After Xu Shichang saw Chen Ke out of the gates of Yuan Shikai's residence, he immediately hurried back toward the study. To his surprise, he encountered Yuan Keding passing through the central hall. Xu Shichang was well-versed in the ways of the world; one look at Yuan Keding's awkward manner and he knew the young man hadn't just happened to be passing by, but was waiting for him on purpose. Xu Shichang intended to avoid him, but Yuan Keding stepped forward enthusiastically.

"Uncle Xu, you've worked hard these past two days," Yuan Keding said with a bright smile.

"Nephew, your father is waiting for my report," Xu Shichang replied, having no desire to engage with him.

As if failing to see Xu Shichang's intent, Yuan Keding said solemnly, "Uncle Xu, everyone knows Chen Ke harbors ill intentions, yet you and my father show him such leniency. Uncle Xu, this cannot go on forever."

"Nephew, your father naturally has his own decisions in these matters. I'm going to him now." Xu Shichang delivered a very cold reply in a calm voice. Having spoken, he ignored whatever Yuan Keding might be thinking and strode toward the study, leaving a stunned Yuan Keding behind.

Inside the study, Xu Shichang found Yuan Shikai carefully reading the plan Chen Ke had written. Yuan appeared focused, his brow furrowed, making it impossible to tell if he supported or opposed it. Xu Shichang did not wish to disturb him and sat down quietly.

"Juren, what do you think this Chen Ke's background truly is?" Yuan Shikai asked out of the blue.

"Eh?" Xu Shichang was surprised. He had never been involved in intelligence work and knew nothing of Chen Ke's origins. Moreover, Yuan Shikai had dealt with Chen Ke for quite some time; Xu couldn't understand why Yuan would ask him. Even so, he couldn't simply plead ignorance. He pondered for a moment before saying, "Judging by his actions, he seems to come from a prominent family. However, he doesn't seem to have received much in the way of proper upbringing."

Xu Shichang's casual answer resonated with Yuan Shikai. Yuan put down the document and nodded in agreement. "Indeed, he lacks upbringing. Look at him—he actually expects a local power to command the Center. How exactly did his parents raise him?"

For some reason, hearing this made Xu Shichang feel somewhat relieved. He smiled and asked, "President, do you no longer wish to cooperate with Chen Ke?"

"I absolutely cannot do as Chen Ke says," Yuan Shikai replied.

Xu Shichang stared at Yuan Shikai; the implications of those words were rich. It seemed Yuan did not object to taking money from Chen Ke, but he would absolutely not relinquish his leadership.

"Juren, in your view, will Chen Ke persist in his own opinions?" Yuan Shikai asked.

"Let me look at what Chen Ke wrote first," Xu Shichang said, not giving a direct answer.

The content of the plan was exactly as Chen Ke had described; it was entirely centered on how to gain dominance over the customs. Xu Shichang found it quite surprising. Chen Ke's analysis of the foreign devils in the plan showed no fear whatsoever. Did Chen Ke truly believe the foreign devils were easy to deal with?

But Chen Ke had risen in the Yangtze River basin, which was the British domain. Not only were there the British, but also the French, Germans, Russians, and Japanese had their own presence there. Yet after Chen Ke seized these territories, the foreign devils had shown no opposition. This in itself was abnormal. If Chen Ke had sold out China's interests, Beiyang could not have failed to know. Yet Chen Ke simply did business with the foreign devils in a proper manner, and both sides coexisted in peace. Had Chen Ke encountered a different breed of foreign devils?

"President, what do the British mean?" Xu Shichang asked after putting down the document.

"The British are practically in the same pair of trousers as Chen Ke. They resolutely demand that we in Beiyang, like the People's Party, engage in quota trade with them." At the mention of this, Yuan Shikai's expression turned quite unpleasant.

"President, our Beiyang is in the North; we naturally don't have as many products as the South. In my view, over the next year or two, we won't be able to match the People's Party in quota trade," Xu Shichang replied.

At the mention of money, Yuan Shikai's expression grew even more sour. "Juren, Chen Ke has been in the South for barely five years; how can he have earned so much money?"

