June 17, 1907
The "Yang Cuixi case" basically came to an end
1
On June 17, 1907, Empress Dowager Cixi expelled one person.
This man was not an ordinary person, but a military minister and a minister of foreign affairs, Shangshu (equivalent to the minister of foreign affairs), called Qu Hongyu.
Qu Hongyu was one of Cixi's most trusted old courtiers, and was also known for his "incorruptibility" inside and outside the imperial court, but only because of his extra words, he was directly dismissed from his post and sent back to his hometown.
What kind of sentence would actually make an old cadre with such deep qualifications be sent home directly?
That's because the sentence that Qu Hongyu said was related to a political struggle that caused a sensation inside and outside the imperial court at that time.
This struggle actually stemmed from an incident that occurred in 1906.
That incident, according to the eyes of the time, was actually not a big thing. But it was such a small matter, after slow fermentation and upgrading, gradually involved several major forces in the dynasty, and eventually caused a political storm - a number of high-ranking officials resigned, degraded and dismissed, and the power structure of the entire Qing court underwent great changes.
I am afraid that no one expected this at the beginning.
Qu Hongyu. He rose through the ranks very quickly, and an important reason why later generations have concluded is that he looked very similar to Cixi's son, Emperor Tongzhi. In his later years, Qu Hongyu also wrote his own poems, implicitly acknowledging the matter.
2
It all started on October 26, 1906.
On this day, a Minister of Chincha arrived in Tianjin.
This Minister of Chincha was only 30 years old, but he was no small man, because he was aisin Kyora Zaijin.
Zai Zhen's father was ai xin jue luo yi li (kuang first sound), who was trusted by Cixi, the chief military minister of the dynasty, equivalent to the prime minister of a country. As the eldest son of Yi Xi, Zai Zhen himself was also trained by Cixi as a "young reserve cadre" from an early age: at the age of 19, he was appointed as a second-class zhenguo general; at the age of 26, he represented the Qing Empire on behalf of King Edward VII; at the age of 27, he was sent to Japan to investigate; after the New Deal of the Qing Dynasty in 1906, he served as the newly established "Minister of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce" (that is, the minister), which can be described as a young man with great ambition and a promising future.
Carrier vibration. [6.20] The Doomsday Lone Ship "Haixi": The Last Glory of the Qing Empire He was the same official who represented the Qing Dynasty.
When the "Minister of Carriage" came to Tianjin this time, he was actually just passing by. His real task was to investigate the three eastern provinces.
After the Russo-Japanese War, Japanese forces quickly infiltrated into the northeast and made a mistake with the Russian forces. The northeast is the "land of longxing" in the Qing Dynasty, which is of extraordinary significance and cannot be lost. Therefore, Cixi sent "young old cadres" Zai Zhen, supplemented by Xu Shichang, the minister of military aircraft, to lead an inspection delegation to the northeast, the task of which was actually to prepare for the establishment of three provinces in the northeast, Heilongjiang, Jilin and Fengtian, to strengthen control. According to the plan, each province in the northeast will set up an inspector (equivalent to a provincial governor) to manage administrative affairs, and the entire three eastern provinces will set up a governor.
Overnight, there will be four more vacancies in the official field of the Qing Dynasty at the provincial and ministerial levels, and it is conceivable how much attention will be paid to the words and deeds of this delegation.
On October 26, after arriving in Tianjin, Zai Zhen and Xu Shichang were solemnly and warmly welcomed, and after being feasted on the evening, they were invited to the "Tianxian Tea Garden" in Tianjin to watch a play.
Entering the tea garden and serving tea, Zai Zhen's eyes never left a woman who was singing on the stage.
The woman who sang the opera was Hua Dan, the head of the "Tianxian Tea Garden", 18 years old, named Yang Cuixi.
It was this woman named Yang Cuixi who caused a famous political storm in the late Qing Dynasty.
3
Yang Cuixi was born in 1888 in a farming family in Yangliuqing, a western suburb of Tianjin.
Because of the poverty of his family, Yang Cuixi was sold to Tianjin at the age of 12, and after several turns, he came to the "Tianxian Tea Garden". Yang Cuixi was smart and well-behaved, learned a lot of opera, coupled with outstanding appearance, and soon became the top brand of "Tianxian Tea Garden", attracting a large number of "hardcore fans".
Yang Cuixi
How big was Yang Cuixi's charm at that time? Say two of her loyal fans.
