Chapter 24 The Year of 1898—Hundred Days of Reform in the Palm of Lafayette

In 1898 AD, the year was Wuxu. Since the end of July, there has always been a cloud of dark clouds over the capital city, rolling around in a pile, getting thicker and thicker; the deepest part like thick ink is torn open from time to time, flashing a few faint electric lights, but There was no sound of thunder.But the rain just couldn't fall, and the sweltering heat was so suffocating that people couldn't breathe. Most people in the capital are knowledgeable, like ants who can predict the coming of a storm, they are getting more and more panicked.Especially after entering August, people get together every day in groups of three or five, whispering something in a low voice, and everyone keeps looking around for a moment, and when they see someone new coming, they hurriedly raise their heads. With a loud voice, he said a few words, "It's really hot today!", laughed a few times and dispersed in all directions.In fact, anyone can guess what they were muttering just now: the whole capital has already spread, and the court will undergo major changes in August.Many people have even made preparations: even the rice noodles in the market have been snapped up by them, and they have been snapped up at a high price—those who can afford it have long since avoided going to the countryside.

I don't know if it was to verify these alarming news. In the middle of the night on the third day of August, the north gate was opened wide, and a large army with live ammunition continuously entered the city.I couldn't see clearly at night, so I didn't know how many people had come, but soon people found out that this was the Gansu admiral Dong Fuxiang's men—the Gan Army—who had been ordered to enter the imperial city. Those who are well-informed also learned that Rong Lu, the governor of Zhili, has not been idle for a moment these days. On the one hand, he urgently ordered Yuan Shikai to return to Tianjin to deploy defenses, and on the other hand, he transferred Nie Shicheng's Wuyi Army with 5,000 people to cut off Yuan Jun's passage into Beijing.Rong Lu claimed that such a transfer was due to the war between Britain and Russia in Vladivostok, and Yuan Shikai was required to return to the defense when the warships of various countries were cruising at Dagukou; Besides, the country is considered peaceful—what is the purpose of dispatching troops like this?

No one dared to make a sound, everyone held their breaths and stared tremblingly at the Forbidden City. The dark clouds over the Forbidden City pressed even lower, almost touching the corners of the eaves.The former glory of the imperial city was gone, and even the red wall seemed to have turned pale, as ugly as the face of an anemic person. In fact, those who are more mature have long known that this day must come.Three months ago, on April 27th, the three decrees issued on the same day were enough to make sensitive ministers and people smell the strong smell of gunpowder in the air. The three decrees are all heavyweight. On weekdays, any one of them can cause several earthquakes in China, let alone three in one day!

One: Weng Tonghe will be removed from all positions such as "co-organizer of the bachelor", and "open vacancies and return to his hometown".For more than 20 years before this, Weng had been Guangxu's teacher and the emperor's most trusted minister, but the crime was only vaguely "every time he was summoned, he consulted whether the incident was arbitrary, his joy and anger were seen in his words, and gradually It's against the situation to show power madness." Two: All newly awarded officials with a second rank or higher must go to the Empress Dowager to thank him.You know, this is something that hasn't happened in more than ten years since the emperor married the queen mother and returned to power in the fifteenth year of Guangxu.

Three: Ren Ronglu was the governor of Zhili, and a few days later he was awarded Ronglu Wenyuange University Bachelor, and Beiyang Minister, in charge of the Beiyang Army stationed in Beijing and Tianjin.Rong Lu is the most trusted person of Empress Dowager Cixi. In addition, there were some small transfers, such as sending Waitabu to manage the officers and soldiers of the Old Summer Palace, and sending Gangyi to lead the Jianrui Battalion. Anyway, in a word, all the army guards in Gyeonggi have been deployed and replaced by the Queen Mother. Inside and outside the palace, sensible people have already seen that Lafayette doesn't like the emperor, and he is worried about the emperor.

Going back to four days before the issuance of these three edicts—April 23rd—Guangxu will not forget this day until his death.He must be able to realize that this is the most important day in his life, even the big wedding back then was not as exciting as this day. In the early morning, when it was still dark, he dressed up and went to court early.He felt that the dragon chair seemed to be a bit higher than usual today, and he looked farther away than usual when sitting on it; he actually found that his hands and feet were trembling slightly.Guangxu settled down, coughed a few times like the queen mother before speaking, suppressed his excitement vigorously, and said word by word to the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty standing solemnly in the main hall: "I have awarded it—"Dingguoshi", I announce, political reform!"

