Chapter 89 10. On the eve of going south to take office, there was a mutiny in Beijing

December 25th in the third year of Xuantong was the most painful, humiliating and unbearable day for the Qing imperial family and all those who were loyal to the Qing imperial family.On this day, the six-year-old emperor Puyi issued an abdication edict to the people of the whole country, and the Qing Dynasty, which had ruled the land for 268 years, officially came to an end.For the vast number of Chinese people, this day is the most memorable day, because it is not only the end of the Qing Dynasty that lost power and humiliated the country, but also the end of the entire feudal society that has lasted for more than two thousand years. Finished.

Like all the edicts of emperors who were forced to abdicate in history, what Puyi wrote in his abdication edict was not what he himself wanted to say, but what the persecutors said in his tone.As early as a month ago, Yuan Shikai sent a secret message to Zhang Jian to draft an abdication edict. The number one scholar Zhang Jian is of course the most qualified to write this kind of thing, but he is too busy to spare time, so he handed over the matter to his friend Yang Tingdong after he was ordered.Yang Tingdong is from Wujiang, Jiangsu Province. He has passed the exam and has studied in Japan. Zhang Jian highly values ​​his literary talent.

Yang Tingdong hid in the Weiying Hotel outside the Lumen in Suzhou, and spent three days and three nights, deliberating word by word, and wrote a first draft.After the first draft was transcribed, a friend of his named Zeng Fen made revisions, and finally Zhang Jian reviewed the final draft and sent Zeng Fen to Beijing.Yuan Shikai was very satisfied after reading it, and only added a sentence: "That is, Yuan Shikai will discuss the establishment of a provisional republican government with full power, and negotiate a unified method with the militia." This cabinet minister, whom Zhang Jian regarded as unable to read and write, added the most important and crucial finishing touch to this historical document finalized by Zhang himself.With this sum, Yuan Shikai's position as president was abdicated by the Qing royal family, not transferred by the revolutionaries.He can neither be accused of bullying orphans and widows, nor be grateful for the kindness of the revolutionaries.Zhang Jian really underestimated the literary talents of the students back then. He didn't see that Yuan Shikai, who didn't like writing, was actually a master of making big articles!

Seeing that Yuan Shikai had really forced the emperor out of Longting, the Provisional Government of Nanjing certainly could not break his promise, but the revolutionaries headed by Sun Yat-sen, Huang Xing and others always hated this man who had been in the Manchu officialdom for more than 30 years. Yuan Shikai, who repeatedly claimed a few months ago that China should implement the monarchy constitution but not the civil constitution, was very worried. They decided to impose some restrictions on him.Before the emperor abdicated, the representatives of the independent provinces and regions almost all agreed that it was right to give up the presidency to Yuan Shikai who had abdicated the emperor. Now that he was really going to be the president, most of the representatives became worried again.They were afraid that Yuan Shikai's words would not count and would deprive them of their vested rights, and they were even more afraid that one day he would turn his face against others and attack and persecute them.So an emergency meeting was held to formulate provisions, trying to put shackles on Yuan Shikai, so that President Yuan Da, who was put on shackles, would never dare to deviate from the track of a democratic republic.

The first clause is to hastily formulate the Provisional Government Constitution.The provisional constitution stipulates that the country's political system is a cabinet system. The prime minister and the heads of various ministries are called state servants. The Republic of China exercises its ruling power through the Senate, interim president, state ministers, and courts.In the second clause, the capital of the Republic of China is set in Nanjing and cannot be changed.Clause 3: After the resignation of the interim president, the interim president and state officials will be dismissed only when the Senate decides that the new president will go to Nanjing to take office in person.

Sun Yat-sen's interim government implemented a presidential system, without a prime minister, and the heads of ministries were directly responsible to the president.Song Jiaoren was keen on the party cabinet, and Liu Kuiyi echoed his idea.The provincial representatives thought that Song Jiaoren had the ambition to be prime minister. As a result, not only the premier cabinet system was denied, but Song Jiaoren's chief of internal affairs was also denied.Now that Yuan Shikai is going to be the president, in order to restrain him, the presidential system has been changed to the prime minister system so as to distribute his powers.Beijing was not only the capital of the Qing court, but also Yuan Shikai's territory. The revolutionaries were afraid that Yuan would be in Beijing and they would not be able to control them, so they insisted that Nanjing's status as the capital could not be changed.Then come the third clause to restrict: if you don't come to Nanjing, you won't hand over the power.

