Even those who opposed Yang Rui's shooting and 'killing' of Zhang Shizhao had to admit that after the shooting, the person who was about to come to the Prime Minister's Office to ask Yang Rui to explain his case to the students suddenly disappeared without a trace. However, the notoriety of the prime minister's tyranny is also spread among the rightists - everyone has a good side, but the more good they are, the more sympathetic they will be to the weaker side, not to mention that the original intention of the students is indeed for the good of the country, and it is a righteous move that cannot be more just.

With this sympathy, coupled with the uproar of the YMCA and church schools everywhere, a small nationwide march spread. According to the analysis of the Security Bureau, the reason why these demonstrations can be synchronized under the information blockade is because the US consulates in China are transmitting news that those Westernized elements at Peking University are no longer the leaders of the movement, and at this time, the little-known president of Yenching University, Situ Leiden, suddenly turned into a rightist general representative who "sacrificed his life for the justice of the Chinese people."

At this time, the negotiations on amending treaties with the countries that have established diplomatic relations with the United States have all been completed and signed, and the concessions in various places have also been withdrawn, but the Americans have insisted on 'freedom of mission,' 'freedom of the press,' 'consular jurisdiction,' and 'open the door,' and the matter of abolishing the old treaty and signing the new treaty with the United States has not yet been resolved. However, the United States is now the largest market for China's merchant fleet and state-owned enterprises, and at the same time, there are a large number of overseas Chinese in the United States, and it will be China that really loses diplomatic relations, so things have been deadlocked. With the exception of pro-government newspapers that revealed on their front pages that the YMCA had been smitten, the government did not overreact to the Americans' moves, as if the Americans had done nothing.

At the end of March, as the Great War in Western Europe was about to begin, the Northwest had already clashed with the New Russian Army. Two major cases were tried in Beijing. The first is the embezzlement case of Fei Yugui, former mayor of Shanghai, Deng Wenhui, governor of Jiangsu, and others, involving more than 500 people. The case implicates not only the government administration system, but also the army's logistics system. If it weren't for the General Logistics Department, Lieutenant General Zhu Lu and the case would have committed suicide in France. The simultaneous appearance of the military and political leaders in court was a tragedy for the officials of the Renaissance Society.

As a matter of common sense, the revival will be like this, and its opponent, the Kuomintang, should rejoice, not to mention questioning the prime minister Yang Rui on the spot, and even ask the prime minister to resign to thank the people. However, what is strange is that Kuomintang Premier Soong Chiao-jen has gone against the normalcy of party struggle and praised the premier's attitude of never being soft on corrupt and evil forces and resolutely eradicating corruption, which is a blessing for the people and China.

In addition to this. Song Jiaoren also frankly told reporters from major newspapers that the rule of officials in China is many times better than that of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and although the facts of the case that are now unfolding are eye-catching, the quality of the officials and officials is good on the whole, and it is getting better and better. At the same time, he also mentioned that the key to corruption is that the Inspectorate in the concession cannot supervise, which is a historical problem, and now the concession has been recovered. This problem no longer exists.

Even the opposition parties have good things to say, not to mention the peasants who don't read the newspapers, and even the citizens who read the newspapers think that the work style of officials and officials is improving. However, if there is a like, there will naturally be a slap in the face, the American-sponsored "Beijing Herald" (English version. Because it insisted on not being reviewed by the Ministry of Rites, the Chung Hwa Post Office refused to deliver it, which can only be regarded as a gazette of the consulate in China. Soong Jiaoren was coerced by the Renaissance Council government to make such a statement, and at the same time believed that it was because of the lack of votes in the House of Doubts. Not only will he not be able to bring down Yang Rui, but the Kuomintang will also be retaliated by the revival in this-for-tat accusation.

The conclusions drawn by the Americans' straight-line thinking are also not right. On the contrary, the British "Times" Morrison commented more accurately. He believes that the corruption case involves the Renaissance Society, and although it will not cause the Renaissance Association to be in power, it will have a huge impact on Yang's prestige within the party and the military because it involves many students of the Yang family and the top level of the Renaissance Army. If the Yang clan is unable to get timely external support despite the damage to its internal prestige, then the final result is likely to be that the Yang clan will change its anti-corruption stance and purge the Kuomintang and other forces externally, while purging these corrupt elements lightly, and regain internal prestige in order to maintain its own position.

