In July, it was already midsummer. During the day, the capital was hot, like an oven. The towering city walls blocked the cool breeze outside the city, making the city look like a stove during the day. It was not until the night was that the stove was hot and it was a little more relaxed.

As the night came, the light breeze blew in the shadow of the starry leaves. In the pavilion of Yingtai, Zhongnanhai, Yuan Shikai raised his head, looked at the lofty Tianhe, and sighed. Compared with the heat outside, the weather in Zhongnanhai was cool, but despite this, Yuan Shikaiyi still felt that the air seemed to be insufficient and her chest was very stuffy.

Yuan Shikai, who was wearing a cotton-sticky shirt, looked even more rounded, but his face looked full of haggard, sallow and not much blood. Even those eyes that had made countless fearful eyes, their spirits became much dimmed now.

I am old and my body is useless!

Although he is unwilling to admit it, since the Chinese New Year this year, his body has been getting worse and worse. This may be hidden from others, but it cannot be hidden from Yuan Shikai himself. Yuan Shikai knows his body better than others.

The time is here!

Death, what a terrible word!

Yuan Shikai spent most of his life and finally climbed to the peak of power. Yuan Shikai has always been unwilling to admit defeat and believing in evil, and has worked hard to manage his life until he was the president of the Republic of China. But no matter how big a hero is, he can't fight against God, and people will always die. What really scares Yuan Shikai is that he can actually count on his life, and now he is fifty-eight years old. According to the curse that has entangled the three generations of the Yuan family, he can only live for another two years at most.

But now, he felt that God would not even give him two years!

If God gave me two more years... but God, would he give him two years?

As long as there are two more years, Yuan Shikai believes that he will definitely be able to control China into a big country. Now the shape of China is already revealed. The European victory of the Expeditionary Force has paved the way for the revision of the New Testament. Looking for equality between all countries, the external conditions are so good. On the other hand, with this great victory, not only the French before hoped that the Expeditionary Force would play a bigger role, but the British also stood up, hoping that China could send more expeditionary forces. The French seemed to be afraid that the British would pull away the Expeditionary Force. Prime Minister Beryan even said through Kant that "he expects the Chinese Expeditionary Force to play the same role as the British Expeditionary Force in the future." What does this mean? This means. The French recognized the role of the Chinese Expeditionary Force.

On the side of the Army, the Army has formulated a plan to train two million expeditionary forces. Once the plan is reached, the provincial troops of local provinces will be "splied out". After the end of the European war, the provincial troops will be completely disintegrated, sending a mixed expeditionary force, and returning home will be a brand new CSKA.

Without the support of the army, there is still any force to challenge the central government? Even if it still has some force, facing two million strong troops, how can it have the power to resist?

"Official and external troubles are cleared in one day!"

Just as Li Zhiyuan had expected, when the expeditionary army won the victory and was at the time when the internal troubles outside the Republic of China were resolved, but... God still didn't give him two years after all!

Thinking of this, Yuan Shikai's sallow face changed slightly, and he sighed at the same time.

"Uncle, you are bothering about Li Zhiyuan again!"

At this time, sitting opposite Yuan Shikai was his eldest son Yuan Keding. He suddenly interrupted something, which only interrupted Yuan Shikai's thoughts, and Yuan Shikai said nothing. How could he say anything in front of his son and worry about his body?

So, both the father and son were silent. Compared to before, Yuan Shikai's brows were locked tighter...

Li Zhiyuan!

The name mentioned by Yuan Keding always makes various emotions appear in Yuan Shikai's heart. For Li Zhiyuan, Yuan Shikai never figured out what he felt.

On the one hand, the elite army in Li Zhiyuan's hands was a sting in his heart, so he would breathe a sigh of relief after the expeditionary army suffered a severe blow. On the other hand, Li Zhiyuan's talent for national affairs surprised Yuan Shikai, and he cooperated with his needs and completely let him do it.

"Maybe, no one can like him, but no one can live without him!"

Thinking about the current evaluation of people from all walks of life in Beijing, Yuan Shikai couldn't help but sigh in his heart, he couldn't do without him!

Last year, when Li Zhiyuan first came to Beijing to work, Yuan Shikai even formulated a strategy of using Liang Shiyi to secretly fight against him and taking the opportunity to balance it. But now, Yuan Shikai himself has asked Liang Shiyi to cooperate more with the State Council more than once.

The reason why Yuan Shikai gave up his original plan was very simple. He was inseparable from Li Zhiyuan. Li Zhiyuan was not only adjusting the economy and calculating finances, but also having no ability in China, but more importantly, fighting for the central and local power. Li Zhiyuan's flexible skills are also difficult for others to be anxious about.

Using economy as bait, finance as a skill, law as a means, and national needs only Yuan Shikai saw that in addition to admiration, he was more sighing that Li Zhiyuan had never used it for him, but his fair intention of doing things made Yuan Shikai feel more regretful.

The reason why Yuan Keding mentioned Li Zhiyuan was very simple - he bought the morale of the army and had a bad heart!

