Three days after the battle of annihilation against the Japanese forces landing at Longkou ended, the Japanese troops who had landed at Yangkou in Qingdao retreated rapidly. The Japanese fleet besieging Qingdao also withdrew. The frontal engagement of the Defense of Qingdao concluded with over 17,000 deaths or captures in the Japanese Kyushu Division, over a thousand casualties in the Sendai Division, the sinking of four destroyers, damage to four large vessels, and the sinking of over twenty other ships.

However, the Japanese fleet did not turn back home. After boarding their ships, the Japanese Sendai Division turned south and forcibly landed at Rizhao on October 2nd. The People's Party immediately sent a telegram to the whole nation on October 3rd. After announcing the battle results of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army in various provinces, they questioned what Beiyang's attitude exactly was. In addition to the telegram, the People's Party immediately demanded major newspapers publish their announcement: "Given the Beiyang government's inability to maintain the situation in Shandong, the People's Party, in order to safeguard China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, will take over the Shandong administration effective immediately."

There was nothing unreasonable about the news that the People's Party wanted to seize Shandong; the provincial authorities had long known the People's Party's characteristic of looting a burning house. But on October 4th, the People's Party demanded a public explanation from the Hunan government: "The Hunan government refused to transmit the telegram when the People's Party sent it, clearly attempting to conceal the news of the Japanese invasion of China. Such conduct compels one to question whether the local government of Hunan might be controlled by traitors."

This news instantly spread across all provinces of China. The People's Party currently controlled Henan, Anhui, Hubei, Jiangxi, Northern Jiangsu, and Shandong. Every province knew that how Hunan explained it was no longer important; the People's Party was about to make a move on Hunan. Swallowing the land of fish and rice that was Hunan, the People's Party's military vanguard would reach directly into Guangxi, Yunnan, and Guizhou. Once the People's Party established a firm foothold in Hunan, the annexation of these three provinces would only be a matter of time.

The Hunan government never expected that the People's Party would actually turn its gaze from Shandong, thousands of miles away, directly back to Hunan. Hunan Governor Cen Chunming knew he was slightly in the wrong; he had indeed ordered that the news of the People's Party's great victory in Qingdao not be transmitted back to Hunan for the time being. The governors of the various provinces couldn't be described as very conservative; even the conservatives in this era knew the importance of education. Hunan Governor Cen Chunming believed he had treated these young students well, but these young students would never understand the thoughts of the governors.

"Governor, how should we answer?" the Speaker of the Hunan Assembly asked cautiously. In fact, the Speaker had no need to be so respectful to Cen Chunming. But right now, Cen Chunming was still needed to shoulder the responsibility. According to the People's Party's style, as soon as the People's Party seized Hunan, it would be impossible to allow these current assemblymen to continue in power. So Cen Chunming and the Speaker were in the same boat. In his heart, the Speaker hoped that Cen Chunming could "bravely shoulder the responsibility."

Cen Chunming clearly did not have the awareness to shoulder the responsibility, and what the People's Party was doing was, in a sense, bullying people too much. But Governor Cen Chunming obviously didn't have the determination to fight the People's Party to the end. Instead, he cursed angrily at the culprits in his heart: "If it weren't for these students not knowing the big picture, how could there be today's events?"

If looked at from a purely self-interested perspective, one couldn't say Cen Chunming's thoughts were wrong. The young students were clearly attending school in Hunan, yet they believed in the People's Party's heresy, shouting about the people's revolution all day long. In order to suppress this group of students, Cen Chunming had issued an order the year before last that anyone who promoted the People's Party's heresy during their studies would not be issued a graduation certificate. The situation improved slightly at that time, and the students' nonsense turned from public to underground. But not long after, dozens of expelled students actually ran to Hubei first to seek study opportunities. Then they brought back intelligence on the People's Party.

