When it comes to the gangster boss of Shanghai Beach, I believe that many people can think of big guys such as Jin Rong and Du Yuesheng, who rely on their own abilities to lay a piece of heaven for themselves on Shanghai Beach, and write their own legend of the Republic of China. However, the person that Xiaobian wants to introduce to you today is a more domineering gangster figure than Jin Rong, Du Yuesheng and others, and he is Zhang Renkui, the most powerful green gang leader in Shanghai Beach.
Born in 1856, Zhang Renkui was admitted to the Wu xiucai in 1889, and later opened an apprenticeship to teach martial arts. During this period, he joined the Green Gang, where he was a "big" character. After Yuan Shikai's death, Zhang Renkui was appreciated by his immediate son Feng Guozhang, took him for his own use, promoted him to brigade commander of the 76th Mixed Brigade in Jiangsu and guarded the town of Tonghai, stationed in Nantong, and was promoted to "General of the Army".
Zhang Renkui thus controlled the military and political power in the Jianghuai region. Because he never hid his gang identity and was enthusiastic and generous, people from all walks of life came to the door and wanted to worship him as a teacher. He also never refused, accepting them one by one. Later, he had more and more apprentices in the Jianghuai region, and he simply used the name of the Qinggang "Taiye" to handle various political affairs. And Jin Rong also worshiped him as a teacher during this period, Du Yuesheng was his apprentice, zhang Xiaolin was his master and nephew, which shows how extensive his connections were, and was later called "the leader of the gang" by Chiang Kai-shek.
After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Zhang Renkui remained in the French Concession in Shanghai, but he still did not forget to do his best for the great cause of national liberation. For example, the one who got rid of Zhang Xiaolin, a disciple of Zhang Renkui, was Lin Huaibu. Originally, Lin Huaibu was Zhang Xiaolin's disciple, and Zhang Xiaolin trusted him. But once, the two had an awkward quarrel for some reason, and Zhang Xiaolin drew a gun to threaten Lin Huaibu, but was killed by Lin Huaibu first. Later, Lin Huaibu surrendered himself and was sentenced to 15 years in prison, and was not released until the end of the Anti-Japanese War. However, in the folk, his killing of Zhang Xiaolin was praised by people.
In 1935, Zhang Renkui opened the Xiangtang again to accept apprentices, and led the apprentices to establish the "Ren Society". The "Renshe" later developed rapidly, and together with the "Rongshe" of Jin Jinrong and the "Hengshe" of Du Yuesheng, it became one of the three most powerful groups in Shanghai Beach at that time. As Zhang Renkui's disciples grew, he gradually became known as the "Godfather of the Republic of China". In December 1944, Zhang Renkui died in Fanyuan, Shanghai. In the spring of the following year, more than a thousand people from all walks of life, the party, government, military, and business circles held a memorial ceremony for Zhang Renkui in Chongqing, and Chiang Kai-shek personally inscribed an inscription for him: "Haidai Shuowang."