The former Qing Dynasty minister, who served as the Minister of Communications of the Republic, was called Tao Zhai, and he was fifty years old this year. It is said that his ancestors were Han people who carried the flag, his surname was Tao, and Duanfang gave himself the name Tao Zhai, which means not forgetting his roots.

On the evening of May 2, Duan Fang, who had eaten dinner, was staring at a map of the whole country in a daze. He pondered the president's speech at the afternoon seminar on railroad construction.

“…… The Ministry of Transport's focus is on railways rather than roads, what is a railway? It is the main artery of the national economy! You should not look at the cement highways in Shandong and feel itchy in your heart, and do not be afraid because of the reality of railway construction, such as technology and capital, and look at it another way, the role of railway construction in promoting the national economy is huge, and it can not only solve the problem of closing business for the surplus population, but also promote the development of several domestic industries. We should not be afraid of the interference of the great powers. That's right, because of the incompetence of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, many railways were controlled or even controlled by the great powers, so what? Those who have already been accused of taking it back can be retracted, and the construction of the new line should not make the mistakes of the past. You must understand that it is the railways, not the roads, that bear the burden of the country's transportation, and that the roads are only a supplement to the railways...... The Ministry of Communications should set up a railway bureau, and the railway bureau should set up a planning and exploration sub-bureau to be responsible for the planning and construction of railways across the country. The territory of the United States is not as big as ours, but the total mileage of railway operations exceeds 1 million kilometers, how much do we have? All of them add up, is there 30,000? So be ambitious. Thirty years to build a nationwide railway network. How will the current railway be built? My opinion is to grasp three projects, one is the Tianjin-Pudong Railway, one is the Guangdong-Hanzhou Railway, and the other is the Sichuan-Hankou Railway. These three railways have a good foundation, oh, the Sichuan-Han Road is difficult, and the foundation is also poor, not as good as the other two roads, but the construction of the Sichuan-Han Road involves the southwest economy and national defense. The meaning is extremely heavy. It must be done well. Speaking of national defense, everyone knows that the Wehrmacht fought several battles with the Russians in the Tangnu-Ulianghai and annihilated one of their divisions. Defeated the other three. The battle was won. But the expeditionary force had to retreat, why, because the logistics could not keep up! If there is a railway line from Beijing to Kulun. It's a different story. Recently there were rumors that the expeditionary force failed and was wiped out by the Russians, there is no such thing! It is a fact that General Lu Shan died, but the expeditionary force won a great victory! The Russian army that invaded the Tangnu-Ulianghai was defeated! The topic is far away, or back to the issue of railways, Minister Duan Fang has gone abroad a few years ago to inspect more than a dozen countries, all of which are first-class powers in economic development, although the main purpose is not railways, but the railway construction of the great powers is seen with their own eyes, everyone should muster up confidence, under the leadership of Minister Duan Fang to formulate a long-term plan, but also to start specific actions as soon as possible. As for the problem of funding, there are only three ways to solve it: the first is financial allocation, the second is private fund-raising, and the third is lending money to the foreign powers. Let's be honest with you, it is not possible to rely on the central finances, Minister Duan is here, and he knows the country's financial situation best, for the time being, no, for a long time, our finances will be very tight, which is why I have repeatedly emphasized that the government structure should be streamlined, streamlined, and expenditure should be compressed and compressed. Therefore, the issue of funding should focus on the other two paths, and the specific plan should be addressed to Premier Fang to organize a special study by relevant ministries and bureaus. However, I emphasize one point, no matter how poor the country is, the construction of railways must also be carried out! Otherwise, we would not even be as good as the Manchu government! Finally, I would like to tell you the news that the Ministry of National Defense and the General Staff are already studying the formation of a railway corps, which is used to build railways! Considering the complexity of our country's geography and the fact that there are only a few plains in the country, blasting and building bridges are all technical and dangerous work, and it is absolutely necessary to form a railway corps subordinate to the Ministry of National Defense......