The eunuch spread these words layer by layer until they disappeared in the boundless dawn outside the palace.Guangxu's eyes followed the sound waves through the palace gate, looking from a distance, but he didn't know what he could see.He suddenly felt that the corners of his eyes were moist, and quickly withdrew his eyes, passing over the heads of a group of ministers, and stopped on the pillars in the palace.This Panlong Jinzhu suddenly reminded him of the humiliating moment after the defeat in the Sino-Japanese War three years ago.He seemed to see himself sprinting around the pillar in a frenzied manner alone again—everyone in the hall was scolded by him.The dreadful "Sino-Japanese Treaty of Shimonoseki" was spread out on the dragon case, and the military ministers standing in the duty room outside the hall sent people to urge them from time to time: the queen mother and ministers were all waiting for him to sign and approve this traitorous document .He has been pushing for several days, but he just refused to sign, but that day, the eighth day of April, was already the deadline for Japan to sign the contract.He knew very well what refusal meant. Finally, he stamped heavily, walked to the table, picked up the jade seal, and covered it with his teeth closed.There were already tears streaming down her face.

The Treaty of Shimonoseki is neither the beginning nor the end.Only three or four months after the Year of 1898, Germany and Russia forced them to sign a land lease agreement. They were also forced to declare that Yunguang and Fujian belonged to France and Japan respectively. Just a few days ago, Britain also Throwing away a piece of "Special Articles on Expansion of Hong Kong's Boundary Site" took up the entire Kowloon... Guangxu is only twenty-eight years old this year, and his blood is very strong. He really can't do it like the Queen Mother, who keeps humiliating and bearing the burden, but is at ease without incident.He really wants to do something for his own court and his own world, he really wants to save face for his ancestors, and make the great dynasty stand proudly in the world again.He knew that to achieve this goal, he had to change the outdated practices of his ancestors and carry out comprehensive reforms like the Meiji Restoration in Japan, so that he could keep up with the trend of the world and stop being beaten.But Guangxu knew that he could do nothing: since he was a child, he had been living in the shadow of the queen mother, almost with bare hands - all the power was in the hands of Lafayette, and the empire completely followed the track set by the queen mother, and he could not deviate in the slightest.In the spring of this year, he couldn't bear it anymore, and finally summoned up the courage to order Prince Qing to tell the Queen Mother: "If the Queen Mother still refuses to give me power, I am willing to quit this position, and I am not willing to be the king of subjugation!" When he came back, he sent a message: "The queen mother can't help the emperor to do things." He actually didn't know the real answer of the queen mother——Prince Qing didn't dare to convey: "He doesn't want to sit in this seat? I don't want him to sit in it for a long time!" Thanks to Prince Qing's persuasion, The queen mother gritted her teeth and dropped this sentence: "Let him do it, and wait until he can't do it!"

"The queen mother can't help the emperor to do things!" Guangxu was overjoyed, and unconsciously rolled up his sleeves like the eunuchs in the palace when they were working.After some intense preparations, the "Ming Ding Guo Shi" edict was finally promulgated to the world today. The sky was bright, it was sunny and windy, and a flock of white pigeons flew over the Forbidden City with melodious whistles.Guangxu, the sentimental young man who would hide in Weng Tonghe's arms when he heard the thunder, felt his whole body full of strength, and he was never more excited than before.

The imperial edict "Ming Ding Guoshi" opened the curtain of "Hundred Days Reform".This reform has carried out reform plans for all aspects of the Qing Dynasty. The general contents are as follows: Political aspect: Reform the administrative organization, reduce redundant staff; open up the way of speaking, and encourage subjects to write letters. Economic aspects: set up the General Administration of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce to protect industry and commerce; set up the General Administration of Mining and Railways to build railways and mine minerals; organize postal services and abolish post stations; reward creation and invention; formulate the national budget and reorganize finances.

