The three representatives of the People's Party were the same as last time: Yan Fu, Feng Xu, and Shang Yuan. All three had once held office under the Manchu Qing. Most newspapers had opened special columns for them, recounting their histories. Yan Fu and Feng Xu were easy enough to talk about; they had long been major figures known for their stability. Shang Yuan, however, had once been an obscure junior scholar (Juren) and was now the Provincial Party Secretary of the People's Party's Huaihai Province. In terms of status alone, he was on par with a provincial governor—a true nouveau riche of the revolution.

The Shang family was also a prominent local clan in Shangqiu, with members serving as officials both locally and in the imperial court. Last time, Yuan Shikai had just seized the central government, and the situation was unclear. This time, except for a few who couldn't see the writing on the wall, all officials knew that the end of the Manchu Qing was imminent. Shang Yuan's father sent a servant to the People's Party's station to deliver several sets of clothes and five hundred taels of silver to his son. This was a direct manifestation of the current situation; one must know that the father and son had had no contact for five years.

"I can even make a small fortune just by attending a meeting," Shang Yuan joked. From Chen Ke down to the grassroots members, after several years of revolution, no one in the People's Party had enriched themselves through it. Furthermore, the People's Party was in the early stages of implementing a property disclosure system for cadres; officials at the level of county magistrate or county party secretary and above had to disclose their family finances. For instance, Chen Ke's family was once again leading the pack in the base areas; the five thousand taels of silver sent by his father-in-law, He Ruming, had made Chen Ke's household the wealthiest in the People's Party. But no one gossiped; Chen Ke himself had made immense contributions to the revolution, not just in founding and commanding it, but also in terms of finances—all the money he earned domestically and abroad had been put into the Party's cause. This was the true startup capital of the People's Party. Yan Fu's family, due to some farmland and real estate in other regions, was the second wealthiest. Now that Shang Yuan had received money from his father, he had a strong chance of surpassing Yan Fu.

These high-ranking People's Party cadres were insensitive to money. Millions of taels had passed through their hands, and their backgrounds were not humble. If they truly wanted to accumulate wealth "reasonably," it would be an easy feat. Everyone just listened to Shang Yuan's joke and moved on.

"Does everyone think the first article of the constitution will be discussed first?" Feng Xu asked. The first article of the constitution would determine the national system (Guoti). Without this article, all subsequent content could not proceed. The only thing the People's Party representatives wanted to confirm was this single article.

"I assume Yuan Shikai won't be foolish, as for the other provinces... our troops are prepared," Yan Fu replied. Chen Ke had made it clear: whichever province dared to publicly declare support for the continued existence of the Manchu Qing, the People's Party would send troops there. The reason would be their support for the Qing. Although this decision hadn't been made public, it was assumed the provinces understood.

"But once the Manchu Qing falls, will China truly be at peace?" Feng Xu couldn't help but ask.

Yan Fu and Shang Yuan looked at each other, both showing somewhat helpless smiles. Yan Fu replied, "Wenqing loves peace. It's just that his way of loving peace seems a bit difficult for others to accept."

Feng Xu was not a high-ranking cadre of the People's Party, so he naturally had no way of knowing their plans. However, just by seeing how Chen Ke had eliminated Cixi and Guangxu using *The Life of Cixi*, Feng Xu thoroughly understood the extreme correctness of the saying, "Since ancient times, heroes have never been of a kind sort." That such a young man could construct systems, train armies, and even manipulate human hearts—how powerful the dark side within him must be, Feng Xu no longer wished to discuss.

For Feng Xu, who was already 70 years old this year by traditional counting, whether there was peace or not was no longer important. China's situation would definitely not stop here. Even if the People's Party had no other intentions, Beiyang would not allow China to simply remain as it was. Where exactly Chen Ke intended to lead China, and what lay at the end of that road—that was what Feng Xu wanted to see.

The first formal National Assembly convened on April 28, 1911. Starting from the 26th, the entire city of Beijing was under martial law. Yuan Shikai had ordered Beiyang to maintain full martial law until the final result of the first article of the constitution was out. This was a necessary preventive measure; the first article involved too much, and Yuan Shikai could not afford any mistakes.

