"Why don't you cut the grass and eradicate the roots, and keep the people around Zhu Tao and Wu Beinian?" In Liu Yun's study in Duke Wuwei's mansion, Imperial Prime Minister Wen Yizheng asked in a gloomy tone.

Liu Yun shrugged: "I've checked, the people around them have nothing to do with Ding Jieyun's conspiracy, so they can't kill unrelated people indiscriminately." ”

Wen Yi flipped his top hat in his hand: "Since you have decided to kill Zhu Tao and Wu Beinian, why don't you execute him by legitimate means?" Didn't you find evidence? ”

"Wu Beinian is a senior officer in charge of the local military power, and if he is formally executed, it will cause panic among the senior officers of other military regions, which will be very detrimental to us."

Wen Yi stared at Liu Yun: "What about Zhu Tao?" ”

"Don't ask knowingly."

"Private feelings? Do you know what you're doing? Political struggles cannot be accompanied by personal feelings, and if we had been affected by emotional factors in this way from the beginning, we would have died 10,000 times a long time ago. ”

"I know it."

"You don't know what to do."

"I said that I know the way, Zhu Tao is a special case, right? The man is dead, the matter has passed, and there is no need to pursue anything more. ”

Wen Yi shook his head and spread his hands: "Sooner or later, you will be killed by yourself." ”

Liu Yun sighed: "I know that you are thinking about me, and I have my own measure." Do you know the way? Three generals have already asked for early retirement, and two more want to be transferred to military schools. ”

"Frightened by the purge? Who are they? ”

"Wu Dingguo, commander of the Northwest Military Region, Zhang Yiye, commander of the Fourth Guards, and Liang Tianhe, commander of the Fifth Guards, asked to retire early. Gu Yingyang, director of the General Staff Training Division, and Deng Jian, commander of the First Infantry Army, proposed to teach at the military academy. ”

"What do you mean?"

"Of course not, now is the time to win people's hearts, how can I casually agree to their requests. Besides, in Ding Jieyun's rebellion, he lost eight generals at one time, and the losses were too great, and the vacancies they left needed to be filled. ”

Wen Yi nodded: "I can't fully agree, but I should also treat it differently, if I don't have the intention to do it at all, send them what they deserve as soon as possible, and let them live the life they like, it is more reassuring, if you insist on staying, it is not easy to eliminate the terrifying atmosphere...... In short, go or stay, let them volunteer. ”

Liu Yun glanced at the ceiling: "If these five people also quit the front line, then there are few people in my hands who can use it with confidence." ”

"Isn't there a new person to use?"

"Communication with the ancients is always more difficult."

Wen Yi smiled coldly: "What you need is a chess piece, not a potential opponent, Ding Jieyun's matter was forgotten so quickly." ”

Liu Yun felt a little unhappy in his heart, but he didn't show it on his face, he habitually twisted his neck, accompanied by the "click" sound of bone rubbing, and spit out three words: "Look at it." ”

Wen Yi poured down most of the cup of boiled water in one go, and said with a smile: "The little emperor is going to grant you the rank of marshal, and then give me the title of duke. ”

Liu Yun accompanied the smiling expression: "Yes, I want to thank the inventor of the time machine for allowing us to get to this point, but I don't know if we can see our dreams fully realized in our lifetime." ”

"I don't know what to do," Wen Yi said the truth, "with my ability, I can only plan a development strategy within five to ten years at most, and I don't have complete confidence to guarantee completion, and I can't predict all kinds of accidents on the road." We have created a whole new branch of history, and everything that follows will be very different from the historical accounts we saw in our time. Not only do we want to make sure that our empire doesn't collapse in an era when the law of the jungle is everything, but we also want to make it the glorious path of our dreams, a prosperous, strong, democratic, and capable of standing up to the great powers, right? ”

"That's right, you create a democratic empire, I create an iron-blooded army, and our division of labor has long been decided."

"But we can't make the military a danger to democracy."

"It depends on whether your empire can create a system of effective control over the army, that's your business, I don't understand government affairs, but I know military affairs, I don't sit in your seat, you can't sit in my place, we perform our own duties, this is also a long time ago."

"As long as we work together, there's nothing we can't do."

"Nonsense."

Wen Yi smiled: "Okay, I won't talk nonsense, I still have things to do." ”

"Are you leaving?"

"It's not early."

"I'll call a servant to send you."

