I have written an article about the ten major warlords in Beiyang before, and everyone recognizes that the strongest warlord is Zhang Zuolin. So, do you know who the leader of the most traitorous Beiyang warlords is? If I say that the most traitorous is the Anhui warlord Duan Qirui, do you believe it? In the impression of some people, Duan Qirui has a good reputation, is the so-called "six noes" premier (no smoking, no drinking, no prostitution, no gambling, no greed, no occupation), once "three creation of republicans." Why should I say that Duan Qirui is a traitor?
For four years, from June 1916 to July 1920, Duan Qirui held the important position of premier for a long time and was the de facto controller of the Beiyang government. The Anhui sphere of influence included Shandong, Anhui, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Shaanxi, Fujian, Outer Mongolia, Henan, Gansu, Rehe and other regions. During his time in power, Duan Qirui and Japan were closely linked. Japan provided Duan Qirui with a large number of loans, and Duan gave up a large number of national interests in exchange for Japanese support.
The Japanese government borrowed from the Duan Qirui Group
During Duan Qirui's reign, Japan provided huge loans to the Beiyang government. From October 1916 to September 1918 alone, during the Japanese cabinet of Terauchi, a loan of 380 million yen was provided to China.
Many people may think that it is good to get a loan. But in that era when the weak preyed on the strong, where did the great powers have the good intentions to support China's development? These borrowings are conditional and aimed at controlling and plundering China politically and economically. For Duan Qirui and others, they only have to borrow money and pay it back without worrying; what they are selling is the interests of the state, and they have their own benefits.
These loans became the military and political expenses of the Beiyang government, allowing the Anhui warlords to maintain their rule and expand their sphere of influence.
In order to obtain these loans, the Beiyang government mortgaged some minerals, forests and other resources in China to Japan. Japan could easily plunder China's iron ore, cotton, wool and other mineral resources. Japan gained the right to build railways in northeast China and Shandong, expanding and consolidating its sphere of influence. Japan demanded that the Bank of Communications of China issue the same paper money as the Japanese currency, in an attempt to realize the simultaneous circulation of Chinese and Japanese currencies and control China's finances and finances. Japan also demanded that troops be stationed in Qingdao and Jinan, and that China and Japan jointly establish the Jiaoji Railway. Duan Qirui Group agreed to these requirements.
Regarding the relationship between Japan and the Anhui warlords, Xu Shuzheng, the second-largest figure in the Anhui clan, said: "The power of our Northern Army (actually referring to the Anhui warlords) has weakened, and the interests of the Cabinet of the Japanese Temple are in common." The Japanese Minister to China, Hayashi Kuen-su, also believes that the crisis in Duan Qirui's cabinet is "also a very serious crisis from the perspective of the Empire." It can be seen that the degree of collusion between the Anhui warlords and Japan is very deep, and it is already a common destiny.
Xu Shuzheng
Nishihara, a Japanese who was in charge of borrowing from China, recalled: "Since the arrival of Yan, it has taken seventy days to form a bond for Japan-China economic cooperation and lay the foundation for permanent peace in East Asia. "Note that Japan's borrowing is not actually economic cooperation, but politically financing the Anhui warlords in the name of economic activities. As for the so-called east Asian peace, Chinese should know what is going on. Later, when it invaded China in an all-round way, didn't Japan also use the banner of "greater East Asia and common prosperity"?
When Japanese Prime Minister Masatoshi Terauchi stepped down, he said: "During my term of office, I borrowed money from China, three times the previous amount, and actually supported Japan's rights in China, not to mention ten times more than twenty-one." ”
Some people on the Internet actually think that Duan Qirui borrowed money from Japan because we took advantage. After reading what the Japanese say, do you still think so?
Of course, these loans, because they sold a large amount of national interests, were not recognized by the National Government and were therefore not repaid later. But are these the credits of Duan Qirui? He stepped down in 1920, and what happened next had nothing to do with him. The borrowed money was spent by Duan Qirui, and the national interests had been betrayed by him, and it was not too much to say that he was a traitor. The National Government is unwilling to pay off this debt as a wronged head, can this be counted as duan Qirui's credit? The Nationalist government was willing to continue to repay even the Qing Dynasty's Gengzi reparations, but it was unwilling to repay Duan Qirui's loans, which showed the harm these loans had done to China.
