Chapter 30 Seven "walking in" life

After I lived in Zhangyuan for a period of time, I felt that the environment was far more comfortable than the Forbidden City in Beijing.I have this idea: unless the time for restoration is ripe, or an irresistible external force occurs, it is better for me to live here.This is also one of the reasons why the idea of ​​going abroad gradually faded away. For me, Zhang Yuan (and later Jing Yuan) had nothing in the Forbidden City that I didn't like, while retaining what seemed necessary.What I dislike the most in the Forbidden City, first of all, is the set of rules that do not even allow you to ride a car or go to the streets freely, and secondly, the group of people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs that make me angry.Now I have the freedom to do whatever I want, and others can only advise but not interfere.In the Forbidden City, what I considered necessary, my majesty, still exists here.Although I no longer wear the clumsy emperor's dragon robe, I often wear ordinary robes and mandarin jackets, and more often wear suits, but this does not affect others to worship me.The place where I live used to be an amusement park, without glazed tiles, and there are no carved beams and painted buildings, but some people call it "walking in" (I also think that the western-style buildings with flush toilets and heating equipment are far more comfortable than the Hall of Mental Cultivation). People have to take turns to come here to "on duty" for me. The room at the ticket office of Zhangyuan Amusement Park in the past is like the former "Guard Office of Qianqing Gate".Although the South Study Room, Maoqin Hall, and House of Internal Affairs are no longer here, in people's minds, the signboard of "Qingshi Tianjin Office" in Zhang Yuan is their incarnation.As for what people call me, the Xuantong reign name used in the garden is meticulously preserved. For me, it is all natural and necessary.

During Zhang Yuan's era, only Rong Yuan was left among the ministers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the rest either stayed in Beijing to take care of them, or retired.The first edict issued after I arrived in Tianjin included these two items: "Zheng Xiaoxu, Hu Siyuan, Yang Zhongxi, Wen Su, Jing Fangchang, Xiao Bingyan, Chen Zengshou, Wan Shengmushi, and Liu Xiangye are all stationed in Tianjin as consultants." Zheng Xiaoxu and Hu Siyuan are in charge, Tong Jixu is in charge of the general affairs department, Jing Fangchang is in charge of the income and expenditure department, and Liu Xiangye is in charge of the negotiation department." Chen Baochen, Luo Zhenyu, and Zheng Xiaoxu are the "close ministers" who must see every day. If you want to come once, sit in a row of bungalows on the west side of the building and wait for "summoning".There is a room near the gate, which is the place where those who ask for an "audience" sit and wait for the summons. People who have sat there include warriors, politicians, old people, various "new" figures, poets, poets, and doctors and astrologists.For example, Youth Party leader Zeng Chuan, tennis player Lin Baohua, editor-in-chief of "New Tianjin News" Liu Rangong, Kuomintang supervisory member Gao Youtang, ... have all joined the ranks of Zhang Zongchang and Liu Fengchi, and have waited here for the "introduction" of the "player officer" ".The Japanese police stationed in the park, called "white hats" by Tianjin people, are stationed in the bungalow opposite and register these people who come and go every day.Whenever I go out, there is a Japanese policeman in plainclothes following me.

Compared with the Forbidden City, Zhang Yuanli's economic situation is naturally much worse, but I still have a considerable amount of property.I got a large amount of property from the palace, part of which was exchanged for money and stored in foreign banks to earn interest, and part of it was turned into real estate for monthly rent.I still have a large amount of land inside and outside the pass, which is the so-called "imperial property" acquired after the Qing Dynasty entered the pass. I don't know the number. The imperial property of Li Province, not counting the Eight Banners, is about 120,000.Even discounting this figure a few times is still impressive.In order to deal with the leasing and sale of these lands, the Zhili Supervision Office and Qing Shi of the Republic of China government set up a "private property management office".In addition, as I said earlier, a large number of precious ancient calligraphy and painting books that Pu Jie and I worked hard for more than half a year to transport are all in my hands.

After I arrived in Tianjin, there are still many places in Beijing, Fengtian, Tianjin and other places that have to continue to pay monthly fees. People's Mansion", "Private Property Management Office (jointly formed with the Republic of China authorities)", "Minister of Protection of Dongling Tombs" and "Minister of Protection of Xiling Tombs" to manage separately.I found a document, which only counts the fixed monthly fees, salaries, and meals in Beijing and Dongxiling, and the cost will be 15,837 yuan and 8.4 cents. As for the expenses in Tianjin , It costs about 10,000 yuan a month, and the largest expenditure is the money for buying and campaigning warlords, which is not counted here.The purchase item in the average monthly expenses accounts for about two-thirds of the monthly expenses, and items such as cars and diamonds are not included.The expenditure on purchasing supplies in Tianjin was much larger than that in Beijing, and it increased every month, such as pianos, clocks, radios, suits, leather shoes, glasses, and I bought and bought them again and again, never tire of them.Wanrong was originally a young lady from Tianjin, and she has more ways to spend money to buy trash than I do.Whatever she bought, Wenxiu must also want it.I bought it for Wenxiu, and Wanrong will definitely buy it again, and it costs more, as if it is not enough to show her status as a queen.Seeing that she bought it, Wenxiu naturally asked for it again.This kind of competition-style purchase made me have to set their monthly fee quota. Naturally, the amount set for Wanrong is larger than that for Wenxiu. I remember that it was 1,000 for Wanrong and 800 for Wenxiu. Difficult, reduced to three hundred and two hundred.As for my own spending, of course there is no limit.

