Beiyang executives at least maintained a superficial respect for Yuan Shikai. So his will is also an important basis for handling the transfer of power. However, on June 7th, the day after his death, Vice President Li used the word "successor" instead of "agent" in his succession announcement. Obviously, the provisions of the Basic Law are based on the Provisional Constitution of People's Republic of China (PRC), not the Yuanji Constitution. At this time, the State Council's Secretary of State Duan did not object. This is only the first blow to Yuan.
Later, various political forces in China, including Feng, the most prestigious local power faction in Beiyang, demanded that the legal system in People's Republic of China (PRC) be restored according to the Constitution of People's Republic of China (PRC) (19 12) and the National Assembly of People's Republic of China (PRC) (19 13). On the other hand, the national defense forces of Southwest Division demanded that those Yuan Shikai's cronies be punished and crowned as "the culprit of the emperor system".
On the one hand, there are repeated appeals from political circles; On the other hand, Li and Duan are still arguing. At the end of June, less than a month before Yuan's death, Li and Duan successively issued decrees. Apart from some personnel arrangements, their main purpose was to restore the legal system in People's Republic of China (PRC), to cancel the command post and the political hall set up by Yuan Shikai himself, and to order the arrest of the so-called "imperial culprits". In other words, only one month after Yuan Shikai's death, all the political legacy he created in his life vanished. Yuan Shikai did not leave any constructive accumulation for future generations in terms of state system, regime, laws, institutions and personnel. Except for the grand funeral and the profile head portrait on the silver dollar still used by the people, he seems to have never appeared in reality and history.
Because Yuan Shikai had abolished the 83-day monarchy three months before his death, his political identity was still the president of the Republic of China. On the day of his death, Duan announced to the whole country in the name of the State Council: "Chairman Yuan died of illness on the 6th of this month. After the promulgation of the decree, I respected Article 29 of the Constitution and announced that Vice President Li would act as the representative of the Republic of China. " The so-called "Article 29 of the Constitution" refers to the basic law newly created by Yuan Shikai in 19 14. Article 29 stipulates: "When the President leaves his post for some reason or is unable to handle affairs, the Vice President shall act as his agent.".
The punctuation of this passage is only 50 words, but it has caused countless problems.
-Why is the Constitution created by Yuan Shikai still in use? According to the view of Southwest Division Defence Force, Yuan Shikai was already a traitor at this time, and the starting point of his treason was to change the legal system in People's Republic of China (PRC), and the specific behavior was to create a constitution and abolish the interim constitution. Therefore, Yuan Shikai must deny and restore the legal system in People's Republic of China (PRC). Therefore, the North and the South, that is, the Beiyang government and the military government that defended the country, only reached an understanding on one point: Lee will be the next president.
Politically, all parties have put forward their own views on the current situation. To sum up, it is nothing more than restoring democracy and the legal system based on the interim constitution and the National People's Congress. To punish the so-called "imperial criminals" for all kinds of threatening demands, North Korea is strangely silent collectively. This is because the Beiyang politicians in the central government, who used to be Yuan Shikai's cronies, have now become "remnants of the imperial system", and of course they dare not talk nonsense. As for the Beiyang soldiers who are scattered around as generals in charge of military affairs in a province, they have no political opinions at all, and it is difficult to deny the current situation for a while. Moreover, because Feng, the second person of Beiyang Department, also called Li on 15, please resume the temporary contract and continue to convene the National Assembly, so the provincial generals can't express other opinions.
But this time, Zhang Xun's position is different. On the eve of Yuan's death, on May 30th, Feng convened a meeting of Beiyang generals in Nanjing to discuss the origin of Yuan and his government's advance and retreat. The meeting ended without results and ended in discord. However, at the request of Zhang Xun, some representatives of the Nanjing Conference resumed in Xuzhou. The meeting put forward ten outlines, mainly demanding the preservation of the life and property of the Yuan family and all the honors behind Yuan's death. And "absolutely resist violent elements participating in political power." The so-called "violent elements" refer to the national party member. This ten-point outline can be said to be the voice of the local strength school of Beiyang Department. This Xuzhou meeting has also become the origin of the "monitoring corps" that will even affect the political situation in the next year or so.
However, at this time, neither Liang Qichao, who is ambitious, nor Zhang Xun, who is bizarre, expected that a subtle and intensive personnel arrangement was being quietly planned and implemented, and the list was frequently sent back in the hands of Li Heduan. Judging from the historical facts of 2008, the relationship between Duan and Li is very bad. Therefore, it was normal for political observers at that time to completely ignore their secret talks. Because everyone ignores one thing-the "bridge" between Duan and Li is Zhang Guogan. It was this man who decided the fate of China in the first month after Yuan Shikai's death.
