His arms couldn't twist his thighs, so Sun Yuanqi had no choice but to step on the southbound train on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year.

In the end, it was the ticket that the boss sent someone to buy, and the station knew that the passengers were the scholars, so they hung a float alone, and selected the most clever little guy to serve, hot tea and hot meals were served at all times, and the journey was not tired.

It's just that Sun Yuanqi is in a bad mood. There are still a lot of things to deal with in Kyochu, but they are ruthlessly swept out of the house by adults. In the past, it was often heard that "wives send husbands to battle". In the Qing Dynasty, I also saw many "children sending their fathers like examination rooms". But it's really rare to see a "grandfather sending his grandson into officialdom" like this.

The train is also worryingly slow. If it's summer, it's a pleasure to sit in the car, with green eyes outside the window, and tea in the wind. It's winter, and it's all around, and from time to time I see a few withered villages hidden under the old trees, and they don't have any life. I picked up the book and wanted to read a few pages, but I didn't have the slightest emotion.

At first, seeing that the adult's face was not good, the little guys were all worried, for fear of being beaten severely if they touched the mold. However, the adults did not get angry after all, and they always spoke with a pleasant face, and they would say "thank you" every time they poured water. This made the little guys breathe a sigh of relief.

After two ends, Sun Yuanqi got out of the car at the Yudaimen in Hankou. Although Sun Yuanqi had not informed the place at all, the station had already prepared a sedan chair and a steamer, and sent Sun Yuanqi to the Yamen of the envoy on the other side of the river.

Just got off the sedan chair at the door, Lao Zhao snatched it out of the yard when he heard the voice, and shouted: "Master, you can come back!" ”

Lao Zhao was really excited, his voice trembled a little, and after shouting a word, he began to wipe his tears with his sleeve.

Not to mention, I haven't seen Lao Zhao for half a year, and Sun Yuanqi is still quite worried in his heart. After all, living together for seven or eight years seems to have become part of the family. Walking out of the sedan chair, Sun Yuanqi patted Lao Zhao's shoulder: "Lao Zhao, are you still used to celebrating the New Year in the south?" Wuchang is not as heated as our school in winter, it is cold and pressing, you have to pay attention to your body! ”

"Habit, habit!" Lao Zhao choked his throat and replied, "I haven't seen my master for a long time, and my heart is empty." ”

Sun Yuanqi said: "I met Jing Xing in Japan, and I also met Jing Fan and Jing Hui in Beijing, they are very good, but they miss you very much." Ask me to say hello to you! Now there is a train from Hankou to Beijing, and it is very convenient to go north, when will you two go back and see? ”

"Don't go back!" Lao Zhao simply refused, "I have to follow the master to serve the master, Jing Fan and Jing Hui grew up in front of their faces since they were children, and they are annoying to watch, what do you think?" I'm not going back! ”

After speaking, he turned around and instructed a few Lifu to move Sun Yuanqi's luggage into the backyard.

Before he raised his legs into the courtyard, he heard a smug laugh from inside: "How is it, Xingyan, Uncle Shen, the foolish brother is right, right?" ”

Two young voices rang out: "Admire, admire!" This is Zhang Shizhao's voice.

"Brother Wanzi, just rely on your iron-clad kung fu, just set up a hexagram stall casually, and you can't make a lot of money, why bother to cheat our copper plate?" This is naturally Liu Shipei.

"I'd love to!" Yang Du said arrogantly, "Gambling traitors and gambling slippery don't gamble, Uncle Shen, you are willing to gamble and lose!" Wang Yuxia's eight-color pastries, don't forget! ”

Sure enough, as soon as Sun Yuanqi entered the courtyard, he saw the three of them coming together, so he smiled and hugged their fists: "Huizi, Xingyan, Uncle Shen, Happy New Year!" ”

The three of them also bowed slightly: "I also wish Brother Baixi a happy New Year!" ”

