188 1 year, 22-year-old Yuan Shikai defected to Wu Changqing, a close friend of his parents and a general of Huai Army, and worked as a page in his military camp. 1882, "Renwu mutiny" occurred in North Korea. As North Korea is a vassal state of China, China was asked to send troops to put down the rebellion, and the Qing court faction and Ding Lu Haijun went to the DPRK to put down the rebellion. Yuan Shikai went with Wu Changqing Department. During the period, no matter marching and camping to explore the landing site, they all showed great courage. At that time, the Qing army lacked training and discipline, entered North Korea, robbed property and raped women from time to time. Yuan Shikai thought it was detrimental to the dignity of the Great Qing Dynasty and a serious military discipline, so he beheaded seven soldiers who violated the discipline without asking questions indiscriminately, which was praised by Wu. From then on, Yuan Shikai let go of his hands and feet, severely punished soldiers who violated discipline, strengthened military management and strict military discipline, and the troops took on a new look and their combat effectiveness improved rapidly. After the troops arrived in Seoul, Yuan Shikai actively participated in the formulation of the battle plan, rushed to the front to quell the rebel fighting, and personally led the troops to intercept the guard of the rebel leader Li Gangying, so that the action of trapping Li Gangying could be carried out smoothly. Subsequently, the battle to besiege the insurgents started, and Yuan Shikai bravely took the lead and was active and brave.

Korean king Li Xi expressed deep gratitude for the quelling of the rebellion and hosted a banquet in honor of Wu Changqing, Zhang Jian and Yuan Shikai. The Qing court also awarded Yuan Shikai and promoted him to Tongzhi.

In order to control the situation in North Korea and counter the Japanese covet of North Korea, the Qing government ordered Wu Changqing to stay in North Korea. North Korea's military strength is weak and the army is even more incompetent. Yuan Shikai took the opportunity to propose to the North Korean Palace that China should train 500 imperial guards for it, and then hand them over to the Palace for self-unification, and then further train 4,000 people to guard against the Japanese. North Korea's palace made a request to the Qing government, so Yuan Shikai began to train its palace guards for North Korea. According to the advanced training methods of the British and German armies, Yuan Shikai established rules and regulations and trained a new type of army, which was well received by korean king. Yuan Shikai's outstanding military talents and advanced training ideas were applied. Later, Yuan Shikai inspected other military bases, terrain and equipment. In North Korea, troops were reviewed and a unit, Zhen Fu Battalion, was established for them to take charge of training.