During his tenure as secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Yuan Shikai did another very meaningful thing to prohibit the entry of opium.

The introduction of opium into China was extremely harmful to China. Lin Zexu and other people of insight have made unremitting efforts to ban opium, but they have never been able to stop it.

After Yuan Shikai became the secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he immediately began to negotiate with the British ban on opium imports.

After many consultations, in December 1907, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China sent a letter to the British Embassy in China on the prohibition of the import of opium, making it clear that morphine "will not be allowed to be imported into China if it is found that it is not used for medical purposes". At the same time, it is indicated that China will also restrict the cultivation of crops such as opium poppy.

After some efforts, the British** agreed to reduce the shipment of opium from India to China for a period of 10 years, beginning in January 1908. The ban on opium has finally made significant progress through diplomatic efforts.

Subsequently, in 1911, China and Britain renewed the treaty, stipulating that the import of opium would be completely stopped from January 1911 to 1915. Drugs, which have plagued China for decades, have finally been banned in the form of treaties. In this regard, Yuan Shikai contributed a lot.

Of course, one of his British friends, who has been a diplomat for many years, also gave great help. For Yuan Shikai's British friend, we will get to know more later.

In addition, during his tenure at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Yuan Shikai also made fruitful efforts to recover the right of way of the Tianjin Pukou Railway and the Shanghai-Hangzhou-Ningbo Railway.

In 1908, the "Tianjin Pukou Railway Loan Contract" and on March 6, 1908, the "Shanghai-Hangzhou-Ningbo Railway Loan Contract" were signed respectively, separating the loan and the right of way.

Jinpu Road is the main artery of China's north-south traffic, starting from Tianjin in the north, reaching Pukou in the south, passing through Hebei, Shandong, Anhui and Jiangsu provinces, with a total length of more than 1,000 kilometers. At the time of its construction, there were 82 stations (five small stations such as Changhuaiwei were not included). Construction began in 1908 and was completed and opened to traffic in 1911.

In 1899, the British Minister to China, Marco Du, secretly negotiated with the German envoy, and the banking consortium of the two countries signed a relevant agreement to jointly build the Jinzhen Railway and jointly submitted a request to the Qing Dynasty to undertake the Jinzhen Railway, which was approved. On 18 May, Xu Jingcheng, Minister of Railways of the Qing Dynasty, signed 35 articles of the "Jinzhen Railway Draft Contract" with a British and German banking group. On May 21, Gu was allowed to do so. The contract stipulates that the northern section from Tianjin to Yixian through Dezhou and Jinan, and the southern section from Yixian to Zhenjiang. All matters relating to the construction and operation of the northern and southern sections were managed by Deutsch-Hua Bank and Sino-British Company respectively.

The total amount of borrowings was £7.4 million, with an interest rate of 5% per annum and a 90% discount, secured by road property and operating income. Since 1901, it has been paid off within four years. After the loan is repaid, the railway can be taken care of by China. It also stipulates that there will be a general bureau in the north and south sections, each composed of two Chinese and three foreigners. After the signing of the draft contract, due to the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, the construction of Jinzhen Road could not be started.

On April 17, the 33rd year of Guangxu (1907), Yuan Shikai and Zhang Zhidong telegraphed the imperial court, requesting Liang Dunyan, the left attendant of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kodas on behalf of the Deutsch-Hua Bank, and Pu Land, the representative of the British Sino-British Company, to discuss the construction of the railway. As a result, the dispute began to reach a consensus in May. And on the grounds of the request of the gentry of the four provinces of Zhizhi, Shandong, Anhui and Suzhou, it was changed from Tianjin to Pukou, and it was designated as "China's National Tianjin Pukou Railway".

