Chapter 16 16. It turns out that Feng Guozhang was also a restorationist

Feng Guozhang, courtesy name Huafu, was born in the eighth year of Xianfeng (1859), in his hometown of Xishijing Village, Hejian County, Zhili Province. After he became famous, people called him "Feng Hejian" according to the practice of replacing the name with his hometown at that time. , For example, Yuan Shikai was born in Xiangcheng, Henan, known as "Yuan Xiangcheng"; Li Yuanhong was born in Huangpi, Hubei, known as "Li Huangpi", and so on. Shijing Village is said to be the place where Mao Chang, a great Confucian of Sinology, taught it, and later generations took it as the name of the village.Feng Guozhang's ancestors were once very prosperous, but in Feng Guozhang's father's generation, the family began to decline. Although Feng Guozhang once studied at Baoding Lianchi Academy (a very famous academy at the time), he went to Tianjin to join the army because of his family's financial difficulties and became a leading soldier. .At the very beginning, Feng Guozhang started as a cook and soldier, but years of study experience made him very smart and smart, so he was quickly discovered by the battalion management and promoted him to be his own soldier.

Feng Guozhang was an ordinary soldier for only one year. In his second year in the army (1885), Li Hongzhang set up a military training school in Tianjin. The first few students were selected from the low-level officials and educated soldiers of the Huai Army. Of course, Feng Guozhang stood out among the clumsy soldiers who didn't know a lot of characters at that time, so he successfully entered the Tianjin Armed Forces Academy and became the first batch of students in the infantry department (Duan Qirui and Wang Shizhen were both in the artillery department). It is worth mentioning that Feng Guozhang was still obsessed with fame during his studies. Later, he went back to his hometown to take an exam and was selected as a scholar. He returned to school because he failed the provincial exam.Feng Guozhang's actions were approved and praised by Li Hongzhang, because Li Hongzhang himself was a literati and general, and at that time most military people did not pay attention to cultural learning, so Feng Guozhang could set an example if he was selected as a scholar.

After graduating from the Armed Forces Academy, because of Feng Guozhang's excellent academic performance, the general manager Yinchang kept him as a teacher in the school.Because the Huai army did not pay much attention to military school graduates at that time, and Feng Guozhang was eager to make military achievements and be promoted. Later, he joined Nie Shicheng's army again and participated in the Sino-Japanese War.After the war, he was recommended by Nie Shicheng to go to Japan as the entourage of Yu Geng, the Chinese ambassador to Japan. From this, he paid attention to the Japanese military and wrote several volumes of military books, which were dedicated to Nie Shicheng after returning home.It is a pity that Nie Shicheng's understanding of modern military affairs is limited, so Feng Guozhang's carefully written book on military affairs has not been taken seriously.

In 1895, after Yuan Shikai's military training at the small station, Feng Guozhang was recommended by the old principal Yin Chang to serve as a teacher, so he offered books again, this time he hit the right track and met a big Bole.After Yuan Shikai read the book, he felt like a treasure, and repeatedly praised Feng Guozhang as "the number one student in the army". Therefore, Feng Guozhang also received great attention from Yuan Shikai, and he took on important tasks in the new army.During this period, the footwork drills of the Xiaozhan New Army were all written by Feng Guozhang, and Feng Guozhang also found a good place to display his skills, and successively served as the assistant and general office of the Supervision and Operations Office, and became the leader of the Beiyang Military and Political Group. backbone.

At the end of 1899, Yuan Shikai became the governor of Shandong. Feng Guozhang also entered Shandong with the army, and was ordered to reorganize the old Shandong army into the 20th Battalion of the Vanguard of the Wuwei Youjun.As Yuan Shikai's power continued to expand, Feng Guozhang was also promoted step by step, and successively served as the general office of various military schools and the director of the Military Science Department of the Military Training Department. In 1903, Empress Dowager Cixi visited Baoding in person to inspect the new army. Feng Guozhang was promoted from the third rank to the second rank military officer because of his meritorious service in military training. In 1905, Feng Guozhang, Tie Liang and others went to Japan to inspect the military again, and their status in the domestic military circle became increasingly important; In 1906, Feng Guozhang served as the deputy governor of the Mongolian capital of Zhenghuang Banner and the general manager of the Army Guizhou Academy. The Regent, the Minister of the Navy after Zai Xun, and the Minister of the Military Counselor after Zai Tao) have also become his students, and it is unprecedented for a Han to serve as the deputy capital of the Eight Banners. This shows that the Qing court attaches great importance to Feng Guozhang. Winning over; in 1907, Feng Guozhang was transferred to the Military Advisory Office; the following year, after Emperor Guangxu and Empress Dowager Cixi passed away one after another, Feng Guozhang was appointed as the minister on duty at Lianggezhuang in the Western Mausoleum of the Qing Dynasty; after the Military Advisory Office was changed to the Military Advisory Office, Feng Guozhang continued to serve as He served as the military counselor, and once served as the chief examiner of army graduates studying abroad.

