Chapter 640 Good News (II)

Received the task from the president. Wu Tingfang soon left the commander-in-command hall with his assistant, and as soon as he left on the front foot, Vice President Zhang Jian ran to the commander-in-command hall to meet the president.

Zhang Jian came to inquire about the Sino-Japanese war, and since he made a speech in the Diet in support of the center's declaration of war against Japan, he has always been low-key and has been subjected to double pressure from members of the National Assembly and foreign ministers in China.

Zhang Jian came with several members of Congress, including people from the United Front and people from the National League, who, like Zhang Jian, belong to the "hawkish" members of the National Assembly who support the central war against Japan, and this time I came with the vice president, mainly to find out when the president intends to dissolve the current Congress, according to the Constitution, during the war, the Congress should stop working and wholeheartedly assist the president in dealing with the war, and the stop of work does not mean that the Congress must be dissolved, but now the situation is relatively special. Because the current term of Congress is coming to an end. If there is no war, the next election of members of Congress will be held soon, so these members of Congress simply discussed, and planned to ask the president to dissolve the current Congress in advance, so that they can go back to their hometowns to canvass votes, and now there is a new concept in the congressional elections, called "campaign support groups", local parliamentarians are local leaders, and they have a strong appeal in their hometowns, and for most voters, who is more vigorous, they have a special impression of whom, so these parliamentarians want to return to their hometowns as soon as possible, Create public opinion and pave the way for re-election.

In the early hours of this morning, after the president made a speech in the Congress, these congressmen put forward a proposal to the president to dissolve the current Congress ahead of schedule, and the president said that they should consider it, but those opponents in the same township will not consider it, so these congressmen are a little anxious, and if they go back one day earlier, they will be able to 'appear' in front of the villagers and elders one day earlier, and many of them even plan to learn from Mr. President and print a batch of huge busts. Recently, there have been rumors that the central government intends to expand the voter base and lower the property "threshold" of the voters, so the past practice of only wooing the squires and landlords may be a bit outdated, and it is also necessary to win over those small farmers and small workshop owners in the towns who are likely to become voters, so that they can at least understand what the members of parliament they elect look like.

But printing huge busts is also risky, as Zhang Jian said, this is suspected of "transgression", after all, busts of the president are everywhere, and no one else has been found to have the courage to print such a large 'private' portrait, so this also needs to be consulted with the president to see what the president means.

Therefore, the group of congressmen followed the vice president to the presidential palace and met with the president.

Zhao Bei met with these congressmen in the reception room where he had just received the declaration of war from the Japanese minister, and specially invited Vice President Zhang Jian to sit beside him. After all, the current vice president is on the side of the president, which is called "knowing current affairs", and people who know current affairs are smart people and people who are worth wooing.

"Ladies and gentlemen, don't be afraid. When you are campaigning, of course, you can print your own portraits, and it is better to hire some people to carry the portraits to the countryside, so that the villagers can also see who their representatives are, and the members of the National Assembly are not only representatives of the people's will, but also legislative representatives, and your election is even more important than the presidential election. ”

Zhao Bei's words made most members of Congress feel at ease, but they could also hear that there was another meaning in the president's words, that is, members of Congress can print their own propaganda posters when they are running, but once the election is over, then, you should honestly take down your portrait, this country, there can only be one leader, and only his portrait can be erected everywhere.

Zhang Jian is not as enthusiastic about re-election as others, and the position of "vice president" is simply a 'chicken' rib. He knows very well that Zhao Bei's current power is enough to eliminate any opposition, and the so-called parliament is just a rubber stamp. Even his "vice president" position, he doesn't want to sit anymore, he would rather be a provincial councilor in the province, at least can participate in local autonomy, although the center has now obviously strengthened its interference in local government affairs, but for local autonomy, even Zhao Bei himself is very supportive, and this support is obviously not just lip service, because Zhao Bei has personally told Zhang Jian many times that the president himself does not have much confidence in the local grassroots officials directly appointed by the center. Only by making local grassroots officials accountable to the local people can they truly assume the responsibility of building and safeguarding localities, which is also the significance of local autonomy.

However, Zhang Jian was not naïve enough to think that the local government could be separated from the central control, at least, the "hoe society" established by Zhao Bei himself is a clear proof, after all, the local government has local interests, but the central government has to consider the whole country as a whole, so on some policy issues, the two may have differences, or even confrontation, and this. It is also the importance of the existence of the provincial council, it is an important link between the center and the locality, the appointment of the governor needs the approval of the center, he represents the interests of the center, and the local councillors are elected by the voters of the province, they represent the local interests, and the two sides can deal with some differences through consultation.

This system was not perfect, but at least it was much stronger than in the Manchu period, and the local constitutionalists could also use the local system of autonomy to defend their own interests, which was conducive to reducing the political pressure on the center, which is also for this reason. Yang Ducai shouted "presidential life-long system" while strengthening the system of local self-government, and the current Jiangsu is a model province, which is not unrelated.

For Zhang Jian's current thoughts, Zhao Bei has more or less heard some rumors, now the president has the sole power, the vice president is just a decoration, it is better to actually act as the cabinet premier of the foreign minister has real power, so Zhang Jian only told his staff that he is willing to go to the local area to handle the industry.

