On October 10, 1911, with the sound of a gun in the Wuchang Uprising, the Qing Dynasty, which had survived for 276 years, was as if it was terminally ill, and the Republic of China established with it did not bring democracy and peace to everyone as the people expected.
As far away as the northeast region, a Qing Dynasty official from a peasant family is gradually entering the stage of history, he is the later leader of the Beiyang Army, Zhang Zuolin, but what is less known is that before he became the "king of the northeast", he was afraid of Yuan Shikai everywhere and even bowed down, what kind of story is there between them? How did Zhang Zuolin grow step by step to become a local hero?
First, the great responsibility is descended
Zhang Zuolin was born in Shenyang to a peasant family, in addition to his two older brothers, because the landlord exploited, the family was in difficulty, Zhang's father because of the need to support his wife and children, the pressure was too high and contracted the vice of gambling.
One morning, Zhang Zuolin was frolicking in the yard as usual, when a person hurriedly ran in, and after whispering a few words with his mother, his mother burst into tears. It turned out that Zhang's father had a dispute with someone because of gambling and was beaten to death. Zhang Zuolin's two brothers heard the bad news, did not listen to their mother's dissuasion, picked up a hoe and ran out.
Later, Zhang Zuolin learned that his brothers went to avenge his father, and the revenge was revenge, but the murder paid for his life, and the two brothers were also arrested by the Qing government, and the family was scattered like this, leaving him and his mother to rely on each other, but God still seemed to think that he was not miserable enough, and after a few years, his mother had a serious illness and left him because of the failure to treat him in time.
Zhang Zuolin has been displaced since then, living a life of eating the last meal but not the next, during which he worked as a miscellaneous worker, worked as a nursing home, and sold burnt cakes. In this way, he tasted all kinds of sufferings in the world, perhaps this is the heaven will descend on the people of Sri Lanka, and he must first suffer his will.
Second, Mei Xiang came from bitter cold
Slowly, Zhang Zuolin understood that having power and status allowed him to eat and stop being bullied. Soon Zhang Zuolin saw a recruitment notice, so at the age of 19, he became a personal soldier of the warlord Song Qing. Because he came out of society early, he was quick-witted and flexible, good at detecting words and colors, and was appreciated by Song Qing.
When the Sino-Japanese War broke out in 1894, due to the corruption of the Qing government and the grudges of household officials Weng Tongyong and Li Hongzhang, no military supplies were allocated to the front during the war, which eventually led to embarrassment and defeat.
After the defeat, the Japanese occupied the three northeastern provinces, and Song Qing was forced by the Japanese to begin to reduce his troops, so Zhang Zuolin was unemployed, but after several years of military career, the current Zhang Zuolin can no longer be compared with previous years.
Zhang Zuolin understood that peace could not be restored in the northeast in a short time, so he began to accumulate contacts, with high emotional intelligence, he mixed well in the major forces, after a while, he thought that the time was ripe, so he took out all his savings to organize a security group, since then he began to maintain public order, fight bandits, protect the people, in the context of that era, Zhang Zuolin got a high voice.
It didn't take long for his security regiment to change into a sizeable army under his leadership, and when the Russo-Japanese War broke out in 1904, Zhang Zuolin judged the situation and did not move, between Japan and Russia, as a large-scale snake leader in the northeast, he was wooed by Japan and Russia at the same time, seeing that the opportunity came, he laughed at Russia's advanced weapons, and did not refuse Japanese financial sponsorship, during this period he was frantically developing his power and dividing up the dividends of the war.
After the war, his strength could not be underestimated, and he became the "king of the northeast" in the true sense, and at this time the Qing government was already in danger and unable to take care of itself.
Third, grab the barrel of the gun in troubled times
Yuan Shikai came from a family of eunuchs and learned martial arts since he was a child, and later when the Kashin coup d'état occurred in Korea, he led his army to defeat the Japanese army, and was used by the Qing government after returning to China. The new army he formed participated in the Western Affairs Movement and the New Politics of the late Qing Dynasty, rising from Taoist to the number one minister in the late Qing Dynasty, and then becoming the hegemon of North China.
