Chapter 115 3. Is it not suitable to be in a good situation for a long time in life, or is the good situation originally a trap that tempts people to fall?

Yuan Shikai thought that if he announced that he would not be emperor, the Southwest would stop fighting and stop fighting, and the whole country would unanimously defend his position as head of state.Unexpectedly, the National Defense Army did not buy his account, and put forward several conditions for peace negotiation: Yuan Shikai would be spared death if he quit the presidency, but he had to be expelled from abroad; The preparation costs and military expenses are 60 million, and the properties of Yuan and the culprit of the imperial system should be seized and compensated; Yuan's descendants III will be deprived of their citizenship rights.Yuan Shikai naturally could not accept this condition, so the war did not stop.

Soon, Zhejiang declared independence.More than a month later, Chen Huan, who Yuan Shikai placed high hopes on and had worshiped with Yuan Keding, declared independence in Sichuan.A few days later, Hunan General Tang Xiangming declared independence again.Yuan Shikai immediately sent Tang Tianxi to lead his troops to suppress.Tang Tianxi followed Yuan Shikai for decades and was Yuan's loyal domestic slave.Before leaving, Tang expressed to Yuan that he would die and be loyal to the president.Unexpectedly, as soon as he arrived in Hunan, he saw that the people were excited, and Tang Xiangming was much stronger than him, so he immediately took refuge in Tang.When the news reached Zhongnanhai, Yuan Shikai felt as if he had been struck by five thunderbolts. After calling several times, "Tang Tianxi is rebellious, rebellious", he fell into a coma.

Yuan Shikai has been bedridden for a month, and recently he has not been able to catheterize for five or six days, and his body is extremely weak.Seeing that his father passed out, Yuan Keding knew that there was no hope, so he hurriedly asked Xia Shoutian to invite Xu Shichang, Li Yuanhong, Duan Qirui, Yang Shiqi and others to arrange the funeral.Xia Shoutian said: "Xi Zi said that he hasn't seen the President for a long time, and he misses him very much. Let him also come and meet the President for the last time!" The eldest son, who had awakened from the prince's dream, nodded.

Yang Du's mood was very desolate and sad. He nestled in his home in Huai'an Hutong and had not left his house for two whole months.Since Yuan Shikai announced the abolition of the imperial system, Yang Du's expectations for the Dangping National Guard Army to protect the imperial system have been completely shattered, but his belief in the monarchy to save the country has not been shattered.In the past two months, he has made some detailed reflections on his actions in recent years.He firmly believed that it was not that the constitutional monarchy was wrong, but that Yuan Shikai was not a wise monarch who practiced the constitution.Yuan's biggest mistake was to force Cai E away.If Cai is re-used, how can Yunnan object? If Yunnan doesn't make trouble, how can it be today?He also firmly believes that his painstaking efforts for the country and the people will eventually be recognized by the world.In his letter of resignation from the Senate to participate in politics, he expressed his feelings and expressed his helplessness towards Yuan: "The overturning of the world situation is equal to the waves of the vast sea; this identity is clear, and it is always like the moon in the sky. With Bismarck's hegemony, governance The chaotic country in Mexico, even if you want to save the world, you can’t bring it back to heaven. Rumors are frightening, and you compare yourself to Zhou Gong; Gui Zhihaoran, I sympathize with Mencius.”

After this report was published, a reporter from The Beijing-Tianjin Times came to Huai'an Hutong for an interview.He said to the reporter with a calm demeanor: "Although the political movement has failed, the political views have never changed. I am still a person who is a monarch to save the country. , there is no other way to resolve disputes and chaos. After the official government is established, I am willing to go to court to stand trial. Although the knife is sawing the pot, it is as sweet as it is.” After the disclosure of this talk, it even caused a lot of slander in the public opinion circle, calling Yang Du a stubborn and heinous remnant of the imperial system.Some people even advocated arresting him immediately and showing his head to the public, thinking that he still adheres to the arrogance of the monarchy.Although Yang Du was a little panicked, he knew that Yuan Shikai was still the president after all, and no one would break into Huai'an Hutong to arrest him.Unexpectedly, President Yuan, who was as strong as a tiger, would lose control immediately when he said he was sick.

