Xiao Yaonan (1875 – February 14, 1926), also known as Xiao Lanling (萧蘭陵) because of his ancestral home in Lanling, Jiangsu, was born in 1875 in Xiaojia Dawan ,Now Part of Xinzhou District, Wuhan City, Kongbu Town, Huanggang County. During the Beiyang government, he successively served as the commander of the 25th Division, the governor of Hubei, the inspector of the Two Lakes, and the governor of Hubei Province.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="4" > early years</h1>
Xiao Yaonan's father was a country man, who had two sons, Xiao Yaonan was second, Xiao Yaonan's father divided the second son into one cultivation and one reading, and cultivated them separately, Xiao Yaonan was selected to study, and his father hoped that he would seek an official and a half-position through the road of the imperial examination, and the lintel of Guangyao. Xiao Yaonan participated in the imperial examination twice, won the Xiucai, because his family was poor and could not continue to take the examination, so he became a private school gentleman in his hometown. At that time, the annual income of the master was only about twenty yuan, which was not enough to support the family. Not willing to live in poverty in the countryside, Xiao Yaonan came to the provincial capital of Wuchang in 1896 and joined the guard camp as a soldier to find another way out.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="6" > step by step</h1>
In the twenty-seventh year of the Qing Dynasty (1901), Zhang Zhidong founded the Hubei General Ben Xuetang, which was selected by the military examination, xiao Yaonan was admitted to the school, and after graduation, he served in the Hubei Standing Army, from the sentry commander and sentry officer to the inspector officer. Due to his weak health and inability to adapt to the life of the troops, he left Hubei and went to Beijing to join Hahanzhang. Ha Hanzhang was a well-known figure among the early non-commissioned officers who stayed in Japan, who served as an instructor in the Hubei General Ben Academy, and had a teacher-student friendship with Xiao Yaonan, so he was introduced to the Army and Navy Training Department as a second-class section officer. Later, he was transferred to the Military Advisory Office as the deputy envoy of Hahan Zhang. Xiao Yaonan was a taciturn person, obedient and obedient to his superiors, familiar with official documents, and had a certain ability to do things, so he could get the trust of his superiors in the military training office and the military consultative office, and his relationship with colleagues was also very good, and he was able to be promoted step by step in a few years.
In the first year of the Qing Dynasty (1909), Xiao Yaonan was sent to the third town of Beiyang in Fengtian (present-day Shenyang) to serve as the third battalion of the ninth standard, and from then on he formed a deep relationship with cao Kun, the commander of the town, and was promoted to the third supplementary standard system the following year. In 1911, the Xinhai Revolution broke out, and Wu Luzhen (a Hubei native) in the sixth town of Beiyang united with the Shanxi rebel army to organize the Yan and Jin coalition forces to oppose the Qing. In late October, the Qing government sent the third town to Shanxi to attack the Yan-Jin coalition army, and after the assassination of Wu Luzhen, the Qing army occupied Niangziguan, and Xiao Yaonan was promoted to the twelfth standard commander with military merit.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="9" > participate in the Southern Expedition</h1>
Because of the Xinhai Revolution, the Qing Dynasty was forced to revive Yuan Shikai, and Yuan, in order to prevent the infiltration of revolutionary ideas and eliminate the southerners in the Beiyang Army, Xiao Yaonan was spared by Cao Kunli. After the founding of the Republic of China, the town was changed to a division, Xiao Yaonan served as the colonel of the Ninth Regiment of the Third Division, and also the chief of staff of the division, and in 1913, he was awarded the title of major general of the army for his "meritorious service" in going to Henan to suppress Bai Lang. In 1914, Yuan Shikai appointed Cao Kun as the commander-in-chief of the upper Yangtze River garrison, stationed in Yuezhou (now Yueyang, Hunan), and during the second revolution, Xiao Yaonan was promoted to chief of staff of the General Headquarters. In 1915, Yuan Shikai, in preparation for becoming emperor, moved Cao Kun's general headquarters to Chongqing and helped The Governor of Sichuan, Chen Mi, suppress the defending army. Yuan ordered the third division to expand the army, Cao set up a five-battalion guard, and Xiao Yaonan was appointed as the commander, still serving as the chief of staff of the headquarters.
