On December 10 of that year, the Senate announced that the state system voted by the deputies was a constitutional monarchy, which was unanimously approved. With the basis of "public opinion", Yuan Shikai got carried away and issued an order: "Once the National Congress has voted in full, the president of this congress has no room for discussion; Only... I hope to wear it separately".

Of course----, no one will be "pushed", no one will dare to be "pushed", and no one will dare to "push" others. On the spot, Yang Du and Sun Yuyun proposed: "In front of this court, the provinces were entrusted as the general representatives, and in particular, they should be honored in the name of the general representatives. The secretary-general took out the prepared book of recommendation and read it aloud in public, asking Yuan Shikai to "bow down to public opinion, ascend to the great treasure and herd the masses, and perform the supreme and economic development...". All the participants stood up and unanimously passed. At half past eleven, the meeting adjourned amid cheers.

At noon on the same day, Yuan Shikai received the letter of pushing, immediately sent it back, and issued an order to "push it again". He first said: "The sovereignty of the Republic of China is enshrined in the Covenant Law, which is based on the whole people, and since the National Assembly voted unanimously to adopt a constitutional monarchy, the President has no room for discussion." And what did he say in a hypocritical manner, "But push Dai in one move, no need to be frightened." President Ben has been in politics for 30 years,...... There is no help for the national plan, there is no help for the people, and the memory of the old monarch has been a lot of guilt. This cannot be blamed on morality. Governing the state is the first and most important letter. At the beginning of the establishment of the Republic of China, the president of the University swore an oath to the Senate that he was willing to do his best to promote the republic...... It is hoped that the general deputies of the National Congress will be familiar with the deliberations and will be promoted separately to consolidate the foundation of the country. ”

After receiving Yuan Shikai's order, of course, the second push was to be carried out, and the Senate met again at 5 o'clock in the afternoon of the same day. This time, Tui Daishu vigorously praised Yuan Shikai's merits, saying that he "admired virtue and prestige; China alone has an unshirkable responsibility; Therefore, I hope that Yuan Shikai can "not follow the false rites of courtesy, and the treasure of heaven for a long time, urgently issue an edict, declare the world, and ascend to the pole".

It should be dismissed as a matter of course.

Third, this is the tradition of all Chinese dynasties.

Early in the morning of the 12th, Yuan Shikai said: "The rise and fall of the world, the husband is responsible, and he is patriotic and obedient to the people?" However, the responsibility is heavy, how to benefit the people's livelihood, how to revitalize the country, how to refresh politics, and how to enter civilization. The previous honest statement was not for humility, but because of the lingering feelings, there are those who can't themselves. But the stricter the people's rebuke, and the more eager they become, so that the son has no way to excuse himself. He meant to "save the country and save the people", so he had to be the emperor.

At this time, Yuan Shikai, like Song Taizu who was put on the imperial robe by the soldiers, completed the final procedure of becoming emperor half-pushed and half-pushed. After some intensive preparations, Yuan Shikai gave in again and again, and finally accepted the "support" of the people, and really wanted to reform and become the emperor. Yuan Shikai announced that he would restore the Chinese monarchy on January 1, 1916, establish the Chinese Empire, and change the Yuan Hongxian to "promote the constitution". The presidential palace was changed to Xinhua Palace, and the title of emperor was accepted.

The Mandate of Heaven must be courteous. Yuan Shikai wanted to be the emperor, and he needed a famous literati to advocate for him, and the most famous at that time was Zhang Taiyan, who was also lured to Beijing and placed under house arrest in Longquan Temple. Of course, the treatment is generous, and two subordinates are arranged, and the monthly living expenses are 600 oceans, which is higher than the professor's income, which is thinking that it can make him change his mind.

Before ascending the throne, Yuan Shikai wanted him to write a "book of persuasion". This time, Zhang Taiyan rarely agreed. Without thinking, he waved it, and Shuyun: "The oath of April 8 of the first year is still in my ears. The public is suddenly ambitious, and he usurps the throne in vain, not only the rebellion of the Republic of China, but also the sinner of the Qing family. A certain trapped Beijing teacher, life is better than death! But when I saw my book, I was sentenced to death, which was more glorious than dying at the hands of the Manchu evil bureaucrats that day! ”

Yuan Shikai was so angry that he smoked, but in view of Zhang Taiyan's huge fame, he didn't dare to do harm, so he could only laugh at himself and say: "He is a madman, why should I be serious with him!" The people of the time called Zhang Taiyan "the balance of the Republic of China".

