Long before the Preparatory Security Conference, Yuan's godson Duan Zhigui had already organized a secret group to instigate the imperial system, and the provinces organized petition groups, and first drafted a petition, asking the provincial generals and envoys to be listed, and at the same time recruiting local gentry and celebrities to join, and each province was limited to one petition.

After the establishment of the Preparatory Security Council, Sun Yuyun and others thought that Duan's method was too hasty, so they suggested to the provinces that another group be formed to "solicit public opinion," and that the military and civilian governors of each province should appoint one person from each county among the gentlemen of each county, but in the form they still used the words "elected by each county" to convene "extraordinary citizens' meetings" on a regular basis.

Subsequently, this proposal was not adopted, and it was decided that the "National Assembly" should be used as the provisional body for voting on the question of the national system. As for the form of the elections and voting in the provinces, the issuance of the letter of recommendation, and the entrustment of the Senate as the general representative of the National Assembly, all of them were presided over and decided by Zhu Qichao, the Minister of Internal Affairs, and the Secretariat of the National Assembly.

All this is done in secret and, of course, in the trunets. Although they ordered the provincial authorities to destroy these documents and telegrams, so as not to leave a stain on the "founding history".

It's just that the paper can't contain the fire, and the people with a heart don't want to bear the infamy of the ages, so they secretly keep it, and later the independent provinces published these original plates in the newspapers.

The Beiyang Army and the Beiyang Affiliated Army, Yuan Shikai did not instigate them to participate in the imperial movement, but the generals of some provinces were not to be left behind, and they vied with each other to persuade them.

The earliest one to persuade was the Hunan general Tang Qianming. On 25 August, he sent a telegram to Yuan Shikai: "I hope that our great president will bow down to the will of the people, quickly descend to the great righteousness of thousands of years of Tianze, and comfort hundreds of millions of people with one heart and one virtue."

Zhang Jingyao, commander of the Seventh Division, was very disapprehensive when Liang Shiyi organized the National Petition Federation and held a banquet at Tongxing Pavilion.

He couldn't see the height of his eyebrows, he held a long dry tobacco pipe in his hand, and said while smoking: "The great president is the emperor, as long as he gives an edict, whoever dares to rebel will cut off his head!" Why are you making all these discussions and petitions! ”

In fact, his words were true, but when they reached Yuan Shikai's ears, he was very embarrassed, and he lost his temper and said: "This old man is just nonsense, he knows a fart, I want to deal with him heavily, so as to warn those soldiers who interfere in politics." ”

Zhang Jingyao was not afraid that Yuan would punish him, because when the Bai Lang army was suppressed in December of the third year of the Republic of China, Zhang Jingyao had asked Zhao Wei for a reward of 100,000 yuan for "begging for wolves", and threatened that if he did not allocate it, his troops would mutiny. Zhao Wei submitted Zhang's original letter to Yuan secretly, and Yuan approved the investigation and did not follow up.

The one who contributed the most to the imperial system was Duan Zhigui, and Duan was Yuan's godson. In September, he led the generals of 14 provinces to send a secret letter to Yuan to ask for the throne of Suzheng, including Long Jiguang of Guangdong, Wang Zhanyuan of Hubei, Lu Jianzhang of Shaanxi, Zhao Wei of Henan, Yan Xishan of Shanxi, Tang Jiyao of Yunnan, Zhu Rui of Zhejiang, Tang Qianming of Hunan, Li Chun of Jiangxi, Ni Sichong of Anhui, Jin Yunpeng of Shandong, Chen Eun of Sichuan, Meng Enyuan of Jilin, and Zhu Qinglan of Heilongjiang.

Incidentally listed are: Gansu Patrol Envoy Zhang Guangjian, Chahar Commander He Zonglian, Suiyuan Commander Pan Yuying, Guizhou Protector Envoy Liu Xianshi, and Fujian Protector Envoy Li Houji.

