The news of President Wanda's recruitment of disciples soon spread to the south of the Yangtze River, and the public opinion in the south of the Yangtze River was immediately in an uproar. The great-state spirit of the Republic of China conquered those small gentry, and many of them even wished they were born as citizens of the Republic of China. Of course, this kind of It's okay to deceive the common people through political shows, but Wan Lei doesn't expect it to impress the feudal officials of the provinces who really hold real power.
If you want these people with real power to come back, deception will not work. The key is to add carrots and sticks. The carrot is to give practical benefits, including political and economic benefits; there are two main sticks. One is to send troops to suppress the situation; Anyone who disobeys will be beaten; the second is to launch a united front offensive, mobilizing the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River, and overthrow anyone who disobeys.
Wan Lei sent people here to instigate the provinces to secede from the Ming Dynasty and join China, but the Ming court was in chaos. The constitutionalists who originally had illusions about the constitutional monarchy saw that the provinces were still seeking autonomy, and internal divisions occurred. Some people advocated immediate The implementation of the constitution was to stop the evil trend of self-government. Some petty officials saw that the Ming Dynasty was in turmoil and saw no future, so they simply ran away.
Some of the officials who fled returned to their hometowns, either to wait and see or to help local governments implement self-government. Some of them were relatively bachelors and simply ran across the river to find another career. Wan Lei said to these Ming officials who came here, They are all given preferential treatment, either staying in Beijing as editors, or allowing them to enter the Administrative Academy for emergency training, and then be selected as local officials by the Ministry of Personnel.
The merits should be given to the poor, and officials should be given to officials. The Republic of China was so "generous" that it caused a wave of officials to flee north. In the Ming Dynasty, both the central ministries and local provincial governments began to experience "official shortages" , many yamen are no longer able to function normally, and the government is almost in a state of paralysis.
The tragic song of the demise of the Ming Dynasty was about to begin, but Emperor Jianwen was discussing with his distinguished ministers about deploying troops to quell the autonomous "rebellion" in the four coastal provinces. He used iron-blooded means to scare chickens and monkeys, stop the "bad trend" of demanding autonomy, and safeguard the Ming Dynasty. rule.
However, what the Ming Dynasty lacked most was the army. Emperor Jianwen could control more than 200,000 troops from the capital. Some of them were sent to Huguang, Yunnan, Guangxi and Xi’an to suppress the rebellion. Only about 150,000 remained in the capital. These troops On the one hand, we must guard against the Peiping Army in the north, and on the other hand, we must enter Zhejiang, Fujian and other provinces to "quell the rebellion." This is simply an impossible task.
You must know that the local guard posts in Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi and other provinces ranged from tens of thousands to as many as 100,000 people, all of which were controlled by local separatist forces. Even if the Ming Dynasty sent out all 100,000 Beijing troops to quell the rebellion, It is also a province that has been defeated, and the other provinces will not just wait for the imperial army to defeat them one by one, let alone the Peiping Army, which has been eyeing them eagerly. It would be strange if they did not take the opportunity to go south.
The military strength was stretched thin, so Emperor Jianwen discussed with the emperor's relatives, nobles and generals, but they could not think of a practical solution. And the civil servants have now collectively "de-Ming Dynasty". In normal court meetings, everyone They were clamoring to establish a constitution immediately, but Emperor Jianwen didn't even want to see them.
Rebellions are everywhere, provinces are disloyal, and monarchs and ministers are unethical. These are the key words of the Ming Dynasty in the first year of Huali. Each of them is enough to bring the Ming Dynasty into collapse, let alone three at the same time. The Ming Dynasty is now unable to recover, but The centipede is dead but not stiff.
In October, the north wind blew, and four large warships were parked on the beach of Hangzhou Bay, attracting local people to watch from a distance. On the beach by the sea, the army surrounded an open space and placed several tables and chairs. It seemed that they were going to Have a meeting.
Yes, this is a meeting. The minister with full power to deal with the peaceful reunification of Jiangnan and the naval commander Liu Wenxiu came to Zhejiang in person to formally contact the important officials of the Zhejiang Autonomous Province to discuss the peaceful reunification. Wuzhong, the former Zhejiang chief envoy, was appointed as the inspector. Zhou Xin, the capital commander Jin Zhen and others also came from Hangzhou to attend the meeting.
In fact, among the chief officials of the three departments in Zhejiang, the one who really holds the real power is Jin Zhen, the commander of the military power, followed by Wuzhong, who holds the administrative power. As for the inspector general Zhou Xin, he is just a trap. Liu Wenxiu came here this time. Come on, the main people you need to convince are Jin Zhen and Wuzhong.
The meeting was held on the beach. The armies of both sides were one mile away. Liu Wenxiu landed on a small landing boat. Only Wu Zhong from Jinzhen dared to show up. After all, they were afraid that the Peking Army would detain them.
"Everyone, please take a seat." Liu Wenxiu raised his hand and motioned for everyone to sit down. Although there were only four people behind him, these four people were all loyal guards, so he was not afraid of the other party's deception at all. Even though they had more than a dozen people behind them, they didn't dare to make a move in vain. After all, there were five warships behind Liu Wenxiu. If a fight broke out, no one would be able to benefit.
