History Live: Starting from Qin Shi Huang

Chapter 168 Assassination of Empress Dowager Cixi
【Everyone, all countries, please look forward to it! 】

[This is another chaotic era where the old dynasty has collapsed and the new dynasty has not yet been established! ]

【This is also a great era where many kings rise together! 】

[This era is called the 'Early Republic of China'! ]

At this moment, all dynasties, emperors, ministers, and saints were collectively shocked.

The tide of the times is surging, the Qing Dynasty is about to collapse, and the greatest country is coming!

The words emerged.

[In 1904, the late Qing Dynasty still existed, but in name only. Empress Dowager Cixi was in power, extravagant and licentious, and she mobilized a large number of people to prepare for her th birthday. No one in the court was in charge of state affairs, and large amounts of silver were emptied from the treasury.]

[This year, the wind was cold, the weather was chilly, and even the early spring was not as warm as usual.]

[This year, the Jiaoji Railway was completed, becoming the first railway in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China. ]

However, this was not established by the Qing Dynasty itself, but was forced upon its people by Germany.

No one knows how many civilians' bodies are buried under this railway.

It is impossible to count the number of people who died because of this railway.

"Railways are the economic lifeline of a country!"

"The future of engineering is promising, and the revitalization of industry is waiting for us. We will not let Europe and America take the lead, and we will not just ride on the same boat with Japan."

At the China Railway Corporation, Zhan Tianyou, who was over 40 years old, gritted his teeth and muttered to himself as he watched the completion of the Jiaoji Railway.

"China should have a railway of its own!"

A wish took root in Zhan Tianyou's heart.

Seeing this, emperors of various dynasties realized that this was another person who would change the country's structure in the future.

The flames are spreading more and more, and becoming more and more vigorous. One day, they will ignite the fire of revolution.

[As Empress Dowager Cixi's 70th birthday approaches, the assassination group has prepared explosives, and Cai Yuanpei decides to carry out the plan to assassinate Empress Dowager Cixi.]

The assassination group hasn't left their base for a long time.

At first, some people were hesitant about the plan to assassinate Empress Dowager Cixi, but after seeing the outside world, all members of the assassination team were determined to do it.

The cold winter with heavy snow has just passed, and the roadside is covered with snow.

The streets were full of sedan chair bearers soliciting passengers. The wheels of the sedan chair splashed up the snow, revealing corpses that had long been frozen.

They had no clothes to wear and no food to eat, and when they died, there was only hard bones left, no skin or flesh.

Among them were the elderly, the weak, women and children, and the youngest was even in swaddling clothes.

What made Cai Yuanpei, Huang Xing and others even more indignant was that there was a foreigner street 100 meters away from the street full of frozen corpses.

The foreigners were dressed brightly and gorgeously, living a life of debauchery and extravagance.

No one looked at these frozen corpses, and even if they saw them, they would just kick them hard.

Cai Yuanpei, Huang Xing and others laughed.

He laughed angrily, but also confusedly.

"Please be kind and give me some silver..."

Suddenly someone grabbed his ankle. Cai Yuanpei looked down and found that it was a beggar.

He was starving.

Cai Yuanpei did not move, nor did he give the beggar money or food.

Because he knew that he could only give him one meal of food. After he ate it, what about the next meal? What about the meal after that?

This world is twisted!

Later, the beggar died.

Died at Cai Yuanpei's feet.

Until his death, he held Cai Yuanpei's ankle tightly, hoping that the latter would give him some food and silver.

"boom!"

At the same time, the next moment, Huang Xing staggered.

It turned out that a foreigner bumped into him.

The foreigner looked at them for a few times, his eyes fell on their long braids, he actually covered his nose in disgust and said something contemptuously.

"The sick man of East Asia's pig tail stinks!"

What Cai Yuanpei, Huang Xing, and Yang Yulin saw in the eyes of those foreigners was deep disgust and disdain.

The foreign lady not far away even covered her nose in disgust and took a few steps back.

Like a pig in a pigsty.

How could Huang Xing bear such humiliation? He immediately rushed forward to argue, but was stopped by Cai Yuanpei.

"This is China, please respect yourself."

After all, Cai Yuanpei was a Hanlin Academy scholar, and he knew clearly what the consequences would be if he offended the foreigners at this time, but he did not want to swallow his anger.

The foreigner couldn't help laughing and asked, "Is this China? Isn't this our colony?"

"boom!"

Even gave it a hard push.

Seeing that the conflict was about to escalate, a Qing Dynasty businessman who did not want the matter to get any worse stopped Cai Yuanpei and Huang Xing and approached the foreigner with a smile and said, "Sir, you are right, this is a pig's tail!"

The foreigner then left arrogantly, leaving Cai Yuanpei, Huang Xing and others standing there angrily.

