Politics, in the final analysis, is still the word interests. Because of his own safety and family interests, Li Jingxi defected to the Zhenguo Party and has now become the director of the Provisional Government Taxation Bureau. Lü Liang arranged this in order to break the resistance of the Manchu Han officials to the greatest extent.

Zhang Zhidong's final decision is also the result of interest orientation. Everyone can see clearly the momentum of the Zhenguo army sweeping the south of the Yangtze River, and trying to resist can only be a mantis arm as a car, he is not a pedantic person, and he will not be buried for the Manchu Dynasty. After hesitating, under the pressure of other provinces, Zhang Zhidong fell to the side of the provisional government. Wei Guangtao and Ding Zhenze, plus Yuan Shikai, may have been too nervous under the strong pressure of the Zhenguo Army, and made a stinky move, which actually fulfilled Lu Liang.

"Xiangshuai, Mr. Gu is here." Since Zhang Zhidong's attitude has become more and more southern, Zhao Fengchang has spent more and more time by his side, and Gu Hongming, another super staff member, has come less and less.

Gu Hongming's face was gloomy after he came in, and he walked straight to Zhang Zhidong's side, ignoring Zhao Fengchang, who stepped forward to greet him, and said straightforwardly: "Xiangshuai, don't be confused by the situation!" Of course, there are things wrong with the imperial court, but as a courtier, especially a feudal official and pillar of the country like you, you should do your best to improve the government and promote the Restoration, so that the country can get on the right path. The orthodoxy of China still depends on the imperial court to maintain, like the Zhenguo Party in the south, most of its actions throw away cultural traditions, and regard Chinese culture as a flood of beasts. ”

"Hehe, Mr. Jiuwen Gu has studied both Chinese and Western, is proficient in nine languages, and has obtained thirteen doctorates, and is the first person in modern times who is proficient in Western science, language and Chinese Sinology, I can't imagine that he is still so pedantic!" Cai Yuanpei sat on a chair on one side and replied loudly, Gu Hongming knew that after the east and west sides were sandwiching the two lakes, he knew that it was not good, and Zhang Zhidong's will would definitely be completely directed to the side of the Zhenguo Party because of this matter, so he hurriedly came to persuade him, and he didn't notice Zhang Zhidong's guests at all.

Turning his head, there were two people sitting on one side, the person who spoke was Cai Yuanpei, and the other person was the first time he had seen him. Gu Hongming was about to quote scriptures and use the languages, history and culture of various countries to refute Cai Yuanpei's views, when he saw Cai Yuanpei waving his hand, and he had to swallow the words that came to his mouth.

"Mr. Gu, you are a master of Chinese culture, and I don't think I have that ability to argue with you, but you said that the provisional government threw away the inheritance of Chinese culture, and that is just your side of the story. If you go over there and take a look, you will find that we are only throwing away those dross, we have no excellent culture passed down from our ancestors, and after the overthrow of the Manchu Qing and the establishment of a new government, the country especially needs a top master of Chinese studies like you. Xiang Shuai, this time I came to coordinate the two sides, promote a smooth handover, and the dispute with Mr. Gu will come to an end for the time being. Cai Yuanpei has always held the initiative, and even if Gu Hongming is knowledgeable and full of wealth, he cannot debate arbitrarily without education.

"Tang Sheng, revolution is the tide of history, I have made up my mind, and please let go of the obsession in my heart and join the Zhenguo Party with us." When Zhang Zhidong said this, he waved his hand, and the meaning of sending off the guest could not be more obvious. Gu Hongming ate a belly of turtle here, flicked his sleeves and turned away. This is the first time he has suffered such a big loss and suffered such a big grievance here in Zhang Zhidong. But all such excellent people have very strong self-esteem, and they can't stand the slightest grievance. The same is true for Gu Hongming, after returning home, this person has already begun to plan to stop Zhang Zhidong from changing banners.

This little episode did not affect everyone's discussion, and sitting next to Cai Yuanpei was Lu Si, the head of the Investigation Bureau. Entrusted by Lu Liang, Lu Si personally came over to discuss the handover with Zhang Zhidong.

"Lord Zhang, in this handover, the Guangdong-Hanzhou Railway will play a key role. This railway connects Wuhan, Changsha, Zhuzhou, and Guangzhou, and everywhere it passes is the hinterland of the two lakes, and the soldiers can quickly move to all parts of the two lakes through this railway. The General Staff planned that all the Eighth Towns would return to the vicinity of Wuhan in order to stabilize the situation in the core area of the two lakes. The Zhenguo Army will send the First Army into the two lakes to control various strategic points and send troops to the border areas to prevent attacks from the east and west. After that, the 1st Division of the 1st Army will move north out of the border area between Hubei and Henan in preparation for a possible battle with the 3rd Town of Beiyang. Once the Army has entered and largely controlled the situation, the executive of the Provisional Government, in cooperation with the armed forces, will carry out the transfer of power in various places. In this process, Lord Zhang needs to issue various orders to cooperate with the actions of the Zhenguo Army and the administrative staff. Lu Si's words were straightforward and clear, Zhang Zhidong nodded in agreement, and at the same time had a deeper understanding of the style of the Zhenguo Party -- unlike the bureaucrats of the old government, they paid more attention to reality in doing things, rather than endless nonsense and circles.

