Chapter 163 Tan Sitong

[The next day, Yuan Weiting was summoned by Emperor Guangxu and went to the court.]

[In the imperial court, Yuan Weiting loudly denounced Tan Sitong, Kang Youwei and other reformists, and informed the Empress Dowager of Tan Sitong's plan to rob the Empress Dowager, who was furious.]

[On September 1898, 9, Empress Dowager Cixi, who was supposed to be visiting the Summer Palace, rushed back to the Forbidden City in the early hours of the morning and imprisoned Emperor Guangxu.]

[The next day, an imperial edict was issued in the name of Emperor Guangxu, officially taking charge of government affairs.]

【The Reform Movement of 1898 failed! 】

The Reform Movement of 1898 failed!

These six big characters were extremely eye-catching, and they were imprinted in the eyes of every emperor, like a shadow that would linger for a long time.

Qin Dynasty.

Ying Zheng let out a long breath, as if he wanted to spit out all the accumulated heaviness in his heart, his eyes were gloomy.

"Just like the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, we failed again..."

The future seemed bright and hopeful, as if overthrowing the old system and establishing a new country was just around the corner. But the result was still the same failure.

How much effort did this reform put into?

They were all well-read scholars with great ambitions, and could not bear to see the country's sovereignty being lost and gradually declining.

So change!

For the world.

For the common people.

Yes, for myself.

“I don’t understand how to change.”

Ying Zheng lowered his brows and talked to himself.

The Qin Dynasty he led was invincible. Wherever it went, there were swords and horses. All countries submitted to his swords. Therefore, it was impossible to imagine this era of repeated defeats and loss of national sovereignty.

"I just feel sorry..."

Li Si bent over and whispered below.

Spring and Autumn.

"It is common for reforms to fail. What will be the fate of those who carried out the reforms?"

Confucius and his students watched closely.

[After Cixi regained power, the first order she issued was to arrest the reformists. Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao were ordered to be arrested and killed.]

[Tan Sitong, Yang Shenxiu, Lin Xu, Yang Rui and others who participated in the reform were also wanted one after another.]

As the text and the picture appeared before the emperors' eyes, a desolate and bleak scene appeared -

The streets were deserted and covered with fallen leaves. The city walls were covered with wanted portraits and reward notices of reformists.

After Cixi came to power, overnight, the reformists were like rats crossing the street, and everyone wanted to kill them.

"Boom!"

In a corner, a wanted "reformist" was found. He wanted to escape, but was surrounded on all sides.

A deafening gunshot rang out, and the man fell to the ground with a large pool of blood on his clothes.

He looked at the sky in confusion, at this country that could not withstand the turmoil, and wanted to shout.

why?
Why did it fail?
Obviously, success is imminent...

All efforts have been in vain. All efforts have been in vain.

But when these words came out of his mouth, a lot of blood came out.

On the other side, a ferry was sailing on the vast ocean.

Kang Youwei stood quietly on the deck, looking at the gloomy sky with a blank look. The sea breeze blowing against the waves blew on his face, like a knife scraping his bones, burning with pain.

But Kang Youwei seemed to feel nothing and still looked ahead blankly.

He left the country three days before Empress Dowager Cixi's coup.

In fact, three days before the coup, he had a premonition that it would fail, so he left the city and went abroad early, thinking that as long as there is life, there is hope.

This cruise ship is bound for Hong Kong, but where is his future?
Kang Youwei held the railing on the deck tightly with both hands, leaving two clear handprints on the railing.

Liuyang Guild Hall.

Liang Qichao rushed over, but found that Tan Sitong was still in the guild hall.

Looking at the resolute and serious face in front of him, Liang Qichao's face was full of bitterness, and he said hoarsely: "Run away, the soldiers will be here soon."

Tan Sitong stood by the window and shook his head slowly.

He looked out the window, at the gray sky and the wanted portraits of reformists all over the city: "I will not flee, nor do I intend to flee. Without those who walk, there is no future to plan for, and without those who die, there is no way to rise again."

Liang Qichao opened his mouth but couldn't say a word.

He saw the determination to die in Tan Sitong's eyes.

"The reform has failed, but I still want to do something meaningful to the best of my ability."

Tan Sitong turned his back to Liang Qichao and continued speaking.

The soldiers were coming, so Liang Qichao gritted his teeth and fled alone.

[With the help of Japanese palmist Ito, Liang Qichao fled to Japan.]

Before leaving the country, Liang Qichao wrote down the poem "Leaving the Country" with grief and indignation: Alas, there is no talent to help the country in times of hardship, and the scholar is not good enough. The flatterer's head is not cut off, and the sword of the chivalrous is useless. The king's kindness and the enemy's revenge have not been repaid. If I die at the hands of the thieves, I am not a hero. I cut off my love and held back my tears to leave the country, turning my head without looking back... The world is full of wind and rain, and I am floating like a tumbleweed, with my hair loose and whistling to look at the sky. There are ten thousand tumbleweeds ahead, and I turn my head without looking back. 】

[On September 9, Tan Sitong was arrested at the Liuyang Guild Hall.]

