At noon on March 17, 1946, a special plane numbered 222 suddenly disappeared in the sky over Jiangsu. The passenger on this special plane is not simple, it is Dai Li, director of the Kuomintang Military Command Bureau. For a while, Dai Li's whereabouts became a mystery, and the reactions from all parties were also enthusiastic.
When Hu Zongnan learned of this bad news, he was heartbroken because he had lost his main support within the military command. The traitors who had colluded with Dai Li were even more terrified, fearing that their crimes would be revealed. In contrast, others within the military command were secretly glad that they could finally get rid of Dai Li's shadow.
And for Chiang Kai-shek, the supreme ruler at the time, Dai Li's death was undoubtedly a double-edged sword. On the one hand, he has solved a major problem, and on the other hand, it is really unpredictable how the military commander's vast network of power will evolve in the future. Could it be that Chiang Kai-shek was really so relieved? What kind of far-reaching impact will Dai Li's death have?
The causes and consequences of Dai Li's death
At noon on March 17, 1946, Dai Li's special plane numbered 222 suddenly disappeared in the sky over Jiangsu. The plane was originally scheduled to fly from Nanjing to Chongqing, because Chiang Kai-shek personally summoned Dai Li and others to a meeting to discuss the future of military unification.
As soon as the news spread, chaos immediately spread within the military command. As the supreme commander of the military command, Dai Li controls a huge secret service agency, and his whereabouts are too important for the military commander. The spies under Dai Li's direct command were naturally worried, for fear that something would happen to Dai Li.
The news of Dai Li's disappearance soon reached Chiang Kai-shek's ears. As soon as Chiang Kai-shek heard the bad news, he was immediately shocked and immediately ordered an all-out search and rescue. He knew that Dai Li's side held too many secrets of the military commanders, and once these secrets were leaked, it would be a fatal blow to his rule.
Chiang Kai-shek ordered Air Force Commander Zhou Zhirou to immediately send planes to search along the route of special plane No. 222. At the same time, he also instructed Mao Renfeng, deputy director of the Military Command, to personally lead a team and bring a radio station, telegraph personnel, and surgeons to make all preparations for dealing with the situation.
Although Chiang Kai-shek was worried about Dai Li's whereabouts, he was secretly happy in his heart. The military command spy force in Dai Li's hands is too large to pose a major threat to his personal power. If something really happens to Dai Li, then he can take this opportunity to weaken the military command and regain control of the situation.
Just when all parties were making every effort to search and rescue, a shocking news came - near Banqiao Town, Jiangning County, southwest of Nanjing, the wreckage of a crashed plane was found, and all the passengers on board were killed. After further confirmation, this plane was the No. 222 special plane that Dai Li was flying.
The news of Dai Li's death caused an uproar within the military command. Some wept bitterly, some were jubilant, and some were secretly happy. Dai Li's death will undoubtedly trigger a huge change within the military command, and everyone's future and destiny will face a reshuffle.
In the end, Chiang Kai-shek decided to appoint Zheng Jiemin as the acting director of the Military Unification Bureau, and Tang Zong and Mao Renfeng as deputy directors to share the power of the Military Unification. This was undoubtedly Chiang Kai-shek's deliberate attempt to prevent any one person from centralizing power, so as to firmly control the behemoth of military command.
In this way, Dai Li's death not only ended his legendary life, but also opened a new page for the Kuomintang secret service and military command. In this drama of power change, everyone is secretly competing for their own future and fate. However, no one expected that Dai Li's death was just the beginning, and that greater changes would soon come.
The impact of Dai Li's death on all parties
Dai Li's death was undoubtedly a bombshell that caused a huge shock within the KMT. Each faction is closely watching the development of this event, as their future and destiny will be turned upside down.
The first to bear the brunt is Dai Li's close friend Hu Zongnan. As a warlord, Hu Zongnan has always relied on military commanders to maintain his power by Chiang Kai-shek's side. Dai Li's death undoubtedly dealt a heavy blow to his power map.
Once Dai Li's support within the military command is lost, Hu Zongnan will fall into infighting with Chen Cheng and others. As Chiang Kai-shek's confidant, Chen Cheng's background strength is far beyond Hu Zongnan's. If he loses to Chen Cheng, Hu Zongnan will completely lose hope of succeeding Chiang Kai-shek.
