Chapter 226 Qin Ding

"The Constitution!"

After sip of tea, Zhang Feng, the Minister of Justice and Minister of Justice, said.

"The Constitution?"

Chen Moran, who had just lighted a cigar, said with some surprise.

"Your Majesty, since the voice of constitutionalism is endless now, instead of waiting for its people to brew this attack, it is not as good as promulgating the imperial constitution"

At this time, His Majesty's office was filled with a strong smell of smoke. In fact, before His Majesty invited him, Zhang Feng had already considered the voice of "constitutionalism" that slowly occupied the mainstream of public opinion in the past year. In his opinion, all this seemed normal.

"Your Majesty, for thousands of years, local gentry have always been the elite of traditional Chinese society. On the one hand, they have a traditional reputation for imperial examinations, or have served as political axe officials. They have a prominent position in local society and have a great influence on the people. Taking the Manchu Qing Dynasty as an example, they maintained the rule of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, which was the cornerstone of the rule of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. On the other hand, the Qing Dynasty also gave the gentry various privileges, such as tax reduction and exemption, access to the official office, and participation in local trials. Therefore, the gentry and the Qingzheng axe can be said to be a relationship of mutual support and mutual use. Generally speaking, the gentry are conservative. They are more inclined to maintain the traditional system and ideology, because it is consistent with maintaining their status and prestige in the place!"

Zhang Feng said his understanding of the domestic social structure. At this time, the listeners were full of interest.

"During the New Deal in the late Qing Dynasty, great changes took place in the gentry class. After the attack of the Boxers and the Eight-Nate Alliance incident, many gentry, like most of the officials of the Qingzheng Axe, have realized that it is not good to lock up the country. Therefore, in the context of the new policy, many gentry have abandoned the conservative concepts of the past and are committed to the establishment of new schools, new enterprises and other new policy measures. During the restoration campaign, in order to win the support of the gentry, His Majesty ordered the establishment of consultation bureaus and courtyards in various places to participate in the beginning of government affairs. After the restoration of the country, His Majesty was elected emperor and announced the preparation for the establishment of the constitution. Most of these gentry who participated in the new policy of the empire joined the ranks of fighting for the constitution.

Thinking that the call for "constitution" is getting louder and louder now, Zhang Feng couldn't help sighing in his heart that it was His Majesty who opened that opening. Many times, a mouth was easy to open and difficult to close.

"In this process, many of them went abroad to study, visited and even went to a new school to study or study abroad, and gained new knowledge. There were also some people who participated in the establishment of enterprises and became industrialists, so their ideas and concepts gradually changed. All this shows that the squire class is in the process of transformation from a traditional elite to a modern social elite, and is becoming a new squire. Of course, although we give the gentry the right to participate in politics, the fact is that compared with the tax reduction and exemption in the Qing Dynasty, we not only did not do so, but even levy heavy taxes, and influence the gentry. In the very large countryside, under the leadership of the political axe, we are replacing the gentry with teachers,..."

Listening to Zhang Feng's narration, Chen Moran just sighed in his heart. For the traditional gentry, his attitude is very clear, that is, to guide them into the "capital world". At the same time, he supports teachers to be new gentry. Through teachers and the clan, they maintain the countryside together. The imperial power does not go to the countryside, and rural autonomy is the most simple way to save political expenses. A single method.

"If the new imperial policy transformed some of the old gentry into a new gentry, the preparatory constitution proposed by His Majesty gave the new gentry the opportunity to enter the national political stage. Before the establishment of the empire, the gentry had a great influence in the local area. However, they were scattered and fragmented, and they had little political contact with each other. It was not until His Majesty announced the preparation for the constitution that a major change in the gentry group soon took place. Due to the preparation for the constitution, the empire has completely liberalized the restrictions on assembly and association, giving the gentry in various places the opportunity to set up a various constitutional groups. The advisory bureaus and senior councils publicly established by the empire also provide them with new legal places for activities. In addition, the rapid increase of newspapers, magazines, telegrams, etc., ships and trains provide Compared with the past, the transportation is much more convenient, and it is also easy to promote the formation of new gentry to form a national surname.

When he spoke, Zhang Feng took a look at His Majesty. The reason why His Majesty now feels a headache about the "imperialist" constitutionalists is probably because of the strength they have shown. In the past two years, the Imperial Consultative House has been connected with the Provincial Consultative Council and the Prefectural Consultative Bureau, and is forming a force.

Especially after the end of the war, this force has become more and more huge. In contrast, the real "royalists" even lag behind them, which is by no means the power your majesty is willing to see.

"Once there is a consistent political requirement, the whole country will immediately respond to the call here. Therefore, as a politically important force in the country, the constitutional faction is the product of the new imperial policy and the preparation for the establishment of the constitution. Therefore, if you want to completely destroy the constitutional faction, you must cause a fatal impact on them from the root!"

