Song Jinguo spoke to Lian Shupeng about the banning of fireworks in Beijing, and an official report on the banning of all brothels in Beijing was put on the desk of Wang Shizhen, the vice mayor of Beijing.

The report was issued by the Beijing Municipal Police Department. According to the division of labor, Wang Shizhen is not in charge of public security, but Mayor Deng Qinghua signed a line, "I plan to agree." Please read the instructions of Vice Mayor Wang. ”

"You agreed, did I say don't do it?" Wang Shizhen muttered after receiving a call from the general office. He was about to sign his opinion on the report, but when it came to the moment, he couldn't put pen to paper, and a drop of ink dripped down the page, which made him very annoyed.

This report has been pressed by Wang Shizhen for two days, but Wang Shizhen can't make up her mind how to sign her opinion. Today, he received a phone call from Xu Gongzhi, the director of the police department, saying that the higher-level leaders were waiting for the attitude of the Beijing municipal government. Mayor Deng said that Vice Mayor Wang was more aware of the pros and cons and urged Wang Shizhen to sign an opinion.

Under Xu Gongzhi's modest tone, Wang Shizhen heard an aggressive taste.

The Beijing Police Department is nominally subordinate to the Beijing Municipal Government, but it has been directly accused by the Military Commission, and it is said that the General Police Department is being formed on the basis of the National Police Department.

With Long Qian's practice since entering Beijing, the ban on fireworks is expected. In the past few months, Beijing has undergone great changes, and most of the practices of the new dynasty Wang Shizhen agrees, and privately told those friends in his circle. On the vigor of the new revolution, it is much stronger than that of the Qing Dynasty.

The first change is that security in Beijing is much better.

Lu Shan's first order to lead the Northern Army to occupy Beijing was to collect civilian weapons. A proclamation was issued in the name of the Northern Army Command, ordering officials and civilians to hand over all privately possessed weapons, including firearms, ammunition, explosives, sabers, stabs, and so on.

There will be no shortage of weapons in Beijing's private collection, but not many of them have been voluntarily handed over within the five-day period. While watching, the Northern Army raided several officials' residences and seized a large number of them, including the killing of a subordinate official of the Internal Affairs Office on the spot. It is said to be a force of resistance. The rest were imprisoned. Bail is also not allowed. Immediately shook the city. Everyone knows that this is not only for law and order, but also for Liwei. After the incident, the Northern Army issued an announcement again, giving the people of Beijing one last chance. Those who voluntarily surrender their weapons within three days are exempt from prosecution. Miss the opportunity again. All of them will be punished for attempted assassination! This time it was a lot of gains, and it is said that even Duan Qirui, who fled back to Beijing, handed over his weapons for self-defense.

Wang Shizhen judged that Lu Shan's move was not only for public security. There must be something else.

Sure enough, Long Qian entered Beijing. The people of Beijing were a little happy, and it was a fact that the Qing Dynasty had fallen, but the new dynasty was obviously going to set the capital in Beijing, which made the people of Beijing, who were accustomed to living at the feet of the Son of Heaven with a little inexplicable superiority, feel much more at ease.

Soon after Long Qian entered Beijing, the Beijing Municipal Government was formally established. The yamen was located in the former Shuntianfu, and General Deng Qinghua, chief of staff of the Northern Army, served as the mayor.

The second change came very quickly. On the third day of Long Qian's entry into Beijing, the General Headquarters of the Mengshan Army issued an order to ban the city's smoke houses and casinos! The soldiers suddenly dispatched and confiscated all the property of the casino and the tobacco house, put the owners of the smoke house and casino in the Shuntianfu prison, and arrested more than 200 addicts by the way, and locked them up in the military camp in Nanyuan for drug rehabilitation. Immediately, Meng Shanjun issued an announcement prohibiting drug trafficking and drug gambling, and offenders will be severely punished!

