Chapter 9 9. Chen Qimei and his brothers

Speaking of the "Four Great Families" during the Kuomintang period, there is a saying that "the Jiang family belongs to the world, the Chen family belongs to the party, and the Song family's sisters belong to the Kong family". The Chen family refers to the two brothers Chen Guofu and Chen Lifu. I am familiar with it, but there are three brothers in the previous generation, so not many people know about it. On a large lawn by the West Lake in Hangzhou, there stands a statue of a prancing horse with arms raised, like the master riding a war horse, with a heroic posture. This is Chen Qimei, the second child of the Chen brothers.This sworn elder brother, who had exchanged life and death posts with Chiang Kai-shek in Japan, was also all-powerful and prosperous during the 1911 Revolution.

Chen Qimei has three brothers, the eldest is Chen Qiye, the third is Chen Qicai, and he is the second.The brothers of the Chen family were from Huzhou, Zhejiang Province (formerly Wu Xing). They came from small country gentry. They had been farming, studying and doing business for several generations. Unfortunately, their family property was wiped out during the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.According to traditional customs, his father made the following arrangements for the three brothers of the Chen family: Chen Qiye, the eldest, inherited his ancestral business and managed farming and mulberry;

It is the most common and safest thing in traditional society for the eldest to keep his ancestral business at home, because reading was a luxury at that time, and the chance of winning was extremely small, so the third child had to try it.In the agricultural society, after all, it is based on agriculture and supplemented by business, so that the family can develop for a long time. The youngest of the Chen family is indeed promising. He was born in 1800. He was smart and talented when he was a child, and he became a scholar at the age of sixteen, which gave his family hope.Soon, Chen Qicai entered the Nanyang Armed Forces Academy to study military affairs, and then in November 1898, he was selected to study at the Japanese Non-commissioned Officer Academy as an official fee student.

In the era of "everything is inferior, only reading is high", young people who practice martial arts and join the army are often considered hopeless, but after the Sino-Japanese War, the trend of the times has changed, and those who devote themselves to reading sage books are hopeless; Because within a few years, the Qing government abolished the imperial examinations, and the most urgent thing at that time was to train the new army and resist foreign aggression, so Yuan Shikai, Duan Qirui, Feng Guozhang and other talents could stand out and become the trendsetters of the times. Maybe Chen Qicai didn't realize what it meant to study military in Japan at the time, but he was indeed a lucky one.The early non-commissioned officers studying in Japan were not only highly valued in the late Qing Dynasty, but also called the wind and rain during the Republic of China. They played a role in Chinese history that their age could not match.

Chen Qimei is a first-term student of non-commissioned officers studying in Japan. Among her classmates are Jiang Yanxing, Tie Zhong, Wu Luzhen, Zhang Shaozeng, Lu Jin, etc. In the third period, Cai E, Jiang Fangzhen, Xu Chongzhi, Qu Tongfeng, Jia Deyao, Chen Wenyun, Wu Guangxin, Zhang Shuyuan, Fu Liangzuo, Wei Zonghan, Wei Bangping, Wang Ruqin, etc.; in the fourth period, Jiang Zuobin, Jin Yongyan, Wang Yongquan, Fang Shengtao, etc.; in the fifth period, Li Shucheng , He Chengjun, Chen Zhiji, Chen Yi, Jiang Dengxuan, etc.; the sixth issue included Yan Xishan, Sun Chuanfang, Zhao Hengti, Li Liejun, Cheng Qian, Li Genyuan, Hu Qian, Liu Cunhou, Luo Peijin, Yang Wenkai, Kong Geng, Zhang Kairu, Zhang Fenghui, Lu Xiangting, Gu Pinzhen, Zhou Yinren, etc. , the above are graduates before 1908. Xu Shuzheng, Yang Yuting, Zhang Qun, Wang Bailing, He Yingqin, He Yaozu, Qian Dajun, Tang Enbo and others graduated after 1908.These are all well-known talents in the Republic of China period.

