In the early days of the Republic of China, the warlords were fighting, and the degree of chaos was a bit like a child quarreling at home, one moment directly fighting the Anhui family, the other moment fengwan jointly fighting the direct family, today is still a good brother, the day after tomorrow has become the enemy of the soldiers and the enemy.
In the Zhiwan War in July 1920, the direct family won, the Anhui clan collapsed, and Duan Qirui had to resign by telegram. Duan Qirui, who was resting dishes, went to Tianjin to live idly. The vanguard troops of the Zhi and Feng armies marched into Beijing and took over the Barracks of the South and North Courts respectively. The two leaders of the direct line, Cao Kun and Wu Peifu, were radiant and arrogant, and ordered Xu Shuzheng, who was wanted by the Anhui clan, and several other major generals. Like a rat, Xu Shuzheng evaded the wanted arrest of Cao Kun and Wu Peifu, escaped from Beijing and sneaked to the south, on the one hand to avoid risks, on the other hand to brew and organize anti-direct operations.
Here is a brief introduction to Xu Shuzheng.
Xu Shuzheng is a famous political and military figure in modern Chinese history, and a famous general of the Anhui clan of the Beiyang warlords.
Xu Shuzheng was a talent in the early years, and in 1901, he went from his hometown to Shandong to join Yuan Shikai and began his military career. From 1905 to 1910, he traveled to Japan to study military affairs. He was Duan Qirui's confidant and Duan Qirui's iron brother.
Xu Shuzheng, who fled Beijing, first fought a campaign to expel Li Houji in Fujian with The Kuomintang Xu Chongzhi, and then helped Lu Yongxiang defeat his immediate family Qi Xieyuan in Shanghai.
Four years later, in the Second Zhifeng War in September 1924, the direct family was defeated, and Duan Qirui, who was hiding in Tianjin, came out to take office again and served as a temporary ruler (equivalent to the president and prime minister shoulder to shoulder), and Xu Shuzheng in Hong Kong at the time disagreed with Duan Qirui's comeback, believing that Duan Qirui's return to power was not a good time and was bound to be held hostage by Feng Yuxiang and Zhang Zuolin. Out of this consideration, Xu Shuzheng decided to go to Europe and the United States to investigate the political system, and at the same time seek the understanding and support of the great powers for Duan Qirui. After coming to power, Duan Qirui, considering Xu Shuzheng's flamboyant personality, was absolutely difficult to get along with Zhang Zuolin and Feng Yuxiang, and in 1918 Xu Shuzheng also ordered the shooting of Feng Yuxiang's uncle Lu Jianzhang in Tianjin, but out of concern for Xu Shuzheng's safety, he did not arrange a position for Xu Shuzheng in the provisional government, but only on January 4, 1925, he appointed Xu Shuzheng, who was conducting an inspection in France, as a "special envoy for the investigation of Europe, America and Japan", allocating certain funds, preparing to wait for his return, and then choose an appropriate time to grant him an important post.
Xu Shuzheng lasted for nearly a year and successively visited Twelve countries, namely France, Britain, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, the Soviet Union, Poland, the Czech Republic, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United States, and Japan, and studied in depth the political characteristics and operational advantages and disadvantages of various countries around the operation of different political systems in these countries. Everywhere he went, Xu Shuzheng received high-level receptions, and the special envoy, on behalf of the head of state, met with French President Du Meiguet, Prime Minister Ban Lewei, British Prime Minister Borvin, Italian Prime Minister Mussolini, General Secretary of the CPSU Stalin, Commander-in-Chief of the Red Army Frunze, Chairman of the Economic Commission Trotsky, King of Belgium, Empress Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, US President Coolidge, Emperor of Japan, and so on. Xu Shuzheng, who has a natural love, was received by so many big people and floated up. When Xu Shuzheng returned to China from Shanghai and arrived in Shanghai, he was solemnly welcomed by people from all walks of life, and many domestic newspapers rushed to report on the achievements of Xu Shuzheng's visit to Europe and the United States, and the praise for Xu Shuzheng seemed to return to the situation when Xu Shuzheng recovered Outer Mongolia in 1919. Duan Qirui in Beijing was concerned about all this, and he had a premonition that the situation was a little bad, and that the danger to Xu Shuzheng might be creeping in, and he secretly told Xu Shuzheng not to come to Beijing for the time being.
Xu Shuzheng, who was full of vigor, was on his head and went with Sun Chuanfang to Nantong to visit Zhang Xiao, and then, despite Duan Qirui's persuasion, decided to board a ship and go north to report to Duan Qirui on the situation of european and American inspections.
On December 27, Xu Shuzheng arrived in Beijing. When Duan Qirui saw him return, he pinched a handful of sweat for him, there was no way, according to the procedure, specially arranged for the special envoy to visit.
On December 29, at the insistence of Duan Qirui, Xu Shuzheng had to leave Beijing and stayed in Beijing for only 2 days. Before leaving, Xu Shuzheng received a letter from Duan Qirui's relatives, and when he opened it, it was a note with eight words written on it: "Shuzheng will die if it is not feasible." It seems that Duan Qirui has received an accurate secret report, and someone has already sharpened his knife against Xu Shuzheng.
The conceited Xu Shuzheng did not pay any attention at all, and when he was about to board the train, the people who sent him off were in droves, and he was on the train and made a big publicity, greatly exposing his whereabouts. When Lu Zhonglin, commander of the Gyeonggi Garrison and police chief of the Beijing Division, learned of the news, he immediately called Feng Yuxiang of Zhangjiakou to ask for instructions on the disposal method, and before that, Lu Zhonglin had received a secret telegram from Feng Yuxiang to assassinate Xu Shuzheng. Feng Yuxiang replied on the phone: "The way to deal with Xu Shuzheng is to arrest and execute!" Ordered Lu Zhonglin to convey to Zhang Zhijiang, commander of the Fifth Division of the Nationalist Army and former commander-in-chief of the enemy garrison in Langfang, to carry it out immediately. At midnight on the 29th, Xu Shuzheng's train was detained at Langfang Station, and Xu Shuzheng and his entourage were forcibly invited to get off the train.
