In 1913, Cai E, who was the governor of Yunnan at the time, was transferred to Beijing.
This was Yuan Shikai's little calculation. He was afraid of Cai E's prestige at that time, so he placed Cai E beside him and placed many eyes and ears around him.
Cai E knew all this well, but given that Yuan Shikai was very powerful at the time, he had no choice but to serve well under Yuan Shikai first and then watch what happened.
Only two years later, Yuan Shikai dreamed of becoming an emperor. He attempted to revive the monarchy, which Cai E, who originally supported the republic, could not bear.
Later, Cai E planned to secretly leave Beijing, sneak back to Yunnan, and launch an anti-Yuan movement to protect the country.
Picture | Soldiers of the National Defense Movement
Yuan Shikai fell soon after, and died a few months later!
The two years that Cai E took office in Beijing were a very critical node in his short life, a glorious moment in his career, and a turning point in the Revolutionary Movement of 1911.
Since this period of history has been valued by various scholars and historians, they have tried their best to write and interpret Cai E's experiences in the past few years, trying to give a complete picture of Cai E's character.
Just saying that, the story about Cai E is far more than these. There are many other things that are talked about in his life, and even those things are more concerning and curious to people.
picture | Cai E
Speaking of this, we have to mention a character. He is part of the image of Cai E in history. This person is Xiao Fengxian.
The "love story" about Cai E and Xiao Fengxian has always been talked about among the people, and the acquaintance of Cai E and Xiao Fengxian also happened in those two years.
This story has been told and interpreted in various literary and artistic works since the Republic of China, and the character Xiao Fengxian has also been directly imprinted in the memories of countless people.
For example, in the 1980s there was a movie called " Zhiyin", which depicted the touching love story between Xiao Fengxian and the national protector Cai E. Originally, the soldier Cai E had a relatively single image. Suddenly it was painted with a different kind of romantic color.
There is a poem circulated in this movie, which was very fashionable at that time. This poem goes like this:
"The mountains are green, the water is green, and the mountains and flowing water have the charm. The general draws his sword and rises from the south, I am willing to turn into a soul to surround me." "War Flag."
It is said that everyone who watched this movie was moved by the love between the two, and they were all moved by the plot.
Picture | Cai E, Xiao Fengxian
It’s just that we still have to be more cautious about those literary and artistic works. Most of their descriptions are not so realistic.
So a lot of content is worthy of our exploration and thinking.
First of all, we need to understand the relationship between them, and we must start with the character Xiao Fengxian.
There are some relatively well-founded information showing that Xiao Fengxian did not stay together sweetly with Cai E for a long time after they met. After Cai E's death, she became anonymous and married a boiler worker. She was very miserable in her later years. , which also caused controversy among Cai E's descendants after his death.
So what exactly happened between Cai E and Xiao Fengxian, and what do their descendants say? With these questions in mind, let’s read this article!
1. The tragic life experience of Xiao Fengxian
Xiao Fengxian was born in 1900. In the early days, there was no detailed study of her life experience. There were different opinions. Some said she was from Hunan, others said she was from Suzhou , and some said she was from Suzhou . Some people say that she is from Qiantang or Yangzhou .
But one thing that people were very sure of at that time was that Xiao Fengxian had a very pitiful life when she was young. Her family must have suffered a drastic change, otherwise Xiao Fengxian would not have fallen into prostitution and become a prostitute.
Later, with more and more research on Xiaofengxian, her life experience, which had only a "hazy" outline before, was gradually revealed.
Xiaofengxian was originally named Zhu Xiaofeng, and later changed her name to Zhang Fengyun, Zhang Xifei, Manchu bannerman, originally from Qiantang, Zhejiang.
She was born into a declining Manchu Eight Banners military attache family. Later, her father was dismissed and her family fell into decline.
During the Guangxu period, the family was forced to live in Xiangtan, Hunan, and later came to Hangzhou. In August 1900, Xiao Fengxian was born in Hangzhou.
Picture | Xiao Fengxian
However, shortly after Xiao Fengxian was born, the family, which was already riddled with problems, lost its backbone. Xiao Fengxian's father died of illness.
And because Xiaofengxian was born by a side wife, she has no status at all in the family. Now that her father is dead, Mrs. Dafang makes things difficult for both mother and daughter, which makes Xiaofengxian's mother disheartened.
Ever since, Xiao Fengxian’s mother, who was just a concubine, made a decision that seemed very bold at the time. She secretly took Xiao Fengxian and escaped from the Zhu family. Compared to being bullied and surviving in the Zhu family, she was willing to try Work hard from scratch with Xiao Fengxian!
