After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, China entered a complex situation of warlord chaos. For example, direct warlords, Anhui warlords, Fengzhi warlords, Gui warlords, etc., in the 30s, there were Jin Sui Army Group, Northeast Army Group, Northwest Army Group, Qian Army Group and so on. However, an important question has always emerged: In the stage of warlord melee, why did Not Henan Province, as a province with a large population and a large grain province, not have a relatively large warlord group? Today, we're going to talk about this complex issue.
In the later period of the Qing Dynasty's rule, it encountered a series of aggressions by Western powers, such as the Opium War, the Sino-Japanese War, and so on. The rule of the Qing Dynasty began to falter, especially after entering the 20th century, the situation of the Qing Dynasty was already precarious in the face of constant uprisings and riots everywhere. Under such circumstances, in order to consolidate his rule, the Qing established the Beiyang New Army and the Nanyang New Army. Subsequently, new armies were ordered to be formed in each province. Note that after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the new armies in various places became the capital of the warlords. In 1912, the Qing Dynasty, which had ruled for more than 200 years, collapsed.
Subsequently, the Beiyang warlord regime came to power. However, due to the superposition of various factors, warlord groups of all sizes have emerged throughout the country. Among them, the Warlords of the Feng clan, the warlords of the direct lineage, and the warlords of the Anhui clan belong to the relatively strong warlord groups. In the southern region, there are also Cantonese warlords, Gui warlords, Qian warlords and so on. In Shaanxi Province, Shaanxi Province, Shandong Province and other provinces, relatively large warlords have emerged. As a province with a large population and a large grain province in the country, why has there never been a powerful warlord group in Henan Province? In fact, the Central Plains has suffered a series of tribulations in modern history. Due to this series of problems, Henan Province simply does not have the ability to support a large number of troops, and naturally there will be no powerful warlord groups.
First of all, we need to talk about the basic fact that a warlord has an army depends on the size of the territory he controls, the number of people he has, and his own economic strength. If you have a small territory and a small population, and you insist on feeding a large number of troops, it will not take too long for your own economy to collapse. Therefore, key factors such as economic conditions and population size determine how many armies warlords have. The number of armies in the army can determine the strength and status of the warlord.
For example, the Warlords of the Feng clan, the warlords of the direct lineage, and the warlords of the Anhui clan, all of which have more than 300,000 troops and control a large territory. When these warlords talk and laugh, the kind of small and medium-sized warlords naturally do not even have the qualifications to speak. Henan Province belongs to the province with a large population, and since ancient history, Henan Province, Shandong Province, Sichuan Province and other provinces have belonged to the province with large population. Logically speaking, relying on Henan Province as the foundation, a large number of troops can be formed. However, this is not the case. Because Henan Province in modern history has no such economic strength at all. Since the late reign of the Qing Dynasty, Henan Province has suffered from serious disasters such as locust plagues and droughts. The most serious is the flood, when the Yellow River flows through the territory of Henan Province, it often breaks and diverts, causing great economic losses.
For example, the great diversion of the Yellow River during the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty directly affected the economic development of Henan, Shandong and other provinces. Relying on the economic conditions of Henan Province at that time, it was simply unable to feed a large number of troops. In the 1920s, a warlord who occupied the Henan region formed more than 100,000 troops in order to compete with the surrounding warlords for hegemony. At that time, the annual fiscal revenue of Henan Province was about 20 million yuan. It costs 17 million yuan to feed more than 100,000 troops every year.
In other words, in order to feed these armies, almost all other expenditures were gone. As a result, by the third year, the warlord could not hold out, and disarmed more than 30,000 people in one go. In addition to the limited economic strength, there is another important reason, that is, it is difficult to defend. Most of Henan Province is plain, and there is no danger in the plain area. Once at war with the surrounding warlords, almost every city needed to garrison troops, but the warlords did not have as many troops at all. Therefore, the warlords who occupy Henan Province are not too strong to confront those big warlords at all. Among the warlords in Henan Province, the Zhensong Army, which was occupying the western Henan region, was a relatively powerful force, but it was obviously inferior to the surrounding warlord clique.
In addition, there is another reason for the warlords to be very troubled, that is, the problem of banditry in Henan Province. In the 1920s and 1930s, a large number of bandits appeared in the western Henan and southern Henan regions, and some bandits even reached several thousand people, and even the local officials and troops were unable to encircle and suppress them. Of course, these bandits will not provoke the warlords, but the warlords will not take the initiative to suppress the bandits. Because for warlords who are mercenary and preserve their strength, there is no benefit in encircling and suppressing bandits. The banditry was so severe that the people were getting poorer and poorer and simply unable to feed more troops, which was a vicious circle.
Therefore, in the stage of warlord melee, the warlords occupying the Henan region are basically medium-sized warlords. Adopting the model of alliance with the great warlords, they are unable to confront the great warlords themselves. Of course, in the late 1920s, the Zhensong army was once strong, developed to the west, and besieged Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi Province, but in the end it was defeated. In modern history, the people of Henan have suffered a series of disasters such as floods, locust plagues, droughts, military disasters, and bandit disasters, and their lives are very difficult. For example, the 1938 Yellow River breach and the 1942 Central Plains drought caused great damage to the economy. Because there is no peaceful and stable environment, Henan has been unable to recuperate, develop the economy, and restore people's livelihood.
In the 1930s and 1940s, that is, during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Henan Province became the main battlefield of repeated tug-of-war between the two sides, and the economy was further damaged. At that time, some counties had such a record: "The people have land that cannot be cultivated, cannot work, and the losses are so wide that they are appalling, and they cry hunger and cold, and the sound of sound is vibrating the heavens and the earth." In the blink of an eye, in 1949, when the northern region had been completely liberated and New China was founded. In view of the many problems facing Henan Province, China has begun a multi-faceted attack method.
In view of the disrepair of water conservancy facilities in Henan Province, the work of harnessing the Yellow River and the Huai River began. In the north and south of Henan Province, a large number of bandits were still entrenched, and at that time, China dispatched field troops from various places to surround and suppress these bandit gangs. A fourth grandfather in the author's hometown used to be a master of driving a carriage. While passing through Xinyang, Henan, he witnessed the field army pursuing the bandits. After controlling the floods and encircling and suppressing bandits, the situation in Henan Province gradually stabilized and the work of developing the economy and resuming production began. Henan Province has a large population and arable land, which requires a peaceful environment for development. Later facts proved that the economic development of Henan Province was very fast.