Chapter 23 22. Yuan Keding's "Prince Dream"

At the beginning of November 1913, after the KMT was disbanded, the Congress was paralyzed because the number of members did not exceed half. Yuan Shikai held a political meeting at the end of November. On the surface, it was used as an advisory body for his queen, but in fact he wanted to use it to replace the Congress. .Sure enough, the Congress was also dissolved more than a month later, and all the members were driven back to their hometowns. The political meeting held by Yuan Shikai was not elected. Among them, 10 people were appointed by Yuan Shikai, 4 people were appointed by the State Council, and 2 people were sent by each province and ministry. The total number of people was 80 people.Among these 80 people, most of them were former Qing bureaucrats and celebrities or constitutionalists such as Yang Du and Yang Shiqi. son) was appointed by Yuan Shikai as the speaker of the political council, and Zhang Guogan as the deputy speaker.

The initial conflict between Yuan Shikai and the National Congress was mainly on the formulation of the constitution. Therefore, after the establishment of the political conference, Yuan Shikai also wanted to turn it into a law-making tool, but the nature of the political conference was an advisory body (somewhat similar to the former Qing Dynasty. ), at best they can only study policies and provide some policy references (for example, the proposal to dissolve the National Assembly and local councils was written by it), so they suggested that Yuan Shikai organize a temporary "conference meeting" to specialize in The matter of "adding and amending the contract" also seems to be justified.

Yuan Shikai felt that this proposal was quite feasible, so he held a "law meeting" on March 18, 1914, with Sun Yujun and Shi Yu as the chairpersons and deputy speakers, and planned to formulate a new law under the guidance of President Yuan Da to replace the Nanjing Provisional Law. The provisional constitution formulated by the government and the aborted constitution of the Temple of Heaven. There were a total of 57 people in the "Convention Law Conference". After one and a half months of busy work, a new constitution of the Republic of China was announced on May 1 of that year, which is tentatively called "Yuan Ji Contract Law".This new "fundamental law" made major changes to the original system, and the legislature was changed from the original two houses of the Senate to the unicameral system, which is the legendary "Legislative Yuan" (because Yuan Shikai never organized a Legislative Yuan until his death).

In view of the fact that organizing the Legislative Yuan is an extremely difficult task, before the Legislative Yuan was established, the "Senate Council" was changed to perform legislative functions on its behalf.The dean of the Senate is concurrently served by Vice President Li Yuanhong, and the vice-president is Wang Daxie. There are 73 members of the Senate, and the previous political meeting has come to an end. Ladies and gentlemen, the fundamental difference between the Senate and the Legislative Yuan is that the Legislative Yuan is elected to exercise legislative functions and is a representative organ of the people; while the members of the Senate are appointed by President Yuan, in fact they are consultative organs. The name acts on behalf of the legislative power.If you say that the Senate is useful, it is just a royal structure; but if you say it is useless, it has actually enacted dozens of laws, such as forest law, publishing law, nationality law, copyright law, etc. These laws have become the blueprints for the new laws enacted by several subsequent governments, and even compared with the current laws, they are almost the same.

Among the laws formulated by the Senate, the most criticized one is the "Presidential Election Law" enacted at the end of 1914. Can't find the second one either. This "Presidential Election Law" has two quirks. The first quirk is the term of office of the president. Not to mention the excessively long term of ten years, he can be re-elected, and there is no regulation on how many times he can be re-elected. The second strange thing is that the current president has the right to recommend the next presidential candidate. He only needs to seal it with the Golden Harvest Gold Slip in advance, and store it in the golden chamber of the presidential palace, and then open it after the president dies.This set of things that Yuan Shikai did was actually the secret establishment of the reserve by Emperor Yongzheng more than a hundred years ago.In this way, Yuan Shikai will pass on his wife to his son, who knows?

Why did the Senate enact such a bizarre electoral law?The reason is simple, because the previous "fundamental law" has changed the previous responsible cabinet system into a presidential system, and it is not an ordinary presidential system, but a "super-presidential system".Under this system, Yuan Shikai not only controlled all the military and political power, but also the term of office of the president and the selection of presidential candidates greatly surpassed the power of ordinary presidents, which was simply lawless. In other words, because Yuan Shikai suffered from the previous "super-parliamentary system" that restricted executive power, especially presidential power, this reform not only regained the various powers that originally belonged to the president, but also intensified it, almost in line with Japan's puppet constitutional monarchy. The emperor's power is equal.

