When the wheat was about to turn yellow, the weather in Yanzhao suddenly became abnormal. It lasted for several days. It was either a strong wind or a heavy rain. The temperature suddenly rose and fell sharply, hot and cold, making people at a loss what to do and had to complain!
After struggling like this for many days, one dawn, a strong wind blew up a few thick clouds, and in the blink of an eye, there were hailstones as big as eggs, walnuts, and grapes.
The ice ball mixed with the rain column and hit the earth. In a short time, the leaves and crops were all destroyed, and many birds died. In some places, village houses were smashed, and people and animals suffered disasters.
After the rain stopped, the wilderness was in a mess, with shadows on the faces of men, women, old and young.
Some people say: "It is God who has done the evil!"
Someone said: "It is man who has done evil and made heaven angry!"
Some people said: "Hey, let's reunify peacefully quickly, otherwise everyone will be robbed!"
The earth-shattering disaster did not alarm Xu Shichang at all, who was bored in his house in Tianjin. He felt that he had already been living in such weather.
One day, when Xu Shichang was sitting in meditation in front of the statue of Lu Zu, his cousin Xu Xu Shizhang came again. With Xu Xu Shizhang, there was also a young man. Xu Xu Shizhang asked the young man to
After sitting in the living room for a while, he walked into the Zen room alone, called Xu Shichang softly "Fifth Brother" while he was meditating, and then said: "As for what I mentioned a few days ago, the person has arrived and is waiting in the small living room."
Xu Shichang blinked his eyes, faced his cousin and said, "Have you brought the things?"
"Bring it." "Have you checked it?" "I saw it, it's true."
"Is it the real thing?"
Xu Xu Shizhang nodded.
Xu Shichang closed his eyes again and spent some time in silence. It was probably because he had not finished reciting the scriptures before he stood up and led his cousin out.
It turned out that a few days ago Xu Shizhang saw a young man selling Jiazhen Duan Inkstone in Quanyechang.
Xu Shizhang looked at it and thought it was genuine. When he asked about the price, he was surprised: the price the young man wanted was only three hundred yuan. Originally, Xu Shizhang thought it was genuine, but the asking price made him suspicious: "Authentic Duan Inkstone, asking price
Three hundred, isn’t it too low?”
He said to the young man: "Young man, I am afraid that this inkstone is a fake."
"How can I see you?
"" the young man asked back.
“Such a price is too disrespectful!”
"So, sir, you are not a wise man." The young man said bluntly, "At best, sir, he is a businessman."
"How can you tell?" Xu Shizhang asked. "You can prove it by comparing things with money. Can you tell me the advantages of Duan Inkstone?"
"I told you, do you understand?"
"You can try it."
The young man looked at Xu Xu Shizhang again and felt that he was elegant and kind. So he said: "This inkstone is a family treasure of my ancestors. My grandfather once served as the prefect of Duanzhou. He brought it from his post and passed it on to my grandfather:
Treasure treasures: passed down from grandfather to father, they are also regarded as treasures..."
"Why do you look down upon it so much in your generation?"
“The family has suffered a disaster and has nothing left to gain.
"The young man said: "There is an eighty-year-old mother in the family. In order to make ends meet, she has to sell this Duanzhou stone inkstone, which is the most important thing in the world, at a low price. To tell the truth, my mother and son have cried several times to sell this inkstone.
In this situation, Xu Xu Shizhang was moved: "Young man, we are all destitute people in the world. I bought this inkstone. When you come here in three days, I will take you to get the money."
Xu Shizhang told his cousin about this matter. He knew that his cousin loved inkstones, so he would definitely pay for them. Xu Shichang agreed readily. So today, the young man came to the door with inkstones. Xu Shichang walked out of the Zen room with a frown on his face.
He locked up and said, "Now that I have no official position, all expenses must come from savings. If you can save a penny, you can save a penny. Why not take advantage of this to lower the price." He said to his cousin: "Can you bargain with the young man again?
