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7— The North-South War and the Triumph of Warlordism
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Crisis at the Center and Beiyang Military Power

A crisis of authority within the central government following Yuan's death created the immediate context for the renewed political application of military power. The most important military players in this political conflict, and its ultimate winners, were the Beiyang Army commanders who had served as Yuan's base of military support. The Beiyang Army, though, was no longer the same cohesive force that Yuan had used to establish his dictatorship. The first cracks in Beiyang unity appeared in its mixed response to the monarchist movement. Divided opinions over the correct response to the crisis that followed Yuan's death marked the further emergence of factions within the Beiyang Army. In terms of the rise of warlordism, though, the importance of this situation was not the realignment of Beiyang military power into smaller groupings, but the increased political autonomy of individual commanders. Although Beiyang control over the central government would be the outcome of this crisis, the factional breakdown of the Beiyang Army lessened its ability to provide a sufficient coercive base for a new centralizing effort.

After succeeding to the presidency in the summer of 1916, Li Yuanhong attempted to patch together a national government that would be acceptable to all the competing political forces that had emerged during the Anti-Monarchical War. To maintain the support of the Beiyang Army and the central bureaucrats, Yuan Shikai's main power base, Li appointed one of Yuan's most prominent subordinates, Duan Qirui, to serve as premier. At the same time, Li sought to ensure the cooperation of the independent southern provinces by meeting their demands for the restoration of the National Assembly dissolved by Yuan in 1914 and a return to the provisional 1912 constitution. This compromise established a fragile truce, but it could not create the consensus needed to ensure political stability. Indeed, the restoration of the provisional constitution reopened the divisive political issues that had plagued the Republic in its first years.

The shuffling of political players that accompanied the reconstitu-


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tion of the central government resulted in some new combinations of political principles and practical politics. Seeking to enhance his position, Duan championed the cause, originally upheld by Yuan Shikai's opponents, of strengthening the premiership in relation to the presidency. Yuan's former political adversaries, meanwhile, were unwilling to see Duan, Yuan's main successor, assume a dominant position in the central government. Accordingly, they generally supported Li's attempts to preserve the presidency's power. Duan's idea of a strong premiership did not, of course, represent the responsible party cabinet system originally envisioned by Song Jiaoren. On the contrary, Duan faced an uncooperative, and at times an outright hostile, National Assembly dominated by Nationalist Party members. Thus the previous constitutional questions over the respective powers of the president and the premier, and the relationship between executive and legislative branches, reemerged in a three-cornered power struggle between Li, Duan, and the National Assembly. This power struggle soon manifested itself in a variety of specific debates over domestic and foreign issues.[1] The lack of a consensus as to where final authority rested within the central government not only made decision-making more difficult but left the legitimacy of any decision open to challenge.

Military commanders in this period took an active part in the debates over general constitutional and specific political issues. Indeed, by this time, commanders regularly announced their political views in open telegrams, which were then given wide publicity in the popular press. Southern military leaders generally backed Li and the National Assembly in their contests with Duan. As might be expected, Beiyang and other northern commanders in turn supported Duan against his political adversaries. To a certain degree, military men were simply continuing the expanded political roles they had assumed during the Anti-Monarchical War. At the same time, the proponents of different political positions also courted the support of these military commanders, thereby encouraging and validating their continued political participation. Under these circumstances, military men became accustomed to treatment as a political constituency to be consulted in the formulation of government policy. By this participation, though, they also brought the threat of force into the political process.

Because of their closer proximity to the capital, Beiyang and other northern military commanders generally had a greater impact on Beijing politics than their southern counterparts. Following the precedent established by Feng Guozhang during the Anti-Monarchical War, they strengthened their collective voice through joint conferences. The loose


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organization represented by these conferences soon became known as the dujuntuan , or military governors' association. Seeking to retain the favored position they attained under Yuan, the military governors' association generally supported Duan Qirui against his challengers—whether Li Yuanhong, the National Assembly, or southern military leaders and provincial politicians. Although Li frequently denounced the activities of the dujuntuan as unwarranted interference in national affairs, its demands bore an implicit threat of force not easily ignored.[2]

The political threat presented by the dujuntuan was actualized in April 1917 when Duan called a conference of his military supporters to provoke a final showdown with Li. On Duan's behalf, this conference made a series of political demands for constitutional revisions, culminating in a call for the dissolution of the National Assembly. Faced with this ultimatum, Li instead ordered Duan's removal from the premiership. Duan in turn refused to accept the legality of Li's order and withdrew to Tianjin to organize his military supporters. Demanding both Duan's recall and the acceptance of his policies, Duan's supporters began to declare their independence of Li's government.[3] Having failed with threats, Duan was prepared to use actual military force to resolve his conflict of authority with Li.

