Chapter 29 29. Xu Shuzheng: Born with talent, but died unexpectedly

There were several very talented figures in the Republic of China, and Xu Shuzheng was one of them.Xu Shuzheng, a native of Xiaoxian County, Jiangsu Province, was extremely intelligent since he was a child. He could read at the age of three, was able to write poetry at the age of seven, and was a scholar at the age of thirteen. He was known as a "child prodigy".It is said that there was an old gentleman who played chess very well, and thought he was invincible all over the world. In a moment of conceit, he nailed the "general" to the chessboard, thinking that no one could shake it.After Xu Shuzheng heard about it, he went to play chess with him. After a fierce fight between the two sides, the old man was forced to find an ax to pick up nails temporarily, so that he could "general" leave his original position, which was passed as a joke for a while.That year, Xu Shuzheng was only eleven years old.

There are many thousand-mile horses in the world, but Bole does not often have them, but Xu Shuzheng is quite lucky, he met his own Bole Duan Qirui. In 1901, when Duan Qirui was visiting an inn in Jinan, he came across Xu Shuzheng, who was 22 years old. According to Duan Qirui’s recollection: “When I visited the hotel, I saw a young man writing a couplet in the hall, and his writing was quite vigorous. It's already cold in winter, and the imperial gown is still worn, but the air is imposing, and there is no shabby atmosphere... I have a long talk with him, and we have a deep understanding, so I invite you."

Xu Shuzheng first worked as a secretary under Duan Qirui, and was later sent to Japan to study at a non-commissioned officer school.After returning to China, Xu Shuzheng immediately skyrocketed and became the first celebrity in front of Lao Duan.Everyone in Duan's residence said that Lao Duan was promoted by Yuan alone, and Lao Duan promoted Xiao Xu just like Yuan Shikai promoted himself back then, even worse. For example, in the early years of the Republic of China, when the old Duan was the chief of the army, Xu Shuzheng was the deputy chief, and there was another deputy chief, Jiang Zuobin, but Xu Shuzheng had the final say on all matters in the Army Department. What I say doesn't necessarily mean anything, because Xiao Xu always says what he says in front of Lao Duan and is never dismissed; but Xiao Xu doesn't necessarily follow what Lao Duan ordered.Once an old subordinate of Duan Qirui was dismissed by the army, and he was too poor to come to Duan and ask for an errand.The old Duan saw that he was pitiful, so he agreed and handed it over to Xu Shuzheng to handle it.Unexpectedly, Xu Shuzheng later signed and submitted it, saying, "It's useless to check this person, criticize it, and verify it."

According to people around Duan Qirui, when Xu Shuzheng went to Duan's mansion, he always came and saw him whenever he came.Those people in the Duan Mansion hid away when they saw Xiao Xu, because everyone knew that he had a bad temper, was picky, like a vicious wolf and a tiger, he would give you a face-to-face rebuke, and the younger one would be reprimanded If it's not done well, as soon as he told Lao Duan, he would lose his job.Others are still flexible, but with Xu Shuzheng, he has always kept promises, so no one wants to touch him. The old Duan usually met guests in the outer living room, but Xiao Xu usually went straight into the inner living room, and only talked about business, said a few words, and left after explaining.He seldom participated in the banquets of the mansion, and he didn't often play cards with Lao Duan. As usual, he was doing business with a very serious attitude.Because of this, not only the people in Duan's mansion held a respectful attitude towards Xu Shuzheng, but also the cronies around the old Duan, and those dignitaries in the military and political circles also hated Xiao Xu very much.In some matters, everyone avoids him and is unwilling to let him participate, because as soon as Xu Shuzheng gets involved, he will be dictatorial and listen to him alone.

Some people may find it strange, why does Lao Duan trust Xiao Xu so much?It turned out that Xiao Xu was not only loyal to Lao Duan and wholeheartedly protecting Lao Duan, but also really knowledgeable, capable and talented.Xu Shuzheng wrote Duan Qirui's lead in the Wuchang Uprising to issue the Gonghe Telegram. Xu Shuzheng's planning and participation were indispensable for opposing Yuan Shikai's proclaiming emperor and Zhang Xun's restoration. Xu Shuzheng's memory is excellent, it can almost be said that he has a photographic memory. Whether it is official documents or regulations, he reads them quickly and remembers them familiarly. Whenever the old Duan asks him, he can always answer fluently. If anyone does not believe it, find out. There is a pair of official documents, word for word.So everyone in the Duan Mansion said: "This is someone who is talented. Do you think the old man doesn't like it?"

