The fifth year of the Republic of China, the Bingchen year, the turn of spring and summer. Beijing.

The wind and sand have filled the air for several days, and the streets, houses, and trees are all wrapped in a yellow and turbid fog. There are obviously fewer pedestrians; rickshaws shuttle in the streets and alleys, ringing clear bells, hurriedly

Looming; there are no birds in the sky, and the wind whistles from time to time...

"Nasty Autumn!"

Someone cursed like this.

Since the reclamation of Mengdi in the late Qing Dynasty, in recent years, every spring and autumn, the wind blowing from Mengdi will always bring up bursts of yellow sand. When the wind and sand roll up, the world is like a cloud of Mongolian sand.

It was like a layer of black veil, covering up the clouds and the sun, giving it a chaotic appearance.

The spring wind and sand not only cast a gloomy layer on the capital, but also cast a turbid black veil on Zhongnanhai in the inner city, which has been an imperial city for hundreds of years. At this time, this ancient imperial city

, the current presidential palace is deserted.

Yuan Shikai, who has been the President of the Republic of China for five years, is probably affected by the weather and is listless all day long. Even his body, which has become increasingly obese in recent years, has also shrunk and become shorter. Although his face is

He was not thin, but there was no look on his face. Even his eyes, which seemed to be able to see through his heart and lungs, were lost. He seemed to have aged completely in a few days.

Only fifty-eight, in the prime of life!

After getting up in the morning, looking at his appearance in the mirror, Yuan Shikai muttered. Originally, he wanted to relax in the garden of Zhongnanhai, but when he looked at the turbid weather outside, he suddenly had no idea and simply closed the door.

, not going out anymore.

Sitting at the table in the small study room of Jurentang, he wanted to calm down and do something else, but Yuan Shikai found that his thoughts were in chaos again. He was so confused that he didn't know what to do.

He blamed himself a little for this:

"Here, what's wrong with me?"

Not just today. In the past half month, Yuan Shikai found that his strength was getting worse day by day. Although he still eats a roast duck a day, occasionally a roast rabbit, and even eats several

Even though I still have the appetite for a pound of beef and mutton, why does my energy always seem to be a little off?

Especially the unspeakable pain in my crotch is getting worse every day. The bones in my body are really getting worse every day!

But it’s only fifty-eight!

Just when this idea emerged again, Yuan Shikai, who had just picked up the royal chef in the palace to make a tonic soup, lost his mind and broke the white jade cup in his hand. Then, his body, which had no energy at all,

His face turned pale, and the secret of the Yuan family emerged in his mind again.

Over the years, although the Yuan family in Xiangcheng, Henan Province has prospered in officialdom, most of them died short-lived. Yuan Shikai's great-grandfather Yuan Yaodong died when he was less than 40 years old, and his great-uncle Yuan Jiasan died when he was 57. His biological father Yuan Baozhong did not survive until the age of 51, and his successor Yuan Baoqing died when he was 49.

In this world, my cousin Yuan Baoheng only lived to be 52 years old. After four generations, the saying that "the Yuan family will not live to be 60 years old" has become a secret known to many people.

And now... Yuan Shikai is fifty-eight years old! There are only less than two years left before that deadline. This... is related to the recent abnormality in his body. In an instant, Yuan Shikai's heart became cold. Ever since he took office

After becoming the president, this age has gradually become closer to 60 years old.

Now, my body and bones are not as good as before...

Thinking about his approaching end of age, a basin of cold water was poured down on Yuan Shikai's head. It only made him feel cold from his heart to the soles of his feet, and he deeply exhaled the depression that had been accumulated in his chest for many days.

The worry about life only made him upset for a while.

At this time, the wind outside the window stopped and the sand disappeared. The blue sky became a piece again, and white clouds floated in the sky, but all of this had no appeal to Yuan Shikai...

The deadline is approaching!

For most people, worrying about death at the age of fifty-eight is still far away, but for Yuan Shikai, this day is so close that he himself dare not believe it and is unwilling to do so.

To imagine.

"You know your destiny at fifty"!

In the blink of an eye, he is already fifty-eight years old. When he was fifty, Yuan Shikai knew what he was going to do. Therefore, he never panicked when encountering problems. Not only that, he could always face the ups and downs of life frankly.

, although he is unwilling to do so, he can at least endure it, and he has the ability. He believes in time, and time will prove everything. Even when he had to "return to his hometown to recover from illness" due to a serious illness, he was still upset.

, accept it calmly and wait for the day of comeback.

But things are different now. Now he is no longer the Yuan Dynasty who relied on the "Qing court". He has long been the "President Yuan" who forced the "Manchus" to abdicate. Now as the president of the Republic of China, he is

When facing the rise and fall of a great central country, and the life and death of hundreds of millions of people, a mistake is not the eternal hatred of an individual, but the rise and fall of the country.

Although he is not good at reading, Yuan Shikai is also a person who has read books by sages. Even a three-year-old child understands that "every man is responsible for the rise and fall of a country." Doesn't he, a well-educated person, not understand?

He understood, so he wanted to run this country better than anyone else. After returning from North Korea, he organized and trained the new army at Xiaozhan in order to strengthen the country. Therefore, he became the first to seriously study the organizational methods of foreign armies.

and strategic and tactical people, and was also the first person to strongly advocate that the military must be modernized.