?" "This is already the price of scrap products." Xu Shizhang said: "Fifth brother, let's take a look at the inkstone.
If it's genuine, it's worth three hundred oceans!" "Okay, let me take a look and talk about it."
Xu Shichang came to the small living room, exchanged a few words with the young man, and then passed the inkstone. He held it in his hands, up and down, left and right, looking at it, and then put it on the table to test it. He felt that it was a genuine piece.
The quality is solid, fine and moist, the ink is not damaged, and the carving is exquisite. Xu Shichang loves inkstones and knows them well. He knows they are a treasure and likes them very much. He can't help but recite a poem: "The craftsmanship of Duanzhou inkstones is as skillful as a god, and it can reach the sky."
Sharpen the knife and cut through the clouds. Good inkstone, good inkstone!"
The young man said with a smile: "The poem you are reciting is probably a line from "Qing Hua Zi Song" by Li He and Li Changji, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty. There are many lines about Duan Inkstone in his "Changgu Collection".
"Xu Shichang nodded, but still said: "The student is undoubtedly holding a Duan Inkstone. But it is not a top-grade Duan Inkstone. I would like to ask if the price can be lowered?"
The young man then said: "Students only sell inkstones as a last resort to meet urgent needs.
If nothing happens, if this inkstone is sent to the former President Xu Shidiao, if the students don't bid, I'm afraid it will be sold for a thousand yuan!"
Xu Shichang was shocked: "Young people also know that I love inkstones? In this case, the surname must not be used. Otherwise, there will be no bargaining." So he said: "Young man, let's keep the inkstones. I will keep the inkstones."
How about giving you two hundred and eighty yuan?"
The young man looked at Xu Shichang again and said, "I see you are a wise man, and it is a good thing that you get the right things. Although the students are poor, they don't care about these twenty or thirty yuan. Well, sir, I want to reduce the price."
Twenty yuan, I will reduce the price by another thirty yuan, as a gift to the husband. Sir, I will give you two hundred and fifty yuan. I only hope that Mr. can cherish this thing." Xu Shichang finally accepted it with two hundred and fifty yuan.
A treasure was bought from a poor young man.
But the young man's slight smile when he left made Xu Shichang worried for some reason...
Xu Shichang rarely asked about family affairs, even when he was living in the countryside. Recently, something troubled him so much that he had to step out and make an unexpected decision. One day, his younger brother Xu Shiguang suddenly left Qingdao.
Come to Tianjin.
The two brothers had not seen each other for a long time, and of course they were very affectionate. After chatting about family matters and family affection, Shiguang suddenly said: "Brother, there is another matter that is very important. I have to ask you to make the decision." Since Xu Shichang was to serve as Yuan Shikai's Secretary of State,
After Shiguang refused to listen, the two brothers rarely talked face to face. "It's not enough to talk about it!" Today, Shiguang suddenly came to the door. Xu Shichang was a little surprised. He looked at his brother in front of him and said in a confused manner:
"Are you okay at home in Qingdao?" Xu Shiguang nodded and responded. The two were silent for a moment, and then Xu Shiguang said, "How is your health?"
Well, I came here specifically for this.
""What's the matter?" Xu Shichang asked.
"Our family once married Yuan Xiangcheng." Xu Shiguang said: "I can't remember this matter. The day before yesterday, Aunt Wu of the Yuan family asked Sun Baoqi to come to Qingdao and said that when his eldest brother was appointed as Minister of Finance, he had
The newborn girl promised to marry Xiangcheng and agreed to marry him. Now that the children are older, they want to discuss a regular wedding date." Xu Shichang suddenly frowned, thought for a moment, and said, "That's the case.
The thing is that the tenth son was born to Xiangcheng's third concubine Wu, named Kejian. As for the marriage? "..." When Xu Shichang was leisurely in Tianjin, great things happened in the land of China.
