In the past three years, the concept of democracy and freedom has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, especially in Guangdong, which has the highest level of education, strong national capital, and a strong willingness to participate in politics. All the advanced strata that joined the Zhenguo Party were inclined to be republican, which was also one of the factors that Lu Liang needed to consider in making his decision. At present, there is no organization that has a greater influence and is more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people than the Zhenguo Party, and Lu Liang is not worried that his rights will be restricted, not because Lu Liang is greedy for rights, but because his mission requires him to concentrate power.

On June 1, 1904, the Constitution-Making Committee handed over the draft constitution to Lü Liang for review, and the draft constitution formulated by a committee composed of ten genetics scholars and five ordinary scholars embodied Lü Liang's will to the greatest extent and was quickly adopted. In addition, the Criminal Law, Civil Code and other laws were also soon promulgated, and the preparations for the founding of the People's Republic of China entered the final stage.

New China was named the Huaxia Republic, or Huaguo for short, so that people no longer think that their country is the center of the world -- China, which is not a very good name. The national flag is crossed by two bayonets, with a Chinese character on top of it, and the background color is blood red. The national anthem is the march of the Zhenguo Army.

Wuhan, the capital of China, will hold the founding ceremony on July 1, 1904 according to the plan, Lu Liang Li overrode public opinion, do not hold a square to celebrate, review the army, in Lu Liang's mind, the military parade has no meaning, the display of national strength is most needed is war, not flashy military parade.

"In this way, does the founding ceremony seem too simple?" This is the objection raised by Cai Yuanpei and others, and it is the mission given to them by Lu Liang to check and fill in the gaps, and it is also something that Lu Liang has emphasized to them many times, and the high-level members of these ordinary people also make suggestions according to their own understanding as much as possible.

"Hehe, it's the founding ceremony, our country. Since history, we have attached great importance to these formal activities, and there are countless rituals and ceremonies, so there is no point! The consciousness of a great power depends on wars again and again, and the status of a great power also depends on war, we are not war maniacs, but this is a historical necessity. Those displays are like putting a gorgeous cloak on a weak body. It doesn't do anything other than give yourself courage. Courage, only the inner weak people need it, and all I, the Zhenguo Party, have done to change this weak inner being, you say, what is the purpose of those rituals? ”

Lü Liang's decision was implemented, and the founding ceremony was divided into formulating the constitution, forming a parliament, forming a ******, and speaking to the outside world. The only thing that needs to be seen at the top level is to make a statement to the outside world. The government will not organize gatherings, and there will be no restrictions on private gatherings and celebrations. External announcements and speeches will also be carried out through newspapers, radio stations, posting leaflets, propaganda vehicles, etc., no leader stands in a high place to accept the people's admiration, Lu Liang is not high, and there is no need for the people to pay respect!

In fact, all this is for one thing, that is, to reduce the heat of the cult of personality, whether it is in the civil society or in the military, whether it is a young man who has just become sensible or an old man with gray hair. The cult of personality for Lu Liang has reached a height that must be vigilant. Although the authorities have not promoted this process by any means, they have continued to take measures. But it didn't have much effect.

A high degree of centralization brings a cult of personality, and the cult of personality promotes the consolidation of the power of the ruler, which is not a bad thing at the moment, but a society that lacks reason is dangerous, and Lu Liang is not a genetic person. Unable to keep a cool head at all times, it can even be said that he is often self-willed. So he often reminds himself that he is not a god, not a great man, not even a wise man. It's just standing on the tall and solid shoulders of the steel base.

However, just as he faced difficulties in carrying out social reforms, Lu Liang could not control a person's emotions and thoughts, and when the news of the founding of the People's Republic of China came out, it immediately caused a sensation in the whole society. There are still more than 20 days before the scheduled time for the founding of the People's Republic of China, and the parades, rallies, and celebrations organized by various parts of the south have been rolled out in all directions, and in the cities, factories, schools, and towns, everyone will stand in front of the announcement and show a heartfelt smile, and then hug the excited companions around them. Tens of thousands of daily gatherings in major cities overworked the vigilantes and policemen - the joy of statehood was soon replaced by fatigue.

In the countryside, young people go to the towns and villages to participate in parades and rallies, and the elderly worship Lu Liang's immortal tablet in the most conspicuous place in their homes, and put the harvest of grain and meat in front of them, wishing the prime minister a long life.

The companies that make fireworks and firecrackers are working overtime during this time, and the products are constantly out of stock, especially those factory owners and capitalists who have made money. And they are also the organizers and financial supporters of most parade rally, which objectively expands the size of the rally.

