Chapter 103 The 100th episode of Gusu Yongquan Stone Remains Old Ming Gao Oulu Qi Fengyun Gongsun Embarrassed

Xiangzicheng announced a large number of people who participated in politics, and they were colorful, and there were people from all walks of life, most of whom were the old man of the Qing Dynasty.Among the elders, there are also three, six or nine grades. There are nobles from the royal family of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, such as Tao Belle and Rambelle; there are former border officials, such as Chen Chunxuan and Tian Bolong; , such as Ding Duosheng, Zhuang Zimo and the like; there is another kind, when he was the minister of Beiyang, several red candidates under his command were also included in it and published together.One of them, although he was also a member of Xiangzicheng at that time, was sent to other provinces later, and served as a scholar envoy, a political envoy, and even took care of the governor.This gentleman's surname is Mao, his name is Qingtian, and his style name is Shiqiu. He is originally from Jiangxi, and he has paid attention to Neo Confucianism since he was a child.Not only is the stereotyped writing good, but the ancient prose is also very deep.What he admired most in his life was Zeng Guofan, who took Wen Zhenggong as the law in every word and action.Since he was twenty-three years old, he has promoted Xiaolian, and he has been a spring official for seven years.He didn't become a Jinshi until he was in his forties, and he worked in the household department for many years.At that time, Wang Wenshao, a bachelor, was in charge of the affairs of the household department, and he was particularly appreciative of Mao Qingtian.At that time, just in time for the Sino-Japanese War of Sino-Japanese War, Wang Zhongtang sent Mao Qingtian to oversee the payment of soldiers in the rear.His old man handled more than seven million yuan in cash, and every drop of it was returned to the public, and he refused to touch even the slightest bit.After finishing this errand, not only did he not have any money left, but he lost more than a thousand taels.Therefore, Wang Zhongtang trusted him even more, and Tete made him up as a real vacant doctor in the household department.Later, Wang Zhongtang died, so he donated Daotai instead, referring to the provincial Zhili alternate.At that time, Xiang Zicheng was still the governor of Zhili and the minister of Beiyang. He knew Mao Qingtian very well, so he was specially appointed as the general manager of the relief bureau.Mr. Mao has really tried his best to provide relief and benefit the people.Xiang Zicheng was very commendable, and he was specially appointed to act as Tongyonghe's military preparation.During his tenure in Tongyongdao, he did a lot of good governance. Later, Tongyongdao adjusted the Yongding River.After working in Yongding Hedao for half a year, Xiang Zicheng saw that he was running in an orderly manner, just in time for the vacancy of the Zhili feudal chief, so he asked Mao Qingtian to act as the Zhili chief envoy.Later, the Zhili chief envoy released a bannerman, and Xiang Zicheng asked Mao Qingtian to act as the envoy.In fact, with Qingtian's qualifications and talents, he is very capable of serving as a feudal official, even Xiang Zicheng has the heart to teach him.Unfortunately, this Mr. Mao refuses to spend money on sports, and he really has no money.At that time, the military ministers in the court and the eunuchs next to the Empress Dowager Cixi, when the governors and vassals were released from other provinces, they all regarded them as a piece of fat food, and they had to spend thousands of dollars in their hands before they were released. hope.Mao Qingtian is an upright official, he doesn't want to spend money, so why bother to spend money to campaign for officials.Therefore, even though he had acted as an agent for the two departments of Fan and Standard in Zhili, it was still not his turn to return to the root of the fallen leaves.Later, he handed over the standard department and simply became idle.Because he is a person who has served as a vassal and standard officer, it is not easy to let him go for a small job; a big job, how can he be so ready-made.After being idle for half a year, suddenly the imperial decree came down: Mao Qingtian wrote a supplementary award as a Jiangsu Tixue envoy.This is it.This decree really seemed to come from outside the sky.According to the Tixueshi in the late Qing Dynasty, its functions and powers are the same as those of the old academies, but their status is not as high as that of the former academies.What is the reason for this?Because the old academy was a guest official, released by the imperial court for a term of three years, and returned to the original position of an official in Beijing after the expiration of the term, so it was parallel to the governor of the province.Now it is changed to Tixue Division, which means that it has become a local official. It is equal to the status of the two divisions, so it is natural to have the governor as the boss.In fact, what they do is not much different from the old school platform.Moreover, the power over the prefectures and counties is a little greater than that of the former Xuetai.Because Xuetai was a guest official in the old days, states and counties also treated them with the courtesy of guest officials.Today's Xuetai is a local official, and the prefectures and counties can serve him with the etiquette of serving the vassals. He can refer to the prefectures, prefectures and counties in detail, so his power has increased.However, in the past, the school managed the exams, and now the school manages the schools. This is the difference between them.After all, Mao Qingtian was sitting at home, how could he release the Jiangsu Tixue Envoy?I heard that there is a shortage of student envoys in various provinces, and Jiangsu is the best. One is because there are sufficient tuition funds, and the other is because Jiangsu has the most wealthy gentry.For the old learning platform, they always have to contact and welcome, or pay homage to the teacher, or ask for writing, asking for couplets, and they are really willing to give three hundred and five hundred and eighteen thousand dollars.Although the name has been changed now, their respect for Xuetai still exists, and they pay special attention to the academic articles of Xuetai.Mao Qingtian was originally an old celebrity, and he was born as a Jinshi in the second list. Of course, he was welcomed by people in Jiangsu.After all, why did he let go of this good job?It turns out that at this time, the central government is sending out envoys to various provinces, releasing almost all the veteran champions from the Imperial Academy.For example, the Tixue published in Hubei, the three eastern provinces, are all written by the palace.Later when the discussion came to Jiangsu, according to everyone's opinion, we should also send a number one scholar, but Sun Jianai, a university scholar, disagreed, saying that Jiangsu's morale was so high that it was necessary to put a Confucianist famous in Confucianism, so as to be able to uphold integrity and turn down the tide.The number one scholar is just a beautiful display, what is the use in practice.Everyone heard this set of comments from Lao Zhongtang, so they asked him who to let go.Sun Zhongtang thought for a while and said, "You don't have to get materials from the Imperial Academy to study in Jiangsu. There is one person in my mind. This person is a Jinshi from the old division. Now he is a foreign official. You might as well transfer him to Jiangsu. Act as an envoy to promote learning. He will definitely be able to rectify the style of study and use both talents for the country." People asked who he was, and he proposed Mao Qingtian, saying: "Although this person came from a subordinate, his knowledge and articles are very high. In particular, he is honest and upright, and he is a good example of human relations." Although everyone heard Sun Zhongtang mentioning such a person, they were not very satisfied, but they knew that it was not due to the movement. Come on, I am happy to give Sun Zhongtang a face, and save you from mentioning others, and he also mentions others, competing with each other, so it was decided at that time to publish together with this group of mentioning scholars.

