Cen Chunxuan expected that this was a way for Beiyang Group to crowd him out, so he didn't go to Kunming to take office, but went to Shanghai with convenient information and transportation. "Began by cheating on illness, followed by going abroad, and eventually asked the Qing court to borrow foreign money", intended to sit and watch the situation and wait for the opportunity to move. The Qing court was helpless.1March 3, 907, Cen Chunxuan was transferred as the governor of Sichuan, and he was instructed not to go to Beijing for training. Cen Chunxuan didn't buy it at all. He continued to observe the political situation in Shanghai, and then made a secret agreement with Qu Hongrui to divert to Beijing when he took office in Sichuan in the west, in order to launch a campaign to bring down Qing and Yuan.
On March 30, Zhang Baixi, the minister of the postal department, died, leaving a fat job, which was coveted by all factions, especially Beiyang. On April 20th, the official system of the three northeastern provinces was published, with Xu Shichang as the governor, Tang Shaoyi as the governor of Mukden, Zhu Jiabao as the governor of Jilin, and Duan Zhigui as the governor of Heilongjiang, all of which were Beiyang cast. Beiyang seized power and was unscrupulous. As soon as the appointment was announced, it caused a strong response from the ruling and opposition parties, and the time for the Qing school to attack Beiyang school became mature.
At this time, Cen Chunxuan took a boat from Shanghai to Wuhan in the name of going to Sichuan to take office, and asked him to "drop in" for an audience. Because he expected that the discount would be rejected by Qing, Yuan and others, he took the train north along the Beijing-Han Railway without waiting for the court's reply. On the way, Zhao Qilin, a countryman of Qu Hong, made a special trip to Baoding Station to greet him and accompanied him to Beijing. On the night of May 1, Cen Chunxuan arrived in Beijing, and the next morning he was stunned, which officially opened the curtain of "Ding Wei's political tide". Cen Chunxuan once came to the "diligent king" when the boxer of Cixi was in trouble, which made Cixi grateful, so his words carried considerable weight. 1On May 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th, 907, Cen Chunxuan was summoned by Empress Dowager Cixi four times in a row, and the process of summoning was recorded in detail in his memoir Le Zhai Man Bi. Cen Chunxuan deplored the current political situation. Officials of all sizes embezzled and exploited Wang in the name of the New Deal, which led to people's separation and almost national subjugation. Both he and Cixi wept for it. Then she named Yi Kuang, the Prince of Qing Dynasty, and cited Zhou Rongyao as an example. Cixi only said, "Yi Kuang is too honest to be taken in." However, Cen Chunxuan's loyalty was rewarded, and her trust in Yi Xian was shaken. Finally, Cen Chunxuan proposed to stay in Beijing and be the "watchdog" of Cixi. Cixi agreed, and the next day (May 3rd), she was granted the post of the minister of postal communication, which enabled Cen Chunxuan to establish himself in Beijing. On the same day, Cen Chunxuan played Cixi in person, claiming that Baokui Zhu, assistant minister of the Postal Department, had exploited the Shanghai-Nanjing Railway, colluded with outsiders to swallow up huge sums of money and bribed the official residence, and he was "ashamed to associate with others". Cixi adopted Cen Chunxuan's words and deposed Baokui Zhu. Baokui Zhu was Yuan Shikai's confidant, and as soon as Cen Chunxuan arrived in Beijing, he made a vicious move to stir up the seemingly calm DPRK. In his diary, Sun Baoxuan described the situation at that time: "If you still rely on the sudden arrival of Censhuai, wouldn't it make people lovely and respectable to take a beating for the government?" Cen Shangshu is a living bomb, and he flew out of the sky for no reason, which made the political circles change, and many people were afraid of it, far beyond what Wu Yue had hidden in his arms! "
In addition to Cen Chunxuan's use of his favour to influence Cixi, the Qing school also organized another front, namely, led by Qu Hongrui's suggestion, Zhao Binglin, Jiang Chunlin and Zhao Qilin (known as "Sanlin Company"), to make official statements and mobilize public opinion in newspapers and periodicals. They caught another handle of Qing and Yuan-"Yang Cuixi case". 1On May 7th, 907, Zhao Qilin accused Duan Zhigui, a confidant of Yuan Shikai, of buying a geisha Yang Cuixi in Tianjin with 12000 gold for Zaizhen, the son of Yi Kuang, and taking 100,000 gold from Wang Zhulin of Tianjin Chamber of Commerce as Yi Kuang's birthday present, so a Taoist priest jumped to the governor. Cixi flew into a rage when she learned that she immediately ordered Duan Zhigui to be removed as the governor of Heilongjiang Province, and ordered Zai Feng, the prince of alcohol, and Sun Jianai, a university student, to investigate the case.