After Lin Baoren proposed that national cemetery, the whole of China was like a boiling fire. The establishment of a national public curtain was like a wave, affecting all classes of China: workers, farmers, students, merchants, soldiers, officers, local officials, celebrities and gentlemen were also involved. On the one hand, they agreed, and on the other hand, they called for the hope of building the cemetery in the province. Overseas Chinese in various parts of the Southeast Asian countries were extremely active, but in just two weeks, they donated millions.

After Li Zhiyuan attended the celebration meeting in mourning costume that day and said the sentence "What should I repay their blood?", the whole country was in full swing. While all walks of life in China expressed their agreement to donate money to build the national cemetery, in Europe, in the expeditionary force, there were several other people who didn't know what Li Zhiyuan said in parliament - "Who brings him here, who brings him home."

For Chinese people who pay attention to "falling leaves return to their roots", what they value most is "returning their souls to their hometowns", and for the officers and soldiers of the Expeditionary Army, the thing they worry most is probably that they are "burying themselves in a foreign land" later. Now, they don't need to worry about that kind of gratitude, Yuan Shikai can guess a little without reporting from France.

This is a buying of military morale!

When Yuan Shikai thought of this, he was anxious and uneasy. When he saw only the benefits of the victory of the Expeditionary Army, he never expected to "make a fuss" on the dead. Then Li Zhiyuan never missed the opportunity to "make a name"!

In the past, he wanted to capture his reputation, so he asked him to capture him, but now, he wanted to capture the morale of the army. How can this make Yuan Shikai feel at ease?

On the other hand, Yuan Shikai also did not expect that those Chinese people would have such high patriotic enthusiasm? But it was just an architect's suggestion that it could actually get a national response in just a few days, and even create a boiling situation in the whole country!

When did the Chinese become so patriotic?

Yuan Shikai didn't understand, and what made him even more unclear was that Li Zhiyuan was making a fuss about the dead. It was even more successful than him, the president, who was awarded merits and promoted to the living!

Now, the State Council is not a little bit fighting with the Army Department for the "Constitution of Honor". According to that charter, those soldiers can be said to have the greatest honor. It is a funeral ceremony that only generals can enjoy. But Li Zhiyuan just requires that every soldier should "enjoy the same glory"...

"Soldiers and generals, after they sacrifice their lives for their country, are equal, and soldiers should also enjoy the same grief as generals."

The most direct result of this persistence was that under the absurdity of "freedom of the press", it was first reported by the newspaper, and then spread to Europe via radio through the radio, and into the barracks of the Expeditionary Force. According to the newspaper, the soldiers all burst into tears when they heard Li Zhiyuan's words.

"Human hearts! Human hearts?"

First sighed, then questioned, Yuan Shikai suddenly felt that he was too lonely. He thought of Duan Qirui, Feng Guozhang, Wang Shizhen, civil servants and military generals who were pulled up by him since he was a child. Finally, he still thought of Li Zhiyuan, and this young man who seemed to have a bad hand of cards but played back little by little.

"Oh, if so..."

Looking at the son beside him, Yuan Shikai, who had been silent for a long time, thought about Li Zhiyuan, who was older than his son. The disappointment in his heart became even stronger for a while. If... if Li Zhiyuan was his son, then...

The son... the in-laws, just before Yuan Shikai's eyes lit up, and then his eyes became dark again. Although Yuan Shikai had several daughters, and several of them were pretty good, he knew that this would not be possible at all. Li Zhiyuan had "cut off" this journey long ago. He had worshipped him as his brother, and there was the one who married a niece in this world who was an uncle. If he really did this, I'm afraid... I'm afraid that the whole of China would see Yuan Xiangcheng's joke.

"What a pity..."

Yuan Keding obviously didn't know the thoughts in his father's mind. Since two years ago, Yuan Keding has been waiting ambitiously. Since he learned that the presidential election law was revised under the instructions of his father, he has even increased his ambitions. According to the law, a new president must be elected among the three candidates proposed by the former president. His father is the president, and one day his father can't do it anymore, and he has the right to nominate. Not to mention three, even if one is mentioned, it must be Yuan Keding. So, he became self-sufficient.

"Today I will help me conquer the world, and tomorrow will be my world!"

He naturally knew the old man's good intentions, so he naturally worked harder and wanted to do all the things his father told him to do.

At this moment, when the father and son sat opposite each other in the pavilion of Yingtai, Yuan Keding understood everything from his father's low mood and spoke before his father could ask:

"Uncle, you don't have to worry about Li Zhiyuan's affairs. This battle is a great victory, but it also makes the essence of the Jiangsu Army be ruined. Without the Jiangsu Army, Li Zhiyuan can be said to be the tail of a rabbit - it cannot grow!"

Thinking about the details of the battle situation on the front line learned from the Army Department, Yuan Keding admired the old man to the core. This trick of using a knife to kill people was extremely clever. Li Zhiyuan attended the mourning banquet for the celebration banquet for "dief" and it was clearly for himself.

But when Yuan Keding said this, he was obviously smart but was mistaken for intelligence. Yuan Shikai was in a very upset heart. He wanted to ask his son to talk to him about it now. When his son said this, Yuan Shikai frowned, and his slightly sickly and waxy face showed some dissatisfaction. Not to mention that his son was far from him, he was even compared to him.

