Are there any votes?

In the spring of 1918, not long after Sun Yat-sen's "United Province Autonomy and Peaceful Reunification" power was issued, on March 5, within the Shanghai Public Concession, China GCD held her first national congress, formulated the Party Constitution, elected the Central Committee headed by Chen Duxiu, and formed the Central Bureau, the Southern Bureau, the Northern Bureau and the European Bureau, and officially announced that it would form a party alliance with the newly reorganized Kuomintang to participate in the Federal Parliament elections that may be held in the future!

Unlike the history of the history of having to hide from the east, this time and space is held openly! The meeting site was chosen in the German Federation on the Bund, which was just bought by the Bank of China. Wang Yaqiao mobilized the workers' armed forces of the Chinese Labor Federation - the Axe Gang brothers responsible for internal and external warnings. Chang Ruiyuan also asked Huang Jinrong to come forward to say hello to the labor department of the public concession. As for the public concession, this time, he also had the idea that it was better to have less than more things, just as he did not see the Chinese GCD holding the conference.

Who doesn't know that behind them are lawless Red Brigades, Red Trade Unions that often go on strike, and Fujian warlord Chang Ruiqing, who even British imperialism can't do anything about him, and also a campaign alliance with Sun Yat-sen's Kuomintang. Maybe in a few days it will be one of China's ruling parties. For such a force, if you can't win over it, how can you offend it to death? Even if the British directors in the Ministry of Industry are disliked, the American, Japanese and Chinese directors are unwilling to cause trouble.

As for separatist warlords and well-known figures across the country, most of them sent congratulatory messages to China GCD as soon as possible. After all, China G is only engaged in student movements and workers' movements in big cities such as Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai. There is no conflict of interest with them. Moreover, the "anti-imperialist struggle" some time ago has won a lot of fame for China G. In addition, China G is currently echoing Sun Yat-sen and holding up the banner of "unilateral autonomy and peaceful reunification", which is exactly the same as these separatist forces. Of course, they are willing to make friends with such forces, and there are even several fashionable warlords who proposed to join China GCD!

For a moment, the limelight of our great Chinese GCD was a bit too far beyond the old-fashioned Kuomintang. It seems that it is really what the people want!

The current legal government of China, the Beiyang Government of Beijing, is somewhat unaware of how to deal with this popular red party. On the one hand, the free party formation was originally a civil right stipulated by the Constitution of the Republic of China. At present, the Beiyang government cannot stop it legitimately. On the other hand, both China G and Red Brigades also made public statements, claiming that the two sides have no direct affiliation, and the name of the leader of the Red Brigade Zuo Min did not appear on the list of Central Committee members of the Central G... How can the Beiyang government dare to publicly ban such a party that seems to be completely in line with the laws of the Republic of China and has a strong background?

Besides, even if the Beiyang government ordered a ban, the Shanghai Guardian Lu Yongxiang would definitely not pay attention. It was not because his son-in-law was a member of the Central G Central Bureau and a member of the Central Bureau, but because the Beiyang government wanted to get involved in Shanghai's commercial tax, it had seriously violated the interests of him, the Shanghai king. He was currently having conflicts with the three heroes of Beiyang, and he shouted that he wanted to be autonomous in the province!

The word that the Beijing government hates most now is "unilateral autonomy"!

It turned out that the "harmony issue" that became the second dispute between the government and the court in history. It no longer existed in this time and space. After the "anti-imperialist movement", even Duan Qirui and Xu Shuzheng knew that they were temporarily unable to fight south and unify China. Therefore, Feng Guozhang's peaceful reunification became the "national policy" of the Beiyang government, but the development of things once again exceeded their expectations!

In their plan, "peaceful reunification" is nothing more than restoring the provisional constitution and restoring the original parliament. Feng Guozhang's position of president was given to him by Li Yuanhong. It was reasonable and legal, and it should not be handed over. At most, it would be possible to reorganize the cabinet, take out several ministers and the second-level ministers to buy the Kuomintang members of the Congress. In fact, those Kuomintang members of the Congress have complained about the coup (revolution) launched by Sun Yat-sen in Guangzhou some time ago. If they really came to Beijing, they might not listen to Sun Yat-sen.

