After Yunnan launched the defense of the country and overthrew Yuan, the Jiangsu general Feng Guozhang invisibly became a pivotal figure. In the past, everyone knew that the most powerful people in the Beiyang system were Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang, but now they are different. At this time, Duan Qirui was only famous but not real, and Feng Guozhang held the actual military power and was not controlled by Yuan, which was completely different from Duan's situation at this time.

After the independence of Guangxi, Feng Guozhang saw that the anti-Yuan forces were getting bigger and bigger, and Yuan Shikai was in a very unfavorable situation both at home and abroad, which was of course what he wanted to see the most.

In fact, Feng Guozhang is a very ambitious person. Seeing that his opportunity had come, he took the initiative to send a secret telegram to the Beiyang generals in the provinces related to him, suggesting that they jointly send a joint telegram to force Yuan to abolish the imperial system and punish the culprits.

This suggestion was immediately endorsed by Jiangxi General Li Chun, Zhejiang General Zhu Rui, Shandong General Jin Yunpeng, and Hunan General Tang Qianming.

Feng Guozhang felt that even he had only five generals, and his momentum was not strong enough, so he used the name of the five people to secretly telegraph to seek the consent of the generals of all provinces across the country. He believes that this is the trend of the times, and he has no fear of Yuan Shikai.

Unexpectedly, after his secret report reached the hands of Zhu Jiabao, the envoy and general of Zhili, Zhu Jiabao, who was very loyal to Yuan Shikai, immediately sent this secret telegram to Yuan Shikai.

It was the evening of March 19, and Emperor Yuan was extremely troubled about Guangxi and the Longqing incident. It turned out that he had just happily sent a telegram promoting Long Jinguang, a meritorious minister in the conquest of Yunnan, when he learned about the independence of Guangxi and the detention of Long Jinguang. The so-called disaster is not a single line, at this time, when I saw Zhu Jiabao reporting this secret message, I felt that my eyes were black for a while, and I almost fainted.

Now, Yuan's nightmare has finally woken up. He knew at this moment that the biggest crisis he was facing was not the Protector Army, not the unfavorable war ahead, but from within his own camp. The Beiyang system, which he cultivated single-handedly and relied on to fight the world, now wants to leave him, and may even become his enemy.

His mood was terrible, his eyes no longer had the ordinary blazing majesty, and he said to Xia Shoutian, who was sitting beside him, "It's all over, it's over, it's over." I saw a giant star fall from the sky last night. This is the second time in my life. The first time was when Wen Zhonggong (referring to Li Hongzhang) died, and this time it was about my turn. ”

So he talked dejectedly about the ancestors of the Yuan family who died before the age of fifty-nine, and now that he is fifty-eight years old, I am afraid that he will not be able to pass the "hurdle" of fifty-nine years old!

He stood in front of the window, raised his hands facing the window, and cried out in despair: "Heavens, are you going to abandon me!" ”

It's really a clean official, and it's hard to cut off family affairs. Yuan Shikai was very sad, feeling that he was betraying his relatives, feeling that everyone was sorry for him, and there was no one to put his heart on. And his descendants are also very sad, feeling that Yuan is only suspicious of them, and has always been treated as a plaything in the palm of Yuan's hand.

There is such a story: One day, Zhang Xun, the commander of the pigtail army, visited Feng Guozhang in Nanjing, and Feng entertained him with a feast. A few glasses of old wine went down and the conversation was very speculative.

Zhang Xun and Feng Guozhang had a lot of old feuds, and at this time, Zhang felt that he and Lao Feng had been relieved, so he said loudly to Feng: "Do you know my intention? I have come to observe your actions on the orders of the old man! ”

Feng only smiled faintly when he heard this, ran to the study and took out a secret telegram to Zhang, and said, "The old man also has a telegram for me, asking me to monitor your movements!" ”

The most important thing between people is mutual trust, the so-called, suspicious people do not use, employment is not suspicious. People often say that if you are sincere to others, others can be sincere to you. People who can't be open-minded to others will find it difficult to get everyone to treat them sincerely.

There is a great man who said that you can deceive all people at some time, and you can deceive some people all the time, but you can't deceive all people at all times.

Perhaps, this aspect is a big failure of Yuan Shikai's life.

There are no more people who can say their hearts, and on this day, Yuan Shikai invited Liang Shiyi to talk.

At this time, Yuan Shikai was completely out of control of the situation, he knew the root of the matter, and saw that the road of the imperial system was impassable. There were already tentative ideas for the abolition of the monarchy. But he was still very unwilling and wanted to tell Liang Shiyi what he thought.

He first showed Liang some important telegrams, one of which was Kang Youwei's letter to persuade Yuan to abolish the imperial system to "comfort the president's brother"; The second is a letter from Xu Shichang from Tianjin, which contains: "It is still possible to transfer to the world, and there will be no room for it"; The third is that Feng Guozhang and other five generals sent a telegram requesting the abolition of the imperial system in order to reassure the people; Fourth, Lu Zongyu, the minister stationed in Japan, sent a telegram saying that Japanese Prime Minister Okuma and various cabinet ministers and elders had held a pre-imperial meeting on the occasion of a palace banquet to discuss the issue of China, believing that the time had come for Japan to move freely in China and send troops to various parts of China to ensure peace in East Asia.