As a constitutional expert, Soong was obviously very aware of this outcome, so he changed the normal state of partisan struggle to applaud Yang and further guided outside public opinion to support Yang's anti-corruption, which was obviously a superb political wisdom, which was not only conducive to the stability of China's constitutional politics, but also created the possibility for the KMT to continue to exist in the political arena. The article concludes by arguing that the Yang, Song, and Tingwei Wu Tingfang, who are both rivals and friends, can abandon their factional interests and work together to maintain the weak Chinese constitutionalism, then the country will eventually embark on a British-style path of development.

In addition to the corruption case, another case was the student storming the prime minister's office, causing casualties among the guards in the palace, 1,234 students were arrested on the spot by the militia, and most of them were released after a brief interrogation, only 43 of them were imprisoned, and then the public prosecutor appealed to the Dali Temple in Shuntianfu for the crimes of intentional homicide and intentional injury. Among these students, 35 are students from the Faculty of Arts of Peking University, and the remaining eight are students from Yenching University.

After learning that Zhang Shizhao, who pleaded for the students, was stunned by Yang Rui's shooting, the academics and gentry turned to the Dali Temple of the Tingwei Mansion to intercede. It is said that after receiving him for a few days, Ng Dinh Fong suddenly announced that he would not be able to see the guests, and at the same time, the apartment also called for bailiffs to protect him from trespassing.

The two cases were tried almost simultaneously in the capital, with some differences being that the corruption case was tried directly by the Supreme Dali Temple, while the Xue Mockery case was tried by the Shuntianfu Dali Temple in the first instance. Any of these cases has attracted attention, not to mention the fact that two trials were held at the same time, and reporters from various countries and provinces gathered in Beijing to pay attention to these two major cases of the whole country.

"Who are you to judge me? When we were carrying out the revolution with our heads, what were you doing in the old forests of Northeast China, fighting to the death against the Russians, the Japanese, and the Manchus on the stone mountain in Yanzhou? You kneel before the people and wagging your tails and begging for mercy. Today, you have become judges and judge revolutionary heroes, is there still a word of fairness in this world?! ”

In the Supreme Dali Temple, unlike Deng Wenhui, who is the same as pickles, Fei Yugui, the former mayor of Shanghai, faced the prosecutor of the Inspectorate who asked him questions, and his words were awe-inspiring. Silence the entire courtroom.

"Fifty taels of silver a month, and you have to pay taxes. What a way to send the dog. With this money, I can't even see the girl's face in the Qinglou. Look at those who run shipyards and businesses. And how much did they earn? I don't know anything else, the new shipyard in Shanghai earns more than 5 million a year, what have they done, and what have we done, is this fair? ”

On the first day of the trial, Fei Yugui's questioning made the trial untenable, and reporters made headlines about his remarks, saying that the existing policy was unfair to the revolutionary fathers, but the news only appeared in the newspapers. On the second day, when the trial began, Fu Sinian, a student representative, also gave a speech in the hall, saying that his trial was unfair:

"Natural selection, survival of the fittest, this is the principle of heaven and earth, ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign! Although we are young, we are marching for the welfare of the people of the whole country, for the elimination of old customs and for the promotion of new trends, so as to eliminate backwardness with progress. What is the sin of this? Doesn't it mean that during the revolution of the past years, the Manchurians could also be convicted of 'intentional homicide' and 'intentional injury' and would be appealed to the people? In the past, it was sinless to exchange the old for the new, but today it is sinful to exchange the old for the new. How fair is that? ”

Fu Sinian was able to become a student leader because of his talent and learning. is as smart as him, just like Fei Yugui. He did not use the law to judge the law at all, but directly questioned the fairness of this trial. Peking University students who came to observe the class were thunderous on the spot. It was only until the presiding judge, Gao Zupei, struck the gavel violently that he barely quieted down. This time, the trial was also closed shortly after the trial began. It will be retried on the second day of the first month.

