This pre-existing kinship provides a legitimate opportunity for Zhang Peilun and Li Shaoquan to come together. During the heyday www.biquge.info of the "Qingliu Party", Zhang Peilun was full of spirits, Bai Jian fought, and successively captured several court officials, but none of them pointed to the raging Li Shaoquan, which has been criticized by the people of the time. Li Shaoquan's dissatisfaction or jealousy are, first, that he is fawning over authoritarian power, second, that he handles foreign affairs, and third, that he has a diplomatic outlook of the main peace theory -- in fact, the second point is that the people of the Qingliu are not particularly disgusted. "When the light is in the light, the reason why Qingliu is not satisfied with Li Shaoquan is that he is really dissatisfied with Zeng Wenzheng's plan for the world. Gai Shaoquan's strategy is stipulated by Wen Zhengshou. Shaoquan is just a Cao ginseng, and everything is subject to Xiao He's constraints. The reason why the world's plan set by Wenzheng is not satisfied with the clear stream? It only takes into account politics, not religion. Shaoquan steps tend to be upright, and I don't know that there are so-called teachers, so all administrative employment, but on utilitarianism and regardless of integrity, but on material ability and regardless of character. This Qingliu was so indignant and shouted loudly, eager to change his course in order to restore the weathering of the world. ”

As a matter of fact, the "Qingliu Party" and Li Shaoquan do not have any inextricable grudges. Although Li Shaoquan doesn't like Qingliu, he knows how powerful they are, so he never fights with them, but deliberately accepts and entraps them. In addition to Zhang Peilun, Wu Dacheng also fettered him. Among these people, Li Shaoquan is very close to Zhang Peilun, a child of his world friends. According to Zhang Peilun's style of "treating people and not things," there is no reason to impeach Li Shaoquan at all.

Li Shaoquan has always regarded himself as the successor of Zeng Bohan's mantle, and Zeng Bohan has a wise saying: "To do great things, find a replacement first." As a result, Li Shaoquan was appointed as a replacement, the Hunan army declined, and the Huai army prospered, creating an effective military pillar for the stability of the great cadres. But Li Shaoquan found out in his later years that when he was ready to find a replacement for the Beiyang military system that he had run all his life, there was no one available to the generals of the Huai Army who fought the world together: or they were ambitious and had a "father-killing" complex, and it was easy to harm themselves if they used it; Or mediocrity, unbearable. Therefore, he had to look at the periphery of the social circle, and finally chose Zhang Peilun. In addition to the friendship and mutual loyalty between the two, first of all, it is because Zhang Peilun was born in Kejia and has the capital to enter the cabinet and worship the prime minister; The second is the close relationship between Zhang Peilun and the northern faction of Li Hongzao's leader, in addition, Zhang Peilun is the leader of the Qingliu Stream, and his reputation is so famous that ordinary officials dare not touch his tiger whiskers, and Li Shaoquan himself lacks this advantage and often becomes the target of public opinion.

The most important point is Zhang Peilun's talent and ambition.

Li Shaoquan appreciated Zhang Peilun's talent very much, and believed that Zhang Peilun's future achievements would inevitably be above him, so he spared no effort to cultivate it, but Zhang Peilun, who "knew how to handle coastal defense matters," did not choose to go to Beiyang to help with military affairs.

In the eyes of many people, being able to stand alone outside is always better than the career of a speech official fighting in Beijing.

But Zhang Peilun doesn't seem to think so.

Although Zhang Peilun and Li Jingshan's marriage is dressed in political robes, the love life of the two is happy and down-to-earth, and they are not polluted by impurities and bad voices. The relationship between marriage and politics is extremely delicate here.

