In June 1928, after Zhang Zuolin was killed by the Japanese army in Huanggutun, fengzhi was leaderless for a while, and the political situation in northeast China was unstable!
In order to avoid the Opportunity for the Japanese Army to take advantage of it, and also for the stability of the Northeast, Zhang Zuoxiang, who was then in charge of the aftermath of the Jilin Military Affairs, resolutely came forward to maintain the situation.
After Zhang Zuolin's death, the first problem facing the northeast is who will inherit Zhang Zuolin's position and rule the northeast!
Among the warlords of the Feng clan, Zhang Zuoxiang was the most senior, and he was also the brother of the old marshal Zhang Zuolin, and he had always been the "second in command" in the northeast, and after Zhang Zuolin's death, he should naturally be successively replaced by Zhang Zuolin.
But we also know that in the end, it was not Zhang Zuoxiang who ruled the northeast, but Zhang Zuolin's grand duke, Zhang Xueliang!
Seeing this, we can't help but ask: Why was Zhang Xueliang able to replace Zhang Zuoxiang and become the new leader of the Feng clan?
Some people say that the reason why Zhang Xueliang can become the new leader of the Fengzhi group is because he is Zhang Zuolin's 'eldest son', according to the "concubine eldest son inheritance system" in the feudal society period, after Zhang Zuolin's death, Zhang Xueliang naturally had to succeed to the throne.
Of course, that's right!
After the victory of the Second Zhifeng War in 1927, Zhang Zuolin was stationed in Beijing and became the Grand Marshal of the Army and Navy of the Beiyang Military Government, exercising the right to rule on behalf of the Republic of China and becoming the supreme ruler of the country.
During his reign in Northeast China, although Zhang Zuolin was already a veritable "King of Northeast China" and "Emperor of Tu", his name and power were relatively limited.
However, after the victory of the Second Zhifeng War, Zhang Zuolin became an "emperor" in the true sense, with a great name and great power!
If it is in accordance with the ancient "primogeniture inheritance system", after Zhang Zuolin's death, it is natural to be succeeded by Zhang Xueliang, the eldest son.
But is that really the case?
The answer, of course, is no! The reason why Zhang Xueliang can become the new leader of the Fengzhi Group is the result of his uncle Zhang Zuoxiang's strong recommendation!
Figure | The warlord leader of the Feng clan - Zhang Zuolin
Soon after Zhang Zuolin's death, Zhang Xueliang immediately rushed back to Fengtian, on the one hand, to handle the funeral of his father Zhang Zuolin, and on the other hand, he immediately presided over the "Northeast Elders' Conference" to prepare for the election of a new leader of the Feng clan.
At the meeting, all the elders of the northeast unanimously agreed that Zhang Zuoxiang was the best candidate to govern the northeast. Because whether it is seniority or prestige in the military, Zhang Zuoxiang is higher than others.
Zhang Xueliang also believes that only Zhang Zuoxiang is the best candidate to govern the northeast, he said: "The grand marshal is buried in the sky, the dragons are leaderless, the auxiliary marshal (Zhang Zuoxiang) is the father, the merit is in the northeast, the morality is highly respected, and he is willing to be the leader and help each other in times of difficulty, please agree." “
A few days later, at the "Joint Meeting of the Parliaments of the Three Northeastern Provinces", Zhang Zuoxiang was unanimously elected by the delegates as the commander-in-chief of the security of the three eastern provinces.
After Zhang Zuoxiang was successfully elected, Zhang Xueliang was sincerely pleased, and he immediately sent the letter of recommendation and the seal letter of the Federation of The Three Eastern Provinces Councils to show his loyalty and support for the new "Grand Marshal".
The three eastern provinces were the territory laid by Zhang Zuolin, and Feng Jun was also brought out by him, and it is reasonable to say that after Zhang Zuolin's death, Zhang Xueliang should take over his father's inheritance without hesitation, how could he be so humble and willing to give it to Zhang Zuoxiang, who was not related to him?
Figure | The "second in command" of the warlord Fengzhi - Zhang Zuoxiang
Some people may say: This is just Zhang Xueliang's 'fake feeling', he is 'retreating into progress', deliberately making Zhang Zuoxiang feel too careless to go, and then hand over the power to him, so that those elders in the northeast will have nothing to say!
If you only look at the results, such a statement seems to have some truth, after all, in the end, Zhang Zuoxiang really took the initiative to give way to Zhang Xueliang, and Zhang Xueliang also successfully became the commander-in-chief of the security of the three eastern provinces.