Yuan Shikai, who was old in eunuch art, was very upset when he saw Nanjing playing these tricks again. He called Tang Shaoyi and Yang Du, pointed to the telegram he had just received and asked, "Look, Sun Wen and the others are here." , what is the purpose of one hand?" Tang and Yang read the telegram and were silent for a while. "If Sun Wen is the president, he doesn't want a prime minister. If I, Yuan, are the president, a prime minister will check me in. Does that make sense?" Tang Shaoyi was negotiating in Shanghai, but halfway through, he was removed from the post of general representative for exceeding his authority.As soon as he returned to Beijing, Yuan Shikai comforted him and explained the reason.Of course Tang Shaoyi can understand the difficulties of the old boss.When he saw that the prime minister was written on the telegram, he was very excited, because as soon as the post of prime minister was established, he would not be able to control the post.He wants to promote the implementation of the prime minister system.

"Brother Wei Ting, you might as well accept the prime minister cabinet system, but add one more thing: the administrative party cabinet system is not allowed. Because if the administrative party cabinet system is adopted, the prime minister of the cabinet will be selected by the ruling party. It is obvious that the prime minister will fall to the south. No way. Party cabinet, the prime minister is nominated by the president, then things are much easier.” Yang Duben was the first to propose the party-cabinet system, but obviously he can no longer talk about it now, and he also has a hint of the idea of ​​becoming a prime minister.He knew that Yuan Shikai liked to act arbitrarily, so he put it mildly: "In China's current situation, the American-style presidential system is actually the most suitable, and the French cabinet system is not suitable. However, the South insists on changing the cabinet system, and there is no reason for this." It affects the overall situation. As Shaochuan said just now, as long as the prime minister is nominated by the president, the presidential system and the prime minister system are actually the same thing.”

"Oh, I understand." With Tang and Yang's advice, Yuan Shikai immediately understood that as long as the party and cabinet system is not implemented, it is not harmful for him to have a prime minister. "Okay, this one is accepted, with one condition attached, the cabinet is non-partisan, and the party cabinet cannot be administered." He picked up the telegram and looked at it again, frowned and said: "When I went to Nanjing to take office, I wanted me to be a puppet on their territory. I, Yuan, have always wanted to run the affairs by myself. Instead of being a puppet of the Revolutionary Party, I It’s better to be the prime minister of the cabinet of the Qing court. This Nanjing is absolutely not going to, do you think there is any good idea to deal with it?”

Tang Shaoyi wholeheartedly hoped that the new government would appear early, fearing that there would be trouble again, so she persuaded: "I think it would be good to set up the capital in Nanjing. Nanjing is a place where dragons and tigers occupy, the old capital of the Six Dynasties, and the place where the foundation and emperor were established in the Ming Dynasty. It is a good place to be the capital." .As long as the power is in your hands, you will not be a puppet anywhere.” Tang Shaoyi's scheming was far inferior to Yuan Shikai's, how could he guess what was going on in Yuan's heart!The difference between being in Nanjing and being in Beijing is hard to explain in a few words.Yuan Shikai looked at Tang Shaoyi and smiled wryly, "Nanjing is so good, why don't you go there and become the president."

