Chapter 453: Appearance is the same but the soul is different
Beijing was renamed Peiping, which started on June 20th.
In early June, after a major victory was achieved in the Northern War and the Second Northern Expedition overthrew the rule of the Beiyang warlord government, the central government of Nanjing, in view of the situation of one country and two capitals, quickly passed a resolution: changing Zhili to Hebei Province and Beijing to Peiping to show the achievement.
Mr. Sun Yat-sen's long-cherished wish was that the country had been reunified and there was only one legal government in Nanjing in the whole of China.
On July 3, after many twists and turns, Chiang Kai-shek and Li Zongren finally arrived at Changxindian Station on the outskirts of Beijing. General Yan Xishan, the commander-in-chief of the Third Army and Pingjin Garrison, led more than a hundred civil and military officials under his command, and had already been waiting for them.
Waiting on the platform, as soon as the train entered the station, drum music sounded and nearly 10,000 welcoming soldiers and civilians held up slogans and colorful flags to greet them grandly. The enthusiasm far exceeded the welcome ceremony held by Li Zongren in Hankou and Feng Yuxiang in Zhengzhou.
The short meeting ceremony ended quickly. There was no speech, no welcome speech or words of thanks. The generals saluted each other, and then filed out of the station amidst the salutes of nearly a thousand guards, and boarded the train into Beijing.
This was the first time An Yi saw the famous Yan Xishan and the former enemy commander Shang Zhen of the Third Army and other generals of the Shanxi-Sui Army. He felt that the forty-five-year-old Yan Xishan looked much older than his actual age. Yan Xishan wore an old-fashioned general's hat.
build
He has a medium build, a swarthy face, slightly sunken eyes, bulging cheekbones, a neat mustache under his majestic hanging nose, and a gentle, calm and unhurried look in his eyes. At a glance, he makes people feel old and experienced.
Yan Xishan shook hands with everyone politely and greeted in a low voice. Although he looked friendly, he always made people feel alienated. Only when he shook hands with the young An Yi, he did not speak. He looked at An Yi carefully for a long time and stood aside.
Chiang Kai-shek was stunned for a moment when he saw this, and then introduced An Yi to Yan Xishan and Shang Zhen with a smile on his face.
Yan Xishan and Chiang Kai-shek nodded to each other, smiled knowingly, stretched out their hands in a rare move, patted An Yi's shoulder, and praised in a low voice: "Not bad, not bad! Meeting him is even better than being famous, he is really worthy of his name!"
With so many big bosses in front of him, An Yi didn't dare to go overboard. After hearing Yan Xishan's praise, he just nodded with a smile, and then humbly saluted with a military salute to express his gratitude. However, Shang Zhen, who was familiar with him, took An Yi's hand very warmly.
They talked in low voices and laughed heartily from time to time, looking quite happy.
This short meeting made others feel the praise and importance Yan Xishan and Shang Zhen paid to An Yi. An Yi also gained a more intuitive understanding of Yan Xishan and Shang Zhen from the simple mutual greetings.
Zhongnanhai was first built in the Song and Jin dynasties, and its shape began in the Ming Dynasty. It was part of the Ming royal garden. After the Qing Dynasty established the Central Plains, successive Qing emperors built palaces and pavilions in Zhongnanhai as a place to escape from the summer and listen to politics. After the founding of the Republic of China, Zhongnanhai was
It was occupied by Yuan Shikai and became the presidential palace of the Beiyang Government. Since then, Zhongnanhai has been used as the office of the president and prime minister of the Beiyang government, as well as the "General's Mansion" of the clique warlord Zhang Zuolin.
Now that the Northern Expedition was successful, this place has become the seat of the Peiping Political Branch of the Central Political Conference of the Kuomintang and the Peking Special Municipal Government. Chiang Kai-shek and Li Zongren have settled down, and they are still walking with Yan Xishan on the quiet path next to the West Flower Hall, chatting in low voices.
