In July 1937, when the All-out War of Resistance broke out, the Jin Sui Army under the Shanxi warlord Yan Xishan collapsed under the fierce blows of the Japanese army, almost losing the entire Shanxi Province, and Yan Xishan and his civil and military officials hurriedly crossed the Yellow River and ran to Qiulin in Shaanxi to take shelter. However, the Shanxi Youth Anti-Enemy Death Squad (also known as the Shanxi New Army) and the Shanxi League, led by Bo Shucun, Han Jun, Rong Zihe and Lei Renmin, with the support of the Eighth Route Army, resolutely stayed behind the enemy lines to carry out extensive guerrilla warfare.
By 1939, the Shanxi New Army had established a large number of anti-Japanese base areas behind enemy lines in northwestern, southwestern, and southeastern Shanxi, and 70 of the 101 counties in Shanxi were already under the control of the League. Seeing this situation, Yan Xishan and his generals of the Jin Sui Army could not sit still, and in their eyes, these territories seemed to have been taken by the new army, rather than thrown to the Japanese by themselves. After the war situation stabilized, Yan Xishan sent some of the old army back behind the enemy, intending to seize the base area opened up by the new army.
Yan Xishan in the TV series "Red Army Crusade"
In order to find the excuse of the armed attack, from November 1939 onwards, Yan Xishan secretly instigated the rebellion of some diehard officers lurking in the Shanxi New Army, which eventually triggered the Jinxi Incident that shocked China and foreign countries. Since the 1st Column of The Death squad had sent more than a hundred diehard officers to Yan'an to study in advance, and the 212th and 213th Brigades of the Forces nouvelles and the Workers' Guard Brigade were units composed entirely of the anti-Japanese self-defense forces of the counties, the 10 regimental commanders who launched the rebellion were all from the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Columns and the 209th Brigade.
1) Lu Yinglin, commander of the 33rd Regiment of the 7th Brigade of the Fourth Column
Lu Yinglin, zi Ruifeng, born in 1894 in Yuanqu, Shanxi, a die-hard old officer, after joining the new army, he used the pseudonym Lu Yinglu, graduated from the fifth phase of the Infantry Section of the Baoding Military Academy, and was a brother with Fu Zuoyi. Lu Yinglin went from company commander to division commander and deputy commander under Yan Xishan, and was once praised by Yan Xishan for defeating the warlord Fan Zhongxiu, and was known as one of the thirteen Taibao under Yan Xishan. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he served as the commander of the First Column, and was later excluded to the Fourth Column for making trouble in command operations.
Lu Yinglin, commander of the 33rd Regiment of the Independent 7th Brigade
At the end of November 1939, Lu Yinglin, who was at odds with the others, led the 33rd regimental headquarters of the 7th Brigade and the 1st and 3rd battalions of the Fourth Column to Fu Zuoyi in Suiyuan, but because the political cadres in the regiment were defenseless, only more than 80 people ran out, and the 2nd battalion could not be taken away because of the resolute stance of the battalion commander Guo Qingxiang. Lu Yinglin later served as the commander of Fu Zuoyi's provisional 39th Division and the commander of the 35th Army, but in January 1948, he was severely damaged by the Jin-Cha-Ji Field Army in the Battle of Laishui, after which Lu Yinglin was ashamed and embarrassed because he lost his good brother's concubine troops, and he raised his gun and committed suicide in anger.
2) Guo Shengcai, commander of the 51st Regiment of the 209th Brigade
Guo Shengcai, date of birth and place of origin unknown, was originally a student recruited in the first phase of the Jin Sui Army Officer Teaching Regiment, and after graduation, he served as a staff officer of the Staff Office of the 209th Brigade, and was later bribed by Yan Xishan at the Qiulin Conference, and was promoted to the commander of the 51st Regiment. After becoming the commander of the regiment, Guo Shengcai often secretly colluded with the diehard officers in the regiment in an attempt to seize control of the troops, and even made trouble in a battle command in October, in a vain attempt to consume the progressive strength of the 51st Regiment by the hand of the Japanese army.
In May 1939, some cadres of the 209th Brigade took a group photo
In view of the conclusive evidence, on December 8, 1939, before the 209th Brigade and the Jin Sui Army began to fight, Wang Shujun, director of the regimental political office who had been monitoring Guo Shengcai, sent guards to secretly arrest Guo Shengcai and his cronies Dong Jinghuan, commander of the 8th Company, and took them to the field for summary execution, which cleanly solved this big hidden danger.
3) Chen Zhiqing, commander of the 6th Regiment of the Independent 2nd Brigade of the Second Column
Chen Zhiqing, whose date of birth and place of origin are unknown, is a die-hard old officer who has gained the trust of Li Shusen, director of the Political Department of the 6th Regiment, because he has made great progress after joining the new army. In a military conflict between the Second Column and the 61st Army of the Jin Sui Army in early December 1939, Chen Zhiqing was ordered to cleanly disarm an enemy battalion, which made the column political commissar Han Jun pay more attention to him, but what neither Han Jun nor Li Shusen could imagine was that Chen Zhiqing was actually a long-dormant traitor.
