Mengshan Army

Tang Shaoyi accompanied Long Qian to the governor's yamen, because there was no call from Futai, he had to sit in a side room drinking tea and waiting.Unexpectedly, this wait lasted for an hour, and he couldn't bear to leave Long Qian behind, it was very difficult.

Zhou Fu's attitude towards Long Qian was already very clear.Today's summons must be to find fault with Long Qian.Zhou Fu was not familiar with Zhou Fu, but Zhou Xuexi was very familiar with him. Firstly, they were of the same age, and both of them were talents that Yuan Shikai valued. Secondly, the two of them had a common language in many aspects, especially when it came to running a business. He has a unique view on starting a business, and he is especially admiring of the science and technology of Western countries. He has asked humbly about the situation of the American business community many times.But Tang Shaoyi couldn't tell. He was still a child in the United States at that time, and he rarely left the campus. How could he know the situation in the American industry?

Unexpectedly, Tang Shaoyi was sent by Yuan Shikai to Yizhou to form a civil and military team with Long Qian, but Zhou Xuexi, who was keen on starting a business, was persuaded by Lao Yuan to take over as the general manager of Shandong University.Tang Shaoyi remembered that when she went to Yizhou to take office, Zhou Xuexi hosted a farewell banquet for her, and she was very worried about him.The reason for worry is Long Qian who made Yuan Shikai look ashamed.In Zhou Xuexi's eyes, Long Qian's subordinates are a bunch of local bandits, regardless of whether they accepted the recruitment, regardless of Long Qian's becoming a lieutenant general of the imperial court, the thing that can never be changed in his heart is rebellion.Going to Yizhou to be the magistrate, of course, would inevitably deal with those gangsters, so I reminded myself to be careful.

Tang Shaoyi's own impression of Long Qian is good, and his background is partly because of his friendship against the enemy side by side.The friendship on the battlefield is unusual. Tang Shaoyi understands that the relationship between soldiers is different from ordinary people, so he does not agree with Zhou Xuexi's opinion.Tang Shaoyi is full of confidence in going to Yizhou.

Unexpectedly, the story of Long Qian's encounter with ambush and the encirclement of Yizhou later came out.Tang Shaoyi's view of Long Qian has changed to a certain extent.There is a problem with Li Chun not evacuating, but he can't besiege Fucheng with swords and shoot the right army brazenly, right?Maybe Zhou Xuexi's intuition is right, a bandit is a bandit, even if he wears official uniform, he is still a bandit.But Tang Shaoyi finds it hard to accept this judgment in his bones. In the established Yuan Shikai Group, he has a relatively deep understanding of the Mengshan Army. This is a very special army, especially its strict discipline. They belonged to the bandits who burned, killed and looted, but they were indeed different from the officers and soldiers. The officers and soldiers basically had no imperial court in their eyes, only their leader Long Qian.For example, Lu Shan, who was quite trusted by Long Qian, was a guerrilla general hand-picked by the imperial empress dowager. Any general under Yuan Shikai's department would definitely regard this as a great honor.But this man never took his official title seriously.

Yuan Shikai's concession to Long Qian was a helpless move due to the situation. Zhou Fu could not see that Long Qian must have been influenced by Yuan Shikai.But he, Tang Shaoyi, must continue to work with Long Qian!After Long Qian led the army back to Lunan, except for the encirclement of Yizhou, there were really no other actions that exceeded the rules.Although he went to Yi County several times to do business with Zhang Lianfen to run railways and coal mines, although it was beyond his authority as a guardian envoy, his intention must be for the sake of the local area, which must be admitted.Even when I met Fu on Yizhou Road, I also discussed with Zhang and Wu about starting a business with myself.Therefore, Tang Shaoyi was worried about Zhou Fu's undisguised indifference to Long Qian, and decided to find an opportunity to save Long Qian.Today, the governor took the initiative to meet with Long Qian, and Tang Shaoyi was generally happy.The only worry was that Long Qian would not buy into Zhou Fu's account, could not bear the reprimand of the new governor, and made things stiff.Zhou Fu obviously had no right to replace Long Qian, but the two broke up, and it was uncomfortable to be caught in the middle.Tang Shaoyi has sorted out his attitude towards Long Qian. As long as Long Qian does not go out of the way in the two states, he will fully support Long Qian in organizing and training the new army. To support.

Tang Shaoyi sat in the side room thinking wildly, and the tea was refilled countless times, but Long Qian never came out.This made him very surprised.Seeing that it was past noon, his stomach was growling, and finally someone came to greet him, and it was the entourage surnamed Bai, "Oh, I'm so sorry, I forgot to inform my lord that Tang Fuzun is still waiting, they are all villains My mistake. Come with me, my lord invited General Long to have a light meal, and also called the young master to accompany me. I learned that Tang Fuzun is waiting here, so I will be scolded! I also ask my lord, please don’t blame me. Little one, please."

Tang Shaoyi was surprised, forgot that she was left hanging here, and after such a short period of time, her attitude changed drastically, not only keeping her for dinner, but also calling Zhou Xuexi to accompany her?What kind of magic trick did this Long Qian use?

