The changes that occurred in the imperial court around the time of Gengzi were destined to have a profound impact on this decaying empire and even future generations. But it all started with the Wuxu Incident two years ago, and one of the protagonists of the incident was Kang Youwei, a native of Guangdong. In the Tang Dynasty, Lingnan, which was once a place of exile for degraded officials, has become a pioneer in the development of the atmosphere after a thousand years, and those who study modern Chinese history will always pay special attention to the fact that from Tongguang to the death of the Qing Dynasty, there are a large number of Cantonese people recorded in historical books.

Kang Youwei was born in the fifth year of Xianfeng (1855), and the Kang family has been a scholar for several generations. Kang Youwei's tutor and his teacher Zhu Jiujiang imparted knowledge to him, not only preparing him to take the examination to gain fame, but also paying special attention to the evolution of China's political system and the so-called practical learning. Kang Youwei did not know any foreign languages, and he did not go abroad before he was wanted by the imperial court. However, he had been to Shanghai and Hong Kong, and was greatly stimulated by the neat and orderly administration of foreigners. He felt that such a beautiful administrative system must have a source of ideological and cultural background. It is a pity that at that time, there were no books in China that systematically introduced Western political, economic, and cultural thoughts, and what he saw was only elementary books on astronomy, geography, Gezhi, medicine, and the art of war translated by the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau and the church.

Li Hongzhang's painstaking Westernization Movement was completely declared a failure after the First Sino-Japanese War. Liang Qichao criticized Li Hongzhang and said, "I know that there are military affairs but I don't know that there is civil affairs, I know that there are foreign affairs but I don't know that there are internal affairs, I know that there is the imperial court but I don't know that there are people, and I know that there are foreign affairs but I don't know that there are state affairs." I think that the orthodox customs of China are all superior to those of other countries, and those who are inferior to them are only gun ears, cannon ears, ship ears, and machine ears. I will learn this, and the ability of foreign affairs will be completed. ”

Liang Qichao's criticism can be described as extremely pertinent, and it still has strong practical significance to read to this day.

Li Hongzhang's Westernization Movement has already failed, and his proposal for political reform will certainly be opposed. After the first afternoon, Kang Youwei felt that the time had come, and Li Hongzhang did not dare to put forward the idea of political reform, but Kang Youwei wanted to advocate it, which was the so-called reform movement.

To change the law is to change the political system without changing the rulers. Since the Qin and Han dynasties in China, there have only been two people who have changed the law, one is Wang Mang and the other is Wang Anshi. Wang Mang has especially become a sinner through the ages and a political clown. Even Wang Anshi, who has a noble character, is not highly evaluated in his later generations. Therefore, no one dares to talk about changing the law, let alone changing the law. Kang Youwei knows very well that if this problem is not solved ideologically, it will be impossible to implement the reform. Therefore, he wrote an article "Confucius Reform Examination", advocating that Confucius was a reformer, the spiritual pillar of Chinese scholars, and that the purpose of Confucius's "Spring and Autumn Period" was to reform the legal system. In "The Legend of the Ram", it is also said that "Zhang III", that is, the autocracy is used for the troubled times, the constitutional government is used for the peaceful world, and the republican government is used for the peaceful world.

Kang Youwei is indeed a smart person. He knew that Confucius was the ideological center of the Chinese, and if he captured Confucius, the battle of ideas would be successful. The emperor is the political center of China, and only by convincing the emperor can political changes be implemented. Therefore, Kang Youwei repeatedly wrote to Emperor Guangxu and talked about the way to save the country. And Guangxu was deeply stimulated by the defeat and wanted to work hard to save the country. So he trusted Kang Youwei, and appointed Kang Youwei and his fellow party members Lin Xu, Tan Si and others within the scope of his pitiful power, and carried out a 100-day Restoration from April of that year.

Kang Youwei didn't realize that the emperor he relied on was actually a puppet. Nor did he realize that any reform needed a deep foundation, which was the strength on which he depended, economically, politically, and more importantly, militarily.

The strength must be guaranteed by benefits. This is a very cruel reality, and after all, there are very few people who are willing to use their blood to seek their ideals.

Regimes manifest their existence in various forms, the most important of which is military power. Because the state is a machine of violence in the highest form, and the ultimate force that embodies the will of the state and maintains the form of the state is the army, not the literati, no matter how good the idea is, it must be realized by force. The cause of the defeat of the Qing Dynasty was, of course, the incompetence of the army, and if the First Sino-Japanese War had been won, Kang Youwei's proposal to change the law would not have even been put forward himself.

But he didn't realize it. When the matter was critical, the poor Guangxu Emperor asked his comrades to ask for help with a secret edict, and these people remembered to ask Yuan Shikai for help, who held military power, it was too late!

The Wuxu Reform has become history, Kang Youwei and his follower Liang Qichao hid in Japan, and from time to time there will be some voices, these voices have little new meaning, nothing more than to return power to the emperor, or engage in constitutional reform.

But Kang Liang is, after all, a figure who shook history. Even if the Hundred Days Restoration failed, a boulder had been thrown into a calm pool of stagnant water. Even though Kang Liang had fled the country, he still scared Cixi. Characters who can make the supreme ruler feel feared or even hated cannot be said to be losers in any way.

Combined with the warnings of the foreigners and the threat of Kang Liang, it was originally planned to announce the abdication of Guangxu during the Spring Festival, and Pu Jun's plan to ascend the throne was disrupted, and the desire of King Duanjun to become the emperor was temporarily frustrated. Pu Jun was made the eldest brother, and he was one step away from the emperor's throne, but after all, he didn't sit on it, and Zai Yi was very unhappy. He would have gone mad if he had known that his son would never be able to sit in the seat that marked the pinnacle of power and wealth, and that his son would never have his share.

