The Empress Dowager Cixi escaped with Emperor Guangxu. What would be the consequences if she did not escape?

One of the most important reasons why the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded Beijing was that the Empress Dowager Cixi supported the Boxers to smash churches and kill foreigners indiscriminately. Before the Eight-Nation Allied Forces invaded Beijing, Cixi was afraid of foreign revenge, so she hurriedly fled to Xi'an with Emperor Guangxu to avoid the pursuit of foreigners.

(Eight-Nation Allied Forces)

So, if Cixi did not escape and was caught by foreigners, what would the foreigners do with Cixi?

According to general understanding, foreigners would kill Cixi. Even if he is not killed, Cixi will be dismissed from get out of class and Guangxu will be helped up. After all, when Guangxu implemented the "1898 Reform", he won the sympathy of foreigners, and foreigners strongly supported Guangxu's reform. After the failure of the "1898 Reform", foreigners actively helped reformers such as Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao escape from China and seek refuge elsewhere.

Therefore, if the foreigners invaded Beijing and captured the Empress Dowager Cixi, they would never miss the opportunity to bring down Cixi and put Emperor Guangxu on the throne.

However, this is actually just a general understanding. If we analyze it carefully, we will find that the situation seems to be different. What's the difference?

Although the foreigners did not catch Cixi, it was not that they could not catch her. It would actually be very easy for foreigners to pursue Cixi and catch her. In the end, the foreigners did not pursue Cixi fiercely, which shows that the foreigners did not regard Cixi as a target that must be taken down. Otherwise, when they later signed the "Xin Chou Agreement" with Li Hongzhang, they would definitely make "letting Ci Xi dismiss from get out of class" as a condition.

(Cixi)

So, why did the foreigners not embarrass Cixi in the end?

1. Cixi is the most appropriate Chinese agent for foreigners.

Why is Cixi said to be the most appropriate Chinese agent for foreigners?

We can see this clearly from Cixi's performance during the escape.

Cixi was the first to declare war on the Eleven Kingdoms. However, when the foreigners attacked Beijing, Cixi soon discovered that the foreign artillery fire was too fierce and that the Boxers' so-called "invulnerability" was not a myth, but a joke. Therefore, while running away, she quickly changed her attitude, notified various places to wipe out the Boxers, and quickly asked Li Hongzhang to go to Beijing to negotiate with the foreigners on the aftermath. At the same time, in the "Edict of Sin" to express goodwill to the great powers, he said: "Measure China's material resources and win the favor of the country."

Because Cixi had a very good attitude, she actively cooperated with the demands of foreigners, and put the responsibility on princes like Zaiyi, believing that it was because of their disorder in government that the edict connived at the Boxer Rebellion to attack foreigners. Therefore, the foreigners were very happy and naturally would not be too embarrassed about such Cixi.

Not only will he not be too embarrassed, but he will also try to put her in her place, thinking that she is the most appropriate Chinese agent. Because if Guangxu was supported, Guangxu would not be as obedient as Cixi. Moreover, Guangxu also wanted to work hard to govern. If the Qing Dynasty became stronger, it might be difficult for foreigners to control it.

(Old photo of Li Hongzhang)

2. China will be even more chaotic when Cixi reigns.

When the Eight-Power Allied Forces entered Beijing, many governors signed the "Southeast Mutual Protection" Agreement and agreed not to listen to the central government's orders. This incident is actually a signal, which means that such a country is on the verge of disintegration. This is of course what foreigners really want to see. After all, although the Qing government was already corrupt at that time, it was not easy to destroy the Qing government and annex China. Being able to disintegrate China and cause internal friction is naturally something that the great powers are looking forward to. The best way to bring China to the edge of disintegration as soon as possible is to let Cixi take power.

When Cixi was in power, not only did the governors of various provinces not obey Cixi's orders, it would also trigger many conflicts. For example, the contradiction between the Restoration Party and the Conservative Party, the contradiction between the Revolutionary Party and the Constitutional Party, and the contradiction between the Manchus and the Han. So many contradictions are intertwined, which is suitable for the great powers to display their ambitions in China.

3. Cixi is the most certain factor of the Qing Dynasty.

How do you understand this sentence?

At that time, the Western powers had different opinions on their attitude towards China. As the great powers such as the United States and Britain are relatively far away from China, they hope that China will open more trading ports and seize more resources from China.

As for the great powers such as Russia and Japan, because they are relatively close to China, they hope to obtain more land in China.

Since the great powers each have their own agendas, they all want to support their own agents. But the future of choosing an agent again, whether it is the Restoration Party or the Revolutionary Party, is unpredictable. Moreover, the opinions of the great powers cannot be unified. In the case of disagreement, choosing to continue to let Cixi be in power is obviously a choice that is in the interests of all parties. Because everyone knows Cixi's situation, and everyone has good ideas on how to deal with Cixi. In other words, Cixi can be regarded as the most stable factor. Foreigners would of course prefer Cixi to be on the throne.