Chapter 22 Section VIII

On October 11, 1911, the gunfire of the Wuchang Uprising reached the Yangshou Garden, which was Yuan Shikai's 52nd birthday. Nothing compares to this birthday gift.Yuan Shikai knew that the opportunity he had been waiting for for more than two years had arrived: what capital did the Qing Dynasty have?It is the Beiyang Army; whose Beiyang Army belongs to it?He Yuan Shikai! Yin Chang, the Minister of War who led the south to suppress the Wuchang Uprising, grinned and said when others said Zhuang Xing's words to him: "I am going this time, shall I fight with my fist or kick?" A team that can march and fight and maneuver freely.

Sure enough, the Beiyang army lazily marched to Xiaogan, Hubei, approaching the front line, and Yinchang could no longer command.The soldiers said almost openly: "Why do we follow the Manchus to fight the Han Chinese?" Apart from using Yuan Shikai, the Qing court had no other way out. Zaifeng, who regretted not being able to kill Yuan Shikai at first, now wants to use Yuan Shikai to save his life. One can imagine his mood.When he decided to use Yuan Shikai again under the urging of his officials, he was humiliated and worried, and he couldn't help crying. On October 14, the imperial edict ordered Yuan Shikai to replace the useless Ruicheng as the governor of Huguang, and to command the armies in Wuhan.

Yuan Shikai smiled slightly, and replied: I am very grateful for the great kindness and virtue of the court, but my old Yuan's foot is very sick, and he has not healed well, so he can't hold any position. How could the Qing court care about his attitude? It's time to use you, so just put on airs.Four days later, an edict was issued to urge him to take office. Yuan Shikai vented his anger and began to raise conditions, a total of six: convene a congress, form a responsible cabinet, lift the ban on the party, tolerate the insurgents, take over the military power of the whole country, and lenient military expenses.

These six articles have two intentions: one is to seek power and money, and the other is to reform the political system.Reforming the political system is the same as asking for power and money, paving the way for his own future. Yuan Shikai's sophistication is here. He can see very clearly that now the Qing court is dying, and the strength is exhausted. There are two parties with strength, one is Yuan Shikai, and the other is the revolutionaries, and the revolutionaries who have just turned over Human strength is far worse than his old Yuan.The fate of this country is actually in the hands of his old Yuan. If he works hard for the Qing court and suppresses the Wuchang Uprising with all his strength from the Beiyang soldiers, the revolutionaries will surely lose;

And more than two years ago, he was almost killed by Zaifeng. With this in mind, how could he still work for the Qing Dynasty? What he has to do is to express his attitude through the proposal of reforming the political system, win the favor and support of the revolutionaries, and show that he is on the same side with them; Outstanding and well-received new leader of China! All Yuan Shikai's actions now are carried out according to this idea. On October 30, the Qing government issued a "crime edict" to the whole country, which is self-criticism, announced the implementation of constitutional government, amnesty for political prisoners, and stated that it would never use relatives and nobles as ministers of state in the future.

This performance is very good, but it is too late.Hold on to the ruling power as long as it lasts, and wait until it is about to end, and then do what should have been done long ago, in order to save the situation. History will no longer give the Qing Dynasty a chance. The time had come, and Yuan Shikai no longer put on airs. He set off for the front line that day, arrived in Xinyang the next day, and handed over to Yinchang; Marshal Yuan is coming, and the Beiyang Army wants to give him a meeting gift. On October 29, the Beiyang Army will attack Hankou violently.At this time, Huang Xing, the military leader of the Tongmenghui, finally arrived in Wuhan via Hong Kong and Shanghai, and immediately went to the front to command the battle.The Revolutionary Army failed to retreat under the onslaught of the Beiyang Army. Huang Xing's arrival gave the Revolutionary Army a shot in the arm. This move will burn the bustling Chinese community in Hankou into scorched earth within three days. On November 1, Hankou fell.

As soon as Yuan Shikai came out of the mountain, he turned the situation around.On the day Hankou was captured, the Qing government appointed him as the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, hoping that he would be grateful to Dade and make persistent efforts to wipe out the revolutionary army. Yuan Shikai, who already had almost all the resources of the Qing Dynasty in his hands, didn't care about the conferment of the imperial court who had to rely on himself to save his life. He didn't return to Beijing to take office.More importantly, Yuan Shikai had already thought of taking the Qing court as his replacement. If he accepted the appointment, he would receive another favor from the emperor.

On November 8th, the Council of Ministers, which was established in the preparation of a constitution in the late Qing Dynasty, held a meeting. According to the "Constitutional Creed", he was "elected" as the prime minister of the cabinet, and Yuan Shikai returned to Beijing with a large team to take office. . During this period, Feng Guozhang attacked Hanyang again according to Yuan Shikai's order. After several fierce battles, Hanyang fell on the 27th.Huang Xing, who commanded the battle, was defeated and retreated to Wuchang, and Li Yuanhong burst into tears in anxiety.

