On June 6, 1916, the beijing organs received a notice to lower the flag at half-mast to mourn. Who died? The pomp is so big, it is no one else, it is Yuan Shikai, the president of the Republic of China. According to the official obituary, President Yuan Da died of uremia.
Compared with the official statement of illness and death, the people do not seem to buy it, and there are many opinions about his death, saying anything. Some say that they died of lust for women; some say that they died by eating too many supplements; and some say that the yuan shikai family was caused by short-lived genes, and other anecdotal wild histories are even more varied. However, more people are willing to believe that Yuan Shikai is angry than these statements. It seems that only dying in the spit of everyone is the end that Yuan Shikai should have.
The most important reason why Yuan Shikai was spurned by everyone was that In his later years, Yuan Shikai went against the tide of history and restored himself as emperor. To this day, in the education we have received, Yuan Shikai is still defined as a "one-man thief" and "a thief who steals the country", so why did Yuan Shikai risk the world's great disobedience to restore and claim the title of emperor? The story has to start from the third year of the Republic of China (1914).
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In 1914, Yuan Shikai's personal prestige and power reached the peak of his life, and here are two examples.
First of all, the government has money, and compared with the dilemma of borrowing money in the previous two years, the situation in this year is much better, even to the point of balance of payments. At the same time, Yuan Shikai did a great thing, unified the currency, and minted the "Yuan Datou". This is the most popular currency of the Republic of China and a symbol of the extreme prosperity of Yuan Shikai's regime. Although Yuan Shikai himself died in 1916, this did not affect the circulation of Yuan Datou in China, and even until 1953, Yuan Datou officially withdrew from the stage of history. It can be said that Yuan Datou and the Republic of China are consistent.
Second, Yuan Shikai guarded the territory for the Republic of China. After the Xinhai Revolution, Russia actively planned the independence of Outer Mongolia, which was stopped by Yuan Shikai. In June 1915, China, Russia, and Mongolia signed the Kyakhta Agreement in Kyakhta, where yuan shikai named the 8th Jebtsundamba khan and pardoned the independence movements, in exchange for outer Mongolia's cancellation of independence and the implementation of autonomy, but unfortunately this merit was ignored by posterity.
In addition to the prosperity of the country, Yuan Shikai's personal power also reached its peak. In May 1914, Yuan Shikai promulgated the "Law of the Republic of China Treaty", changing the responsible cabinet system to a presidential system, and in December of that year, he promulgated the "Amendment to the Law on the Election of the President", stipulating that the president could serve a ten-year term, could be re-elected, and could appoint a successor.
It can be said that Yuan Shikai, the president and the emperor, can almost be equated, he seems to be unable to commit perverse restoration and claim the emperor, and many people also blame Yuan Shikai's title of emperor on the instigation of everyone, which is a bit of a stigma for him. If Yuan Shikai himself did not have the idea of being called emperor, with his strength, no one could coerce him to be called emperor. It can be seen that Yuan Shikai has the idea of being called emperor, and there may be four reasons:
First, the desire for power has swelled, from the beginning of the training of troops, Yuan Shikai began to cultivate his own cronies of military strength, and for more than ten years he single-handedly brought out a powerful Beiyang Army, except for Yuan Shikai himself, there was no one to command the movement. It was the full support of the Beiyang Army that he ascended to the throne of the Great President. And the loyal subordinates who were loyal at that time now have heavy troops in their hands, and they have also begun to deviate from germany, which makes Yuan Shikai very uneasy. He wanted the army to obey only his own orders, not the Republic of China.
Second, the needs of the country, when the Republic of China was founded, the local forces were eager to move, but they were afraid of the strength of the Beiyang Army and lost their loyalty. There are many parties within the government, and it is difficult to implement policies, and although Yuan Shikai is called president, it is difficult to exert his fists. The country needs a strong regime, and it is clear that the emperor has an advantage over the president.
