Before and after the Xinhai Revolution, British Minister Zhu Erdian was a key figure who could change the political situation in China and influence British decisions on China. As the British consul in China, he was naturally extremely familiar with China's officialdom and political development, and he could be regarded as an experienced Chinese expert.
At that time, it was Zhu Erdian who sent back a report on the situation in China that gave the British Foreign Office a deep understanding of China. Therefore, during the Xinhai Revolution, Zhu Erdian, as the defender of British interests in China and the specific decision-maker and executor of Britain's China policy, profoundly influenced the development process of the Xinhai Revolution.
Since Yuan Shikai's comeback, the revolutionary situation of the Wuchang Uprising has changed rapidly, and the various political forces in the country have been re-divided and combined, eventually becoming the abdication of the Qing Emperor and the establishment of a republican form of government. The reason why Yuan Shikai was able to become the president of the Republic of China and quickly grasp the military and political power was not only the incompetence of the Qing government and his outstanding personal ability, but also due to the strong support of the British minister Zhu Erdian.
In fact, before the Xinhai Revolution, Zhu Erdian was already very disappointed with the incompetence of the Qing government, which can be seen from his evaluation of the regent Zaifeng in his report back to Britain. He described Zaifeng as a weak, unintended and courageous man who refused to trust his reliable ministers, but instead believed in the advice of his brothers and those who were unreliable. Such a person was not suitable for ruling the country at all, which would cause China at that time to face a severe turbulent situation.
In May 1911, Zhu Erdian gave a detailed description of the situation in China, pointing out that all parts of China were already extremely dissatisfied with the Qing government, and even this dissatisfaction was getting stronger. This was because the Qing government was increasing the tax burden, financial chaos, official corruption, and the people's lives were difficult.
Most importantly, through the spread of education, the people saw the decay of the Qing Dynasty and the disaster brought about by the feudal autocracy, and the people's thinking began to change. The revolutionary spirit of the Chinese can be seen in the two incidents of April plotting against the regent and assassinating Prince Zaixun.
Therefore, Zhu Erdian believes that China is in urgent need of someone who has the ability to control the situation to help China overcome the crisis. But "within the confines of government, there does not seem to be a politician necessary, with broad insight and strong character, to point the way for the country in a crisis".
Zhu Erdian believed that looking at the entire court, almost all the officials were corrupt and incompetent people, whether they were Prince Qing, Na Tong or Yu Lang, etc., were not qualified. What China needs is someone who can steer it away from the dangers of revolution and collapse and make the reforms go smoothly, and that person is Yuan Shikai.
Zhu Erdian spoke highly of Yuan Shikai, believing that as a politician, he had outstanding ability and outstanding performance, and his actions during his tenure in the Qing government were very satisfactory. However, Yuan Shikai was later dismissed by the regent Zaifeng, which made Zhu Erdian very dissatisfied, believing that the regent was too dictatorial and completely lacked consideration of the opinions of foreign governments. Zhu Erdian's support for Yuan Shikai was directly manifested after the outbreak of the Wuchang Uprising.
After the Outbreak of the Wuchang Uprising, the Qing government was unable to suppress the revolution and had to re-appoint Yuan Shikai, hoping to rely on him to save the empire. Zhu Erdian directly shows that the Qing government has been unable to change the current political situation, and only by relying on Yuan Shikai can it stabilize the domestic order and strengthen its domestic rule. Therefore, he suggested that the British directly abandon the Qing government and support Yuan Shikai to ascend to the throne, so as to safeguard British interests in China. This is an important sign of britain's change in china policy.
In order not to let the revolutionary situation continue to develop and help Yuan Shikai ascend to the throne, Zhu Erdian actively supported Yuan Shikai in mediating the Qing government and revolutionaries, and on the other hand helped Yuan Shikai gain political support from Britain, so that he could gain greater power from the Qing government. During this time, Zhu Erdian persuaded the British that they should help Yuan Shikai establish a constitutional monarchy and let him take over the actual power. However, due to the fact that the revolution was developing too rapidly at that time, the Qing government could not rely on force to dissolve the revolution, so Zhu Erdian had to first support Yuan Shikai and the revolutionaries in negotiations.
After Yuan Shikai left for Hubei, his son Yuan Keding and Zhu Erdian held secret talks. During the talks, Yuan Ke expressed to Zhu Erdian the idea that Yuan Shikai intended to occupy Hanyang and designate this place as the place for negotiations with the revolutionary party, saying that if the revolutionaries in Hankou were willing to accept the terms of the negotiations, the revolutionary parties in other regions would also be able to accept it.
For this, Zhu Erdian expressed support. He later reported the matter to Gray, in which he said: "Yuan Shikai's task is enormous. The usual characteristics of the Chinese masses are inherent stability and a desire for peace at all costs, and the fact that the country has no other program for construction, all of which are in Yuan Shikai's favor. On the other hand, the breadth of the revolution has triumphed everywhere, making it difficult to realize all attempts to restore the state to its original appearance by force. ”
On the question of how to negotiate successfully with the Hankou revolutionaries, Zhu Erdian suggested that Yuan Shikai establish a constitutional monarchy. However, Yuan Shikai found that the situation was not optimistic after meeting with Li Yuanhong, so he returned to Beijing. Yuan Keding talked with Zhu Erdian again, saying that his father Yuan Shikai was now confused and now the whole country was denouncing the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty, while Li Yuanhong supported Yuan Shikai as president of the Republic of China, and perhaps had the opportunity to gain the support of other revolutionary regions. But the premise is that the feudal dynasty must be overthrown and a republican form of government must be established.