Yang Du came to Zhongnanhai Jurentang with a very complicated mood, the atmosphere here was gloomy and heavy.Xia Shoutian led him into Yuan Shikai's bedroom. There were a dozen or so people standing around the sickbed, all solemn, and there was no sound in the room.The German doctor Himmel was giving Yuan Shikai an injection, and the sound of the tweezers hitting the iron box was particularly shrill.No one paid attention to Yang Du, only Yang Shiqi glanced at him with dark eyes, and he immediately felt as if a piece of flesh had been cut off by a knife. He walked quietly to the bed.Yuan Shikai was lying on the bed with his eyes closed. His chubby face had become thinner, and his thick lips had become shriveled. Only his black and white horns and beard were still sticking up, as if he did not want to lose the prestige of the president. like.Looking at Yuan Shikai's appearance, Yang Du felt very sad.Eighteen years have passed since the first meeting at the small station in the Year of 1898.During the eighteen years, this person on the sickbed, with the help of the army in his hand, was promoted to governor, promoted to governor, joined the military aircraft department, and because of this army, he was envied and demoted.Three years later, he came back miraculously, took the position of president, mediated between the north and the south, swayed the government and the opposition, and became the president of the Republic of China. After more than 80 days, he was addicted to the emperor.It can be said that he is the No. 1 strongman in China today by holding wind and thunder and exorcising ghosts and gods.There was nothing wrong with following him for ten years and trying to realize his lifelong ambitions with his strength.If he can make good use of himself, let him form a cabinet and take charge of the government, take it easy and take ten or twenty years to implement the constitution and govern the country well. When the country is strong and the people are rich, the president's merits will be great at that time. The world will return to its heart, and then I will come forward and lead all the officials, and implore him to change the republic into a monarchy for the long-term stability of the country, and it will be a matter of course.Although the state structure has changed, the political system has not changed, so that the upper and lower are in peace, and the barbarians are not surprised, wouldn't it be very good!It's a pity that he used mediocrity instead of talents, which made the eldest son uneasy, and he also had resentment. He rushed to do things ahead of time, which made the weather fail, and people failed to make peace. A good thing turned into a bad thing instead!Yuan Xiangcheng, Yuan Xiangcheng, you have been shrewd all your life, and you ended up like this just because you didn't use me, Yang Du, and it also made it difficult for me to behave in the world in the future.These are still secondary, the most important thing is to make the country lose an opportunity that cannot be regained!You let go, leaving this mess that is about to be turbulent and divided, how to deal with it?

"The President is awake!" Someone whispered. Seeing Yuan Shikai open his eyes, Yang Du glanced blankly at all the old colleagues and friends surrounding him, without any expression on his face.Seeing Yuan Shikai's eyes looking at him, Yang Du really wanted to call out "President", but he couldn't.He felt that Yuan Shikai's mouth moved slightly when he was staring at him, as if he wanted to say something.After a while, his eyes turned away again, and Yuan Shikai saw his eldest son Yuan Keding.Yuan Keding took a step forward and was about to hold his father's hand when Yuan Shikai raised his right hand slightly with difficulty, pointed aimlessly, moved his mouth again, and finally uttered a sentence slightly but clearly: "He Killed me!"

Yuan Keding was startled and didn't dare to stretch out his hand.He realized that his father had not forgotten about the "Suncheon Times" until his death, and the "he" in this sentence must be referring to himself. Yang Du was also taken aback suddenly, isn't the president talking about me?It was I who tried my best to introduce Cai E to Beijing, and it was Cai E who finally defeated the monarchy and killed the president. Isn't "he" the one who was scolded by the president as "Jiang Gan"? Xu Shichang, Li Yuanhong, Duan Qirui and others were also taken aback: Who is this "he" who killed the President?Is there a part of me too?

