The Fight For The Republic in China Part 16

The change in the form of the state is now happily accomplished.

This is due not only to the unity of the people's minds, but more especially to the skill with which, in realizing the object of saving the country, you have carried out the propaganda from the beginning, managed affairs according to the exigencies of the occasions, and adapted the law to suit the circ.u.mstances. The people have, to be sure, become tired of the Republic; yet unless you had taken the lead, they would not have dared to voice their sentiments.

We all appreciate your n.o.ble efforts.

Ever since the monarchical movement was started, the people as well as the high officials in the different localities have repeatedly pet.i.tioned for the change, a fact which proves that the people's will is in favour of it. In order to enable the people to express their will through a properly const.i.tuted organ, the General Convention of the Citizens' Representatives has been created.

Since the promulgation of the Law on the Organization of the Citizens' Representatives, we, who are devoted to the welfare of the state, desire to see that the decisions of that Convention do not run counter to the wishes of the people. We are so anxious about the matter that we have striven so to apply the law to meet the circ.u.mstances as to carry out our designs. It is out of patriotic motives that we have adopted the policy of adhering to the law, whenever possible, and, at the same time, of yielding to expediency, whenever necessary. During the progress of this scheme there may have been certain letters and telegrams, both official and private, which have transgressed the bounds of the law. They will become absolutely useless after the affair is finished.' Moreover, no matter how carefully their secrets may have been guarded, still they remain as permanent records which might compromise us; and in the event of their becoming known to foreigners, we shall not escape severe criticism and bitter attacks, and, what is worse, should they be handed down as part of the national records, they will stain the opening pages of the history of the new dynasty. The Central Government, after carefully considering the matter, has concluded that it would be better to sort out and burn the doc.u.ments so as to remove all unnecessary records and prevent regrettable consequences.

For these reasons you are hereby requested to sift out all telegrams, letters, and dispatches concerning the change in the form of the state, whether official or private, whether received from Peking or the provinces (excepting those required by law to be filed on record), and cause the same to be burnt in your presence. As for those which have already been communicated to the local officials, you are likewise requested to order them to be returned immediately; to commit them to the flames; and to report to this Bureau for future reference the total number of doc.u.ments so destroyed.

The present change in the form of the state const.i.tutes the most glorious episode of our national history. Not only is this far superior to the succession of dynasties by right of conquest or in virtue of voluntary transfer (as in the days of Yao and Shun), but it compares favourably with all the peaceful changes that have taken place in western politics. Everything will be perfect if whatever mars it (meaning the doc.u.ments) is done away with.

All of you have acquired greatness in founding the dynasty. You will doubtless concur with us, and will, we earnestly hope, lose no time in cautiously and secretly carrying out our request.

We respectfully submit this to your consideration and wait for a reply.

(Signed) NATIONAL CONVENTION BUREAU.

FOOTNOTES:

[18] A very remarkable ill.u.s.tration of the manner in which Yuan Shih-kai was trapped by official j.a.pan during the monarchist movement has recently been extensively quoted in the Far Eastern press. Here is the substance of a j.a.panese (vernacular) newspaper account showing the uses to which j.a.panese politicians put the Press:

"... When that question was being hotly discussed in China Marquis Ok.u.ma, interviewed by the Press, stated that monarchy was the right form of government for China and that in case a monarchical regime was revived Yuan Shih-kai was the only suitable person to sit on the Throne.

When this statement by Marquis Ok.u.ma was published in the j.a.panese papers, Yuan Shih-kai naturally concluded that the j.a.panese Government, at the head of which Marquis Ok.u.ma was, was favourably disposed towards him and the monarchical movement. It can well be imagined, therefore, how intense was his surprise when he later received a warning from the j.a.panese Government against the resuscitation of the monarchy in China.

When this inconsistency in the Marquis's actions was called in question in the j.a.panese House of Representatives, the ex-Premier absolutely denied the truth of the statement attributed to him by the j.a.panese papers, without any show of hesitancy, and thus boldly shirked the responsibility which, in reality, lay on him...."

CHAPTER XII

"THE THIRD REVOLUTION"

THE REVOLT OF YUNNAN

In all the circ.u.mstances it was only natural that the extraordinary chapter of history we have just narrated should have marched to its appointed end in just as extraordinary a manner as it had commenced.

