In the TV series "Armageddon", there are not many depictions of various local factions of the Nationalist army at that time, such as Yan Xishan of the Jin Sui Army, Cheng Qian in Hunan, and various warlords in Sichuan. In fact, the reason for this is also very simple, that is, at the time of the Armageddon, the power of these warlords has been absorbed and almost empty. The only local warlord who could compete with the central system was Li Bai's Gui clan. At that time, Bai Chongxi served as the commander-in-chief of the Central China Suppression Army, with nearly 400,000 men and horses under his command, including many elites such as the 7th and 48th Armies.
Li Zongren of the Gui clan during armageddon (stills)
However, in "Armageddon", in addition to being the minister of defense, Bai Chongxi showed his face slightly more. Also the leader of the Gui clan, Li Zongren is more often playing soy sauce, the appearance rate is not high, the only impressive thing is that at Huang Botao's memorial service, Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi used to ridicule the Huangpu spirit in private - "greed for life and fear of death, promotion and wealth". From this, we can also see that the relationship between Li Zongren and Jiang at that time was not very good.
So what is Li Zongren doing in the Great Armageddon, and why is the appearance rate so low?
Lee Jong-jen teases the Whampoa Spirit (stills)
The Gui family of both culture and martial arts??
Before understanding that Li Zongren's appearance rate is so low, let's first take a look at his relationship with Bai Chongxi in the Gui family.
The Gui system that most people often say usually refers to the new Gui system, and the two leading big brothers in the new Gui system are the "Li Bai" combination of Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi. Under the leadership of Bai Chongxi and Li Zongren, the Gui clan also gradually changed from a warlord in Guangxi to a regional warlord. Unlike the old-fashioned concepts of old-school warlords such as Feng Yuxiang, the Gui warlords are more advanced in their ideas and ideologies, and Guangxi has always been known for its "unity." Under Li Bai's rule, the Gui Army was also known as the most capable local army after the Central Army, and its combat was also known for its tenacity, and the Gui Army's Steel Seventh Army was even the first of the 10 ace armies of the Nationalist Army.
The elite Gui army during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression
The reason for the development and growth of the Gui family is naturally inseparable from "Li Bai".
At the beginning of the Gui clan, there were actually three people who spoke, namely: Huang Shaohu, Bai Chongxi and Li Zongren. After driving out the old Gui clan, the new Gui clan headed by these three people, of course, one of the three people must be the eldest brother, Huang Shaohu himself admires li Zongren who is generous and charismatic, and Bai Chongxi himself can lead the army, but the emotional intelligence is touching, and he thinks that he is not the talent of being a big brother, so he recommends Li Zongren as the leader. However, the relationship between the three is still very good, and Li Zongren, who is well versed in political affairs, will often ask Huang Bai and others.
The three giants of the new Gui system "Li Baihuang"
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, li Zongren's Gui clan was also involved in the war against Japan, when Li Zongren served as the commander of the Fifth Theater, inflicting a large number of casualties on Japan at the Battle of Taierzhuang at the Battle of Xuzhou, and then sniping at Japan in the Central Plains, Dabie Mountain, and the surrounding areas of Wuhan. Bai Chongxi, the commander of the Fourth Theater of Operations, was also the director of the Guilin Battalion, and when he had the most power, he could command the Third, Fourth, Seventh, and Ninth Theaters.
Li Zongren led the Battle of Taierzhuang
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the gui clan began to adjust its power structure within itself.
Li Zongren gradually withdrew from the martial arts and became more involved in the important affairs of the National Government, as the spokesman of the Gui clan in the central government. There is no doubt that Li Zongren, who is well versed in political routines and generous, is more like a leader. After Li Zongren entered the central government, the leader of the Gui clan army became the untamed Bai Chongxi, of course, Bai Chongxi did not want to be the leader of the Gui clan, but he knew that he alone could not unite the Gui clan, and the new Gui clan, only Li Zongren could do this. Therefore, he is also the only leader of Li Zongren.
Li Zongren
Therefore, a decision was also made within the Gui clan, so that in the central and local governments, Li Zongren, who had a superb political IQ, and Bai Chongxi, who fought bravely in battle, had been expanding the power of the Gui clan and the central faction to compete.
Therefore, as early as the late period of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Li Zongren had the tendency to "abandon force and engage in politics."
Li Zongren entered the state capital??
After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Gui clan continued its previous strategy, and Li Zongren, except for a brief term as the director of the Northern Parallel Battalion, had been serving as the leader of the Gui clan in the Nationalist government in Nanjing, expanding the power of the Gui clan in the central government. Bai Chongxi, the director of the Central China Bank of Defense, continued to fight on the front line.
Li Zongren and Fu Zuoyi, who served as the directors of the North Parallel Battalion
Back to the main topic, where was Li Zongren during the three major battles?
At the start of the three major campaigns, Li Zongren had been elected vice president of the Nationalist government four months earlier, and during his presidential campaign, Li Zongren actively lobbied other factions, including Yan Xishan in Shanxi, Liu Wenhui and Yang Sen in Sichuan, and Cheng Qian in Hunan. Under Li Zongren's lobbying and money offensive, many old ministers who were not of the central department supported his campaign, and even He Yingqin, the second-ranking figure in the Nationalist army at that time, responded positively and openly supported him.
He Yingqin congratulated Li Zongren, who was already vice president
Of course, after running for vice president, Li Zongren did not want to be a puppet or a "chicken rib", and during the three major battles, Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi began to do all kinds of things to the Central Department.
In July 1948, the US President's special envoy Wei Demai came to China to investigate the Nanjing government, and in addition to meeting with Chiang, he also made a special trip to Beiping to have a "long talk" with Li Zongren. Although it is unknown what the two had talked about before, wei Demai attacked the Nationalist government at that time when he left China, saying that it was "greedy and incompetent" and "insensitive", and it can be seen that the Americans have been very disappointed in Chiang Kai-shek's nationalist government during the three major battles, and Li Zongren, who was already vice president at the time, was the first target they wanted to win over and support.
Weidmer shook hands with someone
In addition to Wei Demai's blatant criticism of Chiang's rule, Strydon, the U.S. ambassador to China at the time, even semi-openly supported Li Zongren's candidacy for vice president, as if with the support of the Americans, Lee has become the first alternative to Chiang Kai-shek, who has been defeated repeatedly. In 1948, when the Golden Yuan coupon crisis and repeated defeats in front-line battles, when the Grand Duke of the Chiang family fought tigers in Shanghai, Li Zongren, who was generous and not one of the four major families, came to power, which had become a political vane in the official field of the Republic of China at that time.
Stuart Layden supports Lee Jong-in (stills)
Li Zongren exerted force in the rear, and Bai Chongxi naturally became the representative of the Gui clan in the great armageddon on the surface, and he even came closest to commanding the Huaihai Campaign as the minister of national defense, but because of the factional struggle within the Nationalist army, as well as The rigidity and character problems of Bai himself, he eventually went to Shanghai to recuperate and watch the fiasco of the Nationalist army in Huaihai.
Because of the defeat of the Nationalist army in three major battles in succession, Li Zongren finally came to power as acting president, and the development of the Gui clan reached its peak for a time.
Yu Tian Jun said??
To sum up, because of the adjustment of the Gui structure, Li Zongren had already prepared for himself during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, so although Li Zongren was still a brother of the Gui clan, the direct command of the army had become Bai Chongxi, and during the Great Armageddon itself was a contest between the soldiers of the two sides, and Li Zongren, who was elected vice president in the rear, naturally appeared very rarely.
—The end—