Li heduan
In the late Qing Dynasty, we attached great importance to the friendship of fellow villagers. Zhang Zu was born in Chibi, Hubei Province, but grew up and studied in Anhui with his father from Xiang Army. Later, their family settled in Wuhu. Therefore, he can be close to Anhui people as an Anhui person. I can also approach Li, a native of Hubei, as a native of Hubei. Of course, as a child of Xiang, I can also gain the trust of Yuan Shikai-Xiang is, after all, the originator of all local strength schools in modern China.
Zhang Guogan started his career in his early thirties. 19 16 years He was 40 years old. In the previous four years, he served as Secretary-General the State Council, Secretary-General of the Presidential Palace, Vice Minister of the Interior and Right Cheng (equivalent to Deputy Prime Minister the State Council). What Yuan Shikai relies most on Zhang Guogan is his trustworthy affinity and compromise and coordination ability. During Yuan's four years in power, Zhang Guotao mediated the relationship between Yuan and Li and Yuan Duan in the first two years and the last two years respectively, and both achieved satisfactory results. By the end of the Yuan Dynasty, on the one hand, Zhang Guogan disagreed with the monarchy; On the other hand, the relationship between Ethan and Yuan Duan has collapsed and it is impossible to coordinate * * *. Therefore, when Yuan Shikai died and Shi Li took over, Zhang Guotao was the chief education officer.
But Duan wants Lee to be president, but he still wants to take him with him. After Yuan Shikai's death, Duan immediately took Zhang to Li's house. In the East Flower Room of Li's office, Duan first bowed to show his respect, and then they were relatively silent for half an hour, which was regarded as a courtesy of "inviting the president out". When Duan left, he left a communication channel for Zhang Guo.
In the evening, there were more and more rumors in Beijing, saying that the head of Beiyang Army wanted to oust Li and let Xu Shichang come out as president. Of course Li is scared. It's not about power. If the head of Beiyang army forces him to back down, it will definitely endanger his life. So, Zhang Guogan first went to Duan Fu in Hutong to inquire about the situation, and then sat with Jae-dong Lee Huating all night. He didn't go to rest until he knew that all parties were safe at three o'clock in the morning. It was Zhang Guogan who spent the most thrilling first day with Li.
At 3pm on the 6th, the State Council issued a "Deceased Presidential Decree" in the name of Yuan Shikai: "In accordance with relevant laws, it was announced that Vice President Li would act as the President of the Republic of China". This "contract law" is Yuan Zhen's contract law. The first sentence of the "inauguration order" issued by Li himself is "taking office on the 7th of this month", and the word "inauguration" is based on the Constitution of People's Republic of China (PRC). After the proclamation was written, Zhang Guogan personally sent the Hutong to Duan for reading. Duan did not raise any objection, that is, he signed and sealed it, and then published it in the newspaper and sent a telegram to the whole country. Since taking office as president, Li has been secretly discussing a series of important issues with Duan under the communication of Zhang Guogan, including the selection of cabinet members and the determination of military and political leaders in various places. At the public level, they have also implemented some institutional changes. 10, only three days after Li became president, he abolished the Marshal's Office and returned his functions and powers to the army, navy, chiefs of staff and other departments. This should be the most important and gratifying thing. In this way, he is the real national military leader. Li also allowed Zhou Ziqi, the chief culprit of the emperor system, to resign, and his position as chief financial officer was handed over to Chen Jintao, an old revolutionary. This is also the first step for Li to change the cabinet.
Even within the Beiyang Department, Feng didn't care about Yuan Shikai's historical position at all. Instead, he called Duan and forced him to recognize the interim constitution. That's easy. As a result, Duan suddenly announced the full restoration of People's Republic of China (PRC)'s legal system with the interim constitution as the main body at the end of June. In this way, it also means that Yuanji's "Covenant Law" was permanently abolished, and the National Assembly of the Second People's Congress, which was forcibly dissolved by Yuan Yu at the beginning of 19 14, was immediately resumed.
Everyone is a winner, and the biggest winner is actually Duan. First of all, he has actually become the new leader of Beiyang Department. Of course, Feng's qualifications and status are not comparable to his, but although Nanjing people can directly control the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, they are still quite far from Beijing, the political center. Secondly, although Li is the president, the authority of the "responsibility cabinet system" comes from the Ministry. Theoretically, the Prime Minister (and ministers in charge of ministries) must be appointed by the President and should be questioned and impeached by the National Assembly. In the "Provisional Contract Law", the restriction of paragraph only ends here. To put it simply, People's Republic of China (PRC)'s Constitution is an institutional design in which clams compete for profits. In the contest between the President and Congress, there are checks and balances and mutual harm, while the Prime Minister can collude with each other.
