Xu Shuzheng and the delegation's attaché took photographs in Italy
Text | Li Qianming
Excerpted from Wenshi Tiandi, No. 157 (WeChat ID: wenshitiandi), this article has been authorized, and the editors have added or deleted on the basis of the original text.
On December 30, 1925, Xu Shuzheng was shot and killed by Feng Yuxiang's subordinates in Langfang. Xu Shuzheng was a famous Anhui general in the Beiyang era, an important aide of Duan Qirui, and a famous politician and military figure in modern Chinese history. The most remarkable feat of his life was to lead troops into Outer Mongolia in October 1919, forcing Outer Mongolia to formally abolish its autonomy and return to China on November 17, 1919.
Within the Beiyang Group, compared with Yuan Shikai, Duan Qirui, Feng Guozhang, Xu Shichang, Zhang Zuolin, and other elderly figures, Xu Shuzheng, who has served as vice minister of the army and secretary general of the State Council, is only a small character. When people have the terms "big Xu" and "small Xu", the former refers to Xu Shichang, and the latter refers to Xu Shuzheng. However, "Xiao Xu" was talented and resourceful, and was Duan Qirui's most trusted think tank and assistant, and during the period of Duan's rule, he called the wind and rain, the power fell to the opposition, and personally directed a famous event that was quite influential in the history of the Republic of China, which attracted people's attention. Because he flew high and did whatever he wanted, he made enemies on all sides, and finally ended up with a sad ending.
Luo Di Xiu only cast a pen from Rong
Xu Shuzheng (1880-1925), also known as Zheng Zheng, was born into a poor Confucian family in Xiao County, Jiangsu Province (now part of Anhui). His father, Xu Zhongqing, made a living by setting up a museum and teaching. Her mother, Yue Shi, was a descendant of the Song dynasty general Yue Fei. Xu Shuzheng is talented and intelligent, young Chengting Training, 6 years old can read poetry, 13 years old Zhongxiucai, 17 years old won the first place in the first class of the annual examination. At the age of 18, he went to Nanjing Township to take the test, and his name fell on Sun Mountain. Since then, tired of the examination, thinking that the readers will only delve into the eight strands, it will not help, and they are determined to throw their pens into the rong and make meritorious contributions on the battlefield.
Xu Shuzheng (1880–1925)
In the winter of 1901, the 22-year-old Xu Shuzheng carried a "State Affairs Article Chen" with tens of thousands of words, and traveled thousands of miles to Jinan to go to Shandong to inspect Yuan Shikai, hoping to find an official and a half-post under Yuan Shi. After several twists and turns, the article was progressively forwarded to the Inspector's Mansion. Yuan Shikai looked at it and praised it, and when he learned that the author was a young man, he felt that talent was rare. At that time, Yuan was guarding his mother's funeral, and it was inconvenient to see guests, so he assigned Zhu Zhongqi, a Taoist officer, to come forward to receive him. Zhu yi has always regarded himself as a celebrity, with no one in sight, and when he met Xu, who had a strong sense of self-esteem, he did not speculate, and the two sides did not disperse happily.
Back at the hotel where he stayed, Xu Shuzheng was sullen and unhappy, lamenting that he was not born at the right time and his ambition was difficult to reward. He planned to return to his hometown as soon as possible to find another way out, but the coils he carried on his body were few and far between, so he had no choice but to write to his family for help while writing for people to collect some runge to make ends meet.
As the saying goes, there is no way out. Just when he was desperate, he unexpectedly met Duan Qirui, who was then the general office of the Shandong Wubei Academy. Xu Shuzheng may not have known at the time that this meeting would be a turning point in his life.
On that day, Duan Qirui came to the hotel to visit, and he met a teenager writing a link in the hall. It was the middle of winter, and the cold outside the house was overwhelming. Duan saw that the writing teenager wore a jacket and was full of vigor and vigor, without the slightest hint of the shabbiness of ordinary readers. Looking at its calligraphy, it is vigorous and powerful, quite spirited. He liked it so much that he invited the teenager to the room to talk. After inquiry, it was learned that the teenager's name was Xu Shuzheng, a native of Xiao County, Jiangsu Province, who had come to this place without a door and was waiting for his family to send the road fee. Duan intends to examine the other party and asks him to talk about his views on the current situation. Xu Shuzheng was confident and talked about it, expounding in detail the main points of the "State Affairs Article Chen", and finally concluding: "The defeat of state affairs is defeated by the mediocrity of soldiers. When he wanted to rectify the situation, Shejingwu had no urgent task. Xu's views coincided with Duan Qirui's idea of expanding armaments. Duan was overjoyed and had the intention of recruiting him to take up a post under his command, so he asked, "Are you willing to come to my place to take up a post?" The young man replied unashamedly, "If it is worth it, it will be done." In this way, Xu Shuzheng followed Duan Qirui to the military camp and served as the secretary (secretary) of the general office.
In 1905, Xu Shuzheng was sent by Duan Qi Ruibao to study at the Non-Commissioned Officer School in Tokyo, Japan. During his study abroad, he smelled chickens dancing every day and studied the art of war. In his spare time, he will examine Japan's laws and regulations, summarize the outline, and carefully study it for use in his home country. In the autumn of 1910, at the age of 31, he returned to China after completing his studies and was assigned to the Duan Qirui military camp as a staff officer. Xu Shuzheng thought that Wen Tao was a martial strategy, proficient in everything, and was full of ambition to prepare for a career.
