Chapter 22 The Choice at the Twelve and Three Forks

Although the people in Beifu have common excitement, they don't have common ideas.Jin Liang later said in his supplementary "Diary of Encountering Changes": "After Gai Duan and Zhang arrived in Beijing, they all made empty promises, and there was nothing they could do. People were deceived, thinking that recovery was at hand, so the facts were not seen. , and the opinions have already arisen. There are those who claim that the original conditions cannot be changed, those who have the master must return the palace to re-number, those who have the master change the name to be inferior to the emperor, those who have the master's annual fee can be reduced, and those who must have an outsider's guarantee, and those who have the master to move. Those who have the Summer Palace are those who have the owner to buy a house in Dongcheng. In fact, the sovereignty lies with the people, and it is no different from a dream. They don’t know what they see and they don’t know what they see.” This passage is indeed true.

The whirlwind on November 5, 1924 threw me out of the Forbidden City and landed on a three-way intersection.There are three roads in front of me: one is pointed out to me by the new "conditions", give up the title of emperor, give up the original ambition, and become a "commoner" who still has a lot of wealth and farms; the other is to win over "sympathizers" Support, cancel the new conditions of the National Army, and restore all the conditions of Yuan Shikai's era!The Japanese conditions, or "returning the number to the palace", let me return to the Forbidden City and still live the same life as before; there is another, the most tortuous road, which leads to overseas, and then leads to the Forbidden City, but the Forbidden City at that time It must be the Forbidden City before 1911.At that time, the saying of this road was "borrowing external forces to seek recovery".

I stood at this fork in the road, surrounded by all kinds of people, and heard their endless quarrels.They all dismissed the first route, but they refused to give in to each other in the choice of the other two routes.Even the supporters of the same route have different specific propositions and detailed plans.Each of them scrambled to give me ideas and lead me the way. In the first few days of entering Beifu, the center of the debate was "should I stay in Beifu, or try to sneak out and hide in Dongjiaomin Lane"?As I said before, the one who advocated slipping away was the lonely Zheng Xiaoxu and Johnston who kept his stance private, and the other was the princes, ministers and masters headed by my father.The conflict ended with Zheng Xiaoxu's defeat.After the gate control began to be loosened, the second confrontation centered on "going abroad and not going abroad, striving not to restore the original preferential treatment conditions".The one who advocated going abroad immediately was Jin Liang and Luo Zhenyu (Johnston is still the one who has not publicly stated his position), and the other side was still headed by my father, with the participation of masters.Their spearhead this time was mainly aimed at the "vanguard" Jin Liang, and they also won.Still, it's a superficial victory.In the third round, when Zheng, Luo, and Zhuang joined together and won Chen Baochen's participation, the focus of the question shifted to "Is my current situation dangerous or not, should I run into Dongjiaominxiang first?" It failed miserably.

The princes and ministers headed by my father wholeheartedly want to restore the original status and strive to restore the number to the palace.They hate the National Army, but they want me to endure and wait.The national army canceled my title of emperor. They thought I could still be emperor at home, but they didn't cancel my title anyway.As soon as the Nationalist Army's rule showed signs of instability (Zhang and Feng's discord, Huang's cabinet was rejected by the mission), their illusions reared their heads.While persuading me to wait for the good news, they attacked all those who advocated going abroad and leaving the government.They won the first round, making it impossible for me to go to Dongjiaominxiang, and in the second round, Jin Liang was defeated very embarrassingly.After Jin Liang saw my conversation with Lu Zhonglin in the newspaper, he came with a memorial and a "manifesto" drafted for me as soon as the door was loosened.He greatly praised my speech, and asked me to declare to the outside world, "I give up everything, give me back my freedom, and I have this ambition for a long time"!Tell me to give up the imperial title and preferential treatment fees, and use the money to run libraries and schools in order to "collect people's hearts and resist public opinion". , do your best to wait for the destiny, and once you have the opportunity to take advantage of it, return to the country immediately."His argument is: "Gai Bixiu is the false emperor of today, only can he hope for the true emperor in the future."After he said it, he wrote a "Please send the declaration quickly".Although I was tempted by these words, my father was very angry with him when he heard about it, calling him a "lunatic" and begging him not to come to my house again in the future.

