly; (16) To formulate agricultural and industrial laws, improve the lives of farmers and workers, and ensure the development of agricultural and industrial organizations; (17) Promote universal education; (18) Implement conscription, arm the people, and assist them in their anti-imperialist and economic and political struggles. After the establishment of the People's Revolutionary Government, it caused a great stir domestically and internationally. However, due to Wang Ming's "leftist" closure policy, the local party organization in Fujian initially adopted a hostile strategy toward the People's Revolutionary Government. It wasn't until early December, after the Fuzhou Central Municipal Committee received a letter from the Central Committee dated October 30 addressing the Fuzhou Central Municipal Committee and all comrades in Fujian, that they began to adopt a proactive cooperative approach toward the People's Revolutionary Government and the 19th Route Army. After December 29, the Fuzhou Central Municipal Committee issued a declaration in the name of the "Far East Anti-Imperialist Non-War Anti-Fascist Alliance, Fuzhou Branch," publicly calling for the establishment of an anti-imperialist united front. The People's Revolutionary Government also fully reprinted this declaration in its official newspapers, the "People's Daily" and the "Guoguang Daily." The Fuzhou branch then mobilized people from all walks of life to establish the "Committee to Oppose Kuomintang Air Raids and Support the Soldiers of the 19th Route Army Against the Kuomintang," organizing personnel to visit the stationed troops of the 19th Route Army to comfort the soldiers. The People's Revolutionary Government also adopted a cooperative attitude toward the economic struggles of workers' organizations. On November 18, Chen Mingshu called for an emergency secret meeting of the 19th Route Army and other key figures at Heshui Rock in Gushan. The meeting took place at Longyuan Pavilion, and attendees included Li Jishen, Chen Mingshu, Cai Tingkai, Jiang Guangnai, Chen Youren, Huang Qixiang, Xu Qian, Li Zhangda, and more than ten other military commanders and the chief of staff of the 19th Route Army. The discussion, which lasted from morning until late at night, revolved around heated debates concerning the timing of the uprising. Cai Tingkai advocated for postponing the uprising by one to two months for several reasons; many generals in the 19th Route Army were still undecided or openly opposed to the rebellion, the troops had yet to be mobilized, defenses were unorganized, various forces had not surrendered, and traitors and spies were still active. Additionally, Guangdong and Guangxi were not providing support, and Chiang Kai-shek was already aware of their plans. Cai Tingkai argued for more time to accelerate preparations without drawing immediate attention from Chiang Kai-Shek. In contrast, Chen Mingshu and others believed this was the last opportunity for an uprising. They pointed out that Chiang Kai-shek's forces were concentrated in North China, and Jinpu and particularly in Jiangxi, where his main troops were engaged in the fifth encirclement campaign against the Soviet area. They estimated that only 20,000 to 30,000 troops could be redirected to Fujian. Overestimating the political instability of Chiang's regime, Chen Mingshu believed that once the 19th Route Army raised the flag of rebellion, support from other regions of China would follow. He also felt confident that one division of the 19th Route Army could resist two or three of Chiang's divisions and that with cooperation from the Red Army, even if Chiang Kai-Shek deployed ten divisions, they would prevail. Chen Mingshu concluded that regardless of the outcome, the effort would be heroic and they should proceed without hesitation. The meeting's opposing viewpoints led to intense discussions. Chen Mingshu, visibly passionate, declared that revolution required sacrifice and that delaying any longer would mean submission to Nanjing. Cai Tingkai, while originally advocating for a delay, conceded that the situation had reached a point of no return. He agreed to lead the 19th Route Army and fully back the new government. The meeting concluded with a decision to convene the National People's Provisional Congress in Fuzhou on November 20 to officially declare the uprising against Chiang Kai-Shek. Other topics discussed included replacing the blue sky, white sun party flag, military and financial logistics, and a declaration drafted by Chen Mingshu's advisors, Wang Lixi and Hu Qiuyuan. On November 20, 1933, the National People's Provisional Congress convened at the South Parade Ground in Fuzhou, with thousands of soldiers, students, merchants, and workers in attendance. A banner reading "China's National People's Provisional Congress" adorned the stage, and the leaders of the rebellion, including Cai Tingkai, Jiang Guangnai, and Li Jishen, were present, though Chen Mingshu was absent due to illness. Representatives from 25 provinces and various walks of life gathered for the event. Before the meeting, the 19th Route Army's newly formed air force performed stunts, to the applause of the crowd. At 9:40 AM, the meeting began with Huang Qixiang, who was elected chairman of the presidium, delivering an opening speech and reading the "Declaration of the People's Rights of the Provisional Chinese People's Congress." Several prominent figures spoke, and the meeting concluded with the adoption of proposals to establish the People's Revolutionary Government and a new national flag designed by Ouyang Yuqian. That evening, the presidium decided to form the People's Revolutionary Government of the Republic of China, abolishing the Nanjing government, declaring 1933 as the first year of the Republic, and establishing Fuzhou as the capital. Li Jishen was elected President, and several others, including Chen Mingshu, Jiang Guangnai, and Cai Tingkai, were appointed government members. However the Fujian Revolution failed to gain support from other forces within the KMT. The Guangxi clique was dissatisfied with the fact that the 19th Route Army reconciled with the CCP so they did not support it. Chen Jitang tossed his lot in with Chiang Kai-shek and did not support the Fujian Revolution either. At that time, the CCP was undergoing a power struggle. On December 5, the Central Committee of the CCP, headed by Wang Ming, issued a statement stating that the Fujian government was "non-people and still non-revolutionary and that anyone who wants to take a third way between revolution and counter-revolution will inevitably fail." . Thus, Chiang Kai-shek transferred eight divisions of the National Revolutionary Army into Fujian, and coordinated the attack with the air force and navy. The 19th Route Army quickly collapsed. Four out of the five armies defected before the battle even began. Most of them were disarmed by the Central Army that they had fought side by side with during the Shanghai Incident a year ago. On January 15, 1934, Chiang Kai-shek's forces captured Fuzhou. The People's Revolutionary Government and the headquarters of the 19th Route Army retreated to Zhangzhou and Quanzhou, respectively. By January 21, both Quanzhou and Zhangzhou had fallen, and the Fujian Rebellion had failed. The People's Revolutionary Government of the Republic of China collapsed within two months of its establishment. On the 21st, the remaining troops of the 19th Route Army switched over to supporting the central government, and the Fujian Revolution officially came to an end. Jiang Guangnai, Cai Tingkai, Chen Mingshu and Li Jishen fled to Hong Kong . The designation of the 19th Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army was cancelled, and the troops were dispersed and integrated. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. Yes it was a tad bit of an anti climatic event in the grand scheme of things. Yet the provincial rebellion was notable because the people involved wanted to fight the Japanese and believed their government was not doing enough to challenge the external threat. The reality however was far more complicated, the Japanese were far too formidable, for now. 

The U.S. federal government is the biggest grant-maker at around a trillion dollars a year. That makes grants management a big challenge. Other national government have a few grants management practices that might help things here. More now from the director of strategic issues at the Government Accountability Office, Jeff Arkin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The U.S. federal government is the biggest grant-maker at around a trillion dollars a year. That makes grants management a big challenge. Other national government have a few grants management practices that might help things here. More now from the director of strategic issues at the Government Accountability Office, Jeff Arkin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.theflyingfrisby.comToday, we are going to look at gold, bitcoin, and our way of playing it, MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR), which has now 10xd (!) since we first covered it last year. Amazing.Finally, there'll be a short update on gold miners. Remember them?Let's start with gold.Gold - and most other metals - has been hit since the U.S. election last week. It's down $200, or about 7%, with U.S. dollar strength being a big factor (the dollar has been storming higher since October).While I think this bull market might be punctured, as I put it last week, and that gold probably has a bit further to fall, I am not unduly worried. 2024 has hitherto been a great year for gold, and it remains an essential long-term core holding.It is an even more essential holding for UK investors. I think sterling has big problems ahead of it, and gold serves as your hedge against crap governments.If you are thinking of buying gold to protect yourself in these uncertain times, I recommend The Pure Gold Company. Pricing is competitive, quality of service is high. They deliver to the UK, US, Canada and Europe or you can store your gold with them. More here.Labour or Tory - I'm no fan of either. They're both as bad as each other, in my view. The less government there is, the better things run. But that's irrelevant idealism. Of greater concern here is reality: there has never been a Labour Government that did not devalue sterling.* Blair and Brown crashed sterling in 2007-8 (though until then their record was okay);* Under Wilson, Callaghan, and Healey, we ended up going to the IMF in 1976. Callaghan and Wilson also devalued in 1967.* Cripps and Attlee devalued in 1949.* Ramsay MacDonald's National Government, which followed Labour from 1929-31, took us off the gold standard in 1931.Why should this Labour Government be any different? If anything, it is even less competent. Sterling devaluation is coming. How exactly might not yet be clear. I rather suspect it'll be an attempt to make us competitive against an ultra-streamlined US, but that's just a guess. You must own some gold (and some bitcoin) in such an environment: non-government money.Gold under Trump - What Gives? What's coming?

