The reception room of the Japanese Legation was deathly silent. Matsudaira Tsuneo, the Japanese First Counselor, sat there with a composed expression, as if nothing had happened. Opposite him, Wang Jingwei, the representative of the Tongmenghui, had his lips tightly pursed, but his eyes were involuntarily wide. Due to his excitement, his wide-open eyes scanned left and right subconsciously, which made Wang Jingwei's handsome features look somewhat distorted.

The information Matsudaira Tsuneo provided was far too shocking, yet equally persuasive. Chen Ke's rise was no secret—at least, his experiences after his public appearance were traceable. The revolutionaries all believed that Chen Ke was close to Xu Xilin and Qiu Jin of the Guangfu Society, but in reality, the people with whom Chen Ke had established the firmest social relations were Yan Fu and Yuan Shikai.

If one followed this line of reasoning, the current compromise reached between the Guangfu Society and Beiyang surely involved Chen Ke's mediation. Thinking of this, Wang Jingwei suppressed his emotions and asked, "Mr. Matsudaira, are you saying the People's Party has been in league with Yuan Shikai all along?"

"I wouldn't say they were in league from the very beginning. However, from the start, the relationship between the People's Party and Beiyang has been very close. The various foreign ministers, especially those of Britain and America, believe the People's Party is merely a faction within the Beiyang clique. Chen Ke received an excellent education; he must have lived abroad for a long time, particularly in Europe and America, and surely studied at several universities. He has hidden his background, likely out of concern that it would cause unnecessary trouble. Some even suspect Chen Ke is of Manchu royal descent, or at least from a family very close to them. It is quite normal for a single group to have many factions, and it is equally normal for those factions to have profound political differences."

Regarding political differences, Wang Jingwei could fully understand. The Guangfu Society and the Huaxing Society were living proof of the sharp opposition and divisions that political factions within the Tongmenghui could cause, and the results they led to. At least Wang Jingwei wasn't a fool; Japan wouldn't make such a statement without its own motives. He asked, "Then why is Japan supporting us now?"

"Both the People's Party and Beiyang are pro-British. We, Japan, have always hoped to establish an Asian alliance to drive the white powers out of Asia. Wang-kun, the Tongmenghui has always been willing to cooperate with us to build a new order in Asia. The People's Party, however, has been working hard to exclude our Japanese presence from China. Naturally, we will support a party that is friendly to us." Matsudaira Tsuneo's words were very blunt.

Wang Jingwei didn't quite believe this. Whether the People's Party excluded Japan was hard to say, but he believed Beiyang wouldn't be so exclusionary. He asked, "Mr. Matsudaira, is the Beiyang stance on this matter consistent with the People's Party?"

Matsudaira Tsuneo replied readily, "The People's Party and the Beiyang government are attempting to reach a fixed trade quota agreement with Britain, France, America, and other nations. This agreement will greatly stabilize the presence of those European and American countries in Asia. The total trade volume will reach one hundred million pounds sterling—that is, a trade volume of seven hundred and fifty million taels of silver per year. As far as we know, Japan has not been given any share in this."

"Seven hundred and fifty million taels of silver? Is this truly the case?!" Wang Jingwei's voice was almost a moan, as if he were feverish. It wasn't that this sum of money made him greedy, but rather that the figure completely enraged him.

"This agreement is not a secret; Wang-kun will know if it's true or false with a simple inquiry," Matsudaira said calmly.

Leaving the table now would be rude, and Wang Jingwei wanted to maintain basic etiquette. However, his heart could not settle; he had received far too much information to process today. With a simple apology, he took his leave, and they set a time for the next visit. Wang Jingwei stumbled slightly as he left the Japanese Legation, a temporary loss of composure caused by his extreme fury.

Watching Wang Jingwei's departing figure, Matsudaira's face showed no expression. Now was not the time for secret joy.

To set a trap for someone, the best way is to provide them with a framework for their thinking. For example, because Yuan Keding's desire to become Crown Prince was so urgent, the foreign ministers expressed support for Yuan Shikai's enthronement. Yuan Keding naturally felt the ministers were sincere—or at least, he convinced himself they were.

