The Republic is so violent

Chapter 6 The art of saving the country in the red light district (1)
(1) The minister's wife resumed her old job

The Qing Empire was beaten to pieces by Little Japan, and the great powers were dumbfounded, and the Chinese envoys who were still overseas were frightened.

Hong Jun, the Chinese envoys to Russia, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, who was visiting Petersburg, Russia, heard the situation, lay on his bed and hurriedly called Fu Caiyun, the wife of the four envoys, to return home immediately.

Fu Caiyun, the wife of the envoy of the Four Kingdoms, was later canonized by the people as the "Nine Heavens Protector of the Country", and her popularity is far higher than that of her husband Hong Jun.Even in the international community at that time, the wives of the ministers of the four countries were far more popular than the ministers of the four countries.

The people of the country firmly believe that such a young and beautiful wife of the ministers of the four countries will naturally become the most popular figure in the international diplomatic arena, and there will naturally be many suitors in the foreign arena, such as the German captain in Russia, Waldsee, who will inevitably be attracted by her. Fascinated by the style...

Since then, the wives of the ministers of the four countries have formed a part of our traditional culture. In terms of the influence on our descendants, the role of tradition is greater than history itself.

History is a fact that we have forgotten.

Tradition, on the other hand, is something that we remember deeply but never happened.

Therefore, Fu Caiyun, the wife of the ministers of the four countries, is destined to have a more lasting influence in the hearts of the people.

At that time, the war broke out suddenly and the country was in crisis. Hong Jun, the minister of the four countries, was afraid of dying in a barbarian land, so he hurried back home with Fu Caiyun.He came back at the right time. Hong Jun had just set foot on the land of his homeland, and before he returned to his hometown, he suddenly fell ill and died of "shape".

Fu Caiyun, the wife of the ministers of the four countries, had no choice but to support Hong Jun's coffin home, but the more she walked, the more afraid she became, and the more she walked, the weaker her legs became.

In the end, she was just a concubine. The alive and kicking master took her out, but when she came back, she turned into a corpse. How could she explain to the grandma?
Besides, there is no place for her in that house, so why would she go back to join in the fun?
After thinking about it, Fu Caiyun finally made up her mind.

Fu Caiyun disappeared when the old man's coffin arrived in Suzhou.

The wives of the envoys of the four countries fled.

Not long after, the Yanfengli Book Apartment in Shili Yangchang, Shanghai, came with a new headliner named Zhao Menglan (one said it was Cao Menglan). Her signature was gold letters on a black background, vermilion satin, and colored balls. Next to her was Hong Jun, the Minister of the Four Kingdoms A large photo of the old man Hong, the advertisement said: The wives of the ministers of the four countries pity the sufferings of all beings, the compassionate flight, the golden collarbone, a kiss of Xiangze, a [-]% discount on the day of business opening, welcome new and old customers to patronize...

(2) The second venture of Erye Meimei Sai

The wives of the ministers of the four countries went to sea and resumed their old jobs.

This explosive news swept through Shanghai in an instant. Men lined up in front of the Yanfengli Book Apartment for ten miles...

Old man Hong Jun's advertisement had a strong effect, and the white money flowed into Zhao Menglan's apartment like water.

When a man has money, he will become bad, and he will go to a bad woman who spends money for him.

When a woman has money and wants to learn well, she will find a good man who helps her spend the money.

This good man who helps Zhao Menglan spend money is a follower of China's wealthy tycoon Sheng Xuanhuai. He wanted someone to give someone else, but the young handsome guy was young and gluttonous, and he didn't know how to keep in good health. He cut him down day and night, and suddenly climbed onto Ms. Zhao Menglan's body one day, but he couldn't get off again.

Take off the sun and die.

This unexpected incident frightened Ms. Zhao Menglan. She was afraid that the government would pursue her criminal responsibility. Ms. Zhao didn't do anything, she packed up her bed and fled to Tianjin to avoid disaster.

