In May, Zhang Jian came to Jinan again, and in addition to coordinating business matters with the Shandong General Chamber of Commerce, he mainly met with Yang Shixiang to discuss the promotion of constitutional matters.

Zhang Jian said that he and Zheng Xiaoxu had been planning for a long time and were preparing to set up a preparatory constitutional association in Shanghai. Tang Shouqian, Wang Qingmu, Zhou Tingbi, Xu Run, Sun Duosen and others have been contacted, considering that Shandong is already a large province with outstanding industrial achievements, so they are willing to leave a vice president to Shandong. When I came to Quancheng this time, I had already met Zhou Xuexi and others, but Zhou seemed to have concerns and did not make a positive statement. A few days ago in Shanghai, I had heard that Admiral Long Qian opposed the constitution, and Zhou Jizhi must have been influenced by Long Qian. And Lord Yang, you are a member of the Constitution, so I would like to ask Lord Futai to come forward to calm Zhou's heart. The constitution is not only for the country and the imperial court, but also has a great deal to do with us, among which the joint, with the wisdom of Yang Futai, does not need to be rapped by Zhang.

The list that Zhang Jian said made Yang Shixiang quite moved. Zheng Xiaoxu, who was scheduled to serve as the preparatory constitutional association, was famous, and in his early years, he served in the shogunate of Shen Baozhen and Li Hongzhang, and later served as the secretary of the Qing legation in Japan, and later promoted to the consul general of Kobe and Osaka. After returning to China, he entered Zhangzhidong, and also served as the supervisor of the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau. He is a figure who can go away from both the official and business worlds. His family is rich, and he is still a first-class calligrapher today. And Tang Shouqian is also famous for a long time, this person once served as the Lianghuai salt transport envoy, the general office of the Zhejiang Railway Corporation, is a famous figure who advocated the change of the law, in his early years he wrote the book "Alarm", which had a great influence. As for Zhou Tingbi, Wang Qingmu, Xu Run, Sun Duosen and others, they are all famous industrialists in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, among which Sun Duosen is also the son of Sun Jianai, the minister of military aircraft.

Zhang Jian's implication is that Yang Shixiang, you are the governor of Shandong after all. is the number one in Shandong, and if he can't interfere in military affairs, he can't even look at Long Qian's face in terms of political attitude, right?

"Mr. Ji Zhi's Constitutional Council is a virtuous person today. If Zhou Jizhi and others are willing to join forces with Mr. Ji Zhi, Benfu will never stop them. Yang Shixiang thought for a moment and made a decision. The Constituent Association is a non-governmental organization, and it is naturally inconvenient for him, the governor, to come forward. Whether you can pull Shandong in, depending on your ability, I will neither obstruct nor support it.

Zhang Jian left disappointed. He already knew that Zhou Xuexi and the others were completely looking at Long Qian's attitude. Long Qian didn't say anything. The Shandong gentry will not take a stand.

Yang Shixiang has been paying attention to the movements of Jingshi recently. The five ministers sent by the imperial court last winter to inspect foreign constitutionalism have not yet returned to China. What kind of attitude is Cixi, who is still in control of the court situation, he can't eat very accurately, although it is not the year of Wuxu, but this kind of standing in line should still be cautious.

Yang Shixiang is now powerless to wrestle with Long Qian. With Cixi's support, Yang Shixiang could no longer interfere in the military affairs controlled by Long Qian. And with the rise of Shandong industry. Almost all the gentry were caught up in the two major industrial groups. And Shandong officialdom is entangled in interests. The vast majority of them support industrial groups to make money. And behind the industrial group stands Long Qian.

If you want to really control Shandong, you must transfer Long Qian. Only Yuan Shikai may be able to do this. And Yuan Shikai's life in the court was not easy, on the one hand, he was suspicious and excluded by Tie Liang and other Manchurian magnates. Military power is under threat. Tie Liang, Liang Bi and others were bent on regaining the military power of the four towns of Gyeonggi (Beiyang 2, 3, 4, and 6 towns) from Yuan Weiting, but on the other hand, they were opposed by the Minister of Military Aircraft Qu Hongzhen in government affairs, and they couldn't take care of Shandong at all.

