On September 27, 1914, the Japanese Minister requested a meeting with Beiyang Foreign Minister Tang Shaoyi. During the meeting, the Japanese Minister presented a demand that shocked Tang Shaoyi: "With the consent of President Yuan Shikai, the Empire of Japan is dispatching troops to attack Qingdao, which is occupied by the People's Party. Due to the need to deploy more troops to the Qingdao front, the Empire of Japan requests that the Beiyang government temporarily lease Yantai to Japan as a logistics base to assist the Japanese army in its attack on Qingdao."

Tang Shaoyi was a diplomat after all, so he didn't immediately burst into profanities. Firstly, Tang Shaoyi wasn't good at cursing and rarely used foul language. Secondly, the Japanese side's statement "With the consent of President Yuan Shikai, the Empire of Japan is dispatching troops to attack Qingdao, which is occupied by the People's Party" implied that Yuan Shikai had secretly reached some agreement with the Japanese.

On the day the Japanese army attacked Qingdao, the People's Party had telegraphed the whole nation: "In order to defend China's sacred territory, the People's Party has engaged in fierce battle with the Japanese invaders in Qingdao."

This was the second time Chinese troops had engaged in war with foreign troops in Qingdao. Surprisingly, public opinion across the country was not initially impassioned. The People's Party was currently the public enemy of the entire Chinese ruling class. China had lost every war against foreign powers; having lost thirty-six times, one more defeat by the People's Party wouldn't matter. Given the People's Party's political stance, if they were to win, their prestige would soar, and the doomsday for the old rulers would arrive. Although they couldn't openly voice support for Japan, officials of the Beiyang government secretly hoped that Japan and the People's Party would perish together in Qingdao, allowing Beiyang to pick up the spoils of victory.

Under this mindset, Tang Shaoyi actually didn't believe that Yuan Shikai had reached any secret agreement with the Japanese. To say that Yuan Shikai was completely unaware of Japan's dispatch of troops to Qingdao would be underestimating Tang Shaoyi's intelligence. However, Tang Shaoyi absolutely did not believe that Yuan Shikai would sign any written secret agreement with Japan. But now, with the Japanese Minister speaking to Tang Shaoyi face-to-face so self-righteously using this agreement, Tang Shaoyi was indeed a bit bluffed.

After finally sending away the Japanese Minister, Tang Shaoyi immediately went to see Yuan Shikai. Just as Tang Shaoyi had expected, upon hearing the Japanese Minister's demands, Yuan Shikai trembled with rage, repeatedly saying, "Wolf's ambition! Wolf's ambition!" but offered no further explanation.

Tang Shaoyi could already guess about eighty to ninety percent of the situation. he sighed secretly in his heart but couldn't say anything more. Yuan Shikai didn't insist that Tang Shaoyi come up with a plan. After his emotions had calmed down slightly, Yuan Shikai ordered Tang Shaoyi not to make any concessions diplomatically and absolutely not to agree to Japan occupying Yantai. After receiving this order and seeing that Yuan Shikai had no other instructions, Tang Shaoyi hurriedly took his leave on the pretext of attending to the matter immediately. On the way back to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tang Shaoyi smiled bitterly in his heart; this wasn't just Japan having a wolf's ambition, this was Yuan Shikai truly inviting a wolf into the house.

Based on Yuan Shikai's performance, Tang Shaoyi could be certain that Yuan Shikai definitely knew about Japan's military action to attack Qingdao, and had even tacitly approved it. Now it seemed that what Japan sought was far more than just Qingdao; they had long coveted Shandong. Taking advantage of this attack on Qingdao, Japan pushed the envelope with more demands. Japan put it very nicely, "temporarily lease Yantai." Tang Shaoyi believed that if the "lease of Yantai" succeeded, Japan would definitely not keep it temporary. They would think of ways to turn the lease into a permanent one. Yuan Shikai absolutely could not admit to it now, so what would happen later? Would Japan invade Yantai?

Unable to judge the future development of the situation, upon arriving at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tang Shaoyi summoned his son-in-law, Gu Weijun, to discuss the matter. Gu Weijun had already received the news. When Tang Shaoyi asked him, Gu Weijun immediately said, "Father-in-law, the key to this matter is the British. If the British hadn't nodded, Japan wouldn't have made a request to Beiyang to attack Qingdao."

This remark went straight to the heart of the problem, and Tang Shaoyi felt a sudden clarity. As a diplomat, Tang Shaoyi was quite cultivated; he didn't immediately interrupt Gu Weijun's speech but let him continue.

