Behind this puzzling phrase lies a thrilling tale of power, intrigue, and betrayal. Tang Enbo, a Kuomintang general who was once regarded as a close confidant by Chiang Kai-shek, ended his life on the operating table in Japan. However, Chiang Kai-shek's cold reaction after hearing the bad news makes people wonder what contradictions have occurred between the two? What did this Tang Enbo, who had been promoted and reused all the way, do to make Chiang Kai-shek so angry? What is the reason behind this?
1. Introduction: The fate of the landlord Young Master Tang Enbo turned around
In a small village in the countryside of Wuyi, Zhejiang, there lives a landlord's family, the Tang family. As the only son in the family, Tang Enbo has been doted on since he was a child, and he is rampant and domineering in the village, fighting and fighting, and he is simply a complete little bully. Although his father, Mr. Tang, has a lot of money, he never cares about teaching his son, but acts recklessly by his temperament.
In 1915, at the age of 16, Towneburgh killed someone in an argument, which dealt a serious blow to his wealthy family background. In order to escape legal punishment, the Tang family had to force Tang Enbo to fly away, abandon his wife and son, and flee his hometown alone. From this moment on, the wheel of fate began to turn, and the former young master and noble son were destined to enter a new life encounter.
During his escape, Towneburgh worked part-time jobs and moved from place to place. By chance, he was photographed by Dong Weixiang, a wealthy businessman in Zhejiang, and was hired as the personal bodyguard of the Dong family. Boss Dong admired the strength of this big man, and even took him to Japan to take care of business soon after. In a foreign land, the second turning point in Townenburg's fate arrived.
Boss Dong handed over all the business in Japan to Tang Enbo, which made him turn from a wage earner to a wealthy businessman overnight. Soon after, he became acquainted with a Kuomintang general Chen Yi's righteous queen Jingbai, and the two lived very sincerely, and finally lived together. Seeing Tang Enbo's potential, Wang Jingbai pleaded with Chen Yi for him, hoping to let this promising young man further his studies and embark on a career in office.
In this way, a young man from Zhejiang from a humble background, with the favor of fate and unscrupulous methods, reached the peak of life step by step. He not only completed his advanced studies at the Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer School, but was also promoted by Chen Yi to Chiang Kai-shek's staff officer by virtue of nepotism. From this moment on, Towneburgh completely completed the transcendence of class and embarked on a road paved with thorns.
2. Ascension: Rise step by step by virtue of nepotism
After graduating from the Japanese non-commissioned officer school, Tang Enbo's career began to develop rapidly. It's all thanks to his excellent network of nepotism.
In 1926, with the strong support of Wang Jingbai and his father, General Chen Yi, Tang Enbo and Chiang Kai-shek formed an indissoluble bond. In this year, Chiang Kai-shek had just been appointed commander-in-chief of the National Revolutionary Army by Sun Yat-sen, and Tang Enbo became one of his young and promising staff officers. Because they are both from Zhejiang and seniors from the same school in Japan, the two quickly established a relationship of trust.
The following year, when Chiang Kai-shek launched the famous Kuomintang-Communist civil war in history, Tang Enbo did not hesitate to choose a pro-Chiang position. He became the first Kuomintang general to be sent to the front to suppress the communist army. Despite his limited military experience, Towne's ruthlessness quickly made him stand out in counterinsurgency.
In 1931, Chiang Kai-shek handed over the base area in the Jinsui region to him. In this land full of guerrillas, Tang Enbo adhered to the three-light policy of "killing, burning, and beating down", and treated the communists and ordinary people ruthlessly, and bloody atrocities were everywhere. It was this ruthless style that won the favor of Chiang Kai-shek, and also made Tang Enbo become a general in the Kuomintang army in just a few years.
After entering the period of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, in order to show Chiang Kai-shek's ability, Tang Enbo unrelentingly aimed the murderous weapon of the three-light policy at the Japanese army. The Kuomintang army led by him was extremely ferocious, destroying the common people like starvation and eating the navel everywhere they went, so that the people were miserable. Even his friend and spy chief, Dai Li, couldn't help but sigh when he saw such a tragic situation, "I'd rather the Japanese come than Tang Enbo's troops."
Despite this, in Chiang Kai-shek's eyes, Tang Enbo was still one of his most capable cadres. From 1938 to 1944, Tang Enbo participated in the famous Battle of Taierzhuang, the Battle of Xuzhou, the Battle of Wuhan and other major anti-Japanese battles, and made many miraculous achievements. In particular, in the Battle of Wuhan, his troops fought alone and struggled with the Japanese army for months, eventually winning Chiang Kai-shek's commendation.
