Zhang Xun (1854-1923), formerly known as Zhang He, was a native of Fengxin County, Jiangxi Province
On July 5, 1917, two armies exchanged fire at the Lugou Bridge outside Beijing.
On the one hand, it was the third division of the "rebel army" led by Cao Kun, a cadre general under the Beiyang warlord Duan Qirui, and on the other side, it was actually the Beiyang Army, but they all had a braid behind their heads, collectively known as the "Braid Army".
Why did they exchange fire?
Because Zhang Xun, the commander of the "Braided Army," had just recently invited puyi, the abdicated emperor of the Qing Dynasty, to the city of Beijing, announcing that the "Republic of China" was suspended and the "Great Qing Dynasty" was back on power.
The world is raging.
The "restoration of Zhang Xun" can be called a wonderful but absurd farce in the history of the Republic of China. But many people remember Zhang Xun's absurdity, but they may not be able to answer some questions:
Why did Zhang Xun have so much courage to restore?
Why did Zhang Xun really succeed in restoring so easily?
Why are there really so many people willing to follow Zhang Xun's restoration?
Why did Zhang Xun have so hard to restore, but he collapsed at the touch?
Why did Zhang Xun get a good death after running into such a catastrophe, and the scenery was buried?
To answer these questions, it is actually very simple - just understand Zhang Xun as a person.
Zhang Xun this person, use five words to describe him, no more, no less, just right.
"Courageous"
The first word is "courage.")
Zhang Xun (张勋), also spelled Shaoxuan, is a native of Chitian Village, Luotang Township, Fengxin County, Jiangxi Province. Born on October 25, 1854.
Zhang Xun's childhood was not happy, and his parents both died at an early age, and they grew up with their grandfather. From childhood, grandpa told him stories of various loyal martyrs.
In 1860, when the remnants of the Taiping Army occupied Fengxin County, Zhang Xun's grandfather was killed, and since then he has been lonely and bitter, taken in by a retired official with the surname of Xu, and recommended to join the army at the age of 20. Just as the so-called "Ning is a centurion, Sheng zuo is a scholar" - of course, "shusheng" Zhang Xun is not counted, he only accompanied the young master of the Xu family to study private school for a few years, and only left a deep impression on the story of Zhonglie.
In 1883, the Sino-French War broke out, Zhang Xun followed the Hunan Inspector Pan Dingxin into Vietnam, did not panic before the battle, obeyed the orders in place, and was quite appreciated by Pan Dingxin (it is also said that taking care of Pan Dingxin was also quite in place), and was promoted to the six-pin pipe belt.
In the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War in 1895, Zhang Xun led more than 1,000 cavalry in the northeast to block the Japanese army in Dashaling, taking the lead in the battle, not retreating, and successfully repelling the Japanese attack after three days of fierce fighting, and became famous. The saying that "Zhang Xun's troops have the strongest combat effectiveness" began to spread gradually.
In October 1895, Yuan Shikai was ordered to form a "new army" and began to train troops in a small station, remembering that there was such a Zhang Xun who did not want to die in battle, so he recruited him to his subordinates and gave him the position of battalion commander.
From then on, Zhang Xun began to enter the largest military group in China at that time, the Beiyang Army.
Yuan Shikai's famous "small station training"
How brave is Zhang Xun?
In the 1911 Xinhai Revolution, the National Revolutionary Party crowd responded, and most of the Qing Dynasty generals in other provinces pushed the boat along the water and declared independence, but Zhang Xun, who was the viceroy of Jiangnan at the time, stubbornly defended Nanjing, and in the face of the morale-boosting revolutionary army "Jiangsu-Zhejiang United Army", he actually fought hard for a whole month, resulting in the "Nanjing Campaign" becoming one of the most tragic battles in the entire Xinhai Revolution.
Therefore, some people say that Zhang Xun is a flat step, but zhang Xun, who has no culture, no background, and three has no money, can climb so high later, where is it so easy?
Without the fierceness of The Desperate Sanlang, Zhang Xun could not come out.