A small unpleasantness does not affect the big picture. Before officially ascending the throne, Yuan Shikai decided to hold a congratulatory meeting of 100 officials, and let Yuan Keding pick the date. Yuan Keding said impatiently: "Just tomorrow, December 13th is a good day!" ”

On the morning of the next day, Yuan Shikai held a congratulatory meeting of 100 officials in Zhongnanhai. Due to the rush of time and the lack of any preparations in advance, only the officials who came to the pilgrimage included those in Beijing, and none of the local officials participated. Ironically, there was no uniform dress or procedure for this pilgrimage, and some of the officials who came to congratulate him wore long robes and horse coats, while others wore suits and dresses, and military attachés even entered the congratulatory service, while some idle officials simply came in civilian clothes. It can be said that this enthronement ceremony is a joint exhibition of ancient and modern Chinese and foreign clothing.

The ceremony was presided over by Duan Zhigui, the "imperial cadre" of Emperor Yuan, but what puzzled him was that the emperor actually ordered him to bow three times when he congratulated him, and he was annoyed that the three bows and nine bows he imagined could not be performed. At 9 o'clock that day, under the guidance of the four military attachés, Yuan Shikai came to Jurentang, but he did not put on the million-dollar dragon gown and crown that everyone guessed, but wore the generalissimo's uniform, and he didn't even wear a hat (because he always hated the marshal's military hat with feathers). However, this makes his big head even more shiny, as if purple qi is coming from the east, and the sky is full of blessings.

Although the civil and military officials have been divided into shifts, Duan Zhigui is a martial artist, and he doesn't know the rules of the master of ceremonies, so he didn't wait for Emperor Yuan to take his seat, so he himself bowed down first. And the others were also chaotic when they visited because there was no one to command, some bowed, some bowed, and some shouted "Long live the emperor", which was uneven, but it made Emperor Yuan not sit or stand. hesitated for a long time, but his left hand held the throne dragon chair, and his right hand was still palm up, and he frequently nodded to the bowing and prostrating people.

After the congratulatory ceremony, Emperor Yuan let everyone disperse and go back to work, and he didn't even invite everyone to eat at the banquet. After everyone walked out of Jurentang, they came back to their senses: this pilgrimage ceremony is too simple and economical! It's like usual, as if he is closing the door to be the emperor, sneaking around, and being unsightly...... What's going on?

But that's not it, when Cai Yi, Tang Jiyao and others raised the banner of "protecting the country" in Yunnan, Yuan Shikai had no choice but to postpone the date of his accession to the throne, saying that he would wait until the rebellion was quelled before ascending the throne. Unexpectedly, this push was far away, and the Protectorate War would not end in a while and a half, and as a result, Yuan Shikai did not officially ascend the throne until his death, at best, he was a "closed emperor".

In ancient Chinese history, after the establishment of a new dynasty, it had to "reside, correct the Shuo, change clothes, and change sacrifices". It doesn't matter if this "sacrifice" sacrifice remains unchanged, and the national capital is also hard to win, so the "place of residence" is not necessary. However, there is still a need to make a fuss about "correcting Shuo", that is, after the abolition of the Republic of China for five years after 1916, the first year of Hongxian was changed, and the calendar was also changed to the "Hongxian First Year Almanac"; As for the "easy to wear color", according to the three-unified cycle theory of "Xia Hei, Shang Bai, Zhou Chi" of today's literature and scriptures, the Hongxian Dynasty should advocate red, so the pillars of the three major halls of the enthronement should be painted red, and the tiles should also be replaced with red tiles to show joy.

In addition, the emperor's ascension to the throne is routinely rewarded to meritorious ministers, and the benefits are equal, but there is also a small problem here, that is, the old friends and old friends. Emperor Yuan was also embarrassed to let them be called ministers, so he came up with three categories: "old couples" (including Zaifeng, Yixuan, Shixu, Natong, Xiliang, etc., all of whom were former Qing princes or famous governors), "old friends" (including Xu Shichang, Zhao Erxun, Zhang Jian, Li Jingxi, that is, the later "Songshan Four Friends"), "Qishuo" (Wang Minyun, Ma Xiangbo, etc.), these people can enjoy the gift of not being a minister. As for the provincial generals, patrol envoys, army envoys, town guard envoys, division and brigade commanders and above, etc., they were divided into five titles according to the "duke, marquis, uncle, son, and male", and those who saw it had a share, and 128 of them were sealed in one go, and even the late former premier Zhao Bingjun was posthumously awarded the first-class duke.

In addition, as a monument to the cultural façade of the feudal dynasty and the orthodox declaration---- the descendants of Confucius have also been re-revealed: the only hereditary title of the Republic of China---- the Holy Duke of Yan, also fell to Kong Lingyi, a descendant of Confucius, and brought a heavy end to the end of the Chinese dynasty.

Not all of them fainted. Yuan Shikai's ambition to claim the title of emperor was increasingly exposed, and his imperial activities became more and more public, and his nominal important aide, Vice President Li Yuanhong, disagreed; Duan Qirui, the Tiger of the North Ocean, disagreed; Feng Guozhang, the dog of the North Seas, was almost about to face each other.

