Chapter 27 27. Why did Guo Songling defect?

In 1925, when Zhang Zuolin's Fengjun defeated Cao Kun and Wu Peifu in the Second Zhifeng War and was preparing to unify the north, a big disturbance broke out inside it without warning. This is what is called in history. "Guo Songling defected". Guo Songling, courtesy name Maochen, was born in an academic school. He entered Fengtian Army Primary School in the late Qing Dynasty, and later entered Beijing General School Research Institute and China Army University for further studies. After graduation, he was hired as an instructor by Beijing Lecture Hall.Later, under the introduction of Qin Hua, a classmate of the Army University who was the chief of staff of the Fengtian Warlord's Office at the time, Guo Songling first entered the Warlord's Office as a major staff officer, and then was transferred to the Jiangwu Hall of the three eastern provinces as an instructor of a lieutenant colonel, thus getting acquainted with a nobleman , This is the young marshal Zhang Xueliang.Zhang Xueliang was only 19 years old at the time. He was Zhang Zuolin's son-in-law, so he inevitably had the atmosphere of a poor boy, so other instructors relaxed their requirements and even let him go. Only Guo Songling had stricter requirements on him.

It is true that Guo Songling is an outstanding and excellent instructor, but this is not the only thing that impressed Zhang Xueliang.Zhang Xueliang is a playboy who lives a romantic life and indulges in pleasure, while Guo Songling is a knowledgeable, studious and thoughtful academic soldier who is strict with himself and has a high style. This complementary personality makes Zhang Xueliang fall in love with him very quickly and respect him Treating him as a teacher and treating him as a friend has established a relationship of trust. A year later, Zhang Xueliang graduated from the lecture hall, and was appointed by Zhang Zuolin as the brigade commander of the guard brigade.The first thing Zhang Xueliang did after taking office was to transfer Guo Songling to be the chief of staff and concurrently the head of the 2nd regiment. Guo Songling also became a military officer and was promoted repeatedly in his military career.

Guo Songling has a rectangular face, slightly dark, tall, with piercing eyes. He was nicknamed "Guo Guizi" and has great ambitions in his life.Regardless of spring, summer, autumn and winter, Guo Songling is always in uniform, lives a simple life, and has always been well-organized.In his normal life, he always has a serious face, and he does not show color to others.Guo Songling's wife, Han Shuxiu, was a graduate of Yenching University, and she was close friends with Feng Yuxiang's wife, Li Dequan, which laid the groundwork for what happened later. After the Zhiwan War, Zhang Xueliang served as the brigade commander of the 3rd Mixed Brigade of the Fengtian Army, and Guo Songling served as the brigade commander of the 8th Brigade. Because Zhang Xueliang held other positions, the two brigades worked together, and their training and personnel management were all handed over. Guo Songling was in charge, and people at that time called it the "38th Brigade".During this period, the relationship between Zhang Xueliang and Guo Songling was very close. Zhang Xueliang was suspicious of Guo Songling, and he had no doubts about employing people. He completely let Guo Songling train the army; and Guo Songling also sincerely supported Zhang Xueliang and obeyed him. .Just like the relationship between Cao Kun and Wu Peifu, Zhang Xueliang often said: "Guo Maochen is me, and I am Guo Maochen." Zhang Xueliang basically supported Guo Songling's decisions and actions.

Fengjun was defeated by Wu Peifu in the first Zhifeng War, but the "38th Brigade" performed well, which also won Zhang Zuolin's great attention.After the defeat of Zhifeng in the First World War, Zhang Zuolin reorganized his army and prepared military forces. One of his measures was to build the troops of Zhang Xueliang and Guo Songling into the trump card army of Fengjun, which was later the "One and Three Allied Forces".Since Guo Songling rose to the top thanks to the young commander Zhang Xueliang, the rise of his faction will inevitably lead to conflicts with other old factions.

The Feng Faction at that time could be divided into three factions: the first faction was the "Green Forest Veteran School", such as Zhang Zuoxiang, Zhang Jinghui, Tang Yulin and others. They were originally a group of green forest heroes transformed into military veterans. The status is deeply rooted; the second faction is the "Japanese non-commissioned officer faction", such as Yang Yuting, Jiang Dengxuan, Han Linchun and others. It is not uncommon to see people in China, such as Li Liejun, Cai E, Yan Xishan, etc., can all be included in this faction; the third faction is the "Beiyang Lu Da faction" headed by Guo Songling. This faction includes both Army University graduates, It also includes students trained by the "Northeast Martial Arts Hall", among them are Wei Yisan, Liu Wei and other mid-to-high-ranking generals.

