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Chapter 247 Yuan Shikai’s rise to power
Not only did the rulers of various dynasties feel the demise of the Qing government, but even the common people in the late Qing Dynasty had the same premonition.

If we want to say who knows best that the Qing government is not going to be around for long, it is naturally the common people like them in the late Qing Dynasty.

After all, ordinary people living in this era can clearly feel that the Qing government is about to be unable to support itself.

Moreover, this is not an alarmist statement by ordinary people, but by Chinese people all over the world.

To say that those who had the most heated discussions and who were conclusive about the news of the demise of the Qing government were the intellectuals in the entire society.

Since the Qing government was defeated in the Eight-Power Allied Forces' war of aggression against China and signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki, intellectuals in society have claimed that the Qing government is not far away from overthrowing.

And the people are naturally happy to hear such words. They have had enough. They hope that the Qing government will perish soon, so that the people can get rid of the current miserable situation.

Many intellectuals in the late Qing Dynasty asked the anchor about what happened next. Did the Qing government finally perish?

Although they believe that at this point, the Qing government's demise is irreversible, they still hope to hear the exact answer from the anchor.

Su Chen felt everyone's urgency, nodded slightly, and gave everyone a reassuring look.

"When the Dingwu Army was born, Western methods were used in training and the equipment was also innovated."

"The imperial court knows that training the troops in this way will give them combat effectiveness, so they have no objection."

"When it comes to how this new Beiyang army came about, we have to start with the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1894."

Now that the anchor gave them the accurate answer, their worries were completely eliminated. At this moment, their inner joy was beyond words.

"The first is to repay the kindness of the king, and the second is to rely on the officials to teach you."

"In other words, the thoughts instilled in the Beiyang Army are first of all to be loyal to the emperor, and secondly to serve Yuan Shikai."

"So it didn't take long before the Changlu Salt Transport Envoy, who was not very familiar with military affairs, was transferred from his post, and the Dingwu Army was taken over by Yuan Shikai."

Since then, the people have been looking forward to the quick demise of the incompetent Qing government, and someone can lead them towards a hopeful future.

"Later, Yuan Shikai was able to dominate the government and even force the Qing emperor to abdicate, relying on the new Beiyang army he cultivated."

"So the Qing government accepted the suggestion of German military adviser Hannagan and trained the new army based on the German army."

Since their defeat in the First Opium War, their people have never had a good day.

So much so that they didn't even hear what the anchor said later, and everyone was in the crazy joy of the shocking good news.

"Yuan Shikai's new army is naturally the same in this environment."

"Some people must be wondering what kind of existence the New Beiyang Army is? They are also curious about how this New Beiyang Army came into being?"

"There is a very classic scene in the TV series "Toward a Republic". When Yuan Shikai was training the Beiyang New Army, the soldiers shouted in unison to eat Marshal Yuan's food and wear Marshal Yuan's clothes."

When the common people in the late Qing Dynasty heard the accurate news of the demise of the Qing government, they all cheered and could not wait to sing and dance to express their inner joy.

“During the Sino-Japanese War of 1898, the poor performance of the Huai Army, the Hunan Army, and other military training forces in various places made the Qing rulers realize that the traditional regiment training armed force was simply vulnerable to the modern new army.”

Although everyone already knows that the Qing government is not going to die soon, they are not 100% sure that the Qing government will perish.

"At the end of 1894, the Changlu Salt Transport Envoy used Western methods to train a new army at the Tianjin Racecourse, which was called the Dingwu Army."

"The anchor introduced Yuan Shikai because Yuan Shikai was the most important figure from the late Qing Dynasty to Beiyang, and he was also a key figure in the demise of the Qing Dynasty."

"Obviously, serving the monarch comes before serving the superior."

"This kind of half-baked military training results are obviously not satisfactory."

But despite all the precautions, Yuan Shikai could not be guarded against, allowing this rebellious minister to take advantage of the loophole.

"The first paragraph of the military training song is that the court wants to maintain peace, and the commander-in-chief practices new exercises in accordance with the order."

"But the establishment is still the old style, that is, the battalion is still the highest establishment unit in peacetime."

