Chapter 25 24. The "Preparation Committee" can't do anything with the "petition group"

The good wind sent me to Qingyun by force.With Professor Gu's "Emperoral Republic", President Yuan really wants to order a dragon robe now, and realize the emperor's dream.As for people like Yang Du, they naturally regard Professor Gu's article as the "Bible" for organizing the preparation meeting. The professionalism that can't wait and is determined to grab the top spot is really admirable and not enough to show respect. Professor Gu's article was just a theoretical prologue, but Yang Du and other practitioners took advantage of the momentum to open the curtain of the imperial movement on August 14, 1915. This was the notorious "Preparation Meeting" in modern history. .There was not much movement on the day when the Chou Anhui was listed, but when the signboard with the three characters "Chou Anhui" was put up, people who didn't know it thought that there was a group of capable strategists, and this chaos It is a good deed that the numerous plans of the Republic of China have ceased, so that ordinary people can live a stable life.

Unexpectedly, a few days later, Chairman Yang published the announcement of the establishment of the Preparatory Committee in major newspapers, and announced the purpose declaration of the association. In the declaration, he stole the words of Professor Goodnow, saying, In fact, it is better than democracy, but China cannot use the monarchy." "As the Chinese people, the survival of the country is the life and death of the family. How can we bear to ignore it and sit and wait for it to die! Use a special gathering of comrades to form this meeting. Raise the security of a country."

Finally, President Yang also announced the sponsors, namely: Yang Du, Sun Yuyun, Yan Fu, Liu Shipei, Li Xiehe, and Hu Ying, also known as the "Six Gentlemen of Chipan". Although Yang Du and others claim to be an academic group, despite the "patriotic enthusiasm" as a cover, after the publication of this article, the "hearts of the six gentlemen" of the Chou Anhui have become known to passers-by.The Preparatory Committee is obviously not a simple academic study, but a political group in essence; the term "six gentlemen" is also quite funny, and I don't know whether it was the imperialist media or the critics at the time who gave them such a hat. As a result, they were passed on to ten or ten to a hundred, and they were all called the "Six Gentlemen of the Chou Anhui".

This "Six Gentlemen" is a good term. There are two groups of very well-known in Chinese history. One is the "Six Gentlemen" who opposed Wei Zhongxian, the eunuch of the Ming Dynasty, and were persecuted, that is, Zuo Guangdou and others; The six gentlemen who were killed by the Empress Dowager Cixi, namely Tan Sitong and others.These dear friends from Yang Du, it is appropriate to call them the "Gang of the Imperial Six", but how can they be worthy of the title of "Six Gentlemen"?It’s really strange, presumably intended to be satirical, not joyful (let the author speculate that Yang Du, Yang Rui and Liu Guangdi who were killed in 1898 were brothers of the same school, could it be that the irony of "Six Gentlemen" came from this? ).

Who are the "Six Gentlemen of Chipan", here is a brief introduction.Yang Du, courtesy name Xizi, was born in Xiangtan, Hunan. When he was 20 years old (1894), he won the imperial examinations. Later, he studied under the disciple of Wang Kaiyun, a famous scholar in Hunan. Driven by this, Yang Du also went east to Fusang in 1902 and entered Tokyo Hongbun Academy to study as a teacher.Later, the Qing court held special economic examinations, and Yang Du, who was successful in his studies, returned to China for reference. After the first exam was released, Yang Du ranked second in the first class of high school, and the first place was later the Secretary-General of the Presidential Palace, Liang Shiyi.

Liang Shiyi was a native of Sanshui, Guangdong. He studied at Foshan Academy at the same time as Liang Qichao and was elected in the same list in 1889. He was awarded a Jinshi in 1894. After studying at the Imperial Academy, he worked for the National History Museum.Liang Shiyi likes to study finance, rivers and canals and other practical studies. At that time, the job assigned to him by the imperial court did not meet his interests, so he took part in the special economic examination in 1903 and won the first place, but was slandered by villains during the re-examination. He was said to be the younger brother of Liang Qichao, who rebelled against the party, and his name was also very reactionary. The so-called "Liangtou Kangwei" (Kang Youwei, courtesy name Zuyi, Liang Shiyi's father was once listed on the same list as Kang Youwei), his character can be seen.At that time, the Empress Dowager Cixi hated Kang and Liang the most, and everyone knew that Liang Shiyi was disheartened and withdrew from the competition; Yang Duyin was the same family of the murdered Yang Rui and Liu Guangdi (both from Wang Kaiyun's sect), Also flee away wisely, so as not to bring disaster.

