On January 24, 1900, the traditional lunar year was the twenty-fourth day of the month of Jihai, and the palace suddenly called Daqi.
The princes and nobles in the capital, the ministers of military aircraft, the ministers of the Shangshu, the ministers of the interior and other ministers looked at each other when they heard the news, and they did not know why, and some people were worried in their hearts, and it was difficult to know the good fortune.
No wonder the ministers were suspicious in their hearts, the year of the Common Era had not yet been adopted at that time, so this day was the twenty-sixth year of Guangxu, that is, the twenty-fourth day of the lunar calendar.
Although the Qing Dynasty is already in the twilight of the West Mountain, internal and external troubles, in these forty-nine cities, it seems to be an ordinary day.
For many elderly ministers, in the past two years, the court of the Qing Dynasty has finally calmed down.
In the first two years, the Wuxu Restoration repeatedly tossed for half a year, until the Queen Mother made an iron-fisted move and launched the Wuxu Change.
At that time, there were legends inside and outside the court, in September, Kang Liang ** saw that the reform and reform were unsustainable, and in desperation, Tan Si visited Fahua Temple at night.
Tan Sitong saw Yuan Shikai, so he "pounced" and knelt down, begging Yuan Shikai to raise troops to kill Rong Lu, besiege the Summer Palace, and take down the Empress Dowager Cixi.
Tan Sitong is still too bookish, Yuan Shikai has gone through many years of ups and downs in the court, and he has long been unfazed, with three knives on both sides, and his kung fu is absolutely first-class.
Yuan Shikai pretended to agree, and coaxed Tan Sitong away with kind words, and his impassioned strength made even Tan Sitong believe it. Who knew that as soon as Tan Sitong was sent away, Yuan Shikai rushed to Tianjin overnight to report to Rong Lu.
The events of the Wuxu period are not too long, and the Queen Mother completely parted ways with the emperor, and they are on the same page. After the Empress Dowager put down the Kangliang Rebellion, she first placed the emperor in Xiyuan Yingtai, and later the Empress Dowager was in the Summer Palace, so she brought the emperor to Yulan Hall, and asked Li Lianying to arrange for her cronies and eunuchs to keep an eye on Emperor Guangxu every day.
Everyone remembers that just last year, every time there was a court meeting, in front of hundreds of civil and military officials, the Queen Mother reprimanded Emperor Guangxu for not keeping a word of virtue at all, and not caring about the emperor's face at all.
not only scolded himself, but also designated courtiers to scold. Every time there is a court meeting, the civil and military officials are like sitting on pins and needles, and they spend their days like years. For fear of being chosen by the Queen Mother, she went to scold the emperor.
It has been a long time since Emperor Guangxu moved, it is said that Emperor Guangxu is seriously ill, and the imperial doctors are helpless, so they can only treat the symptoms but not the root cause.
There has been a legend for a long time that if it weren't for the envoys of the great powers to send a special note to the empress dowager to express their support and concern for Emperor Guangxu, perhaps Emperor Guangxu would not be alive today.
Sure enough, the news coming out of the palace today was extraordinary.
According to the etiquette system of the Qing Dynasty, every day the emperor decided to summon several ministers of military aircraft to discuss according to the affairs discussed.
In the event of a major military matter, then it is necessary to discuss with all the four or more grades. Generally in the Qianqing Palace, all ** are waiting outside the door. Hundreds of officials reported to the emperor, and the emperor dealt with it publicly, which was called "Da Qi".
Today, there was a sudden upsurge, it turned out to be the decision of the Empress Dowager Cixi, no one knew the attitude of Emperor Guangxu, and the location was not the Qianqing Palace, but the Xiyuan Yiluan Palace.
Although the four grades and above in the capital are full of doubts, they are still dressed neatly according to the etiquette system, wearing court clothes, complementing pearls, and wearing flower feathers, meticulous. The fifth watch day is waiting outside the Donghua Gate, and when the hour comes, the inner city gate opens, and everyone enters according to the grade.
In the past, the court meeting was in the Qianqing Palace, and today the Queen Mother changed to the Xiyuan Yiluan Palace, as usual, three clean whips, all the ministers shook their spirits, bowed three times and knocked nine, and welcomed the Queen Mother Lafayette.
The Empress Dowager Cixi sat down, and as soon as she opened her mouth, she was shocked, "When she was established as the emperor, there was much opposition inside and outside the court, just because Emperor Muzong (Tongzhi) had no children under his knees, so he had to follow the power at that time. ”
The ministers fell to the ground, not daring to make a sound.
Although Lafayette listened to it in a calm tone at this time, the queen mother commented on the emperor's affairs, who had the courage to express her opinions.
If you are not careful, whether it is the queen mother or the emperor, these two are not subordinates who can be offended. It's better to keep your mouth shut, and when the Queen Mother finishes speaking, just kowtow your head.
