Back to the Republic of China as a commander

Compared with Liu Xiang's invincibility, Yang Sen, who was responsible for attacking Shaanxi and opening the westward passage to Xinjiang for the youth army, was not so sharp and lucky.Because his opponent is not the Tibetan army 100 years behind the world, but Chen Shufan, who is well-known in this era.

There are not many people who can take advantage of Lu Jianzhang, one is Xu Shuzheng and the other is the current Shaanxi Governor Chen Shufan.

The word Bosen (Bosheng), born in Ankang, Shaanxi, was born in a silk merchant family in the 11th year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty (AD 1885).His father, Chen Shengde, was only born in his early 40s. He taught him to practice Confucian classics since he was a child, and hoped that he would pass the imperial examination and embark on an official career.During Chen Shufan's time, Guangxu issued an edict to abolish the imperial examination, and Chen Shengde's wish came to nothing. In 1905, Army Primary School was established in Shaanxi, and Chen Shengde sent Chen Shufan to study in the school.In the second year, the Beijing Army Department established the Baoding Army Accelerated School, and the Shaanxi Army Primary School decided to recommend 1910 outstanding students to further their studies. Chen Shufan was also recommended, and he and his classmates entered the Baoding Army Accelerated Academy Artillery Department through Zhang Peng and others. In 10, Chen Shufan returned to Shaanxi after graduation, and was assigned to the Artillery Battalion of the Shaanxi Army Mixed Association as a platoon leader, and was soon transferred to an ordnance officer.This guy who is only five years older than Wang Zhenyu is also a legend. During the Revolution of 25, he contributed a lot.After the recovery of Xi'an, the Tongmenghui and the Hongmen Gang had different opinions on the issue of leadership.In order to stabilize the situation and prevent internal conflicts, Zhang Fenghuang, the main leader of the Xi'an Uprising, a member of the League, and the former new military leader, called important figures from all walks of life to the Military Uniform Bureau for a meeting on October [-]. Chen Shufan also participated. After some disputes, the two sides finally Reluctantly reached an agreement: with Zhang Fenghui as the general commander, Wan Bingnan and Qian Ding as the deputy commanders, the revolutionary military government of the Qinlongfu Han Army was formed, and other personnel also had certain positions, such as Zhang Yu as the governor of the Eastern Route Army, and Zhang Yunshan as the soldier The governor of Ma Da, Ma Yugui served as the governor of food and pay, and Liu Shijie served as the governor of military orders.Zhang Peng proposed to appoint Chen Shufan as Zhang Yunshan's chief of staff, but was opposed by Wan Bingnan and Zhang Yunshan, and Zhang Fenghui and Qian Ding did not express their views.As a result, Chen Shufan, who thought he had made great contributions, could not get an official position. In a rage, he ran to Weibei to join Jing Wumu and help Jing Wumu organize the militia.Soon, the Shanxi Revolutionary Party asked Zhang Fenghui to send troops to aid Jin, and Zhang Fenghui appointed Chen Shufan as the governor of Hedong, commanding Chen Shufa, Yan Feilong, and Wang Feihu to cross the Yellow River and occupy Yuncheng, Shanxi.

These are not enough to explain Chen Shufan's ability. During Yuan Shikai's era, Lu Jianzhang supervised Shaanxi after he wiped out the White Wolf in Shaanxi.With Lu Jianzhang's skills, the Shaanxi Army will naturally be unable to escape the fate of being abolished.However, not only was Chen Shufan's army not dismantled, Chen Shufan also worshiped Lu Jianzhang, and thus successfully escaped the withdrawal movement of Yuan Shikai's era.

