"The core point of the Democratic Party's constitution is actually only one sentence, we protect the interests of the propertied people." Wang Youhong stood on the rostrum of the Jiangsu parliament and said loudly, "Whether we make laws, build water conservancy, or help the poor, in the final analysis, they are all one goal, and Jiangsu cannot be chaotic." In the current situation, as long as Jiangsu is in chaos, there will be a big incident. We must work together to tide over the difficulties......"

Some of the gentry below showed disdain or dissatisfaction, but more people looked at Wang Youhong on the rostrum with a look of respect and worship. This person is the defender of Jiangsu, the leader of Jiangsu, and when the gentry are confused and confused, only this person comes up with a feasible plan. Whether the gentry agreed or disagreed with Wang Youhong's plan, everyone did admit that Wang Youhong had abilities beyond everyone else.

Wang Youhong didn't care about the attitude of the gentry below, his speech had reached the final point. "The Democratic Party to be formed in the next place is not the party of the next person, it is now the party of the whole of Jiangsu, and in the future it will even be the party of the whole of China's propertied people. Our slogan is only one ......"

Wang Youhong raised his left hand slowly but forcefully, and the eyes of all the people in the audience were attracted by this action, "Propertied people, unite!" ”

As Wang Youhong waved his hand in the air vigorously as the end of his speech, thunderous applause and cheers had already resounded among the excited gentry below.

Yu Chen sat in the middle of the gentry in military uniforms, and there was a group of young soldiers who were also wearing military uniforms around him. There was intense excitement on the faces of these young people. More than four months ago, Wang Youhong began preparations for the establishment of the Democratic Party. As the controller of the Jiangsu army, Wang Youhong naturally recruited young officers in the army to join.

The criteria for joining the Democratic Party are very simple: first, you must be a registered propertied person, and second, you must pay party dues. These two criteria are completely public. China pays attention to the importance of not leaking money, especially in this turbulent late Qing Dynasty, and very few people are willing to do this. Although the party fee is not high, it must be as much as six oceans a year. The average soldier of the Jiangsu New Army earns eight silver dollars a month, and the military management income is between twelve and twenty yuan. They can afford to pay it.

The Democratic Party has a loose organizational model and a clear goal, which is to actually control the powers of parliaments in various localities. Jiangsu's electoral system is different from Beiyang's proposal that men of sufficient age have the right to vote, and Wang Youhong promotes a citizenship system. That is, only citizens have the right to vote, and citizens must be the owners of registered property.

As for the Democratic Party's policy program, it is to curb mergers, crack down on speculation, and implement a policy of social stability, so that the people of Jiangsu will have clothes and food. In these turbulent times, quite in line with the wishes of the petty bourgeoisie. Rather than the landlords and gentry, yeoman farmers and soldiers were more willing to register their property and join the Democratic Party.

What is now going on is the last preparatory party building meeting of the Democratic Party, and after this congress, Wang Youhong will take a delegation from the Jiangsu Congress to Beijing to attend the first formal congress. After delivering his speech, Wang Youhong got off the podium and went to the rest room at the back. Unlike his energetic performance on the podium, when Wang Youhong sat in the lounge, his face showed real exhaustion.

What he is doing now has reached the limit, and Wang Youhong is very clear about it. He was born in the army, and later mixed with the guards of the Empress Dowager Cixi, and then began the road of soaring. The real beginning of grasping power is entirely dependent on learning from the insights of Chen Ke of the People's Party. But this is already Wang Youhong's limit. Playing with officialdom and commanding the army, this may be okay for Wang Youhong. More profound political operations are not at all within Wang Youhong's ability.

This has been very obvious in the past year or so, and Wang Youhong has found that he has begun to understand what Chen Ke has written. It's not that I can't understand those words, but I can't understand the purpose of Chen Ke's exposition at all, let alone how to implement the policies that Chen Ke proposed. Even plagiarism and correction can't be done anymore. In the eyes of outsiders, the formation of the Democratic Party is proof that Wang Youhong has reached a new height. Wang Youhong himself knows very well that this is his own limit. The result of this is not clear to Wang Youhong, and the only thing that can be determined is that if we cannot gather our friends under the same banner according to the most basic concept of "who is our friend and who is our enemy", the whole of Jiangsu will be free from Wang Youhong's influence.

Especially the army!