Based on this framework, many extended measures were possible. For instance, the Japanese minister could already see that Yuan Keding believed removing Chen Ke would make Yuan Shikai the true ruler of China. All the ministers knew that Keding's logic was not the reality. Setting aside whether the assassination attempt would succeed, if an assassination took place—regardless of the outcome—the People's Party would be forced to break with Beiyang, and it was highly likely that Yuan Shikai would be finished. And if Yuan Shikai were finished, Yuan Keding would surely go down with him.

The ministers seemed enthusiastic, their every word striking a chord in Yuan Keding's heart. If those same words were said to Yuan Shikai... the ministers knew it would be an exercise in self-humiliation. Because Yuan Keding *wanted* to believe these things, Yuan Shikai *absolutely* would not.

Similarly, for the Tongmenghui, they had once considered themselves the standard-bearers of the Chinese revolution. In a sense, the Tongmenghui was indeed the first to shout the slogan "Overthrow the Qing, establish the Republic" during a certain stage. But shouting slogans was of no use; the fate of China was determined by the two political organizations with powerful practical capabilities: Beiyang and the People's Party.

At this stage, the Tongmenghui was desperate to turn its "merit of being the first to advocate" into actual political interests. Against this background, the best way to incite the Tongmenghui's hostility toward the People's Party and Beiyang was to make them believe the two were in cahoots, both being "counter-revolutionary."

Many things didn't need to be said directly; they only needed to be guided according to the other person's mindset. Everyone has a subconscious or conscious stance during communication. When the conversation touches on this consciousness, the person will subjectively believe the other party shares their stance and, therefore, that what they are saying is correct.

Of course, everyone has a degree of caution; they would also consider whether Japan was sowing discord. What was needed now was the truth, to ensure the Tongmenghui's judgment of the situation followed Japan's guidance.

Thinking of this, Matsudaira was indeed quite satisfied. He never believed that in the current situation, the Tongmenghui could truly possess actual controlled territory, let alone overthrow the People's Party and Beiyang to replace them. What Japan needed was a fierce conflict between the People's Party and Beiyang to exhaust the strength of China's two most powerful political organizations and muddy the waters. If Britain wanted to restore order in China, the only force they would be able to utilize would be Japan.

Thus, Yuan Keding's hostility toward the People's Party and the Tongmenghui's hostility toward the People's Party... as long as they were properly utilized, the two might very well converge on the matter of "assassinating Chen Ke." Once the assassination attempt began, the moment the fact that Yuan Keding was the mastermind was revealed, Japan could sit back and watch the show.

At this thought, Matsudaira's expression finally soured. Thinking of the British, he couldn't help but feel irritated.

As early as 1902, Britain and Japan had formed a military alliance to counter Russian expansion in the Far East. On January 30, 1902, the British Foreign Secretary, the 5th Marquess of Lansdowne, and the Japanese Ambassador to Britain, Hayashi Tadasu, signed the *Anglo-Japanese Alliance Treaty*. Its main content was: both contracting parties recognized each other's right to protect their interests in China and Korea. If Britain's "special interests" in China or Japan's in China and Korea were threatened by other countries or harmed by internal "disturbances" in China or Korea, the two countries had the right to intervene. When one party was at war with a third country to protect the aforementioned interests, the other party should remain strictly neutral. If one party was attacked by two or more countries, the other party should provide military assistance and fight together. The treaty was valid for five years. Secret clauses also stipulated that the navies of the two countries should coordinate actions to maintain superiority in Far Eastern waters. The Anglo-Japanese Alliance was a military alliance for offense and defense against Russia, and a tool of war for invading China and Korea.

After the alliance was formed, Japan stepped up its military expansion and launched the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905. In 1905, the two countries signed a second alliance treaty, recognizing Japan's "protectorate" over Korea and reiterating that military assistance should be provided if attacked by any third country.

