Chapter 18 Seven internal conflicts

Since Johnston entered the palace, I have gradually become the most difficult emperor to deal with in the eyes of princes and ministers.Around the time of my marriage, my fantasies and actions became more and more bizarre to them, and they were frightened and disturbed.Today I sent a report to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, asking to buy in diamonds worth 30,000 yuan a piece, and tomorrow I reprimanded the Ministry of Internal Affairs for not living a good life, but only for corruption and waste.I summoned the ministers in the morning and ordered them to check out the antique calligraphy and paintings and play them on the same day, and in the afternoon I ordered a vehicle to go to Xiangshan.I'm tired of the routine rituals, and I don't even like to ride in the golden-roofed yellow sedan.For the convenience of riding a bicycle, I saw off all the thresholds of the palace gates that my ancestors have not felt inconvenient for hundreds of years.For a trivial matter, I can blame the eunuchs for being unfaithful to me, order the respect room to beat them at will, and replace them.The nerves of the princes and ministers are the most unbearable. I want to make every effort to rule the country, rectify the interior of the palace, and check the finances. Then I threaten to leave the Forbidden City and study abroad.The princes and ministers were terrified by me all day long, and their braids were so anxious.

Some ministers of industry and public affairs thought about my going abroad earlier than I did. This was originally one of their motivations for hiring me a foreign master.After I got married, I received a lot of memorials and papers for making old people, all of which mentioned this proposition.But by the time I raised the issue myself, almost everyone was against it.Among the various objectors' reasons, the most commonly heard is this one: "As long as the emperor leaves the Forbidden City, he will give up the preferential treatment of the Republic of China. Since the Republic of China did not cancel the conditions of preferential treatment, why did he give up it first?"

Whether they expressed sympathy for going abroad or opposed it at all, whether they were desperate for "restoring their ancestral business" or were still unwilling to give up, they were all reluctant to part with this preferential treatment.Although the "four million annual fee" stipulated in the preferential treatment conditions has become empty talk, but there is still the clause that "the emperor's title will not be discarded".As long as I stay in the Forbidden City and keep this small imperial court, it is of course very important for those who are not desperate to restore their ancestral property. For those who are already desperate, they can still keep their jobs and their vested status. It's enough to just look at those honorable people who point out their masters and write epitaphs.

My thinking is different from theirs.First of all, I don't believe that this preferential treatment can be preserved forever.Not only that, but I feel the danger of my situation more than anyone else.Ever since the new civil war broke out, Zhang Zuolin was defeated and retired, Xu Shichang stepped down, and Li Yuanhong came back to power, I felt that danger was suddenly approaching.All I think about is whether the new authorities will harm me, not whether it is preferential treatment or not.What's more, at this time there was a legend that some members of Congress advocated the cancellation of preferential treatment.Taking a ten thousand step back, even if the status quo can be maintained, who knows what kind of soldiers will come to power tomorrow and what kind of politicians will form a cabinet the day after tomorrow amidst the ever-changing political situation and successive melees?From many sources—especially from Master Johnston’s mouth, I have already understood that all these changes in the political situation have not been played by foreign powers behind the scenes.Instead of waiting for preferential treatment from the new authorities of the Republic of China, why not go directly to foreigners?If a person who is at odds with me came on stage, would it be too late to think of a way?As for the fate of the last emperor of all dynasties, I can count from Cheng Tang who released Xia Jie to Nanchao, Shang Zhou who set himself on fire in Lutai, and Dog Rong who killed King You under Lishan Mountain. I can count until Zhu Youjian went to Meishan.No one is more familiar with these histories than I am.

Of course, I didn't tell the princes and ministers about these bad stories, and I argued with them like this: "I don't want any preferential treatment. I want the common people and all countries in the world to know that I don't want the Republic of China to treat me preferentially. It's better than others canceling the preferential treatment first." "The conditions of preferential treatment are set out in the alliance government, and all countries recognize that if the Republic of China is abolished, foreign countries will definitely help us speak." They said.

"Foreigners help us, why don't you ask me to go abroad? Don't they help me more when they see me in person?" Although what I said made a lot of sense, they still disagreed.Me and my father, master.The several debates between the princes and princes only produced this effect: they hurried to prepare for the "big wedding". The reason why I am anxious to go abroad is that apart from the reasons I mentioned above to the princes and ministers, there is another point that I have not mentioned to them at all, especially I dare not mention it to my father. Including myself, I am getting more and more disliked.

