Fading Gunsmoke - A First-Hand Account by Fang Jing, a Former Senior General of the Kuomintang

Author: Fang Zhijin / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: In September of that year, surrounded by Xu Chongzhi, Chiang Kai-shek, citing the assassination of as a reason, sent the Whampoa student army to surround Xu Chongzhi's residence in Dongshan, Guangzhou, the headquarters of the Guangdong Army. That afternoon, while the machine gun company commander was returning to the company from the headquarters, he handed Fang Jing a bundle of red armbands and instructed him to lead the second company to act at night. The task was to block the main gate of Xu Chongzhi's residence. Fang Jing had no connection with Xu Chongzhi, but he was a very sentimental person. He had been in the Guangdong Army for four or five years, and Xu Chongzhi had always been his respected superior commander. Now, without knowing what crime he had committed, he was forced to take up arms against the commander. He felt it was unbearable. However, "a soldier's duty is to obey orders," so he had no choice but to carry out the order. He sent someone to Xu's residence and quietly called out the commander of Xu's guard company, warning him, "Now the Whampoa student army has surrounded the residence, and I have been ordered to block the exit with machine guns. It seems the situation is hopeless! Tonight, you must not act rashly, or we will be forced to open fire, and stray bullets may injure the commander." The guard commander, seeing the unfavorable situation, had no choice but to agree to stand down. That night, after the encirclement was formed, Xu Chongzhi realized it and called Chiang Kai-shek to demand an explanation. Chiang refused to answer the phone, only having his staff. Xu Chongzhi realized he could not escape his downfall and stopped pleading with Chiang. He then ordered the gates to be opened and sat in the living room, smoking a large pipe with a sense of resignation. Fang Jing had been watching from outside the gates the whole time. He thought Xu Chongzhi remained calm in the face of danger, maintaining the demeanor of a great general; refusing unnecessary resistance, he was also considered shrewd. Since that was the case, a bloody clash would not occur, and he breathed a sigh of relief in secret. Later, Chiang Kai-shek sent the to arrest eight of Xu Chongzhi's trusted aides: Liang Hongkai, Zhang Guozheng, Yang Mailong, and Liang Shifeng. On September 20, Chiang Kai-shek sent a letter in person to Xu Chongzhi, saying that Xu was indecisive and unable to lead his troops, obstructing the reorganization of the army, and demanding that Xu go to Shanghai for "rest" for a period of time. Xu Chongzhi had been under house arrest for several days and was mentally prepared, so he left Guangzhou with Chen Mingshu, who was sent by Chiang Kai-shek to guard him, without hesitation. The eight trusted aides of Xu Chongzhi who were arrested were treated differently by Chiang Kai-shek: five were ordered to "raise funds to atone for their crimes," while Zhang Guozheng, who had once competed with Chiang Kai-shek for the position of army commander in the Guangdong Army, was executed along with Liang Shifeng and Yang Mailong. After the incident, people discussed it, thinking that Xu Chongzhi had followed the Great Marshal Sun for many years and had made great efforts in battles south and north. Chiang Kai-shek forcing him to resign with force was perhaps too much; and asking those arrested to "raise funds to atone for their crimes" was almost the same as kidnapping for ransom. P9-10