Yuan Shih-kai, the uncrowned king, actually enjoyed in peace his empty t.i.tle only for a bare fortnight, the curious air of unreality becoming more and more noticeable after the first burst of excitement occasioned by his acceptance of the Throne had subsided. Though the year 1915 ended with Peking brightly illuminated in honour of the new regime, which had adopted in conformity with Eastern precedents a new calendar under the style of Hung Hsien or "glorious Const.i.tutionalism," that official joy was just as false as the rest had been and awakened the incredulity of the crowd.

On Christmas Day ominous rumours had spread in the diplomatic circle that dramatic developments in South China had come which not only directly challenged the patient plotting of months but made a debacle appear inevitable. Very few days afterwards it was generally known that the southernmost province of China, Yunnan--on the borders of French-Indo-China--had telegraphed the Central Government a thinly veiled ultimatum, that either the monarchy must be cancelled and the chief monarchists executed at once or the province would take such steps as were deemed advisable. The text of these telegrams which follows was published by the courageous editor of the Peking Gazette on the 31st December and electrified the capital. The reader will not fail to note how richly allegorical they are in spite of their dramatic nature:

FIRST TELEGRAM

To the Great President:

Since the question of _Kuo-ti_ (form of State) was raised consternation has seized the public mind; and on account of the interference of various Powers the spirit of the people has been more and more aroused. They have asked the question:--"Who has invited the disaster, and brought upon us such great disgrace?" Some one must be responsible for the alien insults heaped on us.

We have learned that each day is given to rapid preparations for the Grand Ceremony; and it is now true that, internally, public opinion has been slighted, and, externally, occasions have been offered to foreigners to encroach on our rights. Our blood runs cold when we face the dangers at the door. Not once but twice hath the President taken the oath to observe and obey the Const.i.tution and protect and maintain the Republic. The oath was sworn before Heaven and Earth; and it is on record in the hearts of millions of people and the words thereof still echo in the ears of the people of all nations.

In the Cla.s.sics it is said that "in dealing with the people of the country, faith is of the essence of great rule." Again it is written that "without faith a people cannot endure as a nation." How then can one rule the people when he "eats" his own words and tears his own oath? Principle has now been cast to the winds and the _Kuo-ti_ has been changed. We know not how the country can be administered.

Since the suspension of the National a.s.sembly and the revision of the Const.i.tution, the powers of Government have been centred in one person, with the implied freedom to do whatever seems meet without let or hindrance. If the Government were to use this power in order to reform the administration and consolidate the foundations of the nation, there would be no fear of failure. For the whole country would submit to the measures of the Central Government. Thus there is not the least necessity to commit treason by changing the _Kuo-ti_.

But although the recent decision of the Citizens' Representatives in favour of a monarchy and the request of the high local officials for the President's accession to the Throne have been represented as inspired by the unanimous will of the people, it is well known that the same has been the work of ign.o.ble men whose bribery and intimidation have been sanctioned by the authorities. Although inept efforts have been made to disguise the deceit, the same is unhidden to the eyes of the world.

Fortunately it is said that the President has from the very beginning maintained a calm att.i.tude, speaking not his mind on the subject. It is now as easy to turn the tide as the reversing of the palm. It may be objected that if the "face" of the nation is not preserved in view of the interference of Foreign Powers, there will be great danger in future. But it must be observed that official declaration can only be made in accordance with the will of the people, the tendency of which can easily be ascertained by searching for the facts. If the will of the people that the country should be the common property of the Nation be obeyed and the idea of the President that a Dynasty is as cheap as a worn-out shoe is heeded, the latter has it in his power to loosen the string that suspends the bell just as much as the person who has hung it. If the wrong path is not forsaken, it is feared that as soon as the heart of the people is gone, the country will be broken to pieces and the dismemberment of the Nation will take place when alien pressure is applied to us. We who have hitherto received favours from the President and have received high appointments from him hereby offer our faithful advice in the spirit of men who are sailing in common in a boat that is in danger; we speak as do those who love sincerity and cherish the unbroken word. We hope that the President will, with courage, refuse to listen to the speech of evil counsellors and heed the voice of conscience and of honour. We further hope that he will renew his promise to protect the Republic; and will publicly swear that a monarchical system will never again appear.

Thus the heart of the people will be settled and the foundations of the Nation will be consolidated. Then by enlisting the services of sagacious colleagues in order to surmount the difficulties of the time and sweeping away all corruption and beginning anew with the people, it may be that the welfare and interest of the Nation will be furthered. In sending this telegram our eyes are wet with tears, knowing not what more to say. We respectfully await the order of the President with our troops under arms.