After the outbreak of the War to Protect the Nation, Lu Jianzhang ordered Chen Shufan to lead his troops from Tongzhou and Pucheng to the west, and Lu Chengwu led the "Central Regiment" from Xi'an to the north. .Chen Shufan felt that Lu Jianzhang had lost the hearts of the people and that his downfall would happen sooner or later. Therefore, he also secretly participated in the anti-Lu movement.Before Chen Shufan set off, he suddenly received a secret report from his subordinate Hu Jingyi, saying that Lu Chengwu had led a "hardcore regiment" to Fuping, and they planned to launch a night attack when the opponent's foothold was not stable, and capture Lu Chengwu alive.In this regard, Chen Shufan felt in a dilemma. The "Central Regiment" was the most elite unit under Lu Jianzhang, with a brigade of people, while Hu Jingyi only led a guerrilla battalion of more than 5 people. Chen Shufan only sent his confidant Cui Shiqing to lead more than a hundred people in plain clothes and tens of thousands of bullets to Fuping to watch the battle.Unexpectedly, Hu Jingyi succeeded in the night attack, the "hardcore regiment" disarmed and surrendered, and Lu Chengwu was captured alive.Surprised and delighted, Chen Shufan rushed to Fuping.With Lu Chengwu as a hostage, he dared to openly oppose Lu Jianzhang.With the support of Hu Jingyi, Guo Jian and others, Chen Shufan took office as the commander-in-chief of Shaanxi Protectorate on May 9 and declared Shaanxi independence.He appointed Hu Jingyi as the leader of the left-wing detachment to advance to the east of Xi'an; appointed Guo Jian as the leader of the right-wing detachment to advance to the west of Xi'an; he commanded the rest of the troops to concentrate near Xi'an and encircle Xi'an.

At the same time, Chen Shufan sent people to see Lu Jianzhang, using both hard and soft tactics. Seeing that the situation was over, Lu Jianzhang had to agree to a peaceful settlement. Finally, two deals were reached: Lu Jianzhang recommended Chen Shufan to the Beijing government to replace him as the governor of Shaanxi; Chen Shufan was responsible for releasing Lu Chengwu and protecting the life and property of the Lu family Safe, send out of Tongguan.Later, Chen Shufan personally escorted Lu Chengwu back to Xi'an, and personally escorted Lu's family members out of Tongguan, but he couldn't wait for the Beijing government's appointment, so he became the governor of Shaanxi on May 5 and sent telegrams to the whole country.Soon, the Beijing government also issued an order for Chen Shufan to supervise military affairs in Shaanxi.In this way, Chen Shufan initially grasped the military and political power in Shaanxi.

With the support of Duan Qirui, Chen Shufan successfully ascended to the throne of Shaanxi Governor. After all, he was a young man like Wang Zhenyu, and Chen Shufan, who was only 31 years old at the time, was also an ambitious figure.The Shaanxi Army began a large-scale expansion in his hands, reaching the size of three reorganized divisions plus three independent brigades, with a total number of about 10.However, Shaanxi is not comparable to Xiangxi in the hands of Wang Zhenyu. This place can be described in one word in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, poor.Raising an army of this size in captivity in such a province is bound to make ends meet. For this reason, Chen Shufan decided to grow opium in Shaanxi to collect money. Beginning in the spring of 1917, Chen Shufan, through the magistrates of the counties, ordered the farmers to openly grow tobacco, and forced the counties to pay 50.00% of the cultivated land area.After the smoking ban was lifted, Chen Shufan made huge sums of money from it, but the pain and loss brought to the people of Shaanxi cannot be estimated.Historically, the grain fields in Shaanxi have been decreasing year by year, turning from a grain-producing area into a food-deficient area. Twenty to thirty percent of the population in Shaanxi smoked opium, causing great harm.

But now there is no such danger, because the Siwanchuan Army commanded by Yang Sen has marched into the Hanzhong area in a mighty manner.Chen Shufan suddenly found that whether he, the governor of Shaanxi, could persist until 1918 was a big problem. Therefore, when the Beijing government was in chaos and overwhelmed, he chose production to save himself, and personally commanded the main two divisions and two brigades of the Shaanxi Army. Go south to Hanzhong to fight Yang Sen.Now Yang Sen couldn't take it anymore. Even if Yang Sen changed to new equipment, the Shaanxi Army of the two divisions had almost 4 guns. Diplomatic Hu Jingyi and Yang Hucheng, two independent brigades who were good at fighting.So the Sichuan army, which was originally the offensive side, was suppressed by the Shaanxi army and became the defensive side. Fortunately, the equipment of the Shaanxi army was really poor, and the broadswords were generally equipped, which was not even as good as the Sichuan army, so for a while For a while, Chen Shufan had nothing to do with Yang Sen.

