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Iron-blooded Empire Supplement 2: Overview of the Reform in the Early Stages of the Tyrant (17th year of Guangxu - 20th year of Guangxu)

"Revolution is for the liberation of the productive forces. Reform is also aimed at liberating the productive forces. ”

After seizing power and basically controlling the military affairs of Gyeonggi, Liu Yun, Wen Yi, and others convened several plenums of "people who came over" in succession, and the personnel of the base also attended the meetings in batches. Its purpose is to unify thinking and discuss how to build a new China under the current national conditions.

Liu Yun's proposal to gradually eliminate the remnants of feudalism in society, Niu Jin's proposal to establish a state capitalist system, support national capital, and encourage industry and commerce, Wen Yi's proposal to gradually abolish unequal treaties, Tian Zhenghong's reminder of the problem of the gap between the rich and the poor, the proposal to gradually establish a welfare system, and Ma Feng's proposal for a modern scientific research and education system, there was no major opinion, but there was a fierce debate on the handling of the Qing court, which was roughly divided into two major factions: the constitutionalist and the republican.

The main reason of the constitutionalists was that the development of the country needed stability, and the great powers were eyeing the periphery, and there was no need to add new turmoil. This faction is dominated by civil officials such as Wen Yi, Ma Feng, and Tian Zhenghong.

The main reason of the republicans is that the revolution is not complete, and "if you can't get a broom, the dust won't run away", which will inevitably hinder future development. The Qing court is a burden, and it should be put down as soon as possible and move forward lightly. This faction is dominated by military generals such as Zhong Xiahuo, Ding Jieyun, and Wu Dingguo.

The two factions had different ideas, and the quarrel at the beginning quickly turned into mutual attacks, and the constitutionalists said that the republicans knew that they would not understand politics in war, and that they would only destroy and not build; The republicans said that the constitutionalists were soft bones corroded by glory and wealth, among which Ma Feng was ridiculed by Wu Dingguo as a "drill skirt", not only Ma Feng himself had blue tendons on his forehead, although he was pulled by the comrades next to him, he was still struggling to duel with Wu Dingguo, and even Liu Yun, who had not expressed his position, also changed his face slightly.

Liu Yun and Wen Yi privately exchanged views on this issue many times, and he clearly knew that not only did a large part of the power now come from the imperial party system, but also that the domestic revolution was not popular at all, and the revolution was immature now, and it was a question of whether it was necessary in the future. It is normal for comrades who grew up under the red flag not to all understand this, but it is important at this time that there should be no internal splits. He felt that it was time to make a concluding remarks.

"Comrades," Liu Yun said, looking around the audience that had quickly quieted down, and was satisfied to see that the training of the past was still working, "what are the revolutions and reforms for?" In our world, the chief architect of New China's reform and opening up has long made an incisive conclusion: "Revolution is for the liberation of the productive forces. Reform is also aimed at liberating the productive forces. We are not here for personal prestige, and we are even prepared to sacrifice our lives when necessary, because we have a greater ideal: the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Whether revolution or reform is the means to achieve this great ideal. ”

"There can be no doubt that the rotten feudal system and barbaric national oppression must be lifted. However, whether the monarchy is still a republic is entirely a matter of the level of government, and has nothing to do with the system of the state. However," Liu Yun's expression was cold, "the monarch can only be a symbolic existence, nominally a representative of the state." Of course, if he learns something new, he can't do what he can. For example, scientific research - Ma Feng, what do you say? ”

"Huh?"

In this way, the opinions of the republicans were temporarily suppressed by Liu Yun. Wen Yi's separation of military and political affairs, which tended to preserve the imperial system and may have other ideas, actually weakened the power of the republicans among the "people who came over." With the passage of time, because of the entry and exit of the upper class of society, the voice of the constitutionalists became louder and louder in the Praetorian Guard officer corps, which was dominated by "people who came over".