After the Wuchang Uprising in 1911, Yuan Shikai came out again and supervised the army to go south. Feng Guozhang immediately led Li Chun, Wang Zhanyuan and Chen Guangyuan of the First Army to attack Hankou and occupied it after four days of fierce fighting. Wait for the Baron.It is said that after Feng Guozhang learned that he was a knight, he was so moved that he burst into tears, saying: "I am a poor boy, and now I am a knight. This is really a kindness, and I must serve the court..." From the heart, not a joke. After the capture of Hankou, Feng Guozhang pleaded with Yuan Shikai again and again, demanding that Hanyang and Wuchang be captured in one fell swoop and establish an immortal feat, but what he did not expect was that Yuan Shikai transferred him back to the capital at this time. Served as commander of the Imperial Guard.

Yuan Shikai's transfer of Feng Guozhang to the commander of the imperial guards was after careful consideration. The first reason was that Feng Guozhang's insistence on the main battle would affect the overall negotiation between Yuan Shikai and the Revolutionary Party; Most of the officers of the imperial guards at all levels are his students or subordinates), which is conducive to Yuan Shikai's control of this special army through Feng Guozhang's hands and maintaining the safety and stability of the capital. At that time, the Imperial Guard had two infantry associations (i.e. infantry brigades), each of which had two infantry regiments (infantry regiments), as well as artillery marks, horse marks, and engineering battalions.Among them, except for the fourth standard of the infantry, which is composed of Han soldiers, the others are all bannermen, and the former commander Liang Bi is one of the well-known leaders of the Zong-Social Party, and his attitude of defending the Qing Dynasty to the death also made Yuan Shikai feel very embarrassed, because Once this army is unstable, it is likely to put the capital in danger, or fall into the tricks of the Japanese and the Zongsha Party to escort the Qing emperor out of the capital and establish an independent Manchukuo, which will lead to the division of China and the three eastern provinces. Eventually fell into the hands of Japan.

When Feng Guozhang had just made illustrious military exploits, Yuan Shikai's transfer of him to the commander of the imperial guards was not only justified, but also had the effect of "killing two birds with one stone".Fortunately, Liangbi, the former commander, was blown up to death by the revolutionary Peng Jiazhen shortly after he was expelled from the Imperial Guards, and Yuan Shikai successfully strengthened his control over the Imperial Guards through Feng Guozhang. Of course, one of the main reasons why the imperial guards obeyed Feng Guozhang at that time was that they felt that Feng Guozhang was loyal to the imperial court. For example, after Duan Qirui issued a telegram in favor of the republic, Feng Guozhang's initial reaction was incomprehensible and did not agree. .According to the recollection of his aides, after reading the telegram, Feng Guozhang was very angry and said: "Why did Zhiquan send such a telegram? He is now in Baoding. I must ask whether this telegram was fabricated by someone or was his original intention. "Until later, Duan Qirui personally sent someone to explain to Feng Guozhang, and revealed that this was what Yuan Shikai meant. Feng Guozhang was silent for a long time, and let the matter go.

After the Qing emperor accepted the preferential conditions and agreed to abdicate, Feng Guozhang encountered a difficult problem, that is, how to explain and appease the officers and soldiers of the Imperial Guard.Most of the imperial guards were Manchus. First, they were loyal to the Qing court, and second, they worried that the army would be disbanded after the Qing emperor abdicated, which would affect the livelihood of themselves and their families.Therefore, if Feng Guozhang does not handle it well, it is likely to trigger a mutiny, and even affect the process of the Qing emperor's abdication and the stability and security of the capital.

According to the memories of Yun Baohui, Feng Guozhang’s staff at the time, one day in early February 1912, when the officers and soldiers of the Imperial Guard were discussing a lot, Feng Guozhang came to the station and ordered the trumpets to be assembled. He wanted to personally announce to the officers and soldiers the abdication of the Qing emperor. Preferential conditions and placement of the Praetorian Guards.After the trumpet was blown, all the officers and soldiers gathered in the playground. There were three large square tables in front of the playground, one of which was stacked on top, and a chair with legs was placed beside it to temporarily build a high platform for Feng Guozhang to speak to the officers and soldiers.