Others were various military reports, including Zhang Jingyao's injury, and a bundle of messages from various provinces against the imperial system.

At this time, Yuan and Liang sat opposite each other at a square table, and Yuan Shikai was already like a frightened bird, feeling that it was not safe anywhere.

He dipped his fingers in tea on the square table to talk about how a certain party was doing, what someone's attitude was, and how he coping with gains and losses. It was painted all over the table, and it was wiped off with paper, and so on, and again, and again.

In the end, Yuan said to Liang with a heavy face: "So far, I have only decided to do this, and it will be divided into several aspects, and the central political affairs will be handled by Juren (Xu Shichang) and Zhiquan (Duan Qirui). The military stability of the Central Plains was appointed by Hua Fu (Feng Guozhang). Please call Er'an (Chen Eun) for me and ask him to take strict precautions on the one hand, and make peace with Cai Songpo on the other. You and Zhuo Ru (Liang Qichao) have an old relationship, and entrusted him with personal friendship to dredge Yunnan and Gui, and replied to Changsu (Kang Youwei) letter, asking him to help Zhuo Ru. If I can bring stability to the country, I will sacrifice to any extent. ”

Yuan Shikai wanted to hear Liang Shiyi's consolation, and even more wanted to hear his objections. However, Liang Shiyi didn't say a word, just nodded with a solemn expression.

Yuan Shikai still couldn't make up his mind, maybe he was really reluctant to get the emperor's throne so easily.

In the craze of becoming emperor, Yang Shiqi has been somewhat marginalized by Yuan Shikai. Under the situation of internal and external torment, he called Zhiduoxing Yang Shiqi to ask for advice.

Yang believed that the current situation was embarrassing, and that unless peaceful methods were adopted, it would be difficult to resolve the anti-Yuan national defense movement, and that the prerequisite for peace was the abolition of the imperial system.

This was the last thing Yuan Shikai wanted to hear, but he finally knew that he had no other choice.

He said to Yang Shiqi unwillingly: I am afraid that the abolition of the imperial system will still not satisfy the wishes of the independent provinces, and "if the other side gains an inch and does not even retain the status of the president, then the abolition of the imperial system will still not be able to seek perfection."

Yang believes that "if the Protector Army persecutes people too much, then I will bend directly, which will arouse the common hatred and resentment of the Beiyang faction", and then we can unite the Beiyang Department and the Protector Army to fight.

At this time, Yuan wanted to abolish the imperial system while maintaining face, and he planned to immediately convene the Legislative Yuan, submit a message to the Legislative Yuan to resign from the imperial throne, and then the Legislative Yuan would make a resolution still asking him to succeed him as president. However, it is impossible to convene a meeting and deliberation of the Legislative Yuan in three days or two days, and this idea obviously does not work under such urgent circumstances.

In the end, Yuan Shikai had to turn to several important figures who did not approve of the imperial system.

On 21 March, Yuan Shikai personally wrote several secret letters, which were sent by the Chengxuan Department to Xu Shichang, Duan Qirui, Li Yuanhong, and others, inviting them to come to the public mansion to attend an emergency meeting that afternoon. The person who sent the letter also brought a message saying: There is something to say, please look at the old friendship for many years, and today "must be driven".

It was a meeting to send the end of the imperial system, and the scene was very similar to the Qing Dynasty held a pre-imperial meeting to discuss the issue of abdication, and the participants refused to speak.

Yuan Shikai had no choice but to keep a thick face and swallow his anger and said: "If the imperial system is abolished, their goal has been achieved, if they still refuse to quit the army, it is a sincere rebellion, and we have to use the army again." ”

Xu Shichang and Duan Qirui both agreed, saying that there was no other way. However, Ni Sichong, an Anhui general who had been summoned to Beijing by Yuan Dian, stood up to speak, and he excitedly objected, calling himself a "minister" and asking to lead troops to fight the national army and serve the "holy lord."

Yuan Shikai said very sadly: "Dan Chen (Ni Sichong). Look. ”

As he spoke, he telegraphed the five generals who had told Zhu Jiabao to Ni. Ni Sichong sat down gloomily like a leaky ball.

Yuan Shikai asked Xu Shichang to go out of the mountain and serve as secretary of state again to preside over peace matters with the National Protector Army. After Xu Zi's imperial system was brewing, he insisted on resigning, and during this time, Lu Zhengxiang served as secretary of state.

Yuan Keding often called Xu "white-faced living Cao Cao" behind his back. Xu Ping is known for his mood and anger, but when Yunnan Protectorate rebelled, Xu had a rare smile.