"Righteousness"
But Guang had a brave body, a person rushed forward, and he died early, I don't know how many times. Zhang Xun can be promoted step by step, and there must be other characteristics of him.
That is the second word: righteousness.
Zhang Xun may not have any strategy in leading the troops, but he is righteous. Two examples.
During the Sino-French War, Zhang Xun made a battle merit, and Su Yuanchun, the viceroy of Guangxi, rewarded him with two altars of good wine. The next day, Zhang Xun's soldiers were bathing in a small stream, and suddenly found that the stream water was fragrant with wine, and at first glance, it was Zhang Xun who ordered people to pour both altars of wine into the stream upstream of the creek, so that their troops could take a comfortable bath in the aroma of wine.
During the Battle of Jiawu, Zhang Xun personally led the guards to supervise the battle, and a soldier's arterial blood vessel in his left arm was pierced, Zhang Xun jumped off his horse, took out the snuff bottle given by the emperor from his pocket, smashed it, and put some valuable medicinal materials on the soldier's wound. The person next to him exclaimed, "This snuff bottle is a royal gift!" Zhang Xun scolded, "What a royal gift from the mother!" Saving people matters! The soldier was so moved that he immediately struggled to return to the front.
Qing army in the Sino-Japanese War
Zhang Xun treated his officers and men very well and never withheld grain, so his troops were very stable, and even the situation of father and son serving in his troops at the same time (but later overdeveloped, Zhang Xun was extremely conniving with his subordinates, so the daily military discipline of Zhang Xun's troops was very poor, and rape and plunder of ordinary people often occurred).
Zhang Xun is also very good to his hometown, after his departure, as long as he is a fellow of his hometown Akada Village, Zhang Xun will give each family a large tile house. At that time, Jiangxi students studying in Beijing, Zhang Xun would give scholarships, if it was a college student from Fengxin County, Zhang Xun would take care of everything they ate and wear, and for the Xu family that adopted him that year, Zhang Xun was grateful for his life, and the people of the Xu family were all well arranged.
Then there's the buddy's righteousness.
Zhang Xun did not come from the Beiyang Martial Arts Academy, but entered Yuan Shikai's Beiyang system as an "experienced grassroots military cadre", so compared to the inner circle of Duan Qirui Feng Guozhang Wang Shizhen, he was not a concubine.
Although he did not enter the inner circle, Zhang Xun was a proud man, treated his brothers like money, and was morally angry, plus he was a few years older, so the Beiyang generals all called him "Big Brother".
As for whether he later thought he was "Big Brother", that was another matter.
"Loyal"
With courage and righteousness, is Zhang Xun still missing something?
That's right, that's the third word: "loyalty."
This "loyalty" word can be said to have influenced Zhang Xun's life.
As I said before, those stories of loyalty and martyrdom in his childhood deeply affected Zhang Xun, so he was brave and loyal after joining the army, which was also an important reason for his rapid promotion.
However, since he had entered Yuan Shikai's Beiyang clique and should be loyal to Yuan Shikai, how could he be so ruthless to the Qing royal family?
This still has to blame Yuan Shikai.
In 1900, the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded the city of Beijing, and Cixi fled with Guangxu In a hurry, but later found that the Yang adults had no intention of punishing her, so they returned to the dynasty. The person in charge of driving back to Beijing was Zhang Xun, who was sent by Yuan Shikai to carry out this task, and was only a regimental commander at the time.
Cixi and Guangxu
Is it worth it to have the opportunity to serve the holy and more holy queens than the holy ones?
Zhang Xun took good care of Cixi after saddle up his horse all the way, and personally stood guard for Cixi at night, leaving a good impression on Cixi. What kind of person is Cixi? When the country is in trouble, the most difficult to find is the loyal and courageous person, so Cixi has always rewarded Zhang Xun, so that Zhang Xun is flattered, and from then on he is proud to be able to protect the royal family.
In 1908, Guangxu and Cixi returned to the west within two days, and it is said that Zhang Xunchang knelt and cried all day, and the tears that flowed twice were blood.
