20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 725: Palace Coup
"Oh, Boss Jiang, you don't know, the day the emperor was driven out of the palace, the city was so lively..."

Yao Laoer's stage name is "Bengshanxiang". He is from LeTing, Hebei Province, and he sings drum stories. He has been traveling around Beijing and Tianjin for many years. Recently, he "came out of seclusion" and came to Fengtian. He wants to make a living by eating cakes on the flat ground near Xiaoheyan. According to the rules of the underworld, he naturally has to pay homage to Li Sanye's dock, so that he can have a stable support when he performs in the nearby teahouses in the next few days.

On the day of the palace coup in the capital, the sound of collapsing mountains happened to fall from the ground in Sijiu City.

Li Zhengxi heard that he was knowledgeable and had a lot of rumors in his mind, so he introduced him to Jiang Lianheng.

Beng Shanxiang is an artist from another place, born in the Ming Eight Gates. He only knew that there was a Li Sanye in Fengtian, but had no idea who Jiang Lianheng was. He followed him blindly until he arrived at the head office of Zongheng Insurance Company, only then he found out that the other party was a big boss. He became a little confused.

After entering the room and sitting down, he saw that Jiang Lianheng was quite polite. He just wanted to inquire about some rumors about the palace coup, and then he felt relieved.

Beng Shanxiang said: "That day, all telephones in the city were cut off, and even the people could not send telegrams. General Feng sent people to the Forbidden City, mounted on horses and holding guns, and shouted: Come on, call the emperor's son out to me!"

Jiang Lianheng interrupted immediately after hearing this: "Wait a minute, Mr. Yao, if you have something to say, please talk to me properly. Don't bother me with your work!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Beng Shanxiang scratched his head and said, "I've been living in the underworld for a long time, I'm used to it."

Jiang Lianheng smiled and said, "Go on."

"Anyway, General Feng sent people to the Forbidden City and demanded that the emperor move out of the palace within three hours. My goodness, upon hearing this, Concubine Shu immediately went crazy, rushed out with her hair disheveled, and lay on the car, refusing to let it go, saying that she would rather die than move out of the palace."

“Finally, we moved.”

"There's nothing we can do! General Feng's people said that if they don't move, they will immediately order the bombardment of the Forbidden City. Cannons have no eyes, who wouldn't be afraid?"

Jiang Lianheng nodded and handed a cigarette to Beng Shanxiang.

In recent days, he has asked many street performers in the Beijing and Tianjin area for news, but everyone's story is different.

Some said that Concubine Shu went crazy and stopped the carriage, some said that Concubine Tai hanged herself to be a sacrifice for the Qing Dynasty, and some said that the Queen cut off her finger and wrote in blood, vowing to guard the palace gate with her body...

These traveling artists seem to know everything, but everything they say always has an attitude of "not stopping until it's shocking", and the stories they tell often become more and more outrageous.

How to filter out the water and retain the truth from hearsay depends on the vision and knowledge of the listener.

But no matter which statement is true, the final result is the same - the abdicated emperor of the Qing Dynasty was expelled from the palace, and the small court in the Forbidden City was destroyed.

For a time, public opinion was in an uproar.

General Feng's actions were immediately fiercely criticized by all parties.

Needless to say, the old guard, Marshal Zhang and Duan Qirui also took advantage of this gimmick to attack Feng Jun frequently. Even some so-called cultural celebrities, under the leadership of Dr. Hu, wrote articles to condemn Feng Jun.

At the same time, various newspapers often published articles calling for the restoration of the "Regulations on Favorable Treatment of the Qing Dynasty."

The most vocal ones among them were Shuntian Times and Shengjing Times. When talking about the Imperial City Incident, they often used words such as "forcing the emperor to abdicate", "kidnapping", "violating national trust", "bullying the weak", etc. In short, they were all trying their best to favor the Qing royal family.

After careful investigation, it turned out that the investor of these two newspapers was Xiao Dongyang.

