Chapter 5 Chapter 5 Yuan Shikai went to Henan to recuperate his illness

The person who followed Xu Shichang to the Northeast to make fists was Zhang Xun, commander of the Suwei battalion in the Summer Palace, and a student Xu Shichang recruited when he helped Yuan Shikai organize and train the new army at the small station.Xu Shichang should be regarded as far-sighted for Hanlin to accept Wufu as a student.No, it comes in handy now.When he left for the Northeast, Zhang Xun selected some of his own soldiers as the backbone, thinking that he would send his people to important positions as soon as he took office--more than 20 years of military career made this cowherd boy The martial arts officer learned a lot of skills in the officialdom. He knew that no matter civil or military, he had to have his own gang, and his own soldiers and generals were the amulets of military officials, so they had to be taken seriously.Sure enough, when Zhang Xun arrived in Fengtian, he was appointed by Xu Shichang as the battalion wing chief. He appointed all the "buddies" he brought from Beijing as officials, and the camp quickly became Zhang Xun's hardcore team.It should also be due to Zhang Xun's good luck. Not long after the camp was completed, bandits rose rampantly in Fengtian, robbing houses, officials and people, causing panic for a while.Zhang Xun had a hard-core team under his command, so he volunteered to encircle and suppress.As a result, the mission was auspicious, and the banner was triumphant: the bandits were wiped out.Xu Shichang was overjoyed, and immediately played to the court, intending to promote Zhang Xun to be the admiral of the real shortage, commanding the northern military of Fengtian.

The Empress Dowager Cixi, who was in power, had a good impression of Zhang Xun, and this time she made great contributions to suppressing bandits. It would be a trivial matter to give him an admiral.Cixi approved Xu Shichang's memorial, and also gave Zhang Xun extrajudicial favor, allowing Zhang Xun to "specialize in memorial affairs".Zhang Xun suddenly became a member of the Northeast and a famous general in the court. Zhang Xun was promoted, and Xu Shichang sent another confidant, Wang Huaiqing, to replace the commander of the battalion—who knows that this commander of the wing is actually an expert in selling officials for money. With his close relationship with Xu Shichang, he dared to sell any official.For a while, there were rumors all over Fengtian, saying: "If you want to be an official, go to Maoxuan (Wang Huaiqing's name Maoxuan)".When the power is in hand, if you sell an official, you will sell an official. Rumors don't bother you! This is a digression, let's put it aside for now.

The affairs of Zhang Xun and Wang Huaiqing were settled, and Xu Shichang felt relieved. He wanted to take a good rest for a few days, think about it quietly, and put the major political affairs in Northeast China into a good situation.Unexpectedly, at this time, a major event occurred in the court: on the 21st and 22nd day of October in the lunar calendar, Emperor Guangxu and Empress Dowager Cixi died one after another.Facing such an earth-shaking change, Xu Shichang's thoughts suddenly fell into a panic—— Prince Chun is Yuan Shikai's deadly enemy, and Xu Shichang is Yuan Shikai's best friend. If Prince Chun is in power, Yuan Shikai will not have a good life. Yuan Shikai's big tree fell, how can a "hozen" like Xu Shichang stay together? Decline and decline, this is the reality in officialdom.Xu Shichang pulled Zhang Xun, Wang Huaiqing, and Zhang Ruiyin to his side, and placed them in important positions, that is, reality.He knows the way and enjoys it.Now, he was helplessly afraid of the Tao again. "Why didn't you broaden your horizons at the beginning, and show courteousness and flirtations to someone like Prince Jin, and today you will be a little bit later." However, it was too late for him, and now he can only sigh.

Just when Xu Shichang was restless, someone reported that "a man named Li Shizeng is visiting." Xu Shichang frowned suddenly holding the name card presented by his attendant.As if he didn't know him, and as if he didn't want to see him. Li Shizeng was the third son of Li Hongzao, Xu Shichang's benefactor, named Yuying and styled Shizeng. He was also Xu Shichang's good friend (his second brother Li Fu was Xu Shichang's ally brother), but he was not familiar with him these years.The reason is that Li Shi once went to France to study abroad. "Why is he here today? Is it related to the political situation in Beijing?" The old Hanlin Li Hongzao was a figure highly regarded by the royal family. Although he had a stubborn personality, he was still upright and never participated in court factional struggles. "He won't offend Zaifeng, or won't be favored by Zaifeng and reused?"

