Author: Wen Boling Source: The Fireworks World of Wen Boling (ID: wenboling2020)
01
The source of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army is the three major uprisings, and the source of the three major uprisings is Zhang Fakui. Because of the bad relationship with the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, I don’t say much about this person now.
Let’s talk about Zhang Fakui in this article.
In 1896, Zhang Fakui was born into a Hakka family in Shaoguan City, Guangdong Province. He was the same age as Marshal He Long and claimed to be the descendant of Zhang Jiuling, the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty. His father worked as a petty official in the county town, and when he was away from home all year round, his family rented out their fields. Every year, he received several dozen loads of grain as rent income, which was not considered wealthy.
Due to the limited family income and the large number of children, when Zhang Fakui was 15 years old, his father finally made up his mind and gave Zhang Fakui ten liang silver to make a living in Guangzhou.
This is cruel, but with the money saved, the father can support other children.
Looking at Zhang Fakui’s faraway figure, the father never imagined what a magnificent life his son would start, and what hard decisions awaited him.
Guangzhou is a city of mixed fish and dragon, with many opportunities, far from being comparable to remote mountain villages in northern Guangdong. So soon after arriving in Guangzhou, Zhang Fakui was admitted to Zengbu Art School, learning weaving and dyeing, and could earn 1.2 yuan a month.
Originally, Zhang Fakui was going to study hard, become a mechanic after graduation, settle down in Guangzhou, and then start a dull life. However, after the outbreak of the Revolution of 1911, Zengbu Art Institute was forced to close, and Zhang Fakui’s dream was broken, so he had to find a new way out.
This time, Zhang Fakui’s luck broke.
He first served as a soldier in the Guangdong Army Model Corps, earning a monthly salary of 10 yuan. Later, due to his literacy skills, he was recommended by the model corps to apply for the Guangdong Army Primary School and became classmates with Xue Yue, Ye Ting, Li Hanshun, Huang Qixiang, and others.
Entering a military academy in the early years of the Republic of China meant stepping on the trend of the times. As long as one could survive the war, there was bound to be a promising future. Even if one did poorly, they could at least become a middle class.
However, Zhang Fakui’s luck goes beyond that.
In 1914, Zhang Fakui graduated from Guangdong Army Primary School and entered the Second Military Reserve School in Wuchang.
At that time, Yuan Shikai was at the mercy of the world, and Guangdong was the birthplace of the modern revolution. Two years later, when Yuan Shikai was ready to become emperor, Zhang Fakui, who was deeply influenced by the revolution, launched an uprising with his classmates.
Of course, the uprising failed. Zhang Fakui and others were assigned to work in Guangzhou Shimin Clay Factory, with a monthly salary of 60 yuan.
In September 1917, Sun Yat sen set up a law protecting military government in Guangzhou to fight against Duan Qirui of Beiyang and defend the Provisional Constitution of the Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China.
To protect the law, one must have an army.
So Sun Yat sen established the Guangdong Army based on the pro army of the twenty battalions of Guangdong Provincial Governor, and called on the revolutionary youth of Shimin Soil Factory to actively participate.
Under this background, as a young man with military education, Zhang Fakui was first selected into Sun Yat sen’s plain clothes team, and then transferred to the Guangdong Army, becoming an officer of the Guangdong Army.
At that time, Zhang Fakui was just in his early twenties, which was the time when the Three Outlooks were finalized. So after Zhang Fakui followed Sun Yat sen, he gradually believed in Three Principles of the People, and recognized Sun Yat sen as a leader who was loyal to him all his life.
In the following years, Zhang Fakui has been working in the Guangdong Army. After going to Fujian to fight, conquer the old Guangxi Clique, and pacify Chen Jiongming’s rebellion, Zhang Fakui bravely fought and made many achievements. In 1923, he was promoted to head of the regiment. In 1925, when the Guangdong Army was reorganized into the Fourth Army of the National Revolutionary Army, Zhang Fakui became the commander of an independent brigade. Then the Guangdong army marched eastward against Chen Jiongming and southward against Deng Benyin, and Zhang Fakui was promoted to the commander of the 12th Division by virtue of his military achievements.
