What is the relationship between Cai E and Yuan Shikai?

Cai E's eyes are "typical intellectuals-weak white people". "His face is thin, his eyes are wide open, and his cheeks are slightly like women, but the quarrel is fierce. Quiet and solemn ""Although his life is at stake, his mind is still as sharp as a sword. "

-[America] agnes smedley's The Great Road: The Life and Times of Zhu De

"Yuan Xiangcheng lent him 1000 yuan"

The relationship between Cai E and Yuan Shikai is very complicated. 19161214 at the memorial service for Cai E held in Shanghai, it was said that after the Reform Movement of 1898, Cai E was going to Tokyo to look for him. "Hunan Changsha only borrowed 20 cents. When he went to Hankou, he borrowed six yuan from his relatives. When he came to Beijing from Korea, Yuan Xiangcheng lent him 1000 yuan. When he went to the east, he paid 300 yuan tuition. The rest is for making friends and public welfare. He always walks when he goes out and never takes a car. " Liang Qichao knew that Cai E's words would not be groundless, and there was no need to put in a good word for Yuan Shikai. It can be seen that young Cai E was able to study in Japan smoothly, and he did get generous support from Yuan Shikai.

However, after Cai E returned to China with the honor of "three good officers", he joined the army in Guangxi, Yunnan and other places, which was not directly related to Yuan. Until after the Revolution of 1911, 19 12, 12, Cai E, then the governor of Yunnan, said in a telegram to Li that Yuan Shikai was a great man in modern times, that is, the teacher once said that the President of the Republic of China would push Xiangcheng. Because the relationship between the Qing court and the Qing court is not separated, people who are second to Xiangcheng in this election are reluctant to name Xiangcheng, nor can they name the prime minister and cabinet ministers of the Qing court. To be sure, China has the opportunity to become a Republic of * * *, and Xiangcheng has its own hope of being elected president. The overall situation has been set, and this matter will naturally follow. But at the same time, he opposed "safeguarding peace" and advocated "driving the Northern Expedition and taking Luding directly", which was aimed at the Qing Dynasty, but also revealed his dissatisfaction with Yuan Shikai. 191265438+1October 20th, he called Sun Yat-sen and others: "Our army takes this opportunity to get angry with North Korea. How can the enemy not be breached? I willingly accepted Yuan's stupidity, played again and again, and played for a long time before I stopped. " On October 26th, 65438/kloc-0, he telephoned Sun Yat-sen and provincial governors, publicly accusing Yuan Shikai of wanting to hold a so-called "national conference" in Beijing to decide the monarch and democratic country. "This is just a cunning exhibition to prepare him for war and relax our morale." He thought it was just "Yuan's trick" and clearly pointed out that the government of the Republic of China had been established and the president had been elected. "The question of a democratic monarchy is no longer worth studying." He strongly advocated the Northern Expedition, organized the Northern Expedition Army in Yunnan, and issued the Northern Expedition Pledge, which included "Yuan Thief" and other sentences. The vanguard troops have entered Hunan from Guizhou. 12 In February, when the general of Beiyang Army urged the Qing emperor to abdicate, the telegram was published. Cai E called Li and said he would be vigilant:

"See section to the army north, promote * * * and, the overall situation is set, very gratified. But Duan has no racial thoughts, but he has a deep relationship with Yuan Shikai. Suddenly, the general effort should be sincere. However, whether you have other plans or not, you should prepare in secret, so as not to fall into treachery and delay the opportunity. "

However, once the Qing emperor abdicated and the North-South peace talks were successful, his attitude towards Yuan changed. He repeatedly issued a call for electricity and resolutely supported the capital Beijing. On March 6th, in telegrams to Sun Yat-sen, Yuan Shikai and others, Beijing was advocated as the capital. "If your husband eliminates selfishness and reconciles feelings, Yuan Gong should be the best. It seems that you can worry about it. " On March 25th, he congratulated Yuan Shikai on his assumption of the presidency, saying that Yuan was "brilliant, resourceful and won the hearts of the people". In April 1 1, he sent a message to a newspaper in Shanghai: "Kuang is a great man, admired at home and abroad."

