In April 1944, in order to open up the Chinese mainland communication line, the Japanese army launched the Battle of Yuxianggui.
Chiang Kai-shek was also well aware of the importance of this campaign, and mobilized a total of 400,000 troops to participate in the battle, while the Japanese side totaled 100,000 people, and the ratio of soldiers was 4 to 1. It should be said that in the case of such a clear advantage in numbers, even if you can't win the fight, you won't lose too badly, right?
However, the reality is very disappointing, in one month, the Nationalist army lost about 200,000 people, 38 cities fell into the hands of the Japanese Kou, and the Battle of Yuxianggui became another major rout on the frontal battlefield since the Battle of Songhu!
At that time, the commander of the First Theater was Jiang Dingwen, who, faced with "the biggest setback in the 40 years of running the army and engaging in politics," resigned and withdrew from the military circles.
It should be known that Jiang Dingwen was one of Chiang Kai-shek's most important "five tiger generals." I think that when the warlords were fighting in a scuffle, Jiang Dingwen led his troops to participate in almost all the battles, the Northern Expedition War, the Chiang-Gui War, the Central Plains War, and so on.
Then, why did such a famous general with great achievements in battle lose so badly in the Battle of Yuxianggui?
In fact, if we look at Jiang Dingwen's resume, we will find that Jiang Dingwen at this time is no longer a pure soldier who pursues the battlefield, but has become a "corrupt general" with the purpose of accumulating wealth.
Since he came to power in the northwest in 1941, Jiang Dingwen took advantage of the advantage of "the emperor of heaven and the emperor is far away" to wantonly amass wealth, completely leaving the training of troops behind, and the whole army from him down was the master of making money and accumulating wealth. What about the combat effectiveness of such a unit? Therefore, it is not so much an accident that Yu Xianggui's defeat is an accident, but rather an inevitability!
So, here's a question: Jiang Dingwen is so blatantly corrupt, does Chiang Kai-shek not know how to manage it?
In fact, this is also the cleverness of Jiang Dingwen, he firmly grasped the old Jiang's suspicious heart, regard power as his life, greedy for money does not matter, as long as he is honest and obedient, enough to sit back and relax. What's more, a tyrant like him who is in charge of the political side puts his weakness on the table and tells Old Chiang, "I only want money, I don't want your right," which can only spare Old Chiang's suspicions.
At that time, there was another key reason why Chiang Kai-shek protected Jiang Dingwen so much, that is, Jiang Dingwen obeyed him. From the earliest encirclement and suppression of the Red Army, Jiang Dingwen has always played the role of "pawn" and "executioner" of old Chiang, and as long as Old Jiang said a word, Jiang Dingwen did not fail to comply.
When the Xi'an incident occurred, Chiang Kai-shek was detained, and Jiang Dingwen and others disregarded the danger to their lives and negotiated with Zhang Xueliang, Yang Hucheng, and others in Xi'an. It can be said that in order to rescue Chiang Kai-shek, Jiang Dingwen also broke his heart, so that he was finally detained by Zhang Xueliang.
After Chiang Kai-shek returned safely to Nanjing, he named Zhang Xueliang by name, and in addition to Chen Cheng, Wei Lihuang, and Chen Tiaoyuan, the three fierce generals, Lao Jiang also specially named Jiang Dingwen to send him back.
But then again, Yu Xianggui's defeat of this pot is really too heavy, even if old Jiang has the heart to keep Jiang Dingwen, I am afraid that people throughout the country will not be convinced, so they approved his resignation request.
So, what did Jiang Dingwen do after he resigned? The answer is to do business.
As we said earlier, Jiang Dingwen has been in charge of the northwest for many years, and he has also fished a lot of oil and water, and after he resigned, this money has come in handy, he has founded a number of factories in Shanghai and other places, and even made the business of the United States, and he is extremely rich and can be called super rich. Of course, during this period, Chiang Kai-shek did not help him less.
By July 1949, when the Nationalist government was about to collapse, Chiang Kai-shek might have really no one to use, so he invited Jiang Dingwen out to serve as the chairman of the Southeast District Inspection and Reorganization Committee, responsible for the reorganization of the retreating troops to Fujian, in an attempt to continue fighting the Platon.
However, Jiang Dingwen, who has been in the military and political circles for many years, is not stupid, knowing that he is unable to resist the offensive of the People's Liberation Army at all, and simply runs away with a cigarette.
It is said that before Jiang Dingwen boarded the ship, he finally glanced at the mainland and sighed: "After that, with the sky as the cover and the earth as the bottom, I don't know where I will be buried?" ”
On January 2, 1974, Jiang Dingwen died of illness and was posthumously promoted to the rank of general of the Army.
Before his death, Jiang Dingwen still did not forget the motherland, and specially instructed his family that he should face his cemetery in the direction of the mainland of the motherland.