Military aspects: training the navy and army; adopting the Western military system, reducing the old army; practicing Baojia. In terms of culture and education: Reform the imperial examinations and replace stereotyped essays with examinations; set up schools to promote Western learning; set up translation bureaus; allow free establishment of newspapers and societies; send overseas students abroad. Guangxu was the coach of the reform, and the chief architect was Kang Youwei. Kang Youwei, a man from Nanhai, Guangdong, was already famous all over the world in the year of 1898.With the deterioration of the political situation and the decline of the country, since 1888, he has passed letters advocating reform and saving the country, and his reputation has spread rapidly; especially in that time, in order to refuse to sign the "Treaty of Shimonoseki", more than 1,300 candidates from various provinces joined the examination , The "public letter" requesting refusal to peace, relocation of the capital, military training, and political reform made the name of "Kang Youwei" spread throughout China.Afterwards, while continuing to write books, he and his disciples, Liang Qichao and others, traveled all over the world, organizing societies, running newspapers, running schools, publishing books, and giving speeches. In just a few years, he has become the leader of the reform school. Although the gate of the palace is as deep as the sea, in the five letters submitted before 1898, several of them broke through many barriers and were delivered to Guangxu.The emperor Weng Tonghe valued Kang Youwei's talents very much, so he contacted and recommended him while the iron was hot. Finally, it was like an old novel. The national situation is critical, and the monarchs and ministers can't wait.At the end of the 23rd year of Guangxu, when he read Kang Youwei's fifth letter, he saw that "the emperor and all his ministers would not be able to get it if they wanted to become a commoner in Chang'an". interview.It's just that due to the establishment of the law, officials who are not of the fourth rank or above are not allowed to be summoned. Besides, it is the end of the year for the festival, so I had to endure it for a few days; it was so easy to wait until the third day of the 1898 New Year's Day, and even the private shops did not open, so Weng Tonghe, Rong Lu, Li Hongzhang, etc. The five ministers received Kang Youwei in the Xihua Hall of the Prime Minister's Office.According to Kang himself, this interview was actually a debate between reform and anti-reform, and he had the upper hand in the debate.A few words refuted Rong Lu speechless, and left angrily; Li Hongzhang, the most famous expert in Westernization, was also so argued that he stared straight at him and had nothing to say.When Weng Tonghe reported the situation to the palace, Guangxu was overjoyed, and immediately ordered that the papers against Kang Youwei should be delivered as soon as they arrived, and that they should not be stopped and suppressed. After years of painstaking efforts, a golden avenue to the sky was finally paved in front of Kang Youwei. Maybe the time is really ripe. In April of this year, Weng Tonghe's deadly enemy, Prince Gong Yixin finally fell ill.Once the emperor's uncle and important official who had been exhausted by Cixi and who no longer dared to make extraordinary reforms died, Matsugami Kazumatsu was indispensable to the traditional forces that could restrain Guangxu.The reform cause suddenly lost a big resistance. Moreover, the world at this time also presents an unprecedented new atmosphere.The tragic humiliation and years of propaganda made the trend of reform thoughts sweep across the world like a hurricane, and the government and the public were shaken by it.Various reform organizations sprung up like mushrooms: According to incomplete statistics, from the 22nd year to the 24th year of Guangxu, there were more than 300 societies, schools, newspapers and periodicals successively established in Beijing, Shanghai, Zhili, Hunan, Guangdong, and Guangxi provinces. .As the center of the hurricane, Beijing is even more crazy.When Luo Zhenyu recalled the scene at that time, he said that since Kang Youwei entered the capital, "the reform is like the spring thunder of the sting. Xie Street is full of people, "there are dozens of people who come to see each other every day, and the seats are full."He took turns to give speeches in various venues. When he said sadly, "The 400 million people in my China are neither noble nor cheap. Today, they are under the overturned house, in the leaky boat, and above the fire, like a bird in a cage and a cauldron." The fish on the bottom, the prisoner in the prison, slaves, cattle, horses, dogs and sheep, are driven by others to be slaughtered, this is a crisis that has never happened in twenty dynasties in four thousand years, everyone weeps ; When shouting "Today everyone is responsible for perishing the world, and everyone has the right to save the world", everyone clenches their fists tightly and their eyes crack... From this point of view, the world is already "people think about themselves, and families discuss reform."Kang Youwei felt that the right time, location, and harmony were all in his favor. He was gearing up and puffed up his chest, ready to take over the great task of rectifying the situation that would turn the tide. This year, he is forty years old.According to Confucius, it is the year of "no confusion". However, when Guangxu summoned Kang Youwei on April 28 and gave him the title of "walking in the capital of the prime minister's office" and counselor for the New Deal, many people disagreed.Some