The weather in October wasn't cold yet. At the border of Henan and Anhui, the temperature hadn't reached a freezing degree. Before the meeting between the leaders of the two largest armed forces in China in 1908, the cavalry of both sides had repeatedly patrolled the surroundings of the meeting place. However, what was a bit embarrassing was that the military horses on both sides bore the Beiyang mark. Those were military horses originally produced by Beiyang and military horses captured by the People's Party.

The location of this meeting was in a pavilion at the junction of Fuyang, Anhui, and Zhoukou, Henan. Both sides inspected the pavilion separately first, then inspected the pavilion jointly. No bombs, no assassins. The almost digging-three-feet-deep inspection was to protect the safety of the leaders of both sides.

The substantive significance of this meeting wasn't great. The meeting of the supreme leaders was just to tell the subordinates on both sides that the direction of cooperation had been reached. The remaining work required a large amount of communication and consultation between the two sides to complete. But its symbolic significance was so great that no comment could be overstated. This was a formal expression of cooperation. No matter how big the differences and conflicts were between Beiyang and the People's Party, based on the common stance of dealing with the Manchu Qing Die-hard Faction, the two sides finally came together.

No matter how cautious the people below were, Yuan Shikai and Chen Ke had no fear. Both of them had experienced too many dangers. Because they bore the fate of too many people, they didn't care about their personal life and death anymore. When it was time to meet, Yuan Shikai and Chen Ke each took two attendants and galloped towards the pavilion from two sides together. Behind both sides were dense cavalrymen eyeing covetously. This wasn't a peaceful meeting.

Neither Yuan Shikai nor Chen Ke planned to have a life-and-death struggle in the pavilion. Dismounting separately, they exchanged greetings in the pavilion, and the two sat down. Yuan Shikai smiled: "Haven't seen Wenqing for a long time; can't remember Wenqing's appearance clearly anymore."

"Lord Yuan is still the same as in Beijing." Chen Ke also replied with a smile.

"Wenqing, there is something I have always been puzzled about. Since you are so anti-Qing, why spend such great effort to negotiate peace with me." Yuan Shikai asked straightforwardly.

Chen Ke smiled: "If Lord Yuan becomes the Grand President, I can bow my head to Lord Yuan. But those chicken-stealing and dog-robbing types of the Manchu Qing are simply not worthy."

Although he knew this was Chen Ke's flattery, Yuan Shikai was still very happy in his heart. He also smiled: "Wenqing is a youth to be regarded with awe; I admire you very much too."

Chen Ke put away his smile, "Lord Yuan, in terms of talent, you are above me, and your experience is even richer. If I have some points that look desirable, it's just that I never follow anyone, so I can act freely. Lord Yuan has lived under Cixi for too long; sometimes you are inevitably overly cautious in doing things, easy to be seized the opportunity by others. But since Lord Yuan has decided to put Beiyang's interests first now, then I have no advantage to speak of."

A person as smart as Yuan Shikai knew the meaning in Chen Ke's words as soon as he heard it, "Wenqing, after all is said and done, you still refuse to let the Manchu Qing go. This persistence is indeed something I can't compare with."

"Without destroying these pests of the Manchu Qing, China will definitely have no way out. In this aspect, Lord Yuan must feel very deeply." Chen Ke replied frankly.

Yuan Shikai just smiled but didn't continue this topic. "Wenqing, since I proposed the marriage for you, I can't ignore the He family's affairs. Rest assured, someone in the capital is taking care of the He family."

Chen Ke wasn't too surprised by Yuan Shikai's statement, "Then many thanks to Lord Yuan. If Lord Yuan has any orders, if I can do it, I will definitely serve Lord Yuan."

Yuan Shikai originally wanted Chen Ke to do something, so he also went straight to the topic, "You killed En Ming; the dead cannot come back to life. But can you send En Ming's coffin and his family here together. So I can have an explanation for the people in the capital."

"Does Lord Yuan want anyone else?" Chen Ke continued to ask.

"Oh? Whom does Wenqing want?" Yuan Shikai smiled. This kind of transaction was one-to-one; you yield one to me, I yield one to you. Chen Ke opened his mouth first, so Yuan Shikai had an excellent grasp of the asking price.

