The Xinjiang issue has been a major problem in China since ancient times, and this place on the border of our country has always been a place where countries want to scratch it from time to time, plus Xinjiang has its own unique cultural customs and religious beliefs. And once Xinjiang opens the gap, the danger of our country will follow. And there is such a figure in history - Yang Zengxin, who led a group of "beggars army" to rule Xinjiang for seventeen years, known as the "Saiwai Emperor".
Why is Yang Zengxin's army a "beggar army", and why was he able to rule Xinjiang for so long during the period of riots? What's the story in between? Look at today's biography - Yang Zengxin.
One: a trip to Xinjiang
Yang Zengxin is a person who is very controversial in history, why do you say so? I want us to hear about his "history of ascension to the throne." Yang Zengsheng was born in Mengzi, Yunnan in 1864. At that time, it was still the Qing Dynasty, and in 1888 Yang Zengxin was promoted to jinshi, and then he was elected as Zhi County, Zhongwei County, Gansu.
The Qing government was closed to the country and corrupt and incompetent. The people were in pain, and there were all kinds of officials, landlords and rich people. It was really "Zhumen wine smelled of flesh, and the road had frozen bones", so the people rose up, but at that time they had no new ideas, no good weapons and equipment, and the result of the pole was suppression.
Yang Zengxin made a great contribution to this suppression, and the official was promoted to Hezhou Zhizhou. But you should say that he is not a good official, he developed the economy after taking office, recruited displaced people, and resumed production. Moreover, in the later "Hehuang Incident", a large number of water mills were damaged, and many families were changed owners due to the impact of the war.
Therefore, Yang Zengxin ordered that the water mill be repaired at the expense of the government, and not only that, he also ordered that all the water mills that changed owners due to war should be returned to their original owners. It brings great convenience to the lives of local people. Later, he also built military fortresses such as Ninghe Fort and Lotus Fort. So as not to have any accidents.
In any case, when Yang Zengxin was serving in Hezhou Zhizhou, he was really trying to do good things for the people. Even if he let Xinjiang "close the country" like the Qing Dynasty, he also made a lot of contributions to Xinjiang. In 1908, Yang Zengxin was transferred to Xinjiang and began his trip to Xinjiang, which was a lifetime.
It was only at that time that Yang Zengxin was still just a spokesman for Xinjiang. After the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution, unrest also began in Xinjiang. In 1911, the Brotherhood of Elders in Xinjiang revolted, and the revolutionaries established a military government in Ili. However, at this time, Yang Zengxin was entrusted with a heavy responsibility, and Yuan Dahua, the governor of Xinjiang, ordered Yang Zengxin to be appointed to the post of inspector and asked him to train the army.
But at that time, Xinjiang was in the midst of war, and it was impossible to save his life, and no one wanted to take over the "mess". What Yang Zengxin did not expect was that Yuan Dahua actually left Xinjiang and ran. However, Yuan Dahua did not forget to recommend Yang Zengxin as the governor of the capital when he fled. Later, after the establishment of the Republic of China, the revolutionaries of Ili declared the independence of Ili.
Yang Zengxin has been an official for many years and has been groping and struggling in the political circles for several years, and he has already seen through the fact that the government's morale has been exhausted. He suggested to Yuan Dahua to recruit an army. So he personally recruited five battalions of cavalry and put them under his command. In 1912, Yuan Shikai assumed the presidency and appointed Yuan Dahua as the governor of Xinjiang. Who knew that Yuan Dahua was reluctant to recommend Yuan Hongyou for appointment.
Yang Zengxin was not satisfied with this situation, and it was obvious that he thought he was the governor of Xinjiang. So he bought the people of the Brotherhood and killed Yuan Hongyou. Later, not surprisingly, Yang Zengxin became the governor of Xinjiang. Later, the revolutionary Feng Temin saw that Yang Zengxin held a heavy power and a soldier's charm, so he recommended him to join the revolutionary party and serve as the new military governor. It is precisely because he was jointly built by the Governor of Xinjiang and the new Iraqi military government.
