Volume 469 Biographies 256: En Ming, Fu Qi, Feng Shan, Duan Fang younger brother: Duan Jin, with: Liu Sui, He Cheng E, Song Shou, Zhao Erfeng, Feng Rukui, Lu Zhongqi son: Guang Xi Deng

列傳二百五十六

Biography 256

恩銘孚琦鳳山端方弟端錦劉燧赫成額

The subjects of this chapter are En Ming, Fu Qi, Feng Shan, Duan Fang (and his younger brother Duan Jin), Liu Sui, and He Cheng'e.

松壽趙爾豐馮汝騤陸鍾琦子光熙等

Also covered are Song Shou, Zhao Erfeng, Feng Rukui, and Lu Zhongqi's son Guangxi and others.

恩銘，字新甫，於庫里氏，滿洲鑲白旗人，錦州駐防。以舉人納貲為知縣，累官至知府。光緒十一年，權知兗州，晉道員。二十一年，改官山西。二十六年，署按察使。拳匪擾晉，恩銘請巡撫毓賢陰護送教士出境，弗聽。兩宮西幸，毓賢率師赴固關，恩銘兼攝撫、籓事。車駕至太原，召見，奏對，聲淚俱下。補歸綏道。先是口外七廳殺教士四十餘、教民二千餘，待撫者眾且亟，到官後，即發帑金倉粟濟之。會聯軍至大同，民駭走。復令教士諷喻，並與執爭，乃引兵去。

En Ming, style Xinfu, was of the Yukuli clan, a Manchu of the Bordered White Banner stationed at the Jinzhou garrison. Having qualified as a provincial graduate, he bought his way into the post of county magistrate and eventually rose to prefect. In 1885 he served as acting prefect of Yanzhou and was promoted to circuit intendant. In 1895 he was transferred to Shanxi. In 1900 he served as acting provincial judicial commissioner. When the Boxers ravaged Shanxi, En Ming urged Governor Yu Xian to smuggle missionaries out of the province in secret, but Yu refused. When the court fled west, Yu Xian marched to Guguan with his troops while En Ming took charge of both the governorship and the provincial administration. When the imperial procession reached Taiyuan, he was summoned to audience; as he answered, his voice broke and tears streamed down. He was then appointed intendant of Guisui Circuit. Earlier, in the seven departments beyond the Great Wall, Boxers had killed more than forty missionaries and over two thousand Christian converts; relief was desperately needed. As soon as he took office, he released treasury silver and granary grain to aid them. When the allied armies reached Datong, the populace fled in panic. He sent missionaries to reason with the troops and personally argued with the commander until the allied forces finally withdrew.

二十八年，調直隸口北道。時經拳亂後，十三廳、州、縣教民洶洶圖報復，宣化華教士且強逼民入教，恩銘患之，與西教士反覆辨論，始允約束，民、教始安。遷浙江鹽運使。二十九年，調兩淮，晉江蘇按察使。辦鹽務如故，杜私販，卹煎丁，歲增國課三十萬。時論欲請改場垣為公司，並創煤煎輪運議，恩銘力陳其弊，事乃寢。授布政使，錄山西協餉功，晉頭品服。三十二年，署安徽巡撫，修廣濟圩，賑皖北水菑，民德之。紅蓮會匪自贛入，毀建德教堂，同時楚民寄居霍山者，亦與教堂啟釁，匪黨乘之，勢漸熾。恩銘分軍援剿，並劾有司之釀禍者，地方以靖。

In 1902 he was transferred to Koubei Circuit in Zhili. In the aftermath of the Boxer uprising, Christian converts across thirteen jurisdictions were clamoring for revenge, and a Chinese missionary in Xuanhua was even coercing villagers into conversion. Disturbed, En Ming debated the matter at length with Western missionaries until they agreed to restrain their conduct, and peace was restored between converts and the local population. He was transferred to serve as Zhejiang salt transport commissioner. In 1903 he was transferred to the Lianghuai salt administration and promoted to Jiangsu provincial judicial commissioner. He managed the salt monopoly as before, curbed smuggling, eased conditions for salt-boilers, and increased annual state revenue by three hundred thousand taels. Reformers then proposed converting government salt fields into joint-stock companies and introducing coal-fired boiling with steam-wheel transport. En Ming argued forcefully against both schemes, and the proposals were shelved. He was appointed provincial treasurer and, in recognition of his work coordinating Shanxi military supplies, was granted the privilege of first-rank court dress. In 1906 he served as acting governor of Anhui, repaired the Guangji embankment, and provided flood relief in northern Anhui, winning the people's gratitude. Red Lotus Society bandits crossed from Jiangxi and razed the church at Jiande, while Hubei settlers in Huoshan also clashed with local churches; rebel factions seized the opportunity, and unrest steadily intensified. En Ming dispatched troops in several columns to suppress the uprising and impeached officials who had provoked the trouble, and the region was pacified.

是時廷議行新政，銳意興警察，於是承上指，整頓巡警學堂。適王之春薦道員徐錫麟才，遂畀以會辦。复念政劇財匱，援例清丈緣江洲地，按年收科，墾牧與樹藝並舉。朝旨又以民刑事訴訟法參用東、西律，下其議督撫。恩銘慮皖北民悍，為擇其不便者六事具以報。明年夏，巡警學生卒業，恩銘詣校試驗，錫麟乘間以槍擊之，被重創。知縣陸永頤銳身救護，先殞。錫麟令經歷顧松閉校門，不從，亦斃之。從者負恩銘還署，遂卒。事聞，贈太子少保，諡忠愍，予皖省建祠，賞騎都尉兼一云騎尉世職，子咸麟襲。恩銘既死，錫麟亦被獲。

The court was then pressing ahead with the New Policies and a modern police force; following imperial direction, he reorganized the constabulary training school. Wang Zhichun had just recommended the circuit intendant Xu Xiling as a man of talent, and En Ming appointed him to help run the school. Mindful that government was overburdened and coffers empty, he followed precedent in surveying riverside sandbank lands, collecting annual land tax, and promoting both reclamation and afforestation. The throne also ordered that new civil and criminal procedure codes draw on Eastern and Western law, and referred the matter to provincial governors for comment. Fearing the fierce temperament of northern Anhui's populace, En Ming identified six provisions of the new code that would prove impracticable there and reported them to the throne. The following summer, when the constabulary students graduated, En Ming came to the school to inspect them. Xu Xiling seized the moment and shot him, inflicting grave wounds. Magistrate Lu Yongyi threw himself forward to shield him and was killed first. Xu Xiling ordered the bureau sub-director Gu Song to shut the school gate; when Gu refused, Xu killed him too. His attendants carried En Ming back to the yamen, where he soon died. When word reached the court, he was posthumously made Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent, given the posthumous title Loyal and Commiserated, granted a provincial shrine in Anhui, and awarded a hereditary commandant's rank with an additional junior commandancy for his son Xianlin to inherit. After En Ming's death, Xu Xiling was captured as well.