With the changes, the Northern Expeditionary Army has approached Beijing, and the Japanese themselves, unwilling to accept defeat, are also making moves there.
Xu Shichang's good friend Cao Rushuang suddenly came to Tianjin. As soon as this veteran diplomat, who was 22 years younger than Xu Shichang, entered Xu's house, he respectfully shouted: "Brother Juren!"
Xu Shichang was surprised when he saw it was Cao Bishuang: "Runtian, where are you from?"
Cao Rushuang smiled faintly and said: "I have nothing to do, so it is best to live in seclusion. Therefore, I disappeared." This student studying in Japan, who has been the deputy minister of foreign affairs of the Qing government since the 19th year of Sichuan, is a natural-born student.
The pro-Japanese faction, when he served as the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Yuan Shikai's government, was ordered by Yuan to negotiate with Japan together with Lu Zhengxiang, and finally signed the "Twenty-One" which was a loss of power and humiliation to the country: During the Paris Peace Conference, because the "Paris Peace Treaty" was to be signed
"Amid opposition from students across the country, President Xu Shichang was forced to remove him, Lu Zongyu, and Zhang Zongxiang from their posts on August 1.
Cao Rushuang came "on business", so naturally he was not willing to be "silenced". He said: "Brother Ju Ren, what do you think of the current situation? I heard that Japan has shown signs of interference recently." Xu Shichang blurted out:
"No matter what the situation is in Shichang or what the situation in China is, matters in China must still be handled by Chinese people. Foreigners, especially Japanese, cannot interfere."
Cao Rushuang was pro-Japanese, and Xu Shichang knew this. Although Xu Shichang made an impromptu confession, Cao Rushuang felt uncomfortable hearing it. He hurriedly said: "You and I are both veterans of Beiyang. Is this the end of looking at Beiyang? I don't think this matter is over.
We have to ask Japan to come forward, so that Beiyang can be saved!"
When Xu Shichang heard this, he understood in his heart: It turned out that this student studying in Japan was here to act as a lobbyist for Japan! He said, "It is better for my own family to handle my own family affairs!"
Cao Rushuang had been with Xu Shichang for many years and knew that this man valued profits over righteousness. As long as it was profitable, he would do anything. So he said: "Brother Ju Ren is a person who has been a great president. He has great influence. If he can come out of the army, he will be with Japan."
If Japan signs a goodwill treaty, Japan will naturally save our Beiyang."
Xu Shichang did not answer, but turned his back gently.
Frankly speaking, Xu Shichang has not completely given up on being an official. He dreams of making a comeback, but he has not yet found a strong backer. Now, Cao Rushuang has given it to him. As long as he is willing, he will still have the support and support.
"Years. However, after all, Xu Shichang has received strict traditional Chinese education. He understands the etiquette, justice and shame of being a human being: "The Chinese National People's Congress is fighting for power and profit. It's a chess game between brothers. Whoever rises and who falls, only
You need to look at what you have done for the people and the country after taking power. Whether it is a successful prince or a failed bandit, they are all Chinese people, and they are doing housework. But they are doing things for the Japanese people and for the invaders.
Those who oppress their own national brothers are the eternal sinners of the nation!"
He said to Cao Rushuang: "Runtian, I am old, my strength has weakened, my spirit is exhausted, I forget about things, and I am often incontinent. How can I take care of political affairs anymore? Please choose Gaoming."
!”
"Brother Juren" Cao Rushuang still wanted to persuade him based on his interests. But Xu Shichang had already raised his hand to stop him from talking any more. "If there is nothing else, please come back."
Xu Shichang issued an "expulsion order" for the first time in his Si residence!
Cao Rushuang left in despair.
Xu Shichang still felt uneasy, and specifically told the concierge: "Whenever Sheng Runtian comes back from now on, just tell him that Lou is not at home. There is no need to reply!"
This is the character of a Beiyang soldier!
It doesn't matter if brothers fight, but they will never be dogs around foreigners!!.