In February, a notice was issued to all military districts and provinces on proposals for the national anthem, national flag and national emblem, and parliamentarians received a separate notice to solicit proposals for the national flag and so on. The winner of the statement will receive a grand prize of 10,000 new Chinese dollars.

According to the determined exchange rate with the US dollar, 10,000 Xinhua dollars is 5,000 US dollars, which is indeed a huge amount of money. But it's not much for a country, unless everyone thinks it's worthless.

Of course, the Propaganda Bureau cannot pin its hopes on the grassroots, and they must do more thoughtful and meticulous work. Therefore, the Propaganda Bureau set up three special groups to recruit professionals from all walks of life, especially music and art talents, to do this purpose.

Before the start of the meeting, the three special groups received a total of hundreds of proposals of various kinds, with more than 70 percent of the proposals for the Chinese flag and much less for the national emblem and national anthem. Among them, there are seven design plans for the three special groups, three national flags, two national emblems, and two national anthems.

It was not appropriate to leave all the proposals to a group of more than 100 parliamentarians, many of whom - more than half of them lacked the necessary knowledge, especially in the field of music. According to Hong Yuecheng's instructions, the special team worked overtime continuously to select outstanding works and recommend them to the legislators. A special catalogue was also drawn up to bring together all the designs of the national flag and national emblem for the members to choose from. However, the national anthem is not good, and there must be music, so the lyrics of the selected works can only be attached.

Throughout the day on April 17, parliamentarians were discussing three important image works representing the country, much to the surprise of organizers such as Hong Yuecheng and Song Jiaoren. The discussion among the parliamentarians was extremely serious and enthusiastic, and even quarrels broke out.

That night, the discussion opinions were summarized and reported to Haiyan Hall.

For the national anthem, it is more consistent to choose an ancient song "Qingyun Song", which is said to be composed by Yu Shun. Lyrics cloud: The clouds are rotten, tangled and long. The sun and the moon are shining, and the sun and the moon are shining. Only four short sentences. Translated into modern Chinese, it is: clouds like aurora are so brilliant and shining beautifully. The light of the sun and moon rises eternally in the east of China.

According to research. Yu Shun wrote this poem in 2070 BC.

The most enthusiastic advocate of this song as the national anthem was Mr. Gu Hongming. The KMT lawmakers appear to have been consulted. It means that "Qingyun Song" is the most appropriate as the national anthem of the republic. There is such a political appeal in this, don't you Long Qian faintly boast of Washington? In fact, don't compare with foreigners, your ancestor Yu Shun handed over the country to Dayu after governing the world.

At that time, it was called Zen Rang, and it is set aside now. Isn't it just democracy?

The briefing notes in detail what everyone said. Long Qian just smiled after seeing it.

In terms of national flags. In addition to the parliamentarians of the military system, the mainstream opinion chose a five-color flag designed by a representative of Jiangxi. In contemporary politics, the concept of a republic of the Han, Manchu, Mongolian, Hui, and Tibetan ethnic groups seems to have taken root. The five-color flag represents the spirit of the republic of the five ethnic groups. And. Most of the Taixi countries choose the tricolor and two-color flag as the national flag, which is simple and dignified.

There are also many people who push the 18-star flag used by the KMT, but some people immediately pointed out that the 18-star flag excludes the northeast, outer Mongolia, and Tibet, which is obviously inappropriate.

In addition to the five-color flag and the eighteen-star flag, the army system introduced a red-background mountain peak pattern, probably influenced by the military emblem, indicating that the birth of the country was attributed to the Mengshan Army. The motif also has a detailed text that says that the color red symbolizes blood and that the birth of the republic was built on the blood of countless martyrs.

Long Qian threw down the design pattern of the national flag and began to study the national emblem.

The recommended design of the national emblem is a number 004 that makes Long Qian's eyes shine, the pattern is round, with a blue background, a majestic Huabiao on the front, and a mountain peak in the back, and the winding Great Wall hovering in between.

"It's good to use the Great Wall to replace the country." Long Qian has a strong Great Wall complex in his heart.

"But this one is not the most optimistic, they are optimistic about this one." Secretary Wang Zhao picked out the pattern numbered 001.

This design picture Long Qian has seen, it is a Taiji diagram that has changed its taste, the whole pattern is oval, but the two yin and yang fish in it are designed to be red and white.

"This must be the work of those so-called well-educated people, nothing more than an emphasis on our cultural heritage. As a national emblem, it is too lax. It's still better to have this one. Long Qian pointed to work No. 4.

"Some people say that Huabiao represents the feudal system......"

"It's narrow-minded." Long Qian tapped lightly on the table, "Is tomorrow's agenda still discussing plans such as determining the national flag?" ”

"Yes."

"Okay, I'll listen to it."

The agenda of the meeting was carefully arranged, and for the vast majority of parliamentarians, they were more concerned with the election of the president and the formation of government institutions. But the meeting put what many people think is vain. The practical significance of this is to allow parliamentarians to gradually adapt to an atmosphere of discussion, debate, and even voting decisions.