He couldn't tell what the identity and proposition of the third son was.Therefore, I don't know what his intentions are when he visits unexpectedly? Although Xu Shichang is a good friend of Li Shizeng, he rarely interacts with him on specific matters in the officialdom. Will it lead to accidents? Xu Shichang is naturally tactful, but when things happen, he wants to be versatile. In the midst of great changes in the situation, he just wants to sit on the mountain and watch the horses roar, and he doesn't want to get caught in the whirlpool.Therefore, he didn't want to see him, and wanted to use the enemy to push him away.But then he thought again: "Zaifeng hates Xiangcheng (Yuan Shikai), and he won't like me either. At this moment, Li Shi once got some news from his father, thinking about his old relationship-originally, Xu Shichang and the head of the Imperial Academy The relationship between Li Hongzao and Li Hongzao was not very good. Xu Shichang was left on the bench in the Imperial Academy for nine years because of the old Hanlin's words of "hypocrisy". Therefore, his old relationship with his mentor is really not as important as Mount Tai. However, they are teachers after all. There is still affection left in the event--come here to send a retreat? Xu Shichang also felt that he should "leave room for the future", so as not to be overwhelmed in the future. Therefore, he still spread the word "please" .

Li Shi was invited into the governor's office. This is a man just 40 years old, with a tall figure, a square fair face, long European-style hair, a pair of brown and gold-rimmed glasses, a top hat and a long gown, and a small suitcase in his hand .He walked vigorously to the living room, bowed deeply to Xu Shichang who greeted him, and called out "Brother Juren!" Xu Shichang rushed up to meet him, and his queen went to help him, and said "Brother Shi Zeng!" Then he said: "Your brother studied in Paris, and after traveling for several years, you must have grown in knowledge. Brother Yu is always thinking about it." "Brother Ju Ren Honored to the three provinces in Northeast China, the people of the three provinces, and the country! I am here to congratulate my brother!"

"Thank you for your love!" Xu Shichang asked again, "Is your honor healthy and in good spirits?" "Thanks to brother Ju's concern, my father is fine." "How is Brother Fu Zeng?" "The second brother is fine too." Li Shi once said, "It's just that I'm entangled in trivial matters, so I can't come to visit." During the exchange of pleasantries, the two sat down opposite each other, and their own attendants offered honor and smoke.After socializing, Xu Shichang asked with great concern: "Your brother is here in the Northeast, and there must be some important things to see and teach. Excuse me: Are you here for the safety of Brother Yu?"

"I dare not take on this important task," Li Shi once said, "but I have important matters to discuss with my elder brother." "Is it implicated in the Xiangcheng incident?" Xu Shichang still does not forget his relationship with Yuan Shikai, or the relationship between Yuan Shikai and the Qing court--Zaifeng is now in power, and Zaifeng is a radical in the Qing Dynasty and also a stubborn one. The faction hated the democratic republic deeply. He felt that Yuan Shikai was not a loyal minister, and one day he would not support the imperial court and lean towards the republic.Zaifeng couldn't tolerate Yuan Shikai, and naturally, Zaifeng couldn't tolerate him, Xu Shichang either.

Li Shizeng shook his head with a smile, and then said: "Zaifeng, he is not worth mentioning." "This..." Xu Shichang was a little surprised. "This remark..." "We don't care about the Qing Dynasty at all, let alone a Prince Chun!" Li Shizeng said in a loud voice, almost like a revolutionary swearing. Xu Shichang was shocked again! He asked nervously, "Is it possible that my brother is also..." Li Shizeng still smiled, and said: "Let's tell the truth to the elder brother, the younger brother has already joined the Tongmenghui, and is highly valued by Mr. Zhongshan Sun. This is why I came to see my brother."

It turned out that the third son of the Imperial Academy of the Qing Dynasty had been greatly influenced by Sun Yat-sen's thoughts before he went to France to study. After arriving in France, influenced by Western culture, he was more inclined to Sun Yat-sen's ideas and determined to devote himself to the revolution.In France, he has a very close relationship with Sun Baoqi, the Chinese Minister to France, based on his father's relationship with a scholar of the Imperial Academy.During the contact, he discovered that Sun Baoqi had seized the roster of members of the Revolutionary Party, so he went to persuade Sun, "Don't be an enemy of the Revolutionary Party, so as not to ask for trouble." He said to Sun Baoqi: "My lord has been stationed in France for a long time, and the Western world is far away. Far surpassing the East, it is the pioneer and model of world progress! The Chinese Revolutionary Party learns from the advancement of the West, and will lead China to an advanced one. Please think twice, sir, and don’t make enemies with the Revolutionary Party.”