After Yuan Shikai's death, Li Yuanhong succeeded him as president, and Cao Kun took advantage of Xiao's hometown relations with Li and his friendship with the teachers and students of Ha Hanzhang, an important member of the presidential palace, to have Xiao come forward to campaign, spending more than 600,000 yuan to obtain the position of directly subordinate to the overseer for Cao. After Cao was appointed as the overseer, the Third Division immediately went to Zhili and stationed in Baoding, and Cao Kuanjun established the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Mixed Brigades, and Xiao Yaonan served as the commander of the 3rd Mixed Brigade. After the failure of Zhang Xun's restoration in 1917, Feng Guozhang acted as president and Duan Qirui served as the prime minister of the cabinet, seized real power, and refused to restore the Provisional Covenant Law. Sun Yat-sen established a military government to protect the law in Guangdong and launched the law protection movement. Duan Qirui sent Cao Kun as the commander-in-chief of the Southern Expedition, with Wu Peifu acting as the commander of the Third Division and former enemy commander, leading the Third Division, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Mixed Brigades directly under the direct command, and Feng Yuxiang's 16th Mixed Brigade to the south to fight against the Defending Army. Wu Peifu repelled the Southern Army and entered Hengyang. Xiao Yaonan's Third Mixed Brigade was also stationed in the area of Hengyang and Qiyang. When the May Fourth Movement broke out in 1919, the people opposed the civil war, the North-South Peace Conference, and the cessation of the civil war. Wu Peifu moved to Luoyang, and Xiao Yaonan returned to Shunde (present-day Xingtai, Hebei).
When the Zhiwan War broke out in 1920, Xiao Yaonan defeated a division of the Anhui Army with the strength of a brigade. After the victory of the direct department, the army was expanded on a large scale, and the 1st Mixed Brigade directly under the direct command was expanded to the 23rd Division, the 2nd Mixed Brigade was expanded into the 24th Division, the 3rd Mixed Brigade was expanded to the 25th Division, and the 4th Mixed Brigade was expanded to the 26th Division.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="13" > into Hubei</h1>
In 1921, due to the long-term withholding of military salaries by Wang Zhanyuan, then the governor of Hubei, caused a mutiny (Wuchang Mutiny) in the Second Division. The rebels burned and robbed the city, and the whole city rioted, causing unanimous opposition from the people of Hubei. Officials and gentry from all walks of life organized a movement to drive out the king, advocating "the people of Hubei governing Hubei." At the same time, Zhao Hengti, the overseer of Hunan, took the opportunity to send troops to attack Wang Zhanyuan and seek territory in Hubei. Wang Zhanyuan asked Wu Peifu for help, and Wu Peifu ordered Xiao Yaonan to lead the Twenty-fifth Division to the south to reinforce, and when Xiao was ordered to go south, he said that he would not help The King.
At that time, Zhao Hengti's Xiang army and the E army fought a major battle at Yangloudong and Zhao Liqiao in Puqi (present-day Chibi, Hubei), and the E's army gradually fell short, at this time, Xiao Yaonan led the 25th Division by train to Hankou, allowing Wang Zhanyuan to repeatedly urge, Xiao still stood still, and when the news of defeat on the southern front came, Wang Zhanyuan had no choice but to voluntarily resign. On August 9, 1921, the Beijing government appointed Wu Peifu as the envoy of the Two Lakes Patrol, and Xiao Yaonan as the overseer of Hubei.
After Xiao Yaonan's arrival, the Xiang'e War continued, Xiao immediately sent the 25th Division to the front line to increase defenses, Wu Peifu also led the 3rd Division south, defending the Tingsi Bridge, and finally repelled the Xiang army, the two sides negotiated a peace armistice, the 50th Brigade of the 25th Division Chen Jiamu was stationed in Yuezhou, and Xiao's 5-year rule over Hubei began.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="17" > consolidate rule</h1>
Although Xiao Yaonan sat on the throne of the Hubei Overseer, his position was not stable, at that time there were many garrisons in Hubei, except for the Twenty-fifth Division, which was his starting unit, the rest were Wang Zhanyuan's old troops, except for He Xifan, the director of the Hubei Marine Police Department, who was Xiao's old classmate, which made him more assured, Xiao was very uneasy about Sun Chuanfang's Second Division and the 5 mixed brigades of Hubei First, Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth. Therefore, on the one hand, he used the means of co-optation to absorb all the troops in the territory, and exchanged posts with the generals of these units to pay homage to his brothers, while secretly sending his cronies to contain them. For the 1st Mixed Brigade (Brigade Commander Pan Shousheng), a battalion commander surnamed Fan of the 25th Division was sent to the brigade as the regimental commander; for the 2nd Mixed Brigade (Brigade Commander Kou Yingjie), he Guoguang, the commander of the Brigade's Hubei nationality, and for the Fourth Mixed Brigade (Brigade Commander Liu Zuo), the brigade's regimental commander Xie Chao was co-opted. The Second Division and the Fifth Mixed Brigade (Brigade Commander Zhang Yunming), under the pretext of supporting Wu Peifu's policy of unifying China by force, instigated them to seize the territory of Fujian, Zhejiang, and Shanghai, and took the opportunity to squeeze them out of Hubei. In addition, at that time, in Hubei, there were Wang Ruqin, commander-in-chief of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and commander of the Eighth Division, Lu Jinshan, commander of the Eighteenth Division, Zhao Ronghua, commander of the Eighteenth Mixed Brigade, and Wang Duqing, commander of the Twenty-first Brigade, all stationed in Yichang. Du Xijun, the defender of Hanhuang Town, was stationed in Hankou. Xiangfan Town Guard Envoy Zhang Liansheng, stationed in Xiangyang. He co-opted Liu Yuchun, brigade commander of the Eighth Division, Yu Xuezhong, commander of the Eighteenth Mixed Brigade, and Zhang Housheng, a classmate of the Hanhuang Zhenshou Mission, as an internal line, and sent Ruan Zhaowen, a staff officer of the Inspectorate, to be Zhang Liansheng's chief of staff. After his meticulous deployment, all the generals were under his control.
