After the outbreak of the All-out War of Resistance, the Shanxi warlord Yan Xishan was distressed that his old army had suffered consecutive defeats in the battle against the Japanese army, so at the suggestion of the Eighth Route Army, he decided to imitate the political work system of the Eighth Route Army to form a new army, that is, the Shanxi Youth Anti-Enemy Death Squad. After more than two years of development, by 1939, the death squad had grown to four columns, three political guards, one industrial guard and one temporary division, with a total of 40 regiments and more than 60,000 troops, becoming an important armed force on the battlefield behind enemy lines in Shanxi.
However, in order to strengthen the control of the Shanxi New Army, in March 1939, Yan Xishan put forward at the Qiulin Conference the abolition of the political commissar system, the reorganization of the original column detachments into three regiments of jinsui army brigade-level units, the appointment of some diehard officers as brigade commanders, and the change of the base area of the new army into a special administrative area directly managed by the Jinsui army. In the face of Yan Xishan's aggressive offensive, the leaders of the New Army, Bo Shucun and Han Jun, temporarily chose to back down and agreed to Yan Xishan's request out of consideration for maintaining the united front.
Han Jun, director of the political department of the second column in the TV series "Jinxi Incident"
In order to completely control the new army, or to completely eliminate it, he brazenly ordered all units of the Jin Sui Army to launch an armed attack on the new army in December, known as the Jinxi Incident or the December Incident. This time, I would like to introduce the different choices made and the outcomes faced by the brigade commanders of the Shanxi New Army in this incident.
1. The 1st Column was split into the Independent 1st Brigade and the 216th Brigade after the Qiulin Conference, with Liang Shuya and Tai Yaoxi as brigade commanders;
Liang Shuzai, zi nianzu, nicknamed Shu zhai, born in 1899 in Wucheng, Shandong, stubborn old officer, graduated from the ninth artillery section of the Baoding Military Academy, the third phase of the special class of Lu University, served in the Northwest Army in 1922, and worked in the Jihongchang Department of the 30th Army. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Liang Shuzha was transferred to the post of chief of staff and column commander of the 1st Column, and after the Qiulin Conference, he also served as the commander of the 1st Independent Brigade, but did not have the real power to mobilize troops.
On the eve of the Jinxi Incident, Bo Shucun transferred more than a hundred of the old officers under Liang Shuya to Yan'an to study, and after the incident, he was sent back to Shanxi. Liang Shuzha was awarded the rank of major general during the Liberation War, and accompanied Fu Zuoyi in the Battle of Pingjin, and died of illness in July 1952;
Tai Yaoxi, date of birth and place of origin unknown, die-hard old officer, transferred to the 1st brigade commander of a column in November 1937, promoted to the commander of the 216th Brigade after the Qiulin Conference, but in fact was vacated, and the brigade headquarters could not command any troops.
On the eve of the Jinxi Incident, Tai Yaoxi was also sent to Yan'an with Liang Shuya to study, after which the outcome is unknown;
2. The 2nd Column was split into the Independent 2nd Brigade, the 196th Brigade and the Security Brigade at the Qiulin Conference, with Ai Ziqian, Bai Yingjie and Hao Deqing as the brigade commanders;
Ai Ziqian, date of birth unknown, a native of Yingcheng, Hubei Province, a stubborn old officer, served as the commander of the Second Column of the Death Squad, and after the Qiulin Conference, he also served as the commander of the Independent 2nd Brigade.
In early December 1939, Chen Guangdou, a close confidant of Yan Xishan and deputy commander of the Shanxi New Army, wrote a secret letter instructing Ai Ziqian to launch a rebellion, but Ai Ziqian was already empty at this time, unable to mobilize troops to complete the task, and finally had to flee back to Qiulin with the guards. During the Liberation War, Ai Ziqian served as the commander of the 72nd Division of the 61st Army of the Yan Army, was captured in the Battle of Jinzhong in July 1948, was released after reform, and died of illness in Hongdong, Shanxi in 1983.
Bai Yingjie, zi Yushi, born in 1903 in Xushui, Hebei Province, stubborn old officer, joined the Beiyang Army in 1922, and then joined the Jin Sui Army with Xu Yongchang, once served as the commander of the 8th General Of the Third Column, and was promoted to the commander of the 196th Brigade of the Second Column after the Qiulin Conference.