Sun Baoqi was moved by the talk, so he handed over the roster of the Revolutionary Party to Li Shizeng, who destroyed it and told the revolutionaries in France.This matter soon spread to Mr. Sun Yat-sen's ears. Mr. Sun was very happy and accepted Li Shizeng as a member of the alliance and entrusted him with important tasks.When Li returned to China this time, it was Mr. Sun who first came to Beijing to instigate the revolution.When he learned that Xu Shichang was in charge of the Northeast, he rushed to the Northeast, wanting to open a gap in the Northeast first.After hearing Li Shizeng's introduction, Xu Shichang was shocked, but confused.He asked: "Since my virtuous brother has been ordered to come here, what specific requirements do you have?" Li Shi once said: "To tell you the truth, the revolutionary situation is unstoppable and will soon be turned upside down. It is a big move! Please, brother, when the tide of revolution comes To be able to respond to the revolution and wait to declare the independence of the Northeast. At that time, my brother will have a very wide future." When Xu Shichang heard that he was asked to respond to the revolution and wait for independence, he was shocked: "Isn't this a betrayal of the court?" He couldn't Dry.However, Li Shizeng's words really touched his heart, and he didn't want to reject him immediately.So, he said: "What my brother is talking about is of great importance. Let me think about it again. You can stay in Shenyang for a few days. The Shenyang Imperial Palace is also a sacred place where you can play." Li Shizeng nodded in agreement.It was already severe winter, and the white mountains and black waters in the Northeast had long been covered in silver and frozen for thousands of miles. The ancient city of Shenyang was covered with ice crystals and snow, and the cold air hit people.Xu Shichang sent his secretary Wu Jisun to entertain and accompany Li Shizeng to visit the Shenyang Forbidden City and the Wensu Pavilion Library-there is the most perfect "Siku Quanshu" in China. The appearance of the tour is to avoid people's eyes and ears.Xu Shichang was very shocked by Li Shizeng's arrival and the opinions Li Shizeng brought: As a feudal official of the Qing Dynasty, Xu Shichang would not lean towards the Revolutionary Party, nor did he dare to lean toward the Revolutionary Party. "Wouldn't that be a rebellious minister and a traitor!" To eat the king's salary and repay the emperor's favor, he will be a loyal minister who will go down in history.However, as Xu Shichang himself, although he does not have a deep understanding of the revolutionary party, and has never studied the revolutionary party's propositions, he vaguely understands that democracy and republic are a trend and a social trend-- unstoppable trend. "If the Revolutionary Party succeeds and wins the world, what kind of situation will it be like?" Don't-see that Xu Shichang has read a lot of books about saints, he is very determined to be a loyal minister, and he once swore an oath, Once he thinks about the day when the Qing Dynasty will be completely destroyed, and when he thinks about the new situation where the dynasty will change and the world will be turned upside down, he still worries about his fate and future. "Can you exchange your wealth and life for the reputation of a loyal minister and dutiful son? The country and family are ruined with their lives, so what's the use of fame?" Xu Shichang is familiar with Chinese history, especially the history of China's dynasties.When a dynasty has reached its twilight years, death is inevitable, just like when a person is old, there is no disease or disaster, and he will die naturally without being poisoned by others.The same goes for dynasties.A loyal minister at this time, apart from gaining fame and reputation, is of no benefit to the dynasty he is loyal to.Xu Shichang didn't appreciate such a false name.After thinking hard, he felt that Li Shizeng's opinion was far-sighted and beneficial, and he should give him a clear reply.However, after all, Xu Shichang is the governor of the three northeastern provinces of the Qing Dynasty, the chief official of the frontier, and the little emperor on a piece of land. This piece of land is also the birthplace of the dynasty. It is not easy for him to get this position! -- He believes that the Qing Dynasty cannot be overthrown in a short while.The insects of all kinds are dead but not stiff! What's more, if the dynasty that lasted for three hundred years can be overthrown easily, how many people rose up to overthrow it in half a century, and who really overthrew it? Overthrowing a dynasty is not easy Ah, not to mention the Qing Dynasty, which lasted about three hundred years! Thinking of this, Xu Shichang shook his head fiercely again. "I still can't see how powerful the Revolutionary Party is. I'm already fifty-three or four years old. If the