Tianxuan Miscellaneous Talk was founded by Tianxuan, a former teacher of the National Defense University, and welcomes attention.
On January 10, 1912, when heavy snow was falling in Shanghai, in the Shanghai Military Governor's Mansion, Chen Qimei looked at the heavy snow flying outside the window and couldn't help but groan:
"Spring sleep is unconscious, and birds are smelled everywhere. The sound of wind and rain at night, how much flowers fall. ”
At this time, the Xinhai Revolution was in full swing and achieved a decisive victory, and on January 1, 1912, he was sworn in as the Provisional President of the Republic of China in Nanjing, established the Provisional Government of the Republic of China, formed the Provisional Senate, and promulgated the Provisional Treaty Law of the Republic of China.
Chen Qimei, a close confidant of Sun Yat-sen, was appointed governor of Shanghai, the economic center of old China, and Sun Yat-sen knew that the economic cornerstone of the Republic of China was Shanghai
After careful consideration, he felt that only Chen Qimei could take on this heavy responsibility, and only Chen Qimei could fully listen to his own words.
After Chen Qimei became the governor of the Shanghai Army, he immediately appointed his brother Chiang Kai-shek as the commander of the Fifth Regiment of the Second Division of the Shanghai Army.
Chiang Kai-shek had to go to Chen Qimei's governor's mansion every morning to meet him and report to him on his work, which could also bring chen Qimei closer together.
On the morning of January 10, 1912, although the snow was heavy, Chiang Kai-shek was unimpeded by wind and rain, and the guards of the Governor's Office knew the relationship between Chiang Kai-shek and Chen Qimei, so they did not stop it, and Chiang Kai-shek went straight into Chen Qimei's office.
Although Chen Qimei only learned well, he rarely recited poems, which made Chiang Kai-shek a little strange, and the poem of heavy snow and heaven seemed to be quite right, and he could not help but ask:
"Big brother, what's the good thing, the interest is so high, and he still chants poetry."
Chen Qimei glanced at Chiang Kai-shek: "Brother, do you know the meaning of this poem?" ”
This poem is very famous, and Chiang Kai-shek is very familiar with it, and immediately said in his thick Fenghua words:
"In the spring, when I woke up, the sky was bright, and everywhere was the crisp chirping of birds. Think about the sound of last night's wind and rain, how many fragrant spring flowers have been blown off. ”
"Brother, you only know one, you don't know the second, the essence of this poem is the first two sentences, when people are sleeping, the birds have begun to get up to feed, indicating that birds are more diligent than people."
Chiang Kai-shek's eyes lit up when he heard this, but he knew that Chen Qimei had something to say, and he immediately said:
"The eldest brother looks like he has something on his mind!"
Chen Qimei said: "Now that the president has taken office, I have become the governor of the Shanghai Army, and you have become the regimental commander, which is a great thing, but there is an annoying bird that will not let us sleep well, and if we do not get rid of this bird, we will not have a good life." ”
Chiang Kai-shek knew that the current situation was complicated, and although Chen Qimei was a red man of Sun Yat-sen, he also offended many people because of this, and who was the bird that Chen Qimei was talking about, he did not know, so he asked: "What does the eldest brother mean by the birds?" ”
"Tao Chengzhang!" Chen Qimei said directly, and then Chen Qimei talked about the harm caused by Tao Chengzhang, and the core meaning was three points:
First, Tao Chengzhang did not respect Sun Yat-sen and attacked him many times.
In September 1908, When Tao Chengzhang founded the "Minbao", he asked Sun Yat-sen's apartment in Singapore for 3,000 yuan as a newspaper fund, and Sun Yat-sen was also tight at this time, but in order not to let Tao Chengzhang return empty-handed, Sun Yat-sen immediately took off his watch and handed it to a servant to sell.
But for all this, Tao Chengzhang did not believe that the Tangtang League could not even come up with 3,000 yuan, and he had to be poor to the point where Sun Yat-sen sold his personal belongings to maintain it, he thought that Sun Yat-sen was a person who sold his reputation and reputation, and he told people that Sun Yat-sen would have money when he found a wife and drank foreign wine, but there would be no money to run a newspaper.
