"The King of Shanxi" Yan Xishan has been in various political forces for more than 30 years

Unity Publishing House / Looking at culture from another angle

Character introduction

Yan Xishan is a legendary figure in modern Chinese history. In his life, he experienced the Anti-Qing Dynasty of the Tongmenghui, the Revolution of 1911, the Hongxian monarchy, the founding of the Republic of China, the Central Plains War, the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, the War of Resistance against Japan, the War of Liberation, and the defeat of the Kuomintang in Taiwan. Yan Xishan's life experience is an indispensable and important clue to understand the historical process of modern Chinese society and even understand China's national conditions.

Tuanjie Publishing House published the book "Yan Xishan's Life", revealing his legendary life story for readers, and showing the history of modern China.

閻锡山一生walking like this

1883 (the ninth year of Guangxu, Qing Dynasty) on the eighth day of the ninth lunar month, Yan Xishan (word Bochuan) was born in Wutai County, Shanxi Province A well-off home in Bian Village, which is also a farmer and a merchant. His father, Yan Shutang (zi Ming), inherited the ancestors’ tradition of doing business to get rich. He not only had a few acres of thin land by the river, but also ran a small shop in Wutai County, Ji Qingchang, which doubled as a grocery business and a “money post”.

Yan Xishan is the only child in the family, and he has been a pet since childhood. He lost his mother at the age of 5 and entered the village private school at the age of 6. Has received nearly ten years of old school education. From 15 to 16 years old, there was about a year or so. I dropped out of studying business, and became an apprentice in Jiqing. From dealing with people to managing business, I took care of everything. The experience before the age of 17 not only laid the foundation for Yan Xishan's old learning, but also gave him a rough understanding of society.

At the end of the year 1899, Ji Qingchang failed in financial speculative trading, and his losses amounted to six or seven thousand taels of silver, which was unsustainable. As a result, Yan Xishan's life path has changed. When he first got involved in the world, he was frustrated. The young Yan Xishan had tasted the heat of the world, "promising in the time", and the idea of ​​surpassing others sprouted. Therefore, after more than a year of re-reading the private school and serious reflection, in the Spring Festival of 1901, Yan Xishan left his hometown with his father and arrived in Taiyuan, the provincial capital of Shanxi. Settle in the "Yusheng" business first and learn while working as a buddy. Immediately, he took the examination at Shanxi Wubei School, passed the entrance examination, and studied military affairs. Studying for three years with excellent grades.

In 1904, Yan Xishan was selected by Shanxi Province to study in Japan at public expense. First entered the Tokyo Zhenwu School, followed by the 31st Hirosaki Infantry Wing (belonging to the 8th Division), and then entered the Non-commissioned Officer School. During this period, in 1905, he joined the League and became one of the early members of the League; in 1907, he joined the "Iron-Blooded Husband Group" and became the military backbone of the Revolutionary Party.

In 1909, Yan Xishan graduated from the 6th period of the Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer School. After studying abroad, he returned to Shanxi to serve in the Shanxi New Army. He first served as the instructor of Shanxi Army Primary School, and was promoted to supervise the Army Primary School. In November of the same year, he participated in the Student Union Examination for Returned Non-commissioned Officers held by the Qing court, and was ranked first and was rewarded with the Infantry Imperial Examination. In December, the Shanxi New Army was compiled into the 43rd Army Association of the Provisional Army, under the jurisdiction of the first and second bids. Then it was renamed the 85th and 86th bids. In 1910, Yan Xishan was promoted to the 86th standard.

On October 10, 1911, the Revolutionary Party revolted in Wuchang, and the Xinhai Revolution broke out. On October 29 of the same year (the eighth day of the ninth month of the lunar calendar), after a long-term preparation and launch, Yan Xishan led his troops to participate in the uprising, restored Taiyuan, and was elected as the governor of Shanxi, organized the military government, and started his power in Shanxi for nearly 40 years. History.