Things like applying for financial aid for studying and schools providing meals weren't much, but the key was that these students brought back more important intelligence. As long as one studied in junior high school under the People's Party, the People's Party would arrange a job regardless of background or region. This attraction was simply too great. Changsha and Wuhan were not too far apart. Wuhan was now a huge emerging city with a population of several million. Railways, machinery, textiles, shipping—everyone who came back from Wuhan marveled at those emerging industries. Changsha was also a relatively prosperous city, but compared to the new Wuhan, it became a completely insignificant small place.

Under the agitation of this group of students, more than five hundred students ran away from many schools in Hunan. After these ungrateful students ran to Hubei, some ran back to tell their classmates that these rumors were all true. They not only propagandized in Changsha but also ran to their respective hometowns to propagandize. It was said that since last year, tens of thousands of teenagers and youths from all over Hunan who wanted to go to school but couldn't afford it had run to Hubei.

Even the young students who remained in Hunan clamored all day for Hunan to learn from the People's Party's policies. Surprisingly, quite a few of these people were from families of landlords and gentry. Such unfilial children made Cen Chunming feel unworthy on behalf of their parents.

If the news of the People's Party's great victory in Qingdao reached Hunan, heaven knows how these young students would cause a disturbance. Cen Chunming had no choice but to temporarily forbid receiving the People's Party's telegram. But he didn't expect the People's Party to react so quickly and immediately start condemning him. If Hunan wanted to resist the People's Party's attack, it should be reorganizing its army and preparing for war right now. But no one in the entire Hunan believed they could resist the People's Party's army with Hunan's strength alone.

Just as he was speaking, Cen Chunming saw his personal attendant run in with a face full of joy. As soon as he entered the door, he shouted excitedly: "Master, great news! Great news! The Great President has sent a telegram!"

Cen Chunming was Yuan Shikai's political enemy, and later, separated by the People's Party, the two sides had no dealings. Cen Chunming really couldn't imagine what there was to be happy about in Yuan Shikai's telegram. Taking it and looking at it, Cen Chunming was stunned. This telegram was Yuan Shikai's circular telegram: "According to the Outline of National Construction, the country implements a presidential system under a federation of self-governing provinces. Its basic work is to implement local self-government. And the implementation of local self-government must be based on the Constitution of the Republic. Its procedures are orderly and indisputable. However, since the founding of the Republic, the people in the four provinces under the jurisdiction of the People's Party have had almost no right to federal self-government. The People's Party resists the central government in the name of local self-government. This renders the Republican Government unable to complete the mission of national federal self-government... Since the founding of the Republic, the nationals have only focused on the articles of the Provisional Constitution and the form of the polity, resulting in Chen Ke and other rebels stealing the country. They also provide opportunities for imperialists to expand their aggression. The chaos of Hong and Yang is a lesson from the past, yet to this point, no one remembers it, and it is not remembered by the nationals who personally suffered from it. It is truly painful."

This was the first time Yuan Shikai had formally issued a statement targeting the People's Party, and referring to the People's Party as "rebels" really made Cen Chunming burst with joy. Under such circumstances, the People's Party would definitely have to turn around to deal with Yuan Shikai. Regardless of what outcome Yuan Shikai had, at least Hunan was temporarily safe.

Cen Chunming continued reading. After Yuan Shikai fiercely denounced the People's Party's atrocities, the conversation turned to the battle between Japan and the People's Party. "The Chen Ke-ists are dedicated to their so-called land revolution and peasant revolution. Wherever the army goes, the land is barren for a thousand miles, destroying our peaceful rural areas. They have no love for national industry, only instilling the theory of hatred and struggle into society and youth to hinder the progress of production. They also unilaterally terminate treaties with foreign countries and pose as China's liberators. Because Britain and Japan have an alliance, and British interests were damaged, Japan fought the People's Party in accordance with the Anglo-Japanese Alliance treaty. Because they were no match for the People's Party, Japan temporarily entered Yantai to reorganize its army for another battle. Our Republic is not the Qing Dynasty, and naturally does not allow foreign armies to rudely occupy our Chinese territory. Shikai has formally informed Japan to withdraw its troops from Yantai within three days. If they do not withdraw, the Central Government will send troops to expel Japan from Yantai. The People's Party falsely accused the Central Government of treason; the rights and wrongs will be clear in three days. And the People's Party, using the Yantai matter as a pretext, intends to annex Shandong. The Central Government formally informs all provinces that if the People's Party advances into Shandong, the Central Government will certainly launch a punitive expedition against the People's Party. If any province colludes with the People's Party, they will be considered accomplices of the People's Party."