Mao Qingtian got the news and hurried to Beijing for training.When he arrived in Beijing, a friend reported to him: This special briefing was entirely due to Sun Zhongtang's strength.Qingtian sighed and said: "Sun Zhongtang was the teacher I would try, but the old man still misses this student." He went to Sun Zhongtang's house to express his thanks in person.Teachers and students met and talked for a long time.Sun Zhongtang said to Qingtian: "It's hard to be an official nowadays. If you are so well-behaved and refuse to exercise, how can you have a bright future. In fact, when it comes to your character, knowledge, and writing skills, which one is not good? Higher than today's bureaucrats! Just because you can't follow the trend, every word and action must be in line with the way of the sages, but you are so discordant, and you bow down to the bureaucrats. You are in charge of education in a province, I hope you will set an example, wash away the hustle and bustle of scholars in the south of the Yangtze River, and live up to my expectations." Qing Tian said: "The students are stupid by nature. Although they have been officials for many years, their experience in official career is not enough Not at all. This time, if it is not thanks to the teacher's support, I am afraid that I will never have a bright future. The disciples came to Jiangsu this time, only Ya Shenya worked hard to make the Jiangsu scholars on the right track, and they lived up to the kindness of the teacher's cultivation. "The teachers and students talked for a while before resigning.He was summoned the next day, and after asking a few questions as usual, Mao Qingtian went to Jiangsu to take up his post.He served as a student envoy in Jiangsu for two years without promotion or transfer.The old man was not very enthusiastic about his official career, especially those latecomers, because they were good at sports, he actually responded to Ji An's words: as if the salary is accumulated, the latecomers prevail.When he was serving as a feudal official in Zhili, Zhu Baotian was serving as the magistrate of Qingyuan County.A small county magistrate is an indirect subordinate to the feudal secretary, and he can't even reach directly.Later, Zhu Baotian was promoted to the magistrate of Baoding Prefecture, so he was regarded as a direct subordinate.Unexpectedly, Baoding Mansion has been doing it for half a year, but Jian released Tongyonghe to prepare troops.In this way, Si Dao is parallel, and he is in the same court as Mr. Mao, and he has changed from a subordinate to a colleague.Later, Zhu Baotian was briefly appointed as an inspector of Jiangsu. After half a year, Mao Qingtian released Jiangsu Tixue envoy, and the two became officials in the same city again, with the same rank.Zhu Baotian didn't dare to be arrogant, and still treated Mao Qingtian with the courtesy he would treat his superiors.Mao Qingtian couldn't be more humble.It doesn't matter if you are a colleague, you only care about the degree of the subject name of the Jinshi.Mao Qingtian's Jinshi was two subjects earlier than Zhu Baotian's, so Zhu Baotian only called Qingtian an old senior.Since Qingtian thinks that he is a well-known person in China, he has no doubts about it.Unexpectedly, within half a year, there was a vacancy in the Jiangsu Fantai. Based on the appearance, Mao Qingtian should have acted as an agent.After all, Qingtian has no athletic ability at all, but Zhu Baotian is a great athlete, and the governor of Liangjiang at this time is Ruifang.Rui Fang is a person who specializes in sports, so he naturally agrees with Zhu Baotian.So he invited Baotian to serve as the chief envoy of Jiangsu. This way, he was out of blue and ranked above Mao Qingtian.Qingtian knew that his athletic ability was far inferior to others, but he took it calmly and didn't care.Unexpectedly, not many days later, Zhu Baotian became a blockbuster, and actually appointed the governor of a certain province.Therefore, all civil and military officials in the city must go to the feudal office to congratulate.Except for the governor of Jiangsu, all of them had to hand over their manuscripts and call them Marshal.Of course Mao Qingtian was also one of them. His old man complained a lot: "Three years ago, a small county magistrate actually became a high-ranking official. What is the reason for employing people? Based on my qualifications, I am going to hand over to Zhu Baotian. Shouben, calling him a handsome man really puts him to death." Liu Minghou, his shogunate, was also an old celebrity, and he was like him.This time, seeing his boss complaining a lot and refusing to hand over the manuscript to Zhu Baotian, he tried to persuade him again: "Why should the old man be so angry? As the saying goes: officialdom is like a theater. Even if the boss hands him the manuscript , it doesn’t detract from his own personality at all, and he can test his personality. If he had a little self-knowledge, he would never dare to accept the master’s manuscript. He really accepted it, but it only revealed his humble personality. How can the owner be so fussy with this kind of person?" Hearing that what he said was very reasonable, Qingtian followed him, and went to the feudal office to congratulate him with a specially signed manuscript.Zhu Baotian didn't dare to be arrogant, so he hurriedly sent an official to take Qingtian's handbook and go to the sedan chair to reply, saying: "My lord said: Your Excellency is so humble, I don't dare to be so, I will return the original note. If you must pay a visit, please first Change the post." Hearing what he said, Qingtian stopped being polite and changed the post from brother Yinyu.Only then did Baotian extend his invitation to meet in the flower hall.As soon as Mr. Mao saw his face, he would kowtow to congratulate him.Baotian held him back with both hands, and said: "If you want to do this, old man, you really don't treat me like a human being." Qingtian then gave up, and the two sat down as guest and host.Baotian didn't wait for Qingtian to open his mouth, so he greeted him and said, "I beg you, senior, don't call me Marshal. If you call me that, you're scolding me. Seniors should respect Wansheng, please, please leave the officialdom when it comes to friendship." That kind of meaningless maneuvering." Qingtian laughed and said: "This is the law of the country, how dare I be arrogant?" Baotian laughed loudly and said: "Nowadays, what law can we talk about? Wansheng is nothing but I was lucky for a while, in terms of my knowledge and talents, which one would dare to compare with the old seniors?" Qingtian shook his head again and again, and said: "The country appoints officials on their merits, and it is not a coincidence that the old man has talents. It seems that the younger brother is old and incompetent. Even if you are not up to the present position, why dare you think about it?" The two talked for a while, Qingtian just left, and Baotian sent him to the outside of the lobby before turning back.When Mao Tixue came back to this office, Liu Minghou asked him how he was doing, and the old man recounted the situation just now.Minghou nodded and said: "That's all, Zhu Baotian finally has the appearance of a scholar." A few days later, Zhu Baotian took up his new post.The old gentleman here is still his mentor.I did it for another year, but still no promotion.This old gentleman saved a lot of money during his tenure in Jiangsu, most of which were gifts from the gentry and academic circles in this province.He lives in a very frugal family. His wife helps two young grandmothers, get up early and go to the kitchen to cook and cook.After breakfast, I have to wash clothes and tidy up the house.After dinner, I had to do needlework under the lamp.Mr. Mao wears shoes and never goes to the street to buy them. It is her mother-in-law and daughter-in-law who take turns to make them.He often gave speeches to his wife and young mistress: Zeng Wenzhenggong was a general and a prime minister, he was named a first-class marquis, and he was the governor of Sanjiang.His Mrs. Ouyang and the young lady have to cook, cook, sew, starch and wash clothes every day, let alone me, a small official?How can women in the family eat and wear ready-made clothes to form a habit of laziness?Besides, the ancients said: When you work hard, you think, and when you think, a kind heart arises; leisure leads to lust, and lust leads to forgetting goodness, and forgetting goodness leads to disgust.It can be seen that the two characters of work and rest are the juncture of humans and animals.You mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, don't forget to work hard even a day.The future family will naturally prosper.If this old gentleman's tutor is to be heard by modern ladies and wives, he will really laugh out loud.Not only is he a laggard of the times, but he has become an ignorant person.After all, the words respecting Jiang in "Guoyu" are not wrong: leisure leads to lust, lust leads to forgetting goodness, and forgetting goodness leads to disgust.Nowadays, there are probably no modern female gentlemen who do not pay attention to sex studies (obscene words must be taboo of course), and this is because they are free.In fact, I drive around in the car all day long, watch movies, listen to operas, eat big dishes and dance, and work from the afternoon (I can’t get up in the morning) until dawn, so I don’t have a moment of leisure.However, this kind of labor is not the same as what the ancients said.What the ancients called labor was the labor of oxen and horses; now this kind of labor is in line with the labor of pleasure in life.Sure enough, if he could work like this for the rest of his life, he wouldn't feel wronged even if he worked to death.It's ridiculous that Zeng Wenzheng and Mr. Mao are really ignorant fools. When it comes to the world today, let alone the provincial chairman's Department of Education, they are absolutely irrelevant. I'm afraid they are not even qualified as a primary school teacher.