Facing the fixed trade quota agreement that was currently being prepared, Britain didn't care at all about the feelings of its ally, Japan. No matter how the Japanese government pleaded, Britain indicated both openly and secretly that the agreement was temporarily not open to Japan. Only after Britain had signed the agreement would it consider in what way Japan might participate.

The British attitude of wanting to keep the spoils for themselves was obvious, and to some extent, the People's Party and the Beiyang government supported them in this. Looking at the current situation, it was highly likely that British banks would provide the financial support for this quota agreement. To the Great Powers, the British had become the project owners, firmly holding the initiative. The Germans had jumped so vigorously this time precisely because they wanted a larger piece of the pie. Britain might not be able to restrain Germany's reckless moves, but it could restrain Japan's restlessness.

Japan naturally didn't dare to openly seize interests from Britain, so it could only strike in secret. Britain was a very realistic country; once the situation changed so drastically, the British would immediately adjust their layout according to the specific circumstances. On this point, Japan had absolute confidence.

***

Wang Jingwei was currently far from the stage of reflecting on whether Japan's words were trustworthy; a flame seemed to be burning in his chest. All the blood shed by so many Tongmenghui comrades, all the hardships and wanderings of Dr. Sun Yat-sen—it had all turned out to be nothing more than stepping stones for the People's Party and Beiyang. This fact made it impossible for Wang Jingwei to calm down.

Seven hundred and fifty million taels of silver! This number suddenly popped into his mind. No wonder the People's Party and Yuan Shikai could reach a compromise; in the face of such an astronomical figure, how could they not? The principal of the Boxer Indemnity was only four hundred and fifty million taels, yet the annual trade quota for the People's Party and Beiyang far exceeded that entire amount.

Why should the People's Party and Beiyang enjoy such massive benefits while the Tongmenghui, which first advocated for the revolution, became an insignificant existence? Dr. Sun Yat-sen, a founding father of the revolution, was now an individual with no nationality; from a legal perspective, he had lost everything. And the ones manipulating the law were Beiyang and the People's Party. The contradiction between Beiyang and the Tongmenghui had a long history, and Wang Jingwei didn't care about it. But that the People's Party was striking from the shadows was something Wang Jingwei absolutely could not accept.

As his thoughts expanded, the excitement in Wang Jingwei's chest transformed into a deep and profound hatred. His hands slowly opened and closed, as if trying to grasp someone's throat from the air.

The Tongmenghui's Beijing-Tianjin headquarters was currently located in a small lane in Liutiao Hutong, in a very ordinary residential house. There were seven or eight young men inside. As soon as they saw Wang Jingwei return, they swarmed forward. "Zhaoming, you're back! How did the talks go?"

Seeing his comrades, Wang Jingwei felt a pang of sadness. The Beijing-Tianjin branch of the Tongmenghui, which once had over a hundred members, now had only seven or eight core members left. Originally, the foundation of the Tongmenghui was the "reformists," whose attitude was reform. As for whether the result of reform was a "republic," a "constitutional monarchy," or "constitutionalism," those seeking a constitution had once made up the majority. Dr. Sun Yat-sen, through arduous propaganda and agitation, had finally managed to set the reformists' goal on the path of "overthrowing the Qing and establishing a republic."

After the fall of the Qing, most of the core members felt they had fulfilled their responsibilities. Many officials loyal to the Qing were unwilling to work under Yuan Shikai, and Yuan Shikai needed to replace them with new people. Since one could be an official under Yuan Shikai, many former core members had switched sides and joined the Beiyang government.

Recalling the secret treaty between Yuan Shikai and Chen Ke mentioned by Matsudaira Tsuneo, Wang Jingwei was more certain than ever that he hadn't been deceived. Looking at his enthusiastic comrades, anger rose in his heart. He related everything he had heard today to them, using the theme that "everything is a conspiracy between Chen Ke and Yuan Shikai."

The young comrades were hot-blooded, and halfway through, someone stood up in a rage and shouted, "So that fellow Chen Ke wanted to use our Tongmenghui from the very beginning!"