In order to consolidate his rule, Xiao took great care to win the support of all parties while controlling military power. Drawing on the lessons of his predecessor Wang Zhanyuan, he adopted some easing measures, no longer excessively withholding the salaries of his subordinates to enrich his own pockets, and the salaries and supplies of the troops were all replenished. Xiao Yaonan, for example, Tang Chunpeng, Shi Xingchuan, Sun Wu, Xiong Xiangsheng, Wu Zhaolin, Ying Longxiang, Chen Shike, Qin Shifan, Cai Hanqing, Fu Chucai, and Yang Yixu were all sponsored by Xiao Xiang to be the generals of the General's Office, and let them hang up their idle posts and receive salaries, so that these Hubei elders and individuals would be very happy. For the business celebrities in Wuhan, Xiao Yaonan also has extensive contacts, such as business celebrities Friday Chang, Xu Rongting, Su Jiyu, Lü Chaobo, Huang Wenzhi, Zhou Cangbai, etc., all of whom are guests of Xiao Mansion, and Zhou Xingtang, president of the Chamber of Commerce, has been hired as a consultant of the provincial bureau to show courtesy. Xiao also contacted the leaders of local gangs, appointed officials, and gave preferential treatment to make them useful. For the central officials, local forces, and celebrities, Xiao also expressed his admiration for Hubei's property and made wide friendships. Through this effort, Xiao's rule in Hubei was supported by all parties and his control over Hubei was consolidated.
The governor of Hubei Province when Xiao Yaonan first became the overseer was Liu Cheng'en, who was left over from the time of Wang Zhanyuan's governorship and belonged to the Feng clan and was not obedient to Xiao. Just at this time, Tang Qianming, the former governor of Hunan, also wanted to seek the post of governor of Hubei Province, and came to lobby Xiao Yaonan, claiming that the two political affairs of the military and the people should be managed by one person to facilitate local governance, and said that he would voluntarily search for Liu Cheng'en's bad deeds and find The Great President Li Yuanhong to dredge xiao. After Xiao Yaonan agreed, he handed over the official document petitioning for the removal of Liu Cheng'en to Tang Qianming and Jinjing. Who knew that the governor of the province published after Li Yuanhong received the article was not Xiao Yaonan, but Tang Qianming. Xiao Yaonan was indignant, so he followed the precedent of Duan Qirui's organization of the Overseer Corps to intervene in politics, and asked the General Corps to come forward to send a telegram to the Central Government to refuse Tang Qianming's arrival. Gangster gang members also organized the so-called refuse to soup group, intercepted Tang Qianming, and sent the governor's seal to the Overseer's Office, asking the Overseer to take care of the governor. Tang Qianming could not take over, so he had to return to Beijing in disgrace. Xiao Yaonan took care of the governor as an overseer, and then controlled the administrative power of Hubei, becoming a veritable king of Hubei.
Because of the merits of refusing Tang, the members of the general regiment were all appointed by Xiao Yaonan afterwards to be fattened. Chen Shike became the inspector of Hubei Gong Charity, Xiong Xiangsheng was appointed director of Hubei Tobacco and Liquor Public Sale Bureau, Yang Yixu was appointed director of Hubei Mint, Ying Longxiang was appointed general manager of Yingcheng Gypsum Company, Wu Zhaolin was appointed general manager of Fankou Embankment Engineering Bureau, Sun Wu was appointed director of land clearance in Hankou Houhu Lake, and Fu Chucai was appointed general manager of Hanhuang'e Steamship Company. Tang Chunpeng, Shi Xingchuan, Cai Hanqing and others organized the Jisheng Real Estate Company to control everything.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="22" > the 27 massacre</h1>
On February 4, 1923, a general strike of Beijing-Hankou railway workers broke out, and the center of the strike was the locomotive section of the Hankou Jiang'an Railway and the Jiang'an Rolling Stock Factory. From the Jiang'an locomotive section to Beijing Changxindian, the train stopped, the rolling stock factory stopped, and the railway, which was more than 1,200 kilometers long, was suddenly paralyzed.
