On June 25, 1914, the lecture hall at Hopkins University was crowded with students and professors, and countless others rushed to hear the news. U.S. President Wilson was invited to speak here. Wilson was not just a president, but also a renowned scholar, having been a professor and president of the prestigious Princeton University. Even more interesting is the fact that the current president of Hopkins University is his political rival, Dr. Goodnow.

When President Wilson was invited, he was first flattered. As the former president of Princeton University, Wilson is well aware of the great influence that the graduates of such a prestigious school as Hopkins University are places where the wind can enter the rain and the emperor cannot enter. But he was also a little worried in his heart, always worried that Goodnow would set up a trap for him and deliberately make him lose face in public.

In the United States, the status of the president of a prestigious school is definitely not lower than that of the president, and even the degree of respect in society is even higher than that of the president. If Goodnow really deliberately set a trap to tease him, Wilson can't afford to lose his face, but the midterm elections are about to be held, and the influence of being able to speak in a place like Hopkins University is undoubtedly huge.

In order to win votes in the midterm elections, Wilson decided to take a risk, and he felt that since he took office, there have been no big mistakes, let alone scandals, even if Goodnow wants to set up a trick, it is at most a painless joke, but a loser's sour grapes psychological attack.

Standing on the podium, Wilson said: "When I look back at the course of history, when I look back at the birth of the United States, I find that every page says: The rebirth of the nation does not come from the upper classes but from the lower classes; The genius who emerges from the ranks of the unknown populace is the genius who rejuvenates the people. All my knowledge of history, as well as the bits and pieces of experience and observations that have helped my mind, have convinced me that the true wisdom of human life is the accumulation of the experiences of ordinary people. The greatness of a nation is embodied in, and can only become, the greatness of its ordinary people.

Therefore, the first priority of our nation today is to bring to politics the great nobodies who will be our future leaders and will resurrect the vitality of the United States. I have shown my trust in ordinary people; At the same time, I want to make it clear that I am clear about what I am saying. A man who swims against the current knows hydraulics; A man who is fighting knows how many punches he has made, knows where blood has been shed; A man who zealously pursues progress is the judge of what is happening in the United States today. The judge is a person who is fighting for his own life for the lives of others, and who loves others more than he loves himself. Such a person will use his judgment to make you understand what is happening in America today. In my case, I hope to be guided by this man's judgment.

The hope of the United States today and in the future is the same as yesterday's, that is, the hope and belief that a group of people will emerge from obscure families, a group of people who can become masters of industry and politics. The prosperity and strength of the United States lie in the hope of ordinary people, the welfare of ordinary people, the dedication of ordinary people, and the positive surname of ordinary people. We will not be rich because a few gentlemen command industry; We are rich because we have our own wisdom and our own industry. America is not made up of people whose names are in the press, America is not made up of people who want to be political leaders in politics, and America is not made up of people who talk about it -- only when these people speak for the subjects of our country, the driving force of our country, and millions of great people who are silent, can they speak of their important surnames. ”

Goodnow listened to Wilson's remarks and was disdainful of the Mingzhuo's deliberate pandering to the lower classes. After Wilson finished speaking, Goodnow smiled and said: "Your Excellency the President's speech is suitable for any occasion, of course, it is most suitable for diplomatic occasions, and I have listened to it for a long time and I have not found any mistakes. What does this mean? It shows that His Excellency the President did not say anything, or rather, he talked nonsense for an hour! ”

The audience burst into laughter, all of them were elite people who came to listen to the speech today, and their ideas were naturally different from ordinary ordinary people, and Wilson's speech was obviously not to their taste.

Wilson has also been prepared for a long time, going to a prestigious school like Hopkins University, where elites gather, is equivalent to entering the tiger's den and Longtan, these people will not have any face for the president, and this is Goodnow's territory, and it is impossible not to be troubled.

"Your Excellency never talks nonsense, for example, you helped President Yuan Shikai build a unicameral parliament in China, which is very groundbreaking! I admit that I have little experience in politics, and I am not as good as President Yuan Shikai, who has been an official of the Qing Dynasty for 30 years. Wilson sneered.

This rod directly stabbed Goodnow in the soft underbelly, he once served as an adviser to Yuan Shikai, and it was at his initiative that Yuan Shikai abolished the parliament and set up a unicameral system of the Parliament, saying that it was the parliament, but in fact it was Yuan Shikai's own advisory body, and did not have the powers and responsibilities of the parliament. At that time, the American media generally believed that Goodnow had taken Yuan Shikai's bribe, but no one knew that it was Yang Du and others who made the banner and misinterpreted Goodnow's meaning. This dirty water spilled Goodnow's political future, but it also allowed him to study with peace of mind.

Goodnow once praised Yuan Shikai for his experience, and Wilson hit him with this sentence.

In the eyes of Americans, Yuan Shikai is the kind of Mexican President Díaz who reads talents, and Goodeno boasts on behalf of the readers, as a university president and the Republican presidential candidate, which is a great political stain.

