From March to May, the Preparatory Committee's actions became increasingly large, and there were more and more news reports about the imperial system.
In the past six months, neither Yuan Shikai personally nor the Beiyang government made any public response to the issue of imperialism. Even if they did, they were just private remarks. The only official thing about the imperial system was
At a press conference held in Yingtai at the end of last year, reporters raised questions about the imperial system to Yuan Su.
Domestic public sentiment is still immersed in the atmosphere of "national self-improvement" every day, and under the guidance of the mouthpiece of the Beiyang government, more and more people are beginning to favor the imperial system, and even join the Preparatory Committee to advocate the imperial system.
It was precisely in view of the growing voice in the country that Yuan Shikai was "forced" to make a formal reply at the State Council Office on May 6. He denied that he had any intention to change the country's political system, expressing that diplomatic public opinion and academic discussions by civil society groups,
It has no connection with the Beiyang government.
Such an answer is obviously hasty. No matter in terms of wording or tone, Yuan Shikai's answer does not hit the point. It just expresses his "attitude" in a very soft way. Of course, whether it is within Beiyang or among the people,
Some knowledgeable people know very well that this so-called official reply is nothing more than a false one from Yuan Shikai. Just like all emperors who were "persuaded" in history, they must first consider the voice of the general government and the people.
Only then can we proceed to the next step. bThe president deeply loves bbhttp:mnxub
It’s just like a process! Because of this, some non-mainstream newspapers in the South also published some satirical articles to expose Yuan Shikai’s hypocrisy. It’s a pity that these non-mainstream newspapers can generally only be regarded as “internal documents”
"Come to circulate, most people will not pay much attention to it, and have never even heard of the name of this newspaper.
As everyone expected, by the end of May, Vice President Li Yuanhong, Sichuan Military Affairs General Office Chen Huan, Finance Minister Liang Shiyi, Guangdong Patrol Envoy Long Jiguang, Shanxi Governor Yan Xishan, Shandong Governor Jin Yunpeng,
Shandong Military Affairs General Zhang Huaizhi, Hubei Governor Wang Zhanyuan and other central and local officials jointly submitted a petition to persuade Zhongyun Liwu to say a lot of nice things, hoping that President Yuan Shikai would comply with public opinion.
This time, many officials from the central government and local governments were involved, and the momentum and influence were extremely large, which aroused widespread concern from people from all walks of life. However, most people still did not express any objection, even the student groups, which are usually the most enthusiastic.
, it seems that they all just keep a wait-and-see attitude.
Yuan Shikai was very happy with the response of the people to this matter, but he was not in a hurry to agree to it immediately. There must be no missing steps in the process. Since there were not many objections from the people, he would naturally be able to do more.
Take your time and take the path below.
In early June, the Presidential Palace in Beijing solemnly held a press conference and invited many guests to attend. They even invited several politicians who had been active in the revolutionary party to attend. In
At the meeting, Yuan Shikai said in a very serious tone that he had never considered persuading him to join, and would never dare to have such extravagant hopes. In terms of attitude and form, he was obviously more sincere than the first time.
A closer analysis shows that what Yuan Shikai said at this press conference was actually much more vague than the first time. Not only did he still not clearly express his personal views on the imperial system, but he also seemed to have reservations.
To put it simply, Yuan Shikai never opposed the imperial system from beginning to end, nor did he say anything like "severely punishing those who spread rumors about the emperor."
Everything is just a show!
Although most people in the country have no objections to the imperial system, it does not mean that there are no real objections. While Yuan Shikai was shaking his head and laying the groundwork for the imperial system in Beijing, and was always putting on a show, Yuan Su had earlier
Gao Shun, who arranged to go south to Shanghai, sent back the first confidential telegram on June 5.
Gao Shun left for the south at the end of March. He first stayed in Shanghai for a while, then went to Hong Kong and Guangzhou. Finally, he seemed to have learned some news and hurriedly returned to Shanghai. He spent these two months of hard work
After the information collected by the rush was summarized, it was immediately sent to Tianjin in encrypted form.
