Feng Guozhang's Path of Origin: Feng Guozhang's early experience and personality

Stepping through the brilliant long sky of history, looking at the dappled streamers of light in the starlight, the wind and frost of a thousand years, how many heroes and legends have been frozen, the long line of heaven and earth that runs through ancient and modern times, connecting the initial power of life, bringing surprise to people, bringing people memories, the vast picture of history, is the spiritual heaven that never grows old!

Feng Guozhang was born in 1859 to an ordinary peasant family in Shijing Village, Hejian Province. It is said that Feng Guozhang's ancestor was Feng Sheng, the founding hero of the Ming Dynasty, and it is not known whether this statement is true, or whether Feng Guozhang will be attached to it after he develops in the future. But what is certain is that the blessings of the ancestors obviously cannot last, and by the time of Feng Guozhang's father's generation, the Feng family is already a poor peasant who has not enough to eat and wear. Feng Guozhang has four brothers, he is the youngest, and there are three older brothers on the top. The big brother mixed drama team, who has been running for his livelihood outside all year round. Feng Guozhang also attended a private school for a few years when he was young, and later dropped out of school at home because of poverty.

　　Feng Guozhang was second only to Xu Shichang among the Beiyang characters, and was half a year older than Yuan Shikai, who was born in the same year. Later, Feng Guozhang worshiped under Yuan Shikai and had superior and subordinate levels, but Yuan Shikai still asked his wife and concubine to call Feng Guozhang "fourth brother" and his son Yuan Keding to call Feng Guozhang "fourth uncle". Therefore, the figures of the same generation in the Beiyang clan called Feng Guozhang "fourth brother", and the later warlords honored him as "fourth uncle".

　 　In the early years of the Republic of China, there was an interesting phenomenon: most of the politicians were born poor and lowly. Yuan Shikai's origin may be the best, born in the family of officials and eunuchs; Xu Shichang, Sun Yat-sen, and Li Yuanhong are also alive and well, and they can be regarded as the sons of ordinary people. The rest of the characters, such as Feng Guozhang, Duan Qirui, Cao Kun, Zhang Zuolin, Feng Yuxiang, Zhang Zongchang, Sun Chuanfang and others, were born at the bottom of society. Feng Guozhang was a poor peasant boy in the countryside of Hebei; Duan Qirui, who was 6 years younger than him, was the descendant of a middle-level officer and had no family property left behind; Cao Kun carried the burden of goods and walked the streets and alleys to sell cloth; Feng Yuxiang's family was too poor to support him, so he asked Feng Yuxiang to go through the back door and let Feng Yuxiang mix into the army to carry a gun and eat at a young age; Zhang Zuolin crawled and fought in the mud pit of the black land, worked as a butcher and killed pigs, and later learned the technique of medical horses and was pulled into the gang by bandits as a groom. It is said that Zhang Zuolin could not repay his gambling debts in those years, and he also cut off the flesh of his thighs to pay off his debts, which is quite like the style of Liu Yu, the Emperor of the Song Dynasty, who could not afford to pay off his gambling debts and was hung and beaten by people more than a thousand years ago.

　　Why were the poor and untouchable children able to rise in the great changes in the early years of the Republic of China, and later become prominent figures? I conclude that it is because they have the spirit of forging ahead, because they have nothing but to go forward bravely, and when they succeed, they will become powerful, and if they fail, they will still have nothing; secondly, because there are many political opportunities in the chaotic world, which is suitable for the rise of ambitious or ambitious people. The early years of the Republic of China were a chaotic world, so a number of big people from poor backgrounds emerged. On the contrary, in a prosperous era of high government control, the class division is strict, and the social development is carried out step by step, but it blocks the way for the people at the bottom to rise. Therefore, small people are more eager to change than big people, and the bottom society is more inclined to change than the upper class.

　　Feng Guozhang has not been pinned down in the countryside of Hebei all his life, and when he has been a poor peasant all his life, he really has to thank the chaotic world at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the People's Republic.

