The two symbols of power and actual masters of the Qing empires died one after another within less than a day. As a foreign journalist said: "Empress Dowager Cixi is the last representative of the sacred and ancient concepts--when another new dawn arrives in this wonderful kingdom that has become a part of the future of the world, the above concept will die with her."

A three-year-old baby ascended the throne and became emperor. According to Chinese tradition, it is "the kingdom is suspicious, the ministers have not attached it, and the people do not believe it, and then this is the time."

The stormy Qing court was therefore in a more dangerous situation. Although the central officials had not yet realized this.

In the winter of 1908, Hainan was as warm as spring, while Beijing and Tianjin were dripping water turned into ice. However, even colder than the weather, Yuan Shikai's cool heart.

"Yuan Shikai, Minister of Military Affairs and Affairs, was promoted by the previous dynasty. After I ascended the throne, I will reward you again. He is using his talents to help me drive him. Unexpectedly, Yuan Shikai is suffering from foot disease and has difficulty in getting better at his post. Yuan Shikai immediately became a vacancies and returned to his hometown to raise his ills to show the court's compassion." The imperial edict I just received was spread on the table. Yuan Shikai didn't need to look at it anymore. Every word and sentence inside had penetrated into his heart.

When Guangxu died and Cixi returned to heaven, Yuan Shikai fell into a state of uneasiness and suspicion, as if he had entered a nightmare.

Of course, Yuan Shikai was afraid that Guangxu would return to power. He desperately controlled the Beiyang Army and consolidated his strength just in case. When the emperor and the empress dowager were both sick, the Qing court planned to establish a heir for Guangxu in case. Yuan strongly supported the establishment of the Changsun of **** as his heir, but his plan was not accepted by Cixi.

Although Cixi did not like Guangxu, she had a close relationship with Prince Chun's family because her own sister married Prince Chun's throne. Zaifeng inherited Prince Chun's throne and married a wife, the daughter of Cixi's confidant Ronglu. Therefore, for this kind of personal relationship, Cixi would rather hand over the world to Zaifeng's son-in-law Puyi, who was only three years old and crying, and ordered Zaifeng to carry his son emperor to rule the Qing Dynasty in the name of the regent of the state.

After Prince Chun Zaifeng was appointed as the regent, Yuan Shikai also made some efforts. He suggested that Zaifeng be the emperor himself on the grounds that the country needed to establish the eldest monarch. He hoped to support Zaifeng as the emperor himself to seek Zaifeng's understanding. However, his suggestion was not only not accepted by Zaifeng, but instead summoned a very harsh reprimand. In boredom, he claimed to have an illness and asked for leave to live in Tianjin.

Now, the court really approved his leave, and it was a long vacation. You said you were sick. OK, then go home and count Lao Mi! Of course, Yuan Shikai thought that being able to go home and count Lao Mi was also a good choice, but he was afraid! He did not dare to go to Beijing to thank the emperor for his gratitude, because some news from Beijing showed that after Zaifeng became a country, he was really planning to avenge his brother and kill him. Moreover, he was convinced by the undercover agent of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and told him in detail the way to kill him.

The Regent wanted to learn the way Emperor Kangxi killed his minister Oboi, and the one who made this plan with the Regent was Prince Gong Puwei. Puwei had a white rainbow sword that Emperor Xianfeng gave to his grandfather Yi. They regarded it as a sacred object like a sword above, and decided that Puwei would take this sword to kill Yuan.

If you don’t go, it’s a death sentence; if you go, you will still be dead. Yuan Shikai felt cold sweat, and the edict on the table seemed to turn into a sword with a shining cold light, pointing directly to his heart.

Yes, although I used a lot of silver to give gifts everywhere after the Reich Times, there were still hostile forces that could not be eliminated with money. These hostile forces were not all the reformists and imperialists in the past, among them, those who fought for status with Yi Li, who supported him. Some were unwilling to give up the military power, and some were also those who placed their hopes on the overthrow of Yuan for other purposes.

Therefore, this is no longer a struggle between reform and conservatism, the struggle between the imperial party and the Hou party, nor a dispute between the Manchu and Han nobles, but a dispute between the power seized between this group of relatives and the group of relatives and nobles.

It turned out that retiring to the countryside was also a luxury. Yuan Gongbao, who was powerful and powerful, has not only become a loser, but also has life worry.

"Mr. Yuan, Mr. Zhu Erdian is here." A follower reported.

"Please, please, no, wait for me to greet you in person." Yuan Shikai seemed to grab a life-saving straw and jumped up from the chair.

