Vice Speaker Malon of the Parliament of the French Third Republic landed at the Hong Kong pier, where Duan Qirui, the Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of China, personally welcomed him. As soon as Vice Speaker Malon came up, he gave Duan Qirui a big French hug.

Duan Qirui was a student who had studied abroad, but he had studied in Germany. The cold and serious atmosphere of Germany was vastly different from the romantic enthusiasm of the French. The French Speaker's action made Duan Qirui feel uncomfortable all over.

But Duan Qirui also knew that French dignitaries should observe proper etiquette, so he tried hard to squeeze a smile onto his face, "Mr. Malon, welcome to China."

Speaker Malon laughed, "Speaker Duan, I have loved China since I was a child. To be able to visit China this time has finally fulfilled my dream."

In recent years, Duan Qirui had indeed gained a lot of knowledge. When high-level officials from various countries visited China, Duan Qirui often had to attend banquets. Especially when the French President and Foreign Minister visited China, Duan Qirui attended even more. For example, this time, hearing Speaker Malon's words, Duan Qirui also felt a bit cloying. These politicians really weren't ashamed of telling lies.

This discomfort quickly dissipated, and Duan Qirui smiled, "China has a vast territory, magnificent mountains and rivers, and excellent scenery. Speaker Malon, when you and I fly to the capital, you can take a brief look. I will accompany you on a tour later."

"That would be wonderful," Speaker Malon said with joy.

Seeing the two speakers chatting happily, the reporters took photos one after another. Duan Qirui and Malon held hands, turned to face the reporters, and let them take pictures.

Duan Qirui had always felt that he was a traditional Chinese scholar-official, and having studied abroad, he had learned real skills. So he was used to being serious. However, times had changed. As China's status rose, Duan Qirui was welcoming and sending off big figures from various countries. In order to show China's friendliness, he had to smile. This made Duan Qirui very unaccustomed, and he felt that He Rui and the new generation of young people adapted really quickly; in photos, they could always wear kind smiles.

Speaker Malon didn't care about this. for an old politician like him, smiling was as easy as breathing. Moreover, what he cared about was whether the news could be transmitted back to France as quickly as possible. The French parliamentary election was imminent, and Malon wanted to gain a higher status. After discussing with his staff, Speaker Malon believed that visiting China was the best way.

Now, there was a high degree of attention to China within France, and anything related to China could attract the attention of the French people. Speaker Malon's visit to China would gain him huge attention. As long as Speaker Malon returned to France with some agreements, he would be regarded as a meritorious official of France and receive the praise of the public. Therefore, Vice Speaker Malon paid extra attention to the photos taken by media reporters.

Also being a Speaker, Duan Qirui felt that Vice Speaker Malon's performance was a bit too enthusiastic. But Duan Qirui had to fulfill the duties of the Speaker of the Parliament of China and give the Vice Speaker of the French Parliament a good reception.

After tossing about for a whole day, first flying from Guangzhou to the capital, and then holding a dinner, it was already late at night when Duan Qirui returned home. As soon as he got home, his wife, Zhang Peiheng, was surprisingly not asleep yet. Seeing Duan Qirui return, she hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Master, Hongye has been arrested."

"Oh? Arrested? Haha!" Duan Qirui actually laughed. Sitting on the sofa in the living room, Duan Qirui praised in a cold tone, "Good catch!"

Duan Qirui's first wife, née Wu, passed away due to illness after giving birth to a son and a daughter for Duan Qirui. Zhang Peiheng was his second wife. Because Zhang Peiheng only gave birth to two daughters herself, she treated Duan Hongye as her own. Hearing Duan Qirui's cold voice, Madame Zhang hurriedly persuaded, "Master..."