The non-commissioned officers studying in Japan played a great role during the Revolution of 1911. Although most of them were around 30 years old at the time, some of them, such as Yan Xishan, Li Liejun, and Cai E, had already become governors of a province. The imperial examination era is unimaginable.The reason why the non-commissioned officers studying in Japan were able to climb to such a high position when the situation changed suddenly was mainly because they had mastered the new army in the provinces at the end of the Qing Dynasty. At that time, the official fee students sent by the Qing government to Japan to study military affairs generally had to first enter Chengcheng School, which was a preparatory school for entering the Japanese Non-commissioned Officer Academy. Later, because the Qing government sent too many non-commissioned officers to study in Japan, Japan opened a special school for Chinese people. Zhenwu School serves as a preparatory school.After studying in Chengcheng School or Zhenwu School for two years and passing two years, the non-commissioned officers studying in Japan can enter the Japanese active military for one year as a trainee, and then enter the Japanese non-commissioned officer school for one year (the first three periods were studied together with Japanese non-commissioned officers. Jiang Fangzhen, a student of the third period, won the first place in the graduation examination and received the sword from the Emperor of Japan. The Japanese felt very humiliated, so the Chinese non-commissioned officers studying in Japan later held separate classes), and then returned to the original probationary unit for three months. In order to obtain the graduation certificate of the Japanese Non-commissioned Officer School.Later Chiang Kai-shek was interrupted when he returned to China to participate in the Revolution of 1911 when he entered the Japanese United Army as a trainee after studying in Zhenwu School for two years, while Zhang Qun, who was in the same period with him, returned to the Japanese Non-commissioned Officer Academy in 1914 to continue his training. of studies.

Chen Qicai performed well during his studies in Japan. After studying in Chengcheng School for two years, he entered the Fourth Japanese Guards Infantry Regiment as a trainee non-commissioned officer. In March 1902, Chen Qicai graduated with the first place. Chen Qicai and others were the first batch of military students who returned to China after completing their studies. Naturally, they received great attention from the Qing court. As soon as he returned to China, he was appointed as the commander of the new army stationed in Shanghai; soon, he was sent to Hunan to establish the Hunan Military Academy , and serve as supervisor (principal) post. In 1905, Duanfang, the governor of Hunan, expanded the new army into two infantry teams. Chen Qicai served as the leader of the two teams. He was only 25 years old at this time. In 1907, Chen Qicai was transferred to Nanjing as the Chief Staff Officer of the Ninth Town of the Army. Less than a year later, he was transferred to Beijing to serve as the Director of the Third Department of the Military Advisory Office, in charge of the new army and dispatching matters across the country.During this period, Chen Qicai also served as the supervisor (principal) of Baoding Army Crash School.

At that time, the Qing court spent a lot of money on training the new army. The annual military expenditure was more than 50 million taels, accounting for almost a quarter of the national fiscal revenue. Chen Qicai, Wu Luzhen, Zhang Shaozeng, Cai E, Li Liejun, Yan Xishan The promotion of these people is like flying through the clouds, and even the local governor should respect them a little bit. The younger brother's successful experience gave Chen Qimei a lot of stimulation and inspiration.Chen Qimei was born in 1878, two years older than his younger brother. He was working as an apprentice in a pawnshop at the time. He was 26 years old and the apprentice had not yet graduated from the teacher. However, his younger brother had already made a fortune and had a bright future after studying in Japan for a few years. How is this possible? Can make people psychologically balanced.Therefore, Chen Qimei asked her younger brother to provide financial support and went to Japan in 1906, and then entered Dongbin School to study military affairs.

Dongbin School cannot be compared with Zhenwu School, because entering the Japanese Non-commissioned Officer School must be sent by the Qing government, and there were too many people who wanted to study military affairs at that time, so the smart Japanese set up many pheasant schools to attract China. to defraud their tuition fees, and Dongbin School is one of them. Of course, you can’t learn much in such a school. Fortunately, there are many people like Chen Qimei. At that time, there were thousands of Chinese students studying in Tokyo. Goofing off as a job (there are many international students who have stayed in Japan for several years and can't speak Japanese), thus giving the revolutionaries a lot of room for movement.Under the influence of revolutionary thoughts, Chen Qimei also joined the Tongmenghui soon, and got acquainted with Huang Xing, Song Jiaoren, Wang Jingwei, Hu Hanmin and others.

Compared with these veteran leaders of the Tongmenghui, Chen Qimei joined the revolution much later, and his qualifications are much lower, but Chen Qimei has his own advantages, that is, he is older and has rich social experience. He was extremely shrewd and capable in revolutionary activities, so he quickly became one of the leaders and was valued by Sun Yat-sen. During her stay in Japan, Chen Qimei got acquainted with Huang Yu and Chiang Kai-shek, who were selected by the Qing government to study military affairs in Japan, and became brothers with Jinlan and became allied brothers who lived and died together.Huang Yu is a native of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. He was born in 1880, but he entered Zhenwu School only one year earlier than Chiang Kai-shek (born in 1887).Huang Yu and Chiang Kai-shek were brothers and sisters, and later they became brothers with Zhang Qun (Zhang Qun, a native of Sichuan, entered Zhenwu School at the same time as Chiang Kai-shek).

