Faced with the sudden changes in China's situation, the British Legation was also tensely discussing its policy towards China.

The People's Party was undoubtedly already an enemy, but at least the People's Party had firmly declared it would not join the camps of either the Entente or the Central Powers. This was the only point that allowed the Legation to breathe a sigh of relief. Britain would think of every way to strike at the People's Party's power, but there were many forms of striking. If the People's Party were to publicly request to join the Central Powers right now, Britain would have no choice but to mobilize all its forces in the Far East to violently strike at the People's Party. The People's Party had stated it would absolutely not join the Central Powers, and currently there were no incidents proving the People's Party was secretly colluding with Germany. This at least allowed Britain to avoid spending vast financial and military resources to personally organize a military strike.

Even so, the British side only felt the pressure lessen slightly. On the matter of whether to support the Beiyang government, opinions within the British Legation were far from unified. Beiyang had suffered defeat after defeat, and recently had suffered another major defeat. If Beiyang could not defeat the People's Party, all investments would be a total loss.

"How about we let Japan send troops?" the counselors proposed this suggestion.

Japan and Britain had signed the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. The contracting parties mutually recognized each other's right to protect their own interests in China and Korea. If Britain's "special interests" in China, or Japan's "special interests" in China and Korea were threatened by other countries, or infringed upon due to internal "disturbances" in China or Korea, the two countries had the right to intervene. When one contracting party was at war with a third country to protect the aforementioned interests, the other party should maintain strict neutrality. If one contracting party was attacked by two or more countries, the other party should provide military assistance and fight jointly. The treaty was valid for 5 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 offensive and defensive alliance targeting Russia, and also a war tool for aggression against China and Korea. After the alliance was concluded, Japan stepped up arms expansion and war preparations, launching the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905. In 1905, the two countries signed the second alliance treaty, recognizing Japan's "protection rights" over Korea, and reiterating that military assistance should be provided in the event of an attack by any third country. The third alliance treaty was signed in 1911.

" The Japanese side has already joined the Entente in accordance with the treaty, and the Japanese side has repeatedly proposed sending troops to China in accordance with the treaty." The British Ambassador to Japan had specially rushed back to attend the meeting, and he conveyed Japan's opinion to the British Minister.

Britain could completely understand Japan's urgent mood. That shit-stirring stick, the United States, was causing trouble for Britain all over the world. Originally, the United States was the largest buyer of Japanese raw silk, but after the United States reached an agreement with the People's Party, raw silk was imported entirely from China. The People's Party greatly expanding raw silk export volume, improving raw silk quality, and lowering raw silk prices was certainly one reason. However, the US government's intention to strike at Japan, this British thug in the Far East, was also all too obvious.

Raw silk trade accounted for nearly half of Japan's foreign trade share. American trade barriers and the People's Party's ruthless competition had caused Japan's exports to shrink rapidly. Life had been extremely difficult these past two years.

Meanwhile, the People's Party's chemical products and steel products were entering the Japanese market. Since the People's Party had no demand for purchasing Japanese commodities, the surplus earned in Japan was used by the People's Party to buy up Japan's gold, silver, and even British pounds on the Japanese market. These actions severely hit Japan's financial order, making the Japanese government extremely furious.

But fury was just fury. For the sake of the fixed-quota trade agreement, Britain had suppressed Japan for a time, not letting Japan act recklessly. Now that the situation had undergone a huge change, it was completely imaginable that the Japanese side could not hold back from wanting to make a move.

"Should we let Japan act freely?" Sir Humphrey asked the Minister. "In the military action to suppress the Qing government in 1900, Japan actually had the largest number of troops in the coalition forces. They accounted for roughly two-thirds of the total."

The Minister pondered for a while, then asked the British Ambassador to Japan: "Who exactly does Japan want to send troops against?"

