In the early days of the Republic of China, there were many influential figures, zhang xun was one of them, he was a new person in Jiangxi Fengxin, born in 1854. When he was a teenager, Zhang Xun's parents died of illness one after another, and in order to earn a living, he worked odd jobs everywhere and tasted the hardships of life. In 1884, the 30-year-old Zhang Xun joined the Qing army in Changsha, and because of his bravery in battle, he was appreciated by the Qing court and gradually promoted to imperial bodyguard. Zhang Xun was alert and good at observing the color of speech, and soon became a red man in front of Empress Dowager Cixi, and a few years later he was released as the viceroy of Jiangnan.
From an orphan to a local official, Zhang Xun believed that all this was given to him by the Qing court, so he vowed to be loyal to the Qing Dynasty. After the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution, the late Qing Dynasty was shaky, and in response to the revolution, many people cut their braids. But Zhang Xun not only retained his own braids, but also forbade his subordinates to cut braids, and his army was also known as the "braid army". Although Zhang Xun was still working to save the Qing Dynasty, it was difficult to support alone. Under the persecution of Yuan Shikai, Puyi was forced to abdicate, and the Qing Dynasty was declared extinct.
After Puyi announced his abdication, Zhang Xun wept bitterly, like a mourning concubine. Yuan Shikai was still not satisfied after becoming the president and wanted to be emperor. Because Zhang Xun had military power in his hands, Yuan Shikai also extended an olive branch to him. At that time, Yuan Shikai's power was very large, and Zhang Xun had to bend over backwards in order to protect himself. Yuan Shikai was proclaimed empress dowager, and Zhang Xun was made a first-class duke. Although the title was not low, Zhang Xun was not cold to Yuan Shikai, and behind his back, he contacted various forces and prepared to oppose Yuan.
In order to claim the title of emperor, Yuan Shikai did not hesitate to betray the interests of the state and committed public anger, and even his close generals Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang and others also left him, and yuan shikai died in internal and external difficulties soon after. Soon Li Yuanhong became the president, but the real power was in the hands of The Prime Minister Duan Qirui. In order to participate in the First World War, Li Yuanhong and Duan Qirui had a conflict, which made Zhang Xun, who was bent on restoration, see the opportunity. He secretly contacted and formed the Thirteen Provinces Alliance, and when the time came, he let Puyi restore it.
In June 1917, Zhang Xun, in the name of mediating in the "dispute between the government and the courtyard", led the "Braid Army" into Beijing and supported Puyi's restoration. Because of his support, Zhang Xun was made a parliamentary minister by Puyi, a viceroy directly subordinate to the viceroy, a minister of Beiyang, and also became the Prince of Zhongyong, a very popular minister. Kang Youwei originally wanted to become a cabinet scholar, but because he did not have a beard, he was opposed by Zhang Xun, and finally only became the vice president of the Bow De Academy. Zhang Xun was full of anger and sent a telegram to the provinces, demanding that they immediately "obey Zhengshuo and hang the dragon flag."
Zhang Xun originally thought that he had the Thirteen Provinces Alliance as a backer, and this restoration would definitely succeed, but unexpectedly, his so-called alliances were all wall grass, and after Duan Qirui raised an army, they all turned against each other. Soon Zhang Xun was defeated by Duan Qirui and fled to Tianjin. It is said that Zhang Xun, who did a farce of restoration, should be wanted by the Beiyang government, but unexpectedly, half a year later, the Beiyang government not only pardoned Zhang Xun, but also made him the national forestry inspector on the grounds that "talent is rare", which is a strange thing.
But what is even more bizarre is that Zhang Xun felt that this official was too small and refused to take office. In Tianjin, Zhang Xun bought more than 70 properties, and there were more than a hundred servants in the family, and he was very rich, and some estimates that his assets exceeded 60 million oceans at that time. In his lifetime, Zhang Xun married a total of 11 wives and concubines. His wife's name was Cao Qin, and Zhang Xun was still a poor boy at the time, and Cao Qin suffered a lot with him, and later she was named Lady Yipin by the late Qing Dynasty. After Zhang Xun's death, he successively married ten young and beautiful concubines.
After escaping to Tianjin, Zhang Xun was 64 years old, and his health was not as good as before, and he could not be evenly exposed to rain and dew. The third aunt was too impatient to be lonely, and got along with one of Zhang Xun's lieutenants. In order to completely get rid of Zhang Xun, the third aunt came up with a way to pretend to be crazy and sell stupid, she stripped naked and ran around the house, and talked nonsense. Zhang Xun thought that the third aunt was really crazy, so he used a letter of resignation to drive her out of the house. This matter was a sensation at the time and became the talk of many people after tea and dinner.
Later, when the third aunt talked about Zhang Xun, he said that he had a strange habit of sleeping, liked to use the concubine's body as a pillow, during which the concubine would be punched and kicked by him if she made a slight movement. The third aunt said that she had been beaten by Zhang Xun many times because of this, so she would eventually leave him. Maybe there is a real thing, or maybe the third aunt deliberately smeared Zhang Xun for her own excuse, the truth is, perhaps only the parties themselves know best.
Zhang Xun's local concept is very heavy, and after his founding, he built a large tile house for each family of the villagers in his hometown of Akada Village, and also funded the establishment of the Jiangxi Guild Hall in Beijing, which specially funded Jiangxi students and poor people in Beijing. After Zhang Xun's death, the coffin was transported back to his hometown for burial, and the local people thanked him for his kindness and spontaneously came to the funeral. Many celebrities also sent a link to praise his lonely loyalty.