Chapter 21 Chapter 7 Guangdong Situation

After the Zhili and Fengli defeated the Wanli, they faced a very serious problem: how to divide the spoils?Especially the most important thing - the control of the Beijing government. The power of relying on the emperor to command the princes has been verified by the predecessor Cao Cao. Any ambitious person wants to do the same, but now there is only one "emperor" and two "Cao Cao". What should we do? The strengths of the two factions are equal, and no one is much stronger than the other. Therefore, the ultimate solution discussed by the two factions is: compromise with each other and take a step back.For example, if you occupy this part, you have to give me the other part.Of course, the direct line is more powerful than the Feng line, and the sweetness is also more.But generally speaking, the control power of the two parties to the government is not far apart, and the balance will not be lost.

As for the president, the two factions did not have a good candidate for the time being.Furthermore, letting one faction be president will not convince the other faction.Therefore, Xu Shichang, who was acceptable to both parties, had to continue to do the job of being a puppet president. But there is one thing that both factions automatically ignore, and that is the restoration of Congress and the Provisional Constitution.In the past, Duan Qirui even set up an "Anfu National Assembly" for fun and followed the formalities. Now Cao Kun and Zhang Zuolin don't even follow the formalism.

Sun Yat-sen saw it in his eyes and was anxious in his heart, so he repeatedly asked Chen Jiongming to lead the Guangdong army back to Guangdong to wipe out the Guangxi and Yunnan factions. He also wanted to go north again to "protect the Dharma". As a revolutionary, Chen Jiongming is more realistic.He knew that people would die in a war, and it was not a game of chess. If they lost, they could play another game.After losing a war, in most cases there is no chance of turning around.Of course, Mr. Sun's special case of "not afraid of losing, you can't die if you lose" is not under consideration.

Therefore, Chen Jiongming did not obey Sun Yat-sen's dispatch. Will not accept the order of the king outside.Although Sun Yat-sen was furious, there was nothing he could do. Chen Jiongming did not accept Sun Yat-sen's suggestion, mainly because he thought it was not time to act, not because he didn't want to lead his team back home, but in fact he was always looking for and waiting for an opportunity for him to make a big splash. When history entered the spring of 1920, Chen Jiongming's opportunity appeared. This matter has to start with the puppet government controlled by the Dian and Guangxi cliques—the Guangzhou military government.

Tang Jiyao of the Dian dynasty and Lu Rongting of the Guangxi dynasty were worried about each other, worried that the other party would control the military government, so they tried every means to install their own people and garrison troops in Guangdong. Comrade Cen Chunxuan, the chairman of the seven presidents of the Guangzhou military government, is Mr. Lu Rongting's genuine spokesperson for interests, and Mo Rongxin, the governor of Guangdong, is also Lu Rongting's younger brother. Compared with Lu Rongting, Tang Jiyao's influence in Guangdong was weaker. After all, this man was stealing, cheating, cheating, and not working hard during the war to protect the law, so naturally he gained less benefit when dividing the spoils afterwards.Even so, Tang Jiyao also arranged for a Yunnan army to be stationed in Guangdong.

In fact, this Yunnan Army, the Sixth Army of the Yasukuni Allied Forces, was not stationed in Guangdong by Tang Jiyao during the War to Protect the Law, but was brought into Guangdong by Comrade Li Liejun during the War to Protect the Nation. .Later, Yuan Shikai's rebels died in depression, and this army stayed in Guangdong.As for the reason for staying in Guangdong and not leaving, it is mainly because Mr. Tang has taken a fancy to the rich Guangdong. Tang Jiyao was based in Yunnan, commanded the army remotely to speak on his behalf in Guangdong, and lived a very comfortable life.Just when this kind of good life seemed to have no end in sight, Tang Jiyao did not expect that someone was already planning to attack this army.

This person is called Li Genyuan. He once participated in the League, launched the Revolution of 1911 in Yunnan, and participated in the War to Protect the Country. He is considered an old revolutionary.But the man was politically volatile and often changed bosses at different times in his career.Like this time, he planned to seek refuge with Lu Rongting, boss Lu of the Guangxi family, to make a living. In February 1920, Li Gengen paid a visit to Mr. Mo Rongxin, the governor of Guangdong.The host and guest held talks, which were held in a warm atmosphere. The two sides reviewed the traditional friendship over the years and exchanged views on issues of common interest.