錫麟者，浙江山陰人。就學日本，以貲為道員。志在謀綰軍隊，便起事，倉卒發難，卒被擒僇。閱數年，復有孚琦、鳳山被刺事。

Xu Xiling was a native of Shanyin in Zhejiang. He had studied in Japan and bought his way into the rank of circuit intendant. His plan was to seize control of the troops and launch a revolt, but he struck prematurely and was captured and executed. A few years later came the assassinations of Fu Qi and Feng Shan.

孚琦，字樸孫，西林覺羅氏，隸滿洲正藍旗。以工部筆帖式充軍機章京，累官郎中。三遷至內閣學士。光緒二十八年，授刑部右侍郎。三十二年，出為廣州副都統。頗以興學為己任，嘗設八旗工藝學校，整麗中小各學堂。明年，權將軍。將軍事故簡，孚琦慮即偷惰，日必讀書臨池，暇輒躬執勞役。宣統二年，再攝將軍篆。明年春，赴城東燕塘勘旗地，兼閱試演軍用飛機。有溫生才者，隸革命黨，事暗殺。會日將暮，伏道左，俟其至，轟擊之，遂殞命。生才被執，論棄市。事聞，上憫惻，諡恪愍，命鳳山代之。

Fu Qi, style Pusun, was of the Xilin Gioro clan and registered in the Manchu Plain Blue Banner. He began as a clerk in the Ministry of Works, served as a Grand Council secretary, and rose to director. After three promotions he reached the rank of Grand Secretariat academician. In 1902 he was appointed vice minister of the Ministry of Punishments. In 1906 he was appointed vice commander-in-chief at Guangzhou. He made promoting education a personal mission, founded a Banner industrial arts school, and renovated primary and secondary schools throughout the city. The following year he served as acting commander-in-chief. The general's duties were light, and Fu Qi feared he would lapse into idleness; he read and practiced calligraphy daily, and in his spare time took up manual labor himself. In 1910 he again served as acting commander-in-chief. The following spring he went to Yantang east of the city to survey banner lands and to watch a trial flight of a military aircraft. A man named Wen Shengcai, affiliated with the revolutionary party, specialized in assassination. As dusk fell, Wen lay in wait by the roadside and detonated a bomb when Fu Qi passed, killing him instantly. Wen was captured and sentenced to execution in the marketplace. When word reached the throne, the emperor was deeply moved, granted Fu Qi the posthumous title Respectful and Commiserated, and appointed Feng Shan to succeed him.

鳳山，字禹門，劉氏，隸漢軍鑲白旗。以繙譯舉人襲佐領，充驍騎營翼長、印務章京。累遷參領，總辦東安巡捕分局。聯軍入京，法人在其轄境刃傷商民，縛致總局，請毋少貸，論如律。擢副都統，訓練近畿陸軍，著聲績。除西安將軍，仍留治兵事。宣統初，改練軍歸部節度，始解兵柄。三年，授廣州將軍，未行而武昌事起。香港為粵民黨藪，謀攻省城，眾阻其勿往，曰：「吾大臣也，不可不奉詔。」遂毅然去。將至時，總督及布、按以下官皆不敢出迓，或勸宜微服先入城，毋蹈孚將軍覆轍，鳳山不可。日午，輿衛導行，抵南城外，黨人匿市廛簷際擲炸彈，屋瓦摧壓，從者死十餘人，街石寸寸裂。暮得鳳山屍，焦爛無完膚。事聞，贈太子少保，諡勤節，予騎都尉世職。

Feng Shan, style Yumen, was of the Liu clan and registered in the Han Bordered White Banner. As a translator juren he inherited an assistant commandant's post and served as wing commander of the Valiant Cavalry Brigade and as a seal affairs secretary. He rose through the ranks to company commander and took charge of the Dong'an patrol sub-bureau. When the allied armies occupied Beijing, French soldiers in his jurisdiction stabbed local merchants; he arrested them and sent them to headquarters, insisting they be punished to the full extent of the law. Promoted to vice commander-in-chief, he trained the metropolitan land forces and won a distinguished reputation. He was appointed commander-in-chief at Xi'an but remained in charge of military affairs in the capital region. Early in the Xuantong reign the trained forces were placed under ministry control, and only then did he relinquish his command. In 1911 he was appointed commander-in-chief at Guangzhou, but before he could take up the post the Wuchang uprising broke out. Hong Kong had become a revolutionary stronghold, and conspirators were plotting to seize the provincial capital. Others urged him not to go, but he said, "I am a senior minister of the realm; I cannot disobey the imperial summons." And he set out resolutely. As he approached, neither the governor nor any official below the rank of provincial treasurer dared go out to receive him. Some urged him to enter the city in disguise first, lest he meet the same fate as General Fu, but Feng Shan refused. At noon, with his full escort, he reached the area outside the south gate. Revolutionaries concealed under the market eaves hurled bombs; roof tiles were shattered, more than ten of his attendants were killed, and the paving stones cracked to pieces. By evening his body was recovered, charred beyond recognition. When word reached the court, he was posthumously made Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent, given the posthumous title Diligent and Upright, and granted a hereditary commandant's rank.

端方，字午橋，托忒克氏，滿洲正白旗人。由廕生中舉人，入貲為員外郎，遷郎中。光緒二十四年，出為直隸霸昌道。京師創設農工商局，徵還，筦局務，賞三品卿銜。上勸善歌，稱旨。除陝西按察使，晉布政使，護巡撫。兩宮西幸，迎駕設行在。調河南布政使，擢湖北巡撫。二十八年，攝湖廣總督。三十年，調江蘇，攝兩江總督。尋調湖南。顓志興學，資遣出洋學生甚眾。逾歲，召入覲。擢閩浙總督，未之官，詔赴東西各國考政治。既還，成歐美政治要義，獻上，議改立憲自此始。三十二年，移督兩江，設學堂，辦警察，造兵艦，練陸軍，定長江巡緝章程，聲聞益著。