On April 18, Long Qian again attended the group discussion of the National Assembly, and the morning agenda was to discuss the national flag, and he first went to the first group where Shanxi is located, which includes Zhili (Beijing), Inner Mongolia, and Shanxi provinces, and the convener is Deng Qinghua.

The lawmakers welcomed Long Qian's arrival cautiously, mainly out of awe, while some lawmakers had extremely mixed feelings about Long Qian, such as Liangbi and Xu Shichang, who were elected in Zhili.

Among the Manchu nobles, only Duan Fang and Liangbi served as parliamentarians, and the State Security Bureau had a secret report that Liangbi participated in the activities of the Zongshe Party, suspecting that he was undercover, but Long Qian did not care and "approved" Liangbi's qualifications.

When Long Qian arrived, the meeting had already begun, he gestured with both hands to continue the discussion, casually found an empty seat and sat down, a member of the parliament opposite was holding a five-color flag in his hand and was expressing his opinion, seeing Long Qian coming, the parliamentarian who obviously liked the five-color flag hurriedly ended his speech.

Long Qian didn't speak, and noticed that a young officer on the right hand was a little kind, but he couldn't remember who this person was, so he couldn't help but ask, "Who are you?" Where did it come from? ”

The young officer got up and said, "Report to the commander-in-chief, even called Yan Xishan." It's from Shanxi. ”

Hearing the officer's Wutai words, Long Qian couldn't help laughing, he had seen this name, and he wanted to see him alone, but there were too many things to forget, "Haha, it turned out to be Brigade Commander Yan, we are fellow countrymen." When the fellow saw the fellow, his eyes were full of tears. Oh, your troops didn't move north......"

The memory is smooth. The information about Yan Xishan came to mind. He was originally the commander of the 86th standard of the 43rd Mixed Association of the New Army, and after the uprising of the 43rd Mixed Association, he was reorganized into the 14th Brigade of the Fifth Division, and after Xiong Xun inspected the department, he appointed Yan Xishan as the brigade commander, and the Fifth Division went north to Inner Mongolia last year. But in Shanxi, the remaining troops were left. It is the headquarters of the 14th Brigade of Yan Xishan and a regiment. He is currently stationed in Taiyuan.

"Yes. The lowly position is willing to go north to Outer Mongolia and defend the border for the country. ”

"Okay, Brigade Commander Yan, please take a seat. Well. There are some things I want to talk to Brigade Commander Yan about tonight, and I will send someone to pick you up. Oh, and which one do you like about the flag? ”

"Report to the commander-in-chief, humbly feel that the five-color flag represents the republican ...... of the five races"

"Is it a republic of the five tribes?" Long Qian muttered to himself.

Deng Qinghua knew that Long Qian liked to go through each group, so he said, "Dashuai is short of time, do you want to talk about the national flag plan?" ”

Parliamentarians applauded. Long Qian noticed that Xu Shichang was holding the teacup and didn't put it down.

"Okay, I'll just say a few words. Personally, I don't agree with the five-color flag as the national flag. There are three reasons for this. First, the five-color flag takes the meaning of national republic, but it cannot represent the great unity of the nation. The Chinese nation not only has Han, Manchu, and Mongolian returned to Tibet, but also dozens of ethnic minorities such as Zhuang and Miao. Secondly, the five-color flag does not adequately express the idea and essence of our nascent republic. That's right, there are many people in the Tessie countries who use simple color flags as their national flags, and their interpretation is this, different colors represent different meanings, democracy, freedom, republican, progress, and so on. Our flag must express the spirit of the republic and, moreover, have something of its own. ”

As he spoke, Long Qian took a yellow silk bag that Wang Zhao had lowered, "There is also a pattern here, please take a look." The small bag was opened, and it was a neatly folded flag, Ouyang Zhong and Wang Zhao stepped forward quickly, took the flag and hung it on the panel.

It is a flag with a bright red background, with a large four, small and five golden stars in the upper left corner, and four small stars surrounding the big star. The picture is simple and atmospheric, which is everyone's first feeling of this pattern.

"This pattern is my work. Sorry, it's not in the draft for the national flag. The color red symbolizes the revolution, the overthrow of autocracy and the establishment of a republic, and countless martyrs sacrificed their precious lives for the birth of the republic and shed their last drop of blood. It can be said that the national flag is dyed red by the blood of the martyrs, so the national flag should be red as the background color. The meaning of the five stars represents the great unity of the Chinese nation, and the four small stars surround one big star, indicating that the 40,000,000 people of the country are closely united around the central government, and there will be no more tragic situation in history in which warlords are divided and each is in charge of its own affairs. History has proven that only a unified central power can bring peace and well-being to the nation and the people. What do you think? ”

Most of the parliamentarians didn't expect Long Qian to come up with his own work.

At first glance, it feels festive, concise, and generous. Chinese originally have a natural preference for red, red base, five golden stars appear extremely bright, giving people a kind of festivity. A sense of wealth. As for the meaning of the patterns and colors explained by Long Qian, everyone may not be able to understand them, but intuitively they do give people a refreshing feeling.

"I think it's good, better than the five-color flag." Yan Xishan seized the opportunity to be the first to speak.