There are two famous figures missing from this list of persuasions, one is Feng Guozhang, Yuan's descendant, and the other is Zhang Xun, the commander of the pigtail army.

Everyone knows that Zhang Xun advocates restoration, but the emperor he supports is not Yuan Shikai but the abdicated Xuantong. Yuan Shikai was not worried about Zhang Xun and sent Ruan Zhongshu to Xuzhou to dredge.

Zhang Xin swore to Ruan: "The president is my confidant and mentor, how can I have two hearts for the president?" ”

Zhang Xun was also very well-behaved, so he sent out a telegram to clarify his heart.

Dianyun: "The servant has served my president for twenty years, and he has been blessed with grace for a long time, and he has been with him for a long time. Since ancient times, it has been said that a confidant can have no regrets in life, and he traces his life, but my president knows me the most, meets me the most, and believes in me the most. The servant is also dedicated to returning to the Lord, and he is committed to losing his sincerity. ”

Soon afterward, he telegraphed and said: "In China's thousands of years of history, there has never been a word for democracy or republic. The Xinhai Revolution suddenly changed the republic, and the honor period was impossible. However, the President of the People's Republic of China has to reluctantly agree with the wishes of the President to adapt to the conditions of the time and calm the people. ”

However, when the imperial activities were approaching, Zhang Xun sent a telegram to Yuan, saying:

"The president will respond to the actions of the heavens and the people, and receive the grace of decades of knowledge, and he will serve his own life. However, the disposal of the cleaning room should be prepared in advance. Xi Dan Zhu is called Yu Bin, and Shang Jun is still in the Shun Society, all obey his clothes, such as his etiquette, and see the Son of Heaven to show his disobedience. After that, how to protect the Emperor Xuantong and the concubines, how to relocate the temple, how to protect the mausoleum, how to stipulate the royal property and funds, our president Xiao is concerned, there is no waiting for the honor, and the preferential treatment conditions are contained in the "Covenant Law...... I sincerely submit the honor to the Senate for resolution, and declare it at home and abroad, so that the world will be known to the president to the Qing room, which is no different from Shun Yu's to Tang Yu. If you want to participate in politics, many of the old ministers of the previous dynasty, when you can look up to the profundity of the president's holy virtues, and have no objections, then you have the spirit of being in the sky after the clearing, and the original intention of Longyu to abdicate the throne, which is really based on it. ”

Yuan Shikai read the telegram and asked the political hall to reply to him, vigorously praising him for his "far-sightedness" and assuring that the conditions for preferential treatment of the Qing room would never be changed.

Yuan Shikai has a favorite general in the southeast, he is not a descendant of Beiyang, but he is desperate for Yuan's eagle dog, so he has become Yuan's "southeast pillar". It is as important as Chen Yanzhi as the "Southwest Pillar", this person is Zheng Rucheng, the Shanghai town guard and the supervisor of the Shanghai Manufacturing Bureau.

He is a thorn in the side of the revolutionary party, Zheng Zeng was assassinated on August 18, the fourth year of the Republic of China, Zheng Rucheng went to the Licha Hotel Japanese consulate tea party to congratulate Emperor Showa on his coronation, was assassinated at Baidu Bridge, was beaten all over the hole and died.

When Yuan Shikai heard that Zheng had been assassinated, he was greatly shocked and extremely sad. According to the general's death, 20,000 yuan was given for funeral expenses, 3,000 acres of camp land were allocated to Zheng's family, and a special shrine was established in Shanghai and Zheng's hometown.

Yuan's sacrificial text has: "The heroes turned into blue, and the bow and arrow were painful." …… Er Zheng Rucheng is talented and knowledgeable, and has excellent character and learning. ……”

Yang Du has an elegiac couplet: "Men serve the country and strive to die first." The Holy Lord opened the foundation for the first time! ”

Later, when the imperial system failed, some people changed this elegiac couplet to satirize Yang; "The man misguided the country and rushed to be the first, and the Holy Lord collapsed first!"

That's a story for later.

