Liu Kunyi: The "Pillar Minister" of the Late Qing Imperial Court

Liu Pei

Liu Kunyi (1830-1902), a native of Xinning, Hunan Province, was an important general of the Xiang Army in the late Qing Dynasty and a famous minister of Zhongxing. In the fifth year of Xianfeng of the Qing Dynasty (1855), at the invitation of his nephew Liu Changyou, he joined the Xiang Army Chu Yong as a Xiusheng (Xiucai), accompanied the army to aid Jiangxi, transferred to Hunan, Guangxi and other places, and was appreciated by the Qing court for his outstanding combat achievements, and moved to the governor of Liangjiang and the minister of trade and commerce of Nanyang, in charge of the political side, and became the "pillar minister" of the late Qing court. Zhang Zhidong praised: "The official is honest and generous, does not seek the name of the great name, but is in a difficult situation, maintains the overall situation, resolutely takes responsibility, never shirks, his loyalty is clear and decisive, he can judge major things, and he has the style of an ancient famous minister." ”

Rectify the rule of officials and store talents

The late Qing officials were seriously corrupt, and Liu Kunyi, who was born in Rong Ma, had a deep understanding. He believed that to be an official, one should be "simple in heart and honest in conduct", and if "the conquest is tyrannical, the people will be overwhelmed and it will be difficult to stabilize the political situation", so "the way of government is in the way of people, and it is necessary to clean up the source." Rectifying the rule of officials and selecting meritocracy and ability are important measures throughout his 40 years in politics.

In the fourth year of Tongzhi of the Qing Dynasty (1865), Liu Kunyi was appointed governor of Jiangxi. The focus of its administration is, first, to pursue and suppress the remnants of the Taiping Army, and second, to restore and develop the social economy that has been seriously damaged by war. At the same time, the purge of officials did not dare to slacken in the slightest. In his compromise to the Qing court, he said: "At present, the neighboring atmosphere is not pacified, the defense is not afraid to neglect a little, and the opportunity to sort out the chaos in the deep region is not related to the rule of the husband." Jiangxi passed through the wars, the people were in dire straits, the people's customs were gradually thinning, and Yan Leli was far inferior to the past. Since his arrival, he has paid detailed visits." He focused on purging officials and selecting local officials who were virtuous and loving the people, and punishing corrupt and incompetent people. Only four months after taking over as governor of Jiangxi, Liu Kunyi removed local officials such as Dong Jingxuan of Jianchang Prefecture, Wu Bingheng of Raozhou Prefectural Prefecture, Gao Yanyan of Nankang Prefecture, Liu Jinqing of Xinjinzhi Prefecture, Cheng Naiwen of Xinjinzhi County, Wu Hongqing of Chongyi Zhi County, Yao Jinwei of Xinchangzhi County, and Xirong of Linchuan Zhi County.

In the third year of Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1876), Liu Kunyi became the governor of Liangguang. During his term of office, in addition to the outstanding results in rectifying the rule of officials and appointing officials to insert their cronies, he also gave up his personal interests, and when the treasury in Guangdong Province was empty, and when he was often unable to make ends meet and had no other spare funds to raise, he donated 150,000 taels of silver with the surplus of his honest money, released the treasury as a public item, and forwarded it to China Merchants Bureau to receive interest on an annual basis for the purpose of storing and nurturing foreign talents, so that he could devote himself to studying in the west, and the remaining funds were used to help relief, repair embankments, and various charitable deeds.

In the 16th year of Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1890), Liu Kun repeatedly served as the governor of Liangjiang and was also the minister of trade and trade affairs of Nanyang. At the beginning of his term of office, he began to rectify the rule of officials, vigorously rewarded morale, and eliminated greedy and incompetent people. In order to establish a good political atmosphere, Liu Kunyi attached great importance to the cultivation and appointment of talents, and recommended to the Qing court a number of officials with good political achievements who were close to the people, such as Xu Baoshu, the prefect of Yangzhou Prefecture, Wang Renkan, the prefect of Zhenjiang, Ruan Zutang, the alternate prefect, and Weng Yannian of Qinghe County. For incompetent and despicable officials, such as Xiao Yunwen, a Taoist in Anhui, who had embezzled huge sums of money, raised the price of coal, demanded money from the clan, and traveled in Shanghai, Liu Kunyi reported them to the imperial court and removed them from their posts and punished. After Liu Kunyi resolutely rectified the rule of officials in the two provinces and three provinces, the quality and administrative efficiency of officials were markedly improved.

