British writer

Yokohama.

This is a city very close to Tokyo.

The steam train travels through tunnels and over bridges, taking three hours to get there.

Because of this, Yokohama is relatively prosperous in construction.

Inside the "Xinmin Congbao" newspaper office,

Liang Qichao stood by the window and looked at the street scene outside.

It's past dusk, and the night in Yokohama is gradually falling.

The sea breeze blew into the house through the cracks in the window, brushing against the cheeks and bringing a bit of coolness.

It's said to be a newspaper office, but it's actually just an office.

Not long after "Xinmin Congbao" was founded, printing had to be entrusted to other newspapers.

At this time, the door was pushed open,

Jiang Guoliang walked in and whispered: "Mr. Ren, our newspaper is selling very well. He Qing sent a telegram saying that it is extremely popular~"

Liang Qichao was not surprised.

"Of course it will sell well. Don't forget who is the main author."

This sounds crazy,

But Liang Qichao does have this status in today's China.

Moreover, because he had moderate thoughts and advocated retaining the emperor's power, he was welcomed by the constitutionalists in the Qing court, so he encountered little obstruction in publishing newspapers and periodicals.

What's more, the location of the newspaper is in Yokohama, Japan, which can be regarded as exporting to domestic sales.

What Liang Qichao is really worried about is,

"What's the response to 'Lord of the Flies'?"

Jiang Guoliang shook his head,

"Not at the moment... Sigh... Let me put it bluntly. "Lord of the Flies" is a vernacular novel. It only has two chapters serialized so far. The plot has not yet been developed. In addition, it is set in Japan, so it will naturally be considered long-winded. "

Liang Qichao frowned.

I wanted to say "It's so stupid!", but I felt that I didn't have the position to say that.

Because he has read the full text and knows that "Lord of the Flies" is a shocking work,

Don't be too harsh on people who don't know the whole picture.

Jiang Guoliang sighed,

"Lord of the Flies is undoubtedly excellent. But, can the public understand it?"

Liang Qichao couldn't help but laugh,

"Do you think scholars are the public?"

"this……"

Jiang Guoliang was a little confused.

Liang Qichao continued: "Lord of the Flies is written for readers. I can predict that this novel's role in popularizing enlightenment ideas will exceed expectations. It will definitely be known as 'China's first vernacular novel' in the future. People mentioned it over and over again.”

Jiang Guoliang was silent,

After a while, he still couldn't hold it back and said, "There were obviously novels written in vernacular before."

Liang Qichao smiled and waved his hand,

"There is something called 'Vernacular Classical Chinese' sandwiched between classical Chinese and vernacular Chinese."

He thought for a while and gave an example:

"Let's just talk about "Water Margin" and "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms". The former prefers vernacular dialect, which can be seen from the curses and slang in it; while the latter is semi-literary, with not very deep writing and not very vulgar language, as can be seen from the names of the characters. You can get a glimpse of it, for example, 'Cao' refers to Cao Cao, and 'Shao' refers to Yuan Shao. And what about "Lord of the Flies"? Is this the case?"

Jiang Guoliang pondered,

As the other party said, "Lord of the Flies" is completely written in vernacular and is subversive.

He already admired Lu Shi, but now the admiration for Lu Shi in his heart was like a surging river, continuous, and like the Yellow River flooding out of control.

The two were chatting when suddenly there was a knock on the door outside.

"Open the door!"

Spoken in Japanese.

Liang Qichao couldn't help but be surprised and looked at Jiang Guoliang with questioning eyes.

"You invited guests?"

Jiang Guoliang was also confused.

"No...shall I open the door?"

Liang Qichao shook his head,

"Wait a minute."

The days of evading pursuit gave him a beast-like keenness, and he instinctively sensed that those who came were not malicious.

Sure enough, as expected,

Hearing no one in the room responded, the people outside were annoyed.

"Baga! Open the door!"

boom--

The door was kicked in.

Liang Qichao has learned nothing else in the past few years, but he is the best at escaping.

I saw him tearing the curtains apart quickly, and the cloth made a shredding sound.

Jiang Guoliang:? ? ?

"Mr. Ren, what are you..."

Liang Qichao was angry,

"Don't stay there in a daze! Why don't you help?"

Jiang Guoliang said "Huh?". Although he didn't know what was going on, he still stepped forward to help and asked at the same time: "Are we causing trouble?"

Liang Qichao was helpless,

"Why are you acting like an innocent naughty boy? The less we know what trouble we have caused, the more it means that the trouble we have caused is huge! Tell me about you... Oh... Really, why are you so simple? Don’t even understand?!”

Jiang Guoliang: "..."

I seem to understand, but I don’t seem to fully understand.

