Chapter 24 Thirteen From the Embassy Area to the Concession

At that time, the embassy district and the concession were just places for hospitality.It was only when I entered the Japanese Legation that I realized that I was not the only guest. There was also a person named Wang Yuzhi living there at the time.Cao Kun did not have time to escape to the embassy area and was placed under house arrest by the National Army.Wang Yuzhi's legs are fast, so she became a guest here.I still remember that when I became emperor for the second time seven years ago, Li Yuanhong, who was driven away by Zhang Xun, also lived here. guest.Whenever the embassy has to receive visitors, the restaurants and hospitals in the embassy area will inevitably be bustling with it, because every time there will always be a group of people who are nervous and not worth enough to enter the embassy. It was so full that there was even someone willing to pay rent at the bottom of the stairs.Xinhai, Ding Si and I were kicked out of the Forbidden City this time, and many Manchu nobles rushed to visit here.Once the owner of the restaurant posted a very impolite notice: Check that there are too many sojourners in the restaurant, and the stairs are full, the sanitary conditions are extremely poor, and there are people who spit everywhere and are extremely uncivilized. If someone spits on the ground again, he shall be fined ten yuan, and no loan will be given!Even so, there are still people who flock to it and linger.

The enthusiasm I encountered here was unprecedented, and perhaps unprecedented.There is one little thing I didn't mention earlier, when I came out from Beifu, there were two policemen from Beifu in my car. They stood on the outside of the car on the footboard, one on each side, as they used to ask people to ride. Accompanied me all the way to the German hospital.Later, they knew that I would not go back, and they could not go back on business, so they asked to stay in the Japanese embassy.They were granted permission to be taken in as my squires.Later, when I sent people to Beifu to pick up Wanrong and Wenxiu, the police there refused to let them go.The embassy sent a clerk to negotiate, but it was unsuccessful. In the end, Minister Fangze went to find Duan Zhizheng in person, and Wanrong and Wenxiu brought their eunuchs and maids to my side.

The owner of the embassy saw that there were such a large group of people around me, and it was obvious that the three rooms could not be accommodated, so he specially vacated a building for my use.So my group of people, Manan's study tour, the Minister of Internal Affairs, and dozens of attendants, eunuchs, maids, maids, cooks, etc., got their places again.In the Japanese legation, the Qing emperor's office and duty room were fully restored. More importantly, Minister Fangze obtained the government's understanding for me.In addition to making a statement to Minister Yoshizawa, the ruling government also sent Lieutenant General Qu Tongfeng to personally go to the Japanese barracks General Takemoto to show once again: , to protect the safety of their life, property and those related to them.

The princes headed by my father once came to persuade me to go back, saying that the Beifu is safe now, with Duan Qirui and Zhang Zuolin here, the national army will never dare to act arbitrarily, and that both Duan and Zhang have guaranteed them.But I believe what Luo Zhenyu and the others said. Duan and Zhang’s assurances are all because I entered the embassy. If I am still in Beifu and the Nationalist Army is still in Beijing, no guarantee can be relied on.I turned them down.In fact, the princes were also looking for accommodation in the embassy area, and some of them entered the German barracks, and some entered the Six Nations Hotel.While my father was persuading me, he also rented a warehouse in Xishiku Church to store his precious belongings. Later, all the brothers and sisters in Beifu also went to live in Xishiku Church.

Seeing the Japanese embassy take good care of me, even many unknown elders became active.They sent telegrams to Duan Zhizheng from all over the country, asking for the restoration of preferential treatment; they sent me money (this is called Jinfeng) for my use;The Mongolian prince seemed to have taken a stimulant, sent a telegram and submitted a report to the executive government, asking what to do about their preferential treatment, and the executive government quickly replied that it would remain unchanged.The backs of the princes and ministers also stiffened, and they refused to attend the meeting of the Qing Dynasty Aftermath Committee.This newly established committee is composed of Li Shizeng (chairman), Yi Peiji (representing Wang Jingwei), Yu Tongkui, Shen Jianshi, Fan Yuanlian, Lu Zhonglin, Zhang Bi representing the Republic of China, and Shaoying and Zai representing the Qing Dynasty. Run, Qiling, Baoxi, etc., and Luo Zhenyu was invited to attend.The committee wanted to count property and divide public property and private property to decide how to deal with it. Not only did Shaoying and the other four not participate, they declared to the authorities again that they would not recognize this organization.Later, Baoxi got more than a dozen boxes of things from the palace through his disciples and shipped them to the Japanese embassy. Luo Zhenyu immediately objected: Isn't this asking for alms from the robbers?If you want it, you want it all, otherwise you don't want it at all!It turned out that he had other plans, and wanted to get the things in the palace to a place he could control.I didn't know the details at the time, but I thought what he said was reasonable and had integrity.As for whether it was done later or what was done, I don't know at all.

