Chapter 32 Boiling

In the ninth year of the Empire, on the afternoon of September 15, 1914, there were clouds and dark clouds rolling over Nanjing. The weather seemed to be an ominous omen.

Nanjing, as the prime minister of the Chinese Empire, looks almost still both Western and Eastern. In the nine years since the founding of the empire, China has abandoned many of its feudal things and become a most advanced and Westernized country in Asia.

In the center of Guangfu Avenue, which runs through the whole Nanjing City from Xiaguan Pier, there is a red wall hundreds of meters long, which is the palace, and on the right side of the palace square is a new building with a four-story reinforced concrete structure, which is a government building that handles court affairs and the office of the imperial family. The walls around the palace and the buildings in front of the palace are also east-west walls, which to some extent shows the difference between this country and the past. In the past nine years, China has abandoned a large number of old things and introduced a large number of Western modern civilizations.

One kilometer along the front of the palace is a Western-style Imperial Palace Building. This building is mainly built of stones picked from Jiuhua Mountain. The whole building has a strong Baroque style, while the carvings in front of the window are Chinese. In the past nine years, the Chinese architectural community has been learning. Western modern architecture combines Western modern architecture science with traditional Chinese architecture to develop modern Chinese architecture. Although modern Chinese architecture has long been mature after nine years of development, Nanjing, the capital of China, especially in the old city, most of the buildings in the early days of the founding of the empire, especially However, most of those government buildings are Western-style, and the Imperial Diet, as the first administrative buildings in Nanjing, is no exception.

At this time, under the tall and majestic steps of the Imperial Congress, a team of armed gendarmes stood with guns, and in the garden square in front of the Imperial Advisory Council, hundreds of thousands of people gathered. They kept shouting slogans and roaring one after another, and the police who maintained order around kept giving palms to the demonstrators. Sound.

In the square, hundreds of activists delivered speeches there. Their fierce words encouraged everyone around them. Every time, their words were interrupted by fierce applause and cheers.

At this time, in the garden square, the branches and vines swaying in the breeze seemed to be shaking their heads and sighing in frustration. Although the sky above the people's heads rolled, the enthusiasm of the citizens in the square was as hot as an erupting volcano, and the inside of the parliament building, which was isolated by the armed military police, it also showed a volcanic eruption.

In the hall of the House of Commons, the continuous debate between the members of the Mingzhu and the Constitutional factions and the members of the Royalist Party has risen to a white-hot level. Some of them also tried their best to maintain a gentlemanly demeanor, talking and seemed to be extremely calm; some of them shouted hoarsely regardless of their identity; some had already lost their surnames, threw away the cigarette in their mouths, jumped up, and almost pulled out their fists.

After the collective [***] case of the Technology Introduction Committee and the Central Tendering Bureau, the House of Commons of the Mingzhu Party immediately asked the Imperial House of Commons to pass several resolutions - to investigate the responsibility of each person involved, never assess interest, and investigate to the end, the bill was quickly passed. At this time, no one would stop it. Block the passage of this bill.

And the next resolution shocked everyone, demanding that Prime Minister Yuan Shikai resign and the resignation of the cabinet!

As soon as this resolution was put forward, it immediately aroused the attack of the royalist party. In their opinion, the House of Commons had no power to demand the resignation of the cabinet appointed by His Majesty, followed by a heated debate in the hall of the House of Commons, and the figures of all parties argued and expressed their opinions.

The debate has lasted for three days and two nights. This is the longest protracted battle since the establishment of the Imperial House of Commons. During this period, every member of parliament who is hungry eats casually and sleeps in casual clothes, but the fierce debate has never stopped. In the face of this chaos, if the trees know, they will sigh. If the heavens and the earth know, I'm afraid that the moon will be covered by clouds.

However, even if this long and long occupation is exhausting everyone's energy, those members of the Mingzhu Party and the Constitutional Party, who represent "people's will", know that this is the last attack. If they succeed, the whole history of China will change. And most of the royalists who have dominated the House of Commons for many years also know that this time, in any case, they must stop the attacks of the Mingzhu and the Constitutional Party. They understand that at this time, any concession will only encourage the Mingzhu Party and the Constitutional Party to take advantage of the victory. They will continue to throw out a series of motions and take advantage of the current anger. Angry public opinion seizes political interests.

Now it has reached the last juncture. Everyone is tired, but everyone is insisting.

In the hall of the House of Commons, I'm afraid there are only a few people who really ask for the people and worry about the country. Among them, the most worried is Zheng Shuhuai. Although the Royalist Party occupies 52.5% of the seats in the House of Commons, the Mingzhu Party accounts for 25% of the seats, and the Constitutional Party is 18.5%, but there are other small parties and reading legislators, while Zheng Shuhuai is a reading legislator.