If you understand.

The two of them were busy,

result,

boom--

There was another muffled sound behind him.

Several Japanese ronin rushed into the room instantly.

The leader was wearing a kimono,

He moved quickly and rushed to Liang Qichao's side in the blink of an eye. He grabbed Liang Qichao's arms with both hands like lightning, and then twisted them gently.

"hiss……"

Liang Qichao took a deep breath, and his whole body was firmly controlled.

He felt the opponent's knee pressing against his waist.

In this situation, you don't dare to speak randomly.

He asked: "Who are you?"

The other party smiled lightly and said: "My surname is Ping Gang. I came here this time to hope that your newspaper will suspend the serialization of "Lord of the Flies". It won't be long, just one year."

Ping Gang's tone sounded like he was discussing.

Liang Qichao was confused.

I thought I was getting into trouble again.

did not expect,

That's it! ?

He couldn't help but wonder,

"Mr. Hiraoka, can you tell...um...let me go first?"

Ping Gang was stunned.

"Feel sorry."

He actually turned his head and let go of Liang Qichao's arm, and then said: "Mr. Jiang, if you want to ask anything, just ask."

Liang Qichao was speechless for a while, pointing at Jiang Guoliang,

"His last name is Jiang."

Ping Gang's head is full of black lines,

￣□￣｜｜

"Then you are Mr. Liang."

Liang Qichao nodded and said very puzzledly: "Mr. Pinggang, why don't you want "Xinmin Congbao" to serialize "Lord of the Flies"? This really makes no sense."

Ping Gang waved his hand,

"You do not understand."

As he spoke, he threw a copy of the Yomiuri Shimbun over and said, "Look at the headlines on the front page."

Liang Qichao’s Japanese reading and writing skills are pretty passable.

Not long after, he showed a disdainful smile,

"This review is not worth refuting."

Ping Gang instantly became popular,

"What did you say!?"

Liang Qichao was shocked and didn't know what he said wrong. He could only look for clues in book reviews.

Soon, he noticed the author’s name——

Look south and listen to the world.

grass!

In my heart, ten thousand horses of grass and mud were galloping past.

This special meow was actually written by Meiji.

Hiraoka said: "Mr. Liang, His Majesty the Emperor attaches great importance to "Lord of the Flies". Therefore, we hope that it will temporarily become Japan's special beauty."

Liang Qichao understood,

The group of Japanese in front of me are obviously right-wing and royalists.

It’s just that their brain circuits are weird.

The Emperor wrote a book review, and then the Chinese version of "Lord of the Flies" can no longer be serialized?

Are the two related?

"Lord of the Flies" is not Meiji's concubine. If she is favored, she cannot let others enjoy it.

Books and knowledge are shared by everyone!

Liang Qichao glanced at Jiang Guoliang next to him.

The latter was also frowning in deep thought at this time, as if he didn't understand the logic of Ping Gang's behavior.

Having lived in Japan for a long time, they all feel that Japanese people’s thinking is weird.

But what happened today was too outrageous,

It's a knife to pull the butt——

My eyes were opened.

Liang Qichao coughed lightly and said, "Mr. Pinggang, I think there is still room for discussion on this matter. Do you think..."

Ping Gang interrupted directly: "I don't want to watch!"

Liang Qichao: "..."

He directly greeted the other party's eight generations of ancestors in his heart.

Jiang Guoliang said: "Mr. Ping Gang, although "Xinmin Congbao" is published and printed in Japan, as a Chinese-language newspaper, its sales are mainly in China. Does this have any impact?"

Ping Gang said "Uh..."

It seemed like he was being asked.

But soon, he shook his head,

"No, it just won't work."

Jiang Guoliang: "..."

In my heart, I greet the eighteenth generation of each other’s ancestors.

Ping Gang said: "You two, it's just such a small request, please don't be so insistent..."

The words were only half spoken,

Crash--

Another group of people rushed in outside.

They were all wearing uniforms, with military raincoats with hoods on them, a sunburst embroidered on their collars, and armbands with red letters on a white background.

This is the dress of the Japanese Army Military Police.

In an instant, several Japanese ronin led by Hiraoka clung to the wall and stood upright.

They bowed at the same time and shouted with great enthusiasm: "Hi!"

The gendarmerie captain was startled.

"Who are you? Did I talk to you? 'Hi!' What 'Hi!'?"

The room fell into silence,

"..."

"..."

"..."

Liang Qichao had a headache.

As soon as the jackal left, the tiger and leopard came again.

Are these military police trying to shut down Xinmin Congbao?

I saw the gendarmerie captain looking around.

"Who is Mr. Liang?"

Liang Qichao stepped forward and said, "It's me."

