On 110 years ago today, on December 11, 1915 (November 5, 1915, the lunar calendar), Yuan Shikai proclaimed himself emperor who was behind the scenes. On December 7, 1915, the standard statue of Yuan Shikai proclaimed himself emperor was completed in Beijing and all provinces and submitted to the Political Council, which was presumed to be the general representative of the National Congress. At 9 a.m. on December 11, a general invoicing for resolving the national system was held. There were a total of 1993 national representatives in all provinces, and there were exactly 1993 votes in favor of the constitutional monarchy. There was not a single vote against it, nor was there a single vote invalid. All provinces unanimously wrote: "We honor the present President Yuan Shikai as the Emperor of the Chinese Empire, and present him to the Emperor with the highest and complete sovereignty of the country. We will inherit the throne and build the pole and pass it down to all generations." On the spot, Yang Du and Sun Yuyun suggested: "The court was entrusted by each province as the general representative, and in particular, we should respectfully submit a letter of recommendation in the name of the general representative." The Secretary-General took out the prepared book and read it aloud in public, asking Yuan Shikai to "obey public opinion, ascend to the great treasure and govern the people, and be supreme and govern the world." All participants stood up and unanimously approved it. At 11:30, the meeting broke up amid cheers. At noon that day, Yuan Shikai received the letter of promotion and immediately sent it back, ordering "another letter of promotion." He first stated: "The Charter Law contains the sovereignty of the Republic of China and is based on the entire people. Since it was voted by the National Congress and changed to a constitutional monarchy, there is no room for discussion for this president." "No one is afraid of pushing Dai in one move. This President has been in politics for thirty years... He has not benefited the country at the top, nor has he helped the people at the bottom. I am ashamed to remember my old king. How can I feel at ease if I suddenly rise to the throne now? This is why morality cannot be ashamed. To govern and protect the country is the first important letter. In the early days of the Republic of China, the President of the Republic of China swore to the Senate that he would do his best to promote the Republic. Now, if the imperial system is for its own sake, it would be a betrayal of the oath. This is something that cannot be explained by itself... I hope the General Representative of the National Congress will carefully consider and make another recommendation to strengthen the foundation of the country." At 5 p.m., the Political Consultative Council met again. Sun Yujun and others suggested that since this matter was a national consensus and the head of state had not been able to ignore public opinion, the court should submit a second recommendation in the name of the general representative. Everyone agreed. The Secretariat took just 15 minutes to draft a long text of more than 2600 words. The Political Council continued to meet. No one had any objection to the letter of recommendation and submitted it to Yuan that night. In this book of promotion, Yuan has been praised for his six major "meritorious deeds": Jingguo, Kuang Guo, Kaihua, Jingnan, pacifying chaos, and making friends with neighbors. The article said: "The previous oath contained a wish to carry forward the republic. The words of the head of the Republic of China to follow the rules were only one of the inauguration ceremonies at that time. The oath of that day was rooted in the status of the head of state, and the status of the head of state was rooted in the state system of the Republic of China. The state system is determined by the will of the people, and the head of state should regard public opinion as a violation. If the people's will be Republican, the oath will be effective according to the country's system; if the people's will be monarch, the oath will also change according to the country's physical strength. Today, when the people reject the republic and move towards the monarch's constitution, the public opinion has changed, the state system has changed, the position of the head of the republic has no longer been preserved, and the oath of the head of the republic has naturally disappeared. All these things are done by the people themselves, and they are not related to the emperor. "Please accept the invitation of the Emperor. On the morning of the 12th, Yuan Shikai issued an order saying,"The rise and fall of the world, the responsibility of every man, the patriotism, and the people behind him." However, hundreds of millions of people are responsible for heavy responsibilities. How to benefit people's livelihood, how to revitalize the country, how to refresh politics and advance civilization, all kinds of measures cannot be overwhelmed by the burden of small virtue! The previous statement was not due to modesty, but because of his timid attitude, and some people couldn't be self-reliant. But the more severe the people blame and the more