The controversy between Zhao Binglin and Yuan Shikai in the reform of the official system at the end of the Qing Dynasty

On September 1, 1906, the Qing court issued an edict imitating the constitution, establishing the preparatory constitution as the basic national policy, starting with the reform of the official system to establish a foundation. This was an extraordinary move that shook China and foreign countries, announcing that the country had thus entered a new period of preparatory constitutionalism, that is, the transition from a feudal autocratic system to a capitalist political system, marking the beginning of the modernization of China's political system. The next day, the imperial court sent Ding Zaize and others to compile the official system and formulate a plan for the reform of the political system, of which Yuan Shikai, the governor directly subordinate to him, was one of them, and ordered Prince Qing, Yi Kuang, the chief military aircraft minister, Sun Jia Nai, a university scholar, and Qu Hongji, the minister of military aircraft, to approve it. The reform of the official system unveiled the first act of the Qing court's preparation for the constitution. In recent years, when some treatises talk about this reform, they often regard Yuan Shikai as the representative of the reform faction in the ruling clique; and regard Yushi Zhao Binglin and Qu Hongji as typical figures of the opposition. The author thinks that this division is not appropriate, so I will briefly summarize it.

The basis for the above division of some of the treatises is mainly because Yuan Shikai strongly advocated the establishment of a responsible cabinet during the reform of the central bureaucracy in 1906, and Zhao Binglin and Qu Hongji opposed it. The establishment of a responsible cabinet is certainly a key issue in the preparation of the constitution, but what kind of responsible cabinet to establish and when it will be established has a bearing on the high or low level of the constitution and even on the truth or falsity, and on the political situation in the late Qing Dynasty. Therefore, in order to judge their merits and demerits, it is impossible not to make a specific and in-depth analysis of the responsible cabinet designed by Yuan Shikai and its intentions, and to see what the purpose of Zhao Binglin and Qu Hongji's opposition is, and whether it is reasonable or not.

The implementation of top-down reform depends on the decision-making and deployment and implementation of the political power at all levels, and the Qing court's decision to reform the official system first is not to seize an important link. The central organs at that time were completely feudal, unable to meet the requirements of the preparatory constitution, and there was a real need for reform. The question is whether to carry out reforms in accordance with the political system of the bourgeois constitutional state.

In this reform of the central official system, Yuan Shikai was indeed particularly active, especially keen on setting up a responsible cabinet. In late August 1906, when he was ordered to enter Beijing to discuss the implementation of the constitutional plan, he immediately played to Cixi, and he must first set up a responsible cabinet. After participating in the reform of the official system, he immediately took control of the establishment hall, and all the posts on the reform of the official system needed to be read and decided by him, and then proposed it to the minister who determined the official system, and installed many cronies in the establishment hall, responsible for drafting the revision plan and implementing his intentions.

After more than a month of consolidation, Yuan Shikai and others came up with a preliminary plan for comprehensively reforming the official system; in addition to proposing to streamline and merge the original ministries and procuratorates, they also added some new organs, the most important of which were the Responsible Cabinet, the Seniors' Court, the Administrative Tribunal, the Jixian Yuan, the Dahun Yuan, and the Auditing Court.

According to the cabinet system, the Cabinet Minister of State consists of 1 Prime Minister, 1 Deputy Minister of the Cabinet, and 11 Ministers of each Ministry, "all assist the Emperor and take responsibility on his behalf", "all important matters concerning the employment and administration of the Cabinet are "carried out by the will of the Prime Minister" and have the power to "supervise and correct" the administrative officials; the Emperor issues decrees that each Cabinet Minister "has the responsibility of signature, and its confidential emergencies are signed by the Prime Minister and the Left and Right Vice Ministers", and those involved in the law and administration are jointly signed with the Various Ministries and Shangshu, and those who are exclusively involved in one department. Co-signed with the Shangshu of the Ministry (see the "List of Cabinet Officials", in the "Complete Record of the Original Works of the Reform of the Official System").

