The news of Yan Fu’s appointment as Premier of the Cabinet shook the world. Among the intellectuals of the land, there was virtually no opposition to this arrangement. In his translation of *Evolution and Ethics* (*Tianyan Lun*), the phrase "natural selection, survival of the fittest" had acted like a thunderbolt tearing through dark clouds. It provided a glimmer of hope for those scholars who, after the defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War, had been unable to see a future for China.

After the "foreign devils" forced their way into China, all intellectuals were compelled to open their eyes and look at the world. The concept of "natural selection and survival of the fittest" not only pointed out the possibility of China's national extinction but also indicated the path to escape that fate: to emerge victorious in the competition. Now that Yan Fu had agreed to serve as Premier, it wasn't just a truly cultured thinker ascending to a high position. More importantly, it was the People's Party—which usually appeared in the guise of a radical revolutionary party—formally expressing a posture of cooperation with the Beiyang central government.

While the intellectuals were among the people, the Beiyang Cabinet members in the halls of power were equally shocked by this news. Regardless of Yan Fu’s impeccable naval and Beiyang credentials, when the Beiyang group transitioned into Yuan Shikai's "New Beiyang" after the year of Gengzi (1900), Yan Fu had not participated in the Xiaozhan troop training. Instead, he had detached himself from the Beiyang group and headed south. Naturally, the cadres of Yuan Shikai’s Beiyang did not view Yan Fu as one of their own stalwarts. Furthermore, the background of Yan Fu’s appointment was the People's Party, which had numerous conflicts with Beiyang. This made the Beiyang cadres extremely displeased.

However, circumstances were stronger than men. The immense pressure exerted by the People's Party on Beiyang made these people afraid to openly object. Everyone knew that Yuan Shikai and Chen Ke were quite close.

In late August 1911, Yan Fu finally prepared to travel to the capital to take office. Beijing had arranged a welcome ceremony, and precautions had to be taken regarding security. Wu Xiangzi and Song Enzi, despite being secret agents, were ordered to go out and monitor for any "lawless elements" attempting to disrupt the proceedings.

The two were actually minor lackeys. Their daily routine involved patrolling streets and alleys, mainly searching for and arresting those "talking nonsense" in teahouses and wine shops. The two brothers walked and chatted in low voices.

Song Enzi didn't have any particularly strong political views. He said, "The world is really hard to read these days. Isn't the biggest 'lawless element' the People's Party? All the other revolutionary parties have already joined Beiyang. Aside from the People's Party, who else is there?"

"The People's Party has openly opened offices in the capital and is doing big business. Who treats them like lawless elements? But the news we heard a few days ago..." Wu Xiangzi was quite concerned about this.

Although it wasn't said explicitly, Song Enzi knew which matter Wu Xiangzi was referring to. "Big Brother Wu, we're all small figures. If you want to go tell the higher-ups, don't say that I, your brother, knew about it."

"Isn't that nonsense! How many heads do I have that I’d dare to say such things? Let's just go wander around the teahouse. As long as nothing happens in the area we're responsible for, that's enough."

As they walked one after another down the street, Wu Xiangzi suddenly stopped. "Brother Song, look at the man ahead. Doesn't he look familiar?"

Wu Xiangzi identified him carefully. "Isn't that the revolutionary who used to lead people in street demonstrations demanding the overthrow of the Imperial Court?"

Having been in this line of work for some time, the two spies followed the "suspicious target" in a seasoned manner after confirming their target, rather than immediately stepping forward to interrogate or arrest him.

The two secret agents were not mistaken. The "suspicious target" was indeed Wang Jingwei. Over a year ago, when the preparatory meeting for the National Assembly was held, Wang Jingwei had led the youth of the Tongmenghui from Beijing and Tianjin in street protests, demanding the overthrow of the Manchu Qing and the realization of a republic. After contacting the Japanese Minister's office recently, he had returned to Shanghai to see Chen Qimei. Wang Jingwei had only returned to Beijing a few days ago.

Regarding the current changes, Chen Qimei’s attitude was very clear: "If things don't get chaotic now, there will be no more opportunities for us!"

The "United Provinces Self-Government" system had, for better or worse, stabilized the current situation in China. Except for the provinces where uprisings had broken out, the old government systems in most provinces remained almost entirely intact. Of course, there were changes at the local level. The officialdom began to vigorously win over the gentry. The gentry had long wanted to bypass the Imperial Examinations through parliaments and other means to directly intervene in local politics. The two sides hit it off immediately. Whether it was the old officialdom or the gentry, they had more or less used the name of "revolution" when trying to seize power from the Manchu Qing. Once they were in power, they became exceptionally wary of the revolutionary parties. Among the several famous revolutionary parties in China, the Tongmenghui’s influence was the weakest, and it had no territory of its own. If the situation continued like this, the already extremely weak Tongmenghui would inevitably become even weaker.