Of course, not only Japan, but also Western countries are closely watching the development of the situation.

There were also many people in the public opinion who supported General Feng, saying that the restoration of the Qing Dynasty during the Dingsi period was contrary to the previous statement, so this preferential regulation should have been abolished long ago.

However, the Qing Dynasty also had its own explanation, saying that the 4 million taels of silver in the preferential regulations were later changed to 4 million silver dollars, and in fact, it was not enough every year. If we talk about breach of contract, it was the national government that broke the contract first and violated the national trust, so the royal family cannot be blamed.

Both sides held their own opinions and had a heated argument.

To be fair, General Feng did not handle this matter properly, and was somewhat concerned with not only the big picture but also the details.

It’s not that he shouldn’t have driven the emperor out of the Forbidden City, but he absolutely shouldn’t have driven the emperor out and then just left him alone.

The abdicated emperor of the Qing Dynasty was no commoner.

His title alone is enough for people with ulterior motives to make a big fuss about it.

General Feng expelled the abdicated emperor from the palace. Not to mention putting him under house arrest, he should at least send people to monitor him closely and prohibit him from communicating with the outside world.

But in reality, Feng Jun just left the emperor there and ignored him.

He didn't take the emperor seriously, so others took advantage of the situation.

Wide sea diving, sky high the birds to fly.

The abdicated emperor left the palace and went to the prince's mansion. The old and young people had constant contacts with the nobles of the Eight Banners. Those who could not be seen before could now be seen.

At this point, Feng Jun finally woke up from his dream and wanted to send troops to control the situation, but it was too late.

Little Dongyang has already colluded with the abdicated emperor of the Qing Dynasty.

General Feng cannot escape blame, and he seems to be still immersed in the satisfaction of his "astonishing feat".

Originally, it was not the Jiang family's turn to worry about these major events in the world, but gradually, the Jiang family had to pay close attention to them.

This is because ever since the palace incident, the number of old and young people in Fengtian City has begun to increase day by day. They have been secretly forming gangs and are ready to make evil moves.

After all, in the eyes of the Qing royal family, although the Forbidden City was lost, the Qing Empire still had Shengjing, its "secondary capital" - if I can't stay here, I'll find other places that will!

Not long after, those old and young people secretly established the "Manchu Bannermen Autonomous Association" in Fengtian.

This has never happened before.

Although the Qing government viewed the areas outside the Great Wall as the place where the dynasty would rise, many bannermen outside the Great Wall did not buy into this at all. Instead, they harbored a hidden resentment towards the Qing government.

Back then, when the Manchus entered the country, some of the clansmen enjoyed great wealth and glory, while others were forced to stay in their homeland.

The bannermen who stayed behind were miserable. They got nothing good, but also suffered all kinds of bad things. Not only could they not enter the Great Wall to enjoy the good life, but they also had to endure hardships to maintain their fighting power for their ancestors. At the same time, in order to protect the dragon veins of the Qing Dynasty, they could not open up wasteland. Over time, they had many complaints, so much so that in the year of Xinhai, many bannermen outside the Great Wall joined the anti-Qing team.

It was not until later, with the fall of the Qing Dynasty, that royal aristocrats gradually returned to the Northeast and moved to Lüda to seek refuge.

Now that the abdicated emperor has been driven out of the palace, more and more royal family disciples are pouring into the outer reaches of the Great Wall. Fengtian has suddenly become a base for the old and young who intend to restore the country.

Interestingly, the descendants of the Eight Banners are not necessarily the remnants of the old dynasty, and the remnants of the old dynasty are not necessarily the relatives of the Qing royal family.

In fact, the two most trusted elders before the abdicated emperor were precisely the Han people.

Of course, those who secretly sneaked into Fengtian were not only the important officials of the former Qing Dynasty, but also many princes and nobles from Mobei.

Everyone knows about the "Regulations for the Favorable Treatment of the Qing Dynasty". In fact, the princes and nobles of Mobei also have a set of treatment regulations. Now that the Qing Dynasty regulations have been abolished, the princes and nobles of Mobei naturally become suspicious.

