As mentioned earlier, Zhang Zhidong's trust in Li Yuanhong is all-round and multi-faceted. Not only in the army, but also in every difficult place, or when there is a problem that needs to be solved, Zhang Zhidong's first thought is Li Yuanhong.

Zhang Zhidong set up many industries in Hubei, the most famous of which are Hubei Weaving Layout, Hanyang Arsenal and Hanyang Iron Factory, which are often mentioned as Hubei's "Four Bureaus and Two Factories" (weaving layout is also known as the Four Bureaus of Yarn and Linen).

In 1888, when Zhang Zhidong was the governor of Liangguang, he set up a government-run weaving layout in Guangzhou and purchased machinery from Britain.

In October 1889, Zhang Zhidong was transferred to the governor of Huguang, and machinery and other equipment were transported to Wuchang.

In 1892, the weaving layout was completed and production began. There are 1,000 cloth machines, 30,000 spindles, and about 2,500 workers, and the products are sold quickly in the market, and the profits are very large. It can weave primary color cloth, twill, flower cloth, etc., which sells well in Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan and other provinces, and is also exported to overseas.

From 1894 to 1898, the three bureaus of spinning, silk reeling and linen making were continued, which together with the weaving layout were called the "Hubei Textile Fourth Bureau", also known as the "Fourth Bureau of Yarn and Linen Silk Cloth" or "Four Bureaus of Yarn and Linen".

Hanyang Arsenal was formerly known as Hubei Gun Factory.

Also in 1888, when Zhang Zhidong was the governor of Liangguang, he planned to set up a factory in Guangzhou. Purchase of machinery and equipment. It was also the following year that Zhang Zhidong was transferred to the governor of Huguang, so he decided to move the machinery and equipment to Hubei.

In 1892, the factory was officially built at the northern foot of Dabie Mountain (now Guishan) in Hanyang, and was integrated with the Hubei Railway Political Bureau.

The following year, the factory was completed, and the machines were ready, and manufacturing began in 1895.

Subsequently, the gun factory was separated from the Iron Political Bureau, established independently, and was under the jurisdiction of the Hubei Gun and Artillery Bureau. After several expansions, there were gun factories, gun factories, gun and ammunition factories, artillery shell factories, gun carriage factories and fire factories. Pharmaceutical factories and other branch factories employ about 1,200 workers.

Some of the raw materials produced at the factory are purchased from Hanyang Iron and Steel Plant and other parts of the country, and some are purchased from overseas. Production of imitation German 7.9 mm caliber rifles, imitation of German Grussen 37, 53, 57 mm caliber mountain guns and matching guns, artillery shells. At the beginning of the twentieth century, thirty rifles were produced per day, and there were no smoke and fire. The medicine is 600 pounds, and the monthly output is eight cannons, 800,000 rounds of ammunition, and 70,000 rounds of shells.

The products are famous for their rifles, and the imitation of German rifles, also known as "Hanyang-style rifles", was discontinued in 1928, with a total of more than 680,000 pieces.

According to the memories of a soldier in the 21st Standard of the Eighth Town (Division) of the New Army, all the rifles in the Eighth Town were produced by the Hanyang Arsenal. Therefore, the first shot fired by Wuchang Shouyi was made in Hanyang, which started the Xinhai Revolution that overthrew the thousand-year-old imperial system.

In the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the "Hanyang-made" rifle, which was born in the late Qing Dynasty, was the main firearm of the Chinese army. Whether it is the Kuomintang army, the Eighth Route Army, the New Fourth Army and the guerrillas, they all use a large number of "Hanyang-made".

"Made in Hanyang" has always played a role on the battlefield from the Xinhai Revolution to the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and is a legendary myth in the history of Chinese wars.

Hanyang Iron Works is the earliest government-run iron and steel enterprise in modern China, born in 1890, and is the first and largest iron and steel complex in China at that time. Since then, China's steel industry has stumbled and is seen by the West as a sign of China's awakening.

The factory started construction at the foot of Guishan Mountain in Hubei Province and was completed and put into operation in September 1893. The whole factory includes six large factories such as pig iron factory, Beise hemp steel factory, Simmons steel factory, rail factory, iron goods factory, wrought iron factory and four small factories such as machine factory, iron casting factory, iron making factory, fish fillet and hook nail factory.

Problems of one kind or another will arise in the production process of these industries. For example, due to poor planning, the equipment purchased by the Hanyang Iron Works was not suitable for refining the high-phosphorus ores provided by Daye Iron Mine, and the steel-making materials did not meet the requirements of railway rails, so steel production was in trouble.

Because these industries embody Zhang Zhidong's hard work, they also affect his heart at all times; In particular, "four bureaus and two factories".

Due to his reliance on Li Yuanhong, for a long time, whenever the "four bureaus" and "two factories" were in trouble, Zhang Zhidong always sent Li Yuanhong as a firefighter to save the emergency.

Because of Li Yuanhong's hard work, sometimes some problems can be solved quickly. However, there are many times when there are many things that cannot be saved by any one person, and although Li Yuanhong can alleviate the problem somewhat, he may not be able to solve the problem fundamentally. However, in the process of managing the "Four Bureaus and Two Factories", Li Yuanhong was able to get in touch with the industry, which benefited him for life.

In his later years, he used to be an excellent industrialist, and this experience is not unrelated.

In the late Qing Dynasty, feudal autocracy had come to the end of its rope, and seeking new and changing had become the common pursuit of people of insight, and people's thinking was particularly active. All kinds of ideas and ideas have taken the stage.

