Guarding the court
Yuan Shikai established the new army in Beiyang, which was later renamed the Wuwei Right Army. Stationed in Beijing is the left wing of the Wuwei Right Army, and the wing length (equivalent to the army commander, often called the "military gate") is Jiang Gui. Jiang Gui is a native of Jiang Tun behind Nineteen Ligou Town, southeast of Bozhou (now Bo County), Anhui Province, and is nicknamed Jiang Laoguo. The origin of this nickname is: Jiang Gui's family was poor when he was a child, and others took pity on him and gave him a cotton robe to wear, because he was big, this cotton robe just covered his knees, and people jokingly called him "just over his knees", called "just over". Later, when he made a fortune, people added the word "old" to his name, and because the pronunciation of the word "Gang" was exactly the same as the pronunciation of the word "Jiang" in his surname, the nickname "just over the knee" evolved into "Jiang Laoguo". Jiang Laoguo was from a humble background, treated the soldiers more generously, and liked to scold and play with the soldiers, and was even more rude to the soldiers in his hometown, opening his mouth "this situation" and closing his mouth "dick child". The soldier scolded him, and he laughed when he heard it, and he did not blame.
I am from Yongcheng County, Henan Province. Yongcheng and Bozhou are not far apart. Fellow villager Nie Jinshan served as a guard with Jiang Laoguo in Shuaifu Garden, and often told us about the old things. In the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth years of Guangxu, the famine in Henan was very severe. In the autumn of the twenty-seventh year, I couldn't live at home anymore, so I went to Beijing with a few fellow villagers to introduce us to the old man as soldiers. After that, I went to the first battalion of the right flank to make up for the regular soldiers.
Each battalion of Yuan Shikai's Beiyang New Army is marked with different gossip graphics, so it is also called the gossip battalion. The establishment of the Bagua battalion is larger than that of the general battalion, and the general battalion has a pipe belt (equivalent to the battalion commander), and the Bagua battalion has a commander (equivalent to the regiment commander). The commander of the first battalion on the right wing was Zhang Xun. After the Xinchou Peace Treaty was concluded, Cixi and Guangxu returned to Beijing from Xi'an, and Yuan Shikai sent Zhang Xun to Cizhou to pick up the car. Zhang Xun is cunning, good at drilling camps, when he saw Cixi, he bragged about the peace of Beijing, and did his best to the chief manager Li Lianying, and shamelessly handed Li Lianying a protégé post, and served as a teacher. Li Lianying is Cixi's confidant, although she is usually "hot", she is always a eunuch, and when she sees Zhang Xun like this, she naturally likes it. After Cixi boarded the train from Cizhou, Li Lianying informed Zhang Xun in advance of Cixi's accommodation station every day, and Zhang Xun led the soldiers to rush to the accommodation station first, sometimes marching 150 miles a day. At the time of guarding, Zhang Xun did not leave Cixi's side and was courteous.
After Cixi arrived in Beijing, she saw that the situation was really "stable", trusted Zhang Xun very much, agreed with Zhang Xun's suggestion, and ordered Zhang Xun to bring the right battalion as a guard camp, enter the palace to guard, add Zhang Xun the title of commander, and give the title of "Shuoyong Baturu" (Baturu is a Manchu transliteration, which means warrior, and those who have martial arts in the Qing Dynasty give this title, and the crown "Yong", such as "Gangyong", "Shuoyong", etc.). The guards lived in the court room inside the West Chang'an Gate, operated outside the Tiananmen Gate every day, and stood guard at the palace every night. Start at 5 p.m., finish at 7 a.m., and change shifts at 12 p.m. On duty every night, it is very hard, and the winter night is even more offended, and they all secretly scold Zhang Xun for being troublesome. Cixi went to Wanshou Mountain, and the camp also went to Wanshou Mountain to protect her.
