Chen Yi before and after the Nanchang Uprising

In 1927, Chen Yi, together with Yun Daiying and Shi Cuntong, formed the Party Committee of the Central Military and Political School in Wuhan. Chen Yi served as the secretary, and his public position was the warrant officer of the political department of the school. After Chen Yi took office, he went to all brigades and branches to learn about the situation and carry out his work in secret. Because of his cheerful personality and funny speech, the teachers and students of the military academy are very willing to associate with him. He is very good at ideological work. Originally, Ye Yong, the head of the organization section of the Political Department, was a member of the Kuomintang and was responsible for monitoring the Communists, but he was developed into a Communist by Chen Yi during the low tide of the revolution.

On August 1, after the Nanchang Uprising started, Chen Yi and more than 2000 officers of the Second Front Army (formerly Wuhan Central Military and Political School) arrived in Jiujiang from Wuhan by large and small ships. They were nominally "Eastern Expedition to seek Chiang Kai-shek" and were under the command of Zhang Fakui. In fact, they were prepared to join the Nanchang Uprising troops under the order of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China. Before the ship had docked, Zhang Fakui ordered the officers and soldiers to leave their weapons on board and assemble on shore with their bare hands. Chen Yi, secretary of the CPC Committee, who was hidden in the teaching group, felt that the situation was grim. After landing, he immediately called a secret meeting of Communist Party members and proposed three contingency measures: first, comrades who exposed their identities set out to Nanchang overnight to join Ye and He; second, comrades with conditions scattered home to engage in the peasant movement; third, comrades who did not reveal their identities stayed behind and waited in hiding. there are about 200 people willing to stay, and these 200 people have organized a party branch. That night, Chen Yi and Xiao Jinbu, the company commander of the spy company and a member of the Communist Party, went to Gutang and took a small fire wheel to Nanchang.

Chen Yi and others set out from Jiujiang, and the enemy was very strict along the way, so they took a path and walked more than 100 miles in one breath before finding a boat in a small town and entering Nanchang via Poyang Lake.

On August 6, after Chen Yi and Xiao Jin arrived in Nanchang, they found that Ye and He's rebels had withdrawn and Zhang Fakui's troops had entered the city. They finally found out that the rebels had gone to Fuzhou, so they immediately chased after them. Finally, they saw the busy and orderly rebels in Fuzhou city, and found Zhou Enlai and Liu Bocheng. At that time, there were Zhu Peide's pursuers behind the insurrectionary army, and Yang Ruxuan's troops near Fuzhou. At this time, a green forest armed force in eastern Jiangxi sent people to connect, willing to accept the appointment and command of Ye and He troops, on condition that they were given some guns. Zhou Enlai and Liu Bocheng asked Chen Yi to contact Xiao Jin and go to this green forest army to do the renovation work. However, when they contacted the commander of the other party according to the scheduled method, the insurgents had already left and the pursuers had already entered Fuzhou. Greenwoods troops contact representatives to escape. Chen Yi and Xiao Jin were caught by sentries when they were out of town. Fortunately, Chen Yi talked the sentinel and was able to escape. After that, Chen Yi walked more than 50 miles in the dark and finally caught up with the uprising troops again in Yihuang, Jiangxi Province on August 10.

After discussing with Liu Bocheng and others, Zhou Enlai assigned Chen Yi as the representative of the 73rd Regiment of the 25th Division. Zhou Enlai said, "The work you were sent to do is too small. Don't be too small!" Chen Yi said sincerely and joyfully, "What a small one! You asked me to be an instructor and I'll do it. I'll do it as long as I'm armed!"

October 9, 2017 Source: People's Political Consultative Conference