It turned out that as soon as the winter vacation arrived, Li Keding came to Tianjin according to his father's instructions, and lived in his uncle Tang Xian's house for a while, learning business things. Approaching the Spring Festival, it happened that my aunt Tang Jie was returning from Japan to go to Beijing, so Li Keding came here to send their family from Tianjin by train, and was hurriedly seen by Liu Zhisi at the station. Sending away his aunt Tang Jie, Li Keding bid farewell to his uncle Tang Xian, and then returned to Hejian.

When something unexpected comes, people are often just satisfied, but when something that exceeds expectations suddenly comes, people will be pleasantly surprised.

Li Keding's sudden return home was like this, which really brought a surprise to his mother Tang Zhen. She thought that her son would not be back until two days, but now he suddenly appeared in front of her, and she was so happy that she complained that her husband and son were hiding from her, and pulled her son to look at him and said, "It's stronger again." ”

Li Keding asked his father why he hadn't come back yet, and Tang Zhen told him: "Your father just went to the Confucian Temple, and someone from Shenzhou came over, please ask your father to come over, and by the way, I also want to ask your master whether you want to go back to Beijing to go to school in the future, and listen to his opinion." ”

Li Keding remembered that Lu Wan would definitely have to go back to Beijing after the New Year, and how could he delay going to school, so he said: "Mother doesn't have to worry, going to school is a big deal, I must go back on time." ”

Tang Zhen was afraid that her son would be young and didn't know the severity, so she explained to him: "I heard that all parts of the country are planning to overthrow Yuan, I'm afraid Beijing will be chaotic, why are you in a hurry to go to school, the coming days are long, you and Kejing are still very young, and if you want to study in the future, you don't have a lot of time." ”

Li Keding knew that his mother didn't want him and Kejing to take risks, but he didn't think that the situation would develop to such a serious extent, and he also wanted to know Master's opinion, so he said to his mother Tang Zhen: "Why don't I go to the Temple of Literature too, listen to what Master has to say, and follow the long insight." After saying goodbye to his mother, he came to the Temple of Literature.

Puyun's residence is in the Juren Hall of the Hejian Confucian Temple, Li Keding just walked to the front of the hall, and the sound of the master reciting poetry was heard, so he stopped and stood in front of the hall to listen:

The laborer chariot and horse have not left the saddle,

When the matter is in trouble, it is difficult to die.

Three hundred years of hurting the country's steps,

Eight thousand miles away, the people were hanged.

Autumn Wind Sword Lonely Ministers Tears,

Sunset Banner General Altar.

The dust of overseas is still not ending,

Don't wait and see.

Puyun recited Li Hongzhang's "Dying Poem", listening to the voice suddenly high, suddenly low, suddenly agitated, suddenly like a spring whimpering, suddenly like a long knife splitting the wind, suddenly like a big river rushing, causing Li Keding's emotions to fluctuate. After reciting three times in a row, a familiar long sigh came, and Li Keding knew that the master had finished chanting, and said inside, "Master, the disciple is back."

"Keding is here, come in." Puyun heard Li Keding's voice and hurriedly let him in.

Puyun is nearly sixty years old, with a clear face, a long beard, a black robe, a brush in his hand, standing next to the bookcase, and a steady momentum like Mount Tai.

Li Keding first saluted his master and father, looked at the table, and saw that the words on it had not been removed, so he asked with a smile: "Master is so Yaxing, who is this post?" ”

"Where is the post, I suddenly remembered Li Zhongtang, and I was a little emotional, and I scribbled a few strokes indiscriminately, which was nothing more than a pastime." Pu Yunxiao said to Li Bonan and Li Keding.

"Sir is humble." Li Bonan asked Li Keding to come and look at the calligraphy, and said, "I have always admired Mr. Li's calligraphy, which is outstanding in today's world. ”

Li Keding walked closer, smelled the fragrance of ink, and saw that the ink had not dried, obviously Puyun had just finished writing, so he said: "I look at the word master, and I feel rare sadness and indignation." ”

Puyun recited aloud: "For three hundred years, the country has been injured, and the people have been hung eight thousand miles away. ”

At this time, the wind was howling outside, and the snow of the opposite house was blown down by the wind, or sprinkled on the windowsill, or drifted to the ground, and the shadow of the sun turned westward, shining into the east chamber, and the sky was brighter than just now.

