Episode 185 Toward a Republic?

"General Mu, I'm from the Washington Post. Nanjing currently claims that you launched a coup in Beijing and successfully overthrew the rule of the Qing emperor. The Ming army's entry into Beijing will be a matter of the next few days. And after your coup,

But you put the Jiade Emperor who was forced to abdicate at the end of 35 years to the throne. May I ask General Mu, does this mean that you do not intend to surrender to the Ming army, but are prepared to allow the Qing Empire to continue?"

In the "Qing Radio Station", the first foreign reporter took the microphone and asked sharp questions. Several spotlights flashed directly at Mu Hu.

Mu Hu is not used to such occasions. Like most senior Manchu officials, he has never faced any "journalists", let alone so many foreign reporters at the same time. This was given to him by the former Northern Qing Foreign Minister

The idea was that you are now the focus of the world's attention, so why not hold a press conference. Although Mu Hu was inexperienced, he immediately realized that this was a good opportunity to win the support of international public opinion and show that he was different from Guangwu University.

Fortunately, this question is being prepared. Mu Hu sat in front of the broadcasting microphone, cleared his throat, steadied his breathing, faced the flashing spotlight, smiled, and said in a slightly trembling voice:

"Sir, ahem, there are a few points that need to be clarified here... I don't quite accept the word 'surrender', and I don't know where I heard that I wanted to 'surrender' to the Ming army. As we all know, about

The legality of the Qing's rule in northern China has always been controversial even internationally, not to mention the Qing Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty. I am a soldier, and I don't care about issues that even politicians can't figure out. I only know that this is me

my motherland. I grew up here and love this country.

Family, love this land, love the people here, whether they are Han or Banner people. I launched a coup to overthrow the tyrant Guangwu, not to surrender to anyone, let alone to get benefits, and to sell this land I love to anyone.

.I have only one purpose for doing this, for the people here to get rid of dictatorship and live a better life... If anyone suspects that the purpose of my coup is to sell the remaining Qing Dynasty to someone, then he is insulting

I cannot accept my personality."

"Mr. Washington Post," Na Shunye, Mu Hu's secretary next to him, spoke with a slight trembling, "Mr. Washington led you to overthrow the British rule, and Britain and France were also at war. Could it be that Mr. Washington just wanted to sell North America to

For the French?”

The American reporter has not sat down yet, but has been standing all the time, in order to show that he has not finished asking the question and not let others take the talk. Although Mu Hu's answer is very beautiful, this reporter is also a veteran.

. He smiled slightly and just said:

"But General, you haven't answered my question directly. By putting Emperor Jiade on the throne, does that mean you want the Qing Empire to continue to exist? The nearest Ming army is only dozens of kilometers away from Beijing. They are waiting at any time.

As we move into Beijing. General, how are you going to position your relationship with the Ming Empire next? If you cannot accept the word 'surrender', which word can you accept? I look forward to your positive answer, thank you."

The scene was quiet for a moment, and then Mu Hu smiled and said:

"To be honest, the Qing Dynasty is now in a precarious situation, just like a small boat in the strong wind and huge waves, and I am the one who is rowing hard. Of course I don't want this small boat to be capsized. If possible, I hope

I have been holding on to this small boat until the wind and waves calmed down, and then repaired it and made it look brand new. But I know that my strength is very strong.

It is so small that whether the Qing Dynasty can survive depends on whether the surrounding stormy waves will respond. But I will try my best. I deeply feel that my ability and reputation are limited. I hope that His Majesty Emperor Jiade can become a great power in this extraordinary period.

The symbol of the Qing Dynasty and the source of cohesion. And I will make every effort to promote the change of the Qing Dynasty in the shortest possible time.

"As for the positioning of the relationship with the Ming Dynasty, I think this way: I hope the Ming Dynasty can allow the Qing Dynasty to retain the remaining land and retain the Aisin Gioro royal family as a national symbol. The Qing Dynasty will surrender to the Ming Dynasty, make the emperor king, and

The empire is a kingdom. From now on, the Qing Empire will be renamed the 'Qing Kingdom'

', 'His Majesty the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty' was renamed 'His Majesty the King of the Qing Dynasty'. Following the example of Siam, he became a vassal of the Ming Dynasty. If the Ming Dynasty insists on not allowing the 'Manchu Qing' regime to exist, then we can also consider accepting the change.

The name of the country, the abolition of the royal family, and the establishment of a republic."

…

As soon as he finished saying this, the scene was in an uproar. The reporters were all clamoring to ask questions. Mu Hu clicked on one of them.

"General Mu, I'm from The Times. You said that you might depose the royal family and establish a republic. If you can really reach an agreement with Ming Dynasty on this, what changes will you make? And you plan to serve in the new government

What role?”

This Mu Hu was completely prepared, he had already memorized the manuscript.

He smiled confidently:

"There are still very few republics in the world today, and there are none in Asia. But it is the general trend for republics to replace monarchies. If we are lucky enough to survive the tracks and muzzles of the Ming army, then we will become the first republic in Asia. We

We will take the United States as an example, learn from her, introduce true democracy and freedom, and strive to become a beacon of freedom in the East. We will abolish the Military Aircraft Service and let the cabinet truly play its role. Establish an independent system

We will establish an independent judicial system and establish a parliament at the same time to realize the separation of powers among the three powers. We will immediately abolish all privileges of the bannermen and truly realize the equality of Manchu and Han. We will eradicate corruption within one year with iron-blooded determination.

