As soon as Yuan Shikai returned to his residence, he immediately ordered people to send telegrams to Wang Shizhen and Duan Qirui, asking Duan Qirui to bring a few main officers back to Beijing to submit memorials admitting guilt. Wang Shizhen was, after all, still the Commander-in-Chief of Jiangbei, so he only needed to submit a memorial admitting guilt separately. After arranging these matters, Yuan Shikai ordered people to prepare simple luggage. He himself began to pick up a brush to write documents.

After writing, Yuan Shikai summoned the whole family to the main hall. Yuan Shikai had one wife and nine concubines in his life, who bore him a total of seventeen sons and fifteen daughters. In the anecdotes of Chen Ke recorded in later generations, Chen Ke saw Yuan Shikai's family situation and couldn't help sighing, "Truly a diligent man."

Yuan Shikai himself didn't have this realization of diligence. Facing the large family, he said loudly, "I asked you to come here today to tell you that I am very likely to dispatch troops this time. Once troops are dispatched, it's either I die or Chen Ke dies. I have already written my will. In case I die, just execute it according to the will."

"Master!" Yuan Shikai's First Concubine Shen Shi turned pale with fright. Shen Shi was a famous courtesan in Suzhou. When Yuan was down and out, she had financially supported him to seek official rank. Yuan Shikai swore never to let her down, and sure enough, after he rose to power, he took Shen Shi as a wife (concubine treated as wife). Because Yuan Shikai's principal wife Yu Shi was weak and incompetent and couldn't be presented in public, Yuan treated Shen Shi as the Madame and often took her to attend some diplomatic occasions.

Yuan Shikai looked at the flustered concubines, then looked at his sons and unmarried daughters, and waved his hand calmly, "You don't need to speak. It is fate that I met Chen Ke; there is no need to blame god or man for this matter. After I dispatch troops, none of you are allowed to leave the residence and walk around. If I die, you all move back to the old home for me. There is nothing else; you may withdraw."

After saying this, ignoring how surprised and astonished the Yuan family members were, Yuan Shikai got up and returned to the study. This family of over forty people never expected Yuan Shikai to be so cold before dispatching troops this time, and they all stayed where they were. First Concubine Shen Shi had always been favored by Yuan Shikai. Under the gaze of the whole family, she stood up quietly, first ordered the maid to prepare a pot of tea, and then Shen Shi personally carried the tea towards the study.

"Inform the Master that I am bringing him tea." Shen Shi didn't barge into the study but said to the personal soldiers guarding the door outside the study.

As soon as her voice fell, she heard Yuan Shikai say inside the study, "Come in."

Entering the study, Shen Shi carefully closed the door, placed the tray on the table, and then lowered her head to kneel gracefully in front of Yuan Shikai. When she raised her head, there were already tear stains on her pretty face. "Master, you scared me to death." Shen Shi choked with sobs, "Everything is fine, why did you talk about death?"

Pulling up his beloved First Concubine from the ground, Yuan Shikai gave a bitter smile, "You don't know, Chen Ke is extremely good at using troops. If I were in his place, facing the Third Division led by Wang Shizhen and Duan Qirui, I definitely couldn't have fought to that result."

"That Chen Ke really has a wolf's ambition. Master, you treated him well in vain!" Seeing Yuan Shikai speak so frighteningly, Shen Shi scolded Chen Ke while tears rolled down.

Yuan Shikai suddenly said in a low voice, "Er-niang (Second Mother), I have a matter for you to handle. If I am really killed by Chen Ke, you absolutely must not hold a grudge. If Chen Ke conquers the world, you must personally go to see Yan Fu or Chen Ke. Ask him, for the sake of our old friendship and the fact that I acted as a matchmaker for Chen Ke, to be lenient to our Yuan family."

"Master!" Shen Shi never expected Yuan Shikai to make such an arrangement, and for a moment she was so astonished she even forgot to cry.