The already suffocating atmosphere added a bit of terror. After saying this, Yuan Shikai closed his eyes again, and never spoke again.At ten o'clock in the morning of the next day, he finally closed his eyes forever, adding another generation of witnesses to the fact that the Yuan family's birthday was only sixty. Yuan Keding put on the dragon robe Zhu Luping Tianguan for his father to be enthroned.Yuan Shikai did not become an official emperor during his lifetime, but after his death, he wore the royal clothes of God to report to Lord Yama.Li Yuanhong, who succeeded him, held a grand and lively funeral for Yuan with the etiquette of the president.Among the thousands of elegiac couplets, the one on Jingzhang tribute satin is the most eye-catching. It expresses the grievances of the eunuch himself to the world with vigorous calligraphy and delicate words:

Signature on the lower left corner of the couplet: Xiangtan Yang Xizi. Yuan Shikai died, and it was inconvenient for the National Defense Army to come to Beijing to whip the corpse and burn the coffin, so they had to bring up the matter of punishing the thirteen Taibao, the culprit of the imperial system, and declared that if the thirteen people were not arrested, they would never reach a peace agreement with the Beijing government. Li Yuanhong hated Yuan Shikai's proclaiming himself emperor. His refusal to accept the title of Prince Wuyi was an open opposition to the imperial system.He naturally agrees with punishing the culprit.He was about to arrest them one by one according to the list proposed by the National Defense Army, but unexpectedly, telegrams of intercession and guarantee flew to his desk one by one.

