A Man of Science and Engineering in Troubled Times Wandering in the Late Qing Dynasty

Puyi was carried to the throne by Empress Dowager Longyu, and she followed the example of her aunt and listened to politics behind the curtain.

On that day, there was only a ceremonial worship ceremony.

Empress Dowager Longyu finally understood why Cixi loved power so much. The scene of countless ministers kowtowing below was a spectacular sight. This scene made her vanity instantly satisfied.

However, for her, it is limited to talking about ostentation, and her political ability is almost zero.

Now that the emperor is so young, it is naturally impossible for Empress Dowager Longyu to live in the Summer Palace anymore, so she took a sedan chair to Tai Chi Hall, which is her new residence.

Xiao Dezhang walked ahead in high spirits, but met Li Lianying who was looking depressed halfway.

Li Lianying hurriedly knelt down on the ground: "Master, I have cleaned the Tai Chi Hall again. There is not even a trace of dust on the eaves."

Xiaode Zhang was unhappy. He came so early to ask for credit?
He walked over and said sternly to Li Lianying: "How dare you, who told you to touch the master's palace at will? You can enter at will? The older you get, the more confused you become!"

After hearing Xiao De's scolding, Li Lianying did not dare to express her anger.

Xiao Dezhang was waiting for Queen Mother Longyu to go away. When he turned around and saw Li Lianying still standing there, he suddenly added: "Eunuch Li, you'd better go home and take care of yourself as soon as possible."

Li Lianying trembled all over, as if she had aged ten years in an instant, and murmured: "Everyone pushed the wall down."

He knew that he had to leave the palace, there was no room here.

Li Lianying packed up her belongings and began to move out of the palace. When she walked out of the palace gate, she reluctantly looked back and said softly with a gloomy look in her eyes: "You are still too young and don't understand anything!"

Li Lianying's departure is inevitable, after all, eunuchs are the most ruthless.

At the court, Zaifeng, who has gained real power, wants to expel the elders and cultivate his own newcomers.

According to the adjusted power structure, Regent Zaifeng was the de facto supreme leader of the Qing Dynasty, taking over the role of the elder statesman Empress Dowager Cixi, and even had a higher status than Dorgon, the regent in the early Qing Dynasty.

Because Dorgon was the regent but did not supervise the country, Zaifeng was specially appointed by the Empress Dowager Cixi to supervise the country in addition to being regent.

This is also an imaginative coincidence in the history of the Qing Dynasty. There were only two regents, one at the end and one at the end, but they brought a different ending to the Qing Dynasty.

The regent Zaifeng did not have the political qualifications and achievements of the old regent Dorgon, nor did he have the political skills of the Empress Dowager Cixi.

Zaifeng, who was born and raised in a deep palace, was the No. 1 among the princes of the late Qing Dynasty who went global. He had a certain international vision, but it was of little use.

——It just gained some knowledge.

But it doesn’t mean that a country is a powerful person just because it is gilded with gold, and it is even less likely that one will suddenly become proficient in politics just because he went to Germany to apologize to Wilhelm II.

The regent of the country, Zaifeng, did not have sufficient political authority and political wisdom, and was self-willed.Not only was he unable to unite the Manchu and Han ministers like Empress Dowager Cixi, he was also unable to effectively consolidate the status of the Manchu aristocratic ruling team.

It can be seen both inside and outside that Yuan Shikai is the No. 1 minister of the Han Dynasty after Li Hongzhang, and to some extent, he is even more skillful than Li Hongzhang.

Yuan Shikai had most of the actual power of the Qing government, and he knew how to maneuver both sides and spend money like water, which enabled him to establish many important relationships within the Qing court.

Yuan Shikai was a popular figure among Empress Dowager Cixi and an important minister that the Qing government relied on. This is an indisputable fact.

Now the two most important aspects of the Qing Dynasty, military and diplomacy, are both controlled by Yuan Shikai.

Even financially, Yuan Shikai also has a strong say.

