Speaking of Yan Xishan, many people in modern times washed the ground for him, saying that he had meritorious service in governing the Jin Dynasty, what he did not surrender to Japan, and so on, and praised him so much that people forgot that he was a warlord.
In fact, Yan Xishan, like Zhang Zuolin, was a soldier without national integrity.
Zhang Zuolin's traitor to the country is very normal.
Because he was born into a horse bandit, had no education, had no faith, and had milk as a mother, it was not surprising that he betrayed the right to the northeast road and confessed to being a thief as a father. The so-called preservation of sovereignty in front of the Japanese is basically a paragraph. In fact, Zhang Zuolin was the first person to betray the sovereignty of the northeast, and the Japanese obtained a large number of road rights and minerals in his hands, and also obtained the right to garrison troops, and the 918 incident could be launched, and Zhang Zuolin's traitorous behavior was the absolute main condition.
And Yan Xishan's origin is much better than Zhang Zuolin's.
Yan Xishan was a good-looking, highly educated graduate of the sixth class of the Japanese Army Non-Commissioned Officer School in his early years, and was also a member of the Infantry Section of the Qing Dynasty Army.
While studying in Japan, Yan Xishan was influenced by Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary ideas and joined the Chinese League.
It is said that Yan Xishan, who was a member of the Alliance and participated in the Xinhai Revolution, should have fought the Japanese army to the death like Li Zongren and Liu Xiang in the face of foreign invasion, based on the great national righteousness, and lived up to the title of soldier.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > but Yan Laoxi's performance is surprising. </h1>
When the Japanese invaders' forces were in full swing, Yan Xishan, a soldier who should have sworn to defend the country to the death, chose to go back and forth with the Japanese, hook up, make unseen deals, and be ready to die for the "imperial army" at any time.
Moreover, after Japan's defeat and surrender, Yan Xishan, instead of having the slightest hatred for the Japanese soldiers who burned and raped his fathers and fellow countrymen in Shanxi, regarded them as guests and shook hands with the Japanese army.
After the outbreak of the Kuomintang Civil War, Yan Xishan's attitude was very different, and his Jin Sui army resisted the most fiercely in the civil war, causing the most casualties to the Platon Army and holding out the longest.
Real history often subverts perceptions and is hard to believe, but it is.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > Yan Xishan "anti-Japanese" - the descent of the sun is only for the territory</h1>
Before the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Liu Xiang, Li Zongren, and other warlords fought with Chiang Kai-shek for power, but when the country was in trouble, they could abandon their old grievances for the sake of national righteousness, lead their troops to leave their hometowns, rush to the front, fight the Japanese army to the death, and spill a lot of blood.
They are truly patriotic, not fighting for their own turf.
However, Yan Xishan was completely different, after the Japanese invasion of China, the Jin Sui Army and the Japanese army fought, such as the Battle of Xinkou, the Battle of Pingxingguan and other battles, basically in Shanxi territory.
Yan Xishan's basic principle in the anti-Japanese war was to preserve his strength and defend his own acres and three points of land.
To put it bluntly, as long as the Japanese army does not attack Shanxi, even if you kill the Chinese army in a river of blood, burn and loot the Chinese people, it has nothing to do with yan Laoxi.
After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in July of the 26th year of the Republic of China (1937), the Jin Sui Army soon lost most of its territory in Shanxi, and its salaries and weapons and equipment mostly relied on the allocation of military commissions.
The reason why Chiang Kai-shek did this was to hope that Yan Xishan would be able to resist and contain the Japanese, so as to win the initiative for the Nationalist army.
However, Yan Xishan was very cunning, and he received all the grain and guns and ammunition given by Chiang Kai-shek, and he did not carry out Chiang Kai-shek's orders unless they were carried out.
The personnel, command, and mobilization powers of the Jin Sui Army, chiang kai-shek did not want to intervene, but was still firmly controlled by Yan Xishan.