"No need to say more." Duan Qirui stood up and sighed, "Madam, young heroes are coming forth in large numbers in my Beiyang. The Current Leader is even one year younger than Hongye. Premier Wu, Vice Premier Zhao, the Five Tiger Generals under the Current Leader, and the twenty or so ministers in the cabinet before and after. Most of them are not much different in age from Hongye. Which one is like him? Forget it, Madam, we have taught everything we should teach, beat him when we should, scolded him when we should, and punished him when we should! Now the legal system is clear. If anything happens to him again, there is the law of the country. Let's not do anything for him anymore... Sigh... I, Old Duan, can't afford to lose this face!" At the end, Duan Qirui still couldn't hold back, picked up a teapot and smashed it on the ground.

Seeing Duan Qirui really angry, Madam Zhang was so scared that she didn't dare to plead immediately. Duan Qirui was thinking of going for a walk in the garden when he heard the voice of a crisp little girl, "Grandpa, my dad did something wrong, I apologize to Grandpa for my dad."

Duan Qirui turned his head and saw his eldest granddaughter, also Duan Hongye's eldest daughter, Duan Mei, appearing at the door leading from the living room to the inner room at some point. People say that grandparents love their grandchildren the most. Duan Qirui loved his eldest granddaughter the most. Seeing this fifteen-year-old girl walking over properly like a little adult and about to kneel down to him, Duan Qirui hurriedly held his granddaughter's hand, "Your dad's matter has nothing to do with you."

Duan Mei said, "Grandpa, my dad didn't ask anyone to come and beg Grandpa. I came by myself. Because my dad didn't do anything wrong this time."

Duan Qirui had a poor opinion of his son, but he knew that his granddaughter Duan Mei was a very well-bred little girl. Sometimes Duan Qirui also wondered how his bastard son could raise such a good child. Since his granddaughter said so, Duan Qirui asked, "What exactly happened?"

Although Duan Mei was not old, she had clear thinking and articulate speech. She told Duan Qirui what happened. It turned out that the selection trials for the China-Japan Go Challenge had already begun. Duan Hongye, the Go player who had represented China three times, participated in the selection trials again. After a hard battle, he basically confirmed that he had obtained the qualification.

Today, Duan Hongye finally won the last game of the qualification tournament and officially obtained the qualification. This was the fourth consecutive time he had obtained the qualification, so he was naturally happy. He went to eat with a few friends. The guests at the table next to them were also young people. Hearing Duan Hongye and others saying that they must defeat the Japanese Go team this year, they made sarcastic remarks. A conflict arose between the two sides.

"Grandpa, my dad really didn't cause trouble. It was because the people opposite cursed you that he got angry and started fighting. I came this time not to ask Grandpa to vent anger for my dad. In these years, apart from practicing chess skills every day, my dad hasn't done anything else at all. My dad shouldn't have hit anyone no matter what. I came to beg Grandpa, absolutely not to ask Grandpa to stand up for my dad. I just want to ask Grandpa to help my dad keep his qualification for the competition. If he can't go to the competition, I'm afraid my dad will even have the heart to die."

Hearing this, Duan Qirui remained silent. After a good while, he asked seriously, "My dear, you mustn't lie to Grandpa."

Duan Mei hurriedly replied, "Grandpa. I went to the police station and saw the interrogation statement with my own eyes before I dared to come. If Grandpa doesn't believe it, go to the police station and look at the statement and you'll know."

Duan Qirui trusted his granddaughter very much. Hearing her say this, he believed seventy or eighty percent of it. Duan Hongye had no talent for managing the family, but he was proficient in Go. He Rui had established the China Go Institute in 1925. Duan Hongye was initially rejected because he smoked opium. For the sake of Go, Duan Hongye insisted on going to a drug rehabilitation center and quit opium. After being discharged, he quickly obtained 6-dan with his Go skills.

Later, China and Japan started non-governmental exchanges first, and the China-Japan Go Challenge began. Duan Hongye did not rely on Duan Qirui's power, but passed the selection layer by layer with his own strength and became a member of the Chinese Go delegation.