Unexpectedly, the captain of the gendarmerie saluted him and said, "Mr. Liang, your newspaper takes education as its main focus, and its arguments are very fair. It also serializes excellent novels. I hope you can continue to do so."

As he spoke, he looked around,

"Don't you have a printing press?"

Liang Qichao was confused.

"No...no."

He has seen the big world, and he shouldn't be stumbling when speaking.

But what happened today was too unexpected.

The military policeman nodded and said: "Printing presses are still necessary..."

Ping Gang next to him couldn't listen anymore.

"No! This is wrong! Your Majesty has already published a book review, how can you allow "Lord of the Flies" to be published in another language?"

The gendarmerie captain snorted coldly,

"It's so noisy! Who told you that the article "In the Face of Survival, Everything is Little Matter" was His Majesty's book review? If you want to say it is, please provide conclusive evidence, otherwise it will be a shameless statement and an insult to the royal family!"

Ping Gang was sprayed with nothing to say.

On the contrary, it was Jiang Guoliang who whispered: "Did Mr. Pinggang just mention "In the face of survival, everything is a trivial matter"?"

Gendarmerie Captain:? ? ?

Hiraoka:? ? ?

The atmosphere became very strange.

Liang Qichao glared at Jiang Guoliang and whispered: "No one will think you are mute if you don't speak."

Jiang Guoliang shut up.

The military police captain looked at the frightened Ping Gang again and said, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Ping Gang said respectfully: "I just admire Xin Min Cong Bao, so I came to visit."

The gendarmerie captain straightened his face.

"Do you speak Chinese?"

"Ah this..."

Ping Gang was speechless.

The gendarmerie captain had a clear mind and could probably guess that the other party was a right-winger.

When you come to the "Xinmin Congbao" newspaper office, you must be reading "Lord of the Flies".

He leaned over and lowered his voice,

"There is a Chinese saying called 'not to blame oneself', do you understand?"

Ping Gang looked confused,

"What do you mean..."

The captain of the military police frowned and said: "Now, any action on "Lord of the Flies" may remind people of your Majesty's... "In the face of survival, everything is a trivial matter", do you understand?"

Ping Gang understands,

"I understand~I understand~"

He thought about the banning of the novel "Chao Wen Dao".

It turns out that Emperor Meiji = Nicholas II,

Tsarist Russia is Japan,

Japan is Tsarist Russia!

…

Tokyo.

Tokyo Imperial University.

Many imperial students gathered together to discuss "Lord of the Flies" and the two book reviews.

"Well written! So well written!"

"Look at this paragraph, 'What is the original sin of the Brutalists? Their brutality is the original sin, and their bestiality is destined to be unworthy of being called a civilization.'"

"Yes, it's mind-blowing!"

…

The atmosphere was very lively.

Not far away, several Japanese from the Black Dragon Society were watching this scene.

The leader is naturally Toushan Man.

On his right was Uchida Ryohei.

At this time, Uchida Ryohei was only the second in command of the Black Dragon Club, and he still had to follow the lead of the old man, Weitoushanman.

Toushan frowned tightly, and his forehead seemed to be twisted into the character "Chuan".

He said: "This is not good... This is not good..."

He looked worried.

The people around him didn't say anything.

Toushan Man saw his words falling to the ground, feeling slightly dissatisfied.

But he did not have an attack and continued: "How is Kotaro's situation?"

Kotaro Hiraoka, a typical right-wing radical,

Interestingly, Ryohei Uchida is his nephew.

Kotaro Hiraoka behaves in a very Japanese style and likes to walk alone.

In April 1905, after the Russo-Japanese War ended with Japan's victory, he took advantage of the aftermath of the victory to meet with people in power——

Chief Military Minister Qing Prince Yi Kuang.

He knew that Yikuang was friendly to Russia, so he said: "I know that there are people in the Qing court who are hindering Sino-Japanese relations. There is no need to worry about these people. I don't need to take action. I can send someone to kill him immediately."

This statement made Yikuang sweat all over his face.

It stands to reason that this kind of direct personal threat is not worthy of being regarded as diplomacy at all, but the Japanese intelligence community regards it as the bold talk of a civilian ambassador.

This shows how magical Japan was at that time.

Uchida Ryohei said: "Uncle hasn't sent a message yet. However, I really can't think of a reason..."

Before the words fell,

"idiot!"

Toushan interrupted with a scold, and then said: "Don't you understand yet? "Lord of the Flies" is a poisonous weed!"

His eyes glanced at those imperial students,

"Look at how excited they are... If this continues, where will your majesty's majesty be?"

Uchida Ryohei looked at Toyama Mitsuru with a trace of resentment flashing in his eyes.

