Yuan Shi-kai
Yuan Shi-kai, after defeating the
Japanese in
Korea and restoring the
China-friendly ruler in 1884, became the head of new, modernized army. He was approached by
Tan Si-tong for
Guang-xu to kill
Ronglu in a conspiracy against
Ci-xi, but
Yuan Shi-kai betrayed them.
Ci-xi placed
Guang-xu under house arrest, ending all possibility of dynastic revolution.
He was later sent to suppress the
Yi he quan Boxers in 1899.
A key figure in military reforms, he headed the modernized army, but generals owed loyalty to him, not to the
Manchu government. He was sent away to
Japan but recalled to deal with rebellions in south
China.
His allegiances with both sides allowing
Yuan to become
President of the
Chinese Republic in 1911 when revolutionaries took over militarily what he didn’t take politically.
He assassinated
Song Jiao-ren in 1913 and took over the
Guomindang, then disbanded the party and made himself
military dictator. When he ascended the
Dragon Throne 1916 with constitutional monarchy, many areas revolted and he died a few months later. After his death his generals became regional warlords.