This sarcasm made Tang Shaoyi look embarrassed, and couldn't speak anymore.Yang Du has been planning in his heart for a long time, but he can't think of a way to get the best of both worlds.At this moment, a personal adjutant came in to make an inspection: "Minister Zhao Bingjun has something to see." Yuan Shikai got up and said to Tang and Yang, "I'll go to the next door to see Zhi'an, and you can think about it for me." Said and went out.After a while Yuan Shikai came in, sat down on the sofa, and said angrily: "A jewelry store in Wangfujing was robbed. If you ask me about such a trivial matter, just arrest and kill them. To deal with these people, we can only use Zeng Wenzhenggong It is better to use severe punishments and punishments, rather than to be strict, not to be lenient!" At the time of reforming the old and reforming the old, the city of Beijing is more chaotic than in the past, and house robbery happened from time to time.When it gets dark, the common people are afraid to go out, and every house closes the gate tightly. "Yes, let's make a fuss from this point!" Yang Du suddenly had an idea. "There is a way!" He excitedly expressed an idea to Yuan Shikai. "Xizi is capable!" Yuan Shikai was full of praise after hearing this, and immediately made a decision. "Okay, just do as you say!" The next day, Yuan Shikai called back to Nanjing: everything should be done in accordance with the resolution of the Senate. So the Nanjing Senate met to accept Sun Yat-sen's resignation, and all 17 ballots were cast for Yuan Shikai.More than two months ago, when the revolutionary leader Sun Yat-sen was elected as the interim president, he only got 16 votes.Now Yuan Shikai, the former prime minister of the Qing Dynasty, has won unanimous votes just like Washington in the United States!This is really a strange thing that thousands of revolutionaries cannot predict. The Nanjing Senate decided to send a high-level special mission to Beijing to welcome President Yuan Da to take office in the south.The special mission group consists of the revolutionary hero Cai Yuanpei as the chief special envoy, Song Jiaoren, Wang Jingwei, Wei Chenzu, and Niu Yongjian as the special envoys. They will leave Nanjing for Beijing today. When the envoy arrived in Beijing, Yuan Shikai ordered Tang Shaoyi to greet him at Qianmen Station on his behalf. He specially invited Cai Yuanpei, Song Jiaoren and others into Beijing with the most noble etiquette to open the Zhengyang Gate, and stayed in Xianliang Temple. That night, Yuan Shikai held a grand banquet at the Liuguo Hotel to cleanse the special mission.Yuan frequently toasted to the envoys one by one, and strongly praised their achievements in helping Sun Yat-sen establish the provisional government, respecting them as the great heroes of the Chinese nation.Cai Yuanpei, who was very bookish, was very moved, and said again and again: "President Yuan is worthy of being China's Washington. The Republic of China is led by President Yuan. This is the blessing of the government of the Republic of China and the Chinese people." The next day, Tang Shaoyi led a group of people to Xianliang Temple to have formal talks with the special envoy. Tang Shaoyi solemnly drew up the date of Yuan Shikai's departure from Beijing, planned the route to the south and the destination for temporary rest.Cai Yuanpei also explained the arrangement of residences in Nanjing, and said apologetically that President Yuan had a large number of family members. At present, there may not be enough houses in the former Liangjiang Governor’s Yamen where the Nanjing Provisional Government is located. . In the afternoon, Tang Shaoyi told the special envoy that the discussion in the morning had been reported to the President, who was very satisfied with the arrangement in Nanjing.Cai Yuanpei and others were relieved.So they discussed which day the inauguration ceremony should be held, which foreign ministers to invite to attend, and so on.The talks between the two sides went smoothly, speculatively and harmoniously, without any grievances.Of the five special envoys in the mission, except for Wang Jingwei who had met Yuan Shikai, the other four had never met him before.They have been common people for a long time, and they are somewhat in awe of the former upright officialdom and Yuan Shikai.In the past two days, seeing Yuan Min is approachable and sincere, and Tang Shaoyi and his assistants are also very polite and easy to talk to, the hearts of the envoys are full of goodwill. The night program is to watch "Universe Front" by Mei Lanfang, the most popular Huadan in Beijing at present, at the Auspicious Grand Theater. This Mei Lanfang is actually a man.His family has sung Pi Huang for three generations.Grandfather Mei Qiaoling not only sang Huadan, but also Tsingyi. She was the favorite of Empress Dowager Cixi and was one of the thirteen famous actresses during the Tongguang period.Mei Lanfang is only