At that time, the Western powers, such as Britain, Germany, and Russia, all adopted a constitutional monarchy, and even Japan embarked on the road of constitutional monarchy after the Meiji Restoration, and the national fortunes were booming. China has been practicing a feudal monarchy for more than two thousand years, and the common people have long been accustomed to having an emperor. At the same time, Yuan Shikai's "foreign friends" such as The German Emperor Wilhelm II and the Japanese Emperor also threw olive branches at him, and the Japanese Emperor also promised to give assistance if Yuan Shikai claimed to be emperor.
After all, when he became emperor, the world became the world of the Yuan family, and after a hundred years, his descendants would naturally become emperors.
It seems reasonable to call himself emperor, but Yuan Shikai ignores the biggest reality - the national situation. In the last years of the Qing Dynasty, there were also constitutional monarchy reforms, which turned out to be unworkable, and the Qing government also perished in the reforms. Chinese people overthrow the Qing government is not to establish a new dynasty, but to completely eliminate the feudal imperial system and establish a Republic of China belonging to the people.
Although Yuan Shikai wanted to become emperor for some objective reasons, it was more wishful thinking to satisfy selfish desires. On the winter solstice of 1914, Yuan Shikai wore a twelve-chapter costume (the dress worn by the emperor in ancient times for the sacrifice of heaven and earth, the Temple, and major celebrations such as the Zhengdan, the winter solstice, and the holy festival) to the Temple of Heaven in Beijing to hold a solemn ceremony to sacrifice the heavens, saying that the emperor's ambitions had been revealed.
Since having this idea, the development of things is no longer under the control of Yuan Shikai, the restoration of the emperor has become a piece of fat meat, the fly camp dogs flock to it, and everyone is pregnant with a ghost fetus and takes what they need.
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Speaking of encouraging Yuan Shikai to become emperor, it is estimated that the first thing that everyone thinks of is his "pit father" son Yuan Keding. As the eldest son, once Yuan Shikai became emperor, he was the crown prince, the future emperor. Therefore, yuan shikai was encouraged to claim the title of emperor, and Yuan Keding worked hardest.
Yuan Keding
Yuan Keding knew that Yuan Shikai would often read a daily newspaper called "Shuntian Times", and he seized on this point and found a group of writers to forge newspapers, as long as there was any objection to Yuan Shikai's claim to the emperor in the original text, they were deleted, which led to a long period of time Yuan Shikai seeing fake newspapers that Yuan Keding had personally ordered for him.
But there is no impermeable wall in the world, Yuan Shikai finally knew the truth of the matter, he was furious, called Yuan Keding was a severe beating, scolded him for "cheating his father and misleading the country." Zhizi Moruo's father, Yuan Shikai, was still sober about Yuan Keding's ability, because the president had the right to appoint a successor. After Yuan Shikai's death, the people opened the list of successors he left behind (Li Yuanhong, Duan Qirui, Xu Shichang), which did not contain Yuan Keding's name.
Relying on Yuan Keding alone is naturally not enough to fool Yuan Shikai, otherwise it would be too underestimating Yuan Shikai's ability. In fact, the greatest contribution to Yuan Shikai's restoration was the "Preparatory Society", which was established in August 1915 by Yang Du in tandem with Sun Yujun, Li Xiehe, Hu Ying, Liu Shipei and Yan Relapse. These six people also have a graceful name, "the six gentlemen of the Preparatory Society". They flaunt the sign of "academic society", but in fact they are forging public opinion and creating public opinion for Yuan Shikai's restoration of the imperial system. Among these six people, Yang Du is the hardest.
Yang Du
In April 1915, Yang Du presented the "Theory of Constitutionalism and National Salvation", which said: "If China does not abolish the republic and establish a monarch, there will be no hope for a strong country, no hope for a rich country, no hope for a constitution, and it will only end up destroying the country. This article is very much in line with Yuan Shikai's wishes, and called it "the most reasonable famous saying". In August of that year, Yang Du initiated the organization of the Preparatory Committee, served as its chairman, advocated a constitutional monarchy, and advocated for Yuan Shikai to be proclaimed emperor. Yuan Shikai also favored him and personally gave him an inscription, calling him "Kuangdai Yicai".
