After the Wuchang Uprising broke out, the rule of the Qing Dynasty was in danger. Yuan Shikai used two-faced tactics
on the one hand to pressure the revolutionaries to make concessions to him, and on the other hand to use the revolutionaries to intimidate them. The Qing Dynasty abdicated and finally got his wish and became the official president of the Republic of China. After becoming the president of the Republic of China
Yuan Shikai's ambitions began to expand. When talking to his cronies, he always said:
"If the people of the country must want me to be emperor, I will do it." Starting from August 1915, Yuan Shi Kay began to plan an empire. He stated that he wanted to seek the public will of the majority of the people to decide on national issues, so
under his instruction, the Senate gathered the votes of 1,993 "national representatives" across the country and one
Law agrees with the implementation of monarchy in China and "respectfully crowns the current President Yuan Shikai as the Emperor of the Chinese Empire."
The Senate also submitted a letter in the name of the "General Representative of the National Congress" to "persuade progress." For a time,
the imperial system was in full swing, and various petition groups came out one after another from all over the country. Even the beggars in Beijing and the prostitutes in the eight major alleys were organized separately to form a petition group for beggars and a petition group for prostitutes. They held various flags and rushed to the streets shouting. , gathered outside the Xinhua Gate, knelt down to persuade
Enter the table, begging Yuan Shikai to obey the public opinion and take office early. Yuan Shikai was overjoyed when he read the book. At that time, a funny person said: "As if it was not enough for Yuan Shikai to rape the public opinion, he also raped prostitutes." Everyone who heard it laughed.
After repeated hypocritical "humility", Yuan Shikai stated on December 12, 1915 that
he was forced to agree to the people's request and issued an order to assume the responsibility of the "Chinese Empire" The emperor,
accepted the congratulations from all officials. At 9 o'clock in the morning on December 13, Yuan Shikai received congratulations from hundreds of officials at Jurentang, Zhongnanhai.
There were imperial cases and tables in the hall. Hundreds of officials who came to congratulate Yuan Shikai knelt three times and nine times. Knock
A great gift. Then, Yuan Shikai ordered that 1916 be changed to "the first year of Hongxian of the Chinese Empire", and he was ready to officially ascend the throne as emperor on New Year's Day in 1916. The three main halls of the Forbidden City in Beijing were designated by Yuan Shikai as the place where he ascended the throne
The Hall of Supreme Harmony was renamed the Chengyun Hall. Yuan stipulated that the new dynasty should be red, and the roof tiles on the roof of the hall should be replaced
The red tiles were installed, and the columns in the palace were all painted red. Everything was ready, and Yuan Shikai was waiting for his achievement on New Year's Day next year.
Just when Yuan Shikai was eager to ascend to the throne and become emperor, Cai E, the governor of Yunnan, went through all kinds of hardships
After all the hardships, he returned to Kunming. On December 25, he electrified the whole country in Yunnan and declared the independence of Yunnan. , united
all the anti-Yuan forces to form a military government to protect the country, and launched a vigorous movement to protect the country, and all provinces in the country responded one after another. Due to the rise of the national protection movement, Japan and other countries also opposed Yuan's proclaimed emperor, and Yuan Shikai was in trouble. On New Year's Day in 1916, Yuan Shikai did not hold a coronation ceremony, but only received congratulations from his "married woman" from his "empress" Mrs. Yu in the palace.
After Yuan Shikai announced the restoration of the monarchy, he was unanimously opposed by the whole country, and the National Guard Army was victorious
As they marched, Yuan Shikai's army retreated steadily. Yuan Shikai was overwhelmed. For a while, Ask
for help with superstition. He asked his eldest son Yuan Keding to find a Feng Shui master in a suit and leather shoes who had studied abroad
Jia Xinglian, who quickly came to Beijing according to the order. Jia Xing watched it for three days, and then reported to Yuan Keding in a serious manner: "The Forbidden City was built in the early Yuan Dynasty and repaired in the Ming and Qing dynasties. It can protect the emperor for generations. Only the Qi of Xinhua Palace is scattered and not gathered. After the restoration, there will inevitably be some twists and turns."
Yuan Keding asked urgently if there was any remedy, and Jia Xing said: "There is a method, as long as it is on the left side of Xinhua Palace< /p>
Build a toilet to collect the filthy gas, and the problem will be solved." Yuan Keding quickly reported this to Yuan
Shikai. It was really inelegant to build a toilet next to the magnificent Xinhua Palace, but Yuan Shi
Kai was worried about the internal and external difficulties since he became emperor, and finally accepted Jia Xinglian's proposal
Negotiation.
The toilet was built under the guidance of Jia Xinglian, but Yuan Shikai's imperial career made no progress
. Seeing that the foundation of Yuan Shikai's rule was gradually collapsing, Japan, Britain, the United States and other countries gave up their support for him. Yuan Shikai's former general Feng Guozhang and other five generals also jointly called Yuan Shikai to persuade him
Tell him to abolish the monarchy immediately. Yuan Shikai saw that he had betrayed his relatives. On March 21, 1916, he was forced to announce the abolition of the imperial system. On the 22nd, he announced the abolition of the "Hongxian" reign title. From January 1, 1916
From the Hongxian to the Yuan Dynasty, there were only 83 days of total independence on March 22, even if the monarchy was recognized from December 12, 1915
Counting from the beginning to March 23, 1916, when the order was officially cancelled, it only lasted 102 days. The collapse of the Hongxian Dynasty
was unexpected by Yuan Shikai. Such a short-lived dynasty was rare in history
In fact, due to the collapse of the Hongxian Dynasty under the leadership of Cai E The Hongxian Dynasty was destroyed before Yuan Shikai had time to hold a formal enthronement ceremony due to the impact of the National Defense Movement.
After Yuan Shikai proclaimed himself emperor, he was extremely anxious and angry due to the fierce opposition from the people across the country. In February 1916, he became depressed and bedridden. On the morning of March 6, Yuan Shikai
died, ending his reactionary life. Since the betrayal of warlords Chen Huan and Tang Xiangming dealt a huge blow to Yuan Shikai, the good guys included the uprising of Shaanxi warlord Chen Shufan and borrowed the name of traditional Chinese medicine. It is said that Yuan Shikai died after taking a dose of "Er Chen Decoction".
After Yuan Shikai's death, he was buried in Huanshang Village, Zhangde, Henan Province according to his will. The cemetery was called "Yuan
Gonglin". Originally, according to the intention of the eldest son Yuan Keding, he wanted to be called "Yuan Ling", but Xu Shichang disagreed. He said: "Xiang Cheng did not become emperor during his lifetime, and he was not in the great treasure, and it has been cancelled."
It would be inappropriate to use the name of Yuan Ling for the Hongxian reign name. Lin and Ling are homophonic, and the words "Ling" and "Lin" are recorded in "Shuowen Jiezi".
How wonderful it is that we can borrow the name of the mausoleum from each other and still retain the identity of the mausoleum!"
In fact, it doesn't matter whether it is called "ling" or "lin". The important thing is,
Although people admit that there were two scandals to restore the monarchy in the early years of the Republic of China (including the later restoration of Zhang Xun
), they do not admit that there was a feudal dynasty after the fall of the Qing Dynasty. No one thinks that Yuan Shi
Kai was the last emperor of China.