At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the People's Republic, there was such a legendary figure, he has always been loyal to the Qing Dynasty and adhered to the imperial system, even after the abdication of the Qing Emperor, he was still "loyal and unchanged", and did not cut the braids behind his head until his death. He also briefly supported Puyi's "restoration", but the farce lasted only 12 days before it ended. But the stubborn warlord died with countless people who came to pay his respects, and even Sun Yat-sen praised his "loyalty." He is the "braided handsome" Zhang Xun.
1. Early years
Zhang Xun, also spelled Shaoxuan, is a new person in fengxin, Jiangxi, born in 1854. His parents died when he was very young, and his grandfather was killed by the Taiping Army when he was 6 years old, and he has been alone ever since. Later, he was taken in by a retired official, and did not join the army until the age of 30, joining the Xiang Army of Zeng Guofan as a soldier. After the outbreak of the Sino-French War, he also followed the troops into Guangxi to fight, and because of his bravery in battle, he was promoted to general and began his political career.
In the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War of 1895, he led his army into the northeast and led 1,000 cavalry to fight the Japanese army, and finally repelled the Japanese army after 3 days of fierce fighting, and his reputation has been greatly shocked ever since. He was also appreciated by Yuan Shikai, who was promoted to battalion commander by Yuan Shikai and entered the circle of the Beiyang Army, and later he followed Yuan Shikai to Shandong to suppress the Boxers, and was promoted to the rank of chief soldier for military merit.
After Puyi succeeded to the throne, Zhang Xun was promoted to the post of Viceroy of Jiangnan and guarded Nanjing. When the revolutionaries attacked Nanjing, he resolutely prepared for war and actively suppressed them, killing and wounding the revolutionaries.
After the founding of the Republic of China, Zhang Xun still kept braids in order to show his loyalty to the Qing Dynasty, and he also required his troops not to cut braids, so he was called "Braided Shuai", and his troops were also known as "Braided Army".
Later, Yuan Shikai made him the overseer of Jiangsu and the inspector of the Yangtze River, and transferred him to Xuzhou. When Yuan Shikai was proclaimed emperor, he also actively supported it, and was also made a first-class duke. But in his heart, he was still loyal to the Qing Dynasty and had been waiting for an opportunity.
2. Lead troops into Beijing
The opportunity for Zhang Xun's allegiance to the Qing Dynasty finally came, and in June 1916, after the abdication of Yuan Shikai died in a slurry, the Republic of China was restored, Li Yuanhong became the president, and Duan Qirui became the premier. Soon, a "dispute between the government and the court" between Li and Duan occurred, and the two sides had a sharp confrontation over whether China participated in the First World War, Duan said that he must declare war on Germany, and Li Yuanhong resolutely disagreed. Duan asked Li to stamp the letter of severance of diplomatic relations with Germany, but Li flatly refused.
Li Yuanhong
On May 21, 1917, Li Yuanhong removed Duan from his post as prime minister on the grounds that Duan had borrowed money from Japan privately. Duan Qirui left Beijing for Tianjin, using Tianjin as a base to telegraph against Li Yuanhong. At this time, Zhang Xun, who was sitting in Xuzhou, became the object that Li and Duan both wanted to win over: Li believed that the Germans were Zhang Xun's backstage bosses, and Zhang Xun was definitely against Duan Qirui; Duan believed that Zhang Xun had always been in favor of the imperial system and opposed to the republic, and Zhang Xun's entry into the capital Li Yuanhong, the president, was categorically impossible. Li Yuanhong finally decided to let Zhang Xun enter Beijing for mediation.
After Zhang Xun received the news, he was overjoyed, and he immediately summoned the overseers of the thirteen provinces to Xuzhou for a meeting, at which Zhang Xun could not wait to put out the plan and plan, that is, to go to Beijing, force Li Yuanhong to hand over power, and support the restoration of the little emperor at the right time. After several conspiracies and consultations, everyone echoed the voice, which also made Zhang Xun feel more confident.
On June 7, 1917, Zhang Xun led ten battalions of about 5,000 people from Xuzhou by train and arrived in Beijing on June 14. After his arrival, he directly forced Li Yuanhong to lift the Parliament, clearing the way for his subsequent "restoration".
3. Restoration farce
In the early morning of July 1, after careful preparations, Zhang Xun wore Qing court clothes, took Kang Youwei, Wang Shizhen and other cadres into the Forbidden City, supported Puyi's ascension hall and sat on the "Dragon Throne", Zhang Xun and others lay on the ground, bowed to Puyi three times and bowed nine times, long live the mountain, and put on a copy of "Appeal for Restoration". Subsequently, Puyi announced that he was pro-government and took back power.