After Yuan Shikai organized and trained the Beiyang New Army, she was always worried about Yuan Shikai's self-respect of having troops, and was trying to think of ways to weaken Yuan Shikai's military power.

"So how to change it specifically? Which country's military reform should we refer to?"

Although the common people don't know what their fate will be after the demise of the Qing government, they think it won't be worse than it is now.

"Because the regimental training and armed forces in the late Qing Dynasty were all trained in this way. Zeng Guofan practiced this when he trained the Hunan Army, and Li Hongzhang also practiced like this when he trained the Huai Army."

The entire land of China is plunged into a sea of ​​joy, and all parts of the country are filled with a festive atmosphere.

"If Yuan Shikai had dared to put himself in front of the court, no matter how many heads he had, he would not be enough to chop him off."

"In historical reality, soldiers shouted to eat Marshal Yuan's food and wear Marshal Yuan's clothes."

Countless people cried with joy when they thought that after the fall of the Qing government, the lives of their people would slowly get better.

When the anchor said that Yuan Shikai later became more powerful and even forced the Qing emperor to abdicate, leading to the demise of the Qing Dynasty, her face turned completely gloomy.

"Such a thing must be true. It really happened in the late Qing Dynasty."

Cixi: One wrong step, one wrong step after another, and in the end, Yuan Shikai was able to support his troops with self-respect.

After waiting for decades, this day finally arrived.

"However, even if the soldiers usually shout slogans such as Eat Marshal Yuan's food and wear Marshal Yuan's clothes, it does not mean that Yuan Shikai can control the six towns of Beiyang."

"So before the war was over, the Qing government put the plan of hiring foreigners to teach, completely using Western-style military training and equipment, and carrying out all-round military reform on the agenda, and determined the goal of military reform."

"You only need to look at the "General's Military Training Song" at that time to know this."

"Since the Japanese Army was trained by Germany, there are many German military advisers in the Huai Army."

But the worst has not happened yet, and everything can be stopped in time.

As long as the scourge of Yuan Shikai is eliminated in time, the Qing Empire can still continue and will not be ruined in her hands.

Thinking of this, she immediately issued an order to Li Hongzhang.

Cixi: Li Zhongtang, the Aijia wants you to rush to Shandong immediately to capture Yuan Shikai.

Li Hongzhang looked hesitant, but in the face of the furious Queen Mother, even though he was unwilling, he still accepted the order.

It was not that he wanted to plead for Yuan Shikai, but it was probably impossible to capture Yuan Shikai at this moment.

After the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded China, the Qing Dynasty did not have many available troops.

At the moment, Yuan Shikai, who is the governor of Shandong, has a heavy army in his hands. It may not be helpful for him to go to Shandong now. If he fails, he may force Yuan Shikai to rebel.

But the Queen Mother's decree had to be carried out, and he was in a dilemma at the moment.

"After Yuan Shikai took office, he first expanded the scale, recruited 2250 more soldiers, expanded the Dingwu Army to 7000, and changed its name to the New Army."

"Subsequently, Yuan Shikai radically reformed the military system in full accordance with the German system."

"Set up two wings on the battalion, with 1554 people on each wing, and combine cavalry, artillery, engineering and other arms units into the battalion."

"After reorganization, the new army is equivalent to a mixed brigade, with two infantry wings, equivalent to regiments, and one artillery battalion, one cavalry battalion, and one engineering battalion."

"This new organization already has the prototype of a synthetic army, which is a significant improvement compared to the previous Green Camp, Hunan Army, and Huai Army."

"In this way, China's first modern army was born."

"While Yuan Shikai was organizing and training the new army, Zhang Zhidong, the acting governor of Liangjiang, also organized and trained a new army of 2000 people in the south of the Yangtze River, called the Ziqiang Army."

"The military system, training and equipment of the Self-Strengthening Army are similar to those of the newly built Army, and it is also a new synthetic army in modern times."

"In addition, the then Zhili Admiral Nie Shicheng hired German consultants to reorganize his Wuyi Army."

"After the reorganization, the military wing officers and soldiers totaled 15000 people, divided into headquarters agencies and five combat units."