The warmth of the family gave Zhang Peilun great comfort. He read the poems of Du Mu's "Fan Chuan Collection": "To be able to tolerate the two parties is not unskillful, and not to be the three princes for affection" -- that is, the idea that the affection of his wife is more important than fame. He is a bookworm, Li Jingshan is also an elegant person, plus rich, so he is ethereal and shelf, full of rare books, "full of classics, to more than 100 boxes, most of them are old books of the Song and Yuan dynasties, Pei Lun is easy to read, out of the wife's money, a huge number, buy books, get it." There is a bookish habit in Beijing, and the collection is rich so far. ”

The house Zhang Peilun bought in Jinling is the residence of Daniel Zhang, a famous general of the Ningxu Dynasty, and has undergone several evolutions. Formerly known as "Anyuan", the Zhang couple changed it to "Gull Garden", a "Gull Garden". Here they write recipes, taste rare books, write martial arts, and fly like wings. "With home-brewed and Jingshan drinking, the moon shadow is round, the fragrance of flowers is swaying, and the wine is slightly drunk." Zhang Peilun's diary describes the most realistic scene of warm family life. He has more poems: "There is a Tuntian policy in the sleeve, and the lazy is more disciplined to the gate." Bi Xin gave up the disease: "But he exchanged the 10,000-word Pingrong policy for the owner's tree planting book." "It's more tranquil and laid-back.

"What are you thinking?" She asked him softly.

He shook his head and hugged her like a child.

Just then, there was the sound of soft footsteps at the door, followed by several knocks.

"Yu Qiaogong?" The visitor called softly.

Hearing the other party's voice, Zhang Peilun was clever and let go of his beloved wife in his arms.

He didn't expect that Li Shaoquan's messenger, Li Zhong, would appear here with him.

Li Jingshan calmly straightened her hair and nodded with a smile at Zhang Peilun.

"Please come in." Zhang Peilun took a deep breath, calmed down, and said.

The door opened, and Li Zhong walked in quickly, holding a letter in his hand.

"Yooqiao Gong, Lord Taiwan, please and Miss Hurry back to Jinmen." Li Zhong presented the letter to Zhang Peilun, "Xiangzhong and Zhili...... At the same time, there was a chaotic party ......"

Zhang Peilun was taken aback, and quickly opened the letter and read it.

"Messy party? Where did it come from? Is it a bandit or a handbag? Li Jingshan was very calm, she looked at Li Zhong and asked calmly.

"Miss Hui's words, it's not a bandit, it's not a handmaiden, it's ...... Chu Jun ......" Li Zhong hesitated for a moment and said.

"Chu Jun? Is it Zuo Jigao's old department? Li Jingshan immediately guessed what was going on, and a pair of willow eyebrows frowned suddenly.

"Yes...... I don't know what those dolls have done to do such a monstrous ......thing," Li Zhong sighed, "After the Lord got the news, he was worried about the safety of the two of them, so he asked me to come day and night to deliver the message and escort the two of them to Jinmen for temporary refuge......"

Li Jingshan looked at the door and immediately saw several Huai soldiers wearing blue Western-style military uniforms and carrying rifles.

"The rebels of Zhili, are they already close to here?" After reading the letter, Zhang Peilun still asked with a calm expression.

"That's what Gong Yu Qiao." Li Zhong nodded, "This place is close to the railway, they want to take the train and go to Jingshi." ”

"The matter has come to this, as a courtier, you should share the worries and solve problems for the court." Zhang Peilun said, Huo Ran stood up, which surprised Li Jingshan and Li Zhong.

This winter night, as usual, was windy, the low sky was starless, and the earth was dull; The ground was covered with a clean layer of fresh snow, and some deep footprints left by pedestrians could be clearly seen on the snow.

Cao Kun paused for a moment at the door, choking on the gust of wind, he listened to the silence of the night, but heard nothing more—no gunshots, no footsteps, no shouting. So, without closing the door, he sat down by the threshold, leaning against the log wall, and sat like this for an hour, perhaps longer. He clearly realized that if his companion Zheng Shaokui did not come back within a few minutes, he would never come back; It was with this anxiety and anguish that he looked forward to his return.

A few minutes passed, hours passed, but Zheng Shaokui still did not return. Cao Kun couldn't wait any longer, so he knelt down behind the threshold and touched his small Western pocket watch—the time was 9:50.