Li Yuanyuan spoke highly of Mo Rongxin's outstanding contribution to the prosperity and strength of Guangdong Province, and indicated that Tang Jiyao, the governor of Yunnan, commanded the Sixth Army of the Yasukuni Allied Forces remotely. It is unreasonable and does not meet the actual needs. Command is. Mo Rongxin affirmed Li Gengen's contribution to promoting the establishment of mutual trust and cooperation between the two parties in the field of warlords, and asked the other party to help him swallow this army to make new contributions. Next, the two began to implement a plan to cannibalize this army.Under the operation of the Guangxi Clan, Li Genyuan became the supreme officer (commander) of this army, and gradually replaced Tang Jiyao's cronies as officers with his own people.

Faced with the Guangxi clique's poaching behavior, Tang Jiyao, who regarded guns like his life, reacted fiercely: he dismissed Li Gengen as army commander, and announced that he would directly command the Sixth Army of the Yasukuni Allied Forces, and Li Liejun would temporarily act as his agent. Looking back at those years, Cai E, Tang Jiyao, and Li Liejun joined forces to launch the War to Protect the Country, and they had a good friendship.Therefore, even though Li Liejun was from Sun Yat-sen, Tang Jiyao could still trust him.Furthermore, although Sun Yat-sen did not recognize the legitimacy of the Guangzhou military government, Li Liejun was still working in the military government as the chief of staff, taking care of the army for Sun Yat-sen and preventing Sun Yat-sen's people from having fun.

Faced with Tang Jiyao's counterattack, Li Genyuan naturally refused to stand still, so he pulled out some people loyal to him to fight with Li Liejun's Yunnan army headed by Zhu Peide (a classmate and friend of Commander Zhu De). Then Lu Rongting hinted that Mo Rongxin would join the war. Tang Jiyao also sent troops for reinforcements, and things got worse and worse. Fortunately, the skills of Cen Chunxuan and Xini are still there. Under his mediation, the two sides ceased fighting, Li Genyuan was dismissed, and the Yunnan faction withdrew from Guangdong. Since then, the Guangxi Clan has dominated Guangdong, so the military government naturally has no need to exist. Not to mention the duplication of functions with the Guangxi headquarters of the Guangxi Clan, it is not worth spending money to support a bunch of idlers.