The only flaw in Duan's strategy was his expectation that the Beiyang coalition represented by the dujuntuan would unite behind his break with Li. This turned out to be an unwarranted assumption. The dujuntuan was an expedient alliance of commanders who found their joint conferences useful in promoting their common interests. Beyond this, these commanders remained divided among themselves over a range of political issues and strategies, particularly when their individual interests were at stake. One Beiyang leader who found Duan's interests contrary to his own was Feng Guozhang. In late 1916, the National Assembly elected Feng to fill the vice-presidency vacated by Li Yuanhong's move to the presidency. After this, Feng began to harbor hopes of eventually succeeding Li as president. Feng's ambitions would be poorly served if Duan successfully asserted the primacy of the premiership over the presidency. There was also an incipient rivalry between Feng and Duan for the leadership of the Beiyang Army. Duan's success in this issue would weaken Feng's claim to Yuan's mantle. Therefore, from his military base in Jiangsu Province, Feng announced that he would take a neutral stand between Duan and Li. He then persuaded several other Beiyang commanders, including Hubei's Wang Zhanyuan, to do likewise.

Feng's break with Duan over this issue was a manifestation of an


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emerging factional division within the Beiyang Army. The faction led by Feng eventually became informally known as the Zhili clique. On the other side were Duan and his followers, the Anhui clique. Although based on strong military components, Feng and Duan also drew civil bureaucrats and politicians into their respective cliques. From this point on, Chinese politics increasingly took on the characteristics of a factional system, the workings of which have been excellently described by Andrew Nathan.[4] This factional system, however, also developed interactively with the rise of warlordism. Clientalist ties inside the Chinese army provided a natural foundation for the exchange relationship that is the basis of factionalism. Warlord politics for the most part was factional politics. Within the context of developing factional politics, though, the emergence of warlordism is best understood from the level of individual military commanders. For these men, involvement in factional politics was simply one way to achieve their own political objectives. Wang Zhanyuan's maneuvering during this period clearly reflected the independent political calculations of a warlord.

As noted in Chapter 6, Wang had shown an appreciation for the benefits of continued Beiyang unity during the Anti-Monarchical War. After this war, he became an active participant in dujuntuan conferences and consistently supported Duan in his struggles with Li Yuanhong and the National Assembly. Indeed, he was a member of the delegation that presented the final demands of the dujuntuan to Li on Duan's behalf. When Li dismissed Duan, Wang publicly stated his disapproval and reiterated the dujuntuan call for the National Assembly's dissolution. Therefore it was something of a surprise when Wang refused to join other pro-Duan military commanders in declaring independence. Instead, he announced his continued support for Li's government and called for peaceful negotiations to resolve the political crisis.[5] For Wang, other political considerations had clearly overridden the demands of Beiyang unity.

The geopolitical logic of Wang's position as military governor in Hubei was one factor in his decision not to join the pro-Duan independence movement. In his own explanation of his decision, Wang particularly noted the military danger Hubei faced from its neighbors.[6] Insofar as the southern provinces continued to support Li Yuanhong and the National Assembly, Duan's willingness to use military force increased the likelihood of a new north-south civil war. Since Hubei was situated on the front line of Beiyang military power in central China, Wang's forces might bear the initial brunt of such a war. Not


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surprisingly, the Beiyang military governors who joined Wang in declaring neutrality in this conflict were from provinces along the Yangzi River, and thus faced the same problem. The strategic position that placed Hubei and these other provinces in danger, though, also gave them a political opportunity to act as a balancing force between the north and the south. Feng Guozhang had already used this mediating role to enhance his political position during the Anti-Monarchical War, and his neutral stand in this crisis had the same effect. By associating himself with this approach, Wang began to carve out a similar intermediary reputation for himself in national politics.[7]

