Chapter 197 Is he a politician? Or... (please vote for me!)

October 6, the second year of the Republic of China.

Although the "Cold Dew" Festival is approaching, Beijing still has a sunny spring atmosphere due to the crisp autumn air for many days.

The sweet-scented osmanthus in the Summer Palace is in bloom, and the fragrance spreads from Wanshou Mountain to Kunming Lake. It is a rare calm day, and the air is refreshing and fragrant with flowers. Most of the men and women in Beijing walk out of the courtyard and go to places with trees and flowers to soothe their chests.

, go and breathe fresh air.

As for what major events will happen in the capital?

Maybe those people in the capital don't care. To them, the Qing Dynasty has fallen, as if it has lost its soul. What kind of congress should these rebellious ministers and traitors hold, what kind of president should they elect, and what does it have to do with them?

It's not because they don't have the guts or the backbone. I guess there are a few men in the flag who have imitated the Communist Party and threw bombs into the Congress, so that those rebellious officials and traitors can hold Congress and elect a president.

But in China, things like convening a parliament and electing a president are still the first time in history. So what about the first time? Naturally, it attracts the attention of thousands of people, and naturally attracts a lot of attention. It is different from any change of government in Chinese history.

What "Xinhai" represents should be a kind of participation of a very broad masses of people in the so-called "politics" and "history". Although this participation is realized through some local leaders, it is ultimately

For the first time in Chinese history, the voice and status of the people have been elevated in theory and slogans to a status that is enough to make everyone feel that everyone has a sense of pride and responsibility. This status, this status brings

Such a sense of pride and responsibility has never appeared in China's political landscape from the perspective of historical time or space.

It is for this reason that this first Congress will attract much attention, and this first presidential election will attract the attention of the whole country. For many people, it seems that this Congress has already decided that the president will be elected, and the next step must be the constitution.

, by then, in this country... people are looking forward to the day when the country will be strong.

As soon as many people closed their eyes, a scene of China's strength emerged. It seemed that this dream of a powerful country was about to become a reality with this presidential election.

When the sun rose three o'clock, the Congress Hall became lively. People wearing long robes, mandarin jackets, wild goose tailcoats, and soldiers came in in twos and threes. They were members of Congress, the most important people in the history of China.

For the first time, there were people who set a precedent to manage major affairs on behalf of the "people". Among them were some local leaders, industrial businessmen, scholars, gentry, and of course some hereditary princes. Of course, just like any country's parliament,

, Members of Congress are naturally a mixed bag.

After the door of the Congress was closed after the congressmen entered the venue, a group of people wearing plain clothes and military trousers and leather boots also came outside the venue. There were no chairs outside the venue, so they stood shoulder to shoulder. Later, the crowd

Suddenly, an eye-catching sign was erected inside, with the words "Citizens' League" written in large letters.

Not many people know that Yuan Shikai deliberately "bought insurance" in order to be elected president. Among them were soldiers and policemen, but one thing was unified. They all supported the interim president. Soon,

This seemingly scattered group of citizens began to behave themselves, and they were waiting for the election results outside the Congress venue in a very orderly manner.

Senate President Wang Jiaxian presided over China's first parliamentary session. Wang Jiaxian was a bit fat. He was wearing a silver-gray gown and had just shaved off his braids. He had a bruised head and an unusually high bridge of his nose.

The deep glasses and long face probably feel that the burden is too heavy and have been covered with frost.

Finally, he stood up, holding a piece of paper in his hand, and looked at it for a long time, then raised his face and spoke in a low voice to the silent Congress hall.

"There are 759 members of Congress in both houses of Congress present today, which meets the quorum. I declare: the Congress session is open!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the military band in the National Assembly Hall started playing music, and firecrackers were set off outside the venue. After a period of excitement, Wang Jiaxian said again when the applause fell.