What's more, during the war, officials of the military government had already run and fled, and the military government was only an empty shell.In particular, Wu Tingfang, Minister of Finance, took away the remaining cash of more than one million yuan when he fled, and later dedicated it to Sun Yat-sen. People are gone, money is gone, the Guangzhou military government collapsed, and the "extraordinary parliament" fell apart. The situation in Guangdong is in chaos. Chen Jiongming, who had been watching for a long time, finally made up his mind to act: Lu Rongting and Tang Jiyao, if you two want to be mantises and cicadas, don't blame me for being an oriole! Sun Yat-sen also saw this opportunity, so he sent Liao Zhongkai as the imperial envoy to urge Chen Jiongming to take this opportunity to lead the Cantonese army back to Guangdong, and promised to provide military support—Sun Yat-sen had just received the "sponsorship" from Wu Tingfang. Although Chen Jiongming's financial management ability is not good, he has a lot of crooked ideas for making money. He sent someone to Li Houji, the governor of Fujian Province, to send a message: If you give me a start-up fee, I will return to Guangdong immediately and give you my territory. what do you think?Li Houji was very willing to spend money to send the plague god away, so Chen Jiongming got another sum of money. On August 6, 1920, Chen Jiongming shouted the slogan that made the soldiers' blood boil "fight back to their hometown" and sent troops to Guangdong! The Guangdong-Guangxi War broke out! The Guangxi army led by Mr. Mo Rongxin has been pampered in the rich Guangdong for these years, actively smoking opium and doing bad things, but without active training, its weak combat effectiveness has declined again.However, the Cantonese army, who has been struggling for two years in Fujian and always looking forward to returning to his hometown, has been struggling to survive in the cracks, always vigilant, careful everywhere, and training hard, which is far from Wuxia Amon. What's more, many officers and soldiers of the Guangxi army are Cantonese, and there are also members of the old Tongmenghui who once supported Sun Yat-sen as generals, and the interior is not stable. Therefore, the Guangxi army was beaten all over the place by the Guangdong army. Two months after the war started, Chiang Kai-shek was dispatched by Sun Yat-sen to return to the Cantonese army.Because Xu Chongzhi, the commander of the Second Army of the Guangdong Army, asked for sick leave, this time he was injured not because of drinking flower wine, but because he was injured in the battle.So Chiang Kai-shek served as the acting army commander and led the army to victories, especially in the battles of Huizhou and Guangzhou, the most difficult and most important strategic locations, and once again demonstrated his military talents. The fly in the ointment is that the Guangdong army failed to wipe out the Guangxi troops stationed in Guangdong, leaving a serious problem.It wasn't that the Cantonese army was not brave enough, but that the three young men from the Guangxi faction performed too well. They personally cut off the rear and led their subordinates to block the Cantonese army with all their might, allowing the remnants of the Guangxi faction to break out of the encirclement.These three young people are Li Zongren, Bai Chongxi, and Huang Shaohong. They have won life for their comrades with extraordinary courage and wisdom. When Chiang Kai-shek was already the commander of an army, Li Zongren, the very vigorous "Li Mengzi" in the future, was still the battalion commander, while the military prodigy "Little Zhuge" Bai Chongxi, and Huang Shaohong, who led the army and dismounted to manage the people, were just company commanders.But don't underestimate them because of their low positions. These three people will unify Guangxi within five years and make the Gui Clan the most powerful force in the Southwest. Although the Cantonese army failed to wipe out the enemy, this did not affect Sun Yat-sen's appreciation of Chiang Kai-shek.He wrote a letter of praise: Since Chen Qimei left, you are the only comrade who is loyal to the party, understands the military and can lead the army to victory.You can’t hide your compliments inside and out, but then the topic changed: You are too stubborn to get along with those villains, but the party has high expectations of you, and I hope you can control your temper and work hard for the revolutionary cause. Keep doing it, and don't run away in anger at every turn. These words showed that Sun Yat-sen was eager for Chiang Kai-shek to control the Cantonese army for him, and hoped that Chiang Kai-shek would not let him down. The relationship between the Guangxi faction and the Yunnan faction has broken down. Without backup, they lost another battle in Guangdong.At this point in the matter, Lu Rongting has no bargaining chips and can only admit defeat obediently. At the end of October, Lu Rongting announced the abolition of the military government and the abolition of Guangdong's independence. Chen Jiongming, you win, the land belongs to you, and I, Lu Rongting, leave! On November 28, Sun Yat-sen returned to Guangzhou.In the first battle