If you talk about the name Cai Yi, many people may not know him, his reputation in the Sichuan area of Yunnan is very high, but this person died young, at the age of 34, he died of throat cancer.
He was an irreplaceable figure in the early days of the Republic of China, and if he had lived, the pattern of the world might have changed greatly; in layman's terms, Japan might not have been so easy to hit the hinterland of China during the war of aggression against China, there would have been no story of Chiang Kai-shek's Northern Expedition, and Chiang Kai-shek would not have easily launched a military coup.
So what kind of a character is Cai Yi? If he hadn't died, what phenomena would have happened in the world pattern?
First, what kind of person is Cai Yi?
Cai Yi's hometown is Hunan, the family is particularly poor, he is particularly smart and studious, at the age of thirteen he passed the Xiucai examination, and later was accepted as an apprentice by Liang Qichao.
In 1902, he was sent by the Qing government to study at the Japanese Army Academy, and after graduation, he returned to China to work as a teacher in major military schools.
At the time of the revolution led by Sun Yat-sen, he was particularly close to the League because he was influenced by Liang Qichao's new democratic ideas.
Before the fall of the Qing Dynasty, he was sent to Yunnan, and the later King of Yunnan, Tang Jiyao, worked under him.
The real impact of Cai Yi on China was at the end of 1911, after Cai Yi responded to the Wuchang Uprising and promoted the success of the Xinhai Revolution.
After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, he was promoted to the post of Governor of Yunnan, which was under the de facto control of Cai Yi.
After Yuan Shikai became the president of the Republic of China, in order to control Yunnan, he tricked Cai Yi into Beijing and imprisoned him. Cai Yi's military and political power also fell into the hands of his subordinate Tang Jiyao.
Later, when Japan conspired with Yuan Shikai to sign Article 21, Cai Yi fled back to Yunnan from Beijing again.
After Yuan Shikai became emperor, Cai Yi, as a subordinate of Tang Jiyao, sent troops to attack Sichuan against Yuan Shikai's claim to the throne, which was historically called the Patriotic War.
It was precisely because Cai Yi led his troops to a great victory, which brought great pressure to Yuan Shikai's claim to the title of emperor, yuan shikai was forced to step down, when Li Yuanhong was qualified as the president of the Republic of China, and Cai Yi was also upgraded to the governor of Sichuan.
At that time, Cai Yi was just 34 years old, and he was young and vigorous, but unfortunately he got throat cancer and finally died in Fukuoka, Japan.
Second, if Cai Yi is not dead, history will go
If Cai Yi had not died, with his personality characteristics and ideological standards, Cai Yi should have responded positively when the Nationalist government launched the Northern Expedition to promote republican reunification.
Because at that time, although it was the name of the Republic of China, it was divided by local forces, and the whole was still in a state of 4 divisions and 5 splits.
If Cai Yi had joined the Northern Expeditionary Army at that time, the Overall Northern Expedition of the Nationalist Government would have been more smooth, because although Tang Jiyao had divided Yunnan at that time, after all, he had also been Cai Yi's subordinate, and the two were also considered to be in partnership, and Tang Jiyao naturally understood Cai Yi's ability, plus at that time Tang Jiyao was surrounded by Cai Yi and the nationalist army, and naturally he was not able to fight.
With the support of Yunnan and Sichuan during the Northern Expedition, the armies such as Wu Peifu and Sun Chuanfang would not make much resistance at all, and the overall Northern Expedition would be smoother.
If Cai Yi had not died, then Chiang Kai-shek would not have dared to launch a revolutionary coup, and the Nationalist government at that time would not have been turbulent and divided, so that China's basic industry and agriculture could be more perfected.
If there was such a foundation, when the Japanese army was preparing to invade and occupy the northeast in 1931, Cai Yi would also be the first not to agree.
If a struggle against Japan is launched in the northeast, the Central Plains may also take this opportunity to rapidly develop into a state of war readiness, and will not lose so badly in the War of Resistance Against Japan.