Qing Dynasty, Guangxu 20th year, Yi Mo, Autumn.Beijing. The wind and sand for several days filled the air, and the streets, alleys, houses, and trees were all shrouded in yellow and turbid mist.Pedestrians are noticeably less; rickshaws passing through the streets and alleys, beating crisp bells, disappearing in a hurry; there are no birds in the sky, and the wind whistles from time to time... "Damn autumn!" Someone cursed. The wind and sand in autumn cast a layer of gloom on the Imperial Academy, making this ancient deep house compound deserted.Xu Shichang, who has been an editor for nine years, is probably affected by the weather, and he is listless all day long. Even his tall body has shrunk and become shorter, his face has become emaciated, his eyes have lost his focus, and he seems to be He is also old - he is just 41 years old, and he is in the prime of his life!

After breakfast, Xu Shichang wanted to go out to do some errands, so he put on his official uniform carefully.Usually he doesn't wear official uniforms, editors and editors only lead the seventh rank, what kind of official is the seventh rank official in the capital, it is similar to a gatekeeper's family, but lacks the majesty of a gatekeeper.However, looking at the cloudy weather outside, he simply closed the door and did not go out.He was sitting at the table, trying to calm down and do something else, but his thoughts were messed up, and he didn't know what to do? He blamed himself a bit: "Forty and not confused, what's wrong with me?"

Yesterday was also at this time after breakfast, Li Hongzao, the academician in charge of the Imperial Academy, called him over.Xu Shichang thought there was something good to announce to him--Li Hongzao was his mentor, and he had been with him for nine years.A person who has held the title of editor for nine years, no matter what, he should be promoted and changed his gauze hat. He is always holding the title of seventh rank, how embarrassing.A few days ago, someone sent word to him that the Guozijian sacrificed wine, and his friend Wang Yirong, another teacher and a bachelor in charge of the academy, said a lot of good things about Xu Shichang in front of Li Hongzao, and he was identified as a "rising star".With that old face, Li Hongzao can't afford to show some face? Who knows that after Xu Shichang met Li Hongzao, this thin old man with wrinkles and gray beard had a cold face, and it took him a long time to say slowly: "Shichang, I am too lazy Speaking, you have been by my side for many years, and you rarely talk heart-to-heart. I have thought about a few words for a long time, and I think I should say them."

"Teacher, please advise, and the students will listen with an open mind." Xu Shichang bowed. "Our Imperial Academy is a place where talents gather," Li Hongzao said with a serious face, as if he was enlightening a student who had just entered the academy. "You can't be careless in your words and demeanor. Remember, you must never overstate others! This is the duty of a human being. You have to keep it in your heart and go." Xu Shichang agreed and withdrew. The person withdrew, and his thoughts followed. Xu Shichang frowned tightly, and thought repeatedly: "Let me remember that I am hypocritical. What does it mean? Am I hypocritical?" Xu Shichang is a Jinshi As for those who entered the Hanlin Academy later, he understands the weight of the words "pretending to be superior to others", and he understands the meaning even more when it comes from the mouth of a bachelor in charge of the academy.After thinking about it again and again, his heart sank: "My immediate boss and mentor commented on me like this, and my future is bleak!" Xu Shichang is a man of scheming and ambition. It is said that a god-man predicted to him that in the future, "Everbright" Xu's family will rely on him to "prosper".Yes, it is time for the Xu family to flourish. Gaozu was the county magistrate of Henan, his great-grandfather Lian E was a Jinshi and magistrate of Hunan, and his grandfather Simu was the general judge of Zhonghe in Henan.It's just that the family of his father Jiaxian's generation has fallen.Although Jiaxian also rushed across the Yellow River with his father, fought fiercely with the Taiping army, and rode alone in the Taiping army camp to scout the army, which was appreciated by his superiors, but he died of illness at the age of 25.At that time, Xu Shichang was only 7 years old, his younger brother Shiguang was only 5 years old, and his widowed mother, Mrs. Liu, watched over the two little brothers in Shuanglong Lane in Kaifeng.Such a family should be prosperous! However, Xu Shichang really felt the hardships of his official career after being awarded a Jinshi and sitting on the cold bench of editing for nine years.

