"Lu Huitian!" Yuan Shikai had a deep impression of this person. Back then, Chen Ke had sent him to negotiate, and at that time, Lu Huitian had been so arrogant and rude...

"Yuan Gong, Lu Huitian is now the Secretary of the Hubei Provincial Committee of the People's Party. It's equivalent to the position of Governor of Hubei," Yang Du said. He didn't know about the past entanglements between Yuan Shikai and Lu Huitian.

"What Hubei Provincial Committee Secretary? He's just a supervising eunuch, isn't he?" Wang Shizhen made a rare harsh remark.

Seeing the attitude of the two, Yang Du realized that this Lu Huitian must have greatly offended Yuan Shikai and Wang Shizhen. However, he didn't dare to ask. Although the members of the People's Party were all young, they were truly capable of endurance when it came to doing things. The Beiyang side had also discussed whether the People's Party would take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to expand everywhere. But the People's Party had surprisingly stopped at the territories they had already acquired so far. In other aspects, they conducted completely fair trade, which instead made people feel that the People's Party harbored particularly ill intentions.

"Pinqing, what do you think Chen Ke wants to do this time?" Yuan Shikai asked Wang Shizhen.

Wang Shizhen did not answer immediately; the People's Party had grasped this timing too perfectly. Yuan Shikai was currently burnt out by financial problems, while the People's Party was now exporting large quantities of soda ash and industrial acid to the north. The prices were much cheaper than imports, and they captured the northern market all at once. In three months, sales alone had reached the figure of one million taels. If this continued, it would be an income of at least four million taels a year. Although Wang Shizhen was now the Minister of the Army, he was still Yuan Shikai's most important strategist. In Wang Shizhen's view, the purpose of the People's Party's trip was likely still for money.

"Yuan Gong, I think the People's Party wants more cooperation this time," Wang Shizhen replied.

"Oh?" Yuan Shikai felt a bit surprised. In these times, people who came to Yuan Shikai usually had favors to ask. Even those who came to "offer plans and strategies" were doing so to seek an official position; they still wanted something from Yuan Shikai. The People's Party was an outlier Yuan Shikai had encountered. Dealing with the People's Party was very relaxing; they didn't play dirty tricks but went straight for it.

As far as Yuan Shikai knew, although the People's Party were great rebels, there were many scholars among them. Yet, they did things even more straightforwardly than great bandits. The impression left on Yuan Shikai from their few dealings was, "They dare to say anything, and if they say it, they dare to do it." So, excessive preparation was actually meaningless.

Thinking of this, Yuan Shikai said, "Forget it, let him in."

After seeing Lu Huitian, Yuan Shikai felt that Lu Huitian had changed somewhat, at least he was much more cheerful than the last time they met. After taking their seats and exchanging greetings, Lu Huitian didn't have that fake, sickly air from their last meeting. Pure polite language was just polite language, as simple as it could be.

"Yuan Gong, the British in Wuhan contacted us, wanting to fool us with some trick of recognizing our status as a belligerent party. We refused. Chairman Chen has sent a telegram to Yuan Gong. I wonder if Yuan Gong has seen it?" Lu Huitian went straight to the point.

Yuan Shikai was actually very satisfied with this matter. If the People's Party didn't give the British a chance to intervene, Yuan Shikai's life would be much easier. The British already had enough leverage to suppress Yuan Shikai; if the People's Party stabbed him in the back, the British would probably be even tougher.

"I appreciate Wenqing's kindness. I wonder what good news Wenqing has prepared to send me this time?" Yuan Shikai spoke very subtly.

"Chairman Chen sent me here mainly for two things. First, the issue of customs tariffs; we don't know what Yuan Gong's plans are. Second, there is great chaos in Fujian recently; what are Yuan Gong's plans?" Lu Huitian replied.

"Regarding the tariff matter, what plans does Wenqing have? As far as we know, Wenqing has made quite a lot recently. Is Wenqing sending Brother Lu to give me money?" Yuan Shikai laughed. The People's Party did huge business with foreigners, and Yuan Shikai had long been jealous. But he couldn't beat the People's Party, so naturally, there was no room to intervene. However, the People's Party was already a major seller in several businesses in the north. Yuan Shikai hadn't made a move temporarily, but that didn't mean he would never make a move.

