The mainland's national anthem, the March of the Volunteer Army, contains these two sentences: "When the Chinese nation reaches the most dangerous time, everyone is forced to issue a final roar."
In the 1930s, there were countless heroes and benevolent people fighting for the fate of China, and the anti-Japanese national salvation became the most obvious epitome of that era, when the Sino-Japanese national contradictions rose to the main contradiction, and the Chinese nation also established an anti-Japanese national united front.
Many people in that era were fighting for the fate of the nation, but there were exceptions. The warlords in Xikang and Xinjiang, who had heavy armies, were only for their own selfish desires and did not participate in the anti-Japanese resistance.
Warlord troops baptized by fire
After the end of the Qing Dynasty's rule, Yuan Shikai stole the fruits of the revolution, and the Beiyang warlords became the biggest cancer in Chinese society at that time. With the fall of Yuan Shikai, the original Beiyang warlords also began to split, and warlords in various places supported the army and respected themselves, which was not conducive to the reunification and development of the country. Therefore, at that time, Sun Yat-sen put forward the loud slogan of "overthrowing the great powers and eliminating the warlords".
However, some of these warlords are also very clear about the national righteousness, the Gui army has always been known as the "wolf soldiers", the later Gui warlords led by Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi, participated in many battles against Japan, and won many victories, greatly improving the confidence of the Chinese people in the war of resistance. The Gui army suppressed the Japanese army many times in the Battle of Taierzhuang and the Battle of Guinan, and also won the respect of many people.
At that time, there were many warlords in Chinese society, most of these warlords were kings, but the Sichuan army was somewhat chaotic, the Sichuan army did not form a unity, and liu Xiang, the "king of Sichuan", was only considered to be the formal ruler because his warlord power was the most powerful in the local area.
In the overall strength of the entire new Chinese warlords, the strength of the Sichuan army is not the strongest, on the contrary, it is still at the level of the middle and lower reaches, but this does not hinder the determination of the Sichuan army to resist the Japanese army, as the "king of Sichuan", Liu Xiang called on the soldiers and civilians of Sichuan to actively resist Japan, and said that "the Sichuan army will not break the Japanese and return to Sichuan."
These warlords are very admirable, of course, the most worth mentioning in the War of Resistance Against Japan is the Zhensong Army, the Zhensong Army this army is the warlord force gathered by some mountain bandit leaders, in peacetime, they have not done less to harm the people and fish and meat towns, but it is such a unit that shines in the War of Resistance Against Japan.
The change of the Zhensong army stemmed from their leader Liu Zhenhua, Liu Zhenhua's "zhen" character, plus the soldiers came from the Songshan area, with a "Song" character, so there was this new Zhensong army.
Before the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, they still engaged in the business of wanton tyranny and hooliganism, but after the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, coupled with Liu Zhenhua's correct leadership, the Japanese army suffered many defeats.
Later, Liu Zhenhua retreated to the second line because of mental problems, and his younger brother Liu Mao'en took over the army, and he followed his brother's instructions and continued to devote himself to the first line of the War of Resistance, which was later reorganized into the 15th Army, which also fought in the name of the regular army.
In the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain, the enemy's offensive became fierce, the 15th Army was at a disadvantage, and his men advised him to surrender, but Liu Mao'en said that he was a Chinese soldier, if he lost his national integrity for a while, how could he not be ridiculed.
The selfish King of Xikang
However, not all warlords are self-sacrificing and fighting for national righteousness in this way, among which the behavior of Liu Wenhui, the king of Xikang, is the most disgraceful.
Xikang Province is the former provincial administrative region of the mainland, bordering Sichuan, Yunnan, Tibet, and Qinghai, and is the main road into Tibet, and its geographical location is very superior, but this Xikang king, as a general of the Nationalist Army, does not have the slightest sense of national distress, he not only did not send troops to reinforce the anti-Japanese troops on the front line, but also tightly closed the gates of the entire Xikang Province and turned away friendly troops.