Those who express their integrity, those who ask for peace, those who are sent to the Japanese embassy, ​​those who secretly report various ZTE plans, and those who dare to aggressively question the ruling government, are more and more coming in and out of the Japanese embassy every day.On New Year's Day in the old calendar, my small living room was suddenly full of braids.I sat on a throne facing north and south, replaced by Western-style chairs, and received the congratulations. Many survivors are grateful to the owner of the embassy.They saw hope from the reception at the embassy, ​​and at least got some kind of psychological satisfaction.Wang Guowei said in the memorial: The Japanese envoys are not only respected by the emperor in the past, but also regarded as the future co-lord of China. Anyone who is in the bureaucracy, who is not lucky?

On the Lunar New Year's Day, the small living room was full of happy faces.One episode from that day is worth mentioning.Just as the third group of officials knelt three times and kowtowed nine times to salute, a dry howl suddenly came out in the ranks, which startled the people. Then, a man who covered his face with his sleeve pushed away from the left and right, and walked away while howling. , rushed out the door.At that time, I thought someone had blinded my eyes, and everyone was stunned and at a loss.Someone recognized that this was Jin Liang, the former Minister of Internal Affairs. No one knew what he was crying about.It wasn't until the next day that the poem he wrote was published in the "Suntian Times", and people suddenly realized that the strange drama yesterday was the result of painstaking preparations for writing this poem.The poem says:

On New Year's Day, when I went to the old master, I cried and lost my voice; worrying about the crowd or being shocked, I hurried back to cover my face.Close the door and cry bitterly, tears of blood flow freely.From morning to noon, I couldn't be happy when I fell on the ground; my family members were frightened to death, and they wept as if they were dying.Anxious dream to the sky, Shuang Zhong (Wen Zhong, Zhong Wu) [one] greet each other; hand in hand and pointing to the east, it seems to see Peng Ying;It's like a dream, the sun is fading and the light is coming back, Xu Sheng is the only one breathing, knocking on the pillow and wailing.

After the Lunar New Year's Day, it seems that my birthday is coming again, and it's my 20th (empty) birthday.I didn't intend to celebrate my birthday at someone else's house, but unexpectedly, the owner wanted to make fun of it and insisted on giving up the auditorium in the embassy for the purpose of receiving court congratulations.The auditorium was set up, the floor was covered with luxurious carpets, the throne chair was covered with yellow satin cushions, a glass screen behind the chair was pasted with yellow paper, and the servants were all red-tasseled caps from the Qing Dynasty.On the day of the birthday, more than 100 elders came from Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangdong, Fujian and other places. Staff from embassies in Dongjiaomin Lane also participated. Including princes, ministers, and local elders, there were as many as 500 to 600 people.Because of the large number of people, I had to write out the order list as usual and congratulate them in shifts.Here is the gift list at that time:

A group of nearby princes and princes, led by Zai Tao; The second group of Mongolian princes and living Buddhas and lamas was led by Na Yantu; The third class of inner court officials, masters and Nanshufang Hanlin, led by Chen Baochen; The fourth class of former upright officials who held positions in the Republic of China will be led by Zhi Qi; Guo Zengxin led the fifth group of ex-Qing officials; Six classes of foreign guests, led by Johnston. That day I was wearing a blue silk gown and a black satin mandarin jacket, which is also the same attire for princes, ministers and elders from all over the world.Apart from this point, there is not much difference between rituals and palaces.The atmosphere of bright yellow, braids, three kneeling and nine knockings made me very sad and full of sorrow.After the ceremony, under some impulse, I gave an extemporaneous speech to the five or six hundred people in the courtyard.This speech was published in Shanghai newspapers at the time, and it was not entirely correct, but this passage is roughly correct:

Yu is 20 years old this year, very young and not long enough to live, besides, now that he is in trouble, he is living under someone else's roof, so why would he want to live a long life, but you have come from afar, Yu Shen is willing to take this opportunity to meet you, and even more willing Take this opportunity to talk to you.According to the general trend of the world, Yu also knows that the emperor cannot exist, and he is absolutely unwilling to take this risk.Living deep inside the palace on weekdays is no different from being a prisoner, and many people cannot be free, especially not what Yu likes to do.Yu had long wanted to study abroad, so he devoted himself to studying English on weekdays. It was originally a preparation for going abroad, but he couldn't implement it because there were too many constraints.Whether or not preferential treatment conditions exist is irrelevant to Yu, but I can cancel this matter automatically, but not if others force it.The conditions of preferential treatment are concluded by both parties, which is no different from an international treaty, and cannot be changed by order on the one hand.Feng Yuxiang's sending troops into the palace this time was too coercive and unreasonable. If this matter is discussed carefully, it will not be difficult to do.Yu Zhi doesn't want to have such a false name, out of sincerity, he has stored it for a long time, if he threatens the military power, Yu feels really unhappy.Even for the purpose of the Republic of China, such barbaric actions will greatly lose the dignity of the country and the credibility of the country. In addition, Yu was expelled from the palace, which has other effects.Yu is a very powerless person at this time, Feng Yuxiang used such means to Yu Yu, the victory was unarmed, what's more, the threats he received when he left the palace were no different from insults, it is hard to describe in words.Expelling the rest from the palace can still be said, why all the clothes, utensils and writings left by the ancestors of the past dynasties are all detained, and even the rice bowls, tea cups and kitchen utensils needed for daily use are not allowed to be taken out.Is this worth money?Such actions are not necessarily so harsh for thieves and prisoners.On the other hand, it is said that the restoration of Dingsi is to destroy the preferential treatment conditions. It must be known that Dingsi is more than twelve years old. Whether he has the ability to automatically restore it is irrelevant. However, since the establishment of the preferential treatment conditions, the so-called annual fee has been paid on time. Once?Has the salary of princes and princes been paid according to conditions?Has the livelihood of the Eight Banners been handled according to the conditions?The responsibility for the destruction lies first in the Republic of China. It is too unfair to say nothing about it now and just use the excuse of Ding Si's restoration!Yu is not complaining today, but he is depressed, so he has to take this opportunity to vent. Fortunately, the National Assembly will find out that if there is still a glimmer of light in people's hearts, there must be a fair treatment, and Yu can only wait for it.Yu Shang made a solemn statement that someone suggested to persuade Yu to engage in diplomacy, but he refused to do so until his death. Around my birthday, many newspapers published public opinion criticizing my group, reflecting the righteous indignation of the majority of people in society.This kind of righteous indignation was undoubtedly stimulated by my defection to the Japanese, and by the arrogance of the small court under the appeasement of the authorities and the protection of outsiders.At this time, the aftermath committee of the Qing Dynasty found some materials when checking the property in the palace, such as Yuan Shikai's autographed postscript written on the conditions of preferential treatment when he was emperor, and the documents of the Ministry of Internal Affairs' mortgage, sale, and foreign transport of antiquities, etc., which were published. So public opinion was uproarious.Of course, the most indignant thing is the relationship between the small imperial court and the Japanese and the campaign launched by the elders to restore the preferential treatment conditions (when I celebrated my birthday, there were more than 300 people from 15 provinces published in the newspaper 13 joint petition).In order to deal with the small imperial court, a group called the Great Alliance Against Preferential Treatment of Qing Dynasty emerged in Beijing and launched tit-for-tat activities.These social indignations expressed in the newspapers ranged from satirical sketches with anecdotes from other museums to serious and passionate positive accusations; there were well-meaning advice to me, and there were also warning-style texts to the Japanese embassy and the Republic of China authorities.It seems today that even if I took one opinion from these articles, it would not have made the first