During the Republic of China, warlords fought in disarray, but it was really an era of talented people
1. The foolish son of the Cao family
On December 12, This is the day when many military and political leaders at home and abroad were born, but the one with the most miserable life experience must be this family in Dagu, Tianjin, China, on December 12, 1862, the first year of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty. Cao Bensheng, a shipyard worker, gave birth to his third child today. In this kind of poor and populous boatman's family, raising a child, eating, drinking and defecating are all common worries. But in the next few years, what Cao Bensheng and his wife were most worried about was another thing: this child Too silly.
Since he was born, this good son of Lao Cao’s family has been slower than others in learning everything. Even though his father, Cao Bensheng, tightened his belt and sent him to study for a few days, he still couldn't read anything. When he grew up, he was strong and strong, but his brain was still not busy, and he couldn't even learn crafts such as ship repair. Later, I just carried the cloth on my back and hawked it in the streets, but often I couldn't even calculate the accounts. I saw someone taking advantage of me. After selling cloth for several years, I did a lot of stupid things. Even many traditional cross talk jokes in Tianjin are based on his silly things. A nickname has been spread since then: Cao San Idiot.
However, many years later, many villagers at that time recalled this scene, but they even lamented the impermanence of life: I never expected that this fool Cao San, who was laughed at every day when he was young, would turn out to be the earth-shattering big shot: Beiyang Cao Kun, the leader of the Zhili clique of warlords and former president of the Republic of China.
Although they did not expect such a big news about their future son, Cao Bensheng and his wife at that time were still relieved: Although Cao Kun was stupid, he had a kind temperament. There were seven brothers and sisters in the family. He is the most sensible person and would rather suffer first when something happens. They married a daughter-in-law when they were seventeen years old, and the couple became role models on the street. They treated each other with respect and treated each other like guests, without even having a quarrel with each other. The business of selling cloth is also becoming more and more prosperous. Regardless of the huge losses, there are also a lot of repeat customers, all of whom are willing to deal with this honest man. But just when Cao Kun was happily planning for the future and planning to save money to start a business, an accident changed his life.
▲Cao Kun commemorative coin (issued in 1923)
2. He went to join the army in anger
That day, Cao Kun went to Baoding to sell cloth, and he finally came out of breath. When he arrived outside Baoding City, he was blackmailed and bullied by two gatekeepers, and the business was completely ruined. At this time, the honest man Cao Kun was angry: You are wearing a military uniform, how can you bully others like this? Then I will also wear a military uniform! The twenty-year-old Cao Kun actually did what he said, and his business of selling cloth was also He threw it away and rushed into the Tianjin Military Academy. He passed the selection and became a cadet. An honest man gets angry just because he means what he says.
But for such an honest man who was usually fooled, wouldn't he be offended every day when he entered the Qing Dynasty military camp where the jungle was strong and the strong preyed on the weak? But Cao Kun, who has always been stupid, has gone against the grain since then: even if he repairs ships and settles accounts, he can learn from it. No, but he can shoot a gun and fight with a bayonet at a glance, and he ranks among the best in everything. He became the "Soldier King" that everyone admired among his comrades. Of course, his "stupid" temper did not change. He was often pushed out to shoulder the blame when things happened. He also received a lot of beatings and scoldings from his superiors, but he also embarrassed himself in front of his superiors. He was familiar with it, survived several brutal eliminations, and finally graduated with honors and served as a sentry officer in the Yi Army.
Since then, the fortune of the honest man Cao Kun has been improving. Four years after graduation, he was sent to Korea to participate in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894. On the battlefield under heavy artillery fire, he was the one who faced the Japanese. He fought hard with his bayonet, and after killing several Japanese soldiers, he was still able to come back with all his tail. He was then selected into the new army at the small station by the important minister Yuan Shikai of Beiyang. After arriving in the new army, he was still out of breath, and he and Yuan Shikai Cao Kezhong, his uncle and grandfather, became a relative and was readily adopted as his grandson by General Cao. Now he and Yuan Shikai became real relatives. At the age of forty-five, he became the commander of the third town of the Beiyang Army, becoming a heavyweight in the military circles of the late Qing Dynasty.
▲Cao Kun
With such a rapid rise to fame, people often complain that "Cao San Idiot" has a good destiny, but he accidentally bumped into him and was spotted by the superior. But if you take a closer look, you will know that this is really not a lucky break: in the late Qing Dynasty, the war was chaotic, and good soldiers were the capital. An honest and good-looking soldier with excellent military qualities like Cao Kun would be used as a treasure by any commander with a vision, let alone an outstanding vision. The hero Yuan Shikai? Even if he can't hit him with eight poles, he still has to treat him like a relative.
In this sense, in all walks of life, as long as you find the right direction and work hard, even if you are poor and stupid like Cao Kun, a major breakthrough in life is just around the corner.
3. The Great Beiyang Warlord
Of course, based on Cao Kun’s abilities, he is a master at charging into battle. As a commander in charge of tens of thousands of elites, he is required to coordinate the layout of a decisive victory thousands of miles away. ?This joke is actually a bit big. But in such a stressful position, Cao Kun did it very well: You think I can't lead the troops? Then I can find someone who understands to help me lead the troops.
