Chapter 191 190. Xu Shichang resigned

Wu Peifu is undoubtedly a prominent figure among the Beiyang warlords, because he understands political warfare and can grasp problems.When he was still stationed in Hengyang, he had the ambition to cancel the two governments of the North and the South and form a third government.After the Zhiwan War, he sent a telegram advocating the convening of the National Assembly. He wanted to use the National Assembly as an institution to restore the old Congress disbanded by the Beijing government, expel Xu Shichang, the northern president supported by the Anhui faction, and establish another central government that he was satisfied with.He has always disliked Xu Shichang. When he was in Hengyang, Xu became the president. When he telegraphed to Xu, he would not call Xu the president but Mr. Donghai.His plan for a national assembly was not realized due to the opposition of Zhang Zuolin and the northern warlords.

In the 10th year of the Republic of China, many provinces in the southwest declared self-government and advocated the establishment of a joint provincial self-government. However, Wu advocated centralization and unification by force. He opposed joint-provincial self-government, so this form of "third" government did not meet Wu's wishes. .Therefore, when the Hunan Army aided Hubei, he sent troops to repel the Hunan Army. After repelling the Hunan Army, he initiated the convening of the Lushan National Assembly. This meeting was a replica of the National Assembly he originally advocated. In favor, his ambition to reform the government once again failed.

Now, his biggest obstacle, the Feng Faction, has been knocked down again, and his prestige is in full swing. Of course, he can repeat the old tune and hold his favorite state conference.However, he believed that the Zhili clique controlled only a dozen provinces in the north. If another conference was initiated, the Kuomintang, Anhui clique, Feng clique, and Southwest United Provinces' self-government faction would not agree, so he adopted another approach. Before the Zhifeng War, Li Yuanhong, who was in hiding in Tianjin, had secretly sent a glance to Wu Peifu. Li Yuanhong's strategists Ha Hanzhang and Jin Yongyan often went to Luoyang to speak to Wu Peifu in secret.Wu Jinglian, the chairman of the former National Assembly, also visited Fengtian and lobbied Zhang Zuolin to promote the reunification of the North and the South by "restoring the legal system".

After the defeat of the Feng family, Wu Jinglian went to lobby Wu Peifu's general Wang Chengbin. Both Wu and Wang were from Xingcheng County, Fengtian Province, and they were cousins. Wu was named Lianbo and Wang was named Xiaobo. ".Wu asked Wang to speak to Wu Peifu to restore the old parliament.At the same time, strategist Li Yuanhong in Tianjin, Wang Jiaxiang, chairman of the Senate of the old National Assembly, Liang Qichao, Xiong Xiling, members of the research department, etc., through Zhang Shaozeng's relationship, encouraged Wu Peifu to also use the method of "restoring the legal system" to "unify the whole country."

At that time, Wu was the most familiar with the words "unify the whole country". At the same time, Wu saw that "restoring the legal system" was the most beneficial to the Zhili line. Because the excuse of the south was to protect the law and oppose the new law in the north, so the law-protecting government was established.If the Beijing government restores the rule of law, the southern government will lose its excuses and grounds. In this way, politically, the southern government will have nothing to rely on. At the same time, if Li Yuanhong's reinstatement is welcomed to make up for his unfinished presidential term, the National Assembly and the president will become puppets of the direct line. They will do whatever they want. s story.

On May 10, 2011, Wu Peifu arrived in Baoding from Tianjin, and immediately held a meeting to discuss the future trend of the political situation.Both Wu Jinglian and Wang Jiaxiang, the former presidents of the National Assembly, attended the meeting. Although Wu Peifu had his own plans, the people around Cao Kun had other ideas.They believe that now that the foundation of the direct line has been consolidated, the way to solve the political situation is to "add a red robe" to Cao Kun, launch a coup immediately, expel Xu Shichang, and make Cao Kun the president. Why bother to make a fuss and give the world to him The useless Li Yuanhong who has been driven away.

However, Wu Peifu had the greatest influence at the time, and he did not approve of this, so everyone dared not be too rampant.Therefore, the Baoding Conference decided to "restore the rule of law" to unify the whole country, and then use the Congress to elect Cao Kun as the justifiable president. This is the right way. On May 14, Wu Peifu sent a secret telegram to solicit the opinions of the northern soldiers, and the three provinces of Jiangsu, Shandong, and Hubei agreed on the same day. On May 15, Sun Chuanfang sent a telegram, agreeing to restore the old legal system and welcome Li Yuanhong to return to office. The telegram said:

