When Pu Yi met the old man, his face changed. Old Man: I won't kill you.
The emperor is an important role in China's feudal imperial system, and his status is noble and irreplaceable, which is determined by the political system of the world.
With the progress of modern society, the feudal imperial system gradually disappeared, and the role of the emperor has become a gradually blurred existence in the long river of history. Among them, the life of Pu Yi, the last emperor of China, was full of twists and turns.
He was the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty, a puppet in the Forbidden City, then a puppet emperor of the puppet state of Manchukuo, and finally an ordinary citizen of New China. For Pu Yi, most of his life is not free, either manipulated or on the way to being manipulated.
It was not until the founding of New China that he truly had his own freedom.
In Pu Yi's career, there was a person who had always frightened him, and even in his later years, when he faced her again, he still had palpitations. For Pu Yi, although he was called emperor, there was no real freedom in reality.
The relationship between Emperor Guangxu and Empress Dowager Cixi was well known, and Emperor Guangxu had no children, making the future successor of the Qing dynasty a thorny issue. The Empress Dowager Cixi was a beloved figure to Pu Yi.
When the Empress Dowager Cixi chose Pu Yi as her heir to the throne, she took into account two key factors. First of all, Pu Yi was young and easy to control, unlike Emperor Guangxu's unprovoked resistance.
Secondly, because Pu Yi's mother, Su Wan Guerjia, was the daughter of Cixi's confidant Rong Lu, Cixi had a deep affection for Pu Yi. However, when Pu Yi faced a crisis in the Qing Dynasty and revolts continued in various places, he was really just a puppet emperor controlled by his ministers.
In the third year of Puyi's reign, the Xinhai Revolution broke out, and the Qing Dynasty was overthrown and entered the ** period. Although the Qing Dynasty was overthrown, *** did not treat it as cruelly as in ancient times, but left it in the Forbidden City, enjoying a luxurious treatment and a luxurious life.
However, Pu Yi did not realize the threat to him from this great change, on the one hand, because he was still young and did not have a deep sense of political changes, and on the other hand, he adopted a tolerant policy towards the Qing Dynasty royal family, so that they were protected from the outside world.
The Braided Army led by Zhang Xun was restored in 1917, giving Pu Yi the opportunity to become emperor. However, the feudal system has long lost the hearts of the people, and this coup ended in failure, which also made *** completely lose his favor with Pu Yi.
Although *** gave him the last dignity out of Pu Yi's identity, Pu Yi was unwilling to accept this arrangement, but was eager to return to the former emperor's position.
Therefore, in the thirteenth year of **, Feng Yuxiang staged a coup d'état in Beijing, abolished Puyi's title of Qing Emperor, and moved him out of the palace. At this time, Pu Yi was no longer the stinky child, and he clearly recognized his embarrassing situation.
Despite this, Pu Yi still did not give up the idea of restoration.
When Feng Yuxiang expelled the old and young of the Manchu Qing Dynasty from the Forbidden City, Pu Yi met a person who made him unforgettable in his life, and that was Lu Zhonglin. Lu Zhonglin, as the person in charge of the bombardment of the Forbidden City, arrived at Shenwumen on November 5, 1924, and arrived with the regent Premier Huang Yin, the Beijing Police Superintendent Zhang Bi, and the socialite Li Shizeng.
The purpose of their trip was to persuade Pu Yi and others to move out of the Forbidden City.
* During this period, the Forbidden City was still a symbol of the feudal dynasty and was deeply imprinted in the hearts of the people. Feng Yuxiang realized this and decided to resolutely drive it out of the Forbidden City in disregard of the preferential treatment treaty between ** and Qing **.
Regarding Feng Yuxiang's decision, the widows and widows headed by Pu Yi resolutely opposed it. They used the Ministry of Internal Affairs ** Shaoying and Rongyuan to delay time and emphasize preferential conditions, but Lu Zhonglin insisted that they move out of the Forbidden City within a limited time.
However, Pu Yi and others still had luck and kept delaying time, and even thought that this was just a prank by Feng Yuxiang to declare power to the outside world after he took power. They eat, drink and be merry in the Forbidden City, and they don't have the appearance of a fallen monarch at all.