Gossip less.But it is said that Mao Qingtian has been a school envoy for three years. The school envoy is a kind of leisurely official. Whenever there is nothing to do, he will lead his teenage children to feast on the beautiful lakes and mountains in the city of Suzhou.He said that Suzhou, with its beautiful mountains and rivers, is really a paradise made in heaven.If you spend your whole life here, and your bones are buried at the foot of Huqiu Mountain after death, you will have no regrets.The old gentleman took out the money and bought a house inside the south gate. Although there were not many rooms, it was spacious and elegant.He also bought a few hectares of paddy fields outside the city. After preparing to leave his post in the future, he settled down in Suzhou and became a survivor of the prosperous age without any enterprising thoughts.Unexpectedly, after buying the property, there are not many days left, so the chief envoy of Gansu was released.Jian Ren's abruptness this time is not much different from the last time's promotion envoy.Because there was no news in Beijing before the incident, how could he be promoted again for no reason?Speaking of insider reasons, it is also similar in nature to last time.Last time it was Sun Zhongtang's recommendation, this time it was Lu Zhongtang's advice.But the last time it was just a meeting of courtiers, this time it was a formal recommendation to the monarch.At that time, although Emperor Guangxu was restricted by the Queen Mother and could not exercise the monarchy himself, his desire to rule by force was still very urgent.Whenever he summoned his officials, he always blamed them for not being able to recommend talents.At this time, Lu Runxiang was walking in the South Study Room, and met with Emperor Guangxu every day, and the monarchs and ministers started chatting.Guangxu said: "The Empress Dowager has recently accused me of being lazy and unwilling to pay attention to politics. At that time, I replied: "The way of governing is to use people first. No one in the court is willing to recommend talents, and the ministers continue to blame them. They still keep silent, but what can I do?" The queen mother said: "The reason why they refused to recommend talents may be that they are afraid that you have no right to appoint them. Even if they recommend, it is tantamount to not recommending them, so they keep silent. In fact, at my age, I don’t want to ask about everything. It’s best for Beijing officials to be ministers and above, and foreign officials to be governors and above, and then discuss with me. Keep it as simple as you want, and I will never ask.' I agreed at the time, thinking that the kindness of the Holy Mother should not be disappointed. So I discussed with you, if you have a talent in your mind, I will hire it out of the ordinary." Lu Zhongtang was very surprised when he heard this. Huanxi thought that this was a sign that the Empress Dowager was about to return to power, and said: "The emperor is very concerned about governance, so the Empress Dowager has this order. I usually pay attention to talents, and I saw Mao Qingtian, an envoy from Jiangsu, who is good at learning and strict in conduct. It is quite like an ancient minister. If the emperor wants to employ people, he must use such unscrupulous people, so that he can be strong enough to end vulgarity." Guangxu was very happy when he heard the play, and said: "Since the Qing family trusts Mao, I will definitely Promote it." At this time, just in time for the vacancy of Jiangning's chief envoy, Guangxu immediately summoned the military aircraft and said, "Mao Qingtian can make up for the lack of Jiangning's chief envoy." After the vacancy, the governor of Liangjiang, Rui Fang, has secretly recommended his successor to succeed him. After the approval of the queen mother, the ministers and others have drafted an order, which has not yet been published. Now the emperor ordered Mao Qingtian to be reassigned. Doesn’t it conflict with the queen mother’s intention? Please also ask the emperor to consecrate The judge." Guangxu said hesitantly: "Mao has been appointed as a school envoy in Jiangsu, and he has not moved for three years. It seems too unfair for the court to employ people. That's why I thought of using him as Jiangning's political envoy. Do as you do. Said, it is Mao Qingtian who will never be promoted." Before King En could reply, the university scholar Latong played first: "According to the slave, there is a workaround, but I don't know if the emperor will allow it?" Guangxu hurriedly asked him "What's the workaround?" Latong said: "Jichang was originally the political envoy of Gansu, but now he is transferred from Gansu to Jiangning. He finally transferred from simple to complex, from the border towns to the hinterland. His original lack of political envoy of Gansu , there is no suitable successor, can you ask the emperor to use Mao Qingtian to make up Gansu's political envoy? If you change it like this, you will not violate the Queen Mother's intention at all. I don't know what the emperor thinks?" Guangxu was overjoyed and said: " All right, that's it. You go down and draw up an order." When all the military planes retreated, King En was very dissatisfied with Latong, annoyed him for talking too much, and handed over the chief envoy of Gansu to Mao Qingtian.Since Mao Qingtian became an official, he had never spent a single penny in the hands of Old En Wang, so he was certainly not very happy.Moreover, there are as many as three people who have offered money to campaign against the old Enwang for the lack of Gansu governor. He said: "Qintang, why do you bother with this matter? Can you still be serious about what you say today?" Latong smiled slightly and said: "The prince probably doesn't know. The day before yesterday, Lafayette had a friendship with today Pai, said that foreign officials are below the level of the chief minister, and they are allowed to make discretion and ease. If I don't want to make things right, I must be unhappy today. I can't stop seeing Lafayette, and maybe there is a slight clue, saying that the minister of military aircraft , He was unwilling to obey the imperial edict for making troubles about employing people. At that time, Lafayette might send an edict to reprimand us in order to perfunctory the face of the present, wouldn’t it be boring for himself?” When King En heard this, he felt shocked. A shivering, said: "If this is the case, the Queen Mother is going to return to the government. Sure enough, I am afraid that all of us will not be able to get justice." At this time, Xiang Zicheng was also among the ministers of military affairs. He smiled at King En and said: "Teacher Wang, don't worry, there is absolutely nothing unexpected. The empress dowager's words are just a cover-up to let the outside world know that she has no choice but to listen to the government. I really hope that the emperor will recover from his illness as soon as possible, so that I can get rid of this responsibility. In fact, after For many years, the word "returning to the government" has never been said. If there is a sincere heart to return to the government, it will have been realized long ago, can we wait until now?" Old En Wang listened to Xiang Zicheng's words, and then he let go of his heart.Then discuss Mao Qingtian's behavior.Xiang Zicheng said: "Qing Tian is really worthy of being an honest official. When I was in Beiyang in the past, I asked him to serve as Zhili's chief envoy twice, but he was very able to deal with Yuru. This time, the emperor promoted Gansu to Gansu. The chief executive finally employs the right people, and we, as ministers, can only agree, how can we oppose it?" Xiang Zicheng said such a set of good words for Mao Qingtian, and among the ministers of military affairs, of course, he could keep his mouth shut, and no one said anything more.

