Chapter 25 second quarter

Sun Yat-sen was elected and took office as interim president. This was the beginning of the Republic of China and the climax of the Revolution of 1911. However, the revolutionary task had not yet been completed. The Qing court in Beijing was still there, and the abdication of the Qing emperor was the end of this revolution. This period should be drawn by Yuan Shikai. Sun Yat-sen called Yuan Shikai on the day he was elected as the provisional president, saying that this was a provisional, when will you overthrow the imperial court, and when will I let you.In his inauguration oath, Sun Yat-sen swore in front of the whole nation that he would resign as soon as the Qing emperor abdicated.Sun Yat-sen knew that Yuan Shikai was not at ease, so he called Yuan Shikai again the next day after taking office, saying that the position of President will definitely be given to you, and you must act quickly, "make a plan early to comfort the desire of 400 million people."

Knowing that Sun Yat-sen was elected and took office as the President, Yuan Shikai was struck by lightning and deeply felt the fool of the Revolutionary Party;Sun Yat-sen called again and again to explain that Yuan Shikai just didn't believe it. According to his psychology, how could anyone get a big man and let him go easily? On January 14, 1912, Yuan Shikai, who was full of doubts, sent a secret telegram to the South and asked directly: Is Sun Yat-sen really planning to let me or is he pretending to let me?The South clearly called back: Once the Qing court falls, let you go immediately.

Yuan Shikai gradually became more at ease.He also saw the great benefits of taking over from Sun Yat-sen: the Qing Dynasty was over when Sun Yat-sen was president, and I took over the presidency from Sun Yat-sen. In this world, the reputation of rebellious officials and thieves can no longer be settled, great! On January 16, Yuan Shikai submitted a memorial, and for the first time asked the Queen Mother Longyu to abdicate the Qing emperor. According to the memorial, the political systems in the world are nothing more than monarchy and republic. Looking around the world, republic is the trend.After the Wuchang riots, since we went to war with the south, the economic and trade losses have been huge, and the big powers are very dissatisfied, thinking that the existence of the monarchy has disrupted the world.Now the revolutionaries don't want a monarch, the people don't want a monarch, foreigners don't want a monarch, and even our troops don't have feelings for the monarch anymore!If this development continues, the result is unpredictable. Thinking about the French Revolution, the fate of the royal family is to kill no one left.Empress Dowager, you must think carefully, follow today's public opinion as soon as possible, so as not to "take advantage of the public opinion to go hunting", that is, don't end up being thrown into the wilderness, or even worse!

The weight of this memorial is not light, and Empress Dowager Longyu's reaction after reading it was: she was dumbfounded, and then burst into tears. She has always pityed herself as an "orphan and widowed mother" and pinned all her hopes on Yuan Shikai, expecting him to turn things around, but unexpectedly this big tree also said such words, what a good thing! Yuan Shikai, who was kneeling in front of the Queen Mother, observed the Queen Mother Longyu's reaction. Seeing that Longyu was crying, he also shed tears. That's what great politicians do.He told himself that the Yuan Shikai who was kneeling in front of the Queen Mother was not the Yuan Shikai who conspired with the revolutionary party to destroy the royal family and then ruled the world by himself; Yuan Shikai who can feel infinitely guilty.It is not difficult for him to switch between these two roles.

So it should be said that the best performing artists are definitely not in show business. Yuan Shikai wept, sniffed loudly, and tried to persuade Longyu intermittently.Longyu, whose mind was blank, could only respond blankly, saying that he would discuss it with the princes. Finally, the showdown of the words that had been buried in my heart for a long time was finally done, and the effect was very good. Yuan Shikai, who was in a good mood, came out of the palace in a heavy-footed manner, but almost suffered a catastrophe. Three revolutionaries in the north are waiting for him with bombs in their arms!

