THE ARMY 32 THE ARMY 33 Other important officials memorialized the throne on this sub- ods should be adapted,after careful deliberation,to create a new system. ject,including Chang Chih-tung and Wang Wen-shao.Sheng ..At the same time,military academies to train selected cadets must be set up and staffed with foreign experts;later these cadets should be sent Hsuan-huai,Li Hung-chang's lieutenant in commercial and in- abroad for further study.On their return,they should be given a military dustrial affairs,presented a plan for training a new army.He put command according to their abilities.s the number of new troops required at goo,000,insisting that the As a result of this letter,Yuan was called to the capital in June traditional forces(the Bannermen and the Green Standard)be de- mobilized.A soldier would serve for 14 years-three in the stand- for consultation.He and Hu Yui-fen,and indeed a host of others, ing army with full pay,three in the reserves,three as a retained fully realized the meaning of the assignment,both for the nation soldier,and five in a militia unit.After the first three years,a and for the man selected.Rivalry between the two was inevitable. soldier could return to civilian life,though he would be expected In July,Hu wrote to Li Hung-tsao describing Yuan as arrogant. to take part in maneuvers;throughout the 14 years,he was to be Chang P'ei-lun,another highly placed lieutenant of Li Hung- exempted from other forms of state labor. chang,also wrote to Li Hung-tsao to criticize Yuan: The Grand Council's less ambitious program fixed the quota for I have had several talks with him and found him boastful and utterly the first four months at 4,oo0 to 5,o00 men.Hsiaochan,located unreliable.His past history shows that he is conceited,extravagant,lech- between Peking and Tientsin,was selected as headquarters for the erous,ruthless,and treacherous.Sir,you are right to treat him as the son of a friend,but gravely wrong to esteem him as a man of rare qualities new force.It was here that Li Hung-chang had maintained the I.am compelled to speak up about him;for having misled Li Hung- barracks of his Hwai Army for over 20 years.Hu Yu-fen,not Yuan chang,he may now attempt to mislead you and indeed our country. Shih-K'ai,was appointed supervisor,and von Hanneken was named the chief instructor.Hu,a competent and enlightened In spite of these personal attacks,Li Hung-tsao had formed a dis- official;could not get long with the German,because,as he said, tinctly good impression of.Yuan;so had Jung-lu and Weng Tung- Hanneken was greedy and arrogant.Before long he gave up army ho.&But one fact weighed heavily against him:Yuan had joined administration in favor of building railways,and Yuan Shih-k'ai Liang Ch'i-ch'ao's Strengthening Study Society,a reformist orga- nization. was then brought in to succeed him. Yuan's knowledge and experience made him the best qualified After Hu's resignation,Jung-lu asked Yuan to make a report on candidate of all his contemporaries.Further,he had a spotless army training.Yuan did so at great length,advocating the use of reputation and had shown considerable interest in the work.In German methods.Seconded by Jung-lu,Li Hung-tsao recom- May 1895,shortly after the end of the war,he wrote to Li Hung- mended Yuan for the position.Yuan had strong support in other tsao,a member of the Grand Council: quarters as well:both the notorious,powerful Prince Ch'ing and 1 the grand eunuch,Li Lien-ying,favored his appointment.On De- The weakness of our troops does not lie so much in quantity as in quality, cember 8,1895,the Crand Councilpresented a memorial to the not so much in their physical strength as in their lack of training.Worst of all,they lack uniform organization,a unified command,and stern dis. throne recommending that Yuan be made commander of the cipline.They are impossible to control and do not have enough spirit to Newly Created Army and supervisor of its training.Yuan was then face an enemy.... thirty-six years old. Under these circumstances,we should do our best to rectity the mis- The army at Hsiaochan was made up of ten corps and num- takes of the past-by eliminating superfuous units,cutting excessive ex- bered 3,o0o infantrymen,1,ooo artillerymen,250 cavalrymen,and penses,dismissing incompetent officers,and tightening up discipline.In addition,we should select a few highly respected generals and give them 500 engineers.The infantry was divided into two regiments,con- the freedom and the financial support necessary to reorganize our exist- ing troops into several big units;these should be stationed at strategic .The assignment was especially important in light of Chiang Kai-shek's ap- points.We ought to.employ foreign instructors to assist in the work of pointment as the director of the Whampoa Academy and Lin Piao's as the reorgai'zation.Both our own traditional methods and European meth- director of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political College