The end side has put away the contempt for the president. I used to think that that person was just a warrior who seized the Qing Dynasty with the barrel of a gun. Now, although the contact has not been long and not much, he has admitted that that person is quite good at humanistic kung fu, has a good mind, and has unique views on many fields. The greatest ability is to despise difficulties, and it seems that even one difficulty is not a problem. He always heard some new words from the president, such as the railroad is the main artery of the national economy, which is very apt. Of course, every time Duan Fang heard the president belittle the Manchus, he was still uncomfortable, what could he do? The Qing Dynasty was overthrown. But the president respects him, not only privately, but also openly, firmly supporting him and supporting him.

Although the appointment of him as the minister of the new regime had the intention of decorating the façade on the political zhì, Duan Fang still felt comfortable. This kind of comfort is multi-faceted, such as etiquette, the republic eliminated the cumbersome etiquette of the Qing court, no need to kneel three times and knock nine times, at most it is a bow, a handshake, many times, in the face of the supreme ruler of the new dynasty, even these etiquettes are not needed, especially the president's old ministry. What impressed Duan Fang the most was the president's Western-style attitude of equality, and even the waiter had to say thank you for a cup of tea.

Duanfang's promise to be the minister of the new dynasty was neither an undercover agent of the Zongsha Party, nor a betrayal. Recently, some people have always dug through his "old accounts", dug deep into his life experience, and attributed his appointment as the minister of the new dynasty to his bloodline. But he was mistaken about this. The reason why he agreed to the president was because of a family banquet in Haiyan Hall, a heart-to-heart long talk, the president's wife personally cooked, personally served dishes for him to flatter him is still secondary, the key is that the president's evaluation of the Manchu Qing Dynasty and his personal evaluation made him moved, that is a rare justice, to put the failure of the Qing Dynasty in a historical environment to look at and evaluate. Such assessments and conclusions are unheard of. Duan Fang admitted that what the president said was right, that the failure of the Manchu Qing Dynasty lay in its backwardness, in ignoring the changes in the world trend and resting on its laurels, and that in the absence of changes in the fundamental system, let alone one or two capable officials, even if the Manchu Dynasty was all Qing officials and capable officials. The president is still right, under that kind of rotten system, there will never be a large number of clean officials and capable officials. Although Duan Fang is full of white flags, he is not relying on Zuyin. But from the imperial examination into the officialdom, over the decades, the official is getting bigger and bigger, experiencing more and more things, and the ideology has deviated from the mainstream of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. But he has already seen clearly that if the Qing Dynasty does not make radical changes, the country will be ruined! So. He participated in the five ministers' overseas expeditions to inspect the constitution. He advocated constitutional reform and became the leader of the constitutional faction among the Manchu nobility.

The president told him at that very good banquet that history would have been a different story if constitutionalism had been implemented in the year of the Pentateuch or earlier. But that can only be a hypothesis. The failure of the Wuxu Reform Law was not Kang Liang's frivolity and resourcelessness. It is not even possible to blame the post-party. The root cause of the failure of the reform was that the core of the reform of the Manchu supreme ruler was to preserve the ruling power of the Manchus. It is to continue the history of the world, and under this premise, it is impossible to succeed in changing the law. You saw it too. The new policy that the Empress Dowager Cixi came up with after returning to Beijing from Taiyuan went further than Kang Liang's proposals, and also touched the core of political reform, but as far as constitutionalism was concerned, the highest authorities in the Manchu Qing Dynasty had always adopted the method of procrastination. Until the situation is irreparable and everyone is finished together.