　 　Of course, poor origins also have a negative impact on politicians. Once they have gained power, the painful memories of their infancy often make them unable to correctly view the wealth in their hands, either greedily collecting money or being stingy. Feng Guozhang attaches great importance to money and is notoriously stingy. Before the start, Feng Guozhang was famous for rubbing rice in the circle of friends, and he would arrive on time no matter how far away he was. Even after the discovery, his stinginess was not removed. For example, he liked to eat Yutian sauce meat, and he was worried that the servants would steal it when they bought meat, so he came up with a way to require the sauce meat bought by the servants to be neatly squared. In this way, if the servant steals food, it will be clear at a glance. When the guests came, Feng Guozhang was reluctant to entertain the guests with sauce meat and had to use meat, so he cut the sauce meat as thin as a piece of paper to entertain the guests. If there was meat on the knife, Feng Guozhang would lick it clean with his tongue. After Feng Guozhang's discovery, the money in his hands was not only tens of millions, but he still had to loot money through various means. After Feng Guozhang entered zhongnanhai, he made a ridiculous "feat of accumulating wealth." At that time, he saw many fish swimming in Zhongnanhai Lake, and heard fish merchants say that the fish in Zhongnanhai had not been killed since the Ming Dynasty, and the value was very large, about 100,000 yuan. The reason is that in the Ming and Qing dynasties, imperial concubines were often released in Zhongnanhai and Beihai, and many fish had gold, silver or bronze rings tied to their fins as a release symbol, which was also a wealth. At that time, Feng Guozhang also hesitated about whether the fish of Zhongnanhai should be killed, but later he thought that "the fish, birds, flowers and plants of the three seas have always been the private property of the emperor and the president", and organized investment and fishing, and agreed on a selling price of 80,000 yuan. Soon, many restaurants in Beijing added a "presidential fish" to their menus, comparable to "Dongpo meat". Feng Guozhang's reputation for greed has also become increasingly popular, and someone once gave him a pair of ties: "The fish in the South China Sea are available, but there are no Beiyang dogs." ”

　　Duan Qirui, an old friend, once used a word to describe Feng Guozhang's personality: money addiction. This is not an unprovoked attack.

　　Why was Feng Guozhang greedy and amassed wealth, in other words, what was the use of him gathering so much money? Feng Guozhang explained that after the development of many relatives and friends came to him, they all hoped to find a way to make a living in him, and they were not willing to use nepotism and entrust an official and a half-post, so they could only use money to help and appease relatives and friends. Indeed, Feng Guozhang invested in business, hired some relatives and friends in his own industry, and solved the employment problem of some relatives and friends. But the idea of amassing wealth to appease relatives and friends is too far-fetched, and it is more like an excuse for one's own bad deeds. The example of Feng Guozhang's subordinate Wang Zhanyuan is more illustrative. Wang Zhanyuan was also from a poor background, and later became the governor of Hubei, guarding the bustling Wuhan and Hanyang Arsenal, the largest arsenal in the country. However, he did not want to expand the army, but he was bent on amassing wealth, and even withheld the salaries of his subordinates, resulting in continuous mutinies among his subordinates, and finally he was expelled from Hubei. Wang Zhanyuan did not seek a comeback, so he took the looted money and purchased a large amount of real estate land in Tianjin. He often hung a bunch of keys to "patrol" the streets of Tianjin, and was jokingly called Tianjin's "patrol envoy of major roads". In the chaotic world of internal and external troubles, Wang Zhanyuan and others were disappointed in the future of the country and the political clarity, so they paid more attention to the real material guarantee, after all, money and wealth are touchable, and the politics of solid clarity is nothing. Feng Guozhang's mentality may be similar; although he has the opportunity to refresh the political situation, he is disappointed and helpless in politics in his heart, so he values money more than politics.

