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On November 14, 1908, the emperor of Guangxu passed away. On November 15, Empress Dowager Cixi, who ruled China for more than 40 years, also passed away. The mother and son passed away, only one day apart. The successive deaths of these two people left a huge mystery for future generations, and the truth behind them is probably not simple.
Cixi What did she do the day before her death?
According to records, Cixi suddenly fainted after dealing with the government on November 15, 1908. The reason was that she had dysentery and since the summer, which caused her vitality to be severely damaged.
1 Send Guangxu to the road
Guangxu's father is Prince Chun, the son of the emperor Daoguang , and his mother is Cixi's sister. Guangxu and Cixi are not real mother-son relationships. Although Guangxu was raised by Cixi since childhood, it was just a tool for Cixi to play with power. He has been in poor health since childhood and has been under the control of Cixi for a long time. He was depressed and never got sick. However, Cixi did enough superficial skills and often sent people to ask about Guangxu's condition. Cixi pretended to care and made Guangxu feel very disgusted, but Cixi was the actual person in power, and he could not blame him in person. could only write his inner resentment and unsuccessfulness into his diary.
Emperor Guangxu
Originally, Guangxu could have been in bed and recuperating, but he insisted on revealing all his inner thoughts. He wrote in his diary that although he was very ill, Lord Lafayette would definitely die before him. Lord Lafayette died, and he was in power. At that time, he would kill Li Lianying and Yuan Shikai .
All you can say and can't say. Now, the diary was given to Li Lianying by the spy installed by Cixi. Li Lianying thought to himself, boy, you want to kill me, but Daoxing is almost done. Now all Guangxu's thoughts were known by Cixi. Cixi was furious. She didn't believe in this evil and thought to herself, let's take a look. At this time, Empress Dowager Cixi brought the young Puyi to the palace to raise. Her purpose was to re-cultivate a puppet emperor so that power would always be in her own hands.
The eunuch Li Lianying
Why did Guangxu kill Li Lianying and Yuan Shikai?
We all know that Li Lianying is the chief supervisor around Cixi. He is inseparable from Cixi and is more or less involved in political affairs. As the eunuch, he naturally makes a lot of money. Li Lianying and Cixi are both angry. Can Li Lianying have a good end if Cixi dies? He has said many bad things about Guangxu in front of Cixi. When Cixi heard this, Guangxu was about to die behind her, so how could she agree?
In addition, Guangxu and Yuan Shikai conspired to force the palace, but unexpectedly, Yuan Shikai suddenly turned against him. actually started spies on both sides, telling Guangxu's secrets. Cixi learned how could he let Guangxu go? How could the weak and sickly puppet emperor be the opponent of a mature politician without saying a word? Cixi put Guangxu under house arrest without saying a word. From then on, Guangxu hated Yuan Shikai.
What caused the intensification of the conflict between Cixi and Guangxu was the Guangxu wedding. Emperor Guangxu was more inclined to the lively and beautiful Zhenfei , while Cixi hoped that her niece would become the queen. With Cixi's strong intervention, Guangxu had to confer against his will to be the queen, which was Empress Longyu . In fact, Cixi and Guangxu have been resentful for a long time. In terms of foreign policy, Guangxu is in charge of war and Cixi is in charge of peace. Cixi has always suppressed the reformist .
Yuan Shikai
1900 when Cixi escaped from Beijing, she killed Guangxu’s favorite concubine Zhen. Cixi had long wanted to depose Guangxu and establish another puppet emperor. In this way, the new emperor would be grateful to him and his reputation would not be too unbearable in a hundred years.Cixi manipulated the lifeblood of the Qing Dynasty , and many relatives and confidants were promoted. These people had high positions and power. If a coup was launched, they would be their best supporters. Even if they did not kill Guangxu and harm their interests, these people would naturally attack them. didn't have to do it themselves. When Cixi learned about Guangxu's hidden ambitions, she became murderous about him. Many factors led to Cixi having to kill Guangxu. On the evening of November 14, 1908, Emperor Guangxu was ineffective in treating Long Yubintian, and was only 38 years old.