of them were not opposed to the reform, but felt that it might be a little unstable for Kang Youwei to take on this important task. In the eyes of many people, Kang Youwei is a sensationalist who likes to show off.Just look at his name: he calls himself Chang Su, and he is clearly boasting that he is the "King of Chang and Su"!Who is Su Wang?For thousands of generations, there is only one Confucius!It is said that he was born with arrogance, "rarely intends to found a Protestantism and replace Confucius with Confucius", and even shamelessly calls himself a "sage of the South China Sea".Taking the title for his disciples exposed this ambition to the fullest: for example, Chen Qianqiu took the title Chaohui, and Liang Qichao took the title Yici, which actually surpassed Confucian disciple Yanhui Duanmuci. In the eyes of people who have been educated by Confucianism for generations of humility and concession, Kang Youwei's ups and downs over the years can only show that he has too much ambition for fame.For example, "Kang Youwei's Facts" written by Liang Dingfen said that he was running around in letters, but because he failed in the exams, he was destined to be a high-ranking official who had never had a relationship.He also said that the princes looked down on Kang Youwei for being so light-hearted, and "they all despised him".It also recorded some embarrassing things for Kang Youwei: For example, Pan Zuyin, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, sent eight taels of silver and wrote a letter to Kang Yun, please do not come again in the future, and will never give money again; , Immediately threw back the original book; even wrote about Kang's bad deeds of not paying prostitutes.Although this book was written after the coup, it may not be completely true, but it should be true that Kang's concern for the country was misunderstood by "impetuous progress without character", which aroused the resentment of many people at that time, especially those in high positions. Many people also questioned Kang Youwei's Western learning.Zeng Jize, a diplomat and Minister of the Ministry of War, once said to people: "Kang Youwei used the name of Western learning to seek profit and prosperity. He didn't know that there was no such learning in the West, and neither did China." It was only in Shanghai that he "purchased a lot of Western books and returned home" to study Western learning.The books he bought, according to Fryer, Lin Lezhi and others who participated in the translation, were just the basics of Western learning and introductory books for a single subject.The most convincing evidence is that he participated in the essay competition "What Is the Urgent Matter of Reform in China Today" held in Shanghai.The organizer is the Cantonese Society, which has been promoting "Western Learning" education for a long time. The prize money was donated by the British businessman Hambury, who has always been concerned about China's "Reform" cause, and Wang Tao, a veteran "Reform" thinker, presided over the selection.But the judges did not give "Kang Shengren" much face. Among the 85 winners, they only awarded him a fifth-class final prize with a bonus of 3 taels.Therefore, many people suspect that Kang Youwei's Western learning may be only half-baked. (According to Li Tiangang's "China in 1898: Why the "New Deal of 1898" died") Later, many scholars, such as Zhou Gucheng, also saw that although Kang was the initiator of the reform movement, his knowledge was rooted in the old books; in the various books during the reform period, it was not clear that he had a deep understanding of Western academics. place. Some people simply had doubts about Kang Youwei's middle school.It is said that his masterpieces "New Study of Pseudo-Scriptures" and "Confucius Restructuring" are just plagiarized articles by scholar Liao Ping.But regardless of whether they were copied or not, these two books caused an uproar: he actually used some absurd textual research to assert that the Four Books and Five Classics, which have been regarded as holy books for thousands of years, were forged by Liu Xin to help Wang Mang usurp the throne. He even dared to say that the sage Confucius spent his entire life "restructuring the ancients", and that the so-called Lord Zhou, king of Yao, Shun and Wen, was created by the sages for the sake of "restructuring", which is really absurd!It is not an exaggeration to use Liang Qichao's words to describe these books as "one of the great hurricanes in the ideological world, the great volcanic eruption, and the great earthquake".Although it has also achieved the effect of combating feudal tradition, shaking the foundation of dogma, emancipating the mind, and opening the way for the reform, more people may be scared away by this "heresy". People secretly worry in their hearts: Can such a Kang Youwei take on the task of reforming the law? Rong Lu is the one who hates Kang Youwei extremely. He once said that Kang Youwei "acted recklessly and must be killed." As Cixi's confidant, his views should also represent the views of the Empress Dowager.But why did Cixi let Guangxu Kangyouwei do it? It may be inaccurate to say that Cixi is firmly opposed to the reformation. After all, being bullied by foreigners at will and paying compensation at every turn, as the lord of the celestial dynasty, this feeling of cowardice is also uncomfortable; if she does not support, the Westernization Movement will not be able to start; The general trend is the general trend, and under her leadership, many reforms have been carried out that are not inferior to those in the 1898 Years.She once said: "The reform is a simple ambition. At the beginning