Yuan Shikai negotiated peace with the south, and at the same time brutally suppressed the northern revolutionaries.The northern revolutionaries hated Yuan Shikai deeply, and Zhang Xianpei, Dong Zhimeng, and Li Xianwen formed an assassination team, determined to kill Yuan Shikai. The three of them were waiting outside the Donghua Gate. Yuan Shikai dropped bombs as soon as his carriage approached.In the sound of the explosion, several people were killed and injured. Yuan Shikai's carriage was overturned, and he was thrown out of the carriage, but he was not injured. After Yuan Shikai, who had escaped from the dead, was shocked, he found that the bombing was of great benefit to him: First, people who always suspected that he was in collusion with the revolutionary army to seize the family saw that the revolutionary party wanted to kill Yuan Shikai and then quickly , how can there be any collusion!Second, Yuan Shikai was taking the opportunity to talk about how powerful the Revolutionary Party was, and it had penetrated every corner of Beijing, putting further pressure on the Qing court.

Feeling so insecure, Yuan Shikai dared not stay in Beijing any longer, and proposed that the Qing government authorize him to organize a provisional government and temporarily set up Tianjin. At the imperial meeting held by Longyu, Puwei, Shanqi, Tieliang, Liangbi and other princes and nobles first resolutely opposed the republic and would never abdicate; second, they resolutely opposed Yuan Shikai's provisional government in Tianjin. The cowardly Longyu said: "Why do I want a republic? It was both Yiqiang and Yuan Shikai who said that the Revolutionary Party is too powerful. We have no guns, no military pay, and we must not fight...It is good to win, but if we lose, even the preferential treatment conditions are not good." No, wouldn’t the country be subjugated?” Now with the support of the hardliners, she braces herself and waits for a turnaround.

After the outbreak of the 1911 Revolution, the hardliners Pu Wei, Tie Liang, and Liang Bi of the Qing court organized the Clan Socialist Party and resolutely opposed compromise with the Revolutionary Party.The most radical and the leader of this group is Liangbi of the young school. Longyu is not difficult to deal with, but this die-hard Liang Bi's Zong Socialist Party is a big obstacle to the realization of the goal, no matter for the revolutionaries or Yuan Shikai. Yuan Shikai sent a message to the south through Wang Jingwei: There is progress in forcing the palace, but the Clan Socialist Party hinders it.

The revolutionaries who were used to disregarding life and death once again offered their magic weapon--assassination! On the evening of January 26, Peng Jiazhen, a 24-year-old native of Sichuan, waited outside Liangbi's mansion in Hongluochang, Xisi Pailou, after planning.Liang Bi, who was returning home from the imperial meeting, had just stepped out of the carriage, when Peng Jiazhen, who was wearing a military uniform, called out, "Brother Liang Bi!" and stepped forward. When Liangbi heard someone calling him affectionately, he stopped and asked suspiciously, "Who are you?" Peng Jiazhen said, "Why, you don't recognize me?" He handed over a business card.

In the dim outdoor light, Liangbi put the business card in front of his eyes and looked at it carefully.At this time, Peng Jiazhen took out a bomb from his bag and threw it at Liangbi's feet! The scene where Xu Xilin assassinated Enming was almost repeated, but the bomb did not explode.Liangbi was taken aback, he took a step back, drew his sword and was ready to fight, at the same time the guards surrounded him with a clatter. Perhaps having absorbed Xu Xilin's lesson, this time Peng Jiazhen prepared a lot of bombs and put them in the bag.If one didn't explode, he immediately took out another one and smashed it on the ground.

