The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 657 Take the First Step

Seeing that Yang Shixiang had a thoughtful look on his face, Teng Yuzhao continued.

“The FDC will also set up several committees under it, such as the military, foreign affairs, finance and taxation, internal affairs, planning, organization and publicity, science and technology education, industry and commerce, transportation, construction, agriculture, water conservancy, electricity, communications, and medical care committees, which will temporarily preside over various tasks in the provinces we control.”

Teng Yuzao hesitated for a moment, then said, "In addition, we can also add a political participation committee to the Civil Alliance to participate in politics and affairs of state, mainly to accommodate some senior and prestigious civilians and court officials."

Having said that, Teng Yuzao changed the subject.

“It goes without saying that the reason we set up this organization is that we are dissatisfied with the court’s pretense of promoting constitutional reforms to cover up its intention to continue to exercise imperial rule, and we want to overthrow the court in the end.”

"And the dignitaries in the court will definitely not be satisfied with what we have done. This time they left the capital and followed Empress Dowager Cixi to Jingmen, and even integrated the new armies of various provinces. Their goal is to target us."

"So, it is probably inevitable that force will be used to resolve the issue in the end."

"Also, not only is the land outside the Great Wall still in the hands of the Japanese and Russian powers, but they have long coveted our rich land and will not give up easily. To thwart the ambitions of the powers, we must maintain a strong military force and always be on our guard against them."

"Taiwan has been our territory since ancient times, but it is still occupied by the Japanese and has not been taken back. Without a strong military force, it is impossible to take it back."

"All of the above determines that we will have to rely mainly on military actions for a long period of time. This is the first step in the three steps of constitutional government that I mentioned, the so-called military-political stage. In the military-political stage, everything must be centered on the military."

"If you have no objection, I will be the chairman of this military committee, and all other committees to be established must be based on this military committee."

As soon as Teng Yuzao said this, Yang Shixiang, Wei Jinghai, Ye Zugui, and Tang Shaoyi were all overjoyed! They all understood what Teng Yuzao meant, and even Xu Shichang breathed a sigh of relief.

They all understood that if they followed Teng Yuzhao's approach, it would be equivalent to starting over and creating a new court.

Although Teng Yuzao did not say it explicitly, he had already made up his mind to break with the Qing court. The only thing left was to clearly declare rebellion, and it was only a matter of time.

Moreover, Teng Yuzao did not serve as the chairman of the FDC, and let Xu Shichang come out to act as a shield, which was a brilliant move!
In fact, there is another benefit to letting Xu Shichang serve as the chairman of the FDC, which Teng Yuzao did not explicitly state.

With Xu Shichang, more local officials and even court ministers could be attracted to join the Civil Alliance. No one would believe that Xu Shichang, a good-natured man who always adhered to the doctrine of the mean, would do anything so outrageous.

Or, even if they could see that Xu Shichang was just a signboard used as a shield for Teng Yuzhao, at least it gave those people a good excuse to leave the court. After all, they did not nominally ally themselves with him, Teng Yuzhao, to seek face and psychological comfort.

In this way, not only can one avoid being caught by the court, but one can also shut up those stubborn people.

Duan Qirui was also amazed and impressed by Teng Yuzhao's methods.

Originally, Duan Qirui was still dissatisfied because Teng Yuzhao included him as the initiator without consulting him in advance, but at this moment, the dissatisfaction in Duan Qirui's heart disappeared.

In his impression, it is an indisputable fact that Teng Yuzao possesses outstanding military talent. However, Duan Qirui still has some doubts about Teng Yuzao's ability to govern the country. After all, this is an ancient empire with 400 million people!
Its rulers not only need to have excellent military and development capabilities that prevent the great powers from coveting the country, but also need to have the ability to develop the people's livelihood economy, but also need to have wise insight, clear political mind and the ability to resolve difficulties.

However, Duan Qirui had already found the answer in his mind at this moment. Teng Yuzao was the person he thought he was. Xu Shichang also fully understood the intention of letting him be the chairman of the Democratic Alliance. After a little thought, he said resolutely.

"Since the Marshal has said so, Shichang is not talented enough, but I am willing to follow the Marshal and take over the position of Chairman of the FDC!"

After Xu Shichang expressed his feelings, he did not stop talking immediately, but continued.

"Also, I absolutely believe that the best option is for the Marshal to serve as the Prime Minister. But if that happens, wouldn't that mean we have to go to war with the imperial court? This would trigger a large-scale war, which would be inconsistent with the Marshal's purpose of taking back the land outside the Great Wall in advance!"

“I wonder how the Marshal will deal with it in the future?”

Teng Yuzao heard the implicit meaning in Xu Shichang's words. He emphasized that Teng Yuzao should serve as the first prime minister of the cabinet, or he was subtly advising Teng Yuzao to leave some dignity for Cixi and the Qing court.

Teng Yuzao did not take Xu Shichang's concerns seriously. He did not want to be the prime minister of the cabinet and everything depended on how the situation developed.

Teng Yuzao said sincerely, "Brother Juren, I can assure you that everything I did was for what I just said. I only wanted to make the country rich and the people strong, so that they would no longer be bullied by the great powers, and to restore the glory of the Han and Tang dynasties!"

"In order to realize this dream in my heart, I am willing to give up everything for it. I can give up my reputation, status and even wealth. It doesn't matter whether I become the prime minister or not."

"But now the court has given the first cabinet prime minister to Yikuang, a greedy and foolish mediocre man. I don't bother to compete with him. Brother Juren's worries, I can only promise you that I will do my best to do better."

Teng Yuzao shook his head again and said, "As for the war, Brother Juren doesn't need to worry too much."

"As long as I don't explicitly say that I don't want this court anymore, they won't go to war with us for the time being! Because they are not ready yet. Before they have integrated the new armies of various provinces, they can't afford the consequences of going to war at this time!"

Teng Yuzao smiled contemptuously and said, "With the lessons learned in the Gengzi Year, I believe they will know clearly that they have no chance of winning."

"If it weren't for the Tsarist Russia and the Japanese invaders outside the country, and if I didn't want a large-scale war to happen in the country, I could declare war on this corrupt and incompetent court right now. In three months at the least, or half a year at the most, I could overthrow this court."

Tang Shaoyi said disapprovingly, "Since ancient times, there has always been bloodshed in the change of dynasties. This is also the case with the Western powers. France once killed their emperor!"

Teng Yuzao ignored Tang Shaoyi's words and continued to speak to Xu Shichang.

"However, war is always inevitable. I will try my best to control the scope of war to the minimum."

"For example, although I am preparing to start a new government, I will not do it so obviously now, at least not in name. I just said that I will announce my support for the constitutional reform of the court."

"What I support is constitutional reform led by us, not Yikuang, or even the court. If they carry out constitutional reform, it will only be a wolf in sheep's clothing, changing the soup but not the substance, and there will be no substantial change in the development of this country."

(End of this chapter)