Chen Zhaotang's death was caused by causal fate.

It should be said that Qing Xiang not only achieved Chen Zhaotang, but also led him to the point of no return. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, members of the "Qing Xiang Committee" were stationed in various places like permanent officials, and the governors of Guangdong and Guangxi also regarded Qing Xiang as an important part of assessing state and county officials. However, Chen Zhaotang's unique inferiority complex-he entered his official career with Lin's background-made him spare no effort to carry out the policy of cleaning up his hometown in order to gain further promotion space. No wonder Wang Ching-wei said, "A murderer who likes to kill people will definitely be valued by Lu Ting, which is beneficial to Zhang Qiwei. Therefore, if you are a local official, everyone is unexpectedly Chen Zhaotang. "

Chen Zhaotang's reputation as a killer reached the ears of his mentor Wang Kaiyun, who knew Chen Zhaotang's character very well and gave him some advice. In the thirty-fourth year of Guangxu (1908), Chen Zhaotang just turned 50. Wang Kaiyun wrote "A couplet for Chen Shugan's 50th birthday": "Five horses and one ride, brothers embroidered clothes; Whales are crocodiles, and people are in the same spring. " After Zhao Chen's official position is high, he will write "Sacrificing Crocodiles" to drive away crocodiles when Han Yu is demoted to Chaozhou as a secretariat. Only by replacing Wu Zhi with Wen Zhi can ordinary people live and work in peace and contentment. According to Wang Kaiyun's Diary of Xiangqilou, this couplet is followed by Wang Kaiyun's evaluation of Chen Zhaotang: "He is willing to kill foreigners, so he makes his whales crocodiles, but he can't kill them." Obviously, he is worried about Chen Zhaotang's "good killing".

Contrary to Wang Kaiyun, it is Chen Zhaokui. Chen Zhaokui also said in an article celebrating Chen Zhaotang's birthday: "(Chen Zhaotang) said a lot about killing thieves. At that time, the suspicion was serious. After going, people should think about it. Therefore, between Sichuan and Guangdong, honest and clean people are pushing each other. Although Shen Sishi and Wang Fenxun were famous for a while, they all called themselves incompetent. " The implication is that Chen Zhaotang is good at killing, which greatly shocked criminals and made the people live and work in peace and contentment.

Wang Kaiyun and Chen Zhaokui respectively analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of Chen Zhaotang's bloodthirsty. In fact, history has proved that Wang Kaiyun is more far-sighted. Because killing is a palliative measure, it is impossible to eradicate the source of theft, and indiscriminate killing is bound to further intensify contradictions. In the end, ordinary people "die for bandits, not for bandits" and "are bound to kill each other and fight for trapped animals". In addition, the Qing court building is about to collapse at this time, and Chen Zhaotang, who ignores human life, is bound to become a thorn in the side of the people. He wants to get rid of it quickly. As for Chen Zhaotang's clean and honest administration at the local level, it has long been forgotten.

In August, the thirty-fourth year of Guangxu, Chen Zhaotang was ordered by Zhang, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, to be transferred to Chaozhou Prefecture, and as always, he carried out his violent philosophy. "Killing 300 people a day shocked the whole county", which is chilling.

In the third year of Xuantong (19 1 1), Wuchang Uprising caused a sensation in the whole country, Chaozhou recovered, and Chen Zhaotang was also captured by the revolutionary army. 165438+1At 8: 00 on October 22nd, the revolutionary army tied Chen Zhaotang to a bamboo ladder, and a long slogan hung on the top of the ladder, which read "Execute the thief Chen Zhaotang to thank the world". In this way, Chen Zhaotang was taken to the front of the office and shot. "Draft of Qing Dynasty" records that "middle 13 guns are necessary", and there are also 19 guns, with 7 guns in the middle. In any case, Chen Zhaotang paid a heavy price for what he did.

Before his execution, Chen Zhaotang drew up his last words to his family: "Don't die in the king, don't die in the country, die in cause and effect." These words remind people of Wang Kaiyun's farewell to Chen Zhaotang before going to work in Sichuan. Wang Kaiyun looked at this passionate young man who had no choice but to serve his country, and expressed such feelings: "What's the use of reading? It' s really infinite. " Or it can be said that Chen Zhaotang's death was not a speechless tragic ending in the late Qing Dynasty.