But in fact, the reason why Zhang Xueliang wanted to elect Zhang Zuoxiang to be the number one was entirely out of other considerations, not the so-called "retreat to advance" and "want to capture the old and indulge".
The reasons for Zhang Xueliang's doing this are roughly the following three:
Figure | Young Marshal Zhang Xueliang
First, Zhang Zuoxiang is highly respected
Zhang Zuoxiang and Zhang Zuolin are the Jinlan brothers who originated in western Liaoning, and their qualifications are old and their strength is also the strongest.
Although Zhang Zuoxiang was born in the green forest and later joined the ranks of warlords, he was not a greedy and violent person, but was frank and had a Confucian demeanor.
For example, after the failure of "Guo Songling's defection and anti-Feng" in 1925, Zhang Zuolin presided over a meeting to solicit the opinions of other Feng clan old-school people on Guo Bu's handling.
Guo Songling's rebellion against Feng, for the entire Feng warlords, can be described as a big impact, the Feng army departments also suffered certain losses.
Therefore, at the meeting, Wu Junsheng, Zhang Jinghui, Tang Yulin and others all advocated strict handling, in their words: "Not killing is not enough for the people to be indignant."
We know that in the Fengjun army at that time, it could be roughly divided into three factions: one was the 'old faction' headed by Zhang Zuolin; the other was the 'Japanese faction' headed by Yang Yuting, also known as the "foreign faction"; and the third was the 'Tu faction' headed by Guo Songling, also known as the "new faction".
With the support of Zhang Xueliang, the "new faction" vigorously carried out military reform in the Fengjun Army!
In fact, the purpose of reform is to strive for strength, but this has harmed the interests of "old-schoolers" such as Tang Yulin and Zhang Jinghui;
Since Yang Yuting and other "foreign factions" have only been able to grow by relying on the "old schools," these reforms carried out by the new factions are bound to affect their interests.
Therefore, it is precisely because of this that Zhang Jinghui, Tang Yulin and others will advocate strict handling and want to take the opportunity to kill a batch to vent their private anger, so they said on the spot that they would "cut the grass and remove the roots."
Yang Yuting, in particular, demanded all executions on the basis of high-sounding reasons such as the so-called "if not severely punished, it will endanger the cause of the commander-in-chief" in order to achieve his goal of completely overthrowing the new faction.
Just when everyone was advocating strict handling of Guo Bu, Zhang Zuoxiang spoke!
Figure | Zhang Zuoxiang (stills)
Zhang Zuoxiang said: "Guo Songling has already surrendered to the Law, everyone else is our Sangzi disciples, and for many years they have been in robes, so they should be allowed to wear crimes and make meritorious deeds, and all of them should be exempted from punishment, indicating our leniency and the heart of An Guobu." If you can't kill them, then kill me zhang Zuoxiang first! I don't want to see this unfortunate tragedy repeated within the Feng army. ”
From Zhang Zuoxiang's remarks, it is not difficult for us to see that he is indeed a man with a frank heart.
In addition, this also reflects from the side that Zhang Zuoxiang is innocent, although he is in the "old school", but there is no interest entanglement with the "new school", let alone deep hatred.
Zhang Zuoxiang's sincerity touched Zhang Zuolin, and in the end, except for Guo Songling and his wife, who were brutally killed, the rest of the people were not punished, thus avoiding an unnecessary bloody massacre and greatly maintaining the stability and unity of the Feng family.
Of course, the reason why Zhang Zuolin did not order the liquidation of Guo Bu was not only Zhang Zuoxiang's strong advice, but also out of consideration for the balance of forces in the Feng clan!
Because once Guo Bu was all executed, then the new faction forces would inevitably be suppressed, so that there would only be old schools and new factions in the Feng clan, which was not conducive to the development of the Feng army, let alone to Zhang Zuolin's rule.
Therefore, under comprehensive consideration, Zhang Zuolin adopted Zhang Zuoxiang's suggestion!
During his time in Supervising Jiji, Zhang Zuoxiang advocated "protecting the border and ensuring the people's peace", and he actively built the Jihai Railway and established Jilin University, which made great contributions to the construction and development of Jilin Province.
In addition, he also resolutely opposed the cultivation of opium, and took the lead in not smoking opium, and cleaned himself up.