between Guangdong and Guangxi, Sun Yat-sen won. Was it really Sun Yat-sen who won?If you want to know the answer, you have to study Mr. Canzai Ming, the current military and political leader in Guangdong. On November 10, 1920, Sun Yat-sen ordered in Shanghai to appoint Chen Jiongming as the governor of Guangdong Province and the commander-in-chief of the Guangdong Army to unify the military and administration. There seems to be something wrong with this order.When Sun Yat-sen left Guangdong, he had already resigned from his relevant positions in the military government, so what capacity did he appoint Chen Jiongming now? "Can Zaiming" also felt that there was a problem: In the past two years in Fujian, I only reported to you, Sun Yat-sen, when I had something to do.I led my troops to drive away the Guangxi Clan through hard work and bloody battles. Now is the time when the soldiers are strong and powerful, but you have appeared. Where should I put you? "Can Zai Ming" is different from other old and rough warlords who were born in the army. He is not a martial artist. Chen Jiongming, courtesy name Jingcun, is a new type of college student, a senior intellectual who graduated from the Guangdong School of Political Science and Law with the "top student" grade.When he was a member of the Guangdong Provincial Council, he had put forward many thoughtful and beneficial proposals such as "Abolishing the Legislation of the Government Office" and "Abolishing the Act on the Place". Moreover, Chen Jiongming is different from those vulgar warlords who only know how to expand their territory. He has his own political pursuits. He is the first person in China who is optimistic about the socialist regime of Soviet Russia and the federal republic of the United States.At that time, these two countries had not yet shown their superior strength, but Chen Jiongming had already begun to explore these two regimes. Although it was very rough, it was already commendable. While Chen Jiongming was excited by the success of the Russian October Revolution, he even corresponded with Comrade Lenin to ask questions and express his political ambitions; on the other hand, he believed that a republic should involve the participation of all the people in the deliberation of state affairs, and should not be dictatorship by a certain class.In other words, while admiring socialism, he also felt that China should be unified with the federal republic of the United States, which is the "inter-provincial autonomy" he has always advocated. contradictory?There is no contradiction, politics is very complicated, and it is not a simple either-or. You can also see that the political views of Mr. Chen Jiongming and Mr. Sun Yat-sen are completely inconsistent.Even lovers who are so sweet have to choose to break up painfully when their values, world outlook, and life goals are inconsistent. What's more, Mr. Sun and Mr. Chen don't have such a close relationship?Big trouble! In Chen Jiongming's "No Hope", Sun Yat-sen arrives in Guangzhou.Mr. Sun didn't come to Guangzhou for tourism, he came to "protect the law".The revolution cannot be stopped unless the autocratic and corrupt Beijing government is smashed and China is not unified. To deal with such a big matter, Sun Yat-sen would of course have to talk to Chen Jiongming, the top leader of Guangdong Province. Only by communicating more can we promote cooperation. Unexpectedly, Sun Yat-sen had just started, and Chen Jiongming retorted: My consistent political proposition is "inter-provincial autonomy", not the unification of China by force. Moreover, we only occupy Guangdong province, and we lack military and financial resources. A war to support the unification of China? Speaking of this, I must emphasize that Sun Yat-sen's previous plan to use the financial resources of Germany and the United States to develop himself went bankrupt.Germany became a defeated country in World War I, and it couldn't keep itself, so how could it manage others.And the Zhili clique supported by the United States is in full swing. What reason is there to support an opponent for the Zhili clique? After hearing what Chen Jiongming said, Sun Yat-sen became angry: I did everything I could to win the Cantonese army for you. This is the force of the revolution. How can it be your private property? Guangdong is the base of the revolution. How can you do revolutionary work? If you can live in a corner, you should concentrate all resources to prepare for the Northern Expedition! Chiang Kai-shek fully supported Sun Yat-sen, and he also chimed in on the sidelines. He also told Mr. Chen the planned plan to conquer Guangxi first and then the Northern Expedition to unify the whole country. But Chen Jiongming couldn't listen at all. According to historical records, Chiang Kai-shek made several efforts afterwards—whether in private or in formal military meetings, but his plans and reasons were not accepted by Chen Jiongming at all, so Chiang Kai-shek left Guangzhou again in a fit of anger.Sun Yat-sen's letter was written in vain. Chen Jiongming not only ignored Chiang Kai-shek's plan, he also asked Sun Yat-sen: A republic bought with blood will only deviate from the republic.What is gained by violence will end