Soon after returning from Japan, Zhang Zhidong gave him another task, which was to supervise the production of fast guns at the Hubei Gun Factory. He tried to apply what he had learned in Japan to the practice of supervising the production of fast guns. In the supervision of the production, he not only did not use the supervision power of this unique resource to play prestige and cause problems like some people, but did his best to help solve technical problems in production while strictly controlling the gates, which won the praise of the factory.

In December 1899, Zhang Zhidong sent Li Yuanhong to a foreign country for the second time, focusing on inspecting the education, training, and military discipline of the horse and infantry teams, and planned to spend one year. But at the turn of the spring and summer of the following year, the Boxer Rebellion broke out in the north. When Cixi was subjected to the pole within the Qing court. End. Divide. When declaring war on more than a dozen powers, Zhang Zhidong followed Li Hongzhang and others to participate in the mutual protection of the southeast. Because of internal and external pressure, Zhang Zhidong felt that there were not enough trustworthy people, so he urgently called Li Yuanhong to return to China.

In June 1900, Li Yuanhong returned to Wuhan after being recruited, and he truthfully reported to Zhang Zhidong on his investigation and study in Japan.

Because Li Yuanhong went to Japan for the second time, the main specialty of the inspection was cavalry, which became a specialty in cavalry, and Li Yuanhong was sent to the first battalion of the escort horse team to serve as a pipe belt this time.

Participating in the Southeast Mutual Insurance was carried out in secret, and Zhang Zhidong was a very cautious person. He didn't dare to hand it over to others if he did something confidential. Li Yuanhong is a person he can absolutely trust, no matter how risky the matter is, he dares to leave it to Li Yuanhong to handle it. And every time, Li Yuanhong did not live up to Zhang Zhidong's trust in him.

Li Yuanhong's third visit to Japan was in the autumn of 1901, when the Qing court experienced the blow of the Gengzi Incident and began to implement a new policy. The large number of troops could not withstand the blows of the limited number of troops of the Eight-Nation Alliance, and the Qing court, when implementing the new policy, was particularly keen on "raising funds for military training." Zhang Zhidong, who has always been committed to training the new army, has been respected, and Li Yuanhong will have a bigger stage with Zhang Zhidong.

Just as Li Yuanhong was fully cooperating with Zhang Zhidong to train the new army, in September of the same year, Zhang Zhidong received the news that Japan was holding an army drill in Sendai. He thought that the opportunity was rare, so he sent his right-hand man Li Yuanhong there. Accompanying Li Yuanhong to watch the practice, there is also Zhang Zhidong, who is the most beloved and has high hopes for his eldest grandson Zhang Houkun. This is an event with a certain specification, and Li Yuanhong was invited to be the escort officer during the event. After the event, he was awarded a commemorative medal of "Double Bright Sun" by the organizer.

During the observation, Li Yuanhong saw the extraordinary quality and high-level performance of the Japanese army, which opened his eyes and was greatly inspired. This time he had a new understanding, if he wants to make his country strong, he must ultimately rely on strength to speak; Everyday complaints and passionate remarks are meaningless.

Subsequently, Li Yuanhong made a series of sightseeing visits and visits to Japan, which enabled him to gain more knowledge. He saw Japan's national strength and national conditions, and realized that Japan was not only militarily powerful, but also ahead of his own country in all aspects of society.

The three visits to Japan opened Li Yuanhong's eyes and had an important impact on his life. I not only learned modern military knowledge, but also gained a certain understanding of modern social theories, such as natural human rights, the independence of the three powers, the theory of civil covenant, the theory of evolution, and the idea of democracy and republic.

After the uprising in Wuchang, some people recalled Li Yuanhong's acquiescence and tolerance for the activities of the revolutionaries, and felt that it could not be simply attributed to Li Yuanhong's personality, and that he agreed with the revolutionary party in many respects. It's just that, limited by his identity, he can't overdo it. Moreover, his firm republican ideas are certainly not the result of a hot mind.

In the autumn of 1904, Tie Liang, minister of the Qing court's military training department, went to various provinces to inspect the military training.

In the spring of the following year, Tie Liang and his entourage went to Hubei to report that the exercise was carried out in the area of Xunsi River and Meijiashan outside Wuchang City. The exercise troops were divided into two sides, A and B, with A attacking and B defending.

The battle horn sounded, and Party A began to attack.

That year was a cold spring, and the day of the exercise was a rare snowstorm in Wuchang. Braving the wind and snow and the biting cold wind, Party A, under the leadership of the commander, charged into battle, detoured more than 30 miles, was meticulous, and regarded the exercise as if it were a real battle. Party B did not show weakness, built bunkers, and held positions. The two sides A and B held each other in the wind and snow, and it was difficult to distinguish the winner from the loser.

