Hearing Dr. Dennis's shout, and looking at Wang Yaqiao, who was smiling again, the foreign soldier threw down the tongs stupidly: "It's really unlucky, I actually wasted half a day with a madman!" Let go of him, let him get away, I don't want to see him for a minute! ”

Several soldiers around hurriedly untied Wang Yaqiao's hands and feet, and scolded rudely: "Get out!" Wang Yaqiao was still unconscious, still playing with the dark red iron rod in his hand, and he couldn't stop laughing. The soldiers went up and kicked Wang Yaqiao out of the prison of the Police Department of the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Industry with a few kicks.

Wang Yaqiao is worthy of being the commander of the Hefei Revolutionary Army, who is as bold as a fist and as careful as a hair. After being kicked out of prison, he lingered at the door for a long time, until he was sure that there was no one watching, and then he staggered away. However, he still did not dare to go directly to the previously scheduled hiding place, but circled in the alleys of Shanghai for two or three days before trying to connect with Yang Yongtai.

By the time Wang Yaqiao got in touch with Yang Yongtai again, Sun Yuanqi had already left Shanghai.

In order to avoid being disturbed by local officials, Sun Yuanqi did not choose to take a relatively comfortable train along the Beijing-Shanghai line to the north, but went directly to Tianjin by sea.

It is said that Tang Shaoyi can also be regarded as a wonderful flower in the officialdom of the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China.

First of all, Tang Shaoyi was not born on the right path of the imperial examination, but the third batch of young children sent by the Qing government to study in the United States. When he went to the United States in the thirteenth year of Tongzhi (1874), he was only 14 years old and spent his youth in a foreign land across the ocean. From elementary school and middle school to Yale University, he spent seven years in the United States. It had a profound influence on his later ideological formation and political ideas.

In the seventh year of Guangxu (1881), the original 15-year plan for young children to study in the United States died in the middle of the plan, and all the students were recalled to China, and Tang Shaoyi, who was studying at Yale University, was no exception. After being called back to China, he was first arranged to continue his studies in the Tianjin Water Master School. Because he was proficient in foreign languages, the following year he was recommended by Li Hongzhang to the former German consul in Tianjin, Mullinde, as a secretary, and went to North Korea to help set up the customs. It was in North Korea that he met the nobleman of his fate - Yuan Shikai.

Yuan Shikai appreciated Tang Shaoyi very much, not only kept him by his side as an attaché and translator, but also married Jin Lan. Bye brother. Since then, Tang Shaoyi has risen with Yuan Shikai and soared. Although he was born from a bad background, in the 30 years from his return to China in 1881 to the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution in 1911, he gradually rose from a low-ranking official to a squire, a scholar, a governor, etc., and his promotion was quite rapid, which is not surprising.

However, "success is also Xiao He, defeat is also Xiao He", after Emperor Xuantong ascended the throne, Yuan Shikai was expelled and returned home. Most of his cronies were also purged. Tang Shaoyi was naturally unable to escape the catastrophe and was forced to announce his resignation in January 1911. Retired to Tianjin. It was not until Yuan Shikai entered Beijing to form a cabinet that he re-emerged as the Minister of Posts and Communications of the Cabinet.

After the first uprising in Wuchang, the southern provinces declared independence one after another, and the country was on the verge of collapse. In this precarious situation, the Qing court mobilized a large army to stabilize the situation in the north, and at the same time intended to resolve the crisis through peace talks, so Yuan Shikai was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary for peace negotiations, responsible for peace talks. Yuan Shikai is the prime minister. Naturally, they will not personally come forward to risk their lives. As soon as he changed his hand, he appointed Tang Shaoyi as the plenipotentiary and handed over the task of peace talks to his iron buddies.

It is true that Tang Shaoyi and Yuan Shikai are iron buddies, but Tang Shaoyi also has a close relationship with Wu Tingfang, the plenipotentiary representative of the south. The two of them are not only Guangdong natives, but also friends for many years, both have stayed in foreign countries, and both have worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Qing government, and they have a lot of consensus on the general trend of the world and the domestic political situation. Moreover, Tang Shaoyi studied in the United States for many years when he was young. In his heart, he was inclined to a republican system, and nominally he was the representative of the Qing court, but in fact he was thinking about the revolutionary party everywhere. Therefore, the atmosphere of the peace talks is very harmonious, and it is not at all like a tense negotiation between the two hostile sides. Instead, it's like like-minded people in an intimate consultation.

Soon, the two sides reached a series of agreements on the armistice and retreat, the abdication of the Qing emperor, and the state political system, and basically achieved the predetermined goals of the revolutionaries. The revolutionary party reaped enough benefits from it, and Yuan Shikai suffered a lot of losses. Fortunately, Sun Yat-sen had telegraphed several times, declaring that "with the prestige of Xiangcheng, it will be completed in the future, and the election of the president should be the first choice", "although the text is temporarily lacking, and the heart of waiting for the vacant position can finally be revealed in the future", and clearly stated that he would give way to Yuan Shikai, and Yuan Shikai was relieved to let Tang Shaoyi continue peace talks with the south.

Who knew that on the last day of 1911, Sun Yat-sen suddenly became the provisional president, and Yuan Shikai realized that he had fallen into a big trap and quickly revoked Tang Shaoyi's plenipotentiary qualifications, and the north-south peace talks reached a deadlock. Despite this, there were still some exchanges between the north and the south under the table, and Tang Shaoyi stayed in Shanghai to do some work of threading the needle until he went north this time.