First, Yuan Keding sent a telegram from the tomb in Huanshang Village, pleading for his cousin Zhang Zhenfang and his father's old subordinate Lei Zhenchun.Since Li Yuanhong buried Yuan Shikai, it was naturally inconvenient to disobey the wishes of the submissive eldest son, and he replied by telegram agreeing to remove Zhang and Lei from the list of culprits of the imperial system.Next, Feng Guozhang asked for insurance for Duan Zhigui and Yuan Naikuan.Feng is now the big brother of the Beiyang Department. If Li wants to curry favor with him, he must of course give him face.So the names of Duan and Yuan were also crossed out.Then, Li Jingxi called Li and said that Yan Fu and Liu Shipei were rare talents and it was not appropriate to be put in prison.Yan Fu's reputation was known to Li, and Li's staff admired Liu Shipei's knowledge, so Yan and Liu were no longer wanted. Li Yuanhong saw people from all directions coming to protect people, so he thought he should take this opportunity to protect some people.Thinking about it, I owe my honor today to the strength of the Revolutionary Party, not to mention the potential strength of the Revolutionary Party, maybe one day it will cry out, and it will appear from everywhere again, so we must reserve a way out in advance.He used himself as a guarantor, and crossed out the names of Li Xiehe and Hu Ying. He wanted to remove Sun Yuyun's name as well, but Sun was the vice chairman of the board, and he had a big goal, so he couldn't guarantee it. Of the thirteen Taibaos, eight were removed. Others, such as Liang Shiyi, Zhu Qiling, Zhou Ziqi, and Sun Yuyun, all came out to speak up for them, but Yang Du, no one in the world spoke up for him. Published articles scolding him, accusing him of changing from a turbulent progressivist advocate to a constitutional monarchy supporter, then to a democratic republic strategist and lobbyist, and third to the culprit of the restoration of the monarchy. He is really capricious and traitorous. Shameless literati.Some articles also revealed that he has been visiting prostitutes all the time. He abducted two women from Bada Hutong many years ago, and now he is taking advantage of the red card girl in Yunjiban.In order to please this firework girl, she even embezzled public funds, bought a counterfeit copybook for her with 30,000 silver dollars, and redeemed it with 400,000 yuan to get her into the golden house.He also accused him of the crime of insisting on the monarchy and being an enemy of the trend despite the opposition from the whole country. The word "Yang Du" has been crucified on the pillar of shame. Such a person, who else would dare to intercede for him? Yang's house in Huai'an Hutong, the sky is full of haze, lifeless. Mrs. Li and Mrs. Huang never read newspapers, and they rarely go out. They don't know the details of the changes in the world.But he still knew about the war in the southwest, the abolition of Hong Xian's reign title, and Yuan Shikai's death. He also saw that Xizi hadn't left his house for more than two months.The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law also knew that the Yang family had suffered bad luck.Mrs. Li kept burning incense and worshiping Buddha, praying for the blessing of Bodhisattva.Mrs. Huang murmured in her heart, hoping that her husband would be safe.Yizhu knew that her husband was in adversity, so she wouldn't say too many words of comfort, and just followed him in everything.As the real housewife of this big family, she is in charge of the food, clothing and daily necessities of a dozen people. She is busy all day, and she doesn't have much time to worry.There are two women in this family who suffer the most in their hearts, one is Shuji and the other is Jingzhu. Uncle Ji didn't care too much about state affairs. During the years when she broke up with Dai Yi and lived alone in her elder brother's house, she only used books and poems to soothe the scars in her heart, and to express her distant and unattainable feelings that always seemed to be elusive. The resentful love that is close at hand.But during this period, she has paid close attention to the external political situation.She told He Sanye to buy all the newspapers she could see in the middle of the capital, and she would not let go of any articles that criticized her brother, and cut them out after reading them and kept them in categories.Uncle Ji is a smart and emotional woman, but also a narrow-minded and stubborn woman. She will tenaciously follow the path she has set her sights on, and she will tenaciously defend the people she sets her sights on.In this world, there are only two men in her heart.Her first love, Mr. Xia, whom she secretly loved for the rest of her life.The idol brother in her heart, she completely trusts against everything.She doesn't think that her brother's career must be great. On the contrary, she doesn't approve of the restoration of the imperial system, and she never envies the power and arrogance of dignitaries. She just has a deep affection for her brother. Allow my brother to show his talents to the fullest.She couldn't tolerate someone cursing her brother with vicious words, and she couldn't even tolerate a word of criticism.She knew that her brother was doing things without emotion when his mind was heavy, so she consciously collected files for her brother, and he would use them one day. As for Jingzhu, she was even more immersed in extreme sadness.Jingzhu's sadness is complicated.Xizi's career did not succeed, and he stubbornly embarked on a path that was not in line with the trend.When