Political concerns inside Hubei may have also influenced Wang's decision against a declaration of independence. There were reports of considerable Hubei opposition, particularly within the business community, to Duan's provocative actions. One reason for this was no doubt the considerable support Li Yuanhong still retained in Hubei. Nonetheless, the fear of disorder that might accompany a new outbreak of civil war probably played an even greater role in this anti-Duan reaction. Because Wang had used his reputation for keeping order in consolidating support for his rule in Hubei, he could not easily ignore such concerns. Thus, he took special efforts to assure a gathering of the Hubei Chamber of Commerce and other community leaders, specially called to discuss the crisis, that his primary goals were "support for the central government and the preservation of order."[8]

Internal Hubei military conditions might also have affected Wang's political stance. There were reports that the commanders of the two remaining non-Beiyang divisions in Hubei, Shi Xingchuan and Li Tiancai, remained loyal to Li Yuanhong and were ready to offer him their assistance.[9] By rejecting an open break with Li in favor of the negotiated settlement proposed by Feng, Wang avoided the danger of an open confrontation with these commanders.

Finally, Wang's long-standing relationship with Feng Guozhang no doubt influenced his decision not to back Duan in the final confrontation with Li.[10] Certainly without Feng's leadership, Wang would not have dared to stand alone against Duan. By again following Feng's lead, Wang solidified the close political relationship he had established with Feng during the Anti-Monarchical War. From this point on, Wang would ally himself with Feng, and the Zhili clique, in most matters. Nonetheless, Wang's actions were primarily determined by his own interests, not by his factional ties. Thus Wang's loyalty to Feng and the Zhili clique was by no means absolute, and he took special


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care not to burn all his bridges with Duan. For example, Wang publicly proclaimed his deep personal regard for Duan, even as he rejected Duan's decision to break with Li.[11] In the future, Wang would ally himself with Duan on a number of issues, to the point where some identified him more with the Anhui than with the Zhili faction.[12] Ch'i Hsi-sheng aptly characterized Wang as a political opportunist who was not beyond a bit of double-dealing.[13] No matter where he stood, from this point on, Wang was clearly a player, not a pawn, in the game of factional politics.

The political maneuvering that followed Duan's dismissal ultimately took a turn that few could have expected. Seeking military protection from Duan's threat, Li accepted an offer of mediation from the conservative general Zhang Xun. As the price of his assistance, Zhang forced Li to dissolve the National Assembly. However, once Zhang's troops were securely in place in Beijing, he forced Li's own resignation, and on July 1 he announced the restoration of the Qing dynasty. There is some evidence that ambiguous expressions of support from various northern military commanders originally encouraged Zhang to take this step. Nonetheless, few saw any advantage in the return of the Manchu emperor to his throne, especially in the face of the widespread popular outrage that arose immediately against the restoration. For a time, the differences between Duan and Li, between Duan and Feng, and even between north and south, were forgotten as all united to preserve the Republic. Within two weeks Zhang was defeated and the Manchu emperor was forced into his second abdication.

Although Zhang Xun's restoration attempt failed, it provided Duan with an opportunity to resolve the central government crisis on his terms. Leading the military forces that forced Zhang's capitulation in Beijing, Duan took the National Assembly's dissolution and Li Yuanhong's resignation as faits accomplis, but resumed his own position as premier. Meanwhile, Li, who had little desire to continue the struggle, acquiesced in Feng Guozhang's succession to the presidency. Taking the position that the restoration invalidated the 1912 Constitution, Duan called up a new representative body and produced a new constitutional document more to his liking. With Duan as premier and Feng as president, Beiyang domination of the central government was now assured. This achievement temporarily muted the rivalry between Duan and Feng, and laid the groundwork for a renewed effort to extend central authority into the provinces. Nonetheless, the manner in which Beiyang control over the central government was attained tainted its authority in the eyes of non-Beiyang political forces. This


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set the stage for further military conflict over any new centralizing effort from Beijing.


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7— The North-South War and the Triumph of Warlordism
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