The state is the country of the people of the whole country, and the political power is the power of the people of the whole country. The Mengshan Army has won the world, but the world is not the Mengshan Army's family, and I, the president, am not a lifelong president. The first draft of the constitution-making group was tailor-made for me, and I rejected it. If Mengshanjun can't handle the country, he will take the initiative to step down and hand over the country to more capable people, which is a wise choice. What you have done in Lianghu and Liangjiang proves that you are an aspiring official, and that your establishment of Jinan School in Liangjiang, the establishment of teachers' colleges everywhere, the establishment of provincial-level libraries, and even the establishment of the country's first kindergarten are all great things that preceded the development of the atmosphere. I asked you to be Minister of Transport, not because of your status, but because I believe that you are willing to do something tangible for the country. As for you saying that you have never engaged in railways and are willing to engage in education, that is not a problem. Mr. Cai Yuanpei understands education better than you, you will not deny this, no one understands the railway, you don't understand, I don't understand, my generals don't understand it, and if you don't understand it, you can learn it. Zeng Guofan said that finding a replacement is the first thing to do big things, I think it makes sense, why not find some experts to help you? As for worrying about the attitude of the Manchu nobles, it is even more unnecessary, as I have said many times, the Mengshan army overthrew the Manchu regime, not to exterminate millions of Manchu compatriots. It's not just you, didn't Zai Ze help Commander Fang build the navy? Didn't Liangbi be elected to the National Assembly? I believe that the vast majority of the Manchu nobles wanted to see our motherland prosperous and strong, and the traitors who were willing to watch China fall behind and be beaten were only a very few! Tie Liang, Shanqi, and even Mr. Zaifeng, if he is willing to come out and do things, I welcome him as well.

It was that Haiyantang family banquet that prompted Duan Fang to make up his mind to "go out". But the president's judgment of the Manchu nobility was clearly wrong, and the Zongshe Party regarded him as a traitor, and wanted to get rid of him quickly, and he received two anonymous warning letters in succession, threatening to give him a good look......

Prince Gong Pu Wei once pulled him to join the Zongshe Party, but he refused. Later, he personally dissuaded him from serving the Mengshan army. Pu Wei asserted that the Mengshan Army would not succeed, don't look at the fact that they occupy Beijing or even the whole country, they have several major passes that they can't cross! The first is the financial problem, the Qing Dynasty can't support it, and a group of grass robbers who come down from Mengshan can't do it! Within three months, they were crumbling because they had no money. The second is the issue of diplomacy, all the great powers sympathize with the Qing Dynasty and hate the Mengshan army, without the approval of the great powers, how can the Mengshan army run the government? The third is the issue of internal affairs, not to mention the Kuomintang and the Manchus, even Beiyang, which is also inseparable from them, looking at the whole country, they have no strength to rely on! You must not seek a moment of glory and leave a stench for ten thousand years!

That was when Long Qian had just entered Beijing. For several months, the economy did not collapse, and the new dynasty even set up its own central bank and issued its own currency, the Chinese dollar, with the help of loans from the Americans. Now, Huayuan has obtained credit, and it is not clear elsewhere, but it is a foothold in Beijing, and you can buy anything you want with Huayuan banknotes, and even the transactions of houses and fields can use Huayuan banknotes instead of gold and silver. It was clear to the end that once the banknotes of the new dynasty were credited, the financial crisis would not exist. Pu Wei's hopes were dashed. And the diplomatic issue was closely watched by the end side, and he thought that Long Qian would personally seek recognition from the great powers, but as far as he knew. Long Qian has never talked to any diplomatic mission about the establishment of diplomatic relations, and he just hangs the high-spirited foreigners in Dongjiaomin Lane! It stands to reason that the Qing Dynasty is over, and the foreign envoys should withdraw if they don't recognize the new dynasty, but they haven't left a single family, what does it mean? Go without saying. Sure enough, the Americans and Germans were separated from the British, who claimed to be world leaders, and the United States and Germany had privately promised that they would establish formal diplomatic relations on the premise of recognizing the relevant treaties of the Qing Dynasty once the Mengshan Army was formally established. Austria is Germany's henchman. Probably no problem, diplomacy is like that, a breakthrough is like a dam bursting, and it is no longer possible to stop the raging flood. Duan Fang remembered Long Qian's speech at the meeting the night before the founding day. Don't think about the attitude of foreigners! We live the same life without them! China is a big country. The world cannot do without China. No force can blockade China, the official blockade, and the civilian blockade! The key is to get our own things done. We have stood firm on our own, and the Great Powers have come back to beg us to establish diplomatic relations! Pu Wei's second wish also failed. As for the opposition forces in the country, there must be, Duan Fang scoffed at this, Zhang Jian, who he once vigorously supported and is now the Minister of Commerce, is right, at the beginning, people could not extinguish so much power, and now it is even worse, unless Mengshanjun himself falls, no one can get rid of them.

