The period from 1912 to 1949 is known as the "Republic of China period", and because the old society has just been ended, because the new society has not yet been established, this period is full of changes and turmoil, and on the surface it seems to be "lively and extraordinary".
During this period, many legendary women emerged, such as Lin Huiyin, Zhang Ailing, Lu Xiaoman, Tang Yiying, Zhou Xuan, Kong Lingwei... They are either literary and flying, or fall into the country, or mavericks, or have a wealthy family, and they still have a very high degree of topic.
Cai Yi and Xiao Fengxian
And our protagonist today may not be as famous as the above bits, but he can definitely afford the word "legend". Her status is low, only because of a story of "beauty saves heroes" swept the country, and left a highlight moment in that era of stormy meetings.
Perhaps, as you have already thought, she is Xiao Fengxian. In order to resist the despicable act of plagiarism of the original text, Wenshi has to attach a watermark logo to the pictures from the Network, which is a helpless move, if there is infringement, please contact to delete.
Little Phoenix Fairy
Xiao Fengxian (August 1900 – July 1954), real name Zhu Xiaofeng, later renamed Zhang Fengyun and Zhang Xianfei, was a Manchu, born in Qiantang, Zhejiang Province. She was a famous prostitute in the capital during the Republic of China period, and she was famous for her emotional entanglement with General Cai Yi.
Zhu Xiaofeng was born in Zhejiang, and his ancestors were once the eight banner warriors of the Manchu Qing Dynasty with unlimited scenery, and the inheritance had declined by this time. After the death of his father, because his birth mother was only a concubine and was constantly bullied by Mrs. Zhengfang, the mother and daughter had to move away from the Zhu family to live alone, and their lives were very sad.
Xiao Fengxian's mother was pampered and accustomed, and she had no ability to live independently, and she was finally crushed by the cruel reality and died. At the age of ten, she instantly became an orphan with no one to rely on, but fortunately she was raised by her grandmother Zhang Shi when she was a child, so she changed her name to Zhang Fengyun.
At that time, Grandma Zhang was working as a maid in Zhejiang's Inspector Zeng Yun's family, and her life could barely be maintained. However, with the outbreak of the Wuchang Uprising on October 10, 1911, the fate of many people changed completely.
After taking control of the three towns in Wuhan, the revolutionaries continued to work hard, and all over the country blossomed on all sides. Seeing that Zhejiang's inspector Yamen was shelled, Grandma Zhang had to flee to Shanghai with her adopted daughter Zhang Fengyun. Because she had no food and clothing, she had to sell her to an artist surnamed Hu to learn drama, and from then on she was named "Little Fengxian".
Xiao Fengxian has experienced too many tribulations and setbacks, so her heart is very precocious, and she especially cherishes this opportunity to eat a full meal. Moreover, she was talented and intelligent, and her appearance was also outstanding, and she soon began to sell and sing while learning art, and moved from Shanghai to Nanjing.
On March 10, 1912, due to the weakness and compromise of the bourgeoisie, the fruits of the Xinhai Revolution were stolen by Yuan Shikai. After he was inaugurated as the provisional president of the Republic of China in Beijing, the Beiyang government made a series of perverse acts and began to reveal its true face.
Sun Yat-sen
In July 1913, the intolerable revolutionaries revolted again, and Sun Yat-sen organized the "Second Revolution". In this context, Li Liejun took the lead in responding and declaring the independence of Jiangxi, and established the Yuan Commandery to confront the Beiyang Army. In addition, shanghai, Jiangsu, Anhui, Guangdong, Fujian and Sichuan provinces have also electrified in support of the revolution.
In order to suppress the second revolution, Yuan Shikai ordered Feng Guozhang and Zhang Xun and others to lead troops to attack Nanjing, the stronghold of the revolutionary party. In order to escape the war, Xiao Fengxian followed Boss Hu all the way to Beijing City, selling singing and picking up customers in the famous "Eight Hutongs" In The Yunji class of Shaanxi Lane, and gradually became a popular prostitute.
In the face of the revolutionary wave in full swing in the southern provinces, Cai Yi in Yunnan behaved unusually and appeared too restrained. On the one hand, he believes that the country has just ended its war and should not be at war again; on the other hand, he has not yet seen Yuan Shikai's face and is still willing to support him as president.
Therefore, Cai Yi was somewhat embarrassed in the second revolution, and even adopted an attitude of "two do not help each other". As a result, he not only aroused the confusion of Sun Yat-sen, but also aroused the vigilance of Yuan Shikai, which can be said to be unflattering on both sides.
Due to the dispersion of the revolutionary party, there was no longer a wave like the Wuchang Uprising. In just over a month, the Beiyang Army conquered Nanjing, Sun Yat-sen and Huang Xing and others had to flee to Japan, and all localities announced the abolition of independence, and the second revolution was declared a failure.
