Duan Qirui had no good feelings for the Hubei New Army. In the Hejian Autumn Maneuvers, the outside world generally evaluated the Hubei New Army as "winning with learning" and the Beiyang New Army as "winning with courage." In the Qing Dynasty, being educated was evaluated higher than having courage, which was something Duan Qirui was extremely dissatisfied with. The Minister of the Army, Tie Liang, ordered some defeated soldiers of the Hubei New Army to be escorted to Beijing for questioning, which gave Duan Qirui a chance to vent. Of course, Duan Qirui's outburst was not entirely for revenge; he also wanted to intimidate the defeated soldiers so that they wouldn't dare to lie.

When Duan Qirui scolded the defeated soldiers angrily, he was really murderous. If it were in the Beiyang Army, Duan Qirui shouting angrily like this would really mean killing people. The officer of the defeated soldiers was scared out of his wits. He knelt down with a thud but hugged Tie Liang's leg. "My Lord, you said before entering Beijing that you would absolutely not kill us. Spare my life, My Lord."

Except for the officer scolded by Duan Qirui, the other soldiers were also frightened. Seeing the officer asking Tie Liang for help, they also knelt down and begged. The inquiry, which was proceeding normally, suddenly became chaotic.

Tie Liang glanced at Duan Qirui blamingly, but at this time he couldn't refute Duan Qirui's face because of these defeated soldiers. With a cold snort, Tie Liang said, "Just speak honestly; don't make things up. Saying not to kill you is to ask you to speak honestly. If you are dishonest again, can't the Ministry of Army kill you?"

The defeated soldiers "understood" Tie Liang's words. In the subsequent questioning, they tried their best to speculate on Duan Qirui's meaning when speaking. Duan Qirui really had no experience in interrogating defeated soldiers. At this time, to survive, how could the defeated soldiers still be willing to tell the truth? Every sentence was shirking responsibility. And the biggest person responsible was naturally Brigade Commander Li Yuanhong. Some defeated soldiers were even scared confused and actually directed some responsibility towards Zhang Zhidong.

"This is forced confession under torture," Duan Qirui couldn't help thinking. He regretted it a bit himself. In fact, Duan Qirui really wanted to figure out what ability his opponent, the People's Party, had. He didn't expect it to turn out like this. But on second thought, Duan Qirui had a calculation. He just needed to get a copy of the confessions of these defeated soldiers and leak some news everywhere. Of course, these news would definitely not mention what Duan Qirui himself did, but hint to other aspects that Tie Liang wanted to deal with Zhang Zhidong by interrogating defeated soldiers. These news would definitely reach Zhang Zhidong, and Duan Qirui believed Zhang Zhidong would absolutely not ignore it. If Zhang Zhidong fought with Tie Liang, firstly it would suit Duan Qirui's wish, and secondly it would also be helpful to Yuan Shikai.

Seeing the inquiry turn into this appearance, Tie Liang was also extremely dissatisfied in his heart. He could get these defeated soldiers not by suppressing Hubei with any authority, but by relying on the Manchu Battalion set up in the Hubei New Army. At the beginning of this year, rebels caused trouble in Anhui. To strengthen control over the New Army, the court set up Manchu Battalions in various New Armies. The purpose was to let these Manchus spy on military intelligence and catch revolutionaries. Tie Liang relied on the efforts of the Manchu Battalion in the Hubei New Army to send the defeated soldiers to Beijing.

Tie Liang actually had his own sense of propriety. He absolutely didn't want to turn the inquiry into forced confession under torture, so he repeatedly emphasized to the officials interrogating these defeated soldiers that absolutely no forced confession or inducement was allowed. Duan Qirui was the Commander of the 3rd Division. Out of status, Tie Liang didn't instruct Duan Qirui, but trouble still occurred. "How could Duan Qirui be such a person?" Tie Liang was very disappointed. In the Beiyang Army, Duan Qirui had a good reputation. This was also the reason why Tie Liang was willing to let Duan Qirui lead the 3rd Division on the expedition.

But since the matter had happened, saying anything more to Duan Qirui would only intensify the conflict. Tie Liang had to swallow this anger. At the same time, he recorded a mark against Duan Qirui in his heart.

After the inquiry ended, the Ministry of Army began to discuss the gains and losses of the Hubei New Army in the Anhui Campaign. Since the Hubei New Army was annihilated too thoroughly, this battle naturally couldn't talk about any "gains." As for "losses," the people in the Ministry of Army knew long ago that Tie Liang wouldn't let them pursue responsibility, so they couldn't say too much.

