Chapter 12 1 Yuan Shikai's Era
In the morning in the Forbidden City, sometimes you can encounter a strange phenomenon, in the deep palace but you can hear the sound of the city in the distance.There are very clear hawkers' cries, the rumble of wooden carts, and sometimes the singing of soldiers.The eunuchs called this phenomenon "Ranging City".After leaving the Forbidden City, I often recall this ringing city that aroused my strange imagination.What impresses me the most about Ringing City is that I heard Zhongnanhai's military music performance several times.
"Yuan Shikai has eaten." Zhang Qianhe, the chief eunuch, told me once, "Yuan Shikai also played music while eating. It was like a 'bell ringing and a feast', more airy than the emperor!"
Zhang Qianhe's bare mouth was pursed flat, with a look of resentment on his face.I was only about nine years old at the time, but I could already feel a sense of desolation from his sensuality.The sound of military music led me into an unbearable hallucination of humiliation: Yuan Shikai had more dishes than the Queen Mother in front of him, and crowds of people served him, played music for him, and fanned him...
But there is also another form of "Sound City", which gradually aroused my strong interest.This "sounding city" is what I heard from the teachers in Yuqing Palace.These are the various legends about the Restoration.
Restoration—in the words of the Forbidden City, it is also called "restoring the ancestral property", in the words of the veterans and old officials, it is "recovering the old things" and "returning the government to the Qing Dynasty"—this kind of activity did not begin with the well-known " The Dingsi Incident" did not end with the "Jiazi Conspiracy" that was exposed in the 13th year of the Republic of China.It can be said that from the promulgation of the abdication edict to the establishment of the "Manchurian Empire", there has not been a single day of pause.At first, I was guided by adults to play my role, and later I acted according to my class instinct.When I was a teenager, I was directly guided by the masters. Behind them, there were naturally the ministers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Shi Xushang, was invited by the President of the Republic of China to take care of the "princes" of the royal family. call my father).The inner enthusiasm of these people was not weaker than that of anyone outside the Forbidden City, but later I gradually understood that the actual power to realize the ideal of restoration was not in them.Even they themselves understand this.It sounds funny, but it is true: the hope of the Forbidden City was placed on the upstarts who replaced the Qing Dynasty and ruled the world.The first person to be entrusted with such an illusion was President Yuan Shikai who aroused the anger of the Forbidden City.
I can still remember clearly how in the Forbidden City I felt hope from despair, from fear to joy.During that short period of time, the atmosphere in the palace changed so drastically that even my eight-year-old child was surprised.
I remember that when the Empress Dowager was alive, it was very difficult to see a smiling face in the palace, and all the eunuchs were moaning, as if disaster would strike at any time.At that time, I hadn't moved to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and I lived in the Changchun Palace of the Empress Dowager. When I paid my respects to the Empress Dowager, I often saw her wiping her tears.Once when I was walking on Xierchang Street, I saw groups of eunuchs moving the bells and large vases of the Tiyuan Hall.Zhang Qianhe muttered sadly:
"This is what the Empress Dowager asked to move to the Summer Palace. I don't know what to do when I get to the Summer Palace!"
At this time, eunuchs often escaped.The eunuchs said one after another that after arriving at the Summer Palace, everyone would not survive.Zhang Qianhe talked about these things all day long, and every time he said it, he would comfort me and say: "Where is the Long Live Lord, where will the slaves escort me? He is definitely not like those cowards!" The voice reading to me next to the bed" is always weak.
In the New Year of the second year of the Republic of China, the atmosphere began to change.On New Year's Eve in the Gregorian calendar, Master Chen took his seat in Yuqing Palace. Uncharacteristically, he didn't go to get the ink pen to circle the book, but looked at me with a smile for a while, and then said:
"Tomorrow is New Year's Day in the Gregorian calendar. The Republic of China will come to pay New Year's greetings to the emperor. It was sent by their big president."
I don't remember whether this is the first time he gave me government affairs guidance, but his rare complacency was probably the first time I noticed it.He told me that the meeting with the ceremony officials of the Republic of China this time is the ceremony of summoning foreign ministers. I don't need to speak. The Minister of Internal Affairs, Shaoying, will take care of everything. I just need to sit behind the Long Shuan and watch.
On New Year's Day, I was dressed up, put on a golden dragon robe, a beaded crown, and court beads, and sat firmly on the throne of the Qianqing Palace.On either side of me stood the chancellors, the walkers, and the guards with swords.Zhu Qiling, the ceremonial officer sent by the president, walked into the gate of the palace, bowed to me from a distance, took a few steps forward to stand still, bowed again, walked to my throne, and bowed deeply for the third time, Then congratulate me.He Bi, Shaoying stepped onto the stage and knelt down in front of me.I took out the pre-written reply from the wooden box covered with yellow silk on the Longshu table in front of me and handed it to him.He stood up and read it to Zhu Qiling, and then handed it back to me after reading.Zhu Qiling bowed again at this time, retreated, and left the hall, so the ceremony was completed.
