However, in the Revolution of 1911, there was one person who was crucial. Although this person had no real power, he was contested by the Qing government, Yuan Shikai, and Sun Yat-sen. He was Li Yuanhong.

On October 10, 1911, the Wuchang Uprising was successful. We have all studied this event in history books and know its significance. After the success of the Wuchang Uprising, the Revolution of 1911, the Qing government was overthrown. At this point, my country's two thousand years of feudal society officially ended and entered the republican period. However, in the Revolution of 1911, there was one person who was very important. Although this person had no real power, he was contested by the Qing government, Yuan Shikai , and Sun Yat-sen. He was Li Yuanhong .

Many people know about Li Yuanhong. After the success of the Wuchang Uprising, the revolutionary army elected Li Yuanhong as its leader because the group was leaderless. In this way, Li Yuanhong inexplicably embarked on the road of revolution. Many people only know this about Li Yuanhong, and they don't even know what he did to earn such recognition from the revolutionary army. Moreover, he was almost never seen in the Revolution of 1911, and the revolution was successful. After his success, Li Yuanhong inexplicably withdrew from the stage of history. Generally speaking, Li Yuanhong gives people the feeling that the dragons have seen the beginning but not the end. Let's take a look at Li Yuanhong's general situation today. His influence in the Revolution of 1911 was much greater than we thought.

Li Yuanhong was born in Hubei in 1864. Many people say that he and Hong Xiuquan are fellow villagers, and his surname was also Hong. Whether this is true cannot be verified. Li Yuanhong's family is relatively good, and they have high hopes for Li Yuanhong. According to normal logic, Li Yuanhong should take part in the imperial examination and then enter politics. However, the path Li Yuanhong took was completely different from the traditional path.

In 1883, Li Yuanhong was admitted to the wheel ship department of Tianjin Beiyang Naval Academy. Beiyang Naval Academy is a place dedicated to training a new type of navy for Qing Dynasty. What is studied here is not the Four Books and Five Classics, but is carried out completely in accordance with the British naval education method. Learning is all about Western technology and ideas. Li Yuanhong performed very well during his schooling and had excellent grades. In 1888, when he graduated, Li Hongzhang awarded him the sixth-grade crown and gave him the general position. It can be said that Li Hongzhang recognized him very much. After that, Li Yuanhong's status in Beiyang Navy became higher and higher. The most important thing is that he is very popular and many people recognize him.

During the Sino-Japanese War , Li Yuanhong's ship ran aground on the rocks, and he escaped by jumping into the sea. His experience in the Beiyang Navy ended here. But his political career was not over. At that time, Zhang Zhidong was training new troops in the south and recruiting naval students. In this way, Li Yuanhong took refuge in Zhang Zhidong. And because of his relatively strong ability, he was also recognized by Zhang Zhidong. Later, during the Revolution of 1911, the Qing government, Yuan Shikai, and Sun Yat-sen all competed for him, which had a lot to do with his defection to Zhang Zhidong.

When Zhang Zhidong returned to Hubei to serve as the governor of Huguang , Li Yuanhong followed Zhang Zhidong to Hubei. Later, he helped Zhang Zhidong train the new army in Hubei. From 1896 to before the Revolution of 1911, Li Yuanhong stayed in Hubei for 15 years. During the 15 years of , he has been everywhere in and Hubei New Army . He is a leading figure in Hubei's new army and navy. It can be said that he is the core figure and even the leader of the Hubei New Army. However, after Zhang Zhidong entered Beijing, Li Yuanhong was relieved of many of his positions in the Hubei New Army, and only the Wuchang Army Special School held all official positions.

At this time, Li Yuanhong had almost no rights. But the smart thing about Li Yuanhong is that he has always been with the Hubei New Army. After all, this is his hometown. As mentioned before, Li Yuanhong is very popular and is highly recognized by everyone. There are many revolutionaries in the Hubei New Army, and Li Yuanhong also knows this. However, Li Yuanhong did not stop them or persecute them. Moreover, Li Yuanhong was kind to most of the soldiers in the Hubei New Army, and many people supported him. Although Li Yuanhong was later forced to resign from many positions, his influence in the Hubei New Army did not weaken. And although he is only an assistant, he has been participating in various courses of the Hubei New Army and listening in. This gives him access to more new troops.

Just imagine, the Wuchang Uprising broke out in Wuchang.Wuchang is Li Yuanhong's hometown, and he has been operating here for 15 years. Moreover, most of the new troops in the uprising were students of Li Yuanhong, and these students all recognized Li Yuanhong. Under this situation, it was impossible for Li Yuanhong not to participate. No one would believe him if he said he had no influence on the matter. After all, his influence is too great.

Let’s first look at how the Qing government, Yuan Shikai, and Sun Yat-sen wooed Li Yuanhong before and after the Wuchang Uprising. After reading it, I realized that it would be difficult for the Qing Dynasty not to perish.