Duan Fang, style Wuqiao, was of the Totek clan, a Manchu of the Plain White Banner. A yinsheng who qualified as a provincial graduate, he bought his way into the post of vice director and was later promoted to director. In 1898 he was appointed intendant of Bazhou-Changping Circuit in Zhili. When Beijing established the Bureau of Agriculture, Industry, and Commerce, he was recalled to head it and was granted third-rank ministerial commissioner status. He presented moral exhortation songs to the throne, which pleased the emperor. He was appointed Shaanxi provincial judicial commissioner, promoted to provincial treasurer, and served as acting governor. When the court fled west, he received the imperial procession and established a temporary palace. He was transferred to Henan as provincial treasurer and promoted to governor of Hubei. In 1902 he served as acting governor-general of Huguang. In 1904 he was transferred to Jiangsu and served as acting governor-general of Liangjiang. He was soon transferred to Hunan. He was devoted to education and sponsored a great many students to study overseas. A year later he was summoned to audience at court. He was promoted to governor-general of Fujian and Zhejiang but had not yet taken up the post when an edict sent him abroad to study the governments of East and West. On his return he completed Essentials of European and American Government and presented it to the throne, and from this point debate over constitutional reform began in earnest. In 1906 he was transferred to Liangjiang, where he founded schools, organized a modern police force, built warships, trained land forces, and drafted Yangtze patrol regulations; his reputation grew ever greater.

宣統改元，調直隸。孝欽皇后梓宮奉安，端方輿從橫衝神路，農工商部左丞李國傑劾之，坐違制免。既而御史胡思敬又彈其貪橫凡十罪，事下張人駿，覆奏入，以不治崖檢被訶斥，因已罷官，貸勿問。

When the Xuantong reign began, he was transferred to Zhili. At the final interment of Empress Dowager Cixi's coffin, Duan Fang's procession cut across the sacred spirit way. Li Guojie, left vice minister of the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry, and Commerce, impeached him, and he was dismissed for violating court protocol. Censor Hu Sijing then impeached him on ten counts of corruption and arrogance. The case was referred to Zhang Renjun, whose report rebuked Duan Fang for lax personal conduct; since he had already been dismissed, no further punishment was imposed.

三年，命以侍郎督辦川漢、粵漢鐵路。時部議路歸國有，而收路章條湘、川不一致，川人大譁。川、鄂為黨人所萃，乘機竊發。端方行次漢口，亟入川，並劾川督趙爾豐操切。命率師往按，尋詔代攝其事。所過州縣，輒召父老宣喻威德。至資州，所部鄂軍皆變，軍官劉怡鳳率眾入室，語不遜，端方以不屈遇害。

In 1911 he was appointed vice minister to supervise the Sichuan-Hankou and Guangdong-Hankou railway projects. The ministry was then debating nationalization of the railways, but the terms for buying back private lines differed between Hunan and Sichuan, provoking an uproar in Sichuan. Sichuan and Hubei were revolutionary strongholds, and conspirators seized the moment to strike. Passing through Hankou, Duan Fang pressed on into Sichuan and also impeached Governor Zhao Erfeng for his heavy-handed policies. He was ordered to lead troops to investigate the unrest, and soon received an edict placing him in charge of Sichuan affairs in Zhao Erfeng's stead. At every prefecture and county along his route he summoned local elders to proclaim the court's majesty and benevolence. At Zizhou his Hubei troops mutinied en masse. Officer Liu Yifeng led the mutineers into Duan Fang's quarters with insolent demands, and Duan Fang was killed when he refused to submit.

端方性通侻，不拘小節。篤嗜金石書畫，尤好客，建節江、鄂，燕集無虛日，一時文采几上希畢、阮雲。

Duan Fang was easygoing by nature and unconcerned with petty formalities. He was a passionate collector of bronzes, steles, calligraphy, and painting, and a generous host. During his tenure in Jiangsu and Hubei he held literary gatherings almost daily, and for a time the brilliance of his salon nearly rivaled that of Xi Bi and Ruan Yun.

弟端錦，字叔絅。河南知府。赴東西各國考路政，箸日本鐵道紀要。從兄入川，變作，以身蔽其兄，極口詈軍士無良，同被殺。事聞，贈端方太子太保，諡忠敏；端錦諡忠惠。

His younger brother Duan Jin, style Shujiong. He served as prefect of Henan. He traveled abroad to study railway administration and wrote Summary of Japanese Railways. He accompanied his brother into Sichuan. When the mutiny broke out, he shielded Duan Fang with his own body and cursed the mutineers as faithless wretches; he was killed alongside his brother. When word reached the court, Duan Fang was posthumously made Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent and given the posthumous title Loyal and Keen; Duan Jin received the posthumous title Loyal and Gracious.

其時轉餉官劉燧，荊州駐防、舉人、都司赫成額，並赴水死。

At the same time, grain transport officer Liu Sui and He Cheng'e, a juren of the Jingzhou garrison who served as brigade commander, also drowned themselves.

松壽，字鶴齡，滿洲正白旗人。以廕生官工部筆帖式，累遷郎中。出為陝西督糧道。光緒二十一年，晉山東按察使。明年，調江西，晉江寧布政使。二十四年，擢江西巡撫。越三載，移撫江蘇，歷河南，加尚書銜，所蒞皆稱職。二十八年，召為工部右侍郎，兼正藍旗蒙古副都統，尋授熱河都統。疏陳續修礦章四條，允行。復以地控蒙部，號難治，條上吏治、軍政、興學、理財方略甚悉。又召還，拜兵部尚書。明年，調工部。又明年，出為察哈爾都統。三十三年，授閩浙總督。

Song Shou, style Heling, was a Manchu of the Plain White Banner. A yinsheng, he entered the Ministry of Works as a clerk and rose to director. He was appointed Shaanxi grain transport commissioner. In 1895 he was promoted to Shandong provincial judicial commissioner. The following year he was transferred to Jiangxi and promoted to provincial treasurer of Jiangning. In 1898 he was promoted to governor of Jiangxi. Three years later he was transferred to Jiangsu, later served in Henan, and was granted ministerial rank; in every post he was regarded as competent. In 1902 he was recalled as vice minister of Works and concurrently Mongol vice commander-in-chief of the Plain Blue Banner, and soon after was appointed commander-in-chief at Rehe. He memorialized proposing four articles for revising mining regulations, and the court approved them. He also observed that the region bordered Mongol territories and was notoriously difficult to govern, and submitted detailed proposals on civil administration, military affairs, education, and fiscal policy. He was recalled again and appointed minister of War. The following year he was transferred to the Ministry of Works. The year after that he was appointed commander-in-chief of Chahar. In 1907 he was appointed governor-general of Fujian and Zhejiang.

