On July 25, 1912, during the busy season of three summers at the Wuhu Invalids Farm, groups of hard laborers were harvesting rice under the blazing sun, and everyone was busy with their hands and feet.

Xue Zilin was washed all over his body, sweat fell like raindrops into the rice field and splashed small ripples, his originally fair skin had been tanned, his lips were chapped and cracked, and he was already alive and well. He had just straightened up to soothe his aching back when he felt a hot tingling.

"Smack!"

The sound of the leather whip sounded in his ears, the back of ** had already been sunburned and peeled, the cracked skin was fanning like wings, and the delicate skin inside was red again, and the whip hit him from the back to the heart, and his body trembled involuntarily.

"You death row prisoners, no matter how lazy you are, Lao Tzu will throw you all into the pit!" A soldier with a broken right hand brandished a whip and whipped the prisoner with no head or face.

Some of these people who did hard labor were the salt lords under Xu Baoshan who were captured from Yangzhou, some were the remnants of the Huaishang Army who attacked Anqing, and some were the Huang Huanzhang troops of the Jiangxi army who were captured by Kuang Haishan in Jiujiang.

Xue Zilin was captured after fainting, and in addition to the hard work he had to do, he was almost like a walking corpse. When the soldiers of the Invalides Farm saw them, they not only beat and scolded, but the surrounding people even threw stones at them and spat on them.

Was the revolution wrong?

Xue Zilin followed his teacher Zhang Huitao from Rong to raise troops, from Shouzhou to Bengbu, swept most of Anhui Province within a month, and everywhere he went, the common people ate pot pulp to welcome the revolutionary army, and the eyes of the eldest girl looking at the student army were full of sultry enthusiasm. It's just that the good times didn't last long, and after the teacher Zhang Huitao sat in Lu'an as the commander of the second road of the Huaishang Army, he found that the eyes of the people looking at them were no longer as warm and full of gratitude as before, only endless fear and hatred. Xue Zilin once personally killed dozens of scum of the party who robbed the people and forcibly annihilated women, he led the law enforcement team to patrol and arrest those thieves who plagued the people, and almost never slept well, but he no longer saw the kind of heart-warming smiles of the common people.

He was confused, he was confused, and he had asked himself more than once: Is it wrong to fill up the revolution? Is it wrong to cast a pen from Rong?

Zhang Huitao told him that this was the pain that the revolution had to endure, and that when the former Qing bureaucrats who had stolen high positions were completely defeated, the good news of the people would naturally come??? He believed this, so no matter which battle he was in the front, the student army supported half of the Huaishang army in Anhui Province with his thin body.

After being captured, he did not give in, neither the leather whip nor the hard labor could shake Xue Zilin's strong will to revolution, but the disdainful eyes of the common people and the fingers that poked their backbones bent his waist. Seeing the people and the wounded soldiers of the Invalids Farm greeting each other, bringing water and food, and greeting each other with stones and cursing when he saw the hard servants, Xue Zilin was completely lost.

Those wounded soldiers who were extremely cruel to them treated the common people like relatives, helping them carry water and chopping firewood, and those agricultural experts with glasses taught the common people to select and breed good seeds and prevent pests and diseases, and the people loved them as their own children.

Those enemies who shouted "Long live the Republic of China" and "Long live freedom" and fought for their life and death were the children of the people of Anhui, and they and those classmates who held the same belief turned out to be sinners who undermined the republic and the Republic of China? There are more than 700 students who followed Zhang Huitao to put pen to paper, but there are less than 150 people left, and their blood has been sprinkled into the pit!

This deep sense of guilt and being deceived tormented Xue Zilin??? And all the student armies who followed Zhang Huitao to raise troops and fantasized about saving China with iron and blood.

When the bell, bell, and bell were slanting westward, dragging the almost paralyzed body tortured by the heat and toil, Xue Zilin walked to the big canteen, for the hard servants, the ideal is an insignificant luxury, and each meal is not much bigger than a chess piece and a rare rice soup that can illuminate the human figure, which is what they look forward to the most.

Xue Zilin sniffled, and there was a long-lost fragrance in the air, could it be meat?

Confucius listened to music for three months without knowing the taste of meat, that is not hungry! Imprisoned him on the Invalides Farm for three months of hard labor, and ensured that he would want to hug a fat pig when he slept from now on, and listening to the sow humming was much more beautiful than "Shao Le"!

The coarse porcelain bowl was filled with a bowl of brown rice, and two pieces of roast pork more than three inches long and half an inch thick were also spread on top, and the prisoners sniffed and sniffed, carefully biting down to let the fragrance ripple back and forth between their teeth and cheeks. The wounded soldiers in charge of the Invalides Farm did not beat and scold them for the first time, but kindly told them that there was enough rice and meat today, but let them eat slowly, so as not to hurt their spleen and stomach.