After suffering this setback, Yang Du went to Japan to study law and politics again. Because of his handsome personality and high IQ, he quickly became famous and was promoted as the secretary-general of the International Students Association at that time.Sun Yat-sen also admired Yang Du quite a lot, and once wanted to recruit him into the League, but Yang Du was politically inclined to a constitutional monarchy, neither royalist nor revolutionary, so he declined Sun Yat-sen's request.During his stay in Japan, Yang Du published a large number of political articles, and was known as a constitutional theorist at one time. Later, five ministers sent by the Qing government to investigate constitutional government, it is said that some of the research reports handed over were written by Yang Du.

After the Qing government decided to implement a preliminary constitution, Yang Du also joined the constitutional inspection office under the joint sponsorship of Zhang Zhidong, the Minister of Military Affairs at the time, and Yuan Shikai, and thus established a relationship with Yuan Shikai.However, after Yuan Shikai was driven back to his hometown, Yang Du did not advance and retreat with him, but continued to stay in Beijing as an official.After Yuan Shikai came back and took office as president, Yang Du discovered that the God of Wealth, Liang, who had been in trouble with him, had already taken the position of secretary-general of the presidential palace and became President Yuan's celebrity, which is really enviable Also, angry people also.

In his early years, Yang Du followed Wang Kaiyun to learn the art of the emperor, and at this time he also keenly saw the imperial conspiracy of the prince Yuan Keding, and the two soon became like-minded and hooked up. In April 1915, Yang Du wrote an article "On the Salvation of the Nation by the Constitution of the Monarchy". After being matched by Yuan Keding, President Yuan saw this article and appreciated it very much. The golden plaque was given to Yang Du.When Yang Du saw these four words, he was both happy and worried. He was happy that President Yuan recognized him as a talent, but he was worried that in President Yuan's eyes, he was just an "excellent talent" and could not be reused—presumably. This is why Yang Du was eager to perform.

As for the three of Sun Yuyun, Li Xiehe, and Hu Ying, as mentioned in the previous article, their gorgeous turn this time is really surprising.Sun Yuyun is a native of Shouzhou, Anhui. He joined the China League in Tokyo in 1906, and later served as the governor of Anhui. He is a veteran revolutionary party.However, after the failure of the "Second Revolution", Sun Yuyun successively served as a member of the Political Council, the chairman of the Covenant Law Conference, and participated in politics in the Senate. This time, Yang Du initiated the preparation meeting, and Sun Yuyun also responded positively and served as the vice chairman of the meeting. .