The first person is a rich second generation. His father was a huge rich man in Tianjin's salt industry and financial industry, and his family was entangled. But this rich second generation is particularly literary and artistic, especially likes drama, in the "World Tea Garden" and Yang Cuixi at first sight, often hold the scene, and carry a lantern to send Yang Cuixi home after the end. This talented rich second generation also specially wrote two poems for Yang Cuixi, which shows that the use of love is true. Later, Yang Cuixi had no connection with him, which made the rich second generation feel sad, and even had a certain impact on his later escape into the empty door.
This rich second generation is the famous Hongyi master Li Shutong.
Li Shutong
Another person, who is also a huge rich man in Tianjin, whose name is Wang Yisun, comes to praise Yang Cuixi's field almost every day. The Wang family is a famous and huge rich man in Tianjin, in fact, it has also left a mark in China's modern history: Wang Yisun's father, Wang Kuizhang, once invited a young man to open a private school at home, and when Wang Yisun came to his generation, he also paid for the young man to run a private middle school in Tianjin.
That young man was Zhang Boling, and that middle school was Nankai Middle School.
The former residence of the Wang Yisun family in Tianjin has now become a Chaozhou cuisine restaurant
Li Shutong is only a passerby in the matter to be said today, and the name Wang Yisun we still need to remember for the time being, because he is also a key link in the follow-up fermentation event.
Now back to the night of October 26, 1906.
18-year-old Yang Cuixi smiled smartly on the stage, beautiful eyes, and saw Zai Zhen's eyes under the stage were straight, salivating. Although Zai Zhen is young, he is also "reading countless people", eating flowers and wine, and embracing famous prostitutes, and has long been famous.
And the scene where he stared at Yang Cuixi intently was all looked at by a person named Duan Zhigui on the side.
4
Now it's Duan Zhigui's turn to play.
That year, the 37-year-old Duan Zhigui had already achieved the Tianjin Patrol Police Road (equivalent to the director of the Tianjin Municipal Public Security Bureau and the director of the fire department and then a health director).
Duan Zhigui was a native of Anhui, graduated from the Tianjin Wubei Academy, and relied on his uncle to work as an errand under Yuan Shikai, and got the opportunity to get close to Yuan Shikai. In terms of ability, Duan Zhigui basically has nothing, but he has a particularly powerful set of slap-and-roll kung fu, and he is good at observing words and colors in the official field, throwing in the favor of others, and then exchanging what he wants.
Duan Zhigui
Zai Zhen and his party stopped in Tianjin and were busy with Duan Zhigui: Everyone knows that the future benefits of serving this "young reserve cadre" with a prominent background are innumerable -- what is more, Duan Zhigui has his own clear purpose.
Therefore, when Duan Zhigui saw that Zai Zhen was not guarding Yang Cuixi's soul, he already knew what to do--that night, Duan Zhigui arranged for Yang Cuixi to enter Zai Zhen's bedroom.
The next day, Duan Zhigui found Yang Cuixi's loyal fan and wealthy businessman Wang Yisun and asked him to help "pour his pockets".
The so-called "inverted pocket" is a saying of the people of Tianjin. According to the regulations of the Qing Dynasty at that time, officials were not allowed to keep dramatists or prostitutes themselves, but if others ransomed them in an unofficial name and then secretly "traded" them to officials, no one was prosecuted. Therefore, this kind of business of helping officials buy people and then trade is called "pouring pockets."
Wang Yisun was entrusted by Duan Zhigui to redeem Yang Cuixi. The owner of the theater garden is not a fool, knowing that Wang Yisun came to redeem, there must be a big gold lord behind the scenes, so the price was asked for, and the final transaction price was as high as 12,000 silver.
After redeeming yang Cuixi, after being carefully dressed and decorated by Duan Zhigui at a large price, in March 1907, in the name of Zai Zhen's father Yi Li ZhuShou, he was sent to Beijing - what was given to Yi Li was a gift of 100,000 taels of silver borrowed by Duan Zhigui from Wang Zhulin, president of the Tianjin Chamber of Commerce, and Yang Cuixi, of course, was dedicated to Zai Zhen.
Yi Li, known for his greed for money
On April 20, 1907, the time came to repay the favor.
The list of newly established inspectors of the three eastern provinces was announced, among which the newly appointed inspectors of Heilongjiang Province had the name of "Duan Zhigui" written impressively.
Suddenly, public opinion was in an uproar.
