Chiang Kai-shek was primarily responsible for provoking the Chinese Civil War. Around him, there are many people who share his interests, give him advice and charge into battle. Among the senior leaders of the Kuomintang, names such as Kong Xiangxi and Bai Chongxi are the most well-known.
However, in addition to these trusted cronies of Chiang Kai-shek, there were some people within the Kuomintang who played other important roles, but were never able to truly gain Chiang Kai-shek's favor and enter the center of power.
One of the representatives is Xue Yue. Xue Yue rose to prominence at a young age, but was unable to advance under Chiang Kai-shek. In the face of this situation, even though Xue Yue lived to be 103 years old after fleeing to Taiwan, he was still depressed.
Xue Yue is known as the "God of War", and his outstanding performance in the Anti-Japanese War is the key. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, due to the previous achievements in encircling and suppressing the Red Army, Xue Yue was entrusted by Chiang Kai-shek with the important task of serving as the commander-in-chief of the 19th Group Army.
He immediately went to Nanjing from the southwest region and commanded his troops to participate in the Battle of Songhu. Each battle was a good opportunity for Xue Yue to accumulate military merits, and although he was not alone in the final defeat at the Battle of Songhu, after the loss of Shanghai and Nanjing, he was sent to Henan and Jiangxi to fight, and almost never lost.
In Jiangxi, Xue Yue cooperated with his army tacitly and successfully annihilated more than 10,000 Japanese troops at Wanjialing, achieving a great victory in Wanjialing.
In the early days of the war, this victory was crucial. Therefore, Ye Ting praised and said: "Wanjialing's victory, like a life-saving straw, saved the danger of Hongdu, ensured the safety of Jianghan, and Pingxingguan and Taierzhuang, and its reputation should be passed on forever!" ”
However, although the victory at Wanjialing did improve Xue Yue's status within the Kuomintang, it was his victories in the three battles that defended Changsha that really earned him the name of "God of War" and soared to the sky.
From 1939 to 1942, Xue Yue served as commander of the Ninth Theater and chairman of Hunan Province, and the Changsha region where the Japanese army most wanted to occupy the area.
If Changsha is occupied by the Japanese, then Guangzhou and Hong Kong will also be in danger. Although Chiang Kai-shek and Bai Chongxi wanted to retain their military strength and give up Changsha directly, Xue Yue was unwilling to leave his territory, whether out of the righteousness of his family and country or his personal interests, and he vowed to live and die with Hunan.
In September 1939, the Japanese army attacked Changsha for the first time, and Xue Yue successfully defeated Okamura Ningci's attack with flexible tactics and let the Japanese army ** more than 40,000 people.
Chiang Kai-shek expressed his encouragement for this. In September 1941, when the Japanese army attacked Changsha again, Xue Yue learned from the experience of the previous time, and this time he no longer used the tactics of breaking through one by one, but chose to retreat as advance.
In the face of a more demoralized enemy, Xue Yue successfully applied his combat principles and inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese army.
Xue Yue, a famous anti-Japanese general, skillfully used the "Heavenly Furnace Tactics" in the frontal battlefield, using a small force to lure the Japanese army deep into the hinterland of Hunan Province, making them think that they had successfully occupied Changsha, so as to implement a counter-encirclement, and the Japanese army without follow-up material and force support was instantly defeated.
In this Battle of Changsha, more than 40,000 enemy troops were annihilated. In the last Battle of Changsha, Xue Yue's "Heavenly Furnace Tactics" shined even more, becoming a major milestone in his anti-Japanese career.
After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, they were even more eager to open up the Guangdong-Hanzhou Railway, so Anan made a comeback and launched a third offensive against Changsha.
From one blow to three exhaustions, Changsha has experienced three invasions by foreign enemies. At this time, Xue Yue was well aware of this, and he understood that as long as he held the last attack, he would be able to get closer to glory and wealth.
So, at the officers' meeting of the Ninth Theater of Operations, he put forward a strategy called the "Heavenly Furnace Tactics", emphasizing the need to build a network position, thwart the enemy's morale with a small number of defenders, and finally annihilate the enemy in one fell swoop with the main army.