2. "Confess the temple but not recognize The gods"
Who knew that Yang Zengxin was plotted against by Yuan Shikai, and the two of them should work together to eliminate the revolutionary party. The friendship between Yuan Shikai and Yang Zengxin has gradually grown. Later, they were also known as the "Two Owls of The East and the West". But even if Yang Zengxin and Yuan Shikai have a good relationship, he has always maintained his consistent style, "recognizing the temple does not recognize God" That is to say, for Yang Zengxin, no matter who you are the president and who is not, Lao Tzu only recognizes the central authorities, and I don't care who the central authorities are.
I have to say that Yang Zengxin knows how to protect himself and his rights and interests in the chaotic world. In 1916, Yang Zengxin used "first leave the nest, then disarm the military power" to disintegrate the Brotherhood, and then eliminated the important leaders of the Brotherhood. In fact, from the perspective of that period, what Yang Zengxin did did not harm the people, not only that, but later when the Tsarist Empire harassed the Border of Xinjiang, he struggled to resist.
Especially at that time, Xinjiang was just a peasant uprising outside Czarist Russia, which was a difficult choice for anyone. But what no one expected was that Yang Zengxin chose to go out first at the first time. In the face of Tsarist Persecution Yang Zengxin did not give in at all. In the subsequent Armistice Agreement between China and Mongolia with Tsarist Russia, the Tsarist Russia demanded that the Xinjiang army withdraw from Tsakhantunggu to Yuanhu.
Although the agreement has been signed, Yang Zengxin still ignores it and vows to defend Xinjiang territory to the death. It's just that Yang Zengxin was inevitably a little cruel when he was in Annei, although he surrendered and did not kill, but he knew that he had to cut the grass and remove the roots. In the face of the revolutionaries' disobedience, he sent troops to suppress them.
Later, Yuan Shikai became more and more arrogant and restored to the throne. Yang Zengxin immediately responded to the call. It was just that Yuan Shikai's claim to the throne was like a joke, and it didn't take long for him to be chased and shouted. Immediately Yang Zengxin shouted republican slogans in order to protect himself, and the situation was turbulent, so his "Emperor of Saiwai" was still relatively stable.
Three: Assassinated
It's just that he doesn't know how to be flexible, and his thinking is still aging. He closed Xinjiang and did not allow new ideas to come in, and he did not allow the people of Xinjiang to learn new knowledge except to learn agriculture and aquaculture. His management of Xinjiang continued to follow the Qing government's management model. The iron-fisted policy does not pay attention to urban construction, the army is also the least in the provinces, and Yang Zengxin's army is mostly the income of displaced people.
In Yang Zengxin's understanding, the people will not make trouble when they are fed, so this army is called the "beggar army". However, as Yang Zengxin understood, Xinjiang was not rich under his leadership, but it was also stable. Coupled with his emphasis on agriculture and handicrafts, xinjiang's ethnic and religious contradictions have been alleviated.
It was just that Yang Zengxin's way of governance was completely inapplicable at that time, and the country's turmoil was both prosperous and lost. Even if you do it behind closed doors, someone will knock on the door. The Qing government is a good example. And in that era, the people learned new ideas in order to keep up with the pace of the country.
However, Yang Zengxin was extremely strict in this regard, and he was afraid that the people of Xinjiang would riot in learning new ideas, and he strictly prohibited this situation. However, Yang Zengxin's subordinate Fan Yaonan went the opposite way. Fan Yaonan, who had studied in Japan and was deeply influenced by new ideas, could not look down on Yang Zengxin's political methods for a long time, and Fan Yaonan had a high reputation in the hearts of the masses and was Yang Zengxin's powerful subordinate.
It's just that Yang Zengxin's thinking is old, and he is afraid that his subordinates will do high to cover the lord. Fan Yaonan also used his identity to open a Russian law and politics school. At this point, the two men declared complete war. So Yang Zengxin put small shoes on Fan Yaonan, and Fan Yaonan couldn't bear it, and in July 1928, Fan Yaonan assassinated Yang Zengxin. Yang Zengxin died at the age of 66.
Yang Zengxin's life ended here, although he also murdered others for his own selfish interests, but he maintained Xinjiang, defended the national territory, and in the period of war and chaos, he maintained the stable development of Xinjiang. So what do you think about Yang Zengxin?