Chapter 6 cut off the emperor's retreat

During the Gengzi Incident in 1900, the Empress Dowager Xi and Emperor Guangxu went to Xi'an for more than a year in the "two palaces and west hunting", and then successfully returned to Beijing through negotiations and started the New Deal. Ever since the Manchus entered the customs, there must have been a great fear entrenched in the minds of the Manchus: There are so many Han Chinese, and one day they will rebel, what should we do?For this reason, the Qing court built a full city in each major provincial capital, and the soldiers of the Eight Banners were stationed separately.The Han people in the pass were not allowed to migrate outside the pass at will, and the "Land of Longxing" should be preserved.

At that time, of course, no one would have thought that Westerners, who could not even defeat Zheng Chenggong, would cause such a big battle. During the second Opium War, Emperor Xianfeng "Bei Shou" went to Chengde Mulan Paddock.This should be the designed route for the Manchurians to retreat outside the customs. First go to Chengde, and if the situation is not good, they will go back to the base outside the customs. The Eight-Power Allied Forces besieged Beijing, and the east, north, and south sides were almost sealed off. Only going west was more active.Besides, the Northeast at this time is being coveted by Japan and Russia, who dares to go there?

So all the way west, from Taiyuan to Xi'an.There was news that the Eight-Power Allied Forces planned to attack Shanxi, and the exiled Qing court also thought about going west to Lanzhou. Now is the year of 1911, and the revolutionaries in the south are making trouble, and it has turned into a prairie fire.This is almost the same as the idea of ​​the ancestors back then. But the Northeast still couldn't go back. Most of the dignitaries in the capital went to the Tianjin Concession, or transferred ships to the Shanghai Concession.However, it is unreasonable for the imperial court to go into exile in the concession before the country is completely lost.

Going west is an option. According to the opinions of the Clan Socialist Party headed by Liangbi, once the capital is in danger, the Empress Dowager Longyu and Emperor Xuantong can follow the old wisdom of Gengzi, go west to Chang'an or even Lanzhou, and keep the west of Tongguan, at least to create a situation of peace. The Socialists are right to think so.To the west of Tongguan, there are mainly Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, and the former governor of Shaanxi and Gansu is a die-hard conservative Shengyun.When the whole country was singing about the constitutional new deal, he even wrote to the imperial court to obstruct the constitution. Allowing "opening of vacancies", this is also the highest position punished by the Qing court since the establishment of the constitution.

right?Only 12 days after the Wuchang Incident, on October 22, the Shaanxi New Army revolted in Xi'an. On the same day, Shaanxi and Hunan became the first provinces to respond to Hubei's declaration of independence. How dare the Qing court want to attack the west of Tongguan? You are ignorant, and although Shaanxi has recovered, it cannot be considered truly independent. why? The Shaanxi new army uprising, like Wuchang, was done in a hurry.The incident was originally planned to take place on the eighth day of September (October 29). Wen Rui, the general of the Banner Army stationed in Xi'an, heard about the Wuchang incident, and immediately asked Qian Nengxun, the governor of Shaanxi (who later became the prime minister of the Republic of China), to issue guns and repair the mansion. The city and other county patrol teams return to defense, and the army grasps the four requirements of the revolutionary party. On October 21, the Second Standard New Army received the order to start.Let's go, it must be divided into several parts, and under the wanton arrests, the uprising must be aborted; uprising?With guns and no bullets, you have to fight against the bannermen and patrols with sufficient ammunition.

The uprising process on October 22 was very hectic. At midnight on the 21st, a group of brothers from the New Army were still discussing: Should we start an incident today?Who will be our leader? If you don't do righteousness, you will die, so let's do it.As for the leader, many people recommended Qian Ding.Because he is very passionate about revolution, he has dual identities of Gelaohui and Tongmenghui. However, Qian Ding himself recommended Zhang Fenghui for three reasons besides saying that this person was "extremely magnanimous". The Gelaohui has the most leaders; non-commissioned officers studying in Japan have a good education background—this is another example of "giving up the leadership" and it is related to Zhang Fenghui and Zhang Canjun. At this time, they don't even know about the uprising. Yun's participation is still undecided.