However, in the subsequent Battle of Yuxianggui, Tang Enbo's military talent was undoubtedly exposed. In this battle, he seriously miscommanded, resulting in heavy casualties among the national army, and almost half of them were annihilated. What's even more ironic is that in the process of escaping for his life, this general in fancy clothes had to pretend to be a casual and sloppy coachman and fled in embarrassment.
Looking at Tang Enbo's career, the reason why he was able to reach this height on his own is that although he has a certain personal deed, he relies more on the weapon of women and nepotism. From relying on the wealthy businessman Dong Weixiang to make a fortune, to getting acquainted with Chen Yi and Chiang Kai-shek with the help of Wang Jingbai, and then to relying on Chiang Kai-shek to wreak havoc...... Nepotism is undoubtedly Towne's most powerful tool to distance from the center of power.
3. Causes of contradictions
Although he had risen to the top of the Kuomintang army through nepotism and cunning, his personal character and military ability had been seriously flawed, which eventually led to a break between him and Chiang Kai-shek in the later period.
The first is the tyrannical treatment of the common people. As the staunchest supporter of the "three-light policy" in the Kuomintang army, Tang Enbo never relented in his suppression of the Communist Party. Whether it was in the Jinsui area before the war, or in various places during the Anti-Japanese War, everywhere he went, he brutally slaughtered and looted innocents. Even when the Japanese invaded, many ordinary people preferred the Japanese to come rather than the stationing of Tang Enbo's troops.
This atrocity not only aroused strong resentment among the general public, but even Towne's subordinates were in awe of it. Especially after the defeat in the Battle of Yuxianggui in 1944, Tang Enbo had to flee in embarrassment in order to avoid the revenge of the people, which made his reputation in the army plummet.
Secondly, Towneberg's military command capabilities were also seriously flawed. In the early stage of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, although he participated in the Battle of Taierzhuang, the Battle of Xuzhou, and the Battle of Wuhan, although he made small achievements, in the Battle of Henan-Xianggui in 1944, his mistakes led to heavy losses of the national army, and almost half of them were killed. In the subsequent War of Liberation, Tang Enbo was defeated one after another, and was defeated by Su Yu of the People's Liberation Army as many as seven times.
Such a setback not only exposed Tang Enbo's incompetence, but also caused his weight in Chiang Kai-shek's heart to plummet. And more importantly, Tang Enbo actually stabbed Chiang Kai-shek in the back, which completely broke the relationship between the two.
Things have to start with Tang Enbo's mentor Chen Yi. As the founding general of the Kuomintang, Chen Yi was the biggest contributor to Tang Enbo's promotion. However, in the later stages of the war, Chen Yi became increasingly disillusioned with the Kuomintang's corruption and war decisions, and secretly decided to be loyal to the Communist Party. This secret was soon discovered by Tang Enbo, who did not hesitate to inform Chiang Kai-shek of the matter.
In 1946, Chen Yi was placed under house arrest by Chiang Kai-shek and eventually executed in 1948. In this way, in order to show loyalty to Chiang Kai-shek, Tang Enbo actually betrayed his mentor. This act undoubtedly infuriated Chiang Kai-shek completely, and he realized that Tang Enbo was simply an out-and-out treacherous villain, and that treachery was in his nature. Since then, the relationship between the two has been irretrievably like a collapsed edifice.
The betrayal of his own teachers and the tyranny of cruelty to the people were doomed to the fate of Tang Enbo in the eyes of Chiang Kai-shek. A cadre who has lost his personality and military ability will naturally lose his qualifications to continue to be reused. The accumulation of these contradictions finally brought Towneburg to the end of his power career.
Fourth, the spy who lured the wolf into the house
When Tang Enbo betrayed his mentor Chen Yi and told Chiang Kai-shek, he was actually inserting a desperate dagger for himself. Once Chiang Kai-shek discovered this conspiracy, Tang Enbo's fate was doomed.
In fact, Chen Yi was not the first time Tang Enbo reported his colleagues to Chiang Kai-shek. As early as the Anti-Japanese War, Tang Enbo had already set his sights on another Kuomintang general, Hu Zongnan. At that time, the Eighth Route Army under the command of Hu Zongnan had formed a temporary alliance with the Communist New Fourth Army to fight against the Japanese together.
As a close confidant of Chiang Kai-shek, Tang Enbo naturally regarded this practice as a heinous crime. Ignoring the facts, he framed Hu Zongnan, accusing him of being "pro-communist" and "a traitor". Under Tang Enbo's false accusations, Hu Zongnan was finally suppressed and monitored by Chiang Kai-shek, and was deprived of all military power.