It only took Zhang Fakui eight years to go from a poor student to a teacher of the Guangdong Army.
At the same time, Zhang Fakui did not forget his original intention.
When Chen Jiongming rebelled, Weng Shiliang, the former principal of Guangdong Army Primary School, went to Chen Jiongming and was appointed by Chen Jiongming to send Zhang Fakui many gifts in order to make Zhang Fakui betray Sun Yat sen and stand by Chen Jiongming.
But Zhang Fakui replied to Weng Shiliang: “Loyal officials do not serve two masters, and martyrs do not marry two husbands.” He directly rejected Weng Shiliang and Chen Jiongming.
This is loyalty and righteousness to the superior.
After Zhang Fakui became the commander of the 12th Division, Ye Ting, a former classmate of Guangdong Army Primary School, was working as a staff officer in the Fourth Army Headquarters.
Ye Ting likes a famous girl very much, but because the world is not peaceful, the female parent wants to find a way to rely on, so she puts forward the condition that Ye Ting must be the leader of the group before considering marrying her daughter.
Ye Ting had no choice but to ask Zhang Fakui to help him become the head of the delegation and complete the conditions for the woman’s parents, even if he was dismissed immediately after marriage.
So Zhang Fakui appointed Ye Ting as the head of the 34th Regiment of the 12th Division, on a par with Zhu Huiri, the head of the 35th Regiment, and Huang Qixiang, the head of the 36th Regiment.
With the help of Zhang Fakui, Ye Tingcai married Li Xiuwen, a lady from a large family.
This is kindness and righteousness towards colleagues.
From these two aspects, although Zhang Fakui is not a talented general, he is at least an excellent soldier and a worthy friend.
Huang Qixiang, Chen Mingshu, Guo Moruo, Zhang Fakui, Ye Ting
02
The Northern Expedition of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party was the highlight of Zhang Fakui’s life. He conquered cities and territories all the way, and became known as the “Iron Army of the Northern Expedition”.
But this was not done by chance.
Before the Northern Expedition, Zhang Fakui transformed the Twelfth Division, making an old army a revolutionary army and greatly improving its combat effectiveness.
Firstly, with the help of Communist Party members, the 12th Division established a political department and completed the political transformation. The soldiers had a slight understanding of revolutionary concepts, had revolutionary ideals, and knew why they fought.
In the old army, the soldiers were “fighting for Zhang Fakui”. After transformation, the soldiers thought “fighting for the people”
Moreover, every time the troops arrive, the Political Department will mobilize local people to provide intelligence, food and grass, water sources, treatment of wounded and sick, etc. This not only reduces the burden on the troops, but also integrates with the local people, which is beneficial for garrison.
Secondly, Zhang Fakui issued four bans – no escape, no gambling, no whoring and no opium.
Soldiers who drag guns to escape and gamble, once caught, are immediately executed without any room for negotiation. Because soldiers gamble and lose money, they will sell guns on the black market. These two things are actually one thing, seriously affecting the combat effectiveness of the troops.
If a prostitute is found, he must take off his pants and spank 200 times in front of all the officers and soldiers. Those who smoke opium must be hospitalized for treatment, and when discharged, they also need to find two insurers to write a guarantee letter that they will never smoke opium again. Once found smoking again, two guarantors will be fined, and those who smoke opium will be confined.
Through mutual supervision, the implementation of the four major prohibitions was very good, and the slogan of the 12th Division was changed to ‘follow discipline, everyone is equal, and there is absolute freedom to kill enemies’.
Finally, Zhang Fakui set up the economic committee and personnel committee of the division headquarters.
The Economic Committee is responsible for the disclosure of accounts.
