Yuan Shikai had always thought that Chen Ke didn't like playing petty tricks, but he was indeed somewhat cunning. For example, in every proposal of Chen Ke, the things Chen Ke got seemed much less than Yuan Shikai, but looking at input and output, the effort Chen Ke spent was also much less. Whether these proposals could maximize Yuan Shikai's interests was still uncertain, but Chen Ke's interests were definitely maximized. To the extent that Yuan Shikai sometimes thought, it would be great if Chen Ke could make selfless contributions a few times.

But Yuan Shikai really wasn't angry at all. Yuan Shikai's overall goal was too grand to be completed by Beiyang alone. He had to coordinate inside and outside and start from multiple directions to solve the problem. The more cards available, the better. So Yuan Shikai not only had to cooperate with the People's Party but even had to swallow his pride and cooperate with a revolutionary party like the Guangfu Society.

In contrast, Cai Yuanpei went to see Yuan Shikai for the second time with the thought of preparing to suffer all kinds of humiliation. This time he lost the previous thought of "nothing more than death" and finally "lowered his noble head". However, what actually happened was completely different from what Cai Yuanpei imagined.

Yuan Shikai asked what exactly Cai Yuanpei planned to do coming here this time. Cai Yuanpei stated he came to ask Yuan Shikai to release the captured comrades of the Guangfu Society. Yuan Shikai stated that as long as the Guangfu Society promised not to cause trouble for the Third Division within a year, he could immediately let Duan Qirui release the people right away.

Cai Yuanpei was confused at that time. Let alone Yuan Shikai agreeing so readily, even the condition for release left too much room for imagination. "Not causing trouble for the Third Division within a year"; if considered optimistically, that meant the Third Division didn't want to create friction with the Guangfu Society either. "Lord Yuan, what exactly do you mean?" Cai Yuanpei's surprise this time wasn't faked.

Yuan Shikai picked up a map and casually drew a line in southern Zhejiang, "It's obviously unrealistic to ask you not to clamor for revolution. If you want to make trouble, make trouble south of here for a year. But if you dare to cross this line, don't blame my Beiyang for being impolite."

Cai Yuanpei wondered if he heard wrong, or did Yuan Shikai have some unspeakable evil conspiracy? Such a condition was ten thousand times better than what the Guangfu Society envisioned themselves. The less than two thousand remaining people of the Guangfu Society were mostly hiding in the Anhui People's Party's territory. These people couldn't even make a big fuss in a prefecture, let alone the whole of Zhejiang. The territory Yuan Shikai casually marked out was enough for the Guangfu Society to toss about. Could it be that Yuan Shikai wanted to concentrate the Guangfu Society in one place to implement total annihilation?

"Then what plans does the Third Division have?" Cai Yuanpei asked.

"Whether you believe it or not, my Beiyang Third Division just wants to maintain the situation in Zhejiang. As long as you don't cause trouble, the Third Division has no time to pay attention to you. But if you make such a fuss again, and the Third Division starts fighting again, there won't be such preferential treatment." Yuan Shikai replied.

Cai Yuanpei's mind fell completely into a confused state. Normally speaking, this kind of thing was a friendly truce gesture. But why did Beiyang want a truce with the Guangfu Society? Could this be the agreement reached between the People's Party and Beiyang? Various thoughts were tangled; Cai Yuanpei really had no choice but to ask a relatively simple question, "Then what about after a year?"

"Who knows what it will become after a year? We'll talk about it then." Yuan Shikai replied, "How about it, do you agree?"

"This..." Cai Yuanpei wanted to say let me find someone to discuss it, but felt the news obtained now was too hard to understand; he hoped to get more detailed intelligence.

Yuan Shikai had no time to tangle with Cai Yuanpei. He said coldly: "If you want to find someone to discuss, go back and find someone now. Whether you agree or not, give me a definite answer tomorrow morning. Tomorrow afternoon you go back to Zhejiang for me; I don't want to see you again."