"Yuan Gong is joking. With the great power of Beiyang, wouldn't it be better to make money together?" Lu Huitian didn't smile. Compared to before, Lu Huitian felt that some of his ideas had changed significantly. One of them was that Lu Huitian would no longer think that politics could override economics. Chen Ke had a saying that left a deep impression on Lu Huitian: "Business is business." Previously, Lu Huitian liked to do things "perfectly," meaning he hoped all parties could have a common positive evaluation of a matter. Now he finally realized that this attitude itself was a specific manifestation of being foolish.

Contradictions are always a unity of opposites; if there are no opposing sides, there is no contradiction. Surrounding the same matter, it is impossible to have a unified evaluation. After realizing this, Lu Huitian could completely accept different attitudes.

"Yuan Gong, we know that cotton planting in Hebei and Shandong is quite good. If the price is right, we are willing to purchase from Yuan Gong," Lu Huitian said.

Yuan Shikai and Wang Shizhen looked at each other. The People's Party had earned a large sum of money from the north, which was a terrible loss of blood for the financially tight Beiyang. But the products produced by the People's Party were things Beiyang could not produce itself: soda ash, industrial acid, hardware products, and recently silk. Beiyang could only purchase unilaterally. The People's Party's willingness to buy cotton on a large scale was a very big deal.

"What does Wenqing mean by this?" Yuan Shikai was very puzzled. Chen Ke couldn't possibly give money to Yuan Shikai for nothing. Moreover, the cotton mills in Tianjin also needed a large amount of cotton; the cotton produced in the north might not necessarily be enough to sell much.

"Chairman Chen believes that the north is currently an important market for the People's Party. If we don't balance trade with the north, Yuan Gong will certainly not agree. After we balanced trade with the foreign devils, business has been going well. For the north, we also have such a plan. We can discuss matters in this regard. There are so many good things in the north, and we need them all."

It must be said that Lu Huitian's politeness this time was far from the level Yuan Shikai hoped for, but Yuan Shikai felt that Lu Huitian was much more pleasing to the eye at this moment. Beiyang needed money. Collecting commercial taxes was indeed a big business, but these commercial taxes were far from enough for Yuan Shikai's needs.

"What exactly does Wenqing mean?" Yuan Shikai asked.

Lu Huitian took out a document and distributed it to Yuan Shikai and Wang Shizhen. At this time, besides these two, Yang Du was also in the room. Lu Huitian wanted to hand another copy to Yang Du. Yang Du wanted to see it, but still refused. "Huchan, you listen too," Yuan Shikai said.

With Yuan Shikai's order, Yang Du then took the document Lu Huitian gave him.

"Yuan Gong, this is a chart of sales and profits," Lu Huitian explained. This was the key part of the business cooperation Chen Ke wanted with Yuan Shikai. If the price was too low, there would be no profit; but if the price was too high, the common people couldn't afford it. So modern commerce would select a total sales volume equilibrium point and conduct commercial operations around this equilibrium point.

This was the case for the People's Party's bulk commodities, especially several heavy chemical products. Although it was a monopoly business, the selling price was very particular. In addition to selling large quantities overseas, domestic sales must have an overall consciousness. Within the People's Party, it was well understood that the People's Party's good days now were built on the foundation of massive trade. Not only the overseas market but also the domestic market was needed. For other provinces, the People's Party had no way for the time being. But Beiyang was a very good breakthrough point. And Beiyang also had a financial crisis; they needed money more than anyone else.

This theory was not complex; Yuan Shikai and the others understood it as soon as they heard it. The People's Party wanted to conduct large-scale commercial dealings with Yuan Shikai on the basis of a balance of payments.

"What does Wenqing want our Beiyang to do?" Yuan Shikai was unclear about the role he was to play.

"In some commodities, we are the big sellers, so we also need a big buyer. And in many commodities, we are the big buyers, so we also need a big seller. Apart from Beiyang, we cannot find other partners," Lu Huitian stated the final answer.

