Years of the Republic of China 1913

When Fang Zi arrived at the Prime Minister's Office, Liao Zhongkai hadn't left yet. When he saw Fang Zida appearing, he was taken aback for a moment, and then exclaimed joyfully, "Shang Ming, when did you come back?"

"I just arrived in Beijing, and I haven't been back for a few hours." Fang Zida looked at Song Jiaoren's office with a smile, and sat down beside Liao Zhongkai.

"Have you been to the Ministry of the Army?" Song Jiaoren was very happy to see Fang Zida coming back, and poured a cup of tea with his own hands. come over."

"Ah Zhang Ming! This incident is thanks to you, otherwise there will be chaos in Jiangsu, Shanghai and other places, and we don't know when the rebellion will subside." Song Jiaoren shook his head sadly and said: "It's a pity Brother Yingshi just went there, it shouldn’t be! It shouldn’t be!”

When Chen Qimei was mentioned, Liao Zhongkai also nodded solemnly. They were all good friends at the beginning, and they had a deep friendship with each other.Although the KMT and the Revolutionary Party have parted ways now, the friendship between them is inseparable. When the news of Chen Qimei’s suicide came from Shanghai, my heart was full of grief and melancholy. And the scenes of struggle seem to be vividly remembered.I thought that after Chen Qimei was arrested, I would see her in Beijing. Even if she was sentenced according to the law, she could find a way to treat her old friend preferentially.

Sighing a few times, Song Jiaoren inquired carefully about the situation before and after Chen Qimei's suicide. Fang Zida did not hide anything, and directly started from the sudden revelation of Chen Qimei's whereabouts by the Japanese consultant Fujita Ichiro. How to arrange it, and what to think in my heart, all expressed in words one by one.

Listening carefully, Song Jiaoren did not interrupt Fang Zida's narration, but exchanged glances with Liao Zhongkai when he talked about certain aspects. When Fang Zida talked about the suicide note left by Chen Qimei, Song Jiaoren Only then did Ren ask where the suicide note was.

"At first, I gave the suicide note to Jiang Zhiqing, because the matter of Chen Qimei caused a lot of noise in the outside world, so I took the suicide note back for the sake of safety." Fang Zida took out the suicide note that he had prepared a long time ago from his pocket and handed it over. , took the suicide note, looked at the handwriting on it, Song Jiaoren and Liao Zhongkai both nodded, confirming that it was indeed Chen Qimei's handwriting.

After carefully folding Chen Qimei's suicide note and putting it in a drawer, Song Jiaoren turned to ask about the situation of the Eighth Division.Before Fang Zida went north, he sent a telegram to Song Jiaoren, but the content of the telegram was limited to a brief description, and it was better to inquire about some specific situations in person.

After waiting for half an hour, Fang Zida reported all the work and arrangements of the southbound trip. Song Jiaoren praised him with satisfaction, and then said apologetically, "Shang Ming, after the accident, the Army The Ministry revoked your post, as the prime minister, I didn't say anything for you, and you didn't blame me in your heart?"

"How could it be?" Putting down the teacup in his hand, Fang Zida smiled and said, "To put it bluntly, my deputy teacher is just a part-time job, and it's just an expedient measure. It doesn't make any sense to me if I don't do it right. It’s fine as a teacher. Now that the overall situation has been settled, it is normal to resign and return to Beijing.”

"Hehe, there is still a lieutenant general in the army. Don't you think it's a pity, Fang Zhangming?" Liao Zhongkai asked with a smile from the side.

"What's the pity about this? I'm not from the army. I'm not a lieutenant general. Is it true that Brother Zhongkai wants me to lead troops in the future?"

"Hahaha! What's wrong with leading troops? Zhang Ming, ah, you are now a world-renowned general. You must know that this time Zhang Xun's braided army was defeated and fled. What a big shock! Who would have thought that your knowledge of economics is not enough, but you are so good at leading troops to fight, it is really surprising!" Liao Zhongkai looked at Fang Zida with a smile, and shook his thumb,

Fang Zida couldn't help laughing. What kind of remarks are these? He quickly waved his hands and said, "Brother Zhong Kai, don't make fun of him. It is true that he defeated Zhang Xun, but the reason for this is not as evil as the outside world. Offensive, the Eighth Division is defending, he is the guest, I am the host, my Eighth Division has taken advantage of this aspect. Second, Zhang Xun attacked Jiangsu without authorization, which has violated the taboo of the Central Committee. If he can defeat the enemy in the shortest time The Eighth Division took Nanjing, everything is easy to talk about, but once the battle is unfavorable, Zhang Xun will never spend all his capital. Third, after the Eighth Division has been reorganized, orders are prohibited, and it is only possible to block it with the help of the command. Braided army. To tell you the truth, I was sweating a lot at the time! To be honest, if Zhang Xun had really put all his eggs in one basket and concentrated all his troops for another two days of onslaught, Nanjing would have been captured by him. Therefore, this battle was completely a fluke , luck!"