Editors are not only small officials, but also low salaries.In the capital, not to mention socializing with friends, even eating feels tight. "Hey, what kind of Beijing official am I doing!" Thinking of my own poverty, I naturally think of my filial piety to my teacher during the three festivals of the year.In the fashion at that time, during the three festivals, the students had to give generous gifts to their mentors to thank their teachers for their teachings, and thus, they also asked the teachers for their support.Xu Shichang didn't have a big gift, so he sealed it with two taels of silver and gave it to the teacher at most.Don't talk about touching the teacher's heart, even he himself felt ashamed.But what can I do?

When Xu Shichang was sitting bored, he suddenly thought of his two uncles. "Okay, write them a letter, asking them to help me downgrade and go to the county magistrate." So, he stretched out his pen and began to write the letter. Xu Shichang has two uncles, one Jiahe, who is now the county magistrate of Renzhongxiang County, Hubei Province, and one Jialin, who is now the county magistrate of Rende'an County, Jiangxi Province.In terms of intelligence, these two cousins ​​are far inferior to Shichang's intelligence; in terms of fame, they are also inferior to Shichang.It is really difficult to be a county magistrate.However, they lived a very prosperous life, bought land and built houses, and after a few years, they all became a prosperous family.They are both of the seventh rank, but they are so different, Shichang really envies them.Therefore, he also wanted to send out the prefectures and counties. Although the gauze hat was not visible, the financial resources were very prosperous.Just in response to the slang, "Three years to clear the magistrate, one hundred thousand snowflakes of silver." Xu Shichang wanted to get some money first, and then went to find the door with a generous gift, "This is also an official way, and it will be more accessible."

People have ideals, and it is natural to go to high places.The heights are vast.But in the final analysis, it is nothing more than fame and fortune.Xu Shichang was frustrated with his "name", so he naturally turned to profit.He wants to let it out, and if the magistrate does it, he will have 100,000 snowflake silver in three years.Going to the teacher's house on three festivals a year is not a shabby place with only two taels of silver.In this way, the teacher will no longer tell him with a cold face that he "can't pretend to be too much".When Xu Shichang read the book of sages when he was a child, he only knew that "the book has its own golden house, and the book has its own Yan Ruyu". "Ghosts push the grindstone".He turned around and replaced "get promoted and get rich" with "get rich and get promoted".

It was a piece of cake to release the capital officials of the Qing Dynasty. As long as you are willing, you can choose a location and you can get it.Xu Shichang's solicitation of the opinions of the two uncles is only a regional choice.Now that the special release has been made, it is necessary to find a place with good folk customs and rich products, and the land must be thick for scratching.There is no oil and water in places that are as barren as paper, and there will be disasters in places where the people are dangerous. He cannot go to those places.Xu Shichang hoped that Tang Shu could help him in these two aspects and show him the way.

Soon, letters from Zhong Xiang and De'an arrived one after another. Xu Shichang was overjoyed, thinking that from now on, things would turn around and he would have a bright future. However, his two uncles with one voice refused to let him go outside, saying that it was a "reverse path" in the officialdom, "Although editors are relatively small Beijing officials, they are closer to the upper reaches, and it is easier to be promoted than prefectural and county magistrates. The future is bright"; the two uncles repeatedly told him: "Stay at ease, and you can provide subsidies when you are in trouble."

A basin of cold water poured over the head.Holding the letters from his two uncles, Xu Shichang frowned. Xu Shichang made another calculation. He felt that his uncle's words made sense: "It's like sailing a boat with the current. But every step is difficult! How many prefectures and counties are there in China, and how many prefects and magistrates can be promoted to Beijing?" Thinking of this, he broke out in a cold sweat, "It's almost a pity!" He kept his uncle's Letters, exhaled deeply the depression accumulated in the chest for many days, walked out of the quiet room, walked to the courtyard; then walked from the courtyard to the alley, to the street.

