The Qing court was not at ease with Yuan Shikai, and when Yuan Shikai returned to his hometown, the commander of the infantry army, Yamen, sent Yuan Deliang to escort him, but he was actually monitoring Yuan Shikai.

Prince Su Shanqi also sent some secret agents to spy on him, and Yuan Shikai certainly knew about it.

At first, in order to avoid suspicion, he closed his door at home. When a local official came to visit, he was respectful and kept silent about state affairs. I always say how serious my foot disease is, and my body is not as sick as a day.

is very respectful to Yuan Deliang, and often finds all kinds of excuses to give heavy gifts.

Because they are all surnamed Yuan, Yuan Deliang soon became Yuan Shikai's family.

This is a greedy person for money and profit, and Yuan Shikai really has no misdeeds.

The report written to the Yamen, the commander of the infantry army, every month, was finally done by Yuan Shikai's staff.

Maybe the Qing court really felt at ease with Yuan Shikai, or maybe they didn't have the energy to care about Yuan Shikai's affairs. This once surprising figure seems to have gradually been forgotten by people, which is exactly what Yuan Shikai couldn't ask for.

Without Yuan Shikai, the old and broken machine of the Qing court was still running with difficulty.

The regent in charge, a young man in his twenties, is in a hurry.

From the treatment of Yuan Shikai, it should be seen that this is a scheming, patient, and general person.

After he took over the government, in the post of regent, he can be said to be dedicated, conscientious, and has been doing things conscientiously.

To be fair, both in terms of personal ability and diligence, he is not inferior to his predecessors who have done something.

It's just that it is not at the right time, for example, a car is immediately paralyzed, no matter how good the driver's driving skills are, what does it help?

For a terminally ill person, no matter how skilled Lang Zhong is, what kind of trick can he have to return to heaven?

No matter how great a person is, how can he turn things around.

Being vacant at this time should be his luck for Yuan Shikai.

Because after he left, the rule of the Qing court fell into one crisis after another.

Some people say that if Yuan Shikai was in power, the Qing court would be able to resolve these crises, but in fact, it may not be.

Because, Yuan Shikai is not a superman, if he continues to reign, I am afraid he can only suffer with all the people in power. It's even hard to have a chance to make a comeback again.

Soon after Yuan Shikai left politics, a large-scale constitutional petition broke out.

At the beginning of his regency, he promised that the constitution would continue according to the established policy.

On January 18, 1909, the Qing court promulgated the charter of urban and township autonomy. On 14 October 1909, all 21 provinces in the country, with the exception of Xinjiang, completed the election of the Consultative Bureau. 、

As soon as the provincial councils were formed, they showed great vitality. The parliamentarians actively participate in the administration and discussion of state affairs, and not only supervise and constrain the government. The power of the government also promotes and improves the government. The administration of the government.

The enthusiasm was very high, especially the gentry class, which became the most active and enthusiastic group in the constitution. It is not surprising that these people are already the most active strata of this society, and constitutionalism is the political demand of this emerging class.

Yes, the constitution continued, but the broad masses of the gentry and the masses were not satisfied with the original time for preparing for the constitution. Nine years is too long, and everyone can't wait any longer, and they have asked to speed up the progress.

Zhang Jian, yes, is Yuan Shikai's teacher, he has always been keen on constitutionalism. We remember that when the constitution was proposed, Zhang Zhidong, who was old and respectful, asked him to ask Yuan Shikai for his opinion.

When Yuan Shikai was in North Korea, the two had broken off their friendship for many years because of Zhang Jian's letter, but for the sake of the country and the overall situation of constitutionalism, Zhang Jian put aside his personal grievances and took the initiative to write a letter to Yuan Shikai.

Today, Zhang Jian has become the leader of the constitutional petition.

Beginning in the autumn of 1907, constitutionalists in various localities wrote to the Qing court demanding that the National Assembly be convened as soon as possible. In October 1909, when the provincial consultative bureaus met for the first time, Zhang Jian, chairman of the Jiangsu Consultative Bureau, telegraphed the provincial consultative bureaus, suggesting that a congressional petition comrade meeting be organized.

After more than a month of liaison with various parties, representatives of various provinces arrived in Shanghai on 18 December to meet to discuss the matter of petitioning for the speedy opening of the National Assembly.

Under Zhang Jian's planning and liaison, in mid-December 1909, representatives of the consultative bureaus of 16 provinces established a federation in Shanghai.

Unite the governors and councils of the provinces to request. Central Government. The government convenes the National Assembly and establishes a responsible cabinet.

They organized a 33-member congressional petition group to petition in Beijing. Named the "Consultative Bureau Petition Federation", the petition was written by the champion Zhang Jian.

The main demands were: to convene the National Assembly in 1911, and before that there should be a "major policy advisor," and to convene a provisional National Assembly, and to organize a responsible cabinet as soon as possible.

The petition is entirely peaceful.

