Chapter 248: Explanation 2

Third Act: Going east to Japan to study, master and servant sharing the same boat.

(Scene: Roaring sea, old-fashioned steamship. Caption: 1906. Scene shifts to Tokyo, Japan, cherry blossoms, streets, Qing dynasty students in school uniforms.)

Narration: In the spring of 1906, a decision that would change both of their fates was made: the principal resolved to go east to Japan to study military affairs and seek a path to a strong nation. This time, he again took Li Yuxuan with him. It was Li Yuxuan's first and only time accompanying the principal to study abroad in Japan. Their destination was the Qinghua School in Tokyo.

(Note: According to user settings and historical correction, the principal once entered the Tokyo Qinghua School, which was a preparatory military academy, not the later Tsinghua University.)

Narration: Why the Qinghua School? It was a preparatory school established for Chinese students who hoped to enter the Japanese Army officer schools (such as the Shinbu School), primarily to tutor Japanese language and basic military courses. The principal's ambition was the Shinbu School, then to enter the Officer School, following the standard Japanese Army officer path.

(Scene: Buildings or historic photos of the Tokyo Qinghua School. Depicts the two's life in a foreign land: cramped in the tiny Shimo Shukuya, chewing through Japanese textbooks together, sharing a thin blanket on a cold winter night.)

Narration: In Japan, the master‑servant identities were further softened in the unfamiliar environment, or rather transformed into "fellow countrymen sharing the same boat" and "comrades plotting a way out." Their life was austere, language barrier, faced discrimination. Under huge survival and academic pressure, they were each other's only support. Li Yuxuan's composure and stronger adaptability again became the principal's "calming pill." He not only helped the principal with daily chores, but also gave Jiang Jieshi great assistance in studies, especially in the patient, meticulous work of Japanese and basic subjects.

(Scene: Shows the two in a heated discussion, perhaps in a crude room, facing a map or newspaper.)

Narration: The clash of ideas grew even more intense. Japan's post‑Meiji Restoration strength starkly contrasted with the Qing Dynasty's decay. They befriended some revolutionary patriots studying in Japan, encountering more radical anti‑Qing thought. The principal was hot‑blooded and easily stirred by revolutionary rhetoric. Li Yuxuan, however, appeared more cautious, focusing more on how Japan's powerful military and education systems were built, pondering the technical and institutional routes to a strong nation. One resembled a passionate revolutionary, the other a calm builder. This difference did not cause alienation; instead it formed a complementarity. Jiang Jieshi needed Li Yuxuan's calm to balance his own impulses, and his analysis to grasp the complex reality.

Side story interlude: Here, a fragment from unofficial histories and memoirs, its truth hard to verify, nevertheless reflects the two's condition at the time. Supposedly, once the principal, inflamed by his words, clashed with some Royalist Students and nearly came to blows. Li Yuxuan intervened in time, using his body to separate the parties on one hand, and on the other, explaining in fluent Japanese to the Japanese school supervisor who arrived after hearing the news, turning a fight that could have ruined their study abroad eligibility into a "scholarly debate among classmates." Afterwards, the principal's anger still lingered, but Li Yuxuan calmly said, "Young Master, we are here to learn skills, not to argue or test brute courage. A fist cannot topple the Dragon Throne in Yanjing City." The principal fell silent. This story may contain embellishment, but its spirit feels genuine: Li Yuxuan acted as a "Brake Valve" and a "Troubleshooter." He not only tended to daily life, but also set up a guardrail on the "edge of a cliff" of the principal's temperament.

Fourth Act: Diverging Paths, Future Choices.

(Scene: Depicts the era of 1907‑1908, with revolutionary storms rising in China and ideological turbulence among Japanese study‑abroad circles.)

Narration: As studies at the Qinghua School neared their end, a new crossroads emerged. The principal's goal was clear: to enter the Shinbu School and study military affairs. Yet Li Yuxuan made a decision that surprised the principal, perhaps all those aware at the time.

(Scene: Close‑up animation of Li Yuxuan's face, his gaze firmly fixed westward. A map of Europe appears, an arrow pointing from Japan to Germany.)