(Signed) THE GOVERNORS OF YUNNAN.

SECOND TELEGRAM

For the Perusal of the Great President:--

In our humble opinion the reason why the people--Chinese and foreign--cannot excuse the President is because the movement for the change of Kuo-ti has been inspired, and indeed actually originated in Peking, and that the ringleaders of the plot against the _Min Kuo_ are all "bosom-men" of the President. The Chou An Hui, organized by Yang Tu and five other men, set the fire ablaze and the circular telegram sent by Chu Chi-chien and six other persons precipitated the destruction of the Republican structure. The President knew that the bad deed was being done and yet he did nothing to arrest the same or punish the evil-doers. The people therefore, are suspicious. A mandate was issued on the 24th of the 11th month of the 3rd year in which it is affirmed: "Democracy and republicanism are laid down in the Const.i.tutional Compact; and there is also a law relating to the punishment of those who spread sedition in order to disturb the minds of the people. If any one Shall hereafter dare to advance strange doctrines and misconstrue the meaning of the Const.i.tution, he will be punished severely in accordance with the law of sedition."

Yang Tu for having publicly organized the said Society and Chu Chi-chien for having directly plotted by telegram are the princ.i.p.al offenders in the present flagrant case of sedition. As their crimes are obvious and the subject of abundant proof, we hereby ask the President to carry out at once the terms of the said mandate and publicly execute Yang Tu, Sun Yu-yun, Yen Fu, Liu Shih-pei, Li Hsieh-ho, Hu Ying, Chu Chi-chien, Tuan Chih-kuei, Chow Tzu-chi, Liang Shih-yi, Chang Cheng-fang and Yuan Nai-kuan to the end that the whole nation may be pacified. Then, and not till then, will the world believe in the sincerity of the President, in his love for the country and his intention to abide by the law. All the troops and people here are in anger; and unless a substantial proof from the Central Authorities is forthcoming, guaranteeing the maintenance of the Republic, it will be impossible to suppress or pacify them. We await a reply within twenty-four hours.

(Signed) THE GOVERNORS OF YUNNAN PROVINCE.

[Ill.u.s.tration: General Feng Kuo-chang, President of the Republic.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Scholar Liang Chi-chao, sometime Minister of Justice, and the foremost "Brain" in China.]

It was evident from the beginning that pride prevented Yuan Shih-kai from retreating from the false position he had taken up. Under his instructions the State Department sent a stream of powerful telegraphic messages to Yunnan attempting to dissuade the Republican leaders from revolt. But the die had been cast and very gravely the standard of rebellion was raised in the capital city of Yunnan and the people exhorted to shed their blood. Everything pointed to the fact that this rising was to be very different from the abortive July outbreak of 1913.

There was a soberness and a deliberation about it all which impressed close observers with a sense of the ominous end which was now in sight.

Still Peking remained purblind. During the month of January the splendour of the dream empire, which was already dissolving into thin air, filled the newspapers. It was reported that an Imperial Edict printed on Yellow Paper announcing the enthronement was ready for universal distribution: that twelve new Imperial Seals in jade or gold were being manufactured: that a golden chair and a magnificent State Coach in the style of Louis XV were almost ready. Homage to the portrait of Yuan Shih-kai by all officials throughout the country was soon to be ordered; sycophantic scholars were busily preparing a volume poetically ent.i.tled "The Golden Mirror of the Empire," in which the virtues of the new sovereign were extolled in high-sounding language. A recondite significance, it was said, was to be given to the old ceremonial dress, which was to be revived, from the fact that every official would carry a Hu or Ivory Tablet to be held against the breast. The very mention of this was sufficient to make the local price of ivory leap skywards! In the privacy of drawing-rooms the story went the rounds that Yuan Shih-kai, now completely deluded into believing in the success of his great scheme, had held a full dress rehearsal of a ceremony which would be the first one at his new Court when he would invest the numerous ladies of his establishment with royal rank. Seated on his Throne he had been engaged in instructing these interested females, already robed in magnificent costumes, in the parts they were to play, when he had noticed the absence of the Korean Lady--a consort he had won, it is said, in his Seoul days in compet.i.tion against the j.a.panese Envoy accredited to Korea, thereby precipitating the war of 1894-95.[19] The Korean Lady had refused to enter the Throne-room, he was told, because she was dissatisfied with the rank he proposed to confer on her. Sternly he sent for her and told her to take her place in the circle. But no sooner had she arrived than hysterically she screamed, "You told me when you wedded me that no wife would be my superior: now I am counted only a secondary consort." With that she hurled herself at the eldest wife who was occupying the post of honour and a.s.sailed her bitterly. Amidst the general confusion the would-be-Emperor hastily descended from his Throne and vainly intervened, but the women were not to be parted until their robes were in tatters.