Taiyuan is located in the armpit of the capital, Shanxi's revolutionary forces after the restoration are under serious threat from the Qing court. In order to turn disadvantages into advantages, Yan Xishan and the “Yan-Jin Allied Forces” of Wu Lu Zhenmi, the 6th town of the new army under the order of the Qing court, to suppress the revolution, planned to use the Shanxi Civilian Army to go to Shijiazhuang and cut off Jinghan Road, directly threatening Beijing. After the Yan-Jin coalition failed due to Wu Luzhen’s assassination, and Niangziguan, the east gate of Shanxi, was captured by Cao Kun's 3rd town, Yan Xishan made a decision to divide the forces, and the deputy governor Wen Shouquan took one team and retreated to the north and south. Transfer. The northern route led by Yan Xishan himself, went all the way north, crossed the Yellow River, and captured important towns such as Baotou, Saraqi, and Tuoketuo (this area was one of the four roads in Shanxi in the Qing Dynasty-under the jurisdiction of Sui Road).

In April 1912, in the North-South negotiation, Sun Yat-sen gave way to Yuan Shikai, and the Nanjing Provisional Government moved to Beijing. Yan Xishan led the North Road militia back to Taiyuan and continued to exercise the powers of the governor of Shanxi. For a long period of time after that, under the control of Yuan Shikai's authoritarian rule, Yan Xishan proceeded from safeguarding vested interests and safeguarding Shanxi's stability, keeping a low profile, responding in various ways, and even supporting Yuan Shikai as emperor. As a result, Shanxi became the only province that had not been replaced by the governor during Yuan Shikai’s administration.

In June 1916, Emperor Yuan Shikai was defeated and the Beiyang government gradually weakened its control over Shanxi. In June 1917, Yan Xishan became a veritable "Shanxi Army" with the commander of the army (the governor was renamed General Tongwu in 1914, and the governor in July 1916) and governor (nursing first, then special appointment). king".

After taking both military and civilian politics in Shanxi, Yan Xishan advocated "protecting the environment and the people" and stayed out of the vortex of warlord disputes. On the other hand, he promoted the "six politics and three things" (the "six politics" are water conservancy, planting trees, Sericulture, smoking ban, hair cutting, natural feet; "three things" including cotton planting, afforestation, and animal husbandry), implement "village system" and "village-based politics". While improving agriculture, forestry, water conservancy, animal husbandry, etc., encourage the development of industry; while promoting the development of the national economy, expand military strength (expanding the army and developing military industry go hand in hand). It won a rare period of peaceful development for Shanxi around the 1920s. During this period, Shanxi was hailed as a "model province" due to economic development, administrative management, cultural and educational achievements.

In 1924, the Second Zhifeng War broke out. Yan Xishan took the vigor accumulated for several years and stood in the triangle alliance of Sun (Zhongshan), Duan (Qirui) and Zhang (Zuolin) and sent troops to Shijiazhuang to fight against Straight army combat, a small test. In the spring of 1926, the Feng, Zhi, and Zhi Lu allied forces launched a battle of "chaosing the red" (that is, fighting against Feng Yuxiang's National Army). In view of the rapid expansion of Feng Yuxiang's National Army and the intention to develop into Shanxi, and the current situation in which Shanxi has been encircled, Yan Xishan acquiesced in participating in Wu Peifu and Zhang Zuolin's "request for red." In May of the same year, the National Army attacked the northern area of ​​Shanxi by dividing the road. The Jin army (at that time, Yan Xishan’s army had expanded to more than 100,000 and became a powerful local armed force, hence the name of the Jin army). It was deployed in advance and the fighting was extremely fierce. Datong and its surrounding areas. In August, the National Army did not support and began to retreat. The Jin army pursued the victory and occupied Sui (now Hohhot) in one fell swoop, extending Yan Xishan's sphere of influence to the Suiyuan area (previously owned by the Sui National Army, the Northwest Army). On April 1, 1927, Yan Xishan announced the abolition of the Shanxi "Supervisor" appointed by the Beiyang Government, and renamed it as the "Commander in Chief of the Shanxi and Suiyuan Army" and reorganized the troops of Shanxi and Suiyuan into the Jinsui Army.