After resting for a while, Wang Youhong, who had recovered his spirits, went out to continue to meet with those who participated in the preparatory meeting again. People from all walks of life are gathering under the banner of the Democratic Party at this stage, but everyone has their own different positions. Some want to gain asylum by joining the Democratic Party, while others want to achieve their ambitions or more specific goals by joining the Democratic Party.

In the evening, the last preparatory meeting of the Democratic Party was adjourned. Wang Youhong did not rest after returning home, and now his home has become the place where the meeting was held. The servants waited for Wang Youhong to have dinner, and began to prepare snacks and other supper. Sure enough, not long after Lord Wang Youhong arrived at the study in the backyard, more than a dozen people came at the back door. Those are all activists in the new army, and they are also the real pillars of Wang Youhong's power.

After the servants retired, Wang Youhong's personal soldiers guarded the doors and windows outside, and the meeting was officially convened.

"Lord Wang, what are you going to do with those bannermen?" Headed by Wu Yida, the current commander of the New Army. After Xu Shaozhen, the commander of the Ninth Town of the previous New Army, died in the hands of the People's Party, Wang Youhong's henchman Wu Yida took over the Jiangsu New Army.

The participants looked at Wang Youhong with uncontrollable excitement. Now the bannermen of Jiangsu are all gathered in Nanjing, and the 5,000-strong army composed of them was once one of Wang Youhong's main forces. The Bannermen were the main force in guarding against the People's Party, supervising the revolutionary parties in the New Army, and eliminating all kinds of disorderly parties. However, the current situation is changing so rapidly, and the status of these flag men is also changing rapidly.

"Now these bannermen are emotionally unstable, they oppose the republic, and they intend to make trouble. Moreover, since the banner people got the permission of the adults and began to engage in commercial farming, they have been forced to buy and sell, and there have been endless cases of abduction and deception. These people are already complete black sheep. Brother Yu Chen is in charge of supervision, and he knows best. Wu Yida not only expressed his meaning very clearly, but also pulled Wang Youhong's favorite young officer Yu Chen in.

Yu Chen knew very well that what Wu Yida said was not the truth. Jiangsu Qiren is not so domineering at all now. At this time, in addition to shouting that the Qing Dynasty could not be brought down, there were also a few extremists who were carrying out all kinds of desperate and ridiculous schemes. But it's not so much that they're preparing to do something, it's that they're afraid of what's going to happen.

"The new army is the foundation of Jiangsu, and the gentry and the common people look at the new army as much as they look at the government. If the new army is corrupt in military discipline or misconducted, how can the gentry and the common people think that the government in Jiangsu is good? Wang Youhong said.

Wu Yida's face was full of joy after hearing this. Wang Youhong has already determined one thing in his downplay, that is, it is necessary to carry out a "major rectification" of the new army. "What the Lord said is that the New Army must not discredit the government. But my lord, I'm afraid that these bannermen will not listen to the advice of adults. ”

Yu Chen obviously heard the strong killing intent in these words, but the attitude of the new army officers attending the meeting this time towards the flag man was completely the same, and when it was time to kill, they had to kill. Yu Chen didn't think there was the slightest need to show mercy.

"Heaven has the virtue of a good life, so let's advise first. However, this time, the parliament is only afraid that the national system will no longer be a constitutional monarchy, and there is a People's Party here to stir up, and other provinces will not dare to maintain a constitutional monarchy. We can't mess up in Jiangsu, but I'm very worried about whether the flag people can understand this. Ladies and gentlemen, when I go to Beijing to attend the Congress, the affairs of Jiangsu will be rid of you. Wang Youhong said.

"Don't worry, my lord, my subordinates will never let Jiangsu have the slightest turmoil." Wu Yida's answer was categorical.

Needless to say, this kind of major event is so thorough, Wu Yida made it clear, and Wang Youhong also made it clear that what he said was about maintaining public order, but in fact, it was the fate of the banner people that was decided. The meeting then talked about Jiangsu's reliance on military academies to reorganize its troops. Wang Youhong's army is actually divided into two groups, one is a new army that can be pulled out to fight, and the other is a tax police who collect taxes. In terms of combat effectiveness of these two troops, the new army is naturally above the tax police. However, in terms of proximity, the tax police are clearly more important than the new army.

