How did Zhang Xueliang successfully take over the Northeast Army after his father's accident?

Zhang Xueliang applied his father's training methods to his sons and let them wear military uniforms from an early age.

On July 3, 1928, Zhang Xueliang, who was only 29 years old, electrified the whole country and became the commander-in-chief of security in the three eastern provinces. After Zhang's death a month later, he successfully took over the military and political power of the three northeastern provinces.

So, what role did Zhang Zuolin play in the Zhang Xueliang issue? How did he ensure that Zhang Xueliang's work went smoothly and he took over when something unexpected happened?

Recruiting a team for Zhang Xueliang

If a person wants to accomplish great things, he should not do it alone. He needs help. These people who help are, in today’s fashionable terms, a team. It is only possible to start a business with a team of one's own. Zhang has such a team around him.

Zhang Qijia became sworn brothers with Zhang, Zhang Jinghui, Tang Yulin and others and became Team Zhang. It is precisely because of the efforts of this team and relying on a few native spears that they came from the remote countryside to the metropolis of Fengtian, and then from Fengtian to Beijing, and then to the whole country, creating a noble faction of the Republic of China, of which Zhang was naturally the leader.

But what about Zhang Xueliang? It can be said that they are the second generation of pure wealth who grew up with a golden key in their mouth. It is not wrong to say that Zhang Xueliang is a young man. While others were still learning to ride horses, he already had his own private jet. It was not difficult for such a person to take over, but Zhang did it!

Zhang Zuolin, knowing that he is still alive, everyone respects you Zhang Xueliang as their eldest son, but if I die, what will they do to you? For succession to be successful, the first condition is that the successor must have his or her own team. There are many examples of this at home and abroad, both ancient and modern. The reason why Cao Pi was able to successfully force Emperor Xian of Han to abdicate Xiahou_'s death after Cao Cao was because Cao Pi followed his father, Cao Cao's cronies Hua Xin and others. How could Zhang Canzuolin, who had been familiar with the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and the Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties since childhood, not understand the secret?

Why does Zhang Can have his own team?

If you have a gun, you are the king of grass. In order for Zhang Xueliang to take over, he must take over the military power. To take over the military power, he must serve as a soldier. It is impossible for it to send Zhang Xueliang to serve as a soldier. China has no precedent for traditional culture. Have you seen any prince or brother in history who started out as a soldier? He is not already a prince or prince at a young age. This kind of thing can only be done among Western royal families and nobles. For example, Britain's Prince Harry was sent to fight in Afghanistan.

In the eyes of the Chinese, it is not always the same thing for their descendants to start as soldiers. It is not unprecedented for him to be sent directly as a senior military officer. But in places like Feng Jun, where seniority is valued, the old man in the insurance team won't buy Zhang Xueliang's account. So they can don’t establish authority as much as they don’t go there. The best way is to enter a military academy and then become an officer after graduation. First, the military academy can allow Zhang Xueliang to receive preliminary military education and know what fighting is like; second, it can prepare for Feng Jun's future transformation. At that time, the army was full of bandits. Although the officers and soldiers were accurate in marksmanship, army operations were not robbery after all. Napoleon once said: Two Mamluks can deal with three French soldiers, but a hundred French cavalry are not afraid of a hundred Mamluks, and a thousand French cavalry can defeat 1,500 Mamluks. The army pays attention to organization and discipline, and the advancement of military technology has led to an increasingly complex military organizational structure. Let a group of people drink from large bowls, eat large pieces of meat, and read that many characters went to war with troops trained by German and Japanese instructors. Isn't that why you should die? Therefore, Zhang Xueliang's entry into the military academy can be seen as preparation for Feng Tiejun's future development and improvement of combat effectiveness.