　　For the first 25 years of Feng Guozhang's life, he was an ordinary citizen under the qing dynasty. At the age of 25, Feng Guozhang embarked on a shortcut to rise in a chaotic world: joining the army. That year (1884), he went to Tianjin Dagukou as a soldier with the financial support of his clan. Because of his diligence and hardships, he was soon recommended to be admitted to the Tianjin Beiyang Wubei Academy and became the first batch of students, with Wang Shizhen and Duan Qirui at the same time.

　 　Another problem of Feng Guozhang was reflected at this time, that is, he was cautious and courageous, and he hesitated when he encountered major events. During his studies, Feng Guozhang always felt that the imperial examination was the right way to improve his status, so in the third year he took the time to return to his hometown to take the examination, because he was familiar with mathematics to make up for the special quota of students, but he fell behind in the Shuntianfu township examination. The examination was hopeless, and Feng Guozhang had to return to the Martial Arts Academy to join the army. Just imagine, if the township examination examiner had admitted Feng Guozhang, modern China would have had one more mediocre talent who worked hard in the field of science and one less powerful figure who was in the limelight.

　　In 1890, Feng Guozhang graduated from the Wubei Academy and studied in the study hall because of his excellent grades. It is precisely because of this relationship that Feng Guozhang has a deep relationship with the younger grade students Cao Kun, Li Chun, Chen Guangyuan and others. They and Feng Guozhang's classmate Wang Zhanyuan both threw themselves into the Beiyang camp, and they all gathered together because of their deep relationship with Feng Guozhang, and Feng Was like a brother, forming the backbone of the warlords of the future direct lineage.

Feng Guozhang's teaching days at the Wubei Academy were short. His young and impetuous heart made him desperate to establish military merit and be promoted, so he joined the Shogunate more than a year later. Nie Shicheng admired Feng Guozhang, but his troops were too deep and did not create room for the young Feng Guozhang to rise. During this period, Feng Guozhang once served as a military attaché to Yu Geng, the minister in Japan, and inspected Japan. This visit to Japan allowed Feng Guozhang to get acquainted with many Japanese military figures and saw the modern military system and Japanese military strength. At that time, the Japanese admired Feng Guozhang, but strangely, Feng Guozhang did not appreciate it at all, and not only did not have a good feeling for Japan, but also developed a bad feeling (this is different from Duan Qirui, who studied in Germany for many years after graduating from the Wubei Academy, but later became a pro-Japanese element). After Feng Guozhang took charge of the army, all graduates of the Japanese non-commissioned officer school were not used; after becoming president, all pro-Japanese elements opposed entering the cabinet; after returning to China, he also sent a secret petition to Zaitao, who was in charge of military affairs, to dismiss The Japanese non-commissioned officers. During the "Twenty-One Articles" negotiation period, Feng Guozhang and Zhang Xun angrily rebuked the central authorities, saying: "This time the Japanese people's unreasonable demands originally had no value in negotiating, let alone the need to admit it, but the government was under the mercy of Japan's mournful Book of Madun, so it did not seek public opinion and did not perceive the interests and interests, and even admitted the whole case. Who is the most painful and deplorable thing in the world?"

　　However, the greatest gain that Feng Guozhang gained from the experience of accompanying Japan this time was to combine his observations with Western theories into several volumes of the Book of Soldiers. Without military merit, he hoped to be appreciated and promoted by virtue of his military books. In 1896, Feng Guozhang returned to China after completing his mission and presented the book of soldiers to Nie Shicheng. Nie Shicheng couldn't understand or use it, but knowing that Yuan Shikai was training the new army at the Tianjin Station, he passed on the soldier's book written by Feng Guozhang to Yuan Shikai. At this point, Yuan Shikai praised Feng Guozhang as if he had obtained the most precious treasure: "There is no one in the military circles who has surpassed the public. Soon, Feng Guozhang was transferred to the small station and took the first step.

