In 1908, when Empress Dowager Cixi was seventy-four years old, she was already old and ill, and she had to rely on drugs to survive.
The Guangxu Emperor, who learned of this, smiled several times.
For more than thirty years, the Guangxu Emperor was nominally the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, but in fact he never had real power. Almost all of the affairs of the court were decided by Cixi, and the Guangxu Emperor was like a puppet, so he had to resign himself to it.
At this time, Cixi was seriously ill, and he knew that the opportunity had come. However, at this moment, the Guangxu Emperor was also bedridden. But he firmly believed that Empress Dowager Cixi would die before him.
Film and television stills of Cixi and Guangxu
However, the world was unpredictable, and at the time of his death, Empress Dowager Cixi actually lived a good life and was full of spirits. Even more, he took care of the aftermath for him, and how did he expect that Cixi, who was still busy in the morning, actually put on his birthday clothes in the afternoon.
The last day of Cixi's life
On November 14, 1908, the Guangxu Emperor died.
For a while, it went up and down the field, causing a stir. Although the Guangxu Emperor was indeed ill before this, it would not deteriorate to such an extent.
Therefore, everyone had a little suspicion in their hearts about the death of the Guangxu Emperor. Only, Empress Dowager Cixi behaved unusually calmly.
It should be known that in 1875, the guangxu emperor, who was only four years old, ascended the throne under cixi's arrangement. This seemingly unlimited emperor position never brought a trace of happiness to the Guangxu Emperor.
He had no real power other than the title of emperor. Before the age of seventeen, all the big and small things in the imperial court needed to be decided through Cixi. After the age of seventeen, the apparent power was handed over to the Guangxu Emperor, but any matter that the Guangxu Emperor had to make a decision to Cixi.
It was not until 1898 that the Guangxu Emperor began to gradually break away from Cixi's control. The conflict between the two provoked, and the Guangxu Emperor was placed under house arrest by Cixi until now.
On this day, Cixi unhurriedly handled the aftermath of the Guangxu Emperor and was busy until late. In fact, Empress Dowager Cixi has been plagued by diseases for more than a year, but these days she suddenly sees well, can get out of bed, can eat, and at the age of more than seventy years old, her thinking is still very clear.
Empress
Early the next morning, Empress Dowager Cixi began to get busy again. In addition to the aftermath of the Guangxu Emperor, she began to entrust several major events. She summoned the imperial court officials into the palace early to discuss the most urgent matter at the moment, that is, the matter of "establishing the reserve".
It is not difficult to understand that a country cannot be left without a monarch for a day. The Guangxu Emperor had died, and the Guangxu Emperor had no heirs, and did not leave any will.
Although in history, the harem cannot interfere in politics, but Cixi is different, she has been in dictatorship for decades, in the court, she has an unshakable position, "Li Chu" is not the first time. This time, the "establishment of reserves" can naturally be completed.
During the deliberations, the ministers of the military aircraft suggested one after another that when the country was in the midst of internal and external troubles, it should appoint an elderly and capable person as emperor.
When Empress Dowager Cixi heard this, her face was very displeased, and she rejected this proposal, and finally, at the insistence of Empress Dowager Cixi, puyi, who was only three years old, was made emperor and her father Zaifeng was put in charge of the state.
After arranging this, Cixi began to sort out the funerary items, which were not for the Guangxu Emperor, but for herself. She repeatedly explained to Li Lianying, the most trusted eunuch around her, that she must bury these funeral items with her, as if she knew that the time of death was not far from her.
As she had expected, after lunch she lay down, and she could no longer get up. At the last moment, in a weak tone, she issued one last order: "After that, women cannot predict the affairs of the country." This is contrary to the family law of this dynasty and must be strictly restricted. In particular, it is necessary to guard against eunuchs without authorization. The things of the end of the Ming Dynasty can be Yin Jian! ”
This final explanation seems to be somewhat ironic, ordering that women must not interfere in politics, and her whole life, she has never relaxed the regime, I don't know if at this last moment, she suddenly woke up, suddenly found herself in the bad consequences of politics.
However, it was already too late, and at 17:00 on the afternoon of the same day, Cixi passed away. Her life was over, and those mistakes could no longer be undone.
In just two days, the Guangxu Emperor and Empress Dowager Cixi, the two figures in charge of the Qing Dynasty, passed away one after another, leaving too many question marks for the world.
There are also rumors that the two died in two days, not a coincidence, but a conspiracy of Empress Dowager Cixi.
Ambitious and in power
Looking back at Empress Dowager Cixi's life, a woman's desire for power seems to exceed everything. In these few short decades, she firmly controlled the power, from a small concubine to a powerful empress dowager.
In 1852, at the age of seventeen, Cixi entered the imperial palace and became one of the many concubines of the Xianfeng Emperor with her good posture.
However, since the ancient emperor was very affectionate, Cixi's beauty did not really keep the Xianfeng Emperor.