"Good...... That's right, Liu Yun. Wen Yi suddenly looked back at Liu Yun as if he was worried.

"What?"

"I heard that your child and Zhu Tao's child are in the same school......"

"Any questions?"

"Do you want to go on like this?"

"I don't know what to do, looking at it, my wife still often interacts with the wife of the Zhu family, I don't think there's anything wrong with this. Zhu Tao's crime is not actually to be executed, but it is impossible not to give a little punishment, rather than let him lose his position and honor, squat in prison, and bring long-term pain to his family, it is better to deal with it in a secret way, and then frame Ding Jieyun and the rest of the party, protect his reputation, and let his family ......live better from now on."

Wen Yi smiled bitterly: "I think you are burying a time bomb." ”

"I'm worried about the drama of avenging my father."

"Almost."

"Don't worry, no one will know, the files of the Tiger Par Battalion and the Eagle Wolves will be destroyed regularly, and everything will become an eternal mystery."

"I hope so......" Wen Yi sighed softly and stepped out of the low threshold of the study.

Liu Yun sent Wen Yi to the vestibule, and after waving goodbye, he had a very strange feeling in his heart, as if he and Wen Yi were strangers who met for the first time, and in fact, they had always been classmates from elementary school to high school, and even after starting a family, they had always maintained close contact...... Liu Yun shook his head, trying to squeeze this ominous feeling out of his brain.

"Let's get down to business." Liu Yun said to himself and walked directly to the bedroom.

Mrs. Chun'er was reading a book under the lamp, and when she heard the sound of the door opening, she hurriedly greeted her: "Master, are you done?" ”

"Yes." Liu Yun reached out to unbutton the collar of his military uniform, and Chun'er came over to help and took off his coat for him.

"Did you go to Zhu's house again today?" Liu Yun sat down on the chair, took the herbal tea handed by Chun'er and took a sip.

"Yes, Mrs. Zhu has eased up a little, but she is still a little weak, and the children are ignorant, and they don't know what happened, but they think that their father has gone to other places to be busy with military affairs, and they don't know what will happen to Lu Dao when he grows up, it's really pitiful......"

Liu Yun nodded lightly: "Has the pension been paid?" I asked the emperor to approve it, the child has a childcare payment, which will be paid until the age of eighteen, and the adult will have a monthly payment, which will be paid for life......"

"The pensions were paid on time and in full, and with the help of colleagues, the Zhu family also resigned from a few family homes, which didn't have much impact, but I heard Mrs. Zhu say that she wanted to move out of the military street and live in a quieter place, probably because she wanted to go to Xiangshan."

"Persuade him, don't go so far, there are so many Zhu Tao's colleagues here in Junjie, and they can take care of each other."

"I've persuaded her, but she doesn't seem to be willing to stay, it's hurtful......"

Liu Yun sighed with a complicated feeling: "That's it, I'll go with you to persuade her another day." ”

"Master, you are really a bodhisattva......hearted"

Liu Yun smiled bitterly, not knowing how to answer.

※※※

On May 25, 1896, the second week after the suppression of Ding Jieyun's rebellion, the imperial military experienced a large-scale personnel change, involving a wide range of personnel and a magnitude of change, which was unprecedented, but it was also speculated by many domestic and foreign media - after the suppression of the rebellion, there would inevitably be a major personnel movement.

According to the official newspaper Reich Daily on 26 May, the General Headquarters of the Army and the General Staff jointly changed the positions of 13 generals, while the Emperor and the Reich Chancellor ordered the promotion of 15 generals and the promotion of 6 new generals. The specific position changes and promotions are as follows:

General Liu Yun, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, awarded the rank of marshal and the scepter of marshal;

Wang Zhi, President of the Imperial War Academy and President of the Imperial Army University, was awarded the rank of Lieutenant General;

Lieutenant General Zhong Xiahuo, former commander of the Northeast Military Region, was reappointed as commander of the Praetorian Guard and awarded the rank of general;

Lieutenant General Yang Zhengjin, the former commander of the Reserve Army, was reappointed as the commander of the Northeast Military Region and awarded the rank of general;

Lieutenant General Deng Jian, former commander of the First Infantry Army, was promoted to commander of the reserve army and awarded the rank of general;

Major General Zhang Yiye, the former commander of the Fourth Janissary Division, was promoted to commander of the First Infantry Army and awarded the rank of lieutenant general;