This method of warfare was later verified in the Third Battle of Changsha, where Xue Yue led his men to successfully annihilate more than 50,000 enemies. In the three battles of Changsha, Xue Yue's outstanding performance made him known as the "God of War", and even Chiang Kai-shek personally awarded him the Order of the Blue Sky and the White Sun, and the United States ** Truman also awarded him the Medal of Freedom.
Although after the Battle of Changsha, Xue Yue seemed to have gained Chiang Kai-shek's trust and further expanded his power, in fact, due to his early background and experience, it was always difficult for him to truly become Chiang Kai-shek's confidant.
This may also be the reason why he had suffered setbacks in his career before he left for Taiwan, including a change of generals and a rout in Hainan. The reason why Xue Yue was difficult to become Chiang Kai-shek's cronies may have been because they had some discord in their early years.
Born into a peasant family, he joined the revolution out of respect for Dr. Sun Yat-sen. During the Northern Expedition, his personal strength was widely recognized, as a result of which he received the leadership of the 1st Division Army.
Xue Yue was ostracized in the later stages of the Northern Expedition because he disagreed with Chiang Kai-shek's ideas, and in a fit of anger he chose to resign and go south. In 1928, Xue Yue tried unsuccessfully to defect to Zhang Fakui, and he was forced to defect to Chiang Kai-shek with his colleague Miao Peinan.
Although he was troubled by the factional struggles within the Kuomintang, after entering the Kuomintang, Xue Yue did get the opportunity to show himself. In October 1933, Xue Yue returned to the mainland from Hong Kong, he was never able to adapt to a comfortable life, but hoped to win glory and wealth for himself through the struggle on the battlefield.
At that time, Chiang Kai-shek was engaged in the fourth operation to "encircle and suppress" the Red Army, but after one failure, he decided to let Xue Yue try. Core idea: Xue Yue was ostracized because he disagreed with Chiang Kai-shek's ideas, but after entering the Kuomintang, Xue Yue did get the opportunity to show himself.
Xue Yue resolutely opposed this proposal, and after becoming the commander of the Fifth Army, he led the army to pose a direct threat to Ruijin. It can be said that if it were not for Xue Yue, the road of the Chinese revolution might have been smoother.
He played an important role in the Red Army's fifth "anti-encirclement and suppression" campaign and was a major factor in the setback of the Chinese revolution. Although Xue Yue paid a lot for Chiang Kai-shek in the early stage of participating in the "encirclement and suppression" of the Red Army and guarding the safety of Changsha three times, Chiang Kai-shek always had doubts about him, because he was not Chiang Kai-shek's descendant.
This determines that it is difficult for Xue Yue to succeed in his career. However, in May 1946, Chiang Kai-shek appointed Xue Yue as the director of the Kuomintang "Appeasement Office" in Xuzhou to prepare for an attack on the liberated areas of southern Lunan after the agreement was torn up.
However, justice will eventually prevail, and the army led by Xue Yue is not a righteous army, so it is naturally difficult to achieve victory in the land of Qilu.
During his six-month tenure as director of the "Appeasement Office," Xue Yue fought constant battles with the Central China Field Army, the East China Field Army, and the Shandong Field Army, including the Central China Field Army and Li Yu, but was repeatedly defeated and was criticized by the Kuomintang.
Xue Yue's defeat made Chiang Kai-shek suspicious, so after the failure of the all-out offensive plan of the "Appeasement Office" in Xuzhou, he was transferred to the new command headed by Gu Zhutong, removed from his original position, and made him the chief of staff of the National ** Military Division.
In February 1949, Xue Yue went to Guangzhou to serve as chairman of the Guangdong Provincial Government, and was instructed to win over people from all walks of life in Guangdong Province in an attempt to prevent the Communist Party from moving south. However, after the successful liberation of Guangzhou eight months later, Xue Yue fled to Hainan in a vain attempt to establish the "Boling Line".
Although the "Boling Defense Line" seems to be strong, the people's desire is not something that Xue Yue's force can stop. In April 1950, the Fourth Field Army of the People's Liberation Army crossed the Qiongzhou Strait and announced the liberation of Hainan Island.
As a defeated general, Xue Yue fled to Taiwan and failed to be reused by Chiang Kai-shek.
