In the historical drama "Toward the Republic", Rong Lu's appearance gives people a very hasty appearance, but after the Sino-Japanese War, he succeeded Li Hongzhang as the governor of directly subordinate and the minister of Beiyang. Many people do not know too much about the first half of his life and how he gained Cixi's favor.
There are many stories about the palace of Rong Lu and Empress Dowager Cixi in the history of the wild, so what about the relationship between the real Rong Lu and Empress Dowager Cixi?
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="3" > Ronglu's background</h1>
Rong Lu, of the Guarjia clan, was born in the sixteenth year of Daoguang. Rong Lu's grandfather, father, and uncle were all Eight Banner officers, who participated in the suppression of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement and died in battle, and were particularly praised by the imperial court, and the Xianfeng Emperor issued a commendation, praising the Guarjia clan as "Shi Du Loyal". It was through this ancestral shadow that Rong Lu entered the official field and was always appreciated by the emperor.
Rong Lu's Zhengbai Banner belongs to the "Three Banners of Shang", which has unique conditions in the future of his career, plus he comes from a military family and has military merits in his ancestors. Therefore, in the early years of Tongzhi, he was appointed as the chief of the Ministry of Works, and later, due to the appreciation of the Prince of Alcohol and the Minister of Military Aircraft, Bao Zheng, he rose all the way up, and by the fifth year of Tongzhi, he was promoted to the position of Attendant of the Ministry of Works and Minister of internal affairs.
Although Rong Lu was born into the Manchurian nobility, compared with Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, Li Hongzhang and others in the same period, he was obviously a generation lower, and he did not establish military merit himself. Therefore, in the Tongzhi era, Ronglu's position was not prominent, and at most belonged to the second echelon of figures.
In fact, there are not a few Manchu nobles who came out of the Three Banners and are from a military family, and Ronglu is not the most prominent. However, he has an advantage that no one else can match, and that is his in-law relationship with the Aisin Kyora family.
Ronglu succeeded the Sakda clan as the daughter of the imperial bodyguard Xi Rabu, and was related to the Xianfeng Emperor's concubine Sakda clan. After the death of Sakda's illness, Rong Lu continued to marry Ai Xinjue Luoshi, the daughter of Zongmu Linggui. Ronglu's eldest daughter was the wife of Prince Shiduozi Chenghou of Li, and Beizi Pulun married Ronglu's niece Guarjia as his successor. More politically significant, after Gengzi returned to Luang, Cixi married Ronglu's young daughter to Zaifeng the Prince of Alcohol, and later gave birth to Emperor Xuantong Puyi. These marriages are undoubtedly a powerful guarantee for consolidating their power.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="25" > setbacks away from the core of power</h1>
The first year of Guangxu was an important turning point in Rong Lu's career, because after the death of Emperor Tongzhi, he firmly sided with Cixi, made great contributions to the court to welcome the Guangxu Emperor, and also let Cixi hang the curtain again as he wished. In this year he was appointed commander of the infantry, the Admiral of the Nine Doors. This was his first time in charge of military power and was valued by Empress Dowager Cixi. In the following two years, he was promoted to the left capital Yushi and Gongbu Shangshu, becoming a rising star among the Manchu nobility.
However, Rong Lu was young after all, with little experience and lack of experience, and when Guangxu was three years old, he was forced to resign due to offending The Prince of Alcohol and the military ministers Bao Zheng and Shen Guifen. For the next three years, he remained idle at home, unofficial and light.
In the seventh year of Guangxu, Empress Dowager Cixi, in view of Ronglu's rare talent, reinstated him as a general in Xi'an, and Ronglu lay dormant in Xi'an for three years. As for why Cixi wanted Rong Lu to take up his post in Xi'an, there are not many records in the historical records, and it is estimated that Cixi firstly wanted to protect him and prevent him from falling again in the midst of the capital, and second, to let him get experience.
Many yeshi notes record that Rong Lu was Cixi's first love, and their relationship when he was a child was very close, if it were not for Cixi's draft into the palace, they might have married. However, this record has no basis and is not highly credible. But it is almost certain that Cixi still has a good impression of Ronglu and recognizes his personal ability.
He rose again to become Cixi's confidant
After the defeat in the Battle of Jiawu, Rong Lu was recommended by Yi Bi, who had once again come out of the mountains, as the commander of the infantry, and in 1895, Rong Lu was appointed as the Shangshu of the Military Department and the Admiral of the Nine Doors, and was awarded the title of Prime Minister Yamen Minister, ranking among the centers.
Ronglu was really trusted by Cixi as a confidant, but during the Penghu Reform Law, in 1898, just as the Guangxu Emperor was actively promoting the reform and reform of the law, Cixi, in order to firmly grasp the military power, granted Ronglu Wenyuange University a scholar, acting viceroy and minister of Beiyang.
On the eve of the coup d'état, Rong Lu returned to Beijing to participate in and influence the coup, and I Cixi provided armed support. After the coup d'état, Rong Lu stepped down as a directly subordinate governor and became a military minister, managing the military department and controlling the Beiyang armies, at this time Rong Lu was already the first minister to hold the military and political power.
In 1900, the Eight-Power Alliance attacked Beijing, known in history as the "Gengzi Incident", Cixi was forced to flee west, and RongLu stayed in Beijing to do business. But soon, Cixi asked him to rush to Xi'an and take charge of all the affairs in the line. During this period, he coordinated with Li Hongzhang and Yi Xi in Beijing to negotiate with the great powers, vigorously safeguarded Cixi's rights and interests, and worked hard for the signing of the Treaty of Xinugu and Cixi's return to Luang.
After Cixi returned to Luang, she began to implement the New Deal, with Rong Lu as the head of the Household Department of Mandarin University to preside over the affairs of the New Deal. At the same time, Cixi married Ronglu's younger daughter to Zaifeng the Prince of Alcohol, further consolidating his in-law relationship with the Ai Xinjue Luo family. Later, Rong Lu's daughter gave birth to Puyi, and he became the grandfather of the last emperor.
Rong Lu was a rare talent among the Manchu nobility, and he was evaluated in the Draft History of the Qing Dynasty as a statesman and military figure in the history of the late Qing Dynasty. More precisely, he was Cixi's right-hand man and loyal domestic slave, and as long as he was in Cixi, he could sit back and relax. However, in 1903, Rong Lu died of illness, and Cixi posthumously honored him as Taifu (太傅), 谥文忠, and a baron of the first rank of Jin. Rong Lu's life has gone through the ups and downs of the eunuch sea, and he is a staunch post-party member, who has sided with Cixi in many political events in the late Qing Dynasty, and has made great contributions to maintaining the stability of the Great Qing Dynasty.
Cixi's evaluation of him was: Rong Lu, a minister of military aircraft at Wenhuadian University, gongzhong liangda, and a deep knowledge of Hong. He started his career as a chancellor, general, and governor of the Ministry of internal affairs. Promoted to the throne, Yi Zanlun is there, trying his best to reconcile China and foreign countries, the old man is heavy, and Kuang Ji is difficult. Overall, this evaluation is generally reliable.