That night, eight red palace lanterns were hung outside the gate of the Temporary Presidential Palace in Shidaren Lane, and forty or fifty pots of flowers and trees were moved in front of the door. The seasonal flowers were in bloom, and the evergreen pines and cypresses were green all year round.

In addition to a group of government officials and famous gentry from Beijing and Tianjin, Yuan Shikai's eldest son Yuan Keding, second son Yuan Kewen, and third son Yuan Keliang led a group of staff to clear out the guests and all stood outside the door to wait.

"Night banquet!"

When the carriage turned into Master Shi Lane, Li Zicheng glanced at Mu and Yang Du.

“There’s no such thing as a good feast!”

I was muttering to myself that this was some kind of "Hongmen Banquet", but the coachman rang the bell softly, and the big rubber wheel stopped smoothly in front of the door.

As soon as the carriage stopped, the eldest son Yuan Keding came to the door wearing a brand new suit, bent slightly and said loudly.

"Mr. Li, please get out of the car!"

"Calm down! Calm down!"

Li Zicheng, who had not expected Yuan Shikai's welcome to be so grand, had calmed down after the initial excitement. He still understood the principle that there is no good feast, but when he got out of the car, he looked at the opposite person standing next to the car in surprise.

When asked how to call this person, Yang Du helped him solve the problem.

"This is Mr. Yuntai, Mr. Yuan."

Then he pointed to the two people behind Keding and said.

"They are the second young master, Mr. Hanyun, and the third young master, Mr. Guichang."

Seeing the three young masters of the Yuan Mansion waiting nearby, Li Zicheng took a look, then clasped his hands and said as he got out of the car.

"Don't dare to take it, don't dare to take it!"

And Yuan Keding held Li Zicheng's hand and said.

"My father admires Mr. Li very much, and Brother Yu has great respect for Mr. Li. It is an honor for my Yuan family that Mr. Li comes to visit me today."

Yuan Keding's words were so sincere that Li Zicheng was secretly surprised. These days, his ears have been filled with praises. It seems that all these praises are expected, and the praises of ordinary people are also understandable. Who is Yuan Shikai?

Who is Mr. Yuan? It is really surprising that he would say such a thing.

We walked to the door together and were about to step in when we heard a loud shout.

"Mr. Li is here!"

While Yuan Keding was picking up the compliments, Yuan Shikai had already walked out of the Presidential Palace and led all the accompanying officials to stand on the steps of the hall to wait for Li Zicheng. The light was like daylight and the bright moon was eclipsed. When Li Zicheng and his entourage entered

From Yuan Shikai's perspective, he immediately led the officials down the steps and greeted him with hasty but steady steps. Under the introduction of the accompanying officials, he took Li Zicheng's hand and spoke enthusiastically and sincerely.

"Zhiyuan, I've been working hard all the way, so we shouldn't have met tonight, but if I, Yuan, don't wash your hands of Zhiyuan and fulfill my friendship as a landlord, I'm afraid others will laugh at Yuan for being unkind!"

"Thank...thank you, President!"

Li Zicheng immediately responded to Kai, saying the same pleasantries after meeting.

"The president treats Zicheng so favorably, which really puts Zicheng to shame!"

For Li Zicheng's nervousness and respect, Yuan Shikai not only accepted it calmly, he was even more pleased with his nervousness, and even felt a sense of self-rejoicing in his heart. After greeting the group of people who accompanied Li Zicheng,

, Yuan Shikai did not let go of Li Zicheng's hand, but held his hand until he walked into the banquet, and then reluctantly let go.

Everyone walked into the restaurant of the Provisional Presidential Palace. The Italian crystal chandelier in the restaurant was shining brightly. The large round table was already filled with delicacies from the mountains and seas, jade chopsticks and silver cups. Before they sat down, Yuan Shikai spoke.

"Tonight's banquet is specially organized for Mr. Li, please take a seat!"

A boy in his twenties, with no official title, who dares to accept this favor? If he accepts this favor today, who knows what kind of disaster he will suffer.

"The President presides over state affairs and stabilizes the country. He has made great contributions! Please take the seat, President!"

Li Zicheng quickly complimented, then declined, and finally bowed. After seeing Li Zicheng's behavior, Yuan Shikai sat down at the table generously. After Yuan Shikai sat down, Li Zicheng, the Yuan brothers, Yang Du and others also followed suit.

sit down.

As soon as he sat down, Li Zicheng spoke.

"These days, the President has taken great care of me, and I am very grateful. I originally thought that I would express my gratitude to the President when I arrived in Beijing, but I did not expect that the President would be so polite. I am not worthy of it."

When talking at this meeting, Li Zicheng completely put himself in the position he had been in before, that kind of "follower" position. Although he was not an expert in serving the leader, it didn't matter whether Yuan Shikai wanted him or not.

, no matter what they need, this kind of people would rather support them than offend them.

But Yuan Shikai said with admiration.

"Mr. Li is just a student of integrity. I respect you very much, but this small gesture is not enough to express my gratitude. Come, have a drink!"