Like Fei Yugui's speech the day before, Fu Sinian's speech also made headlines on the front pages of major newspapers. Some tabloids with uncertain positions were like the Soviet newspapers of the past, waving their flags and shouting at Xue, and under the turmoil of public opinion, they could not help but discuss again the theory of backwardness and innocence for progress. In the midst of different opinions, the Imperial Daily published an article to refute it: it is believed that the Revival Society has never recognized Western fallacies such as natural selection, and that the purpose of the revolution is only to drive out the Tartars, oppose the Qing Dynasty and restore the Han Dynasty, and have nothing to do with progress replacing backwardness. Trying in vain to incite public opinion with the theory of natural selection, progress and backwardness, in order to bring chaos to the world, his heart can be punished!

Although the Imperial Daily is not a state-run newspaper, its position has always been correct, and it is often referred to as the second official newspaper. This time, he wrote an article to refute Fu Sinian's remarks in court the day before, and even scolded those professors of Peking University, believing that under the westerly wind, foreign students not only did not learn and did not know how to do it, but instead introduced Western heresies into the country, in a vain attempt to change Xia with razor and take power. In order to achieve this goal, they did not hesitate to incite students to revolt, coerce the prime minister, and interfere in government affairs, and the so-called progressive theory of innocence is only the best excuse for some careerists to kill people and oversell goods and conspire to ascend to power. The article is not only a reasoned criticism, but also a piece of evidence -- Chen You, dean of the School of Arts and Humanities of Peking University, whose forged diploma appeared on the front page of the newspaper, confirmed the unscrupulous style of some international students who do not study and have no skills, and who do whatever it takes to get a higher position.

The Imperial Daily attacked Fu Sinian's 'progressive theory of innocence,' while the Tianjin Ta Kung Pao attacked Fei Yugui's theory of 'the innocence of meritorious heroes,' holding that the former revolutionary meritorious heroes had been routinely rewarded, and that all kinds of preferential treatment and honors were not lacking.

The two newspapers, which had a great influence, now have different positions and are-for-tat, and the articles they publish are like ice and fire, which go straight to the nerves of the visitors. It is impossible to tell who is right and who is wrong among them, but there is no doubt that most people believe that the outcome of the trial of these two important cases will directly affect the political direction of the country and determine the long-term national policy.

Xu Shiying, the presiding judge of the Dali Temple of the Jingshi Higher School, and the presiding judge of the local Dali Temple, Gaozu Peiton, who were in charge of hearing the two cases, felt tremendous pressure, and both of them had the intention of giving a light sentence, but public opinion was so concerned that a light sentence would not work at all.

On the morning of the second day of the first month of April, after the usual meeting, today's trial was discussed, and Wu Tingfang immediately said: "You two, today we can no longer allow the defendant to use the trial hall as a lecture hall as we did last time. ”

Xu Shiying and Gao Zupei are both relics of the previous dynasty, Xu Shiying is a few years younger, is a new school of law that has gone abroad, and was known as a legal expert at that time. Gao Zupei, a native of Mizhi, Shaanxi, was born in 1895, and was the head of the criminal department, but because it was the old school of law, he was not very successful before the revolution, and after the revolution, because of the scarcity of judges, his official style was innocent, and he stayed in the trial hall of Dali Temple in Beijing under the request of the former court captain Shen Jiaben.

Based on this background, Xu Shiying found it difficult to face the domineering Fei Yugui, although he scolded him. But after all, it was a lack of courage that forced this person to finish his words; And in the face of those college students who are bewitched by others and do not know it. Gao Zupei's love was only rising, and he did not deliberately block it. made Fu Sinian finish his words. Now Wu Tingfang asked that the plaintiff should not talk nonsense in court, and both of them looked a little twisted.

Gao Zupei said: "My lord, whether the trial of the case of ridicule can be replaced, every time the lower officials see these students, they love their talents and can't bear to reprimand. Even if it is tried, it is estimated that the sentence will be light. I am afraid that this move will cause ...... Unpleasantly, implicate adults. ”

"Now that the trial has begun, there is no substitute for no special reason. Otherwise, public opinion will be overwhelming. Dong Kang, who was standing on Wu Tingfang's side, said. After he said that, he looked at Xu Shiying again, and said, "The unfair trial of the two cases will cause turmoil. Corruption cases are given light sentences, public opinion is dissatisfied, heavy sentences are given, and the revival association is dissatisfied, while the opposite is true for mockery cases. However, if the corruption case is sentenced to a heavy sentence and the mockery case is given a light sentence, the military leaders of the Revival Society may cause unrest; If the corruption case is given a light sentence and the mockery case is given a heavy sentence. Then public opinion and academic circles will accuse Dali Temple of biasing towards the government, and the class boycott and march are bound to rise again. Anyway, this bowl of water must be leveled, otherwise the consequences will be extremely serious. ”

"What about the light sentences in both cases?" Xu Shiying also knew what Dong Kang meant, so he thought about whether there was any other way.