On December 5, 1939, after receiving a secret letter from Chen Guangdou, Bai Yingjie colluded with the first unit of the 61st Army of the Jin Sui Army to destroy the brigade headquarters of the 196th Brigade, arrested all political work cadres and disarmed two companies of the guerrilla 3rd Regiment to defend the brigade headquarters, and at the same time wantonly slaughtered local cadres of the surrounding League and many wounded members of the Eighth Route Army. During the Liberation War, Bai Yingjie accompanied Chen Changjie to Tianjin and served as the commander of the major general's detachment, but was captured in the Battle of Pingjin, and the outcome is unknown.
Brigade Commander of the Security Brigade, Hao Deqing
Hao Deqing, born in 1906 in Pingyao, Shanxi, joined the underground party in 1928, graduated from Peking University, engaged in education before the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, served as secretary of Jiexiu County after the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and was promoted to brigade commander of the Security Brigade after the Qiulin Conference;
On December 11, 1939, Chen Zhiqing, commander of the 6th Independent 2nd Brigade of the Second Column, led the rebellion of the troops, Hao Deqing was ordered to lead the security brigade to intercept but did not succeed, after the Jinxi Incident was promoted to director of the political department of the column, during the Liberation War as the secretary general of the Jinsui Sub-bureau, after the liberation of the long-term engaged in diplomatic work, died in 1993.
At the Qiulin Conference, the three columns were split into the independent 3rd Brigade and the 197th Brigade, with Yan Tianming and Zhao Shiling as the brigade commanders respectively.
Yan Tianming, born in 1898 in Bozhou, Anhui Province, served as a soldier in the Beiyang Army in 1914, served as a major in the Second National Army, joined the underground party in 1926, got in touch with the organization again after the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, and was transferred to the captain of the Third Column of death and the commander of the Independent 3rd Brigade.
In late December, it was reported that Zhang Ji and Sun Ruikun, the commanders of the 7th and 8th Regiments under the Independent 3rd Brigade, had signs of rebellion, but Yan Tianming was deceived by the two of them, did not take effective measures categorically, and even had to leave the brigade headquarters for a meeting. Yan Tianming, who was later responsible for his dereliction of duty, was transferred to the editorial department of Xinhua Bookstore, and after liberation, he served as the secretary of workers' daily, and finally died in 1974.
In 1938, some leaders of the three columns were killed for a group photo
Zhao Shiling, known as Chuanbi, was born in 1905 in Shanyin, Shanxi, graduated from the Taiyuan Officer School of the Jin Sui Army, the 11th special class of Lu University, a stubborn old officer, who served as the commander of the 7th Regiment of the Nationalist Army And the commander of the 9th General Regiment, and was promoted to brigade commander of the 197th Brigade after the Qiulin Conference.
On December 26, Zhao Shiling coerced the 9th General Brigade and the 197th Brigade into defecting, and arrested Zhang Fengge, director of the brigade's political department. He was later promoted to lieutenant general of the 43rd Army of the Jin Sui Army, but the unit was completely destroyed in the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain. During the Liberation War, Zhao Shiling served as chief of staff of the Taiyuan Appeasement Office, which had little real power, and was captured in the Battle of Taiyuan in 1949 and executed half a year later.
The four columns were split into the independent 7th Brigade and the 203rd Brigade at the Qiulin Conference, with Lu Xiangao and Liu Wuming as brigade commanders respectively.
Lu Xiangao, date of birth and place of origin unknown, served as the battalion commander of the 9th Regiment of the Nationalist Officers of the Jin Sui Army, was recruited into the underground party for his performance, and was promoted to the 12th commander, and after the Qiulin Conference, he was again bribed by Yan Xishan and was able to be mixed with the position of brigade commander of the 7th Independent Brigade.
On December 12, 1939, the 4th Column was scheduled to attack the diehards in the army that night, and on the afternoon of the same day, Lu Xiangao, sensing that there was a change, sneaked out of the headquarters with two guards and attempted to mobilize a unit of the 3rd Battalion of the 34th Regiment to sneak into the political headquarters of the brigade, but without success. After returning to Qiulin, Lu Xiangao, who had lost his use value, was secretly buried alive by Yan Xishan.
Lu Xiangao in the TV series "Jinxi Incident"
Liu Wuming, date of birth and place of origin unknown, die-hard old officer, served as the commander of the 11th General Brigade, and later promoted to the commander of the 203rd Brigade.
