Chapter 15 Four Endless Hopes

One day, I was riding a bicycle in the Imperial Garden, and when I reached a corner, I almost bumped into a person.If such a thing happened in the palace, it should be considered that this person committed the fault of the emperor's disrespect, but I didn't pay attention to it.My car made a circle there, and was about to go around, but this man knelt down and refused to go, and said in his mouth: The little one, please greet the Long Live Lord! The purple waistcoat on this man was the same as that worn by eunuchs.I glanced at him and saw that there was still a stubble on his mouth, so I knew he was not an eunuch.I rode in a circle and asked him:

What are you doing? The small ones are tube lamps. Oh, that's what you do.You were lucky that you didn't fall just now.Why are you kneeling all the time? Little luck, I met the real dragon emperor today.Please, Lord Long Live, show grace to the little one! I am happy to hear this stupid talk.I remembered what the eunuchs told me about the nicknames given to beggars squatting on bridges on the streets of Beijing, and I said: Okay, let's seal you a town bridge (monkey)!Ha ha After I finished making this joke, I never imagined that this person who was a fan of the official actually went to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to ask for an official letter.People from the Ministry of Internal Affairs said: This is a joke, why are you serious?He was in a hurry: Your Majesty is a golden talker, but you dare to call it a joke, no!How this matter ended later, I don't know.

At that time, I often heard the masters and eunuchs say that there are always people in the countryside in the interior: how is Emperor Xuantong?Who is sitting in the court now?Now that the real dragon emperor sits on the throne, the world should be peaceful, right?My English master, according to an article in a journal, said that even the most opposed to the monarchy were disappointed in the republic, so that the opponents of the monarchy also changed their minds.In fact, when people talk about the former Qing Dynasty, they just express their hatred for the disaster of the warlords.My masters brought up these curse words, as evidence of the old mind, and also became a teaching material for me.

However, at the end of Xu Shichang's era, people who are fascinated can be encountered from time to time.A businessman named Wang Jiucheng made a fortune making military uniforms for the Zhili Army. He spent a lot of effort and money in order to get a reward for wearing a yellow jacket.The eunuchs gave him a nickname behind his back, called Sancai Boy.I don't know what kind of joint he used. Every New Year's day, he would mix among the old people to kowtow and pay tribute. When he came, he brought a large amount of banknotes and scattered them wherever he went.The eunuchs like him the most, because no matter who guides him, hears him, pulls the curtain, pours tea, and anyone who comes over to talk to him when he has nothing to do, they can all get rolls of money.As for the money spent at the various real joint places, let alone.In the end, he really achieved his goal and won the honor of wearing a yellow jacket.

For a yellow mandarin jacket, for the official title of the Qing Dynasty to be written on the family tree in the future, and for a posthumous posthumous posthumous posthumous title, at that time, people ran to the Forbidden City every day, or sent memorials from distant places.Liang Juchuan, who was nicknamed Crazy Liang, did not hesitate to throw himself into the puddle of Jishuitan in Beijing, and exchanged his life and his remains after soaking in the water for a posthumous posthumous title of Zhenduan.Later, too many people asked for posthumous posthumous titles, which would damage the dignity of the small court, so it was stipulated that no posthumous posthumous posthumous posthumous titles would be given to those below the third grade Jingtang [1], as a restriction.As for rewarding horseback riding in the Forbidden City, rewarding rides on the shoulders of two people, and writing spring strips, blessings and longevity characters, couplets, etc., the restrictions are even stricter.At that time, not only princes and ministers, but also some generals of the Republic of China would consider it a rare honor if they obtained one of them.Those who had low official positions or had no future in the former Qing Dynasty, and did not have the capital of Wang Jiuzheng, and could not enter the Forbidden City, such as the business gentry from various places at that time, they also had goals to pursue. On the spiritual card of the elders, write the epitaph, and be a witness at the wedding of the children.Luo Jialing, the Manchu wife of the British Jew Hartung, the Shanghai land tycoon, once hired Liu Chunlin, the last number one scholar in the Qing Dynasty, to Shanghai with a lot of gifts, and prepared a special eight-person green wool sedan chair for him, and asked him to wear it in the Qing Dynasty. Official uniform, order the master of her deceased husband's spirit card.At that time, some so-called new literati such as Hu Shi, Jiang Kanghu and others also made similar moves.When I was fifteen years old, I learned of Dr. Hu Shih who advocated vernacular Chinese from the conversation of Master Johnston.Johnston laughed at his Chinese and English poems about Picknick coming to the riverside, and at the same time said that you might as well read what he wrote, which can be regarded as a kind of knowledge.So I moved to take a look at this new character.One day, I called him out of curiosity, but I didn't expect him to come as soon as I called.The circumstances of this meeting will be discussed later, but here I would like to mention that after this short and boring meeting, I found out from a letter written by Hu Shih to Johnston that Dr. Yang also had that old mentality.A passage in his letter states:

I have to admit, I was very moved by this call.I was able to take a seat before the last representative of our country's last emperor and great monarch of all ages! More importantly, the Forbidden City has also been encouraged by the discussions of foreigners.Johnston has told me a good deal about this.According to him, many foreigners think restoration is the wish of ordinary Chinese people.He sometimes used foreign language newspapers to tell me about it, and he later copied a passage from his book "Twilight in the Forbidden City", which he once said.This is an article titled "Is Another Restoration in sight?" published in Tianjin's "North China Daily Post and Telecommunications" on September 19, 1919? A paragraph from the editorial:

The experience of the republican government has been miserable.Today we see that the North and the South are at war, and this situation can only lead to the conclusion that in China the republic has been tested and found to have shortcomings.The hardcore business class and gentry in this country hate all kinds of wars that kill each other.We are convinced that they will wholeheartedly support any form of government that ensures peace in the eighteen provinces. Don't forget that the royalists have a strong lineup.They have never been dissatisfied with the Republic, but for some reason they have remained silent in recent years.Obviously, they sympathized with the actions of the warlords, and it was not meaningless for some of their well-known figures to run around the place where the soldiers gathered.

The argument of those who secretly endorsed and hoped for a successful restoration of the former emperor was that the republicans were undermining the country, and that measures, even drastic measures, were necessary to restore the old prosperity and prosperity. Far from being universally popular, the restoration of the monarchy would meet with considerable diplomatic opposition, not only from one legation.However, as long as the coup is successful, this kind of opposition will inevitably disappear, because we know: the winner is the king and the loser is the bandit. Of course, even though there are so many encouraging words in foreign newspapers, it is the soldiers with guns that directly determine the safety and future of the small imperial court.As the "North China Daily Post and Telecommunications" said, it is not meaningless to run around places where soldiers gather.I remember that in the second half of this year (1919), the small imperial court in the Forbidden City had relatively close contacts with soldiers other than the old Beiyang faction.The first target was Zhang Zuolin, the leader of the Feng Faction.