Before Duan Zhigui was at best a Four Pin Daoist, his name was unknown, how could he be promoted to the third level at once, becoming the inspector from Er pin and ruling the party?
At this time, some newspapers in Tianjin had begun to disclose the inside story of Duan Zhigui's use of "beauty schemes" to "sexual bribes" to buy officials, and the name "Yang Cuixi" was also dug up.
A political storm known as the "Ding Wei Political Tide" (1907 was Ding Wei Nian) officially began.
5
The first person to stand up and kick this matter was Yushi Zhao Qilin.
At that time, above the Qing court, there was a famous "Sanlin Company", which referred to three royal historians who dared to speak out: Zhao Qilin, Zhao Binglin, and Jiang Chunlin. These three imperial historians are not only able to speak eloquently and are not afraid of offending the powerful, but also use the public opinion of the civil media to create momentum.
Duan Zhigui's "sexual bribery" Zai Zhen to please his father Yi Xi's purchase of officials has long become a topic of discussion among ordinary people after tea and dinner. Wang Kangnian, the editor-in-chief of the Beijing Daily, who had just founded the Beijing Daily at that time, had already explained the ins and outs of this matter clearly and posted it in the newspaper. However, no one in the imperial court dared to say it publicly, because after all, it involved the grand duke of the chief military minister, Yi Xi.
But Zhao Qilin dared.
In May 1907, Zhao Qilin wrote directly to the book, telling Duan Zhigui about "sexual bribery" to buy officials in its entirety, pointing out that Duan Zhigui was neither from the Imperial Examination nor had he made any great achievements, and even as a Erpin official, he had never met the emperor and was so confused to take office, all of which were the evil consequences brought about by Yi Li's betrayal of the official.
Zhao Qilin also added a sentence at the end of the text: "It is tolerable, but it is intolerable!" ”
Notes on Zhao Qilin's writings
According to the Supervision System of the Qing Dynasty, Zhao Qilin's letter was sent directly to Cixi's case.
After Cixi read it, she was furious: Yi Li! You bad old man is so bad!
In fact, Yi Li is good at money, Zai Zhen is lustful, and Cixi has long heard of it, but he has always been reluctant to abandon Yi Li, who has mediocre ability, first, because Yi Li is after all a close relative of the clan, and second, he is loyal after all.
However, the evidence of this incident seemed to be conclusive, and the impact was so bad that even Cixi knew that it could not be tolerated.
Considering the magnitude of the implications, Cixi first issued the first order:
Duan Zhigui was dismissed on the spot!
Poor Duan Zhigui was still on his way to Heilongjiang to take up his post, and he was told that the hat was gone.
But this was only the beginning of this war.
Zhao Qilin, who played the song, and Wang Kangnian, the editor-in-chief of the Beijing Daily, who disclosed the news, also have a common identity: at the beginning of this article, the protégé of the military aircraft minister Qu Hongyu.
Qu Hongyu was the representative of the "Qing School" in the Qing court at that time.
The "Qing school" is a political faction that began to emerge in the Qing court during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, and was formed around the 1870s. The original metaphor of "Qingliu" refers to a scholar with high moral integrity, courage to speak things, and fame. At that time, Li Hongzao, the minister of military aircraft, because the foreign affairs faction of the Military Aircraft Department accounted for the majority, gathered a group of yushi and Hanlin around him to pinpoint current events and expose corruption. According to the time period, the "Qing school" also has the distinction of "pre-clear stream" and "post-clear stream". In general, the "Qing school" pays attention to the practice of moral character, is strict with oneself, and is relatively incorruptible. However, in some governing principles, due to their lack of a comprehensive understanding of the current situation, they have also put forward many limited propositions
At that time, the "Qing School" forces were no longer the same as the "Qing School" of The Li Hongzao and Weng Tonggong era, but the character of being upright, honest and self-disciplined, and daring to speak out was still the same lineage. As a combination fist that has been brewing for a long time in the "Qing School", is it just to depose Duan Zhigui, an official from Erpin?
Of course not.
So, is it the chief military aircraft minister Yi Xi who is aimed at corruption?
Not exactly.
By kicking duan Zhigui's "sexual bribery" case, the "Qing faction" actually wants to launch a decisive battle with a person.
And this person is the real big boss behind Duan Zhigui's scenes: Yuan Shikai.
6
Around 1906, Yuan Shikai's "Beiyang faction" had become a very climatic.
