108401908 Far Eastern Maniac Chapter 39 on Warlords and Politicians

Since the "Wushen Revolution", the embassy district has been on heightened security, and countries have used the excuse to protect the embassy. Even after the establishment of the republican government, these additional troops did not withdraw, and they were still stationed in the embassy district not far from the presidential palace, not so much to protect the embassy, but to "protect" the presidential palace of the Republic of China.

Several pitch-black carriages pulled out of the embassy area. In the lead were more than a dozen British cavalrymen, and the carriages of the carriages were also inlaid with diplomatic insignia, judging from the few rice-shaped flags carried at the back of the carriage, these carriages belonged to the British Legation in China.

Song Jiaoren was in one of the carriages. Beside him sat an assistant, and on the opposite side sat the British Minister to China, Mr. Jur, and the Minister Mr. Interpreter.

But Turning Ze only gets out of the need for diplomatic red tape, and Mr. Zhu Erdian's Chinese words are very good, and there is no need to turn Ze at all, at this moment. He was speaking directly with Song Jiaoren in his proficient Chinese Mandarin.

"Mr. Song, although we have already talked about the current situation in the embassy just now. There was an exchange of views, but for some reason I decided to take this opportunity to explore further with you the question of the future of your country, and if it is convenient for you, I would suggest that we take another carriage. ”

Song Jiaoren didn't have any opinions, so the carriage stopped, Zhu Erdian and Song Jiaoren got out of the carriage, and then changed to a lighter carriage, with only the two passengers in the carriage.

Jurdian took out a cigar and handed it forward. But Song Jiaoren shook his head politely.

"If you don't mind, Jurdian took out the match.

Please Song Jiaoren said with a smile.

Zhu Erdian lit the cigar, took a deep puff of the cigarette, and then slowly shushed out, looking at the white smoke in front of him, he suddenly remembered that at the end of last year, it was also in a four-wheeled carriage of the British Embassy, he was smoking a cigar while talking to Yuan Shikai about the future of China, and at that time, Yuan Shikai was seeking refuge from the British government as a fugitive from the imperial court. Soon after, however, Yuan Shikai launched a mutiny against the Manchu court in the Tianjin Concession, successfully usurping the political victory of the Wushen Revolution, at least on the surface.

"Mr. Song, with all due respect, the future of your country has now reached a fork in the road, and where the political situation will develop in the future may depend on the current North-South negotiations. In my opinion, if you can use this opportunity to negotiate and establish a real constitutional system, then your country will completely end the strongman political situation and realize real parliamentary politics.

Song Jiaoren nodded with a smile and said, "This is also where the confidence of all the members of our United Front lies

"I'm afraid that doesn't include your chairman, right? As far as I can tell, he seems to be advocating a "government" in this country. Target. The so-called "government" is literally understood, and it seems that a political strongman guides the national policy and administration, that is to say, that Zhao Jianjun advocates strongman politics, and he wants to monopolize power. ”

Zhu Erdian got straight to the point, which made Song Jiaoren hesitate a little, and after sorting out his thoughts a little, Song Jiaoren said: "Chairman Zhao's opinion is that our country has been implementing a monarchy for more than 2,000 years, and it is too risky to suddenly implement comprehensive parliamentary politics, so. He advocated a three-step approach, the first step was military politics, the second step was currency politics, and the third step was constitutionalism.

"So, why isn't he in a hurry?" Zhu Erdian smiled. As an Eastern politician who has studied Western politics in depth, Mr. Song clearly knows that "power comes out of the corrosive agent of great power." This political maxim, once a strongman has held power for a long time and tasted the benefits that power brings to him, then he will not easily give up this small power, and he will definitely find a way to maintain the power in his hands

"Mr. Minister, if you have anything to say, you may as well say it directly. There are no outsiders here. Song Jiaoren already understood what Zhu Erdian meant, but he still wanted to make the other party more straightforward and clarify the British position.

"Mr. Song is a smart man, and he will not fail to see what kind of person Chairman Zhao of your United Front is, he is a soldier. Rise from this republican revolution, and before that, no one knew what kind of person he was. What kind of class is you from, what kind of education you have, and what kind of character and cultivation you have. Mr. Zhao Bei doesn't look like a politician, he is more like a warlord, he obviously attaches more importance to the force in his hands than the parliament, there have been many such warlords in the history of your country, such as Zhao Kuangyin, the founding emperor of the Song Dynasty, such as Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, they are all warlords, in the long war, they continue to annex other warlords through war, conspiracy and other means, and finally established their own dynasty and became emperors. It seems to me that Mr. Zhao Bei is obviously also following this path, if he is given the opportunity. He may not be unable to establish his own dynasty. ”

"Mr. Minister is too worried, Zhao Zhenhua is a staunch revolutionary, and he will never establish any dynasty." Song Jiaoren shook his head, but found that Zhu Erdian on the other side was also shaking his head.