The court sent it to Jiangsu, and Mao Qingtian dedicated himself to thanking him while preparing to take over in Gansu.Because the decree said: the member will rush to the new post, and there is no need to come to Beijing to see him.This is it.So Qingtian didn't need to come to Beijing, he went to Gansu after leaving.Gansu was originally a frontier province in the northwest, with a vast land and few people. The former capital was established, sometimes in Shaanxi, sometimes in Luoyang, and sometimes in Kaifeng.Due to the situation, Gansu has become an important town in Xiliang.Especially in the era of the Five Hurricane China in the Western Jin Dynasty, there were many grassland heroes in Gansu.In one Gansu province, several states were established, such as Zhanggui of Qianliang, Luguang of Houliang, Niaofa Niaoyu of Qianliang, Juqu Mengxun of Beiliang, and Li Hao of Xiliang.The so-called five cool people are all in Gansu.Later, Li Yuan, Li Hao's grandson, unified the whole country and became the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty.The importance of the situation in Gansu can be seen here.From the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Dingding Youyan, Manchu Qing succeeded, Gansu was far away from the capital, and its status and value in terms of situation were far inferior to before.After all, the people in this province are still very difficult to govern, because Han and Hui live together, and the folk customs are strong.Especially in the prefecture of Ningxia, Muslims accounted for more than half. Ma Hualong and Dong Fuxiang once rebelled against the Qing Dynasty, and Zuo Zongtang took a lot of effort to wipe out Xixia.Although Dong Fuxiang naturalized Man Qing, the troubles caused to Man Qing later were not minor.In the Year of Gengzi, if his army hadn't killed the German minister Klind, why would he have called the Eight-Power Allied Forces to capture the capital and drive away the empress.Gansu's folk customs are rough and difficult to rule, and here we can see it again.

When Mao Qingtian arrived in Gansu, he really paid great attention to the security of the officials and the people.On the second day after he took office, He Chunyang, the clerk of the treasury, came back and said, "My lord, please set up an incense table, and first sacrifice to the sacred pigeon in the treasury." Qingtian was very surprised when he heard this, and asked what the divine pigeon was.He Chunyang replied: "The history of this period of pigeons is very long, and the officials also got it from rumors. According to the legend of the former treasury officials, it is said that in a certain year of Wanli in the previous Ming Dynasty, more than a hundred pigeons suddenly flew from the treasury. , They hatched in nests in the treasury, and never went anywhere else. At that time, everyone didn't pay much attention to it. After a few days, the treasury suddenly caught fire, and the fire was very fierce. How many officials Carried water to fight the rescue, but couldn't save it, Master Fantai was so anxious that he jumped into the fire. At this extremely dangerous moment, suddenly the pigeons in the warehouse flew in mid-air in groups, and they flapped their wings, specially Fan them to the place where the fire is hot. Wherever they fan their wings, the fire there will be extinguished immediately. After a while, the blazing fire was completely extinguished by the pigeons. Therefore, all the people in the department call it For the god pigeon, Master Fantai personally burned incense to express his gratitude. Later, another time, a robber came from the treasury, stole 20 big ingots from the treasury, a whole thousand taels, carried it behind his back, and still jumped out of the treasury , wanted to escape. Unexpectedly, the divine pigeon came out and pecked his eyes blind, and he couldn't leave even if he wanted to. The next morning, he was captured by the soldiers guarding the treasury, and he learned the truth. Therefore, the reputation of the divine pigeon grew even stronger. It's even bigger. Everyone said that it was specially sent by God to guard the treasury. Therefore, after the successive masters of the feudal stage took over the seal, they had to burn incense in person and offer sacrifices to the divine pigeon, which is also for the sake of safety. Now the master is honored. At the beginning, the officials didn't dare to hide anything, so they came back and forth, and please show me." Qing Tian laughed loudly after hearing this, and said: "The story you told can be said to be a myth, or it can be called a lie. I am dignified Sir, if you kowtow to a group of pigeons, it will become a big joke. You should delete this superstitious custom as soon as possible. Not only will I not be allowed to say this again when I am in office, but even if my successor comes, I will not be able to help you. Take this as an example." He Chunyang didn't dare to say anything more when he hit this snag, but he said to others in silence: "This old Mr. Mao is too capricious. He refuses to offer sacrifices to the divine pigeon. In the future, I'm afraid that this official will be killed." The bad thing is the appointment of the feudal secretary. In the past, some feudal officials refused to offer sacrifices, but they never got good results. The supernatural power of the divine pigeon must not be underestimated!" After hearing what he said, some believed it, and some Do not believe.Unexpectedly, Mao Qingtian served as the feudal secretary for more than a year, and he was safe and sound, without any disturbances.

In the winter of this year, Emperor Guangxu and Empress Dowager Cixi died one after another, and the regent Zaifeng took over the administrative power of the country.His policy, the first is to guard against house thieves.Who is a house thief?It is the Han nationality in our country.In his eyes, the Han people are all unreliable. Most of the Han people are revolutionaries, but the bannermen are their same species, and they are his permanent house slaves. Of course, they are loyal to him.Therefore, most of the ministers in the court and the governors and governors of the provinces have to replace their bannermen.He thought that this must be the case, and then the power of the country can be firmly held and will not fall into the hands of foreigners.At this time, the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu was a Han, so Zaifeng signaled for him to resign.After resigning, he hurriedly made an order: to make up for the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu.This is it.This Chang Geng was a Manchurian Banner man. He was released as a county magistrate from the pen post style, and in less than ten years, he was promoted to the Ganliang Army.From the post of Bingbeidao, he was transferred to be the minister of Khobdo affairs.After living in Khobduo for less than two years, he was promoted to the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu. His official fortune is very good.In fact, he is an ignorant person who can't even recognize many characters.Why did Zaifeng admire him so much?Because of him, he was extremely stubborn.He not only opposes new studies and current affairs, he even opposes foreigners.He said that foreign countries are all barbarians, but China is the only country in China.The Manchus were a particularly noble nation in the Celestial Dynasty. The rest of the Han, Mongolian and Tibetans were slaves born in heaven to serve the Manchus.The Han people have been vigorously advocating revolution recently, which is called petty offenders, slaves deceiving their masters, and according to the law of the country, they should be punished as treason and immorality.When he was in Khobdo, all Han people committed crimes and were put to death in nine out of ten cases in front of him, hence the title of butcher.Zaifeng believed that this person must be reliable, he would be able to subdue the Han people, and he would never give the revolutionaries a chance to succeed.Therefore, he was promoted by leapfrogging and made him the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu.Because Chang Geng still has many unfinished business in Khobdor, he cannot go to Gansu to take over in the short term.So Zaifeng issued another decree: Before Geng, the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, took office, Mao Qingtian was temporarily taken care of.This is it.According to the system of the former Qing Dynasty, officials of the same level must be appointed before they can act or act as agents.Officials at different levels can be assigned to the small, but the small can't be assigned to the big.For example, the Taoist is an equal official, so the Taoist can act as the deputy of the two divisions.The government secretary is an equal official, and the same magistrate can act as the magistrate.For example, in an emergency situation, if there is a vacancy for Taoist priests, the government will serve as a replacement. This is called nursing care.When there is a vacancy in the governor's office, he is replaced by a supervisor. This is also called nursing.Because the governor is the status of the imperial order, and the two divisions are local officials, although the ranks of each other are not much different, but the status is not the same.