Revolutionary Party fails to make a successful revolution in twenty years, I'm old and helpless!" Xu Shichang didn't dare to take a big step , especially dare not lead the leader to take such a big step.Another heavy snow fell on the Northeast land, and the climate became much colder.In the morning, the snow stopped, and the houses, trees, and streets were all covered with thick white snow. The whole world was nothing but white, and even the sun and the sky were shining brightly.Xu Shichang prepared a feast in the small living room of the Governor's Office, both to welcome Li Shizeng and to see him off. More importantly, he wanted to talk to him, talk about his views on the current situation, and talk about his suggestions for Li Shizeng manner.Apart from Wu Jisun, there was also Zhang Ruiyin as companions at the banquet.However, because of the relationship between Xu Shichang, a royal official in frontiers, and the revolutionary party that aimed to overthrow the Qing Dynasty, the banquet was naturally full of mystery. There are also cool movements of biting ears and eyebrows, and muttering in whispers; there are toasts to drink together, and tacit understanding.Finally, Xu Shichang turned his face and said to Li Shizeng in a low voice: "My dear brother, I will never do anything against the Qing court, but from now on I will never make things difficult for the party members. Please pay tribute to Mr. Sun." Although Li Shizeng was surprised, he also felt that "it is not bad for a governor to show such an attitude!" So he smiled and nodded, no longer care about it. To be honest, Xu Shichang expressed his attitude of "not anti-Qing", which is also from his heart, "not being an enemy of the party members" is also considered honest, so this kind of ambivalence really shows that the overall situation has not changed significantly, and he dare not act rashly. , and still left a way out for himself.Otherwise, why bother to "pay tribute to Mr. Sun"? If these are considered suspicious, then Xu Shichang's farewell to Li Shizeng should be called a "confession" in his heart-he sealed two thousand silver dollars and gave it to Li Shizeng himself, " For my virtuous brother's use on the road"--Xu Shichang didn't even bring a penny from the imperial court to come to the Northeast, and he usually doesn't take a dime from anyone.Being able to gift a revolutionary with 2,000 yuan cannot be said to have "ulterior motives"! Sure enough, later (during the Revolution of 1911) Yuan Shikai threatened the Qing court to reach a peace agreement, and when the republic was realized, Xu Shichang was able to treat him with respect. The result of this heart.This is something for later, let it go for now. After Zaifeng took office as regent, the situation in the capital changed suddenly, and divisions also occurred within the palace. Zaifeng hated Yuan Shikai and his henchmen who held great military and political power, so he naturally targeted them.Prince Yixuan of Qing, who had just been promoted to the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, supported Yuan Shikai. Knowing that Yuan Shikai would suffer, he secretly told him: "The New Deal will have actions that are not good for you. It is best to avoid it as soon as possible." Things happened suddenly, Yuan Shikai had no good plan, and decided to leave Beijing immediately.At this moment, it is Yang Shicong who is supervising the Beijing-Tianjin Railway. It is Yuan Shikai's closest right-hand man Yang Shixiang (the current governor of Zhili), Yang Shiqi's eighth younger brother, and an admirer of Yuan Shikai. Go to the "imperial decree" and say that his feet are seriously ill, so let him "return to his hometown to recuperate his illness".Yuan Shikai, who had been in panic for many days, only ended up "returning to his hometown to recuperate his illness", and there was no major disaster. When a stone fell to the ground, he took a few concubines back from Beijing to Huixian County, Henan Province for a temporary stay, "closed doors and pondering over mistakes" stand up.When Yuan Shikai went to the field, Xu Shichang was shocked. He guessed that disaster would befall him soon.Therefore, I had to meditate behind closed doors and seriously check myself.Supervising the three northeastern provinces, in addition to arranging a large number of officials and assistants by nepotism, extravagance has become his daily routine, and he has followed suit.Xu Shichang actually spent 300,000 taels of treasury silver to build his own Fengtian government office, and another 100,000 taels of treasury silver to purchase appliances.The Fengtian Office is "magnificent and magnificent, crowning all provinces." Even Prince Zaitao, after what he saw and heard when he returned to Fengtian from his European inspection of the army, believed that "it is incomparable to all the officials in the frontier." However, who knows, Fengtian The more than 20 million