In this north-south peace talks, although Tang Shaoyi more or less disobeyed Yuan Shikai's original intention, it was a great merit for the country and the nation, and he himself also benefited a lot. For example, he became friends with Sun Yat-sen and Huang Xing during the peace talks, and his stance and attitude were widely praised by revolutionaries and people from all walks of life, laying a solid foundation for him to become the first prime minister of the Republic of China.

This time, he and Sun Yuanqi went north in the same boat, I don't know if it was a coincidence or intentional. But the two are both Yale alumni and members of Yuan Shikai's cabinet, and now they are in the same boat, and it is impossible not to visit each other.

As soon as Sun Yuanqi sat down in the cabin and was thinking about when to visit, he heard Feng Huanzhang say at the door: "My lord, Lord Tang, the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, is coming to visit!" ”

"Please!" Sun Yuanqi hurriedly got up and went out, only to see a middle-aged man about fifty years old standing outside the door, wearing a melon skin hat, glasses, and a thick beard on his lips. At that moment, he hurriedly bowed down and hugged his fists and said, "I've seen Lord Liang!" Sun failed to meet him from afar, and hoped to forgive his sins. ”

Tang Shaoyi didn't dare to hold it up, and hurriedly supported Sun Yuanqi: "Lord Sun is so polite!" Although Tang is a shallow scholar, he also studied at Yelao University College for several years, and although he failed to graduate, he still regarded himself as a student of Yelao. If Master Sun doesn't dislike it, you and I might as well be called alumni brothers? ”

Sun Yuanqi said humbly: "That's climbing down!" Come on, come on, house please! ”

After sitting down to serve tea, Tang Shaoyi said with a smile: "Don't look at the fact that there are not many of us Yelao students in the country, but they are famous in the political circles!" Today, in addition to the virtuous brothers, there are also Minister of Finance Chen Jintao and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Chonghui in the cabinet of the Southern Republic of China; In the cabinet of Yuan Xiangcheng in the north, there are also Foreign Minister Liang Songsheng (Liang Dunyan), the virtuous brother and the foolish brother. Fortunately, the members of the Skull and Bones Club must be from a wealthy family in the eastern United States, preferably immigrated from England and have aristocratic blood, otherwise many people will think that the Skull will invade China! ”

The Skull and Bones Society, also known as the Skull, Euloga Club, and the Death Knights, is a secret elite society at Yale University, along with Harvard's "Poslean Club" and Dartmouth College's "Sphinx Society". Founded in 1832, it admits 15 outstanding fourth-year Yale students every year, including many important figures in American politics, business, and education, including three U.S. presidents (William? Taft, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush), two Supreme Court officials, as well as countless members of the National People's Congress and the National People's Congress and senior cabinet officials; Many of Yale's presidents were also members of the Skull and Bones Society, and in the 99 years from 1886 to 1985, as many as 80% of Yale professors came from the Skull and Bones Society!

Of course, the requirements for membership in the Skull and Bones Society are very strict, including being born into a wealthy family in the eastern United States, preferably immigrating from England and having aristocratic blood; To be well educated, it is best to have attended a noble boarding school at the secondary school stage; To be sports-loving, competitive, preferably with military service experience, etc. These also lay the foundation for the future success of the members.

Sun Yuanqi also said with a smile: "With a few of us coming forward to publicize, there are several times more Chinese students at Yale University than in previous years, which can be described as a high level of hard work." Even if we can't join the Skull and Bones Club, at least the school should give each of us a certificate! ”

However, Sun Yuanqi knew that when it came to the fame of Yale University alumni in China in the future, Tang Shaoyi, Liang Dunyan, Chen Jintao, and Wang Chonghui, the prime ministers and chiefs who were calling for wind and rain in the political arena, could not compare to Zhan Tianyou, who built railways.

Tang Shaoyi said: "Speaking of which, the virtuous brother is still a professor of Yelao, and you should convene Yalau students from all over the country to form an alumni association, so that you can not only reunite the previous graduates of China, strengthen the contact between alumni, but also help each other, promote the healthy development of alumni in society, worthy of the teachings of your alma mater, and live up to the name of Chinese students!" ”

Sun Yuanqi said: "Brother Tang's proposal is naturally excellent, but the alumni scope is limited to Yale, which is a bit restrained. It is better to name it the 'European and American Scholars Association', contact the people studying in Europe and the United States across the country, and contribute to the prosperity of the country and the rejuvenation of the nation with the purpose of studying, playing, friendship and encouragement, and using foreign advanced scientific and cultural knowledge and progressive ideas and concepts. ”

In real history, the European and American Returned Scholars Association was founded in October 1913 by Gu Weijun, Liang Dunyan, Zhan Tianyou, Cai Yuanpei, Yan Huiqing, Wang Zhengting, Zhou Yichun and others, and was founded in Beijing with returned scholars from Beijing and Tianjin.

With the prevalence of studying in Europe and the United States, the influence of returnees has been expanding, and the European and American Returned Scholars Association has also risen, and almost most of the famous scientists in modern China are members of this society, including the well-known Hu Shi, Yan Jici, Chen Daisun, Zhu Kezhen, Mao Yisheng, Lu Jiaxi, Wu Jieping, Ding Shisun, Ma Yinchu, Li Siguang, Wang Ganchang, Zhu Guangya, and so on.

Tang Shaoyi nodded again and again: "Okay, good, according to the opinion of the virtuous brother!" After a pause, he suddenly said: "In recent days, Brother Yu has heard a lot of lofty remarks in the newspapers and radio in Shanghai, some of which are astonishing, and some of which are confusing. Now that the journey is long, can you ask for advice or two? ”

Sun Yuanqi hurriedly said: "Brother Tang, please speak!" ”

PS: From now on, resume the update!! One shift a day, two shifts when you are in a good mood. Thank you all for cheering!!