What is higher than the earth is the mountain; what is higher than the mountain is the clouds; what is higher than the clouds is the sky; what is higher than the sky is the human heart 1

Beijing is golden in October, and the golden autumn sun shines warmly on the earth, turning people, grass, and trees yellow.*///*iazailou "The trees are all in autumn colors, and the mountains are only the setting sun!"

", maybe this poetic scene is talking about this realm.

Just like in the past, it is another clear and sunny day in Beijing today.

Since the news of yesterday's victory came, all night long, like any other Chinese city, the people here were jubilant and cheering all night long, almost bringing the whole capital to chaos until early morning, until the extremely excited people,

I could no longer shout or walk, and everything in the capital suddenly felt deathly lonely.

The area north of the capital was opened in the Liao Dynasty. It was called Wanning Palace in the Jin Dynasty. It was classified as "Da Nei" when the capital was built in the Yuan Dynasty. It became the Forbidden City in the Ming Dynasty. Although it had its own glorious years, at that time she was just a royal palace.

One of the gardens. But it is different now. Part of the former royal garden has become the Presidential Palace. The first president in Chinese history lived here. Whether it is the President or the Presidential Palace, for China,

It was said to be the first of its kind in the world, just as the republic now implemented is also the first of its kind for China.

At this time, similar buzzwords were "national", "national consciousness", "national thought", "establishing the Republic of China", "national thought enlightenment", etc., which became a social trend of thought, shaking people's eardrums and stimulating people's brains.

. And further back in history, similar popular words were subjects, subjects, common people, grass people, Li people, obedient people, unruly people, and untouchables. But now, they are citizens.

Just yesterday, those citizens who first got to know the nation experienced the taste of victory in a real sense for the first time, and experienced the "national pride" for the first time. Although a victory does not make the country strong, it is for the vast majority of people.

For most people, they would rather regard this sea and air battle in the Yellow Sea as "China's opponent", but this time it was China that won an overwhelming victory.

This is not only the excitement of ordinary people who are born out of victory and pride, but also the excitement of the national consciousness. Even the president who lives in the Zhongnanhai Presidential Palace held a grand diplomatic banquet in Zhongnanhai last night. Although the banquet was held very hastily, it was still

It can be said to be the most grand diplomatic banquet since the founding of the Republic of China.

At the meeting, the congratulations and congratulations from the ministers of various countries and the sincerity of everyone made Yuan Shikai feel a little overwhelmed. When he stood up to accept the congratulations from everyone, there was only an artistic conception of "a great power and a great president" in his heart.

; He felt that he had finally gotten rid of the days when the president of a weak country was cautious and loyal to others.

Last night, Yuan Shikai, who became the "great president of a great country", slept soundly on his concubine's bed. After venting all the excitement and fatigue of many days on his concubine, he fell asleep beautifully.

He slept extremely comfortably; he even laughed several times in his dreams, and it was the kind of contented laughter.

When the sun was shining brightly, Yuan Shikai opened the window with a smile after getting up. The first thing that caught his sight was Zhonghai, which was full of autumn light, and then he cast his sight towards the sky. When he saw all the blue sky and white clouds,

After the crisp autumn weather, the idea of ​​a great president of a great country became stronger and stronger in his heart.

"As president of a big country, your mind should be more open, just like the sky!"

Yuan Shikai said to himself in his heart, as the president of a big country, he naturally has to be open-minded. It seems that this is a very natural thing.

"We must build a prosperous and powerful Republic of China! Let future generations look up to me with admiration when they mention me, Yuan Shikai."

While talking to himself, Yuan Shikai thought about the Kuomintang people who came to the capital; the Kuomintang was split, and many people returned to China after this conflict. Let them supervise the opposition!

"As long as you remain in the opposition and supervise with peace of mind, sooner or later, you will know that I, Yuan Shikai, have lived up to China and the people! Let us forget the grudges of the past together! Let's build a prosperous and powerful China together!"

Just as he was thinking about this, he suddenly felt that he was wrong, that he had committed a child's fantasy.

"There is so much peace in the world now. There are good people around me. How can there be no one who wants to seize my power? How can I sleep peacefully?"

The smile that had been on his face for the past two days disappeared. Yuan Shikai's originally relaxed eyebrows were locked again, and his gaping mouth was closed. A murderous look appeared on his forehead. He closed the door again.

, moved his heavy body and sat into the Taishi chair.

Yuan Shikai smoked his cigar silently, letting the vast white smoke float in front of him, but he was thinking about the familiar people, the groups formed by others, and what those people and groups were doing at this time.

What to do 7

But when he was thinking about it, a place and a person would not appear in his mind from time to time. That place and that person kept reappearing in his mind.

He pondered for a long time and burned out his cigar. Finally, he discovered that what made him most uncomfortable at the moment was not the Congress, the Kuomintang, or the Revolutionary Party, which he had once regarded as a serious enemy, but the conflict in this conflict.

Among them, the person who raised him to the high position of "the great president of a great country" - Li Zhiyuan.

"Ten divisions! Ten divisions!"