This happened before I had the idea of ​​going abroad.Since Johnston entered the palace, because of the knowledge of Western civilization he instilled in me, and because of the development of curiosity in young people, I have become more and more dissatisfied with my environment and feel that I am being restrained.I very much agree with the analysis made by Johnston. This is due to the conservativeness of the princes and ministers. In the eyes of these princes and ministers, everything new is terrible.I was fifteen years old.Johnston found that my eyes might be short-sighted. He suggested that a foreign ophthalmologist be invited to have a test. If it is true, he would give me glasses.Unexpectedly, this suggestion was like pouring water into a hot oil pan, and the Forbidden City literally exploded.Is this okay?Can the emperor's eyeballs be seen by foreigners?The emperor is in the prime of his life, why is he wearing "photons" (glasses) like an old man?From the toffee onwards, they all refused.It took Johnston a lot of rhetoric, and I insisted on doing it again and again, and it was resolved.

What I want, even if it is what the princes and ministers have long ago, they object to, and this makes me especially angry.For example, that was the case with Ann's phone call. When I was fifteen years old, I once heard Johnston talk about the function of the telephone, which aroused my curiosity. Later, I heard Pu Jie said that there was also this thing in Beifu (the place where my father lived at the time), so I called it The Ministry of Internal Affairs also installed one in the Hall of Mental Cultivation for me.Minister of Internal Affairs Shao Ying's expression changed after hearing my order.But he didn't say any contradictory words in front of me, so he let out a "squeak" and went down.The next day, the masters all advised me:

"This is something that has never been done in the ancestral system. With the phone installed, anyone can talk to the emperor, and the ancestors have never done this before...The ancestors did not use these western tricks..." I also have my reasons: "The chime bells, dulcimers, and electric lights in the palace are all Western gadgets, which have never been used in the ancestral system. Didn't the ancestors also use it?" "The outside world makes random calls and offends Tianyan, isn't that a loss of dignity?" "I've read a lot of offenses from the outside world. Isn't it the same with the eyes and ears?"

At that time, maybe even the masters didn't understand what the Ministry of Internal Affairs asked them to persuade them to drive.What the Ministry of Internal Affairs is most afraid of is not offending "Tian Yan", but that I have more contact with the outside world through the phone.It was enough for them to have a chatty Johnston by my side, and especially twenty or so newspapers.Opening the Beijing newspapers at that time, there was at least one rumor-refusing statement from the Qing Household Office almost every month, either denying the Qing Dynasty’s dealings with a certain provincial authority or a certain dignitary, or denying that the Qing Dynasty had recently mortgaged or sold any antiquities.Nine out of ten of these denied rumors were true, and at least half of them were things they didn't want me to know.With those newspapers and Johnston, they were already in a hurry. Now that I have to add a telephone as the third bridge between me and the outside world, wouldn't it make them even more unpredictable?So they tried their best to oppose it.Seeing that the master refused to convince me, he moved the prince again.