The newspapers immediately applauded the thunderous tactics of the Mengshan army. Ta Kung Pao praised the Mengshan Army's move as a symbol of civilization, and it was the right time to cleanse the filth.

Yes, except for a very small few, the people all praised it. Since the introduction of opium into Shenzhou, I don't know how many people have been harmed, and I don't know how much property has been lost, that is, the Manchu government, several generations of emperors have banned opium, but the effect is very poor. In the Guangxu period, there were as many as 100 tobacco houses in Beijing, and the addicts could not count them, and the stories of the ruin of the family due to opium smoking were endless, and no one with a little conscience would criticize the anti-smoking action of the new dynasty. As for the ban on casinos, Wang Shizhen also agrees.

The third is the establishment of the National Police Agency, the proclamation of curfews, and the establishment of patrol teams to patrol day and night, and the law and order situation has greatly improved.

Then the Beijing Municipal Government took the lead, first of all, the Beijing Population Census was carried out, and a large number of homeless homeless people were sheltered, together with the addicts who were sheltered, as well as the banner people who were stranded because of the lack of money and food, under the organization of the army, they vigorously removed the garbage in the city and distributed rice and grain on a daily basis. It is said that he learned from the experience of Jinan, standardized the garbage pond, and set up garbage cans. In addition, public health management regulations were issued to tell the people of the city to follow them. A month later, Beijing's appearance was completely new, several times cleaner than before, which made the people praise each other, even foreigners.

Fifth, the food shortage that occurred last winter was quelled by harsh means. In this way, the market and taxation were rectified, including the Chongwenmen tax customs.

Beijing is a consumption-oriented city, and Gyeonggi is not enough to supply grain from Beijing, so it has always relied on transporting grain from the south to the north to solve the food problem of millions of people. Because of the outbreak of the war, the interruption of the water transportation of the Grand Canal, the shortage of food in the capital was triggered from the third month of Long Qian's entry into Beijing, and many of them opposed the Mengshan military regime deliberately, at the end of November, thousands of banners flocked to Xiyuan to petition, waving a banner "to live", which aroused the close attention of the media. On the one hand, the Central Military Commission issued a stern-tone circular demanding that all grain merchants and grain stores not hoard grain, limit prices and open up the supply market at extra time, and on the other hand, organize the transportation of grain from Shandong to alleviate the grain shortage in Beijing, but this was resisted by the grain merchants. After discovering that six large grain stores (including one in Tongzhou) had hoarded Juqi grain and did not sell it, or had raised prices without authorization, in defiance of the decree of the Central Military Commission, the owners of the six grain stores were shot in public, and about 1.9 million catties of grain were confiscated and sold to the citizens at a reasonable price. The grain merchants were greatly shaken and no longer dared to defy the orders of the Military Commission. The crisis subsided as the 25,000 quintals of grain raised by Shandong arrived in Beijing.

The sixth is to support education, first of all, institutions of higher learning have benefited. Peking University, which was renamed from Beijing Normal University, and Tsinghua Preparatory School, which trains talents to study in the United States, have received funding from the Beijing Municipal Government, and order has been quickly restored.

Some of these incidents were witnessed by Wang Shizhen with his own eyes, and some were heard. Wang Shizhen admitted that the Mengshan Army under the command of Long Qian had already taken control of the situation. Except for the lack of diplomatic progress, everything was beyond his expectations. The army is the key factor in controlling the political situation, Long Qian's Mengshan army did not appear to be corrupted as expected due to the seizure of power, Duan Qirui once told him that the Mengshan army that came out of the ravine had the ability to fight, and it was stronger than Beiyang. But it's hard to get over the time to stay in power. But Duan's prophecy came to naught, although the Mengshan army showed its brutal side. But it has already gained a firm foothold in Beijing. It has basically won the support of the people of Beijing (except for the flag people).