After the officers and soldiers of the town lined up in the order of infantry, horses, artillery, engineering, and supply battalions, Feng Guozhang took a scroll and went up to the stage. I want to tell you an important matter. As you know, Premier Yuan advocates a constitutional monarchy, and I have always been in favor of a constitutional monarchy. But now there are too many independent provinces, and if there is a fight, there are not enough troops and no military pay. People are unwilling to lend us money. Now the Empress Dowager Longyu has issued an edict, saying that the issue of the state system will be handed over to the National Assembly for a referendum, but the current situation is already extremely dangerous. , who will be responsible for guarding the palace and the capital?" After seeing the movement below, Feng Guozhang quickly took out the scroll and began to read: "Now, the prime minister has negotiated preferential treatment conditions with the militia: the honorary titles of the empress dowager and the emperor, the treatment of Manchus and Mongolians, and our banned Everything in the guard will not move at all..." When Feng Guozhang read "The Emperor of the Qing Dynasty resigned", there was a lot of commotion in the team. Although some bannermen didn't say anything, they undoubtedly had expressions of surprise and astonishment on their faces; People simply wiped away the tears.As Feng Guozhang continued to read, the commotion in the team became more serious. Many officers and soldiers had already left the neat queue and began to discuss with each other and express their opinions, some of which were angry.The only thing standing still is the fourth mark of the team composed of Han people. They are still standing in a neat line, unmoved at all, showing an indifferent expression. After Feng Guozhang finished reading the conditions of preferential treatment, he saw that the team was in disarray, so he announced loudly: "What I said just now, no matter what you want to say to me, whether you are an officer or a soldier, you can choose a few representatives. For the first five steps, they will express their opinions on behalf of everyone." After a while, several representatives walked out of the queue. They asked two questions. One was the safety of the empress dowager and the emperor. Could President Feng (the commander of the imperial guards was called the president at the time) be able to guarantee it?The second is that the Imperial Guard will be organized by the Ministry of War in the future. Will it be cancelled?Can President Feng take full responsibility for this? After Feng Guozhang heard this, he immediately went to the stage and replied: "I, Feng, dare to guarantee the safety of the two palaces with my family and life! Moreover, I dare to guarantee that the two palaces will never leave the palace and will still be guarded by our imperial guards as usual. As for our imperial guards , no matter what position I am transferred to in the future, or wherever I go, I promise that I will never break away from you!" After the representatives returned to the team, the commotion in the team still has not completely subsided.At this time, Feng Guozhang was quick to gain wisdom. He jumped onto the high platform again and said loudly to the people below: "I still have something to tell everyone!" After the team stabilized a bit, Feng Guozhang said loudly: "Now, no matter whether you are a soldier or an army, quickly select two people, give them each a pistol today, and follow me from now on, In the future, no matter whether I am at home or out, as long as I am found in collusion with the revolutionary party, I will be allowed to beat me to death immediately, and my family members will not be allowed to retaliate.” After hearing this, the flag soldiers elected two people on the spot. Both of them were the head of the team (i.e., squad leader). One was named Fuxi and the other was named Delu. When the two came to Feng Guozhang, Feng Guozhang said to his entourage and staff: "I will go to the town headquarters today to draw up two orders, appoint these two people as adjutants of this office, receive two pistols, and pay 50 taels of silver per month." After this matter was done, the team calmed down, and Feng Guozhang was relieved.After he returned to the town headquarters, he sat down on the sofa, sighed long and hard, and said nothing.Forced by the situation, Feng Guozhang felt that he was sorry for the Qing court, but also had to be Yuan Shikai's taming tool... Yuan Shikai also had the kindness to know him! In an atmosphere of silence, Feng Guozhang then left the town headquarters.From then on, there were two more flag soldiers with pistols beside Feng Guozhang. They not only followed Feng Guozhang back to his private house in Cinder Alley, but also followed Feng Guozhang wherever he went. This situation lasted for a long time. It is said that the morale of the imperial guards was indeed unstable at that time, especially when the preferential conditions were announced, the flag soldiers felt that they had reached the point of life and death. If it were not for Feng Guozhang's inspiration, it would be hard to say what happened at that time. After the abdication of the Qing emperor, Feng Guozhang cherished the official uniforms and hats of the previous dynasty very much. His official hat was still hung on the four-legged hat stand in the living room. In order to prevent dust from falling, he also specially made a hat burden Covered on the official hat.The