It is normal for officers in the old army to eat empty pay, often with their pots and bowls full of income and soldiers without food and clothing. This not only affects combat effectiveness, but also easily leads to class opposition between officers and soldiers.
So Zhang Fakui counted up the remaining military expenditure every month, and first gave it to officers at all levels in the name of “special office allowance”, such as 800 yuan to himself, 500 yuan to the regimental commander, 300 yuan to the battalion commander, and 100 yuan to the company commander. The rest is deposited into the bank as the logistics fund for the entire division, managed by the Economic Committee.
Over the years, this logistics fund is quite considerable, and every amount of money used needs to be discussed by the Economic Committee, and then signed by Zhang Fakui. Without these two processes, no one can withdraw a penny.
In this way, the interests of officers are met, and the expenses of soldiers and logistical supplies are also guaranteed.
The 12th Division of Zhang Fakui never worried about money again.
The Personnel Committee is responsible for the promotion, rewards, and punishments of officers at all levels.
Zhang Fakui drew up standards for bravery in battle, excellent training, and observance of military discipline, and then asked the Personnel Committee to inspect officers at all levels according to the standards, and decide whether to promote or dismiss them, reward or punish them.
After discussion, the Personnel Committee will write a report and submit it to Zhang Fakui. If Zhang Fakui disagrees, he will clearly mark it and return it to the Personnel Committee for further discussion.
The result of doing so is that officers at all levels do not have to rely on connections or backdoors. As long as they work hard and achieve results, they can be promoted and made progress openly.
These ways of transforming the army are unique in the National Revolutionary Army, and even have the rudiments of the Red Army. So when facing the Beiyang Army, Zhang Fakui’s 12th Division was reduced in dimension.
In June 1926, the 34th Regiment of the 12th Division was picked out separately and reorganized into Ye Ting’s Independent Regiment. In addition, the 34th Regiment was rebuilt, so that there were four Regiments under Zhang Fakui’s command.
In July, the National Revolutionary Army led the Northern Expedition.
The Fourth Army was divided into two parts. Vice Commander Chen Keyu commanded Chen Mingshu’s 10th Division, Zhang Fakui’s 12th Division and Ye Ting’s Independent Regiment to move to the front. Commander Li Jishen commanded Chen Jitang’s 11th Division and Xu Jingtang’s 13th Division to stay in Guangzhou.
On the way to the Northern Expedition, Zhang Fakui commanded the 12th Division to fight the Liling Campaign and the Pingjiang Campaign, and defeated Wu Peifu at Tingsiqiao and Heshengqiao. He captured countless weapons, food and forage until he joined the 10th Division, and defeated Wuchang at one fell swoop, which was invincible.
In January 1927, the 10th Division was expanded into the 11th Army, and Chen Mingshu was promoted to the rank of Commander, under the jurisdiction of the 10th and 24th Divisions. The Twelfth Division was expanded to the Fourth Army of the National Revolutionary Army. Zhang Fakui was the commander of the General, and the Twelfth Division and the Twenty fifth Division were under the jurisdiction of Zhang Fakui. Ye Ting’s independent regiment returned to the organizational system, and Ye Ting was appointed as the deputy division commander of the Twenty fifth Division.
In other words, throughout the Northern Expedition, the Yeting Independent Regiment was commanded by Zhang Fakui.
We are now saying that the major battles of the Northern Expedition and the names of the Iron Army were fought by the Ye Ting Independent Regiment.
It is undeniable that the Yeting Independent Regiment has made great contributions and sacrifices, but it would be unrealistic to count Zhang Fakui’s contribution to commanding the 12th Division, or even the two divisions of the 4th Army, on the Yeting Independent Regiment.
Ye Ting’s Independent Regiment can make contributions and the Fourth Army can become an iron army. On the one hand, the Communist Party members have done a good job in political work and mass work, and on the other hand, Zhang Fakui has transformed the army to ensure combat effectiveness.
When we learned about Ye Ting’s independent regiment, we should not erase Zhang Fakui.