taels of treasury silver accumulated over decades has already been exhausted, and his political and diplomatic bluffs are also vain. The invasion of the Japanese and Russian empires has not weakened, and Xu Shichang can't help but tremble with fear.Therefore, he had to sneak back to Beijing, kneel at the feet of Prince Qing, Yixuan, and begged him for help.After the change of government, there were quite a lot of personnel changes. Zaifeng became the regent, Yixu became the prime minister of the cabinet, and after Yuan Shikai lived in Henan, Zhang Zhidong was transferred to the minister of military affairs.But Zhang Zhidong understood that the main force of the armed forces in Gyeonggi and even in the country belonged to Yuan Shikai, and since Yuan was gone, it was hard to find anyone who could lead the armed forces.Zhang Zhidong suddenly thought of Xu Shichang - at the beginning, Xu Shichang made a special trip from Xi'an to Wuhan to pay a visit to Zhang. Zhang Zhidong had not forgotten the old love, and wanted to take this opportunity to return Xu Shichang's love, and planned to transfer Xu Shichang to the capital.Therefore, Zhang Zhidong hurried to find the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, Prince Qing Yixu. It can be regarded as a coincidence, Prince Qing was thinking that he had no reason to ask Xu Shichang to be transferred back to the capital, but Zhang Zhidong sent him "steps", and he was able to make a decision clearly and honestly. "Yes, Mr. Zhang's expectations are indeed right. Although Yuan Weiting has gone back to his hometown to recuperate his illness, there is no one in Yuan Zhi's department who can take care of him. I also think that only Xu Ju is the most suitable. Then transfer Xu to Beijing according to Mr. Zhang's wishes. "Yi Xu frowned greatly--to transfer such a high-ranking official to Beijing, you can't just arrange a position, what should you let him do? Another coincidence, Chen Bi, Minister of the Ministry of Postal Communications, was impeached and was just dismissed from office, leaving a vacant seat.Zhang Zhidong said: "Wouldn't it be good to let Xu Ju take over the Post Office." Yixu is a fatuous, greedy and contemptible person, and Xu Shichang has given him a lot of attention, he has long intended to appease him, so there is no way he would disagree.What's more, Xu Shichang did a few things in the Northeast with all his heart and effort, such as reforming the official system of the three eastern provinces, establishing new policies, training new troops, opening more commercial ports, opening banks, and building railways, in an attempt to resist Japan and Russia's control of the three eastern provinces; He also initiated the Forest School, Botanical Research Institute, and Agricultural Experimental Field in Northeast China.Especially in order to protect the territory and negotiate with the Japanese according to reason, so that the sovereignty of the Yanji area can be protected, which is highly praised by the ruling and opposition parties.Yixu nodded in agreement.He also said: "Xu Juren is a person who has lived in the Imperial Academy for a long time and is familiar with the government. In the past two years, he has achieved great results in governing the Northeast. Great politics." Just as Zhang Zhidong wanted to give Xu Shichang a favor, he also took the opportunity to flatter Yixu, and hurriedly said: "This arrangement shows that the prince loves and is good at responsibility. Xu Shichang will definitely be grateful to the prince because he has the opportunity to display his talents. I will work around it." , properly arranged." Xu Shichang is about to leave the three northeastern provinces, and Xiliang, governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, will replace him as governor of the three northeastern provinces. There are incidents in the imperial court, factional struggles, and the regent Prince Zaifeng is also a person who has always cultivated buddies and formed cliques. Over the years, he is very jealous of Yuan Shikai's growing military power.Therefore, after the regency, it was inevitable for Yuan Shikai to step down, and it was also inevitable for Yuan's party members to gradually fall out of favor and be reprimanded.Under such circumstances, Xu Shichang not only was not punished, but was transferred from an external position to an internal postal department. In addition to serving as a minister, he also worshiped a bachelor and was appointed as an assistant minister of the cabinet.For this reason, the government and the public were in an uproar, and everyone was surprised at the speed of his promotion, thinking that "it was unprecedented in the Qing Dynasty for more than two hundred years."Afterwards, the wind and rain came together, such as Northeast Personnel, Northeast Finance, Northeast Foreign Affairs, and so on.For a time, the wind of "Xu Shichang supervised the