It's just that at this time, Goodnow is no longer a politician, but a scholar, a public intellectual, and this is his advantage!

Goodnow smiled and said, "Since Mr. President mentioned China, then I would like to tell you about what I have seen and heard in China!" In the minds of the American people, it is a mysterious and distant and extremely conservative and backward country, while the United States is a strong and free country, just three years ago, I saw it no different from all Americans! Mr. President mentioned just now that I used to be an adviser to the current President of China, Mr. Yuan Shikai, yes, there is nothing wrong at all, but not completely, I am also the personal adviser to the successor President of China, Mr. Chai Dongliang???? What I have seen in China is that all the enterprises run by the political axe are in a mess, and the political axe's rescue of natural disasters is also a mess, and almost all of China's problems can be attributed to the long stretching of the political axe's hand. Well, I also see that south of the Yangtze River in China, the economy is developing rapidly, and the industrial output value is also developing rapidly! Therefore, I showed curiosity about the local ruler, Mr. Chai Dongliang, and the political ecology of the region he ruled, so I wondered what he did??? As a result, I found a very interesting point that he has two very beautiful wives! ”

The audience burst into laughter.

Wilson wasted no time in saying, "Your Excellency the Headmaster seems to be very interested in someone else's beautiful wife?" ”

Goodnow waited until everyone had finished laughing, then smiled and said, "What does a guy with two beautiful wives do every day?" The result of my observation is that this guy does nothing! No, he also did one thing, which was to sell the enterprises run by the political axe to private individuals, and achieved full privatization??? So, let's count the achievements of this guy who doesn't do anything! His region has saved millions of lives by inventing amisulfamelamide, the world's most wonderful drug! All cement plants in the United States use the equipment produced by them, and everything that does not use it has gone bankrupt! Families all over the world are using the three-pin safety socket they produced and invented, and the way of life of the whole world has changed dramatically because of their invention??? Gentlemen? What the hell did this guy do? He did one thing, and that was to give society full freedom! And our president, first of all, is trying to destroy the spirit of freedom that has made America's glorious history! ”

Wilson suddenly realized that the trap was here, and the purpose of inviting him to give a speech today was to attack his governing program in front of the public!

Goodnow continued: "China, such a conservative and backward country, once given full freedom, is full of vitality, Napoleon said to the British envoy who came to visit him on St. Helena, do not provoke the Chinese, maybe you will destroy their batteries in a short time, sink their warships, crush their land forces, and plunder their wealth!" Well, Chinese will learn shipbuilding from Rotterdam, hire artillery from Paris, buy artillery from Berlin, they will learn from the whole world, and then destroy you completely??? Napoleon's prophecy more than a hundred years ago is now coming true! Engineers from London are helping Chinese produce cars and engines, technicians from the United States are instructing them in building ships, warriors from the British Empire's colony of Gorkha have become Chinese citizens and become instructors in military schools to train young Chinese officers???? What did this guy named Chai Dongliang do? He only did one thing, to give Chinese the spirit of freedom, and the political axe to give enterprises full free space for development??? In just three years, the Chinese have created so many miracles, and I believe that as long as Mr. Chai Dongliang, who is about to succeed the president, continues to do nothing, China will create more miracles! Regrettably, our Mr. President has been overly diligent, and his hard work will destroy the spirit of freedom in the United States and set a bad precedent for political axes to interfere in business??? If this form is allowed to develop, our political axe will become the Holy See in the Middle World, the spirit of freedom created by the Mayflower will be gone, and an all-pervasive political axe like an octopus will become the enemy of the whole United States! ”

The audience was full of American elites who were disdainful of the policies of the Ming Cook Party, and were very disgusted by the political axe's intervention in the economy, and Wilsh's policy of trying to break up the Grand Trust.

Wilson attacked Goodnow's personal virtues, and Goodnow pointed directly at Wilson's economic reform policies.

As a liberal, Goodnow has always advocated that the less the political axe interferes in the economic field, the better, and this is also the long-standing national policy of the United States. But this policy is also gradually bearing its percussions, with the gap between rich and poor in the United States reaching a frightening level far greater than that of European countries. Since the time of Theodore Roosevelt, the American political axe began to crack down on the big trusts, and he has launched more than 40 legal actions against monopoly conglomerates, reducing the labor intensity and working hours of workers, and strengthening the power of trade unions against those big rich people.

After Wilson came to power, he acted as a fortune boy diplomatically, and his "gold-dollar diplomacy" became famous all over the world, while internally he constantly weakened the power of the monopoly group.

Apparently this kind of debate will not lead to anything, and Wilson, who is holding his breath, returns to the White House and immediately asks for access to all the information about China, especially the personal information of the guy named Chai Dongliang. And called the Secretary of State to his office in the White House.