Fortunately, Long Qian was not excessive, and at least he did not come forward in government affairs, and as long as Yang Shixiang's order did not touch on industrial development, road construction, and rural autonomy, there was no resistance.

Let's wait for Bai Ruiting to come back. Although Yang Shixiang knew that Bai Ruiting had already "taken refuge" in Long Qian.

After sending Zhang Jian away, Luo Xiaocai reported something to Yang Shixiang, "The day before yesterday, the Bai Mansion held Miss Bai's daughter's full moon wine, and Long Qian and his wife went to congratulate him in person. He also joked that he wanted to be his sons and daughters. ”

Miss Bai is Bai Ruiting's young daughter Bai Ling, married to Wang Mingyuan, a general under Long Qian, in the winter of the year before last, and gave birth to a daughter a month ago.

With the relationship between Long Qian and Wang Mingyuan, it is normal for Long Qian to go to Baifu.

"What's this?" Yang Shixiang disagreed. However, Baifu is stingy for a girl's film.

"The students heard the news in Baifu that those who disappeared among the generals of Long Qian's department actually went to Guanwai......"

"Who? Who went to Kanwai? Yang Shixiang paused.

"Biaotong Shi Dashou. It is said that this Shi Dashou was also born in the official army. In addition, Lu Shan, who was Long Qian's number one general before, was also outside the gate. ”

This is amazing news! "Where did you get the news?" Yang Shixiang asked.

"That's right. Yesterday there were also several officers of the Fifth Town who went to Baifu, and among them was a deputy assistant general surnamed Feng, who sat at a table with me. He drank a lot of wine, and told others how Shi Dashou went to Guanwai to join Lushan, which meant that it was better than staying in Shandong. I asked him, but he said no more. I went back and checked, Shi Dashou was originally the ninth co-standard commander of the fifth town, and he was fired by Long Qian last autumn because of a small mistake, and his whereabouts are unknown since then. As for that Lushan, it has been almost three years. ”

"What are they doing outside the gates? Be a bandit? Yang Shixiang was very confused.

"My lord, when I sent my students to Beijing to pay a visit to Lord Yuan before the Chinese New Year last year, I heard Wang Shizhen say that there was a Chinese army outside the border that helped the Russians in the war, and that the Japanese had suffered a great loss in Mukden. Now they have retreated to Jilin, and it is said that they have taken refuge in Zhu Jiabao, the governor of Jilin. Isn't there some connection between that? ”

"Relevance? What is the connection? Yang Shixiang didn't quite translate clearly.

"I mean, does the army that helped the Russians fight something to do with Fifth Town? It is said that before the adults came to Shandong, a large number of Long Qian's men suddenly left. ”

"Hmm, have you heard Wang Pingqing talk about the situation of that army?"

Lord Wang said that his leader's surname was Lu ...... Now he is a division commander, appointed by the Russians. Lord Zhu took over from Dagui as governor of Jilin, and there were few decent soldiers under him. Now a strong army has emerged out of thin air, and Lord Zhu has gone to the military department. said that it would be reorganized into a new army, and hoped that the military department would give a town a Taiwan number. ”

"Well, you're overthinking. Who wants to send their elite soldiers to the bitter cold outside the gates? We don't have to worry about the things outside the customs, even Lord Yuan can't take care of it. Zijun, how much do you know about the share expansion of commercial banks? Compared with the news outside the customs that can't be beaten, Yang Shixiang is more concerned about the expansion of Shandong Commercial Bank. Recently, Jia Jiying, president of a commercial bank, brought in several wealthy businessmen from Shanxi to expand their shares. Because the status of Shandong Commercial Bank is becoming more and more important, Yang Shixiang is very concerned about this matter.

