Chapter 17 16. Xin Chou Peace Treaty

Li Hongzhang arrived in Tianjin after the fall of Beijing. His official titles at this time were Minister of Beiyang, Governor of Zhili, Commander of the Armed Forces, and Minister of Peace. These official titles had no effect on Tianjin occupied by the Eight-Power Allied Forces.The reason why he is respected by foreigners is entirely due to his personal international reputation.He arrived in Tianjin in August of the twenty-sixth year of Guangxu (1900), almost at the same time as the commander of the Eight-Power Allied Forces, Vadsi, arrived in Tianjin.But the two of them officially met in Beijing on September 24th.

Vardesi made a detailed report to the Kaiser five days after the incident: "...Yu once met with Prince Qing and Governor-General Li Hongzhang. Mrs. Li came here first, and Prince Qing came here just 20 minutes late; It lasted for an hour. From the conversation, Yu Sui felt that the two men were eager to start the peace talks....Li Hongzhang asked for his order to give his envoy a passport...For the Chinese government, I must act sincerely according to the rest of my life Today, Yu went to pay homage to the two gentlemen, and only had an insignificant conversation with Prince Qing, but he expressed his intention to start the peace conference as soon as possible. Yu gave Mr. Li Hongzhang a picture, and the rest of the The scope of the above-mentioned occupied area was delineated. Li thought it was too wide. From Li's repeated mention of marching troops to Zhangjiakou, I can understand that Dun's move made him quite worried, and this is enough to prove that Yu marched into the area It’s quite reasonable...”

In the twenty-seventh year of Guangxu (1901), Li Hongzhang accepted the terms of peace proposed by the Eight-Power Allied Forces on behalf of the Qing court. This is the famous "Xin Chou Treaty".Its main points are: (1) China sent envoys to Germany and Japan to apologize. (2) Punish the chief minister. (3) Prohibition of importing arms to China for two years, which may be extended for another two years. (4) The compensation is 450 million taels of silver, to be paid off in thirty-nine years, and the combined interest totals more than 982 million taels of silver. (5) Beijing demarcates the embassy area, which is managed by the embassy group, and countries may send troops to defend it.

(6) Destroy the fort between Dagu and Beijing.The transportation hub between Tianjin, Beijing, and Shanhaiguan allows all countries to garrison troops. (7) The Qing court allowed the posting of "Strictly Prohibit Xenophobia" in various places. (8) The Qing court immediately punished any party that established a xenophobic society. This humiliating treaty was forced to be signed under the guns of the coalition forces; the great powers could have divided up China, but because of their own contradictions and conflicts of interest, China was lucky not to be divided up at this time, but was only forced to sign a contract. It is the great fortune in misfortune.However, this "Xin Chou Treaty" should be the most humiliating treaty in the history of China's foreign treaties. Because of this treaty, the gate of the Chinese capital was opened, and the national self-esteem in the next few decades was greatly hit.

The Boxers disappeared in smoke, but the impact of the Boxer incident was extremely far-reaching: (1) The countries of the world did not examine the causes of this incident, but severely accused the Boxers of their brutal actions, accused China of not being a civilized country, and accused the Chinese nation of being a barbaric nation. (2) Since the beginning of the Opium War, Western armed forces began to invade China, but in each war they only defeated the Qing government, and ordinary people and conservative scholar-bureaucrats did not surrender psychologically.The Boxer Rebellion incident was a confluence of forces formed by the Qing government, Chinese scholar-bureaucrats defending Taoism, and the vast number of peasants. They used spells, fists and sticks to fight against Western guns, but they failed completely.After this disastrous defeat, the Qing government and the public did not dare to lightly xenophobia, the national self-esteem was completely lost, and the people unconsciously developed a xenophobia mentality, which affected China for decades to come.

(3) The governor's power increased, and later evolved into a warlord separatist regime.Because during the boxing revolution, Li Hongzhang, Liu Kunyi, Yuan Shikai and others agreed with the big powers that each province would protect itself.To protect the life, property and churches of outsiders, please refrain from entering the southeastern provinces. This move was recognized and encouraged by the Qing court after the Boxing Revolution, which made the governors of each province semi-independent. (4) People with lofty ideals in China recognize one thing: the corrupt Qing regime must be overthrown, and revolution must be necessary to save China.