In a difficult situation, Kuang supports the overall situation

During Liu Kun's repeated tenure as governor of Liangjiang (1890-1902), the aggression of the imperialist powers became increasingly serious, and major changes took place at home and abroad; Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, Peng Yulin, and other veterans and important ministers of the Tongzhi Zhongxing period had died; Li Hongzhang, the leader of the Huai Army, lost power after the defeat of the First Sino-Japanese War.

On the 2nd day of December 28, 1894, the 20th year of Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty, Liu Kunyi was ordered to serve as the minister of Qincha, control the armies inside and outside Shanhaiguan, and command the war against Japan. Liu Kunyi said, "When the atmosphere is not peaceful and the military is tricky", as a minister of the imperial court, "only to devote oneself to all opportunities to prevent and suppress opportunities, to rely on Ruimu, and to carefully plan... Urgent attempt to remedy the situation, sweep away the atmosphere quickly". However, due to the defeat of the army, and the disparity in strength and weakness, the main force of the Xiang army had long been reduced, and the newly recruited Xiang Yong was hastily formed, unable to resist the well-trained and well-equipped Japanese invaders, and although he tried his best, he could not save the decline, leaving in vain the afterglow of the Xiang army of Baoqing's fellow villager Wei Guangtao Niuzhuang who fought bloodily against the Wokou.

Before and after the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki, Liu Kunyi sent three telegrams to the Qing court, advocating "protracted" and "bitter war" and "it is appropriate to fight rather than peace", and this protracted war idea laid the groundwork for the War of Resistance Against Japan decades later. He surrendered Liaodong and Taiwan to the Qing court, realizing that there would be "endless troubles", and tried to stop it three times, but he was unable to return to heaven, "filled with indignation, and his heart was like a knot."

After Li Hongzhang's loss, Liu Kunyi and Zhang Zhidong became the main figures in the Qing Dynasty's promotion of the New Foreign Affairs Policy. In addition to properly handling the political, financial, and military affairs in his jurisdiction, Liu Kunyi continued to implement the new foreign affairs policy in a pragmatic spirit, prepared for coastal defense and river defense, planned foreign policy, and played with Zhang Zhidong the "Obeying the Rules of the Court and Chen Shi Affairs", proposing six self-improvement methods, including building railways and running mining affairs, building machines to make Western guns and cannons, training the new army to eliminate old habits, and establishing schools to learn Western studies, and vigorously urged the Qing court to change the law and become stronger.

The abolition of the emperor and the establishment of the reserve is blunt

After the coup, the Guangxu Emperor of the Qing Dynasty was imprisoned in Yingtai after the coup, and Empress Dowager Cixi had planned to depose the Guangxu Emperor. Liu Kunyi first expressed his opposition on August 27, the 24th year of Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (October 12, 1898), and asked Qu to pardon Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao; Then he sent a telegram to Prime Minister Yamen to dissuade: "The country is unfortunate and has suffered such a great change, and the words of economic power must be cautious, and the mouth of China and foreign countries should be guarded against." Now rumors are circulating, people's feelings are dangerous, and strong neighbors are looking around, and it is inevitable to borrow troops. I wish that my Empress Dowager and my Emperor will be filial to each other, honor their relatives together, support the sect, and maintain the hearts of the people. Please also check the two edicts of August 11 and 14, Qu Pardon Kang Youwei and other remnants of the party, do not pursue it, and show great faith, and turn the other side to be safe, then the situation will be lucky. At the end of the message, Liu Kunyi said, "When this matter is critical, I dare not be silent and disobedient." According to Zhang Jian's "Annals of Qiweng Self-Ordered", the article in August of the 24th year of Guangxu reads: "For Xinning (author's note: referring to Liu Kunyi) to propose the "Empress Dowager's Training and Administration to Protect the Holy Bow Shu", to the effect of asking Qu Xunkang and Liang, to show the undoubtedness of the court court, this Nanpi (Zhang Zhidong) does not dare to speak." ”

