Liu Wenhui

Liu Wenhui (simplified Chinese: 刘文辉; traditional Chinese: 劉文輝; pinyin: Liú Wénhuī; born 1895 in Dayi County, Sichuan) is a former KMT general, governor of Sichuan Province and current leader of the NRA 24th Army in Xikang.

In Game Description

Born in 1895, Liu Wenhui is a military man through and through, graduating from Baoding Military Academy in 1916. Returning to Sichuan from Baoding, Liu Wenhui originally joined Liu Cunroi's Sichuan clique, but later joined the Kuomintang in 1926. Quickly rising the ranks of the National Revolutionary Army, Liu was promoted to Commander of the NRA's 24th Army, and appointed governor of the entirety of Sichuan Province in 1929. Facing fierce competition from more than 5 other warlords, Sichuan Province was exceedingly unstable and a hotbed for conflict. Coalitions, counter coalitions, skirmishes and plotting defined his governorship of Sichuan as he struggled to maintain power. Eventually in 1934 he lost power to his nephew, Liu Xiang, and was kicked out of Sichuan and declared Governor of Xikang province instead. Liu's relationship with Chiang Kai-shek, much like the province of Sichuan itself, was unstable. Far away from the central government, Liu was able to repeatedly deny orders from Chiang.

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Liu Wenhui was cautious and made sure his troops saw as little action as possible. When the Japanese arrived in Sichuan during their Go-Go offensive, Liu Wenhui, as the strongest remaining contender in Sichuan, rallied his men and retreated far into Xikang, setting up camp in the small city of Ya'an. Liu refused to surrender to Japanese, and the Japanese, seeing no importance in the small mountain province, decided not to follow him.

Now more than a decade after Japan's offensive into Sichuan, Liu Wenhui sits isolated as one of the only remaining free warlords in China. His native homeland of Sichuan lies across the border, and while it may be under the direct control of the central government, Sichuan has once again been plunged into instability with many factions and partisans battling it out for control. While Liu himself would like to see a free China, he faces resistance from many of his subordinates who claim facing Japan would be suicide. It would truly take a miracle for Liu Wenhui to take up arms once more...

Biography

Liu Wenhui was born in 1895 in Dayi County, Sichuan, and studied at the Baoding Military Academy, graduating in 1916. After his graduation, Liu Wenhui returned to Sichuan and served as a staff officer under warlord Liu Cunhou of the Sichuan Army. In November 1926, he joined the Kuomintang and was appointed as the commander of the 24th Army of the National Revolutionary Army.

Liu was then made Governor of Sichuan in 1929, but his relationship with Chiang Kai-shek was unstable, as was the province he governed. Sichuan was in the hands of Liu and four other warlords: Liu Xiang, Yang Sen, Deng Xihou, and Tian Songyao. No one warlord had enough power to take on all the others at once, so many small battles occurred, pitting one warlord against another. Large conflicts seldom developed, plotting and skirmishing characterized the Sichuanese political scene, and ephemeral coalitions and counter coalitions emerged and vanished with equal rapidity.

In May 1930 however, his province was invaded by the army of Tibet. With the province locked in internal struggles, no reinforcements were sent to support the Sichuan troops stationed in Xikang. As a result, the Tibetan army captured, without encountering much resistance, Garze and Xinlong (Zhanhua). When a negotiated ceasefire failed, Tibet expanded the war attempting to capture parts of southern Qinghai province. In March 1932, their force invaded Qinghai but was defeated. That same year, Liu, in cooperation with the Ma Clique in Qinghai, sent out a brigade to attack the Tibetan troops in Garze and Xinlong, eventually re-occupying them, and all territories east of the Jinsha River.

In 1932, during the Sino-Tibetan War, Liu drove the Tibetans back to the Yangtze River and even threatened to attack Chamdo. It was during this time however, that Liu Wenhui had a rivalry with his nephew, General Liu Xiang. Finally Liu was ousted from Chengdu by Liu Xiang in 1935, when Liu Xiang sided with smaller warlords against Liu. A family-brokered peace was arranged, and Liu was given control of the neighbouring Xikang province.

During the fight with Communist forces while the Long March was in process, Chiang Kai-shek repeatedly ordered Liu to bring his troops against the Communists, but Liu made excuses, while secretly allowing safe passage for the Chinese Red Army under a non-aggression pact. Thus, the engagements around Xiakou Village in 1934 did not involve Liu's 24th Army, but the 21st Army of KMT troops garrisoned just across the Sichuan border in Mingshan.

In 1936, Liu Wenhui's ties with Chiang soured even further due to his independent policy, but Chiang was not powerful enough to do anything meaningful against him at the time. From 1939 on, Liu was Governor of Xikang, and tried to establish the infrastructure needed to support the remote province.

As the war ended for everyone in China, Liu retreated back into the mountains, with the Japanese refusing to follow. Now, he hopes to take up arms against the Japanese and avenge the Chinese defeat in the Second Sino-Japanese War, as much as his subordinates reject that notion.