"The Guangfu Society has quite a connection with our People's Party. When I was in Shanghai, Mr. Qiu Jin took care of me in many ways. Since Commander Duan under Lord Yuan conquered Zhejiang, can you return Mr. Qiu to me?" Even if Chen Ke couldn't let the Guangfu Society participate in this change dominating the situation of the whole China, he was unwilling to ignore the Guangfu Society. Not to mention anything else, Tao Chengzhang had been making a fuss at Chen Ke's place for a while; Chen Ke had to help no matter what.

This request wasn't a small problem. Yuan Shikai didn't think of how to ask Chen Ke for a price for a moment. What Chen Ke demanded was actually not just Qiu Jin alone. If Qiu Jin was released, other captured Guangfu Society personnel couldn't be killed either. As far as Yuan Shikai knew, hundreds of people were captured. After thinking, Yuan Shikai replied: "Wenqing, you ask for Guangfu people; I can give you Qiu Jin. I can even give you those hundreds of captured people. But if I give you the people, you have to guarantee that the Guangfu Society won't return to Zhejiang within a year. They can't cause trouble for my Third Division."

This requirement was also quite excessive. Chen Ke refused directly, "It is a private matter between me and Mr. Qiu, not official business. So I can't intervene in the Guangfu Society's affairs."

Yuan Shikai could understand Chen Ke's thoughts very well. He nodded, "In that case, I can release Qiu Jin. But please, Wenqing, bring a message to the Guangfu Society people for me, let them send someone to see me. And I also ask now, the matters between me and the Guangfu Society, does Wenqing want to intervene?"

"Since I have an agreement with Lord Yuan, wherever Lord Yuan goes, I will not intervene." Chen Ke replied immediately.

Yuan Shikai laughed loudly, "Wenqing is indeed a man of his word."

Many people always thought the meeting of supreme leaders would talk about profound things. Actually, the negotiation between the two sides was just stating basic positions to each other; specific details wouldn't be discussed by the two sides at all. The two just needed to assign specific affairs to subordinates. Instead, some private matters closely related to the leaders of both sides could be discussed openly and honestly. Chen Ke couldn't send someone to rescue his father-in-law's family and Qiu Jin in Beijing. It was obviously unrealistic for Yuan Shikai to lead troops into the Base Area to seize the coffin of Prince Qing's son-in-law En Ming. As for personally sending a message to the Guangfu Society, it was even less likely to be effective. So in this meeting, there was an opportunity to solve these tricky small matters instead.

Since quite a few positions were determined and respective private matters were solved, the two agreed on the person responsible for specific contact for their own side next step, and then bid farewell.

The protagonists of the meeting were relaxed and at ease, but those who came with them were extremely nervous one by one. Whether it was the People's Party cavalry or the Beiyang cavalry, the officers strictly ordered absolute discipline. But while strictly preventing their own people from causing misunderstandings on the other side, they also had to monitor at all times if the other side had unusual movements. Although the meeting time wasn't long, everyone in the cavalry teams on both sides was sweating profusely. Seeing the leader of their side return safely, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Lord Yuan, what exactly did that Chen Ke say?" It was Cao Kun who accompanied Yuan Shikai. Duan Qirui wasn't there; Wang Shizhen had to sit in Henanfu. Although Cao Kun had a rougher nature, he was an excellent guard commander and cavalry commander. But the characteristic of rough nature was also shown at this time. If it were Wang Shizhen or Duan Qirui who came along, the two of them would absolutely not ask such a low-level question.

Yuan Shikai snorted, "Come over in a few days to transport En Ming's coffin back to Henan for me."

"Just these?" Cao Kun continued to ask. Ever since learning about the political arrangement of the Federation of Autonomous Provinces, Cao Kun had been full of interest in it. Among the Beiyang generals, Cao Kun was the first to take the initiative to run to find Feng Xu to pry for news. After learning in more detail about the powerful autonomy possessed by the provincial supervisors after the Federation of Autonomous Provinces, Cao Kun was elated. Even the frontier officials of the Manchu Qing never had such great power. Asking Cao Kun to betray Yuan Shikai, he naturally didn't have the guts. But as long as he could get Yuan Shikai's approval and become a Military Governor of a province in the future, that would be a genuine local emperor.

