After the Wuchang Uprising, various provinces declared independence one after another. The Republic of China was established, and attempts to create a democratic political system officially began. A new atmosphere appeared in China's political life that had never been seen before. This new atmosphere aroused people's great enthusiasm for politics and also led to the differentiation and combination of various political forces, which were used to express and protect the interests of their own classes and interest groups. As a result, many political parties emerged. In more than a year after the Wuchang Uprising, with the convening of the Provisional Senate, the establishment of the Nanjing Provisional Government, and the first national congress election, China experienced a wave of party building. For a time, numerous parties and groups, as well as their political platforms and declarations, dazzled people's eyes, and a new face appeared on China's political stage that had never been seen before in history.

  The biggest difference between Chinese and British people when meeting is that the British always talk about the weather first, while we Chinese always ask "Have you eaten?" first. So the title of "foodie" is well-deserved for us descendants of the Yellow Emperor.

  But still, this kind of question is too common. At least people who think they have status wouldn't ask like that. The popular way to ask now is: "May I ask which party you are from? Are you in the party now?"

  It's all about what and what, party members have become a synonym for identity.

  Many parties in the early days of the Republic had a very unstable foundation, constantly splitting and merging, with chaotic and complex party activities, severe factionalism, vague and ambiguous party platforms, and similarities between parties. Moreover, the parties at that time also had characteristics such as loose organization, detachment from the masses, and lax party discipline. Most parties did not emphasize organizational discipline construction, seriously detached from the masses, and even detached from their own represented classes or strata. Many parties lacked grassroots organizations and rarely contacted lower-level citizens. Even a few large parties focused mainly on the upper echelons of society, concentrating on officials, dignitaries, celebrities, and politicians, busy with joint struggles in Congress. To some extent, the so-called party activities in the early days of the Republic were actually the activities of a small number of party leaders. In the political arena of the early Republic, the Tongmenghui, which had been fighting for the establishment of a republican system for over a decade and had long been in an illegal position, became an open party with the founding of the Republic and occupied a central position in the country's political power structure. In the Nanjing Provisional Government, the Tongmenghui held the ruling party position, with a majority of senators and the provisional president being members of the Tongmenghui. The "Chinese United Party" was formed by the merger of the "United Party of the Republic of China" which split from the Tongmenghui and some members of the monarchical constitutionalist faction; the original Constitutional Friends Society reorganized into the "Republican Construction Discussion Association" and the "Republican Unity Party"; and some of the leaders of the Wuchang Uprising, the constitutionalists, and others formed the "National Society". These parties were all quite active on the political stage at that time, occupying a certain number of seats in various government departments, the Senate, or local people's institutions. However, from a general perspective, it was mainly a competition between the revolutionary party (Tongmenghui) and the constitutionalist faction, two major political forces.

  It can be divided into three major factions. One is the Tongmenghui, led by Sun Yat-sen, Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren, which belongs to the Kuomintang system's radical party, representing the middle and lower levels of China's national bourgeoisie at that time. Most of its members were revolutionaries from the late Qing dynasty, with a small number of constitutionalists and old bureaucrats and politicians. However, according to historical textbooks, they actively promoted and maintained the bourgeois democratic republican system, emphasizing people's rights, opposing autocracy, openly advocating for "consolidating the republic and implementing equal politics for all citizens" as their goal, becoming the most progressive force in promoting democratic politics in China at that time.

  Another faction was the conservative party system led by Liang Qichao, Tang Hualong, Li Yuanhong and Sun Wu, representing the upper class of China's national bourgeoisie at that time. Its members included some old bureaucrats, landlords and gentry, as well as a small number of revolutionary parties. They had economic strength, supported the republican system, emphasized state power, advocated for stability, although they had cooperated with the revolutionaries to some extent, but they had deeper ties with the old bureaucrats, often holding an attitude of supporting or relying on the government.

  On the political stage of the early Republic, there was another faction, led by Yuan Shikai, the old Beiyang warlord and bureaucrat. According to historical textbooks, this faction had advantages in politics, economy, and military affairs, attempting to establish a dictatorship, adopting various means to undermine the republican system and party politics, which became the biggest obstacle on the road to democracy.

  In fact, according to Wang Zhenyu's efforts over the past year, all of the above progress, reaction, democracy, and dictatorship are nonsense. The only purpose of proposing all political slogans and political programs is to seize power, nothing more.