Lieutenant General Hu Ke, the former commander of the Zhili Military Region, was reappointed as the chief of the Operations Division of the General Staff and awarded the rank of general;

Lieutenant General Zuo Guigui, the former commander of the Second Infantry Army, was promoted to the commander of the Zhili Military Region and awarded the rank of general;

Lieutenant General Ma Chengwu, former director of the Logistics Division of the General Staff, was reappointed as the director of the Intelligence Division of the General Staff and awarded the rank of general;

Lieutenant General Wu Dingguo, the former commander of the Northwest Military Region, was reappointed as the director of the Logistics Division of the General Staff and awarded the rank of general;

Zhang Yao, the former commander of the Mongolian Special Military Region, was reappointed as the commander of the Northwest Military Region and was awarded the rank of lieutenant general;

Lieutenant General Liu Bailiang, former commander of the East China Military Region, was reappointed commander of the South China Military Region and awarded the rank of general;

Lieutenant General Nie Shicheng, former commander of the Southwest Military Region, was reappointed commander of the East China Military Region and awarded the rank of general;

Lieutenant General Gu Yingyang, former director of the Training Division of the General Staff, was reappointed commander of the Southwest Military Region and awarded the rank of general;

Major General Liang Tianhe, former commander of the Fifth Janissary Division, was promoted to the head of the Training Division of the General Staff and awarded the rank of lieutenant general;

Xiang Lan, the former commander of the Praetorian Guards Cavalry Brigade, was promoted to Colonel of the Blue Army and promoted to the commander of the Mongolian Special Military Region and promoted to the rank of major general;

Colonel Zhao Minhe, the former commander of the Fifth Janissary Brigade, was promoted to the commander of the First Praetorian Guard Division and was promoted to the rank of major general;

Colonel Chen Xingyun, the former commander of the 7th Janissary Brigade, was promoted to commander of the 2nd Praetorian Guard Division and was promoted to the rank of major general;

Colonel Shen Xingyi, the former commander of the 1st Marine Brigade, was reassigned to the Army, promoted to the commander of the 3rd Praetorian Guard Division, and was promoted to the rank of major general;

Colonel Hu Weiwei, the former commander of the Janissary Mixed Artillery Brigade, was promoted to the commander of the Fourth Praetorian Guard Division and was promoted to the rank of major general;

Colonel Xiao Lieri, the former commander of the First Janissaries Brigade, was promoted to commander of the Fifth Praetorian Guard Division and promoted to the rank of major general.

In this long list, the most noteworthy is the six young major generals in their thirties, although they are all heroes of the First Sino-Japanese War, but if they want to be promoted so quickly in peacetime, it is natural to use the name of counterinsurgency meritorious service, it can be said that the bones of Ding Jieyun and others have achieved the road of these six generals.

On June 1 of that year, the Guangxing Emperor of the Chinese Empire received a letter from Athens, Greece, inviting the Chinese Empire to send a delegation to the first International Olympic Games held in September of that year, and requesting the Chinese Emperor to deign to attend.

"What's going on with the Olympics?" The emperor approached Wen Yi to inquire.

Wen Yi scolded the Olympic Committee in his heart for being full of food, and at the same time explained the reason for the Olympic Games in detail for the emperor, seeing that the interest on the emperor's face was getting stronger and stronger, Wen Yi felt that things were not good.

"Since I was in power, I have seen a lot of books about Taixi, and I have seen a lot of foreigners, and I have seen a lot of Western equipment and warships, but I have never personally experienced the Western cultural scene, and I have met with the monarchs and prime ministers of contemporary countries.

"This ...... The emperor's body of ten thousand gold, the general body of the country, cannot be moved lightly, and diplomatic affairs can be handled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs......"

"Peter the Great of Russia has traveled to several countries, went down to the shipyard to learn the method of shipbuilding, entered the workshop to explore the smelting skills, broadened his horizons, understood the strengths of others, and overcame the shortcomings of his own country, and became a generation of famous masters in Europe. Now that I want to change the law and enrich the country and strengthen the army, how can I stick to the ancient law and make myself a cocoon? ”

Wen Yi saw that the emperor was resolute, and it was not easy to stop him head-on, so he had to reply: "The emperor is wise, and the ministers should plan carefully, but the time is tight, it takes about two months to drive from Beijing to Athens by sea, and the wind and waves are bumpy all the way, I am afraid it will hinder the dragon body." ”

"I have reviewed the navy many times, and I have long been accustomed to life on the ship, and I will do it quickly, and when I am not in the capital, it is all up to the secretary to take care of the upper and lower levels, and I must not slack off on government affairs."

