Chapter 33 Osaka Winter Battle

In November of the 20th year of Guangxu and January of 1895, Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Empire officially promulgated the "Imperial Land Acres Decree" and the "Six-year Land Reform Plan" submitted by the cabinet. As a result, the Imperial Council fell into chaos.

'In chaos'.

"The cabinet decided to implement such a major reform without deliberation from the Senior Council. It completely ignored public opinion. It was a despicable move to deceive the emperor and confuse the public. In particular, the Central Democratic Party officials who dominated the cabinet used their real power to hold the emperor hostage.

, eliminate dissidents and clean up foreign parties, which runs counter to its claim to 'support the emperor and promote the people's rights', and the tampering intention is evident!"

Liang Qichao, the vice-president of the royalist party, who is wrapped in a robe and mandarin jacket and has a melon cap covering his head, said this.

The vice-president of the Noble Association, Wang Yixi of Dejun County, whose braid was tied with golden silk thread, also seized the opportunity to make a special comment: "The president of our party, Prince Zhirui of Shunjun County, is a member of the cabinet, but he knows nothing about this matter!

The top leaders of our party unanimously believe that the New Army headed by Liu Yun and the cabinet headed by Wen Yi have been usurping power for a long time. They do not want to assist the emperor and educate the people, but they do unjust things, act arbitrarily and dictatorially, and abandon thousands of good gentlemen.

Without caring, only knowing how to please the foolish and unruly people, if you go on like this, where will the way of Confucius and Mencius be? Without the way of Confucius and Mencius, can the state be preserved? If the state of our Qing Dynasty cannot be preserved, even if the front lines are full of good news, it will be nothing more than an animal doing what an animal does. Seoul

His ugly behavior is enough to judge the words of this king!"

Tan Sitong, a former non-party member who had just become a member of the Standing Committee of the Executive Committee of the Chinese Democratic Party three weeks ago, immediately stood up and refuted: "What Prince De said is wrong. Prince Shun is now the Minister of Culture and Education in the cabinet. However, Prince Shun does not understand the mysteries of the new education system."

He only studied Confucius and Mencius without asking about new learning. He was out of tune with most of his colleagues in the cabinet. Therefore, he often did not participate in cabinet meetings and was not on the board of directors. Many major affairs of the Ministry of Culture and Education were carried out by the deputy minister Russell Lan. I wonder if this reform is also reasonable. The prince also said

It is said that President Wen of our party and General Liu of Wuwei Marquis have committed unjust acts and seized the land of the wealthy gentry to gain the favor of the people. I would like to tell the prince clearly that Wuwei Marquis has always only engaged in military affairs and not concerned with political affairs. What the prince just said has no basis.

There seems to be suspicion of defamation..."

"Fart! Who am I, the king? How dare you accuse me of slander..."

As soon as Yi Xi's words came out, he knew that he had violated the precepts of the Zizhengyuan, so he stopped quickly. However, the speaker heard clearly and immediately pronounced the sentence with a hammer: "His Royal Highness Yixi, the noble councilor Dejun Wang, you have violated Article 8 of the precepts of the Zizhengyuan."

——You are not allowed to speak dirty words and slander others. According to the "Management Decree of Zizhengyuan" issued by the emperor in the 19th year of Guangxu's reign, you are now asked to leave the meeting hall of Zizhengyuan and you are not allowed to return before dawn tomorrow."

"What, you're driving me away? I'm the prince..." Yi Xi was still trying to cheat, but two military policemen had already rushed to stop beside him. If he didn't get up from his seat within one minute after the military police stood still, the military police would have

Quan used force to drag him away.

Even in order to preserve personal dignity, most people would still leave the meeting hall voluntarily. Although Yi Xi was a prince, he had no choice but to get up obediently and walked away quickly under the escort of two military police.

"So, Mr. Speaker, can I continue what I just said?" Tan Sitong asked.

"Please continue." There was no emotion in the speaker's voice.

