Master Yuan, start!

However, he changed the subject and said with some worry:

"Since the first year of the Republic, countless secret societies have been established, and thousands of scholars have rushed to join them.

But there are both new and old members of secret societies, a mixed bag of good and bad. Some are gangs that have transformed. I'm worried that if we leave these people alone, people will become dissatisfied with joining secret societies in the future."

Yan Fu's analysis made Yuan Xiangcheng nod frequently.

Indeed, early party politics was often closely linked to underworld gangs.

General Zhu once joined the Gelaohui, and Sun Yat-sen and Chiang Kai-shek were official disciples of the Hongmen Qingbang.

But if a political party wants to become bigger, it must break away from ties with the underworld.

"Besides this, there is one more thing, but I don't know whether I should mention it or not." After pondering for a moment, Yan Fu spoke again.

"What is it?" Yuan Xiangcheng said affirmatively, "Brothers, please feel free to tell me. There is no need to hesitate."

Yan Fu paused after hearing this and said:

“The Red Confucian Society is more like a political party of the military than a political party of the country.

Although the local Red Confucian Society has recently recruited many prospective members, after asking, I found that most of them joined the society because they heard that they could become officials after joining the society, or because they heard that the President had also joined the society.

If these circumstances were not disclosed, most people’s first choice would not be the Red Confucian Society.

Moreover, the name of the Red Confucian Society is too bland and far from being as eye-catching as names like the Xingguo Society and the Huaxing Society.

Even the names of local secret societies like the Strong Zhejiang Society and the Protect the Soviet Union Society are more appealing."

Yan Fu didn't finish his words, but Yuan Shikai already understood.

At the end of the 19th century, people had not yet realized the importance of political parties and most viewed them as organizations that highlighted individuality.

Such as "XX Poetry Society, XX Literary Society"

Because the name of the Red Confucian Society was rather ordinary, it could not attract young scholars.

In addition, when local branches recruit members, they rely not on ideals or beliefs, but on naked inducement of interests.

Members of the local Red Confucian Society relied on the National Revolutionary Army and the Provisional Republican Government, and unconsciously weakened their own subjective initiative.

"The revolution has not yet succeeded, comrades still need to work hard." Yuan Xiangcheng sighed: "How can we let these people rest on their laurels and reap the fruits of their labor?

The republican government is not the government of the Red Confucian Society, but the government of the people of the world, and any party can participate."

It would be unacceptable if the Red Confucian Society degenerates into a political party with no competitiveness.

Yuan Shikai never thought of establishing a one-party government. Even if he wanted a one-man rule, he would do so only after the external environment was peaceful.

In his opinion, in the early political environment of China, the existence of multiple parties was better than the existence of only a single party.

It is always better to be able to find and fill in the gaps than to be stubborn and self-willed.

"Brother Jidao, I understand what you mean."

Yuan Xiangcheng sighed: "The most important thing at present is to clarify the differences between secret societies.

I propose that secret societies with gang-like characteristics should still be called secret societies.

However, all parties with political purposes will be collectively referred to as political parties.

After the telegram was sent to the whole country, people were reminded to distinguish between secret societies and political parties.

At the same time, the name of the Red Confucian Society can also be changed to meet the needs of modern party politics.

In addition, the people must be informed that officials of the Republic of China are selected from the virtuous and capable, and that one cannot become an official by joining the Red Confucian Society but must pass an examination.

The national examination system will be implemented soon. Those with ambition can become officials even without joining a political party!

Chapter 359: Green Gang on the Grand Canal

It was March, the beginning of spring.

Beijing has ushered in a season full of vitality and hope. As the temperature gradually warms up, all things revive and the entire city begins to be covered with new green.

At the same time, Li Hongzhang's telegram "inviting President Yuan to discuss national affairs" ignited a wave of public opinion in China.

Someone praised Yuan Shikai as the father of the Republic in the newspaper, and Li Hongzhang should have gone north to meet him instead of letting Yuan Shikai go south to meet him.

"President Yuan has made great contributions to the country.

He took back Korea, repelled the Japanese pirates, and repelled the Russian invaders, and was a hero in consolidating the golden bowl of the northern kingdom!

How could I condescend to meet a vassal state in Lingnan?"

Voices praising Yuan and criticizing Li were mostly found in newspapers north of the Yangtze River.

The newspapers backed by the Lingnan faction knew that it was irrefutable that Yuan Shikai overthrew the Qing Dynasty, established a republic, and defeated the Russians, so they did not waste their breath voicing opposition.

However, although they did not belittle Yuan Shikai, they took a different approach and focused on promoting Li Hongzhang's achievements.

"Commander-in-Chief Li also defeated the Spanish navy in the Nanyang Sea, enhancing our nation's prestige and making him a hero of the Southern Sea!"

The phrase "hero of the South" elevated Li Hongzhang to the same position as Yuan Shikai, the "hero of the North."

Therefore, in order to allow Yuan Shikai to suppress Li Hongzhang, the northern newspapers said:

"President Yuan was not only anti-Russian, he was also anti-Manchu!

All the bannermen in the capital were escorted to the northwest to garrison the border. He is not only a hero of the Republic, but also a hero of the Han people! "

The Lingnan newspapers were not to be outdone and also declared in their newspapers:

"Governor Li also comforted the Han ancestors of 300 years ago with the blood of the Manchus in Guangzhou."