Half a month after this incident, Tao Chengzhang asked Sun Yat-sen for 50,000 yuan to return to Zhejiang to organize an uprising, of course, he also returned empty-handed, so Tao Chengzhang began to give speeches everywhere, accusing Sun Yat-sen of using the guise of revolution for personal gain. In 1909, he wrote a "Sun Wen's Guilt" book to slander and slander Sun Yat-sen, although these accusations were later investigated by the Nanyang League and pointed out to be baseless, but they still could not be Tao Chengzhang's scolding of Sun Yat-sen.
The second is to compete with Sun Yat-sen for economic resources.
While Tao Chengzhang attacked Sun Yat-sen, he also led the Guangfuhui to withdraw from the League, and carried out activities in the name of the Guangfuhui, recruiting members and raising funds in various ports in Nanyang.
Nanyang was originally the source of economic resources of the Alliance, so the contradiction between the Alliance and the Restoration Society was further intensified.
In the League, the most loyal to Sun Yat-sen is Chen Qimei, although Sun Yat-sen is very generous, but Chen Qimei can not tolerate Tao Chengzhang digging the wall, so the two have a series of conflicts.
For example, at a meeting, Tao Chengzhang went so far as to publicly accuse Chen Qimei of liking prostitutes, and the funds should be used for revolutionary comrades in Zhejiang.
Hearing this, Chen Qimei was furious, and immediately pulled out his pistol and pointed it directly at Tao Chengzhang's brain, fortunately being pulled by others, he avoided a tragic disaster. It can be seen from this that the contradiction between Tao Chen and Tao Chen has reached the point where you live and die.
The third is to strive to be the governor of Zhejiang.
Tang Shouqian, the former governor of Zhejiang and a constitutionalist, was transferred to the post of chief of communications, and before he left office, he recommended three people to succeed him as the governor of Zhejiang, namely Zhang Taiyan, Tao Chengzhang, and Chen Qimei.
However, Zhang Taiyan did not want to become an official, so he strongly recommended Tao Chengzhang to be the governor of Zhejiang, and Chen Qimei very much wanted to be the governor of Zhejiang, because he was a native of Huzhou, Zhejiang. He was very annoyed that Tao Chengzhang and himself had won the governor of Zhejiang.
Hearing Chen Qimei's explanation, Chiang Kai-shek knew what Chen Qimei meant and immediately said:
"Big brother, what do you need your little brother to do?"
Chen Qimei said gloomily, "Get rid of Tao Chengzhang in a week, you do it yourself!" ”
Chiang Kai-shek listened and said, "Big brother, am I alone?" ”
"Of course, you are not alone, in order to get rid of Tao Chengzhang, I have made preparations, I have arranged a nail next to Tao Chengzhang, his name is Wang Zhuqing!"
At the moment, Chen Qimei told Chiang Kai-shek about Wang Zhuqing's situation and contact information.
Wang Zhuqing is a native of Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, and is a member of the Guangfu Society, but this person is not really participating in the revolution, he loves to gamble and love prostitutes, so he owes a bunch of debts, and has been scolded by Tao Chengzhang several times, so Wang Zhuqing betrayed the relevant secrets of the Guangfu Society in exchange for money, Chen Qimei knew about these situations, and then ordered people to spread rumors that Tao Chengzhang was waiting for an opportunity to severely punish Wang Zhuqing, and Wang Zhuqing believed it to be true.
After that, Chen Qimei found Wang Zhuqing, and under Chen Qimei's threats and inducements, Wang Zhuqing defected to Chen Qimei.
Wang Zhuqing was very skilled, especially his marksmanship was very good, and he had carried out many assassination missions, but Chen Qimei believed that Wang Zhuqing was not very reliable, so he asked Chiang Kai-shek to personally go out and let the two of them get rid of Tao Chengzhang together.
If you look at it from the perspective of personal relations, although Chiang Kai-shek knows Tao Chengzhang, the two only know each other, but the two do not have a grudge, but Chiang Kai-shek has knowledge, Chen Qimei has the grace of knowing himself, and Chiang Kai-shek himself is a person who lectures on morality, so he did not hesitate to agree.
Chiang Kai-shek found Wang Zhuqing and asked him to immediately find Tao Chengzhang's residence and assassinate him at Tao Chengzhang's residence.
