Master Yuan, start!

Its subordinate institutions included the Commissioner General of Customs, the Tongwenguan, and the British, French, Russian and American departments. Later, in response to the development of the times, institutions such as the Telegraph Office were added.

At the moment, people were coming and going in the door, and no one noticed Yuan Xiangcheng standing in front of the door until a man holding documents bumped into him, which attracted his attention.

"Who are you and why have you been standing in front of the door for so long?" He was naturally unhappy after being knocked down. He patted his butt, stood up, and asked angrily.

After some explanation, the visitor realized that Yuan Xiangcheng was also a member of the yamen.

"My dear, I am sorry for offending you. This is my first time seeing the government office, and I accidentally bumped into you. I'm sorry." After apologizing, Yuan Xiangcheng felt that the accent of the person in front of him was somewhat familiar, quite like the Henan accent he heard in his childhood.

"Weiting! Is that you?" The person who was hit stared at Yuan Xiangcheng for a while and asked softly in disbelief.

"Are you...?" Yuan Xiangcheng tried hard to search for information about the person in front of him in his mind.

"Juren! It's really you. How come you are working in the Zongli Yamen?" This person was none other than Xu Shichang, Yuan Shikai's best friend from his youth.

It was natural for good friends to meet each other and they were very happy. Xu Shichang took Yuan Xiangcheng's hand and went to a side room in the hall.

After opening the door, he didn't care about the numerous papers in the room and the mess on the table. He just cleaned it up casually and then sat face to face with Yuan Xiangcheng.

"Weiting, ever since I heard in the government office that you single-handedly quelled the Korean rebellion, I've been thinking about meeting you when you return to Beijing. I didn't expect to run into you here before I even visited you."

"Don't talk about me first, Juren. Aren't you in Beijing preparing for the imperial examination? How come you are working in the Zongli Yamen?" Yuan Xiangcheng glanced at the messy environment around him. It was obvious that Xu Shichang was doing miscellaneous work such as organizing information and collecting materials.

To put it bluntly, it's just to help.

"Living in Chang'an is not easy." Xu Shichang pointed at himself and said with emotion: "My brother Shiguang and I have been increasingly poor since we came to Shuntian Prefecture. If it weren't for the 100 taels of silver donated by Weiting as travel expenses, it is still unclear whether we could have passed the imperial examination."

This was done by Yuan Xiangcheng before he traveled through time. Xu Shichang met Yuan by chance when he was 24 years old, and they fell in love at first sight.

Although Yuan lost his father at a young age at that time, the land passed down by his father was still there, and there were also people in his family who were officials in the capital, so he was quite generous when he was studying in the capital.

Seeing that the two brothers Xu Shichang and Xu Shiguang were dressed in shabby clothes and unkempt, but their conversation showed their great erudition and ambition, he spent a hundred gold coins and gave the two Xu brothers a hundred taels of silver as a qualification for the exam.

Although Yuan was extravagant, the imperial examination was not about who was rich.

The following year, Yuan returned to his hometown to take the provincial examination but failed. However, the Xu brothers passed and became Juren.

After learning the news that Xu Shichang had passed the imperial examination, a certain person felt ashamed and did not even go to the capital to congratulate him. Instead, he tore up the books in his house and ran to Tianjin to join the army with Wu Changqing.

Everyone knows the story that followed. Yuan made great contributions in Korea and died of drunkenness. His body was then possessed by Yuan Shikai. Yuan Shikai then suppressed the Jiashen Coup and became very famous among the lower-level soldiers and officials in the capital.

Although the two Xu brothers started early, they have not yet achieved any success and have failed the imperial examinations many times.

All I can say is that when it comes to things in life, who can predict for sure? People who start fast may not necessarily fall behind along the way.

"After the provincial examination, my brother and I both failed the next year's imperial examination. Fortunately, I read some miscellaneous books on weekdays, so I had no choice but to ask a fellow townsman to do some paperwork at the Zongli Yamen to supplement my family income. By the way, I also had a place to live and was able to prepare for the next imperial examination."

"Brother Juren, let's not talk about the past anymore. Now that we've been reunited after a long separation, let's drink until we're drunk!"

Yuan Xiangcheng met another historical celebrity, and this celebrity was currently living in poverty and it was very likely that he could be used for his own purposes. How could he let him go easily?

Yuan Xiangcheng held Xu Shichang's hand tightly and pulled him directly from the inner hall of the Zongli Yamen to the door. The two walked hand in hand for dozens of meters.

After leaving the yamen, Xu Shichang also relaxed, feeling like a long drought finally ended with rain, and was even more excited than Yuan Shikai.

