How to evaluate the historical figure Duan Qirui

Duan Qirui, known as the "Tiger of the North", served as prime minister and in power. He had the reputation of "three creations of peace" and was a rare honest official at the time. His life-long motto was "no smoking, no drinking, no whoring, no gambling, no greed, and no possession." He was known as the "Six Nos". During the Republic of China, when materialism prevailed and officials were greedy, he was an alternative to officialdom.

At that time, it was very fashionable for high-ranking officials to have three wives and six concubines, and Duan Qirui was no exception, having several concubines. His fourth concubine was as beautiful as a flower, knowledgeable and courteous, and Duan Qirui liked her very much. But as soon as she entered the door, she looked sad and worried. It turned out that she already had someone she liked. Duan Qirui reluctantly gave up his love, and told his wife to buy a dowry just like marrying a daughter, and lively and happily fulfilled her marriage to the man of her dreams. The story of Duan Qirui getting his concubine married was a good story at the time.

Duan Qirui did not own any real estate in his life, which was unique among the warlord politicians in the early years of the Republic of China. Duan Qirui had been living in a rented house in Beijing until Yuan Shikai gave the Duan family a house in the name of giving a house to his adopted daughter (Duan married Yuan Shikai's adopted daughter Zhang after the death of his first wife). The original owner of this property mortgaged the house to Yuan Shikai after losing 400,000 yuan while playing cards with Yuan Shikai, but he did not give the deed. After Lao Yuan died, the landlord's son came to Duan Qirui with the deed and wanted to take back the house. When Duan Qirui saw that the house deed was in his hand, he moved his family with him without saying a word. He only lived in this house for two years. Later, when Duan Qirui went to Tianjin and Shanghai, he always rented a house.

As the military and political leader of a country, there will naturally be a long queue of people giving gifts to Duan Qirui, but he never accepts gifts. He only does so when his closest subordinates and friends receive gifts but are disrespectful. Choose one or two of the least valuable items from the gift and keep them, and return the rest. Qi Xieyuan, the governor of Jiangsu, once gave Duan Qirui a screen inlaid with various gems, which was colorful and very precious. Duan Qirui's family members liked it very much and hoped that Duan could keep this treasure. Unexpectedly, Duan sent someone to return the screen to Qi Xieyuan early the next morning. Zhang Zuolin sent Duan some Northeastern specialties, which were not valuable, but Duan Qirui refused to accept them. Finally, after Lieutenant Zhang Zuolin repeatedly begged, he reluctantly accepted two river fish. There was only one exception, Duan Qirui accepted all the gifts given by others, which was a big pumpkin sent by Feng Yuxiang, because there was really no way to cut the pumpkin in half and return it to Feng Yuxiang.

The influence of thousands of years of family tradition and hereditary tradition in China has made high-ranking officials always want to protect their descendants. The phenomenon of "when one person attains enlightenment, chickens and dogs ascend to heaven" has been common in Chinese history, but Duan Qirui is an exception. The rules of the Duan family are very strict, and neither the wife nor the concubine is allowed to interfere in official affairs. There was a concubine who wanted to find a job for a relative of the old woman. Duan Qirui immediately got angry and twisted his nose (Duan Qirui's nose will be crooked when he is angry), saying that he would not do anything to sell his official position. Duan Qirui's son Duan Hongye was fostered by relatives since he was a child, and returned to Duan Qirui when he was a teenager. Due to the lack of good education when he was a child, his educational level was not high. Many people advised Duan Qirui to arrange a position for his son in a government department, but Duan refused. In his opinion, his children should rely on themselves, starting from the bottom and working their way up step by step. They should not become officials all at once. His younger brother Duan Qifu came to Beijing to ask his eldest brother to find him an official position. Duan Qirui refused and gave him some money to go back to business.

The most commendable thing is that Duan Qirui's insistence on using force to regain Outer Mongolia has been passed down as a historical legend.

