On July 3rd, Yuan Shuangqiu and Xu Zhuyun were executed by beheading at Caishikou on imperial orders. Why did they have such misfortune? One reason was that they had consecutively submitted three memorials, sternly criticizing the ruling ministers and strongly advocating for the suppression of the Boxer movement to safeguard the embassies, which offended people like Duan and Gang. Another reason was that one day during court, the emperor grasped Xu Zhuyun's hand and asked him, "What should we do about this matter today?" Xu Zhuyun replied, "Your Majesty, you should make a decisive decision and not listen to those nonsensical words; don't provoke the foreign powers." At that moment, the Empress Dowager happened to walk by and witnessed this, and her expression turned sour. Furthermore, there were hardliners who alleged that Xu Zhuyun had a good relationship with the Russians and even went so far as to call him a Russian lapdog.
As a result, they were executed. Although Li Bingheng reported that "Xu and Yuan violated the court's orders by unilaterally altering the telegram, leading to differing situations in the north and south, and that not executing them would not be enough to deter those ministers and set an example," this outcome had long been foreseen. In the court, the label "Russian lapdog" had constantly been attached to them. On that day, the executioner was Xu Chengyu, the son of Prime Minister Xu Yinxuan. He saw the two gentlemen dressed neatly and ordered his men to strip them of their clothes. Xu Zhuyun said, "Even though we've been sentenced to death by decree, we haven't been dismissed from our posts yet! Moreover, according to the rules, we should be dressed properly. After being an official for so long, don't you know this basic rule?" Hearing this, Xu Chengyu's face flushed, and he was left speechless for quite a while.
After a while, Yuan Shuangqiu asked again, "If we both have accepted death, if the ruler demands the subject's death, the subject has no choice but to comply. But what crime have we committed that warrants beheading? Please make it clear!" Xu Chengyu angrily rebuked, "Who are you to argue here? How dare you speak out! You know what crime you've committed; do I really need to spell it out?" Yuan Shuangqiu said, "Why are you acting all high and mighty! Even if we die, our innocence will be remembered by future generations, and in time, the truth will come to light. It's just that the foreign soldiers are coming soon, and you and your son probably won't survive either. We'll meet underground then!" So, the two of them accepted their fate with calm resolve. After Xu and Yuan died, Duan, Gang, and the others were still seething with anger, and their families dared not bury their bodies. The next day, Minister Xu saw him, couldn't help but cry, and then had him buried in a coffin. This ultimately led to Minister Xu's demise. Before long, Duan and Gang concocted false charges against him. Minister Xu was therefore executed. At that time, there was a minister named Yuan Jingqing, who argued based on reason, saying that throughout history, great achievements were not achieved through sorcery. He was also sentenced. Alas! Truth is hard to swallow; even Minister Xu couldn't save himself. How can those who dare to speak the truth not be terrified into silence?
The case of the Minister's death was even more tragic. Because the Minister's residence was not far from the embassy, Duan and Gang asserted that the embassy had been under siege for many days, yet they had heard no reports of food shortages, so someone must have been secretly supplying them. Thus, they suspected he had dug a tunnel to covertly assist outsiders. They dispatched numerous Boxers to search his home; even though they found no evidence, the Boxers, frustrated by their failure to breach the embassy after a long siege and eager to shift the blame, insisted that the Minister had colluded with the enemy and took him away. Duan and Gang conducted no investigation whatsoever and handed the Minister over to the jailers, who carried out the execution on imperial orders just a few days later. After the allied forces entered the capital, his family finally held a funeral for him. The diplomats from various countries expressed their sympathy for his unjust execution and specially dispatched several troops to escort his coffin. Consequently, the Minister's esteemed reputation has been preserved through the ages alongside that of the four diplomats.