Following Butler Bai to the small restaurant in the backyard, Zhou Fu and the other three had been having a casual banquet for a long time. The weather was already hot, and all three of them took off their coats. Zhou Xuexi probably had a layer of ooze on his shiny forehead because he drank wine. Sweat beads, seeing Tang Shaoyi coming in, stood up and cupped his hands, "I'm so rude! It's my negligence, don't blame General Long. He thought you had already returned to the hotel﹍﹍"

"Shaochuan, it's all due to the negligence of the lower levels. I didn't inform the old man that you came. It's even more to blame for Tuisi! In this way, let Xuexi accompany me for a glass of wine, and this old man is apologizing to you." Zhou Fu also stood up.

"Where, it's all Long Qian's fault. I was happy talking with my lord and Brother Zhou, but I forgot about Brother Shaochuan﹍﹍" Long Qian apologized.

"Don't dare, dare not, it's the fault of the lowly position, and no one has notified it﹍﹍" Tang Shaoyi hurriedly waved his hand.

"In that case, please take a seat." Zhou Xuexi and Tang Shaoyi are very familiar, he pulled Tang Shaoyi to sit across from Longqian, and moved his cup, plate and chopsticks to the empty seat opposite his father. After removing the tableware and wine glasses, "Little brother punishes himself with three glasses." As he said, Zhou Xuexi drank three glasses in a row.

Tang Shaoyi was even more puzzled when he saw that the three of them were happy and they seemed to be talking happily.Zhou Xuexi has always disliked Long Qian, why did he suddenly become like an old friend who hadn't seen him for many years reunited?

Zhou Xuexi, who punished himself with three glasses of wine, said with a smile, "Brother Shaochuan, I just listened to General Long's great advice on starting a business and how to run Shandong University. I really admire you! Listening to what you say is better than studying for ten years. Originally There are many misunderstandings about General Long, and today I want to celebrate the court's success." Zhou Xuexi poured wine for Tang Shaoyi with a smile, "Brother Shaochuan, we are old friends, let's respect and think about it together."

"No," Long Qian stood up, "Brother Shaochuan is my comrade-in-arms in the battle of Xigu, and his affection is unusual. He won't blame me. In this way, the three of us juniors have a toast to the elders, and wish Shandong Province the best of luck in the future." Under the governance of people, it thrives and prospers."

"Very good, my lord." Of course Tang Shaoyi would not object to this proposal.

"Hehe, okay, I've finished this glass of wine." Zhou Fu drank it down in one gulp.

Tang Shaoyi sat down opposite Long Qian, "Seeing that Master Futai is so happy, what were you talking about just now?"

"Well, we are talking about that traitor Liang Qichao who actually wrote a biography for Duke Wen Zhong in Japan. Although this is a rumor heard by Tuisi, it is somewhat credible. However, this person has some knowledge, and the article is even more credible. It’s hot. I hope to see this book soon﹍﹍”

Wen Zhonggong is the deceased Li Hongzhang, and it has only been three months. Liang Qichao, who was hiding in Japan, actually wrote a biography of Li Hongzhang?Tang Shaoyi has never heard of it.Moreover, Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao are very taboo topics. Under normal circumstances, it is too late to avoid them. How could they talk about them publicly on this occasion? "Oh, Tuisi, how did you know that someone from Liang wrote the biography of Duke Wen Zhong?" Tang Shaoyi refilled Zhou Fu's cup first, then turned to ask Long Qian.

"I just heard that I don't know if the book has been printed yet﹍﹍" Long Qian also regretted it. The conversation was good, but the topic turned to Li Hongzhang. How to evaluate this famous official of the Han nationality, he said without thinking deeply Liang Qichao's point of view in "The Biography of Li Hongzhang", I realized that the book has not yet been written, so I can only bite the bullet and make it up.

"I don't know about Liang's knowledge. I don't know about his humble position. But this person is well-known overseas. Once this book is published, it will definitely be spread in the universe." Long Qian sighed softly, "Wen Zhonggong is a great man worthy of respect. How could the shame and the peace treaty of Xin Chou be remembered on him? What better results could there be if he were someone else? If you cherish your reputation, why bother to go to Yanjing when Gengzi was in trouble? It is said that Wen Zhonggong claimed to be the paper-paper maker of the Qing Dynasty, and it is really difficult for him. The death of Wen Zhonggong marks the end of an era." Long Qian knew that Zhou Fu was Li Hongzhang's confidant, and he was one of the very few people who watched Li Hongzhang die One, it must be right to tout Li Hongzhang.

"If Wen Zhonggong Jiuquan knows Tuisi's evaluation of him, he will regard you as a confidant. In fact, Wen Zhonggong mentioned you to me." Zhou Fu sighed, turned to Tang Shaoyi and said, "Mr. According to rumors, it is nonsense that Wen Zhonggong knows foreign affairs but not internal affairs. How can Wen Zhonggong not know how difficult the country's affairs are? How can the overall situation be corrupted to this point, who has the hand to mend the sky?"

Just now when he was forced to ask Liang Qichao about the content of "The Biography of Li Hongzhang", Long Qian had no choice but to make up a few words, saying that an overseas friend who came to China for a trip told him this spring.

