On September 28, 1898, Empress Dowager Cixi issued an edict to kill the "Six Gentlemen of Wushu", "Kang Guangren, Yang Shenxiu, Yang Rui, Lin Xu, Tan Sitong, Liu Guangdi, and other great rebels, immediately beheaded, sent Gang Yi to monitor, and the infantry commander Yamen sent troops to suppress." ”
In the afternoon of the same day, the "Six Gentlemen" were beheaded at Caishikou in Beijing. After the six were killed, the imperial cabinet made their crimes public. At the beginning of the Zhu Yuan, he wrote such a sentence: "The chief Minister Kang Youwei advocates heresy and deceives the people, while the small disciples, who are in harmony with each other, when they take advantage of the law, conceal their plots to chaos the law, harbor evil intentions, and plot against them." ”
The meaning of this sentence is obvious, the most important reason for the killing of the "Six Gentlemen" is that they are Kang Youwei's accomplices, or the identity of the "Kang Party". However, a careful analysis of the life experience of the six gentlemen reveals that there was one who died particularly unjustly, and he was not a "Kang Dang" (康方).
Some people may say that this person is Tan Si tong. Tan Si's same name is very famous, especially his last words are well known, "There is a heart to kill thieves, powerless to return to heaven, die where they want, hurry up!" In fact, Liu Guangdi died the most unjustly, so much so that people in the world at that time thought that he had killed him by mistake.
Liu Guangdi's family was poor, his father died young, and his mother sold her house to provide him with schooling. Because of this, Liu Guangdi studied very hard, and at the age of 24, he passed the entrance examination and was later awarded the title of chief of the Guangxi Department of the Ministry of Punishment. Liu Guangdi served as an official in the capital for 15 years, in addition to his daily position work, he usually read behind closed doors, immersed himself in writing, "not with the celebrities and dignitaries at that time... What no one knows. ”
Liu Guangdi did go to the Royalist Society, but only listened to the speeches of Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao, and he did not have much contact with Kang and Liang Qichao. The "Book on the Bus" took place in the twentieth year of Guangxu (1894), a year before which Liu Guangdi wrote the far-reaching "Jia Wu Tiao Chen".
At this time, Liu Guangdi completely disregarded his personal safety, and he pointed the spearhead of the fiasco of Jia Wu's defeat directly at the conservative and diehard faction headed by Empress Dowager Cixi, and put forward four suggestions to the Guangxu Emperor in the "Jia Wu Tiao Chen": "Please ask the emperor to make a decision and use power in one matter"; "Please ask the emperor to sin against himself and consolidate the hearts and minds of the people"; "Please ask the emperor to strictly reward and punish him, so as to control the odds of victory"; "Please ask the emperor to solemnly arm himself to revitalize the weak."
Even today, these propositions were still very valuable at the time, but the first one completely offended Empress Dowager Cixi. At that time, many officials smoked opium and accepted bribes, while Liu Guangdi was a clean and honest official, and he never accepted silver from the provincial feudal department to the newly recruited ministers to send "charcoal respect" and "don't respect".
For example, at that time, the minister of military aircraft, Yu Lu, was promoted to the position of Rebbe Shangshu, and everyone went to congratulate him when he heard the wind. But Liu Guangdi categorically refused to go, and he said to the guards: "Current affairs are difficult, and my generation has time to run away to flatter the powerful people!" Just like this, when Liu Guangdi was arrested, everyone felt sorry.
When Liu Guangdi was arrested and imprisoned, he only carried a few books, and he read in prison as usual. Before dying, Liu Guangdi held his head high, "Standing tall and not servant, the spectators marveled, and salty burned incense to worship, saying that Liu Jun was immortal." After Liu Guangdi's death, the Qing army raided his home and found an unfinished impeachment of Kang Youwei.
On the eve of Liu Guangdi's arrest, someone had entrusted someone to send an anonymous letter asking him to leave the capital quickly, "The mountain rain is coming, and it is known not to wait for the wise, to do Pei Jun (Liu Guangdi Character Pei Village), Bao Zhongzhen to help the world, no kungang burning, Yu Yi has nothing to gain." For the kindness of others, Liu Guangdi smiled and said to his wife: "Heaven is a disaster for China, we will not hesitate to die to wake up the people of our country!" ”
References: "The Six Gentlemen of Wu Shu", "Jia Wu Tiao Chen"