From ancient times to the present, Chinese people like to form cliques when they are together. It can be said that there are parties everywhere and factions everywhere;The same is true for Feng Jun.As a rising star, members of Guo Songling's faction were young, aggressive, and advanced in thinking, so they inevitably had conflicts with those "Green Forest Veterans" and "Japanese Non-commissioned Officers".After all, the "Green Forest Veterans Faction" and the "Japanese Non-commissioned Officer Faction" were already in power at that time. If people from Guo Songling's faction wanted to take power, it would inevitably arouse the vigilance and resentment of the other two factions.

Among these people, Guo Songling and Yang Yuting have the most conflicts, because they are both headstrong and proud of their talents, and no one takes the other seriously.At that time, Yang Yuting served as the General Councilor and Chief of Staff of the Fengjun. Whether it was government affairs or military affairs, Zhang Zuolin relied heavily on him. He obeyed his words and was a very prominent figure in the Fengjun. .The political views of the two have always been at odds, and they have deep grievances due to their usual struggle for power. After the second Zhifeng war, Li Jinglin became the supervisor of Zhili, Zhang Zongchang became the supervisor of Shandong, Yang Yuting became the supervisor of Jiangsu, and Jiang Dengxuan became the supervisor of Anhui. Guo Songling, who contributed the most, was in the middle of the land distribution after the war. No income.Zhang Zuolin originally planned to arrange Jiang Dengxuan as Jiangsu supervisor and Guo Songling as Anhui supervisor, but Yang Yuting suddenly jumped out and snatched the position of Jiangsu supervisor, so Jiang Dengxuan replaced Guo Songling as Anhui supervisor.

According to Zhang Zuolin's idea, it is true that seniority is the traditional way to take care of old comrades first, but for Guo Songling's group, this is unfair rewards, which aroused their strong dissatisfaction.Prior to this, Guo Songling had sent a brigade to Bengbu, Anhui and was ready to serve as the supervisor of Anhui. Who knew that in the end, it would be a bamboo basket to fetch water-in vain, and the anger in his heart can be imagined. Zhang Xueliang also understood Guo Songling's mood at the time. He recalled afterwards, "Guo Songling didn't distribute the power. Guo Songling himself told me, and he said, it's my bad luck to be your subordinate. Everyone else got up, and they were all warlords." Not only do I not have an overseer, but I am still a deputy under you. But you are suppressed by your father, I am unlucky. In other words, at that time, it was my army that required people to fight and work, but asking for credit and receiving rewards is not Me." In order to comfort Guo Songling, Zhang Xueliang asked Guo Songling's chief of staff, Wei Yisan, to pass on the message: "In the future, if he (Guo Songling) wants a territory, Heilongjiang and Jilin will let him choose. However, now is not the right time, and we still need to be less restless, and then we will be sure." We will solve this problem." However, Guo Songling couldn't bear it at this time and didn't want to wait any longer.

After the Second Zhifeng War, most of the troops who went to various places to occupy the territory were the secondary troops of Fengjun. One division, two brigades, two artillery brigades, and one extra-processing regiment, with a strength of 75,000 men, are the most elite part of Fengjun, and the military power is held by Zhang Xueliang and Guo Songling's deputy.Zhang Xueliang has too many concurrent positions, and the military power is actually in the hands of Guo Songling. Due to the special relationship between Guo Songling's wife Han Shuxiu and Feng Yuxiang's wife Li Dequan (according to Zhang Xueliang, the contact between Guo Songling and Feng Yuxiang was carried out through the two wives), Feng Yuxiang's "Beijing coup" will inevitably have an impact on Guo Songling.Guo Songling is different from ordinary Beiyang soldiers. He participated in the revolution during the Revolution of 1911, and his experience was similar to that of Feng Yuxiang, so he was not used to the style of warlords.In addition, after Feng Yuxiang successfully defected, his power expanded rapidly, which actually set an example for Guo Songling.Comparatively speaking, Guo Songling's status and strength in the Fengjun are far superior to Feng Yuxiang's in the direct lineage. Since Feng Yuxiang can achieve such a great success, he will also engage in "anti-Feng and Zhang" and become a Northeast leader himself. Wang, the odds of winning should be great.