After Liu Yun's coup d'état, the latter party was purged in large numbers, and the DPRK and China were emptied, so that he installed a large number of "people from the past" to take charge of important military and political posts in the new government structure. With the introduction of the new policy one after another, most of the gentry led by Weng Tonghe opposed it, and they further put forward the slogan of "respecting the emperor", which was called the "old school" by the other party, but a few, especially from the later party, the princes headed by Prince Alcohol and Zhang Zhidong and other more radical ministers of the Westernization faction put political chips on Liu Yun. For this reason, Prince Alcohol once said to Guangxu: "If it is not Liu Qing, he will not be able to protect the country, and if he does not obey, he will not be expected to be behind him." Guangxu wrote the word "read" or "know the way" for Liu Yun and others who wrote "please allow to play", and the others were rarely refuted, at most they ordered them to reconsider, and only expressed their opinions when Liu Yun and others clearly wrote: "Respectfully invite the Holy Judge", and it cannot be said that it has nothing to do with Prince Alcohol's advances. They wanted to change in the midst of change and still maintain their position, so they strongly advocated the alliance between the imperial court and the group of scholars, because neighboring Japan was called the "Gongwu faction", and they were also called "Gongwu faction" by the world. Liu Yun and others are a little unhappy with the use of the Japanese name, but it cannot be denied that this title is also quite appropriate.

Emperor Guangxu, who was under the control of the "righteous man", became more enlightened and even ahead of his time. During the coup d'état in seventeen years, most of the eunuchs in the palace were the party of the queen mother, so in the movement to sweep away the post-party, most of the eunuchs implicated in the post-party were purged or expelled from the palace, leaving only a few dozen people, and Guangxu did not have many concubines, so in the eighteenth year of Guangxu, the edict dismissed the internal affairs government, and the security work was in charge of Liu Yun, the governor of Zhili, and then handed over to the Ministry of the Interior established by order to manage, and the feudal eunuch system for thousands of years ended hastily (Guangxu replied to the debate on whether there was a "filthy court" in the future of the old school: " I read ancient books, and the court is mediocre and eunuchs can't prevent it, are you blaming me for not cultivating my virtues? ”）。 In the 19th year of Guangxu Gregorian New Year (since the 19th year of the empire, the empire has adopted the year name and the Gregorian calendar day, month and year, and the old calendar still appears in the agricultural calendar, known as the "lunar calendar"), the emperor in order to increase revenue and reduce expenditure, most of the Forbidden City will be opened as the "Imperial Museum", the people can buy tickets to enter after the security check, and the emperor's treasures are taken out in batches for people to see. In the twentieth year of Guangxu, Weng Tonghe led the ministers to play the Daqing Festival, and Guangxu vetoed for the first time in the Taihe Hall that there was no "respectful request for the Holy Judge" of the substantial group of the group - after Niu Jin's review, it was considered feasible to celebrate the plan - and proposed to merge the fireworks and other entertainment items and celebrations in the Beijing Division Product Fair held by Niu Jin and Ma Feng every year since 18 years, and he attended and presided over the trade fair through him, and delivered a congratulatory speech, "Happy with the people", Not only did it save the empire eight million dollars (about 880,000 taels of silver or 290,000 pounds) in celebration costs, but it also brought more than 135 million yuan (fifteen million taels of silver or five million pounds) of profits and other tax items to the empire by bringing the trade fair to a climax. These three events became the "large-caliber shells" of the constitutionalists such as Wen Yi to fight the republicans within the Ministry of Conspiracy. However, it should be noted that these events all occurred after the braid removal incident in the eighteenth year of Guangxu.

In the imperial court, the old faction failed to snipe at the "New Imperial Order" of the Gongwu faction abolishing the imperial examination system in the 17th year of Guangxu, and further launched the most fierce sniping on Liu Yun's "Manchu and Han Integration Decree and Decree on the Removal of Shaving" in the 18th year of Guangxu. Before the next day's court meeting, there were dozens of ministers who hung the palace gate to maintain the ancestral system, and Liu Yunzuo invited "those who are closed and do not want to forge ahead, their hearts are the same as those who are the party." All of a sudden, he frightened most of the ministers of the old school, and Guangxu also changed a little.

