In October, every year in October, Tangnu Wulianghai, the northernmost land in China, enters the winter early, and the summer of Tangli Wulianghai is very beautiful, the primeval forests that are rare in the interior here, there are beautiful plateau lakes, fertile arable land, and grasslands like green carpets. update

But the winter here is harsh, with low temperatures of tens of degrees below zero, and snow up to half a meter deep, when the long cold winter comes, Wulianghai in the Tang Dynasty will enter a different kind of "beauty", but this "beauty" is often limited to the novels of literati or poets' poems.

For those who live here, the bitter cold of winter will only bring all kinds of inconvenience, and for southerners who are accustomed to the wet and cold weather of the south, when the long winter comes, it will only bring a strong sense of "homesickness".

Like any northern frontier province of China, Tangnu Ulianghai is an extremely important region on the "map" of the Ministry of the Interior - a place of exile, which stems from the exile policy of the ruling government and has been strengthened rather than relaxed over the past decade.

However, the target has changed, in the era of the ruling government, that is, in the first year of the empire, the descendants of the Han courtiers recorded in the Manchu Qing "Records of Loyal Ministers" were targeted, they betrayed their own people, so they should be punished, and the punishment for them was to exile them in order to enrich the frontier and expand the Han population in the border area. In just a few years, as many as 13 million people were exiled to Mongolia, Tangnu Ulianghai, Xinjiang, and even Tibet.

Exiles now tend to expel those who might threaten law and order from the cities in accordance with the Security Regulations, and even exile radicals from them to the border provinces, where thousands of people have been exiled every year in the past few years.

"Six months to go!"

Liao Zhongkai, who has lived in the cold place of Dayangshu Village, which is close to the big lake, in Tangnu Wulianghai, for several years, looked at the calendar on the wooden wall, and muttered to himself with some elation.

Exile, he was sentenced to exile in the fourth year of the Empire, and it has been almost six years now, although the days of exile have given him plenty of time to think about various issues, and he also has more time to engage in his own research, but as a southerner who is accustomed to the warmth of the south, it is difficult for him to adapt to the winter of Tangnu Ulianghai.

To this day, he still remembers that when the first winter came, in the face of the low temperature of minus 36 degrees, he even had the idea of writing a letter to the American minister to China, because he was born in the United States, so he hoped that the American minister would come forward and take him out of here, but in the end his strong self-esteem made him give up this idea.

Sitting in a cabin buried on the roof by a snowstorm, listening to the endless roar of the snowstorm, he recalls some of the most memorable events of the past six years.

The years of exile were not as hard as he imagined, here, as a "state prisoner", he did not need to cultivate the land and obtain food through his own labor like other exiles, he could receive six yuan a month for living expenses, although it was not much, but it was enough to maintain his life in the frontier, and he was also a teacher at the national middle school here, and he could receive a salary of fifty-six yuan a month, which was enough for him to live a comfortable and prosperous life anywhere in China.

However, he often sent his salary to his wife, and then relied on the government's living expenses to support himself, using the surplus part of the living expenses to subscribe to newspapers and buy books, and every year when spring came, this comfortable life, if he did not have to report to the police station every week, he might forget the fact that he was exiled.

If it weren't for the cold winters here and the expectation for the future, perhaps he would have brought his family here like many exiles, and then resigned himself to teaching here for a living, but he believed that the life of exile would soon end, and that China would one day, change. …,

Therefore, whenever he sees those reports of the struggle in the parliament from the newspapers, he is always full of expectations, that is the expectation of change, especially after Guan Mingtang became the prime minister, he is more like seeing the dawn of hope, as we all know, Guan Mingtang's position is very clear, he supports the constitution, and even supports the implementation of a virtual monarchy in China.

In his view, Guan Mingtang's appointment as prime minister always means that the country is changing, although this change is very slow, but it is always developing on the good side, if in the past six years, what is his biggest change, I am afraid is that he has changed from a republican radical to a constitutionalist who is inclined to constitutionalism.

After all, now, anyone with a little sense knows that for the current China, no one can shake the current system, in the eyes of the vast majority of the people, compared to the Manchu era, the current China is undoubtedly more like a country, and the status of the country is far from being comparable to the Manchu era, and the vast majority of the people do not need to go hungry anymore, the Chinese people have never had high requirements, their requirements are very simple, just to eat a full stomach, so they are very content.

In Liao Zhongkai's view, at least, as of now, from the perspective of the country alone, no one can do better than Chen Moran, maybe really like many people, there is no better choice, of course, except for the "regression of civil rights", it seems that everything is not bad.

If the country can truly achieve constitutionalism, perhaps ...... Thinking about it, Liao Zhongkai picked up the newspaper he had just sent and read it, the newspaper is the "Imperial Times" with the largest circulation in China, although the Chinese government cannot run a newspaper, but the "Imperial Times" is inclined to the government, to a certain extent, it is almost equal to China's official newspaper, but for the government to publish 50,000 yuan of advertisements in the "Imperial Times" every month, Liao Zhongkai is extremely disdainful, this is a kind of bribery, but in any case, from this semi-official newspaper, he can always get some information he needs.

