December 1914

After a heavy snowfall, Beijing in the middle of winter has already turned into a world of ice and snow again. The green leaves have disappeared, the red flowers have disappeared, and from the roof to the branches to the ground, they are all covered in silver, dazzling and bright, and it is so boring.

But it is pure, but this purity is only an appearance. Anyone with a keen sense of smell can see that the current capital has actually been an undercurrent for a long time. The peace in these forty-nine cities is just the silence before the snowstorm.

.

Xu Shichang, Secretary of State of Zhengshitang, came to Jurentang to meet the president, accompanied by Zuo Cheng Yang Shiqi. Xu Shijing, who was already over sixty, had already shown an old look on his face, looking tired and his eyes looked deficient. He was not usually

In this way, thirty-five years ago, he and Yuan Shikai became brothers, and with Yuan Shikai's sponsorship, he went north to take the exam. He was first selected as a candidate, then a Jinshi, and then was edited by the Hanlin Academy. When he was training at Yuan Shikai's small station, he became Yuan Shikai's confidant.

, they are both civilized and martial, and they share the same ideals with each other.

Two years ago, when Yuan Shikai succeeded as interim president, Xu Shijing resigned from the Taibao position and went to Qingdao to observe the changes in the situation. In Qingdao, he was in the excitement of "I would rather seize power for Yuan Shikai than let it fall to Sun Yat-sen." He refused to be persuaded.

Resolutely came out of the mountain half a year ago. When he came to the capital again, he was confused by "What kind of world will Yuan's world be like?" "You know your destiny at fifty", Xu Shichang turned sixty in the blink of an eye

Now, a sixty-year-old man should know where to go and not panic when something happens. He has this ability.

It's different now. He is facing the rise and fall of a large central country and the life and death of hundreds of millions of people. A mistake is not a personal eternal hatred, but the rise and fall of the country. Xu Shichang is a man who has read books about sages. Even a three-year-old baby understands this.

"Every man is responsible for the rise and fall of a country." Doesn't he, a well-educated person, not understand?

He understood, but sometimes, it was not enough to just understand some things. It was probably when he became a senior official. There were too many things on his mind, and Xu Shichang had too many thoughts and worries.

After becoming the Secretary of State, Xu Shichang worked hard for Yuan's rule. He went to the political hall located in the Xizhu Building behind the Han Palace on time every day to work. All official affairs of various ministries were subject to the approval of the Secretary of State. All ministers met with the President.

, it is necessary for the Secretary of State to be present. The Secretary of State is busier than the President. A Beijing newspaper once reported this:

The Secretary of State is no less busy than the Minister of Military and Aircraft who was also in charge of the Ministry in the former Qing Dynasty. According to reliable information, Xu Xiangguo gets up very early every day, washes up after eight o'clock, and even goes to the Presidential Palace at nine o'clock. At ten o'clock he goes to the audience.

The president, to discuss state affairs, goes to the political hall for work at eleven o'clock, has lunch at twelve o'clock, and rests at two o'clock in the afternoon. He starts working again at three and five o'clock, and continues until around ten o'clock, which is what he usually does every day.

Although Xu Shichang worked so hard, Yuan Shikai's control over the political hall was very tight, making it difficult for Xu to do anything. Xu Shichang secretly said to his confidants: "In the past, when cabinet members first joined the cabinet, they published a lot, but in fact they could not do anything.

Go. After the current chaos, I just want to rest. I don’t dare to say much. I just choose what is feasible and do it. If it is not feasible, don’t do it. If you do it and it is effective, it is good. If you do not, it is evil. It depends on the results! Yes!

"Even if you ridicule me for showing nothing," Xu Shichang said the truth. After listening to his "nothing for showing" argument, others seemed to see through his "ruling by doing nothing" mentality. In the end, they had to say "Xu Shichang"

, the biggest swindler in the world!" Xu Shichang, who became Secretary of State, was not able to "worry about the world's worries first, and enjoy the world's happiness later" as he confessed, and "governing by doing nothing" is not that easy. He

The world of the Yuan family, which considers itself "free from worries", is also very unstable. Many unexpected things are happening one after another. Just like now, Xu Shichang has to face the question of whether he should resign according to the wishes of the president.

Just stick with it.

As soon as he met Yuan Shikai, Xu Shichang saluted as usual and said:

"Meet the President!"

Yuan Shikai smiled slightly and stretched out his hand to give way to sit down.