It is said that there is another reason for Guo Songling's defection, that is, when he was sent to Japan to watch the exercises, he accidentally learned of the secret agreement between Japan and Zhang Zuolin, and angrily defected out of patriotic enthusiasm.Feng Yuxiang also sent his subordinate Han Fuju to watch the exercises in Japan this time, so Guo Songling reached a secret agreement of seven offensive and defensive alliances with Feng Yuxiang through Han Fuju, and they jointly fought back.At the same time, Guo Songling reached a tacit agreement with Li Jinglin, another Feng faction who was also excluded, and was ready to cooperate.

On November 22, 1925, Zhang Zuolin suddenly called Guo Songling to return to Shenyang to discuss the battle against Feng Yuxiang's national army.Guo Songling thought that the matter had been leaked and the time was too late to wait, so he decided to turn against Feng at the right time, and sent three telegrams on the same day, announcing the refusal of the war, and asked Zhang Zuolin to step down, ask Zhang Xueliang to take charge, and severely punish the culprit of the main war, Yang Yuting. That night, Guo Songling convened a military meeting in Luanzhou. Nearly a hundred officers from the "First and Third Allied Forces" attended the meeting. Guo's wife Han Shuxiu also attended the meeting.At that time, the atmosphere of the venue was tense and the guards were heavily guarded. The guards were armed with live ammunition and patrolled back and forth.After Guo Songling announced that he would "reverse Feng and Zhang", all division commanders, brigade commanders, and regimental commanders who were willing to participate were invited to sign the war participation letter, and those who did not sign were not forced to do so. Due to the sudden incident, these middle and senior military officers looked at each other in blank dismay, at a loss.In the end, Qi Enming, Pei Chunsheng and other four division commanders publicly expressed their opposition. Later, these people were sent to Li Jinglin for house arrest, and most of the others signed the war participation letter, expressing their willingness to follow Guo Songling and turn against him. The news of Guo Songling's defection was like a blockbuster, which almost stunned Zhang Zuolin. Zhang Xueliang was also very surprised and couldn't believe his ears.At that time, Zhang Xueliang was busy trying to appease the Bohai Fleet, so he really didn't expect Guo Songling to mess with him like this behind his back.What's more terrible is that Guo Songling initially opposed Feng in the name of "Qingjun side" and "supporting Zhang Xueliang's administration", which made Zhang Xueliang even more passive. On the night of November 24th, Zhang Xueliang went south by train, but because the land route was blocked, he changed to arrive at Qinhuangdao by sea. He first sent his Japanese consultant Makoto Makoto to talk on the phone with the Japanese doctor Fukumatsu Morita who treated Guo Songling in Luanzhou. I hoped to meet Guo Songling once in person, but was declined. In desperation, Zhang Xueliang had no choice but to ask someone to send Guo Songling a personal letter, which said: "Brother's kindness, support Liang to come to power, but I can't betray the righteousness of my friends, how can I forget my righteousness and betray myself?" What about my father? So brother, who is said to rule and manage the three provinces, can do it for himself, even if I die, I dare not accept my order, lest I be reprimanded as disobedient through the ages." Although Zhang Xueliang has repeatedly assured Guo Songling that as long as the military operations are stopped, he will be responsible for all aftermath issues, but Guo Songling has already opened the bow and has no turning back at this time, and there is no second way of retreat except to move forward.Under such circumstances, the two sides can only fight each other and compete on the battlefield. Compared with Zhang Zuolin, Guo Songling is not safe in terms of political strategy.For example, Guo Songling declared that he wanted to "clear the emperor's side" and "support the young commander in chief" this time, and Zhang Zuolin followed suit, and soon dismissed Yang Yuting for investigation and sent Zhang Xueliang to appease him.However, the fact that Guo Songling refused to meet with Zhang Xueliang was tantamount to not asking for it. Not only did his two appeals disappear invisibly, but he made his duplicity of Sima Zhao's heart known to all soldiers.After all, it is not only a violation of the basic principles of human relations in China, but it is also not wise in terms of tactics, and it is also a kind of disloyalty and injustice