he changed his belief in the constitution and supported the republic, he also faced criticism from the world, which caused distress.As an ordinary woman, Jing Zhu has absolutely no political beliefs, and she is absolutely unable to talk about the principles of how to save the country.However, as a hard-working person who has survived suffering, she instinctively feels that a republic is better than autocracy, at least the common people are the masters of the country in name.In the past few months, Xizi has fanatically retreated from being a hero of the Republic to returning to the old road of Junxian.Right now, when he met with a bloody head and a depressed expression, even though Jing Zhu knew rationally that she should go to comfort him, but emotionally, she could no longer recall the warmth that she had in the past.In her opinion, since the restoration of Xizimi's God system, not only has he entered the wrong path in terms of political beliefs, but also in terms of choosing the value of life, he has also gone on the wrong path.In Jingzhu's mind, Xizi is a pure and pure man who values ​​love and righteousness. In this world, he will rely on his character and talent to make a career. He will cherish his original intention and will always Consistently love the people you once loved, and at the same time cherish your family built with love.Even if you are an official, you will be a good palace in an upright manner, do good things for the people outside, and be a good husband and father when you come home.In the first few years of this special family combination in Huaian Hutong, Xizi was basically the decent scholar Jingzhu imagined, but this year, he has almost completely changed. This kind of change is not only manifested in indulging in Yunjiban, and later in order to redeem Fu Jin and put her in the outer room. This is second to none. In Jingzhu's view, the main thing is that Xizi's heart has changed.His sister no longer had an important place in his heart.This is clearly reflected in his indifference to Yi Zhu and his indifference to himself. Jingzhu remembered that Xizi had hardly spoken to her a few times in the past year.Occasionally when he came home, he just stood in her room for a while, neither caring about her condition nor talking about the outside situation, just kept saying that he was busy, and after a few lukewarm words, he stopped. hurried away.As for the brick wrapped in green silk on the dressing table, he didn't even look at it out of the corner of his eye. Jingzhu wakes up in the middle of the night every night, thinking of these things, she feels heart-wrenching, her tears soak most of the pillow uncontrollably.At this time, she would often open the green silk, take out the corner brick, stare at it absent-mindedly, and dream in a messy way in her mind.She really didn't understand why such an ambitious and talented scholar would quickly become dizzy once he was proud of himself in the officialdom. He would even forget the oath he made to the Buddha, and even abandon the woman he loved. .Is it because the officialdom is not allowed to enter, or is Xizi himself unable to withstand the temptation of power?Is it because life cannot be in good times for a long time, or is good times just a trap that tempts people to fall? One thing, Jingzhu is very clear, that is, the ideal she pursued all her life has been shattered.That being the case, there is not much point in living in this world, it is better to leave.She excused herself from the illness and stopped taking medicine for several months. She knew in her heart that her vitality was weakening day by day.This point, including Yizhu, no one else in Huai'an Hutong noticed it. Of course, the one suffering the most in Huai'an Hutong is none other than his master, Yang Du.Yuan Shikai died, and Yuan Keding took a large group of orphans and widows back to Huanshang Village to observe the funeral. The counselors of the Yuan Dynasty were either wanted or lived in small houses.As the chief culprit in the remnants of the imperial system, Yang Du has been in painful reflection. Facing the reality in front of him, a huge doubt made it difficult for him to answer.Actively advocating the monarchy, although there is a reason for wanting to be the prime minister of the new dynasty, but if you ask yourself, the desire to seek a long-term stability for the country is also very strong!Anyone who faces reality squarely will hardly deny the fact that in the four to five years since the emperor abdicated and the Republic was born, China has not experienced a single day of peace, not to mention that constitutional government has not been established, even the minimum order to maintain the normal functioning of society Neither was built.In the past, it was said that as long as the Manchu court is overthrown, China will definitely become stronger, but in the past few years without an emperor, it has become even more chaotic.Yuan Shikai hated the Revolutionary Party, and the Revolutionary Party hated Yuan Shikai even more, and those who did not belong to the Revolutionary Party system did not obey the central government.Isn't it obvious that the center lacks the authority it should have to shock the world?The restoration of imperial power is the restoration of authority, and the Han people being the emperor has the authority and is freed from the hands of foreign races. Isn't it the best of both worlds!Yang Du believed that it was precisely because of this that the declaration of the Preparatory Committee won the support of those in power in various provinces, and