What is history: it is the echo of the past to the future, the reflection of the future on the past. - Hugo
In the spring of 1928, the Nanjing government, which had basically occupied half of the Yangtze River Basin, once again launched the Northern Expedition and struck a blow at the so-called Anguo military regime in the Yellow River Valley, headed by the Fengzhi warlord Zhang Zuolin.
In the face of the Northern Expeditionary Army, which came from all directions, the Anguo Army was scattered and defeated. As the head of the family, Zhang Zuolin saw that the situation was not good, tried to avoid its sharp edge, returned to the northeast in advance, and regrouped.
As a result, just as the train he was riding on was marching into Huanggutun, he did not think that the Japanese agent Kawamoto Daisaku had planted a bomb here earlier, sending Zhang Zuolin and some of his cronies to the end of the road. Zhang Zuolin was seriously injured and died in the Fengtian Shuai Mansion. In an instant, the position of king of the northeast was vacant, the dragons were leaderless, and Zhang Xueliang, who had once been highly expected by Zhang Zuolin and trained according to his successor, was still stranded in the front line of Guannei. At this time, many people at the top level of the Feng clan were eager to move and covet power, and the Japanese side was also actively listening to the news, trying to take advantage of the situation to incite the wind and ignite the fire and create civil unrest. For Zhang Xueliang, his situation is not optimistic. In other words, whoever was the leader of the northeast had to draw a question mark at that time. What about Zhang Zuolin's arrangements earlier? Everything is full of variables.
In fact, at that time, many military and political leaders in the northeast were more interested candidates, in addition to Zhang Xueliang, there was also Zhang Zuolin's brother-in-law Zhang Zuoxiang, who held the military and political power in Jilin Province. As early as when Zhang Zuolin was still in the grass, Zhang Zuoxiang led dozens of his brothers to zhang Zuolin's insurance team and joined forces, and the two began to have a nominal brotherhood here. After Zhang Zuolin was recruited, Zhang Zuoxiang followed him on his southern expedition to the north.
(Zhang Zuoxiang)
However, unlike Zhang Zuolin's coveting of power and wealth in Guannei, Zhang Zuoxiang was only satisfied with maintaining a situation of dividing a corner of the northeast. Therefore, with the death of Yuan Shikai, the internal division of the Beiyang clan, and the struggle for power and profit between the Anhui clan and the direct clan, Zhang Zuolin had already begun to expand his armaments and was always ready to go south to conquer the Central Plains, while Zhang Zuoxiang was dismissed from his post as chief of staff by Zhang Zuolin and replaced by Yang Yuting because of his unpopular attitude during this period.
As for the later battles with the Zhi Army, Zhang Zuo's troops collapsed at a touch, which made Zhang Zuolin's dissatisfaction with this former comrade-in-arms and brothers multiply. Later, when Guo Songling led his army to defect and attack Fengtian, the defensive line organized by Zhang Zuoxiang's troops was even more broken, so from this point of view, Zhang Zuoxiang's military command ability was mediocre, and there was nothing commendable. Why is it that Zhang Zuolin was seen as the ideal person to succeed him after his death?
In fact, this is still related to Zhang Zuoxiang's style of acting. Zhang himself was a moderate, and soon after the end of the First Zhifeng War, Zhang Zuoxiang offered to put Zhang Xueliang in charge of the work of reorganizing the army. According to Zhang Xueliang's recollection in his later years, his strength in the Fengzhi group rose rapidly, and it was in this period that Zhang Zuo was more wholeheartedly assisted than this dry nephew, giving Zhang Zuolin enough face. Perhaps, this is one of the reasons why he can't fight wars, but the officials are getting bigger and bigger.
After Guo Songling's rebellion failed, at the instigation of Yang Yuting and others, Zhang Zuolin wanted to carry out a large-scale purge of officials involved in Guo Songling's rebellion, at this time, Zhang Zuoxiang stepped forward again and urged him not to expand the treatment. Zhang Zuoxiang's move undoubtedly saved a large number of people, and also made his prestige grow day by day. It seems not surprising that such a harmless and animalistic fengzhi group elder figure who holds a certain army is lifted out to be the head of the northeast.