Under the system of the Yuan Ji contract law, the original responsible cabinet system was replaced by the presidential system, and the State Council ceased to exist.In order to better exercise power, Yuan Shikai set up a political affairs hall under the presidential palace. The former Qing cabinet assistant minister (equivalent to the deputy prime minister) and old friend Xu Shichang served as the secretary of state, and Yang Shiqi and Qian Nengxun were the left and right ministers respectively. It stands to reason that the modern democratic system should be a separation of powers framework in which Congress makes legislation and supervision, the president or the cabinet exercises executive power, and the judiciary is independent. Political operations include the basic elements and modes of operation such as the representative system, political parties running for power, and the election of heads of state. However, under President Yuan Da's drastic action, the republican and democratic atmosphere in the early years of the Republic of China has been wiped out, leaving only an empty signboard of the Republic of China, which is really staggering.

There is still a difference between the president under Yuan Shikai's "super-presidential system" and the Japanese emperor, that is: although the presidential candidate can be secretly selected by the previous president, it is not a legitimate succession after all. Therefore, although Yuan Shikai is not in a hurry, some people are in a hurry up.Who is this man?Needless to say, you can tell at a guess that it is Yuan Shikai's eldest son and quasi-"Prince" Yuan Keding. As we all know, Yuan Shikai had many wives and concubines in his life (one wife, nine concubines), and more than thirty children (seventeen sons, fifteen daughters). House wives and concubines are a symbol of rich and powerful people.When Yuan Shikai returned to Henan in 1876 and failed the provincial examination, he got married in the countryside and married his wife Yu Shi. Yuan Shikai was only 17 years old at that time.Two years later, Yuan Keding was born. He was not only the eldest son of Yuan Shikai, but also the only descendant of the Yu family.

After Yuan Shikai arrived in North Korea, he successively added many concubines and gave birth to many children, but these younger brothers and sisters were all very different from Yuan Keding in age. For example, the second son Yuan Kewen was 12 years younger than Yuan Shikai. Of course Yuan Keding looked at it differently, and he was good at cultivating him.Yuan Keding followed Yuan Shikai since he was a child. No matter whether Yuan Shikai was stationed in North Korea or trained at a small station, or he was the governor of Shandong or the governor of Zhili, Yuan Keding never left. When it comes to Yuan Keding, he can be regarded as handsome and talented, changing his father's image of a short, valiant warrior.When Yuan Shikai was an official in the Qing Dynasty, Yuan Keding also worked in the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce, and was later promoted to Youcheng (probably equivalent to the current bureau-level cadre). Later, because Yuan Shikai was expelled from Beijing, Yuan Keding also returned home with his father.Unexpectedly, in 1912, Yuan Keding accidentally fell while riding a horse in his hometown in Henan. Because of untimely treatment, he fell to the root of the disease and walked with a limp. Yuan Shikai was very heartbroken to see him, so he was sent to Germany for further treatment the next year.

When the German Emperor Wilhelm II saw the eldest son of the President of the Republic of China coming to see a doctor, he naturally attached great importance to it and received him very attentively.William II was an ambitious man. He was trying to expand his power in the Far East at the time, so he took advantage of the banquet to whisper in Yuan Keding's ear: "The democratic republic that China is currently pursuing is not suitable for China's national conditions. If China wants to develop, it must submit to the If Germany learns from it, it cannot develop without the imperial system. After the eldest son returns to China, he must tell the president that if China wants to restore the imperial system, Germany will do its best to help."

