Xu Shichang was a pivotal figure in the Beiyang government, serving as Secretary of State from May 1, 1914 to April 22, 1916. What is even more amazing is that Xu Shichang also became the president of the Republic of China Congress, and he worked for 4 years (October 1918 to June 1922), which was the longest-serving president outside of Yuan Shikai.
Xu Shichang, the fourth president of the Republic of China and the third president of the Beiyang government
The other presidents of the Beiyang government were: Yuan Shikai, Li Yuanhong, Feng Guozhang, Cao Kun, Duan Qirui, Zhang Zuolin, that is, except for Xu Shichang, none of whom were not great warlords.
So, Xu Shichang's men have no soldiers and no generals, but they can become the president of the Beiyang government, why is this?
The Presidential Palace of the Beiyang Government
First, I have loved to make friends since I was a child, and I have known Yuan Shikai very early.
Xu Shichang's ancestors were from Yin County, Ningbo Province, Zhejiang Province, and later moved to Tianjin, where his great-grandfather and grandfather were officials in Henan, so Xu Shichang was a "good fellow" when he saw a native of Ningbo, Zhejiang, a "good fellow" when he saw a Tianjin man, and a "good fellow" when he met a Native of Henan.
Xu Shichang's small letters are very well written, and at the age of 23, while teaching in a private school, he helped the governor of Huaining County transcribe official documents to earn some money to support his family; here he met Yuan Shikai, who was only 19 years old who returned to Henan Province from Beijing, and the two admired each other at first sight, and knelt down on the spot to marry Jinlan.
Xu Shichang's Xiao Kai, only asked you, do you believe it?
Yuan Shikai heard that Xu Shichang and Xu Shiguang brothers wanted to take the move but had no money and could not make the trip, so they immediately sent 100 taels of silver overnight, which made the Xu brothers both enter the examination at the same time, and also remembered Yuan Shikai's kindness.
After winning the jinshi, Xu Shichang entered the Hanlin Academy, but because he was too good to make friends, he was considered by the dean Li Hongzao to be "flashy" and pressed in the position of Hanlin for 10 years without moving.
Despite this, Xu Shichang still strongly recommended Yuan Shikai to Li Hongzao many times, and was recognized by Li Hongzao; Li Hongzao recommended Yuan Shikai to Li Hongzhang, so Yuan Shikai began to rise step by step.
After Yuan Shikai became a military training minister in December 1895, he immediately wrote to the imperial court asking Xu Shichang to help. Xu Shichang was very happy to leave the Hanlin Academy and went to Tianjin Station to make Yuan Shikai a "secretary general", and since then he has begun more than 20 years of close cooperation between the two.
Looking for the chief which is Yuan Shikai, which is Xu Shichang?
Second, "jade in the tree to ask for a good price, the plutonium in the inside of the time to fly", Xu Shichang went to Tianjin small station, since then life soared.
Xu Shichang followed Yuan Shikai to train as a soldier at a small station in Tianjin for 2 years.
Because Yuan Shikai obeyed Xu Shichang and called him "Big Brother", the Beiyang generals, including Wang Shizhen, Duan Qirui, and Feng Guozhang, generally honored Xu Shichang as a "teacher".
Xu Shichang, who was 36 years old at the time, also taught himself military and English in more than 2 years, and successively compiled thirteen volumes such as "Records of the New Army's Military Strategy" and "Detailed Illustrations of the Exercise Method", which laid the foundation for his political position in the Beiyang Army second only to Yuan Shikai.
Xu Shichang was originally a very ambitious person, so he took the initiative to participate in the Restoration Movement.
However, after repeated calculations, Xu Shichang still thought that Empress Dowager Cixi was powerful and powerful, so he suggested that Yuan Shikai take sides in the Hou Party. Yuan Shikai followed Xu Shichang's advice and later became a red man for Empress Dowager Cixi.
Xu Shichang was recommended by Yuan Shikai and also joined the Military Aircraft Department in the thirty-first year of Guangxu (1905), where he was awarded the title of Minister of Military Aircraft and Shangshu of the Military Department; after that, Xu Shichang was appointed Minister of Chincha, Governor of the Three Eastern Provinces, and In charge of the Affairs of the General of the Three Eastern Provinces (from Yipin).
And this year Xu Shichang was only 50 years old, from an ordinary little Hanlin (Qipin) to a feudal official, Xu Shichang only took 10 years, which is the late Qing Dynasty than Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang, Zuo Zongtang, Yuan Shikai all rose faster than the talent.
Third, half push and half become the prime minister, the concept does not fit the push seat, the friendship boat will always capsize one day.
Xu Shichang had 2 most important helpes to Yuan Shikai.
The first time was when Xiaozhan was training troops, Yuan Shikai was denounced for withholding annual wages and killing innocents, and the imperial court put the military ministers Rong Lu and Chen Kuilong in charge of investigating and handling.