"The agenda of this Congress meeting is to elect the president. According to the provisions of the Presidential Election Law: The presidential election must be attended by more than two-thirds of the total number of electors and shall be conducted by secret ballot. The candidate who obtains three-quarters of the total number of voters shall be elected.

Elected. But if no one is elected after two votes, the person who gets more votes for the second time will be elected in a run-off, and the one who gets more than half of the voters will be elected."

Wang Jiaxian muttered while reading the text, but the Congress hall was buzzing with noise. It seemed that these ironclad standards were not what people cared about. Among them, the congressmen were thinking that if they really had to elect a president, their own

A vote has a "price".

How to make good use of it?

Can it be used as you wish?

Most of the members of the Senate and House of Representatives who were elected to the first Congress were talented and knowledgeable people. They all saw clearly what was going on today. The news about the "citizen group" outside the venue had been spread, but it was just that

They are formed by a group of guys called "citizens". What are they going to do? It's nothing more than putting pressure on people.

After the election agenda, there was a noise in the venue. The chairman of the conference and the president of the Senate distributed the ballots to the members, then patted the table to ask everyone to be quiet, and then said:

“Elections are solemn, and individual rights must be exercised with a solemn attitude. If you think the candidate is qualified to be president, vote for him; if you think the candidate is not qualified to be president, vote for him.

Vote against it; you don’t agree or oppose it, or you can abstain. Now let’s start the ballot-filling election.”

This is also nonsense, nonsense that has not entered anyone's ears. The congressmen are holding the ballots in their hands, thinking about how to choose? Who should be chosen? Who is more suitable to choose? After all, this is not choosing someone else, this is

When choosing the president of a country, you must choose carefully no matter what.

The venue was silent, and the votes were written and voted according to order. Then, the votes were checked, checked, and counted according to order. The election results: presidential candidate Yuan Shikai received 417 votes, vice presidential candidate Li Yuanhong received 154 votes, and others

Several candidates only received sporadic votes. Although Yuan Shikai received the highest vote this time, because some members cast invalid votes, Yuan Shikai's vote still did not reach the legal 3/4 majority, so another vote was needed.

At this moment, a burst of neat footsteps suddenly sounded in the venue. The door of the Congress venue was opened, and groups of "citizens" walked into the venue. When the news came that Yuan Shikai was not elected for the first time, these "citizen audiences"

" Then he strode neatly and solemnly into the venue, and surrounded the voting members on three levels inside and outside. It was impossible to fly even if they had wings.

When had the members seen such a "democratic" posture, they had no choice but to push the speaker to negotiate and ask these people to leave the venue and not interfere in the election. Who knew that after hearing this, the group of people started shouting loudly:

"We are all a 'citizen group'. The election of the president today is of great importance. If you elect a president who fails to live up to public expectations, we will not agree to it. We have ugly words ahead. If you choose someone who is not a person, you will not be able to walk out today."

Venue"

In this situation, the congressmen understood the situation. However, what is admirable is that those congressmen at that time still had some backbone. Under such high pressure, they were unwilling to vote for Yuan Shikai.

As soon as the results of the second election came out, Yuan Shikai's votes increased by 26, and Li Yuanhong's votes increased by 8. They were still not enough to meet the statutory quota.

Since this is the first Congress, neither the Congress nor the members are very familiar with the voting process. From invoicing, filling in ballots, voting, counting and counting votes, it takes about 4 hours. After two consecutive votes, the sky is already dark.

Hey, the congressmen are also hungry at this time, so they plan to hold the third election tomorrow.

However, these "citizen groups" who came to the venue again to "watch the election" did not agree. They had already surrounded the venue and were not allowed to enter or leave.

“No one can leave without electing a president.”

At this time, the situation became tense: there were not enough votes, and Yuan Shikai could not become the official president; Yuan Shikai could not become the official president, so the heroes of the "Citizen League" outside the venue refused to let go.

At this time, the red sun has already set in the western mountains, chickens have entered the pen, birds have returned to their nests, the street lights in the streets and alleys are shining brightly, and the endless blue sky is gradually filled with bright stars.