"It's really good," Xu Shichang said, "the first impression is that it is concise and atmospheric, and it is even better to listen to Mr. Long's explanation, and the meaning of the whole country uniting around the central government is very good." Indeed, a unified central government is the guarantee of people's livelihood and happiness. I agree with this pattern. Yesterday, he received a secret letter from Yuan Shikai, and Xu Shichang was a little uneasy.

"Brother Kikuren, don't be in a hurry to express your position, let me explain to you, this is my personal design, whether it will succeed or not, let the parliamentarians decide. However, I would like to declare to you that if this design becomes our national flag, I will not want the prize money, and will donate all of it to the Ministry of Education for the universalization of compulsory education. Please supervise this. Just kidding, if you vote for it, the Ministry of Education will have an extra $10,000 in funding. Ha ha. ”

The parliamentarians laughed too. The members of the Military Commission have all supported the introduction of compulsory education, and even Liangbi believes that this is an unprecedented good governance, and the only thing to worry about is that it may not succeed. Think about it, how much should it cost to universalize five-year compulsory education nationwide? And all of it was paid by the local finance, thinking of the history of the Manchu Qing Dynasty's local control of financial power, the Zongsha Party and a group of people asserted that it was absolutely impossible, Pu Wei said, let alone five years, ten years can not be done!

Long Qian's gaze happened to meet Liangbi, "General Liangbi, what do you think?" ”

Liangbi didn't stand up, and said lightly, "The president's design is naturally good, and I approve of it." ”

"You can't call me that, it's up to you to decide whether it's president or not. Ha ha. ”

"Of course, there is no suspense in this," Yan Xishan said in a thick Wutai accent, "who is qualified to be president except for Dashuai?" ”

"Sycophants!" Xu Shichang scolded secretly.

The first group was designed by Long Qian, and the several groups that turned around in the morning were without exception.

In the afternoon, when discussing the national anthem, there was another scene that surprised the parliamentarians, when Long Qian was in the fifth group to study the national anthem with the representatives of the two Guangzhou, he said that I have a work, but I want to invite everyone to go out and listen to it, and then lead the parliamentarians to the open space outside the Qinzheng Palace, and the parliamentarians found that there was a military band wearing the new military uniform of the Wehrmacht lined up outside. The other two groups who were discussing in the Qinzheng Hall also heard the news, so they listened to a stirring music.

"Ah, that's powerful! Good! Ma Junwu, a member of the Guangxi parliament and a member of the People's Party, exclaimed excitedly, "Mr. Long, what is this song called?" ”

"No name yet......"

"There should always be lyrics, right?"

"Yes, you can get the marching band to sing a song." Long Qian made a gesture.

"Arise, you who do not want to be slaves, and build a new Great Wall with our flesh and blood...... Rise, get up, we're all in one, brave the enemy's fire, forward, forward, forward! ”

I have sung countless times in my heart, but the familiar melody and high-spirited lyrics actually made Long Qian cry, and that memory will last forever and unforgettable.

"Great, that's what the national anthem looks like! That's what the national anthem should look like! Jiang Yiliu said excitedly, "I mentioned that the Mengshan Army military song was used to replace the national anthem, and I always felt that it was a little inappropriate, and this was perfect." ”

The parliamentarians demanded that the marching band sing again. Then there was a round of applause. Ma Junwu asked other groups to listen to it, and their opinions were adopted, so the high-spirited melody and high-pitched and loud songs were played over and over again in front of the Qinzheng Palace.

Long Qian quietly left the joyous crowd. That nostalgia, that melancholy, can only be reminiscent alone. He paced back to Haiyan Hall, sitting on the steps of the courtyard and wiping away the tears that welled up over and over again.

"Why don't I go to Jiangnan?" Chen Shu misunderstood that Long Qian was sad because of Xu Si.

"You're wrong. It's because of the national anthem. Did you hear that? Only it is worthy of our country......"

Chen Shu saw her husband crying. She didn't believe that a song would move him, and the only person who could move him was the person who was far away in Jiangnan. Chen Shu had mixed feelings. She feels very wronged, which woman wants her husband to beg for a small amount? Although I complained, didn't I agree? It's because people don't come.

"You go, I want to be alone for a while......" Long Qian drove Chen Shu away, sat on the stone steps, and listened to the familiar music in the southeast direction sounding again and again, beating his heart again and again.

"Commander, why are you back?" Ouyang Zhong and Wang Zhao came over, "Everyone is very interested in the commander's national anthem, this is it!" Some people think the lyrics should be revised......"

"It's the most dangerous time, don't think that everything will be fine after the founding of the country, you still have to be prepared for danger in times of peace! There is nothing wrong with the lyrics, born in sorrow, dying in peace, and constantly thinking that danger is not a bad thing. ”

"So, Commander, are you going to go and vote?"

"No, I won't. I do not have the right to vote. Long Qian suddenly felt depressed, and his previous excitement disappeared, "Tonight, please invite Councilor Yan Xishan of Shanxi Province to come over." He instructed Ouyang Zhong. (To be continued......)