The so-called old people should not be called ministers, and the political affairs hall listed a list of Yuan Shikai's deceased, including the old couple Li Yuanhong, Yixuan, Shixu, Zaifeng, Natong, Xiliang, Zhou Fu seven, the deceased Xu Shichang, Zhao Erxun, Li Jingxi, Zhang Jian four, there are two Qishuo Wang Minyun and Ma Xiangbo.

Yuan Shikai issued a decree on December 20, with Xu Shichang and others as the "Four Friends of Songshan":

On December 18, President Yuan Da made two more comical orders:

One of them is "old couples, seniors, and old people should not be called ministers":

"To give a thin couple, a gentleman. When it is difficult, there is no way to rest, and the abyss is thin, and there is no time to go. Recently, I have seen that all the documents and telegrams have been called ministers, and people think that they are courteous, but they are really uncomfortable. In today's important civil and military positions, more colleagues in the past are remembered, and the feelings are especially embarrassing. Although there are five people in Siyue, there has been no prejudice to replace them, and the Holy Emperor and the Sage King are beyond their reach. All my old couples and old people, do not call them ministers. The times are difficult, and we must work together to seek the country, and there is nothing to do. This order. ”

The second is that "the conditions for the treatment of Manchuria, Mongolia, Hui and Tibet should be included in the Constitution and continue to be effective":

"Now that the Legislative Yuan of the National Congress has decided on the constitutional monarchy, all the conditions for the treatment of Manchurians, Mongolians, Hui and Tibetans are set forth in the Constitution, and when the Constitution is formulated in the future, they shall be included in the Constitution and continue to be in force. This order. ”

The full text of Yuan Shikai's decree naming the four friends of Songshan is:

"Since ancient times, the master of entrepreneurship, all of them are nostalgic for the past, a little romance, the joy of cloth clothes and Kunji, the music of the Taishi guest star, the circulation of the booklet, the same for different generations. Xu Shichang, Zhao Erxun, Li Jingxi, Zhang Jian are all virtuous, long-term heavy hopes, the face of humanity, in contempt for the moral friend, although the high year, do not return to work to the court, and the country has a great reason, when the consultation, both hope to perfunctory, especially blame, Kuang Yu is not caught, that is, so to protect my people, the old man is strong, the relationship is great. It is specially awarded a photo of Songshan, named "Songshan Four Friends", with the alliance of the white head, with the longevity of Bao Mohua, to respect the country, its metaphor to the cherish, how to give gifts, and the political hall to discuss and hear, this order. ”

In accordance with this order, the government council decided on five preferential measures: (1) exempting them from bowing down to their courtiers; (2) Reward the court, and go to the inner palace to transfer to the shoulder; (3) When the emperor is in the court, the four friends have to set up a few low seats in the palace of diligence and government; (4) An annual allowance of 20,000 yuan per person; (5) Reward and wear special court clothes.

Xu Shichang, one of the four friends of Songshan, did not approve of Yuan Shikai's claim to be emperor. In his heart, he should also oppose the restoration of the imperial system. In his opinion, if he takes 10,000 steps back, even if the republic system and national conditions cannot be adapted, the emperor's throne should belong to the Qing Emperor Xuantong.

As early as October of the fourth year of the Republic of China, when the imperial system was in full swing, he said that he was sick and took leave and did not go to work in the government hall.

In his post as secretary of state, Yuan Shikai first appointed Yang Shiqi as his deputy, and on 27 October he appointed Lu Zhengxiang as his deputy, and on 21 December he formally appointed Lu Zhengxiang as secretary of state.

Xu Shichang originally lived in the presidential palace, and when he took sick leave in October, he moved from the presidential palace to a private residence in Butterfly Hutong. He was in a bad mood during this period, and when someone asked him about the current situation, he often replied with one sentence: You'd better ask Xia Neishi. When Yuan accepted the throne, Xu Shichang also learned from Li Yuanhong's way and stayed out of the matter.

Zhao Erxun, the second of the four friends of Songshan, saw the declaration of the Preparatory Security Council, and cried bitterly on the ground, he was loyal to Xunqing and refused to do the second surname, so he resigned as the director of the Qing History Curator.

