Li Yuanhong was not a revolutionary party, but an officer of the Qing army. Not only that, but he also personally killed a revolutionary found among his subordinate soldiers a day before the Wuchang uprising. In the whole Xinhai Revolution, he did not make a single effort to establish a single merit, and when the revolutionaries found him, he was still very insistent on keeping the festival for the Qing court. But why, after the success of the Wuchang uprising, did the revolutionaries elect him as the leader, not their own people, nor other Qing officials?
The primary reason for all this is that the success of the Wuchang uprising was an accident.
In April 1911, Sun Yat-sen and others carefully planned and concentrated the elite of the League in Guangzhou, failed, according to Sun Yat-sen's original words, "the essence of our party, burned to the ground", he believed that the overthrow of the Qing court may be a protracted war, estimated to be twenty years. Unexpectedly, a few months later in Wuchang, two small revolutionary groups, the Literary Society and the Communist Progressives, revolted together, but the dominoes were mistakenly torn down.
At the beginning of 1911, Jiang Yiwu, president of the Literary Society, and Sun Wu, the main ally of Hubei of the Communist Progressive Association, plotted an uprising, and the funds were 5,000 taels of silver given by liu Gong, the president of the Communist Progressive Association, and it was agreed that a Hubei military government would be established after the matter was completed, and Liu Gong would supervise it.
The uprising was scheduled to take place on October 6 of that year, but was postponed to 11, and during the day of October 9, Sun Wu Liu Gong and others made a mistake in preparing bombs, and the gunpowder exploded, causing Sun Wu to be burned, and the news of the uprising was leaked. The governor of Huguang, Rui Liang, closed the city gates and wantonly arrested revolutionaries in the city, causing panic among the revolutionaries in the new army, and everyone raised their guns one after another, and the uprising that had not yet been organized broke out in a hurry. The panicked Rui Li abandoned the city and fled, and the soldiers who were left in the city were leaderless and had no fighting spirit, and simply surrendered to the revolutionary party, and the revolution was so vaguely successful.
The revolutionaries had no leader, and the defenders had no commanders–this was the situation on both sides when the Wuchang Uprising took place. At this time, Jiang Yiwu, the provisional commander-in-chief of the revolutionary army, escaped during the previous great search, and no one knew where he was; the chief of staff, Sun Wu, was burned and was now treated outside the city with Liu Gong; the largest officer among those who participated in the uprising was Wu Zhaolin, a company commander, and the weight was not enough to hold the battlefield. For a while, I couldn't find anyone to dispatch and command.
In a hurry, the revolutionary party people first thought of Tang Hualong, the speaker of the Hubei Consultative Bureau, and asked him to come out as the leader. Tanghua Longcheng mansion is deep, although he showed support for the revolution, but his heart was very good, he was worried that if the Qing soldiers came later, the leader would definitely be the number one anti-thief of the Nine Tribes, and the risk was too great, so he politely refused.
There are really not many left of the official university, who else can we find? At this time, someone recommended Li Yuanhong. Li Yuanhong was the co-commander of the 21st Mixed Association of the Qing Army stationed in Wuhan, equivalent to a brigade commander. This official was not big, but it was already a giant in Wuchang City at that time. Li Yuanhong has a loyal personality, does not like to talk, is not troublesome, and has a good reputation in the army. He had not opposed the revolution before, nor did he support it. At the beginning of the uprising, he said to his subordinates, "If anyone comes to attack, you will shoot." Later, seeing that the uprising was gradually becoming a climate, he ordered that "if someone comes to attack, do not return the gun." Such a "big official" with a position and a reputation, no temper and no ideas, is just suitable for being introduced as a leader, and no one will object. So the rebel soldiers decided to go to him.
When the soldiers found Li Yuanhong, he was hiding under the bed, and he was forced out by the soldiers with a rifle that pushed it up. When Li Yuanhong learned that the rebel soldiers wanted to elect him to command the team of the revolutionary army to fight against the Qing court, he was so frightened that he sweated profusely, and he even resigned, insisting on not following, saying: "This move is of great importance, so we must be cautious. I am not a revolutionary party, I cannot be a governor, I am not qualified to be a governor, why don't you take Sun Wen as a governor. ”
For the next few days, Li Yuanhong remained silent, his face full of sorrow and heavy hearts all day, thinking, "The imperial court treats me as a traitor, and the party members treat me as a prisoner. The revolutionary army had no choice but to put him under house arrest.
As the revolutionary situation continued to improve, the three towns of Wuhan were already under the control of the revolutionary army, and all parts of the country responded one after another, and Li Yuanhong's attitude began to change somewhat, and he began to talk to the revolutionaries. The revolutionary party guarding him said: "We threw our heads, spilled our blood, and sacrificed countless people in exchange for today's victory, and lifted you up as the governor." How cheap are you! If you don't make up your mind, with long pigtails, we'll use pistols against you. Moreover, now that everyone in the three towns of Wuhan is cutting braids, you, as the governor of the first righteous capital, should practice what you preach and cut off the braids first to show your determination. Now that it is the Republic of China, you are loyal to the founding fathers, if you are loyal to the Manchu Qing, you should die early, the two will be one of them, and now it is really puzzling to pretend. There are many people who are governors today, and it is not necessary for you to think twice. At this time, Li Yuanhong also pushed the boat along the water and said: "You said that you want to cut the braids, I have long had this intention, now find a barber to come, I will cut the braids." ”
After Li Yuanhong cut off his hair braids, the soldiers asked Li Yuanhong to lecture, and Li Yuanhong said: "Yuanhong is not virtuous, lifted up by everyone, the will of the people is difficult to resign, and he should be ordered." I didn't make up my mind the day before yesterday, I didn't make up my mind yesterday, I didn't make up my mind this morning, and now I'm done. Success or failure is blunt, life and death. A speech won warm applause, and from then on, he conscientiously became the governor of the Hubei military government.
The election of Li Yuanhong as the governor of the capital has a fairly positive effect. During his house arrest, the Revolutionary Army issued anthonym in his name. As soon as the notice was posted, the great name of "Governor Li Yuanhong of the First Righteous Capital" went away, which not only boosted morale and stabilized the people's hearts, but also strengthened the prestige of the revolution. At that time, there was a document document of this situation:
In the afternoon, notices were posted all over Wuchang City, and the way to the spectators was blocked, and the joy was thunderous. Even the white-haired old man who is struggling to walk, ask for support and hugs to the front of the announcement, and he will want to see it with his own eyes and then hurry up. Foreigners in Han Dynasty were also moved by what they heard, and they all knew that they could not imagine that Le Xie tong was also a revolutionary party. The remnants of the enemy are even more frightened, and they are easy to abscond, and they have no chance of winning. ”
Notices were issued, and some officers who had fled in hiding came out one after another to express their willingness to submit to the military government, and the provinces have since gathered to respond. It can be seen from this that the introduction of this fake leader is of great political significance.
Search WeChat: historytalking concerns
Want to see a lighthearted and interesting history?
Want to know about gossip in the history?
Wondering about all sorts of weirdness in history?
Shi Shi Shi Shi Reader Group Number 30428330