At this point, the Qing school is in the offensive, and the Beiyang school is in the defensive, which seems to have a great potential to change the weather. Yi Kuang, the Prince of Qing Dynasty, was impeached by Cen Chunxuan. "The situation is very dangerous." Cixi even brewed a plan to open Yi Kuang. There are rumors in Beijing and Tianjin that Yuan Shikai, the generation of Cen Chunxuan, will be the governor of Zhili. Qing and Yuan began to try their best to fight back against Qu and Cen. After the case of Yang Cuixi was exposed by the imperial censor of the Qing school, Zai Zhen sneaked into Tianjin in a hurry to discuss countermeasures with Yuan Shikai. Yuan Shikai immediately sent his men to take Yang Cuixi to Tianjin, and let others impersonate Yang Cuixi, and manipulated Ta Kung Pao and Shuntian Times to publish articles to correct the case of Yang Cuixi. By the time Zai Feng and Sun Jianai sent personnel to visit Tianjin, everything had been arranged. Yang Cuixi became a servant girl bought by Tianjin salt merchant Wang Yisun, and there was a "written evidence" to prove it. Wang Zhulin, the premier of the Chamber of Commerce, also claimed that he could not lend so much money to Duan Zhigui to give gifts. A well-argued case was found to be unsubstantiated.
Zai Feng, who is in charge of investigating the case, is a teenager, and the responsibility for investigating mainly depends on Sun Jianai. Sun Jianai, an important figure of the veteran forces, was dissatisfied with Beiyang, but he was not interested in the Qing school. He mainly considered this matter from his own interests. Liu Ti-ren's "A Record of Different Dictionaries" describes his mentality at that time: Sun Jianai knew that "the jubilation of public opinion is easy", but he was concerned that: first, Yi Kuang is a prince, even if he is vacant, if he still stays in Beijing, he will still be summoned on an auspicious day, and he is likely to "make a comeback". Second, even if Yi Kuang can be defeated, Yuan Shikai may not be able to defeat him together. If he can't defeat him, he will be bitten by himself, which is even more uneconomical. Three, "My words and actions have a great influence on the Emperor". Sun Jianai was once an important official of the Imperial Party, but he was implicated in the Reform Movement of 1898, and the boxer's rear area had to be resolved. Considering this, "I am overwhelmed with fear, how dare I be slightly negligent". In this state of mind, on May 16, Zai Feng and Sun Jianai repeated what Zhao Qilin had played as "groundless", and Cixi immediately dismissed Zhao Qilin for "arbitrary slander". As a result, the Qing school took the "Yang Cuixi case" as a breakthrough to bring down Qing and Yuan's planned abortion. However, Yi Kuang and his son had a guilty conscience, so they had to abandon their pawn to protect their cars. On May 17, they were invited to go to the Minister of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce and all the errands, and they were immediately approved.
Speaking officials should have the privilege of "getting wind of things", but Zhao Qilin actually resigned because of impeaching dignitaries. At that time, public opinion was in an uproar, and the response from Taiwan remonstrance was the strongest. A special edition of Jing Bao, sponsored by Wang Kangnian, Qu Hongrui's protege, said: "The official meeting was held in Songshan Caotang, and the joint title was sought to tell Zhao Yushi of his solidarity." On May 19, Zhao Binglin, the imperial adviser, said in a short letter that it was not appropriate for officials to be convicted, and it was not appropriate to stop them from saying things, and he protested by resigning. Yushi Yuding also plans to "say that the official is not sitting backwards" and opposes the dismissal of Zhao Qilin. On May 23, Jiang Chunlin played again, and analyzed in detail all kinds of doubts in Zai Feng and Sun Jianai's recitation, asking the court to push the case down and re-investigate.