The wind died down.The sand is gone.With the blue sky and white clouds floating, Beijing once again presents prosperity and grandeur. The Hanlin Academy, built in the early Tang Dynasty, was originally a place where the inner court enshrined various literary and artistic attendants.In the Qing Dynasty, the Hanlin Academy became a yamen for compiling national history, recording the daily life notes of the emperor's words and deeds, giving lectures on scriptures and history, and drafting relevant laws and regulations.Below the bachelor in charge of the academy, there are bachelors of attendants, attendees: lecturers, editors, editors, reviewers, and Shuji scholars. These people are collectively called Hanlin; their official titles are called Nanshufang Hanlin.Xu Shichang is an editor in the Hanlin Academy, he can be regarded as a fifth-class official below the head of the academy. Although he came from the first, second, or third Jinshi, he is not inferior to others. What's more, he is only responsible for a small part of the work such as editing records. There is no real job, at best, he is an official of the same rank.Xu Shichang didn't want to let go, and An Xin sat on the bench in the Hanlin Academy waiting for an opportunity, but he had nothing to do, so he couldn't help but think of other ways.As a result, we found out that there is a rich family surnamed Lu who is currently the governor of Jiangsu in Dingxing County in the suburbs of Beijing. He plans to hire two young sons of a school teacher. The rewards are also considerable.Xu Shichang didn't need to ask his uncle for subsidies, and he had someone to live in. Soon he moved his family to Dingxing, so he had a stable life. In 1896 (Bingshen), Xu Shichang's mother Liu died of illness in Kaifeng, Henan.In the old system of sickness and bereavement, when parents died, sons and grandsons (long-term grandsons) had to decline personnel, dismissed from official positions and stayed at home for 27 months.Xu Shichang had no choice but to leave Beijing and return to Henan to guard the system. --Mother passed away, and Xu Shichang was extremely sad. On the way to the burial, recalling the past with tears of grief, he was in pain. The mother is a descendant of Liu Dakui, an ancient writer of the Tongcheng School in the Qing Dynasty.When Shichang and Shiguang were young, their mother was their teacher.Liu's godson stays late at night.Shichang can never forget his mother's kindness, and the thing he remembers most is eating cakes. It was not long after his father passed away, and the family became increasingly difficult.Liu lived frugally and cared for her children wholeheartedly.One day, Shichang and Shiguang were hungry after studying, so they asked their mother for food.The mother took three cakes from the kitchen and put them in front of her sons, intending to test their hearts.As a result, Shichang first reached out and took two pieces of cake. When Shiguang saw that there was only one piece of cake left, Su Xing hugged his head and cried and made a fuss. Brother is not friendly, brother is disrespectful, what should I do when I grow up?" As he said, he took the cake from his son and threw it on the ground. "No one is allowed to eat, all kneel down and think about it." The brothers knelt on the ground with their eyes wide open.It took a long time before Shichang opened his mouth. "Mother, I was wrong. I shouldn't have taken two cakes first. Please forgive my brother, and punish me to kneel myself." Only then did Liu calm down, let the two sons stand up, and prepared pastries for them again.From then on, the two brothers never dared to compete for food or things. Leaving the officialdom and staying at home, Xu Shichang felt relaxed. Apart from reading books every day, he would quietly recall his forty years of life, especially the ten years of officialdom.Xu Shichang was selected in the Beijing Provincial Examination of the Renwu Division in the eighth year of Guangxu (1882). Four years later, he was a Jinshi in the Bingwu Division in the twelfth year of Guangxu (1886).Doing the math, the official career is not more than ten years.At the beginning, Xu Shichang, like all the students, sincerely used the skills he had learned in ten years of hard work as "goods and emperors". Naturally, he also dreamed of being successful.However, with that full of talent and enthusiasm, I never dreamed that I would sit on a cold bench for nine years at a time! "Life is too short, how many nine years can be wasted?" , Other skills may have their own strengths and weaknesses, but when looking back at the road they have traveled, the sensitivity is generally the