The cause of Emperor Guangxu’s death is clarified, and an in-depth analysis is conducted on who is the biggest suspect in killing Emperor Guangxu

One of the ten major scientific discoveries in 2008 was the examination of the hair and clothes left by Guangxu, which determined that Guangxu died of an acute attack of arsenic poisoning. There were many speculations about who poisoned Guangxu.

The more popular ones are: Cixi, Li Lianying, and Yuan Shikai. Ji Lianhai advocated this statement many times in CCTV programs, believing that there must be one person among the three.

In the process of helping my husband compile historical materials, I also learned a lot. Out of curiosity, I also read a lot of information. I have some opinions and think this statement is inaccurate.

There is a rule in solving crimes. When there are no clues, it depends on who is the biggest beneficiary of the case, that is, the biggest suspect. From ancient times to the present, there is no exception.

Let’s first take a look at the situation of Emperor Guangxu and the people closest to him at that time.

After the failure of the Reform Movement of 1898, Guangxu was placed under house arrest in Yingtai by Empress Dowager Cixi.

Empress Dowager Cixi: She and Guangxu were politically at odds with each other, with sharp conflicts and tense relations. Is it a coincidence that the two of them died almost at the same time, or is there another reason? Cixi was 74 years old at the time, senile, and already seriously ill. Although she was ambitious, she knew her destiny and she could no longer care so much about whether Guangxu would return to power. Life was more important, and she could do whatever she wanted in the future. It doesn't matter to her, she may not have the energy to harm others anymore, so let's exclude her first.

Yuan Shikai: When it was said that Yuan Shikai poisoned Guangxu, TV programs including Ji Lianhai thought it was just a joke. During the Reform Movement of 1898, Yuan Shikai did betray Guangxu's trust and adopted a prudent and self-protective attitude. He even told Ronglu about Tan Sitong and others' plan to kidnap Cixi after they were arrested. He may be worried that Emperor Guangxu will not spare him lightly when he is in power, and it is possible that he will harm Emperor Guangxu. But it was difficult for him to do this, which meant that in the court or harem at that time, he could not risk finding a killer to kill Guangxu.

Li Lianying: He was the person close to Cixi and obeyed Cixi's orders. On weekdays, Cixi instigated him and often slandered and fooled Guangxu. But he still sympathized with Guangxu in his heart. On the way to the "West Hunt", he once dedicated his quilt to Guangxu. Guangxu also had a good impression of him, and even said that he would suffer even more without him. Some people say that he was deeply afraid that Guangxu would return to power after Cixi's death and that it was unreasonable to liquidate his past sins and murder Guangxu. However, some people speculated that it was Cixi's will and he did not dare not do it. Maybe it's possible, but it's unlikely.

In fact, we ignored Empress Longyu, the person who had the most opportunity and hated Guangxu the most. The biggest suspect in killing Guangxu should be Empress Dowager Longyu, the empress and legal wife of Emperor Guangxu.

She should have the most reason and the most opportunity to kill Emperor Guangxu. Why?

First, Longyu was extremely dissatisfied with her marriage to Emperor Guangxu, and Guangxu hurt her deeply.

Emperor Guangxu’s biological father, Prince Chun, was the seventh son of Emperor Daoguang and the younger brother of Emperor Xianfeng. His mother was the sister of Cixi. Therefore, Longyu grew up next to his aunt Cixi from the age of 7, and was later forced to give Guangxu the title of queen. At the wedding ceremony, Guangxu didn't want to give her the token of engagement. It was only under Cixi's coercion that she got the token.

Of course Guangxu didn't like this wife who was older than him. Except for staying in the Queen's Palace for one night on the wedding night, Emperor Guangxu never got close to the Queen again. It is said that Guangxu cried so much that night that Longyu wanted to hold him in his arms to comfort him. However, Guangxu said that he could only treat Longyu as his sister.

Longyu’s natal family was also hurt by Guangxu. At that time, there was a wedding custom that on the fourth day of the wedding, the emperor was going to host a banquet for the queen's family. Guangxu canceled the wedding banquet on the pretext of being overworked, and distributed the banquet to the princes and ministers in Beijing. The most glorious thing in a woman's life was ruined by Guangxu. In this way, can Queen Longyu not hate her Guangxu?

Second, there is the name of husband and wife, but there is no reality of husband and wife.

Guangxu's favorite was Concubine Zhen. He could only talk and laugh when he was with Concubine Zhen. However, when he saw Longyu, he had a serious face and did not go to the queen's palace at all. After Longyu paid his respects, Guangxu ordered her to leave, but she pretended not to hear and looked at Concubine Zhen and others arrogantly. In anger, Guangxu actually threw Longyu's priceless hairpin (a relic from the Qianlong period). Gotta smash. Longyu complained to Cixi about this, and Cixi ordered Longyu and Guangxu to separate. From then on, the two hated each other even more.

Third, Emperor Guangxu doted on Concubine Zhen, and Longyu was jealous and resentful.