34 THE ARMY THE ARMY sisting of units armed with rapid-fire guns,units with heavy artil- 35 lery,and reserve units.The engineers were divided into bridge- cated man."15 Imitating the West,as Yuan had suggested to Li building,fortification,ordnance,repair,surveying,mine-laying, Hung-tsao,meant simplifying the army's organization,concentrat- and telegraph detachments.There were also four administrative ing power in a few hands,and making discipline more stringent- bureaus:supply,ordnance,transport,and foreign affairs(intelli. all tasks he undertook at Hsiaochan. gence).According to Yuan's report to the Grand Council,foreign- He organized the new army differently from both the traditional style training should be continued,and the.number of drill in- forces and Li Hung-chang's Hwai Army.His system was soon structors increased from two (a'German and a Norwegian)to five. adopted by the other army units reorganized under Jung-lu.16 In He also proposed to expand the army from 5,o00 to 7,o0o men. firm personal control of the operations at Hsiaochan,Yuan con- According to a wage scale Yuan devised,the total monthly payroll centrated on developing professionalism and discipline among the would amount to 7o,o0o taels of silver.This and other expenses. troops.7 Just as he had established rigorous standards for his re- were to come from the Board of Revenue.10 cruits,Yuan imposed stern regulations on their conduct;theft, Yuan's chief-of-staff was his old friend Hsui Shih-ch'ang,who rape,rioting,and desertion all carried the death penalty.He also knew nothing of military affairs.*T'ang Shao-i,Yuan's assistant took special steps to discourage opium smoking.Finally,to pre- in Korea,continued on as his secretary.The German-trained Man- vent embezzlement,the soldiers were paid individually under chu General Yin-ch'ang,who was the head of the military academy Yuan's supervision,as opposed to the customary practice of issuing at Tientsin,recommended four of his best students to Yuan:Feng the money to the commanding officers.(Even so,in April 1897,a Kuo-chang,Tuan Ch'i-jui(also German-trained),Wang Shih-chen, censor wrote a memorial to the emperor charging Yuan with bru- and Liang Hua-tien.Liang later drowned during a night maneu- tality and corruption.In response to this,Jung-lu went to Hsiao- ver,but the other three assumed important positions in the army. chan to investigate in person.On his return,he paid an unquali- Feng became Yuan's aide-de-camp and headed the infantry school; fied tribute to Yuan's accomplishments.Two years later,when Tuan commanded and instructed the artillery corps;and Wang Yuan and the censor met again in Shantung,all was forgiven and held a similar post with the engineering corps. forgotten;in fact Yuan took the man into his secretariat.19) As Yuan understood it,the army's duties were "to defend the Yuan's army was equipped primarily with foreign goods-in- honor of the country and to suppress violence.on behalf of the cluding arms,tools,tunics,boots,canvas tents,raincoats,blankets, people."u By "country"(kuo),he did not mean the Chinese na- field glasses,drums,telephones,and medicine.2 The infantry was tion but the throne,the realm,the dynasty.In classical parallel armed with standardized Mauser rifles,the cavalry with both Mau- sentences,his recruitment notices stressed over and over again the sers and lances,and the artillery with Maxim machine guns and graciousness of the throne and the corresponding debt of gratitude six-gun batteries of one-to six-pounders. owed by the people.Indeed,an important goal of the soldiers' The officers came from two major sources:they were either grad- training was to "consolidate their loyalty"to the throne.1s If the uates of the Peiyang Military Academy in Tientsin or veterans army was to perform its imperial duties,Yuan felt it must emulate without much formal education.The former prided themselves on Western models.14 Like