It's just a little Li Yuanhong. However, Officer Zhang Can is more straightforward than Li Xietong.He had just returned from an internship in Lintong and was sleeping on the bed when suddenly a group of people rushed in, saying they wanted to support him as the leader and seek independence. "When?" "Today!" "Okay." It was already past one o'clock in the morning on October 22. Some people said that Zhang Fenghui would be dismissed because of the internal rectification of the new army, so he simply fought.Some people also said that he secretly joined the Tongmenghui when he was studying in Japan, so he gave a straightforward answer.It doesn't matter, the identification of alliance members was very confusing at that time.For example, Chen Shufan, the later governor of Shaanxi, was an ordnance officer in the Mixed Association at that time. It is said that he had always disapproved of the revolution before the incident, but he heard the news of the uprising in the early morning of the 22nd, so he quickly found a member of the alliance in the army and filled out a form. Membership card of the Tongmenghui, which is regarded as joining the party and appearing at the scene of the uprising as a revolutionary.

Just like Wuchang, the first target of the new army soldiers without bullets is the Military Uniform Bureau.The whole artillery battalion assembled, and under the name of "washing horses at Baqiao on Sunday", they all marched into the uniform bureau.When I arrived at the Military Uniforms Bureau, I saw hundreds of unarmed soldiers wandering around in one pile to the east and one pile to the west, but I couldn't find a single officer, not even the leader of the Gelaohui. To say that October 22 is really a good day for rebellion.Nursing Governor Qian Nengxun held a meeting with the various ministers and senior officials of the New Army in the Consultative Council.And the patrol team living in the Military Uniform Bureau has a sentry (company), because it is Sunday, most of the people have gone out for a walk.Suddenly there was a cry, hundreds of soldiers rushed in, although they were all unarmed, after all, the momentum was astonishing, and the few soldiers stationed were scared and slipped away through the back door.

"The soldiers who rushed in rushed up the stairs, smashed the iron lock on the warehouse door with stones, and threw bundles of guns and bullets into the yard from the upstairs in a hurry. They didn't go upstairs. People scramble to pick up guns with bullets. These firearms are not of the same type, with different calibers and sizes. Those that do not fit the chamber cannot be fired, and those that do not fit the chamber are fired flat. There was a great deal of chaos." (Zhu Xuwu, Dang Zixin "Reminiscences of the Shaanxi Revolution of 1911") After making a fuss for a long time, someone came out to form a team, and Zhang Fenghuang also came, that is, to set up a general headquarters in the Military Uniform Bureau, distribute troops, and attack everywhere.

Because of the relationship with the Gelaohui, the patrol team quickly disintegrated.Qian Nengxun was arrested at the Tianshuijing residence and attempted suicide.The rebel army met almost no resistance and occupied Xi'an City, except Mancheng. The whole city of Xi'an is the place where the bannermen from all over the country resisted the most.General Wen Rui fled back to Mancheng from the Consultation Bureau, and immediately closed the six city gates.The bannermen in the city are said to be 5,000, with more than 10,000 family members, but the bannermen are paid a share of money and rations per soldier if they give birth to a boy. Rifles—that’s why Wen Rui asked Qian Nengxun to distribute a thousand new-style guns in the previous paragraph.

