What is history: it is the echo of the past to the future, the reflection of the future on the past. - Hugo
The faint corruption of politics in the late Qing Dynasty actually began after the prosperity of Kangqian, but only because the ability of several emperors in the early Qing Dynasty was too outstanding, and all the major contradictions in the country were basically resolved, so the contradictions in the later period would finally erupt after accumulating for many years.
By the time of the Guangxu Emperor's reign, the power of the state had actually been grasped by Empress Dowager Cixi, and although Guangxu herself was weak, she was very idealistic and responsible, looking at the dying Qing Dynasty, she was very anxious, and finally in 1898, she united a group of people of insight and launched the "Restoration and Reform" movement.
The Restoration and Reform Movement was a self-help movement that truly touched the foundation of the rulers, which shows the determination of the Guangxu Emperor. However, this campaign to save the Qing Dynasty from life was finally completely subverted in less than a short period of time due to various reasons, and was instantly defeated by Empress Dowager Cixi, and all the activities to change the law were almost completely abolished.
And this great event, which we now see as progressive significance, has actually appeared in a very puzzling situation after it was abolished, that is, the people of Beijing are cheering.
In fact, there have been many and successful movements in China since ancient times, but they have all succeeded under one premise, that is, revolutionaries have a powerful force - military and social force. However, this movement for change of law has no power to rely on at all, even if the initiator is the king of a country.
The powerful Qing Dynasty army, by the time of Guangxu, the total number of armies of several camps was only more than one million, and the rest was Yuan Shikai's new army, but only more than 7,000 people.
And the military power that was already very small was still on Cixi's side, fully supporting Cixi, and the Guangxu Emperor was actually just a light rod commander, named emperor, but had no control over anyone.
Therefore, the Guangxu Emperor only had the enthusiasm of a young man, and did not really have the ability to help the Qing Dynasty out of the predicament, and the restoration and reform of the law was just a struggle that was doomed to failure from the very beginning.
Did Guangxu ever try to rebel against Cixi, oust her from power, return to power, and then start changing the law? In fact, of course, Guangxu had considered this matter, but he could not do it, mainly because the following reasons were restricting him.
First of all, if he abolished Cixi and got rid of Cixi, it would not be in line with the filial piety that China has been highly respected since ancient times. Although the two of them were not related by blood, Guangxu grew up under the care of Cixi, who has always called Cixi "father".
The mother-son relationship between Guangxu and Cixi is still very clear, so Guangxu cannot do such a morally rebellious thing.
Second, the reasons are improper. Although Guangxu was emptied of the emperor's power by Cixi, there was still a favor between the two. Guangxu's restoration and change was carried out secretly behind the scenes, and had nothing to do with Cixi.
Moreover, there are a lot of measures in the reform and reform of the law, but from the result, it is indeed very much in line with the development of society, but it is not in line with reality, once implemented, it will touch the interests of a large number of high-ranking and powerful people, and the whole world may have a big shock because of the change of law, and Beijing may change the sky.
And if Guangxu really killed Cixi at this time and successfully seized the power of the country, there would be no situation he wanted to appear. Under the chaos of the world, there will be more supporters of self-respect, and Guangxu's move is likely to accelerate the demise of the Qing Dynasty. At that time, the result of the restoration and reform of the law may not appear, but instead the collapse of the Qing Empire.
Of course, the most important reason is that the Guangxu Emperor mentioned above did not have actual power. Although he united some people of insight, these people who awakened from the people could not represent the broad masses, and their own strength was very weak.
Compared with Empress Dowager Cixi, who held more than a million troops in her hands, the only violent organ that Guangxu could rely on was the unstable speculator Yuan Shikai.
Facts have proved that Yuan Shikai is indeed unreliable, and after weighing the pros and cons, he denounced Guangxu and accelerated the process of failure of the change.
It can only be said that the ideal of this change of law movement is beautiful, but it has touched the interests of too many people, and almost everyone wants to overthrow this movement. In the end, it really collapsed.