Feng Guozhang played smoothly, and was about to go to Wuchang again, when Yuan Shikai personally dialed a long-distance call from Beijing to stop him.Feng Guozhang was baffled, and sent telegrams to Yuan Shikai again and again asking for a fight.Yuan Shikai couldn't explain it, so he transferred Feng Guozhang away and sent Duan Qirui to take over the First Army. As I said before, Yuan Shikai no longer has the heart to defend the imperial court and wipe out the rebels. What he has to do is to support the enemy first. If the enemy exists, he, Yuan Shikai, is extremely important, and the Qing court will let him do whatever he wants; The revolutionary army is powerful, and the revolutionary army will understand that as long as I, old Yuan, fight fiercely, you will be over-whether the revolution wins or fails, and I am the one who decides; if you know how to respect me, I will let the revolution win.

This thought was thoughtful and far-reaching, even though Feng Guozhang was his trusted general, he didn't understand it; Duan Qirui was more intimate with him. After Duan Qirui took office, he stood still and the war in Wuhan stopped immediately. According to Yuan Shikai's strength, he can ruthlessly wipe out the southern revolution one by one, and then turn the Qing court upside down, and then the whole world will be named Yuan.However, although this approach is efficient, it is too "wolf ambition".He is a person with a very high IQ, and he wants to climb to the top of power with dignity, so he mobilized all his scheming to "walk on two legs" against the Qing court and the Revolutionary Party.