"Thank you, Mr. Speaker, let me continue the answer I just gave to His Highness Prince Dejun. His Highness Prince Dejun must have not carefully read the two documents, the "Imperial Land Acres Ordinance" and the "Six-Year Land Reform Plan".

There is such a big misunderstanding. This land reform plan is based on the emperor's consistent desire to enrich the country and strengthen the army, as well as the cabinet's policy of realizing the industrialization of the empire. It does not have the intention of robbing the rich to benefit the people. Let me explain below.

The key points of the above two documents are briefly summarized to put things in perspective."

Tan Sitong adjusted the collar of his suit and pushed back his shoulder-length hair. Then he took out a small piece of paper from the small leather bag under his seat, put it in the palm of his hand and read it as he said: "The preamble of the Imperial Land Decree states that

, Today, in our Kingdom of Heaven, land agglomeration is increasing day by day. Tens of thousands of large and small landowners control most of the world's acres, while tens of millions to tens of millions of civilians have no place to stand and have to rent land from landlords to make a living. Landlords often use real estate

They exploited 50% to 70% of the harvest from the tenant farmers, and also used usury to make huge profits when the tenant farmers were unable to pay the rent. As a result, the majority of farmers were in poverty and could not stand up, and even "forced" good people to become bandits. Groups of bandits, Xianfeng, and Tongzhi were involved in the Taiping cult.

Sweeping across the south of the Yangtze River is a lesson to wake up the world! However, the ancestral land of the landlords was created by the hard work of generations. It cannot be taken for free, and it is afraid of starting an evil example of the 'government' misappropriating private property. For this reason, the first cabinet of the empire discussed with the Holy Spirit

, decided to use the redemption system and the state loan system to solve the problem..."

"...According to the six-year land reform plan, under the leadership of the Imperial Land Reform Commission appointed by the emperor, the empire implemented state redemption of landowners' land that still occupied more than one hundred acres after the land was cleared in the 20th year of Guangxu's reign. The redemption was limited to a limit exceeding one

For that part of 100 acres, land within 100 acres can still be retained. In addition, in areas with less than three acres of land per capita, the redemption line is reduced to 30 acres... The redemption price is based on the "Agricultural Regulations" promulgated in the 19th year of Guangxu's reign.

"Land Assessment Regulations" for evaluation... After completing the delivery procedures, the landowner can obtain a passbook that can be exchanged and transferred at any branch of the Imperial Commercial Bank, which contains all the land payments paid to him by the state... The advantage of this is that

Reduce the issuance of banknotes to prevent market prices from skyrocketing..."

“...the land converted to state ownership will be partially incorporated into the national farm system, and most of it will be distributed with compensation to farmers with little or no land...The specific form of paid distribution is that the state transfers land ownership to landless farmers.

Land, farmers with little land, and the farmers who receive the land bear a debt equivalent to the land price accordingly. This debt does not include interest and is repaid by the farmers who receive the land in installments. If they fail to pay, they must serve a certain period of labor.

During this period, their land is subleased by the state to others for cultivation. Before the loan is repaid, farmers are not allowed to transfer or rent the land without authorization. After the loan is repaid, the state issues a land ownership certificate, and farmers can sublease or subcontract the land. However,

Purchases and sales must be approved by the Land Administration Bureau at or above the county level... In order to prevent landlords from taking advantage of farmers' difficulties in repaying loans to annex land with usurious loans or loan repayments, regulations have also been made that once land is allocated, it cannot be bought or sold within ten years..."

"...The national farm is owned by the Imperial Reclamation Company, which employs a group of agricultural workers on a voluntary basis to carry out modern agricultural production. Once the scale reaches a certain level, it will be opened to a fully joint-stock system, achieving marketization and privatization, recovering the redemption funds, and freeing the country from direct operations.

The baggage..."