Li Jingxi and Zhang Jian of the Four Friends of Songshan were also very cold to Emperor Hongxian and adopted a detached attitude.

In ancient times, there was a story of "Shangshan Sihao", which refers to the four famous Huang old scholars in the late Qin and early Han dynasties (around 200 BC) in Dongyuan, Tang Bing, Mr. Lu (lù) Li, Zhou Shu, Qili Ji, Wu Shi and Xia Huang Gong Cui Guang.

They were unwilling to be officials, and hid in Shangshan (now Shangluo City, Shaanxi Province) for a long time, and when they came out of the mountain, they were more than eighty, and their eyebrows were white, so they were called "Shangshan Sihao". Liu Bang had heard of Sihao's name for a long time, and asked them to go out of the mountain as officials, but they were refused.

After Liu Bang ascended the throne, he made his eldest son Liu Ying the crown prince, and his second son Ruyi was the king of Zhao. Later, seeing that Liu Ying was born cowardly and had mediocre talents, but the second son Ruyi was smart and outstanding, he intended to abolish Liu Ying and establish Ruyi.

When Liu Ying's mother, Empress Lü, heard this, she was very anxious, so she sent her brother Chengcheng Hou Lü Shizhi to ask Zhang Liang, the founding minister, to come forward.

Lu Shizhi said to Zhang Liang: "You are the emperor's confidant and minister, and now the emperor wants to replace the prince, how can you lie down?" ”

Zhang Liang excused himself: "At the beginning, the emperor was fortunate to adopt my strategy because he was in danger several times. If you are stable today, the situation will be very different. What's more, now the emperor wants to replace the crown prince out of preference, which is a matter between flesh and blood. It's hard for a clean official to cut off family affairs! This kind of thing, even if there are a hundred Zhang Liang come forward, what role can it play? ”

Lu Shizhi begged Zhang Liang to come up with an idea.

Zhang Liang had no choice but to say: "This kind of thing, I'm afraid it will be difficult to work just by relying on my three-inch incorruptible tongue." I don't think so! I know that there are four people who the emperor has always wanted to get but failed to do. These four masters were very old, because they heard that the emperor had always despised scholars, so they fled to the mountains and did not become Hanchen. However, the emperor respected them very much. If the prince were to write a humble letter, bring more jewels and silks, have a comfortable vehicle, and send a man of good speech to hire them sincerely, they should come. Then treat each other with the courtesy of honored guests, let them often go to court with the prince, so that the emperor can see them, which is very helpful to the prince. ”

So the Lu brothers and sisters and the crown prince really invited these four old men who were called "Shangshan Sihao" by their descendants and settled them in the mansion of the Marquis of Jiancheng.

At one banquet, the crown prince served on his side, followed by four old men. Liu Bang suddenly saw the four strange old men, all of whom were eighty years away, with snow-white beards and peculiar clothes, he was very surprised, and asked about their origins, and the four of them revealed their names.

Liu Bang was taken aback when he heard this: "Over the years, I have repeatedly searched for all the masters, but you have avoided them, why do you come to follow my son now?" ”

The four old men replied: "Your Majesty has always belittled the Masters and insulted them at every turn, and the ministers are unwilling to bring humiliation on themselves. Now I heard that the prince is benevolent and filial, respectful and affectionate, and everyone in the world stretches their necks to look up, looking forward to serving the prince to death, so the ministers come voluntarily. ”

Liu Bang said: "Then you will assist the prince in the future." ”

After the four of them toasted Liu Bang to celebrate his birthday, they politely said goodbye and left. Liu Bang called Mrs. Qi, pointed to their backs and said, "I originally wanted to replace the prince, but with the assistance of the four of them, it seems that the prince has become a wing, and it is difficult to move him." Lu Pheasant is really your master this time! Mrs. Qi cried. Liu Bangqiang smiled: "You dance Chu dance for me, and I will sing Chu song for you." Liu Bang improvised a song based on the prince's incident: "The bird flies high, and it is a thousand miles in one fell swoop." The wings are ready, and they are all over the world. Across the world, what can be done! Although there is a payment, Shang An has done! ”

Why did Yuan Shikai crown Xu Shichang and the other four as the four friends of Songshan? may be "don't forget each other", which means that he will not forget his old friends and old feelings when he becomes an emperor. Perhaps with the help of the celebrity effect, he shows his respect for talents. Perhaps he hopes that Songshan Siyou can protect his son like "Shangshan Sihao". Maybe.......