In October 1894, Concubine Zhen was demoted to a noblewoman by Cixi and was humiliated in public by "taking off her clothes and holding a staff". The main reason was that Longyu secretly reported to Cixi that Concubine Zhen was "disrespectful" to her. , because according to the family law in the palace, disrespect to the queen will be severely punished. There is an unwritten rule in the palace that "palace ladies are generally not allowed to slap the face." But this time, Cixi asked Longyu to slap Concubine Zhen in the mouth. , which was allowed by the Empress Dowager Cixi, "That is also the greatest humiliation for Master Zhen, even worse than a low-level slave."

Fourth, due to his unfortunate marriage and the influence of Cixi, Longyu was cruel and ruthless

Longyu was the most unpopular in the palace. He had a bad temper and was not favored by the emperor. There is no caring person around her, and everyone is afraid that she will lose her temper. She often finds faults and beats and scolds the palace maids. She also lacks kindness towards small animals. She will beat away or trample cats to death if they are not more than half a month old. Keeping cats in the palace was an important pastime for the palace ladies, but she was not afraid of offending the public by doing such a cruel thing. It can be seen that he has a vicious heart.

Fifth, she hit an opportunity.

After Cixi became seriously ill, she took charge of all major and minor matters in the palace, and she actually took care of them in an orderly manner.

Ms. Gall, an Englishwoman who painted Cixi's portrait, described in her work "Portrait of Cixi":

"The Queen (Longyu) is less than five feet tall, walks lightly, and is extremely graceful. Similar to the Empress Dowager Cixi, her hands and feet are slender, her body is not very broad, her nose is protruding, her eyes are very different from those of the emperor and empress, her jaw is long and not droopy, her mouth is slightly large, and her expression is quite good. . She has a kind and amiable appearance, but her majesty and dignity are unknown. Although it is unknown what her talents are, when the Queen Mother retires (referring to her illness), everything in the palace will be handled by the Queen Mother. Jingjing is no less powerful than Naigu."

It was precisely because she had the power and wanted to imitate Cixi that she made a murderous move against Guangxu. Because if Guangxu did not die and came to take charge of the government after Cixi's death, the first thing he might have done was to depose the queen, pay homage to Concubine Zhen, and add a title. This is what anyone can expect.

At that time, Longyu would live a miserable life in the cold palace. What's more, her popularity is not good in the first place, and there will be many people who add insult to injury. Thinking of this, Longyu certainly shudders. Therefore, she decided to take the risk and poison Guangxu to maintain her authority.

After Guangxu was placed under house arrest, she was the only one by his side. All the medicines given to the emperor by the imperial doctors were reviewed by the queen. Although Guangxu was frail and sick, Emperor Guangxu was still in good health at that time, and he paid homage to Cixi every day as usual. Nothing serious. However, suddenly it was over. Some people say that he ate the yogurt given by Cixi, while others say that the medicine was poisonous. But no matter what, Longyu can't escape suspicion, because she was also the one who passed on Cixi's words at that time. Guangxu died in her hands. Among the several suspects, she was undoubtedly the biggest.

Later it was proved that because Longyu was promoted to empress dowager after both Cixi and Guangxu died, he abandoned his original simple style and began to imitate Cixi's style and pomp. During the "national service" period, he There was a lot of construction work in the palace and the Crystal Palace was built for their own entertainment. There is a water hall in the place, the windows of the hall are inlaid with glass, surrounded by dredged ponds and jade springs. It is gorgeous and luxurious, spending a lot of money, and even used the funds of the Du branch. Longyu also had many other extravagant behaviors. He spent more than 2 million yuan to repair the Buddhist hall in the palace. When he changed the sedan chair, the cost of making the sedan chair reached more than 700,000 yuan. This shows how extravagant Longyu was.

Facts have proved that Longyu was the one who benefited the most after the deaths of Guangxu and Cixi, and she also followed Cixi's treatment of Guangxu in treating Puyi. According to Puyi's recollection in "My First Half of Life", Longyu and several concubines only gave the little emperor some food every day as usual, and listened to the eunuchs' reports about the emperor's "good fortune", etc., and never really cared about his appetite. . One time, Puyi couldn't hold himself up after eating chestnuts, so the Queen Mother made him eat rice porridge for more than a month. Puyi complained that he was hungry every day, but no one cared about him. As a queen who is inferior to one person and superior to ten thousand people, her status can be said to be noble. However, she is an unqualified wife and an unfit mother. Therefore, judging from all aspects of the situation, Longyu cannot escape the suspicion of poisoning Guangxu.

Author of this article: Siwen, authorized History Published by Chunqiu.com.

About the author: Siwen, a native of Tongbei, Heilongjiang Province. Currently living in Fangshan, Beijing, he is a member of the Fangshan District Writers Association. He has served as the editor of "Southern Wind·Yanding" magazine, editor of Sina Grassroots Lecture Hall, freelance writer, and researcher of literature and history. His works have been published in "Knowledge is Power", "Northern China" Newspaper", "Inner Mongolia Daily" and other newspapers and periodicals.