The news that the Germans might move against the People's Party caused no small stir within the delegation. Chen Tianhua had previously heard Chen Ke say there was "no need to care about those Junker boneheads," yet now the Germans clearly had no intention of maintaining the status quo. While Chen Tianhua would not accuse Chen Ke's strategic forecast of failing, he felt it necessary to ask for clarification.

Chen Ke maintained his relaxed attitude. "Xingtai, do you think Germany will declare war on us?"

"That..." Chen Tianhua was stumped. "Isn't that what I'm asking you?"

"War costs money. What is the purpose of the Germans making a move? They want to use threats to make us give up our own interests. If Germany ultimately doesn't get that result, their military spending is wasted. Do you think we will yield on this point?" Chen Ke asked.

"Of course yielding is impossible," Chen Ke sneered. "Xingtai, strike one punch to keep a hundred away. Do you think Beiyang dares to act rashly against us now?"

"They naturally do not dare," Chen Tianhua replied. The People's Party's military confidence against Beiyang was high, forged through actual combat. Considering this, Chen Tianhua fully understood Chen Ke's attitude.

However, once the old question was resolved, a new one arose. "Chairman Chen, did you prepare to move against the Germans long ago?"

Chen Ke's attitude was firm. "I don't want to move against the Germans; I will move against whoever uses force to threaten us. British, French, German, Japanese—they are all the same."

"By the way, Xingtai. If my prediction isn't wrong, the negotiations will now enter a stalemate. The foreign devils are waiting to see how far the Germans can go. Are you willing to stay in Beijing to take charge of the continuing negotiations?" Chen Ke asked.

Chen Tianhua had not expected this outcome. He thought for a moment and said with some difficulty, "Chairman Chen, I'm afraid the Germans will move against Shandong. I still want to return there."

Chen Ke understood his feelings and followed up, "Then among the comrades who came with us, who do you think can take charge of the negotiations?"

"Let these young comrades take charge?" Chen Tianhua was quite surprised.

"They only need to be responsible for relatively simple work for now. The final decisions won't be theirs to make anyway. If young comrades don't have the opportunity to be tempered, it's impossible for them to grow," Chen Ke answered cleanly and decisively.

Mentioning the tempering of young comrades reminded Chen Tianhua of the time he was left alone in Hebei. "But if the foreign devils drag things out, these comrades might be stuck here for a long time."

"If I don't return to the base area, they'll likely drag it out even longer. Better a short, sharp pain than a long, lingering one. The Germans cannot afford to waste time," Chen Ke gave this answer.

By the time Yuan Shikai received Chen Ke's notice, Chen Ke had already departed for the base area with his guards. Yuan had not expected Chen Ke to act so quickly, setting out immediately upon receiving intelligence.

"How did Chen Ke leave?" Yuan Shikai asked.

"They left on horseback," Zhao Bingjun replied. "President, should we..."

Yuan Shikai fell silent. Intercepting and killing Chen Ke on the road was an option. But that would lead to another problem: regardless of whether the interception succeeded, the People's Party would surely march north in force. Those bastards in the People's Party acted quite ruthlessly.

While he was considering this, an attendant knocked on the door and handed in a telegram. After reading it, Yuan Shikai's expression turned extremely grim.

"President, what news?" Zhao Bingjun asked.

"The People's Party sent me a telegram saying that one of their cavalry units from Shandong has entered Hebei to welcome Chen Ke and his party. They claim no ill intent and hope there will be no misunderstanding between the two sides." Yuan Shikai's voice contained an irrepressible rage.

Zhao Bingjun didn't dare speak further; he even felt his question had been redundant. Coming and going as they pleased—the People's Party truly treated Beiyang as if it were nothing.

Yuan Shikai did not make things difficult for Zhao Bingjun but waved him away. "You may go."

Hearing this, Zhao Bingjun withdrew as if receiving a divine pardon.

Once Zhao was out, Yuan Shikai fiercely tore the telegram in half and then sat in silence with a deep frown.