Lu Zhonglin's courage was fully displayed at this time. For the delay of Pu Yi and others, he resolutely ordered the bombardment of the Forbidden City. This move made Pu Yi and the others immediately fidget, and agreed to his request.
Soon, Pu Yi and the others began the work of moving out of the Forbidden City, and they would leave here and move to the palace of the Alcohol King in Beijing. When Pu Yi got out of the car, Lu Zhonglin asked him: "Pu Yi, do you still want to be the emperor?"
Or would you rather live as a commoner? This question made Pu Yi remember it for the rest of his life.
In the face of the sudden threat, Pu Yi could only sincerely express his wishes and was willing to become an ordinary person. Lu Zhonglin's words were like a sharp sword, which deeply pierced Pu Yi's heart and made him panic.
However, it is almost impossible for this former emperor to give up the throne.
Although Pu Yi chose to become a puppet of Japan and establish a puppet state of Manchukuo in the northeast in order to fulfill his dream of being emperor, his treachery ultimately made it impossible for him to escape judgment from his homeland.
Although he became a puppet emperor with the help of Japan's protection, enjoying himself every day, with the end of Japan's war of aggression against China, the trial he faced was also approaching. When Japan announced its surrender, Pu Yi tried to escape the liquidation and fled from the northeast to Japan to seek refuge, but he was arrested by the Soviet Red Army before he could board the plane to Japan.
Pu Yi began his life in captivity, initially in a Soviet prison, during which time he was transferred to different prisons several times. Because of his special status, Pu Yi was not abused, but enjoyed superior living conditions.
He had his own living quarters and did not have to participate in labor like other prisoners. During this period, he also appeared in court to participate in the trial of Japan, exposing the crimes committed by Japan in China.
It was not until 1950, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, that Pu Yi was extradited back to China and imprisoned in the Fushun War Criminals Management Center for reform. He spent a full decade there.
In Fushun, Pu Yi did not receive special treatment, and like all war criminals, he needed to participate in labor and learn new knowledge. It was here that Pu Yi experienced the biggest transformation of his life, and his good performance earned him the opportunity to be released early.
In 1959, Pu Yi walked out of the Fushun War Criminals Management Center, ending his life as a war criminal and starting his new life as an ordinary citizen. By this time, the outside world had changed dramatically, his status as emperor had become history, and he had become an ordinary citizen of the People's Republic of China.
However, Pu Yi did not expect that after many years, he would have the opportunity to meet the person who had frightened him again - Lu Zhonglin. At a symposium held by China News Service, Pu Yi and Lu Zhonglin met again.
Lu Zhonglin, the former important ** person, and Pu Yi, the former emperor, were listed in the invitation of the symposium. As soon as he arrived, Pu Yi found Lu Zhonglin's traces, which reminded him of the past days when he was dominated by Lu Zhonglin.
It was the afternoon of November 5, 1924, and Lu Zhonglin held ** in his hand and "invited" him out of Bauhinia City.
Lu Zhonglin wanted to leave as soon as he saw Pu Yi, but at the same time, he also noticed Pu Yi's cowering, and he knew that this was because when he was in Bauhinia City, he was the only one who dared to threaten Pu Yi in front of him that he would shoot him if he became emperor.
But times are different now, and those words have gone with the wind. So Lu Zhonglin took the initiative to step forward and talk to Pu Yi, and joked that he didn't have to worry about it, he wouldn't kill you.
Hearing this, Pu Yi also let down his guard with confidence and smiled.
The two are old and old, and the grievances of the past have disappeared, and now they are comrades-in-arms who fight side by side, not enemies. In the symposium, in addition to Pu Yi and Lu Zhonglin, there was also Xiong Bingkun, who once fired the first shot of the Wuchang Uprising.
Xiong Bingkun and Lu Zhonglin, both revolutionary pioneers who once opposed the rule of the Qing Dynasty, met several people and were full of emotion. The tide of the times pushes them to the same stage and makes them meet again.
Former rivals have now become allies, and a page of the old society has been turned over by history, and together they are ushering in a new era.