Duan Qirui liked to play Go. In fact, he also knew that his level was average. Others coaxed him to be happy because of his status, so the wins and losses were basically by half a point or one point. The first 'big defeat' was when he heard that his son could play chess and played a game with him. His son slaughtered Duan Qirui's 'Big Dragon' in the middle game. Angry, Duan Qirui cursed, "You only know how to play blindly!"

Although he didn't say it in recent years, even if he did, it was just to mock his son with a sentence or two, "Lost to the Japanese again?!" But seeing his son represent China with his Go skills, and winning one or two games every time as a low-dan vanguard (6-dan players were considered low-dan in the Go team), whenever Duan Qirui replayed the games and found that he actually couldn't understand the subtleties of his son's moves, he was actually very happy in his heart.

Duan Qirui called his secretary and asked him to hire a lawyer to handle the matter, and then said to his granddaughter, "My dear, Grandpa is the Speaker of the Parliament and absolutely cannot intervene in this matter. If I intervene, it will be like mud in the crotch—hard to explain. I will let the lawyer look at the interrogation record. If it is as you said, we will follow the procedure. Can you understand?"

Duan Mei immediately replied, "Grandpa, I know. The country has laws. If Grandpa intervenes, what was originally legal will be said to be illegal. Then my dad will be even more unable to explain clearly."

"Good that you understand, good that you understand." Duan Qirui nodded repeatedly, and a smile appeared on his face. He turned to his wife and said, "It's so late, let our granddaughter stay at home."

The next morning, Duan Qirui continued to host French Vice Speaker Malon. After the parliamentary delegations from China and France finished their exchanges, Malon received news that his request to meet He Rui had been approved. Vice Speaker Malon was filled with joy. If the news and photos of his meeting with He Rui were sent back to France, his election victory would be almost a certainty. So he impatiently requested to arrange the meeting as soon as possible, and He Rui also invited Malon to meet in the afternoon. Now Duan Qirui finally had free time. After sending Malon away, he met the lawyer.

The lawyer had already completed the legal procedures and was waiting for Duan Qirui's summons. Upon meeting, the lawyer said, "Speaker Duan, your son has been released. I have also copied the interrogation record, please take a look."

Duan Qirui took it and looked at it. At first, he breathed a sigh of relief, but when he saw the latter part, Duan Qirui's expression became ugly. The matter was exactly as Duan Qirui's granddaughter Duan Mei said, but the interrogation record was more detailed. It turned out that the young people who conflicted with Duan Hongye not only mocked Duan Hongye and others for never winning against Japan and losing face for China, but some also knew that Duan Hongye's father was Duan Qirui, so they cursed Duan Qirui as a traitor. Subservient to foreigners, but striking hard at domestic revolutionary forces.

Duan Hongye didn't refute when he was initially mocked for his poor chess skills. But when he heard his old father being insulted like this, he was so angry that he stepped forward and shoved. The other party was also young and aggressive, and immediately started fighting.

Reading this, Duan Qirui only felt as uncomfortable as if his heart was being gripped. But he didn't want to lose his dignity in front of the lawyer, so he forced himself to calm down and asked, "Sir, will this leave a criminal record?"

The lawyer hurriedly replied, "I asked. The other party provoked, and the other party struck first. Your son will not leave a criminal record."

Duan Qirui asked the secretary to send the lawyer out and paid the lawyer's fee at the same time. When he was the only one left in the office, Duan Qirui sat blankly in the chair and suddenly covered his face and wept.

In recent years, Chinese textbooks had defined several events. The May 4th Movement was one of them, and the Boxer Movement was another. Compared with the short comments on the May 4th Movement, the content about the Boxer Movement was much longer.

The textbooks divided the Boxer Movement into three parts: the feudal semi-religious groups, the group of people within the Manchu government playing power tricks, and the Chinese people headed by Jing Tingbin and others who refused to pay the 'foreign tax'.

