The origin of the new army at the end of the Qing Dynasty
When the new army at the end of the Qing Dynasty first started, it is difficult to verify. However, during the process of the suppression of and Taiping Heavenly Kingdom by the Hunan Army, many of the firearms of the Hunan Army were purchased from abroad, and the Chinese had already understood the combat effectiveness of the foreign guns; later on , Zongtang Zuo, Li Hongzhang directly hired foreigners to train to form the Yanggun team . It has not only equipped itself, but also began to approach Westernization in its military governance ideas. In the 20th year of Guangxu, Li Hongzhang accepted the suggestion of the German military adviser Hannagen, and ordered the Lu salt transport ambassador and Hu Yufen to train a new type of army with Western France, called " Dingwu Army. span11span", this is the embryonic form of the Beiyang New Army. The following year, Hu Yufen transferred, and Yuan Shikai formally took over.
In the twenty-fifth year of Guangxu, the Manchu Ronglu took over the new army and reorganized several new armies into " military guard ". Yuan Shikai’s "Dingwu Army" was organized into the Wuwei You Army and was stationed in Tianjin; was changed to Nie Shicheng’s Wuyi Army was the former Wuwei Army, stationed in Kaiping; Dong Fuxiang Ganjun was the Wuwei Rear Army, _span 11span jizhou ; Song Qingyi's army is Wuwei Zuojun,Stationed in Shanhaiguan; Ronglu led the Chinese army, stationed in Nanyuan . After the reform , Cixi gradually felt the threat of decentralization, and let Manchu Ronglu lead the reorganization. It was undoubtedly centralized power and the control of the military was dispersed to outsiders. At the same time, Rong Lu also had a hand, and also played a certain role as a "papermaker" in the late Qing Dynasty.
But it was also a fate. During the Eight-Nation Allied Forces invasion war, the front, rear, and Chinese troops suffered many casualties and disintegrated, and the spin was cancelled. The Left Army was also weakened by injuries and was incorporated into the Beiyang Army system after the Republic of China. Only Wu Wei Youjun preserved its strength and was expanded. Wuwei Youjun followed Yuan Shikai to Shandong to suppress Boxer Movement, where Yuan Shikai reorganized the thirty-fourth battalion army and named it "Wuwei Youjun Pioneer" and made Wuwei Youjun plus the Vanguard to expand to More than 20,000 people. The left army no longer possesses the power to check and balance, which led to the dominance of the right army.
Beiyang New Army became an army
In the 27th year of Guangxu, Yuan Shikai served as governor of Zhili and minister of Beiyang, based on Wuwei Youjun to build the Beiyang Standing Army, Guangxu 30th year, expansion To the three towns, all the original standing army towns were renamed the army towns. Soon, based on the Beiyang Standing Army, the Jingqi Standing Army, the original Wuweiyou Army, and the First Division of the Self-Strengthening Army, Beiyang Six Towns was built in Beijing, Tianjin, and Shandong (Yuan Shikai is directly under the jurisdiction of the Shandong Inspectorate).
The Beiyang New Army has been the mobile force of the Qing court since its establishment, and its combat effectiveness should not be underestimated. Soldiers must be between 20 and 25 years old, be taller than 1.6, be able to lift a hundred pounds, march more than 20 miles per hour, have no bad habits, and be disciplined and law-abiding. The equipment is almost entirely imported, and it believes that " artillery is the god of war",The firepower is very powerful, equipped with German Krupp artillery, and Maxim machine gun . Almost half of the Qing government’s military expenditure was on the Beiyang Army. The establishment of the Beiyang New Army was the beginning of the Qing Dynasty’s modernization as well as the beginning of the Chinese military’s modernization. Therefore, compared with the previous army, the Beiyang New Army was more effective in every aspect. It is slightly better.
In terms of the combat effectiveness of the Beiyang New Army, the Beiyang New Army is well-equipped and well-trained, whether it is the massive second revolution or the Bailang uprising, or even the Mongolian rebellion supported by Russia, Beiyangxin The army can do it easily. For the Qing court, there is no doubt that this force is really fragrant.
Other New Army
In the 31st year of Guangxu, under the influence of the Beiyang New Army, even though financial resources are tight, the whole country is still divided into 36 towns, except for the six Beiyang towns. Group thirty more. In the third year of Xuantong, the Wuchang uprising broke out, and only 26 towns were established, with a total of 160,000 people, that is, 20 towns except Beiyang.
These new troops have three characteristics, which are incomparable with the Beiyang New Army:
First, military expenditure, the military expenditure of 20 towns is about the same as that of Beiyang Six Towns, and the local greedy ink is estimated to be less; while Yuan Shikai’s troops have a military demand. The control is extremely strict, and deduction of military pay is a felony; therefore, the cost of 20 towns is actually not as good as Beiyang 6 towns;
The second is equipment, there is only so much money, and a lot of people; if the money is not enough, you can only use the place. The inferior weapons made, and there are not so many artillery, the firepower is definitely not as good as Beiyang;
Third, it is a local station, not a national army. Many troops are strictly restricted in their use and movement, and the central government’s attempts to make adjustments are not smooth.
In summary, why the Beiyang New Army became the only usable army in the late Qing Dynasty.Although strength is one aspect, entanglement with local governments is another aspect.
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