The establishment of a responsible cabinet is undoubtedly ahead of the military aircraft department, which has not assumed political responsibility in the past. But is such a cabinet a responsible cabinet of a true bourgeois constitutional state? Apparently not. First, from a formal point of view, there is only one prime minister in a constitutional monarchy, and this plan adds two deputy ministers, who believe that "at the beginning of the restoration, the aircraft maintenance is particularly complicated, and it is not necessary for a person without a division of duties to be a counselor, and it is not yet time to assist the first assistant of the constitutional countries" ("Abridged Outline of the Official System of the Cabinet and The Cabinet", in the "Complete Record of the Original Works of the Reform of the Official System"). Second, from the content point of view, the responsible cabinets of the general constitutional monarchies are responsible to the National Assembly, which is the main embodiment of bourgeois democracy in the form of political organization. Although Yuan Shikai believes that the current conditions are not ripe and it is difficult for the National Assembly to be established for a while, as a comprehensive pre-constitutional reform plan, the nature of the National Assembly, its powers, and its relationship with the responsible cabinet should also be clearly stipulated, so as to move towards this goal and embody the basic spirit of constitutionalization. However, he did not mention the National Assembly, but only the Senior Council; and the Senior Council was re-established from the former Administrative Office, the president and vice president were specially designated by the emperor from among the princes and ministers, and the deputies were not democratically elected, but were selected from the princes and lords of the maharaja, pushed from the Beijing Palace, and sponsored from the provinces and the eight flag gentry, and were not a national representative body at all. It has no authority, but is only the government's "place of public opinion", and the decision has no binding force on the cabinet. Yuan Shikai and others' explanations on the establishment of the Senior Political Yuan even more exposed their intentions, writing: "The national obligation is to pay taxes as a large amount, and now that the finances are difficult, why is it not the people's strength to hold the New Deal, and if there is no place to dredge up public opinion, then why will the wind of resisting grain donations be extinguished?" Business tax, income tax and other laws must not be enforced." "Recently, the people's wisdom has gradually opened, and the public telegram of the road mine has been withdrawn, and the public report of the governor has been endless, and if he listens to his homelessness, everyone has the right to make suggestions, and after reading for several years, the government will be overwhelmed." However, a special place for the gathering of public opinion shall not be heard of unless it is passed through the Senior Council,...... Those who want to speak to the government are transferred to the senior government, scattered into a whole, and quiet, and restrict the court only has the right to make suggestions, but does not have the power to enforce the government, so that the senior government can be the rush of public opinion, and the government can carry out its policies in peace, and the people's morale is loose, so that it will not be difficult to reap the rewards, and the preservation will be great" (ibid., "Abridged Account of the Senior Government"). To put it bluntly, there are two intentions, one is to increase taxes through the Senior Cabinet, and the other is to let the Senior Council divide the slander, and there is absolutely no intention of expanding civil rights. Not only that, but he even advocated the abolition of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, which could correct the administration. No legislative supervisory organ wants it, so what else is there to talk about preparing for the constitution? Third, according to the plan designed by Yuan Shikai, it is bound to lead to a situation in which the former emperor's dictatorship will change from the former emperor's dictatorship to the cabinet's dictatorship. Because the plan stipulates that the cabinet, especially the prime minister and deputy ministers, are responsible on behalf of the emperor, which means that the emperor is in a position of no power, and the emperor must issue decrees through the cabinet to be counter-signed, and conversely, without the cabinet deputy signature, the edicts will not take effect. In this way, in name, the cabinet was "auxiliary to the king" and "undertook the implementation of the will", but in fact, the emperor's employment and administrative power were transferred to the hands of the cabinet. In order to cover up the essence of the problem and dispel Cixi's misgivings, Yuan Shikai and others explained in the "Abridgement of the Senior Government" that the cabinet's authority is too heavy: "The government cannot do what the government does, and the government cannot do what the government does if the cabinets of the eastern and western countries are only the prime ministers and ministers, and there is never a matter of dictatorship. ... An you have a former Ming Cabinet minister who has done his own thing!" This is an out-and-out deceptive statement. The reason why the prime ministers of constitutional countries "never have exclusive powers" is not because they are afraid of "public opinion", but because the National Assembly has legislative and supervisory powers, so that the cabinet cannot monopolize power. If the Cabinet does not implement the bills passed by the National Assembly, or acts recklessly, the National Assembly will impeach them, setting off a wave of cabinet downfall and forcing the Cabinet to resign. Yuan Shikai and others deliberately distorted the legislative and supervisory role of the National Assembly as "public opinion," which is an attempt to convince people that there is no Congress with legislative and supervisory powers, only a senior government for the government to "choose public opinion," and that the cabinet will not have exclusive powers. Of course, this kind of stealing beams and changing pillars cannot deceive people who have a little constitutional common sense.