eighteen years old this year, but she has eleven or twelve years of acting experience.He has a slim figure and pretty appearance. His ancestral special skills combined with his own intelligence and hard work make him overwhelm the crowd at a young age, and he is unique in the world of danjiao in the jutan of the capital.The song "Universe Front" was really sweet, clear, lingering and melodious, and these envoys from the south were mesmerized by it.Thirty-year-old Hunan talent Song Jiaoren stared helplessly at the dandelion on the stage who was as weak as a willow flower. He simply couldn't understand how a big man could be more seductive and charming than a beautiful woman! Just as he was fascinated, there was a sudden commotion in the theatre, and someone yelled loudly: "No, there is a mutiny, Qiu Ba and others are going to break into the theatre!" Just this one sentence made everyone panic, and they all left the table and ran towards the fire gate. Noisy, crying, cursing, and shouting were mixed together, and the good theater seemed to be plagued by a fire. He begged them to be quiet and sit down, but no one listened to him, and the theater was in a mess. The envoys sitting in the front row wanted to maintain a little dignified at first, and sat still, but seeing that it was getting worse and worse, they also panicked.Tang Shaoyi, who accompanied them to watch the play, stabilized their emotions, and at the same time ordered the patrolmen who were responsible for the security duties to protect the lives of the envoys.Five or six patrolmen armed with shining bayonets, ate and drank loudly in front, back, left, and right, and drove away the spectators crowded nearby, escorted them out of the gate, and sent them to the carriage.Five special envoys, including Tang Shaoyi and Cai Yuanpei, were sitting in the three carriages, and a patrol policeman with live ammunition was dispatched to each carriage.The coachman raised his whip, and the carriage left the Jixiang Grand Theater and ran towards Xianliang Temple. It was not yet nine o'clock at this time, and there was no light on the street. It was so dark that it was as if the sky and the earth had died. The envoys sitting in the carriage were all uneasy.Suddenly, they saw a bunch of bright lights not far ahead.After walking more than ten feet forward, I could see clearly that it was a group of torches.The fire illuminated thirty or forty people, all wearing messy military uniforms, holding knives, guns and sticks, viciously knocking on the door and knocking on the door, shouting loudly: "Throw out all the valuables, I'm going to break the door and kill people! " Amidst the shouts, things were thrown from the window from time to time.The door of a pawn shop was knocked open, and there were painful cries from inside.The envoys were terrified when they witnessed this scene.Tang Shaoyi hurriedly said to the coachman: "Turn left, turn left, go out through that small alley!" Three carriages drove into a small alley that was only ten feet wide. It was dark and the road was not smooth. The carriages turned and bumped. The envoys sat in it, as if their internal organs were about to burst from their throats. Like coming out.Before walking more than a mile, I saw another group of people, much more people than before.Many of them carried bundles in their arms and boxes on their shoulders, and fired guns into the air, screaming.Obviously, this is also a group of soldiers and ruffians who have already plundered their property. "It's really a mutiny!" Cai Yuanpei said to Tang Shaoyi who was sitting next to him with an uneasy expression. "The city of Beijing has not been stable in the past two months." Tang Shaoyi's mouth trembled a little. "Due to the arrival of the special envoys in the past two days, thousands of patrolmen have been sent to strengthen vigilance, but they have not been suppressed. I don't know which part of the soldiers is making trouble." Tang Shaoyi said while instructing the coachman to turn again.Not far away, I saw a group of soldiers and ruffians knocking on doors and shouting indiscriminately.The coachman quickly avoided.The convoy wandered around the dark alleys for more than an hour, and encountered seven or eight mutinies who were fighting with open flames and looting houses.As if walking in a magic cave with unknown depths and unpredictable life and death, the envoys were always in shock.After finally returning to Xianliang Temple, all of them were pale and out of breath.After Tang Shaoyi said many words of apology, she left. Fortunately, he finally escaped from the dangerous situation, but there was another noise outside.Looking through the window sills, a group of hideous-faced men with military caps crooked and slanted backs with knives and guns were standing by the gate outside the low wall, holding up smoky torches. "Open the door, open the door!" The ferocious shout was accompanied by heavy knocking, and the