In order to curry favor with Cixi, Zhang Xun supervised the soldiers and often personally patrolled the sentry. When he checked the post, he was led by the palace lamp in front of the soldiers. On one side of the palace lamp is a big "Zhang" character, and on the other side is a long article of "Sichuan Admiral Rank Chief Military Officer Shuoyong Baturu Su Guard Battalion Commander". Seeing that Zhang Xun was so cautious, Cixi was even more pampered, saying that he worked hard at night and often ordered people to give "gluttony" (that is, pastries to eat). Every time we meet, we always have to say a few homely words, and sometimes make a joke. Cixi was okay when she was full, and raised a litter of puppies to play with in the palace. Once she saw Zhang Xun inspecting the post, she deliberately said loudly to the palace maid: "Zhang Xun is here, be careful that he steals our puppy." "
Because Yuan Shikai was in the guard camp was his own army, he was worried that if something happened, he would be responsible. Once when he entered Beijing, he said to Li Lianying: "Now that the Beijing division is peaceful, I want to transfer the camp out, what do you think?" Li Lianying said: "The people you sent, you can watch it." It turned out that Yuan Shikai heard Zhang Xun say that Li Lianying sent him to the palace by passing on Cixi's will, but now he knows that it was Zhang Xun's ghost, and it was not good to withdraw the camp for a while, so he only transferred Zhang Xun away first, and transferred Zhao Guoxian to be the commander of the camp camp. It wasn't until the 31st year of Guangxu that a guard camp guarded Cixi on Wanshou Mountain, and someone on the road rushed from behind the guards to Cixi's sedan chair to stop the public and shout injustice, which scared Cixi half to death, and then transferred the guard camp out of the palace.
The "Female Emperor" of the Qing Dynasty
After I made up for the regular soldiers in the right battalion, I naturally had to go into the palace to guard. One winter night, I stood guard under His Royal Highness, the wind was biting, cold and hungry. At about 11 o'clock, it was probably the time for Cixi to have a night meal, and Cixi asked the palace maid to bring us food. The two palace maids brought a bowl of meat and a plate of steamed buns to me and said, "Eat what the Buddha gave you." "Although I was cold and hungry, I looked at my eyes and stood still, and I didn't even dare to look at the food -- at that time, the military regulations of the new army were very strict, and there were 18 crimes of beheading, one of which was "beheading the person who touches his ears while standing guard." Who would dare to eat in a friendly manner! When the palace maid saw that I was silent and did not move, she put the steamed bun on the ground and pulled the corner of my coat before leaving, indicating that it was here. I can't eat the food when I see it, but I am still very grateful for the grace of the old lady!
Cixi's means of entrapping people can be high. Once Wang Baoqing and I stood guard in the east of the Imperial Palace, Cixi came out with Li Lianying and a group of palace maids and eunuchs. Cixi was dressed in a large-sleeved cheongsam, yellow, with large flowers, a large inlaid and rolled around, a coat with large shoulders, a combed high square head, two large flowers, and two locks of silk thread tassels on both sides of her head - we usually see Longyu and "Moon" (unknown at the time, because her face resembles a full moon, secretly called her "Moon", and now I think it may be Concubine Jin) only hung one tassel, and only two tassels were hung during the ceremony. Cixi was in her 60s at the time, but from a distance, she still looked like a person in her 40s. She walked up to Wang Baoqing with broken steps and asked, "Soldier, is your surname (ma)?" Wang Baoqing didn't dare to answer, but stood upright with a stiff face. Li Lianying said: "You reply to the Buddha's words!" Wang Baoqing said: "The commander has an order, and he is not allowed to speak while standing guard." Cixi said, "Are you afraid of Zhang Xun?" Cixi asked him again what kind of place he was from, whether he had parents and wives, and had been out for a few years. Wang Baoqing replied that he was from Qihe County, Shandong, had parents and a wife, and had been out for five years. When Cixi heard this, she said with pity: "Take pity on you children, abandon your family and business to protect our family, do a good job, and give you an official in the future." This bowl of "rice soup" poured us into a daze, and from then on we stood guard more seriously. But until the guard camp was transferred out of the palace, I didn't see her give any soldier an officer.
At that time, the tributes from other provinces were unloaded in front of the court (inside Tiananmen Square), and Zhang Xun took the gift list and sent it to Li Lianying for inspection. Then Li Lianying instructed the place of placement, and Zhang Xun immediately sent an officer to lead the troops to send it. Each time a gift is delivered, there is a reward number, 10 taels for each officer, 3 taels for each soldier, and two taels for each soldier.