  Although he understood the direction of history and knew that Yuan Shikai would eventually turn against the revolutionary party, Sun Yat-sen would suffer greatly. However, Wang Zhenyu was powerless to do anything about it. He was very clear about who he was - just a small town guard in western Hunan, not even worthy of Song Jiaoren's attention, who spent his time recruiting people into the party elsewhere. This was the best assessment of his current influence on this era; rather than trying to participate in politics actively, it would be better for him to focus on managing his own affairs well first.

  So for Song Jiaoren's envoy Zhang Xueji, Wang Zhenyu did not meet him at all, but entrusted Tian Yingkui and Yang Wanguo to entertain him. As for the request to join the Nationalist Party, he naturally declined with a smile. Who would joke about finding a father for himself? Now that I've recognized you as my father, this year will be the second revolution, and I'll have to follow you guys into misfortune, won't I?

  Wang Zhenyu knew that his Xiangxi Grand Development Plan would not take effect until at least two years later, and before that, no matter whether Yuan Shikai was good or evil, it was inappropriate to offend him rashly.

  However, for the political party, Wang Zhenyu took an interest in it, and after all, it was a matter of legitimacy. Wang Zhenyu hoped to turn his army into a party army through the party's approach, so that no matter who ordered him to be dismissed from his post as the garrison commander, the army would still be his own. Moreover, the effect of controlling the army through ideology should be greater than the institutional construction of the army itself, and more importantly, if you don't have a clear political creed, what makes these young people sacrifice their lives for you? Is it just because they ate a bowl of rice from you?

  But how is this party organized? What kind of party should be organized?

  Wang Zhenyu does not want the political party he founded to become a new Beiyang warlord, superior to the country and nation, leaving future generations in trouble, and being scolded by others. So this party cannot be too strong, but rather relatively loose. However, it also cannot be like the political parties in the United States, which are purely electoral structures that do not meet his current needs for competing for dominance.

  After much thought, Wang Zhenyu still couldn't think of a good idea, so he slapped his head and said, "Never mind what type it is, let's just form the team first."

  Setting up an organization is simple, and it's easy for your future self to come up with a reasonable one:

  Make yourself the party chairman, then set up a Central Executive Committee below to serve as the highest authority of the whole party. Establish a Central Standing Committee to be responsible for daily affairs, and set up several departments such as the Organization Department and the Propaganda Department to handle party affairs. Then establish a Military Commission with several key members from the military coming in. The military and politics should also be separated within the party, otherwise, if you don't want to play along later, it will be difficult to end it. To prevent someone from using this framework to create another Dúcái or Wang Zhenyi, China only needs one of them.

  Party building cannot be rushed and must be done in several steps:

  The first step is to greet Yang Wangu and Xu Yuanquan, indirectly expressing my idea, whether they can understand it or not is one thing, but whether they accept it or not is the key to the problem.

  The second step is to organize a preparatory team. Since it's about forming a party, there should be a political program and rules and regulations, which can't be accomplished with just one or two sentences.

  The third step is to take the current Xiangxi Army School's Political Department as the foundation and set up this framework after a period of time.

  At the same time, Wang Zhenyu also made control assumptions for the scope of party affairs involved:

  Firstly, it does not involve the judicial system;

  Secondly, focus on the military system, including the establishment of party representatives and the development of young league members.

  Thirdly, the procuratorial system does not set up party organizations, and the party organizations in the educational system are not included in the administrative scope.

  Fourth, the party organization sets up branches in various places, referring to intelligence departments, setting up county party departments, municipal party departments, etc.; The main tasks are to contact localities, publicize policies, recruit party members; Do not directly interfere with local civil affairs.

  This job is not easy at all, it's a big task.

  Wang Zhenyu thought for half a day and asked Zhu Cihen to invite Liu Xing, Zhou Lian, and Chen Shao over. At present, the only three people who can be used for this task are these three.

  In the conference room on the third floor of the administrative building of the Prefectural Governor's Office, four men had been meeting for a whole night. Each face was filled with an excited expression, as if they were doing something very meaningful.

  Many years later, Zhou Duan, who had retired and was living at home, said with emotion when recalling his past with his children: "Don't listen to others say I'm a wise general or a lucky general. In this life, I've only done one meaningful thing, which is participating in the founding of the National Socialist Party. You see that party doesn't exist now, but if it didn't exist, there wouldn't be today's China."

  Chen Shao also wrote in his diary: "All along, my biggest dream was to abandon my pen and take up arms, to be a great general who travels the world, but today, this dream has been strangled by the commander-in-chief himself. I just knew that he had always regarded me as a civil official, although the significance of joining the party is very important, but if I had a choice, I would hope that the person responsible for implementing it was not me."

  All of these are precious audio and textual materials treasured in the Federal History Museum.