Why is Yuan Shikai so keen on setting up a responsible cabinet? Liu Housheng of the Constitutionalist faction made the following analysis: He wanted to "support King Qing as the prime minister of state and himself as vice chancellor"; "In this way, all the power to employ people is in the hands of King Qing, to put it bluntly, it is in the hands of Shi Kai"; "Another hidden intention of the unspeakable" is that "he saw that the Nala clan was over seventy years old, the gas was gradually declining, and he was deeply afraid that the Nala clan would suddenly die, and once the Guangxu he betrayed was restored to power, the East Window case would be difficult to protect his head." He thought that he must prepare the method early, and he must be in Beijing to be able to make arrangements in advance before he can deal with it on the spot," and "if he goes to Beijing and becomes a vice chancellor, he can control the court and do whatever he wants" (Liu Housheng, Zhang Xiaoshi, pp. 135-136, Shanghai Bookstore, 1985 photocopy). Liu's analysis is basically correct. After the draft of the new official system was drafted, Yuan Shikai made Zhang Shouxi, the hubu Shangshu zhang Shouxi, who had recently been married, the premier of the prime minister, and Yuan the vice premier, which is ten clear proofs.

So, if the central organs were reorganized according to the plan designed by Yuan Shikai, and if he and Yi assisted the cabinet according to his wishes, would China be able to smoothly implement the bourgeois constitutional monarchy? The answer is no. As we all know, Yuan Shikai was accustomed to engaging in political speculation, betrayed the restorationists when he changed the law, and in 1901, when the Qing court issued an edict to change the law, he played Chen's set of ideas that were all westerners; after the rise of the constitutional trend, his speculative features were once again fully revealed. In 1904, the leader of the Constitutionalists, Zhang Jian, sent a letter to him, asking him to sponsor the constitution in the name of Japan's Ito Hirobumi and Sakagaki. He knew that the climate was not enough, and he was afraid of taking risks, so he replied that "it is still necessary to slow down until the time comes" (page 12 of Zhang Jian's "Annals", in "Zhang Jizi's Nine Records", vol. 7). In 1905, when the trend of constitutional ideology was on the rise, Zhang Jian again spoke from the face of personal safety and honor and humiliation, and wrote to him to advocate the establishment of the constitution, "cling to the bull's ear and call for it," and establish an "immortal and prosperous cause." Until this time, Yuan Shikaifang saw that the trend of constitutionalism was unstoppable, and if he did not show his attitude, he would be isolated politically, and the only way to eliminate the increasingly powerful revolutionary movement was to implement the constitution, and at the same time, in order to uphold the bull's ear of the constitution, he would meet the situation of the times, win a good name, and seize greater power, so he decided to unite with Zhou Fu, the governor of Liangjiang. Zhang Zhidong, the governor of Huguang, implemented a constitutional form of government, and later sent his princely ministers abroad to inspect the constitutions of various countries. Therefore, from the very beginning, Yuan Shikai's praise for the establishment of the Constitution was not sincere, but a strain and speculation driven by the trend of the times under the impetus of the Constitutionalists. After more than two months, that is, in September of the same year, after Zaizawa and other five ministers who went abroad to investigate politics were bombarded by the bomb bombardment of the revolutionary Wu Fan, he became capricious again, and instead of being as active as other ministers, he became the main obstacle to the constitution. When Zai Ze arrived in London, England, the British minister Wang Da Xie once asked who obstructed the establishment and who the constitutionalists were, and Zai Ze replied: "Small obstruction Sheng Xuanhuai, big obstruction Yuan Shikai." Yuan Yuquan said to the times, "There can be the reality of constitutionalism, but there must be no name for constitutionalism" (Wang Kangnian Shiyou Shuzha I, p. 837, Shanghai Ancient Books Published Du 1986 edition). At one point, his performance greatly shook Cixi's resolve, so much so that the date of his visit to the political minister was delayed. Zhang Jian said that he was "waiting for the wind and color to be indecisive" at this time, which was not a nonsense. In July 1906, after returning from a foreign expedition to the Political Minister, he performed the constitution in unison, and he showed unprecedented enthusiasm and enthusiasm for the constitution. In late August, when he was ordered to go to Beijing to discuss whether to implement constitutional government, he was extremely in favor of it, threatening people that "officials can not do it, and the law must not be changed" and "when fighting with death force" (Tao Xiang, "QiYe Dongyu", see Chen Xulu," before and after the Xinhai Revolution, pp. 28-29). Those who "want to obstruct their opinions" will blanch their political hats and shout: "Those who dare to obstruct the constitution are Wu Yue (樾)" and "That is, the revolutionary party!" After his intimidation, "so there is no one who dares to speak" (Sun Baoqi, "Diary of forgotten Mountain Lu", p. 914).