"Brother Juren, Xingcheng, please sit down. I have something to discuss with you."

Xu Shichang and Yang Shiqi first thanked, then nodded and finally sat down. After the two sat down, they suddenly became silent. Yang Shiqi made up his mind to let Xu Shichang speak, but Xu Shijing was facing the president now, and the same was true.

How could one of his allies take the initiative to say that he did not want to resign and show that he was nostalgic for his official position?

But Yuan Shikai didn't say anything. He just half-closed his eyes and drank the tea that the servant had just brought. At the same time, he invited the two of them to drink tea. Yuan Shikai knew very well what Xu and Yang were thinking, and they were reluctant to part with it.

How many people in this world are willing to give up their hands on power?

For a while, the three of them were silent, drinking tea. The living room was filled with commotion. Except for the clinking of cups and saucers, there was no sound.

After all, after a long silence, Yuan Shikai broke the silence first.

"Brother Juren should have seen the speech of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Article 4 negotiations will start today. It is estimated that in ten days and a half, the Article 4 negotiations will be completed. It will also be the end of the Western calendar year, and a contract will be signed! This foreign matter is settled.

Got it!"

When he said these words, Yuan Shikai, who put down his teacup, did not look relaxed at all. As his expression changed from light to heavy as he spoke, his eyebrows slowly knitted together.

"I read the newspaper today. It was a reporter interviewing the 11th Division of the Jiangsu Army. There are 11 divisions. Each division has 17,000 people. That's an army of nearly 200,000 people! The number of troops that I, the president, can mobilize is only 20,000.

More than 100,000! After deducting those miscellaneous names, I’m afraid, hey, it’s hard to be the president! I really don’t know if someone will persuade me to give up the position of president to him, Li Zhiyuan, that day!”

When Xu Shichang heard this, he was shocked. He and Yang Shiqi looked at each other, and they both saw panic in each other's eyes. They did not expect that the president would say such a sentence.

Xu Shichang was about to give some words of persuasion and comfort, but Yuan Shikai said again.

"Hey, for the sake of the overall interests of the country, if he, Li Zhiyuan, wants to be the president, it doesn't matter if this president gives way to him. This China! There will never be chaos again!"

Speaking urgently, Yuan Shikai clearly expressed his "thoughts". In fact, Yuan Shikai knew clearly that they were unwilling to give up power, so they performed this performance. Then he revealed his voice as if he was crying.

A sign of generosity.

"More than ten years ago, the Eight-Power Allied Forces made China suffer a lot. In the end, it ceded territory and paid indemnities. The national power was exhausted. After ten years of hard work, it regained some strength. In the year of 1911, the southern army was rejuvenated. The great powers wanted to interfere, but Lao Yuan could not do it.

I stayed out of the mountain and maintained the situation. Later, in order to prevent the interference of foreign powers and damage to the vitality of China, I negotiated peace between the north and the south, and the Qing Emperor abdicated, so I became the president. In the past few years, I have worked hard to maintain the situation of the country and prevent it from collapsing.

The situation is getting better day by day. In this European war, the Japanese forced us. Fortunately, the soldiers of the three armies served, we were able to save the face of the country and preserve our rights and interests. The overall situation of the country is getting better. But unfortunately... the internal situation is now like this, and we have

What should we do? If we are not careful, civil war will resume and foreign powers will interfere. How can this be a blessing for China?"

Xu Shichang did not speak, but Yang Shiqi was on pins and needles. Holding the tea cup, Xu Shichang seemed to be thinking about the meaning of the president's words and how to answer him.

However, these two people are sensible people. They know that Yuan Shikai said these words in fact to block their next words. He was doing the work of clearing the way for Li Zicheng to "enter Beijing". But the reason Yuan Shikai said was...

But there is no way to refute the Master. He is doing it for the overall interests of the country. If the two of them explain the meaning of the refutation, wouldn't it mean that they are greedy for power to the point where they "will not hesitate to start a civil war."

Seeing that the two of them were silent, Yuan Shikai, who didn't want to linger any longer, stood up, then sighed, showing a look of helplessness.

"Nowadays, foreign barbarians and internal bandits are very rampant. If the country is lost in the hands of my generation, how can I be worthy of my ancestors and the people of the country? But others can't see this. I think you two will understand my thoughts.

of!"

When he finished speaking, Yuan Shikai looked straight at the two of them, as if he meant to say.

"Now that we have talked about this, you two should know what to do!"