As Chiang Kai-shek's attendants, An Yi and other Huangpu generals also followed from a distance, walking step by step behind. No one dared to speak loudly, and could only look around at the scenery along the way. From the houses with blue bricks and gray tiles, they looked slightly old.
From the carved beams and painted pillars, you can appreciate the former grandeur of this famous royal garden in China.
An Yi's eyes were wandering, seemingly careless, but in fact he had no intention of admiring the moving scenery around him. At this time, his mind kept thinking about the subtle relationships between Jiang, Li, Yan, and Feng, and about the possible divisions.
Deeply worried. An Yi could never forget Feng Yuxiang's complicated expressions when he saw Chiang Kai-shek and Li Zongren stepping off the special train together, and was greatly impressed by Chiang Kai-shek's amazing political skills.
It turned out that long before the three armies joined forces at Zhili and besieged Beijing, both Feng Yuxiang and Yan Xishan had the mentality of "the first to enter the pass is the king" and were determined to win the city of Beijing. Everyone fought bravely to be the first, so Chiang Kai-shek spent almost no time.
With no words, the revolutionary army swept through the Pingjin area with overwhelming force.
However, due to concerns about Feng Yuxiang's huge military strength and political ambitions, and in order to prevent the possibility of another North-South split, Chiang Kai-shek weighed the pros and cons, discussed repeatedly with his think tanks, and finally submitted it to the central government for approval, and officially appointed him on June 1
Yan Xishan, the commander-in-chief of the Second Army, became the commander-in-chief of the Pingjin garrison, and handed over the relatively wealthy territory of Zhili and Pingjin areas to Yan Xishan, who was weak and had little political appeal.
After the appointment was issued, Feng Yuxiang, who had been full of expectations after meeting with Chiang Kai-shek, was empty-handed and angrily ran back to Baiquan Village in Weihui, Henan Province to "recuperate" and ignored Chiang Kai-shek and the central government. However, Yan Xishan struck while the iron was hot and seized all party and government agencies in the Pingjin area.
and the tax authorities, and even Bai Chongxi’s Fourth Army, which arrived later, also
Without the tax source, it was too late when Feng Yuxiang woke up. Almost all of Pingjin's territory was occupied by the troops under Yan Xishan's command. Feng Yuxiang, who originally had a series of plans, was annoyed and continued to lie in bed to "recuperate" until Chiang Kai-shek and Li Zongren came together.
After arriving by special train from Hankou, Feng Yuxiang realized that he had made another bad move.
Feng Yuxiang knew that since the Guangxi clique headed by Li Zongren forced Chiang Kai-shek to step down in August last year, the differences between Chiang Kai-shek and Li Xiang had not narrowed, but had tended to become antagonistic. For example, Chiang Kai-shek did not invite the commander-in-chief of the Fourth Army when they went north to pay homage to the deceased.
Commander Li Zongren went with him, but dispatched Chiang Kai-shek, Feng Yuxiang and Yan in the name of the Central Party Headquarters and the Central Government.
The three people from Xishan went north to worship. Feng Yuxiang, who was "recuperating", saw the opportunity and immediately took advantage of it. He quickly sent an invitation telegram to Li Zongren in Wuhan in his own name to go north to worship together. Li Zongren was indignant because of losing this precious political opportunity.
, received Feng Yuxiang's invitation call, and immediately agreed, and in the reply message stated that he would advance and retreat together with Feng Yuxiang.
Unfortunately, Chiang Kai-shek soon learned of this. After repeatedly weighing the pros and cons, Chiang Kai-shek temporarily changed his route to Wuhan and personally invited Li Zongren to go north to worship the deceased. Li Zongren felt much better when he saw that Chiang Kai-shek had made such a concession, and he happily arranged a special train to go north with Chiang Kai-shek.