Therefore, when he learned the news of Dai Li's death, Hu Zongnan's first reaction was heartbreak. He personally took a special plane to Nanjing to mourn Dai Li's body. In front of Dai Li's spirit, Hu Zongnan mourned not only the death of his best friend, but also the fall of his future.
In stark contrast to Hu Zongnan are those traitors who have colluded with Dai Li and defected to Japan. When they learned of Dai Li's death, they were more of a state of despair and panic.
Among them, the most representative ones are Zhou Fohai and Ding Mo Estate. During the Anti-Japanese War, the two defected to Japan, and were later persuaded by Dai Li's operation to "change their minds" and regain allegiance to the Kuomintang. Dai Li, not only exonerated both of them, but also promised to reuse them after the war.
However, once Dai Li's death, these traitors completely lost their umbrella. To Chiang Kai-shek, they were nothing more than a bunch of dispensable pawns. Once Dai Lia is gone, who will intercede for them?
Therefore, when the news of Dai Li's death came, Zhou Fohai and Ding Mochun were immediately desperate. Zhou Fohai even shouted "Yunong (Dai Li's pseudonym) is dead, and I'm finished." They were afraid that their treason would be exposed and they would eventually be sentenced to death.
In stark contrast to Hu Zongnan and the traitors, there were other personnel within the military command. For them, Dai Li's death is undoubtedly a good opportunity to regain a new life.
The reason for this was that Dai Li's power within the military command was so concentrated that it posed a major threat to Chiang Kai-shek's personal power. In the event of an accident with Dai Li, Chiang Kai-shek could take this opportunity to weaken the military command and regain control of the situation.
Sure enough, soon after Dai Li's death, Chiang Kai-shek appointed Zheng Jiemin as the acting director of the Military Unification Bureau, and Tang Zong and Mao Renfeng as deputy directors, and the three of them shared the power of the Military Unification. This was undoubtedly Chiang Kai-shek's deliberate attempt to prevent anyone from centralizing power.
In this case, others within the military command naturally secretly rejoiced. They can finally shake off the shadow of Dai Lia and regain a piece of the pie in the new power structure.
In the end, Dai Li's death was also a double-edged sword for Chiang Kai-shek himself. On the one hand, he has solved the great problem of the military commander, and on the other hand, the military commander's vast power network has lost its control, and it is really unpredictable how it will evolve in the future.
However, judging from Chiang Kai-shek's move to appoint Zheng Jiemin, Tang Zong, and Mao Renfeng to share the power of military command, it seems that he already has a plan to regain control of military command. However, this battle has only just begun, and there are more variables to be seen in the future.
The power struggle within the military command
Dai Li's death undoubtedly brought a huge shock to the military command. In the midst of this turmoil, Zheng Jiemin, Tang Zong and Mao Renfeng started a power struggle.
Chiang Kai-shek's appointment of these three men as director and deputy director of the Military Command Bureau was undoubtedly intended to decentralize the power of the military command and prevent any one person from monopolizing power. However, Chiang Kai-shek also knew that there would inevitably be infighting between these three people, and he would rather see them "cross the sea with eight immortals, each showing their magical powers".
The first to appear was the Cantonese faction led by Zheng Jiemin. As the acting director, Zheng Jiemin naturally holds the greatest power in his hands. Within the military command, he gathered a number of Cantonese nationals, Soviet elements, and special agents of the Second Department of the Ministry of National Defense.
However, Zheng Jiemin himself does not seem to have much ambition. He had long understood Chiang Kai-shek's intentions, and he did not want to stay in the land of right and wrong for a long time. On the contrary, he hopes to use this group of people to develop in the military circles.
In stark contrast to Zheng Jiemin's Cantonese faction, it was the Hunan faction led by Tang Zong. As one of the deputy directors, Tang Zong also has a certain amount of real power within the military command. His subordinates are mainly a group of spies from Hunan and those who stayed in Europe, although the number is small, but all of them are elite.
However, Tang Zong's eyes seem to be more focused on the police department. He has served as Commissioner of Police and has a deep understanding of the functioning of the police system. Therefore, in the contest within the military command, he weighed the pros and cons more and did not go all out.