In such childishnesses did Peking indulge when a great disaster was preparing. To explain what had occurred in Yunnan it is necessary to go back and tell the story of a remarkable young Chinese--General Tsao-ao, the soul of the new revolt.

In the revolution of 1911 each province had acted on the a.s.sumption that it possessed inherent autonomous rights and could a.s.sume sovereignty as soon as local arrangements had allowed the organization of a complete provisional government. Yunnan had been one of the earliest provinces to follow the lead of the Wuchang rebels and had virtually erected itself into a separate republic, which attracted much attention because of the iron discipline which was preserved. Possessing a fairly well-organized military system, largely owing to the proximity of the French frontier and the efforts which a succession of Viceroys had made to provide adequate frontier defence, it was amply able to guarantee its newly won autonomy. General Tsao-ao, then in command of a division of troops had been elected Generalissimo of the province; and bending himself to his task in very few weeks he had driven into exile all officials who adhered to the Imperialist cause and made all local inst.i.tutions completely self-supporting. Even in 1911 it had been reported that this young man dreamed of founding a dynasty for himself in the mountains of South China--an ambition by no means impossible of realization since he had received a first-cla.s.s military education in the Tokio Military Schools and was thoroughly up-to-date and conversant with modern theories of government.

These reports had at the time greatly concerned Yuan Shih-kai who heard it stated by all who knew him that the Yunnan leader was a genius in his own way. In conformity with his policy of bringing to Peking all who might challenge his authority, he had induced General Tsao-ao, since the latter had played no part in the rebellion of 1913, to lay down his office of Yunnan Governor-General and join him in the capital at the beginning of 1914--another high provincial appointment being held out to him as a bait.

Once in Peking, however, General Tsao-ao had been merely placed in charge of an office concerned with the reorganization of the land-tax, nominally a very important piece of work long advocated by foreign critics. But as there were no funds available, and as the purpose was plainly merely to keep him under observation, he fretted at the restraint, and became engaged in secret political correspondence with men who had been exiled abroad. As he was soon an open suspect, in order to avoid arrest he had taken the bold step at the very inception of the monarchy movement of heading the list of Generals in residence in Peking who pet.i.tioned the Senate to inst.i.tute a Monarchy, this act securing him against summary treatment. But owing to his secret connection with the scholar Liang Chi-chao, who had thrown up his post of Minister of Justice and left the capital in order to oppose the new movement, he was watched more and more carefully--his death being even hinted at.

He was clever enough to meet this ugly development with a masterly piece of trickery conceived in the Eastern vein. One day a carefully arranged dispute took place between him and his wife, and the police were angrily called in to see that his family and all their belongings were taken away to Tientsin as he refused any longer to share the same roof with them. Being now alone in the capital, he apparently abandoned himself to a life of shameless debauch, going nightly to the haunts of pleasure and becoming a notorious figure in the great district in the Outer City of Peking which is filled with adventure and adventuresses and which is the locality from which Haroun al-Raschid obtained through the medium of Arab travellers his great story of "Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp." When governmental suspicions were thoroughly lulled, he arranged with a singing-girl to let him out by the backdoor of her house at dawn from whence he escaped to the railway-station, rapidly reaching Tientsin entirely un.o.bserved.

The morning was well-advanced before the detectives who nightly watched his movements became suspicious. Then finding that his whereabouts were unknown to the coachman dozing on the box of his carriage, they roughly entered the house where he had pa.s.sed the night only to find that the bird had flown. Hasty telegrams were dispatched in every direction, particularly to Tientsin--the great centre for political refugees--and his summary arrest ordered. But fortune favoured him. A bare quarter-of-an-hour before the police began their search he had embarked with his family on a j.a.panese steamer lying in the Tientsin river and could snap his fingers at Yuan Shih-kai.