"Obey."

Wen Yi left the palace and immediately rushed to the General Staff to find Liu Yun - he still had to reach as much agreement as possible with Liu Yun on key issues.

As soon as Wen Yi entered the office of the chief of the general staff, he shouted to Liu Yun: "The emperor wants to go to Europe, and the Olympic Committee invited him to go." ”

Liu Yun waved his hand and motioned for him to sit down: "Then let him go." ”

"It will expand his influence."

Liu Yun shook his head with a smile and patted the officer's hat: "As long as the military power is in our hands, we don't have to worry about anything." ”

"However, if he were to see the power of the monarchs of the continents in Europe, he might make the emperor dissatisfied with our system."

Liu Yun threw a paper cigarette at Wen Yi: "Didn't you say that?" If he is not willing to be bound, let him withdraw from the stage of history. ”

"It's better to keep it as it is, at least for 10 years, and we'll need time."

"Let him go, if you don't let him out, he will doubt you, then hate you, and then calculate you, and one day he will find someone to kill you."

"So, don't you have to worry about the change in the emperor's thinking?"

Liu Yun handed over the lighter: "If he dares to challenge us, let him step down and replace him with a more obedient person to be the emperor. ”

Wen Yi lit a cigarette and emitted a blurry cloud: "But, even if you let him go, you have to find some suitable people to accompany him." ”

"Ministers and vice-ministers of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are indispensable, and the Praetorian Guard also has to send some people, you can choose one of the several division commanders of the Praetorian Guard, and the navy wants to send an escort formation, and by the way, you can practice ocean voyages, you can choose one from the commanders of each fleet, and it is no problem for Liu Buyun to go in person. In addition, I brought a few experts and representatives of industry and commerce, discussed trade issues with various countries by the way, sent a few technical officers, and inspected the warships built by Germany and England, and that's probably it. ”

"The emperor is in a hurry, and he has to hurry up and make plans."

"Then let's have a cabinet meeting to discuss, and I'll make preparations at the same time."

"Well, I'll do it, by the way," Wen Yi suddenly remembered something, "Do you remember in our time, in which month the Olympics were held?" ”

"I don't remember, I've never been interested in boring games."

"Why do I think it makes no sense to start the Olympics in September?"

"Don't worry about it, go and hold your cabinet meeting, it's important to make the little emperor happy."

"I know it." When Wen Yi walked out of the General Staff Office Building, he inadvertently looked up at the sky and found that on the clear blue sky, there was only a white and gray cloud floating above his head, which was rubbed into a big ball by the wind, floating lightly, which was very refreshing.

"My emperor, don't do boring things, or I will make you invisible to the sky." Wen Yi lowered his head and said easily in his heart.

The next day, after the cabinet meeting, Zhang Zhigao, vice minister of foreign affairs, grabbed Wen Yi's arm and pulled him aside, and said softly: "Please do something." ”

"Boy, don't do this with the Prime Minister."

"Please."

"I want to take Xiao Luo to Europe too."

Zhang Zhigao immediately burst into tears: "Your Excellency, you are too great. ”

Wen Yi deliberately straightened his face: "I won't pretend to be a public servant, it's the emperor who wants to travel to Europe, not your honeymoon." ”

"Let Su Lan inspect the state of education in Europe by the way, this is also official business."

"Do you think we still need to examine the state of education in Europe in the nineteenth century?"

"I think it's necessary to absorb the desirable parts of it, after all, we can't copy the education system of our time to the world of the nineteenth century."

"It makes sense, didn't Xiao Luo teach you."

Zhang Zhigao pressed Wen Yi's shoulder: "Don't tell her that I begged you, it's not uncommon for her to go to Europe with me." ”

"But I can't see any sincerity in you."

"How many antique paintings from Europe can I bring you?"

"No, a few ancient books are enough."

"What about me?"

"I'll think about it, so be it."

"Thank you, Prime Minister......"

"By the way, if you go to Europe, remember to go to the Alps to play, it's up to you, if you can coax the emperor there, you couple can also go there for romance, the Alps are very suitable for newlyweds."

"How do you know about the Dao?"