Sure enough, with his shrewd and capable ability and super memory, Xu Shuzheng soon emerged in the military camp. He often answered the phone while reading official documents at the time of the meeting. Although the official documents piled up like snowflakes, he never forgot the contents of the documents and telegrams he handled, handled them in an orderly manner, and never made any mistakes. Whenever Duan Qirui asked, he could always answer like a stream. Duan admired it very much and called it a strange person. And Xu Yi knew en Tu bao, was loyal to Duan, and tried his best to do things.
Not only that, Xu Shuzheng was strategizing and cleverly planning, which made Duan Qirui even more impressed. During the Xinhai Revolution, Duan Qirui's several outstanding performances in front of Yuan Shikai were the result of Xu Shuzheng's advice. On October 10, 1911, the Wuchang Uprising broke out, and the revolutionaries supported Li Yuanhong as the governor and declared independence. On October 27, the Qing court appointed Yuan Shikai as the minister of Chincha to exercise full control over the army and navy. Yuan appointed his close associate Duan Qirui as the president of the Second Army and presided over the use of troops against the south. At that time, the situation was confusing, it was peace or war, and Duan Qirui was undecided. At this time, Xu Shuzheng was keenly aware that Yuan Shikai was playing the trick of "killing two birds with one stone", so he urged Duan to stop attacking Wuchang and first negotiate peace with the revolutionaries, so as to suppress the south from the north and dominate the north with the south. Duan Qirui was deeply impressed, and immediately sent Xu as a representative to secretly cross the river to Wuchang, negotiate with Huang Xing and others, and sign five agreements, such as forcing the Qing Emperor to abdicate and supporting Yuan Shikai as president. In January of the following year, the Qing court held several imperial councils, and the republican proposal was shelved. On the 26th, Duan Qirui led the telegram to the palace. With a thunderclap, the Qing court panicked, and Emperor Xuantong quickly issued an edict of abdication. This telegram was prepared by Xu Shuzheng overnight.
He is the vice minister of the army and the secretary general of the State Council
After Yuan Shikai stole the presidential throne, Duan Qirui served as premier and army chief, becoming the second most important person in the Beiyang clique after Yuan. Xu Shuzheng was promoted from the head of the War Department and the director of the department to the deputy director, and often handled ministerial affairs on behalf of the department, and he had great power. After that, Yuan Shikai stepped up the promotion of the imperial plan, and the Beiyang faction of civil and military officials voted for his favor and petitioned and persuaded them to advance, but Duan and Xu held opposing views. They knew in their hearts that if Yuan Shikai became emperor, the future world would be determined by his eldest son Yuan Ke, and the implementation of a republican form of government, with Duan Qirui's status and qualifications, was very likely to reach the peak of power. Yuan Shikai was very angry, knowing that Duan's ideas mostly came from Xu Shuzheng, so he scolded Xu for being damned. Once, Yuan said that he wanted to transfer Xu Shuzheng out of the War Department, but Duan Qirui disagreed, confronting me in the face: "Please ask the president to dismiss me first, and then do what you want to do!" "After saying that, I even brushed my sleeves and left." Yuan simply did not stop and ordered Xu Shuzheng to be removed from the post of army deputy commander as a sign of revenge.
In August 1915, Duan Qirui, who was living in seclusion in Xishan, summoned his close associates Xu Shuzheng and Zeng Yujun to talk to them, saying to them: "The traces of the Xiangcheng (Yuan Shikai) imperial system have gradually been revealed. And I am afraid that in the twenty-four histories, I will not be able to find such characters again! Therefore, when it comes to public service, I would rather die than participate; on selfishness, I will only retire from now on, and I will never say a word. Xu Shuzheng echoed: "First, whether directly or indirectly, positive or negative, they all oppose the imperial system to the end; second, they want to cancel the imperial ambitions in the middle of Xiangcheng, and they have been completely disappointed, so Hefei (Duan Qirui) still calls the disease missing." Duan acted according to this plan, looked at it coldly, and refused to be persuaded. On the 29th, Yuan Yi, enraged, dismissed Duan from his post as army chief. Soon after, he was placed under house arrest in the old War Department.
Yuan Shikai did not expect that this practice of his helped Duan Qirui and Xu Shuzheng a lot, not only did not subdue their opponents, but made them heroes who "opposed the imperial system".