In 1911, at the age of 57, Zhang Xun was appointed as the Viceroy of Jiangnan, although this year the Qing Dynasty was about to come to an end, and a "Viceroy" at this time was not the same as the previous "Admiral". But for Zhang Xun, who was born a poor civilian orphan and was promoted to the position of "admiral" in a short period of time, it was also a matter of great glory.
Therefore, after the Wuchang Uprising, Zhang Xun led his troops to stay in Nanjing, which showed his courage and loyalty--he must be loyal to the Qing Dynasty, because it was the benefactor who had given him a lifetime of glory.
After the defeat of Nanjing, Zhang Xun retreated to Xuzhou and divided the side from then on. As one of the few acts of allegiance he could still do, he ordered his troops not to cut their braids.
Therefore, Zhang Xun's troops were called "Braided Army" at that time, and he himself was called "Braided Marshal".
Zhang Xun's "Braid army"
"Delusional"
If Zhang Xun only has the words "courage", "righteousness", and "loyalty", then in his lifetime, he has been chanting "Emperor Grace and Greatness" in Xuzhou, and it has passed.
But he still has a fourth word: "delusion."
Zhang Xun's "delusion" not only affected himself, but also deeply affected China's modern history.
Let's take a look at the background:
In 1917, after Yuan Shikai's death, a huge power vacuum was left, and Duan Qirui, the "Tiger of Beiyang", who held real power, ceded the position of "great president" with a vain name to Li Yuanhong, and he occupied the position of premier of the State Council.
One occupied the legal system, the other took real power, and the famous "government-court dispute" (the presidential palace and the State Council) of the Republic of China began. As a result, in order to declare war on Germany whether to participate in The First World War, the two forces completely broke up, and Duan Qirui announced his resignation as prime minister (he supported the declaration of war).
Li Yuanhong (left) and Duan Qirui
Clear-eyed people know at a glance that there are multiple forces behind these two people, and the water is very deep. But one person dared to stand up with a big grin: You all stop arguing, listen to me!
This person is Zhang Xun.
Zhang Xun was not a Beiyang warlord, the strongest of the two non-Beiyang warlords (there were only about 25,000 of them in total), and the third non-Beiyang warlords were the most powerful (even if they were "Anhui Overseers"), but he dared to be this "big brother", dared to hold four provincial governors' meetings in Xuzhou, and finally dared to be a "thirteen provincial overseers general alliance leader". At the meeting, Zhang Xun first proposed that the Qing Emperor be reinstated, and all the overseers looked at me and I looked at you, and finally agreed.
Without any evidence, Zhang Xun took out a yellow satin written in advance to support the restoration of the Qing Emperor, and all the overseers also signed their names.
Then, as the "Lord of the General League", he made a voice to Beijing: Don't argue! Let me mediate!
You say Zhang Xun is really stupid? He didn't think so, he had his own wishful thinking: enter Beijing in the name of "mediation", welcome Puyi out, and restore the Qing Dynasty!
But he was really stupid: he always felt that his little ninety-nine, people didn't know, even if they knew, they were all supported - the emperor was vast, who didn't read the grace?
He confessed his thoughts in Xuzhou and his "brothers in life and death"—the overseers of the provinces—and some of them were silent, some of them only promised, and some of them laughed and said nothing. One of them, he thought about it.
This person's name was Xu Shuzheng, he was Duan Qirui's confidant and adviser, and he was also a well-known number one figure in the Republic of China.
Xu Shuzheng (1880-1925), a native of Xiao County, Jiangsu (now part of Anhui).
In Duan Qirui's view, Zhang Xun's restoration is simply a fool's dream. But Xu Shuzheng persuaded him: Don't stop this big brother!
This is where Zhang Xun is "delusional" - he thinks that if his great banner of loyalty and righteousness is moved, the world will definitely respond!
But he did not expect that people would not respond and was ready to use him as a pawn. Zhang Xun had a total of 60 battalions at that time, and he personally brought 10 battalions into Beijing. He also summoned zhang Wensheng, a hardcore confidant, and instructed: Once I am in trouble in Beijing, I will send a telegram to you, named "Send me 40 pots of flowers", and actually take 40 battalions north for you, and only 10 battalions can be left to guard Xuzhou.