"Jia Jiying once reported a Chen, but the adults didn't pay attention to it? This time, there are still several wealthy families in Shanxi, except for the Qiao family in Qi County. The Qu family in Qi County. The Wang family in Taiyuan, the Chang family in Yuci, and the Linfen family, I forgot what my surname was. It was all brought by Jia Jiying, a native of Shanxi. However, there are indeed a few wealthy families in Shanxi. This time he brought a total of seven million taels of silver. They want to take a 30 percent stake in Jia Jiying's bank. But Jia Jiying only gave 20%. Everyone is in Huayuan State Guest House, and it has been two days of talking, and there is no conclusion yet. ”

"Seven million pieces of silver are counted as thirty percent. Wouldn't a commercial bank already have a share capital of 23 million? Yang Shixiang groaned.

"More than that. According to the people of the comptoir, its share capital has long exceeded 30 million. Therefore, Jia Jiying gave them 20% of the shares, and also gave profits to his fellow villagers. His aim was to open the business to Shanxi. Lord Cen is in charge of Shanxi and has always wanted to set up a bank but has not succeeded. Jia Jiying used this to impress the shareholders of the bank, and only then did he accept the old picks from Shanxi. But there has been a lot of arguing within the bank, and Wu Yong advocated the development of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, not Shanxi. ”

"The money still has to be invested in Shandong." Yang Shixiang said, "You go and tell Jia Jiying to let him come to Yamen tomorrow, and I will talk to him." ”

"Dong Weng, Jia Jiying is Long Qian's person. They may not listen to you. ”

"Don't say that. At least Long Huisi was down-to-earth and made great contributions to the construction of Shandong. Now Shandong has to spend money everywhere, and it is a good thing that silver flows in, but it can't flow out. ”

"Dong Weng, the firm has actually become Long Qian's money bag. This time, nearly 10 million taels of silver were brought in from Shanxi, and the first to invest must be Huayuan and Zhongxing, and it must be an arms factory. When the students were in Beijing, Master Wang Pingqing pointed out this point. ”

"Well, Wang Shizhen has suffered a big loss under Long Qian, and it is certain that he has a mustard in his heart. So I'm going to meet Jia Jiying. If the bank expands its capital, how to use it must have a charter. By the way, Zijun, it's time for the five ministers to come back when they go abroad to inspect the constitution, right? You should pay attention to this matter. ”

"Yes. There is one more thing, I don't know if I should tell Dong Weng or not. Luo Xiaocai saw Yang Shixiang's encouraging eyes, "I heard that the daughter of Xu Wenfu, the president of Shandong University, has something to do with Long Qian......

"Xu Wenfu's daughter? Where did you hear from that? ”

Xu Wenfu's daughter has been disguising herself as a man to study in the school. Later, he was forbidden to go out by Xu Wenfu. The school has not resumed school since the establishment of the Women's College. Some people say that Xu Wenfu was angry that Long Qian was having a relationship with his daughter......"

"What is this?" Yang Shixiang shook his head. He knew that Luo Xiaocai had been trying his best to find Long Qian's handle, but this was neither true nor interesting. Xu Wenfu is just a literati who has stayed abroad, and his role is extremely limited, far from Zhou Xuexi, Zhang Lianfen and others! What's more, even if Long Qian takes a concubine, it is just a conversation in the officialdom after tea and dinner, and he uses this to attack Long Qian? It's a joke. "Zijun, it's right to pay attention to the dragon's retreat. But don't make a fuss about such small things. Actually, I think Long Qian is a character, and if he is allowed to lead the new policy of the imperial court, he can be regarded as making the best use of his talents. ”

"But he has always been against constitutionalism......"

"That's where he's smart. Otherwise, why would the Queen Mother trust a person who has returned to China so much? ”

"Are you saying that the Queen Mother doesn't praise the establishment of the Constitution?"

