The Tongzhi Emperor died young, and the Empress Dowager Cixi (Cixi was Tongzhi’s biological mother), who had previously been in power, let her sister’s less than four-year-old son (Jiezhu) succeed to the throne. Cixi had two considerations.
First, Zai Ling is young, the Empress Dowager Cixi can continue to hold power for at least twenty years in the name of the curtain to listen to the government.
The second, Zailu is his nephew, there is a blood relationship, the future of Cixi old, Zailu will not be detrimental to their own.
This Zailu, is the Guangxu Emperor.
The Empress Dowager Cixi is a power-hungry woman, from her choice of her nephew as a puppet can be seen, she is still very shrewd.
According to the Manchu Family law, once the young emperor ascended to the throne, he had to leave the normal parent-child Life with his biological Parents, who could only meet The Emperor in the palace every once in a while, that is, to visit relatives, but at that Time it was not called visiting relatives, but “meeting relatives”.
Since Guangxu entered the palace, he was raised by Empress Dowager Cixi to study in the palace, and the Empress Dowager Cixi was more strict in raising Guangxu, and during his formative years, his parents were absent, and the Empress Dowager Cixi played the role of the de facto parent of Guangxu, who called Cixi “pro dad” (“pro dad” in Manchu). “The reason why Guangxu was afraid of Empress Dowager Cixi all his life was because of this.
The reason for this is that Cixi is a cunning person who knows the art of power, and she knows that grace and power is the best way to control a person’s mind.
The reason is that Guangxu was afraid of Cixi since he was a child, to what extent? I read this example from the literature and history, once the Empress Dowager Cixi rewarded Guangxu eat dumplings, Guangxu really can not eat, but dare not eat, how to do? He took advantage of Cixi’s inattention to hide the dumplings in his sleeve (the sleeve of the Qing robe is wider and has a hidden pocket to hold things), and when people came out, the sleeve was wet, and the whole process was seen by the eunuchs, who later recalled it and recorded it in the literature and history by the historians.
Guangxu grew up fearing Cixi to this extent.
When he was 19 years old, Guangxu got married, and then announced that he was going to take over the government, but after all, Guangxu was in his “internship”, so for many years afterwards, the actual power was still in the hands of Empress Dowager Cixi.
Therefore, after the pro-regime, the most common thing that Guangxu did was to leave the Forbidden City early in the morning and go to the Summer Palace to ask for peace from the Empress Dowager Cixi.
- the Empress Dowager Cixi wanted to control Guangxu.
2, Guangxu to report to Cixi.
3, major issues to ask Cixi.
The year of the First Sino-Japanese War, the young Guangxu majestic, awe-inspiring, originally thought that Japan’s small, bulletproof country, unbeatable, and firmly advocated war against Japan on the Korean Peninsula, however, the defeat of the Qing army, completely shattered Guangxu’s dream of great power.
So, Guangxu fell into a bitter thought, during this period of time, the dynasty “change” calls, Guangxu was deeply affected, under the balance, determined to reform.
This is the Hundred Days Reform. The year was 1898.
History books always say that Empress Dowager Cixi opposed the change of law. In fact, on the contrary, Empress Dowager Cixi not only did not oppose the change of law, but she also said that “now it is appropriate to focus on Western learning”, meaning that the Chinese learning are not, from now on all learn the Culture of foreigners.
Originally in accordance with the ancestral system, the grassroots cadres are not allowed to the emperor, Guangxu to reform this, he said to open up the road, so the Ministry of etiquette called Wang Zhaoge, to Guangxu on a zheng, said the emperor since you want to reform, it is best to go abroad with the Empress Dowager to see the two, to open up their eyes and experience Western civilization, but the zheng was pressed by the Minister of etiquette, the Minister did not pass.
The reason for not handing is safety, before the prince of Russia, Qing ministers (Li Hongzhang) abroad have had the experience of assassination, you let the emperor and the Empress Dowager go abroad together, which is very dangerous, who is responsible for the accident?
Wang Zhaoge was not convinced, the matter came to the case of Guangxu, Guangxu felt that the Ministry of etiquette these people are obstructing their own change of law, in order to establish authority, Guangxu fired the Ministry of etiquette, including the Minister of six officials.
