During the Republic of China, the world was in chaos and warlords fought in a melee, especially Sichuan. On hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of land in Sichuan (including today's Sichuan Province and Chongqing City), in just over 20 years from 1912 to 1933, there were 470 wars, an average of two per month. By 1934, Sichuan had a total of 290 regiments of warlord troops, with a population of more than 1.3 million. There is an editorial in Tianjin's " Ta Kung Pao ": "Chachuan Province raises millions of soldiers, with a giant chief of six or seven, and Chengdu is divided into three armies. The whole province is divided into different countries. Its biggest feature is that the more soldiers fight, the more soldiers they fight, the more they are in harmony, the time they are both friends and enemies, and the war is easy to follow."
Below, let's briefly review the turbulent civil war history in Sichuan after the Xinhai Revolution.
above picture_Yuan Shikai (1859-1916)
Protect the country and fight against Yuan
11 Sichuan was restored in November 1911 and established The Sichuan Military Government of the Han Dynasty . In 1913, Yuan Shikai stole the fruits of the revolution and undermined the democratic republic. The Sichuan Army Xiong Kewu, Yang Shukan and others announced the establishment of the "General Command of the Anti-Yuan Army" in Chongqing to respond to the "Second Revolution" and attack Yuan Shikai. Yuan Shikai mobilized the coalition forces of the five provinces to carry out "coordination suppression", Sichuan's anti-Yuan army was defeated, and Xiong Kewu and others were exiled to Shanghai. Later, Yuan Shikai appointed his confidant Chen Huan as General Yiwei and ruled Sichuan.
916 Yuan Shikai was called emperor. The Yunnan Governor Cai E swore to fight against Yuan, launched the "War of Protecting the Country", and led the Yunnan Army and Dai Kan's troops to invade Sichuan and fight with Yuan's army. The forces in Sichuan were dissatisfied with Chen Huan's style of suppressing the Sichuan people for a long time, and they turned against each other. With the rise of the national anti-imperialist and resolute campaign, Yuan Shikai died amid the descent of his relatives, and the Yuan army in Sichuan also fled out of Sichuan.
During the War of Protecting the Country, forces from other provinces such as the Yunnan Army and Guizhou Army entered Sichuan; the armed forces in Sichuan Province were also able to take the opportunity to expand. In this way, after the end of the War of Protecting the Country, Sichuan formed a complex political pattern, triggering subsequent major wars.
above picture_ Cai E (December 18, 1882-November 8, 1916)
"Sichuan-Yunnan-Guizhou War"
After protecting the country, Sichuan was controlled by Cai E. But soon Cai E went abroad for medical treatment and died in Japan. Chief of staff of the Yunnan Army Luo Peijin became the governor of Sichuan and the commander of the Guizhou Army Dai Kan became the governor of Sichuan Province . The Yunnan-Guizhou coalition forces had conflicts with the local force Liu Cunhou and a war broke out. In the end, Liu Cunhou defeated Luo Peijin and Dai Kan one after another, and then drove away the Sichuan investigation and prosecution sent by Duan Qirui and Wu Guangxin, and obtained the Sichuan regime.
Xiong Kewu followed Cai E back to Sichuan during the War of Protecting the Country, and later served as the commander of Chongqing. In early 1918, Xiong Kewu was dissatisfied with Liu Cunhou's stance towards the Beiyang government. Under the banner of responding to the protection movement, he served as the "Commander-in-Chief of the Sichuan Jingguo Army" in Chongqing, and joined forces with the Yunnan Army and Guizhou Army to attack Liu Cunhou. In March 1918, Liu Cunhou was defeated and retreated to Shaanxi with his remaining troops. Xiong Kewu took office as the governor of Sichuan, known in history as the "Jingguo Battle".
above picture_ Xiong Kewu (1885-1970), whose name is Jinfan
After Xiong Kewu took power, a split occurred within his power. Xie Chi and Yang Shukan's "industrial group" are dissatisfied with Xiong Kewu's confidant "9-person group " and are constantly fighting and fighting.