Yang Du had a relatively straightforward personality, and he was quite clear about the current situation. It would be incredibly easy for Yuan Shikai to simply push things through, but Yuan Shikai didn't want to leave a reputation as a rebel, so the voting had to be done beautifully. Yang Du was responsible for scouting the situation in various provinces. However, Yang Du's teacher, Wang Kaiyun, stopped him from doing so.

Wang Kaiyun was a famous scholar from Hunan, born in the thirteenth year of Daoguang (1833). Orphaned young, he was raised by his uncle. He was dull-witted as a child but studious. He famously said, "What I study in the morning, I do not eat until I can recite it; what I recite in the evening, I do not sleep until I understand it." He studied the classics, history, and the works of a hundred schools daily. He could write well by age nine. As he grew older, he studied at the Chengnan Academy in Changsha. He was lofty in character and did not pursue profit. Under Yang Du's strong recommendation and mediation, this old gentleman was now serving as the Director of the Preparatory National Library of China. Yuan Shikai knew of Wang Kaiyun's character. The problem the National Library was currently facing was that some unscrupulous literati, in an attempt to appear cultured, were stealing books from the collection gathered by Beiyang. They didn't really want money; it was just that "eccentric" and bastardly hobby of literati. Wang Kaiyun had great fame, seniority, and status; with him presiding, he could effectively suppress the situation.

The Directorship of the National Library of China was a prestigious position among the literati. Although Wang Kaiyun knew how much of a role his disciple Yang Du had played, he had never had any private dealings with him. Upon learning that Yang Du was acting as a scout and lobbyist, Wang Kaiyun finally stepped forward.

"Huzhan, you foolish child! What use is it for you to go scouting and lobbying now?" Wang Kaiyun asked Yang Du bluntly upon meeting him. Although he was a scholar, without a deep understanding of the world, Wang Kaiyun would never have been able to deal with those book thieves.

Criticized by his teacher, Yang Du didn't understand the key point. "Teacher, such matters must be handled with a two-pronged approach."

"Inside there is Lord Yuan, outside there is Chen Ke. What kind of hero are you trying to be?" Wang Kaiyun was almost in despair over his silly disciple. "The provinces will either listen to Lord Yuan or fear Chen Ke starting a war. The current plan is just about who speaks first. The National Assembly has rules on who speaks first; this isn't something you can avoid just because you want to. Stop being a jumping-clown."

Rebuked by his teacher, Yang Du also had a sudden realization. Under his teacher's guidance, he continued his visits, but when he went, he simply listened to what the provincial representatives had to say and said nothing himself. The provincial representatives were all shrewd; as long as Yang Du visited, everyone knew what was going on. There was no need to say anything useless.

At nine o'clock on the morning of April 28, the first formal National Assembly of the Manchu Qing officially convened. Learning from the lesson of the last assembly, the People's Party representatives entered only after the other representatives had performed their kowtows. Yuan Shikai didn't waste words either. After taking the stage, he immediately stated that the type of political system China should implement needed to be decided by a vote of the provincial representatives. The voting would be anonymous. First, the representatives would write down their proposed national system. The assembly would publicly record all various systems, then vote on the top five, selecting three. Finally, another vote would determine the ultimate national system.

The assembly members had thought Yuan Shikai would make them choose between a republic under a system of provincial autonomy or a constitutional monarchy. They hadn't expected Yuan Shikai to make it look quite democratic. The perception of Yuan Shikai among many representatives immediately underwent a significant change.

The People's Party representatives looked at each other. Feng Xu frowned slightly; he also hadn't expected things to develop this way. Shang Yuan, however, nodded slightly. Chen Ke had once said, "The leadership of the People's Party only has their own single vote in a meeting. But the only thing that can be called a privilege is that they can, to a large extent, decide what is discussed and what is not."

The discussion model proposed by Yuan Shikai seemed complex but was actually quite simple. Aside from the first round of counting votes, which required reading out the ballots of five hundred people and would take a long time, the subsequent voting would be very fast.

The first round of counting votes was truly "joyful." The assembly members under Beiyang were basically required to support a presidential system under provincial autonomy. However, this option only needed to rank in the top five in the first round.

"Absolute monarchy!"

"A republic where the president's words and deeds are regarded as laws that must be executed."

"A republic where each province is fully autonomous and major affairs rely on assembly discussions."

"The enfeoffment system."