Wen Yi and Liu Yun entered the palace that night (Liu Yun managed the palace guards, and the ministers of the old school were not allowed to see the emperor unless they met the court) to secretly present to the emperor and return until dawn. In the next two days, Guangxu did not go to the court (it is said that the next day Guangxu closed himself in the house all day, and summoned the officials of the sub-planning department again, and the ministers came out with surprise colors in the back, and the large and small embroidery rooms in the capital received the official family to work urgently overnight). On the eleventh day after that, Guangxu did not go to the court, and the ministers of the sub-planning department did not arrive, only to see the heavily armed internal security officers with a large group of soldiers in the palace. In the chaos of the old school of ministers boiling and dozens of people shouting in unison for "saint", Emperor Guangxu slowly came out surrounded by the ministers of the substantial department who abandoned the fake braids, all the civil officials wore suits and leather shoes, and the generals all wore imperial military uniforms. I saw that he was wearing a yellow Kowloon shirt with wide sleeves and a placket of "shoulders and moons and stars", without braids on his head, and his short hair was tied by a crown of heaven, and the other ministers were stunned when they saw it. Zhang Zhidong, the Minister of the Navy, was very knowledgeable, and immediately burst into tears, and wept on the ground: "Long live the Holy Son of Heaven, long live!" Several Han ministers also fell to the ground and wailed, choking up and shouting "Long live".

The internal guard officer gave an order: "Remove the braids!" "The internal guards took off their hats one after another and pulled off their fake braids." On the contrary, on the contrary...... "Countless Manchu ministers of the old school turned pale, and a few old ministers who were about to die couldn't stand the stimulation, and fainted on the spot foaming at the mouth. Emperor Guangxu issued an edict: "China is unified, and the restoration system is in accordance with the will of heaven, and I am the son of China, and I should set an example for all people." He ordered the internal guard to issue new court clothes to all ministers in court and change them immediately, and gave gold scissors to allow them to cut braids freely, and the Gongwu faction and many Han ministers had fun. Subsequently, Emperor Guangxu led his ministers to the Temple of Heaven to worship the heavens, and wrote a sacrificial text to send to Shengjing to worship his ancestors, announcing that the "Hair Removal Order" (stipulating the freedom of shaving and retention) would take effect immediately, and issued an edict to officials at all levels to gradually change their clothes according to the central government first, and then the local government.

Later, a series of reform policies such as the "Nationality Law" that abolished the Eight Banners system in 10 years, the "Lord Law" that abolished the hierarchical aristocratic system, and the "Court Law" that established a new judicial system in the 25th year of Guangxu Province, which basically established a new judicial system first and then the localities, were mostly announced by Guangxu Xuanzhao himself, and the ministers of the old school were no longer able to launch large-scale resistance actions. The last rebound was in the spring of the twentieth year of Guangxu, when the bannermen of the Gyeonggi Eight Banners "Qingjun side, retro system" rioted, and they were all captured by the garrison division in advance. Prince Kyung's son Jae-jin died in the chaos, and Prince Kyung's son was convicted by the newly established Supreme Court collegial panel and sentenced to life imprisonment, becoming the first sacrifice after the judicial reform. From then on, the ministers of the old school in the DPRK and China declined, and the cabinet was completely controlled by the Gongwu faction.

Although there is not much difference in political opinions, starting from the Guangxu shaving incident, the competition between the emperor and cabinet officials to flaunt public opinion and then compete for the leading power of reform has faintly begun. The old faction, which had withdrawn from the executive, instead took advantage of its still recognized social status to enter the legislative and judicial branches, especially the Legislative Council, which often led the legislation, to design a boycott of the Cabinet. Because both the Senate and the Cabinet were nominally accountable to the Emperor and had no subordinate relationship, the "Cabinet Dispute" became a major obstacle to the implementation of the New Imperial Deal by the Cabinet that controlled the administration. Sometimes, the cabinet, which was unwilling to "intervene in democracy by force", had to rely on the emperor to balance the counter-attack of the Senate.

The top-down enforcement of reforms has also caused a number of problems. The fundamental problem is that while opposition in government institutions can be suppressed, it takes time to change people's attitudes; Radical reforms, even at the central level, are sometimes difficult to implement.