Yang Du was young after all; hearing this, he couldn't help but show joy on his face. Yuan Shikai and Wang Shizhen, however, looked serious. The proposal Chen Ke made was very attractive. But Chen Ke was not a fool; doing this, he would not get any benefit on his books. Although commercial tax was a major income, unless Chen Ke had other profits, spending so much effort would still feel somewhat not worth the gain.

"What does Wenqing want to get from my Beiyang?" Yuan Shikai asked.

Lu Huitian explained the People's Party's economic policy to Yuan Shikai. If the people in the base areas did not have a large number of employment opportunities, their lives could not be improved. Chen Ke firmly opposed any welfare system. If you want to make money, you have to work. And the People's Party must provide employment opportunities to the greatest extent. If there were no large quantities of raw materials, many factories could not start work either.

And Lu Huitian also had things he couldn't tell Yuan Shikai. Regarding the First World War, the People's Party had discussed it, and everyone temporarily agreed with Chen Ke's view: "Europe must purchase commodities from all over the world to meet war demands." If a large number of factories were not built now, the People's Party would not be able to provide commodities to Europe in large quantities when the time came.

"Besides cotton, what else does Wenqing want to buy from us?" Yuan Shikai asked.

"Wool. Massive amounts of wool from Inner and Outer Mongolia," Lu Huitian replied.

Wool was a good thing. Besides wool spinning, Chen Ke had asked the comrades of the People's Party to try on a kind of boot with a cowhide surface and a lining of sheep's wool. It was truly warm to wear in winter. And the wool yarn spun from wool and the sweaters knitted from it were also very good warm clothing after the weather turned cold. The base area alone could basically digest this commodity thoroughly, and there was no need to consider export issues at all.

"Yuan Gong, the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway has been completed. It is very convenient to transport wool directly from the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway to Beijing and then load it onto ships for water transport. The only problem is the price. As long as the price is right, we will take as much as there is. So we want to set up a station in the north specifically for the initial processing of wool, and then transport it to our base area. We will leave the matter of purchasing wool to Yuan Gong."

Waves of fluctuation rose in Yuan Shikai's heart. He had been buying off the Mongolian princes, but the effect of force alone was limited. Beiyang didn't have much money. Throwing money at those princes would never fill their appetites. But wool was not something valuable in Inner and Outer Mongolia; there was as much as one wanted. As long as some money was given, the princes of Inner and Outer Mongolia would only feel that this was a pie falling from the sky. However, Chen Ke's vision of economic layout made Yuan Shikai feel very uncomfortable.

As the saying goes, no one ploughs barren land, but once ploughed, people fight for it. The People's Party knew to increase employment opportunities for the people in the base areas; didn't Yuan Shikai know that increasing employment opportunities had benefits?

Lu Huitian knew Yuan Shikai would definitely think this way. In fact, the base area was not only trying to raise sheep itself but also planting a lot of cotton. Regarding purchasing raw materials from other provinces, everyone also found it hard to accept. China had always been in scarcity. Even if one didn't earn other people's money, it would trigger a huge sense of loss. The views on the economy within the base area were more scientific, so this feeling of loss was also stronger.

After a period of silence, Yuan Shikai finally spoke, "Is this the only thing Wenqing asked you to come for?"

Lu Huitian didn't expect Yuan Shikai to make up his mind immediately. "Chairman Chen wants to ask Yuan Gong, if the Manchu Qing is completely destroyed, will the customs issue still follow the previous agreement?"

Yuan Shikai didn't expect Chen Ke to really want to confirm this matter. He actually hadn't thought much about it. He wanted to simply answer that it would follow the previous agreement, but Yuan Shikai held back. Chen Ke asking this definitely had many reasons. He asked, "Does Wenqing have any changes?"

"We have signed several new agreements with the British. This part of sales does not involve the domestic market, so I'm afraid we cannot include these incomes in the original agreement when the time comes," Lu Huitian replied.

"What is the amount?" Yuan Shikai asked casually.

"Imports and exports of forty million taels a year."

After Lu Huitian said this number, the eyes of Yuan Shikai, Wang Shizhen, and Yang Du could not help but widen. No wonder Chen Ke was unwilling to count these deals in the original agreement. Even at a 5% tariff, these deals meant two million taels of tax money a year. Converted into silver dollars, it was nearly four million a year. Even if Yuan Shikai collected a bit less, he could earn one million silver dollars a year. Enough to support a division of the New Army.

