"It's good for Tao Gong to be the governor of Zhejiang, but the current situation is so uncertain......"

"You have to be cautious, you have to be careful."

As to who would be elected governor of Zhejiang in 1915, the general meeting of the Liberation Council quickly became a large honeycomb, and most of the legislators were debating about it. Because of Tao Chengzhang's qualifications and prestige, no one dares to oppose it directly, but there are not many clear supporters. Tao Chengzhang's face gradually changed when he listened to the discussion, he could probably think of the development of the situation, but the ambiguity of the current situation was still a little different from what he originally thought, and these representatives of the Liberation Society were more hesitant than they imagined.

Tao Chengzhang stood up, and the discussion in the venue disappeared in an instant. One of the most qualified veterans of the Restoration Society still has his own influence.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you don't dare to nominate me Tao Chengzhang, and I can think of the reason. The Beiyang Army has strong troops in Zhejiang, and everyone is afraid that the Beiyang Army will not agree. But I'm curious, why do we Zhejiang people have to agree to the Beiyang Army to elect our own governor of Zhejiang? This is Zhejiang, not Beijing. Tao Chengzhang said loudly. There was some truth in this, but the gentry in attendance were not really impressed.

Xu Xilin and Qiu Jin glanced at each other, and they both saw helplessness in each other's eyes. This kind of thing happened not once or twice in western Zhejiang, if you think that saving the country and saving the people is the most important truth in China at the moment, then the gentry never talk about this truth. Whether in the past or now, whether it is engaged in production or education, whether it is building infrastructure or running enterprises, the biggest obstacle is not the common people but the gentry.

As soon as these things that were beneficial to the whole of western Zhejiang came to the gentry, they had to talk to the branch of western Zhejiang about the "propertied people". At the beginning, they also tried to make peace with the mud, trying to use revolutionary principles to influence the landlords and gentry, and the landlords and gentry were also afraid of the force of the western Zhejiang branch at the beginning, and they were "willing to be accommodating" in some small things. However, with the expansion of social production, there were more and more things that required the gentry to "accommodate", and the gentry also found that the western branch of Zhejiang was not willing to force the policy by force. There will be more confrontations of all kinds.

One thing doesn't work, two things don't work, three things don't work, and then almost nothing comes true. In the eyes of the gentry, what the West Zhejiang Branch had to do was either "competing with the people for profit" or "blackmailing the gentry", and finally there were people crying and wiping tears and shouting at the West Zhejiang Branch to "destroy people's graves" and "bad feng shui". It was an attempt by the West Zhejiang Branch to develop an irrigation system, and all members had conducted ideological education in advance, preparing to learn from the People's Party to lead the masses in voluntary labor. This incident completely angered the young people of the western branch of Zhejiang, and for the first time they decided to set aside the landlords and mobilize the masses.

Of course, the masses wanted better irrigation, and everyone at the People's Assembly voted and passed a resolution with more than 90 percent of the vote to allow the West Zhejiang Branch to lead the masses in building an irrigation system. With the support of the masses, the western branch of Zhejiang forcibly implemented the water conservancy and irrigation project against the backdrop of a gun. In that year, the grain tax revenue increased by 10 percent.

With this beginning, the western branch of Zhejiang is more and more dependent on the common people, and put aside those landlords and gentry. The people don't have much money, so they only have this kind of strength. For those projects that can earn money to improve their lives through work, the West Zhejiang Branch insists on not making wishes in advance, insisting on not pretending to be generous when giving money, and running the government and public production as carefully as a small family, and there is no one who does not follow the people.

The current Guangfu Association will not dare to directly nominate Tao Chengzhang as the next governor of Zhejiang, and those who sincerely oppose Tao Chengzhang are actually a minority. Most, or the vast majority of the gentry who did not dare to express their position, were afraid that the Beiyang Army would not be satisfied. If the Beiyang Army is not satisfied, it will make things difficult for the gentry, and in front of the gun, these gentry have broken their teeth and swallowed in their stomachs, and they will never dare to resist. If Tao Chengzhang can't protect their interests, the words "Zhejiang is the Zhejiang of Zhejiang people" are nonsense. No matter how good the future is, the risks exceed a certain range, and it is absolutely impossible for these people to abandon their immediate interests and fight for the future. Xu Xilin and Qiu Jin have seen this kind of thing many times in western Zhejiang.

As the two men expected, no matter how eloquent Tao Chengzhang tried to win the support of these gentry and parliamentarians, the result was in vain. At first, some lawmakers could listen patiently, but after a long time, some lawmakers couldn't help but yawn. Tao Chengzhang's attempt to become the governor of Zhejiang can be said to have failed completely.