“Under the headquarters, there are logistics units such as the Prime Minister’s Camp Affairs Office, the Teaching and Learning Office, the Food and Rating Bureau, the Ordnance Bureau, and the Military Medical Bureau.”

"There are also five battalions of the cavalry team and two battalions of the engineering team, which are under the direct jurisdiction of the headquarters."

"Five combat units, including the front, rear, left and right armies, each army has one battalion of artillery and four battalions of troops."

"The Chinese army is slightly larger, with one battalion of artillery and six battalions of troops."

"Compared with the newly built Army and the Self-Strengthening Army, the horizontal organizational structure of the Wu Yi Army adopts Western methods, forming a complete combat system in which multiple arms and departments cooperate with each other."

"But the vertical organizational structure is still the old Huai Army system, and the reform is not thorough enough."

"From the determination of reforms to the completion of the training of multiple new armies, the efficiency of the Qing government was not low."

Yuan Shikai: Who would have thought that when the imperial court asked me to organize and train the new army, it actually gave me a chance to rise.

Recalling the period when he was organizing and training the new army, he couldn't help but sigh with emotion. He never expected that he would step by step reach the point where he is now in great power.

When the anchor said that Yuan Shikai was a key figure in the demise of the Qing Dynasty, he couldn't help but be stunned. Apparently, he had not thought that he would reach this point later.

Before that, he had no second thoughts and was still loyal to the Empress Dowager Cixi and the Qing Dynasty, and he never thought about overthrowing the Qing government.

He speculated that it was likely that a major change in the situation later allowed him to dominate the government and force the Qing emperor to abdicate.

As for this moment, the Empress Dowager Cixi would definitely not let him go, and maybe she would have already sent someone to arrest him.

But he is not afraid at all. Now that he has reached this point, he will rebel!

Originally, he had never thought of rebelling, but now he had to rebel and completely distance himself from the Qing government.

All the troops in the hands of the Queen Mother had been lost in the Eight-Power Allied Forces' war of aggression against China, and since he held the trump card of the Beiyang New Army, he did not need to fear the Queen Mother's revenge at all.

Now, what he has to consider is what to do next.

"However, affected by the Reform Movement of 1898 and the Jihai Reserve Building Incident, the construction of the new army came to a standstill from 1900 to ."

"Of course, the internal fighting among the top officials of the Qing government did not affect Yuan Shikai's pace of military expansion."

"In 1899, Yuan Shikai became governor of Shandong."

"While in charge of Shandong, Yuan Shikai reorganized the 20 battalions of Shandong's old-style military training of about 14000 people into the vanguard of the Right Army of the Armed Guards."

"When the Wuwei Right Army Vanguard was established, Yuan Shikai had little influence on this force."

"But as the sand continued to be mixed in, the Pioneers gradually became Yuan Shikai's direct descendants."

"In May 1900, the Eight-Nation Allied Forces invaded China."

"During the war, the Wuwei Army, Gan Army, Yi Army and Wuwei Central Army, which were tasked with defending the capital, all suffered heavy losses. Only Yuan Shikai's newly built army retained its strength."

"So after the war, the only combat-effective force in the hands of the Qing government was Yuan Shikai's Right Army of the Armed Guards."

"When the plan to train the new army was put on the agenda again, Yuan Shikai shouldered the task without hesitation."

"In 1901, Yuan Shikai succeeded the deceased Li Hongzhang as Minister of Beiyang."

"At the beginning of taking office, Yuan Shikai formulated the designation and battalion structure of the new army and obtained approval from the court."

Li Hongzhang: Is my death coming soon? I guess he died of illness!
Counting the time, he didn't have many days left, only a few months.

When he suddenly learned of his death, he didn't have any big disturbance in his heart.

He knew very well what his physical condition was like, and he also knew that he didn't have much time left, so he could face it calmly.

Nowadays, the Qing Dynasty is in troubled times, and he still has too much to let go of.

Take the matter of Yuan Shikai, for example, if it is not handled well, it is likely to accelerate the demise of the Qing Dynasty and bring the original time for the demise of the Qing Dynasty to come earlier in history.