pigtail behind Feng Guozhang was also cut off when he went to Tianjin to take office as the governor of Zhili in August 1912.This may have been done intentionally to maintain the morale of the imperial guards, but until Feng Guozhang's death, the imperial guards did not break away from Feng Guozhang. When the Qing Emperor abdicated, the Imperial Guard Army was reorganized into the 16th Division of the Army, which was still led by Feng Guozhang, and this division has always sent a battalion to Feng Guozhang as a guard. Wherever Feng Guozhang went, they followed.Later, when Feng Guozhang became the President, the 16th Division was also split into the 15th Division and the 16th Division. The two divisions still sent teams to take turns guarding the Presidential Palace.After Feng Guozhang resigned and returned to his hometown in Hejian, the 16th Division sent a company to follow him to show the special relationship. Feng Guozhang's conservatism is not without reason.First of all, after Yuan Shikai lost power, he was the most used in the Beiyang Group. Feng Guozhang had the mentality of repaying his favor, which was in line with the traditional concept at that time, and was also praised by people; He is the oldest, two years older than Wang Shizhen, six years older than Duan Qirui, and the same age as Yuan Shikai, but half a year older. Therefore, if there is no accident of the Wuchang Uprising, his position in replacing Yuan Shikai is not Impossible (later he did become acting president). After Yuan Shikai proclaimed himself emperor, Feng Guozhang disapproved. He believed that Yuan Shikai did not have this destiny.However, since Feng Guozhang's continuation is Ms. Zhou, the tutor of Yuan Shikai's children, and Yuan Shikai has been kind to him for many years, Feng Guozhang is not easy to fall out with Yuan Shikai, so he can only treat him negatively behind his back.After Yuan Shikai's death, Li Yuanhong succeeded as president, and Feng Guozhang became vice president.A year later, the braided Zhang Xun broke into the capital and started the restoration. He thought he would get Feng Guozhang's support, but Feng Guozhang sent a telegram to express his opposition. After the failure of the restoration, Lao Zhang always claimed that he had the signatures or letters of the other warlords in favor of the restoration. Was it there or not?Judging from the memories of some parties involved, Zhang Xun does not seem to be lying, and Feng Guozhang is one of the main suspects.According to Yun Baohui, Feng Guozhang's secretary, when Yuan Shikai died, some of Zhang Xun's counselors came to Feng Guozhang's office, and Feng Guozhang did write a letter to Zhang Xun, which was drafted by Yun Baohui himself. The mayor dies, the Central Plains has no master, and the banner of righteousness points to the north. This is the right time. Brothers are like pioneers, and younger brothers are subordinates to follow. Things are expensive and quick to decide, dare to spread your mind." Feng Guozhang gave this letter to Yun Baohui's sixth uncle, Yun Yuchang, to deliver to Zhang Xun, and Yun Yuchang was Zhang Xun's restoration master.Unfortunately, since the time had passed when the letter was sent to Zhang Xun, this plan had to be abandoned.As time went by, the relationship between Feng Guozhang and Zhang Xun gradually became distant. In addition, Feng Guozhang saw that Li Yuanhong was in a precarious situation, so he also had the idea of ​​​​becoming president.The ridiculous thing is that Zhang Xun still thinks that Feng Guozhang is in favor of the restoration.Zhang Xun, who fled to the Dutch embassy for refuge, saw Yun Baohui afterwards, and complained in a very dissatisfied tone: "Even your president has a letter for me!" Do you know? After Zhang Xun's restoration failed, Feng Guozhang took advantage of it. He entered Beijing to become acting president.Regarding the behavior of the Qing Dynasty, Feng Guozhang advocated not to pursue it. The reason is that Puyi was young and was completely coerced by Zhang Xun, so the preferential treatment conditions of the Republic of China remained unchanged.After Feng Guozhang's one-year term as acting president expired, he returned to his hometown of Hejian Shijing Village to live. Until October 1919, Feng Guozhang returned to Beijing again in order to mediate the issue of the 15th and 16th Divisions' dispute with the Ministry of War. Unexpectedly, Feng Guozhang died of illness in Beijing and never returned to Shijing Village.The thing is, in the process of mediation, because Feng Guozhang has resigned, the interest relationship between the two sides has not been settled, Wang Tingzhen, the commander of the 16th Division, suddenly used the order of the Ministry of War as an excuse to transfer back the soldiers who followed Feng Guozhang's company. Angry, he felt that he had just resigned not long ago, and that he had promised to never break away from the officers and soldiers of the Imperial Guard. As his subordinate for many years, how could Wang Tingzhen do such a heartless thing.Annoyed, Feng Guozhang took a cold bath at home, which resulted in acute pneumonia, and died not long after on December 28 of that year at the age of 62. Feng Guozhang died the earliest among the "Three Heroes of Beiyang", and he only lived three years longer than Yuan Shikai.It should be said that Feng Guozhang was one of the stabilizing forces in the political situation in the early years of the Republic of China, and his death was a great loss to the political stability at that time.