In January 1924, the Kuomintang held its first congress, and the "Great Revolution" broke out. In July 1926, the Guangdong Nationalist Government swore to the Northern Expedition. Since then, the Northern Expedition forces marched northward like a broken bamboo. At the same time, in June 1927, Yan Xishan accepted the appointment of Chiang Kai-shek as "Commander-in-Chief of the Northern National Revolutionary Army", hoisted the Qingtian and Bairi flag, changed the Jinsui Army into the Northern National Revolutionary Army, and joined the order of worship. Claiming: "The commander-in-chief is extremely weak due to the environment in which he is in, and the forces he is holding on are extremely weak. And the people also lack organization and training. I go to show that his doctrine and political platform are no different from setting up one, waiting The joint attack of these enemies. And those who surround us, think about subverting them day and night, and want to put us to death. In order to preserve the weak revolutionary forces north of the river, those who set up obstacles to the Three People's Principles are imaginary and suspicious. Suppose. If it makes a solitary army go to war, it will undoubtedly fail." On September 29, Yan Xishan issued a telegram on the topic of "Removing the obstacles of the Three People's Principles to achieve the purpose of saving the country and the people." Immediately, the Northern National Revolutionary Army of the command post launched an attack on Fengjun from the designated position. It was for Yan Xishan's first Northern Expedition.

The first Northern Expedition suffered serious setbacks due to subjective and objective reasons such as insufficient troops, Chiang Kai-shek’s declaration of going down the field, and Fengjun’s concentrated superior forces, and had to temporarily withdraw to the border of Shanxi Province, resisting danger. In January 1928, Chiang Kai-shek resumed his post as the commander-in-chief of the National Revolutionary Army; in March, he ordered the army to carry out the Northern Expedition. The Jin army was reorganized again, called the 3rd Army, joined the Northern Expedition, and Yan Xishan became commander-in-chief. On April 4 of the same year, Yan Xishan commanded the adjusted deployment of the 3rd Army to launch an offensive from Zhengtai Road, targeting the Beiyang Army.The last fortress of the valve Beijing. Go all the way to Pingshan, occupy Shijiazhuang, and go to Baoding. Under the situation of Fengjun retreating outside the pass, on June 6th, it entered and occupied Beijing (later renamed Peking). Immediately, he took over Tianjin peacefully, and checked and sui. In the Northern Expedition, Yan Xishan was the biggest winner, and his sphere of influence expanded from Jinsui to Ping, Tianjin, Hebei and Cha.

The victory of the Northern Expedition was the result of the coordinated operations of the four armies. After the war, Feng Yuxiang's 2nd Army, Yan Xishan's 3rd Army, and Li Zongren's 4th Army each took possession of one side, and formed a rivalry with Chiang Kai-shek's 1st Army. Starting from the "unification", Chiang Kai-shek was the chief editor and dispatcher, which caused conflicts with various power factions, and the Central Plains war broke out. Yan Xishan and Feng Yuxiang joined forces to oppose Chiang Kai-shek and turned into the largest civil war in the history of the Kuomintang. After the defeat of the Central Plains War, Yan Xishan was forced to go to the wild and avoid Dalian.

In August 1931, Yan Xishan secretly sneaked back to Hebian Village, Wutai County from the secluded Dalian. On September 18 of the same year, the Japanese army attacked Beidaying and Shenyang City, and the September 18th Incident broke out. In February 1932, Yan Xishan assumed the post of director of Taiyuan Appeasement Office, and was responsible for the appeasement of Shanxi Province.

After his comeback, Yan Xishan called for "self-strengthening and saving the country" and "making production to save the country". On the one hand, he "centered on politics and focused on removing obstacles to construction." Goal'", initiated "Shanxi Provincial Government Construction in Ten Years". Established the Northwest Industrial Company, built the Tongpu Railway, created four bank accounts-Shanxi Provincial Bank, Suixi Kenye Silver, Jinsui Local Railway Silver, and Jinbei Salt Industry Silver, implemented a controlled economy and carried out a local cargo movement. At the same time, it advocates "justice", advocates "land and village public ownership", and vigorously resists communism. With the further deepening of ethnic contradictions, Yan Xishan again called for the "anti-Japanese war" to set up anti-Japanese and national salvation groups to organize and train the people to launch the Suiyuan Anti-Japanese War.

