Yuan Shih-kai had
the priceless opportunity of studying them at close range and soon
made up his mind about certain things. When the storm burst,
pretending to see nothing but mad fanatics in those who, realizing
the plight of their country, had adopted the war-cry "Blot out the
Manchus and the foreigner," he struck at them fiercely, driving
the whole savage horde headlong into the metropolitan province of
Chihli. There, seduced by the Manchus, they suddenly changed the
inscription on their flags. Their sole enemy became the foreigner
and all his works, and forthwith they were officially protected.
Far and wide they killed every white face they could find. They
tore up railways, burnt churches and chapels and produced a
general anarchy which could only have one end--European
intervention. The man, sitting on the edge of Chinese history but
not yet identifying himself with its main currents because he was
not strong enough for that, had once again not judged wrongly.
With his Korean experience to assist him, he had seen precisely
what the end must inevitably be.
The crash in Peking, when the siege of the Legations had been
raised by an international army, found him alert and sympathetic--
ready with advice, ready to shoulder new responsibilities, ready
to explain away everything. The signature of the Peace Protocol of
1901 was signalized, by his obtaining the viceroyalty of Chihli,
succeeding the great Li Hung Chang himself, who had been
reappointed to his old post, but had found active duties too
wearisome.
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