As the saying goes, trees fall and scatter. This means that after the large number fell, the monkeys living in the trees scattered and fled. But the question is, after the tree arrives, why does the monkey flee? The answer is simple: monkeys live in trees, and trees can shelter and provide food for the monkeys. When the tree falls, it means that the shelter and food are gone, so why are the monkeys still here? If after the tree falls, any monkey wants to play the role of a tree, it must meet the requirements of being a big tree.
That is, shelter and food are provided.
Why was Yuan Shikai able to rule the Beiyang warlords for a long time? First, Yuan Shikai firmly grasped the power to appoint officers at all levels of the Beiyang warlords; second, all the expenses used by the entire Beiyang warlords from top to bottom were all the money that Yuan Shikai had tried to get. The so-called milk is the mother, eating others, drinking people's homes, and listening to other people's dispatches, which is no more natural. Where did Yuan Shikai's money come from? Empress Longyu, the last empress dowager of the Qing Dynasty, once said something like this:
"The inner chamber has already given Yuan Shikai all the money, and I really don't have any money!"
Internal anger was the emperor's private money, and Yuan Shikai, after Empress Dowager Cixi's death, exploited the treasury of the Qing Dynasty through various means (pit and deception); then he did not give up, and even threatened to fool around, so that Empress Longyu obediently handed over the private money and squeezed the Qing royal family dry. Why did Yuan Shikai make so much money? Pulling relations, paying military salaries, and buying supplies. Therefore, after Yuan Shikai's death, if someone wants to take his place, first of all, they must be responsible for the expenses of the Beiyang warlords up and down like Yuan Shikai; secondly, they must have prestige and be able to serve the public within the Beiyang warlords. So, after Yuan Shikai's death, who among the Beiyang warlords was most likely to take his place?
After Yuan Shikai's death, the Beiyang warlords were divided, forming the Anhui warlords headed by Duan Qirui, the Feng warlords headed by Zhang Zuolin, the direct warlords headed by Feng Guozhang, and the Jin warlords headed by Yan Xishan. Nominally at the disposal of the National Government, they are in fact independent. However, although they were independent, the Anhui warlords had always regarded themselves as Beiyang orthodox, and Duan Qirui had once manipulated the political situation. When Yuan Shikai was alive, Duan Qirui, Feng Guozhang, Wang Shizhen and other Beiyang Three Jie were all in the same position, and they could not tell who was high and who was low. Duan Qirui had prestige and ambition, but he was too lacking in the appointment and dismissal of personnel; Feng Guozhang had soldiers in his hands and was good at fighting, but he was looked down upon for not paying attention to morality; Wang Shi precious was the head of the Three Masters of Beiyang, and he had a strong ability to treat people and things to march and fight, but he had no intention of politics, and after Yuan Shikai's death, he soon withdrew from politics.
Therefore, in order to consolidate his position within the Beiyang warlords, Duan Qirui fought several battles with other former "old comrades-in-arms". In July 1920, the warlords directly under Wu Peifu (Feng Guozhang's lower field) challenged Duan Qirui, and the two sides fought a war in the Beijing-Tianjin area, and in the end, Duan Qirui's Anhui warlords were defeated. At this point, among Yuan Shikai's old subordinates, the only one who had the opportunity to take his place was in the wilderness. The reason why Duan Qirui went to the wilderness is also related to himself. First of all, Duan Qirui couldn't get money. Strictly speaking, except for Zhang Zuolin, who made some money by dumping arms, the warlords in China at that time could not get money. Their money is either exploiting the people on the ground or selling out their national interests to borrow money from imperialism.
For example, Duan Qirui once borrowed 145 million yen from the Japanese, except for the 5 million yen borrowed in the first installment, the rest of the money became a dead debt. What is the end of the money for? Like most other warlords, the money was used primarily for military pay, arms purchases and war reparations. The most ridiculous thing is Feng Guozhang, after he became president, in order to raise military funds, he actually fished out the fish in the moat of the Forbidden City and buried it, which became a big joke at that time. It can be seen that the improper family does not know the chai rice expensive. After Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang became presidents, Fang knew that Yuan Shikai could win over such a big stall, and he really had a level. Secondly, Duan Qirui has no overall awareness in the employment of personnel.
To take a very small example, during Duan Qirui's tenure, he borrowed 145 million yen from the Japanese, that is, Nishihara loan, how did Duan Qirui distribute this money? It is reasonable to say that the money was borrowed in the name of the Beiyang government, and the three families of the direct family, the Anhui family, and the Feng family all had a share. In fact, when Duan Qirui spent money, he only thought about the Anhui family; when he repaid the debt, he let the three families think of a way together, so that the other two families could not complain? In terms of personnel appointment and removal, Duan Qirui is also the only person to be appointed, and for non-Anhui officials, he has taken repressive measures.
Although Duan Qirui's performance was not satisfactory, among the warlords in Beiyang, he had done very well. In other people, some can't serve the public, some can't get money, some have insufficient ability, and it is even more impossible to take Yuan Shikai's place. It is clear that if you want to be a big tree, you must have the courage to shield the wind and rain, and you must also have the ability to flourish, so that you can gather a bunch of monkeys to play below. Otherwise, any two monkeys tossing and turning on it can bring the tree down...