Chapter 20: Perplexing and Enigmatic (Part 1)

  But then the little soldier said: "It turns out that this Qing dog emperor was poisoned to death by one of our revolutionaries in the north! In the sixth year of the Guangxu Emperor's reign, the emperor and the six gentlemen were on the same wavelength, but after Empress Dowager Cixi killed the six gentlemen, she also had the emperor imprisoned in Yingtai. After that, the emperor didn't care about state affairs anymore. Although he didn't care about state affairs, he was still the emperor, eating delicacies every day and taking tonics like ginseng and deer antler. This life was much better than ours as ordinary people. The emperor had made up his mind to outlive Empress Dowager Cixi, but he didn't realize that their lives were connected. When Empress Dowager Cixi died, the emperor also wouldn't live long. Actually, it was Empress Dowager Cixi who died first, and the emperor wasn't dead yet. He was supposed to be escorted back to the Golden Throne Hall to sit on the dragon chair, but before he could leave Yingtai, a package of arsenic sent him to heaven."

  "Huh?" Another little soldier said in surprise. "So, the emperor died later, why did the court say that the emperor died first? And who was the person who poisoned the emperor? I'm afraid it's someone close to the emperor. I heard that when the emperor eats, there are always small eunuchs who taste the poison first, and it's not easy to poison the emperor."

  According to the Vanguard officers, several high-ranking officials meant that the person who poisoned was a high-ranking eunuch next to Empress Dowager Cixi. He feared that after Emperor Guangxu ascended to the throne, he would be unfavorable to him, so he took action. However, this high-ranking eunuch was not the mastermind behind the scenes. The person who planned everything behind the scenes was a member of the Revolutionary Party who infiltrated the North as an insider. Although several adults did not explicitly mention that person's name, I knew that this insider not only held a high position but also had a past with Emperor Guangxu during his reform in 1898. If Emperor Guangxu took power personally, the first person he would not let go of would be him. So, when Empress Dowager Cixi fell ill, he began to plot his retreat. He sent someone to the South and contacted our Revolutionary Party people, promising to become an insider for our party. Then, after Empress Dowager Cixi died, that person contacted the high-ranking eunuch, made arrangements, and pretended that the empress was still alive. They used arsenic to poison Emperor Guangxu, then waited half a day before announcing Empress Dowager Cixi's death. Afterward, they colluded with several princes and military officials, enthroned a child as emperor, and everyone was overjoyed. The big emperor died, the little emperor became a puppet, and everyone could scramble to make money and become officials. To deceive people, the imperial edict reversed the order of Emperor Guangxu's and Empress Dowager Cixi's deaths, changing the content of the proclamation. When we in the Southern Revolutionary Party heard that the emperor had died, we took advantage of the opportunity to launch an uprising. This was both a condition agreed upon with the insider from the North and his promised reward. He said that if the emperor died, people's hearts would be shaken, and it would be a great time for revolution. As long as our Southern Revolutionary Party acted together, the world would be in chaos, and no one would care about the suspicious circumstances of the emperor's death. Once we occupied the provinces in the South, the insider from the North would rise up to support us. If things went well, he would divide the country with us, ruling half of it.

  "Awesome, awesome. But then, isn't that person getting off easy? He's got the north, our revolutionary party has the south, aren't we just recreating the Northern and Southern Dynasties?"

  "That person is a Han Chinese, no matter whether it's Southern or Northern Dynasties, it's still much better than having Tartars riding on our heads!"

  "That's also true."

  ……

  The two little soldiers outside the house were talking to themselves, completely unaware that the crowd of captives inside the house had become as still as wooden chickens.

  They had no choice but to listen to this story, which was truly astonishing and unconventional. At first glance, it seemed like a tale spun by a storyteller, but upon closer reflection, the story seemed too intricately woven to be mere fiction. If it wasn't a true account of palace intrigue, then the person who concocted this story must have been a genius with an extremely thorough understanding of the power struggles within the palace and official circles.

  Among the people present, there were not a few who were officials of the imperial court, especially those like Duan Fang and Yin Chang, who were members of the aristocracy and held important positions in the government. They had many connections and friends within the imperial court, so they naturally received news quickly. For them, the implication behind the words of the two soldiers was very clear, and no one needed to remind them. Almost simultaneously, they all thought of the same person:

  Yuan Shikai!

  Yuan Shikai, a man from an official family, has been accompanied by "Boluo" since he stepped into the official career. The road to the officialdom is smooth and easy to travel. After the Sino-Japanese War, he took advantage of the situation and rose rapidly, relying on his achievements in training the Dingwu Army to win the appreciation of the court's bigwigs. He was like a new star rising in the political arena, shining brightly. After 1898, he was again taken under the wing of Ronglu, Governor-General of Zhili Province, and his Dingwu Army became one of the most powerful new armies among the Wuyi Guards. In 1900, when the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded Beijing, Ronglu's Wuyi Guards were almost completely swept away, but Yuan Shikai hid in Shandong Province, watching the show, while on the surface pretending to be "mutually protecting the southeast" with Li Hongzhang and Zhang Zhidong, and at the same time suppressing the Boxers in Shandong. Not only did he preserve his own strength, but also won the favor of foreigners. After the death of Li Hongzhang, the plenipotentiary minister for peace negotiations, Yuan Shikai became a person favored by both the Qing court and foreigners, playing well the role of a pimp between the court and foreign powers.