The Manchurians in Xi'an resisted so fiercely. The reason for the strict supervision and training of the upper echelons such as Wen Rui on weekdays is one reason. The state of the Xi'an Uprising itself also has a lot to do with it.Unlike other provinces, except for Guo Zhongqing, a deputy speaker of the Tongmenghui, the constitutionalists in the Shaanxi Consultative Bureau had almost nothing to do with the uprising.The members of the alliance who participated in the incident were full of money, that is, a dozen or so.If the restoration of Sichuan was the "Paoge Revolution," Xi'an's independence would probably be regarded as Paoge's rebellion. The command was chaotic, and public opinion and propaganda work could not keep up. Therefore, the Manchus in Xi'an believe that resistance is death, and non-resistance is also death. Rather than not resisting and dying, they would rather resist and die.As a result, from the 22nd to 3:00 pm on the 23rd, the rebel army entered the city through a section of the collapsed and unrepaired city wall, and detonated the gunpowder magazine of the flag soldiers, causing heavy casualties. On the 24th, the rebel army was divided into several small teams and carried out search operations from alley to courtyard. It also meant to vent their anger. Many bannermen and their families were killed.General Wen Rui committed suicide by jumping into a well. The Xi'an Uprising was too hasty, and the battles started. The name of the rebel army had not been decided yet, and the Anmin notice was not prepared, so they had to fight while fighting. In the name, a notice was posted, and the stamp at the end of the article was still carved in wood: This announcement is not only simple, but it doesn't even mention the most important advice to the Manchus to surrender.Moreover, the rebel army attacked the whole city with all their strength, and the law and order in Xi'an was simply ignored.Those patrol teams, he dared not resist the rebel army, wouldn't he dare to rob merchants?Therefore, it is empty talk to protect the people and protect the businessmen. Conquering the entire city and stabilizing order still depend on the Gelaohui.Gelaohui does not work for nothing. In addition to salary and food, official positions are also required.First, Wan Bingnan, the leader of the Brotherhood, wanted to be the commander-in-chief and wanted to force Zhang Fenghui to abdicate. Then someone wanted to be the commander-in-chief, and someone wanted to be the marshal of the soldiers and horses.It is said that the conflict between the Tongmenghui and the Gelaohui is actually mainly due to the internal competition for the top position in the Gelaohui. Until I was stunned: Chen Dianqing.This person is from Hubei, he is the leader of the Gelaohui, and at the same time served as Zhang Fenghuang's guard.He jumped up and slapped the table: "Who dares to make trouble again? If I make trouble again, my surname Chen will burn down the Military Uniform Bureau, and everyone will break up!" Well, if you don't make trouble, don't make trouble, but wouldn't it be okay for each to occupy the hills?For a time, Zhang Yunshan's high court, Wan Bingnan's training office, and Zhang Fenghui's general headquarters in the Military Uniform Bureau were three in a row, each training in its own way.The situation is even more chaotic. On October 29th, the uprising day that was originally planned, all parties held a meeting at the general headquarters moved to higher education institutions, and finally settled the plate: Zhang Fenghui was the commander-in-chief, Wan Bingnan was the deputy commander-in-chief, and Zhang Yunshan was the commander-in-chief of soldiers and horses. , Wu Shichang was the deputy governor, Ma Yugui was the food and payment governor, Ma Fuxiang was the deputy governor, Liu Shijie was the military commander, and Guo Shengqing was the deputy governor.This is the famous "one province and six governors". This is not over yet, Chen Dianqing, who supported Zhang Fenghuang, stood up and asked for an official.His name is even fresher. He wants to be an "imperial envoy" and see a senior official.Amidst the roar of laughter, Zhang Fenghui actually nodded in agreement, and after the meeting, he was awarded a seal of "Qin Long Fu Han Army Imperial Envoy Commander's Guard Commanded by Guan Fang". In fact, both Zhang Fenghui and Chen Dianqing knew in their hearts that they wanted this official in order not to be restrained by the military governor, to preserve their independent power, and to prevent being plotted against.The next year, in March 1912, when the situation calmed down, Chen Dianqing voluntarily requested to cancel the title of imperial envoy. In the letter, he said: "Kuang imperial envoy only had this position in the empire. A little accommodation is actually against the political system, and it will cause others to blame." What does he not understand?It can be seen that the governor and the imperial envoy are all means of compromise and appeasement.This method has indeed kept independent Shaanxi from civil strife. In the midst of the hustle and bustle, a serious problem was accidentally let go.Shengyun, the former governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, is in his Caotan villa more than 30 miles north of Xi'an.Shengyun's family is in Mancheng, Xi'an, and he went to Caotan