Prince Chun, Who Was A Man Of An
Imperious Will, And Who, On The Death Of The Eastern Empress, Became The
Most Important Personage In The Palace And Supreme Council Of The Empire,
Was Undoubtedly The Leader Of The Attack On Prince Kung, And The Immediate
Cause Of His Downfall.
Prince Kung, who was an amiable and well
intentioned man rather than an able statesman, yielded without resistance,
and indeed he had no alternative, for he had no following at Pekin, and
his influence was very slight except among Europeans.
Prince Chun then
came to the front, taking an active and prominent part in the government,
making himself president of a new board of national defense and taking up
the command of the Pekin Field Force, a specially trained body of troops
for the defense of the capital He retained possession of these posts after
his son assumed the government in person, notwithstanding the law
forbidding a father serving under his son, which has already been cited,
and he remained the real controller of Chinese policy until his sudden and
unexpected death in the first days of 1891. Some months earlier, in April,
1890, China had suffered a great loss in the Marquis Tseng, whose
diplomatic experience and knowledge of Europe might have rendered his
country infinite service in the future. He was the chosen colleague of
Prince Chun, and he is said to have gained the ear of his young sovereign.
While willing to admit the superiority of European inventions, he was also
an implicit believer in China's destiny and in her firmly holding her
place among the greatest powers of the world.
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