The indignant voice was followed by sobbing; in his distress, a young man had begun to cry. "Back in Anqing, the People's Party let our Tongmenghui take the fall for them, and in the end, the comrades in Anqing were wiped out. Now it's clear—Chen Ke absolutely did that on purpose."

Someone already began using "facts" that Japan hadn't mentioned to prove Wang Jingwei's line of thought.

In truth, this was incorrect. The Yue Wang Society, which had joined the Tongmenghui, had strongly demanded to occupy Anqing themselves. Chen Ke, of course, knew the Yue Wang Society's fate; he hadn't warned them. It must be noted that even if Chen Ke *had* warned them, the Yue Wang Society absolutely would not have accepted his advice.

These young people, naturally, would not analyze the problem so calmly. Having finally found the culprit for the Tongmenghui's current plight, the youth of the Beijing-Tianjin branch were immersed in feelings of self-pity and resentment.

"Zhaoming, what should we do now?" someone asked with a sobbing tone.

"Don't be in a hurry," Wang Jingwei said relatively calmly. His comrades' excitement had, in a sense, dissipated some of his own, allowing him to face the situation more composedly. "I will be visiting the Japanese Legation again in a few days. Help me look into a few things. You must find out."

After several days of intelligence gathering, Wang Jingwei had come to believe every word Matsudaira Tsuneo said. Whether it was the trade quota agreement or Yuan Shikai's plan to invite Yan Fu to be Premier, both had been confirmed to be true. These two points alone were enough for Wang Jingwei to confirm the fact of Chen Ke and Yuan Shikai's alliance. He hurriedly left Beijing, first heading to Shanghai to meet Chen Qimei, a core member of the Tongmenghui who held considerable power.

***

Almost at the same time, Yuan Keding's house arrest order was lifted. Kaiser Wilhelm II had requested that Yuan Shikai send a delegation to Germany to discuss the Qingdao matter, which was an unexpectedly good development for Yuan Shikai. He also wanted to use this opportunity to let his son, Yuan Keding, go to Germany to see the world. Keeping Yuan Keding under house arrest forever was no solution. After reiterating that Yuan Keding was absolutely not allowed to have any dealings with foreign diplomats, Yuan Shikai released him.

Yuan Keding was very afraid of his father. Yuan Shikai was extremely strict with his children; if he found even the slightest fault, he would scold them at best or use physical punishment at worst. The various foreign ministers also cooperated and temporarily stopped seeking out Yuan Keding.

This made Yuan Keding feel both relieved and deeply unsatisfied. The feeling of being entertained by various foreign missions was simply too good.

Aside from the foreign missions, Yuan Keding found that after this house arrest, the Beiyang cadres had also mysteriously distanced themselves from him. He naturally didn't dare disturb those uncles and elders. Yang Du and Jiang Baili never accepted his invitations. And some who used to attend his banquets, such as Zheng Wenjie, were now starting to make excuses. Everyone Yuan Keding could now invite were low-level officials who were of no use at all.

These people were fine for eating and drinking and then going back to boast about how they had shared a table with the "Eldest Young Master Yuan," but when it came to getting things done—particularly mobilizing military force to send assassins—they were completely useless.

During the days of his house arrest, Yuan Keding's mind was filled with plans on how to remove Chen Ke. The best way was to send well-trained soldiers to carry out an assassination, but he was very clear that if Yuan Shikai found out beforehand, he would never let him off. Even after the deed was done, Yuan Keding couldn't let his father know. He would have to wait until Yuan Shikai eliminated the People's Party, at which point he would need to find a very appropriate opportunity to tell his father about his contribution. Yuan Shikai loathed being led by the nose.

Since no one could be found in the army, the only remaining choice was to seek out martial arts experts from the civilian world.

Yuan Keding had several retainers, though they were people of little use. However, while they were unremarkable, they had extensive connections. After hearing Yuan Keding's instructions, they tentatively asked who had dared to offend the Eldest Young Master Yuan so.

"If I tell you to find someone, then find someone. Don't ask questions you shouldn't," Yuan Keding said, putting on his airs as the eldest son.

"Yes." Those people indeed did not dare to ask further.