However, in the face of enticing power, Zhang Zuoxiang was not carried away, but urged everyone to be loyal to Zhang Xueliang, pushing him to the high position of the commander of the northeast security, but he was willing to be the second in command of the "auxiliary marshal". Why? According to the situation at that time, Zhang Zuolin was dead, and Zhang Xueliang's foundation was unstable, at this time, if he took out the style of the elders to suppress the "little sixth son" and forcibly occupy a high position with the help of the army he held, it could be said that it was easy for Zhang Zuoxiang himself. However, he chose "Let Xian", which inevitably makes people wonder - Zhang Zuoxiang is really so "selfless"?
In fact, Zhang Zuoxiang will make such a move, in addition to his personal neutrality and lack of risk-taking reasons, there is another very important reason. At that time, there were many contradictions within the Fengzhi Group, which was far from being easily controlled by Zhang Zuoxiang. In the face of the delicate political situation, Zhang Zuo judged the situation, retreated into progress, and maximized his own interests by giving up power, which may be the most reasonable explanation for his "selflessness".
As the saying goes, where there are people, there are contradictions, and the fengzhi is no exception. In the process of expanding the army and developing, Zhang Zuolin constantly absorbed new forces to join, and gradually there was a distinction between the "old man" and the "young zhuang faction" within the Feng clan. The so-called "old man" was Zhang Zuoxiang, Ji Jinchun, Zhang Jinghui, and other generals who had earlier followed Zhang Zuolin in his conquests of the north and south; they were all in high positions of power, but the army under their command was extremely arrogant, seriously corrupt, and had low combat effectiveness.
(Zhang Zuolin in film and television dramas)
Guo Songling has a very good hand in commanding the war, and he is deeply respected by Zhang Xueliang, but within the Feng department, Guo Songling still has many opponents, that is, Yang Yuting, Jiang Dengxuan, and other generals who have a background in studying in the Japanese non-commissioned officer school, these people are also "young and strong", but they look down on Guo Songling, a newcomer who graduated from a domestic military academy, and are particularly jealous that he can get Zhang Xueliang's attention. As a result, there are many contradictions between the old and new people, and the new people are also inseparable.
When Guo Songling failed to oppose the feng, such a contradiction did not disappear, but intensified. That is, Yang Yuting decided to take the opportunity to expand his power and fill the power vacuum that appeared after the fall of Guo Songling. After Zhang Zuolin's death, Yang Yuting became more and more fearless, and he not only asked Zhang Xueliang for military power, but also secretly contacted Bai Chongxi and others to prevent Zhang Xueliang from knowing the inside story. This naturally made Zhang Xueliang feel more angry, and he was not recognized by Zhang Zuo's equal elderly. Yang Yuting can be said to be the common opponent of Zhang Xueliang and Zhang Zuo.
We can imagine that in such a political environment where there are Japanese people on the outside and Yang Yuting and Chang Yinhuai on the inside. If Zhang Zuoxiang rushes to seize power, it is very likely to fall into the trap of Yang Yuting and others. At that time, Yang Yuting and other disgruntled people besieged Zhang Zuoxiang and expanded their strength by pushing him down, then the situation could not be cleaned up. Therefore, Zhang Zuoxiang is willing to sit in the second chair, and pushing the young marshal to the front desk can be said to be a relatively safe move, which is also in line with his personality. Choosing Zhang Xueliang as the pawn of the northeast, whether for the new or the old, the fact that Zhang Xueliang is Zhang Zuolin's own son is enough to block all their doubts. The son inherits his father's business, and his name is justified, not to mention that the "little sixth son" of the people has participated in various military and political affairs since the zhifeng war, which is not comparable to ordinary stupid children, and will certainly be able to obey people. This is Zhang Zuoxiang's great wisdom.
Zhang Zuoxiang's rapid retreat paid him a lot of rewards, and in the only remaining Guanwai plate in the Feng family, Zhang Zuoxiang firmly controlled the rich Jilin And zhang Xueliang also treated him with courtesy. As for Yang Yuting, who had never been accepted by both sides, he was soon executed by Zhang Xueliang under the pretext of obstructing the great cause of reunification, and his head was in a different place. From this point of view, Zhang Zuoxiang's concession of power not only protected his own interests, but also indirectly crushed his political enemies, and achieved more in one fell swoop, which was much easier and easier than if he went directly to the front desk to command.