It was early summer, but it ushered in the first heavy rain of summer. The continuous rain lines formed a thick rain mist. The sound of raindrops hitting the earth was so chaotic. But even in such bad weather,
In front of the gate of Tingfeng Xiaozhu in Luanzhou City, there were still many luxurious cars from various companies parked. The only exceptions were the coachmen and the accompanying servants, who huddled under the eaves of the cars to avoid the heavy rain.
Today, Yuan Su hosted a banquet at Tingfeng Xiaozhu to receive a distinguished guest from Beijing. In order to give this distinguished guest face, he specially invited many officials from the Civil Affairs Office and the First Brigade Headquarters to attend the banquet. This distinguished guest is none other than
, it is Yang Du, chairman of the recently established preparatory committee.
Yuan Su had earlier had contact with Yang Du under the introduction of Yuan Keding, and the meeting was quite good. At the end of July, he received a message from Yang Du from Beijing, saying that he would visit Luanzhou in the near future, and hoped that
When he met him, he was somewhat surprised. He knew that the Preparatory Committee had just been established in the middle of last month, and he also knew the role of Yang Du in the Beiyang government. It was just 1911 at the moment.
In August of the fourth year, the Preparatory Committee had just begun to promote Yuan Shikai's proclaimed emperor, and it had not yet reached the level of fanfare that it would be a few months later.
He may be able to guess the purpose of Yang Du's trip, but he knows that he is not a senior figure in Beiyang. Even if Yuan Shikai wants to mobilize his generals to support him in proclaiming the emperor, he definitely should not start with Luanzhou first! Yuan Shikai
Feng Guozhang in Nanjing, Wang Zhanyuan and Cao Kun in Hubei, and Duan Qirui, Wang Shizhen, Xu Shichang, and Li Yuanhong in Beijing and Tianjin. These big figures should be the first targets of persuasion.
From welcoming Yang Du at the train station, to resting at the guest house, to coming to Tingfeng Xiaozhu for the banquet in the heavy rain at night, Yang Du didn't show much interest. On the contrary, he talked about Luanzhou's Feng Shui and its people.
It’s as if you are really visiting Luanzhou for sightseeing.
Although Yuan Su had some doubts in his heart, fortunately he could keep his composure. Since Yang Du didn't say much, he simply didn't ask too many questions and just treated it as if he was accompanying Yang Du on a sightseeing tour.
At this moment, on the second floor of the West Wing Pavilion of Tingfeng Xiaozhu, while waiting for the banquet to begin, all the guests couldn't help but gather the mahjong table and card table, and it became lively. But Yang Du didn't like it.
I just sit around and drink tea casually to deal with these things.
Yuan Su was arranging tonight's menu downstairs, and after taking care of everything, he came to the second floor. Like Yang Du, he didn't like the things on the gambling table very much, so he saw Yang Du sitting aside and enjoying his time.
Nothing happened, so he walked over and sat down on the empty seat next to him.
"Sir, don't you want to play these games?" He randomly found a topic to talk about.
"As the saying goes, small gambling is pleasant, but big gambling is harmful to the body. However, in my opinion, no matter how big or small, it is gambling. It is better to stay away from this kind of thing that does not seek improvement and only puts its hope on a desperate gamble." Yang Du smiled.
said.
"What you said is absolutely true, and to be honest, Yuan Mou doesn't like this thing either. But unfortunately, the world is like this, so we can't go against the trend?" Yuan Su said with a smile.
"According to Master Yuan, it seems that you must follow the trend to be considered a hero?" Yang Du seemed to be a little interested. After adjusting his sitting posture, he asked Yuan Su seriously.
Yuan Su paused for a moment, subconsciously thinking that Yang Du's words had an overtone.
"That's not entirely what I mean. The overall situation is constantly changing. As the saying goes, soldiers have no constant momentum and water has no constant shape. The key to following the trend is to know how to use it skillfully. However, there are big winds and waves outside, and it is inevitable that you will not get lost in it, so even if
To know how to use clever tricks, you also need to have an unswerving belief in your heart. This belief is like a navigation light, so as not to become unclear about right and wrong."
Yang Du was somewhat disappointed with Yuan Su's answer. He originally hoped that Yuan Su would learn to make some changes after going through various experiences during this period. Now it seems that the other party has indeed made some changes, but the change
It's just the outside, but it's still stubborn on the inside.
But it doesn't matter. Fortunately, Yuan Su's "stubbornness" is not unreasonable, otherwise he wouldn't bother so much to come to Luanzhou this time.
"What Master Yuan said is really good. As the saying goes, nothing can change without departing from one's sect. It's nothing more than this. Speaking of coming to Luanzhou this time, I was entrusted by an old friend of Master Yuan to say hello to me.
." Yang Du said gradually changing the topic.
"Oh, who is he?" Yuan Su asked pretending to be interested. At the same time, he kept thinking in his heart that there were not many people who could be together with Yang Du and be considered old friends.
