Without him, Cai Yi's defense of the country would not have succeeded, but the evaluation of the two was too different, and he was mourned by all the people after his death
Yuan Shikai failed to steal the country, many people put the credit on Cai Yi alone, but in fact, there is a hero behind it that has been ignored, that is, Lu Rongting, who is called "Northern Yuan Nanlu" with Cai Yi, Yuan Shikai stole the country and called him emperor, if it were not for Lu Rongting sending troops at a critical juncture, Yuan's "throne" might have stood firm.
At that time, the anti-Yuan said that the emperor thunder was loud, the rain was small, and the strength was weak. In view of Yuan Shikai's powerful power, many people did not dare to act rashly. Moreover, in addition to the three provinces of Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou, the powerful factions in each province have been replaced by Yuan Shikai's henchmen. Yuan also sent the Guangdong warlord Long Jiguang to monitor Lu Rongting, and sent his confidant Deputy Chief of Staff Chen Yan to lead an army into Sichuan to monitor Yunguichuan. Yuan believed that the conditions were ripe and ascended the throne without authorization on New Year's Day in 1916.
Although there was a national uproar, only Cai Yi and Tang Jiyao in Yunnan raised the banner of anti-Yuan protection on December 25. But Tang was not really anti-Yuan, and he "was willing to give a part of his troops but not sufficient logistical support in order to get the popular Cai Yi to leave Yunnan so as not to endanger his own position." So Cai Yi is actually fighting alone. Yunnan has a total strength of three armies, only one army for Cai, with a nominal name of 7,000 people, and the actual number that can go to the front line is less than this number. He began to fight some victorious battles with enthusiasm, occupying several places in Xuzhou, Luzhou and Qijiang, but he was soon exhausted, and the team was only more than 3,000 people left, trapped in trouble.
Although there are also some uprisings in various places, they are insignificant and cannot help. Yuan Shikai was mobilizing 100,000 troops, and on January 5, 1916, Cao Kun first led his troops into Sichuan, preparing to annihilate the defending army in one fell swoop. On January 27, 1916, Guizhou declared independence, but the Guizhou warlord Liu Xianshiben was loyal to Yuan, and at this time he only expressed his position and did not help much on the battlefield, so Yuan Shikai did not take this seriously.
What was even more dangerous was that in early March 1916, when the defending army had only 3130 people and 200 shells left, Yuan Shikai actually assigned the Guangdong warlord Long Xiaoguang to lead more than 10,000 people from Guangxi Baise to raid the back road of the nationalist army, and on March 9, the Longbu forward had already occupied Yunnan Peel Pass, and his underground forces infiltrating Yunnan had already instigated a vigilante rebellion. If the Dragon Army succeeds, the defending army will be completely destroyed, the anti-Yuan protector will surely die, Yuan Shikai's emperor will sit firmly, and a new feudal dynasty will appear in China, and to overthrow this new dynasty, I don't know how much blood will be shed.
At this critical juncture, which concerned China's destiny, Lu Rongting stood up, saved the fate of democracy and republicanism, and made great contributions at a major turning point in China's history. Is it too much to say that? No! Please see: Cai Yi is an anti-Yuan hero, but he is a lone hero, and after playing for three months, he not only did not shake Yuan Shikai, but fell into a desperate situation. At this time, whoever went to save him had to show twelve points of courage and prepare to crush his bones.
On March 14, Lu Rongting disarmed Long Xiaoguang's 10,000 men in Baise, Guangxi, breaking Yuan Shikai's plot to encircle and annihilate the defending army and eliminating the danger. On March 15, after meticulous preparations and with the assistance of Liang Qichao, Lu Rongting resolutely telegraphed "Lu Rongting's Court for Yuan's Text" in Liuzhou to oppose Yuan's protection of the country. When Yuan Shikai heard the news, he was "stunned and didn't know where he was." Lu Bu and his Guangxi soldiers were known for their good fighting in China, so there was a saying of "Northern Yuan and Southern Lu", no wonder Yuan Shi was stunned.
On March 22, the seventh day after Lu announced the overthrow of Yuan, Yuan Shikai issued an order to revoke the imperial system. On March 23, Yuan called Lu Rongting: "The imperial system was not what it was wished", asking Lu to retire and return to Yong. On the same day, it was announced that the "Hong Xian" era name would be abolished. In mid-to-late April, Lu Rongting did not accept Yuan Shikai's request to retire, dispatched troops, and became the commander-in-chief of the Guangdong-Guizhou Protectorate Coalition Army, and on May 1, he entered Xiangxiang in three ways. Cai Yi defended the Guojun and other Dazhen and seized the opportunity to attack the Yuan army. After that, Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang of Yuan Shikai's clique either seized the opportunity to seize power or persuaded Yuan to abdicate, and Yuan Shikai had already rebelled and left. On June 6, Yuan Shikai died of anger!
The world has praised Cai Yi as an anti-Yuan protector, and he really deserves this honor. However, Lu Rongting, who played such a key role, often brushed it over, and even scolded him for having other plans, and the world's evaluation of Cai Yi and Lu Rongting was too different. I don't know why. Maybe think he's a warlord, maybe think he's a barbarian, maybe think he's grassroots, and his merits are not worthy of praise.
In fact, in the era when he was successful in defending the country, there was also an objective evaluation, and Liang Qichao published "The Merits of Lu Rongting's Rebuilding of the Republic of China", and the reputation of "rebuilding the Republic of China" came from this. To evaluate a historical figure, we must look at his entire life, especially his contribution to the country and the nation at a turning point in history. No one is perfect, and it is impossible to do everything right in a lifetime.
On November 6, 1928, Lu Rongting died in his shanghai rental apartment at the age of seventy-one. Although there were only a few friends around before his death, when the coffin returned to his hometown of Guangxi, there was a scene of mourning by all the people. In the summer of 1929, Lu's body was transported from Shanghai by waterway to Nanning, stopping at the Liugong Ancestral Hall under the Zhenning Fort, and the local people went to worship with unprecedented pomp and circumstance. Finally, the coffin was transported back to Wuming by car. All the organs, schools, garrisons, and party personnel of Wuming County lined up on the outskirts to greet the coffin, and Lu was buried in the Shixiaoshan Cemetery not far from Ningwuzhuang.
Source :Lu Rongting, a famous general in a hundred battles