Not only that, when Yuan Keding returned to China, William II specially wrote a letter for him to pass on to Yuan Shikai. During his stay in Germany, Yuan Keding was amazed by the achievements of Germany, and thus believed in the efficacy of the German imperial system. In 1914, the 36-year-old Mr. Yuan failed to heal his foot injury in Germany, but he returned to China with a dream of being an emperor.As a result, Yuan Keding created a "German whirlwind" at home. He ordered a set of majestic uniforms for himself and his younger brothers, and he implicitly regarded himself as a "prince". It's a pity that after Yuan Shikai became president, he avoided suspicion from his family and relatives. His adult sons did some things in the government during the Qing Dynasty, but after the Republic of China, under Yuan Shikai's insistence, they did not. Being an official outside alone made Yuan Keding feel very tight in his chest. Fortunately, the opportunity will come soon.After the founding of the Republic of China, Yuan Shikai found that his Beiyang Army was dead, and there were many factions, and it was no longer easy to control it by himself.From the last "Beijing Mutiny", Yuan Shikai already felt that most of the generals under him now have their own hills, and it is not easy to command. Therefore, after Yuan Shikai took power, he set about rebuilding his own army, such as the five-way patrol battalion in Gyeonggi (later Feng Yuxiang's 16th mixed brigade came from here), and at this time Jiang Fangzhen, the principal of Baoding Army School, proposed to organize and train "model regiments" "In order to reorganize the army, Yuan Shikai adopted this opinion.The so-called "model regiment" is to transfer officers at all levels from each division to serve as officers and soldiers respectively, and form a regiment. After half a year of training, they will be sent to each division as officers to reform and optimize the structure of officers in the army. At the beginning, Yuan Shikai planned to let Cai E, who came to Beijing from Yunnan, serve as the head of the "model regiment", but this proposal was rejected by the generals of the Beiyang faction.After Yuan Keding heard about this incident, he also wanted to learn from Yuan Shikai's experience in military training at the small station, so he proposed to the old man that he be the head of the "model regiment".After hearing this, Yuan Shikai felt that something was wrong. Yuan Keding said that when he was in Germany, he found that the German royal family could only hold military positions in the country and were not allowed to interfere in internal affairs. This is a good method worth emulating. Under Yuan Keding's persuasion, Yuan Shikai had no choice but to agree to discuss with the army chief Duan Qirui.Duan Qirui had conflicts with Yuan Keding. When he heard that Yuan Keding was going to be the head of the "model regiment", he immediately shook his head: "What? Let the eldest son be the head of the regiment? How can this work?! I don't understand at all, wouldn't it be a fool to send him to train soldiers? Besides, his legs and feet are not good..." Before Yuan Shikai waited for Duan Qirui to finish his muttering, he left angrily. Due to the dystocia in the selection of the head of the "model group", Yuan Shikai finally had to serve concurrently by himself.It wasn't until the second phase of the "Model Group" that Duan Qirui was pushed out to Xishan to "recover his illness", and Yuan Keding finally got his wish and became the head of the "Model Group".But the problem is that Mr. Yuan does not have the hard work and sense of responsibility of his father back then. He has been a gentleman since he was a child. He was defiant, but he had his way.Although Yuan Keding was a master with "big ambitions and little ability", due to Yuan Shikai's status as the eldest son, there were still many people who followed him at that time. After all, Yuan Keding was the "prince". Soaring to the top?China has never lacked such snobbish figures.At that time, among the people who followed Yuan Keding closely, there were Yang Du and Liang Shiyi in Wen, and Duan Zhigui and Chen Guangyuan in Wu. There are people from Yuan Keding. It is said that Yuan Keding was quite suspicious of the previous mutiny in Beijing.At that time, the Nanjing Provisional Government sent Cai Yuanpei and others to Beijing to meet Yuan Shikai. Yuan Keding knew that his father was unwilling to leave Beijing, so he planned the mutiny behind Yuan Shikai's back.However, Yuan Keding's plan was to make the third town of the Beiyang Army invade the imperial palace, drive away the little emperor Puyi, and follow Song Taizu's "Chenqiao Mutiny" to give Yuan Shikai a "yellow robe". What's ridiculous is that Yuan Keding's plan was not notified to the imperial guards. As a result, the imperial guards didn't know what to do and resisted desperately. Yuan Keding's army couldn't get in. The gang of Qiu Ba masters became angry and finally turned into a robbery of merchants. catastrophe.Regarding this matter, Yuan Shikai was also quite panicked at the time, as if he really didn't know beforehand, but this was also a great help to Yuan Shikai, who was worried that he could not find an excuse to shirk his appointment in Nanjing. Among the farce of Yuan Shikai's restoration, the most hilarious thing is that