After the imperial ugly drama began, Cai Yi announced the protection of the country and courted Yuan in Yunnan, the southern provinces responded in groups, and the Beiyang generals also declared independence. At the instigation of Duan Qirui and Xu Shuzheng, Feng Guozhang and other Beiyang governors also jointly issued a "telegram of five generals" to persuade Yuan to abolish the imperial system in order to reassure the people. In January 1916, Yuan Shikai, who had rebelled against him, had to ask Duan Qirui to come forward and clean up the mess. Xu Shuzheng did not spare him, and went straight to Yuan, asking him to immediately abolish the imperial system and issue an edict to himself. On 22 March, Yuan was forced to abolish the imperial system. More than a month later, Duan Qirui was reinstated as premier of the cabinet, and the first thing he did was to ask Zhang Guogan, the chief of education, to tell Yuan that Xu Shuzheng should be the secretary general of the State Council. When Yuan Yi heard this, he was immediately displeased and said: "Premier Duan is a soldier, Xu Mou is also a soldier, and it is very inappropriate to use the military secretary general as a military premier. Zhang Guogan gently persuaded, and Yuan finally said: "If the prime minister uses Xu Zhicai, he may wish to make him the deputy commander of the army." Zhang Guogan replied to Duan, and before he could finish his words, Duan Qirui, who was smoking, threw his pipe on the table and said sharply: "To this day, it is still like this!" ”
After Yuan Shikai's death, Xu Shuzheng judged the situation and helped Duan Qirui plan to use Li Yuanhong as a puppet to establish an authoritarian rule in Anhui. He said to Duan: "For the sake of the present, it is advisable to ask Huang Pi (Li Yuanhong) to succeed him as president to reassure the people, and then my father can organize a responsible cabinet." Huangpi is loyal and loyal, but the majesty is insufficient, and my generation can take advantage of it, so as to cultivate the power of the same party and to carry out the policy of peacetime, and those who do not attach themselves to themselves will be dismissed and expelled. ”
After some arrangements, Li Yuanhong succeeded him as president, and Duan Qirui remained the prime minister of the cabinet. Duan believes that Li is the one who single-handedly supported the presidency and looks down on him in his heart. Xu Shuzheng behaved more directly, did not have a good face for Li, and often made him unable to get off the stage. After the official was reinstated, Duan Qirui entrusted Zhang Guogan to relay to Li Yuanhong that Xu Shuzheng should still be the secretary general of the State Council. Li shook his head and refused after listening: "I can't work with Xu Shuzheng, I'm afraid to see him." When I saw him, it was like a thorn in my back. After persuasion from many parties, Li reluctantly agreed, but put forward a condition, saying that he did not want to see Xu alone, and that he would meet with Xu in the future. When Zhang Guogan returned to his post, Duan was very happy to hear that the president had agreed to Xu Shuzheng's appointment, and without waiting for the official documents of appointment to be issued, he arranged for Xu to go to the State Council to handle official affairs.
Although he was a small secretary-general, Xu Shuzheng's power was frighteningly large, almost surpassing the president and the chief ministers of various ministries. Duan Qirui has publicly announced that the "daily documents" of the Presidential Office and the State Council are all delivered by Xu Shuzheng. The officer was self-loving and dismissive. In the face of it, qirui is fully responsible for anyone who has something to say." Therefore, Xu Shuzheng held the privilege of cutting first and playing later, and was arbitrary, saying one thing and saying one thing. At the first cabinet meeting, he caught fire with Sun Hongyi, a close confidant of Li Yuanhong. At that time, Li Liejun, commander-in-chief of the Second Army of the Patriotic Army, and Long Jiguang, the governor of Guangdong in Anhui Province, competed for Guangdong, and the lawsuit reached Beijing. Sun Hongyi advocated sending a telegram to reconcile, but Xu Shuzheng proposed that the four provinces of Fujian, Guangdong, Hunan and Gansu send troops to suppress Li Liejun. The meeting passed Sun's proposal, but Xu arbitrarily sent a power generation to suppress it. After hearing the news, Sun Hongyi questioned Xu, but Xu Qiang refused to correct his words, and the two sides exchanged words and swords, and did not give in to each other. This is true for the ministers of the ministries, and it is also true for President Li Yuanhong. In Xu Shuzheng's eyes, Li is just a stamped president. One day, Xu Shuzheng sent an official document into the palace to be stamped, the content of Shanxi Province to change three department directors, Li Yuanhong asked what the reason was, Xu said impatiently: "But the president stamped on the next page of the year and month, why bother with what happened in front!" Li was greatly displeased and said indignantly: "Where is the responsible cabinet system now, it is simply the secretary-general system of the State Council." ”
However, Li Yuanhong's cronies Jin Yongyan, Ha Hanzhang, Li Shu and Ding Foyan were not fuel-saving lamps. They helped Li Yuanhong set up a national assembly that included the Kuomintang, drew up a new constitution to expand presidential powers, and elected Feng Guozhang as vice president. Subsequently, they advised Li Lianfeng to arrange the paragraph. Xu Shuzheng tit-for-tat, trying his best to persuade Duan Qirui to join feng to suppress Li. As a result, the two sides came and went, fighting endlessly, and finally caused a dispute between the government (presidential palace) and the house (state department) over the issue of declaring war on Germany.
In June 1917, with the support of warlords from Britain and the United States and the southwestern provinces, Li Yuanhong refused to approve Duan Qirui's "War Case against Germany" and ordered Duan's removal from all his posts. Duan Qirui sent a telegram to the wilderness and retired to Tianjin with his cronies. After a few days, Xu Shuzheng went south and north, moving around in an attempt to unite with the Beiyang Overseer to support Duan Li. Soon, the Beiyang Overseer set up the Provincial Military General Staff Office in Tianjin, preparing to support Xu Shichang as the Grand Marshal, establish a provisional government and a provisional parliament, overthrow the Beiyang government headed by Li Yuanhong, and support Duan to come to power.