Narration: He did not intend to continue deepening his studies within the Japanese military system, but chose to go far to Germany for study. This decision, in hindsight, may seem prescient, yet at the time required great courage and clear planning. The Japanese Army system was, in the eyes of the Qing government and most revolutionaries, the sole model of military modernization, while Germany, though also a military power, was far more distant and unfamiliar to most Chinese.

(Scene: The two parting somewhere in Tokyo. Cherry blossoms drift down, the atmosphere complex.)

Narration: We can imagine the principal's reaction then. Surprise? Incomprehension? Perhaps even a hint of feeling "abandoned"? A partner who had been inseparable for years, both servant and friend and Strategist, suddenly turning toward a completely different direction. Yet, according to the limited records, the principal ultimately supported Li Yuxuan's decision. This support may have contained trust in Li Yuxuan's judgment, and perhaps a vague expectation: if a partner could explore another path to a strong nation, it might not be a bad thing.

Narration (in‑depth analysis): Why did Li Yuxuan choose Germany? Later analysis suggests several points: First, through Japanese and limited German sources, he recognized Germany's unique advantages in military theory, military education, and industrial system, especially its General Staff System and Kelaoseweizi's military philosophy, which greatly attracted him. Second, he may have realized that merely copying Japan would forever keep him a student, whereas exploring a different route could offer more possibilities for the future. Third, deep within his character lies a dissatisfaction with merely following, a desire to lead and innovate. The Japanese path was the principal's choice and the mainstream then. The German path was Li Yuxuan's own judgment and selection.

Narration: In 1908, the two part ways at their hometown. The principal entered the Shinbu School, advancing toward the goal of becoming a Japanese‑style officer. Li Yuxuan, however, boarded a westbound ship, sailing toward the land of industry and philosophy, Deutschland. Their roads, for the first time, showed a clear divergence.

Video ending.

(Scene: Returns to ink‑wash Xikou, but the two now appear as youths. The camera pulls back, the streams and mountains remain, clouds of storm gathering.)

Narration: This is the main thread of Li Yuxuan's early interactions with the principal. From the servant‑son of Xikou and the mischievous young master, to the classmate Companion in Fenghua, then to the shared hardships and mutual support in Tokyo. We can see an extremely special relationship gradually taking shape: it has the foundation of master‑servant, the friendship of classmates, the trust of Confidants, and also an early prototype resembling a "Strategist" and a "young master."

Narration (summary, deep tone): Li Yuxuan's relationship with the principal in those early years involved no "betrayal," only a bond that grew deeper, intertwining emotion, gratitude, and shared ideals. He used his wisdom, composure, and foresight to earn the principal's almost unconditional reliance. The principal, in turn, gave Li Yuxuan trust that transcended class and a rare respect. Their relationship began unequal, yet its substance became extraordinarily rich and solid through mutual growth.

Narration: Yet the separation was fated. Germany and Japan, Europe and East Asia, different roads about to unfold. When Li Yuxuan brushed past future storm‑makers in Berlin, and when the principal honed his will in a Japanese barracks, perhaps neither imagined the era that awaited them—a grand, tumultuous age full of trials. And the complex friendship that began in Xikou and was forged in Fusang, how will it endure the great river of history, facing the ultimate tests of loyalty versus righteousness, private affection versus public duty?

(Scene: Upcoming episode preview appears: "Europe Wind and Clouds, Berlin Tempered Wu Hook — Li Yuxuan's German Years." The screen darkens.)

Narration: The question of "loyalty" versus "betrayal" is still too early to answer. In this episode we saw the deep foundation of "loyalty." Next time, let's follow Li Yuxuan's steps to 1908 Germany, and see how this youth from Xikou, amid Europe's storms, accumulates capital and insight for himself and the still‑vague national mission of the future. The historical scroll has only just unfolded a corner.

(End‑credit music starts, subtitles scroll.)

Historical conclusion: Interpersonal relationships in history are often tens of thousands of times more complex than textbook labels. To understand Li Yuxuan and the principal, perhaps one must start by understanding how that "servant" and "young master" shaped and needed each other amid the era's upheavals. See you next episode.