Why did the Nationalist government collapse? Chiang Kai-shek had a style of government that maximized his power by creating competing agencies which vied for power. Ultimately, nothing could get done without the personal attention of Chiang. He had little understanding of finance and simply demanded that banknotes be made available to pay for his military. The history of Chiang’s rise to power was impacted by the warlord era, which made the size of one’s army key.So he consistently rejected advice from foreign advisers to reduce the size of his military and improve conditions for soldiers. Low morale in the underpaid army led to defections. The collapse of the Chiang government reveals the perils of having too much authority in the hands of one individual.