It took Wilson an afternoon to finish reading the materials piled up on his desk, and he couldn't help but feel a little frightened, especially after seeing the battle report of the Battle of Dagukou, he gasped and exclaimed, "Oh my God, what have we done?" Call Secretary of State Polane! ”

Secretary of State Polane was confused: "Your Excellency, what happened?" ”

Wilson smiled bitterly: "We hope that a relatively strong China can confront Yuben on the east coast of the Pacific Ocean, but it is clear that we do not need a stronger China than Yuben, and now China is developing faster than we expected, and they will soon be too powerful!" ”

Secretary of State Polane said flatly: "Oh, that's just an accident, the only one who can sink the battleship is another battleship, what is it if the Chinese have a small advantage in aircraft?" Only my battleship will be sunk by planes! What's more, China has no oil, and as long as our fleet cuts off the oil supply to Southeast Asia and Mexico, the momentum of China's rise will be strangled in the cradle! ”

Wilson shook his head and said, "I want to remind you, don't underestimate the Chinese!" Chinese has a major advantage in Asia that no country can match, there are Chinese throughout Southeast Asia, they still retain Chinese traditions and culture, they still regard China as the motherland, once China becomes strong, tens of millions of Chinese expatriates throughout Southeast Asian countries will become China's advance team, they will cooperate with the mother country to occupy the whole of Southeast Asia, and the Chinese shortage of rubber, oil and other strategic materials will continue to flow in??? However, you are right, we are going to stifle the momentum of China's rise in the cradle! I will absolutely not allow that one day in the future, a powerful Chinese fleet will threaten our Philippines and Hawaii! ”

Pollane asked, "What does Your Excellency the President mean?" ”

"Stop the Bethlehem Contract's aid to China and withdraw our engineering and technical personnel!"

Polan said embarrassedly: "However, this is a non-governmental cooperation, and the political axe has no power to intervene, and the largest shareholder of the Bethlehem Company is the Rockefeller consortium, which will cause great trouble!" ”

Wilson sneered: "These damn big conglomerates, they're destroying America!" Tell them that if they interfere with the White House resolution, then I will use the Sherman Antitrust Act without reservation to strike them the most mercilessly??? The United States, which cannot raise a formidable enemy with its own hands! ”

"Your Excellency, the latest information from Sarajevo, Archduke Ferdinand, Crown Prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, has been invited to visit Sarajevo in three days!"

"Oh, that's all? Is there any special significance? Wilson asked nonchalantly.

"Your Excellency, that day is St. Victor's Day, and it is also the story of Turkey's defeat of Serbia more than 500 years ago, and it is Serbia's national shame!"

"Oh my God! In this special day of inviting Archduke Ferdinand to visit Sarajevo, what kind of heart did that guy Dimitrievic have? Isn't this a deliberate attempt to stir up hatred? Damn Kingkiller??? Isn't this guy a loyal lackey of the Habsburgs? Wilson said hatefully.

Secretary of State Pollane said disdainfully: "Dogs are always loyal to bones, and now the Habsburgs no longer have the bones he wants!" ”

Wilson's so-called monarchicide Dimitrievic, who was the de facto ruler of Serbia, staged a palace coup d'état in 1903, killed the Serbian king Alexander and the queen, and threw his army into the arms of Austria-Hungary, and since then has become the darling of the Habsburgs, holding the supreme power in Serbia, and using the new king Peter as a puppet. The bloody coup d'état that took place at the Serbian court was despised by the whole world. Peter's enthronement was celebrated by only two countries in the world: Austria-Hungary, the beneficiary, and Russia, the self-proclaimed protector of the Slavs.

Dimitrievic was not only a notorious traitor and monarchicide, but also the founder of the famous underworld organization "Mafia". He secretly led the organization, eliminating political opponents and opponents through assassination and other means.

In the war of words between Goodnow and Wilson, the two sides won or lost, but in distant China, Chai Dongliang was also shot while lying down, and suffered an unjustified disaster in no apparent terms.

At this moment, Chai Dongliang is sitting on the train to Yanjing, driving on Jinghan Road with white smoke, passing through rivers, mountains, and fields, the wind in early summer is refreshing, but Chai Dongliang can't sleep for a long time. He was looking forward to the gunshot in Sarajevo, and he had been waiting for this moment for three years!

In parallel, Chai Dongliang still has a good impression of Archduke Ferdinand, this is a moderate guy, he tried to maintain the stability of the Austro-Hungarian Empire through reforms, Ferdinand tried to change the dual monarchy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire into a British-style constitutional monarchy, the king no longer has supreme power, Ferdinand tried to ensure the longevity of the Habsburg dynasty and maintain the unity of the country through such means.

It must be said that this idea is very reasonable, and it also has considerable propagation.

However, God will never care about the illusion of human goodness, and in Sarajevo a conspiracy against Archduke Ferdinand is already brewing. A few young and fanatical Serbs and a cunning monarch are quietly setting traps to hunt down the stupid Austro-Hungarian crown prince.

In distant China, a new supreme ruler is secretly praying that Archduke Ferdinand will die soon!

Chai Dongliang's compassion will always be given only to his compatriots??? To hell with internationalism!

(To be continued)