to lead the soldiers of the young commander to persecute the "old commander". shameless act. In dealing with the relationship with other Fengjun generals, Guo Songling is also self-willed and aggressive.For example, killing Jiang Dengxuan, a general of the Feng Dynasty, is an example.Jiang Dengxuan is an important member of the "noncommissioned officer faction". This person has always been taciturn, calm and peaceful, and is very popular among Fengjun.However, Guo Songling had conflicts with him in the second Zhifeng War. Jiang Dengxuan also sued Guo Songling in front of Zhang Zuolin, and Guo Songling held a grudge.On the issue of the Anhui supervisor, although Jiang Dengxuan squeezed out Guo Songling as the supervisor, the reason was not that Jiang Dengxuan wanted to snatch it, but because Yang Yuting snatched the Jiangsu supervisor who should have been appointed by him. Yang Yuting should be mainly blamed for this matter. Instead of venting his anger on Jiang Dengxuan.However, after Sun Chuanfang's army captured Jiangsu and Anhui, Jiang Dengxuan was stopped by Guo Songling on his way back to Fengtian and ordered to be shot on the pretext of "warning the militarists". To say that Jiang Dengxuan was "military" is obviously a bit of a big hat, but shooting and killing an army general without trial made the people in the Fengjun panic and everyone felt insecure.Guo Songling's approach of threatening revenge and disregarding human life is really a stupid move to add points to the opponent and reduce points to himself.According to the author's speculation, although Guo Songling killed Jiang Dengxuan because of personal suspicion, it is likely that Jiang Dengxuan was used to "sacrifice the flag" to show his determination to "advance without retreat" (it can also put an end to luck). The army led by Guo Songling is the most elite of the Feng army. Less than half a month after the announcement of the uprising, Guo Jun defeated the guards of Zhang Zuoxiang, Ji Jinchun, and Zhang Xueliang one after another and occupied Jinzhou. Just around the corner.It is a pity that due to the excessive speed of advancing troops and logistical reasons, Guo Jun was exhausted, and Guo Songling had to order the troops to rest in Jinzhou for three days.Because Guo Jun failed to chase the poor bandits fiercely, Feng Jun got precious breathing time, and reinforcements from Jilin and other areas also arrived continuously at this time, which was extremely unfavorable to Guo Songling. More importantly, Zhang Zuolin took advantage of this opportunity to step up his collusion with Japan, and he did not hesitate to sign a secret agreement to gain the support of the Japanese Kwantung Army.After Guo Songling rebelled, the Japanese side was also extremely concerned. They sent representatives to Zhang Zuolin and Guo Songling to inquire, hoping to obtain information that would be beneficial to them.In this regard, Guo Songling only hoped that Japan would remain neutral, and did not agree to their request for aggression; Zhang Zuolin, under the shadow of failure, put all his eggs in one basket and agreed to Japan's request for land lease and mixed residence in Manchuria, on condition that the Japanese Kwantung Army assisted Feng Jun defeated Guo Songling's troops. After receiving Zhang Zuolin's guarantee, Japan immediately mobilized troops to the northeast and warned Guo Songling's troops not to enter within 20 miles of the South-Manchuria Railway, otherwise the Kwantung Army would take extraordinary measures.In other words, the east of the South-Manchuria Railway became Zhang Zuolin's safe zone, while Guo Songling's troops could only go north along Jinzhou to attack Shenyang.Not only that, the Japanese Kwantung Army also spied on Zhang Zuolin's military situation, guided targets, and even sent Japanese troops to wear Fengjun uniforms to help Zhang Zuolin fight. Under such circumstances, after Guo Songling's troops went north to occupy Xinmin, they fought a decisive battle with the Feng army in the Juliu River area north of Shenyang.Since the Feng army was waiting for work at leisure, with the help of the air force and the cavalry of the brigade, Guo Songling's troops had traveled for a long time and had insufficient supplies. At this time, they were at the end of their strength.Under Feng Jun's fierce attack, Guo Songling's troops collapsed across the board, and the rear headquarters was also surrounded by Wu Junsheng's cavalry.Two days later, Guo Songling and his wife led a small number of entourages to escape from Baiqi Fort, but were soon overtaken by the cavalry of Fengjun Wang Yongqing.In the chaos, Lin Changmin, Guo Songling's entourage and aide, was shot to death. Another