Yuan Shikai and Xu Shichang are both figures who left great influence in the history of the late Qing Dynasty and the early Ming Dynasty. Xu Shichang and Yuan Shikai were young and righteous, and after becoming officials, they also took care of each other, and both of them achieved the positions of military minister, governor of the Qing Dynasty, and president of the Republic of China.
Compared with Yuan Shikai, Xu has less decisiveness and courage, but more wisdom and caution. It is also this personality that makes the two act complementarily, cooperate and do things, and eventually become the supreme ruler of China for a short time. The friendship between the two runs through many events at this historical juncture, and looking back on this history is complex and profound.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" >, the harmony of culture and martial arts, and the betrayal of the law</h1>
Xu Shichang, Zi Bu Wu, Ju Cun, also known as Ju Ren, ancestral home of Zhejiang. When he was young, the Xu family was not a rich and noble family, but it was also a scholarly family. Unfortunately, Xu's father Xu Jiaxian died young, and the Xu family slowly declined. Therefore, Xu is determined to study hard and study hard.
One day, Xu Fengzhi entered the Yuan mansion. Yuan Shikai saw that the people outside the door were refreshed, and after getting up to greet the guests, he knew Xu's origin. Then the two talked loudly, only to feel that the meeting was late. Since then, the two have formed a friendship for 37 years. For Xu's family poverty, Yuan also generously donated money to help Xu Beishang take the imperial examination. Xu Ye was also intelligent, raised in mid-1882, jinshi in mid-186, and then tried to be ranked second in the temple, and in 1989 he was awarded the title of editor of The Hanlin Academy. Yuan Ze failed the township examination twice, abandoned the military and made many meritorious contributions, and had rich experience in fighting against Japan (he was stationed in Korea after the Pingding Jiashen Mutiny, served as the minister of negotiation and commerce, and returned to China before the Sino-Japanese War).
In 1895, after the defeat of the Sino-Japanese War, Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao took the lead in the active youth of the United Nations and launched the famous "Bus To Book" movement, and the idea of restorationism gradually became known.
Yuan Xu was very tacit in seeing this opportunity. Yuan gained the trust of Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao and others by virtue of his experience in fighting against Japan, and Xu also joined the Restoration Faction. In August 1895, Yuan and Xu joined the Qiang Society. Later, Yuan Xu also proposed to the imperial court to change the law, but the imperial court was already in contention with the emperor (Guangxu) and the empress dowager (Cixi), and the Guangxu Emperor who supported the restoration faction did not hold the military power, so the resistance to the reform of the restoration was extremely great.
At this time, Yuan Shikai, who was training troops at a small station and had a certain amount of military power, became the focus of this bureau. On the 16th, the Guangxu Emperor promoted Yuan to be an alternate for the military attendant; on the 18th, the Restoration sent Tan Si to visit Yuan Shikai on the same night, hoping that he would kill Rong Lu and imprison Cixi (Rong Lu: Cixi's general in charge of the army, Yuan's immediate superior, and his affection for Yuan). The time to stand in line has finally arrived.
From the promotion of the Guangxu Emperor on the 16th to Tan Si's night visit on the 18th, Yuan and Xu discussed night and night afterwards, and finally the two decided to betray the Restoration faction and entrust ronglu and Pan to the secret operations of the restoration faction. This was followed by the Cixi coup d'état, kang youwei and Liang Qichao fled to Japan, and the six gentlemen of Wushu, led by Tan Sitong, died for the change of law. Yuan and Xu were appreciated by Cixi and gradually reused.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > two, the same suffering, common glory and disgrace</h1>
In 1900, the Qing government was tired of dealing with the Boxers and the Eight-Nation Alliance, and the army suffered heavy casualties. The Qing government decided to organize a new army shortly after, which also laid the groundwork for the new policy at the end of the Qing Dynasty.
At this time, Yuan Shikai, who already had more than 14,000 people in his hands, still wanted to seize this opportunity to expand his own strength, so he recommended Xu Shichang, and then Xu Shichang was appointed as the general office of government affairs, and then under the recommendation of Yuan, he was again appointed as the training department of the army, so that Yuan and Xu were basically in control of all the state's military training powers.