of Tongzhi, Zeng Guofan's proposal was accepted, and his children were sent abroad to study and build ships and weapons in order to become rich and strong." However, what Cixi is most afraid of is not foreigners, nor reformation—as long as the degree of reformation is within her tolerance, it is the loss of power.Especially after Guangxu grew up, this danger increased day by day.According to the laws and family rules of the Qing Dynasty, she should have returned to Guangxu on the day of the emperor's wedding to take care of her for the rest of her life.But how can Cixi, who has held the power of the dynasty for decades, endure the deserted and lonely life?She needs a high-sounding reason to prove that it is still difficult for Guangxu to leave her, and her old man must take the helm in this world.Now that Guangxu jumped out by himself, let him perform well in front of the world - how much does Cixi know about the weight of this kid who is afraid of thunder and lightning?So she didn't care about Kang Youwei's ability at all, and she might even hope that he was less capable, so that the world could see that the reform that was clamoring every day was just a farce that didn't work.Maybe she has another layer of calculation: just take this opportunity to re-scale the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty, and see who are so confused that they dare to doubt her old man's authority. But after all, she had fought in the sinister political arena for many years, so she had to be on guard.First of all, weng Tonghe was withdrawn. It was this old guy who was behind Guangxu's seizure of power. Damn it!The most important thing, of course, is military power, so there was the arrangement on the fourth day after Guangxu's "Ming Dingguo Shi" edict announced the reform. Well, let these bastards go and see how I deal with you.Cixi remembered the respectful title that people all over the world had for her—Lafayette, she smiled slightly, no matter how powerful Sun Houzi was, how could he find the palm of Buddha's hand? So after saying some decent words, such as "I will not stop any new policy that is implemented, as long as it does not violate the great law of the ancestors and does not damage the power of Manchuria"; If you can become rich and strong, you can do it yourself, I don't control it." Until July, the Empress Dowager didn't do much, just waited and watched the situation in the Summer Palace.In all the edicts during this period, there was no clear objection.Someone came to cry and begged the Empress Dowager to stop the emperor's absurd actions, but she just smiled and said: "Why are you meddling in this business? Is my knowledge not as good as yours?" Later, Rong Lu's words proved the empress dowager's scheming: "If you want to abolish the emperor without being accused of crimes, it is better to let him reverse the reform, make the world angry, and then capture him in one fell swoop." When cutting the braid, there must be a way, so why rush at this time?" Guangxu, Kang Youwei and others were full of ambition, and they were determined to rectify the Qing Dynasty.They seem to see the reform very simple, especially Kang Youwei, who was very anxious at first: "If you can't keep the old, you must change the law; if you can't change slowly, you must change quickly; if you can't make small changes, you must make big changes." Support, think that the restoration should be just around the corner.He said in "Preface to the Examination of the Meiji Political Change in Japan" that as long as "the emperor's political plan is monopolized", he will examine the "order of the Meiji political change in Japan", learn from the gains and losses of his actions, eliminate its shortcomings, and extract its essence. , and the new laws of Europe and America, and the good rules of Japan, have all been discovered in our mainland China."He even patted his chest and said that as long as China follows the example of Japan's reformation, it will be able to "make a grand plan in three years, be organized in five years, achieve results in eight years, and be successful in ten years." Guangxu was greatly encouraged, and he went on boldly. From April 23rd to August 6th, in three months, Guangxu issued more than 180 edicts. After the turmoil, when Liang Qichao recalled the past, he still couldn't restrain his excitement: "In March, the New Deal was implemented. Although it was said in ancient times that the philosopher Wang Yingjun had been in office for ten years, his recordable achievements were not as good as that. One, two." He believes that the reformation has also received enthusiastic responses from the people, and according to his records, the people's sentiments at that time were so exciting: "The whole country cheered and danced, and strived to write a letter ("Records of the 1898 Coup")." So it seems that the Reform Movement of 1898 achieved remarkable results in just a few months.At that time, Shanghai's English-language "Zi Lin Xi Bao" reported: "The radical reform shocked the whole world. First, they ended the traditional hatred of foreigners and closed-door policy, advocated the policy of friendship and alliance with foreign powers, and advocated the opening of the whole country; Second, they reformed the stupid and arrogant education system that claimed to be the best in the world; third, they are no longer complacent with Chinese civilization and system, and the reformers have implemented drastic reforms in various departments—compared to this young China, even Japan The Meiji Restoration was also far behind." But Guangxu, Kang Youwei and others knew that the reformation was just a show. It looked beautiful on the outside, but