On this day, 89 years ago, on November 2, 1936 (September 19, 1936, the lunar calendar), Duan Qirui, the "Sixth Prime Minister" who was clean and honest all his life, passed away. Duan Qirui (March 6, 1865-November 2, 1936) On November 2, 1936, Duan Qirui died of illness in Shanghai. Duan Qirui, originally known as Qirui, was also known as Zhiquan, and was known as Zhengdao Old Man in the evening. Born in Hefei, Anhui Province in 1865. In 1885, he entered the Artillery Section of Tianjin Wubei School. After graduating in 1889, he went to Germany to study military affairs. In 1896, he founded the Beiyang Army with Yuan Shikai. He served as the chief office of the Baoding Officers Academy, the sixth town control, and the Jiangbei prefect. Together with Feng Guozhang and Wang Shizhen, they are collectively called the "Three Heroes of Beiyang". After the outbreak of the Revolution of 1911, he served as the military commander of the Second Army and acted as the governor of Huguang. Since 1912, he has served successively as Chief of the Army, Chief of Staff, and Prime Minister of the Beijing government. After Yuan Shikai died, he controlled the Beijing government and competed for power with President Li Yuanhong. There was a dispute over the government and court, and he became the leader of the Anhui warlords. After Zhang Xun's restoration, he served as commander-in-chief of the rebellion army. In August 1917, China declared war on Germany and served as the supervisor of the War Affairs Office. In 1920, China organized the National Army and served as commander-in-chief. It failed and stepped down in the Zhihui War. In 1924, he became the interim government of Beijing after the Second Zhifeng War. The following year, a post-disaster meeting was held to boycott the National Conference advocated by Sun Yat-sen. In 1926, he condoned the military police to shoot and kill patriotic students, resulting in the "March 18th" tragedy. In April of the same year, he was expelled from office by Feng Yuxiang and lived in seclusion in the Tianjin Concession. In 1935, he was appointed as a member of the National Government by the Kuomintang government but did not take office. He died of illness in Shanghai on November 2, 1936. Duan Qirui, the former site of Duan Qirui's ruling office, Beijing. Extended reading: "Sixth Prime Minister" Duan Qirui: A clean and honest life and a "Beijing drift" home without real estate Extended reading: "Sixth Prime Minister" Duan Qirui: A clean and honest life and a "Beijing drift" home without real estate. Two consecutive wives Duan Qirui married a second wife and a fifth wife. After the death of the first wife, Wu, she left behind a son and a daughter. The second wife, Zhang Heng, Yuan Shikai's goddaughter, had four daughters. As for his fifth aunt, Mrs. Zhang successively recruited Duan Qirui into the house. Because Mrs. Zhang had no son, she was afraid that others would say that she was not virtuous enough, so she had no choice but to do it. The eldest aunt, Tai Chen, passed away as early as 1914, leaving behind a son and daughter unfortunately lost their lives early; the second aunt, Tai Bian, only had one daughter; the third aunt, Tai He, and the fourth aunt, Tai Du, were surnamed Liu, and the servants called them Liu San and Liu Si. The fifth aunt's surname was Li, so she followed the call Li Wu. These three aunts were all from low backgrounds and had all been bought with money. Duan Qirui had a big temper. He was very strict with his wife and aunt at home. However, from a certain angle, his family management was a failure. He himself is known as the "six non-touch prime minister", that is, no corruption fat oneself, do not sell official titles, do not smoke big cigarettes, do not drink alcohol, do not prostitute, do not gamble money. He especially hated smoking cigarettes. He didn't expect his wives and aunts to smoke behind his back. When Duan Qirui left the field, he lived in the residence of his subordinate Wei Zonghan on Xumo Street, Tianjin's Japanese Concession. The following year, he was invited by Tian Zhongyu, a subordinate of the Anhui Department, to Dalian for recuperation. Accompanied by Mrs. Zhang and his second aunt. The few aunts who stayed at home were out of control. They often dressed up and secretly slipped out to watch movies, listen to operas, boating, and visit the market, attracting bees and butterflies everywhere. They often returned to the residence in the middle of the night. After Duan Qirui returned to Tianjin, he suddenly discovered that something was wrong at home. The servants were whispering among themselves, and the third aunt and the fourth aunt were always evasive when talking. One night, Duan Qirui couldn't sleep. He got up and went for a walk in the yard alone, just in time to bump into his third aunt returning from outside. At that time, Duan Qirui's shock was tantamount to seeing an alien. He had no idea that his woman would dress up like a singer and return in the middle of the