In the previous debate, he has been trying to persuade others to oppose the "General Cabinet Resignation" proposal. At this time, a man stood up in the other party's seat.

"You know, Senator Zheng Shuhuai, no matter from which aspect, the cabinet must be responsible for the corruption of the departments of the cabinet. Otherwise, how can we explain to the citizens of the empire?"

The speaker was made by Liao Beizong, a legislator who was a lawyer. He was eloquent. Although he was a royalist, he was one of the proponents of the Mingzhu Party's bill. The shocking corruption case split the royalist party, causing some people inside the royalist party to support the resolution.

"As for this special period, what is this special period? China declares war on Germany? Whether China is really involved in the war now is still a question. ......"

"No! You are wrong. You should know that today's world crisis is getting more and more serious. Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey have formed allies to attack each other with Britain, France and Russia, and China has declared war on Germany and has become one of the participating countries. If our political situation is unstable, it is difficult for Western countries to ensure their own interests when they are trapped in war, such as forcing the cabinet in wartime. Resignation is bound to lead to political chaos in our country. If it goes on like this, the consequences will be out of control!"

"Ghost your nerd theory to hell! What citizens need is truth and justice! If there is no justice, then what kind of benefits can we guarantee!"

Many people are noisy. The executive chairman knocked on the table for a long time before the venue gradually became quiet. So the debate is over, and the first round of voting will be held in two hours.

According to the provisions of the Imperial Constitution, important bills are subject to a two-round voting system. If there is a majority of votes in both rounds, the proposal will be passed, otherwise the proposal will be withdrawn.

The worrying thing still happened. In the first round of voting in two hours, the pros won 301:295. Once the second round of vote is passed, the bill will be passed. Although the resolution of the House of Commons does not force the cabinet to resign, anyone with a slight political vision knows that for the Mingzhu Party and the Constitutional Party, this resolution is exactly what they need. A non-binding resolution may not be noticed at ordinary times, but It is at this special time, but what kind of role will this resolution play when combined with the angry public opinion?

After the first round of voting, Zheng Shuhuai, who was worried about this matter, hurriedly entered the office of New Yongjian, deputy speaker of the House of Lords. He knew that a series of consequences after the passage of the proposal would affect China's political situation. Although he had always been very resistant to the House of Lords as a civilian legislator, at this time, he knew that only New Yongjian could save everything.

"Your Excellency, we must prevent the passage of the proposal!"

As soon as he entered New Yongjian's office, Zheng Shuhuai did not greet him and expressed his intention alone. At this time, he saw that he was not the only one in New Yongjian's office, but also Duke Shi Si, the first chairman of the Imperial Technology Introduction Committee. When he saw Shi Si, Zheng Shuhuai was really stunned. At this time, what happened to him? Question mark

"Reperman Zheng!"

Shi Si, who stood up from the sofa chair, nodded slightly to Zheng Shuhuai. In the past few days, Shi Si has become famous in China, and even some newspapers think that he is the root of [***]. For the experience of these founding ministers, almost everyone knows their experience. Shi Si almost fell from Long Shi. As a beggar, last year, he became the richest man in the House of Lords with assets of 35 million yuan.

That's why he has become the target of public opinion. Shouldn't he go to the Bureau of Investigation for investigation? Why are you here again?

"Your Excellency the Duke!"

Although Zheng Shuhuai, as a civilian, once refused the knighthood granted by His Majesty, he still strictly observed the etiquette when saluting Shi Si. After all, China is a country of etiquette. No matter what the etiquette is, it cannot be abolished, but his expression is extremely cold.

Feeling Zheng Shuhuai's indifference, Shi Si sighed helplessly. Now all of China thinks that he is the "imperial greedy". They don't ask where their money comes from at all. They only know... But for Zheng Shuhuai's indifference, he can also understand that he is a civilian parliament and has never had a good impression on the nobles. .

"Your Excellency, if you can't stop the proposal from passing, I'm afraid there will be a big mess!"

When he looked at New Yongjian again, Zheng Shuhuai said again.

"Yes, we must fight for one more person to vote against. As long as there is one more person, the proposal will not pass."

New Yongjian said slowly.

"However, I think it will be a little difficult."

"Yes, now the hearts of the people are like this. There is little possibility to prevent it from passing, so Zheng came to Lord New York, hoping..."

Zheng Shuhuai said hurriedly, and then took another look at Shi Si.

"Zheng hopes to invite the lord to visit your majesty in the farewell garden, and then..."

(to be continued)