On January 13, 1908, the "Tianjin Pukou Railway Loan Contract" was formally signed, with a total of 24 articles. It is still stipulated that it will be built in two sections, north and south, with the Hanzhuang Canal Bridge in Yixian County, Shandong Province as the boundary. The loan was tentatively set at £5,000,000 at the rate of 5% per annum, to be repaid in instalments over 20 years from 1919. 1

Shanghai to Hangzhou, Ningbo Railway. It was originally known as Suzhou-Hangzhou-Ningbo Railway. In the 24th year of Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1898), a draft agreement was signed for the Sino-British Suzhou-Hangzhou-Ningbo Railway, which was to be built by the British on behalf of the borrower, and the right of way belonged to the British. Because the Qing court had no money to build roads at that time, in order to recover the right of way and solve the problem of having no money to build roads, through Yuan Shikai's efforts, he borrowed money from Britain to build roads. In February of the 34th year of Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty, the "Sino-British Shanghai-Hangzhou-Ningbo Railway Loan Contract" was established, and the starting point of the project was changed to Shanghai, which was connected with Shanghai-Nanjing Road, and the Ministry of Posts and Communications came forward to borrow 1.5 million pounds from the British.

In today's parlance, it is the introduction of foreign capital.

In addition, during Yuan Shikai's tenure, all the yamen of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were also rectified. The job responsibilities have been clarified, and the efficiency of work and the discipline of personnel have been significantly improved. In the words of many people, after he became the secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, all aspects of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs took on a new look.

On November 14 and 15, 1908, the 38-year-old Guangxu Emperor and the 74-year-old Cixi died successively. According to the arrangement made by Cixi before her death, Zaifeng's eldest son Pu Yi inherited the throne.

Because Pu Yi was only three years old, Zaifeng was the regent.

According to Cixi's will, in case of major events, it is necessary to consult the Empress Dowager Longyu (the wife of Emperor Guangxu).

Empress Dowager Longyu was incapable and did not have a strong desire for power, and the regent Zaifeng effectively became the supreme ruler. Zaifeng is the fifth son of Prince Yiyun and the younger brother of Emperor Guangxu.

How Guangxu hated Yuan Shikai is a well-known thing.

It is recorded that Guangxu often drew a turtle on paper and wrote Yuan Shikai's name, and he didn't know how many times he had to prick it with a needle every day to relieve the hatred in his heart.

Because Emperor Guangxu was only thirty-eight years old when he died, he was in the prime of life, so his death left a lot of accounts.

The first type: Cixi knew that she was about to return to the Western Heavens, and she was unwilling to return to power after his death, so she sent someone to poison Emperor Guangxu.

The main basis is Qu Guiting, a famous doctor who treated Guangxu in the late Qing Dynasty, who said in his memoirs: "Three days before Guangxu died, he kept rolling in bed and kept screaming, 'My stomach hurts so much. His face was dark, and his tongue was yellow and black, which was obviously a sign of poisoning. ”

According to this account, Guangxu was poisoned, and the biggest suspect was the Empress Dowager Cixi, because she was the most powerful and tightly controlled Emperor Guangxu at that time, and she was the best and most likely person to be poisoned.

The second type: Yuan Shikai saw that Cixi was ill and difficult to get up, and was afraid that after Cixi's death, Guangxu would seize real power and take revenge for his betrayal of the emperor in Wuxu Change, so he bribed the palace eunuchs and killed Emperor Guangxu with highly toxic drugs.

The most authoritative basis for this statement is the statement of Pu Yi, the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty, who said: "I heard with my own ears an old eunuch who was waiting for Emperor Guangxu say: 'The day before Emperor Guangxu died, he only took a dose of medicine and became bad. Later, I learned that this medicine was sent by Yuan Shikai. ”

The third type: The eunuch Li Lianying learned that Emperor Guangxu's diary contained the news that the Empress Dowager Xi would punish Yuan Shikai and him after her death, and conspired with Cixi to throw poison into Emperor Guangxu's food, causing Emperor Guangxu to be poisoned to death.

Fourth: According to the medical records of Emperor Guangxu before his death, combined with the historical background at that time and the theory of modern Chinese medicine, it is inferred that Emperor Guangxu died due to severe tuberculosis and other complications.