Ms. Zhao Menglan's misfortune has attracted the attention of leaders at all levels. Minister Tateyama of the Household Department went to condolences in person and said to her: Ms. Zhao, don't be burdened by your heart. Death happens often. People are mortal, but that guy But he was so comfortable, he should be content...

In order to express his concern and love for Ms. Zhao Menglan, Li Shan immediately took out 2000 taels of silver, which made Zhao Menglan feel the warmth of the world...

Ms. Zhao Menglan was very grateful, and Li Shan got everything he wanted. Although he didn't die as comfortably as Sheng Xuanhuai's follower, he died in a mess.He knew his bones and bones, and he couldn't bear to let go anymore, so he simply invited Ms. Zhao to go to the capital to start a second business...

Lishan said: Life is heroic, but it is just starting from scratch.

So Ms. Zhao Menglan entered the big capital. She is a beauty from the southern country, completely different from the thick lines of Beidi Rouge, and her distinctive business methods made her a hit in Beijing.

There is a saying at the time: There are only two women in the big China.

One is the Empress Dowager Cixi in the Golden Temple.

One is Ms. Zhao Menglan in Bada Hutong.

During the day, ministers who are concerned about the country and the people lie at the feet of the Empress Dowager Cixi, studying the soles of the old lady's shoes.

At night, the ministers huddled under Ms. Zhao Menglan's skirt and studied Ms. Zhao's shoe uppers.

Lu Yufang, a well-known Beijinger, heard about Ms. Zhao Menglan's name, so she approached her. The two hit it off right away, so they wrote the Jinlanpu and became friends of eight worshippers. Lu Yufang was the elder brother, and Ms. Zhao Menglan was the younger brother.

Ms. Zhao Menglan does not engage in diversification, but takes the road of professional management. She has a professional management team called Jinhua Class, so Ms. Zhao is called Sai Jinhua.

After making eight worship friends with Lu Yufang, the people in Beijing affectionately called Ms. Sai Jinhua "Second Lord Sai".

The wife of the ministers of the four countries who fascinated the German lieutenant Waldsee in Russia back then, after a lot of hard work, finally confused herself into a grandpa.This once again eloquently proves that fate is in your own hands, as long as you keep working hard, there will always be rewards for your efforts!

Sai Jinhua, who has become a famous woman, received a guest who was coming sooner or later:

——Yuan Shikai.

When Yuan Shikai came to visit Sai Jinhua, he brought a lot of silver.

He said to Sai Jinhua: I hope you can do something for me—receive a guest for me.

Who is that guest?

Sai Jinhua asked curiously.

(3) Facial powder trap

Most of the poor scholars in ancient China were just two dreams:
The first is to add fragrance to the red sleeves and be accompanied by beauties.

The second is to sing the wind and admire the moon, and the beautiful scenery is always there.

The easiest thing to satisfy is the second wish, good scenery can be seen everywhere, as long as your family has money, you don’t have to worry about not finding good scenery.

As for the first wish, most of them will only appear on the stage. There are as many beauties on the stage as poor scholars, but in reality, beauties are very expensive. For example, Ms. Zhao Menglan in Bada Hutong is not ordinary at all. Poor scholars can afford it.

Wang Xiuzhi, a scholar living in Beijing, is one of the many poor scholars.Wang Xiuzhi is also a frequent visitor to Bada Hutong. When he is busy and free, he can take a walk in Bada Hutong. Even if he has no money in his pocket and the girls don't let him touch it, it's good to take a look at it from a distance.

But suddenly one day, Wang Xiuzhi's fortune turned and he flew to Yanfu.

Ms. Sai Jinhua and Ms. Zhao Menglan invited him to "have a drink" in Bada Hutong.

Wang Xiuzhi was so overjoyed that he flew away.

Sure enough, it was Sai Jinhua who had a special liking for him, and she invited him alone, with delicious wine and famous flowers, charming and intoxicating, and it was Sai Jinhua who let him stay overnight.