Hu Ying is from Taoyuan, Hunan Province, and he is from the same hometown as Song Jiaoren. He is also an old revolutionary party. In 1905, he conspired with the revolutionary martyr Wu Yue to kill the five ministers who went abroad for investigation. A martyr, Hu Ying fled to Tokyo and joined the Tongmenghui that year.Later, Hu Ying returned to China to participate in the Rizhi Conference, and conspired with Huang Xing and others to hold the Changsha Uprising, but was arrested and imprisoned for leaking the matter.After the Wuchang Uprising, Hu Ying served as the Foreign Minister of the Hubei Military Government. After the establishment of the Nanjing Provisional Government, he was appointed by Sun Yat-sen as the Governor of Shandong (in fact, he only occupied Yantai).After Yuan Shikai became president, Hu Ying was dismissed from the position of governor, and was entrusted with vain positions such as Shaanxi-Gansu Economic Strategy Envoy and Qinghai Reclamation Envoy.Fortunately, Hu Ying and Yang Du are good friends, so they were also listed as one of the "Six Gentlemen". Three guys from Hunan who sang an opera together. Li Xiehe is from Anhua, Hunan. He has participated in the Huaxing Association, the Restoration Association, and the Tongmeng Association. After the Wuchang Uprising, he and Chen Qimei organized the Shanghai Uprising and served as the governor of the Wusong Military Government. .Due to the discord with Chen Qimei, Li Xiehe later became the commander-in-chief of the recovery army, and led the Jiangsu-Zhejiang coalition forces to conquer Nanjing, making great contributions to the revolutionary cause. These three friends were originally the backbone of the Tongmenghui. They also fought for the republican revolution and went through life and death before and after 1911. Now they have turned their backs and joined the imperial party.Presumably, they were extremely disappointed in the future of the revolution and found that the republican government was not suitable for China's national conditions. Therefore, these three people were poor and wanted to change, even though they were regarded as "anti-bones" by revolutionary friends. As for Yan Fu and Liu Shipei, they were both national masters in the academic world at that time. It is puzzling how such highly respected and admired figures would get involved in this muddy water.Yan Fu was a native of Minhou, Fujian Province (now Fuzhou). He was originally the top student in the Fuzhou Shipbuilding Academy. He was selected to study at the Royal Naval Academy in the United Kingdom, but unfortunately he was not transferred to the Beiyang Fleet after he completed his studies. Sending to train more talents is the right way. But this is also a good thing, otherwise Yan Fu is very likely to be like his old classmates, or die in the belly of a fish in the Yellow Sea War and sacrifice his life for the country; shot himself, died for the country). During Yan Fu's tenure as the chief instructor of the Beiyang Naval Academy, Li Yuanhong, the vice president at this time, was still his student.After the defeat of the Sino-Japanese War, Yan Fu also gave up the navy, and turned to the business of translating writings, such as Huxley's "Evolution of Heaven" and Adam Smith's "Original Wealth", all of which were written by Yan Fu. The three words "faithful and elegant" proposed are still the bible of translation studies. It is a pity that although Yan Fu was hailed as "the number one in Western learning", he was not reused for various reasons. Only Yuan Shikai paid him special attention after he became the governor of Zhili. However, Yan Fu had given up his official career at this time. Yuan Shikai extended his repeated invitation to enter the curtain.Even so, Yan Fu was grateful to Yuan Shikai for his insight into people. When Yuan Shikai was dismissed from Beijing, Yan Fu stepped forward and shouted: "Shikai's talent is second to none in the world", "This man is the pillar of the country, how can he deal with it?" Idle?" After the Republic of China, Yan Fu was appointed by Yuan Shikai as the first president of Peking University (formerly Beijing Normal University). Cai Yuanpei and Hu Shi should be regarded as his descendants. Given his status in the academic world, no one could match him at that time.Interestingly, although Yan Fu was proficient in Western learning, he strongly advocated "respecting Confucianism" in the early years of the Republic of China, and initiated the Beijing Confucian Church (another well-known translator, Lin Qinnan, also actively participated in it, weird? Isn't it weird? ).However, there are also people who say that Yan Fu’s listing in the Chou’an Association was done arbitrarily by Yang Du, and Yan Fu didn’t know about it; but judging from the subsequent situation, although Yan Fu has never participated in the activities of the Chou’an Association, he also has a negative attitude towards the imperial movement. , but he remained silent throughout the whole process, and did not publicly stand up to refute the rumors, which shows that he is not disgusted with the theory of the imperial system... the result of "respecting Confucius". Liu Shipei was born in Yizheng, Jiangsu Province. He was a master of Chinese studies on the same level as Zhang Taiyan at that time. He also joined the Tongmenghui when he was studying in Japan in his early years, but he was not enthusiastic