In the past, Liu Bang, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty, did not dare to change the prince because of the "Shangshan Sihao", and finally retained the status of the prince. But Yuan Shikai is the canonized four friends of Songshan, these four "sages" don't say that they don't want to take care of his son, and they don't buy or support him, they can't help but make people laugh.

Yuan Shikai's imperial system is a one-scene drama, the worst political gadget of his life, and the last part of his life, which is not only unclean, but also very clumsy, especially the falsification of public opinion.

Yuan Shikai and his son and Yang Du thought that they were seamless, but in fact, the diorama was immediately dismantled, because at that time, Beijing issued orders to persuade the provinces to advance and create public opinion, and as a result, many provinces announced those secret telegrams immediately after declaring independence, so Yuan's stupid trick was known to the whole country.

In fact, throughout Yuan Shikai's life, although he did some unsightly things, such as betraying the Wuxu Movement and killing the first righteous meritorious service; However, it has also set a large number of achievements that are beneficial to social progress. At the beginning of this book, the author said that people are not sages, who can do no wrong, but there are some wrong things that cannot be done, and if you do it, you will lose your life, and even your family will be affected.

Therefore, Yuan Shikai became infamous for being the emperor and was called a thief, although it is regrettable, but he is not wronged at all, and the so-called crime is deserved.

There are many popular terms in the Yuan Shikai era, and the three heroes of Beiyang, the ten sons of Xishan, and the six gentlemen of Choo'an were mentioned earlier.

Later, there were four generals, namely Wang Shizhen (Dragon), Duan Qirui (Tiger), Feng Guozhang (Dog), and Yin Chang of the Three Heroes of Beiyang, and the four murderers were Zhao Bingjun, Chen Eun, Zhu Qichao, and Liang Shiyi.

One of the four murderers, Zhu Qichao (1872~1964), is a person worth mentioning, his name is Gui Xin, and in his later years, he was called Gui Lao. His ancestral home was Kaizhou, Guizhou (now Kaiyang), and he was born in Xinyang, Henan Province, and died in Beijing at the age of ninety-two, almost a century.

His life has experienced five historical periods: the end of the Qing Dynasty, Beiyang**, the Republic of China, the Japanese puppet, and New China.

He was a arts and crafts artist. Founder of China Construction Society. Guangxu lifts people.

In 1903, he was appointed as the superintendent of the Translation Library of the Kyoto University. Later, he successively served as the chief of police in Beijing, the superintendent of the Mongolian Affairs Bureau of the three eastern provinces, and the general office of the northern section of Jinpu Road.

From July 1912, he was re-elected as the chief of the Ministry of Communications in the cabinets of Lu Zhengxiang and Zhao Bingjun.

In August 1913, he was acting prime minister and later chief of the interior in Xiong Xiling's cabinet. In 1914, he also served as the Governor of Kyoto.

He actively supported Yuan Shikai's restoration of the imperial system, and in December 1915, he was appointed as the chief clerk (director) of the preparatory office for the Dengda ceremony. After Yuan Shikai's death, he was wanted as one of the culprits of the imperial system. He was pardoned in 1918 and was elected vice president of the Senate of the Anfu National Assembly in August.

In 1919, he was appointed as the general representative of the North and the South. After the peace talks broke down, he withdrew from politics and lived in Tianjin and Shanghai. During this period, Zhongxing Coal Mine, Zhongxing Steamship Company and other enterprises were established.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Zhu Qichuan served as a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and a librarian of the Central Museum of Culture and History. He is the author of "The Records of the Silk Embroidery of the Garden", "The Silk Embroidery of the Cunsutang", "The Journey of the Female Red", "The Notes on Silk Embroidery", "The Poems of the Taro Fragrance", "The Examination of the Silk Calligraphy and Painting of the Qing Inner Mansion", "The Examination of the Embroidery and Calligraphy of the Qing Inner Mansion", "The Lacquer Book", etc. In 1927, the long-lost "Ornament Record" was reprinted based on a Japanese manuscript.