Liu Xiangna was followed by Chen Shao and Chen Quzhen, while Yang Sen was followed by Yu Youren, the veteran of the Tongmeng Guild, and Jing Wumu, Chen Shufan's former superior.Jing Mumu in history was also a young hero, three years younger than Chen Shufan and two years older than Wang Zhenyu.As for his ending, it was also very tragic. In the end, he also died at the hands of revolutionary comrades, which is far away. . .

The role of Yu Youren and Jing Wumu is still obvious. At least the generals under Chen Shufan started the water release project after several attacks on the Sichuan Army but failed.The fighting in Hanzhong dragged on from June to the end of July and did not end. Chen Shufan agreed to Jing Wumu's request for a truce, and the armies of both sides maintained the current front line unchanged, waiting for the new central government in Beijing to come to mediate.A month later, Chen Shufan would regret the hasty decision to cease the war that day, but there is no regret medicine in this world.

In fact, between July and October 1917, the whole of China was in chaos, including in the south where all parties seemed to be calm.

Wang Zhenyu finally met Rockefeller Jr., a billionaire in the United States. This seemingly very refined American seemed to be full of curiosity about Wang Zhenyu.Just as Wang Zhenyu was surprised at the wealth of the Rockefeller family, Rockefeller Jr. was also surprised at how Wang Zhenyu could start from scratch at such an age and control such a vast territory and army.

Perhaps the old Rockefeller was full of too many sins in the primitive stage of his capital, and he didn't get the son of Rockefeller Jr. until he was almost 40 years old, and he was only such a son.In fact, Rockefeller Jr. had very limited interest in doing business, but this did not hinder his continued success in the business field.Rockefeller Jr. has always hoped to build a global business empire, and China, an ancient oriental country, is naturally an important part of his entire empire.However, although capital dares to take risks, it still wants to avoid risks in essence. Any turmoil and instability will hinder the inflow and output of capital.

The arrival of Ye Guoxuan and his party in the United States undoubtedly opened a window for Rockefeller Jr. In New York, Rockefeller, Morgan and other well-known American business giants decided to send a business delegation to China to check the investment environment and returns after a meeting.And Rockefeller Jr., the sole heir of the Rockefeller family, volunteered to serve as the head of the regiment.

In fact, the trip to Wuhan, including the previous trip to Shanghai and Nanjing, made Rockefeller Jr. and others very satisfied. In the words of the telegram he sent to the major families in the United States in Nanjing: "A government like the United States is being built here, and the entire country They are all under large-scale construction, although there are still some differences in the political system, but after I met the powerful figure in Wuhan, if there is no accident, large-scale investment can be considered.”

"Respected Chairman Wang, I heard in Shanghai that you are the most respected general who is a businessman in this country for thousands of years. In Nanjing, I found that the national government's parliament is the same as our American Congress, and there are at least More than one-third of the congressmen are rich businessmen from your country, which is a great phenomenon, but I would like to know how you view foreign capital?" Rockefeller Jr. asked his own question very bluntly.

It was none other than Ye Guoxuan who was responsible for the translation work for this meeting.After listening carefully, Wang Zhenyu replied with a smile, "In my opinion, capital has no borders, and a country is just a product of an era and productivity. I believe that one day the world will be a whole, and human beings will be a family that loves each other." People, there are no such messy distinctions as race, skin color, religion, and political system. We call this global integration, and to achieve this global integration, we must first achieve economic integration, although it is still too early to say this, But for foreign capital, my point of view is to treat them equally. In some technical fields, there are even preferential treatment... "