Questions to Ministers Rt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his Government's statements and actions? NANCY LU to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has she seen on the economy? Dr PARMJEET PARMAR to the Associate Minister of Justice: What recent statements has he seen about the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill? Hon CARMEL SEPULONI to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: Does she agree with Opposition leader Christopher Luxon, who said, "I can tell you we're going to be straight with the New Zealand people, tell it as it is - the good, the bad and the ugly"; if so, why has the weekly reporting of income support and hardship figures stopped? MARIAMENO KAPA-KINGI to the Lead Coordination Minister for the Government's Response to the Royal Commission's Report into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions: Does she agree with the Whanaketia report that "The State failed to address the ongoing systemic impacts of colonisation that contributed to Maori being taken into care, in which Maori experienced abuse and neglect. This includes recognising the inherent mana motuhake of iwi and hapu, structural reform that would have enabled Maori to exercise rangatiratanga and mana motuhake"? KAHURANGI CARTER to the Minister for Children: Does she accept that the State's failures "to consider or recognise an ao Maori ... view, tikanga, te reo and matauranga Maori" were circumstances that led to abuse; if so, is she confident that the proposal to repeal section 7AA is not a continuation of this? Hon GINNY ANDERSEN to the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations: Does he stand by his reported statement that previous National Governments had made good progress on Treaty settlements, and they hoped to restore some of that momentum; if not, why not? JAMES MEAGER to the Minister of Justice: What actions is the Government taking to reduce the number of victims of crime? TAMATHA PAUL to the Minister for Children: Does she accept advice from officials that "New Zealand and international evidence indicates military academies have limited effectiveness in reducing offending"; if not, what evidence can she name that supports her approach to youth justice? Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL to the Minister of Health: How many Te Whatu Ora staff members have now expressed interest in accepting the voluntary redundancy first offered in August, and how many, if any, have had their request approved despite their local manager recommending against accepting it? PAULO GARCIA to the Associate Minister of Housing: What recent announcements has he made about emergency housing? Hon WILLOW-JEAN PRIME to the Minister of Education: Does she stand by all her statements and actions in relation to Te Ahu o te Reo Maori; if so, why?

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.theflyingfrisby.comToday, we are going to look at gold, bitcoin, and our way of playing it, MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR), which has now 10xd (!) since we first covered it last year. Amazing.Finally, there'll be a short update on gold miners. Remember them?Let's start with gold.Gold - and most other metals - has been hit since the U.S. election last week. It's down $200, or about 7%, with U.S. dollar strength being a big factor (the dollar has been storming higher since October).While I think this bull market might be punctured, as I put it last week, and that gold probably has a bit further to fall, I am not unduly worried. 2024 has hitherto been a great year for gold, and it remains an essential long-term core holding.It is an even more essential holding for UK investors. I think sterling has big problems ahead of it, and gold serves as your hedge against crap governments.If you are thinking of buying gold to protect yourself in these uncertain times, I recommend The Pure Gold Company. Pricing is competitive, quality of service is high. They deliver to the UK, US, Canada and Europe or you can store your gold with them. More here.Labour or Tory - I'm no fan of either. They're both as bad as each other, in my view. The less government there is, the better things run. But that's irrelevant idealism. Of greater concern here is reality: there has never been a Labour Government that did not devalue sterling.* Blair and Brown crashed sterling in 2007-8 (though until then their record was okay);* Under Wilson, Callaghan, and Healey, we ended up going to the IMF in 1976. Callaghan and Wilson also devalued in 1967.* Cripps and Attlee devalued in 1949.* Ramsay MacDonald's National Government, which followed Labour from 1929-31, took us off the gold standard in 1931.Why should this Labour Government be any different? If anything, it is even less competent. Sterling devaluation is coming. How exactly might not yet be clear. I rather suspect it'll be an attempt to make us competitive against an ultra-streamlined US, but that's just a guess. You must own some gold (and some bitcoin) in such an environment: non-government money.Gold under Trump - What Gives? What's coming?

Dr Bryce Edwards spoke to Castor about the list of projects included in the National Government's Fast Track Amendments Bill, whether the list of projects match up to the public's expectations of the bill, and the environmental risks posed by the bill. 

Dr Bryce Edwards spoke to Castor about the list of projects included in the National Government's Fast Track Amendments Bill, whether the list of projects match up to the public's expectations of the bill, and the environmental risks posed by the bill. 

Today on the show... Looking tonight at the the state of the economy with a man who spent 20 years in the Beehive working for National Governments. He says we are heading for an Argentina style meltdown. Andrew Barnes the man behind the four day working week joins me to chat about the government ordering everyone back to the office - Barnes is baffled. She came from the slums in Philippines married off at 16 to a man who forced her to clean hotel rooms for the next 27 years and she also had 3 kids. Nilda Brown is the current Mrs. NZ and she now runs the contest. her story is nothing short of a miracle!   Website: https://www.rova.nz/home/podcasts/duncan-garner---editor-in-chief.html Instagram: @DuncanGarnerpodcast TikTok:  @DuncanGarnerPodcast 

In the summer of 2024, the Chilcotin River in British Columbia had a landslide that completely blocked the river creating a natural dam.  For the next 6 days the river water backed up behind this dam until the waters finally worked over the top the of the landslide, creating a breach that would exceed the previous historical flows by 5 fold. 3 people share their experience and knowledge of the landslide in this episode.EPISODE GUESTSTŜILHQOT'IN National GovernmentJenny Philbrick, Executive DirectorState of Local Emergency Declared for Tŝilhqot'in Territory due to Tŝilhqox (Chilcotin River) LandslideTŝilhqot'in National Government initiating Emergency Salmon Task ForceROAM  Rivers, Oceans and MountainsBrian McCutcheonBritish Colombia Ministry of Water, Land and Resource StewardshipNatasha Cowie, Hydrologist, River Forecast Centre TIME LAPSE IMAGES OF LANDSLIDE AND BREACH & other info on landslideScroll down to "Timelapse..." YOU TUBE VIDEOSShort: "...helicopter view of landslide..."Short: "...building washed away..."Landslide breach video"Water begins moving past landslide damming Chilcotin River" River Radius Instagram and Facebook has videos also.  Links below.  EPISODE SPONSORS  THE RIVER RADIUSWebsiteInstagramFacebookApple PodcastSpotifyLink Tree

In this episode, I interviewed Ted Jojola about his 1984 article, "The Conflicting Role of National Governments in the Tribal Development Process". In this article (1984) he compares the colonialism of Native peoples in the United States & Philippines. In the article, he examines the case study of the two water projects; the Kinzua Dam in the North-eastern United States & the Chico River Dams in Northern Luzon Philippines. We talk about development discourse and practices in each case study. Jojola explains the parallels between the development and National projects. Additionally, Jojola talks about political alliances of Native people to oppose development projects. Ted Jojola is the director of Indigenous Design + Planning Institute at the University of New Mexico. Music by: PurpleCatinSlacks

The ‘flapper election' took place on 30 May 1929. The reference was top ‘flappers', fashionable and slightly shocking young women of the 1920s, who could vote in it because, at last, universal suffrage had been introduced for all adults of 21 or over irrespective of sex or property. The Tories, who'd made some moves, perhaps rather more modest than many might have hoped, towards alleviating property and had been responsible for the reform that gave the flappers the vote, might have hoped to be returned to office in gratitude. They weren't. Instead, Labour, the biggest single party but again short of a majority, formed a second government under Ramsay MacDonald. As before, and like the Baldwin government that preceded it, it tried to cut public spending. The economy remained stuck in the doldrums and then, after the Wall Street Crash of 1929, it tanked. Workless numbers soared. In 1931, MacDonald decided that the only way to keep reducing spending was to cut unemployment benefit. That was unacceptable to the majority of Labour. The party split over the issue, a split confirmed when MacDonald accepted the king's plea to stay on as Prime Minister but at the head of a ‘National Government' including ministers from all three the main parties, Conservative, Labour and Liberal. It in turn went to the country, as the National Government, seeking a ‘doctor's mandate' to cure the nation's ills, on 27 October 1931. The results were spectacular: the National Government was returned to power with a colossal majority, 554 seats out of the total of 615 in the House of Commons. They were disastrous for official Labour, to a rump of just 52 seats. But the picture wasn't particularly encouraging for MacDonald either. He headed a group with an unassailable majority. However, among the government's MPs, 470 – a majority of the Commons on its own – were Conservative. His own so-called National Labour group only had 13. He was in office all right. But he was also trapped. He could do nothing without the support of the overwhelming Tory majority. Illustration: Ramsay MacDonald, the Prime Minister, (right), in a detail from a 1931 photo of the National Government cabinet by Press Associations Photos, with Stanley Baldwin (left), the Tory leader whose clear Commons majority of his own made him the real power behind MacDonald's throne. National Portrait Gallery, x184174. Music: Bach Partita #2c by J Bu licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License