03
1927 is an important year in modern Chinese history, with three political forces competing for the world——
Jiang Jieshi, the commander in chief of the National Revolutionary Army, captured the Yangtze River Delta, allied with the Jiangsu and Zhejiang chaebols, and received support from European and American countries. The direct armed forces were the first army of the National Revolutionary Army, and the New Guangxi Clique of Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi also stood on this side.
The Chairman of the Nationalist Government, Wang Jingwei, moved his capital to Wuhan, claiming to inherit the mantle of Sun Yat sen and be the legitimate successor of the Kuomintang, with a large number of veteran Guangdong Nationalist Party members standing on this side.
Another is our Party, which is a branch of Communist International.
The competition among the three political forces requires everyone to make their own choices. Under great political pressure, Chen Mingshu, the commander of the 11th Army, resigned. Zhang Fakui also served as the commander of the 11th Army. In order to manage the army, Zhang Fakui transferred Ye Ting to be the commander of the 24th Division.
At this time, Zhang Fakui holds two armies and must make a choice.
Zhang Fakui is a soldier with a strong sense of tradition, and he appreciates the soldiers who can fight well. So at the beginning of the Northern Expedition, Zhang Fakui preferred Chiang Kai shek to the gentle Wang Jingwei.
On the way to the Northern Expedition, Chiang Kai shek met Zhang Fakui in Changsha and wrote a note on “paying special fees to younger brother Hua”. With this note, he could get 3000 dollars.
Zhang Fakui was very happy to accept it.
Because these three thousand oceans not only meant the appreciation of General Chiang Kai shek and a brighter future, but also a huge personal income that could solve many problems in life.
In early 1927, they met again in Nanchang.
Chiang Kai shek and Zhang Fakui said:
Xiang Hua, you are a model soldier. I hope you don’t get involved in politics. I hope you don’t follow Chen Mingshu. He likes to interfere in politics, but disregards his own military responsibilities. Unlike him, you truly care about your subordinates, so they serve you. I hope you will stay away from politics, focus on military affairs, and focus on military training. If you do this, your future is limitless
When Chiang Kai shek said not to interfere in politics, he meant not to stand in line among the three political forces and unconditionally obey him, the commander in chief of the National Revolutionary Army.
After that, Chiang Kai shek gave Zhang Fakui five thousand dollars.
Zhang Fakui agreed with Chiang Kai shek’s words very much. He also felt that soldiers should not interfere in politics, but just fight. So he gave Chiang Kai shek a military salute and accepted five thousand dollars.
If Chiang Kai shek and Wang Ching wei do not split, or if Zhang Fakui’s attack is directed in the Yangtze River Delta, it is estimated that Zhang Fakui will follow Chiang Kai shek.
But Chiang Kai shek and Wang Ching wei split up, and Zhang Fakui’s troops stationed in Wuhan again, operating in Wuhan as a base, so
Zhang Fakui
It would be impossible to follow Chiang Kai shek again, only to firmly follow the Chairman of the Wuhan Nationalist Government, Wang Jingwei, just like Sun Yat sen.
Then why doesn’t Zhang Fakui follow our party?
Mainly path dependency.
Zhang Fakui was a veteran soldier of the Kuomintang who started after Sun Yat sen. After the success of the Northern Expedition, the Kuomintang occupied half of the country. Zhang Fakui was just in the time of great prosperity. It was really difficult for him to abandon his future and position and join our party in the wind and rain.
No matter from which angle, Zhang Fakui can’t make this decision. He Long’s determination to follow our party is not unrelated to his non Kuomintang affiliation.
So after the “Ninghan split” in April 1927, Zhang Fakui appeared as an anti Chiang fighter and a close comrade of Wang Jingwei. In the turbulent era, he took all his chips and waited for the day of harvest.
But Zhang Fakui did not expect that he would lose completely in only half a year.
04
In June 1927, Zhang Fakui was promoted to the commander in chief of the Second Front Army of the Wuhan National Government, under the jurisdiction of the Fourth Army, the Eleventh Army and the Twentieth Army. He was the most important armed force of the Wuhan National Government.
