99+1=? — Written on the Occasion of the 99th Anniversary of the Founding of the Army

99+1, what does it equal?

When a simple arithmetic problem is presented, everyone can readily answer: 100.

100 is a complete integer, a bold representation of a century.

As August 1 approaches, the People's Army celebrates its 99th anniversary. We substitute this equation into history, seeking and contemplating an answer.

From 0 to 1

To ask where a team is headed, one must first look at where it has come from.

In the spring and summer of 1927, Chiang Kai-shek launched a counter-revolutionary coup, openly betraying the revolution, and the grand revolution slid toward failure amidst white terror.

Should we continue the revolution? How should we persist in the revolution? At this critical juncture of life and death, these two questions confronted the young Chinese Communist Party.

The bloody lessons made the Chinese Communists realize the extreme importance of armed struggle. The Chinese Communists and revolutionary masses suffered brutal massacres. The number of party members plummeted from nearly 58,000 at the time of the Fifth National Congress to just over 10,000.

To save the revolution, that summer, representatives dispatched by the Central Committee shuttled back and forth between Jiujiang and Wuhan, planning an armed uprising. Ultimately, in a two-story building with a strong Western style not far from Xunyang Tower, this young party made the decision: to concentrate the parts of the National Revolutionary Army that could be controlled and influenced, and to launch an armed uprising in Nanchang.

In the early hours of August 1, 1927, gunfire rang out from the city walls of Nanchang, and the armed forces led by the Chinese Communist Party held an armed uprising in Nanchang, firing the first shot in armed resistance against the reactionary Kuomintang. Thus, the People's Army led by the Party was born.

From 1 to 99

After the gunfire, where does the path lead?

In the autumn of 1927, deep in the Luoxiao Mountains. A month earlier, Mao Zedong had proposed at the August 7th Meeting that "political power grows out of the barrel of a gun," and he had not been able to sleep for several nights. He was pondering an urgent new question: how can the gun be held firmly?

This is a question of life and death. The armed uprisings led by the Party had suffered consecutive defeats, and the number of troops dwindled—besides casualties on the battlefield, low morale and disintegration of military spirit led to continuous desertions.

An iron piece does not automatically become steel; it needs to be tempered and forged. A team does not naturally become resilient; it needs practice to hone itself. From the Luoxiao Mountains to Jinggangshan, from Sanwan to Gutian, the creators of the People's Army, represented by Mao Zedong, seriously contemplated the future of this army and explored solutions.

In Sanwan Village, the idea of "building the party branch at the company level" gradually became clear;

In Shuikou Town, the first party branch of the People's Army was established;

At "Thunder Strike Stone," the "First Military Regulation" of the People's Army was born;

In Gutian Town, the principles of ideological party-building and political military-building were formally established, and the fundamental principle and system of the Party's absolute leadership over the army were thus solidified.

Moving from 1 to 99 has never been a simple addition of numbers. Year after year, one challenge after another, from the land revolution to the War of Resistance Against Japan, from the Liberation War to the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea... this team was born in the flames of war, grew stronger amidst blockades, and matured through trials.

The 99 years of historical victories tell us that only by unwaveringly adhering to the Party's absolute leadership over the army can the People's Army maintain strong cohesion and combat effectiveness, withstand various tests, and continuously move from victory to victory.

From 99 to 100

How can 99 equal 100?

The mathematical answer is to add 1.

+1, this is the process of moving from 99 to 100, and also the path from 0 to 99.

For this team, 99 is the foundation for reaching 100. The substantial accumulation of 99 years did not come from thin air, but from the aggregation of countless ordinary "1s."

Each "1" exists in every specific individual.

On the Long March, every soldier who persevered through hunger is a "1," with countless individuals living and dying in succession, traversing the 25,000-mile journey.

By the Chosin Reservoir, every volunteer soldier holding the line is a "1," with thousands of soldiers united against the enemy, fighting for national stability.

In the Gobi Desert, every researcher working incognito is a "1," with generations of researchers diligently tackling challenges, building a strong shield for the great nation.

In times of crisis, they are the camouflaged figures charging forward against the odds. They are also every comrade who sweats and stands firm on the path to a strong army.

With a heart dedicated to the mountains and seas, and with every effort building a strong military. After 99 years of wind and rain, 99 is the sediment of the past, the medal of history, and the solid foundation paved by predecessors with their blood and lives. Standing at the time of the 99th anniversary of the army's founding, we are just one crucial step away from the centenary of the army's founding.

The next "1" is a battle of overcoming difficulties, a path of progress, an answer to our original intention. It is not a perfect conclusion, but a brand new beginning; it is not a static endpoint, but a continuous growth.

You and I are the indispensable key increments towards the centenary goal, that important "1."

Author: Hong Junqing