most of the Chinese who were not xeno- their scholarly knowledge,the latter on their battle experience.21 phobes,Yuan tended to idealize the West.He once remarked,for Yuan's way of reducing tension between the two groups was to example,"In the West there is not a single civilian who does not emphasize their common duty to the throne,as well as his own understand military affairs.Conversely,every soldier is an edu- expectations of them.22 Hsii hadhad a checkered career since he and Yuan had parted as young A great moment in Yuan's career came when the British rear- men.Although he held a chin-shih,the highest degree,he was not an out- standing scholar and had not-won a promising appointment.(He was also .They should be twenty to twenty-five years of age,at least 4 feet,8 inches hindered by the death of his mother,which interrupted his career.)At Hsiao- in height,able to lift 1oo pounds,and able to walk 61 miles an hour.They chan,he was actually working under a man with no degree. should not be physically deformed or addicted to opium,and should have no criminal record.Yuan Shih-k'ai,ed.,Hsin-chien lu-chin,pp.85-87
36 THE ARMY THE ARMY 37 admiral Lord Charles Beresford visited Hsiaochan in October had convinced him that a rigid adherence to tradition was re- 1896.The admiral was deeply impressed by the sturdy Shantung sponsible for the decline of China and Korea.He believed that men under Yuan's command."By Western standards,"he com- the need for reform extended beyond the military.In fact,the mented,"Yuan Shih-k'ai's troops wcre the only completely demand for thoroughgoing reforms had been growing since 1895. equipped force in the empire." In that year,K'ang Yu-wei,a commoner and a candidate in the On December 10,1896,a year after his appointment,Yuan re- metropolitan examination,had joined more than a thousand oth- ported to the throne the formation of a full-scale division,con- ers in petitioning the throne for immediate reform.K'ang and his sisting of eight infantry battalions (8,000 men),two artillery bat- comrades,including Liang Ch'i-ch'ao and T'an Ssu-t'ung,also or- talions (2,o00 men),two cavalry battalions (1,o00 men),and one ganized societies all over the country to promote their cause.To engineering battalion (1,o0o men).The force was further divided show his support,Yuan joined one of them. into two wings,or brigades.For his achievements,Yuan was pro- By June 1898,K'ang and the other reformers had presented seven moted to the rank of provincial judge of Chihli in July 1897. "letters"to Emperor Kuang-hsu,as well as essays on Peter the Great, His reputation was growing.Wu Ju-lun,a great scholar,had writ- the Meiji Restoration,and the tragedies of Poland and Turkey. ten him in January 1896:"I have heard that your troops have When this material was delivered to the Southern Study of the adopted Western military techniques.This is undoubtedly the palace,Weng T'ung-ho read it with interest and admiration. most urgent task of our time."Above all,both Jung-lu and Shortly after the 1895 treaty,the aging tutor discussed reform with Weng T'ung-ho continued to admire and trust Yuan.Their favor the young monarch.News of this leaked out to the dowager em- was especially important:Jung-lu was a firm supporter of the Dow- press,who subsequently denied Weng access to the Southern Study. ager Empress Tz'u-hsi,and Weng was the emperor's tutor. This reproof cut short the first attempt at reform;but it was pri- The Newly.Created Army continued to grow.Meanwhile, marily through Weng's advocacy that the emperor eventually de- Chang Chih-tung's Self-Strengthening Army was taking shape in cided to adopt the drastic measures K'ang proposed. Hankow and Wuchang,and General Nieh Shih-ch'eng was reor- Meanwhile,the battle of concessions was being raged ruthlessly. ganizing his Tenacious Army.Although Nieh's troops numbered In 18g8,Germany acquired a lease on the land around Kiaochow nearly 10,000,only slightly fewer than Yuan's,they were inferior Bay.As compensation,Russia seized Port Arthur and Dairen, in training and equipment.From these separate efforts,the de. which were subsequently leased to her.Similarly,Britain and fense of the empire was gradually consolidated.At the beginning France encroached on China's sovereignty in the southwest.A fear of 18g8;there were five armies stationed around the capital:Gen- of dismemberment,of being"cut up like a melon or handed out eral Nieh at the entrance to