Years of the Republic of China 1913

() Zhou Chen left Zhongyang Bank and went directly to a teahouse, stayed there for half an hour and then left again, then walked around the street a few times before quietly going to the Prime Minister's Office, he did not enter through the main entrance, Instead, he sneaked in through a side door borrowed from the back.

Seeing Zhou Chen enter the prime minister's mansion with his own eyes, one of the two secret service personnel who took turns following him continued to wait nearby, while the other hurried back.

Entering the building through the side door, there was naturally someone inside to meet Zhou Chen, followed him around to a room on the second floor, asked Zhou Chen to wait in the room, and the person closed the door and left.

After sitting and waiting for a long time, Song Jiaoren finally appeared when the cup of tea in front of him was almost too green to be seen.

"What's going on? Didn't I tell you not to come to me if you're not in a hurry?" Song Jiaoren said with an unhappy expression as soon as he entered the door.

"Brother Dunchu, this time is really urgent! If I don't come again, I will run out of time." Zhou Chen stood up and said anxiously. . .

Song Jiaoren was taken aback, and immediately asked anxiously: "What happened? Could it be that Fang Zhangming noticed it?"

"That's not true. I have been in Zhongyang Bank for all these years. Fang Zhangming still values ​​me very much, and he is going to promote me today."

"Isn't this very good, then what else is making you so anxious?" Song Jiaoren asked in surprise. Zhou Chen was an old member of the Tongmenghui back then and also a friend of Song Jiaoren's hometown. Before the Revolution of [-], he was in Songjiao Ren arranged to go to Beiyang to serve, and the original intention was to use his status in Beiyang to help the Tongmenghui during the revolutionary period.Who would have thought that the Restoration Society would launch the Wuchang Uprising before the Tongmenghui, firing the first shot of the Revolution of [-], and then all the southern provinces would be duped, and the revolution would be successful overnight like wildfire, followed by the confrontation between the North and the South, and the Nanjing Peace Talks , the abdication of the Qing Dynasty, the founding of the Republic of China... These events are like a revolving lantern.When all the dust settles, Zhou Chen will lose his original role.

When Song Jiaoren entered Beijing to form a cabinet, he quietly contacted Zhou Chen who was the co-organizer of the Bank of Communications, but at that time he did not intend to disclose Zhou Chen's identity, because at this time Zhou Chen had already achieved the position of co-organizer of the Bank of Communications. Song Jiaoren, who is in charge of the finances, is an extremely important role. Once the identity of the Zhou Chen League member is revealed.It will inevitably arouse the concerns of Liang Shiyi who was in charge of the Bank of Communications at the time. Once Liang Shiyi finds an excuse to replace Zhou Chen, Song Jiaoren will lose more than he gains.

Unexpectedly, due to the appearance of Fang Zida, Yuan Shikai was persuaded to split the Bank of Communications from Liang Shiyi, officially took over and established the National Central Bank, which also laid a solid foundation for the finance of Song Jiaoren's cabinet. Song Jiaoren's position as Prime Minister is worthy of the name and has become more and more stable.

At this moment.Zhou Chen once proposed to restore his status as a member of the League and asked to join kmt.But after he made this request, Song Jiaoren's heart suddenly moved. Although he and Fang Zida were in the honeymoon period at that time, and the two sides trusted each other, no one knew Zhou Chen's identity in KMT, and he stayed outside the party to continue. It is far more appropriate to work in the restructured central yang bank than to disclose one's identity.At first, Song Jiaoren didn't use Zhou Chen as a tool to monitor Fang Zida, he just felt that it would be more appropriate to have a second hand in doing things.But with the conflict between him and Fang Zida, the rift between the two sides gradually widened.Zhou Chen's role also began to change. In Song Jiaoren's mind, once Fang Zida stepped down, Zhou Chen would be the most suitable person for him to control the central bank and even the Ministry of Finance.

With a wry smile, Zhou Chen told about the cooperation between Fang Zida and the American consortium and the orthodox government of the Russian Empire to form the Central Bank of the Russian Empire for the orthodox government of the Russian Empire, and told Song Jiaoren.Due to Fang Zida's "importance", he has been designated as one of the personnel dispatched by the Chinese Zheng Fuzhong Yang Bank, and will also preside over the preparation work for the Russian Empire Central Yang Bank.This order has already come down, and I am afraid that he will leave the capital and go north in a short time.

"Why didn't I know about this? Why didn't Fang Zhangming report such an important matter to the cabinet?" Song Jiaoren was shocked when he heard this, and his face became angry.

"According to the statutes of Zhong Yang Bank, this is a purely commercial cooperation. There is nothing wrong with not reporting to the cabinet. However, I asked Yang Xizi, and according to what he said, Fang Chengming will put this matter in writing and submit it to the cabinet for record at the next cabinet meeting. No matter from In terms of jurisprudence or procedure, it is beyond reproach for him to do so." Seeing Song Jiaoren angry, Zhou Chen explained a little bit, after listening to Zhou Chen's explanation, Song Jiaoren was dumbfounded, raised his hand as if he wanted to say something, and finally Still dropped his hand again.