Internal conflicts will be exploited by external forces. Yunnan Governor Tang Jiyao coveted Sichuan and took the opportunity to attack. In May 1918, the so-called "Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Hubei and Henan" coalition meeting was held, requiring Sichuan to pay a huge amount of military pay for the Yunnan Army every month, but Xiong Kewu naturally refused. So Tang Jiyao joined forces with the "industrial regiment" within the Sichuan Army to form the "Anti-Bear Alliance" and invade Sichuan. In order to deal with the "Anti-Bear Alliance", Xiong Kewu invited his former enemy Liu Cunhou back, and Liu Cunhou then served as the "Commander-in-Chief of Jingchuan Army" to aid Xiong Kewu. After several fierce battles, in October 1920, the "Anti-Bear Alliance" retreated and was driven out of Sichuan. This battle is called the "Sichuan-Yunnan-Guizhou War".
In the "Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou War", there are two people worthy of attention.One is Liu Xiang . Before the war, he was the commander of the Second Division of the Sichuan Army. He has been entrenched in Ba County and Bishan for a long time. He is known as the "Ba Gecko". He took the team in the battle. The other is Yang Sen . Before the war, he was the commander of Tang Jiyao and turned against him during the battle. During the war, they incorporated the defeated army and expanded their territory. After the war, they became heavyweights in Sichuan. Most of the subsequent civil wars in Sichuan were closely related to these two people. They are alumni of the Sichuan Army Crash School and are known as the "Crash School".
above picture_ Tang Jiyao (August 14, 1883 - May 23, 1927)
Liu Xiang and Yang Sen
Episode 1 Xiong Kewu drove away Tang Jiyao and started fighting with Liu Cunhou again. On February 18, 1921, Xiong Kewu sent a telegram to attack Liu Cunhou. A month later, Liu Cunhou was driven to Shaanxi again.
1921, Xiong Kewu, who had eliminated his dissidents, " Alliance princes", and convened the generals of the Sichuan Army to hold a "aftermath meeting". At the meeting, Xiong Kewu announced that he had retired successfully. Liu Xiang was elected as the commander-in-chief of various Sichuan troops. Soon after, he became the governor of Sichuan Province. Liu Xiang realized his first step in his dream of "unifying Sichuan and dominating the Central Plains".
Shortly after Liu Xiang took office, he received a telegram for help. The telegram was taken by the former commander-in-chief of the Hubei Army, saying that the Beiyang direct warlord Wang Zhanyuan urged severe taxes in Hubei and harmed the people, and requested to send troops to expel him.
Liu Xiang decided to send troops and sent a large army to advance eastward, and the Sichuan-European War broke out. The direct Beiyang government replaced Wang Zhanyuan with Wu Peifu . The Sichuan army began to advance smoothly, conquering Badong , Zigui , and besieging Yichang . But then Wu Peifu turned to take the initiative, recovering , western Hubei and , and relieving the danger in Yichang. The last two armies negotiated peace in late November.
above picture_ Wu Peifu (April 22, 1874 - December 4, 1939)
At this time, the main force of the Sichuan Army was three armies. The commander of the first army was Dan Maoxin, who was actually controlled behind the scenes by Xiong Kewu who was "retired"; Yang Sen, the commander of the second army, was Liu Xiang's "quick formation"; Liu Cunxun, the commander of the third army. After Liu Xiang came to power, he felt that Xiong Kewu was retreating and was very hindering. Xiong Kewu was also increasingly dissatisfied with Liu Xiang's arbitrary behavior. The conflict between the two continued to intensify and eventually they met.
In the Sichuan-Europe War, Liu Xiang reached a secret agreement with Sun Chuanfang to fight against Wu Peifu. After Xiong Kewu learned of the situation, he would make a secret public and ask Liu Xiang to step down. Liu Xiang immediately ordered Yang Sen's Second Army to attack Xiong Kewu's First Army. The First Army contacted the Third Army to launch a counterattack, which is known as the "Fight of the First and Second Army". In the end, the First Army was defeated, and Liu Xiang announced his quit and returned to his hometown in Anren Town, Dayi County, to "From the Mountains and Fishing Waters, and to clear the Movie Township Garden." Yang Sen fled to Hubei and defected to Wu Peifu. Liu Cunxun of the Third Army served as commander-in-chief of the Sichuan Army and governor of Sichuan Province.