The one who came to meet Chen Ke was Pang Zi. Following the "Horse Bandit Campaign" in Hebei in 1908, the roads of Hebei were already intimately familiar to the People's Party cavalry. The five hundred cavalrymen each had three horses, and they switched mounts constantly before reaching Chen Ke. Following behind the cavalry was an infantry regiment.

Aside from ensuring Chen Ke's safety, this quasi-military operation also served as a training exercise. Long before Chen Ke went to Beijing, the field units of Huaihai Province had formulated multiple military plans. Upon receiving Chen Ke's telegram, the units at the Hebei border immediately moved out. Many middle-ranking cadres in the units had only heard of Chairman Chen Ke but had never seen him. Knowing they were going to meet the Chairman, they were extremely excited.

Although there were only five hundred cavalrymen, Pang Zi, the commander of the cavalry division, personally led the selected group forward. On the morning of the third day, two red and two green signal flares suddenly rose outside the camp. Seeing the agreed signal, Pang Zi felt an immediate sense of relief. "Signal back!" he ordered.

When the small mounted party including Chen Ke appeared in Pang Zi's binoculars, his heart finally settled. He led his guard forward at a gallop. "Chairman Chen, seeing you, I can finally be at ease."

This was no mere politeness from Pang Zi. In this era, without a meticulous plan, meeting someone hundreds of li away was an extremely difficult task. It was only because the People's Party's plan was so detailed and well-prepared that they could mobilize at any time and complete the objective. This wasn't the time for talk; the unit immediately set out, heading directly back toward the Huaihai base area.

After only half a day's travel, a sentry came to report. "Commander Pang, our infantry is just ahead."

Pang Zi replied, "Notify the unit: we are returning."

In less than four days, Chen Ke entered the Huaihai base area. In the border regions, the People's Party had massed heavy troops. Chen Ke began reviewing the units at the border.

By this point, there was no longer any need for secrecy regarding Chen Ke's movements. When the troops heard that Chairman Chen Ke was actually among them, they were first surprised and then erupted in excitement. Chairman Chen Ke's fame was known throughout the world; to the soldiers, he was the founder and creator of this army. They had heard of his great name—founding the People's Party with only eight people and liberating four provinces in just a few years. Launching long-distance raids to annihilate the Anhui New Army, setting a pocket trap to wipe out the Hubei New Army, and surrounding and destroying the Jiangbei and Beiyang New Armies, even cursing Cixi to death. These were the kind of things only the most extraordinary figures in history—the ones storytellers spoke of—could achieve, and the leader of the People's Party had done them all. Yet the vast majority of soldiers had never seen Chairman Chen Ke with their own eyes. Now that he was reviewing the troops, no one could remain calm.

When Chen Ke appeared before the formations on a tall horse, the officers and soldiers were not disappointed. The tall, square-faced man had an impressive appearance, and more importantly, his composed and natural manner truly possessed a strong military bearing.

"Hello, comrades!" Chen Ke's full-throated shout was heard clearly by the soldiers in each formation he passed.

"Hello, Chief!" The formations immediately sent back a thunderous response.

"Comrades, you've worked hard!"

"Serving the people!"

Before the review, the soldiers had learned that Chairman Chen Ke had rushed from Hebei to Shandong in just four days. Such speed was considered divine, and the soldiers were quite impressed. However, the commanders had told everyone that since Chairman Chen Ke was likely tired, he might not be able to interact with every formation during the review. Seeing the leader of the army was enough to excite them, but being unable to exchange words with him left the soldiers feeling a great deal of regret.

But to their surprise, Chen Ke offered a verbal greeting before every single formation. Each time it was loud enough for everyone from front to back to hear. His abundant energy and powerful presence gave the troops a spontaneous sense of pride. This man was the creator of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, and he indeed possessed the strength to command the respect of the entire revolutionary force.

After the review, the troops remained temporarily stationed in the border area. Chen Ke and his party headed for Xuzhou, the current capital of Huaihai Province. Upon arriving outside Xuzhou, Chen Ke specifically requested to detour to the southwest of the city, which surprised Shang Yuan, the Huaihai Provincial Party Secretary who had come to meet him. Chen Ke did not explain his reason; he wanted to see "Yunlong Lake" to the southwest of Xuzhou.