"Ugh!"

Looking at the words in the sky, people from all dynasties sighed.

The next scene that appeared was in prison.

The bright moonlight shone through the skylight, making Tan Sitong's face look pale.

He had already changed into a white prison uniform, with iron cuffs on his hands and feet, and even on his lapels, there were spots of blood.

Even though he was in prison, there was no trace of fear on his face, only a hint of worry between his brows.

He was worried about this precarious country. After the reform failed, where would the country go?
At this moment, a burly man rushed into the prison.

Big Knife Wang Wu.

【Wang Zhengyi, who learned martial arts since childhood, was called "Big Knife Wang Wu" because he was the fifth among his brothers.】

He came to break out of prison.

But Tan Sitong refused: "Thank you, but it doesn't matter whether to save it or not, because this country is beyond saving."

Wang Wu was speechless.

He was a rough man who could not understand the Four Books and Five Classics, but at least he was well-mannered and honest. Every man has his share of responsibility for the fate of his country.

The Tan Sitong he knew should be a pioneer who dared to be the best in the world, and there was always light in his eyes.

But now, he saw despair.

Wang Wu left and his wife Li Run came.

She stumbled to the prison to visit him. Deep in love, she cried and said, "My biggest regret is that I didn't give birth to a child for you. You are a hero of the nation, and you should have descendants to carry on your bloodline!"

In response, Tan Sitong just smiled apologetically: "Arun, I am sorry for you in this life. If there is a next life, I will marry you again!"

"As for children, there is no need to worry about it. Our children were born in a hopeless and chaotic world. It is better not to have them. If we do have them, they will be nothing more than slaves."

"Today, I am dead! But I always believe that my blood and my death will awaken a nation!"

After he finished speaking, Tan Sitong laughed and wrote an inscription in prison.

"Looking for a place to stay, I think of Zhang Jian, and endure death for a moment to wait for Du Gen.

I hold my sword in my hand and laugh at the sky, my loyalty and courage will remain in Kunlun Mountains!"

A night later, Tan Sitong boarded a prison van and arrived at the entrance of the vegetable market, where he was to be executed.

The entrance to the vegetable market was already filled with onlookers.

The people pointed at him and talked about him, some even cursed and laughed.

What's worse, some people even threw rotten eggs and vegetable leaves at them.

Just like uncivilized fools.

But Tan Sitong still stood proudly, like a gun. "I hope I can be Tan Fusheng in my next life. I will awaken the people with my blood!"

"I hope that the people of this country will wake up after my death, find the right path, and create a new country!"

"Time's up, kill!"

With the command, the hand rose and the knife fell.

Tan Sitong's blood splattered.

he died.

He was thirty-three years old.

After Tan Sitong died, everything seemed quiet.

But the picture did not turn black and still appeared.

At this moment, emperors of all dynasties realized that on the day of the Reform Movement of 1898, it was not Tan Sitong who made people feel desperate, cold, and confused.

Tang Dynasty.

"Huhuhu..."

Outside the palace, the wind started to blow.

Li Shimin felt a chill.

With his eyelids slightly drooping, he looked at the picture in the sky with an extremely complicated expression, his body trembling slightly.

Seeing this, several palace maids around him immediately offered him more clothes, but Li Shimin refused.

"My coldness is not that kind of coldness, but... the kind of coldness of the soul!"

Li Shimin's voice was hurried and he was deeply distressed.

He understood it, and Wei Zheng and Fang Xuanling behind him also understood it.

So they felt cold.

I subconsciously wrapped my clothes tightly, but was still shivering from the cold.

"I have fought wars and protected civilians all my life with the three axes in my hands. This is the first time I feel that these civilians are not worth protecting!"

A deep voice sounded next.

Cheng Yaojin was seen looking down at the axe in his hand. The splattering blood aroused his ups and downs of emotions, constantly stirring the heart of this general.

What made this legendary general make such an exclamation?

Not only the people of the Tang Dynasty, Song Dynasty, Ming Dynasty, Qin Dynasty, Han Dynasty... their eyes were also focused on the scene after Tan Sitong's death.

When Tan Sitong was executed, the bluntest general sword was used.

A knife like this often cannot kill a person with one strike; it takes several strikes to chop off a person's head.

In the end, Tan Sitong was stabbed more than thirty times before he died.

But after his death, his eyes remained closed.

What do those eyes, which are empty, dim, and slightly stained with blood, see?
What I saw were pairs of numb eyes!
All I heard was vicious curses!
Of course, there were also copper coins thrown at the executioner's feet to make him move his knife quickly.

The picture gives a close-up of the situation at that time. The facial expressions of all the Qing Dynasty people gathered in the vegetable market can be seen clearly by the emperors of various dynasties.