The most active and influential are the two forces. One was the revolutionary party, which advocated the violent overthrow of Manchu rule and the establishment of a republican system. The other is the constitutionalist, who advocates the use of peaceful means to reform the feudal autocracy, follow the example of Japan and other countries, and take the road of constitutional monarchy.

Beginning in 1907, Hubei, like all other provinces in the country, actively carried out preparations for the establishment of local consultative bureaus. As a supporting body for constitutional reform, the Consultative Bureau has provided a platform and channel for the people, especially the gentry, to participate in and discuss politics, and has received widespread support and response from all walks of life.

On February 5, 1909, Hubei held an election for the Consultative Council. The number of voters was 113,233, or 0.44 per cent of the total population. Members are also not directly elected, but are elected at different levels, and then these electors elect members.

Although it was an indirect election, and the people who participated in the election were a very small minority of the population, there was still a long way to go before a truly democratic election, but after all, this was the first time that Hubei had made a breakthrough in the world.

In the past, officials had the final say on everything, and the common people had no right to speak. So, in any case, congratulations.

As a result of the election, Wu Qingtao was elected speaker, and Tang Hualong and Xia Shoukang were elected vice speakers. Seventeen members were elected to the Resident Council and a number of alternate Resident Members were also elected.

Wu Qingtao, also known as Qingen, is a native of Xiangyang, Hubei, and a famous calligrapher. He was born in the Department and was an effective person in writing local history during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty. His book "Xiangyang Four Strategies" is still used by people today.

"Xiangyang Four Strategies" has a total of twenty-five volumes. According to the publication, it has been successively printed as "Xiangyang Art and Literature", "Xiangyang History", "Xiangyang Military Affairs", and "Xiangyang Jinshi Strategy". The literature and art, the history of the establishment, important wars, and inscriptions of the counties under the jurisdiction of the government are recorded. From the 23rd to the 32nd year of Guangxu (1897-1906), it was published separately. It lasted about 10 years, and it was the result of personal labor, which was rare for a solo cultivator at that time.

Xia Shoukang (1871~1923), the word is accepted, the number is Zhongying, and it is also known as Zhongying. Huanggang Cangbu (now belonging to Xinzhou District, Wuhan City) people. His father was a Jinshi, a magistrate of Qiantang County, Zhejiang, and died young. Xia Shoukang was raised by his mother and brother, and in the twenty-third year of Guangxu (1897), he was promoted in the township examination, and the following year he went to Beijing to try to enter the scholar and the first, and was awarded the Hanlin Academy for editing.

In 1907, he was sent to Japan to study politics.

Soon after, the aforementioned tide of petitions in the Diet set off by the constitutionalists was vigorously launched throughout the country. Compared with the rest of the country, especially Jiangsu and Zhejiang, which are actively active, Hubei took action later, but it also actively participated.

In May 1911, when Vice Speaker Tang Hualong set out from Hankou to Beijing to petition, as many as 10,000 people saw him off. Before leaving, Tang Hualong made an impassioned speech that he would not win a complete victory and would never withdraw his troops if he went to Beijing this time.

Due to the restrictions of his status, Li Yuanhong did not participate in the petition activities in Congress, but deep down, he supported this activity and paid attention to it at all times.

In the ensuing outbreak of the Baolu Movement, Hubei became the epicenter. As mentioned earlier, Li Yuanhong not only participated in this activity on behalf of the military, but was also elected as a member of the Railway Association, and played an important role in supporting the sending of representatives to Beijing and in fund-raising activities, which were well received by all parties.

In participating in this event, Li Yuanhong had in-depth contacts and communication with the constitutionalists, which led to his later election as the military and political officer of Hubei. The governor of the province laid the foundation.

During this period, among the revolutionary parties in Hubei, the two most powerful organizations were the Communist Advancement Association and the Literary Society, which we mentioned earlier. They were actually an offshoot of the Confederate and had been developing organizations within the Forces nouvelles in an effort to start a revolt in the Forces nouvelles. As the No. 2 figure in the Hubei military circles, Li Yuanhong could not support the activities of the revolutionaries in his department, but at least adopted a tacit attitude; The revolutionaries are also well aware of this.

Prompted by the Diet petition campaign and the Pro-Road Movement, the Literary Society and the Communist Party also accelerated the pace of the uprising and decided to take joint action.

The so-called people do not walk without heads, and birds do not distinguish without heads. After the uprising, who was elected as the leader to command everyone? The two organizations have discussed, and the most suitable candidates are Wu Luzhen and Lan Tianwei, both of whom are heavyweights, noble and staunch revolutionaries, and enjoy high prestige among the people of Erhu. But at the moment, these two people are in the north, and the so-called distant water cannot quench the thirst of the near.

So, someone proposed Li Yuanhong. Although he was not a revolutionary, the revolutionaries trusted him. If he is elected, many people who have a wait-and-see attitude towards the revolution may throw themselves into the revolution.

However, after all, Li Yuanhong is not his own person, so there are also some people in the revolutionary party who have different opinions. Everyone put forward a few other candidates, but they all felt that the weight was not enough. What everyone is even more worried about is that if we put forward an unsuitable candidate, not to mention the lack of appeal, if the revolutionary parties compare with each other, you look down on me, I look down on him, they will not be convinced by each other, and if the revolution has not yet achieved results, the party members will split first.

People are sometimes prone to make this mistake. You can't want anything, but you can't give it to one of them. That is what people often say, I can do without this thing, but no one else can take it.