Juntian to manage the reclamation.Upon hearing the news of the incident, Sheng Yun crossed the Wei River overnight and fled to Pingliang, Gansu. The days when Shaanxi was attacked from both sides began. The soldiers coming from the east were the Yi Army from the Fifth Battalion of Zhao Ti in Henan sent by Yuan Shikai.The lone army went deep, and the transportation line was too long, so it couldn't beat the Shaanxi army at first.Later, part of Wang Zhanyuan's troops from the second township was added to attack together, and only then did they win and lose. The Shaanxi army on the East Road led by Zhang Wei won three times and lost three times in Tongguan, resulting in a stalemate. , although difficult, is not dangerous.Once the peace talks are successful, the two sides immediately make peace. The West is different.Chang Geng, governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, asked to be promoted to governor of Shaanxi, and then asked to appoint Ma Anliang, a Hui general who had been suspended, to call back the 14th Battalion.The Gansu Provincial Army Mixed Association was also reorganized into a patrol battalion, and all suspicious officers were eliminated.In the battle of attacking Shaanxi, Shengyun unified the North Road, and the 23rd Battalion of the Army marched eastward from Jingchuan; Gansu's atmosphere is closed, which is quite prominent among the provinces of 1911.During the three congressional petitions during the constitutional movement in the late Qing Dynasty, there were no representatives from Gansu at all.Zhang Linyan, director of the Gansu Consultative Bureau, and Liu Erxin, deputy speaker, both came from Hanlin. Although the Consultative Bureau was a product of the constitutional movement, they were in the same tune as Sheng Yun, the former governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, and were not interested in constitutionalism.After the Wuchang Incident, they were very keen on "Ying Luan". While constantly electrifying against the Republic, they tried their best to move eastward, hoping to pave a way for the emperor and empress dowager. In Gansu Province, farmers and herdsmen rebelled continuously, but none of them reached a large scale.Take the Li Wang Uprising at the beginning of June of the lunar calendar in the Xinhai Year as an example.Li Wang had been to Hanzhong, had contact with the local revolutionaries, and brought back the so-called "Calling Manchurian Essays" written by Sun Wen.However, he believes that the wisdom of the people in the Northwest has not yet been developed. To mobilize the people, they can only follow the path of superstition of gods and Buddhas.Therefore, the "Yellow Dragon Club" he initiated was more similar to the Boxers. Members wore uniforms, with red borders and yellow halls, and the three black characters "tiger eat sheep" were embroidered on the middle.The leaflets distributed by the Huanglong Society among the people included the words "Forty million compatriots, unite, overthrow the Manchu Qing, and strive for equality and freedom" in the "Discussion on Manchuria", but it was more about luck, magic soldiers and ghost generals, traditional The tone of peasant rebellion.For example, the "Emperor's Announcement" signed "Imperial Letter to the Generalissimo Li": Those who are familiar with the Boxer Rebellion posts can see at a glance how similar the two are. In fact, the slogan of the Yellow Dragon Society is also "anti-Qing and destroying foreigners".Whether or not to emphasize the protection of foreigners and to appease the Manchus is actually an important symbol to distinguish the nature of revolutions in different regions of the 1911 Revolution. Li Wang is like this, like the native Li Zhanyun and his like, who call themselves "living Buddha reincarnated soul boy", "real dragon emperor conceived by his mother's dream", and known as "Emperor Ga", which is even more contrary to the goal of the 1911 Revolution.Therefore, although there were many peasant rebellions in Gansu, they were not successful.When the Gan army marched eastward to Shaanxi, there was no need to worry about a fire in the backyard. The Shaanxi and Gansu armies fought offensive and defensive battles in Changwu, Binzhou, Sanshui, and Qianzhou.To be honest, the military discipline on both sides is not good. These areas were repeatedly looted by the Shaanxi and Gansu armies, and it was miserable. On December 25 of the Xinhai Year (February 12, 1912), the Qing Emperor announced his abdication.Three days later, the Shaanxi Army in the East Road and the Qing Army agreed to cease fire. In a blink of an eye it is New Year's Eve.The Shaanxi army guarding Liquan heard the news of the armistice on the East Road, and they were greatly relaxed. All officers and soldiers celebrated the New Year, ate wine, gambled, and were unprepared all night.Unexpectedly, at dawn on the first day of the first lunar month, Shengyun's Gan army climbed up from the southwest corner of the city. Liquan changed hands before the officers and soldiers of the Shaanxi army paid each other a New Year's greeting. Zhang Xingzhi, the Gan army on the South Road, mainly attacked Fengxiang, but it took three months and he still couldn't succeed.Qishan, which was relatively calm, did not see much fighting.Moreover, the Qishan defenders, like Liquan, thought that the Qing emperor