In fact, Jin Liang is not a resolute "going abroad".His proposition once baffled me for a while.After Duan Qirui came to power, when the call for restoration was raging, he asked someone to pass me a booklet, and never mentioned "everything is worthless" and giving up the preferential conditions and emperor title. He said that if I can regain the emperor title, I will not give up.At the same time, he wrote to Zhang Zuolin, saying: "Preferential treatment conditions are related to the trust of the country, and they must be treated as equals. They cannot be easily modified." He explained to others that he did not advocate giving up the emperor's title, but it is not appropriate for me to fight for this matter.His explanation did not get my father's understanding, also 5!I am not interested, and the gate of Beifu cannot be entered.

After my father drove Jinliang away, in order to prevent others from influencing me, whenever someone he considered unreliable visited me, he would either stop him or stand aside and watch over me. Therefore, Luo Zhenyu, who advocated going abroad, was confused by him. Can't talk to me.My father's "lord" prestige was only afraid to use it against Johnston, but the soldiers at the door helped my father invisibly, and Johnston couldn't get in from the next day.So my father became the winner again this time against the foreign faction. The two consecutive victories won by my father's faction were very shaky victories.His block first bow!Aroused a greater resentment in my heart.Although I don't have a clear plan for my future, this point has been made clear since I entered the gate of Beifu: I have to leave this place anyway.I can't get out of a big Forbidden City and get into a small Forbidden City, not to mention that it's not safe here.

Later, I expressed my dissatisfaction to my father. I don’t want him to be present when I meet people, and I don’t want people who want to see me to be blocked.My father backed down, and so the situation changed, and various guides came with the best ideas.At this time, a new foreign school appeared.My old friend Dr. Hu Shi is here. Not long ago, I just read an open letter from Hu Shi to Wang Zhengting in the newspaper, scolding the national army and expressing his "righteous indignation" at the act of "coercing by force" to modify the conditions of preferential treatment.Although Chen Baochen still regarded him as a snake and a scorpion, Zheng Xiaoxu had already made friends with him, and some elders also believed that he was better than the Revolutionary Party and the National Army after all.He entered Beifu without hindrance, and I greeted him when I saw him, and praised him for his articles in the newspapers.He scolded the national army again, saying: "From the perspective of European and American countries, this is all oriental barbarism!"

When Hu Shi saw me this time, it was not out of pure condolence, but out of his "concern".He asked me what my plans are for the future.I said that the princes and ministers are all active and restored to their original state. I have no interest in those. I hope to live independently and seek some knowledge. "The emperor is very ambitious!" He nodded in praise, "The last time I came back from the palace, I told my friends that the emperor is very ambitious." "I want to study abroad, but it's very difficult." "It's difficult, but it's not too difficult. If you go to England, Mr. Johnston can take care of it. If you want to go to the United States, it's not difficult to find someone to help."

"The princes and ministers will not let me go, especially the prince." "The emperor said the same thing in the palace last time. In my opinion, we still have to be decisive." "The authorities of the Republic of China may not necessarily let me go." "That's easy to say, what matters is that the emperor makes up his mind." Although I was instinctively wary of this "new guy", his words did give me a kind of encouragement.From him, I sensed that my plan to go abroad will definitely win the sympathy of many people in the society.Therefore, I hate those princes and ministers who oppose my going abroad.

I think those who advocate restitution do so because that is the only way to keep their titles.Their food and clothing parents are not the emperor, but preferential treatment conditions.With the preferential conditions, Shaoying would not be able to lose the "Secret Key of the Office of the Chief of Internal Affairs", Rong Yuan would maintain a life of mortgage and price changes that he enjoys, and Prince Chun's Mansion would be able to spend 42,480 taels a year. This fee, regardless of whether the government of the Republic of China is in arrears or not, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will have to collect enough to send it.In addition to these people, the minions below, who are constantly handing out notebooks and submitting reports, also have their own little plans.My sixth uncle, Zaixun, had a disciple named Wu Xibao who wrote an excerpt of "Zou is Chen Shanhou's great plan". He complained that he had long advocated hiring jurists from various countries to study laws in order to deal with the illegal breach of contract in the Republic of China. , Because I didn't listen to his idea, I was in a hurry today and I was powerless to refute.Then he put forward five major plans, which are all based on the use of law and jurists. The reason is that he himself is a lawyer.There is also a banner man named Duoji, who is a nominal member of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Wailang. He insists that the title of emperor should not be given up no matter what. Not only that, but when I have a son in the future, I will be called "Xuantong No. 2".He also advocated that in the future I should replace the people who serve the left and right with the Eight Banners.It seems that he also made a good idea to let his son be the "Second Duoji" to inherit Yuanwailang's salary.