After the establishment of the Preparatory Committee, Yuan Shikai's pace of claiming the emperor was significantly accelerated, and "petition groups" were set up in various places, and at that time there were many petition groups for emperors in Beijing, and there were all walks of life, such as student petition groups, businessmen petition groups, and even beggars petition groups and prostitute petition groups. For a time, no one in the whole country did not support Yuan, which showed that the public opinion in the world was fierce.
Yuan Shikai, who was intoxicated by the fierce public opinion, seemed to be oblivious, he really thought that calling the emperor was the desire of all the people and the trend of the times, and at this time he could not listen to any noise at all.
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Under the illusion that the whole country supported Yuan Shikai as emperor, it was difficult to hide the voice of opposition. In addition to the Kuomintang leader Sun Yat-sen, the strongest opposition and greatest influence was liang Qichao, the former leader of the reform faction.
Liang Qichao
On September 3, 1915, Liang Qichao published a long article in the Beijing Daily called "Yi Zhao, the So-Called Problematic Of the National System", which immediately caused a sensation. The article unceremoniously states: "The monarch has no previous sanctity in the hearts of the people. If you return to the imperial government, won't you get the puppet clay carvings back from the pigsty? Failure is inevitable. Not only that, the article also ridiculed Yuan Shikai for his inconsistent words and deeds and uncertain behavior. Liang Qichao's laughter and anger not only threw the reputation of Yang Du and the like into the bottom, but even Yuan Shikai was said to be almost faceless. It is said that Yuan Shikai knew that Liang Qichao had this xiongwen and sent someone to buy it for 200,000 yuan and prevented it from being published, but Liang Qichao refused.
However, Liang Qichao was an intellectual after all, and he could only speak quickly, and what reassured Yuan Shikai was those military and political officers with heavy troops, such as Duan Qirui, Feng Guozhang, and Xu Shichang, who had followed him for many years. Originally, these people still hoped to run for a president, but once Yuan Shikai became emperor, he could only be a slave for a lifetime. On the other hand, now that they hold a large army and have a moment of weight, this has long aroused the suspicion of Yuan Shikai, and Yuan Shikai himself has gradually come to the presidency by cultivating his own army, and he understands the stakes of holding a large army. Therefore, the two sides gradually drifted away from Germany, still in harmony on the surface, but privately wary of each other.
When Feng Guozhang heard that Yuan Shikai wanted to claim the title of emperor, he was very annoyed, and he decided to meet Yuan Shikai and ask him clearly in person, so as to persuade his old boss.
After seeing Yuan Shikai, the two exchanged greetings, and Feng Guozhang first tentatively asked: "There are rumors that the president wants to change the imperial system, please give secret instructions in advance, and the place is easy to start arranging." Yuan Shikai replied, "HuaFu (Feng Guozhang, the word Huafu), you and I are all our own people, and even you don't understand my heart?" Later, Yuan Shikai made a heart-to-heart explanation, nothing more than that there was no suitable successor among his heirs, and he did not want his children and grandchildren to bear the risk of being born in the imperial family.
For the sake of safety, Feng Guozhang found his old friend Zhang Yilin, a confidential staff member of Yuan Shikai, patted his chest and guaranteed: "Even if someone (alluding to Yang Du and others) wants to make a contribution to the founding of the country, the grand duke wants to be the emperor, the old man will not be so stupid!" ”
Having to admire Yuan Shikai's acting skills, Feng Guozhang actually believed it to be true, and also claimed that Yuan Shikai did not have the idea of being emperor. In addition to Feng Guozhang, Yuan Shikai also played a trick on Duan Qirui and Xu Shichang, and did not show the slightest idea of being called emperor. As a result, they were soon punched in the face, and it turned out that Yuan Shikai did not regard them as "his own people" at all.