in violence.And isn't the fundamental purpose of our revolution to "protect the environment and the people" and let the common people live a peaceful life for a few days? Sun Yat-sen refuted him: If a person's heart, liver and five internal organs are festered, how can his limbs be intact?If a country is corrupt, how can a corner of Guangdong be preserved?Therefore, we should take a long-term view and think about the big picture. If there is no skin, there will be no hair! Regarding Sun Yat-sen's bitterness, Chen Jiongming thought to himself: It is not easy for me to earn such a fortune, but I cannot let you lose it all for me.So he stopped talking and kept silent. Sun Yat-sen certainly understood what he meant.The two parties broke up unhappy. After Chen Jiongming left, Sun Yat-sen couldn't bear it anymore: Since you don't listen to me, then I will dismiss you! Fortunately, Wang Jingwei persuaded him: Sir, what are you now?Being an official has nothing to do with whether you can seal it or not. Naturally, you can’t withdraw it as soon as you say it. If you don’t do it, you will tear your face, and we won’t be able to step down. It's a joke, I think I'll wait for a while, and then try to persuade him when I find a chance. But Sun Yat-sen didn't want to let it go. He quickly thought of a good way to deal with Chen Jiongming: You, Chen Jiongming, have seized the military, political and financial power in Guangdong Province. Do you think I can't deal with you?Don't you like to take the underground passage?I'll build you a bridge over the street, righteousness and fame are all on my side, I want to step on you! You must do what you have to do, and do it as soon as you want. This is Sun Yat-sen's character. April and May 1921 were a busy time for Sun Yat-sen. On April 2, a meeting was held to pass the proposal to formally establish the government of the Republic of China. On April 4, a meeting was held and it was decided to implement a presidential system of government. On April 7, a meeting was held and Sun Yat-sen was formally elected as the "President".Since only a small number of people recognize Sun Yat-sen's identity, and most of the rest are not too cold, we still call him "very great president" for the time being. On May 5, Sun Yat-sen took office in Guangzhou, and the "Government of the Republic of China" was formally established. On the same day, Sun Yat-sen telegraphed the whole country: Beijing is a pseudo-government, the real government is in Guangzhou! Next, Sun Yat-sen wrote a letter to Xu Shichang, the president of the "pseudo-government" in Beijing, urging him to resign: With your ability, you were a courtier in the Qing government and you didn't see you doing anything well. How can you afford to build The important task of the republic, let's step down as soon as possible. Of course Xu Shichang would not pay attention to Sun Yat-sen, and Sun Yat-sen was busy nominating ministers in the cabinet, so naturally he had no time to care about Xu Shichang's reaction. Xu Shichang in the north didn't make any sound, but there was a discordant sound in the south. The first to issue the challenge was Zhao Hengti, governor of Hunan Province and commander of the military region.Isn't it strange when this man made his debut? Zhao Hengti has not been in power for long.It has been introduced before that when Wu Peifu led his troops to retreat northward, he and Wu Peifu played a scene, taking over Wu Peifu's former territory and defeating Zhang Jingyao.But what this man did next was a bit uninteresting. He not only forced his competitor Cheng Qian out of Hunan, but also "retired" his old leader Tan Yankai who valued him highly.Relying on his bold heart and thick skin, Zhao Hengti finally secured his position as a military and political leader in Hunan. Zhao Hengti told Sun Yat-sen: You have devoted yourself to the Republic of China, and you have made great achievements. When the country is unified in the future, the president must be in your arms. However, the government you are running now is illegal, so please cancel it quickly. , take the lead in abiding by the law and calm people's hearts. This is not enough to give face.The dream of a person like Zhao Hengti is to occupy a piece of land and become a king himself. His favorite is Chen Jiongming's "inter-provincial self-government", in which provinces are used as units to build their own small kingdoms. This kind of person is really not looked down upon by Sun Yat-sen, he is just a clown. However, Chen Jiongming also openly resisted, which is a bit serious. Although Sun Yat-sen successfully ascended to the position of President, he was able to order Chen Jiongming in the name of President, but for the sake of the overall situation of the revolution, he did not want to tear himself apart with Chen Jiongming, so he arranged for Chen Jiongming to be the Minister of the Army and the Minister of the Interior. cabinet positions. But Chen Jiongming rejected Sun Yat-sen's kindness: I still don't want these positions. I am the Minister of the Army, Minister of the Interior, Governor of Guangdong Province, and Commander-in-Chief of the Guangdong Army. I am really the number one in Chinese and foreign history. Don't dare to be!Please