But no one expected that it was Sun Yat-sen, who was establishing "military and political rule" in Guangdong, who actually sang the high-profile "United Provincial Autonomy"! He also won the support of a large number of local separatist forces, which suddenly disrupted the original pace of the Beijing government and put them in a dilemma. Even the peace delegation that had been planning to send to Shanghai to negotiate with the South has not set off for a long time.

...

With a bang, Wang Shizhen threw the telegram he had just received onto the table. This was another power-up issued by Chen Jiongming, who had already arrived in Shanghai, urging the representatives of the Northern Peace Talks to go south. Such power-up is almost a day, and it is all about quoting classics and cited articles, which advocate the various benefits of the Union-Personal Autonomy, but it is just a matter of urging the Northern representatives to go south. A discerning person can tell at a glance that Chen Jiongming is using these power-ups to promote his proposal of Union-Personal Autonomy. He should be trying to use public opinion to put pressure on the Beiyang government and force them to agree to promote Union-Personal Autonomy in China?

And the answer to the electricity sent out was only the silence of the Beiyang bosses.

"This Chen Jingcun is really. I don't know if he was used as a gun by Sun Yat-sen... I kept advocating the autonomy of the province, and didn't look at what Sun Yat-sen did in Guangdong during this period? This Chen Jiongming has been in the world for many years, how could he be so confused?"

The person who said this was a middle-aged man in his forties, with a nimb skin, a sharp facial features, and a very upright look, looking heroic. He wore a tailored suit and sat next to the same table as the three Beiyang masters. He immediately compared the three people who looked a little vulgar no matter how they looked. And the three people were also respectful when they talked to this person. It seemed that the other party was also a big man of the same level as them.

Duan Qirui's nose had long since tilted, and it seemed that he was very angry. He pointed to the power supply and suppressed his anger and said, "What's wrong with this Chen Jiongming? He was clearly from the same group as Sun Yat-sen. Sun Yat-sen was engaged in military and political affairs in Guangdong and accumulated strength to prepare for the Northern Expedition. He jumped out and sang about the autonomy of the province to differentiate our Beiyang! During this period, most of the governors from all over the country had powered to support it. China saw that it was a situation of separatist rule in the vassal states... I'm afraid the disaster of the national destruction is not far away, right?" As he said that, he turned his head to look at the middle-aged man: "Ren Gong, let's think about it. You are the only one who can play with the Kuomintang, GCD, and play political party politics with them. I think you should go out to reorganize the Progressive Party and serve as the leader of our Northern Peace Talk delegation. We must expose their false autonomy and true dictatorship."

Liang Qichao smiled bitterly and said, "Although we all know that Sun Yat-sen has ulterior motives and has not given any good intentions. But the people in the country don't know, and the powerful people in various places don't know... This proposition of "unilateral autonomy" is in line with the interests of those powerful factions, and "peaceful reunification" has allowed the people to see hope of ending the war. To be honest, this is what the people want. Even if I jump out and shout out loud and expose Sun Yat-sen's mask, it would be a waste of verbal talk?"

He looked at the three Beiyang bosses in front of him and smiled faintly: "Now there are only two ways before our central government. One is to resolutely promote the unification of force and eliminate Sun Yat-sen and Chang Ruiqing, two people with ulterior motives! As long as the power of these two people is eliminated, the other local forces who are making noise will naturally not dare to disrespect the central government anymore. Second, it is to take advantage of the situation and follow the trend. Now the trend of "unilateral autonomy" has begun. If the central government simply opposes, it may make the local powerful factions more disinterested with the central government, and Sun Yat-sen and Chang Ruiqing can still promote military dictatorship calmly."

Liang Qichao said this and suddenly stopped, looking at the three Beiyang heroes in front of him with bright eyes.