"Not really. Now that constitutionalism has become a climate, the imperial court is afraid that it will not be able to stop it. Look at it, when Duan Fang and the others come back, there will definitely be a new atmosphere. ”

The five ministers, who were seriously concerned by the officialdom's top brass, returned to China in July, and they split up in two groups, led by Zaizawa and all the way to Japan, the United States, Britain, Belgium, and France. The other team, led by Duanfang, went to the United States, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden, Italy and Russia. These people didn't understand what constitutionalism was at all, and they were worried about how to submit the inspection report to the Queen Mother before they set off. There was a Hunan man named Xiong Xiling in the expedition who bragged about it—you don't have to worry about the investigation report, just leave it to me. Xiong Xiling is a Guangxu Jinshi, once served as a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, was dismissed for supporting Kang Liang's reform of the law during the Wuxu period, and was invited by the Hunan Governor Duanfang to be the counselor of the five ministers.

Xiong Xiling knows what constitutionalism is. But he came up with a way, that is, to ask Liang Qichao, who was wanted by the imperial court, to draft it on his behalf, and this idea was approved by Duan Fang, who had carefully read Liang Qichao's article on constitutionalism, and believed that the world today has not been able to surpass Liang Qichao in understanding what constitutionalism is.

Xiong Xiling contacted Liang Qichao through Yang Du, and Yang Du easily persuaded Liang Qichao. As a result, in the course of the five ministers' public expenses for most of the year, a 200,000-word constitutional inspection report was released.

Zai Ze, Duan Fang and others returned to Beijing, and were summoned by Cixi and Guangxu many times, and inquired in detail about the inspection situation and the implementation steps of the constitution, which was very moving. Sun Wen and Huang Xing had merged, and the League had been formed, openly waving the banner of expelling the Tartars. Several southern provinces, especially Guangdong and Hunan, were extremely unstable, and small riots occurred one after another, which deeply worried the imperial court. As more and more clans and ministers turned to the position of constitutionalism, believing that constitutionalism was the ultimate remedy for civil strife, Cixi weighed the pros and cons and decided to give it a try.

The end side is a strong advocate of constitutionalism. He was appointed as the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, and he saw that the attitude of the queen mother was somewhat relaxed, and he put on a famous excerpt "Please Dingguo is to be a big plan for peace", this 10,000-word excerpt counted the gains and losses of the imperial court for decades of foreign affairs, and believed that the investment was huge, and the results were small, and it was a completely failed history. Why? The root cause lies in the wrong form of government. What kind of polity is right? Constitutionalism, of course. How is a constitution made? Duan Fang actually listed six articles: 1. The subjects of the whole country are under the same law; 2. State affairs are decided by public opinion; 3. Concentrate on the strengths of the outside; 4. Clarify the institutional style of the government; 5. Distinguish between the boundaries of power between the central and local governments; 6. Announce state and government affairs.

It is said that Duan Fang is both a man and a cadre, and has lived under a totalitarian system for decades, and he actually put forward such a naïve idea. The Manchu Qing Dynasty has ruled the world according to the iron law of the supremacy of imperial power since the founding of the country, which of the above six articles is willing to do? Which one can do that?

However, Duanfang's suggestion was not reprimanded by the imperial court. It seems that the world has really changed. Soon after, the imperial court officially informed the governors and scholars of the constitutionalism and asked everyone to express their opinions. Long Qian, as the governor of a province, also received official documents from the imperial court. He handed over this matter to Fang Shengyuan as always, just to show his attitude, and he didn't need to spend too much brains. Recently, Long Qian's energy is to pay attention to the progress outside the border, and the other is the trial production of light machine guns by Huayuan's gun factory. Lushan's two decisive battles against the Japanese in the southern suburbs of Mukden proved that the light machine gun was a sharp weapon for the infantry. Although Meng Shanjun designed a light machine gun that was favored by the Germans, he could not build it himself, and there were problems with both batches of sample guns and needed to be further improved.

"Dashuai, do you still continue to oppose the constitution?" Fang Shengyuan asked.

"Yes, if it is in a situation, it is better to be prepared. As for the reason, you know that it is nothing more than the lack of regulation and the wisdom of the people. ”

"Does the marshal think that the imperial court will really engage in constitutionalism?"

"At least not until Cixi has a breath." Long Qian smiled, "It's just an article for the occasion." Whoever takes it seriously is a fool. (To be continued......)