Since Yuan Shikai wanted to wait, Tang Shaoyi was inconvenient to persuade him anymore, so everyone had to stand at the door of the State Council and gossip. originally thought that as long as they stood for a few minutes, who knew that the wait would be more than half an hour, Wang Chonghui and Song Jiaoren were late.

Not to mention Zhao Bingjun and Duan Qirui, Yuan's cronies, even Sun Yuanqi had a somewhat unswerving expression: Although the two of you represent the indispensable alliance plate in the political map, it does not mean that you have the capital to be pampered and proud. Since you can stand here today, the weight is not much worse than yours. Why do you put on such a score and pretend to be a big-tailed wolf?

However, as a colleague, Sun Yuanqi couldn't say this. Not only did Sun Yuanqi speak, but even Yuan Shikai didn't dare to open his mouth easily. If these two ancestors are annoyed and let them walk away, will the State Council still be established today? Can't the first State Council be held? If they play a collective resignation again, I am afraid that what Tang Shaoyi said will become a prophecy: The first responsible cabinet of the Republic of China is really going to be stillborn! At this time, only Tang Shaoyi is the most suitable to stand up and say a few words. First, both parties are members of the Alliance, and it is an intra-party dispute to say that it is light, and it will not hinder others in anything; Second, Tang Shaoyi is the prime minister of the cabinet, and they are cabinet members, so it is reasonable to criticize a few words in this capacity.

In front of everyone's eyes, Tang Shaoyi greeted him with a gloomy face, and scolded in a low voice: "Liangchou, Escape Chu, why did you come so late?" Didn't you say that the meeting would start at 2 o'clock in the afternoon? The President and the Commander-in-Chief have been waiting at the door for more than half an hour! ”

Wang Chonghui was still a little ashamed, and Song Jiaoren just replied lightly: "I'm late, let you wait for a long time!" ”

Yuan Shikai's anger disappeared as soon as he appeared, and he immediately said with a smile: "Liang Chou, Dunchu, you two are here?" It's good to be here! Shaochuan, you don't have to be harsh, after all, it is far away from the mountains and rivers from the north of Jiangsu, and it is not easy to arrive today, and it is better to be late than never. As long as the State Council can be successfully established, the State Council can be convened, and the republican form of government can be truly established, why should we wait here for another half hour? ”

Song Jiaoren seems to have just discovered Yuan Shikai. Surprised, he said, "Ah! Didn't you talk about convening a state council today? Why is the big president also there? ”

Yuan Shikai's eyebrows raised sharply.

Tang Shaoyi hurriedly explained: "In addition to convening the State Council today, there is also a ceremony for the establishment of the State Council before that, so Tang invited the president to come and guide. After trying to invite again and again, the president agreed and arrived early. This is a great honor for our State Department! What do you think. Do you also feel honored at the beginning? ”

Song Jiaoren shook his head: "No! Song simply felt that since the country implemented a responsible cabinet system. The Grand Presidential Office and the State Council should be mutually restrictive and non-interfere with each other. Now, when the cabinet held its first meeting, I suddenly saw the president appear, and I thought that the president was going to participate in the meeting, and I was inevitably a little surprised. ”

Yuan Shikai's face became even more ugly.

Tang Shaoyi said: "It's wrong to say this at the beginning! Although the Great Presidential Office and the State Council should be mutually competent and non-interfere with each other in accordance with the law, there are many affairs in the early establishment of the Republic of China. The government and the courts should work together to watch and help each other, and it is not appropriate to forcibly divide each other to create enmity. Tang proposed that after the establishment of the State Council, the cabinet would meet every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to discuss state affairs; The second, fourth, and sixth cabinet members met with the President and presented the affairs of various ministries. It is expected that through this move. Strengthen cooperation and exchanges between governments and hospitals. ”

Song Jiaoren retorted: "It is precisely because there are many affairs in the early establishment of the Republic of China that the boundaries between the government and the court must be clarified, so as not to cause countless troubles in the future." Although the members of the responsible cabinet are appointed by the President, the Cabinet is accountable to Parliament, not to the President, so why should the members of the Cabinet meet with the President? ”

Tang Shaoyi frowned and said, "That's because the Provisional Senate can't shoulder the responsibilities of the parliament now, so I have to do it in a hurry." Moreover, today is an important day for the establishment of the State Council. Why bother with all this at the beginning? ”

Song Jiaoren did not hesitate at all: "It is precisely because today is a major day for the establishment of the State Council that Song has to take care of these things so as to set rules for the future." ”

Wang Chonghui, who came with him, saw that the two were fighting more and more fiercely, while those from other parties stood by and watched, and there was a great tendency to watch the fire from the other side. hurriedly stepped forward to dissuade him: "Prime Minister Shaochuan, Mr. Dunchu, the president and the chief ministers are waiting on the side!" There are still a lot of things to deal with today, so let's talk about what problems we have! ”

Tang Shaoyi came to his senses at this time, and bowed slightly to the king's favor. Then he turned around and greeted Yuan Shikai and the others: "President, Chiefs, everyone is waiting here." Now the cabinet members have arrived. Let's all go inside! ”

Yuan Shikai looked left and right for a moment, and then calmly walked into the State Council with Zhao Bingjun, Duan Qirui and others. The others also walked in after humbling each other. When Tang Shaoyi passed by Sun Yuanqi's side, aside

He grabbed Sun Yuan's arm and walked in, while sighing in a low voice: "When Tang went north with his virtuous brother two or three months ago, what he thought in his heart was no different from Song Dunchu at this moment. It wasn't until after forming a cabinet that I saw the various forms of officialdom that I realized that everything was as the virtuous brother said: tolerance is more important than freedom, and compromise is more precious than democracy! ”

The location of the State Council was originally the palace of the fifth son of Yongzheng, Hongday, and the prince's mansion, which was demolished and rebuilt into a noble school affiliated to the Ministry of War at the end of the Qing Dynasty. At this time, it was used as the State Council of the Republic of China, which also complemented each other.