Duan Qirui sighed and said, "It turns out that Ren Gong, you also agree with the Union Autonomy!" He said it right. The Union Autonomy was initiated by Liang Qichao in history. Although Sun Yat-sen and Chen Jiongming were taken first in this time and space, he was indeed obsessed with local autonomy.

After hearing Duan Qirui's words, Liang Qichao smiled and said, "The Central Committee of the Union Provincial Autonomous Region does not agree. Isn't the local government going to do it? You can calculate it. How many provinces in the country have already issued electricity to support the Union Provincial Autonomous Region? How many provinces have clearly expressed opposition to the Union Provincial Autonomous Region? This trend cannot be blocked... Although Sun Yat-sen is just a strategy to divide the Beiyang, why can't we use the strategy and really build the Union Provincial Autonomous Region? I think the current central government in Beijing is a little smaller than the authority of the central government advocated by Chen Jingcun."

President Feng Guozhang just shook his head: "No, no, the authority of the central government is small now, but it is still in our hands. If we really follow Chen Jiongming's call for election of the "United Provincial Assembly" of the Central Committee, I'm afraid the Kuomintang will be taken away by GCD? Then we will have nothing in Beiyang!"

Duan Qirui nodded repeatedly when he heard this: "In the two years of the Republic of China, we couldn't elect the Kuomintang. Now there is a GCD that is more capable than the Kuomintang. We need to be elected... Ren Gong, is your Progressive Party an opponent?"

Liang Qichao smiled slightly: "The election is not a sure thing! Hua Fu, Zhiquan, you two don't know that China has no conditions to engage in universal suffrage. It can only be a few people who meet certain conditions to participate in the voting, such as certain property restrictions or requiring voters to have a certain knowledge and culture. Those workers and peasants who don't know a big word cannot participate in the election. GCD has no advantage in this regard. Sun Yat-sen and Chang Ruiqing are now determined to suppress local gentry to establish their military dictatorship. As long as we vigorously publicize their bad deeds in suppressing gentry, we will definitely win most of the gentry in our country on our side, so that we can win the elections in the Federal Parliament!

In addition, we should not underestimate the role that governors who control the power of each province. The governors can play in this election of the "United Provincial Assembly". After all, they are all from Beiyang. In the second year of the Republic of China, the provinces that the Kuomintang could control were roughly the same as those of our Beiyang. Now they only control Guangdong and Sichuan provinces. Including Chang Ruiqing's Fujian, there are only three provinces. If the election is really held, Qi Chao is at least 70% sure that he can control the United Provincial Assembly."

After saying this, Liang Qichao strengthened his tone again and said loudly: "Don't hesitate anymore. This is our Beiyang and our last chance in China!"

Three Beiyang bosses look at me, I see you can't make up for a moment. Finally, Wang Shizhen sighed and said to Feng Guozhang, Duan Qirui: "Hua Fu, I'll call you, otherwise let Liang Rengong go and talk to the south first. Since the trend of self-government in the province has already begun, we can only adapt to it."

Feng Guozhang sighed: "I have to do this. I hope that Beiyang can really pass the level of autonomy in the United Provinces!"

Duan Qirui stood up and walked around the room. He saw the electricity sent by Chen Jiongming at a glance. He suddenly sneered: "What are the joint autonomy of the province, what are peaceful reunification... I think they are all used to fool people and to punish people. In our China, what really works is the gun bar! Let's watch it. This peaceful reunification drama is to the end, and one soldier will swallow the six countries!" As he said that, he stomped his feet, shook his head and left.

Liang Qichao looked at the two remaining Beiyang bosses in the room: "Hua Fu, Pinqing, what do you mean..."

Feng Guozhang and Wang Shizhen looked at each other, and Feng Guozhang said, "Let's talk about it, their tone is getting higher and higher day by day, we always have to behave. By the way, Ren Gong. You also look for their faults, such as Sun Yat-sen and Chang Ruiqing in Guangdong, Fujian first promote local autonomy, etc., so let's fight slowly."