But the complete elimination of brothels is no small matter. But brothels are different from smoke houses and casinos, and the hasty banning of brothels will bring a series of problems, and the reduction of taxes is one thing, how to deal with a large number of prostitutes? Kick out of Beijing? It's not just about the livelihoods of thousands of prostitutes. In fact, there is a lot involved. There are three brothels, six or nine, etc. The high-class hall is actually an elegant place for officials to comment on the government and politics, and Wang Shizhen has participated in this kind of activity. The abolition of brothels is tantamount to disrupting the life of the upper class society in Beijing......

Come to think of it. Wang Shizhen grabbed a brush and wrote a line on the report: Beijing is the intended capital, the international view is related, and the livelihood of countless citizens is involved, so it should be handled carefully. It will not be banned for the time being.

The report was immediately returned to the National Police Agency. Wang Shizhen began to read another pile of reports on the table for instructions, some of which needed his instructions, and some of which were just for reading. He was intrigued by a report from the Planning Bureau, which outlined preliminary plans for the city's urban construction and renovation this year, including the construction of a coal-fired power plant in Shijingshan to ensure the city's electricity supply. It is necessary to harden the four main roads of Beijing with cement, dig drainage ditches and erect street lights; It is necessary to initially establish a public transportation system and introduce buses to improve transportation; Six secondary schools and 11 primary schools will be established; Seven postal and telegraph branches should be added and 400~600 telephones should be added; It is necessary to vigorously repair the dilapidated houses in Beijing and unify the planning of tree planting in the urban area; Six factories were to be set up outside the inner city, including a printing factory, a garment factory, a food factory, and a lumber factory, to house the industrial population; It is also necessary to build a Western-style hospital in the east and west of the city.

These plans made Wang Shizhen excited. He does not consider where the money will come from, but acknowledges that the construction of these facilities is of great importance to the ancient capital of Beijing, especially the construction of power plants, as well as the construction of post and telecommunications offices, schools, and hospitals, which he fully agrees with.

But the content of urban renewal is not so well understood. The Planning Bureau actually wanted to demolish the Daqing Gate in front of Tiananmen Square, build a square, and set up a monument to the martyrs; It is necessary to plan and construct a complex of buildings for central government agencies in the area of Sanli River outside Xicheng; It is also necessary to carry out a large-scale renovation of the old city in phases (within ten years) on the premise of preserving the old architectural style of Beijing...... It seems that Long Qian said that he was going to move out of Xiyuan is true, what kind of system will the central organ move out of the city? Wang Shizhen actually considered the problem from the standpoint of the new dynasty.

He did not find it good to sign off on the ambitious report. This is because the planning bureau reports that the projects will be led by the Beijing municipal government with financial support from the central government. Except for the demolition of the Qing Gate and the construction of the so-called martyrs' monument, which disgusted him, everything else made him excited. If this qiē is realized, how much will Beijing change?

If it weren't for the old master, Wang Shizhen would not have agreed to be the deputy mayor of Beijing. It's not that this position is a little low and he is still a deputy, it's because he really doesn't want to change his court like Feng Guozhang and Cao Kun. After going to Wuchang and being treated coldly by Long Qian, Wang Shizhen was disheartened for a while, and even the old lord Yuan Shikai persuaded him to go out of the mountain, but ran back to Zhengding's hometown to rest for a few days, and felt that he should give an explanation to the Qing court that had announced his abdication, so he went to Baoding to reply to the matter of the Qing court's return to Beijing. Long Qian did not object to the Qing court's return to Beijing, but he was far from the Qing court's requirements, and he felt ashamed of the royal family. Zaifeng and the Empress Dowager Longyu both met him, and the imperial court in Baoding couldn't survive anymore, and urgently needed the assistance of the new dynasty, and even more needed the new dynasty's commitment to safety. Wang Shizhen was entrusted by the Empress Dowager and the regent to return to Beijing again, accepted the appointment of the Military Commission, and served as the deputy mayor in charge of the return of the Qing family to Beijing and the settlement of the bannermen.