Mao Qingtian took care of the governor as a vassal, and his official fortune was finally very good.Who would have thought that it would be fine not to nurse the governor, but this nursing governor would lose his official position because of this.Sai Weng gets a horse, knowing that it is not a disaster.It seems that people's ups and downs, gains and losses, are really uncertain.Mao Qingtian protects the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu himself. He works very seriously and does not have the heart of the five-day Beijing.At this time, the Beijing government tried its best to cheer up its face, but in fact it became increasingly corrupt in its core.The household department has long been changed to the Du branch, and the minister of the Du branch is Zaize.Zai Ze and Zai Feng are uncles and brothers, and Zai Feng thought: Finance is the lifeblood of the country, and no matter what happens, it must be money.If this financial power is handed over to the Han people, it will inevitably be hindered in everything in the future.What's more, I am in Jilingyuan, and I am building a mansion, and the civil engineering department needs millions of dollars, all of which have to be allocated by the Du branch.If the Han people are in charge of the affairs of the Ministry, even though they dare not suppress it, after all, the rumors will spread to the outside world, which is very unsightly for their own face, so they are specially selected for Zaize.Because Zai Ze had gone abroad to investigate politics back then, he regarded Zai Ze as a professional talent.In fact, economics is a subject that has been studied abroad for many years and still can't figure it out. If you just go around and travel around, what experience do you have, and you are worthy of being a branch minister and managing the country's finances. Isn't this a joke?Fortunately, he is a nobleman, so he is naturally different from ordinary people.As the so-called sacred omnipotence, let alone a mere finance?This Lord Cho, who grew up among the nobles, knew everything about cockfighting and running dogs since he was a child.Most of the people I make friends with are thugs and philistines. Although we can't talk about sorting out the finances, in the end, there are all kinds of means of extorting money.When he got the branch, he thought of the governors of the provinces, most of whom had millions of dollars in their pockets. I had to do something from them before I could make a fortune.So I sent a special memorial, please send financial supervisors from the headquarters to supervise the finances in various provinces.In fact, if it can be carefully handled, the long-standing disadvantages can be eliminated, and the trickle can be returned to the public. This is not bad governance.However, Zai chose to have ulterior motives, he just chose his own private person to be a falcon dog for him in various provinces, so he was supervising the country's finances.When these clean-up officials went to the provinces, they acted like the governors of the ether. In that group of cunning old governors, seeing this kind of look, they quickly entrusted someone to have a private conversation with him.On the part of the father-in-law, how much is filial piety, and on the part of the supervisor, how much is the gift, and the value is determined according to the size of the province.For example, the supervisor set the price, the father-in-law is 500,000, and I am 100,000.If you negotiate slowly, the father-in-law can reduce it to 300,000, and the supervisor can naturally reduce it to 60,000.As long as you have paid off the money, no matter how your province's finances are reimbursed to the central government in the future, the Du branch will never dispute it.As for the supervisor, he can ignore it even more, as long as he sends his dry salary every month, it will