Second, Zhang Zuoxiang has no ambitions
Zhang Zuoxiang followed Zhang Zuoxiang's father and son for decades, and on his age was 6 years younger than Zhang Zuolin and 20 years older than Zhang Xueliang, and in terms of his official position and position in the Feng army, he was second only to the eldest brother Zhang Zuolin, but he never took credit for himself and was willing to submit to the position of deputy.
In the old Chinese period of "official standards," Zhang Zuoxiang's spirit was undoubtedly invaluable.
In March 1921, Sun Liechen, the overseer of Heilongjiang, was transferred to the Jilin Overseer, and Zhang Zuolin originally planned to make Zhang Zuoxiang the overseer of Heilongjiang, but Zhang Zuoxiang politely refused and strongly recommended Wu Junsheng to be appointed.
He said: "On seniority, I am not as good as Xingquan (Wu Junsheng character Xingquan), on the age he is also older than me, in order to show that treat people fairly, do not favoritism, please let Xingquan rise first, this is good for our cause, this is good for our future cause." ”
Such a simple and sincere language is really admirable!
When Zhang Zuolin was the governor of Jilin And governor, many people in the Feng army coveted his position, especially Yang Yuting, who had long been looking at him, and Zhang Zuolin was afraid that he would be humble again, so he specially sent Zhang Xueliang to secretly tell him that he must not give in, and Zhang Zuoxiang was willing to take office.
So you see, although Zhang Zuoxiang is also a warlord, he is different from those warlords who regard power as their destiny, he has no ambitions, and he has a general understanding and takes the overall situation into account, so that such a person can rule the northeast, and he will certainly be able to live up to the expectations of the people.
It is precisely because of this that Zhang Xueliang will vigorously elect Zhang Zuoxiang as the new leader of the Fengjun Army!
Third, Zhang Zuoxiang has feelings of home and country
At that time, although the northeast was the domain of warlords, the Japanese had long been eyeing it and wanted to occupy the three eastern provinces.
Zhang Zuoxiang has always opposed Japanese aggression and has a national integrity, which is very consistent with Zhang Xueliang's idea of hating Japan because of the hatred of the country and the family.
For example, in May 1928, when the representative of Mantetsu forced Zhang Zuolin to sign a contract with Japan for the "contracting" of the Manchurian New Five Roads, Zhang Zuolin asked Zhang Zuoxiang to negotiate and sign.
Of course, Zhang Zuoxiang could not agree to such an unreasonable demand, so when the two sides negotiated, Zhang Zuoxiang rejected the Japanese on the grounds that "the difficulties were quite great and he was unwilling to accept it."
Later, Zhang Zuoxiang secretly ordered the Jilin Provincial Council to send a telegram opposing zhang Zuolin, in which he said: "Giving the right to build railways to outsiders will leave a big problem ... No matter what power the Japanese play, they must not be allowed to give them this railway right, and they must be resolutely rejected. ”
Zhang Zuoxiang's refusal to sign a treaty of loss of sovereignty made the Japanese hate him to the bone and wanted to eliminate the consequences.
After the fall of the whole territory of northeast China in 1933, Zhang Zuoxiang was forced to retreat to Tianjin, and due to the relative haste, most of the family's property remained outside the Guan.
At that time, Zhang Zuoxiang had to support more than 70 people in Tianjin, which was very expensive, and his life was very difficult.
When the commander of the Japanese Kwantung Army, Honjo Shigeru, learned of Zhang Zuoxiang's situation, he immediately sent emissaries to ask him to return to the northeast to take control of the military and political power, and said that if he agreed, he would return all his property.
As a result, Zhang Zuoxiangyi replied rhetorically: "My surname Zhang would rather starve to death than be a traitor!" ”
Not long after, the Japanese sent someone to Tianjin and told Zhang Zuoxiang: "The property in the palace is sealed, and a commissioner is sent to guard it, and the assistant marshal can come to collect it at any time, and if the auxiliary marshal is inconvenient to go, the lady can also come to pick it up." ”
At that time, Zhang Zuoxiang's original wife, Zhao Shi, was deceased, and the second lady was responsible for the housework.
The second lady knew that Zhang Zuoxiang had real estate, deposits, gold and silver jewelry in Jilin, Fengtian and other places, and that the family conditions were not good now, so she said to Zhang Zuoxiang: "Since the Japanese have said so, then I will go to it, and it is good to get it back." ”
Unexpectedly, Zhang Zuoxiang was suddenly furious and angrily rebuked: "Hello Hu Tu! The Japanese call you not to pull me, can you come back when you go? ”
In fact, this is not the first time that the Japanese have done this, and after the fall of The Northeast, they have used similar methods against Zhang Xueliang.
