The chief of staff of the Eight-Nation Coalition was burned to death in Cixi's dormitory during the invasion of China, what kind of shocking secret is hidden behind this bizarre incident? In that turbulent era, the iron hooves of the great powers had already trodden the land of China, but in the Forbidden City of Beijing, there seemed to be a mysterious force unknown to outsiders. This force was neither the corrupt bureaucrats of the Qing Dynasty nor the angry Boxer Rebellion, but a group of mysterious martial arts masters who were unswervingly determined to expel foreign enemies and defend their homeland. Could it be that the chief of staff of the Eight-Nation Alliance, who was unfortunately killed, was retaliated against by this mysterious force? All doubts are still in the fog, can we get a glimpse of the clues from the fog of history?
The mystery of the death of the chief of staff of the Eight-Nation Alliance
In the late spring, the city of Beijing in 1901 was still shrouded in the haze of war smoke. The Gengzi Incident a year ago caused unprecedented destruction to this ancient capital. Because the Empress Dowager Cixi was confused for a while, disregarded the overall situation of the country, and recklessly declared war on the foreign powers, the iron hooves of the Eight-Nation Alliance finally leveled the city of the Forbidden City. Although the Qing government signed the humiliating Treaty of Xinchou with the Great Powers in 1901, troops from the Eight-Nation Coalition remained in Beijing to prevent further conflict.
It was at this time that a puzzling thing happened. Major General Grant Schwarzkopf, chief of staff of the German Army Lieutenant General Wadsey, was killed in a fire at his Beijing garrison. As soon as the news spread, it immediately caused an uproar among the coalition forces. As the highest-ranking fallen general in the Eight-Nation Alliance, the news of Major General Schwarzkopf's death naturally touched everyone's hearts.
Schwarzkopf was born in 1850 and received systematic military training in Berlin. His father was also a Prussian soldier who fought in many major battles, including the Franco-Prussian War. It can be said that Schwarzkopf grew up in a military family since he was a child, and he is naturally extremely proud of his family tradition.
After entering the military career, Schwarzkopf quickly showed his military prowess. He was good at commanding battles, taking the lead in soldiers, and repeatedly performed miraculous feats, and his status rose all the way in the German army. In 1897, he was unusually promoted to major general, just one step away from the family's highest military rank.
In 1900, in response to the siege of the Boxers, Schwarzkopf was assigned chief of staff to German Lieutenant General Wadsey. In the allied forces attacking Tianjin and Beijing, he showed outstanding command skills and made great contributions to the final capture of Beijing.
However, not long after the Eight-Nation Coalition occupied Beijing, this heavy fate befell Schwarzkopf. At that time, Wadsey and his staff team once lived in the Empress Dowager Cixi's dormitory in Beijing. Built in the 13th year of Guangxu, this palace is located in the Xiyuan of Zhongnanhai, Beijing, and is a group of magnificent Chinese-style buildings. Before the Summer Palace was completed, the Empress Dowager Cixi lived here for a long time.
In the middle of the night on the 29th day of the second lunar month in 1901, a fire suddenly broke out in the Yiluan Palace, and the burning quickly spread to the entire complex. Although Wadsey quickly escaped when he found out, Schwarzkopf was not so lucky, and was eventually engulfed in flames and died in the palace of the Empress Dowager Cixi. For a while, all kinds of speculation and rumors were rampant among the coalition forces, was this an accidental fire, or was there something else hidden?
The mysterious power of a Chinese martial arts master
When Major General Schwarzkopf died in a fire inside the city of Beijing, no one seemed to be able to give a convincing explanation. Although the German side said that it was just an accidental fire, there is a completely different version of it among Chinese people.
According to legend, the Eight-Nation Coalition was cruel and unreasonable, and its iron hooves spread all over the Central Plains, causing anger and dissatisfaction among the majority of martial arts people. Although the Boxer Rebellion has been completely extinguished, a hidden martial arts force is still secretly and tirelessly fighting against foreign enemies. And the death of Major General Schwarzkopf is most likely the result of the revenge of this mysterious force.
Historically, there has been no shortage of chivalrous masters in Chinese martial arts who have peerless martial arts and are chivalrous and righteous. Among them, the most well-known are the two masters and apprentices of the Great Sword King Wu and Feng Wanzhen. Dadao Wang Wuyuan is an old martial artist in Zhejiang, who has been in the Zhujiajiao area of Jiaxing for a large number of people, and his martial arts are superb. In the Gengzi period, when he saw the Eight-Nation Alliance's hegemony in Beijing, he was filled with righteous indignation and determined to personally conquer Beijing and contribute to the country and the people.
It is said that as soon as Wufu, the king of the big sword, entered Beijing, he united with some local snakes and folk masters to start a secret counterattack against the Eight-Nation Alliance. They either lurked in the Forbidden City or infiltrated the coalition camps, occasionally launching sneak attacks or assassinations against enemy forces. It was this elusive force that made the coalition forces of that year frightened and trembled in Beijing.