After the implementation of the new imperial examination, Luo Sulan cried without tears in the face of several shell universities with a serious shortage of teachers in the country, and racked her brains to save 100 million yuan a year in Western education funds. He thoroughly checked whether his subordinates were corrupt to the point of nervousness, and even jumped out of bed when he heard the word "greed" in his sleep. Thousands of provinces, more than 30 million school equipment procurement and maintenance costs, more than 40 million yuan of Western experts and scholars' retainer money, and nearly 20 million translation costs cannot be saved no matter how (this is still under the premise that he forced countless comrades to make guest appearances as teachers, such as the initiator Ma Feng was ordered by him to complete more than 28 hours of teaching tasks a week at the beginning, and had to bring the bedding and daily documents to the university, and continued to work in the teacher's lounge every night after finishing the lecture). Fortunately, the special funds for military education are not included, otherwise even the monthly salaries of the few staff in charge of the Education Department would not be paid.

And Monin, who carried the empty shell of a central bank, in addition to guaranteeing military spending, supported the country's industry and commerce (Moning always gloomily said to the initiator Niu Jin: "I will definitely support you, Niu. It is also necessary to prevent counterfeit money and to crack down on the attempts of unscrupulous merchants to snipe at the new currency. He successfully repelled the actions of speculators in Tianjin and Shanghai, and repeatedly maneuvered in Shanxi and illegal banks. Although the treasury was greatly enriched, at least a few hundred gray hairs were boiled.

(It is said that when the cabinet was appointed, it happened to be cold at the same time, and as a result, Luo Sulan and Mo Ning, who had been acting as agents of education and financial affairs for several months by Ma Feng and Niu Jin respectively, greatly greeted the two female seniors who were anxious to be the "founders" on the day they took office, and after that, they would like to express their cordial condolences every once in a while)

If it is said that these efforts in internal affairs are painstaking, then in the diplomatic work at this stage, according to Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhigao, "all the credit should be done in vain, and the hard work must be scolded." Diplomacy is the art of compromise, and "a weak country has no diplomacy", and after working hard for a long time, others will say that it is a traitor, and this kind of pain is difficult for those who are not in it to understand.

It cannot be denied that the work of diplomatic treaty revision has attracted the most criticism, especially in the Senior Council. Even the members of the Gongwu faction vigorously criticized Zhang Zhigao's initial proposal of "opening the door in exchange for the abolition of unequal treaties and the recovery of concessions," believing that it was "a loss of power and humiliation of the country." At the second cabinet meeting, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Tian Zhenghong and Vice Minister of Finance Mo Ning were also very opposed, believing that this policy would be conducive to colonialism and detrimental to the national economy. Soon after, the rape of British sailors occurred, and Liu Yunjuan requested that all the Chinese residents of the foreign concession be moved out and that a wall be built around the perimeter of the concession, which cost the lives of foreign merchants. After intense consultations, Britain, France, and the United States successively negotiated with Zhang Zhigao to revise the treaty, and the empire withdrew its extraterritoriality and stationed judges in each leased area, but the local civil law followed the laws of the concession country, and the governing power was not withdrawn. During the negotiations on the revision of the treaty, Zhang Zhigao made efforts to reach the clauses that "the laws of the concession countries shall be abolished from the date when China promulgates a code that conforms to the spirit of the law, establishes an independent judicial system, and takes the express law as the sole judicial basis" and "the ruling power of the leased land shall be returned immediately from the date when China undertakes to follow the procedures of the administrative system in accordance with the express law and the promised foreign-related disposition to be notified in advance to friendly countries" were ridiculed by the parliamentarians as "the Mirror Blossom Clause", and the world's talk about the wall construction decree attributed the credit for the revision of the treaty to Liu Yun. All of them made Zhang Zhigao very frustrated. Of course, the consolation and encouragement of everyone at the conspiracy meeting somewhat restored his psychological balance. Now, the most fanatical warmongering at the conspiracy meeting is not Zhong Xiahuo and other military generals, but this well-mannered Zhang Zhigao: he desperately wants China to show his might, and he has set his sights on the far north.

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