Chapter 17 Feng Guozhang: What happened to counter-revolutionaries in 1911

Where there is revolution, there is counter-revolution.For the Revolution of 1911, Feng Guozhang was the number one counter-revolutionary.The Manchu relatives Gui Tieliang, Liangbi and others who were hated by the revolutionaries, although they clamored loudly to suppress the revolution, but the one who really took action to suppress it and suppressed the heartache of the revolutionaries was Feng Guozhang.It was he who led the Beiyang Army to attack two of the three towns in Wuhan, and made Huang Xing, the deputy commander of the Revolutionary Party, who was known as the soldier, leave Wuhan in disgrace.

Feng Guozhang was the most senior general under Yuan Shikai's command. He was called the Three Heroes of Beiyang, the dragon, the tiger, and the dog. They were Wang Shizhen, Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang.Feng Guozhang is called a dog, and he is indeed a bit of a dog.People are very smart, at least they can take exams.Among the Beiyang soldiers, Feng Guozhang was admitted to Wen Xiucai in the army, and he was as rare as the white crow, and he was praised by Li Hongzhang.Duan Qirui failed the imperial imperial examination several times, but Feng Guozhang passed it easily.But Feng Guozhang, who can take the exam, is a bit stubborn like a dog.During the Wuchang Uprising, the troops first sent by the Qing government to Wuhan to suppress them were led by Army Minister Yin Chang himself.However, Yin Chang, a full-fledged dandy, is useless at all. He dare not get off the train and is ready to run away at any time.As soon as there is a disturbance, the soul will fly away.When a hundred farmers went to the field to pick cotton, he was so frightened that the train started to move quickly.Talking about this period of history now, it is always said that the Beiyang Army did not listen to Yinchang, but it was not the case. Yinchang himself did not dare to lead the troops forward.Yuan Shikai came back, and the front-line coach was replaced by Feng Guozhang.This gentleman took office, went to the front line in person, swung his army to attack Hanyang and Hankou fiercely.The revolutionary army lost their temper after being beaten, and Huang Xing was replaced as the front-line commander, and they went up to the altar to pay homage to the general, but they still lost their temper.The Russian military attache who watched the battle said that he was deeply impressed by the methodical and well-directed attack of the Beiyang Army under artillery fire, as well as the courage shown by the officers and soldiers.The whole fight is like implementing a plan in a confrontational exercise.Prior to this, the Beiyang Army had never fought, but had only done drills. Feng Guozhang just followed the drills and won the battle.However, just when Feng Guozhang was going to take Wuchang in one go, Yuan Shikai ordered him to cease fighting.Feng Guozhang was so angry that he was furious, but his subordinates accused him of delaying the battle.Later, Zhang Jingyao, who became the governor of Hunan and had a very bad reputation, barged into his room shirtless and scolded him for missing the opportunity.Feng Guozhang, who was fighting hard, didn't know that his hard work on the front line was just an accompaniment to Yuan Shikai's negotiations with the revolutionary party, and ultimately paved the way for Yuan Shikai's great position.