Cai Yuanpei returned to the station completely muddled. Discussing with the Guangfu Society comrades, everyone was also stunned. The crowd had various guesses and speculations, but none understood what exactly Yuan Shikai wanted to do. After a long discussion, Tao Chengzhang finally made up his mind, "Gentlemen, the foundation of our Guangfu Society is in southern Zhejiang anyway. Regardless of what Beiyang thinks, as long as we can save our comrades back, we retreat to the south to regroup. Within a year, everyone will only have enough time to recover vitality. If Beiyang is willing to abide by this agreement, that is naturally the best. If they refuse to abide, we will fight them to the end."

No one had a better way either. Dreaming about the future of Zhejiang in Henan was completely a matter of being suspended in mid-air. The Guangfu Society quickly made the decision to cooperate temporarily with Beiyang. They reported the result to Yuan Shikai, and Yuan Shikai sent people to take the Guangfu Society members back to Hangzhou.

Yan Fu left a day earlier than the Guangfu Society. He rushed back to Fengtai County to report on his mission. As soon as he entered the Party Central Committee office, Qi Huishen rushed up immediately, his face full of urgency, "Mr. Yan, it's great that you are back. We lack translators."

"Translators? Did some foreign literature and materials come over?" Yan Fu immediately became excited. The People's Party had already begun collecting foreign technical books and materials; some things coming back successively made Yan Fu very satisfied.

"Not materials. A bunch of foreign devils came." Qi Huishen said with an excited look.

Chen Ke's office wasn't big, so he and Pu Guanshui and a few other cadres received the foreign devils in the conference hall. Yan Fu took a shortcut from the side room into the conference room. He saw the side room was changed into a small meeting room. Besides a few stools, there were actually teapots, snacks, sugar, and honey on the table. Although the conditions were very simple, the things that should be in a diplomatic talk lounge were all there. He saw three or four foreign devils sitting around there, sipping tea with expressions of appreciation or dissatisfaction from teacups; some also dipped small snacks in honey and put them into their mouths. And they were communicating in foreign languages in low voices.

This was the situation Chen Ke arranged according to the description of the Mafia national meeting in New York in "The Godfather". It must be said that apart from not being luxurious enough, the basic layout was correct.

There were also a few foreign devils inside the conference room. Chen Ke and Pu Guanshui, along with several cadres, sat around the large conference table used for People's Party Party Committee meetings. A cup of tea was placed in front of everyone, and there was a large glass water pitcher. The returned students in the Base Area were mostly "German-made". Upon introduction, inside the room were British and German diplomatic personnel; in the outer room were French and Russian representatives.

"Mr. Yan, how is your French?" Chen Ke asked Yan Fu secretly.

As a senior naval officer and great translator, Yan Fu knew quite a few foreign languages. "I don't know Russian." Yan Fu also replied in a low voice.

"Russian hairy ones speak French; knowing English, French, and German is enough. Especially French; no one among us knows it." Chen Ke continued to say in a low voice. In these years, French was the lingua franca of the diplomatic world. In Europe, if a non-French high-level person knew French, that meant they had status. Besides that, knowing Latin meant culture and upbringing. If one knew Greek and Italian too, damn, one came from a scholarly family. This was a relatively formal diplomatic meeting; the foreign devils all brought their own embassy translators.

This wasn't the first time the Base Area received foreigners. After retaking Anqing, the British had sent someone to ask Zhang Yu, the Secretary of the Anqing Prefectural Committee, if the British fleet could dock in Anqing. The Central Committee's reply to Zhang Yu at that time was "Tell the British they can dock." But the British fleet never came. After all, Anqing was a war zone; the British didn't want to look for trouble. Since the People's Party in Anqing had no hostility towards the British, the British didn't think it necessary to intervene in China's civil war either. For such performance, the Central Committee was also happy to be at leisure. When the situation was mixed, foreign intervention undoubtedly added more variables to the already chaotic situation.

Hankou had concessions. In the hinterland of China, the consulates of various countries were quite complete. The last Russian Tsar Nicholas II visited Hankou in 1891, attending the 25th anniversary celebration of the Shuntai Brick Tea Factory opened by Russian tea merchants, and on a whim donated money to build an Orthodox church. The People's Party's military disaster relief action in Hubei couldn't avoid foreigners at all. The People's Party had once forced Yan Fu to train some people in foreign languages. Then these people either arrived in Wuhan in advance or followed the main force to Hubei later. Those remaining in the Base Area also went to work in local areas, leaving only comrades like Chen Ke, Qi Huishen, and Pu Guanshui who knew foreign languages themselves here.