Yuan Keding forged "Suntian Times" to deceive the old man. "Shuntian Times" is what Yuan Shikai read every day, because this newspaper not only has a large circulation, but also is a Chinese newspaper run by the Japanese in Tianjin. From it, we can see the trend of the Japanese government, and Yuan Shikai's attitude towards Japan at that time most sensitive.At that time, Yuan Keding, in order to promote the old man's proclaiming emperor, actually forged a fake newspaper that published some news advocating the monarchy and supporting President Yuan Da as emperor, and sent it to Yuan Shikai every day. According to Yuan Shikai's favorite third daughter, Yuan Jingxue, recalled: "The fake version of "Suntian Times" was produced by a group of people organized by the elder brother (Yuan Keding). It’s also fake. The eldest brother separated our family from the real news. Unexpectedly, one day, a girl of mine was going home to visit her father. She bought some by the way and brought them back to eat. The next day, this girl bought a big bag, which was wrapped with the entire "Suncheon Times". When I was eating broad beans, I accidentally saw this front The newspapers published in a few days were different from the Suncheon Times we usually read. I hurriedly searched for the newspapers of the same day to check, and found that the dates were the same, but the content was different. I felt very It was strange, so I went to my second brother (Yuan Kewen) to ask what was going on. The second brother said that he had already seen the different "Suncheon Times" outside the mansion, but he didn't dare to explain it to my father. He then asked me "Do you dare to say it?" I said: "I dare". That night, I gave the real "Suncheon Times" to my father. After my father read it, he asked where he got it. I told the truth. My father frowned at that time and didn't express anything. He just said: "Go and play." The next morning, he called his eldest brother, and asked him if it was his fault. My father was very angry, and in the sound of my elder brother kneeling and begging for mercy, he beat my elder brother with a leather whip. While beating, he also called him "deceitful father and wrong country". From then on, my father saw him. No matter what he said, my father always put on a straight face, let out a 'hum' from his nose, and stopped talking to him to show his distrust." Although Yuan Keding lost the old man's trust at a critical moment, he still had a trump card, which was the "family curse" mentioned above that made Yuan Shikai linger.In Yuan Shikai's family, none of them who went out to serve as officials lived past the age of 60. Such famous figures as Yuan Jiasan, Yuan Baoheng, Yuan Baoling, Yuan Baoqing, and even Yuan Shikai's own father, Yuan Baozhong, also died in their prime.As a result, the mark of 60 years old has become a long-term nightmare in Yuan Shikai's heart, and since the founding of the Republic of China, Yuan Shikai's health has been deteriorating, which makes him even more suspicious. As the age of 60 is approaching, Yuan Keding's assurance that "only by proclaiming himself emperor can he break through this curse" cannot fail to have a strong attraction to Yuan Shikai.After all, the emperor is the Ninth Five-Year Supreme. What else in the world is more honorable than this?Perhaps, this curse really dare not infringe on the real man?From this point of view, it is not fair to put all the blame on Yuan Keding's ass. After all, Yuan Shikai was also a superstitious person in that era. In stark contrast to Yuan Keding's enthusiasm for the imperial system, Yuan Shikai's second son Yuan Kewen (zi Hanyun) was indifferent to it.Not only that, but the "second son of the emperor" even wrote a poem satirizing his father, which can be regarded as the best among the ancient poems of the Republic of China. Let's transcribe it as follows: There is also a version of this poem, which has a beautiful artistic conception, so we can enjoy it together: The last two lines of this satirical poem are the same, and of course they are also the key point of the poem. It is nothing more than admonishing the old man to "don't go to the top floor of Qionglou", otherwise he will stand tall and fall hard, and lose all his money. .Su Dongpo also said in "Water Tune Getou Mid-Autumn Festival" that "the heights are too cold", presumably President Yuan also got hot with his head and has long since forgotten it. According to legend, when Yuan Shikai was dying, he muttered: "It was he who harmed me." At that time, Yuan Shikai did not say who this "he" was, and most people thought it was the eldest son Yuan Keding.Yuan Keding really has to bear half of the responsibility for this ugly drama of restoration. He wanted to be a prince himself and wanted to be crazy. In the end, he pushed the old man to the fire and made Yuan Shikai a generation of heroes. In the end, he was killed by this scorpion. What a pity. The ridiculous and lamentable infamy through the ages is really useless. Yuan Keding was a man who was neither literate nor martial, his character was not high, his morals were not obvious, not to mention half his life, he was a man's favorite in his later years, and because of this, he lost his family and property, and died in poverty.How could Yuan Keding absolve himself of the blame for Yuan Shikai's defeat?