The only large-scale battle of the Kuomintang forces against Japan in Shanxi was also the main force of the Nationalist army (Zeng Wanzhong's 5th Army and Liu Mao'en's 14th Army), not the Jin Sui Army.
Since the purpose of Yan Xishan's War of Resistance was to protect the family, to protect Yan Xishan's rule in Shanxi, not to serve the country.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > so in order to protect the family, Yan Xishan can do whatever it takes, including confessing to be a thief and being a father and a tiger. </h1>
In January of the twenty-eighth year of the Republic of China (1939), in the face of the rampant Japanese attack, Yan Xishan began to seek surrender, and he made a secret speech at an internal meeting, saying nakedly: "You can't carry a coffin to resist the war, the battle must always have a conclusion, and the road that Mr. Wang (Jingwei) takes is not undesirable."
At that time in Shanxi, the Eighth Route Army led by the Communists was engaged in a deadly struggle with the Japanese in Shanxi; if Yan Xishan had the great national righteousness in his heart, he should have fully supported it. At that time, he regarded the Eighth Route Army as a thorn in his eye, and did not hesitate to use collusion with the Japanese to achieve the goal of eliminating the Eighth Route Army.
In the summer of the twenty-ninth year of the Republic of China (1940), Yan Xishan began to contact representatives of the Japanese army.
In November, Yan Ordered Zhao Chengshou, commander-in-chief of the Seventh Army, negotiated with Hideyoshi Nanshan, chief of staff of the Japanese Shanxi Dispatch Army, on the basis of the principle of "Asian alliance, common defense of the Communists, diplomatic unity, and self-care for internal affairs", and reached cooperation between the two sides.
In order to reward Yan Xishan for his traitorous behavior, the Japanese side promised to equip Yan with the equipment of 30 regiments.
Moreover, in June of the 30th year of the Republic of China (1941), the Japanese army returned some of the counties it occupied to Yan Xishan.
On 11 August, zhao Chengshou, on behalf of Yan Xishan, together with Moritake Tanabe, chief of staff of the Japanese North China Dispatch Army, and Hideyoshi Nanshan, formally signed the "Provisions of the Basic Agreement on the Armistice between Japan and Yan" in fenyang county in the enemy-occupied area.
According to this agreement, Yan Xishan shook hands with the Japanese army and made peace and ceased hostilities.
Yan Xishan did a lot of traitorous things, the most striking of which was Yan Xishan's decision to electrify the National Government in Chongqing.
This indicates that Yan Xishan has in fact become Wang Jingwei's second.
However, the difference between the two is that Wang Jingwei's goal is the whole country, and Yan Xishan's goal is to keep Shanxi.
After the agreement was signed, Yan Xishan set up offices in Taiyuan, Fenyang, Linfen, and other places in the enemy-occupied areas. At this point, Yan Xishan tore off his mask and became a complete traitor.
< h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the anti-communist counter-offensive was only for turf</h1>
Yan Xishan took control of Shanxi after the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution, regarding Shanxi as his independent kingdom and as the emperor there.
In order to keep his ground, he could turn his face to Sun Yat-sen and say that the republican system was not suitable for China's national conditions.
In order to keep his territory, he could join forces with Yuan Shikai, who was called emperor and turned back in history.
After hearing Yuan Shikai's claim to be emperor, Yan Xishan again donated money to the Preparatory Committee for Emperor Yuan Shikai and "persuaded Yuan Shikai to advance" and expressed strong support for him.
He implored Yuan Shikai to immediately "abolish the republic and practice the imperial system, and practice constitutional government with the imperial system", and repeatedly urged Yuan to "take advantage of the great talent, take advantage of the great potential, resolutely save the country and save the people, and use his humility to make no use of it", and ascended the throne as emperor.
Yuan Shikai thanked him for his loyalty, rewarded him for his merits, and made him a first-class marquis.
In order to maintain his rule in Shanxi, he could cooperate with Chiang Kai-shek or make a big deal with Chiang Kai-shek.
Similarly, in order to retain imperial power, he could cooperate with the Communists or fight them to the death.
