Chapter 120: The Nationwide Circular

In November in Jinling, wutong leaves had fallen and covered the courtyard in front of the President's Office. The Chairman stood by the office window, gazing at the outline of Zijin Mountain in the distance, his expression solemn. An attendant quietly delivered a telegram, and the words "Top Secret" on the cover stood out prominently.

"Chairman, this is the newly received intelligence: those people have issued a declaration in Ruijin, calling the nation to anti‑Japanese." the attendant reported in a low voice.

The Chairman took the telegram, skimmed it quickly, then slammed it heavily onto the rose‑wood desk. "Hmph, just as I expected!" he turned to the solemn Li Yuxuan standing beside him and said, "Jingxing, look, their move is by no means a sincere anti‑Japanese stance; they merely intend to use the National Army's anti‑Japanese campaign to expand their power and win popular support."

Li Yuxuan remained silent, only furrowing his brows slightly.

The Chairman walked to the map and hammered his finger on the Northeast region: "Order the front‑line troops: no substantive cooperation with the Red Bandits is permitted; if necessary, use the opportunity to wipe out their guerrilla units. Under no circumstances may they use the anti‑Japanese banner to establish a foothold in the Northeast!"

Li Yuxuan finally could not hold back: "But Young Master, with a great enemy before us, shouldn't we…"

"Should what?" the Chairman interrupted, "The Red Bandits are our real internal threat! Have you forgotten what they did in Yuzhang?"

The Chairman rang a bell to summon the secretarial aide Qian Dajun: "Draft a Document immediately; I want to broadcast it nationwide."

Qian Dajun quickly prepared paper and brush, while the Chairman paced the office, carefully dictating: "Provincial governments, theater commanders, division commanders, all national organizations and the entire populace: recently, the eastern province has been engulfed by Japanese fumes, enemy troops have invaded, the mountains and rivers have changed color, the nation faces a grave crisis…"

When he said "the Red Bandits are treacherous, exploiting the national crisis," Li Yuxuan interjected: "Young Master, isn't this wording too harsh? The whole country is focused on the anti‑Japanese effort…"

"Exactly, we must let the people see the true face of the Red Bandits!" the Chairman declared sternly, "Their so‑called anti‑Japanese stance is nothing but a trick to confuse the public and seize popular support!"

Qian Dajun cautiously suggested, "Chairman, could we soften the wording a bit to avoid unnecessary controversy?"

The Chairman paused, then waved his hand: "Write it exactly as I said. We must make everyone understand that Stability Inside Before Dealing with External is a basic national policy, immutable!"

After the Document was drafted, the Chairman convened a high‑level meeting. In the conference room, military and political officials held differing opinions on the circular.

He Yingqin spoke first: "Chairman, is the circular too hard‑line? The nation's anti‑Japanese sentiment is soaring; our severe accusations against them may provoke public backlash."

Chen Lifu expressed support: "They are indeed exploiting the anti‑Japanese issue to expand their influence. Our agents across the regions have discovered they are intensifying infiltration and inciting the masses."

Dai Jitao twirled his prayer beads, saying anxiously, "Buddhism teaches compassion, but now we truly need to discern right from wrong. Yet… would such wording dishearten the front‑line soldiers?"

Li Yuxuan finally could not stay seated: "Young Master, I have personally witnessed Japanese atrocities in the Northeast. The most important thing now is to unite every force we can. Even if they have ulterior motives, we can use their anti‑Japanese actions to check the Japanese army!"

"Foolish!" the Chairman sprang up, "You use their anti‑Japanese stance today, and tomorrow they will use anti‑Japanese sentiment to overthrow you! I know the Red Bandits' ambitions better than anyone!"

The meeting dissolved on a sour note. Li Yuxuan left with a very grim expression.

Three days later, the Chairman's "Letter to the Nation's Soldiers and Civilians" was disseminated nationwide via the Central News Agency. The Document's content instantly sparked a massive uproar across the country.

In Modu, Shi Liangcai, editor‑in‑chief of the Shenbao, stared at the Document, shaking his head: "Emphasizing bandit suppression at a time like this is exactly what the Japanese want."

In Yanjing, university professors gathered to discuss. An elderly professor lamented, "With a great enemy before us, we should be united, yet now we attack each other; it is truly heartbreaking!"

On the Northeast front, some officers whispered privately: "The Chairman's point is valid, but with the Japanese pressing us, we can't even accept intelligence from that side's guerrillas. How can we fight this war?"

Worse still, the circular also drew negative reactions internationally. The United States ambassador to China wrote in a report to the State Department: "The Chairman's government seems more concerned with eliminating that side than resisting Japanese aggression."

That side responded swiftly. They issued a statement in Ruijin, accusing the Chairman of "disregarding national interests and persisting in an anti‑Communist civil war."

Yong Zhi said at an internal meeting: "The Chairman's circular fully exposes his anti‑Communist, anti‑people nature. We should seize this chance to let the people see who truly embodies the anti‑Japanese force."

What further infuriated the Chairman were the dissenting local power brokers. Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi of Yuzhang issued a joint statement, urging "the cessation of civil war and united external resistance."

Even within the Kuomintang, dissenting voices emerged. Song Qingling publicly declared, "At this critical juncture of the nation's survival, all Huaxia people should unite."

Confronted with these opposing views, the Chairman wrote in his diary: "Everyone else is drunk while I remain sober. The campaign to eradicate the Red Bandits must not waver because of external troubles. Japan is merely a superficial ailment; that side is the real internal threat."

After the circular's release, the Chairman intensified the encirclement of that side's forces. He mobilized heavy troops to launch a larger offensive against the Yuzhang Soviet area, while strictly ordering the Northeast Army not to cooperate with that side's guerrillas.

However, history often unfolds unexpectedly. The Chairman's "Stability Inside Before Dealing with External" policy not only failed to eliminate that side, but also left him politically vulnerable. That side leveraged the anti‑Japanese issue to continuously expand its influence, gaining increasing popular support.

Many years later, Li Yuxuan wrote in his memoirs: "If we had set aside internal strife then and united against the Japanese, history might have taken a different shape. But the Young Master was too stubborn, and ultimately lost the people's support."