居官垂二十年，不務赫赫名，然律己以廉，臨下以寬，為時論所美。宣統三年秋，鄂、湘、江、浙新軍踵變，閩軍乘之，將舉事，使人要松壽，令繳駐防營軍械，斥之，遂決戰，初獲勝，繼乃大挫，憤甚，飲金以殉。事聞，贈太子少保，予二等輕車都尉世職，諡忠節。

Over nearly twenty years in office he sought no fame for himself, but governed with personal integrity and treated subordinates generously, winning praise from contemporaries. In the autumn of 1911, as new armies in Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang mutinied one after another, Fujian troops followed suit and prepared to revolt. They sent men demanding that Song Shou surrender the garrison's arms; he refused and gave battle. He won an initial engagement but then suffered a crushing defeat; in bitter rage he took poison and died for the dynasty. When word reached the court, he was posthumously made Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent, granted a second-rank hereditary commandant's title, and given the posthumous title Loyal and Upright.

趙爾豐，字季和，漢軍正藍旗人。以山西知縣累保道員。四川總督錫良疏薦其才，權永寧道，剿匪嚴誅捕。駐藏大臣鳳全遇害，調建昌。會克巴塘，建議籌邊，充川滇邊務大臣，護總督，改駐藏大臣。以兵至打箭爐，改設康定、登科等府。宣統元年，仍專任邊務。藏兵犯巴塘，擊敗之，乘勢收江卡等四部。於是爾豐軍越丹達山而西，直抵江達，達賴喇嘛逃入印度。爾豐請一舉平藏，革教易俗，廷意不欲開釁，阻之。爾豐盡克三崖野番，決收回瞻對。三年，署四川總督，檄番官獻瞻對。爾豐遂入瞻對，設官治之。進克波密，並取白馬崗，收明正等土司，皆改流。計所收邊地縱橫三四千里，設治者三十餘區，一時皆懾於兵力，不敢抗。

Zhao Erfeng, style Jihe, was of the Han Plain Blue Banner. He rose from county magistrate in Shanxi through repeated recommendations to the rank of circuit intendant. Sichuan Governor-General Xi Liang recommended him for his ability; he served as acting intendant of Yongning Circuit and waged a ruthless campaign against bandits. When Tibet Commissioner Feng Quan was murdered, Zhao was transferred to Jianchang. After Batang was recovered he proposed a comprehensive frontier policy, served as Sichuan-Yunnan frontier commissioner, acted as governor-general, and was later appointed Tibet commissioner. He advanced with troops to Dajianlu and established prefectural administrations at Kangding, Dengke, and elsewhere. In 1909 he continued to hold sole responsibility for frontier affairs. When Tibetan troops attacked Batang, he defeated them and seized the opportunity to recover four districts including Jiangka. Erfeng's army then crossed Mount Danda to the west and advanced to Jiangda, driving the Dalai Lama into exile in India. Erfeng urged a single campaign to pacify Tibet and reform its religion and customs, but the court, unwilling to provoke further conflict, blocked the proposal. Erfeng subdued the wild tribes of the three cliff regions and resolved to recover Nyarong. In 1911 he served as acting governor-general of Sichuan and ordered Tibetan officials to surrender Nyarong. Erfeng then entered Nyarong and established a civil administration. He advanced to capture Bomi and Baimagang, brought the Mingzheng chieftain and others under control, and converted their territories to direct administration. The frontier territory he recovered stretched three to four thousand li in every direction, with more than thirty administrative districts established; for a time all were cowed by his military power and dared not resist.

會川亂起，爾豐還省，集司道聯名奏請變更收路辦法，不允。商民罷市，全省騷動。廷寄飭拏禍首，捕蒲殿俊等拘之，其黨圍攻省城。督辦川路大臣端方劾爾豐操切，詔仍回邊務大臣，以岑春煊代總督。武昌變作，資政院議爾豐罷黜待罪，而朝旨已不能達川。重慶兵變，會匪蜂起，軍民環請獨立，爾豐遽讓政權於殿俊，殿俊自稱都督。防軍復變，殿俊走匿，全城無主。商民請爾豐出定亂，因揭示撫輯變兵。而標統尹昌衡率部入城，自為都督，羅綸副之，以兵攻督署，擁爾豐至貢院，爾豐罵不絕口，遂被害。 [一]

When unrest broke out in Sichuan, Erfeng returned to the provincial capital and joined other officials in a joint memorial asking the court to revise its railway nationalization policy, but the request was denied. Merchants shut down their businesses and the entire province was in uproar. An imperial edict ordered the arrest of the ringleaders; Pu Dianjun and others were seized, and their followers besieged the provincial capital. Railway commissioner Duan Fang impeached Erfeng for his heavy-handed policies; an edict restored Erfeng to his frontier post and appointed Cen Chunxuan governor-general in his place. After the Wuchang uprising, the Political Consultative Council debated removing Erfeng pending trial, but imperial orders could no longer reach Sichuan. When troops mutinied at Chongqing and secret-society bandits rose everywhere, soldiers and civilians pressed for independence; Erfeng hastily ceded authority to Pu Dianjun, who declared himself military governor. The defense troops mutinied again; Pu Dianjun fled into hiding, and the city was left without a leader. Merchants and civilians begged Erfeng to restore order, and he posted proclamations seeking to pacify the mutineers. But brigade commander Yin Changheng marched into the city, declared himself military governor with Luo Lun as his deputy, attacked the governor-general's yamen, and had Erfeng dragged to the examination hall, where Erfeng cursed them without cease until he was killed. Note [1]:

馮汝騤，字星岩，河南祥符人。光緒九年進士，選庶吉士，散館授戶部主事，充軍機章京，累遷郎中。出知四川順慶府，遭母憂去。服闋，起山東青州知府，調直隸大名。三十一年，遷湖北鹽法道。明年，調安徽徽寧池太道，遷甘肅按察使。未幾，晉陝西布政使，擢浙江巡撫。三十四年，移撫江西，整稅務，省不急，官稱治辦。朝議方厲行新政，乃復察民情，量財力，從容施設，士民安之。宣統元年，御史江春霖上其溺職徇私狀，事下安徽巡撫硃家寶覈覆，得白。坐疏忽幹吏議，奪俸三月。

Feng Rukui, style Xingyan, was a native of Xiangfu in Henan. A metropolitan graduate of 1883, he was selected as a Hanlin bachelor and, after leaving the academy, served as a director in the Ministry of Revenue, then as a Grand Council secretary, rising to bureau director. He was appointed prefect of Shunqing in Sichuan but left office to observe mourning for his mother. After mourning he was recalled as prefect of Qingzhou in Shandong and later transferred to Daming in Zhili. In 1905 he was transferred to Hubei salt administration commissioner. The following year he was transferred to Huaining-Chizhou-Taiping Circuit in Anhui and promoted to Gansu provincial judicial commissioner. Soon after he was promoted to Shaanxi provincial treasurer and then appointed governor of Zhejiang. In 1908 he was transferred to Jiangxi, where he reorganized tax collection, cut nonessential spending, and earned a reputation for effective governance. As the court pressed ahead with the New Policies, he assessed local conditions and fiscal capacity and implemented reforms at a measured pace, winning the confidence of gentry and commoners alike. In 1909 Censor Jiang Chunlin impeached him for dereliction and favoritism; Anhui Governor Zhu Jiabao investigated and cleared him of the charges. He was nonetheless fined three months' salary for negligence in supervising subordinates.