There was a loud noise, blood and flesh flew everywhere, and Liangbi, Peng Jiazhen, eight guards and a groom fell in a pool of blood at the same time. Peng Jiazhen died on the spot.Liang Bi had a leg broken, and his family immediately sent him to a foreign doctor for amputation. He died two days later due to hemorrhage. Liangbi was killed, and the whole of Beijing was shaken violently. The princes and princes fled out of Beijing one after another, fleeing to Qingdao, Lushun and other places.Obstacles for royal hardliners cleared. Yuan Shikai, who only needed to deal with Empress Dowager Longyu, stepped up his pressure on the palace.He authorized the printing of fake newspapers and sent them to the palace, which created public opinion about the abdication of the Qing emperor, and published many "news": saying that the United States sent three warships to Sun Wen, and overseas Chinese raised funds to build more than ten warships; The children of overseas Chinese were trained by the United States and hired American officers to command the ships; after Sun Wen returned to China, these warships had been deployed in Weihaiwei. If the emperor did not abdicate, he would attack Tianjin and Beijing... Longyu was already scared to death.Yuan Shikai even bought her personal eunuch Xiao De Zhang, and said in her ear every day, master, abdicate quickly, there will be preferential treatment conditions if you abdicate voluntarily; if you are driven out, you will have nothing! At this point, the Qing court has come to an end.Frightened and unwilling, Longyu tried to grab the last straw. She proposed: Accept the republic, but build a republic of the emperor, that is, the royal family will no longer care about state affairs, and the emperor in name must be retained. It was only a matter of time before Yuan Shikai asked the representatives to discuss with the Nanjing Provisional Government the preferential treatment conditions for the emperor's abdication, and at the same time used his trump card. On February 5, he instructed Duan Qirui to call the imperial court in the name of a front-line general, saying that whoever opposed the republic would "lead all the soldiers to Beijing" and "board the car with tears in their eyes, and go up to the top with ignorance." The tone of the message was an ultimatum.The few princes who originally wanted to die were hoarse at the imperial meeting. Yuan Shikai showed the telegram without saying a word, and the faces of those who opposed the abdication suddenly turned pale. Looking out from the high steps of the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City, the sun has already set on the western mountain.The sky was low and the clouds were dark, and the crows wailed. On February 10, Yuan Shikai convened the cabinet and the nearby princes to discuss and approve the amendment to the preferential treatment conditions after the abdication of the Qing emperor. On the 11th, Empress Dowager Longyu approved it. There are three items in the preferential conditions. The first item, "Conditions for Preferential Treatment after the Resignation of the Qing Emperor", has eight items in total: (1) The honorary title of the Qing emperor will not be abolished, and the Republic of China will treat it as a gift from foreign monarchs; (2) The Qing emperor spends four hundred Ten thousand taels were allocated by the government of the Republic of China; (3) the emperor of the Qing Dynasty temporarily lived in the palace and moved to the Summer Palace in the future. If it is properly repaired, the government of the Republic of China will pay the practical expenses; (6) the deacons in the palace can be retained as usual, but no eunuchs can be recruited; (7) the private property of the Qing emperor is specially protected by the government of the Republic of China; The establishment, amount and salary are still the same as before. The second item, "Conditions for the Treatment of the Qing Royal Family", has four articles in total: (1) The princes and princes remain the same; (2) The royal family has the same rights as the nationals; (3) The royal family's private property is fully protected; (4) The royal family is exempt Obligation to perform military service. The third item, "Conditions for the Treatment of Manchurian, Mongolian, Hui and Tibetan Ethnic Groups", has seven articles in total: (1) Equality with the Han people; (2) Protection of their private property; (3) Princes and princes should remain the same; (4) The government of the Republic of China Raise livelihoods for the princes who are living in hardship; (5) First raise the livelihood of the Eight Banners, and their salaries will still be paid before the preparation is made; (6) The previous restrictions on business and residence will be removed, and states and counties will allow them to naturalize freely; (7) Allow them to freely believe in their original religion. Since the Opium War, the end of the Qing Dynasty, which has been talked about a lot, has really come. February 12, 1912 was the last day of the Qing Dynasty. Empress Dowager Longyu and the six-year-old Xuantong Emperor Puyi issued an abdication edict in Qianqing Palace.Yuan Shikai, who most directly buried the Qing Dynasty, was unwilling to attend the funeral, and Hu Weide, Minister of Foreign Affairs, attended for him. Hu Weide led thirteen cabinet ministers lined up.When the ashen-faced Longyu came out with the ignorant Xuantong Emperor Xiao Puyi, the ministers did not kneel down, but bowed three times to Longyu and Puyi together.This was agreed in advance, and the empress dowager, who