In order to overthrow the feudal ruling class, Sun Yat-sen founded the Kuomintang. In addition to Sun Yat-sen, Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of the Kuomintang, is also often mentioned. Chiang Kai-shek, a dictator during the Republic of China, has changed from a rural villager to the president of the Republic of China in just over ten years, and his promotion speed is almost unprecedented, but Chiang Kai-shek's political path has not been smooth sailing.
Chiang Kai-shek was at a time of internal and external troubles in the country since he came to power, but he did have real materials, and he finally unified China in a formal way at such a turbulent time. But how can it be so simple to go into politics? He was forced into the wild three times in his life, but each time he was able to survive without danger, and each time he executed a Kuomintang bigwig.
01 First time in the field
In 1927, Chiang Kai-shek launched the "April 12" counter-revolutionary coup d'état and established the Nanjing Nationalist Government. Under the co-optation of imperialism, Chiang Kai-shek continued to advance north under the banner of the Northern Expedition, which was nominally actually aimed at expanding his influence. In the process of sending troops, Chiang Kai-shek and the Nationalist Government in Guangzhou formed a "Ning-Han antagonism", and the internal war between the two factions of the Kuomintang was on the verge of breaking out.
Later, Chiang Kai-shek massacred the Kuomintang leftist forces led by Wang Jingwei, which caused dissatisfaction among the unity forces within the Kuomintang and opened the road for Wang Jingwei to resist. Wang Jingwei colluded with He Yingqin and Feng Yuxiang, who had long been dissatisfied with Chiang Kai-shek, and the warlord forces behind the two also began to secretly provoke Chiang Kai-shek, trying to find an excuse to crusade against Chiang Kai-shek.
Chiang Kai-shek was fearless about the provocation of Wang Jingwei and the others, and did not even stop the pace of the Northern Expedition, and continued to go north, wanting to fight for territory from Sun Chuanfang. But as a warlord on one side, Sun Chuanfang's power should not be underestimated. Although Chiang Kai-shek's army was strong, Sun Chuanfang still relied on his rich combat experience to defeat Chiang Kai-shek's troops.
The threat of the leftist forces led by Wang Jingwei, the intervention of the warlord forces of He Yingqin and Feng Yuxiang, the defeat of Sun Chuanfang, and various other reasons led to Chiang Kai-shek's first forced resignation. But although he went into the wilderness, Chiang Kai-shek still had the blessing of a powerful military group behind him, and it was also with their support that Chiang Kai-shek also executed a "big man" during his downfield.
This "big man" is Wang Tianpei, a famous general of the National Revolutionary Army. He was invincible during the Northern Expedition, defeated the enemy many times, and successfully occupied Xuzhou in only fourteen days, and was called the Iron Army along with Ye Ting. However, Wang Tianpei's exploits did not win Chiang Kai-shek's trust and reward, but aroused Chiang Kai-shek's suspicion and dissatisfaction.
Before Chiang Kai-shek was forced to go into the wilderness, he had already collected all kinds of so-called incriminating evidence, and used this evidence to detain Wang Tianpei in prison. Although he was in the field, Chiang Kai-shek's position within the Kuomintang was still the same, and with the help of the military clique behind him. Chiang Kai-shek further consolidated his rule by executing Wang Tianpei during his time in the wilderness.
02 Second time in the field
Soon after his first disappearance, Chiang Kai-shek succeeded in ascending to the throne by virtue of his marriage to Soong Meiling, and once again became the leader of the Nationalist Government in Nanjing. The good times did not last long, when Japan launched the "September 18 Incident", Chiang Kai-shek did not immediately help the northeast region, but instead implemented the policy of "first securing the interior before attacking the outside world", which led to the fall of most of the northeast region.
Chiang Kai-shek's policy led to a serious problem in the northeast, which caused dissatisfaction among the Kuomintang insiders, and Chiang Kai-shek was forced to go into the field for the second time. With the experience of the last time, Chiang Kai-shek had already made sufficient preparations before going into the field this time. He arranged for his cronies in various departments and set up several spy organizations to help Chiang Kai-shek eradicate dissidents during his time in the wilderness.
