A Man of Science and Engineering in Troubled Times Wandering in the Late Qing Dynasty

Chapter 514 The Edict
No one could have imagined that the death of Aisin Gioro Liangbi, who was not well-known in history, frightened the Zongshe Party and all the Manchu dignitaries.

The atmosphere of a fallen tree and the dispersal of hozens permeated the capital and the Forbidden City. Princes and nobles who had some means fled to Tianjin, Dalian or Qingdao with their families.

Soon only the orphaned and widowed Empress Dowager Longyu and the six-year-old Emperor Puyi were left in the huge palace.

Those royal members who are usually pampered and talk about loyalty are the fastest.

The current Prince Gong Puwei (the grandson of Liuyi the Japanese) ran to Jietai Temple on the outskirts of Beijing.

Prince Su, with the help of Naniwa Kawashima, took his family directly to Lushun, and from then on he completely fell into the arms of the Japanese.

A few months later, Emperor Meiji passed away. Prince Su, as a nobleman of the Qing Dynasty, mourned for him for three days by wearing mourning clothes and fasting on vegetarian food!

away from a big spectrum.

What is even more jaw-dropping is that three years later, Emperor Taisho ascended the throne, and Prince Su, Shanqi, climbed the Baiyu Mountain in Lushun in the cold wind to pay homage to the souls of the Japanese soldiers who invaded China!

It’s not outrageous anymore!Is this something humans do?

In short, Shanqi completely became a puppet of Kawashima Naniwa after arriving in Port Arthur.

Just to get closer to Kawashima Naniwa, Shanqi gave his six-year-old daughter Xianyu to Kawashima Naniwa as his adopted daughter.

Xianju then changed her name to Yoshiko Kawashima and was sent to Japan to receive militarism education. When she became an adult, she returned to China and worked as a spy for Japan for a long time.

From her experience, it is easy to understand why an iron-hatted queen, Princess Aisin Gioro, would serve the Japanese wholeheartedly. She has been indoctrinated with Japanese military ideology since she was a child, and she can be said to be a Japanese at heart.

In short, the court is now completely controlled by Yuan Shikai.

As a last resort, Empress Dowager Longyu gave Yuan Shikai full authority to negotiate with the Nanjing Provisional Government on the conditions for the Qing emperor's abdication, hoping that Yuan Shikai could gain an extra point for the sake of the relationship between monarch and minister.

Nanjing's concession to Yuan Shikai was obviously very large.Historically, provisional governments were founded on the promise of their own imminent demise, which can also be seen as a serious weakness.

Li Yu did not go to Nanjing, but within a few days he met Zhang Jian and Cai Yuanpei, who had come to Shanghai from Nanjing, at Xiyintang in Shanghai.

Li Yu was not interested in politics, but he could still have more contact with these two people. One of them was the Minister of Industry of the provisional government and the other was the Minister of Education. They were both departments related to Li Yu.

Zhang Jian has a sharp vision in the changing times.As early as when Yuan Shikai took over as Prime Minister of the Cabinet, in order to improve the cabinet's prestige and win over the hearts of the Southeast, Yuan wanted to ask Zhang Jian to serve as Jiangsu Propaganda Ambassador and Minister of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce.

At that time, uprisings had just begun in various places, and the situation in Jiangsu was complicated. There were not only the military governor Chen Dequan, but also the governor Li Xie and the governor of Wusong, the governor Lin Shuqing of Zhenjiang, the commander-in-chief Qin Yuluan of Wuxi, and the unique governor Jiang Yanxing in Qingjiangpu.

They all do their own thing and do not follow any orders.

The quarrel lasted for a long time. In later generations, the thirteen cities in Jiangsu were known as the Thirteen Taibao. They were dissatisfied with each other. There are many jokes on the Internet. It turns out that it started as early as the end of the Qing Dynasty...

Zhang Jian was very popular, and Yuan Shikai hoped to integrate Jiangsu through him.

It's just that Zhang Jian had publicly declared in favor of the Republic at that time and was unwilling to accept any more official positions in the Qing Dynasty.

Moreover, the people of the Qing Dynasty had lost their hearts and the situation was over. Under such circumstances, "What comfort can there be? What words can be said?"

As for letting the Qing Dynasty develop agriculture, industry and commerce, there is no way to talk about it.

Zhang Jian judged the situation very wisely and followed the trend of history to achieve the biggest change in his life, from constitutionalism to republicanism, which also significantly improved his reputation.

During the peace negotiations between the north and the south, Zhang Jian played a lot of value as an "intermediary", and the Qing court was willing to continue to listen to his advice. The revolutionaries also welcomed his change and respected him, not only because he clearly expressed his support for the republic, but also because he Unlike Kang Liang, there was never any direct conflict with the revolutionaries.

Moreover, the industrial and commercial community at this time has condensed into a powerful social force and is the target of all parties to win over. As Zhang Jian is a leading figure in the industrial and commercial community, both the North and the South must show some face.

