Nowadays, many people tend to have a consistent view of the Northwest Army, saying that the Northwest Army is capricious. There are many representatives of the Northwest Army with capricious personality, the most famous of which are Feng Yuxiang and Shi Yousan, who are known as "defecting generals". Due to Feng Yuxiang's influence, the entire Northwest Army was given the title of "capricious". In fact, if you look closely at history, you will find that there is a person named Lu Zhonglin in the Northwest Army, and only from the perspective of "capriciousness", it seems that Lu Zhonglin is incompatible with the entire Northwest Army.
Lu Zhonglin
First, Lu Zhonglin and his people
In March 1884, the Lu family of the Wang clan in Hebei gave birth to a son, named Lu Zhonglin, who was once the minister of the Qing Army with Lu Chuanlin, and the Lu family was very prominent in Hebei. At the age of 4, Lu Zhonglin was adopted by his uncle and entered a private school.
In 1905, he failed to pass the imperial examination, and it is estimated that Lu Zhonglin was a Buddhist candidate, and after failing to pass the examination once, he stopped taking the exam and returned to his hometown to teach. Another year later, in 1906, Lu Zhonglin felt that teaching was not what a big boy should do, so he abandoned his pen and joined the 6th town of the New Army as a student soldier.
Lu Zhonglin, who had been a soldier, gradually liked the military life, so in 1908, relying on his family connections, he was able to become a soldier in the First Mixed Union of Beiyang in Xinmin Province, Liaoning. In 1908, when revolutionary ideas were spreading widely, Feng Yuxiang and other young officers took the study camp as the focus of their activities and organized the "Martial Arts Research Society".
Lu Zhonglin, who was originally a living ideology, gradually accepted the new ideas of the anti-Qing revolution and joined the "Martial Arts Research Society" formed by Feng Yuxiang.
Second, the opportunity behind the farce
On December 12, 1915, Yuan Shikai, who only had his hands covering the sky, suddenly announced that he would accept the throne and overthrow the republic, restore the imperial system, and change the Republic of China to the "Chinese Empire". Yuan Shikai's move went against the tide of the times, and even his most trusted "Beiyang Sanjie" was therefore on the opposite side of him, when the most powerful people in China were suddenly isolated and died soon after.
As soon as Yuan Shikai died, the Beiyang warlords were leaderless, and the two brothers Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang fought fiercely for "who will be the new warlord leader". Duan Qirui's wrists were thicker, and he removed Feng Yuxiang from his position as brigadier general, and Lu Zhonglin was also promoted step by step.
In July 1917, Zhang Xun, the braided marshal, staged another "restoration farce". Although Zhang Xun's move did not stir up a single ripple in the long river of history, it was a perfect opportunity for the Northwest Army, especially Feng Yuxiang.
Feng Yuxiang
When Zhang Xun carried out restoration, Lu Zhonglin, Zhang Zhijiang, Li Mingzhong and others of the Mixed Brigade of the 16th Army asked the brigade commander Yang Guitang to send troops to attack Zhang Xun. However, the brigade commander Yang Guitang went to Beijing to meet Zhang Xun. This move aroused the dissatisfaction of Lu Zhonglin, Zhang Zhijiang, and others, and at the suggestion of Lu Zhonglin, Zhang Zhijiang, Xue Dubi, and others, they welcomed Feng Yuxiang back to the brigade, and Feng Yuxiang immediately led all the officers and men of the brigade to send a telegram to attack Zhang Xun.
Third, become a confidant
Since then, Feng Yuxiang has been leading this army. In August 1918, Feng Yuxiang was appointed as the guard of Xiangxi Town, stationed in Changde, Hunan Province. Because Lu Zhonglin was resourceful, good at improvisation, and applied what he had learned, he was favored and reused by Feng Yuxiang, and Lu Zhonglin was promoted to his confidant.
At that time, Lu Zhonglin was responsible for training soldiers, which played a great role in the eliteization of Feng Yuxiang's army, cultivated a number of outstanding soldiers such as Zhang Zizhong, and greatly strengthened the combat effectiveness of Feng Yuxiang's army.
In 1921, the 16th Mixed Brigade led by Feng Yuxiang was expanded into the 11th Division of the Beiyang Army, and the commander of the artillery regiment was Lu Zhonglin.
In October 1922, Feng Yuxiang was appointed as an army review envoy in Nanyuan, Beijing, and Feng Yuxiang's department had a division and three mixed brigades, and Lu Zhonglin was appointed as the brigade commander of the 22nd Infantry Brigade.
Lu Zhonglin, who rose step by step, made many contributions to the Northwest Army and to Feng Yuxiang. Among all his military achievements, one point will go down in history and enjoy glory and wealth after retirement, that is, to lead troops to expel puyi, the emperor of the late Qing Dynasty, from the Forbidden City and completely eliminate the forces of the late Qing dynasty's retainers, which alone is enough to make him leave a prominent mark in Chinese history.
In 1924, the Second Zhifeng War broke out. The warlords Cao Kun and Wu Peifu and Zhang Zuolin, the leaders of the Fengzhi warlords, engaged in a fierce duel in the Fengtian area, and Wu Peifu ordered Feng Yuxiang to lead the army to the Rehe area, which was a difficult area where there was no return, and Feng Yuxiang knew Wu Peifu's intentions and made up his mind to counterattack.
Feng Yuxiang ordered Lu Zhonglin to lead his troops back to the division at night and occupy Beijing. On October 21, Lu Zhonglin received orders to lead his army to travel 100 kilometers through Andingmen on the night of the 22nd. In Cao Kun's consternation, he took control of the city of Beijing without a single shot.
Northwest Army
After that, Feng Yuxiang ordered Lu Zhonglin to "expel" Puyi. On November 5, 1924, Lu Zhonglin led dozens of military police into the Shenwu Gate and took Puyi and all the idle people of the old Qing Dynasty out of the Forbidden City. This move completely smashed the last remaining forces at the end of the Qing Dynasty.
Lu Zhonglin escorted Puyi and his party to the Palace of alcohol, and as soon as Puyi got out of the car, Lu Zhonglin suddenly pointed a gun directly at Puyi and asked him: "Puyi, from now on, do you call yourself emperor, or do you consider yourself a commoner?" If you are willing to be treated as an ordinary person, as a soldier, I have my own responsibility to protect, and I must notify my subordinates and protect you. ”
The frightened Puyi could only say: "Since I have accepted the amendment of the preferential conditions for the Qing Dynasty, of course, I have abolished the imperial title and am willing to be a civilian of the Republic of China." ”
Left lu Zhonglin
However, such a person, because he stood in the wrong line, when Chiang Kai-shek held real power, Lu Zhonglin almost faded his light.