be considered a good job.The financial supervisor in Gansu sent Niu Yufei.This Niu Yufei was nicknamed Fat Niu because he was born obese.His father was originally a Baoyi Banner man named Hengli, and he was very rich.He married a widow named Niu named Chunniu.She has been a widow for more than two years, and because she got to know Hengli and someone provided her with food, drink and clothing, she stopped taking a step forward.On the surface, she is keeping the chastity for her husband, but in fact, she is relying on her husband.After dating for more than a year, she actually gave birth to this son.Because the day he was born coincided with heavy snowfall, he was named Yu Fei.Chun Niu is a very scheming person. Since her husband died, she has spread rumors that she is pregnant.Sure enough, after more than two years of pregnancy, she actually gave birth to a fat and chubby child.Relatives and friends all said that Niu's family is virtuous, and that his son is a gift from heaven, so he was pregnant for twenty-eight months and just gave birth.Hengli cared very much about the Niu family's children, hired a nurse to nurse them until they were seven or eight years old, and then sent them to the Eight Banners Official School to study, and later won the prize of a scholar in Wanping County.Hengli took out the money again and donated it to the head of the household department.Niu Yufei was cautious in her errands, and Hengli was behind her to plead for love. After a few years, she made up for the lack.A few years later, Wailang, a member of Ganxin Division, was promoted.Just in time for Zaize to be the Minister of the Du branch, Hengli entrusted his brother to take care of Niu Yufei three times because Chunming, the housekeeper in Zaize's mansion, was a brother-in-law.Sure enough, in less than half a year, he was promoted to the chief doctor of Gan Xinsi.Because sending financial supervisors, everyone knows that this is an errand to make a fortune, and whoever does not scramble to choose a father-in-law so that they can be assigned to themselves.Yufei went to find Hengli, and finally begged again, saying: "My nephew has been an official for these years, and I have never left a single money in my hand. We, mother and son, spend your money all the time, and I can't bear to ask myself. Please help me Sports, get a supervisor to do it. With 350,000 yuan left, our mother and child are financially independent, so you don’t have to worry about it.” Hengli smiled and said: “Silly boy, you take things too easily The supervisor is a rake for the father-in-law. Do you have the ability to do this? If you don’t have diamonds, don’t take this porcelain. You can’t get money for the father-in-law. I’m afraid even your doctor’s lack of I’m going to lose it, is this just a joke?” Yu Fei laughed and said, “Please ask Wan An, I can not only get money for the father-in-law, but also get more money than others! If you are sure of this, do you dare to ask you to exercise?" Hengli was told that he was overwhelmed, so he went to seek advice from Chunming.Chunming said: "This matter is not easy to handle, because the father-in-law regards the supervising officer as a boy who recruits money. He is absolutely sure that he will be able to get money for him. He is absolutely unwilling to send it. And before sending it, you have to first Pay a security deposit. The security deposit is divided into three categories: large, medium and small: 200,000 for large, 100,000 for medium, and 50,000 for small. With this deposit, if you get money in the future, the original amount will be returned; if you can’t get the money Come, but it will be completely confiscated. The father-in-law uses this method to prevent himself from failing. For example, the three rivers, Fujian, Zhejiang, two lakes and Guangdong are all big provinces, Zhilu, Yujin is the