The Republic is so violent

Chapter 38 The Forbidden City Candid Filming Case (3)
So Yuan Shikai hurried out of the palace, established the headquarters of the Qing Dynasty Water Supply Company, appointed his confidant Zhou Xuexi as the prime minister, and raised official shares and commercial shares at the same time. It was not sold, but the commercial shares were sold for 300 million yuan, and then the construction began. It took two years to build infrastructure such as water plants and water towers. The water pipes, large and small, were laid in and around the capital for a total length of more than 370 miles. There are more than 420 faucets.

Yuan Shikai's tap water project in the Qing Dynasty has lasted for more than [-] years without changing the infrastructure, and it looks as good as new.

The Master said: "Using Xia to change Yi is Xia Ye; changing Yi Yi to Xia is Yi Ye."

Yuan Shikai went against the grain to change the summer with barbarians, and even built waterworks indiscriminately, which aroused the great anger of the people of Beijing.First, all the employees of the water company who had previously relied on selling and pulling water were laid off. The laid-off workers surrounded the waterworks, climbed up the tall water tower, burned Yuan Shikai's mock portrait, and shouted "Anti hunger and thirst, drink water." With the slogan of "water", the water storage tank of the water plant was opened, the water flooded, and the demonstrators were all fish and turtles...

Yuan Shikai was in a hurry and was forced to agree to let the laid-off workers of these water companies go to the water factory to collect fees. The people in Beijing were furious: What?Well, you big traitor Yuan Shikai, you got a few water pipes from foreigners, and you want us to pay for water?What a big traitor with a black heart and a rotten heart... The angry Beijing people are rioting again, hungry and thirsty, and want to drink water for free...

When things got serious, the courtiers played Yuan Shikai on the table one after another, and Yuan Shikai drove up the price of water, and the fish and meat people... but they didn't want to, this time Yuan Shikai's attitude was low-browed and pleasing to the eye, responding to everyone's request, and actually wanted to serve Beijing for free. public water supply.

Yuan Shikai's attitude aroused the vigilance of the censors - what the hell is this guy doing?

Picking up the newspaper and looking at it, the officials suddenly realized that Yuan Shikai was the first to establish his family's Qing Dynasty Tofu Company... Isn't the tofu company that uses the most water?No wonder the common people made troubles and demanded free water supply. It turned out that all this was a conspiracy planned by Yuan Shikai.

At present, the officials of the imperial court held a price hearing. Many representatives of the common people attended the meeting and spoke one after another. On behalf of the citizens of Beijing, they strongly demanded to increase the water price. It's better to close down...

(11) Chinese games

If you don’t do it, it’s good, if you do more, you will make more mistakes, and the more you do, the more mistakes you will make—this is the rule of the Chinese game.

One person does it, two people watch it, and three people make trouble—we are familiar with this saying, right?

These unspoken rules of social games are the biggest problem for Chinese people today. It is so difficult for us to do something now. One can imagine how difficult it was in Yuan Shikai's era.

So the more things Yuan Shikai did, the more he was scolded.In the end, he ended up being called a traitor, which can only be said to be his own fault.

The Empress Dowager Cixi understands Yuan Shikai's situation best, so no matter how much the public opinion is abusive, she has one opinion on how to deal with it:
reward!
Yuan Shikai has become a traitor like this, and he still wants to reward him?

The thinking of leaders at all levels in the DPRK and China suddenly fell into chaos.

Leaders at all levels with chaotic thoughts scolded Yuan Shikai's eight generations of ancestors in their hearts, and lined up to Yuan Shikai's home to give Yuan Shikai a birthday present. : Brother!

Look, see clearly?Zai Zhen and Yuan Shikai are brothers.

The censor of the court was furious, and immediately seized this handle, and once again mobilized to impeach Yuan Shikai!

Go all out, Grandma's!

What does it mean that the clan is actually associated with the Han people?
The Empress Dowager Cixi received the impeachment memorial and proclaimed Yuan Shikai to go to the palace.

Yuan Shikai went there swaggeringly. Every time the official was impeached, Yuan Shikai was promoted violently. He had already been promoted to hold nine positions. How many more officials would he be promoted this time?
However, something happened that surprised Yuan Shikai. This time, the Empress Dowager Cixi broke the rules. Not only did she not get promoted, but she even gave him a severe reprimand.

Stern!

Murderous!
Yuan Shikai was dumbfounded. Didn't he say that he was impeached once and promoted to a higher level? What happened to the old lady today?
roll!
Empress Dowager Cixi finally said.

Yuan Shikai rolled back obediently, rolling down the steps of the temple. Everyone stared stupidly for a while, then suddenly woke up, and rushed to help him up, only to see that Yuan Shikai's right leg had fallen. It's broken, I can't walk.