But Zhang Xueliang, like Zhang Zuoxiang, did not take back his own property, in his words, that is, "If you want to pay it back, you will return the entire three eastern provinces." ”
The Japanese saw that Zhang Zuoxiang had no reaction, so they informed Zhang Zuoxiang through the puppet Manchu government: "Your government's property is now concentrated in Jinzhou, and I hope to send your relatives to hand it over, and attach a list." ”
After Zhang Zuoxiang looked at it, he immediately laughed and taunted: "Little devil, little devil, you are still far from playing Lao Tzu!" ”
However, in the end, Zhang Zuoxiang did not ask his relatives to pick it up, and warned his children that no one was allowed to interfere in this matter.
In order to save money, Zhang Zuoxiang's staple food is often mixed with brown rice, and he uses lettuce dipped in sauce to accompany his meals every day.
Later, after Zhang Xueliang, who was far away in Xi'an, heard the news, he immediately asked people to send 150,000 yuan and wished Zhang Zuoxiang to take care of his body.
After the fall of North China, a number of generals in the former Feng clan defected to the Japanese one after another, and at the instigation of the Japanese, they came to pull Zhang Zuo into the water.
As a result, he was ridiculed by Zhang Zuoxiang: "I always have to leave some virtue for future generations!" Can't make the northeast father and old brothers and sisters scold me! ”
At that time, some people threatened him: "Auxiliary commander, I am afraid that the Japanese will not tolerate it!" ”
Originally, he thought that Zhang Zuoxiang would feel scared, but who knew that he laughed and said, "My stinky skin bag has long been ignored, just waiting for the gendarmerie to pass me on!" ”
From then on, he instructed his subordinates that whoever was a traitor in the puppet government, no matter who it was, would not be seen.
Therefore, it is precisely because of this patriotic feeling on Zhang Zuoxiang that Zhang Xueliang can spare no effort to elect him to govern the northeast.
However, despite this, Zhang Zuoxiang still refused to resign, saying: "The Grand Marshal's kindness to me before his death was extremely high, and it is also right for me to lead Han Qing (Zhang Xueliangzi Hanqing) to lead the horse to fall, please join me in supporting Han Qing in taking charge of the great cause of northeast China." ”
Whether it is seniority, prestige, or military achievements, Zhang Xueliang is not as good as Zhang Zuoxiang, so why should he vigorously promote Zhang Xueliang to rule the northeast? What are the outstanding advantages of the young and vigorous Zhang Xueliang?
For this reason, the reason given by Zhang Zuoxiang is simple and very convincing!
He believes that although Zhang Xueliang is young, his cultural level, knowledge and talent, as well as his influence in the Fengjun, are above him.
Although he has experienced hundreds of battles and has rich experience, his cultural level is too low and his talent is insufficient, and he cannot cope with the current turbulent and complicated situation.
In fact, what Zhang Zuoxiang said is true, Zhang Xueliang has a high level of culture, and has a high level of knowledge and foresight, is young and powerful, and can deal well with the current complex situation, so it can be said that it is the best choice for him to govern the northeast.
In addition, the "concept of the monarch" and the "concept of clan" were already deeply rooted in the Feng clan, and most of the generals in the Feng army considered themselves to be soldiers of the "old Zhang family", and after Zhang Zuolin's death, it was bound to be succeeded by his son.
Of course, the most important reason why Zhang Zuoxiang "gave way" to Zhang Xueliang was that Zhang Zuoxiang knew him well enough!
Zhang Zuoxiang grew up watching Zhang Xueliang grow up, and he knew him very well!
In Zhang Xueliang's youth, he has already shown extraordinary talent. For example, in the autumn of 1921, when Zhang Xueliang was visiting Japan to visit the "spoils" of the past that had been plundered from China during the Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese deliberately asked him how he felt, and Zhang Zuoxiang was also present at the time.
Zhang Xueliang, who was a weak champion, replied without humility: "Victory and defeat are common affairs of soldiers, but today's China is no longer the China of the Sino-Japanese War!" ”
After Zhang Zuo listened, his heart immediately gave Zhang Xueliang a thumbs up! And it was from this time that Zhang Zuoxiang felt that in the future, after a hundred years of his eldest brother Zhang Zuolin, Zhang Xueliang must be his successor.