The next morning, the atmosphere changed further. First, there was Zhang Qianhe's book outside my bed curtain, and secondly, in Yuqing Palace, Master Chen was smiling and twirling his messy white beard, shaking his head and shaking his head. Say:
"The preferential treatment conditions are recorded in the alliance government and are recognized by all countries. Even his president can't take it lightly!"
Not long after the New Year, it was my birthday, the fourteenth day of the first month of the lunar calendar, and President Yuan Shikai sent another ceremony officer to congratulate me Ruyi.After Yuan Shikai's continuous support, the princes and ministers who had disappeared in the first year of the Republic of China put on python robes and men's gowns, red-topped flower feathers, and even recovered from the ranks surrounded by horses.The gate of Shenwu and the Forbidden City were bustling with people.In the first year of the Republic of China, most of these people came to the Forbidden City in plain clothes, and then changed into robes and gowns when they entered the city. From the second year of the Republic of China, they dared to walk on the streets with their feathers on their tops and robes and gowns.
It was Longyu's birthday and funeral that completely restored the prosperity of the old city.Longyu's birthday was on March 15th, and she passed away seven days later.On his birthday, Yuan Shikai sent his secretary-general, Liang Shiyi, to congratulate him. The letter of credence read: "The President of the Republic of China sent a letter to Her Majesty the Empress Dowager Longyu of the Qing Dynasty."After Liang Shiyi left, State Premier Zhao Bingjun led all the state servants to salute.After Longyu's death, Yuan Shikai's actions were even more touching: he personally wrapped black gauze around his sleeves, and ordered the national flags to fly at half-mast for one day, civil and military officials mourned for 27 days, and sent all state officials to pay homage.Then, the so-called national mourning meeting was held in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, presided over by Senate President Wu Jinglian; the military also held a so-called national army mourning meeting, led by another confidant of Yuan, General Duan Qirui.In the Forbidden City, amid the howling eunuchs, the black robes of the Qing Dynasty and the Western-style dresses of the Republic of China entered and exited side by side.The relatives and nobles who have been rewarded with filial piety for a hundred days now have a look of pride on their faces.What excited them most was that Xu Shichang also arrived from Qingdao and accepted the double-eyed flower feathers that Qing Shi admired.After announcing his abdication, the Qing Dynasty Taifu dragged his braids and ran to Qingdao, which was occupied by the Germans, to become an apartment.The significance of his appearance in Beijing will be discussed later.
Before Longyu's funeral was finished, the south launched a movement to challenge Yuan, the so-called "second revolution".In a few days, the war ended with Yuan Shikai's victory.Then, Yuan Shikai surrounded the Congress with military police and forced the Congress to elect him as the official president.Then he wrote me a report:
Because of this series of news, various discussions arose among the widows.
"Is Yuan Shikai really Cao Cao?"
"Xiang Cheng told Xu, Feng, and Duan back then that the militia could only be outwitted and invincible. Xu, Feng, and Duan agreed to establish a republic. Maybe this is outsmart?"
"I said earlier that the wording of resignation in the conditions of preferential treatment is interesting. Why don't you abdicate or abdicate, and Yuan Gong's insurance policy should be written as a resignation? Resignation means goodbye for a while."
"The great president often talks about how 'running a republic' is going. Since it is being done, it means trying it out."
In the winter of this year, Guangxu and Longyu "Feng'an" performed a live drama in Lianggezhuang's mourning shed.The leading actor is Liang Dingfen, who is the most expressive. At that time, he has not been my master in the palace. The supporting role is another self-proclaimed lone minister, Lao Naixuan, who is the vice minister of the Faculty of Xuantong for three years and the chief supervisor of the Beijing Normal University. , After the 1911 Revolution, he hid in Qingdao and presided over the social affairs in the "Confucian Cultural Society" specially set up by the Germans for the collection of such figures.In this play, Sun Baoqi, the former governor of Shandong Province in the Qing Dynasty and a state official in the Yuan government, was played as a clown. one of the ministers).On that day, this group of state servants was led by Zhao Bingjun.Before offering sacrifices, Zhao Bingjun took off his overcoat and changed into plain robes of the Qing Dynasty, kneeling three times and kowtowing nine times.Liang Dingfen, a lone minister and evil son, was very excited for a moment, and for some reason, among the state servants who came without Qing Dynasty robes, he caught Sun Baoqi at first sight.He went straight to the state official, pointed his nose and asked:
"Who are you? What country are you from?"