Li Hongzhang: Queen Mother, in the opinion of my veteran minister, it is best to issue a decree to appease Yuan Shikai, but not to force Yuan Shikai to rebel.

He had no choice but to deal with Yuan Shikai's forced abdication of the Qing emperor coldly.

After all, the only combat-effective force in the Qing government is Yuan Shikai's Beiyang New Army. The only best option is to appease Yuan Shikai.

The consequences of forcing Yuan Shikai to rebel were unbearable for the Qing government.

Cixi also calmed down at this moment, knowing that Li Hongzhang was right, and the court was not strong enough to fall out with Yuan Shikai.

Thinking of this, she immediately asked someone to send a telegram to Yuan Shikai to make arrangements.

"According to the charter, the strength of the newly-established army increased and it was renamed Standing Army Zuozhen, and later renamed Standing Army No. 1 Town. The first commander of Standing Army No. 1 Town was Wang Yingkai."

"Wang Yingkai was the early backbone of Yuan Shikai's formation of the Beiyang Army. He joined the newly established Army as early as 1895."

"Due to the increase in troop strength, the original five-level command system of the newly-established army has been increased to seven levels."

"That is, there are 14 people in a squad, three squads in one platoon, three platoons in one team, four teams in one battalion, three battalions in one battalion, two battalions in one brigade, two brigades in one town, and one town under the jurisdiction of two infantry brigades. .”

"There is also a direct artillery team, a cavalry team, a heavy battalion, and an engineering battalion."

"There are 748 officials and scribes in the town, 10436 soldiers, and 1328 servants, totaling 12512 people."

"During the formation and training of the standing army in Zuozhen, the Qing government selected 3,000 people from the Eight Banners of the Beijing Camp and gave them to Yuan Shikai for training. Yuan Shikai used this to create and train the Beijing Banner Standing Army."

"In October 1903, Japan and Tsarist Russia had a serious conflict in Northeast China, and war was about to break out."

"In order to ensure the safety of the capital, the Qing government set up a military training office in the capital to coordinate the training of the new army."

"He also ordered each province to establish a supervisory training office to be responsible for training new troops. It is planned to train new troops in 36 towns across the country." "The prime minister of the Beijing Military Training Office is Prince Qing, and Yuan Shikai is the director, which is the second in command of the department."

"However, Prince Qing does not know how to train troops and is too lazy to take care of things. Therefore, the actual power of military training in Beiyang is still in the hands of Yuan Shikai."

Yuan Shikai: My journey to rise still sounds exciting today.

Hearing the anchor talk about his journey to the new army's rise, he had a smile of great relief on his face.

The time he spent in the military camp was indispensable for his ability to become a frontier official with a large number of troops.

If he hadn't constantly deployed his own men in the process of organizing and training the new army, how could he have a firm grasp on the new Beiyang Army.

Just when he was lamenting his rise, his subordinates brought him the Queen Mother's decree.

After reading the telegram sent by the Queen Mother, he smiled and breathed a sigh of relief.

The content of the telegram said that the imperial court would not pursue matters that had not happened yet, and asked him not to think too much and to be loyal to the imperial court.

He was also happy to see this result.

Although with the new Beiyang army in his hands, he would not be afraid even if he fell out with the court.

But he was unwilling to fall out with the court unless absolutely necessary.

Since the imperial court was willing to settle the matter and pretend that it had not happened, he was naturally happy to do so.

After thinking about it, he also asked someone to send a telegram back to the court, saying that he would still be loyal to the court.

"At this time, the imperial court's policy is to allow elite soldiers to be selected from the original old army, that is, the defense army, training army, and green camp, to be incorporated into the new army."

"So Yuan Shikai reorganized and merged the battalions of Baoyang Cavalry, Yuanzi Mabu and other battalions, Huai Army, Suyi Pro-Army and other departments, organized them into the First Association, Second Biao, and Sixth Battalions, and sent them to the racecourse for training."

"After completing the training, the new army was named Standing Army Right Town, and later renamed Standing Army Second Town. The first commander of Standing Army Second Town was Wu Changchun."

"Wu Changchun is the younger brother of Yuan Shikai's old boss Wu Changqing. He got acquainted with Yuan Shikai as early as the Huai Army period."