What Cao Kun was most proud of in his life was exactly this: employing people. Even though his strategic command level is second-rate, he has always had a good eye for judging people. Regardless of his military rank, he will never look away from his subordinates who have had military experience. For example, Wu Peifu, another tycoon of the Zhili clique warlords, was a battalion commander under Cao Kun in his early years, and was dismissed for making mistakes. But after Cao Kun saw it and talked about it, he was immediately as excited as if he had found a treasure, and decisively promoted him to a higher position. This is how Wu Peifu, who later killed everyone, was born.
▲Wu Peifu
And even if Wu Peifu’s aloof character offends others, he never blames him. One time, Cao Kun's younger brother came to accuse Wu Peifu of being unreasonable and made the story even more jealous. Cao Kun, an honest man, got angry again. He grabbed his younger brother's ear and cursed him: If you dare to spread rumors about Wu Peifu again, I won't admit it. This brother of yours, I will publish it in the newspaper and sever ties with you.
With such a strategy, even an aloof and arrogant person like Wu Peifu would of course be grateful and convinced. With the support of such a dedicated team and elite soldiers, "Cao San Fool" finally stood out in the historical changes of the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China: after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, he first became the commander of the third division under President Yuan Shikai, Yuan Shikai and Feng Guozhang After the two great Beiyang strongmen died of illness, he rose to the top. As a leader of the Zhili warlords, with the explosive combat power of his beloved general Wu Peifu, he successively won the Zhili-Anhui War and the First Zhili-Fengtian War. By June 1923 , Cao Kun has already controlled the Beiyang government, and is only one step away from the tempting throne of the president.
But at this critical moment in his life, he became confused.
4. The ridiculous idea of ??being president
Since joining the army at the age of 20, Cao Kun’s struggle experience is very simple: let go of people and do things honestly. But on the issue of how to become the president, he made a big mistake and actually used a cheap shortcut trick: isn't it just members of Congress who elect the president? If I give them money and ask them to elect me, won't that be the end of it?
▲The scene of the Congress meeting in the early Republic of China
With this slap on the head, a ridiculous farce in the history of Beiyang warlords was staged: a large number of Cao Kun's soldiers who looked like wolves and tigers surrounded the Congress, bayonets In addition to threats from Dayang, all the disobedient members of Congress were put under house arrest, and many people were so tortured that their eyesight turned dazzled. After a lot of coercion and inducement, he was finally "elected" as president as he wished, and thus earned another nickname since "Cao San Idiot": President Pig.
But compared to "Cao San Idiot", the influence of "President Pig" is even worse. The whole process of bribery to elect the president was amplified and publicized by major newspapers across the country, making it notorious in the streets. In addition, Cao Kun was an expert at leading troops, but his experience as president was severely lacking. Within a year of taking office, the situation was in chaos, and the monolithic Zhili warlords under his command were also rebels. By the time of the second Zhili-Fengtian War in 1924, he was defeated without any suspense. He was ousted from the presidential throne and retired to seclusion sadly. After only one year of presidential addiction, the turbulent era of this Northern hero came to an end.
▲Cao Kun Commemorative Coin (Issued in 1923)
After getting out of class in embarrassment with the reputation of "Pig President", Cao Kun, who became an ordinary citizen, also had misfortunes at first. After working hard for most of his life, his family fortune was stolen by some cronies under clever pretexts, and he even fell seriously ill at one point. It was not until 1927 that he and his younger wife, Mrs. Liu, lived together in their apartment in the British Concession, and things gradually eased. At first, in the summer, I would often ask my family to cook some bean soup and porridge and deliver it to the coolies pulling foreign carts on the street next door. Later, I simply opened the courtyard door and invited the poor neighbors to my home to eat melon and chat. Whenever there was such joy and laughter, Cao Kun would also shake his cattail leaf fan, sit on a long bench and let the villagers spit: When my brother was the president...
If it hadn't been for many years later, That war will be such a tender old age for this Beiyang political strongman.
5. Vow not to be a traitor
But the brutal fourteen-year war of resistance finally came. The three eastern provinces fell, Peking and Tianjin fell, and the Japanese army stepped on the doorstep of Cao Kun's house. , the traitors came to the door in turn, nodding and bowing, asking Cao Kun to come out to work for the Japanese, but Cao Kun was beaten, scolded and kicked out every time. A solemn oath was made to the Japanese invading army: Even if I drink porridge every day, I will never be a traitor, you can do it!
But Cao Kun, who has had enough of scolding, is still worried after all. The fate of the country was finally in bed. In April 1938, the critically ill Cao Kun finally read the news of the Chinese army's victory at Taierzhuang in the newspaper. He stood up from the bed excitedly and blurted out a bold statement: " I don't believe that we can't defeat little Japan!" A month later, this modern hero passed away. He passed away safely at home with the belief that China would win this war.
▲Cao Kun’s calligraphy
His death also became a painful event that the whole country mourned in 1938, the extremely difficult year of the Anti-Japanese War. His old subordinate Wu Peifu sent a message of condolences, The Nationalist Government, which was engaged in a bloody war of resistance, also solemnly commended him for the integrity he witnessed with his life, and posthumously recognized him as a first-class general of the army. The once disgraced "Pig President" and the legendary "Cao San Fool" finally used his unyielding character in his later years to become a fierce banner that inspired countless people's determination to fight during the Anti-Japanese War.