During the Beiyang period of the mainland, there were many factions, the warlords were divided into one side, the main warlord factions were the direct lineage, the Anhui clan, and the Feng clan, and the direct leader of the Feng clan was Zhang Zuolin, the tu emperor of the northeast and the king of the northeast, who dominated for a while. His generals Guo Songling, Li Jinglin, Han Linchun, Zhang Zongchang, and Jiang Dengxuan were known as the Five Tiger Generals of the Fengzhi Army.
Zhang Zuolin
Those familiar with history know that Guo Songling and Zhang Xueliang met in the Army Lecture Hall of the Three Eastern Provinces, and the two saw each other as they always were, and under the recommendation of Zhang Xueliang, Guo Songling began to serve in the Fengzhi Army, and in the future, he repeatedly made battle merits and rose higher and higher. Both Zhang Zuolin and Zhang Xueliang trusted him, and if he had not been killed in rebellion, Guo Songling might have become the second person in Zhang Xueliang's reign.
However, Guo Songling's life ended in tragedy, because of the defeat of the rebel Zhang Zuolin's soldiers, he was shot and killed for three days! So why did Guo Songling, who was in a high position, betray Feng Jun to oppose Zhang Zuolin?
Guo Songling
Guo Songling's growth path
In the early years, Guo Songling dropped out of school due to the Russo-Japanese War, so he abandoned his pen to serve the country from Rong And entered the Fengtian Army Primary School, after graduation, Guo Songling was admitted to the Fengtian Army Accelerated School and graduated with honors. After that, he served in the general Yamen of Shengjing and officially began his military career.
It was not until he met Zhang Xueliang at the Army Lecture Hall of the Three Eastern Provinces that Guo Songling began to enter the Fengzhi Army, and was appointed by Zhang Zuolin as the chief of staff and the commander of the second regiment, and then continuously promoted. Since then, Guo Songling and Zhang Xueliang have also been friends and teachers, and Zhang Xueliang has absolute trust in Guo Songling.
Grand Marshal's Mansion
Heartbroken
In 1922, the direct army and the Feng army attacked each other, and the Feng army was defeated and retreated. Only Guo Songling and zhang Xueliang's Fengjun troops achieved partial victories, and Lao Guo's reputation gradually rose. In 1924, the Second Zhifeng War broke out, and the Fengshi army won a great victory. Guo Songling was promoted to deputy commander of the Jingyu garrison because of his outstanding command.
After defeating the direct army, Zhang Zuolin was momentarily floating, ready to march into Guannei and occupy the southern provinces, but this plan was strongly opposed by Guo Songling, who believed that the people had suffered from war for a long time, and now they should protect the border and wait for the opportunity, Zhang Zuolin did not agree with his views, and the two began to feel bitter. Coupled with the fact that Zhang Zuolin ignored Guo Songling when discussing the reward for meritorious deeds, Guo was even more dissatisfied. Of course, Zhang Zuolin's explanation is that in the future, when the little sixth son takes the throne, he will definitely reuse you Guo Songling, the world is yours, why do you care about the current position.
In addition to disagreeing with Zhang Zuolin, Guo Songling and Yang Yuting, the elder of the Feng clan, were also at odds with each other, and always felt excluded by him. It is precisely because the contradiction between the two is becoming more and more intense, which has become one of the reasons why Guo Songling betrayed Feng Jun.
In October 1925, Guo Songling received explosive news that Zhang Zuolin might "implement the Twenty-One Articles" in exchange for Japanese arms assistance. This made Lao Guo very angry, and he thought that Zhang Zuolin had done everything to please the Japanese Kou, so he secretly contacted Li Jinglin and Feng Yuxiang and signed a secret agreement to attack Zhang Zuolin and force him to step down.
Whether he was ready or not, Guo Songling began to move. On November 21, Guo Songling issued a telegram: oppose civil war, advocate peace; Zhang Zuolin must go to the wilderness, and must punish Yang Yuting, who is the main battle; Support Zhang Xueliang and innovate the three eastern provinces.
Guo Songling rebelled and was killed
Lao Guo's rebellion shocked Zhang Zuolin, and Lao Zhang quickly wrote a handwritten letter to persuade him to turn back, but Guo Songling flatly refused, and Zhang Xueliang's persuasion did not work! The Great War is on the verge of breaking out.
Guo Songling was indeed a general, and soon after the start of the war, he conquered Jinzhou like a bamboo, but what Lao Guo did not expect was that Li Jinglin suddenly betrayed the covenant and cut off his own back road, and Feng Yuxiang only cared about expanding his own power, at this time Lao Guo could only fight alone!
At the beginning of the battle, Guo Songling commanded the army like a bamboo, after all, he was in charge of the elite of the Feng army at that time, and Zhang Zuolin was ready to escape at this time. Seeing this, the Japanese began to secretly woo Guo Songling but he refused, so they decided to help Zhang Zuolin to eliminate Guo Songling and signed an anti-Guo secret treaty, and then sent the Japanese army to attack Guo Songling's army, which Zhang Zuolin dreamed of. In the end, under the attack of many parties, Guo Songling gradually lost his opponent.
Chang
The ending may have been predetermined, Guo Songling was finally defeated and captured at The White Flag Fort, and shot and killed by the Feng army. Zhang Zuolin ordered that the body be exposed for three days before it could be buried. It was rumored that Zhang Xueliang wanted to save Guo Songling, but unfortunately it was not too late.
Guo Songling's death is regrettable, and his rebellion against Zhang Zuolin has both selfish interests and public intentions. He was a man who had been influenced by democratic ideas in the early days, tired of warlord melee, and hoped that Zhang Xueliang would take charge of reforming the northeast. Forcing Zhang Zuolin to go into the wilderness is actually a negation of the old warlord pattern. He has always been a tough man toward Japan, taking into account the overall national righteousness and not betraying national interests in order to gain Japan's support. Some people even say that Guo Songling was not defeated by Zhang Zuolin but by Japan. The selfish intention of the rebellion is that Guo Songling always feels that he has done a great job, while Zhang Zuolin did not give a suitable reward but wantonly rewarded those generals who had contradictions with him, making him very dissatisfied until the contradiction intensified.
Although the soldiers were defeated and killed, it cannot be denied that Guo Songling had strong military ability and national self-esteem, Zhang Xueliang once said when recalling Guo Songling: "If Guo Songling is still there, there will be no '918' incident." It can be seen how much Zhang Xueliang values Guo Songling, and it also shows that it is difficult for the Japanese to bribe Lao Guo with profits!