Today, I would like to introduce you to Wang Shizhen, a modern and modern politician in China, who ranks first among the three masters of Beiyang (the other two are Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang).
Wang Shizhen's reputation in history is not as great as his two little brothers, because he has always been low-key and has always been a royalist.
Beiyang Sanjie
Let's talk about wang Shizhen's story.
1. For the merits of Yuan Li, Xuan Tongnian resigned
Wang Shizhen was born in a poor family, his father and uncle died early, he and his widowed mother depended on each other, living in the city of Zhengding Ximenli aunt's mother's family, relying on her mother to do needlework for others to survive. But he was smart and studious, and at the age of 17, he was admitted to the Zhengding Town General Military Cadet Corps, and later entered the Tianjin Wubei Academy, where he studied in the artillery department for 3 years, and after graduation, he went to Shanhaiguan to teach in the artillery team.
Wang Shizhen adopted Western methods to teach and applied what he had learned, so he praised him from his superiors. In the twentieth year of Guangxu (1894), the Dongxue Party uprising broke out in Korea. Wang Shizhen was ordered to fight the Japanese with Ye Zhichao (formerly Zhengding Zhentai, who valued Wang Shizhen and made him his own service soldier). During the war, he showed bravery and was able not to take the people's food indiscriminately.
Wang Shizhen's talent was fully displayed, and thanks to Yin Chang, the general office of the Tianjin Wubei Academy at that time, it was he who recommended his proud protégé Wang Shizhen to Yuan Shikai when he was training a new army at Yuan Shikai's small station in Tianjin. Let Wang Shizhen have the honor of becoming friends with Yuan Shikai and becoming the latter's right-hand man. At the same time, Yuan Shikai's disciples were two other alumni of Wang Shizhen: Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang.
Wang Shizhen
Wang Shizhen is characterized by: high-profile work and low-key behavior. Because he was meticulous, thoughtful, and not ostentatious, he won the trust of Yuan Shikai, so that Yuan Shikai consulted with him on major matters such as the evaluation of achievements in the military and the promotion and appointment of personnel.
Wang Shizhen was also very grateful to Yuan Shikai for his kindness, and he tried his best to help Yuan Shikai train the new army. It also trained soldiers in full accordance with the battalion system and drill code of the modern German Army, and hired German officers as instructors and supervisors, and all used new foreign-made weapons. The well-trained and new look of this unit is impressive.
In the twenty-third year of Guangxu (1897), Rong Lu, the governor directly subordinate to the Beiyang Minister, was instructed to go to the small station to inspect the new army, and Wang Shizhen exercised the mines, dry mines, stepping on mines, and various weapons set up by the engineering battalion, plus the new army was more neat than the old army. After Yuan Shikai heard this, he relied even more heavily on Wang Shizhen, and since then, he has not allowed any of his demands.
Wang Shizhen military uniform photo
Later, during Yuan Shikai's tenure as governor of Shandong, Yuan Shikai invited the German governor in Jiaozhou to Jinan to read exercises. The German governor saw that the new army trained by Yuan Shikai was indeed more refined and skilled than the old army, and praised Wang Shizhen, Duan Qirui, and Feng Guozhang, who presided over the exercise, as the "Three Masters of Beiyang". This "three masters" are also known as Yuan Shikai's "dragon, tiger, and leopard". Since then, Wang Shizhen has been pushed as the "Crown of the Three Masters" and was originally called the "Dragon of the Three Masters" in Beiyang.
When Guangxu and Cixi died one after another, the young Xuantong Emperor Puyi succeeded to the throne, and was succeeded by his biological father Zaifeng the Prince of Alcohol, who was dismissed from his post because of political disagreements, Yuan Shikai fell out of favor, and Wang Shizhen also applied for vacancies, one to avoid suspicion, and the other to repay Yuan Shikai's kindness.
Second, indifferent to the official position of the Republic of China, be a stubborn royalist
The second reason why Wang Shizhen did not have two brothers: Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang, was that he had always been a stubborn royalist. Although after the outbreak of the Wuchang Uprising in the third year of Xuanun (1911), after Yuan Shikai returned to become prime minister, the first request was to let Wang Shizhen handle the military affairs of Hubei and make him the minister of war.
