Although Chen Qimei cannot be said to be comparable to Sun Yat-sen and Huang Xing in terms of fame, status, and merit among the revolutionaries who were active in the early years of the Republic of China, his legendary revolutionary experience, his communication means of wandering in black and white, and his keen on assassination skills have made him have a certain popularity in history. In order to make friends with anti-Qing zhishi and pro-revolutionary businessmen, he often went to brothels, and even held meetings, offices, and planned political activities here. As a businessman, dissatisfied with the mediocrity and safety of the stormy situation at that time, he resolutely threw himself into the fiery revolution of the early 19th century.
Chen Qimei
He had known Chiang Kai-shek very early on, and to a large extent, it was through his introduction that Chiang Kai-shek was able to enter the upper echelons of the Kuomintang and get close to Sun Yat-sen. It can be said that Chen Qimei was a cornerstone of Chiang Kai-shek's political life, so it is quite rare that he was able to receive the honor of Chiang Kai-shek's regret and mourning after he was killed.
Like many revolutionary leaders of the Xinhai Revolution, Chen Qimei also had the experience of studying in Japan. Chen Qimei studied military and legal expertise in Japan, and in 1906 joined the League founded in 1905, and he is undoubtedly the elder of the area. It is said that Chen Qimei met Chiang Kai-shek in Japan, and chiang kai-shek was far inferior to him in terms of status and influence at that time, so their agreed declaration of struggle was described as follows: Chen Qimei was the political leader, and Chiang Kai-shek was the military leader.
After completing his studies, Chen Qimei returned to China on the orders of Sun Yat-sen to engage in revolutionary activities. This decisive, shrewd and capable man immediately demonstrated his excellent leadership and organizational skills. His sleek and deep personality led him to attract many rich merchants and landlords to join the League, and solved the economic problems that were very distressing to Sun Yat-sen at that time. He not only had a jianghu personality, but also had a rich and progressive talent, and he ran publications such as the "China Bulletin" that proclaimed revolution, which had a certain influence in the academic circles. He was fierce toward his enemies, and with his extensive social connections and special status, he was always able to plan successful assassinations, which was his special skill. However, the fate of this man who started by assassination shows drama, and the final result is that he is assassinated, not only that, but the revolutionary is also assassinated under the lure of money.
Chen Qimei was born on January 17, 1878 in Wuxing, Zhejiang Province, to a merchant family. Regarding his family, his brothers Chen Qicai and Chen Qiye are not well known, but his two nephews, Chen Guofu and Chen Lifu, are well-known, and their huge family property in the Republic of China has made the Chen family one of the four major families in the Republic of China. The other three families are chiang kai-shek, Song Ziwen and Kong Xiangxi.
Chen Qimei studied in a traditional private school since childhood, and people commented that he worked hard in his seven years of study and gained a good knowledge foundation. The loss of his father at the age of fifteen also meant that his family had lost a stable source of income, and Chen Qimei had to stop his studies and work as a worker in a pawnshop in Shimen Town. Although he fell into the bottom, but did not make this intelligent young man bury his talents and lofty ideals, this industry needs to be sophisticated, cold personality, he also got great tempering and sublimation from here, in the future engaged in anti-Qing activities, he has always been known for being cruel to the enemy, it is difficult to say that this style has nothing to do with his long experience in pawnshops. He worked in a pawnshop for twelve years.
After accumulating a certain amount of capital, Chen Qimei went to Shanghai to open an inn and became a businessman with a higher income. At this time, the society of the late Qing Dynasty was in turmoil, and the weak and incompetent rulers, after losing one battle after another, always settled by signing a huge and painful land-cutting indemnity treaty; this also aroused the merchant's great enthusiasm for saving the country. He was no longer satisfied with being a rich businessman in a chaotic world, and after some thought, he went to Japan to study at the age of 29.
After his return to China, he was entrusted with important duties by Dr. Sun Yat-sen. In 1907, after Qiu Jin was arrested and killed, the League fell into a low ebb and the revolution was brutally suppressed by the Qing government. The revolutionaries headed by Chen Qimei are still active. At that time, he also had another identity, one of the bosses of the Shanghai Youth Gang, and he was sponsored by many celebrities and business giants, thus having an extraordinary position among the revolutionaries at that time. He also founded a martial arts school and hired Huo Yuanjia as a teacher.
When the Wuchang uprising broke out, Chen Qimei responded positively, taking the lead and showing great enthusiasm, as if he saw that this uprising had a fundamentally different nature than the previous failed anti-Qing uprising. This is the unique qualities and vision of this politician and shrewd businessman. This time he mobilized all the revolutionaries he could call on, and the Green Gang and the Merchant Armed Forces obeyed his orders.
