Chapter 26 Section 26

The five ministers who inspected the constitutional government came to Japan in mid-December.When I first came to a foreign country, my eyes were confused, and I couldn't see where the effect of implementing constitutionalism was, so where should I start to investigate? The only exception is Li Shengduo who fills in Shaoying's vacancy. He used to be a minister in Japan. This time he revisited the old place.I thought to myself, there are so many clues in this matter, if I don't outline first, and pick the most important points to start, I am afraid that I will not be able to finish the investigation in three to five years if I roam around the world.It is necessary to find someone to come as a counselor, and it is better to make a charter for the inspection first.

The "counselors" are ready-made, and the five ministers bring many entourages. The chief counselor is called Xiong Xiling, a native of Fenghuang in Hunan, and a Hanlin who is on the list with Zhang Jian, the number one scholar in Nantong.During the 1898 coup, because of the suspicion of the new party, he was "handed over to the local officials to strictly control him", but Zhao Erxun, the governor of Hunan Province, appreciated his talent, and he made several guarantors, and he was already an alternate.This time I went abroad with the five senior members, and I had a set of ways to deal with official business, so when Li Shengduo mentioned it, he patted his chest and replied: "I have a way! You can go sightseeing, you are tired of shopping, and change places, anyway, you will return to the country. Day, there must be an explanation."

"Bingsan!" Li Shengduo called his alias and said, "Don't make a big deal, but let me listen to it. What can I do?" "There are only two people who are proficient in constitutionalism in China today, and one is Liang Zhuoru..." Zhuo Ru is Liang Qichao's alias. When Li Shengduo heard this name, he shook his hands hurriedly: "No, no! This person must not be messed with!" "Mugong!" Li Shengduo's name is Muzhai, so Xiong Xiling called him this way, "Of course I won't look for Liang Zhuoru. There is another one from our hometown in Hunan, Yang Zhezi. Mugong has heard of this person." Li Shengduo knew that Yang Zhezi was Yang Du , he is Wang Xiangqi's favorite student. He once applied to the special economics department and was second in the first class of high school in the preliminary examination.However, Qu Hongji mistakenly identified Liang Shiyi as Liang Qichao's brother, and said that his name was "Liangtou Kangwei" - Kang Youwei's name was Zuyi, with the same last word, "he can be known by him".Therefore, Liang Shiyi did not dare to take the re-examination, and Yang Du was also suspected of being a "remnant of the Kangliang Party".

"Why, Yang Zhezi is proficient in constitutionalism?" "Yes! Xiangqi is conceited that he has the talent of Wang Zuozhi. His favorite student naturally wants to study this set of studies on emperors. Zhezi is a constitutional monarchist. If you ask him to do a few investigation reports, you must take into account the status and importance of the monarch. Dignity, if you report to the court, there will be no mistakes." "That's good! I will definitely ask him to be the shooter. Please go find him as soon as possible and have a good talk with him." "It's easy to find him, but there are two things. I need to ask Mr. Mu first. First, the investigation report seems to have a few topics. If it's like a running account, it only narrates what I saw and heard during the journey, and it seems difficult to draw conclusions." Furthermore, with the topic, it will be more convenient to publish in newspapers in the future." Xiong Xiling said: "The constitutional government is in its infancy, in order to enlighten the wisdom of the people, these articles must be distributed to the people of the country in the future. An explanation."

"That's right!" Li Shengduo nodded again and again, "One guest doesn't bother the two hosts, so please ask Zhezi to decide the topic, as long as the 'investigation' is left behind." "Okay!" Xiong Xiling said again: "Second, always send a copy of the brush, and it should be from Fengfeng." "It's easy! I'll tell Mr. Ze. How much do you think?" "There must be an integer." "One thousand?" Li Shengduo said, "It seems a little less." "Yes, one thousand is too little, it must be ten thousand silver."

Li Shengduo thought for a while and said: "It's always easy to discuss, so you can do it quickly!" So Xiong Xiling excitedly went to find Yang Du.He lives in Iidacho, Tokyo, and the signboard of the "Tokyo International Student Association" of which he is the president hangs on the gate of his house.Since it is the meeting place, it is inevitable that there will be exchanges between members, so it is inconvenient to have private talks, so Xiong Xiling invited him to meet in a "dining booth". "How is it going?" Xiong Xiling asked. "'The seats are always full, the wine in the bottle is never empty', very good!"

"I'm afraid it's not good." Xiong Xiling said with a smile: "The money is not enough." Yang Du smiled, and then said: "I heard that you are coming, and I told the landlady, 'It's okay, someone sent me money for the New Year!'" "Yes, I can let you have a fat New Year. To write an article." Yang Du did not answer, took out a piece of paper from his pocket, and handed it over. Xiong Xiling took a look, and there were three lines written on it: "Comparison of constitutionalism in various countries in the world; the outline of constitutionalism should absorb the strengths of all countries; implement the procedures of constitutionalism. "

After watching it, the two looked at each other and smiled, really feeling irresistibly comfortable.Xiong Xiling folded the piece of paper and put it in his pocket, "These three topics are very good!" He said: "There is always a score of ten thousand gold in embellishing the pen, and I will send two thousand first when I turn back. Zizi, the second is to have a good year, you The ambitions of my life, just take advantage of the body of the five ministers, to greatly expand. This is an excellent opportunity, please cherish it." Yang Du nodded and replied: "I want to say the words first. In terms of opinions, Zhuo Ru may not be able to catch up with me, but with his broad belly and smooth writing, I have to let him stand out. So these three articles, I’m going to make one or two articles for him.”