Therefore, in the negotiation with the People's Party, Cao Kun tried his best to show the attitude of following Yuan Shikai's lead, and at the same time firmly hoped to implement the political model of the Federation of Autonomous Provinces.

Yuan Shikai knew this clearly in his heart. Cao Kun just showed it plainly because he had shallow depth. Regardless of what attitude the Beiyang generals held towards the People's Party, they had a strong interest in the Federation of Autonomous Provinces. On this point, as long as Yuan Shikai dared to promise territory to these people, they would dare to go through a mountain of knives and a sea of fire, doing anything to the Manchu Qing and all forces daring to prevent this group from gaining status. This could also be said to be "morale available" in a sense, but Yuan Shikai wanted to smile bitterly. The human heart was just so fragile. No wonder Chen Ke could rise in such a short time; even Feng Xu, who defected to Chen Ke halfway, didn't show such impatient desire.

"Hmph, go back." Yuan Shikai threw a cold face to Cao Kun and urged his horse to leave. Receiving this treatment, Cao Kun sobered up a bit instead. He shouted to the horse team, then followed closely behind Yuan Shikai without saying a word and galloped away.

After Chen Ke returned to Fengtai County, the cadres of the People's Party Central Committee had all rushed back to Fengtai County. For the central meeting Chen Ke held at that time, the Central Committee attendance only reached the minimum limit. Now Chen Ke issued an order; all Central Committee members across the country who could come back must come back for the meeting. After the news spread to various places, except for the troops currently in Hubei who really couldn't get away and only sent a Central Committee member and a Party Committee representative back to the Base Area, Shang Yuan, Chen Tianhua, and others from the Shandong Base Area rushed back to the Base Area hurriedly.

The magnitude of this change could be said to be a bolt from the blue. One moment they were fighting to the death with Yuan Shikai, and in the blink of an eye, the two sides reached an agreement. Let alone comrades who didn't participate in the last meeting, even comrades who participated in the last meeting felt it was incredible.

"The recent military work is like this. Before Yuan Shikai leads troops north, we mainly carry out the work of seizing Hubei and Jiangxi. Once Yuan Shikai goes north, we withdraw the troops in Zhili immediately. Then enter northern Jiangsu to fight. Seize the Subei area centered on Xuzhou. And seize Lianyungang." Chen Ke proposed the military strategy.

Quite a few comrades thought the People's Party's peace negotiation was a disguised surrender. Hearing Chen Ke's arrangement, this worry was eliminated immediately. According to this arrangement, the attack range of the troops far exceeded the previous plan. The scale of military operations was several times larger.

Hua Xiongmao originally broke out in a cold sweat hearing Chen Ke wanted to "negotiate peace" with Yuan Shikai. Now hearing the plan, he couldn't help laughing: "Chairman Chen, you are going to tire us out."

"If this can tire you to death, then I think future work can tire everyone back to life." Chen Ke laughed, "In the eight to ten years starting from now. We will have countless work to do. Party building, agriculture, industry, education in the new Base Areas. And war preparations for liberating the whole of China. Everyone be prepared to work yourselves to death."

Hearing about liberating the whole of China, a cold light flashed in Zhang Yu's eyes, "Chairman Chen, eight to ten years later, Beiyang will already occupy a comprehensive advantage. At that time, we work ourselves to death, I'm afraid it will just be serving as a dish for Beiyang."

"Comrade Zhang Yu, your words are wrong. Beiyang can't beat us now; it's even less possible for them to beat us in the future." Hua Xiongmao immediately began to refute.

"Even if we expand now, it's just four times the current territory. What Beiyang controls then will be the whole of China. Are we that awesome? One fighting ten." Zhang Yu had a very tit-for-tat attitude.

"How many people were we when we just arrived in Anhui? Just over a hundred people. Anhui has more than ten million population. According to your statement, we really are that awesome; one has to fight ten thousand." Hua Xiongmao immediately retorted sarcastically.

Being caught in a logical error by Hua Xiongmao, Zhang Yu didn't fly into a rage out of humiliation. He asked Chen Ke: "Chairman Chen, I don't understand. Even if we cooperate with Beiyang temporarily, we don't need to give up the area south of the Yangtze River. Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Liangguang. It's not like we can't conquer them."