My father had become a complete status quo faction at this time. As long as I lived in the Forbidden City honestly, he would be satisfied with getting his 42,482 years old silver every year as usual, so he was the last one. A person who is easily manipulated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.But this supporter of the Ministry of Internal Affairs did not have the eloquence that the Ministry of Internal Affairs hoped for.He didn't have any new reason to persuade me other than repeating what the masters said, and he asked me to ask a question that I couldn't answer: "Isn't the prince's mansion on the phone in the morning?" "That's, that's, but, it's not the same as the emperor. It's a matter of two days, let's talk..." I remembered that his braids were cut earlier than mine, the telephone was installed first, and I was not allowed to buy a car but he bought it, and I was very dissatisfied. "Why is the emperor different? I don't even have this little freedom? No, I just want to be safe!" I turned back and called the eunuch: "Transfer to the Ministry of Internal Affairs: Give me a call today!" "Okay, okay," my father nodded quickly, "okay, okay, then..." The phone was installed, and a new trouble arose. Along with the telephone, the telephone exchange sent a phone book.I was so happy that I flipped through the phone book and wanted to play with the phone.I saw the phone number of Yang Xiaolou, a famous Peking opera actor, and called into the microphone.As soon as I heard the voice of the other party answering, I imitated the Daobai accent in Peking Opera and said: "The person who came is Yang-Xiao-Lou-huh?" I heard the voice of the other party laughing and asked: "You Who is it? Haha..." Before he finished speaking, I hung up the phone.Really happy.Then, I made the same joke to an acrobat named Xu Gouzi, and called Dongxinglou restaurant, pretending to be some kind of residence, and asked them to send a table to wait for the banquet.After playing like this for a while, I suddenly remembered Dr. Hu Shi just mentioned by Johnston. I wanted to hear the tone of the author of "Pick Nick Comes to the Riverside" and called his number again.Coincidentally, it was he himself who answered the phone.I say: "Are you Dr. Hu? Great, guess who I am?" "Who are you? Why can't I hear you?..." "Haha, don't guess, let me tell you, I am Xuan Tong!" "Xuantong?...is it the emperor?" "That's right, I'm the emperor. I heard what you said, but I still don't know what you are like. Come to the palace when you have time, let me have a look." My unintentional joke really attracted him.According to Johnston, Hu Shi went to Johnston to confirm the call, but he did not expect that it was really the call from the "Emperor".He quickly asked Johnston about the rules of entering the palace, and he understood that I didn't ask him to kowtow. My emperor has a good temper, so he came.But because I didn't take this matter to heart, and didn't ask the eunuch to take care of the guards, so Dr. Hu went to the Shenwu Gate, and spent a lot of time talking and refusing to let him pass.Later, the guards were dubious and asked the performance office to ask me, and then let him in. This meeting, which was decided on a whim, only took about 20 minutes.I asked him what is the use of the vernacular, where he has been in foreign countries, and so on.In the end, in order to hear his compliments on me, he deliberately expressed that I didn't care about preferential treatment or not. I would like to study more and be a "promising young man" as newspaper articles often say.Sure enough, he couldn't help praising him greatly, saying: "Your Majesty is really enlightened. You study hard, your future is promising, your future is promising!" I don't know what the future he refers to.After he was gone, I didn't bother to think about it any more.Unexpectedly, the princes and ministers, especially the masters, heard that I had met this "new person" privately, and they started to make noise behind their backs like frying a frying pan. Anyway, as I get older, they find me more restless, and I find them less pleasing.At this time, I had already been out of the Forbidden City once or twice. This was a little freedom I barely gained after getting rid of endless persuasion since I used the excuse of my mother's death to go to pay homage.This freedom whetted my appetite, and I felt all the more pedantic about these fuss-loving characters.In the summer of the 11th year of the Republic of China, the anger accumulated by the few things mentioned above contributed to my determination to go abroad.The conflict between me and the princes and ministers culminated in the official proposal to study in the UK. This matter is different from Ann's phone call. The princes and ministers refused to give in.In the end, even my seventh uncle, Zaitao, who sympathized with me the most, only allowed me to prepare a house in the British Concession in Tianjin, so that I could settle down if necessary.Because it was impossible for me to leave the Forbidden City publicly, I asked Johnston for help.As I said in the previous section, he thought the timing was inappropriate and he did not agree with me to act at this time.So I suppressed my temper and waited for the opportunity, while secretly preparing for a private escape.At this time, I have a loyal person who is willing to help me, and this is my younger brother Pu Jie. Pu Jie and I were really brothers and sisters at that time. Our moods and fantasies were more similar than our looks.He also wholeheartedly wants to jump out of his family circle, fly away, and find his own way out, thinking that all his desires can be satisfied in foreign countries.Compared with mine, his environment is also like his body and mine, but only one size smaller.Here is an excerpt from his autobiography: Pu Jie is one year younger than me, and has more knowledge about the outside world than I do. The most important thing is that he can do activities outside. As long as he enters the palace with an excuse, he can fool his family.The first step of our action is to prepare funds. The method is to transport the most valuable calligraphy, paintings and ancient books in the palace, in the name of my reward to Pu Jie, out of the palace, and deposit them in a house in the British Concession in Tianjin.When Pu Jie comes home from school every day, he will take a big burden with him.Such smuggling activities have been carried out almost continuously for