Military Control and Discipline The obvious solution to the
financial burden created by enlarged provincial armies was to
reduce their size. Recognizing this solution and carrying it
out, though, were two different things. For the provincial
governments to be able to implement an extensive program of
disbandment, they had to be sufficiently in control of their
armies to ensure obedience to demobilization orders. In the
immediate aftermath of the revolution, this was by no means a
foregone conclusion. In both Hubei and Hunan, rapid military
expansion was accompanied by a considerable weakening of the
chain of command and a slackening of military discipline, which
raised serious doubts about the ability of the provincial
governments, or their military governors, to control their
provincial armies. While making disbandment more difficult, the
problem of military control became an additional argument for
its necessity. The proliferation of military units during the
1911 Revolution, however necessary, was hardly c