Beiyang 1917

Although Duan Qirui beat Xu Shiying, it is clear that once Wu Tingfang, the foreign minister, resigns, the old Duan does not plan to touch Chen Jintao or Xu Shiying in the short term. The purpose of beating them is just to make them restrain themselves and wipe them clean as soon as possible. Your own ass, don't be caught by the media for any unsightly corruption.

The state affairs meeting in the morning came to a hasty end, Chen Jintao and Xu Shiying went back to their respective headquarters, but Xu Shuzheng and Wang Geng were called by Duan Qirui to eat together in a small restaurant, with radish, cabbage and dried tofu, and the only meat dish was a dish Scrambled eggs. , the staple food is porridge, noodles and steamed buns!

Wang Geng slandered in his heart, Nima, the meal in the Prime Minister's Mansion has always been like this, what kind of drama is the old man acting, this guy had a meal at his own residence in the backyard of the Duan Mansion last night, and the maid Chunni brought fish from the kitchen There is meat and a bottle of red wine.

Xu Shuzheng was obviously used to eating vegetarian meals with Duan Qirui, holding a bowl of porridge and eating it was quite delicious. Seeing Wang Geng's expression of bitterness and unwillingness to swallow, this guy was obviously in a good mood, but Duan Qirui Rui believes in the old saying that you can eat without talking, sleep without words, so you can eat without words.

The contest between Wang Geng and Xu Shuzheng was limited to the eyes. Of course, the saddest and most heroic thing was the plate of scrambled eggs, which were snatched up by the two of them in three or five strokes!

After entering the study room, the person serving tea and water has been replaced by a handsome maid with a melon-like face. It turns out that this maid is the one who is in charge of the study full-time, but Chunni came here temporarily from the inner house yesterday.

"Master Xu, do you still want coffee?" The maid with a melon-faced face obviously knew Xu Shuzheng quite well, first served tea to the old man, then turned around and asked with a smile.

"Xia Cao, why didn't I see you before? I still follow the old rules, black coffee, no sugar!" Xu Shuzheng took out a cigarette from the cigarette jar on the coffee table, lit it himself, and asked with a smile.

"Someone came from my hometown on the weekend. I asked for leave to accompany me to go shopping. Chunni was on duty at home." Xia Cao smiled and whispered, turning around and asking Wang Geng,

"Master Wang, Chunni took care of me, are you coffee too?" It turned out that Chunni, a careful girl, took special care of Xia Cao in the morning. If Wang Geng came to the study to serve him coffee, don't make that tea.

"Hehe, your name is Xiacao? It matches Chunni's name. Please give me a cup of coffee without sugar." Wang Geng nodded with a smile, and his impression of his maid Chunni improved again.

The desk in Duan Qirui's study was filled with a large stack of official documents. Obviously, there were not a small number of official documents sent by the various ministries early in the morning that needed to be signed and counter-signed by the Prime Minister.

"Youzheng, Wang Geng also came up with a few ideas about the dispute between the government and the court and the promotion of participation in the war yesterday. Let him talk to you first. You two study it. I will talk to you later. I will criticize it first. Drop some papers!"

Wearing reading glasses, Duan Qirui raised his head and said something to Xu Shuzheng, then lowered his head and continued to approve the official document.

Xu Shuzheng was noncommittal, smoking a cigarette leisurely and glanced at Wang Geng, but Wang Geng got up and sat on the seat next to Xu Shuzheng, and said with a smile,

"Yesterday, when the Prime Minister asked, I gave a few ideas. Now, Brother Youzheng will give you the details! What do you think?"

Xu Shuzheng looked at Wang Geng in front of him, with a natural expression, although his tone was modest, his eyes were bright and sharp. Obviously, this kid has just been favored in front of the old man at this moment, and it won't be time to suppress him for a while, so let's listen to him. explain.

The fellow snorted lightly, and said nonchalantly,

"I'm idle, I'm idle, I want to hear what good ideas you, a talented student at West Point Military Academy, can come up with!" After the meeting in the morning, Xu Shuzheng had already found Duan Honggang to find out Wang Geng's background.

Wang Geng was also humble, and told Xu Shuzheng all the three strategies he said. He was new here, and he would not let anyone who could unite him be spared. Of course, he would not let anyone who could use him be spared As far as Wang Geng is concerned, Xu Shuzheng's strength and numerous enemies all along can just create more space and leeway for himself to win over those suppressed Anhui troops.