Song Jiaoren never thought that Zhou Chen came to find him for this matter. This matter is of course a good thing for Zhou Chen personally, but once Zhou Chen leaves, the Zhongyang Bank, which has long been run like an iron bucket by Fang Zida, will be wiped out. He couldn't get in, and the needle couldn't get in. He, Song Jiaoren, no longer had a channel to understand the real situation inside Zhongyang Bank, which was like cutting off his eyes and ears.

This result is absolutely unacceptable to Song Jiaoren, especially at this time.Zhou Chen is of great significance to him, and he must not leave easily.But Song Jiaoren also knew that Fang Zida's letting Zhou Chen take charge of this matter was not only a great use for him, but also a fat vacancy. It was inconvenient for Zhou Chen to refuse in public or private. Once he refused to accept this appointment, it would not mean telling everyone Zhou Chen Do you have ulterior motives?

After much deliberation, Song Jiaoren couldn't think of any good solution for a while.

"You call yourself sick first."

"Calling sick? Brother Dun Chu, do you mean calling sick and refusing?"

Song Jiaoren shook his head: "It's impossible to refuse. Judging from the situation, it will take some time before the official departure. Anyway, you have accepted the appointment, and it would be bad if you refuse again. Wait until you leave for a few days and then complain about your illness. Fang Zhangming can only let someone else go to Russia instead of you, people eat five grains, there is no reason not to get sick, what do you think?"

Zhou Chen laughed immediately, nodded and said: "This is true, brother Dunchu thought thoughtfully, that's it, I will continue to do what I should do, I will be seriously ill before I leave, and this matter will pass after I recover At that time, others will only feel pity about it at most, and will not think about other aspects."

"That's right." Song Jiaoren smiled, and then said sternly: "Okay, it's better if you and I don't see each other, especially in this kind of place. Go back quickly, lest Fang Zhangming notice something, This kid has a more sensitive nose than a dog."

"Well, Brother Dunchu, if you have anything to do, use the old method to contact me. I'll go first." Zhou Chen got up and said, Song Jiaoren asked his confidant to follow the road to quietly send Zhou Chen away. Song Jiaoren in the office was a little restless, as if something was about to happen.

The next day, Zhou Chen came to his office as usual and started a busy day of work.But compared with yesterday, when Zhou Chen’s colleagues congratulated him today, Zhou Chen showed a very happy smile on his face, and he also offered to cooperate with Yang Du to select personnel for Russia and give Yang Du recommended several very good people.

These things spread to Fang Zida's ears, but Fang Zida smiled lightly and ignored him. Zhou Chen's identity had already been confirmed, and it was useless to cover it up any more. Fang Zida naturally had a way to deal with him.As for the present, this matter is not urgent. After finishing some work in the office in the morning, Fang Zida left.Because he is going to see Duan Qirui tomorrow, although the distance from the capital to Baoding is not far, but in order to respect Duan Qirui, he will have to pay a visit early in the morning, so Fang Zida plans to leave in the afternoon and stay overnight near Baoding at night. Arrive at Duan Qirui in the early morning of the second day.

The journey arrived in Baoding without any surprises or dangers. Fang Zida simply had dinner and went to bed early.The next day, the eastern sun had just risen. Fang Zida, who had already woken up, washed and changed his clothes, and set off in the car.

Arriving at Duan Qirui's house, after knocking on the door a few times, the servant opened the door, asked who came, and quickly invited Fang Zida in, and led Fang Zida inside.

"Mr. Fang, Elder Zhi is weeding in the backyard. He has ordered you to come and take you there."

Fang Zida followed the servant and did not go to the middle hall, but walked through the yard to the back. The servant felt Fang Zida's surprised expression and quickly explained.

"Hehe, before I came here, I heard Yang Xizi talk about Mr. Zhi's hobbies near Japan. I really didn't expect that the famous general back then is still so elegant. Today I have a chance to have a good time. Please lead the way."

"President Fang, this way please."

The servant breathed a sigh of relief, and quickly took Fang Zida to the backyard.

Not long after, I arrived at the backyard, and I heard the crackling sound of the hoe in my ears. When I entered the yard, my eyes lit up. Although it is late autumn, Duan Qirui's backyard is still full of spring, and there is a piece of green everywhere.

In front of the vegetable field, an old man dressed as an old farmer is skillfully wielding a hoe, weeding and loosening the soil for the field. A small table made of miscellaneous wood is placed beside the field. A white porcelain teapot and several tea bowls are placed on the table. The small table There are two benches next to it, and a white towel is hung on one of the benches.

After taking Fangzi to the place, the servant left after complaining. Fang Zida didn't greet Duan Qirui first, but stood quietly watching him work, with a slight smile on his face.

A few minutes later, Duan Qirui put down his hoe after weeding the vegetable field, looked back at Fang Zida and smiled, "Chang Ming is here, come here, sit here."

"Mr. Zhi worked hard. I always thought that Yang Xizi was exaggerating. I didn't expect Mr. Zhi to have such a skill."

"Haha, what is this? If it wasn't for my age, I would have planted more than ten acres of land by myself 20 years ago." Duan Qirui joked with a smile, went to the table and wiped it with a white towel Khan, then poured two bowls of tea, took a few sips of a bowl and drank it clean. (To be continued.)