was about to become a commoner in a few minutes, no longer wanted to continue her former majesty, even for the last time. Longyu, full of pain, nodded back to the ministers and said, "Yuan Shikai was able to handle the situation until today, and he has done a lot for the country and the royal family. Now the peace negotiation can satisfy the south, and it is not easy to achieve the preferential treatment conditions for the royal family." Yes. My Majesty and I want the people of the whole country to settle down one day sooner, the country to be unified one day sooner, and to live in peace without fighting. Therefore, I handed over the power of the country according to the terms of the peace talks and handed it over to Yuan Shikai to run the republican government. The imperial edict was issued today to implement Abdicate, ask Yuan Shikai to come out early, and let the world be peaceful sooner!" She was still saying things that affirmed Yuan Shikai.Maybe it was because he didn't know Yuan Shikai's deep intentions, and he really thanked Yuan Shikai for his devotion; maybe it was because he had some understanding of Yuan Shikai's behavior in his heart, but considering that the powerless royal family still wanted Yuan Shikai to take care of him after his abdication, he could only use such words . After finishing speaking, Longyu stood up slowly, handed over the edict to Hu Weide, and Hu Weide handed it to Yuan Shikai, and sent a note to the embassies of various countries.At this time, the Qing Dynasty will officially come to an end, and the vast and good rivers and mountains will no longer be surnamed Aixinjueluo.Even though he had already accepted this helpless fact and struggled in every possible way, at the moment when he handed over the 268-year-old country with his own hands, Longyu was heartbroken again, tears came out of his eyes, and he said in tears: "Ancestor! Ancestor! what……" The full text of the abdication edict is as follows: "Before, due to the uprising of the militia, the provinces responded. Nine summers were boiling and people were dying. Yuan Shikai was specially appointed to discuss the overall situation with the representatives of the militia, discuss the opening of the National Assembly, and a referendum on the government. For two months, there is no proper way. It means that merchants drop out on the way, scholars are out in the wild, just because the state system is not determined for a day, so the people's livelihood is uneasy for a day. "Nowadays, the people of the whole country tend to be republican. The provinces in the south and central regions have advocated it first; the generals in the north have also advocated it later. The fate of the people can be known. How can I bear the honor of one family name and tell the likes and dislikes of the people. Use it. The general situation on the outside, and the internal review of public opinion, led the emperor to rule the whole country as a constitutional republic. It comforts the hearts of the people who are tired of chaos and hopes for governance, and far assists the ancient saints to make the world a righteous one. "Yuan Shikai was elected as the prime minister by the Council of Ministers. When the old and the new are replaced, he announced that the north and the south will be unified. That is, Yuan Shikai will organize a republican government with full power and negotiate a unified method with the militia. In general, the people will be safe and the sea will be safe. , and still combine the complete territory of the Han, Manchu, Mongolian, Hui and Tibetan tribes into a large Republic of China, and the emperor can retreat to leisure, enjoy the years, receive the preferential gifts from the people, and see the success of Zhizhi, wouldn't it be great!" This imperial edict was drafted by Yang Tingdong, an aide to Zhang Jian, the top scholar in the 20th year of Guangxu (1894), a talented scholar who had studied in Japan. Zhang Jian then polished and revised it, and Yuan Shikai finally approved it.Zhang Jian was the Chief Industrial Officer of the Nanjing Provisional Government at that time. There are a total of ten abdication edicts of the emperors of the past dynasties that can be seen today, namely Emperor Xian of the Eastern Han Dynasty Liu Xie, Emperor Wei Yuan Cao Huan, Emperor Gong of the Eastern Jin Dynasty Sima Dewen, Emperor Liu Song Shun Liu Zhun, Emperor Qihe Xiao Baorong, Emperor Jingdi Xiao Fangzhi, and Emperor Xiao Fang of the Eastern Wei Dynasty Emperor Jing Yuan Shanjian, Emperor Gong Yuan Kuo of the Western Wei Dynasty, Emperor Jing Yuwenchan of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and Emperor Xuantong Puyi of the Qing Dynasty.The difference between Puyi's abdication and the other nine is that the new emperor was born immediately after the others abdicated, and Puyi's abdication officially entered the history of China's feudal emperor era in 2123 years. Yuan Shikai added the sentence "that is, Yuan Shikai will organize a provisional republican government with full power and negotiate with the militia to unify the measures" in the imperial edict.Originally, the president Yuan Shikai was about to get was given by Sun Yat-sen. In this way, facing the revolutionaries, he could say that the source of his power came from the Qing court before he abdicated, not from you, Sun Yat-sen; It can also be said that it was Sun Wen's abdication, not usurpation of the throne. Yuan Shikai's forced palace has been completely won so far.That night, he had his braids cut off at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building.