"While the Second Town of the Standing Army was still training, the Russo-Japanese War broke out."

"In order to ensure the safety of the capital, the main forces of the First and Second Towns of the Standing Army marched to Shanhaiguan."

"But after the two main forces were transferred north, there was a void in the rear."

"In order to fill the military vacuum, Yuan Shikai recruited 11883 soldiers from Shandong, Henan, and Anhui provinces, and quickly organized and trained the third town of the standing army."

"The first ruler of the town was Duan Qirui, nicknamed the Tiger of the North."

"After that, Yuan Shikai removed some troops from the vanguard of the Right Army of the Armed Forces and the Second Town of the Standing Army."

"The Eight Banners garrison troops were also mobilized from Qingzhou, Dezhou, Cangzhou, Miyun and other places to form the fifth town of the standing army. The first commander of the fifth town of the standing army was Zhang Huaizhi."

"Zhang Huaizhi, like Wang Yingkai, joined the newly established Army in 1895 and was also the early backbone of Yuan Shikai's formation of the Beiyang Army."

"While organizing and training the fifth town of the standing army, Yuan Shikai followed suit and transferred troops from the first and third towns of the standing army, as well as the Nanyang Self-Strengthening Army from Jiangnan, and combined them into the fourth town of the standing army."

"The first commander of the Fourth Town of the Standing Army was Wang Shizhen, known as the Dragon of the North."

Ying Zheng: No wonder Yuan Shikai was able to dominate the government and force the Qing emperor to abdicate, and he frantically deployed his own people when training the new army.

He had seen the stupidity of the Qing government, but he didn't expect it to be so stupid that it even gave Yuan Shikai full power over military training.

Since ancient times, military power has been a top priority and must be firmly in the hands of the ruler.

Only the stupid and ignorant Qing government could do this by handing over all the recruits to Yuan Shikai for training and allowing Yuan Shikai to arrange his own manpower at will.

This was a clear opportunity for Yuan Shikai to support his troops, and it was conceivable that he would overthrow the Qing government in the end.

However, if you think about it carefully, the Qing government sent royal relatives to suppress Yuan Shikai, but the Qing prince himself was incompetent and completely ignored, which gave Yuan Shikai the opportunity to control military power.

If you look at it this way, it is not surprising that the Qing Dynasty fell because even the royal family members were so incompetent.

"With the formation of the first, second, third, fourth and fifth towns of the Beiyang Standing Army, Yuan Shikai's status soared."

"From this, Cixi began to worry that the new Beiyang troops were all Han Chinese and would shake the country's foundation."

"So Cixi asked Yuan Shikai and Tie Liang to jointly expand the previously established Beijing Banner Standing Army."

"In June 1905, the Beijing Banner Standing Army went through two rounds of expansion, from the original 6 to 3000, reaching a town establishment."

"In the same year, the Qing government adjusted the designation and awarded the title of the First Town of the Beiyang New Army to the Beijing Banner Standing Army, which was dominated by bannermen. Fengshan, a bannerman of the Han Army, was the first commander of the First Town of the Beiyang New Army."

"Because the No. 1 Town designation was taken away, the original Standing Army No. 1 Town was renamed the Beiyang New Army No. 2 Town."

"The original Second Town of the Standing Army was changed to the Fourth Town of the Beiyang New Army, the original Fourth Town was changed to the Sixth Town, and the numbers of the Third and Fifth Towns remained unchanged."

"That's it, the training of all six towns in Beiyang is completed."

Liu Che: Others have even established standing armies in the five towns, and now they are worried about shaking the country's foundation. Unfortunately, it is too late.

He could only say that Cixi was a little clever, but not much.

Yuan Shikai had already replaced all the officers of the standing army of the five towns with his own people, and then he realized the seriousness of the problem.

If his predictions were correct, Yuan Shikai's final ability to force the Qing emperor to abdicate must have been thanks to the standing armies of these five towns.

But then again, he was very curious about whether Cixi and Yuan Shikai in another time and space would fight.