Inspired!
Yuan Shikai was in a state of confusion.

(12) Kill or stay?
The Empress Dowager Cixi doted on Yuan Shikai like a son, how could she suddenly turn her face?
The reason is simple:
Empress Dowager Cixi knew that she would not live long.

With her, the Qing Dynasty is still in turmoil, but with her extraordinary will, strong spirit, careful thinking, extraordinary intuition, extraordinary power operation skills, and insight into the laws of the world , the amazing proficiency and clarity of the country's government affairs, and the thorough understanding of human nature... No matter how big the problem, no amount of trouble, it is not enough to shake the Qing Dynasty.

The only powerful woman in history!
With her frightening steel wrist, she forced the dying Qing Empire to go through another 60 years.

Without her, the Qing Dynasty would have perished as early as Hong Xiuquan's time.

If she is here, Jiangshan is here.

Her extraordinary dominance has the quality of conquering everything.

She has ruled the last flower of wisdom of Confucian culture in China - Zeng Guofan!

Then, Li Hongzhang, Zeng Guofan's most beloved disciple, was reduced to an old cow pulling carts for the empire under her enslavement. He never found a chance to stand up until his death.

Then there is Yuan Shikai, the legal successor of Beiyang, this unlearned guy, almost all the innovations of Great China from the imperial system to the Republic of China era came from this person, but the Empress Dowager Cixi was able to easily pick it up while talking and laughing. lower his head.

The Empress Dowager Cixi could never understand that a person with extraordinary abilities like Yuan Shikai was the only one who could hold her back. Once she left, Yuan Shikai would definitely have a different heart.

She wanted to kill Yuan Shikai!

She really wanted to kill Yuan Shikai!

But she also knows that if she kills Yuan Shikai, then, when she dies, that is, the day the empire will fall, Aixinjue Luo's descendants, why are you so useless!

despair!

Empress Dowager Cixi fell into despair.

Kill Yuan Shikai, and the empire will perish!

But if you don't kill him, the empire will perish at the hands of this person!
Just keep him and let him work for the Qing Empire for another two days... Maybe, in a few days, there will be a genetic mutation in the Aixinjueluo family, and a person who can deter Yuan Shikai will emerge...

In this desperate indecision, the Empress Dowager Cixi and the Emperor Guangxu were at odds.

The emperor and empress are all dead, and the country loses its master.

(13) Masters who bully girls

On December 1908, 12, the three-year-old Puyi ascended the throne and changed the name of the country to Xuantong.

Kang Youwei, who was in exile overseas, sent a congratulatory message, asking Yuan Shikai to be punished.

All the censors in the country congratulate Yuan Shikai, please punish him.

Among the more than a thousand civil and military officials in the Manchu Dynasty, only one minister, Yan Xiu, suggested not to be punished, and all the remaining ministers demanded to be punished.

Empress Longyu was promoted to Empress Dowager, and she was admonishing her like this: Everyone said they want to be punished, so let's do it.

Zaifeng was promoted to be regent, he always hated Yuan Shikai, and punished him!
Zaifeng's younger brother, Zhen Guogong Zai Zhen said: "Punishment should be punished... However, according to Kang Youwei, Yuan Shikai is not easy to punish...

The regent was furious: what is there to punish?
Prince Qing hurriedly jumped out: It is easy to punish Yuan Shikai, but...what if Yuan Shikai is punished and the Beiyang army revolts?
Prince Regent Zaifeng: Don't talk about whether to punish him or not... Has any of you seen Yuan Shikai?

No one saw him.

Yuan Shikai had fled at this time.

Accompanied by his confidant Zhang Huaizhi, the brother of Zhili governor Yang Shixiang and the supervisor of the Beijing-Tianjin Railway Yang Shicong personally carried a gun to protect him. Yuan Shikai disguised himself as a Shanxi coal boss and fled to Tianjin. As soon as the train arrived, his brother ran madly towards the British concession. It wasn't until he stayed in the Lide Hotel in the British Concession that he breathed a sigh of relief, and hurriedly contacted the foreign reporter Morrison, asking Morrison for help. Yuan Shikai asked for political asylum in the UK...

Yuan Shikai was busy fleeing, and the imperial court issued a missing person notice, looking for Yuan Shikai everywhere, and repeatedly promised not to kill him... This missing person notice was first received by the former governor of Zhili, Yang Shixiang, so Yang Shixiang was in a hurry His eldest son Yang Yuying ran forward to the concession to tell Yuan Shikai the good news.

When Yang Yuying ran over with a wheeze, Yuan Shikai was sitting upright, accepting an exclusive interview with foreign reporter Morrison.

If you want an exclusive interview, you must have an exclusive interview.