The Northeast Military Academy is a military school specially established by Zhang to cultivate military talents of the Feng Dynasty. Those who enter the school are mainly junior officers serving in the army. Zhang Xueliang once boasted that he got first place in the exam as soon as he entered the lecture hall. Some people think this is not just Zhang's son. In fact, the officers recruited by the Jiangwu Hall in Feng Jun at that time were all company-level officers. Although they can read and write Chinese characters, mathematics and physics are simply bible to these people. But Zhang Xueliang has a good cultural foundation since he was a child. It is not because he is the eldest son of the Northeast King that he can take the first place in the exam.

After graduating from the military academy, Zhang did not urge Zhang Xueliang to become a high-ranking official, but instead returned to work as the supervisor of the martial arts hall. It turns out that the top leader of the martial arts hall is Zhang, and the director of education is responsible for daily affairs. However, in order to allow Zhang Xueliang to participate in the daily affairs management of Wujiang Guild Hall, Zhang decided to assign the position of supervisor to Zhang Xueliang.

Since Zhang Xueliang has been supervised, Zhang Xueliang is basically in charge of the lecture hall. In this way, in terms of his position, the relationship between Zhang Xueliang and his teachers is that of superior and subordinate, and his relationship with his students is that of teacher-student friendship. We often say that Whampoa Military Academy is the cradle of generals of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, but isn’t the Northeast Military Academy the cradle of officers? Zhang Xueliang has been in charge of the Wujiang Guild Hall in Northeast China for a long time and is well aware of the character and talents of the teachers and students of the Wujiang Guild Hall. This is the beginning of a leader and the basis for successors to build their own succession teams. This was all Zai Zhang's plan. Later, things developed just as Zhang expected. With the continuous expansion of Feng Jun, a large number of graduates from the Northeast Martial Arts Hall have enriched Feng Jun's troops at all levels. Moreover, in terms of personnel, Zhang Zuolin made Zhang Xueliang the leader, so famous Northeast Army generals such as Huang Xiansheng, Xu Gengyang, Niu Yuanfeng, and even the founding generals Lu Zhengcao and Wan Yi all had friendships with Zhang Xueliang. Guo Songling, He and others who served as instructors in the martial arts hall at that time also established a special friendship with Zhang Xueliang at this time.

In this way, Zhang Xueliang initially established his own team based on the instructors and graduates of the Northeast Wujiang Guild Hall.

Let Zhang Xueliang exert his prestige

If Zhang only asked his son to be the supervisor of the Northeast Lecture Hall to ensure his future inheritance rights, then he would look down on Zhang. The wily Zhang knew that the key to maintaining the independence of the military was to be able to fight, fight, and win wars. A child soldier who has never been on the battlefield will not be listened to by others.

So, when his son did not graduate, Zhang selected soldiers from a regiment with the best equipment and the strongest combat effectiveness from the patrol brigade of the three eastern provinces. The cavalry, artillery, and machine guns were connected to a platoon, engineers, and baggage. A platoon was connected to form a super reinforced group led by Zhang Xueliang to suppress the bandits. Do you need such a strong force to eliminate a few bandits? Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is killing a chicken with a bull's-eye, and it guarantees that you will only win but not lose. Zhang He has two purposes: first, to cultivate Zhang Xueliang's confidence in fighting. This confidence is so important. You can't let a guy fresh out of military school lose this battle, can you? If he loses the battle, if he doesn't manage well, and he dares not go out for the rest of his life, won't all those careful training be in vain? Secondly, when serving the army, we should let the soldiers in the army know that like father, like son, my son Zhang got to where he is today through virtue.