Upon hearing this, the convicts immediately devoured it, and every man had eaten until his throat and eyes were full, and every man who could smoke at supper was given two cigarette rolls.

Xue Zilin suddenly had an ominous premonition, his sweat pores almost exploded, I remember that the person who heard the story said that everyone who killed the head would be given a good meal, and then let the prisoner go on the road as a full ghost.

The bell rang again, and the director of the Invalides Farm ordered all the prisoners to take a bath, then change into clean clothes, and then go to the big field to watch the play.

In Xue Zilin's memory, since he was caught here, every night has been an endless lecture and the prisoner's reflective speeches, and watching the play is already an extremely distant memory in his mind.

Watching a play? Watching the head-killing drama?

????? Dividing line ?????

On July 25, 1912, the Grand Theater of the Summer Palace of Yanjing Summer Palace was located in the Dehe Garden, and together with the Qingyin Pavilion in the Chengde Summer Resort and the Changyin Pavilion in the Forbidden City, they were collectively known as the three major stages of the Qing Dynasty. The Grand Theater of Deheyuan was born for Cixi at the age of 60, and in order to make up this money, Prince Alcohol not only embezzled the military funds of the navy but also opened a coastal defense donation, which made the heavens angry and resentful. The stage is seven feet and six feet high, second only to the highest Buddha Incense Pavilion in the Summer Palace. The theater building has three floors and the backstage makeup building has two floors.

The drum music of the Grand Theater is noisy and lively, and the actors accompany the twelve minutes of careful performance of auspicious excerpts such as "Jumping Jiaguan" and "Full Bed Wat". The medals of the Beiyang officers are dazzling and shiny, the important members of the temporary political axe are also in straight suits, the old and young relics of the Manchu Dynasty are brilliant, everyone has a smile on their faces, and they bow a thousand when they meet, and the young flag men meet each other half-squatting and touch each other in turn. The Western ministers held their wine glasses reservedly, while the ministers' wives happily enjoyed the beautiful scenery of this oriental royal garden. The soldiers of the presidential palace guard moved Chinese and Western dishes, Dutch water, and wine upwards like a stream.

Today is the birth of Yuan Shikai's favorite concubine Shen Wuniang, and Yuan Shikai specially sent someone to borrow the Grand Theater of the Summer Palace from the Manchu Dynasty to make her birthday. Almost all the ministers of cultural relics of the Beiyang political axe gathered here, and although the old and young remnants of the Manchu Qing Dynasty scolded the eight generations of the ancestors of this living Cao Ying behind their backs, it did not prevent them from taking the opportunity to befriend this President Yuan.

Cao Kun, who was five short in stature, was wearing a tweed official uniform, his back was already wet and sticky to his body, he kept wiping his sweat with a towel, and drank six or seven bottles of Dutch water with ice cubes and still couldn't stop sweating.

Zhang Xun, the commander of the Dingwu Army, was also sweating hotly, and his gray braids kept swinging with the action of shaking the fan, like the tail of a pig.

Zhang Xun looked funny, and squirted a mouthful of Dutch water onto Zhang Xun's dress.

"Three fools, you have also studied the martial arts academy, Sven!" Zhang Xun frowned while wiping his dress with a towel.

Cao Kun and Zhang Xun are hardcores, known as Meng Liang and Jiao Zan of Beiyang, and they have always been inseparable, and they have long been used to laughing.

"Shaoxuan, you look old recently, the three inches below the woman's navel are the hero's mound, be careful of being hollowed out by that little goblin, obediently, forty locomotives and eighty carriages are replaced by a small hair, your brother is really willing!" Cao Kun quipped with a smile.

Zhang Xun snorted: "How much better are you than Lao Tzu?" This year, I took another concubine, you are also fifty people, marry a fifteen-year-old aunt, and you are not afraid of losing your life! ”

The two of them dismantled each other, then looked at each other and smiled.

Cao Kun's little eyes turned a few times: "Shaoxuan, have you seen it, that Xu Xiaofan didn't come!" ”

Zhang Xun looked around, and sure enough, he didn't see the shadow of Xu Shuzheng, the deputy director of the Ministry of War, and said coldly: "It's best if you don't come, you will be tired of seeing him, and people don't like things that dogs don't want to see." ”

Cao Kun shook his head and said: "It's not as good as before, the old man hasn't personally taken charge of the army for many years, he relies on the face of the year, Duan Zhiquan has the power to monopolize it, and he obeys Xu Xiaofan's words, we, the old brothers of Beiyang, may have to hand the little fan a handbook in the future, and mark it down!" ”

Zhang Xun sneered and said: "When Lao Tzu was working for the president, he was still wearing open crotch pants, and he wanted to climb on our heads to and pee, he couldn't even think about it!" What kind of deputy minister of the War Department, don't say it's him, it's Duan Zhiquan, the general chief, who has provoked Lao Tzu, and he still doesn't buy it! ”