The two sides exchanged views, and there was no clear winner in the public opinion field.

You say Yuan Xiangcheng is a hero of the North, I say Li Hongzhang is a hero of the South.

You say Yuan Shikai exiled the Manchus, I say Li Hongzhang cleansed the city.

In fact, any discerning person can see that Yuan Shikai's achievements surpass Li Hongzhang's.

But why should we bother to compare ourselves with those who win glory for our country?

We are all Han Chinese, we have all fought against foreigners, and we have all settled accounts with the Manchus. What is there that cannot be discussed?

So the Governor of Huguang, Zhang Zhidong, took the opportunity to send a telegram to the whole country, inviting both the North and the South to discuss national affairs in Wuchang.

Coupled with the hard work of journalists from the three towns of Wuhan, people all over the country were talking about this matter for a while.

...

With the situation developing to this point, Yuan Xiangcheng was willing to give him this face.

Therefore, taking advantage of the brief retreat of the cold air in the north and the arrival of the late spring cold, Yuan Shikai took Yan Fu, Zhang Jian, Tang Shaoyi and others south to accept the invitation.

Of course, the main purpose of Yuan Shikai's trip south this time was not to meet with Li Hongzhang, but to inspect the post-war North China region.

Especially the areas of southern Shandong and Jiangsu, which served as the battlefield of the Hunan Expedition.

On the Grand Canal south of Tianjin, a traditional wooden canal boat creates ripples on the water.

From the riverbanks on both sides of the boat, the tender green leaves and the flowers blooming on the shore complement each other.

From time to time, there was a clattering sound coming from the shore. It was the cavalry guard regiment, escorting them all the way south.

Yuan Shikai and his entourage were sitting on a grain boat with a map of China spread out in the middle.

Zhang Jian looked at the thin blue line on the map that extended southward from Beijing, listened to the sounds of the canal workers' calls, and pondered the huge railway plan that Yuan Shikai had just mentioned. He was stunned for a moment.

Yuan Shikai had just said in front of them that he wanted to build a railway from Tianjin in the north to the north of the Yangtze River in the south.

Moreover, this railway will be built along the Grand Canal. Once completed, it will replace the canal's water transport function and be used to transport goods between the south and the north.

9. When it came to building railways, Zhang Jian raised 100 hands in favor.

The Siguanwai Railway was built from Lushunkou northward to Harbin, Acheng County, Heilongjiang Province. There were few people living along the way, and it was unknown when the cost could be recovered, but Zhang Jian never said a word against it.

However, Zhang Jian was opposed to the construction of a "railway along the Grand Canal" that would pass through the densely populated areas of Zhili, Shandong and Jiangsu and would obviously be extremely profitable.

"Weiting, should we postpone this plan?" Zhang Jian took a deep breath and said slowly:

"I know you want to revitalize the North's economy as quickly as possible, but governing a large country is like cooking a small fish; you have to take your time.

"The livelihood of millions of canal workers depends on this, so this matter should be dealt with promptly. We need to find a way out for them before we can implement it gradually."

Zhang Jian had good intentions. He grew up in Nantong, Haimen, at the southern end of the Grand Canal, and knew what this canal meant.

From the trackers on the river bank to the boatmen on the river, to the brokers along the shore, the merchants from the north and south, and the officials in the city.

The Grand Canal between Beijing and Hangzhou involved the interests of millions of civilians and gentry.

It can be said that although the problems along the Grand Canal are numerous and difficult to reverse, they are already difficult to reverse.

However, the chain of interests formed among the groups has been bound together for more than 400 years.

: Moreover, from the Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, this canal that collected money was also the livelihood of many people for generations.

If it is abolished lightly, it may cause unimaginable unrest.

In fact, Zhang Jian’s worries were not unreasonable.

Historically, after the Qing Dynasty announced the abolition of the canal transport system in 1901, millions of canal workers had nowhere to go. Some of them became bandits and became thieves and bandits who roamed Shandong.

Some people return to their hometown to farm and spend their old age in peace.

But in reality, due to the further development of the capitalist world market, farming can no longer support a family.

They didn't have the courage to become bandits, and they didn't want to end up in poverty and die like the canal workers, so they had to find another way out.

Therefore, after the abolition of the canal transport, most of the canal workers chose to move to big cities such as Nanjing and Shanghai, hoping to resume their old jobs and work as dock workers.

However, as outsiders, the canal workers were often excluded by local dock workers.

So, the canal workers gathered their former brothers in the canal gang to support them.

Gradually, this group of canal workers, who were ostensibly dock workers, actually developed into gangsters in secret.

This underworld is the Green Gang.

The Qing Gang, formerly known as the Qing Gang and the Grain Ship Gang, was a semi-guild, semi-gang organization widely popular along the Grand Canal. Most of its members were canal transport workers.

After the Qing Dynasty announced the abolition of the canal transport system, the Green Gang's scope of activities gradually expanded from the banks of the Grand Canal to Shanghai.

The Green Gang came to prominence in front of the people across the country during the Xinhai Revolution, helped the revolutionaries overthrow the Qing Dynasty, and eventually became an important underworld organization in modern history.

"The livelihood of millions of canal workers depends on this. Changes cannot be made lightly, otherwise the country will be in chaos."