more than half a year.The ancient calligraphy and painting books transported out are all outstanding treasures.Because at that time, the ministers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and masters were counting calligraphy and paintings, I picked the best ones from the top grades they selected.What I remember are Wang Xizhi, Wang Xianzhi's father and son's ink "Cao E Stele" and "Er Xie Tie", there are authentic works by Zhong Yao, Seng Huai Su, Ouyang Xun, Song Gaozong, Mi Fu, Zhao Mengfu, Dong Qichang and others, and Sima Guang's The original manuscripts include the characters of Tang Wangwei, the "Ten Thousand Miles of the Yangtze River" painted by Song Mayuan, Xia Gui and Ma Lin, Zhang Zeduan's "Qingming Riverside Picture", and the works of Yan Liben, Song Huizong and others.In terms of ancient books, all the rare books of the Song and Ming editions in the Xizhaoren Hall of Qianqing Palace were stolen by us.The total shipped out is about one thousand hand-rolled calligraphy and paintings, more than two hundred hanging scrolls and album leaves, and two hundred kinds of Song edition books.After I left the palace in the thirteenth year of the Republic of China, when the "Clear House Rehabilitation Committee" checked Yuqing Palace, they found the "Reward Pujie List" and published it in print. The fine works are recorded in the Tianlu bibliography, collected in the third edition of Baoji, and the essence is selected, and most of them are transported outside the palace." This is not bad.This batch of things was moved to Tianjin, and dozens of pieces were later sold.After the founding of the Puppet Manchukuo, Yasunao Yoshioka, the staff officer of the Japanese Kwantung Army, transported all these treasures to the Northeast. After Japan surrendered, I don’t know what happened next. Our second plan is to secretly escape from the Forbidden City.As long as I go out of the city and enter a foreign embassy, ​​the trick is done, no matter whether it is a prince or minister or the government of the Republic of China, there is nothing to do. This is the most useful knowledge that the history of the Republic of China has given us in the past few years.More importantly, my master Johnston came up with a more specific method for me. He asked me to contact the Chief Minister of the Mission Corps, Odenko of the Netherlands, so that he could prepare in advance.Master Zhuang gave me this idea in February of the twelfth year of the Republic of China.Nine months ago he objected to my going abroad, thinking that the timing was bad, why he thinks the timing has come now, and how he discussed with the envoys in Dongjiaominxiang, I have no idea at all.I gained a great deal of confidence from his guidance, and that was enough for me.I first asked him to pass a message to the minister, and then I personally called Minister Odenko directly. In order to make sure the matter was settled, I sent Pu Jie to the Dutch legation in person.Everything turned out to be satisfactory.Odenke agreed to me on the phone, and personally made an agreement with Pu Jie that although he can't drive the car all the way into the palace, he will wait for me outside the Shenwu Gate. As long as I can sneak out of this gate, everything will be fine. ; From my first day's board and lodging to my feet setting foot on British soil and entering the gates of British schools, he can take care of everything.Now we have fixed the specific date and time for leaving the palace. When it came to February 25th, the remaining problem was how to get out of Shenwumen.The situation in the Forbidden City is like this. There are a group of eunuchs with me, and there are eunuchs at each gate of the palace. "Patrol guards.In my opinion, the most important thing is to be around and the palace eunuchs. As long as these levels are cleared, the problem will not be a big problem.What I think is really too simple, the way I get through the eunuch is just to spend some money.The eunuch who received the money thanked me happily, and I thought everything was ready, but one hour before the scheduled time, an eunuch who received the money reported to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.Before I left the Hall of Mental Cultivation, I heard that the prince had issued an order to cut off entry and exit from all palace gates, and all the Forbidden City was under martial law.When Pu Jie and I heard the news, we were all dumbfounded while sitting in the Hall of Mental Cultivation. After a short time, my father came in angrily: "Listen, I heard that the emperor wants to leave..." Seeing his embarrassed appearance, it seemed that he was the one who did something wrong, so I couldn't help laughing. "Nothing like that." I stopped laughing. "This is not good, how can this be good..." "That's not the case!" My father looked at Pujie suspiciously, and Pujie lowered his head in fright. "No such thing!" I still said.My father muttered a few words, and then took my "accomplice" away.They left, and I called the imperial eunuch to ask who told the story.I have to beat the bottom half to death.But I couldn't find out, and I couldn't ask the respect room to investigate this matter, so I had to be sullen all by myself. Since then, I have been most afraid of seeing high walls. "Prison! Prison! Prison!" I often chanted as I stood on Duixu Mountain looking at the city wall. "The Republic of China can't get along with me. It can still be said that the princes and ministers and the Ministry of Internal Affairs are also against me. It's really unreasonable. I just ran out for the sake of my ancestral property outside the city. What are you doing for it? ... The worst is the Ministry of Internal Affairs, They must have brought the prince here!" When I met Johnston the next day, I gave him a rant.He comforted me a few words, saying that it is better not to think about these things for the time being, but to be more realistic and to rectify the Forbidden City first. "The newcomer, Zheng Xiaoxu, is a very promising person." He said, "Zheng is very ambitious, you might as well listen to his thoughts on the rectification." Another hope arose in me.Since the ancestral property outside the Forbidden City cannot be restored, let's rectify the property in the city first.I am very satisfied with Master Zhuang's suggestion.It never occurred to me then that when he later wrote about the escape in his book, he would describe himself as having nothing to do with it, and even an opponent.