It was evening, and the deputies were so hungry that they wanted to break out of the door to find something to eat, but that didn't work. Before the deputies could reach the door, they were grabbed by people from the "Citizens' Group" and yelled at them.

Then he used his old fists to beat the congressmen until they were running around and fled back to the venue in embarrassment. The most ridiculous thing was that some congressmen were addicted to smoking, and they couldn't replenish their addiction. They yawned all over the venue.

The snot is not snot, and the tears are not tears. I am so anxious that I scratch my head and head, beat my chest and feet, all in vain to make the "citizen group" laugh.

Of course, there were people who delivered meals at this time. After all, some of the elected members were not wealthy people. When those servants saw that the master was starving inside, they naturally wanted to deliver meals. The Progressive Party, which supported Yuan Shikai, delivered meals to their congressmen.

When they arrived, the people from the "Citizens' League" let them go straight in. The Kuomintang also sent people to deliver food, but the "Citizens' League" blocking the door refused to let them in. The people from the Kuomintang hurriedly said.

"We support President Yuan"

The Citizen League beamed with joy after hearing this, waved their hands and said:

"Then hurry in."

And the Kuomintang people brought food and said...

"We are from the Kuomintang and we deliver meals to the congressmen."

The "citizen group" was furious and cursed:

"The Kuomintang is not allowed to enter. The Kuomintang is committing rebellion and treason. It would be better if they starve to death more often. They deserve it."

Seeing that they were not allowed to go out until the election continued, the members had no choice but to endure and continue voting for the third time. According to Article 2 of the "Presidential Election Act": "When no one is elected in the second vote, the person who gets more votes in the second vote will

In the run-off between the two, the one who gets more than half of the votes will be elected." In other words, this time only one person can be elected between Yuan Shikai and Li Yuanhong, and only one person can be elected with more than half.

When Wang Jiaxian announced the third vote, when the ballots were distributed to the members, the people from the "Citizen League" started shouting again:

"Elect President Yuan"

"Whoever doesn't elect President Yuan will never leave home."

“Whoever doesn’t elect President Yuan will have no chance of eating.”

Under this noisy noise, the hungry MPs were already weak and dizzy. But even so, some hard-core MPs still crossed out their ballots in protest. By the time the voting ended, Yuan Shikai had received 507 votes.

, naturally with more than half of the votes, he was elected as the first official president of the Republic of China.

The news came out from inside the venue, and there was a burst of cheers outside the venue.

'Long live the President!' This is the cheer of the 'citizen group' - a group of loyal citizens. They surrounded the venue at midnight until late at night when they exhaled these five words. It took a total of 14 hours. These people

He also didn't eat or drink. He stood with his legs upright and left the venue only after he finished shouting.

On the day the president was elected, the State Council immediately sent a message to the provincial governors, civil affairs ministers, generals, governors, service chiefs, economic envoys, town and border envoys, propaganda envoys, garrison envoys and xuan comfort envoys:

"Today, the National Congress will organize a presidential election meeting and elect in accordance with the law. The interim president Yuan Gong has been elected as the president. We hereby notify the provincial council and send a call to all counties to notify you."

"Why……"

Putting down the telegram in his hand, Li Zicheng sighed helplessly. The Sun family was the first to use force to resolve disputes, and the second coup was self-defeating. But what about Yuan Shikai? In order to become the president, he got a "citizen group insurance".

It's not like it's self-defeating.

"Zhiyuan, I guess the newspaper will be very busy tomorrow."

Mu Xiangyue looked at the telegram and then thought about the content of the citizens' group in the telegram he received in the afternoon. He knew without even thinking that there would be an uproar across the country tomorrow.

"It's not just fun, it's basically giving Yuan Shikai a leg up..."

With a long sigh, Li Zicheng shook his head.

"Be smart for a lifetime, but be confused for a while."
To be continued...