Wang Xiuzhi's heart was full of happiness.

He didn't mention money.

Why mention that?Intuit vulgar.

In the next few days, Wang Xiuzhi stayed at Sai Jinhua's place. It wasn't that he was free, it was just that the men in this place were reluctant to leave.

Drinking, appreciating flowers, drinking beauties, this kind of comfortable life, even an emperor would not change it.

Suddenly one day, Sai Jinhua held another small banquet and poured wine for Wang Xiuzhi herself.

During the dinner, Sai Jinhua spoke softly and made insinuations, only to realize that although this Wang Xiuzhi is just a poor and down-to-earth clerk, he is not an easy person. Write vividly, as if he could really do it.

Although he has never touched a weapon or been on a battlefield, he knows how to write military books.He once wrote a military book for the governor of Guizhou, Hu Yunfen, and Hu Yunfen took this military book to the imperial court, and the imperial court sent him to Tianjin Racecourse to train the new army.Somehow Yuan Shikai found out about this, so he came to the door with a gift and asked Wang Xiuzhi to write one for him.

But I never thought that Yuan Shikai's strategy in North Korea and his promotion too fast have already aroused public anger. Nowadays, scholars in the Qing Dynasty all agree that the defeat of the Sino-Japanese War was caused by Yuan Shikai. If Yuan Shikai hadn't always bullied the Japanese, the Qing Dynasty As for being beaten to the crap by Zuoer Little Japan?

At this time, Yuan Shikai's image in the minds of scholars was already rotten.

Thousands of people point at it, but die without illness.Although Yuan Shikai's psychological quality is excellent and he doesn't take people's material opinions to heart, it is naturally not easy for him to persuade someone like Wang Xiuzhi to write a book of war for him.

After listening to Wang Xiuzhi's explanation, Sai Jinhua formally notified him with a heavy heart:
If he still insists on refusing to write a military book for Yuan Shikai, then, if Yuan Shikai gets angry, Wang Xiuzhi will have to pay the bill for all the money he has spent these days...

Wang Xiuzhi was dumbfounded, only then did he realize that a woman's bed should not be messed with. If it is easy for you to get on the bed, then when you get off, you will definitely have trouble.

But after all, Wang Xiuzhi was not of the easy-going type, and as soon as he rolled his eyes, he immediately thought of a good idea.

(4) If you are not educated, you will suffer a lot

Wang Xiuzhi fell in love with a woman, so he had to deal with Yuan Shikai, but if he really wanted to write a military book for Yuan Shikai, he was unwilling.

So Wang Xiuzhi had an idea and gave Yuan Shikai a scrap manuscript.

What is scrap?
It turned out that as early as when Wang Xiuzhi was writing the military book for Hu Yufen, the first draft was scrapped and had to be rewritten.Now Wang Xiuzhi gave Yuan Shikai the scrapped first draft. Forgive Yuan Shikai for not having read a few books, being uneducated, and not knowing what is good or bad...

The fact is really like this, Yuan Shikai was overjoyed when he saw the waste manuscript, he was overjoyed as if he had found a treasure, and left excitedly with the stack of waste manuscripts, looking at Yuan Shikai's back, almost made Wang Xiuzhi laugh to death.

But Wang Xiuzhi laughed too early.

Although Yuan Shikai didn't read much, he was an out-and-out person who "has no knowledge and skills". Wang Xiuzhi's pile of waste manuscripts is worthless in the eyes of others, but to Yuan Shikai, it is valuable. extraordinary.

At this time, Yuan Shikai had been back from North Korea for almost a year. This was the most difficult year for the Qing Empire, and the land was cut and paid for, but the Japanese still refused to give up.There is nothing you can do if you refuse to give up. After all, China is too big. If the Japanese want to swallow it in one gulp, they will only choke themselves to death.

