Master Yuan, start!

The force of his words was far less domineering than the words in his original time and space: "I control the southeast and would rather die than obey your edict."

Why? Because the foundation is unstable, there is no money and no soldiers.

In addition, his cousin Zhang Zhiwan did not return to the south with Cixi when she fled south, but stayed in the Beijing court and served as the "Honglu Temple Minister".

Although the two brothers later sent telegrams to the whole country, breaking up with each other and accusing each other of aiding and abetting the evil and disregarding the country and the people.

But anyone with a discerning eye can see that it is nothing more than learning the story of the Three Kingdoms and betting on both sides.

However, the Zhang family of Nanpi, Zhili was not a famous and prominent family. The highest official before was only the governor of Guizhou Dongdao, who did not have real power as a deputy governor.

It was not until the time of the brothers Zhang Zhidong and Zhang Zhiwan that good luck came to them. They had two governors-general in the same family, the elder one was the governor-general of the river, and the younger one was the governor-general of Huguang.

Therefore, the Zhang brothers' practice of hedging their bets like the great families of the Three Kingdoms period was quite disdainful of people at that time. Many people felt that the times had changed and were far from what they were at the end of the Han Dynasty.

The two Han people were so scheming to pledge allegiance to the two Manchus respectively. Their actions were considered to be a case of imitating others without success and only added to the ridicule.

When Liang Qichao was studying in Incheon, he openly wrote a poem mocking Zhang Zhidong, and even scolded Zhang Zhiwan in the capital.

This is why Chen Qianqiu advised Liang Qichao to be cautious.

Because he has such a big mouth.

As a result, after drinking two taels of wine, Liang Qichao's unruly character was revealed again.

"Brother Tongfu, I've had such a wonderful time in Incheon these past three years!" Liang Qichao picked up a piece of beef and put it in his mouth, muttering, "I'm so happy here that I don't even miss the interior!"

"Zhuoru, you are truly a madman. Even Zhang Taiyan, who was called a madman by his classmates, is far inferior to you."

When Chen Qianqiu heard Liang Qichao's unscrupulous speech, he could only smile helplessly, and said nothing more. He picked up his chopsticks and picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork that had just been served to taste it.

The reason why he did not refute it was naturally because what Liang Qichao said was true.

Chirp. Nine 6?79 0 (?25

In the past three years, North Korea in particular can be regarded as the region with the most relaxed atmosphere for speech.

No matter what political views were discussed or how rebellious the articles were, Yuan Shikai would allow them, so Korea became more and more attractive to intellectuals.

The Beiyang University, located in Incheon, also became a "holy place" in the hearts of scholars around the world at that time.

Previously, when Yuan Shikai was initially sorting out the primary, secondary and high school education systems, he had intended to establish a university in Seoul, but due to the anti-curtain war in the middle, the matter was temporarily delayed.

It was not until after the war, when the situation inside and outside the Great Wall was temporarily stable, that Yuan Shikai finally decided to establish Beiyang University in Incheon.

This university was established in the same manner as the University of Tokyo and is currently divided into only five departments: law, engineering, liberal arts, science, and medicine. Except for the medical department, which is a four-year program, the rest are three-year programs.

After the establishment of Beiyang University, all the students who graduated from the specialized schools built before had new destinations.

Either you can enter Beiyang University with a relevant major and a lower score in the exam; or you can graduate directly and go to a factory or the "bonded area" to help with affairs.

Just like the job assignment for technical secondary school graduates in later generations, many people wanted to take off their school gowns and enter society as soon as possible, so most people chose the latter.

After graduating from the Northeast Civil Affairs School, Liang Qichao chose the former and became a glorious "college student"

00(]Search t: Except for Liang Qichao, most of the scholars who were attracted to Korea by Yuan Shikai, especially those in the south who had no chance to take the imperial examination, felt like they had seen a bright light.

The imperial examination was delayed, so those with connections naturally relied on recommendations to enter the government as guests; those without connections all set their sights on Beiyang University and wanted to become one of its students.

Liang Qichao, Zhang Taiyan, and Tan Sitong

All the historical celebrities who were once involved with Yuan Shikai gathered in this corner of Incheon.

However, Liang Qichao had no idea that he had become a famous figure in history in another time and space. Now, after having eaten and drunk his fill, he was asking questions to the waiter in the restaurant while still half drunk.

"Your sweet and sour pork is indeed as good as you say. It's bright in color, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and slightly sour and sweet. If I didn't have something else to do today, I would really like to ask you for advice."

Liang Qichao narrowed his eyes and smelled of alcohol.

He was also quite interested in cooking. When he went to Guangzhou, the provincial capital, to take the imperial examination, he once shared homemade salted fish with his fellow villagers on the boat.