Since the People's Party had no translators, a few cadres who knew foreign languages had to go into battle personally. As soon as Yan Fu came back, everyone immediately felt they had a backbone in the translation world. With everyone present, the meeting that was interrupted for a time continued.

In the 21st century, you could go to many places knowing American English. In the early 20th century, Chen Ke's Manhattan accent from New York TV dramas, although fluent, made a slightly contemptuous smile appear on the face of the British representative. Yan Fu knew what the British were laughing at; in the eyes of the British, Americans were a bunch of barbarians. Moreover, in 1908, Americans actually also thought they were not as civilized as the British when facing them.

Unexpectedly, the Hanyang Consular Corps came here primarily to express gratitude. Wuhan flooded; water was several feet deep everywhere. Even if the water receded, a lot of things had to be cleaned up. The Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army didn't march into the concessions but cleaned up the areas outside the concessions. This was the first time in the history of Hanyang opening as a treaty port that the cleanliness of ordinary residential areas exceeded that of the concessions.

Not only that, following the experience summarized in Anhui disaster relief, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army gathered victims, rectified order, restored industry, and engaged in agricultural production self-help. The disaster-stricken areas in Hubei settled down quickly. Floods easily induced plagues; the People's Party not only had to let everyone survive but also prevent epidemics and treat diseases. The "Refugee Camps" effectively ensured safety and hygiene; on the contrary, an epidemic broke out inside the concessions. Concession hospitals and medical personnel were insufficient, so they had to ask the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army for help.

The Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army didn't care about a few more patients. If not treated in time, this bunch of people would become a source of disease. Seeming high above and ignoring others' life and death, the unlucky ones in the end would still be themselves.

Once the two sides connected, subsequent problems naturally appeared. Foreign diplomatic corps knew there was such a rebel army in Anhui, China. But this rebel army obviously avoided dealing with foreigners. Apart from collecting information, they were unwilling to look for trouble either. But the rebels finally began to take over the actual control of the three towns of Wuhan, so the Hankou Consular Corps required the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army to express its attitude towards foreign countries clearly.

He Zudao and the Party Committee had no attitude towards foreigners. In the short term, the Party Committee hoped foreigners wouldn't cause trouble for everyone during the process of the People's Party seizing Hubei. In the long term, everyone hoped the foreign devils would piss off home. So they only said they maintained public security; other things would be talked about after the flood ended.

When Chen Ke held the Central Plenary Session last time, the Hubei side reported this issue to Chen Ke. Chen Ke told the Hubei comrades to tell the Hankou Consular Corps after returning that if they wanted to determine relations, they could form a group to come to Fengtai County. Chen Ke originally thought the consular corps would send someone to contact first. Heaven knows what He Zudao and the others said; the consular corps immediately dispatched a formal diplomatic team to Fengtai County.

Regarding the gratitude of the consular corps, Chen Ke expressed that within its own territory, the People's Party had the obligation to protect everyone's safety. Chen Ke also expressed appreciation that the consular corps didn't show hostile actions. Towards Chen Ke's decent but raw diplomatic rhetoric, the consular corps wasn't too surprised. In the news they got from the Manchu Qing, the People's Party was a group of bandits. Because they completely failed to understand the difference between the People's Party and the Yue Wang Society, the consular corps once agreed with the Manchu Qing's view very much.

It wasn't until the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army entered the three towns of Wuhan that the consular corps knew this rebel army wasn't bandits but a regular army with organization and discipline. Only then did they send a formal diplomatic team to Fengtai County. Riding in open-top tugboats, seeing the tall water towers erected in many cities along the way, the diplomatic team agreed again that the People's Party was definitely not a peasant army but a political force with a certain industrialization attitude. Chen Ke's stiff statement, which could still be considered in line with diplomatic norms, didn't surprise the diplomatic team.

"Then will your side abide by the treaties?" This was the question all consular corps wanted to know most.

Chen Ke knew they were talking about the various treaties signed by the Manchu Qing. Beforehand, Chen Ke also had various assumptions, but he didn't expect this day would actually appear before him in this way, "We are in a hostile state with the Manchu Qing, so we have no obligation to abide by these treaties."