Cao Kun regretted it in his heart, without Zheng Shaokui, he couldn't do anything, but since he had to die, he should at least think of letting his companion live at that time. But he sent Zheng Shaokui to carry out a mission that only had a one-thousandth hope of success. The rebels may have arranged an ambush, and there may have been an ambush post in the field, and it must have strengthened the vigilance here; It's not so easy to get through them. Since he didn't succeed last night, he won't succeed tonight.

"So what now? What to do? Cao Kun asked himself a thousand times.

In fact, he already knows what to do. He is just deliberately delaying time now, and he still has a glimmer of hope that Zheng Shaokui may be able to come back. But when he realized that this was a complete fantasy, he stood up against the wall from the gunshot wound.

He tried to see what else he could do, maybe he couldn't do anything. Although it was very difficult, he was able to stand up, especially when his men had support. Now the wall became his support, and when he got to the field, he could support the butt. His legs were still more or less at his disposal, but his breathing and his head were even worse. But he thought that when he went to the field and the wind blew, he might be sober. Breathing may also be a little smoother. If you don't rush to go, take your time, stop more, and save your physical strength......

Cao Kun had made up his mind, and he stuffed a clip of bullets from his bullet belt into several pockets. He no longer had the strength to carry the backpack on his shoulders, so he had to stay on the bench, but he carried a hand-thrown bomb with him. He couldn't stay here any longer, so he walked out with the doorframe on it.

He staggered and stumbled, but with an inexplicable tenacious will, he followed Zheng Shaokui's clear footprints for twenty or so steps, and it was only after this that he stopped. The rifle was much heavier than it had been at the beginning, but when he was about to fall, especially when he stopped, he had to rely on it to hold him up. If it had only relied on his weak and trembling legs, he would have been unable to stand. He gasped and looked back with a look of surprise and embarrassment. The dark shadow of the small grass hut was left alone. They spent a day and a night there peacefully, and there was a good chance that he would not return.

The second time, he staggered and barely took fifteen steps before he coughed and stopped. Coughing was the worst thing he had done on his journey—the cough had so deep into his wound that his eyes blackened with pain. But Zheng Shaokui did a good job of bandaging his injured chest. Dry scabs cause pain, but the bandage prevents them from slipping down; The wound stopped bleeding. How nice it would have been if it weren't for the excruciating pain in my body!

He wanted to go as fast as he could. Now the hut had become a marker of his speed. His legs trembled and he couldn't stand steadily, and he had stopped four or five times, looking back each time. But each time I saw the gray shadow of the hut, and it seemed to stay there deliberately, unwilling to disappear into the night. It was probably at least an hour before the gray darkness of the night engulfed the hut.

Surrounded by snow, wind, and fields, Cao Kun knew that it seemed that he had already walked half the way, and now it was impossible to go back, and he simply did not have the strength. He didn't even look back anymore, there was nothing behind him, and there could be nothing - good fortune and bad luck were all ahead!

Later, he fell twice in quick succession because he couldn't stand on his legs. On both occasions, he did not get up immediately, but lay on the snow for a while, waiting for the pain of the shaking to pass before getting up. On another occasion, he was even more unlucky—he fell very stupidly, with his back facing the sky, and he fell so hard that he felt like he had fainted for a while. Then he woke up, but he lay on the snow for a long time, and felt the bomb clatter under him, but he mustered up his strength, got up and sat down, and then staggered to his feet, and took the first few difficult steps.

He tried his best to think of nothing, and he didn't even look around, but his eyes kept staring at the snow with Zheng Shaokui's footprints deep in it. The footprints stretch in one direction. It seemed that he remembered the way they had come out of the village yesterday, so he walked briskly towards it. Now Cao Kun is most afraid of making these footprints.