Yuan Shikai
After suppressing the "Second Revolution", Yuan Shikai began a series of counter-offensive counts, one of which was Yunnan. In his view, Cai Yi, who had long been wandering between the revolutionary party and the Beiyang clique, was unreliable and had to be stripped of his military power.
In September 1913, Yuan Shikai pretended to arrange for Cai Yi to serve as the governor of Hunan and needed to personally go to Beijing to accept the appointment. Cai Yi did not know that there was deception, so he took his mother and wife Liu Xiazhen, concubine Pan Huiying and four children to Beijing.
Cai Yi's whole family
Who knows, after Cai Yi entered Beijing, he found that he was deceived and completely fell into the trap of Yuan Shikai. On the surface, Yuan Shikai responded to his needs, ate and wore everything he could, and let his eldest son Yuan Keding marry Cai Yiyi, the son of Cai Yi. In fact, Yuan Shikai was extremely wary of him, and only appointed the inspector of the National Economic and Boundary Bureau and the Senate to participate in the administration of the government, and also arranged for Beiyang spies to monitor him all day and night, which made the Cai family worried.
In May 1915, Yuan Shikai secretly accepted Japan's "Twenty-One Articles" proposed to destroy China in exchange for Japan's support for his claim to emperor. After the incident was exposed, the whole country was in an uproar, accusing the Beiyang government of losing power and insulting the country, and Cai Yi even openly opposed this secret treaty.
If Yuan Shikai could still be superficially close to Cai Yi before, then the two sides completely broke up after this incident. As a result, Cai Yi's life in Beijing became even more difficult, and more and more sentries and spies appeared near his residence.
In desperation, Cai Yi asked Yuan Shikai to allow him to leave Beijing, but he was refused for various reasons. Even after he resigned from all public office, he could not return to Yunnan and remained stranded in Beijing. From then on, he was determined to flee Beijing and take the lead in his rebellion against Yuan.
In this context, Cai Yi went to the "Eight Great Hutongs" to relax and met Xiao Fengxian, a famous prostitute in Beijing, and the two could be said to have seen each other at first sight and began to have frequent contact. In addition to Yun Jiban's pleasure, he immediately inscribed a couplet to give to Xiao Fengxian:
Since the ancient beauty of many Ying enlightenment, never chivalrous women out of the wind and dust.
Although Xiao Fengxian is a descendant of the Manchus, although she does not understand any democratic ideas and national salvation ideas, her life experience in her childhood has made her deeply resentful of the decaying Manchu Qing. Seeing that the Xinhai Revolution finally overthrew the feudal imperial system, but Yuan Shikai wanted to turn back history to restore the imperial system, she naturally would not support it.
After several exchanges, Cai Yi and Xiao Fengxian's conversation became more and more speculative. After knowing the identity of the other party, Xiao Fengxian gradually secretly agreed with him, after all, "since ancient times, beautiful women love heroes"; and Cai Yi, in order to confuse Yuan Shikai, also began to intentionally "indulge himself" and staged a "hero is sad to be beautiful".
As Xiao Fengxian and Cai Yi quickly approached, they soon attracted wind and rain all over the city, causing the streets and alleys to talk about this "General of the Winds". He even deliberately entrusted Yuan Shikai's close confidant Liang Shiyi to come forward and prepare to spend a lot of money to buy a villa in Beijing to give to Xiao Fengxian.
Of course, these deviant acts could not escape Yuan Shikai's eyes. However, he had always been an old traitor and had a city government in his heart, and he was still half-convinced of this matter and was always on guard. In order to further test, he simply sent someone to consult Cai Yi with a copy of the "Persuasion Book" that supported the imperial system to see if he agreed.
Unexpectedly, Cai Yi did not hesitate to sign a joint signature on it, like a hardcore member loyal to Yuan Shikai. At this point, Yuan Shikai relaxed his vigilance against him and reduced the surveillance of the Cai family.
Stills of Cai Yi
Cai Yi no longer seems to ask about current affairs, and every day he takes Xiao Fengxian around the Beijing-Tianjin area, basically how to make a high profile, at least once a week to make headlines on the front page. He knows very well that it is not difficult for him to leave Beijing, and the biggest problem is how to ensure that the family can leave safely.
After consulting with his wife Liu Xiazhen and concubine Pan Huiying, the three of them staged a bitter meat plan. Cai Yi feasted on the guests in his own palace, and took advantage of the wine to announce on the spot that he had redeemed Xiao Fengxian and accepted her as a concubine. At this moment, a family war broke out in an instant, and the two of them scolded their husband for being morally degraded and ungrateful.
Pan Huiying
Sure enough, newspapers and periodicals in Beijing reported on the matter the next day. Moreover, Liu Xiazhen and Pan Huiying both said that they would cut off Cai Yi, and Cai's mother was also very disappointed in her son and chose to return to her hometown in Yunnan with her daughter-in-law and grandson.
By now, Yuan Shikai finally believed that Cai Yi had fallen into a gentle township and could not extricate himself, and had completely lost his fighting spirit. However, Xiao Fengxian knew that this was just a plan, and he swore to die to cover his escape from the capital.