Chen Ke loved watching light American TV dramas. This stuff was okay for ordinary conversation, but not enough for diplomatic occasions. So Chen Ke used Chinese, and the old handsome man Yan Fu translated with a British Naval College accent. Obviously, this content surprised the consular corps, but the accent was appreciated by the British among them.

"Not only do we have no obligation to abide by these treaties, but for any hostile action within our controlled area, we have the right to counterattack. If your side can guarantee neutrality, we can maintain the status quo."

Not only the diplomatic corps, but the People's Party comrades attending the meeting also looked at Chen Ke with very serious expressions. This wasn't a nakedly hostile remark, nor was it a friendly remark. If looked at with Chinese thinking, this was telling the other party, "You obey me. If you obey, I'll deal with you later. If you don't obey, I'll deal with you now."

"That is to say, your side won't abide by these treaties?" The diplomatic personnel of the consular corps confirmed this question again.

"This has nothing to do with abiding or not abiding. First of all, we are not a participant in this treaty; these treaties have nothing to do with us. We have the obligation to guarantee the personal and property safety of Chinese and foreigners within our control range. Gentlemen are diplomatic personnel; we also have the obligation to guarantee gentlemen's personal safety. But we have no obligation to recognize a treaty we never participated in."

Revolutionaries from urban backgrounds in the People's Party once hated the Manchu Qing's "treaties of national betrayal and humiliation" to the bone, although everyone actually hadn't read these treaties. But facing such a group of foreign devils from the diplomatic corps, listening to Chen Ke explicitly reject the foreign devils' request, everyone felt considerable pressure in their hearts uncontrollably.

Yan Fu, acting as translator, wasn't afraid. What Chen Ke said were extremely normal basic diplomatic concepts. However, Yan Fu really wanted to know what kind of foreign treaties Chen Ke wanted to sign with foreign countries.

The foreign devils of the diplomatic corps never expected that in such an inland small county town, the leader of the People's Party would actually use such a stance to deal with them. Moreover, Chen Ke wasn't wrong; the People's Party was now a "rebel army", not an equal political entity with official relations with Europe and America. Except for using force, the diplomatic corps had no possibility of making Chen Ke abide by the treaties.

According to reason, when they encountered Chen Ke, they should have made demands or protests to the Manchu Qing, asking the Manchu Qing to solve the rebel problem. Although according to the consistent practice of Europe and America, if the Manchu Qing couldn't solve the problem, they would find a way to go into battle shirtless themselves. But in the current situation, the diplomatic corps didn't think it had reached such a degree.

"Can we adjourn temporarily?" The leading British diplomatic personnel said.

"OK." Chen Ke replied. This vulgar English made the diplomatic personnel of various countries frown uncontrollably.

"Chairman Chen, what will these people think?" Pu Guanshui asked somewhat worriedly.

"What to think? Simple. They want us to be obedient. If we are not obedient, they will fight over." Chen Ke answered very clearly.

Pu Guanshui was startled by Chen Ke's words. The People's Party was now in a situation of heavy outside and light inside. All capable troops were basically on the outer lines. Inside the Base Area, there was only a 106th Division in training. Dealing with Yuan Shikai might be okay, but if the foreign devils fought over from the Yangtze River, once Yuan Shikai turned hostile, the Base Area really couldn't hold. Feeling timid in his heart, his words naturally became timid, "Until now, we haven't had any conflict with foreigners." Pu Guanshui couldn't help blurting out a sentence.

Chen Ke didn't criticize Pu Guanshui. It would be a very late matter for the Party to have full contact and conflict with foreign forces. Now was the day when imperialism was arrogant. Although he didn't think they would meet foreigners with weapons at the current stage, Chen Ke was also a bit nervous in his heart. Seeing the anxious looks of the comrades, Chen Ke still said: "This conflict is not a life-and-death battle between our two sides. The British want to dominate the situation in the Yangtze River basin; that is to say, they believe the situation in these areas must conform to British interests. After our People's Party appeared here, a large part of the area broke away from British control; they are naturally unhappy. Asking about the treaties is to see if we are willing to abide by the rules set by the British for this belt."

Yan Fu, Pu Guanshui, and Qi Huishen all understood foreign countries relatively well. If Chai Qingguo were here now, he would probably bristle with anger immediately and want to fight the British to the death. But these three wouldn't.

