February 1920, Tangshan Residence

Zhou Elai's words continued: "I know that Jiang Jishi made the same request to you from Mrs. Sun, and this afternoon, Comrade Mao ZD also discussed related topics with me. In fact, it is not only the two of them who have such thoughts, the Organization Department has recently received many letters of advice from intellectuals and party members, all of whom hope that the country can be on the right track, and that you can come out from behind the scenes to the forefront, come out to run for president or organize a responsible cabinet, and at the same time implement constitutional government in China. This is not only the voice of our party's intellectuals, but also the voice of the entire Chinese intelligentsia...... Since the end of the Qing Dynasty, Chinese intellectuals have dreamed of a constitutional state, and the revolution of the former prime minister was also aimed at achieving such a goal one day. Now that China has finally been reunified, and there is a strongman like you, the intellectuals see hope, but also feel the danger of dúcái's rule. If you want to gain their support, it's best to give them hope for a constitutional government. ”

The atmosphere in the room became heavy all of a sudden, and the problem that Zhou Elai said did exist, and now many people across the country are watching Chang Ruiqing's rapid rise, and at the same time, they are also showing signs of dúcái**, and naturally they are beginning to worry about the future development direction of national politics. And this fear is also likely to be exploited by some frustrated politicians, forming a mínzhǔ cháo stream.

Chang Ruiqing pondered for a long time with a stiff face, listening to Zhou Elai's words that seemed to come from the bottom of his heart, his heart was also worried. I have never intended to leave a huge machine to future generations, and socialism has always been the goal I pursued. But before the realization of socialism, there is still a world war that needs to be faced by itself and China! Everyone knows that mínzhǔ is not a political system that applies to war, and the current state, in fact, does not have a basis for mínzhǔ...... However, he could not ignore the demands of the Chinese intelligentsia and certain politicians for a constitutional government.

"Brother Xiangyu, the current situation is complicated, and the problems facing our Chinese nation are too many and too complicated. One cannot be expected to solve all problems...... Constitutionalism is certainly the trend of the times, but can our people take on such responsibilities now? I think it would be irresponsible to hand over the country's affairs to the people who are incapable of fulfilling their rights! Lead this country and this nation to blaze a path of rapid prosperity and strength. It is the responsibility of our generation of politicians!

In the same way, help people, educate people, improve their lives, and make them aware of their rights and obligations. Raise the level of education of the entire nation. Finally, it is the unshirkable responsibility of those of us to be able to use our votes to govern the country!

Moreover, the world is still full of the jungle, and there is no justice and justice at all. In the future, our country and nation will most likely have to fight for survival! In order to win this fight. We must concentrate our financial and material resources on causes that do not bring happiness to the people...... So we need a certain amount of centralized rule! Comrade Xiangyu, do you understand my painstaking efforts? ”

He spoke with great sincerity, and in fact from the heart. I don't know what kind of choice he will make in the future when a politician like him can hand over the country to the people. But for now, he really wants to lead the country to prosperity. And leave a socialist country for the future Chinese.

Zhou Elai nodded slowly: "What you said is very reasonable, the current situation is indeed not to the point where it can be handed over to the people, and Xīnjiāng's GCISM has just begun, if it succeeds, we may still make the transition to socialism...... However, we cannot ignore the current call for constitutionalism in the intellectual circles, and we must give everyone a hope. It's better to have hope than nothing, right? Comrade Yaoru, why don't we announce a timetable for the constitutionalism? Even the Manchus once proposed a timetable for a trial constitution, and we can't be worse than the Manchus, right? ”

Listened to Zhou Elai's Jianyì. Chang Ruiqing just nodded noncommittally: "Xiangyu, today is the thirtieth year of the Chinese New Year's Eve, and this year is always to be well lived." After the New Year, you are going to the northwest to take office again, and I don't know when you will be able to return to Jiangnan again, so you might as well use this holiday to go home and have a look. That's right. Isn't it time to settle personal matters? When I left the Song Mansion at noon today, Mrs. Sun privately asked me to help her third sister find a fast son-in-law...... I think Miss Song San is a good girl, about the same age as you, and she looks good. Whether it's a family background, do you think about it? ”