Yuan Shikai could see clearly that the Qing Empire's control over the sea was completely over, and the country's most urgent need right now was a land force, so it was imperative for the imperial court to train new troops in imitation of Western methods.

The empress dowager Cixi is in charge of the court, and this old lady is only smarter than Yuan Shikai, not more confused than Yuan Shikai.When Yuan Shikai thought about this problem, the Empress Dowager Cixi had already ordered Hu Yunfen, the inspector of Guangxi, to train Wu Dingjun at the Tianjin Racecourse. Yuan Shikai was a step too late and lost this opportunity.

So Yuan Shikai sincerely hired Sai Jinhua with a high salary to work in public relations, and finally got these waste manuscripts from Wang Xiuzhi.

After returning to his apartment, Yuan Shikai lit a lamp and boiled oil, studied hard all night, and finally sorted out the context of these waste manuscripts and got a clue.

Then Yuan Shikai re-edited this manuscript, and wrote another "Talk about Military Training in Time", and showed it to Rong Lu.

Rong Lu was appointed as the governor of Zhili and the minister of Beiyang. This official was as big as a prime minister, under one person, and above ten thousand. If you want to get the opportunity to train soldiers, you must first get the support of Rong Lu.

Unexpectedly, Rong Lu was waiting for Yuan Shikai's arrival.

why?

The reason is very simple. Rong Lu also knew that the loss of the Qing Dynasty's sea power indicated that the future war would start within the country's borders. It is imperative to build a strong army force. He recruited [-] recruits, but Hu Yufen was born in the Imperial Academy and had never fought a war in his life. His so-called training of recruits was nothing more than following the scriptures, reading every word from the manuscript of Wang Xiuzhi behind closed doors. The recruits trained by this method , Whether it works or not is really God knows.

But Yuan Shikai was different. His qualifications, knowledge, experience, and understanding of Western military affairs were not comparable to that of a literati like Hu Yifen, so naturally Rong Lu would not let Yuan Shikai go.

Rong Lu asked Yuan Shikai several questions on the spot, and Yuan Shikai answered them fluently.The next day, Rong Lu reported to the Empress Dowager Cixi, requesting that Yuan Shikai and Hu Yifen start a "PK" in the Golden Palace to see who has richer military training theory and more experienced...

The result of the PK in the Golden Palace is almost astonishing.

Yuan Shikai performed very well. He was impassioned and eloquent. When it was Hu Yunfen's turn, he never thought that this old Hu could not speak official Chinese, but he could speak a Shaoxing dialect that everyone could understand.

Old Hu can't even speak official Chinese, so how can he train the new army?
Seeing this situation, Emperor Guangxu immediately decreed that Yuan Shikai should stay in the Office of Supervising Military Affairs as a commissioner for the prince and the court ministers. And write a military book with "Chinese characteristics", and also draw up plans and regulations for Western French military training...

That is to say, the imperial court arranged it like this. Since Yuan Shikai knew how to train soldiers, he should provide technical services to Hu Yunfen, translate a few more Western military books, and Lao Hu would still be responsible for the military training in Tianjin.

(5) Does Cixi's face grow on Li Lianying's feet?

Yuan Shikai couldn't accept the result of the PK contest, so how could Lao Hu train his troops if he couldn't even speak Mandarin?But the Empress Dowager Cixi knew this, but she just refused to give Yuan Shikai this opportunity, so Yuan Shikai had no choice but to find someone to reason with.

Fortunately, the Qing Dynasty still has its reasons.

Li Lianying's home.

Li Lianying's house is easy to find, there are two turns in the alley, there is a big gatehouse, there is it.

Of course, eunuchs are not allowed to leave the palace, and they are not allowed to participate in snapping up real estate to drive up prices, so this gatehouse is also called the home of Li Lianying's younger brother.

So Yuan Shikai went to Li Lianying:

Li Lianying told Yuan Shikai that the Empress Dowager has been in a bad mood recently, so she should be careful when speaking and watch her words and expressions.Say what you like to hear, don't say what you don't like to hear.