At first, the Forbidden City received a sum of money from Fengtian Hui for the sale of the imperial estate, which was transferred by my father.My father sent a letter of thanks, and then the Ministry of Internal Affairs selected two ancient relics, one was the scroll of "Imperial Inscription Ode to Dong Bangda's Pale Moon and Cold Forest", and the other was a pair of porcelain vases from the Qianlong period. They were presented to Zhang Zuolin in the name of my father, and the Tang Mingsheng, a third-rank messenger, was sent directly to Fengtian.Zhang Zuolin sent his brother, then deputy commander-in-chief of Fengjun, Zhang Jinghui, who later became the Prime Minister of the Puppet Manchukuo, to return to Beijing with Tang Mingsheng to thank my father.From then on, Prince Chun's Mansion, on behalf of the small imperial court, had in-depth contacts with Feng Jun.When Zhang Xun was restored, three Fengjun generals (Zhang Haipeng, Feng Delin, Tang Yulin) participated in the restoration in person in Beijing, and now Zhang Jinghui and Zhang Zongchang were given horseback riding in the Forbidden City.Zhang Zongchang was the division commander of Fengjun at that time. When his father celebrated his 80th birthday in Beijing, my father went to congratulate him personally.In the ninth year of the Republic of China, the Zhili allied with the Feng faction and defeated the Anhui faction in the Zhiwan War. After the leader of the Zhili (Feng Guozhang is dead) Cao Kun and the leader of the Fengli Zhang Zuolin entered Beijing, Shaoying, the minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, was sent to greet them in person.Chun Wangfu is more busy with communication.Because it was once heard that Zhang Zuolin was going to enter the palace to pay his respects, the minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs specially went to Prince Chun's mansion for a discussion in order to prepare a gift.As a result, it was decided to add an ancient knife in addition to the predetermined general items.I remember that Zhang Zuolin did not come and went back to Fengtian.Two months later, Baylor, the youngest of Chun Wang's side, won the title of Zhang Zuolin's advisor, and then went to Fengtian.During the failure of the Anhui Faction and the cooperation between Zhifeng and Fengtian, the Fengtian Guild Hall in Beijing became a gathering place for the generals of the Feng Faction, and also a place where some princes and princes traveled.Even Zhang Wenzhi, the general manager of Jin Palace, has become a frequent visitor here, and he and Zhang Jinghui are brothers here.

In the past two years, the situation was similar to that before Zhang Xun's restoration. Rumors of the restoration made the city full of storms.The following is the news from Fengtian published on December 27, 2008 (that is, two months after Prince Chun sent people to Fengtian to give gifts and Zhang Jinghui came to Beijing) in English: In recent days, there have been widespread rumors among people from all walks of life in Shenyang, especially among General Zhang Zuolin's subordinates, that the Manchu Qing monarchy will be restored in Beijing to replace the Republic of China government.According to various assertions at present, this time the imperial system will be launched by General Zhang, and the military leaders of the royal family in the northwest will cooperate with it. The former general Zhang Xun will also play an important role.In other words, even President Xu and former President Feng agreed to restore the imperial system in view of the current national situation and external dangers. As for Cao Kun, Li Chun and other minor soldiers, if they maintain their current status and become princes, they will become princes. Very satisfied.

