Chapter 9 Section 5 Shoot Comrade Tao

Only two weeks after the founding of the Republic of China, an astonishing move occurred. Chiang Kai-shek assassinated the revolutionary hero, leader of the Restoration Association, and veteran revolutionary comrade Tao Chengzhang. It was at 2 o'clock in the middle of the night on January 14, 1912. Accompanied by Wang Zhuqing, a traitor from the Restoration Society, Chiang Kai-shek sneaked into the ward where Tao Chengzhang lived in Shanghai Guangci Hospital and shot Tao to death. Of course, those who are interested in this murder case must hide it for Chiang Kai-shek. In the "Records of President Chiang Kai-shek's Grief" published after Chiang's death, there is an article "The First Draft of President Chiang Kai-shek's Chronology", which is still recorded under the article in 1912:

Twenty-six years old in the first year of the Republic of China (Renzi, 1912 AD) The prime minister took office as interim president, and Yuan Shikai was elected as his own successor.Tao Chengzhang plotted to assassinate Chen Qimei and sabotage the revolution, which made him angry.Then he resigned as the head of the Fifth Regiment of the Shanghai Army, traveled east to Japan, and studied German. The so-called "public anger" obviously taboo kill the word.Wu Jingheng's "Chronology of President Chiang" published in 1964 is a big book thread, and he does not deny that "public anger kills him".In contrast, it turned out that the 1964 edition was the base edition of the 1975 edition, only the word "kill" was omitted.It turns out that "President Jiang Gong" did not resign and go to Japan because he was angry, but because he assassinated people when he was angry, he resigned and went to Japan.In fact, the book "Mr. Chiang Kai-shek Before the Fifteen Years of the Republic of China" written by Mao Sicheng has already made no secret of killing Tao.The remnant manuscript of "Zhongzheng's Self-narration" in the Second Historical Archives of China in Nanjing today was first written in 1908. It is said that Xu "Xilin's death was actually forced by Tao Chengzhang", and that Tao Yuxu After his death, he "slandered the martyrs", and then said that "he has despised Tao from then on as a human being", and slandered Tao "without an upright attitude and a revolutionary personality".It is even more said that Tao slandered Sun Yat-sen, "The British scholar told Yu: Tao is a minority financial relationship, which set off an upsurge in the party... but he knows that Tao is a selfish villain" and so on, first laying the groundwork for killing Tao, and then turning to the "topic" , after the Revolution of 1911, "Tao's relatives came to campaign and opposed the League, promoted Zhang Binglin as the leader, and wanted to put Yingshi to death. I was horrified and complained that Tao was insane. In order to preserve the spirit of the revolution", so "the situation of the revolution cannot be eliminated without removing Tao", and he even found an unnecessary excuse for killing Tao.If the term "removing pottery" is still a bit vague and not clear enough, Deng Wenyi, a student of Chiang Kai-shek and a secretary for eight years, wrote the book "Chairman Chiang", the title of the eighth chapter is "Shooting Tao Chengzhang" "Five big characters.Deng Wenyi has a lot of background. He used to be the head of Chiang’s political workers and secret agents. The book "Chairman Jiang" was also inscribed by Wu Jingheng, Jiang’s tutor, and Pan Gongzhan endorsed it as "editor-in-chief".

It is an undoubted historical fact that Chiang Kai-shek personally killed Tao Chengzhang.But Chiang Kai-shek was not the mastermind, he was just the mastermind's killer.False Tao Chengzhang wanted to put Chen Yingshi to death, obviously to find a reason for Chen to kill Tao. Jiang also inadvertently revealed in his self-reported story, "Because of this, Yu confessed his crime and did not want to implicate Yingshi, so he resigned and traveled eastward." The scapegoat is ready to come out. ... Although there have been conflicts between Tao and Chen since July of 1911, such as Tao's refusal of Chen's request for "payment", Tao's dissatisfaction with Chen's style of work as the commander of the Shanghai Army, and Tao's military training in Shanghai, etc., but in the final analysis, it is not The private conflict between the two was a conflict between Sun Huang's faction and the Restoration Society's faction.The competition between the two factions for the governor of Zhejiang is undoubtedly the proximate cause of the assassination of Tao.After the original Tang Shouqian became the director of transportation of the Nanjing government, Tao was the most supportive of all walks of life in Zhejiang to succeed him as the governor of Zhejiang. The celebrities in eastern Zhejiang even sent a telegram saying: "Mr. Zheyi is like the Great Wall. I am in charge of Zhejiang affairs. Who else is not Mr.?" The taboo of recruiting the enemy faction.On the same day that this telegram was reported, Tao had been shot dead in the hospital by Chiang Kai-shek.

