The two symbols and actual holders of power in the Qing Empire died in less than a day's time, as one foreign correspondent put it: "The Empress Dowager Cixi is the last representative of the sacred and ancient idea--- which will die with her when another new dawn descends on this wonderful kingdom, which has become part of the future of the world." Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info"

A three-year-old milk doll ascended the throne as the emperor, according to the traditional Chinese saying, that is, "the lord is suspicious, the minister is not attached, and the people do not believe, and the time is ......"

As a result, the stormy Qing court fell into an even more dangerous situation, although the high-ranking officials who were full of relatives and nobles did not realize this.

In the winter of 1908, Hainan was as warm as spring, but Beijing and Tianjin were dripping with ice. However, what is colder than the weather is Yuan Shikai's cool heart.

"Yuan Shikai, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Minister of Military Aircraft, was promoted by the first dynasty, and after I ascended to the pole, he was rewarded with his talents, so that he could use them, so that he could drive away, but Yuan Shikai was now suffering from foot disease, and he was struggling to do his job. Yuan Shikai immediately opened the vacancy and returned to his hometown to recuperate to show the court's compassion. The edict he had just received was spread out on the table, and Yuan Shikai didn't need to look at it anymore, the words in it had already pierced deep into his heart.

Guangxu died and Cixi returned to heaven, and Yuan Shikai fell into a state of mind that was uneasy and suspicious, as if he had entered a nightmare.

Yuan Shikai, of course, feared that Guangxu would return to power, and he desperately controlled the Beiyang Army to consolidate his power, just in case. When both the emperor and the empress dowager were ill, the Qing court planned to establish an heir for Guangxu in case of emergency, and Yuan strongly supported the eldest grandson of the ****** as the heir, but his plan was not accepted by Cixi.

Although Cixi didn't like Guangxu, she had a very close relationship with Prince Alcohol's family, because her own sister was married to Prince Alcohol Yixun. And Zaifeng inherited the throne of Prince Alcohol, and married the daughter of Cixi's confidant Ronglu. Therefore, for the sake of this kind of private relationship, Cixi would rather hand over the world to Puyi, who was born to Zaifeng, who was only three years old and crying, and ordered Zaifeng to hold his son in the name of the regent of the prison country to rule the Qing Dynasty.

Yuan Shikai also made some efforts after Prince Zaifeng was appointed as the regent. He suggested that Zaifeng himself be the emperor on the grounds that the country needed to establish a long monarch, and he hoped to seek Zaifeng's understanding by supporting Zaifeng to be the emperor himself, but his suggestion was not only not accepted by Zaifeng, but instead summoned a very severe reprimand. Boring, he said that he was sick and asked for leave to live in Tianjin.

Now, the court has really granted him a vacation, and it is a long vacation. You say you're sick. Okay, then go home and count the rice! Of course, Yuan Shikai felt that it was a good choice to go home and count the old rice, but he was afraid! He did not dare to go to Beijing to thank the emperor for his resignation, because some news he received from Beijing showed that after Zaifeng became the country, he was really planning to avenge the emperor's brother and kill himself. And his undercover agent in the Ministry of Internal Affairs is very conclusive. Even the method of killing him was told in detail.

The regent wanted to learn from Emperor Kangxi's method of killing the minister Aobai, and it was Prince Xiaogong Pu Wei who made this plan with the regent. Pu Wei had a Xianfeng Emperor to reward his grandfather Yi?? The White Rainbow Knife. They regarded it as a sacred relic like a sword above, and decided that Pu Wei would take this knife with him for the purpose of killing Yuan.

It is a capital offense not to go; Go, or inevitably die. Yuan Shikai felt a cold sweat, and the edict on the table seemed to have turned into a cold and shining sword. Straight to his heart.

Yes, although he used a lot of silver to give gifts everywhere after Wuxu, after all, there are still hostile forces that can't be eliminated with silver. These hostile forces are not all reformers and imperialist figures in the past, and some of them are vying for status with those who support themselves. There are those who are unwilling to give up if they do not take the military power in their hands, and there are also those who pin their hopes on Yuan Yuan for other purposes.

Therefore, this is no longer a struggle between the Restoration and the Old, between the Imperial Party and the Later Party, nor between the Manchu and Han dignitaries, but a struggle for power between this group of pro-noble dignitaries and that group of pro-noble dignitaries.

It turns out that retiring to the countryside is also a luxury thing, and the powerful Yuan Gongbao has now not only become a lost dog, but also worries about his life.

"Lord Yuan, Mr. Zhu Erdian is here." An entourage reports.

"Please, please, no, I'll meet you personally." Yuan Shikai seemed to grasp a life-saving straw and jumped up from his chair.