Regarding the Manchu court, the official attitude represented by the textbooks held a negative attitude towards its means of using and playing with the Chinese people.

Regarding the feudal semi-religious groups, the textbooks denied their behavior of using the congregation to seek benefits, but did not deny their behavior of resisting foreign oppression.

As for Jing Tingbin and others resisting domestic and foreign oppressive forces, the textbooks held a positive attitude. The ones who really fought large-scale battles with the Manchu and foreign regular armies were exactly this group of people.

Duan Qirui commanded the war to suppress the armed struggle led by Jing Tingbin and others in 1902. Although outsiders looked at the Beiyang and thought that the Beiyang was one lineage, Duan Qirui, an old Beiyang member, knew very well that the New Beiyang represented by He Rui had a sentimental connection with him, the old Beiyang member, but they were not people on the same path.

Since the death of Yuan Shikai, the Old Beiyang had been declining day by day. Only Zhang Xiluan, relying on his relationship with the New Beiyang headed by He Rui, managed to maintain the Old Beiyang from being destroyed because of taking the wrong path. But Duan Qirui also understood that the Old Beiyang had actually been replaced.

It was just that even the textbooks had defined the nature of the Old Beiyang. Now, a younger generation was cursing Duan Qirui in front of his son. This pain made Duan Qirui feel disheartened. After his mood calmed down a little, Duan Qirui washed his face and began to write a resignation letter. But there were thousands of grievances and myriads of moods in his heart, which could never be turned into words that expressed his feelings directly.

When Duan Qirui finally put down the pen dejectedly, he saw that the wastepaper basket was already more than half full of crumpled paper balls. Duan Qirui was disheartened, called the secretary, and asked him to arrange for the reception of the French Parliament Vice Speaker to be the responsibility of the Vice Speaker of the Chinese Parliament. Although the secretary was a little surprised, he didn't feel there was any problem. Vice Speaker to Vice Speaker was equal. And Duan Qirui asked for a plane to be arranged; he was going to Beiping.

Now the planes in China were much larger than before, and the speed was also faster. Departing from the capital at 1:00 pm, he met Xu Shichang at 3:00 pm. At 6:30, the two arrived at the gate of Zhang Xiluan's house. At 6:30 in the evening in early July, the sky was bright. As soon as the two entered Zhang Xiluan's house, they felt a cool breeze, as if it were a comfortable September day.

Soon, Zhang Xiluan walked out. Seeing the surprise of the two, he smiled, "This is the air conditioner sent by Brother He. The wind from this thing is a bit cool, so you can't stand directly under it to blow. Let's go to the back to sit."

Soon, the three sat down in the back hall, and the servants brought freshly made watermelon juice with ice cubes. Xu Shichang praised, "Brother Zhang, you are living a life of immortals."

"Brother He is nostalgic and sends whatever fresh things he has. It's actually not troublesome; a refrigerator can do it," Zhang Xiluan replied with some pride. After speaking, seeing Duan Qirui's depression, he couldn't help looking at Xu Shichang, "What happened to Brother Duan?"

Xu Shichang sighed and told Zhang Xiluan about what Duan Qirui had encountered. Zhang Xiluan's expression became serious. After Xu Shichang finished speaking, Zhang Xiluan sighed, stood up, walked slowly around the room with his hands behind his back a few times, and then stopped to ask, "Brother Xu, what is this about the textbook?"

"That's how it's written in the textbooks, and the national exams also test it this way. I also asked the Current Leader why it should be written like this. The Current Leader replied, this is the People's View of History."

"People's View of History?" Zhang Xiluan frowned.

Xu Shichang was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination), so he could fully understand these concepts. He explained, "The Current Leader said that the history of New China is by no means the history of kings, princes, generals, ministers, scholars, and beauties, but the history of the working people. Only the people, and only the reasonable wishes of the people, are the driving force for social progress. And the so-called emperors, kings, generals, and ministers, and the changes of dynasties, only intentionally or unintentionally used the reasonable wishes of the people and received the support of the people to achieve their success. This should have been public power, but those emperors, kings, generals, and ministers turned public power into private power and usurped the fruits of the revolution. The current China is New China, and the working people are the masters of the country. Therefore, the People's View of History must be established."