Li Yuanhong, who lacked the strength to rely on, was greatly panicked, so he "went to the hospital in a hurry" and pinned his hopes on Zhang Xun, the leader of the Braid army stationed in Xuzhou, and frequently invited Zhang to enter Beijing to mediate. Xu Shuzheng believed that the opportunity could not be lost, and offered a plan to Duan Qirui: If Zhang Xun is first connived at his restoration, he will be unanimously opposed by the world, and then he will succeed in his crusade. Duan thought that this was a good plan, so he sent Xu to attend the Fourth Xuzhou Conference presided over by Zhang Xun. At the meeting, Xu Shuzheng threaded the needle and contacted the overseers of the northern provinces to try his best to instigate Zhang Xun's restoration. Zeng personally told Zhang: "Elder Zhi (referring to Duan Qirui) only seeks to achieve the purpose of driving out Li, and all means are not counted. After the meeting, someone asked him why he said this, and Xu Shuzheng replied triumphantly: "Zhang Xun is the head of restoration." Let him do it first, and our opportunity will come! ”
In June, Zhang Xun led braided soldiers into Beijing. On July 1, Puyi, who was 12 years old, was once again put on the emperor's throne, announcing the abolition of the Republic of China and the restoration of the Qing Dynasty, which was immediately unanimously condemned by the people of the whole country. On July 3, Duan Qirui, with Xu Shuzheng as his counselor, organized a westward march of the rebel army in Tianjin. Xu Shuzheng believes that the focus of rebellion is in Bengbu rather than Beijing, because there are only more than 3,000 braided troops entering Beijing, which cannot become a climate. Zhang Xun's main force was still stationed in Xuzhou and Haizhou, and it was indispensable to guard against it. Therefore, he led his troops into Bengbu and assisted the Anhui overseer Ni Sichong to block the main force of the Braided Army to the north to reinforce.
Sure enough, things did not go as Xu Shuzheng expected. Zhang Xun, who was trapped in Beijing, was isolated and helpless, and was soon defeated. Xu Shuzheng took the opportunity to assist Ni Sichong in taking over Zhang Xun's forces in Xuzhou. On July 14, Xu Shuzheng entered Beijing with Duan Qirui, the commander-in-chief of the rebel army. Duan Qirui re-appointed as the prime minister and chief of the army, regaining power in the Beiyang government. Xu Shuzheng was also reinstated as an officer and became deputy chief of the army.
It is said that Xu Shuzheng and Zhang Xun have a good personal relationship. Zhang has been stationed in Xuzhou for a long time and has taken care of Xu Shuzheng's family living in Xuzhou. Xu Shuzheng helped Duan Qirui defeat him, completely out of the need for political struggle and power struggle. In September 1923, Zhang Xun died of illness. Xu Shuzheng did not forget his personal friendship and presented a pair of Bang Lian: "Battle Pif Festival, Bang Jiu Temple Spirit, its ambition is mournful, its foolishness is unattainable; there are six feet of loneliness, there is no earth, the Si people are dead, who will do it again?" This union not only has sadness about the death of the deceased friend, but also criticizes its restoration behavior, uses the code accurately, enters the wood three points, and is recognized as a famous association.
From robbing weapons in Qinhuangdao to shooting Lu Jianzhang
After Duan Qirui regained power in the Beiyang government, he continued to pursue the policy of "reunification by force." Xu Shuzheng contributed to the situation and proposed a strategy of focusing on attacking Hunan to unify the south. He said: "If you want to determine the overall situation, you must seek reunification; if you want to seek reunification, you must be under the control of the government." Sichuan is more Cantonese, and Guangdong should be urgent, and Guangdong Dingchuan may be determined. I am the one who fights for Xiang, and counts the ears for the sake of Tu Yue. Duan followed the plan, with Fu Liangzuo as the overseer of Hunan, and led the Beiyang army to unify Hunan, waiting for an opportunity to attack Liangguang. He also made Wu Guangxin the commander-in-chief of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and an envoy to investigate and handle the investigation in Sichuan, and led his army into Sichuan to spy on Yunnan and Qian.
However, Feng Guozhang, the head of the direct family and acting president, did not want to see the expansion of the Anhui forces and advocated "peaceful mixing." The two sides are fighting openly and secretly, and the situation is like water and fire. On November 19, 1917, Feng Guozhang ordered the removal of Duan Qirui and Xu Shuzheng from their respective posts. Later, after Xu Shichang's mediation, Duan Qirui was appointed as the inspector of participating in the war, but the contradiction between Zhiwan and Anhui was still sharp.
In January of the following year, Xu Shuzheng discovered that a batch of ordnance purchased by Feng Guozhang from Japan would be on the shore of Qinhuangdao, and then transported it to Beijing in batches to equip his immediate troops, immediately reported to Duan Qirui, and suggested that he take the opportunity to lure Zhang Zuolin's Fengjun into the customs to contain Feng Guozhang. Duan Qirui agreed and instructed Xu to quickly go north. Xu Shuzheng, on the condition of supporting Zhang Zuolin as vice president and dividing up the ordnance, said that Zhang promised to join Duan duan to overthrow Feng. Entering Guannei was a long-planned plan by Zhang Zuolin, the leader of the Feng clan, and he was suffering from the inability to find an excuse, so this time he was invited by the Anhui clan to take the initiative and naturally refused to miss the opportunity. The two sides immediately agreed, and agreed that after the ordnance was intercepted, three-quarters would be given to Zhang and one-quarter would be returned to Duan. Feng jun entered the customs and stationed in the area of Tianjin and Langfang, forcing Feng Guozhang to restore Duan Qirui to his post and support the policy of "unification by force". Subsequently, Zhang Zuolin ordered his subordinates Yang Yuting and Zhang Jinghui to lead two brigades of men and horses to quickly move south.
