After Cixi's death, in whose hands did the power of the Qing government fall?

On October 22, the thirty-fourth year of Guangxu (1908), Empress Dowager Cixi wanted to make Puyi emperor after Guangxu’s death, so that she could continue to take charge of the Qing government, but on the morning of this day However, Cixi did not get out of bed. Her condition deteriorated sharply, so she left her last words that made people laugh, and passed away. After the death of Cixi, the supreme ruler of the Qing government, in whose hands did the power of the Qing government fall? Where is it?

With the death of Cixi, the Qing government also became chaotic, and power gradually became a triangle, controlled by three people. Let's analyze them one by one.

The most powerful person in the court? Regent Zaifeng

Before her death, Cixi promoted Zaifeng to regent because Zaifeng was the nephew of Emperor Daoguang and the younger brother of Emperor Guangxu. , and Zaifeng, like his father Yixuan, had a docile personality and was very loyal to the Qing Dynasty. In his early years, Zaifeng visited Germany and was also a knowledgeable person in the royal family. In this way, he was selected by the Empress Dowager Cixi as the regent. His son Puyi was chosen as the successor to the throne.

After Cixi's death, Zaifeng became the regent who oversaw the country. There were two regents in the Qing Dynasty. The other one was Dorgon. However, Dorgon only served as regent but did not supervise the country, while Zaifeng did It was the regent and supervising the country who had two responsibilities. The young faction headed by Zai Feng in the court gradually took control of the power. However, at this time, the Qing government was facing serious internal and external troubles. It can be said that Zai Feng was very busy all day long.

The judge of major events? The person in charge of the Jade Seal, the Empress Dowager Longyu

The Empress Dowager Longyu was the "tightening curse" that Empress Dowager Cixi gave to the regent Zaifeng. It can be said that Cixi gave them Ye He The last important power left by the Nala family, and because of the young age of Emperor Xuantong, Queen Mother Longyu became the holder of the Yuxi. As a symbol of imperial power, the Yuxi gave Queen Mother Longyu the final decision-making power and also implemented the Being a "listener behind the curtain", being in the court is equivalent to being in charge of the Qing Dynasty with the Regent Zaifeng.

However, Empress Dowager Longyu has a gentle temperament and is not a person who is good at politics, so she does not have many cronies, and she does not have many eye contacts. She does not know many things in detail, which causes her relationship with Zaifeng. The cooperation between them was not tacit, but Queen Mother Longyu treated Puyi very well and was very strict. She fulfilled her responsibilities as a mother. Queen Mother Longyu also became the de facto supreme ruler and terminator of the Qing Dynasty. .

The last ace army of the Qing government? Yuan Shikai, leader of the Beiyang New Army

Yuan Shikai was in charge of logistics during the Sino-Japanese War of 1898. With the Reform Movement of 1898, Yuan Shikai also became one of them , and became the main person in charge of Emperor Guangxu's training of the new army. Yuan Shikai managed the new army for a long time and became an important minister in the Beiyang system. After Li Hongzhang's death, Yuan Shikai surrounded himself with his cronies in Beiyang, such as Xu Shichang, Duan Qirui, Feng Guozhang, Cao Kun and others are all close confidants of Yuan Shikai.

Regent Zaifeng hated Yuan Shikai very much because he believed that Yuan Shikai was the one who betrayed the "reformers", and the death of his brother Emperor Guangxu was probably related to him, and Emperor Guangxu's last words included killing Yuan Shikai. However, due to the protection of important officials in the court and the support of foreign forces, Zaifeng could not kill Yuan Shikai and could only depose him. However, the outbreak of the Revolution of 1911 made Zaifeng clearly aware that the new road army that the Qing government had spent money to build , but did not obey the command of the Qing government, Zaifeng was completely defeated at the hands of Yuan Shikai. After Yuan Shikai came out, he not only took charge of the military power, but also took charge of the political power of the Qing Dynasty.

The Empress Dowager Cixi was the last centralized ruler of the Qing government. After her death, the power of the Qing government was also controlled by the regents Zaifeng, Empress Dowager Longyu, and Yuan Shikai, because they did not have unified thoughts. The Qing Dynasty's efforts also resulted in the Qing Dynasty completely withdrawing from the stage of history just three years after Cixi's death.