Duan Qirui was an old soldier after all. Ignoring the meaning of the Ministry of Army, he raised his questions directly. The first was the problem of the "river blocking dam." Duan Qirui resolutely didn't believe that the People's Party could build a dam at the bottom of the river. The second problem was the scout problem. Duan Qirui didn't completely disbelieve that the People's Party destroyed the scouts of the Hubei New Army in a short time; he thought there must be a problem here. The third was the hollow square formation deployed by the Hubei New Army. The hollow square formation was obviously for line attack. The Hubei New Army turned this formation into a situation of passively taking a beating. Duan Qirui felt there was something very fishy here. A group of chaotic bandits of the People's Party, where did they have the ability to suppress the Hubei New Army in firepower? If they had such ability, these bandits of the People's Party would absolutely not just shrink in Anhui. To the north was Henan, to the east were Jiangsu and Zhejiang; these were all rich places. The People's Party should have attacked these places long ago. It was impossible to shrink in Anhui which had suffered floods. The disaster situation of the flood last year was serious, and Duan Qirui in Beijing knew a lot of news. It was lucky for the People's Party to survive in the mud nest; how could they create such a tough army?

Duan Qirui didn't know what arduous efforts the People's Party had made under Chen Ke's leadership. Of course, even if Duan Qirui heard about such things, he would think it was "nonsense." But the questions raised by Duan Qirui hit the nail on the head. Most people in the Ministry of Army didn't like Duan Qirui, but they nodded frequently after hearing these questions.

Tie Liang frowned and remained silent. After a long while, he said, "Commander Duan, this bandit suppression is urgent. If we want to clarify these things, I'm afraid it will drag on for a while. I think we still have to send troops as soon as possible."

Duan Qirui thought to himself: "You know it's urgent now? If you hadn't seized Lord Yuan's military power, Chen Ke and these rebels would have been destroyed long ago."

Although he thought so in his heart, Duan Qirui absolutely couldn't say so with his mouth. He asked, "How does Your Excellency plan to handle it?"

Tie Liang replied, "Commander Duan, hurry up and prepare for the troop dispatch now. I will investigate what you said in detail. I will definitely solve Commander Duan's doubts."

Since Tie Liang said so, Duan Qirui couldn't question him to his face. He had to continue asking, "Then when to send troops?"

"Troops must be sent within fifteen days." Tie Liang replied.

"Within fifteen days?" Duan Qirui's eyes widened. This was not him pretending. The 3rd Division had tens of thousands of troops and horses, and huge baggage. It was absolutely unrealistic to send troops within fifteen days. If Wang Shizhen were here, this might be possible, but Duan Qirui hadn't even formulated a military plan now; it was fundamentally unrealistic.

Tie Liang also knew where the problem lay, but he couldn't wait any longer. "It is not necessary to move out completely. You can send a part of the troops south first, but in any case, within thirty days, the 3rd Division must all arrive in Xuzhou. Then advance into Anhui together with the Admiral of Jiangbei."

When coming out of the Ministry of Army conference room, Duan Qirui was furious. No matter how he explained, Tie Liang refused to relent. Tie Liang was not without reason. In 1905, an uprising broke out in Liuyang and Liling, echoing Shangli. In less than 10 days, the rebel army reached more than 30,000 people, and its prestige spread to several provinces in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. The officers and soldiers of Hunan and Jiangxi provinces were in chaos and called for help frequently. The Qing court issued "Imperial Edicts" repeatedly, urgently ordering the four provinces of Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, and Jiangsu to send capable troops quickly to "gallop to suppress together," and transferred the navy to Jiujiang and Wuhu to embolden them. For a time, the Qing army gathered reached forty or fifty thousand. This was the largest troop dispatch by the Qing Dynasty in the south since the failure of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Even the Beiyang Army far away in Tianjin sent a cavalry battalion to participate in the suppression of the uprising.

Duan Qirui certainly knew about that incident, but at that time the Manchu Qing could still cooperate internally, and the commanders of various armies didn't have such obvious factional disputes as now. Moreover, that incident couldn't be compared with this time. Who could have thought that such a rebel team would suddenly emerge from the center of the flood? When the court discovered it, this team had actually become a force.

Duan Qirui didn't realize that because he didn't know the specific situation, his judgment of the People's Party's strength actually changed with his different mentality. Now Duan Qirui didn't reflect on his own thoughts at all. It was easy for Tie Liang to give orders, but Duan Qirui, who executed the orders, had to face countless difficulties. Gathering the officers of the 3rd Division, Duan Qirui issued the order to send troops.