"What Zhang Xun said was right. Afterwards, Zhang Xun's troops entered Anhui, and there was news from the Army Department that the braided army still had the combat effectiveness of one and a half regiments. If it wasn't for Zhang Xun's uncertainty about Zhang Ming's cards and his unwillingness to use up all his strength under the city of Nanjing, It's really hard to predict who will win the battle." Song Jiaoren said, he knew the situation of the Battle of Nanjing far better than Liao Zhongkai, after the Eighth Division defeated Zhang Xun, he secretly sighed lucky, but even so, Fang Zida's contribution is not small , but he was dismissed because of Chen Qimei's incident, and Song Jiaoren felt sorry for him from the bottom of his heart.

"Shang Ming, what kind of work do you want to do when you return to Beijing?" Song Jiaoren asked kindly. Will not treat myself badly.

"This... I haven't figured it out yet. What's your suggestion, Brother Dunchu?" Fang Zida said in a very low-key manner.

"What's so difficult about this? In my opinion, let Zhang Ming go to the Ministry of Finance, and his talent is more than enough to serve as a deputy minister." Liao Zhongkai interjected with a smile.

"Senior Chief..." Song Jiaoren is not willing to give this position to Fang Zida. At present, the Chief Financial Officer is Tang Shaoyi. Of course, it would be most suitable for Fang Zida to be the Deputy Chief. It is really inappropriate to be the Undersecretary of Finance.

Not only the finance minister, but also several other ministers were not suitable for Fang Zida. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, although Song Jiaoren knew that Fang Zida had done nothing wrong in the Chen Qimei incident, he still had to worry about public opinion, right?If some members of Congress make a fuss about this, they will bring trouble to Fang Zida out of thin air.

Just when Song Jiaoren showed a slight embarrassment, Fang Zida said: "Brother Zhongkai, don't you want to set me on fire? I, a person who was dismissed for investigation, suddenly turned into a high-ranking government official? How do you let the outside world see Dunchu?" Brother? What do you think of our kmt? By that time, I, Fang Zida, will not really be the target of Wanfu? You still spare me."

"That's true..." Liao Zhongkai nodded after thinking about it, but felt wronged for Fang Zida: "What kind of thing is this! People who really do things can't be promoted, and all these guys outside only know how to catch wind and play around."

Hearing what Fang Zida said, Song Jiaoren was very relieved, and said a few words to help.However, he was still a little embarrassed about Fang Zida's resettlement work, so Fang Zida took the initiative to speak at this time.

"Brother Dunchu, Brother Zhongkai, Zida has learned a lot during this trip south, and I also have a lot of thoughts in my heart. How about this, anyway, I just returned to the capital, let me rest for a few days, I plan to write down some thoughts and sort them out , and then everyone is discussing and discussing. As for the appointment, there is no rush at the moment, how will everything be discussed in the future?"

"Oh, what is Zhang Ming's opinion on the political situation? How about we talk about it now?" As soon as Fang Zida's words fell, Song Jiaoren and Liao Zhongkai became interested, especially Song Jiaoren, who thought that as long as he won the election, he would become the prime minister , and then step by step according to his own ideals, he will be able to realize his constitutional ideals.However, in fact, although Song Jiaoren had made a lot of preparations in the early stage, he realized that everything was not as simple as he imagined after he formally assumed the post of prime minister.In such a large country, there are many difficulties, both external and internal. How can it be easily changed?These days, just the financial aspect has caused him a lot of trouble. This is on the premise that the government has a large loan to deal with the aftermath. If it is not for this money, Song Jiaoren, the prime minister, may not even be able to work for a month.

Fang Zida has sharp eyesight and strong personal ability. Both Song Jiaoren and Liao Zhongkai are aware of these. When they heard Fang Zida's suggestion on the political situation, the two of them suddenly became energetic and planned to listen carefully.

"I'll talk about this after I calm down and sort it out. There are so many things going on. I'm afraid I'll miss you two by talking casually for a while." Fang Zida smiled and waved his hand to refuse. Song Jiaoren didn't force it, but told him to do it as soon as possible. Write down what you see and think, and show it to yourself as soon as possible.

He agreed without hesitation, seeing that it was getting late, Fang Zida rushed back to Beijing before he had time to go home, so he got up to leave immediately, Song Jiaoren didn't force it, and sent him out with Liao Zhongkai, after he left, Liao Zhongkai couldn't help it Sighed: "I really don't know what Zhang Ming will write. Dun Chu, when the time comes, you must notify me when Zhang Ming's things arrive!"

Nodding, Song Jiaoren agreed, and then greeted Liao Zhongkai back to the office, took out Chen Qimei's suicide note from the drawer, and tapped the three "hate" characters on it.

"Zhong Kai, the three hate characters written by brother Yingshi are very strange! What do you think?"

"Firstly, he hated the failure of the army and fell short of his achievements. Secondly, he probably hated his unfulfilled ambitions and died with hatred. As for the third..." Liao Zhongkai thought for a while, and finally shook his head.

Song Jiaoren stared at Chen Qimei's suicide note and remained silent, frowning as if thinking of something.But he didn't say anything in the end, and Liao Zhongkai next to him didn't ask either. The two exchanged glances silently, refolded the suicide note, and put it in the drawer.