Yuan Shikai was very embarrassed when he heard this, because he knelt down to see the queen mother, how could he allow him to look at the queen mother's face and answer?
Li Lianying said: When you answer the queen mother's words, pay attention to my feet.If my feet are close together, you don't want to say it, the Queen Mother doesn't like to hear it; if my feet are apart, the Queen Mother likes to hear it, so you can speak boldly...

Li Lianying's feet are quite expressive.

With Li Lianying's feet expressing the emotions of Empress Dowager Cixi, Yuan Shikai had a bottom line in his heart.

Going up to the Golden Palace again, I argued hard, every word and every word was in the heart of Empress Dowager Cixi, the old lady smiled brightly when she heard it, and immediately delivered the decree:

Take Yuan Shikai from Wenzhou Road to Tianjin Station to train [-] battalions of elite soldiers. Thank you for your kindness.

The imperial decree was issued, and at this time everyone remembered something, that Lao Hu, who was full of Shaoxing birdsong, was still at the Tianjin Racecourse, how would he arrange it?

Talent is rare, let Lao Hu go to build the railway.

Empress Dowager Cixi ordered with confidence.

Yuan Shikai got his wish and went to the small station to train soldiers. He left at the right time.

He went on the front foot, and the Russians came on the back foot.

North China!

Thus began the Russo-Japanese War.

(6) Mysterious female talent

Japan and Russia were at war on the mainland of China, and the Qing court had no choice but to stand by and declare neutrality. This was the most distressing page in Chinese history, and it was also a big joke in the history of international wars.

But there is no way around this joke. In fact, the Russians entered the Northeast, which was introduced by the Qing court itself. This trick is also called the strategy of driving away tigers and swallowing wolves, also known as using barbarians to control barbarians. It is a typical weak country diplomacy. means.

The situation at that time was that the Japanese wiped out the sea power of the Qing Dynasty in one fell swoop, armed with the sharpness of new firearms, drove into the Northeast, and immigrated in large numbers to the three northeastern provinces of China, and the combat effectiveness of the Qing army was vulnerable. If you let the situation develop, you can only watch the Japanese annex the three northeastern provinces.

The Russians entered the three northeastern provinces of China and fought with the Japanese during the process of burning, killing and looting. This is certainly a national humiliation, but no matter how great the national humiliation is, it is much smaller than losing the country. As long as there is a little resistance, the Qing court will not Will sit back and watch the situation worsen day by day.

As long as the Japanese and Russians are fighting in the Northeast, no matter whether it is the Japanese or the Russians, it is impossible to annex the Northeast as they wish, and wait for the imperial court to slowly recharge their batteries and raise a thousand children of 800 In [-], when China becomes strong and the nation awakens, we will not worry about chasing the Japanese and Russian bandits outside the country.

In other words, unlike the Japanese, the Russians invaded China and were invited by the Manchu Qing government. For example, in 1896, the Manchu Qing court signed the "Sino-Russian Secret Treaty" with Russia. The first clause of the treaty stipulates:
If Japan invades Russia's Asian oriental lands, or Chinese lands, or Korean lands, it will impede this agreement, and it should be dealt with immediately.If there is such a thing, the two countries agree that they should send all the land and water armies, as much as they can at that time, to help each other, and do their best to help each other as far as arms and food.

Look, this treaty clearly states that if Japan dares to fight, the Russians have the responsibility to come to China to fight against the Japanese... Let's look at the third paragraph:
In case of emergency during war, all ports in China are allowed to enter by Russian warships, and local officials should try their best to help if necessary.

Looking at this treaty, we know that the Manchu and Qing courts were very clear-headed. The country is in such a mess. If you don't expect the Russians and the Japanese to fight each other, who else can you count on?
This is the way the Qing court has no choice.

But this is only the view of the court, and intellectuals don't see it that way.

(End of this chapter)