Feng Yuxiang went to the station to greet Chiang Kai-shek and his party with great expectations. He was shocked when he saw Li Zongren suddenly coming hand in hand with Chiang Kai-shek. He was deeply disgusted with Li Zongren's reneging on his promise, so after a brief meeting, he continued his life of "recuperation due to illness".
Willing to ride in the same car with Chiang Kai-shek and Li Zongren to Beijing, the possible alliance between Feng Yuxiang and Li Zongren was easily resolved by Chiang Kai-shek.
At this time, Feng Yuxiang had no idea that Li Zongren did not give Chiang Kai-shek any face. On the contrary, they were very unhappy with each other. On the day when Chiang Kai-shek arrived in Hankou, Xia Wei, Hu Zongduo, and Tao Jun, the three direct army commanders of the Guangxi clique, did not show up to entertain him.
Night
At the banquet, Li Zongren led dozens of civilian officials to make excuses, and the atmosphere was neither warm nor harmonious. The next day, Chiang Kai-shek inspected the troops of the Guangxi clique at the invitation of Li Zongren. All the armies of the Guangxi clique sent troops stationed in Wuhan to participate.
Thinking of Gui, who has never shown up
Hu Zongduo, the general of the Guangxi clique, was uncharacteristically uncharacteristic. When Chiang Kai-shek was delivering a speech to more than 20,000 soldiers of the Guangxi clique, he stood up and suddenly launched an attack. Hu Zongduo publicly questioned the legitimacy of the Nanjing central government and fiercely criticized Chiang Kai-shek's control of military and political power.
The dictatorship, etc., immediately made Chiang Kai-shek red-faced and unable to come to Taiwan. The dozens of central officials and generals from the headquarters who were accompanying him were also dumbfounded and at a loss. The dozens of Chinese and foreign reporters who were accompanying him were astonished and quickly wrote down this rare scene.
At the critical moment, the still young and energetic An Yi stood up. An Yi did not accuse Hu Zongduo of being reckless and rude, but loudly asked Hu Zongduo his thoughts in front of more than 20,000 soldiers, more than a hundred generals and central officials.
Which is the legal government in ?
Hu Zongduo didn't expect that An Yi would stand up and ask such a pointed question. Ai Ai didn't know how to respond, but An Yi didn't give any face. He kept a straight face and asked what the 19th Army had done in the past few months.
, making the people of Hubei full of complaints and displaced, tens of thousands
Hubei civilians and businessmen fled with their families to Jiujiang, Nanchang and other areas in Jiangxi? Why did thousands of technicians and workers from a good Hanyang arsenal rush to flee to make a living, causing the arsenal that originally occupied an important position in the national military industry to suspend operations for a long time and be on the verge of bankruptcy?
?
Hu Zongduo was furious, but for a while he didn't know how to answer An Yi's question. This fierce general on the battlefield had really limited political and economic levels. The reason why he jumped out to question Chiang Kai-shek in front of a large audience was that if no one asked him,
The fierce general who had only been promoted to commander for more than half a year did not have the scheming and courage to back him up. Hu Zongduo, Li Zongren and other Guangxi generals were not mentally prepared for the young An Yi who dared to stand up and cross-examine.
Coming to Han for several months
Thousands of technicians and skilled workers in Yang Arsenal were quietly poached by An Yi's Jiangnan Arsenal, but An Yi cannot be accused of poaching. Everyone knows that people go to high places and water flows to low places. If you look for
An excuse to get entangled with An Yi,
Not only will it be true, but it is also very likely that the scheming An Yi, who has made great achievements in the field of industry and commerce, will refute him speechlessly. He may even lead the Guangxi armies to what happened in the two lakes area for more than half a year.
More sordid stories.
In the end, Li Zongren, the coach of the Guangxi faction, stood up in time, yelled at Hu Zongduo for being rude and ordered him to step down. Commander-in-Chief Jiang continued his speech in an awkward atmosphere. After some encouragement, he ended hastily, and the entire review ceremony was rushed.
