During a conversation between Li Xuan and Chen Wei, Sun Yat-sen was mentioned to send Chiang Kai-shek to russia
Leader of the KuoMinTang
History
Pre-1920
After the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, Sun had resigned from the provisional presidency and spent years trying to build a viable republican apparatus. By the mid-1910s the Beiyang warlords dominated much of China; Sun’s strategy turned toward creating a southern government base to challenge them. The Constitutional Protection Movement (1917-22) was Sun’s attempt to “protect” the provisional constitution via a rival government in Guangzhou. So by 1920, Sun was operating largely from the south (Guangdong/Guangxi region) trying to build legitimacy, military force and organisational structure.
1920
- In October 1920, the Guangdong–Guangxi War erupted: Sun’s ally Chen Jiongming (who controlled the Guangdong army) attacked the Guangxi clique (warlords) and by late 1920 drove them out of Guangzhou and much of Guangdong.
- Sun returned to Guangzhou/Guangdong by end of November, reestablishing his southern government base.
1921
- On 5 May 1921, Sun was elected “Extraordinary President” (or sometimes “Emergency President”) of the southern government centred in Guangzhou.
- From this base, he began preparations for what would become a “Northern Expedition” (i.e., a military campaign to unify China).
- During 1921 he attempted to organise military operations from Guangdong/Guangxi into Hunan/Jiangxi to press northwards. However, the region remained unstable and his control was tenuous.
1922
- In the summer of 1922 Sun established a forward “division headquarters” at Shaoguan (in northern Guangdong) to coordinate a multi-province army (Guangdong + Yunnan + Jiangxi + Hunan) for a Northern Expedition.
- But by June 1922 his southern government faced a rebellion by Chen Jiongming (his former ally). On 16 June 1922, the Presidential Palace (in Guangzhou) was shelled by Chen’s forces; Sun and his loyalists fled by gunboat to Shanghai.
- From August 1922 onward Sun began formally reaching out to the Communist Party of China and the Soviet envoy Adolph Joffe, marking a strategic shift toward cooperation with Marxist elements and Soviet support.
- In September 1922, Sun set about reorganising the Kuomintang (KMT) under the new strategy of “alliance with Soviet Russia, cooperation with the Communists, aid to workers/peasants.”