  The Qing government, which was brutally beaten by the Eight-Power Allied Forces in 1900, finally came to its senses. In order to please foreigners and maintain its rule, it began to implement new policies. Yuan Shikai, with his superficial understanding of foreign affairs, took on the role of "pioneer of new policies". From training new troops to establishing modern schools, from rewarding commerce to advocating for a constitution, all signs indicated that Yuan Shikai was indeed a brilliant military leader and a pioneer of reform in the eyes of foreigners and constitutionalists.

  But who would have thought that it was this Yuan Shikai, who was hesitant and indecisive during the Hundred Days' Reform, and when he saw that the reformers were doomed to fail, he betrayed them to Ronglu. If it weren't for his betrayal, Empress Dowager Cixi wouldn't have ruthlessly killed the reformers. This cunning woman had originally planned to take a "wait-and-see" approach towards the reformers, but after learning that they had contacted Yuan Shikai and were secretly planning to petition the emperor at the Summer Palace, the "Six Gentlemen of the Hundred Days' Reform", who had not been in danger before, were immediately taken out of prison, tried without a trial, and beheaded. With their hot blood, they dyed Yuan Shikai's hat red, and from then on, he rose through the ranks, second only to Ronglu in Empress Dowager Cixi's heart.

  As for this matter, Yuan Shikai also tried to clear himself. In a diary entry written after the 1898 coup, he strongly denied his betrayal of the reformers, as if he were truly innocent.

  But history has proven everything! If Yuan Shikai had not betrayed the Reformers, how could he have won the favor of Empress Dowager Cixi? Was it just because of his training of new troops and handling of foreign affairs? There were many other talents in the imperial court who handled foreign affairs, why did Empress Dowager Cixi only trust him? It was precisely because he had proven his loyalty to Empress Dowager Cixi through actions, and the evidence was the heads of the Six Gentlemen. In this era, what the imperial court needed were not talents, but loyal dogs!

  Later historians, after careful study, concluded that whether Yuan Shikai betrayed the reformers before or after Cixi's coup, his actions increased the bloodiness of the coup and led to the Reform Movement ending in an extremely tragic outcome, although the unrealistic reforms were doomed to fail.

  As for Yuan Shikai's performance, others may not know, but Duanfang and Yin Chang are clear in their hearts. It is precisely because of the treacherous behavior during the Wuxu year that Emperor Guangxu hates Yuan Shikai to the bone. Yuan Shikai is also very aware of this. If Emperor Guangxu regains power, he will be lucky to get a white silk ribbon as a reward; otherwise, he may even be executed at Caishikou with a thousand cuts.

  So Yuan Shikai absolutely had the motive to murder Emperor Guangxu! If what those two little soldiers just said is true, then Yuan Shikai at least cannot shake off the suspicion of murdering the emperor!

  At first glance, the key to the problem seems to be the time of the emperor's death. If the emperor really died after Empress Dowager Cixi, then everything would make sense. However, even if the emperor died before Empress Dowager Cixi, Yuan Shikai could not shake off the suspicion of murder. Once Empress Dowager Cixi was dead, Guangxu would definitely resume his reign as a nearly 40-year-old adult monarch, which would be beneficial to both the court and the people. This logic is understood by Yuan Shikai and the officials in the imperial court, but Yuan Shikai probably did not want to see this result. Therefore, Guangxu must die! Moreover, Guangxu must die before Empress Dowager Cixi!

  It seems that no matter whether the Guangxu Emperor died before or after Empress Dowager Cixi, it is highly likely to be a conspiracy! And the person who planned this conspiracy must be someone who did not want to see the Guangxu Emperor regain power!

  And the most suspicious one is Yuan Shikai! But relying solely on his own strength, it is absolutely impossible to put the emperor to death, he must have accomplices! And it's highly likely that there's more than one! Because the officials who do not want to see Emperor Guangxu take power are definitely not in the minority.

  No one remains calm in the face of power, and besides, the imperial court is a hotbed of intrigue!

  But the question is, are the two little soldiers standing outside the monitoring room telling the truth? Or are they simply telling a story, a fabricated story, and the purpose of this story has only one: to sow discord.

  Is the revolutionary party going to stretch out an olive branch to Yuan Shikai, the "mainstay of the Beiyang"?

  Thinking of this, Yin Chang suddenly felt a chill run down his back and cold sweat broke out all over.

  The revolutionary who wrote this story is really too sinister!

  Continue voting.