Liu Wuming had planned to launch a rebellion in late November, but due to lack of preparation, he was temporarily abandoned, and during the operation on the night of December 12, Liu Wuming, together with his chief of staff Liu Jinkui, was arrested by the fourth column and executed on the spot a few days later.
Liu Wuming in the TV series "Jinxi Incident"
V. The Shanxi New Army Political Guard Corps and the First and Second Detachments were reorganized into the 209th, 212th, and 213th Brigades respectively at the Qiulin Conference, with Zhang Shaofang, Sun Dingguo, and Hao Yuxi as brigade commanders.
Zhang Shaofang, formerly known as Zhang Xiaoliang, was born in 1911 in Fanzhi, Shanxi, a graduate of Peking University, and was a member of the headquarters of the Gongdao League under the control of Yan Xishan. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Zhang Shaofang participated in the formation of the New Army Political Guard, served as the director of the Political Department, was introduced by Lü Tiaoyuan to join the underground party the following year, and became the acting brigade commander of the 209th Brigade after the Qiulin Conference.
During the Jinxi Incident, Zhang Shaofang was trapped in Qiulin by Yan Xishan, did not participate in the military operations of the 209th Brigade, and left Qiulin for Yan'an under the organization's arrangement in February of the following year, and was later transferred to the northwestern Jin base area to engage in administrative work. After the liberation of the country, Zhang Shaofang served as vice governor of Sichuan Province, in charge of financial work, and finally died in 1968.
Sun Dingguo, brigade commander of the 212th Brigade
Sun Dingguo, born in 1910 in Rushan, Shandong, taught in his hometown in his early years, and later joined the military, serving as an aide-de-camp officer of the Jinsui Army High School Student Training Corps, joining the underground party in 1939, and then promoted to brigade commander of the 212th Brigade.
During the Jinxi Incident, Sun Dingguo took the initiative to reveal his heart to the political commissar Wang Chenglin and others, expressing his willingness to accept the leadership of the organization, and then commanded the 212th Brigade, together with the Jinxi Detachment of the Eighth Route Army, to travel 700 miles to highlight the heavy siege of the Yan army and meet the victorious division of the decisively dead column. After that, Sun Dingguo served as the commander of the Second Taiyue Subdistrict, turned to theoretical research in 1948, became a famous philosophical theorist in China after liberation, and finally died in 1964.
Hao Yuxi, born in 1916 in Heshun, Shanxi, joined the underground party at the age of 19 while studying at school, served as a squadron leader in the Fencheng Self-Defense Force, and in early 1938 served as the commander of the second detachment of political guards and the commander of the 213th brigade under the recommendation of yang Yelong (pseudonym Zhang Hancheng), a cadre of the Red Army.
During the Jinxi Incident, Hao Yuxi was recruited by Yan Xishan to qiulin for a meeting, and was trapped by various activities every day and could not escape. On January 1, 1940, seeing that there was no hope of bribing Hao Yuxi, Yan Xishan pretended to allow him to escort a batch of weapons back to the army, but secretly sent someone to arrest Hao Yuxi on the way home. The day after their arrest, both Hao Yuxi and his aide-de-camp Wang were killed on the spot by Yan Jun.
213rd Brigade Commander Hao Yuxi martyr
Sixth, the Workers' Guard Brigade was renamed the 207th Brigade of the Jin Sui Army at the Qiulin Conference, but due to the opposition of all the soldiers, this name was not used much, and the brigade commander was still Guo Tingyi.
Guo Tingyi, a giant talent, was born in 1905 in Dingxiang, Shanxi, joined the underground party in 1926, was arrested on the way to a meeting in 1928, and after 8 years in prison, he was released from prison with Bo Shucun and others as a "self-surrender", participated in the formation of the Workers' Guard Brigade and served as a brigade commander.
Because Guo Tingyi hid deeply and the performance of the struggle was not very resolute, he was several times believed by the organization to have defected to Yan Xishan. On January 2, 1940, on the eve of the transfer of the Workers' Guard Brigade, Guo Tingyi was secretly arrested and executed half a month later, and posthumously recognized as a martyr after liberation.
Brigade Commander Guo Tingyi of the Workers' Guard Brigade
To sum up, among the 13 brigade commanders of the Shanxi New Army before the Jinxi Incident, there were 7 diehard officers (one of whom also had the dual identity of the underground party), 1 self-surrendered cadre, 1 missing cadre, and 4 new development cadres. The rest made their due contributions in the subsequent liberation struggle and construction.