On February 1, Xu Shuzheng returned to Tianjin, and the secret telegram section sent the overseers Chen Shufan and Yan Xishan to arrange a plan to attract the Feng army into the customs to expel the direct forces. After a few days, the ordnance purchased by Feng Guozhang arrived in Qinhuangdao one after another, with a total of more than 27,000 rifles and several cannons, which could equip 4 divisions. On the 25th, Yang Yuting and others of the Fengjun Army, armed with the letter from the War Department provided by Xu Shuzheng, received all the ordnance by force. Immediately afterwards, 5 brigades of the Feng Army forcibly entered the Pingjin area. Zhang Zuolin set up the Fengjun Headquarters in Tianjin Junliangcheng, with himself as commander, and Xu Shuzheng as deputy commander, acting as commander. Under these circumstances, Feng Guozhang was forced to agree to Duan Qirui's formation of the cabinet and ordered his immediate subordinates Cao Kun and Zhang Huaizhi to attack Hunan.
On April 3, Xu Shuzheng triumphantly went to Beijing to meet with Duan Qirui, discussed the military plan for the south, and decided to attack Sichuan and Guangdong to achieve the reunification of the north and the south. He called Zhang Huaizhi, who was close to Duan: "Everything in Cantonese depends on my brother's firmness, taking advantage of victory and going straight ahead, and making great achievements." ”
After the qinhuangdao robbery, the Feng department equipped 2 divisions and 7 brigades with the ordnance they had obtained, and their strength increased greatly, becoming the most powerful armed group in the north. Xu Shuzheng was also equipped with 4 mixed brigades, occupying a large area of territory in northern China. The Beiyang generals who supported Feng Guozhang quickly formed a direct clique headed by Feng. Zhi, Feng, and Anhui confronted each other, forming a situation of dividing the world into three parts in the north.
If the Qinhuangdao robbery made Xu Shuzheng a thorn in the side of his immediate family, then the shooting of the Beiyang general Lu Jianzhang caused him to fall into an embattled situation.
Lu Jianzhang, a native of Mengcheng, Anhui Province, started from xiaozhan training and became a close general of Yuan Shikai. In 1914, Lu was appointed as the general of Shaanxi, and Duan Qirui followed Xu Shuzheng's plan to instigate Chen Shufan, the brigade commander of the Shaanxi Army, to drive Lu Zidai. From then on, Lu Jianzhang held a grudge against Duan and Xu, and ran around, instigating the Beiyang powerful faction to reverse Duan and oppose Chen.
On June 11, 1918, the warlord Cao Kun presided over the Tianjin Conference to discuss the war against the South and the election of a president. At the meeting, the air of the Lord and the Lord was quite thick. Xu Shuzheng once again went to Tianjin on behalf of Duan Qirui in an effort to reverse the unfavorable situation for Duan. At this time, Lu Jianzhang traveled from Shanghai to Tianjin. Some say he was entrusted by Feng Guozhang to do Cao Kun's work and force the collapse of the Duan cabinet by advocating peace. Lu Jianzhang was an important behind-the-scenes military division of the direct family and Feng Guozhang's right-hand man, and his arrival made Xu Shuzheng feel that the Anhui clan would be greatly threatened and decided to take tough measures.
As soon as Lu Jianzhang arrived in Tianjin, he received an invitation from Xu Shuzheng to go to the Fengjun Headquarters to discuss cooperation between Zhi and Anhui. The next day, Lu Jianzhang went as promised. Xu Shuzheng greeted him at the door, very friendly, and Xu politely invited him to talk in the secret room in the back garden. When Lu Jianzhang walked into the garden, Xu Shuzheng's guards suddenly shot from behind, and Lu Yingsheng fell. After the incident, Xu Shuzheng said to the people present with a murderous face: "Lu Jianzhang has committed the crime of inciting confusion, and he has already rectified the law on the spot. On the same day, he asked Fang Shu, secretary general of the presidential office, to draw up an order and ask Feng Guozhang to stamp and publish. The order said: "Lu Jianzhang colluded with bandits in Shandong, Anhui, Shaanxi and other places to incite the army, and when he was inciting confusion in Tianjin, he was shot by Xu Shuzheng, deputy commander of the Feng Army, and Lu Jianzhang was stripped of his military position, medal, and medal." ”
When the news reached Beijing, Duan Qirui was greatly shocked and said to his close confidant Zeng Yujun: "The disaster of another Zheng (Xu Shuzheng) intrusion is too great!" Now, you go to the president first to find out what his tone is. You act as if I didn't know yet. Zeng Yujun hurried to the presidential palace, and before he could speak, Feng Guozhang asked, "Are you here for youzheng's affairs?" He replied, "Yes, I have come to ask the president, what should I do about this?" Although Feng Guozhang was very dissatisfied in his heart, he said in his mouth: "He is around Zhiquan (Duan Qirui) and has always done whatever he wants." Today this is absurd. The good thing is the responsible cabinet, you go back and tell Shibazumi, what he does, I will use it and print it. ”
Feng Guozhang, who was trapped in the capital, considered his own safety and was forced to acquiesce to the matter, but the direct generals who supported the troops did not agree, and called the Beijing government one after another, asking who gave Xu Shuzheng the privilege of killing the Beiyang elders. Zhang Zuolin, fearing that he would set himself on fire, also sent a telegram to Beijing, denouncing Xu's absurd behavior and ordering his removal from his post as deputy commander of the Fengjun Army.
