After coming to Chengdu, Song Jiaoren was not able to see Xiao Mubai in the end, not because Xiao Mubai didn't see him, but because of what he saw and heard on the train before, he didn't want to go again for the time being. Standing in the fields of the countryside on the outskirts www.biquge.info of the countryside, far away from the increasingly prosperous urban area of Chengdu, after talking with the old farmers, Song Jiaoren's heart seemed to be much less bored.

"Since the beginning of spring, there has never been rain, from the Spring Festival to the present, every day is the sun, according to this, this year's spring harvest is not very good!" An old farmer said with a hoe and Song Jiaoren, although he didn't know the true identity of the person in front of him. Blocking the cigarette handed over by Song Jiaoren, the old farmer took two puffs of the old dry tobacco in his hand, and continued: "Although your cigarette is good, I am still used to this thing in my hand, old man. By the way, what do you do, young man? ”

Following the old peasant's gaze, he saw two cars parked on the road hardened with cement in the distance. After the construction of transportation infrastructure in the territory of the autonomous government, all kinds of cars on the highway have changed more and more, and the old farmers are naturally no strangers to cars.

"Oh, I'm a merchant! Come and see if there is any suitable business to do. As Song Jiaoren spoke, he also lit a cigarette for himself, took a puff and said, "Uncle, I see that your official words are very good, dare you be a scholar?" ”

"Me?" The old farmer pointed at himself, shook his head with a smile, and then took a sip of the old dry tobacco in his hand, and said: "I am the village chief of our village, I trained in the town for a period of time a year ago, and now the students in the village also speak the official language, although we are over half a hundred years old, but it is not a problem to learn to speak the official language!" ”

After the old farmer finished speaking, he put down the hoe in his hand and bent down to squat on the ground, and smoked his old dry tobacco. Song Jiaoren was also from a poor family when he was young, and he didn't care about the old peasant's behavior at all, but nodded with a smile, and squatted beside him.

"Just now, the old man said that I'm afraid that this year's harvest is not good? What a year of famine! But I've heard that in the old days when the harvest was bad, everyone had no food or drink, and they had to go hungry, and even those who sold their sons and daughters were not uncommon! But I don't seem to be worried at all now? ”

"Hey! Young man, you didn't just say it, it was all before. What else do you mention about the old yellow calendar? We are now in charge of the autonomous government, and you don't see what the government is doing to us poor people. What do those student babies usually say? By the way, times have changed. With the self-government here, what do I have to fear? When the old farmer said this, he pulled the hoe over again, stroked the old guy who had accompanied his family for many years, and then said: "In the former Qing Dynasty, we were forced by those officials to plant ** without growing food, and the good land was so ruined, so it is strange that there is no famine in a disaster year." After the establishment of the autonomous government, it not only taught us to improve the land, exempted us from taxes, and helped us build water conservancy, but also established a strategic grain reserve in each county. Although I don't understand what it means, in the words of our mayor, the food that is full of it is a great famine for three or five years, and we will not starve to death. You say, what are we afraid of? ”

"That..." In a hurry, Song Jiaoren didn't think about how to answer the old farmer's question. After a short period of thought, Song Jiaoren asked again: "If people from other provinces flee through here, will you help them?" ”

The old farmer was silent for a while, then took a puff of dry smoke, and said slowly: "Who hasn't been unlucky enough to help, and if he can help, he will naturally help, where is so exquisite!" ”

Song Jiaoren nodded with a smile, but deep down in his heart he was shocked by the old farmer's simple words. He is also from a poor family, so he naturally knows how the lives of the people at the bottom are like, but even so, they have not forgotten to help others. The Chinese people have always been like this, you can call him ignorant, you can say he is ignorant, you can say he is insensitive, but you must never deny the love that he will always have in his heart. They are very real, they don't understand the truth of "reaching the world and helping the world", but they know that the grace of a drop of water should be reciprocated by a spring, and if you are good to him, he will often be very good to you.

"Then uncle, do you think that all the surrounding provinces should be incorporated into our autonomous government? In other words, should we let the Communist Progressive Party's autonomous government lead our whole of China? It's also good for the big guys to live a good life. Song Jiaoren finally sent out a question that had been pressing on his heart for a long time. Although the reunification of China by force is contrary to the spirit of his democratic constitutionalism, everything the Communist Progressive Party is doing at present is developing in this direction.