In short, in the court of the late Qing Dynasty, Yuan Shikai was very popular and unrivaled.

Yuan Shikai's promotion was to some extent inseparable from Cixi's help. Therefore, when Cixi was alive, no matter how much power he had, Yuan Shikai was always working for the Qing Dynasty.

At least psychologically, Empress Dowager Cixi never felt threatened by Yuan Shikai.

The Empress Dowager Cixi looked at Yuan Shikai, Li Hongzhang, Zhang Zhidong and other senior Han officials working hard with calmness and appreciation. She believed that they were not working for the selfish interests of the Han people, but for the long-term interests of the Qing Dynasty.

The Empress Dowager Cixi's judgment was correct to a certain extent, but the conservative forces among the Manchu aristocrats, especially the young and middle-aged royal family, saw that their positions and powers that they could have obtained for free were taken away by these capable Han people. The jealousy is really unspeakable.

The tone of the Xuantong Dynasty was almost like this. The young Aixinjueluo began to perform various tricks to commit suicide under the eyes of Yuan Shikai, Zhang Zhidong and other senior officials.

The revolutionaries burst out laughing when they saw it.

At first, Yuan Shikai really had no thoughts of rebellion. Even when the Empress Dowager Cixi asked Yuan Shikai for his opinion on the successor to the throne, he tried his best to agree that the three-year-old Puyi should succeed to the throne and supported Zaifeng as regent and supervisor of the country.

There may be many political considerations in doing so, but there is no doubt that Yuan Shikai hopes that his support can resolve the conflict between himself and the young faction of the Manchu aristocratic ruling group.

Unfortunately, no matter what he did, the first thing Zaifeng did after taking power was to kill Yuan Shikai.

But before that, Zaifeng still did a lot of face-saving work, which sounds a bit funny, and it is hard to imagine that it was a decision made by a regent:

Zaifeng himself became the general marshal of the navy and army, and then made his brother Zai Xun the minister of the navy, and his other brother Zai Tao the minister of the military council and commanded the Imperial Guard; the minister of the army was Yinchang, who was born in Zhengbai Banner.

At this time, Zai Xun was 23 years old and Zai Tao was only 21 years old.He had almost no previous experience in governing.

It's ridiculous. Zaifeng thought that by appointing a top leader at will, he could control the army and navy and directly use Beiyang for his own use.

Even Cixi didn't dare to play like this!
Zaifeng is really "the one who doesn't know is fearless".

Then this group of young royals discussed it privately and decided that it was absolutely impossible not to get rid of Yuan Shikai, otherwise Beiyang would definitely not listen to them.

This kind of decision made at the first glance is too fatal.

Immediately afterwards, Zaifeng prepared to kill Yuan Shikai on the charge of "taking power to be domineering and establishing a party for personal gain".Fortunately, Zhang Zhidong in the court and Prince Yikuang of Qing were both allies of Yuan Shikai.

Zhang Zhidong was entrusted by Cixi to assist the regent, and he earnestly advised Zaifeng: "The new dynasty has just been established, and the young leader is suspicious of the country. We must not kill important ministers and shake the great cause of the country!"

Zaifeng was not convinced at all after hearing this: "It's just Yuan Shikai. If you kill him, kill him. What does it have to do with our Qing Dynasty?"

Zhang Zhidong was very speechless after hearing this. He really thought that he was still playing house in the court.

The royal family all supported Zaifeng, and Zhang Zhidong said angrily: "Kill him? OK! Let me tell you, whether it is the police in the Beijing-Tianjin area or the entire Beiyang Army, they were all created by Yuan Shikai, and everyone is his Can you manage those who are promoted?"

Zhang Zhidong walked up to Zaifeng's two brothers and said, "A minister of the Navy and a minister of the Military Council are young and extraordinary! But I heard that the two of them sang very well and played well. Well played.”

Zai Tao is a fan of Peking Opera. He has solid martial arts skills and can play both long-term and short-term. He and the famous actor Yang Xiaolou are brothers to a certain extent.