Feng
Now, the system and system have been determined, and Duan will begin to work. The first step, of course, is to arrange the official positions first. A movement to defend the country has brought many military and political figures with shallow qualifications and insufficient prestige to the front desk, especially in the southwest, where the army is stronger than Mazhuang, and it is impossible to return to the timid appearance of half a year ago. On the central political stage, because of the restoration of People's Republic of China (PRC)'s legal system, the revolutionary party system, which has long been excluded by Yuan Shikai, will now return to the central government. In addition, they are the foundation of Lee's administration as president. At that time, there were 22 provinces in China, so there were more than 40 governors and vacancies of governors; As for the chief executive, the number is even smaller. There are only nine departments in the State Council.
Duan has his own ideas. A few days ago, the political circles were still debating whether to implement the Constitution of People's Republic of China (PRC) or People's Republic of China (PRC), that is, when it was still uncertain whether Li was acting president or succeeding president, Duan had drawn up a cabinet list. Lu Zhengxiang, the former foreign minister, has resigned, and now Cao Rulin, the minister of communications, is also in charge. Duan suggested replacing him with Wang Daheng; The chief of the interior, formerly Wang, suggested replacing it with Xu Shiying, who had just returned from Fujian; The chief financial officer was originally acting for Zhou Ziqi, but this person is really closely related to Yuan Shikai, and he was named as "imperial remnant", so I'm afraid it's not convenient to stay in the central government. Therefore, on June 23, he was personally nominated by Li and succeeded by Chen Jintao. Chen is a member of the old league. He was the financial director of the Nanjing Provisional Government when it was just established during the Revolution of 1911.
The director of education was Zhang Guogan. However, in order to make anti-Yuan people more easily accepted by the new government, Duan nominated Fan Yuanlian to take over. Fan's qualifications are very deep, and later he sponsored Liang Qichao against Yuan, so he has a high reputation in protecting the national army. The director of agriculture and commerce was originally the director of justice, and now Zhang Guogan is suggested to take over. The total length of the other four departments remains unchanged: Army Section, Navy Liu Guanxiong, Communications Cao Rulin, and Justice.
Duan thinks this arrangement is very suitable. Nine generals, leaving five old people. If his self-appointed army chief of staff is not counted, that is to say, eight State Councillors have entered four new people, which is fair and balanced, and the old and the new blend. And among the four newcomers, Finance Minister Chen Jintao can take care of the feelings of the revolutionary party, and Education Minister Fan Yuanlian can take care of the feelings of Liang Qichao. This is almost a "coalition government". Unexpectedly, Li did not agree with this list when he examined and sealed it. He mainly wants to replace two people: the foreign minister and the navy chief.
The navy has always been separated from Germany by the Beiyang Department, and Li himself was born in the navy, especially supported by senior naval generals. But now Liu Guanxiong, the chief of the navy, has become a steel bar inserted by Beiyang Department in the navy. If this is not eliminated, the gap between Li and the navy will become wider and wider in the future. Therefore, he suggested that Tang replace the foreign minister and Cheng Biguang replace the navy chief. Gallas was added as Chief Justice and Sun as Chief Education Officer. The latter two were originally revolutionary parties and progressive parties, and now they all belong to the Kuomintang camp. In this case, except Duan, five of the eight members of the cabinet are either Kuomintang or have deep historical roots with the Kuomintang.
Duan actually agreed to all this. Thus, at the end of June and the beginning of July of 19 16, a series of orders were issued to announce the new cabinet list. It should be noted that this list only represents the wishes of the central government and has not been approved by the National Assembly. And more importantly, these appointment suggestions have not even been approved by themselves. There is also a subtle influence: what do local power groups in various provinces, including Beiyang and Southwest, think of this list? What do the Kuomintang and the Progressive Party, namely Sun Yat-sen and Liang Qichao, think of this list?
According to the plan, the two houses of Congress will not reconvene until August 1 day, and the list of cabinet members including Duan will not be approved until the end of August. Well, first of all, let's see if these eight officers can pass the public opinion barrier.
The first person to be shot was Wang Daxie. At that time, Wang was nearly sixty years old. Before the Qing Dynasty, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (that is, the Ministry of Communications) were already assistant ministers, but the problem was that he made a "political mistake" and was regarded as a "remnant of imperial system" by people at that time. As soon as I heard that he was going to join the cabinet, especially the politicians of the Southwest Department rose up and attacked him. Wang can't stand it. He resigned only ten days after he appointed the foreign minister.