Compared with many people, Liao Zhongkai has an extraordinary memory, he can clearly remember the article he only read once a year ago, as soon as he opened the newspaper, he saw an article - "The Way of a Strong Country - The Whole Country is a Soldier", looking at this article, he was stunned at first, and then read it in a very low voice, almost a very soft whisper:

“…… Every morning at five o'clock, the whole city rises with the sound of a cannon, and all the school teachers, students, civil servants, businessmen, and workers do not get up to go to the playground at half past five to give military training, and the people's spirit is really invigorated.

At this time of war, it is undoubtedly the most realistic choice to promote this kind of militarized national education, and militarized national education can not only strengthen the people and strengthen the species, but also standardize the national morality, enhance the national spirit, and improve the quality of the people......"

When he saw the newspaper article advocating the militarization of the people, Liao Zhongkai's mind came to mind, ten years ago, after he met Chen Moran with Sun Yat-sen and others, someone commented on him, "Although Chen was born overseas, his genetic consciousness is that of Confucius and Confucian orthodoxy, and no matter how Westernized his appearance is, his soul is always Confucian"

In the eyes of the emperor who believed that "only faith can move mountains", compared with European and American countries, China is a country with a serious lack of religious resources, and for thousands of years, traditional ethics and Confucian culture have been effective tools to maintain the operation of society. However, in the two hundred and sixty years of alien enslavement, although the traditional culture seems to be preserved, in fact the national spirit has been swept away.

"If we want to save our culture and invigorate the minds of our people, we must first restore our traditions."

As early as 10 years ago, when discussing China's education plan with officials of the Ministry of Education, he said that, nine years ago, after he ascended the throne, he made a pilgrimage to Qufu in Shandong Province, apparently hoping to draw the ideological strength and moral support of a strong country from Confucian thought. …,

Eight years ago, the Emperor and the Cabinet Government jointly promulgated the "Purpose of Education in the Chinese Empire and Its Implementation Guidelines", which clearly stipulated that the eight virtues of "loyalty, reform, benevolence, faith, righteousness, and peace" advocated by Confucianism should be regarded as the main goal of general education. At the same time, the Ministry of Education also ordered all schools to make plaques, all with white characters on a blue background, with the words "loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, love, faith, righteousness, and peace" written on them, and hung them in auditoriums or public places, so that teachers and students could "be vigilant and never forget" about this important training for the people.

In the following eight years, Chen Moran spared no effort to preach the so-called "national virtues" and "Confucian philosophy" everywhere, from "Gezhi, sincerity, Zhengxiu, Qi Zhiping" to "wisdom, benevolence and bravery", from "courtesy, righteousness, honesty and shame" to "loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, love, faith, righteousness and peace", almost encompassing the entire content of Confucianism.

Six years ago, after signing the order to bulldoze the Muslim monasteries, Chen Moran even proposed in his speech to the students of the Central Political School of the Empire, "Personality and Nation," that in addition to the four words "dear and sincere," it was necessary to add "courtesy, righteousness, honesty and shame" in order to "save the degenerate people's morality and people's hearts," "transform the quality of the nation," and "determine the foundation of our nation." He also published "The Fundamental Task of Rejuvenating the Nation - The Essence of Education and Protection", explaining the importance of "courtesy, righteousness, honesty and shame", saying that only education and "courtesy, righteousness and shame" are the only tools for rejuvenation. If the four dimensions are not open, the country will perish" leads to the conclusion that "the four dimensions are both open, and the country is rejuvenated".

Subsequently, he made another pilgrimage to Qufu, Shandong, and during the pilgrimage, he called Qufu, Shandong "the Jerusalem of China", and at the same time announced that "from now on, Confucianism will be established as the state religion of the Chinese Empire!" ”。

At the same time as the establishment of the state religion, the Confucian temples were repaired throughout the country, especially in the Muslim areas, and the Confucian temples in the Muslim areas were built on the original site of the Hui temples, which directly triggered a four-year rebellion, and finally the rebellion was quelled under the strong suppression of the Guards, and correspondingly, in that process, the "state religion" was generally recognized by the people under the impact of "heresy", and even on the back of the Chinese dollar currency, "We believe in Confucianism" are written.

In the eyes of outsiders, whether it is respecting Confucianism or establishing a state religion, it is the starting point of maintaining national traditions and restoring national quality, but in the eyes of Liao Zhongkai and the republicans, respecting Confucianism and establishing a state religion is for his own selfish interests -- in order to maintain his rule, after all, it is the spirit of Confucianism that has safeguarded China's imperial power for thousands of years.

The supreme god that Confucianism believes in is heaven. "The Heavens, the Heavens; God, the one who speaks for all things; The emperor is known for being the master of things. ”

Confucianists believed that God had appointed kings and teachers to mankind to educate and govern God's people. "The people descended from heaven, and they were the kings and teachers, but they helped God and favored the Quartet."