It was easy to get off the road, especially when he felt weak and his eyes were dark. But then he stopped, put his gun on the ground, and waited for the weakness to pass. In addition, the wind was also very annoying—he couldn't look far away, his eyes were full of tears, and sometimes, the wind was blowing so fiercely that Cao Kun stumbled and almost didn't blow down. But he struggled with the wind, with his weakness, with his wounds. Of course he knew that he might not be able to see Zheng Shaokui again, and he would probably never see him again; But Zheng Shaokui was sent to death by him, and he should still finish it. He can't just care about his own life and let Zheng Shaokui's whereabouts be unknown. Of course, there were enough people who were taken by him to risk in this battle, and a few died in the battle due to his arrangement. Their adventure was unlike anything else - it was the last, so he Cao Kun could not give up halfway. Although he did not survive many of the sudden fierce battles against the rebellion, the fact that he had never spared himself is the only indication that he had lived up to the power to command others. This is the only power he hopes for in war. At least before he died, he should know if Zheng Shaokui was bleeding and wounded and lying somewhere in this wilderness.

He staggered, limbly walking, walking, he stopped again and again, leaning against the heavy and long French rifle that Zheng Shaokui had left for him. Once, when his legs couldn't stand anymore, he sat down on the snow and rested for a long time. But when he stood up this time, it was so hard and painful that he did not dare to sit anymore, but only rested on the butt of his gun. Now, he stops every four or five steps. His strength was no longer enough.

He seemed to feel that he had walked about three miles, maybe more, so he wondered if the distance Zheng Shaokui said was correct. It's hard to believe that the hut they stayed in was only a kilometer or two away from the village. It's a pity that he couldn't take out his watch this time, and he couldn't read the time. By some vague and unpredictable signs, he felt that the village was not far away, as if he had reached the vicinity of the village. However, in the darkness, Zheng Shaokui's foot impression stretched endlessly on this field. Although Cao Kun prepared for the worst, it was still difficult to estimate where this little soldier was. But it may also be so, as they did yesterday, he avoided his pursuers, and was wounded and hid somewhere in the field.

He almost walked past Zheng Shaokui, because the footprints on the snow were still stretching ahead, and there was nothing to see in front of him. But suddenly, on the side of the road, something shook in the snow-covered black weeds, and it seemed to flicker, which caught his attention. At first he didn't even glance there, his eyes just swept over the snow, but then he stopped and looked closely, and he was stunned. There was silence all around, barely a sound, something like shredded paper fluttering in the wind. It's really strange, how can there be paper here? He left Zheng Shaokui's footprints, staggering in the deep snow, staggering there, his eyes fixed on the pile of miscellaneous leather not far away.

He didn't come to him, as if he suddenly saw a small blurred white dirt bag in the grass—the outline of a lying human body, apparently a lying figure, and the long leather boots buried in the snow. He stopped, and a strange question flashed in his mind: Who could lie on this field in the middle of a winter night? I don't know why he doesn't want to admit that the person in front of him is Zheng Shaokui, Zheng Shaokui is lying in front of him like this, he always feels too incredible, maybe it's someone else. I guess I met a stranger by chance.

But it was him, after all, his last companion, Zheng Shaokui. Dressed in a torn military uniform, he lay motionless, without a hat, his shaved head covered in snow and his legs spread. After a while, Cao Kun found that the surrounding snow was full of various footprints, and in some places, the bullet casings of rifles were exposed in the snow.

Cao Kun limped over to the pile of weeds, his rifle falling from his hand, and he collapsed beside his companion, holding his head in his frozen hands. But the head covered with a thin layer of snow was no longer a little angry, it was completely a dead man's head, not like Zheng Shaokui anymore, Cao Kun began to caress his body - the tattered military uniform was frozen with blood, and the cotton vest was also frozen on the bloody body. Probably killed by multiple shots at close range. The snow beneath the corpse and next to it also formed a hard and bloody lump.

Zheng Shaokui appeared to be chased and shot to death. It is also possible that he was wounded and lying in the snow in the weeds when the enemy fired, and that many holes in his cotton vest were still peeking out of the gray-white cotton wool. His trouser pockets were flipped out, his military uniform was unbuttoned, and his bloody chest was covered with snow. No rifles were found near or near him, and it appeared that they had been taken by the rebels. (To be continued.) )