We must use the form of exclusive interviews to let the British people know that there is a Chinese reformer Yuan Shikai on the other side of the ocean. His advanced constitutional philosophy and tragic personal experience must make the British people cry bitterly. ...

A hundred years later, Yuan Shikai's exclusive interview is still vivid in my mind. Many of his thoughts on governing the country, when I read it now, brush away the dust of history, but still have extraordinary value:
Morrison: "The management system and the people of the Qing Dynasty are essentially democratic. If the democratic process is started, it will greatly increase the possibility of the revival of the empire. What do you think of this?"

Yuan Shikai: "Our internal management system must be fundamentally reformed, but this is easier said than done, because it involves completely changing or even overturning certain aspects of the current system. And this system It has been around for many centuries and many factors are deeply intertwined. As far as the state of popular support is concerned, I feel sure that if we give us time and opportunity, we can achieve reform at any rate. part of the target."

——Looking at Yuan Shikai's words, we know that his mind is very clear. He knows that the biggest difficulty facing China's political reform is the traditional customs that have been formed for thousands of years. This is actually Li Hongzhang's "Three thousand years have not The changing situation, a powerful enemy unseen in 3000 years" theory.

Morrison: "What needs reform most?"

Yuan Shikai: "Fiscal system, currency circulation system, and legal structure. Only when these things are done well can the Qing Dynasty truly sort out the country's normal economic and political life. Any one of these three reforms is closely related to the other two. inseparable dependencies."

——Analyzing this text, we must mention at least two characters, one is the poet Xu Zhimo, and the other is the master of Chinese studies Jin Yuelin.

During the period of the Republic of China, poets Xu Zhimo and Jin Yuelin studied in Germany. At that time, Xu Zhimo was pursuing the saint Lin Huiyin in his heart, but his first wife Zhang Youyi cried and refused to divorce, and Zhang Youyi happened to be pregnant, but Xu Zhimo coldly ordered his wife: Immediately go and kill the child.

Zhang Youyi begged: I heard that abortion will kill people.

The poet's answer is: Will people die by train?Have you never taken a train in your life?
No matter how persecuted by Ren Xu Zhimo, Zhang Youyi refused to obey.Xu Zhimo couldn't figure out what to do, so he went to a restaurant to treat guests, and asked everyone to help him figure out how to get rid of Zhang Youyi.

Those who participated in this dinner were all future masters of Chinese studies, including Chen Yinke (with Chen Yinke’s dinner, there would probably be troubles, the last time Chen Yinke attended a dinner, sat with Zhou Enlai, and ended up fighting with the Chinese students at the next table. Chen Zhou was unable to fight four hands with both fists, so he ran away and unfortunately strayed into the bedroom of the boss's house. Fortunately, the boss's wife was not in the room, otherwise Chen Yinke and Zhou Enlai would be in big trouble), there was Fu Sinian, there was Yu Dawei, there was Luo Jialun, There is Tong Guanxian, there is Mao Zishui... In short, many masters of Chinese studies gathered together to discuss how to help Xu Zhimo get rid of Zhang Youyi.

So many Chinese masters bullied a girl... Alas, young Meng Lang!

What's even more irritating is that the masters of Chinese studies tricked Zhang Youyi into paying them for the meal. While eating Zhang Youyi, the masters plotted against this girl. Someone suddenly remembered that Jin Yuelin was single and had no wife, so he suggested Let Jin Yuelin take over Zhang Youyi, let the two of them form a couple, and free up Xu Zhimo to chase Lin Huiyin. After hearing this, everyone applauded.

The masters were only applauding, but they didn't expect that Jin Yuelin was eating in the adjacent private room. Hearing what these guys were thinking about, Jin Yuelin came over and yelled. The masters were shocked and fled...

Now we are talking about the academic contributions of Jin Yuelin, a master of Chinese studies. After China’s reform and opening up, the master Jin Yuelin once introduced one of his academic ideas. He believes that the reason why China’s feudal regime has remained unchanged for thousands of years is because of the country’s politics and economy. These three constitute a triangular relationship that restricts each other. If you want to reform politics, the economy and culture will restrict you. If you want to develop the economy, you will be restricted by politics and culture. Even if you want to be culturally Make some innovations, and politics and economics will limit you again...

It was already in the 70s when Jin Yuelin proposed this idea. Now let us look at Yuan Shikai’s words. As early as in the late Qing Dynasty, Yuan Shikai discovered that China’s fiscal system, currency circulation system and laws are mutually restrictive.If you want to change the fiscal system of the Qing Dynasty, the currency circulation system and the old laws restrict you. If you want to change the currency circulation system, the fiscal system and the old laws will make you achieve nothing. You are at a loss...