Four-year political terms may not necessarily ensure delivery on campaign promises. The Government's considering a referendum at the next election - to let voters decide whether to add a year on to our political terms. It's argued allowing Parliament to take more time with its policy decisions could lead to stronger laws. But constitutional law expert Graeme Edgeler says we don't have many one-term Governments to begin with - and many in fact, last three terms. He says most get re-elected. "Labour and Jacinda Ardern got six years to implement their policies, the last National Government had nine years to do it." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last time we spoke about the capture of Shanghai and Nanking. By early 1927, the NRA concentrated around Sungchiang, feigning a major assault on Shanghai while secretly preparing to attack Nanking. Capturing Nanking would isolate Sun Chuanfang's forces. By February, Sun's battered armies awaited reinforcements, while the KMT incited disorder in Shanghai. The city's large workforce, influenced by the CCP, opposed Sun's alliance with northerners and foreign powers. On February 19th, the CCP launched a general strike, which was violently suppressed by Sun's forces, leading to hundreds of deaths. Despite the failed uprising, the NRA advanced, exploiting defections within Sun's ranks. By March, NRA forces captured key positions, closing in on Nanking and Shanghai. Amidst this, Chiang Kai-Shek faced internal strife with the CCP and KMT leftists, leading to disunity in the First United Front. The Wuhan faction undermined Chiang's authority, further complicating the Northern Expedition. By late March, the NRA seized Shanghai, while ongoing conflicts hinted at a potential collapse of the First United Front.   #114 The Northern Expedition Part 5: Collapse of the First United Front Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. Last we left off, Chiang Kai-Shek was basically at war with this new CCP run cabal in Wuhan. They were taking away his authority one notch at a time. To counter the communist Wuhan cabal, Chiang Kai-SHek appealed to the center and right wingers in the KMT. Before the capture of Shanghai a anti-communist group with members such as Wu Chihui, Niu Yungchen and Yang Quan who had headquarters within the city had been investigating how the CCP was subverting the KMT authority. On March 6th, they began questioning the CCP leader Chen Duxiu and his Shanghai based subordinate Lo Yinung what exactly the intentions of the CCP were. Chen Duxiu said they would turn China communist, but it would take more than 20 years and thus cooperation with the KMT was a necessity. After it was found out the CCP had fomented some worker attacks upon areas in Shanghai, this produced anti KMT demonstrations along the Nanking road. Chiang Kai-Shek was gaining more loyal followers to his side as the anti-communism grew amongst the KMT members. When Shanghai was taken, Chiang Kai-Shek sent letters to members of the Wuhan cabal that he considered not under the influence of the CCP that they should come to Shanghai. On March 24th, Chiang Kai-Shek addressed a letter sent to Tan Yenkai at Wuhan “Please forward this letter to the National Government. Shanghai and Nanking have been occupied and there is much work to be done here. I hope committee member T'an and Ministers Sun [Fo] and Soong and Ch'en [Eugene] will come to Shanghai to handle affairs here so I can devote my attention to military matters” Yet he neglected to mention the insubordination running through the NRA ranks and the ongoing Nanking incident that was occurring that very day. Most of the men who received letters at Wuhan had a lot of grievances against the CCP, particularly because they felt betrayed. This of course was because initially the CCP had colluded with the left wing KMT faction, led by Wang Jingwei. But he and the rest of the left wing had been left in the dust as the CCP simply took charge. By the end of March the civil war between Wuhan and Chiang Kai-Shek was becoming more and more visible. Both Wuhan and Shanghai began using the press to attack another. From Wuhan Borodin was accusing Shanghai of being reactionaries and Shanghai was calling into question how the communist influence emanating from Wuhan could be put to an end. The Wuhan cabal then began dismissing officers loyal to Chiang Kai-Shek and turning military authority to the new Wuhan military council. Shanghai had their own cabal in the form of committees who retaliated against Wuhan. This saw a sort of battle over Jiangxi as both cabals tried to dismiss each other's favored officers. Yet the CCP within Shanghai began organizing a provisional municipal government and appointing CCP members to key positions. Upon discovering this new attack, Chiang Kai-Shek labeled the CCP committees as the enemy of the KMT and not to be recognized by the political party nor the NRA. April brought violence to the situation. In Shanghai the CCP used its new found cabal there to undermine Chiang Kai-Shek's regime. Chiang Kai-Shek responded by placing a curfew over the city and declaring publicly he would suppress all irregular movements. Word spread Chiang Kai-Shek had invited a large group of KMT civil and military leaders from Guangzhou to Shanghai where they were forming plans to counter the CCP threat in the two cities. Then word came that the CCP were seizing merchants in Wuhan and ransoming them and taking their businesses. In Shanghai non-communist workers began complaining that they were being persecuted and even physically beaten by CCP unions. So the KMT unions began gathering non-communist workers and created a labor organization with the intent of completely replacing the communist labor union at Shanghai. Thus if we see this all as a war, one front of it because the labor front. From there general strikes broke out at Shanghai and Hangzhou, on the part of the CCP to try and oust Chiang Kai-Shek. The KMT unions retaliated by burning down the CCP union HQ's in Hangzhou and Ningpo. After this the Wuhan joint council declared recent elections in Guangzhou to be illegal on the basis they had already been ordered to disband and reorganize. In response Guangzhou's government arrested agents that had been sent by Wuhan and refused to comply with Wuhans orders. Chiang Kai-Shek now was deeply concerned about the stagnating northern expedition. Each day the NRA delayed, the NPA grew larger and more coordinated. Chiang Kai-Shek still hoped to convince key KMT leaders to turn away from the CCP. To this purpose, in March, Chiang Kai-Shek sent his close colleague Zhang Jingjiang to find Wang Jingwei and ask him to come back to China. Zhang Jingjiang wrote to Wang Jingwei, notifying him the CCP were trying to take over the entire movement and that they needed him to return from Europe. Wang Jingwei returned to Shanghai by April 1st as Chiang Kai-Shek notified his agents “Comrade Wang has returned and I have had a serious conference with him about the Party and the country. From now on he will be responsible for the Party as well as political affairs. I will devote my attention to military operations. The military and civil administration, finance and diplomacy will all be under Wang and be consolidated in the central government. My armies and I will obey unanimously. Military authority and operation orders, however, I will direct as before. Wang has indicated that he thinks there should be no intra-Party conflict until the military operation has been completed and that everyone should support the C-in-C until a discussion of the matters involved can be held”. Can you say what a 180? Wang Jingwei did not trust Chiang Kai-Shek at all, and I am sure the feeling was mutual. These two guys after all had been rivals fighting for leadership over the movement. One crucial problem for Wang Jingwei, was the fact he was the leader of the leftists in the movement and only really had power when combined with the CCP. Now when Wang Jingwei came back home, he took a route going through Moscow and Vladivostok. Borodin had telegraphed him from Wuhan, telling him the CCP did not want to displace the KMT nor sought to create a communist China. Wang Jingwei stated later on that he came back to China hoping to bring the Wuhan faction back into the fold. On April the 15th Wang Jingwei took up his new position. Chiang Kai-Shek pushed Wang Jingwei to call for an all KMT gathering at Nanking to purge the CCP from the ranks. However at that time, the northern expedition had units advancing against Honan and quite a few of them had CCP officers. Wang Jingwei stated if they purged now it would threaten said units. Thus the second week of April saw an increase in violence between the two groups. Riots broke out in Guangzhou, Zhejiang and Jiangsu between unions leaving hundreds dead and wounded. The military forces at Shanghai began quelling armed workers as Chiang Kai-Shek called upon the communist unions to disband the near 5000 armed worker militias or else “they would be regarded as a conspiratorial organization … not to be permitted to exist.” On April 6th, Chiang Kai-Shek ordered some troops to raid and close down the CCP's political department in Shanghai led by Kuo Mojo. On the same day, Zhang Zuolin raided the Soviet embassy at Beijing and the Shanghai and Tianjin international concession police raided their Soviet consulates. All of the evidence found was handed over to the KMT at Shanghai. Chiang Kai-Shek hoped to use the information to prove the CCP were subverting the KMT and bring about a purge. In early April the Shanghai Control Committee urged Chiang Kai-Shek to nip the bud of what looked like a CCP uprising. Many large meetings amongst the top KMT leaders followed and all came to the conclusion the CCP was trying to seize leadership over the movement and suppress the KMT. Now I should mention by this point, this is all heavily contested. Current day CCP historians would paint a picture that Chiang Kai-Shek was the aggressor, whereas Taiwanese historians would say the opposite. What is known and I think I have fairly portrayed it, is that a sort of civil war emerged in the First United Front. Both sides from the beginning had goals they wanted to achieve at the cost to the other side. Its really one of those “who pulled the trigger first moments”.  For quite some time the Chinese and foreign press had covered the battle between the CCP and Chiang Kai-Shek. During the first two weeks of april multiple warnings had been sent by both sides openly that action would be taken. On April 11th 5000 armed workers led by the CCP were warned military response was imminent. The armed workers currently picketing were warned and their CCP leadership put out alerts in the major suburbs of Zhapei, Putung, Woosung and south shanghai. While the KMT prepared a purge against the CCP in Shanghai, the NPA launched a counteroffensive in northern Jiangsu. This would see the NRA face a succession of defeats through april. From April 3rd to the 11th the NRA fell back 100 miles through Jiangsu and Anhui, closing in towards the Yangtze.  On April 5th Wang Jingwei had landed in Shanghai, invited by Chiang Kai-Shek, however he quickly met in secrecy with Chen Duxiu. After their meeting they both agreed to issue a joint declaration re-affirming the cooperation between the left KMT and CCP. Wang Jingwei departed for Wuhan on the 6th and it was at this point Chiang Kai-Shek met up with his old buddy Du Yuesheng, the leader of the Green Gang. They formed a rival union to face the CCP unions in Shanghai. On the 9th, Chiang Kai-Shek declared martial law in Shanghai as the Central Control Commission proclaimed “party protection and national salvation”, denouncing the Wuhan CCP backed government. On the 11th Chiang Kai-Shek secretly issued orders to all the provinces under NRA control to purge communists from the KMT.  At dawn on the 12th Green Gang Members began to assault district offices controlled by the CCP unions in places like Zhabei, Pudong and Nanshi. Using the martial law decree, Chiang Kai-Shek unleashed the 26th army upon the city who quickly rounded up, disarmed and fought armed worker militias. 300 people were killed and wounded as the CCP unions tried to organize a resistance. On the 13th they denounced Chiang Kai-Shek's actions as thousands of workers demonstrated in front of the 26th army HQ. The soldiers there opened fire upon the demonstrators killing perhaps 100 or so people and wounding many more. Chiang Kai-Shek then dissolved the provincial government of Shanghai, the CCP backed labor unions and any organization with ties to the CCP. He then reorganized a network of new unions, allied to his faction of the KMT and had Du Yuesheng manage said operation. Some sources claim over 1000 CCP members and left wing supporters were arrested, 300 were executed and more than 5000 went missing. As you can imagine that figure out 5000 is also claimed by many to be 5000 dead communists. Others claim the number could have been as high as 10,000. The entire incident became known as the Shanghai Massacre. Now this event effectively ended the First United Front and ushered in the Chinese Civil War. However because of how I have been tackling the warlord Era, I'd prefer to put the civil war on the backburner. We most certainly will come back to it. After the break our their alliance, the Wuhan government still stood, but now Chiang Kai-Shek formed a separate government at Nanking. It came to no surprise when Wang Jingwei condemned Chiang Kai-Shek for the purges and became the leader of the rival Wuhan government. This formally split the KMT right-left wings and their associated NRA forces. To celebrate the dire situation of the revolutionaries, Zhang Zuolin began artillery bombarding Nanjing from across the Yangtze. Now saw a rather chaotic situation where two groups of NRA would both continue separate northern expeditions, completely uncoordinated against a far larger NPA foe.  