In the winter of the 29th year of Guangxu, once we carried more than 100 baskets of fresh peaches from other provinces to the Wanshou Mountain Palace, although each basket weighed only 20 kilograms, but for the sake of pomp, it was still carried by two people. After the tribute arrived, Li Lianying said to Zhang Xun: "You take the soldiers to the garden, the Buddha wants to see the soldiers, and each person will be rewarded with two taels of silver." Zhang Xun ordered everyone to stand in line in front of the flower house and wait for Cixi to come out to see the soldiers. Soon Cixi came out in a small sedan chair carried by two people, and got off the sedan chair in front of the team, only to see that she was wearing a large flower cheongsam, covered with a yellow satin mink fur cloak, and the length of the dress covered her feet. Zhang Xun wore a red-topped flower feather on his head, wore court clothes, threw off his horseshoe sleeves, knelt down on one leg in a few steps, and asked the soldiers to kowtow on the spot to thank him. After the soldiers stood up, Zhang Xun accompanied Cixi to see the procession. Cixi walked slowly in front of the team and talked to Zhang Xun: "Zhang Xun, why don't the soldiers wear small padded jackets?" Zhang Xun said: "Back to the Buddha, the padded jackets of the soldiers are worn inside." "At that time, we wore large jacket uniforms in the sky blue enterprises (and sometimes red green enterprises) when we went in and out of the court, and the cotton jackets were tucked into the waistband of our trousers, so that we were not allowed to show it. Cixi listened to Zhang Xun's reply and said, "Our family doesn't believe it, I want to touch it." At this moment, she was walking up to me and reached out to touch the padded jacket under my chest. I stood face to face with her, and it became clear that she wasn't as young as we had seen from afar. Probably because of her high-soled shoes, Cixi was taller than me (I was tall), her jaw drooped, and her face was rubbed with a thick layer of official powder, the same as winter melon ether - her rectangular face was originally like a winter melon. At that time, although it was unamiable to look at her like this, I was very grateful to think that she was a queen mother, and she was really kind and considerate to Xiaobing so much about Xiaobing.
Later, when I saw a murder drama, I began to doubt the "kindness" of this old lady.
It was also the winter of that year that I walked through the streets with a few brothers from my fellow camp on holidays, and walked to the execution ground at the entrance of the vegetable market, where we met a prisoner who was being executed. It is said that the beheaded person was a Taoist surnamed Zhu. The prisoners were all dressed in black. I heard the executioner shout, "Please take your seat!" and the two men carried the prisoner on his knees on the red felt laid on the ground. Beside him, another public shouted, "Thank you!" "Thank you for the emperor's grace!" The prisoner was pale and trembling, and was led by two public men to perform two three kneels and nine prostrations, and then sat down on the ground. The executioner shouted again, "Please return to your place!" and it was too late, but it was too fast, and the executioner took the prisoner's hair in his left braid, put the knife in his right hand and put the knife on his chest at his elbow, and only wiped it on the prisoner's neck, and then lifted the man's head. The executioner raised his head high, turned to the warden who was sitting there wearing a red-topped flower feather and a big red cloak, and shouted, "Please check the sentence!" The warden covered his face with his horseshoe sleeves, made a look that he couldn't bear to look at it, and then got on his horse and led the team away. Only then did the prisoner's family come forward to collect the body......
In the thirtieth year of Guangxu, Zhang Xun was transferred to the commander of the Eighth Battalion of the Huai Army, and Zhao Guoxian took over as the commander of the Suwei Battalion. Once, we sent the foreign lanterns and ornaments and playthings made in Nanjing to the palace, and first went to the front of Li Lianying's residence in the west courtyard of the Huangji Hall of the East Palace. Cixi came out with a cup of tea and drank it, and after reading it, she gave a reward. Zhao Guoxian asked 10 people to kowtow in a row to thank him, he wanted to look good like this, but Li Lianying said: "Don't line up, the Buddha is trying to see this chaos." "At the moment, everyone fell down and kowtowed, and it was a mess. I stole a glance up and saw Cixi smiling with a teacup. That's when I realized that she was really a soldier.