"Then what exactly does Chairman Chen plan?" Qi Huishen asked.

"The plan is simple. If they want to blackmail us, there is no door. However, we welcome normal business. If they pretend to be tough and fight up, we fight them! How many years has it been since the Boer War? If the British really forgot the pain after the scar healed, we will give them another one." Speaking to the end, Chen Ke's tone was already somewhat murderous.

"But our troops are all on the outer lines now." Pu Guanshui finally voiced his worry.

Regarding this question, Chen Ke sneered, "Outer lines? Why is it the Wuhan Consular Corps coming this time? Why not the Shanghai Consular Corps, or the Beijing Diplomatic Corps? Because our troops are in Wuhan now, and our troops themselves occupy a huge advantage. This bunch of people were scared, so they ran here. Do you really think they ran here excitedly to coerce us?"

Changing the angle, all worries changed immediately. Pu Guanshui's eyes lit up instantly.

While speaking, Chen Ke's train of thought also turned this corner, and his expression finally smoothed out, "That's why they want to question whether we abide by the treaties the Manchu Qing signed with them. This bunch of people has no negotiation authorization at all, nor are they qualified to sign any legal documents with us. Even if they sign, the legal effect is minimal. We don't need to be afraid at all."

After determining their bottom line, the People's Party comrades quickly discussed the result. The negotiation convened again. No matter how the people opposite coerced and bribed, the People's Party's attitude remained consistent. Since the People's Party didn't participate in those negotiations, those agreements had no binding force on the People's Party. The People's Party could only reach an agreement with protecting normal life and work as the bottom line. If wanting to sign agreements on politics and economy, the People's Party would only negotiate with the persons in charge of the British, French, German, and Russian embassies. Chen Ke also used a term that was hard for Yan Fu to translate, "subject of law unclear", to deal with these diplomatic personnel.

After several seesaw battles and halftime breaks, this group of diplomatic personnel finally gave up the thought of scaring Chen Ke. They proposed to visit the Base Area. Chen Ke told them that this was a war zone now, implementing a military management system. Before the war came to an end, Chen Ke couldn't provide help in this regard.

In the final stage, these diplomatic personnel finally talked about a pragmatic matter. What was the People's Party's view on foreign warships entering ports controlled by the People's Party. "I said before, we think maintaining the status quo is beneficial to all parties. In the case where no hostile situation occurs, we think it is necessary to maintain the status quo."

The meaning in these words was very rich. The foreign devil diplomatic personnel exchanged glances; their minimum diplomatic goal had been achieved. These people then stood up to congratulate Chen Ke, praising Chen Ke's attitude as pragmatic and constructive.

As the host, Chen Ke concluded with "Our two sides had a frank conversation, fully exchanged views, enhanced mutual understanding; the meeting was beneficial."

In the cafeteria, rice was served for every participant, and several dishes very common in the Base Area were served. They were all rural flavors, heavy oil and strong taste, very fragrant and rich. Each person was given a bottle of "Erdao Brew", an alcohol-blended ordinary shochu prepared for external sales by the Base Area. Although there was no band, the Russian hairy ones praised this wine endlessly as soon as they tasted it, pouring it down bottle after bottle. British and German diplomatic personnel praised the farm dishes highly. The French were pickier eaters, so Chen Ke talked about French dishes he had heard of, like herb lamb chops, Provence bouillabaisse, and red wine cheese fondue. Speaking of French gourmet food, the Frenchmen also had to brag a few sentences about French dishes. This bragging brought appetite, and with appetite, saliva surged out. Chen Ke wasn't blindly polite, praising the Base Area dishes as delicious. And honestly, these dishes were really not bad. Finally, even the French ate their fill.

Giving gifts before leaving. Needless to say, for the Russian hairy ones, it was a case of wine. For other countries, they gave cigarettes and silk from the Base Area. Chen Ke also gave a few pig bristle toothbrushes from the Base Area. Then he talked big about how good the Base Area silk was and how durable the pig bristles were. The diplomatic personnel naturally understood what it meant. "Mr. Chen, we hope to see you again in Wuhan. At that time we can return the invitation once."

"I will definitely send someone over as soon as possible." Chen Ke expressed his view very seriously.