Due to this kind of extravagance, Zhang Yuan was once again in the embarrassment of the Forbidden City era. Sometimes he couldn't celebrate the holidays, couldn't pay the rent, and later couldn't even spend the salaries of his neighbors and "advisors". I spent countless money and bought countless unnecessary things, and at the same time bought a stronger concept than Johnston gave me: everything is good for foreigners, and in contrast, I feel that in the In China, everything is bad except the imperial system. A piece of spearmint brand chewing gum, or a piece of Bayer aspirin, these few cents are enough to make me sigh, thinking that the Chinese are the most stupid and the foreigners are the smartest.Of course, the Chinese I think of do not include myself, because I consider myself superior to all my subjects.I think even the smart foreigners see me that way.

At that time, in the foreign concession, I received treatment that ordinary Chinese people would never get.In addition to the Japanese, the consul generals of the United States, Britain, France, Italy and other countries.The chief of the garrison and the boss of a foreign company are also very respectful to me, calling me "His Majesty the Emperor", and invite me to a military parade on their National Day, to visit the barracks, to see the newly arrived aircraft and warships, and to come to me on New Year's Day and my birthday congratulate…… Before Johnston left, he introduced me to the British Consul General and the Commander of the British Garrison. Afterwards, they introduced me one after another, and all the previous commanders kept socializing with me.The third son of King George V of England visited me when he was in Tianjin and took the photo I sent his father. Later, the King of England sent me a letter to thank me and gave his photo to the British Consul General for me.Through the Italian Consul General, I also exchanged photos with the King of Italy.

I have seen many barracks and participated in many inspections of foreign troops.When these foreign troops stationed on Chinese soil in accordance with the "Gengzi Treaty" recognized by my ancestor, the Empress Dowager, walked past me proudly, I felt quite proud, thinking that foreigners treated me so well. Me, it can be seen that they still regard me as the emperor. There is a club called "Country Club" run by the British in Tianjin. It is a luxurious amusement place that only foreign big bosses are allowed to enter.I can go in and out freely, and I can bring my family to enjoy the taste of being a "special Chinese".

In order to dress myself up like a Westerner, I tried my best to use clothes and diamonds from foreign stores such as Huiluo Company and Longmao Co., Ltd. to decorate myself like a foreign nobleman in "Master Magazine".Whenever I go out, I wear the most exquisite British suit, with a diamond pin on the tie, diamond cufflinks on the sleeve, a diamond ring on my hand, a "civilized stick" in my hand, and glasses made by Zeiss in Germany. With the mixed smell of Misi Buddha, cologne and camphor essence, accompanied by two or three German hounds and monogamous concubines in strange clothes...

My life in Tianjin has aroused quite a lot of discussion among elders like Chen Baochen and Hu Siyuan. They have never objected to my spending money on shopping, nor against my dealings with foreigners, but when I go to Zhongyuan Company to get a haircut, or go to a theater once in a while, or go to a movie theater outside in a suit, they think it is a big mistake. The majesty of the emperor must be admonished.Once, Hu Siyuan submitted a memorial requesting his resignation because of my repeated admonitions (I changed the title of the original text to a blank space): Hu Siyuan’s “overlooking the theater” refers to the time when Wanrong and I went to Kaiming Theater to watch Mr. Mei Lanfang’s performance of “Xi Shi”.His old gentleman saw me in the theater and thought I had lost my dignity, so he resigned to me after he came back.After I comforted him again and again, I even took out two fox fur boxes to reward him, and once again expressed my determination to follow the advice, he turned his anger into joy, and praised me as the "British Lord" who followed the advice well, and both parties were satisfied. Good luck.The resignation caused by Zhongyuan Company's haircut this time also asked me to use similar methods to solve it.When I first arrived in Tianjin, when Wan Rong celebrated her 20th birthday, my father-in-law Rong Yuan wanted to invite a foreign band to play. Upon hearing the news, the bereaved old man Ding Renchang rushed to admonish him, saying, "The sound of foreign music has mournful sounds in it." ", you must not listen to it on the "Empress's Thousand Years Day".As a result, foreign music was discontinued, and Ding Renchang was rewarded with two hundred yuan.Remonstrating ministers with material rewards probably started this time.