After the completion of the training, Yuan went to the imperial court to manage the affairs of staying in Beijing with Xu, and the military power was completely consolidated by Yuan Shikai and Xu Shichang. From this, we can also see the deep friendship between Yuan and Xu.
Subsequently, Xu Shichang implemented the police administration (at that time, the Qing government did not have such a group as a policeman) and set up patrol police schools to a certain extent, which improved the level of social security in that period to a certain extent, and from another point of view, the Beiyang clique headed by Yuan Shikai and Xu Shichang further controlled the central intelligence and played a role in promoting the further expansion of the Beiyang forces.
At the same time, due to the high voice of the people for a constitution, Yuan Shikai, Zhang Zhidong, and Zhou Fu jointly played it, and the draft was written by Xu Shichang, hoping to implement the constitution. However, in the process of constitution-making, Xu and Yuan became enemies of the Manchus, and after the reform order was issued, Yuan lost part of his military power and lost his official position, and Xu also applied for resignation, but was not approved, it can be said that the two brothers experienced "common suffering" this time. However, later Xu and Yuan implemented the new policy in the three northeastern provinces, and the effect was remarkable, and some of their strength was restored.
When the Xinhai Revolution broke out and the Qing government asked Yuan to re-lead his troops against Sun Yat-sen, Xu took the opportunity to come forward and communicate with Yuan, who succeeded in regaining military power. Subsequently, Sun Yat-sen and Yuan Shikai held peace talks, Xu repeatedly triumphed with the Qing court, and finally the Qing Emperor abdicated, the Qing Dynasty rule ended, Yuan was successfully elected as the provisional president of the Republic of China, and Xu was later inaugurated as secretary of state.
Subsequently, the two brothers supported them all the way to the president and secretary of state respectively, but the relationship between the two people also underwent subtle changes later.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > three, I treat you as a brother, but you want to be my master? </h1>
After Yuan became president, he did not continue to innovate, but encouraged the retro wind, once wearing a clean dress to attend the festival feast on the Duanyang Festival, and held the Temple of Heaven Festival on December 23, 1914. One of the ideas that the Temple of Heaven wanted to spread was "divine right of kings", so that the idea of "restoration" spread in China.
At the same time, Japan occupied Qingdao and made the infamous 21 demands. Yuan and Xu knew japan's ambitions to dominate China, so they also tried their best to negotiate. However, Yuan also did not want to offend the Japanese, so as not to delay his restoration, so in the end he still agreed to all the requirements except the fifth article.
Subsequently, Yuan believed that he had the support of the Japanese, and co-opted his cronies to establish the Preparatory Committee and published the "Theory of The Constitution of the Monarchy and National Salvation", which was intended to fully support Yuan Shikai's claim to the throne. After the article was published, the public reaction was fierce, and the country was again in turmoil. Xu Shichang, who had never spoken out, stood up at this time and announced the restriction of the preparatory committee to calm the people's anger.
What is interesting is the role played by Xu Shichang in this process, at this time Xu Shichang became a bystander, on the one hand, he clearly knew Yuan's ambition to claim the emperor, on the other hand, he also knew that the people's will was monstrous, and the people did not want to see Yuan called emperor.
However, he did not give any opinion or dissuasion to Yuan. Some documents say: Yuan found Xu for an interview and asked: "Does the eldest brother know about the external persuasion?" Is it feasible? Xu was silent and said, "I don't know about this." Yuan said: "The publicity in the outside world has been going on for a long time, how can you not know?" Xu replied: "To know is to know, and not to know is to not know." "
At this time, Xu's personality was fully displayed: clever and cunning, knowing that Yuan's idea had been decided, saying that the emperor's wheel had been turned on, and he could not turn the front of the car, so he did not dissuade him. The eyes are poisonous and the mind is cautious. He had already foreseen the fate of Yuan forcibly claiming the title of emperor, and stripped himself from this whirlpool.