1html_Yang Sen (February 20, 1884 - May 15, 1977), whose courtesy name was Zihui, and his original name was Shuze , also known as Bojian
923, an internal strife broke out in the Third Army. Wu Peifu took the opportunity to lead Yang Sen to lead the remnants of the Second Army of the Sichuan Army, Yuan Zuming, and Zhao Ronghua to lead the Guizhou Army and Zhao Ronghua to form the "Sichuan Aid Army" to advance towards Sichuan. Xiong Kewu contacted various forces in Sichuan and formed a "Roading thieves" to fight back. At the beginning, the "Supporting Sichuan Army" was defeated by the "Suppressing the Thieves Army". Later, Yang Sen invited Liu Xiang to come out of the mountain, and Liu Xiang recruited his old subordinates to join the "Supporting Sichuan Army", and the war reversed. In the end, the "Strike Alliance Army" was defeated and the "Shengsai Army" occupied Chengdu. Xiong Kewu fled to Guangdong and defected to the Kuomintang.
After this battle, Yang Sen was appointed as the Sichuan Supervisor by the Beiyang Direct Government. At this time, Yang Sen had 120,000 troops, occupied 72 counties in central Sichuan, and became the "No. 1 Brother in Sichuan". He fought east and west, intending to expel other forces in Sichuan and dominate Bashu. This behavior will inevitably be unanimously opposed by others. In 1925, Liu Xiang joined forces with Liu Chengxun, Lai Xinhui, Liu Wenhui and Yuan Zuming from Guizhou to discuss Yang. Fierce battle broke out between the two sides. In December, Yang Sen retreated to Yichang, Hubei. But shortly after Liu Xiang won the victory, he had a quarrel with Yuan Zuming, so he invited Yang Sen back and drove Yuan Zuming back to Guizhou.
above picture_ Yuan Zuming (1889-1927)
Change the flag and then hit
926, Guangdong National Government sent troops to the Northern Expedition, Northern Expedition Army was unstoppable. All warlords from Sichuan are experts in changing their ruling. They all called for "joining the revolution", and the feudal warlords transformed into " National Revolutionary Army ". After the Northern Expedition , the military system in Sichuan Province was in chaos and military leaders were everywhere. The largest force is Liu Xiang, with 6 divisions and 110,000 people; followed by Liu Wenhui, 8 divisions and 100,000 people; Yang Sen has 7 mixed brigade , 30,000 people; Deng Xihou has 60,000 people; Tian Songyao, 24, 50,000 yuan. There are other small warlords who occupy several counties and have thousands of people in their hands.
These warlords nominally belong to Nanjing National Government , and in essence they still occupy the mountain as king, and they still continue to annex and fight each other. From 1929 to 1930, the "Battle of East Sichuan" broke out again. Yang Sen, together with Li Jiayu and Luo Zezhou, launched an attack on Liu Xiang, hoping to regain the overlord of Sichuan. As a result, Yang Sen was defeated, and a large area of the base area, eastern Sichuan, was taken away by Liu Xiang. Liu Xiang controlled the Sichuan River waterway and his strength increased greatly.
above picture_ Liu Xiang (July 1, 1888-1938)
Nephew beats uncle
Yang Sen lost, Sichuan can still compete with Liu Xiang, his cousin Liu Wenhui. Liu Wenhui has long been entrenched in the Yibin area. During the previous warlord melee, he had been helping Liu Xiang. At the same time, we are constantly taking advantage of the opportunity to develop our own power. After the Battle of East Xiachuan, Liu Wenhui annexed the territory of Li Jiayu and Luo Zezhou and competed with Liu Xiang.
As the saying goes, one mountain cannot withstand two tigers. In the face of interests, relatives will turn against each other. In 1932, a large-scale war broke out between the two uncles and nephews. The two sides dispatched hundreds of thousands of troops, and the war lasted for two years, and the war spread throughout Sichuan. This is the largest civil war in Sichuan since the Republic of China. After experiencing the "Roewe War" and the "Minjiang War" and other battles, Liu Wenhui was defeated and retreated to a remote area in western Sichuan. Later, his territory left Sichuan and became Xikang Province. Liu Xiang became the real emperor of Sichuan. The melee of Sichuan warlords who had been raising Gu for more than 20 years finally ended, and the last "Gu King" Liu Xiang was brought out.