Because the journey to the exam was quite boring, some scholars suggested writing a couplet with the theme of "salted fish", but the word "salted fish" could not appear in the couplet.

Now everyone on the boat was in trouble. Although salted fish is a common dish on the Cantonese table, it is still difficult to make a couplet with it. After all, salted fish is not considered elegant, and the word "salted fish" cannot appear.

Just when everyone was racking their brains, who would have thought that Liang Qichao, who was only 12 years old, would blurt out the wonderful couplet "After Taigong went fishing, Jiao Ge raised the salt to prepare the first salt."

Taigong is paired with Jiao Ge, fishing is paired with lifting salt, and Hou is paired with Chu.

Taigong refers to Jiang Taigong, and Jiao Ge was a merchant who sold fish and salt during the Shang Dynasty.

Jiang Taigong fished for fish, and Jiao Ge sold salt. Fish + salt, the whole sentence is a perfect match, but there is no mention of salted fish, but the whole article refers to salted fish.

The allusions are used appropriately but not out of cliché, and Liang Qichao is also fond of making salted fish, so he is associated with fish.

So much so that later during the Republic of China, when people in the village discussed Liang Qichao, they jokingly said "Guangdong has turned over a new leaf" to refer to Liang Qichao's fame throughout the world.

The phrase "salted fish turning over" has since become a metaphor in Cantonese-speaking areas to refer to a turnaround in life's lowest point. After the reform and opening up, it was introduced to the whole of China through Hong Kong dramas and became known to all Chinese people.

Of course, Liang Qichao in this time and space is still far from having made a comeback. In terms of fame, he is only famous in a small circle.

However, his interest in cooking has not diminished at all. When he sees sweet and sour pork that suits his taste, he naturally wants to try it out.

"Sir, you're joking. Since ancient times, there's been a saying that a gentleman should stay away from the kitchen. This chef was specially hired by the shopkeeper from the Confucius Mansion." Seeing the two enjoying their meal, the waiter relaxed his composure, bowed and smiled, and whispered, "This is a family secret recipe. I'm afraid he wouldn't pass it on easily."

"Ever since the three Kongs left, the chefs of the Kong Mansion have been wandering around." Liang Qichao did not get angry after hearing the waiter's implicit refusal. Instead, he grinned:

"Just as the dishes that Lord Yuan ate are everywhere in restaurants outside the Great Wall, now there are chefs from the Kong Mansion everywhere in the world."

Seeing this, the waiter naturally smiled and didn't dare to say anything more.

"Forget it, waiter, how much is it?" Liang Qichao pointed to the sweet and sour pork on the table.

"Two ounces of wine, one serving of sweet and sour pork, and three ounces of braised beef."

"My two lords, the total is 312 wen." The waiter took out the bill and said, "If you pay with copper coins or banknotes, it's the original price. If you pay with Northeast silver dollars or small change, I can give you a discount."

"Why is this?" Chen Qianqiu was a little confused.

"The Border Industry Bank is running a promotion lately. Every day, they select the 200 people who exchange the most silver dollars for paper money from each region and give them corn as a subsidy."

The waiter explained the reason in detail.

"A piece of corn, finely ground and poured into the pot, can be equivalent to a meal for an ordinary family. The shopkeeper naturally disdains this small profit, but I have to support my family, so..." The waiter looked at the two of them and smiled:

"According to the shopkeeper, I am not harming others for my own benefit."

Although Northeastern paper currency is not as strong as real gold and silver outside the Great Wall, it is also one of the alternative currencies for people to buy and sell goods.

However, generally speaking, few people use silver or silver dollars to exchange for paper money.

"What a good person who doesn't harm others for his own benefit."

Liang Qichao couldn't help laughing. Although he was a little drunk, he still took out a silver coin issued by the Northeast Border Industry Bank from his pocket and handed it to the second-hand man.

"Take it and trade it!"

"Okay, thank you for coming!"

The waiter wearing a melon-shaped hat smiled happily, put the rag on his shoulder, and ran downstairs quickly to exchange money.

"Look, Tongfu, this is what Master Yuan does." Liang Qichao stared at the waiter as he walked down the stairs, his tone full of admiration: "It is said that a gentleman stays away from the kitchen, and officials do not compete with the people for profit.

You and I have both been to Shanghai before. In the eyes of foreigners, it is known as the first city in the Far East.

But you know what the situation in Shanghai was like when we were editors of the International Gazette.

If you ask me, the situation outside the Great Wall is 100 times stronger than that inside the Great Wall!"