When Li Yu came to Xiyintang, Zhang Jian had just cut off his braids.

Li Yu said: "Brother Ji Zhi has also changed his appearance."

Zhang Jian put the braid in a box and said: "This scissor completely severed my ties with the Qing Dynasty. The old man lived almost 60 years old. After all, it is a lifetime memorial."

Cai Yuanpei said: "Brother Ji Zhi, please don't regret it."

"The old man cutting his braids is definitely not a hypocritical statement. At my age, I will never do anything against my will. How can I regret it?" Zhang Jian said to Li Yu again, "I read in the newspaper that Yuan Xiangcheng was a barber at Shu Cai helping Zhang Luo. The braids that were cut off by the museum.”

Li Yu said: "I'm just helping to promote the trend of hair cutting."

Cai Yuanpei said: "I also heard that Shucai's barber shop has a plaque inscribed by Lu Runxiang, the number one scholar."

Li Yu said with a smile: "Lu Zhuangyuan protested in the newspaper for this matter. But after Yuan Xiangcheng finished his haircut, he said nothing."

Zhang Jian touched his head and said, "I will also open a barber shop in the future. The words I wrote on the title of No. [-] Scholar may be worth a few taels of silver."

Zhao Fengchang, the owner of Xiyintang, said: "I prepared a Dutch hat for Ji Zhi. Do you want to feel it?"

Zhang Jian waved his hand: "Foreigners' hats must match foreigners' clothes. It's more comfortable for me to wear our own hat."

Cai Yuanpei then introduced Zhao Fengchang to Li Yu.

During the peace negotiations between the North and the South, Zhao Fengchang was actually a very influential figure.

During the day, northern representative Tang Shaoyi and southern representative Wu Tingfang negotiated peace at the Huizhong Hotel in the concession.But in the evening, Wu Tingfang would come to Zhao Fengchang's Xiyintang to discuss important issues with other revolutionaries.

Someone recalled, "Wu Tingfang was nominally the general representative of the South, but in fact he could not make any decisions. He truly represented the opinions of the South. The one who could make decisions on the matter was Old Man Zhao."

This statement may be a bit too much, but Zhao Fengchang was indeed a mysterious figure in the peace negotiations. He not only connected the North and the South, but also influenced the opinions of the South to a certain extent.

Zhao Fengchang took out a telegraph machine: "The things Shucai made are really good. Last time, people from the Italian consulate saw my telegraph machine and were extremely envious. He said that their Italian Marconi wireless telegraph machine was not up to par at all. to such transmission stability.”

"Brother Shucai is the best in science and industry," Zhang Jian said. "When I was appointed Minister of Industry, the first thing I thought of was Brother Shucai. But Heqing (Cai Yuanpei's courtesy name) said that you are indifferent to Mingzhi. , I don’t like being an official, so I can only give up this idea.”

Zhao Fengchang said: "Nowadays, communication is convenient. Yuan Xiangcheng dismissed Tang Shaoyi, the representative of the northern peace talks, because of political disagreements. Everything must be sent directly to him by telegram." Cai Yuanpei said: "He wants to command from afar in the capital."

Zhang Jian said: "According to the agreement, after Mr. Sun resigns, he must come to Nanjing to take up his post. Without his Beiyang roots here, it can always play a role in restricting power."

The revolutionaries are still very relieved about this plan, but Yuan Shikai is not a person who plays by common sense.

Zhang Jian added: "I don't care about officialdom but love education. Brother Heqing came to Shanghai and immediately called you here. I didn't ask you to become an official."

Li Yu smiled and said: "Thank you for your love."

Cai Yuanpei said: "Education is the foundation of the present. More than ten years ago during the [-] Year, Mr. Yan Fu believed that education must first be established to enlighten the people's wisdom, and then China can be saved."

Zhang Jian said: "Since the Shou Uprising in Wuchang, newspapers from all over the country have loudly called for education to save the country. "Shenbao" said, 'No one should be blamed for the subjugation of the country and the destruction of the race, but only the blame of the educator; for a strong country and a strong race, no one should be blamed. The merit is only the result of the educator. Without others, it is the evolution of the educator."

Cai Yuanpei said: "Yes, what we lack most now is not even money, but talent."

Li Yu certainly agreed with them: "The Nanjing government seems to have issued a compulsory education decree."

Cai Yuanpei said: "Compulsory education is a good idea. I had a lot of contact with it when I was studying in Germany. A 'forced education' charter was issued at the end of Guangxu, but there were many difficulties in implementing it."

The so-called "forced education" is naturally compulsory education.

Li Yu said: "If you go to school for free, how can you have any difficulties?"

Cai Yuanpei explained:

"Local officials had never seen such a new thing like compulsory education, and the government did not explain it to the people. They just repeatedly emphasized that if young children do not go to school, the parents will be blamed. Later, the police directly dispatched door-to-door surveys to collect statistics on the number of school-age children.