night! Third Aunt was also stunned and scared. She understood Duan Qirui's temper and knew that there was a bad chance that awaited her. Duan Qirui stared at Third Aunt, slapped her face in the face, and scolded: "Shameless thing!" The next day, Duan Qirui asked Mrs. Zhang to send her third aunt back to her mother's home in Beijing. Mrs. Zhang had long heard of the affair between the third aunt and the fourth aunt, but she had kept it from Duan Qirui. With Duan Qirui's temper, she was worried that something big would happen. Now that I see Duan Qirui so calm, I feel relieved. However, the third aunt was crying too much and refused to leave, which made her feel a little sad. After sending off the third aunt, soon word of the fourth aunt's romantic affair broke out again. Duan Qirui divorced the fourth aunt in a fit of anger and sent her back to her mother's home. Duan Qirui has strict requirements for his children and never gives any special care. Duan Hongye, the eldest son born to Mrs. Wu, was fostered with relatives since he was a child and returned to Duan Qirui when he was a teenager. Although he was not well educated, like Duan Qirui, he loved Go very much and was a prominent figure in the Go world at that time. Because of this, Duan Qirui likes Duan Hongye very much. However, it still did not pave the way for his future, but taught him to start from the lowest level and climb higher step by step based on his own abilities. Duan Qirui runs the family strictly, and his wife, aunts and children are not allowed to interfere in official business. Once, an aunt wanted to do a certain job for an old mother's relative and begged for mercy in front of Duan Qirui. Duan Qirui was so angry that his nose was crooked when he heard this and he scolded angrily: "Do you want to buy an official position? Tell me how much money you got!" The aunt shed tears on the spot because she was too wronged, but Duan Qirui had no mercy on the girl and scolded her severely before giving up. From then on, no one in the family dared to plead with Duan Qirui. After Duan Qirui became an official, people often came to visit his hometown in Hefei. The purpose was to ask him to find a good job for him. Duan Qirui refused to handle it at all. He just entertained these relatives with delicious food and drinks for a few days, and then gave them some money to send them away. Even when his brother Duan Qifu came to visit, he showed no mercy. At that time, he was already Prime Minister, and arranging an appointment was a very simple matter, but Duan Qirui thought that Duan Qifu was not cut out to be an official, so he said to him: "You are not suitable for an official. I'd better give you a sum of money and go home to do a business." Therefore, few of Duan Qirui's relatives and friends were officials and made a fortune, which was extremely rare among the military and political officials at that time. The only exception to beating a nephew impartially and selflessly was when Duan Qirui arranged a cause for a distant nephew. Seeing that his nephew could endure hardships and was a promising talent, he found him a handyman for a military academy. To Duan Qirui's surprise, this nephew did not work as a handyman for a few days and was quickly promoted to military procurement. This is not because he has any personal abilities, but because he is a relative of Duan Qirui, and the military academy leaders fawned on him everywhere and willingly gave him this fat position. After this nephew became a military supply procurement officer, he was extremely happy and determined to do the job with his due diligence. However, when he looked at the white silver flowing through his hands every day, he quickly couldn't control it and his hands and feet became unclean. It was not until he had made enough money that he realized that all this was due to his uncle, so he decided to visit Duan Qirui. As soon as he entered Duan Mansion, the nephew saw a woman bargaining with a rice trader. Although the woman wore ordinary clothes, her demeanor was very unusual. She could tell that she was the hostess of Duan Mansion. The nephew couldn't help but be secretly surprised. He didn't expect that his uncle had such a big official position, and his family would have to plan so much when buying rice. The nephew did not go in to pay his respects to his uncle, but turned around and left the Duan Mansion. The next day, he came to Duanfu with a cart filled with rice, flour, oil and salt, chicken, ducks, fish and other foods. He introduced himself to Zhang Heng, Duan Qirui's successor wife, and then said: "From now on, I will come to deliver food every month. You will no longer have to bargain with those small dealers!" Before leaving, he even specifically instructed Mrs. Zhang not to tell her uncle about this. He had long heard that Duan Qirui would not accept gifts and was worried that these things would be sent back. However, Duan Qirui was very strict in governing the family. How could Mrs. Zhang dare not hide