If you don't want to see Long Qian, you can't help it, Wang Shizhen was accompanied by Deng Qinghua to see Long Qian again, this time Long Qian was much more polite, and apologized to him for Wuchang's rudeness. Long Qian invited him to a meal and told him about his overall plan for the founding of the country, some ideas for rectifying Beijing's economy and living order, and his concern for Wang Shizhen's resettlement of the Qing family and the livelihood of the banner people. Long Qian also talked about his handling principle, the livelihood of more than 200,000 banner people who have lost their source of livelihood is not something that can be solved in one sentence, and Wang Shizhen is more concerned about the resettlement of the Qing family back to Beijing.

Long Qian had a deep discussion with him about the settlement of the Qing room. Long Qian said: Throughout history, it is the first time that we have peacefully discussed the resettlement of the former dynasty as we are now, and it can be regarded as creating history. The Qing room is a historical preservation, and I respect this preservation. Yuan Weiting, who stayed in Henan and was reluctant to go out, sent me a special letter, hoping that I would give preferential treatment to the Qing family, saying that it was a matter of the people's will and an international perspective. Being too harsh is not beautiful. Let's be honest. My mood is different from that of you and Mr. Yuan. You are grateful for the kindness of the Qing Chamber, but I don't. As far as the domestic people are concerned, it is the vested interest groups that are nostalgic for the former dynasty. That is, the bureaucratic gentry class. How much of the total population? Five percent of the sky! I'm not thinking about this five percent. It's the other 95 percent! How many beggars are there in Beijing? How many homeless people? How many people in the country are not clothed and hungry? Objectively, these problems are caused by the cleaning of the room. What is it that they are being wronged now? If it weren't for the new era, you know if they can keep their heads. I now invite you to take up the post of Vice Mayor of Beijing. Mainly responsible for the settlement of the Qing family and the livelihood of the banner people, you should do this, not only for your old master, but also for the history of an account. You are inextricably linked with the Qing dynasty and the old bureaucrats, and it is more appropriate for you to do this, but you must consider the problem from a fair standpoint, not only the nobles, but also the common people. The money saved is not for me, but for the construction of Beijing. The problem of insufficient expenses should be viewed from many aspects, the royal family members live a life of poverty and luxury as in the past, if they feel that the money is not enough, they can come out to do things, I did not block this door, for example, the regent's younger brother Zaixun, has a lot of experience in rectifying the navy, you can go to the naval headquarters to do things, you can persuade Zaixun, not for me, but for our common country. I have long said that the Manchus are also members of the Chinese nation, and I welcome members of the Qing family to participate in military or government work. The Qing dynasty has always promoted the Manchu and Han families, but they have always regarded the Manchus as the ruling class and the Han and other ethnic groups as the ruled class, which is one of the roots of their failure. In the future, as long as the new China is loyal to the country and has the ability, it will have a position to play a role.

That's true, but how did the royals become the new dynasty? It's unrealistic. After some bargaining, Wang Shizhen and Long Qian reached a five-principle opinion on the resettlement of the Qing family. Prince Gong's Mansion was used to house the royal family, although it was a little crowded, but it was barely enough after rectification. The annual salary of 600,000 silver is far from the hope of the royal family, but it is really not more than from Long Qian. At that time, Wang Shizhen said that since you have the money to repair roads and support schools, why can't you allocate more money to the royal family? Long Qian said that it was because there were too many places to spend money, and he couldn't help but strictly control it. How many people are there in the royal family? What do you want so many eunuchs and palace maids for? Wouldn't it save money by cutting a large number of them? Of course, in the future, when the finances improve, we can appropriately increase the maintenance expenses of the Qing family, but the premise is to be a law-abiding citizen of New China in peace.