"There must be an expert in diplomacy within the People's Party," Gu Weijun pulled the topic a bit further. "Among the various powers in East Asia right now, there is Britain leading France and Japan, and the United States, which has always wanted to intervene in China. The People's Party knew they couldn't get full support from Britain, so they simply maintained the situation with Britain while going all out to rope in the United States. Americans are pragmatic and utilitarian; if the People's Party can't protect itself, they wouldn't pull chestnuts out of the fire for the People's Party. Therefore, regarding the People's Party's recent actions, I see that seizing territory is certainly a goal, but proving themselves to the United States is also a priority. Now that war has broken out in Europe, Britain, France, and Russia are fully committed to Europe and have no time to pay attention to Chinese affairs. The United States, on the other hand, hasn't entered the war and still has the capacity to collude with the People's Party. So in the current situation, the People's Party hasn't lost external support at all. This must be the guidance of a diplomatic expert within the People's Party." Gu Weijun analyzed the situation for his father-in-law, Tang Shaoyi.

Tang Shaoyi nodded repeatedly. After Gu Weijun's analysis, all the problems instantly became clearer.

Gu Weijun continued, "The United States has always advocated the Open Door Policy in China and has long wanted to stick a hand into the Far East. The People's Party expelling foreign powers causes no loss to the Americans. Even that small loss can be easily made up by the expansion of trade. But Britain's loss is huge. Britain agreed to Japan sending troops in order to balance the Asian situation. But what benefit is there for Japan in just taking Qingdao? The People's Party only has two seaports, Qingdao and Lianyungang. Their real industrial centers and grain production areas are all inland. Given Japan's national strength, they are powerless to fight into the People's Party's territory. Moreover, Japan's interests are in the Northeast, and they have always coveted Shandong. But these places are in our Beiyang's hands. Even if Japan conquers Qingdao and Lianyungang, these two places will surely be ruined by the flames of war. Even if everything remains intact and Japan completely empties these two places, it won't be enough to cover their military expenses. Therefore, Japan must obtain interests in China."

Tang Shaoyi naturally wouldn't ask a foolish question like "Then why not discuss interests after the war?" Beiyang had clearly intended to let Japan pull chestnuts out of the fire. Even if Japan occupied Qingdao, it would be no loss to Beiyang.

"If we want to resolve this dispute diplomatically, should we ask Britain to coordinate?" Tang Shaoyi asked.

Gu Weijun remained silent. Tang Shaoyi knew at a glance that Gu Weijun had some things that were hard to say or inconvenient to say. He encouraged, "Shao Chuan, at this point, there is no need for any hesitation. If you have any thoughts, speak your mind."

"Father-in-law," Gu Weijun still hesitated a bit, "For military matters like this, if you can't get it on the battlefield, you can't get it at the negotiating table. I believe that if we want to find the British to mediate now, we precisely cannot go directly to the British. We must publicly and formally reject Japan's demands. Not only that, if Japan sends troops to attack territories belonging to our Beiyang, we must fight them. If we cannot prove that our Beiyang has the ability to fight Japan, the British, who already have an alliance with Japan, will absolutely not go to war with Japan to recover lost territory for Beiyang. Even if the British force Japan to withdraw, Japan will certainly demand that we Beiyang pay a ransom. Why should we pay money to get back our own land? Moreover, if we do that, how could the British and Japanese respect us? After the People's Party fought the Germans, they were able to occupy Qingdao. Did the British ever send troops to take back Qingdao for us? If the People's Party hadn't publicly declared they would expel British influence, the British wouldn't have agreed to Japan attacking Qingdao. Not to mention that even if the Americans lost some interests in China, they would still support the People's Party. With such a living example right in front of us, why doesn't our Beiyang learn from it? Why insist on learning from the Manchu Qing?"

Tang Shaoyi fell silent. He now fully understood why Gu Weijun had reservations earlier. Foreign war was not something the Ministry of Foreign Affairs could decide. Furthermore, Beiyang currently vehemently opposed everything the People's Party did. If it weren't for the fact that it was truly indefensible, Beiyang would hate that they couldn't say shit tasted good just because the People's Party didn't eat it. If Tang Shaoyi were to suggest now that Beiyang learn from the People's Party's foreign policy, even if officials within Beiyang admitted in their hearts that Tang Shaoyi made sense, someone would definitely come out to attack him. Not to mention that many people within Beiyang didn't want to fight foreigners at all.

After a long silence, Tang Shaoyi replied helplessly, "If there is an opportunity, I will mention this matter to the President."

Gu Weijun didn't pressure his father-in-law. He was already very clear about some of the practices within Beiyang. These major political and military affairs determined Beiyang's long-term future strategy. In fact, without anyone directly objecting, Gu Weijun could imagine what the opponents would say. "If we fall out with Japan now, what will we do in the future?" "Since Britain and Japan have an alliance, the British won't stand on Beiyang's side."