This matter begins with the Revolution of 1911. On October 3, 1912, Kosovits, the former Russian minister to China, signed the "Russian-Kurban Treaty" with the "Government of Jebzundamba" in Cullen. The treaty stipulates: "The Beiyang government shall not station officials or troops in Outer Mongolia, and shall not immigrate." It also stipulates that "the territory of Outer Mongolia is under the jurisdiction of the former Qing Kulun Minister, General Ulyasutai and Counselor Khovd." Later, under the strong opposition of Yuan Shikai's government, Outer Mongolia announced the cancellation of the "independent Great Mongolia and the Dai Nian title". Yuan Sui canonized the eighth Jebtsundamba as "Kutuktu Khan".

After Yuan Shikai's death, the Beiyang warlords fell into civil war and Outer Mongolia became independent again. This triggered an independence and anti-independence struggle between the monks and laymen in the upper echelons of Outer Mongolia. Jebtsundamba Hutuktu sent people to poison the pro-China minister Hangda Dorji and the prince of Saiyinnoyan tribe Namu Nangsu. Lun.

In November 1919, as Russia was caught in its own civil war, it had no time to take care of Outer Mongolia. At this time, the "armed unification faction" in Beiyang had squeezed out Feng Guozhang. Duan Qirui, the head of the government of the Republic of China, decided to send troops to Outer Mongolia and sent the Zhili clique general Xu Shuzheng to lead his troops to attack Kulun and kidnap the "Cabinet Prime Minister" Badma Dorzi. , under house arrest, he disrespected Danbatuktu and tore up the Sino-Russian Joint Statement.

On November 17 of that year, Outer Mongolia formally petitioned President Xu Shichang to abrogate all treaties between Russia and Mongolia. On November 27, the Chinese Presidential Announcement officially ordered the cancellation of Outer Mongolia’s autonomy, and at the same time declared that “the China-Russia Statement and the Kyakhta Agreement are permanently invalid.” Duan Qirui established the "Northwestern Frontier Preparatory Office of the Republic of China" in Kulun, with Xu Shuzheng stationed in Outer Mongolia, and regained Tangnu Ulianghai by force in one fell swoop. All of Mongolia is returned to China! Unfortunately, the civil war broke out shortly afterwards, General Xu Shuzheng was killed, and Duan was forced to step down. The Northwest Frontier Defense Force established by Duan was also destroyed in the civil war, and Outer Mongolia and Tangnu Ulianghai were once again occupied by the Soviet Union.

On January 18, 1915, Japan proposed the "Twenty-One Measures" to Yuan Shikai. On February 1, Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang, leading the generals of the 19th Province, sent a telegram to the Beiyang government to express their opposition, saying that "there are plans to sabotage If China becomes perfect, it will be rejected with all its strength. Although China is weak, its citizens will rise up and die for the country." On March 19, Yuan Shikai held a meeting with Japan, and Duan Qirui advocated toughness. On May 2, Chief of Staff Li Yuanhong, Chief of the Army Duan Qirui, and Chief of the Navy Liu Guanxiong led their three ministries to Guanyue Temple to swear an oath to show the military's loyalty to the country. On May 8, the cabinet discussed the Japanese ultimatum requiring Yuan Shikai to sign the "Twenty-One" ultimatum. Duan Qirui held the sole objection and advocated mobilizing the army and taking a tough stance against Japan. However, Yuan Shikai decided to give in, and Duan resigned due to illness on the 30th. .

After Duan Qirui left power in his later years, he still maintained his integrity and did not cooperate with the Japanese invaders. After the September 18th Incident, Japan supported Puyi to establish the Puppet Manchukuo. The spy chief Kenji Doihara secretly visited Duan Qirui in Tianjin many times, hoping to ask Duan to come forward to organize the North China government, and promised that as long as Duan agreed, Japan would He would give full support, but was sternly rejected by Duan Qirui. In order to avoid the Japanese threat, Duan Qirui moved his family to Shanghai and publicly expressed his anti-Japanese attitude. In an interview with a reporter from Shenbao, he said: "Japan's violent behavior has reached the point where emotions and reasons cannot be explained. Our country can only work together with one heart and one mind and work hard to seek for itself. As the saying goes: It is better to seek help from others than from yourself. The whole country is actively preparing , If we work together to deal with it, even if we have ten countries, why should we be afraid? "" The patriotic government and the opposition are united, and the only way to save the country is to save ourselves.

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