But these attacks are just a spent force, and the status of Yi Kuang and others has returned to stability. In the political tide, Yi Kuang and others were able to emerge from adversity. In addition to the intercession of Sun Jianai, the governor of the three northeastern provinces, Xu Shichang, and Ducheng Xun of Chahar, there were two key people. One is Shi Xu, the military minister of the university. He had a close relationship with Qing and Yuan, and he was worried that Qu and Cen would use it. "It's not good for the Manchu to suffer from the old Qing (Yi Kuang)." Therefore, when the case of Yang Cuixi was "alone" one day later, he pointed out that Yi Kuang and Cen Chunxuan were "always resentful" and made "kindness a little better". The other is Sigege, the daughter of Yi Kuang. She is a red man in front of Cixi and "cries for her father and brother every morning". Of course, more importantly, the strength of Beiyang school far exceeds that of Qing school, and Cixi did not finally make up her mind to abandon Beiyang. After the offensive of the Qing school was disintegrated, Qing and Yuan started a comprehensive counterattack. The first step is to eliminate the dust. At the beginning of Cen Chunxuan's arrival in Beijing, Cixi allowed him to visit at any time, but he did not refuse. He repeatedly asked for audience or played sparsely, and he spoke freely, causing frequent waves in the ruling and opposition parties, and Cixi gradually became "tired and diligent". Qing and Yuan took the opportunity to exert their strategies, so that Zhou Fu, governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and Song Shou, governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, played a series of telegrams in Raoping, Huanggang and Qinlian. On May 27th, Yi Kuang was "independent" to Cixi, exaggerating the military situation of Guangdong and Guangxi, claiming that it was not for Cen Chunxuan that it could not be pacified, and put forward that Cen Chunxuan should be the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, with the consent of Cixi. Then Cen Chunxuan became the imperial edict of Guangdong Governor Mingfa, and Cen Chunxuan, who had served as the minister of postal communication for only 25 days, was excluded from Beijing. Cen Chunxuan was shocked and angry, and shouted, "The imperial court employs people like this! Since today, why did you move me to Yunnan and Shu at that time? " Then he folded up and refused to go to work because of illness. The Qing court ordered him to go to his post again. Cen Chunxuan wanted to redeem himself, but she was also hastily sent away by Cixi in a few words. Cen Chunxuan knew that he could not take shelter in Beijing, and he didn't want to go to Guangdong, so he had to repeat his old trick and wait for an opportunity in the name of recovering from illness.
The second step is to pour Qu. The two coaches of the Qing school went to one of them, and their strength was greatly reduced. The Beiyang school made persistent efforts and pointed the finger at Qu Hongrui. On May 23rd, Yu Ding, who was once inclined to the Qing school in the political tide, went to Tianjin to meet with Yuan Shikai for the Beijing-Tianjin Railway, during which he was wooed by Yuan and accepted a bribe of 18000 gold as his lackey. On June 16, Yun Yuding presented the memorial of Qu Hongrui, who had been prepared before by Yang Shiqi, the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce. The next day, Qu Hongrui was left vacant. Yun Yuding charged Qu Hong with four crimes: one was secretly informing the museum, the other was instructing officials, the third was aiding foreign aid, and the fourth was distributing party followers. It turned out that Qu Hong told his wife about Cixi's intention to recall Prince Qing. Mrs. Qu told her best friend Wang Kangnian's wife, and Mrs. Wang told her husband. Wang Kangnian revealed the news to Zeng Guangquan, who was collecting news for The Times, and advertised it at home and abroad, causing quite a stir. The British minister's wife even asked Cixi about it. The minister of military affairs quickly dismissed him without verification, which aroused people's suspicions. Lin Shaonian, another important figure of the Qing school, publicly defended "How can I convince people?" When I entered the class, I urged me to send a check. Cixi shirked it, so she had to let Sun Jianai and Tie Liang investigate the matter, but she also stated, "Lin wants to check, I don't know how to check the law?" Sun Jianai asked Yun Yuding to fold the original, and Cixi actually replied: "If you check yourself, why bother to fold it?" Sun and Tie certainly won't cut their own throat, and the Qu case will go away.
The last step is to trap cen. The Qing school fell from power and influence, but Cen Chunxuan still held the post of Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi. Besides, he was unwilling to be lonely. Before leaving Beijing, he even made dozens of memorials and discussed the failure of state affairs. In order to eliminate future troubles completely, Beiyang Group decided to put Cen Chunxuan in an invincible position. On June 1 day, a party member of Beiyang discovered that Cen Chunxuan was going to Shanghai, so he sent a secret message to the governor of Liangjiang, who was partial to Beiyang faction: "Xilin Cen Chunxuan left Beijing when he was full, and he had no other intention and was not allowed to follow the rules." On July 8th, Chen Qinggui, the suggestion, participated in Cen Chunxuan's performance, "It is rare for more than 200 years to be arrogant and illegal". The attached film lists Cen Chunxuan's four major crimes of "greed, violence, arrogance and bullying", and there are many implications in Sheng Xuanhuai (who was Yuan Shikai's political enemy at that time), saying that Cen and Sheng relied on power to establish joint ventures. The compromise also mentioned that Cen Chunxuan was related to Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, Mai Menghua and so on, and repeatedly "courted" Mai Menghua and "praised the shogun". However, after folding, Cixi just picked out the two poems of Sheng Xuanhuai and handed them over to the party for close investigation (when Sheng Xuanhuai was in Shanghai), leaving the content of impeaching Cen Chunxuan in the middle. Seeing that Cixi's trust in Cen Chunxuan could not be shaken, Beiyang adopted a more powerful weapon, that is, planned a "photo forgery incident". Governor Duan Fang of Liangjiang synthesized a photo of Cen Chunxuan with Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, Mai Menghua and others in front of the Times Museum through Yuan Shikai's close confidant of Shanghai Dao Cai Naihuang, and handed it to Qing and Yuan, who was presented as Cixi by Yi Kuang when he was "alone". After seeing it, Cixi was furious and immediately dismissed Cen Chunxuan's office.