"Ooh!" A burst of noise already erupted from below.

The vote counters loudly read out the various political structures proposed by the members. Many had expected a one-sided situation, but it didn't appear at all. The clerks also honestly used chalk to write these contents on a large blackboard. Because there were too many proposals, one blackboard wasn't enough, so another was brought in. By the four hundredth vote, even the second blackboard wasn't enough, and a third was brought in.

The assembly members from provinces outside Beiyang were stunned. Under pressure, most of them had honestly filled in the presidential system under provincial autonomy. Looking at the current situation, what would have happened if they had just written whatever they wanted? Since they couldn't change the big picture, wouldn't it have been better to just speak their minds?

However, some political systems were extremely excessive. For instance, after a system where the head of state, assembly members, and all officials must be from Sichuan was read out by a frowning vote counter, all assembly members glared angrily at the Sichuan representatives.

The Sichuan delegation also looked at each other in bewilderment. This joke was going too far; one could even say it was an extremely excessive prank. An impatient Sichuan member stood up and shouted, "Dammit! This was definitely not written by us Sichuan members. The voting is anonymous; who knows who wrote this? Which son of a bitch wrote this? If you're a hero, stand up! Don't be a coward here!"

Naturally, no one stood up to admit they had done it. A low ripple of laughter sounded in the hall. This further provoked the Sichuan member, who cursed several more times in Sichuan dialect. Consequently, the figures of police appeared at the edge of the hall. In the last assembly, because the members wanted to cause trouble, the police responsible for order had forcibly intervened to suppress them. Everyone remembered this clearly. Seeing that the police were about to act again, the Sichuan members nearby quickly dragged the impatient representative back to his seat.

Some of the more mature and steady figures in the assembly had already begun to frown. Although they didn't like Yuan Shikai's dictatorship, they didn't have much of a favorable impression of the assembly either. Such a prank was truly too much.

After a morning of vote counting, the top five political system choices were selected. Maintaining the current presidential system under provincial autonomy, constitutional monarchy, and absolute monarchy were the top three. A provincial federal republic and a universal parliamentary system followed closely behind. The unreliable options were eliminated.

"I didn't expect it to be so serious," Feng Xu was quite surprised by this first National Assembly election. The basic tone had long been set, and Feng Xu had originally thought it was just a formality. Now it seemed the members truly wanted to speak seriously on national affairs. While chaos was one aspect of the situation, order was the mainstream.

"It seems we won't have to fight a war. No one wants to fight," Yan Fu also said.

"What decides the victory or defeat of a struggle are internal factors," Shang Yuan offered a view that was perhaps too much in the style of the People's Party. In reality, the victory or defeat of this struggle had long been decided; the only thing to be determined now was the issue of interests shared by various forces in this great upheaval. "Instead of calling the assembly a place to discuss problems, it's more like a place to divide the spoils."

Hearing Shang Yuan's assessment, Yan Fu and Feng Xu could only shake their heads with a bitter smile. For the two of them, a strange feeling suddenly arose in their hearts. The People's Party had been fighting continuously for the day when the Manchu Qing would be completely overthrown, yet now that this day had truly arrived, it brought a sense of inexplicable melancholy. Just a few hundred people going through the motions like a game of house, and everything was decided. Behind this, the struggle of over a hundred thousand People's Party members and the army, and the efforts of tens of millions of people in the base areas, showed no trace. What was the point of all this? The more they thought this way, the more melancholy they felt. Consequently, they didn't even want to speak anymore.

During lunch, the provincial representatives seemed to be infected by Yan Fu and Feng Xu's mood. They weren't as enthusiastically networking as last time; everyone was silent. The expressions on many people's faces were those of worrying about gains and losses. After all, up until now, everyone's lives had been spent under the rule of the Manchu Qing. Once the Manchu Qing was destroyed, what kind of future awaited them? No one could imagine it.

The afternoon voting was even faster. From two o'clock until seven in the evening, two rounds of voting were completed. Ultimately, the long-determined result—the "presidential system under provincial autonomy"—became the new national system. The assembly members had personally written the fate of the Manchu Qing's downfall.

