Episode 138: Your Majesty, Please Hand Over Military Power
Foreign Minister He Ziguang summoned the German Ambassador to the Ming Dynasty, Johann Wolfgang von Heisenberg, and held secret discussions with Ambassador Heisenberg according to Shen Rongxuan's phone call and the results agreed at the imperial cabinet meeting.
Heisenberg conveyed Hitler's intention, which was that he hoped that Ming Dynasty and Germany would work together to assist Franco's army in Spain. Of course, He Ziguang could not agree directly.
He Ziguang seemed very embarrassed. He told Heisenberg about Ming's concerns. If he followed you to assist Franco, it might annoy the Soviet Union. Then the Soviet Union would make some small moves on the northern border, withdraw a few divisions, and use the When the Qing Dynasty came to "hunt cattle across the mountains", it was too much for the Ming Dynasty.
Heisenberg seemed to have thought of what Ming Dynasty had to say. He immediately followed what Ribbentrop told him and began to persuade He Ziguang. That is to say, he put forward various arguments, data, and used various methods to prove that the Soviet Union would not do this. , at least the Soviet Union would not do this because of this trivial matter. The border dispute between the Soviet Union and the Qing Dynasty has never ended. How could it withdraw its troops for such a thing? And the Qing Dynasty is not a fool, how could it be possible to temporarily withdraw because of the Soviet Union? Just because the British transferred a few soldiers from Burma, would the Ming Dynasty transfer a large number of southern armies to the Yangtze River defense line? There is also the famous ancient Chinese military thought of "diplomacy at a distance and attack at a close distance". This point could not be more appropriate when applied to the relationship between Su, Qing and Ming...
Anyway, after all is said and done, Heisenberg just wants to say: Just follow us to help Franco, and I guarantee that nothing will happen, and nothing will happen to you.
Finally, He Ziguang asked him to go back first, and the matter would be discussed at a cabinet meeting. In fact, the results had already been discussed in the cabinet. This just seemed more realistic. Heisenberg went back first.
The next day, on the morning of July 21, He Ziguang summoned Heisenberg again and asked him to convey Ming's wishes to Prime Minister Hitler, that Ming would work with Germany to assist Franco's army. Because Germany's friend is Ming friends.
Heisenberg was overjoyed, and He Ziguang put forward another condition. That is, in view of Ming's own vital interests, the assistance must be carried out secretly. Germany cannot make a big fuss about "Ming's aid to Franco". Conduct a publicity campaign.
Heisenberg also agreed wholeheartedly. Because it was early in the war, even the assistance from Italy and Germany was still secretive.
Finally, Ambassador Heisenberg conveyed Prime Minister Hitler's gratitude. He said that the Prime Minister will always remember Ming Dynasty's friendship with Germany and that Ming Dynasty stood with Germany at critical moments.
Next, relevant personnel from both sides began a meeting to discuss the specific details of Ming's aid. What materials, how much, time, route, etc.
…
At the same time, in the imperial study room of the Forbidden City, Zheng Gongyin was holding a newspaper for Zhu Yourong to read.
This is a copy of the "20th Century Freedom Forum". There is an article titled: "It has been more than half a year since the armistice. When will the royal family hand over power?"
Zhu Yourong frowned, lowered his head and held the newspaper, reading it carefully, moving his lips as he read silently.
Zheng Gongyin stood aside, his face was ugly, with blue and white patches on his face. Zheng Yucong also stood next to Zhu Yourong, looking at his father and his cousin for a while, his eyes rolled around without making a sound.
The main content of this article is:
Half a year ago, when the Manchu Qing Dynasty mobilized the whole country to prepare for a large-scale invasion of the south, Fang Hongru's cabinet was greedy for power and refused to hand over power to the royal family in accordance with the constitution. Therefore, the royal family established the People's Guard, launched a New Year's coup, seized the power to command the army, and formed a new People's Guard.
New Cabinet. During the Jiangnan Defense War,
In order to defend Nanjing and ensure that the country's gates were not broken, Her Majesty the Queen risked her life and stayed behind, which boosted the morale of the country's military and civilians and blocked the Qing Dynasty's invasion of the south. This incident made the people of the country love Her Majesty the Queen even more, and the royal family's coup to seize power was in line with the spirit of the Constitution.
, so the people also support it.
But now, there has been an armistice between the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and half a year has passed. However, the control of the national army is still firmly in the hands of Her Majesty the Queen. The cabinet has to go to discuss with Her Majesty all major and minor matters involving the army, and even many
At that time, His Majesty did not ask the cabinet at all.
, directly bypassing the cabinet and making the decision himself. This shows that the power to control the army is still firmly in the hands of His Majesty, and has no intention of returning it to the cabinet. On the contrary, he is constantly expanding the army and preparing for war, in order to retain the power in his hands.
It means to actively provoke a war.
This is already unconstitutional.
Finally, the author writes:
I am not a talented student, but I dare to ask the Chief Minister, when can I take the constitution and ask Her Majesty the Queen to take back control of the army?
The common people are incompetent. May I ask Her Majesty the Queen, when will she respect the Constitution and return control of the Ming Dynasty's army to the cabinet?
…
The author's signature is "Dong Lin Mo and other students".
After Zhu Yourong finished reading the article, he silently put down the newspaper, held his forehead, lowered his head and remained silent.
"It turns out that everyone thought I was expanding the army for the sake of power..." She buried her face in her hands and murmured, "I'm not... I really am not..."