Tientsin,General Sung Ch'ing at the like beans,"suddenly seized the country,giving impetus to the northeast pass to Peking,Jung-lu on the outskirts of Peking,Gen- reform movement.K'ang Yu-wei hurried to Peking to make an- eral Tung Fu-hsiang near Chichow,and Yuan himself at Hsiao- other urgent plea for reform.Weng T'ung-ho,calling K'ang a chan.Although untested in battle,the Hsiaochan troops were re- hundred times more competent than himself,suggested to the puted to be the strongest.Being a shrewd man,Yuan was fully emperor that the reformer be placed in charge of China's affairs. aware of their importance to the dynasty and to his own personal The ultimate aims of the reformers-national power and wealth career.The Newly Created Army was Yuan's power base,just as -did not differ radically from those of the self-strengtheners;nor the Hwai Army had been Li Hung-chang's.And as everyone did the economic programs of the two schools differ greatly.In one clearly understood,it was no coincidence that the loss of the major respect,however,the reformers disagreed with their prede- Hwai Army led to Li's eclipse. cessors.They believed that the West's success in the worldwide Yuan was not exclusively concerned with military matters dur- competition among nations for wealth and power was due to ing this period.His experiences in Korea,especially the 1895 war, her superior institutions and administrative methods.China must
THE ARMY 38 39 THE ARMY Russian gunboats were sailing toward Chefoo.Yuan and his secre- adopt Western institutions if she was to preserve her national tary were drafting a reply when the porter announced the arrival integrity. of an uninvited guest,T'an Ssu-t'ung.T'an was a young reformer In essence,the reform of 1898 proposed to change China's tra- and philosopher of considerable reputation.At this time,he held ditional educational and examination systems so that they would an important post in the Grand Council.A full record of this cru- produce the kind of civil servants China needed.The reformers cial meeting is found in Yuan's journal: also proposed to open channels of communication between the rulers and the people by creating societies for political discussion. I know of him as a newly appointed and trusted adviser to His Majesty. These societies would eventually lead to the establishment of a His unheralded visit at this hour must mean that he has serious matters to consult me about,so I put down the writing-brush and go out to greet parliament and a constitution:In other words,the reform meant him.Mr.T'an is in informal clothes.Having congratulated me on my no less than a total restructuring of the Confucian Empire into a promotion,he says he wants to talk to me alone.This strikes me as odd, modern nation-state with a constitutional monarch. but I lead him to a chamber at the back of the temple.Our conversation The imperial proclamation of reform was issued'on June 11, begins with the usual compliments and then turns to physiognomy.T'an 1898.K'ang was appointed head of the Office of the Constitution, sees in me the makings of a great military leader.Suddenly he asks,"Are and his power over the emperor was considerable.Five days after you going to say good-bye 'to His Majesty on the goth?"I refer to the news of British warships approaching the coast and tell him that I will? the proclamation,the emperor granted him an audience of nine request His Majesty's permission to leave tomorrow for Tientsin.T'an hours.The Hundred Days'Reform was under way.The conserva- replies,"Our worries lie at home,not abroad."I immediately ask for an tives,led by the dowager empress,were alarmed by this rapid de- explanation and he says,"Mr.Yuan,you have just been granted an ex- velopment and took steps to abort it.Weng T'ung-ho was relieved ceptional favor,for which,I am sure,you are anxious to show your grati- of all his duties and"graciously commanded to go home";Jung-lu tude.His Majesty is in grave danger,and you,Mr.Yuan,are the only one who can help!"My face turns pale and I repeat,"My family has received was appointed viceroy of Chihli and commander of the Peking imperial kindness for generations;of course I must place myself entirely police;and plans were made for the empress and emperor to in- at His Majesty's command.But I am afraid I do not understand what you spect the army at Tientsin,at a date to be determined later. mean by danger."T'an explains,"Jung-lu has recently proposed