The situation after the war between China and the Soviet Union was confusing. Not to mention that other countries could not understand it. Even the top brass of the Chinese government could not figure out what medicine Fang Zida was selling in his gourd. At the same time, on the other side of the ocean in the United States, several distinguished middle-aged people were gathering in a villa on the outskirts of San Francisco.
"What do Fang Zhangming think? He recklessly went to war with the Soviet Union but did not move. Could it be that he planned to be a centrist to please both sides?" A middle-aged man with a slightly bald forehead and a bookish air all over his body said angrily.
"What Brother Huaizhong is saying is that Fang Zhangming is confused! He can either fight or solve the problem through diplomacy. How can he be so timid and declare war and then retreat? In my opinion, Fang Zhangming is no good. So, how can the country be so ridiculed by outsiders if Brother Dunchu is appointed as the Prime Minister?" Sitting next to Yang Changji was Zhang Shizhao. He pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose and spoke in agreement. At the same time, he turned his eyes to the person sitting opposite them. That man with extraordinary bearing.
This person is none other than former Prime Minister Song Jiaoren. After losing to Fang Zida in the KMT election that year, Song Jiaoren lost his position as party leader and became the loser in the dispute between Fang and Song. Afterwards, in order to continue his ideal of constitutional governance, he reached a private agreement with Fang Zida, thereby retiring from the position of Prime Minister, and began his journey around the world on the pretext of going abroad for inspection.
In the past year or so, Song Jiaoren first went to Europe, traveling around the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. He benefited a lot from the desolation after the war in Europe and the various measures taken by various countries to rebuild their homes after the war. He also benefited from various The inspections between countries with different political systems allowed Song Jiaoren to see clearly many national policy issues that he had not paid attention to before. He stayed in Europe for about a year and came into contact with various political parties. He even had an in-depth understanding of Bolshevism, which was regarded as a scourge by European countries.
After leaving Europe, Song Jiaoren boarded a cruise ship to the United States. Crossed the Atlantic and arrived in New York. After that, he traveled from the eastern United States to the west, finally stopping in San Francisco. As the founder of China's constitutional system, Song Jiaoren admired the American political system the most. He planned to stay in San Francisco for a longer period of time to sort out what he had seen and heard while traveling around the world. Based on his previous experience in governing and China's problems, combined with the different political structures of various countries, he re-established a constitutional system more suitable for China.
Originally, Song Jiaoren lived in an apartment in the city, but although he has resigned from public office, Song Jiaoren is the former KMT party leader and former prime minister after all, and he still holds important positions in the KMT party and is very famous. After the news came out that he had temporarily settled in San Francisco, people from all walks of life came to visit him one after another, which made him tireless when he wanted to quiet down and study the constitutional system. In order to avoid these uninvited guests, Song Jiaoren moved out of the city under the arrangement of the embassy and moved into this elegant and peaceful wealthy villa area.
After moving here, Song Jiaoren was very satisfied with both the environment and the surrounding facilities. From then on, he lived an extremely regular life. He would get up early every morning and take a walk nearby, sit in a wooden chair by the avenue and read the daily newspaper of the day. Then he would return to his residence to finish his meal and organize his manuscripts with the help of a hired assistant. After finishing his work in the evening, he would leave the room temporarily. Come to the lake not far from the villa and take a walk.
Of course, when important guests come to visit, Song Jiaoren will temporarily stop what he is doing to receive the guests. Just like today, Zhang Shizhao and Yang Changji happened to be appointed by the Ministry of Education to visit the United States and came to visit by the way. These two people were friends of Song Jiaoren in his early years. They met in a foreign country after not seeing each other for many days. There were many sighs, and we immediately made tea and sat for a discussion. The conversation lasted for most of the day, and gradually the topic expanded to the current situation.
Seeing what Zhang Shizhao said, Song Jiaoren smiled lightly. Of course he understood that Zhang Shizhao was avenging his injustice. However, compared with the two scholars, he, Song Jiaoren, was a true politician, and his political wisdom and vision were far beyond what they could compare with. Regarding Fang Zida, Song Jiaoren can be said to be the person who knows him best, whether as a friend at the beginning or as an opponent later. Cowardice, recklessness, playing both sidesthese words are not Fang Zida's character at all. From Song Jiaoren's understanding of Fang Zida, Fang Zida is a thorough realist and utilitarian, and every step he takes is extremely far-reaching. It's definitely not as simple as they say. Otherwise, how could Song Jiaoren's political wisdom be defeated by Fang Zida? It is impossible to say that Song Jiaoren was not angry at the time, but with the passage of time, Song Jiaoren today has been able to make clear and calm judgments. Looking back on the fight back then, although Song Jiaoren had great ambitions, he could not In the actual process of governing, it is indeed far from Fang Zida's clear vision of problems and long-term layout, so his failure is inevitable.