"The railway is really a good thing, I once heard Heqing (Cai Yuanpei's words) say that Premier Lu believes that steel is the skeleton of a country's strength, and the railway composed of steel is the artery of the country, which is an important embodiment of the country's strength. Hehe, although Premier Lu's words are straightforward, they are also fresh. The old man is old, and although he has served as a vice premier in the past, I hope to be in charge of the country's railway construction, and the old man can't take care of anything else! Lu Liang was moved by these words, to be honest, he was still a little apprehensive about receiving these Han ministers, but the reality shows that the country has never lacked people who are truly for the country, and Zhang Zhidong is one of them. Of course, it is not ruled out that he may retreat and help his subordinates find good jobs within the provisional government, and Lu Liang does not object to this, as long as he has real talent and learning, and has passed the training and assessment organized by the provisional government, he can also be reused.

The management of the provisional government focuses more on the system than the individual, and the strict system and ubiquitous supervision allow everyone to give full play to their abilities and reduce the occurrence of corruption as much as possible. As within the government, all kinds of systems are everywhere in society, so that everything has a law to follow, which is the most important task of the judicial department, and it is also the biggest reason why Gu Hongming believes that the Zhenguo Party has thrown away the tradition of national studies. The old-fashioned people believe that governing the country by virtue is the right way, and pay more attention to personal self-cultivation, of course, it turns out that this needs to be completely thrown away.

After Gu Hongming went back, he did not wait quietly for the handover, he had been a staff member under Zhang Zhidong for many years, although he was not good at political struggle, but he still had a group of henchmen in his hands. Not only that, but he also secretly contacted many Lianghu officials, military officers and other powerful figures who were unwilling to defect to the revolutionary government, in his opinion, this was to save Zhang Zhidong, not betrayal, and this was also the reason he used to persuade those people after contacting them.

There are not a few people who are unwilling to join the revolutionary party, and smart people can see that the party is completely different from this side. Here, the people who hold the real power say everything, and even have the right to take life and death, and they don't have to scruple to do many things, they are the people who are superior to the people, and they are the group of people who stand at the top of society. Moreover, these people have long been familiar with corruption and old practices within the system, and they have used this to earn benefits for themselves and make a fortune.

The Zhenguo Party is different, I heard that the Independent Commission Against Corruption is everywhere, even if it is greedy for a dime, people can find out, and there are monthly, quarterly, and annual assessments, as well as various rules and regulations, such as not using public vehicles to commute, and the use of every public property must indicate the whereabouts and uses, and even every office space has strict area requirements. My mother is here, we must not suffocate to death when we go! The most annoying thing is that officials are not allowed to drink alcohol during working days, and violators are dismissed on the spot! Depend on! What if you don't drink? That's it, let's not go! Although the salary and bonus are high, no matter how high it is, it is not as fast as embezzlement!

Gu Hongming jumped up and down, sent people to contact Wei Guangtao and Ding Zhenze, and gathered party henchmen to organize armed forces to secretly enter the city. Under the surging undercurrent, it was clearly seen by Zhang Zhidong, Lu Si and others. Gu Hongming asked him to learn Western and Chinese studies in a set, but let him actually do things and organize conspiracies, then it would not work. Zhang Zhidong reused him at the beginning to appreciate his literary brilliance and borrow his reputation, but he never let him actually be responsible for a thing.

Lu Si has only one task, that is, to ensure the completion of the Guangdong-Hanzhou Railway, which is the key to success or failure. For Gu Hongming's small actions, he didn't care about it at all, and with Zhang Zhidong's ability, he still had his hands on Gu Hongming to pick up a Gu Hongming.

Before the army entered the two lakes, the advance brigade of the First Army had already set out. The advance brigade consisted of two infantry regiments of the 3rd Division of the First Army, and their mission was to wear civilian uniforms, enter various key points along the railway, and maintain the safety of the railway with the cooperation of Zhang Zhidong's subordinates to prevent sabotage by hostile elements. Of course, an advance brigade armed only with light weapons will not encounter any heavy firepower enemy.

On October 1, 1903, Lü Liang issued a proclamation of the Northern Expedition through radio and telegram, and the Guangdong Provisional Government was renamed the Chinese Nationalist Government, and the Zhenguo Army was renamed the Nationalist Army. He called on the people of the whole country to work hard to overthrow the rule of the Manchu Qing Dynasty and create a strong and prosperous new China.

On the same day, the First Division of the First Army of the Chinese National Army boarded the northbound train, and as the train rumbled out of the North Station of Guangzhou Railway Station, the Northern Expedition took its first step.

Almost at the same time as Lü Liang's announcement, Zhang Zhidong, the governor of the Manchu Qing Lianghu, issued a proclamation, announcing that the provinces of Hubei and Hunan had changed their banners and joined the camp of the Chinese Nationalist Government, and asked the Nationalist army to enter the two lakes.

As soon as the announcement came out, the world was shocked! The Seventh and Ninth Towns began to attack the Lianghu region under the strict orders of the imperial court, and Duan Qirui's third town also marched towards Hubei. The Northern Expedition officially began.