Stills of Cai Yi and Xiao Fengxian
In November 1915, with the active cooperation of Xiao Fengxian, Cai Yi finally boarded the merchant ship "Shandong Maru" from Tianjin to Japan. After that, he passed through Shanghai and then switched to Taiwan and Hong Kong, and eventually returned to his home base in Yunnan.
Yuan Shikai ascended the throne
In December 1915, Yuan Shikai announced his ascension to the throne as emperor, changed the name of the country to the Chinese Empire, and established the Hongxian Dynasty, which was known as the "Hongxian Imperial System" in history. Soon, Tang Jiyao, Cai Yi, Li Liejun and others sent a telegram to the whole country, declaring the independence of Yunnan and using force to woo Yuan, which soon received a positive response from the southern provinces, known in history as the "National Protection Movement".
Patriotic War
Under the embattled, Yuan Shikai's dream of emperor was finally shattered, and he announced his abdication on March 22, 1916, still calling himself the Great President. Immediately afterward, Cai Yi, Tang Jiyao, and others issued statements insisting that they be removed from their posts as president. Soon, Yuan Shikai died under internal and external difficulties and rebellion, and the Patriotic Movement ended.
Yuan Shikai stills
After Yuan Shikai's death, Vice President Li Yuanhong succeeded him as President of the Republic of China. On July 6, 1916, he appointed Cai Yi as the governor of Sichuan, which recognized his outstanding merits during the Great Patriotic War.
At this time, Cai Yi's condition had deteriorated, and after Iriekawa took office, he hastily dealt with related matters and immediately traveled east to Japan to treat laryngeal cancer. On November 8, 1916, he died of a serious illness in Fukuoka, Japan, at the age of 34, leaving a will before his death:
I commanded the First Army of the Yunnan Protectorate Army to die in the Battle of Sichuan and the personnel who contributed to the Battle of Sichuan, and implored Luo Peijin and others to verify the petition for a pension award, so as to show fairness;
News of Cai's death soon reached Beijing, and on April 12, 1917, the Beiyang government held a state funeral for him at Yuelu Mountain in Changsha. As a result, he also became the first person in the history of the Republic of China to enjoy the treatment of state funerals.
Little Phoenix Fairy stills
After learning of Cai Yi's death, Xiao Fengxian was also sad and left the sad land of Beijing and took a train to Shenyang. In order to survive, she married a fengshi officer stationed in the northeast as a concubine, and wanted to spend the rest of her life in peace.
However, fate really did not care for this amorous woman. With her husband killed in battle, Xiao Fengxian remained alone in the cold and frozen northeast region, completely helpless.
On the eve of the founding of New China, Xiao Fengxian, who was already in her forties, was no longer young, and she married an ordinary boilermaker Li Zhenhai under the name of "Zhang Xianfei", and also became the stepmother of four children. Although her life is poor, she finally found the feeling of home, and hopes to live forever.
Li Zhenhai, a boilermaker, is not only tired at work, but also has a meager and increasingly old income, and is unable to support the family. In order to supplement the family, Zhang Xianfei entered the garment factory and became a female worker.
A few years later, her husband Li Zhenhai died of illness, and Zhang Xefer had to take his four stepchildren to live a difficult life. In the spring of 1951, Mr. Mei Lanfang personally went to Shenyang to participate in the performance, and she immediately wrote a letter to ask for a meeting, and the payment used the "Little Phoenix Immortal" that had not been mentioned for more than thirty years.
After receiving the letter, Mei Lanfang was surprised and happy, and immediately accompanied his wife Fu Zhifang to receive this little Phoenix Immortal who had a rough and hidden name for half a life. She told the deceased about the ups and downs of these years, and told the story of her relationship with General Cai Yi, hoping to publish it in writing.
Mei Lanfang
Mei Lanfang knew that Xiao Fengxian's life was difficult, and before leaving, she specially asked the local government to take care of her. With his help, Xiao Fengxian finally got a relatively stable job and entered a kindergarten as a health worker.
After returning to Beijing, Mei Lanfang arranged for someone to write the experience of Xiao Fengxian and Cai Yi into documentary literature, but it was not published publicly due to the opposition of the Children of the Cai family. They felt that Xiao Fengxian's account did not match the facts, and also greatly denigrated the reputation of the deceased father, who had never loved her as a dusty woman, but only because the situation needed to be covered by her, and in return he redeemed himself for her.
In 1953, Zhang Xianfei suffered from Alzheimer's disease due to overwork and died of illness in less than a year. After her death, her stepdaughter Li Guilan found a yellowed photo from under the pillow, which was the heroic general Cai Yi at that time, and there was a line written on the back - since the ancient beauty Duo Yingwu, never a heroine out of the wind and dust.
Cai Yi
It was only at this time that Li Guilan knew that his stepmother Zhang Xianfei was really a person with a story, and that she was actually a little Phoenix Immortal who was once famous in Beijing! @Wenshi is not false