Han Jun in the TV series "Jinxi Incident"
On the night of December 7, Han Jun ordered Chen Zhiqing to lead the 1st Battalion of the 6th Regiment to sneak up on the brigade headquarters of the newly organized 1st Brigade of the Recalcitrant Army, but the sneak attack failed because Chen Zhiqing secretly sent a message to people. Not long after Chen Zhiqing left the house, the Second Column cracked Yan Xishan's handwritten secret letter instigating Chen Zhiqing's rebellion, and Han Jun was busy dispatching Hao Deqing's security brigade to intercept it, but without success. Chen Zhiqing then arrested and shot Li Shusen and 6 other political workers (4 of whom escaped) and attempted to take 1 battalion to Yan Xishan.
At this critical juncture, Yao Yongzheng, the instructor of the 2nd Company of the 1st Battalion, discovered Chen Zhiqing's plot and led other grass-roots commanders and fighters to fight back, and finally saved a team of more than 300 people for the 1st Battalion. After Chen Zhiqing ran to Yan Xishan with a few people, he later fought with the People's Liberation Army in Suiyuan and almost lost his life. After the liberation of the whole country, Chen Zhiqing was arrested by the relevant departments, and considering that he was also directed to start a rebellion and kill political work cadres, he was eventually sentenced to life imprisonment.
4) Li Zifa, commander of the 196th Tourist Strike Regiment of the 2nd Column
Li Zifa, date of birth unknown, a native of LanXian County, Shanxi, a stubborn old officer, who served as a lieutenant colonel of the 5th General Corps of the Second Column, usually showed the pursuit of progress, active work, and approachability, and also commanded several victorious battles, won the trust of Han Jun, director of the political department of the column, and was even developed into a supplementary underground party member, but he had actually been bribed by Liang Huazhi, the head of Yan Xishan's secret service, during his training in Qiulin in March 1939.
In September 1937, some leaders of the Second Column took a group photo
In early December, during the transfer of the Second Column to the northwest of Jin, Li Zifa colluded with Wang Hanfang, the commander of the 5th Company, and Bai Qiyu, the commander of the 6th Company, to plot to pull away the troops and defect to the Jin Sui Army, but the plot was leaked, Wang Hanfang and Bai Qiyu were arrested and executed, and only Li Zifa escaped with a trumpeter and a groom. In the winter of 1948, during a battle in the southern suburbs of Taiyuan, Li Zifa, who had been promoted to brigade commander, was captured by the 18th Corps of the North China Field Army, and the outcome is unknown.
5) Chu Shibei, commander of the 34th Regiment of the 7th Brigade of the Fourth Column
Chu Shibei, whose date of birth and place of origin are unknown, is a die-hard old officer who actively competed for control of the troops during his tenure as commander of the 34th Regiment. On the eve of the Jinxi Incident, Chu Shibei, who had a premonition that the situation was not good, stepped up his guard, carrying four extremely reliable guards wherever he went, and a small pistol was placed under the pillow at night, in addition to ordering his close associate Yang Liyan, commander of the 7th Company of the 3rd Battalion, to be stationed near the regimental headquarters to facilitate timely support.
The 34 regiments that assisted in the arrest of Chu Shibei attached Wang Lanlin
What Chu Shibei didn't know, however, was that Lan Lin, a tuanfu wang who lived with him in a courtyard, was already an underground party member. On the night of December 12, 1939, Yao Zhongkang, director of the Regiment's Political Office, knocked on Chu Shibei's door and suddenly pulled out a gun to arrest him in the name of chatting alone, and his guard was also taken down by Wang Lanlin, Yang Liyan tried to lead 7 companies of rebellion, and was also tricked into arresting him at the regimental headquarters. A few days later, Chu Shibei and his close associate Yang Liyan were summarily executed.
6) Liu Hongxu, commander of the 20th Regiment of the 203rd Brigade of the Fourth Column
Liu Hongxu, date of birth and place of origin unknown, die-hard old officer, once served as a member of the 11th General Corps of the Fourth Column, and was promoted to the commander of the 20th Regiment by brigade commander Liu Wuming after the Qiulin Conference, and successfully excluded Wang Lanlin, an infantry officer. Since two of his three battalion commanders were underground party members and one was not his cronies, Liu Hongxu deliberately placed the machine gun company commanded by his close associate Li Zhihua near the regimental headquarters just in case.
In October 1939, the troops were inspected on the second anniversary of the founding of the Fourth Column
On the night of December 12, 1939, the 2nd Company of the 19th Regiment of the 203rd Brigade was ordered to go to the headquarters of the 20th Regiment to arrest Liu Hongxu, and he was aware of it. Liu Hongxu commanded the regimental headquarters and the communications squad, relied on the fortifications at the garrison to engage in an exchange of fire with the 19th Regiment, escaped from the garrison after dawn, and after meeting with Li Zhihua's troops, found Lu Xiangao, the commander of the Du 7 Brigade, who had fled alone, and finally returned to Qiulin, the old lair of Yan Xishan, and there was no news of this person after that.
