When the envoy from the north arrived at the gate of Lin Ji's base camp, Lin Youde was playing chess - Chinese chess - with Sophie.
At the beginning of 1899, Lin Ji's bosses, big and small, were all busy with things. In order to expand Lin Ji, these big brothers worked early and late every day like laborers. But as the biggest boss, Lin Youde, was as leisurely as ever, because he took most of the
Everything was delegated to his subordinates. There were only a few pitiful things that required Lin Youde's parents to make decisions every day, so Lin Youde spent most of his time teaching young people and communicating with the goddesses.
And playing with Sophie these three things.
Originally, Lin Youde liked to visit privately incognito, but I don't know since when it became popular to hang Lin Youde's portrait in Chinese homes in Northern Luzon. It is said that hanging it can avoid disasters and bring fortune, which is very effective.
Therefore, as soon as Lin Youde took to the street, he would be recognized and surrounded.
Even Ba, who was inseparable from Lin Youde all day long, became a public figure. People spread rumors that she was Mrs. Lin, so people often used connections to bring their daughters to see Ba. They wanted to be Ba's maids, and they looked forward to when they could.
Shopkeeper Lin fell in love with her and was adopted as a concubine.
Of course, Ba politely rejected them. In terms of status, she herself was like a maid. It would be too unseemly for a maid to take another maid.
Lin Youde didn't care about this at all. He often joked with Ba, "Just take in a few maids, and I'll take care of you too." In the end, they all got a roll of the eyes from Ba. Lin Youde thought the roll of the eyes was quite cute, and it wasn't because of that.
He is a pussy, but it is just his male chauvinism that is at work: he always feels that girls need to be a little jealous to appear feminine, and a Yamato Nadeshiko like Tomoe needs a little coquettishness and a little pettyness, otherwise she will
Perfection is taken too far and becomes unreal.
In fact, the relationship between Ba and Lin Youde at this time is not much different from that of a couple. Except that they have never slept together or had sex, they are exactly the same as an ordinary couple. Especially with the addition of Sophie, when the three of them are together, they become a family of three.
The feeling: Sophie is riding on Lin Youde's neck, and she is vigorously directing her father as a mount to where to go. The smiling Ba follows behind leisurely, keeping a distance of three steps, and her sleeves are as long as clouds and her hair is flowing.
Gone with the Wind, she looks like a classical good wife.
If Nie Xueqiu is included, the scene will become even more interesting.
Nie Xueqiu's lively and carefree temperament unexpectedly matched well with the arrogant Sophie. He often dragged Sophie out to play. One time, Nie Xueqiu got a rope, tied Sophie around his waist, and then
I started to play cool running on the roof of Helangyabo, jumping over walls and walls like Assassin's Creed. Finally, I was bumped into by Lin Youde, and I even used Leap of Faith to escape, which almost scared Lin Youde out of his mind.
After Lin Youde rescued Sophie from Nie Xueqiu's clutches, the little girl's face was pale and bloodless. But when Lin Youde pretended to be an elder and scolded Nie Xueqiu, the little girl suddenly said: "Thanks to her
I gained important data by acting like an idiot."
Lin Youde was stunned for three seconds before he realized that his unsociable little daughter was helping Nie Xueqiu to excuse himself.
Nie Xueqiu laughed loudly and said, "I thought you would like it, Sophie."
"I don't like it."
"Eh? Really?"
"Yes, I am very, very, very, very disgusted with your way of doing things your own way. It's so brainless."
Seeing the two of them starting to quarrel, Lin Youde shrugged, and when he turned around, he saw Ba smiling happily behind him.
Things like this have become the norm in Lin Youde's life today.
Sometimes he felt that it would be good to just stay in the Philippines, be the king of Northern Luzon, and live his own life.
But Lin Youde knows that this will definitely not work. Now people around him will follow him because he has the ambition to save the country and has made achievements. Once Lin Youde shows signs of settling for a corner, many people will choose to leave.
Even if Ba, whose love becomes more and more obvious and intense, might choose to leave for the sake of her justice and principles.
Lin Youde has reached this position, and it is no longer up to him whether he will do it or not.
Either go and create a wider world and recruit more girls into the a**, or throw away the things you finally have now. If you choose one of the two, there is nothing to hesitate.
So it was only a matter of time before Lin Youde peeked into the Central Plains.
But the envoy from the Central Plains arrived too early, which was beyond Lin Youde's expectation. When he was completely unprepared to compete in the Central Plains, the invitation was sent to him.
"Brother Lin," Guo Rui, who had succeeded Du Qifeng as Lin Youde's secretary, who was busy with more and more things, opened the door and came in to report, "There are people at the door asking to see them, saying they are Tan Sitong from Liuyang, Hunan and Kang Guangren from Hainan."
Lin Youde's eyelids jumped when he heard this: Good fellow, two of the Six Gentlemen of 1898 came here at once, and one of them is Kang Youwei's clan brother!
