Instalment 54 (1913)

Scene 1: At the parliament

The opening of the first elected parliament is clouded by Song Jiaoren’s assassination. Yuan Shikai gives a speech: Although Song is dead, the Republic, the People’s Rights and democracy will continue to exist! Thus, Yuan Shikai directly answers Sun Yatsen’s telegram and Sun’s reproaches therein. Luo Wen, legal expert of the GMD, immediately makes a public accusation against the cabinet and against the acting Prime Minister Zhao Bingjun, indicting the latter of Song’s murder. Many representatives agree with Luo. To Luo’s surprise, Yuan also agrees. Luo is moved and is tempted to start believing in Yuan. Tian Mo, the journalist, is also present.

Scene 2: At Sun Yatsen’s residence; the room is covered with white mourning cloths and mourning garlands; many pieces of writing are scattered on the floor

Sun Yatsen is sitting amidst a lot of scattered paper, absent-mindedly looking at Song Jiaoren’s legacy. Huang Xing informs him that Zhao Bingjun has been publicly accused. But Sun does not trust Yuan Shikai. He does not believe that Yuan will agree to subsuming all administration under the cabinet. Yuan, he believes, wants to hold all power firmly in his own hands and wants to control the cabinet. Until now, he has been able to do so easily because almost all cabinet members were part of the Beiyang faction. Moreover, Sun still is convinced that Yuan very likely ordered Song’s assassination himself. He calls Yuan an opportunist who has the ability to manipulate every situation to his advantage. Thus, a new, second revolution is necessary to purge Yuan. Huang Xing and the other Guomindang members do not agree with Sun. They believe Yuan’s words because he agreed to the impeachment of Zhao Bingjun.

Scene 3: At Yuan Shikai’s residence; Zhao Bingjun is invited for a meal

Zhao Bingjun justifies his actions to Yuan Shikai. He says that it was necessary to have Song killed. Otherwise, if Song had become Prime Minister, hard times would have begun for Yuan as well as for Zhao. Zhao asks Yuan, if he, Zhao, is “guilty” of Song’s murder. Yuan replies that “killing is not a crime”, but merely a way of solving problems. But one should not get caught! The danger, Yuan explains, is that if one domino stone falls, all other stones will fall, too. Yuan does not want Zhao to take on Parliament’s impeachment (for Yuan, himself, fears to be indicted). He therefore believes it would be better if Zhao was to “disappear for a while”. He tells him to go to Zhili to take up the Governor’s post there. It seems, though, that Yuan is trying to part with Zhao. Yuan’s favourite consort Yingzi enters and shares a glass of wine with Zhao to thank him for uniting Yuan and her years ago. She has also prepared the meal for Zhao herself. Yuan, though, finally rather brusquely tells Zhao to leave and seems very annoyed with his favourite consort. It appears that he really did not know anything about the way Song’s assassination was designed; but now he fears a domino-effect. (Thus, the question whether Yuan was responsible for Song Jiaoren’s assassination is left ambigous in the TV drama. Did he basically support the assassination, but criticised how it was ultimately carried out? Did he, as Sun assumes, personally order the assassination? Or was it in fact Zhao Bingjun’s personal jealousy of Song Jiaoren whom he feared would challenge his position as Prime Minister?)

Luo Wen wishes to speak to Tian Mo. But she does not open the door since she is mourning Song Jiaoren’s death. Finally, Luo breaks open the door and comes storming in. There is a big scene. Tian does not want to see him and Tian’s father does not want Tian’s mother to mingle in their daughter’s affairs. Tian accuses herself of being responsible for Song’s death because she had heard earlier about a planned assassination. Luo, on the other hand, was present when Song was shot. He now wishes the bullet had shot him instead, since he is also a little jealous that Tian is so grieved because of Song, for he, Luo, was also in danger! Now, Luo states, the only important matter is to let truth speak. He explains that he already indicted Zhao Bingjun and the cabinet. But Tian distrusts Yuan Shikai. She does not believe that he will allow the truth to be told. Luo, however, trusts Yuan. Even if Yuan is not honest, he contends, there is still the law in which they must and can trust.

Zhao Bingjun is just getting up. One hears Yuan Shikai’s voice in the background informing the representatives of his decision to dismiss the Prime Minister from his office. Duan Qirui is to be appointed in Zhao’s stead – also a Beiyang man. Servants are barring the windows and doors with bolts. Zhao has a premonition that something might be happening. Thus, he wants to dismiss his servants immediately. He eats his breakfast and falls to the ground, dead: he has been poisoned. [1]

Sun Yatsen and members of the GMD are standing together. Huang Xing arrives and apologises to Sun admitting that he was right in their argument over Yuan’s trustworthiness. Yuan has now also killed Zhao Bingjun! Huang therefore now agrees that a second revolution is in fact necessary to purge Yuan.

Yuan Shikai and the new Prime Minister Duan Qirui are discussing Sun Yatsen’s and Huang Xing’s secret plans for a second revolution in Shanghai. Yuan takes the danger very seriously. He believes that if the Guomindang in Beijing and Shanghai unites, the situation will be very dangerous for the government. Duan proposes a military counter-strike, but Yuan teases him that he is now Prime Minister, not a military general anymore. It is not possible to solve everything with the army. Yuan points out the general situation which has to be evaluated before acting to Duan. Moreover, a military strike would cost a lot of money. However, there is no money because the government is not receiving taxes from the regions. If worse comes to worst, the armies of fifteen out of the twenty provincial military governors would support Sun and the Guomindang. Duan therefore proposes to borrow money from the foreign powers, and just in this moment, a servant enters and announces that the ambassadors of the five nations, England, Japan, France, Germany and Russia have arrived. They want to commence official diplomatic relations with the Republic of China. As could be expected, Yuan had already masterminded everything.

Yuan Shikai surprises the foreign ambassadors with the demand to receive money in turn for the establishment of official diplomatic relations. He explains that the money is necessary to guarantee China’s stability. He believes that official rules and regulated channels such as the ratification by the parliament, are not overly important. For him, it is only important to get money and to thereby help the other states make profits by investing in a stabile China! He wants to have ten percent of the loan (twenty-five million British pounds in total) on the same day on which the treaty of diplomatic relations is signed. Those are his conditions. If they are not met, the treaty will not be signed. The ambassadors are stupefied and angry to have been so blatantly passed over. But ultimately they agree to Yuan’s conditions. (The scene is related to the earlier scene in which Yuan Shikai had a dispute with the parliament about whether to take a loan from either the five great foreign banks or Belgium. By now, Yuan has simply passed by the parliament’s earlier decision.)

The plans for the second revolution are on their way. The telephone is constantly ringing. From a map, Sun Yatsen can see that all the ten military governors south of the Yangzi are members of the Guomindang. Sun also arrives at the conclusion, that in the case of a military clash, fifteen of the twenty military governors would be on his side. But Huang Xing notes that the military force of the Beiyang Army should not be underestimated. Sun, however, recurs to morality: they will win since they represent the just cause. Money, however, is still lacking; the soldiers need food, and arms need to be purchased. The Chinese armament industry, though, is controlled by Yuan and the Beiyang faction. Sun and Huang fight about what is more important: Sun’s optimism and idealism or Huang’s realisms and military expertise. Finally, Sun hands Huang a large sum of money. The money is the proceeds from his sale of the Shanghai house which Charly Song had given to Sun as a present. Huang takes this money very reluctantly, but Sun asks Huang to be more optimistic and trust a little more.

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