Chapter 2 Prologue

On July 26, 1911, Wuhan's "Dajiang Daily" published a current commentary titled "The Great Chaos, the Wonderful Medicine to Save China". At the beginning of this article, which has been circulated by many people, it bluntly pointed out: "In the situation in China, everything is dying, and everything is dying. The terminal disease is impossible to do, but it is still like a drunken dream. I don't know that the time of death is coming. " In that era of decay and turmoil, similar reactionary articles abound.The reason why this article with no historical value and ordinary writing is singled out is because it records a precious reality-Drunken Dreams Up and Down.

Due to the failure of liberal arts education for many years, Chinese people lack a sense of historical presence. When it comes to the Revolution of 1911, images of "beacon smoke billowing and blood flowing" and "changing king's banner at the top of the city" appear in front of our eyes, as if all Qing Dynasty people were highly conscious. This "Tui Bei Tu" has long been planned to change the dynasty on October 10th. When the celestial dynasty collapses, people of all colors will jump out and drive away the ignorant and ignorant Manchu. This does not conform to historical reality.

According to the observation of Morrison, the China correspondent of The Times, China in 1911 was full of new atmosphere. "(Beijing) is paving gravel roads everywhere, important mansions are lit with electric lights, the streets are also illuminated with electric lights, and the telephones are uninterrupted." There are signs of rising wealth looming." If it is a movie, you can say that the director is trying to exaggerate before suppressing, exaggerating the atmosphere.But this turbulent cloud that started from the end of Qingping is really not the so-called ready to move, with a hint of murderous intent.

On many occasions, the Chinese seem to care about politics.It doesn’t matter if you don’t care. If you don’t care about politics, politics must care about you. Every day, you think about how to squeeze some more people’s fat from you. It's a pity that in a country with a long tradition of autocracy, how many people repeat the mental journey from hope to disappointment to despair to hopelessness, and finally fix their life pursuits on "don't talk about state affairs, make money and get out". Anger, fear, pain, and hatred could not break the normal state of group numbness in the late Qing Dynasty. The complexity of class differentiation and the diversity of interest demands diluted the continuous attention to the same social goal.

In 1911, located in Pingyao, Shanxi Province, "Rishengchang", the largest bank in the late Qing Dynasty, was known as "connecting the world". Due to the difficult situation and sharp decline in silver deposits, it considered how to reorganize and transform into a modern " bank". In 1911, Zhang Yuanji, who later became the best publisher in the Republic of China, had already tasted the sweetness of publishing teaching aids. The Commercial Press, which originally had only one house, was pushed onto the ladder of success by a textbook called "The Latest Textbook". The next publishing plan is in full swing, and the second half of life will be more magnificent than that of Zhang Xiaobo and Lu Jinbo.

In 1911, Zhou Xuexi, the person in charge of the Luanzhou Coal Mine, was engaged in a price war with the Kaiping Coal Mine, which was cheated by foreigners during the Boxer Rebellion.As the second generation of officials (his father Zhou Fu was the governor of Liangjiang and Guangdong), Zhou Xuexi neither hit people nor committed adultery, but dedicated his limited life to the endless cause of fighting against foreigners.In three years, Zhou Xuexi beat the British businessmen to pieces, severely injured their vitality, and made a group of patriotic young people excited. In 1911, Mu Ouchu, a fan of Kunqu opera, was studying cotton spinning in the United States.He had the honor of being one of the first readers of Taylor's (the father of modern management) book "Principles of Scientific Management", the founding work of management.This nearly forty-year-old American student has visited Taylor several times and is the only Chinese who has had a discussion with this management master.After Mu Ou finished his studies and returned to China, he raised funds to establish the Shanghai Deda Cotton Mill, and rose from behind to become the "Four Kings of Cotton Yarn" alongside Zhang Jian, the Rong Brothers, and Zhou Xuexi.

In this ancient country with a long tradition of speculation, like a casino, the people of the Qing Dynasty, who had their own ghosts, were not enthusiastic about the term "Wuchang Uprising" that appeared in history textbooks a few years later, because everyone was still busy with life or death. busy speculating. For more than ten years, the revolutionary party assassinated every three days and rioted every five days.Wu Yue dared to blow up five foreign ministers at the feet of the Son of Heaven; Xu Xilin broke into the enemy and killed a governor; Sorry to make headlines. Lice are not itchy.In the era without Weibo, many people only knew that something happened in Wuhan, but they did not expect to witness the end of a dynasty in their lifetime.