But Liu Xiang's local emperor didn't do it for long. In 1935, Chiang Kai-shek took the opportunity to lead the Central Army into Sichuan. Liu Xiang had to end the separatist rule and obeyed the central government.
above picture_ Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887-April 5, 1975)
After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, a large number of Sichuan troops arrived at the front line of the Anti-Japanese War. Chiang Kai-shek tried to completely "centralize Sichuan". Liu Xiang and Han Fuju rejected Chiang, but failed and died of sudden illness. Sichuan eventually became the rear of Chiang-managed District, and Sichuan warlords gradually faded out of the historical stage.
"Rumor, you just finished singing and I will appear", Sichuan "the complexity of warlord factions, the tragic disaster of war, and the whole country". Although the battle between these warlords has certain progress in protecting the country and the law, most of them are unjust wars between the military leaders for territory, authority, and wealth. The war has brought great damage to the social economy and brought great pain to the people. The warlords are like bandits, with bandits burning, killing, looting, and inhumane. For example, after Luo Peijin's Yunnan Army was defeated by Liu Cunhou, he started a massacre of innocent people in Chengdu to vent his anger.
above picture_ Liu Cunhou (1885-1960)
How did the disaster occur
In the article "Why does the Red Regime in China exist", it points out that the long-term division and war of the white regime since the Revolution of 1911 is the root of "the local agricultural economy (not a unified capitalist economy) and the separatist policy of dividing the sphere of influence" is ". This is the common reason for the melee of warlords in China, and specifically the special situation of warlords in Sichuan.
is the unique natural environment of Sichuan. Sichuan is a closed and rich basin that can form an independent kingdom and provide conditions for warlords to fight.
Sichuan is surrounded by mountains and steep mountains. The difficulty of Sichuan Road is as difficult as climbing to the blue sky. One man should be a pass without opening, and the armed forces can defend the danger. For example, after Liu Wenhui was defeated by Liu Xiang, he retreated to Kangbian and could still be the king of the land and hold on until liberation.
Sichuan also has a vast plain with a vast land area, with a fertile field of thousands of miles, making it the country of Tianfu. In the Chongqing area in eastern Sichuan, guarding the Yangtze River waterway is another important trade route. There are also many salt well in Sichuan. In the past, salt was a huge source of wealth. In 1911, Sichuan's fiscal revenue was 17.3 million taels of silver, of which 6.3 million taels of salt tax were 6.3 million taels. The rich resources provided a material basis for warlords to expand their military and prepare for war. From 1917 to 1934, the army's salt tax reached 200 million silver dollars. "Sichuan produces rich products, and retreat is enough to be self-sufficiency. The warlords seize a corner, suck marrow and bones, and there is an inexhaustible momentum." Second, it attracted various forces to compete. The Yunnan and Guizhou Army entered Sichuan several times to fight, largely in the face of the Ziliuyan Well in Sichuan.
above picture_Dian Army Automatic Machine Gun Brigade
Second, Sichuan has a large number of unemployed people, which gives the army a rich source of troops.
Since the early Qing Dynasty, Sichuan's population has skyrocketed. By the early years of the Republic of China, Sichuan became the province with the largest population in the country. In 1918, the population of Sichuan Province reached 52.063 million, and in 1928 it increased to 72.635 million.
The population expansion has made the contradiction between people and land sharp, coupled with the exploitation of officials, exploitation of landlords, and economic invasion of imperialist powers. This has led to a large number of farmers going bankrupt and becoming unemployed refugees. In 1934, there were 600,000 people in Hechuan County, and more than 400,000 people were living without avail; Changshou County, and 400,000 farmers were 200,000 without land to cultivate; Fengdu County had a population of 23,000, and 12,000 people could not lift fires.