"With our strength, we can only assassinate Yuan Shikai and Chen Ke," Wang Jingwei said, not caring much about his own life or death.

"Zhaoming, oh, you!" Chen Qimei looked like he was disappointed in him for not meeting expectations. "What use is there in assassinating Chen Ke or Yuan Shikai? In fact, the assassination doesn't even need to succeed. The 'chaos' I'm talking about is making the People's Party and Beiyang go to war. If those two families start fighting, our Tongmenghui can take advantage of the situation to seize Shanghai. Using Shanghai as a key point, we can then take the whole country."

Chen Qimei was very clever. After hearing Wang Jingwei explain the Japanese attitude, he understood the Japanese intentions. Wang Jingwei’s head was filled with the idea of using the Tongmenghui’s current strength to directly strike the People's Party and Beiyang, but Chen Qimei would not be so "straightforward." He hoped to create a situation where the People's Party and Beiyang, already riddled with contradictions, would be forced into a civil war.

Wang Jingwei was courageous, but not stupid. He understood Chen Qimei’s plan perfectly. He did not agree with Chen Qimei’s approach of acting as a pawn for the Japanese to provoke a Chinese civil war to expand the Tongmenghui’s influence. "We should list the facts of the collusion between Beiyang and the People's Party to usurp power and engage them openly and honorably. Only then can we demonstrate the merit of our Tongmenghui as the first to advocate for the revolution. If we only provoke a civil war and play these intrigues, it truly damages the reputation of our Tongmenghui!"

Chen Qimei gave a cold laugh. "Is Zhaoming unwilling to make a sacrifice?"

"What?" Questioned on his courage and fear of death, Wang Jingwei immediately became angry.

"The current situation is no longer like the end of the Qing; none of the parties dare to cause trouble. If we don't let the People's Party and Beiyang fight, where will we have a place to stand? Even if the two sides fight it out, without the support of the Great Powers, it will be difficult for us to gain territory. Mr. Sun has been traveling everywhere, repeatedly trying to persuade all nations. But except for Japan, other countries are standing by and watching Chinese affairs. If we cannot make good use of this, how can we make any progress?" Chen Qimei persuaded him.

Wang Jingwei did not oppose Chen Qimei’s analysis of the situation, but for such a big matter, he still felt uncertain. "Does Mr. Sun know about this?"

"There's no need to disturb Mr. Sun with these matters anymore. Since we have decided to follow Mr. Sun, we will do these things first. If they succeed, we will then ask Mr. Sun to step forward. If they fail, we ourselves will naturally bear the responsibility," Chen Qimei said decisively.

Wang Jingwei was a loyal follower of Sun Yat-sen and would not hesitate to die for the Three People's Principles. But hearing Chen Qimei’s words, Wang Jingwei finally understood why Sun Yat-sen always valued Chen Qimei so much. If Wang Jingwei decided to be loyal to Sun Yat-sen because he agreed with his ideas, then Chen Qimei was determined to be loyal to Sun Yat-sen and then support all of Sun's ideas. Therefore, when it came to major matters, Chen Qimei dared to act and take responsibility, completely setting aside his own interests and making Sun Yat-sen’s interests the core. In planning this assassination, Chen Qimei displayed this attitude to the fullest.

Chen Qimei’s spirit of self-sacrifice deeply moved Wang Jingwei. He was not entirely opposed to civil war; he just had a very instinctive resistance to it. After thinking for a while, Wang Jingwei said, "Now four hundred million compatriots long for a true revolution. The People's Party and Yuan Shikai use the name of revolution to carry out the reality of warlord dictatorship. We must expose their true faces..."

To these words of Wang Jingwei, Chen Qimei pretended to listen seriously while mocking him greatly in his heart. As a man of temperament, Chen Qimei knew himself very well, and he had his own views on the Tongmenghui. Whether Chen Ke and Yuan Shikai were dictators, Chen Qimei had no interest at all. The revolutionary goals of the Tongmenghui were actually very clear: to establish its own one-party dictatorial regime. Or rather, with Sun Yat-sen as the leader, to establish Sun Yat-sen’s regime. In this regime, Chen Qimei would naturally be able to hold a high position and enjoy wealth and honor.