Yuan Shikai held Shen Shi's hand and said solemnly, "This matter concerns the lives of our Yuan family. Er-niang, although you didn't bear any offspring for our Yuan family, these children usually call you their own mother. None of them are capable; I can only rest assured if this matter is handed over to you. I killed many people in my life and made many enemies. There are already many people in the court who want to be disadvantageous to our Yuan family. If I die, you let the older children go overseas. If the young children can't leave, let them all return to the old home in Xiangcheng. I entrust them to you."

"Master, you are wise and martial; how could you lose to a few rebels!" Shen Shi's mind was in chaos, and she could only say this generally.

"Blue comes from indigo but is bluer than indigo (the student surpasses the master). If one of our Yuan family's children could be like Chen Ke, I wouldn't be afraid of anything even if I died." Yuan Shikai sighed. This was his heartfelt word. After letting First Concubine Shen Shi go out, Yuan Shikai sat in his seat and recalled his interactions with Chen Ke. Now he had long forgotten Chen Ke's appearance; the two had only met casually once or twice. No matter how he recalled the situation at that time, Yuan Shikai couldn't think of any special performance by Chen Ke. But this kind of hiding one's light under a bushel met with Yuan Shikai's approval. Yuan Shikai had seen too many self-righteous youths; when they had no status, these youths always tried to prove their "greatness" to those with status. Chen Ke's performance at that time seemed truly great now.

"What is Chen Ke like now?" Yuan Shikai asked himself silently. He saw the danger of this troop dispatch very clearly. Apart from Yuan Shikai himself, there were no talents in the Manchu Qing court capable of commanding the three divisions of the Beiyang New Army. Since Empress Dowager Cixi decided to eliminate the People's Party, she could only send Yuan Shikai to lead the troops. If adding Wang Shizhen and Duan Qirui plus the Henan New Army, this amounted to fifty thousand New Army troops. In the various intelligence collected by the Qing court, it was generally reported that the People's Party troops were no more than twenty-something thousand. Fifty thousand against twenty thousand, the victory of the Beiyang Army should be extremely probable.

However, war is dangerous. When the Beiyang Third Division and Jiangbei New Army attacked Anhui, no one thought they would encounter such a huge defeat. In case Yuan Shikai was defeated this time, only two New Army divisions would remain in the North. A total force of over twenty thousand men was insufficient even for self-protection. And with the prestige of defeating the three Beiyang divisions, no one in the world would dare to be an enemy of the People's Party anymore. At that time, where Chen Ke's military edge pointed...

"Hmph!" Yuan Shikai suddenly sneered. It wouldn't do for him not to dispatch troops either. Cixi was getting old, and Jiangsu had started a parliament; the title of Constitutional New Policy had already been snatched away. The constitutional situation led by Yuan Shikai had undergone tremendous changes. Many people who originally pursued constitutionalism had already adopted a wait-and-see attitude. With the situation at this point, Yuan Shikai remaining in Beijing would be seeking his own destruction.

What if he made a private deal with Chen Ke? It wasn't that Yuan Shikai hadn't had such a thought, but En Ming's end had proved that Chen Ke would absolutely not let go of an official known as a "butcher of the people" like Yuan Shikai. Chen Ke had some remnants of the former Boxers under his command. To buy the hearts of the people in Lu'an and Huoshan, Anhui, Chen Ke killed En Ming. Then to buy the hearts of the people in Hebei and Shandong, Yuan Shikai's head was undoubtedly the best thing.

"Chen Ke, let's see who can laugh last." Yuan Shikai made up his mind.

On July 1, 1908, Duan Qirui returned to the gate of the Beijing Ministry of War with the main officers of the Beiyang Third Division tied up. The Ministry of War immediately imprisoned these defeated generals. Among them was Cavalry Commander Sun Yongsheng. Sun Yongsheng had had a particularly hard time in the Beiyang Army these days. Many people who saw Sun Yongsheng would call him "Sun Aunt-husband" with a slight teasing tone. Because the People's Party treated captives well, it was hard to say there was too much malice in this form of address.