According to the recollection of Chen Tiaoyuan, a general of the Republic of China, when he was the commander of the 74th Beiyang Mixed Brigade, he once came to Beijing for business and met Xu Shuzheng at a banquet hosted by a friend.After being introduced by a friend, Xu Shuzheng said that he had seen his official documents, and told him how many guns, how many bullets, and how much military pay he asked for.Chen Tiaoyuan was very surprised when he heard it, because he himself did not remember it as clearly as Xu Shuzheng.A few days later, Chen Tiaoyuan visited Xu Shuzheng at the Ministry of the Army, and saw that Xu Shuzheng was still approving official documents while talking with him, when the phone rang again, and Xu Shuzheng picked up the receiver to answer the call, just as Chen Tiaoyuan stopped talking unconsciously. When he got down, Xu Shuzheng signaled to him: "It's okay, you continue to talk." After returning, Chen Tiaoyuan said to everyone that Xu Shuzheng's five senses were used.

Talent belongs to talent, but most talented people in the world have a stinking problem of being arrogant about their talents.After Yuan Shikai's death, when Duan Qirui was the Prime Minister and Xu Shuzheng was the Secretary-General of the State Council, there were fierce conflicts with Li Yuanhong's presidential palace.According to the provisions of the contract, the major events decided by the State Council should be submitted to the presidential palace, and the president will seal and announce them.Xu Shuzheng is the Secretary-General of the State Council, so he often has to go back and forth between the State Council and the Presidential Palace to handle affairs, but this little Xu often does not explain the reasons for the incident to President Li, and just urges the President to stamp it quickly.If Li Yuanhong asked a few more questions, Xiao Xu would dare to confront him face to face when his temper came up.

Once, Xu Shuzheng came to ask the president to stamp the appointment letters of the three directors of Fujian Province. Li Yuanhong just asked a few words about the history of these three people, and Xiao Xu said impatiently: "Why does the president ask these questions? Please Hurry up and seal it, I am very busy!" Li Yuanhong was so angry that he was almost dead on the spot.When Xu Shuzheng left, Li Yuanhong said bitterly to his subordinates: "I didn't want to be a president, but look at how far these people have no president!" Xu Shuzheng not only does not take people in the presidential palace seriously, but even within the State Council, he often asserts himself and overrides his colleagues. For example, Sun Hongyi, the chief of internal affairs, had many conflicts with him.Sun Hongyi was a well-known Constitutionalist in the late Qing Dynasty. He gained a lot of limelight in the upsurge of forming a party in the early Republic of China. At this time, his relationship with President Li and Vice President Feng was on fire, and naturally he had conflicts with Lao Duan and Xiao Xu.Xu Shuzheng is strong in the old Duan's trust. It is well known in the State Council that he can cover the sky with one hand, but he met Sun Hongyi, who is also a friend with high eyesight and low power. He is competitive and has a lot of political energy. Together, it is almost "everyday is in fire".

Lao Sun is from Zhili, ten years older than Xiao Xu, so he is not used to Xiao Xu's arrogance.Needless to say the daily quarrel between the two, here are a few big conflicts.The first conflict was caused by Xu Shuzheng arbitrarily issuing an order in the name of the State Council, ordering the troops of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, and Hunan to suppress and protect Li Liejun's troops in the Chinese army.Originally, this matter had been discussed at the state affairs meeting, and the decision was to call for mediation, but Xiao Xu drew up a crusade order privately and gave it to President Li to seal, but it was rejected.In a fit of rage, Xiao Xu issued the crusade order in the name of the State Council without authorization, which caused an uproar among other cabinet members.

Immediately afterwards, in late August, the House of Representatives transferred a bill proposed by Hunan lawmakers to the State Council, in which it requested investigations against Hu Ruilin, the current governor of Fujian Province, on the grounds that he had corruption and other misdemeanors when he was the director of Hunan Finance Department.Hu Ruilin is from the Anhui Department. After receiving the motion, Xu Shuzheng defended Hu Ruilin in the name of the State Council without authorization, and rejected the motion. Sun Hongyi was very annoyed when he learned about it. He went to Lao Duan angrily and said, "The issue of disciplinary action against the Chief Civil Affairs Officer belongs to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. I don't know anything about the matters I am in charge of. What kind of royal law is this? If the Secretary The chief can take care of everything, so why do I, the chief of internal affairs, still do it?" After such a fuss, the old Duan also felt that this matter was absurd, and then ordered Xiao Xu to recover the message. Xu Shuzheng agreed on the surface, but in fact he refused. Let it go.