After Chiang Kai-shek went into the wilderness, Wang Jingwei and other leading groups who took over Chiang Kai-shek were unable to mobilize Chiang Kai-shek's old subordinates, the Central Army did not obey their orders, and the warlords headed by Zhang Xueliang who defected to the Kuomintang did not obey the command. The Kuomintang Provisional Government, which had no military command, was still unable to resist the Japanese attack on Northeast China, and Northeast China was all fallen.
After this battle, the anti-Chiang faction within the Kuomintang thoroughly felt Chiang Kai-shek's status. As a result, the Provisional Nationalist leadership handed over power back to Chiang Kai-shek, who re-became the chairman of the Nationalist Government in Nanjing. And this time, in the process of going into the wilderness, Chiang Kai-shek also successfully got rid of a dissident.
This dissident is Deng Yanda. Deng Yanda was originally a general under Sun Yat-sen, and because of his superior combat command strength, he was deeply appreciated by Sun Yat-sen. Deng Yanda and Chiang Kai-shek are also old acquaintances, and the two also served together in the Whampoa Military Academy, Chiang Kai-shek served as the principal of the Whampoa Military Academy, and Deng Yanda was the Minister of Education of the Whampoa Military Academy.
Most of Chiang Kai-shek's descendants came from the Whampoa Military Academy, but as the Minister of Education of the Whampoa Military Academy, Deng Yanda openly opposed Chiang Kai-shek many times, which caused Chiang Kai-shek's dissatisfaction. Chiang Kai-shek then asked the secret service to arrest Deng Yanda and later kill him.
03 The third time in the field
The second time in the field made the internal forces of the Kuomintang realize Chiang Kai-shek's position within the Kuomintang, so no Kuomintang insiders came out to challenge Chiang Kai-shek's position in the later period. Therefore, the reason for Chiang Kai-shek's third descent came from the intervention of external forces.
After the end of the Anti-Japanese War, Chiang Kai-shek tore up the "Double Tenth Agreement" and began a civil war. However, in the War of Liberation, the Kuomintang lost in three major battles, and the defeat of the Kuomintang was certain. The Americans lost trust in Chiang Kai-shek's leadership and switched to support Li Zongren, and in this way, Chiang Kai-shek was forced to go into the field for the third time.
This time, Chiang Kai-shek executed Chen Yi, who wanted to oppose Chiang during the Liberation War. Chen Yi was a second-class general of the Republic of China Army, and during the Liberation War, he saw that the situation was not favorable to the Kuomintang, so he changed his mind to defect to the Communist Party. However, he did not have military power in his hands, so Chen Yi wanted to rebel against his adopted son Tang Enbo and wanted to use Tang Enbo's army to kill Chiang Kai-shek.
But Tang Enbo was loyal to Chiang Kai-shek and told Chiang Kai-shek of Chen Yi's plan. First he was forced to go into the wilderness, and then the betrayal of his henchmen and generals made Chiang Kai-shek suffer from the enemy, so Chiang Kai-shek removed Chen Yi from all his posts and put him under house arrest. Later, the Kuomintang was defeated and retreated to Taiwan, and Chiang Kai-shek also brought it to Taiwan. In 1950, Chen Yi was secretly executed in Taiwan.
04 Summary
After the Kuomintang was defeated and retreated to Taiwan, Chiang Kai-shek once again successfully restored the throne with his tough political skills and the position that had ruled the Kuomintang for many years. After the successful reinstatement, Chiang Kai-shek remained president of the Kuomintang and served continuously until his death. After Chiang Kai-shek's death, his son Chiang Ching-kuo became president of the Kuomintang. Chiang Ching-kuo also served as president of the Kuomintang until his death.
Chiang Kai-shek's life was full of ups and downs, and he was born into a family of small traders, but he gained the trust of Sun Yat-sen and became the leader of the Kuomintang by virtue of his superior means.
Later, he was forced to go into the opposition three times, but he still did not shake Chiang Kai-shek's dominance within the Kuomintang, and each time he secretly solved a big man in the Kuomintang.