三年，武昌變起，下游皆震。南昌軍相應和，脅汝騤為都督，號獨立，峻拒之。贛人故感其賢，導之出。至九江，乃仰藥以殉。詔旨軫惜，諡忠愍。

In 1911 the Wuchang uprising broke out, sending shock waves through the lower Yangtze. Troops at Nanchang joined the uprising and tried to force Feng to serve as military governor and declare independence, but he firmly refused. The people of Jiangxi, who respected his integrity, helped him escape. Reaching Jiujiang, he took poison and died for the dynasty. An imperial edict expressed the court's grief and granted him the posthumous title Loyal and Commiserated.

陸鍾琦，字申甫，順天宛平人，本籍浙江蕭山。父春榮，績學不遇，祭酒盛昱其弟子也。鍾琦少劬學，以孝稱。光緒十五年進士，以編修辦直隸賑災，徐桐亟賞之。拳禍起，桐惑焉，鍾琦持異議，弗聽。聯軍入，同年王懿榮、熙元、寶豐輩先後皆殉節。鍾琦聞之，泣，闔戶自經，遇救獲免。二十九年，除江蘇督糧道。越五載，遷江西按察使，調湖南，察吏嚴，定州縣結案功過章條，月計勘案數與其鞫訊狀限期報司，繇是獄鮮積滯。再移江蘇，多平反。

Lu Zhongqi, style Shenfu, was registered in Wanping, Shuntian, though his ancestral home was Xiaoshan in Zhejiang. His father Chunrong was a scholar who never found preferment; Academician Sheng Yu had been his student. Zhongqi studied diligently from youth and was known for his filial devotion. A metropolitan graduate of 1889, he served as a Hanlin compiler managing famine relief in Zhili and won high praise from Xu Tong. When the Boxer crisis erupted, Xu Tong was taken in by the movement; Zhongqi disagreed, but Xu would not heed him. When the allied armies occupied Beijing, his fellow graduates Wang Yirong, Xi Yuan, Bao Feng, and others died one after another defending the dynasty. Hearing the news, Zhongqi wept, shut himself in, and attempted to hang himself, but was rescued in time. In 1903 he was appointed Jiangsu grain transport commissioner. Five years later he was transferred to Jiangxi as provincial judicial commissioner and then to Hunan, where he enforced strict official discipline, established monthly reporting on case closures and trial deadlines, and thereby kept the courts largely free of backlog. Transferred again to Jiangsu, he overturned many wrongful convictions.

宣統改元，晉布政使。三年，擢山西巡撫。到官未踰月，而武昌難作。鍾琦語次子敬熙曰：「大事不可為矣！省垣倘不測，吾誓死職。汝曹讀書明大義，屆期毋效婦仁害我！」又曰：「生死之事，父子不相強，任汝曹自為之。但吾孫毋使同盡，以斬宗祀。」敬熙知父意決，入告母。母曰：「汝父殉國，吾惟從之而已。」敬熙以事亟，赴京語其兄光熙，偕還晉。鍾琦馭新軍嚴，至是調兩營赴南路，時九月七日也。夜發餉，將以翼日行，而遲明變作，新軍突入撫署。鍾琦出堂皇，僕李慶雲從，麾之弗去，且挺身出，先被戕。鍾琦叱曰：「爾輩將反邪？」語未竟，遽中槍而殞。光熙奔救，亦被擊死。叛軍入內室，其妻唐氏抱雛孫起，並遇害。詔褒其忠孝節義萃於一門，予諡文烈。妻唐旌表。

When the Xuantong reign began, he was promoted to provincial treasurer. In 1911 he was promoted to governor of Shanxi. He had been in office less than a month when the Wuchang uprising erupted. Zhongqi told his second son Jingxi, "The great cause is lost! If anything goes wrong at the provincial capital, I swear to die at my post. You have been educated and understand what duty requires; when the time comes, do not let womanish sentiment interfere with what I must do!" He added, "Life and death are your own to choose; a father cannot compel his sons—do as you see fit. Only spare my grandson, so that our line does not end." Jingxi understood his father's resolve and went to tell his mother. His mother said, "Your father will die for the dynasty; I can only follow him." With events moving swiftly, Jingxi went to Beijing to consult his elder brother Guangxi, and they returned to Shanxi together. Zhongqi had kept the new army under strict discipline; he now dispatched two battalions to the south—it was the seventh day of the ninth month. Pay was issued that night, with departure planned for the next day, but at dawn the mutiny erupted and new army troops stormed the governor's yamen. Zhongqi emerged into the main hall with his servant Li Qingyun in attendance. He ordered Li to withdraw, but Li refused and stepped forward instead, and was killed first. Zhongqi shouted, "Are you rebelling?" Before he could finish, he was shot dead. Guangxi rushed to his aid and was shot dead as well. Rebel troops burst into the inner quarters; his wife Lady Tang rose with their infant grandson in her arms, and all three were killed. An edict praised the loyalty, filial devotion, and righteousness that had united his entire household, and granted him the posthumous title Cultured and Upright. His wife Lady Tang was granted an official commendation.

光熙，本名惠熙，字亮臣。少從盛昱遊，勵學。鍾琦遘危疾，嘗刲股和藥以進。光緒三十年，成進士，選庶吉士。東渡日本學陸軍，卒業歸，授編修，擢侍講。贈三品京堂，諡文節。

Guangxi, born Huixi, style Liangchen. In youth he studied under Sheng Yu and applied himself diligently to learning. When Zhongqi fell gravely ill, he cut flesh from his own thigh to prepare medicine for his father. In 1904 he passed the metropolitan examinations and was selected as a Hanlin bachelor. He went to Japan to study military science; after graduating he returned, was appointed Hanlin compiler, and was promoted to expositor. He was posthumously granted third-rank capital official status and the posthumous title Cultured and Restrained.

