Cheng Dequan's father Cheng Daguan is a talent, teaching for a living, Cheng Dequan studied with his father, because of the poverty of the family, he assisted in teaching and reading when he was a little older, and he was away for many years.

The Cheng family was originally a family of four generations, but in 1875, there was a ****** in eastern Sichuan, and they could not survive together. Living together and sharing wealth is a classical Chinese socialist life. When the famine came, it was impossible to sustain itself, so they had to separate their property and make their own living.

At that time, he was taking the county exam in Kuizhou, and when he returned to the home he had just moved into, he had nothing but clay pots, bamboo chopsticks, and a number of grains. His mother was sick and his younger siblings were young, so Cheng Dequan was married in 1878, and his capable new daughter-in-law took care of the housework.

Soon, the family's rented house was repossessed and there was nowhere to go. The new daughter-in-law observed the terrain and found that building a shelter under the cliff could also provide shelter from the wind and rain. One year, a flood broke out and washed away the shack, but fortunately, his wife was alert and beckoned her family to escape.

After the death of his mother, his younger siblings have grown up, which has eased the burden on the family. In 1890, Cheng Dequan entrusted his family affairs to his wife and traveled to Sichuan, hoping to get rid of poverty.

He was born in Liao Gongsheng and went to Beijing to study in the country. However, he remained poor, often suffering from hunger and cold, and was unable to leave his home due to hunger. When he was studying in Beijing, he saw the crisis of the situation in Northeast China and carefully studied the Northeast issue, which gave him the opportunity to change his fate.

The Northeast is in Jingqi Shoushan, and I learned that Cheng Dequan was familiar with the Northeast issues, and after getting acquainted, he appreciated Cheng's talent very much. Of course, Cheng's talent and knowledge are not limited to the Northeast issue, this is just an opportunity.

In 1891, Cheng Dequan was recommended by Shoushan to work as a staff member in the Northeast, and the livelihood problem was solved. In 1895, after Cheng Dequan experienced the Sino-Japanese War, he was promoted to the alternate magistrate of Anhui Province. It was only in 1896 that he was able to bring his wife and children to live with him. At the end of 1899, Cheng served as a staff member of Tongshoushan, the deputy capital of Heilongjiang (in Aihui). In February 1900, Shoushan went to Qiqihar to serve as the acting general of Heilongjiang, and Cheng accompanied him as the general director of the Heilongjiang Silver Dollar Bureau, and concurrently handled the general's copywriting. In 1899, the Boxer Rebellion took place, and in 1900, the great powers used the Boxer Rebellion as a pretext to organize the Eight-Nation Coalition to invade China. The tsar began a war mobilization of the Russian army in late June. On July 21, the Russian army carried out a massacre of Chinese citizens who had lived there for a long time in Hailanpao. At the same time, the Russian army invaded Jiangdong 64 Tun and massacred the Chinese people. Two tragedies were committed in the border region between China and Russia. On August 5, the Russian army occupied Aihui and launched an all-out northeast attack. After stubborn resistance, the Chinese army retreated in defeat after defeat. Everywhere the Russian army went, it burned, killed, looted, and was inhumane.

After the outbreak of the war, Cheng Dequan was appointed by Heilongjiang General Shoushan as the prime minister of the camp office and went to the front line to supervise the army. The trip to Bordo (now Nehe County) coincided with the swelling of the Murner River, and tens of thousands of refugees were crying and fighting for the crossing. Morgan (present-day Nenjiang County) had also been lost, and there were less than 1,000 soldiers on the station, and they were unable to organize resistance. For this reason, Cheng sent a letter to Shoushan, advocating that he ask the Russian army for peace.

On August 19, Shoushan received an order from the Qing court to negotiate peace, and immediately assigned Cheng Dequan to negotiate peace with the Russian army. On the 22nd, Cheng Dequan went to the Russian battalion three times to sue for peace, trying to stop the advance of the Russian army, but was refused. Because Cheng Dequan begged for death and pulled out his sword to kill himself, the Russian military officer hurriedly stopped Cheng Wrist: "What is it?" The Russian army then agreed not to attack the provincial capital, not to kill innocents, not to plunder property. Cheng Dequan immediately returned to Qiqihar, withdrew his troops, ammunition and food, and prepared to give up the city peacefully. On the 24th, the Russian army crossed the Murner River, and on the 28th, it arrived on the outskirts of Qiqihar. "The Russian army intends to attack the city with immediate artillery. Cheng hurriedly went out of the city to meet the Russian army, blocked the muzzle of the artillery, and begged the Russian army to stop the attack, and the Russian army stopped the shelling. Since then, he has insisted on staying in the Russian army as a hostage to relieve the enemy's suspicions. On the 29th, the Russian army drove into the city and occupied Qiqihar, and the Heilongjiang general Shoushan committed suicide.

The Russian generals entered Qiqihar for many years and plundered them on a large scale. At the same time, the Russian army wants to force Cheng Dequan to be the general of Heilongjiang and a puppet of the Russian army. Cheng Yi violated the state system, was not appointed, resolutely refused, and committed suicide by throwing himself into the river to save the Russian army.

