Chapter 216: Short checks

"An'er, are you so optimistic about constitutionalism?!" The old man asked in a divine manner. When Zhou Fu came to visit, the old man took advantage of his discomfort and went back to his room to rest. On the one hand, he was unwilling to get involved in these messy things, and on the other hand, his body was really useless.

"Ah Father, it's not that the child is optimistic about constitutionalism, but that Nanpi and Hefei value constitutionalism more. As for why Wang Wenshao got involved, the child was not sure that it was because of the restraint of Nanpi or that the governors of various southern provinces had already made a statement... But no matter what, the southern governors all unified the same words and requested constitutionalism to implement constitutionalism. The child felt that this was definitely not because of the newspaper venturing in recent months. In comparison, they were more afraid of being Li Hongzhang second. At the same time, they were not loyal to the person in the west. The fate of Hefei had become a little cold..."

"Hefei was unwilling to negotiate with Japan at the beginning, but who else in the court could have the man in the west besides him and Prince Gong? Prince Gong was also very dissatisfied with this matter..."

"The emperor could still rule the country from behind the curtain before the wedding. After the wedding, the one in the west still held power. The appointments of these second-rank officials were all taken by the empress dowager. This was even more so in the war in the 1894-1895. Didn't Ah Father say that this is inappropriate? Since Ah Father had such an idea, let alone others?! Constitutionalism is just a tool to seize power. The child thought that this newspaper discussed constitutionalism for several months was not due to temporary interest. It is estimated that someone was promoting this matter behind it. Therefore, the child was not busy submitting this memorial to avoid the end of burning. Nanpi and Hefei were the highest and the emperor was far away. The unlucky one was not the last one?!" Tan Yankai said lightly.

"So you wrote a blank check for Nanpi and Hefei?" Tan Zhonglin smiled slightly.

"In addition to the factors of power, constitutionalism is not so easy to achieve. There is still a long way to go in the middle! The people of Western power countries have a good level of education, and they can't write, and there are very few people who can read. Compared to China, China is a country of civilization, most people are busy living. Where can they have any chance to get education? It will take at least a few years to establish a constitution. At least, it is necessary for today's scholars to understand what constitutionalism means? Look at these newspapers, there are quite a few people who can really understand the meaning of constitutionalism. It is the Muyoutang, the governor of Zhili, which claims to be full of talents. The understanding of constitutionalism is different in the middle, let alone ordinary people..."

Tan Zhonglin shook his head and said, "I don't understand these things, but what are you going to deal with this?"

"The child has already discussed it with Lord Zhou. He gave a twelve-year 'preparation constitutionalism' in his father's name, and sent important officials of the court to study the constitutional government of Japan and the West and other powerful countries. After seeing this comment, Hefei and Nanpi will follow up and write a letter, so that the ministers who they could not see went abroad. As for the future, let's talk about the future. In short, these people are all old people, and their ability to change their minds is not as good as children, so how can they worry about them?!" Tan Yankai said with a smile.

Tan Zhonglin smiled and said, "An'er, don't belittle yourself. It's not easy to be able to do this for you... Although Beiyang was left in Hefei, when we got to our hands, there was nothing but the 10 million taels of silver left. Now you can make the Beiyang and the navy and army very vivid, it's really hard for you..."

Tan Yankai wrote a twelve-year constitutional forward check, which was actually to take a compromise path from Empress Dowager Cixi and many Xinjiang ministers. After twelve years, Empress Dowager Cixi's desire for power is no matter how great it is. It will be said twice whether she can live in the world. I believe that Empress Dowager Cixi herself understands this truth, which means that during her lifetime, the power of the court will be controlled by her. As for twelve years later, if Emperor Guangxu gets along with her safely, it will be the emperor's worries about taking over power.

Tan Yankai's move also alleviated the crisis of Empress Dowager Cixi. At the same time, he did not want to use the British constitutional monarchy system. As an ethnic minority, the Manchus had no foundation to rule China at all. Moreover, in modern times, they did a lot of confusing things in the face of the invasion of Western powers, and there was no reason to keep this decadent dynasty. Moreover, the Manchus have not been engaged in production since entering the pass, and they are completely supported by the Han people. The combat effectiveness is so low that they have no qualifications to control the authority of the state.

Tan Yankai looked down on the revolutionaries in the early 1911 Revolution in history. One very important reason was that they compromised the Qing Dynasty. They also spent a lot of money to support the powerful and noble royal family of the Manchus every year, and allowed them to bring out various cultural relics and antiques from royal gardens such as the Forbidden City. Most of these precious cultural relics were sold to foreigners by these people. What is the use of the country asking for people like them? What is the use of compromise for such people?