Zhu Erdian disagreed, believing that the republican form of government was a dangerous test and not entirely suitable for China. Yuan Keding continued to test Zhu Erdian in order to understand whether the British would support Yuan Shikai's rise to power and which form of government to adopt, saying that Yuan Shikai might be proclaimed emperor, and that the so-called republican form of government was just a transition. This time, Zhu Erdian did not answer on the spot, but only a few days later, he conveyed the position that Britain would vigorously support Yuan Shikai's ascension to the throne, no matter what kind of political system it was, but Yuan Shikai must be able to stabilize the domestic order and have the ability to safeguard the interests of foreigners. This is the greatest principle of British Policy toward China.
This time, Yuan Shikai and Zhu Erdian held talks. During the talks, Yuan Shikai made it clear that he supported a constitutional monarchy and would use force to promote peace between the North and the South. As for Yuan Shikai's proposal, Zhu Erdian naturally expressed his strong support. With the active support of Britain in diplomacy, Yuan Shikai announced the formation of a cabinet the next day, with him as prime minister, Wang Shizhen as minister of war, and Yang Shiqi as minister of posts and communications. Almost all of these key positions were held by Yuan Shikai's cronies, which also indicated that the power of the Qing government had gradually been grasped by Yuan Shikai, and the "strongman government" in Zhu Erdian's heart seemed to have slowly emerged.
In order to let Yuan Shikai and the revolutionaries successfully negotiate as soon as possible, resolve China's civil strife, and establish a constitutional monarchy, Zhu Erdian has been opposing Japanese interference in the situation in China, but the revolutionaries have always insisted on overthrowing the Qing Dynasty and establishing a republican government, which may lead to the collapse of the negotiations between the North and the South at any time. In order to make the negotiations successful, Zhu Erdian had to abandon the idea of establishing a constitutional monarchy and support Yuan Shikai's establishment of a republican form of government instead.
Later, Zhu Erdian met with Yuan Shikai again and suggested that he make an armistice in Hankou and conduct north-south negotiations. Yuan Shikai agreed to his suggestion. After that, Zhu Erdian actively mediated between Yuan Shikai and the revolutionaries, and successfully made the north and south truce for three days. Under the mediation of Britain, the armistice between the two sides was continuously extended, and the North-South negotiations were smoothly put on the agenda. In order to ensure that the negotiations could be carried out smoothly in accordance with the British policy objectives, Zhu Erdian, while mediating, also helped Yuan Shikai to force the Qing government to hand over the ruling power, so that the Qing government was no longer able to interfere in the negotiations between the North and the South.
Not only that, Zhu Erdian was also extremely opposed to Japan's position of wanting to interfere in the Chinese revolution, and he always advocated the need to settle China's internal strife through peaceful negotiations. Japan's envoy to China once expressed the Japanese government's position to Zhu Erdian, saying that Japan opposed China's establishment of a republican form of government and believed that China should be allowed to re-establish the Qing Dynasty.
But Juldian said that "the British government tends to believe that foreign interference will undermine rather than strengthen the idea of a constitutional monarchy." If countries openly express their support for the Qing Dynasty, the result is likely to be that the republicans will add many new supporters to the south." Finally, Zhu Erdian also said that it is best for countries not to take any action until the end of the North-South meeting. It can be seen from this that Britain is very opposed to foreign interference in the Chinese revolution.
However, after the peace between the north and the south began, the southern revolutionaries resolutely advocated the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty and the establishment of a republican government, and in order to prevent the negotiations between the north and the south from failing, Zhu Erdian had to abandon the idea of establishing a constitutional monarchy and support the republican government with Yuan Shikai as the president of the Republic of China. Later, Zhu Erdian constantly persuaded Japan not to forcibly interfere in the Chinese revolution, and even Yuan Shikai's idea of forcibly establishing a constitutional monarchy was rejected by Zhu Erdian. He said that if it is enforced, it will only divide China into two halves, which will not benefit anyone. No matter what form of government is established, the most important thing is to build a unified and powerful China. This is the bottom line of British policy.
At the behest of Zhu Erdian, Yuan Shikai agreed to the idea of establishing a republican government, and later Yuan Shikai proposed a plan to force the Qing Emperor to abdicate and authorize him to establish a republican government, in an attempt to force the revolutionaries to cede power. For this point, Zhu Erdian, as a Representative of the United Kingdom, vigorously supported Yuan Shikai's propositions and accelerated the pace of "supporting Yuan Republic".
With the strong support of the British, Yuan Shikai successfully forced the Qing Emperor to abdicate, and was recognized by the southern revolutionaries, and successfully became the provisional president of the Republic of China.
From the whole process of the Xinhai Revolution, it can be seen that the British minister to China, Zhu Erdian, played a crucial role in it, because Britain was the country with the greatest economic interests in China at that time, and most of its interests were concentrated in the south and controlled by the revolutionaries, so Zhu Erdian must protect britain's interests in China and the safety of British people's lives and property to the greatest extent, which was also the biggest principle of Britain's policy formulation toward China at that time. All of Zhu Erdian's later actions were carried out with this as the final destination.