Wu Yida expressed the hope that the new army and the tax police could be officially separated, and Wang Youhong actually agreed after hearing this. "Separation of duties is the only way to go, and the establishment of a police system in Beiyang is well received in the north. I think it is necessary not only to establish a tax police, but also to establish a police system. Wu has to do a good job. ”

What the new army wants most is the control of all the armed forces, if it can control the tax police and the police in their own hands, the new army will become a decisive force in Jiangsu, and the people attending the meeting are Wang Youhong's cronies, and they seem to have seen an infinite bright future. Although Wu Yida tried his best to hide it, he couldn't hide the smile on his face.

"Yu Chen, you are responsible for military discipline and security in the city of Nanjing, do you have any thoughts about the police?" Wang Youhong asked.

Wu Yida glanced at Yu Chen with jealous eyes, Yu Chen graduated from the Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer School, and became an officer after returning to Nanjing, but this young man has a strange temperament and sells his reputation. When the previous commander Xu Shaozhen was there, he strictly grasped military discipline, and Yu Chen became the supervisor of the new army, but he offended many people.

When Xu Shaozhen died in battle, Wang Youhong seized the new army by bribery, and everyone in the new army felt that they could indulge. Unexpectedly, Yu Chen did not change his stubborn nature, and acted exactly the same as before. Now Yu Chen has become a thorn in everyone's side, some people estimate that Yu Chen sent a letter to Yu Chen when the tax police went to Fireworks Lane for entertainment, and things got into trouble. The two sides started fighting.

According to the rules of officialdom, it depends on the owner to beat the dog, the tax police are Wang Youhong's henchmen, where is the turn of Yu Chen of the new army to intervene. The head of the tax police shouted to kill Yu Chen Liwei. Unexpectedly, after Wang Youhong knew about this, he personally met with Yu Chen, praised him, and invited Yu Chen to dinner several times. At this time, the people in the new army and the tax police couldn't help but praise Yu Chen's good luck.

Now listening to what Wang Youhong said, he actually wants Yu Chen to be in charge of the police department, and it is impossible for Wu Yida not to be jealous.

"Lord Wang, the police are in charge of civil affairs and maintain the peace of the market, which is not a trivial matter. In my opinion, the military and the civilian population should be separated, including the tax police, and once the authority is interfered with, there will be endless troubles. Yu Chen replied.

Wang Youhong nodded, "This matter is really troublesome, Sike, I'm going to Beijing soon, don't leave tonight, let's talk about this later." ”

All the officers of the new army showed strong jealousy in their eyes, and it was not easy for others to be appreciated by Wang Youhong if they took the road of relationship support. And Yu Chen's reputation can actually be favored, this is really unreasonable. However, these people didn't dare to say this to their faces, and everyone said a few more words, and Wang Youhong told Wu Yida to hurry up and prepare. Wu Yida knew that Wang Youhong was referring to the matter of the banner people, this matter was by no means easy, Wu Yida put away his thoughts about Yu Chen, after all, it was a matter of the future. Seeing that there was nothing else to do, he got up and said goodbye to the other officers after answering.

When those people were gone and the outside was quiet, Wang Youhong didn't say anything about the police, he asked, "Sike, what do you think about the founding of the party?" ”

Yu Chen was not the slightest surprised, he replied: "Lord Wang, can this property owner divide the rich and the low?" ”

"How to distinguish between high and low, property is property, of course, you can't distinguish between high and low." Wang Youhong replied.

Hearing this, Yu Chen's eyes lit up, "Lord Wang, if you don't distinguish between high and low, then you should choose materials based on merit." The Democratic Party system needs to be serious. ”

Wang Youhong smiled and said: "Sike, I know that you are an upright person and do not tolerate evil things. But I'm in this position, and I can't afford it. There are a lot of things I can't even do anything about. Without the help of young people like you, it would be difficult to select materials based on merit. ”

"Please rest assured!" Yu Chen's tone was firm, "There are quite a few young people in the new army who take it as their mission to clarify the world, and everyone is very disgusted with people who do wrong. Since the adults have formed a party, we are willing to take the lead of the adults. ”

Wang Youhong smiled: "I can trust Sike." ”

After Wang Youhong went to Beijing with a delegation from the Jiangsu Congress, the Nanjing area became tight inside and loose outside. After all, Jiangsu is adjacent to Anhui and has the People's Party by its side, and Wang Youhong and others are not there, so it is impossible not to be afraid. The streets were tightly controlled, and orders were issued in the barracks that they were not allowed to go out without military orders.