The turning point of fate was in 1856, when Cixi gave birth to the only prince of the Xianfeng Emperor, Ai Xin Jueluo. Zaichun. Mother and son, Cixi has since gained more and more attention from the Xianfeng Emperor.
Cixi seized the opportunity, she used the crown prince to capture the xianfeng emperor's people, and then used her own talent to seize the heart of the xianfeng emperor.
At this time, Cixi, who was proficient in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, was one of the few talented women among many concubines. The Xianfeng Emperor was often attracted by her neat calligraphy and paintings, and the woman became more and more impressed.
In 1860, the British and French forces invaded Beijing, and the Taiping Rebellion broke out in the country. In such a severe situation at home, the Xianfeng Emperor fell ill.
Cixi, who was only 25 years old, began to wait day and night by the side of the Xianfeng Emperor to take care of his body, and every day he seemed to be worried. The Xianfeng Emperor saw this in his eyes and remembered it in his heart. In order not to let him worry too much, and because Cixi herself was excellent in calligraphy.
Therefore, the Xianfeng Emperor began to ask him to ghostwrite and approve the recital and let him express his opinion. What emperor Xianfeng did not expect was that Cixi was able to give unique opinions every time. He admired the woman even more, but he didn't know that it was such a move that led Cixi to the center of power.
Xianfeng Emperor
In August 1961, the Xianfeng Emperor died. The emperor's eldest son Zaichun succeeded to the throne smoothly, that is, the Tongzhi Emperor.
When the Tongzhi Emperor ascended the throne, he was only 5 years old. When The Xianfeng Emperor was alive, Cixi had already participated indirectly in politics, so when the Tongzhi Emperor ascended the throne, she began to have new plans. At Cixi's suggestion, she and Empress Dowager Ci'an began to bow to the government. Her son, Emperor Tongzhi, on the other hand, was like a puppet and had no real power.
After years of holding power, Cixi seemed addicted. When the Tongzhi Emperor was seventeen years old and had to return to power, she still had no choice. In order to continue to engage in politics, she continued to operate secretly by virtue of her many years of connections in the court. Until the Tongzhi Emperor was 19 years old, he died of illness.
The two empresses, Cixi and Ci'an, once again entered the court. Since the Tongzhi Emperor had no children, Cixi wanted to set up another person as a reserve. At this time, Cixi had already made up her mind.
Film and television drama image
She chose to love Shin Kyora. Loads. Of course, the choice of Zai Xiang is selfish, Zai Xiang is the son of her own sister Wanzhen, such a kinship relationship, she is better controlled. More importantly, Zai Xiang was only four years old, and the sealing of Zai Xiang as emperor was equivalent to the power of the dynasty again in his own hands.
The subsequent trend was indeed the same, and in 1875, emperor Zai Xiangdeng, that is, the Guangxu Emperor, Cixi and Ci'an once again bowed to the government.
During this period, Cixi made many achievements, not only recovering the lost Xinjiang, but also recovering most of the land in Ili. At the same time, Cixi's ambition to monopolize power became more and more ambitious.
After Ci'an's sudden death in 1881, Cixi took sole power.
Relations between Cixi and the Guangxu Emperor deteriorated
Without Ci'an, Cixi became more and more proud in the court. It seems that the whole Qing Dynasty has become her world. Ostensibly, the emperor is the head of a country, and for her, the emperor cannot hinder her.
Empress
Just like the Previous Tongzhi Emperor, nominally, the Tongzhi Emperor held power for two years. In fact, in the past two years, Cixi has never really withdrawn from the political arena.
Not to mention the current Guangxu Emperor, who was sitting in the world under the support of Cixi, and by virtue of his own, he had no way to convince the courtiers. Therefore, Cixi was quite confident, and the Guangxu Emperor could only be a puppet of his own.
Who knows, everything did not go as she wished. As time went on, the Guangxu Emperor became less and less out of his control.
In 1883, during the Sino-French War, at the behest of Cixi, the two countries signed the Sino-French New Treaty, which led China to enter a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. The then fourteen-year-old Guangxu Emperor was dissatisfied, but he was powerless to resist.
In 1894, the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War broke out, and in order to successfully celebrate her sixtieth birthday, Cixi used all the funds that should be used as military expenses to repair the Summer Palace.
Photo of Cixi's sixtieth birthday
The Treaty of Maguan, an unequal treaty that humiliated the country, was also signed, and the Chinese side not only gave up its suzerainty status to Korea, but also lost Taiwan, the Liaodong Peninsula, the Penghu Islands and other places, and even compensated 200 million taels of silver.
This incident caused anti-Qing sentiment throughout the country to begin, and the Guangxu Emperor also had great dissatisfaction with Cixi. However, for a time, the Guangxu Emperor was unable to regain all power. He could only try to persuade Cixi to save the country and save the people, and in order to stabilize the people's hearts, Cixi agreed to the Guangxu Emperor's request.