The external shock was also not small, and the great powers even focused their attention on the Russo-Japanese War to this side, and the newspapers of various countries reported the news of the imminent establishment of the Chinese state, and introduced the process of the rise of this new country, and counted the several wars that China had experienced, focusing on the rise of the Chinese state and the loss of the interests of the great powers in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in the Far East - although this emerging country promised to carry out equal trade and exchanges with other countries, equality was the most unbearable for the great powers, and their style has always been plunder.

Except for those with a stakehold, the Western public is not interested in this emerging country, but north of the Yangtze River is different. The establishment of the state of China seemed to herald the fall of the Manchu court, and it can be seen from the increasingly active and even some blatant revolutionary activities in the northern provinces that the Manchu Qing dynasty had exhausted its strength, and did not dare to forcefully suppress the revolutionary party's activities in the north, for fear of being reckoned after the autumn. Moreover, the imperial court's blockade order for the south was in vain, and every day countless people took small steamers and small sailing boats from the ferry to the south, most of them immigrants, and a small number of businessmen selling southern goods. From Shanghai to Hubei, the Yangtze River was full of such ships, and since the establishment of the Yangtze River Detachment of the Zhenguo Army, the imperial court simply lifted the blockade of the areas along the river.

Yuan Shikai's representative of the Beiyang interest group was fattened by the imperial court, most of the loans from the Western banking group secured by national interests were used in the formation of the new army, by June 1904, in addition to the first town of the new army, the remaining five towns were controlled by Yuan Shikai's cronies, from July 1903 began to form the tenth town and the eleventh town is also nearing the end, the Beiyang group at this time has more than 100,000 people of the new army, although the face of the Zhen **** is still not enough, but at least has the strength to confront the Zhenguo army.

The upper echelons of the court saw it very clearly, and the Empress Dowager Cixi, an old immortal, even called Yuan Shikai bluntly: as long as the Manchu rule in the court can be maintained, even nominally. As a result, Yuan Shikai received most of the rights of the Manchu cabinet, from political power to military power, Yuan Shikai had already received most of the rights and became the de facto ruler of the north.

Yuan Shikai is very clear about the difference in strength between himself and Lu Liang, if there is a war, the Beiyang Army will be defeated, so he did not implement a blockade of the border area, and the army did not get too close to the border, so as not to have friction with Zhen **** as much as possible. In his opinion, the foreigners would not allow such a powerful country to occupy the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and the interests of the great powers in this place were too great, how could they be willing to lose? So he focused his energies on lobbying the Great Powers, especially the British.

Yuan Shikai is a smart man, and he will bring more trouble to Lu Liang in the future, although it seems that there is no harm now, Lu Liang will not lower his vigilance against him. But he didn't expect that a conspiracy around him and the top echelons of the Zhenguo Party gradually formed, and the main envoy was not Yuan Shikai.

At the end of 1903, Sun Ge and others of the League discussed the assassination of Lü Liang, but each time they could not accurately grasp Lü Liang's whereabouts, and later the administrative center was transferred to Wuhan, losing its goal, and it was no longer meaningful to continue to stay in Hong Kong, Sun Ge decided to go north to seek new allies. Tengzaburo Inoue of the Black Dragon Society led the way and introduced Xu Run, who was hiding at the bottom of the British Concession in Shanghai.

After the failure of the resistance, Xu Yun hid in the leased land to recuperate, and actively organized a movement against the Zhenguo Party, but there was no progress. In February 1904, Sun Ge and Xu Run met in Japan, and the two hit it off. Xu Run has the experience of assassinating Lu Liang, and it is also the closest to success, and he also has two killers who have been trained for many years. Inoue Tengzaburo actively participated in the plan, and transferred ten shinobi from the headquarters to ensure the completion of the assassination mission.

In order to determine Lü Liang's whereabouts, more than a hundred spies were sent to the south, mainly in the Wuhan area, in an effort to target Lü Liang at once. The killer team is divided into three waves, one in Wuhan, one in Shanghai, and one in Guangzhou, no matter where Lu Liang appears, the killers will arrive as soon as possible.

This operation was well-organized, and the Japanese Black Dragon Society, which had rich experience in assassination, planned behind the scenes, and Sun Ge and Xu Run were responsible for organizing and implementing it, striving to kill with one hit! In addition to Lü Liang, Inoue Tengzaburo suggested that Wu Yue, Lü Yi, Zhang Zhidong, and Tao Chengzhang, who had great influence within the Zhenguo Party, should be eliminated together, so as to prevent these people from continuing to maintain the rule of the Zhenguo Party in the south after Lü Liang's death. (To be continued.) )