This question hit the nail on the head. The Ambassador to Japan was also not very clear on this. "The Japanese side only proposed sending troops to China based on the 'Anglo-Japanese Alliance'. I also asked this question, but the Japanese side was vague. However, according to my observations, there are two targets Japan wants to send troops against. The first, and the most important, is the Northeast controlled by Yuan Shikai's Beiyang government. The second is Shanghai."

This answer triggered a few cold sneers. Japan's calculations were indeed excellent. Both the Northeast and Shanghai held major interests for Japan. Japan had coveted China's Northeast for a long time, and Shanghai was China's most developed coastal city. If Japan prepared to attack the People's Party, the British would still be willing to loosen Japan's collar. But currently, Japan was fundamentally not considering fighting the People's Party, but hoping to seize interests through war. The British naturally could not agree.

"Does the Japanese side have no plan to attack Qingdao?" Sir Humphrey asked with a tone of contempt. After the People's Party seized Qingdao, they did not withdraw their troops, but started building their own base in Qingdao. As a new industrial city on the Jiaodong Peninsula, if one wanted to strike at the People's Party's power, nothing was better than making a move on this "enclave."

The Ambassador to Japan replied: "I actually haven't heard Japan mention this? I personally suspect the Japanese side has already been in contact with Yuan Shikai on this matter."

"Then get this matter clear. How exactly does Japan want to make a move? If Japan wants to attack Qingdao, we could actually tacitly consent for the time being." The British Minister replied.

"Then should we proceed with urging Yuan Shikai to join the Entente?" Sir Humphrey asked.

"We can inquire about Yuan Shikai's intention in a private capacity for now. We don't need to rush at this moment. Moreover, we cannot only pay attention to Beiyang and the People's Party; we should also make contact with representatives of other Chinese provinces."

On September 12, 1914, after receiving hints of British indulgence, Japanese representatives immediately sent someone to contact Yuan Shikai. "Your Excellency the President, according to the 'Anglo-Japanese Alliance' treaty, if Japan's 'special interests' in China and Korea are threatened by other countries, or infringed upon due to internal 'disturbances' in China or Korea, Britain and Japan have the right to intervene militarily. Currently, the People's Party and the Beiyang government are in a state of war. We feel it is necessary to help you recover Qingdao."

Yuan Shikai listened to the interpreter's words with a grim expression. He ordered the interpreter to reply: "I know about this matter. You go back first."

Hearing the interpreter translate Yuan Shikai's dismissal order, the Japanese representative had absolutely no intention of getting up and leaving. He said coldly in Japanese: "Your Excellency the President, the 'Anglo-Japanese Alliance' treaty is for when there is an incident in China, Britain and Japan can intervene. Whether you agree or not is not within the scope of the treaty's consideration. Therefore, based on a friendly attitude, our side hopes to reach a consensus with the President. We hope you can wisely cooperate fully."

After listening to this, Yuan Shikai couldn't help but spring to his feet. First, he clasped his hands behind his back and stared tightly at the Japanese representative, then angrily raised his right hand, pointed at the Japanese representative, and said loudly: "Was your head kicked by a donkey?"

The interpreter froze, unsure of how to translate. But he heard Yuan Shikai shout loudly: "Translate these exact words for this little Jap."

Before the interpreter could utter a sound, the Japanese representative spoke in fluent Chinese: "I understand Chinese. There is no need to translate these words."

In diplomatic settings, such a statement was equivalent to tearing off all pretense. The interpreter was somewhat at a loss. But the Japanese representative no longer used Japanese, directly speaking in Chinese: "Your Excellency the President, you feel you have the support of the British government, so you have nothing to fear. I can understand that too. But right now, our common enemy is the People's Party. With your side's strength, it is fundamentally impossible to defeat the People's Party alone. Since that is the case, why doesn't Your Excellency the President join hands with us to deal with the People's Party? I know you have always wanted to be the Emperor of China. Both Britain and we, Japan, support you. Before, there was the People's Party, but now as long as the People's Party can be overthrown, who else in the entire China would dare to stop you from proclaiming yourself Emperor? Why don't you consider this matter rationally?"