Xu Shichang actually shared this lack of understanding. As a famous and capable official of the late Qing, when the Northeast was reorganized into provinces in 1907, Xu Shichang had been appointed Imperial Commissioner and Governor-General of the Three Eastern Provinces, concurrently managing the military affairs of the three provinces. At that time, the Northeast was in the midst of the Russo-Japanese War, and the foundations of the Qing were being eroded. Xu Shichang took numerous measures, including opening commercial ports, borrowing national loans, forming foreign alliances, and building railways. He also promoted New Policies in the Northeast to resist Japanese and Russian control.

Xu Shichang had governed the Northeast for only two years, yet the region's appearance was completely transformed. When the imperial relative Zaitao returned from inspecting the army in Europe and passed through Fengten (now Shenyang), he saw that "roads, electric lights, and military police were all present, and the streets were completely refreshed. Staying at the public office, it was just like the European style."

However, compared to the results achieved by Chen Ke, these achievements of which Xu Shichang was proud paled in comparison. Xu had connections in the court and enjoyed the trust of Empress Dowager Cixi. He held great power in the Northeast, which made such a performance possible. Yet in 1905, Chen Ke was still a lone man; now he had carved out a world for himself, with every intention of standing as an equal to the Center. While fighting a war, Chen Ke had not delayed making money for a single moment. Xu Shichang had heard from Yuan Shikai that Chen Ke had signed a quota trade agreement with the British. Both imports and exports had actually reached twenty million pounds a year. With a total trade volume of forty million pounds a year, even with just a five percent customs duty, the annual revenue would be as much as two million pounds. In this regard, Xu Shichang knew he truly couldn't match Chen Ke.

"President, I've heard people say that the honeycomb coal factory and the transport firm Chen Ke opened in Beijing are earning at least several thousand taels of silver a day. When it comes to business, this Chen Ke is truly an expert," Xu Shichang said.

Yuan Shikai remained noncommittal. Regarding Chen Ke's ability to make money, Yuan also felt speechless. When more than half of the over one hundred thousand households in Beijing used honeycomb coal, they must use at least two hundred thousand pieces a day. Chen Ke earned one wen per piece of coal, netting him two hundred thousand wen a day. Currently, copper coins were expensive; two hundred thousand wen was equivalent to five hundred taels of silver. And the transport firm could easily earn several hundred taels a day. That was indeed over a thousand taels a day.

Furthermore, the People's Party had already begun establishing honeycomb coal factories and transport firms in Tianjin. Even if they earned only three thousand taels a day, that was a million taels a year. An extremely wealthy family might only have a million in assets, yet the People's Party could create the wealth of such a family in a year from just two cities. If someone hadn't specifically reported this to him, Yuan Shikai truly wouldn't have believed it to be true.

Chen Ke hadn't done anything grand, yet through these ordinary actions, he had accumulated wealth that others couldn't even imagine. Yuan Shikai found that he actually couldn't understand how this was being achieved.

While Yuan Shikai and Xu Shichang were considering Chen Ke, the People's Party was also considering Beiyang. Since Chen Ke had discussed the matter in detail with Yuan, the People's Party delegation convened a meeting.

Regarding future development, Chen Ke let all members of the delegation speak their minds. Huang Yuyue was originally supposed to handle the secretarial work, but to her surprise, Chen Ke had her speak first.

Huang Yuyue hadn't expected she would be allowed to comment on such a major affair. She felt uneasy, fearing she might say something wrong. Out of anxiety, her face turned slightly red. After thinking for a while, she said, "Chairman Chen, comrades, I believe Yuan Shikai will absolutely not truly want to cooperate with us."

Everyone in the delegation stared at Huang Yuyue. She felt immense pressure and for a moment found herself at a loss for words.

Chen Tianhua couldn't let Huang Yuyue stand there in silence, letting the room grow cold. He smiled and said, "Comrade Huang Yuyue, since you say so, you must have your reasons? Let's hear them."

Those selected to be delegation members naturally couldn't be people who truly had nothing to say. Huang Yuyue quickly suppressed her unease and returned to a normal state. Her complexion recovered, and her voice became steady. "Generally speaking, everyone only sees what others have gained, but never what they have given. I'm putting myself in Beiyang's position, and I feel Beiyang will absolutely not be willing to cooperate with us. They feel we make too much money."

The young people in the delegation were quite dismissive of Huang Yuyue's words. Li Mingren curled his lip; although he didn't interrupt, his disapproval was clearly displayed on his face.