Fifth: Emperor Guangxu has a serious kidney deficit, and Emperor Guangxu has been weak since he was a child. Since he was a few years old, he was suppressed by Cixi and was in tension for a long time. Later, when he was the emperor, he experienced a series of setbacks and blows, and his condition gradually worsened, causing a series of respiratory, digestive, and other complications, and finally died. This statement is mainly based on Guangxu's medical records before his death and a memory of Guangxu's own before his death.

However, those who hated Yuan Shikai and Yuan's political enemies preferred to believe that Guangxu was killed by Yuan Shikai.

It is conceivable that if Cixi died in front of Emperor Guangxu, Guangxu could be pro-government, and the first thing he had to do would definitely be to kill Yuan Shikai.

Now, the imperial power fell into the hands of Guangxu's family, Guangxu's family and Yuan Shikai's political enemies saw the opportunity to come, and they played the court one after another, demanding that Yuan Shikai be killed to fulfill the last wish of Emperor Guangxu.

Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao, who fled overseas, also published articles against Yuan Wei respectively, proposing that "the mourning of the first emperor is suspicious, and Yuan Shikai is also a thief; That is, there is no suspicion, and Yuan Shikai is also a thief. ”

It is said that no matter whether the death of Emperor Guangxu has anything to do with Yuan Shikai or not, Yuan Shikai is a thief and must be eliminated.

In the midst of the downfall of Yuan, Yuan Shikai can be said to be in a panic.

There is also speculation about a change in China's foreign policy.

On November 21, 1908, the 26-year-old regent Zaifeng received foreign ministers for the first time, and Yuan Shikai was seated.

It seems to convey the message that the news of the killing of Yuan Shikai is just a rumor.

On December 2 of the same year, Pu Yi officially ascended the throne and set next year, that is, 1909, as the first year of Xuantong.

The day after Pu Yi ascended the throne, the Qing court reaffirmed the timetable for preparing for the constitution, announcing the promulgation of the constitution in 1916, eight years after the declaration of unification.

He said that the national policy of reforming the political system will continue to be adhered to.

On December 13, the regent etiquette of the prison country was promulgated, that is, the authority of the regent was clarified in the system, and the message was sent to the outside world that the rule of the country should not rely on the arbitrariness of individuals, but on the use of systems and regulations.

On 16 and 18 December, successive decrees were issued, urging the governors of all provinces to seriously examine the administration of officials, and demanding that officials at all levels advocate frugality and abandon flashiness, in order to tell the people that the new regime is going to fight corruption.

On December 19, the official was crowned, and Yixuan was rewarded and replaced by hereditary, that is, he was named the king of iron hats. Zaifeng's brothers Zaixun and Zaitao were added to the rank of king. Zhang Zhidong and Yuan Shikai added the title of prince and prince.

The sealing of Yixuan and Yuan Shikai was strongly opposed by the Yuan faction.

Yushi Jiang Chunlin wrote to the regent: "Although King Fu Siqing has worked a little in Gengzi, since he became the country, the government has been bribed, and the officials have been privately admitted, such as Yuan Shikai, Xu Shichang, Yang Shixiang, Zhao Bingjun, Feng Ruqi, Tang Shaoyi, Yuan Shuxun, Zeng Yun, etc., all of them have been promoted with heavy bribes.

And Yuan is especially in his heart, in the name of the new deal, citing the private party, so that the officialdom has become accustomed to each other, to run for business, and drill camp for energy. Let the regent now supervise the country, this wind is less, and my regent is known as a virtuous voice, and he will retire the villain and use the gentleman. Today's celebration, Yuan and so on invited the giant pet, those who do not know think that the king of Qing is still not replaced, the small man and the crown of the bullet to celebrate, Yuan and other doors are like the market, although the end is small, and the relationship with the future is huge. My regent thinks about it. ”