Zhang Zuolin came from a civilian family, lost his father as a teenager, had no good education, and worked as a veterinarian and bandit leader, and his starting point was very low. There were many bandits during the Republic of China period, and most of them did not develop and grow. Zhang Zuolin was an exception, he was not strong when he was a bandit (only a few hundred people), but later he became the strongest warlord in the Republic of China, serving as the Grand Marshal of the Navy and Army of the Beiyang Government, with hundreds of thousands of troops under his command. How does Zhang Zuolin do all this? The author believes that Zhang Zuolin has the following four places beyond ordinary people.
Good at judging the situation and being good at the team
The work of bandits is relatively simple, mainly to fight and kill, but once they are recruited and enter the system, the situation is complicated, and many political and human aspects need to be considered. Especially in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, the political situation was unpredictable, and military and political figures needed to judge the hour and size up the situation and make the best choices in order to survive and develop in a chaotic world.
The first major crisis Zhang Zuolin faced was the Xinhai Revolution. Zhang Zuolin's choice was to maintain the rule of the Qing Dynasty and suppress the revolution. Before receiving orders from the governors of the three eastern provinces, he secretly ordered his troops to move to Shenyang; as soon as he received the order, his troops entered the provincial capital day and night. It can be seen that Zhang Zuolin is very good at seizing the opportunity. Although his choice was not "revolutionary" enough, it was in his own interest. Because the provinces where the revolution took place were basically the south, the conservative forces in the north were still very strong, and the northeast was the base camp of the Manchu Qing, and the revolutionary forces were not so strong. By suppressing the revolution, Zhang Zuolin's position became more important.
The Qing Dynasty was soon over, and Yuan Shikai became the President. Of course, Zhang Zuolin was not really loyal to the Qing Dynasty, and at this time he also followed the trend and became a general of the Republic of China, and he became the commander of the Twenty-seventh Division. At this time, he had become a powerful figure in Fengtian.
However, at this time, Yuan Shikai's power was very large, and Zhang Zuolin, while being loyal to Yuan Shikai, tried his best to preserve his own power, and thwarted Yuan's attempt to transfer him away from Fengtian. Yuan Shikai wanted to become emperor, and Zhang Zuolin actively persuaded him to advance.
From the end of Yuan Shikai's reign, Zhang Zuolin competed with Feng Delin, the commander of the Twenty-eighth Division, for Fengtian. Feng Delin, a man who did not know how to judge the hour and size up the situation, could not take sides, and he actually supported Zhang Xun's restoration, so he was discredited and arrested and dismissed by the Beijing government. Zhang Zuolin's soldiers did not have a bloody blade, so they annexed Feng Delin's troops and monopolized Fengtian.
After Yuan Shikai's death, the major forces of the Beiyang government fought for power, first in the struggle between Li Yuanhong and Duan Qirui, and then between the Anhui and direct families (Duan Qirui and Xu Shuzheng, the leaders of the Anhui clan, and Feng Guozhang, Cao Kun, and Wu Peifu). Zhang Zuolin chose to support the more powerful Anhui clan, and he gained a lot of benefits. With the support of Xu Shuzheng, the leader of the Anhui clan, the Feng clan army was able to enter Guannei. In February 1918, Yang Yuting led troops to Qinhuangdao and snatched 17,000 rifles (originally belonging to the direct army of President Feng Guozhang) from Japan, which greatly increased the strength of the Feng army. In this year, Zhang Zuolin also served as an envoy to the three eastern provinces.
However, with the passage of time, the Anhui system lost more and more people's hearts and minds because of various perverse acts (for example, in the May Fourth Movement in 1919, the people opposed the traitorous Anhui bureaucracy). And the direct line cao kun and Wu Peifu continue to rise, they have both strength and popularity. Zhang Zuolin began to alienate the Anhui family and gradually sided with the direct line. In July 1920, the Zhiwan War broke out. The Feng clan and the direct clan joined forces to defeat the Anhui warlords, and Duan Qirui stepped down. Zhang Zuolin, along with Cao Kun and Wu Peifu, became the most powerful person in all of China. The fengzhi forces developed to Rehe, Chahar, Suiyuan and other places.
Politically, Zhang Zuolin is good at judging the hour and sizing up the situation, flexibly taking sides, and can become a victor every time, without paying too high a price, and his strength will continue to increase. Zhang Zuolin is really a high-end player in the political arena.
Dare to innovate, make up for shortcomings, and constantly improve their strength
Although Zhang Zuolin's education level is not high, he is a warlord who dares to innovate. He is not conservative, not small rich and peaceful, constantly moving forward, making himself stronger.