I met Hu Shi, and Johnston came back to me, conveying Zhang Zuolin's concern to me.I think what Hu Shi said is right, the problem of going abroad will not be blocked by the authorities.Johnston and I discussed how to prepare for going abroad, and Zhang Zuolin expressed his welcome to live in the Northeast.I thought it would be better to live in the Northeast for a while. Once I arrive in the Northeast, I can go abroad anytime.I had just made up my mind when a new problem arose. After the guards of the national army withdrew from the gate, the situation had eased, and I dared to scold the national army to the reporter. Suddenly Zheng Xiaoxu appeared in front of me with a serious face and asked me if I had read the newspaper. "Look, there's nothing there!" "Your Majesty, take a look at the Suncheon Times." He took out the newspaper and pointed to a headline titled "The Song of Civilian Self-Government of the Redization Movement" for me to read.The news said that after Feng Jun entered Beijing, "Redificationism" took advantage of the opportunity, and recently tens of thousands of leaflets appeared, advocating "no real government autonomy, no legal freedom" and so on.At that time, I often heard and saw from the mouths of Zheng, Chen, and Zhuang and the "Suntian Times" that the Communist Party is radicalism and redism, and redness and radicalism are scourges, communism and wives, and Feng Yuxiang's army It has something to do with the radicalization of redness, and other nonsense.Now, according to Zheng Xiaoxu's explanation, the world will soon be in chaos, and there is no doubt that "redism" will kill me. I was terrified by Zheng Xiaoxu's words, when Luo Zhenyu appeared with a sad face.I have always attached great importance to the news Luo Zhenyu got from Japan.This time he reported to me that the Japanese had received information that Feng Yuxiang and the "radicalists" would take adverse actions against me. "Feng Jun has occupied the Summer Palace now," he said, "The accident may happen within a few days. The emperor should leave here as soon as possible, and take shelter in Dongjiaomin Lane." At this time Johnston also came, bringing news from foreign newspapers that Feng Yuxiang was going to take action against Beijing for the third time. As a result, I lost my temper, and even Chen Baochen panicked.Chen Baochen agreed with this opinion: we should seize the opportunity to hide in Dongjiaomin Lane while Feng Yuxiang's army is away, and first be admitted to a German hospital, because the German doctor knows me.Masters Chen and Master Zhuang and I quietly discussed a strategy. This strategy should not only avoid the knowledge of the Republic of China authorities, but also guard against my father. We proceeded according to the secret plan.In the first step, Master Chen and I went out together to visit the two concubines Jingyi and Ronghui who left the palace a few days later than me and lived in Qilinbei Hutong. impression.We have done this step.The next day, we planned to proceed to the second step, that is, to go to Zhuanbei Hutong to look at a house that was going to be rented under the pretext of going to Dongjiaominxiang, and then to be admitted to a German hospital.The third step is to live in the embassy.As long as you reach Dongjiaomin Lane, the third step and the fourth step for Wanrong and the others to move here will be easy to handle.But when we were carrying out this second step of the plan, as soon as we got into the car, my father sent his big housekeeper, Zhang Wenzhi, to accompany us.Johnston and I sat in the first car, and Zhang Wenzhi followed Chen Baochen into another car. "Things are a bit troublesome." Johnston got into the car, frowned, and said to me in English. "Ignore him!" I was full of anger and asked the driver to drive.The car drove out of Beifu.I really want to never enter this door again for the rest of my life. Johnston believed that it was impossible to ignore Zhang Wenzhi, and he had to try to get rid of him.On the way, he came up with a way: we first stopped at Wuliwen foreign shop, pretended to be shopping, and sent Zhang Wenzhi to go. Uliwen Foreign Trade Co., Ltd. was opened at the first entrance of the west end of Dongjiaomin Lane. It was a shop opened by foreigners to sell clocks, watches and cameras.We got to Uliven, and Johnston and I went into the shop.I looked at one and the same product, and finally picked out a French gold pocket watch. After a while, Zhang Wenzhi