"It's Mr. Yuan. We gathered at Qingyun Tower in the capital the past day. Everyone was very happy. Until a few days before I left the capital, the eldest son came to talk to me about this matter. I don't know.
Mr. Yuan still takes it to heart, but the eldest son has always been thinking about it, hoping that one day we can have a drink and talk happily again." Yang Du said matter-of-factly.
After hearing these words, Yuan Su was already sure of the purpose of Yang Du's trip, but he still couldn't figure out why Yang Du had to come to him first? Is it just because he was in Qingyun Tower before?
The reaction to the imperial system is not strong, and in addition, it has been in the limelight recently, so why do you think of wooing yourself first?
"To be honest, if it weren't for the support of the President and my cousin, I, Yuan Su, would not have the status I have today. My cousin has never treated me as an outsider, and I am naturally grateful in my heart. The last time I was in Qingyun Tower
There are indeed many memorable places in this gathering. When I return to Beijing, I will be the host and treat you all to a wonderful gathering." After a moment of hesitation, he said with emotion.
"Very good, very good. Talking about the gathering at Qingyun Tower, it reminds me of something. At that time, I discussed some current affairs with Young Master Yuan. It was quite thought-provoking. I don't know what Young Master Yuan was when
So far, do you have any new insights into what you discussed back then?" Yang Du further said.
"How dare you try your best to do anything in front of Mr. Yang?" Yuan Su said with a smile, but thought to himself: It's really straightforward.
"I still remember the centralization of power advocated by Young Master Yuan. This is indeed the most urgent thing for China to realize at present. However, since the beginning of the Taiping Rebellion, the rise of regiment training has made local real power more and more powerful.
By the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, there were revolutionary movements in various places. The so-called military government and revolutionary government were numerous, and those who supported the military and respected themselves in various provinces had already taken root. Now that the Republic of China has been established, the Beiyang government can actually only control a few provinces in the north, East China, and South China.
, the southwest and other places mostly have governors in power, openly competing with the central government. This situation has been going on for a long time, and it is really a long way to go to implement centralization of power by the central government." Yang Du sighed like a long speech.
"Sir's words really hit the nail on the head. Local separatism has been around for a long time. It is indeed not easy to centralize power now. But we cannot stop because it is not easy. We should take the lead. Even if we can only achieve half a step towards the centralization of power, we will never do it.
I don’t think this step is too small. As long as we can take one step further, it will save future generations from taking a step, so it is obligatory." Yuan Su said solemnly.
"The spirit of Foolish Old Man who moved mountains is commendable. Although I admire the spirit of young Master Yuan, if one generation can only promote the centralization of power half a step, how many generations will it take for us to reach the end of success? And in these few years
In the consumption of generations, how much benefit will the international powers poach from China?" Yang Du's expression gradually became serious, and his voice became a little more aggressive.
Yuan Su just made a random analogy. Naturally, he would not think that the efforts of one generation can only advance the centralization of power a little bit. He just wanted to use this incident to express his determination and perseverance. But he did not expect that.
Yang Du became more serious. Suddenly he didn't know how to answer, so he could only remain silent and pretend to be deep in thought.
Yang Du paused for a moment, glanced at Yuan Su's expression subconsciously, and continued randomly: "Does Mr. Yuan know about the security meeting?"
Yuan Su secretly said: Yang Du is about to get to the point. He pretended to hesitate for a moment and said with a bit of confusion: "I have seen the preparation meeting in the newspaper recently, but I don't know anything about it. Oh, by the way.
, it seems that this preparatory committee has something to do with you, sir, right?"
Yang Du smiled and said: "That's right. In fact, I initiated the Peace Preparation Committee and jointly founded it with many scholars and political activists. The purpose of the Peace Preparation Committee is to raise stability and discuss the most suitable political policies for our country.
system, use the political system to promote national reform, settle society as soon as possible, unify North and South China, and provide policy suggestions for building a prosperous and powerful Greater China."
Yuan Su nodded deeply and said with admiration: "It turns out that the Preparatory Committee was initiated by Mr. Yuan Su is really ignorant. What Mr. means is that he hopes that the Preparatory Committee will promote the reform of the Beiyang government. I don't know the details.
How to get started?”
Yang Du paused deliberately, then took a more serious and rigorous attitude, and said solemnly: "I wonder if Young Master Yuan still remembers what we talked about when we got together at Qingyun Tower?"
Yuan Su nodded and responded: "Of course I haven't forgotten."
Yang Du then said: "As I said last time, my concept is that the state system is the most important. To be honest, since the Opium War, although the Qing Dynasty has been decayed, it has also realized that the country is not strong but stable. From then on,
At that time, the princes and ministers of the Qing court had been thinking about learning from the great powers in order to find a way to make the country rich and strengthen its army. They first learned from Japan, then from Russia, and then from England and France. But now the Republic of China is learning from the United States. What the hell?