Beiieir of UTtews, 1/11/lS. 



YUAN SHIH-KAI. 



88i 



rulers both feared and hated him, and 

 lost no time m ^ettin^' rid of him as a 

 government official. He was a man of 

 too much prominence in China and 

 abroad to be summarily dismissed, and 

 a typical Chinese subterfuge was 

 adopted. An Imperial Edict recounted 

 the high offices Yuan had filled, but re- 

 gretfully stated that as he had de- 

 veloped rheumatism in the leg he would 

 be compelled to vacate all the official 

 ]iosts he then occupied, and retire to 

 ]3rivate life. The fact that he was suf- 

 fering from rheumatism was as much of 

 a surprise to Yuan as to his friends. 

 There is little doubt but that he would 

 have been executed at this time but for 

 the effect the Manchus feared such an 

 act would have on China's foreign rela- 

 tions. 



PREJiIIER AT PEKING. 

 In disgrace. Yuan retired to his Ilon.in 

 farm and spent his time fishing and 

 looking after the treatment of an in- 

 valid brother. It was not until three 

 years later that the Manchu clan, 

 menaced by the rapid si;)read of the Re- 

 publican revolt, called on the one strong 

 mail of China for help. While the Re- 

 publican troops were gathering in force 

 at Wuchang, an Imperial Edict ordered 

 Yuan to take up the duties of Viceroy 

 at that place, recently vacated b)' Jui 

 Cheng, who had fled to the safe quarters 

 of the Shanghai foreign settlement 

 Three years of Ashing had not dulled 

 the edge of Yuan's wit, for he replied 

 that he would be glad to do what he 

 could, but the rheumatism in his leg was 

 still troubling him. The Manchus, who 

 had created this imaginary disease, 

 thought a little more power might cure 

 it, and successive edicts increased the 

 power offered him, until in a short time 

 he was able to come to Peking as Pre- 

 mier, surrounded by his own picked 

 troops, apparelled and accoutred like 

 an Eastern Sultan. 



HIS DEALINGS WITH THE MAN'HrS. 



He had come to Peking to save tlic 

 totterine Manchu throne, and from the 

 day he arrived he was master of the cit>-. 

 But he soon saw that he was engaged in 

 a hopeless task. The Manchus had no 

 money, and the foreign bankers refused 

 to loan them any. The Republicans 



were gaining victories everywhere, and 

 the Republican spirit was spreading to 

 the remotest corners of the vast empire. 

 Even Peking was threatened, and 

 machine guns guarded the approaches 

 to the Imperial Palace. Obviously Yuan 

 had allied himself with the losing side, 

 and a less capable man would have gone 

 down in the crash which was inevitable. 

 This was the kind of a situation which 

 called forth Yuan's best efforts. 



According to popular belief, very soon 

 after his arrival in Peking he turned his 

 attention to getting rid of the Manchus, 

 while openly professing his endeavours 

 to save the throne for them. Little by 

 little he induced the Manchus to turn 

 over their power to him, until soon he 

 was not even pretending to act through 

 the little Emperor, but issued orders in 

 his own name. He sent his most trusted 

 friend and adviser. Tang Shao-yi, to 

 Shanghai to confer with the Republi- 

 cans, and Tang, strangely enough, be- 

 came converted to Republicanism as 

 soon as he had met the Republican peace 

 commissioner, Dr. Wu Ting-fang. Yuan 

 openly denounced Tang for this change 

 of faith, but loaded him with honours 

 as soon as the Manchus had abdicated. 

 Yuan's old generals, who would have 

 followed him anywhere, made peevish 

 acmands on the Throne for money. 

 Many credit Yuan with inspiring these 

 demands. When the ^:^onarcliial troops 

 could easilv have taken W'uchang from 

 the Reyjublicans, Yuan grew suddenly 

 peaceful, and agreed to an armistice. 



Everything in China, apparently, 

 turned Republican, but the Manchus, 

 shut up behind the pink walls of the 

 Forbidden City, and knowing little of 

 what was going on outside, declined to 

 give up the power they had so long en- 

 joyed. With many of their powerful 

 friends deserting them, they decided to 

 make secure the services of Yuan by 

 offering him the greatest honour the rul- 

 ing clan could bestow on a Chinese, the 

 title of Marquis. According to the 

 sound reasoning of the Manchus, the ac- 

 ceptance of this title of nobility would 

 make it impossible for Yuan Shih-kai to 

 desert them for the Republican cause. 



It was a critical situation for Yuan, 

 but he grasped it, and turned it to his 