"Fatal impact?"

Chen Moran was stunned. The most fundamental reason why he was wary of the constitutionalists was the influence they showed, and even Yang Du, who was controlled by the Bureau, was constantly advocating the constitution. It seemed that the constitution was really a panacea for a try, but the most annoying thing was What they advocate is the British constitutional monarchy, which is equivalent to turning themselves into a decoration, which is absolutely unacceptable.

"Constitution! The Constitution is established!"

After some explanation, Zhang Feng's words still shifted to the thing he mentioned at the beginning.

"The Constitution?"

"Your Majesty, the so-called imperial constitution refers to the constitution formulated and promulgated by the monarch from top to bottom based on the idea of the monarch's sovereignty. For example, the Constitution of the Empire promulgated by the Meiji Emperor in 1889. The most important principle of the Constitution is to stipulate the supreme monarchical power in the form of the Constitution.

The supreme monarchical power is stipulated in the form of the Constitution!

Zhang Feng's words only made Chen Moran's heartbeat. This... seems to be ** not small! The supreme king's power!

"Can..."

Despite that desire in his heart, Chen Moran is still a little hesitant in the face of Zhang Feng's suggestion. After all, those people now support the British constitution and the congressional resolution of the constitution. If he really promulgates a constitution, will he... "Your Majesty, you are worried that those people will oppose it. Is it?"

Chen Moran did not answer, but looked at Zhang Feng silently. He put forward this suggestion, and naturally he had his plan or strategy to deal with it.

"Your Majesty, except for a few people, the constitutionalists in our country, others tend to be rational and politically, and their emotions and real actions tend to be open-opened [***] and authoritarianism. From another perspective, the reason why the constitutionalists firmly advocate the establishment of the constitution is that only the establishment of the constitution can give them a place in the regime. Of course, on the other hand, they also firmly believe that only the constitution can save the nation from danger. In this way, the so-called constitution is only a means, a means for a powerful country to resist aggression, not their true faith. Therefore, the political ideas and beliefs of the constitutionalists can be summarized as follows: first, oppose the aggression of the great powers; second, strongly demand to participate in the regime; third, believe in open-up [***] or authoritarianism.

In the past two years, Zhang Feng has contacted hundreds of "constitutionalists". Naturally, he knows those constitutionalists. On the one hand, they advocate constitutionalism, and on the other hand, they affirm that His Majesty is now open-opened [***] and supports the strong political axe.

"Supporting the open-up [***] and the powerful political axe, in fact, this is the core of China's constitutionalist political concept. It is not surprising that the origin of the constitutionalists and their education determine that they cannot be true believers in the rule of law. Your Majesty, may I ask whether the constitutionalists in our country are more conservative, or are the constitutionalists in 1889 more conservative?

After a rhetorical question, Chen Moran remained silent. Zhang Feng may be right on this point. China's constitutionalists are not affected by traditional education. They don't know what "constitutional establishment" is at all. The reason why they advocate the British constitution is that they advocate it because they think Britain is powerful, and On the other hand, they are superstitious and open-opened in their bones. Just like now, are there a few people who praise their merits?

Seeing His Majesty's silence, he continued to say, "Your Majesty, the constitutionalists or the new gentry advocate the implementation of the constitution, but they will never want to see that the king's power is seriously weakened, and they also do not want to be unable to obtain the "constitutional" power. Now, we must pay attention to the fact that they already have a certain amount of energy. I am eager to have a say in national politics and have a place in the political axe. Although the constitution is at the cost of weakening the king's power, they also understand that if the king's power is seriously weakened, it is likely to lead to chaos in the country, at least in our history books, there are countless such examples.

Then Zhang Feng turned the peak again.

"Constitution is certainly the wish of the constitutionalists, but it must fill the gap of the weakening of the imperial power at the expense of the weakening of the imperial power, which is the constitutionalists themselves. In other words, the constitutionalists' support for the political axe is not unconditional, but conditional on the concession of the political axe, that is, to let them participate in the regime. Whether the constitutionalists support the political axe depends on whether the political axe agrees to this condition. Not only that, the reason why the constitutionalists have repeatedly asked for the opening of a parliament is that in their hearts, in fact, there is a desire that cannot be said: to use the parliament to hold part of the power, and of course, there is also a way to control the political axe. As individuals, they may have a variety of ideas, but as a society For class or political forces, this is their intention. The problem now is..."

As soon as he looked up, Zhang Feng spit out a sentence.

"If the imperial constitution is promulgated, how much power is your majesty ready to give up!"

"How much power is given?"

"As long as you can meet the wishes of Qichengren, it is enough, Your Majesty!"

(to be continued)