Chen Qimei was overwhelmed by his own influence, he tried to seize the head, and underestimated the enemy's defensive strength, leading only a few dozen people to compete for the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau in the Battle of Guangjing Shanghai.
The Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau, also known as the Shanghai Machinery Bureau, was a military production factory founded by Li Hongzhang during the Foreign Affairs Movement, and was the most important and largest military enterprise at that time. Among the revolutionaries who are underfunded and who are extremely short of advanced weapons, the significance of winning this enterprise is not small, not only can bring abundant weapons to the revolution, but also a major chip in the selection of revolutionary leaders. Chen Qimei expected that the Qing army in Shanghai would not be vigilant because of the Wuchang uprising, and still retained the few forces in his usual way to guard the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau.
Chen Qimei, who was determined to win, did not expect that when he walked to the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau, he had not yet fired the first shot, and he was caught by the Qing army there. Although he was good at winning hearts and minds and assassination activities by spies, he was a layman who led soldiers to fight. In order to humiliate him, qingbing tied him to a dirty and foul-smelling toilet. If it were not for the timely arrival of Li Xiehe, the leader of the GuangfuHui, who captured the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau and successfully rescued him, Chen Qimei would have died.
A few days later, when the revolutionaries elected the governor of Shanghai, it was natural that many people supported Li Xiehe, who had seized the head of the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau. But Chen Qimei was not satisfied with the election result because of his life-saving grace. He was sure to do so, and in the synagogue he waved his hand, and a group of brothers of the Green Gang immediately quarreled and stalked, destroying the peaceful and orderly order of the meeting. The group clamored against Li Xiehe and demanded that Chen Qimei sit on the throne of Shanghai. Li Xiehe did not want to destroy the revolutionary camp, and in order to take into account the overall situation, he took the initiative to declare that Chen Qimei, who was supported by more people, was more suitable to be the governor.
Chen Qimei inflated his arrogant and ruthless nature because of this election, and in the next few months, he successively attacked several cities, greatly expanding the army he controlled. It can be said that Sun Yat-sen and Huang Xing are overseas, and he has great power in the party.
January 1921, according to the course of history, was a month before the fall of the Qing government. Tao Chengzhang, president of the Guangfu Association, still remembered Chen Qimei's barbaric usurpation of the governor of Shanghai, and this revolutionary with a straightforward style and a bold personality was also extremely dissatisfied with the style of constantly looking for flowers and asking for willows in brothels. The success of the revolution is only one step away, and many patriotic overseas Chinese in Nanyang have donated money one after another, hoping to make the revolution successful as soon as possible. This money was handled by Tao Chengzhang, and it was supposed to be given to the revolutionaries of the time on the principle of equal division. Tao Chengzhang refused to give the money to Chen Qimei, scolding him to his face: "Shanghai's former prostitutes for you are enough." I want to give this money to my revolutionary brothers in Zhejiang. At this time, Tao Chengzhang of the Guangfuhui was trying to compete with the League for the position of governor of Zhejiang.
A few days later, Tao Chengzhang was assassinated in Ward 205 of Guangci Hospital on a cold early morning. This was undoubtedly a signal to the revolutionaries of the time for offending Chen Qimei. The people of the Guangfuhui were extremely indignant about this, and they investigated that the murderers were Chen Qimei's subordinate Chiang Kai-shek and a guangfuhui traitor, Wang Zhuqing. Chiang Kai-shek had to flee to Japan again.
In February 1912, Yuan Shikai usurped the fruits of the revolution and became the provisional president. Of course, he would eradicate Chen Qimei's Shanghai forces, and compared with the most powerful Beiyang Army at that time, Chen Qimei's guns were completely insufficient. Soon he was forced to resign as governor of Shanghai and his military junta was abolished. Chen Qimei was very fond of Yuan Shikai, and he occasionally confronted Yuan Shikai in the affairs of the Republic of China government.
In March 1924, Yuan Shikai had to compromise on this nail in the eye, and he thought of co-opting this ambitious and capable person. Yuan Shikai sent someone to give him 700,000 oceans, but he was refused to accept it. Yuan Shikai gritted his teeth in anger, and it was unique for him to respectfully send money to a political opponent, but he calmed down and sent someone to relay it again: "Receiving is my friend, and not accepting it is your life-selling money." Chen Qimei deliberately showed a contemptuous and indifferent smile in front of the messenger, but still refused.
Yuan Shikai
In 1915. When Chen Qimei passed through Shanghai, he was asked by the revolutionaries at that time to stay and preside over the overall situation, and Chen Qimei agreed. At this time, The ruler of Shanghai was Yuan Shikai's minions Zheng Rucheng, and under his rule, it was like a dark cloud covering the bustling Shanghai, including the revolutionaries who were also hunted down and suppressed by Zheng Rucheng. Chen Qimei and others, after careful consideration, relied on their deep interpersonal relationships in Shanghai to find out Zheng Rucheng's daily activities.
