An official road winds from north to south, and because of the thick snow, it almost blends in with the white field, and if it were not for the ruts on the road, it would be almost impossible to tell which is the road which is the field.

A four-wheeled carriage stopped on the side of the road, one of the wheels on the right was deep in the snow, the axle had been seriously damaged, several soldiers in British Army uniforms were gathering around the wheels, hurriedly replacing the wheels, not far from them, more than a dozen British horses were standing leisurely in the snow, from time to time a few snorts.

The carriage was lavishly decorated, with a badge painted on the door, a gilded flagpole at the tail, and a rice-shaped flag at the top.

There were several men sitting in the carriage of the carriage, except for one of whom was a foreigner with a western face, the others were all oriental faces, and from the analysis of the braids on the back of their heads, they were all Chinese, old and young, all with straight faces and without saying a word.

The foreigner glanced out the window and said to the Chinese man sitting next to him, "Lord Yuan, I think that if you regain power, you should repair the road from Beijing to Tianjin, and it is better to build an asphalt road, so that we will not waste time here." "This foreigner speaks Chinese fluently and has a Beijing flavor.

This foreigner's Chinese name is Zhu Erdian, and he is now the minister of the British Empire to China, and as for the Chinese man sitting next to him, it is none other than Yuan Shikai, who has just escaped from the capital, and the other young men are his sons.

Yuan Shikai has been in a panic these days, Zhao Bei supported him as the "republican commander" of the Jiujiang telegram has made him completely lose the trust of the Qing court, for this, Yuan Shikai is very clear, he is not willing to be tied to death, but there is no absolute confidence to control the Beiyang military and political group that has become more and more powerful, if he rebels against the Qing Dynasty, how many senior generals in the Beiyang army will follow him? In this regard, Yuan Shikai did not have much success, so in the past few days, although Yang Du's words kept lingering in his mind, he couldn't make up his mind, until an hour ago, a little eunuch who was on an errand in the palace hurriedly came and brought him a note, which made him make up his mind.

The little eunuch was sent by Xiao Dezhang, a popular man in front of Longyu, and the note was also written by Xiao Dezhang in a hurry, with only a few sentences on it: The banner man said that you poisoned the Emperor Daxing, and he wants to come to get you, run.

Out of prudence, there was no payment on the note, only a secret note, which was the code agreed between Yuan Shikai and Xiao Dezhang.

As a drill camp master who has been in the sea for a long time, Yuan Shikai has already fought with Xiao Dezhang, just like when he won over Li Lianying, houses, tickets and even women, what Xiao Dezhang wants, he Yuan Shikai will give him, Xiao Dezhang wants money, Yuan Shikai wants a peace of mind, this deal is still very cost-effective for both parties, if not, whether he Yuan Shikai can escape from the capital alive today is still two words.

After receiving Xiao Dezhang's note, Yuan Shikai panicked, and didn't have time to think about it for a while, so he immediately took several sons in disguise and rode to the British Embassy, and then under the personal escort of the British minister, he sat in a four-wheeled carriage with a diplomatic badge and fled out of the capital.

Yuan Shikai was already a frightened bird, and he didn't even dare to go to the Beijing-Tianjin Railway, so he had to be escorted by Zhu Erdian to Tianjin in a carriage, but the carriage broke down in this wilderness, if it wasn't for Zhu Erdian sitting beside him, I'm afraid he would have fled on foot.

Hearing Zhu Erdian speak, Yuan Shikai, who was in a daze, came back to his senses and said with a wry smile: "Mr. Minister said that he was laughing." Now that I'm a lost dog, it's hard to say whether I can save my life or not, and I hold the power? That can only be said when the revolutionary army from the south arrives in the north. Didn't they say in the telegram that they would support me as a commander? You can't break your promise when the time comes, right? If they don't keep their word, who will give their revolutionary party their life? ”

Zhu Erdian lowered the curtain and said, "I have a few words I want to talk to Lord Yuan in private, I don't know if Lord Yuan is convenient or not?" ”

Yuan Shikai comprehended, waved his hand, and said to the sons sitting opposite: "You go down and stand far away." ”

There were only the two of them left in the carriage, Zhu Erdian took out a box of Cuban cigars, handed it to Yuan Shikai, saw that the other party shook his head, then slowly took out a cigar from the box and lit it, took a puff, slowly shushed out the smoke ring, and said: "With all due respect, in the eyes of our foreign legations, the situation in the south of your country is deteriorating rapidly, and it may not be long before the dynasty of the Manchurian nobility will collapse. Apparently unable to defend themselves, the rebellions of the New Army in places such as Anhui and Kiangsi showed that the Manchurian aristocracy had completely lost the loyalty of the army, especially the Han Chinese officers. Now your country is suffering from internal and external troubles, and no matter which ruler is changed, it will only perish, in the words of you Chinese, it is called 'changing the dynasty'. ”

Yuan Shikai's face sank like water, and he listened quietly, but he didn't interject, until Zhu Erdian stopped talking, he was still silent. What is the Qing Dynasty like now, there is no need for Zhu Erdian to say, he knows better than anyone else in his heart, the people are not living, rebellions are everywhere, foreign powers are invading, there are doomsday scenes everywhere, and the people who are worried about the country are all heartbroken, and those banner people feel good about themselves, and at this time they still want to sweep away the Han forces in the court.

Without Hanchen, relying on those hardcore crops of the Eight Banners who don't know anything, can they govern the country well?

Daydreaming also has to look at the time.

Zhu Erdian paused, glanced at Yuan Shikai, and then said: "According to the experience of Western historical development, if a declining dynasty wants to save its rule, the only effective way is to find a way to expand its ruling base, absorb more talented people into the ruling group, suppress the revolutionary trend of thought, and win the hearts and minds of the people. But as far as I can see, the current Manchurian dynasty does not seem to intend to do this, and they are accelerating the consolidation of power and further excluding the Han Chinese forces, and perhaps the concept of 'expanding the base of domination' has never existed in their minds, and they are very stupid in doing so, and they will only plunge themselves deeper into isolation, in your Chinese idiom, 'embattled'. Originally, more than forty years ago, after the elimination of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, you Han forces had a good opportunity to destroy this Manchurian dynasty, but unfortunately, due to the infighting between you and the instigation and division of the Manchurian aristocracy, you did not seize this opportunity. Now, another new opportunity is in front of you Han forces, and I hope that Lord Yuan will not miss another good opportunity. ”

Yuan Shikai hesitated for a moment and said, "Mr. Minister, what you just said is very rebellious in our country. As a minister of the court, I have received the grace of the country, and the court is sorry for me, but I can't be sorry for the court. ”

The corners of Zhu Erdian's mouth were slightly raised, his eyes glanced at Yuan Shikai's face, and he wanted to study the flaws in this ancient Chinese officialdom performance technique, but he searched for a long time, but he didn't find any flaws, so he had to smile and shake his head, and said: "Lord Yuan, can't you see that what I said to you is true?" Not only do I think so, all foreign ministers in Beijing almost all have the same idea, now the only person who can save this country is you, your Beiyang Army will become the mainstay of this country, without you, this country will soon fall into chaos, I believe you also know the allusion of 'Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms', if that happens, it will not only be sad for your country, but it will also cause serious damage to Sino-foreign trade. In the opinion of our Legation, if the chaos in your country continues, then your country may well sink completely, becoming Poland in the Far East, or another India. ”