Li Bonan saw that the sky had changed, and then sighed: "Hurt the country's steps, hang the people's remnants." The current situation is very different from the sunny day after the snow, there is no fresh scenery at all, and it is more like a precursor to the gathering of dark clouds and the fall of heavy snow. ”

Puyun shook his head gently, asked his father and son to sit down, sat down himself, and asked the tea queen to say: "Even if the dark clouds gather, another heavy snowfall will not be terrible." As for the situation, you can rest assured that the Qing court abdicated the throne at the beginning, setting a precedent of peaceful "changing the dynasty", and I think Yuan Shikai will be like the Qing court, he will not fight, but choose to abdicate in a crusade. ”

For more than 20 years, Mr. Puyun has always been able to stand tall and see far away, which made Li Bonan the most convinced, so he fell to the ground in his heart and said easily: "This is the best, man-made disasters are greater than natural disasters, I am afraid." According to Mr., if Yuan Shikai abdicates, will there be other changes in the ending? ”

mentioned the ending, Puyun remembered many past events. Since coming to the Temple of Literature, far away from the center of the whirlpool, it should have been quiet and tranquil, but in the past ten years, I have always been unwilling, and the trend of thought has never really calmed down. Faced with the current situation, he once again remembered the time of the Wuxu Reform, Guangxu's imperial party and Cixi's later party competed, and finally Kang Liang escaped, the six gentlemen shed blood, and the imperial party ended in a complete defeat. Since then, the Qing Dynasty has been like a lonely boat, driving on the vast blue sea, and it has been stormy for a long time. The sailors and boaters had no direction or goal, they didn't know where they were going, they could only get by, enjoy the last days on board, and no one could plan for the future, or at all. Later, there were very few people who "knew that they could not do it". The ship of the Qing Dynasty, after sailing for two hundred and sixty-eight years, finally did not escape the end of destruction and sank in the vast smoke and waves of history. Then the Republic of China was established, the republic was opened, and Yuan Shikai became the president, although the forces of all parties were staggered, there is no doubt that the imperial system was abandoned from the heart. But a month ago, Yuan Shikai rashly proclaimed himself emperor, so the government and the opposition were in an uproar, and opponents were all over the place. Cai Ye had already telegraphed the whole country, raised troops to fight against Yuan, and the war to protect the country broke out in Yunnan and Sichuan.

Thinking of this, Pu Yun returned to the real conversation, and said to Li Bonan and his son very calmly: "In my opinion, the end must be a return to the past, a superficial republic, but other changes are rare. Since Wuxu, at first, the Qing Dynasty only heard its voice, but did not see the action, Lafayette's "drag" word, dragged the Qing Dynasty into the bottom of the sea, the crime of the country, the crime is in one person! Now that Yuan Shikai is the emperor, he wants to be the monarch for generations, and the interests are too great, which will inevitably cause everyone to oppose him. ”

Li Keding knew that Master Puyun's ideal was to establish a monarchy-constitution, and now that the form of fighting has changed, Yuan Shikai will become a lonely man, and he can take advantage of the situation. When he was in Tianjin, he heard that Prince Gong was seeking great things there and was looking for support everywhere, so he pondered and said: "The national crisis is a good general, so the master remembers Li Hongzhang again, do you have the intention to do something?" ”

Puyun waved his hand, pointed to a "Picture of Nengchen" on the wall, and said: "To this day, even if Zeng Gong, Zuo Gong, and Li Gong are resurrected, it is difficult to do anything. Since ancient times, "the sky listens to itself and the people listen", and power comes from the support of the people, not just the force behind it. At present, although Yuan Shikai is facing the situation of the wall falling down and everyone pushing him, it is not out of control, and if Prince Gong wants to succeed, it is like climbing to the sky, there is no ladder to climb. At the beginning, the Qing Dynasty exhausted everyone's patience, and the people's hearts were lost, and it was almost impossible to regain it. The Qing Dynasty has become history, and no one can hope to redeem it. ”

Now that the situation is turbulent and unpredictable, Li Bonan thinks to himself that all forces are competing for each other, who will win and who will lose in the future? It's really unpredictable, and I can't help but be suspicious, so I asked solemnly: "Mr. thinks, since the establishment of the Republic of China, who is the winner?" Who will win next year? ”