Among the many warlords in the Republic of China, the Sichuan warlords were a special group. In their early years, they fought against each other to compete for their own territory. For a time, the people of Sichuan were in dire straits. However, when the Anti-Japanese War broke out in full force in 1937, many patriotic warlords emerged in Sichuan, the first of which was warlord Liu Xiang.
On the second day of the "July 7" Marco Polo Bridge Incident, Liu Xiang called Chiang Kai-shek and at the same time sent a message to the whole country to actively resist Japan. Unfortunately, Liu Xiang fell ill and vomited blood and died on the anti-Japanese front line. When he died, he left a tragic last word, "The war will continue until the end. That is, the enemy will not retreat to China for a day, and the Sichuan army will not return for a day." Hometown! "
Compared with Liu Xiang, Yang Sen became a special one among the Sichuan warlords, extremely lustful. At that time, there was a ballad circulating in Sichuan, "General Picking Flowers, his name is Yang Sen. He has a group of wives and concubines, all of them are beauties." Yang Sen was famous for his group of wives and concubines, and his numerous children. According to current public information, Yang Sen has 12 wives and concubines and 43 children.
Yang Sen, also known as Zihui, was born in February 1884 in Longtaisi Township, Guang'an County, Sichuan. Yang Sen's family background is average. His father is a martial arts student. Under his father's influence, Yang Sen has been practicing martial arts since he was a child. On the eve of the fall of the Qing Dynasty, Yang Sen applied for the Sichuan Army Crash Course.
In this military academy, the "crash system" Sichuan warlords headed by Liu Xiang, Yang Sen and others later emerged. Yang Sen has been constantly controversial throughout his life, both positive and negative. "There is no army without Sichuan." During the Anti-Japanese War, the Sichuan Army ranked first in the country in terms of the number of people participating in the war and the tragic sacrifices. It accounted for one-fifth of the total number of anti-Japanese troops in the country and made a huge contribution to the Anti-Japanese War.
As one of the representatives of the Sichuan warlords, Yang Sen also led his troops to the front line. Among the Sichuan troops that came out of Sichuan, the first to fight the Japanese army was Yang Sen's 20th Army. Strictly speaking, Yang Sen came from Guizhou. On September 11, 1937, the 20th Army assembled in Guiyang. Yang Sen loudly said at the swearing-in meeting:
"Our army has fought civil wars in Sichuan over the past years. In order to fight for power and land, it has sacrificed many people's lives and also given... It is a shameful act that has brought incalculable losses and suffering to the people. Today, for the sake of the survival of the country and the nation, it is a supremely glorious mission for our officers and soldiers to work together as one. Let's work together to kill the enemy, defend the homeland, fulfill our duty as soldiers, and benefit future generations!"
After the swearing-in ceremony, the 20th Army arrived at Nanxiang in the northwest of Shanghai by train, under the command of Xue Yue, commander-in-chief of the 19th National Army, and headed for the outskirts of Shanghai. Defense fortifications were built along Laoren Bridge, Yugong Temple, Xinjing Bridge, Tanjiatou, Chihouzhai and Zhantou Bridge. The 20th Army fought bloody battles in Shanghai for five days and nights, successfully holding its position until other troops came to take over the defense.
However, the casualties of the 20th Army were also staggering, with 18,000 casualties and as many as 7,000 casualties. Later, someone commented that on the battlefield of the Songhu Battle, the 20th Army was the most capable unit except for the 88th Division of the Central Army and the directly affiliated tax police regiment, which were fully equipped with German weapons. It was the Battle of Songhu that made Yang Sen famous, and Yang Sen was able to serve as commander-in-chief of the 27th Group Army and commander of the 20th Army.
In the late period of the Liberation War, Yang Sen's desire for an uprising was rejected, and Yang Sen eventually went to Taiwan. When Yang Sen was 90 years old, he married the 17-year-old female student Zhang Lingfeng and became the "Twelve Beauties" of Yang Mansion on the grounds of recruiting female secretaries. What's even more incredible is that less than a year after Zhang Lingfeng, Zhang Lingfeng actually gave birth to Yang Sen's last daughter, which was rumored to be a legend for a while. On May 15, 1977, Yang Sen passed away in Taiwan at the age of 93.
Reference materials: "The Sichuan Army in the Anti-Japanese War", "The Great Warlord Yang Sen and His Twelve Wives and Concubines"