After all, the anchor had already informed Yuan Shikai that the Qing Dynasty was finally destroyed, and Cixi would most likely not spare Yuan Shikai if she knew the news.

But Yuan Shikai is not a soft persimmon. He has the connections he left behind when he was training the new army, so he may not necessarily be afraid of Cixi.

If Cixi and Yuan Shikai fought, it would be a lively affair, adding even more chaos to the already turbulent Qing Dynasty.

But he guessed that a fight was unlikely. After all, if both sides suffered losses, it would only be an advantage to the coveting powers.

"While the new Beiyang Army was formed, local provinces were also organizing and training the new army."

"As of 1911, the new army nationwide had 11463 officers and 168544 soldiers."

"Due to different environments, the local New Army and the Beiyang New Army have their own strengths."

“When local new armies, especially southern provinces, are establishing new armies, they focus on recruiting educated young people and overseas students as officers.”

"For example, Cai E of the Yunnan New Army, Yan Xishan of the Shanxi New Army, and Xu Chongzhi of the Fujian New Army."

"These young intellectuals have read books, are well-informed, and dare to hold different political opinions."

"Unlike the old army officers and soldiers, they are ignorant and loyal to the imperial power."

"Because the new officers and soldiers in the South dared to hold dissent, many secretly joined the Revolutionary Party."

"The Beiyang New Army does not have such a high level of consciousness, but its combat effectiveness is stronger than that of the local New Army."

"The Second Town of the Beiyang New Army, as Yuan Shikai's old team, was the earliest to form an army."

"Therefore, it has the strongest combat effectiveness, relatively large number of soldiers, and the best equipment in the country."

Guangxu: The New Army in the South secretly colluded with the Revolutionary Party, and Yuan Shikai of the New Army in the Beiyang was so ambitious that he really wanted to destroy the Qing Dynasty!
At this moment, he was despairing, as if he had seen the end of the Qing Dynasty.

The anchor said before that Yuan Shikai forced him to abdicate and destroyed the Qing Dynasty, which was enough to make him despair.

When he thought about the demise of the Qing Dynasty in his hands, he felt ashamed to face the ancestors of the Qing Dynasty.

Originally, he was thinking that things might turn around before things got to that point.

After all, although Yuan Shikai controls the New Beiyang Army, the new armies trained by the imperial court in local provinces may not be unable to compete with Yuan Shikai.

But now he learned that even the local New Army had secretly colluded with the Revolutionary Party. At this moment, his face was completely ashen, and the last hope in his heart was completely shattered.

Even in the palace, he had always heard about the Revolutionary Party and knew that the Revolutionary Party was always thinking about overthrowing the Qing Dynasty.

Now there are very few military forces belonging to the imperial court, and it is impossible to make a comeback.

"However, with the formation of another new army, the title of the second town with the best equipment soon fell by the wayside."

"Which new army is it? This is the Imperial Guard."

"In 1909, I saw that Yuan Shikai was self-respecting with his troops, and the middle and high-level commanders in the towns in Beiyang were inextricably linked to Yuan Shikai."

"The imperial court seems to be in control of the six towns in Beiyang, but in fact it cannot directly command the troops at all."

"The regent Zaifeng then found trouble and dismissed Yuan Shikai. The reason for the dismissal was ridiculous and not enough."

"You, Yuan Shikai, have problems with your legs and feet and are no longer qualified for the position you hold. So you, old Yuan, should go home and recuperate."

"Of course, that's what it means on the surface."

"In fact, in Chinese history, if an important minister is dismissed based on the reason of illness."

"The real reason is that I really can't find anything wrong with you, but I just want you to retire and go home. That's it."

"Subsequently, in order to strengthen the military strength of the bannermen, the regent Zaifeng selected elite soldiers from the Jianrui Camp, the Old Summer Palace Guard Camp, the Internal and External Firearms Battalion, and the Mongolian cavalry to form the Imperial Guard."

"During the preparations for the Imperial Guard, there were not enough bannermen who met the standards of the new army, so the fourth standard of the Imperial Guard's latest formation was composed of strong Han men from Zhili Shandong."

"In July 1911, the Imperial Guard formed an army, and its organization was basically the same as that of the Six Beiyang Towns."