Soon Wang Zhuqing told Chiang Kai-shek that Tao Chengzhang had sensed that the wind was wrong, and he was constantly changing his hiding place, living in a simple place, and his whereabouts were uncertain.
However, Wang Zhuqing told Chiang Kai-shek that someone had seen Tao Chengzhang near Fuzhou Road and estimated that Tao Chengzhang lived nearby.
Chiang Kai-shek immediately decided to let Wang Zhuqing continue to inquire into the news, and he searched alone near Fuzhou Road.
On January 12, 1912, after heavy snowfall, Shanghai was very cold, and Chiang Kai-shek had been wandering around Fuzhou Road since the afternoon, but until the lanterns were first illuminated, Tao Chengzhang's shadow was still not seen.
Snowflakes floated in the sky again, soon turned into rain and snow, this kind of snowflakes fell on people's bodies and melted quickly, just a moment of effort, Chiang Kai-shek's body was wet a lot, he knew that fuzhou road has TangZhongji noodle restaurant is very famous, so he was ready to go to the noodle restaurant to eat bowls of noodles, one to fill the stomach, the other to warm up the body.
However, when he arrived at the Tangzhong Kee Noodle Restaurant, he found that the noodle shop had long been closed, but there was a person standing in front of the Tang Zhong Kee Noodle Restaurant, and that person looked like Tao Chengzhang.
Chiang Kai-shek's chest fluttered, and he walked forward quickly, and sure enough, it was Tao Chengzhang, who was wearing glasses, and it was really nowhere to find his shoes, and it took no effort at all.
Chiang Kai-shek looked around, and although there were few pedestrians, there were police patrols here from time to time, and it was obvious that this was not a good place to assassinate.
At the moment, Chiang Kai-shek quietly stepped forward to greet Tao Chengzhang, a native of Shaoxing, Zhejiang, with a thick Shaoxing accent, Chiang Kai-shek is a Fenghua accent, Shaoxing and Fenghua are not far away, although the accent is slightly different, but the difference is not big.
The two are Fellows of Zhejiang, and they can imagine a chance encounter on the streets of Shanghai, but the reasons for their happiness are very different, Chiang Kai-shek is happy to find Tao Chengzhang's whereabouts, and Tao Chengzhang is happy to meet his fellow Zhejiang.
It turned out that Tao Chengzhang came to hide from the rain, Chiang Kai-shek also said that he came to hide from the rain, the two talked for more than ten minutes, the rain and snow had stopped, Tao Chengzhang wanted to leave, but from time to time there were pedestrians passing by on the street, and occasionally there were patrol police. Chiang Kai-shek was inconvenient to move, and he said in a hurry:
"Chairman Tao, fellow countrymen see fellow countrymen, two tears, today listen to Jun's words, better than reading ten years of books, I don't know where the president lives, I will send you home, let's talk in detail."
"No, today is not early, another day, I have stomach discomfort these days, hospitalized in room 216 of Guangci Hospital, there are still people waiting for me in the room today, it is not convenient for you to go." If you have time you can come to me. ”
Although Chiang Kai-shek was unwilling, he already knew Tao Chengzhang's address, and he had gained a lot.
Despite this, Chiang Kai-shek was still not at ease, in case the address given by Tao Chengzhang was false.
The next morning, Chiang Kai-shek specially bought some fruits, dried fruits and other gifts and went straight to Ward 216 of Guangci Hospital, where there were many people during the day, and there were guards guarding the Guangfuhui at the door of the ward, and Tao Chengzhang lived in a single room.
The two talked for a while more, and Chiang Kai-shek said:
"Chairman Tao, is the hospital unsafe?" How the room door is still guarded. ”
Tao Chengzhang said: "I have offended too many people, and my men are afraid that I am not safe, so they have to arrange guards for me at the door, but several days have passed, and there is no danger, so I will let them evacuate the guards tonight." ”
When Chiang Kai-shek heard this, he said, "It's better to keep it, just in case!" ”
Tao Chengzhang said: "That said, but there are guards, and they also give people a hint of the target, if there is no guard, who knows I live in this room." Besides, I have an old bone, and I am not afraid. ”
The two talked for a while, and Chiang Kai-shek got up to say goodbye, but he did not go far, but carefully looked at the hospital again, and he wanted to see the terrain clearly so that he could leave safely after winning the hand.