For this reason, Cheng Dequan sent a letter to the Russian Tsar, asking Russia to withdraw its troops: "The emperor should withdraw his troops when the cold winter is coming, so as to appease the place and boost commerce." Yesterday, the military officer sent a telegram to the governor of Burleigh, saying that he was ordered by the emperor to take up the post of general with virtue. I was terrified when I heard it. Dequan to detain the people of the journey, living in Jiang Province, on the occasion of the chaos, the original intention was to preserve the souls, now the Dutch Emperor is committed to diplomatic relations, the provincial capital can be safe and sound, Dequan has been given a lot, now it is a martyrdom of the general, the director has no one, want to act cheaply, no matter that Dequan did not follow the decree of the emperor of our country, he did not dare to be authoritarian, and he thought about the undisciplined ministers, stealing the world, it was already a shame, what face pretended to be the general? Thinking repeatedly, there is no physiology, it is to commit suicide by throwing himself into the river, and the officers with the troops tried to save Dequan, and sent people to persuade and take care of them in many ways, so that Dequan will no longer look for short-sightedness. But at this moment, the emperor of our country did not know the news, and Dequan was crying blood, worried and unconscious, and he was still breathing, how could he handle local government affairs? The whole province of Weinian Heilongjiang has not yet been decided, and there are still troops in Hulan, Bayansu, and Beilinzi. Your country must strive to maintain peace, lest it lead to wars and further wounds. He still prayed that all the magistrates and the officers with the troops should do all the things that were to be done. In the future, the friendship between the emperor and our country can always be maintained for eternity. If Meng Yiyun still has a number of requirements, the article is on the left, related to the diplomatic relations between the two countries, and Dequan dares to ask for the millions of people in the Great Qing Dynasty: 'First, please do not harm living beings; 1. Seek not to take away people's property; 1. Asking for women; 1. Ask the Chinese people to continue to be treated preferentially; 1. Ask for no change in the decree of the Qing Dynasty; 1. Passports are issued to officials and people who wish to migrate; 1. Seek to issue licenses to the people of all cities and stations, and return to business as soon as possible; 1. Ask to go to Hulan and other places to appease you, and you don't need to bring more people to avoid panic among the people; 1. And ask for a notice first, and make it known to everyone. ’”

Soon after, Cheng Dequan was taken by the Russian army to Chita, passing through Hulunbuyuer (now Hailar), where he fell ill due to the cold, was treated by the Russian Red Cross and released, and returned to Qiqihar on November 7. But since then, he has been sick with wind and cold. Cheng Dequan's actions against the Russian army in 1900 won a high reputation in the government and the opposition, and the people of Northeast China hoped to push Cheng to become the general of Heilongjiang as a stopgap measure. But Cheng Dequan is just a small official, and his qualifications are very shallow. What's more, according to the Qing system, the Northeast maintains the traditional flag system, using flag people, not Han people, in order to maintain the birthplace of the Qing Dynasty and the source of combat effectiveness, and there is no reason to jump to be a general.

The nomination of the Northeast Shimin was not accepted by the Qing court, but later generals Heilongjiang and Jilin repeatedly asked the Qing court to reuse Cheng Dequan. In February 1901, Cheng Dequan was promoted by the Qing court to be directly affiliated with the state, and he was rewarded with three titles. In September 1902, Jilin General Changshun appointed Cheng Rensan's surname (now Yilan) to handle the aftermath negotiations and handle the affairs of raising salaries and arrests. In the winter of 1903, Tsarist Russia delayed the withdrawal of troops in the northeast, and the Russo-Japanese War was brewing. The Qing court urgently needed capable personnel to go to the northeast. However, by this time, the traditional ruling foundation of the Qing court in the northeast had collapsed, and the crisis had come, and there was no one to use, so it had to be changed.

On December 28, 1903, Cixi summoned Cheng Dequan in Beijing to inquire about Heilongjiang affairs, and Cheng's answer made Cixi very satisfied, and she was promoted to Taoist, and the next day she was added to the rank of deputy capital and acting deputy capital of Qiqihar.

The deputy commander is a military officer, and the appointment of Cheng Dequan is not only a promotion beyond the ranks, but also breaks the practice of not using Han people in the Northeast. It is said that before Cixi's appointment, she entertained foreign guests, and the wife of the Russian minister also praised Cheng Dequan in front of Cixi, which contributed to Cixi's exceptional promotion of Cheng. On May 15, 1905, the Qing court appointed Cheng Dequan as acting general of Heilongjiang, with full authority to handle the military and political affairs of the province.

At the beginning of 1907, the Qing court changed the northeast into a province, with Xu Shichang of the Yuan Shikai bureaucracy as the governor, and Cheng was only appointed acting governor of Heilongjiang on May 7, and his powers were weakened, apparently because he was squeezed out by the Yuan Shikai bureaucracy. For this reason, Cheng was forced to repeatedly call for a vacancy. In March 1908, Xu Shichang suggested that the Military Aircraft Department "reward him for a few months and return home for medical treatment" because of Cheng's "leg illness has not healed". On the 19th of that month, the Qing court vacated Cheng Dequan's position as acting governor of Heilongjiang.

