Institute of Red Professors
Ye joined the Kuomintang when Sun Yat-sen founded it in 1919 and became a battalion commander in the National Revolutionary Army in 1921. In 1924 he studied in the Soviet Union, joining the CPC in December of that year, and transferred to the Institute of Red Professors for his military education in February 1925. In September 1925 he returned to China to serve first as staff officer, then as independent regiment commander, in the Fourth Army of the National Revolutionary Army. In mid-January 1926, Ye joined the attack on Hainan Island. Due to Fourth Army commander Li Jishen's orders in May, the 12th Division joined the Northern Expedition and ordered Zhang Fakui to send Ye's 34th regiment ahead. In May 1926 he led an advance detachment in the Northern Expedition, with several victories in August. In September he besieged Wuchang, breaking through the defenses on the 10 October. He had led the entire effort to blast through the city walls. In 1927 he was a) deputy division commander of the 15th Division, b) division commander of the 24th Division of the 11th Army, and c) deputy army commander of the 11th Army.