it was very bitter on the inside. More than 180 edicts can be heard when they are bundled together and thrown into the water, but when Guangxu sent them down from the Jiuchongtian, most of them were muddy cows that went into the sea, and they disappeared without a sound. During the Restoration period, except for Hunan governor Chen Baozhen who was able to implement some government orders, the governors of other provinces mostly evaded and perfunctory, or even ignored them at all.Even Zhang Zhidong, the most open-minded, only worked hard to plan for the edict instructed by the Empress Dowager, and turned a blind eye to the rest.The most abominable thing is that Liu Kunyi, Governor of Liangjiang, and Tan Zhonglin, Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, did not repeat a single word of all "decrees and preparations".Guangxu became angry, and he sent a telegram to urge him to ask, but Liu replied: "The part of the article has not arrived yet", pretending to be confused and mad at you; Liu Kunyi once said this in June: "The changes in current events, the novelty of the discussions, the trance, it's Ye Feiye, old and confused, and I don't have time to investigate why; Not to mention that the officials outside the frontier dared to go beyond the Zu." So he "can do it, otherwise wait and see." wait?What is he waiting for? After thousands of years of being an official, it was already an extremely advanced knowledge in the Qing Dynasty; no one can climb to the governor's office, and no one is a fuel-efficient lamp.In his mouth, he said he was old and pretended to be stern, but in his stomach, he was astute, and he could see through the Queen Mother's intentions at a glance.Everyone has seen a lot of the queen mother's methods, and even thinking about it makes my heart shudder.Offending the emperor, the sky may not necessarily fall down, but the queen mother must not be disobedient. It is said that there is a queen party and imperial party, but how can these two parties be compared?The empress dowager's people firmly occupy the important positions, and the military and political power is not leaked; the emperor's side is just paper tigers and scumbags.Later, Liang Qichao also realized that the emperor and his gang were of no use, and they were far from being the empress dowager's opponent. .Those high-ranking officials have kowtowed their heads for decades and struggled to get up. It is not easy to survive until today. Is it worth jumping into this frying pan with them? In fact, apart from the Empress Dowager's factors, and the fact that conservative officials regarded the reformers' "freedom, equality, and civil rights" as a scourge of political disputes, these officials originally looked down on the reformers from the bottom of their hearts.It was not pleasing to see Kang Youwei anyway, not to mention that he was just a small head of the Ministry of Industry with a sixth-rank title, and he had no power or position. Treating him as a person was just to save face for the emperor.Those upstarts are even more ridiculous, wanting to ride on the old man's head and point fingers before their hair is dry?Especially Tan Sitong and Lin Xu's group, most of them are in their thirties, and they don't like to study at home. What reforms are they doing?Counting Guangxu, they are just a group of big kids, what tricks can they conjure up? Besides, Kang Youwei and the others only focused on issuing orders, regardless of whether it was feasible or not; the name was nice, but they didn't care about the specific steps. Even if they wanted to do something for him, they didn't know where to start. The insiders dismissed these edicts, but in the eyes of many people, they were powerful and terrifying. Reform will inevitably harm the interests of some people.Liang Qichao described the situation at that time and said: "There are many rumors about the capital, all of which are that Kang Youwei intends to abolish the six departments of the capital and the nine ministers' yamen. The thousands of people who are drunk and dreaming of death in the Yingting court almost all want to eat Kang's meat."In fact, Kang Youwei has already made concessions, but he said that he will add new yamen, but he has not mentioned that he will cut off the old yamen.However, redundant officials must be cut. Chen Kuilong’s "Mengjiao Pavilion Miscellaneous Notes" wrote: "The coup of 1898 began with the layoff of officials. Those who were laid off in the idle yamen of the capital were no less than a dozen. Thousands of people. The government and the public are shocked, and there are quite a lot of relatives who live in poverty." In addition to the abolition of stereotyped writing, many sour students in the world who only knew this profession all their lives hated Kang Youwei deeply, and their resentment quickly piled up everywhere. If it is said that the reduction of redundant staff and the abolition of stereotyped writing are in line with the historical trend and must be reformed, some of Kang Youwei's practices are too aggressive.Fundamental issues such as the Congress, the Constitution, and the Institute of Institutions have not been implemented, and some formal reforms should be slowed down a step, but he threw them all out in general, regardless of the severity: such as clothing styles, hairstyles, and eras are definitely not urgent tasks. He solemnly wrote a letter, requesting that "the emperor first cut off hair and easy clothes, and ordered the world, and at the same time cut off hair, reformed with the people, and made all officials easy to obey." The name was changed to "China".Although Guangxu did not dare to adopt these sensitive suggestions, rumors