Up to now, almost all the first elites in our army have had relations with Zhang Fakui. For example, General Manager Zhu was appointed by Zhang Fakui to Sichuan to recruit officers, Ye Ting worked under Zhang Fakui, He Long, commander of the 20th Army, was under his command, and Lin Biao, Su Yu, Ye Jianying, etc. were all officers in Zhang Fakui’s army.
Does Zhang Fakui know that there are many Communists in the army?
The answer is yes, but Zhang Fakui doesn’t care.
As early as when Ye Ting was the head of the independent regiment, Zhang Fakui asked him, “Did the Communist Party send you to study in the Soviet Union?” Ye Ting answered honestly, “I joined the Communist Party very early, and then went to Moscow.”
Zhang Fakui’s reaction was “very good”, and then he stopped talking.
Ye Ting recommended Zhou Shidi as the chief of staff of the Independent Regiment and told Zhang Fakui clearly that Zhou Shidi was a Communist. Later, Ye Ting appointed a large number of grass-roots officers. It is impossible to say that Zhang Fakui did not know that they were Communists.
Since Ye Ting’s Independent Regiment has Communist Party members, then other units do not have Communist Party members? Zhang Fakui is a veteran of the army for many years. He can’t see such obvious signs, but he doesn’t know who it is.
The reason why Zhang Fakui doesn’t care is that his idea is very simple——
He never imagined that the weak Communist Party would dare to resist the Kuomintang, and that Communist Party officers were subordinates of the Second Front Army. Even if there was a rebellion, he could at any time remove Communist Party members from their positions.
Facts have proved that Zhang Fakui’s military capability is very strong, but his political sensitivity is too poor, and his judgment of the situation is too simple.
In July 1927, the Wuhan National Government appointed Tang Shengzhi as the commander in chief of the Jiang Zuo Army and Zhang Fakui as the commander in chief of the Jiang Youyou Army, and moved the troops to Jiujiang and Nanchang to prepare for the “Eastern Expedition against Jiang”. At the same time, it issued an order to “divide the Communist Party” and expel the Communists from the Kuomintang, the government and the army.
On July 29, Zhang Fakui and Wang Jingwei arrived in Jiujiang together, preparing to hold a meeting of officers at or above the division level in Lushan to discuss the issue of letting Communists leave the Second Front Army, and notified Ye Ting, He Long and others to attend the meeting.
At this point, the relationship between our party and the Ninghan Nationalist Government has broken down, and the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party has come to a complete end. Our party is facing a moment of life and death.
So after the troops arrived in Jiangxi, more than 20000 members of the Second Front Army, under the command of Zhou Enlai, Ye Ting, He Long, Zhu De and other Communists, launched the “Nanchang Uprising” on August 1, which fired the first shot of the armed revolution. After the uprising was successful, the “Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang” was established, and a seven member presidium was elected, leaving a seat for Zhang Fakui, hoping to win Zhang Fakui to participate in the revolution.
When hearing the news of the “Nanchang Uprising”, Zhang Fakui was shocked and complained to Ye Jianying, the chief of staff of the Fourth Army, that:
I won’t talk about He Long, but Xiyi (Ye Ting) betrayed me and left. As I expected, to be fair, when did I mistreat him
If Zhang Fakui sends troops to pursue, the Nanchang Uprising troops will be attacked from behind and from behind, which is very unfavorable.
Thinking of this, Ye Jianying suggested that Zhang Fakui might as well order the pursuers to bluff, and after the uprising troops entered Guangdong, they would enter Guangdong under the banner of “helping the division and fighting against the rebels” to compete with Li Jishen who stayed in Guangdong.
Ye Jianying’s suggestion coincides with Zhang Fakui’s idea.
Zhang Fakui lost nearly half of his troops because the troops of the Nanchang Uprising came from the Second Front Army. The Second Front Army is the pillar of the Wuhan Nationalist Government, which means that Wang Jingwei’s position is also unstable.
