In the late Qing Dynasty, the government's ability to govern gradually declined, making power gradually transition into the hands of the three major military groups. So, what are the three major military groups, and what kind of relationship exists between them? These three major military and political groups were: the Xiang Army represented by Zeng Guofan; the Huai Army represented by Li Hongzhang; and the Beiyang warlords represented by Yuan Shikai. A special relationship is formed between the three, that is, the chain relationship.
Next, the author will give you a detailed introduction to the relationship between these three major military and political groups.
To understand the relationship between the three of them, the first thing to know is the origin of these three major military groups.
First of all, let's talk about the Xiang Army, founded by Zeng Guofan, at the end of the second year of Xianfeng, the curtain was opened in the Hunan region by means of the head of the regimental training and training of troops. Two years later, in the spring of 1854, the Xiang Army went out for the first time, and it can be said that the Xiang Army at this time already had a preliminary form, but it was still not perfect in a specific aspect.
The Huai Army, headed by Li Hongzhang, was probably established during the Tongzhi period, because it was formed in a specific context, so in terms of development, it was much faster than the Xiang Army. In the first year of Tongzhi, Li Hongzhang rushed to Shanghai to serve as the inspector of Jiangsu, so that he not only had power but also an army in his hands, and at this point, the Huai Army was formally established.
Xu Zongliang, a famous minister of the late Qing Dynasty, once said: "Xiang and Huaiben are one family, and there is a friendship like water source wood. He intended to show that the time when the two were established was different, but the actual meaning was not much different, and it could be regarded as the same root.
Speaking of the Beiyang warlords represented by Yuan Shikai, they were founded relatively late, and only gradually stepped onto the political stage after the Sino-Japanese Naval Battle. Although the time of its establishment was very different, the Beiyang warlords had a great connection with the Xiang and Huai armies to a certain extent. The Huai Army came out of the Xiang Army, Yuan Shikai's uncle had worked under Li Hongzhang's curtain, and Yuan Shikai also benefited from Li Hongzhang's recommendation before he went to the court, so although the Beiyang warlords were established relatively late, there was a long period of overlap between the three.
These three major military and political groups were born in turn, interrelated in time and complementary in space, thus forming what we call today's "chain relationship."
Moreover, they have a common foundation, which refers to the background and their military-government operation model. These three major military political groups were all born under the specific military conditions of the Qing Dynasty, and after a long period of development, in the end, they also formed a relatively complete group force. Moreover, although these three major military political groups have formed a chain effect in time, there are also great differences between these three:
First, the contrast between the old and the new of the army is relatively large, and compared with the three, the Xiang Army focuses on old-fashioned weapons, while after the establishment of the Huai Army, the army's weapons have shown a certain degree of modernization. However, even so, they are still far inferior to the Beiyang warlords;
Second, the style and characteristics of their leaders are very different, zeng guofan tradition, Li Hongzhang faction, Yuan Shikai is a big old man, three different types of people, the army brought out is also different;
Of course, there are reasons for these differences.
These factors include both more objective realistic conditions and some more subjective human factors.
For example, in the background of their establishment, the establishment of the Xiang Army and the Huai Army is inseparable from the corruption of the Qing government's Green Camp Army and the Eight Banner Army, and they vigorously trained the army in order to replace the Eight Banners to defend the country. However, Yuan Shikai's purpose of training the army is very different from theirs, and his purpose lies in transformation and self-reliance. Although, in the end, he still followed the old path of the two armies, but the process was relatively new.
Moreover, the successive births of the three armies are equivalent to the incubation process of a modern warlord. Academics have different views on the emergence and eventual formation of modern warlords. However, most people believe that the Xiang Army is equivalent to the beginning of a modern warlord, the Huai Army is a process of transit and progress, and the gradual improvement of the Beiyang warlord marks the final formation of the modern warlord. The Xiang army laid the foundation, the Huai army added bricks and tiles, and the Beiyang warlords built tall buildings, which is a process of twisting and twisting, and it is also an explanation of the relationship between the three chains.
The establishment of the three major military political groups is approaching, and although it has gone through decades, they have also been unbroken one after another. Although the backgrounds of the three are somewhat different to a certain extent, they have a common development basis for the most basic elements. The contrast between the old and the new is extremely different, the group structure is very different, and the style of the leader is also unique. Relatively speaking, the specificity is also step-by-step, and all three have made a new pattern in the development, and have also achieved a relatively perfect Beiyang warlord.
Some scholars have shown that the reasons for the differences in the three major military political groups are also reflected in the impact of changes in the pattern of political power in the DPRK.
From the time Zeng Guofan presided over the Xiang Army, the Qing government's political structure changed from "heavy on the inside and light on the outside" to "heavy on the outside and light on the inside". It was not until Yuan Shikai formed and commanded the Beiyang warlords that this new political model became more and more important. Until Yuan Shikai single-handedly forced the last emperor Puyi to take the throne and pushed himself to the high position of the president.
During this period, the reason why Yuan Shikai dared to do such a rebellious thing was that he had already seen the reality clearly and understood that current affairs at that time could only be controlled by him alone.
Resources:
["Xiang Junzhi", "Ten Invincible Legions in Chinese History", "The Similarities and Differences of the Xiang Army and huaijun", "The Rise and Fall of the Beiyang Warlords"]