After going through the motions, An Yi left a deep impression on the Central Committee officials, reporters and many soldiers present because of his extraordinary courage, sharp wit and uncompromising tough attitude. He was secretly summoned by Chiang Kai-shek immediately after returning to his residence.
It is precisely because of these things that happened along the way north that An Yi has a more thorough understanding of the relationships and hidden conflicts between the four major forces of the National Revolutionary Army. From a political point of view, Feng Yuxiang, who has dominated the Central Plains for many years, has more power than Yan
Xishan's greater ambitions, although Feng Yuxiang's Northwest Army and Yan Xishan's Shanxi-Sui Army have lived in peace and harmony for many years, but
The two armies do not interact with each other and are on guard against each other. They are even happy to see each other suffer without caring. This kind of seemingly inseparable relationship makes it difficult to form a close alliance. Especially this time, Yan Xishan led the Shanxi-Sui army to take over Pingjin and gained huge gains.
The interests will inevitably arouse the resentment of Feng Yuxiang and the Northwest Army, who have gained nothing, and the relationship between the two parties is likely to become more estranged as a result.
Secondly, Yan Xishan and Li Zongren, who were far away in Shanxi, had never had any friendship. Bai Chongxi led three Guangxi armies to enter the battlefield in a hurry and were squeezed to the front line of Tangshan. He could only go to clear out the remnants of the Zhilu army to obtain some supplies and captures. He always looked down upon them.
Yan Xishan of the Guangxi Army has not allocated one yuan of military expenditure to the three armies of the Guangxi Army. Bai Chongxi came to negotiate with Yan Xishan three times, but was rejected by Yan Xishan every time.
The mountain was cleverly pushed onto the central government, which made Bai Chongxi miserable. He returned with no success every time. He could only lament that he could only fend for himself because so far, the Lianghu region and Guangxi, which were firmly occupied by the Guangxi army, had never paid any money to the central government.
One penny tax. In order to take over the military and political power of the two lakes, Li Zongren had previously stated in a high-profile manner that the Guangxi army would be responsible for its own military expenses in order to refuse the central government to send various
Ranking officials and setting up tax agencies, the gap between the Jin army and the Gui army is far from being eliminated by a few words; as for the relationship between Feng Yuxiang and Li Zongren, it is even more subtle. Li Zongren has been very worried about Feng Yuxiang since the beginning of his crusade against Tang Shengzhi.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, he led the Northwest Army southward to occupy Hubei. Therefore, after he obtained power in Wuhan, he deployed the 19th Army, the direct descendant of the Guangxi Army, in
In Wuhan, the Eighteenth Army guarded western Hubei and northwest Hubei. The three main divisions of the Seventh Army, which he had built his career on, were simply transferred directly to the Hubei-Henan border for long-term stationing. If Feng Yuxiang, who had been immersed in the Jianghu for decades, could not see the deep vigilance.
If he has such a heart, then all these years of his life have been in vain. In addition, the conflict that was cleverly provoked by Chiang Kai-shek during his trip north to worship the spirits, the distrust between the two sides will only deepen rather than decrease.
The last and most important relationship between Chiang Kai-shek and Feng Yuxiang is even more complicated. Although Chiang Kai-shek and Feng Yuxiang are sworn brothers, the contradiction between the two is difficult to reconcile in the face of interests. Feng Yuxiang, who has 300,000 troops, has more
He has great political ambitions, and in order to realize his ideals, it is simply impossible for him to hand over the army that he relies on for survival to the unified leadership of the central government. Just from everything that happened during the journey to the north to worship the spirits, we can clearly see what it means to be in harmony with the spirit.
, different bedfellows.
The harsh reality and huge hidden dangers made An Yi very worried. He had a premonition that one day, many people around him might turn from allies into enemies.
Looking at the blue waves of Zhongnanhai not far away, An Yi suddenly remembered Gong Qian's words: the northern government has perished, the four revolutionary armies have no common enemy, and the conflicts that have been hidden for many years are likely to intensify...