Liu Wenhui understood that most of the current army had focused its attention on the battlefield of the Anti-Japanese War, and no one would take care of him, so he frantically expanded his military strength in the Xikang area and consolidated his political power.
After the outbreak of the All-out War of Resistance in 1937, Liu Wenhui could not resist the pressure of public opinion and decided to donate 500,000 oceans to the Anti-Japanese Army, which may be an astronomical number for ordinary people, but for a "Xikang King", this is just a dime.
After Yuan Shikai was overthrown, among all the warlord forces there were two warlords surnamed "Liu", both in the Sichuan area, namely Liu Xiang, the "King of Sichuan" and Liu Wenhui, the "King of Xikang".
Liu Wenhui was Liu Xiang's uncle, but Liu Wenhui's ideological consciousness was far inferior to Liu Xiang's, and during the time when Liu Xiang left Sichuan, Liu Wenhui not only did not give any help to his nephew, but also frantically seized his nephew's territory.
Even after the founding of New China, he also contributed a lot to the construction of the motherland, but this experience of being a warlord was also spurned by many people.
Greedy "King of Xinjiang"
In addition to Liu Wenhui, the "King of Xikang", there was another warlord who did not make any contribution to the country during the War of Resistance, and that was the "King of Xinjiang" Sheng Shicai.
Sheng Shicai was a northeasterner, a young man who joined the army, and at the beginning, Sheng Shicai was only a small officer in the Northeast Army, but Sheng Shicai's flexible mind and connections in all aspects allowed him to have the opportunity to develop his own forces in Xinjiang.
After Sheng Shicai arrived in Xinjiang, he quickly became the most famous warlord force in Xinjiang and was also known as the "King of Xinjiang" by the locals.
Sheng Shicai, who climbed from the bottom step by step to the "King of Xinjiang", had many small calculations in his heart; when the War of Resistance Against Japan broke out, Sheng Shicai refused to send additional troops to the northeast region and the southeast coast on the pretext that he was in the inner line and had limited mobility. Sheng Shicai had already understood in his heart that the battlefield of the Japanese army could only be opened up on the east coast of China, and it had little to do with his own survival.
If Sheng Shicai is just so selfish, then you will underestimate Sheng Shicai, and Sheng Shicai understands that the military strength of the Soviet Union is superior to that of China, so he secretly has contact with the Soviet side and also carries out arms transactions and other such activities. Although China and the Soviet Union had friendly diplomatic relations at that time, it was obviously very inappropriate for Sheng Shicai and the Soviet Union to be so.
Not only did the Chinese side feel that Sheng Shicai's approach was not good, but the Communist International League also felt that the Soviet side and Sheng Shicai were too close, but the Soviet side constantly provided Sheng Shicai with arms for the sake of its own national interests, in an attempt to control the Xinjiang region.
Sheng Shicai even expressed his desire to establish a Soviet republic in the Xinjiang region and join the Soviet Union many times, and the Soviet Union had to dispel Sheng Shicai's idea out of international public opinion and the social environment at that time.
Sheng Shicai's high-handed policy in the Xinjiang region caused the people to complain, and because of the influence of the international situation, Sheng Shicai and the Soviet Union also became hostile relations.
Sheng Shicai hunted down the Communists in large numbers, causing local armed riots, and finally, in 1944, the arrogant "King of Xinjiang" Sheng Shicai also passed away.
brief summary:
Warlords are a unique historical product of a certain stage in Chinese society, and to a certain extent, warlord melee is not conducive to national unity and national unity. But in the face of aggression, many warlords were able to unite against foreign enemies.
Because of these Chinese with iron bones, the cultural inheritance of the Chinese nation will always exist, and the integrity of the Chinese nation will never fade.
However, not all people are able to link the fate of the nation with the fate of the individual. There are still many people like Liu Wenhui and Sheng Shicai in China's history, and we must establish correct core values, make correct judgments, and contribute our own strength to the future of the motherland.
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