Zhou Elai smiled at Chang Ruiqing with feeling. Although he and Song Meiling are not all the way, Chang Ruiqing's mention is always well-intentioned. He nodded and said, "I've met Miss Meiling a few times, and she is indeed a good girl." Speaking of this, his eyebrows furrowed slightly: "But I am a GC activist and hope to have a partner who shares my ideals, and Miss Song San is a Christian who believes in God rather than Marxism." We GCD people are supposed to be atheists, unless Miss Song San is willing to change her beliefs, otherwise ......"

Zhou Elai didn't say any more, but stood up and said goodbye. Chang Ruiqing had a regretful expression on his face, and sent the other party out of the second gate of the official mansion.

The next few days were the 1920 Chūn holiday, and although China was still in wartime, the nationals in the rear still had a week's off, and only a few officials were on duty. Chang Ruiqing also left Nanjing, took the family to his hometown in Xuzhou, and reunited with his parents after a long absence, and did not return to the Tangshan Mansion until the fifth day of the Lunar New Year. Before he could sit down, his new adjutant general, Zheng Zhongyuan, informed the government council that Premier Chen Duxiu would be visiting.

And Chang Ruiqing, as usual, greeted the prime minister at the second gate of the official residence. Seeing Chen Duxiu get out of the car, he went up and shook hands with the other party, and walked inside side by side. These days, Chen Duxiu has been staying in Nanjing, dealing with emergencies in all aspects, and at the same time reviewing the summary report of the eight years of the work of the Republic of China sent by the local government and various departments of the Government Council. So what appears in front of Chang Ruiqing now is a jīng exhausted look.

"Brother Zhongfu, these few rì are too busy, right? It seems that next year's chūn festival will not allow you to watch the house alone in Nanjing. By the way, nothing major, right? Before he arrived at his study, Chang Ruiqing asked with a smile.

Chen Duxiu just shook his head: "There are no big things, but trivial things are piled up." This Prime Minister is really not an errand done by people, and there are few opportunities to say that there are few opportunities! In the past two days, I have mainly been reading the report of the eighth year of the Republic of China sent by various parties, and I am still preparing the plan for the ninth year of the Republic of China...... Now is the time for the country to lay the groundwork. We've concentrated all the power in our hands again, and there's a lot more to do. And we are so busy, the people below may not be satisfied, it is really a bit thankless. ”

Looking at Chen Duxiu's somewhat tangled expression, Chang Ruiqing also counted in his heart: "What? Is there someone complaining zhèngfǔdúcái? Shouting to mínzhǔ constitutionalism again? In fact, whether this country can practice mínzhǔ they don't know yet? The vast majority of the people at the bottom are illiterate. It is simply impossible to exercise mínzhǔ rights, it is really necessary to be mínzhǔ constitutional, and the country is not yet dominated by a small number of gentry and intellectuals? The land reform we are implementing now must not be disrupted by them? ”

Chen Duxiu smiled bitterly: "Actually, those landlords and gentry below did not put forward any demands for constitutionalism. Where do they understand this? Even if they are dissatisfied with the perpetual tenant system, they are just trying to take advantage of the loopholes in the policy. Or they are trying to buy our cadres at the grassroots level to get a little more perpetual interest coupons. Where dare you ask us for a mínzhǔ constitutionalism? In their eyes, our people are already dominating the world, and they are the new dynasty, and they don't dare to rebel and destroy the nine clans. Now put forward mínzhǔ constitutional. It's those in the Kuomintang! Some comrades of our party also do not know the truth, and they follow the blind coaxing, which really makes people not know how to clean it up. ”

The two talked all the way and walked into Chang Ruiqing's study. The attendants of the official residence had already prepared the tea, Chen Duxiu took a sip of the teacup and continued: "The other is that the financial problems are a headache, the war with Soviet Russia has cost almost 200 million military spending, and now the strength of the Wehrmacht is more than one million!" Every year, the military salary alone will support more than 200 million Chinese yuan, and if other expenditures are included, the military expenditure will now reach 500 million a year! accounts for more than half of the fiscal revenue......"