Xu Shuzheng listened to Wang Geng's three strategies, his face remained calm, but he was extremely shocked in his heart. This West Point Wang Geng is not simple. , Worse than my own way of thinking!Not to mention any means!

Xu Shuzheng couldn't help sitting up a bit, and unconsciously changed his perception of Wang Geng in his heart, let's see if it can be used by me, this guy took a puff of cigarette, lowered his voice and said to Wang Geng,

"Wang Geng, it seems that I have to reassess my evaluation of you! I hinted at the idea of ​​making an accident to get rid of Li Yuanhong early in the morning. If something happened to me, don’t blame him, Prime Minister Duan, beheading Ma Su with tears!”

Wang Geng happened to take out a cigar, and seeing Xu Shuzheng's eyes lit up, he stuffed it and said,

"Brother Youzheng, my cigars are authentic Cuban cigars. They cost ten dollars a piece in New York. You can see if it's worth it!"

Although Xu Shuzheng is well-versed in both Chinese and Western cultures and is good at ancient poetry, drinking coffee and smoking cigars are also his hobbies. A cigar worth ten dollars is a high price of 50 yuan. Xu Shuzheng was a little confused for a while. The fortune is gone.

Suspicious, Xu Shuzheng took the cigar handed over by Wang Geng. Sure enough, it was exquisitely packaged and rolled. It was the top-quality Cuban cigar he had seen in the hands of several British bankers. The guy couldn't help but say,

"Brother, where did you get rich before you returned to China? This cigar is in Manhattan, New York, USA, and it's not just smoked by someone casually. It's a small [-] ocean!" Without stopping, he rubbed the cigar with ease, and cut off the corners with the small scissors next to the cigarette jar on the coffee table.

"Brother Youzheng, I'm new here. To tell you the truth, my friends first persuaded me to stay in the United States to make a fortune, and secondly persuaded me to go to Nanjing and join Feng Guozhang to work for my hometown, but I still went straight to the section with my luggage as soon as I got off the ship. The Prime Minister is here, do you know why?"

While speaking, Wang Geng struck a long-handled match and lit a cigar for Xu Shuzheng.

Xu Shuzheng took a few puffs of the cigar in his hand, and slowly spit out a series of small eye circles, and the room was filled with the aroma of Cuban cigars.

"Brother, your cigar is really not bad, it's strong!" Xu Shuzheng squinted his eyes and smacked his mouth to taste the smoke carefully. As expected, he asked with a smile

"Xu was all ears. Brother Wang didn't make a fortune in the United States, and he didn't go to serve his hometown, but came to vote for the prime minister. What's the reason?"

The atmosphere of the conversation between the two, under Wang Geng's deliberate modesty and low-key, and under the influence of the aroma of cigar smoke, gradually eased up.

Taking advantage of the time when the servant girl Xia Cao brought in the coffee, Wang Geng lit the cigar in his hand and took a puff beautifully. While tasting the unique aroma of Cuban cigars, he leaned over and whispered in Xu Shuzheng's ear,

"I think that if China today wants to have a bright future, only people of insight can achieve success if they unite under the banner of a leader like Premier Duan who is dedicated to the public and has no selfish desires. This is one of them!"

Wang Geng said this without any shame, as if he was telling Xu Shuzheng a very common truth.

"Brother, who doesn't know how to speak big? Everyone who wants to join the Prime Minister will know what you say!" Xu Shuzheng said disapprovingly.

"Of course, everyone who comes to join the Prime Minister will probably say that, and Brother Zheng has nothing to do if he doesn't believe me. Anyway, he will see people's hearts for a long time, but there is a second important reason for me to join the Prime Minister!"

Wang Geng took a sip of coffee, looked at Xu Shuzheng without blinking and said.

"Did you come here for me, Xu Shuzheng?" Xu Shuzheng suddenly reacted from Wang Geng's expression, and couldn't help but lose his voice.

"Keep your voice down, I haven't told the Prime Minister about this, I can only tell you!" Wang Geng said firmly in a low voice.

"Hugh lie to me, Xu is just a mere army deputy chief, and in the eyes of others, he has always been arrogant and can't tolerate others. Who would believe such nonsense that you came here for me?"

Xu Shuzheng said in a low voice, but his eyes were flickering. Obviously from the expression, Wang Geng didn't seem to be talking nonsense!But how is this possible!