Chapter 16 1. Tan Sitong sent an urgent letter home to Xu Zhijing from thousands of miles away

When the Chinese New Year was approaching, Chuanshan Academy was on vacation, Xia Shoutian went back to Nanchang, and Dai Yi came to Shitangpu to pay homage to Mrs. Li with a grand engagement ceremony.Seeing that Dai Yi looks good and is Mr. Wang's son, Mrs. Li likes it.Since the son is in charge of this matter, the daughter has no objection, of course she agrees.This is how the marriage is settled.It is initially scheduled to hold a big ceremony after next autumn.Everyone had a good time this year, only Uncle Ji always had a faint sense of melancholy in her heart.Dai Yi's position in her heart can never replace Xia Lang.On the night of the engagement, my uncle wrote "Drunk and Lost":

She recited it a few times when it was finished, and then, like the untitled poems of old, it was sent to the fireside.Uncle Concubine stared blankly at the words and papers turning into butterflies, and murmured: "Xia Lang, Xia Lang, I am a member of the Wang family from now on. This poem should be my last heartfelt message to you. God bless, let us be a loving couple in the next life!" That night, the girl's tears flowed quietly all night.Early the next morning, she wiped away her tears, put on a thin layer of makeup, forced a smile, and bid farewell to her future husband-in-law with her brother.Uncle Ji is a sensible person. She knows that since she has agreed to marry Dai Yi, her heart can no longer be obsessed with Xia Lang, and she can only give it to her husband.But even when she was sober and calm, Shu Ji never thought of giving Dai Yi the mandarin duck purse she had already embroidered!

After the Chinese New Year, Yang Jun also came to Chuanshan Academy to pay homage to Wang Kaiyun.Yang Du and Xia Shoutian bid farewell to their teacher and went to Beijing to take part in the National Day Exam. The Year of 1898 is an epoch-making year in modern Chinese history. On the third day of the first lunar month of this year, Emperor Guangxu ordered Li Hongzhang, Weng Tonghe, Rong Lu and others to meet Kang Youwei at the Zongli Yamen.Ronglu first suppressed Kang Youwei with the big hat that the law of the ancestors cannot be changed.Kang retorted: "The law of the ancestors is used to govern the land of the ancestors. If the land of the ancestors cannot be guarded today, what is the law of the ancestors?" A yamen can only adapt to the circumstances of the time, and cannot stick to the ancestors to become a law.Rong Lu was at a loss for words, and Li Hongzhang was noncommittal, so Weng Tonghe recommended Kang Youwei to be of great use.Kang Youwei presented "The Story of the Japanese Political Change" and "The Story of the Russian Peter's Political Change" to the emperor.On the eighth day of the lunar new year, Kang Youwei went to Shangshu and asked the emperor to gather his ministers in the Temple of Heaven to announce the decree and reform of the country.Then Liang Qichao rushed from Shanghai to Beijing to assist his teacher and prepare for the establishment of the National Congress. With the purpose of protecting the country, species and education, he planned to set up two general associations in Beijing and Shanghai, and branch offices in each province.At this time, some people also distributed articles to the dignitaries, reprimanding Kang Liang and others for aggregating party members, making false claims, making political chaos, and heresy to slander the people, which is tantamount to rebellion.The capital is not only permeated with a strong atmosphere of reform and reform, but at the same time, winds of opposition and obstruction are also frequently raised.People with knowledge say that the 800-year-old capital will face another drastic change!At this time, Yang Du and Xia Shoutian came to the capital and lived in the Changjun Guild Hall of Hufang Bridge in the south of the city.

Hunan is far away from the capital, and the cost of traveling is very high. Many candidates from poor families who failed their undergraduate courses stayed in the capital, either looking for a museum, or doing some chores to make ends meet, studying poetry and books hard to prepare for graduation.The guild hall does not charge money for housing, and the food is very cheap, and they are all from the same country, so they are easy to take care of, so a group of failed students live here all the year round. The guild hall was full of candidates who came to Beijing for the exam.There are a lot of villagers here and they are well-informed. Although some wealthy children can afford to live in luxurious hotels and inns, they don't go to live in them, preferring to live in simple guild halls.Xia Shoutian belonged to this kind of aristocratic son, and he tried to live in the guild hall in the upper division, and this division and Yang Du booked a small room in the guild hall to live in.After visiting some places where he had to socialize, he closed the door and devoted himself to his homework.