(5) The most obvious result is that the old generation in the Qing government died, and those who were eliminated were eliminated. The only person expected by everyone was Yuan Shikai, who replaced Li Hongzhang, thus laying the foundation for the future Beiyang warlords. During the Boxer Rebellion, Yuan Shikai not only became a famous governor, he was as famous as Liu Kunyi, Zhang Zhidong and others.And because he was in the north, the governors of all provinces sent reports to Beijing through him. In addition, the Boxer Rebellion started in Shandong, and since Yuan took over as governor of Shandong, the territory of Shandong Province was peaceful, so both Chinese and foreign people admired Yuan.

After the fall of Beijing, the two palaces fled. On the way to the dust, they sent a telegram to Li Hongzhang, ordering him to go to Beijing to negotiate peace with foreigners.Yuan Yimi sent a telegram to Li Hongzhang, saying: "Hede, the General Taxation Department of the Customs, said that the countries have no other intentions, and I hope that Li Xiangneng can talk to Prince Qing to discuss peace matters." In this way, Yuan also gained the right to speak about the country's major affairs. On the way to Xi'an, Cixi and Guangxu were followed by conservative ministers. Due to the siege of these diehards, foreigners also had doubts when they negotiated peace. Now, there are ministers who can speak out around Cixi.When Rong Lu fell in Beijing, he was deeply discouraged by the monopoly of the old-fashioned faction on government affairs. After Li and Yuan's urging, he went to Xi'an.But Ci Xi still had great trust in Rong Lu, and soon Rong Lu became a very important minister of military affairs.Since Rong Luzhong was favored by Cixi, Yuan's right to speak has been greatly improved.During this period, he joined forces with Liu Kunyi, Zhang Zhidong, Sheng Xuanhuai, etc., while Li Hongzhang was in Beijing and Rong Lu was in Xijing, so his opinions could reach all directions, and his status became increasingly important.

When the peace agreement was reached and the Eight-Power Allied Forces were about to withdraw their troops, there must be Qing soldiers stationed in key areas of the capital to maintain law and order. Li Hongzhang urgently asked Yuan to send Jiang Guiti to lead troops to Henan in preparation for his replacement.At that time, Jiang Guiti was protecting the Qingwei Railway Project, so Yuan immediately dispatched the defense battalion to replace it, and ordered Jiang Guiti to set off immediately and stand by to take over from the Eight-Power Allied Forces. On April 29th in the twenty-seventh year of Guangxu (1901), Yuan Shikai's biological mother Liu died of illness.It turned out that Liu and Yuan's heir, Niu, both lived in Xiangcheng, Henan Province. After Niu's death, Yuan Nai welcomed his adoptive mother to the residence, and traveled with Yuan to various places to take care of housework.After Yuan Ding's death, he telegraphed his resignation as the governor of Shandong, but at this time he was the minister who attracted the attention of all parties. All officials and local gentlemen in Shandong sent telegrams to Xingzai and Li Hongzhang in Xi'an to appeal for their love.On May 1st, Yuan sent a decree to give Yuan a 100-day funeral leave. Yuan You sent a telegram saying: "On the 1st day of May, I respectfully received the decree. Shikai Ding's birth mother was worried, and a 100-day leave was given, that is, to wear filial piety in Fu's Office, and leave After he was full, he was changed to act as an acting agent, and he worked as usual. While studying, I was crying blood, thinking that the situation is in danger, and it is already extremely. Losing the top and rubbing his heels to pay respects to his acquaintances, he said that he was sick and separated, and had not seen the grand ceremony of Huiluan in person. When he was dying, he couldn't speak, but he raised his hand and pointed to the west, and his clothes were full of tears. , It seems that I can't stick to my words, follow my mother's instruction, and I don't want to make excuses again and again. However, if you are not at peace, the square inch is messed up, you are not only a sinner through the ages, but you are also afraid of being wronged. A clear discussion for a while. Wandering around midnight, repeatedly cut off the porridge, and begged to leave the office within a hundred days to open the vacancy, help the scorpion to return to the village, and return to the Eastern Province after the burial is over. If at the turn of winter and spring, the current situation is settled, and then begging Xu Chen to return to his hometown for the final order, this will be selfish, so that he will get what he asks and then he will do it." On May 11th, Cixi sent a warm decree to stay, and at the same time sent representatives The queen mother gave sacrifices.

