Master Yuan, start!

The Eight Banners, which had been supported for hundreds of years, had long lost their skills in farming and business, and many of them ended up on the streets after losing their banner salaries.

Therefore, the bannermen were not afraid of having their property confiscated and their clans exterminated, and dared to assassinate the ministers of the dynasty.

2000 taels of silver was really too much, and they were afraid of being poor.

Gu Yi, after knowing that it was the Eight Banners who assassinated Guangxu, Yi Xin felt a little hesitant when he heard that Yuan Shikai was going to continue to promote the "Eight Articles of Reform".

4 Weng Tong was no exception. When he heard Yuan Shikai propose to "implement a constitutional monarchy," he immediately expressed his concern.

"Weiting, in times of crisis, we should be pacifying the world. How can we resort to such radical measures and stir up trouble?"

Don't you all want a constitution? Yuan Xiangcheng glanced at the crowd and thought to himself, since you don't want to open the windows, then I'll just lift the roof.

"In extraordinary times, extraordinary things should be done!" Yuan Xiangcheng said firmly.

"Your Majesty, Master Zhai!" Yuan Xiangcheng said to the two men in front of him, "The country cannot be without a ruler for a day, and I'm afraid the emperor is unable to handle state affairs.

In this case, the prince will either serve as the regent for the emperor for the rest of his life until the emperor wakes up.

Either that or choose a new ruler."

Either establish a constitution, or your son will not become emperor. This is the choice given by Yuan Shikai.

Upon hearing this, Yi X suddenly raised his head, and his hesitation turned into vigilance.

Choosing a new king means that my son’s reign will come to an end, right?

Yi X also had his own plans in mind. He could accept his son being an unconscious emperor, but he would never allow anyone to covet the throne.

"So what if he's the regent for life? What's wrong with Father making the decision for his son? The worst that can happen is we can let that brat Zaifeng take the throne." Shi Duo saw Yi X's face change slightly, and immediately gave him a solution that he thought was the best of both worlds.

It is also possible to change the emperor. As long as the throne does not leave Prince Chun's mansion, I believe Yi X will not refuse.

Zaifeng refers to Aisin-Gioro Zaifeng, the fifth son of Emperor Yixuan and the half-brother of Emperor Guangxu.

Historically, Zaifeng not only inherited the title of Prince Chun, but his son Puyi also became the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty.

Sure enough, after hearing this, Yi X's expression relaxed.

"What if the emperor wakes up? When the brothers meet, who will be the emperor?" Yuan Xiangcheng looked at Prince Chun Yixun and said deliberately: "Your Highness, the story of the Jingtai Emperor in the former Ming Dynasty was a story of fratricide. We must be on guard."

The emperor can certainly be replaced, but Guangxu cannot just sit back and do nothing. If he wakes up in the future and finds that he has lost his throne, what will he think?

Will he learn from Mingbaozong, endure for many years, and finally massacre the palace in blood and ascend the throne again?

Of course, it is also possible that Guangxu would never wake up. In this case, the throne would still be passed down through Prince Chun's line, and everyone would naturally be happy.

But Yuan Xiangcheng thought that Yi X didn't dare to gamble!

Sure enough, after hearing Yuan Xiangcheng's words, Yi Xin looked at Guangxu on the bed with some pity, and finally made up his mind.

"What Wei Ting said makes some sense." Yi X sighed.

"The throne ultimately belongs to Tian'er. No one can take it away. Even I, as his father, shouldn't make decisions for him."

"That's right, Your Majesty." Yuan Xiangcheng bowed and said:

“Therefore, I propose to adopt a Western constitutional system. In a constitutional country, national affairs do not need to be handled by the monarch. Instead, they are all in the hands of the prime minister to ensure the smooth operation of the court.

If the prince is willing, he can first stabilize the people's hearts for the regent, and after the government and the country are stabilized, he can take the position of regent and the position of prime minister of the cabinet.

This way, I won't be letting the Emperor down."

"Just do as you say." Yi X stared at the unconscious Guangxu and couldn't help but praying: "Ancestors, please bless our descendants to be safe and sound."