Yuan Shikai is not only a political opportunist, but also ambitious. Since November 1901, he became the Governor-General of The Directly Subordinate and the Minister of Beiyang, and he held eight important positions, and his power rapidly expanded. In 1905, after training the new army of the six towns of Beiyang, he became the chief leader of the Beiyang military and political group, and became more and more popular. At the same time, during this period, he continued to use huge public funds to bribe Yi Kuang and form a sworn party with him. Yi Kuang was known for selling officials and corrupting the law, "not asking about political affairs, specializing in bribery" (Wei Yuankuang's "You Xuan You Zai", p. 4), relying on Yuan as his right and left hands, and when there was an important matter, he was bound to consult and completely become Yuan's puppet. Yuan used Yi Kuang as an Olympic aid, desperately expanding his power, rejecting dissidents, and interfering in the government. Yi Kuang and Yuan Shikai were the largest real power faction within the Qing government, and they were also representatives of the decadent forces, and they were better friends than others, purely for their own selfish interests. Since Yuan Shikai is a political opportunist and has formed a party with Yi Dong for personal gain, their attitude and proposition toward the constitution must depend on whether it is beneficial to the people who have it, and they will never truly support the bourgeois constitutional monarchy in the depths of their minds, and it is simply impossible to expect them to promote bourgeois democratic politics, and this is one of the reasons why they vigorously advocated the establishment of a responsible cabinet and abandoned the establishment of the National Assembly when formulating the official reform plan.

Reforming the official system is not only a major issue related to whether or not to prepare a constitution and how to prepare a constitution, but also a redistribution of political power, involving the vital interests of all officials and groups, and naturally causing different repercussions. Yuan Shikai's design of such a reform plan that abandons democracy in an attempt to make the cabinet dictatorship, and also attempts to form a cabinet with Yi and manipulate the state's authority, will undoubtedly cause some officials to oppose it.

Officials who oppose the establishment of a responsible cabinet can be divided into two categories, one is the feudal stubborn conservative faction, and the other is the reformer who praises the establishment of the constitution. Yushi Liu Ruji, Wang Buying, Zhang Ruiyin, And Hanlin Yuan's attendant Ke Shaoshi, and the chief official Hu Sijing all believed that the establishment of a responsible cabinet would lead to the evil consequences of the monarch's power being sidelined and the powerful ministers stealing political authority, and resolutely opposed it. Zhou Kekuan, an attendant of the Hanlin Yuan, comprehensively denied the reform of the official system, and advocated the preservation of the old system (see the "Historical Materials of the Preparatory Constitutional Archives of the Late Qing Dynasty", vol. 1, pp. 421, 423, 427, 429, 430, 410, 433, 419). Wang Baotian, the secretary of the cabinet, and others said: The constitution "has four ends of the great fallacies, six evils of the people who can be worried, and four troubles that must be prevented", "restricting the power of the monarch can only make the country "quickly bring disasters"; the reform of the official system is to "use yi to change the summer and chaos the law of the country and harm the people's hearts", and the establishment of the cabinet is actually for the ministers to "facilitate their own selfishness" and "to seize the power of the imperial court by the real yin" (ibid., pp. 152-157). Wen Hai, a cabinet scholar, also accused the constitution of "stripping the monarch of power" and the establishment of the cabinet as "corrupting the country", and demanded that the establishment of the cabinet be immediately abolished and yuan shikai ordered Yuan Shikai to return to his post as soon as possible. These people are not only resolutely opposed to the reform of the official system, but also oppose the establishment of the constitution, and are completely feudal stubborn and conservative.

