The author | our author Zhang Lan
"Asahisha" (formerly "We Love History") is the headline number signed group media
Word count: 2654, Reading time: 7 minutes
History asks questions
After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, how did the tens of thousands of imperial forest troops who were masters of the imperial palace be placed?
A: Although when it comes to the army in the late Qing Dynasty, our first reaction is often words such as "vulnerable" and "a thousand miles in a rout.". But in the last years of the Qing Dynasty, the army was the "source of confidence" for the Rulers of the Qing Dynasty. For example, in the annals of Zhang Wenxianggong, it is recorded that when zhang zhidong, a famous minister of the late Qing Dynasty, and the regent Zaifeng were discussing, Zhang Zhidong reminded Zaifeng to prevent "radical changes", but he did not expect the young and vigorous Zaifeng, and then a bold sentence "There are soldiers". On the spot, Zhang Zhidong opened his mouth and stammered.
And the "soldiers" who supported the strength of many rulers at the end of the Qing Dynasty, including Zaifeng, were a special team in the military circles of the late Qing Dynasty- the Janissaries known as the "Royal Forest Army".
Compared with the many "Royal Forest Troops" in beijing that were already weak and weak in the late Qing Dynasty, and were beaten and slaughtered in the Gengzi State Disaster, the "Janissaries" re-organized by the Qing government in the early 20th century were very different. It was precisely because of the fiasco in the "Gengzi National Disaster" that the Qing Dynasty made up its mind to form a powerful and absolutely loyal "Janissary Army" at all costs. This unit began to prepare from 1905, and officially completed its training in July 1911, claiming tens of thousands of people to the outside world, and in fact there were more than 12,000 people in the two associations, in addition to infantry, there were horse teams, artillery, engineers and other branches of the army, like a modern army.
How strong is this army? First of all, you can look at its "army building template" - the German Army. The organization, management, tactics, training, and even weapons and equipment of the entire Janissaries were all learned from Germany at a glance, and the conventional equipment of soldiers was almost "Made in Germany". Therefore, the military appearance and discipline of the Janissaries have a strong German element. The helmsmen of this army were the talents of the late Qing nobles such as Zaitao and Liangbi, and the officers at the grass-roots level came from the "heroic courage" of the various flag battalions, and there were many returned students, these officers were familiar with modern warfare, the overall quality was relatively high, and it could even be said that "masters are like clouds."
Compared with the tragic situation of many armies in the late Qing Dynasty, the Janissaries were also very different in terms of "selecting soldiers". This army not only has generous treatment, but also has strict selection criteria: the age of soldiers is controlled between 17 and 25 years old, each soldier must be more than 1 meter 6 tall, and they must be innocent and healthy without bad habits. In the military history of the late Qing Dynasty, this is indeed a new trend. It is worth mentioning that in the 12,000-strong Janissaries, except for the fourth standard of infantry, which is composed of Han soldiers, the others are almost all flag officers and soldiers. This also made the rulers of the late Qing Dynasty particularly relieved.
Therefore, the new look of the Janissaries also appeared at the military parade ceremony outside the Desheng Gate in Beijing on September 14, 1911, and its mighty style made the late Qing dynasty royals such as the regent Zaifeng overjoyed, and praised the Janissaries for their "spirits being excited", "achieving remarkable results" and "deeply praised" - with such a "royal forest army", the Qing Dynasty seemed to be worry-free.
On this day, it has been less than a month since the Xinhai Revolution, which shocked the world and finally brought the Qing Dynasty to an end.
So the question is, since the Janissaries are loyal and can fight, why didn't they "save the Qing Dynasty" after a few months? After the Abdication of the Qing Dynasty, what was the fate of this "Tiger Division" that had made the rulers of the late Qing Dynasty full of confidence?
In this matter, we must first clarify a fact, the Janissaries who look very powerful and are very satisfied with Zaifeng can fight in the end?
Although in terms of system, equipment, management and other aspects, this Janissary army tried to keep up with the highest level of German troops in the world at that time. Its helmsmen, such as Zaitao and Liangbi, are indeed rare practical talents in the aristocratic circles of the late Qing Dynasty. But this army, after all, was born in the rotten vat of the late Qing Dynasty, so the problems that the late Qing army should have, this seemingly new imperial forest army, in fact, is not less. In 1911, Zaitao himself had no choice but to admit that the Janissaries "still fled, and the text was not obtained." Even things like "soldier desertion" have not been solved.