Walking along the steps into the main hall, I saw a red banner hanging on the wall, which read: The Inaugural Conference of the State Council of the Republic of China. Beneath the banner are newly furnished round tables and chairs, with a lecture table in the middle and two five-color flags hanging in the back. Fortunately, everyone's name is pasted on the seats, which saves countless humility and avoidance of the trouble.

Sun Yuanqi's position is second only to transportation, agriculture and forestry, and industry and commerce, ranking fourth from the bottom, and the fifth from the bottom is Attorney General Wang Chonghui. In other words, the positions of the New China Party in the cabinet are the first, third, and fourth from the bottom, and the League will be the second and fifth from the bottom. Despite the fact that New China was at the bottom, Song Jiaoren's face was still pale, as if everyone in the audience owed him two hundred yuan.

Everyone sat down, and Tang Shaoyi cleared his throat and said, "Your Excellency, President, colleagues, good afternoon!" More than 20 days have passed since the announcement of the list of cabinet members on February 17 of the first year of the Republic of China, and during this period, people at home and abroad have been looking forward to the Cabinet in the hope that the Cabinet will take care of the situation at an early date so as to realize a complete republic. For various reasons, it has been postponed to this day. Today, the cabinet colleagues finally gathered together to announce the official establishment of the State Council and the smooth convening of the first state meeting, which is enough to comfort the people of the whole country.

"The establishment of the cabinet originally originated in the early years of the Ming Dynasty, rather than being imported from Europe and the United States. Before and after Wanli, the power and operation of the cabinet has been very close to the cabinet system of modern society, if it can be persevered at that time, the political enlightenment and economic prosperity of China will not let the European and American countries be the only one! It's a pity that the monarch has a suspicious heart, and the ministers have the intention of trespassing, and they are hostile to each other and restrain each other, which eventually makes the cabinet exist in name only, and becomes a mouthpiece for conveying edicts and announcing proclamations. Now that the cabinet has been formed, and even has to learn from Europe and the United States, it is really a sigh!

"The so-called 'front car is overturned, and the rear car is guarded', we should learn a lesson from the rise and fall of the Ming and Qing Cabinets, that is, the cabinet, the parliament, and the presidential palace must not trust each other and treat each other frankly, but also clarify responsibilities and must not be exceeded; Cabinet members should also work together regardless of party affiliation, instead of tearing each other down. Only in this way will the cabinet last and the country will become rich and strong!

"Now that the Republic of China has realized the responsible cabinet system, what are the main responsibilities of the cabinet as the highest state administrative organ? In the "Historical Records", Chen Ping believes that the prime minister should be 'the son of heaven and the son of heaven to manage yin and yang, follow the four times, and cultivate all things appropriately, calm the princes of the four yi outside, and attach the people to the inside, so that the secretary and the doctor can each take their own positions', if we replace the prime minister with the cabinet, and the son of heaven with the parliament and the presidential palace, there should be no big problem.

"The current Cabinet held its first state meeting today, marking the official establishment of the State Council of the Republic of China. On this important day, the President personally attended the inauguration ceremony despite the cold and cold, fully demonstrating the closeness between the government and the court. On this good opportunity, on behalf of the Cabinet and the State Council, Tang had the courage to ask the President to give me a speech to show encouragement and admonition. Everyone applauds and welcomes! ”

Yuan Shikai did not refuse, and proudly stepped up to the speech seat: "Today is a happy day for the establishment of the State Council and the convening of the first state meeting. Prime Minister Shaochuan had been invited again and again before, but as for whether to come or not, Yuan hesitated for a long time; Even before leaving for the State Council, some people in the government advised that the current cabinet of responsibility should be implemented, and that the boundaries between the government and the court should be paid attention to, so as not to provoke people to speculate. But Yuan finally came, because as Prime Minister Shaochuan said, Yuan came, which would only show the intimacy between the government and the court; If you don't come, you will deliberately draw a boundary between the government and the court, provoking random speculation.

"It has only been more than two months since the founding of the Republic of China, and the war has not stopped, and there is a lot of waste waiting to be rebuilt, and there are mutual suspicions between the government and the courts. Yuan is here today to publicly promise that he is willing to do his best to carry forward the spirit of the republic, clean up the imperfections, abide by the Constitution, act in accordance with the wishes of the people, and strive to make the country stable and prosperous as soon as possible, and the Han, Manchu, Mongolian, Hui, and Tibetan ethnic groups will prosper and republic, and live and work together in peace and contentment. Yuan knows that it is not easy to realize this grand wish, because the foundation of realizing this grand wish lies in the cooperation of the government and the hospital. In addition to attending the ceremony, this time is to bring an important task that requires the strong cooperation of the government and the hospital, for everyone to discuss! (To be continued.)