The demise of the Qing Dynasty is generally believed to have been promoted by the revolutionaries headed by Mr. Sun. But there is another powerful force that has been overlooked, and they are the Constitutionalists. The Constitutionalists, in opposition to the revolutionaries, advocated reform and constitutionalism. At the beginning, they also hoped that the Qing court would be revived, and they hoped to adopt a Western constitutional monarchy, retaining the emperor while giving state power to the public, rather than serving only the self-interest of one family and one surname.
Wuchang Uprising
However, the actions of the Qing court made these people chill. Determined to overthrow the Qing Dynasty by drastic means, they did not hesitate to throw themselves into the Road Protection Movement, and in this movement they undisputedly played the role of leader, and the increasingly fierce Road Protection Movement directly led to the outbreak of the Wuchang Uprising, and all parts of the country responded.
On October 10, 1911, the telegram of the Wuchang Uprising reached Beijing, and the Qing court magnates felt that the situation was serious and extremely panicked. He ordered the Minister of War, Yin Chang, to restrain the Beiyang armies and supervise the division to go south. However, although Yin Chang was trusted by the imperial court, he commanded the town generals of the Beiyang New Army, because they all listened only to one person, and Yuan Shikai, who had been deposed and idle at home.
After Xuantong ascended the throne, the regent Zaifeng used foot disease as an excuse to let Yuan Shikai go home to recuperate. However, the Beiyang New Army was created by Yuan, and nepotism in the army was even more entangled. Although he dismissed his official duties, he made friends with nobles inside and supported the party from outside, secretly observing the situation and waiting for an opportunity to go out of the mountains. The regent and Empress Longyu had no choice but to invite Yuan Shikai out of the mountain. Yuan Shikai sat on the ground and gathered military and political power in one, before he was willing to go out of the mountain.
Yuan Shikai
Yuan Shikai sent troops to suppress the rebel army, but he did not do his best, he had already seen the pedantic degeneration of the Qing court, most of the provinces in the country announced their independence from the Qing Dynasty, the qing Dynasty's rule was in danger, and it was the trend of the times to change dynasties. Therefore, he had the idea of "ascending to heaven one step at a time" in his mind.
Yuan Shikai first sent Feng Guozhang to lead the Beiyang army to break through the bamboo and even go down to Hankou and Hanyang, directly to Wuchang, forcing the rebel army to a dead end. Then, through Wang Jingwei's consultation with the southern rebels, revolutionaries of different schools reached an agreement on an issue and wrote it down solemnly and in black and white: As long as Yuan Shikai could make the Qing Emperor abdicate, the first president of the Republic of China would be his.
With such a promise, Yuan Shikai naturally paid special attention to this matter and brought his political wisdom into full play. At that time, although many provinces had declared independence, there were still feudal officials loyal to the Qing Dynasty. The Manchu Qing magnates also held many imperial councils to discuss whether war or peace. However, the meeting was not very successful, and the forces on all sides held their own views, and the die-hard Prince Gong Puwei and others even said: "The subjects would rather die and be martyred than obey the republic." ”
Empress Longyu
But having said that, the Qing court was already empty of the national treasury, and the military and political power was also grasped by Yuan Shikai, unable to fight again. Shortly thereafter, Liang Bi, the leader of the Manchu Qing Sect's Socialist Party, was assassinated, and the Qing court had no hope at all, and Empress Longyu was frightened and cried in front of the ministers in the Yangxin Hall. Yuan Shikai saw that the time had come, and with a very lethal sentence, Empress Longyu made up her mind to abdicate as soon as possible.
Yuan Shikai wrote a letter to Empress Longyu, not saying that he wanted to oppose the Qing, but only said that now the rebel forces are very strong, our army cannot resist, and it is sooner or later that the rebels and the rebels have agreed that as long as the Qing Emperor abdicates, he can continue to live in the imperial palace, and the National Government will contribute 4 million taels of silver every year to feed you. In addition, he wrote about the story of King Louis XVI of France:
"If you can read the history of the French Revolution, if you can follow the public opinion early, how can you go to the descendants of Louis, and there will be widows." The civil army contends for the form of government, not the throne, and the republic, not the clan. My Empress Dowager He Endured the Shock of the Nine Temples, and How Endured the Hunting of Public Opinion? We will be able to look down on the general situation and conform to the will of the people. ”
This is to imply that Empress Longyu, if the Qing Emperor does not abdicate, is likely to repeat the mistakes of Louis XVI of France, and the whole family will be sent to the guillotine.
Stills from Louis XVI
Yuan Shikai also went around and urged foreign ministers in Beijing to jointly petition the Qing government to send people to negotiate peace; the foreign chambers of commerce stationed in Shanghai also demanded that the Qing Emperor abdicate; and Yuan Shikai instructed the senior generals of the Beiyang Army to jointly send a telegram to the Qing court, demanding that the Qing Emperor abdicate and establish a republic. Women are timid, and naturally can't stand to be frightened. Long Yu lived in a secluded palace, feeling that his future was uncertain and his food and clothing were worrying, so he was completely shaken and obediently agreed to qingfu abdicate.
[Reference: "Yuan Shi Dangguo", "Yuan Shikai", etc.