All in all, as long as everyone doesn't move my cheese, everything is easy to say; as long as who moves my cake, sorry, don't care if I turn my face and don't recognize anyone.
In the early days of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Yan Xishan adopted a policy of exploiting the Communists, using the Communists to serve his own interests, and when he felt that his rule was threatened, he did not hesitate to turn his face and strike ruthlessly.
As early as September 1936 (the 25th year of the Republic of China), Yan Xishan established the "Shanxi Sacrifice and National Salvation League Association" and served as its president; and invited Bo Yibo, a member of the Communist Party, to preside over the work of the "Shanxi League".
The Communist Party formed an anti-Japanese united front with Yan Xishan, and Communists could join Yan Xishan's official organizations to carry out anti-Japanese work.
In 1941, after Yan Xishan defected to the Japanese army, he began to target the Communists and arrest and massacre Communists on a large scale.
After Japan announced its surrender in August 1945, Yan Xishan, in order to cooperate with Chiang Kai-shek in fighting the civil war, asked the Japanese army to leave 15,000 people behind when negotiating with the Japanese garrison of Yamaoka Michitake in Shanxi, so that they could join the Jinsui Army and fight against the Communist army.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > Yan Xishan's army was the most stubborn during the Liberation War. </h1>
In 1949, Taiyuan had become an isolated city, and most of Shanxi had been liberated, but Yan Xishan, instead of rejecting the people's liberation army's advice to liberate Taiyuan peacefully, instead grabbed Ding to recruit troops to expand the army, organized the "Shen yong division", "iron-blooded division" and "Jianzhen division", and airlifted the 83rd division from Yulin to Taiyuan to fight with the beasts, resisting until April, causing 15,000 casualties to our army.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > Why did Yan Xishan not die during the War of Resistance, but during the Liberation War, he had to stick to Taiyuan? </h1>
The main reason is that the strategy adopted by Yan Xishan is different, when Japan attacked Taiyuan, Yan Xishan was afraid of Japan and had no intention of sticking to it, in order to preserve the living forces.
During the Liberation War, Yan Xishan stubbornly held Taiyuan because he hated the Communist Party and wanted to export his evil spirit.
Yan Xishan had attended a military academy in Japan, and he felt very deeply about the strong combat effectiveness of Japanese soldiers, and felt that the Japanese army was invincible, so he suffered from Sunophobia, did not plan to die in Taiyuan, and lost Taiyuan in only half a month.
Secondly, Yan Xishan believed that there was no point in sticking to Taiyuan, and he could only spell out his own family foundation.
Therefore, Yan Xishan's strategy at that time was to maintain his strength, let Fu Zuoyi guard Taiyuan, symbolically resist in Taiyuan, contain the Japanese army, and buy time for the transfer of the troops in Xinkou.
In the later stages of the Liberation War, Taiyuan had become an isolated island, unable to break through and could only hold on.
< h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > so why didn't Yan Xishan choose to surrender? </h1>
Yan Xishan was an extreme anti-communist, and his anti-communism had a long history.
As early as the tenth year of the Republic of China (1921), Yan Xishan listened to the words of Shanxi businessmen living in Soviet Russia, believing that "capitalism and communism are two extreme mistakes, and mankind should seek a moderate system", and Yan Xishan's policy guidelines were "ideological defense against communism, popular defense against communism, political defense against communism, and armed defense against communism".
In short, Yan Xishan hated the Communist Party, and when the general trend was gone, he stubbornly defended Shanxi, inflicting heavy damage on the People's Liberation Army and fighting to break the net.
Anyway, his own King of Shanxi could not become a king, and those soldiers had nothing to do with themselves, they only wanted to export their evil spirits.
Before the Battle of Taiyuan began, Yan Xishan flew away to beiping.
In order to gamble, Yan Xishan disregarded the lives of tens of thousands of Jin Suijun and let them make senseless sacrifices, but he himself fled, and what he did was rare in the history of world wars. It is extremely wrong to wash the ground for such a reactionary and extremely reactionary warlord.