Look at Yuan Shikai first.
Yuan Shikai, the founder of Beiyang Army, was born better than others. Yuan Shikai was born in a big family in Xiangcheng, Henan Province. His great-uncle, Yuan Jiasan, was the governor of grain transportation, participated in the suppression of Taiping Army and Nian Army, and was the pillar of this family. His biological father was Yuan Baozhong, a landlord and gentry in Xiangcheng County, who donated a position as a Tongzhi official. It can be said that Yuan Shikai was also born in an official family. At first, Yuan Shikai prepared to enter the official position through the imperial examination, but he failed all the time. Later, he began to join the army. From 65438 to 0882, Yuan Shikai went to Korea with Wu Changqing, and began his official career. He also made a fortune as a soldier, a road that many people were not ashamed of at that time.
Take a look at Beiyang Sanjie.
The three outstanding northern figures are Wang Shizhen, the section of Beiyang Shenhu, and Feng, the dog of Beiyang Shenhu. Wang Shizhen's great-grandfather, Wang Luan, was a scholar who was good at medicine and calligraphy. Besides medicine and engineering, he is also a military scholar. Wang Shizhen's father and uncle died young, and he lived alone with his widowed mother. Doctors were looked down upon by others at that time, so Wang Shizhen was born in a bad family. Plus living in someone else's house, so it's not good. When Wang Shizhen 15 years old, he was chosen by Ye Zhichao, Zhengding Town, and accepted as an orderly. 17 years old, admitted to Zhengding town company commanders cadet team. He went to the army because he was forced by his livelihood and had no money at home, so he went to the army.
There's another paragraph. Duan's background is relatively better. His grandfather and uncle are both generals of Huai Army. 1885 was admitted to Beiyang armament school to study artillery. 1889 was sent to Germany to study military affairs for two years. Compared with other generals, Duan graduated from an authentic training class and also from a foreign training class. Although his family is an official, it is only a military attache. Although the status is not high, it is still good. Compared with Wang Shizhen, it is really much better.
Take one last look at Feng. The Feng family was originally a big family in the village. His grandfather Feng Pizhen is a wealthy family with 300 mu of land and one of the four big families in the village. His father, Feng Chuntang, lost his mind because of the imperial examination and suffered from natural disasters, and his family fortune gradually declined. When Feng was born, it was difficult for the family to make ends meet. Later, with the support of his uncle, he went to college for two years. 1884, introduced by his uncle, Feng went to Dagukou to join the Huai Army and started his military career.
Let's take a look at other leaders of Beiyang Army.
Let me start with Zhang. Zhang's experience is relatively rich. His family is ok, and he could afford to go to a private school when he was a child. However, Zhang's father, Zhang Youcai, was killed by a gambler, and Zhang and his second brother went to take revenge. The gun accidentally went off, injuring people. The second brother was arrested and he escaped. Later, forced by life, Zhang sold baked wheat cakes, studied as a carpenter, worked as a peddler and worked as a veterinarian. After the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, Zhang served as a soldier at the headquarters of the Qing army and was later promoted to a cavalry sentry. After that, he was a bandit. 1902, Zhang accepted the enlistment and officially started his career. I have to say, compared with Beiyang Sanjie, Zhang's life is even worse.
Let me talk about Cao Kun again. After Feng died, he became the direct leader. Cao Kun was born in the home of Cao Bensheng, a poor shipbuilder in Dagu, Tianjin. His father worked as a pioneer, building wooden boats for others for many years to maintain the life of this family of 10 people. However, Cao Kun's father was far-sighted. Although he had no money, he managed to send all his children to private schools. Cao Kun 16 years old began to make a living by selling cloth and suffered from discrimination. 1882, 20-year-old Cao Kun was drafted into the army and began his military career. He joined the army because of his life.
Then look at Wu. Wu was born in a relatively good family. He studied since he was a child, which shows that his family is still rich. 1896 was admitted as a scholar, which can be said to be the highest cultural level among Beiyang warlords. Later, Wu was deprived of his reputation as a scholar because he accused men and women of performing on the same stage. After that, Wu went to Beijing and did everything to make a living. 1898, Wu's cousin Wu sponsored and invested in Nie Shicheng's department in Wuwei, Tianjin, and was appointed as a monk somewhere in the pipeline, which was known by Guo Xudong, a copywriter. Officially began his military career. Because he is a scholar, he is still very respected among the northern warlords.
Take a last look at Sun Fangchuan. When Sun was young, his father Sun Yudian died and his life fell into poverty. After that, he followed his mother to other people. When I was 4 years old, I fled to Licheng with my mother to make a living because I couldn't stand the abuse of my aunt. I've been running around for a living ever since. 1902, Sun was recommended by Wang Yingkai as a student soldier in a formal training camp, and his military career began. To put it bluntly, he joined the army to make a living.
Looking at all the leaders of Beiyang warlords, their backgrounds are not very good. The best are Yuan Shikai and Duan, but their family background is not very prominent. Most of these people go to the army because of their lives. In fact, under the circumstances at that time, people with better family circumstances were reluctant to join the army. It can be said that among all the northern warlords, there are very few people with good backgrounds, and most of them have poor backgrounds.