It seems like China throughout the warlord era, the Japanese invasion, the Civil War, exile to Taiwan, etc, should have been a ruthlessly Darwinian environment that would have chewed up mediocrities.
Yet the story I keep hearing about Chiang Kai-Shek is that he was a corrupt and inept mediocrity. Ultimately, he lost control of most of China, but he effectively ruled China for a fairly long time, and even after the communists won the mainland, the KMT stuck by him.
What did Chiang bring to the table that other Chinese warlords like Cao Kun didn't? Was it just that his wife was really good at persuading Americans to give aid? Or was it just luck?
Actually, when Chiang refused to unite with the communists and form a united front against the Japanese he was kidnapped by his warlord ally Zhang Xueilang in what's known as the Xi'an incident. There were voices calling for his execution and had he not accepted the proposal, Chiang most likely would have been killed.
Chiang survive because he was adept at political maneuvering. Chiang only ever advanced people who were loyal to him., while this hurt the country in a number of ways it did make Chiang kai shek's position secure. And any hint of rebellion or disobedience was swiftly dealt with. For example when a warlord refused to follow Chiang kai shek's orders, Chiang lured him to Najing by saying that he needed to speak to him, the warlord was quickly taken out back and shot.
Source:
Jonathan fenby: a history of china