"Brother Zheng, are you certain Chen Ke is in Xuzhou?" Yuan Keding asked, seemingly casually, as he poured wine for Zheng Wenjie.

Since Yuan Keding insisted on acting as if nothing were out of the ordinary, Zheng Wenjie had no choice but to play along. "I've only heard rumors," he replied in a voice that sounded blurred by drink. It wasn't entirely an act; the drinking session had indeed gone on for a long time, and Zheng Wenjie felt himself becoming quite tipsy.

"Young Master Yuan, if you want to know where Chen Ke is, wouldn't it be more convenient to ask the President? That man's movements are erratic and difficult to pin down," Zheng Wenjie said with a chuckle.

Upon hearing Zheng Wenjie's words, Yuan Keding's expression flickered between shadow and light. Managing to stabilize his emotions with great effort, he replied in a well-disguised, jovial tone, "Ah, my father has always kept public and private matters strictly separate. He wouldn't speak of such things."

"The President has always been a model for us all. He handles matters great and small without flaw," Zheng Wenjie said with a laugh, draining his glass in one gulp.

"The eldest son is also a dragon among men, a favored child of heaven—truly the President's right-hand man." Not only Yuan Keding and Zheng Wenjie were at the table; there were many others. Yuan Keding's retainers had already seized the opportunity to start flattering him.

Though he was smiling, Zheng Wenjie secretly sneered at such assessments. Everyone knew the Yuan family was thriving in numbers, but aside from Yuan Shikai, there wasn't a single person in the clan who could truly hold their own. This was a private consensus within the Beiyang clique.

Yuan Keding was Yuan Shikai's eldest son, thirty-three years old, born to Yuan Shikai's first wife, Madame Yu. Compared to Yuan Shikai's short, stout build and martial appearance, Yuan Keding took more after his mother. He was tall, with a quiet and refined countenance, and could even be called handsome. As the eldest son of the primary wife, his status in the Yuan household was naturally very high. In his younger years, Yuan Shikai had been busy with official duties, only taking several concubines after he achieved success. His second son, Yuan Kewen, was currently only twenty-one—twelve years younger than Yuan Keding.

Yuan Shikai had once held great expectations for Yuan Keding. Although he did not particularly like his primary wife, he took his eldest son everywhere. Whether Yuan Shikai was stationed in Korea, training troops at Xiaozhan, serving as Governor of Shandong, or Governor-General of Zhili, Yuan Keding was never more than a step away.

Zheng Wenjie had joined Yuan Shikai during the late stages of the Xiaozhan troop training and later followed him to Shandong. He and Yuan Keding were quite well-acquainted. However, being well-acquainted did not make them close friends. Zheng Wenjie's attitude toward Yuan Keding was one of "envy" mixed with "contempt."

The envy was natural—envy that Yuan Keding had such an excellent father. Positions that others had to strive desperately for through merit were simply handed to Yuan Keding by his father for the sake of "tempering" him. For military and administrative affairs, the senior officers who served as teachers to the army were also Yuan Keding's instructors.

The contempt stemmed from the fact that Yuan Keding himself had shown none of his father's capabilities. Zheng Wenjie had been reading recently and discovered that the original meaning of the word *buxiao* (unworthy/dissimilar) wasn't that a son was unfilial, but that the son did not resemble his father. The term "unworthy descendant" was a perfectly apt description for Yuan Keding.

It wasn't just the Beiyang people who considered Yuan Keding "unworthy"; Yuan Shikai himself had realized that his eldest son lacked the talent to be a regional commander. Ever since Yuan Shikai began his push for power, he had excluded all members of the Yuan family, including Yuan Keding, from the inner circle of leadership. If one spoke of "separating public and private," Yuan Shikai's actions were still very much admired by the Beiyang cadres.

Hearing Zheng Wenjie's retainers flattering Yuan Keding on how capable and talented he was, and how he was his father's right hand, Zheng Wenjie felt utter disdain. Yet, he maintained a friendly smile and did not engage with the topic. Those attending this banquet were all of the Beiyang younger generation; most, like Zheng Wenjie, did not hold regional command but were the backbone of the middle-ranking officers. Some seemed to have a different view of Yuan Keding than Zheng Wenjie did; they hoped to cling to this great tree in order to become Yuan Shikai's confidants. As soon as Zheng Wenjie's retainers began their praise, they followed suit.