"That's up to you! However, Zhuo Ru's pen is too sharp, don't bring out any taboo words, it's not a joke." "It doesn't matter! I'll make it clear to him that if there is such a situation, I will change his manuscript." "Then, I also want to make it clear to you. If there is such a situation, I will change the manuscript you sent." "It's okay to change it." Yang Du asked, "When will the paper be handed in?" "About half a year!" "That's still early." Yang Du said happily: "Your Excellency's presence here is like giving relief. Many international students can celebrate the New Year comfortably this year."

A major event was settled, Xiong Xiling was very happy, and praised Yang Du in front of a heavily made-up geisha in the restaurant.This is not all deceit, Xiong Xiling has some advantages, he treats people kindly and sincerely.Therefore, before Zhao Erxun, he was extended to the shogunate for Hunan governor Chen Baozhen, and he was highly valued, because of his sincerity.Once when Yanjing scholar Pi Lumen gave a lecture, Xiong Xiling personally rang the bell and called the audience into the lecture hall. Someone jokingly wrote a couplet: "Deerskin lectures, bear's paw rings the bell".Some people were jealous that he was a red member in front of Chen Baozhen, and used the same surnames of "Xiong" and "Chen" to make a couplet, scolding him and Chen Baozhen together, saying: "What is the point of not keeping all four legs?" Competent; one ear is partial to listening, what do you know?" But they don't know that Xiong Xiling's "competence" is precisely because of his "four-legged non-stop".

This time the five ministers are in Japan, thanks to Xiong Xiling's "four-legged non-stop".It turns out that the revolutionaries will have actions that are not conducive to the five ministers, laboring the Japanese police, guarding day and night. Zai Ze and the others were too frightened to leave the house, and all matters that needed to be contacted with the outside world depended on Xiong Xiling.It was not until the first day of the second month of the lunar calendar that the five ministers boarded a ship from Yokohama for the United States, and they were relieved. After arriving in the United States, they parted ways. Duan Fang and Dai Hongci inspected Germany, and Zai Ze, Li Shengduo, and Shang Qiheng transferred from England to France.All the way, I arrived in late May and returned to Shanghai one after another, but the gunman's article had not yet arrived.So Xiong Xiling came up with another idea, in the name of "investigating the hearts of the people in the southeast and soliciting opinions from various provinces", to keep people waiting in Shanghai, and at the same time send a special person to Yangdu's apartment in Iida Town, Tokyo to sit and urge him.At that time, it was agreed that Duan and Dai stayed behind, and Zai Ze and others returned to Beijing first to return to their orders. In a few days, the special envoy sent to Japan returned with a large package of documents, including memorials, treatises, and articles. Among them, there was a post about constitutional reform that should start with the reform of the official system. Duan Fang greatly appreciated it. Taking advantage of Dai Hongci's absence, he quietly took down this post and took it for himself. When he arrived in Tianjin by ship, he naturally became the honored guest of the Beiyang Yamen. After the feast, Dai Hongci went back to the residence to rest. What do you think of this claim?" Yuan Shikai only read the first few lines, and he was very excited, "I have won my heart!" He patted his thigh and said, "I have this intention for a long time. Many yamen are just empty-handed, idle officials, wasting their salary , It also affected the morale of others, so it must be completely reformed. There are also those old masters who make troubles when things happen, don’t know right from wrong, and have more troubles than successes! The yamen of the Metropolitan Procuratorate should also be abolished.” "Fourth brother, you didn't read the posts carefully, you will know that there are infinite uses in it." Hearing this, Yuan Shikai read the posts attentively, and understood halfway through, the original method of reforming the official system advocated the adoption of a responsible cabinet system, in which the prime minister was appointed by the cabinet and submitted to the National Assembly for approval, and the cabinet members were selected by the prime minister. Please order, it is exactly the same as the Japanese cabinet.If this method is followed, the prime minister of the cabinet will of course be Qing Wang Yikuang.With the power in hand, it is very convenient to get rid of Qu Hongji.Even if he is still a member of the cabinet, the performance is a matter for the prime minister alone, and there is no need for the whole class to attend the meeting like the military minister, so Qu Hongji can't manipulate it, "taking the emperor to order the princes". "This," Yuan Shikai said hesitantly, "I'm afraid the superiors won't let it go." "Naturally, there must be an explanation, so that the superiors can follow suit." "Oh, Tao Zhai, let me listen to you." "I am a bitter plan, so I don't need to go into details at this moment. Fourth brother, I just want to ask you one question, if the responsible cabinet system is implemented, are you willing to join the cabinet?" "This..." Yuan Shikai pondered. "Zeng Xiangxiang said, 'Finding a substitute is the first thing to do when doing big things', and the old man has not been there for a few years." "Da Lao" refers to Yi Kuang.Duan Fang meant that when Yikuang was old, he would definitely recommend Yuan Shikai to take over as Prime Minister.Realizing this, Yuan Shikai's heart couldn't help but beating. "Tao Zhai, why don't you tell me first, what kind of trick is it?" "Fourth brother, if you plan to stay in Beiyang for the rest of your life, you can't use this trick, and you can't shoot yourself in the foot!" Duanfang said: "Anyway, it doesn't matter if you want to join the cabinet. I want to reply like this when I return to my life: The scale of the constitution should be imitated by Japan. As for the reform of the official system, the governors can be reduced and the center of power can be centralized, so that there is almost no suspicion that the outside is more important than the inside. "There is nothing wrong with saying this. Whether the governor has power or not depends entirely on his own actions." "That's it, I'm sure to play it back."