In 1911, a vigorous road protection movement broke out in Sichuan, which for a time ignited the long-suppressed emotions of the people in the southern provinces and greatly shook the foundation of the Qing government's rule.
Above – Statue of the Baolu Movement
In a panic, the Qing government had to reuse Zhao Erfeng, who had suppressed toast in Tibet and was known as the "Butcher of Zhao", to go to Sichuan to take up a post, hoping that he would solve the incident.
Above - Portrait of Zhao Erfeng
After Zhao Erfeng, who was in danger of being appointed, chose a gentle solution, not only appeasing and enlightening the people, but also actively participating in the court discussion of impeaching Sheng Xuanhuai, exerting pressure on the imperial court to remove him from his post and give an explanation to the people of Sichuan.
Soon after, however, Zhao Erfeng's attitude took a sharp turn, and he faithfully carried out the orders of the Qing government, and did not hesitate to suppress the people by force, and even caused the famous Chengdu Bloody Case. So why is there such a huge shift in attitudes?
Zhao Erfeng was a heavy minister of the Qing Dynasty, who served in many places, and he also had three older brothers, all of whom were admitted to the Jinshi to enter the dynasty as an official, only he failed to succeed in his own repeated attempts, and finally he could only rely on donations to change a minor official. Fortunately, when he was serving in Shanxi, he was appreciated by Inspector Xi Liang, became a close confidant of his side, and then entered Sichuan together:
Xi Liang governor Chuan, neglected his talents, Kwon Yong Ning Dao.
Above - Statue of Xi Liang
Obviously, Zhao Erfeng was born insufficient in learning, so he could be appreciated entirely by relying on some outstanding ability in other fields, that is, tough means, which was extremely useful in times when the country was in chaos.
At that time, the British forces had infiltrated the Tibetan region, and after showing great armed strength, the local government in Tibet was hesitant to turn to the British government or the Qing government, and if it was a mature politician, at such a time, it would certainly not exert too much pressure on the noble toastmasters in the Tibetan region, so as not to drive them to the opposite side.
However, Zhao Erfeng, who was in charge of dealing with the Batang rebellion in Tibet at that time, did not think so, and he suppressed the rebellion with a tough attitude and through bloody force, because the process was so bloody that the people in Tibet and The River gave him the nickname of "Zhao Butcher".
Above - Tibetan toast statue
It is true that as part of the Qing Dynasty, the noble tusi in Tibet was wrong in their vain attempt to split the country, and the social unrest caused by it was also something that the Qing government did not want to see, but this chaos was not a simple internal contradiction, but a contradiction between the external imperialists and the Chinese nation.
Although Zhao Erfeng's determination to defend the country is correct, it can also be seen from this nickname that his attitude is inevitably too radical and his means are too tough.
Since Zhao Erfeng was still effective in suppressing rebellions in Tibet, the Qing government planned to let him operate in the border area of Sichuan and Tibet for a long time to act as a deterrent to The Tibetan region, but a sudden incident forced the Qing government to change its mind.
In 1911, the Qing government disregarded the interests of the people in the southern provinces and brazenly handed over the operation rights of the Sichuan-Han and Guangdong-Han railways to the European and American powers, and refused to pay the shares purchased by the people. As soon as the news came out, the Sichuan region reacted most fiercely, and then a vigorous road protection movement broke out.
Above – Monument to the Road Preservation Movement
Seeing the chaos in Sichuan, the Qing government remembered Zhao Erfeng, who was very famous in Sichuan and Tibet, and hurriedly transferred him to serve as the governor of Sichuan, hoping to use him to calm the chaos.
Considering Zhao Erfeng's past experience and the nickname of "Zhao Butcher", it can be seen that the Qing government did not hesitate to use force in order to quickly quell the road protection movement.
What is surprising is that Zhao Erfeng, who came to Chengdu, did not take armed repression, but while appeasing and enlightening the people, he wrote to the imperial court to revoke the government decree transferring the right to operate the Sichuan-Han Railway, in addition, Zhao Erfeng also actively participated in the court discussion of impeachment of Sheng Xuanhuai:
Huichuan chaos, Erfeng also province, Jisi Dao joint name please change the way.
All kinds of performances show that Zhao Erfeng has a more thorough view of the matter of nationalization of the railway, and he also knows that the government's activities of disregarding the interests of the people and betraying the national sovereignty are very wrong, so he hopes that he can serve as a bridge between the government and the Sichuan people and peacefully resolve this matter.
In Zhao Erfeng's view, it is not difficult to solve the chaos in Sichuan, and it is only necessary to abandon the latter in the interests of Sichuan people, national interests and foreigners.
Most of the martial iron-blooded warriors like Zhao Erfeng are not afraid of foreigners, including the British shadow behind the toast he faced when he was in Tibet, which also proved this.
However, Zhao Erfeng was not afraid, but not to mean that the Qing government was not afraid, since the Opium War, countless defeats and paper unequal treaties have made the Manchu Qing nobles lose the courage and determination to resist imperialism.
In their view, as long as they do not harm their own interests, then no matter what kind of conditions for losing power and humiliating the country are acceptable, since they have decided to sell the right to operate the railway, then the idea of a zhao Erfeng is not worth their consideration at all.
Above – Sheng Xuanhuai, a key figure in the Road Preservation Movement
As a result, the Qing government constantly exerted pressure to force Zhao Erfeng to quickly resolve the chaos, and this also related to whether the position of governor he had worked so hard to mix was firm.
In this case, Zhao Erfeng could only change his mind, pick up the butcher knife again, directly arrest the leader of the road protection movement, and shoot more than thirty petitioning people.
The people of Sichuan, especially the leaders of the Road Protection Movement, were shocked by Zhao Erfeng's very different attitudes, but the uncompromising bloodiness in the bones of the Bashu people was stimulated, and the general counties outside Chengdu were occupied by the Road Protection Movement Group, which also proved the firmness of the attitude of the People of Sichuan.
On the other hand, Zhao Erfeng Enshi refused to compromise and further intensified the suppression, and the contradictions between the two sides tended to be white-hot, making the development of the matter completely out of the control of the Qing government, laying the groundwork for the subsequent Wuchang Uprising.
Above – The Wuchang Uprising
Since Zhao Erfeng, who held the military power in Sichuan, was no longer able to suppress it alone, the Qing government, which was eager to solve the matter, had to urgently dispatch the Hubei New Army to fight in Sichuan.
This also makes Wuchang's defensive strength relatively empty, which is considered by later generations to be an important reason for firing the first shot of the Xinhai Revolution in Wuchang, and from this point of view, Zhao Erfeng can also be regarded as one of the important forces promoting the Xinhai Revolution.
However, from Zhao Erfeng's personal point of view, his life, especially in his later years, was tragic, although compared with ordinary people, Zhao Erfeng, who was the governor of a province, was of a high status, but he could not escape the command of the Qing government and became a loyal servant who carried out orders.
Even if he had the intention to fight for the interests of the people from the perspective of the people, he could not escape the oppression of imperial power and the desire for status, and eventually became a machine for slaughtering the people again.
concentrate:
The description of Zhao Erfeng's entry into the River and the early stage of the Chengdu Quelling Rebellion in this article refers to the "Draft History of the Qing Dynasty, Liechuan, Volume 256"
The article combines historical materials and mixes personal understanding and analysis, if there are different opinions, welcome to leave a message to discuss