had abdicated, that the peace treaty had been concluded, and peace could be expected. Just after the new year, the county magistrate Li Qianji got married on this day, and all the officers and soldiers guarding the city gathered in the county government office to have a wedding banquet, and only a dozen or twenty guards were left on the top of the city.After drinking for a day, singing for a day, he was trying to figure out whether it was the bridal chamber of the prince of Nao Nao County, the gunshots were loud, Qishan City was already full of Gan troops.The groom's county magistrate was killed, the Gan army occupied for eight days, and the small Qishan County was looted with over a thousand casualties. Turn the clock back to the day before the new year, the day when the Qing emperor abdicated, December 25th in the lunar calendar.Zhang Yunshan, the commander of the West Road Shaanxi Army stationed in Qianzhou, received a call from Vice President Li Yuan Hongli.However, it was reported that the Gan army was promoted to Yun, and troops were frequently deployed, and there was no sign of a truce. A staff officer next to him said: Could it be that they still don't know the news of the armistice? ah?Then send an envoy to tell them. I will go. This is Lei Hengyan, a native of Liquan, who is the deacon of the camp.Zhang Yunshan saw how courageous he was, so he appointed him as a plenipotentiary envoy to clear the camp.To see him off with wine outside the south gate of Qianzhou, each standard battalion fired three cannons to make a strong appearance. Lei Hengyan arrived at Shengyun camp the next day, and was just about to start reading Li Yuanhong's call when he heard Shengyun's order: cut! Lei Hengyan understood everything: this old boy knew the news of the peace talks and armistice, but he kept it secret to the Gan army.He still wants to fight! While being pushed away by the executioners, he shouted loudly: "North and South negotiate peace, the whole world is one family, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces are originally brothers, why should they fight..." Before he finished speaking, his mouth was blocked. Sheng Yun ordered Lei Hengyan to cut off his ears, nose, and heart, and dump his body in a dry well. After all, paper cannot contain fire.The fierce battle lasted until the Lantern Festival, and everyone knew the news of the peace talks between the North and the South.Zhang Xingzhi didn't know until after he captured Qishan that the day of siege was already the time for a ceasefire.If I knew it earlier, who would sell this life?Ma Anliang was also extremely dissatisfied with Sheng Yun's way of concealing information, and as a Hui citizen, he also received calls from many Hui celebrities in Beijing, persuading Shaanxi and Gansu to cease fighting and resolve their disputes. Yuan Shikai also received a power call. Yuan Datou became the president of the Republic of China, and his face changed. He was originally Zhao Yiyi's army attacking Shaanxi, but with a command, he became the Republic of China army to aid Shaanxi on the spot, and assumed a posture of attacking Gansu.Ma Anliang decided to cease fighting with the Shaanxi army on his own, signed a peace treaty in Qianzhou, and returned to Gansu. Only Sheng Yun, the "Governor of Shaanxi", was left.In the first month of the Renzi year, Shaanxi kept in touch with Shengyun, hoping for a complete ceasefire in Shaanxi and Gansu.Xuantong has abdicated, what are you still fighting?This Manchurian is really unreasonable. Sheng Yun has always been unwilling to talk about peace. It seems that the abdication and these matters have nothing to do with him. As long as the Beijing-Shanxi-Shaanxi channel is opened up and the little emperor is brought to Gansu, the Qing Dynasty will not perish. On March 7, 1912, the military government of Shaanxi sent two "Confucians of Confucianism" to persuade Shengyun to truce.At this time, Ma Anliang had returned to his will, Zhang Xingzhi was also preparing to set off, and Sheng Yun's crazy plan to march east failed. In front of the two famous Confucian scholars, Sheng Yun burst into tears, scolding Yuan Shikai for wronging the country, and said: "Now that the emperor has abdicated, I have nothing to do with the king. I can only die to repay the grace of the saint." On March 10, Shengyun withdrew to Gansu, but he was still obsessed with welcoming the northwest and rebuilding the court. After arriving in Pingliang on March 20, Shengyun called Yuan Shikai and asked him to replace Zhang Fenghui as the governor of Shaanxi, so that the two palaces could be settled in the future. .Such requests are close to a joke, and Beijing naturally ignores them. Shengyun had no choice but to flee to Xining with his family, and then went into exile in Japan through Siberia, Northeast China and other places, becoming a leader of the Zongsha Party.Since then, he has been involved in various restoration activities until his death.After his death, Xuantong gave him the posthumous title "Wenzhong", which was the same as Zuo Zongtang who ran the Northwest. As for Gansu, it was not until March 15, 1912, five days after Yuan Shikai ascended the presidency of the Republic of China, that he, together with Xinjiang, announced the recognition of the republic.The way to the west of the Manchu Qing court was completely cut off.