"Your Majesty is the Supreme Lord of Heaven, and good fortune will come to those who are blessed!"

Seeing that there were no more setbacks in the constitutional issue, Yuan Shikai began to work on another matter.

"Your Highness, the most urgent task is to ensure that there are no more assassins or accomplices in the capital, as well as the movements of the Bannermen Army."

Yuan Shikai was determined to capture the city of Xiangyang by destroying the Eight Banners armed forces.

Chapter 257 Discussions in Beijing

It was hot and stuffy in the capital city in June. The only sounds in the huge city were the chirping of cicadas and the barking of dogs. Almost all production and business activities had stopped.

Although it has rained heavily in the past few days and the weather is no longer hot, the air has become extremely sticky due to the excess moisture. When you open your mouth to breathe, all you breathe in is water vapor.

The feeling of damp heat seems to be more uncomfortable than dry heat.

However, the difficulties do not end there.

The heavy rain continued to fall, and water gradually accumulated in the streets and alleys of the capital.

The accumulated water flowed from the main road into the alleys, and from the alleys to the doorsteps of low-lying houses, seeping into people's homes through the cracks in the wooden doors and stone bricks.

In the past, the man and woman in charge would have opened the door to ventilate the room, while cursing the awful weather and spanking the child.

But in the past few days, the people in the capital city, in an atmosphere of fear and doubt, kept their doors closed and dared not make any noise.

They didn't understand why an assassination attempt happened just when a meritorious official had returned to Beijing.

Even though there are some voices in the capital saying that Lord Yuan has rebellious intentions, those are just rumors after all and cannot be taken seriously!

The National Defense Army fought a desperate battle with the Hunan rebels in Jiangnan, marching south with their heads tied to their waists. It was said that even the foreigners could not sit still and wanted to intervene.

But what about the capital? What is happening in the capital?

It would have been bad enough to slander Lord Yuan in the newspaper, but he even went so far as to assassinate the Emperor. If the assassin's shooting skills hadn't been so poor, Lord Yuan would have been shot as well.

The news of the assassination on Zhengyang Street has spread throughout the city.

After hearing the news, some were shocked, some were frightened, some were filled with indignation, and some silently cheered in their hearts.

However, no matter what their stance is, the news is shocking enough.

It is rare to see an emperor of a country being stabbed in the street.

The common people might be afraid of the patrolling soldiers and dare not leave their houses, but most people in this world are just watching the fun, and many people with connections are trying to find out the details of the assassination.

Some said that the emperor was assassinated, while others said that Lord Yuan was shot and killed.

Rumors are flying everywhere.

After Yuan Xiangcheng settled Prince Chun and a group of ministers, he began to deal with the situation in the capital.

He first posted a notice in the capital in the name of Prince Chun to announce the truth.

However, he used some trickery to explain the truth, changing the story of "the emperor was shot and unconscious, and Prince Chun temporarily took over the throne of regent" to "the emperor and Mr. Yuan were both shot, and the emperor was unconscious."

With a slight change, Yuan Shikai became the same victim as Guangxu.

[However, the news that the real culprit is the Eight Banners has not yet been made public.

Prince Chun Yixun took into consideration that Yuan Shikai only had a few hundred soldiers in the capital, and even if the Infantry Commander's Office was included, there were only a few thousand people.

Tie Liang's Bannermen Army and the 10th Regiment were located in the west of Beijing, and it was unknown whether there were any assassins left in the capital.

U So his order is to wait!

Yi X planned to wait for the arrival of the national defense forces stationed at Shanhaiguan before revealing the truth.

However, Yuan Xiangcheng was not willing to see the situation calm down.

q...

u ...

NBecause of the assassination, the Tongwenguan in Beijing stopped daily teaching. Although the control has been relaxed in recent days, the students still have nothing to do after arriving at the academy every day and can only discuss the current situation in the academy.

: They held newspapers in their hands, trying to analyze some truth from the complicated situation.

A younger student with a southern accent lowered his voice, "Hey, I heard from the palace that the assassin was from the Red Banner!"

"What? The Eight Banners assassinated the emperor?" Upon hearing this, his companion immediately looked at him like he was stupid. "Do you believe I am the First Emperor, or do you believe this rumor? Why would the Eight Banners assassinate the emperor?"