When Tao Chengzhang sat down with a dry mouth, someone mentioned the matter of paying taxes in western Zhejiang again "in order to ease the atmosphere", and Qiu Jin immediately emphasized the attitude of the western Zhejiang branch again, "It's okay to pay taxes, but you must elect a suitable governor of Zhejiang." Otherwise, there is no need to mention this matter again. ”

Parliament is actually a game of interest groups, and this game is the most inefficient method. After a day of trouble, all parties only made clear their positions and the bottom line at the moment, and there was no substantive progress at all on what was to be discussed. Although they had been mentally prepared for this before they came, Xu Xilin and Qiu Jin still felt very regretful. You know, it's the beginning of spring, and the farm work in the field is piling up. If they are in western Zhejiang, the two of them can do a lot of practical things in a day. Where to spend the day in your spare time.

In the evening, Tao Chengzhang came to find the two of them angrily, and today's situation is beyond Tao Chengzhang's imagination. Qiu Jin and Xu Xilin originally thought that Tao Chengzhang was asking the two to make more concessions, such as agreeing to pay taxes in western Zhejiang, in exchange for more people supporting Tao Chengzhang. Tao Chengzhang didn't make such a meaningless request at all, he said: "Bosun and Jianhu, this is no longer the time to determine this time in the general association, since we want to form a militia group, I have to let the two of you help and send me some reliable people." I can be the governor of Zhejiang, but the militia must not let these people do whatever they want. ”

Qiu Jin asked tentatively, "Tao Gong, what is the current situation in the Chase Academy?" "Datong Academy is the most important cadre school of the Restoration Society, and it was even the military school of the Liberation Society for a time. Qiu Jin has not been back to Shaoxing at all in the past few years, but I heard that the recent situation of Datong School is relatively delicate, and it is not clear what the specific subtle method is.

Sure enough, Tao Chengzhang sighed: "Beiyang is extremely wary of the Datong Academy, and after the opening of the military academy in Zhejiang, the Datong Academy has any military-related training. Mr. Cai has concurrently served as the principal of Chase School, and all the teachers in it are determined by Mr. Cai, and the current Chase School is completely different from what we were back then. ”

Hearing that the Chase Academy he once led had undergone such a change, Qiu Jin was still quite uncomfortable in her heart. She diverted the topic and said, "Tao Gong, it's okay for you to let people go to us for military training." However, we in western Zhejiang simply do not have the extra manpower to send to various places. ”

"That'll do fine." Tao Chengzhang replied happily, "I'll just tell you two directly, I don't want to fight at all in my heart." I don't care who wins or loses between the People's Party and Beiyang, but the system of inter-provincial autonomy cannot be abolished. So please help me train these people. At present, Beiyang has a strong military in Zhejiang, and these parliamentarians and gentry do not dare to act rashly, so we will endure it for the time being. As long as there is a change in the situation in Zhejiang, we can use the militia to seize Zhejiang's military power. I don't care at all if it's a governor. However, Zhejiang's affairs must be decided by the people of Zhejiang, and no matter what, the people of other provinces cannot manipulate the future of Zhejiang. ”

Qiu Jin nodded, "As long as I send people over, I can train them well." Tao Gong don't worry. ”

Xu Xilin also deeply agreed with this, "Tao Gong, the Beiyang Army must be expelled from Zhejiang. If Wenqing wins, as long as we still have a breath, we will try our best to ask Wenqing to maintain the status quo in Zhejiang. ”

"Then please two of you." Tao Chengzhang said gratefully.

"By the way, Tao Gong, I have a little trick I want to talk to Tao Gong." Xu Xilin said with a smile.

The next day, Tao Chengzhang did not continue to try to seek the position of governor, and as soon as the meeting began, he asked, "Since you want to establish a militia group, who is in charge of this militia group?" Is it the Beiyang Military Administration? Or is it the restoration of military management? ”

If everyone dared to put forward various opinions yesterday on whether Tao Chengzhang could be the governor of Zhejiang, the entire conference hall would be like a honeycomb. But now that the room is quite quiet, everyone doesn't dare to say anything about Tao Chengzhang's question today. It is one thing to be afraid of offending Beiyang, but it is another thing to directly surrender a gun to Beiyang. But Tao Chengzhang made such an aggressive statement, everyone knew that Tao Chengzhang must seize this military power in his hands, and this is not the time to talk nonsense.

