After discussions, the "Congressional Petition Comrades Association" made three decisions: First, the scope of petition representatives will continue to expand: When making a formal petition, all prefectures, departments, prefectures, and counties will send one or two deputies to Beijing, with at least 100 or more people from nearby provinces and at least 50 people from distant provinces. The second is to distribute signature books and agree that each province will collect at least one million signatures. The third is cross-petitioning: the delegation petitions to the Information Council, the provincial advisory bureaus and various organizations petition to the Information Council at the same time, and the provincial advisory bureaus and various organizations petition to the provincial governors.

On July 1, 1910, more than 1,000 students studying in Japan held a rally at the Jinhui Hall in Tokyo to support the petition delegation and express their willingness to actively participate in the Third National Congress. Subsequently, overseas Chinese in Nanyang, the Americas, Japan and other places also called to support the petition activities, and sent representatives to Beijing one after another to show their support. At that time, the major newspapers and magazines also created public opinion and vigorously advocated the benefits of a speedy opening of the Diet. For a time, "petitioning to convene the Diet" became the hottest topic at that time, and a wave of petitions for the speedy opening of the Diet was also formed throughout the country.

On August 15, 1910, the National Assembly Petition Group held a meeting and decided that representatives of various provinces and organizations must arrive in Beijing before the eighth lunar month, and in September they submitted a letter to the Senior Minister's Yuan to ask for the National Assembly to be convened. In addition, the parliamentary petition team called the provincial advisory bureaus to suggest that the new tax should not be recognized until the parliament convenes. The annual meeting of the provincial advisory bureaus only discusses one bill, that is, the expeditious opening of the National Assembly, and if the purpose is not achieved, the advisory bureaus will be dissolved immediately.

Soon after, the delegates arrived in Beijing one after another, and even Gansu, which had always been isolated and backward, sent representatives to Beijing to participate in the petition. What is more, when the Shanxi deputies arrived in Beijing, all the Shanxi officials in Beijing drove to Zhengyangmen Station to greet the provincial deputies. Many years later, it was still passed down as a good story, and when Shanxi people talked about it, they were also very proud of themselves and their hometown.

When the petition delegation set out for the entire contingent of the Information Administration Yuan, 17 people, including Niu Guangsheng and Zhao Zhenqing, students from Fengtian in Beijing, suddenly arrived. They handed over a letter to the petitioning representative, saying that "the division of the country is imminent, and it cannot be saved unless the Congress is held quickly, and the third petition today is bound to be as peaceful as before." Immediately, Niu Guangsheng and Zhao Zhenqing wanted to "draw a knife and cut their abdomen to make their hearts clear." After the petitioner's persuasion, the two took advantage of the unpreparedness, each cut a piece of flesh from their own leg and arm, smeared it on the petition, and shouted "Long live China!" "Long live on behalf of you!" Then he staggered away in pain. The delegates were also moved by tears streaming down their faces.

Unlike the previous two petitions, the constitutionalists mobilized a wide range of people from all walks of life and carried out a huge campaign of petition signatures and marches.

More than 1,000 people from all walks of life in Zhili, led by Wen Shilin, president of the National Academic Petition Association, and others, lined up to petition the Governor's Office of Zhili, forcing Chen Kuilong, the governor of Zhili, to act as a substitute.

Ten days later, more than 3,000 people from all walks of life in Henan held a petition signature activity in Kaifeng Youliang Temple, and then lined up to petition the governor of Henan's yamen.

More than 1,000 people in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province rallied, signed in support of the petition, and went to the governor's yamen to petition; On the same day, the Shanxi Consultative Bureau and the National Assembly Petition Comrades Association organized and held a petition meeting of more than 10,000 people, and more than 5,000 people signed on the spot.

More than 5,000 people from all walks of life in Fujian marched to the governor's yamen to petition, and Songshou, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, accepted the petition. On the same day, the Sichuan National Assembly Petition Comrades Association held a petition meeting, attended by more than 6,000 people, and under the leadership of Pu Dianjun, chairman of the Advisory Bureau, everyone marched to the Governor's Yamen to petition, and Governor Zhao Erxun promised to perform on his behalf.

Under the organization of the provincial petition comrades' associations, signature petition activities in other provinces, such as Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Guizhou, and other places, are in full swing. In particular, the petition activities in the three northeastern provinces were particularly enthusiastic, with more than 10,000 people rallying in Fengtian at that time, and nearly 300,000 signatories.

The petition activities on the side of the Consultative Bureau were also very smooth, and the provincial Consultative Bureaus basically passed the motion to petition for the speedy opening of the National Assembly, and organized the petition representatives to enter Beijing.

Led by Xiliang, the governor of the three eastern provinces, Ruicheng, the governor of Huguang, and Yuan Shuxun, the governor of Liangguang, and other 18 governors and generals all signed a joint petition requesting the immediate organization of a responsible cabinet and the convening of a parliament to prevent the people's hearts from boiling.

On September 23, the country's quasi-parliamentary body, the Senate, held its first meeting, and delegates put forward proposals in support of the petition.

Roger, a member of the Hunan legislature, made an impassioned statement: "Now the people have cut off their fingers, cut off their arms, and cut off their shares, all of which show the determination of the people to petition to death. ”

On October 26, the Senior Council voted on the proposal and it was approved, and the audience was indignant and applauded. Although it is not yet a parliament, it is important that the Senate can pass a proposal to support the petition.