it? She told Duan Qirui about it that night. Duan Qirui immediately became furious after hearing this: "How did this kid get so much money? He also has to give it every month. I want to see where he gets this money!" Not long after, Duan Qirui visited the military academy and specifically asked the students about the food. The students generally reported that the dishes were single, not fresh, and the rice was not good. Duan Qirui came to the kitchen angrily and took a look. Sure enough, as the students said, he immediately called the quartermaster director and cursed at the beginning. The quartermaster was trembling, but he only murmured: "This is not my business, this is not my business... "I asked him again, and he said he didn't know, which made Duan Qirui angry and roared: " I don't know, right? Then drag him out and beat him with 50 batons!" These words really worked. The quartermaster immediately confessed Duan Qirui's nephew clearly and took out the ledger for Duan Qirui to see. Duan Qirui had long suspected his nephew. Now that all the witnesses and physical evidence were present, he immediately asked someone to tie his nephew over and "reward" him with 100 batons. 100 batons were enough to kill people. Fortunately, the executor showed mercy, and the nephew saved his life, but he was also disabled for life. After beating his nephew, Duan Qirui made another astonishing move. Regardless of others 'dissuasion, he took the initiative to enter the confinement room and stayed there for two days without food or drink to punish himself for appointing a private person. He refused to accept gifts all his life, but Duan Qirui himself never accepted gifts. Once, Qi Xieyuan, the governor of Jiangsu Province, gave him an exquisite screen. The screen was inlaid with various gemstones, which were colorful and dazzling. It was obvious at a glance that it was valuable. The Duan family couldn't put it down and even secretly got up in the middle of the night to enjoy it. But the next morning, Duan Qirui saw the screen, only glanced at it lightly, and then asked someone to send it back to Qi Xieyuan. Another time, Zhang Zuolin sent Duan Qirui some Northeast specialties, which were not very valuable, but Duan Qirui refused to accept them. Finally, after repeated pleas by Zhang Zuolin's adjutant, he accepted two river fish. There was only one time when Feng Yuxiang sent a big pumpkin. Duan Qirui liked it very much and made an exception not to send it back. During festivals and festivals, in accordance with custom, there is an endless stream of people giving gifts to Duan Qirui, but Duan Qirui only selects the most worthless gift from each person's gift and leaves behind, and returns the rest. Duan Qirui was clean and honest all his life. He never purchased a real estate or real estate. He did not even have a house in his hometown in Hefei. The house he lived in in Beijing was donated by Yuan Shikai. When he first arrived in Tianjin, he lived in the residence of his subordinate Wei Zonghan. Later, he moved out of the Japanese Concession and rented a low-rent house at No. 47 in the British Concession. When Duan Qirui was in power, although he often had to provide assistance to relatives in his hometown and the families of his wives and aunts, government allocations could still meet these expenses. Due to no property and savings, Duan Qirui's life was suddenly lost after he left the field. Fortunately, he had many subordinates and students, and he had to rely on their assistance at this time. After arriving in Tianjin, Duan Qirui tried every means to save expenses, and he had to personally ask about every household expense. His three meals a day are basically rice porridge, steamed buns, and vegetarian vegetables. His clothes are all made of cloth in all seasons, and the number of servants has also been reduced. Due to the shortage of manpower, he and his wife and aunts often had to do some simple housework by themselves. After moving to Shanghai, with the monthly living expenses donated by Chiang Kai-shek, Duan Qirui no longer worried about expenses. He played a game of chess in the residence every day, and spent the rest of the time either chanting scriptures or reading. Whenever a friend visits and talks about the Japanese army's expansion into North China and the enemy-occupied area expanding day by day, Duan Qirui is always sad for a long time. In the spring of 1934, Duan Qirui suffered a gastric ulcer, causing gastric bleeding and was sent to the hospital for treatment. Due to Duan Qirui's weak body, doctors and family members advised him to practice meat to strengthen nutrition. Duan Qirui flatly refused: "People can die, but meat must never be cooked!" On November 1, 1936, Duan Qirui's stomach disease recurred and his stomach bleeding continued. He died at Shanghai Hongen Hospital on the evening of November 2 at the age of 71. This article is excerpted from: "The Final Outcome of China Warlords", author: Yang Fan, Press: Chinese Publishing House