Wuhan is close to the Yangtze River, surrounded by dense lakes and rivers, and it is hot to death in summer, and there are many mosquitoes. But in winter, life is also not easy. Because there are no mountains and mountains in the north, the cold wind is rampant, and the humidity is heavy, it is really cold and soaking the bones, and it is not a matter of wearing a heavy cotton robe. But Yang Du was still holding a folding fan in his hand and shaking it a few times from time to time, Sun Yuanqi felt panicked when he looked at it, and asked unconsciously: "Huizi, are you cold?" ”

"It's not cold! I'm from Hunan, and I'm used to winter here as well as my hometown. In the past, when I was in Japan, it was called a cold, and the wind was ......" Yang Du found that Sun Yuanqi had been staring at the folding fan in his hand, and he folded it unhurriedly at the moment, and inserted it into his sleeve, and then said, "The wind comes in from the floor, the cracks in the walls, the roof, the doors and windows, and it is no different in the house than in the wild!" However, Baixi, I heard that you got a novelty in Beijing, and in winter the house was filled with a few large pieces of iron and hot water, and it was very warm. When will we also open foreign meat? ”

"Okay! Now that the train is open, it is also convenient to go to Beijing, and there is nothing to do these days, why don't you go to the school to experience the experience, stay for a few days and come back? Sun Yuanqi replied half-truthfully.

Yang Du touched his chin, not knowing whether he was speculating about the sincerity of Sun Yuanqi's invitation, or considering the feasibility of this plan.

Sun Yuanqi said again: "Xingyan, Uncle Shen, what kind of bet do you two make with Huizi?" Looks like you're losing badly. ”

"Hey, don't mention it!" Liu Shipei looked frustrated.

Zhang Shizhao was frank: "Brother Huizi said that you must come back before the tenth day of the first month, but Uncle Shen and I didn't believe it, so we made a bet." ”

"Blame me, blame me!" Sun Yuanqi immediately took the blame on himself, if he was a day late, wouldn't the two little brothers win? "Wang Yuxia's eight-color pastry, I bought it for you!"

Wang Yuxia Pastry Shop, located in Lantern Lane, Hanzheng Street, Hankou, was founded in the fourth year of Qianlong (1739) and is a famous time-honored brand in Wuhan. The various pastries in it are even more unique, and even created a post-break in Wuhan: Wang Yuxia's alkaline shortbread - absolute crisp (catastrophe).

While they were talking, everyone had already arrived at the main hall. After taking a seat, a servant had already served hot tea, and Lin Shu and Chen Qiansheng also rushed over, and Sun Yuanqi asked, "Huizi, how do you know that I will come back before the tenth day of the first month?" ”

Yang Du crossed Erlang's legs, took a sip of tea without hurry, and then said: "Gan Gege thinks that Sichuan Road is far away and there are many mountains, and people are poor and annoying!" ”

“？” Yang Du's words suddenly flew out of the sky, and the people around him were a little confused.

"If you want to say that there are people who are afraid of the inside of the court today, it is estimated that King Qingjun and Chen Xiaoshi are the top of the list!" Yang Du threw out another sentence.

“……”

Is this normal human thinking?

After satisfying everyone's appetite, Yang Du put down the tea bowl: "Chen Xiaoshi's wife Xu was born in the Pinghu Wang family, she is elegant and courteous, quite scheming, and she is familiar with the prince's family in the capital. Especially the Fujin and a few Gege of the Qingwang Mansion are more like honey blending oil, and later Fujin recognized her as a goddaughter. This Gan Gege often walks around the Qingwang Mansion, and beats the side drum for his husband in front of Fujin when he has nothing to do. Our Qing prince has always been the master of fear, but whenever Fujin opens his mouth, there is no one who will not agree. After coming and going, Chen Xiaoshi's official fortune was prosperous and soaring.

Previously, Chen Xiaoshi served as the governor of Jiangsu. Jiangsu is a good place, with rich treasures, outstanding people, and a lot of oil and water. Xu was greatly satisfied. Last fall, Mr. Chen was promoted to governor of Sichuan. It is naturally a good thing to be promoted to governor, Guizhou and Sichuan are bordered, Chen Xiaoshi made a detour to Guizhou to go home to sweep the tomb, and Mrs. Xu naturally followed back. As a result, before she arrived in Sichuan, Mrs. Xu completely saw what it means to be poor and evil, and in a fit of anger, she did not allow Chen Xiaoshi to take office.