This move of the workers made Wu Peifu angry, and he ordered Xiao Yaonan to force the workers to return to work immediately on February 7, and instructed Shi Yang to be shot on the spot for funds. After Receiving the telegram, Xiao Yaonan immediately sent Zhang Housheng, chief of staff of the Hankou Town Guard And Envoy Office, to lead troops to the Jiang'an Branch Trade Union, killing a large number of workers, including Communist Party member and worker leader Lin Xiangqian, and single-handedly creating the "February Seventh Massacre" that shocked China and foreign countries. On the same night, Xiao also sent Li Shikun, commander of the guard battalion of the 25th Division, to lure Shi Yang, legal adviser, communist party member, and barrister of the Wuhan Federation of Trade Unions, to the outside of the Dadong Gate and shoot him to death on the side of the road. February 7, the Chinese New Year's Eve of the lunar calendar, was originally a traditional Chinese New Year festival, but Xiao Yaonan's bloody suppression of the workers' movement made it the darkest day of his five-year rule in Hubei.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="25" > warlord melee</h1>
In 1923, Cao Kun was anxious to ascend to the throne of the president and wanted to force Li Yuanhong to step down, and Wu Peifu was worried that this move would cause public criticism and affect his great cause of "unifying China by force", so he advocated the expiration of the election period, so there was a sharp contradiction between the Bao faction headed by Cao (when Cao cao was stationed in Baoding and called the Bao faction) and the Luo faction headed by Wu (Wu zhu Luoyang called the Luo faction).
Xiao Yaonan was Cao Kun's chief of staff in his early years, and the depth of the relationship between Xiao and Cao need not be said. Wu Peifu and Xiao Ze were both from Xiucai, similar in life, and in their early years, they were both leaders of Cao Kun's subordinates, and they were married to Jinlan. When Xiao was appointed chief of staff of Cao Zhi, Wu served as the deputy commander of the division, because Wu was arrogant and arrogant, Cao Kunchu did not have a good impression of him, and it was Xiao who repeatedly spoke to Cao and praised Wu's talent, which made Wu de the commander of the Sixth Brigade of the Third Division, and from then on, Xiao and Wu became friends. Xiao Yaonan was later promoted to brigade commander, division commander, and overseer, all of whom were promoted by Wu. It is precisely because Xiao and Cao and Wu both have deep relations, so when there is a dispute between the Bao and Luo factions within the direct family, Xiao Yaonan comes out to act as a mediator. After Xiao Yaonan's persuasion, Wu Peifu had no choice but to compromise. As a result, in June 1923, Cao Kun staged a farce of intercepting cars and seizing the seal, forcing Li Yuanhong to step down and live in Tianjin.
After successfully expelling Li Yuanhong, Cao Kun bribed the election of the president in October 1923. In this bribery election, Xiao Yaonan not only let Hubei Province bear the bribery fee of 600,000 yuan, but also instructed the Hubei National Assembly to participate, which can be described as contributing and paying money, cao Kun returned the favor after taking the presidency, promoted him to general of the army, the inspector of the two lakes, awarded Bingwu general, xun two, and the following year officially appointed him as the governor of Hubei Province (before it was self-care).
In October 1924, the general Feng Yuxiang launched a coup d'état in Beijing, resulting in Wu Peifu's defeat in the Second Zhifeng War, and he was forced to take a warship to the south, enter the Yangtze River through Wusongkou, and arrive in Hankou on November 17 to prepare to organize a military government to protect the constitution. Wu Originally thought that Xiao Was a hand-picked and would inevitably obey his orders, but Xiao Yaonan sent someone to hint to Wu Peifu that he was not welcome to stay in Han, and Wu's plan to protect the Constitution Army zhengfu was stranded, so he had to return to luoyang's old lair. Soon, the Zhensong army of Yukun invaded Luoyang, and Wu Peifu announced that he would go to the wilderness and go to Jigongshan to recuperate, and Xiao Yaonan sent someone to Wu to express his willingness to send a road fee to help him go abroad, but he was really afraid that Wu Peifu would enter Hubei and burn himself. Wu Peifu did not stay in Jigongshan for long, and Hu Jingyi of the Nationalist Second Army entered Henan again, forcing Wu Peifu to leave Yu, and Wu Peifu had to take a train into Hubei. At that time, the Hubei side took "protecting the border and the people" as a call, and in order to prevent Wu from entering the country, it actually demolished the railway, and Wu had no choice but to get off the train in Guangshui, and for a time there was no place for this former fuwei general in China. At that time, Liu Siying, a representative of Yang Sen of the Sichuan Army, was in Wu and volunteered to go to Han to lobby Xiao Yaonan to "slow down the whole Wu". Xiao Yaonan said that he would not be Feng Yuxiang's second, and refused Wu to enter the country in order to save Wuhan, and finally the two sides reached an agreement: First, agreed to Wu's relocation to Huangzhou, Hubei. 2. Wu's guards were limited to two battalions. 3. The disarmament of the warships Duchuan and Junshu shall be used only as means of transportation and self-defense. On January 5, 1925, Wu Peifu arrived in Xishan, Huangzhou, to live temporarily, and then moved to Yuezhou.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="30" > boycott the Anhui system</h1>
After the coup in Beijing, Duan Qirui became the ruler of the Beijing government, and Duan, as the head of the Anhui clan, of course, did not say anything polite to Xiao Yaonan, who was directly related to him, and as soon as he came to power, he began to exert pressure on Xiao Yaonan, and explicitly ordered the cancellation of Xiao Yaonan's two lakes patrol envoy. Then, Duan Qirui sent his close associate Zhang Xueyan to Xiao Yaonan as chief of staff of the Governor's Office to restrain Xiao, appointing Wang Ruqin, commander-in-chief of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and commander of the Eighth Division of the Anfu Department, as Deputy for Military Affairs in Hubei; he also sent Liu Wenming of the Anfu Department as director of the Hanyang Arsenal and Xie Daosheng of the Anfu Department as director of the Hankou Telegraph Bureau; Zheng Wanzhan, a Hubei congressman from the Anfu Department, as the Hubei Official Mine Supervisor, Liu Liang as the Director of the Hubei Tobacco and Liquor Public Sale Bureau, and Lan Mou as the Director of the Wuhan Customs Supervision Department. Almost all of Hubei's military and political power was captured by Duan Qirui.
