Zhang Zuolin with the rise of status, political desire is getting bigger and bigger, he has obtained the territory of the three northeastern provinces, known as the "king of Guanwai", but also wants to expand the sphere of influence to Inner and outer Mongolia, Manchurian and Mongolian as a political entity, give orders to become his world, this idea, he has been planning for a long time. In August 1919, the Beijing government appointed Xu Shuzheng, an Anhui general, as the border envoy in the northwest, and Xu used more than 200 cars to transport troops, blitzed Kulen, overthrew the independence of the living Buddha, and returned to the embrace of the motherland. At that time, domestic newspapers praised Xu Shuzheng's recovery of Outer Mongolia and set a special honor for the country. But Zhang Zuolin thinks that this is the biggest blow to his idea of hegemony in Manchuria.
Tsarist Russia has always had non-divisive ambitions for devouring Outer Mongolia. In 1911, when the Xinhai Revolution established the Republic of China, the political situation was temporarily turbulent, and Tsarist Russia instigated the Kulen Living Buddha to declare independence from China. The Beijing government was extremely shocked by this, and repeatedly planned to send troops to expeditions to fight the chaos in Outer Mongolia, but due to difficulties in military spending, weather, logistics, and transportation, it could not be realized. By the outbreak of World War I in 1914, when Imperial Russia had joined the Entente and was unfavorable to Germany, the domestic political situation was chaotic, and there was no time to take care of Outer Mongolia. Unexpectedly, not long after, there was a war between the two departments of Anhui and Anhui, the border guards of the Anhui department were defeated, Xu Shuzheng was removed from his post and was wanted, and he fled in the Japanese Legation in China. So the Living Buddha and some princes in Outer Mongolia thought stupidly and acted out an independent ugly drama again. At this time, the White Russian army, which was entrenched in Chita, had been defeated by the Soviet Red Army and driven out of the country, and the White Russia was divided into two groups, one led by Seminov and retreated to the coastal province, and the other was led by Wenger, about three or four thousand people, from Manchuria to Outer Mongolia, and entered Kulen in February 1921 (10th of the People's Republic of China). Xu Shuzheng's original brigade of the Northwest Frontier Army stationed in Kulen retreated to Zhangjiakou, and the other retreated north to Kyakhta, and Kulen became the world of Wenger of White Russia.
In order to determine the policy toward Mongolia, in May 1921, President Xu Shichang summoned Zhang Zuolin, the envoy of the three eastern provinces, Cao Won, the envoy of the Zhilu and Henan provinces, Wang Zhanyuan, the envoy of the two lakes, Jin Yunpeng, the premier, and the Mongolian princes in Beijing, to hold a conference on the aftermath of Mongolia, and on May 30, in the name of the president, Zhang Zuolin was appointed as the envoy of the Mongolian economy.
Zhang Zuolin hung two big seals on his body, one was the patrol envoy of the three eastern provinces, and the other was the envoy of the Mongolian and Xinjiang Economic Strategy, and he was really full of ambition and triumphant. He recalled that the little fan Xu Shuzheng recovered Outer Mongolia and made a lot of limelight, could it be that I, the envoy of Mongolia's frontier, was not as good as his envoy to the northwest, and I had to personally go out to show my majesty. And the White Russian army entrenched in Kulen is a tired group that has been expelled from the country, and it is vulnerable, why not take advantage of the situation to go into battle, fight a few beautiful battles, and let the country and abroad see what a hero Zhang Zuolin is. On June 25, 1921, he was inaugurated as an envoy to Mongolia and Xinjiang in Mukden, and actively carried out military preparations for an expedition to Outer Mongolia. It was planned to attack Kulen from the southeast, north, and south. The eastern route attacked from the Rehe side, with all the 28th Division under the command of Ji Jinchun and a cavalry brigade, and Ji was the commander of the eastern route. The south road marched north from Zhangjiakou, and the troops were the first division of the provisional Feng Army and the sixth and seventh mixed brigades of the provisional formation, under the command of Zhang Jinghui, the commander of Chahar. The north road marched westward from Hailar, with all the troops of the 29th Division and the 1st Brigade of the Heilongjiang Cavalry under Ba Ying'ersuo, commanded by Wu Junsheng, the overseer of Heilongjiang. In order to gather troops for the conquest of Mongolia, he reported to the Beijing Government to request the expansion of four more brigades, which was approved, and 5 million yuan was also issued for military expenses, so he began the military campaign to conquer Mongolia. First of all, Ji Jinchun led the 28th Division to Rehe. Zhang Zuolin himself decided to personally lead the three-way people, enter Outer Mongolia, and set off on the day, specially invited his blind adviser (is a blind man who sells his arts, Zhang is very convinced of him, hired as a consultant, known as Bao Consultant or Bao Blind), and selected the auspicious time for Qinglong's dispatch on July 26, and is scheduled to bring more than 40 civil and military attachés, a battalion of guards, first to Harbin, and then westward to Hailar, from Hulunbuir along the Krulun River to continue westward, command the three-way Feng army, and the Long March to Kulun. It is worth noting that Zhang Zuolin mobilized the Feng army and personally conquered Outer Mongolia, which was strongly sponsored by the Japanese Kwantung Army and the South Manchurian Railway Company. A VIP train and a first-class carriage were formed for him. Zhang Zuolin's Japanese military adviser Honjo Shigeru Osaku (the culprit who later caused the "September 18" incident, the commander of the Kwantung Army), also asked to go with him. Zhang also envisaged that after pacifying Kulun, he would travel south from the Kulen Desert by car, passing through Zhangjiakou and triumphantly in Beijing as a victorious general.
Just when Zhang Zuolin was feverishly preparing to personally lead the three-way army on an expedition, the situation in Outer Mongolia suddenly changed dramatically. The Soviet Red Army marched from Chita to the area south of Kyakhta, routed Wenger's White Russian army, and the Red Army drove deep into the depths, sweeping the remnants of Wenger one after another, and occupied Kulen in early July. The Mongolian Revolutionary Party then formed the Mongolian People's Government on 17 July. Zhang Zuolin saw the sudden change in the situation in Outer Mongolia, so he had no choice but to stop military operations, and a dream of being the king of Kulun suddenly came to naught. He said comfortingly: "Although Outer Mongolia did not succeed, but the Chahar and Rehe in Inner Mongolia have all returned to me, my Mongolian Xinjiang Envoy is much stronger than the small fan of the Northwest Frontier Envoy, I can't help but say that it is the blessing of Lafayette." ”
The author, Hui De'an, a Manchu from Shenyang, graduated from the Northeast Lecture and Wutang, and has served as a staff officer by Zhang Xueliang's side for a long time