Recruitment of 8?60.?3?804(

"I'm afraid Lord Yuan is going to send troops south, so we have no choice but to resort to this last resort." Chen Qianqiu finally talked about something that Yuan Xiangcheng had been hyping up for the past two years.

Go south to unify!

"As a bank with three provincial branches, their redemption business is spread all over the world. I heard that they even have branches in Southeast Asia, yet they are still staring at the few silver dollars in the hands of the people. If you tell anyone about this, people will laugh their heads off."

"Those who plan big things should not pay attention to trivial matters." Liang Qichao, taking advantage of the alcohol, praised Yuan Shikai without hesitation.

Chapter 193: Trouble Caused by the Military Rank System

"Master Yuan is indeed decisive and unconcerned with trivial matters," Chen Qianqiu echoed, though a hint of worry lingered in his voice. "For the past three years, the interior of the country has been unstable. If the army marches south and the Golden Elixir Sect stirs up trouble again, it's inevitable that we'll lose sight of one thing while focusing on another."

What Chen Qianqiu was talking about was the subsequent development of the Jindan Dao civil uprising.

Three years ago, in the auditorium of the Northeast Civil Affairs School, Yuan Shikai summoned all the generals from outside the Great Wall and publicly awarded them medals. After the awarding ceremony, he ordered the army to march to the eastern part of Inner Mongolia to start "suppressing bandits".

Yuan Xiangcheng had been planning to award honors for a long time. Taking advantage of the Jindan Dao uprising, he decided to kill two birds with one stone and accomplish both the awarding of honors and the suppression of bandits at the same time.

First of all, the military titles are different. Although the National Defense Army is nominally a Qing army, it has its own military system in private and does not rely on the size of the official positions.

As a result, there was a situation where Duan Qirui and Sheng Fei, who were both commanders of the same town, were promoted earlier and became admirals, while the rest, such as Jin Weidong and Duan Zhigui, were only generals in name only.

But as time went on, some noise inevitably appeared in the army, and not all military generals in the National Defense Army joined the Red Confucian Society.

Those who did not join naturally did not understand this arrangement of high positions but low titles, which made it difficult for some generals without sufficient prestige to win the support of the people. Although military law was strict and several troublemakers at the regiment level had been dealt with, the promulgation of military ranks was inevitable.

So Yuan Shikai held an awarding ceremony in the name of "the new army should wear new titles", and declared that in the future, only new titles would be mentioned in the National Defense Army, regardless of old titles.

The use of a clearer system of three ranks of officers, namely general, colonel and lieutenant, to award merits was undoubtedly more accepted by soldiers than the large and complicated military officer titles of the Qing Dynasty.

After all, not only modern people cannot distinguish the various official positions in ancient times, but even ancient people could not distinguish them clearly.

The change in honors and titles did not cause much waves in the court and the country, because the impact of Yuan Shikai's adoption of new military ranks was far less than that of Guangxu's "New Civil Service Rank Order" in the capital.

The reason was that Yuan Xiangcheng, in order to promote the new military rank, specifically declared in the newspaper

"During times of national emergency, military affairs are complex, and banditry is difficult to manage. New talents must be selected to fill these responsibilities. However, the ranks of newly promoted individuals are high, but their titles are low, making it difficult to unify them. If we judge the merits of talents by their old titles, people will inevitably become unsettled. Therefore, we should try to recruit new titles so that we can recruit and utilize them."

Although Yuan Shikai's words were meant to explain his promulgation of the military rank system, it happened to hit the pain point of Guangxu in the reform.

When it comes to reform, Guangxu did not just shout slogans, but also pushed forward the reform in a down-to-earth manner.

If you want to implement new policies, you have to set up new departments. So Guangxu set up the Postal and Communications Temple, the Transportation Temple, and the Industry and Commerce Temple in imitation of European countries, intending to implement new laws first in the areas of postal services, railways, and factory openings.

After all, the six ministries were a political system that had been passed down for more than 6 years, and setting up a new "ministry" would be too conspicuous. So Guangxu turned a blind eye and established three new temples, just like the nine ministries such as the Honglu Temple and the Taipu Temple, which had gradually become useless.

It is called a temple, but it is actually a department, and it is responsible for important military and national affairs.

However, Guangxu was at a loss as to how to select the chief officials of the three temples. Although reform within the court had become a forced "consensus", not everyone had the ability to carry out the reform.

Everyone knew that Guangxu had placed great hopes on these three temples, so the old ministers who knew nothing about the reform did not dare to take charge of a temple, for fear of messing up and angering Guangxu.

The managers and assistant managers of the Zongli Yamen were experienced, but they had no achievements and no titles.

If a layman were to take charge of all the affairs of a temple, it would inevitably feel like "a small horse pulling a big cart".