crimes in the Northeast" blew half the sky. Zaize, the prince in charge of Duzhi, originally harbored jealousy towards Yuan Shikai and Xu Shichang. He was secretly happy when he heard the rumors. On that day, Zaize called Xiliang, who had come to Beijing to be appointed, to his home, and treated him generously. During the banquet, he turned around and said to him: "Your Excellency, I have gone to supervise the Northeast. The Northeast is the birthplace of the Holy Dynasty." , Every move affects the government and the public, and I hope that the adults can do their best for the country." "Thanks to the grace of the saints, Xiliang will definitely do his best and live up to the holy order." Xiliang sincerely expressed his scheming. Seeing that Xiliang was still obedient, Zaize narrated what he wanted to say. "There is one thing, I want you to take it to heart. In recent years, the situation in the Northeast has been very unsatisfactory. Foreign barbarians have frequently invaded. The officials' mentality is not clean. There are often internal and external difficulties, conflicts between the officials and the people, and things that can be done are also in darkness. It is said that In Xu Du's tenure, he also has hundreds of holes and thousands of windows. Mr. Xi is going to the Northeast, hoping to observe its floating branches and report the truth." Xiliang understood that when he went to the Northeast, besides the governor's government affairs, he also had the task of "inspecting the predecessors"--in fact, this was also a common trick used by the officialdom of the Qing Dynasty. To search for the deeds of the predecessor and make them public will make the officials who have left feel disheartened. In this way, they can also show their political achievements.Only the successors trained by themselves will make other comments.Therefore, many people are keen to train successors. Xiliang is also an out-of-the-box person, as soon as Zai Ze made a gesture, he really started to "investigate" Xu Shichang's plan. However, Xiliang is also a treacherous and cunning figure in the officialdom. When he does things, he looks around and tries to be considerate and satisfying in all directions.Zai Ze's confession, he kept it in mind.But, thinking about it again, Zai Ze is just a prince, after all, it is not him but Zai Feng who is in power.Whether to praise or disparage a resigned minister of the borderland, we should not only listen to the opinion of a certain prince, but the opinion of the regent.So, when he said goodbye to Zaifeng, he turned around to test his attitude towards Xu Shichang. "Xiliang is going to the Northeast. The Northeast is the birthplace of the holy dynasty. In recent years, Japan and Russia have been at odds with their neighbors, and the governors have frequently adjusted. Although the situation is getting better, it is still full of difficulties. I heard that the financial resources in the Northeast are very tight, and the political atmosphere is also... ... I wonder how Xiliang should deal with it?" Although Xiliang's words were vague, Zaifeng still understood. He only smiled slightly, and didn't immediately express his approval or disapproval. Zaifeng is a person who thinks very much about imperial power, and removing Yuan Shikai after the regent is one of his measures to strengthen the imperial power.After getting rid of Yuan, they also want to completely clean up the Yuan faction.However, Zaifeng also understands that the military power of the Han people headed by Yuan Shikai is very large, and it is not so easy to make a complete change in a short time.When the court discussed the control of Beijing, Tianjin, and Baojun in the early days, he had already noticed that the Beiyang army developed from training at the small station, except for Yuan and his backbone, no one in the court could control it.At this moment, it is very necessary to arrest a figure in Yuan's circle to lead the army.This character, the most ideal is Xu Shichang.Zaifeng was trying to use Xu Shichang, Xiliang asked about Xu's attitude, the regent could not be careless. Zaifeng was thinking, Xiliang was thinking too, Zaifeng was thinking about military power, thinking about stability, Xiliang was thinking about the advance and retreat of the regent, and the choice of the regent.After a long silence, Zaifeng said: "Is Xu Shichang still a good person? If you go to the Northeast, I think you can stick to four words." "Please make it clear, Prince." Xiliang said sincerely. Zaifeng stood up, walked to Xiliang, and said very seriously: "These four words are: Xiao Gui Cao Sui." Xiliang immediately understood, and said: "Xiliang understands, I will act according to the instructions." The phrase "Xiao Gui Cao Sui" enabled Xu Shichang to leave the northeast and come to Beijing safely.He—has added to the Prince Regent's favor. Xu Shichang left the Northeast and returned to Beijing. Although