In April, Tan Zhonglin wrote a letter to the court, requesting the preparation of constitutionalism, sent ministers to Germany and Japan to investigate the reform, and sent princes and ministers to Western powers to inspect industry, political system, and military... Before this, a copy of this memorial had been secretly sent by Tan Yankai to the capital to meet the Grand Princess. After exploring the pros and cons, the Grand Princess agreed to help Tan Yankai hand over the memorial to Empress Dowager Cixi, and said Xiang Huihuan from it. It was precisely because of the Grand Princess' preliminary preparations and the bombardment of newspapers for several months that Empress Dowager Cixi was mentally prepared for "constitutionalism". Therefore, after Tan Zhonglin, the last governor of Zhili, who attracted national attention, agreed to enter the stage of constitutionalism, and everything was implemented by the memorial steps written by Tan Yankai.

After Tan Zhonglin wrote a letter, Zhang Zhidong and Li Hongzhang led the letter, Duan Fang, Hubei Governor Duan Fang, Huguang Governor Wang Wenshao, and Yunnan and Guizhou Governor Cen Chunxuan wrote a letter again to ask the court to send ministers to overseas for investigation. Zhang Zhidong and others' letters were just a backup plan that Tan Yankai knew, but he did not expect that the minister listed as the number one overseas inspection was Ronglu. However, he also thought of another profound historical event in his previous life's memory - the assassination of the five ministers. In history, the assassination of the five ministers was an assassination launched by the revolutionary party, but he did not succeed. The five ministers were bombed back before leaving the capital.

Because Tan Yankai advocated Lixian, Ronglu did not agree. However, in Ronglu's view, the so-called forward check prepared for the twelve-year constitution was an excellent delaying trick, and the two did not get into evil. Although Ronglu and Tan Yankai were still "harmonious", Ronglu's appetite began to grow bigger. When his aide Tie Liang was inspecting the Tianjin Machinery Bureau, he plundered 400,000 taels of silver at one time, which made Tan Yankai angry but not speak out.

Four hundred thousand taels of silver are definitely not a decimal for the Tianjin Machinery Bureau. If Tan Yankai had not had the wealth of wealth and had tampered with the Tianjin Machinery Bureau through Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, I am afraid that the wages of workers in that month would have been impossible to settle. These people would never look at the time and place when they hugged the silver. This incident also issued a warning to Tan Yankai, and Ronglu began to salivate at Beiyang's wealth, and Tieliang's behavior might be due to his instructing.

It is precisely because of this that when he learned that Ronglu had become the head of the ministers who went abroad to inspect, he was very glad that he hoped that the bombs of the revolutionary party could kill him. The overall strength of the conservatives was much stronger than that of the reformists. If Ronglu died or was injured and temporarily left the political arena for a period of time, it should be the greatest blessing for Kang Youwei and others.

"Do you want to kill Ronglu?" Tan Yankai was thinking carefully about the risks and benefits. At this time, the political capital of the Tan family and son had become very strong due to the Jiaozhou Bay incident in Germany. The people's livelihood business under the governor of Zhili was far ahead of the country, and his political achievements were very well received. Ronglu was no longer as important to Tan Yankai as in the past few years. Instead, there were faint signs of becoming a stumbling block. After the death of King Gong Yixin, the number one celebrity around Empress Dowager Cixi was Ronglu. This person always gave Tan Yankai a very bad feeling. Maybe he would bite him back at any time. Tieliang's search for the Tianjin Machinery Bureau might be a test.

"Keep Ronglu is to deal with Weng Tonghe's pressure. If Weng Tonghe does not threaten us... then Ronglu has no need to exist!" Shen Jing said calmly: "It's just that assassination of Ronglu is of great importance. It's not that he can't kill him. Even if he doesn't go abroad, he is still 80% sure to kill him. But if Ronglu dies, if there are any more changes in the court, we may not be able to accept it!"

Shen Jing was not surprised by Tan Yankai's way of killing Ronglu. Since Tan Yankai asked books such as "Evolution of Heaven" and "Highly Words of Prosperity" to be a must-read book for new army soldiers and officers, he already felt that what Tan Yankai wanted was not wealth and honor at one time and place. Beiyang was no longer enough for him to display his talents, and being restrained everywhere also became a huge obstacle to Tan Yankai's development. It seems that Ronglu was the help of Tan Yankai, but this effect has become smaller and smaller. The change proportional to the reduction of Beiyang military expenditure is that the cost of bribing Ronglu is getting bigger and bigger. Tieliang's plundering Tianjin Machinery Bureau was the first time that Tan Zhonglin encountered such a bold guy after he took office as the governor of Zhili and the minister of Beiyang. It is important to know that the total number of ship-building funds in the Beiyang Navy in one year has been reduced to 950,000 taels. In this breath, he was a half-year special ship-building funds.

"I'm not afraid that the court will not be able to accept it. The overall strength of Beiyang is far greater than that of Beiyang in the Li Hongzhang era, but it's not as arrogant as Li Hongzhang. By the end of this year, the Jingji Railway will be repaired and the new army will be stationed in Jinan and around the capital. The army can reach the foot of the capital city wall in less than a day after boarding the train! Don't forget that Yang Chao's Zhili Supervisor Biao Xin Army is stationed on the side of the Xiaozhan Railway. If he thinks of the capital, he can't even use it for a long time!" Tan Yankai said with a cold smile.