Yuan Shikai repeatedly whispered about the strength of the Jiangsu Army. It has long been known to the country that the Jiangsu Army's surname is Li and not Jiang. But now the ten divisions held by Li Zhiyuan are, to Yuan Shikai,

He was a real thorn in his side. These ten divisions were well-trained and well-equipped, and he also had an air force capable of defeating the main force of the Japanese fleet.

if……

Frowning his brows, Yuan Shikai suddenly realized that after this conflict ended, he would have to face a situation that he had ignored before. On the land of China, a "warlord" was far more powerful than he could accept.

"Suddenly it appeared out of nowhere.

What frightened Yuan Shikai the most was that he had no means of restraining this army. The Jiangsu Army did not need to rely on the central government to allocate military expenditures. Li Zhiyuan could raise this army by himself and use the deduction of military pay to encourage its mutiny. This was obviously

It was impossible, and after this battle, no one among the Chinese armies could rival the Jiangsu Army in terms of reputation.

Save the situation from the turmoil; save the country from danger!

It can be said that for these two reasons, even Sun Huang back then may not have had the prestige and reputation of Li Zhiyuan. He half-closed his eyes; the reports he saw in the newspapers appeared in his mind.

“Billions of people hear his voice and know his name, listen to his words and know his heart!”

In the past two months, Li Zhiyuan has given a radio speech almost once a week. He has sent tens of thousands of radios and loudspeakers to all parts of the country, and even has his radios in Nanyang.

Fame; he, Li Zhiyuan, has it!

Li Zhiyuan has prestige!

．

Of course he also has military power!

Of course he already has the money!

So what doesn't he have?

that power!

The same power as a president—he doesn’t have it!

But doesn’t he want to have it?

right!

How many men don’t love power?

In silence, Yuan Shikai thought of himself.

In his early years, when he first joined the Qing Army, he pursued power. At that time, it was a young man's desire for power; but later, after training in the New Army, his attitude towards power changed; but he did not change his attitude towards power.

Desire for power, he knew that only by mastering power, "with time, can he calmly implement his political ideas and achieve his career and dreams."

If it were just to satisfy his desire for power, he did not seem to have to take the dangerous step that might bear the responsibility of "betraying his promise and causing the country to be divided for a long time." Of course, he knew that the president under the democratic republic system could not be hereditary, and had party politics.

If there are constraints, life may not be easy. Therefore, if the temptation of power was decisive in his turning to the republic, I am afraid that the prime minister of the Qing cabinet who "controls the army of the world" and "has overwhelming power" is more powerful than the president of the republic.

strength.

But these experiences made Yuan Shikai well aware of his desire for power when he was young. He also knew the importance of power for people who are eager to achieve a career. And Li Zhiyuan is exactly the combination of the two, young and

I want to achieve a great cause again!

How can he be satisfied with money? How can he be satisfied with Jiangsu Province and Longhai Road?

that power!

How could he not desire power?

"Li Zhiyuan! Li Zhiyuan! What do you want me to do?"

After Yuan Shikai asked himself, he was silent for a moment and then said to himself again.

"Fame, prestige, and money; you are just short of power!"

Just one right left!

Will this young man use the army in his hands to seek power for him like him? Suddenly, Yuan Shikai felt a chill on his back. He realized that maybe, at this time, the man he recognized as his "brother" was smiling on the front.

He was sharpening his knife behind his back, waiting for an opportunity, a justifiable opportunity, so that he "had to painfully and helplessly choose to use force to argue right and wrong!".

"High!"

Thinking of this, Yuan Shikai couldn't help but admire his "little brother" who was "thoughtful". In just two years, the "little brother" who had no feet under his feet now turned out to be Yuan Shikai's pet peeve.

And he is the only person who can threaten him and take away his position as president!

How could he not be impressed by this? He pinched the corner of his beard with his fingers. Yuan Shikai frowned and his expression became colder and colder. It was so cold that the room seemed to have dropped several degrees.

Just when the temperature in the room suddenly dropped, Presidential Secretary Chen Rongchang hurriedly walked in. Upon entering, he did not notice the strange expression on the president's face, but directly reported the report.

"President, many important members of the European Affairs Research Association left the capital by train in the early morning. They, they wanted to go to Lianyungang to express their condolences..."

The sudden report only made a thunder explode above Yuan Shikai's head1

This thunder only shocked him for a while and he did not recover. He did not expect that he had just realized the threat of Li Zhiyuan, but the Kuomintang was about to cooperate with him over there.

Suddenly Yuan Shikai became angry. He slammed the table hard and shouted angrily.

"It's outrageous, it's outrageous. Today, when the country is not at peace, a traitor who was granted amnesty actually wants to instigate important officials to rebel against our country. He simply despises me as the president. I know that this is the persecution of the Kuomintang people and the persecution of me by the Kuomintang.

They are raising trouble. They are patriotic when they return to their country, but they have the intention of causing harm to the country and the people. We want to..."

But when the words came to his lips, Yuan Shikai suddenly fell silent. He looked at Chen Rongchang in front of him, the Hanlin of the former Qing Dynasty, and then said with a bit of embarrassment and a little apology.

"Hey, look at my temper. The older I get, the worse my temper becomes. I'm getting more and more confused. It's only right that they go to express condolences. Well! It's really right!"
To be continued...