"The only difference is that the Imperial Guard does not have a town-level command structure and no control. The people in charge are three training ministers and six military senior officers."

Zhu Di: The Imperial Guards were just struggling to their death, and they still could not escape the fate of the Qing Dynasty's demise.

When he learned that Yuan Shikai had destroyed the Qing Dynasty, he smiled from ear to ear, feeling the pleasure of having revenge for his great revenge.

The Manchu Qing Dynasty destroyed his Ming Dynasty, and he and the Manchu Qing Dynasty had a sworn hatred.

It's a pity that he can't influence the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and can't personally avenge the hatred and wash away the shame of the Ming Dynasty.

But now Yuan Shikai is a Han, and he destroyed the Manchu Dynasty, which can be regarded as helping him avenge his previous shame.

From the moment Yuan Shikai gained self-esteem with his troops, the demise of the Qing Dynasty was inevitable.

Even though the Qing government was afraid of Yuan Shikai and dismissed Yuan Shikai and sent him to his hometown, this did not stop Yuan Shikai from controlling the six towns in Beiyang.

After all, Yuan Shikai had inextricable connections with the middle and high-level commanders of the towns in Beiyang, which allowed Yuan Shikai to obtain command of the six towns in Beiyang at any time.

"How good is the equipment of the Imperial Guard? There are three artillery battalions in each of the six towns in Beiyang, with 54 artillery pieces of various types."

“比如第一镇配置18门明治31式75毫米野炮，18门格鲁森57毫米野炮，18门格鲁森57毫米山炮。”

“第二镇配置36门明治31式75毫米野炮，18门明治31式75毫米山炮。”

"The Guards also had three artillery battalions with 54 artillery pieces, but they were equipped with only 18 Krupp 150mm heavy guns in the country at that time, and 36 Krupp 75mm field guns."

"In addition, the Imperial Guard is also equipped with a machine gun battalion with 30 Maxim Qing heavy machine guns, which is the only one in the country."

"However, although the equipment of the Imperial Guard is the best among the three armies, the quality of its officers is average."

"Especially suitable and outstanding mid-level officers are extremely scarce, and the bannermen are unable to do the job."

"It's not that the Qing government didn't think about training bannermen officers at that time, but these bannermen were really useless and they couldn't train them."

"In desperation, the regent Zaifeng had no choice but to transfer officers from the first, second, and fourth towns to the Imperial Guard."

"In this way, the Imperial Guards originally used to defend against the Han."

"Although most of the soldiers are bannermen, the middle and senior officers are all Han Chinese from the Beiyang system."

"So even though Yuan Shikai was dismissed from his post and idle at home, even though the command of the Beiyang Army fell into the hands of the regent Zaifeng, even though a large number of high-ranking officers in the Beiyang Army were replaced by banner men."

"But because the backbone of the Beiyang Army is still dominated by Han people, this has laid a big hole for Yuan Shikai to regain control of the Beiyang Army later."

The common people in the late Qing Dynasty couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when they heard that Yuan Shikai could control the Beiyang New Army at any time.

Yuan Shikai was finally able to overthrow the Qing government, and the people would naturally support Yuan Shikai.

Originally they were worried that the Empress Dowager Cixi would be harmful to Yuan Shikai, but now everyone is not worried at all.

After all, if Yuan Shikai could firmly control the Beiyang New Army, the imperial court would not dare to do anything to Yuan Shikai.

No matter how much Cixi wanted to persecute Yuan Shikai, she had to be wary of the military power in Yuan Shikai's hands.

If Yuan Shikai's safety is guaranteed, the hope of his people will not be cut off.

At this moment, people all over the world are looking forward to the day when Yuan Shikai overthrows the Qing Dynasty.

The common people have had enough of humiliation and misery. Only by overthrowing the Qing government that is weighing on them can they live a good life.

Now all hopes are pinned on Yuan Shikai.

At this moment, many famous intellectuals all over the world are rushing to Shandong. They are going to join Yuan Shikai.

Once Yuan Shikai overthrew the Qing government, China would usher in the era of republic, and they would have a stage to display their ambitions.

(End of this chapter)