Xue Yue had a long-term relationship with Chiang Kai-shek and was well aware of his cronyism and arbitrariness. Even if the defeat on Hainan Island was not his fault, Chiang Kai-shek would certainly have made him pay the price.
Therefore, after Xue Yue handed over his army to the Ministry of National Defense for reorganization, he left Taipei. He has lost all his power, and can only hang a false name in the ** mansion, if he does not want to continue to be held accountable by Chiang Kai-shek in the future, he must further leave the center of power and reduce his sense of existence.
Xue Yue's idea was correct. Although he lived in seclusion in Chiayi's Zhuqi Township, he still suffered a catastrophe in 1951 and was searched by the Taiwan Garrison Command.
If Xue Yue hadn't pulled out wisely and persevered, then he might have suffered a sudden accident like Bai Chongxi. In the turmoil of 1951, Xue Yue worked hard to get through it safely.
Afterwards, he said to his nephew in disappointment that Mr. Sun's world is a circle that is constantly expanding outward, while Mr. Jiang's world is a circle that is constantly converging inward.
This shows that Xue Yue believed that Chiang Kai-shek's defeat was mainly due to his too close trust. Interestingly, although Xue Yue spent most of his later years in the countryside, he still had various positions, most of which were won for him by Chen Cheng and Song Meiling.
Xue Yue's original wife Fang Shaowen and Chiang Kai-shek's wife Song Meiling are sisters, so after Song Meiling came to Taiwan, she would still help Xue Yue and keep him influential in the party.
Chen Cheng and Chiang Kai-shek, two friends, took care of each other, although Chiang Kai-shek wanted to turn a blind eye to Xue Yue, but for the sake of his friend's request and face, he had to let Xue Yue hold some insignificant positions.
With the help of Chen Cheng, although Xue Yue could not hold an important position on the surface, he could have close contacts with Chiang Ching-kuo in private. In the years when Chiang Ching-kuo's power was at its peak, Xue Yue frequently appeared in and out of the National Assembly and the ** Review Committee as a veteran.
Now, Chiang Kai-shek, Chen Cheng, Bai Chongxi and others have passed away, and Xue Yue ushered in the glorious moment of his old age after a period of obscurity.
Although this good time was fleeting, after Chiang Ching-kuo, ** took control of Taiwanese politics, and as a representative of "** forces, he has always been hostile to Kuomintang veterans like Xue Yue."
In 1989, Xue Yue delivered a speech at the opening ceremony of the 36th plenary meeting of the "Liberation Society", but the meeting was interrupted by eight deputies to the National Congress led by Wu Zhelang, causing chaos.
Xue Yue, who is 93 years old, is deeply angry about this, but he is helpless. With the emergence of *** forces led by ***, the older generation of Xue Yue has fallen into the predicament of having no place to stand.
Because of offending ***, even at the age of 95, Xue Yue still has to run around for the rent issue. In 1991, the "Design Committee for the Liberation of the Mainland" was abolished, and Xue Yue lost his funds**, so he could only negotiate with the Bank of Taiwan in person and refused to pay high rents.
In 1996, Xue Yue's health deteriorated, and he was reluctantly admitted to the first ward of the Tri-Service General Hospital. On May 3, 1998, he died at the age of 103 due to pneumonia infection and other complications.
On his deathbed, the former heroic soldier made an eight-word assessment of Chiang Kai-shek. In his opinion, if it were not for Chiang Kai-shek's cronyism and too much trust in his descendants, he would not have ended up in a bleak situation in his later years.
The eight words that Xue Yue said on his deathbed are shocking, and these eight words are the most accurate description of Chiang Kai-shek's character. It is true that although the Kuomintang led by Chiang Kai-shek had an advantage over the Communist Party in terms of equipment and material aid, it was precisely because Chiang Kai-shek, as the leader, was too partial to his cronies that led to a miasma in the party and finally failed.
Xue Yue rose to prominence militarily with his unique "Heavenly Furnace Tactics", but in his later years, he ended up in a situation where he had no battle to fight, all of which stemmed from the deviation of his thinking and went astray.
It is better to use minions than talents! This was not only his accusation against Chiang Kai-shek, but also his deep remorse for his life.