In fact, Tao himself did not want to be the governor of Zhejiang, but the prestige and strength of him and the Restoration Society in Zhejiang made it difficult for Sun Huang's faction to compete, and they had to be unhappy.Knowing this and reading Deng Wenyi's "Chairman Jiang", it will be more understanding. At this time, there was a fake revolutionist who conspired to capture Tao Chengzhang, the governor of Zhejiang Province. Because the plot could not succeed, he planned to assassinate Mr. Chen Yingshi. The state of chaos is bound to affect the shaking of the foundation of the revolution.After careful consideration of public and private interests, he decided to get rid of Tao Chengzhang first.

The so-called "false revolution" is because Tao does not belong to Sun Huang's family. From the perspective of Sun Huang's family, there is only one "revolution" and no other branches.If you want to open a branch, of course it is a "fake revolution".Tao Chengzhang clearly refused to resign the governor of Zhejiang, but he wanted to say "conspiracy to seize the governor of Zhejiang".It was a "conspiracy" to kill him in the hospital! Fearing that Tao Chengzhang's "conspiracy" would succeed, Jiangsu and Zhejiang would become the world of the Restoration Society. It was not the foundation of the revolution that was shaken, but the foundation of Sun Huang.After Tao Chengzhang died, the Restoration Society really fell into a slump. From the perspective of the Tongmenghui, it can be said that it killed the right person.

Since Tao Chengzhang's death was for the benefit of Sun Huang's Tongmenghui, the "highest authority" of the Tongmenghui was not Chiang Kai-shek, the gunman, nor Chen Qimei, the governor of the Shanghai Army who dispatched the gunmen, but Sun Wen, the interim president, and Huang Xing, chief of the army.What's more, Sun Tao has been at odds since 1907, so Chen must be well aware of it.Isn't it expected that Chen Yu wants to "adhere to the leader's will and empathize with the leader's painstaking efforts" and "teach" Tao Chengzhang at this moment?In fact, Zhang Taiyan, who had a close relationship with Tao Guo and knew Sun and Huang very deeply, had a conversation one day after Tao Guo, which was written by Ji Zhao and published in "Shenzhou Daily" (1911) 3rd edition on October 10, 2020), which revealed two things, one of which is:

After Nanjing was destroyed, Huang Xing was suddenly promoted to be the Generalissimo. The Zhe army was unyielding and opposed fiercely. They chose Li Yuanhong as the Generalissimo and Huang Xing as the Deputy Marshal. Outsiders suspected Tao Jun to mobilize the army for this purpose.Chen Qimei, the governor of Shanghai, tried to talk to Lu Gongwang, the staff officer of the Zhejiang Army, saying that Huanqing should not be troublesome, and Tao Junbao should be used as an example. Tao Junbao was an officer of the Restoration Society who was shot dead by the Tongmenghui. Before assassinating Tao, he had warned Tao.Tai Yan said that at this time, Lu Gongwang was still alive, so it was absolutely impossible to be a rumor.What's more, in Wei Lan's "Mr. Tao Huanqing's Statement", it is also mentioned:

At that time, there were rumors in Shanghai that Chen Qimei wanted to assassinate Mr., but Mr. Wang didn't think it was true.Wang Wenqing wrote a letter to Mr. Wang in Nanjing, saying that he had the definite news that Mr. Hu was at a great disadvantage in Shanghai, and Mr. began to avoid him at Keli Hotel. (Page 436) It can be seen that killing Tao has been brewing for a long time, and the "true news" comes from Nanjing! ... Tao Chengzhang also knew the danger, so he moved to Guangci Hospital. Even if he wrote to his wife, he was very secretive.There is a short note on November 11th (lunar calendar), which has become a last note:

My younger brother now lives on Father Jin Road, near South Xujiahui Road, Guangci Hospital, first-class room No. 6.This place is secluded, so it is inconvenient to visit at night.If you come to see your younger brother, you can take a lesson from sister Xiaoyun after eight or nine o'clock in the morning and before four o'clock in the afternoon. From brother Dong Shengbai on November 11 Xiaoyun is Sun Xiaoyun, Tao Chengzhang's wife, married in Japan in 1909.Dongsheng is Tao Chengzhang's pseudonym, which is why he used his pen name Dong.After Chengzhang died, there was a posthumous son, namely Tao Zhen (Bensheng).