Duan Qirui donated 5,000 yuan to Lu Jianzhang's family to express his old feelings for Beiyang Robe Ze, and also made Lu's nephew Feng Yuxiang serve as the envoy of Xiangxi Town, and brought out the award, with the intention of appeasing. Feng Yuxiang is a very strategic person, who knows that he is alone and lonely, and hitting a stone with an egg will not only cause great trouble, but also risk his life. Therefore, he immediately sent a telegram to Xu Shuzheng, saying that he only cared about his uncle's posthumous affairs and did not care about anything else. This made Xu Shuzheng's hanging heart fall to the ground, and he immediately sent a telegram of condolences, indicating that he should carefully plan for Lu's posthumous affairs.
Xu Shuzheng shot and killed a current general in broad daylight, causing a horrific incident that made the world even more disgusted with the Anhui family, and also laid the groundwork for himself to end up in the same fate in the future.
Xu Shuzheng casual clothes photo
Reconquest of Outer Mongolia
After Duan Qirui put Feng Guozhang on the presidential throne, he himself once again formed a cabinet. This time, the declaration of war on Germany and Italy was a natural success, and in the name of participating in the war, a special agency above all departments was set up, the Office of Supervision and Participation in The War, which was responsible for training the participating troops, and Duan Qirui personally served as the supervisor. A year later, with the end of the First World War, the War Supervision Office was changed to the Border Defense Supervision Office, the Combat Force was changed to the National Defense Force, and later to the Border Guard Army. After that, Duan also appointed Xu Shuzheng as the northwest border envoy and the commander-in-chief of the northwest border defense, with the responsibility of "planning the northwest border affairs and revitalizing various local affairs."
After Xu Shuzheng was ordered, he recruited new recruits in Henan and Anhui, and reorganized the four supplementary brigades of the Feng army that had been assigned to the combat office to form the Northwest Frontier Defense Army, with four mixed brigades under its jurisdiction. According to the original intention of Duan Qirui and Xu Shuzheng, the establishment of the army to participate in the war in the name of participating in the war was mainly to expand its power in order to realize the long-planned dream of reunifying China by force. However, due to fate, Xu Shuzheng and the northwestern border defense army under his command made great contributions to safeguarding national unity, and Xu himself was greatly praised by Sun Yat-sen.
It is well known that the place known today as Outer Mongolia was historically part of China. At the time of the Xinhai Revolution, the Great Chaos in Middle-earth, under the instigation of Tsarist Russia, the Eighth Living Buddha of Outer Mongolia, Jebtsundamba, became independent in Kulun, established the Great Mongolian State and established himself as emperor, with the era name of common wear. Subsequently, the Russian and Mongolian armies surrounded the Qing government's Mongolian minister in Kulen, Yamen, disarmed the Qing army, and escorted the minister and his entourage out of the country. The independence of Outer Mongolia was not recognized by the Qing government and the subsequent government of the Republic of China. Two years later, under the coercion of Tsarist Russia, Yuan Shikai had to sign the Sino-Russian Declaration with Tsarist Russia, which stipulated that China recognized the autonomy of Outer Mongolia, Outer Mongolia recognized China's suzerainty, and China was not allowed to send officials, troops, and immigrants to Outer Mongolia. After the October Revolution, Russia was unable to look east, which triggered Japan's greed for the outer Mongolian region, and under the planning of matsui Nakasa and others in Kulen, Japan planned to establish a large Mongolian state including Briyat and Inner and Outer Mongolia and Hulunbuir.
Before the eighth Jebtsundamba was proclaimed emperor, the government system of Outer Mongolia was that the prince was in charge of the government and the lama was in charge, but after the Jebtsundamba came to power, he gathered political and religious power in one, the lama was in charge, and the prince's power fell by the way, causing the latter to be strongly dissatisfied. Coupled with the fear of Japanese invasion and occupation, the princes instigated the abolition of autonomy – the purpose of which was, of course, not to submit to the central government, but to restore the former Qing system in order to regain power. At that time, Chen Yi (not the later Marshal Chen Yi), the capital envoy to Kulun on behalf of the Republic of China government, made a misplaced move, and Jebtsundamba resolutely opposed the withdrawal. At this time, Xu Shuzheng was ordered to deal with the matter.