he could go safely, a sense of crisis still weighed heavily on his heart.Although Yuan Shikai's "returning to his hometown to recuperate his illness" was not a big disturbance, it was a signal after all, a signal that Yuan's power was restricted or even killed.How could he, the confidant of the Yuan family, not be sad? Besides, Xu Shichang was not frank and upright in the Northeast. , spent so much money in the national treasury but didn't see the situation getting better. Anyone who plays him will be unlucky, not to mention that some powerful people in the new dynasty have such bad intentions towards them.Xu Shichang knew that his future was bleak, "Maybe he will follow Yuan Shikai's footsteps when he returns to Beijing, and go home to be an obedient citizen." Before leaving the Northeast, he approached Zhang Ruiyin in front of him, poured out his thoughts to him secretly, and said: "Mr. , It’s not that I’m guarding against people’s panic, the situation is compelling, I have to guard against it! Where should I go? I still hope that my father can give me an opinion.” The incident in the middle of the court, the Yuan family returned home, and Zhang Ruiyin was also panicked.A few days earlier, his son-in-law, Li Hongzhang's eldest grandson, Li Guojie, who was conferred the title of Marquis by Xinchao Ending, wrote to him in a hurry, expressly fearing that he would be implicated by Yuan Shikai and Xu Shichang, and that he would suffer misfortune, urging him to say: " Chun Mansion (referring to Prince Chun Zaifeng) deeply hates Shushuai Ju (referring to Xu Shichang and Juren), your lord had better do your best to get rid of it, and return to Beijing as soon as possible." Zhang Ruiyin is a censor who has not opened a vacancy, so returning to Beijing is naturally still possible. Go to the Metropolitan Procuratorate; at the same time, he also understands that Li Guojie has a very close relationship with the relatives of the Qing family, and the situation he talked about is very credible.However, his relationship with Xu Shichang is also unusual, he will not leave for his own safety, not to mention that the situation has not developed to the point where there is no way out.He still has to think about it.Xu Shichang sincerely asked for opinions, which first shocked him, and he felt that the situation was serious.After pondering for a moment, he said to Xu Shichang: "Your Excellency's concerns about the Beijing incident are justified; but according to my judgment: Prince Jin's regent is facing a lot of waste, and he knows that the people's mind is settled, and he may not make a big move for a while." In my humble opinion, it's better to stay still and wait until things get better, so as not to be surprised." "Can you return to Beijing quickly?" Xu Shichang asked anxiously. "It's best to go back to Beijing." Zhang Ruiyin nodded. "Wait until I think about it." "The official document has arrived, Master Xu doesn't need to hesitate any longer." Zhang Ruiyin said: "The situation in the capital can only be clearly observed in the middle of the capital. I said that my lord will return to Beijing in the morning." "Okay, I will obey you and return to Beijing as soon as possible." Said that he was going back to Beijing, but Xu Shichang was still unsure. He was afraid that once he returned to Beijing, things would change and he would have no way out.So, after sending Zhang Ruiyin away, he brought Wu Jisun in again -- sooner or later, it was this secretary who contacted the revolutionary Li Shizeng on his behalf.Now, for some reason, he wanted to find out about Li Shizeng's whereabouts through Wu Jisun -- and asked him nonchalantly, "Is there any letter from Li Shizeng who left early?" "No." Wu Jisun replied nonchalantly. "I didn't treat him slowly, he left, there should be a letter for us." "It seems that he is in Beijing now." "Do you know the detailed address?" "I don't know." "His second brother Fu Zeng will definitely know." Xu Shichang said: "Can you try to contact Fu Zeng?" Hearing this, Wu Jisun suddenly realized - he also understood that the Central Beijing Incident made the Xu family uneasy; Yuan Shikai returned to his hometown to recuperate, and he, Xu Shichang, wanted to find a way out for himself. "Ju Shuai is a visionary after all. He treated Li Shizeng kindly and gave away travel expenses. So it was for today." He hurriedly said: "Aren't we going back to Beijing? I will definitely find him when I see Beijing. Even for a while If you don't see Mr. Shi Zeng, Fu Zeng will have some definite news to tell you. You and Fu Zeng are brothers, and he will tell you clearly." "I think so," Xu Shichang said, "you should go back to Beijing now, find Li Shizeng, and tell him: Thanks to his special visit to the Northeast, I will definitely pay homage when I return to Beijing, please wait for me." Wu Jisun agreed, and left Fengtian that night to return to Beijing.