The dismissed officials went to the Empress Dowager Cixi to sue, almost at the same time, the new party proposed to hire the former Japanese Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi as a national policy adviser news also reached the ears of Cixi, Cixi felt that Guangxu to be entangled with foreign reactionary forces, once this, national events beyond Cixi’s control, so Cixi was keenly aware of: this time must be shouted at Guangxu to stop.
So the Empress Dowager Cixi rushed back to the Forbidden City, sternly rebuked Guangxu, and put him under house arrest at Yingtai. Almost at the same time, Yuan Shikai confided in Ronglu, what did he confide in? It turns out that not long ago Kang Youwei heard the rumor that “Cixi wanted to abolish Guangxu”, so Kang Youwei sent Tan Shitong to lobby Yuan Shikai, surrounded the garden to kill the queen, that is, surrounded the Summer Palace, to capture and kill the Empress Dowager Cixi.
Yuan Shikai’s denunciation made Cixi completely moved to kill, so the six rulers of the Restoration Party, Kang Guangren Tan Shitong, etc., beheaded at Cai Shi Kou.
Guangxu, of course, insisted that he knew nothing about Kang Youwei’s plan to surround the garden to kill the Queen, but in the heart of Cixi, the reader just have to think differently, you can feel Cixi’s state of mind: how do I know Kang Youwei’s plan to kill me, is not you the emperor directed?
There is always a hurdle in the heart. I raised you to such a large, painstaking cultivation of you, you are today and Kang Youwei mixed together, to kill me.
So, Cixi intended to change the person.
In January 1900, the Empress Dowager Cixi made Prince Tuan Zaiyi’s son Pu Jun the Crown Prince, ready to abolish the Guangxu Emperor and support Pu Jun’s ascension to the throne once the time was ripe.
However, when the news came out, the ministers in China opposed it, saying that we did not like Pu Jun, and that if you want to make Pu Jun the emperor, we in the West do not recognize it. We all like Guangxu.
The Empress Dowager Cixi was angry with the foreigners, just a few months later, the Empress Dowager Cixi decided to use the Boxer Rebellion to give the foreigners a little color, this is one of the main reasons.
However, the Boxer Rebellion caused the eight allied forces to enter the capital, the Empress Dowager Cixi took Guangxu fled west, all the way to Xi’an, the following year after the signing of the Treaty of Xin Chou, the Empress Dowager Cixi returned to the capital, at this time, Cixi has been completely convinced by the foreigners, never dare to reintroduce the abolition of Guangxu.
But the Empress Dowager Cixi also remained in power. Because, she was always uneasy about Guangxu.
On November 14, 1908, Guangxu died, and just the next day, the Empress Dowager Cixi died.
One hundred years later, the research group on major academic issues of the Qing history project extracted and tested the arsenic content of the bones and hair of the Guangxu emperor at Chongling in Beijing, and published the “Report on the study of the cause of death of the Qing Guangxu emperor”, which identified by means of scientific criminal investigation: Guangxu died of arsenic poisoning.
Although there is no definite evidence that Empress Dowager Cixi ordered the poisoning of Guangxu, however, to this day, Empress Dowager Cixi is still the biggest suspect in this murder for two reasons that are not difficult to understand, if I were Cixi, before I die, I would definitely want to poison Guangxu for two reasons.
1, if I were Cixi, I was very worried that after my death, Guangxu will be entangled with the foreigners, to break the 260 years of the Qing dynasty.
2, if I were Cixi, I am very worried that Guangxu after my death, encouraged by Kang Youwei and others, to liquidate me, exhume the grave and whipping.
In short, if I were Cixi, in public and private, I would have to poison Guangxu before I died.
Just one day after Guangxu was poisoned, Cixi died, and the emperor of a country was poisoned, such a big criminal case, the Manchu imperial family did not even bother to pursue, to say that the case has nothing to do with the Empress Dowager Cixi, I do not believe.
Although there is no conclusive evidence. However, I am afraid that this is the closest to the truth, the most logical inference so far.
If that is true. Then, my own father raised me. My own father killed me.
That’s it. This is the life of Guangxu.
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