Now another aspect of all of this, perhaps less sexy to say, was the financial disparity between the CCP and KMT. Shanghai was a reliable fiscal base, a repository of Chinese capital whose tax revenues far surpassed that of Wuhan. Especially since Wuhan was seeing unbelievable worker strikes, pushed by the CCP, her economy was free falling. Wuhans total annual revenues from affiliated provinces had shrunk to a fourth of that of Shanghai. Over at Guangzhou the Central Bank continued to hold the majority of the KMT hard currency and her silver reserves. Wuhan had been printing money like crazy, devaluing it, something a Canadian like I, knows a lot about cough cough. The KMT finance minister T.V Soong had moved to Wuhan in the beginning, but was quickly frustrated with the situation and fled for Shanghai as soon as the city was captured. Chiang Kai-Shek managed to win over the bankers and leading businessmen, which was not hard given his opponent was communism.  When violence broke out at Nanking against the foreign community, Chiang Kai-Shek was between a rock and a hard place. He needed to avoid any confrontation with the foreign powers, but his KMT base and the people of China wanted to break the chains of foreign imperialism. Thus he made some speeches stating “the objective of the national revolution is to seek international equality…. If a nation treats China fairly, China will return friendship.…as long as foreign troops and warships undertake to protest … we will not be responsible…. Incidents are unavoidable in a revolution.” Chiang Kai-Shek walked a tightrope with the foreign powers. On one hand he constantly was negotiating with them to return concessions, but he always made sure to thwart any rationales for them to militarily intervene. Whereas at Wuhan they found themselves suffering from large scale unemployment, a crumbling economy, political tensions, revenues disappearing and quite a lot of hostility from the foreign powers, Shanghai looked a hell of a lot more stable in all said categories. Borodin watched as the Wuhan regime was collapsing and began advising the CCP to ease up with labor and peasant movements to allow the economy to recover. The Wuhan government had been dealt many terrible blows, but was still standing. Come May of 1927, Wuhan began massing their troops in an attempt to showcase to the movement they could continue the northern expedition. They wanted their troops to be the first ones in North China, hopefully that would win over more support. The timing of Wuhans offensive into Honan just so happened to coincide with some of Wu Peifu's forces in Honan defecting. The commander in chief of the Wuhan forces, Tang Shengchih then performed their first offensive serving Wu Peifu a defeat near Chumatien. Tang Shengchih then advanced north, meeting defensive lines defended by Zhang Xueliang, the son of Zhang Zuolin. Within the center of this line was the town of Xiping, where the Beijing-Hankou railway crossed a formidable river. The Wuhan forces pushed Zhang Xueliang further back after 3 days of battle, until he withdrew north of Yencheng on May 15th. Zhang Xueliang again took up a defensive line along a river. He placed heavy artillery behind fortified positions and tried to hold out against the incoming NRA forces. The NRA advanced towards the river and went downstream from Yencheng, threatening to out flank Zhang Xueliang and his rearway station to his rear. Yet the Wuhan forces were not the only ones in the fight, for the Old Christian warlord, Feng Yuxiang unleashed his army from Shaanxi. Feng Yuxiang came out of the Wei River valley with his Guominjun and passed through the Tungkuan pass on May 6th. He first captured Kuanyintang, a mountain gateway leading to Luoyang. After taking Luoyang on May 28th, Feng Yuxiang was 70 miles from Chengzhou, which held the Beijing-Hankou railroad bridgehead along the Yellow River. Zhang Xueliang responded to the new threat to his rear by withdrawing further north. When Zheng Xueliang took up a position north of the Yellow River he now had a secure and shortened railway supply line, thus he could face a two front war against Wuhan and the Guominjun. Advancing quickly across northern Honan, Feng Yuxiang's cavalry vanguard beat Wuhan's NRA forces to Chengzhou and Kaifeng by late May. From there Feng Yuxiang's forces straddled the Lunghai Railway.  Meanwhile on May 10th, Chiang Kai-Shek's 1st and 6th NRA armies crossed the Yangtze into Anhui. On the 16th, Li Zongren advanced into western Anhui to attack Hefei. By the 20th Li Zngren captured Bengbu, while Chiang Kai-Shek unleashed a 4-pronged offensive through Jiangsu to reach Shandong. He Yingqin led the 1st NRA army to capture Haizhou by late may. On the 28th Li Zongren took Xuzhou. With the Beijing-Hankou railway under NRA and Guminjun control, the line of communication extended to all 3 forces. Feng Yuxiang began receiving offers from both Wuhan and Nanking at this point. Feng Yuxiang first met with Wang Jingwei and Tang Shengzhi at Zhengzhou on June 10th, before traveling to Xuzhou on the 19th to meet Chiang Kai-Shek. Both needed his help if they hoped to take North China. Feng Yuxiang of course was entirely dependent on the Soviet Union, so it seemed clear Wuhan was more in line for him. However he really needed to pick a faction that could satisfy his interests. For example, which revolutionary movement would survive its little civil war? What if Chiang Kai-Shek won over more of the Wuhan leadership and defeated the CCP cabal there? Could the Wuhan government actually challenge Chiang Kai-Shek when he held all the resource rich territories? Feng Yuxiang looked upon Wuhan's numerous economic and political issues. He also saw how aggressive their CCP peasant unions were in Hunan, constantly confiscating land. He looked at Nanking, it had enormous resources, hell Nanking promised him 2.5 million dollars a month to maintain his Guominjun, plus military aid and a nice position as chairman over the new provisional government over Honan. Despite Feng Yuxiangs takeover of Honan's lucrative Kungxien Arsenal within the Lo Valley, he had a very poor industrial foundation. He did not really have much Shaanxi personnel equipped to make the arsenal shine so to say, so he would be dependent on external aid for sometime. His aid from the Soviets in the north was quite vulnerable. The aid had to be transported over an incredibly long distance overland from the north, any intelligent warlord could cut this. Feng Yuxiang started to calculate which one would be more profitable: stick with the Soviet aid, thus join Wuhan or break with the Soviets for Nanking.  Now something else occurred that would have dire consequences for the Wuhan regime. On June 1st, Joseph Stalin sent a secret telegram to Borodin and his associate M.N Roy with orders for the Wuhan government. Without consulting Borodin, M.N Roy revealed the telegram to Wang Jingwei and it held the following instructions. Insistence that every effort be made for land to be occupied by the Communist Party. However, actions that are too aggressive should be avoided, and officials and soldiers' lands should be exempted. Make concessions to artisans, merchants and small landlords. Mobilize 20,000 communists and 50,000 revolutionary workers and farmers to raise an army. Recruit new leaders from the workers and farmers of the lower stratum to join KMT so as to alter the composition of the party. Expel all those of "old mindsets". Establish a revolutionary military court headed by well-known party officials and non-communists, to punish reactionary officials   Wang Jingwei believed following these instructions would be the death of the Wuhan government, but continued to negotiate with the soviets, because hell he had little choice when they were providing so much needed assistance. Wang Jingwei demanded the Soviets provide 15 million roubles in aid, but the Soviets only agreed to 2 million. This prompted a angry Wang Jingwei to threaten to send Borodin back to Moscow. The event became known as the “may instructions” and it compelle Wang Jingwei to break off from the USSR. However even doing so, he certainly was not joining Chiang Kai-Shek. In a vain effort to counter the CCP and Chiang Kai-Shek, Wang Jingwei sought Feng Yuxiangs help. Without informing his CCP colleagues, Wang Jingwei dispatched Deng Yanda to meet with Feng Yuxiang at Zhengzhou, offering every possible concession he could think of. Wang Jingwei had no idea Feng Yuxiang was in talks with Chiang Kai-Shek. Now Wang Jingwei was not the only one unhappy with the Soviet instructions, even Chen Duxiu would go on the record to say he did not think they fit the reality in China and telegram moscow it would be nearly impossible to implement them. The Soviets were very displeased with the situation in China, particularly that the CCP-KMT union had more or less collapsed. By late June the Soviets were considering breaking ties with the Wuhan government. This prompted a panicked Chen Duxiu and Borodin to try and quell radicals within the Wuhan clique to try and retain the small united front between the Leftist KMT and CCP. They frantically told workers and peasant unions to stop activity for a while just so things could stabilize. However ironically the Soviets saw all of this as opportunism and recalled Borodin and by early July were pulling out of the KMT deal. Needless to say, Feng Yuxiang chose to ally himself to Chiang Kai-Shek. He did so by sending a joint telegram in late June to Wang Jingwei telling him and demanding the Wuhan government expel all its soviet advisors and purge itself of communists so they could all together continue the northern expedition.  While this was going on, Tang Shengchih's forces were being mauled by heavy artillery in north china. Tang Shengchih was wounded badly, and believing Feng Yuxiang would not help them out, Wang Jingwei withdrew the forces back over to Hubei, Hunan and Jiangxi. After taking some time to recover, Tang Shengchih advanced his forces out of Wuhan through Jiangxi to face Nankings forces near Anking in Anhui. Chiang Kai-Shek had his forces respond to the threat defensively. On July 13th Chiang Kai-Shek pulled his front line forces trying to enter Shandong back. Meanwhile the civilian population of Wuhan were no longer supporting the government. Tang Shengchih began to dig in around Anking threatening Nanking. When Chiang Kai-Shek moved his frontline units near Shandong south to defend against Tang Shengchih the NPA began to claim lost territory. In early July the NPA recaptured Tengxien, Lincheng, Tsaochuang and the Tianjin-Pukou railway. Despite losing Honan in June, the NPA now enjoyed a shorted logistical line and front, allowing them to deploy their heavy artillery in concentration while Nanking was fighting a two front war. The NRA forces were being battered by the NPA. In the face of mounting losses, both the Wuhan and Nanking governments began negotiations. Wang Jingwei had procrastinated as long as he possibly could, but Feng Yuxiang was not going to help him, Chiang Kai-Shek was certainly not and the CCP and their Soviet overlords were trying to take over. Thus on July 15th, Wang Jingwei held a KMT meeting and formally published the May Instructions letter while condemning the CCP. He unleashed a purge, though he did so less bloodily compared to what had happened at Shanghai. The Wuhan and Nanking governments met and passed the “policy of uniting the party”, while all communists were kicked out of the KMT and NRA. The Wuhan government sent all their Soviet advisors back to Moscow as Wang Jingwei proclaimed the CCP had ruined the revolution publically. KMT forces loyal to Chiang Kai-Shek took over Wuhan and by July 18th the Wuhan area was cleansed of communists. However Wang Jingwei had made one demand to reunite the KMT, he demanded Chiang Kai-SHek resign from his post as commander in chief and relinquish all other political titles. Chiang Kai-Shek did just that on August 12th, the Generalissimo was no more. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. The First United Front had come to an end, a new Civil War was born. Because of the war between Wuhan and Nanking, the NPA got the upper hand again, reclaiming vast amounts of territory. To reunify the KMT Wang Jingwei demanded Chiang Kai-Shek walk away, and walk he did, what would happen now to the northern expedition?

