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People are afraid of being famous, and pigs are afraid of being fat. This has been the case since ancient times. A pig that grows fat and strong is not far from being slaughtered. Under the rule of the Manchus in the Qing Dynasty, Yuan Shikai, as a Han Chinese, was able to gain a high position and a prominent status, so danger followed. In 1902, Yuan Shikai served as the Governor-General of Zhili and the Minister of Beiyang. He also served as the Minister of Political Affairs and the Minister of Military Training, and trained the Beiyang Standing Army (referred to as the Beiyang Army) in Baoding. By 1905, the six Beiyang towns (towns are roughly equivalent to divisions) were trained into an army, with more than 12,500 people in each town. Except for the first town, which was a banner soldier led by the Manchu noble Tie Liang, the other five towns were under his control. Almost all the important generals were direct officers of Yuan Shikai during the training period of Xiaozhan. At the same time, Yuan Shikai also served as the Minister of Supervising Telegraph Administration, the Minister of Supervising Railways, and the Minister of Conference and Negotiation.

Ladies and gentlemen, at that time Yuan Shikai was extremely powerful. He held a large number of troops and served as so many powerful ministers. This obviously aroused the collective dissatisfaction of the Manchu nobles and made them feel seriously threatened, especially Zaifeng, Tieliang, Shanqi and other young nobles who regarded Yuan as a thorn in their eyes and a thorn in their flesh. Yuan Shikai was extremely powerful, and the Manchu officials were uneasy and panic-stricken.

Finally, in September 1907, the Qing court ordered Yuan Shikai to be removed from his post as Governor-General of Zhili and Minister of Beiyang, as well as other concurrent posts, and to be transferred to Beijing as Minister of Military Affairs and Minister of Foreign Affairs. On the surface, Yuan Shikai was promoted, but in fact he was forced to leave Zhili and deprived of his direct control over the Beiyang Army. Having lost the amulet of the army, Yuan Shikai felt tremendous pressure, and it was even worse. A year later, on November 14 and 15, 1908, during these two days, Empress Dowager Cixi, who had ruled China for sixty years, and puppet Emperor Guangxu died one after another. The three-year-old Puyi was helped to the throne and named Xuantong. His 27-year-old father Zaifeng was the regent and held the military and political power. Zaifeng was a man who hated Yuan Shikai with a vengeance. Zaifeng was Guangxu's younger brother. Yuan Shikai betrayed the reformists and imprisoned Guangxu in Yingtai. Zaifeng wanted to shoot Yuan Shikai. Zaifeng was determined to avenge his brother and get rid of this powerful Han Chinese. He wanted to kill Yuan several times to remove this "thorn" in the center of Manchu power.

Yuan Shikai's current situation was known to his loyal subordinates, who were all sweating and anxious. What should they do? If Yuan Shikai, their patron, were to suffer any harm, Duan Qirui, Feng Guozhang and other high-ranking military officers who came from small military posts would also suffer. So, in order to save Yuan Shikai, Duan Qirui came up with a very dangerous plan.

Duan Qirui made an appointment with Feng Guozhang, and Duan himself went to Baoding to conduct a bluffing winter exercise, which was an actual combat exercise. He let the troops spread the word that the Beiyang Army was going to hold a large-scale winter military exercise. The troops also cooperated on the surface, giving people the feeling that it was true, but in fact it was not a real exercise. The Ministry of the Army would definitely know about it and would be surprised, because conducting exercises without their approval would be like rebelling, which would inevitably alarm the court, and thus make the court nobles feel the deterrent power of the Beiyang Army. Once the court investigated, Duan Qirui and others could say in unison that there was no such thing and someone spread rumors; or they could bite back and say that the Ministry of the Army deliberately framed them. Because there had always been conflicts between the Beiyang Army and the Ministry of the Army, it was very easy for the outside world to believe it, so the Ministry of the Army could not escape the responsibility and put pressure on the Qing court again.

Sure enough, the Army Department soon received a report saying that the Beiyang Army and the Baoding Army School were about to hold a large-scale winter drill. The court was shocked by the news. Isn't this contempt for the court? Dare to act recklessly without the order of the Army Department, is it equivalent to resisting the court? However, the Beiyang Army could not be commanded, and the court was helpless. The five towns had more than 60,000 troops. If they really caused trouble, it would be earth-shaking! The court's Army Department did not dare to investigate immediately.

At this time, another unexpected thing happened, which Duan Qirui took good advantage of.

Several soldiers from the 11th Brigade of the 6th Beiyang Regiment stationed in Baoding had a dispute while gambling, which led to a fight. No one was injured, just a few shots were fired, which was not a big deal. The commander of the brigade, Li Chun (the governor of Jiangxi during the Republic of China), did not dare to report it directly to Duan Qirui, but only told the school governor's office and said he would handle it as soon as possible.

After hearing the news, Duan Qirui didn't take it seriously at first. But after a long time, he suddenly woke up and came up with an idea. Hey! God-given opportunity! He immediately ordered someone to call Li Chun and told him that a mutiny had occurred there. Li Chun was startled and hurried to explain what happened, but Duan didn't listen. He just insisted that a mutiny had occurred there and asked Li Chun to lead a large force to suppress it. He also said that he would lead troops to reinforce later. Look at what happened. Duan Qirui understood Li Chun's own affairs better than he did. For a while, Li Chun was confused and didn't know how to deal with it. Do we really have to send troops to suppress it? It's not impossible to send troops, but the question is who to suppress?

For a time, the army camp was filled with drums and trumpets, and soldiers were gathered to suppress the "mutiny". The news spread, and became more and more incredible. Duan Qirui then reported to the court's Army Department: a large-scale "mutiny" had occurred in Baoding! Note that the word "large-scale" was added before the mutiny. Wow, the court was greatly shocked. Zaifeng deeply felt that Yuan Shikai's power in the Beiyang government was deeply rooted, and if he easily moved, it would cause chaos. Yuan Shikai - must not be moved! In addition, princes and ministers such as Yixu and Zhang Zhidong strongly opposed the court's harm to Yuan Shikai. In addition, because Yuan Shikai vigorously supported the new policy, including abolishing the imperial examination, supervising the new army, building schools, and running industries, he was liked by foreigners, and foreign forces also supported Yuan Shikai. This made Zaifeng, who was naturally gentle, dare not rashly chop off Yuan Shikai's head, but he was unwilling to keep Yuan in the court. So on January 2, 1909, he issued an edict, dismissing Yuan Shikai from all his positions and sending him home to "recuperate" on the grounds that "Yuan Shikai is currently suffering from a foot disease, has difficulty walking, and is unable to perform his duties." Yuan Shikai's health was not his own decision. Zaifeng played the role of a doctor and gave Yuan Shikai a leave note, and the leave was indefinite! The court officials became a "sick" ordinary people.

Yuan Shikai was shocked and frightened when he received the imperial edict. After all, he was still young and the Qing court still had the power to destroy him. He didn't know what would happen next, so he could only accept the order and return to his hometown in Henan. Fishing in Huanshang Village.

Yuan Shikai stayed in his hometown for less than two years. On October 10, 1911, gunshots were heard in Wuchang City, and the court had to invite Yuan Shikai back.

On November 1, 1911, the Qing government reappointed Yuan Shikai as Prime Minister of the Cabinet. Yuan Shikai began his political career again.