The officers of the 3rd Division didn't expect to send troops so soon either. When Duan Qirui issued the order with a gloomy face, no one dared to say anything. When Duan Qirui ordered the meeting to adjourn, the officers immediately packed their luggage and returned to Tianjin. The officers exchanged glances secretly. Sun Yongsheng originally felt that the discipline of the Ministry of Army was lax, but knowing that he would soon be plunged into intense preparations for dispatching troops and would soon travel thousands of *li* to participate in the war, he actually felt that this comfortable life became nostalgic.

After the meeting, some officers began to contact each other to go out for a heavy drink at night. Everyone felt that they should have a good time before sending troops. It would be several months before the next enjoyment.

The officers of the Beiyang Army were not short of money, and it was common for everyone to take turns hosting drinks. This troop dispatch was a big event, and everyone felt that ordinary drinking couldn't be enjoyable enough, so they simply pooled money to go to the Eight Great Hutongs to drink flower wine (drink with courtesans). The group changed into casual clothes first, gathered at the agreed place, and marched mightily to the Eight Great Hutongs. Sun Yongsheng found that there was actually one more person among those who came, which was Zheng Wenjie who was now working in the Ministry of Army. Zheng Wenjie was once Wang Shizhen's subordinate and could be considered a Beiyang person. He didn't say much.

This flower wine was drunk very heartily. Needless to say about the banquet, the dishes were naturally excellent. The courtesans accompanying the wine flattered deliberately, plus there were people singing tunes beside. A group of officers hugged the courtesans and drank heartily. Then the sound of a pipa rang out, and the woman singing the tune sang a song. This song was said to be a tune but not a tune, an opera but not an opera.

"The night is deep, why is the paper window lit. That is not waiting all night, the candle you lit for me. It's just an encounter, that dream of the Red Chamber. My landscape, all faded, like washed by heavy rain. The scenery in the cup is ghostly, forgetting who I am. The mood is like the night cool as water. Holding a butterfly cup in hand, flying alone, not returning until drunk. Made a mistake in the flower field, agreed to forget before dawn. Made a mistake in the flower field, the embrace became torment, made a mistake in the flower field, made a mistake... Like being obsessed with the boredom of flowers in the mirror and moon in the water, made a mistake in the flower field, please forgive my affectionate disturbance." (Lyrics from "Hua Tian Cuo" by Wang Leehom)

The singing woman's voice was clear and high. The song, which was originally very provocative, did not use a gentle and soft way, but a straightforward and crisp voice. The officers came to "make mistakes" originally. Hearing this song, they felt it fit the scene very well, and everyone was extremely happy. An officer laughed, "I have been here many times and heard this song many times. Every time I hear it, I feel endless aftertaste." After speaking, he couldn't help singing along with the tune.

After hearing this, an officer laughed, "Girl, how about sitting in my arms and singing?" These words were rude and heroic, making the group of officers laugh loudly.

After drinking for a while, everyone was a bit drunk and began to lose control of their mouths. An officer said to Zheng Wenjie beside him, "Brother Zheng, you met Chen Ke before. What kind of person is that guy?"

Zheng Wenjie laughed loudly, "That guy looks like a bad person at first glance. I didn't bother to pay attention to him. Chen Ke has pitted our Beiyang miserably. If I had known he was such a rebel, I should have stabbed Chen Ke to death at that time."

The officers laughed loudly after hearing this. An officer didn't know if he was really drunk; he said in a malicious voice, "Brother Zheng, you are really lucky. Lord Yuan was implicated by this fellow Chen Ke and lost his job. You, old brother, were promoted to the Ministry of Army instead. This is really quite different."

Zheng Wenjie's face changed immediately upon hearing this, but he thought about it and didn't flare up.

Sun Yongsheng was very unhappy hearing this. Although he had never met Chen Ke, he felt he was implicated by Chen Ke. Now the Beiyang Army and the Ministry of Army didn't get along. Although Zheng Wenjie came from Beiyang, he was inevitably suspected of becoming an "outsider" at this time. He snorted heavily, and then drank the wine in the cup in one gulp.

There is never a shortage of instigators in this world, let alone after drinking heavily, there are even more people who can't control their mouths. An officer laughed, "Brother Sun, you are now the uncle of that fellow Chen Ke. You have to place righteousness above family loyalty in this troop dispatch."

Sun Yongsheng was angry hearing this, but he couldn't lose his temper at the Beiyang Army brothers. He didn't have enough time to clear himself now. If he made a fuss, in case someone deliberately played dirty tricks behind his back, Sun Yongsheng would definitely not end up well. Unable to vent the pent-up anger in his heart, Sun Yongsheng saw Zheng Wenjie opposite, and immediately felt that Zheng Wenjie first befriended Chen Ke, then joined the Ministry of Army; this fellow Zheng Wenjie was worse than himself. Sun Yongsheng also said drunkenly, "I am just Chen Ke's uncle; I can't decide on relative matters. But when it comes to making friends, I will absolutely not choose the wrong person."