also the whole country unanimously supported Yuan Shikai as emperor.But why did Cai E shock the whole country when he shouted in Yunnan?Cai E has only more than 3,000 people, and the entire Yunnan army has no more than 10,000 people. Why did they dare to be an enemy of the central government, and they repeatedly defeated the Beiyang force that went to conquer?Also, why did people like Lu Rongting, Chen Huan, and Tang Xiangming declare independence and respond to Yunnan so quickly?Cai E is not allowed to be reused, and he has grievances in his chest. People like Lu, Chen, and Tang are all highly valued and firmly in favor of the monarchy. Why do people's hearts change so quickly? In foreign countries, Japan's attitude also puzzled him.Obviously trying to persuade Yuan Shikai to implement the monarchy, why did he firmly oppose it in the blink of an eye?A powerful empire that enforces its own constitution, but does not want its neighbors to follow suit. Could it be that the Japanese government deliberately does not want to see a strong China emerge?Could it be that the persuasion at the beginning was a trap set up to intentionally cause civil strife in China? At the beginning, when Yuan Keding proposed to implement the monarchy, the whole country supported it; now when he talked about defending the republic, when Cai E made an attack, the whole country agreed.Could it be that the people in power in various provinces in China have no brains, only know what others say, and follow the wind to make the rudder?Or maybe there are other deep mysteries in China's political arena, which I haven't touched at all?The inheritor of imperial studies, who has devoted himself to political activities for more than 20 years, is almost at a loss in this farce-like change. Soon, the arrest warrant signed by the new president Li Yuanhong was published. Eight of the original so-called Thirteen Taibao were removed, leaving only five, and three were added inexplicably. Gu Ao, clerk of the preparatory office, and Xue Dake, editor-in-chief of Asia Daily.These eight people "all submitted to the court, interrogated in detail, severely punished, as a precept for future generations, and the rest will be forgiven." Xia Shoutian couldn't laugh or cry when he saw this arrest warrant.During the entire period of the restoration of the imperial system, he was nothing more than an internal historian who was loyal to his duties and trusted by the president. He was neither a planner nor an active member. At least a hundred or more people must be listed!He came to Huai'an Hutong to complain. Yang Du smiled wryly and said: "This is because I recommended you as an internal historian, and everyone knows that you are my best friend for many years. To include you is nothing more than to hit me harder. This is also a way to add insult to injury. kind." After Xia Shoutian understood what was going on, he calmed down and said, "Xi Zi, what should we do?" Yang Du said: "You are alone in Beijing, and now you have lost your official position because of me. I think you might as well move here to live. I have a lot of people here, so it's more lively." Before Xia Shoutian could answer, the uncle at the side hurriedly said: "This is the best, Mr. Xia, you can move here tomorrow!" I used to go to the Presidential Palace every day to do business, and I was busy. At night, I read a book alone and listened to Xipi Erhuang on the gramophone, so I was not too lonely.There was nothing to do during this period, and he was bored at home every day, very deserted. Seeing his uncle's warm welcome, Xia Shoutian gave her a grateful look.When Uncle Ji saw this fiery gaze, her heart was pounding. Yang Du went on to say: "Wu Yi, you live with me, don't pay attention to them, I will go to the court to surrender, and explain to the court that you have nothing to do with the imperial affairs, and there is no reason to arrest you." Xia Shoutian said emotionally: "If we want to go together, we will sit in class for a few years at most. When we sit together, we can be in the same room as we did in Dongzhou back then, and we can talk about poetry and papers sooner or later." When Uncle Ji heard this, she was very excited, and said secretly, Mr. Xia, with your words, my unrequited love for more than twenty years will be rewarded.She murmured tears and said: "You don't want to go. See how they are doing. Maybe you can go home and arrest people? If that's the case, then I will argue with them. The first thing I want to arrest is Yuan Keding. The imperial system has succeeded. He is the crown prince, who benefits the most. He is the most active, why not go to Henan to arrest him? The next thing to arrest is the generals of the provinces. Aren’t you going to arrest them? You are here to arrest two scholars, is it not clear that you are bullying the scholars who have no power or power?” What Uncle Ji said was really well-founded, Yang Du and Xia Shoutian both nodded in agreement.Fortunately, Li Yuanhong didn't look like he really wanted to arrest them. The arrest warrant had been issued for several days, and no one came to Huai'an Hutong to perform official duties. After a few days of silence, Yang Du suddenly thought of Fu Jin.I haven't seen her for a long time, and I really miss her in my heart. I don't know what's going on with her recently, and what she thinks after seeing the wanted notice.He decided to visit Guanwa Hutong tomorrow.Who knew it would be fine if he didn't go, but once he did, he was dizzy.It turned out that his Tibetan golden house had changed owners in recent days.