Chapter 34 33. Two Chinese in the puppet regime

On September 24, an organization called "Fengtian Local Autonomy Maintenance Committee" appeared in Shenyang, and the "chairman" was Yuan Jinkai.The next day, the maintenance committee posted a notice declaring that it was "dedicated to maintaining local order, all finance, commerce, and everything as usual, and set up police for self-defense to maintain law and order." Withdrew to maintain order. On the 27th, the association was renamed the "Local Maintenance Committee of Liaoning Province" and claimed to temporarily act as the provincial government. "The Business Overview of the Third Section of the General Staff of the Kwantung Army" left such a record:

Because all the leaders of Fengtian Province fled after the incident, a local maintenance committee was first established for the purpose of maintaining public order in Fengtian Province, with Yuan Jinkai as the chairman and several pro-Japanese Chinese with prestige in Fengtian. as a member.To promote its gradual development, not only to maintain the law and order of the provincial capital, but also to implement the administration of Fengtian province. Therefore, the association was established nominally in the name of "gentry and various corporations" in Liaoning, but in fact it was established by traitors instructed by the Kwantung Army.

Yuan Jinkai is indeed a very influential figure in the Northeast.Born in Liaoyang County in 1859, he was selected as a scholar at the age of 19, and was famous in the village for his intelligence.After the Gengzi War, the place was not stable, so he began to handle regiment training, and was promoted to Liaoyang police a few years later.His first fortune in politics was due to his acquaintance with Zhao Erxun, a local official in the late Qing Dynasty. He successively served as the deputy chairman of the Consultative Bureau of the three eastern provinces, the editor of the Qing History Museum, a member of the Treaty Conference, and a member of the Senate.After Yuan Shikai's death, he was unsuccessful in Beijing, so he returned to Zhang Zuolin and advised Zhang Zuolin. After being bombed to death by the Japanese, he supported Zhang Xueliang to inherit his father's business and rule the Northeast.During Zhang Xueliang's administration, he served as a member of the Northeast Political Affairs Committee and a member of the Northeast Frontier Army Commander's Office.It is such an old man in his seventies who has been active in Northeast politics for more than 30 years. For some reason, he actually became a traitor.

The Kwantung Army appointed several advisors to join the maintenance committee, and the highest advisor was Akira Kanai, director of the Manchurian Railway Health Section. On November 2, the Kwantung Army Command sent a letter to the maintenance committee stating: "In the future, any official documents submitted to the commander of our army will not be accepted if they do not have the seal of the Japanese adviser and Japanese." The Japanese adviser became the official who signed the official document. Japanese became the official language of the Sustaining Society. On November 7th, the maintenance committee issued a notice on behalf of administrative power, which included the following paragraph:

However, during this transitional period, because of our love for the people of Northeast China, the Association has to take over the administrative power.Severed relations with Zhang's old regime and the national government. Among them, the sentence "to sever ties with both the old Zhang regime and the national government" was not originally included in the manuscript sent to the Kwantung Army for review by the maintenance meeting.The Kwantung Army Command ordered to add this content.Yuan Jinkai and his deputy Yu Hanchong felt very embarrassed, and the troubles were serious. Once they joined, the traitors of the Maintenance Committee would be clearly revealed to the world.For this reason, Yu Hanchong also went from Liaoyang to the Japanese Consulate General in Shenyang to mediate, but it was of no avail.Under the pressure of the Kwantung Army, the Maintenance Committee added the content of "severing ties with both the old Zhang regime and the National Government" when publishing documents.

Even though Yuan Jinkai did everything he told the Japanese, the Japanese were still not satisfied with him.After all, Yuan Jinkai was an old man in his 70s, and he was not a member of the Northeast region of the Nationalist Government before the incident. He had insufficient influence. As soon as the decree of the maintenance committee left Shenyang City, it would lose its effect; One move, lack of initiative to implement the Japanese intentions.Therefore, the Japanese intend to replace Yuan Jinkai with a more suitable candidate.This candidate is Zang Shiyi, chairman of the Liaoning Province of the Nationalist Government.

