The Guangxu Emperor began as a pro-government and always tried to seize power. But he didn't succeed in the end. So, why did the Guangxu Emperor always be locked to death by Cixi, he wanted to seize power, why did he never succeed?
First, Guangxu has a rope around his neck.
The Guangxu Emperor began to govern at the age of 16.
The reason why Empress Dowager Cixi chose Guangxu as Tongzhi's successor was because the Guangxu Emperor was still a child. A small child naturally cannot personally govern, so all the tasks in power can only be entrusted to Cixi.
(Guangxu Emperor)
When Guangxu grew up, Cixi had to follow her original promise and let Guangxu pro-government. However, Cixi was clearly unwilling to comply with this. Because returning power to Guangxu was uncomfortable for Cixi, who had a strong desire for power. Therefore, before Guangxu took over the government, Cixi began to plan ahead.
When Guangxu was 15 years old, Cixi announced that she wanted to make Guangxu pro-government as soon as possible. However, a group of ministers, represented by Prince Yizhen of Alcohol, immediately went up to cixi to plead with cixi, and although the emperor could personally govern, the empress dowager still could not "retire", and she had to check and "train the government" in government affairs. For all kinds of things in the imperial court, it was necessary to ask Empress Dowager Cixi for advice before they could report to the emperor. Until after the emperor's big wedding.
This statement actually shows that the pattern of Empress Dowager Cixi bowing to the government has not changed at all.
Later, when Guangxu got married, Cixi still did not delegate power, and it was also played by the ministers, cixi "reluctantly accepted it", and Cixi continued to enjoy the power of discipline in major matters. Once the emperor "Hu Lai", Cixi would come back at any time to listen to the government.
In this way, it is equivalent to Cixi putting a rope around Guangxu's neck, and this rope is still a living knot. As long as Cixi was not satisfied, she took the rope and pulled it, and immediately put Guangxu to death.
Second, Guangxu had no one to help him.
After Guangxu became pro-government, he always wanted to find some of his own helpers. He understood very well that without helpers, he would never be able to move Cixi.
But it is not easy to find helpers, and there must be opportunities. If he had recruited the ministers before he was pro-government, he would have aroused cixi's vigilance. And Guangxu was relatively cowardly by nature, so although he had such thoughts, he had never dared to make any moves.
After Guangxu took over the government, in fact, he did not dare to make any moves.
(Empress Dowager Cixi)
Guangxu really ushered in the opportunity after the Sino-Japanese War.
Because the Qing Dynasty lost very badly in the Sino-Japanese War, it caused widespread controversy throughout the country. Therefore, the voice of changing the law and trying to strengthen it has sounded all over the country. This was captured by Guangxu, so he began to form his own team and cultivate his own forces in the name of changing the law and trying to be strong.
However, Guangxu's behavior of cultivating his own forces was obviously very immature. The people he recruited throughout the country were Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, Liu Guangdi, Tan Sitong, and so on. Such students are indeed more enlightened in their thinking and have a better understanding of the world situation. But they have a big weakness, which is that they have no political basis. There was no support from the connections in the imperial court, and there was no hard power such as military power in hand. What can they do?
Saying that Guangxu is not sober enough lies in this. He did not understand that the movement he had launched was essentially a power grab. Since it is a power grab movement, we should find a way to get power into our hands. He must be able to control the power of the DPRK and China, and he must also be able to control the military power. The talents he recruited should mainly be those who held power. As for the radical intellectuals, it is entirely possible to have them act as think tanks. But what he needs to rely on are those who still have power.
At that time, there were two people, guangxu should have recruited them early, that is, Yuan Shikai and Rong Lu. In fact, it is gratifying that these two people are not opposed to the change of law, and even actively supported the change of law at the beginning. Yuan Shikai, in particular, was even one of the most positive forces in the change of law at the beginning. Rong Lu did not oppose the change of law, but he believed that it should be gradual, not abrupt.
Since these two people were initially active proponents of the law change and had a lot of power in their hands, they should be recruited. But Guangxu did not think of this.
Third, Guangxu lacks the necessary foundation.
At that time, only some intellectuals advocated changing the law and striving to become stronger. The vast majority of the poor people in China do not understand what the change of law is, nor do they support the change of law. Even due to the opposition of the old local landlords and old squires, they also regarded the change of law as a flood beast.
(Ronglu)
Of course, the mass base is not solid, and if Guangxu controls power, it doesn't really matter. The problem is that Guangxu does not control power, so those who oppose him naturally use this as an excuse.
In addition to the fact that Guangxu did not have the support of the people at home, he also did not receive support from abroad. Of course, if Guangxu wanted to gain foreign support, he might suffer losses in the colonial environment at that time. However, Guangxu could have borrowed the strength of his strength and borrowed the hands of some foreign powers to overthrow the Cixi clique and other powers. When he can make his own decisions, it is not too late to change the law.
Guangxu did not straighten out the political system, so he eventually messed up everything.
(Reference: Draft History of the Qing Dynasty)