"To consolidate the Republic of China, it is necessary to unify first. The breakdown of the unification of the North and the South is based on legal issues. The return of reunification should be a shortcut to the restoration of the legal system. Li Huangpi should be asked to restore, and the six-year-old Congress should be convened to quickly formulate the constitution. A co-election of deputy seats. Now that the legal system is restored, the differences can be eliminated, and if there are disruptors, they should be among the list of abandonment." Then Sun sent another telegram to the law enforcement government in Guangdong, which said:

"Since the legal system broke down and the political situation collapsed, the South gathered old members of Congress, elected President Sun Da, and organized the Guangdong government to appeal. The North re-elected new members of Congress, elected President Xu Da, and the Beijing government thought it would boycott. Who is legal? Who is breaking the law? Future generations in the world have their own opinions. However, in the long run, the north and the south are at odds, each goes to extremes, fights for years, regards it as an enemy country, and cooks beans against the wall. Pushing the origin of the disaster, why is it necessary to dissolve the Congress and destroy the law, which is extremely severe. It is said that Fang deleted the day and energized, advocating the restoration of the legal system, promoting unity, and saving the nation. Patriotism, with this mentality, is on the right track, unimpeded, and the period of unification is not far away. But the law is sacred and cannot be borrowed, and the factual obstacles should be removed as soon as possible. Guangdong President Sun Da used to protect the law, and the legal system has been restored. It is a success Retired, why hang around? President Xu Da of Beijing was elected by the new Congress, and the old Congress was restored. The new Congress has no evidence, and the joint problems are invalid at the same time. I hope that the two gentlemen will embody the virtues of heaven, treat the people as hurt, and be honored and timely. China is lucky to retire!"

Sun Chuanfang was still a second- and third-ranker in the direct lineage at this time. Since he was stationed in the Yangtze River area and had a deterrent effect on the south, Wu Peifu chose him to send electricity and test the atmosphere of all parties, and he was also happy to be used by others to establish and reform the political situation. The "first achievement". On the 16th, Wu Jinglian and Wang Jiaxiang returned to Tianjin after attending the Baoding Conference, and immediately organized the "Preparatory Office for the Continuation of the First Congress".The news gave many politicians a shot in the arm after years of loneliness.