The situation in cities is not much better than in rural areas. The development of urban industry and commerce is difficult, and a large number of merchants and factories have closed down. In the early 1930s, the Sichuan Monthly reported that "in recent years, major factories have closed down, and about 40,000 workers have been unemployed. The homes of freezing and hungry are contracted for 200,000 people." "There are nearly 20 million people who are unemployed in the whole Sichuan rural, business, and nearly 20 million people who are unemployed are unemployed."
The huge number of unemployed refugees in urban and rural areas provides a large number of soldiers for warlords to fight. A Sichuan folk proverb says: "A man is helpless to serve in the army. He is unable to survive after cutting off food and has nowhere to live if he is not allowed."
It is worth mentioning that after these soldiers were defeated and the army was disintegrated, they would try every means to find a team to surrender because they had no other livelihood. "You must be wandering around the camp the day before yesterday, looking for companions. If you see a few people gather together, you will gather together immediately." After gathering together, you will then commit to other warlords, or become bandits, and wait for the warlords to "recruit". This will keep the war on the continuous basis of the military power. The soldiers rely on the commander to live, so that the commander can use his troops to bribe himself, causing the warlords to become more and more serious.
above_Plant Photo of Yunnan Army officers in the early years of the Republic of China
is the intellectual class joining the army, forming a clique with classmates in military academies, resulting in many mountains in the army.
When we look at the resumes of various military leaders in Sichuan, we basically have a similar point. They were mostly intellectual young people studying and preparing for the imperial examination. With the changes of the great times, they entered the military school and rose step by step in the army and became local bullies.
For example, Liu Xiang was born into a prominent family in Dayi County, Sichuan Province. He studied poetry and books in a private school. In 1905, the imperial examination system was abolished. The Qing government opened the Sichuan Military Preparation School, and Liu Xiang went to take the exam, and later transferred to the Army Training Institute and was promoted to the Sichuan Army Quick Entrance Academy.
Another example is Liu Cunhou. He participated in the Chengdu Prefecture Academy Examination when he was young, but failed the exam. Later, he defected to the Military Academy and was later selected to study in Japan and studied at Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer School .
Imperial Examination System was originally the link for scholars to get promoted and make money. In the abolition of the imperial examination, scholars had no choice but to find another way to seek progress. At this time, the Qing government trained the new army and prepared military schools, which became their way out. These people have the habit of feudal literati. They formed a clique with their classmates and formed different mountains in the Sichuan Army.Those who came from the Martial Arts School include the Martial Arts School headed by Liu Cunhou; those who came from the Baoding Military Academy were the Baoding Department headed by Liu Wenhui and Deng Xihou; those who came from the Quick-Success School include the Quick-Successful Arts School headed by Liu Xiang, etc.
This led to many factions within the Sichuan Army and their relationships were complicated. "Its capture of the rise and fall of the rivers is like a mess." "No matter when, there are countless factions, which are used to suppress each other", resulting in the complexity of wars among the Sichuan warlords.
above picture_ Baoding Army Officer School
Fourth, the "defense system" makes officers boundless power and become "princes".
There is a "defense zone system" in Sichuan Province. The "defense zone system" means that the army "defenses on the spot" are in the defense zone. After the War of Protecting the Country, the "war of revenge and pacification" was "almost formed" in order to support the army. Then the taxes, land, industry and commerce in the military garrison area were all handed over to the garrison army to dominate. The military head was lawless in the defense area and became a "feudal princes who were like ancient times". In order to expand their power and compete for the "defense area", the "priests" returned to the " Warring States era".
Author: Big Lion Correction/Editor: Lilith
Reference materials:
[1] "Soldiers in troubled times: Sichuan Army in Local Society from 1911 to 1935" Zhang Yuanbo Central China Normal University 2016
[2] "Reasons for Frequent Melee of Sichuan Warlords" Tang Xuefeng Journal of Southwest Normal University (Humanities and Social Sciences Edition) 1990.2
[3] "Analysis of the Causes of Long-term Melee of Sichuan Warlords" Fu Zengyang Journal of Sichuan Normal University (Social Science Edition) 1989.6
[3] "Several Issues on the Melee of the Separatist Warlords in Sichuan" Tu Minggao Journal of Southwest Normal University (Humanities and Social Science Edition) 1980.1
Text was created by the team of the History University Hall, and the picture is from the Internet and the copyright belongs to the original author