The group of officers knew the meaning in Sun Yongsheng's words and laughed loudly.

Zheng Wenjie heard this, and the anger on his face flashed and disappeared. He piled up an expression like a smiling tiger. "Brother Sun, I toast you a cup."

Sun Yongsheng stood up carelessly and clinked glasses with Zheng Wenjie. After the two sat down, Zheng Wenjie said with a smile, "I indeed made careless friends. This can't be helped; I can't compare with you, Brother Sun. You are lucky, really good. Back then when Chen Ke wanted to propose to the He family, Lord Yuan asked who the object of the proposal was. Chen Ke originally thought of proposing to He Ruming's sister. Later, someone persuaded him, saying He Ruming's daughter was much better than He Ruming's sister. Then Chen Ke changed his mind. I look down on such fickle guys the most. But if Chen Ke hadn't changed his mind and married He Ruming's sister, then I'm afraid Brother Sun would have to call Chen Ke uncle now. Brother Sun, your luck is really good."

Hearing this, there was another burst of laughter among the officers. Sun Yongsheng didn't smile. Not only did he not smile, but blue veins popped out on his forehead, and his face became hideous.

Zheng Wenjie just wanted to see such a scene. He showed a fake smile and continued, "Brother Sun, I heard that when He Ruming's daughter got married back then, the eldest lady of the He family was actually very unhappy. I don't know if the eldest lady of the He family said anything to you about your troop dispatch this time, Brother Sun."

The officers at the same table were originally watching the fun, grinning foolishly one by one. But after hearing these words, some guys who were still somewhat upright lost their smiles. Someone said, "Brother Zheng, you drank too much."

But not all officers were so upright; some laughed loudly instead. Zheng Wenjie also knew how to join in the fun. After fiercely fighting back against Sun Yongsheng's provocation, he was in a great mood, so he followed the pole and laughed, "I drank too much, drank too much. Haha." Then he picked up the wine cup, but found there was no wine in the cup. Just as he was about to take the wine pot to pour wine, he heard Sun Yongsheng say loudly, "Come, I'll pour wine for you."

Everyone's eyes fell on Sun Yongsheng, only to see his face had turned iron blue. He grabbed a wine pot in his hand and was about to go around the table to Zheng Wenjie. Everyone knew something was wrong. Some people hugged the courtesans preparing to watch the excitement. Some officers felt uneasy. Zheng Wenjie knew Sun Yongsheng was not coming to pour wine for him at all, but to beat him up. Zheng Wenjie was very confident in his skills, and Sun Yongsheng had many flaws in his fury. Fighting was nothing to Zheng Wenjie, but Zheng Wenjie was now the person providing information to Chen Ke. If a fight broke out, the matter would definitely blow up. At that time, after the Beiyang Army was defeated, there might not be people who would wag their tongues baselessly. This would be unfavorable to Zheng Wenjie instead. As long as Zheng Wenjie fought with Sun Yongsheng, winning or not winning was bad. Although he was happy to gain an advantage in speech. Zheng Wenjie secretly pulled the sleeve of the officer Wu Yongfu beside him.

Wu Yongfu had a good relationship with Zheng Wenjie; this time he dragged Zheng Wenjie to drink together. As soon as Zheng Wenjie pulled Wu Yongfu's sleeve, Wu Yongfu knew what it meant. He hurriedly stood up and stopped Sun Yongsheng who was walking over with the wine pot. "Brother Sun, don't be like this." Several other officers who didn't want to make things big also stood up hurriedly and stopped Sun Yongsheng together. Seeing he couldn't go over to beat Zheng Wenjie up, Sun Yongsheng cursed loudly, "Zheng Wenjie, what kind of thing are you?"

Seeing the fight couldn't start, Zheng Wenjie also stood up and bowed to everyone in a circle. "I drank too much; I'll take my leave first. I'll pay for Brother Sun's wine." After speaking, Zheng Wenjie left a stack of silver dollars on the table, and then walked out of the flower hall leisurely. Sun Yongsheng looked at Zheng Wenjie's back and wanted to smash the wine pot at Zheng Wenjie with all his might, but was stopped. He had to curse at Zheng Wenjie loudly.

Listening to Sun Yongsheng's curses, Zheng Wenjie didn't care at all. He came this time originally to spy on specific intelligence, and he already knew what he wanted to know during the banquet. Originally Zheng Wenjie still had some thoughts; he really might not want to notify Chen Ke of the news of the Beiyang Army's dispatch so timely, but now he changed his mind. If Sun Yongsheng was killed by Chen Ke in Anhui, Zheng Wenjie would be very happy.