envoys were so frightened that they dared not breathe out. A low-level official in charge of Xianliang Temple hurried over and said loudly through the door: "Bosses, please don't make noise, there is a special mission from the south living here!" "What special missions are not special missions, I don't care how many!" "Grandpas haven't paid their salaries for a few months. Take the money and everything will be done. If you don't have money, don't blame the grandpas for messing around!" "Call the special envoy to come out, and first (donate) a few thousand taels of silver to Lao Tzu before talking about it!" There was a lot of chatter outside the door, and the envoys didn't know how to deal with it, and they were all muttering in their hearts: Why is Beijing so chaotic? The little official said again: "Bosses, stop arguing. These southern envoys are guests invited by Mr. Yuan. If you offend them, Mr. Yuan will have a hard time." The noise stopped, and one of the leaders said: "Since we are Master Yuan's guest, then forget it, brothers, let's go!" Seeing the torches gradually disappearing, the envoys heaved a sigh of relief and took off their clothes to sleep.Lying on the bed, I kept hearing gunshots and faint noises outside.For a whole night, the city of Beijing was so noisy. The next morning, Tang Shaoyi and Zhao Bingjun came.The envoys hurriedly asked what happened last night.Zhao Bingjun told them that there was a mutiny in the third town of Beiyang last night. More than 2,000 soldiers took to the streets and continued to riot all night. Three to four thousand houses were looted.Tang Shaoyi apologized and said to the envoys that today she would assist the President in handling the mutiny, and the meeting would be suspended for one day.Cai Yuanpei said again and again: "Okay, okay, it's important to deal with the mutiny. Hurry up to calm people down and maintain order." The envoys stayed in Xianliang Temple all day and dared not go out.In the afternoon, another news came: the mutiny spread to Tianjin, Baoding, and Tongzhou, and the people suffered heavy losses.The next morning, the secret agent sent by the Revolutionary Party in Beijing came to Xianliang Temple to report the situation, saying that the rebels were all from the third town.It is also said that Cao Kun, the commander of the third town, was born as a cloth dealer. He was rude and disregarded military discipline.Because he himself was the backbone of the Xiaozhan period, he won the trust of Yuan Shikai, and only Yuan could restrain him.The reason for the disturbance this time was that some standard officials withheld special military pay during the war.The secret agent also told the envoys that the foreign legation in Dongjiaomin Lane held an emergency meeting yesterday. In view of the mutiny in Beijing, fearing another Gengzi Year, they decided to send troops to Beijing to protect the embassy area.Japan was the first to act, and had already issued an order to transfer 1,500 soldiers from the Shanhaiguan Pass and the South Manchurian Garrison to Beijing as soon as possible. All the newspapers in the capital received in the afternoon published the news of the mutiny in the third town of Beiyang in special headlines, and reported the victims in Beijing and Tianjin. The "Imperial Daily" also published the speech of the British Minister Zhu Erdian.Zhu Erdian said that the reason for the mutiny was the rumor that Yuan Shikai was going south to take office. The British government supported the implementation of a democratic republic system in China, but for the stability of the situation in China, he hoped that Yuan Shikai would take office in Beijing instead of going to Nanjing. The southern envoys discussed after reading Zhu Erdian's speech.They all believed that Zhu Erdian's speech actually represented the opinions of all foreign envoys stationed in China.The most urgent task for the newly born Republic of China is to be recognized by all countries in the world, especially Britain, the United States, Germany, Japan and other big powers.If Yuan Shikai's inauguration in the south caused turmoil in the north, causing the great powers not to recognize the Republic of China, it would be a small loss. During the discussion, Tang Shaoyi came to Xianliang Temple and said to Cai Yuanpei and others: "I am very sorry these two days. The president has been busy dealing with the mutiny day and night, and I have been sent around. The president ordered Cao Kun to deal with it seriously. Just now Cao Kun reported to the president , Said that the two officials who withheld military pay had been arrested, and the leader of the mutiny had also arrested dozens. The president was so angry that he scolded Cao Kun, saying that I have not left Beijing, and you are making trouble like this. If I Going south, don’t you make a fuss in Beijing? Cao Kun asked the president not to go to Nanjing, maybe there will be a big disturbance in Beijing. The