In the past few months, Duanfang has been deeply concerned about a series of measures taken by the Mengshan Army after taking power, and as far as Jingshi is concerned, the changes are huge, not only the cleanliness of the city, but also the forced cancellation of those smokehouses, casinos, brothels, and brothels, which have been unanimously praised by public opinion. A large number of addicts were arrested and forcibly underwent drug rehabilitation, a large number of prostitutes were placed in Beijing to open a few new factories or even other places to make a living, a large number of bustards and gang leaders were publicly executed, and the social atmosphere was completely suppressed. This is a sea change that has never been seen before in history! The Manchus did not do it, and none of the kings of the previous dynasties did it!

And the change is even greater across the country. The popularization of five-year compulsory education, the establishment of a large number of higher and secondary schools, the return of a large number of overseas students and the arrival of foreign experts, the introduction of restrictions on landlords' land occupation and the formulation of differential land taxes, and the introduction of a series of policy discussions to support industry and commerce have given him a glimpse of the beautiful vision of a brand-new country. To be sure, apart from some resistance to restricting private land ownership, which one is not beneficial to the country and the people? The Shijingshan Power Plant has already started, and the electric light is not only the exclusive property of Beijing's dignitaries, but also ordinary citizens. How can Duan Fang, who has traveled to more than a dozen countries, not feel emotional? This is only half a year, if it continues like this, five, ten, thirty years, what will China look like?

What excited the Duanfang the most was the dispatch of troops by the National Defense Force to Outer Mongolia and even Tangnu Ulianghai! As a Chinese, it doesn't get much more exciting than this! Look at the parades organized by Beijing's universities, chanting slogans of long live the National Defense Force, hailing the country's military actions to safeguard sovereignty and territorial integrity, and Beijing citizens spontaneously donating money in support. In the more than 260 years since the establishment of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, when has it received such support from the people?

Pu Wei said that the Mengshan army has no strength to rely on, isn't this nonsense? That yellow-mouthed kid actually wants to restore the Qing Dynasty with the Sect and Socialist Party, isn't it a dream?

The Ministry of Communications has not yet been formed, and the President is eager to start the construction of the railway......

The map of the whole country in the study was given to him by the General Staff, and it is the most complete and detailed map of the whole country at present. If Jinpu Road is completed, and then connects Jiangning and Shanghai and Hangzhou, the most prosperous area in the country will have a major artery! What is that like? Canal traffic is about to become a thing of the past, right?

The Germans have been salivating over the construction of Jinpu Road. Hoping to monopolize the construction and operation of this artery, the British are not far behind. The president talked about the three sources of funds for the construction of the railway, and the end side deeply agreed. However, since the central government cannot come up with money and it is unreliable to rely on private fund-raising, how can it use foreign capital without betraying its sovereignty? Duan Fang pondered, and there was no reliable answer. Until the servant knocked open the study and told him that a guest had come to visit. He asked who it was, and the servant said that the person who came claimed to be surnamed Hu and called Hu Sijing.

It's him? The former imperial history of the Imperial Procuratorate, and now the fiery Hu Sijing who is fighting with Pu Wei and his gang? What did he come to do? After thinking for a moment, "Ask him to wait in the living room, and I'll come right away." ”

"My lord, please save the prince quickly." As soon as Hu Sijing saw the square, he immediately knelt on his knees and kowtowed repeatedly.

"Hurry up, please! Who do you say to save? ”

"The prince has been arrested. The lord is now a guest of the new court, but the prince has become a prisoner. In the Manchu lineage, please be sure to help. Hu Sijing's forehead was already dark, "This afternoon, the people from the National Security Bureau suddenly arrested the prince......"

"Pu Wei? What did he do? Duan Fang was taken aback. Although the new dynasty was a little harsh on the Manchu nobles, it never arrested anyone?

"If you want to add sin, there is no excuse. They said that the prince was the mastermind of the assassination on April 28! Please come up with a rescue as soon as possible. ”

"Assassination? How did I not know? Duanfang was surprised! (To be continued......)