Yuan's biological mother, Liu, and his heir, Niu, were originally sisters-in-law. They were all women in the old society, and they were all influenced by the old ethics. The two sisters-in-law loved this capable son very much.Although Yuan served as the governor of Shandong Province for only one or two years, he has become a national attention figure. Many members of the Yuan family in Xiangcheng are in Jinan, and Yuan also vigorously renovated the old residence in Xiangcheng.Mrs. Liu has always been with Yuan in Jinan. After the death of the Liu family, Yuan repeatedly resigned to the governor of Shandong to keep the system for three years. Woolen cloth!

During Yuan's tenure as governor of Shandong, he had a new policy, which was to set up a university in Jinan, the provincial capital.However, this so-called university hall is a consistent system of elementary school, middle school, and university. It is divided into four levels. The first level is called "Meng Yang School". He taught history, and taught simple astronomy, geography, and arithmetic.After graduation, he was promoted to the second level, called "Beizhai", which emphasized simple politics and art, and graduated in two years.After graduation, he was promoted to the third level "Zhengzhai", where he studied for four years and divided into ten subjects: Chinese Confucianism, Chinese and Foreign History, Chinese and Foreign Politics, Dialects, Business, Engineering, Mining, Agriculture, Surveying and Mapping, and Medicine.After graduation, you will be promoted to "Zhan Zhai", which lasts from two to four years.The special course will be booked after graduation.The annual budget is 60,000 taels, and the American Hess is hired as the chief teacher.This was the earliest Shandong University. Although it was not carried out according to this plan, Yuan was at last a pioneer. The Chinese scholar-bureaucrats all have a strong concept of valuing agriculture and ignoring commerce. Yuan knew that a prosperous commerce could enrich the country and the people, so he paid equal attention to agriculture and commerce in Shandong, so he created the General Bureau of Commerce, headed by Taoist Tang Shaoyi.A general fundraising bureau was also set up to rectify miscellaneous taxes and donations on local medicine, tobacco and alcohol.He also sent Taoist Ma Tingliang to Japan to collect the methods and regulations of the Bank of Japan for casting silver coins, as well as the methods of printing banknotes, etc. In fact, Yuan Shikai at this time, all the measures can be regarded as the New Deal, precisely because he is the New Deal, compared with the old-fashioned diehards, it stands out, politics is so realistic, he was lucky to betray the Reformists and overthrow the New Deal , but now he has won a reputation for implementing the New Deal. Yuan Zeng proudly told his staff: "This time, if there are no four people of my generation among the governors and governors, can we still ask about state affairs?" Yuan's so-called four people are: Li Hongzhang, Liu Kunyi, Zhang Zhidong and His own pride is beyond words. On September 26th in the twenty-seventh year of Guangxu (1901), the Empress Dowager West, Emperor Guangxu and princes and ministers were on their way back to Beijing. On this day, they arrived in Sishui County from Gongxian County, Henan Province, and received a telegram from Beijing by Li Hongzhang: " I am in a critical condition, please send a minister to take over as soon as possible." At this time, Yikuang had come from Beijing to meet him, so that the two palaces could learn more about the situation of the peace talks and the current situation in Beijing before returning to Beijing. Li Hongzhang suddenly became seriously ill, so The two palaces were played electronically, hoping that Yikuang could rush back to Beijing quickly to continue the peace talks.Both Cixi and Guangxu read the telegram were very worried, because although Yikuang had left Beijing, he had not yet arrived.Cixi said to Wu Yong who was driving with a very melancholy color on this day: "The overall situation is uncertain. If something happens to Li Xiang, this is such a heavy burden, who else can share it?" The next day, September 27th, the two palaces went to Rongyang from Sishui. In the evening, they received an urgent telegram from Beijing. There is a feeling of being overwhelmed.Cixi and Guangxu immediately summoned Rong Lu and other ministers, and the Empress Dowager decided on three major personnel orders: 1. Acting Minister Plenipotentiary written by Wang Wenshao. 2. The governor of Zhili and the minister of Beiyang acted by Yuan Shikai; before taking office, Zhou Fu was the nurse. 