In addition to the master and apprentice of the Great Sword King Wu and Feng Wanzhen, there were some other unidentified martial arts masters who joined the ranks of this "protector of the country". Some people say that this includes some figures who have made meritorious contributions in the Boxer Rebellion. It's just that with the passage of time, their identities have been impossible to verify, but the feat of martial arts masters turning the tide and fighting to the death against foreign enemies has become the most widely circulated folklore in later generations.
There are also some bizarre details that few people know about this mysterious martial arts force that are worth mentioning. For example, in that year, after a French officer encountered a plot in Beijing, he was found to have dozens of knives in his body in the shape of a "ten", which was a desperate "Liuhe no end" knife technique in the internal martial arts. In another incident, a German squad was attacked at the Summer Palace, and the bodies of seven people were found to have the deadly mark of "Nyorai Divine Palm".
All these bizarre details make people believe in the legend that the martial arts master intervened to protect the country and save the country. At that time, the city of Beijing had undoubtedly become the hardest hit area by the encroachment of foreign powers, but beneath the surface, there was still a tenacious civil force roaring in secret. It is quite possible that Major General Schwarzkopf was unfortunately involved in the revenge of this force, which led to the tragic fire.
The past and present life of Cixi's dormitory
When it comes to the Yiluan Palace, the place of the tragic death of Major General Schwarzkopf, this palace complex located in Xiyuan, Zhongnanhai, Beijing, has also experienced a period of vicissitudes and turbulent past and present lives.
Yiluan Hall was built in the thirteenth year of Guangxu, and it was a group of new dormitory buildings ordered by the Empress Dowager Cixi at that time. Prior to that, the Empress Dowager Cixi had lived in the inner court of the main palace area of the Forbidden City for a long time, but gradually disliked the old buildings and narrow layout there, so she decided to build a new palace in the vast garden area of Zhongnanhai West Garden.
The building complex of Yiluan Hall is large-scale, including the main building Yiluan Palace, as well as Jingci Palace, Yinghua Palace, Lefeng Pavilion and other accessory buildings. The entire building complex covers an area of 26,000 square meters and costs more than 130 taels of silver. However, from the ruins of today's Yiluan Palace, the layout of the entire building complex reveals a strong traditional Chinese garden style, which is scattered and scattered, and the garden is integrated into the building, which is very elegant and atmospheric.
After the completion of the new palace of the Empress Dowager Cixi, she took the Yiluan Hall as her official residence in Beijing and enjoyed the blessings of Qingfu for nearly 20 years. It was not until the invasion of the Eight-Nation Coalition in 1900 that it was severely damaged and destroyed.
Under the fierce resistance of the Boxers, after the Eight-Nation Coalition invaded the city of Beijing, they carried out frenzied destruction and plundering of the Empress Dowager Cixi's dormitory. Many precious palace relics were looted, and buildings such as the Yiluan Hall were also artificially burned. It can be said that what the eight-nation coalition forces have done in Beijing has undoubtedly violated the bottom line of the Chinese.
On the night of the death of Major General Schwarzkopf, the entire Yiluan Hall complex was almost completely engulfed in flames. The next morning, when the Chinese residents of Beijing saw the ruins, they were all filled with grief. After all, it is not only a royal garden, but also a treasure of Chinese civilization, bearing countless historical imprints.
Later, after the death of the Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu, the area of Zhongnanhai Xiyuan was transformed into the office area of the Prime Minister's Office and the State Council. However, the ruins of the Yiluan Hall have been well preserved and have become a witness of the Chinese people's resistance to the invasion of foreign powers. In 1952, a new building called Haiyan Hall was built on the site of Yiluan Hall, which was dedicated to holding important meetings.
In the 1970s, on the northwest corner of the original Yiluan Hall site, a large building called Huairen Hall was built to hold the Party Congress and the National People's Congress. Today, the architecture has been completely renewed, but as a site that has witnessed turbulent times, its significance is self-evident. It is difficult to verify whether the fire was a simple accident or whether it was hidden by other deeper factors. But in any case, Major General Schwarzkopf was finally buried here, and it was destined to be a witness to a special history forever.
The possibility of mystical forces intervening
Looking back on the whole incident, we can't help but wonder whether the fire that killed Major General Schwarzkopf was really just a simple accident, as the Germans claimed. Or is there something else going on in there?
If we turn our attention to the elusive martial arts power back then, it seems that we can find some clues. After all, after the Boxer Rebellion was put down, this force did not disappear, on the contrary, it continued to fight against foreign enemies in secret.
So, is it possible that these martial arts masters have infiltrated the Forbidden City and carried out retaliatory actions against the Empress Dowager Cixi's dormitory, Yiluan Palace? Judging by some details, this possibility does exist.