The person who came was Zhu Erdian, the British ambassador to the Qing Dynasty. He and Yuan Shikai had already established a very close relationship. Yuan Shikai invited him here at this time to discuss with him where he should go. If Zhu Erdian could pat his chest to guarantee his life safety, then let Zhu Erdian accompany him to Beijing.

…………

After Empress Dowager Cixi's death, Yuan Shikai's life was indeed difficult.

Regardless of whether there was Guangxu's death-dead "killing Yuan" order, after Zaifeng came to power, the first person he had to deal with was Yuan Shikai.

After the new policy, Yuan Shikai was very glorious under the protection of Empress Dowager Cixi and did a lot of practical things. But the problem is that his power has expanded so much. He came in everything, including the army, official system reform, and constitutionalism. Moreover, there are people in the court, and his disciples are all over the world, especially those generals in the Beiyang New Army. Which one of them is not the only one who is Yuan Shikai's leader?

Of course, the concerns of the royal family and noble family have their own reasons. Who made the Manchus not do it? After more than two hundred years of pampering, there were many talents who could do practical things. Therefore, most local governors and governors were controlled by the Han people, and the Qing government began to soften.

The more you lose, the more you want to take it back. From the reform of the official system to the preparation of constitutionalism, the royal family and nobles watched the Han people grow stronger, how could they not be worried?

At the official system reform meeting, Yuan Shikai insisted on establishing a responsible cabinet, and Zaifeng still remembered Yuan Shikai's rampant energy at that time. Although the old empress dowager had taken the lead in the past two years, she took over four of the six towns of the Beiyang New Army under Yuan Shikai's jurisdiction to the Army Department, and later promoted him and Zhang Zhidong to the Minister of Military Affairs.

But it is not easy to shake Yuan Shikai's power after three feet of freezing. What's more, it is not easy to deal with a top-notch military officials, which must be approved by the military officials, and the edict issued by the military officials must be effective. It is not easy for the Manchu relatives to kill Yuan Shikai.

Because of this, Zaifeng did not dare to act rashly. After repeated thoughts, Zaifeng and Empress Dowager Longyu summoned Chief Military Minister ******* Yili and Zhang Zhidong to discuss.

Yi Li was Yuan Shikai's best friend, so he naturally opposed the killing of Yuan. Zhang Zhidong was a Han minister. He was old and he heard that he wanted to kill Yuan Shikai, which made him feel sad. His relationship with Yuan Shikai was not good, but his objection. Whether he was thinking about the overall situation or otherwise, he accidentally protected Yuan Shikai.

In fact, in addition to Yi Li and Zhang Zhidong who opposed the killing of Yuan Shikai, several other military ministers also expressed their opposition, such as Na Tong and Shixu, both of Yuan Shikai's private parties, and Shixu secretly informed Yuan. Among the local governors, Duan Fang was Yuan Shikai's in-laws, and Xu Shichang, the governor of the three eastern provinces, was Yuan Shikai's brother for many years. In addition, the British ambassador to China, Zhu Erdian, also pleaded with Yuan Shikai, and these people formed an important force to prevent the killing of Yuan.

However, after all, although Yuan Shikai was deeply rooted and difficult to deal with, under the imperial system, Yuan Shikai was also panicked and afraid? When he heard that Zaifeng was "will not be good to Yuan", he was also panicked like a broken dog and had no choice but to do anything.

On December 3, 1908, Yuan Shikai left Beijing lonely and miserable with his concubines and confidants.

After Yuan Shikai was expelled from Beijing, there was another earthquake in the political arena in the late Qing Dynasty, and Yuan Shikai's private parties were eliminated one by one: Chen Bi, the Minister of Posts and Communications, was dismissed; Xu Shichang was transferred to the Minister of Posts and Communications, and the governor of the three eastern provinces was replaced by Xiliang; Ni Sichong, the governor of the Heilongjiang governor, was investigated; Zhao Bingjun, the Minister of Civil Affairs, was deposed, and Zaifeng took over the police; Wang Shizhen, the Admiral of Jiangbei, asked to open the quarantine...

On the surface, this is a struggle between Zaifeng and Yuan Shikai. But in fact, this is a power struggle between the Manchu relatives and nobles led by Zaifeng and Yili and Yuan Shikai's group.

Before Zaifeng was in power, he had no one of his own people. The only people he could contact and trust were Manchu relatives like Zaize, Shanqi, Zaitao, Zaixun, Yulang and others. These people, regardless of whether they were talented or not, quickly gathered around Zaifeng and became a royal relative group. Zaifeng Group was a group of young and strong relatives who had made new wealth. They had no real power at the time. If they wanted to gain power, they had to exclude the real power groups Yili and Yuan Shikai Group.