Xu Shuzheng shows a great talent of a side talent. When he was the director of the Northwest Frontier Preparatory Department, he knew very well the relations between Foreign Mongolia and Japan and Russia, and he believed that the wandering of Outer Mongolia and China was caused by the deception of Japan and Russia. To this end, as soon as he entered Kulun, he negotiated with Matsui and, through the practice of international law, disarmed more than a hundred soldiers illegally dispatched by Matsui to Kulun. As for the Mongolian lamas and princes riding the wall between China, Russia and Japan, Xu Shuzheng believes that the Chinese side is not strong enough. To this end, he mobilized 80 large trucks before entering Mongolia, and when they entered Kulun, each of them carried 20 soldiers, showing all the new weapons to the Mongols. After the vehicle entered the barracks, the soldiers were ordered to lie in the car, covered with canvas, and then left the barracks again, drove to the outskirts of Coulomb, and mixed into other vehicles, thinking that they were suspicious. At that time, Xu Shuzheng's army was only 8,000 people, but the outside world speculated that he had brought at least 50,000 troops.
Xu Shuzheng studied in Japan, is proficient in Japanese, and communicates with the Japanese side without translation. After arriving in Outer Mongolia, he suddenly learned Mongolian and told the left and right that "when I was studying Mongolian, unless there was a particularly important accident, I would not be a guest." This rare linguistic genius was able to communicate with the Mongols in Mongolian in just two weeks. Chen Yi's previous futile efforts lie in his indecisiveness, one moment fantasizing about convincing the lama through the prince, and the next fantasizing about convincing the prince through the lama, but in any case, it is just relying on people's sniffles and even conspiring with the tiger. Xu Shuzheng differed from Chen Yi in that he knew how to use power to deal with the outer Mongolian problem, and to crack down on the weaknesses of princes, lamas and living Buddhas. On November 17, 1919, Outer Mongolia wrote to Xu Shichang, President of the Republic of China, petitioning for the abrogation of all Russian and Mongolian treaties and the return of all Mongolian territory to China. At this point, Xu Shuzheng entered Mongolia for only 22 days, without spending a single shot and a bullet, and completed the heavy task of returning Outer Mongolia to the territory.
After that, Xu Shuzheng set up the Bianmeng Bank in Outer Mongolia, hired German chemists to conduct underground resource investigations, and introduced Chinese cabbage from Tianjin (there had never been vegetables in Outer Mongolia before), making the atmosphere in Outer Mongolia a new one. In short, if Xu Shuzheng had concentrated on governing Outer Mongolia, Xu himself would have had such vast land and resources that he would have been able to divide Outer Mongolia as he had done in the later ShengShicai hegemony in Xinjiang, and Outer Mongolia would not have become independent again in a few years and would have been separated from China forever. However, Xu Shuzhengzhi was not in this remote place; moreover, he could not turn his back on Duan Qirui, who had the grace of knowing and encountering. After the outbreak of the Zhongyuan War, Xu Shuzheng had to lead his border guards back to the interior and plunge into the civil war.
Xu Shuzheng recovered Outer Mongolia and won the reward of Sun Yat-sen. Sun Yat-sen said in a reply to Xu: "Our country has not had Ban Chao, Fu Jiezi and his people for a long time, and the deacons built this miracle in the middle of the day, and the ancient people of Fang are unknown. Since the former Qing Dynasty, the four races have carried two people, and they have been in the country for hundreds of miles. The Outer Mongolia dispute, which is also seven years old, once reused, sees the prosperity of the republic of the five ethnic groups again, and it is advisable for the whole country to rejoice and encourage it. As a revolutionary, Sun Yat-sen has always been at odds with the warlords Duan Qirui and Xu Shuzheng, so Sun Yat-sen's telegram was questioned by his subordinates. In this regard, Sun explained: "Xu's recovery of Mongolia is too meritorious for Fu Jiezi and Chen Tang, and public opinion is indispensable. (Editor's note: "Recovering Outer Mongolia" excerpt from Sina History, written by Nie Zuoping)
Death in Langfang
In October 1924, Feng Yuxiang launched a coup d'état in Beijing, and his immediate family was defeated. In November, the Tianjin Conference was held, and Feng Yuxiang and Zhang Zuolin supported Duan Qirui as the "Provisional General Governor of the Republic of China" and took office in Beijing.
In January of the following year, in order to seek the support of the great powers, Duan Qirui appointed Xu Shuzheng as a special envoy to visit Europe, the United States, Japan and other countries. In December, Xu returned to China after the end of his inspection. At that time, the domestic situation was extremely complicated, Beijing and its surrounding areas were already controlled by the Nationalist Army under the command of Feng Yuxiang and the Feng army of Zhang Zuolin, and the Anhui forces were only entrenched in Anhui, Shandong and other places, and their strength was no longer what it used to be. Duan Qirui was in charge of Beijing and was nominally the head of state, but military affairs depended on the faces of Feng Yuxiang and Zhang Zuolin. Xu Shuzheng did not seem to care about these situations. As soon as he returned to Shanghai, he expressed his opinion that under the current situation, if the Beiyang faction wants to practice great unity, it should support Duan Qirui as the sole leader and realize the great alliance of the three clans of Zhi, Anhui, and Feng. The next day, he went to lobby Sun Chuanfang, a rising power faction of his direct family. Although his proposition was not explicitly against the Nationalist Army, once the situation he proposed was formed, the Nationalist Army would have no foothold, and Xu had killed Feng Yuxiang's uncle Lu Jianzhang, so Feng Yuxiang was extremely dissatisfied with Xu's renewed activity and was determined to find an opportunity to get rid of him. Therefore, the telegram welcomed Xu Shuzheng north.