In order to achieve the desired results, Yuan Shikai also made a gesture and euphemistically criticized the preparatory committee's activities to restore the imperial system, saying that it was "inappropriate" to change to the imperial system. However, this elaborate restoration of the imperial drama was resisted at the beginning, which was probably unexpected by Yuan Shikai.
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On December 12, 1915, under the impetus of the National Assembly, colleges and universities, the people's petition group, the Preparatory Committee and the national representatives of the provinces, Yuan Shikai finally accepted the honorific title of emperor, and from this day on, Yuan Shikai was no longer the president of the Republic of China, but the emperor of the Chinese Empire, and he was also ready to designate 1916 as the first year of hongxian, implement a constitutional monarchy, change the presidential palace into Xinhua Palace, and draft the "New Imperial Code":
Princes and princes may be officers on the land and sea, but may not form political parties and serve as important political officials, and relatives of the royal family may not run businesses and compete with the common people for profit.
Abolish the eunuch system forever.
Eternal abolition of the palace women selection system.
The system of tribute from all parties will never be abolished.
Perhaps, Yuan Shikai wanted to be a good emperor, but history did not give him a chance. Just 13 days after Yuan Shikai's restoration, Tang Jiyao, Cai Yi, Li Liejun, and others sent a telegram to the whole country, declaring the independence of Yunnan, opposing the imperial system, and first raising the banner of anti-Yuan, and the national protection movement broke out. On January 1 of the following year, the Yunnan military government issued a letter against Yuan Yuan, counting Yuan Shikai's 20 major crimes, calling on the military and the people of the whole country to jointly fight against Yuan Shikai and defend the Republic of China.
Originally, Yunnan was just a remote corner, and Yuan Shikai, who owned the "Six Towns of Beiyang", did not take them seriously, but the development of the situation was unexpected. The defending army led by Cai Yi and others defeated the Beiyang Army one by one. Not only that, but the previously seemingly calm situation suddenly became chaotic, the plan to attack Yunnan failed, and the Beiyang Army in Guangdong, Shandong and other places was also attacked. What worries Yuan Shikai even more is that his confidants Feng Guozhang and Duan Qirui are also acting online at this time, one said that he was sick at home, and the other watched the fire from the other side, pretending to be deaf and dumb.
In desperation, on March 22, 1916, Yuan Shikai, who had not done a day of stability as an emperor, was forced to announce the abolition of the imperial system, but still held the presidency, and the restoration farce that lasted for 83 days ended hastily.
Yuan Shikai originally thought that by abolishing the imperial system, the situation could return to the past, but it was difficult to recover the water, and it was difficult to calm the domestic clamor for Yuan, so that Yuan Shikai's stepping down became the new public opinion. The cronies who had previously supported Yuan Shikai's claim to the title of emperor also revealed their true faces at this time, and when they saw that Yuan Shikai's general trend had gone, they also began to turn against Yuan. Among them, the biggest blows to Yuan Shikai were the Sichuan general Chen Mi, the Shaanxi zhenshou envoy Chen Shufan, and the Hunan general Tang Qianming. It is said that after Yuan Shikai's death, a Chinese medicine store in Beijing once posted a pair of mysterious links: "Six Gentlemen" who fell ill and died "Erchen Tang".
"Six Gentlemen" in Chinese medicine, refers to "ginseng, licorice, white poria, white art, tangerine peel, half summer" six flavors of Chinese medicine, here alluded to the six people such as Yang Du of the Preparatory Association. Erchen Tang originally referred to Banxia and Orange Red, and here refers to Chen Mi, Chen Shufan and Tang Qianming.
In this way, Yuan Shikai, who had tasted the taste of rebellion and separation, was seriously ill, and under the internal and external attacks, he became angry and died of illness.
Because the "will of the people" was fierce, Yuan Shikai fulfilled the dream of the emperor, and the public opinion was fierce, Yuan Shikai was denounced by the whole country, and ended up with a rebellious and distant end, it was really a success and the people's will was defeated, but Yuan Shikai's heel was planted and it was difficult to stand up.