"If you read the geography magazine, I won't talk nonsense with you, when the time comes, you can do it yourself, the emperor likes fresh things, let him try more new things, and then don't let him have too much contact with the monarchs of various countries, Zhilu Dao?"

"No problem, what the prime minister ordered, I will definitely follow."

"I didn't tell you anything, be smart, that's all." Wen Yi threw down this sentence and left without looking back, Zhang Zhigao behind him was already happy.

On June 10th, the Guangxing Emperor of the Great Chinese Empire set off from Beijing and went to Tianjin, escorted by the First Janissary Brigade and the Praetorian Guard Fat Cavalry Brigade, and the entourage of civilian officials included Foreign Minister and Earl Zeng Jize, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Baron Zhang Zhigao, Vice Minister of Culture and Education, Baron Luo Sulan, etc., and the military attache of the entourage included Major General Zhao Minhe, commander of the First Praetorian Guard Division, Major General Wang Meng, deputy director of the Intelligence Department of the General Staff, and Lieutenant Colonel Fuwu, the former Imperial Guard, as well as the Imperial Prime Minister Wen Yi, Minister of the Interior Weng Tonghe, Minister of National Defense Zhang Zhidong, Minister of Communications Chen Baolu and Marshal Liu Yun, Chief of the General Staff of the Imperial Armed Forces, accompanied them to the port.

At the mouth of Dagu, Admiral Liu Buyun, commander-in-chief of the navy, personally led the main force of the Zhenyang fleet to greet him, with a total of four warships, 16 cruisers, and eight destroyers of the fleet.

For the sake of the emperor's dragon health and well-being, the emperor's ship on this trip to Europe was arranged as the "Fubo" luxury cruise ship, which was completed in 1894 by the shipyard of Jiangnan Heavy Industry in Shanghai, with a standard displacement of 5,800 tons, a maximum speed of 15 knots, an economic speed of 12 knots, and a coal voyage of 4,800 nautical miles / 12 knots, which was used as a liner from Tianjin to Tokyo, because of the high fare, generally only carrying public servants and wealthy business gentlemen. This beautifully decorated and well-equipped cruise ship is naturally much more comfortable than any warship, so in addition to the emperor himself and his servants, almost all the civil and military officials who entourage are crowded onto the ship, resulting in a serious shortage of space, and some lower-grade officials have to squeeze two or three people into a single room, among which Zhang Zhigao and Luo Sulan carried forward the noble spirit - they gave up the luxurious suite they were assigned to six low-level officials, and two people moved into a single room of the lower level, but they were still in high spirits (according to the servants of the Zhang family, The Imperial Vice-Minister of Culture and Education was actually very afraid of the empty space on the ship, and every time he took the ship, he asked to squeeze into a cramped room).

There are three warships that will escort the entire voyage of the Emperor's Throne Ship, the flagship is the new-type cruiser "Heavy Rain" with a standard displacement of 3,620 tons, the 3,150-ton wind-class cruiser "Light Wind" and the 4,580-ton armored coastal defense ship "Jiannan"; the 4,000-ton freighter "Chengbo" is responsible for carrying the royal support and heavier luggage, and the 3,000-ton coal carrier "Guangshan B" is responsible for the emergency supply of fuel for the formation. In addition, the battleship "Long Wei" will lead four wind-class cruisers to escort the Royal Fleet to Singapore, and then transfer to the British Royal Navy to provide further escort support.

On the dock of Dagu Port, Wen Yi whispered in Liu Yun's ear: "It would be interesting if the emperor's fleet was robbed by pirates. ”

Liu Yun smiled slightly: "Be creative, you go and grab it." ”

"The first emperor in the history of China to visit Europe for thousands of years, very good planning, I also want to go to Europe to see, Paris is very good."

"It's a Parisian beauty."

"And champagne, cheese, the old bridge over the Seine, the gardens of Versailles, when to go and enjoy it."

"Do you want me to call a speedboat to get you to the Fubo?"

"Excuse me, I think when we were in college, we were very satisfied with two dollars of fast food, cheese or something, it was like a dream."

Liu Yun grabbed Wen Yi's shoulder: "Now you want to eat that kind of fast food, there is no door." ”

"Whew-"

The long whistle sounded, and the ships outside the mouth of Dagu spit out countless columns of smoke, cutting the boundless blue sky.

This article was first published in Mingyang Pin Library: www.pinshu.com, please indicate the author and source for reprinting.