　　Feng Guozhang threw himself under Yuan Shikai, mainly to exert his theoretical ability, and to be a teacher and staff officer was more important than a leader. He codified the art of war for the new army and trained the largest number of infantry. When Yuan Shikai was patrolling Shandong, the Boxer Rebellion rose up and the situation was shaky. Yuan Shikai decided to hold the autumn exercise of the new army and invited the German governor in Jiaozhou Bay to watch the ceremony and shock the situation in Shandong. This heavy responsibility was entrusted to the three confidants Wang Shizhen, Feng Guozhang, and Duan Qirui. In the autumn of 1900, Jinan held a new army exercise. Yuan Shikai and the German governor saw at the observation platform that the military flag was clear, the team was excellent, and the military might was awe-inspiring. Feng Guozhang ordered the team to "fire all their feet in unison, and 10,000 guns in unison, and if they move like waves, they stand like straight wood." The German governor publicly praised Feng Guozhang, Wang Shizhen, and Duan Qirui as the "Three Masters of Beiyang". Wang Shizhen, Duan Qirui, and Feng Guozhang were the "Dragon Tiger Dog." This is also the origin of the "Beiyang dog" in the previously mentioned "South Sea fish are available, Beiyang dogs are no longer available". "Feng Dog" in addition to saying that Feng Guozhang is loyal, but also has the meaning of solid and capable. However, dogs contain ambiguity in Chinese, so Feng Guozhang is more reluctant to be called "Feng Dog" by others.

　　After boarding the express train of the Beiyang New Army, Feng Guozhang soared and successively served as the general office of the New Army's Supervision and Training Camp Affairs Office, the General Office of the Military and Political Department's Coaching Office, the Director of the Military Science Department of the Central Military Training Department, the Inspector of the Baoding Army Accelerated School, and the Military Advisor. During this period, Feng Guozhang was known for his dedication and outstanding work, so the Qing court was very relieved to hand over the Baoding Military Academy for training officers to Feng Guozhang. Feng Guozhang once personally brandished a military stick to beat a royal student who was a prostitute and smoked opium, folded the general's stick into two pieces, and finally expelled the royal son, and his performance was appreciated by the imperial family of the last Qing Dynasty. In the chaotic world, the use of people is more important to real talents and practical learning, so Feng Guozhang is still in the clouds after Yuan Shikai was suspected of resigning from his post by the imperial court, and gradually improved. When the Wuchang Uprising broke out, the two major generals that the Qing court thought of could suppress the uprising were Yin Chang, a Manchu magnate who commanded the Beiyang First Army, and Feng Guozhang, who commanded the Second Army.

　　Feng Guozhang, the "dog" of the "Three Masters of Beiyang," was very loyal to Yuan Shikai, and on the day he was ordered to suppress the uprising, he secretly ran to Zhangde to meet Yuan Shikai and ask for advice. Yuan Shikai instructed him to "walk slowly and wait and see." Feng Guozhang understood the spirit, and led several divisions of the Beiyang army to the south, walking for a day and resting for two days, and looking back at the city of Beijing, so that the orphans and widows in the court felt that the Second Army was not like going to Wuchang to suppress the uprising, but more like a rebel army ready to counterattack Beijing at any time. In this way, the Qing court had no choice but to ask Yuan Shikai to go out of the mountains to clean up the mess. After Lao Yuan came to power, Feng Guozhang naturally replaced Yin Chang and led the First Army to Hubei to fight. Feng Guozhang could fully guess yuan shikai's intention to take advantage of the Wuchang uprising to make a comeback, but he could not guess yuan shikai's intention to "raise Kou and be self-respecting." He led the Beiyang Army to fight the front line, bombarding the densely populated urban area of Hankou with heavy artillery, and then attacking with fire, forcing the revolutionary army to abandon Hankou. After occupying Hankou, Feng Guozhang repelled the counterattack organized by Huang Xing, took advantage of the victory to conquer Hanyang, and then actively organized an attack on Wuchang. Yuan Shikai's original intention was to hope that Feng Guozhang would engage in a glue war to facilitate himself to seek real power in the imperial court. After Feng Guozhang was awarded the second-class baron for his military merits, he was bent on completely extinguishing the Hubei Revolution, becoming the "second of Zeng Guofan" and establishing the Immortal Meritorious Service. Especially when he received the holy decree of the knighthood, Feng Guozhang was really grateful to Shu Zero, and openly said that if he could become a Han Chinese, he must swear allegiance to the imperial court. Feng Guozhang's vision is not broad or long-term, and the problem is fully expressed here. As a result, Yuan Shikai stubbornly dismissed Feng Guozhang, who was full of ambition, from his post and transferred him back. He also needs to keep the Wuhan Revolutionary Army and put a long line to catch big fish.