When the Xinhai Revolution broke out in 1911, Yuan Shikai took the opportunity to plunder the achievements of the revolution and became the president of the Republic of China under the protection of Sun Yat-sen, who forced Puyi to abdicate and became the actual controller of the entire north.
Yuan Shikai's son was friendly with Kaiser Wilhelm II, so he was very fascinated by imperial power, and after returning to China, he kept encouraging his father to become emperor, so there was a very famous restoration of Yuan Shikai in history.
After Yuan Shikai had the idea of restoration, he urgently summoned Zhang Zuolin because he knew that he needed Zhang Zuolin's support.
But Yuan Shikai is also very jealous of Zhang Zuolin, after all, he has a heavy army and is very prestigious in the northeast, and he has already regarded Zhang Zuolin as a thorn in the flesh in his heart. After receiving Yuan Shikai's summons, Zhang Zuolin quickly went to Beiping, and Zhang Zuolin also knew that Yuan Shikai was wary of him, because he wanted to transfer him away from the northeast before, but the current strength of the Northeast Army was not enough to compete with the Beiyang Army, so it was the best policy to bow to Yuan Shikai at present.
4. If you have a gun, you have the right
After the two met, Zhang Zuolin bowed to Yuan Shikai, and Yuan Shikai said again and again that it was a new era, and there was no need to perform this gift anymore, but his heart was very useful. Yuan Shikai immediately ordered someone to arrange a wine banquet, and Zhang Zuolin's words were funny and rude during the banquet, which caused Yuan Shikai to laugh, but whenever Yuan Shikai asked key questions, Zhang Zuolin would talk about him.
After three rounds of drinking, Yuan Shikai began to show concern for the Northeast Army, and Zhang Zuolin continued to work hard to curry favor, and tried his best to express that he was just a rough person, only valued interests, and whoever gave him food would work for whomever he wanted.
After a few rounds, Yuan Shikai was also a little less guarded, so he asked directly: "Do you want territory, or do you want an army?" After Zhang Zuolin heard this question, the drunkenness he had just had immediately dissipated. He understood that Yuan Shikai was testing himself, so he laughed out loud, pointed to the gold watch on Yuan Shikai's wrist and said: "Compared to the army and territory, it would be great if I could get the president's gold watch."
Upon hearing this, Yuan Shikai burst out laughter and immediately gave his watch to Zhang Zuolin.
After this meeting, Zhang Zuolin left the Beiyang Army with the image of a bandit with deep pockets and sharp words, and this trick of pretending to be a pig and eating a tiger was indeed very popular with Yuan Shikai. As everyone knows, Zhang Zuolin had already secretly accumulated strength to show favor to the Japanese, and on the other hand, he flattered the Beiyang Army to the extreme, and after a period of time, Zhang Zuolin's Northeast Army had expanded to 500,000 people.
In 1925, after the victory of the Second Zhifeng War, Zhang Zuolin settled in Beiping and officially became the supreme ruler of the Republic of China, during which time the Japanese again wooed, but he refused and did not sign any traitorous treaties.
Summary:
Tang Degang once commented on Yuan Shikai in ten words: "In troubled times, grab the barrel of a gun, and if you have a gun, you have the right", which also shows that in the early 20th century, Yuan Shikai used his strength to transform from a revolutionary to a revolutionary leader.
And Zhang Zuolin is also a pivotal figure in modern history, in defending sovereignty and defending national beliefs, he has his own bottom line, when signing treaties with the Japanese, some important sums he did not compromise with Japan, which also laid the groundwork for the fall of a generation of heroes. Although modern people have mixed opinions about Yuan Shikai and Zhang Zuolin, this does not prevent them from leaving a strong mark in history.