severe their expectations, you have no way to explain yourself and have no way to avoid it." In order to "save the country and the people", he had no choice but to become an emperor. Yuan Shikai went to the Temple of Heaven to pay tribute to heaven when he proclaimed himself emperor. Yuan Shikai went to the Temple of Heaven to pay tribute to heaven when he proclaimed himself emperor. Disclosure: Several behind the scenes of Yuan Shikai declaring himself emperor: Shuntian Times is a newspaper run by the Japanese, and Yuan Shikai paid close attention to it. His son Yuan Kedin specially organized a fake "Shuntian Times" for Yuan Shikai to read, advocating imperial system and catering to Yuan Shikai. On December 12, 1915, Yuan Shikai accepted the so-called popular persuasion letter and announced his accession to the throne. He was known as Emperor Hong Xian in history. On March 22, 1916, Yuan was forced to step down and served as emperor for 83 days. On June 6, he passed away due to uremia. Yuan Shikai was a person whose strategy was by no means comparable. Why did he have to risk world condemnation, go against the trend of history, and restore the imperial system? In addition to Yuan himself, there are also other people acting as promoters behind the scenes. This factor cannot be ignored. (www.Lssdjt.com) Before Yuan Shikai died, he struggled to spit out four words: "He harmed me." Who is this "he"? According to estimates from the Yuan family, the "he" who Yuan Shikai said "he harmed me" before his death was likely his son Yuan Kedin. After Yuan Shikai died, Yuan Kedin touched the coffin with his head in front of the memorial and burst into tears: "Dad! Dad! I am sorry to you!" Yuan Kedin's cries were related to his instigation of his father to declare himself emperor. The reason why Yuan Kedin advocated that his father declare himself emperor was because in this way he would be the crown prince. Yuan Shikai had a wife and nine concubines, 17 sons and 15 daughters. Yuan Kedin was Yuan Shikai's eldest son and the only legitimate son. Yuan Shikai attached great importance to Yuan Kedin and had high expectations, which can be seen from Yuan Kedin's name. Yuan Keding's nickname is "Jiguang". The meaning of "Jiguang" is, in Yuan Shikai's original words,"Inherit the light of my ancestors." Due to Yuan Shikai's careful training, Yuan Kedin not only had a deep foundation in old studies, but also was quite good in German and English. When Yuan Shikai negotiated with foreigners, Yuan Kedin often acted as an interpreter. His study is piled with German and English books. Therefore, Yuan Keding is very ambitious. After the Revolution of 1911, he vigorously promoted imperial rule and did everything possible. The most representative activity was to fabricate Shuntian Times for his father. Shuntian Times was a newspaper run by the Japanese in Beijing. During the First World War, the great powers had no time to look overseas, so Yuan Shikai was very concerned about Japan's attitude. Shuntian Times was an important source of news for Yuan Shikai. Because the newspaper often published some news that was unfavorable to the imperial system, Yuan Keding had a plan and decided to conceal the situation and replace the pillar. He spent money to compile a fake version of Shuntian Times and often published some articles advocating the imperial system. After reading it, Yuan Shikai was very happy and thought that there would be no problems in Japan, so he accelerated the pace of imperial system. However, after all, paper cannot hide the fire. This matter was later exposed to Yuan Shikai. Yuan Shikai called Yuan Kedin and asked about the situation. He was extremely angry. Yuan Kedin quickly knelt down and begged for mercy. Yuan Shikai picked up the whip and beat him. He cursed while beating him: "You bastard son! Bullying my father and harming my country!" On his deathbed, Yuan Shikai complained: "Yang Du mistook me" Yuan Shikai proclaimed himself emperor and had a close relationship with the "Six Gentlemen" and the "Thirteen Taibao" of the "Chou 'an Association". The "six gentlemen" refer to Yang Du, Sun Yuyun, Li Xiehe, Liu Shipei, Hu Ying, and Yan Fu. They jointly initiated the establishment of the "Planning and Security Association" on August 14, 1915, with Yang Du as chairman and Sun Yuyun as deputy chairman, advocating imperial system. The "Six Gentlemen" plus seven people including Liang Shiyi and Zhang Zhenfang are collectively called the "Thirteen Taibao". Yuan Shikai complained on his deathbed: "Yang Du misjudged me." Yang Du is the chief figure in the "Thirteenth Taibao". In April 1915, Yang Du wrote a more than 20,000-word "On Saving the Country by Jun Xian" for Yuan Shikai's restoration of the imperial system. It was presented to Yuan Shikai. Yuan greatly appreciated it. At the end of May, he specially awarded a four-character plaque with the inscription "Unyielding Talents". On one side, he gave it to Yang Du. Among the "Thirteenth Taibao" other than Yang Du, another important figure is Liang Shiyi. Liang Shiyi is known as the God of Wealth. During the Republic of China, he served as Secretary-General of the Presidential Office, Director of the Railway