On this day, he sighed and said to Yang Shiqi: "It's about to fail." ”

Yang Shiqi later complained: "For several months, I only saw this old man smiling. ”

Xu Wen Yuan asked him to go out of the mountain again, so he pushed back and couldn't stand Yuan's pleading: "At this time, old friends don't help, who will help?" ”

Xu Cai had nothing to say and reluctantly accepted.

The meeting decided on the following points: 1. Abolish the imperial system and abolish the Hongxian era name; 2. To convene an extraordinary session of the Legislative Yuan to participate in the administration of state affairs on behalf of the Legislative Yuan in order to obtain a legal basis for the abolition of the imperial system; 3. Lu Zhengxiang is dismissed from his post as secretary of state and returned to the post of foreign minister, and Xu Shichang is appointed secretary of state; Fourth, Duan Qirui was appointed as chief of staff to replace Feng Guozhang, who had not arrived for a long time; 5. Li Yuanhong, Xu Shichang, and Duan Qirui are requested to jointly send a telegram to persuade the Protector Army to negotiate an armistice and peace.

If the other party agrees, Cai Ye can be appointed as the chief of the army, Dai Jian as the chief of internal affairs, Zhang Jian as the chief of agriculture and commerce, Tang Hualong as the chief of education, Liang Qichao as the chief of justice, and Xiong Xiling as the chief of finance.

On March 24, Yuan Shikai summoned Zhang Yilu, who had never been in favor of the imperial system, to meet him.

Yuan said to Zhang: "I'm so confused, I didn't listen to you, so that's it." If you want to revoke the imperial decree now, you have to draft it. As he spoke, he gave Zhang Yue a draft drafted by Wang Shitong, and said: "I think we should directly order the abolition of the imperial system and burn the book of Tuidai." ”

When Zhang saw Yuan say this, he couldn't help but be gloomy, and couldn't bear to say: "This is all because the president is deceived by villains." ”

Yuan immediately continued: "It's all my own fault, and I can't blame others." ”

Is it a man's dying words? At this moment, people finally heard Yuan Shikai say the truth.

Zhang Yilu (1867-1943), a famous patriot. The word Zhongren, the number Gongfu, is a native of Wu County, Suzhou.

When he was young, he was known as a prodigy. At the age of twelve, he should take the children's exam, that is, he was a showman, and he was raised in the eleventh year of Guangxu. In the Sino-Japanese naval battle in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Qing army was defeated, and Kang Youwei and others "wrote on the bus", proposing to change the law and try to become strong, and establish a strong society in Beijing. Societies have also been established in various places, and Zhang Yilu and others advocated the establishment of the Soviet Society in Suzhou.

In the 29th year of Guangxu, Zhang Yilu was admitted to the special economic department and was assigned to Yuan Shikai, the minister of Beiyang and the governor of Zhili. Xuantong ascended the throne, Yuan Shikai was exiled to his hometown, and Zhang was also dismissed and returned to his hometown.

After the Wuchang Uprising in 1911, he persuaded Cheng Dequan, the governor of Jiangsu, to break away from the Qing Dynasty and become independent in Suzhou.

In the early years of the Republic of China, he re-entered Yuan Mu and served as the secretary of the presidential office. Yuan Shikai changed the State Council to a political hall, with six bureaus under it, and Zhang Yilu was appointed director of the Confidential Bureau.

In 1915 he was transferred to the post of Director of Education. In 1916, he resigned and returned to the south because he was dissatisfied with Yuan Shikai's proclamation as emperor.

In 1921, he initiated the convening of a peace conference, but after the meeting failed, he stopped asking about political affairs and lived in Suzhou. During this period, he organized the Su Society with Zhang Jian; and Li Gengen organized the Wuxian Shanrenqiao Rural Improvement Society to improve agriculture and establish education; and Wu Yinpei and others to establish the Wu Zhongbao Tomb Association to protect the cultural relics of the township; Participated in the compilation of "Wu County Chronicles"; It is proposed to open up stadiums, libraries, newspaper reading rooms, botanical gardens, sericulture museums, museums and other social, cultural and educational facilities.

After the "September 18" incident, Zhang Yilu founded the "Doubao Weekly", signed himself "Jiangdong Adou", and wrote and published a speech, calling for the salvation and survival.

When the Anti-Japanese War broke out on January 28, Zhang actively participated in various activities to support the Anti-Japanese War. After the "Seven Gentlemen" incident occurred in 1936, Zhang ran in many ways to try to rescue him.

After the August 13 Incident, he organized an anti-enemy support association to donate military supplies and shelter refugees. And with Li Gengen, he began to organize the "Lao Tzu Army" and called on all over the country, all over the age of 60, to come to join the army and fight to the death against the Japanese army invading China. The elderly from all over the country responded to the news, causing a sensation throughout the country. Due to various reasons, the "Lao Tzu Army" was not formed, but this patriotic action played a considerable role in encouraging the military and the people of the whole country to share the same hatred for the enemy. Since then, no one knows that there is an old man Zhang Zhong in Suzhou, and the name of "Lao Zijun" has spread far and wide, and women and children know it.