7) Lu Younian, commander of the 10th Security Regiment of the Fifth Special Office of the Third Column
Lu Younian, date of birth and place of origin unknown, die-hard old officer, brother of Lieutenant General Lu Fengnian of the Jin Sui Army, served as the regimental commander after the 2nd and 4th detachments of the Security Department of the Fifth Special Bureau were merged into the Bao 10th Regiment in June 1939. On December 19, 1939, Lu Younian conspired with Li Guangxing, commander of the 1st Battalion of the 10th Regiment, and other diehard officers to launch a rebellion, and as a result, the plot was exposed and fled, and finally only one company of the 1st Battalion was taken away, and no such person was heard from since.
8) Sun Ruikun, captain of the 8th Brigade of the 3rd Column
Sun Ruikun, whose date of birth and place of origin are unknown, stubbornly sent old officers, and his aide-de-camp Yuan Shilin served as a major of the Jin Sui Army during the warlord melee, and Yuan Shikun, after receiving instructions from his old leader and general of the Jin Sui Army, Sun Chu, immediately persuaded Sun Ruikun to decide to defect, and Sun Ruikun then personally dispatched his three brigade commanders Liu Shumao, Zhang Dexiu, and Guo Peien.
Group photo of some leaders of the third column in 1938
On the morning of December 23, 1939, Sun Ruikun falsely ordered all the cadres of the all-army corps to hold a meeting at the headquarters of the headquarters, and as a result, a knife and axe was set up at the venue, and all 64 political work cadres and progressive officers who attended the meeting were arrested, and these people were then sent to Sun Chu's headquarters station, and Chen Shiping, director of the political department of the headquarters, was killed by Sun Ruikun on the way. Afterwards, Sun Ruikun changed his name to Sun Yuxi in a vain attempt to escape the sanctions of our army, but after liberation, he was arrested by the relevant departments and sentenced to capital punishment together with his former accomplice Yuan Shichai.
9) Zhang Ji, captain of the 7th Brigade of the 3rd Brigade of the 3rd Column
Zhang Ji, whose date of birth and place of origin are unknown, was a stubborn old officer and an old subordinate of Sun Chu of the Jin Sui Army, who had been the commander of the Zhengtai Protector Road Army, and after receiving instructions from the old leader, he also decided to join the rebellion without even thinking about it. Because Zhang Jiping also pretended to pursue progress, he even said loudly at the meeting: "Rest assured that I will not follow Yan Xishan!" Thus gaining the trust of Rong Zi, the political commissar of the column, and Yan Tianming, the commander of the Independent 3rd Brigade, they even ordered him to lead the 7th General Brigade to defend the headquarters of the Independent 3rd Brigade if necessary.
In 1938, he participated in the dinner party as part of the leader of the third column
On December 26, 1939, taking advantage of the efforts of brigade commander Yan Tianming and dong Tianzhi, director of the political department of the brigade, to go out for a meeting, Zhang Ji coerced the 7th Brigade to launch a rebellion and took control of the independent 3rd Brigade Headquarters, and 23 political work cadres under Guo Honghuang, director of the Political Department of the Headquarters, were arrested by him, and Zhang Fengge, director of the Political Department of the Third Column, came to take refuge because of the defection of the 8th General Brigade, and was also arrested by Zhang Ji, and afterwards they were all killed by Sun Chu's orders. Later, Zhang Ji was promoted by Yan Xishan to the commander of the 207th Brigade, and in order to evade sanctions, he changed his name to Zhang Zhongzhou, and finally escaped to Taiwan Island by chance in the Battle of Taiyuan in 1949.
10) Wang Shoutang, acting captain of the 9th Headquarters of the 197th Brigade of the Third Column
Wang Shoutang, date of birth and place of origin unknown, die-hard old officer, 9 Corps Captain Zhao Shiling was promoted to brigade commander, and promoted him to acting commander. On December 25, 1939, Wang Shoutang, together with Zhao Shiling, led the 9th General Brigade to abduct the 197th Brigade Headquarters and defected, and arrested Yang Fengge, a political work cadre who had always struggled resolutely with them, while most of the rest of the political work cadres escaped.
Finally, it was concluded that among the 10 rebel regimental commanders of the Shanxi New Army, 1 defected alone (Li Zifa), 4 defected with a small number of troops (Lu Yinglin, Chen Zhiqing, Liu Hongxu, Lu Younian), 2 defected and were executed (Guo Shengcai and Chu Shibei), and 3 successfully coerced the troops to defect (Zhang Ji, Sun Ruikun, and Wang Shoutang, all from the three columns), and after the liberation of the whole country, most of them had already surrendered to the law, and since they had always adhered to the stubborn and erroneous position, this was naturally the end they deserved.