Observing this, Zheng Wenjie began to regret coming. He had thought Yuan Keding's invitation would involve some serious business, never imagining it would merely be an attempt to recruit people over wine and women. In truth, the list of invitees had included figures like Yang Du and Jiang Baili, the young talents Yuan Shikai truly valued. But those men hadn't even shown up. In such a tedious situation, it seemed that declining the invitation had indeed been the smarter choice.

Facing the flattery, Yuan Keding did not show any humility. He said with a grave expression, "Gentlemen, my father has always kept public and private matters separate, never allowing family to interfere in politics. As his son, I naturally follow his selfless devotion to the public good. However, the world is currently unsettled—there are foreigners without and rebels within. My father is struggling to support this Republic, and seeing him toil day and night, my heart as a son is quite anxious."

Zheng Wenjie had been letting the girl beside him pour his wine, but upon hearing this, he withdrew his smile and gently pushed the girl away.

"All of you, out," Yuan Keding said to the hostesses.

"Yes." These girls had seen many such scenes; staying when unwanted would only invite trouble, so they obediently rose and left.

Once only the guests remained in the room, Yuan Keding continued, "Currently, Chen Ke of the People's Party is acting recklessly, attacking Qingdao on his own authority. The Germans are furious and have already threatened several times to declare war on China. My father, as the President of the Republic, naturally takes this responsibility upon himself. That Chen Ke is simply causing harm to others."

No one responded. Whether Chen Ke was causing harm didn't really matter to them. In any case, no one present had the ability to compete with him. If the People's Party army reached the walls of Beijing, none of them believed the Beiyang government would have any chance of victory.

"To catch the bandits, one must first catch their leader. The People's Party was founded by Chen Ke alone. If Chen Ke dies, the People's Party will naturally fall into chaos. We can then join forces with the Great Powers to wipe them out. This would both settle the dispute and stabilize the nation. What do you gentlemen think?" Yuan Keding spoke with a certain degree of passionate fervor.

Zheng Wenjie now fully regretted accepting this invitation. Even though Yuan Keding was Yuan Shikai's own son, he was actually suggesting the assassination of Chen Ke! Such a momentous affair was not something to be undertaken lightly. Setting aside how unreliable the idea was, the mere fact that he had revealed his intentions so clearly showed just how incredibly naive Yuan Keding really was.

Rapidly considering how to respond, Zheng Wenjie realized he had no choice but to play dumb.

Yuan Keding's retainers, of course, would not stay out of it. They spoke at length about the People's Party's "wild ambitions" and how Chen Ke was a "great scourge to the nation." No one in the Beiyang clique liked the People's Party, and criticizing Chen Ke was "politically correct"; there was no need to worry about any negative consequences. Thus, denunciations of Chen Ke flew around the room, as if the only step left was to drag him out and cut him into a thousand pieces to appease the world.

"Brother Zheng, you hold the highest rank among us. Chen Ke is acting so outrageously—do you not have an opinion?" Yuan Keding asked.

"I'm a minor official the size of a sesame seed; what rank is there to speak of? In my position, not making mistakes and not being scolded by my superiors is the greatest blessing. Whatever I do must be strictly according to orders," Zheng Wenjie quickly cleared himself. If possible, he wanted to leave immediately.

"Brother Zheng, when you led the cavalry to sweep away the Boxers, how heroic you were! Why are you so timid now?" Yuan Keding had no intention of letting him off the hook.

"That was then, this is now. Back then I was young and didn't fear death. Now that the President has taken office, I have a house full of a wife and children. Following the President's lead and living a few good days—that's all I ever wanted. Now that I've scrambled into this position, I barely have time to enjoy it, let alone have any lofty ambitions. Haha," Zheng Wenjie replied with a lighthearted tone.

