At the end of the 19th century, the Qing Dynasty was already surviving, the Western countries through the industrial revolution, the strength gradually became stronger, science and technology gradually developed, Japan through the Meiji Restoration, but also to become rich and strong, and the Qing Dynasty because of the closed country, the economy is far behind other countries, the Western countries opened the door of the Qing Dynasty, and then Japan and China broke out the Sino-Japanese War, the Qing Dynasty Beiyang Marine Division was completely destroyed.
Qing deputies signed unequal treaties one after another, Empress Dowager Cixi still lived a luxurious life in the palace, the people were living in deep water, peasant uprisings occurred one after another, the late Qing Dynasty was worried about internal and external troubles, and the number of lives seemed to be coming to an end, but at this time, a Boxer Rebellion with the slogan of "Supporting the Qing Dynasty and Destroying the West" occurred, also known as the "Gengzi Chronicle".
The Boxer Rebellion was developed from the Boxers in Shandong and zhili, the practice of boxing and martial arts, and the organization of secret civil associations, according to the "Chronicle of Gengzi": "Look at its tens of thousands of people from all over the place for several days, mostly like the foolish peasants in the townships, who have neither the leader nor sharp equipment; and they are self-supplied axes, and they can only eat millet rice and cornmeal." Neither seeking fame nor profit, fighting for one's own sake, putting one's life on the battlefield, invariably agreeing, and all people are united. ”
The Boxers did not have any advanced weapons, the strongest were only those who had learned martial arts and had a body of muscle, and most of the "members" of the Boxers used cold weapons and hoes when facing the great powers, but they were not afraid, and they developed rapidly, killing many foreign missionaries, so the great powers put pressure on Empress Dowager Cixi.
At that time, Empress Dowager Cixi was also dissatisfied with being held back by Western powers, and the Boxer Rebellion's "support for the Qing Dynasty and the destruction of the West" was actually in line with What Empress Dowager Cixi had in mind, and on the one hand, Empress Dowager Cixi sent people to suppress the Boxers, and on the other hand, she was "merciful everywhere."
Yuan Shikai was ordered by Empress Dowager Cixi to suppress the Boxers in Shandong, Yuan Shikai was sleek, he first sent his men to invite the Boxers' master brothers (equivalent to leaders) and some important Boxers to come to dinner, and then after three rounds of drinking, Yuan Shikai pretended to inadvertently ask the master brothers: "Are you really invincible?" ”
Master Brother was treated so well by Yuan Shikai, his heart was already fluttering, so he patted his chest and said, "Of course! "Looking at the master brother like this, Yuan Shikai will be suspicious, pull out the pistol is a shot, what happened later?" After all, the master brother was a mortal fetus in the flesh, and even if he was as intrusive as he boasted, he would die on the spot.
The other important members saw that Yuan Shikai had changed his face and fled in a hurry, and then Yuan Shikai strictly suppressed the Boxers, and the surviving members of the Boxers moved their places.
After that, Empress Dowager Cixi believed that the Boxers had a useful value, declared war on the great powers, and joined forces with the Boxers, but the Eight-Nation Alliance still entered Beijing, and Empress Dowager Cixi fled in a hurry, ordering the killing of all the Boxers and putting all the blame on the Boxers.