In mid-March 1918, the Presidential Office of the Northern Army and the State Council finally issued an official order to appoint Liang Qichao as the head of the Northern Peace Talks delegation. Zhu Qiqiun went south to Shanghai as the deputy head to discuss the matter of "unilateral autonomy and peaceful reunification" with the Southern delegation.

...

"Dear colleagues and compatriots, please report good news to everyone! Just now, Mr. Liang Qichao, the chief negotiator of the Beijing government, had issued a telegram to go south, saying that he would come to negotiate with us on behalf of the Beijing government about the joint autonomous region and peaceful reunification!"

In Zhangyuan, Shanghai, a place known as the first public space in modern China, is holding a speech to promote the autonomous region and peaceful reunification of the United Provinces. Chen Jiongming, the chief peace talks representative of the Law Guardian Military Government, personally took the stage to give a long speech. Just halfway through his speech to promote local autonomy, Liang Qichao sent a copy of the telegram to the south.

Chen Jiongming took the copy and glanced at it, threw away the speech, and excitedly reported the good news to the audience below. The cheers and applause from the people below suddenly rang out... Of course, these people who had eaten enough and ran away after listening to Chen Jiongming's speech in Cantonese Mandarin, except for a small number of Guangdong people who were doing business in Shanghai to make a living, most of them were Chang Ruiyuan, the agent of Chang Ruiqing in the Central Bureau of the Central G, mobilized the "Bai Xiangren" through the Qing Gang path with one dollar of banknotes a day.

As for the real hope of this era - the youth, the idols they now worship are Zuo Min, the leader of the red brigade who used terrorist activities to fight against imperialism, and the Chang Da warlord who urged troops to recapture the British Concession in Xiamen! Chen Jiongming and others, they were not interested. However, Chen Jiongming on the stage did not find anything wrong, and waved to the cheering people with a smile on his face, signaling everyone to calm down.

Then, he continued, "Brothers participated in the Tongmenghui early in the morning and started the Manchu Revolution. What was the greatest ideal of us revolutionaries at that time? It was not to be an official, nor to make any fortune! It was to establish a democratic republic of the Republic of China, and to turn the world of one family and one family since ancient times into a world where the world is for the public! However, it was the seventh year since the Yuan Dynasty. In these seven years, we revolutionaries launched the second revolution to fight against Yuan and protect the country, and the war of protecting the law not long ago, so as to still be a democratic republic China.

Today, China is finally coming before us, and we have finally found a path to realize democratic constitutionalism. This path is 'unilateral autonomy' that is 'local autonomy'. It can only be a reformed, bottom-up decentralized and autonomous democracy, because only in this way can the people's spirit of governance and establish true democratic politics in our country with a wide range of people."

Speaking of this, Chen Jiongming's face suddenly became solemn. He looked at the "white-eyed people" under the stage with deep eyes, took a deep breath, and plucked up all the dantian energy and shouted loudly: "This time the 'United Provincial Autonomy and Peaceful Reunification' negotiation between the two governments in the north and the south is actually the last chance for our country and our nation to embark on the path of democratic constitutionalism!

And I also know that there are many obstacles on our road to success, because we sincerely support local autonomy, and the only ones who really want peaceful reunification are our Chinese people, and only politicians who don’t have guns or territory, but have a innocent heart... Those so-called revolutionaries and patriots who hold heavy troops and dominate the country have been fascinated by power, and they are all focused on military and political affairs and discipline! I am here to plead with all the people who care about our future and destiny of the Republic of China, please let me and I send your loudest shouts to the kings of the north and south, unite the province's autonomy, and peaceful reunification!"

After saying this, Chen Jiongming took the lead and began to cheer up the slogan "United Province Autonomy, Peaceful Reunification!". Then the people in Zhangyuan seemed to be really infected by this political leader from Guangdong, and cheered and shouted together.

However, according to China's current election methods, most of the people cheering here do not have the right to vote! This will soon become the biggest obstacle to the peace talks between the north and the south. (To be continued...)
Chapter completed!