Chapter 72 The Unjust Case of 1898 Caused by Kang Youwei

The "1898 coup" has long left the impression of future generations as such a stereotype—— Kang Youwei and others are heroes of reform. The Manchurian old forces headed by the Empress Dowager Cixi are big villains. Emperor Guangxu was the victim. Yuan Shikai was a repeated villain who was greedy for life and afraid of death. He betrayed Guangxu and betrayed reformers. History is a little girl who can be smeared by others.Under the propaganda of many pens with political purposes and ulterior motives, the "1898 Coup" has also been smeared many times, leaving countless questions for future generations.Fortunately, many new evidences have appeared one after another in recent years, giving us the possibility to understand the historical truth.

What we want to pay attention to here is the last few days when the suspicion of the "Hundred Movement Reform Movement" was the most intense-the seven days from Yuan Shikai's entry to Beijing to the failure of the "Hundred Movement Movement Movement". What happened in these seven days?Let's take a look at how the event happened. On this day, Kang Youwei, who lived in the Nanhai Guild Hall, was particularly anxious, because the progress of the reform was really not satisfactory to him. After the hundreds of orders of Emperor Guangxu were implemented, not only did they not have any effect, but they aroused stronger opposition from conservatives.Kang Youwei began to conceive a shocking plan in his heart: he wanted soldiers to surround the Summer Palace, put Empress Dowager Cixi under house arrest, and use force to kill all those who obstructed the reform.

Seeing this murderous plan, does it seem like he doesn't know Kang Youwei? That's because you don't know Kang Youwei, he has a criminal record. Kang Youwei once said: As long as we have the support of the emperor, and the support of a person with a strong military force, and kill a few first- and second-rank red-top officials, our reform will be successful!As soon as these words came out, almost all the ministers of the first and second ranks of the Manchu Dynasty felt insecure, and those who originally supported the reform became hesitant. After all, no one wanted to be that unlucky ghost who was killed to make an example to others.

Too scholarly, too naive, too childish!Political sensitivity is too low!Not only did Kang Youwei say that, he actually did it. In his mind, Yuan Shikai was the key and ideal candidate for the army.Yuan Shikai was open-minded, with 7,000 new troops in his hands, with great combat effectiveness, and he was so close to Tianjin that it only took one to two days to get to Beijing.More importantly, Kang Youwei and Yuan Shikai had a brief but beautiful friendship three years ago, in 1895. It was the few days when Yuan Shikai had not yet been assigned work after he left North Korea and returned to Beijing. It also happened to be the period when Kang Youwei was preparing for the Strong Society.

The strong society was first established, and money was needed everywhere.When the Qiang Society was raising funds, Yuan Shikai not only donated 500 taels of silver himself, but also took the initiative to join the Qiang Society, mobilized other friends to donate, and did his best for the Qiang Society, giving Kang Youwei a big favor.However, Li Hongzhang also volunteered to donate money to the Strong Society, but Kang Youwei refused because he felt that the money from "traitors" was unacceptable. Therefore, Kang Youwei's impression of Yuan Shikai is very good. On September 11, 1898, Kang Youwei said to Emperor Guangxu: Yuan Shikai should be summoned to Beijing, and Yuan Shikai should be recruited for his own use.

Guangxu agreed, and immediately summoned Yuan Shikai to Beijing. These two people were very active and idealistic, but they did not consider one problem: Yuan Shikai was indeed a reformer, but compared with Kang Youwei, a scholar who was eager for success, Yuan Shikai was a moderate and slow-moving practicalist.This difference in concept is doomed to the result of the reform! Yuan Shikai arrived in Beijing and stayed at Fahua Temple, waiting to see Emperor Guangxu. At this time, rumors abounded in the city of Beijing.There are rumors that Cixi and Ronglu are going to launch a coup during the military parade in Tianjin, and there are also rumors that Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao are making small moves.

Yuan Shikai naturally has his own judgment on the situation, but he is still relatively relaxed now, because he does not know the purpose of Guangxu calling him to Beijing. But the other protagonist, Guangxu, was restless.Because he has made too many reforms during this period, he first appointed Yang Rui, Lin Xu, Tan Sitong, and Liu Guang as the fourth military aircraft Zhang Jing (assistant to the Minister of Military Aircraft) to participate in the New Deal a few days ago, and then transferred Yuan Shikai to Beijing. Touched the sensitive nerves of diehards.The leaders of the diehard faction sued him in front of Cixi, and yesterday he was called by Cixi to scold him severely.