As a defeated general, Sun Yongsheng met his niece He Ying and niece-in-law (relative) Chen Ke for the first time in the POW camp. Although before dispatching troops, Sun Yongsheng had vowed to cut off Chen Ke's head, when he saw Chen Ke coming towards his sickbed surrounded by guards with loaded guns, what Sun Yongsheng felt first was a fear from the bottom of his heart.

As a soldier, Sun Yongsheng could feel the true coercion from Chen Ke. That was the feeling unique to people who didn't care about killing. Although there was also a polite smile on Chen Ke's square face, this smile was the kindness of a man-eating tiger. Sun Yongsheng had experienced the most tragic battles between the People's Party and the Beiyang Army. Whether it was the machine gun positions mowing down swathes of Beiyang cavalry like cutting wheat, or the fierce shelling from warships on the river, as well as the burning cities and the storm-like shooting of thousands of People's Party infantry on the city walls. Every time Sun Yongsheng thought of it, he felt fear. The creator of this Beiyang Army nightmare was Chen Ke. It was impossible for Sun Yongsheng not to fear Chen Ke.

Returning to Xuzhou with the Beiyang officers and soldiers, Beiyang had no warhorses, so Sun Yongsheng's position as Cavalry Commander became a thorough sinecure. Sun Yongsheng didn't complain, nor did he volunteer; he just honestly obeyed orders from above. Returning to Beijing with Duan Qirui to admit guilt, Sun Yongsheng also obeyed the order silently. After the Third Division officers were thrown into jail, Sun Yongsheng sat quietly in the corner listening to the uneasy low discussions of other comrades-in-arms. What he thought of was his wife He Qian. Sun Yongsheng regretted a bit; if he had listened to He Qian's suggestion and not participated in the troop dispatch, he certainly wouldn't have fallen to today's state. But he just refused to listen and even took He Qian's advice as malice. It wasn't until He Qian personally went to Anhui to save him that Sun Yongsheng knew at the time how the People's Party would deal with these officer captives. Seeing his wife He Qian's face thinned by the rush, Sun Yongsheng suddenly felt he had a true sense of security. He Qian even returned to Beijing before Sun Yongsheng was released. Sun Yongsheng really wanted to apologize to He Qian after returning home, or at least pour He Qian a cup of tea.

Cixi didn't plan to pursue the responsibility for the Third Division's defeat. On July 3, all officers were released from jail. The Ministry of War ordered these officers to stay in a military camp to await questioning. The characteristic of lax discipline in the Manchu Qing army appeared immediately. That night, except for Duan Qirui, the officers with homes in Beijing all sneaked away completely. Having managed to survive with difficulty, everyone wanted to go home and reunite with their families.

Sun Yongsheng naturally couldn't stay in the military camp. He ran home in the dark. When he knocked open the door of his home, Sun Yongsheng saw that it was actually his father who opened the door. His tears flowed down with a splash. As soon as he entered the door and closed it, Sun Yongsheng only shouted "Dad!" and knelt down to his father.

The joy of the Sun family could be imagined. Sun Yongsheng escaped death and arrived home safely. Sun Yongsheng's parents finally put their hearts back in their stomachs. Sun Yongsheng's mother cried like a tearful person. Although Father Sun wasn't so excited, his face was also full of smiles. He Qian had thinned a lot; seeing Sun Yongsheng return, she sat close to Sun Yongsheng, her face also full of smiles.

However, the reunion couldn't be too long. Although no one cared if he ran home at night, he had to return to the military camp in the morning. The Sun parents let He Qian go to sleep first, and they called Sun Yongsheng into their own room. Old Man Sun gave a rough introduction to the recent situation. Ever since the People's Party publicly executed En Ming, the court was preparing to dispatch troops again and was determined to exterminate the Anhui rebels.

Sun Yongsheng no longer had the high spirits of the last time. He lowered his head and said, "Dad, this time I want to claim illness."

"Claim illness?" Sun Yongsheng's father sneered. "If you claimed illness last time, it would have been fine. This time the court has made such a determination. If you claim illness at this time, are you preparing to let the Sun family die without a burial place?"

"This?" Sun Yongsheng was somewhat puzzled.