On June 30, 1917, Zhang Xun led 5,000 "braided troops" into Beijing to "mediate" the so-called "dispute between the government and the courtyard", the ass was not yet hot, at 3:00 a.m. on July 1, he entered the Yangxin Hall in the Forbidden City, kneeling three times and nine kowtowing to puyi, who was 12 years old at the time, and respectfully asked the "emperor to reset". Under the guidance of his master Chen Baochen, Puyi first resigned once, and then "reluctantly agreed", announced the "reunification" and "personally came to the government" himself.
Subsequently, Zhang Xun, who was named "Minister of Parliament" and "Viceroy Directly Subordinate to the Government" and "Minister of Beiyang", who was incidentally also named "Prince of Zhongyong", sent a telegram to the whole country, announcing the disintegration of the republic and that the Yellow Dragon Banner should be rearranged in all localities.
Kang Youwei
Before the restoration, Zhang Xun invited Kang Youwei, who had previously been exiled overseas, to create a campaign together. After the restoration, Kang Youwei was full of thought that he would be named a "cabinet university scholar", and as a result, the Qing dynasty royal family believed that there had never been a university scholar who did not grow a beard in this dynasty, and it was said that Kang Youwei specially bought hair glue to apply.
Later, Zhang Xun appointed Kang Youwei as the vice president of a Bide Academy (equivalent to an advisory body), and Kang Youwei was greatly dissatisfied and scolded Zhang Xun. After Zhang Xun found out, he scolded Kang Youwei: He didn't do anything, he wanted to get a big official, where is such a cheap thing?
With this electrification, the people really "boiled" as Zhang Xun imagined:
At that time, Peking University professor Li Dazhao directly left Beijing for Shanghai, Lu Xun immediately went to the door of the Ministry of Education to resign in protest, Sun Yat-sen began to form an army in the south to prepare for the crusade, Li Yuanhong died and refused to accept the title of "first-class duke" and hid...
Of course, Duan Qirui would not hide, he was holding a stopwatch waiting for Zhang Xun to restore it.
As soon as Zhang Xun's restoration was telegraphed, Duan Qirui immediately began to act, and on July 3, he swore an oath at Tianjin Machang to form a "rebel army" against Zhang Xun, issued a "rebellion against Zhang Xun" on July 4, and drove directly to the vicinity of Beijing on July 5 to engage the "braid army".
In the face of the nationwide opposition, Zhang Xun was shocked: Didn't you all acquiesce to it at the beginning? Especially this Duan Qirui, how to say that he turned his face upside down?
After Zhang Xun's restoration, the city of Beijing was once again hung with the dragon flag
Duan Qirui didn't care about these. On July 5, the two armies began to exchange fire, and within a week, the "braid army" collapsed completely, and many of Zhang Xun's soldiers cut their own braids to surrender.
Zhang Xun did not look good, and Zhang Wensheng, the town guard of Xuzhou, sent 40 pots of flowers to Beijing (with 40 battalions of braided troops into Beijing), but Zhang Wensheng really sent 40 pots of flowers to Zhang Xun
。 Zhang Xun thought again of the yellow satin that could order the overseers to enter the capital to help the Qing Emperor restore the throne, but he couldn't find it when he looked around. It turned out that Duan Qirui had already come out of Dayang for 200,000 yuan, bought a snitch, and stole it from yellow satin.
At first, Zhang Xun refused to withdraw in his house, relying on the Guards to finally resist. Duan Qirui ordered the men to shoot a row of hollow shells to go in, but put a live ammunition inside.
As soon as a shell sounded, Zhang Xun decided to abandon resistance and hide in the Dutch embassy.
Emperor Puyi immediately announced his abdication.
The entire restoration operation, added up to 12 days.
"Shipping"
Finally, I want to talk about Zhang Xun's fifth word: "luck.".
"Luck" is luck, Zhang Xun, this person, luck is really good.