Duan Qirui, as an important subordinate and confidant of Yuan Shikai, has always had a great influence on the old Yuan, Yuan Shikai in order to envelop Duan Qirui, married his righteous daughter to him as a continuation, and promoted him all the way in his years of eunuch career. However, Duan Qirui's attitude against Yuan Zheng's emperor was the most resolute, and then the situation was out of control, as a fully influential warlord and Yuan Zheng's chief of the central army, Duan Qirui bluntly opposed the emperor's claim to be emperor, and insisted that "this matter endangers the safety of the country and the life of the president, and must not be done, must not be done." Yuan Shikai, who went mad, wanted to be the emperor, and he couldn't listen to Duan Qirui's persuasion at all. Duan Qirui's bitter heart and piety were considered betrayal by Yuan Shikai.

In the farce of Yuan Shikai's proclamation of the emperor, Duan Qirui made a passive boycott and did not participate in the Baiguan Pilgrimage held in Jurentang, Zhongnanhai. It's just that in the mansion, he sighed to his cronie Xu Shuzheng: "Xiangcheng is evil!" Duan Qirui's anti-imperialist stance has never wavered, which is especially rare for Duan Qirui, who has been promoted by Yuan and taken care of by Yuan many times.

Lao Yuan was deeply dissatisfied with Duan Qirui's "ungrateful" behavior. In the big reward carried out after becoming the emperor, a total of 128 people were knighted, and only Duan Qirui was not on the list. It can be seen from this that Yuan Shikai knew that Duan Qirui was not sincere in persuading, and he was still haunted by his attitude of non-cooperation and covert resistance since the imperial activities.

Duan Qirui's uncle persuaded him: "The old man has always valued you, but you have always been a bull on the issue of the imperial system, how can he not be angry?" What's more, the president and the emperor are not the same thing, so why should you take it too seriously? Duan Qirui frowned and said, "That's not the same thing. Xiang Cheng is the president, and when they meet, they only need to salute and hold hands, and if they become emperors, they have to kowtow when they see him, and they have to kneel and say. I hate this trick of the eldest son becoming shorter the most. ”

This is often the case, and those who are truly loyal are often loyal and suspicious; And the one who leads him to the end of the road is always reused. Duan Qirui's opposition to Yuan Shikai's claim to be emperor was precisely Duan's loyalty and responsibility to Yuan Shikai. It's a pity that Yuan Shikai not only didn't appreciate it, but wanted to calculate him, which is really sighing and ridiculous.

As for Feng Guozhang, the overseer of Jiangsu, after several hints and Lao Feng's confession, Lao Yuan knew that he couldn't control Lao Feng's heart. Feng Guozhang was loyal to the former Qing Dynasty, and then let him be loyal to the new dynasty, feeling a slap in the face. And he has always believed that he is the legitimate successor of Yuan, and he is never willing to crawl at the feet of Yuan's descendants.

The relationship between the two is extremely cold now, and they almost face each other. Although Yuan Shikai did not tell the truth to Feng Guozhang, Feng Guozhang actually had two hearts for Yuan Shikai, and he even thought that if he could not wait for Yuan Keding to succeed to the throne, Yuan Shikai would attack him---- with the importance of Jiangsu's status, and Yuan Shikai was so deliberate to prevent it, once the emperor succeeded, he was bound to cut the grass and eradicate the roots, and never suffer in the future.

In order to protect himself, Feng Guozhang began to prepare to communicate with Cai Yi in Yunnan and Lu Rongting in Guangxi to form foreign aid.

Another timid and fearful Vice President Lê plucked up a rare courage. Nonsense, it's already embarrassing to be the vice president of Lao Yuan, and it's a bit nondescript to be the "vice emperor" again, and there is no such position. Yuan Shikai once tested Li Yuanhong's in-law: "Recently, many people want me to be the emperor, what do you think of my in-laws?" After hearing this, Li Yuanhong said: "The purpose of the revolution is to overthrow autocracy and establish a republic. In-laws, you are the emperor, how can you be worthy of the martyrs in Wuchang? "When it came to the ceremony, former Vice President Li Yuanhong (Yuan Shikai became emperor, and Vice President Li of course became former vice president) did not come. Yuan Shikai gave Li Yuanhong the title of "Prince Wuyi", but the former vice president repeatedly refused and refused to accept it. After this incident spread, a nursery rhyme also spread: "Good country, can't do it well; It's a good country, but you can't be imprisoned; The prince sent it to no one! ”

A Chinese philosopher, who had anticipated a very strong reaction from the opposition, wrote at the time: "We have carved an idol of a man out of wood or clay and called it a god." Place it in a beautiful temple and let it sit in a splendid shrine; The people adored it and thought it was incredibly powerful. But if a madman pushes it down, tramples it under his feet, and throws it into a filthy pond, if anyone finds it, and picks it up and puts it in its sacred place, then you will find that its charm has been lost."