In 1875, the Guangxu Emperor ascended the throne at the age of 3, the empress dowager Cixi and Ci'an of the two palaces listened to the government, Zhang Zuolin was born in the remote agricultural area of Fengtian in March of that year, after growing up, Zhang Zuolin did many things for his livelihood, and later due to the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, Zhang Zuolin entered the Qing army, and because of his outstanding combat, he was promoted to cavalry sentry.
However, in 1895, the Qing army moved to the defense, Zhang Zuolin left the Qing army, returned to his hometown and became a veterinarian again, but he and Zhao Chungui, the daughter of Zhao Zhanyuan, the landlord of Zhao Jiamiao Village, entered into marriage, and in the next year, Zhang Zuolin was introduced by people and joined the Green Forest Dong Dahu Bandit Department.
In the twenty-eighth year of Guangxu, Zhang Zuolin was recruited by the Xinmin Government, and 4 years later, Zhang Zuolin was appointed by the general Shengjing as the commander of the Five Battalions, and his power increased step by step, and Puyi was only a few years old when he took the throne, and did not understand things, but the officials of the Qing court were surging undercurrents.
After the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution, Zhang Zuolin was favored by the Qing court for suppressing the revolution, so he served as the minister of military training outside Guanwai and was given the title of wearing a flower plume, after which Zhang Zuolin took the opportunity to grasp the military and political power of Fengtian Province.
The last candle of the Qing Dynasty had been burned out, and Zhang Zuolin knew it very well, but he still called Yuan Shikai to express that he had the intention of arming the Qin King, this practice was not for the restoration, but Zhang Zuolin understood that this move was beneficial to himself, first, he could show the world that he was not ungrateful, and second, after entering the Jingqin Queen, it was very likely that he would be able to expand his power.
Zhang Zuolin was naturally happy to do the thing of killing two birds with one stone, and later in 1917, Zhang Xun was restored, what was Zhang Zuolin's attitude? Because Feng Delin, commander of the 28th Division of the Fengtian Patrol Battalion, participated in the restoration, Zhang Zuolin seized his military power.
Zhang Xun made Zhang Zuolin the governor of the three eastern provinces and asked him to join the Guanqin King, but Zhang Zuolin immediately went to Duan Qirui, the actual ruler of the Beiyang government, to show that he obeyed the orders of Premier Duan. Zhang Zuolin knew that at this time, if he entered the King of Jingqin, all he would get was a word of praise and some empty titles from the nominal Xuantong Emperor, and he would also be excluded by "progressive people".
However, Zhang Zuolin still got benefits from the Xuantong Emperor Puyi, although everyone said that the feudal dynasty had ended, China no longer had an emperor, and opposed the imperial system, but in the eyes of many great warlords, Puyi was still special, Zhang Zuolin was a ghostly and clever person, both sides did not openly tear their faces, but also fished for benefits.
The title of Xuantong Emperor could increase Zhang Zuolin's political brilliance, gain a good reputation, and further control the Manchu and Mongolian regions, becoming a veritable "King of the Northeast".
In November 1924, the Beijing coup d'état occurred, Xuantong Emperor Puyi was expelled from the Forbidden City, Zhang Zuolin was very angry when he learned of it, and immediately sent someone to go around and tell Puyi that he did not need to worry too much, but this was just Zhang Zuolin's "superficial disguise", anything can be said, as to whether he will do this, it is another matter, when you really lose.
Although Zhang Zuolin could not support Puyi's restoration, but Puyi lived in Zhang Garden in Tianjin, Zhang Zuolin and him still had a connection, the two were not good, but there were some connections.
In Puyi's autobiography "The First Half of Life", he talked about the situation before and after the face-to-face meeting with Zhang Zuolin, who sent him 100,000 yuan through the father of the last empress Wanrong, and at the same time proposed to meet, but the former Qing widow was opposed, believing that Puyi was the emperor and Zhang Zuolin was just a warlord.
However, Puyi still went to the Cao family garden to meet the Grand Marshal Zhang Zuolin, and when Zhang Zuolin saw Puyi, who had abdicated, he immediately knelt down and said: "The emperor is good!" ”
As for why Zhang Zuolin chose to kneel? In fact, there are two reasons, first of all, Zhang Zuolin's growth is related to the Qing court, and his thinking also has the concept of a monarch; then, Zhang Zuolin does not think that kneeling to Puyi is a shameful thing.
Although Puyi has abdicated, in the hearts of many people, those who have been emperors still have the title of "emperor", zhang Zuolin kneels down to bow to Puyi, and will not let those widows deliberately cause trouble on this matter.