Let’s talk about the Qing government first. Li Yuanhong had deep feelings for the Qing government. After all, he had been an official in the Qing Dynasty, and he still had the idea of ​​loyalty to the emperor and patriotism. However, after Zhang Zhidong left, all his power was taken away and he had no real power. The Qing government's approach was a bit digging its own grave. For such a powerful person, it is enough not to seal him, but to touch him directly. And even if they were really moved, Li Yuanhong should be transferred out of Hubei. They actually allowed Li Yuanhong to stay in Hubei. This is a bit suicidal.

Of course, after the Wuchang Uprising, Li Yuanhong did not want to join the revolutionary party, but still wanted to join the Qing Dynasty. However, circumstances forced him to join the Revolutionary Party. If the Qing Dynasty had been kinder to him, the Revolution of 1911 might have had a different outcome.

Next, take a look at Yuan Shikai. As the leader of the Beiyang New Army, Yuan Shikai still knew the influence on Li Yuanhong very well. Not long after the Wuchang Uprising broke out, Yuan Shikai sent someone to tell Li Yuanhong that the war between the north and the south should be ended peacefully while the Qing court issued an edict to repent. The reason why Yuan Shikai sent someone to tell Li Yuanhong instead of others shows that he knew Li Yuanhong's influence. After that, Yuan Shikai sent many people to negotiate with Li Yuanhong, but Li Yuanhong's attitude kept changing.

After Yuan Shikai was elected president, Li Yuanhong was elected vice president. There is definitely Yuan Shikai's support in this. Later, Yuan Shikai appointed Li Yuanhong as the president of the Senate and so on. Before Yuan Shikai became emperor, Li Yuanhong always supported Yuan Shikai. And Yuan Shikai was also very good against Li Yuanhong. The two of them could still talk about going together.

The third one is Sun Yat-sen. Although Sun Yat-sen was the leader of the Revolutionary Party, after the Wuchang Uprising broke out, Sun Yat-sen was not at home, but abroad. However, when he returned to China, he still recognized Li Yuanhong's status. For example, after Huang Xing returned to Hubei, he was appointed by Li Yuanhong as the wartime commander-in-chief of the Hubei Revolutionary Army, taking control of all the armies in Hubei. Huang Xing's status in the revolutionary party was second only to Sun Yat-sen. At this time, his official position was appointed by Li Yuanhong, which shows that Sun Yat-sen recognized Li Yuanhong's status. Otherwise, Huang Xing may not accept Li Yuanhong's appointment.

After the provisional government of the Republic of China was established, Sun Yat-sen was elected as the provisional president, and Li Yuanhong became the provisional vice president. Not only that, Li Yuanhong is also the governor of Hubei, controlling the entire Hubei. This shows that the Revolutionary Party is also actively wooing Li Yuanhong. Everyone knows the importance of Hubei. Now letting Li Yuanhong serve as the governor is also a sign of trust in Li Yuanhong.

This is how the Qing government, Yuan Shikai, and Sun Yat-sen tried to win over Li Yuanhong before and after the Revolution of 1911. It can be seen from this that no matter which side Li Yuanhong falls to, he will not fall to the Qing government. As for Yuan Shikai and Sun Yat-sen, no matter who Li Yuanhong fell to, the Qing Dynasty was bound to perish.

In fact, Li Yuanhong did a lot of things after becoming the leader of the Revolutionary Party during the Wuchang Uprising. For example, he was leading the army against the Qing Dynasty in the early stage. After Huang Xing came, he let Huang Xing take over. Li Yuanhong's leadership and command in the early stage was relatively good. If not, the Revolution of 1911 would have failed long ago. Not only that, the reason why the southern provinces later declared independence was directly related to Li Yuanhong.

Li Yuanhong knew that the revolutionary army could not defeat the New Beiyang Army, so he began to win over the governors of the southern provinces. Simply put, Li Yuanhong allowed these people to revolt and get rid of the control of the Qing Dynasty. However, these people are all feudal officials, veteran officials in the officialdom, and it is difficult for them to listen to others. However, after Li Yuanhong's persuasion, the final result was that most of the southern provinces declared independence.Many people say that Li Yuanhong relied on remittances to make the southern provinces independent, because there was a treasury transfer station established by the Qing Dynasty in Hubei, which had a lot of money. Li Yuanhong sent telegrams and remitted money at the same time, so everyone was independent. But the truth is never that simple. If someone else remits the money, these governors may not agree to independence. It can be seen that Li Yuanhong is still very political.

No matter from which aspect, Li Yuanhong's influence at that time cannot be ignored. Although he has no real power, his influence is greater than any official in Hubei. It is precisely because of this that so many people are fighting for him.

Reference:

"Manuscript of Qing History"