In 1901, a generation of powerful ministers Li Hongzhang died, and the 42-year-old Yuan Shikai took over as the minister of Beiyang and the governor of direct subordination, which was already a remarkable and powerful figure in the Qing Empire at that time.
But Yuan Shikai's ambitions don't stop there.
By making friends with various imperial court magnates, Yuan Shikai has been preparing for the expansion of his power. Zai Zhen is actually 17 years younger than Yuan Shikai, but the two people are actually brothers who have changed posts. Is Yuan Shikai looking at Zaizhen as a person? Of course not, he was also running to Zai Zhen's father, the prince of Qing at the time.
Therefore, at that time, the imperial court knew that there was an alliance called the "Qingyuan Alliance".
And Duan Zhigui was precisely a close confidant that Yuan Shikai had single-handedly supported.
Yuan Shikai. The reason why Duan Zhigui was able to gain Yuan Shikai's trust and promotion was actually related to his continuous contribution of female color to Yuan Shikai. Therefore, Duan Zhigui also has a nickname, called "the first pimp of the Republic of China".
Therefore, duan zhigui's "sexual bribery" in exchange for the heilongjiang inspector is not so much Yi Li listening to his son blow the wind to give Duan Zhigui face, but rather to give Yuan Shikai face.
Then why did Yuan Shikai want Duan Zhiguisheng to patrol Heilongjiang? Because he needs the layout, he needs his own forces to get out of the capital. In fact, on the list of governors of the three eastern provinces published on April 20, 1907, Duan Zhigui, the governor of Heilongjiang, Zhu Jiabao, the inspector of Jilin, Tang Shaoyi, the governor of Fengtian, and Xu Shichang, the governor of the three eastern provinces—all four of them were Yuan Shikai's people.
It was precisely for this reason that Yuan Shikai's "Beiyang" forces that covered the sky with one hand caused concern among the "Qing schools", and in fact, it also aroused cixi's vigilance: she did not depose Duan Zhigui, nor did she dismiss such a small official from Erpin.
It was Yuan Shikai who knocked.
In this regard, the "Qing School" actually served as a tool for Cixi.
However, the "Qing School" really decided to launch a general offensive. They played not only Zhao Qilin's card, but also an even bigger card — Cen Chunxuan, who had just been appointed governor of Sichuan, did not take office in Sichuan and took a train directly to Beijing.
Cen Chunxuan was also a "second generation official", and his father was Cen Yuying, the governor of Yungui. Cen Chunxuan was trusted by the Guangxu Emperor for supporting the change of law in the "Penghu Restoration", but later received cixi's praise for taking the initiative to serve the king when the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded China and Cixi fled with Guangxu, and was deeply trusted by Cixi and was also a big red man.
Moreover, when Cen Chunxuan became an official, he also vigorously punished corrupt officials and corrupt officials, and formed an alliance with qu Hongyu of the "Qing school", which can also be regarded as a powerful ally of the "Qing school".
Cen Chunxuan. Because of his tough tactics, he once said together with Yuan Shikai that there was a saying of "Southern Cen and Northern Yuan"
On May 1, 1907, Cen Chunxuan arrived in Beijing, and was summoned by Cixi four times in four consecutive days to discuss separate matters, and was given an important position of "Shangshu of the Ministry of Posts and Communications" and remained in the capital.
After Cen Chunxuan sat firmly in the capital, he immediately did two things and made his attitude clear:
The first thing, he wrote a letter of impeachment against Yi Li, saying that he was corrupt and unfit to serve as the chief military minister;
The second thing, giving evidence of corruption by Zhu Baokui, a waiter (vice minister) of the Ministry of Posts and Communications, made Empress Dowager Cixi remove Zhu Baokui from her post, who was a member of Yuan Shikai's "Beiyang faction".
Suddenly, rumors spread in the capital: Lafayette was ready to use Cen Chunxuan to succeed Yuan Shikai as the minister of Beiyang and the governor directly subordinate to him!
At this point, the "Qing School" had already opened fire and had the upper hand.
Yi Xi and Zai Zhen were anxious like ants on a hot pot, and their only hope was to see how Yuan Shikai would take the move.
7
Now, it is the turn of Wang Yisun, a wealthy businessman in Tianjin who has shown his face before, to appear again.
In May 1907, Wang Yisun suddenly received a request from Zhang Zhenfang: You are affected, please take Yang Cuixi as a concubine.
