(2nd Update)

The day after Yang Shixiang's violent death, the stagnant water of the Qing Dynasty officialdom finally had a visible ripple.

As the governor of Zhili, Yang Shixiang's death is not critical, the position under the ass is coveted by everyone, this first governor not only has the power, land, money, and most importantly, a gun, can command the two suburban towns in the Beiyang Army on the spot, which is like a shiny spear against the capital, as for who this spear arrow rushes to, it all depends on the will and loyalty of the governor.

It is no exaggeration to say that in the last few decades of the Qing Dynasty, the people who held this official position were all important ministers among the important ministers, from Rong Lu, to Li Hongzhang, to Yuan Shikai, without exception, plus the part-time job of the Minister of Beiyang, this position is even more hot, and the title of Governor of Zhili should be hung on whose neck? I'm afraid that many people have doubts, and a secret meeting has begun.

The ministers who supervised the administrative office were all present, more than a dozen people were arranged on the long conference table, at both ends of the table were the regent Zaifeng and the Qing-Prince-Wang-Yi-劻 who presided over the meeting, before the crown, Zaifeng had participated in such a meeting as the Minister of Military Aircraft, and he was not unfamiliar with this set of procedures, it stands to reason that Zaifeng, as the actual supreme ruler, did not need to come in person, or participate in the discussion of the courtiers, he just had to listen to the results and decide yes or no, but Zaifeng did not do this, When it comes to personnel appointments and dismissals, especially the key issues of the governor of Zhili, he naturally regards it as extraordinary, sitting in the Maoqin Hall and waiting for news, he can't sit down, and there is another advantage in this way, with him, Yi-Liang has more or less scruples, and it will be too late to get a person like Natong out when the time comes.

Before the meeting began, Ye Kai and Zaifeng bumped heads, and the two only said one word when they met, asking the regent to wait and see what happened, and not to speak, and after that, it officially began.

More than a dozen people at the conference table, who have been officials in the same dynasty for many years, know each other well, as for Ye Kai's new face, everyone doesn't have much freshness, are there still few people who have come over the years, there is no need to say any polite words, Yi Xuan directly put the candidate question out.

"The Governor of Zhili died the night before, presumably you are also shocked to hear the bad news, after the king learned about it, he was shocked, and he didn't dare to believe it for a while, but the position of the Governor of Zhili is extremely important, and the affairs of Gyeonggi are complicated, so no one can take care of it, and it just so happens that the regent is also there, and you all say who should be the new governor candidate?" Yi-劻's set of superficial articles is not leaky, and after finishing speaking, he also looked at Zaifeng, and then moved his eyes elsewhere.

The people below began to discuss, different from being in the court, this kind of meeting can be discussed in person, and it can be very loud, and after a while, it will be in full swing, and the candidates will change again and again, only Ye Kai in the crowd did not speak, he sat quietly in his seat and remained silent, neither discussing with the people around him nor expressing his opinions alone, as if he was out of the matter, not because of his low status, he had his own plans for doing so.

"Sun Baoqi, the governor of Shandong, served as the governor of Shuntianfu, and was more familiar with the affairs of Gyeonggi, after the abolition of Shuntianfu, he successively served as the ambassador of France, the ambassador of Italy, and also dealt with foreigners, and the old minister felt that he could be transferred to the suburbs of Beijing, and the governor was directly subordinate."

The first to speak was not the Yi-Xuan side of the Tong Shixu and others, but Wuyingdian University scholar Wang Wenshao, he had been the governor of Zhili, and had certain opinions on the requirements of the new candidate, in this regard, he did not think too much about personal relations, but put the governor's ability first, and the need to deal with foreigners was an important reason, so he recommended Sun Baoqi, the governor of Shandong.

Wang Wenshao's point of view represents a voice, Yi-Liang actually nodded with satisfaction after hearing it, Sun Baoqi and Yi-Liang are sons and daughters, and the relationship is extraordinary, but Sun Baoqi is only forty today, and his qualifications are too thin, these unfavorable conditions restrict him from going further, and there are not many people who recommend Sun Baoqi's suggestion.