　 　After Feng Guozhang returned from the front, he did not sit on the cold bench, and was soon arranged by Yuan Shikai to succeed Emperor Zaitao as the commander of the Janissaries. The Han people served as the commander of the Janissaries, and only Feng Guozhang was a suitable candidate. The reason is that, on the one hand, Feng Guozhang is a member of the Beiyang system and Yuan Shikai. He commanded the Janissaries, which was tantamount to extending the claws of the Beiyang system to the emperor's pillow; on the other hand, the imperial court was very fond of Feng Guozhang, a practical general who had made meritorious contributions to suppressing the Wuchang uprising and swore allegiance to the imperial court. Even if the qing dynasty's noble sons hated the Beiyang soldiers, they also had a good feeling for Feng Guozhang. The Qing Dynasty Janissaries, which were basically composed of eight banner disciples, were willing to listen to Feng Guozhang's command. Feng Guozhang had done a lot in his short-term position as commander of the Janissaries, and he once applied to Yuan Shikai for a constitution together with the officers and men of the Janissaries, slapping the table and scolding the lobbyists sent by Duan Qirui to persuade him to force the palace -- there was no name for Feng Guozhang in the telegram of the Beiyang general forcing Xuantong to abdicate. In the end, Empress Dowager Longyu decided to abdicate, and Yuan Shikai convened a special meeting to announce the abdication. After all, Feng Guozhang had been promoted step by step in the Qing Dynasty, and his situation was good, so when Yuan Shikai finished speaking, he asked: "To whom did he abdicate the throne?" Yuan Shikai replied righteously and awe-inspiringly: "Inferior to the people." Feng Guozhang had nothing to say.

　　After the emperor abdicated, how to subdue the Janissaries became Feng Guozhang's top priority. Once the Janissaries mutinied against the republic in the capital, the consequences would be serious. Feng Guozhang took the "Preferential Treatment of Qing Room Conditions" reached in the peace talks between the north and the south and gathered all the officers and men of the Janissaries to give a lecture. He first recounted the current situation and the impatience of the Qing court to fight again, and then explained the peace talks between the north and the south, agreed that the treatment of the imperial family, the Manchus, and the Mongols would not change, and that the Janissaries would remain unchanged as usual. Then, Feng Guozhang personally read out the "Preferential Conditions for Clearing the Room". However, as soon as the first "Abdication of the Emperor of the Great Qing Dynasty" was introduced, there was a commotion among the officers and men in the square, crying and cursing incessantly, and some people even drew their swords with guns and made loud noises. Feng Guozhang took the stage and shouted, asking the officers and men to elect representatives to appeal. After that, several deputies came to power, concerned about the safety of the royal family and the treatment of the Janissaries. Feng Guozhang guaranteed the safety of the royal family with his life and promised to be in line with the Janissaries. His promise did not stop the commotion in the ranks, and the chaos intensified. Feng Guozhang was in a hurry, shouting that if everyone did not trust him, he could elect two people with guns to stay by his side day and night, and once he found that there was a violation of his promise, he could immediately kill himself. Seeing that the commander-in-chief made such a promise, the officers and men slowly quieted down, and coupled with the fact that the Qing Dynasty was the trend of the times, they finally calmly accepted the fact that the dynasty was overthrown and the Republic of China was established. Later, the Qing Court's Janissaries were reorganized into the 16th Army Division, which followed Feng Guozhang around until Feng Guozhang stepped down and was not transferred by the War Department.

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