Cixi's pomp
It was the practice of feudal dynasties to pay tribute to the court in various places. When we stayed in the palace, we often carried these items from outside the palace to the palace in a clear manner. Once Zhao Guoxian led us to send the tables, chairs and furniture of the governor of Liangguang to the East Palace to Li Lianying for inspection, Li Lianying saw it, and called it to be sent to the "Western style" (the palace is called "Western style" in the sea Juren Hall), and the palace seat of Cixi is on the upper floor of the Juren Hall. After we delivered the things, the eunuch took them and moved them upstairs. When I saw that there were soldiers helping, I took a chair and went in. In the hall upstairs there was a large circle of chairs behind a large office case, a bamboo rattan base covered with yellow satin brocade cushions, and two large peacock fans erected behind the chairs. When I saw that there was no one, I went up and sat down, which was much softer than the normal seat. But I never dared to tell anyone what it was like to sit in that chair, and I was even afraid that people would know about it.
Cixi summoned princes and ministers in the Qianqing Palace, Wenhua Palace, Wuying Hall and other places. In front of the throne of the government is placed a grading platform, that is, nine iron piers, on which are written numbers from one to ninety-nine. When the official meets the court, he first puts down the horseshoe sleeves, holds the pearl in his hand, and kneels in a certain position in front of the grade platform to perform three kneels and nine bows. There was a beaded curtain hanging in front of the Cixi Throne, and she could see people, but others could not see her. Once Cixi summoned Jiang Laoguo, Jiang Laoguo kowtowed, asked for peace, then got up and looked around, and asked loudly: "Where is the Buddha? Then he knelt down against the curtain again. Cixi often went to Wanshou Mountain, and every time she went out of the Shenwu Gate, the deacons were lined up in the west of Jingshan Gate. Manchu Luan, Admiralty furnace, gong opening, and Huangluo umbrella. The one holding the umbrella is riding on the horse, and there is a horse rider behind him who pulls the yellow silk rope tied to the umbrella, for fear that the umbrella will be blown and swayed by the wind. In addition to the princes and ministers' guards, there were four young princes riding horses on the front runway. Among them were Tao Beile (that is, Pu Yi's uncle Zaitao), Zhen Beizi (that is, later the Minister of Military Resources Zai Zhen), etc., they were dressed in Tuanlong supplement clothes and wore vermilion crowns with three eyes. At that time, I saw very strange, Han officials only wore a head and a pair of dazzling feathers, like Wang Wenzhao and Li Hongzhang were loyal to the Qing family, and there were no three-eyed dazzling feathers, at that time, Tao Beile and Zhen Beizi were only fifteen or sixteen-year-old children, and they had no merits, so it was really puzzling that they could wear them like this. Later, when I participated in the Xinhai Revolution, I realized that this was ethnic discrimination.
Since the camp has been guarded, Cixi's guard of honor has added a lot of prestige, there are 40 dragon flags in front of the camp, more than 100 people from the gun team and 40 people from the knife team are clustered on both sides of the sedan chair.
Cixi's palanquin was often carried by 32 Luan Yu guards. The eunuch rode in front of the sedan chair, Longyu rode in the sedan chair, and the concubine with a head and face also followed the sedan chair. Along the way, they are guarded by the camps with loaded guns. Cixi's palanquin passed by, and the army saluted with guns (except for the New Year Festival and thanksgiving in the palace, the soldiers of the guard camp did not kneel when they saw Cixi). When Cixi and her entourage left Xi'an, the army was withdrawn, leaving only a few patrols and guards. The streets outside the Xi'an Gate are "Yonglu" (that is, the Royal Road), and the people are not allowed to walk. Yong Road is very high in the middle, and there are sidewalks on both sides, so that pedestrians on this side cannot see pedestrians on the other side. The road through which the sedan chair passes is all loess. Gong'e, Cainu and "Moon" and others all took the car to Wanshou Mountain to wait for the car. Every time Cixi had information about leaving the palace, the family members of the palace maids waited outside the Shenwu Gate early, and when they saw their relatives coming out, they went up to pick up the tattered clothes they brought out, and they didn't dare to talk a word. These palace maids changed every ten years, and since they were fifteen or sixteen years old, they lived a slave life, and they were not allowed to visit their families or go home to see their relatives.
Once Cixi went to Wanshou Mountain on the way, I walked with a knife in a sedan chair, squinted my eyes and looked at the sedan chair, Cixi closed her eyes with a smile, looking at the expression, proud.