"Then both sides will be dissatisfied." Wu Tingfang said in a deep voice. "It doesn't matter how light the sentence is. In both cases, the plaintiffs will go to prison, and although they will be spared, they will be imprisoned for decades. Come out again but be old, Jingren, don't you think these people will be resentful? ”

Wu Tingfang blocked the last road at once. Xu Shiying couldn't help but glance at Gao Zupei beside him, and both of them shook their heads. A deep sigh. Said to be a retirement. After sending these two people away, Wu Tingfang's prestige just now disappeared, and he asked Dong Kang: "Is there a change in the Prime Minister's Palace?" ”

"Nothing has changed for the time being." Dong Kangdao. "My lord, didn't you say that we must be martyred, why bother ......?"

"I mean to die for the Fa, but although the Jingshi is calm at the moment, there is an undercurrent underneath." Wu Tingfang sighed. "Although Yang Jingcheng's crackdown on corruption is justified and irreproachable, what will those people in the Revival Association think? That Fei Yugui is said to be the most popular among Yang Jingcheng's students, even if his case does not involve other people, it will arouse the dissatisfaction of others, these are all real power. ”

"Could Yang Jingcheng not be able to suppress them?" was reminded by Wu Tingfang, Dong Kang also thought of the current political situation.

"If he wants to suppress these people, will they embezzle millions?" Wu Tingfang asked rhetorically. It was precisely because he couldn't suppress him that he had to rely on public opinion, and Kuomintang Premier Song Dunchu would speak out to help. These people don't say good, but they are all protégés of the Son of Heaven, if one is not good, the situation will be turbulent, so I asked Jingren to stop letting Fei Yugui speak freely, the more he says, the more those protégés of the Son of Heaven will hate. ”

"Xiaguan understands." Dong Kang nodded heavily. At this time, he suddenly understood that when Yang Jingcheng 'killed' Zhang Shizhao, some people suggested that Yang Jingcheng should also be sued in court, but Wu Tingfang tried his best to dissuade him.

As a revolutionary hero, the Revival Society implemented constitutional government in accordance with the will of the people, which was tantamount to generously ceding part of its rights to the former Qing bureaucrats and the Kuomintang people, and although it was a necessary move to stabilize the country as soon as possible, now that the national situation has gradually stabilized, whether the original policy of rights and interests will become a long-term national policy has become the most worrying issue in the minds of high-level people of all factions in China. Fei Yugui's theory of the innocence of heroes is actually a theory of dictatorship: the world is the world laid down by the Renaissance Society, how are you, the remnants of the former Qing Dynasty and the remnants of the chaotic party, qualified to judge the renaissance members?

If this kind of argument really wants to become the mainstream of the Renaissance Society, then it is logical to purge the other factions and build an iron bucket for the Renaissance Society. It was precisely because the Kuomintang people felt this threat that they uncharacteristically supported the revival society to fight corruption, but the ridicule case was mixed in, but it became another fuse, and the verdict caused the revival society to be dissatisfied and dangerous; The verdict has aroused dissatisfaction among public opinion and academic circles, and then once again provoked ridicule and bloody cases, which is even more dangerous.

Xu Shiying is a relative of Yang Jingcheng's second wife, Han Xianfeng, and it is really appropriate for him to judge Yang Jingcheng's students; Gao Zupei has always been an old man, and he is an old school of law, full of ethics and morality, and he will definitely not agree with the theory that students are naturally selected and backward in progress, and it is also extremely appropriate to try the case of academic ridicule. I don't know what the result of this painstaking arrangement will be in the end.

At two o'clock in the afternoon of the same day, the two major cases were heard at the same time, and the courtroom was as full as before, but unlike a few days ago, whenever the plaintiff wanted to make an argument and incite the hearing staff, the presiding judge frequently struck the gavel, and even ordered the bailiff to send the plaintiff out of the courtroom, and only arranged for them to enter the court when they were about to ask questions.