First of all, it is the question of the way for these martial arts masters to infiltrate the Forbidden City. It is said that back then, the five people of the Great Sword King secretly crossed Chen Cang in Beijing, and many times with the help of some tunnel workers and unseeing forces in the Forbidden City. These people are not only familiar with the layout of the Forbidden City, but they also have a lot of secret passages in and out of the palace.
It was with the help of these secret passages that the martial arts masters were able to roam unhindered in the Forbidden City, carrying out sneak attacks and retaliation against the Eight-Nation Alliance. And the Yiluan Palace, as the dormitory of the Empress Dowager Cixi, naturally became an important target for their revenge.
Secondly, judging from the modus operandi of the martial arts masters, the fire was indeed very similar to their usual style. We know that in those days, the five people of the Great Sword King often adopted the means of fire attack, and they were quite good at ambushing gunpowder in the enemy's station, causing explosions and fires, so as to achieve the purpose of revenge.
And the fire in the Yiluan Hall obviously started from the inside of the complex, and it quickly spread, which coincided with the usual arson tactics used by martial arts masters. It can be seen that this was not an accidental fire, but most likely a deliberate arson.
Moreover, it is the status of Major General Schwarzkopf as a senior staff officer, which itself is likely to become the target of revenge by martial arts masters. We know that this mysterious force, led by the Five Great Sword Kings, has a special hatred for the leadership of the Eight-Nation Alliance, and often sees them as a key target for revenge.
And Major General Schwarzkopf, as the chief chief of staff of the German Lieutenant General Wadsey, is second only to the general, and naturally has become a "key criminal" in the eyes of martial arts masters. It is likely that it is precisely because of this consideration that the martial arts masters will attack such an important military figure as him, which led to the tragedy.
Of course, we can only know the truth of the whole incident. After all, it was more than 100 years ago, and there are few conclusive clues to follow. However, judging from the various remaining clues, the possibility of martial arts masters intervening and retaliating against Major General Schwarzkopf is very doubtful.
The eternal cohesion of the national spirit
Looking at the causes and consequences of the whole incident, it is not difficult for us to find that the root cause of this tragedy actually stems from a serious clash of civilizations and ethnic contradictions. As a representative of Eastern and Western civilizations, there is bound to be a huge gap and estrangement between China and the Eight-Nation Alliance.
The invasion of Beijing by the Eight-Nation Coalition is not only a flagrant violation of China's territory and sovereignty, but also a fundamental affront and contempt for Chinese civilization. As a central symbol of China's imperial power and culture, the Forbidden City's war-torn palace architecture has deeply hurt the national pride of the Chinese people.
It is in this context that some enthusiastic chivalrous warriors in the Chinese martial arts world will charge forward one after another and stand up to defend the dignity of the country. Dadao Wang Wu, Feng Wanzhen and others all rose out of a kind of national righteousness and heroic feelings, and their bitter hatred of foreign invasion precisely reflected the common aspirations of the Chinese people at that time.
It can be said that the existence of this mysterious martial arts force is a kind of spiritual force that the Chinese nation spontaneously condenses in times of crisis. Whenever a foreign invasion and the country suffers humiliation, the Wulinmen people will stand up and use their best martial arts to protect the country. This may be a primitive and direct way of patriotism, but it also embodies the Chinese nation's spirit of unremitting resistance.
From this point of view, the death of Major General Schwarzkopf can actually be regarded as a funeral for "foreigners" in this kind of national struggle. The invasion of the Eight-Nation Alliance has long been unacceptable to the people, and it is reasonable for the Wulinmen people to retaliate against it.
It can even be said that it was the cohesion of this martial force and national spirit that finally forced the Eight-Nation Coalition Army to tremble in Beijing and be tired of dealing with the assassination and harassment of the guerrillas. Otherwise, this foreign army would never have been so timid about a conquered city.
To this day, the history of that epic struggle still makes countless Chinese proud and yearning. At that time, the feat of heroically killing the enemy in the martial arts world and saving the country and the people has become a well-known folk legend. Whenever a foreign invasion of the Central Plains, people can't help but recall those martial arts masters with peerless martial arts and chivalrous righteousness.
They are either fearless tough guys or wise men like Xuanzang, but without exception they are the embodiment of the national spirit. Such a high-spirited chivalrous warrior is in response to the ancient adage of "If you don't work without interruption, you must rely on it". In times of crisis, they stood up and regarded death as their home, just to protect the dignity of the motherland and the great rivers and mountains.
Despite the passage of time, the land of China today is already a place to live and work in peace and contentment. But that kind of national spirit and patriotic feelings will never be forgotten by people. It will be transformed into an eternal force, condensed in the hearts of every Chinese son, and will protect our homeland.