For a time, Fengtian was undercurrent and full of doubts. Whenever there was any disturbance in the provincial capital, the Jiang family was often the first to notice it.

Jiang Lianheng had naturally reported all these incidents to the Marshal's Mansion long ago.

Marshal Zhang had severely suppressed the restoration of the Zongli Socialist Party. Logically, the two sides should have been at loggerheads, but Marshal Zhang had always been a man of tact and adaptability. After hearing the news this time, not only did he not order an arrest, he also secretly supported them.

At first, Jiang Lianheng was confused, but later he gradually understood the Marshal's intention:

First, Lao Zhang wanted to take advantage of the situation. His support for the Qing Dynasty was fake, but his real intention was to find an excuse to criticize Feng Jun.

Secondly, Lao Zhang really didn't want to see the abdicated emperor getting too close to the Japanese. If the abdicated emperor were to be restored in Manchuria, he would definitely become a thorn in the eyes of the Qing Dynasty and the Japanese.

As a last resort, he had to resort to delaying tactics and encircle the old guard from both sides. On the one hand, he tacitly allowed the activities of the old and young in Fengtian in the hope of keeping the abdicated emperor closer to himself and away from the Japanese; on the other hand, he was always on guard against the little Japanese supporting the Qing Dynasty and abandoning Fengtian and Zhang.

As a result, the various activities planned by the Qing court veterans in Fengtian did not encounter too many obstacles.

But Jiang Lianheng did not dare to take it lightly and always paid close attention to the movements of various forces in the provincial capital.

After all, if the abdicated emperor returns to the east, even if he no longer has real power, Fengtian is destined to remain unchanged, and it is always a good idea to prepare for a rainy day.

"The emperor is still living in the capital now?" Jiang Lianheng asked, "I heard that Xiao Dongyang seems to be planning to bring him to Fengtian to live?"

Beng Shanxiang nodded quickly: "Oh, that's why they say you are the big boss, you are well-informed! That's true, I also heard people say that when I was in the capital, but I don't know when they are going to come. Anyway, everyone says that there are Japanese cars coming and going at the palace every day!"

"Then why haven't you come yet?"

"Hey, there are soldiers watching, they won't let you leave!"

"Is that so?" Jiang Lianheng put out his cigarette and asked, "Mr. Yao, did you take the train to Fengtian this time?"

"Yes, the Jingfeng Line." Bengshan Xiang laughed, "People like us, street performers, used to travel all over the country on foot, but now we have trains, it's much more convenient."

"Are there any important people on this train you came here?"

"Big shot?" Beng Shanxiang thought for a moment and shook his head. "When we got on and off the bus, I didn't see any high-ranking officials from the provincial government welcoming us. It should be no big shot."

Jiang Lianheng glanced at the time, then stood up and stretched out his hand: "Okay, thank you Mr. Yao for coming here to give me some advice. I have something else to do later, so I won't keep you here in vain. I wish Mr. Yao to become famous in Fengtian and have a great fortune!"

Beng Shanxiang's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly clasped his hands and said, "Oh, Boss Jiang, please forgive my poor eyesight. Thank you for your hard work!"

"You're welcome!" Jiang Lianheng then ordered, "Xifeng, take Mr. Yao to our place to play. In the past few days, please make more conveniences in the provincial capital."

When Bengshanxiang heard this, he knew that he could travel freely in the provincial capital in the future, and he was naturally overjoyed. He hurriedly expressed his gratitude and then followed Xifeng to leave.

Jiang Lianheng waited in the office for a while, and soon he saw Zhao Guoyan and Chuanghu pushing the door open.

"Boss, are you leaving or not?" Chuang Hu urged, "It's already late. If you don't leave now, it will be too late."

"Where is Manager Xue?" Jiang Lianheng asked.