half of my life that way.I remember that there were a few articles that exposed the conspiracy of the Japanese, and now I have found it.This is a news from the news compilation agency published in the "Beijing News". There is a paragraph in it about the Japanese plan for me. It is so consistent with what happened later that I am very surprised: Its great shady background is to raise it exclusively in case of any changes in a certain province, and a certain country will escort it there with force, restore the status and name of its ancestors in the past, break away from the Republic of China, and be protected by a certain country. Implement the same method as that of a merged country. Later in this article, it is said: Puyi’s panic and exodus were deliberately intimidated by someone who fell into his trap, that is, he had a far-reaching plan, and his current preferential treatment provided everything, and he was willing to spend money. Everyone buys their favor, but they don't know that they have already been imprisoned by them, and they are the machines of the future.In my eyes at the time, these truthful words all became slander and frame-up, a conspiracy to lure me back and persecute me.At that time, some articles were obviously written by neither the Communists nor the Kuomintang, such as the following short commentary in the Beijing News, or it was written by a man who paid attention to feudal loyalty. is true: What is the hatred between Yilao and Aixinjueluo? Hu Wei will make the family go bankrupt and then quickly? Checking the results of the Qing palace, we know that most of the large antiquities have been sold, that is, the gold treasures and gold books of the past dynasties are all mortgaged. The queen's gold book also fell into the hands of the big belly and long sleeves?I respectfully designed it for a group of loyal ministers, each should inspire loyalty and justice, and seek peace for the heirs of the old master. Don't just boast about it, so that those who are looking for profit in the market can get their cheap goods, and the furnishings of unknown origin are everywhere. Home hall also. After reading such an article, I no longer feel that the people of the Ministry of Internal Affairs cannot be trusted as I did when I was in the palace. I only regard this "Beijing News" and the author of the short commentary as my enemy.As for those articles of accusation, let alone, the only response I have evoked in my heart is hatred. I lived in the Japanese embassy, ​​and a few times out of curiosity, I took one or two entourages and went out by bicycle in the middle of the night (later the embassy locked the gate and did not allow me to go out).Once I rode on the Tongzi River outside the Forbidden City, looking at the outlines of the turrets and the battlements, I thought of the Hall of Mental Cultivation and the Palace of Qianqing that I had just left, my throne and everything in bright yellow, revenge and restoration All the desires rushed into my heart, and I couldn't help feeling like a fire in my heart.With tears in my eyes, I vowed in my heart that I will return here in the future as a victorious king, just like my first generation ancestors.goodbye!I murmured those two double entendres and hopped in the car and drove away During the three months in the embassy, ​​what I encountered every day was the attentive care of the Japanese host, the loyalty vows of the elders, and the protests from the society.My ambition and hatred grew day and night under these three different influences.I thought that it was impossible to stay like this, I should prepare for my future, and the original plan returned to my mind that I had to go abroad to Japan. The embassy expressed support for my idea.The envoy did not express anything positively, but Secretary Chibu publicly showed great enthusiasm.Luo Zhenyu mentioned this Chibu in his autobiography "Ji Liao Bian". He said: After I entered the embassy, ​​I saw that Mr. Chibu was a man of character and could make a statement. , Because of secrets and merchants going up and down, Mr. Chibu said: In the future, the chaos in China will not be determined by the top, and he should go early to achieve the grand plan, so the two have a deep bond. Regarding the matter of Zheng Xiaoxu and Luo Zhenyu, the two favorite ministers, here is a supplementary account.At this time, the battle with me as the target entered a new stage in the Japanese embassy. This time it ended with the defeat of Zheng Xiaoxu and the victory of Luo Zhenyu. Zheng Xiaoxu once patted his chest, saying that based on his relationship with Duan, he would definitely be able to restore the preferential treatment conditions. Duan's cronies and aides, Zeng Yujun and Liang Hongzhi, were all from his hometown. Wang Yitang and others were half teachers and half friends with him. , not to mention.Later, Duan Qirui's empty wish could not be fulfilled, which made Zheng Xiaoxu very embarrassed.Complaints about Zheng Xiaoxu came to my ears.Sheng Yun, an old official from Tianjin, first