At the same time, a pair of stern gazes were cast on the deep night sky in Shang Huan (Huan) Village. This is a mansion covering an area of ​​300 mu, surrounded by closed walls, and the inner courtyard is dotted with square buildings.Different from traditional courtyard houses, each building has five rooms, floor-to-ceiling doors and windows, and tap water, combining Chinese and Western styles.While being unique, it also seems to hint at the contradictions deep in the heart of the owner of the mansion. The garden has a large area, with a rare bird house and a deer house. In the middle is a large oval pool. The owner often rowed a boat to the center of the pool to fish. He and future generations interpreted various political meanings in a serious manner.

"The building is small enough to accommodate your knees, with high eaves and old trees. Opening the pavilion and leveling the Big Dipper, it feels too low." The voice of reading poetry came faintly in the night sky.Under the moonlight, the figure of a middle-aged man who was only 1.58 meters tall was stretched very long, and the clear water that filled the pool was covered by the shadowy shadow. He is Yuan Shikai. Many years later, when Cha Cunqi (qi) recalled the first time he saw Yuan Shikai when he was a child, he was still full of emotion. At that time, Yuan Shikai, the governor of Zhili, had just been transferred to Beijing to serve as the minister of military aircraft.

After worshiping and worshiping, I went to Zeng Chong's house, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.After chatting for a while, Zeng Chong called his son Cha Cunqi out to meet the guests. Xiaocha politely greeted Yuan Shikai and said, "Master." When the Manchus call you uncle, they are closer to you. When Yuan Shikai got close to you, it might just be because of familiarity. I saw him leaving the table like lightning, took a few steps forward, bowed his knees to return the salute, and said repeatedly: "Don't dare, dare not!" Xiaocha was stunned. In his world view, the military minister who is an extremely human minister should be as airy as Wang Wenshao.When meeting Wang Junji for the first time, the sensible Xiaocha bowed to the end to save face.