On this day, Puyi issued eight "edicts" in a row, sealed the official title, and restored the old system. Zhang Xun was made the first assistant minister of parliament, and was also directly subordinate to the viceroy and minister of Beiyang, and was awarded the title of Prince of Zhongyong and given the forbidden city horseback riding.
However, Zhang Xun's "restoration" was soon opposed by all forces. Duan Qirui saw that the purpose of using Zhang Xun to expel Li Yuanhong had been achieved, and immediately formed a "rebel army" and set out on July 4 at Machang to attack Zhang Xun.
Duan Qirui
Zhang Xun's 5,000 men were obviously not enough to fight, and the "rebel army" also had planes to help them, and carried out 3 air raids on the Forbidden City, frightening the braided soldiers to rush and flee in all directions. The "Braided Army" was quickly defeated, and on July 12, amid the nationwide opposition and strong military pressure, Puyi once again issued an abdication "edict". This restoration farce, directed by Zhang Xun, lasted only 12 days and ended hastily.
4. Later life
After the failure of the restoration, Zhang Xun first ran to the Dutch embassy for refuge, and then moved to the German barracks, and lived a good life and was very comfortable. In March 1918, the Beiyang government granted him amnesty on the grounds that "current events are difficult and talents are rare".
After regaining his freedom, Zhang Xun settled in Tianjin and began to start a business. His business is very large, operating more than 70 pawnshops, banks, money banks and other enterprises, and his assets have reached 50 or 60 million.
And Zhang Xun was already 64 years old when he retired, at this time he only had one son and one daughter, far from politics, he began to take concubines, single-mindedly creating population, and by the time he died at the age of 69, he already had nine sons and five daughters, which was really surprising.
In 1922, Zhang Xun held his 70th birthday for himself, Sun Juxian took Yang Xiaolou, Mei Lanfang and other famous actors in the Peking Opera circle to Tianjin to wish him a birthday, Zhang Xunguang gave them 600 oceans in the appearance fee, which moved Sun Juxian to cry bitterly: "Those who understand drama, Zhang Dashuai also!" Confidant, Zhang Dashuai also! ”
And after the failed restoration, he still dragged his braids behind his head. Some people advised him to go with the trend and cut it off, but he said: "I am powerless to return to heaven, but I can still be alone." The braid is equivalent to my head, the head is in, the braid does not fall off! His usual attire remained the same as before, wearing a pointed satin hat embellished with precious stones or diamonds, and a fat coat or horse coat with foot-mounted boots. He dressed in this way to show his stubborn foolish determination.
5. Character evaluation
On September 12, 1923, Zhang Xun died of illness in his apartment in the Tianjin Concession at the age of 69. Everyone may think that a warlord like him who has made a fuss about restoration must be very desolate after his death. But his funeral was grand and sensational, and the relatives and friends who sent the funeral stretched for miles, and it was said that it cost hundreds of thousands of yuan. As many as 3,170 elegy messages were sent from friends and family, political enemies, and all sectors of society.
Among them was the union of Zhang Shizhao, the then chief education minister and a famous democrat: What about democracy? The theory of the world has gradually returned to the public and died; the Slovak people are now here, and although the party monument is different from me, I am sad. Although he resolutely opposed the restoration, he was indeed touched by Zhang Xun's "loyalty" and therefore spoke highly of it.
Dr. Sun Yat-sen also expressed his respect for him: although Wen regarded the true restorers as enemies, he did not disrespect him.
Of course, the respect expressed by Sun Yat-sen and Zhang Shizhao to Zhang Xun is not because they admire him for his restoration, but because they respect his loyalty, benevolence, and integrity, even if this is a kind of foolish loyalty, it is still touching. After all, in the era of betrayal in the Republic of China, this kind of loyalty is really too precious.
Moreover, Zhang Xun's character is actually not bad, when he was in the Beiyang Army, he was particularly bold and moralistic, and spent money on the brothers of the Beiyang Department, so the generals of the Beiyang Department liked to call him Big Brother. And once, because he had made a battle merit, his superiors rewarded him with two good wines, so he poured all the wine into the stream, and then let his men take a comfortable bath in the stream full of wine.
Not only for the army, Zhang Xun was also very good to his hometown, and he was a fellow villager in the village, and he sent a large tile house to each family. Jiangxi students studying in Beijing will also give them scholarships, such as Fang Zhimin and Zhang Guotao of our party have been sponsored by him.
So look at it this way, Zhang Xun's life, before he was born, lived wonderfully, and there were people mourning after death, which is really not too bad!