same.How did you get through the difficulties, how did you fall? Misfortunes and blessings will always be clear.After leaving the chaotic officialdom and staying in the quiet old house, Xu Shichang calmed down and anchored and commented on every step of his officialdom. He moved from turbidity to innocence, from self-confidence to remorse, and from the cold bench to appreciate " The joys and sorrows of the "cold bench".He suddenly understood that being in the officialdom is not entirely based on ability, or it can be said that it is not based on ability at all, it is based on backing, popularity, and opportunity. "If a group of people lift you up, if your immediate boss thinks highly of you, or if your boss's boss favors you, you will definitely rise to the top, and you will be promoted again and again; if you don't have these, even if you are well-educated and talented, go sit Your bench is ready." Xu Shichang sighed, "Is it so easy to find a backer? The ancestors did not leave a foundation, and I lost this trick. Who can I rely on?" After being a Jinshi, Xu Shichang once worshiped two people as teachers. Li Hongzao, the academician in charge of the academy, and Zhang Zhiwan, the minister of military aircraft and Dongge University scholar.However, apart from the teacher-student relationship, there are only three festivals and two taels of silver a year, and Xu Shichang often shows pride in his knowledge.Zhang Zhiwan didn't take Xu Shichang seriously, he was just a "teacher", Li Hongzao had already made it clear that none of them would become his ladder to the top if he was asked not to "exaggerate".Xu Shichang felt his future was bleak. "Sorrow! There is no way to climb high, let's be content with the status quo!" However, he was a little bit unwilling. People's self-security is limited and conditional, and there is a comparison between them.What Xu Shichang was unwilling to do was that many of them were promoted in the same year, and some people who were significantly worse than him were also promoted; looking up the history of the Hanlin Academy, almost no Hanlin could sit on the bench for nine years.He was extremely unbalanced, and he still wanted to find a tall branch to climb.So, he combed his "relationship network" over and over again like combing his hair.He finally found a worthy person—Yuan Shikai! "Okay, Yuan Weiting is my friend when I opened my crotch pants, and he will help me. Go find him when you return to Beijing." Yuan Shikai, a native of Xiangcheng, Henan Province, lived in Kaifeng City with his uncle Yuan Baoheng (who worked as an assistant in Kaifeng, Henan Province) when he was young, close to Xu Shichang's family.Xu Shichang is four years older than Yuan Shikai, and he gets along very well, and he is the best friend of the president.After Yuan Baoheng died of illness in Kaifeng, Yuan Shikai returned to Xiangcheng.Yuan Shikai was a person who did not make progress in reading and did not write well in articles, but he was very active. He even united some scholars in the local area to organize a literary society, talking about literature and sayings all day long, which was quite influential.At this time, Xu Shichang had already worked as a school teacher in the Huaining County Office. When he heard that his childhood friend had become the president of the literary society, he made a special trip to visit.The two met again, and the chat was very speculative, especially regarding the opposition to stereotyped essays, they saw exactly the same.Soon, Xu Shichang was going to take the provincial examination in Beijing. Yuan Shikai learned that he was short of expenses, so he also subsidized him some money. Yuan Shikai took the "children's test" twice in the village, but failed. In a rage, he took your leg and the chair in the Imperial Academy. I advise you not to sit on it, and find another place to go. " Xu Shichang just wanted to find a backer, whether he should leave the Imperial Academy, but he didn't think about it.Yuan Shikai cut him straight to the point and asked him to walk out of the Imperial Academy. He panicked and didn't know what to do? Looking at his hesitant expression, Yuan Shikai said again: "Brother Ju, your official career is not just about starting from the Imperial Academy. I don't have any fame. I don’t even have any fame for donating. I’m still making progress in my official career. What’s the problem? It’s just the situation. The current world is a world of war, a battle of life and death, equal to or even more than a ten-year cold window. Brother Juren Leave the articles behind and come to military training with me. Follow the path of martial arts and