Yushi Cai Jintai, Shi Changxin, Wang Chengxi, and Shi Lujin were unanimous in opposing the immediate establishment of a responsible cabinet, and Zhao Binglin was particularly prominent. Zhao Binglin, a native of Quanzhou, Guangxi, was a mid-jinshi in 1895, and was awarded the hanlin academy for editing, and in 1906 he was awarded the imperial history. He pointed out on the day after the imperial history that the monarch of the constitutional monarchy "therefore consolidates his power in the lower house to supervise his administrative ministers, but the military, government, and financial houses do not recognize it, and the government cannot exercise its power, although there are tyrants who dare not go up to the monarch and abuse the people, and the collective wisdom and efforts have to control it." Now "if the people's wisdom has not been opened, and the House of Commons has not been established for a while, there is no administrative supervision, and all great power is vested in the hands of the second and third ministers." The ministries inside, and the provinces outside, are all the key areas of the henchmen of the two or three ministers." "After a long time of practice, both inside and outside know that there are two or three ministers, but do not know that there is a son of heaven", which is "the autocratic form of government of the ministers", "the evil will lead to the Ling jun". "Therefore, today the constitution must begin with local self-government, so that the local councils are well organized, and gradually the house of commons is organized, while verifying the internal and external official system by name, and determining the authority of each affair, and nothing is excessive" (ibid., pp. 123-125). He felt that this fold was not expounded sufficiently, and four days later he analyzed the harm of the cabinet official system proposed by Yi and Yuan, saying that the cabinet official system took the law of Japan, but had greater power than the Japanese cabinet. "The weight of the power of the governments of the governments was too great for the monarch, hence the name of the responsible government." "However, although the political parties of various countries are different, and their monarchs and subjects are inherently content with nothing, and although the monarch is irresponsible, he is often fixed on one statue, and he has not heard of his vassals, and those who cause the calamity of the Xiao Wall will supervise them with their own parliament." "Education in our country has not yet flourished, there are private parties and no public parties, there is no political ideology, only the rich and the noble are sought, where the rich and the noble are, that is, the voice and atmosphere are communicated, so in the DPRK there is only the camp of the private party, and there is absolutely no solid political party in the opposition. If we act hastily, we will not speculate on its roots, but at the end of the day, we will establish a responsible government without supervision, and we will not worry about the enemy's foreign countries, but also within the state." All Western countries have the three powers of legislation, administration, and judiciary, "while the country is at peace"; judging from the cabinet system plan, the prime minister has full executive power instead of the monarch, and actually exercises both legislative and judicial powers, and such powerful powers are unprecedented in ancient and modern China and abroad. "If it is carried out accordingly, I am afraid that the great power will not return for a long time, the monarch will hold the vacant throne, the parliament will be established indefinitely, and the people will not dare to do anything, and the worries of subversion will be imminent." Finally, it is proposed that, whether or not the former Cabinet is merged with the Military Aircraft Service, "the system shall remain for the time being, and shall not be regarded as the cardinal of the general administration." The day of the establishment of the House of Lords and Lords is the time when the responsible government is set". "In any case, the House of Lords and Lords must be established at the same time as the responsible Government, so as not to be biased". Thus ,then "the inversion of the authority, the dictatorship of the rulers, may henceforth rest" (ibid., pp. 438-443). Zhao Qilin commented that this fold was "thoroughly dressed, Burmese and Burmese ten thousand words, the two palaces moved to color Jiana, and all of a time they were recited all over the place, and Jun Sui heard the world as a famous counselor" (Zhao Qilin's "Slip garden collection", vol. 4, p. 18). Cixi eventually denied the responsible cabinet and still retained the Military Aircraft Department, and Zhao Binglin's performance undoubtedly played an important role.