Xiao Fengxian had just turned ten when she escaped from the "Zhu Family".
Although she was young at this time, she had developed a strong personality. She was willing to live a life of ups and downs and wandering with her mother. She thought that as long as she stayed with her mother, she would be peaceful and happy. life.
However, not long after, God played another big joke on her. After moving out of Zhu's house, her mother worked hard to raise herself and became seriously ill. She passed away soon after.
Xiao Fengxian's fate was hit one after another. At a young age, she was wandering alone in the world. She had to start questioning life, "Where in the world is my place to stay?"
Perhaps such a pitiful life experience moved God, and soon the noble person in Xiao Fengxian's life came on the stage to "save" her!
Not long after Xiaofengxian's mother died of illness, the wet nurse who had raised her when she was a child took pity on her and decided to adopt her.
From then on, Xiao Fengxian officially changed her name to Zhang Fengyun. She respected and loved this nanny very much, and she regarded this as a gift from God. From that time on, she vowed in her heart that she would work hard to repay her nanny!
In October 1911, the Wuchang Uprising broke out. At that time, wet nurse Zhang was taking her as a helper at the home of Zeng Yun, the governor of Zhejiang.
But now that the world has changed drastically, this place is no longer a place where they can make a living. After noticing this, wet nurse Zhang quickly took Xiao Fengxian and fled to Shanghai!
Picture | Xiaofengxian
Because it was a time of war, Wet Nurse Zhang and Xiaofengxian suddenly lost their way of survival, and their food and clothing were not guaranteed.
Wet nurse Zhang saw that little Fengxian was very smart. She could also play erhu, pipa, sing Peking opera, and write lyrics. She had a good foundation.
From this, she asked Xiao Fengxian to learn opera from an artist named Hu. Although this profession was relatively "humble", it was possible to make a living.
After that, Xiao Fengxian started her singing career in Nanjing with the artist named Hu, and took the stage name "Xiao Fengxian".
In the following August 1913, the "Second Revolution" broke out. Beiyang warlord Feng Guozhang led his troops to attack Nanjing. Nanjing became war-torn again, so Xiao Fengxian was brought back to Shanghai by Boss Hu. Wet Nurse Zhang chose Fleeed to Jiangxi.
Picture | Feng Guozhang
At this time, Xiao Fengxian was already 13 years old, and she had grown into a slim "big girl".
Later, she was forced to be introduced by Boss Hu to a romantic scholar Zeng Mengpu as a slave, and this Zeng Mengpu was her guide to become a "prostitute".
Because not long after, Zeng Mengpu took her to Peking , was "transferred" to Shaanxi Lane Yunjiban in the Bada Hutong to sell and sing . Because of Xiaofengxian's outstanding appearance and talents, she was very popular. In such a In the occasion, Xiao Fengxian stood out among all the prostitutes!
The book "A Brief History of the Early Republic of China" records: "Little Fengxian has a mediocre appearance and a very aloof temperament. Her outstanding ability is that she is proficient in calligraphy and is fond of embellishment of lyrics. She also has a pair of discerning eyes and can identify customers. Talented people in the capital, or called her a prostitute.
2. The acquaintance of Xiao Fengxian and Cai E
At first, in the troubled times, Yuan Shikai did not show any ambition to steal power and become emperor. Cai E also respected Yuan Shikai at that time and maintained certain illusions.
And many big figures at that time were attracted by Yuan Shikai, Liang Qichao was one of them.
Cai E believes that he is in a borderland and it is difficult for him to exact his revenge and make further progress in his political career.
From then on, he began to ask his teacher to help him transfer out of Yunnan. But who would have thought that this played into Yuan Shikai's hands. Yuan Shikai had always been wary of Cai E's military power, and now that he had the opportunity to transfer Cai E to Beijing to exert "control", it couldn't be better.
In 1913, Yuan Shikai issued an order to transfer Cai E to Beijing.
Picture | Yuan Shikai
and directly gave Cai E a bunch of false posts, such as "General Zhaowei" and "Supervision of the National Economic and Border Bureau", and also gave Cai E a lot of empty promises, telling Cai E that he would be "chief of the army in the future" "The position of must be reserved for him, and he will continue to instill his political ideas into Cai E, hoping to brainwash Cai E.
Behind the scenes, Yuan Shikai sent people to strictly monitor Cai E and not let go of any trace!
Picture | Cai E
In the beginning, Cai E really had a fantasy about Yuan Shikai, and he had a sense of longing for Yuan Shikai.
Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. After Yuan Shikai's plan to ascend the throne was exposed, Cai E suddenly "awoke from the dream". He had always supported the Republic, and Yuan Shikai now dreamed of becoming an emperor. This must be resisted. of!
Ever since, Cai E began to plan for rebellion against Yuan.
After Liang Qichao learned about Cai E's plan, he suggested to Cai E: "A gentleman waits for the opportunity to act, and a small impatience will mess up the big plan. You might as well pretend to support the monarchy, join in the evil, first get into their circle, and then try to send away the family members and get away with the camera." ."
Picture | Photo of Liang Qichao with his family
Cai E followed the advice of his teacher Liang Qichao. The first thing he did was to pretend that he had a disagreement with Liang Qichao, and acted like he had parted ways with Liang Qichao, and told everyone about Liang Qichao. They are "nerds", "ignorant of current affairs", etc.
In addition, in order to gain further trust from Yuan Shikai, Cai E took the initiative to write to Yuan Shikai "please implement the imperial system", and Cai E also publicly agreed with Yuan Shikai's signature activities for the imperial system.
Yuan Shikai was very happy to see this situation. Faced with a young talent like Cai E who held military power, Yuan Shikai was very satisfied.
Picture | Yuan Shikai's film and television image
And Cai E also knew that Yuan Shikai was very cautious, and he was always a suspicious person.
Cai E's superficial flattery has limited effect. To complete the revolution, he must "do a complete set of tricks."
From this, Cai E began to wander among the "eight alleys of smoke and willows", and always showed a bohemian appearance to the outside world. This made Yuan Shikai relax his vigilance about himself.
At that time, Cai E dressed as a businessman and went to the Bada Hutongs to "play" every day. It was there that he met Xiao Fengxian through the introduction of the romantic scholar Zeng Mengpu.
Xiao Fengxian received wine bags and rice bags every day, but this time after meeting Cai E, she clearly felt the difference. This "client" was heroic in both appearance and behavior.
Picture | Cai E and Xiao Fengxian
Because of her talent and appearance, Xiao Fengxian is very disgusted with the mediocre people she usually faces. She hopes to meet a true soulmate who can truly achieve a A man with substantial spiritual communication appears, and it is obvious that Cai E, who combines temperament and knowledge, is the man she is looking for!
Cai E also admired Xiao Fengxian very much after seeing her. Cai E admired Xiao Fengxian's speech and behavior. She was different from ordinary geishas who only sensationalized or indulged. Those people made Cai E feel noisy.
But Xiaofengxian is different from those women. She has her own knowledge and understanding. She is generous, direct and considerate.
When Cai E saw this woman, he immediately sighed: "My trip to Beijing this time is finally worth it."
And he wrote two couplets to Xiao Fengxian:
There are so few in this place, and her people are like pearls of fairy dew. .
Since ancient times, there have been many beauties, and chivalrous women have always been in the limelight.
This is indeed the highest praise for Xiao Fengxian.
3. Xiao Fengxian helped Cai E return to Yunnan to launch the movement to protect the country
After that, Cai E and Xiao Fengxian became more and more attached to each other. Cai E also gradually learned about Xiao Fengxian's life experience and felt very sorry for her.
Later, Cai E also met Wet Nurse Zhang, who came to Beijing from Jiangxi. Cai E saw the scene of the two relying on each other, and later learned that Master Hu was his leader (creditor of the debt).
Cai E was very distressed when he found out, used his own money to redeem Xiao Fengxian's body.
From about this time, Xiao Fengxian had fallen in love and had secretly promised General Cai E.
General Cai E also understood that he had to "go all out" to confuse Yuan Shikai, so he began to "hang out" with Xiao Fengxian seriously every day.
Picture | The image of Cai E and Xiao Fengxian in movies
Soon, the matter between Cai E and Xiao Fengxian became known to the world. Cai E and Xiao Fengxian were "hanging out" together every day. Not only did he He redeemed Xiao Fengxian's body and even announced that he wanted to marry Xiao Fengxian.
This made Cai E's first wife very dissatisfied. At first, the original wife felt surprised, But after a series of actions, she believed that her husband had completely fallen. In a fit of anger, the first wife took Cai E's mother back. Arrived in Hunan.
The same is true for Yuan Shikai. Before, he thought Cai E was an extremely upright officer, but now he has become sinking. He didn't believe it at first, so he sent people to search Cai E's house, but nothing was found.
From this, Yuan Shikai truly believed that Cai E had completely fallen, which made Yuan Shikai relax his vigilance against Cai E.
After this, Cai E had no burden and he got a chance to "escape".