In recent months, his views on Yuan Shikai have changed too much. Generally speaking, as long as Yuan supports * * * and, he firmly supports it.

1965438+On February 25th, 2003, after the assassination of Song Dynasty, Cai E also sent a telegram, denouncing the "despicable" assassination method and "crying bitterly and taking pains". However, he resolutely opposed the use of force and advocated solving the Song case according to law by organizing a special court. "Don't be biased, don't be impulsive, don't force violations of law and discipline, and don't make rumors." In particular, "it is strictly forbidden for soldiers to intervene." Song Jiaoren, he said, "tried to reconcile the views of the North and the South before he died. If he causes bad feelings between the north and the south behind his back, he may not feel at ease under the grave. " Even if Yuan Shikai must be overthrown, a formal presidential election is just around the corner. "Whether Yuan Zhi will be elected in the future depends on the consent of all the people in the country and should be resolved by the National Assembly", so he can't resort to force. /kloc-in may of 0/7, when civil war was on the verge, Cai E and the governors of Sichuan, Guizhou and Guangxi jointly signed an anti-war telegram, saying that "anyone who attacks will be regarded as the enemy of the whole country" and expressed his firm defense of the hard-won Republic of China. On June 7, he and the governors of Zhejiang and Sichuan provinces jointly called Yuan Shikai and the governors of other provinces to mediate, advocating the settlement of disputes through legal procedures and urging the mobilization of troops.

On August 4, the war finally broke out irretrievably, and many places in Jiangxi and Nanjing were ablaze. He still called to point out that the reason for "begging Yuan" was not established. According to the provisional treaty law, if the president commits treason, he should be impeached by the Senate. If there is any political fault, the State Council is responsible. In addition, the interim government is coming to an end and a formal president will be elected soon. If Yuan was not elected, but relied on the special forces not to resign, it would not be too late to use force against Yolanda. He even naively wanted to organize the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan-Guangxi allied forces to station in Wuhan, "persuading Ninggan to surrender".

Later, although he sent troops to Sichuan, he always regarded the war as "killing each other, killing each other too hard and hiding a lot of hatred." He opposed the civil war and thought that "cannibalism and cannibalism" and "not the blessing of the country" should "save some vitality for the country and avoid being ridiculed by violence against violence". Therefore, he opposed Yuan Shikai's rewarding the officers and men of Beiyang Army, believing that doing so was tantamount to "rewarding and killing compatriots".

"Ten years ago, it took a thousand miles to send a message." This couplet was given to Cai E in June of 19 13 when the "second revolution" was about to break out. Huang Xing sent messengers to send troops with Cai E, but Cai E advised Huang Xing not to make a move. According to Siyi Yang's anecdote about Cai E, Huang Xing sent Tan Xinxiu to Yunnan before Baojing, and asked Cai Songpo to find soldiers. Songpo answered:' The foundation of the Republic of China has not been consolidated, so Ke Qiang should be advised to be quiet. Zhang, you can't make a move at this time. Tan said, "If we wait any longer, the Yuan thief will be proclaimed emperor." Matsuura sneered:' If he dares to be emperor, I will also be emperor of the southwest.' Tan was shocked and asked what it meant. Matsuura said, "The country is a * * * country, which is a sacred covenant. If anyone dares to break the law, the people of China will fight together, and I will spare him first. Today, Yuan's thief is unknown, and his teacher is unknown. Therefore, I advocate patience for a period of time. Before the time comes, I advise the public to wait quietly Hearing this, Tan immediately went to Shanghai, reported to Huang Xing and told his comrades. I listened to him when I was in Shanghai. "