When Yuan claimed that the emperor was in full swing, Xu decided to resign from illness, and when Yuan repeatedly retained him, Xu said: "Those who lift big things must not leave a lot of room, if they let their relatives and nobles know that they are in the game, in case things do not go well, no one speaks as an outsider to seek a turnaround, and when a certain person asks for it at this time, he must not calculate for himself." As soon as this remark came out, people had to sigh Xu's old spicy.
On December 12, 1915, Yuan Shikai admitted to the title of emperor. Yuan announced that Xu Shichang, Zhao Erxun, Li Jingxi, and Zhang Jian were the "Four Friends of Songshan". The "Four Friends of Song Mountain" have the privilege of kneeling without being called subjects, appreciating the courtesy of the court, changing shoulders to the inner palace, and giving each person an annuity of 20,000 yuan. Xu did not comment on this title and resigned from Yuan's position as a "consulting" elder.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > four, give you the last ride</h1>
The silent opposition of old friends did not awaken Yuan Shikai, who was already drunk on the title of emperor, and on December 31, Yuan Shikai's Beiyang government officially announced the change of the state system to the imperial system, and changed the second year to the first year of Hong Xian, and the former presidential palace was also transformed into Xinhua Palace, although the country was still nominally called the Republic of China.
The four words "things are not going well" seem to be Xu Shichang's last prophecy to his old friend. On the first day of Hong Xian's first year, Tang Jiyao, the governor of Yunnan, went out to Yunnan and swore to protect the country. The so-called blessings are incomparable, and the misfortunes are not alone. On January 15, 1916, Japan, which Yuan Shikai regarded as a reliance, sent a note to China, asking for a suspension of the dispatch of Chinese envoys to Japan to celebrate the coronation of the emperor, indicating his attitude of staying away from Yuan Shikai, which undoubtedly poured cold water on Yuan Shikai's dream of emperor.
Soon after, the national defense movement broke out one after another. After Yunnan, Guangxi and Guizhou successively declared independence, and Feng Guozhang, Duan Qirui and other old subordinates also began to violate the yin and yang, and frequently contacted the defending army, Feng Guozhang was passive and sluggish at the front, and Duan Qirui refused to contribute in the rear. Xu Shichang once wrote to Yuan Shikai hoping that he would abandon the imperial system: "But it is still possible to turn around now, and there will be no room for this." Yuan Shikai also regretted facing such a decadent situation, but it was too late.
On March 21, Yuan Shikai sent a telegram to Xu Shichang, Duan Qirui and others to discuss how to abolish the imperial system, and finally the next day, Xu Shichang became secretary of state again, announcing the abolition of the imperial system. But the situation has developed so far, whether it is the National Protector Army or Beiyang itself, there is more than one simply abolishing the imperial system, they want Yuan Shikai to abdicate. During this period, Xu Shichang ran around and pleaded with Kang Youwei, Wu Tingfang, Zhang Qian and other mediators in the middle, hoping to give his old friends a step down, but they were all rejected.
With Chen Shufan in Shaanxi, Chen Eunuch in Sichuan, Tang Qianming in Hunan and other Yuan clan henchmen turning against each other, coupled with the fact that Yuan Shikai was diagnosed with uremia in June and his condition continued to deteriorate, on June 6, Yuan Shikai finally died in the imperial dream. On the 28th, after Xu Shichang presided over the funeral of his former friend, the friendship between the two was buried in history forever with Yuan Shikai's coffin.
Looking back on the 37-year friendship between the two, from the original mutual promotion, conspiracy to the world, to the end of the friends obsessed, parting ways. Xu Is really a resourceful and changeable person, who can see the situation clearly at many moments, and even in the final split with Yuan, there is also a hint of calculation to leave a way back for his friends in the future.
Xu has a trendy idea, a vision and ability to reform. The only regret is that he is still bound by the old bureaucratic thinking, cautious and cautious, living for himself, with his and Yuan's talents, not only failed to leave fruitful results for the Chinese nation, but also carried the insult of betraying the restoration and restoring the emperor, which is really sighing.