"This one is natural. We ordinary people don't ask for much, that is, we hope to be able to eat a full meal and have a peaceful life. The self-government can not only defeat the British devils, but also sincerely treat our people, if we don't support him, who else do we support? A good day is naturally spent by everyone together, so it is comfortable! Speaking of this, the old peasant's eyes lit up, and he said to himself: "This self-government is really powerful, and it has defeated the British devils." I heard that this is the most powerful country in the world, and the Qing Dynasty has been beaten by it every year to pay reparations. You say that we are all Chinese, how can this change the government, it can suddenly win? ”

For the old peasant's question, Song Jiaoren is really not easy to answer him, there are too many things involved, and it is not clear in a few words. At the same time, Song Jiaoren's heart still secretly admired the fact that the Communist Party could have such a huge reputation among the grassroots people.

"Uncle, I don't know, what do you think of other party forces?"

"Other partisan forces?"

"That's right! For example, the Beiyang Army, the People's Party, etc., you might as well talk about it. ”

"Beiyang Army, we haven't seen this, but the government said that he is not a good thing, he is a remnant of feudalism, a lackey of imperialism, and he will do something to oppress our people." The old farmer thought for a while before replying.

Song Jiaoren was a little stunned, he obviously didn't expect that this old peasant in the countryside would actually say such a thing in his mouth, but he hurriedly asked, "That?" What about the Kuomintang? ”

"The Kuomintang?"

Seeing that the old peasant seemed to be a little puzzled, Song Jiaoren further explained: "Well, do you know about the Alliance? It's what it grew from the League."

"Oh, you mean the Alliance? Of course, I know that. The old farmer said, shook his head, and then continued: "To be honest, these people are really not bad. What kind of road protection movement did we make in Sichuan in the Xinhai year, you know? Looks like this alliance will do it, right? ”

Seeing Song Jiaoren nodded, the old peasant continued: "We little people, we have little knowledge, although we don't know what kind of movement it is or not, but who are the people who are making trouble in this alliance, we can see it clearly, there are not some bandits who gather in the mountains and forests, or rampant ruffians and hooligans in the township, none of them are good people." Tell me, since ancient times, how can these people do things? I think it's better for our self-government to say that these counter-revolutionary elements like these who are brutalizing the people and in the fish and meat towns should be resolutely suppressed. ”

Although the old peasant just sighed for a long time, it made Song Jiaoren's mood even heavier. He really didn't expect that the impression of the Kuomintang in the minds of the people would be so bad. Frankly speaking, he had not heard such rumors, but when he first heard that the KMT was called a place to hide filth and dirt, he simply disdained such remarks, and he simply thought that it was because others were jealous of the KMT's powerful voice and spread slanderous words. But now it seems that I have taken it for granted. With a long sigh in his heart, Song Jiaoren realized that the Kuomintang that he was proud of, no matter what aspect it was compared with the Communist Party, it was more than one move worse than a chess move!

"So, what do you mean is that only the Communist Party is sincerely good to our people, do you hope that they will be in the world in the future?"

That's what it means. If the old man were a few dozen years younger, I would definitely join the People's Army, beat up foreign devils, and eliminate the scum of the Beiyang Army and the People's Party. ”

The old farmer's last words, for Song Jiaoren at this moment, can be said to be like a knife, and the knife cut his heart. He came to Chengdu this time to seek consensus with the Communist Progressive Party, to maintain a democratic constitution after forming a cabinet, and to peacefully negotiate and resolve disputes between various forces in the country. It's really too much wishful thinking to run around for a long time.

Before leaving the old farmer's field, Song Jiaoren gave him a cigarette, saying that he wanted to thank him for chatting with him for more than half an hour. Of course, whether it is because of this reason or not, although the old farmer's heart is not clear, but Song Jiaoren's heart is very clear.

Recalling the chat with the old farmer before, Song Jiaoren looked at the car parked in front of him, which was made in Kunming, Yunnan, and seemed to suddenly realize the shortcomings of his political concept. After coming back to his senses, he was about to get in the car and leave, but he didn't want to face a car that was speeding towards him and stopped in front of him. Song Jiaoren looked back and found that it was Xiong Kewu with an anxious face running down from the car. I saw him say urgently: "Sir, urgent telegram!" ”

Song Jiaoren took the telegram and looked at it hurriedly, and couldn't help but sigh heavily. What he feared finally happened.

On this day, April 28, 1913, the autonomous government issued a statement that in the name of the Guangdong military government's secret assistance to the mountain bandits, tens of thousands of soldiers were the first to cross the border between the two provinces and launch a brazen military attack on Guangdong.