In the melee between warlords, the equipment of the Sichuan army can be said to be extremely simple. However, also from the southwest, the Yunnan army is known as the "elite of the country", and its combat effectiveness is not weaker than that of the Central Army, and some of its equipment is even stronger than that of the Japanese army. What means did the Yunnan warlords use to make the Yunnan army show its fighting capacity that is extremely inconsistent with the barren land in southwest China?
The formation of Yunnan Army can be traced back to the new army and Yunnan Military Academy in the late Qing Dynasty. After the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, the Qing Dynasty put forward the slogan of "strengthening the army with force to save the country from peril" and planned to set up 36 new armies in towns (divisions) across the country.
Yunnan is located in the frontier. In order to meet the needs of national defense, the Qing government planned to build two new cities, but it was not until the outbreak of the Revolution of 1911 that the military town 19 was built. Although only one town has been built, 19 town has more than 60 patrol battalions in Yunnan province, with more than 35,000 troops, making it a stronger town.
In order to meet the needs of the new army, the famous Yunnan Military Academy was established immediately. Cai E and Tang Dou once taught in person, and countless marshals and generals graduated from this school. Yunnan Military Academy has not only become the cradle of Yunnan army officers and soldiers, but also won the praise of the world. "The Wujiang Pavilion in Yunnan is as famous as Japanese cadets and Baoding Military Academy".
19 Town Army and Yunnan Wujiang Guild Hall laid a solid foundation for the rise of Yunnan Army. In the Revolution of 1911, Yunnan took the lead in the uprising. During the national protection movement, Yunnan took the lead in playing the banner of begging Yuan. Facing the Beiyang army several times bigger than themselves, the soldiers of Yunnan army fought bravely and finally won the national protection movement.
From the Revolution of 1911 to the movement to defend the country, the Yunnan army turned the tide twice, which resulted in the saying that "the Yunnan army is the best in the world". Not limited to the special historical background at that time, the two wars also made the warlord Tang not only control Yunnan and Guizhou, but also further pushed his power to Sichuan, Guangdong and Guangxi.
Yunnan is an economically backward area with poor land and backward transportation. Obviously, financial resources and military strength can't meet the wariness of warlords, so Tang put forward "Great Dian Doctrine". Under the banner of the revolution to protect the family, Tang first changed the Yunnan army into a "national army."
The national army is funded by the central government, but if the central government is unable to pay, it can openly order the troops stationed in Sichuan, Guangdong and Yunnan to intercept local tariffs and salt taxes and use the money from neighboring provinces to support their soldiers. In addition to withholding taxes, Tang gradually controlled Sichuan's economy through the force in his hand, and constantly collected taxes from neighboring provinces.
After all, the southwest is not as good as the southeast, and Tang doesn't have much oil and water. In fact, the military expenditure of Yunnan army mainly depends on opium. Most of Yunnan's land and climate are particularly suitable for poppy cultivation, and the opium produced can be comparable to the top opium in India, Persia and Turkey in color, fragrance and taste.
The economic pillar of Yunnan army;
In the movement to protect the country, Tang broke the precedent of smoking ban for the first time, not only allowing Yunnan troops to carry opium to pay their salaries, but also putting forward the slogan of "banning opium" and forcibly determining the opium planting area in each county. The county magistrate who fails to complete the task will be punished, and the county magistrate who overfulfils will get the pure gold medal of Tang Dynasty.
At first, Yunnan's tobacco soil only circulated in the province, but with the rapid increase of output, Yunnan began to sell well all over the country, and even smuggled overseas from Guangdong, which seriously impacted the British opium trade. In order to prevent the huge profits brought by opium from falling into the hands of businessmen, Tang set up a co-ordination office to monopolize the opium trade in Yunnan in the name of banning smoking.
The opium trade supported the rapid development of the Tang and Yunnan armies, and the popularity of cloud pictures made a large number of southeast wealth gather in the hands of Yunnan warlords, and then he bought new weapons from the French army. Relying on opium, Yunnan warlords not only maintained a strong army, but also had a great influence on neighboring provinces.
The warlords in Guangxi once said that no matter who comes to power, they dare not offend Yunnan and Guizhou provinces. Yunnan-Guizhou is the main opium producing area, and not going to Yunnan-Guizhou Guangxi is equivalent to cutting off the lifeline of Guangxi warlords. According to some data, the general revenue of Guangxi's finance comes from the anti-smoking fine imposed on opium.
The elite of Yunnan army is the result of many factors, which Sichuan army can't have, but it is gratifying that both Yunnan army and Sichuan army have made great sacrifices and contributions to the country and people after the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War.
Reference to the above content: Baidu Encyclopedia-Yunnan Army