Yang Dujinke is also determined to win.He had always been high-minded, and when he learned that Liang Qichao was seriously ill in winter and was now busy with political reforms, so he did not take part in the examination, he even secretly thought of winning the first prize in this subject, and relieved the depression of being frustrated in the examination!But he is naturally active and has an irresistible interest in state affairs, so he always finds it difficult to calm down. He often participates in gatherings held by various reformers. Passing news, expressing political opinions, often talking late into the night.Xia Shoutian knew that he had such a temperament and was extremely talented, so even though he was devoting his energy to other matters, he would never delay the poetry and prose in the examination room, so he did not try to persuade him.

It looks like the exam is approaching.On this day, Uncle Jing, the concierge, handed over a letter.Yang Du opened it and saw that it was written by Liang Qichao. There was only one line: Fu Fu arrived in Beijing before the birthday, and hoped to come to the apartment to see him.Tan Sitong is here!Yang Du was overjoyed, hurriedly hired a rickshaw, and ran to Liang Qichao's apartment in Changguo Hutong without inviting Xia Shoutian. After that meeting in the current affairs school, the heroic and unrestrained Mr. Tan left a deep impression on Yang Du's mind.After returning to Dongzhou, Yang Du carefully read "Benevolence" written by Tan Sitong, and admired Tan's knowledge and courage even more.

As soon as the door opened, it was the thin and short Tan Sitong who greeted him.It is a happy event in life for an old friend to go to another country, and the two embraced cordially.As soon as he let go, Yang Du saw a dark and stout middle-aged man sitting in the room, grinning at the two of them with a naive smile.Yang Du asked Liang Qichao who was pouring tea: "This brother is..." "He is my sworn brother." Tan Sitong hurriedly introduced, "A well-known hero in the Jianghu, he is now working in the Jingshi Escort Bureau. His surname is Wang, his name is Yi, and his style name is Zibin. He ranks fifth. Wang Wu."

Turning his face away, he said to Wang Wu again: "This is Mr. Yang Du, Mr. Yang Xizi, Juren." Wang Wu got up, clasped his fists with both hands, and said in an unusually loud voice: "So you are Mr. Yang Xizi, the nephew of Yang Zhentai!" Yang Du was startled and said, "You know my uncle?" "Mr. Zhentai, I have never met." Wang Wu smiled and said, "Mr. Xizi's boxing teacher Meng Huzi was my friend when he was in Guide Town. I met him in Kaifeng Mansion last year. He talked about you. .” "Oh, you are a friend of Master Meng, so you are my senior." Yang Du said, arching his hands.

"Don't do that, just call me Brother Fifth!" Wang Wu smiled heartily. Tan Sitong said: "Speaking of which, we are all acquaintances. Don't be polite to each other. You can call him Fifth Brother, and he can call you Xizi!" Everyone laughed and sat down to drink tea. "Brother Fusheng, why did you come to Beijing this time?" Yang Du asked anxiously as soon as he sat down.He guessed that right now was the time when the capital reform was raging, and Tan Sitong's sudden arrival must have a special mission. "I came here from Changsha on a special trip to deliver a letter from Xu Xuetai's family." Tan Sitong's sunken eyes became more sunken, which was obviously the result of days of exhaustion from the journey.

"A letter home from Xu Xuetai?" Yang Du was quite surprised.Xu Xuetai's family letter was delivered by Mr. He Fan Tan all the way, it can be entrusted to the governor's yamen and brought to Beijing by the way, it seems that this family letter must be extraordinary. Liang Qichao took out an envelope more than seven inches long and four inches wide from the cabinet, and said to Yang Du with a smile: "Please come, I just want you to read Xu Xuetai's letter, and we will discuss it together later." Yang Du took the envelope and asked: "This is Xu Xuetai's family letter, is it okay for me to open it to read?"