論曰：恩銘遇刺，實在辛亥之前，蓋亂機已久兆矣。武昌變起，各行省大吏惴惴自危，皆罔知所措。其死封疆者，唯松壽、鍾琦等數人，或慷慨捐軀，或從容就義，示天下以大節，垂絕綱常，庶幾恃以復振焉。

The historian comments: En Ming's assassination came before the Xinhai year of 1911; the seeds of chaos had been sown long before. When the Wuchang uprising broke out, senior officials in every province were paralyzed with fear and knew not what to do. Of those who died defending their posts, only Song Shou, Lu Zhongqi, and a handful of others—some giving their lives boldly, others meeting death with composure—held up for the realm the highest standard of loyalty. As the moral order of the dynasty hung by a thread, perhaps such examples might yet help it recover its footing.

[一]按；趙爾豐傳，關內本與關外一次本相同，較此為詳。全文附錄於後，作為參考。

Note [1]: The biography of Zhao Erfeng in the inland edition matches the frontier first edition and is more detailed than the version above. The full text is reproduced below for reference.

趙爾豐，字季和，漢軍正藍旗人。父文穎，見忠義傳。爾豐以鹽大使改知縣，選山西靜樂，歷永濟。清獄治盜，匪絕跡。躬捕蝗，始免災。擢河東監掣同知，護河東道，以憂去。光緒二十六年，聯軍入晉邊，山西巡撫錫良檄總營務處嚴防密偵之。三十一年，駐藏大臣鳳全被害於巴塘，錫良以爾豐為建昌道，會提督馬維騏往討。維騏軍先發，爾豐從之，遂克巴塘。爾豐接辦善後，移兵討鄉城，匪退喇嘛寺，據碉死守。爾豐斷水道，圍攻，番眾悉降。於是爾豐建籌邊議，錫良以聞，加爾豐侍郎，充川滇邊務大臣。爾豐會錫良暨雲貴總督丁振鐸奏陳改流設官、練兵、招墾、開礦、修路、通商、興學諸端，廷議準撥開邊費銀百萬兩。三十三年，錫良移任去，爾豐護四川總督。於是遙策邊事，凡前所奏陳，皆以次舉，察吏尤嚴，多所舉劾，僚屬肅然。川南邊地多匪，移興文縣於建武，移永寧縣於古藺。時外人議輪運入川，爾豐令川商自辦淺水輪以阻之，是為川江駛輪之始。

Zhao Erfeng, style Jihe, was of the Han Plain Blue Banner. His father Wenying is covered in the biographies of the loyal and righteous. Erfeng transferred from salt commissioner to county magistrate, served in Jingle, Shanxi, and later in Yongji. He cleared the courts and suppressed banditry until outlaws disappeared from his jurisdictions. He personally led locust eradication efforts, averting famine. He was promoted to Hedong salt control sub-prefect, served as acting Hedong intendant, and left office to observe mourning. In 1900, when allied forces entered Shanxi, Governor Xi Liang ordered the general camp affairs office to mount a strict defense and conduct close surveillance. In 1905 Tibet Commissioner Feng Quan was murdered at Batang; Xi Liang appointed Erfeng intendant of Jianchang Circuit and joined with Provincial Commander Ma Weiqi to suppress the rebels. Ma Weiqi's forces marched first, with Erfeng following, and Batang was recovered. Erfeng handled post-conflict affairs and marched against Xiangcheng, where rebels retreated into a lamasery and held its blockhouses in a desperate defense. Erfeng cut their water supply, laid siege, and the tribesmen surrendered en masse. Erfeng then drafted a comprehensive frontier policy, which Xi Liang reported to the throne; Erfeng was promoted to vice minister and appointed Sichuan-Yunnan frontier commissioner. Erfeng joined Xi Liang and Yunnan-Guizhou Governor-General Ding Zhenduo in a joint memorial proposing direct administration, official appointments, military training, land reclamation, mining, road building, trade, and education; the court approved one million taels for frontier development. In 1907 Xi Liang was transferred, and Erfeng served as acting governor-general of Sichuan. From the provincial capital he directed frontier policy, implementing his earlier proposals in sequence; he enforced strict official discipline, impeached numerous officials, and his subordinates conducted themselves with due restraint. Banditry was rife along the southern frontier; he relocated Xingwen County to Jianwu and Yongning County to Gulin. When foreigners proposed steam navigation on the Yangtze into Sichuan, Erfeng had local merchants organize shallow-draft steamers to forestall foreign competition—the beginning of steam navigation on the Sichuan river.

三十四年，以爾豐兄爾巽督川，改爾豐駐藏大臣，仍兼邊務，專邊藏事。爾豐以經營全藏，宜以殖民為主，特慮恩信未孚，藏人疑阻，請仍責駐藏大臣聯豫駐守，而自巡視邊藏。先以巴塘為根據，寓遷民於兵墾，漸及藏地。又與爾巽會奏，設安康道，改打箭爐為康定府，設河口縣、裡化廳同知、稻成縣、貢噶嶺縣丞，巴安府三壩廳通判，定鄉縣，鹽井縣。詔促爾豐出關，因就成都駐防旗兵中選練西軍三營自隨。藏人聞之，聚兵三崖以阻。爾豐至打箭爐，適德格土司爭襲構亂，乃請旨往辦，迭敗之贈科、麻木，追奔至卡納沙漠地，眾悉降。爾豐分其地為五區，設登科府德化、白玉兩州，石渠、普同兩縣，置邊北道。德格地大，包有春科、高日兩土司，遂與靈蔥土司之郎吉嶺等地並改歸流。宣統元年，朝意務懷柔藏人，采爾巽議，以經營西藏責聯豫暨幫辦溫宗堯，改爾豐專任邊務，駐巴塘，為藏聲援，劃察木多、乍丫歸邊轄。

In 1908 Erfeng's elder brother Ersun became governor of Sichuan; Erfeng was appointed Tibet commissioner while retaining his frontier portfolio, focusing exclusively on Tibetan affairs. Erfeng believed that governing Tibet required colonization as the foundation, but feared that Tibetan goodwill had not yet been won; he asked that Commissioner Lian Yu remain stationed in Lhasa while he toured the frontier regions himself. He planned to use Batang as a base, settling migrants in military reclamation colonies and gradually extending into Tibetan territory. He and Ersun jointly memorialized to establish Ankang Circuit, rename Dajianlu as Kangding Prefecture, and create a network of counties and sub-prefectures including Hekou, Lihua, Daocheng, Gonggaling, Ba'an, Dingxiang, and Yanjing. An edict ordered Erfeng beyond the frontier; he selected and trained three battalions from the Chengdu garrison banner troops to accompany him west. Hearing of his approach, Tibetans massed troops at the Three Cliffs to block his advance. At Dajianlu, Erfeng found the Dege chieftain embroiled in a succession dispute; he secured imperial authorization to intervene, defeated rebel forces at Zengke and Mumu, pursued them to the Kana desert, and accepted their surrender. Erfeng divided the territory into five districts, established Dengke Prefecture with Dehua and Baiyu sub-prefectures, Shiqu and Putong counties, and created the Northern Frontier Circuit. Dege's extensive territory included the Chunke and Gaori chieftaincies; together with Langjiling under the Lingcong chieftain and other areas, all were brought under direct administration. In 1909 the court adopted a conciliatory policy toward Tibetans following Ersun's advice: Lian Yu and Wen Zongyao were charged with governing Tibet proper, while Erfeng was assigned exclusively to frontier affairs, stationed at Batang as a military reserve, with Chamdo and Zhaya placed under his jurisdiction.

