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A Tale of Three Chinas - Tale One: The Broken Beiyang Republic
Thanks for the kind comments and feedback. The Soong sisters will have a MAJOR role to play in this TL...In fact not only the Soong sisters but the Soong dynasty in general...
A Tale of Three Republics: China from 1919 - 1926
Tale One: The Broken Beiyang Republic
China was a divided nation. The symptoms of this division were many, at the lower level bandits and marauders infested the land, petty warlords demanded taxation. At the upper levels of government, there were 3 factions all claiming to be the legitemate "Republic of China"
Time magazine correctly predicts the election of Yan Xishan as President following the defeat of Cao Kun
The Beiyang Republic
The period in the aftermath of the first Northern Expedition was a chaotic one. The Kuomintang's rapid march to Beiping had destroyed many warlords - minor and major which caused a vacuum in the aftermath of their retreat south. The period between 1919-1923 is the result of this vacuum with full-scale warfare erupting between many warlords for control of Beijing. Warlords that succeeded in taking Beijing would then proclaim themselves "President" with the help of bought legislators. China saw 31 "Presidents" declared in a 4 year period - an indication of the instability of the Beiyang Republic. The last President who purchased the legislature, Cao Kun did it brazenly, literally promising $5000 to any parliamentarian who would make him president. Cao Kun, the head of the Zhili faction of Warlords should then have been in a strong position to consolidate. However history revolves around accidents and Cao Kun was found dead in his bedchamber with a shocked mistress on the night of his comfirmation as President (October 12.) As a result chaos and infighting broke out again. At this point one man had had enough.
The warlord of Shanxi, a man with a rule which was positively enlightened (by Warlord standards) that he was given the title "Model Governor." Shanxi had modern schools and hospitals, it had a functioning railway system with public transport. Most importantly, Yan Xishan's province was home to China's most modern arsenals, Yan's army - a well disciplined and professional fighting force easily swept aside the Zhili remnants and found himself in control of Beijing. After 4 years of continous warfare, everyone was exhausted. Yan was elected as President in December 4 1923 and promised to 'usher in a new era of stability and peace.'
The Beiyang Flag, the colours symbolize the unity of the major ethnic groups.
The regional governors, with the exception of Manchuria and the Kuomintang controlled South, all acknowledged Yan Xishan as the rightful president of China and flew the Beiyang flag. The Beiyang Republic also was the internationally recognized Chinese government with the governments of the United Kingdom, America, France, the League of Nations and many other nations recognizing Xishan's regime. Japan aided the Beiyang Republic until Yan Xishan, in an effort to bolster his popularity demanded the withdrawal of Japanese troops from Shandong province (where they had spread out from just owning Qingdao and the peninsula.)
However, in practice, not much at all had changed. Yan Xishan's government was unable to exert itself outside of Shanxi, Henan, Hebei and Shaanxi. Although Beijing issued edicts, orders and drew up plans for modernization the fact that it's effective writ did not run beyond four provinces made such actions futile. Warlords still continued to amass power, albeit under a single flag and still continued to fight wars with each other. Customs revenue and taxes that should've funded reconstructions efforts were appropriate by provincial governors and warlords for their own purposes.
Du Yuesheng, known as "Big-Eared Du" was also known as the "Gangster Governor" of Jiangsu province. He controlled, through his massive criminal Empire two of China's biggest and most prosperous cities (Shanghai and Nanking.) His rule of the province was marked by brazen corruption, massive graft and many moral transgressions.
The Dogmeat (Left) and Christian (Right) Generals
Zhang Zongchan, known as the "Dogmeat General" held sway over much of China with his troops being in an uneasy alliance with the "Christian General" Feng Yuxiang. The two controlled much of China with Hubei, Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jianxi, Hunan and Guizhou. Although in theory they controlled the area their powerbase was effectively fractious and feuding petty warlords who fougth each other. Their alliance was also tenous as best with the rivalries emerging to the surface periodically and culminating in open warfare. Life under the two generals were marked by unrelenting brutality as press-gangs swept the rural countryside looking for more bodies to impress in the armies of death. Merchants, gentry, everyone was squeezed to fuel conflict. Corvee labourers were impressed to build a 'thousand li' of trench lines. Both generals agreed that the "Ideological contamination" from the Kuomintang had to be contained.
The crops rot
The villages burn
The young die
China weeps
Bandits hold sway
Soldiers plunder
Like locusts
China weeps
- Anonymous
The rest of China was controlled by petty warlords, smugglers, and other men cruel, talented and opportunistic enough to rise to the top. In a land where the gun held sway only men with these qualities could rise to the top. In a land where "all power grows from the barrel of a gun" there could be no other way. Yan Xishan's regime, although initially popular for standing up to the Japanese increasingly lost legitimacy as the endemic brutality and corruption of the warlord's damaged Yan Xishan. After all, did these warlords not fly the Beiyang flag? Did they not justify their ruthlessness and brutality in the name of the President? The Beiyang Republic had lost all legitemacy in the eyes of many people. It was in these fertile conditions that the Second Northern Expedition was launched, the people were looking, not for a hero, or ideologies, or grand visions, they were merely looking for stability and order.
The Beiyang Republic is perhaps analogous to the "Sengoku" period of Japanese history, a weak centre which mutually hostile warring factions paid lip service but otherwise little heed to. A time of social disorder and upheaval.