This Zhang Zhenfang is not an ordinary person, his sister is the wife of Yuan Shikai's brother, in other words, he is a relative of Yuan Shikai, and what he conveys is the meaning of Yuan Shikai.
At that time, Yang Cuixi had been quietly sent back to Tianjin from Beijing.
Zhang Zhenfang. He was the younger brother-in-law of Yuan Shikai's second brother Yuan Shidun and served as the last governor of the Qing Dynasty (only 10 days). His son was the famous poetry artist, collector and calligrapher Zhang Boju
This is the first step for Yuan Shikai to fight back: first confuse the "sexual bribery" matter and then talk about it.
According to Zhang Zhenfang's instructions, Wang Yisun first forged a contract that proved that he had already spent 3500 taels of silver in June 1905 to make Yang Cuixin a concubine (and later changed his mouth to buying a maid), so there is no possibility that he would have bought it a year later to dedicate it to Zai Zhen.
Wang Yisun originally liked Yang Cuixi, but now he was equal to Baide, and of course he gladly obeyed.
After that, Wang Zhulin of the Tianjin Chamber of Commerce was also "entrusted" to deny that he had ever lent money to Duan Zhigui. At the same time, the "Qing school" took advantage of public opinion, and Yuan Shikai also did this trick: the Ta Kung Pao led Yuan Shikai's intentions, and also began to publish the so-called "truth": the "fact" that Yang Cuixi had long been bought by Wang Yisun as a concubine was greatly reported.
Yuan Shikai had just stopped here, and the Minister of Investigation sent by Empress Dowager Cixi over there had already arrived in Tianjin.
Leading the investigation team were two people: Zaifeng, a 27-year-old Prince of Alcohol, and Sun Jia Nai (fourth voice), an 80-year-old scholar of Wenyuange University.
The young Zaifeng mainly represents the royal family, and it is Sun Jianai who can really characterize the case.
At that time, the third force of the Qing court began to appear.
8
Sun Jianai represented the "old courtier faction" in the Qing court at that time.
The representative figures of the "Old Minister's Faction" were Sun Jia Nai and Zhang Zhidong, the governor of Huguang, whose characteristics were "high moral standing and extremely seniority." For example, Sun Jianai, who was the head of the ninth year of Xianfeng (1859), not only served as a shangshu of the official department, but also represented the shangshu of the ministry of works, the five departments of the ministry of rites, households, officials, and punishment, and finally was named a scholar of Wenyuange University - such a qualification, such an age, it is no exaggeration to say that "morality and respect" is not exaggerated.
Sun Jia Nai
As the third force in the imperial court at that time, the "Old Minister Faction" was characterized by the fact that no one could look up to it and no one could be guilty.
For the "Qing School", the "Lao Chen Sect" has always kept a distance, and for the "Beiyang Sect" that has been rising in the clouds over the years, the "Lao Chen Sect" is actually scornful. However, due to its lack of sufficient strength, the "Lao Chen Faction" did not offend the "Beiyang Faction", but has been behind the scenes to shake the "Qing Sect" to stand in front of the stage.
Now, such an opportunity has been placed in front of Sun Jianai: When I went to Tianjin to ask and investigate, those so-called "contracts" and "confessions" were full of loopholes and were all suspicious.
This is undoubtedly an opportunity to overthrow the "Beiyang Faction" and at least seriously damage Yuan Shikai.
However, Sun Jianai hesitated.
It is not very difficult to return a report of "perjury" and impeach Yi Li. However, Yi Xi is a relative of the emperor and a hereditary "Iron Hat King", even if he is impeached for a while, I am afraid that he will soon make a comeback.
As for Yuan Shikai, he is rich and powerful, his wings have become formed, and his minions are all over the world, can this blow knock him down?
The most crucial thing is, what did Lafayette really think? Did she really want to find out?
Empress Dowager Cixi
In the end, after experiencing a lot of "living for a long time", the 80-year-old Sun Jianai, after a series of investigations and evidence collection, consulted with Zaifeng, returned to the capital, and handed over his final conclusion:
Yang Cuixi was already Wang Yisun's concubine, and Zhao Qilin's participation lacked factual basis and was not enough to be accepted.
Public opinion was in an uproar.
However, Cixi, who received this report, was satisfied.
Although Cixi annoyed him with corruption, he still wanted his loyalty after all; for Yuan Shikai, although Cixi was vigilant, he still had to use his ability and the power of the "Beiyang Faction" after all.