The National Government has been discussing decriminalizing weed on the federal level. What does this mean for our big cities, our kids, and law enforcement? How do dispensaries target our children? By legalizing marijuana, are we "freeing up" law enforcement officers' time? Make sure to register for our National Emerging Drug Trends Conference https://www.emergingdrugtrends.com/ Listen as Jermaine discusses the potential changes of marijuana.

We discuss the events of the day involving moves that are being made in our respective countries that involve the changing of governments. How does this help matters? Will it lead to bigger conflicts within the countries themselves? Also, what does it mean to develop new technologies in terms of defense. What does China claim to have that no one else does? Is it real? And, where should the heads of international terrorist organizations move their headquarters to? We ask the questions. Contact and Support - https://www.subscribestar.com/dynamic-independence

IFP'S participation in National Government of Unity bearing fruit for the party by Radio Islam

National Government of Unity faces challenge over NHI Act by Radio Islam

Makana Citizens' Front demands National Government intervention amidst crippling water crisis by Radio Islam

Winning a war was just the beginning for George Washington's service to our new country.  After retiring to Mount Vernon post-war, Washington saw a weakness in our country under the Articles of Confederation.  He felt the future of republican democratic self-government globally was dependent on the American experiment.  If it were to fail in that perfect post-war moment, man was probably not destined to govern himself. Washington's views on what the government should look like can seem to be contradictory in that he wanted a strong central government, as opposed to what the country had under the Articles of Confederation, but he also wanted the National government to be limited.  Rather than contradictory, this reveals a principled man.  To discuss Washington's vision for the country with our student panel, we are delighted to welcome back Tony Williams, Senior Teaching Fellow with the Bill of Rights Institute for this historical conversation.