This is Zhu Erdian, the British minister to the Qing Dynasty, and he and Yuan Shikai have already established a very close relationship. Yuan Shikai invited him here at this time to discuss with him what he should do, if Zhu Erdian can pat his chest to ensure his life, then let Zhu Erdian accompany him to Beijing.

…………

After the death of the Empress Dowager Cixi, Yuan Shikai's life was indeed not easy.

Regardless of whether there is Guangxu's dying order to "kill Yuan", anyway, after Zaifeng came to power, the first person to deal with is Yuan Shikai.

After the New Deal, Yuan Shikai was very prosperous under the protection of the Empress Dowager Cixi, and he also did a lot of practical things. But the problem is that his power has expanded too much, the army, the reform of the official system, and the constitution, he has come to everything, and there are people in the court, and his protégés are all over the world, especially those generals in the Beiyang New Army, which one is not the only one who is Yuan Shikai's horse?

Of course, the worries of the royal family are justified, who makes the Manchurians not angry! After more than 200 years of pampering, there are not many talented people who can do practical things. As a result, most of the local governors were in the hands of the Han Chinese, and the power of the Qing court began to soften.

The more you lose, the more you want to get it back. From the reform of the official system to the preparation of the constitution, how could the royal family not be worried when they watched the power of the Han people continue to grow.

At the official reform conference that year, Yuan Shikai insisted on setting up a responsible cabinet, and Zaifeng still remembers Yuan Shikai's rampant energy at that time. Although the old empress dowager had taken the lead in the first two years, four of the six towns of the Beiyang New Army under the jurisdiction of Yuan Shikai were transferred to the Ministry of War, and later he was promoted to the minister of military aircraft together with Zhang Zhidong.

But freezing three feet, not a day's cold, it is not so simple to shake Yuan Shikai's power. What's more, the disposal of a high-ranking military aircraft minister must be approved by the ministers of military aircraft, and the edict issued by him must also be countersigned by the minister of military aircraft before it can take effect.

Because of this, Zaifeng did not dare to act rashly. After much thought. Zaifeng and the Empress Dowager Longyu summoned the chief military ministers ****** Yixuan and Zhang Zhidong to discuss.

Yixuan is Yuan Shikai's sworn friend, so he naturally opposes the killing of Yuan. And Zhang Zhidong is a minister of the Han people, and he is old, and when he heard that Yuan Shikai was going to be killed, he couldn't help but feel sad that the rabbit died and the fox died. His relationship with Yuan Shikai was not good, but his opposition. Whether he was thinking about the overall situation or something else, he inadvertently protected Yuan Shikai.

In fact, in addition to Yixuan and Zhang Zhidong's opposition to the killing of Yuan Shikai, several other military ministers also expressed their opposition, such as Na Tong and Shi Xu, both of whom were Yuan Shikai's private parties, and Shi Xu also secretly reported to Yuan Shikai. Among the local governors, Duan Fang is Yuan Shikai's in-law, and Xu Shichang, the governor of the three eastern provinces, is Yuan Shikai's brother for many years. Other than that. The British minister to China, Zhu Erdian, also interceded for Yuan Shikai, and these people constituted an important force to prevent the killing of Yuan.

However, having said that, although Yuan Shikai has big roots and deep roots, it is not easy to deal with. But under the imperial system, why didn't Yuan Shikai panic and be afraid? When he heard the news that Zaifeng "will be unfavorable to Yuan", he was also panicked like a lost dog, and there was nothing he could do.

December 3, 1908. Yuan Shikai was extremely aggrieved and resentful, and took his aunt and his cronies. Lonely and desolate, he left Beijing.

After Yuan Shikai was expelled from Beijing, there were earthquakes in the late Qing Dynasty again, and Yuan Shikai's private parties were eliminated one by one: Chen Bi, the secretary of the Ministry of Posts and Communications, was dismissed; Xu Shichang was transferred to the Ministry of Posts and Communications, and the governor of the three eastern provinces was replaced by Xiliang; Heilongjiang's political envoy Ni Sichong was investigated; Zhao Bingjun, a waiter of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, was reprimanded, and Zaifeng took over the police; Jiangbei Admiral Wang Shizhen asked for a vacancy......

On the surface, this is the struggle between Zaifeng and Yuan Shikai. But actually. This was a power struggle between the Manchu pro-noble faction headed by Zaifeng and the Yixuan and Yuan Shikai cliques.

Zaifeng did not have his own people before he took power, and the only people he could contact and trust were Manchu relatives and nobles like Zai Ze, Shanqi, Zai Tao, Zai Xun, Yu Lang and others. And these people, whether they are talented or not, quickly gathered around Zaifeng and became a royal family. Zaifeng Group is a group of newly made young and strong relatives. They had no real power at that time, and if they wanted to gain power, they had to exclude the real power faction at that time, Yixuan and Yuan Shikai Group.