Next Update:
Tale Two: The Empire is Dead, Long Live the Empire?
(Comments and feedback welcome as always
- In fact solicited)
A Tale of Three Republics: China from 1919 - 1926
Tale One: The Broken Beiyang Republic
China was a divided nation. The symptoms of this division were many, at the lower level bandits and marauders infested the land, petty warlords demanded taxation. At the upper levels of government, there were 3 factions all claiming to be the legitemate "Republic of China"
Time magazine correctly predicts the election of Yan Xishan as President following the defeat of Cao Kun
The Beiyang Republic
The period in the aftermath of the first Northern Expedition was a chaotic one. The Kuomintang's rapid march to Beiping had destroyed many warlords - minor and major which caused a vacuum in the aftermath of their retreat south. The period between 1919-1923 is the result of this vacuum with full-scale warfare erupting between many warlords for control of Beijing. Warlords that succeeded in taking Beijing would then proclaim themselves "President" with the help of bought legislators. China saw 31 "Presidents" declared in a 4 year period - an indication of the instability of the Beiyang Republic. The last President who purchased the legislature, Cao Kun did it brazenly, literally promising $5000 to any parliamentarian who would make him president. Cao Kun, the head of the Zhili faction of Warlords should then have been in a strong position to consolidate. However history revolves around accidents and Cao Kun was found dead in his bedchamber with a shocked mistress on the night of his comfirmation as President (October 12.) As a result chaos and infighting broke out again. At this point one man had had enough.
The warlord of Shanxi, a man with a rule which was positively enlightened (by Warlord standards) that he was given the title "Model Governor." Shanxi had modern schools and hospitals, it had a functioning railway system with public transport. Most importantly, Yan Xishan's province was home to China's most modern arsenals, Yan's army - a well disciplined and professional fighting force easily swept aside the Zhili remnants and found himself in control of Beijing. After 4 years of continous warfare, everyone was exhausted. Yan was elected as President in December 4 1923 and promised to 'usher in a new era of stability and peace.'
The Beiyang Flag, the colours symbolize the unity of the major ethnic groups.
The regional governors, with the exception of Manchuria and the Kuomintang controlled South, all acknowledged Yan Xishan as the rightful president of China and flew the Beiyang flag. The Beiyang Republic also was the internationally recognized Chinese government with the governments of the United Kingdom, America, France, the League of Nations and many other nations recognizing Xishan's regime. Japan aided the Beiyang Republic until Yan Xishan, in an effort to bolster his popularity demanded the withdrawal of Japanese troops from Shandong province (where they had spread out from just owning Qingdao and the peninsula.)
However, in practice, not much at all had changed. Yan Xishan's government was unable to exert itself outside of Shanxi, Henan, Hebei and Shaanxi. Although Beijing issued edicts, orders and drew up plans for modernization the fact that it's effective writ did not run beyond four provinces made such actions futile. Warlords still continued to amass power, albeit under a single flag and still continued to fight wars with each other. Customs revenue and taxes that should've funded reconstructions efforts were appropriate by provincial governors and warlords for their own purposes.
Du Yuesheng, known as "Big-Eared Du" was also known as the "Gangster Governor" of Jiangsu province. He controlled, through his massive criminal Empire two of China's biggest and most prosperous cities (Shanghai and Nanking.) His rule of the province was marked by brazen corruption, massive graft and many moral transgressions.
The Dogmeat (Left) and Christian (Right) Generals
Zhang Zongchan, known as the "Dogmeat General" held sway over much of China with his troops being in an uneasy alliance with the "Christian General" Feng Yuxiang. The two controlled much of China with Hubei, Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jianxi, Hunan and Guizhou. Although in theory they controlled the area their powerbase was effectively fractious and feuding petty warlords who fougth each other. Their alliance was also tenous as best with the rivalries emerging to the surface periodically and culminating in open warfare. Life under the two generals were marked by unrelenting brutality as press-gangs swept the rural countryside looking for more bodies to impress in the armies of death. Merchants, gentry, everyone was squeezed to fuel conflict. Corvee labourers were impressed to build a 'thousand li' of trench lines. Both generals agreed that the "Ideological contamination" from the Kuomintang had to be contained.
The crops rot
The villages burn
The young die
China weeps
Bandits hold sway
Soldiers plunder
Like locusts
China weeps
- Anonymous
The rest of China was controlled by petty warlords, smugglers, and other men cruel, talented and opportunistic enough to rise to the top. In a land where the gun held sway only men with these qualities could rise to the top. In a land where "all power grows from the barrel of a gun" there could be no other way. Yan Xishan's regime, although initially popular for standing up to the Japanese increasingly lost legitimacy as the endemic brutality and corruption of the warlord's damaged Yan Xishan. After all, did these warlords not fly the Beiyang flag? Did they not justify their ruthlessness and brutality in the name of the President? The Beiyang Republic had lost all legitemacy in the eyes of many people. It was in these fertile conditions that the Second Northern Expedition was launched, the people were looking, not for a hero, or ideologies, or grand visions, they were merely looking for stability and order.
The Beiyang Republic is perhaps analogous to the "Sengoku" period of Japanese history, a weak centre which mutually hostile warring factions paid lip service but otherwise little heed to. A time of social disorder and upheaval.
Next Update:
Tale Two: The Empire is Dead, Long Live the Empire?
(Comments and feedback welcome as always
- In fact solicited)- CCA
- Word Count: 1k