The Qing Dynasty was broken, the princes and nobles declined, and in the face of power and fame, many former ministers chose to sell out the interests of the country in pursuit of their former wealth. And there was a man, who was the most powerful prince in the late Qing Dynasty, who preferred to set up a stall and resolutely refused to treason.
This person was Ai Xin Jue Luo Zaitao, a Manchurian Zhenghuangqi man, the Great Qing Sect. He was the grandson of Emperor Xuanzong of Qing, the seventh son of Prince Shuoxian, the younger brother of Emperor Dezong of Qing, and the uncle of Emperor Xuanzong of Qing, and his status can be described as very prominent.
In his early years, he also went to the Sommy Cavalry School in France to study cavalry combat subjects, and was also responsible for cavalry after returning to China. His hobby was on horses, and he often raised horses, rode horses, and drew horses.
He held many important official positions. In the sixteenth year of Guangxu, he was made a second-class zhenguo general, and was soon promoted to the rank of fuguo duke. Twenty-eight years, he took the title of Baylor. For thirty-four years, he was the King of Fengjun and served as the Inspector General.
In the first year of Xuan reunification, he was responsible for managing the affairs of the Military Advisory Office. In February of the following year, he went to Japan, the United States and other eight countries to investigate the army, and in May of the third year, he served as the military advisor and took charge of the Janissaries, and soon after became the commander of the Mongolian Yellow Banner.
It can be seen that he is indeed the most powerful prince in the late Qing Dynasty, and at the time of the fall of the Great Qing, how did he treat his former glory? Is it desperate to save or to give up?
After the collapse of the Qing Dynasty, his life can be said to be very difficult because there was no royal supply. Because he had to feed not only himself, but more than thirty people in the house.
But even so, it is just a temporary struggle. In 1929, he sold his Baylor House to the then Fu Jen University, while the family moved out of Baylor House and moved into a dilapidated adobe tile house.
Later, without a source of income, he had to set up a stall at the corner of the street to support his family, which can be said to be a very difficult life. This once powerful Qing dynasty prince suddenly became a street stall, and even three meals a day were difficult to guarantee.
But in the face of the glory and wealth of the past and the four walls of today's disciples, he does not seem to have much of a gap. He is a person who loves life, although he is a disciple of the family, but he will also plant some climbing tigers to decorate the courtyard, which is also comfortable.
It should be known that the Qing Dynasty was not overthrown by the invasion of the enemy country, but withered away after Puyi promulgated the "Abdication Edict", which is considered to be a peaceful demise. It is also because of this that many princes and nobles, including Puyi, have a kind of restoration of the country.
Therefore, when the Japanese occupied the three northeastern provinces, puyi, who was pro-Japanese, tried to establish a puppet state of Manchukuo in order to restore the Qing Dynasty. The Japanese also found Zaitao and wanted to appoint him as the mayor of Peiping City, and got his support.
No matter how the Japanese threatened with gunpoint or seduced by power, the bold prince patted his chest and said firmly: "Come on, I still ride my own bicycle more comfortably!" "I refused Japan's offer.
What is completely different from Zaitao's approach is that there are still many Manchu Princes who learned that Puyi had established a pseudo-"Manchukuo" regime in the northeast, and they rushed to surrender, in a vain attempt to restore their former glory, and even betrayed the lives of the people and the interests of the country.
His relationship with Puyi's nephew also deteriorated even more after this, and his relationship with him was very unrelated since the three-year-old Puyi was carried into the palace by Cixi. And when he learned that Puyi colluded with the Japanese, he colluded with the Japanese in order to oppose Puyi, and the two were even more opposed, and the relationship became more and more distant.
In contrast, we can see that Zaitao's patriotism and pride as a Manchu nobleman, even if he has nothing, he is not willing to be pro-Japanese and unwilling to treason. It can be seen that he is indeed a bloody person, and he is not insulting the reputation of the dynasty's nobility.
In fact, it turns out that closing a window will open another door is very reasonable. Although he resolutely refused Puyi's invitation to the Japanese, he also got a new path in life.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he was appointed by the leaders as an adviser to the Ma Zheng Bureau of the Artillery Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, and also served as an adviser to the Civil Affairs Bureau of the General Logistics Department, a member of the State Nationalities Commission, a deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Committee, and a member of the Central Committee of the Kuomintang Revolutionary Committee. He is also a deputy to the First to Third National People's Congress and a member of the Second and Third National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
It was his firm refusal to treason with Puyi that he had a new life later, and it can be said that this was a very happy ending in the end.