president ordered Cao Kun to pay the deduction standard and the leader of the rioters. Earth rectifies the law." Cai Yuanpei hurriedly said: "Okay, okay, President Yuan is courageous, and the mutiny must never happen again." Tang Shaoyi said: "The president originally wanted to go to Xianliang Temple to discuss with you in person, but because of an accident, he couldn't come. He specially ordered me to pick you up to him, and I feel wronged to let you go." Cai Yuanpei and other five people boarded the carriage and followed Tang Shaoyi to the Beiyang Office.The former Yuan's cabinet team: Liang Dunyan from the Foreign Affairs Department, Zhao Bingjun from the Civil Affairs Department, Yan Xiu from Duzhi, Wang Shizhen from the Army, Sa Zhenbing from the Navy, Tang Jingchong from the Academic Department, Shen Jiaben from the Ministry of Law, etc. followed Yuan Shikai at the door to greet him. Everyone entered the meeting room.After sitting down, Yuan Shikai said very sincerely: "All the revolutionary heroes came to Beijing to greet them in person. Shikai really dare not do it. Shaochuan has negotiated with you on the details of going south on my behalf, and I have made the matter of going south to take office public. Unexpectedly Cao Kun was not strictly restrained, and the soldiers made noises, which not only harassed the citizens of Beijing and Tianjin, but also alarmed all the revolutionary heroes. Shikai felt very sorry and ordered Cao Kun to punish the first person responsible for the accident according to law. Now he has to postpone the date of going south. Discuss this, everyone." As soon as Yuan Shikai finished speaking, Wang Shizhen, the former Minister of the Army, said: "The fact that the third town was in trouble was due to the deduction of military pay, and the deduction of military pay is not only in the third town, but also in the first town, the second town, and the fourth town. The soldiers have long held their breath. Although the perpetrators have been dealt with seriously this time, there is no guarantee that there will be no accidents in the future. The Army Department hopes that the president will not go south and just take office in Beijing." The former Secretary of the Navy Sa Zhenbing went on to say: "Our Admiralty's views are completely consistent with those of the War Ministry. I implore the President not to go south. The special envoys have seen the situation in the past two days. I hope the special envoys can understand and express their condolences to Mr. Sun Wen." Wanda agrees." Others said: "Beijing cannot be without a president for a day, and the president must not go south!" Yuan Shikai smiled, watching his subordinates talk to each other, but he himself said nothing. Cai Yuanpei and Song Jiaoren waited for you to look at me, and I looked at you, all thinking in their hearts: It seems that Yuan Shikai's original intention was that he didn't want to go south. How about agreeing to his idea? Wang Jingwei also figured out Yuan's psychology, and seeing Yuan Zheng looking at him, he clearly signaled him to speak first.He thought for a while and said: "The Beiyang army dared to provoke and make trouble in Beijing. This is indeed something we did not expect. We were ordered to welcome President Yuan Da to the south. The original purpose is to make the north and the south stable and the country to enter the governance of the world as soon as possible. The turmoil in Beijing caused by President Yuan Da’s southward travel and the suspicion of the diplomatic missions are totally inconsistent with our highest mission. However, Nanjing is the capital of the Republic of China, which was agreed upon by the representatives of the provinces, and it should not be changed lightly. I think it is How about this, in view of the current situation, we will handle this matter with authority. President Yuan Da will take the oath of office in Beijing first, and then move the government to Nanjing after the situation in the north is stabilized." Although Wang Jingwei's words did not reach a consensus among the special mission, everyone's preliminary opinions were not much different.As the chief special envoy, Cai Yuanpei always felt that he had not fulfilled his mission and felt uneasy, but he couldn't come up with a better idea for a while.Song Jiaoren also felt the same way.The vice president of the Huaxing Association, the general affairs of the Tongmenghui, and the dean of the Legal System of the Nanjing Provisional Government, although he is young, has a long history of revolution and rich political strategies.He also knew that it was impossible for Yuan Nan to take up his post at present, but he could not completely accommodate. There must be other conditions to restore the influence of the Nanjing government, and at the same time, he had to win some face for the special mission.He came up with an idea. "The democratic republic of the North and the South must be announced