Although Zhao Binglin is adamantly opposed to the establishment of a responsible cabinet, he is not a stubborn conservative who obstructs political reform. This is because: First of all, he has principled differences with the aforementioned Wang Baotian, Wen Hai and others. Wang Baotian, Wen Hai, and others opposed the establishment of a responsible cabinet in order to resist the constitution, while Zhao Binglin actively advocated the implementation of the constitution. As early as August 1902, he clearly put forward this political proposition in the "Theory of Anti-Disorder" in the Imperial Survey Song: "Lin believes that if he wants to consolidate the foundation of the country, he will reach the next sentiment, and if he wants to achieve the next sentiment, he must implement the Constitution." The Constitution of Kautesi is equal to the Difference, the Constitution of the Monarch, the Constitution of the Monarchy, the Constitution of Democracy, the Constitution of the Federation, the Constitution of the Republic of The Union, the Constitution of the Republic of The Union, the Constitution of the Republic of The Constitution of the Republic of Its laws are the righteousness of kings and peoples to protect and restrict each other. In the past, Taixi established a kingdom based on the Law, and its kingdom was extended to the rest of the year, covering this ear. Democracy and a federal constitution cannot be applied to China. But the constitution of the monarch, whose sovereignty holds all sovereignty, whose people have all public laws, is beneficial and harmless if it is practiced by reference. If the present law is instructed to refer to the Sif, if the envoys are ordered to translate the constitutions of the monarchies, and the governors and ministers examine them in detail, they will be examined in detail in the past and in the present, and the conventions on the limitation of protection with the people will be seen in the Ming Dynasty and the people's hearts and minds. The Constitution is in place, all the money and wealth of the abolition of soldiers is in accordance with the convention, the king takes the people as the heart, the people take the king as the heart, and the theory of revolution shakes the will of the people! Of all the officials, Zhao Binglin was the second person after the Boxer Rebellion who explicitly recommended the implementation of a constitution for the imperial court after the Japanese minister Li Shengduo.

Secondly, he did not oppose it because of the poor system of responsible cabinets, but believed that it was not timely and did not agree to establish it immediately. He stressed that the fundamental spirit of constitutionalism lies in the National Assembly, and that a responsible cabinet can be established only when the National Assembly is established. He believes that only by establishing a National Assembly first and then a responsible cabinet, at least at the same time, will the National Assembly be able to get rid of the interference of the executive power as much as possible and formulate a constitution with a relatively high degree of democracy, can it implement the power of legislation and supervision, bind the cabinet to the track of democratic politics, and smoothly implement the constitution. Otherwise, the cabinet will use the responsibility and authority of the monarch to promulgate a constitution that suppresses democracy, imposing all kinds of restrictions on the National Assembly, "even under the pretext that the people's lack of civilization, indefinitely delay the establishment of the National Assembly, and strictly enforce dictatorship."

Third, the direct spearhead of Zhao Binglin's struggle was against Yuan Shikai's political ambitions. He said this very clearly; when it was, the governor yuan shikai, who was directly subordinate to the viceroy, had a gap with the emperor in the coup d'état, and once the empress dowager was promoted, she would be in trouble, and if she wanted to set up a cabinet in the name of constitutionalism, she would first set up a cabinet, and the monarch's power would be subtly transferred to the cabinet, and he would already occupy the cabinet. (Zhao Binglin's "Records of the Jinyuan Dynasty", vol. 1, p. 18) It was precisely because he saw through Yuan's intentions that he sharply exposed it, clarifying the relationship between the cabinet and the National Assembly, preferring to let the reform emperor Guangxu take charge of the country's major affairs before the establishment of the National Assembly, rather than let Yuan's ambitions come true. He was therefore a reformer who advocated the correct way of advancing the pre-constitution. His opposition to the immediate establishment of a responsible cabinet was a disagreement among the reformers over different methods of planning the preparation of the constitution, and as far as his controversy with Yuan Shikai was concerned, it was a struggle between true and false constitutions.