But the old monk Wang Wenshao remained motionless as if he was in meditation, and he didn't put down the hookah in his hand. Therefore, the flattered Xiaocha didn't know what Yuan Shikai was going to do. Zeng Chong said: "Little boy, little boy, Yuan Zhongtang is too polite!" Yuan Zhongtang still felt that he was not polite enough.He held Xiao Cha's hand tightly and said, "Hello, brother!" Then, he looked at him half-turned, his eyes sparkling, and said to Zeng Chong, "My brother is so handsome! Let's talk first. .” Zeng Chong remained silent and agreed. Yuan Shikai turned his face and said, "Have you read all the scriptures?" Xiaocha: "I just read "Zhou Li" now, I haven't read it yet." Yuan Shikai: "You should read the scriptures slowly, not too fast." He also said, "I can send you any books my brother needs." Xiaocha wanted to show his ambition and give the bannerman a face, and said, "I am preparing various homework for the future school entrance examination. The existing textbooks seem to be a little insufficient." Yuan Shikai: "Okay, okay, I'll send it to you tomorrow." While talking, he solemnly said to Zengchong, "Brother Shi is really smart, very good, very good! I'm bothering my brother to study hard." So Zengchong said to his son, "Go back to the study." Just after school at noon the next day, Xiaocha saw five large boxes in the yard.The concierge said: "Master Yuan sent someone to deliver books to the young master." He glanced at the red name post, and saw "Yuan Shikai" written in small characters "Shiyu Brother" in ink.When I opened the box, I found a wide variety of books on astronomy, geography, political economy, and military philosophy, all of which were edited by the Imperial University (predecessor of Peking University) and published by Zhili Official Bookstore. Also received preferential treatment by Yuan Shikai was Xiaoqing Lin Huiyin's father Lin Changmin. As a reformist, he once formed the Progressive Party with Liang Qichao to counter the Kuomintang in the Congress, and was appointed by Yuan Shikai as the Secretary-General of the Senate (the legislature after the dissolution of the Congress). Once, Lin's father was critically ill, and Lin Changmin went to the presidential palace to ask for leave, preparing to return to Shanghai to serve. Yuan Shikai paid special attention to it, and gave him valuables such as ginseng and deer antler, equivalent to about three thousand taels of silver. However, not long after going to Shanghai, Father Lin died of illness. The grieving Lin Changmin issued an obituary and wrote a eulogy, but he immediately received five thousand taels of silver from Yuan Shikai. After finishing the funeral, return to Beijing to sell vacation.In Xinhua Palace, Yuan Shikai held his hand, consoled him diligently, and recited the eulogy written by Lin Changmin, eloquently, without missing a word, and burst into tears after carrying it on his back. Lin Changmin was shocked, knelt down to thank, and broke down in tears.Yuan Shikai wiped away his tears, helped him up, and sent him to the door. From then on, Lin Changmin obeyed Yuan Wei's order, and privately told relatives and friends: "The president's actions can be said to be extremely blaming on me. If you don't follow him, you may die soon." In fact, Lin Changmin is purely rare and strange.According to Huang Yanpei's recollection, Yuan Shikai had an excellent memory and a photographic memory, and his extensive knowledge made his subordinates awed. When Zhang Zuolin saw him, he didn't dare to look up; when Yan Xishan met him, Yuan Shikai said everything he wanted to say before he even opened his mouth. Zhang Fang (fang) was successful at a young age, and at the age of 27 he became the guard envoy (the highest officer of the military division) in southern Shaanxi.As one of the leaders of the Shaanxi Revolution of 1911, he was received by Yuan Shikai when he went to Beijing to work. Yuan: "Who is the Iron Gateman, you or Governor Zhang (Shaanxi Governor Zhang Fenghuang)?" Zhang: "I'm from Tiemen, Dudu Zhang's hometown is Huaiqing." Yuan: "When I was 20 years old, I went to and from Shaanxi. I passed the iron gate and stayed there for two nights. I still remember that the shop is on the south side of the road, with a river on the east side of the street, and two mountains facing each other. The scenery is very beautiful." Zhang Peng was secretly surprised, but he didn't know that the more terrifying thing was yet to come. Yuan Shikai eloquently talked about the cultural attractions in Shaanxi, and he was able to recite everything that Zhang Peng did in what year and month. .” Later, Zhang Fang took an anti-Yuan position and had to admit Yuan Shikai's gentle and free-spirited charm. In the eyes of his subordinates, Yuan Shikai was unpredictable. In the late Qing Dynasty, Zhang Yiling (lin, 1867-1943), a staff member, once saw the urgency of Chen Xianzheng's reform, and hinted that it must be presided over by "strong people." Yuan Shikai said in a bureaucratic tone: "Education has not been popularized among the people of the country. If it is ruled by autocracy, it will be easy to obey. After the constitution is established, the power rests with the people. I am afraid that it will not succeed, and it will lead to abuse." Zhang Yiling argued vigorously with reason, but Yuan Shikai was unmoved, and retreated disconcertedly. Unexpectedly, the next day, Yuan Shikai called him in again, and asked him to submit a detailed post on the preparation of the constitution.Zhang Yiling was puzzled by why the leaders were so different from each other. Later, he saw the preliminary constitutional draft jointly presented by the five ministers who went abroad for investigation, which was his draft without changing a single word. It turned out that Yuan Shikai deliberately imitated the tone of the old school, arguing with him, "to make waves in writing". What Zhang Yiling didn't know was that there had been such a conversation as early as a year ago. Cixi: "Although the Yunnan bandits are at peace, Sun Ni has not been captured, so it is still something to worry about." Yuan Shikai: "If a constitution is implemented, there is nothing to worry about." In fact, Yuan Shikai in the eyes of his daughter is simple. According to Yuan Jingxue's recollection, whether her father was standing or sitting, he always straightened his waist.When sitting down, spread your legs apart, put your hands on your knees, and never cross your legs. Get up on time at six o'clock every day.Breakfast is always a bowl of shredded chicken noodle soup and a large plate of eggs, while steamed duck is a must for lunch.Use ivory chopsticks to peel off the skin of the duck, and pull off three rolls and two rolls—Yuan Shikai chewed his favorite, making a "ba ji ba ji" sound. Because he pursues the creed of "you can do what you can eat", he likes to use large tableware, and he talks about "to do big things, you can't do without appetite".Not only does he have a big appetite, but he also calls on his children to eat more to become a big weapon. However, Yuan Shikai in the eyes of the world is insidious. Huang Yuansheng, a famous reporter in the Republic of China, persevered in opposing Yuan Shikai, provoking President Yuan in newspapers every day. In a commentary on "President Yuan's Master", he said: "When Liang Bi, an outstanding representative of the Manchus, was studying in Tokyo, he saw the violent upsurge of the revolution. If you give hundreds of gold a month, and if you wear a crown, you will be silent." Now that the Republic of China was founded, President Yuan did not want to stop internal strife and resist foreign aggression. Those who are magnified are the good bi; those who are good are the master of President Yuan." Huang Yuansheng obviously has not read "Criteria for Criticizing Officials", so there is a companion article "President Yuan's Apprentice" based on this article. One day, Reporter Huang's coachman quarreled with another coachman in the street.Then, President Yuan's apprentice—a patrolman on guard came over and reprimanded him, "What are you arguing about? Do you know that this is the era of the Republic, and everyone has to deal with it!" Huang Yuansheng slapped his thigh and had an epiphany: "It turns out that the Republic is used to deal with it, and President Yuan's teachings really save all sentient beings!" Regardless of praise or criticism, what cannot be denied is Yuan Shikai's strong personal charm.It even infected the New York Times across the Pacific: Whether China as a whole can produce another politician with organizational skills and personal influence like Yuan Shikai is doubtful.