In 1900, he was appointed as secretary general of the provisional government in Tientsin, China during the Boxer Rebellion, and then from 1902 to 1905 he served as the chief foreign adviser to the Viceroy of Zhili, Yuan Shikai.
The former institute of the National Defense Medical Center, established by Yuan Shikai in Tianjin, China in 1902, was recognized as the first military school in Chinese history.
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However, as Yuan Shikai staged his coup to control the Republic, Cheng tried to revolt, but the failure prompted him to flee to Japan, where he entered the Kuomindang and the Waseda University.
He became a royalist and conservative who supported Yuan Shikai (袁世凱) and Zhang Xun (張勛) to proclaim themselves emperor in his later life.
Yuan Kewen (Chinese: 袁克文; 1889–1931), courtesy name Baocen (豹岑), sobriquet Hanyun (寒云), was the second son of Yuan Shikai, and the younger brother of Yuan Keding.
The academy trained officers for the New Army, which was a significant factor in Yuan Shikai's rise to power at the end of the Qing dynasty and the pivotal role he played in the Xinhai Revolution.
In October 2009, TVB broadcast a series about the story of Cai E and Yuan Shikai: In the Chamber of Bliss.
In the usual view of historians, there are two restorations of feudal power after the revolution: the first was Yuan Shikai; the second was Zhang Xun.