Li Hongzhang was a disciple of Zeng Guofan. Later, he left the Xiang clan to fly alone, founded the Huai Army, and served as the governor of the direct subordinate and the minister of Beiyang for more than 20 years, and both the Qing court and the officialdom regarded him as the leader of the Huai clan. In the Huai Army, there are many legends about the strange temper of Lord Li of Zhongtang, and it is said that if anyone is fortunate enough to be scolded by Li Zhongtang, it is equivalent to receiving a letter of appointment for promotion and wealth, so his subordinates often take it as a pleasure in life to be scolded by Lord Zhongtang. If he's polite to someone, things don't go well.
Li Hongzhang was proud of his achievements and entered the army in the 27th year of Daoguang (1847) and hanlin in the 30th year of Daoguang (1850). By the 1870s, he was not only the governor of the direct subordination and the minister of Beiyang, but also a scholar of the Mandarin Temple, a high-ranking and powerful first assistant of the dynasty, and a real and important minister. In the minds of the Anhui Township Party, especially the younger generations, Li Zhongtang is the predecessor of xiangzi, Hanyuan Weike (Gao Di), who gave birth to a child after the old man scolded, which seems to be contrary to etiquette. But he enjoyed it tirelessly, and took pleasure in it, reflecting from the side that there is a strict hierarchy within the Huai group. Judging from the discussion of private notes left by the people of the time, it is believed that Li Hongzhang's reuse of the villagers and the lack of distinction between good and bad are the main reasons for the rapid decline of the Huai system, which is also the place where Li Hongzhang is far inferior to Zeng Guofan.
Li Hongzhang served as the minister of Beiyang for a long time, but he did not cultivate the concept of Beiyang. In the minds of the people of the time, there is no difference between the Beiyang and Huai systems. However, yuan shikai became the minister of Beiyang only 6 or 7 years later, he cultivated and consolidated the concept of Beiyang and held high the beiyang banner. "Beiyang General", "Beiyang Army", "Beiyang Soldier", "Beiyang Industry", etc., the concept of "Beiyang" is as impressive as a commercial advertisement, and its influence is as familiar to everyone as mercury pouring down the ground. Most of the troops under Yuan Shikai's command came from provinces such as Zhili (present-day Hebei), Shandong, Henan, and Anhui, and the guests in the shogunate were not limited to Yuan's hometown of Henan, and their employment had long since jumped out of geographical limitations and had a "Beiyang-style" open mind.
Zheng Xiaoxu once commented: "Yuan Shikai does not learn to have skills." When Yuan Shikai was young, he had no intention of studying, and he did not even pass the examination for a show talent, and later he simply joined the army, but his superb power and scheming methods made those Confucian students who came from the right path of the imperial examination hopeless. He was generous and generous, spending money like flowing water, and bribing powerful figures such as Empress Dowager Cixi, King Yi of Qing, and the Grand Eunuch Li Lianying for his use. He married Jinlan with Zaizhen (son of Prince Yi of Qing), Xu Shichang, Feng Guozhang and other powerful figures, and became brothers. He recommended a large number of generals and guests of the Beiyang department, so that they could be promoted to the rank of knight, and even more so that they were grateful to them, and they were dead hearted and obedient to orders.
Yuan Shikai had a large number of wives and concubines, with more than 30 children, and he used the marriage of his children to form a family with the powerful and virtuous figures of the upper class at that time, such as Zhang Baixi, Zhou Fu, Wu Dayi, Zhang Renjun, Duan Fang, sun Baoqi, etc. In the official circles of the Qing Dynasty, marriage was a political opportunistic act. Within a hierarchical bureaucracy, door-to-door pairs can form a force, consolidate the position of officials, and become an emotional bond that maintains entangled factional groups. Yuan Shikai used a series of dazzling power tactics to form the Beiyang Clique with him as the core, climbed to the peak of the political arena at the end of the Qing Dynasty, and to a certain extent even became a manipulator who could influence the trend of the situation.
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