Yuan Shikai raised his wine glass and everyone took a sip. Putting down the wine glass, Yuan Shikai ordered Ke Ding to pick up some food for Li Zicheng. At the dinner table, Yuan Shikai never mentioned the word "silver" or the domestic political situation, and kept talking to Li Zicheng.

They talked about family affairs and studying. Only in the end, when there was no way to continue talking to Yuan Shikai about studying, Li Zicheng slowly and involuntarily turned the conversation to the political situation.

"I have been serving the country for more than 30 years and I am fully aware of the many shortcomings in national affairs."

Yuan Shikai glanced at Li Zicheng. Although it was only a brief contact, he was sure that Li Zicheng was an "honest" person and had no scheming at all, so he continued.

"Mr. Li is young and may not know this. As early as when Kang Youwei first arrived in Beijing, I delivered the reform memorial to him, and later joined the Qiang Society. After the two palaces returned to Luan, I went to the reform memorial hall with Zhang Wenxiang Gong

Sanshu. Later, he practiced the New Army in Shandong and Zhili and established the New Deal. What was all this for? It was not all for the prosperity of the country!"

When Yuan Shikai said this, he stared at Li Zicheng. The moment he was stared at, Li Zicheng could feel that there was a kind of intimidation in his eyes, and it seemed that there was a deep subtext hidden in his eyes.

Yang Du quickly interjected from the side.

"Yes, the President did a lot of practical things for China's New Deal. For example, the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway, which was fully opened to traffic a few years ago, was built by the President under the direct supervision of Zhan Tianyou. The entire railway was completely designed by us Chinese.

It was constructed by myself. People say that this railway has given us Chinese aspirations."

What Yang Du said made Yuan Shikai very happy. He knew that Li Zicheng was interested in industry. If he wanted to get money from him, he had to let this honest man see his industrial side, so he continued this topic.

"Mr. Li was studying in Europe at that time, so he may not know it clearly. Although this railway is only more than 300 miles long, it passes through Juyongguan, Badaling, and passes through mountains and rivers. The terrain is complex and the project is huge. Foreigners say that China built this railway

The engineer of the railway has not yet been born. Yuan encouraged Zhan Tianyou to work boldly. If he wanted anything, I would purchase it for him and provide the funds. If others gossiped, I would support him. It was Zhan Tianyou who fought hard and built it in the end. Zhan Tianyou was

Young children sent to study in the United States by Zeng Wenzhenggong. Zeng Wenzhenggong was very far-sighted and trained many talents for the country, and Shaochuan was also one of these people."

Shaochuan is the cousin of Prime Minister Tang Shaoyi. When Tang Shaoyi heard that the President mentioned him, when Tang Shaoyi was about to interrupt, he realized that he couldn't interrupt at all, so he just nodded to Li Zicheng with a slight embarrassment.

Zhan Tianyou built the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway. How could Li Zicheng not know that in later generations, the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway and Zhan Tianyou were both like national heroes, but the details have been ignored by people, or without the support of important officials in the DPRK.

Can Zhan Tianyou build that railway?

After listening to Yuan Shikai's words, Li Zicheng knew that Yuan Shikai's success today was closely related to his ability to recognize and employ people, so he hurriedly said.

“Zhan Tianyou’s success was largely due to your support and trust, President.”

Yuan Shikai smiled slightly and said.

"I have always supported anyone who has real talents and knowledge and is willing to contribute to the country. If the revolutionary party is truly working for China, I will definitely support any move that can benefit China's prosperity and strength."

As the conversation deepened, Yuan Shikai's humility and enthusiasm gave Li Zicheng a sense of intimacy without the slightest distance. When talking to Yuan Shikai, Li Zicheng felt that in his heart, he felt guilty for having been on guard against him in every possible way.

I even thought of the misunderstanding of Yuan Shikai in the history books, as well as the criticism, humiliation and abuse of Yuan Shikai. I really feel sorry for the Yuan Shikai in front of me! I even feel that Yuan Shikai has suffered huge grievances and injustices.

Just when Li Zicheng seemed to be in a trance, Yuan Shikai continued.

"Zhiyuan lives overseas, and I would like to ask Zhiyuan to do me a favor."

At this time, Yuan Shikai stretched out a stubby arm and raised his fat palm.

"I don't know much about industrial knowledge. I would like to ask Mr. Li to teach me."

Being given another gentle compliment by Yuan Shikai, even as "sir", Li Zicheng felt a little moved when faced with Yuan Shikai's enthusiasm and kindness, and responded hurriedly.

"To each other, the president has a reputation of leading troops, he also has a very high prestige in the eyes of the people, and he is also known as helping industry. It cannot be said that we can teach each other. We can learn from each other..."

In this way, the two people were at the banquet, changing glasses and talking happily. Being complimented by Yuan Shikai, Li Zicheng even found that he could no longer taste whether the food in his mouth was sweet or sour, let alone taste it.

It brought out the sweetness and refreshing taste of the fine wine. At this moment, facing the supreme courtesy given to him by Yuan Shikai, facing the cordial scene where he felt at home, and facing Yuan Shikai's eager words like the spring breeze blowing on his face, Li Zicheng looked at the lights.

The water was clear and the luxurious and sumptuous night banquet had an illusion of heaven and earth.

"Is this...is this really a dream?"
Chapter completed!