Incidentally, it should be explained here that the Minister of Military Aircraft, Qu Hongji, took the same position as Zhao Binglin on the issue of the responsible cabinet, with similar aims, and focused more on the struggle against Yi Kuang and Yuan Shikai's clique. Qu Hongji was of course a feudal bureaucrat in the past, but between 1904 and 1905, after the persuasion and mobilization of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang constitutionalists Tang Shouqian, Zhang Meiyi, Chen Dichen, and others, his thinking changed markedly, and he not only adopted the words of the constitutionalists and agreed to send people abroad to investigate politics, but also "personally invited himself to Europe and the United States to investigate politics," and "made a knee secret Chen" to Cixi and Guangxu, which actively promoted the government to send ministers to investigate politics abroad. In 1906, he was one of the decision-makers who actively advocated the proclamation of a pre-constitution. Therefore, his opposition to the immediate establishment of a responsible cabinet does not mean that he is not in favor of reform, but that there are other reasons. He "held a clear heart" and "sharpened his duties", was quite disappointed, and was also trusted by Cixi, and he was deeply disgusted by Yi Xun's faint greed, Yuan Shikai's planting power, and his two parties for personal gain, and always wanted to suppress Yuan's power, and often competed with Yi Kuang, and it was not a day before he fought with Yi and Yuan. Yuan Chu had deliberately tried to woo Qu, and all of them were Qu Wan's resignation. When the official system was reformed, Qu was one of the ministers approved by the General Department, and the power of concealment was exercised, and Yuan secretly asked Qu xian to express his will in order to realize his political ambitions, and intended to promote Qu as a deputy minister of the cabinet and jointly form a cabinet with Yi Kuang. Qu was unwilling to join forces with Yi and Yuan, and at the same time, he expected that after forming the cabinet, it would be difficult for him to resist on his own, and the government would be controlled by it, and he did not agree in his heart. However, his city government was very deep, and on the surface he did not comment on it, but secretly spoke to Cixi, and the military aircraft department was retained, "Shi Kai was disappointed, and the title of Hongji" (Wang Zhennian's Biography of Mr. Wang Yongqing, vol. 4, p. 8, 1938 edition). The difference between Qu and Yuan is superficially whether or not to immediately set up a responsible cabinet, but its real intention is "fighting law", so Qu Hongji should not be classified as a stubborn conservative faction that opposes reform.

After the reform of the official system in 1906 and before Yuan Shikai was dismissed on January 2, 1909, Zhao Binglin and Yuan Shikai still had several confrontations. Facts have further proved that the differences between them are by no means a struggle between reform and counter-reform, but a struggle between true and false constitutionalism.

In 1907, in the "Ding Wei Political Tide", Yi Kuang and Yuan Shikai used the means of framing and instructing the attendants to participate in the robbery to drive political enemies Qu Hongji and The Governor of Guangdong Cen Chunxuan out of the political arena. On July 7, Zhao Bingzheng went to the "Please Cancel the Party to See the Neglect", with the pretext of "eliminating the party's misfortune and prolonging the country's fortunes", asking the imperial court to ban the Kangxi Emperor from banning the party's superior edict that "the plaques of all ministries and the directly subordinate governors are erected in the Office of the Imperial Household, so as to shock the eyes and prevent abuse" (Zhao Binglin's "Records of the Records of the Court of Counseling", vol. 3, pp. 7-11), and strike at the Yiyuan clique. Under the impeachment of Zhao Binglin and other officials, Yuan Shikai was not at ease, and on July 25, he asked him to hurry up and prepare for the constitution, and stated the ten political views, once again stressing the need to establish a responsible cabinet as soon as possible, believing that "the key to constitutionalism is the key, this is its priority", and setting up a senior government court, "for the place of adopting public opinion" ("The Ten Lists of Directly Subordinate Governor Yuan Shikai Mi Chen Guan Guan See", the First Historical Archives of China, in order to cover up the plot of his cabinet dictatorship. Zhao Binglin, knowing that his old skills were repeated, also folded on August 11, and put forward tit-for-tat, "It is advisable to organize a cabinet, clearly define the responsibility system, establish a supervisory organ, and prevent the abuse of monopoly power." Specific comments are five:1. "Political power, military power must not be mixed", the prime minister and vice ministers of the cabinet may not concurrently hold posts in the navy, the army and the general staff headquarters. 2． Before the establishment of the National Assembly, the Government shall not refuse" any bill passed by the Senior Council, and if the government violates the law and loses its government and is impeached by the Senior Council, "it must be subject to the deliberation of the Administrative Magistrate, and if it is important, the Government shall not occupy its place", and the Senior Council must first be established by the Cabinet. 3． At the same time, the Court of Audit and the Court of Administrative Adjudication were established to supervise finance and administration, and to "control the arbitrariness of administration". 4． The Reorganization of the Metropolitan Court "in preparation for the eyes and ears of the monarchy" shall not be abolished before the establishment of the National Assembly. 5． The term of office of the cabinet ministers shall be fixed for a term of three years, and the good one shall not be re-appointed for three consecutive terms." Only by implementing the above five articles can we maintain order without suffering from the multiplication of qi" ("Historical Materials of the Preparatory Constitutional Archives of the Late Qing Dynasty", vol. 1, pp. 511-513). Soon, Du Yushi Lu Baozhong and others asked to change the Metropolitan Inspection Yuan into the Lower House. Yuan Shikai gladly supported this absurd proposal to replace parliamentarians with officials. When Zhao Binglin learned of this, he believed that this move was "a great failure of constitutional essence" and immediately dismissed it. Zhao Binglin always held that Yuan Shikai only needed the cabinet, not the Idea of the National Assembly and the Assumption of the Imperial Household to pretend to be the Lower House, and that the main spirit of the Constitution-making was taken away; the National Assembly, democracy, was by no means engaged in the real preparatory constitution-making, but the dictatorship of the Cabinet.