A month later, in order to rectify the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Sun Hongyi laid off more than 30 staff members in the Ministry.Since most of these retrenched persons had some kind of relationship with the leaders of the Beiyang faction, how could they let it go, and Xu Shuzheng also wanted to use them to get Sun Hongyi down, so he urged them to appeal to the Pingzhengyuan.As a result, the Pingzhengyuan ruled to revoke the original order of the Ministry of the Interior, and those who were dismissed still went back to work. The Pingzhengyuan was a political arbitration structure established during Yuan Shikai’s period. Sun Hongyi not only did not accept such a ruling, but instead believed that the Pingzhengyuan was an illegal institution. He then planned to submit the case to the National Assembly for deliberation.Xu Shuzheng was afraid that the Congress would accept Sun Hongyi's opinion, so he decided to act first. After Lao Duan's consent, he drew up an order to implement the Pingzhengyuan's ruling, and prepared to submit it to the Presidential Palace for approval. Xu Shuzheng's order was not only refused to countersign by Sun Hongyi, the Minister of Internal Affairs, but President Li also refused to affix his seal. Repeated disputes between the government and the court caused political turmoil.Lao Duan has been very dissatisfied with Sun Hongyi since last time, so he secretly sent a message to Sun Hongyi to let him resign.However, Sun Hongyi not only believed that he was not wrong, but also had a very tough tone and refused to resign. In a rage, Lao Duan issued an order to dismiss Sun Hongyi and asked Xiao Xu to stamp it on President Li.President Li was very shocked after seeing it, and resolutely refused to use the seal.Xu Shuzheng went back and forth four times for this matter, and President Li refused four times in a row, refusing to give in at all.The last time, Xu Shuzheng threatened Li Yuanhong and said: "It's okay if the president refuses to affix his seal. We will not allow Sun Hongyi to participate in the state affairs meeting in the future!" President Li was furious: "What are you talking about?!" Xu Shuzheng sneered: "What are you talking about?" These are the exact words of Prime Minister Duan!" At the end of the quarrel, Li Yuanhong had to invite Xu Shichang, the big brother of the Beiyang faction, to mediate, and finally Sun Hongyi and Xu Shuzheng were dismissed at the same time. Later, Li Yuanhong and Duan Qirui's "dispute between the government and the court" became even more turbulent, and Duan Qirui took advantage of the "restoration of Zhang Xun" to drive away Li Yuanhong and take power alone.During this period, Xu Shuzheng did a major event, which was to recover Mongolia, which had declared independence during the Revolution of 1911.The whole story is like this, the sound of the Russian "October Revolution" not only brought Marxism-Leninism to China, but also provided an opportunity to solve the Mongolian issue.After Xu Shuzheng was appointed as the Northwest Frontier Envoy and Commander-in-Chief of the Northwest Frontier Defense Force, he led his troops into Outer Mongolia in October 1919 and forced it to cancel its autonomy and return to China.For this reason, Sun Yat-sen also sent a congratulatory message: "There has been no Banchao Fu Jiezi in our country for a long time. The deacon (referring to Xu) built this miracle in ten days. It is unknown which one will heal the ancients?" Xu Shuzheng's handwriting is beautiful and his literary talent is also very good. A trial recording of "Nian Nujiao·Jia" he wrote in Kulun is as follows: After Sun Yat-sen's death in 1925, Xu Shuzheng, who was investigating in Europe, sent back an elegiac couplet by telegram: Which one of the centuries-old government is the first of the people? , I don't know how many people are called emperors and how many people are called kings.The first sentence of this couplet is from "The Analects of Confucius·Zilu", and the second sentence is from Cao Cao's "Rangxian Self-Ming Benzhi Order". According to the reporter Zhou You's record: "Mr. Zhongshan's funeral, the whole people mourned, the whole country flagged, and there were many elegiac words. At that time, Xu's couplet was considered the first. I asked Mr. Li Xiehe, Hu Zhantang, Wang Jingwei, and Zhang Puquan separately: Why did the literati and scholars in the Kuomintang flourish for a while, but there was no one? Lian Neng expressed Mr. Sun's thoughts, so that he could compete with Xu's? Although the answers they got were different, they all agreed that Xu's talent