When the cannon of the Xinhai Revolution sounded, the legendary Janissaries, who were "as good as clouds", also showed their stuffing when they needed to "see the true chapter". When Yuan Shikai, who was invited back by the Qing Dynasty to "fight the fire", proposed that the Janissaries go south to fight the revolutionary army, Zaitao, as the helmsman of the Janissaries, took the initiative to give in and asked for dismissal, and tieliang, Liangbi and other senior generals of the former Janissaries were also transferred away one after another. Yuan Shikai's confidant Feng Guozhang served as the president of the Janissaries, and since Feng Guozhang had served as the general office of the Imperial Noble School, many Janissary officers were his students, so it was easy to take over this unit.
And with the assassination of Liangbi, the former commander of the Janissaries and one of the "Five Tigers" of the late Qing Dynasty, many nobles were frightened, and Feng Guozhang also took the opportunity to strengthen his control over the Janissaries, and this "elite" who had been given high hopes by Zaifeng completely fell into the hands of Yuan Shikai, the "mortal enemy of Zaifeng". When the "Yuan Shikai Cabinet" and the "Nanjing Provisional Government" reached a "preferential treatment agreement" and the abdication of the Qing Dynasty was a foregone conclusion, the Janissaries of the Qing Dynasty could not be protected at all, and they also ushered in their own ultimate fate.
In early February 1912, about ten days after the Qing Dynasty announced his abdication, Feng Guozhang came to the Janissaries garrison to give a lecture, in addition to announcing the news of the "Abdication of the Qing Dynasty" to the Janissaries generals in advance, plus a bitter persuasion, he told the soldiers that now "the military salary has not landed", the soldiers eat is a problem, what to take to defend the Qing? And don't look at the abdication of the Qing Dynasty, but the safety of the empress dowager and the emperor is guaranteed, and the jobs of the Janissaries soldiers are also guaranteed.
Especially the latter, Feng Guozhang even guaranteed with his life on the spot: "No matter what position I (Feng Guozhang) transfers to in the future, wherever I go, I promise never to disassociate myself from you." ”
And the Janissaries' reaction? When this unit, which was mainly composed of flag men, cried on the spot when they heard about the "abdication of the qing room", some people exchanged heads and ears, but there were also soldiers who stood expressionless, as if they had nothing to do with them at this time. After getting Feng Guozhang's guarantee, the Janissaries finally quieted down, and Feng Guozhang quickly selected two people from the Janissaries to serve as guards for himself, and paid a monthly salary of 50 taels of silver, saying that as long as he did not fulfill his promise to the Janissaries, the two men could "kill me immediately and not allow my family to retaliate."
In this way, at the critical moment of the handover of power in the late Qing Dynasty, the Janissaries finally quieted down. After the abdication of the Qing Dynasty, Feng Guozhang also fulfilled his promise and has been firmly grasping the Janissaries, and later the Janissaries were reorganized into the 16th Division of the Army, which became Feng Guozhang's concubine unit, and its officers were still the "old men" of the Late Qing Janissaries. In particular, the two guards, whether Feng Guozhang served as the governor or the "President of the Republic of China", they both followed closely behind him, which was a scene for the political arena of the Republic of China.
After Feng Guozhang's death, the Janissaries, which were already the "16th Division", were involved in the Battle of Zhiwan and were quickly disbanded, and this once-beautiful modern army completely withdrew from the stage of history. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, in the face of the japanese aggression, some of the "former Janissary generals" represented by Zaitao, although they were already white-haired, refused the threats and inducements of the Japanese invaders, severely punched the "elite traitors" of that era, and also guarded the bottom line of national righteousness as Chinese. This should be one of the most glorious moments in the short history of this Janissary army.
A Janissary army, half a century of ups and downs, how many countries rise and fall of the sigh of remembrance in it.
References: The Janissaries: The Last Royal Forest Army in the Forbidden City, Chinese Royal Forest Army, Memories of a Lifetime
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