Zhang Xueliang did not live up to his father's expectations, but succeeded. Zhang Xueliang's brother, Sun Liechen, who was the governor of Jilin Province at the time, publicly called him: Zhang Xueliang commanded well in Jilin and fought bravely. Please be promoted to Guard Brigade Commander. Zhang refused several times, and then took the opportunity to appoint his son as the brigade commander of the guard brigade. After Zhang Xueliang became the brigade commander, the position of regimental commander was handed over to Guo Songling, a Mi

In 1922, during the first direct war with Fengfeng, Feng Jun's army collapsed thousands of miles away. Seeing that the situation was beyond control, Zhang immediately sent someone to ask Zhang Xueliang to leave the army and escape quickly. If even his son was caught by Wu, it would be a shame and the heir plan would be over! Unexpectedly, with the help of Guo Songling, Zhang Xueliang relaxed and played in an orderly manner. Finally, he is under the protection of his son. As a result, the teachers who served the army were really impressed and no longer dared to underestimate this young man. But there are some reservations about this impressive appearance. Why? Although we won the battle, everyone knows that Guo Songling played a big role in it. I’m not sure if Zhang Xueliang has two brushes. However, in the recent Guo Songling anti-Feng incident, Zhang Xueliang’s outstanding performance made everyone shut up.

After Guo Songling raised the banner against Fengfeng, he fought all the way to Fengtian. Zhang was beaten to death and all frontline affairs were handed over to Zhang Xueliang. Zhang Xueliang first organized military resistance and successfully blocked Guo Songling's troops on the river front, and then used emotional ties to disintegrate Guo's troops. Because the American officers Guo were promoted by Zhang Xueliang, and Zhang Xueliang shouted on the front line, most of these officers voluntarily laid down their weapons. Afterwards, Zhang Xueliang advocated that these officers should be put aside and retained again. This hand is extremely beautiful. Although Zhang pretended to curse and claimed that the officers and soldiers who participated in the resistance to Fengfeng would be held accountable, he also knew in his heart that if he was really investigated, would he still fight? So when Zhang Xueliang suggested that all officers should be retained, Zhang agreed. He knows: good people let their sons do it. Out of gratitude, these people will be more loyal to Zhang Xueliang in the future!

In this case, Zhang and the Fengxi conservatives saw Zhang Xueliang's commanding ability and his huge appeal and influence in the army, and they never dared to look down on Zhang Xueliang again.

Zhang Xueliang himself said: I really established my prestige in the Northeast Army after Guo Songling rebelled against Feng. After that, Zhang Xueliang took over, and Zhang Zuolin completely decentralized Zhang Xueliang.

Later against the Northern Expeditionary Army, Zhang organized his army into seven front armies, of which his third and fourth front armies were completely commanded by Zhang Xueliang. Although Feng Jun was ultimately defeated and retreated to Shanhaiguan, the U.S. Third and Fourth Armies, with Zhang Xueliang as the main force, did not suffer much losses. Politically, Zhang also began to moderately win over Zhang Xueliang. For example, when Zhang Zuolin withdrew from Peiping, he handed over the responsibility for peace talks with Chiang Kai-shek to Zhang Xueliang.

In this way, after a series of experiences, Zhang Xueliang became a pivotal figure in the Feng family and even the country.

Although people die, grace remains.

Having your own team, qualifications and capabilities is not an inevitable condition for taking over. Another condition is the support of various factions, especially the powerful ones.

No military or political group is monolithic. Most of them are divided into various factions, and Fengxi Group is no exception. In 1928, Punggye could be divided into old school and new school. The old school can be divided into the school represented by Zhang and Tang Yulin and the school represented by Zhang Haipeng and Yu Zhishan. The former started with Zhang’s team at Bajiaotai Insurance, and the latter was mainly joined by Zhang during his promotion process. Although many of them became brothers with Zhang, they were outsiders after all. The new-style schools are mainly local schools that graduated from Baoding Army Officer School, Shandong University and Northeast Military Academy, as well as foreign schools that graduated from Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer School. The early Tu faction was headed by Guo Songling. After the death of Guo Zhang Xueliang, the leader of the foreign school was Yang Yuting.

Historically, various factions of the ruling group fought life and death battles for supreme power, leading to the disintegration of various places. Why did the various factions within the Feng clique reach a compromise and unanimously support Zhang Xueliang? This has to be analyzed based on the specific circumstances of each faction.