After Tie Liang finished observing, he was full of emotion and said: "Yu Yue's troops along the river and coastal provinces are not as skilled as the elite and skillful of the Hubei army, and they are also courteous and hardworking...... When this ice and snow are full of sky, cold wind and bones, and more than 10,000 soldiers, all can abide by the etiquette law, abide by the restraints, fearless anthracene, no uproar, this sincere contempt people have never been seen since the capital, Hubei military and political, said to be the first in the world. ”

After Tie Liang returned to report to the imperial court, the Qing court issued a general order to the whole country on the training of troops in Hubei, and the reputation of the new army in Hubei was greatly enhanced. When Tie Liang was in Wuchang, he privately asked Zhang Zhidong, who in Hubei presided over the military training? Because he looked at Zhang Biao and his people, he couldn't train this new army. Zhang Zhidong told Tie Liang the truth that the Hubei Army's achievements today are due to Li Yuanhong, the commander of the 21st Association.

Tie Liang often talked about this matter, and Li Yuanhong also became famous.

As mentioned earlier, the Zhangde Autumn Exercise in 1906.

The Zhangde Autumn Exercise is a large-scale exercise of the New Army of the North and South New Army held by the Qing Army in Zhangde Mansion (now Anyang City, Henan Province) on October 22, the 32nd year of Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1906).

In order to test the results of the training of the new army, the Qing government. The government has planned three large-scale autumn exercises: the Hejian Autumn Exercise in 1905, which had the largest number of participants; In 1906, the Zhangde Autumn Drill - the most luxurious lineup of participating generals. The 1908 Taihu Lake Autumn Exercise was an aborted autumn exercise, and the autumn exercise was interrupted by the death of Emperor Guangxu and the Empress Dowager Cixi.

Since the Taihu Autumn Exercise could not be completed, the Zhangde Autumn Exercise became the last large-scale military exercise of the late Qing Army.

Historians refer to the Hejian Autumn Exercise, the Zhangde Autumn Exercise and the Taihu Lake Autumn Exercise as the three major autumn exercises of the late Qing Dynasty.

The Hejian Autumn Exercise, also known as the Hejian Exercise, was the first large-scale autumn exercise held by the New Army of the Six Towns of Beiyang in Hejian Province from October 23 to 26, 1905.

The third and fourth towns of the army and one each of the first, second, fifth, and sixth towns were dispatched for this exercise, and they were organized into two armies, the southern and northern armies.

The Southern Army is composed of the second, fourth, and fifth towns, with Wang Yingkai as the president, and the establishment is as follows: (1) the fourth town, which has jurisdiction over the second association of the infantry team (12 battalions), the first standard of the horse team (three battalions), the first standard of the artillery team (three battalions), the first battalion of the engineering team, and the first battalion of the baggage team; (2) The Fourth Mixed Association, under the jurisdiction of the second standard of the infantry team (six battalions), the first battalion of the horse team, the first battalion of the artillery team, the first battalion of the engineering team, and the first battalion of the baggage team; (3) The Ninth Mixed Association, with jurisdiction over the second standard of the infantry team (six battalions), the first battalion of the horse team, the first battalion of the artillery team, and the first battalion of the baggage team. There are a total of 22,513 southern officers, soldiers, and husbands

The Northern Army consisted of the first, third, and sixth towns, and Duan Qirui served as the president. Its establishment is as follows: (1) the third town, which has jurisdiction over the second association of the infantry team (12 battalions), the first standard of the horse team (three battalions), the first standard of the artillery team (three battalions), the first battalion of the engineering team, and the first battalion of the baggage team; (2) The first mixed association, under the jurisdiction of the second standard of the infantry team (six battalions), the first battalion of the horse team, and the first battalion of the artillery team; (3) The 11th Mixed Association has jurisdiction over the second standard of the infantry team (six battalions), the first battalion of the horse team, the first battalion of the artillery team, the first battalion of the engineering team, and the first battalion of the baggage team. There are 22,489 officers in the north.

The total strength of the participating troops is 45,002.

The autumn drill in Hejian opened a precedent for the New Army's autumn march. It is known as "today, the autumn drill is rare for the ancient Zhen, and it is a great era for the new army".

Even a year later, Yuan Shikai mentioned the exercise, and said quite proudly, "The wind is the tree, and it sensationalizes the world."

This parade is of symbolic significance in China's military history and is known as "the first large-scale modern formal field exercise in China's history."