In 1922, the First Zhifeng War broke out, Zhang Xueliang personally served as the commander of the second echelon of the Zhenwei Army, because his army was well-trained and had strong combat effectiveness, he won a great victory in the Battle of Baxian and the Battle of Shanhaiguan, becoming the only unit that won the Feng army in the First Zhifeng War. At this time, Zhang Xueliang was only 21 years old.
When Zhang Xueliang was 23 years old, he was appointed commander of the Third Army of the Zhenwei Army, and at the age of 24, he was appointed commander of the Third Front.
In 1924, in the Second Battle of Zhifeng, Zhang Xueliang led the Third Army and Jiang Dengxuan's Second Army as the main force entering the northeast pass, and after the onslaught of Zhang Xueliang's troops, the Feng army quickly broke through Shanhaiguan and directly attacked Beiping.
After the war, Zhang Xueliang was also promoted to commander-in-chief of the garrison in The Beijing-Yu region. At the age of 27, he commanded the Third and Fourth Fronts.
Of course, Zhang Xueliang's promotion is so inseparable from the key care of his father Zhang Zuolin, but just imagine, if Zhang Xueliang is a mediocre talent, then it is to make him the leader of the Fengjun Army, and in the end it will be a mess.
Therefore, Zhang Xueliang himself still has certain abilities, which is beyond doubt.
Zhang Xueliang not only led the troops well, but also cultivated a strong new force, coupled with several years of tempering, at this time Zhang Xueliang was already full of wings and could completely control one side!
Because of this, Zhang Zuoxiang was more determined to have Zhang Xueliang inherit his father's throne, and let Zhang Xueliang rule the northeast, which was much stronger than Zhang Zuoxiang himself.
However, in order to convince the public, Zhang Zuoxiang also specially showed a wave of operations!
He first went out of his way to explain his meaning to the elders one by one, and then did a lot of explanatory work to change the thinking of these people.
Subsequently, the Federation of The Parliaments of the Three Eastern Provinces held another meeting, and after allowing Zhang Zuoxiang to "resign", it then voted on the spot to elect Zhang Xueliang as the commander-in-chief of the security of the three eastern provinces and the commander of the security of Fengtian Province, and formally took the oath of office the next day.
After that, Zhang Xueliang concurrently served as the chairman of the Northeast Political Affairs Committee. At this point, Zhang Xueliang officially became the supreme leader of the three eastern provinces and presided over the military and political affairs of the northeast.
After Zhang Xueliang took charge of the northeast, Zhang Zuoxiang took the lead in saying at the federation of the three eastern provinces: "We must resolutely obey the orders of the commander-in-chief. ”
Therefore, it is precisely because of Zhang Zuoxiang's strong recommendation that Zhang Xueliang was able to become the actual leader of the northeast.
In private, Zhang Zuoxiang said to Zhang Xueliang with great sincerity: "Little Sixth Son, you can rest assured, we will all support you." In business matters, if we disobey your orders, you can only use military law to deal with us; in private, you are still my nephew, you have to do a good job, if you are not good, I will go to the house and carry your ears, and I will slap you. ”
Zhang Zuoxiang did what he said! After Zhang Xueliang took power, Zhang Zuoxiang always did his best to assist him and did everything he could to order him.
Even if Zhang Xueliang later ordered the execution of Yang Yuting and Chang Yinhuai, although Zhang Zuoxiang felt sudden after hearing the news, he did not have the language of reproach, but said to him: "Do it, just do it well, just do it well, so that An Yang and Chang are around." ”
Zhang Xueliang complied, buried Yang and Chang thickly, and compensated their families, which soon established personal prestige and stabilized the situation in the northeast.
Later, in order to unify the country and unanimously resist the Japanese invaders, Zhang Xueliang announced the change of northeast China at the end of 1928 and submitted to the command of the Nationalist government in Nanjing.
Zhang Zuoxiang had always trusted Chiang Kai-shek very much, so at the beginning, Zhang Zuo did not quite agree with the matter of Changing Banner in the northeast, but seeing that Zhang Xueliang's determination was already determined, he could only express unconditional obedience, and finally realized the reunification of the north and the south.
Zhang Zuoxiang and Zhang Xueliang, one is a Fengshi elder who has made many meritorious achievements and is highly respected, and the other is a capable and talented general, huzi, no matter who comes out to rule the northeast, it is beyond reproach.
Of course, according to the psychology of the officials at that time, since they all had this qualification, they should not give in.
However, they both promote each other, and they all want each other to become the leader of the northeast, so sincere and sincere, they are really envious.
This incident has also played a very positive role in the stability and unity within the Fengzhi Group, as well as in the external unity.