The main business of the Ministry of Communications is the construction and management of railways. At that time, China was extremely poor, so it needed to borrow money from foreign powers to build railways. Therefore, as the chief transportation officer, he doesn't necessarily need to know how to lay a railway, but he must be a diplomatic talent, a financial talent and a financial talent. However, there are few talents in Li's double bag. He is generally supported by people in the Kuomintang system. There are many radicals and heroes, but few constructive talents. In fact, Liang Qichao's Progressive Party is also a majority of literati and politicians, and few technical officials know how to govern the country in a down-to-earth manner. Therefore, Xu Shiying can only be the chief transportation officer, although he was previously engaged in judicial internal affairs and was completely unfamiliar with diplomacy and finance.
Zhang Guogan was also transferred. Lee has just become president, and his seat is not secure yet. Please appoint Zhang as the full-time secretary-general of the presidential palace, and the position of chief minister of agriculture and commerce will be given to another Kuomintang, Gu Zhongxiu.
Compared with Duan's initial list, three of the eight cabinet members were unsuccessful, which can't be regarded as a total denial. But among these eight people, there are five Kuomintang people, plus Cheng Biguang, who is inclined to the Southwest Department. In this way, among the eight cabinet members, Xu Shiying is the only one who is closely related to Beiyang Department. Taking this as a symbol, Duan Cabinet was formally established. After the dust settled, all the forces showed their true colors. One of the most angry is Liang Qichao.
Liang Qichao is very interested in parliamentary politics, and he is willing to try it himself and become the cabinet chief, trying to control the central political situation. But when the cabinet rearranged the ministers, Liang Qichao lost his enthusiasm three years ago and didn't take the initiative to stuff his henchmen into the State Council. But after all, none of his progressives entered the cabinet, which made Liang Qichao feel ashamed. He had to stutter and explain this embarrassing situation to the leaders of the Southwest Division who were watching.
After all, Liang is a great politician. It is not too late to mend. Li Duan jointly announced the cabinet list, and he has realized two facts: First, the list of military, political and cultural officials in various provinces will also be announced; Second, this list will not be discussed with yourself. So, after thinking for three days, Liang sent a long telegram to Fan Yuanlian around him. The Progressive Party under him are all literati, and it is impossible for a military and political chief to supervise military affairs, so try to ask several civil administration chiefs. And Liang also knows that Li Heduan will never give up the inherent territory of Beiyang Department. The candidates he recommended can only seek jobs in the six southwestern provinces that launched the national protection movement.
In the telegram, Liang put forward four requirements to Li Duan through Fan Yuanlian: First, "it is best to make Li Duan visit the southwestern provinces", that is, the person in charge of the southwest must come from the local area; Secondly, "the transfer of military and civilian personnel must be discussed with me in advance, which means that the appointment list must be discussed with me." Then, he made a list: Ji, Zhou, Zhou Shanpei, Xu Fusu and Chen Tingce. He stressed that the above five "all made excellent choices" and suggested that Fan Yuanlian might as well "push the hub effectively" immediately-it would be too late if he didn't recommend it! (In Yuan Shikai's time, the governor was called "the governor's envoy". When Liang received this telegram, he still used this official name. )
At the end of the telegram, Liang Qichao clearly shouted: "If you follow it, there will be a place." Xun Re was Dai Kun, then commander-in-chief of the right wing of the National Defence Force. He was loyal to Liang Qichao and pretended to be a "dead man". Such loyal cadres must, of course, "have a place." Liang Qichao suggested that Long Jiguang and Lu Rongting should be exchanged first. "If Cai E and Dai Kun are used to appease Shuxiang, the problem of the four provinces (Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan and Hunan) will be solved.". Other suggestions are empty shakes a gun, let Dai Kun go to Hunan as a leader is the key.
Paragraph does not agree with the recommendation. He has his own plans for the position of chief of military, political and civil affairs 12 in six southwest provinces.
Look at the list first. Sichuan: Governor, Governor Cai E. Yunnan: Governor Tang, Governor Ren Kecheng. Guizhou: Governor Liu, Governor. Hunan: Governor and Governor, Chen Yi. Guangdong: Governor Lu Rongting and Governor Zhu Qinglan. Guangxi: Governor Chen Bingkun and Governor Luo Peijin.
Sichuan is in chaos. In Sichuan, there are Yunnan Army and Guizhou Army to defend the country, and Sichuan Army is also loyal to Beiyang and Yunnan. Of course, Cai E also has its own army. So, let Cai E go to Jiping first.
