In the seventeenth year of Guangxu of Qing Dezong, Song Xiaofei, who was 30 years old, served as the commander of Zhili and the commander of the Beiyang Naval Division, he selected the best of the best, selected 7,000 elite soldiers from the 70,000 army in charge, built a new army, abandoned the original old system of the green battalion, supervised and trained the new army based on the German army military system, and formed infantry, horses, artillery, engineering, baggage and other arms, all of which adopted new weapons and equipment such as German Krupp artillery, and formulated new battalion rules and regulations, pay medals, and regulations, so that Wang Shizhen, Duan Qirui, Feng Guozhang and others were appointed as the general offices and commanders of various departments, and sent Cao Kun, Duan Zhigui and others were assigned to each battalion sentinel officer, and Xu Shichang, Ruan Zhongshu, and Xi Muqing were appointed to handle the copywriting. Because Xi Muyan was pregnant at this time, she recommended her sister Xi Muqing to replace her and assist Song Xiaofei in handling important tasks such as raising money.

Song Xiaofei invited the German instructors of the Beiyang Military Academy to teach the new army, and established the infantry team, horse team, and artillery team and other camp schools and moral halls, collectively referred to as the "camp military preparation school", and drew on the West Point military academy rules he saw when he was in the military academy, and set ten new military regulations: first, unconditional execution of orders; Second, team spirit; Article 3, only the first; Fourth, dare to take risks; Fifth, the spirit of fire; Article 6, due diligence; Seventh, there is no impossibility; Article 8: Never give up; Article 9: Struggle for the family and country; Article 10: Immediate action. After half a year of hard training, the 7,000 New Army has taken on a new mental outlook and greatly increased its combat effectiveness.

That said, Song Xiaofei was resting in Tianjin's mansion, and Zhan Tianyou brought Kang Youwei to visit, both of them were from Nanhai County, Guangzhou Prefecture, Guangdong Province, and authentic villagers. Kang Youwei was thirty-three years old at this time, and he was only a lifter, and he wanted to go to the Guangxu Emperor to ask for a change, but he had no way. When talking with Zhan Tianyou, Kang Youwei learned that Song Xiaofei was open-minded, and he also advocated changing the law and reforming, and he was still a big celebrity around Li Hongzhang, so he rushed to visit, first, he wanted to borrow Song Xiaofei's hand to write to Emperor Guangxu, and secondly, he also wanted to promote himself, and he also wanted to join Li Hongzhang's staff.

Song Xiaofei met Zhan Tianyou and Kang Youwei in the living room, and after the salute, Zhan Tianyou introduced Kang Youwei to Song Xiaofei: "This is Zhan's fellow countryman, who began to read four books when he was five or six years old, and when he was ten years old, he knew the business of Zeng Wengong and Zuo Wenxiang, and he had generosity and ambition. He Guangxu fifteen years in the people, learned rich five cars, only eight buckets, more rare, he widely dabbled in the "Sea Country Atlas", "Yinghuan Zhiluo", read a large number of Taixi books, aiming at the restoration and saving the country, the villagers called Kang Nanhai. ”

Calling a person's name by the name of their hometown meant respect in the late Qing Dynasty, for example, Li Hongzhang was also called Li Hefei. Song Xiaofei glanced at "Kang Nanhai", he was of medium stature, his appearance was not good, he was wearing a melon skin hat, a sparse mustache, and a gray robe. Kang Youwei gave Song Xiaofei a fist salute, and after sitting down, he talked endlessly about his way of changing the law, his words had a thick Cantonese accent, and Song Xiaofei couldn't hear it clearly, in order to show politeness, Song Xiaofei still let Kang Youwei speak freely.

Kang Youwei got straight to the point and said: "My lord, today's China is poor and weak, with internal and external troubles, and the world cannot be saved unless the law is changed!" ”

Song Xiaofei nodded and said, "When the law changes, the key is how to change."

Kang Youwei said: "Change lies in people rather than things; Change lies in the heart, not in the trace; Therefore, the method of change lies in changing people and hearts. ”

Kang Youwei's eloquence is really good, Song Xiaofei heard it, and asked calmly: "People's hearts are separated from the belly, I'm afraid it's not so easy to change, can the law of two hundred years be changed?" What if the old ministers of the DPRK and China oppose it? ”

Kang Youwei's face did not change and said: "If the old minister opposes, kill a few first-class officials, and the law can be changed." ”

When Song Xiaofei heard this, this person was so angry, and said: If the Queen Mother opposes it, what should I do?

Kang Youwei said: "Send heavy troops to surround the Summer Palace and ban it." ”

When Song Xiaofei heard this, he asked: "China has ruled the world with filial piety since ancient times, the emperor's surname is filial piety, and the queen mother is under house arrest, how can he face the people of the world?" Furthermore, do adults know how many servants there are in the Summer Palace? Who is Admiral of the Nine Gates? Will they listen to the emperor? ”

Kang Youwei said, "I don't know this, but I know that after three years of changing the law, China can stand on its own, and in the palm of your hand, the new civilizations of Europe and the United States are all in my hands." ”

When Song Xiaofei heard this, this cowhide was blown big enough, and said: "Confucian Confucian culture has been prevalent in China for thousands of years, how can it be changed in a flashback?" I once worked in Henan for disaster relief, and the local squires were eager to eat meat and sleep skin for foreigners, how did the civilization of Europe and the United States land? Have you killed all the squires in the world? ”

Kang Youwei said: "You can restructure the ancient system, and in the old bottle of Confucius, fill the new wine with the equality of Mingzhu, break the distinction between Yixia and Xia, and realize the Mingzhuan Republic and the world is the same."