Then does Li Zhiyuan really look like he is a rabbit tail?

I was annoyed that my son was incompetent, but I couldn't even see such an obvious thing. Yuan Shikai glared at his son, and then said in a stiff tone:

"Rabbit's Tail?"

First, Yuan Shikai was silent again, who is the rabbit tail? Li Zhiyuan is younger than him and has better health than him. In comparison, God didn't give him time to Yuan Shikai!...

If it were the rabbit's tail, I'm afraid he, Yuan Shikai, is the one that cannot grow...

Yuan Shikai, who was originally upset in his heart, became even more annoyed when he thought of his son's words, but he was too lazy to lose his temper today. After being silent for a long time, he said slowly:

"You don't understand..."

You don’t understand a sentence, but it seems simple. In fact, it shows that Yuan Shikai was disappointed with his son. He decided that this cripple man would not be able to show up. Even his brain would not be enough!

When no one compared it in the past, Yuan Shikai did a lot of articles to support this incompetent son, but he had done so much work to do so many articles, but what could this be done?

Now when people compare themselves, you can tell the difference immediately!

This is not important to know whether the superiority or inferiority is. More importantly, Yuan Shikai knew that his son, who has not been very smart, was not Li Zhiyuan's opponent at all. Not to mention being a coding, even Yuan Shikai could not get a advantage in Li Zhiyuan's hands. Now, Li Zhiyuan respects and respects himself, because... Yuan Shikai is also the president of China!

Legal president!

But in the future, if he is determined... looking at his son who seems to be a little proud, Yuan Shikai couldn't help but sigh. He has not seen the link until now! He is still self-righteous, and with his mind, let alone becoming the president, or being the chief minister, he probably sells it and counts the money for others!

No successor!

When this thought came to his mind, Yuan Shikai felt disappointed. After training, this person's brain was born. Now it is a republic. Even if he can help make Keding become the president and elected, he may not be able to keep it in the future. Now it is not the time when the Qing Dynasty was in the past. Even if his son was a fool, he would still be his emperor...

Suddenly, when Yuan Shikai was thinking like this, a thought emerged in his mind, if the national system was changed... Suddenly, Yuan Shikai's heart could not help but hop. If the national system was changed, everything would be easy. If Yuan Shikai became the emperor, then his son would be the emperor of China.

As for Li Zhiyuan, well, he is a talented person, he is a prince, hereditary prince of a different surname, and then he is the prime minister. This country is still...

It seems this is a solution!

Just when Yuan Shikai's mind was in chaos, Yuan Keding seemed to have not noticed the uncle's strangeness and said to himself:

"...... The old man's attitude of seeking stability is certainly good. But just those few words can you buy the morale of the army? The morale of the army is still in the hands of the superiors. You see, Han Wu is now an official and a general. In such a big China, how many thirty-year-old generals are there? What do those officials want? It's nothing more than four big words - promotion and wealth..."

In Yuan Keding's opinion, Li Zhiyuan's performance was a way to deal with the morale of the military, at most, it would only bring some reputation.

"Even if he was asked to take away the big-headed soldiers, what could he do? He still had to rely on the commanders at all levels to fight, and the army still had to rely on the constraints of the commanders. In the end, the ones that could work at all levels were the commanders at all levels. Those commanders did not care about the national cemetery or something..."

- Yuan Keding knew his father as well as his father, and knew that he was thinking about power in his dreams, especially military power; he was afraid of losing power in his dreams, especially military power, so he naturally knew what his father was worried about now, so he took it for granted that his father could not lose those powers. Even in his opinion, Li Zhiyuan's methods were actually helpless, reputation - reputation was useless!...

"Uncle, as you said, we just need to run the model team."

Yuan Keding, who was in charge of the position of deputy commander of the model troupe, once again mentioned his "model troupe".

"The officers of this expeditionary army all came from a model regiment. After the European war continued, slowly, Li Zhiyuan's troops were gone, and the officials were almost done. At that time, Li Zhiyuan would naturally end..."

I'm afraid your father can't see that day anymore!

After a long sigh in his heart, Yuan Shikai did not reveal it, but instead changed the topic.

"Remember!"

Calling Yuan Keding's nickname, Yuan Shikai looked at Yuan Keding again, and then spoke.

"I won't say anything else, I just want to ask you one thing, and you can give me your opinion."

"Say, uncle."

Yuan Keding looked at the old man and replied,

"What's the matter?"

"Why……"

Looking at his son, Yuan Shikai sighed and asked in a seemingly plain tone.

"Is it okay if you can't become the president, will you annoy your father?"

"What's wrong? Master."

In an instant, Yuan Keding stayed there, and he could hardly believe that this was his father's words. If he could not become the president...what else would be wrong?

"Uncle, we can't let Fatty Li be the president!"

Yuan Shikai didn't say anything about his son's mention of the vice president, just kept silent. This son... is not yet open. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations, monthly votes, and your support is my greatest motivation.)
Chapter completed!