Let us talk about the foreign school headed by Yang Yuting. After joining the Feng clique, he won Zhang's trust. In all the customs clearance operations, Yang has always served as the chief of staff, with full power to plan the battles. It is easy for it to enjoy the shade under a big tree. Yang A group of foreign students from the Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer School gathered here. Although they are small in number, they occupy an important position in Feng's army, and their power cannot be underestimated. However, during Guo Songling's anti-Feng campaign, he encouraged Zhang to shoot Guo Songling out of personal hatred, offending a large number of Feng officers and forming a powerful anti-Yang force. Therefore, in the battle for supreme power, Yang Yuting was the first to be eliminated by PK.

Looking at the old school, its main sphere of influence is local administration. To put it bluntly, it means money. Among them, Zhang et al. are the most important. They have served as military governors of Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces for a long time, and their influence is deeply intertwined. Theoretically speaking, he is the most likely candidate to succeed Zhang. Zhang has followed Zhang for a long time and is loyal to Zhang. He has always served as the second-in-command of Feng's department. Naturally, Zhang will take over.

In fact, things are as expected. On June 24, 1928, the Federation of Councils of the Three Northeastern Provinces sent a telegram recommending Zhang as the Security Commander-in-Chief of the Three Northeastern Provinces and Jilin, Zhang Xueliang as the Security Commander of Fengtian, and Wan Fulin as the Security Commander of Heilongjiang. However, Zhang Xiangzuo insisted on resigning as the security commander-in-chief of the three eastern provinces and recommended Zhang Xueliang to take up this important position.

Why does Zhang want to be the security commander-in-chief of the three eastern provinces? First of all, Zhang Xueliang's son followed in his father's footsteps and inherited the great unification; secondly, Zhang had deep feelings for Zhang, and he did not want to take advantage of others and seize power; thirdly, there was a gap between the new school and the old school. with profound contradictions. If not handled carefully, it can easily lead to infighting. Although there are conflicts between the foreign faction and the local faction, they have the same goal in dealing with the issues of the old faction. The old faction used money to occupy territory to serve the army in previous expeditions, while the new faction believed that the territory they had worked so hard to acquire had nothing to do with them. This was one of the reasons why Guo Songling rebelled and served the army. Although Zhang supports the old school, it is not easy to completely control Fengxi, and he will lose the entire game.

In this case, Zhang alone persuaded the conservatives to support Zhang Xueliang in letting his son follow in his father's footsteps, thereby maintaining the unification of Fengxi. Other old-school people also knew that at that time, Chiang Kai-shek's American Northern Expeditionary Army was in the Kwantung Pass and was surrounded by the ambitious Kwantung Army. The situation was precarious. With the power in our own hands, we can't handle this if we don't. We can't do this well. There will be another Guo Songling rebellion, and we, we, will end it together. Therefore, they also agreed that Zhang Xueliang should serve as the commander-in-chief of security in the three northeastern provinces.

On July 3, 1928, the summer sun was shining brightly, and the sender from Shenyang Post Office sent a telegram to post offices across the country that Zhang Xueliang was appointed as the commander-in-chief of security in the three northeastern provinces. At the same time, notices with the same content were also posted on the streets of Shenyang. The signature is: Zhang Xueliang, Commander-in-Chief of Security of the Three Northeastern Provinces and Commander of Fengtian Security.

The elites in Fengtian finally breathed a sigh of relief. They have a new leader, and the fragmented Feng Tie becomes monolithic again. The eager officers in the Kwantung Army headquarters gritted their teeth and stamped their feet with hatred. They thought Zhang would die and Northeast China would be in chaos because of the power grab. Unexpectedly, Zhang Xueliang took over successfully.

The Kwantung Army officer groaned: Brother’s calculations are not as good as those of Heaven. Elder Fengxi, who knew the inside story, said that sometimes Heaven’s calculations are not as good as those of humans