After the death of Song Jiaoren, Zhang Jian actually became the 'spirit' leader of the constitutionalism faction in the Congress, although his background as a monarchist made it impossible for him to obtain the support of the ** party, but in such a traditional agricultural society, a champion industrialist like him still has a certain appeal, such a person, of course, Zhao Bei will not easily let him go to other places to take office, or put it by his side more assured.

"Vice President Zhang, although the general election is suspended now, after all, your vice presidential term is coming to an end, once the war is over, you will no longer be vice president, but I don't know, what are your plans in the future? Will you run for president? ”

Zhao Bei asked Zhang Jian tentatively to see how the other party answered.

Zhang Jian hesitated for a moment, and then said: "I plan to run for the Jiangsu local councilor to benefit Sangzi." ”

"Oh? Does the Vice President really plan to do so? ”

Zhao Bei was even more determined in his previous thoughts, he must not let Zhang Jian slip to the local area, especially in a financially developed area like Jiangsu, once this "money" is combined with "power", the power is enough to make people worry, so he immediately decided to come up with the arrangement that he had thought of a long time ago.

"The post of vice president is indeed a bit of a 'chicken' rib, but Vice President Zhang doesn't need to go back to the place, now the country is in ruins, and the center needs talents. Especially a doer like you. Last time, the Yellow River Hydropower Station project you presided over is now under construction very smoothly, and your credit center will not forget it. Now that the Central Committee is planning to set up a Water Conservancy Bureau, there is a shortage of a suitable director, and if Vice President Zhang is not too small, the Central Committee can immediately 'hand' over this Water Conservancy Department to you to take care of, which will benefit not only the people of Jiangsu, but also all the people. ”

"Water Department? But what is the overall management of the country's water conservancy construction? ”

Zhang Jian's mind moved, he has long been concerned about water conservancy construction, before the Qing Dynasty, he dedicated to the Huai River, the Yangtze River and other rivers to preside over the governance work, but due to the shortage of funds, coupled with the lack of technical personnel, more importantly, the former Qing Dynasty officialdom of the corrupt greed, in the end he achieved nothing, but now it is different, on the one hand, the center has financial support, there is also technical support, on the other hand, although there is still no lack of greed in the officialdom, but in view of the center has always attached great importance to the work of clean government, Obviously, this aspect will not be an obstacle to Zhang Jian's progress.

"It not only oversees the national water conservancy construction, but also presides over the national water conservancy planning, has great power, and like the Ordnance Industry Administration and the Aviation Administration, it is directly under the command of the central government, and other ministries have no right to interfere in the work of the Water Resources Administration."

Zhao Bei nodded, Zhang Jian was arrogant and would never obey the orders of the cabinet ministries, so he simply made it clear that the director of the Water Resources Department was on par with the chief ministers of various ministries in terms of status.

"Let me think about it."

Zhang Jian didn't say anything to death, he also had concerns, and he still had a trace of luck in his heart, just like the staff said, this time the Sino-Japanese war, if the center is defeated, then Zhao Bei's prestige will suffer a heavy blow, so this "presidential dream" Zhang Jian did not throw it all aside.

However, as China's vice president, Zhang Jian still hopes that this battle can be won, otherwise, Zhao Bei's resignation is on the one hand, and on the other hand, Japan's cheap textiles will pour into the Chinese market like a 'tide', which is very unfavorable to his industrial development.

Therefore, Zhang Jian is now waiting, waiting for the news of the battlefield to come, and he will soon wait for the news.

"Great victory! Great victory! The first battle of the Air Force was an overwhelming victory for 'sex'! The plane carrying the reconnaissance photos has already taken off and will be able to arrive in Beijing before noon today, and at that time, the center will have an intuitive impression of the results of the battle, and in addition, the follow-up reconnaissance plane will also take off and will evaluate the results of the navy's supplementary attack. ”

Zhang Xiaozhun hurriedly walked into the reception room with a telegram, and did not care about any rules, presented the telegram to the president, and then stood in front of the group of congressmen, and proudly announced the news of the victory in the first war.

"The Air Force task force flew hundreds of miles, long-range raids on the Japanese fleets stationed in Lushun and Dalian, sank one battleship, severely damaged two battleships, lightly damaged one, and sank or severely damaged more than 10 warships of other sizes and sizes! In this battle, our army won the first battle. ”

After Zhang Xiaozhun finished speaking, the vice president and congressmen present were a little confused, although they are not military experts, but they can also understand Zhang Xiaozhun's basic meaning, that is, the Chinese army has attacked, and has won, which made them very surprised, they originally thought that since the two countries handed over the declaration of war, then at least they should start the posture before fighting, but now it seems that the reason why the center chose to declare war in the early hours of the morning is probably far-reaching.

Zhao Bei glanced at the telegram, he was very happy, stood up, raised the telegram in his hand, and glanced at everyone present.

"Ladies and gentlemen! This is just a report from the Air Force, and it is not only the Air Force but also the Navy that has launched the attack, and I believe that the results of the Navy are equally encouraging. Now, I would like to invite you to the National Assembly, where I will give a speech in the afternoon, at which time, on behalf of the Central Government, I will show the National Assembly a photograph of aerial reconnaissance and demonstrate to all members of the National Assembly the strong determination of our armed forces to defend national sovereignty and national interests. ”