Zheng Rucheng
One day, Chen Qimei learned that the Japanese consul general stationed in Shanghai was going to hold a huge celebration and invite most of the powerful people in the area to attend, including Zheng Rucheng. Chen Qimei immediately took action, summoned Wang Xiaofeng and Wang Mingshan, who were proficient in marksmanship, and ambushed them in a hidden abandoned building in front of the Shanghai concession, because this was the only way for Zheng Rucheng to give the Japanese a show. For the sake of safety, Chen Qimei arranged a dozen revolutionaries dressed as coachmen, pedestrians or beggars on the side of the street.
Chen Qimei is proud of his work, but the results are indeed outstanding. That morning, Zheng Rucheng began to appear in the field of vision of Chen Qimei, Wang Xiaofeng and Wang Mingshan in a black car, perhaps Zheng Rucheng was enjoying the honor of being invited by the Japanese consul, or it was to maintain a gentle order in the Japanese concession to avoid publicity and disrespect, and this bullying and hard-hearted man ordered his driver to drive very slowly. But this also gave Chen Qimei a good opportunity to start.
After only a few seconds in Chen Qimei's field of vision, he made Wang Xiaofeng and Wang Mingshan hurry up. The two men rushed over quickly, caught up with the car, and pulled out their pistols. Chen Qimei saw in the distance that the two people were separated by blurred car glass and shot several times in a row. Presumably he shot the target, because the driver heard the first shot and fled. Wang Xiaofeng and Wang Mingshan ran straight outside the city, but Shanghai, which was heavily controlled at that time, caught them at that time, and was executed by the Beiyang government army.
Yuan Shikai has always held a grudge against this, and he always believes that assassination is his specialty, but Chen Qimei uses this trick against his own subordinates. Although politically, Yuan Shikai may attach some importance to him, he scorns Chen Qimei's tricks. He had been thinking about how to give Chen Qimei a perfect ending to dispel his hatred, and he had heard that Chen Qimei had thought of assassinating Yuan Shikai, the mastermind behind the scenes, after learning that Song Jiaoren had been assassinated. So Yuan Shikai finally thought about how to end up with this tricky political enemy.
May 1916. The revolutionary party encountered a difficult problem and faced a serious shortage of funds, and Chen Qimei was worried about this and did not know what to do. This situation was learned by Yuan Shikai, who immediately thought of the countermeasures to be taken next, entrusted the task of assassinating Chen Qimei to Zhang Zongchang and explained the corresponding matters. Zhang Zongchang was a decisive person, and knowing that he had no choice at this time, he immediately respectfully and cheerfully agreed.
Shanghai businessman Li Qiuhai came to visit Chen Zhai on a sweltering day, and as an old friend, he expressed his willingness to help Chen Qimei solve his urgent needs. The general content of their conversation was that Li Qiuhai had opened a coal mining company in Inner Mongolia, and because he needed to borrow 2 million yuan from the Japanese for the purchase of machinery and equipment, he was suffering from the fact that he did not have a way to know the Japanese well, and he urgently needed Chen Qimei as an intermediary to negotiate this matter and give Chen Qimei a return of thirty percent of the loan amount.
When people are short of money, they will either lose their minds, or their wisdom and courage will be greatly improved, but Chen Qimei is biased toward the former at this juncture, and he does not know that Li Qiuhai has been bribed by Zhang Zongchang at this time, and is gradually sending this person who is obsessed with money to the ghost gate.
At the invitation of Li Qiuhai, Chen Qimei went to Li Qiuhai's commercial hall that afternoon to sign a contract and receive a part of the office expenses. Li Qiuhai's shopping mall sits on a street far from the hustle and bustle of the city, surrounded by lush cypress trees, blocking out the noise of greater Shanghai. Although Chen Qimei was an old jianghu, he did not see that this small building was hiding a killing machine, presumably those cypress trees played a very ideal effect in alleviating the atmosphere of slaughter.
He and Li Qiuhai pushed open the door together, and the light inside was a little dim, so that Chen Qimei, who had just become accustomed to the sun's rays, walked in and could not clearly see the foreground inside for a while. Chen Qimei hurriedly stepped in first, and Li Qiuhai shook his hand behind his back. Only to see that accompanied by two gunshots, Chen Qimei's heavy body that was shot in the head fell to the ground in response, and Zhang Zongchang's ambushed killer did things crisply and neatly, and it is estimated that Chen Qimei did not even have time to think about what happened.