Cai E disapproved of the "second revolution" and opposed the use of force to resolve political disputes. In his letter to Tan 19 13 on July 24, 2003, he made it clear that "since the reform in China, the country has been weak and scarred so far, and there must be no second destruction. In addition, a certain country is gloating and taking advantage of our civil strife to realize its aggressive ambition. There is another reason why all people in our country should cooperate with Qi Xin to resist foreign aggression against .................., which he himself has never said. Liang Qichao has always had a view that after the Republic of China, they mainly faced two major forces, one was "the corrupt forces in bureaucratic society" and the other was "the violent forces in authoritarian society". In their view, Sun Yat-sen's "second revolution" recognized by Cai is the latter kind of "insurgent force", which they can't accept. This was clearly put forward by Cai E at the farewell party of the Yunnan branch of the Progressive Party on the eve of 19 13 and 10.5: "The violent faction takes destruction as its purpose, and if it can achieve its goal, it will not hesitate to sacrifice the whole country. However, its progress is sharp, but the speed of retreat is straight down. Although the violent faction failed because of its strength, the government social assistance advocated by the Progressive Party is indispensable. In the future, the concern of the Progressive Party will only be in the ears of bureaucrats. " Of course, he also knows that "deep-rooted" bureaucracy is "the most difficult to conquer". Liang Qichao is an important leader of the Progressive Party. Cai E, who once publicly advocated that "soldiers do not belong to the Party" and quit the United Party, agreed to serve as honorary director of the Progressive Party at the invitation of his teacher. Undoubtedly, Yuan Shikai's suppression of the "second revolution" would not be so smooth without the support of the Progressive Party. This was unexpected after Yuan proclaimed himself emperor. To Yuan's surprise, after the "violent faction" was expelled from politics, the forces represented by Liang Qichao and Cai E were worried about the "bureaucratic faction" represented by Yuan, and their final break was almost inevitable.

Yuan Shikai took the whole Republic of China into his own pocket with superior forces, and almost only Yunnan and Guizhou provinces far away were not controlled by Beiyang Army. So Cai E was deeply frightened by Yuan and had to leave Yunnan alone. But this is just a guess. Cai E's resignation from Yunnan was not actually forced by Yuan. As early as mid-June of 19 13, he wrote to Liang Qichao, saying, "I have long wanted to come to Beijing to meet President Yuan, discuss various political figures and get in touch with people from all walks of life. But I dare not do it because of the importance of anecdotes. " Liang Qichao recalled in "Review of the War to Protect the Country": "In the spring of the Republic of China, Cai Gong resigned as the governor and returned to Beijing. No one forced him to resign. The people of Yunnan tried their best to keep him, but the central government wouldn't let him go. But what Cai Gong meant was to set an example and correct him, because he was afraid that soldiers would take over the political power and become separatist regions. Secondly, because he has foreign arms, he wants to retrain a group of officers to deal with our ideal enemy. Third, because I have worked in Yunnan for two years, I feel a little weak and need to have a rest. He wrote more than a dozen letters to discuss with me and asked me to help him resign, so we often spent several years together in Beijing. " There is another reason why personnel relations are complicated. It is difficult for Cai E to control several Yunnan departments under his command, such as Hongxiang Li, who is unconvinced by him, which makes his intentions even stronger.

19 13 10, President Yuan Shikai ordered that "Cai E, governor of Yunnan Province, took a leave of absence due to illness and came to Beijing to rest for three months." 10/0 On October 7th, Cai E resigned from Yunnan and left for Beijing on the 9th. However, although he left Yunnan, his old army, the Yunnan army he trained in the past two years, still exists in Yunnan and has potential influence.

"A tiger is trapped in a cage"

During his two years in Cai E, Yuan Shikai treated him with courtesy on the surface, and successively gave him a series of official titles, such as Councillor and Councillor.

Cai E was too stupid to recruit Yuan Zhi. During his stay in Beijing, he hardly expressed any political views, and his main achievements were the documents of the Economic and Trade Bureau. He knows that Yuan's invitation to join the Right Economic and Trade Bureau is perfunctory, but he thinks that the world and abundance are also important policies for governing the country, and he wants to make a difference. However, in a short period of six months, he presided over the compilation of two masterpieces, namely "Summary of Economic Circles in China in Past Dynasties" and "Summary of Economic Circles in Various Countries", which shows that his work is earnest, practical, meticulous and rigorous. Only this economic and trade bureau is farthest from politics and can do reckless things.