... In order to rationalize and legitimize "Tao Tao", Chiang Kai-shek insisted that Tao was a "traitor" and a "false revolution." However, the interim President Sun Yat-sen called Chen Qimei the day after he stabbed Tao (January 15): Urgent, Chen Dudu of the Shanghai Army took a lesson: According to the newspaper, Tao Chengzhang, Commander of the Restoration Army, was stabbed in the Guangci Hospital in the French Concession of Shanghai at 2 o'clock in the morning on the 14th of January, and was shot in the neck and abdomen. The murderer escaped , Tao Jun then died in one day, and he was astonished.Tao Jun has held the revolutionary purpose for more than ten years, campaigned and spared no effort. When he was restored, Tao Jun really made great achievements. He suffered a sudden disaster, and we can mourn for the future of the Republic of China.The Dharma Realm is just around the corner, so how can we allow injustice to run amok and steal my good man.That is to say, the governor of Shanghai will promptly investigate and arrest the murderer, so that the murderer will be arrested, and his crime will be made clear, so as to comfort Tao Jun's spirit and vent the anger of the world.absolutely.President Sun Wen. (First seen in Shanghai Minli Daily on January 17, 1912, included in (The Complete Works of Sun Yat-sen, Vol. 2, p. 23)

Sun Yat-sen clearly stated that Tao Chengzhang made "great achievements" in the revolution, and he called Tao Chengzhang's assassination "incredibly astonishing" and "a thief of my good man", and "the governor of Shanghai will immediately arrest him". What is the result?Let it go! Chen Qimei and Chiang Kai-shek were originally the murderers, but Sun actually asked the prisoner Chen Qimei to investigate the case. How could there be any results?When Chiang Kai-shek fled to Japan, Sun Yat-sen must have known who the murderer was, but the murderer was never arrested and brought to justice. Instead, he became a helper.Later, Chiang Kai-shek also joined the "Chinese Revolutionary Party" and swore allegiance to Sun Yat-sen. Chen Qimei was Sun's best friend until his death. ... After the interim president called Chen Qimei, the chief of the army Huang Xing also sent a telegram to Shanghai on January 17, 1912, which was published in the "Minli Bao" on the 20th of the same month: Supervisor Chen Du of Shanghai: I heard that Tao Junhuanqing was assassinated, and it was reported that he was a full-fledged detective. Please note that the legal consul will investigate and investigate strictly, so as to comfort the dead friend and try to protect Mr. Zhang Taiyan.Huang Xing knocked.sleet. (See also "Huang Xing Collection", page 103) Huang Xing cast doubts even more, "the cloud is full of detectives", but he also said that he would "try to protect Zhang Taiyan".Why do Manchurian detectives only want to kill the leaders of the Restoration Society?Why not protect the leaders of the League?Speaking of protecting Zhang Taiyan, the more interesting thing is yet to come. Because Zhang Taiyan continued to criticize the Nanjing provisional government, Huang Xing wanted to kill Zhang.Taiyan revealed this in his book with Huang Jigang: Yesterday I heard that Huang Keqiang said: Zhang Taiyan opposed the Tongmenghui, and the Tongmenghui people wanted to assassinate him.What he opposes is the benefit of the country and the people, and it depends on my restrained ears! Hey, he is strong, and the one who is good is only intimidating, suspicious, and exhausted?In the past, when Tao Huanqing died, he sent a telegram to Chen Qimei to protect him, and now he sees Tian with his words. Such tricks can be practiced in the native places of Nanyang, how can they be used in the Yangtze River Valley?Assassination is of the same discipline as thieves, but if the members of the Tongmenghui sincerely have this ambition, they will never leave the realm of stealing and stealing.Keqiang uses this to scare people, but instead makes his party fall into the name of obscenity and despicability, he should also be refrained from it, and be careful with his words. This letter is not dated, but it was published in the "Great Republic Daily" on April 14, 1912, so it cannot be later than April 14.Later, it was included in "Taiyan Recent Documents".Apart from scolding Huang Xing severely, Taiyan also set up this photo, so that Huang Xing dare not do anything.Although Zhang Taiyan survived, he could not save the disaster of the Restoration Society in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.It can be seen from this that, fifteen years before Chiang Kai-shek purged the party in Shanghai in 1927, Sun Huang also cleared the party in the same area, destroying the Restoration Society, and the death of Tao Chengzhang was actually the precursor to the overthrow of the Restoration Society. Voice. In the history of the Revolution of 1911, Chiang Kai-shek's crime of shooting and killing revolutionary heroes is no longer possible to annihilate. However, the crime cannot be overstated. At the age of 26, he was not qualified to "kill him in anger."He was nothing more than a shooter and killer on orders.His contribution to destroying the Restoration Society by killing Tao cannot be overestimated, because he just played a small role for the big conspiracy of Sun Huang's faction, and he did his little brother's duty for the big brother Chen Qimei.