In the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, when the country was heading for a world of great chaos, Cheng Dequan's administration was "focused on preserving the lives of people", which can be said to be his core. He is also open-minded and generous. His original wife, Qin, was exiled with him and unfortunately died in 1903. At that time, although his economic position improved, he was still often in debt. After Cheng Dequan was squeezed out of the government by Yuan Shikai Group, he went home to save his relatives.

After his son became prosperous, Cheng Daguan was very happy. In view of the long years of poverty in the past, he pushed himself and others, and instructed his son to raise 10,000 taels of silver that he had saved over the years to buy land, and was ready to use the income from these fields to help the poor and helpless people of his clan. He wanted to make no one in the Cheng clan suffer from cold and starvation. This is the social assistance system created by Fan Zhongyan, a famous sage in the Song Dynasty, which has been imitated by the sages of previous dynasties.

At the time of preparation, the imperial court reactivated Cheng Dequan and summoned him to Beijing. Cheng Dequan set off at home in a hurry, and the father and son had no time to discuss the relevant measures. So, during the Qingming Spring Festival, Cheng Daguan gathered the whole clan together, distributed the silver to the poor people in the clan, let them take the money to try to make a living by themselves, and for the widows, widows and disabled people, they also gave relief according to different situations. The ten thousand taels of silver were divided up at once. Cheng's heroic act caused a sensation in the township.

After the death of Mrs. Qin, Cheng Dequan remarried Mrs. Liu. Mrs. Liu saw that Cheng Dequan had a bold personality and loose hands, which was not a long-term solution, but repeated persuasion was ineffective, so she quietly saved up a sum of money to prevent Cheng Dequan from falling into poverty after losing power.

In November 1908, Guangxu and Cixi died one after another, and the political situation changed greatly. At the beginning of 1909, the regent Zaifeng transferred Xu Shichang to the internal level, appointed Xiliang as the governor of the three eastern provinces, and Cheng Dequan was also reinstated, and on May 23, he was appointed as the acting governor of Fengtian. However, the post of Fengfu was in the same city as the governor, and it fell within the scope of the constitutional reform and streamlining the organization, so it was abolished on April 28, 1910, and Cheng was transferred to the governor of Jiangsu.

When Cheng Dequan was the governor of Jiangsu, it was when the Xinhai storm was approaching and the crisis was serious. After Cheng Dequan took office, he said in a letter to the central figures: "The gentry have been in a superior position in learning, and the recent imports of Eastern and Western civilizations have become more and more new. ”

He had great respect for Zhang Jian's opinions in Jiangsu, had good relations with the local gentry, and played an important role in times of crisis. At the same time, he also said strongly: "Virtue is complete, not afraid of difficulties, only deep self-encouragement, and the doctrine of quiet and dedicatedness is the way to govern oneself; To stand on the heel, the camera responds, as a policy to govern people, that's all. ”

At that time, the constitutional movement in Jiangsu was very lively, and Zhang Jian was the leader of the movement. Cheng Dequan fully supported Zhang Jian's proposal to convene the National Assembly and build a responsible cabinet. He also had extensive contacts with the governors, hoping to save the Qing court from a crisis of rule. On October 25, 1910, Cheng Dequan was listed as the leader of Xiliang, the governor of the three eastern provinces, who advocated the simultaneous establishment of the cabinet and the National Assembly. Forced by various demands, the Qing court announced on November 4 the opening of the National Assembly for the fifth year of proclamation. However, Cheng Dequan was not optimistic about the current situation, and he continued to ask the Qing court to "quickly send a cabinet premier". In a telegram to the Governor of Huguang, he frankly revealed: "At present, internal and external talents are only like this, and it is invalid to change the preparatory list, and it is invalid if it is not changed; Delay in preparation is also ineffective, and urgency is also invalid, and it is asserable. If a political party is not established, it will not work in vain, so today there is no second word to say except to urge the establishment of a cabinet. Urging the establishment of a cabinet does not mean that the world will rule from now on, but that there is a prime minister for the people to overthrow. This telegram reflected Cheng Dequan's strong sense of crisis and full awareness of the corruption of the Qing court.

Cheng Dequan has very little experience in political circles and is not strong. Zhang Jian had a strong local reputation and strength, but Zhang Renjun, the governor of Liangjiang, did not support the constitutional movement and disagreed with Zhang Jian's political views. Cheng Dequan and Zhang Jian didn't know each other and had no personal relationship. When the political crisis intensified in 1911, the two began to warm each other and cooperate to deal with the situation. On February 18, 1911, Zhang Jian went to Suzhou to meet Cheng Dequan and established close contact from then on. The Jiangsu gentry formed a political group to deal with the crisis, and Cheng Dequan became the political operator of this group. (To be continued.) )