Wang Shizhen then talked about the issue of the palace, Prince Su, Prince Alcohol, Prince Yi and other princes can't be crowded together with the Queen Mother. Except for Prince Qing's family, who did not dare to return to Beijing, who hid in the Tianjin concession, the rest of the princes wanted to return to Beijing to make a living.

Long Qian said why not? How many houses are in Prince Gong's Mansion, not to mention a few princes, it is enough to place all the yellow belts in it. However, in the end, Long Qian still spat out, and in addition to allocating 200,000 silver dollars for the repair costs of Prince Gong's mansion, the future royal residence, two more palaces were allocated for the princes to live in. How to distribute, how to reflect their former dignity and inferiority, that is their own business.

Wang Shizhen returned to Baoding again and reported the results of the negotiations. Zaitao, Shanqi and others scolded non-stop, but the desperate Empress Dowager Longyu and Zaifeng accepted Long Qian's conditions and signed the agreement. There is a small episode in this, the Qing family had a plan to flee west to Xinjiang, and before the Guangzhou Incident, General Hangzhou transferred Zhirui of General Ili - Concubine Zhen's cousin, in the desperate situation of Dezhou that could not be attacked for a long time, he had secretly Zaifeng, saying that if the situation was irreparable, he could hunt Xinjiang in the west in order to try to raise it again. If you can't go back to the northeast, then go west. But Wu Nian's march shattered the last option of the Qing court, and Xi'an was occupied, blocking the Qing court's road to the west. With the first division of the Mengshan Army marching into Xinjiang, Zhirui attempted suicide and was captured, and the heart of the imperial court was completely dead.

Before the end of the year, members of the royal family returned to Beijing one after another, and a large number of Chinese and foreign reporters flocked to Prince Gong's palace to ask for interviews with the royal family, but the royal family did not see reporters because they had to abide by the agreement.

After the year and the year, Wang Shizhen continued to receive such and such requests from the royal family and the princes, and he spent half of his time in Prince Gong's Mansion, and he was relatively familiar with the main members of the royal family. Wang Shizhen found that some members of the royal family were unwilling to fail, and gathered together all day long to discuss restoration, and even studied returning to Guanwai to regain their strength, such as Zaitao, Shanqi, and Pu Wei, which were very fierce and did not avoid him. There are also some people, such as the Empress Dowager Longyu and the regent Zaifeng, who are members of the royal family, seem to have accepted their fate, as long as they are safe. Wang Shizhen thought desolately, the Manchu restoration is afraid that it is a big dream, without the support of the powerful faction, how to restore? How to expel the Mengshan army that has mastered the world? It is even more of a joke to go back to the land of Longxing outside the customs to regain its strength, and now the Northern Military Region is the most powerful military region, where can the Manchu nobles be allowed to make ghosts under their noses? Therefore, when he was drinking with Shanqi and others, he persuaded them not to detach themselves from reality, judging from the current situation, except for foreigners, no one in China can compete with Long Qian. Prince Su Shanqi nodded and said, Guanru (Wang Shizhen) got to the point, foreigners will not recognize the bandits of the Mengshan Army! Don't think that they will be done if they occupy Beijing, the good show is behind, if you don't believe it, let's ride a donkey and read the record book - we'll see!

Wang Shizhen is very conflicted. But he would never convey the words of the Qing nobles to Long Qian, that was the villain's sake. Long Qian was by no means a vulgar and unliterate bandit, he had long known this. What Long Qian has done since entering Beijing is not like the stupid and unscrupulous Li Chuang. But this man is not a soft-hearted person, and the handling of food shortages can show his brutality and ruthlessness. If Long Qian had learned that the Qing nobles had conspired, it was hard to imagine what a drastic reaction he would have.

However, Wang Shizhen's series of actions since Long Qian's entry into Beijing to admit that the establishment of the new dynasty in this troubled country is not necessarily a bad thing, but Long Qian's road to the founding of the country is inevitably bumpy, and it is not easy to at least gain the recognition of the great powers. (To be continued......)