Xu Shichang glanced at Yang Shiqi, and then smiled bitterly in his heart. Yuan Shikai was Yuan Shikai after all. He did not leave any room for others, both inside and outside his words! Looking at the helplessness flashing in Yang Shiqi's eyes, he said.

"President, you must not give up your position to Li. Besides, Li does not intend to be the president. Please think again, president!"

Just then, someone came in.

"The President is delivering a speech. General Xuanwu, General Feng, is here to pay his respects."

When he heard that Feng Guozhang was here, Yuan Shikai was stunned for a moment, and then he agreed, "Please!" and said to Xu Shichang and Yang Shiqi:

"Brother Juren, Xingcheng, you guys come to my office and sit down first. I'll come back after a while to socialize."

After the two left, Yuan Shikai felt a little more at ease thinking that they had understood the meaning behind his words. He knew that in less than half a month, Xu Shichang would resign and make way for his successor. As for Yang Shiqi, he

Don't you understand the truth? Then you can see what kind of bribes you can find for them, and you can give them an explanation.

Thinking in his mind, Yuan Shikai walked out of the residence hall and welcomed Feng Guozhang into the inner courtyard. Then he invited Feng Guozhang to enter the residence hall. After they sat down across from each other, Feng Guozhang spoke first.

"President, the emperor wants to rebel against South Korea in the near future, so he came here to say goodbye to the president!"

Among the Beiyang generals, Feng Guozhang was probably the most depressed. During the "Second Revolution", Feng Guozhang, who originally wanted to capture Nanjing and serve as the governor of Jiangsu, failed to do so. In the end, Li Zhiyuan got the advantage and ended up with

A Jianghuai inspection envoy, the false name of General Xuanwu was still a guest army stationed in Anhui, which was under the control of Ni Sichong.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Yuan Shikai asked urgently. "Is there anything else I want to discuss with you?"

"I have something to do too!"

Feng Guozhang said straightforwardly.

"I want to explain it to the president before I leave!"

Yuan Shikai originally thought that he had something to discuss with Feng Guozhang, but he didn't expect that Feng Guozhang also came to him for something. Could it be because of that matter? Resetting the State Council may seem simple, but in fact it involves the interests of all parties. For everyone in the Political Affairs Hall,

It involves their positions, but for the generals in the army, it involves the "right to engage in military affairs."

That matter seemed to be done covertly, but Yuan Shikai knew that the things in that matter could not be concealed from others. Thinking of this, Yuan Shikai deliberately used words to distract from the situation, trying to make insinuations, and slowly calmed down the atmosphere and said.

"You and Daoru have been in the capital for several days, and we haven't had a good talk yet. Daoru will be leaving soon after the end of the year, so you should leave a few days later!"

Feng Guozhang's new wife, Zhou Di and Zhou Daoru, was originally Yuan Shikai's tutor. Yuan Shikai always treated her as a family member. Later, she was introduced to Feng Guozhang. Needless to say, his intention was that today he used the tone of a close relative to retain the Jianghuai patrol envoy.

.

But Feng Guozhang said.

"The reality is that we can't finish the discussion, so we have to stay for a few more days. If there is nothing else to do, it's better to go back early!"

Feng Guozhang said again without waiting for Yuan Shikai to speak.

"There is an incident, and I want to report it to the president truthfully. There are rumors recently that the president is training the new army and inviting Li Zhiyuan to Beijing, all in order to withdraw military power from the central government. I don't know if this is true or not! If the president wants to withdraw military power

. Just a telegram, and the emperor would never dare to disobey it!"

As he said this, he cast a pair of hesitant eyes on Yuan Shikai.

Originally, Yuan Shikai wanted to get Feng Guozhang's support to deal with other people. When he heard his words, his heart suddenly became cold, and he understood that this "consolidation of military power in the central government" must be carried out no matter how great the resistance was.

So he said.

"Hua Fu, look at what you said. The State Council has never happened before. One by one prime minister, how does it affect the overall situation? Resetting the State Council can only be said to be the need of the hour. It is forced by the situation!"

Looking at Feng Guozhang, Yuan Shikai thought, "Is there someone who does Feng Huafu's job and specifically asked him to test his tone and deal with himself?"

"Reset the State Council and appoint Li Zhiyuan as Prime Minister. First, it is what the country needs. Li Zhiyuan's talent is known to everyone in the world. If such a person is not used, doesn't it mean that the central government is insignificant and does not use talented people? Secondly, France is now inviting people
To be continued...