When Song Xiaofei heard this, he knew why the Wuxu Reform in history failed, and the tragedy of China lies in the unrealistic literati involved in politics like Kang Youwei, lacking basic political knowledge. Wang Mang did not succeed when he became the real power emperor Yanjing, how could Emperor Guangxu, a hypocritical monarch, do it? Song Xiaofei asked: "What is the Datong world you are talking about?" ”

Kang Youwei explained with a wistful face: "In the Datong society, the country does not exist, and the whole world is under the rule of a public axe, there is no noble and low, no rich or poor, no family, no husband and wife, men and women. After a year's residence, you can change people, no prison, no property, no filthy officials, no diplomacy, no armaments, no danger, no war......"

Song Xiaofei completely understood that Kang Youwei's ultimate goal was to achieve universal harmony and create a utopian world. The good things that people can think of, Kang Youwei thinks of in the Datong society, and the bad things that people can do, Kang Youwei does not consider them. Song Xiaofei knows that the road to heaven in the world often leads to hell in reality! The Great Purge of the Soviet Union, the Khmer Rouge bones, all illustrate this point! So as soon as Kang Youwei explained, Song Xiaofei really couldn't listen to it, slapped the table, stood up and said: "Mingzhu Republic is definitely not the Datong world you think, how can the world achieve Datong?" Just like there are thousands of diseases in people, what do you think would happen if they all took the same medicine? The world is the same, everyone wants to be an impassioned scholar like you, without a butcher, where will we get meat to eat? Without fishermen, where do we get the fish to eat? To put it mildly, if you don't pour a night pot, your house will stink all day long! The Datong society you are talking about can only be a cake to satisfy hunger! ”

Kang Youwei didn't expect Song Xiaofei to understand the Ming Cook Republic better than him, and asked, "Isn't Lord Admiral in favor of changing the law?" ”

Song Xiaofei thought about it, so he might as well teach this half-hung scholar a lesson, and said: "This official thinks that the way to strengthen the country and enrich the people lies in the foundation of foreign affairs and strong industry and commerce, training new soldiers to strengthen the world, promoting education and enlightening the wisdom of the people, and turning the old law into the rule of the world." Changing the law is not an overnight thing, it has to be done step by step, it is impossible to change quickly, and it is said that the Meiji Restoration also took more than 20 years before there was a constitution! I don't know if you have been to the disaster area a few years ago, but I have seen with my own eyes the victims whose families were starved to death, and for the 30,000 peasants, filling the stomachs of themselves and their families is the most important thing. Ninety percent of the people are peasants, and most of them are illiterate, so I advocate that we should first improve the people's livelihood, and then we should do the work of cooking, and I will first do foreign affairs, then train new soldiers, and then promote education, and finally gradually change the law! ”

Kang Youwei disagreed, and said: "Doing foreign affairs is just to raid the skins of Westerners, make up for leaks, and fill the anthill, which is fundamentally a 'change', not a 'change of law'." If you don't learn the wonderful method of Taixi to raise the people, and only talk about the power of guns and cannons in the West, you will inevitably fail. ”

Song Xiaofei retorted: "Things can't change, how can we talk about changing the law?" Taishi Gong said more than 2,000 years ago that Cang Liao knows etiquette and food and clothing and knows honor and disgrace, the tide of the world is commerce, and this world will be the world of businessmen and the world of industrial civilization in the future. Lord Zhongtang tried his best to engage in foreign affairs, where did he fail? If we hadn't built a powerful Beiyang Fleet, I would have already arrived in Tianjin, and you would still have time to sit here and talk about it? You need to know how to change the law, and you must also have a certain material support, the road must be walked step by step, the meal must be eaten in one bite, and if you are in a hurry, you will inevitably choke to death! I suggest you take a look at today's "Qiangguo Daily", which has an article by the foreign pastor Timothy Lee, which also talks about how to strengthen the country, and see how the foreigners you want to emulate suggest China's reform. ”

Timothy Lee had been hired by Song Xiaofei to temporarily serve as the chief writer of the "Qiangguo Daily" in Tianjin, and an article by him happened to be published that day: China was originally a country with vast land and abundant resources, and it was said that it was poor, and the acres of land were the same, and the projects were the same. How can China get out of its economic woes? Mining and setting up factories, building railways, running postal services, opening banks, reforming the currency system, reclamation, trade, etc., and especially building railways and trade is the most important.

The servant gave Kang Youwei this newspaper, and after reading Timothy Lee's article, Kang Youwei was furious, brushed his sleeves away, and said: "The Tao is different, and we don't conspire with each other!" I will not give up my dream of Datong! This meeting made Zhan Tianyou extremely embarrassed, and Song Xiaofei didn't keep it, saying, "I'll not send it far!" ”

Kang Youwei had just left on his front foot, and Li Hongzhang sent someone to invite him, saying that there was something important to discuss. What can be a big deal at this time? As soon as Song Xiaofei calculates the time, Weng Tong's three-year vacancy has expired, won't it be his return to the dynasty? Song Xiaofei didn't think much about it, got into a carriage, and went straight to the Li Mansion in Tianjin.