Cixi believed in Buddhism and asked everyone to call her "Buddha". Every time I go out of Xizhimen to Wanshou Mountain, I have to rest in the Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple. The Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple was built by her, and there are 9,999 Buddha statues in the temple, and she sat in the middle to make up 10,000.
On the upper floor of the Paiyun Hall of Wanshou Mountain, there is a statue of the Buddha who receives the Buddha in the West, that is, there is no Amitabha Buddha in the south, and his position is to wait for the "Buddha" of Cixi to go to the West Heaven.
Puppet Emperor
Guangxu is a puppet emperor, all major state affairs are handled by Cixi or the prime minister, Guangxu has no power at all, only one thing: sacrifice.
Guangxu sacrifices the first agricultural altar in the spring every year, the altar of heaven on the winter solstice, and worships the ancestral temple and the temple in the old calendar. On such days, the road is guarded by the camp.
Guangxu traveled with Cixi to take 16 sedan chairs, and 32 sedan chairs during the ceremony, and the sedan body and rope were all yellow. The bottom of the car is made of lead, which is extremely heavy, so that it can walk steadily but not bumpy. In summer, the car window is filled with bright yarn, and in winter, the car is wrapped in mink. There are royal guards and queen guards in front and back of the sedan chair, all of whom are military attachés, some wearing blue tops, some wearing red tops, holding some knives and spears and other things in their hands. There are more than 100 deacons in his entourage, carrying some golden gourds, axes, umbrella fans and other household items. In fact, it is these mercenaries in our camp who can play the role of "protecting".
Guangxu usually wears a black gown with large slits at the front and back, and there is an embroidered dragon patch on the left and right shoulders of the front and back hearts. Wear a cool hat in summer and a mink warm hat in winter, with a white top and a bead inlay. There is a pearl hanging around the neck, and a long braid is dragged behind the head. Every time you sacrifice, you will change into a yellow python robe and wear a weft hat, and the weft thickness of the red velvet hat is the same as the edge of the hat.
During the night sacrifice, in addition to bringing the deacon, a pair of large gauze lamps are lit next to the sedan chair, and the guards and eunuchs all bring hand covers (group lamps). When I walked, I only listened to the rustling of my clothes, and I didn't even hear the sound of footsteps. It is said that the beads on the top of the Guangxu hat are the pearls of the night, which are passed down from generation to generation, and the pearls in the sedan chair are exceptionally bright when walking at night. The little eunuch told us that the bead used to be kept by a special person, but it would run away, and it would disappear in the box until the day before it was to be used. The custodian was worried that the bead would be bad if it didn't come back once, so he cut a small hole in the bead and tied it with silk thread. After that, the beads really stopped running, but they didn't shine anymore. This is nonsense, but we believe it.
On the day of the Spring Society, the sky was unknown, so we stood in the camp and escorted Emperor Guangxu to the Xiannong altar to worship. It is a ceremony to show respect for the nongsang. After Guangxu arrived at the Xiannong Altar, he first rested in the palace, changed into a python robe, and then sacrificed to the altar. After the sacrifice, the plough is ploughed for five weeks. said that it was five weeks, how could he walk, in fact, he only touched the plow, and then someone else helped him to complete the formalities. Guangxu has a special ox plow, all of which are yellow, and even the reins are yellow. After Guangxu ploughed, the prince helped the plough to plough the land for three weeks, and the reins on the ox plough were all crimson yellow. Then the grandfather helped the plough for a week, and used purple reins and purple trips. Finally, the uncle used the blue reins and blue stumbling plow to turn around again. Immediately afterwards, the magistrate of Wanping County (Gyeonggi County) came to collect grain from Guangxu - this is the origin of the saying "the emperor still has one acre and two points of land" - indicating that the emperor also had to pay taxes for farming, so the peasants should be exploited by taxes.
As soon as the sun turned red, Longyu Niangniang sat in a big sedan chair and came with a full deacon. This is modeled after a peasant woman delivering food. I have never seen what kind of meal Longyu sent, nor have I seen Guangxu eat, but as soon as the mother arrived, the altar ceremony was over, and we should support Guangxu to return to the palace.