What Cixi needed was to beat, not to eradicate. Of course, Cixi's left hand beat the "Qingyuan Alliance", and her right hand did not forget the "Qing School".
Zhao Qilin, who played the song, was immediately reprimanded by Cixi as "a pro-noble and important minister whose name is very important, who does not make a detailed visit, and who leads the performance with unfounded words, arbitrarily slandering, which is really deserved", and announced that he was dismissed from his post in the court.
This also annoyed the other two "big coffees" of "Sanlin Company". Zhao Binglin first stood up and played, saying that all the dynasties and dynasties should be tolerant of "officials", and then Jiang Chunlin also continued to play, saying that "Wang Yisun spent 3500 taels to buy a maid that was unheard of, and the investigation was blind and blind."
But in fact, Cixi only gave an explanation to each side. Zhao Qilin, who was sentenced to "never be hired," was re-employed shortly after his dismissal and put on an important local post. And Yi Xi also quickly gave the explanation that Cixi needed: his son Zai zhen was young and confused, and took the initiative to resign from the position of "Agricultural, Industrial and Commercial Shangshu".
Cixi said she "reluctantly agreed."
A big political storm, each playing fifty boards, it seems that the wind and waves are about to calm down.
But one man refused, because after surviving a round of attacks, he wanted revenge.
9
This person, of course, is Yuan Shikai.
Yuan Shikai's first target of revenge was Cen Chunxuan, who was trying to steal his position as chancellor of Beiyang and directly subordinate to him.
In the face of Cen Chunxuan, who was deeply trusted by Cixi, Yuan Shikai's choice of counterattack methods was also full of brains.
First of all, it is necessary to drive Cen Chunxuan out of the center of power, Beijing.
Yuan Shikai first asked Zhou Fu, the governor of Liangguang, and Song Shou, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, to report one after another that the liangguang region was "in trouble and hardship", and then asked Yi Li to meet with Cixi to come up with an idea—the governor of Liangguang, Cen Chunxuan, could not be appointed. After Cen Chunxuan entered Beijing, he had to "stand alone" with Cixi every day, which made Cixi also a little aesthetically tired, and as a result, he really ordered Cen Chunxuan to become the "Governor of Liangguang".
From entering Beijing as "Shangshu of the Ministry of Posts and Communications" to being sent abroad as the "Governor of Liangguang", Cen Chunxuan stayed in Beijing for only 25 days before being driven away.
Second, Yuan Shikai must make Cixi stop trusting Cen Chunxuan.
In order to achieve this goal, Yuan Shikai also used "high technology" - to find someone to PS a group photo of Cen Chunxuan, Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao. Cixi's lifelong hatred for Kang Liang was deep, and seeing this photo of "there is a picture and a truth", her heart naturally became angry. In addition, after Cen Chunxuan was appointed governor of Liangguang, he was delayed in staying in Shanghai and refused to take office, which also gave the "Qingyuan clique" an excuse to spread rumors: Cen Chunxuan conspired with revolutionaries and even the Japanese to "return to Guangxu". Both of these points hit Cixi's sore spot, and eventually prompted her to decide to let Cen Chunxuan "open the vacancy" - no longer appointed, next time.
Cixi had a bitter hatred for Kang Youwei
Third, after overthrowing one of the pillars of the "Qing School", Yuan Shikai began to move against another pillar, Qu Hongyu.
In this process, we must also blame Qu Hongyu for not being angry.
In a separate chat with Cixi, Qu Hongyu once proposed to invite Yi Xi out of the military plane, but Cixi did not say anything, but only said to him, "I have my own arrangements." Qu Hongyu saw a little sign, and he wanted to push along the trend, so he thought of the media again--he found his protégé, Wang Kangnian, the editor-in-chief of the Beijing Daily, and said that Cixi wanted to change the chief minister of the Military Aircraft Department. Wang Kangnian poked this news to the British "Times" newspaper, trying to use foreign media to create public opinion pressure.
As a result, Cixi did not read the newspaper, but the wife of a foreign minister saw the Times and said that China's "premier" might have to be replaced, so she asked her directly during the meeting with Cixi. Cixi was shocked, thinking about it, she only talked to Qu Hongyu, and she couldn't help but be angry.
Just at this time, Yu Shi Yun Yuding, who was bought by Yuan Shikai, took the opportunity to impeach Qu Hongyu, saying that he always used the media to create momentum and pull gangs and factions to engage in "small groups" in the Yu Shi team. Cixi, who was angry, simply did not stop and announced that Qu Hongyu would be dismissed.