had already spread widely between the government and the opposition. Therefore, in the eyes of the so-called conservatives, this reform was carried out vigorously, causing the whole country to panic.So, overtly and secretly, large and small spearheads were aimed at the reformers on the cusp of the storm; the frightened conservatives did their best to resist and wear down the influence of the New Deal. Restoration, restoration, so it has to become a restoration on paper! Or rather than saying that this is an innovation in practical government affairs, it is better to say that it is just an enlightenment and liberation of thought.Whether the parties are willing to admit it or not, the latter is the real value and significance of this reform. Kang Youwei still enjoys it and writes late into the night every day.In several months, 63 memorials were written by hand, almost one every day.Even his younger brother Kang Guangren became impatient with such an ineffective move, and urged him again and again: "It's pointless to do such trivial matters. Since the superiors have no power, they must not carry out the New Deal—it's better to go back!" Clay figurines also have earthy nature, let alone the king of a country?Finally, Guangxu couldn't bear it anymore. At the end of June, Wang Zhao, the head of the Ministry of Rites, responded to the edict, but the court officials refused to hand it over; Guangxu was furious, and on July 19, he "dismissed Huaitabu and other six court officials" from the Ministry of Rites. Yu, brave and commendable, I will reward the third-rank Ding Dai, the fourth-rank Jingtang as an alternate, and use Zhao to encourage." The next day, four reformers Yang Rui, Liu Guangdi, Lin Xu, and Tan Sitong were rewarded with the title of fourth-rank Qing; Tianhou simply expelled Li Hongzhang from the Prime Minister's Office.Prior to this, on July 14th, he had issued an edict announcing the abolition of Zhan Shifu, Tongzhengsi, Guanglu Temple, Honglu Temple, Taipu Temple, Dali Temple and other yamen; at the same time, redundant staff in various provinces, including Guangdong, Governor of Hubei and Yunnan provinces. The emperor dared to make drastic moves to play the real thing, and the conservative officials panicked.So Huaitabu, Lishan and others led dozens of people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, under the arrangement of the eunuch Li Lianying, to enter the government to have an audience with the Queen Mother, and implored the Queen Mother to come to the court for training.Seeing the ministers kneeling at her feet crying bitterly and attacking Guangxu, Cixi frowned. She has her bottom line: as long as she does not replace her own people on a large scale, and does not break the balance of power that she has painstakingly managed for many years, let you make trouble. Fan Tian——for her, all the reforms are the same, isn't it all for the purpose of seizing power?Now, she thinks it's time for the game to end. Kang Youwei and the others seem to have found the root of the disaster: Cixi.Only when Cixi is brought down can everything be fine!As a result, the so-called imperial party also launched deployments in full swing. The contradictions intensified immediately, and the situation was like an arrow leaving the string, and there was no turning back; To deal with Cixi, the most effective may be foreigners.At the end of July, Kang Youwei suggested that Guangxu imitate the story of Kaimaoqin Temple in the previous dynasty, elect talents, and invite Eastern and Western politicians to guide reforms and emphasize governance.On July 29, Guangxu went to the Summer Palace to ask Empress Dowager Cixi for instructions, "The Empress Dowager didn't answer, and her expression was abnormal"—Cixi immediately saw through the pros and cons.Cixi is not afraid of anything, but she is helpless in front of foreigners; if foreigners intervene, she will lose control of Guangxu and the overall situation; and it is reported that former Japanese Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi visited China and has already arrived in Beijing today.Murder intent loomed on Cixi's face, and Guangxu recalled that there had been rumors in Beijing and Tianjin that the Empress Dowager would abolish the emperor when he went to Tianjin for a military parade in autumn. After returning to the palace, Guangxu immediately summoned Yang Rui and issued a secret edict explaining that the situation was extremely critical, "I will hardly be able to secure my position today", ordering him to quickly discuss good strategies with Kang Youwei and other reformers.Now it was Kang Youwei's turn to be at a loss what to do, and could only hug his head and cry.In the end, Tan Sitong came up with a solution. Although everyone felt that it was too risky, there was no other way—to fight for Yuan Shikai, one of the three Beiyang armies in the suburbs of Beijing, who was most inclined to reform!Yuan Shikai became the straw in the hands of the drowning man. On the first day of August, Guangxu summoned Yuan Shikai alone and awarded him the title of servant, implying that he did not have to be restrained by Ronglu. Of course, the queen party was not idle, Rong Lu dispatched troops, and included Yuan Shikai as a defense target.The air in the capital suddenly became tense, and the Eight Banners soldiers commanded by the infantry army were added to all the city gates, and all personnel entering and exiting were strictly checked.For a moment, there was a murderous look at the feet of the emperor. On the third day of August, when Dong Fuxiang and the Gan army entered Beijing, Tan Sitong visited Yuan Shikai at night and persuaded him to kill Rong Lu and