Tan Sitong was talking eloquently there, and most of the aristocratic MPs on the opposite side were shaking their heads - they were either opposed, and most of them did not understand. The civilian MPs around him were equally divided between praise and criticism. The new mouthpieces of the royalist party - two

Liang Qichao, who had just defected from the Central Democratic Party a few months ago, could not tolerate that guy who had no party or roots and took advantage of the rules of the Zizheng Yuan to keep speaking (the Zizheng Yuan Management Act stipulates that a member can continue to speak until he sits down.

Unless he violated the precepts of the Zizhengyuan, no one has the right to stop him from continuing to speak). He stood up slowly and said to Tan Sitong in a calm tone: "Mr. Zhuang Fei, may I ask a question?"

Tan Sitong had heard of Liang Zhi's name early on, and originally intended to join the Chinese Democratic Party through Liang Zhi's recommendation. Unexpectedly, Liang died midway, and his desired colleague became his opponent. Tan Sitong did not mind, and raised his hand to signal: "Mr. Ren Gong, please do it."

"

Liang Qichao first said: "Thank you", then he cleared his throat and said in a measured voice: "Sir, you know that the land that the gentry relies on has been handed down from generation to generation. Now they have purchased a large amount of land to have bank deposits. However, the interest generated by the bank is not enough."

If you want to maintain your health, you can only sit and eat. If the court does this, won't it end the life path of the gentry?"

Tan Sitong felt funny in his heart - how could this Mr. Liang utter such unreasonable words - he said: "The way to get rich today is through industry, commerce and shipping. Owning land and collecting rents can only make you well-off, but it is difficult to build a great country.

Purchasing the land of the gentry will give the gentry capital and opportunities to invest in industrial and commercial industries and make them rich. The national income will also be greatly increased. With the national treasury sufficient, it can raise elite soldiers to fight against foreign invaders and ensure the safety of the people. This is exactly what the emperor wants.

It is also a long-cherished wish to 'make the country rich and strengthen its army'."

Liang Qichao retorted: "The gentry has relied on the fields for a long time to make a living. Now the land is taken away and forced to work in other industries. If the gentry is not good at management, they may lose everything. What?"

"What Mr. Ren said, the cabinet has taken into consideration, so it has formulated a six-year land reform plan to acquire land in phases and in batches. According to the "Regulations on Rewarding Industry and Commerce in the Twenty Years of Guangxu" promulgated in the middle of this year, those who invest in new light industrial factories will be exempted.

Half of the first year's tax, heavy industry factories are exempt from the first year's tax, and exported industrial goods can receive state tax rebate subsidies. In addition, throughout the empire, there are many business schools, engineering schools, foreign trade universities, and Jiaotong University, which are good at business and understand

There is an endless supply of talents with skills and adaptability. As long as the gentry is willing to invest the capital from land sales as shares into the industry, and professional agents can be hired to handle the specific operations, wouldn't the gentry be comfortable just sitting on the dividends? Even if there are occasional losses, the market situation is like a flood of insects.

, the rise and fall of industry, the way of heaven, how strange it is!"

Tan Sitong paused and saw that Liang Qichao was still thinking with a frown. He did not wait for his response and began to attack: "Ren Gong is so worried about the livelihood of the wealthy gentry, why does he not consider the livelihood of the hungry and cold tenants? There are only tens of thousands of gentry, but the tenants are not.

There is a saying in ancient times that the ruler is light but the people are important. In today's general situation of the country, which one is more important and which is more important can be seen with a clear eye. Is it because you are a wealthy gentry and landlord in your family that you favor one over another?"

Liang Qichao was treated harshly, but his face did not change, and he said slowly: "This is wrong. The gentry has read poetry and books, and is well versed in the principles of governing the country. They are the pillars of the country and the role models of the people. How can the country not take care of the gentry?"

Think about it? If a country has no good people, it will not be a good country. If the people do not have Confucianism, it will not be a good country. If Confucianism does not have gentry, it will not last long. If gentry does not have land, it will be difficult to live. And if there is no education for small farmers, it will be difficult to repay the loan on time, and then labor will become a disaster.