Cixi saw that the size ** was subdued in the underground black pressure, and each of them trembled, unable to speak, and was very satisfied.
So he raised his voice a little, and said bitterly in the tone of an old mother who was disobedient to her son, "If the emperor still has a little conscience, he should think about how to repay ...... with filial piety."”
Cixi's face sank, and her tone became cold, "In the Wuxu Rebellion the year before last, the Kang Party conspired against it, and under the banner of serving the emperor, he actually planned to lobby Yuan Shikai and send troops to besiege the Summer Palace, intending to kill me!."”
As Cixi's voice became colder and colder, the ** lying on the ground broke out in a cold sweat, and even worse, their teeth began to chatter.
The Empress Dowager Cixi glanced at the underground ministers, and snorted coldly
Zai Xiang actually colluded with the Kang Party and agreed with this idea, which is really a big rebellion!”
Cixi snorted coldly, I don't know how many people almost peed their pants underground. Just listen to Cixi continue:
I have made up my mind, today I will choose another clan to inherit the heir of Omuzong (Tongzhi), and I will have a great enthronement ceremony on New Year's Day!”
Coaxing, the underground ** looked at each other and was surprised. Today is the twenty-fourth day of the lunar month, and it is full of calculations, and there are only seven days left until the New Year's Day of the Gengzi year.
Although the Queen Mother is a woman, since the Xianfeng period, she has captured the three murderers and listened to the government, and she has made a decisive decision to kill, which is extraordinarily comparable.
But even in the matter of establishing Zai Xiang as the emperor, it is always criticized.
It stands to reason that after Tongzhi's death, he should choose his sons and nephews to inherit the unification, but in this way, Cixi became the empress dowager.
Since ancient times, I have never seen a dynasty or generation where the empress dowager listened to the government. Therefore, Cixi ignored public opinion and appointed Tongzhi's cousin Zai Yan as emperor, which is equivalent to setting aside Tongzhi and finding an heir for Emperor Xianfeng.
Although the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty have been accustomed to the arbitrariness of the Empress Dowager Cixi, the abolition of the establishment is the foundation of the country after all, and since the establishment of the Qing Dynasty for more than 200 years, there has been no precedent for openly discussing the abolition of the establishment in the imperial court.
But the ministers also saw that the Queen Mother didn't really want to know what everyone thought when she gathered everyone together, but just took the opportunity to tell everyone that Cixi herself had made a decision, but she just informed her.
In addition, what bothers the queen mother is how to settle Guangxu after the emperor in the future.
Seeing that everyone was staring at each other and stunned, Cixi simply picked out her words, "It is said that in the former Ming Dynasty, there were also things that were abolished. ”
Cixi deliberately paused to let the ministers react for a while, so as not to express their opinions indiscriminately without knowing whether they were alive or dead, Cixi sped up the speed of her speech:
Ming Yingzong Tumubao was brought to Mobei, his younger brother Jingtai Emperor was called the emperor, and later Yingzong returned, Jingtai Emperor was demoted to the prince. ”
Obedient and obedient, it seems that after Cixi took the throne of Guangxu's emperor, she will also give Guangxu the position of a prince.
As expected by the Empress Dowager Cixi, the scene was still silent, and the big and small ** just looked left and right, just communicating their thoughts with their eyes. Cixi simply took a moment's time, and her eyes swept over the faces of the ministers of military aircraft one by one.
Maybe it was due to the pressure of the Empress Dowager's eyes, or maybe it was because he had long been dissatisfied with His Majesty the Emperor, and he took the opportunity to vomit as soon as possible, and the first to speak to break the deadlock was Xu Tong, a prestigious science master in this dynasty, and Xu Tong, a scholar of Tiren Pavilion who has always flaunted himself with benevolence, righteousness and morality.
Xu Tong is over eighty years old, the Queen Mother gave the Forbidden City to ride a horse, and the eunuch helped the upper hall when he went to the court, Xu Tong pondered the thoughts of the Queen Mother for a long time, cleared his throat, and opened his mouth without sounding, a blockbuster.
Xu Tong believes that after the abdication of Emperor Guangxu, it is too high to give him a princely position, so it is better to be named a "mixed virtue prince", which is just appropriate.
Xu Tong's voice did not fall, there were already big guys who had read poetry and books secretly shook their heads, "Mixed Degong" was the title of Emperor of the Song Dynasty after the fall of the Yuan Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty, Xu Tong was dedicated to patting the queen mother's ass, but he didn't expect that there was a suspicion that this dynasty was not long in the end.
Of course, no one would take the initiative to die, so there was a silence in the court. The Empress Dowager Cixi really thought that Xu Tong's idea was good, her face was cloudy, and she actually gave Xu Tong a seat on the spot, and the eunuch quickly moved a small pestle for Old Man Xu to sit down.