19 15 After August, public opinion demanding that Yuan Shikai proclaimed himself was rampant. First, there was a "preparatory committee", then a "national petition federation", and even a petition group of prostitutes and beggars. Cai E keeps a low profile. If you have an affair, you will "indulge in Qu Yuan all day to show your downfall". On the one hand, he had secret contacts with Liang Qichao and exchanges with the military circles of Yunnan and Guizhou provinces. As early as the end of September this year, Huang Xing, who was far away in the United States, had a secret letter urging him to try to escape from the jaws of death and fight for Yuan. Cai E also sent Huang Xingfa a 17-page secret letter, telling him his plan to return to the southwest to launch an attack. On the one hand, he said to everyone in Beijing, "Our teacher is a bookworm and doesn't understand current affairs." Act as if you and Liang Qichao parted ways. Moreover, he was "empty-handed" about the monarchy, and soon made a statement, leaving a signed book about the monarchy. Led by Cai E, Jiang Zungui, Sun Wu, Tang and others, followed by Zhang Yijue and others. A total of 12 generals signed. The three lines of "Signature of Chinese Imperial Envoy on August 25th/General Zhao E" were written by Cai E, and the original is still preserved. (Because of this, at the beginning of Cai E's benevolence and righteousness, Yuan condescended and asked him why he was willful. His answer is: "It goes without saying that the problem of the national system can be rejected in Beijing. If you ask your conscience, you will swear to death. If you do the same thing again, with the oath of the president, you can still be cold and say nothing! " But Yuan still didn't trust Cai E. In order to check the telegraph code book, he secretly searched his house. Cai has already stood guard. He once brought dozens of passwords to Liang Qichao's bedroom in Tianjin, so he survived.

Regarding Cai E's departure from Beijing, Yuan Jiapu said in Cai Gong's suicide note that in 20051October 9, 19 15438+065438, Cai E had a secret discussion with Yuan Jiapu, informing him that he had decided to leave Beijing and asked Yuan Jiapu to "keep quiet and calm" after leaving. Cai E1915438+011went to Beijing, and Yuan Jiapu1915438+019 chased Tianjin. Cai E "took Shandong Maru to Japan the day before". During this period, Cai E has two papers, Presenting Yuan Shikai. First,1October 22nd, 19 15438+065438+ submitted to Yuan Shikai that "the holiday has expired, but the illness is still not cured", requesting "permission to extend the holiday for three months so as to move to other places to recuperate". Yuan's approval order is: "Give two months' holiday. "A few days later, Cai E wrote to Yuan Shikai again, saying," Only by moving to a place with a warm climate and taking care of yourself can ordinary medicine play its role. Japan has a mild climate, clear mountains and rivers, and a specialty for treating lung and stomach, which is very suitable for treating diseases. I am going to sail to Japan for medical treatment, hoping to recover soon and then report. " Yuan Shikai approved: "The sooner you adjust, the better. Still hope to return to China as soon as possible, ask for leave and be a deputy. "These two letters were probably written after Cai E escaped from Yuan's control. On the surface, Yuan, a wily man, has something to say: Dumb people eat coptis. Judging from these two submissions and Yuan's approval, it is relatively easy for Cai E to go to Japan from Beijing. In Japan, Cai E also wrote a letter to Yuan Shikai, saying, "I don't accept every word. "

Yuan Shikai told Finance Director Zhou that from the foresight of Cai E when he left, "this person is far better than Huang Xing and other democratic parties, that is, Song may not be ab."

When Yuan Shikai was forced to abolish the imperial system in an attempt to appease the menacing people in the world and remain in power, Cai E pointed out in a telegram to Tang and others on March 30, 2006: "His cunning and shameless behavior is really hateful." He resolutely opposed Yuan Shikai's taking off his imperial robe in the midst of abuse, and he wanted to continue to be a great president. He solemnly expressed his attitude in the reply message to the office under the command of the government affairs hall on April 18. "Life geometry, 60-year-old people can retire from the world. What else can he ask for? " Asking Yuan Shikai to quit politics. But he also said, "How do you feel love in Xiangcheng? Loyal ministers cover the world and report their private affairs. " Earlier, he once said that Yuan Shikai was "polite to him, sensitive to personal feelings and unwilling to do anything harmful to the country and family."