Sun Baoqi was stunned by this old friend's question, and the people around him were also puzzled.Liang Dingfen pointed at Sun Baoyi with trembling fingers, and his voice became louder and louder:
"You forgot that you are the son of Sun Yijing! You used to be an official of the Qing Dynasty, you wear this suit today, perform such a ceremony, and come to see the first emperor, do you have any shame? What are you!"
"Good question! What are you?!" Lao Naixuan followed.This singing led a large group of people to surround the three people.Sun Baoqi looked pale, lowered his head and said hastily:
"Yes, yes, I'm not a thing! I'm not a thing!"
Later, when Master Liang talked about this live drama, he described it vividly.This story and the later "Jie Lu Shou Song" and "Awe-inspiring Retire the Assassin" can be regarded as the most proud deeds in his life.He told me countless times, and the more he talked, the more complete and legendary the plot became.
In the third year of the Republic of China, some people called this year the Restoration Year.There are more and more things that the lonely minister and evil son are excited about: Yuan Shikai sacrificed to Confucius, adopted the official rank of the Sanqing scholar-bureaucrat, set up the Qing History Museum, and promoted former Qing officials.What is particularly dazzling is that Zhao Erxun, the former governor of the three eastern provinces, was appointed as the curator of the Museum of Qing History.Master Chen and others regarded him as a second official, but he himself declared: "I am an official of the Qing Dynasty, I compile the history of the Qing Dynasty, I eat Qing Dynasty food, and I do Qing Dynasty affairs." , Wrote the sequel "Reconciliation of the Republic" in Qingdao, openly propagandizing that "the government should be returned to the Qing Dynasty", and wrote to Xu Shichang, asking him to persuade Yuan Shikai.At this time, Xu Shichang was both the Taifu of the Qing Dynasty and the Secretary of State of the Republic of China government. He showed Lao's article to Yuan.Yuan asked someone to bring a letter to Lao Naixuan, asking him to come to Beijing as a councilor.Liu Tingchen, formerly of the Imperial University, also wrote a book called "Book of Restoring Ritual System", and Song Yuren, who was an assistant editor at the National History Museum, gave a speech on returning the government to the Qing Dynasty, which spread all over the place.It is said that in this restoration year, even a bandit in Sichuan, nicknamed Thirteenth Brother, put on a Qing dynasty robe and sat on a green woolen sedan chair, as if he regarded himself as an old man, and was ready to share the fruits of restoration.
In the Forbidden City, no one mentioned the matter of moving at this time.In order to make things more secure, the prudent and prudent minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Shixu, even called his brother Yuan Shikai once.The news he brought back was even more exciting, because Yuan Shikai said to him like this: "Brother, you still don't understand, don't those rules deal with the south? The Taimiao is in the city, how can the emperor move it? Besides, the palace is apart from the emperor. Who else can I ask to live?" This was told to me by a widow who worked in the Ministry of Internal Affairs a long time later.At that time, Shixu and the prince didn't talk about such things with me at all, and they had to go through Master Chen.What the master said at the time was: "It seems that their president gave preferential treatment to the Qing Dynasty. The conditions of preferential treatment were originally stated in the League Mansion..."
It seems that the master's words are not fully spoken.In retrospect, this is a very insightful "cautious" attitude.Compared with the old people outside the Forbidden City, the optimism shown in the Forbidden City during this period is indeed cautious and reserved.Yuan Shikai's various actions - from publicly not forgetting Longyu's "spirit in heaven" to privately affirming that the "emperor" cannot leave the imperial palace and Taimiao, this certainly gave people in the Forbidden City a lot of illusions, but the Forbidden City can be seen from "Yuan Gongbao" That's all there is to it.Therefore, people in the Forbidden City cannot show too much excitement.At the end of the Restoration Year, when Beijing began to gain popularity, it proved that this kind of "prudence" was indeed insightful.
The change in the limelight began when a Su Zhengshi proposed to investigate the rumors of restoration.Yuan Shikai approved the case to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for "investigation and handling". Then, Zhu Yuren, who had given a speech and returned to the Qing Dynasty, was deported back to his hometown by the yamen of the infantry commander.As soon as the news came out, many people panicked, and the articles persuading them to enter the Qing Dynasty and the speeches about returning to the Qing Dynasty disappeared, and Lao Naixuan, who was preparing to go to Beijing to take up his post in Qingdao, did not dare to come.However, people were still a little puzzled, because Yuan Shikai wrote such strange words as "Rumors of the restoration are strictly prohibited, and the past is not to blame" in the report of the Ministry of Civil Affairs investigating the restoration. When Song Yuren was deported back to his hometown, Yuan Shikai gave him 3,000 yuan. Along the way, he was greeted and sent off with banquets by various yamen, making it unclear whether he was punished or rewarded.It was not until the fourth year of the Republic of China that Goodnow, an American adviser to the Presidential Office, published an article saying that the republic system was not suitable for China's national conditions, and then it appeared again, advocating that Yuan Shikai be the emperor of the Chinese Empire. I understand what Yuan Shikai is going to restore.Now that the limelight is clear, the atmosphere in the Forbidden City has also changed.