As he spoke, he spread his hands and looked at Chang Ruiqing with a wry smile. That's pretty clear. I just want to disarm.

Chang Ruiqing said to Chen Duxiu in a deep voice: "Disarmament is imperative, but now we have not ended the war against Soviet Russia, so it cannot be implemented for the time being, and the Red Army has launched a counterattack on the Western Front, and it is estimated that it will be time to start armistice negotiations by the end of April." Disarmament will then begin. The initial idea is to retain the establishment, reduce the number of posts and introduce a reserve system. In peacetime, the Wehrmacht Army, which retains 20 corps and 60 divisions, will have a total strength of 600,000 to 700,000. Military spending is controlled at about 300 million Chinese dollars. Prime Minister, will this be able to maintain fiscal balance? ”

Chen Duxiu smiled with satisfaction: "This is no better." The Ministry of Finance estimates. The total financial revenue of the Republic of China in the nine years will exceed 800 million Chinese yuan! Expenditure provisions are controlled at 780 million ......"

"Expenditure control is in 900 million!" Chang Ruiqing suddenly interrupted: "Make up for the deficit of 100 million yuan, and issue treasury bonds to make up for it." The additional 120 million yuan will be spent on education, which is the foundation of the country, and this cannot be saved. In the ninth year of the Republic of China, compulsory education for all must be extended to all provinces except xīnjiāng, xīzàng, Gansu, and Mongolia! In addition, the length of compulsory education should be extended to six years, rural teachers should be trained on a rotational basis, teaching materials should be rewritten, new education should be gradually transformed, students should be instilled with the idea that the interests of the state are above one thing, and more scientific and physical education should be arranged.

By the way, there is also the arrangement for veterans of the Wehrmacht to receive vocational training...... Efforts are being made to convert the more than 400,000 redundled FDTL soldiers into skilled workers and physical education teachers in rural primary schools. To this end, we also need to open a large number of vocational schools and accelerated physical education schools, and if the funds for education are insufficient, we will need to increase the deficit.

In addition, the salaries of teachers need to be adjusted, and the monthly salaries of teachers in some public higher primary, secondary and university schools in the city are too high to be affordable. What should be reduced is still reduced, and the public education in the Republic of China cannot follow the path of jīng English education, but serves the vast number of ordinary people. Teachers who want to earn more can work in private schools, and private schools can charge exorbitant tuition, but public schools can only provide free or low-cost education. ”

Hearing that Chang Ruiqing wanted to reduce the treatment of public school teachers, Chen Duxiu couldn't help frowning: "Yaoru, I'm afraid this is inappropriate, right?" Now the intellectuals have complained about our discipline and politics, and if we lower the treatment of teachers, I am afraid that it will ......"

Chang Ruiqing said with a smile: "There are tens of millions of young people across the country who need us to provide free compulsory education, even if every 100 students are matched with a teacher. It is also better to have hundreds of thousands of teachers. So many teachers have to get high salaries, how can we afford them? Brother Zhongfu, do you think we want to provide basic free education for the whole people, or provide high-quality education for a small number of people? As for those small words, we can combine education for all with mínzhǔ constitutionalism, and the constitutionalism we want to practice in the future is not the constitutionalism of a few jīngying. It's a constitutionalism for all! Therefore, it must be after the implementation of compulsory education for all...... Belch. Brother Zhongfu, how many years do you think is appropriate? 10 years or 20 years? ”