Any conspiracy is ridiculous in the face of absolute power. In this era when the chaotic times begin to emerge, the combat effectiveness of the army is Tan Yankai's strength. The Beiyang Navy is an unfamiliar child. It is entirely for national defense that it will make Tan Yankai do his best. But he will not be so slack in the Beiyang Army. Besides, Xiao Xuan, Yang Chao, Li Tao, who was in the Department of Residents' Department, and Liu Yu, who had just returned to China to preside over the right army of Wuwei, was not interested in imperial power politics because of their study abroad experience.

Especially Liu Yu, who had just returned to China, was obviously very dissatisfied with the rule of the Qing Dynasty. His braids were fake, and he cut off the braids on the way back. At that time, Tan Yankai faced Liu Yu who had cut his braids for a while and said meaningfully: "Since you have cut the braids on your head, you can't keep the braids in your heart!"

Because Liu Yu also came from a "problem family" - his family was similar to Yang Chao, and his family was lost because his father smoked opium. The most commendable thing was that Liu Yu tried his best to unite military students in Germany, took the lead in fighting with his German military academy classmates, and compared his alcohol tolerance. Because Liu Yu stood up for his classmates in everything, although he returned to China later than Xiao Xuan and Yang Chao in the Department of NCOs, he was like a boss in this group and had a high prestige.

Among the first three batches of the non-commissioned officers in Germany, many people have similar family conditions to those of Liu Yu and Yang Chao. They are all victims of opium, but fortunately they do not smoke opium. The biggest advantage of such a "problem group" is that they are the most direct victims of foreign colonialism and the incompetent rule of the Qing Dynasty. There is no need for Tan Yankai to brainwash. They themselves have dissatisfaction with the Qing court, and it is entirely because he is using his vague actions to suppress their resistance.

Liu Yu was a general. Among the first four-year military students in Germany, except for Xiao Xuan who was transferred back to the Zhili Supervisor of the New Army in the first year, Li Tao trained the New Army in the second year, Yang Chao returned to China in the third year, and Liu Yu's academic performance in Germany was second only to Yang Chao.

It is easy to get a general, but it is hard to find a general. Although Liu Yu cut off his braid, Tan Yankai appointed him as the deputy general of the Wuwei Right Army. After the military system reform, he became the chief of staff of the Wuwei Right Army. Tan Yankai used his way to give the officers of the German NCO Department a "say" to the officers of the German NCO Department. This is an attitude. If Liu Yu's talent was placed in Lushunkou or Weihai Guard to supervise the construction of the fort, it would be a pity. You should know that although the German NCO Department is now in formation, there are only seven officers who can truly complete the four-year training of the German NCO Department. Even if Tan Yankai took the risk to conceal this matter with fake braids, he thought it was worth it.

Shen Jing was silent for a while and said, "Do you need to ask the master for this matter?"

Tan Yankai waved his hand and said, "No! He knew it was not beautiful, and he might even stop it. In order to avoid future troubles, we should do this in private!"

"Then Mr. Zhao will do it..."

"You can't use him either. I will look for people in this area in the barracks. You can first go to the capital to get a detailed map, including inspections by the Imperial Guards, etc. We have people in the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of War. Don't look for Ronglu's people, otherwise even if he doesn't know that we are going to assassinate, he will think of the threat of the new army to the capital, and in the end other troubles are uncontrollable!" Tan Yankai said coldly.

After listening quietly, I didn't say anything. When I was about to say goodbye, I remembered something and turned around and said: "The war between the United States and Spain has been completely over, and the negotiations have finally been completed. It is similar to what you think. Luzon was ceded to the United States, but Saipan was bought by Germany from Spain, and Guam was also left to the United States... We conveyed our willingness to buy Guam to Consul Tony. It seems that the Americans are very interested, but there has been no private transactions in this kind of territory transaction. Consul Tony suggested that if we are interested in Guam, we can complete the transaction through the court..."

"Don't worry about Saipan. Since it is always better than Americans in the hands of the Germans, as for Guam... this matter is more troublesome, but it is best that we can think of a way to let the court buy Guam from Americans. This island is very important!" Tan Yankai said.

"Gong'an, I searched the two islands on the globe for a long time that day. If we count from distance, these two islands are not close to us. We are separated from Japan by the ocean, and Guam and Saipan are in the southeast of Ryukyu in Japan... What do we use these two islands so far?!"

Tan Yankai laughed and said, "Wenyuan, these two islands will not be of great use even in thirty years. But if you look back at these two islands in thirty years, the meaning of them will be extraordinary! It is not that we need these two archipelagos, but that our country and nation need it. We cannot always guard the mainland. The real security is built on the sea, not that our coastal cities have to face this danger!"
Chapter completed!