The adults of the Metropolitan Procuratorate have always been very disgusted by such posts of interfering in the government's affairs, so they did not play for them. Disillusioned, the delegates began to use their connections to seek support from the courtiers.

The first thing they went to see was the Chief Military Aircraft Yixuan and the other military aircraft ministers.

Yi Liang has always been tactful, and he said to the petitioning representative: "I am also a member of the people, and I will help", and Na Tong also agreed.

After their struggle, Lu Chuanlin and Dai Hongci also expressed their understanding. However, when visiting some royal relatives, Prince Su Shanqi, Bei Zi Pulun and Zhenguo Gong Zaize avoided it. Baylor Zaitao and Yu Lang said that they would "do their best to help", which finally made the delegates feel a little comforted.

At the same time, the governors of various provinces also sent telegrams to the Qing court, asking for "subservience to public opinion and a speedy opening of the Congress." Subsequently, the Imperial History Jiang Chunlin (also a member of the Senior Affairs Yuan) deliberately folded the "request to shorten the years of the National Assembly". Not only that, but even the banner people also joined the petition procession, and they "publicly elected representatives to petition the Metropolitan Procuratorate to petition for the speedy opening of the National Assembly." Under these circumstances, the Metropolitan Procuratorate had no choice but to put up these petitions together.

Despite all the twists and turns, the petition reached the supreme ruler, the regent Jaefeng.

In its edict replying to the petition, the Qing court expressed its appreciation for the patriotic fervor of the deputies and fully affirmed the enthusiasm of various localities for constitution-making.

However, we are required to give full consideration to China's national conditions and not to be in a hurry in doing anything. Since the nine-year constitution is a major policy that has already been decided, it is better not to change it. Graciously rejected the petition.

Although the purpose of the petition group was not achieved, it can be seen that the new government is in power. The government has largely overcome the stubbornness and arrogance of the Empress Dowager Cixi. At least we can have a peaceful posture and listen to the voices of the people, and this progress should be affirmed; Albeit completely perfunctory.

Thinking back to the time when the bus was written, the petition was not handed over to the emperor at all, and the Qing court did not take the voice of so many people seriously at all.

The representatives of the Consultative Bureau, who were rejected, were not reconciled and did not give up. The provincial petition delegates were not surprised by this result. If the petition can be successful once, it will not be called the imperial court of China.

So, after deliberation, they decided to petition again. In addition, it is necessary to expand the scope of petition representatives and solicit petition signatures from a wide range of petitioners in order to gain momentum.

At the same time, the petitioning delegates also drew up a constitution and set up a "Congressional Petition Comrades Association," with headquarters in Beijing and branches in various provinces and cities, thus revealing the rudimentary form of a political party.

At the beginning of June 1910, through the efforts of the "National Assembly Petition Comrades Association," the delegates from various provinces went to Beijing again to launch a second petition.

The number of delegates to petition was expanded to 150, and in addition to the provincial advisory bureaus, it also included representatives of chambers of commerce, societies, and overseas Chinese from various provinces. And, encouragingly, the petition also collected 300,000 signatures, far more than the first one.

The petition representatives who entered Beijing again came to the Metropolitan Procuratorate and presented 10 petitions. Although each of the 10 petitions has different emphasis, there is only one conclusion, that is, "the way to save the country is to quickly open the Diet." The petitioners also warned that if the parliament is not convened quickly, "the disasters caused by the Han, Tang, Yuan, and Ming dynasties will surely return to today." ”

This time, the Metropolitan Procuratorate was not embarrassed, but immediately played on behalf of the imperial court.

After the petition was put up, the ministers of the DPRK and China began to divide, and some people were "sternly frightened" to prevent the deputies from "chattering endlessly"; Some people believe that "the people's will must not be lost, the people's grievances must not be accumulated, and they must be dealt with tactfully to avoid complications." It is said that when Zaifeng saw that there were more than 300,000 signatories requesting the constitution, he couldn't help but shout: "The people petition so much, if it is not allowed, it will inevitably lose the support of the people!" ”

However, after discussing it, these senior members felt that they still couldn't be easily convinced; If this precedent is set, and these ordinary people will follow suit in the future, where is the majesty of the imperial court? Wouldn't it leave a great deal of trouble?

Therefore, on June 21, an edict was issued, insisting that "it is still necessary for nine years to complete the preparations, and then issue a decree to convene a regular parliament", citing "financial difficulties and disasters everywhere".

This time, the refusal was tough, and it was clearly stated that "the proclamation is clear, and there is no need to blaspheme." "I'm getting a little impatient.

It's a pity that this policy. After all, the government has not yet learned how to deal with it correctly, and the people are becoming more and more democratic, how to listen to the voices of the people, let alone how to deal with the people's petitions correctly.

After the failure of the second petition, the deputies were not discouraged, and they sent a telegram to the provinces: "We must make a third petition, with perseverance and perseverance, three, four, and even ten, and we may hope to succeed." So they launched a larger third congressional petition.