As a result of these measures, the prosecution and defense phase ended quickly, and the trial entered the stage of presenting and examining evidence. Since the prosecution has made careful preparations for both human and physical evidence, the defendant's lawyer has no other way than to question the witness's confession. By the time the court was closed, the facts of the crimes committed by the plaintiff were well known, and if the plaintiff's lawyer could not come back to the ground in the next trial, the result would be tragic for the plaintiff -- Fei Yugui, Deng Wenhui, and others would be sentenced to death in accordance with the law because of the huge amount of embezzlement; Fu Sinian, Duan Xipeng, Qu Junong, and other key members who launched ridicule and stormed the Prime Minister's Office will be sentenced to death and life imprisonment for intentional homicide and intentional injury.

After the court closed in the afternoon, there was a long queue outside the general telegraph office in the alleys of East Chang'an, and reporters from other places wanted to publish the results of today's trial and tomorrow's headline article as soon as possible, but among the many telegrams, there were two telegrams that were the shortest, one of them was taken to Shenyang outside the Guan, and the other was to Hong Kong in the south.

"Qingyuan, things are not good." After getting a telegram from the capital from the adjutant, Chief of Staff Huang Fujin immediately rushed to the headquarters to find Qi Qingyuan. It's just that he shouted so loudly, which made Qi Qingyuan unhappy.

"What's wrong, Whistling Mountain is dead in France, and he doesn't say who knows about us." Qi Qingyuan looked at Huang Fujin, who was a little flustered, and was a little disdainful. I remember that at the beginning, he was open-minded and able to talk about money, but now he is this virtue.

"But what about Fei Ziyi? The sum of the silver he was greedy for was enough to die dozens of times, and he wouldn't ......" Huang Fujin saw that Qi Qingyuan was unmoved, so he calmed down a little, but the worry in his words was self-evident.

"How could Ziyi betray us?" Qi Qingyuan smiled. "He can be trusted by everyone to be our middleman, not only because he is in Shanghai and has the convenient location, but also because he will do what he says and put righteousness first."

Even if Qi Qingyuan said this, Huang Fujin was still hanging there, unable to reach the sky or the ground, Qi Qingyuan had to ask again when he saw him, "All the deposits in your foreign bank have been found, and they are still there?" ”

"It's still there! It's still there! Huang Fujin nodded like a chicken pecking rice, this is part of the dirty money that Fei Yugui arranged to transfer on the day he was arrested, including his share.

"Zi Yi transferred everyone's money, and his own money has not been touched, isn't that enough for you to believe him?" Qi Qingyuan asked again. He didn't want to ink with him anymore, and said bluntly: "I'm worried that Ziyi will betray us, it's better to wipe your ass clean, you immediately notify the North Korean Xishuang, and the soybeans will stop first, so as not to be seen by the Yuanshi guy, Dongchang can't be all fools." And the money is not safe in Shanghai, so it is better to deposit all of it in a bank on the North Korean side. ”

After Qi Qingyuan gave the order, Huang Fujin wanted to do it immediately. However, when he went out, Qi Qingyuan's sneaky appearance hurt when he looked at him, and he had to speak out again to ask him to pay attention to his appearance.

In Shenyang, the Hong Kong Minsheng Newspaper and the Hui Ming Society, which had been homeless for several years, gathered together to listen to Du Wen, a strong woman who had been elected president, read a telegram from Beijing: "Comrades, the Renaissance Society has completely deviated from the original intention of the revolution and has become an interest group that has no ideals, only knows how to fool the people, and fights for power and profit. I do not want to dwell on domestic cases, but I just want to tell you that the Russian Revolution, which was relatively the most advanced and successful, has lost its grip on any doctrine and revolution. We anarchists should also learn from the Russian revolutionaries, uphold our ideals and fight for them all our lives. ”

Comrade Du Wen, who had just gone to Switzerland to attend the Anarchist World Congress and miraculously obtained a sum of money, radiated an ideal light, her wonderful eyes slid over everyone's faces one by one, and she deliberately stopped on Jiang Kanghu, who had just joined the gang, and then she said in a loud voice: "Comrades, in order to celebrate our unity, at this moment, please allow me to lead everyone to sing the anarcho-revolutionary song.

Five continents are the same wind,

Five-color homogeneous;

The black flag reflects the sun,

Leave no trace of the national flag ......" (to be continued......)