For several years, Xiao Yaonan's governor was subject to Wu, but unexpectedly Wu fell and Duan came again, very unwilling, so he secretly fought with Duan. He first announced Chen Jiamo, commander of the Twenty-fifth Division, as commander-in-chief of the Wuhan Security Corps. It was inconvenient to expand the army openly, so it secretly enriched the strength of the Twenty-fifth Division and increased the number of combat troops by 2500.
On the political front, Xiao Yaonan made a gesture of uniting with the revolutionary government in Guangdong to resist Duan Qirui's repression. On the one hand, he used a number of Hubei Kuomintang members, such as Zhang Daxin, Liu Chengyu, Guo Zhaoming, Zhang Guoen, and so on, and at the same time sent his fellow classmate Cheng Shouzhen, an old Kuomintang member, as a representative, to Guangdong to contact Dr. Sun Yat-sen. Dr. Sun Yat-sen also sent Sun Ke and Wang Jingwei to Hubei to discuss cooperation with Xiao Mi.
In the military field, xiangxiang Hunan overseer Zhao Hengti's proposal for joint provincial autonomy, contacted The Hubei governor Fang Benren of Jiangxi, Sun Chuanfang, who also belonged directly to Zhejiang and Fujian, and Yang Sen of Sichuan, to gain momentum. He also met with Yue Weijun, the governor of Henan, at Jigongshan to discuss joint defense. To make Hubei feel safe on all sides, Duan Qirui could not help it.
As for Zhang Xueyan, the chief of staff sent by Duan, Xiao believed that it was a problem for his confidants and that he would want to go away quickly. Zhang Xueyan was originally the regimental commander of the Tenth Regiment of the Third Division, and was a colleague with Xiao Yaonan, and his personal feelings were good, but because Zhang later joined the Anfu Department, he was dismissed by Wu Peifu. Duan sent him as chief of staff, hoping to take advantage of Zhang's old relationship with Xiao and play a surveillance role. However, Xiao Yaonan was a high-ranking chess player, and he instructed the generals and a group of other people to give Zhang a small feast on three days and a big banquet on the fifth day, so that he had no time to take care of the post of chief of staff. Zhang Housheng also looked for a beautiful prostitute in Hankou, ransomed for it with heavy money, and sent Zhang as a concubine, Zhang was fascinated by wine, and had no time to go to the office of the bureau. Then for the group of relatives and friends brought by Zhang when he arrived, each of them was given a fat shortage. This made Zhang Xueyan unhappy, grateful to Xiao Yaonan, and completely forgetting the surveillance mission that Duan had sent him to E, which disappointed Duan Qirui and dismissed him in anger. After Zhang Xueyan left his post, Xiao Yaonan sponsored Zhang Yuebo, who was originally the brigade commander of the Anfu Department, and later defected to zhang Yuebo, who was directly related to his direct family, to succeed him as chief of staff. Zhang Yuebo was originally from the Anfu clan, and there were many acquaintances around Duan who lobbied for him, so he was appointed, and he was rebellious and direct, only loyal to the direct line. The struggle over the selection of the post of chief of staff shows the depth of Xiao Yaonan's heart.
Let's talk about Xiao's dealings with Wang Ruqin, commander-in-chief of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and commander of the Eighth Division. When Duan Qirui sent a telegram from Wang as Hubei's military deputy to Hubei, Xiao xian asked him to be a fellow countryman, and Xie Daosheng, the director of the telegraph bureau, first temporarily withheld the telegram, and then instigated Liu Yuchun, the former brigade commander who had been removed by Wang, to overthrow Wang. With the support of Xiao Yaonan, the drive to the king ying Liu was successfully completed. Wang Ruqin lost his strength, and the post of deputy could naturally not be discussed.