It was mid-December, and the day after the September 18th Incident broke out, Zang Shiyi, who voluntarily stayed in Shenyang to do "aftermath" work, was arrested and detained by the Kwantung Army, and he was isolated for nearly three months. On the 13th, the Kwantung Army suddenly released him.Morito Morishima, the Consul General in Fengtian, called Japan's new Prime Minister Inukai Takeshi on the 14th to report the military's purpose. He said: "Zang Shiyi was released on the 13th and returned to his home. According to reliable information, the military decided to make him clean up. The current situation, and there is the intention to convene the chairmen of the provincial governments locally. It is said that Staff Itagaki held talks with Zang on the 14th.” Zang Shiyi’s later recollections confirmed the accuracy of the Japanese Consul General’s intelligence: “The next day (14th) the sudden The senior staff officer of the Eastern Army Headquarters, Seishiro Itagaki, came to the residence and conveyed the order of the commander of the Kwantung Army in a strong tone, claiming that you were to be released because he wanted you to be the governor of Fengtian, and now the chamber of commerce is holding a meeting to recommend such things.” Itagaki. When talking with Zang Shiyi, he also presented a document with five main contents:

1. Require Zang Shiyi to form political organizations in the three northeastern provinces and act as officials; 2. Japanese troops stationed in the three northeastern provinces; 3. National defense shall be undertaken by the Japanese military; 4. The three eastern provinces share the military expenses of the Japanese garrison; 5. The railways in the three eastern provinces are operated and used by Japan. Zang Shiyi was forced to sign the document.After signing this sum, Zang Shiyi began to "cooperate" with the Japanese - becoming a traitor. Zang Shiyi was born in Sandaogangzi Village in the south of Fengtian City. In his early years, he followed Sun Liechen, the governor of Heilongjiang. In June 1924, Zang Shiyi was ordered by Zhang Zuolin to return to Shenyang to take over Zhang Xueliang's post as Chief of Staff of the Northeast Army Reorganization Division.Zhang Xueliang once highly praised his ability to handle affairs, and commented that "Feng Jiu (Zang Shiyi's word Fengjiu) handles affairs in a strict, orderly, down-to-earth style, which makes people feel at ease." ", blocked the news of Zhang's death, and secretly sent someone to inform Zhang Xueliang.Due to the proper handling of Zang Shiyi and others, the situation at that time was eased, and Zhang Xueliang took over the entire three eastern provinces smoothly, which was appreciated by Zhang. In 1930, Zang Shiyi served as the chairman of the Liaoning Provincial Government and made great achievements in managing the Northeast's finances.During his tenure, he was honest and honest. At first he rented a few tile-roofed houses in the provincial capital, and then Zhang Xueliang paid for him to buy a house.When the Kwantung Army wanted to use his reputation to force him to become the governor of the puppet government, his mother found out about it. This staunch, general-minded old man from Northeast China repeatedly advised him that he would rather die than cooperate with the Japanese. But he disobeyed his mother's order and became the governor of the false Fengtian Province.When all this became a fact, his mother committed suicide and died for the country.

After the September 18th Incident, many important officials of the Northeast authorities of the Nationalist Government have surrendered to the Japanese one after another.Among them, there are not only the former Qing Dynasty veterans like Xiqia, but also the originally upright and capable officials like Zang Shiyi.The reason is complex.In the eyes of these people, Japan’s national power is strong and the Japanese army is powerful, so they cannot imagine the consequences of resisting the Japanese army; they even fantasize that once a new regime is established in Northeast China with the support of Japan, the Chinese government will one day be restored. The possibility of exercising sovereignty over the Northeast is very small, so the probability that one day I will be sent to the historical trial as a traitor is almost non-existent-all of these are related to Japan's years of careful management in the Northeast There is an inseparable connection, and many upper-class figures in the Northeast have been brainwashed by the Japanese with the idea of ​​"Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity".

On the 15th, the Kwantung Army ordered Zhao Xinbo, the pseudo-Mayor of Fengtian, to convene representatives of the industrial and commercial circles at the Shenyang Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the form of "push and replace" to "invite Zang Shiyi to be the governor of Fengtian" in the name of "all the people of Fengtian", and the Fengtian Local Maintenance Association will be automatically disbanded .At the same time, in the name of merchants and people, a declaration was issued, saying, "Use the power of neighboring countries to sweep away the mist of the three provinces", "The people of our three provinces should break away from Chiang Kai-shek, and unanimously reject Zhang Xueliang, let alone recognize the Jinxian government under his jurisdiction. "So.

In this way, Zang Shiyi became the governor of the puppet government half-heartedly. The Japanese side equipped Zang Shiyi’s government with a bunch of Japanese advisers: Kanai Shoji succeeded him in the maintenance committee as the top adviser, the Finance Department took Irobe Takashi and Miura Yoshinori as advisers, and the Industrial Department took Takai Tsunezawa as its advisers. consultant.At the beginning, the commander of the Kwantung Army Fan Zhuang patted Zang Shiyi on the shoulder and said, "It's fine if you come out of the mountains. Fengtian's political affairs will be presided over by someone, and the Japanese army will not interfere in the internal affairs of the new regime."But in fact, the top adviser Kanai Shoji "presides over the provincial government, and all the advisers of various departments and financial institutions are under his command." head of the puppet government.