Yuan Shikai's restoration failed, and Puyi was greatly inspired to come to the opposite conclusion, and the result was only 12 days of happiness
In the spring of 1915, Yuan Shikai, with the support of British and Japanese imperialism, actively prepared to change the imperial system. On December 12, 1915, Yuan Shikai announced that he accepted the throne, overthrew the republic, restored the imperial system, changed the Republic of China to the "Chinese Empire", and ordered the abolition of the Republic of China era, and changed the fifth year of the Republic of China (1916) to the first year of Hongxian, known in history as the Hongxian Imperial System. Yuan Shikai's restoration of the imperial system was opposed by the people of the whole country, and Yuan was forced to step down after only 83 days of emperor.
Regarding the incident of Yuan Shikai's restoration of the imperial system, different perspectives have come to diametrically opposite conclusions. All those who look forward come to the conclusion that those who move against the tide of history will be destroyed and discredited. And all those who looked back, including the small Manchu Qing court, believed that Yuan's fiasco was that he vainly tried to occupy the magpie's nest, and the imperial system was not impossible, but the people wanted the old lord.
The preferential conditions for the Qing Dynasty are the soil for Puyi to breed the idea of restoration. Since he retains the honorific title of emperor of the Qing Dynasty, and since there is still a small imperial court, his vocation is to do everything possible to restore the former dynasty. Whether it is the demeanor, language, and demeanor of the old and young people around him, or the buildings and furnishings around him, they all remind Puyi every moment: you are still supreme, and "restoring the ancestral inheritance" is your sacred mission. Yuan Shikai's practice of claiming the title of emperor greatly encouraged and inspired him.
Puyi said: "In my thinking, I think that the motherland is the motherland of a family and an emperor, and I think that the Qing Dynasty is the orthodoxy of China. When the Xinhai Revolution ceded the government, I was still young, and at that time I was fooled by Yuan Shikai. Restoring the cause of my ancestors was my first task. ”
After that, there was a person who turned the fantasy of Puyi and the small imperial court into reality, he set off the climax of the restoration in 1917, the braid army led by Zhang Xun fought with Duan Qirui, and the result was a defeat, Puyi's wish was disappointed again, Zhang Xun's restoration was short-lived, Puyi was only an emperor with a false name for twelve days, and he was only happy for these 12 days. Only then did he know that he was indeed wrong, and how could he move forward against the tide of history?