to the world as soon as possible. Therefore, President Yuan Da must take office as soon as possible. The current situation in Beijing is not suitable for President Yuan Da to leave, so it is okay to take the oath in Beijing, but President Yuan Da's cabinet organization must be passed. The consent of the Nanjing Senate. After President Yuan Da took the oath in Beijing, he sent the appointed prime minister to Nanjing, negotiated the cabinet list with the Nanjing Interim Government, and then submitted it to the Senate for approval. Finally, it was announced to the world: President Yuan Da’s cabinet was formed in Nanjing .” This is indeed a good idea.Cai Yuanpei, who was born as a scholar, admired the intelligence and flexibility of this young man from Hunan who was more than ten years younger than himself.As the chief special envoy, he stated: "That's it, President Yuan Da took the oath of office in Beijing, and the government will be moved to Nanjing after the situation is stable. The new cabinet prime minister will go to Nanjing with us, organize and announce the new cabinet in Nanjing. established." Yuan Shikai sneered in his heart: This group of Maotou Revolutionary Party has no strength but also cares about face-saving. It's too young to want me to fall into your trap!As long as I am president, this government can only be in Beijing, and the announcement of the cabinet list in Nanjing is not the same as the announcement in Beijing!With a sincere smile on his face, he said: "Shikai sincerely thanks all the special envoys for their magnanimity. Once the prime minister of the cabinet is confirmed, he will be sent to Nanjing to negotiate with the Nanjing side. Shikai will immediately lead all the cabinet members to go south to Jiangning to lay the foundation of the republic forever!" On March 10, 1912, Yuan Shikai, the second provisional president of the Republic of China, took the oath of office in Beijing at a grand ceremony attended by the Southern Special Mission, and declared to the whole of China and the world that "we will do our best to carry forward the spirit of the Republic." The spirit cleanses away the filth of autocracy." Yang Du offered a secret plan to counterattack, which fulfilled Yuan Shikai's wish not to go south to take office. He thought that Yuan would reward him with the post of Prime Minister of the Cabinet.Unexpectedly, Tang Shaoyi got his wish for this position. Tang Shaoyi both admired and envied Yang Du's political talent and strategy in Shanghai's success in lobbying the revolutionaries last time and in dealing with the envoy this time.On the eve of Tang Shaoyi's departure to Ningxia, Yuan Shikai gave him a cabinet list: Army Duan Qirui, foreign affairs Lu Zhengxiang, internal affairs Zhao Bingjun, finance Xiong Xiling, navy Liu Guanxiong, education Yang Du, and transportation Liang Ruhao. hand.There are three other ministries: justice, agriculture and forestry, and industry and commerce, which are handed over to the Southern Revolutionary Army and let them decide for themselves. Of course, Tang Shaoyi could only listen to Yuan Shikai's arrangements for the cabinet staff.But when he saw that Yang Du was listed as the Minister of Education, he felt a little uncomfortable, but he had no reason to directly deny it.After pondering for a moment, he came up with a good idea: "President, I am very supportive of this cabinet list, but I have two small opinions." Yuan Shikai said: "You are the prime minister of the cabinet. If you have different opinions, you can just say it." Tang Shaoyi said: "The first point is that the president left several ministries in the South to be decided by the South itself. This is a very respectful approach to the South. However, in the future, the heads of these ministries will not be grateful to the President, they will only be grateful Their own party. It would be better if the President also nominated him, of course the Revolutionary Party. Then they themselves would be grateful to the President." Yuan Shikai said with a smile: "Shaochuan, you are so shrewd, don't use the prime minister's authority to plot against me in the future!" Tang Shaoyi was startled, and then smiled and said: "How can it be, if you don't agree with you at that time, you will dismiss me from my post if you don't say a word!" Yuan Shikai put away his smile and said, "Okay, don't gossip, I'll do as you please. I'll mention a few names, you can decide." Yuan Shikai stroked his beard, thought for a while, and said, "The last time you came back from Shanghai, you said that Wang Chonghui was young and promising. After graduating from the law department of Beiyang University, he obtained a doctorate in law in the United States. Then let him be the chief justice!" Jiaoren, the youngest son, I think he has a strange appearance and is different from the common customs. He has held important positions in the revolutionary party for a long time, and this time