Thought,

The book review written by His Majesty the Emperor was beaten to pieces. This is a stark fact.

Can you cover it up? !

He said: "President, I understand your worries. But you should know that "In the Face of Survival, Everything is a Trivial Matter" was not written by His Majesty."

After hearing this, Toushan Man's face turned as black as ink.

Who can be deceived by such words?

It’s just to fool the common people who have just become literate!

Just like these students from Dongda University,

Although I don’t say it with my mouth, I still have some thoughts about which is better or worse, right or wrong.

His Majesty the Emperor's prestige will gradually be damaged!

The head of the mountain is full of sneers,

"snort."

Don't even bother to refute the other party.

Uchida Ryohei continued: "Besides, wouldn't doing that kind of thing be counterproductive? I heard that Russian Tsar Nicholas II once banned Lu's novels, but the final result was really unsatisfactory."

Tou Shanman replied: "Can Japan compare to the poor and weak Tsarist Russia?"

One sentence left the other person speechless.

He added: "There are some mistakes in decision-making, and we need to help Your Majesty... to help correct them. Just like this time. I have already planned it. The Chinese newspaper is only the first step. Next, there will be that "Cuckoo"."

Uchida Ryohei listened nearby and found it ridiculous.

What was he about to say?

Not far away, another burst of cheers broke out among the students,

"The Cuckoo actually has an additional issue! And, all of them are book reviews of "Lord of the Flies"!"

Toushan's face was ashen,

In just two days, "Cuckoo" published a new issue.

Several people listened attentively to the conversation of those students.

"This article is well written!" Amano Keiichi is obviously unqualified as a leader. He does not master the skills needed for survival and has no idea when encountering difficulties. He only cares about fires and conch. But to survive on a desert island, survival is the first priority of.'"

"It's the same view as His Majesty... ahem... the same view as the Yomiuri Shimbun article."

"No. This book review also criticized Goto."

…

Uchida Ryohei muttered: "Isn't this good? Those book reviews also support the view of 'Look south and listen to the world'."

The head of the mountain is full of sneers,

"It's just superficial support. This kind of article that hides its true intentions is more worthy of vigilance."

Uchida Ryohei: "..."

The other party has already done this, so why not obey him?

Toyama Mitsuru continued: "We must find a way to minimize the influence of "Lord of the Flies"."

Uchida Ryohei rolled his eyes and thought about it.

"It's difficult," he said.

Toushan is very unhappy,

"Difficult? No matter how difficult it is, we have to do it!"

Uchida Ryohei sighed,

"President, don't forget, Lu Shi is a knight of Great Britain. He has made it clear that "Lord of the Flies" is available in other languages ​​besides Chinese and Japanese. We can prevent "Lord of the Flies" from being sold in Europe. Release it?”

Toushan Man was awakened by these words.

Because His Majesty the Emperor is confused, it is difficult to stop "Lord of the Flies" at home, let alone Europe?

He was very depressed,

He is devoted to the country, and the Meiji period is good, but he turns around and tries to undermine it, pretending to be an ostrich and saying "turn south and listen to the world" is not him.

What about playing tricks on fools?

Tou Shanman fell into deep thought,

Naturally, an idea came to my mind——

Threaten Lu Shi.

He dared to assassinate even Mr. Li, let alone a little Sir Lu.

Of course, it's impossible for Tou Shanman to really want to carry out an assassination.

The foreign KBE who killed Great Britain really pissed off the British. War is unlikely to happen, but there is a high probability that the black dragon will be uprooted.

no Zuo no Die,

It’s better not to do it.

Toyama Mitsuru thought about it carefully and asked Uchida Ryohei: "When will Sir Lu leave Tokyo?"

Upon hearing this, Uchida Ryohei vaguely guessed what the other party was thinking.

But he pretended to be surprised,

"President, isn't it bad that you are planning to... After all, Mr. Zhang has just received Sir Lu's lobbying and is willing to publish an article in our journal "Black Dragon". We cannot burn bridges by crossing the river."

Toushan gave him a blank look,

"What do you know!?"

Then, he showed a look of realization and muttered: "By the way, there is Mr. Zhang, I can consult him."

Hearing this, Uchida Ryohei's lips curved.

His guidance really worked.

The way he looked at Tou Shanman was like looking at a moth flying into a flame.

Now, as long as the news is revealed to Alexander Buchanan, the British Ambassador to Japan, as planned, the old man Toushan will not be far away from abdicating the throne and making way for someone more worthy.

Tou Shanman didn’t know that he had fallen into a trap.

He sighed,

"You really shouldn't do that. Otherwise, wouldn't Japan become Tsarist Russia?"