Therefore, the issue of killing Yuan Shikai and protecting Yuan Shikai is no longer a dispute between the Restoration and the Old, between the Imperial Party and the Later Party, nor is it a dispute between the Manchu and Han dignitaries, but a struggle for power between this group of pro-noble dignitaries and that group of pro-noble dignitaries.

After overthrowing Yuan Shikai, the first thing the regent Zaifeng had to grasp was military power. When he went to Germany as a "special envoy to apologize", Kaiser Wilhelm taught him the secret of maintaining imperial power: there must be a sufficient number of troops, and they must be under the direct control of the emperor.

From this, Zaifeng came to a conclusion: the royal family wants to grasp the army, the children of the royal family must be officers, and the military power must be firmly controlled in the hands of the royal family.

As a result, as soon as Zaifeng took over, he ordered the establishment of the "Praetorian Guard", that is, the army mainly used to defend the emperor and the imperial palace. This army mainly selected elite soldiers from the army, and also selected some people from the idle clans, with Zaitao, Yulang and Liangbi as the training ministers, and appointed Liangbi, who had the most powerful anti-Han ideology, as the first co-commander of the Praetorian Guard.

In addition, Zaifeng also ordered the War Department Shangshu Yinchang to concurrently serve as the training minister of the six towns of the Army, and then Zaifeng announced the establishment of the Ministry of the Navy, with Zaixun as the Minister of the Navy. In this way, the army and navy are under the supervision of Zaifeng's two younger brothers, Zaitao and Zaixun.

It can be seen that Zaifeng is very resolute in grasping military power, and his actions are quite fast. However, his actions not only aroused the resistance of the local governors, but even the generals within the imperial family were also resentful behind their backs.

The reason is very simple: in the past, local governors, governors, generals, etc., all had a certain amount of power to transfer troops, but now they need to consult the military advisory office for whatever they do, and these people not only feel inconvenienced, but also feel that their power has been damaged.

……………

The sudden change caused Chen Wenqiang and the senior management of the Renaissance Association to concentrate their attention on the changing situation, and the time for the great launch of the revolution was postponed.

Fast forward to March 1909, and the political earthquake of the Qing court was still going on, but the situation was gradually becoming clearer.

The regent Zaifeng marched forward bravely and drastically, and the fire of this new official was burned - it was really good!

Chen Wenqiang took the draft telegram and examined it again, nodded slightly, the time has come, and it can be launched.

Although the time was delayed, the preparations continued. On the contrary, because there is more time, the preparation is more thorough.

Not only the deployment and hoarding of personnel and materials, Chen Wenqiang sent people to Henan to comfort Lao Yuan's wounded soul after Yuan Datou was expelled from Beijing, and brought a few books, and also helped Yuan Datou set up a radio station, so that he could keep in touch with the old department and Chen Wenqiang.

It is not necessary to say too thoroughly, the time has not yet come, but when this line is established, the success of the revolution is a little more certain.

Although Zaifeng seems to have gained control in the imperial court, Yuan Shikai's power is far from being uprooted locally and in the army, which also provides the possibility for Yuan Shikai's comeback.

Moreover, Zaifeng's practice of appointing relatives and nobles also made many Han bureaucrats feel disgusted and unfair, as the American scholar Heng Muyi pointed out: "Zaifeng hardly possessed all the necessary qualities to be a regent." He was powerless to restrain his brothers and other princely dignitaries, and he was forced to grant them high positions of government without regard to their abilities. As a result, he lost the support of many talented Han officials. ”

This is very good, after the outbreak of the revolution, many Han bureaucrats who would have sided with Zaifeng will re-side and choose, and even become a boost to the revolution.

Beiyang Army, since the revolutionary army doesn't want to fight with it, it is better for Yuan Datou to hold the rope around the neck of the Beiyang Army.

Chen Wenqiang thought about it a lot, for a long time, and thought that now should be a good time for a revolution to be launched, even better than expected.

"My lord, this telegram—" Lu Yaozong waited for a while, and when he saw that Chen Wenqiang was thinking again, he couldn't help but remind him softly.

Oh, Chen Wenqiang smiled to himself, handed over the telegram, paused, and then said, "Wait a minute, there are still several telegrams to be sent out at the same time." ”

Lu Yaozong nodded, took the telegram and skimmed through it roughly, and there was nothing that needed to be modified.

The military governments of Shanghai, Chenzhou, Hengyang, Yazhou, and Southwest China also had to notify the railway patrol police, armed police, and shipping companies. The whole action will be thorough and will do his best, and for this reason, Chen Wenqiang does not dare to be careless.

Moreover, he had to calculate, calculate the date of the replenishment of ammunition and supplies requested by the Fifth Town of Beiyang and the Eighth Town of Hubei. Once mobilized, it is necessary to do everything possible to make these two units short of food and ammunition, and their combat strength will be greatly reduced. (To be continued.) )