"I have known Fang Zhangming for many years, and I know very well what kind of person he is. Although I am not in the country now, I feel that Fang Zhangming must have his purpose for this move. Xingyan, Huazhong, you are too youngLook at Fang Zhangming. "
"Brother Dunchu, do you take Fang Zhangming too seriously? Yes, this person's skills are indeed not bad. Back then, he was lucky enough to get Brother Dunchu's offer as a commoner. After following Brother Dunchu to Beijing, he got everything he wanted. I don't know how he used it. What kind of trick did he suddenly turn into the son-in-law of the former president? After that, Fang Zhangming used this as a position to rise up the ladder step by step, taking charge of the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance, cultivating cronies, secretly inserting people everywhere, and even used the KMT election to drive Brother Chu out of office through despicable means. , why do you still admire such a person so much?" Zhang Shizhao said angrily, looking at Song Jiaoren with an expression of hatred for iron and steel. In his opinion, Song Jiaoren seemed to have been defeated by Fang Zida. After a setback, he collapsed and lost the energy of the day. In his impression, Song Jiaoren was not like this at all. Has he now lost confidence in himself and completely given up?
Song Jiaoren was slightly surprised, and then laughed loudly: "Brother Xingyan, you are wrong, very wrong. It is true that as you said, my resignation as party leader and prime minister was due to Fang Zhangming, but there are some things that are not the same. It¡¯s not as good as you imagine. I, Song, was the matchmaker for the first president, otherwise Fang Zhangming wouldn¡¯t have been able to accomplish this good thing. As for the central bank, the Ministry of Finance, etc., let alone the central bank, the Ministry of Finance, etc., I As Prime Minister at that time, didn¡¯t he know the inside story better than you? To be honest, Fang Zhangming was not as talented as me, Song. Without his support and planning back then, it would have been impossible for the country¡¯s constitutional government to be implemented smoothly. As for the relationship between me and him afterwards The grievances between us are private. As a man, if you lose, you lose, and if you win, you win. I, Song Jiaoren, am not talented, so I admit my bet and lose. But if Fang Zhangming goes back on his promise and violates his promise, then don¡¯t blame me. One person jumped out and objected!¡±
Just when Zhang Shizhao was about to speak, Song Jiaoren waved his hand and said: "Do you know why I haven't returned to China for more than a year? It's not that I'm afraid of Fang Zhangming, but I had a gentleman's agreement with him before. Fang Zhangming Ming wants to be the leader of the party and the prime minister, that¡¯s fine! But the prerequisite is that we must continue to implement constitutional government and lead the country to become prosperous and powerful! And I went overseas to avoid making an issue of me being ahead of him, both inside and outside the party!¡±
This is the first time Song Jiaoren has mentioned these words to outsiders. If it were someone else sitting in front of him today, I am afraid he would not have said it at all. After hearing this, Zhang Shizhao and Yang Changji looked at each other. They never imagined that Song Jiaoren's departure from the country was not actually forced by Fang Zida, but was done deliberately by him and Fang Zida after reaching an agreement.
"Brother Dunchu is just out of admiration! But it's a pity" Yang Changji sighed with emotion, and finally shook his head hesitantly.
After taking a sip of tea, Song Jiaoren smiled and said: "Actually, it's not a pity. I was very conceited back then, but in fact I did do some things wrong. Going abroad after going abroad was an eye-opener for Mr. Song. Nowadays, the world is changing rapidly, and I can only sit in a well and watch the sky. You are trapped in a cocoon. When people are like this, so is the country. Both of you are today's great scholars, so you should understand this truth."
Nodding silently, Song Jiaoren said that what else could they say? Although Zhang Shizhao and Yang Changji were somewhat aggrieved by Song Jiaoren, this was the only way things could go so far. They immediately changed the topic and talked about the inspection work of the Ministry of Education.
The three of them chatted for a while, and saw the sun outside the window gradually setting in the west. It was almost time, because the next day Zhang Shizhao and Yang Changji would rush to Los Angeles and board a ship from there to return home. Since it was late, Song Jiaoren did not hold back and sent them out in person.
"Brother Dunchu, we still hope you can return to China as soon as possible!"
"Haha, it could be as short as one year or as long as two or three years. I, Song Jiaoren, will naturally return to China. But before we break up, I have one more thing to ask you two"
"Brother Dunchu, please tell me!"
Song Jiaoren straightened his expression and said: "I'm afraid that what you two thought before may also be thought by many people in the country. If it's convenient, please give Song a sentence for everyone. That is 'we are in the same boat'! We Chinese people have never lacked wisdom. People, but having too many smart people is also a troublesome thing. National policies naturally have their own reasons. You can criticize and comment on them, but you cannot under any circumstances tear down your own government, or even imitate the subversive methods of Chen Shaobai and others!"
Zhang Shizhao and Yang Changji thought for a while and agreed in unison. After sending them to the car, Zhang Shizhao looked back and saw Song Jiaoren still standing at the door, waving goodbye to them slightly when the car was far away.
"Brother Huai Zhong, I feel extremely ashamed to see Dun Chu today. Did we really misunderstand Fang Zhangming? Maybe Dun Chu is right, and we should give him more time."
Yang Changji said nothing, just nodded silently. (To be continued)