It was at this time that I heard the military music of Zhongnanhai from the ringing city.At that time, the oil repair project was going on in the three halls, and on the steps of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, you could clearly see the activities of the oil workers on the scaffolding.Zhang Qianhe told me that it was a preparation for Yuan Shikai's ascension to the pole.Later, on behalf of the royal family and the Eight Banners, "Lenbeizi" (Pu Lun) persuaded Yuan Shikai to enter the table, and Yuan Shikai promised him a double salary as a prince.The news made me feel sad, sad, and frightening.Although Master Chen refuses to say it clearly, I also understand the old saying "there is no two suns in the sky, and there are no two monarchs in the country".Yuan Shikai himself became the emperor, can I still allow the redundant emperor to exist?There are too many examples in history. Tai Shigong has counted "Thirty-six regicides in the Spring and Autumn Period"!
In those days, the movement of the three main halls outside the Qianqing Gate involved every nerve of everyone in the palace.No matter who is walking in the yard, they should look over there with concern to see whether the oil renovation project related to their own destiny has been completed.The concubines would burn incense and worship Buddha every day, and pray for the blessing of "Xietian Great Emperor Guan Shengdijun", the guardian god of the Qing Dynasty.The guard of honor hurriedly asked Pu Lun to move away. Because the jade seal was a combination of Man and Han, it did not meet Yuan Shikai's requirements, so he did not take it.
The most notable change in Yuqing Palace at this time is that the masters are very kind to Yuchong, no one treats him like an uncle anymore.He became a celebrity with the concubine, and was often called in to reward him with snuff bottles, fingers and the like.Whenever I mentioned Yuan Shikai, the master would wink at me, implying that I should keep my mouth shut, lest Yuchong hear it and pass it on to his father Pu Lun.
One day, Yu Chong was summoned to the concubine's place. Chen Baochen saw that he was no longer seen outside the window, took out a note from his bosom, and said to me mysteriously:
"Your majesty, take a look at the Yi hexagram that I obtained yesterday."
I took it over and saw this line:
"I have a grudge, but if I don't, I can't fix it, good luck!"
He explained that this means that my enemy Yuan Shikai has a bad future and cannot harm me, which is an auspicious hexagram.He also burned the back of the turtle and got yarrow, everything is auspicious, and told me that I can rest assured.For my fate, this old master has used all the fortune-telling methods of primitive society.Therefore, he concluded optimistically:
"Heaven's crimes can still be violated, self-inflicted crimes, and you can't live. Yuan Shikai, the culprit, committed such crimes, and he will not end well! 'My enmity has a disease, and there will be no harm in the end!' What's more, the preferential treatment conditions are hidden in the alliance government, which is recognized by all countries. , how could Yuan Shikai harm me?"
In order to "do what I can't do" and to keep the preferential treatment conditions, although they didn't tell me about the activities of the master, the prince and the ministers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs outside of divination, I still know a little bit.They made a deal with Yuan Shikai. Simply put, the Qing Dynasty expressed support for Emperor Yuan, and Emperor Yuan recognized the preferential conditions.The Ministry of Internal Affairs gave Yuan an official document, saying: "Now it is up to the national representatives to decide on a constitutional monarchy, and to elect the President as the Emperor of the Chinese Empire. This is a strategy for eliminating the old and renewing it, and for long-term stability. My royal family strongly agrees. "This official document was exchanged for a postscript written by Yuan Shikai himself on the conditions of preferential treatment:
The contents of these two documents were later found in the "Presidential Decree" on December 16, the fourth year of the Republic of China.Not many days before this "Order" was published, there was such a record in my father's diary:
The so-called secret document is Yuan's handwritten postscript.The so-called marriage is that Yuan Shikai asked Jiang Chaozong, the commander of the infantry, to propose to my father and the same generation to let his daughter be the queen.Although the toffees were unwilling in their hearts, they had to obey.As a result, the conditions of preferential treatment were not included in the constitution, and I did not marry the daughter of the Yuan family, because Yuan Shikai had only been emperor for eighty-three days, and he died of anger amidst the anti-Yuan voices.
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