On the day of the winter solstice, Guangxu had to go to the Temple of Heaven. Because the emperor was the "Son of Heaven", it was customary to report to his God father every year and pray for happiness. He wrote the praise and prayers on yellow mounted paper, and after a minister recited them aloud, he burned the "fire mail" to the heavenly palace, which was called the Shengbiao. When he came back from the altar of heaven, Guangxu wanted to go to the Jinluan Hall as usual, sit on the "big treasure", accept the worship and praise of the princes and ministers, and pose as the emperor.
Before the spring equinox, Guangxu wants to sacrifice to the altar of the community. There are five colors of soil in the altar of Sheji, according to the front red, the back black, the left blue, the right white, the middle yellow arrangement, also called the Wu has soil, there is a stone in the center, called the Jiangshan stone, indicating that this is the foundation of the country. Knock the golden bell and jade chime at the altar. There are a total of 12 in a group of Admiralty, and the sound is very good. Our soldiers are young and curious, and when Guangxu walks by, we will also knock a few times.
On Chinese New Year's Eve, Guangxu also had to go to the east of Duanmen to worship the Tai Temple, and then go out of Donghuamen to the Nanchizi Ancestral Temple. Every year, the altar of the earth, the altar of the sun, and the altar of the moon are sacrificed on time...... Each sacrifice is made with a white horse and a black ox as a "sacrifice". Strip the cow and horse's fur, leaving only the top and tail fur, and place it on the sacrificial table, and use a stick to prop the head into a back shape, with the ox on the left and the horse on the right.
Every New Year's Festival or delivery of gifts, Cixi rewarded the soldiers, but no matter what she did with Guangxu, there was no reward. Don't look at Guangxu, who is nominally rich in the world, but penniless in his hands. It is said that once when Guangxu went to Wanshou Mountain and walked to the Gaoliang Bridge Palace to rest, he asked someone to buy a bowl of almond tea to eat, but he couldn't pay the money. Whether it's true or not, the dilemma is understandable.
Guangxu was a monkey, about 30 years old at that time, with a medium build, a thin face, a pale complexion, and a weak physique. We've never seen him laugh or smile. To tell the truth, he lived the life of a prisoner, so how could he be happy! Cixi feasted three times a day, each with 108 dishes, but Guangxu did not have this pomp. Cixi picked up three or four dishes that she didn't like to eat at each meal and ordered someone to send them to Guangxu to show her kindness; sometimes three or four dishes had to be divided into three or four "rewards", and every time she sent them, Guangxu had to stand up and kowtow to thank him, and he couldn't even eat a meal of peace.
Longyu is Cixi's own niece, and she can eat at Cixi's table. At that time, we all privately suspected that Guangxu was thin and weak, and most of them were short of food.
Cixi was afraid that Guangxu would oppose him again, and the surveillance of Guangxu was very tight, and every time she went to Wanshou Mountain, she took Guangxu with her, saying that she loved Guangxu and was inseparable, in our opinion, she was just a prisoner who was held behind the horse. Cixi lived in the Paiyun Palace, and Guangxu lived in the palace. Cixi was afraid that he would talk to outsiders, so she built a thick earthen wall outside Guangxu's palace. When she arrived at the altar and temple, Cixi "escorted" Guangxu back to the palace for a few days.
Although Guangxu looks like a prisoner and looks strange and pitiful, we soldiers don't like him. Although Ci is insidious and vicious, in terms of treating soldiers, he is a little benevolent and kind, and he seems to be more humane than Guangxu.
Every time Guangxu went to Wanshou Mountain with Cixi, to Gaoliang Bridge, Cixi changed to take a boat, and Guangxu still took a sedan chair to Wanshou Mountain to wait for driving. The soldiers of the camp were also divided into two shifts, one with the boat and the other with the sedan chair. Cixi walked slowly along the river in a boat, and the team on the shore sounded trumpets and drums as she advanced. Cixi sat on a chair outside the cabin and watched the scenery on both sides of the strait, the palace maid knelt on the side to hold a hookah and lit a cigarette for her, and Longyu sometimes came out to stand behind her and beat the beat with a fan to the beat of the drums. After walking for four or five hours to reach Wanshou Mountain, the soldiers on the shore are not tired even if they are the drum band on the shore. The first shift with Guangxu was bad, Luan Yuwei carried the sedan chair, changed shifts in one mile, and rode to the front to wait after the change. 30 miles of road, an hour to run, the following soldiers ran sweaty like rain, Guangxu was still unhappy, his hand patted the car window, one by one urged: "Jiabu, Jiabu! Yili Jiabu!" (this is Manchu, meaning "go, go, go!, go!") I was not used to walking with him for Xi the first time, and it happened to be a hot day, and I almost fainted when I ran to Wanshou Mountain.