On June 11, 1898, a national salvation movement organized by the Reformers began. This top-down movement to change the law, with the support of the Guangxu Emperor and the active promotion of Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao and others, was quite effective.
The Guangxu Emperor also seems to have truly found the concept of governing the country, and in this change of law, his thinking is no longer imprisoned, and he began to cultivate a large number of talents and actively crack down on stubborn forces.
Such a change made Cixi, who has always held power, more sensitive. She found that after the Guangxu Emperor changed his law, he became more independent. In the past, the Guangxu Emperor would ask her about the affairs of the court. Nowadays, whether in the selection of people or when making decisions, the Guangxu Emperor basically skipped Cixi directly and made his own decisions, and Cixi vaguely felt a threat.
At the same time, the change of law infringed on the interests of the conservative faction of the court, causing the conservative faction to constantly stand up and stop it. Empress Dowager Cixi also began to concentrate all her military power in her own hands.
The Guangxu Emperor's heart for changing the law was extremely firm, and he did not want to show weakness, and began to dismiss the people who obstructed the change of the law one by one, and promoted Tan Sitong, Liu Guangdi, and others. This act completely angered Cixi.
Finally, with Cixi's intervention, the Guangxu Emperor was imprisoned and Tan Si and his men were killed. This 100-day change of law finally ended in failure. At the same time, it also led to a complete deterioration in relations between Cixi and the Guangxu Emperor.
Arrangements for Cixi before her death
After the coup d'état, the Guangxu Emperor began his long career as a prisoner. During this period, Cixi repeatedly wanted to depose the emperor and re-choose the person she was satisfied with.
Film and television drama image
However, with the interference of the government and the opposition and foreign powers, she ultimately failed. However, the Guangxu Emperor had become a thorn in her side.
In 1900, when the Eight-Power Alliance invaded Beijing, Cixi thought she would die. At this time, she planned that the Guangxu Emperor would also have to die before herself.
Later, she did not die at the hands of the Eight-Power Alliance. As she grew older, Cixi's body deteriorated day by day.
In 1908, Cixi was even more ill. Coincidentally, this year, the Guangxu Emperor also suddenly fell seriously ill.
The Guangxu Emperor, who was still in captivity, inadvertently learned that Cixi was seriously ill, and secretly rejoiced in his heart, perhaps thinking that Cixi was too old, and although he was infected with the disease, he was still young after all, and when Cixi died, his opportunity came.
If there were no accidents, perhaps the direction after that was really like what the Guangxu Emperor had in mind. However, he wrote such an idea into his diary, and what was even more helpless was that this diary was also discovered by Li Lianying, a eunuch beside Cixi.
Li Lianying
When Cixi learned of this, she was furious and gritted her teeth to say that she would not die before the Guangxu Emperor.
For Cixi, if the Guangxu Emperor really came back to power, then her cronies around her would definitely not have a good end. Not only that, she herself was likely to be smeared by the Guangxu Emperor in her lifetime, or even depose herself as empress dowager, and she could not enjoy the funeral rites of the empress dowager after her death. All this was unacceptable to Cixi.
Therefore, the Guangxu Emperor absolutely could not regain power.
This is why, in this year, Cixi brought Puyi, the son of the regent Zaifeng, into the palace in advance, and she had already made plans to support Puyi to the throne.
From all indications, the day before the Guangxu Emperor died in Cixi seemed to become more and more strange, as if Cixi had already played a game of chess, and under her arrangement, step by step into her plan.
Solve the mystery of a century
However, all this is only a speculation, and so far, no one can confirm that the Guangxu Emperor died at the hands of Cixi.
Film and television drama image
All along, there have been three theories about the death of the Guangxu Emperor.
One is that Cixi sent people to poison and kill them. At this time, the Guangxu Emperor was imprisoned by Cixi and controlled by Cixi, and it was not difficult to poison him. According to historical records, before the Guangxu Emperor died, he rolled around in bed, and kept muttering that his stomach hurt, his face was black, and there seemed to be no connection with the previous illness, and it was indeed like poisoning to death.
The second theory is that Yuan Shikai secretly poisoned the hand, in the Wushu Change, Yuan Shikai betrayed the Guangxu Emperor, if Cixi died, the Guangxu Emperor took power, Yuan Shikai will have no way to live, so he gave a dead hand. However, this statement is not very reasonable, because Yuan Shikai was far away in Anyang, Henan during this period, and even if he had the heart, he was not able to do it.
The third theory is that he died of illness, first, the Guangxu Emperor himself had a disease in his own body, coupled with years of imprisonment, perennial depression, and finally the disease overwhelmed him. This statement is shared by many people.
Since there is no definite evidence, the death of the Guangxu Emperor has been a mystery in people's minds for many years.
Until 2008, relevant experts, through research, finally got the final answer - the Guangxu Emperor died of arsenic poisoning.
At this point, the mystery of the century has finally been solved.
However, who exactly ordered this poison? In front of the screen you, how to look, welcome to comment.