Tao Chengzhang didn't care that everyone was so silent and expressed some kind of dissupport, he said loudly: "Whoever is against it, please stand up." ”

This is what Xu Xilin said yesterday, if you are worried that others will not support it, then simply force others to directly oppose it. Sure enough, as Xu Xilin said, at least no one stood up directly. Everyone really didn't expect Tao Chengzhang to say this, if he stood up, he would have to openly oppose it. With Tao Chengzhang's influence, no one is willing to be the first to stand up and oppose even if they disagree. Instead, someone tried to sit and speak, and Tao Chengzhang pointed at the man and said, "You either stand up and object, or sit and don't speak." If you talk like yesterday, you won't get anything out of tomorrow. ”

That person had this plan, but seeing that Tao Chengzhang had such a tough attitude, that person simply didn't say anything.

"If there is no objection, brother, I will be in charge of forming a militia group. I don't know what Mr. Cai means? Tao Chengzhang said to Cai Yuanpei.

Everyone's eyes fell on Cai Yuanpei, who had completely established himself as the leader of the Restoration Society in recent years. If Cai Yuanpei objected, these parliamentarians didn't care about offending Tao Chengzhang.

"Then leave the matter of forming a militia to Mr. Huanzhang." Cai Yuanpei said calmly. When some of the councillors heard this, they couldn't help but show a look of disappointment on their faces.

After determining this major event, the discussion at the meeting once again turned into a criticism meeting against the western Zhejiang branch, and various accusations came out one after another. The core content is to criticize the peasant association being implemented by the western branch of Zhejiang. In order to improve the social production capacity, after hitting the wall again and again, and again and again attempting, under the leadership of a group of radical members, the road of the mass line was finally opened. Moreover, the folk customs in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are also very different from those in the north, and the masses generally prefer litigation. After the western branch of Zhejiang promoted the construction of the peasant association with military strength as the background, the dignity and majesty of the landlords were swept away. Once the power of the landlords had fallen, the peasant associations became the only organs of power, and the so-called "all power belonged to the peasant associations" was truly achieved. Even the trivial matter of the quarrel between the two in-laws had to be solved by the peasant association. Everything cannot be solved without the presence of the peasant unions. The peasant unions are simply dictatorial in the countryside, and they really "can say and do".

The main targets of the peasants' attacks were the local tyrants and gentry, the unscrupulous landlords, all kinds of patriarchal ideas and systems, the corrupt officials in the cities, and the bad habits in the villages. The situation of this attack is simply a storm, and those who go along with it will survive, and those who violate it will perish. As a result, the privileges of thousands of years of feudal landlords, if not to be said to be in vain, at least completely swept away. People from the outside world can only say that the peasants will be good, but they cannot say that the peasants will be bad. The local tyrants and gentry and the lawless landlords were completely deprived of the right to speak, and no one dared to say a word. Under the power of the peasant association, the local tyrants and inferior gentry where the western branch of Zhejiang was located all fled to Hangzhou, and the rest simply surrendered to the peasant association in the township.

In the past few years, as the West Zhejiang Branch has become more and more daring to mobilize the masses, the relationship between the General Assembly of the Liberation Association and the West Zhejiang Branch has also plummeted, and being criticized is nothing to Xu Xilin and Qiu Jin. Anyway, every social production will always bring one or several sufferers to Hangzhou to cry. There are many lice and there is no itching, and there are many debts. They don't take it to heart at all. Some councillors even had white foam on the corners of their mouths when they were excited, pointing their fingers at Qiu Jin, and shouting: "You guys are trying to force people to death!" ”

Qiu Jin slammed the table and stood up, "Forcing them to death?" Their land is there, their lives are there, and their money is not less, why did they force them to death? Who the hell said that to get these tongue-chewers out and let them tell them to their faces how the hell we drove them to death? ”

Whether or not they have crossed the line of life and death, and whether they have experienced the battlefield of Shura Field, the impact on people is completely different. Don't look at the parliamentarians who seem to be indignant, but when Qiu Jin is angry, the fierce murderous aura makes these people unable to speak for a while. Moreover, Qiu Jin's attitude could not be clearer to show these people one thing, and it is absolutely impossible for the West Zhejiang Branch to compromise on these matters.

"Forget it, stop arguing." Cai Yuanpei finally came out to start a round, "At the moment when the enemy is current, what are you arguing about." There were a lot of things to do in the future. I think I might as well talk about it here this time. ”

The patriarchs and bigwigs of the Restoration Society knew that the quarrel would not yield any results, so they turned their faces away and stopped looking at each other like cockfights. It was in this situation that the general meeting of the Liberation Society came to an end.