Hearing Zheng Wenjie mention "the President" in every other sentence, Yuan Keding understood his meaning. He was already quite displeased. "Brother Zheng, my father has already ordered me to go to Germany as an envoy to discuss this matter with the Kaiser. Furthermore, the foreign ministers have long been dissatisfied with the People's Party's reckless behavior. It's only because there have been so many changes recently that many in the government believe we should temporarily maintain the peace. But over these years, the People's Party has expanded from a corner of Anhui to four provinces. If we simply wait for them to expand, I fear the longer we wait, the less we will be able to do."

Zheng Wenjie listened seriously, nodding slightly. He finally understood why Yuan Keding dared to be so arrogant—it seemed he had found a backer. Zheng Wenjie wasn't in the Foreign Ministry, so he wasn't entirely clear on the maneuvers of the foreign legations. Through Yuan Keding's boasting, he gained a clearer picture of the current situation, and certain pieces of information began to click into place.

A few days ago, the Ministry of War had begun discussing the topic of "unifying military command." At the time, Zheng Wenjie didn't know who had proposed the idea. The Beiyang clique itself was far from unifying its own command; the Beiyang Army wasn't exactly falling apart, so what command was there to unify? As for the southern provinces, Zheng Wenjie didn't care; they were tight on funds and struggled just to maintain seven or eight thousand new troops per province.

The only force worth "unifying" was the People's Party army. All intelligence confirmed that their military strength was nearing half a million. Having just taken Qingdao, such a force was indeed fearsome. However, when talking about "unifying military command," would it be the Beiyang government unifying the People's Party, or the People's Party unifying the Beiyang Army? Discussing that question felt rather pointless. Now, listening to Yuan Keding, it seemed there were many forces operating behind this agenda.

"And what is the President's opinion on this?" Zheng Wenjie didn't give Yuan Keding any face, firmly anchoring every word to Yuan Shikai's attitude. Since he had mistakenly attended this gathering, he could not afford to make another mistake on such a critical matter.

Yuan Keding did not answer, merely shooting Zheng Wenjie a sideways glance. Several other Beiyang cadres also began to understand. As it stood, everything Yuan Keding was saying did not represent Yuan Shikai, but rather his own ideas. The purpose of this banquet was to get these Beiyang cadres to step forward—or at least support him when he started stirring up trouble. This was nonsense. Yuan Shikai was a man who cared deeply for rules; if a subordinate made a mistake, he could be lenient. But if a subordinate was not of one heart with him, Yuan Shikai would never be soft-hearted. "Money in one hand, a sword in the other"—this wasn't just about strict military discipline. What Yuan Shikai loathed most were subordinates who didn't know the rules.

By this point, the stances were quickly clarified. The Beiyang cadres indicated through their words that they would absolutely follow the President. This was a safe statement. However, what went unsaid was that they would absolutely not switch to Yuan Keding's camp just because he was the eldest son.

Since the situation had turned out this way, the wine naturally lost its flavor. Before long, the gathering broke up.

Zheng Wenjie felt as if he had been granted a general amnesty. On the way home, while cursing his own stupidity, he couldn't help but admire the cleverness of Yang Du and the newly promoted attendant, Jiang Baili. They had seen the heart of the matter long ago, while he had to see and hear it for himself to understand.

After some self-criticism, Zheng Wenjie's thoughts returned to ruminating on the intelligence he had gained today. Yuan Keding was going to Germany to explain the Qingdao situation, and the foreign ministers all wanted to curb the People's Party. Behind this seemingly chaotic activity, a piece of information was revealed: at this stage, neither the domestic nor the foreign powers wanted to let things escalate to an uncontrollable level.

Originally, some in the Beiyang clique thought the foreigners would be enraged enough to launch a punitive expedition after the People's Party captured Qingdao. He hadn't expected President Yuan Shikai to be able to mediate the situation to such an extent; Zheng Wenjie truly admired him. Regarding his firm stance today, he felt he hadn't made a single misstep.

***

Yuan Keding returned home in a gloomy mood. The upper ranks of the Beiyang government were all his seniors; he lacked the confidence to make them support him. He had once thought he could find followers among these middle-ranking officers with whom he had been well-acquainted for years. Facts had proven him wrong. The Beiyang clique, from top to bottom, consisted of his father's subordinates; that didn't mean he could naturally gain their support in the capacity of "Crown Prince."

