In Manchuria, Chiang Kai-shek's trusted Chief of Staff Chen Cheng was cleaning house among grafting politicos and generals ; he had had at least two generals shot, some 30 more jailed.
In his first whirlwind week in Manchuria, Chen invited 100 bigwigs to a tea party in Mukden. While his notable guests were sipping tea, Chen made them a little speech: "You gentlemen here can trust me when I say I have never squeezed. In this respect—to make a joke—I am 50 years old and like the spinster who has gone through many hard years struggling to keep her virtue spotless and...