Even though Feng Guozhang obeyed the truce, Yuan Shikai was still worried, so he replaced him with Duan Qirui and asked him to return to Beijing.Duan Qirui, who arrived at the front line, although he had no intention of commanding the troops to fight, often ran back and forth between the front line and the rear, but he was able to feel Yuan Shikai's pulse very well, dancing with the political baton, leading the generals, and swearing to defend the monarchy after a while After a while, he firmly supported the republic.On the one hand, the Manchus were forced to hand over power, and on the other hand, the revolutionaries were forced to abdicate. The political battle was fought well, and the result was greatly favored.Feng Guozhang, who thought he had made great contributions, could only sit on the bench in Beijing, and Yuan Shikai never told him the truth.I had no choice but to thank the guests behind closed doors and sulk at home.Duan Qirui sent his confidant Jin Yunpeng to communicate, but he scolded him and kicked him out.Not only that, he also wrote a letter to Yuan Shikai, requesting to uphold the constitutional monarchy, to close down newspapers in the north and south, to ban newspaper offices, to strictly investigate "traitors" who advocated rebellion, and even to turn against foreigners who shielded the revolutionary party.Such a seriously untimely and unreliable letter to the letter has caused an uproar in public opinion across the country, and even foreigners in China are very angry.Only the Manchu aristocrats have a good impression of this loyal minister, and they have the voice of counting on him.Even so, the imperial court only rewarded him with a second-class baron—he was dying, and he was still so stingy with the Han people.Of course, no matter how stubborn Feng Guozhang is, he is still a dog of Beiyang. If Yuan Shikai doesn't speak, he can't do anything.At the time of the Ding Revolution, as the commander of the Imperial Guard, all he could do was to speak for the entire Manchurian Imperial Guard and preserve the team.So much so that the old soldiers who had no combat effectiveness later relied on him and became his lifelong burden. When he retired from the position of acting president, he had to pay for these old soldiers.

Although Feng Guozhang was a bit stubborn, he defeated the Revolutionary Party in the Revolution of 1911 and won more room for negotiation for Yuan Shikai. He was a good dog and a loyal dog anyway.Therefore, after the war, Yuan Shikai drove away Wang Zhixiang, the governor of Zhili who was preferred by the revolutionaries, and let Feng Guozhang sit in this very important position.However, how could this number one counter-revolutionary be easily let go by the revolutionary party?As soon as he took office, he was dismissed by the revolutionaries in the Zhili Parliament.Feng Guozhang made a policy report to the provincial council. After following the scriptures, as Qiu Ba, Feng Guozhang probably intended to express his determination to maintain peace on the ground. Putting aside the manuscript, he swore that as the governor, he must maintain the order in Zhili. If something goes wrong and foreigners treat the Chinese like bastards, that's not acceptable.Who knew that the members of the Revolutionary Party stood up immediately and asked him why he spoke foul language in the provincial assembly?Is it intentional to insult the provincial council and insult the Chinese?Feng Guozhang didn't expect to be robbed face to face, his mouth opened, he couldn't close it for a long time, his face was flushed with shame, he couldn't say a word, and he didn't dare to attack, just doing what he did, he couldn't step down from the stage——a stubborn dog , came out again.Really, when did you see this in the past officialdom?In the end, it was the speaker who came forward and announced the adjournment, and Feng Guozhang stepped down and left.Afterwards, Feng Guozhang actually asked someone to send a message, apologizing to the congressmen who made troubles, saying that he was used to speaking to the army, and he did not go through the scene of the parliament, so he said vulgar words, I am really embarrassed.He also asked the MP if he had any requests, and he would do his best to satisfy them.At the same time, I hope to meet with the MPs and have something to say.

Feng Guozhang, who had the most abominable counter-revolutionary experience, was hated by the revolutionaries, of course.However, Feng Guozhang, who was humiliated in public, had such a mind. Not only did he not lose his temper, but he gave the congressman little shoes to wear-this was not impossible. It's not impossible for people to make congressmen.However, the governor instead humbly apologized in small words.It has to be said that this Beiyang veteran general really has some self-cultivation.Unfortunately, Feng Guozhang, who became a counter-revolutionary, did not understand politics. He was often guided by daily morality and rules.In essence, he has not been enlightened by democracy, so he is undoubtedly conservative.Leading troops to attack Wuhan, as a soldier, obeying orders is a bounden duty.The beating was just right, and the superiors would not allow the beating, so they could only obey.However, it is impossible to let him turn the clouds and rain, like Duan Qirui, who supports the republic for a while and sticks to the monarchy for a while.He certainly doesn't understand democratic politics, but since the Republic of China, the rules of the parliament must be respected.Because the daily morality tells him that all rules must be followed.After all, Beiyang Zhigou is a literary scholar.