Zhao Guoyan responded, "I just passed by Bagua Street and heard from Kang Zheng that Manager Xue and Lao Dao had already left by car."

Jiang Lianheng immediately stood up, gave Fang Yan a few simple instructions, and then pointed to the door and said, "Let's go, let's go and see what's going on!"

After that, the three of them went downstairs and got into the car.

At this time of year, it was already winter in Fengtian.

As luck would have it, today is the winter solstice and the first snow has just fallen. There are cold winds blowing in the city and the air is particularly clear.

There are fewer and fewer pedestrians on the streets, and except for a few busy streets, the roads seem much wider than before.

The car started from Xiaoxiguan Street and headed straight for the inner city. The road was smooth and the car was driving very fast. Until it passed the inner city gate, it suddenly saw a horse team appearing in front of it, slowly blocking the city gate. The speed was neither fast nor slow, which made people angry.

The driver wanted to roll down the window and curse, but was stopped by Jiang Lianheng in time.

There were seven or eight people in the horse team ahead. The leader was over fifty years old. He was wearing a dragon robe, a court robe on the outside, a flower feather on his head, and embroidered beasts on the round top. He looked proud and proud, and suddenly he was dressed like a high-ranking official of the Qing Dynasty.

"The Emperor is not anxious, but the eunuchs are. I'm talking about this group of people, right?" Chuanghu muttered to himself, leaning against the car window.

Jiang Lianheng curled his lips and did not agree. He waited until the car passed through the city gate before instructing the driver to speed up and pass by the horse team.

The crowd walked along Siping Street and headed straight to the foot of the Shengjing Imperial Palace.

When we arrived at the place and looked again, we saw horse teams slowly gathering from all directions of the provincial capital. There were seven or eight of them, and three or two of them at least. They were all wearing the uniforms of the former Qing Dynasty. Some had solemn expressions, while others had sad faces. What's worse, some of them stopped far away from the imperial palace and walked.

As the old men and young men from all sides gradually approached the palace, bursts of sighs and sobs suddenly sounded all around.

Some were heartbroken and wailed loudly; others were coy and, as soon as they reached the palace gate, they knelt down with a plop and performed the ritual of three kneelings and nine kowtows.

"Your Majesty, we are incompetent and have wronged Your Majesty!"

"You are an unworthy descendant who has failed to preserve the legacy of your ancestors. You deserve to be put to death a thousand times, you deserve to be put to death a thousand times!"

"To protect the Qing Dynasty is to protect the orthodoxy of China, and to protect the emperor is to protect world peace!"

This was a ceremony to worship the heaven organized by the "Manchu Bannermen Autonomous Association" and supervised by military and police sent by the provincial government, which allowed the activity to be conducted openly.

However, the Fengtian authorities also issued a clear notice that sacrifices were allowed, but demonstrations and protests by the Qing court loyalists in the provincial capital were strictly prohibited; at the same time, the Provincial Government Police Department also repeatedly warned the "Manchu Bannermen Autonomous Association" not to gather and cause trouble, otherwise they would be arrested.

The old guard had no right to ask for too much, so they had to shout a few ridiculous slogans during the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven under the supervision of a group of patrolmen to demonstrate the so-called legal system and dignity of the Qing Dynasty.

The car slowly stopped a few dozen meters away from the palace.

Zhao Guoyan and Chuanghu got out of the car first, but Jiang Lianheng just sat in the car and looked around. Finally, he caught a glimpse of Xue Yingqing, Lao Dao and others among the crowd.

"Manager Xue, what's going on?"

Zhao Guoyan and Chuanghu walked over quickly and asked in a low voice, "Is there anyone who looks familiar?"

"Not yet." Xue Yingqing, wrapped tightly in his mink coat, couldn't help but say with annoyance, "It's been so many years. Even if there are Zongshe Party members from Dalian, can you still recognize them?"

The two sighed and just looked around blankly.

Yes, it has been too long, many people only met once, and everyone can’t remember clearly…

(End of this chapter)