After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Yan Xishan became the commander of the Second Theater Command and formed the Commander Headquarters of the Second Theater Command to deploy the Jinsui Anti-Japanese Army and was responsible for commanding the 6th and 7th Army Groups formed by the Jinsui Army. , And the 18th Group Army (the Eighth Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army) adapted from the Red Army of the Chinese Workers and Peasants. In the early days of the Anti-Japanese War, Yan Xishan sent troops to the South Gate to supervise the battle at Lingkou; deployed the Great Tong Battle to organize the Taiyuan Defense War; established the Anti-Japanese National United Front with the Communist Party of China, supported the "Sacrifice National Salvation League", and approved the establishment of the "Second Theater National Revolutionary War Battlefield General Mobilization Committee" ", set up a "youth column against the enemy's decisive death", opened a "National Revolutionary University", and promulgated the anti-Japanese law. Therefore, the second theater is known as the "model theater."

After the Anti-Japanese War entered a stalemate, at the end of 1939, Yan Xishan had friction with the anti-Japanese armed forces led by the Communist Party, which turned into an anti-Communist "December Incident." In the 1940s, the War of Resistance Against Japan entered the most difficult period. Yan Xishan's second theater commander's headquarters was located in a corner of western Shanxi. The area controlled by his army was only six or seven complete counties in western Shanxi. The external Japanese army was blocked, the internal finances were extremely tight, the supply was severely insufficient, and the difficulties were numerous. Yan Xishan put forward the slogans of "Overcoming Difficulties" and "Seek Survival", launching "Overcoming Difficulties", launching "mass production", implementing "New Economic Policy" and "Integration of Soldiers and Farmers". At the same time, organize the "three iron blood group" to strengthen internal control; secretly contact the Japanese military to relieve external pressure.

The victory of the Anti-Japanese War, the nationwide celebration. Yan Xishan led his troops back to Taiyuan, took over the government, and then took the seat of "Shanxi King". At the same time, the headquarters quickly occupied major cities such as Linfen, Yuncheng, Datong, and Shangdang. After the victory of the eight-year war of resistance behind enemy lines, Yan Xishan continued to insist on his anti-communist stance and decided to eliminate the former ally, the Communist Party and its armed forces. Unexpectedly, things went counter-intuitive. The Shangdang battle, the loss of soldiers and generals, Changzhi and its surrounding areas gained and lost; the battles of southern Shanxi, northern Shanxi, Fenxiao, and Zhengtai still left pages of failure records. In less than two years, only a few isolated cities such as Taiyuan, Datong, Linfen, and some sporadic counties remained under Yan Xishan's jurisdiction. In the declining river, complete failure is a foregone conclusion. Purging the inside and implementing white terror will not help. In May 1948, the army was defeated in Linfen; in July 1948, the Jinzhong Plain was lost, and he had to retreat to the isolated city of Taiyuan to fight the trapped beasts. Before the Taiyuan city was broken, Yan Xishan flew to Nanjing by special plane according to a telegram from Acting President Li Zongren, "I would like to talk to my elder brother in advance" regarding the peace talks. April 24, 1949On the day, marked by the breach of Taiyuan City, Yan Xishan lost his last fortress in Shanxi, and the history of the "king of Shanxi" came to a bleak end.

After falling from the throne of the "King of Shanxi", the defeated general Yan Xishan "blessed in disguise" in the gap between Jiang (Jieshi) and Li (Zongren), in June 1949 On the 13th, he served as the President of the National Government and the Minister of National Defense. He became the center and supported the Kuomintang through the endgame. After the Kuomintang retreated to Taiwan, Yan Xishan rushed to retreat and resigned as the president of the Executive Yuan on March 15, 1950, and returned to the mountains and forests. He lives in the Jingshan Caolu in Yangmingshan, Taipei. He has been writing books for ten years, including "The Road to Great Harmony" and "Three Hundred Years of China", with more than 3 million words.

On May 23, 1960, Yan Xishan died of acute pneumonia and coronary atherosclerotic heart disease at the age of 77 in Taipei National Taiwan University Hospital.

This article is excerpted from "Yan Xishan Life"