Wang Shizhen photo
However, after Wang Shizhen came out of the mountains, he opposed Duan Qirui's republican declaration, and when Puyi abdicated on February 12, the fourth year of reunification (1912), Wang Shizhen tried his best to fight for preferential conditions for the Qing dynasty, and finally in order to show loyalty to the Qing court, he was reluctant to sub-sign the abdication edict, and resigned and retired to his hometown of Zhengding City.
When Yuan Shikai revealed his original form, he wanted to add his dragon robe as soon as possible and become the emperor of the Chinese Empire. Yang Du, Liang Shiyi, Chen Eunuch, and others first rushed to persuade each other, and then congratulated each other after being knighted. However, at this time, Wang Shizhen was more sober, he was detached from the outside, and he was not moved by the imperial system. This reflects that he can judge the hour and size up the situation, look at the situation in a superior way, and anticipate in advance that Yuan Shikai's dream of being an emperor is unpopular and certainly not long.
However, Wang Shizhen was a stubborn royalist after all, and when on June 14, 1917, When Zhang Xun entered Beijing to support the restoration of the Qing Dynasty and the deposed emperor in the name of mediating between Li and Duan, he actually ordered the defenders to open the city gates and let Zhang Xun's braided army pour into the city like a tide. He also accompanied Zhang Xun and others to bring out the 12-year-old Puyi to announce the restoration of the Qing Emperor and became the General Staff Shangshu.
Photo of Wang Shizhen in his later years
Who knew that Zhang Xun's restoration of the ugly drama ended in failure after only 12 days. Duan Qirui became the premier of the state again, at this time Wang Shizhen felt faceless and wanted to return to his hometown and live in seclusion again, but Duan Qirui (after all, it was his second brother) not only did not condemn his guilt, but said that he had made meritorious efforts to maintain public order and tried his best to keep him.
Third, he served as prime minister for a short time, and lived in permanent seclusion due to factional struggles
On September 1, 1917, Sun Yat-sen was inaugurated as the Grand Marshal of the Military Government of the Protector of the French in Guangzhou, declaring Duan Qirui a rebel of the Republic of China, sending troops to the Northern Expedition and beginning the War of Defending france. Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang, one of whom was fiercely trying to unify the south by force, and the other advocated a peaceful settlement, and the contradictions between the "tiger" and "dog" families gradually intensified, and by mid-November, there was already a lot of trouble.
On November 20, Feng Guozhang dismissed Duan Qirui from his post as prime minister and asked Wang Shizhen to form a cabinet. But Wang Shizhen was tired of political life and refused Feng Guozhang's request. Later, Feng Guozhang sent people to petition in front of Wang Shizhen's door and shouted: "Please hire the old man to form a cabinet to consolidate the Beiyang group." Wang Shizhen had no choice but to become the prime minister of the cabinet.
The Royal Family Compound
After Wang Shizhen formed the cabinet, he could not help the infighting between the two families, and he really could not reconcile them, so he sighed continuously; "The brothers were stuck in the wall and destroyed themselves. In the end, Wang Shizhen, who could not withstand the storm, was forced to "return home" in February 1918, which left his prime minister's term of office for only three months, leaving the political arena permanently.
Since then, this "Beiyang Dragon" has been living in Beijing for a long time, and in the subsequent war storm, he twice organized a law and order maintenance meeting, doing his best to maintain social order, saving Beijing from the disaster of war, and being admired by the people of Beijing, in addition, Wang Shizhen also presided over several charity activities in Beijing. On July 10, 1930, he died of bowel cancer in Beijing at the age of 70.
In short, Wang Shizhen, a modern and modern political figure in China, is not as famous in history as his two younger brothers, Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang, because he has always been a low-key person and has always been a stubborn royalist.
Schematic diagram of the warlord division during the reign of the Beiyang warlords
Wang Shizhen's high-profile work and low-key character are worthy of our study and reference; but his behavior of thinking outdated and unable to keep up with the trend of history must be criticized. We should conform to the historical trend, constantly study advanced science and technology, strive to always walk in the forefront of the times, and strive to realize the dream of modernization in our country at an early date.
This article is original by "Such as Day Zhongtian 54", welcome to pay attention, learn together, and improve together!