Cao Kun saw that Zhang Xun was arched into flames, and he was secretly proud in his heart, and continued to fanned the wind and said: "Shaoxuan, your brother suffered a defeat in Bengbu, and I heard that Xu Xiaofan is going to take the opportunity to seize your Dingwu army, you have to be careful." ”

Zhang Xun's palm was forced, and he only heard a "click" sound The crystal goblet was pinched into a few pieces, and he said angrily: "As long as Xu Xiaofan dares to move Lao Tzu's Dingwu army, Lao Tzu will dare to raise troops on the side of Qingjun!" ”

Cao Kun achieved his goal, lowered his voice and said: "Be quiet, it's not good for people to hear it, your brother is in Xuzhou all the year round, and he doesn't know about Yanjing's affairs, and my brother is afraid that you will be calculated, so you just have a plan in your heart." Don't worry too much, isn't there still me in Yanjing City? Besides, the big president has long been unaccustomed to small fans??? There is only Duan Zhiquan in the eyes of the little fan, and there is no President Yuan! ”

There are more than a dozen plates of ice cubes in the flower hall below the big theater, and the American Hoyla electric fan "buzzes" to send the hoarfrost melted by the ice cubes to every corner of the flower hall. Yuan Shikai sat and watched the play, with today's beaded Shen Wuniang beside him, and behind him sat his henchmen Xu Shichang and Yang Shiqi.

The excerpt of "Samsung Holds Birthday" is being performed on the stage, and Yuan Shikai pats his thighs and watches it with relish.

After a few moments, a middle-aged man walked in.

"Zhiquan, you can also taste it, this coffee from Java is good! And the British Minister Zhu Erdian sent Luzon cigars is also a good thing, you will take a box back when you leave in a while" Yuan Shikai stretched comfortably, and then reached out to pick up a cup of steaming coffee on the coffee table next to him.

Duan Qirui did not wear a military uniform but a green shirt, the pulp was washed without half wrinkles, he was five feet eight or nine, with a thin and well-proportioned body, fair cheeks, slender eyes with a bit of a woman's charming feeling, thin lips, and two delicate French mustaches.

He handed over a box wrapped in yellow brocade and said, "President, this is a birthday gift from Pei Yu to his godmother." ”

Shen Wuniang said with a smile: "Zhiquan, you are known to be honest and honest, I know Pei Yu and your filial piety, it would be good to come and see, what else to buy." ”

Yuan Shikai's eyes widened: "Don't open it to see what good things your baby daughter has sent, this is a piece of the children's heart!" After that, he said to Duan Qirui with a smile: "Zhiquan, before you came, Wu Niang kept talking about you husband and wife, and my ears were calloused??? Sit down, it's good to come, it's good to come! Why, Zheng didn't come? ”

Duan Qirui heard him ask about Xu Shuzheng, and said with a wry smile: "Xu Cichang is not feeling well, let me greet the president and Wu Niang for him." ”

Yuan Shikai laughed and said, "Zhiquan, you can cover for him!" After that, he deliberately lowered his voice and said, "You still don't know your temper?" It's strange that he can come for such a thing as a birthday for his aunt??? Zhiquan, and Zheng are talents, so they should be used well! ”

Seeing Yuan Shikai affectionately calling Xu Shuzheng's cousin, this old boss was so reasonable to his father-in-law, Duan Qirui was also a little moved, he sat down with a smile and watched the play.

After a while, Zhao Bingjun walked in and said excitedly: "President, Jianghuai patrol envoy Chai Guanghua is here to send a congratulatory gift to Wu Niang!" ”

Yuan Shikai jumped up from the chair all of a sudden: "Who?" Who do you say? Is that Chai Dongliang? ”

Yang Shiqi also said with joy: "Congratulations to the president, congratulations to Wu Niang!" The governor of Anhui is thousands of miles away to congratulate Wu Niang on her birthday, and this gift is enough! ”

This time for Shen Wuniang's birthday, Xu Shuzheng refused to come because of illness, although Duan Qirui came, he was wearing civilian clothes under the banner of his wife, which was obviously perfunctory, and it was even more impossible for the governors of the southern provinces to come to congratulate Yuan Shikai's aunt and wife on her birthday, and in two months it was the election of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Anhui is a big province, and there are more than 40 seats in the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Zhao Bingjun nodded and said: "It's him, he specially sent a Huangmei opera from Anhui to Wu Niang to celebrate her birthday, and the troupe is outside the Summer Palace." ”

Yuan Shikai laughed and said, "Okay, Huangmei Opera is good!" Then he patted Duan Qirui on the shoulder and said, "Zhiquan, I haven't seen the drama in your hometown for a long time, right?" Come on, reward the above plays, let them wait, let's take a look at the good show sent by the governor of Anhui Chaidu! ”

(To be continued)