Chen Qimei very much disagreed with Wang Jingwei’s practice of finding revolutionary theories for everything. If a revolution could be talked out with words, the Tongmenghui would have long since become the largest revolutionary party in China; it wouldn't have been the People's Party's turn to become the powerful force dominating China, a party that had always been dismissive of external public opinion.

Chen Qimei actually very much appreciated one of Chen Ke’s sayings: "Who are our friends, and who are our enemies? This is the primary question of the revolution." For the Tongmenghui, those who could be utilized were friends, and those with conflicting interests were enemies; this had nothing to do with revolutionary theory. Chen Qimei firmly believed that revolutionary theory was for explaining the rationality of one’s actions after seizing power. If one couldn't even manage to seize power, then there was no need to talk about any revolutionary theory, let alone use it to guide revolutionary action.

Finally, having listened to Wang Jingwei finish that naive revolutionary theory, Chen Qimei stared at him with a look filled with contempt and suspicion. "Zhaoming, you are still afraid."

Wang Jingwei felt uncomfortable under Chen Qimei’s gaze, and a surge of anger rushed to his head. "Since Brother Chen says so, any further explanation from me is useless. Please, Brother Chen, tell me how to plan this!"

Wang Jingwei finally left Shanghai with a tragic air, like a hero heading into a final battle. Chen Qimei’s plot, to put it plainly, was very simple: Wang Jingwei and others would pretend to join Yuan Keding, and then "on Yuan Keding’s orders" go to assassinate Chen Ke. Whether the assassination could succeed depended on the situation. However, regardless of success, the matter had to be made public. Once this happened, both Chen Qimei and Wang Jingwei believed that with the profound contradictions between the People's Party and Beiyang, a civil war would surely be triggered instantly.

However, a remark by Chen Qimei at their departure made Wang Jingwei very depressed: "I will definitely report Zhaoming’s trip to Mr. Sun in detail. When the revolution succeeds, Zhaoming’s merit will never be forgotten."

Wang Jingwei was not afraid of death, and his desire to see Sun Yat-sen was definitely not for the sake of claiming credit or complaining. It was just that seeing the current situation in China turning out so differently from Sun Yat-sen’s previous expectations, Wang Jingwei felt quite lost. Although Sun Yat-sen had introduced several modified versions of the Three People's Principles in succession, it always made Wang Jingwei feel that they were far from keeping up with current changes. Compared to the simple and clear propaganda of "overthrowing the Manchu Qing and establishing the Republic" at the beginning, the power of inspiration was much less than before.

After thinking for several days on the boat, Wang Jingwei was unable to completely straighten out his thoughts. The only progress he made was in his understanding of Chen Qimei. With the current situation unclear, Wang Jingwei was troubled by what name to use to mobilize the supporters of the Tongmenghui. Chen Qimei had no such problem at all. For Chen Qimei, the current goal was extremely clear: to seize power. To seize the power that belonged to the Tongmenghui.

After establishing this clear goal, Chen Qimei had no hesitation but used every means at his disposal. Wang Jingwei admitted that this was the best method at present. Only with the Tongmenghui’s regime could the Tongmenghui’s ideas be promoted.

But this reckless, all-out realist attitude naturally could not be called "moral." At the very least, the morality of the Tongmenghui was at odds with the current mainstream. When the People's Party recently attacked Qingdao, it had explicitly announced that anyone who depended on foreign forces to invade China was an enemy of China. These powerful words made it easy for people to understand the current situation. The Tongmenghui was now pulling in foreign support everywhere; from the People's Party's perspective, the Tongmenghui was already a total enemy.

Filled with thoughts of reality and ideals, success and failure, Wang Jingwei returned to Beijing. When the Japanese side learned that Wang Jingwei had returned, they immediately sent people to contact him privately. During the talks, Wang Jingwei realized that Chen Qimei had already contacted the Japanese. Chen Qimei’s plan also had the support of the Japanese side. Of course, it was not the Japanese officials who stepped forward; over the years, Japan had also cultivated some forces and won over some people in China.

Yuan Keding still had not found assassins who dared to take action against the People's Party. Wang Jingwei sent young comrades from the Beijing-Tianjin branch of the Tongmenghui to contact Yuan Keding, stating that someone here wanted to take on the mission of assassinating Chen Ke for revenge, as their family had died in the war against the People's Party.

However, such a thing was not something Yuan Keding would believe just by hearing it; there had to be a process of contact. After waiting for a few days, there was still no word from Yuan Keding. Wang Jingwei became even more depressed. With his personality, doing revolution was something grand and heroic. Assassination should also be open and aboveboard; even if he were arrested, he should be dignified and not change his name, to achieve the maximum propaganda effect. Triggering a civil war through assassination was already not very honorable, and the principal party, that bastard Yuan Keding, who had previously been as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, was now acting like a big boss. Wang Jingwei felt deeply that contacting such a person was truly a disgrace.