Zheng Rucheng was assassinated for some reason, but Feng Guozhang was implicated, and Japanese newspapers claimed that the rumors were secretly committed by Feng and the revolutionaries.

It turned out that after Feng Guozhang went to Beijing to pay homage to Yuan Shikai, Yuan talked to Feng about a lot of words about not being an emperor, Feng Guozhang was convinced, and he and many people played a package ticket for Yuan Shikai.

After Feng returned to Nanjing, the Preparatory Security Association and other imperial tricks appeared scene by scene, and Feng was very dissatisfied and faceless. He didn't mind that Yuan Shikai was not the emperor, but he just thought that Yuan shouldn't play with him and deceive him, so he often complained behind his back because of this. Originally, I always thought that Yuan Shikai's most trusted person was him, but now I realized that he was just a pawn in Yuan Shikai's hands that was used.

Rumors about the separation of Yuan and Feng were rampant, especially in Japanese newspapers.

In order to make a superficial article, Feng Guozhang had to issue a telegram to refute the rumors:

"Guozhang since the year of Guangxu Bingwu to a candidate to serve in the new Sixth Army, my president saw it, and appreciated it, that is, he was assigned to supervise the battalion office of the whole army, because he followed the history for twenty years. Push the heart and stomach, and see the liver and gallbladder together. In the former Qing Dynasty, he was promoted to deputy governor. He is the chief teacher, and he was awarded the knighthood for the establishment of the festival, all of which are due to the support and training of the president...... Although it is a subordinate of the bureaucracy, it is friendly to the family, the source of drinking water is known, and the mountain is perceived. In this private way, Guozhangzhi is deeply grateful to our president, and he is actually seen by the world. As for China's recent years, internal strife and external worries have been forced by the ring, when this existential and extinct friend, if you want to have the talent to help the crisis, who will return to the president!

"Not only is he tacitly aware of it, but he talks with friends on weekdays and admonishes his subordinates...... In today's world, President China is the only one. In terms of public friendship, Guozhang is a person who is trusted by the whole world for the sake of his heart's heart and sincerity. The husband is happy and sincere to serve the person who has received great kindness, and even said that he suddenly has different aspirations, or even that he is willing to be chaotic, or why is it too unreasonable and popular! In the future, when encountering such fallacies, they disdain to argue one by one, and those who hear them regard them as dreams. ……”

However, sometimes the argument gets worse and worse, sometimes it becomes true, and sometimes it turns small into big, and Feng's defense is this category; Yuan was not worried about him, and there were rumors of mixed truth and falsehood this time, so he transferred Feng to the post of chief of staff on December 18, and planned to use Ni Sichong or Zhang Xun to succeed him as Su Governor. Didn't Feng know that this was a plan to divert the tiger from the mountain? His old friend, Duan Qirui, was placed under house arrest in Beijing in disguise, which is a lesson for him.

Feng Guo and Duan Qirui had an appointment of "Yi Tendency", at that time it was called sick leave, Feng was also called sick leave, Duan repeatedly renewed his leave, and Feng also continued again and again. This patient has (except for the imperial faction, of course), Liang Qichao is also sick, Cai Yi is also sick, and Xu Shichang is also sick (Wang Daxie, the president of the Senate). There is no name for this disease, and it is called "a contagious political disease".

When the imperial movement was in full swing, it encountered a practical problem: where to raise funds for imperial activities. At that time, the finances were extremely difficult, and the main revenues and expenditures were restricted by foreign banks, so naturally they could not be diverted from state funds. At this time, it was Jiangsu, Jiangxi, and Guangdong provinces where illicit cigarettes were rampant, and Zhu Qichao, the chief of internal affairs, and Liang Shiyi, the superintendent of the tax department, reported to Yuan Xuan to send a special person to Jiangsu, Jiangxi, and Guangdong provinces to handle the ban matters, and Yuan Nai sent Cai Naihuang, who was recommended by Yuan Keding, to be the anti-smoking commissioner of the three provinces.