Tan Sitong said: "Although it is a family letter, it is about the most important business in the world. Xu Xuetai has said hello, and I can show it to some close friends." Yang Du pulled out Xu Xuetai's letter. Xu Xuetai is Xu Renzhu, who succeeded Jiang Biao in the academic administration. He inspected Hunan as an editor of the Imperial Academy.Xu Renzhu is also a passionate man with lofty ideals. He has witnessed the weakness of the country, and he knows that only the reform can have a way out.As soon as he arrived in Hunan, he inherited Jiang Biao's career and fully supported Chen Baozhen and Huang Zunxian's New Deal. While continuing to publish "Xiang Xue Journal", he also founded "Xiang Bao" to vigorously advocate new learning.The stubborn old school headed by Wang Xianqian and Ye Dehui did not budge and continued to confront the new learning.Xu Renzhu was the house teacher of Ye Dehui's Guangxu Renyin Scholars. Ye was very respectful and polite to Xu. Teacher, I love the truth more, and I should do my part to my teacher.” and so on.Ye Dehui's tough attitude made Xu Renzhu a little cowardly. Especially recently, Zhang Zhidong, the governor of Huguang, suddenly sent him a letter from Wuchang, saying that someone had recently reported that the "Xiang Xue Journal" and "Xiang Bao" were instigating far and near, advocating chaos and doing their best to prevent abuses, that is, order discontinued.Zhang Zhidong's decision put a lot of pressure on Xu Renzhu.He foresaw that the future of the reform cause would be extremely difficult, so he wrote a letter to his father, asking him to recommend a few bloody and talented people to the emperor, who would be exceptionally promoted, entrusted with important tasks, and resolutely and forcibly implement the new law. Xu Renjing, the younger brother of Hanlin, participated in the matter together. It really is a big deal!After reading the letter, Yang Du solemnly folded it and put it back in the envelope, handed it back to Liang Qichao, and asked, "When should I send this letter to Mr. Xu?" Tan Sitong said: "Of course it's not too late. I'll go to Mr. Xu's house tomorrow morning. Xizi, you should go too!" "Okay!" Yang Du immediately agreed.It has always been Yang Du's long-cherished wish to participate in major national affairs. Although the respected teacher said that he and Kang Liang have different opinions academically, they agree on the point of reform and reform. Besides, he also wants to take this opportunity to get acquainted with Mr. Xu gentlemen. "After meeting Mr. Xu, I will go to Taiyuan, Shanxi with my fifth brother. There are some strong men like Jing Ke and Nie Zheng there. My fifth brother wants me to meet them." Tan Sitong said solemnly, "Maybe one day we will have to rely on their strength in the future." Great Swordsman Wang Wu then said: "You start with the literary one first, if the literary one is not good, our brothers will come to the martial arts." Liang Qichao said solemnly: "It is necessary to make such preparations, maybe there will be a day of bloodshed." Tan Sitong smiled and said, "If this day comes, I will be the first to beheaded and bleed!" Yang Du was taken aback.He hadn't thought about the severed head and bleeding at all, and he was immediately in awe of Mr. Tan's heroism. Then, Dao Wang Wu talked about how generous and righteous his brothers in Taiyuan Mansion were, and how powerful and invincible they were.He also said that people in the world have been fluctuating over the years, and parties have sprung up, all of which are aimed at the government and the court. Right now, the Qing Dynasty is like sitting on a pile of dry wood. As long as a spark falls on it, it will burn in an instant The fire soared into the sky, and the imperial court would be burned down in this fire.What Da Dao Wang Wu said made Yang Du very fresh.For these years, he has been spending time in the government office and study, and he knows nothing about the affairs of the Jianghu. Only today did he know that there are already many anti-flags in the world, and the imperial court is at stake.That night, lying on the temporary wooden bed set up by Liang Qichao, Yang Du thought a lot.He had a vague feeling that the people's aspirations described by Wang Wu seemed to be very different from the careers of Kang Liangtan and others.The imperial court is like a broken ship full of holes and holes. The common people's idea is to destroy it and sink it, but Kang Liangtan and others want to repair it.