develop yourself." Yuan Shikai spoke eloquently, and Xu Shichang listened with gusto, just like when Yuan Shikai ran a literary agency in his hometown in Xiangcheng and opposed stereotyped articles, Xu Shichang felt that what he said was "reasonable" and his insights were very fresh; Typical, so Xu Shichang more convinced.However, he still said matter-of-factly: "Wei Ting, your opinion is undoubtedly correct. There are also ministers from the DPRK and China who have not passed the scientific examination, and not all those who are admitted are super talented. I believe there is still a chance. Can it still be called luck? To be honest, it’s easy for me to abandon my literature, and I’ll be finished if I don’t reach the Imperial Academy; but how can I become a martial artist? Let me go with you to train the new army, what can I do?” Xu Shichang felt that there was no place for him in the army.He can't do the position in the army. Yuan Shikai laughed. "You're a bit of a nerd. With all your talent, is there anything you can't do well?" Xu Shichang sneered helplessly. Yuan Shikai said again: "As long as you put down your airs, don't call me light on literature and heavy on martial arts, don't say that I have lowered your value, I have something for you to do in my military training office." When Yuan Shikai was training the new army at the small station, there was still a strong atmosphere of "emphasizing literature over martial arts" in the middle school. Xu Shichang followed Yuan Shikai to train the new army, which was tantamount to abandoning literature and pursuing martial arts, and he had not yet turned around in his mind.Therefore, when Yuan Shikai talked with great interest, he still sneered.After laughing for a while, he asked, "Tell me, what do you want me to do?" Yuan Shikai was stunned by the question. "Yes, after all, Xu Ju was born as a Jinshi, and he is a senior Hanlin. What is he doing when he is training in the army?" He thought for a while, and felt that he could not be given a small job, but should be used as a big assistant.So he said: "Brother Juren, I think so, you can work as the general office of the military training staff and battalion affairs department, and help me with some decision-making matters." It is not appropriate for a Hanlin to serve as the general office of the camp affairs department.However, Xu Shichang wanted to rely on Yuan Shikai, and he was Yuan Shikai's good friend when he was a child. He also expressed his approval of Yuan Shikai's training with Western methods. "Anything is fine, I just want to be your assistant, and I can give you an idea at any time, and I am satisfied." Xu Shichang didn't feel embarrassed when Hanlin was downgraded to be the general office of the camp affairs office. On the contrary, he felt that he was not alone like he used to be.He also calculated that once the new army training organization took shape, Yuan Shikai would invite him to a prominent position.Thinking of this, I feel at ease, and I want to do a good job, and get to know some famous people while doing work. Xu Shichang and Yuan Shikai are the best friends of the president, and now they are on the same line. Apart from military training and official duties, they naturally talk about everything and open their hearts to each other.One day, Xu Shichang suddenly asked Yuan Shikai: "Wei Ting, I have a mystery that has always been on my mind, and I would like you to decipher it." "I may not be able to solve the mystery you can." Yuan Shikai said with a smile. "You can break it." Xu Shichang said: "Because it happened to you." "Is there a mystery that you care about?" "Have." "Tell me." Xu Shichang said solemnly: "You have never received military education, how could two princes recommend you—no, they recommended you to train the new army, and the Queen Mother approved it so readily?" Yuan Shikai laughed. "This matter is not worth mentioning." "There is a lot to say." Xu Shichang said. Yuan Shikai slowly told the story of his "joining the army" -- Yuan Shikai started his career from the Qing army who joined Wu Changqing. As soon as he entered the barracks, he paid attention to everything, and recorded the strengths and weaknesses of the army.When I have time, I carefully study military books on drills and tactics, paying special attention to the military experience of Western powers. "In this way, after a long time, I will be able to tell the truth about the advantages and disadvantages of the army. In this way, even the old army will have to obey you. This is my own play. Compared with doing Come to the article, this is easy 0" "How did your play get to Shangfeng?" Xu