Chen Qimei was two years older than Huang Yu, and nearly ten years older than Chiang Kai-shek. How they met, previous biographies often say that Chen Qimei saw Chiang Kai-shek dancing a sword one day, and he was heroic, so he met Yunyun.In fact, it is doubtful whether Chiang Kai-shek can dance swords, and the first meeting of the "great men" does not need to be so complicated, because Chen Qimei, Huang Yu, and Chiang Kai-shek are all from Zhejiang, and it was very common for students studying in Japan to hold fellowship associations at that time. , these three people got together, congenial, sworn brothers with different surnames, what's so strange? After spending some time in Japan, Chen Qimei returned to Shanghai in 1908 and began to engage in revolutionary activities.Initially, he mainly lurked in newspaper offices in Hankou, Shanghai and other places to engage in propaganda, but his work was not obvious.It wasn't until later that by chance, Chen Qimei hooked up with a well-known gang boss in Shanghai, which opened up the situation and became a well-known revolutionary in Shanghai. Speaking of this opportunity, we have to start with his younger brother Chen Qicai.When Chen Qicai came back from Japan in 1902, he served as the commander of the New Army stationed in Shanghai in Shanghai. Chen Qimei paved the way. In the late Qing Dynasty, with the continuous development of Shanghai's urbanization, various gangs also began to emerge in Shanghai Bund, the most famous of which was the so-called "Second Qinghong Gang".Before the "Second Green and Red Gangs" merged, Fan Gaotou, the boss of the Hong Gang at the time, was born as a salt owl. Because he had a sarcoid on his forehead, it looked like a small head had grown on his head from a distance, so he got a The nickname of "Fan Gaotou", but his real name is unknown.Don't underestimate this Fan Gaotou, those later famous gangsters such as Huang Jinrong were all his subordinates back then. In the Jianghu in Shanghai at that time, he was definitely a figure who called the wind and rain. Fan Gaotou had a subordinate named Rui Debao. Once he saw an Englishman bullying a Chinese waitress near the Town God's Temple, and stepped forward to stop him in a moment of righteous indignation. He didn't want the British to fight against Rui Debao because he was a foreign power.In a rage, Redberg resorted to his housekeeping skills and beat up the British.After the foreigner was beaten, he fled back to the British consulate in embarrassment and asked the consul to punish the "murderer".At that time, the great powers had great influence in the Shanghai Concession, and they had the privilege of consular refereeing, so Fan Gaotou did not dare to offend the British easily, but he could not let Rui Debao fall into the hands of the British, because this would definitely make him It was a big loss of face and affected his status in the world. Just when he was in a dilemma, the British consul asked Chen Qicai, commander of the New Army stationed in Shanghai, to assist in arresting Rui Debao. By.Due to the military power in Chen Qicai's hands, the British consul did not dare to make excessive demands, and finally closed the case with an apology from the British and compensation for certain losses. Chen Qicai's intervention satisfactorily settled the matter, which made Fan Gaotou very grateful and admired, and also made him owe Chen Qicai a big favor.Later, because Chen Qicai was quickly transferred outside, Fan Gaotou did not have the opportunity to repay his favor. It was not until Chen Qimei heard about this that this provided an opportunity for the Revolutionary Party to intervene in the Shanghai gangs. Chen Qimei has always been bold, dark-hearted, and decisive in his actions. At that time, he was known as the "four victories" (quick in speaking, quick in thinking, quick in means, and quick in action). After the Green Gang, he felt like a fish in water, and soon got acquainted with the top and bottom leaders of the gang.In order to facilitate the revolution, Chen himself joined the Green Gang shortly thereafter, and also pulled some of the leaders of the Green Gang into the camp of the Revolutionary Party (they all have a common goal of "anti-Qing"). As a result, there were thousands of congregations in the Green Gang It became the revolutionary force that Chen Qimei relied on later. After the Wuchang Uprising broke out, Chen Qimei immediately raised an incident in Shanghai.Under the call of the eldest brother, Chiang Kai-shek, Zhang Qun and other younger brothers who had been interns in the Japanese team also abandoned their studies and rushed back to Shanghai to join the revolution.The other brother Huang Yu, after graduating from Zhenwu School, failed to enter the Japanese Non-commissioned Officer Academy because of his poor health, and later changed to study in the Topography Department of the Japanese Army Survey Bureau. After graduating and returning to China in 1910, he was assigned to the Military Consultant He works in the Fourth Department of the Mansion, and is a colleague of Chen Qicai (the level is of course much worse).What is ironic is that after the Wuchang Uprising, because Huang Yu was from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the Military Advisory Office sent him to the south to investigate the activities of the