Hunan is also a mess. On July 4th, Hunan general Shang Xiangming left under the pressure of the Kuomintang conservative Cheng Qian. Duan was short of effective candidates, so he had to let Chen Yi, who had retreated to western Hubei, go to Hunan to preside over the overall situation.
There is nothing to criticize about the personnel appointments in Yunnan and Guizhou, which are basically the same. However, Liang Qichao was quite annoyed with the post of Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi. Especially in Guangdong. It turned out that Liang Qichao suggested that Lu Rongting, a local power faction in Guangxi, supervise Guangdong. He believes that "the dragon (Ji Guang) is an expert, but the earth (Rongting) can control it." However, why not give the position of governor to the Progressive Party? Piansheng came all the way to call Zhu Qinglan.
Although Cai E stayed in Sichuan, Dai Kun was sent to his hometown of Guizhou as the governor. Chen Yi, who just came out of Sichuan, was given the position of Hunan overseer. Liang Qichao was in a hurry. Guizhou was originally the base camp of the Progressive Party. Why should we add an extra weight? He politely declined the appointment to the Central Committee and immediately called Duan himself. He said that Dai Kun is excellent, "talented, honest and steady, and there are several talents in the contemporary era", so "it is best to move your energy to other provinces". Three days later, he called Zhong Yin, a disciple who had already arrived in Beijing, and asked him to lobby Li and Duan to be the governor of Hunan. At that time, Lu Rongting was acting as the overseer of Hunan, so Liang Qichao also asked Lu to recommend him to go to Hunan. Duan turned a deaf ear to Liang Qichao's successive suggestions, so that the latter complained in his telegram to Zhou Shanpei: "My generation has done so much for the overall situation, if the result is other. Really short of breath! "
Hunan has always been the traffic artery of the northern army's southern expedition or the southern army's northern expedition. Therefore, Beiyang Department has been stationed in Yuezhou for a long time, so how can Duan safely hand over this site to Liang Qichao and his Progressive Party? Therefore, he was eager to control the situation at first, and finally chose Tan, who was gentle and had no military foundation, as the governor of Hunan.
Luo Peijin doesn't want to go to Guangxi either, because according to his qualifications and endowment, he prefers to engage in military duties; And Lu Rongting also regards Guangxi as its own preserve. How can it accommodate others? In this way, Cai E, Luo Peijin and Dai Kun, the three chiefs of the Yunnan-Guizhou Defence Force, were all squeezed in Sichuan, and there was no channel for outward development. Liang Qichao is calm and pragmatic. Even if there are complaints, it will not delay him from rearranging the overall plan. Why not ask Cai E to be the governor of Hunan? Cai's ancestral home in Hunan conforms to the call of "Hunan people ruling Hunan" formed in the early years of the Republic of China. I don't think all parties can object to this proposal.
Cai E was a great man. He led the national defense army to attack Sichuan with a journey of 4,000, and remained unbeaten under the vibration of hundreds of thousands of northern troops such as Chen Yi, Cao Kun and Zhang. As early as the beginning of 19 16, Liang Qichao was thinking about the future political outlet of the progressive party he led. He wrote a letter to Cai E, who was fighting the Beiyang Army at the front line in Sichuan. Among them, it said, "Only my * * * brothers, who have suffered between Qiong, Shu, Yunnan and Bo, hope that this place will be solemn and find a legacy for the people of China." Liang Qichao talked about an idea that almost all politicians and local power groups, big and small, were sprouting at that time: separatist regime.
Unexpectedly, Cai e could not hold on. He was very ill and died soon. This can be said to be the most serious blow to Liang Qichao's life. With Cai's military talent and personality charm, it is more than enough to stabilize Sichuan. Even if the country is closed to the outside world, it can rest in the peaceful Sichuan Basin and cultivate a safe and prosperous military and political foundation for the Progressive Party. At that time, how to digest Guangdong, the Guangdong Revolutionary Party will dissolve Lu Rongting's forces; How to contain the newly rising and dispel the power of Tang dynasty; How to deal with Feng and Cao Kun must resolve Duan's strength. Cai E will lead Sichuan and the Progressive Party to grow silently in this crevice and lay the foundation. Then, I have the opportunity to settle Kangbian in the west, Yunnan and Guizhou in the south, Hanzhong in the north, and Kuiguan in the east to pacify the world. At that time, the winner of the Northern Expedition was the party army of the Progressive Party. But history can be deduced, but it cannot be assumed. After all, the winner of the Northern Expedition was the Kuomintang, and its military strength, source and context still came from the Southwest Power School.