about revolution but concentrated on academics. grow up.Liu Shipei was quite interested in the imperial movement. After Yang Du published "On the Salvation of the Nation by the Constitution of the Monarch", he also published an article "On the National Conditions" to sing along with it.Fortunately, however, Liu Shipei did not get involved in politics, but was obsessed with traditional Chinese culture such as Confucian classics, elementary school, Han and Wei poetry, and eventually became a master of Chinese studies. But having said that, if a group of shameless politicians and literati are advocating the monarchy for personal fame and fortune, Yuan Shikai must also be able to see through the traitors, but talents like Yang Du and top cultural masters like Yan Fu and Liu Shipei also come to support. You say that Yuan Shikai is not tempted at all, I am afraid it is difficult.According to Yuan Shikai's confidants, President Yuan was "extremely happy" when he heard that even Yan Fu had participated in the preparatory meeting (readers can imagine the cheers), and then allocated 200,000 yuan for the research of the preparatory meeting. use. Just as the members of the Preparatory Committee sounded the first gongs and drums and waved their flags, and the demons danced wildly, making a fuss, another powerful force suddenly appeared and immediately snatched away the limelight from the Preparatory Committee. Who was this? ? This person is none other than Liang Shiyi mentioned above.Liang Shiyi was plotted against in the special economic examination. Just when he was depressed, Yuan Shikai happened to implement the New Deal in Zhili and invite talents, so he was recommended by Tang Shaoyi, a celebrity and fellow in front of Yuan Shikai at that time, as Beiyang General Office of the Bookstore.As a result, Liang Shiyi also followed Tang Shaoyi's disciples and became a member of a small group of Tang Ji under the Beiyang system. In 1906, Tang Shaoyi took over from Sheng Xuanhuai to oversee the Railway Corporation, and Liang Shiyi also assisted Tang Shaoyi in presiding over the road administration.After Tang Shaoyi became the governor of Fengtian, Liang Shiyi had also established a firm foothold and became the general manager of the No. 5 Railway. After the establishment of the postal department, Liang Shunshi became the director of the Railway Bureau. Influence——Department of transportation, people gave him the nickname "Liang Dashen of Wealth". After Yuan Shikai became the president, Liang Shiyi served as the secretary-general of the presidential palace, and successively served as the prime minister of the Bank of Communications and the deputy minister of the Ministry of Finance.After the promulgation of the Yuan Ji contract law, since the responsible cabinet system was replaced by the presidential system, President Yuan set up a government affairs hall under the presidential palace to replace the previous State Council. With nowhere to settle down, he only got the post of tax supervisor in the end, which made Liang Dashen very annoyed.Misfortunes never come singly, but Suzhengting (the product of Yuan Jiyue, which is equivalent to the Yushitai in the former Qing Dynasty, which specializes in impeaching officials at all levels) at this time proposed the "Three Long Participation Cases" and "Five Ways Great Participation Cases", The traffic system is going up and down, and everyone is in danger. The so-called "three long participation in the case" refers to the impeachment of Xu Shuzheng, Deputy Chief of the Army, Ye Gongchuo, Deputy Chief of Transportation, and Zhang Hu, Deputy Chief of Finance, and both Ye Gongchuo and Zhang Arc are members of the Department of Transportation; "Participating in the case" is about the private fraud cases of the five railway bureaus of Jinpu, Jinghan, Jingsui, Shanghai-Nanjing, and Zhengtai, and it is even more pointed at the Department of Transportation.Under such circumstances, Liang Shiyi, the head of the transportation department and also the prime minister of the Bank of Communications at the time, was of course inseparable (Ye Gongchuo was the deputy prime minister). Under such circumstances, Liang Shiyi had no choice but to ask "Prince" Yuan Keding for help.After some guidance from the "Prince", Liang then called a meeting with the officials of the transportation department.At the meeting, Liang Shiyi pointed out: "The current predicament of the transportation department can only cancel participation in the case if it supports the imperial system; if it does not approve of the imperial system, the consequences may be disastrous." While all the cadres were discussing, Liang Shiyi said: "It's shameless to agree with the monarchy, and it's shameless to disapprove of it. Whether you want the head or the face, you can decide for yourself." At the meeting, everyone looked at me, I looked at you, and finally Unanimously agree: "Be shameless!" The God of Wealth goes out, one top ten.A few days later, a large number of petition groups suddenly poured in at the gate of the Senate. There were a wide variety of things that one could expect to find from all walks of life. They held petitions in their hands and chanted slogans in their mouths: "Change the state system, only my people's will!" "Constitutional monarchy, benefit all people!"