"The Eight Banners were the emperor's right-hand men. How could they harm their own arms?"

"Yes, I'm afraid it wasn't an assassin sent by Xiang Ni, deliberately framing him?"

Several Han students kept arguing, and they did not believe that it was the Eight Banners who assassinated Guangxu.

Yes, no one would believe that the Eight Banners would rebel against the emperor before seeing the body of the real murderer.

0The Eight Banners Rebellion, what an ancient term.

"Liangbi, you are a red belt, do you know what's going on?" Yan Huiqing pushed the Western glasses he had just bought last month and touched Liangbi, who was a little distracted, with his arm.

"Me? How would I know?" Liang Bi suddenly woke up, exhaled, and pretended to be calm: "I grew up in Chengdu since I was a child. I am not as well-informed as you are about the news in the capital. I know nothing!"

Liang Bi, one of the famous bannermen in the late Qing Dynasty in the original time and space, an important member of the Zongshe Party, was one of the few Manchus with a normal mind in the late Qing Dynasty.

During the Xinhai Revolution, when the news of the large-scale massacre of Manchu cities in the south by the revolutionaries reached Beijing, many Manchu nobles in the capital wanted to retaliate by massacring the Han people in Beijing.

After Liangbi learned about this, he personally met with the Grand Councilor and the Regent, and bluntly told them that the Han people should not be massacred, otherwise the Manchus would suffer a devastating disaster.

However, his achievements were not known to the world. After the Xinhai Revolution, the situation between the North and the South was in opposition. In order to boost their momentum, the revolutionaries sent people north to assassinate Manchuria.

Liangbi was killed by a bomb thrown by Peng Jiazhen of the Tongmenghui. Just over ten days after his death, the Qing emperor issued an edict to abdicate.

It can only be said that time is also fate.

As for Yan Huiqing, he once studied at the Tongwenguan in Beijing. He was a diplomatic talent who made great contributions but was not well-known during the Republic of China in the original time and space.

During the period when Yuan Shikai served as the provisional president of the Republic of China, the Minister of Foreign Affairs changed frequently, but Yan Huiqing always served as the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Yan Huiqing is a true shadow foreign minister, but his achievements are more than that.

He experienced a series of major events, including the Outer Mongolia negotiations, the opium ban negotiations with Britain, the Paris Peace Conference, the refund of the Boxer Indemnity, the Washington Conference, the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Chinese Communist Party and the Soviet Union, the support for the border area's war of resistance, the visit to India, the trip to the United States to seek help from Roosevelt in person, the refusal to take up a position in the Wang Puppet Government by being imprisoned by the Japanese army in Hong Kong, and the welcome of the People's Liberation Army into Shanghai after liberation.

It can be said that "he was present at the Paris Peace Conference, advocated for the refund of the Boxer Indemnity, negotiated with the Soviet Union during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and presided over the CPPCC meetings."

It is no exaggeration to say that he was a witness and participant of almost all major events in China in the first 20 years of the 50th century, and is a veritable living fossil of history.

When Yan Huiqing passed away in 1950, both the Chairman and the Premier sent telegrams to express their deep condolences.

However, at this time, Yan Huiqing had no idea that he would accomplish so many great things in history. He was trying hard to analyze the truth of the assassination.

"I think this rumor is almost certainly true." Yan Huiqing pushed his glasses up again, looking like he had seen through the current situation.

"After the Emperor was assassinated, he didn't mobilize the Bannermen army west of the city to defend it. Instead, he closed the city gates and allowed the National Defense Army and the Infantry Yamen to search the city. This is too strange."

"Three, it's really strange. Did I hear it wrong that day? The assassin's target wasn't Yuan Xiangcheng, but the emperor?" Liang Bi fell into deep thought.

San Liangbi was entertaining guests at a restaurant. When he went downstairs to relieve himself, he heard words like "Manchu and Mongolian warriors", "Yuan Xiangcheng", and "teach them a lesson" coming from the next room.

At that time, Ling thought he was just drunk and didn't take it seriously.