Cixi warned him: If you follow Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao to carry out such drastic reforms, then your throne will be lost! Next, Guangxu, who was restless in his heart, wrote a decree and secretly handed it over to the military aircraft Zhang Jing Yang Rui, asking him to convey the meaning to Kang Youwei and others, hoping to ease the situation and allow the reform to continue. But he never thought that this secret edict was carefully tampered with by Kang Youwei, which directly led to the occurrence of the "1898 Coup".There have been multiple versions of this secret edict, which is similar to the Han Xiandi's clothing belt edict. Kang Youwei's version is as follows:

Looking at the meaning, it is obvious that Lao Kang and the others should fight for the king, but are these Guangxu's original words? In fact, the original copy of the Guangxu Mizhao has been smuggled out of the palace, and it was not until Cixi and Guangxu died at the same time ten years later that Yang Rui's son returned the original to the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the truth of the original Mizhao was revealed. The content of the secret edict is very long, and the simplified general idea is—— Emperor Guangxu briefly talked about Cixi's threat to him, saying that if such drastic reforms continue, then his throne will be lost, so let's wait a little longer...Kang Youwei, you go to Shanghai to avoid it .

Facts have proved that Kang Youwei's version is a forgery.No matter how Kang Youwei defended himself in the following decades, in the face of the most powerful evidence, any defense is pale and weak. Here is a question, why did Cixi hate Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao so much later?One of the main reasons is that Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao jointly "created" "Kang Ji's History of the Reform Movement of 1898", and after many years of repeated "hype" at home and abroad, her image was greatly damaged. Before dawn, Yuan Shikai came to the gate of the palace and waited for the emperor to summon him. He had worked for the court for many years, and this was the first time he saw Emperor Guangxu himself.