The businessman didn't know Cai Yuanpei and his friends, but he still walked up to them and said, "This is Chinese land. We can't let foreigners bully us. If you can, just bow your head."

"And those foreigners were right, this braid is indeed a 'pig's tail'!"

"Because of the things passed down by our ancestors, those foreigners scold us, and we have to admit it with a smile on our faces."

The rich businessman shook his head and walked away, and the braid at the back of his head also swayed.

It's getting dark.

There were fewer and fewer pedestrians on the road, but Cai Yuanpei, Huang Xing and others were still standing there, with deep eyes and a hint of helplessness and reluctance in their eyes.

"This is the era we live in now, an absurd and pitiful era with bones everywhere."

“We have nothing, yet we stand tall.”

"Is this really a problem that can be solved with just one assassination?"

Cai Yuanpei asked himself this.

For a moment, his eyes were confused.

Before leaving, they drank blood and shouted slogans such as "One is revolution, the other is assassination". At that time, they were so confident and believed that assassination could change the country.

But after witnessing this bleak and tragic world, they felt deeply insignificant and weak in their hearts.

The leader who founded the assassination group was now confused as he looked at the long braid growing on the back of his head.

"This braid is a feudal cage that binds us and should be cut off!"

The low voice, like a heavy hammer, hit the hearts of Huang Xing, Chen Tianhua and others. They looked at their braids with anger in their eyes.

They discovered the source of sorrow!
This long pigtail-like braid is the shame of the Republic of China, a sore spot for foreigners to laugh at, and a symbol of backwardness and corruption.

But it is the glory of the Manchus!

[Since the Manchu ancestor Nurhaci's name in Manchu means wild boar skin, the Qing Dynasty believed that foreigners calling them "pig tails" was a sign of respect for the Manchu ancestors.]

[Sad! Lamentable! Ridiculous!]

After returning to the assassination group's base, Cai Yuanpei could not calm down for a long time.

"Manchuria is harming our country! Are the Western countries overseas really that strong?" "Is it true that our country cannot rise one day?"

"of course not!"

"China belongs to the Chinese, not Manchuria!"

"Only by establishing the supremacy of the Chinese race can we establish a nation. Then what is the use of this pigtail?"

There seemed to be a raging fire in Cai Yuanpei's eyes.

Get the scissors.

"Crack!"

Hand up and down!
The long braid flew up into the sky.

"Boom!"

At this moment, there was a loud thunder and lightning.

The long broken braid flying up into the sky was so dazzling.

Then came Huang Xing, Chen Qingtong and others, who cut off their long braids!
"call……"

At this moment, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and felt refreshed.

They finally broke free from the ideological cage that had bound them for a hundred years.

[With the advent of freedom, more and more people in the Qing Dynasty felt that the braids behind their heads were a nuisance and cut them off.]

[After generations of people fought with blood and lives, although they were still under the rule of the Qing Dynasty, the people's minds had awakened, which also laid the groundwork for a revolutionary movement that shocked the whole country and was vigorous a few years later.]

[When will the flames of war in Youyan be extinguished? I heard that the war between China and the West has not yet ended. The women in the lacquered room are worried about the country in vain, and it is difficult to change their scarves into helmets. Men have gradually awakened and cut off their long braids, so how can women fall behind?]

[In 1904, Ding Chuwo founded the newspaper "Women's World", which opened the enlightenment of women's thoughts in the Qing Dynasty.]

On the ferry sailing from the mainland to Sakura Japan, stood a Chinese woman.

She was different from the ordinary women in the Qing Dynasty who bound their feet. She hated foot binding and had bright eyes.

After Qiu Jin and her husband Wang Tingjun became estranged, she ignored all dissuasion and went to Japan at her own expense to find the true path of revolution.

"I can't help but feel that my motherland is in decline, so I look for like-minded people overseas!"

She was once a woman of amazing talent, but in that era when the country was in ruins and the mountains and rivers were shattered, she had little say and ultimately could not escape the cage of marriage.

The powerless marriage life not only imprisoned Qiu Jin's hands and feet, but also controlled Qiu Jin's soul.

Should women give up their dreams and literary ideals for marriage and stay at home to take care of their husbands and children?

Ladies, do you really need to bind your feet?

No, it shouldn't be like this!

I can also live as brilliantly as Zhiying!
Wu Zhiying was Qiu Jin's best friend. As a married woman, her life was much more exciting than Qiu Jin's.

She never defines herself as someone's wife or someone's mother.

He is proficient in poetry and loves calligraphy, and he does his best to reach the pinnacle in this field.

It even alarmed Cixi.

Upon hearing that a lady with excellent calligraphy had come to the capital, he summoned her to the palace and personally commented on her calligraphy.