Only a day passed, and Cixi also left. It is said that before Guangxu died, he was in a state of great pain and rolled back and forth in bed, in extreme pain. In 2008, forensic identification, Guangxu was poisoned by arsenic, and such a cause of death could not help but make people think a lot. Guangxu is the son of Cixi's sister. She was raised by Cixi since she was a child. However, the closer we get to the center of power, the less affection there is. Moreover, Cixi and Guangxu are not biological mother-son relationships. The relationship between Cixi and Guangxu is already incompatible with water and fire on many issues. The two must have a fight, but who would have thought that the two would end up with such a loss-making ending?
cixi
2 Finding a new emperor to ascend the throne and firmly grasp the rights
The country cannot be without a "lord" for a day. After Guangxu's death, who will inherit the throne became the biggest problem of the Qing court. Aisin Gioro family has many heirs to choose from, but why did they choose Puyi alone? In terms of qualifications and abilities to be an emperor, Puyi's father Zaifeng is far more suitable than Puyi. However, Guangxu had no children in his life, and no one behind him could inherit the throne. This was exactly what Cixi thought. Although Puyi had a noble status, he was just Guangxu's nephew. He wanted to inherit the throne but was not justified. Cixi adopted Puyi to Tongzhi. As the heir of Emperor Tongzhi, Zaichun, he also served as Emperor Guangxu, and inherited Tongzhi and Guangxu at the same time. Puyi had become a victim of political games at a young age.
Puyi's grandmother was Cixi's sister, and her father was Guangxu's younger brother. It was precisely because of this "kindness and relatives" relationship that Puyi was still young at that time, so it was easier to establish feelings with Longyu and it was easier to control it. If Puyi's father ascended the throne, there would be no Longyu. This was Cixi's biggest purpose. She would not consider the future and destiny of the country at all, but just wanted to control rights. Cixi's sister is also very miserable. Her son was adopted by Cixi as her son, and Cixi was killed. As Guangxu's biological mother, she never served as the empress dowager for a day. In order to control Guangxu, Cixi usually did not let Guangxu see her biological mother. She lived in her longing for her son all day long. It was not until her death that Cixi asked Guangxu to come to see her, so she always held a grudge against her sister. For the sake of power, she even had to abduct her grandson to be a puppet emperor.
Cixi
3 Personally named the regent of the jail state
The most correct thing Cixi did before her death was to let Puyi's father Zaifeng be the regent. In fact, Zaifeng is more suitable for inheriting the throne than Puyi. The three-year-old Puyi did not understand the way of emperors? The emperor's rights were still controlled by Zaifeng, so Zaifeng was also the last ruler in the Qing Dynasty. All of this is the result of Cixi's foresight, and he never makes a loss. Zaifeng is also the son of Cixi's sister. Cixi knew that she was about to die soon, so how could he watch the power fall? She must keep power firmly in the hands of her family until she dies.
In the late Qing Dynasty, Eight Banners playboys are arrogant and live a luxurious and degenerate life all day long. The Qing court has long been unable to protect itself, and can treat these playboys without extra money. Because the Eight Banners were protected by law, they lent loans and sold military rations, and went to smoke smoke when they got money, which made it even worse for the overwhelmed society at that time.
Regent Zaifeng
Why is it the most correct thing to say that Cixi asked Zaifeng to be the Regent?
The aristocrats at that time were filled with decadent aura everywhere. Zaifeng was considered a clear stream among the children of the Eight Banners. He did not have the extravagant spirit of the children of the Eight Banners, and he had great prestige among the nobles at that time. He was elected as the regent by Cixi, not because he was suitable, but because he was not suitable. Zaifeng voluntarily resigned as the regent after the outbreak of Xinhai Revolution. Although he was a direct profiter of the Qing Dynasty, he did not suppress revolutionary activities like the remaining elders and young people of the Qing Dynasty. He did not object to Puyi's abdication, nor even participated in the "restoration". He did not succumb to the temptation of the Japanese and was unwilling to accompany Puyi to establish the "pseudo Manchukuo" in the northeast.