In the book "Eight Caves", it is summarized that men's fears are divided into three categories: fear, fear, and fear, and it just so happens that Chen Xiaoshi accounts for them all: Chen Xiaoshi was born in a poor family and lost his father when he was young, but Mrs. Xu was born in a famous family with the seventh son Dengke, which is fearful; Although Chen Xiaoshi is shrewd and capable, he is indispensable to Mrs. Xu, a virtuous helper, because she is afraid; Chen Xiaoshi had two wives, both of whom died early due to illness, and the Xu family was a continuation, an old husband and a young wife, which was fearful. Now that Mrs. Xu has made it clear that she will not let him take office, how dare he disobey?

Chen Xiaoshi had no choice but to turn to the old Taishan Qingjun King who couldn't be beaten by eight poles. After some twists and turns, there was a rumor before the Spring Festival that the current governor of Huguang, Zhao Cishan, would be transferred to Sichuan, and the original governor of Sichuan, Chen Xiaoshi, had not yet taken office, and was reappointed as our governor of Huguang halfway. ”

Lin Shu shook his head after listening to it: "With the love and hatred of a woman, change the governors and caress of several provinces, and the gains and losses of today's employment can be imagined!" ”

"Death is gone!" Chen Qiansheng made a four-word comment cleanly.

Sun Yuanqi frowned: "This governor has changed too quickly!" ”

Zhang Zhidong has been working as the governor of Huguang for more than ten years, okay, he has only been here for a year and a half, and he has changed three governors!

In fact, the frequency of governorship changes in the last years of the Qing Dynasty was indeed much higher than in the middle and early periods, taking 1907 to 1911 as an example, in these five years, the governors of Sichuan changed 5, the governors of Liangguang changed 6, and the governors of Zhili changed 7. The most exaggerated is the governor of Huguang, in the two months after the outbreak of the Wuchang Uprising, because no one arrived, the Qing court successively announced 5 governors: Yuan Shikai, Wei Guangtao, Wang Shizhen, Duan Zhigui, Duan Qirui; In the five years before that, the governor of Huguang had changed four terms. In other words, there have been 9 governors in five years!

The most direct consequence of such frequent changes of the top local military and political officials was the decline of control over the army and local political power, resulting in a situation in which the soldiers did not know their generals and the generals did not know the soldiers, which laid the foundation for the success of the Xinhai Revolution.

"It's even more like a horse!" Zhang Shizhao sighed.

Sun Yuanqi felt that Yang Du had not answered his question positively: "Then Chen Xiaoshi will come when he comes, why do you know that I will go to Wuchang before the tenth day of the first month?" ”

Yang Du stared at Sun Yuanqi with a surprised expression: "You don't know Chen Xiaoshi? Didn't the adults in your family tell you about Chen Xiaoshi? ”

Sun Yuanqi shook his head: I really didn't know which green onion this Chen Xiaoshi was, and the middle school history textbook didn't mention this name. After coming to the Qing Dynasty for so long, I finally knew that this guy's surname was Chen, his name was Kuilong, his name was Xiaoshi, his name was Yong'an, he was from Guizhou, and he was about to become the governor of Huguang, but that's all.

Yang Du patted his head: "It seems that next, we have a busy job!" ”

Sun Yuanqi frowned: "Why?" ”

Yang Du said in a deep voice: "This Chen Xiaoshi is the governor of Huguang, obviously he is here for you!" He was an extremely conservative person, and when the imperial examination was abolished, he wrote a letter to strongly oppose it. He was even more disgusted with Western learning, law reform, and constitutionalism. Unfortunately, you are not only the initiator of the promotion of Western studies in China, but also the president of the Preparatory Constitutional Association.

He often says that he is proud of three things, that is, he does not contact new scholars, second, he does not perfunctory international students, and third, he does not accept fake celebrities. Unfortunately, you are both a new scholar and an international student. Do you think he can have a good face for you? ”

When Sun Yuanqi heard this, his heart suddenly sank.

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