would be far beyond his reach." It's a pity that Xu Shuzheng also died that year, and it was an accidental death. This matter has to start with Lu Jianzhang.Like Duan Qirui and others, Lu Jianzhang is also a veteran of Xiaozhan, and has always been Yuan Shikai's confidant.After the fall of the Qing court, Lu Jianzhang served as the commander of the right-wing backup army (later changed to the guard army) and the director of the Beijing Military and Political Law Enforcement Department. He has always been merciless to dissidents. ".During the "White Wolf" Rebellion in the early years of the Republic of China, Lu Jianzhang led his troops into Shaanxi and served as a military governor. After Yuan Shikai failed to proclaim himself emperor, Lu Jianzhang was kicked out of Shaanxi territory. , E, contribute to the peace talks. At this time, Xu Shuzheng, who was helping Duan Qirui to implement the policy of unification of force, was very annoyed by Lu Jianzhang's behind-the-scenes actions, so he invited him to the Fengjun Command in Tianjin (Xiao Xu was having a hot fight with Zhang Zuolin at this time, and was appointed as the head of the customs office. Fengjun Deputy Commander) talk.Lu Jianzhang also knew that Xiao Xu had bad intentions, but he thought that he was also Duan Qirui's peer, so it wouldn't matter if he went. After entering the camp, Xu Shuzheng began to greet him kindly, and everyone talked and laughed as before.When the banquet was halfway through, Xu Shuzheng suddenly said to Lu Jianzhang: "There is a garden at the back, and the scenery inside is very good. I would like to invite you to go in for a walk and talk about some private matters."Unexpectedly, after the two entered, Xu Shuzheng immediately turned his face and shouted sharply: "Do you know the crime?" Lu Jianzhang was shocked and said, "What is my crime?" Xu Shuzheng scolded: "You are a lackey for the south, running around all day long Going west, talking about peace talks, and undermining Premier Duan's unified policy, how dare you say that you are innocent?" Lu Jianzhang sneered and said, "I'm not the only one who is in charge of harmony. Could it be that I should be blamed?" When Lu Jianzhang was tied up, Lu Jianzhang saw that the situation was not good, and hurriedly changed his intention to work for Premier Duan, but Xiao Xu completely ignored it, took out his pistol and shot the former majestic General Lu himself. Afterwards, Xu Shuzheng said that Lu Jianzhang "blatantly blatantly blasphemed and played upside down. He would rather overthrow the country than realize it. He is a traitor in the army. If he is not cleared up early, he will bring trouble to his descendants. He should be executed on the spot. Hidden danger. In addition to examining the corpse of the officer and burying him in the coffin properly, and waiting for the family to accept the burial, I hereby report, please deprive the officer of his military post, and use Zhao's law." Xu Shuzheng acted recklessly and murdered General Lu Jianzhang. This move was truly daring.When the news came out, the whole country was shocked. Even Duan Qirui was so shocked that he didn't speak for a long time when he heard the news, and then he asked people to send five thousand oceans to Lu Jianzhang's family as a token of condolence.Feng Guozhang only found out about this when he received the order to remove the Lu Jianzhang Medal. It is said that Feng Guozhang refused to seal the order at first, and angrily said to his subordinates: "Look, how absurd this is! Xu Shuzheng Doesn't Zhiquan care about such nonsense?" When is it time to repay the injustice, and Xu Shuzheng also got killed because of this, although it was seven years later.It turned out that Liu Dezhen, the married wife of General Feng Yuxiang of the National Army, and her aunt was Lu Jianzhang's wife. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, Lu Jianzhang not only married his niece to Feng Yuxiang, but also promoted Feng Yuxiang many times, with great kindness. When Lu Jianzhang was killed in 1918, Feng Yuxiang was not powerful enough, but after launching the "Beijing Coup" in 1924, he had become an extremely prominent figure, and he obviously would not forget this enmity. At the end of 1925, after Duan Qirui became the interim ruling, Xu Shuzheng, who had been traveling abroad, also returned to China excitedly, and was active in Beijing.However, the Beijing-Tianjin area was under the control of Feng Yuxiang's national army, and the atmosphere at that time was very unfavorable to Xu Shuzheng.Duan Qirui also seemed to feel something, as soon as he