In this way, a good policy has been turned into a farce.Parents with children have all retreated. They are worried that if the police go door-to-door, will their children be locked up and taken to school?
After consultation with the neighbors, everyone decided to send the child to a private school to escape.

Therefore, the result of forced education was that private schools everywhere were crowded. The private school teachers took the opportunity to raise prices and made a small fortune. "

Li Yu was speechless after hearing this: "It's really ridiculous, good things can also go bad."

Cai Yuanpei said: “In the decree issued by the Ministry of Education, I have clearly stipulated that junior primary schools, normal schools, and higher normal schools are exempt from tuition fees, and the proportion of funds for education, science, and culture must not be less than 15% of the total budget; for local governments, it must be higher. But to what extent it can be implemented, I don’t have much confidence.”

As a time traveler, Li Yu knew that Cai Yuanpei's vision was basically impossible to realize in the Republic of China. Like many orders, they could not be implemented and were only on paper.

"Compulsory education is very expensive and can only be promoted by the government," Li Yu said.

After hearing this, Zhang Jian laughed and said: "Minister Cai is now the poorest person in the Nanjing government. He doesn't even have an office space."

Li Yu said awkwardly: "The Ministry of Education doesn't even have an office?"

Cai Yuanpei said: "I asked Mr. Sun for help, and he said, 'You have to find it on your own, I can't take care of it.' If Mr. Ma Xiangbo, the internal affairs director of the Jiangsu Governor's Mansion, hadn't borrowed three rooms, I would have been like a fortune teller. Pitch a shed on the street.”

Zhang Jian said: "I remember that He Qing took a rickshaw to Mr. Sun to get the seal of the Ministry of Education. There were a total of thirty people in his Ministry of Education, including He Qing, and each of them received a monthly salary of 30 yuan, it is the most streamlined and least expensive department in the provisional government."

Cai Yuanpei's ideas have been carried to the Ministry of Education in Beijing since then.

"Everything is difficult at the beginning," Li Yu said, "Minister Cai, I have a request."

Cai Yuanpei said: "You are too ignorant, and you are still 'begging'? You just suggested it directly! I will definitely do whatever I can do."

"It's very simple. As long as there is a big seal and an order can be issued, it is enough," Li Yu said. "My university in Shanghai is fully prepared in all aspects and can be opened immediately. I hope the Ministry of Education will issue a "University Order" to allow us to These private individuals founded universities.”

Cai Yuanpei said relaxedly: "It turned out to be just an order, so that's easy! The only thing our Ministry of Education is still short of is paper and pens."

Historically, this "University Order" was not issued until the end of the year.It was Cai Yuanpei's "University Order" that inspired the emergence of a large number of universities.

During the conversation, Zhao Fengchang received a telegram. After reading it, he said to Zhang Jian: "Has Brother Ji Zhi drafted the "Edict on the Abdication of the Qing Emperor" in accordance with the opinions of both parties?"

Zhang Jian said: "The draft is basically done. Nanjing has no objections and can be sent to Yuan Shikai. However, Nanjing suggested changing the name. The Qing Dynasty will disappear immediately. There is no question of 'big or not', so let's not call him 'Emperor of the Qing Dynasty'." , directly called Emperor Qing."

Zhao Fengchang nodded: "No problem."

Zhang Jian added: "In order to save some face for the Qing Dynasty, Nanjing thought that the word 'abdication' could be changed to 'abdication'. Abdication means taking the initiative to give up, which sounds better."

Zhao Fengchang said: "It's very thoughtful."

Just like this premise, it seems that only Zhang Jian can be found who is accepted by both the North and the South, has enough social status, and has good literary talent.

Therefore, the task of drafting the edict to abdicate the Qing emperor fell on him.

As the former number one scholar of the Qing Dynasty, Zhang Jian felt quite emotional when he wrote the imperial edict to abdicate the Qing emperor.

But in any case, completing the revolution without bloodshed is what they all hope to see in their dreams.

Although Xinhai did not completely solve all problems, and the blood that should be shed will still have to be shed in the future, overthrowing the monarchy is enough to become a god.

Zhao Fengchang immediately arranged for someone to send the message.

The edict of the Qing emperor's abdication was short, only about 300 words.

Although judging from the name, the edict should have come from the palace, but Empress Dowager Longyu had long since lost power. The entire text of the edict was written by Zhang Jian after an agreement between the north and the south. The Qing court, as a lamb to the slaughter, had no involvement at all.

To be honest, every word in this edict is very important, especially the last sentence: "The five nationalities of Manchu, Han, Mongolian, Hui and Tibetan still have the complete territory to form a great Republic of China, and the emperor can retreat at ease. Traveling leisurely for many years, and receiving great gifts from the people" is definitely the essence of the whole article.

This sentence completely opened up the situation at once. It not only adopted Mr. Sun's concept of a five-ethnic republic, but also required the maintenance of territorial integrity. It is definitely a program-level guide for the future and is of great significance.

(End of this chapter)