be wise, I will not accompany you. Furthermore, none of the great powers recognized the legitimacy of the ROC government in Canton.For the particularly realistic big powers, you, Sun Yat-sen, only have Guangdong, just like Taiwan today, and it is far from worth their gamble, so how can you recognize you? After Sun Yat-sen knew the reaction of the big powers, he sneered: I am the president of the Republic of China now. Although I control less than a province, I am determined to eliminate all those who oppose my Northern Expedition to unify the world. Zhao Hengti, Chen Jiongming and foreign devils, you wait Lo and behold. In such an unfavorable situation, Sun Yat-sen was still assertive, and persuaded the Congress with the reason that "Lu Rongting will definitely come back to fight for Guangdong, and we must pre-emptively strike" to send troops to crusade against the Guangxi faction and build a large rear for the Northern Expedition. Sun Yat-sen, who seemed to be besieged on all sides and had nowhere to go, had such strong confidence.It is difficult for ordinary people to understand. I guess this is the reason why great men become great men. In mid-June 1921, Sun Yat-sen sent troops to attack Lu Rongting with Chen Jiongming as the commander-in-chief of the Guangdong Army.This battle is for the second Guangdong-Guangxi War! Chen Jiongming is still very happy to do things to consolidate his territory. He knows that the "locust warlords" who attacked the Guangxi faction are helping him, so his work attitude is very positive. It took the Cantonese army just over a month to completely defeat the once invincible Lu Rongting.Since then, the Guangxi family has been torn apart.It was not until three years later that the three heroes Li Zongren, Bai Chongxi and Huang Shaohong stood up to reorganize the Guangxi family.It seems that the combat effectiveness of the army with the party as its soul is poor. After all, the loyalty of the green forest cannot become combat effectiveness. In mid-July, Lu Rongting conceded defeat after his direct troops were annihilated, announced his resignation as governor of Guangxi Province and commander of the military region, and then fled to the Shanghai Concession. The 62-year-old Lu Rongting said that he had surrendered, but he was not convinced in his heart.He had to fight one more time before giving up completely. Two years later, he regrouped and returned to Guangxi, intending to reproduce the demeanor of the swordsman back then.The sad thing is that before Sun Yat-sen made his move, the "four-member anti-bone boy"-Shen Hongying, Li Zongren, Bai Chongxi, and Huang Shaohong took the initiative to attack. They used both carrots and sticks to attack the old leader's troops in various ways-differentiation Lu Rongting's hopes were completely cut off.Fortunately, God didn't let Lu Rongting, who had suffered a crushing defeat, be depressed for too long. In 1928, Lu Rongting died of illness in Shanghai. After explaining to Lu Rongting, the topic returned to the outcome of the Guangdong-Guangxi War. Feng Shui turns, trees fall and hozens scatter.The Guangxi clan surrendered and scattered, and most of Guangxi was occupied by the Guangdong army.It's a pity that many powerful factions of the Guangxi faction chose to surrender, but it was just a stopgap measure.This paved the way for Guangxi to fall into a melee in the future. Three brothers like Li Zongren, Bai Chongxi, and Huang Shaohong chose to surrender.Before surrendering, they put forward a very personal condition - to accept only the direct leadership of the government of the Republic of China in Guangzhou.That is to say, it is necessary to ensure that their direct leader is Sun Yat-sen, and they are not under the control of anyone else.But there are thousands of mountains and rivers between Sun Yat-sen and them, how can he lead this army?To put it bluntly, they just want to continue to be independent and uncontrolled, lest their army be eaten by others. Sun Yat-sen also thought about it carefully. If this group of people were forced into the 100,000 mountains in Guangxi to become scattered bandits, it would be really troublesome for you to come here from time to time.So reluctantly agreed to Li Zongren's request. Behind Li Zongren and the others acting so tough, there is a secret hidden: there is someone above them.This person is their Guangxi fellow-Li Jishen, Chief of Staff of the First Division of the Guangdong Army.Mr. Li Jishen has a deep background and a strong background. He is not only a good buddy of Comrade Deng Keng, Sun Yat-sen's loyal subordinate, but also a student of Comrade Hu Hanmin, Sun Yat-sen's right-hand man. Under the warm care and bright guidance of Comrade Li Jishen, the three Li Zongren brothers are still independent establishments and are not controlled by anyone. Not only did they not lose their strength, but they were able to enjoy government subsidies, delicious food, rich money and guns, and less struggle many years. But in any case, one fact cannot be concealed: Sun Yat-sen is indeed stronger than before. Guangzhou, where Sun Yat-sen lived, has since become the base camp of the revolution, which has given many people with lofty ideals the hope of a successful revolution.