Since then, until I went to prison, I have never seen a play outside or had my hair cut.I followed Hu Siyuan's advice, not because I was afraid that he would make trouble again, but because I had accepted his education and considered going to the opera garden to watch plays as something demeaning.Here is an example of my "progress".Later, a Swedish prince came to Tianjin and wanted to meet me. Because I saw a photo of him and Mei Lanfang in the newspaper, I thought he had lost his identity. To show my disdain, I refused his request and did not meet him. Hu Siyuan and Ding Renchang, the elders of Chen Baochen’s faction, seem to have despaired of restoration in the later period, and they are unwilling to try any risky ideas. This is the difference between them and Zheng Xiaoxu, Luo Zhenyu, etc. , but it seems to be more important than Zheng Xiaoxu and others, which is why I still trust these old men.Although their opinions are often regarded as pedantic by me, I always adopt their opinions when I meet them with Yatada.Therefore, in that very novel foreign life, I never forgot my identity, and firmly remembered the "rules" of the "emperor".

When Kang Youwei passed away in 1927, his disciple Xu Liang begged me for a posthumous posthumous title.According to my initial thought, it was for him.One year before his death, Kang often came to see me in Zhangyuan. When he saw me for the first time, he kowtowed to me with tears streaming down his face, and told me about the "Thinking of Emperor Dezong's Long Yu". Continue to travel around for me, looking for supporters of the restoration, and asked his disciples to spread widely to overseas Chinese: "To save China, you must proclaim the rule of the world and rebuild the empire."Shortly before his death, he appealed to Wu Peifu and other people in power for restoration.I think judging from these actions, it is very appropriate to give him a posthumous posthumous title.But Chen Baochen came out and objected.At this time, in his opinion, the distinction between loyal and traitors should not only be based on braids, but even the actual actions of the restoration are not enough.He said: "Kang Youwei's purpose is impure, and he once said that he would protect China but not the Qing Dynasty. And he disobeyed Empress Dowager Xiaoqin (Cixi) back then, which is unforgivable!" Hu Siyuan and others fully agreed with Chen Baochen, and Zheng Xiaoxu also said that Guangxu was He was harmed by Kang Youwei.In this way, I took another class on distinguishing "loyalty and traitor" and refused to give Kang Youwei a posthumous title.It is said that Xu Liang later said that he would "meet with old fists" with Chen, Zheng and others. In 1931, Wenxiu suddenly asked for a divorce. After the solution was resolved, the elders still hadn't forgotten this: an imperial edict was issued to demote Concubine Shu to a commoner.Of course I did as well. Speaking of the divorce between Wenxiu and me, I thought of the abnormal life between my family and my husband.This is not so much an emotional problem as it is due to the emptiness in Zhang Yuan's life.In fact, even if I only have one wife, this wife will not find it interesting.Because my interest is not only restoration, but also restoration.To be honest, I don’t know what love is. Others are equal couples, but to me, the relationship between husband and wife is the relationship between master and slave, and wives and concubines are the slaves and tools of the king. Here is a short essay written by Wenxiu in the palace, which more or less revealed her mood at that time: Wenxiu received the education of three obediences and four virtues since she was a child, and she started the life of a "concubine" when she was less than fourteen years old, so she has a deep concept of "monarchy" and "husband power".She dared to file for divorce in that environment, and it cannot be said that it was not an act of double bravery.She overcame all difficulties and fulfilled her request for a divorce. After the divorce, she was still under a lot of pressure.Some people say that she filed for divorce because she was instigated by her family in order to covet a considerable amount of alimony.In fact, the mental persecution given to her by her family members is not necessarily less than that of outsiders.It is said that the 50,000 yuan in alimony she received was deducted, misappropriated, and "asked for help" by lawyers, middlemen, and family members, and there was not much left, and her mental damage was even greater.One of her elder brothers once published an open letter to her in Tianjin "Business Daily", which contained the following words: This letter was once circulated among the survivors for a while.Wenxiu's later circumstances are unknown, only that she became a primary school teacher in Tianjin, died in 1950, and never married again. From the surface, Wenxiu was squeezed out by the "Zhonggong".Although this is not the whole reason, it is also one of the reasons.Wanrong’s mental state at that time can be glimpsed from the shackles she begged for (Jin Rong’s refers to Wanrong, and Duan’s refers to Wenxiu): By the way, this kind of amusing activities such as Fushi, face-to-face, fortune-telling, and horoscopes were not surprising social phenomena at that time, and they were even more indispensable in daily life in Zhangyuan.In the Jingyuan where I later lived, there was a "Spirit Altar" set up by the landlord Lu Zongyu.It can be said that the spiritual power given to me by the altar and divination at that time, the guiding role for me was second only to the education given to me by my master and other close officials.From this aspect, I am often inspired by prophecies such as "good luck in a certain year" and "great fortune in a certain year".Sun Xueshi, the chairman of the Beijing Chamber of Commerce, claimed to be proficient in linen clothes. He once predicted when my "royal appearance" would transport people and when I would hold "power".A Japanese physiognomist in the Japanese consulate also said that I will surely become a big event in a certain year.These are the driving forces for me to drive in reverse.

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