川軍協統鍾穎率新軍三千入藏，被困察木多。爾豐聞報，立馳往援，鍾穎軍出，並驅剿類伍齊、碩般多、洛隆宗、邊壩各部落逆番殆盡，三十九族波密、八宿等部咸納款。而江卡藏兵忽抄邊軍後路，犯巴塘，爾豐分兵擊敗之，乘勢收江卡、貢覺、桑昂、雜瑜四部落。於是爾豐軍越丹達山而西，直抵江達，距藏都拉薩僅六日程矣。二年，達賴喇嘛聞川軍將至，逃入英屬印度。爾豐請乘勝一舉平藏，革教易俗，廷意不欲開釁，阻之。爾豐上疏力爭，略言：「我國幅瀼遼闊，強鄰環伺，屬地多有侵占。自革達賴喇嘛，阿旺郎結叛逆，不惟藏人搖動，即外人覬覦之心亦因而愈熾。今我兵雖已入藏，然阿旺郎結已入英手，英人必挾以圖藏。若再姑容，將成大患。臣因一面由巴塘進兵攻破南墩，一面由察木多進兵貢覺、桑昂、曲宗，我兵所到，番人親附，即洛隆宗、碩板多等亦皆遠來輸誠，備陳藏中苛虐情形，堅墾內屬。臣初意務在保境息民，並無開疆拓土之念。唯桑昂、曲宗屬地雜瑜與倮儸野番接壤，時有英人潛伏。倮儸之南，為阿撒密，西為波密。英人若得雜瑜，即可直接波密，由工布入藏，與印度聯成一片。則波密不可不收入版圖，其勢至迫。請及此將邊兵所到之地，概收歸邊。並函商聯豫以烏蘇里江以東隸邊，以西屬藏。」疏入，樞府以外交責言為慮，聯豫亦不允劃界。然邊軍所得江達以內地，爾豐已逐漸改流，早成轄境矣。

Sichuan associate commander Zhong Ying led three thousand new army troops into Tibet and was trapped at Chamdo. Hearing the news, Erfeng rushed to the rescue; Zhong Ying's forces broke out, and together they nearly exterminated rebel tribes at Leiwuqi, Shuobanduo, Luolongzong, and Bianba; the Bomi, Basu, and other departments of the thirty-nine clans all submitted. Tibetan troops from Jiangka then struck at the army's rear and attacked Batang; Erfeng dispatched forces to defeat them and seized the four tribes of Jiangka, Gongjue, Sang'ang, and Zayu. Erfeng's army then crossed Mount Danda to the west and reached Jiangda, only six days' march from Lhasa. In 1910, hearing that Sichuan troops were approaching, the Dalai Lama fled into British India. Erfeng urged a follow-up campaign to pacify Tibet and reform its religion and customs, but the court, unwilling to provoke further conflict, refused. Erfeng memorialized forcefully, arguing: "Our empire is vast, powerful neighbors surround us on every side, and our frontier territories suffer constant encroachment. Since the Dalai Lama was deposed and Ngawang Lobsang rebelled, Tibetans have been unsettled and foreign powers have grown ever bolder in their designs. Though our troops have entered Tibet, Ngawang Lobsang is now in British hands, and the British will surely use him to advance their designs on Tibet. If we indulge this situation further, it will become a grave threat. I advanced from Batang to take Nandun on one front and from Chamdo toward Gongjue, Sang'ang, and Quzong on another; wherever our troops went, local tribes welcomed us. Even Luolongzong and Shuobanduo sent delegations describing Tibetan oppression and pleading to come under Chinese rule. My original intent was solely to secure the frontier and pacify the people, not to expand our territory. But Zayu, within the territories of Sang'ang and Quzong, borders Lolo tribal lands where British agents frequently operate in secret. Assam lies south of the Lolo territories; Bomi lies to the west. If the British seize Zayu, they can advance directly to Bomi, enter Tibet through Gongbu, and link their Indian possessions into a continuous frontier. Bomi must therefore be brought under our control; the situation is urgent. I urge that all territory our frontier troops have reached be incorporated under frontier administration while we still can. I also proposed to Lian Yu that territory east of the Wusuli River be placed under frontier administration and territory to the west under Tibetan jurisdiction." The Grand Council, fearing diplomatic complications, rejected the proposal, and Lian Yu also refused to demarcate the boundary. Nevertheless, the territory within Jiangda that frontier troops had secured was already under direct administration and had long been incorporated into Erfeng's jurisdiction.

爾豐巡視各地，經貢覺、乍丫、江卡三部落，群以討三崖為請。三崖者野番也，地險人悍，三部落苦其侵掠，嘗合攻之，反為所敗，官軍久不能討。爾豐策三崖四周皆已改流，必為我用，遂派知府傅嵩矞率兵五路進攻，苦戰兩月，盡克上中下三崖全境，設官治之。初，藏人佔瞻對，爾豐屢請收回，廷議責聯豫議贖，久不得要領。至是邊地略定，獨瞻對為藏有，梗塞其中，爾豐乃決以策取之。三年，爾豐調署四川總督，因薦嵩矞以道員用，代理邊務大臣，同行閱邊，繞道北路，先至孔撒、麻書，設甘孜委員，靈蔥、白利、倬倭、東科、單東、魚科各土司繳印改流，並受色達及上羅科野番降，瞻對民皆聞風請附。爾豐乃檄番官曰：「瞻對原系川屬，朝廷前以賞藏，設官徵糧。光緒二十年，瞻人叛藏，則藏已失瞻；川兵取瞻，則瞻為川有。乃藏人久佔不歸，迄今又十餘年矣，厚斂橫徵，民不堪命。應將瞻對仍獻朝廷，以表恭順。」藏官畏爾豐威，獻戶籍去。瞻對民歡呼出迎，爾豐遂入瞻對，設官治之。野番俄落、色達均望風降。又波密自言其先為入藏漢兵，別成部落。爾豐前至察木多，波密呈驗所產棉布、糧食，證明確由漢出，並述其地與白馬崗接壤，在英、藏間，力請內附。及爾豐師還，聯豫忽遣兵攻之，大敗乞援。至是，爾豐派鳳山由巴塘率邊兵二千往與聯豫參贊羅長崟軍共克波密，並取白馬崗。爾豐至打箭爐，收明正土司地及魚通、冷邊、沈邊、咱裡等土司印，皆改流。計爾豐所收邊地，東西三千餘裡，南北四千餘裡，設治者三十餘區，詳土司傳。