"By order of the President of the Republic of China, I am here to discuss matters of peaceful reunification with you. This is the President's authorization letter." Liu Wenxiu handed a document to the other party.
Jin Zhen took the document first and saw that it was stamped with the seal of "President of the Republic of China" and there was an anti-counterfeiting watermark on the document. It seemed to be genuine, so he no longer had any doubts and asked: "We are also interested in annexing our province to your country, but I don't know how your country will deal with our province?"
"Since it is a peaceful reunification, the Peking Army will not enter Zhejiang for the time being. Zhejiang Province will still maintain the status quo of autonomy. It only requires a name change and a flag change, and the constitution and laws of the Republic of China shall prevail." Liu Wenxiu said.
"How long is this temporary?" Jin Zhen is not a fool. He knows that power comes from the handle of a knife, so he asked directly.
"What the president means is that Zhejiang's autonomy will remain unchanged for five years. During these five years, officials at all levels will remain in their posts. At the same time, constitutional reforms will be carried out to prepare for the implementation of complete constitutional government." Liu Wenxiu also did not agree. It's vague, because Wan Lei has already given him the bottom line, and as long as it doesn't exceed the bottom line, he can make full decisions.
"What about five years from now?" Wuzhong also asked
"After five years, the right of autonomy will be abolished and constitutional government will be implemented. The people of Zhejiang Province will be classified as citizens of the Republic of China, and they will equally enjoy rights and perform obligations."
"After the implementation of constitutional government, how will officials at all levels be arranged?" Wuzhong asked again.
"Our country adheres to the principle of appointing people on their own merit. Anyone who has both ability and political integrity can be appointed and promoted, and will be given the opportunity to enter the administrative academy for training in order to master our country's customary governance methods. Those with corrupt records, or those who are mediocre and incompetent will be removed. In theory, the vacant places will be filled by selecting talents from your province."
"How to arrange the army?" Jin Zhen asked. He was in the military system, and he was concerned about whether the army in hand could no longer exist.
"The army has also implemented reforms. Some soldiers who are good at fighting can be selected to join the Peking Army. Some capable soldiers serve as civilian police and are responsible for local security. Those who are unwilling to join the army are given fields and allowed to make a living on their own."
Liu Wenxiu paused and saw that Jin Zhen's face was a little ugly, and then said: "But please don't worry, General Jin. The President has issued a special order to give you a place as a military committee member and enjoy general-level treatment. As for the thousands of people in each guard station, Household officials and the Military Commission will also make arrangements and will not deprive them of their military power."
Jin Zhen's face looked better when he heard that the military power would not be deprived. Isn't the purpose of putting so much effort into bringing out the army to promote self-government? But he didn't have a fever. He knew that separatist rule was just a fantasy. The tens of thousands of troops he has at his disposal cannot stop the Peking Army at all.
Moreover, the people of Zhejiang dared to go against the emperor in order to fight for the republic and power, and no one followed him to separatist regimes. Under this situation, it was only a matter of time before the Republic of China unified the world, and Jin Zhen did not dare to have too many thoughts. If he fantasizes a lot, he will be very satisfied if he can maintain his current power.
Seeing that Jin Zhen said no more, Liu Wenxiu looked at Wuzhong, Zhou Xin and others and asked, "Do you have any other opinions?"
"We want to know, after Zhejiang's uprising, can it have a seat in the Congress like other provinces in Jiangbei? Can the people of Zhejiang elect a president?" Zhou Xin asked.
"Our country's parliament is divided into two houses: the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House of Representatives is reasonably distributed according to population and territory. Generally speaking, each county has five seats, and Zhejiang is no exception. As for the Senate, it is composed of famous generals. If you want to be in the Senate, you have to serve the country."
"As a peaceful act of righteousness, you can get three seats in the Senate. However, if you want to be elected president, you have to make great contributions to the country. You are still a little short of that. You don't have to feel inferior to yourself. The Republic of China has always appointed people on their merits. From then on, Regardless of where you are born, if you have made great achievements, you will still be nominated as a presidential candidate."
Zhou Xin and Wuzhong looked at each other. In fact, they did not dare to expect to be elected president, because it would not be their turn. What they wanted, like Jin Zhen, was to retain their current power. As long as the Republic of China It was obvious that they had no intention of burning bridges, so they had no other extravagant hopes.
"This document was drafted by the President. Please take a look at it first. If there are no other opinions, then we will sign it." Liu Wenxiu took out a document from his bag and handed it over. This document is only Document No. 2. , is far from the bottom line Wan Lei can give.
After Wuzhong scanned the document, he added, "I wonder when financial assistance will be available after peaceful reunification?"
"Economic assistance to each province generally requires approval by the Senate. However, Zhejiang is a large economic province with convenient river and sea transportation. The president attaches great importance to Zhejiang's economic development. After peaceful reunification, he will send commissioners to visit the country for inspection. He will be meeting shortly. A comprehensive economic development plan will be formulated within a certain period of time.”
Liu Wenxiu paused, and then said: "Our country treats citizens equally and will never engage in regional discrimination. You don't have to have any psychological baggage. If your province truly implements constitutional rule of law, investment from large business groups will come down. Once investment is injected, Zhejiang will definitely become a major economic province and the people's lives will be improved, so you will naturally be the heroes of the country."