The Rich Zeoli Show- Hour 1: In a unanimous 9-0 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states cannot bar Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump from participating in the 2024 election—and, consequently, he cannot be removed from state ballots. Only Congress, according to the Court, is capable of enforcing Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, barring an individual guilty of participating in an insurrection from holding elected office. In the main opinion, the Justices write that “the Constitution makes Congress, rather than the States, responsible for enforcing Section 3 against federal officeholders and candidates…The Constitution empowers Congress to prescribe how those determinations should be made. The relevant provision is Section 5, which enables Congress, subject of course to judicial review, to pass ‘appropriate legislation' to ‘enforce' the Fourteenth Amendment…The ‘patchwork' that would likely result from state enforcement would ‘sever the direct link that the Framers found so critical between the National Government and the people of the United States' as a whole.” You can read the court's full decision here: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/03/04/us/supreme-court-ruling-trump-colorado.html After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states cannot bar Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump from appearing on ballots, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) appeared on CNN announcing that—with the help of Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA)—he is working on a new strategy to bar Trump from 2024 ballots. Charlie Savage of The New York Times writes: “In criticizing the majority for unnecessarily dismissing other potential ways federal officials might enforce Section 3 besides a congressional statute, the three liberal justices [Sonya Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson] do not specify what those alternative methods might be. But when it comes to presidents, one obvious alternative would be that when Congress meets to certify electoral college votes on the Jan. 6 after an election, lawmakers could refuse to count electoral college votes won by a candidate they deemed disqualified under Section 3—even without a statute. Justice [Amy Coney] Barrett, in her separate opinion, also says it was enough to rule that states lack the power to enforce Section 3 against presidential candidates and there was no need ‘to address the complicated question whether federal legislation is the exclusive vehicle through which Section 3 can be enforced.'” You can read more: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/03/04/us/trump-supreme-court-colorado-ballot/31379f62-f91f-57f7-a33e-37959bc68452?smid=url-share While appearing on MSNBC following the Supreme Court's ruling in favor of Donald Trump, Colorado Secretary of State Jenna Griswold said that she was disappointed by the decision and that “it'll be up to the American voters to save our democracy in November.” Colorado's State Supreme Court had ruled that Trump was barred from holding office for his role in the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Zack Smith—Legal Fellow and Manager of the Supreme Court and Appellate Advocacy Program in the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that states cannot bar Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump from state ballots.

The Rich Zeoli Show- Hour 3: J. Christian Adams—President of the Public Interest Legal Foundation—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss the U.S. Supreme Court's unanimous decision preventing state's from barring Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump from state ballots. Adams and the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) filed a brief in the case. You can learn more about PILF here: https://publicinterestlegal.org/about/ In a unanimous 9-0 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states cannot bar Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump from participating in the 2024 election—and, consequently, he cannot be removed from state ballots. Only Congress, according to the Court, is capable of enforcing Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, barring an individual guilty of participating in an insurrection from holding elected office. In the main opinion, the Justices write that “the Constitution makes Congress, rather than the States, responsible for enforcing Section 3 against federal officeholders and candidates…The Constitution empowers Congress to prescribe how those determinations should be made. The relevant provision is Section 5, which enables Congress, subject of course to judicial review, to pass ‘appropriate legislation' to ‘enforce' the Fourteenth Amendment…The ‘patchwork' that would likely result from state enforcement would ‘sever the direct link that the Framers found so critical between the National Government and the people of the United States' as a whole.” You can read the court's full decision here: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/03/04/us/supreme-court-ruling-trump-colorado.html Charlie Savage of The New York Times writes: “In criticizing the majority for unnecessarily dismissing other potential ways federal officials might enforce Section 3 besides a congressional statute, the three liberal justices [Sonya Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson] do not specify what those alternative methods might be. But when it comes to presidents, one obvious alternative would be that when Congress meets to certify electoral college votes on the Jan. 6 after an election, lawmakers could refuse to count electoral college votes won by a candidate they deemed disqualified under Section 3—even without a statute. Justice [Amy Coney] Barrett, in her separate opinion, also says it was enough to rule that states lack the power to enforce Section 3 against presidential candidates and there was no need ‘to address the complicated question whether federal legislation is the exclusive vehicle through which Section 3 can be enforced.'” You can read more: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/03/04/us/trump-supreme-court-colorado-ballot/31379f62-f91f-57f7-a33e-37959bc68452?smid=url-share On Meet the Press with Kristen Welker, NBC elections analyst Steve Kornacki said to expect Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley to get buried in a “delegate avalanche” on Super Tuesday—as frontrunner Donald Trump, according to all available polling, is expected to continue his run of electoral dominance. While appearing on Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas refused to confirm there was “a breakdown in the system” which prevented New York City from notifying the federal government of the previously arrested undocumented migrant who went on to murder 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley in Athens, Georgia.

The Rich Zeoli Show- Hour 4: Rich has an event to attend and, consequently, “America's Radio Guest Host” Mike Opelka hosts the 4th hour of the show! In a unanimous 9-0 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states cannot bar Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump from participating in the 2024 election—and, consequently, he cannot be removed from state ballots. Only Congress, according to the Court, is capable of enforcing Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, barring an individual guilty of participating in an insurrection from holding elected office. In the main opinion, the Justices write that “the Constitution makes Congress, rather than the States, responsible for enforcing Section 3 against federal officeholders and candidates…The Constitution empowers Congress to prescribe how those determinations should be made. The relevant provision is Section 5, which enables Congress, subject of course to judicial review, to pass ‘appropriate legislation' to ‘enforce' the Fourteenth Amendment…The ‘patchwork' that would likely result from state enforcement would ‘sever the direct link that the Framers found so critical between the National Government and the people of the United States' as a whole.” You can read the court's full decision here: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/03/04/us/supreme-court-ruling-trump-colorado.html While appearing on MSNBC following the Supreme Court's ruling in favor of Donald Trump, Colorado Secretary of State Jenna Griswold said that she was disappointed by the decision and that “it'll be up to the American voters to save our democracy in November.” Colorado's State Supreme Court had ruled that Trump was barred from holding office for his role in the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. On Sunday, Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley won her first primary contest—Washington D.C. Though she earned nearly 63% of the vote, Opelka notes that she received less than 1,300 votes total. While speaking at event in Selma, Alabama marking the 59th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, Vice President Kamala Harris called on Israel and Hamas to agree upon a ceasefire immediately.