Zhao Binglin had a profound understanding of Yuan Shikai's personality and the tricks he played on the issue of preparing for the constitution, and he scored three points and exposed the key points. Indeed, after preparing for the constitution, Yuan, apart from deliberately trying to set up a responsible cabinet to achieve his selfish desire to run the government, made no achievements in politics, and did his best to destroy civil rights. After being transferred to the post of Minister of Military Aircraft and Shangshu of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in September 1907, he completely disregarded the strong wishes of the people of Jiangsu and Zhejiang and tried his best to suppress the movement to reclaim the right of way, and in 1908, when the people of the provinces made a parliamentary petition, he was in favor of it, and Yin obstructed the Duchayuan to play on his behalf, and instigated Zhang Zhidong to "raise the secret plot of Kang Liang's chaotic government" (Liang Qichao Chronicle, p. 451), instigating Cixi to dissolve the constitutional group Zhengwen Society. In this regard, the constitutionalists are clear-sighted. In January 1909, Yuan Shikai's henchman Guangzao Yuan was expelled from the line of "being blamed for initiating the establishment of the constitution" (The Times, January 5, 1909), which was a rumor that "the practice of exclusion of Han Yi and opposition to the establishment of the Constitution" (Zhao Binglin's "Records of the Imperial Court", vol. 5, p. 13), demagogic people's minds. The Constitutionalists immediately and sternly responded with a stern and righteous response, pointing out: Yuan Shikai originally praised the establishment of the Constitution and set up a responsible cabinet purely out of despicable personal motives; after joining the military plane, he never "built a conspiracy, carried out a government, and promoted the progress of the Constitution" (The Times, January 5-6, 1909), and used facts to clarify that "those who are deeply hated by him, and those who are afraid of it are not effective, they are in the people's rights" and "the mask of false civilization, but their barbaric means" (Ta Kung Pao, January 8, 1909), jealous of those who are enthusiastic about the constitution." Yuan Shi was "not a true advocate of constitutionalism" (The Times, January 14, 1909). At the same time, it warns people that if such people can indeed occupy the political circles, then the cabinet does not know what kind of responsibility, and the Parliament does not know what kind of power, called constitutional, is actually more miserable than despotism."

The political reform of the government at the end of the Qing Dynasty was to implement a pre-constitution, so there is no doubt that the figures in the ruling group are reformists or opponents, and can only be measured by their attitude towards pre-constitutionalism. However, historical phenomena are extremely complex, and the motives and positions of historical figures are varied, so it is necessary to make a correct assessment of the political tendencies of various officials, and we must not simply limit themselves to their superficial attitudes of opposites. Otherwise, it is bound to confuse the nature of the problem and draw inappropriate conclusions.

Published in Tianjin Social Sciences