Therefore, the issue of killing Yuan Shikai and protecting Yuan Shikai was no longer a matter of reform and conservatism, the struggle between the imperial party and the Hou party, nor the dispute between the Manchu and Han nobles, but a dispute between the power seized between this group of relatives and the group of relatives and nobles.

After overthrowing Yuan Shikai, the first thing the Regent Zaifeng had to seize was military power. When he arrived in Germany as a "pity envoy", German Emperor William taught him the secret to maintaining imperial power: there must be a sufficient number of troops, and it must be directly controlled by the emperor.

From this, Zaifeng came to a conclusion: the royal family must capture the army, and the royal family must be officers, and the military power must be firmly controlled in the hands of the royal family.

So, Zaifeng had just taken over and ordered the establishment of the "Imperial Guards", which is the army mainly used to defend the emperor and the palace. This army mainly selected strong soldiers from the army, and also selected some people from the idle royal family. Zai Tao, Yulang and Liangbi served as the training ministers, and Liangbi, who had the most powerful ideas in the Han Dynasty, was appointed as the commander of the First Association of the Imperial Guards.

In addition, Zaifeng ordered the Minister of the Army Yinchang to serve as the training minister of the six towns of the Kinki Army. Then Zaifeng announced the establishment of the Navy headquarters, with Zaixu as the Minister of the Navy. In this way, the army and navy were under the supervision of Zaifeng's two younger brothers Zai Tao and Zai Xun.

It can be seen that Zaifeng was very determined to seize military power and acted quickly. However, his actions not only aroused the resistance of local governors, but even the generals and governors within the royal family were indignantly resentful behind their backs.

The reason is very simple. The former local governors, governors, generals, etc. had certain power to mobilize troops. Now, no matter what they do, they need to ask the Military Advisory Office. These people not only feel inconvenient, but also feel that their power is damaged.

…………………

The sudden change caused Chen Wenqiang and the senior management of the Revival Association to concentrate and keep a close eye on the changing situation, and the time for the revolution to start was also postponed.

The time entered March 1909, when the Qing court's political earthquake was still underway, but the situation was gradually becoming clear.

Regent Zaifeng made great progress and made drastic moves. The new official took office was so good!

Chen Wenqiang picked up the drafted telegram and looked at it again, nodded slightly, and the time was right and it was time to start.

Although time has been delayed, the preparation work has not stopped. On the contrary, because of the abundant time, the preparation work has become more sufficient.

Not only the personnel and the storage of materials, Chen Wenqiang sent people to Henan to comfort Old Yuan's wounded soul after Yuan Datou was opened and left Beijing, and brought several books. He also helped Yuan Datou set up a radio station so that he could keep in touch with his old subordinates and Chen Wenqiang.

There is no need to say it too thoroughly. The time has not come, but when this line is established, the revolution will be more confident.

Although Zaifeng seemed to have gained control in the court, Yuan Shikai's power was far from being removed from the local and military forces, which also provided the possibility for Yuan Shikai's comeback.

Moreover, Zaifeng's approach of appointing relatives and nobles also made many Han bureaucrats feel disgusted and unfair, as American scholar Heng Muyi pointed out: "Zaifeng had almost no necessary qualities to be a regent. He was unable to control his brothers and other nobles, and he was forced to grant high positions in the government without considering their abilities. Therefore, he lost the support of many talented Han officials."

This is great. After the outbreak of the revolution, many Han bureaucrats who would have stood on Zaifeng's side would re-take the team and choose, and even become a support for the revolution.

As for the Beiyang Army, since the Revolutionary Army does not want to fight with it, it is better to have Yuan Datou lead the rope tied to the neck of the Beiyang Army.

Chen Wenqiang thought a lot and for a long time, thinking that now should be a good time to launch a revolution, which is better than expected.

"Sir, this telegram" Lu Yaozong waited for a while, and saw that Chen Wenqiang was thinking again, and couldn't help but remind him softly.

Oh, Chen Wenqiang smiled and handed the telegram over, paused for a moment, and said, "Wait a moment, and there are still a few telegrams to be sent together."

Lu Yaozong nodded, took the telegram and browsed it carefully, but there was nothing to modify.

Shanghai, Chenzhou, Hengyang, Yazhou, and the southwest military governments must also notify railway patrols, armed police, shipping companies, etc. The entire operation will be thorough and will do its best. For this reason, Chen Wenqiang dared not be careless at all.
Chapter completed!