In this sealed message, Gao Shun first briefly introduced the social conditions of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and the five southwestern provinces where revolutionary forces are most active. The preparatory committee has always emphasized activities in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other places, and the purpose is to start with the places where revolutionary forces gather.
Sow the seeds of momentum. The current social situation in these provinces is still different from what is reported in newspapers. There are people who oppose it and people who support it, but these two types of people are in the minority, whether they are workers or not.
Most people, including students, politicians, and gentry, maintained a very calm attitude towards this matter.
It has to be said that the Preparatory Committee borrowed something from Yuan Su more or less in the process of publicity and momentum. Yuan Su's statement happened to be prosperous at that time, so it had a very good effect. In terms of Yang Du,
Or other officials of the Security Council who advocated imperialism. They all used the banner of imperialism to promote centralization of power to the outside world, and repeatedly exaggerated the current state system and politics as a pseudo-republic and pseudo-democratic. Instead of continuing to pretend, it is better to put things right once and for all.
Done well, the long-term pain will be worse than the short-term pain.
Many ordinary people do not know what centralization means at all. Even if some people know the meaning of centralization, they do not know the relationship between imperialism and centralization. They are just following what others say, and the Preparatory Committee and a group of people who advocate imperialism propagandize and build momentum.
, everyone naturally believed it.
After all, centralization of power is an important prerequisite for ensuring the reunification of the north and the south of China. The common people have long hated civil war, so they quickly tended to advocate imperialism at this point. Even the few people who really understand the truth frequently question the ability of an imperial system.
It is a pity that the argument for promoting centralization of power is lightly spoken and rarely heard.
In addition, Gao Shun also mentioned in the cable that the four southwestern provinces, led by Yunnan, had a secret meeting some time ago. Of course, the so-called secret meeting with the governors of the four provinces was not present in person, but only with the governors of the four provinces.
They dispatched their closest confidants and all arrived in Lijiang to meet.
However, the content of this meeting is still unknown. Considering the time, place, and people, the only thing that can be determined now is that this meeting will not be fake.
The above are all certain news, and there are some additional uncertain gossips. The first is that the Chinese Revolutionary Party, which was originally on the run in Japan because it was wanted, has also secretly sent people back to the country recently, but it is not a big deal.
Some of them are still gathering in Hong Kong or Yunnan. The second is the news that Lin Boxen recently inquired about. It seems that the Chinese Revolutionary Party has different internal opinions on Yuan Shikai's plan for imperialism.
After experiencing the disastrous defeat of the second revolution, coupled with the Beiyang government's insistence on regaining Qingdao's sovereignty and openly fighting Japan in Liaodong, after a series of ebb and flow events, the previous revolutionaries have been more or less affected.
Some influences. Even within revolutionary groups, there are many different factions. Some of these factions are steadfast idealists, some are pragmatists, and some are professional revolutionaries.
Now the country has finally stabilized, and the Beiyang government is not at all as hopeless as imagined. Coupled with various struggles within the revolutionary groups, the split in opinions and attitudes has accelerated.
It is said that there are generally three voices within the Chinese Revolutionary Party. Most of them still support the overthrow of Yuan. The remaining part believes that we should wait and see what happens. The other part believes in the propaganda of the Security Council and believes that we should try to carry out a national revolution.
Breakthrough changes in the system. If it succeeds, it is naturally good. If it fails, it will not be too late to bring down Yuan. bThe president deeply loves bbhttp:mnxub
Among the latter two, many people are motivated by national hatred towards Japan. A series of incidents in Qingdao and Liaodong made these people realize that the Japanese are not as friendly as they appear on the surface. As the saying goes, hating something will inevitably lead to hatred.
On a related matter, many people naturally dislike Sun Yat-sen and others for being close to the Japanese.