In the twenty-eighth year of Guangxu, Cixi took Guangxu to Tangling, all by sedan chair. Cixi's first class rested according to the station, and after the first class of Guangxu went out of the city, it was changed to the front station and left first. Guangxu is no matter how far or near he is urging to go quickly, Luan Yuwei (the one who carries the sedan chair) has four shifts, taking turns to change shifts, riding a horse for three miles, and carrying a sedan chair for one mile. The entourage of guards, civil and military officials, rode around the sedan chair and galloped in front of and behind it. The poor soldier had no horses to ride, and could not rest, and galloped on two legs, how could he stand it! Many fainted one after another along the way, and the formation was chaotic, and the guns were on the ground. When Guangxu saw this situation, not only did he not sympathize, but he laughed happily. I have been in the palace for more than three years, and I have seen him many times, but I have only seen him smile once. When she arrived at the Tanglin Palace, Cixi learned of this situation from the eunuch and called Guangxu to reprimand him, saying that he did not know the joys and hardships of his subordinates.
Cixi said that he didn't know the joys and hardships of his subordinates, and he didn't lose anything about him. He has been the heir of Prince Chuxian since he was a child, arrogant and indulgent, and he became an emperor when he was just in elementary school, and he knows what the people's suffering is? The eunuchs in the palace told me that Guangxu was born with Pilai (her husband's original words), and when he was a child, he wantonly abused the palace people in the palace, and he had to ride on the eunuch and tell him to go fast, otherwise he would be whipped with a whip. But Cixi couldn't stand it anymore, and punished him a few times, and he was a little better in the future, but as soon as he left Cixi, he reverted to his old ways, and the palace eunuchs didn't like him.
The legend about Cixi
When I was in the palace, the eunuch chatted with me and talked about Cixi. He said that Cixi's nickname was Lian'er, and although she was a member of the Three Banners (Zhengbai, Zhenghuang, and Huang), her family was broken. Her father worked as an errand boy in the Nanjing Metropolitan Yamen and died when she was 12 years old. She returned to Beijing, unable to live, and also picked coal cores. According to the provisions of the Qing law, all unmarried women who go to the Three Banners and those over the age of 15 must be selected to serve as palace maids. After entering the palace, he was isolated from his family, and if he made a slight mistake, or if he encountered the anger of the "master", he could be killed with a rod or given death. Therefore, wealthy families often bribe officials and eunuchs who elect palace maids, and are unwilling to be elected. Cixi's family was poor and could not be spared, she entered the palace at the age of 19, chose a concubine at the age of 22, and gave birth to Tongzhi (Zaichun). Because she came from a poor family, she was gentle with those who served her. Most of the palace eunuchs were the children of the poor, and seeing that their "masters" were violent, they were grateful to Cixi's little benevolence and were happy to tell this story. According to the situation of Cixi I have seen, she can add this eight-character test to the people who serve her: small favor, good at enveloping.
After the Xinhai Revolution, I also heard a story about Cixi. Cixi's surname was Yehenara clan, and it is said that when Nurhachi established the Houjin Kingdom outside the Guan, he destroyed a small tribe of Yehenala clan, and when King Yehenala was captured, he swore when he was killed: "As long as there is one person from the Nala clan, he will take revenge." For this reason, Nurhachi also preached to his descendants: Whoever has the surname of Nala is not allowed to be an official by a man, and a woman is not allowed to choose a palace. The Qing Dynasty passed to Xianfeng, violated the ancestral teachings, and accepted Cixi. When he was dying, he regretted it and left Empress Ci'an a will to kill Cixi. Ci'an was cowardly, and was harassed by Cixi, and burned the will again. So Cixi poisoned Ci'an, forced Tongzhi and his wife to death, monopolized power, made a mess of the Qing Dynasty, and the people's resentment boiled, resulting in the death of the Qing Dynasty and the fulfillment of King Yehenara's oath.
(Compiled by Liu Tianxiang)
November 1964