The banner people were not too sensitive to this, they were Wang Youhong's henchmen for a time, so they thought that these things were just warnings. These people are not very clear about Wang Youhong's changes. And these people are so focused on the congress in Beijing that they forget about what is in front of them.

After the Qing soldiers entered the customs, the banner men were also distributed to the north and south of the river, especially in some important military garrisons, there were eight banner soldiers sitting in the gate. According to Dai Yinghua's research, Nanjing has always been an important town in southeast China, located in the north and south of the water and land transportation of the key point, in the second year of Shunzhi (1645), the Qing court created the Jiangning garrison flag camp here. After the 18th year of Shunzhi (1661), its overall setting gradually became more important than that of the northwest, and it became the military center of eastern China, and eventually developed into a major garrison in southeastern China during the Qing Dynasty.

Although the number of garrisons in the Jiangning Banner Battalion changed frequently, there were basically no major changes during most of the Qing Dynasty. The Jiangning garrison has 4,000 vest soldiers, divided into eight banners, each flag has seven armor, plus the corresponding dependents carried by the soldiers, and the banner people have gradually developed into a special social group that cannot be ignored in the local area.

By the end of the Qing Dynasty, each banner was only composed of three armor, and the total number of soldiers stationed in it was about six or seven thousand. According to the usual calculation standard of one ding and five people, the total number of banner men in Nanjing at that time should be between 3 and 40,000.

And the flag land is also widely distributed. According to the original system, the garrison of the flag soldiers is the flag land. The Jiangning garrison flag place mainly includes two parts: inside and outside the city. There are five places in the city, in the Imperial City, in the Wangfu Garden, in the North City, in the East of the Night, and in the West of the Night, and outside the city there are six places in the Great Teaching Field, the Small Teaching Field, the Guandawei, the Left Wing, the Right Wing, and the Taiping Gate. In addition, the Jiangning garrison also has horse grazing grounds such as Baguazhou and Wanchun Lake.

After Wang Youhong went to Beijing with a delegation from the Jiangsu Congress, the Nanjing area became tight inside and loose outside. After all, Jiangsu is adjacent to Anhui and has the People's Party by its side, and Wang Youhong and others are not there, so it is impossible not to be afraid. The streets were tightly controlled, and orders were issued in the barracks that they were not allowed to go out without military orders.

The banner people were not too sensitive to this, they were Wang Youhong's henchmen for a time, so they thought that these things were just warnings. These people are not very clear about Wang Youhong's changes. And these people are so focused on the congress in Beijing that they forget about what is in front of them.

After the Qing soldiers entered the customs, the banner men were also distributed to the north and south of the river, especially in some important military garrisons, there were eight banner soldiers sitting in the gate. According to Dai Yinghua's research, Nanjing has always been an important town in southeast China, located in the north and south of the water and land transportation of the key point, in the second year of Shunzhi (1645), the Qing court created the Jiangning garrison flag camp here. After the 18th year of Shunzhi (1661), its overall setting gradually became more important than that of the northwest, and it became the military center of eastern China, and eventually developed into a major garrison in southeastern China during the Qing Dynasty.

Although the number of garrisons in the Jiangning Banner Battalion changed frequently, there were basically no major changes during most of the Qing Dynasty. The Jiangning garrison has 4,000 vest soldiers, divided into eight banners, each flag has seven armor, plus the corresponding dependents carried by the soldiers, and the banner people have gradually developed into a special social group that cannot be ignored in the local area.

By the end of the Qing Dynasty, each banner was only composed of three armor, and the total number of soldiers stationed in it was about six or seven thousand. According to the usual calculation standard of one ding and five people, the total number of banner men in Nanjing at that time should be between 3 and 40,000.

And the flag land is also widely distributed. According to the original system, the garrison of the flag soldiers is the flag land. The Jiangning garrison flag place mainly includes two parts: inside and outside the city. There are five places in the city, in the Imperial City, in the Wangfu Garden, in the North City, in the East of the Night, and in the West of the Night, and outside the city there are six places in the Great Teaching Field, the Small Teaching Field, the Guandawei, the Left Wing, the Right Wing, and the Taiping Gate. In addition, the Jiangning garrison also has horse grazing grounds such as Baguazhou and Wanchun Lake.