With matters on his mind, he didn't pay much attention to what was behind him. It wasn't until he was about to enter the alley where the Beijing-Tianjin branch of the Tongmenghui was located that Wang Jingwei habitually looked back, and the two spies, clearly not expecting Wang Jingwei to look back at that moment, immediately gave themselves away. Although he didn't have much counter-surveillance training, Wang Jingwei knew that he could not lead the spies to the branch. He acted as if he hadn't seen the two spies, turned around as naturally as possible, and continued walking forward.

Following behind Wang Jingwei were Song Enzi and Wu Xiangzi. They had been in this business for a long time, and Wang Jingwei’s abnormal behavior did not escape their eyes. Since they had been discovered by Wang Jingwei, the two of them no longer hid and followed openly behind him. After walking a bit further, Song Enzi gave Wu Xiangzi a look. Wu Xiangzi understood and, at an alley entrance when Wang Jingwei wasn't looking back, slipped into another street and then walked quickly toward the police station.

The two of them hadn't really cared much about Wang Jingwei at first, just simply intending to catch a few "suspicious elements" to fulfill their quota. They didn't expect to haul in such a big fish this time. And this fish happened to be one that the two had once tried their best to avoid touching.

The "Young Master Yuan" had been looking for "those willing to risk their lives" for some time now, and the news was by no means unknown. However, some were so scared that they "dared not know," while others turned a blind eye with ulterior motives. After the Beijing-Tianjin branch of the Tongmenghui was raided, the leader Wang Jingwei managed to escape. However, many letters, telegrams, and documents were seized. No one below dared to take responsibility, so these people and items were transferred through various levels and were soon skipped up several ranks and handed directly to Zhao Bingjun, who was in charge of the police system.

Zhao Bingjun, while cursed the lack of responsibility of his subordinates in his heart, felt extremely uncomfortable about this "hot potato." Since it involved the eldest son of the Yuan family, even he, Zhao Bingjun, could not make the decision. Zhao Bingjun strictly ordered everyone involved in the matter not to leak any news, while he himself hurriedly went to find Yuan Shikai. Yuan Shikai was currently hosting a welcome banquet for Yan Fu, and Zhao Bingjun was called away from the table. Now he didn't dare go back and could only wait anxiously.

The reception for the new Premier of the Cabinet was no small matter. Yuan Shikai first hosted a banquet and then had a long talk with Yan Fu. It was very late when he finally had the chance to see Zhao Bingjun. When Zhao Bingjun saw Yuan Shikai, the latter was trying his best to suppress his emotions, but his anger could not be completely contained. Before Zhao Bingjun could speak, Yuan Shikai dismissed the people around him. "Zhian, I have a task for you."

"President, what is it?" Zhao Bingjun felt that his troubles were truly coming in waves; the task Yuan Shikai assigned would definitely not be a small one.

"Go and arrest all those people around Yuan Keding for me!" Yuan Shikai spat out these words one by one through his teeth. After saying this, whether from anger or shame, Yuan Shikai’s face almost began to contort.

"President..." Zhao Bingjun felt his throat painfully dry. He swallowed hard before saying, "I have something to report to you."

The two matters were indeed one. After Yan Fu met Yuan Shikai, he privately disclosed the information he had. Yuan Shikai was pale with shock. Firstly, he could hardly believe that Yuan Keding could be stupid enough to do such a thing. Secondly, he also knew how serious the consequences of this matter would be. Yan Fu was not a man given to lying, and in such a matter, if the People's Party truly wanted to set some kind of trap, there would be no need to send Yan Fu to drop a hint.

In his anxiety, after obtaining the exact news from Zhao Bingjun, Yuan Shikai was truly disheartened. He sat there in a daze, his face ashen, and didn't say a word for a long time.

"President," Zhao Bingjun was frightened; such a thing must not make Yuan Shikai so angry that he fell ill. "President, according to the items we seized, there are many people playing intrigues and plots behind this matter. The Young Master was just deceived by others."

Hearing these words of comfort, Yuan Shikai suddenly stood up. "Deceived? Why didn't those people come to deceive me? Why didn't they come to deceive you? It's his own obsession and arrogance. If I say now that this son of a bitch Yuan Keding was deceived, who would believe it?!"

The voice was like that of a wounded tiger, and the thick aura of murderous intent made Zhao Bingjun feel it was difficult to breathe.