These words seemed reasonable, and these worries were not entirely groundless. But the People's Party never cared about these problems in their actions. Conversely, precisely because the People's Party proved with their own strength that they weren't afraid of Japan and Britain at all, Britain and Japan actually refrained from acting directly until the People's Party turned completely hostile.

Gu Weijun couldn't help but sigh slightly. Comparing Beiyang with the People's Party now, many people didn't think highly of the People's Party. But just eight years ago, when the People's Party was a small force in Fengtai County, Anhui, the Beiyang clique was already a massive military-political group that practically led the imperial court. At that time, the vast majority of people in the world had never even heard of the People's Party's name. At that time, who would have thought that a few young bandits could actually create the situation before them? Apart from anything else, simply in terms of courage, perseverance, and unwavering determination, those in Beiyang couldn't compare with the People's Party at all.

In 1914, Gu Weijun was still a 26-year-old young man, far from the old age where one could only sigh helplessly. And Gu Weijun had already couldn't help but sigh once just now, but thinking of this, he let out another almost inaudible sigh.

The next day, Japan did not continue to press. Beiyang's spies began attempting to inquire about the battle situation in Qingdao. Unlike the last time the People's Party attacked Qingdao, this time the People's Party had tightly blockaded the war zone. Beiyang's spies couldn't enter the war zone smoothly at all. Aside from knowing that the Japanese attack had made no progress, there was no further detailed news.

Tang Shaoyi soon met Yuan Shikai again. He was just about to present Gu Weijun's views to Yuan Shikai when he heard Yuan Shikai say, "The Japanese side has changed their request. They want to use Rizhao as a temporary transit point. On this matter, the British are more supportive of the Japanese. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs must negotiate well with Japan this time; we absolutely cannot let them occupy Rizhao and refuse to leave."

These days, Tang Shaoyi loved looking at maps more and more. Yantai was near Weihai and had nothing to do with attacking Qingdao. But Rizhao was completely different. Rizhao was south of Qingdao and north of Lianyungang. Besides having a port, Rizhao's location could not only cut off the connection between the People's Party's base area and Qingdao but also threaten Linyi, which was already under People's Party control. At least on the map, if they could conquer Linyi, the Japanese army could press straight towards Zaozhuang, one of the People's Party's steel bases. Zaozhuang had a railway leading directly to Xuzhou. The Japanese army could even threaten Xuzhou. Xuzhou was currently the People's Party's most important industrial center and grain center in the east.

The British might not agree to Japan occupying Yantai, but they could accept Japan's temporary use of Rizhao. Given the current strategic situation, Rizhao posed a greater threat to the People's Party. It could also fully utilize the power of the Japanese navy.

Seeing Tang Shaoyi silent, Yuan Shikai asked, "Shao Chuan, do you have any thoughts?"

Tang Shaoyi pondered for a while and finally made up his mind. He revealed his son-in-law Gu Weijun's arguments to Yuan Shikai in their entirety. Yuan Shikai listened with a deep frown. Especially when hearing Tang Shaoyi mention that Beiyang absolutely could not make the slightest concession to Japan outside of Qingdao, and if Japan were to use force, Beiyang should not hesitate to go to war with Japan rather than show weakness, Yuan Shikai's frown deepened.

This was already a strategy concerning political warfare, and a line of thinking that drastically changed Beiyang's established strategy. Yuan Shikai could not accept it easily. "Shao Chuan, with the current situation, we absolutely cannot fall out with Britain and Japan."

Tang Shaoyi knew Yuan Shikai would say this. Hearing that it was indeed so, he stopped speaking. But Tang Shaoyi didn't expect Yuan Shikai to suddenly ask, "Shao Chuan, who told you this idea?"

Tang Shaoyi became alert. He didn't know what Yuan Shikai meant by saying this. Was he planning to harm the person who came up with the idea? Or did he feel there was a major problem with Tang Shaoyi's suggestion?

"President, these are just some of my own thoughts. There are imperfections," Tang Shaoyi hurriedly equivocated.

Yuan Shikai didn't intend to get to the bottom of it either. He told Tang Shaoyi to continue with his work and let him go.

Not long after leaving, just as Tang Shaoyi was about to get into his carriage, he heard someone calling him from behind. Turning his head, he saw it was Wang Shizhen, who had been listening from the side earlier. Wang Shizhen said, "Lord Tang, I have something to discuss with you. Can we ride together?"

Tang Shaoyi naturally dared not refuse. Full of doubts, he got into Tang Shaoyi's carriage with Wang Shizhen. Wang Shizhen said, "Lord Tang, I am very much in favor of what you said just now about absolutely not showing weakness to Japan. However, going to war with Japan just out of a moment of impulse is not feasible. Lord Tang has never been a radical person. Proposing such an idea now, I presume there are some things you haven't explained fully. Please explain in more detail, Lord Tang."