It is quite normal for a master of Chinese studies to come up with an academic idea, but Yuan Shikai has not read a few books, but he also came up with an academic idea, which makes us have to look at Yuan Shikai again.

Yuan Shikai's exclusive interview is worth more than several academic monographs of the master.

(14) Don't be too bully
Hearing that the imperial court would not punish him, Yuan Shikai once again used the disguise technique, disguised himself as a peasant entrepreneur, sneaked into the city of Beijing at night, and quietly returned to his home, pretending that he had never escaped...

On the third day after Yuan Shikai came back, the regent Zaifeng issued an edict:

Yuan Shikai is suffering from foot disease, it is difficult to walk, and it is difficult for him to be competent for his post. He wrote the vacancy and returned to his hometown to recuperate his illness to show his sympathy.This is it.

The imperial edict was issued, the whole court was silent, there was no sound for a full 5 minutes, and suddenly there was a bang, and the top wearing flower feathers, yellow robes and jackets were thrown all over the hall, and the excited officials burst into tears. Like lovers hugging each other and crying bitterly, some philosophers are sitting on the sidelines and weeping silently, some poets are running and screaming like crazy, some women are like screaming strangely...

Very popular!

This guy Yuan Shikai bullies people too much. I have never seen anyone bullying like him. He also understands law, administration, finance, finance, and economics. Even building a railway can't be done without him... He holds nine important positions all by himself, how can he let others mess around?
Yuan Shikai, don't bully people too much.

In the city of Beijing, gongs, drums, and firecrackers were blaring, and it was almost a universal celebration. Ordinarily, Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu had died only a few days ago, so it shouldn't be so noisy, but the common people couldn't care less. If the official is cut, the next step is to copy and kill the whole family, right?Everyone is nervously looking forward... Hurry up, Yuan Shikai, if you don't kill this guy, it won't be enough for the people to be angry...

In the midst of this tension full of anticipation, a piece of news suddenly came——Zhang Zhidong died.

Speaking of Zhang Zhidong, he is as famous as Li Hongzhang, and his important role in the Qing Empire is not equal. However, he does not rush forward like Li Hongzhang. On the contrary, Zhang Zhidong is very particular about strategy. He put forward the strategy of Chinese sports and Western use, which means...Don't worry, don't worry, how we played in the past, we still play now...The purpose of his doing this is to avoid hatred caused by a powerful country. It should be said that this way The effect of doing it is very obvious, at least his reputation is much better than Li Hongzhang, unlike Li Hongzhang who is troubled and angry and scolded.

Before Zhang Zhidong was dying, Prince Regent Zaifeng came to visit him on his sickbed, and he kindly greeted him: "Mr. Zhongtang is loyal to the country and has a reputation. Take good care of him."

Zhang Zhidong replied: "If you are loyal to the country, you don't dare to do it. If you are honest and selfless, you don't dare not to encourage it."

Zaifeng blinked his eyes for a long time, but didn't understand what he meant, so he stood up and said, "Farewell."

A while after Zaifeng left, Zhang Zhidong burst into tears and said: "The fate of the country is over, I hope this generation will realize it once and fail."

Say no, die.

Yuan Shikai was eliminated, Zhang Zhidong passed away, and now the Qing Empire, which is about to collapse, is the last one who understands.

Proper!

It was the "Your Excellency, Wuqiao Fourth Brother" who Yuan Shikai wrote to him in black.

It can be said that the reason why the Qing Empire was not destroyed at that time was because of the presence of three people, Yuan Shikai, Zhang Zhidong and Duanfang. Only by suppressing the equally dangerous Liangjiang, can the revolution sparks completely burn down this century-old house.

What's more, Duan Fang, a weirdo, has just settled Xiong Chengji's uprising in Anqing from the Restoration Society.

(15) Just won't let you eat
Xiong Chengji, a native of Ganquan County, Yangzhou Prefecture, Jiangsu Province, was a team officer (company commander) of the Artillery Battalion of No.30 No. 30 Mixed Association (Brigade) of the New Army. It is not clear when he joined the Restoration Association, but he has a friendly relationship with Ni Yingdian of the Tongmenghui , the heads of the upper two families got into a mess, and the brothers below were thinking of doing something serious, but before the serious work was done, Ni Yingdian was dismissed. At this time, the party member with the largest official position was No. The second battalion management belt (battalion commander) Xue Zhe.

Now Xue Zhe is the oldest and the oldest official, so logically, it is most appropriate for Lao Xue to lead everyone.

But for some reason, everyone elected Xiong Chengji as the leader and asked him to lead Lao Xue.

Xiong Chengji is younger than Lao Xue and has a lower official rank than Lao Xue. Will Lao Xue be convinced?

Not sure, anyway, the League will not be optimistic about the group of people from the Restoration Society - there are materials to prove it later.

(End of this chapter)