Father Sun felt extremely dissatisfied with his son's political immaturity. "Yongsheng, last time you claimed illness, it could be said to be avoiding suspicion. If you claim illness this time, others will say you are fleeing before the battle! Empress Dowager Old Buddha has made up her mind. Those who want to show loyalty, or those who want to make trouble for Lord Yuan, are all holding back their strength. If you claim illness at this time, isn't it seeking death?"

Sun Yongsheng only felt a burst of cold sweat on his back. He nodded hurriedly, "Dad, I know. I definitely won't talk nonsense."

"Not talking may not necessarily get you through this pass. It's not just you; the Sun family has bad luck. Getting stuck with the He family's daughter. Yongsheng, don't want this wife anymore. We are unlucky." Father Sun said with a heavy tone.

Sun Yongsheng was quite unhappy with his father's words, but he absolutely couldn't say his father was wrong. He lowered his head and remained silent, only to hear Old Man Sun say, "Yongsheng, go see your wife. Leave after seeing her. Never let others catch a handle on you; our family can't withstand this anymore."

Seeing Sun Yongsheng enter the room, He Qian stepped forward and hugged Sun Yongsheng, tears already flowing out. "Yongsheng, it's good that you are okay!" He Qian said crying.

"You... you've worked hard." Sun Yongsheng hugged his wife, but couldn't say a single word of what he had originally thought of.

He Qian cried for a while before letting go of Sun Yongsheng. "Yongsheng, go back to the military camp quickly. Absolutely don't come back these days. If the court asks you to dispatch troops, you dispatch troops. Don't say anything; absolutely don't let people catch a handle!"

His wife's instructions made Sun Yongsheng feel overwhelmed with emotion. "Madame, you are so good to me!"

Hearing these intimate words, He Qian's eyes reddened, and tears flowed down again. She said in a low voice, "Yongsheng, we are husband and wife; it is right for me to be good to you. Yongsheng, you must take good care of yourself this time. Absolutely don't act on impulse and let people use you as a knife. The People's Party doesn't kill indiscriminately. If it comes to a critical moment, you must prioritize yourself."

If he heard this before, Sun Yongsheng would immediately fly into a rage. Crawling back from the death line this time, Sun Yongsheng finally knew the value of life. He nodded and said, "Rest assured."

He Qian walked Sun Yongsheng out of the room door but didn't walk him to the main gate. At the main gate was Father Sun. Seeing his son leaving, the old man couldn't bear it in his heart but didn't keep him longer. He said to Sun Yongsheng again, "Yongsheng, don't want this wife anymore. With her here, our Sun family will have to die with her. For the sake of our Sun family, when you come back, we will find you another wife."

Sun Yongsheng wasn't satisfied with his father's view in his heart, but this wasn't the time to argue. He only said, "Dad, you and Mom take care." Then he left the house.

Along the way, recalling his wife's tenderness and reasonableness, Sun Yongsheng felt warm in his heart. However, an uneasy feeling unknowingly began to become intense. Although feeling uneasy, Sun Yongsheng dared not think of the reason. Until approaching the camp gate, Sun Yongsheng couldn't endure it anymore. Recalling his father's words twice, Sun Yongsheng shuddered greatly. "Don't want your wife anymore," his father's words echoed repeatedly in Sun Yongsheng's heart.

Did his parents prepare to divorce He Qian on their own initiative? Sun Yongsheng thought. But if Sun Yongsheng didn't write a divorce letter, this matter wouldn't be easy to handle. At most, they would just drive He Qian out of the house. And He Qian still had relatives in Tianjin; presumably, He Qian still had a maiden home to return to. Even if his parents did so, he could just take He Qian back when the time came. Sun Yongsheng thought. Moreover, with his salary, it wouldn't be difficult to buy a house and live together with He Qian.

Despite making the "worst plan", Sun Yongsheng's feeling of uneasiness showed no sign of subsiding. To put himself at ease, Sun Yongsheng hurried into the military camp.

"Yo, Sun Aunt-husband came back so early?" A nonlocal officer in the same room joked.