This is what makes people feel the coldest, most powerless, and most desperate.

Qin Dynasty.

Ying Zheng took deep breaths and looked up at the sky, trying to calm his mind.

However, this scene was like a maggot on the tarsal bone, deeply imprinted in his eyes, and he could not calm down at all.

"Foolish! Ignorant! Born in troubled times! Rich and powerful, they don't know how to enjoy their work, and poor and powerful, they can't stand the desolation!"

He couldn't help but yell.

Han Dynasty.

Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, even closed his eyes deeply, feeling a little tired.

"This is the era of reform, this is the people of the reform era, coming from a corrupt country, this is the sorrow of the lowest class!"

He sighed.

The scene changes, and after Tan Sitong's death, these people rush forward, grab the first bite of his blood, smear it on their buns, and take it home.

This is a good medicine for treating tuberculosis.

The scene returns to darkness after the close-up.

Emperors, civil officials, military generals, poets and sages of all dynasties watched this scene quietly, looking at the dynasties and people after the failure of the Reform Movement of 1898. How ignorant were they?

This scene, together with the words said by Tan Sitong before his execution, "If I could be resurrected as Tan in the next life, I would awaken the people with my blood," seems even more desolate.

[This was the Qing Dynasty after the failure of the Reform Movement of 1898. The imperial court did not exist for many years, and the people were like uncivilized barbarians.]

【The Hundred Days' Reform never saved the people of this country. The people need to save themselves.】

Looking at the words in the sky, Fan Zhongyan of the Northern Song Dynasty took a big gulp of wine.

This writer and poet who proposed the idea of ​​"worrying about the world before worrying about yourself, and being happy after the world is happy about yourself" was also at a loss.

"As a fellow scholar, I am weaker than him."

Fan Zhongyan said to himself.

Because they both cared about the people and the country, Tan Sitong sacrificed his life to show his will, but he could not do that.

So I blame myself for being timid and cowardly!

But then again, even the last group of saviors of the Qing Dynasty failed, so what else can save this country?

[After Cixi regained control of the government, the Qing court restored the past system. She believed that the Qing Dynasty could survive like this, and that even a centipede would not die without its limbs being stiffened. But please remember that this is the last time, and major historical reforms will bring down this last dynasty.]

[Whether it was the Westernization Movement, the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, or the Reform Movement of 1898, these were all sparks. No one could stop the wheel of history from rolling forward. A spark will eventually set the prairie on fire.]

Then, a new fire began to ignite.

The light began to shine again in the eyes of the emperors.

"A single spark can start a prairie fire. How?"

[It was the empty and decadent year of 1899. The road ahead was bleak and the people saw no hope. They were confused and didn’t know why they were fighting.]

【The overseas wave brought aggression, but also brought their culture and religion. The new doctrines conflicted with the doctrines and ideas of the old era, and one side would be destroyed.】

The emperors saw how the people were living in dire straits at that time. In order to survive, they had to sell off their belongings and even their wives and daughters at a low price.

Everyone saw with their own eyes that the wife of a family was sold at a low price to a landlord. The wife cried out desperately, but the husband turned a deaf ear to her and just counted the change in his hand.

More people live by begging.

He is in a daze, no different from a wandering ghost.

But some people stood up and resisted.

"We can't go on like this! Living in poverty shouldn't deprive us of our spiritual beliefs!"

"If no one takes the lead, I'll take the lead! Smash these damn foreign churches!"

"Burn it with fire! Help the Qing Dynasty to destroy the foreigners!"

These people shouted and held torches as they rose from the bottom of society.

Most of them were ragged and skinny from hunger, but their eyes seemed to be burning with fire.

[In the same year, the Big Sword Society, the Boxers, the Divine Fist, the Plum Blossom Fist and other folk societies united to form a group and form the Boxer Rebellion.]

"Huh? What kind of organization is this?"

Looking at the emerging picture, emperors of various dynasties were all surprised.

Although they had a common goal, they were disorganized and each fought on its own. How could they talk about "helping the Qing Dynasty to destroy the foreigners"?
In particular, they were dressed in strange clothes. Although they developed very quickly, they were almost indiscriminate. As long as anyone came to seek refuge, no matter if they were old, weak, women or children, they would accept them all.

The group name is named after one of the eight trigrams: Qian, Kan, Gen, Zhen, Xun, Li, Kun, and Dui, which is very mysterious.

Emperors of all dynasties could not help wondering: "Can such a disorganized force really ignite the fire of nation-building?"

However, just when the emperors of various dynasties found it absurd, the next scene shocked them greatly!

After the failure of the Reform Movement of 1898, the country was not hopeless.

They are the ones who are ignorant and corrupt, but they are also the ones who spark the resistance!

Sometimes, fighting poison with poison is also a good medicine.

(End of this chapter)