After Chiang Kai-shek found out the situation, he went to wang Zhuqing, and the two decided to do it at night, so as not to have too many dreams in the night.
On the evening of January 13, 1912, Chiang Kai-shek and Wang Zhuqing went to Guangci Hospital, but at 12 o'clock in the middle of the night, there were still people coming and going, and the two were not good at moving.
The time turned to two o'clock in the morning of January 14, there was no one in the hospital, Chiang Kai-shek and Wang Zhuqing quietly entered through the back door of the inpatient department, straight to room 216, and sure enough, there was no guard at the door, but the door was locked.
Wang Zhuqing was originally a thief from the jianghu, and opening the lock was a common thing for him, only to see him take out a thin wire, poke a few times, and then poke the door open.
Through the faint light outside the window, Chiang Kai-shek recognized that it was Tao Chengzhang, at this time Tao Chengzhang did not wear glasses, but put the glasses on the nightstand next to him, Chiang Kai-shek did not say a word, took out a pistol and aimed it at Tao Chengzhang's head and fired several shots in a row.
Chiang Kai-shek used only an ordinary pistol, no silencer, and the crisp sound of gunfire pierced the night and woke up the nurse who was on duty, but by the time the nurse hurried to arrive, the murderer was long gone.
This was Chiang Kai-shek's first time as a killer, and it was also Chiang Kai-shek's first experience of killing: Chiang Kai-shek, who had never killed anyone, was also very panicked in his heart, according to the deciphered notes of Chiang Kai-shek later: Although the weather was cold at that time, his head was blank with sweat, and he still had palpitations after returning to the residence, and he drank a bottle of liquor in a hurry, and then fell into a deep sleep. He didn't wake up until the next day when Chen Qimei sent someone.
Tao Chengzhang's assassination marked the decline of the Guangfuhui, because Tao Chengzhang was the core figure of the Guangfuhui, and after Tao Chengzhang's death, the Guangfuhui was leaderless for a while and disintegrated. This seriously weakened the revolutionary forces in China at that time, and also gave Yuan Shikai an opportunity to take advantage of it, which was also an important reason why Yuan Shikai was able to steal the fruits of the Xinhai Revolution later.
After Chiang Kai-shek assassinated Tao Chengzhang, he fled japan to avoid disaster, but Chiang Kai-shek became famous because of this incident, Chiang Kai-shek was even more favored and trusted by Chen Qimei.
Chen Qimei was the political representative of the Jiangsu-Zhejiang consortium at that time, and Chiang Kai-shek gradually moved closer to the Jiangsu-Zhejiang consortium through Chen Qimei's relationship. As well as the financial groups and gang organizations of the Shanghai Gang, it eventually became Chiang's greatest support force after the coup d'état in 1927.
Chen Qimei was later assassinated by a killer sent by Yuan Shikai, and Wang Zhuqing was soon hunted down and killed in Jiaxing by the Guangfuhui.
It can be seen from this that Chiang Kai-shek jumped from acting as a thorn killer to the stage of modern Chinese politics. This doomed him to a relationship with the agents.
Therefore, Chiang Kai-shek was inspired by this incident, vigorously developed secret service organizations, and formed a huge central and military unification.
The Kuomintang secret service organizations and institutions, with their privileges and abnormal behavior that are beyond the law and humanity, directly show the dark aspects of the ruling class, but at the same time they are deeply favored and relied upon by authoritarian dictators for their efficient and direct service.
But throughout the ages, no corrupt regime has been able to rely on the rule of secret agents to save its fortunes. The rulers hope that the utility of terror and violence and massacres can only be to quench their thirst, and the results may be prolonged for a while, but their tyrannical behavior fundamentally shakes the foundation of the people's hearts on which they depend, making it more rapidly towards complete collapse.
However, these truths were not somewhat understood until after Chiang Kai-shek's defeat in Taiwan.
Tianxuan is the author's pseudonym, who has been engaged in teaching and research at the National Defense University, and has studied history and philosophy.