Ever since Yuan Shikai seized the central government, Yuan Keding had a dream. He who overthrows the previous dynasty naturally inherits everything from it. Since Yuan Shikai had overthrown the Manchu Qing, he should naturally become Emperor. Then Yuan Keding would be the Crown Prince. This vision had once kept him awake with excitement for a long time. But things hadn't developed that way. Yuan Shikai had become President, but not Emperor. Regarding Yuan Keding, Yuan Shikai had almost treated him as if he were in exile. Before, Yuan Keding at least had some official business to attend to, but now he had been tossed aside.

Seeing others receiving high offices and titles, Yuan Keding felt as if a fire were burning in his heart.

He didn't believe in his father's "separation of public and private." Such things were for others to hear; how could a man set aside his own son and make great use of others? The only problem was that Yuan Shikai currently could not take the throne. As long as he became Emperor, everything would fall into place.

Yuan Shikai had established the National Library and the National Museum, attracting many former Qing scholars who were unwilling to serve as officials. Having no official duties, Yuan Keding associated with these members of the Hanlin Academy and some old literati who claimed to be "experts in the art of emperorship." He had heard them discuss royal matters. Being a Crown Prince was difficult; that was universally acknowledged. As for why it was difficult, opinions varied. One explanation had particularly suited Yuan Keding's palate.

"Being a Crown Prince is difficult because, on one hand, he is the heir apparent, the successor to the great tradition of the world. But he is not the sovereign; he still has to handle affairs. As long as he handles affairs, he will be judged and criticized, which damages his imperial dignity."

Yuan Keding knew in his heart that he wasn't good at handling affairs, but he would never admit it. Having received this explanation, he believed his father was actually paving the way for him. By staying away from specific administrative duties, he only needed to accumulate prestige and connections to secure his position as Crown Prince.

Of course, Yuan Keding also knew the reality of the situation. There was actually only one enemy preventing Yuan Shikai from taking the throne: Chen Ke, the Chairman of the People's Party. The People's Party had always taken a clear stand against the imperial system, and combined with their powerful military, they were the greatest obstacle.

Yuan Keding naturally lacked the ability to personally defeat the People's Party, so his thoughts naturally turned to another path: removing Chen Ke, their representative figure. He loathed Chen Ke intensely, and not just because the man blocked his father's path to the throne. In daily conversation, his father, Yuan Shikai, happened to show considerable weight and admiration for this greatest political rival, almost to the point of saying, "A son should be like Chen Wenqing."

This was a level of praise Yuan Shikai had never shown toward Yuan Keding. It was also exactly what Yuan Keding most desired from his father. Thus, for both public and private reasons, he considered Chen Ke his mortal enemy.

A few months ago, Chen Ke had dared to personally visit Yuan Shikai, and Yuan Keding had seen him for the first time. This legendary "rebel" didn't look like a fierce bandit or a shifty character. Aside from being tall and well-proportioned, with a martial air similar to Yuan Shikai's, Chen Ke also possessed the peculiar elegance and composure of a scholar.

At the time, the one thing Yuan Keding wanted to do most was find someone to rush in and kill him. But murdering a guest who had come to visit was definitely not honorable. Furthermore, even Yuan Keding, with his heart boiling with jealousy and hostility, knew that if he killed Chen Ke like that, his father's lifelong reputation would be ruined.

What most dissatisfied him was that he had later hinted to his father whether they should assassinate Chen Ke. If a suitable scapegoat were found, Yuan Shikai could distance himself from the deed entirely.

The result of those words was that Yuan Shikai had risen in a fury and given Yuan Keding a severe scolding, refusing to see him for half a month. It was only later, through the mediation of Madame Shen, that Yuan Keding finally found an opportunity to kowtow and admit his fault. The matter was barely settled then. Since then, Yuan Shikai had become even more distant.

"Chen Ke, I will definitely kill you!" Yuan Keding had completely made up his mind. No matter the means, as long as there was the slightest chance, he would have Chen Ke dead.