This view had a lot of market in the center. The People's Party's illustrious military exploits were where the confidence of all comrades lay. Just arrived at the Base Area with a hundred people, in just over three years, they had beaten the Manchu Qing until only Beiyang remained as a mobile force. Any province only had the share of shivering in front of the People's Party. The Central Base Area already had three divisions with sixty thousand men, and the Shandong Base Area also had more than four thousand cavalry; they were roaming Zhili with thousands of Jianghu heroes. Burning, killing, and looting under Beijing city. With such power, the People's Party had no reason to bow and scrape to Beiyang.

But the one formulating this plan was Chen Ke. Within the Party, you could question anyone for being timid and fearful. But only Chen Ke couldn't be questioned for being timid and fearful. Chen Ke led comrades to complete military actions one after another that they dared not even think of: Long-distance raid on Anqing, annihilation of Li Yuanhong by land and water, breaking three-route siege, wiping out Duan Qirui and Wang Shizhen. If questioning Chen Ke was wrong, everyone felt that questioning themselves as wrong made them more reassured.

Chen Ke nodded slightly with a sullen face. Everyone knew this was the behavior Chen Ke often had before saying words that shocked comrades. Sure enough, a trace of sarcastic expression appeared on Chen Ke's face. His voice was calm at first, but in the process of speaking, it quickly became intense, "Comrades, the enemy we face is not just the Manchu Qing. As China, we are to compete with the whole world. Everyone thinks our sixty or seventy thousand people are amazing. Within the scope of China, we can say so. But in Europe, a tiny country can mobilize an army of three to five million. The equipment of every soldier in this army is not worse than ours, and the artillery possessed by every division of this army is several times more than the artillery possessed by our entire Base Area!"

Chen Ke's voice vibrated the entire conference room like thunder. And this scene he described left all comrades, including Zhang Yu, speechless.

"Yes, we have a population of over twelve million. But these sixty thousand soldiers have reached our limit. These sixty thousand troops fight north to Henan, west to Hubei, east to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, south to Jiangxi; this reaches the limit. The entire south of the Yangtze River? Fighting south to the southernmost part of Jiangxi, the food supply will be cut off. Now everyone feels we seem to hit wherever we point; that's because we rely on water transport. Without these captured small steamboats, how do you transport troops and grain? Breaking away from water supply, walking on mountain roads can drag ourselves to death! What to do without food? Do we become bandits?"

All comrades who once optimistically estimated the revolutionary situation wilted; even Zhang Yu lowered his head. But Zhang Yu was Zhang Yu after all; he raised his head quickly, "Chairman Chen, what I said earlier was wrong. I will never have such wrong thoughts again in the future; I reflect."

Chen Ke nodded. He let out a breath, calming his agitated emotions, and then continued: "Comrades, revolution is in stages. Just like primary school has primary school lessons, middle school has middle school lessons; when you get to university, you not only have to learn knowledge but also learn research methods. Just like we are now in these few small river ditches, such a tiny broken boat is enough. Even these few broken boats, we can't build them ourselves now. Revolution is not just overthrowing counter-revolutionaries but also learning construction. This construction is not just industry and agriculture; in the future, there must also be ideological construction. I personally think, in the next eight to ten years, can we build this piece of land we circled to the level of Europe? I think we can't even do that."

Among the cadres here, Yan Fu and Pu Guanshui had been abroad to see. After listening, they nodded slowly. Chen Ke's standard was really not low. If this piece of land could reach the level of Europe, unifying China would really be a matter of snapping fingers.

"In Europe, with such a large territory and so many people, that would have to be a Germany. The country of Germany, when mobilized, the army can have 3 million, tens of thousands of artillery pieces. The navy can have hundreds of warships of several thousand tons. Warships of ten thousand tons can number forty or fifty. One such warship requires tens of thousands of tons of steel. That is to say, the steel Germany uses just for building warships is ten million tons. Ten million tons, comrades. Up to now, the steel used by our entire Base Area is not much, and iron is even less. Adding up, it's less than two hundred thousand tons. Only one-fiftieth of Germany. Just expanding territory without engaging in construction won't work."