The Beijing News was also ordered to shut down a few months later
So, the scene at the beginning of this article happened. On June 16, Qu Hongyu was announced to be dismissed.
Qu Hongyu's dismissal announced that this "Ding Wei political tide" was basically over.
10
However, the "Beiyang Faction" actually did not take advantage of this round of the tide.
After constantly feeling Cixi's "beating", Yuan Shikai finally decided to "retreat as an advance" and made a statement:
The towns of the First, Third, Fifth, and Sixth Beiyang Army, which the Manchu nobles were most afraid of, were handed over to the War Department for direct jurisdiction. Later, Yuan Shikai agreed to transfer from Beiyang to Beijing as Minister of Military Aircraft and Minister of Foreign Affairs Shangshu.
However, Yuan Shikai's wings have become complete, in fact, no one can stop his wild pace.
【Steamed bun said】
A "Ding Wei political wave" actually has a far-reaching impact.
Judging from the results, the "Qing school" has put an end to the banner, and the "Beiyang faction" does not take advantage, it seems that both sides will lose, and it is Cixi who "beats" from it.
But in fact, why is Cixi a winner?
In the beginning, Cixi really wanted to use the "Qing school" to beat the "Beiyang school", because in any case, the "Qing school" was clean and self-disciplined, and loyal to the imperial court, and was a usable force. But Cixi herself did not expect that the counterattack of the "Beiyang Faction" was so fierce, and in the process, Cixi also saw that Yuan Shikai, who had united with the Manchu nobles, had reached such a point of energy that he had to arouse vigilance.
The fall of the "Qing School" was by no means good for the Qing Dynasty. Although they were weak relative to the "Beiyang Faction", and even some "mantis arms blocked the car", they were still loyal after all.
Therefore, later Cixi could only try to win over the "Lao Chen faction", and she even once wanted the 80-year-old Sun Jianai to join the Military Aircraft Department and become the third containing force, but Sun Jianai refused, just as the "Lao Chen faction" has always been: not mixed.
In desperation, Cixi could only use a fourth force after the "Ding Wei political tide": the "pro-noble faction", including puyi's father Zaifeng the Prince of Alcohol, the Duke of Zhenguo Zaize, the War Department Shangshu Tieliang and other Young Zhuang Manchu nobles. However, regardless of the personal ability of these young Zhuang factions, after they came to power, they once again slowly excluded the Han people from the center of political power, which further antagonized the Manchus and Han, and thus accelerated the collapse of the Qing Empire.
And the whole process of this "Ding Wei political tide" has actually shown the extent to which the empire has decayed: abandoning the Qing Yang Turbidity, pulling together gangs, corruption, Mingzhe protecting himself, watching the fire from the other side...
In 1908, just after the "Ding Wei Political Wave", both Cixi and Guangxu returned to the west.
Even though the Manchu qing magnates later succeeded in getting Yuan Shikai to return to his hometown, it seemed that a crisis was lifted from within, but from external pressure and shock, they were completely irresistible.
Just three years later, the whole country was on fire.
An empire that had been in power for 268 years had collapsed without suspense.
1. "The Case of Duan Zhigui's Sacrifice of Prostitute Shells" (Zhou Licheng, Hunan Archives, No. 01, 2003)
2. "A Case of Official Flower that Sensationalized the Government and the Opposition in the Late Qing Dynasty" (Zhen Guangjun and Fang Zhaolin, Essence of Literature and History, No. 11, 2007)
3. "A Scandal of Bribery Caused by Yang Cuixi, a Famous Man in the Late Qing Dynasty" (Chen Fengyou, Hubei Archives, Z1, 2010)
4. "The Little Girl Who Changed the Political Pattern of the Late Qing Dynasty" (Chen Zhonghai, Wenshi Tiandi, No. 05, 2017)
5. "The Case of The Late Qing Dynasty's High-Level Money Power and Color Transaction" (Cai Deng Deng and Ke Jisheng, Integrity Lookout, No. 04, 2017)
6. "Yang Cuixi: A Major Supervision Case Triggered by a People's Daughter" (Jiao Li, Servant of the People, No. 01, 2014)
7. "The Big Tiger Under the Skirt of a Famous Prostitute" (Li Delin, "Construction of the Old District", No. 17, 2014)