If it were in the past, Sun Yongsheng would have retorted a few sentences. This time, with an ashen face, he didn't even take off his clothes. He lay on the bed and pulled the quilt to cover his head. Perhaps because of the echo in the quilt, Sun Yongsheng could clearly hear the thumping sound of his own heart beating. He desperately excluded all thoughts from his mind. Under this peculiar agitated emotion, sleep actually became Sun Yongsheng's refuge, and he fell asleep before long. However, the dreamscape was completely uncontrolled by Sun Yongsheng's rationality. In Sun Yongsheng's dream, He Qian was terrified in pitch-black darkness, and then a bright knife stabbed ruthlessly into He Qian's chest. Sun Yongsheng's body trembled violently; he let out a groan of unclear meaning and woke up with a start.

At this time, the sky outside the window was pitch black. This low groan slightly disturbed the sleep of the officers in the same room. Sun Yongsheng heard one or two officers mutter something, and then amidst deep breathing and slight snoring, they fell asleep again quickly. Sun Yongsheng curled up into a ball on the bed, trembling, and never fell asleep again.

Sun Yongsheng followed the advice of his father and He Qian and never went home again. By July 8, the court ordered the officers of the Third Division to return to Xuzhou quickly to "atone for crimes with meritorious service". On July 9, when boarding the train, the officers in the same carriage looked at Sun Yongsheng with a very strange meaning in their eyes. When the train left Beijing, an officer who usually had a good relationship with Sun Yongsheng secretly took Sun Yongsheng to a corner and whispered to him, "Brother Sun, they all say your wife died. Don't know if it's true."

What surprised this officer was that hearing this news, Sun Yongsheng didn't show the surprise of hearing unexpected news. Sun Yongsheng just widened his eyes, and then the tough man suddenly covered his face and wailed loudly.

It wasn't just the officers of the Third Division going out this time. The newly appointed Viceroy of Huguang, Chen Kuilong, also embarked on the road to assume office extremely reluctantly. This Lord was originally appointed as Viceroy of Sichuan after Zhao Erxun was transferred from Viceroy of Sichuan to Viceroy of Huguang. As a result, Chen Kuilong's wife, Madame Xu, was the "adopted daughter" of Prince Qing Yikuang's Primary Consort. Madame Xu felt that the journey to Sichuan was far away and was unwilling to take office. So she persuaded Prince Qing Yikuang to let Chen Kuilong become the Viceroy of Huguang. The result of this maneuvering really took effect. Because Sichuan was becoming more chaotic by the day, the court originally intended to let Zhao Erxun, who dealt with rebels with an iron fist, return to Sichuan. Chen Kuilong had maneuvered before and greeted various factions in the court. When others were unwilling to take the hot potato of Viceroy of Huguang, Chen Kuilong was appointed as Viceroy of Huguang.

Now Madame Xu panicked. She went to beg her godmother, the Primary Consort of Prince Qing Yikuang. Prince Qing Yikuang told Madame Xu clearly that when seeking the official position for Chen Kuilong back then, the lobbying had reached Empress Dowager Cixi Old Buddha. The Old Buddha approved this matter. Now letting Chen Kuilong take office was ordered by the Old Buddha; this absolutely could not be declined.

Madame Xu knew it couldn't be declined, but she was also unwilling to let her husband Chen Kuilong go to Hubei to die. So Chen Kuilong used the traditional method of "claiming illness". At present, when Zhao Erxun had already hurriedly dumped Wuhan and run all the way to Sichuan, the position of Viceroy of Huguang was actually vacant.

Cixi didn't fly into a rage. She just called Prince Qing Yikuang over and asked if Yikuang should send some medicine to Chen Kuilong. Prince Qing Yikuang wasn't a fool; he immediately rushed to Chen Kuilong and scolded him severely. Chen Kuilong had to hurry to take office. Thinking on the train that life and death were unpredictable after going to Wuhan, Chen Kuilong's wife Madame Xu couldn't help hugging the only beloved daughter of her and Chen Kuilong, crying like a tearful person too.

The Manchu Qing court mobilized officials and troops; a new great war was already on the verge of breaking out.