expressed his dissatisfaction with Zheng. He told me a lot of things that Zheng Xiaoxu said to harm the country, to lie, to have ulterior motives, and to cover up the sky with one hand.At that time, I didn't know what Luo Zhenyu, who lost in the previous round, had anything to do with these anti-Zheng arguments.After the publicity of Sheng Yun, a veteran of the previous court, I became indifferent to Zheng Xiaoxu, but I grew more fond of Luo Zhenyu. Luo Zhenyu didn't attack Zheng Xiaoxu very fiercely in front of me, he talked about himself most of the time, and doing so was more effective than attacking others.The impression I got from his self-confession was that not only was he a major contributor to the rescue from this risk, but in contrast, Zheng Xiaoxu became a villain who took meritorious deeds.According to Luo Zhenyu himself, Duan Qirui's telegram from Tianjin opposing Feng Yuxiang's expulsion of me from the palace was one of the results of his activities.He returned to Beijing and found his good friend Takemoto Osamu, so he was ready to welcome me into the Japanese barracks.According to him, the withdrawal of the national army in front of Beifu Gate was also the result of his negotiations with the executive government.Even before I went to Dongjiaomin Lane, I decided to go in and out casually first, to show others that there is no other strategy, which was given to Chen Baochen in advance by him. Later, in Luo Zhenyu's "Ji Liao Bian", about my entry into the Japanese embassy, ​​he didn't mention Zheng Xiaoxu a word, but when describing my situation after entering the Japanese embassy, ​​he said: "I think I can make Duan Qirui recover." Those who are treated preferentially, because they can't tell the truth, and they don't tell, they go south!In fact, I wanted to go abroad at that time, and Zheng Xiaoxu did not support me. Since Johnston no longer advertised his visit to London as a guest, Luo Zhenyu, who advocated Dongxing, was naturally more valued by me, so I was no longer interested in Zheng Xiaoxu.So Zheng Xiaoxu finally asked me for leave one day, saying he was going back to Shanghai to take care of his private affairs. I didn't understand what he meant at the time, so I didn't keep him, and he ran away in a fit of anger. Not many days after my birthday, Luo Zhenyu came to tell me: He and Chibu had already discussed that they should go to Tianjin to make preparations for going abroad. A house, the house I bought earlier was in the British Concession, and the location was very inappropriate.I heard what he said was reasonable, and I really wanted to see the metropolis of Tianjin. His idea was exactly what I wanted, so I immediately agreed.I sent Zhu Ruzhen from Nanshufang to look for a house in the Japanese Concession in Tianjin, but I fell in love with Zhang Yuan.Not many days later, Luo Zhenyu said that Zhang Yuan was ready. Now that the national army was changing defenses, and there were only a few Fengjun troops on the railway line, it was a good opportunity to leave immediately.I talked to Minister Fangze, and he agreed with me to go to Tianjin.For my transfer this time, he sent someone to notify Duan Qirui.Duan agreed and sent troops to escort him.Fangze did not accept his kindness. He decided that the police chief and plainclothes police officers from the Japanese Consulate General in Tianjin would come to Beijing.And so it was settled. At 7:00 p.m. on February 23, the 14th year of the Republic of China, I bid farewell to Minister Fangze and his wife.We took pictures, and I thanked them. They wished me a safe journey. Then, accompanied by Ikebu and plainclothes Japanese policemen, I walked out the back door of the Japanese Legation and walked to Beijing Qianmen Station.I found Luo Zhenyu and his son on the train.Along the way, when the train stopped at a station, a few Japanese policemen and secret agents in black plain clothes came up. When the train arrived in Tianjin, most of the compartments were occupied by such people.Shigeru Yoshida, the Japanese Consul General in Tianjin, and dozens of officers and soldiers from the garrison took me out of the car. On the third day, a statement from the Japanese embassy appeared in the Suncheon Times: Before our embassy stayed in China, Emperor Xuantong of the Qing Dynasty suddenly set off for Tianjin on the night of the 23rd, and our embassy notified Duan and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of this decree for reference in the afternoon of the 24th.The original Emperor Xuantong had the intention of leaving Beijing, which was known to the ruling government long ago, and he had no intention of interfering with it, and was also known by this museum. However, he imagined how long it would take until the day of implementation, but he unexpectedly left Beijing in a hurry. , I want to urge him to do this because of the news of yesterday and today, which frequently contains unstable records. [1] Wen Zhong and Zhong Wu are the posthumous posthumous methods of Liang Dingfen and Zhang Xun.