Picture | Cai E’s film and television image
On December 1, 1915, there was only one day left before Yuan Shikai’s accession to the throne, but at this critical moment, Cai E disappeared from the world.
Why is this?
It turned out that Cai E told Xiao Fengxian a lot about his opposition to Yuan Shikai's proclaimed emperor, and also expressed some views on the current political situation. Cai E expressed his desire to escape from Beijing, "Determined to ignore it" Life or death depends on escaping from prison." I hope Xiaofengxian can help.
Xiao Fengxian said that she was willing to "walk together in life and death."
But Cai E said: "Although you have great ambitions, this trip is quite dangerous. If you go with you, it will not only be useless to you, but also harmful to me, and hinder the republic. We will never forget each other when we succeed in the future!"
Xiao Fengxian, who originally thought she had found the love of her life, suddenly lost her inner peace, but considering that this was her sweetheart's lifelong career, she had no choice but to let it go. .
So Xiao Fengxian said to Cai E: "Being successful and famous, together with old Lin Quan, this is my long-cherished wish. It would be a great happiness to be able to achieve this."
Picture | Stills of Cai E and Xiao Fengxian
Look, This time, Xiao Fengxian once again showed her unyielding and strong personality. She decided to give everything to help Cai E. The method she came up with is as follows:
On the day Cai E tried to escape, it was the boss's birthday. The room was full of people, noisy, and very messy.
Xiao Fengxian saw this opportunity. After Cai E arrived, she deliberately raised the curtains. This move was for those who were following and monitoring Cai E to make them relax their vigilance.
Afterwards, Cai E pretended to go to the toilet without taking any clothes or pocket watch. From this, those monitoring Cai E would conclude that Cai E would not go far away.
At this time, Xiao Fengxian calmly lowered the curtains. The outsiders suddenly lost their judgment of the situation inside the house. At this time, Cai E got the opportunity. He escaped from the back door, and successfully got on the three-wheeler bound for Tianjin. Waiting for the train, and with Liang Qichao's support, he boarded the Japanese mail ship "Shandong Maru" and came to Japan.
picture | Xiaofengxian stills
Everyone must already know what happened next. Cai E fled back to Yunnan and launched the "National Protection Movement".
"Oh! God has brought disaster to China, and evildoers have actually arisen. The Yuan family has brought disaster to billions of lives with the thought of descendants and emperors. My parents will not rebel in the end, and I have no relatives to remonstrate. Since I have cut myself off from the people, my righteousness is not the same as that of others. I dare to speak out for him. Crime, punish the public. "
On December 27, 1915, Cai E, Yunnan Governor Tang Jiyao and others sent a message to the society, announcing that they would attack Yuan Shikai.
Originally, people in society thought that Cai E had fallen into Yuan Shikai's hands, but now they discovered that Cai E had already broken free from the shackles Yuan Shikai had imposed on him.
Cai E has become a national hero. He has a republican heart and firm courage. This time he is bound to capture Yuan Shikai!
In the end, Cai E succeeded through hard work, and Yuan Shikai fell in 1916. He passed away soon after.
In November of the same year, Cai E went to Japan for training and unfortunately contracted tuberculosis. At 4:00 pm on November 8, 1916, General Cai E, the founding father of the Republic of China, died in Fukuoka Hospital, Japan. Only 34 years old.
picture | Cai E
Xiao Fengxian was originally waiting for Cai E to come back to find her and live a happy life together.
This is the future she hoped for, but now she is waiting for the news of the death of her sweetheart.
It is said that Xiao Fengxian had trouble sleeping day and night. During that period, she took the newspaper with Cai E's obituary every day and read it over and over again. Every time she read it, she would be heartbroken.
For Xiao Fengxian, Cai E's death was a huge blow to her, which made her very desperate for life.
She originally thought that after meeting Cai E, her life would be re-opened, but she never expected that that separation would become an eternal separation.
Since then, Xiaofengxian suddenly disappeared from the world, and no one knows her whereabouts.
4. Xiao Fengxian’s life after her “disappearance”
At that time, it was written “Xiao Fengxian committed suicide out of love” in various newspapers.This is not actually the case.
After a follow-up visit decades later, we learned that Xiao Fengxian wrote a "suicide note" late at night when she left Bada Hutong and boarded the train to Tianjin.
In Tianjin, Xiao Fengxian began to live a different life. She began to hide her name and rely on doing manual work for others to make a living.
Later the Zhi-Feng War started in Beijing and Tianjin. Xiao Fengxian met a teacher named Liang by chance.
Xiaofengxian was attracted by the military temperament of the teacher, while the teacher was obsessed with Xiaofengxian's appearance and cultivation.