middle province, and the rest are small provinces. You replace Yufei For an errand like sports, have you prepared all the security deposits?" Hearing this, Hengli took a breath and said, "So I still need a security deposit! Where can I get this much money?" He asked Because of this, I went to Niu's house to tell Yufei that there is no place to prepare a deposit, so I don't have to dream about it as soon as possible.Yufei was embarrassed to say anything more, but his mother Chunniu said to Hengli: "Based on your status, taking one hundred and eighty thousand is nothing. Just because Yufei was not born by your wife, you won't take the money." .If Yufei wants to throw it into your wife's arms, don't say one hundred and eighty thousand, even a little more, you won't feel bad if you hold it! You don't need to say anything to blame our mother and child for their lives." When she said this, three With runny nose and two lines of tears, I started to cry bitterly.闹得恒利也没有法儿了，只得好言相劝，说：“你不要哭，我拿钱还不成吗？明天我就照拨五万，咱们由小省中挑一个好缺，又稳当又剩钱，事情也好办。要真把你放到三江去，你还是办不动呢。”果然第二天，恒利拿着五万块钱支票去见春明，春明把钱接过去，说：“你候信吧，不出三天，准有好音。”果然第二天晚上，部里公事便下来，特派牛玉霏为甘肃省财政监理官。因为他是甘新司的实缺郎中，所以外边看着，倒不觉怎样诧异。玉霏接到公事，亲自到公府，面见载择谢委。载择先交派了几句公事话，然后对玉霏说：“你这次到甘肃去，事事要格外留心。甘肃总督同布政司，全是有名的暗缺。表面上是边僻瘠省，其实骨子里边，比哪一省全肥。土地膏沃，出产甚多，只皮件药材两项，每年就不下数千万。你到了甘肃，尽可以放开量地向他索价。况且眼前甘肃的总督藩司，由毛庆田一身兼任。他多拿出几个钱，也不吃亏。你只管放心大胆地做去吧。”

牛玉霏受了载择之命，心中更有所恃而不恐。他来至甘肃便作福作威地胡乱挑剔。今天要查库，明天又要查账，空费了很大气力，也不曾查出一点私弊来。后来索性出新花样，叫藩署三日一小报，一月一大报。毛庆田始而倒是极力敷衍，后来见他无理取闹，出于规矩之外，索性不理他了。他也曾三番五次地以监理官名义行文督催，全被庆田顶回去，说本省政府，只能向北高度支部呈报，不能向监理官个人呈报。监理官只能随时监视，并无代管财政之权。牛玉霏本想借此为难庆田，好叫他托出人来向自己疏通。哪知结果这位毛老先生，根本就不买这一笔账。不但不疏通，反倒同他硬顶。他自己又不好张口，向庆田直接要钱。想托出居间的人来，又没有适当之人。因为这一省的官员，自司道以下，无论是谁，也不敢向庆田说这种事。因为他平日清正，从不曾受过一个钱的贿赂，正气凛然，使人望而生畏，谁肯去碰这种钉子？倘然他翻了脸，连自己的前程都保不住了。玉霏在甘肃住了半年多，始终得不着一点机会，不但一个钱不曾得着，甚至连要钱的话，始终都不能提出。他自己一想：这事恐怕要糟，公爷那方面，既始终见不着钱，倘或他一发脾气将我撤换，不但自己得不着一个钱，连老子恒利垫的那五万元，也根本丢掉了。将来回至北京，再想回郎中的任都怕不易。看起来，直然是自己把自己害了。索性一不做二不休，同老毛砸一下吧。于是给载择拍去两封电报：一封是明电，一封是密电。密电上说：毛庆田顽固性成，他自恃毫无私弊，一个钱也不肯花。并且本省之中，也无一人敢同他说私话，看起来此人不去，甘肃省决难得到一个钱。公爷如大度包荒，只可随他去做，并非是奴才不尽职。要不然只可连根将他铲掉，别无他法云云。那一封明电，却完全说的是官话：甘肃财政紊乱，极难清理。毛庆田又一手把持，不肯公开。职司三番五次，催他咨报，他竟置之不理。似此藐视功令，欺侮部员，殊难容忍，请堂宪早定方针，俾职司有所遵循云云。载择接到这两封电报，不觉勃然大怒：毛庆田什么东西，竟敢不买我的账！我若不将他连根铲掉，他也不知道本爵的厉害。第二天便上了一个折子，奏参毛庆田营私舞弊，把持财政，对于监理官竟视同无物。若不严加惩处，各省必相率效尤。财政前途，何堪设想？以堂堂一部尚书，参一省布政使，当然没有不准之理。紧跟着旨意便下来：甘肃布政使毛庆田着即行革职。This is it.电旨到了甘肃，毛先生见了，不但不生气，反倒哈哈大笑，说：“我想挂冠归隐，只苦没有机会。这一来，可以遂我初衷了。”他即日办理交代，携着家眷，仍回苏州去了。从此闭门课子，种竹栽花，倒是说不尽的快乐。

他归隐不到两年，清室便倒塌了。他老先生口不谈时事，隐然做了前清遗老。却没想到民国二年，参政院成立，项子城居然又想到他身上，特任为参政院参政。在老项的意思，是先试探试探他肯否出山。如果肯出山，将来直隶巡按使一职，一定是给他的。又叫秘书厅本着自己口气，给他去了一封电报，大意言总统系念执事，极欲一谈。参政简放，不过初步，将来尚有特别借重之处，务请移驾来京云云。这一封电拍至苏州县署，叫他亲身送至毛宅，当面呈交。县知事哪敢怠慢，亲自到毛宅求见。毛老先生向例是不见官僚的，早由看门的传话挡驾。县知事和颜悦色地对门房说：“请你上去向大人回，就说总统府现有电报必须面交，请大人赐以一面，本知事除呈电报之外，并无他言。”门役听说总统府有电，料想他家主人，又快出仕为官，自己也可以跟着风光风光，便一直跑上去回话。庆田皱眉道：“我与总统府不通往来，早已断绝关系，他有什么电报给我呢？”随吩咐他的大少爷毛邦彦出去接见县官。邦彦见了，便说：“家严卧病，不能亲身接待，县长有何电报，请交在我手，也是一样。”知县将电报取出来，交与邦彦，说：“请您面禀大人，务必早早给公府去一回电，本县的责任就算交代清了。”邦彦答应一声，知县这才告辞回衙。邦彦将电报呈与他父亲阅看。庆田看完了，随手向地上一摔，说：“什么东西！你个人想做乱臣贼子，难道我毛庆田也得随着你当乱臣贼子吗？不要理他！”邦彦见他父亲生气，也不敢再说什么。过了一刻，方才慢慢说道：“父亲不就参政，似乎也应当回他一封电报。因为县官至再托付，要没有回电，他是要担处分的。”庆田皱眉道：“哪里有这些啰唆！待我亲自给他拟回电。”提起笔来，便写了一个电报，交给邦彦，说：“你即刻就去发，也不必给县官看。”邦彦接过来，看了一遍，心说：这哪里是回电，简直是骂人。有心不去发吧，父命焉敢违背；有心真去发吧，倘若把项大总统招恼了，将来岂不有危险。他想不出两全的办法来，只可在默地里，将电报上过于刺目的话，去了几句，然后才到电报局拍发了。

却说项子城，自从发表了一大批参政之后，所得的回电，十有八九都是感恩图报一类的话。内中只有五封电报是不肯就的，内中有三封，是因为身份太大，当日同项子城比肩，这时候焉能出来伺候项子城，所以坚决辞谢，好保全他那遗老的身份。下余的两封，不但推辞不就，而且还含着一种讥讽，隐然说项子城是谋夺清室江山。这两封电，一封是毛庆田拍来的，一封是李镜芬拍来的。庆田的电报，大意是说息影苏门，久不与闻时事。宫保乘时得位，做救世的英豪，庆田眷怀故君，做避世的遗逸，不同道不相与谋，愿宫保毋忘百世之后，尚有青史在也云云。子城看了这封电报，心里很不痛快，说：“毛庆田真是地地道道的腐儒，这样人也就无怪当年丢官了，只好请他老死牖下吧。”再看李镜芬的电，更可笑了。上面说镜芬宁愿蹈东海而死，不愿与闻国家事也。电后又发了许多牢骚，说先文贞公如有取天下之心，只需一挥手之力耳。鄙人仰承先志，宁愿做世外畸人，采首阳之薇蕨，不复履中华境土。足下好自为之，莫令后人笑汝拙也云云。子城看罢这封电报，可真有点气坏了，说：“你不就便不就吧，怎么出口伤人呢？我倒看看你，怎样蹈东海；我倒看看你，何时到首阳山去采薇蕨。你要办不到这两句话，不但对不起我，连你家文贞公也对不起了。”原来这李镜芬是中兴功臣李鸿文的孙子，李鸿文出将入相，在满清末叶是一个最有实力的汉官。镜芬是他的长孙，为人风流倜傥，不拘小节，尤其不喜做官。他是钦赐举人，又中了进士，点了翰林，却不肯当差。只在北京津沪各地随便遨游，做了一个不衫不履的王孙公子。项子城因为同他是世交，当日两人同嫖共赌，又是在一处玩乐的朋友，因此想起他来，特简为参政院参政。哪知结果不但不来，反倒恶狠狠地将子城教训了一顿。老项因为自己曾受过他先人的好处，要不然，早就翻脸动手段收拾他了。当时发了几句牢骚，这个风声，便有人传至镜芬耳中，说：“你也太张狂了，不就也罢，何必骂人呢？如今把老项骂翻了，提防着他早晚要收拾你。”镜芬一听，真有点害怕了。自己一想：我得寻一个地方避避风头，天津上海全不好，别看有租界，老项的势力一样能达到。我必须于此两方之外，另寻安身之地。想来想去，忽然想到了青岛，自从租给德国之后，德人以全力经营，早变成北方第一良港。听说那里依山靠海，风景绝佳，而且气候温和。一年到头，无大冷，亦无大热，真不愧是一座世外桃源。我何不搬到青岛去住，看老项又能把我怎样？他主意打好，便偷偷地先从德华银行汇去了五十万现款，托一位姓吴的朋友替他买房，点名要在海边上，多花几个钱，也肯认头。