Now it was his turn to hold Yuan Xiangcheng's hand, walk a few miles, come to a dilapidated house, and push the door open to go in.

There was a man in the room reading at the table with his head shaking. It was his younger brother Xu Shiguang.

"Shiguang, look who's here."

Putting down the scripture in his hand, Xu Shiguang squinted his eyes, took a look, and immediately stood up.

"Brother Yuan, long time no see! I thought you were still in North Korea!"

The three of them chatted animatedly, and soon the sun was setting, and they walked hand in hand into a restaurant called "Liuliting".

This Liuli Pavilion is not an ordinary restaurant. On weekdays, there are storytellers telling stories of heroes from ancient and modern times, both at home and abroad. Therefore, it is quite popular among the people in the city.

It was already evening, and the lobby on the first floor was bustling with people. Dozens of tables were full, but there was not much noise.

Because everyone was holding their breath, listening to the storyteller on the high platform in the hall telling the story of "Yuan Xiangcheng single-handedly conquering Hancheng"

The storyteller unfurled his folding fan, slammed the gavel, and began to narrate: "In the last chapter, it was said that at that time, Hancheng was invaded by rebels in the countryside and the Japanese were entrenched in the city. Yuan Shixiangcheng summoned all the generals to restore order to Korea."

Yuan Xiangcheng was stunned. He didn't expect that he was so famous in the capital now.

Twenty-nine How can everyone be a brother?

After a hearty meal and a few drinks, the three of them chatted with each other about the current situation in the world with their bellies bulging.

I can only say that we are Chinese, and chatting after a meal and a drink is a skill passed down from ancient times.

"Xiangcheng, do you know that something is happening in the south of the court now?" Xu Shichang was in contact with Western affairs every day, so he was very concerned about the Sino-French War.

Yuan Xiangcheng was silent for a while, not knowing how to express his true feelings to Xu Shichang.

It is not 1905 when revolutionaries are everywhere, but 1885 when the Qing court still has authority. It is probably too early to talk to Xu Shichang about revolution and overthrowing the Qing Dynasty, and I don't know how to bring it up.

He said with a hint of sarcasm, "War is a game of chance, and there are always victories. However, it is rare for the imperial court to suffer repeated defeats like today."

Yuan Xiangcheng's words resonated with the two Xu brothers. They also felt that the current court was not right, but they couldn't say why it was wrong.

The imperial court has been like this for thousands of years, so why has it been so unlucky and plagued by disasters in recent decades?

Xu Shiguang, however, was simple-minded. He bared his teeth and said viciously, "The court is full of treacherous officials. Talented and ambitious people like Brother Yuan are still stationed far away in Korea. In my opinion, if we kill all the corrupt officials in the court and replace them with people like Brother Yuan, the court will not lose the war."

Yuan Xiangcheng was somewhat speechless. I don't expect you to learn some modern constitutional democratic ideas, but you can't just kill people. This is too unfaithful.

Xu Shichang seemed to be thinking about Yuan Xiangcheng's words.

"According to Weiting, although the imperial court suffered defeat after defeat, it did not fail to accomplish anything. It set up the Zongli Yamen, launched the Westernization Movement, and sent Chinese children to study in the United States." Xu Shichang counted off the things one by one on his fingers.

Yuan Xiangcheng didn't wait for him to finish, pressed his finger and said, "That's not enough!"

"Isn't that enough? Xiangcheng, do we have to implement a constitutional monarchy like Britain?" Xu Shichang was puzzled. He usually compared the political systems of Western countries.

In his opinion, the monarchless and fatherless systems of France and the United States are absolutely unacceptable. Without an emperor, the world would be in chaos.

But if a constitutional monarchy like the United Kingdom can make a country strong, and this is not the case for the Russians, why can they also dominate a region?

Yuan Xiangcheng didn't want to talk to Xu Shichang about constitutional monarchy or democratic republic at the moment, so he simply ignored him.

He said to Xu Shichang, "Juren, if bandits broke into your house today, would you two brothers rise up and resist without giving up?"

"Of course. Someone has broken into our house. If we don't resist, we're just waiting to die." Xu Shiguang replied without hesitation, and Xu Shichang nodded.

"What if someone breaks into a neighbor's house and does this evil thing?"

"Then I will definitely help!"

"What if a bandit armed with a sharp knife broke into a house in a neighboring village or even a neighboring county? Would you help if you saw it?"

"Well...that depends on whether I am familiar with this family. Then I will make a decision." Xu Shiguang hesitated, not knowing how to answer in this situation.

"Then I might as well explain it more clearly. You are a Han Chinese who have been bullied by Manchus since childhood. If bandits broke into a Manchu's home and killed people and stole their property, what would you do?"