If the people's petition can be ignored, but the appearance of another force has formed a trend of Mount Tai overwhelming.

The governors of the provinces either jointly or individually petitioned the Qing court to obey the will of the people and convene a parliament next year.

Under heavy pressure, Zaifeng and the imperial court gave in, and he had to give in. Fortunately, being able to learn to make concessions to the people is, after all, a great progress.

On October 28, 1910, the Qing court announced that it would begin to organize a responsible cabinet to prepare for the constitution to be "reduced from nine years to the establishment of a parliament in the fifth year of Xuantong", that is, to convene the National Assembly in 1913.

Regarding this result, the moderates represented by Zhang Jian and others in the constitutionalist faction felt that it was still acceptable and died down. Zhang Jian is now a wealthy businessman, and he is also very busy with business.

The radicals in the constitutionalists were not satisfied, and they engaged in some activities, but because there were not many people participating, they gradually subsided.

On May 8, 1911, the long-awaited Cabinet of Responsibilities was finally released.

Yixuan is the prime minister, Na Tong and Xu Shichang are the assistant ministers, and there are ten ministries of foreign affairs, civil affairs, degree support, learning, army, navy, law, agriculture and industry and commerce, postal communication, and etiquette, with Liang Dunyan, Shanqi, Zai Ze, Tang Jingchong, Yin Chang, Zai Xun, Shaochang, Pu Lun, Sheng Xuanhuai, and Shou Qi as the ministers.

Of the thirteen cabinet ministers, nine were Manchu and only four were Han.

Of the nine Manchus, five were from the imperial family.

This result was very disappointing in all aspects, and it was nicknamed the "Imperial Cabinet".

However, the Imperial Cabinet was contrary to the principle of constitutionalism, and the Federation of Provincial Consultative Bureaus convened by the Constitutionalists immediately submitted a letter pointing out that the Imperial Cabinet was incompatible with the constitutional monarchy, and demanded that another senior member be elected as Prime Minister.

He also announced to the whole nation that the composition of the new cabinet would be "contrary to what the people want." "It's called a cabinet, but it's actually a military machine, it's called constitutional, but it's actually autocracy."

The Qing court ignored this. In early July, the Federation of Consultative Bureaus again petitioned for the formation of a separate responsible cabinet.

The Qing court replied: "The dethronement of the hundred divisions is the great power of the king", and the parliamentarians are not allowed to intervene.

The Federation of Consultative Bureaus immediately refuted it with the principle of constitutionalism, pointing out that the state is the state of the people, not the private property of the emperor, and the status of the monarch is only an organ of the state. It is unconstitutional to say that the monarch is in power and has political power, and it is a deprivation of the people's power.

Only the parliament as the supreme power of the state is the original meaning of constitutionalism.

It is solemnly stated: "Conferring the title of minister of state is not the result of the grand duke of the Ming court", and the issue of the imperial cabinet must not be accommodated.

That's the way it is, no matter how fierce the shouting is below, no matter how reasonable the opinions below are, but the power is in the hands of the court, and the court ignores it, and it is useless to say anything.

A constitutional monarchy requires a monarch who is particularly open-minded, has a very high ideological realm, and has excellent moral character. It is particularly important to note that there is no covetousness for personal power and fame, and such people cannot be said to be absent, but they are certainly very few.

If a country can meet it, that is the luck of the country and the people.

And most of the time, without institutions and effective mechanisms to impose strong restrictions on autocracy, relying on the conscience of those in power and consciously voluntarily, it is difficult to achieve a constitutional monarchy.

In the final analysis, democracy must be won by the masses of the people themselves, not by the gifts of feudal rulers.

Zaifeng may be thinking, anyway, the power is in his own hands, no matter how you all shout or call, I just ignore it, what can you do to me?

On the surface, it seems to be so, but to Zaifeng's surprise, the people use peaceful methods to achieve their goals, many people will resort to violence, and the final result can only accelerate the demise of the Qing Dynasty.

Yuan Shikai's eldest son, Yuan Keding, who was a staff member in the Ministry of Agriculture and Industry and Commerce, returned to Zhangdehuan to visit his father on this day.

Every time he would talk about the affairs of the court in great detail, Yuan Shikai also listened carefully every time.

This time, he was obviously more interested in the responsible cabinet, and after listening to the list known as the "Imperial Cabinet" and the reactions of all parties, Yuan Shikai pondered for a long time and did not speak.

Yuan Keding asked his father for his opinion on the list, and Yuan Shikai said: "To be honest, the members of this responsible cabinet are still very good.

"Take the total. Minister Yi Xuan said that although people are a little greedy, he is very open-minded and knowledgeable. Zai Ze has a good reputation among overseas Chinese and constitutionalists. Shanqi was the most enlightened one in the royal family, and when he and the Minister of the Navy Zai Xun went abroad to investigate, he had close contact with Liang Qichao and others of the constitutionalist faction abroad, and his ideas were very avant-garde.

"As the president of the Information Administration, Pu Lun has been committed to the constitution. The Minister of Justice, Shao Chang, has been presiding over the drafting of laws, such as the "Draft Criminal Procedure Law of the Qing Dynasty", the "Draft Civil Procedure Law of the Qing Dynasty", and the "Draft Civil Law of the Qing Dynasty". As for your Uncle Xu Shichang, not to mention. ”