Soon after, Fengjun was defeated. Commander Liang took Xiaofengxian back to Shenyang, and Xiaofengxian became his concubine.
This is a brand new beginning for Xiao Fengxian. She is reborn and she has found her own coordinate system again!
After that, Xiao Fengxian lived a stable life for some years until her husband died of illness in 1940.
After this experience, Xiao Fengxian felt the same as what she had felt when she was a child. She was once again reduced to a state of being unaccompanied and lonely.
Ever since, Xiao Fengxian, who had been humiliated by life in every possible way, had no choice but to remarry in order to join a group to keep warm and spend the rest of her life together.
This time Xiao Fengxian married an old boiler worker named Li Zhenhai.
The boilermaker already had four children at that time, and Xiao Fengxian married and became their stepmother "naturally".
Pictures | Xiao Fengxian stills
Because of the large population in her family, Xiao Fengxian worked a lot of part-time jobs outside to supplement the family income. Although it was very tiring, although she was often treated coldly, and although her life was very tight, Xiao Fengxian thought As long as she finally has a family, every time she thinks about it, Xiao Fengxian is filled with joy.
Just a few years later, her husband Li Zhenhai also died of illness, which put Xiao Fengxian's life into embarrassment again.
This time it is not only she who has to survive, but also the four children left by her husband.
In desperation, she began to turn to her old friend, the Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang .
Picture | Mei Lanfang
Soon, Xiao Fengxian was moved and wrote a long letter to Mei Lanfang, telling her own sufferings and hoping to get help from her old friends.
It is said that Mei Lanfang was very emotional after receiving this letter from the communication room of the Communication Office. He said at that time that he would do his best to help Xiaofengxian get through the difficulties, and said that Xiaofengxian had " He has contributed to the country, which is incomparable to us. This person must be treated well."
Then Mei Lanfang immediately wrote a reply and invited Xiao Fengxian to meet and discuss it in detail!
Later, After Mei Lanfang met Xiao Fengxian, Mei Lanfang did not dare to recognize this "old woman" at all. She once had an elegant and calm oriental beauty, but now her recognition has been eroded by ruthless fate. Not coming out.
Mei Lanfang was filled with emotion as he recalled the flood of past memories in his heart.
Later, Mei Lanfang found Xiao Fengxian a relatively decent job - a kindergarten health care worker .
Xiao Fengxian is very grateful. For her, whose life is already in a mess, this job is really valuable!
5. The ending of Xiaofengxian in her later years
When she was doing her new job in the kindergarten, Xiaofengxian was completely immersed in it. She was completely tireless and wanted to do her best to make her own contribution to society.
Just outside of work, Xiao Fengxian often looked at Cai E's photos in a daze. She looked at Cai E's photos infatuatedly, but they had long been separated from each other, and the past years could only be spent in leisure time. In the spare time, I send some thoughts.
At that time, her children would see that their stepmother was always obsessed with photos, so they would ask her stepmother, "Who is the man in the photo?"
"It's a friend!"
Xiao Fengxian didn't She didn't want to add to the misunderstanding by giving any explanation.
In 1953, Xiaofengxian suffered from Alzheimer's disease. Her body, which had worked hard all her life, suddenly collapsed. Within a year, Xiaofengxian passed away.
Her life seemed to be fleeting and ended suddenly.
As for her life experience, her stepson and stepdaughter did not know about her for a long time after her death. It was not until someone investigated later that they found out that their stepmother turned out to be Xiao Fengxian, who was famous in the capital at that time.
Picture | Xiao Fengxian poster cover
Conclusion
However, what is more regrettable is that the descendants of General Cai E are very unfavorable to Xiao Fengxian. They are unwilling to accept that their world-famous father has anything to do with such a woman. connect.
So when they were interviewed later, they said bluntly: "Those stories were made up by Xiao Fengxian because of her passion. My father could not love her at all. There is no emotion between them."
Regarding this point, the author wants to say, As to whether there is such a relationship between Xiao Fengxian and General Cai E, it is indeed impossible to study at present.
But when we comment on Xiaofengxian, we cannot always be so secular. We must face up to the historical role of Xiaofengxian.
Let’s imagine that without the help of Xiao Fengxian, General Cai E might not have been able to leave Beijing at all, and history would have been rewritten!
As for the future movement to protect the country, Xiaofengxian also played a certain role in it!
Perhaps for Xiao Fengxian, her helping Cai E was not entirely out of "protecting the country." However, what she did objectively and substantially affected history, and at this point it is worth remembering by history.