In the 21st century, when Chen Ke visited a friend in Xuzhou, the friend had taken him to see Yunlong Lake. The lake itself was nothing special—a water surface of 5.8 square kilometers with decent scenery. But his Xuzhou brother had proudly told him that this lake was man-made.

Yunlong Lake in Xuzhou was originally named Shigou Lake. It was surrounded by mountains on the east, west, and south, and bordered the city to the north. Every rainy season, floodwaters from a 60-square-kilometer catchment area upstream would pour in here, posing a severe threat to the city. The Xuzhou Municipal Party Committee and Government decided in 1958 to remediate Shigou Lake, building a dam over 4,000 meters long from Yunlong Mountain in the east to Han Mountain in the west, blocking the floods to the south. It was then renamed Yunlong Lake. The garrisoned troops had poured all their effort into building this dam. To commemorate their great achievement, the people of Xuzhou named the flood barrier the "August 1st" Dyke, to be recorded in history forever.

A water surface of 5.8 square kilometers was quite broad. Thinking that this was purely excavated with the military as the main force, Chen Ke immediately felt immense respect for his PLA predecessors.

Upon arriving at the southwest of Xuzhou, the 21st-century brother's description proved correct: it was currently a marshland. Xuzhou was naturally a confluence of multiple water systems. Given the terrible river capacity at the end of the Qing, combined with frequent floods in recent years, several of Xuzhou's rivers were essentially ruined. The Kui River in the city had not been remediated for years, with sediment buildup and low drainage capacity.

The Xuzhou brother had described the situation back then as: "During storms, rain and sewage overflowed; heavy rain brought heavy floods, light rain brought light floods. It was filthy, stinking, and nauseating. Only after excavating Yunlong Lake and dredging the riverbeds did Xuzhou's situation truly change."

The marshy lowlands before them were indeed just like that—a mud pit so vast one could hardly see across it. It was now late June, and Xuzhou had entered the rainy season; it seemed it had just rained a few days ago. The lowlands were full of water, the murky surface a muddle of yellow, green, and gray. The unique stench of rot mixed with the dampness was indeed nauseating. Recalling the beautiful Yunlong Lake he had seen in the 21st century, Chen Ke felt a wave of annoyance in his heart.

The Huaihai provincial cadres didn't know why Chen Ke had specifically come to this mud pit, and they all looked toward Shang Yuan. Out of necessity, Shang Yuan spoke up. "Chairman Chen, this place is indeed no good. There's nothing to see."

Though he said this, Shang Yuan knew that since Chen Ke had come specifically to look, it wouldn't be without meaning.

"Let's return to Xuzhou now," Chen Ke replied.

The group entered the Huaihai Provincial Party Committee office, only to be met by a grave-faced Wu Xingchen. "Chairman Chen, you were right. I just received intelligence: German warships have appeared off Lianyungang."

While Chen Ke was on the road, the Huaihai Provincial Party Committee had had several days to conduct intelligence communications with Beijing. They learned that the Germans were likely to provoke the base area. Chen Ke's prediction was that the Germans would first send their fleet to Lianyungang for a show of force.

This was perfectly imaginable. If the German fleet sailed to Wuhan for a show of force, it would be a roundabout way of doing things. Moreover, even if they went to Wuhan, it would be of little meaning—they wouldn't dare fire on the city. Setting aside what kind of counterattack they would face in the Yangtze, the British would be the first to oppose such a move. But for a blockade of Lianyungang, the British would turn a blind eye. Plus, Lianyungang was close to Qingdao, making it convenient for the Germans.

To Chen Ke, this was a very simple logical deduction. The Huaihai comrades could also agree. Their only misunderstanding was that such an action by the Germans posed no threat to the base area. Had they run to Lianyungang for a show of force out of boredom? Wouldn't organizing a land invasion be a much greater threat?

But reality proved that the Germans clearly did not understand the People's Party's model of base area organization.