3. Zhang Renjun, governor of Shandong Province, made up for it. On the second day of October, the two palaces were stationed in Kaifeng, and all civil and military personnel from the whole province of Henan greeted them outside the city.Yikuang arrived from the capital, was summoned immediately, and asked about the situation in Beijing in great detail.The next day Yikuang was summoned again, and Yikuang presented Li Hongzhang's final tribute, which made both palaces shed tears. The full text of Li Hongzhang's remnants follows: Zuowei's minister was dying of illness, he knew he couldn't afford it, and he was obsessed with omissions, so he looked to the Holy Spirit for advice.The stealing minister is healthy and able to work hard. He has served as an official for more than 40 years and has never asked for leave due to illness.He was injured in Maguan before, and bled for a long time, so he became dizzy.Last summer, I went north in the summer heat, and suffered from diarrhea again, and my vitality was seriously injured.After entering the capital, things didn't go well, and he was anxious day and night, often staying up all night, his appetite was decreasing day by day, and the old disease was triggered from time to time.Dimeng Shengci inquired, gave special rewards to holidays, and gave detailed condolences, thank you very much.Fortunately, the peace treaty came to an end, but the Russian treaty still has no fixed date. It is the worry of the night, which is the minister's unfinished business.Every time I think about it, I worry about the five middle schools.On the nineteenth night of this month, suddenly there was more blood in the bowl, and within a few days, it came to Shen Du, and the doctors tied their hands, knowing that it would be difficult to delay.I would like to take account of the leftovers, and trouble the courtiers to write it out by Shu Gong's school, and seal it up for later.Fu Nianchen was the first to learn about it, and the deepest benefactor. Whenever he thought about the difficult situation, he dared not claim to be ill.But I hope to delay the rest of the day and see ZTE again.With the ambition to the end, the death is hard to die.The current value is that the capital has just been restored, Luanlu has not returned, and peace talks have been newly concluded. Things are still thorny, and there are fundamental plans, and there are dangers everywhere.It is difficult to rejuvenate the country by stealing thoughts, and it is worrying about enlightening the saints.Fu read the decree repeatedly, held a new deal, and strived for self-improvement.Prince Qing and others are all ministers who have worked together for a long time. This reunification is even more difficult, and they will definitely serve wholeheartedly.The minister is in Jiuquan, and the common people have no regrets.All the ministers and grandchildren received the state's kindness, but Xu Qi kept his body and studied, trying to repay him.The genus is imminent, there is no time to look forward, a long farewell to the sage, and there is no attachment.I would like to kowtow for the grace of heaven, and beg the empress dowager and the emperor for the holy lesson.Sincerely. On the same day, an imperial edict was issued: "Following Yi's decree, briefly referring to the change of the capital last year, the university's scholars were loyal and persevering, and endured hardships. Scholars are sick and follow the public, loyal and loyal, old and sincere. He suddenly suffered from hemoptysis, and he couldn't afford it. In a difficult and dangerous relationship, he lost this pillar and important minister, and he was saddened! I have been kind before. I will reward you with five silver coins. Thousands of liang mourning, meritorious service provinces to build special temples; political achievements, announced and paid to the history museum. Yizi Li Jingshu, wrote and rewarded the fourth-rank Jingtang, inherited the first-class marquis; Li Jingmai used the fourth-rank Jingtang; Daoists meet vacancies easily. Yisun Li Guojie writes that he fills in as a doctor; Li Guoyan and Li Guoxu writes that Yuanwailang walks in branches; Li Guoneng and Li Guotao write rewards for Juren, and they will try it all together." On the fourth, fifth, and sixth day of the lunar new year, Yikuang was summoned day by day in Kaifeng, and an edict was issued on the fifth day: "Following Yi's decree, Yikuang and Jia En will take a two-person car in the Forbidden City." On the sixth day, Yikuang was ordered Set off to return to Beijing to continue to negotiate peace and prepare for the two palaces to return to Beijing. The death of Li Hongzhang made Yuan Shikai the orthodox leader of Beiyang and the most important person at that time. Although Guangxu was very unhappy with Yuan's promotion, it was Cixi's idea. How could Guangxu object? Yuan Shikai's appointment as Minister of Beiyang and Governor of Zhili was decided by Cixi, but some people said that it was recommended by Li Hongzhang's posthumous memorial, while others said that Rong Lu, Minister of Military Affairs, strongly recommended it to the Queen Mother.No matter who is the sponsor, the problem is that Cixi has a good impression of Yuan, trusts his loyalty, and appreciates his talent, so that Yuan, an ordinary Taoist, climbed to the position of governor in five or six years, especially in Zhili The governor is almost equivalent to the leader of the governor's