"It is not a victory, it is the personality of 40,000 people in the Republic of China."

He fought against the Yuan to defend the Republic of China, which was "forced by the times and conscience" and was for justice, so he could not "be selfish". He never denied that he had some personal feelings for Yuan Shikai, but once Yuan betrayed the Republic of China, betrayed the country he swore allegiance to * *, and took care of the monarchy, Cai E would rise up and oppose it, leaving no room. He has no regrets about it. 19 16 May 16, he wrote to Pan Huiying: "Yuan Shikai has the intention to abdicate and will not fight again in the near future. Compared with the Battle of 1911, this undertaking is more brilliant, and the dangers it has experienced are also enormous. After thinking about it, it is extremely strong and fast. " When he set out, he was determined to die. In a letter dated June+10/October 3 1 5438, he said: "Su Yu is loyal to his country. This time, he was particularly determined. If he is ambushed by an enemy thief or killed in battle, he will never regret it. " Shi, a good friend, also recalled that when he vowed, "I had a heart of death long ago, and I hope everyone will die together." Tao Juyin said that before upholding justice, Cai E delivered a painful speech to the Yunnan Army General School: "In the heyday of Yuan, we fought against the overall situation with a corner of our strength. Knowing that there is no hope, I would rather live on my knees than be beheaded and die. This time, it is not a victory, but the personality of the 40,000 people of the Republic of China. " At that time, it was uncertain whether Yuan Shikai could be overthrown. From the perspective of power comparison, only by knowing what you can't do can you defend your country. So when the National Guard entered Sichuan, the wind was cold.

The relationship between Cai E and Yuan Shikai is not only Yuan Zeng's kindness to him, but also his "kindness and love" and "courtesy corporal". Some clues can also be found in his own thoughts. From 65438 to 0902, Cai E published a long article from 0755 to 79000, which expounded his military nationalism for the first time. Military nationalism embodies all the ideals of his rich country, Qiang Bing. It is no accident that he has high hopes for a political strongman like Yuan Shikai. Because of this kind of military nationalism, only the rubber hand and the bold have the right to make a difference. 19 15 in may, during the negotiation of article 21, he wrote to a friend that yuan Shikai had told him, "after the negotiation, you must bite your teeth and feel ashamed to think about it." He said, if this is true, it is China's "infinite blessing", and he "vows to repay it sincerely with blood". "If it is consistent, it will only produce far-reaching results. The abacus of personal poverty has hit his ear. "

As a soldier who believes in military nationalism, it is Cai E's greatest wish to resist strong enemies and wash away national humiliation. He has some fantasies about Yuan Shikai, and the explanation can be found here. Of course, he remained sober and cautious, and did not fully believe Yuan's words. This can also be seen from his unpublished will:

"When I was a teenager, I envied the prosperity of my eastern neighbors and always held militarism. Doctrine, not monarchy, is not enough to push forward, so there is still no absolute proof that the political system is good or not. Later, because Yuan raped public opinion, the imperial system went its own way, and he sought personal gain by stealing. He did not hesitate to cover the sky with one hand and hide others' eyes and ears with the other, so as to extend positive friendship and strive for national personality. "

Yuan Shikai couldn't understand Cai E's opposition to his proclaimed himself until his death. Not for one's own ambition, but for "fighting for the personality of 400 million people." The word "personality" can't be found in Yuan's dictionary. Because Cai E entered Changsha Current Affairs School in his early years, his vision was higher than that of traditional soldiers. He is a modern professional soldier with intellectual temperament, and his unwillingness to be a warlord was unprecedented at that time. In Xinmin Cong Bao, he clearly stated: "The soul of China is the foundation of the country and the seed of national self-esteem." His understanding of national character is only based on self-esteem, which Yuan Shikai, an old authority, can't understand.