Yuan Shikai walked onto the podium with a cold and stern expression. This was the result he sought, but when the day truly arrived, even this owl-like hero felt immense pressure. "Everyone, since the assembly has made its decision, I shall enter the palace tonight to convey this matter to the Empress Dowager and the Emperor. From now on, the National Assembly is temporarily adjourned for three days to await news from the palace."

After Yuan Shikai finished speaking, not a single person in the assembly spoke. The weight of the change in fate pressed down on everyone, making them unable to move. Some were lost, some were fearful, and some looked left and right, hoping to see something from others. But everyone was somewhat at a loss.

It wasn't until the three People's Party representatives stood up with cold expressions and walked out of the assembly hall without a word, their footsteps echoing as they grew more distant, that an assembly member suddenly broke into loud wailing. That was a member "loyal" to the Manchu Qing. With someone leading the way, the sound of wailing immediately followed. This was a mourning for the Manchu Qing, even though the mourners themselves had personally pronounced the Qing's death.

Yuan Shikai's final forced abdication was entirely a formality. The Manchu Qing imperial family no longer possessed even a shred of power. Yuan Shikai simply signed the preferential treatment conditions in his capacity as the Vice Premier of the Cabinet. These conditions consisted of three parts.

The first part, "Conditions for the Preferential Treatment of the Great Qing Emperor After His Abdication," had 8 articles: (1) The title of the Qing Emperor shall remain and not be abolished, and the Republic of China shall treat him with the etiquette accorded to foreign monarchs; (2) The Qing Emperor's annual expenses of 4 million taels shall be allocated by the Republican government; (3) The Qing Emperor shall temporarily reside in the palace and later move to the Summer Palace, with the guards and others remaining as usual; (4) The Qing Emperor's ancestral temples and tombs shall be worshipped forever, and the Republican government shall appropriately establish guards to protect them; (5) The Guangxu Emperor's tomb shall be completed according to regulations, with the Republican government paying the actual expenses; (6) All attendants in the palace may remain as usual, but no more eunuchs shall be recruited; (7) The private property of the Qing Emperor shall be specially protected by the Republican government; (8) The original Imperial Guard shall be incorporated into the Ministry of War of the Republic of China, with its numbers and stipends remaining as before.

The second part, "Conditions for the Treatment of the Qing Imperial Clan," had 4 articles: (1) The titles of nobility shall remain as before; (2) The imperial clan shall have equal rights with the citizens; (3) The private property of the imperial clan shall be protected; (4) The imperial clan shall be exempt from military service.

The third part, "Conditions for the Treatment of the Manchu, Mongol, Hui, and Tibetan Ethnic Groups," had 7 articles: (1) They shall be equal with the Han people; (2) Their private property shall be protected; (3) The titles of nobility shall remain as before; (4) The Republican government shall provide for the livelihoods of those nobles whose lives are too difficult; (5) The livelihoods of the Eight Banners shall be arranged first, and before they are settled, their stipends shall continue to be paid as before; (6) Previous restrictions on business and residence shall be abolished, and they may freely register their households in various counties; (7) They shall have the freedom of belief in their original religions.

The end of the Qing Dynasty, which had been discussed intermittently since the Opium War, had truly arrived. April 28, 1911, was the last day of the Qing Dynasty.

Empress Dowager Longyu, together with the five-year-old Xuantong Emperor Puyi, issued the abdication edict in the Palace of Heavenly Purity. Yuan Shikai, who had most directly brought about the end of the Qing Dynasty, was unwilling to attend this "funeral." Minister of Foreign Affairs Hu Weide attended in his place.

Hu Weide led thirteen cabinet ministers lined up in a row. When the ashen-faced Longyu emerged with the ignorant and innocent little Emperor Puyi, the ministers did not kowtow but instead bowed three times in unison to Longyu and Puyi. This had been agreed upon beforehand; the Empress Dowager, who would become a commoner in a few minutes, no longer wished to continue her former majesty, even for the last time.

Yuan Shikai had also played a small trick: he signed the preferential treatment conditions as the Vice Premier of the Manchu Qing Cabinet, but these conditions had to be approved by the National Assembly to take effect. This was a very poisonous tactic. However, Empress Dowager Longyu heard Yuan Shikai's guarantee that he would definitely see the preferential treatment conditions through. Consequently, without any legal protection, the Manchu Qing came to an end.

On May 1, 1911, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Yuan Shikai cut off their queues.