Administration, Prime Minister of the Bank of Communications, etc. He was the main leader in the transportation department. At first, Liang was not enthusiastic about imperial rule. Yuan Shikai inquired about Liang Shiyi's views on the imperial system 14 times. Liang pretended to be confused and confessed directly to Yuan only once: At present, the power of the president is higher than that of the monarchs of various countries. The difference is that descendants do not have inheritance rights, but inheritance rights are just harmful to future generations. How can emperors in previous dynasties abdicate peacefully like the Qing Dynasty? In order to change their attitude, Yuan Shikai and Yuan Keding decided to attack the transportation department. One day, Yuan Kedin met with Liang Shiyi and asked directly: Will you help me change the imperial system? Seeing that the visitors were not good, Liang replied: Allow me to consider before replying. When he returned to the Later Liang Dynasty, he convened a meeting of transportation department personnel and clearly pointed out: If you agree, you will be shameless, and if you don't agree, don't hesitate. If the skin does not exist, how can the hair be attached? Without the head, where is the face? As a result of the discussion, everyone felt that it was better to start first, and unanimously agreed that if you don't do it, you have to do it thoroughly. The next day, Liang returned Yuan Keding, saying that he would go all out and take the lead with the policy. He wrapped up the money on his own body and provided a road map to promote the monarchy. Yuan Keding was overjoyed and overjoyed. In addition to the "Thirteen Taibao", there were also some people who had a great influence on Yuan's proclamation as emperor. There were also some people who promoted Yuan's proclamation as emperor, such as Chen Yu. In November 1915, Chen Yu was appointed governor of Sichuan. Before leaving, he bowed his head on the ground nine times, knelt forward, sniffed Yuan Shikai's feet, and shouted: If the President does not ascend the throne next year, I, Chen Yu, will not come back until I die. Chen Huan and other Beiyang generals thought that if their eldest brother became an emperor, their younger brother would also earn a general. Yang Du also said: The generals of Beiyang have been with you for many years. What they do is just to climb the dragon and join the phoenix and seek wealth for their descendants! If the president is hesitant, what will the generals do in the future? This is the truth. After Yuan Shikai proclaimed himself emperor in December 1915, he granted Chen Jing the title of First Class Marquis. However, in May of the following year, Chen Shi advised Yuan Shikai to abdicate, and in the same month, he telegraphed Sichuan independence, which became one of the main reasons for the failure of Yuan Shikai's imperial system. Yan Xishan. Although Yan Xishan, the king of Shanxi, was a member of the alliance, he tried his best to protect his position during the imperial system. He also sent his father Yan Shutang to Beijing to rent a house. On the surface, he invited the elderly to visit Beijing, but in fact he used his father as a hostage to reassure Yuan. In April 1915, he was summoned three times by Yuan Shikai. The first time he was summoned left an unforgettable impression on him, and he turned pale at the mention of the tiger and had lingering lingering fear. He later recalled: I have met many heads of state of our country in my life, such as Sun Yat-sen, Li Yuanhong, Xu Shichang, Feng Guozhang, Cao Kun, and even Zhang Xun, Duan Qirui and even Chiang Kai-shek. None of them were as fierce as Yuan Shikai's two eyes, making people dare not look up to them. Zhang Zuolin. Zhang Zuolin swore: If there is any abnormality outside the pass, only Zuo Lin will be responsible for it, and Zuo Lin will be responsible for it. If there are opponents within the pass, Zuo Lin is willing to lead his headquarters to quell civil strife. Dr. Goodnow. In July 1915, Dr. Goodnot, President of Hopkins University in the United States, visited China and published "On Republic and Monarchy" on August 20, believing that China has low people's wisdom and should only be a constitutional monarchy rather than a republic. Yuan Kedin was responsible for receiving Goodno during his visit to China, which was a great encouragement to him. Japanese envoy Nishiyatsu and British envoy Zhu Erdian expressed support for the imperial system. On January 18, 1915, when Japanese Minister Nishihiro handed over the "Twenty-one Rules" to Yuan Shikai, he said: "If we negotiate sincerely, Japan hopes that your president will be promoted one step further. During the Huairentang state banquet in Zhongnanhai, Zhu Erdian actually called Yuan Shikai "Your Majesty" in English. It can be seen from the above that Yuan Shikai became emperor for his own reasons and objective conditions, which together achieved Yuan Shikai's 83-day dream of an emperor. This was Yuan Shikai's "peak of life", and his career and life also came to an abrupt end at this time. (Beijing Daily Su Quanyou)(The author is a professor at the Department of History, School of Social Development, Henan Normal University)