Once in j.a.pan he lost no time in a.s.sembling his revolutionary friends and in a body they embarked for South China. As rapidly as possible he reached Yunnan province from Hongkong, travelling by way of the French Tonkin railway. Entering the province early in December he found everything fairly ready for revolt, though there was a deficiency in arms and munitions which had to be made good. Yuan Shih-kai, furious at this evasion, had telegraphed to confidential agents in Yunnan to kill him at sight, but fortunately he was warned and spared to perform his important work. Had a fortnight of grace been vouchsafed him, he would have probably made the most brilliant modern campaign that has been witnessed in China, for he was an excellent soldier. Acting from the natural fortress of Yunnan it was his plan to descend suddenly on the Yangtsze Valley by way of Chungking and to capture the upper river in one victorious march thus closing the vast province of Szechuan to the Northern troops. But circ.u.mstances had made it imperative for him and his friends to telegraph the Yunnan ultimatum a fortnight sooner than it should have been dispatched, and the warning thus conveyed to the Central Government largely crippled the Yunnan offensive.

The circ.u.mstances which had made instant action necessary were as follows. As we have seen from the record of the previous risings, the region of the Yangtsze river has superlative value in Chinese politics.

Offering as it does an easy road into the heart of the country and touching more than half the Provinces, it is indeed a priceless means of communication, and for this reason Yuan Shih-kai had been careful after the crushing of the rebellion of 1913 to load the river-towns with his troops under the command of Generals he believed incorruptible. Chief of these was General Feng Kuo-chang at Nanking who held the balance of power on the great river, and whose politics, though not entirely above suspicion, had been proof against all the tempting offers South China made to him until the ill-fated monarchy movement had commenced. But during this movement General Feng Kuo-chang had expressed himself in such contemptuous terms of the would-be Emperor that orders had been given to another high official--Admiral Tseng, Garrison Commissioner at Shanghai--to have him a.s.sa.s.sinated. Instead of obeying his instructions, Admiral Tseng had conveyed a warning to his proposed victim, the consequence being that the unfortunate admiral was himself brutally murdered on the streets of Shanghai by revolver-shots for betraying the confidence of his master. After this denouement it was not very strange that General Feng Kuo-chang should have intimated to the Republican Party that as soon as they entered the Yangtsze Valley he would throw in his lot with them together with all his troops. Of this Yuan Shih-kai became aware through his extraordinary system of intelligence; and following his usual practice he had ordered General Feng Kuo-chang to Peking as Chief of the General Staff--an appointment which would place him under direct surveillance. First on one excuse, then on another, General Feng Kuo-chang had managed to delay his departure from day to day without actually coming under the grave charge of refusing to obey orders. But finally the position was such that he telegraphed to General Tsao-ao that unless the Yunnan arrangements were hastened he would have to leave Nanking--and abandon this important centre to one of Yuan Shih-kai's own henchmen--which meant the end of all hopes of the Yangtsze Valley rising _en ma.s.se_.

It was to save Feng Kuo-chang, then, that the young patriot Tsao-ao caused the ultimatum to be dispatched fourteen days too soon, _i.e._, before the Yunnan troops had marched over the mountain-barrier into the neighbouring province of Szechuan and seized the city of Chungking--which would have barred the advance of the Northern troops permanently as the river defiles even when lightly defended are impa.s.sable here to the strongest force. It was largely due to the hardships of forced marches conducted over these rugged mountains, which raise their precipitous peaks to the heavens, that Tsao-ao subsequently lost his life, his health being undermined by exposure, tuberculosis finally claiming him. But one thing at least did his resolute action secure. With Yunnan in open revolt and several other provinces about to follow suit, General Feng Kuo-chang was able to telegraph Peking that it was impossible for him to leave his post at Nanking without rebellion breaking out. This veiled threat was understood by Yuan Shih-kai. Grimly he accepted the checkmate.

Yet all the while he was acting with his customary energy. Troops were dispatched towards Szechuan in great numbers, being tracked up the rapids of the upper river on board fleets of junks which were ruthlessly commandeered. Now commenced an extraordinary race between the Yunnan mountaineers and the Northern plainsmen for the strategic city of Chungking. For some weeks the result was in doubt; for although Szechuan province was held by Northern garrisons, they were relatively speaking weak and surrounded by hostile Szechuan troops whose politics were doubtful. In the end, however, Yuan Shih-kai's men reached their goal first and Chungking was saved. Heavy and continuous mountain-fighting ensued, in which the Southern troops were only partially successful.