In the book "Oral Autobiography of Chiang Weiguo", Chiang Weiguo talked about the strategy of his father Chiang Kai-shek in his struggle against the enemy. He mentioned that his father's method was to "turn enemies into friends" rather than "surrender without a fight" as advocated in the Art of War.
The advantage of this method is that not only can the resistance be removed, but it can even be turned into a boost. Although there were some disappointing things later, overall, the situation was under control.
How to interpret Jiang Weiguo's words? Did Chiang Kai-shek really act that way? As a Chinese deeply influenced by traditional culture, Chiang Kai-shek knew the art of power schemes. It can be said that the key to his success and failure lies in his strategy.
Jiang Weiguo was born into a merchant family, and his mother was remarried, so he and his mother were often discriminated against and bullied, which also shaped his sensitive, irritable, and eager to succeed character.
As an adult, he spent many years in Shanghai and met people from all walks of life, from which he realized a truth: for an ordinary person with no background, if he wants to succeed, he must rely on the strength of others, with the help of big people, and even turn enemies into friends for his own use, instead of making enemies everywhere and directly confronting them.
It can be said that whether it is Jiang Weiguo's fighting career or other aspects, he acted according to this strategy, and whether it was success or failure, it was the result of this strategy.
Chiang Kai-shek had a unique penchant for settling with people. It is said that he has worshipped dozens of brothers in his life, including Li Zongren, Feng Yuxiang, Zhang Xueliang, Chen Qimei, Dai Jitao and other big names.
This way of "tying the knot with Jinlan" became an important means for Chiang Kai-shek to win the world. Chiang Kai-shek did not like direct confrontation with people, he preferred to solve problems with emotion or money.
If it can't be solved, he will use force. Jiang Weiguo once said: "I have followed my father for decades and found that his highest art is to turn enemies into friends, keep them safe, and use them when the time comes." ”
Chiang Kai-shek will not give up fighting for them because of whether the other party is a good person or a bad person, at least let them not **. Therefore, Chiang Kai-shek's ability to unify the world was largely due to his strategy of "vertical and horizontal".
As long as the warlords paid lip service to his leadership, he was willing to give them money and send people, and he did not interfere with their rule in the localities.
Jiang Weiguo recalled that his father often sent the two brothers to contact warlords in various places, and especially emphasized the need to keep a low profile, not to put on a show, and not to dictate. Their main task is to send money and gifts, as long as they satisfy the warlords, and the purpose is achieved.
Therefore, during the ** period, although the warlords everywhere had their own plans, on the surface they all obeyed Chiang Kai-shek and obeyed his orders. However, this reliance on emotion and money to win hearts and minds not only contributed to Chiang Kai-shek's success, but also became the source of his failure.
Because Chiang Kai-shek lacked a common program and goals, warlords everywhere would turn their backs on him when interests conflicted or the situation changed. This is also understandable, because there was only a relationship of interest between them and Chiang Kai-shek, not true loyalty.
Some people may say: Didn't Chiang Kai-shek always advocate the "Three People's Principles"? Isn't that the common platform? In fact, the "Three People's Principles" are just a cover used by Chiang Kai-shek to decorate the façade, and he doesn't believe it himself, so why should he let others believe it?
On the other hand, the Communist Party has a very clear goal of struggle and political program, and everyone is striving for this common goal, although there have also been negative figures such as Wang Ming and Zhang Guotao, but they have not left this common program, and most people's hearts have not changed, and once those negative characters are eliminated, everyone's cohesion will be stronger.
This would also explain why Chiang Kai-shek did not like a head-on confrontation, but kept suppressing and encircling the Communist Party. The reason is that the Communist Party has its own firm goals, and Chiang Kai-shek cannot win them over.
Chiang Kai-shek did not win over, and all kinds of methods were used, but they all failed, and in the end he could only use force, and even shouted the slogan of "If you want to fight outside, you must first settle inside", which is a slogan that defies the condemnation of the world, but the result is that he lost his wife and his soldiers, and he lost Qingqing's life.