However, according to the Diary of Chengzhai left by Yun Yuding, Guo Weidong, a scholar, thinks that the reason why Cen Chunxuan was dismissed from office is not the "photo forgery incident", but the memorial presented by Yun Yuding on August 0/907 10, impeaching Cen Chunxuan to stay in Shanghai and "borrow Japan to lean toward the DPRK". This hit a sore spot when Cixi was forced by foreign countries to become Emperor Guangxu, which caused her to lose her trust in Cen Chunxuan. On August 12, she announced the vacancy of Cen Chunxuan. And Yun Yuding's memorial letter is also likely to be sent by the Beiyang school. The imperial edict on vacancy only mentions "Cen Chunxuan's peace of mind to adjust the vacancy", but it doesn't describe its root cause like the usual dismissal decree. It can be seen that Cixi is only suspicious of Cen Chunxuan, which is not enough to show people publicly. Scholar Kong Xiangji also thinks: "Both Qing Dang and Yun's Diary clearly point out that Yun Yuding's memorial tablet collapsed Cen Chunxuan, and made no mention of the fake photos of Liang Qichao or Kang Youwei taking photos with Cen Chunxuan. If there are fake photos submitted by Yuan and Duan, it stands to reason that Yun's family will not be greedy for this work alone. According to Xu Yishi, the story that Duan Fang entered Cen Chunxuan and took a photo with Liang Qichao and smashed Cen Chunxuan could not be confirmed in the Qing archives. Obviously, unofficial history, who is circulating in the market, is really not enough. " Qu and Cen were completely defeated, and then Lin Shaonian, a figure of the Qing school, was excluded, the Beijing Daily was sealed up, and Ding Wei's political tide came to an end. On the surface, Beiyang school was the winner of Ding Wei's political tide, but it didn't take any advantage. The Qing school lost power and Beiyang school didn't gain power, and the result was both losses. After Ding Wei's political tide, Cixi's doubts about Beiyang deepened instead of being dispelled, and she began to support the pro-expensive and veteran forces to confront Beiyang.
When Qu Hong was absent, Cixi wanted to take Yi Kuang away. On June 18 and 19, Cixi called Sun Jianai, Shi Xu, Lu Chuanlin and others to discuss Yi Kuang's advance and retreat. Sun Jianai and others suggested that it was useless to go to Yi Kuang suddenly. On June 19, Cixi ordered Zai Feng, Prince of Alcohol, to study walking in military department, with the intention of fostering Zai Feng to compete with or even replace Yi Kuang. Seeing this situation, Yi Kuang had to take the slide backwards, offered his resignation, and tried to blackmail him. Cixi considered that Zai Feng was young and inexperienced, so she couldn't undertake the overall work of military department at once. Qu Hong had gone, and if Yi Kuang retired again, the central organization might be in chaos and even paralysis, so she made a decree to comfort her. In addition to Zai Feng, Cixi also valued her relatives, such as Shi Xu, Zai Ze, and Shan Xi. 1June, 907, Prince Su Shanzhu and Duke Zhen Zaize were appointed ministers of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Civil Affairs respectively. Pro-expensive forces began to replace the clean forces as a tool for Cixi to contain Beiyang Group.
After Ding Wei's political tide, Beiyang wanted to take the opportunity to put Yang Shiqi into military department, so Yi Kuang recommended it to Cixi. While Cixi wanted to quote Sun Jianai into the pivot, Sun Jianai felt that "an old illness is a heavy responsibility". However, Sun Jianai bluntly told Cixi, "Shi Qi is small and talented, and he is really clever and deceitful. He is a fellow countryman and I know him best. Gaigu said that "hunger depends on people, and satiety is far from embarrassing", and he recommended another important figure in the veteran forces, Lu Chuanlin. Later, Zhang Zhidong, the governor of Huguang, and Yuan Shikai also became the center. Military department formed a new combination, Beiyang Wing, with Yi Kuang and Yuan Shikai; Zai Feng, Zhang Zhidong and Lu Chuanlin, three people who fought against Beiyang, continued to be centrists. This laid the groundwork for Yuan Shikai's downfall and pro-expensive coming to power after Xuantong.