surround the Summer Palace. On the same day, Yikuang, Zaiyi and other princes and ministers went to the Summer Palace to cry for the Empress Dowager to teach the government, saying: "Ito has been scheduled to meet with you on the fifth day of the first lunar month. Once the news of China's affairs is leaked, I am afraid there will be no more Empress Dowager!" The Empress Dowager sneered , obviously already have a plan in mind. On the fifth day of August, Yuan Shikai judged the situation and informed Ronglu. Deep in the dark clouds, a bolt of lightning struck fiercely at the Forbidden City, and the storm that had accumulated for several months suddenly broke out. Using a large army to deal with a few scholars, the outcome was actually decided three months ago.On the sixth day of the eighth lunar month, the curtain was lowered for the reformation, from head to tail, for a total of 103 days.On that day, Cixi issued a decree in the name of Guangxu: the emperor was seriously ill and could not look at the court, so he repeatedly begged for political training;From then on, Guangxu was imprisoned in Yingtai, South China Sea, until his death in 1908. Things didn't end there. From the seventh day of August, Rong Lu sent 3,000 troops to close all the gates of the capital, and the horsemen went out everywhere to arrest the reformers.All officials who supported the reform during the New Deal period were punished. The local governor Chen Baozhen who contributed the most was "dismissed immediately and never re-employed", and other serious ones were punished one by one. After a few days of turmoil, on August 11th, Cixi issued an edict to restore the redundant staff of Zhan Shifu and other provinces cut by the emperor; restore the governors of Hubei, Guangdong, and Yunnan; The establishment of primary and secondary schools in counties and counties; the national newspapers were closed down, and the editors of the newspapers were strictly prohibited; associations and gatherings were banned, and members were banned; stereotypes were restored, and even the imperial examination in the martial arts field was restored to the old system, and the bow and arrow were still tried... Flowers drift away, water flows by itself, and everything remains the same.Many people breathed a sigh of relief: "I haven't slept well for several months, and I haven't had enough food. I'm dying now. If it's not my empress dowager, how can I get it!" When Tan Sitong shouted "If you want to kill a thief, you can't return to heaven; if you die well, you will be happy." When the six gentlemen of the 1898 Movement died generously, Kang Youwei fled to Hong Kong with the help of the British. Standing by the sea, he painfully recalled the experience of the past few months, thinking hard about the reasons for the failure.He really regretted that his cause of saving the nation had suffered such a disastrous defeat in just a few months—no matter how muddled he was, the ruin of the country was just around the corner!He attributed the failure to the fact that Emperor Guangxu was cowardly and powerless because his opponent was too strong, but had he ever thought that if Emperor Guangxu was a talented and strategic overlord, a strong man who could seize power from the vicious Cixi? Jun, can you easily distribute power to the people as envisaged by the reformers, and rule by the monarch and the people?Is it true that Cixi's view that Guangxu wants to use the reform to seize power is unreasonable? Or, this is a forbidden zone that he has never dared to think about. He has to try his best to convince himself that with a wise emperor like Guangxu, constitutional monarchy can definitely be achieved.However, he still expressed this concern unconsciously, and perhaps he himself did not realize that during the entire Restoration period, in his memorials, he did not mention the establishment of a constitution and the establishment of a parliament that he had always talked about before.There is still a constitutional foundation left, the establishment of the New Deal leading body, the institutional bureau, and there is also a prevarication, discussion and discussion, and the end of nothing.Shouldn't he have thought that it's not worthwhile to waste the reputation of reforming in vain and make enemies face to face, and what he's doing is just foreign affairs? Did he carefully chew Guangxu's "Ming Ding Guo Shi" edict? "The study of sages and sages should be rooted in its roots; and those who must learn from Western learning that are relevant to current affairs should pay attention to their strength and avoid the shortcomings of pedantry and absurdity." This is clearly Zhang Zhidong's "Chinese learning as the body and Western learning as the application." The purpose of Westernization! What he is now silently reciting word by word is the secret edict given to him by Guangxu at the time of crisis: "He cherishes his body, he is good at self-regulation, and he will drive more efficiently in the future to build a great cause together. I have high hopes." In his grief and indignation, did he think of the bucket of cold water that Zheng Guanying, a business tycoon, poured on him before he met Guangxu: "If things are done quickly, they will be harmful to the overall situation. Can two, three and four fingers lift weights without support?" 他有没有想起，已经殉难的弟弟见新政难行时沉痛的劝告呢：“专心教育之事，著书撰报激励士民爱国之心，养成多数实用之才，三年后大行改革等法。” 只是，如此大清还能等三年吗？他还是不服。 腥风烈烈，几只海鸥尖厉地叫着，面朝大海，康有为潸然落泪。望着东方，他暗暗下了决心，要到日本——在维新中重生的国度——去亲眼看看，如何维新才能成功。康有为不禁向着想象中光绪被囚的方向双膝跪下，向老天、向皇上发誓：终有一天，他将兴师勤王，重新来一次轰轰烈烈的变法图强！ 浊浪滔天。康有为有没有去观察，可曾有一重浪潮能够返回大海深处再来一次呢？每一浪身后，都有新的一浪在酝酿，在推动，谁也无法回头；涌来的，是雷霆万钧的斗士，留下的，是满目白沫，一地的残骸。 他要去的日本，有位广东同乡，孙中山，正在那里招兵买马—— 为中国，决心推翻这不可救药的大清！