On the 16th, Cao Kun, Wu Peifu, Tian Zhongyu, Chen Guangyuan, Li Houji, Qi Xieyuan, Feng Yuxiang, Liu Zhenhua, Xiao Yaonan, Lu Hongtao and others jointly invited Wang Shizhen to come out and organize a cabinet.In this list of telegrams, Li Hou basically belonged to the Anhui Clan, while Tian Zhongyu and Liu Zhenhua were opportunists. After the Zhi Clan defeated, they followed the Zhi Clan to wave their flags and shout to preserve their status. On May 27, Wu Peifu sent a confidential telegram to Xu Shichang, advocating the restoration of the old Congress, roughly speaking: the current solution to the current situation can be divided into two major outlines, (1) regular law, and (2) reform law.The regular law is to restore the first Congress, and the reform is to convene a state council.Common law has three advantages: (1) It has a legal basis. (2) The procedure is convenient and does not take much time. (3) It is easy to get in harmony with the law-enforcement provinces in the Southwest, which can be a shortcut to unification.The reform has three disadvantages: (1) There is no legal basis. (2) The procedures are complicated and time-consuming. (3) The Southwest expressed its opposition, and the time to unify is farther away. Therefore, it was decided to adopt the normal method instead of the reformed method. It was negotiated with the southwestern provinces and the provinces directly under the Central Government through telegrams, and now more than a dozen of them have been resolved. All telegrams are in favor of the restoration of the old Congress. Once the telegrams from all provinces and regions are in place, they will be forwarded, and the central government is requested to actively advocate this. On the same day, Qi Xieyuan, the governor of Jiangsu, also sent a telegram to Xu Shichang, which said: "My president, with the heart of saving the country, has faced great difficulties. Over the past few years, he has been working hard and worrying about night and day. He has nothing but the rule of law as his spirit and unity as his goal. It is unfortunate that the country is so many, so we respond to it. They are all poor, and internal strife is called because of national affairs, and military quarrels are created because of internal strife. At that time, the fire and water were deep, and now it is fierce. I secretly think that all kinds of pain are due to the unification, the unification is endless, and the country is not settled. The crowd doubts and the public is troubled, and the responsibilities are mixed. Looking at the trend of the general trend, the people's aspirations, and the government wants to be reformed To change the past, we have to change our course. If we want long-term stability, we have to find a fundamental solution. Today, the national unity is restored, and the country has become a country. Thousands of beaks are in unison, and the sentiments are the same. Fu Si, my president, is for the people and the country , My clogs are honorable, based on my original ambitions, tired and diligent, I have heard the virtues many times, I have been waiting for the virtuous, and I am a bandit. If you can obey the petition of the people, and still have the original intention of saving the country, make a generous declaration, and retire after being successful. It is impossible to be good at such things as showing virtue and giving way, showing the grand duke again, advancing and retreating to defend the duke." Xu Shichang was dazed by the series of "forced palace" telegrams. This Beiyang veteran, the most experienced old fox, is also at a loss in the face of the current situation. He is still an old fritter after all, so he pretends to be very modest. , publish a telegram, telecloud: "I am worried for the rest of my life, and I am the ruler of the country. I have exhausted my thoughts and thoughts to strive for peace, to preserve the common people, and to unify the country. Things are changing, changing day and night, trying all kinds of hardships, and the catastrophe is hard to disappear. What’s more, it’s hard to describe this sincerity. I’ve read Sun Chuanfang’s investigation and report, and the honest words and quick comments have really won my heart. If we can do this, the millions of people will be united, and all treason and deceit will be eliminated, and the suffering of the people will be saved. , into the country's rock-solid security, political refinement, and growing stronger and stronger. Although I live in the grasslands, I can enjoy peace for the rest of the year. The joy is endless, which is ten times better than today. Moreover, mediating luck and saving the economy from danger is my original intention, my lord. If you can't catch it, the group of sages will conspire to achieve what you want, and it is even more impossible to seek it. Once there is a suitable way, you will retreat immediately, and there is no hope of love. First spread out, and wait for Mingjiao." Xu Shichang was a bit wiser than Yuan Shikai back then, unlike Yuan who treated Chen Huan's dismissal call with a gritted teeth attitude, but Xu's so-called "appropriate method" was also the same as Yuan's method of "consulting in business and dealing with the aftermath". Waiting for new changes. Xu is not as good as Yuan. Yuan is at the end. Although everyone has betrayed his relatives, he still has a few buddies. At this time, Xu Shichang has no one to support him. On May 20, the Preparatory Office of the Old National Congress sent a telegram in Tianjin, and scheduled a self-assembly on June 1 "in accordance with the law". On the 28th, Cao Kun and Wu Peifu jointly called back to express their approval.Xu Shichang still wanted to make a last effort to save his own dying fate, so he went to visit Wang Shizhen and asked him to come forward to form a cabinet, but the Beiyang veteran was still as before, silent and hidden.Then Xu Shichang appointed Dong Kang as the chief financial officer, Gao Enhong as the acting chief of transportation, Peng Shouxin as the commander of the fifteenth division, and Zhang Xiyuan as the governor of Chahar.Xu's actions were all based on Cao Wu's opinions, that is, he was willing to be the president, and everything was only a concrete manifestation of Cao Wu's orders.However, Cao Wu did not give up. On June 1, 203 members of the former Congress, led by Wu Jinglian and Wang Jiaxiang, jointly issued a declaration, accusing Xu Shichang of being an illegal president. The full text is as follows: "Before the Constitution of the Republic of China was established, the basic organization of the country was the "Provisional Constitution". The president has no power to dissolve the Congress, so the order to dissolve the Senate and House of Representatives on June 12, 2006 is of course invalid. Also check the "Provisional Constitution" Article 28: The Senate shall be dissolved on the date of the establishment of the National Assembly, and its functions and powers shall be exercised by the National Assembly. After the establishment of the National Assembly, there shall be no more Senates. Therefore, there were seven years of illegal Congress, and the illegal election of the President in the same year. Xu Shichang's election as the President was illegal, and the election of the President was an act of usurping, so it should be declared invalid. Starting today , should be fully exercised by the Congress, and then the lawful president should organize the government in accordance with the law. Disastrous to the country and the people, hindering the unification, disloyalty to the republic, arrogance for personal gain, all kinds of crimes, the whole country is sad, let alone listed one by one. Six years of disintegration, endless chaos, and ordering the chaos, this is the only way. All Chinese people have the same mentality , hereby declare." The affairs of the world are so ridiculous. In the past, the Beiyang soldiers who denounced the Congress as an organ of mob dictatorship and threatened the quick dissolution of the Beijing government have now become supporters of the old Congress, cheering for "the rule of law." No matter how the outside world expels him, Xu Shichang does everything he can to keep his position as president. On June 2, Qian Shaoqing, Wu Peifu's representative in Beijing, called the presidential palace several times in a row, asking when the president would leave Beijing?Xu Shichang is hosting a banquet for Gu Weijun who has just returned to China.After Xi broke up, he announced his resignation. The full text of his resignation says: "Article 5 of the Presidential Election Law contains that 'When the President is unable to perform his duties for some reason, the Vice President shall act as his deputy. The president of our country is now announcing his resignation due to illness, and the State Council should perform his duties according to law." After Xu Shichang issued the resignation order, he delivered the presidential seal to the State Council and took a special car from Beijing to Tianjin on the same day.