Shichang's mystery has not yet been deciphered. "This is the means." "Tell me about your method." "I had a friend who was traveling, you remember?" "Is it that Ruan Zhongshu and Ruan Doudan you met on the way to Shanghai back then?" "Yes." Yuan Shikai said: "This person later became a tutor at the home of the younger brother of Li Lianying, the most popular eunuch in Beijing. At Li Lianying's house. I knew that the family was not small, so I got in touch with Li Lianying, spent all my savings in North Korea over the past ten years on this person, and flattered him everywhere to please him..." "The Empress Dowager is the God of today, and Li Lianying is a celebrity around the Empress Dowager. Anyone who wants to gain favor with the Empress Dowager must follow Li Lianying's door. You..." Xu Shichang suddenly realized, and even claimed: " Comfort court, comfort court..." Knowing that Xu Shichang's mystery had been solved, Yuan Shikai said with a smile: "People need to be carried by others. No matter how powerful you are, it's useless if you don't have anyone to carry you. There is a rural slang saying that a good man has three gangs." The more people you have, the better, and the bigger the better, the emperor's sleepless words are all jade words. He also said: "There are too many capable people in the world, and most of them have been buried."What is the reason? Just two words: popularity. " "Listening to your words is better than reading ten years of books, comforting the court, and I have learned another knowledge." Xu Shichang sincerely. "Knowledge should not be too much," Yuan Shikai said, "as long as you use it and don't lack it." Yuan Shikai's experience greatly inspired Xu Shichang. He felt that his Hanlin was similar to Bai Ding. "When Yuan Weiting lost all the money donated to officials in Beijing, I had already won the Jinshi and entered the Imperial Academy. Now, in ten years, he has become a minister of military training, appointed by the emperor, and I am still a poor little Hanlin , Why is the road so smooth?” Xu Shichang, 43, finally broadened his horizons a lot. He lay on the bed and seriously thought about his new road. After all, Xu Shichang is a learned person, once "awakened", knowledge is still useful.He went to Xiaozhan to help Yuan train his troops. He firmly believed that this move was right. Although he felt that it was too late, he was still relieved.Now, the question is how to take the next step? Xu Shichang accepted Yuan Shikai's experience and absorbed Yuan Shikai's great ideas. He wanted to start with "human relationship" to open a road for himself.Therefore, he put his mind and energy on the inside and outside of this area with loud bugles and intense drills, and on the various characters on Yuan Shikai's left, right, and right sides. The purpose of training the new army was that the dying Qing Dynasty wanted to train a new-style army capable of dealing with foreigners externally and suppressing the common people internally. A person with strong influence and solid roots.This will facilitate future adjustments.Therefore, many influential people came to the small station, such as Jiang Guiti who was the commander of the left wing, Duan Zhigui who was the commander of the second infantry battalion, Duan Qirui who was the commander of the third battalion, Zhang Xun who was the officer of the middle army, and the artillery regiments. The leading officers Shang Dequan, Tian Zhongyu, Zhang Huaizhi, engineering supervisor Wang Shizhen, copywriters Ruan Zhongshu, Shen Zuxian, Chen Yanchang, Xiao Fengwen, the general manager of the Supervision and Operations Office Liang Huadian, deputy Feng Guozhang, promoted Lu Jianzhang, Lu Sheng, etc. Later, the Beiyang Army Almost all of the backbone is in the small station.In terms of fame and background, Xu Shichang is considered a crane among chickens.This crane among the chickens made up his mind to make friends and recruit a large number of students at the small station.Unexpectedly, the best student he accepted was Zhang Xun, who was the farthest away from Wenmo and was born as a ruffian.This incident surprised many people! Zhang Xun, from Fengxin, Jiangxi Province, was born in a poor peasant family. He lived in society when he was young. This person is simple-minded, brave and foolhardy.Zhang Xun once participated in the Sino-French War and made great military exploits. He was reused by Su Yuanchun, the admiral of Guangxi.Later, Li Hongzhang, who was recommended by Su to Governor of Zhili and Minister of Beiyang, was gradually promoted to a mid-level officer and lieutenant general.When Yuan Shikai compiled and trained the new