Xu Shichang and Chen Kuilong had a close personal relationship, and under the operation of Xu Shichang, Yuan Shikai escaped death, and the catastrophe disappeared into invisibility.
The second time was to help Yuan get out of the mountain and seize the power of the Qing court.
After Xu Shichang stepped down as the governor of the three eastern provinces, he was appointed as a co-founder university scholar, a supplementary military aircraft minister, and a re-awarded sports Renge university fellow. Because of the source of people's handling, up and down, Xu Shichang won the elegant title of "Crystal Fox".
The young and powerful Xu Shichang
After Puyi became emperor, the regent Zaifeng wanted to kill Yuan Shikai to avenge his brother, but because Yi Li (chief minister of the Military Aircraft Department) and Zhang Zhidong strongly opposed, he finally asked Yuan Shikai to "remove" yuan shikai from his post and return to Henan to recuperate.
However, the Beiyang New Army was still under the control of Duan Qirui and others, and only obeyed Yuan Shikai's orders, and the minister of war, Liu Chang, wanted to suppress the Wuchang uprising, but none of the soldiers could command them, which shocked and frightened the Qing court.
Xu Shichang, seeing the timing of the preparations, put forward suggestions and conditions for yuan shikai to be the minister of Qincha and the commander-in-chief of various soldiers and horses, so as to re-emerge from the mountains and go south to suppress the revolution.
Xu Shichang then danced with long sleeves, and asked Zhao Bingjun to force Empress Yulong and Duan Qirui to lead 64 Beiyang generals to send a telegram to the Qing court to "establish a republican form of government."
By helping Yuan Shikai out of the mountains, forcing the palace, and taking power, Xu Shichang completed his second powerful assist to Yuan Shikai.
After Yuan Shikai suppressed the "Second Revolution", Xu Shichang finally happily agreed to Yuan Shikai's post as secretary of state, and the Beiyang people called him "Xu Xiangguo" and "Xu Xiangye".
However, what Xu Shichang did not expect was that Yuan Shikai, who became the president, still wanted to be an emperor.
Xu Shichang believed that the republic was already there, and the imperial system was no longer feasible. Yuan Shikai could not be persuaded, so he, like Duan Qirui, began to be silent, and resolutely resigned from the post of secretary of state, and the ship of friendship overturned.
Fourth, twice came forward to mediate the "dispute between the government and the court", the matchmaker became the bride, and Xu Shichang served as the president of the Republic of China.
As soon as Yuan Shikai died, Li Yuanhong became president and Duan Qirui became prime minister, and the Beiyang government immediately fell into the first "battle between the government and the court.", and Li Yuanhong and Duan Qirui were equally matched and were about to use force.
Under the full mediation of Xu Shichang, the first "dispute between the government and the court" was finally resolved peacefully.
In 1918, Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang were caught up in the second "dispute between the government and the court" over the question of who would become president.
In the absence of a better way for the warlords, Xu Shichang, the "crystal fox" with excellent interpersonal relations, finally became the most "ideal presidential candidate" and was "smoothly" elected as the president.
Xu Shichang became the president, but he had to listen to Duan Qirui in everything, because he was a big puppet
The first major thing Xu Shichang wanted to do as president was to reconcile the North and the South and end the civil war.
But he "forgot", he had no soldiers, no guns and no guns, he himself was just the product of mutual compromise between warlords, who would take his words seriously?
In the Zhifeng War in 1922, the victorious warlord Cao Kun began to repeatedly force Xu Shichang to the palace, and Xu Shichang reluctantly bid farewell to the presidential palace where he lived for 4 years, and thus ended his political life of more than 40 years in politics.
In the face of Cao Kun's absolute hard power, Xu Shichang's relationship and talent are not worth mentioning.
Xu Shichang commemorative coin, very valuable
Fifth, the last patriotic glory, refusing to surrender to the Japanese Kou.
After the Japanese occupied Northern China in 1938, kenji Toihara, the head of the secret service, personally went to the door to meet Xu Shichang, who was 84 years old, but ate the closed door.
Xu Shichang's protégé Jin Liang and others, adhering to Puyi's legacy, also came to advise Xu Shichang: "Teacher, don't lose a good opportunity, please become the leader of North China." Xu Shichang scolded indignantly and spilled tea on Jin Liang's face.
In June 1939, Xu Shichang died of illness in Tianjin, and was later buried in his hometown of Hui County, Henan, and according to his will, he did not repair the tomb, only erected a stone stele of "Tomb of the People of Shuizhu Estate".
, Xu Shichang's tomb, concise and solemn
Conclusion: Although Xu Shichang's life was also brilliant, in the environment where the warlord was in charge, many of his policies were doomed to be unenforceable, because the warlords only had interests and money in their eyes, not ideals and justice. Therefore, Xu Shichang, who has an ideal, can also have a sad ending.