Fortunately, there is still hope.

After the Chinese New Year, the imperial court made an important decision, although it was not officially written. That is, the original attitude of the imperial court towards the Boxers has changed!

Just after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Yuan Shikai received a secret letter from Jingshi. The letter was sent by Zhao Shuqiao, which was in the nature of a private letter, and Zhao Shuqiao revealed in the letter the change in the policy of the imperial court, and the imperial court still had something to borrow from the group of Shinto peasants called the Boxers. Zhao Shuqiao did not tell Yuan Shikai about the turmoil, but after the letter was written, Zhao Shuqiao said that he had heard about the fighting that took place in Yizhou last winter, and that the officers and troops had been defeated by a group of thieves who had escaped in Mengshan, and that a battalion officer had been killed in the battle. I don't know if this news is true, if it is true, I hope my brother will deal with it properly, so as not to cause unnecessary trouble.

Regarding the failure of Li Chun's attack, Yuan Shikai reported it to the Military Aircraft Department, and of course it was impossible to report it truthfully. Such a big defeat is not a small defeat with the loss of 100 people, the number of people may be concealed, and the loss of ordnance is irreparable. Recently, Yuan Shikai has been in contact with the German Governor in Jiaoao, and finally purchased a batch of German-made ordnance and ammunition to make up for the losses in the two Yizhou battles.

Since the rise of the foreign affairs movement, China has become one of the most ideal arms markets for the great powers, and a large number of finished weapons and ammunition have been sold to the Chinese, accompanied by a large outflow of silver. Weapons come from a number of countries, Japan, Britain, France, Russia, Germany, the United States and even Denmark, all have weapons flowing into China, of which German-made weapons occupy a large share. It is worth mentioning that the imperial court did not control the import of arms that should have been strictly controlled by centralized management. Provinces, including those in the interior of the country, which have little financial resources, are importing arms on their own. Shandong has become the range of power of the Germans, and it is actually very easy for Yuan Shikai to buy weapons through the German Jiaoao garrison.

Yuan Shikai only showed this letter to one person, that is, his long-time iron buddy Xu Shichang. Xu Shichang pondered for a long time, "Weiting, the surname Zhao is not a problem, it's just a matter of spending some silver." The Meng thief is not worried, when the Queen Mother inquires about this matter, I am afraid that we have already obtained the head of the person named Long Qian. However, in the matter of abolishing the emperor, the court was coerced by foreigners, and with the temperament of the queen mother, I am afraid that I will not be able to swallow this breath. ”

"Who to make the emperor is not something that our foreign ministers should care about. Let's get rid of this group of thieves first. They dared to play the banner of the Mengshan Army, this is not an ordinary thief. Xiushan is incompetent, and honest and hateful. Yuan Shikai's eyes became cold, the news of Li Chun's defeat could not be hidden, and what he had to do now was to settle the matter before the Queen Mother paid attention to this matter.

"This time, the army was concentrated to attack in many ways, and there were Pingqing (Wang Shizhen) and Huafu (Feng Guozhang) personally attacking, so it should be foolproof." Xu Shichang comforted.

"I hope." I don't know why, Yuan Shikai became suspicious of his two henchmen going out on the expedition in person, "That Situ Jun's worry is reasonable. Li Xiushan and Cao Zhongsan are not incompetent, and they have been folded in the hands of this gang of bastards. If I really want them to break out, I won't have a place to put my face on. ”

Li Chun's second attack failed, and Yuan Shikai was determined to use the greatest force in his hands to completely extinguish the Mengshan army. However, after Wang Shizhen arrived in Yizhou, he reported that the Yizhou soldiers were dilapidated and could not be used, and they must be vigorously replenished and rectified. However, Situ Jun, who followed Wang Shizhen to Yizhou, wrote to say that although the thieves might win, they would definitely suffer heavy losses. They must not be given time to recuperate, and it is best to send troops immediately.

It is not possible to send troops immediately, the Caozhou soldiers failed to assemble, the Yizhou soldiers need to be replenished, and more importantly, Li Chun suffered two major defeats, not only lost a large number of trained veterans, but also suffered serious losses in military funds, and must be vigorously replenished. If you want to hide it from the imperial court, you can't open your mouth to the imperial court, and the problem must be solved by yourself. Fortunately, at present, he has mastered a province, and this coastal province has two powerful forces, Germany and Britain, and with Yuan Shikai's relationship, it is not a problem to buy some weapons and ammunition from them. In this way, it was delayed until after the Spring Festival, and the supplement to Yizhou was completed. During the Chinese New Year, Yuan Shikai held a military meeting against the Mengshan army in Jinan, and decided to take the Caozhou troops as the main force, all the way out of Teng County, all the way out of Zou County, and press the thieves' nest in two ways, while the Yizhou soldiers used Fei County as a base to block the route of the thief army's eastward advance. Encircle the thief army in the mountainous area centered on Zhengjiazhuang, and be sure to annihilate them all.

This time, Yuan Shikai laid down his old capital and gathered the main force of the Wuwei Right Army, using more than 4,000 troops.

In order to ensure that Caozhou is foolproof, Yuan Shikai sent Feng Guozhang to Caozhou to sit in Caozhou, Feng Guozhang is a native of Hejian, and Cao Kun is a fellow countryman, and Cao Kun's old boss, with him out of Caozhou, there is no need to worry about that.

The plan for sending troops was drawn up by Yuan Shikai himself, and he used the Yizhou soldiers to attract the attention of the Mengshan army, and the Caozhou soldiers as the main force, secretly assembled, and smashed the bandits' nest.

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