group, and bears the great responsibility of defending the center. It is said that before his death, Li Hongzhang gave a memorial to Bao Yuan as his successor, but there is no such memorial in "Wen Zhong Ji".At the same time, Yuan's appointment was made on the second day after receiving Li's death telegram on the way back to Luan from the two palaces. Therefore, even though Li had a will to recommend Yuan Zidai, Yuan's order came directly from Cixi's family. Because of the legend of Li's legacy recommending sages, Yuan has become more and more popular in the world. It is said that Yu Shimei (title Huiruo) drafted the manuscript on Li's behalf.Recommending Yuan is to use "attached sheet", which is also a kind of official document in the Qing Dynasty.There is a sentence in the attached film: "Looking around at the talents in the universe, there is no one who is right than Yuan Shikai." Yuan later wrote a letter to Shimei, thanking Li Caoshu for recommending himself on behalf of Yu Dai. The letter said: "...The festival phase rides the skip, and the world mourns! My brother has little knowledge and little hope, how dare he act as a substitute? He promised to make a rough draft, but he promised: "Looking around the talents in the universe, there is no one who is born to be right!" Although this is The dictation of the ministers of festivals is actually accomplished with a single step. My younger brother should instruct his descendants to be a great virtue forever. I enclose eight antiques with this letter (an additional list is attached at the end of the letter), just to express my gratitude. … " Yuan Shikai was 43 years old this year, and compared with the famous ministers and governors at that time, he was really too young; because his three predecessors, Rong Lu was almost 70 years old, Li Hongzhang was 79 years old, and Wang Wenshao was 68 years old. The sons of the three previous governors. After Yuan was ordered to act as the governor of Zhili, he resigned from the imperial court because he was in mourning, but Cixi refused, so he first made some arrangements for the left and right personnel. Meng Zuo recommended the award, and specially recommended Tang Shaoyi.Tang has been following Lao Yuan since the Joseon Dynasty. During Yuan's tenure as the governor of Shandong, he established the General Administration of Commerce. Tang Shaoyi took charge of the bureau's affairs as a Taoist, drafted various rules, and handled them quite effectively. He can be regarded as Yuan's right-hand man. On the 10th day of October in the twenty-seventh year of Guangxu (1901), Yuan Shikai had all the arrangements in place, so he handed over the Shandong governor's seal affairs to Hu Tingqian, the nursing governor's chief envoy, and then set off from Shandong on the 11th to go north, accompanied by Tang Shaoyi.Arriving in Gaoyang, Hebei Province on October 16, Zhou Fu, the Governor of Zhili Nursing, sent someone to hold the Governor of Zhili's seal to welcome him.On the 17th, Yuan received Yinshou and took up the post of inspector immediately. Yuan's first personnel order after taking over was to send Tang Shaoyi as the Tianjin Customs Road.Tang Shen was a master of Western affairs, and was in charge of customs affairs when he was in North Korea.There is also a coincidence that Zhou Fu, the governor of nursing, was also a member of Jinguan Road fifteen or sixteen years ago. At that time, Yuan was in North Korea, so he made a friendship with Zhou, and he was very irresistible.Zhou Fu has been working in Zhili Province, and later served as the Zhili Registrar, and finally as the Zhili Inspector.He climbed up step by step, while his old friend went out to be a governor, but in a few years he has become a famous governor, and returned to Zhili to be his immediate boss. After Yuan Fengpai became the Governor of Zhili and the Minister of Beiyang, the two palaces issued another edict in the Kaifeng Palace on September 28: "Following Yi's decree, with Huiluan coming soon, reward meritorious persons, and Li Hongzhang will give an altar to sacrifice. Yizi Li Jingmai was an alternate in the third and fourth ranks of the Jingtang; Prince Qing Yikui rewarded the prince with double stipends; University scholar Ronglu was rewarded with double-eyed feathers and crown prince Taibao; Wang Wenshao was rewarded with double-eyed feathers; Zhang Zhidong, Governor of Huguang, and Yuan Shikai, Governor of Zhili, both received the title of Crown Prince Shaobao; Yu Rulianfang, Na Tong, Zhang Yi, Zhou Fu, etc. all had different promotions and rewards."Three days later, an edict was issued: "Sheng Xuanhuai and He De both rewarded and added the title of Prince Shaobao." The first thing Yuan participated in during his tenure in Zhili was to ask the two palaces to punish the culprit of the change and to punish Dong Fuxiang.Yuan's grievances against Dong were due to Dong's reckless behavior in aid of the Boxer Regiment during the Wuwei Army era, and Dong's threat to Rong Lu not long ago. Yuan's memorandum satisfied Rong Lu the most.