Yuan Shikai stood motionless as if immobilized by a spell. The Japanese representative had spoken what was deep in Yuan Shikai's heart. If previously Yuan Shikai, as a traitorous minister of the Manchu Qing, forced the Manchu Qing to abdicate, making it impossible for him to smoothly proclaim himself Emperor, in the current situation, the People's Party had actively fallen out with Britain. If Yuan Shikai could take this opportunity to destroy the People's Party, with such glorious martial accomplishments, who would still dare to stop Yuan Shikai from proclaiming himself Emperor?

But Yuan Shikai was not a three-year-old child. The People's Party's announcement declared "Liberate all of China, recover all of China's sovereignty." Raising such a banner conversely forced Yuan Shikai not to dare let foreigners intervene in Chinese affairs at will. At least if foreigners were to directly intervene in Chinese affairs, Yuan Shikai would not be able to wash away the reputation of "colluding with foreigners" no matter what he said.

The Japanese representative came prepared for this. He continued: "President, your cooperation does not require sending troops directly, as long as you do not send troops. Our Great Japanese Empire's Navy and Army will solve the Qingdao problem by ourselves."

Seeing Yuan Shikai no longer had that earlier vigor but remained silent, the Japanese representative said no more. He turned and left with his entourage.

Watching the Japanese representative's back, Yuan Shikai felt a myriad of thoughts in his mind, yet unexpectedly could not summarize a countermeasure.

Faced with the recent jumping up and down of other political forces in China and even foreign forces, the People's Party's intelligence department did its best to search for every piece of intelligence that could be collected. Against such a tense situation, the People's Party carried out a tit-for-tat struggle.

However, these struggles were not military strikes, nor were they political propaganda targeting the old upper strata of Beiyang or other provinces. Except for the basic armed forces used to guard against enemy military attacks, the People's Party threw almost all its strength into grassroots operations. The only comparative exceptions were the People's Party's two major port cities, Qingdao and Lianyungang.

Qingdao was an enclave of the People's Party. For more than a year, the People's Party had continuously expanded the implementation of land reform near Qingdao, and the area under actual control had gradually expanded. Moreover, military construction in the port and urban areas had not slackened in the slightest. Pu Guanshui was now the Deputy Commander of the Shandong Military Region, directly leading the work of the Qingdao Military Sub-district.

After the People's Party expressed its stance to Britain, the Qingdao Military Sub-district had entered a state of full alert. Although Chen Ke believed Yuan Shikai might not directly participate in the action of foreign forces attacking Qingdao, or to be more precise, Yuan Shikai might not attack Qingdao together with the Japanese army, Pu Guanshui still couldn't relax.

Fortunately, the fortifications built by the Germans were quite perfect. Although some were destroyed by the People's Party, they were repaired after the war. Furthermore, the People's Party had repeatedly revised the defense plan based on the Battle of Qingdao, building and rebuilding a batch of fortifications and defense systems. This included fortified defense of important facilities such as the power plant. Knowing a war was coming, and the enemy was the newly rising enemy Japan, Pu Guanshui was both excited and uneasy. The various preparations of the troops, the wartime transfer of Qingdao residents—Pu Guanshui completed these plans with an almost obsessive attitude. If he didn't immerse himself in work like this, Pu Guanshui felt his whole person sinking into a strong state of excitement, unable to quiet down.

On September 13, 1914, news came from the lookout post that traces of warships were found in the waters off Qingdao. According to observation, the warships were flying the flag of the Japanese Navy. "Finally here!" Pu Guanshui breathed a sigh of relief. In this instant, all uneasiness flew to the nine heavens. Pu Guanshui felt himself thoroughly calm down; the high-spirited feeling unique to battle instantly spread throughout his body.

"Signal them, ask them what they want to do?" Pu Guanshui ordered.