"Chen Kuilong, Governor of Huguang"

"Zhao Erxun, Governor of Sichuan"

That is, after Sun Baoqi, the governor of Shandong, two different candidates appeared one after another, these people were mainly concentrated in the ranks of Xinjiang ministers, and there were actually voices supporting Xu Shichang, but the three of them did not get everyone's nod and consent for various reasons, and the meeting was held here, and it was already a bit of a deadlock.

And Ye Kai always watched coldly and didn't say a word, he basically expected such a result before, the only thing he had to do was to do nothing, let the meeting go on in an orderly manner according to the established timeline, until the appearance of that candidate, he jumped out rashly, maybe he would accidentally change some of the set facts.

Zaifeng didn't speak, he kept silent according to Ye Kai's suggestion, but Ye Kai never expressed any opinion for such a long time, and of course it was even more impossible to give him a reason for doing so, so Zaifeng began to be a little impatient, and his face was obviously a little unable to sit still, he looked at Ye Kai more than once, and the latter never gave a clear look, which made them scratch their heads.

"Duanfang, Governor of Liangjiang and Minister of Nanyang"

At this moment, a person's proposal suddenly broke the deadlock, and it was Sun Jianai, the master of the Guangxu Emperor, who recommended Duan Fang as the governor of Zhili, which immediately resonated with the people around him.

"Duanfang has a practice, the governor of Liangjiang is in office, running a new school, training a new army, eliminating malpractices, solving people's livelihood, and people praise it a lot, not to mention that Duanfang is the five ministers who went abroad, Lord Wang just said that he wants to find someone who can deal with foreigners, if you talk about dealing with foreigners, I'm afraid no one can compare with Duanfang."

As the governor of Liangjiang and the minister of Nanyang, if he is transferred to the governor of Zhili and the minister of Beiyang, whether it is in terms of official title or qualifications, it is absolutely enough, and it is not a jump promotion, so it can calm down a lot of unnecessary criticism.

In addition, there is another reason that cannot be ignored because Duan Fang can arouse popularity, he is the most famous constitutionalist in the Qing court, and he is also a fanatical constitutionalist, not only openly advocating that "the imperial court should quickly open the Congress, make the constitution, and make the parliament", and even have a close relationship with Liang Qichao overseas as a governor, in short, he is indeed very marketable in the context of the time, and has won the following and support of many people.

For everyone, Duan Fang is the biggest consensus, he and everyone's interests do not conflict, and for the Yi - who led the meeting, the result is not bad, even an unexpected surprise, as early as the outbreak of Ding You's political tide, Qu Hongji Cen Chunxuan and Yi - Yuan Shikai were in full swing, Duan Fang and the latter two started to cooperate, single-handedly fabricated the first photo PS incident in human history, and sent someone to combine the photos of Cen Chunxuan and Kang Youwei, which caused the disgust of the Empress Dowager Cixi, drove Qu Hongji and Cen Chunxuan out of the capital, and this battle was won by a great victory, and the end party contributed a lot.

Among the dozen or so people in the meeting, Pu Lun had no experience of going out, Lu Chuanlin was old and faint, and he would only follow the crowd, and everyone else agreed after a little thought, including Ye Kai.

Duan Fang, who loves photography, photography, watching movies, and took the establishment of China's first zoo with a trendy character, such a very entertaining person came, what else did Ye Kai disagree with?

The only one who couldn't sit still was the regent Zaifeng, who looked at everyone with a black face, Duanfang? Is it the Duan Fang who shouts every day that he will be constitutional? Zaifeng pinched the corners of his eyebrows to pretend to be uneasy.

Seeing that the candidate was about to be finalized, he clenched his hands, anxious like a brazier in his stomach, and wished he would go up and ask Ye Kai now.