As for the candidate for the new monarch, Cixi had already made a decision in her heart. The age can't be too big, when you are older, you will have your own opinions, Guangxu is too much of an idea when he grows up, and he must make some changes, so that Kang Liang ** has an opportunity to take advantage of;The relationship can't be too far, and if it's too far, it's not close enough to the Queen Mother.
Pu Jun, the eldest son of the king of Duanjun, is benevolent, filial piety and respectful, and can be established as the emperor. The king of Duanjun has always been obedient, and he will often enter the palace in the future to supervise Pu Jun to study. ”
The Queen Mother made a final word. In fact, anyone with a discerning eye knows that Pu Jun's grandfather is the younger brother of Emperor Xianfeng, and his blood relationship is closer to the Queen Mother;Secondly, Pu Jun's grandfather is Cixi's younger brother Guixiang, and Pu Jun's father, Duanjun Wang Zaiyi, has always been very close to the Queen Mother.
It seems that the overall situation has been decided, and the civil and military officials secretly let out a sigh of relief, and some have already begun to calculate, it is cold, and they just go home to make a mutton pot.
Besides, it's almost the New Year, and the "festival respect" and "charcoal respect" of the governors in various places should also arrive, and it is not possible to find the father-in-law in the palace who has the final say to beat the side drum for these feudal officials.
The minister thought that it was very inappropriate to do the abolition at this time!With a loud voice, the small abacus in the hearts of many people was shattered. Everyone followed the prestige, and they all wanted to see who this short-sighted guy was.
If the southern provinces know about today's events," it was Sun Jianai, the master of Emperor Guangxu, who was also the champion of Xianfeng's ninth year, "I am afraid that the governors may not be obeying orders, especially those who have done a good job in foreign affairs and are close to the ministers of various countries, they will inevitably have distracting thoughts." ”
Sun Jianai glanced at Xu Tong deliberately, "Besides, the current emperor is in his prime, so let's wait for him to talk about the abolition of the establishment after a hundred years!."”
Sun Jianai's current co-organizer of the college students, is the Military Aircraft Department is known as the "curtain military aircraft", the minister of management, in charge of the Beijing Normal University Hall (the predecessor of modern Peking University), the Beijing Normal University Hall is also the only trace left by the Wuxu Change.
Sun Jianai's words pointed out the current serious status quo, that is, most of the provincial governors were promoted after the pacification of Hongyang, not only in the process of counterinsurgency, but also in the later Westernization movement, which was led by these governors.
Han superintendents, most of them were born in the imperial examination, and they often attach great importance to the monarch and ministers, and the heroine's interference in politics is itself a chaos in the country in Confucianism.
In addition, Sun Jianai's words also have a layer of meaning, the Qing Dynasty has a set of rules different from the previous dynasties for the abolition of the prince. Nurhachi relied on the early tribal alliance to determine the Central Plains, and Emperor Taizu Nurhachi, Emperor Taizong, and Emperor Shizu Shunzhi were all negotiated by the Eight Banners Princes' Conference.
The Holy Ancestor Kangxi was designated by the Shunzhi edict, starting from Yongzheng, the name of the prince, hidden behind the "Zhengda Guangming" plaque, and the current emperor took it out after his death to know who should ascend the throne.
The current emperor Guangxu is alive and well, and the next emperor is designated, and there is no such precedent in the history of the Qing Dynasty.
After Sun Jianai finished speaking, the scene fell into a dead silence again.
Empress Dowager Cixi's face became ugly, she held back her anger, and threw out a vicious and cruel sentence, "Who to appoint as emperor is our family affair of Aixin Jueluo, and it is not something that you Hanchen should participate in." I'm very kind to you today, don't know that the sky is high and the earth is thick!”
Speaking of which, the abolition is irreversible. Seeing the gloomy faces of the Hanchens, Cixi hurriedly slowed down her tone and comforted, "I have already told the emperor about this matter, and the emperor has no objection!"”
Everyone had nothing to say, Cixi was afraid of long nights and dreams, so she ordered the civil and military officials to move to the Qinzheng Palace, strike while the iron was hot, and invite Emperor Guangxu to draw up the holy decree of the prince, Cixi breathed a sigh of relief, and a stone in her heart finally fell to the ground.
The reason why the Empress Dowager Cixi was impatient to finalize the matter of establishing the prince was because Guangxu was in her prime, and the Empress Dowager Cixi was already old. She was worried that she would not survive Guangxu, so after her death, Guangxu would definitely take charge of the world according to her own ideas and deny Cixi's dictatorship, which Cixi would never accept.
On November 14, 1908, Emperor Guangxu, who was under house arrest in Yingtai, died suddenly, but he did not expect that in less than 24 hours, Cixi also left one after another. All the layouts of Cixi in order to continue the dictatorship have become a mirror and a moon. The wheels of history are rolling forward, and a new dawn is gradually appearing ahead.