to de- Following'these moves,the conservatives transferred General throne and murder the Emperor.Did you know that?"I deny any knowl- Nieh Shih-ch'eng's Tenacious Army from Taku to Tientsin and. edge of.it,for I often see His Excellency Jung-lu at.Tientsin and know him,in both word and deed,to be an upright and loyal man.I suggest Tung Fu-hsiang's Kansu Braves from Chichow to the outskirts of that the rumor is completely groundless.But T'an says,"Mr.Yuan,you Peking.It became obvious to the reformers that their ultimate fate are a straightforward man and therefore may not be aware of his guile. depended on the attitude of the military leaders,especially on He is outwardly nice to you,but in fact he is both suspicious and jealous that of Yuan Shih-k'ai,who had previously expressed sympathy of you.Your long,hard work has won admiration from people at home with the movement.On September 14,Yuan was ordered to Pe- and abroad,and yet you have been promoted only once.Why?It is en- tirely due to Jung-lu's obstruction.The other day Mr.K'ang spoke highly king for an audience with the emperor.They met on September of you to His Majesty,but the Emperor merely said that according to the 16,and immediately afterward Yuan was promoted from provin- Empress and Jung-lu,you were arrogant and disobedient.Many people cial judge to vice-president of the Board of War,in full command can prove this.It is perfectly true....Your recent promotion did not of all military training in the empire.The next morning,Yuan come at all easily.If you really mean to help His Majesty out of the went to the palace to express his gratitude;at that time,the em- present.difficulty,I have a plan." Mr.T'an then produces a piece of paper,...on which are these words: peror informed him of the irrevocable decision to pursue the re- "Jung-lu plans to dethrone and murder H.M.Traitorl Must be done form. away with as soon as possible-else H.M.'s position is untenable.Yuan On September 18,Yuan visited Li Hung-chang and later Prince leaves for Tientsin on the goth.Give him a mandate in the Vermilion Ch'ing.At dusk,he received a telegram from Jung-lu,urging him Pencil,ordering him to arrest and execute Jung-lu.Yuan takes over the to return to Tientsin at once because of reports that British and viceroyalty and the commissionership.Make known Jung-lu's treachery
40 THE ARMY THE ARMY 41 to the public.Stop telegraph'and railway services.Yuan.and.his troops should then come to Peking to guard the Forbidden City and besiege the But T'an is insistent:"His Majesty wants this to be done quickly.We Summer Palace.Commit suicide in H.M.'s presence if plan rejected." must come to a decision tonight so that I can report back to him.In fact, I am petrified and ask why I should besiege the Summer Palace."The I can show you a mandate in the Vermilion Pencil now."When Tan old rotten- -[the Dowager Empress]must be eliminated,or our coun- shows it to me,I see it is written in black ink.The handwriting is exqui- try will perish,"T'an explains,"but that will be my job.You need not site and the style similar to the sovereign's.It reads:"We have resolved bother."I tell him,"Her Majesty's regency of over so years has seen to reform,but the old ministers are reluctant to lend their support.We China safely through many disasters.She is widely loved.My soldiers are cannot force the pace,lest Her Gracious Majesty,the Dowager Empress, taught to be loyal;I cannot tuin them into rebels."T'an goes on,"I have be displeased.We hereby command Yang Jui,Liu Kuangti,Lin Hsii, recruited scores of brave men and have sent for many more from Hunan. and T'an Ssu-t'ung to find a better approach."The overall tone of the They will be here soon.It is my job to do away with the old rotten- mandate suggests that the four men named want to quicken the pace of you need not trouble yourself.What you,Mr.Yuan,must do is first kill reform,whereas His Majesty refuses to do so.I therefore say,"This.is Tung-lu and second besiege the Summer Palace.If you refuse,I shall die not in the Vermilion Pencil,and it mentions neither the execution of here and now.My life is now in your hands just as yours is in mine.We His Excellency Jung-lu nor the siege of the Summer Palace."Tan offers must come to a decision tonight before His Majesty receives me in audi- this explanation:"The copy in the Vermilion Pencil is with Lin Hsti; ence.” this'one was made out for me by Yang Jui.There is no doubt of its The