In addition to Zhang Xueyan and Wang Ruqin, He Peiyao, a figure of the Anfu clan who had served as governor of Hubei during Wang Zhanyuan's reign, took advantage of Duan Qirui's return to power as governor of the province, which also posed a threat to Xiao Yaonan. At this time, Liu Liang's director of the Hubei Tobacco and Liquor Public Sale Bureau could not take up his duties, so Liu Liang tried every means to offer courtesy to Xiao, and he collected He Peiyao's bad deeds during his tenure as governor of Hubei Province and the governor of the official mine, falsely used the name of various organs and groups in Hubei to accuse He Peiyao, and also set up a "Zhenmin Daily" as a tool to specifically attack He Peiyao. In less than a month, Duan Qirui had to issue instructions to investigate and deal with He Peiyao, and his dream of governorship was also achieved, and Liu Liang was able to succeed Xiong Xiangsheng as the director of the bureau.
For the Hubei Provincial Assembly, Xiao also divided and co-opted, and at that time the provincial parliament was divided into three factions, namely: Weishe, Pingshe and Jiazi Club. The Wei Society is more detached and the number is small; the Ping Society supports Xiao Yaonan, and the majority of people; the JiaZi Club is also a minority and supports He Peiyao. For the Pingshe parliamentarian, Xiao Yaonan used the Hubei Official Money Bureau's ticket loss fee at his disposal to give each person a monthly allowance of 200 yuan for the carriage and horse fee to collect and sell, so that the provincial council did not find Trouble for Xiao for several years.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="39" > forced to meet Wu</h1>
Xiao was in Hubei like a fish, but the situation outside was changing dramatically. In 1925, Feng Yuxiang became isolated after the death of Sun Yat-sen. Duan Qirui and Feng Zhi were unfavorable to him, so they wanted to turn around and unite with their direct families, so they sent representatives Duan Qishu, Liu Ji, and Xiao to consult and support Wu Peifu to rise up against Duan and Feng. Xiao also sent Cheng Shouzhen to the liaison. At this time, Sun Chuanfang, a rising star of the direct lineage, defeated the Feng clan and controlled the five provinces of Fujian, Zhejiang, Gansu, Jiangsu, and Anhui, and also advocated that the direct family should not consider the previous resentments and unanimously go external.
In order to unite the various factions of the direct line against Duan Qirui and the Feng clan, Xiao Yaonan expanded his army on a large scale, with the Twenty-fifth Division as the backbone, and set up the Seventeenth and Twenty-first Mixed Brigades. The commander of the 17th Mixed Brigade was Promoted by Yu Yinsen, commander of the 97th Regiment of the 25th Division, and the commander of the 21st Mixed Brigade was promoted by Liu Yueting, commander of the 1st OO Regiment of the 25th Division. The newly established Ninth Division was concurrently served by Zhang Liansheng, the commander of the Xiangfan Town Guard, the second mixed brigade of Kou Yingjie was expanded to the first division of Hubei, the division commander was promoted by Kou, the fourth mix of Liu Zuolong and the third mixed brigade of Song Dapi were also expanded into divisions, and the division commander was promoted by Liu and Song.
At that time, representatives from Hubei, Sichuan, Jiangsu and Zhejiang gathered and decided to turn the tables on the back, and planned to be the first, second, and third armies of the Nationalists. Feng Yuxiang also told Xiao that if he could tolerate it, he would do it together; if he could not tolerate it, he was willing to go down and hand over the team. At this time, Duan Qirui was anxious to organize an aftermath meeting and prepare to formally elect him as president. Duan sent to Hubei to handle the election was Zheng Wanzhan. Zheng Tiantian pestered Xiao Yaonan to prepare for the election, xiao Yaonan deliberately delayed, and in the end he could not resign, and on the day of the election, Chen Jiamo sent troops to conduct a parade exercise in front of the provincial council, cutting off the traffic of the parliament and not allowing entry and exit. Zheng Wanzhan went to find Xiao Yaonan, but Xiao Yaonan ignored it, causing the election to be aborted.
In this situation, Wu Peifu thought that the time was ripe to go out of the mountains, so he sent someone to Hubei to seek Xiao Yaonan's consent, and Xiao sent the division commander Chen Jiamo to Yuezhou to say to Wu: "Although the grand marshal is out of the mountains, please do not come to Hubei, because I still need time." Wu was very unhappy to hear this, and narrowed his eyes and said, "I want to go out of the mountains naturally in Hubei." Then he asked Chen in a gentle tone: "I ask you now, what do you think of me going out of the mountain?" Chen Jingjin replied, "When the Grand Marshal goes out of the mountain, I am personally willing to follow the work of dogs and horses." In addition to Chen, the generals Kou Yingjie, Song Dapi, and Yu Xuezhong, all of whom were Wu Peifu's Fellow Villagers in Shandong, all expressed their obedience to Wu. These people were all Xiao's pillars, and since they obeyed Wu's orders, how could Xiao Yaonan stop them? Therefore, Xiao also made up his mind, "Jiangshan was originally his Jiangshan, and it was he who gave me Jiangshan, and it was only up to him to destroy Jiangshan." On October 20, 1925, a telegram was sent to welcome Wu, and the high-pitched "Reject Wu Bao'e" was no longer sung.