army, in order to gain Li Hongzhang's support, he asked Zhang Xun to come from his side and let him be an officer and lead the engineering team.Apart from his bravery, this person has no literary spirit in his whole body.However, Xu Shichang was very enthusiastic and proactive in establishing a relationship with him—— On a leisure day, Xu Shichang took the initiative to invite Zhang Xun to his tent, prepared a feast, invited Yuan Shikai to accompany him, and established a serious relationship with Zhang Xun.After sitting opposite each other, Xu Shichang held up his wine glass and said with all his enthusiasm: "It's a pleasure in life to drink with Shaoxuan (Zhang Xun's word Shaoxuan, also known as Shaoxuan). Please!" Zhang Xun, who is one year younger than Xu Shichang, has been in the officialdom for more than 20 years. He is quite familiar with some secrets related to his official career. He also knows Xu Shichang's background and admires his literary talents. His eyes were dazed with admiration, and he didn't even dare to glance at the door lintel.Now, the old Hanlin with such profound qualifications invites him to be a guest, and clearly says that being able to drink with him is "a joy in life", not to mention having Yuan Shikai as his company, Zhang Xun is surprised at first, then panicked, and then drinks Drunk before entering his lips! He held up the wine glass, and when he was apprehensive, Fang said: "I am a rough man, and I often speak foul words. In a military camp like ours, I am doing military training all day long. How can there be a Hanlin like you?" It is really an honor for the army to be the head of our battalion affairs office! I understand that if Xu Hanlin and our lord Yuan are Mo Ni's friends, you would not have come to the military training office. I am a soldier, so I should invite you first This old Hanlin. Come, this cup is my respect!" He said, holding the cup over. "No, no." Xu Shichang hastily stopped him. "It's better to take you to drink first." Although Zhang Xun is a rough man, his temperament is very straightforward.If others respect him one foot, he insists on respecting others one foot.So, he still took the cup and said: "It's Hanlin who drank this cup first. First, you are older than me, and second, you are full of articles. Third, I have important requests after you drink." Yuan Shikai stood up holding his wine glass, and said, "Well, neither of you need to be humble. We are lucky to be on the same boat for three lives! We can sit together today and talk freely, because we have a predestined relationship in previous lives. I suggest that we should drink together regardless of each other. A glass, and then, heart to heart." The three drank wine together and smiled at each other. Xu Shichang said: "Shaoxuan said just now that there is still a big request. I don't know what is the big deal? Please tell me." Zhang Xun poured the wine, raised his face and smiled—it turned out that he wanted to put "wen" gold on his face, and wanted to worship this Hanlin as his teacher—and said: "I was born in poverty and couldn't afford to study. , I just listened to some texts when I was studying with the young master of the Dong family, and I forgot about it after running around in the past two years. Master Yuan's training for the new army is all learned new things and advanced things. I understand, there is no culture , I will not be a good soldier when I become a soldier in the future. For this matter, I want to worship Hanlin as my teacher, and I hope Hanlin will not refuse." Xu Shichang panicked. Zhang Xun came from Li Hongzhang and had some status in the army. It was already a joy to meet him as a brother and friend, so how dare he accept him as a disciple.He hurriedly said: "No, no! Shaoxuan is an important person in the army, how dare I take him under the door. It's better not to talk about it." Little did he know that Zhang Xun actually recognized the truth, and once the words were spoken, they must come true, and if he pulled them out, he was about to bow down. Yuan Shikai not only wanted to support Zhang Xun, but also wanted to pull Xu Shichang.I thought: "On the one hand, a martial artist wants to enter the Hanlin gate wall, and on the other hand, the Hanlin wants to be protected by others. The best of both worlds is a good thing!" You can agree to the matter, I will be the man in the middle. That's it. Shaoxuan respects the teacher for a glass of wine, and it will be considered a success. Come!" Xu Shichang hesitated, but still drank the cup of Zhang Xun's apprenticeship wine - he didn't want this recruited student to cause many stories in the future warlord melee.