Sino-Japanese Military Agreement
During Duan Qirui's reign, the First World War broke out. Both Japan and China joined the Entoires and declared war on Germany. After the Revolution in Russia, Japan tried to sign further military agreements with China.
With regard to the purpose of the Sino-Japanese military agreement, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated: "According to the Sino-Japanese alliance, the Empire will gain the greatest benefit, that is, militarily, on the grounds of coordinated operations, it will be free to dispatch the Imperial army in the necessary areas of Chinese territory, and will, of course, participate in the formation and training of the Chinese army in the name of mutual support in the military; it is of particular importance to facilitate our control and mastery of the raw materials for arms manufacturing." Politically, on the basis of alliances, it actively participated in its internal affairs in order to facilitate the political power of the Empire in all aspects. Economically, in the name of alliance and cooperation, it developed its rich resources and strived to open up markets in order to facilitate the development of the imperial economy. ”
That is to say, Japan is trying to completely control China politically, militarily, and economically through the sino-Japanese military alliance.
Regarding Japan's alliance request, Duan Qirui said, "The Japanese Government has expressed its intention to cooperate with me on this issue, and I should also treat each other with enthusiasm and reach a satisfactory agreement with it." Duan Qirui said to Foreign Minister Lu Zhengxiang: "This issue is urgent and cannot be delayed for a moment, this matter is under the exclusive responsibility of the Chief Foreign Minister, and I hope that Your Excellency will preside over its affairs quickly and earnestly hope to do everything possible to promote its success." ”
At that time, The Great President Feng Guozhang hoped that military cooperation between China and Japan would be limited to China's borders, and that the military defense within China would be undertaken by the Chinese army. But this clearly does not meet Japan's requirements. At that time, the Anhui warlords were powerful, and they tried to launch a military coup to force Feng Guozhang to step down. Under the tremendous pressure of the Anhui dynasty, Feng Guozhang was forced to compromise and completely entrust the negotiations on the Sino-Japanese military agreement to Duan Qirui.
After Duan Qirui took over, he told Japan that all conveniences could be provided regardless of whether it was at home or abroad. He said to the Japanese, "Rest assured! The coordinating military operations which I have undertaken, once initiated, will in fact not cause any inconvenience to the Japanese army. For example, the use of Northern Manchuria (referring to the northern part of northeast China) by your army against Siberia is of course not a diplomatic obstacle. ”
On May 16, 1918, the Beiyang government and Japan signed the "Sino-Japanese Army Joint Defense Military Agreement", and on the 19th, they signed the "Sino-Japanese Navy Joint Defense Military Agreement". Later, the Detailed Agreement on the Implementation of the Military Agreement between the Sino-Japanese Armed Forces on Joint Defense of the Enemy was signed. The main elements of these agreements are:
The Chinese authorities in the area of military operations must cooperate with the Japanese army and provide each other with weapons and military supplies; the Chinese army participating in Japan's military operation in Siberia "shall be under the command of the Japanese military commander"; the Chinese army and military supplies transported through the South Manchuria Railway shall be entrusted to the Japanese side, while the Japanese army must be transported through the Middle East road, and "China and Japan shall set up coordinating organs" to be responsible.
The signing of these agreements means that the Japanese army can enter China's territorial waters at will under the pretext of defending against the enemy, and the Chinese government needs to provide military supplies, weapons, and various conveniences to the Japanese army.
Soon after the agreement was signed, Japan began to invade northeast China and occupied a large part of Heilongjiang Province.
These economic and military agreements signed by Duan Qirui have greatly undermined China's sovereignty. Saying that he is the most traitorous warlord is not excessive, right? What do you think?
References: Li Xin's History of the Republic of China, Volume III, Japanese Diplomatic Documents, etc