Me and Empress Dowager Cixi

Chapter 20 Yuan Shikai (1)
I don't know how long our royal train traveled, but slowly, Tianjin, known as the largest commercial port in North China, appeared before our eyes.It was very blurry at first, and only a general outline could be seen. Gradually, taller buildings could be seen clearly.Tianjin has finally arrived.

At this time, the previous drizzle disappeared, replaced by a blue sky with the sun hanging high above it, golden, soft and beautiful.God seemed to be helping the Empress Dowager too. Before she accepted the grand welcome ceremony in Tianjin, she put away her gloomy face and let the sunshine down, making this event even more meaningful.

The scene at that time is still fresh in my memory. Whenever I think of it, the scenes at that time will be displayed in front of my eyes, clearly recognizable.

As far as I know, Tianjin Railway Station should be very lively, but due to the martial law, there are no idlers at this time.Even so, our Queen's train did not stop at Tianjin Station.About half a kilometer away from the station, a platform completely made of cement has been specially built.

Cement was very expensive at that time, and it was rarely used in ordinary buildings.Since the empress dowager could not be allowed to get off the train on the ordinary platform like ordinary people, the imperial platform was built in just a few days.

This platform has two functions, one is to separate Tianjin Station, and the other is to prevent the Empress Dowager from stepping on the land polluted by ordinary civilians.

This design must have been thought up by another smart person!Yes, this person is indeed not simple. When I tell his name, I'm afraid there will be no one who doesn't know him.He is an important figure who is about to appear on the stage of Chinese history-Yuan Shikai, who is the governor of Zhili Province at this time.When the Empress Dowager just decided to go on this trip, he started planning to hold a reception ceremony and build a new platform.

This new platform is so long that it can hold ten carriages.The bamboo canopy above is hung with fluttering dragon flags, colorful flags and colorful strips.In addition, there are green pines and cypresses planted on the platform, and palace lanterns of different styles are hung, which looks lively and beautiful.The ground of the platform was also covered with golden sand, and there was a piece of yellow felt in the center, which was undoubtedly specially prepared for the Empress Dowager.

These designs did take a lot of thought, but no one knew whether the queen mother wanted to get out of the car after arriving in Tianjin, even Yuan Shikai, who was of extraordinary status, did not dare to guarantee it.

We saw this newly built platform from a long distance. The ground is covered with golden yellow sand, and the top is covered with colorful bamboo canopies. It is really gorgeous and gratifying.Everyone was scrambling to look out the window, and the train gradually slowed down at this time, preparing to stop.

At this time, the driver was the most nervous. Qingshan ordered them to park the Queen Mother's carriage in the center of the platform, so that the Queen Mother would step on the yellow felt when she got off the car.Therefore, the drivers are concentrating all their energy on controlling the Queen's train so that it will not be too fast or too slow.

In order to welcome the short stay of the Empress Dowager Shengjia, all important civil and military officials in Tianjin and its vicinity, according to their respective grades, tried their best to dress themselves up and came here early to wait.When we entered the station, we saw a large group of colorful people at a glance, so beautiful that people couldn't open their eyes.As soon as they saw Shengjia arriving, they knelt on the ground silently and respectfully.There is only one person who is different from the others. He is in the front and prostrates himself on the ground devoutly. This is Yuan Shikai.

The train stopped in front of them at an extremely slow speed.I am a person who likes to watch the excitement very much, but these statue-like officials in front of me make me feel very uncomfortable.The appearance was second to none, and what was worse was that their tempers were simply disgusting.

At this time, they were lowering their heads, their eyes were fixed on the ground, and it seemed that they didn't even dare to take a breath.How much sincerity is there in this excessive respect?However, they are not without something worth admiring. Those clothes, hats and the like are piled up together, which is really dazzling, and even produces a sense of surprise.

First let’s talk about their weft hats, which are covered with feathers made of peacock feathers. Peacock feathers are beautiful and can emit a moving brilliance. At this time, the weather is very clear, and the bright sunlight shines on these peacock feathers and reflects them. There is a layer of gold on it, and when you look up, it is full of brilliance.

When I saw this situation, I couldn't help but think of those characters in ancient Chinese novels, as if they were reborn to pay tribute to the Queen Mother.

How does the queen mother feel about everything in front of her?At this time, no one dared to extrapolate, but one thing is certain, she is very clear about the real purpose of these officials' trip.There is nothing particularly outstanding about the officials in Tianjin. Most of them get their titles through ties and giving money. If you need knowledge, you don’t have knowledge, and you need talent but you don’t have talent. The Queen Mother is not ignorant of this.The only outstanding thing about them is that they are good at making money. Therefore, taking over the empress dowager has become a tool for them to benefit themselves, and some people even want to use it to get some unexpected gains.

In short, none of these people who came to pay respects to the Empress Dowager came from the heart, and all of them had other motives, even Yuan Shikai was no exception.

As soon as I saw him, my mind fell into contemplation, and my thoughts kept wandering.After the success of the Revolution of [-], this person sat on the throne of the first president of the Republic of China.At this time, he knelt down on the platform in Tianjin devoutly and greeted the empress dowager. Who would have thought that he would do something like that in the future?Surely he couldn't even think of it himself!At that time, I just stared at him quietly, as if I was examining a famous monster that I had seen for the first time, and many things quickly recalled in my mind-his fame was not accidental.

The Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War of [-]-[-] caused China to suffer a lot, and the whole of North Korea was obediently given to Japan, which was a great shame to China.If it is seriously investigated, this Yuan Shikai can be regarded as one of the culprits.

This person has a very irritable temperament, and he also likes to show off his prestige indiscriminately. If he obeys him, he can't wait to behead all the people he dislikes immediately.Of course, the imperial court did not know that he was such a person. As soon as the accident happened in North Korea, China and Japan immediately entered a state of preparation for war.Since the imperial court did not want to be involved in the war so soon, they sent Yuan Shikai to North Korea, hoping that he would mediate and negotiate skillfully with the Japanese to try their best to avoid war, and hinted that the other side, China, did not want to use force at this time.

Unexpectedly, as soon as Yuan Shikai arrived in North Korea, he began to act according to his own mood. Not only did he fail to reach a consensus with the Japanese, but he also severely offended them.At that time, the Japanese happened to be a young tiger who had just come out of the mountain, and was looking for an opportunity to test his ability, so he immediately declared war on China.In this way, China's history of humiliation kicked off.

It is unbelievable that Yuan Shikai, who caused such evil results, became famous because of it.Yuan Shikai's masterpiece is more than this, there is another thing worth mentioning.For Chinese history, this incident may not have much impact, but it is not a trivial matter for the Qing government.From a dramatic point of view, it is really an epic tragedy.

Before telling this story, we must first understand what kind of person Yuan Shikai was.In life, he is extremely arrogant and defiant.With this appearance, it is easy for people to mistake him for a straightforward person, and Guangxu was blinded by his appearance.It was because of this wrong person that Guangxu suffered a lot in the [-] coup, and finally became a prisoner emperor with a false name.

As for Yuan Shikai, he didn't shy away from talking about this matter. Soon, people outside knew what happened back then.

It turned out that when the empress dowager returned the power to Guangxu, she went back to the Summer Palace to recuperate.Guangxu finally became the real emperor. As soon as he sat on the dragon chair, he made up his mind to carry out his New Deal to the end.Probably because he was too impatient and insecure, he specially transferred Yuan Shikai from other positions, gave him a team of troops, and stationed around the Summer Palace under the banner of escort, restricting the Queen Mother's freedom to prevent her from coming out to obstruct the New Deal.

In fact, what Guangxu meant was that as long as the New Deal was implemented smoothly, the troops would be withdrawn immediately after getting on the right track. This was only a temporary measure.Who knows, Guangxu was completely wrong about Yuan Shikai.This person is not simple, he is very good at playing tricks, and he changed his mind when he arrived at the Summer Palace.Yuan Shikai focused on his own plans, and he didn't care so much about who was in power, the emperor or the queen mother.Therefore, let alone Guangxu asked him to monitor the Empress Dowager, even if he sent someone to kill Cixi, he would not dissuade him, let alone feel any compassion.

Because of such a character, Guangxu gave Yuan Shikai a secret order, and Yuan Shikai began to figure out what to do to benefit himself.In Yuan Shikai's view, if he followed Guangxu's instructions, he would definitely benefit, but not much after all; on the contrary, if he did the opposite and secretly reported the matter to the Empress Dowager, the result would be quite different.

Yuan Shikai immediately chose the second approach, taking Guangxu's order as capital for promotion, and secretly went to meet the queen mother.He pretended to be very loyal and told the Queen Mother that Guangxu sent him to assassinate the Queen Mother secretly, but he couldn't bear it, so he ignored the emperor's secret order to inform the Queen Mother.

Although he couldn't resist scrutiny at all, the queen mother believed it completely.The Empress Dowager immediately sent Yuan Shikai to lead his own army to protect Shengjia and quickly came to Guangxu's bedroom.Because she was in a rage, the Empress Dowager ignored all etiquette and asked Guangxu to be dragged from the bed to force him to sign an edict to return the power to the Empress Dowager, without giving Guangxu a chance to speak at all.

As a result of this farce, the empress dowager regained power in the country and once again became majestic, while Guangxu fell into boundless misery.The queen mother swore that she would never forgive Guangxu in any case. He could say whatever he liked, and the queen mother would never talk to him again.For Guangxu, he must have hated Yuan Shikai all his life for misjudging Yuan Shikai, but unfortunately, he was unable to avenge this hatred. He had become a political prisoner with a peculiar status, and he had not regained his freedom until his death.

Now, Guangxu followed the Queen Mother to Tianjin and stood in front of his enemies.Although Guangxu had his own special carriage, since the ministers knelt in front of the empress dowager's carriage to pick him up, he had to show up no matter what and stood behind Cixi very respectfully.When the Queen Mother was not paying attention, I chatted with Guangxu and heard his thoughts on the [-] coup.Every time he said it, he would scold Yuan Shikai who fabricated the facts to frame him.When I came to Tianjin at this time, I was very excited, and I was looking forward to witnessing the meeting between Guangxu and Yuan Shikai soon.

Sure enough, our royal train stopped impartially, and the door of the Empress Dowager happened to be right in front of the yellow felt.The queen mother really took care of Yuan Shikai's face and got out of the car, which was beyond everyone's expectation.

She stood majestically and began to accept the worship of Yuan Shikai and other officials.Since Yuan Shikai's kneeling position was a bit more prominent than others, he almost kowtowed at the Empress Dowager's feet at this time.He looked so respectful and pious, he kowtowed to the Queen Mother, and then began to kowtow to Guangxu.

(End of this chapter)