saw Xu Shuzheng, he said, "What are you doing back now?" After speaking, the old Duan drove him away quickly. But Xiao Xu didn't take it seriously. He stayed in Beijing for nearly half a month before preparing to go south to Shanghai via Tianjin, but on the way to Tianjin, Xu Shuzheng was assassinated at Langfang Station.It is said that when Lu Zhonglin detected the news that Xu Shuzheng was going to leave Beijing, he made a long-distance call to Feng Yuxiang who was stationed in Zhangjiakou, but Feng Yuxiang did not say anything at that time.Two hours later, Feng Yuxiang suddenly called Lu Zhonglin: "The way to deal with Xu Shuzheng is to arrest and shoot him!" Lu Zhonglin hesitated for a moment and said, "Is this a big problem?" Feng Yuxiang replied sharply: " The sky is falling, and there are pillars following it!" Later, Lu Zhonglin transferred the order to Zhang Zhijiang stationed in Langfang by phone, asking him to carry out this task.Zhang Zhijiang said: "This is a very important matter, you should not be reckless!" Lu Zhonglin said: "This is an order!" So Zhang Zhijiang sent the guards to the station to wait. According to Xu Ying, Xu Shuzheng's daughter, in "Father General Xu Shuzheng's Military Strategy", after Xu Shuzheng's special car arrived in Langfang, Zhang Zhijiang's chief of staff boarded the car with Zhang's business card, saying that Commander Zhang asked Xu to get off the car for a while.Xu Shuzheng refused to get out of the car for fear of accidents.After hearing this, the chief of staff immediately became stern, and ordered the accompanying soldiers to forcibly escort Xu Shuzheng out of the car, and the accompanying entourage were also driven out of the car.Not long after arriving at Zhang Zhijiang's headquarters, several gunshots were heard suddenly, and Xu Shuzheng was killed. What is even more bizarre is that Lu Zhonglin sent someone to send Lu Jianzhang's son Lu Chengwu from Tianjin to Langfang that night, and then asked him to play the role of avenging his father, so as to eliminate the connection between the matter and the National Army.No matter who did it, all in all, Xu Shuzheng, who was extremely talented but domineering in the early years of the Republic of China, is dead. After Xu Shuzheng's death, his body was transported to Beijing by one of his guards in a mule cart. While weeping bitterly, Duan Qirui bought an excellent coffin for burial.At the funeral, the former president Xu Shichang sent a pair of elegiac couplets: "It is rumored that the road was robbed by soldiers, and every time it is said that it is difficult to cherish the generals." This pair of elegiac couplets seems ordinary, but the strange thing is that when Lu Jianzhang was killed by Xu Shuzheng, Xu Shichang also sent this elegiac couplet, presumably on purpose. What is even more bizarre is that after Xu Shuzheng returned from abroad, he visited Zhang Jian, the last number one scholar and famous industrialist in Nantong. At that time, the two discussed many current affairs and academic issues. Repeatedly said: "In the future, I will take Mr. Sie (Zhang Jian's name Sie'an) as my teacher." Xu Shuzheng loves Kunqu opera very much, and is good at the two roles of painted face and post Dan. He has shared the stage with Xu Lingyun, Xiang Xinwu, Yu Zhenfei and other famous actors. The poem said: "The general sings about the great Jiangdong, and the potential and Meilangjiao are two heroes." Not long after Xu Shuzheng left, Zhang Jian suddenly felt restless. One night, he suddenly dreamed that Xu Shuzheng came to say goodbye to him, and recited a desperate poem: "When will you say goodbye to Gongsheng? It's too late to part ways in light and darkness. The soldiers and horses missed me all the time." , Jiang Shengpao hates who knows?" After Zhang Jian woke up, he immediately got out of bed and wrote down the poem he heard in his dream.After reading it carefully, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous, thinking that "Xu Shuzheng must have an accident. Could it be that he came to have a dream with me?" Sure enough, the news that Xu Shuzheng was killed in Langfang came a few days later. Confucius once said, "A gentleman has three precepts. When he is young, his blood qi is still unsteady, so the abstinence lies in his lust; when he is strong, his blood qi is strong, and his blood qi is strong, and he is fighting; "It's a pity that most Chinese people don't take these words of the old master seriously, so whenever there are Chinese people, there will be internal strife; the constant internal strife is the real Chinese characteristic.