The Rich Zeoli Show- Full Episode (03/04/2024): 3:05pm- In a unanimous 9-0 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states cannot bar Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump from participating in the 2024 election—and, consequently, he cannot be removed from state ballots. Only Congress, according to the Court, is capable of enforcing Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, barring an individual guilty of participating in an insurrection from holding elected office. In the main opinion, the Justices write that “the Constitution makes Congress, rather than the States, responsible for enforcing Section 3 against federal officeholders and candidates…The Constitution empowers Congress to prescribe how those determinations should be made. The relevant provision is Section 5, which enables Congress, subject of course to judicial review, to pass ‘appropriate legislation' to ‘enforce' the Fourteenth Amendment…The ‘patchwork' that would likely result from state enforcement would ‘sever the direct link that the Framers found so critical between the National Government and the people of the United States' as a whole.” You can read the court's full decision here: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/03/04/us/supreme-court-ruling-trump-colorado.html 3:15pm- After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states cannot bar Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump from appearing on ballots, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) appeared on CNN announcing that—with the help of Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA)—he is working on a new strategy to bar Trump from 2024 ballots. 3:20pm- Charlie Savage of The New York Times writes: “In criticizing the majority for unnecessarily dismissing other potential ways federal officials might enforce Section 3 besides a congressional statute, the three liberal justices [Sonya Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson] do not specify what those alternative methods might be. But when it comes to presidents, one obvious alternative would be that when Congress meets to certify electoral college votes on the Jan. 6 after an election, lawmakers could refuse to count electoral college votes won by a candidate they deemed disqualified under Section 3—even without a statute. Justice [Amy Coney] Barrett, in her separate opinion, also says it was enough to rule that states lack the power to enforce Section 3 against presidential candidates and there was no need ‘to address the complicated question whether federal legislation is the exclusive vehicle through which Section 3 can be enforced.'” You can read more: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/03/04/us/trump-supreme-court-colorado-ballot/31379f62-f91f-57f7-a33e-37959bc68452?smid=url-share 3:30pm- While appearing on MSNBC following the Supreme Court's ruling in favor of Donald Trump, Colorado Secretary of State Jenna Griswold said that she was disappointed by the decision and that “it'll be up to the American voters to save our democracy in November.” Colorado's State Supreme Court had ruled that Trump was barred from holding office for his role in the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. 3:40pm- Zack Smith—Legal Fellow and Manager of the Supreme Court and Appellate Advocacy Program in the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that states cannot bar Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump from state ballots. 4:05pm- A new poll from The New York Times/Sienna College shows that regardless of race, age, or gender more voters believe that former President Donald Trump's policies benefited them than did President Joe Biden's policies—40% to 18%. Perhaps most concerning for Biden, 43% of voters claim Biden's policies actively hurt them personally—only 25% said the same about Trump. You can read the full article, from Ruth Igielnik and Camille Baker, here: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/04/us/politics/trump-biden-policies-help-hurt.html 4:20pm- While appearing on Fox News with Maria Bartiromo, Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) said that President Joe Biden's 2021 executive orders “opened the flood gates” at the U.S. Southern border. 4:25pm- President Joe Biden continues to insist that he has no control over the influx of migrants crossing the U.S. Southern border unlawfully. But as Rich Lowry notes in his most recent article for National Review, “Joe Biden was inaugurated on January 20, 2021. Less than two weeks later, on February 2, he issued the executive order that began the unraveling at the border in earnest. The border crisis isn't something that happened to President Biden. It's not a product of circumstances or understandable policy mistakes made under duress. No, he sought it and created it, on principle and as a matter of urgency.” Lowry continues: “The February 2 action… put on the chopping block numerous Trump policies that had helped establish order at the border, from Trump's expansion of expedited removal, to his termination of a parole program for Central American minors, to his memorandum urging the relevant departments to work toward ending ‘catch and release.' Most importantly, it went after two of the pillars of Trump's success at the border: the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), or so-called Remain in Mexico, and the safe-third-country agreements with the Northern Triangle countries that allowed us to divert asylum-seekers to Central American countries other than their own, where they could make asylum claims.” You can read the full article here: https://www.nationalreview.com/2024/02/the-day-joe-biden-blew-up-the-border/ 4:30pm- According to the cross-tabs portion of a recent New York Times/Sienna Poll, Donald Trump is projected to win the Hispanic vote outright—45% to 43%. Equally surprising, the poll indicates that if the election were held today, Trump would win 20% of the Black vote—he won only 12% in the 2020 presidential election. 4:40pm- Philadelphia Eagles Center—and future NFL Hall of Famer—Jason Kelce announced his retirement on Monday. Kelce played 13 seasons in the NFL, earning 6 All-Pro selections and winning Super Bowl LII. 4:50pm- In a new editorial in The Wall Street Journal, Micahel Buschbacher and Taylor Meyers write: “The Biden administration is reviewing California's plan to ban the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035. To get federal approval, California claims it ‘needs' this ban to prevent harm to public health from particulate matter—airborne particles like dust, dirt and soot. But banning gasoline cars would do little to reduce particulate emissions, and it could even increase them. That's because new gasoline cars are very clean. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, cars emit only about 1% of all direct fine particulate matter in California, and most of those emissions come from older models. The newer gasoline cars that California wants to ban will often have particulate filters that reduce emissions to below one 1/1,000th of a gram per mile driven. Where do most particulate emissions attributed to cars come from? California speaks as if their primary source is the tailpipe. That was true in the past. But today most vehicle-related particulate matter comes from tire wear. Cars are heavy, and as their tires rub against the road, they degrade and release tiny, often toxic particles. According to measurements by an emission-analytics firm, in gasoline cars equipped with a particle filter, airborne tire-wear emissions are more than 400 times as great as direct exhaust particulate emissions.” You can read the full editorial here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/electric-cars-emit-more-soot-california-ban-gas-powered-vehicles-521b29e3?mod=opinion_lead_pos7 5:00pm- J. Christian Adams—President of the Public Interest Legal Foundation—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss the U.S. Supreme Court's unanimous decision preventing state's from barring Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump from state ballots. Adams and the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) filed a brief in the case. You can learn more about PILF here: https://publicinterestlegal.org/about/ 5:15pm- In a unanimous 9-0 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states cannot bar Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump from participating in the 2024 election—and, consequently, he cannot be removed from state ballots. Only Congress, according to the Court, is capable of enforcing Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, barring an individual guilty of participating in an insurrection from holding elected office. In the main opinion, the Justices write that “the Constitution makes Congress, rather than the States, responsible for enforcing Section 3 against federal officeholders and candidates…The Constitution empowers Congress to prescribe how those determinations should be made. The relevant provision is Section 5, which enables Congress, subject of course to judicial review, to pass ‘appropriate legislation' to ‘enforce' the Fourteenth Amendment…The ‘patchwork' that would likely result from state enforcement would ‘sever the direct link that the Framers found so critical between the National Government and the people of the United States' as a whole.” You can read the court's full decision here: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/03/04/us/supreme-court-ruling-trump-colorado.html 5:20pm- Charlie Savage of The New York Times writes: “In criticizing the majority for unnecessarily dismissing other potential ways federal officials might enforce Section 3 besides a congressional statute, the three liberal justices [Sonya Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson] do not specify what those alternative methods might be. But when it comes to presidents, one obvious alternative would be that when Congress meets to certify electoral college votes on the Jan. 6 after an election, lawmakers could refuse to count electoral college votes won by a candidate they deemed disqualified under Section 3—even without a statute. Justice [Amy Coney] Barrett, in her separate opinion, also says it was enough to rule that states lack the power to enforce Section 3 against presidential candidates and there was no need ‘to address the complicated question whether federal legislation is the exclusive vehicle through which Section 3 can be enforced.'” You can read more: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/03/04/us/trump-supreme-court-colorado-ballot/31379f62-f91f-57f7-a33e-37959bc68452?smid=url-share 5:30pm- On Meet the Press with Kristen Welker, NBC elections analyst Steve Kornacki said to expect Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley to get buried in a “delegate avalanche” on Super Tuesday—as frontrunner Donald Trump, according to all available polling, is expected to continue his run of electoral dominance. 5:40pm- While appearing on Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas refused to confirm there was “a breakdown in the system” which prevented New York City from notifying the federal government of the previously arrested undocumented migrant who went on to murder 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley in Athens, Georgia. 6:05pm- Rich has an event to attend and, consequently, “America's Radio Guest Host” Mike Opelka hosts the 4th hour of the show! 6:10pm- In a unanimous 9-0 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states cannot bar Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump from participating in the 2024 election—and, consequently, he cannot be removed from state ballots. Only Congress, according to the Court, is capable of enforcing Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, barring an individual guilty of participating in an insurrection from holding elected office. In the main opinion, the Justices write that “the Constitution makes Congress, rather than the States, responsible for enforcing Section 3 against federal officeholders and candidates…The Constitution empowers Congress to prescribe how those determinations should be made. The relevant provision is Section 5, which enables Congress, subject of course to judicial review, to pass ‘appropriate legislation' to ‘enforce' the Fourteenth Amendment…The ‘patchwork' that would likely result from state enforcement would ‘sever the direct link that the Framers found so critical between the National Government and the people of the United States' as a whole.” You can read the court's full decision here: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/03/04/us/supreme-court-ruling-trump-colorado.html 6:15pm- While appearing on MSNBC following the Supreme Court's ruling in favor of Donald Trump, Colorado Secretary of State Jenna Griswold said that she was disappointed by the decision and that “it'll be up to the American voters to save our democracy in November.” Colorado's State Supreme Court had ruled that Trump was barred from holding office for his role in the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. 6:20pm- On Sunday, Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley won her first primary contest—Washington D.C. Though she earned nearly 63% of the vote, Opelka notes that she received less than 1,300 votes total. 6:40pm- While speaking at event in Selma, Alabama marking the 59th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, Vice President Kamala Harris called on Israel and Hamas to agree upon a ceasefire immediately.