Zheng Yuqing quietly came up to her, gently stroked her cousin's long shawl hair, and advised softly:
"cousin……"
Zheng Gongyin gritted his teeth and said:
"This 'Dongli Junior Student' is really disgusting. I asked someone to ask. This person has never published an article in a newspaper before. It is a new pen name. I also asked someone to find out where this kid came from, but unfortunately I couldn't.
Come out. The manuscript was delivered to the newspaper from a public mailbox. It has no address and no signature. The newspaper still doesn’t know how to send the royalties to the author. However, this guy posted it to a mailbox in this city, which means he is from Nanjing."
Zhu Yourong shook his head and said sadly:
"Actually, he doesn't have to be like this... We in the Ming Dynasty don't need to be like this. Even if he writes an article with his real name, no one will do anything to him..."
Zheng Gongyin also snorted coldly:
"That's right. Do we have literary prisons in Ming Dynasty? Can we be punished for words? Rongrong, let me tell you, this guy has a guilty conscience. You see, his pen name is 'Dong Lin Mo Deng Sheng', which clearly shows that he has a guilty conscience."
He is from Donglin. My uncle is quite experienced in reading words, and he is not like Donglin at all.
A student from Lin University, he seems to be an official in the Donglin Party cabinet. My uncle told you that 80% of it was written by Mr. Shen Ge. His cabinet was obtained for him by our coup, so he is not good either.
You are obviously asking for power from us, but you are just playing tricks like this. Rongrong, don’t you think so?”
Zhu Yourong shook his head and said nothing.
"What's wrong, Rongrong?" Zheng Gongyin was anxious, rubbing his hands beside him and saying, "It must be him! Analyze it... Otherwise, we can find a reason to replace him, and then replace him with someone who is obedient."
Zhu Yourong shook his head and sighed:
"It's not him."
"Why not him?"
"I don't know..." Zhu Yourong said silently, "Anyway, I don't think it's him."
After a moment of silence, Zhu Yourong raised his head and said seriously:
"Otherwise, I will return the military power to Mr. Shen Ge... Anyway, Mr. Shen Ge agrees with our political views on all major matters now. Especially the war against the Qing Dynasty, Mr. Shen Ge should also support it. I will If the military power is handed over to him, he will do a better job than me in preparing for war, and it will be more legitimate... We will only retain... we will only retain the People's Guard."
As soon as he said this, not only Zheng Gongyin, but also Zheng Yucong looked at him dumbfounded.
Zheng Yucong immediately saw that her cousin actually planned to hand over the People's Guard. The reason why she kept it was just for Xiang Xiaoqiang alone.
…
"Rongrong you..." Zheng Gongyin was really anxious, his face turned pale, and he didn't know what to say for a moment, "Rongrong you... you are not... you don't know... this..."
Zhu Yourong looked at him, sighed slowly, and said:
"Uncle, I know what you want to say. I also know that you are doing it for my own good and our family's good. But... I really don't want the Ming Dynasty to go back. You know the Qing Dynasty went back... Guangxu's incident The DPRK did a good job at first, but then turned around. It was only after the unification of the DPRK that it became what it is today. The army was strong, but wolves were everywhere, and the people were in dire straits. I really don’t want the Ming Dynasty to become like that."
"Rongrong, Rongrong," Zheng Gongyin finally remembered how to speak, and blurted out a series of words, "You heard my uncle said that power belongs to everyone, and it is different who has it. Puyi That kid was cruel, suspicious and incompetent by nature. No matter whether he took power or delegated power to ministers, the country would not be better. Guangxu was quite capable. He clamored for reform and reform, but other things were maintained. The maintenance was on his own head, but he did not delegate power in the end. But what about centralization of power? Didn’t the Qing Dynasty recover from the mess caused by the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1891? It still owes Japan nearly 100 million taels for compensation of 200 million taels. Japan has not said anything and is still on the same page as the Qing Dynasty. Take it out.
"Actually, let me tell you, the common people are sheep, so what if there are wolves all over the place? So what if the people can't make a living? Those who stutter can't rebel. Don't talk about the Qing Dynasty, isn't that the same in the Soviet Union? Stalin keeps a tight grip on power, right? Don't say the people can't make a living. It's so bloody, so what's the matter? People's countries are strong, and they speak more forcefully than we do. Britain and the United States did not survive the Great Depression, but the Soviet Union did. Germany also used to decentralize power, and the country was freed. It was almost bankrupt. As soon as Chancellor Hitler came to power and took away power, the economy improved. Not to mention, in just two years they were able to challenge Britain and France. Britain and France did not dare to restore the compulsory military service system and occupy the Rhineland. How.
"So didn't someone say that the best system in the world is a wise monarch who implements dictatorship? My uncle told you, look at these examples, this is true. The little emperor of the Qing Dynasty is not speaking rudely. Very good? Well, let's take... Take the last incident of the Grasshopper submarine as an example. Xiang Xiaoqiang had rescued all twelve people for the first time, but he only said one sentence - he is not an emperor yet, he is just a human being. Princess, she is the Princess of Liaoyang - with just one sentence, she went to our land to kidnap people back. What about our side? A group of ministers held a meeting all night, fighting and throwing water, and in the end even one person I don’t dare to save, I’m so weak that I don’t need to say much about it. Fifty years ago, it was just a matter of a word from the emperor, and the ministers had to listen to it if they were unhappy. It’s not like now, Your uncle and I sat there, not even daring to say a word, and let those officials get in our way."
Zhu Yourong was obviously used to his uncle's loud mouth, so he didn't react at all. He just lay in the armchair, lowered his eyes, and turned the teacup time and time again, admiring the reflection of the tea in the teacup.