Long Qian read that book carefully, because the article is not long, only twelve chapters, and Liang wrote at the end: Li Hongzhang is not only loyal to the Qing Dynasty, but also a great talent, his sharp and far-reaching eyes can be called The country is first-class, and has been in charge of the army for a long time, why did it end up like this?That's because he only knows that there is military affairs, but not civil affairs; he only knows that there is diplomacy, but not internal affairs; he only knows that there is an imperial court, but he doesn't know that there are citizens; I don't understand.If you blame others for being factional every day, your own factionalism will be very serious.He doesn't understand today's international competition, which relies not on the country but on the people. He doesn't understand that the powers of Thailand and the West rely on thorough innovation to eliminate internal disputes, and the driving force for innovation is not from top to bottom, but from bottom to top.

Liang Qichao said in the book without worry that among the important officials of the Qing court, Li Hongzhang was a first-rate figure in terms of knowledge, vision, skill and character.People like him will inevitably fail, and after Li Hongzhang, there is no one comparable to him in the political arena. The future of China is really not bright.

These views represented the consensus of intellectuals at that time.But Long Qian couldn't tell Zhou Fu.

Zhou Fu continued, "If Mrs. Liang is just making complaints about Duke Wen Zhong, that's fine. But what this man did was not just writing books and cursing the court! You don't know about retreating. Last year At the time when Gyeonggi was in great turmoil and the two palaces were covered in dust, Kang Liang even united with a small group of clowns in the country to launch an armed rebellion! Fortunately, Zhang Xiangshuai was decisive and did not cause major changes."

Long Qian was taken aback, but he had never heard of this matter before, thinking about it, probably the imperial court did not want to shake the hearts of the people and completely blocked the news.

Seeing that Long Qian was very concerned, Zhou Fu said, "It's okay to tell you. In July last year, the coalition forces fell into Tianjin. Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao ordered Tang Caichang from Hunan to contact Rong Hong, Zhang Binglin, Yan Fu and others to set up a Chinese parliament in Shanghai. , conspired to rebel, and hoped that the Queen Mother would return to the emperor. Tang Caichang fled to Lianghu, set up an agency in Hankou, contacted the Lianghu Association Party, and set up some kind of independent army! Fortunately, Zhang Xiangshuai was astute and destroyed the independent army agency in the British Concession in one fell swoop, and arrested Tang Caichang , Li Rongsheng and others, after interrogation, Tang Caichang admitted that he wanted to imitate Japan's act of ending the curtain, so as to protect the emperor's restoration of power."

"What about these people?" Long Qian asked anxiously.Yung Wing, Zhang Binglin and Yan Fu were all well-known figures at that time.

"Of course he was slaughtered by Zhang Xiangshuai! Such rebellious officials and thieves, if they don't kill them, they won't be enough to anger the common people. The two rebels behind the scenes are Kang Liang's two rebels! Besides, there is also a Cantonese man named Sun Wen. People, who rebelled in Huizhou, Guangdong in the eighth month of last year, were fortunately put down by the governor of Guangdong, Deshou."

"Sun Wen?" Long Qian was taken aback again, this was the first time he had officially heard this name.

"Sun Wen is different from Kang Liang. This man has lived overseas for a long time, advocating revolution, and is extremely dangerous. Tuisi, this old man told you and Shaochuan about this, you just need to know it, and you don't need to tell others. How difficult the country is now, with internal and external troubles Qi Zhi, you are the leader of the army, there is no guarantee that one or two traitors will not attack you, you have to be clear-headed."

Is this the beginning?Long Qian held his wine glass in thought.After entering the new century, Sun Wen is destined to be on the stage of history.Unexpectedly, it was in Zhou Fu's governor's office that he heard the official news about the Revolutionary Party for the first time.

"My lord, please don't worry. Long, a martial artist, was born overseas. He really doesn't know much about the situation in the motherland. It wasn't until he went back to China and experienced some things that he realized that the problem is complicated. It's not as simple as a group of overseas scholars think. Or say Li Wenzhong said that Cao Ying's affairs are difficult to handle, and China's affairs are actually the most difficult in the world. Whether Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao established a constitution to protect the emperor, Sun Wen advocated revolution and started a new stove, or the court realized its shame and bravely reformed itself, will it be successful? It is not the design of the upper level, but whether the designed things are suitable for the lower level. The test standard is a rich country and a strong army. The people are poor, and the country is difficult to be rich. The country is poor, and the strong army is just a fantasy. A peaceful environment is impossible."

"That's a good point! We still have to do our best to build up the industry. Only by making the country rich can we strengthen the army, and only by strengthening the army can we save the country." Zhou Xuexi sighed.

"My lord, I have been greatly favored by the Empress Dowager, and I often want to serve the Queen Mother. I will never be fooled by the rebellious party. If the rebel party dares to go to Lunan, I will definitely send its head to Jinan."

"Okay! With your words, the old man is at ease. Let's have a drink together, and I wish you a great show in Lunan!" Zhou Fu suggested with a smile. (To be continued.)