On December 24, the 25th year of Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (January 24, 1900), Empress Dowager Cixi announced that Pujun was the eldest brother on the grounds that the Guangxu Emperor was "suffering from a stubborn illness and was difficult to give birth", and there was a lot of discussion at home and abroad. Rong Lu, a senior bachelor in charge of foreign affairs, "tried to show Liu Kunyi with private intentions." Liu Kun replied: "The division of kings and ministers has been determined for a long time, and the mouth of China and foreign countries should be guarded against, so Kun Yi is here to serve the country, so the public service is also here." ”

According to Hu Sijing's "Guowen Beicheng", after Liu Kun learned about the establishment of the eldest brother, he asked Zhang Zhidong (字孝達, 号 Xiangtao) to fight together. Zhang Ben had agreed, but then repented. At this time, the fold had been issued, and Liu Kun ordered someone to recover the fold, remove Zhang Zhidong's name, play it alone, and stand up alone. He said: "Xiangtao sees the courage of small things, and when he sees big things, he is cowardly, so he keeps his body for later planning." My old man, why don't you worry!" This shows Liu Kunyi's righteousness in resolutely taking responsibility.

Loyal and decisive, can judge big things

In the spring and summer of the 26th year of Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1900), the Boxer Rebellion under the banner of "Supporting the Qing Dynasty and Extinguishing the Ocean" was burning in the Beijing and Tianjin regions. The imperialist powers sent troops to attack Beijing and Tianjin on the pretext of "protecting embassies", and the Qing court issued an edict declaring war on various countries, and the north was in chaos. In order to protect the southeastern half or larger area from the ravages of war and prevent the people from being in dire straits, Liu Kun risked the world's greatness, bore the consequences of beheading and exterminating the ethnic group, and cooperated with the governors of various provinces, such as Zhang Zhidong, Li Hongzhang, and Xu Yingkui, to jointly resist the DPRK's order and promote the situation of "mutual protection in the southeast". "The Shanghai concession is under the joint protection of all countries, and the Yangtze River and the interior of Suzhou and Hangzhou are all under the protection of various supervisors, and the two do not disturb each other, and the main thing is to protect the lives and industries of Chinese and foreign businessmen and people", so that the southeast half of the wall avoided the catastrophe of a war.

During the discussion of the Xinqiu Peace Treaty, Li Hongzhang secretly discussed with Russia the "Northeast Settlement Measures", when Russia attempted to occupy northeast China for a long time and forced the Qing court to recognize the signing. After Liu Kunyi and Zhang Zhidong heard the news, they called the Military Aircraft Department to expose Russia's ambitions, advocating that the Russian treaty must not be accepted, and suggested that the secret draft of the treaty requested by the Russian side be published, "by means of the public judgment of the nations, and jointly hinder the ambitions of the Russians." The Qing court weighed the stakes and did not approve it. Under pressure from various countries and opposition from the Chinese government and opposition, Russia had to abolish the secret treaty.

After the Boxer Rebellion and the Eight-Nation Alliance's war of aggression against China, the Qing rulers felt that "internal and external troubles" were imminent, and they could no longer rule as before. On January 29, 1901, the 10th day of December 26 (January 29, 1901), in order to get rid of the crisis of rule, the imperial court issued an edict implementing the New Policies, ordering courtiers and governors to express their views on politics, economy, military affairs, and education. Liu Kunyi and Zhang Zhidong played together three times (known in history as "Jiang Chuhui Variation Method Three Folds"), systematically proposing reform measures such as building schools, training new troops, rewarding industrial and commercial industries, and reducing redundant personnel, which became the blueprint for the Qing government to implement the new policy.

On the 5th day of September 28 (October 6, 1902), Liu Kun died as governor of Liangjiang at the age of seventy-two. The Qing court issued a decree to Cixiyi, calling Liu Kunyi "an old Chengshuo wang, but actually a minister of the pillar of the state", posthumously made him a first-class baron, and gave him a prince and loyalty. The mourning behind him is rare in the late Qing dynasty.

(The author is the director of the Cultural Protection Unit of the Shaoyang Cai Wei Former Residence Management Bureau)