On the 21st, Wu arrived in Han by the decisive River ship, and Xiao led the military attaches to greet the riverside, which was different from the last time the road was demolished to reject Wu. After Wu Peifu arrived in Han, he formed the Fourteen Provinces Combined Army Headquarters of the Thieves in Chajiadun, made a comeback, and appointed Xiao Yaonan as the commander-in-chief of the Hubei Army and the commander-in-chief of the rear preparations of the Thieves Coalition Army, Chen Jiamu as the deputy commander, Kou Yingjie as the commander-in-chief of the First Road of the Hubei Army, Chen Jiamu as the commander-in-chief of the Second Road, and Lu Jinshan as the commander-in-chief of the Third Road.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="45" > Xiao Wu's anti-eye</h1>
For Wu Peifu, the mortal enemy is Feng Yuxiang, not Feng Zhang. Therefore, as soon as Wu came out of the mountain, he sent out a telegram, turning Lian Feng into Lian Zhang, and came a big change of one hundred and eighty degrees. This telegram also had Xiao Yaonan's name on it, but Xiao was completely unaware. Wu Peifu originally admitted not to interfere in Hubei politics, and as soon as he arrived in Hankou, without Xiao's consent, he removed the director of the Hanyang Arsenal and the director of the Hankou Telegraph Bureau and appointed him as a private person. Xiao Yaonan could not bear it, lost his temper, scolded Wu Peifu for disregarding his faith and righteousness, betraying his friends, and causing great rifts between them, which also affected Xiao Yaonan's health, and the root of his illness was from this.
Because Wu Peifu advocated jointly serving Feng and attacking Henan, where the Nationalist Second Army was stationed, the front was close to Hubei, and all kinds of military supplies and military service also fell on the heads of the people of Hubei. Wu Peifu was a light pole at that time, all military expenses, completely rely on Hubei planning, Hubei finance can not afford, Wu Peifu wanted to issue 5 million military coupons in Han, and wanted to increase the price of salt per salt increase of 4 yuan. Xiao Yaonan was a native of Hubei, and if he poisoned the localities in such a way, he would not be able to escape the accusations of his fathers and elders in his hometown, so he stepped forward and personally led the provincial council and the legal groups of various organs to petition the headquarters with the qualifications of the Emin people, forcing Wu to cancel the plan for issuing military bonds and increasing the levy of salt.
Due to the contradiction between Wu Peifu and Xiao Yaonan on the issue of whether to jointly seek feng or to jointly discuss Feng, coupled with Wu Peifu's interference in hubei provincial affairs, and Xiao Yaonan's opposition to Wu Peifu's increase in military salaries and increase the burden on the people of Hubei, the contradiction between Wu and Xiao was very sharp. Stimulated by this contradiction, Xiao Yaonan's health was also affected. In addition, the war against the Nationalist Army was not smooth, especially the casualties on the South Exit side were very large, and there was no progress for a long time, and the military expenditure was getting bigger and bigger, and it was even more difficult to raise funds. All this made Xiao uneasy day and night, and his spirit was weak.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" Data-track="49" > sudden illness</h1>
On February 11, 1926, Cai Fuqing, president of the Hankou Charity Association, returned from the front line and asked to see Xiao Yaonan, weeping bitterly about the unfavorable war in front of him, and the situation of death and injury, which greatly moved Xiao. It was the twenty-seventh day of the lunar month, the wind and snow, Xiao sent Cai out, stood under the eaves of the porch and talked for too long, suffered from wind and cold, immediately fell ill and fell unconscious, treated by chinese medicine Cao Yuansen, soup medicine can not be poured. The next day, I invited a German doctor from Hankou for treatment, thinking that it was excessive fatigue, after an injection, it returned to normal, and when the doctor left, he instructed the patient to sleep more, and left 3 sleeping pills, and told him to eat only one tablet at a time. On the evening of February 13, the 29th day of the lunar month, Xiao Yaonan was still in good condition, and he personally wrote an edict that during his illness, "the supervision was represented by Chief of Staff Zhang Yuebo, and the governor was represented by Yang Huikang, the head of the Government Affairs Department." "And prepare to send some people's New Year's fees."
That night, Xiao Yaonan once ate all 3 sleeping pills left by the doctor, so his physique could not stand it, and the window opened too much, and he braved the wind and cold, so he turned to acute nephritis. On February 14, the morning of the first day of the first lunar month, a German doctor was invited to come for treatment, the doctor thought that it was impossible to save, only the enema had a glimmer of hope, with the consent of the family, the enema was carried out, and Xiao Yaonan died in the process of the enema, at the age of fifty-one.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="52" > death controversy</h1>
Since Xiao Yaonan became ill and died, the time was only three days, because the first two days were still very normal, and it was the New Year, so few military and political officials in Hubei knew about it, even if a very small number of people had come, they only briefly inquired about the cause of the illness and left. Coupled with Xiao Yaonan's sharp contradictions with Wu Peifu before his death, the world has been rumored that he was poisoned by Wu Peifu and Chen Jiamu sent people to poison him in a smoking gun. Coincidentally, when Xiao died, because the enema water flowed out, the color of the quilt and clothes was dyed on his skin, appearing red and green, and because there was still unfinished enema water in his stomach, it appeared that the abdomen was swollen, and the body was green, and the abdominal swelling was considered to be a proof of poisoning and death. It is even said that Cao Kun's younger brother Cao Ying was poisoned and died when he ate this smoking gun.
