As the first regular military academy in Chinese history, the Whampoa Military Academy was highly sought after at that time. Chiang Kai-shek, who was hot in the Kuomintang at that time, was appointed as the principal of the Whampoa Military Academy, which also laid the foundation for Chiang Kai-shek to later grasp the monstrous power. In Chiang Kai-shek's conquest career, in addition to his confidant Chen Cheng, it is also necessary to mention a person, he is Hu Zongnan, known as the "King of the Northwest", and is ridiculed as "the first protégé of the Son of Heaven".
The reason why Hu Zongnan was favored by Chiang Kai-shek was that he was also a fellow countryman was an important reason. Hu Zongnan is from Zhejiang, when he was a child, his family was poor, but his parents did not relax in his education, even if he had no money, he still let Hu Zongnan receive enlightenment and learning when he was very young. Fortunately, Hu Zongnan is a very talented person, so learning is not difficult for him.
However, because the family was so poor, Hu Father gritted his teeth and offered him to high school, and he could not afford it. Hu Zongnan, who graduated from high school, chose to become a people's teacher and live a peaceful and stable life. But the good times did not last long, Hu Zongnan failed to run for the principal, and in a fit of anger, he resigned from the school and went to Shanghai to work hard.
Hu Zongnan, who was working hard in Shanghai, met a close friend named Wang Yaqiao, and under his guidance, Hu Zongnan was successfully admitted to the Whampoa Military Academy. At that time, he was already 28 years old, plus Hu Zongnan was only more than 1 meter and 6 points, which was really not suitable for being a soldier. But Hu Zongnan was a child who could bear hardships when he was young, and after coming to the Whampoa Military Academy, Hu Zongnan trained hard, coupled with a solid cultural foundation and a calm work, Hu Zongnan soon became a small appealing figure in the school.
It is also very magical to say that Hu Zongnan, who is obviously unsuitable in all aspects, entered the Whampoa Military Academy, but his fate changed drastically. It took only one year to serve as a platoon commander, and later made many military achievements during the Northern Expedition, and served as a deputy battalion commander in a short period of time. It was precisely because of his outstanding ability that Chiang Kai-shek noticed his "fellow countryman." In the next two years, with Hu Zongnan's own outstanding contributions and Chiang Kai-shek's promotion, Hu Zongnan was quickly promoted.
In fact, it is not unusual for Chiang Kai-shek to be able to reuse Hu Zongnan, because he has a habit of employing people and likes to use them to "share the same country" with himself. Coupled with the fact that Hu Zongnan has always been loyal to Chiang Kai-shek, Chiang Kai-shek is very caring in the face of this young man who was pulled up by his own hand. In the days that followed, Hu Zongnan also gave full play to his own value.
In 1927, after Chiang Kai-shek was ostracized by Wang Li and others, Hu Zongnan did not abandon his "benevolent teacher", but took care of him everywhere, and had nothing to say about Chiang Kai-shek's goodness. Not only that, Hu Zongnan also joined forces with students of the Whampoa Military Academy to vigorously resist Li Zongren and support Chiang Kai-shek. In this regard, Chiang Kai-shek was very satisfied, and promoted Hu Zongnan to the deputy commander of the First Division, which was superficially deputy, but in fact there was no difference between the secret and the positive. When Chiang Kai-shek was in power, he even disregarded the obstruction of others and formally appointed Hu Zongnan as the commander of the division. It can almost be said that Chiang Kai-shek trained Hu Zongnan as his own son, so people jokingly called Hu Zongnan a "disciple of Tianzi".
After that, Hu Zongnan held 600,000 to 700,000 troops, and the first war zone in the northwest that he was responsible for became Hu Zongnan's world, so at that time, people called Hu Zongnan "The King of the Northwest". However, Hu Zongnan's good fortune also began to decline with the defeat of the Kuomintang, and in 1949, the Kuomintang was defeated, Chiang Kai-shek fled back to Taiwan, followed by Hu Zongnan. In his later years, Hu Zongnan's dark wounds from his perennial conquests on the battlefield broke out, and he began to be sick and difficult. Chiang Kai-shek was very worried and personally went to visit, but this visit was the last time the two men saw each other.
Throughout Hu Zongnan's life, it can be said that there are gains and losses, even if Chiang Kai-shek is not good, but he also has the grace of knowing Hu Zongnan. And he also repaid the favor and swore allegiance to Chiang Kai-shek to the death. It's just that both of them are against the trend and are doomed to be abandoned by history and the people.