Lin Youde had previously imagined the possibility that Kang Liang would come to him. After all, he had soldiers and direct contact with high-level officials of the U.S. government. But when he came to the research area, he finally felt that he was too far away.
Unquenchable thirst.
But Kang Liang really came this far.
Lin Youde couldn't help but frown. When Sophie saw it, she simply said to Guo Rui: "My dad is not here and I want them to get out."
"No, let them in."
"Are you trying to embarrass me on purpose, Lin!"
Although she looked angry, Sophie still packed up the half-empty chessboard, then took Ba's hand and left the room.
**
After the pleasantries, Kang Guangren went straight to the topic.
"We hope you can go north to Qingjun's side and support the reform."
Lin Youdexin said: I knew it.
But on the surface, he is calm and sipping tea, and he has the aura of a leading boss. In fact, he is the leading boss, but usually he has no aura at all. He looks like a silly father and a lustful man.
In the eyes of others, this should be regarded as a real person not showing his face. For example, the new secretary Guo Rui looks awe-inspiring, but Lin Youde knows very well in his heart that he is the real self at ordinary times. This is acting at this time.
Do you know acting skills?
But Lin Youde's acting skills soon became unbearable.
Because Kang Guangren brought Guangxu's promise and invited him to serve as governor of Shandong.
Lin Youde was almost moved. Fortunately, he remained calm and immediately realized that this was actually leading him into a pit of fire: First, who knows if Guangxu still has enough real power to appoint the governor of Shandong. What if it passes?
But it was just an empty promise, which would be troublesome. In the future, when Cixi and Yuan Shikai dealt with Guangxu together, they would trick Lin Ji. Secondly, Shandong was a fire pit. Others didn't know it, but he, Lin Youde, knew it very well.
When the Boxer Rebellion broke out, should Lin Youde suppress it or not? Suppression was emotionally unacceptable. After all, the Boxer Rebellion still had patriotic sentiments in it, and letting the Nanyang Army shoot at the masses was not in line with the Nanyang Army's preliminary
The established image of the people's soldiers is difficult to explain to the outside world, and it is also troublesome to channel the emotions of the soldiers internally. If we do not suppress it, the Boxer Rebellion movement has the nature of going against the historical trend. According to Lin Youde University instructor, you cannot do it because of this.
It is a patriotic people's movement to save the nation, but it ignores its characteristics of going against the historical trend.
The development of history requires railways, telegraphs, and exchanges between China and the West. This is unchangeable.
What's more, the Boxer Rebellion does have the characteristics of banditry. Many historical materials point out that the indiscriminate killing of innocent people by the group members is very common. Whether these historical materials are true or whether historians are exaggerating based on their own buttocks, Lin Youde does not know, but he understands the Boxer Rebellion
This kind of turmoil will definitely not work if we don't suppress it. What's more, his daughter is a foreigner and his wife-to-be is Japanese. This fully meets the standard of "ermaozi". If he doesn't suppress the rioters, the rioters will come to suppress him.
Not to mention Shandong, which is about to have a close confrontation with Yuan Shikai. Lin Youde's creed is not to fight an unprepared war, and he has not yet planned to fight Yuan Shikai.
In short, Lin Youde did not intend to get involved in the vicinity of Gyeonggi or even north of the Yangtze River. His Lin Ji also restrained his business and stopped in Shanghai, and did not continue to expand northward.
Kang Guangren was still making impassioned speeches, while Tan Sitong looked at Lin Youde calmly.
Finally, Lin Youde decided to formally show his cards to them, telling them that he did not intend to go north, nor did he intend to have anything to do with the reform.
Then Tan Sitong took action.
"I thought you were a true gentleman, a man who cared about the country and the people. Now it seems that you are just a brat."
"I just don't want to throw the power I have cultivated so hard into a pit of fire." Lin Youde felt that he should defend himself. After all, the reformists have achieved nothing so far except to stir up trouble with Guangxu, and they will not do anything in the future.
What achievements have been made, but Lin Youde at least saved the Chinese workers in the Philippines, at least in some areas of Guangdong, and allowed the people to live a better life than before.
"Hmph!" Tan Sitong snorted disdainfully, ignored Kang Guangren who still wanted to dissuade him, and walked away.
Kang Guangren looked at the back of his fierce companion, sighed deeply, bowed to Lin Youde and left.
Lin Youde felt it was a pity. He had just had the impulse to retain Tan Sitong, but with Tan Sitong's temper, he would definitely regard Lin Youde's retention as cowardice and cowardice. Unless Lin Youde forcibly detained them, these two people were destined to die in Beijing.
At Caishikou, he left behind the quatrain "I am smiling to the sky with my horizontal knife, leaving behind my liver and gallbladder."
"Let's go, you two." Lin Youde murmured to himself, "One day, we will meet under the fountain, and then we will discuss whether I, Lin, am a brat."
Several people, including Guo Rui and Ba, heard Lin Youde's soliloquy, but at this time, no one could understand its meaning.