, all the people in the world are depleting the national treasury, and the country is burdened with tens of millions of debts from the gentry, wouldn’t it mean that everyone in the country will lose their trust and chaos will arise?"

Before he finished speaking, some gentry and aristocratic members quickly took the opportunity to make a fuss.

"well said!"

"What Mr. Ren said is true from the bottom of our hearts!"

"The cabinet usurps power, blackmails the emperor, acts arbitrarily without caring about public opinion, and integrates military and political affairs. This is really treason!"

“The cabinet is down!”

"Liu Yun resigns!"

"The emperor is in charge!"

"The collusion between the military and the government to imprison the emperor is truly treasonous and unethical. We are willing to march forward with our swords drawn, and the Qing emperor will tell the spirit of the late emperor and receive great reforms to resolve the national crisis!"

After a brief hesitation, most of the CDP legislators began to fight back. The venue was filled with shouts and squawks. They pointed fingers at each other, spit and spit flew, and the verbal battle reached a fever pitch. I don’t know who made the move first, and the literary drama turned into a martial drama.

, fists and feet replaced words, and congressmen became hooligans.

"Quiet! Quiet!" The Speaker held his chin and struck the hammer hard. After hitting the hundredth blow, he decided to let the military police solve the problem.

Fifty gendarmes on duty rushed in waving black and white wooden sticks. They dragged away more than a dozen congressmen after a series of blows and kicks. The remaining congressmen hurriedly ran back to their seats and sat down. Order was restored in the venue.

In the auditorium at the upper side of the venue, a middle-aged man in a straight suit with short hair and no beard watched the live drama with gusto. He turned to the two young people behind him and said: "Democracy takes time to cultivate. I said

You must be right."

The handsome young man with his hair parted in the middle, a suit and tie, smiled and said, "Mr. Doctor, this is more enjoyable than watching a movie."

Another young man with short hair that reached his ears, wearing a black coat and breeches and vest, smiled bitterly and shook his head: "How long do we at the Ministry of Culture and Education have to work hard to prevent today's events from happening again...

"

The middle-aged man said: "There are people on the front lines who bleed for the country, and there are people in the Zizhengyuan who bleed for personal gain. This is not bad, because only a few people are harmed. The most terrifying thing is that the heroes with huge energy are fighting for it."

With more power and interests, the entire country will be pushed into the Shura Hell of killing each other. At this time, once a powerful enemy invades, the people will suffer more suffering, and the country is more likely to embark on the path of disintegration or becoming a vassal. We

I came here precisely to prevent similar disasters from happening, to rescue our motherland from the predicament created by our predecessors, and to build a free, democratic, and powerful new country. This is the common dream of Liu Yun and I.

!”

"Professor Wen... This is also the dream of both of us." The young man with short ear-cut hair - 26-year-old Russell Lan, the deputy minister of the Imperial Minister of Culture and Education, said softly.

The middle-aged man - Vice-Minister of the Imperial Prime Minister Wen Yi suddenly showed a deceitful smile: "It's the first time for you two... the progress has been very fast recently."

"What are you talking about..." The two young men blushed at the same time.

Wen Yi smiled and shook his head: "I didn't say anything, just telling the truth... Zhigao, Ronaldinho, I have used you like slaves for the past four years and deprived you of almost all your personal space. You must have some feelings for me."

I have a lot of grievances. It doesn’t matter if I say it. In fact, I also feel guilty in my heart. If you talk about it, I will feel more relaxed."

The young man with a split head in the middle - 27-year-old Imperial Foreign Minister Zhang Zhigao gently shook his head: "Professor Wen, when we swore allegiance to Captain Liu, we were ready to give up everything and die for our ideals, let

We have work to do, which is the greatest care for us. You don’t have to worry about us, we are still young and still have time..."
To be continued...