The last to appear was the Zhejiang faction led by Mao Renfeng. As another deputy director, Mao Renfeng's real power within the military command is no worse than Tang Zong. His subordinates are mainly a group of spies from Zhejiang, and the number can be said to be the largest.
However, Mao Renfeng's personal ability is too mediocre. In the contest within the military command, he was more passive and rarely took the initiative to attack. However, it was this low-key style that made him the winner of this infighting in the end.
In the contest between these three factions, the Cantonese faction once had the upper hand by virtue of its large number of people. However, because Zheng Jiemin himself did not have much ambition, he soon took the initiative to withdraw from the competition.
Although the Hunan faction has few people, all of them are elites, and they once had an advantage in the competition. However, Tang Zong was soon attracted by the work of the police system and voluntarily gave up the competition.
In the end, the Zhejiang faction's advantage in numbers, coupled with the blessing of Mao Renfeng's low-key style, allowed them to finally win the competition. Mao Renfeng became the director of the Secrecy Bureau and became the new ruler within the military command.
In this way, under Chiang Kai-shek's careful arrangement, the power struggle within the military command was finally settled. However, the outcome of this struggle did not fully conform to Chiang Kai-shek's original intention. Originally, he hoped to weaken the overall strength of the military command by dividing it. But in the end, the power of the military commander was still highly concentrated in the hands of Mao Renfeng alone.
However, compared with Dai Li, Mao Renfeng's personal ability is too mediocre. Although he controlled the power of the military commander, he was unable to expand the influence of the military commander, but let the strength of the military commander decline day by day. This may be the most ideal outcome for Chiang Kai-shek.
Chiang Kai-shek's rearrangement of the military command
Dai Li's death undoubtedly gave Chiang Kai-shek a chance to regain control of the military. At this critical juncture, Chiang Kai-shek decisively took a series of measures in an attempt to weaken the overall strength of the military command, prevent the centralization of power by any one person, and strengthen the control of the military command.
First of all, Chiang Kai-shek appointed Zheng Jiemin as the acting director of the Military Unification Bureau, and Tang Zong and Mao Renfeng as deputy directors, and the three of them shared the power of the Military Unification. This was undoubtedly Chiang Kai-shek's deliberate attempt to decentralize the power of the military command and avoid the recurrence of a situation in which Dai Li monopolized power.
Second, Chiang Kai-shek began to drastically reform the structure of the military command. He spun off some departments that were originally subordinate to the military command, such as the traffic security corps and the garrison corps, and incorporated them into other organs. This is undoubtedly weakening the overall strength of the military command.
Third, Chiang Kai-shek also strengthened supervision over the military command. He personally appointed a group of his cronies to important positions within the military command, serving as his eyeliner and monitoring every move of the military commander at all times.
Finally, Chiang Kai-shek also adopted a series of personnel transfers to expel some powerful factional forces from the military command. For example, he transferred Zheng Jiemin to the War Department and Tang Zong to the police system, thus further weakening the powerful factions within the military command.
Through this series of measures, Chiang Kai-shek's aim was undoubtedly to completely eliminate the potential threat to his personal rule from the military command. He hoped that the behemoth of the military command would be completely under his control, rather than becoming an unruly force as in the Dai Lisa period.
However, Chiang Kai-shek's moves were not all smooth sailing. For example, he appointed Mao Renfeng as the director of the Secret Bureau, originally wanting Mao Renfeng to control the military command, but Mao Renfeng's personal ability was too mediocre and he was unable to expand the influence of the military commander.
For another example, Chiang Kai-shek transferred Zheng Jiemin to the War Department, originally wanting to use Zheng Jiemin's strength to rectify the army, but Zheng Jiemin's performance in the War Department was far from satisfactory.
Therefore, despite Chiang Kai-shek's rearrangement of the military command, the strength of the military command was declining day by day. For Chiang Kai-shek, however, this may have been his ideal outcome. After all, the weaker a military commander, the less a threat to his personal rule.
In this way, after Dai Li's death, Chiang Kai-shek took the opportunity to carry out a thorough reform of the military command, trying to completely bring this behemoth under his control. Despite the twists and turns of the process, Chiang Kai-shek's goal seems to have been initially achieved. However, the far-reaching impact of this reform remains to be tested.