On the one hand, he let the Qing court see his victories in Wuhan, and on the other hand, he lamented the difficulties, talking about how powerful the revolutionary army was, how restless the people's hearts were, and how critical the situation was. Get it in his hands. They coaxed and threatened the Qing court, while they beat and dragged the revolutionaries. When he set off to the south, he ordered his staff Liu Chengen to write to Li Yuanhong again and again, saying that he hoped that it would end peacefully, so as not to make a big move.Li Yuanhong did not reply at the beginning. Under the fierce offensive of the Beiyang Army, the Hubei military government realized that Yuan Shikai was now the most important person in the country. If he worked for the Qing court, the revolution would be difficult; So Li Yuanhong wrote back, saying why do you bother to serve the Qing court, why don't you turn against the north and elect the president of the Republic of China in the future, isn't that yours? This sentence is what Yuan Shikai wanted! Yuan Shikai was very happy, and sent people to Wuchang secretly to have an interview with Li Yuanhong, saying that as long as you accept the constitutional monarchy and keep a vacant emperor, you can talk about anything.When Li Yuanhong heard that he wanted a constitutional monarchy, he immediately refused.After twenty days as the governor, Li Yuanhong already felt like a revolutionary; in addition, he felt that if the emperor was not completely eradicated, his future as a "rebel" who betrayed the court would be uncertain. The meeting ended in vain, and Huang Xing wrote another letter to Yuan Shikai, urging him to "go straight to Huanglong". Yuan Shikai sent Liu Chengen to bring a letter in his own hand, which still said that if he accepted the constitutional monarchy, he would cease the war, otherwise he would solve it by force. Liu Chengen explained: Yuan Shikai has been favored by the emperor for three generations, so can he not protect the court?It's only human nature!Li Yuanhong snorted: Bao court?You keep it, after the guarantee is over, it's not like foxes and rabbits are all running dogs, think about Nian Gengyao!He said again that if Yuan Shikai could turn against the Qing, he would definitely be elected as the president of the Republic of China in the future. At that time, Yuan Shikai's reputation in the revolutionary camp was not bad. He promoted the abolition of imperial examinations, the implementation of constitutional government, the establishment of industries and other measures that conformed to the trend of the times; The camp released goodwill, and the revolutionaries placed high expectations on his betrayal.So on November 30, representatives of the independent provinces held a meeting in Hankou, passed the "Outline of the Organizational Law of the Provisional Government", and agreed: "If Yuan Shikai is anyway, he will be elected president by public." Yuan Shikai's repeated nagging about the establishment of a constitutional monarchy is to make others say that he is worthy of the emperor's grace. In fact, with his personal ambition and the chilling heart that he almost died at the hands of Zaifeng, how can he have any loyalty to the Qing court?Not to mention three generations receiving grace, even thirty generations will not succeed!Could it be that our old Yuan's family received grace for nothing and didn't work for your Aixinjueluo family?If I don't do a good job, will you give me a high official salary?Li Yuanhong said that foxes and rabbits are cooked like dogs, how could he not know?When the imperial court decided to use him, his son Yuan Keding said at that time: After the chaos was put down, the imperial court has passed the crisis, and you, Dad, will not end well! In addition, he negotiated a peace with the revolutionary army behind his back, and this rumor is likely to leak out. During the negotiations, he advocated retaining the emperor, and when the court asked him to negotiate a peace in private, he would be able to answer. Now that the gesture of not forgetting the emperor's kindness has been made, the imperial court has left a way out, and the presidency full of calculations has been promised, and Yuan Shikai is full of joy. During the peace talks between the North and the South, one person almost disrupted Yuan Shikai's plans.This person is Wu Luzhen, the commander of the sixth town of the New Army. Wu Luzhen was a member of the Tongmenghui. When the Wuchang Uprising broke out and Yinchang led troops south to suppress it, he took the initiative to ask for a fight and wanted to lead troops south to meet the revolutionary army. However, the Qing court had long suspected him and ordered him to return to Baoding to wait for orders. On October 20, 1911, the Shanxi Revolutionary Army killed the governor Lu Zhongqi, declared independence, and elected Yan Xishan as the governor; the chaotic Qing court suddenly appointed Wu Luzhen as the governor of Shanxi, hoping that he would fight the revolutionary army.At this time, the army of the Qing Dynasty was going to Wuchang under the leadership of Yuan Shikai and Feng Guozhang, and the defense of the capital was empty.Wu Luzhen saw that the opportunity was rare, and planned to attack with the Shanxi Revolutionary Army and take Beijing away. As soon as this plan is realized, Yuan Shikai's plan to force the Qing emperor to abdicate and become the president will be in vain-you don't need to force it, Wu Luzhen overthrew it directly! Yuan Shikai was very anxious and immediately resorted to unscrupulous means. On November 7, Zhou Fulin and Ma Huitian, who were bought by Yuan Shikai, assassinated Wu Luzhen in his office.Zhou Fulin cut off Wu Luzhen's head and asked Yuan Shikai for a reward.Later, Shanxi people spent a lot of money to buy the head back for burial, and the cemetery is still there today. Just as Yuan Shikai was moving towards his goal step by step, the Qing court found that something was wrong with him: after handing over all the power to him, the war in Wuhan came to an abrupt end, and the Beiyang Army never launched a decent attack on the Revolutionary Army.The Qing court, which was already very worried about Yuan Shikai, began to discuss it; then, news of Yuan Shikai's private peace talks with the revolutionary army spread to Beijing, and Beijing immediately set off a wave of anti-Yuan. On December 5th, when the regimes in various places collapsed, the regent Zaifeng took the blame and abdicated. Now the number one person in the court representing the three-year-old Xuantong Emperor was replaced by the Empress Dowager Longyu.Longyu summoned Yuan Shikai and asked him what happened to the private peace talks.Yuan Shikai had been prepared for a long time, raving about how powerful the revolutionary army is, and how abundant its financial resources are. On our side, the capital is so dangerous, and money and food are so scarce that we cannot defeat the revolutionary army. If we negotiate peace early, we can establish a constitutional monarchy , keep the emperor, if you don't negotiate a peace, after the defeat, it will be miserable! Saying that Zaifeng is incompetent, this Empress Dowager Longyu is really a woman who lives in a secluded palace, ignorant, cowardly and fearful. Hearing Yuan Shikai's "reasonable and well-founded" statement, she was so frightened that she couldn't make up her mind. Negotiating a peace can keep the emperor, so let's make a peace. On December 7, the Qing court formally appointed Yuan Shikai as Minister of Peace Negotiation and Plenipotentiary.Yuan Shikai no longer had to sneak around with the Southern Revolutionary Army. Whether it is a constitutional monarchy or a republic, Yuan Shikai and the revolutionary army are back and forth. At this time, the independent provinces urgently need to establish a provisional government and unify their orders. On December 12, representatives of independent provinces met in Nanjing to discuss the establishment of a provisional government.Yuan Shikai was anxious when he heard this: If we want to establish a provisional government, we must elect a provisional president. Lao Yuan is still an important minister of the Qing Dynasty, so it is impossible to choose him! Yuan Shikai let out the wind, saying that the Qing government could not accept the republic, but it would not be discussed until after the National Assembly was held.That's what hinted at the South's postponement of elections.During the meeting of representatives of independent provinces, Yuan Shikai ordered the Beiyang Army to launch a fierce attack on the independent Shanxi and Shaanxi to warn the revolutionary party: keep your word, don't elect someone else as president! Taking into account the actual situation, the Nanjing meeting decided to suspend the election of the president, and only elected Li Yuanhong as the generalissimo to act as the president temporarily. The difficulty for Yuan Shikai now is that if he wants to become the president, he must agree to the revolutionaries to get rid of the emperor; and retaining the emperor is the bottom line acceptable to the Qing court, and Yuan Shikai cannot compromise on this fundamental issue between the two parties. Of course, Yuan Shikai could cut through the mess quickly, and directly overthrow it without fussing with the court. Longyu Zaifeng and Puyi are not qualified to bargain.But in this way, the Qing Dynasty fell in the hands of Yuan Shikai.The question of who killed the Qing Dynasty is very important: if it died at the hands of Sun Yat-sen, then Sun Yat-sen was the founding father of the country; if it died at the hands of Yuan Shikai, then Yuan Shikai was a usurper--Yuan Shikai thinks that historical evaluation is very different, and he is unwilling Bear this eternal infamy.So he slows down, waits and creates opportunities. It was Sun Yat-sen who finally solved this problem—Sun Yat-sen was elected as the interim president first, and then the seat was given to him, so that he had to be in Sun Yat-sen's place, and there was nothing wrong with the Qing court.