"The Beiyang group wants money now, but they don't want to work. When we work, we will surely involve ourselves in many industries, and Beiyang will be very wary of us. We wouldn't let outsiders act so freely in our base area either. Therefore, I believe Beiyang will absolutely not cooperate with us sincerely." After saying everything she could think of, Huang Yuyue wanted to sit down. But she suddenly realized she had missed a sentence and quickly stood straight. "I have finished."

"Please sit," Chen Ke said.

At those words, Huang Yuyue immediately returned to her seat. She exhaled softly, relieving her tension.

Li Mingren immediately raised his hand to speak, and Chen Tianhua let him stand up.

"It's not a matter of whether Yuan Shikai wants to cooperate; it's that he has no choice but to cooperate. Beiyang's finances are exhausted. If they want to catch their breath, they must have a sum of money to maintain operations. If they don't cooperate with us, who else will they work with?" Li Mingren had his own ideas, so his words were both loud and fluent. "Beiyang's lack of trust in us is not the problem. It's only a matter of the degree of cooperation; there will certainly not be a situation where they don't cooperate at all."

Having said this, Li Mingren scanned the room. Chen Ke was expressionless, and Yan Fu was as solemn as ever. Thus, it was impossible to tell what those two were thinking. Judging from the expressions of the other comrades, most of them agreed with Li Mingren.

Guan Zizheng was one who disagreed. Seeing that Li Mingren had finished, he immediately raised his hand. After getting Chen Tianhua's permission, Guan Zizheng stood and said, "Since Yuan Shikai needs a sum of money now, as long as it's within his tolerance, he'll borrow from anyone. Foreign banks have already begun negotiations with him. If Yuan feels that cooperating with our People's Party will lead to endless trouble, he will borrow from foreign banks even if their interest rates are high."

Li Mingren frowned and then replied, "Will Yuan Shikai be willing to take such a loss?"

Guan Zizheng shook his head slightly. "If Yuan Shikai's only option were to borrow from foreign banks, he would surely take a loss. But since he has our People's Party as an option, he can use his status as the Center to use us to drive down the prices from the foreign banks, and he can also use the foreign banks to suppress our People's Party. No matter how rotten Beiyang is, they at least know how to play such tricks."

The young comrades of the delegation found themselves somewhat confused. Those who had originally thought Li Mingren made sense now felt Guan Zizheng's logic had the upper hand.

However, Li Mingren was not convinced by Guan Zizheng. He immediately responded, "That's just wishful thinking. To do that, he'd have to put us and the foreign bank consortium in opposition. That is to say, both sides would have to be determined to lend money to Yuan Shikai. But the current situation is clearly not like that. Yuan Shikai is not in a position to preserve himself militarily. Without even being able to guarantee basic security, Yuan Shikai's hope of playing everyone in the palm of his hand is likely just a pipe dream."

Guan Zizheng also had no intention of giving up. "War is for profit. If the foreign devils fought Beiyang over a loan, wouldn't that be more trouble than it's worth? We also want to cooperate with Yuan Shikai, so within a certain range, we won't easily choose military struggle. As long as Yuan Shikai limits the struggle within that range, his security is still guaranteed."

"That's just Yuan Shikai thinking his security is guaranteed. If Yuan Shikai isn't seeking development but only seeking to overcome a crisis, his only choice left would be to borrow from the foreign bank consortium while fully utilizing our People's Party to bargain with them. Moreover, the direct result of such a loan would be that all provinces would have reason to attack Yuan Shikai for betraying the country. Wouldn't that be a loss in the end?"

Hearing Li Mingren say this, Guan Zizheng grinned. "Beiyang isn't our People's Party. I think what Comrade Huang Yuyue said earlier was quite right. Beiyang is a collection of ordinary people. At least their degree of political consciousness is no different from that of ordinary people. Our People's Party is the vanguard of the proletariat. In terms of understanding and perceiving society, Beiyang really cannot compare with us."

At this point, the conversation had moved beyond the scope of the negotiations themselves. Li Mingren felt it difficult to respond. "According to you, then, this negotiation itself is likely a wasted trip for us?"

"Sometimes you just have to take a wasted trip," Guan Zizheng replied with righteous conviction.

Hearing this, Chen Tianhua quickly called a halt to the discussion. He was experienced in such situations; in his early years doing revolutionary work in Japan, revolutionary youths would also have some interesting views when they first talked about revolution. But as the talk went on, everyone would encounter seemingly unsolvable problems, and the discussion would turn into a clash of tempers. Ending on a sour note was a relatively good outcome; it was common for arguments to lead to them becoming enemies.