Some people may say that Zhang Xun's restoration failed, or called good luck? That's bad luck!
Please, what is bad luck? It is a thing that almost succeeds a little, and finally fails, which is called bad luck. Zhang Xun's entire restoration operation, from beginning to end, could not succeed, and what does it have to do with luck?
Zhang Xun's luck in life lies in the fact that he married a good wife.
Zhang Xun was lustful all his life and took ten concubines, but he always respected the "main chamber", because it was his wife when he fell. This wife, cao qin, has suffered with Zhang Xun, and Zhang Xun has always obeyed her.
However, in the matter of restoration, Zhang Xun and his wife had an awkward quarrel. During the period of planning the restoration, Zhang Xun conspired with people all day long, and Cao Qin repeatedly advised him every day that he must not do this.
According to the "Chronicle of the Beginning and End of the Restoration" (published by the Tang Dynasty Society of Shanghai Literature and Art In 1918), after being reprimanded several times by Zhang Xun, Cao Qin sent one of her most reliable nephews, took 300,000 taels of silver, and went to Guangzhou to meet Sun Yat-sen, saying that the money was given to him to support the revolution - she left a way back for Zhang Xun's behavior after his defeat.
After the failure of the restoration, the Beiyang warlords did not take Zhang Xun seriously -- to put it bluntly, everyone knew that he was just a foolish and loyal person, and only placed him under residential surveillance. In 1918, Acting President Feng Guozhang announced an amnesty for Zhang Xun, and since then he has regained his freedom and does not care about political affairs.
Sun Yat-sen wrote: "The abdication of the Qing Dynasty is due to the situation of the times. Zhang Xun's foreveching for restoration is also foolish, the crime of treason should be condemned, and the love of the Lord is self-pitying. Although Wen regards the True Restoration as an enemy, he is not disrespectful. ”
But after regaining your freedom, how can you live without money? It depends on her wife Cao Qin again.
Cao Qin is extremely shrewd and capable, especially able to invest in financial management, and has revitalized Zhang Xun's early savings. Zhang Xun lives in Tianjin for more than 70 enterprises, such as pawnshops, film companies, banks, money banks, gold stores, factories, and shops, wholly owned or invested in the operation of his name, with assets of more than 50 million yuan.
In the Zhang family in Tianjin, there are no less than a hundred servants, florists, carpenters, cooks, drivers, servants, etc., every day Zhang Xun eats, uses, smokes, all fine luxury. Zhang Xun likes to watch drama, three festivals and two birthdays every year, the Zhang family always has to set up a stage to sing opera, and all kinds of door diners visit, and the door is like a city.
In his later years, Zhang Xun held the son born to him by a concubine
In 1922, Zhang Xun made his seventieth birthday, and famous characters such as Yang Xiaolou, Mei Lanfang, Yu Shuyan and others who were counted in Peking Opera went to the Zhangjia Garden in Tianjin to wish Zhang Xun a happy birthday under the leadership of Sun Juxian, an old predecessor of the Peking Opera circle in his eighties. Light Sun Juxian's appearance fee, Zhang Xun threw out 600 oceans, and moved Sun Juxian to tears: "Those who understand the drama, Zhang Dashuai also!" Confidant, Zhang Dashuai also! ”
On September 12, 1923, Zhang Xun died of illness in Tianjin at the age of 69. Emperor Puyi of the Sun Dynasty conferred the title of "Zhongwu".
Interestingly, although he is the general director of the "Restoration Farce", after Zhang Xun's death, political circles and cultural celebrities have called to mourn, and there are countless tributes, lamentations and bangs, whether it is Li Yuanhong or Duan Qirui, Feng Guozhang or Zhang Zuolin, all praising his "loyalty".
Zhang Xun's funeral is said to have cost 100,000 oceans, and the coffin was finally transported back to his hometown of Jiangxi Fengxin for burial, and countless jiangxi people spontaneously sent it to each other, becoming one of the most sensational events in Jiangxi that year.
Of course, Zhang Xun was still buried with his braid.