Chen Duxiu was stunned for a moment, and then understood that Chang Ruiqing was going to give a constitutional timetable, and he frowned and said, "Is 10 years or 20 years too long?" At that time, the Manchu Qing Dynasty had only been preparing for the constitution for nine years. It was later shortened to 5 years. ”

Chang Ruiqing waved his hand: "What the Manchu Qing Dynasty is preparing to implement in the constitution is jīng eng mínzhǔ, and it is also fake. What we want to do is the mínzhǔ of the whole people! The mínzhǔ of the whole people should be inclined to the broadest masses of the people, but for historical reasons, they are temporarily unable to exercise their mínzhǔ power. So it takes a longer time to help educate them before it is implemented. Constitutionalism is on the ...... 10 years later, the 19th year of the Republic of China will begin! ”

He paused. He added: "But before that, we still have to engage in parliaments at all levels, and now we are already preparing for the establishment of laws and the two houses of government?" In my opinion, not only zhōngyāng should be carried out at the provincial and county levels, but also those who have the conditions can also do it. However, this kind of unelected parliament under the conditions of discipline and government cannot have much power, and can only play the role of supervising and making laws under the guidance of zhèngfǔ. As for the councillors, they should be elected by consultation and election by the local government, the national government, the national defense forces, and the various political parties. ”

Isn't this a King James Councilor? Chen Duxiu shook his head in his heart, but he didn't have a better way, so he had to smile reluctantly: "I don't have any problems here, I don't know if the Kuomintang can agree to do this?" ”

The big names on the side of the Kuomintang. After the gathering at the Soong Ching Ling Mansion on the Chinese New Year's Eve, they all went to Shanghai to celebrate the chūn festival, and by the fifth day of the new year, they had no intention of returning to Nanjing. As in the case of another time and space, most of the high-ranking officials and dignitaries of the Kuomintang bought residences in this eastern magic capital. Every weekend, they take the train to Shanghai to enjoy the bustle of the metropolis, and then return to Nanjing on Monday to work.

The city of Shanghai is now the most prosperous of the four major cities in China. It is also the largest industrial and commercial city in China. Shanghai is now a little more prosperous than it was in the previous days when the concessions were not recovered. As China has withdrawn its customs and tariff autonomy, it has implemented strict foreign exchange control policies. All imported goods are subject to high tariffs and must apply to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange for import permits. As a result, dumping goods into China has become a headache for businessmen.

However, the four major cities can enjoy special policies, first of all, the goods imported into the four major cities are completely tariff-free, and secondly, the imported raw materials or parts are produced and processed in the four major cities, and after meeting certain conditions, they can obtain a certificate of origin issued by the Chinese customs, and then imported into other parts of China, they only need to pay a maximum of less than 10% tariff, and they can also be settled in Chinese dollars. Rather than importing goods directly into China, opening a factory in Shanghai, a city with excellent transportation, is a very cost-effective deal.

As a result, tycoons and capital agents from the South Seas, Europe, and the United States are now waving their checkbooks in the barbed wire-enclosed city of Zìyóu. Buying land, building factories, docks, warehouses, and starting a variety of trading and financial companies...... It is worth mentioning that due to the deliberate support of the people, Shanghai has now established the largest and most standardized financial trading market in Asia! There are dozens of bonds and hundreds of stocks, as well as other commodities and currencies that are traded in Shanghai, and the targets of these investments and the capital to buy and sell them are not only from China. The largest metropolis in the Far East now has the rudiments of an international financial center!

And the Kuomintang, as an agent of the Chinese bourgeoisie, is still very popular in this zìyóu city, which belongs to China's emerging bourgeoisie. According to a secret report sent by the Military Intelligence Bureau and the Zhōngyāng Security Bureau, the leaders of the Kuomintang, Jiang Jshi and Xu Chongzhi, had a heated battle with the Chinese and foreign chaebols in Shanghai, as well as with celebrities in intellectual circles, as well as some special figures.