The two young Aixinjueluo were suffocated by Zhang Zhidong's aura and were speechless.

Zhang Zhidong said solemnly: "Commanding the army is not about singing on the stage; military strategy is not about playing cards on the card table. In the Qing Dynasty, besides Yuan Shikai, who else dared to speak out about military affairs?"

Zaifeng said: "Kill him and there will be others."

Zhang Zhidong almost fainted from anger, then regained his composure and continued: "The veteran has also organized and trained the new army and has some understanding. If the regent dares to kill Yuan Shikai, the six towns in Beiyang will rebel. At that time, the soldiers pointed out that the regent What can the king do to stop him?"

After hearing this, Zaifeng finally felt a little cold.

Zhang Zhidong was still there giving lessons to the regent, and Prince Qing Yikuang, as a member of the royal family, knew very well the nature of these little royals, so he did not get into trouble at all.

He directly sent someone to secretly tell Yuan Shikai's confidant Yang Du, who was organizing the Zizhengyuan, that Zaifeng wanted to kill Yuan Shikai.

-

Li Yu was reading letters at home. Today he received a letter from the Royal Astronomical Society of England. The sender was George Darwin, the former president.

George was Darwin's son, but he did not engage in biology but devoted himself to astronomy.

George Darwin asked Li Yu about the movement of celestial bodies in his letter, expressing that the King of England was very concerned about the universe.

Li Yu replied, explaining that space is safe and there is no need to worry.

Since the Tunguska incident, Li Yu has found that more and more people are "unfoundedly worried".

As soon as the letter was put into the envelope, there was a knock on the door.

After Zhao Qian opened the door, it was Yang Du who stood outside the door. He said, "Is Imperial Master Li Yu at home?"

Zhao Qian asked: "Who is your Excellency?"

Yang Du said: "I, Yang Du, have been specially ordered by Master Yuan Shikai to pay homage to the Imperial Master."

Zhao Qian had already received advance instructions from Li Yu and said quickly: "Sir, please come in."

Yang Du now respects Yuan Shikai very much and thinks that he has been kind to him.

It was Yuan Shikai who recommended Yang Du and became an important figure in the establishment of the Qing Dynasty's constitution. Many documents were written by Yang Du.

At present, the princes and ministers are making up the legal provisions on constitutional government, and Yang Du is responsible for giving lectures to them.

The reason why Yang Du also knew that Zai Feng wanted to kill Yuan Shikai was because Zai Feng had wanted him to draft an imperial edict, but Yang Du did not agree, and told Yuan Shikai as quickly as possible, and at the same time thought of an escape plan for him.

Li Yu came out and said, "Mr. Tiger, long time no see."

Yang Du cupped his fists and said, "Emperor Master!"

Li Yu said, "Do you want Mr. Tiger to come in and have a cup of tea?"

Yang Du said: "It's too late. Mr. Yuan is in danger. I'm here to ask for help."

Li Yu knew it, but he couldn't ask why. He just said: "What help do you need?"

Yang Du said: "The train does not run at night. I need to borrow two cars from the Imperial Master to take Mr. Yuan back to Tianjin Beiyang overnight."

At present, there is no definite news from the DPRK and China as to whether Zaifeng wants to kill Yuan Shikai.

With Yuan Shikai's diplomatic style, he would definitely plan for the worst and then make complete preparations.

At this time, Yuan Shikai was already disappointed with the Manchu nobles.

"It's okay, it's okay," Li Yu paused, "It's just..."

Yang Du asked anxiously: "Just what?"

Li Yu said: "Can you drive?"

Yang Du actually forgot this and said awkwardly: "I... can't."

Li Yu knew that Yuan Shikai would not be in any serious danger and it would be okay to give him a ride, so he said, "Zhao Qian and I will drive you back to Tianjin."

Yang Du said gratefully: "Thank you, Imperial Master!"