In front of Cixi, Wu Zhiying was not at all nervous and boldly displayed her talents.

Even when facing Cixi, she could talk freely and analyze the pros and cons of the Boxer Protocol.

Qiu Jin admired Wu Zhiying, who was like the heroine in the novels she read in her youth, independent and full of charisma.

"I am lucky to have met Wu Zhiying who enlightened me. But what about other women? Can they also meet thousands of Wu Zhiyings?"

[In 1904, Qiu Jin traveled to Japan and met a large number of talented people with the same revolutionary vision, including Zhou Shuren, Chen Tianhua, Huang Xing, etc.]

[She started her own business and published "A Warning to the 200 Million Chinese Women" and "A Warning to My Fellow Citizens."]

She wrote: "Women must be educated, seek to be independent, and not rely on men for everything."

"This road is long and full of twists and turns, and may be filled with thorns, but I, Qiu Jin, am willing to be the bloody sacrifice!"

"Poor Xie Daoyun, she refused to marry General Bao."

"I don't want to be an official's wife, I want to be Tan Sitong!"

Qing Dynasty, Qianlong period.

Wearing the dragon robe, he felt his body and mind trembling. A chill rose from the soles of his feet and went straight to the top of his head.

He hadn't spoken for a long time because he was frightened by the situation in the late Qing Dynasty.

But what frightened him even more was the terrible thoughts that emerged in the minds of these men and women.

Whether it was Cai Yuanpei and Huang Xing who cut their braids to show their determination, or Qiu Jin who went to study in Japan and promoted the idea that "women should be equal to men", they were all like sharp knives that pierced Qianlong's heart.

"Rebellion... Rebellion, are these people going to rebel?"

"No matter how corrupt and powerless our Qing dynasty is, it cannot be overthrown by these traitors and villains!"

Qianlong roared in a timid manner.

[Every emperor of the Qing Dynasty knew that the hegemony of the ages depended on a long braid in his head. Without the braid, it basically declared that the hegemony had failed. Therefore, when the Manchus first entered the pass, they issued the "hair-cutting order", which meant that if the head was kept, the hair would be lost, and if the hair was kept, the head would be lost, to prevent being assimilated by the Han people.]

[But please take a look, there will be an even bigger "cutting braids" movement in the future, just like the "hair-cutting order" issued by the Manchus when they entered the country. ]

"Pfft!"

Qianlong looked at the words on the skylight, then slumped down on the dragon throne, his eyes wide open and his breathing rapid.

Except for Qianlong who felt frightened, the emperors of other dynasties were looking forward to it sincerely.

In the first year of Deyou in the Southern Song Dynasty, Wen Tianxiang was dressed in a white robe that fluttered in the wind.

When the Yuan army crossed the river, he spent all his family wealth, recruited heroes, raised an army to support the king, and organized an army of 30,000 to fight against the Yuan army.

At this moment, he looked up at the words above the sky. No one noticed that Wen Tianxiang's eyes were so bright at this moment.

"When a dynasty is overthrown, the thinking should also be advanced. This is very good."

"With justice on my side, all my plans will stand; with numbers and strength, success will come naturally. I wish you success, and I also wish me success in my fight against the Yuan Dynasty!"

Wen Tianxiang made such a wish.

At the end of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, Chenqiaoyi, on the eve of a military mutiny.

At this moment, his face was serious, one hand was placed on the sword, and he was looking at the words in the sky.

Shenshen said: "The end of one era and the beginning of another. I hope we can both wear yellow robes and establish a new country."

Later, the Chenqiao Rebellion occurred, and Zhao Kuangyin was crowned emperor, ending the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.

So, what about China?

【During the transition from the old to the new, two things caused a stir among the common people. One was that a new marriage treaty had been published, and its content was similar to the five conditions proposed by Cai Yuanpei: one, women must not bind their feet; two, they must be literate; three, men must not take concubines; four, women can remarry after the man dies; five, couples can divorce if they are not compatible. Matchmakers all kept their distance.】

[Another incident: on the eve of Empress Dowager Cixi's 70th birthday banquet, an assassination group led by Cai Yuanpei and Huang Xing planned to take action.]

"The success or failure of the world is in our hands!"

"Throwing away one's life and carrying out an assassination, it's a big birthday, but also a death anniversary!"

At this moment, the sonorous oaths resounded, and those standing in the narrow little house were all people who were determined to serve their country.

Everyone had anger in their eyes.

At this moment, they all thought of the humiliation that the Qing Dynasty had suffered along the way.

They thought that it was precisely because of the Qing government's inaction that the great powers were able to advance effortlessly.

It is not enough to cut off the Qing dynasty's braids, but it must be put into practice.

(End of this chapter)