Touring the frontier, Erfeng passed through Gongjue, Zhaya, and Jiangka, where local leaders unanimously petitioned him to subdue the Three Cliffs. The Three Cliffs were wild tribes in rugged terrain with fierce warriors; the three neighboring tribes had suffered their raids and once mounted a joint attack only to be defeated; government forces had long been unable to subdue them. Erfeng reasoned that the surrounding territories, now under direct administration, would support his campaign; he dispatched Prefect Fu Songyu with five columns of troops, and after two months of hard fighting subdued the upper, middle, and lower Three Cliffs and established civil administration. Tibetans had long occupied Nyarong; Erfeng repeatedly petitioned for its recovery, and the court ordered Lian Yu to negotiate its return, but talks dragged on without resolution. By then the frontier was largely pacified, but Nyarong alone remained in Tibetan hands, blocking communications; Erfeng resolved to seize it by stratagem. In 1911 Erfeng was appointed acting governor-general of Sichuan; he recommended Songyu as acting frontier commissioner, and they toured the frontier together via the northern route. At Kongsa and Mashu he established a Garze commissioner; the Lingcong, Baili, Zhuowa, Dongke, Dandong, and Yukex chieftains surrendered their seals and accepted direct administration; the Seda and upper Luoke tribes submitted; and the people of Nyarong petitioned to come under Chinese rule. Erfeng then issued a proclamation to Tibetan officials: "Nyarong originally belonged to Sichuan; the court once granted it to Tibet and established tax collection there. In 1894 the people of Nyarong rebelled against Tibet, and Tibet thereby lost control of the region; when Sichuan troops recovered it, Nyarong reverted to Sichuan. Yet Tibetans have occupied it for more than ten years without returning it, imposing heavy taxes and arbitrary exactions until the people could endure no more. Nyarong should be returned to the court as a sign of dutiful submission." The Tibetan officials, awed by Erfeng's authority, surrendered the household registers and withdrew. The people of Nyarong cheered and came out to welcome him; Erfeng entered Nyarong and established a civil administration. The Eluo and Seda tribes submitted at the news of his approach. The people of Bomi also claimed descent from Han soldiers who had entered Tibet and formed a separate tribe. When Erfeng had earlier passed through Chamdo, Bomi presented samples of locally produced cotton and grain to demonstrate Han cultural ties, described their territory as bordering Baimagang between British and Tibetan spheres, and urgently petitioned for incorporation. When Erfeng's forces withdrew, Lian Yu launched an attack on Bomi, suffered a crushing defeat, and appealed for help. Erfeng then dispatched Feng Shan from Batang with two thousand frontier troops to join Commissioner Luo Changyun's forces under Lian Yu in capturing Bomi and Baimagang. At Dajianlu, Erfeng brought the Mingzheng chieftaincy and the Yutong, Lengbian, Shenbian, and Zali chieftaincies under direct administration. In all, the frontier territory Erfeng brought under control stretched over three thousand li east to west and four thousand li north to south, with more than thirty administrative districts established—details are given in the Native Chieftain biographies.

會川亂起，爾豐還省。初，商辦川漢鐵路公司集股銀二千餘萬，忽奉旨收歸國有，咸大譁，倡保路同志會，好事者爭附和，勢張甚。爾豐至成都，察亂已成，思弭解，集司道聯名電奏，請變更收路辦法，不允。商民罷市，同志會捧德宗神牌衝入督署，與護兵相持，頗有死傷，全省騷動。廷寄飭拏禍首正法，爾豐不得已捕會首蒲殿俊等九人拘之。其黨圍攻省城，兵皆川產，不用命。督辦川漢鐵路大臣端方方奉命援川，滯重慶，劾爾豐操切，詔仍回邊務大臣，以岑春煊代為總督。武昌變作，春煊阻不得往，端方至資州，遇害。資政院劾爾豐，罷黜待罪，而朝旨已不能達川。重慶兵變，會匪蜂起，軍民環請獨立，爾豐遽讓政權於殿俊，殿俊自稱都督，防軍復變，殿俊走匿，全城無主，商民請爾豐出定亂，因揭示撫輯變兵。而標統尹昌衡率部入城，自為都督，羅綸副之，以兵攻督署，擁爾豐至貢院，爾豐罵不絕口，遂被害。

When unrest broke out in Sichuan, Erfeng returned to the provincial capital. The merchant-organized Sichuan-Hankou Railway Company had raised over twenty million taels when an edict suddenly ordered nationalization; public outrage erupted, the Railway Protection League was formed, and agitators flocked to join until the movement grew formidable. Arriving at Chengdu, Erfeng found unrest already widespread and sought to defuse it; he joined other officials in a joint telegram asking the court to revise its railway nationalization policy, but the request was denied. Merchants shut down their businesses; league members bearing spirit tablets of Emperor Guangxu stormed the governor-general's yamen and clashed with guards, leaving many dead and wounded; the entire province was in uproar. An imperial edict ordered the arrest and execution of the ringleaders; Erfeng reluctantly arrested nine league leaders including Pu Dianjun. Their followers besieged the provincial capital, but the troops, all Sichuan natives, refused to obey orders. Railway commissioner Duan Fang, ordered to reinforce Sichuan, lingered at Chongqing and impeached Erfeng for heavy-handed policies; an edict restored Erfeng to his frontier post and appointed Cen Chunxuan governor-general in his place. When the Wuchang uprising broke out, Cen Chunxuan was unable to reach Sichuan; Duan Fang advanced to Zizhou and was killed. The Political Consultative Council impeached Erfeng and ordered his removal pending trial, but imperial orders could no longer reach Sichuan. When troops mutinied at Chongqing and secret-society bandits rose everywhere, soldiers and civilians pressed for independence; Erfeng hastily ceded authority to Pu Dianjun, who declared himself military governor; the defense troops mutinied again and Pu fled into hiding, leaving the city leaderless; merchants begged Erfeng to restore order, and he posted proclamations seeking to pacify the mutineers. But brigade commander Yin Changheng marched into the city, declared himself military governor with Luo Lun as deputy, attacked the governor-general's yamen, and had Erfeng dragged to the examination hall, where Erfeng cursed them without cease until he was killed.

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