"I'm afraid this... needs to be discussed further," Yuan Shikai almost rejected it directly. But he understood very well that if the Manchu Qing did not fall, he would not be able to touch this money no matter what. Even if the Manchu Qing fell, this money might not necessarily fall into his hands. To get one million silver dollars a year, he had to give Chen Ke enough benefits.

"We can talk about this later. I heard you mention the Fujian matter, Hui Tian, but I don't know what thoughts Wenqing has on Fujian," Yuan Shikai felt that Lu Huitian's main purpose was probably to have designs on Fujian.

"We ask Yuan Gong to restore the situation in Fujian as soon as possible. Or does Yuan Gong simply not want Fujian to join next year's National Assembly discussion? No matter what, we will not intervene in Fujian affairs, but if Fujian continues to be in such chaos, we will not be at ease either," Lu Huitian replied.

"Wenqing is unwilling to pacify the chaos in Fujian?" Yuan Shikai asked.

"If we wanted to strike at the Manchu forces in Fujian, we would have sent troops long ago. But since we have reached an agreement with Yuan Gong, we naturally will not break the contract. We sincerely hope that Yuan Gong can control the situation. Then everyone can live a good life. What benefit is there for us if the surrounding areas are making such a disturbance?" Lu Huitian emphasized this issue.

Such high-sounding words made Yuan Shikai unable to make heads or tails of it. Did Chen Ke genuinely want peace under heaven? Beiyang was now fully preparing to seize larger territories and interests amidst the chaos, while the People's Party seemed to have no interest in this turmoil. What on earth did they want?

But no matter how he asked, Lu Huitian's attitude remained consistent: he hoped Yuan Shikai could quickly settle the situation and completely overthrow the Manchu Qing. And conduct larger-scale trade with the People's Party. This looked somewhat surprising no matter how one looked at it. After sending Lu Huitian away, Yuan Shikai asked Wang Shizhen, "Pinqing, what trick is Chen Ke playing?"

Wang Shizhen also couldn't figure it out. What benefit did the expansion of Beiyang bring to the People's Party? Since the People's Party rejected the British threat, it meant the People's Party was unwilling to cause trouble for Beiyang. But the People's Party showed no signs of fearing Beiyang at all. What did they want?

"Yuan Gong, could it be that the People's Party genuinely doesn't want China to fall into chaos?" Yang Du asked hesitantly.

This question was really a bit silly. Yuan Shikai sneered, "They are the chief culprits of the chaos in the world; would they be afraid of the world being in chaos?"

"The People's Party only wants to overthrow the Imperial Court; it doesn't mean they want China to be in great chaos." Yang Du's voice was not loud, but he was not too fearful.

"Hmph!" Yuan Shikai snorted coldly. If one said they wanted to save the country and the people, he couldn't categorically deny that the People's Party had this intention. But under the current situation, Yuan Shikai would absolutely not admit that anyone was more loyal to the country than he was.

Wang Shizhen always felt that Yang Du was an opportunist, so he was never very polite to Yang Du. "Huchan, the People's Party is full of deceit and is definitely not of a kind sort. How about this, you talk to that Lu Huitian in private and see what he exactly wants."

Yang Du looked at Yuan Shikai. Yuan Shikai nodded, "Huchan, whatever they say, you might as well go along with it. We must know what they want."

After Yang Du went out, Wang Shizhen said, "Yuan Gong, the People's Party has already seen the situation of chaos in the world; I'm afraid they want to fish in troubled waters. They came to probe our Beiyang this time; presumably, they haven't made preparations either. Having swallowed Jiangxi and Northern Jiangsu, the People's Party won't have the strength to enter Fujian for a while."

"Then what suggestions do you have, Pinqing?"

"That depends on whether Yuan Gong wants to stabilize the situation or prepare to cast a long line to catch a big fish. If Yuan Gong wants to stabilize the situation, then send troops into Fujian and Shaanxi to restore order. Anyway, looking at it now, the generals are all waiting for Yuan Gong to distribute the titles of Provincial Governors. Why not start with these two provinces? Moreover, Zhejiang hangs alone in the south of the Yangtze; if we can possess Fujian, the south of the Yangtze will be connected into one piece. As for Shaanxi, if one wants to enter Sichuan, one must capture Shaanxi. As long as Yuan Gong sends troops, the other provinces will know the severity and will behave."

