Chapter 73 Whether Yuan Shikai informed or not

Now there is only one question left, what did Yuan Shikai say in Ronglu's mansion after returning to Tianjin on the 102nd day of the reform? The answer should be snitching.However, his whistleblowing was not the cause of the "1898 Coup", but only exacerbated the intensity of the "1898 Coup". There are three reasons: Reason 1: The charges for arresting Kang Youwei and others changed. At the beginning of the coup, there was no order to arrest Tan Sitong and others, so Tan Sitong and others did not run away and were easily arrested. On the 21st, he was charged with "forming a party for personal gain, making rumors and disordering the government", and he did not intend to arrest Tan Sitong and others.On the 29th, the charge became "rebellious...robbing the empress dowager".

Elevating the nature of the crimes of Kang Youwei and other Reform Party members from "abusive talk and disorderly government" to "great rebellion" must be the result of Cixi knowing that they "surrounded the Summer Palace and seized power with armed forces". This may be the function of Yuan Shikai's informant, but Cixi knew that this incident was obviously after the 21st. The second reason is that Rong Lu did not have time to rush back to Beijing to report, and Kang Youwei's escape had already exposed the failure of the coup. Cixi launched the coup in the early morning of the 21st, and it was the evening of the 20th when Yuan Shikai returned to Tianjin.

Even if Yuan Shikai really informed Rong Lu on the evening of the 20th, there was no late train from Tianjin to Beijing at that time, and the technology and equipment could not support night driving, so Rong Lu could not reach Beijing. Taking a step back, even if Ronglu rode to Beijing, he would not see Cixi. Beijing imposed a curfew, and even if he arrived at night, he would not be able to enter the city at all.Moreover, after Cixi came back to power, only Prince Shiduo of Li and Prince Yikuang of Qing could meet directly. Others could not see him as soon as they wanted to, so Rong Lu had to go to the prince to introduce him if he wanted to see Cixi.That is to say, if Rong Lu broke into the deep palace at night, he would also drag the prince, and it would be dawn early after such a troublesome run around.

So this coup was not triggered by Yuan Shikai's whistleblower, on the contrary, it was Kang Youwei's eagerness for quick success that led to the sacrifice of his colleagues and the premature end of Guangxu's political life. The third reason is that someone recorded Yuan Shikai's informant process. Let's take a look at what happened in the evening when Yuan Shikai returned to Tianjin. On the evening of the 20th, Yuan Shikai walked into Rong Lu’s mansion. As for his reasons for going to Rong Lu, there could be many reasons, such as reporting his trip to Beijing and the latest instructions from the central government to the leaders, or buying small gifts to flatter the leaders, or It's to inform.

But there are two facts that cannot be changed. 1. Rong Lu’s welcome ceremony was a bit too grand——Rong Lu’s guards lined the road, and the shining saber pierced Yuan Shikai’s sensitive nerves (the guards lined up——Zhang Yiling’s "Heart Mortuary Collection").This is not only recorded by Zhang Yizhen, but also by Chen Kuilong's Miscellaneous Notes on Mengjiao Pavilion. Chen Kuilong was Rong Lu's confidant and had always been at odds with Yuan Shikai. His diary is very authentic.The quotations that follow are from both books. 2. When Yuan Shikai saw Rong Lu, he found that Yang Chongyi was also there.

It turned out that after Yang Chongyi persuaded Cixi to launch a coup, he was entrusted by Cixi to come to Tianjin to inform his confidant Ronglu that she had come out again. Of course, there must be some other highest instructions. In short, Rong Lu had long known about Cixi's training to arrest "Er Kang" and the news about Guangxu's promotion to Yuan Shikai, but he pretended not to know. what task.It's a pity that the guards flanking the road still exposed the unusual atmosphere: they were very suspicious of Yuan Shikai. Next, Yang Chongyi and Rong Lu played a double reed, Yang Chongyi sadly told the news about the empress dowager's training, and Rong Lu pretended to just know about it.

Yuan Shikai felt uneasy at this time: After all, how to explain Guangxu's promotion to other officials?Moreover, Tan Sitong approached him for a secret talk, and would the matter of proposing the "Waiyuan Aftermath Plan" come to light?If it is revealed, not only will his head be lost, but his family will also be implicated... Yuan Shikai fell into extreme anxiety. If they tell the truth, Tan Sitong and others will die; if they don't tell the truth, Yuan Shikai will have to die. After a short period of intense ideological struggle, Yuan Shikai chose a safer path: to be frank and lenient, to make friends who died but not to be poor, and to sacrifice everyone for his own life and his political ideals.So he said it all in one go, begging Rong Lu to be the master for him (Governor Yuan was in disharmony, so he burst into tears and couldn't kneel for a long time. He begged Rong to be the master).

Everyone knows what happened next. Yang Chongyi brought Yuan Shikai's informant back to Beijing, Cixi learned of the plot to mutiny Weiyuan, and Tan Sitong and others were arrested.