Xu Shuzheng could not say that he was not wary of Feng Yuxiang, but he thought that things had passed for many years, Feng probably would not think about this old account anymore, and Feng had said that he would ensure his safety, and Duan Qirui was on the stage again, so he felt that there would be no danger. On December 19, Xu rode north to Tianjin to prepare to return to Beijing to resume his life.
Duan Qirui was worried about the old enmity between Feng Yuxiang and Xu Shuzheng, and sent someone to Tianjin to dissuade Xu Shuzheng from entering Beijing, but Xu did not think so, and also asked someone to tell Duan that he not only wanted to enter Beijing immediately, but also wanted to meet the government as a special envoy. On the 26th, Xu Shuzheng went to Beijing, stayed in the private residence of his friends in the Hutong of the Immeasurable Adult, and then went straight to the Nancangmen Duan Mansion. Duan and Xu met, bowed relatively, and cried with headaches. That night, Xu Shuzheng stayed at duan's house, and the two picked up the lamp to talk at night, and they were full of emotions. The next day, duan Qirui, on the one hand, rebuked him for not being so rash, and on the other hand, solemnly held a public meeting as head of state, in order to confirm Xu's status as his personal envoy, and it was also a measure to protect him.
At that time, the relationship between Feng Yuxiang and Zhang Zuolin had deteriorated, both sides were preparing for war, and the situation was very tense and complicated. Duan Qirui repeatedly asked Xu Shuzheng to leave Beijing, and directly ordered Gong Xinzhan, the chief of transportation, to arrange a special train to send Xu out of Beijing. Xu Shuzheng still did not care at this time, on the 29th, he visited the ministers of various countries in the morning, and also attended the state council to report on his inspection of various countries; in the afternoon, he attended the welcome party held by his own Chengda School, and he did not hesitate to show off the market. At the urging of Duan Qirui, shanshan boarded the car at 6 p.m. and prepared to go south to Shanghai.
The news that Xu Shuzheng was going to leave Beijing was detected by Lu Zhonglin, a general of the Nationalist Army and commander of the Beijing garrison, who reported to Feng Yuxiang stationed in Zhangjiakou by long-distance telephone, but Feng did not express an opinion at that time. After two hours, Feng Yuxiang called and told Lu Zhonglin, "The way to deal with Xu Shuzheng is to arrest and execute!" The deer was worried and said, "This is too big a problem, right?" Feng Yuxiang replied sharply, "The sky has collapsed and there are pillars!" At this time, Xu Shuzheng's special train had been driven out of Beijing, and lu urgently ordered the staff office to contact Fengtai Station to prepare to stop Xu Shuzheng in Fengtai, and Fengtai Station replied: "The train has passed through Fengtai and has not yet arrived in Langfang." The deer reported to Feng by phone again, and Feng hesitated at this time. Lu Zhonglin said: "As soon as Xiao Xu left, there were many troubles from then on, if he was determined to kill him, he could use the telephone to order Zhang Zhijiang to execute." Feng Yuxiang agreed to this method, that is, to order the deer to convey. Lu also used the telephone to convey Feng's opinion to Zhang Zhijiang, a general of the Nationalist Army stationed in Langfang, asking Zhang to carry out this task. Zhang Zhijiang said: "This matter is of great importance and should not be reckless. The deer said, "This is the command!" Zhang Zhijiang immediately sent the chief of staff to lead the guards to the station to wait.
Xu Shuzheng's special car arrived at Langfang, heard a welcome sound on the platform, and then Zhang Zhijiang's chief of staff boarded the car with Zhang's business card, saying that Commander Zhang asked Xu To get off the bus. Xu Shuzheng refused to get out of the car for fear of accidents, and the chief of staff was very loud, ordering the accompanying soldiers to forcibly escort Xu out of the car, and his entourage was also driven out of the car. After arriving at Zhang Zhijiang's headquarters, Xu Shuzheng's request to see Commander Zhang was refused. After a while, the entourage was escorted into the horse barn. About an hour later, several gunshots were suddenly heard, and everyone understood what was going on.
That night, according to the plan in advance, Lu Zhonglin immediately sent someone to send Lu Chengwu, the son of Lu Jianzhang, who lived in Tianjin, to Langfang, and let him play the role of avenging his father, so that the Nationalist army could avoid the trouble associated with this matter.
Duan Qirui heard the news of Xu Shuzheng's death and cried loudly. Xu Shuzheng was loyal to him, saddled up and tried his best to assist. Although Xu Gongcai was proud and offended many people, he was 100% loyal to Duan, and Duan was also convinced of him, and the mutual trust and feelings between the two reached an incomparable point. On the same day, Duan Qirui set up a spiritual hall for Xu Shuzheng in his private residence and led his children to mourn. Subsequently, he purchased a good coffin and temporarily placed Xu's spirit tree in Xishan, Beijing, for future burial. He also wrote the "Xu Junshu Zheng Shinto Monument" in his own handwriting, praising him for "killing himself to become a benevolent person" and "merit in the book".
Xu Shuzheng's death hit Duan Qirui too hard. He regretted that he had not been able to take effective measures to make Xu escape this disaster, and could only lament that his power had declined day by day, and had to accept the signal that this general trend had gone. Duan knew the truth behind the scenes, but he had no choice but to swallow this bitter fruit silently into his stomach.
National Human History ∣ ID: gjrwls
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