important aide, Rao Hanxiang, fled in the chaos, but Guo Songling and his wife disappeared. It is worth mentioning that Lin Changmin was a well-known political activist in the early years of the Republic of China. He was already a star figure when he was studying in Japan, and he was very famous among foreign students.It is a pity that the political arena of the Republic of China was based on the barrel of a gun. People like Lin Changmin and Liang Qichao had wisdom and ideals, even though they organized one after another political parties such as the "Friends of the Constitution" and the "Progressive Party" Important positions such as the secretary general of the Senate and the minister of justice, but after all, they depend on others, and they are hard to pay for their ambitions.During the May 4th Movement that year, it was Lin Changmin, then chief of affairs of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Presidential Office, who first disclosed the news of the failure of diplomacy in Beijing's "Morning News", which eventually caused an uproar.After Guo Songling raised an army, Lin Changmin was invited by Guo Zhi and gladly entered the scene, but it was a pity that he suffered such a disastrous defeat and died in the rebellion.Lin Changmin was a native of Minhou, Fujian. He had a daughter named Lin Huiyin, who had a son-in-law named Liang Sicheng (son of Liang Qichao). They were all talented men and women in the Republic of China. Another staff member, Rao Hanxiang, was also unwilling to be lonely. He was originally the main staff member of President Li Yuanhong.After Li Yuanhong failed and quit the political arena, Rao Hanxiang also retired with him. Perhaps he was thinking about moving for a long time. This time he also participated in Guo Songling's rebellion and drafted many telegrams for it.After Guo Songling was defeated, Rao Hanxiang escaped by chance and died two years after returning home. As for Guo Songling and his wife, they hid in a farmer's vegetable cellar at that time, but they were reported later, and they were both arrested.After the report was approved by Zhang Zuolin, Guo Songling and his wife were shot dead on the banks of the Liaohe River on December 25.Before the execution, Guo Songling said: "I advocate righteousness, but it doesn't help, and death is a fixed point." His wife Han Shuxiu said: "My husband died for the country, and I died for my husband. My husband and wife can have no regrets!" The day Guo Songling and his wife were killed happened to be Christmas in the West, and the land outside the pass was covered with snow and the wind was whimpering.That year, Guo Songling was 42 years old and Han Shuxiu was 34 years old. It should be said that Guo Songling's failure was not accidental when he took the Zhang family's soldiers to rebel against the old Zhang family.In the early years of the Republic of China, traditional Chinese concepts such as "lord, minister, subject", "loyalty, filial piety" and other "feudal morality" were still the mainstream at that time. Zhang Zuolin had run the Northeast for decades. Xiang, still in the old Zhang family, which can be seen from the fact that Guo Songling's troops continued to defect to Fengjun during his march.Since Guo Songling couldn't win Fengtian in one go, his defeat in Maicheng should be a certainty. Guo Songling's failure was also to blame for his wife's agitation. It is true that "a woman who is ambitious but a man has no decision, her family will be destroyed."After Guo Songling and his wife were killed, Zhang Zuolin ordered his body to be dragged to Shenyang for three days, and then Zhang Xueliang sent someone to take him in and cremate him.Afterwards, Zhang Xueliang also felt very sad, but he also thought that Guo Songling was too irritable, just like Guo Songling himself said: "reckless, domineering and infringing rights." In fact, Zhang Xueliang also saw that Guo Songling was about to rebel. But he was too confident, thinking that Guo Songling didn't dare to do this, even if he rebelled, he could stop it, but it happened in the end. It took only one month for Guo Songling to start the army and fail. His experience was like a shining meteor across the night sky. Although it was a flash in the pan, it left a dignified mark in history.Guo Songling's failure was not only his personal tragedy, but also a heavy blow to Zhang Zuolin and his son.Zhang Zuolin originally hoped to rely on the elite teachers of Zhang Xueliang and Guo Songling to help him achieve the great cause of unification by force, but Guo Songling's rebellion shattered this dream.As a result, the Feng family has turned from prosperity to decline, and its spirit is not as good as before.