On November 6, the twenty-sixth year of Guangxu's reign (1900), a farce of national humiliation was staged in the Baoding Zhili Governor's Office . British Admiral Guisli sat in the lobby and imitated Chinese officials in judging prisoners. In this way, he quoted the " Great Qing Law" and sentenced the then governor of Zhili Tingyong to death, with his head displayed to the public.
Since the Eight-Power Allied Forces started the war, many officials have been killed, but most of them were middle and low-level officials. As a result, Ting Yong became the highest-ranking frontier official killed by the Eight-Power Allied Forces on Chinese soil. So who is Tingyong?
The victim of the national crisis
Tingyong, a native of Zhenghong Banner in Manchuria, was the son of Chongen, the governor of Shandong. He was promoted by the imperial court many times as a tribute student. In the 21st year of Guangxu's reign, he served as the supervisor of Shanhaiguan.
In the twenty-sixth year of Guangxu's reign, the Eight-Power Allied Forces marched from Tianjin to Beijing. Empress Dowager Cixi and the main militant faction decided to use the power of the Boxer Rebellion to fight against the invasion of the coalition forces. Tingyong, who had been promoted to the post of Chief Envoy of Zhili at that time, strongly supported the Boxer Rebellion, burning many churches and massacring hundreds of parishioners. This move not only gave the coalition forces an excuse to invade, but also paved the way for Tingyong's murder.
As the war situation changed, the Boxers did not stop the coalition's attack. Tianjin was quickly captured. Yulu, the governor of Zhili, was defeated and subsequently committed suicide in Yangcun . On August 14, the coalition forces invaded Beijing, and Empress Dowager Cixi fled to Xi'an with Emperor Guangxu . On the way to escape, Cixi appointed Li Hongzhang as the governor of Zhili. However, Li Hongzhang was reluctant to go north to take up his post, so the imperial court ordered Tingyong to act as the acting governor of Zhili and stationed in Baoding.
Tianjin and Beijing had been lost. At this time, Baoding was not only the only way for the coalition forces to pursue the two palaces, but also an important logistics transfer station for the imperial court to recruit food and weapons. All the materials needed by the two palaces during their escape depended on Baoding.
In addition, the defeated imperial troops in Tianjin and Beijing also flocked to Baoding in large numbers. Therefore, for the coalition forces, the military importance of Baoding is very prominent. As long as Baoding is captured, it can increase a lot of bargaining chips for subsequent negotiations.
However, the opinions within the coalition were not unified. Russia, the United States, and Japan all expressed their unwillingness to participate in this military operation. The expeditionary force that invaded Baoding in the south was eventually composed of Germany, Britain, France, and Italy, known as the "Quadruple Alliance" ".
Before setting off, the Southern Expeditionary Army, composed of more than 10,000 men, specifically notified Li Hongzhang to remove obstacles and force him to retreat the Qing troops along the way. Li Hongzhang, fearing that it would affect the peace talks, had to order the Qing troops along the route to "use Treat each other with courtesy" and let the Zhili garrison withdraw from the provincial capital.
As a result, Baoding was in danger, and the coalition forces quickly occupied the provincial capital Baoding. Ting Yong, acting governor of Zhili, led the civil and military officials and local gentry out of the city to welcome him. The coalition chief Gaisli ordered the occupation of the governor's office and carried out a large-scale road abuse and massacre in Baoding.
While the coalition forces brutally trampled on Baoding, killing the people was not enough, so they swung the butcher knife at Baoding officials. On October 23, senior officials such as Ting Yong, the governor of Zhili, Shen Jiaben, the inspector general, and Tan Wenhuan, the Taoist priest, were arrested and awaiting trial.
Tingyong was executed according to the "Laws of the Qing Dynasty"
Tingyong had previously supported the Boxers to resist the great powers, which aroused the hatred of the coalition forces. At the same time, Gaisli also believed that as long as Tingyong was killed, he could achieve the purpose of knocking down the mountain and shaking the tiger, and completely eliminate the resistance consciousness of Baoding officials and people.
On November 6, after receiving the approval of the coalition commander Wadesi, Ghasri decided to try Tingyong and others in the lobby of the Zhili Governor's Office. The trial was a lively one. The coalition called itself the "International Trial Conference." Gaisli sat in the lobby, imitating the way Chinese officials tried prisoners, and tried Tingyong and others.
During the trial, Guisli also tried every means to quote the provisions of the "Qing Code", saying that Tingyong disobeyed the emperor's order, and sentenced him to death for this crime. "form.
Gaisli and the commanders of allied forces from various countries sat in the lobby and interrogated Tingyong, asking him why he allowed the Boxers to massacre Westerners? Tingyong also defended his behavior, emphasizing that he supported the Boxer Rebellion in compliance with the imperial edict. On the other hand, he also realized that he had reached a dead end, and it was better to be generous and generous than to beg for mercy. He said, "The matter is now over. You can kill or behead as you like. Why ask this or that?"
Not to mention Tingyong was quite righteous. He took all the responsibility of Baoding officials for supporting the Boxer Rebellion on himself, saying that they were all Those who follow their own orders. Tingyong's move was truly righteous, and he rescued Zhili Inspector Shen Jiaben and Taoist member Tan Wenhuan from the butcher's knife.
After the final interrogation, Ting Yong, the governor of Zhili, Kui Heng, the city guard, and Wang Zhankui, the general, were executed. Because this trial had been approved by the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, Wadesi, on the day of the trial, Tingyong and others were taken to the execution ground and their heads were displayed in public.
Baoding is the provincial capital of Zhili. For more than two hundred years, all death row prisoners have been executed at Fenghuang Terrace in the southeast corner of the city. After Tingyong was killed, his head was hung for public display. Tingyong himself became the highest-ranking Qing Dynasty official killed on Chinese soil after the invasion of the Eight-Power Allied Forces.
Tingyong actually died unjustly. He actually did not support the Boxer Rebellion to support the Qing Dynasty and destroy the foreign countries , but strictly followed Cixi's edict. It was just that Cixi supported the Boxer Rebellion at one time and wanted to destroy the Boxer Rebellion at another time. The essence of this The strategy of the Qing court was constantly changing, and the coalition's execution of Ting Yong was also an act of revenge and demonstration against the Qing court. Obviously Ting Yong was a victim.
But then again, Tingyong's death was not unrelated to his own qualifications and prestige. If it were Li Hongzhang or Zhang Zhidong and others, I believe the coalition forces would not be able to do this.
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