Qiu Jin and Xu Xilin naturally refused to stay in this hostile city of Hangzhou any longer, and the situation presented to the two by the General Assembly of the Restoration Society at this meeting was almost incompatible, and the gentry completely grasped the real power of the Liberation Society under the leadership of Cai Yuanpei. If Tao Chengzhang can become the next governor of Zhejiang, the western branch of Zhejiang will still have something to rely on. This arrangement was ruthlessly rejected because the gentry estimated their own interests. As the commander-in-chief of the Liberation Army, Tao Chengzhang was almost vetoed even to become the commander-in-chief of the newly established militia group, and the severity of the situation was much beyond the imagination of Qiu Jin and Xu Xilin.

Every time they go to Hangzhou, Qiu Jin and Xu Xilin feel that the city will be a lot more prosperous, and there will be more people dressed brightly and decently. But the number of ragged masters and beggars also increased greatly. The population of Huzhou, which was controlled by the western Zhejiang branch, increased rapidly because of the establishment of many new factories, but the people who had no food were able to live on their own because they entered the western Zhejiang branch to open many silk reeling and silk factories, as well as other public utilities needed by the society. Unless you are too lazy to die and refuse to work, even if you are a road sweeper, you can barely make a living. The market in Hangzhou, especially the increasing number of Fengyue places, made Qiu Jin extremely dissatisfied. Seeing the soliciting woman with heavy makeup at the door, Qiu Jin snorted coldly.

Sending the two to the gate of Hangzhou, Tao Chengzhang said gratefully: "Thank you two for your help." ”

"Tao Gong, originally we thought that Tao Gong would not be like this in the Restoration Society anyway, but we made Tao Gong trouble." Xu Xilin spoke extremely carefully, for fear of stinging Tao Chengzhang's sadness.

"You haven't been here for a year, and the Restoration will change a lot. No wonder you don't know. No wonder you guys. How could Tao Chengzhang not understand what Xu Xilin meant.

"Tao Gong, if there is any request, just ask, although we can't speak at the general meeting, but we can still do something in western Zhejiang." Qiu Jin was also very sympathetic to Tao Chengzhang in her heart. In the first few years after the establishment of the Liberation Society, Cai Yuanpei was nominally the president, but all the actual work was led by Tao Chengzhang, Xu Xilin, and Qiu Jin. I didn't expect that the three of them would already have such a status in the Restoration Society now.

Tao Chengzhang sent Qiu Jin and Xu Xilin to the gate of the city, but they didn't want to separate, they simply led the horse and continued to walk forward. Tao Chengzhang asked, "I don't know what you are going to do when you go back?" ”

"We're going to go back and try to see the unified purchase and sale of grain." Xu Xilin replied.

The unified purchase and marketing of grain is a new policy recently implemented by the People's Party in the old base areas. With the completion of the land reform in the old base areas, the People's Party has begun to continue to adjust its policies according to the characteristics of the industrial era. In this regard, the Zhejiang West Branch also studied that in the industrial era when transactions were fully socialized, grain trading, which is the most basic form of life, must also be more socialized and more planned. If the government cannot control the direction of food, it will not be possible to supply the food needs of the whole society.

The People's Party stabilized food prices through strong management of the countryside, the renminbi was a paper currency, and the People's Party did not have enough precious metals as monetary collateral. Fortunately, the People's Party has to eat every day, so the value of the renminbi is pegged to the price of grain, creating the credit of the renminbi almost out of thin air. With the economic development of western Zhejiang, the problem of insufficient currency has also appeared. The People's Party can issue banknotes, but Zhexi can't. As a last resort, they had no choice but to imitate the methods of the People's Party and first tried to impose strong government control over grain in western Zhejiang. However, if you do so, you will greatly offend the gentry and landlords. So Xu Xilin's mood is not high.

Although Tao Chengzhang couldn't fully understand what Xu Xilin meant by "unified purchase and unified sales", he knew that this was by no means an easy task. But Tao Chengzhang also knew that he couldn't help much, so he patted Xu Xilin on the shoulder, "Bosun, if you think you should do it, do it." It is very difficult to be a person who wants others to agree, as long as you can have a clear conscience. ”

Xu Xilin nodded, "Thank you Gong Tao for your words." ”

There was nothing else to say about going on, and the three of them didn't act like children, and after saying goodbye, Xu Xilin and Qiu Jin took the guards to Huzhou.