he is the special envoy, so let him be the chief of agriculture and forestry!" Tang Shaoyi hurriedly complimented: "The president has mentioned these two candidates well, especially Song Jiaoren. He was not approved by the southern government last time as the chief of the interior. He must be very grateful for the president's mention of his name this time." "There is Chen Qimei in the revolutionary party. Sun Wen didn't use him last time when he formed a cabinet. In fact, this person is worth using. He is the revolutionary party and the leader of the Qinggang. The Shanghai Chamber of Commerce is controlled by the Qinggang. He has mastered the Qinggang. It’s in his hands. Shanghai accounts for one-third of China’s industry and commerce, and it’s most appropriate for Chen Qimei to be the head of industry and commerce.” Yuan Shikai's understanding of Chen Qimei surprised Tang Shaoyi.Because Chen Qimei was not very well-known among the top figures of the Revolutionary Party, Tang Shaoyi himself did not know the identity of the leader of Chen's Youth Gang.The political talent of this old boss is really unmatched.Tang Xinyue said convincingly: "Shao Yi is far inferior to the president's ability to know and employ people. Compared with Zhang Jian, Chen Qimei has some advantages." Yuan Shikai said quite complacently: "Shaochuan, the key to leading a group of people is to know and employ people. In modern times, Zeng Wenzheng is the only one who has done it well. You will become the prime minister in the future, and you will also be an administrative leader. You must read Zeng Wenzheng carefully. The Complete Works of Wen Zhenggong. This book can teach you a lot.” Tang Shaoyi said: "The president's words are really good words. I read "The Complete Works of Zeng Wenzheng Gong" in the past, but I didn't read it carefully. In the future, I must follow the president's instructions and read it thoroughly." "Shaochuan, what we just said is the first point, what's your second point of view?" "President, Shao Yi thinks that there are ten ministries in the cabinet, and the South only has three. They may think it's too small. The Ministry of Education is a cold government office. We might as well be more generous and let them forget it. Moreover, the South has a ready-made chief of education, which is very good." He is popular, and it would be a pity to abandon him." "You mean Cai Yuanpei!" Yuan Shikai touched his shaved cheek and said, "I think Cai Yuanpei does have a kind of graceful and quiet scholarly demeanor. As a revolutionary party, it is indeed rare to have such an endowment, and he was born in the Imperial Academy. It is very good to be the chief education officer. It’s just that Yang Du also contributed a lot, so he should be rewarded heavily. He used to be the vice minister of the Ministry of Education, and now he is also suitable to be the chief education officer. He is very bookish, and he is not suitable for other chief executives. , and only a long-term education can be regarded as the best of both worlds.” Tang Shaoyi said: "Yang Duchang's education is of course good, but compared with Cai Yuanpei, his qualifications are much worse. Cai was an imperial scholar in the Qing Dynasty and once served as a school supervisor. These are better than Xizi. In addition, the most important What’s more interesting is that the south definitely thinks that there are three ministries missing and they need to increase them. What if they propose to head the Ministry of the Army? It is said that Nanjing is trying its best to promote Huang Xing as the chief of the army.” Tang Shaoyi's words moved Yuan Shikai.Yuan Shikai always paid attention to his background and qualifications when employing people. Cai Yuanpei, who was born in the Imperial Academy, was indeed higher than Yang Du, who only had a reputation for raising people.Besides, if there is one ministry to give up, the only one is education.Not only is the Ministry of the Army the lifeblood, but the other navy, diplomacy, internal affairs, finance, and transportation are all key departments, and none of them can be allowed.Well, only Xizi was wronged. A few days later, Tang Shaoyi came to Nanjing together with the Southern Special Mission. After being approved by the Senate, he officially announced to the Chinese people the new cabinet of the North-South alliance. Yang Du was very disappointed when he saw the cabinet list.Although Yuan Shikai explained to him and paid 400,000 yuan as a reward, he was still happy.He spent 200,000 yuan to buy a luxury foreign-made villa in Qingdao, leaving He Sanye to look after the house in Huai'an Hutong, and took Jingzhu, Yizhu and their children to this villa for vacation. When Yang Du left Beijing, an old friend of his was traveling thousands of miles to the capital. This person was the abbot of Tiantong Temple, Master Jichan, and Bazhi Toutuo, who had become the number one figure in the Buddhist circle.