Corruption. We will abolish all labor camps, abolish the road system, and open all borders. From now on, citizens will move freely within the country and enter and exit freely. We will also abolish all censorship of publishing and speech.

limit.

"Some people may suspect that I want to implement a military dictatorship like Latin America. No, just the opposite. In order to prevent the country from falling into dictatorship again, we are considering implementing a more stable 'dual system', that is, a president and a prime minister.

The president is the head of state and the symbol of the country

, responsible for national ceremonial affairs. The prime minister is the head of government and is responsible for daily government affairs. The head of state and the head of government are split into two people to avoid possible personal centralization. This is different from the 'unitary' president of the United States.

Because our democracy is younger and more fragile.

"The president is directly elected by the whole people, ranging from millionaires to ordinary farmers, one person, one vote. The prime minister is nominated by the winning political party. As for which party wins, it depends on who has the most seats in the parliament. And who

There are more seats, which is also determined by the votes in the hands of the people.

. Please note that our parliament will be a real parliament, not the kind of parliament of a certain country. All national affairs are decided by the cabinet and the royal family...Here, who is in power and who is not in power depends entirely on the people.

It's decided by votes. Even I am no exception.

"Her Majesty the Queen of the Ming Dynasty has a famous saying that I believe many people have heard of: Our war against the Qing Dynasty was not to occupy land and resources, but so that the people in the north would no longer need to flee south. Now, this war in the mouth of Her Majesty the Queen of the Ming Dynasty

The goal has been achieved. The biggest obstacle to the reform of the Qing Dynasty has also been overthrown by me.

After the defeat in the war, we have learned from the pain and are now about to embark on unprecedented thorough reforms. Our pursuit of the constitution and democracy will be more intense and bold than the Ming Dynasty. We will achieve universal suffrage within a year.

.At this point, I dare say that the Ming Empire has been left behind by us.

"Now I want to say: Her Majesty the Queen, if your purpose in waging war is really to make the people happier, then please stop and don't let your tanks come again. As long as you allow our emerging regime to survive

, in a few years you will see that there will be a larger

A more democratic, happier country... On the contrary, if the purpose of your war is not for the people, but to occupy more land and resources, then let your tanks continue to roll over. Let this land

Let the people become subjects of that country where the royal family and the cabinet rule everything!

"If Her Majesty the Queen is really unwilling to let go of our new regime, we will not resist. We are too weak now. In order to save our people from disaster, I will order the troops to stop resisting and let the Ming Army enter the city.

As for me, I will step down from all my posts and spend my life in shame - because of my incompetence and failure to let the people take a better road."

After Mu Hu finished speaking, he seemed very excited and his mouth was dry. He looked around proudly, picked up the teacup and took a few sips. No one spoke or applauded, but the spotlights kept flashing.

.

…

This news conference that shocked the world spread throughout the world via radio waves, and was almost heard by the entire Ming Empire.

In the Nanjing Imperial Palace, Zhu Yourong sat next to the radio, listening to the radio waves coming from Beijing, his face turning red and white.

"I...I..."

She wanted to say something several times, but in the end she couldn't.

In the headquarters of the People's Guard, Fourteenth Gege was also listening to the radio. At this moment, her face was livid, uglier than Zhu Yourong.

"So that's it..." she murmured, "That's it... no wonder I had to reply to my telegram... Now, I actually found out about it from the radio..."

In Xuzhou, inside the Northern Command, Xiang Xiaoqiang listened to the radio, slapped the table and cursed:

"Damn it!! It turns out that we have been supporting for a long time, and this is what we have produced!!!... Damn it, we worked hard to fight to the bottom of Beijing, just ask this kid to talk lightly, and he will take advantage of us.

Going upwind!"

In Nanjing and Xuzhou, Xiang Xiaoqiang and Shi Shigege said three words slowly at the same time:

"Did him..."

…

However, Mu Hu’s voice came from the radio again:

"I also know that many people in the Ming Empire will think that the Ming army fought hard to reach the gates of Beijing, but now Mu Hu is standing on the moral high ground with a few cheap words... I want to tell you, this is not

This is not a cheap talk. In order to overthrow the tyrant Guangwu, for more than a year, I took the risk of having my house confiscated and annihilated, carefully prepared, and attempted to assassinate him several times.

The coup was finally successful until now... I would like to ask the generals of the Ming Army, it is very hard for you to command the army to fight, but who of you risked confiscating your family and annihilating your family? Since I have the courage to overthrow the tyrant at the risk of confiscating your family and annihilating your family, am I right?

Don’t you have the determination to eliminate the vested interests and achieve thorough reform? Is this more dangerous than me overthrowing the tyrant?

"I also know that by saying these words now, I have pushed myself into a dangerous situation. Many people even want to kill me... If you kill me, you can promise to make the same thorough reforms as me.

, then, feel free to kill me! I will kill you at the first glance! However, I, Mu Hu, did not die in the hands of a tyrant, but died in the hands of someone who has always regarded "liberating the people of the north" as his own mission. I will feel more sad.

"

…

In Nanjing and Xuzhou, Xiang Xiaoqiang and Shi Shigege were stunned again. They thought about it and said to themselves at the same time:
Chapter completed!