The central comrades originally had various attitudes, but now they were all scared by this huge gap. Everyone was silent. Those who originally wanted to follow Zhang Yu to question Chen Ke felt ashamed and wished to bury their heads under the table.

"Eight to ten years time, everyone work hard; I think an annual steel output of three million tons is still achievable. And in this large new Base Area, if children can all go to school, plus adults start learning, I think millions, or even tens of millions of high school students, I think can still be had." Chen Ke's tone became much more soothing at this time, no longer indignant, but trying his best to persuade the comrades. And this number proposed by Chen Ke, while stimulating comrades greatly, also brought great hope and confidence to comrades. Producing three million tons of steel a year, although sounding exaggerated, this was said by Chen Ke. Invisibly, it made comrades feel a possibility of realization.

Chen Ke continued to calm his emotions before continuing: "But to engage in such large-scale construction, we need a peaceful environment. If China's power holder is the Manchu Qing, then resolutely no; even if not engaging in construction, we must knock out the Manchu Qing first. If the nominal ruler is Beiyang, I think it is acceptable. After all, Beiyang is also a relatively modern group; they also know how to engage in industry and construction. Moreover, Beiyang comes from a Westernization background; they know how to deal with countries around the world. On this point, we still have to learn from Beiyang. And these people in Beiyang, deep in their bones, are not traitors. If conditions permit, they will also do their best to maintain China's interests. The final result of the revolution will definitely be our People's Party obtaining the final leadership, but we must be able to endure the long and arduous process during the revolution."

"Chairman Chen, how do we deal with Beiyang in the future? According to what you say, they have advanced nature." The one asking was Chen Tianhua. This once "radical" revolutionary was already the Director of the Political Department of the Shandong Base Area. When other comrades dared not make a sound, Chen Tianhua wasn't scared.

Chen Ke finally had a smile. He replied: "Beiyang has advanced nature. The knowledge they possess now, and many methods they will adopt in the future, have places we can learn from. However, Beiyang's system is too backward compared to our system. My view on Beiyang is: watch him build a red tower, watch him entertain guests, watch his tower collapse."

"Haha." Some comrades with a relatively strong sense of humor couldn't help laughing upon hearing these last words. Chen Ke's contempt for Beiyang boosted everyone's confidence a lot.

Seeing the dull and depressing feeling dissipate a lot, Chen Ke returned to his usual calmness, "Comrades, construction is harder than destruction. To advance the revolution most effectively, I think practicing internal strength hard is the most important. Reviewing our revolutionary work in these three years, the power spent on construction far exceeded the power consumed in military struggle. It can be said that without these constructions, there would be no military victories of ours time and again. Without our deep and extensive combination with the people, it would be impossible to have such a vast Base Area now, let alone so many troops. We are now about to step onto the political stage of the entire China, and in the future, onto the larger stage of the entire world. I think it is necessary for us to strengthen our construction capabilities even more. This is the fundamental reason why I think we should reach an agreement with Beiyang."

Yan Fu began to applaud, followed by Pu Guanshui, Hua Xiongmao, Yuwen Badu, Ren Qiying. Soon all central comrades began to applaud enthusiastically. Chen Ke didn't fail the comrades' trust; he still fulfilled the responsibility a party leader should bear, choosing the path for the party and explaining the reasons to the Party Central Committee.

Chen Ke waved his hand, and the applause subsided quickly. According to custom, Chen Ke should continue to fulfill his obligation to the Party Central Committee, formulating execution steps with comrades after determining the direction.

"Comrades, now we seem to have reached an agreement with Beiyang, but we must also be prepared for Beiyang to turn hostile at any time. Preparations for military struggle cannot be relaxed at all. The organization of Beiyang is originally a very loose alliance. Yuan Shikai is used to being a slave; if you let him rise to be the master of the house himself, he is very unaccustomed to it. Maybe he will give you a case of one step forward, three steps back. We cannot harbor illusions about them."

As soon as Chen Ke finished these words, the conference room roared with laughter. This was the Chen Ke everyone was familiar with, the leader who would absolutely not entrust the Party's fate to others. Also the leader to whom everyone was willing to entrust their lives and fortunes.