The interview didn't take long, and the content of the interview was only that the emperor promoted him to an official position. He was promoted from the Zhili inspector to the alternate minister of the Ministry of Industry, and he was promoted two levels in a row. The glory of being promoted to two levels in a row is very rare in peacetime, and this action of Guangxu has attracted the attention of diehards. The diehards realized that Yuan Shikai's arrival was not that simple, and they guessed that the emperor might want to do it! The power of the diehards is very strong. These people have taken precautions and started to carry out purposeful military arrangements.They arranged for two generals, Nie Shicheng and Dong Fuxiang, to block Yuan Shikai's possible route to the north. Yuan Shikai, who was promoted to an official, also smelled something bad, and his intuition told him that the situation in the capital was very dangerous, so he spent an uneasy day in the hotel. The ninety-ninth day of the reform: September 17, 1898. Emperor Guangxu summoned Yuan Shikai again, and said something practical during the meeting. Emperor Guangxu said: Yuan Shikai, you can handle your own affairs with Rong Lu, Governor of Zhili. Yuan Shikai was such a politically intelligent person, he immediately understood what Guangxu meant, and Guangxu told Yuan Shikai not to listen to the diehard Rong Lu, but to work independently with the emperor. Yuan Shikai had a clear judgment on the situation and was very hesitant about Guangxu's implication.But he still said: obey the order for the minister.Then back away. Kang Youwei finally saw the copy of Guangxu Mizhao, which was brought to him secretly by Yang Rui through people. Kang Youwei was disappointed. This secret edict meant that his "plan to encircle the garden after the robbery" was treason! But Kang Youwei didn't want to let it go. He was no longer young after his forties. He couldn't afford to fail, and he must let the reform succeed!Kang Youwei was out of control at this time, he carefully forged a "secret edict", he wanted to let the "Waiyuan after-robbery plan" be justified. The impulse between his thoughts ended the history of the reform. After that, Kang Youwei found Tan Sitong and asked him to persuade Yuan Shikai to join the army.Of course, he also knew that Yuan Shikai might not be 100% safe, so he kept a hand. He had already found a green forest hero named Bi Yongnian, and asked this hero to lead someone into the Summer Palace to arrest Cixi as a last resort. At around seven o'clock in the evening, Yu Shi Yang Chongyi arrived at the Summer Palace led by Prince Qing Yikuang. He sent a memorial of about 500 characters to Cixi, requesting the abolition of the New Deal of 1898 on behalf of the diehards.He said: Kang Youwei and his gang are now turning the Qing Dynasty into a mess. Don’t look at them now only focusing on punishing us veterans. Once they fix us, they will be bad for you, the Queen Mother. Everyone thinks they are doing this. The root of the threat to the Qing Dynasty... Cixi doesn't care about the life and death of reformers and diehards. For her, power is the key. She wants to rule the world forever. She likes everything now - power, manipulation, struggle, whoever influences her to control power, she will Don't make it easier for anyone. It is a pity that whether it is a reform or a revolution, the changes behind it all mean the ebb and flow of interests of stakeholders.Any new policy, while gaining the support of some people, will often hurt the interests of other people.Any reform process will be met with heavy resistance.In this regard, no matter whether it is the Shang Yang Reform, Wang Anshi Reform or the "1898 Reform", or even the reform and opening up in the 1980s, there are no exceptions. But now the pace of reform of the reformers is too big and too hasty, and those with vested interests will of course oppose it desperately.During the reform process, the most powerful opponents of the New Deal were those central cadres and local officials.For these dignitaries in power, the old system and previous policies and decrees are means for them to seek personal gain. Once the reform is carried out, they will lose everything they have. How can they stand by and do nothing? The crux of the matter is that the Empress Dowager Cixi ruled the world by controlling these people. Without their support, her scepter would lose its support.Obviously, if you have to choose between the diehards and the reformers, the former is more conducive to the stability of her rule, so Cixi agreed to Yang Chongyi and ordered to return to the palace from the Summer Palace tomorrow. At around nine o'clock in the evening, Tan Sitong took the mission given to him by Kang Youwei to Fahua Temple where Yuan Shikai stayed.Let Yuan Shikai raise his troops to serve the king, kill Ronglu, and put Cixi under house arrest. As for Yuan Shikai's answer to Tan Sitong, it will always be a mystery. Empress Dowager Cixi returned to the palace from the Summer Palace, catching the reformers by surprise. Bi Yongnian's plan to enter the garden was no longer feasible, and Kang Youwei realized that the coup d'état had failed. Cixi told Guangxu: You will move to Yingtai from tomorrow.This is actually to put Guangxu under house arrest. In the early morning, Kang Youwei fled to Tianjin, embarked on a journey to Japan with the help of the British, and began a 16-year escape career. Although Guangxu knew that this was the last day of his own administration, he still met with two people as planned: Yuan Shikai and former Japanese Prime Minister Hirobumi Ito. This was the third time Guangxu summoned Yuan Shikai. Yuan Shikai said something to Guangxu in a very tactful manner, roughly saying: I support your reform, but I think it should be presided over by a mature and prudent minister.For example, Zhang Zhidong is very good. He has been very successful in doing foreign affairs. Such people should be used to preside over the reform.The newcomers now have too little qualifications, are too aggressive, and have no real skills. Yuan Shikai was obviously not optimistic about Lao Kang and his group. Guangxu was even more disheartened after hearing these words, because Yuan Shikai, whom he valued, did not even support him. After leaving the palace, Yuan Shikai boarded the train back to Tianjin and returned to Tianjin in the evening.He was seen walking into Ronglu's official residence in Tianjin. Next Guangxu summoned Ito Hirobumi. Guangxu originally wanted to hire Ito Hirobumi as the reform consultant, but Ito Hirobumi is so shrewd. He and Yuan Shikai actually arrived in Beijing on the same day.Ito Hirobumi's visit to China, which was expected by the whole country, was gently painted the last touch in the hasty and polite conversation between the two sides. Guangxu's political mission came to an end at this moment. During the early dynasty, Cixi, who had not been to the government for a long time, came before the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty and launched the third coup in her life. Facing the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty, Cixi issued two important orders: The first one, to the effect that my Lafayette is back!From now on, Emperor Guangxu's words will not count, and I will be in charge of the affairs of the empire again. Article 2: Arrest members of the Reform Party headed by Kang You.The original words of the order are as follows: Kang Youwei formed a party for personal gain, made rumors to disrupt the government... He was dismissed, and his younger brother Kang Guangren was sent to the Ministry of Criminal Affairs to punish him according to the law under the command of the infantry. After the early dynasty, Cixi returned to the Summer Palace. Later, Liang Qichao persuaded Tan Sitong to hide in the Japanese embassy with him, and then fled to Japan to continue fighting, but Tan Sitong said: You go, I want to stay, the reforms of various countries are all achieved by bloodshed, as for China, it starts with us. let's start! Tan Sitong chose another way of fighting—sacrifice!He can escape but choose not to escape, he can choose to die without dying, what kind of blood and courage is this! What is especially rare is that this Tan Sitong is a real "second generation official", and his father Tan Jixun is the governor of Hubei. Eight days later, on September 29, Tan Sitong, Kang Guangren, Lin Xu, Yang Shenxiu, Yang Rui, and Liu Guangdi, the "Six Gentlemen of 1898", died at Caishikou on the charge of "rebellion and injustice...robbing the empress dowager". Before his death, Tan Sitong wrote "Poems on the Wall in Prison": Where did the last two sentences that we are familiar with, "I smile to the sky from the sidelines, and go to keep my heart and gallbladder in Kunlun"?It didn't exist in the first place, it was the result of Liang Qichao's stealing. "I smile to the sky from the sideways sword" is such a heroic and fearless revolutionary verse, which came from the hands of a person that everyone can never imagine.This person is the super villain in this book, Comrade Miao Peilin who doesn't have a single line.Attached is the poem "Sit Alone in the Autumn Night" written by Miao Peilin thirty years ago: In other words, Liang Qichao is a borrower, and Liang Qichao is really a big deal.This change, "I smile to the sky from the sword", seems to be more heroic than the original poem, but it violates the original intention of the martyrs.This small change completely concealed the plan of the reformers represented by Kang Youwei to seize power by force, and it lost Tan Sitong's frankness of "the theory of leaving the general public as a crime for future generations". So far, the "Reform of 1898" failed completely, and Emperor Guangxu was imprisoned in Yingtai, and began a long and hopeless wait, but he did not wait until his death for the freedom he longed for.