Yuan Shikai was born in a wealthy family in Henan with a strong family background. He fell into Sun Shan several times, but he participated in many famous coups because he didn't want to be just a landlord and tried to participate in state affairs. For example, today's "Hua Kai Party" people launched a coup in Shen Jia, and the Qing army under his command repelled the Japanese army and consolidated the position and prestige of the Qing Dynasty in North Korea. It was because of this battle of Yuan Shikai that the Sino-Japanese War in China was postponed. His behavior was valued by Li Hongzhang, the minister of Beiyang.
Subsequently, the so-called Sino-Japanese War occurred in the Qing Dynasty. After the war, Li Hongzhang, Kang Youwei and others began to carry out the reform and reform throughout the country. In order to strengthen the reform, Liu Kunyi, Li Hongzhang and other government ministers jointly wrote to Emperor Guangxu and strongly recommended Yuan Shikai. Therefore, Yuan Shikai stepped onto the court step by step from a loser. It is obvious to all that he has made great contributions to the country, but that is because he has good military talent. Otherwise, how could he command and win many battles?
But it also laid the groundwork for the murder of political reformers such as Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao. As everyone thought, the failure of the political reform was due to Yuan Shikai's secret to Empress Dowager Cixi, which was also his cleverness. Emperor Guangxu didn't have much real power, and almost all the military forces were in the hands of Yuan Shikai and Cixi.
Emperor Guangxu probably just saw that Yuan Shikai had a strong military talent and could introduce foreign advanced technology to strengthen his own army. The more Yuan Shikai does this, the more he threatens an emperor. If Yuan Shikai had been killed, Yuan Shikai would not have proclaimed himself. Perhaps the Great Qing Dynasty could last for a long time after the political reform.