In fact, Xiao's healing process was completely handled by his family, and the rumors outside that his family were not allowed to enter the department were pure nothing. Xiao Yaonan's coffin was always parked in the Governor's Office, and it was hung at the Governor's Office, which showed that he was not poisoned and died. As for Cao Ying, who had a heart attack, he came to mourn after Xiao's death, he thought that once Xiao died, the future would be even bleaker, and his brother Cao Kun was even more hopeless in his release, and immediately fainted, and was carried to his home by his nephew, Mao Mou, the director of the Military Reserve Bureau, and died soon after, without smoking a big cigarette. Because of the coincidence of death, it caused rumors. After Xiao's death, the provincial government funded more than 100,000 funerals, and the remains were transported back to their original home for burial. After Xiao's death, Wu Peifu sent Chen Jiamo, commander of the 25th Division, to be promoted to inspector, and Du Xijun, the defender of Hanhuang Town, to the post of governor of Hubei Province.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="56" > major achievements</h1>
Xiao Yaonan
In addition to the "February 7 Strike" in 1923, Xiao Yao repeatedly suppressed the revolutionary movement of the people of Hubei, and in 1925, he colluded with imperialism and participated in the suppression of the May Thirtieth Movement, and wanted the communist Li Hanjun.
During his five years of rule in Hubei, Xiao Yaonan also had some merits that benefited Sangzi. He attached great importance to the construction of water conservancy embankments, once said that "the embankment is the lifeblood of the Wu'e people", and personally began to formulate the water conservancy project plan of Hubei Province, and went to various places to supervise the construction. In 1922, Xiao Yaonan cooperated with the businessman Li Zirong to repair the embankment along the river between Wu'e and Hubei, and sent Li Kaixian to supervise the embankment work of Wangjiaying, completed the embankment work, and also donated funds to repair the embankment gate of xinzhou goose neck, which was called "Xiao Gong gate" by people. In 1923, Xiao sent troops to Gangneung to block the overflow of the embankment. He also specially organized people to collect and sort out water conservancy materials and compiled the "Hubei Embankment Minutes".
For the cultural and educational undertakings of Hubei Province, Xiao has also made certain contributions. In 1922, he converted several junior colleges in Hubei into universities, and asked Shi Ying to be the president of Wuchang University, Guo Taiqi as the president of the University of Commerce, and Zhang Zhiben as the president of Hubei University of Law. Later, Wuhan University was established on the basis of Wuchang University. During Xiao's tenure, he also donated funds to the Construction of the Tibetan Scripture Pavilion for the Wuchang Changchun Temple, one of the Ten Jungles of Taoism in the country.
In early 1924, Siu Wasnan was still working in J. Gray, the athletic officer of the YMCA. At the suggestion of Dr. H. Gray), funds were allocated to expand the stadium and supported the establishment of a national sports congress committee in Hubei, so that the Third National Games could be successfully held in Wuchang, which was called "a miracle" by Westerners under the conditions at that time.
In addition to holding military and political power, Xiao Yaonan also engaged in business. Opened eight pawnshops in his hometown of Cangbu and other places, invested in the purchase of two Taicang steamships, operated Yichang, Jiujiang and other places, and built a luxurious Xiao Mansion on the left side of Changniankou on Yiyuan Road in Hankou.
After Xiao Yaonan's discovery, he donated a stone bridge to his hometown and built a Lanling Primary School.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="66" > character evaluation</h1>
Xiao Yaonan is humble, good at courtesy, has the heart, and will also make the means, can win all parties for their own, but there is no too deep city government, it is difficult to get rid of the talent habits, often practice the benevolence of women, and do things with the decisiveness of the soldiers.
When Xiao Yaonan was sitting in Hubei, all the provinces sent representatives to Wuhan for a long time, and Xiao Was eager to prepare for the supply of weapons in the Hanyang Arsenal, Xiao was responsive to his needs, especially for his immediate party. So the rice in Hunan, as well as the smoke and soil of Yun, Gui, and Sichuan, came from the source, and Xiao sat and reaped huge profits. Xiao Yaonan loves opium and likes to work at night, which may be the reason for his physical damage and early death.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="70" > family members</h1>
Xiao had a wife and two concubines, originally from the Su clan, and his children are unknown.
![A building that I often passed by when I was a child turned out to be the residence of Xiao Yaonan, the "King of Hubei" during the Republic of China[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)