... This momentum is somewhat similar to the "Public Letters" 20 years ago, and similar to the congressional petition movement seven or eight years ago, but there is still a bit of Xingxiu old fairy school in it. Since the preparatory constitutionalization was implemented in the late Qing Dynasty, public opinion has gradually opened up, and petitions are not uncommon. In order to request the Qing government to "quickly open the National Assembly", the constitutional groups in various provinces had mobilized the whole country. Something feels wrong.The problem also lies in this "public opinion".It stands to reason that many people who came to the petition this time were dressed far less well than those constitutional gentry in the late Qing Dynasty, and should be more representative of public opinion, but the faces of these people could not see the enthusiasm from the heart, but looked like unrehearsed cheerleaders , It is somewhat similar to the citizens' group when the president was elected before. It turned out that after Liang Shiyi and others decided to "shame the head and face", they then launched a citizen petition group. In addition to the traffic department, there were Zhang Zhenfang, Na Yantu, Liang Hongzhi, Ruan Zhongshu, Xia Shoutian and other political celebrities. And publicly recommended Shen Yunpei as the president, ready to launch a petition. At this time, Duan Zhigui, Zhangwu General Duan Zhigui, who was in charge of Hubei's military affairs, returned from Wuchang. He was originally Yuan Shikai's godson. He couldn't let these six gentlemen steal the title of "Emperor Supporter", so he hurried back to Beijing, wanting to flex his muscles. After returning to Beijing, Duan Zhigui visited his old friend Ruan Zhongshu. Under the guidance of Ruan Zhongshu, Duan Zhigui hit it off with the citizen petition group and decided that Duan Zhigui would invite Zhu Qiqian, Lei Zhenchun, Jiang Chaozong, Zhou Ziqi, Yuan Naikuan, Zhu Jiabao, Zhang Zuolin, and Lu Jianzhang. , Gu Ao and other powerful figures jointly formed the National Petition Federation.As a result, the imperial faction of the petition gained momentum for a while, and the backbone of the petition was given the nickname "Thirteen Taibao". Under the secret operation of Liang Shiyi, Duan Zhigui and others, officials from all over the country were also invited to send "citizens" to represent "public opinion" (of course, the expenses were all covered by the transportation department); Advocating the monarchy under the guise, making it look like the real thing... As long as you have real money, you are not afraid of fake public opinion! The National Petition Federation is powerful, rich and powerful, and of course it cannot be matched by the "Six Gentlemen" who are playing with pens. The performance of handing out petitions at the gate of the Senate is actually a masterpiece planned by the "Thirteen Taibao".The petitioners this time are divided into business petitions, academic petitions, provincial petitions, women's petitions, etc. All those who come to participate in the petition will be given a political participation fee. Everyone has a share, and different prices are given according to their status, status and fame .The transportation department is throwing money everywhere, the momentum is small! Seeing that Liang Shiyi and others came from behind and stole his limelight, Yang Du couldn't help but said in grief and indignation: "Liang Caishen, Liang Caishen, you are really good. You are rich and powerful, and you have many people. I can't handle you, but you can't do it." Don't be crazy, let's wait and see!" But the scholars are so cash-strapped that a mere 200,000 yuan won't accomplish much after all, and in the end they just organize petition groups for beggars and prostitutes, who the God of Wealth doesn't appreciate .Under the oppression of the petition, the Preparatory Committee soon became a thing of the past, and finally ended up in a situation where there were few people and no one cared about it.Annoyed and ashamed, Yang Du had no choice but to take off the signboard of "Chou Anhui" and put it up with a sign of "Constitution and Political Consultative Conference". . Reluctantly, the flowers fell, and I worked hard to make wedding clothes for others.As a result, the six gentlemen gave up the stage, and Liang Shiyi, the National Petition Federation with sufficient funds and talents, took up the task of reforming the petition system. Under the massive momentum of the National Petition Federation, except for Li Yuanhong and Duan Qirui who ignored the central officials, the others were almost scrambling to persuade them to advance, and telegrams from all over the country to persuade the monarchy also drifted into the Senate like snowflakes (It's all public opinion).Duan Zhigui, the pioneer of the imperial system, and Duan Zhigui, together with Long Jiguang, Zhang Zuolin, Zhao Ti, Ni Sichong, Chen Huan, Tang Xiangming, Yan Xishan, Zhang Huaizhi, etc., sent out the so-called "Nineteen Generals Jointly Persuading to Advance" telegrams, which made this situation even worse. The imperial movement reached a climax. All good things take time.Just when the imperialist party thought that the Senate would approve their petition and success was in sight, a certain great writer suddenly threw out a heavy-handed article with sarcasm, which woke up their President Yuan and made the imperialist party Hopes for a quick victory were dashed. What kind of character is this?