Wang Shizhen analyzed very seriously, and Yuan Shikai nodded slightly. He was also indecisive now. Being able to directly seize more provinces was naturally best. But sending troops required money, and Beiyang's finances were stretched to the limit. The scale of troop dispatch couldn't be too large either. But the generals had been waiting for the distribution of governorships for a long time; if their demands were not met, Beiyang itself might start making trouble first.

Yuan Shikai actually had his own plan. Shandong, Shanxi, Henan, and Hebei must be directly controlled. Inner and Outer Mongolia should be semi-directly controlled. Other provinces could be assigned governors. But once assigned, Yuan Shikai would lose direct control over these provinces. If he assigned unloyal ones, it would be rearing tigers that would cause trouble in the future. If he assigned loyal ones, it would just be weakening his own strength. This was truly a dilemma.

Thinking of this, Yuan Shikai suddenly discovered that the People's Party had unexpectedly walked ahead of him again this time. Chen Ke's suggestion was actually asking Yuan Shikai to take a stand. And similar to the last time, the People's Party held the chips Yuan Shikai desperately desired in their hands. Yuan Shikai no longer had to pay for the expenses of the bannermen in various places. This had already saved a large sum of money. If there was commercial and tariff cooperation again, and Yuan Shikai's Beiyang government collected a certain amount of money from other provinces, the national fiscal revenue and expenditure could actually be balanced. There might even be some surplus.

Although the People's Party had unfathomable motives and harbored evil intentions, Yuan Shikai really couldn't think of how to refuse this temptation.

"Pinqing, do you think Chen Ke will come to Beijing to be an official once the Imperial Court is overthrown?" Although he knew Chen Ke was determined to be the local emperor of four provinces, Yuan Shikai still couldn't help but ask.

"Absolutely impossible," Wang Shizhen answered decisively.

Yuan Shikai sighed slightly before saying, "I want to control the situation quickly. Presumably, Chen Ke being so polite this time is actually to see if Beiyang really has the capability. If we are truly beyond our ability, they will make a move. I don't want that kid Chen Ke to look down on our Beiyang. Do you have any ideas for the candidates to send troops, Pinqing?"

"Let Cao Kun go to Shaanxi. Let Feng Guozhang go to Fujian," Wang Shizhen gave the answer.

"Cao Kun, if he is willing to go, send him to Shaanxi. Why send Feng Guozhang to Fujian?" Yuan Shikai asked.

"Let Duan Qirui return to Beijing immediately. If Yuan Gong can rest assured about Feng Guozhang, then let him temporarily guard the south of the Yangtze. Zhejiang and Fujian are too far from us, and separated by the People's Party's Huaihai Province in the middle. This is also Chen Ke being an old fox; the location he chose is too tricky," Wang Shizhen said.

Yuan Shikai subconsciously glanced at the map after hearing this. The People's Party stretched from the seaside all the way to Hubei, completely cutting off the north-south traffic. To go by land, one could only go through Sichuan to enter the south. But the People's Party held the Yimeng Mountains in the east and the Dabie Mountains in the west, occupying the strategic terrain. And Jiangxi in the south thrust straight into the south of the Yangtze, bordering Guangdong, Fujian, Hunan, and Zhejiang completely. They could march into these provinces at any time. Although the Huang-Huai Plain in the middle bordering Beiyang was vast, Beiyang really had no confidence in defeating the People's Party in large-scale field battles.

Once Beiyang distributed the generals, the central power would only be weakened. If they couldn't accumulate wealth quickly and build armies on a large scale, Beiyang couldn't win. But to make money, they had to reach an agreement with the People's Party. Yuan Shikai could figure out the joints inside, but Chen Ke always managed to grasp the situation first. Even if only for this point, Yuan Shikai wanted to teach Chen Ke a lesson.

After thinking for a long time, Yuan Shikai said, "Let's prepare to send troops then."