Season 5, Episode 184: Sustainable Standstill: Why major housebuilders aren't going green This episode we interview Ian Pritchett, the co-founder of Greencore Homes in Oxfordshire. They build airtight, energy-efficient, timber frame houses, from their factory in Bicester. Ian shines a spotlight on the challenges of the ‘business-as-usual' housebuilding planning system and champions the need for a new national planning policy that is fit for the future.The problem· Charlie asked Ian what the planning system is doing to respond to climate change challenges and pressures around development.· Ian is frustrated at the planning system. Trying to do something different and better is a challenge. It gets closer scrutiny and there is more bureaucracy.· National Government and housebuilders are focused on volume, not sustainability. They are more interested in avoiding a housing crisis, than a climate crisis.Environmental impact· Ian reports that every time a new house is built it generates over one hundred tons of carbon emissions (CO2), plus the use of the house will emit carbon. The total carbon budget for Oxfordshire's five local authorities is 26.3m tonnes of CO2 by 2050. With their plan to build 100,000 new homes in the next 10 years, they will use between 80-100% of that budget on new housing alone.· Sustainability regulations are dumbed down to keep volumes up. It is a choice between the quantity or the quality of housing. Ian explains that we can have both.· Charlie asks Ian if we can build our way out of a housing crisis and why does volume win Government votes.· Ian explains that we are living longer, there are smaller households and spare housing is not where employment is concentrated, hence why the Southeast is the focus of housebuilding.A planning system fit for our future· Ian wants a new national planning policy that is fit for the future and focuses on more important areas such as energy, carbon, wildlife, biodiversity, and community.· Greencore's mission is to move the house building industry from an unsustainable to sustainable model answering questions such as can you lock up more carbon than you emit? Can you generate more energy than you use? Can you improve wildlife and biodiversity? · Ian talks about how Greencore works to the One Planet Living framework. It is building places where people want to live and can live sustainably, can live happily and healthily.· Charlie and Ian discuss the issue of landowner wealth and a need to involve the local community to ensure they benefit.Are greener houses more expensive? · Will talks about how Cardiff University proved that an environmentally friendly home could be more affordable than a normal home.· Ian reports that there are some higher costs when building sustainably at a smaller scale. However, these costs will come down when building at volume.· Charlie offers an example of one of his affordable housing projects and how lower running costs could be included in rent and mortgage agreements.· Ian talks about the idea of houses built to encourage zero energy bills and the problems with this not being valued by residents.The problem with parking space· Ian is concerned about housing schemes being dominated by parking and car ownership. He sees a future where we make more use of shared sustainable transport and offer examples of where this is happening. Decisions also need to be made around green space vs car parking space.· Charlie and Will discuss the pros and cons of electric car sharing in housing projects.How to innovate faster· Ian talks about how economics will drive innovation in this space faster. One way is to reduce stamp duty on low-carbon homes which would drive demand, supply, and legislation.· Will and Charlie discuss getting a better mortgage for a low-carbon home, and Charlie uses the...

On this episode of Our American Stories, the story of Frank Scattoro and an American mausoleum and reliquary. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Prime Minister says international relationships have weakened. While international student numbers have bounced back to new records in Australia - New Zealand's figures aren't at the same level. Chris Luxon told Mike Hosking that the country went internal, myopic and a bit negative over the past six years - and hasn't been out in the world. He added that "we've just been so inward looking over the last six years and we haven't been out in the world circulating, so we've got to go back to all the places where we had a fantastic reputation". LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A former Deputy Prime Minister disagrees the role's largely ceremonial. Prime Minister-elect Chris Luxon has confirmed policies have been settled in Coalition talks - and negotiations have turned to ministerial roles. ACT's David Seymour made a public pitch for Deputy, but Luxon has downplayed the role's importance. Sir Don McKinnon was the deputy to Jim Bolger in his National Government, under the single-party system. He says under MMP it can be someone from a different party, but the duties are real. "You're there to do things that your leader, your Prime Minister, doesn't want to do, meet the people he doesn't want to meet, go to the places he doesn't get time to go to." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we discuss the impact of a potential new National-led government on the NZ property market. Will property prices increase faster? How quickly will it take for the property market to recover? And what policies will likely come in? Click here to download our Return on Investment calculator to see how the policies will affect your investment property. And we also mention our upcoming ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Wealth Plan seminars⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Click the link to register for tickets.

New Zealanders have voted for change, giving the National party a clear mandate to lead the next government with 50 seats in parliament and just under 39 percent support.  Voters have splashed blue across the country, and red seats in the North and South have flipped to National, the Greens and Te Pati Maori.  National and ACT together have 61 seats in a 121-seat parliament.  Labour support fell to just under 27 percent. RNZ deputy political editor Craig McCulloch spoke to Morning Report's post-election special.  

Get 60% off an annual Incogni plan exclusively with our link: https://incogni.com/tldrnewsWelcome to the TLDR News Daily BriefingIn today's episode, we discuss the new unity government formed by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. Also, we run through the new potential US House Speaker; why an SNP MP has defected to the Conservatives; & the upcoming Poland election.

Join the conversation with C4 and Bryan Nehman as they discuss the fallout of the release of the Brooklyn Mass Shooting After Action Report and who's really to blame here for the lack of response to the tragedy. Is it the police. the housing authority, or just a complete failure of leadership. Anne Arundel County Schools Superintendent Dr. Mark Bedell joins the show to discuss how the first week of classes are going and his comments about an adjusted school calendar. Also, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell froze again while giving comments in his home state. What age do you think National Government leaders should step down? C4 and Bryan Nehman live every weekday from 5:30-10:00 a.m. ET on WBAL News Radio 1090, FM101.5, and the WBAL Radio App.

National says it will ban cellphones in all schools if it becomes the Government. The UN report, Technology in Schools, released last month, found cellphones distract students and have a negative impact on learning in the 14 countries studied as part of the report. National Party leader, Christopher Luxon says students need to focus on their schoolwork during class time and banning cellphones will help lift student achievement. He spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

The National Party is yet to announce a full Fiscal Plan to account for spending they have promised if they win the election. Figures released by the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions have shown a large gap between National's promised spending and the available budget, and workers unions such as Etū are fearing that funding cuts are in store for essential sectors. Rosetta spoke to Rachel Mackintosh, assistant national secretary for Etū, about these fears, and where this leaves working-class voters in the upcoming election.

Julia Bayer, solution engineer National Government team  & Michelle Kinzer, Public Policy Team of Esri, join Deepak Puri, CEO of The Democracy Labs, to discuss the power of geographic information to gain a greater understanding of problems and as a means to engage voters in solutions. They emphasize we all share location and a sense of place, and maps can present facts and persuade viewers to broaden their view. Deepak talks with Julia and Michelle about: What maps can communicate How GIS can be used by campaigns to visualize voter trends and identify new target demographics Why GIS tools are being used by more campaigns and government entities Using StoryMaps for persuasion to localize data and present a personalized view of issues Integrating visualization and dynamic maps into the dashboard driving campaign decisions  @Esri @ThDemLabs #GIS #Maps #TargetingVoters #Visualization #Misinformation #Persuasion #Voters #PoliticalCampaigns Esri.com TheDemLabs.org

The Virginian's introduce their plan for a new National Government, which officially shocks the Convention since they believed (officially) that they were there only to revise and amend the Articles of Confederation. The Convention adjourns to the Committee of the Whole – which is the same people, in the same room with the same purpose as the Convention but without General Washington sitting on the dais. So who is in charge of the discussion and debates that will begin with the Virginia Plan and end up with what we know so well as our Government? He was the 14th President of the United States, and he died in disgrace and failure. But for the moment, he is the man who is so well respected that he is chosen to lead the Committee of the Whole in its important work. His name is Nathaniel Gorham. He will control the discussions of The Virginia Plan, the New Jersey Plan (and eventually the Connecticut Compromise) in the first days of the Convention. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/plausibly-live/message

It's National Government Theft Day. Dana shares where are government wastes your money. A Toronto Blue Jays pitcher shares a viral photo about spilled popcorn on a United Airlines flight and who is to blame? Washington state passes a bill allowing children to legally be taken away from their parents for not consenting to gender transition procedures on their child.Please visit our great sponsors:Black Rifle Coffeehttps://blackriflecoffee.com/danaUse code DANA at checkout for 20% off. Good Ranchershttps://goodranchers.com/marchSubscribe today for FREE Bacon in every box for a year with code Dana. Use the same code to save an additional $20.Hartford Gold:CALL 866-887-1188 or text DANA to 998899.Call right now and they will give you up to $5000 of free silver on your first qualifying order. Hillsdalehttps://danaforhillsdale.comJoin the battle over education for our country's future at www.danaforhillsdale.comKelTechttps://KelTecWeapons.comSign up for the KelTec Insider and be the first to know the latest KelTec news. Patriot Mobilehttps://patriotmobile.com/danaGet free activation with the offer code DANA.

Photo: No known restrictions on publication. @Batchelorshow #Ohio: East Palestine and the marked sluggish response by the national media and the national government. @ThadMcCotter @theamgreatness https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/gov-mike-dewine-says-ohio-department-of-health-to-set-up-clinic-in-east-palestine/ar-AA17Cnmn

This is the afternoon All Local for Monday, January 23, 2023