At about 2:00 a.m. on January 14, 1912 (the first year of the Republic of China), a gunshot rang out from Shanghai Guangci Hospital. The sharp sound of gunfire pierced the quiet night sky. The sound of gunfire alarmed medical staff and patients in the hospital. When people rushed to the room where the gunshots were fired, they saw a middle-aged man lying in a pool of blood, the bullet entering the brain from the left cheek, killing him on the spot.
The person who was killed was Tao Chengzhang, the founder of the Guangfuhui. The Society for the Restoration of The Bulge is a secret organization specializing in assassinations. It is a great irony that a big man who specializes in assassination activities has died in the assassination of others. However, in that era of chaos, anything could happen.
Afterwards, people learned that a man named Wang Zhuqing had infiltrated the hospital and assassinated Tao Chengzhang. And this person was originally a member of the Restoration Society. However, Wang Zhuqing was only instructed by others. His boss behind the scenes was Chiang Kai-shek, and Chiang Kai-shek was also instructed. Who is this person? This person was Chiang Kai-shek's eldest brother Chen Qimei.
After the Wuchang Uprising, Chen Qimei served as the governor of the Shanghai Army, and he had great power. He and Tao Chengzhang were once "brothers in the trenches" and comrades-in-arms on one front. So why did he assassinate this old "old friend"?
The enmity and resentment between Tao Chengzhang and Chen Qimei are actually quite difficult to explain clearly. However, through the chaotic records, some clues can still be sorted out.
Let's start with women!
Chen Qi's beauty is an open secret in the revolutionary ranks. He is frequent to all kinds of entertainment venues. At that time, some colleagues were very dissatisfied with Chen Qimei's style, and Tao Chengzhang was one of them. According to Li Jingtong, editor of Shanghai's "Current Affairs News", tao Chengzhang, who started his career in Japan, once accused Chen Qimei in front of Sun Yat-sen that he should not eat, drink and gamble, and advised him to quit gambling. However, Chen Qimei was greatly angered, believing that Tao Chengzhang's unveiling of his shortcomings in front of Sun Yat-sen was deliberately humiliating him, so he "hated him very deeply" .
On July 26, 1911, some of the big men of the GuangfuHui held a meeting at the Shen Residence on Songshan Road in Shanghai, where Tao Chengzhang and Chen Qimei were present. At the meeting, Chen Qimei proposed to Tao Chengzhang that he should use the overseas Chinese donations he had brought back from Nanyang. Tao Chengzhang categorically refused, and said with a little humiliation: "Hello prostitute, Shanghai has enough money for you to use, and my money must be used by the revolutionary comrades in Zhejiang, not for your prostitutes." ”
Chen Qimei listened, and his face turned blue with anger, "Out of the pistol to hit Mr. (Tao Chengzhang)", fortunately, he was pulled away in time by the other people in the venue.
These personal grudges have put the relationship between Tao Chengzhang and Chen Qimei on the verge of deteriorating for a long time. However, Tao Chengzhang was the big man of the GuangfuHui, the founder, and the actual leader, and Chen Qimei wanted to kill him, and just relying on some trivial things was not enough to make him make up his mind. It was political interests that really contributed to the assassination.
After the Wuchang Uprising, Chen Qimei also launched an armed uprising in Shanghai, and after success, declared Shanghai independence. He became the governor of the Shanghai Army and became the "boss" of Shanghai. However, the best candidate for the Governor of Shanghai was not chen Qimei from the beginning. At that time, the people who were publicly recommended were Li Xiehe.
On the day of the Shanghai uprising, Chen Qimei led dozens of people into the manufacturing bureau in an attempt to seize the lead of the uprising. Unexpectedly, before the war could begin, Chen Qimei was caught. After Hearing the news, Li Xiehe immediately led the Guangfu Army to go all out to help, which captured the manufacturing bureau and rescued Chen Qimei. After capturing the Manufacturing Bureau, Li Xiehe established a temporary headquarters to preside over Shanghai affairs. At the meeting to elect the governor of the Shanghai Army, the most vocal candidate was Li Xiehe, who had strength, prestige, and higher seniority than Chen Qimei. However, Chen Qimei did not want to give up the fruits of this victory. He secretly instructed the Qinggang brothers to make a big fuss about the venue and make noise in the hall against Li Xiehe. Li Xiehe saw the situation and "showed humility", and Chen Qimei was thus "elected" as the governor.
Li Xiehe had a gun in his hand and was not willing to be excluded. He also established his own government in Wusong, declaring himself the governor of the military and government sub-government. Chen Qimei was very annoyed by this, so he moved to kill. One day, Li Xiehe was on his way to Shanghai at Wusong Station, and Chen Qimei sent someone to assassinate him. However, Li Xiehe was very alert, and the gunman only killed Li Xiehe's guards, and he himself was unscathed. After this incident, Li Xiehe was forced to leave Shanghai in desperation.
Just solved Li Xiehe's problem. Tao Chengzhang also set up his own General Headquarters of the Guangfu Army in Shanghai in the name of "Northern Expedition" and "Restoration of the Whole Country", and recruited troops and horses in the Minhang area to prepare for a big battle. This move directly threatened Chen Qimei's position in Shanghai and made Chen Qimei feel like a man on his back. Therefore, he finally made up his mind to "eradicate Tao Chengzhang and eliminate future troubles". This was followed by gunfire at Shanghai Guangci Hospital in Shanghai on January 14, 1912.
After Tao Chengzhang's death, the Guangfuhui "lost its main brain and gradually disintegrated", and the headquarters of the Shanghai Guangfu Army was disbanded in early March.