"Of course I applaud. If the bandit gets lost in the countryside, I will even show him the way!" Xu Shiguang, who has a young mind, directly expressed his most direct thoughts.

Xu Shichang had already been thinking for a long time.

"Brother Juren, do you understand? Why is it so difficult for the imperial court to recover now? All those Westernization Movements and warships are just empty talk. The focus has never been on the equipment, but on the people.

If the imperial court could not unite the 300 million Han Chinese, it would be impossible for the imperial court to win the war. Whether it is the British or the Germans, the lower-level soldiers of the Western countries know why they are fighting when they fight.

It is for the sake of our compatriots. If we shed our own blood, our compatriots will not bleed. If we seize more land, our compatriots will be able to grow more food.

The ministers in the court only know how to be loyal to the emperor and love their country, but which emperor are they loyal to? Which country do they love? They are not loyal to the emperor of the Han people, but to the emperor of the barbarians, the Tartars. They do not love the Han China, but the Tartar Qing!

Yuan Xiangcheng actually wanted to give two examples of bandits, one Manchu and one Han, and one landlord and one peasant.

However, considering that we must eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time, I decided to put the nationalism thing aside for now and talk about classism later.

But the people around Yuan Xiangcheng didn't think so. Xu Shiguang was fine. He just felt that what Yuan said made sense. What was the point of taking the imperial examination? The Qing Dynasty had to be overthrown.

When Xu Shichang heard this, he seemed to have finally grasped the faintly beating thread in his mind.

Yes, the foreign soldiers all knew why they sacrificed, but our Chinese soldiers only knew how to obey orders and flee at the sight of the enemy.

Is it really the gap in weapons and equipment?

Why did the Hunan Army fight so fiercely? It was because they were all from the same hometown and fellow students. They fought not for the Qing Dynasty, but for their brothers and sisters.

If everyone is a brother, then why should we fear foreigners?

If everyone in the world were brothers and helped each other, how could the imperial army suffer defeat again and again?

But why doesn’t the imperial court want all the people in the world to be brothers?

"Brother Juren, only when the people of the world know why they fight and why they live, can this country have hope, right?"

Xu Shichang came to his senses and thought that if Yuan Shikai's idea was followed, then the current imperial court would not be qualified to represent the people of the world.

Only a Han Chinese court would do. But he felt vaguely that something was wrong. Could a Han Chinese court truly represent the people of the world?

Heaven is dead, Huang Tian shall stand!

Wasn’t the court of the Later Han Dynasty also established by the Han people? Why did Zhang Jue rise up against the Han?

Xu Shichang felt dizzy for a moment. He felt that the situation Yuan Xiangcheng described was extremely complicated and he didn't know what to do.

Yuan Xiangcheng didn't know that Xu Shichang had already shifted his thinking from national narrative to class narrative, but even if he knew, he had no basis for implementing a class revolution at the moment.

The main contradiction in the late Qing Dynasty was not class contradiction, but national contradiction, which is written in history books.

The current priority is to resolve the major contradictions between imperialism and the Chinese nation, as well as the minor contradictions between ethnic groups within the country.

After all, it would be premature to initiate a class revolution at a time when the proletariat has not even been cultivated.

After calming down the passionate Xu Shiguang, Yuan Xiangcheng had to solemnly say to Xu Shichang: "To accomplish great things nowadays, one must have three or five heroes to help him.

Xiangcheng has a small business in Korea, and I hope the Juren brothers will be willing to help. Xiangcheng expresses his gratitude on behalf of 300 million people in the country. "After saying this, he bowed deeply.

Yuan Xiangcheng was really short of people, and he finally met his best friend Xu Shichang. In the original time and space, he could become Yuan's number one helper, so he could not let him go in this life.

Chapter 25 Stop, Stop Now

Yuan Xiangcheng tried to deceive the two of them, and although the words might be a bit too much, he was trying his best to fool them.

They were also indoctrinated with the numerous blood debts committed by the Qing Dynasty against the Han people since its founding, from shaving the head and changing clothes to enclosing land and surrendering as prisoners, and the three major massacres in Jiangnan were also highlighted.

After hearing this story, Xu Shiguang wanted to cut off his braid and follow Brother Yuan to rebel against the Qing Dynasty.

Yuan Xiangcheng's invitation to the two men for drinks was not a sudden idea. Firstly, it was to reminisce about the past, and secondly, it was to test their political inclinations.

Moreover, he did not test the waters right away. After three rounds of drinks, Yuan Xiangcheng carefully put forward his proposal by giving examples.

Xu Shiguang is full of passion but lacks intelligence. Under the influence of alcohol, he blurts out his true feelings. If you want to use it, you have to keep it by your side and supervise it at all times.