conversation continues:I:"This is a grave matter that cannot be authenticity.It was issued three days ago.I was upset that Lin Hsui did decided in haste.I would sooner die than give you my word tonight. not let me have it at once.His negligence may ave.harmful conse- Furthermore,I do not believe that His Majesty will grant his permission quences.The better approach referred to here implies both points you without due consideration."T'an:"I have ways to make sure of that. have raised."His explanation confirms my suspicion of a forgery.There I can promise that you will get a mandate in the Vermilion Pencil on seems no point in continuing the discussion,so I make my position clear: the goth."He speaks with authority and inflexibility.Since he is in the "Heaven above me,I,Yuan-Shih-k'ai,have never been ungrateful to His sovereign's trust,I am wary of refusing him outright.I fear that unpre- Majesty.I will not put my liege lord in jeopardy.The whole subject dictable harm may come my way.All I can do under the circumstances must be thought over carefully and a foolproof plan devised.I must con- is to find excuses and avoid committing myself.I explain to him,"Tien- fess that I have no courage to become a public enemy." tsin is a cosmopolitan city.The assassination of the Viceroy there is T'an remains inflexible....I have also noticed that something like a bound to arouse a great outcry among the inhabitants,Chinese and for- weapon bulges out from under his jacket.I have a feeling that he is deter- eigners alike;it may provide the foreign powers with an excuse to inter- mined not to leave empty-handed.Therefore I tell him,"There will be vene and carve China up like a melon.Moreover,the armies of Generals a military review in Tientsin next month,where all the armies will con- Sung,Tung,and Nieh each number about 40,o00 to 50,000 men.There gregate.If His Majesty cares to give us even a scrap of paper,who dares are also other-troops [near Tientsin],including 7o corps of the Hwai to disobey and what cannot be accomplished?""That is too far away," Army.Several thousand Manchu forces are stationed at the capital.Ihave T'an claims."His Majesty might be murdered before then."I say that I only 7,000 men,of.whom 6,000 can be thrown into battle.How can I do not believe anything of the kind will happen....T'an asks,"If the possibly hope to succeed in what you ask me to do?As soon as I make a ceremony is called off,what then?"I reply,"The ceremony is being pre- move,the capital will be heavily guarded.The sovereign's position will pared and thousands of taels have already been spent on it.I do not certainly become untenable.""But Mr.Yuan,"T'an argues,"I am sure think that Their Majesties will change their minds.Furthermore,I shall you can strike,a lightning blow.As soon as you act,a mandate in the request His Excellency Jung-lu to make sure that the Empress does.not Vermilion Pencil will be issued to all our armies;the foreign embassies revoke her decision.I shall see to that."T'an warns me,"It is now en- will be informed as well.No one will dare oppose you."I then note, tirely up to you either to repay the sovereign's.kindness,to help him out "Mos.of my army's supplies are stored in Tientsin;..I must have time of his predicament...or to betray him,to endanger his life in order to to accumulate ammunition and provisions before taking action.""I shall obtain power and wealth."I retort,"What sort of man do you think I ask His Majesty to give you a mandate in the Vermilion Pencil,"T'an am?My family has received imperial benevolence for three generations suggests,"while you go on with your preparations..When you are ready, now.Do you think I am so ungrateful as to turn traitor?I will risk my please et me know,sot凸hat we can act in concert.”“I am not thinking life for my Emperor and my country."Tan is visibly moved.He stands of my own safety,"I add,"but what will,we do.if news of the plan leaks up,salutes me,and calls me a good man.... out,placing His Majesty in danger?No,nothing should be put in writ- On the 2oth,I bid farewell to His Majesty....When I arrive at Tien- ing.There must be no mandate in the Vermilion Pencil.Please allow tsin,it is already dusk.I pay a visit to His Excellency Jung-lu at once me time to think.I shall let you know within two or three weeks." and report the latest developments at the palace.I say that His Majesty is loyal to the Empress,but that there are rogues forming cliques in the