Perhaps to some extent, Chen Moran admired Western science more, but because of his status as emperor, he was very much in favor of Confucian governance, because it was beneficial to his own rule. However, as a major carrier of Confucian political inheritance, the imperial examination system was abolished without abolition under the premise that it did not open "Enke", but his rule needed the support of Confucianism, and if Confucianism wanted to continue to rule, it could not do without the imperial examination system. On the other hand, however, he changed traditional Confucianism by "transferring schools to teaching", and maintained the connection between traditional Confucianism and society by awarding outstanding people as "Confucian scholars".

Although it is not denied that the "Confucianists" have maintained Chinese traditions, so that China has been able to maintain the traditions of the whole society in this drastic change unseen in a thousand years, in Liao Zhongkai's view, the fundamental purpose of his doing so is to maintain his rule, and at this time, looking at the implementation of this "national militarization", Liao Zhongkai's heart is full of worry. …,

"In the militarization of the people, military personnel enter the assemblies and institutions at all levels of villages, townships, counties, and cities, and military personnel enter schools, and those who fail military training are not allowed to graduate......"

Recalling the articles related to the "militarization of the nation", Liao Zhongkai's heart couldn't help but be full of melancholy, in China, the most staunch royalists are not the so-called royalists, nor the Confucian churches that are needed, but the army! The royal family has always regarded the army as a "Yin stock", and the army has never disappointed the emperor, just as the emperor never disappoints his soldiers, the emperor's preference and trust for the army.

Under the royal admiration of the soldiers, and under the propaganda of "the military to restore the nation", the status of the army has never been so high as it is now, while the soldiers enjoy social respect, their loyalty to the royal family is also increasing day by day, all of which makes the army never become a "national army", until now no one can change the essence of the "royal army".

Especially those soldiers, every year there are a large number of rural children for tax-free fields and re-education after retirement to join the army, the change of status makes them even after retirement, still grateful to the emperor, after the military retirement, they tend to join those associations with loyalty to the royal as the core, if such a group of people into all levels of institutions and autonomous associations, then the emperor's authority will be unprecedentedly strengthened in the process, it can be said that all along, The local autonomy that China has maintained under the authoritarian authority of the central government will be severely undermined, and once local autonomy will cease to exist......

At this moment, Liao Zhongkai's mind came to mind to recreate China under absolute authoritarianism, and at that time, the gap that was now left under local autonomy would also be completely closed.

What is the biggest impact on Liao? I am afraid that after the end of his exile, he will not be able to run for election as planned, and finally change the country by entering Congress.

"No, you must warn everyone!"

Liao Zhongkai, who was thoughtful, immediately made a decision in his heart, hurriedly picked up the pen and paper on the table, and began to prepare to write letters to his comrades and friends, and finally, in addition to writing articles to newspapers to oppose the "militarization of the nation," he even wrote letters to the republican student organizations of various universities.

Throughout the night, Liao Zhongkai, who had not rested all night, wrote dozens of letters, and even wrote letters to Sun Wen and others, who were in prison and had not yet been released, expressing his worries in the letters, and at the same time calling on them to write letters to the student organizations in the university, and the university at least had a systematic republican organization. They should be able to make a difference!

Early in the morning, in this small town that seemed very deserted in winter, stepping on the thick snow, Liao Zhongkai walked towards the post office, and after stuffing dozens of letters into the mail barrel, he heard a sudden shout outside.

"Why, why did you send this to me, I'm not ......"

Listening to the somewhat excited shouts, Liao Zhongkai hurriedly walked away from the post office, opposite the post office is the police station, outside the police station, there were already five or six people standing at this time, they were all guests in Liao Zhongkai's house, the same dissident exiles, the same state criminals, at this time, they were all crowded outside the police station, and everyone's expressions were extremely excited.

What happened?

"Xu Nianci, what's going on?"

Xu Nianci was a republican exile from Shandong, who was exiled for advocating the republican revolution. When he looked back at Liao Zhongkai, his face was full of mockery.

"Wu Zihan from Zhejiang is due next month, and the police station handed him a conscription order in the morning!"

What the?

Listening to Xu Nianci's words, Liao Zhongkai only felt dizzy, how could this be, the conscription order was by no means a conscription order, it was simply another "verdict" of theirs, yes, it was a "verdict", the army is a place to change the thinking of young people, in the army, the thinking of young people will be "corrected", but Wu Zihan is a middle-aged man who is nearly forty years old, he, what kind of service is he going to serve.

"How so?"

"Do you still need to ask? Or the tyrant who remembered us again! ”

As soon as Xu Nianci's words fell, it caused the side eyes of a policeman who was originally theorizing with Wu Zihan at the door of the police station, and as soon as the policeman heard the word "tyrant", he immediately showed an angry face, and at the same time picked up the baton.

"Bastard thing, what the hell! Dare to deceive the king! ”

The policeman who rushed over wore a emblem of "Township Military Association" on his chest, when he rushed to Xu Nianci's side, the high-raised baton was thrown down without hesitation, accompanied by a scream, Xu Nianci covered his head and fell, a few drops of blood fell on the snow, but it was just a piece of blood, the blood-red dazzling, Liao Zhongkai only felt a chill, he stared at the badge of the Township Military Association on the policeman's chest, at this moment, he seemed to see the future......

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