The People's Party had one advantage: the Party Committee meetings were for discussing how to get things done, and there was at least someone who could keep order. Especially with Chen Ke presiding over this meeting—as long as he didn't let the comrades' disputes run wild, the situation could always be stabilized.

"Chairman Chen, what are your views?" Chen Tianhua asked.

With Chen Tianhua taking the lead, all eyes fell on Chen Ke.

Listening to the young comrades' debate, Chen Ke was actually quite pleased. That everyone could have their own insights was a good thing in itself. As long as it didn't turn into a clash of tempers and everyone could try to understand and learn from each other's ideas, they could achieve what Confucius called "when three people walk together, there is surely a teacher for me." Chen Tianhua's timely control of the discussion was also very decisive and well-timed.

Seeing everyone waiting for him to speak, Chen Ke said, "First of all, I personally oppose the phrase 'wasted trip.' This perspective isn't comprehensive enough. If we don't succeed in our negotiations this time, then we must also clearly know why we failed. Without investigation, there is no right to speak. Whether we say it's a wasted trip here, or believe Beiyang will do things that are more trouble than they're worth—I believe these ideas aren't wrong. However, none of these ideas are supported by actual investigation..."

The comrades had expected Chen Ke to decide who was right or wrong, but they were surprised when he began to "play both sides." Those who were unhappy because they didn't get Chen Ke's support naturally showed disappointment on their faces. However, some comrades already dimly understood Chen Ke's meaning. For instance, Huang Yuyue's expression was quite solemn.

"Comrade Huang Yuyue, don't think that because you are a woman, you won't have to take on the work that follows," Chen Ke said with a smile.

"Chairman Chen, do you want me to visit the Beiyang officials?" Huang Yuyue was still somewhat lacking in experience; being led by Chen Ke, she couldn't help but speak the truth.

"Exactly. Starting in a moment, everyone will first undergo etiquette training. You'll also learn some of the language used in the Beiyang officialdom. By the day after tomorrow morning at the latest, all of you must go visit the Beiyang officials. Start the actual investigation. Furthermore, we aren't just investigating; since we've come, there are certain pieces of news that must be made known. We came here openly for negotiations, so there's no need to hide basic facts. Besides, the comrades in our delegation—the men are heroic and handsome, and the women are elegant and beautiful. When you visit, this also represents the image of our People's Party."

Li Mingren and Guan Zizheng hadn't expected Chen Ke to ultimately turn a debate that seemed to be heading for a dead end toward specific investigation. Both felt a sense of clarity.

"Additionally, many of you are in Beijing for the first time; you can all take a look around the city. As long as discipline allows, everyone can go and see." Chen Ke knew that after arriving in Beijing, everyone wanted to wander the capital. Chen Ke himself loved traveling, and he believed that traveling and seeing things was a good way to broaden one's horizons.

Upon hearing this, the room immediately erupted in excitement. The delegation's discipline was strict, and no one dared to wander Beijing privately. The young people didn't say it, but they were truly anxious in their hearts. Hearing Chen Ke say they could tour the city, Li Mingren couldn't help but ask excitedly, "Chairman Chen, can we go inside the Forbidden City to see?"

"Haha." Seeing Li Mingren's excitement, Chen Ke remembered his own excitement outside the gates the first time he went to the Palace Museum. He laughed. "What's there to see inside the Forbidden City? The courtyards are a bit large, the gates are rather big. It's actually quite gloomy inside. There are a few large tripods, some old trees, and nothing else particularly special."

"Truly?" Huang Yuyue asked in surprise.

"Truly. I've been there several times, and I felt it was nothing extraordinary. The Emperor's throne in the Hall of Supreme Harmony looks good with its carvings, but it's too hard; it's not even as comfortable as sitting on a sofa. The Summer Palace is quite good, though; it's built with some interest. Rowing a boat in Kunming Lake is quite nice." Chen Ke couldn't help but talk about his own experiences.

The surroundings suddenly fell silent. The comrades stared at Chen Ke one by one, dumbstruck. At first, Chen Ke didn't know what was happening, but he quickly realized...

"Chairman Chen? You've been inside the Forbidden City, and even sat on the Dragon Throne?" Li Mingren asked, his eyes wide.