waited outside, showing no intention of leaving.At this point, Johnston had no choice but to resort to the last resort and told Zhang Wenzhi, I don't feel well, I should go to a German hospital.Zhang Wenzhi followed us suspiciously to the German hospital.When we got to the hospital, we threw him aside.Johnston explained his purpose to Dr. Di Bo in the hospital, and let me rest in an empty ward. Zhang Wenzhi saw that he was not the right person, so he quickly slipped away.We knew that he must have gone back to Beifu to report to my father. Zhuang Tudun didn't dare to relax, and immediately went to the British embassy to negotiate.Who would have thought that there would be no news from him since he left, and I was so anxious to wait.I was afraid that Zhang Wenzhi would bring my father here at this time, and when I was restless, Chen Baochen and Zheng Xiaoxu arrived one after another. In Zheng Xiaoxu's diary, there is such a record: When I came to the Japanese Pavilion, there were several courtiers rushing to watch.The superior ordered Yu to sue Duan Qirui and Zhang Wenzhi to sue Zhang Zuolin. ... Regarding Johnston, Zheng Xiaoxu only briefly mentioned one sentence in his diary, because he did not see Johnston in the German hospital, and Johnston had gone to the Japanese embassy with resentment at that time.When I met this master Zhuang who never came back in the Japanese embassy, ​​I felt very strange.He explained to me: "I went to the British envoy, and Markle said that the place is too small to be entertained...Since your Majesty was received by the Japanese envoy, it is great. In short, everything is safe now. "During the haste, I didn't ask any more questions—since I was insured, I wasn't interested in knowing about the past.It was only later that I realized that what aroused his resentment was not that he lost face as he explained to me that day, "Ma Kelei said that the place is too small to entertain", and it was not like he later wrote in his book "The Forbidden City". According to the book "The Twilight of China", only the Japanese Legation is willing to give me effective protection (maybe the British Legation has this view-he said so in the book), and he became the The loser is the root cause of his resentment. Zheng Xiaoxu was very proud of his role in this escape.This can be seen in two heptapods written by him: . This self-proclaimed "warrior" later hid a painting: In the clouds and mist above the turret, there is a dragon with teeth and claws.Chen Baochen inscribed the word "Fengyi" on the painting piously, and wrote a poem to compliment him: "The wind and sand are screaming and the sun is falling to the west, so where is the shelter at this moment; Move." Johnston knew how to make fun of it, and wrote the incident in English. One of the reasons why Zheng Xiaoxu is so ecstatic is that he beat his secret opponent Luo Zhenyu in this battle for monopoly.Not only did Luo fail to catch up with this opportunity, but the valuable relationship of Takemoto Osumi was also held by Zheng Qingqing and became Zheng's capital.The conflict between Zheng and Luo turned out to be covered up behind the battle between them and the princes.And from then on, the battle between them began. But Johnston couldn't help laughing secretly.In his book published in 1932, he affirmed the correctness of Zheng Xiaoxu's diary account and said: "With the exception of one thing, Zheng Xiaoxu wrongly believed that Takemoto Daisuke agreed to use his own residence. Before receiving the emperor, I had already discussed with the Japanese minister. The relationship between the civil and military officials in the Japanese embassy is not as close and friendly as the relationship between civil and military officials in other embassies. Does Mr. Takemoto think that he should obey the orders of the Japanese minister? It is doubtful. Therefore, he did not think it necessary to report what he had talked with Mr. Zheng Xiaoxu to Mr. Yoshizawa Kenkichi, and he did not do so. In fact, he himself was anxious to receive the emperor and did not want the Japanese envoy to send him The distinguished guests are taken away..." In fact, it was later taken away.The battle that had just started was not only between the princes and ministers and Zheng and Luo, and not only between Zheng and Luo, but also between the Japanese.The real winner in this battle was published in the next day's "Suncheon Times":

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