Zhang Xiluan frowned and thought for a while, then continued to ask, "I listen to your meaning, Jing Tingbin is no longer a Boxer bandit, but a righteous man resisting the foreign tax, a figure leading the common people who resisted the foreign tax to destroy the foreign religion."

Duan Qirui couldn't help sighing when he heard this. Xu Shichang was stunned. He never expected that Zhang Xiluan, an old man in his eighties, actually figured out this key point. Since Zhang Xiluan asked, Xu Shichang replied, "Brother Zhang is right, that's how the Current Leader sees it."

The textbooks wrote very clearly that after the Manchu government was defeated, in order to maintain its rule, it accepted treaties of national betrayal and humiliation. It then transferred the cost to the ordinary Chinese people by increasing the foreign tax. Jing Tingbin's uprising not only resisted the Manchu Qing, but also recognized the general direction of the problem and counterattacked the foreign aggressive forces. Although the uprising failed in the end, the uprising itself was meaningful.

And in the subsequent content, the textbooks wrote about the war launched by He Rui. Judging from He Rui's actions, he also first defeated the foreign forces threatening China and won China's national security. Afterwards, he unified China and established a brand-new government. From this perspective, that is, from the 'People's View of History', the uprising of the people in Hebei and Shandong against foreigners and the Manchu Qing only lacked organizational ability, but the general direction was correct.

Moreover, a republic has absolutely no reason to sing praises for the feudal monarchy. This was also the reason why Xu Shichang never commented on this again after this conversation.

Zhang Xiluan sat back in his seat and asked again, "If you say so, Brother He often says that he is a member of the Chinese people, and members of the Civilization Party are all members of the people. Is it just using this... uh... what view is it?"

"People's View of History," Xu Shichang hurried to respond.

"Yes, it is this People's View of History. Brother He is going to follow this vein?"

"Brother Zhang, you really have a penetrating insight," Xu Shichang praised.

Zhang Xiluan shook his head and turned to Duan Qirui, "Brother Duan, in fact, you also have one thing that is consistent from beginning to end. I wonder if Brother Duan knows?"

Duan Qirui was stunned. He raised his head and looked at Zhang Xiluan. Duan Qirui felt that Zhang Xiluan was mocking him again. What did he have that was consistent? A meritorious official who suppressed the Boxer bandits, or an executioner who suppressed the people's movement?

Zhang Xiluan didn't keep him in suspense. He said, "Brother Duan, from beginning to end, you have been a man of the court... no, of the government. You are consistent in this matter. Since the court has changed, you naturally have to follow the court. It's just a mere empty name, why care!"

Duan Qirui was a little confused. He really couldn't distinguish whether Zhang Xiluan was mocking or praising him.

Xu Shichang, who was next to him, couldn't help nodding slightly. It was just that there was some loneliness in his expression; presumably, he was a little sad in his heart.

Zhang Xiluan continued, "Was it you who ordered the suppression of Jing Tingbin back then? You were just acting on orders. Later, Xiangcheng (Yuan Shikai) wanted to proclaim himself emperor, did you instigate it? You opposed it with all your might. Later, when Brother He unified China, did you lead troops to resist? No, you conformed to national justice. Brother Duan, your integrity is not deficient. As for minor details, let others say what they will."

Duan Qirui felt that what Zhang Xiluan said was very correct, but he still couldn't get over it in his heart. Finally, he opened his mouth and said, "Brother Zhang, I'm just a little unconvinced."

"You have to be convinced even if you are not." Zhang Xiluan threw a sentence over, blocking Duan Qirui so much that he couldn't speak.