"Mr. Song," dynasty, is just an adjective, as a military strongman, the personal power he established does not necessarily bear the name of "such and such a dynasty", perhaps, he will continue to wear the cloak of a republic, but on the inside is a complete monarchy, such as the emperor of France, Napoleon. Before the official establishment of the empire, his country was called the "French Republic", but in reality, his words were the laws of that country. He is the one who does, the lord of the nation. Mr. Song. As a smart person, you should understand that a real military strongman, he must also be a qualified politician, he must learn to perform in the political arena, in my opinion, your Mr. Chairman has very good acting skills, he has successfully deceived Xu especially young people, this. I see it. I also believe that Song Xianliu is gone. Therefore, Mr. Song was not deceived by him. You are still sober, otherwise you would not have insisted that North-South talks be held now. Because you know, once Zhao Bei completely defeats Beiyang militarily, then he will not hesitate to replace Beiyang to rule this country and turn this country into his own dynasty, and at that time, he will not take the constitutionalists seriously. Then your "parliamentary politics" will become a distant prospect

After Zhu Erdian finished speaking, he stuffed the cigar into his mouth, raised his head, and looked at Song Jiaoren.

But Song Jiaoren didn't speak immediately, just wrinkled his brows and pondered, his current psychology is indeed very contradictory, he understands that the United Front can achieve its current achievements without Zhao Bei, but on the other hand, Zhu Erdian's words are also very reasonable, Zhao Bei, as a military strongman, is also very powerful in political skills, and his strategic vision is beyond the reach of others, such a person, once he seizes the central power, will almost certainly embark on the road of strongman politics.

It is very easy to become a military strongman, but it is very difficult to become Washington, which is not determined by personal morality and cultivation, but by the degree of social development and national conditions.

As a politician who has studied both China and the West. Of course, Song Jiaoren knows what the current national situation is. It is indeed difficult for some strongmen to carry out full-fledged parliamentary politics in a society where the majority of the population is illiterate or semi-literate. But it still works, and although it is not the best, it is much better than Napoleonic strongman politics, at least, it does not plunge the country into crisis because of the strongman's decision-making deviation.

It is precisely for this reason that Song Jiaoren resolutely advocated taking advantage of the opportunity of Yuan Shikai's transfer of central power to integrate the constitutional forces of the north and the south, and to promote parliamentary politics in the gap between the military strongmen of the north and the south. That's why he personally went to the embassy district to meet with the ministers of various countries in China and seek their diplomatic support.

Soong Jiaoren's plan coincided with Zhu Erdian's plan, and the British government was worried that after the United Front seized the central power, it would be instigated by the "Far Eastern madman" who held a strong anti-British stance, and in this case, the balance of power strategy in the Far East would be seriously undermined, and China was very likely to become Germany's ally in the Far East. Even if the United Front cannot be prevented from coming to power, the "madman of the Far East" must be prevented from taking central power, at least until a full-scale war breaks out in Europe. China must not be pulled into the chariot by Germany.

It was a difficult task, and Zhu Erdian had no confidence to complete it, but the sudden illness of Yuan Shikai gave him a glimmer of hope, and in the eyes of the British, Yuan Shikai was too "greedy" for power. is small, therefore, Xu Shichang's acting president seems to be the best choice at present, and Xu Shichang is also a pro-British figure, on the issue of the three eastern provinces, he has contradictions with Japan, and also has contradictions with Russia, which determines that after he becomes the acting president of the Republic of China, as long as Britain supports the three eastern provinces, he will definitely continue to rely on Britain, and will not go to Germany and the United States for support.

As long as Xu Shichang becomes the president of the Republic of China, then the central power of the country is still in the hands of the Beiyang bloc, and the United Front can control the parliament as a sharer of the central power, so as to avoid China's tilt towards Germany, and also rule out the possibility of Zhao Bei becoming the center. As long as Zhao Bei does not enter the center, then he will not be able to determine the foreign policy of this country, and even if Germany wants to cooperate with him, it can only be "low-level cooperation".

"Mr. Minister, I have taken note of your words. However, as a member of the United Front, I really cannot slander the leaders of the United Front, and since the United Front has not yet entered the center, it is a bit of an attempt to add to the guilt of saying that the chairman of the National People's Congress wants to engage in strongman politics. ”

"As a British diplomat, I very much appreciate Your Excellency's observations. Out of concern and friendship for your country, the British Government has decided that as long as the state of war between the North and the South is over and Mr. Xu Shichang succeeds as President, then the British Government will provide you with a considerable amount of government assistance. UK consortia and syndicates of banks will also continue to lend to your country and help you implement tax and financial reforms

"On behalf of the people, I would like to express my gratitude to the British government for its generosity, but I need to remind Mr. Minister that this government loan is not provided to Beiyang, but to the government of the Republic of China

"I completely agree that as long as your country's Congress can function, these loans and aid will never fall into the hands of a political bloc alone. However, I would also like to remind you that your country's foreign policy must be clear, and that the friendship between China and Great Britain and the Entente Group must be further strengthened, but as the leader of the United Front, Mr. Zhao Bei's pro-German stance clearly prevents the development of this friendship. ”

"The United Front is the United Front, Congress is Congress, and it is only Congress that decides on foreign policy. Not a particular political group or a particular political figure. Britain as the number one power in the world. It plays an important role in world peace, and like many MPs, they want to maintain a close friendship with the United Kingdom. ”

Although Song Jiaoren said this, he had already made up his mind that no matter whether Zhao Bei really intended to be a political strongman and monopolize power, the United Front would find a way to limit Chairman Zhao's power.

Although this is a bit of a river crossing and tearing down bridges, it is also a choice that every qualified politician must make.

Zhu Erdian is right, Zhao Bei is a politician. Song Jiaoren is also a politician, and the so-called politician must learn to act.