Zhang Fakui has made up his mind to return to Guangdong, expel Li Jishen, and re operate Guangdong as the base of the Second Front Army, as well as the foundation of Wang Jingwei’s comeback.
So Zhang Fakui agreed with Ye Jianying’s suggestion.
After the decision was made, Zhang Fakui commanded the remaining three divisions of the Second Front Army, pretended to pursue the Nanchang Uprising Army, but in fact, he secretly went to Guangzhou in early October to compete with Li Jishen.
After more than a month’s preparation, on November 17, Zhang Fakui launched the “Guangzhou coup”, disarmed Li Jishen’s troops, and seized the military power of Guangzhou at one stroke. Chen Gongbo presided over Guangzhou’s government affairs, and the two men together welcomed Wang Jingwei back to Guangzhou.
At this time, our party had already passed the Guangdong Work Plan Resolution, and the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee led by Zhang Tailei was preparing for the Guangzhou Uprising to seize power.
So Zhang Fakui, who is a high power in Guangdong, became the target of our party again.
Huang Qixiang, Zhang Fakui’s immediate general and commander of the Fourth Army, got along well with Yun Daiying, so through Huang Qixiang’s relationship, Yun Daiying met Zhang Fakui once and persuaded him to join the revolution and lead the Guangzhou Uprising.
But Zhang Fakui and Yun Daiying said, “I am in charge of politics in Guangdong, so don’t harass me. I will not harm you and leave Guangdong as soon as possible. You regard Guangdong as a revolutionary base, and we should also realize our ideals in Guangdong.”
If they haven’t reached an agreement, there’s no need to talk anymore.
On December 11, when Zhang Fakui and Huang Qixiang left Guangzhou with their main forces, the “Guangzhou Uprising” with Ye Jianying’s teaching group as the core broke out.
Zhang Fakui’s mood is not difficult for us to imagine.
In just five months, trusted officers betrayed one after another, and the troops accumulated over the years were constantly taken away by our party. In the Kuomintang, which is based on the army, this is very fatal.
Moreover, they had been preparing for the capture of Guangzhou for five months. They were about to succeed. They stood up to Chiang Kai shek and were robbed of their home. What would Wang Jingwei think of Zhang Fakui afterwards, and what would other Kuomintang generals think of Zhang Fakui?
If I were anyone, I would probably curse my mother.
So after hearing the news of the uprising in Guangzhou, Zhang Fakui immediately sent troops back to Guangzhou and killed a lot of people. The number of people killed in the uprising reached 5000 or 6000.
Although the Guangzhou Uprising failed, Zhang Fakui’s plan to seize Guangzhou and support Wang Jingwei was also completely destroyed.
Accused by public opinion within the Kuomintang, Wang Jingwei announced his resignation on December 17, Zhang Fakui and Huang Qixiang resigned on December 22, and Chen Gongbo fled to Hong Kong.
Since then, Zhang Fakui has never recovered and has become an insignificant player in the political arena of the Republic of China.
From peak to trough, it only took half a year.
05
Since Zhang Fakui decided to follow Wang Jingwei, he has never changed his court. It can be said that Zhang Fakui is the most loyal person to Wang Jingwei.
In his own words:
I have always admired Wang Jingwei, regardless of right or wrong. I believe that as long as I follow Wang Jingwei, I will not lose my way
However, during the War of Resistance against Japan, Wang Jingwei surrendered to Japan to establish the Wang puppet government. Instead of following him, Zhang Fakui accepted Chiang Kai shek’s appointment as commander of the Fourth War Zone, responsible for the war in Guangdong and Guangxi.
From this point of view, Zhang Fakui is a man of traditional morality and an excellent soldier. He just chose the wrong direction and followed the wrong person in the big era.
Can Zhang Fakui make the right choice if he starts over again?
I’m afraid he still doesn’t have a choice.