I learned about this piece of news from Johnston at a later date.I still remember that he also told many other legends about the restoration of Zhang Zuolin's activities.Probably this kind of news spread until the eleventh year of the Republic of China, that is, when Zhang Zuolin was defeated and returned to the Northeast.I was particularly impressed by the above news, it made me feel happy from the bottom of my heart, and I also understood why the leaders of the Feng army were so enthusiastic about the Forbidden City, why Zhang Jinghui kowtowed among the princes and ministers during Duankang Qianqiu, why people It is said that Fengtian Guild Hall is very lively, and some princes are so enthusiastic.But our joy didn't last long, when something disappointing happened: the cooperation between the two departments suddenly broke down, and the two sides started fighting.As a result, Fengjun was defeated and ran out of Shanhaiguan. Disturbing news came one after another: Xu Shichang suddenly stepped down; the Zhijun ruled Beijing;There was fresh panic in the Forbidden City, and princes and ministers begged Johnston to take me to the British Legation for refuge.Johnston and British Minister Bailey.Lord Alston negotiated that the British Legation could allocate some rooms, and I could live there as Johnston's private guest if necessary.At the same time, it has also negotiated with the Portuguese and Dutch embassies to accommodate other members of the royal family to take refuge.My idea is different from theirs. I think it is better to go to a foreign country than to hide in a foreign embassy.I proposed to Johnston to take me abroad at once.Because I brought him up suddenly, the British master was stunned. He answered me almost without thinking: This is inappropriate. Your Majesty should calm down. President Xu has just escaped from Beijing. Your Majesty the Emperor Immediately disappearing from the Forbidden City will arouse associations, saying that Xu Shichang and the Qing Dynasty have some kind of conspiracy.Besides, in this case, England will not receive His Majesty At that time, I didn't have this ability to associate, because people never told me, Zhang.What happened secretly between Xu and Zhang, Xu and the small court, of course, the occurrence of the Zhifeng War and the relationship between this victory and defeat and Dongjiaominxiang were even more unexpected.When I heard that this request could not be fulfilled, I had no choice but to give up.Later, when the situation stabilized, no one raised the issue of going abroad, not even the issue of asylum. This happened in the spring and summer of the eleventh year of the Republic of China.In the second year, Cao Kun, the leader of the direct line, bought a vote with 5,000 yuan and bribed a member of the parliament to elect him as president.The small imperial court's fear of this direct line leader had just disappeared, and it became interested in another direct line leader Wu Peifu who was gaining popularity.Later, Zheng Xiaoxu, who came to my side, offered advice to me at this time, saying that Wu Peifu is the most promising soldier, he has always regarded himself as Guan Yu, and he has the Qing Dynasty in his heart, so he can go to lobby.This year Wu Peifu celebrated his fiftieth birthday in Luoyang, and with my consent, Zheng Xiaoxu brought a generous gift to pay his respects.But Wu Peifu's attitude was nonchalant, and he didn't express clearly.Later, Kang Youwei went to lobby him again, but he didn't get a positive answer.In fact, Wu Peifu's triumphant era was too short. In the second year of his birthday, a war broke out between the two factions. Feng Yuxiang, Wu Peifu's subordinate, turned against him and declared peace. He was driven out by Feng Yuxiang's national army. In the past few years before I got married, the moods of the princes and ministers in the small court were not exactly the same.The most negative performance was Shi Xu, the leading minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.Since the restoration of Ding Ji, he has become more and more discouraged, and later he became a completely discouraged and pessimistic person.He even said to others that even if the restoration succeeds, it will not do me any good, because those young princes who don't know what to do will definitely cause a bigger mess than the year of 1911.He also said: Even if the prince can't get into trouble, the emperor himself can't be insured, and maybe he will end up with something.His idea was to let me marry the Mongolian prince so that I could go to my father-in-law's house to live when necessary.Shixu died about a year before my marriage. One year before his death, he stopped asking questions due to illness. Shaoying replaced him.Shaoying's knowledge is far inferior to that of his predecessor, and he is more cautious and timid than his predecessor.In Shaoying's heart, she can only surrender her insurance policy and has no plans to make progress.What he wants to keep conservative is not so much my emperor, but the preferential conditions.Because keeping this thing is equivalent to keeping everything from property and life to his title.He first saw this insurance effect from Johnston.He would rather give his empty house to foreigners than accept Chinese who are willing to pay high rent as tenants.Johnston himself was unwilling to accept his favor, so he helped find a foreigner to be his neighbor, and hung a foreign flag on his roof, so he was extremely grateful to Johnston. Standing between the youngest prince and the oldest minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is Master Chen Baochen.He is not as pessimistic as Shixu, he is not as pessimistic as Shaoying, who does not even think about anything other than conservative preferential conditions, and he is not as interested in soldiers as young princes.He was not opposed to contacting the soldiers. He even went out to comfort Feng Yuxiang himself. When discussing gifts for the soldiers, he also had his share of ideas, but he always had no hope for the soldiers.What he hopes is that the military will fight until the end, the Republic of China will collapse, and there will be a situation where heaven and man will return.Therefore, after Zhang Xun failed, he always told me this passage from "Mencius" over and over again: Therefore, when heaven will send a great mission to people, they must first suffer from their minds and minds, exhaust their muscles and bones, starve their skin, empty their bodies, and mess up their actions. Therefore, the heart and tolerance have been benefited. Chen Baochen was originally my only soul.But since coming to Johnston, I have gained another soul. [1] In the Qing Dynasty, all the court officials of the Procuratorate, Tongzhengsi, Zhan Shifu and other Qing temples were called Jingtang, and they were all third- and fourth-rank officials except Zuodu Yushi.Later, Jingtang was also used as the false title of the third-rank and fourth-rank officials. Therefore, the third-rank Jingtang refers to the third-rank officials.