Zaifeng solved a difficult problem for the Qing government when he was 18 years old. During the Boxer Movement, a German minister was killed. The German government asked the Qing Dynasty to thoroughly investigate the matter. Zaifeng had a noble status. Germany asked him to go to Germany to apologize in person. The Germans asked the Chinese side to kneel down to apologize, but Zaifeng was neither humble nor arrogant, and finally he just bowed and apologized. From this, it can be seen that Zaifeng was still very honest. Zaifeng was once powerful, but he was willing to be an ordinary person. This is the most rare thing about him. The situation in the late Qing Dynasty was complicated. He knew that his ability was not strong, so he might as well withdraw from the officialdom and return to the life of ordinary people. he lives very clearly and is still very clear about the issue of big things.
Puyi established the puppet Manchukuo with the "help" of the Japanese
Cixi understood that although giving power to Zaifeng was indeed not the best choice, fortunately, the power was still in the hands of his own people, and it was not the worst result.
4 Playing with power scheming
Cixi just named Zaifeng as the regent, and let Longyu take care of Zaifeng on the other end. Perhaps in Cixi's heart, only herself is the most trustworthy person, and the rest of them are not at ease. Therefore, in order to prevent the whole family from dominating the country, Longyu and Zaifeng had to sit down and discuss together when encountering problems. The nephew and niece took the final decision together. They had to sigh that Cixi did play the power with perfection. He completely controlled the regime in his own hands, and he was still worried. In order to prevent one of them from monopolizing the power, both parties had to decide on anything together. Cixi's political skills and desire for power cannot be done by ordinary people. It would be strange that such a person would monopolize the power for his own desires for decades and not perish in the Qing Dynasty. can think about things so comprehensively before closing his eyes. It is worthy of being Empress Dowager Cixi. If it weren't for 800 minds, it might not have been possible.
Cixi
5 Issuing the will to try to regain its reputation
. All political matters have been solved, and her countermeasures are all in their favor. In the end, it is Cixi's turn to do her own thing. On the day of Cixi's death, she also discussed the matter of the new emperor with her ministers, and she was not like a dying person at all. But in the evening, she developed symptoms of breathing difficulties, and then a group of important officials came to the palace to see her. Cixi saw everyone saying a lot of nonsense, "I originally wanted to return to Guangxu, but Guangxu was incompetent and made the country of his ancestors mess up, so she could only revive the foundation of his ancestors." At the last moment of her life, she hoped to defend herself through the will. Cixi probably knew that she had done a lot of bad things in the past 47 years of power. She was afraid that she would bear the infamous and for thousands of years. She did not want to be a sinner in history and was scolded by future generations. , so he wanted to rewrite history and restore his reputation.
people with high power are most afraid of being denied a hundred years later. They can do whatever they want when they are alive, and their affairs after death can only be at the mercy of others. Therefore, the people in power in ancient times paid great attention to their affairs after death. They had to choose suitable heirs and arrange their affairs after life. Cixi was naturally no exception.
Before her death, the will left by Cixi was shocking. Her words seemed very modest, but each item was very beneficial to her. Let’s see what she said.
Cixi's coffin
Her will list three decrees, First of all, she stipulates that women in the harem are not allowed to interfere in politics, and that women can no longer be in power after that. It is unprecedented to be a double standard in this situation. Women who held real power in history, such as Lu Zhi, Empress Dowager Feng, and Wu Zetian, , were not as addicted to Cixi, but Cixi's actions were the greatest harm to the country and the people. Secondly, eunuchs are not allowed to abduct power, and violators must be severely punished, and finally, Puyi is made the new emperor. Every decision of Cixi at the last moment of her life was related to the fate of the Qing Dynasty. She was indeed a ruthless politician. These five decisions before Cixi's death directly reflect her ambitions and political dictatorship. The Qing Dynasty, which was in turmoil for three years after Cixi's death, was heading for destruction.
1928, the 20th year after Cixi's death, Sun Dianying led his soldiers to the Eastern Qing Dynasty tomb to explode Cixi's tomb with explosives. split the coffin and looted all the jewelry in the coffin. Cixi, who had been dead for 20 years, was still alive. They even snatched away the Night Pearl from Cixi's mouth, even her clothes were taken off, and the body was thrown away in the underground palace at will. However, the dynasty's ruler fell to the ground, which is really sad.
Cixi and Empress Longyu (right)
Cixi was stubborn and conservative. Her rebellious actions brought great harm to the Chinese nation, especially her saying "Measure the material resources of China and make the country happy" and a series of treaties that were destined to make her a sinner forever.