他这朋友叫吴玉孙，在前清时做过侍郎、军机大臣，鼎革之后，便卜居青岛，做他的遗老。此次李镜芬托他买房，他便写信去，叫镜芬先到青岛来，房子现成。但必须自己看好，如果中意，再讲价钱，朋友似乎不便做主。镜芬接到这信，即日便到青岛来，先住在吴玉孙家里。玉孙因他初来此地，便亲自做向导，领着他在马路上闲游。镜芬不觉啧啧称羡，说：“玉孙兄住在这里，真乃桃源仙境，别有洞天。小弟要早知道，恐怕十年前就搬来了。”玉孙笑道：“你现在搬了来也不算晚，你看这里比天津上海何如？”镜芬道：“天津太俗，上海太嚣，全不如这里幽雅清静。”玉孙道：“咱们到济南馆子去喝酒。这转角处，有一座明湖春，他那里汤菜最好，真是别有滋味。你不信去尝一尝，保管齿颊留芬。”两人信步游行，来至明湖春。柜上都认得玉孙，大喊着吴大人来了，快请到楼上坐。两人缓步上楼，迎头遇着一个堂倌，不觉失声叫道：“李大人，你老什么时候来到这里？小人有四五年没伺候你老了。”镜芬大笑道：“今天巧极，真可称他乡遇故知了。”原来这个跑堂的，在北京致美斋多年。因为他姓孔，大家送了他一个外号，叫作圣孙。因为他伺候饭座格外周到，凡北京一班老京官，没有不认得他的，尤其李镜芬同他最熟。他今天见了镜芬，表示十二分欢迎，特意把他两人让至一间有后窗户的雅座，隔着楼窗，正看海水。只见白茫茫一片，有四五条火轮船点缀其间，烟筒里冒出的白烟，同天上浮云，似衔接而不衔接，似融合而不融合，荡荡漾漾的，煞是好看。再看海面上的沙鸟，往来飞翔，全有一种悠闲自得之意。镜芬看了，笑着向堂倌说：“圣孙真有你的，你怎么就会寻着这样一块好地方呢？我要早知道，也来做堂倌。”小孔笑道：“大人别说笑话了，我们是苦命人，无论走到什么地方，也是伺候人。照大人同吴大人的身份，无论走到什么地方，也不愁没人伺候。”镜芬道：“既然这样，你在北京致美斋，许多大人老爷，都说你伺候得好，你在北京待一辈子不好吗？为什么要跑到这里来呢？”小孔叹了一口气，说：“我的大人，您哪里知道我的苦衷呢？”一句话把吴李两人全招得哈哈大笑，说：“你听，跑堂的也有苦衷，无怪大清国变成了中华民国了。你倒把苦衷说一说，我们也明白明白。”小孔笑道：“我的青天大老爷，小人的苦衷，不是三言两语能够说得完的。请二位大老爷先慢慢地喝酒，小人一壁伺候着，一壁说。您就拿小人的苦衷，权当一种下酒的果品吧。”吴玉孙连说：“好好，你这法子真妙！咱们就是这样办。您想喝什么酒，吃什么菜，趁早儿告诉他，好叫他去预备。”镜芬道：“我在北京时，听山东人说，有一种即墨黄酒，是黄米做的，很好喝，咱们何妨尝一尝呢？”小孔笑道：“巧极了，昨天从即墨城里，运来四大坛好黄米酒，是埋在地下经过三年的，倒出来挂盅子，喝到嘴里沉甸甸的，又香又甜，真真有福不在忙，两位大人的口福不浅。还有本地风光的几样菜，胶州湾出的小海参，只一寸多长，滋味却非常深厚。比那外国来的东洋参，强得太多了。还有潍县出的霸鱼子，用芝麻油煎出来，比什么都香。至于蚝子蜊子蛏干，也全是山东的出品，做上来您尝一尝，保管是别有滋味。”吴李两人点头，说：“这样你就换着样儿，都做上一点来，我们尝尝吧。” 小孔有了全权，便自去调动各种菜品。少时酒菜一齐上来，满桌子全是海味，然而利不外溢，全是山东海内的土产。镜芬连声夸好。一抬头看见小孔在一旁站着，便问道：“你怎么不声诉苦衷啊？难道还等大老爷拍惊堂木吗？”小孔道：“小的不敢。自从没有了大清国，小的在北京住着，仿佛没有了灵魂。我实在有点伤心了，所以才跑到外江来。”小孔这几句话，针锋相对，直刺入吴李两人的内心，不由得他们不感动。镜芬却故作狡狯问道：“你这话我真不明白。如今是中华民国了，北京的市面，比从前还加几倍繁华。又有项大总统做着变相的皇帝，哪一样儿不如满清？却值得你这般伤心。你这岂不是说梦话吗？”小孔听了镜芬的话，抬头向他脸上望一望，然后慢慢答道：“我的李大人，你老怎么也说这样话呢？你老既这样责备我们，为什么不在北京，扶保项大总统做皇帝，偏偏要跑到这海边上，中国势力不到的地方，却有什么好处呢？小的说话太鲁莽，大人可不要见怪。”小孔的话尚未说完，吴玉孙拍着巴掌大笑，连说：“痛快痛快！我得浮一大白。”说罢端起一杯黄米酒来，一饮而尽。李镜芬也笑了，说：“不要看不起茶博士，他居然也有故宫禾黍之思。较比那世受国恩的衣冠禽兽，实在强得太多了。我如今倒要问你：中华民国，怎么不如满清；中华民国的官儿，怎么不如满清的官儿好，你也能说出一点道理来吗？”小孔笑道：“小人哪里懂得什么叫道理，我不过看中华民国，太以的不成体统。想当年大清国招贤取士，还要凭三篇文章一首诗。谁的才学好，手笔高，平地一声雷，立刻就有官给你做；你要是没有才学，没有手笔，作不好文章，写不好字，纵然黄金过北斗，爸爸做宰相，丈人做总督，也轮不着你去做官。因此前清的官儿，无论如何，总保有一种斯文面目。下三滥，总上不了台盘。如今可好了，也不知从什么地方起来的，洋买办居然能做总长，流氓地痞居然能做都督，甚至连大茶壶毛儿匠，遇巧了都能做师长旅长，再不然便是某局的局长、某所的所长。尤其是北京这块地方，这类的官儿最占多数。我在致美斋中，一天到晚，伺候饭座儿，这种人不定得要遇着多少。其实我们这一行，无论谁来吃饭，都得伺候，原问不着人品高低。但是伺候与伺候不同，从前在大清年间，伺候王八兔子贼，有伺候王八兔子贼的规矩；伺候老爷大人、文人学士，有伺候老爷大人、文人学士的规矩，是不能一概而论的。如今可好了，中华民国，一律平等。从前的王八兔子贼，一变而为老爷大人、文人学士。果然真变得好，变得像，我们便糊里糊涂，照以前伺候老爷大人、文人学士一样地伺候他，也未为不可。怎奈这些人，变得了皮毛，却变不了骨头，依然拿出王八兔子贼的面目来。可是吹五喝六那种气焰，比真正的老爷大人、文人学士，还加十倍地难伺候。我一看这神气，心说算了吧，宁可回家挨饿，也不犯着受这一份肮脏气，因此卷被出京。却没想到，老天无绝人之路，我的一个朋友，在青岛要开明湖春，约我来帮忙，我便跑到这里来，已经一年多了。以上便是小人的苦衷，两位大人替我想一想，我们跑堂的虽然下贱，也犯不上给奴才当奴才啊！”李镜芬点点头，说：“难得你总算有志气，我这次到青岛来，同你所抱的苦衷，也可以说大同小异，以后咱们倒可以引为知己了。”小孔笑道：“李大人高抬，小人哪里配呢？我看你二位的酒，已经喝得不大离了。吃什么点心，用什么饭，请您早一点吩咐下来吧。”吴玉孙说：“我们吃上很有限，你只来两小碗米饭，一大碗汆鲍鱼汤，我们随便吃两口好了。”小孔下去。不大工夫，汤饭一齐上来。两人用汤吃饭，随便吃了一点。吴玉孙叫算账，一共吃了四元二毛五分。他给了五块钱票子，下余作为小费。小孔谢了，两人下楼。吴玉孙想回家，李镜芬游兴未阑，说：“你请随便，我自己还得遛一遛。咱们在家里见好了。”玉孙说：“你一个人认得家啊？”镜芬笑道：“我又不是三岁小孩子，总得人领着，才认得家。至不济雇一辆胶皮车，还拉不到家门口吗？”玉孙只笑了一笑，也没说什么，自己便回家去了。 镜芬一个人，踽踽独行，拐弯抹角，走了有半里路。忽然觉着腹急，想要小解，睁开眼四下张望，只是寻不出一个厕所来。他生平又有一样毛病，是气虚下注，提不住大小便。实在急了，只可在一家商店的墙根下，扯开中衣，便溲溺起来。还算好，等他小解完了，上来一个中国巡捕，一抓他的辫子，说：“你是什么人？在马路上就敢便溺。走吧！随我到局子去。”镜芬出其不意，倒吓了一大跳。后来一想：人家这是租界地，比天津上海的租界地，还要严厉十分，我怎么能跑到这里来便溺呢？真叫巡捕扯了去，面子上有多难看。但是看巡捕，这种凶恶的神气，不去又恐怕不成。忽然福至心灵，想起在北京的把戏来。随手往怀里掏出一张小卡片，上面印着李镜芬，翰林院编修，世袭一等轻车都尉。又印着有安徽庐州字样。这种片子，要放在北京，是能发生很大效力的。如今来到青岛，可就有点不适用了。巡捕接过片子来，只微微一笑，说：“咱们中国人，在这里没有势力可谈。不要说前清老官僚的片子，便是当今项大总统的片子，也是一张废纸。”镜芬听到这里，连忙问道：“到底谁的片子，才能有效呢？”巡捕又笑了一笑，说：“你问谁的片子有效吗，实对你说，只要是德国人的片子，不怕是一个当医生的、当工匠的，我们也可以不往局子带。因为不带德国人，决担不着不是；要不带中国人，我们的不是可就大啦。其实咱们都是中国人，我还愿意作恶吗？可是饭碗子要紧，如果放了你，我的饭碗子就得打一个粉碎。对不起，只好请你