Hu Zongnan was just the beginning of Tang Enbo's betrayal of his colleagues. After entering the civil war period, he intensified his efforts and retaliated against the Kuomintang generals around him. Some eyewitnesses recalled that at that time, there was an oversized iron cabinet in Town's office, which was filled with all kinds of accusations against his colleagues, which was simply a "disaster ammunition depot" constructed by treacherous evidence.
And Tang Enbo's betrayal of Chen Yi is undoubtedly the final blow to the infamy of "spy" for himself. Although Chen Yi was Tang Enbo's mentor and had pleaded for him many times in front of Chiang Kai-shek, Tang Enbo abandoned him out of selfish interests.
In September 1946, under the accusation of Tang Enbo, Chen Yi was placed under house arrest by Chiang Kai-shek in Shanghai. Two years later, the founding general was even hanged. All the evidence about Chen Yi's rebellion came from Tang Enbo. Even when Chen Yi was executed, the first person to learn about it was Tang Enbo.
This incident made Chiang Kai-shek completely disappointed with Tang Enbo, realizing that this former henchman was actually a vicious villain. How can a guy who is unscrupulous and treacherous for his own interests be entrusted with a heavy responsibility? From that moment on, Town's position in the eyes of Chiang Kai-shek was in jeopardy.
What is even more indignant is that in the same year that Chen Yi was hanged, Tang Enbo not only had no intention of repenting, but was unusually promoted to Minister of Defense by Chiang Kai-shek. All this is because Tang Enbo took the opportunity to denounce another general of the Nationalist army, Zhang Xueliang, to Chiang Kai-shek, falsely claiming that the other party was "preparing for a mutiny".
It can be seen that intrigue and betrayal of colleagues have long become the self-contained way of doing things for Tang Enbo. He was like a fattened wolf who was inadvertently introduced into the barracks by Chiang Kai-shek, only to feast and drink in it and plague his comrades. Once the truth is revealed, this wolf will naturally be swept away.
Fifth, the final destruction of cunning schemes
When Tang Enbo was given the post of defense minister after betraying Chen Yi and betraying Zhang Xueliang, he thought he had completely climbed to the commanding heights of Chiang Kai-shek's power. However, this scheming warlord made a fatal error of judgment at this juncture.
In 1948, the same year that Tang Enbo was appointed Minister of Defense, the general trend of the civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party had completely reversed. After the Zunyi Division, the communist army under the leadership of Mao Zedong won successive victories, and soon drove the Kuomintang out of the strategic places in North and Central China. Even Tang Enbo's hometown, Zhejiang, was lost in the year.
In the face of the deterioration of the situation, instead of making a correct military judgment, Tang Enbo was full of revenge and tried to take the opportunity to vent his personal anger on his old rivals and leaders. In early 1949, he brazenly proposed that He Yingqin, the arrested former chairman of the Military Commission, be sentenced to death.
This frenzied act of revenge naturally drew a severe rebuke from Chiang Kai-shek. After all, He Yingqin was once the highest military leader of the Kuomintang, and it was obviously unseemly to treat his predecessors in this way. However, Towneburgh turned a deaf ear and did not admit his mistake. This made Chiang Kai-shek's dissatisfaction with him finally explode.
In April of the same year, Chiang Kai-shek issued an ultimatum to the whole country, announcing the withdrawal from the mainland and the seizure of Taiwan with all his might. At this critical moment, Tang Enbo suddenly issued a puzzling military order: both military and civilian personnel are prohibited from evacuating the Central Plains.
Soon, this absurd order was met with total opposition from high-ranking generals, including Chiang Kai-shek. They all said that if Towneburgh refused to evacuate, it would be equivalent to condemning their own army to a dead end.
In the face of such tough public pressure, Tang Enbo, a man who is good at scheming, finally showed his true form: he began to make a desperate bet and secretly plotted a coup d'état against Chiang Kai-shek. However, this conspiracy was soon discovered, culminating in his dismissal as Minister of Defence in May 1949.
It was also a month later that Chiang Kai-shek led the remnants of the Kuomintang army to evacuate the mainland in a panic, and began the years of drifting to Taiwan. However, Tang Enbo played a very shameful role in this battle: in order to survive, this cunning guy took the initiative to surrender to the People's Liberation Army and became a traitor.
In August 1949, he was detained by the People's Liberation Army and sentenced to death in a subsequent military trial. In those thrilling final days, this traitor, who was almost at the peak of his power, finally completely uncovered his hypocritical mask: a dirty, greedy, treacherous villain, a spy who brought disaster to the country and the people.
end
When the bullet of the execution hit his body, a tragic life came to an end. This is the ultimate fate that Townenbo has woven with power and conspiracy, and it is also the despicable fate he deserves.