There is no evidence that Feng Yuxiang killed Xu Shuzheng, but it is certain that Feng Yuxiang was not entirely for personal revenge, and some people speculated that Feng Yuxiang's intention in killing Xu Shuzheng was to cut off Xu Shuzheng's ties with European and American countries in order to prevent Xu Shuzheng from contacting foreign forces to form support for Duan Qirui. Another specific theory is that Xu Shuzheng went to Europe and the United States to investigate, made arms agreements with France, Italy, and other countries, plotted to establish the Fengzhi-Anhui Alliance after returning to China (good guy, just finished fighting the Zhifeng War a few years ago, the Zhiwan War), supported Duan Qirui as the premier, and also had a certain alliance relationship with the southeast warlord Sun Chuanfang, all of which directly posed a threat to Feng Yuxiang and even had a certain impact on the development of the current situation. Of course, as far as Feng Yuxiang and Xu Shuzheng's personal grudges are concerned, the two also have deep contradictions and conflicts in many matters; when Xu Shuzheng was deputy head of the War Department, Feng Yuxiang was disobedient to the transfer, and Xu Shuzheng ordered the removal of him from his post as brigade commander of the Sixteenth Mixed Brigade, making Feng Yuxiang look disgraced; during the Civil War, because Of Feng Yuxiang's ineffective combat, Xu Shuzheng once again dismissed him from his post and investigated him.
After Feng Yuxiang ordered Xu Shuzheng to be killed, he sent someone to summon Lu Chengwu, the son of his uncle Lu Jianzhang, and let him play a role of "revenge on behalf of his father". The next day, various newspapers published news of Xu Shuzheng's murder, and in addition to introducing that the assassin was Lu Chengwu, the son of Lu Jianzhang, they also published a telegram sent by Feng Yuxiang to Duan Qirui, claiming that "General Xu has made meritorious contributions to the country, unfortunately, he was robbed by bandits on the road, and his death was very tragic, and he asked the government to give him preferential treatment."
After learning of Xu Shuzheng's death, Duan Qirui burst into tears. How could he not know that the real black hand was! Everything has no choice but to silently swallow the bitter fruit into the stomach, which political person has not broken his teeth and swallowed it into his stomach? Duan Qirui, a politician with a military background and a strong life, at this time, can only lament the decline of his own rivers. After crying bitterly, Duan Qirui bought a very high-grade Nanmu coffin, buried Xu Shuzheng's corpse, and personally wrote a sacrifice text for Xu Shuzheng.
In the tribute text, Duan Qirui reviewed in detail his interaction with Xu Shuzheng - in 1901, the twenty-two-year-old Xu Shuzheng defected to Shandong to inspect Yuan Shikai in Jinan, and Yuan Shikai asked his officials to receive the young man. Duan Qirui, who was then the commander of the artillery unit of the Right Army of The Armed Guards and the general office of the Wubei Academy, happened to be passing by here, and saw a young man writing in the guest hall, wearing only a jacket in the winter, but he had no shabby atmosphere, and his writing was vigorous and powerful. So the two sat down to talk, very speculative, and hated each other late, duan Qirui immediately let Xu Shuzheng follow him around. In 1905, Duan Qirui paid for Xu Shuzheng to study military affairs at the Japanese Non-Commissioned Officer School. Five years later, the thirty-one-year-old Xu Shuzheng returned to China and served as a military staff officer under Duan Qirui.
Xu Shuzheng's memorial service was held in Beijing, and the most eye-catching link in the memorial hall was sent by former President Xu Shichang: "The road is rumored to have been robbed by soldiers. When Lu Jianzhang was killed by Xu Shuzheng, Xu Shichang also sent this pair of links, sending the murderers with the link of the slain, which seemed to be intentional, implying when the unjust retribution was over. Indeed, in a chaotic world, life is like grass, who can control their own destiny!
Xu Shuzheng's killing made Duan Qirui disheartened. There are talented people in the Jiangshan generation, and the older generation of tyrants have finally realized their weakness and powerlessness. At this time, the Anhui forces that Duan Qirui had originally cultivated had already disintegrated and were too busy to take care of themselves. After Zhang Zuolin and Feng Yuxiang found their respective backstages, they were even more arrogant and unscrupulous. Moreover, with Zhang Zuolin and Feng Yuxiang's interference in various matters, the old qualified Duan Qirui became more and more helpless to degenerate into a puppet. Perhaps, at this time, Duan Qirui had to admit that the invincible Beiyang Army had truly declined, and the glory of the past was like an ancient myth.
April 1926. Duan Qirui, a generation of tyrants, felt that the general trend had gone, and hurriedly bid farewell to Beijing - since 1912, Duan Qirui, who had been in the political arena of the Republic of China for more than a decade, finally fell into the wilderness, which was his last departure from the "three ups and three downs". This time, he went to the field, more lonely and hurried than the previous two times.
Sitting on the train to Tianjin, Duan Qirui was expressionless, did not say a word, and was sullen. An hour after the train left Beijing, Duan Qirui finally spoke: ''How long will the train stay in Langfang?' Only then did the entourage understand that the old master remembered that Xu Shuzheng had been stabbed in Langfang a few months ago. After the train arrived at Langfang Station, Duan Qirui let people open the window and looked at the platform for about ten minutes. When I look back, people see the sixty-one-year-old Duan Qirui in tears...