These ideas weren't Tang Shaoyi's to begin with. Being asked by Wang Shizhen like this, Tang Shaoyi couldn't answer immediately.

What kind of person was Wang Shizhen? Seeing Tang Shaoyi's expression, he guessed the general situation. He smiled and said, "Lord Tang, it seems the President wasn't wrong. Indeed, someone suggested these ideas to you. The person who can propose this idea is truly a hero of the time. I wonder if you can introduce him, Lord Tang?"

Tang Shaoyi knew that although Wang Shizhen was Yuan Shikai's confidant, he was not a sinister villain. Nor did he like engaging in conspiracies and schemes. Since Wang Shizhen proposed meeting the person who came up with this line of thinking, presumably he wasn't intentionally causing trouble behind his back. He thought for a moment and finally replied, "Since Lord Wang has this wish, then why not ride with me?"

The two arrived outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Tang Shaoyi sent someone to call Gu Weijun, and the three of them rode together towards the Fragrant Hills of Beijing as if going on an autumn excursion.

Gu Weijun never expected his father-in-law Tang Shaoyi to actually introduce him to Wang Shizhen, the Dragon of Beiyang. Wang Shizhen had extremely high prestige among the Beiyang generals. Whether he advocated for war or peace could determine Yuan Shikai's opinion to a large extent. If he could convince Wang Shizhen, it was highly likely he could convince Yuan Shikai.

Wang Shizhen quickly asked for Gu Weijun's views. Gu Weijun spoke frankly, "Lord Wang, the situation in China right now is essentially that Britain and the People's Party are going to fight, but the war in Europe is urgent, and the British are unable to cope. Therefore, whether to support Beiyang or support Japan is the key right now."

Gu Weijun was a young man after all, and he dared to speak bluntly. Hearing Gu Weijun speak so straightforwardly, Wang Shizhen also nodded slightly.

"The People's Party is old and cunning. Since they dare to expel British influence in the Yangtze River Valley and claim to recover all of China's sovereignty, it's impossible for them not to see the current situation. Therefore, when the People's Party fought our Beiyang in northern Henan a few months ago, seizing territory was certainly one goal, but another goal was to make the British think that we cannot fight, that we cannot defeat the People's Party. They wanted Britain to lose confidence in our Beiyang. Because our Beiyang failed, the British released the Japanese."

Wang Shizhen looked grave. Coupled with his constant high position and command over the military, an invisible majesty and pressure made it difficult for Gu Weijun to continue. Moreover, Gu Weijun didn't know if Wang Shizhen could understand the connections within this, so he cooperated by remaining silent for a while.

After a while, Wang Shizhen spoke. He said only two words, "Go on."

"The Japanese are valued by the British only because the Japanese can fight. They defeated the Manchu Qing in the First Sino-Japanese War and Russia in the Russo-Japanese War. If we stay out of it now, and Japan loses to the People's Party, they will suffer great economic losses and will definitely want to take back some benefits from our Beiyang. If they win against the People's Party, Britain will indulge Japan even more. Therefore, the plan for now is that we might as well oppose Japan tit-for-tat. If Japan loses to the People's Party, we can win against Japan. If Britain wants to deal with the People's Party, they can only rely on our Beiyang. Even if we lose to Japan, Japan also lost to the People's Party. In order to mediate the conflict, Britain cannot favor Japan blindly."

Speaking of this, Gu Weijun became a bit agitated, "Lord Wang, the People's Party single-handedly challenges Britain and Japan, and even they are not afraid. We, Beiyang, are currently timid and overcautious; the outcome will certainly not be good. The British are the most fickle. If Japan is defeated disastrously, and the British feel our Beiyang is incapable, while they themselves are bogged down in the European war... Even if the People's Party provokes Britain like this, Britain hasn't transferred troops from Europe to strike the People's Party. If the situation looks bad, and the People's Party relaxes their conditions slightly, I'm afraid the British would hold their noses and recognize the People's Party's regime. At that time, Beiyang will be united in wanting British support, but if abandoned by the British... then even without the People's Party lifting a finger, I'm afraid our Beiyang will fall apart on its own. Lord Wang, this matter must be guarded against."

Wang Shizhen's face was already as dark as water. He was silent for a long time before suddenly asking Gu Weijun, "Shao Chuan, if I asked you to present this matter to the President, are you ready?"

Gu Weijun's eyes lit up, "This junior is ready to present it to the President at any time."

"Good!" Wang Shizhen replied with satisfaction.

Seeing such a dialogue, Tang Shaoyi, who was next to them, couldn't help but reveal a look of unease and worry.