According to the Washington Post, "The exercise has made a profound impression on foreigners who are familiar with the predicament of the Chinese military five years ago, and they unanimously agree that China has accomplished an extraordinary feat in improving the combat effectiveness of a 40,000-strong army." ”

Although the Hejian Autumn Exercise has the largest number of people, it belongs to a military exercise within Beiyang, while the Zhangde Autumn Exercise is different in that it is not only an open military exercise, but also has the highest military "gold content".

During the autumn exercise in Zhangde, not only did the embassies of Western countries in China send military attachés to visit the site one after another, but the command department of the exercise also specially invited reporters from many domestic and foreign media to participate in the exercise.

Zhangde Autumn Exercise, Yuan Shikai and Tie Liang are the ministers of the parade. The armies participating in the exercises were divided into the Southern Army and the Northern Army. The Southern Army had a town from Hubei and a mixed association from Henan. The Northern Army was composed of one Beiyang Army stationed in Nanyuan and Shandong, one of which was formed into a town, and a mixed association composed of eight banner soldiers. The Southern Army was headed by Zhang Biao as the presidential officer, and Li Yuanhong was the co-commander. The Northern Army was headed by Duan Qirui as the president.

Zhang Biao was self-aware, entrusted Li Yuanhong as the commander-in-chief, and retreated behind the scenes.

The exercise took place over three days.

On the first day of the practice of charging, the southern army, under the command of Li Yuanhong, had a strict lineup, well-trained, advanced and retreated freely, and had a momentum like a rainbow. The performance of the Beiyang Army was also very good, but the Eight Banners Army was like the children of the Eight Banners, and it couldn't raise its face at all and pull the Northern Army back. In this way, the north and the south are not on the same level, and the southern army is the first to take the lead.

The next day, Li Yuanhong personally led the team, and the southern army rushed into the northern army, which could not resist at all.

On the third day, Li Yuanhong finished writing the offensive order in five minutes, and within 10 minutes, the order had been issued to all troops, thus seizing the opportunity again. The Southern Army carried out a frontal feint, and the main force detoured to the flank.

Li Yuanhong first picked soft persimmons and pinched, and soon broke through the position of the Eight Banners, the formation of the Northern Army was in chaos, the Beiyang Army suffered from the enemy on its back, and the Southern Army won a complete victory.

After the end of the autumn exercise in Zhangde, Yuan Shikai reported to the imperial court: "As far as the analysis of the army of the four provinces, a town in Hubei, through the painstaking work of the governor Zhang Zhidong, has been operating for many years, the army is strong, the morale is strong, the pace and skills have been skilled and shrewd, and it is the first in the southeastern provinces. ”

This time, in the Zhangde Autumn Exercise, the performance of the Beiyang Army was actually not bad, but it was dragged down by the mixed Eight Banners. As mentioned earlier, because of the performance of the Beiyang Army in this autumn exercise, Tie Liang began to be afraid of Yuan Shikai, who had a heavy army.

In November 1908, the Qing court decided to hold autumn exercises at Taihu Lake in Anhui Province.

Taihu Lake is one of the six towns under the jurisdiction of Anqing, located in the west of Wanshan Mountain, and the junction of Susong. The "Taihu Lake Autumn Exercise" is mainly to review the new army in various towns in Nanyang, including the eighth town in Hubei, the ninth town in Jiangnan, and the 31st mixed association in Anhui. The inspection ministers were Shang Shu Yinchang of the Ministry of War, Duan Fang, the governor of Liangjiang, and Zhu Jiabao, the governor of Anhui.

The Southern Army was still nominally under the command of Zhang Biao, but in fact Li Yuanhong was the commander-in-chief. Unlike last time, the relationship between Zhang Biao and Li Yuanhong has now been completely improved, not only in the autumn exercises, but also in ordinary days, Zhang Biao also listens to Li Yuanhong.

The plan for this parade was formulated by the Japanese advisor Teranishi Nakasa.

Anhui Taihu Lake is surrounded by mountains, and the terrain is much more complex than that of Zhangde Qiucao. Just in time for the continuous autumn rains, the mountain roads were rugged, the roads were muddy, and on the march, in some places, the muddy water was no longer knee-high.

Li Yuanhong had already sent people to scout the road in advance, and he already knew the road conditions, and he had also greeted his subordinates and soldiers in advance, so he was fully mentally prepared up and down.

The morale of the Yugoslav army was high and orderly. The Northern Army, on the other hand, was scattered and disorganized. After three days of drilling, the northern army was defeated.

As mentioned earlier, the Taihu Autumn Exercise was interrupted due to the death of Emperor Guangxu and Empress Dowager Cixi, but this did not prevent the outstanding performance of the Hubei New Army and Li Yuanhong in the exercise, so that Li Yuanhong became a rising star in the military circles.