After the Qing Dynasty collapsed, where did the imperial guards who were responsible for protecting the emperor go?

The Imperial Guards were the ones responsible for protecting the emperor during the Qing Dynasty. But where did these troops go when the Qing Dynasty collapsed?

Strict standards to become a royal guard

The emperor is the one who stands above all, sitting in the position of the emperor, his life is always in danger. Therefore, the emperor needs a team of military officers to protect him. The guards are the military officers who will undertake that important task.

The Imperial Guards were a military force selected from the descendants of the Manchu and Mongol Eight Banner families, responsible for guarding the gates of the Forbidden City, protecting the emperor and the royal family.

The Imperial Guards are the army responsible for guarding the gates of the Forbidden City, protecting the emperor and the royal family. (Photo: Sohu)

The guards in the Forbidden City were selected only from the Eight Manchu Banners, and the majority of them belonged to the Upper Three Banners: the Xiang Yellow Banner, the Zheng Yellow Banner, and the Zheng Bai Banner. This was the emperor's closest protection force.

The guards in the Forbidden City are usually divided into four basic ranks:

1. First-class guards, also known as Head-class guards, belong to the third-rank official rank, recruiting 60 people.
2. Second class bodyguard, fourth rank, recruited 150 people.
3. Third-class guards, fifth-rank official rank, recruited 270 people.
4. Fourth-class guards, also known as Lam Linh guards, rank of 6th rank, recruited 90 people.
5. In addition, since the Kangxi period, there were 3 other ranks of guards but they were also only recruited from the royal family.

The Imperial Guards and the Qianqing Gate Guards are different from the guards in other places. They are all personally selected by the emperor. (Photo: Sohu)

The Imperial Guards and the Qianqing Gate Guards were different from the guards in other places. They were all personally selected by the emperor. They were usually from noble families, or had exceptional talents. The Imperial Guards and the Qianqing Gate Guards were directly under the Imperial Minister, and not under the command of the Imperial Minister like the other guards. Under the jurisdiction of such a prestigious rank, it was obvious that the Imperial Guards and the Qianqing Gate Guards were the two ranks of guards with the highest treatment in the Qing Dynasty. In addition to the salary based on their rank, they were also often given additional rewards on the birthdays of the emperor and empress.

In addition, those who worked as guards during the Qing Dynasty, especially the imperial guards, often had very bright futures. Some famous figures who built their careers in the officialdom from this position include Trieu Chieu, Sach Ngach Do, Ho Nhi Han, Long Khoa Da, Hoa Than.

At that time, any family whose son became a guard considered it lucky. Even if their descendants were promoted to the position of imperial guard, they would hang a notice board at their residence to announce it to the world, considering it an honor.

Through this, we can see that the guard class was not just a normal official position with the duty of guarding and protecting as we often think, but their status in ancient society was relatively high.

The Qing Dynasty collapsed, where did the imperial guards go?

However, in 1900, eight countries including Britain, the United States, France, Germany, Russia, Japan, Austria and Italy together sent troops to invade China, with a very clear goal of sending troops to attack the capital city of Beijing. Soon, the capital city of Beijing fell.

When the eight-nation coalition attacked the capital, the imperial guards did not protect the Forbidden City. (Photo: Sohu)

When Empress Dowager Cixi heard that the eight-nation coalition was about to enter the palace, she was frightened and immediately sent someone to the invaders' embassy to ask for peace, but was refused. Seeing this, Empress Dowager Cixi took Emperor Guangxu and many relatives and servants and disguised themselves as commoners to quietly escape to Xi'an. The imperial guards did not protect the Forbidden City, they even fled. The nobles and civil and military officials also rushed to leave the capital. Beijing soon fell into chaos.

Empress Dowager Cixi ceded control of Beijing to the West for more than a year, until the signing of a peace treaty in 1901. The treaty included terms favorable to the West, forcing the Qing to pay an indemnity of 450 million taels of silver over 39 years, with an interest rate of 4% per year.

Prince Regent Chun-Tsien-Phong decided to establish a new type of guard army, also known as the New Army. (Photo: Sohu).

It was not until Pu Yi ascended the throne that Prince Regent Chun, Prince Zai Feng, decided to establish a new type of imperial guard, also known as the New Army. This time, the guards were carefully selected and were all elites. In addition, they were trained in Western fighting methods and equipped with high-quality foreign guns and weapons. The leader of this new imperial guard was Zai Xun, Zai Feng's younger brother, although he was only 22 years old at the time.

However, just as the new guard unit completed its first training, the Xinhai Revolution of 1911 broke out, attempting to overthrow the Qing Dynasty. As Zaixun was too young and had no combat experience, the guard unit was defeated miserably. The Qing court was forced to seek help from Yuan Shikai, a high-ranking official in the court who had allied with Empress Dowager Cixi and helped end Emperor Guangxu's Hundred Days of Reform, to suppress the rebels.

The new-style guard army is trained in Western fighting methods and equipped with high-end foreign guns and weapons. (Photo: Sohu).

Yuan Shikai had long had his eye on the new guard army, so he certainly could not pass up this opportunity. Soon after, he asked Emperor Puyi's father to withdraw from politics, forcing Zaifeng to resign as the Qing Regent. This paved the way for Yuan Shikai to form a new cabinet of trusted people.

Yuan Shikai then entered into negotiations with Sun Yat-sen's revolutionaries and arranged the abdication of Emperor Puyi, leading to the collapse of the Qing Dynasty.

After the Qing Dynasty collapsed, the new-style imperial guard army chose to follow Yuan Shikai. (Photo: Sohu).

On the other hand, Yuan Shikai had promised that he would ensure the future prosperity of the Imperial Guards, so they "stood by and watched" when trouble happened to the imperial court. Afterwards, Yuan Shikai quickly appointed his close friend Feng Guozhang as the commander of the Imperial Guards to replace Zaixun.

Yuan Shikai became the provisional President and President of the Republic of China; later he compromised with Japan to occupy part of the territory in exchange for their help in becoming emperor. But before things could go anywhere, Yuan Shikai died of "anger" after being Emperor for 83 days. After Yuan Shikai's death, there was no one in the Beiyang army capable of commanding or taking full control of the government, which led to division.