Revolutionary Party. As a result, Huang Yu took the opportunity to escape to Shanghai. The arrival of Huang Yu, Chiang Kai-shek and others made Chen Qimei even more powerful, because after all, they are talents who have studied military affairs seriously, unlike those hooligans in the Qing Gang who are brave.Due to the weak strength of the Qing army in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, the Revolutionary Party quickly won the victory. With the support of the brothers in the gang, Chen Qimei became the governor of the Shanghai army. On the other side, Chen Qicai fled to the south soon because his elder brother had openly rebelled, and he knew that Beijing could not stay for long, and bid farewell to his former official career.Although under the influence of Chen Qimei, Chen Qicai successively served as the chief of staff of the Jiangsu Metropolitan Government and the interim presidential office counselor, but after all, he did not belong to any faction of the Revolutionary Party and Yuan Shikai, so he bid farewell his military career.Later, Chen Qicai devoted himself to finance, and successively served as vice president of Bank of China Hangzhou Branch, director of Zhejiang Provincial Department of Finance, and Jiang Customs supervisor of the Ministry of Finance.Although he is doing well, compared with his second brother Chen Qimei and his nephews Chen Guofu and Chen Lifu, Chen Qicai can only be regarded as unknown. Chen Qimei was different. He was born to like troubled times. In the early years of the Republic of China, he could be regarded as a "revolutionary great man" and served as the head of industry and commerce of the provisional government.In order to consolidate her position in Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Chen Qimei did not hesitate to kill or drive away the competitors within the revolutionary party and gangs one by one, including the assassination of Tao Chengzhang, the leader of the Restoration Association (planned and organized by the little brother Chiang Kai-shek himself), and the shooting of the capture of Nanjing. Tao Junbao, the meritorious chief of staff of the militia, killed Xu Baoshan, who was also the leader of the Qing Gang and the governor of Yangzhou at the time, and tried to assassinate Li Xiehe, who had saved his life when he attacked the manufacturing bureau. Leave Shanghai quickly.After the "Second Revolution", Chen Qimei successfully stabbed Zheng Rucheng, the guardian of Shanghai, to death. Perhaps it was retribution, Chen Qimei, who had always been good at creating assassinations, was also assassinated in the end. On May 18, 1916, Chen Qimei was shot dead at the residence of Japanese expatriate Junzaburo Yamada at No. 14 Sapo Sailu (now Danshui Road) in the French Concession of Shanghai, and the murderer escaped.At that time, the revolutionary party believed that this was an act of revenge ordered by Yuan Shikai, but it was known many years later that the mastermind was Zhang Zongchang, who participated in the revolution together and was also a member of the gang.In fact, 19 days after Chen Qimei was assassinated, Yuan Shikai died. At that time, he probably didn't have time to plan to assassinate Chen Qimei.The reason why Zhang Zongchang wanted to attack Chen Qimei was said to be instigated by Feng Guozhang (Zhang Zongchang was working under Feng at the time), and the second was to avenge his fellow disciple Xu Baoshan. After Yuan Shikai's death, Sun Yat-sen and others held a grand funeral for Chen Qimei, and after Chiang Kai-shek gained power, Chen Qimei's status in the history of the Kuomintang was greatly enhanced, because Chiang Kai-shek's success was largely due to Chen Qimei's early care and support reason.In fact, Chiang Kai-shek's later promotion and reuse of Chen Qimei's nephews (namely Chen Guofu and Chen Lifu) was also a kind of repayment from a certain perspective.Chen Guofu and Chen Lifu are the sons of Chen Qiye, the boss of the Chen family. Chen Qiye did not have a brilliant experience like his two brothers, but his two sons later became more famous than his two uncles. It's a coincidence that "one person attains the Tao, and the chicken and dog ascend to heaven"! Interestingly, the characters of the three brothers Chen Qimei fit their personalities and life experiences very well: Chen Qiye, whose character is Diligent, has been diligent all his life; Chen Qimei, whose character is Yingshi, is indeed full of heroic spirit;Among the three brothers, Chen Qimei died early and left behind two sons (one of whom died in an accident because he was learning to pilot an airplane). Chen Qiye and Chen Qicai both lived long and died in Taiwan. As for the two brothers Chen Guofu and Chen Lifu, although they held high positions and had a prominent reputation during the Kuomintang rule, they did not have the evil behavior of the Song and Kong families using bureaucratic capital to fill their own pockets.After the defeat of the Kuomintang in mainland China, Chen Guofu made a living on relief money after fleeing to Taiwan, while Chen Lifu made a living by opening a chicken farm in the United States. In terms of property, it would be a bit far-fetched to include them in the "Four Families".But in any case, it is rare in modern history for the Chen family to have "three scholars" and eventually "two husbands".