After Gengzi, he served as eight ministers including the Governor of Zhili, the Minister of Beiyang, and the Minister of State Affairs. Yuan Shikai took the lead in initiating all new policies. He was responsible for almost all the reform and creation of the Qing Dynasty. He also tried his best to pursue

Western countries support and understand China in order to promote conservative and progressive reforms.

Later, he cooperated with the revolutionary party in the south to overthrow the Manchu Qing Dynasty, all for the sake of the country, and even later suppressed the "Second People's Rebellion", also for the sake of the country. He wanted to run the country well, and he wanted to build up this sunken country.

And he has been working hard like this, and later, he invited Li Zicheng to Beijing, continued to try the "democracy" that he had already seen through, temporarily gave up "centralization", and accepted Li Zicheng's "slow concentration" policy. Which one is not

What about for the country?

Looking back on what he had done in the past thirty years, Yuan Shikai realized that no matter what he did, he was doing it to save the country. But after so many years, how has the country's current situation been managed?

The country seems to be on the right track step by step!

Internationally, the expeditionary force is now fighting fiercely for the country in Europe, and the country's status is rising day by day. In the past, those ministers from various countries who scratched their noses and glared. Everything they said was polite and thoughtful. Sometimes, China just needs to show

If you are tough, they will make appropriate concessions.

Domestically, the domestic economy and industry are advancing by leaps and bounds. Thousands of factories are opening every month in various provinces across the country. While tariffs are being recovered, taxes are being abolished, and exorbitant taxes are being reduced or reduced, national taxes are increasing day by day, and the fiscal surplus is far beyond the imagination of the world.

In two years, the central government's annual revenue will reach hundreds of millions.

Except for the fact that there are still some disputes between the central and local governments on how to restore the authority of the central government, restore a unified political order in the country, and handle the relationship between the central and local governments, China today can be described as peaceful and peaceful, and the lives of ordinary people are also peaceful.

Far better than the late Qing Dynasty, the country was moving step by step towards the "Peaceful Age". Although the problems between political parties and central and local governments that had troubled him for several years have not yet been resolved. But Yuan Shikai believed that all these could always be resolved.

In the end, he will definitely leave a "peace and prosperity" to the country.

At that time, when history books mention Yuan Shikai, they will definitely describe him as bringing order out of chaos, unifying China, and the prosperous age of the Yuan family. He is the Washington of China and the "Taizu" of the Republic of China. The prosperous age of China was built on him... but...

.

God didn't give me enough time!

"Sixty!"

Saying such a sentence, Yuan Shikai's already stubby figure seemed even shorter; his eyes were tired, and the wrinkles between his eyebrows seemed to have become more and deeper in this moment.

"Why……"

After letting out a long sigh, Yuan Shikai's eyes seemed dull. He didn't even notice when the attendants cleaned up the broken white jade cups on the ground. He just tasted the bitterness of his approaching death alone there.

"President, Advisor Xu wants to see you!"

At this time, the words of the attendant outside the door interrupted Yuan Shikai's thoughts.

"Oh, please come in!"

Advisor Xu is Xu Shichang. After the restoration of the State Council, the position of Secretary of State was naturally abolished, and Xu Shichang became the "Special Advisor to the President", with a status even higher than that of the Secretary-General of the Presidential Office, and Xu Shichang seemed to have little regard for this placement.

Not very opposed.

When Yuan Shikai was waiting for Xu Shichang to come in, the office and bedroom Jurentang seemed quiet. When Xu Shichang was led in, Yuan Shikai was sitting in the study. After sorting out his troubled thoughts, Yuan Shikai saw Xu Shichang come in.

, stood up hurriedly and said:

"Brother Juren, why are you here?"

"I heard that the President is unwell. I came to see you."

Xu Shichang responded quickly.

"Why bother with a minor illness?"

"A long embankment that is thousands of miles long breaks down in an ant nest, and even a small illness cannot be ignored!"

Yuan Shikai smiled and said in a relaxed tone:

"Life cannot be free of illness, and life and death are unpredictable! If you ask yourself, although your talents are not enough to compare with the past, it seems that there is no one who can live on your right. However, after four years of service, I have not fully developed my ambitions. Suppose I step down and replace you.

Although the person to be appointed has been predicted and his name is hidden, his talent may still be inferior to that of me. It is difficult to predict the future safety of China!"

When he said these words, Yuan Shikai's consciousness turned from light to heavy, and his eyebrows gradually knitted together.

When Xu Shichang saw this, he was shocked:

"Just now, he said it was a minor illness. Why did he suddenly worry about the aftermath of his death? Does he really know that he is dying?"

At this time, Xu Shichang was about to offer words of persuasion and comfort, but Yuan Shikai spoke.

"I made Brother Juren laugh, but I was only hurt because of my feelings!"

Yuan Shikai, who waved his hands and was unwilling to dwell on this issue, obviously didn't want to talk about it anymore and changed the subject at the same time.

"Brother Juren, what happened outside recently?"

In such a big China, is there anything he doesn’t know? Yes, but not many. However, Xu Shichang, who was considerate of his thoughts, quickly thought about it and replied quickly,

"President, did you know that the "indictment case" caused a lot of noise in the past few days!"
To be continued...