In the First Zhifeng War in April 1922, Zhang Zuolin's Feng army was larger in number and better equipped, but within a week, it was defeated by Wu Peifu's immediate army. Wu Peifu was from the Beiyang clan, good at using soldiers and governing the army, and looked down on Zhang Zuolin, who was born as a bandit. Indeed, Zhang Zuolin's troops moved slowly and with lax discipline, retaining many of the bad habits of the old-fashioned army, unlike the modern army.
After the defeat, Zhang Zuolin began to reform the Feng army. The main measures of reform are:
1. Reuse the new generals. Zhang Zuolin had many generals from the green forest, such as Zhang Zuoxiang, Zhang Jinghui, Tang Yulin and so on. But the abilities of these people have not kept up with the times. Zhang Zuolin began to reuse new generals, such as Yang Yuting, Guo Songling, Jiang Dengxuan, han Linchun, and so on. These people come from military academies at home and abroad, have received formal military education, are more capable, and more enterprising. Zhang Zuolin established the Army Consolidation Office of the Three Eastern Provinces to reorganize the army.
2. Abolish the division establishment and change it to a brigade establishment, so that the troops can be more flexible.
3. Eliminate old officers and appoint new officers with formal education. Zhang Zuolin expanded the Northeast Lecture Hall, with instructors, captains, and other people from military academies serving as brigade chiefs of staff, regimental commanders, and battalion commanders.
The Feng army also achieved the independence of military supplies, ordnance, and military law, and strictly controlled the promotion of officers and men, and often conducted exercises and live-fire training between troops.
In the past year or two, the Feng army has become more formal, well-trained, and its combat effectiveness has been enhanced.
Zhang Zuolin attaches great importance to armaments and improves military science and technology. Feng Jun actively practiced throwing bombs, radiating gas, and operating flamethrowers. The Feng army also built a strong air force with more than 100 aircraft and established a navy. Zhang Zuolin also established the Arsenal of the Three Eastern Provinces, which is the first in the country and the leading arsenal in Asia, with an annual output of 150 guns, 200,000 shells, 1,000 machine guns, 60,000 rifles, and more than 100 million bullets.
Zhang Zuolin's Fengjun was originally a less regular army from the green forest. After 1924, the Feng army became a well-trained regular army, becoming the best equipped, most modern, and most effective army in the north. It can be seen that Zhang Zuolin is not an ordinary warlord, he is very ambitious.
Good at using people, broad-minded
Zhang Zuolin's men were full of talents, and in addition to the new yang yuting, Jiang Dengxuan, Han Linchun, Guo Songling, Zang Shiyi and others, he also reused outstanding talents such as Wang Yongjiang.
In November 1916, Zhang Zuolin appointed Wang Yongjiang as the chief of police in Fengtian, and Wang Yongjiang rectified military discipline according to law. Tang Yulin's troops had the worst military discipline, soldiers like bandits, and the people's resentment was extremely great. Wang Yongjiang ordered the arrest of the Tangbu lawbreakers, and the two clashed fiercely. Zhang Zuolin resolutely supported Wang Yongjiang, showed no mercy to his confidant Tang Yulin, and did not hesitate to fall out with him.
Wang Yongjiang was extremely capable, and later served as the director of the Finance Department, straightened out Fengtian's finances, and earned Zhang Zuolin a huge amount of money. Later, he acted as the governor of Fengtian Province, rectified the administration of officials, developed industry and commerce, culture and education, and managed Fengtian to prosper day by day.
Zhang Zuolin does not remember revenge when he uses people, and he can also give another chance to those who have betrayed him.
Yang Yuting was a highly valued subordinate of Zhang Zuolin and served as chief of staff. In 1918, Yang Yuting and Xu Shuzheng conspired to recruit recruits from four brigades in the name of Feng Jun, hoping to develop their own forces. Zhang Zuolin therefore removed Yang from his post.
However, three years later, Zhang Zuolin still forgave Yang Yuting and gave him a heavy use. Yang Yuting helped Zhang Zuolin expand the arsenal and train the army, and made a lot of merit.
Can bend and stretch, endure humiliation and bear the burden
After 1916, Zhang Zuolin and Feng Delin competed for Fengtian. In the process of fighting, Feng Delin pressed forward step by step, and Zhang Zuolin continued to give in. Zhang Zuolin also once disregarded face and took his subordinates to Feng Delin's office to apologize to Feng Delin. Because Feng Delin fought fiercely, Zhang Zuolin did not have the certainty of victory if he used force, and once he lost both, he would let the Japanese gain. Therefore, Zhang Zuolin has been bearing the burden of humiliation and giving in everywhere. In the end, Feng Delin failed because of his participation in Zhang Xun's restoration, and Zhang Zuolin laughed to the end.
It can be seen that Zhang Zuolin does not lack foresight and does not attach importance to talents like ordinary warlords, and he has many advantages. As a result, he was able to become the most powerful warlord during the Republic of China period.
Reference: History of the Republic of China edited by Li Xin et al.