After reading Yuan Shikai's statement, Cen Chunming's heart fell all the way from the peak. Although different from the People's Party's violent style, Yuan Shikai was still forcing the provinces to state their position. Cen Chunming had already been found an excuse by the People's Party once. If he supported Beiyang again right now, it was unknown when the People's Party and the Beiyang Army would go to war, but it wouldn't take long for the People's Party to head straight for Hunan.

"Wait and see," Cen Chunming said to the Speaker of the Hunan Assembly.

The Speaker of the Hunan Assembly also held the same idea. The situation was so unclear at this time that it was not the time to choose a position at all.

The British Legation was currently working hard to judge the current situation. Beiyang's tough stance towards Japan, at least in words, showing a willingness to resort to force to drive Japan out of Rizhao, surprised the Minister. It had to be said that while the Minister felt his expectations were somewhat comical, he couldn't help but feel a shred of expectation for Beiyang.

In the recently concluded Battle of the Marne, the Allied Powers invested more than 1 million troops and suffered losses as high as 250,000. Germany also lost a similar amount of troops. Even with such heavy losses, the war was far from over. The Allied Powers had the ability to fight again, and the Central Powers also had the strength to continue the war. Britain was frightened by such tragic fighting and terrible consumption. Fighting like this, there would simply be no hope of achieving victory in the short term.

Since the situation had entered such a stage, Britain knew it was temporarily unable to pay attention to the situation in the Far East. How to use the chips in hand to control the situation in the Far East so that problems requiring great effort from Britain to clean up later would not occur? All personnel of the British Legation in China wanted to find a feasible thread.

The result of the discussion was that first, a war between China and Japan could not be allowed to break out. Japan had already joined the Allied Powers. If Japan declared war on China, it meant that the Allied Powers would also have to declare war on China. Japan had already proven that it was not the People's Party's opponent. The People's Party's control area was inland. With Japan's navy, it was impossible to break into the Yangtze River and strike directly at the heart of the People's Party. The combat effectiveness of the Japanese army without the cover of naval guns was not favored by Britain at all. The division that was annihilated was a Japanese Type A division. Britain currently had no intention of formally declaring war on the People's Party. This was not just a matter of trouble; the People's Party was currently just a Chinese local power. For Britain to do so would only be degrading itself while raising the People's Party's status.

So Beiyang's tough attitude towards Japan actually gave the British an opportunity. What Japan wanted was to suppress Beiyang. The British already saw it very clearly. In Qingdao, supported by naval guns, Japan was still unable to win. In places where naval guns couldn't reach, Japan was even less of an opponent for the People's Party. So apart from gaining benefits from Beiyang, Japan had no other way. If the whole of China opposed Japan's invasion of China, and Beiyang still made Japan retreat in the face of difficulties militarily, Japan would have to listen to Britain's dispatch again.

This involved another question: how to deal with the People's Party.

The best way would be for Beiyang and Japan to join hands to strike the People's Party, but this had proven to be unrealistic. So did Britain support Japan or Beiyang? For Britain, although they tended to support the victor, they hoped even more that Beiyang could prove itself to be the victor.

"Can the People's Party gain control of China?" the Minister asked Sir Humphrey.

"I sincerely hope they can't," Sir Humphrey replied quite cleverly.

"If the People's Party wins, will they join the Allied Powers and undertake the obligations of an Allied Powers member?" the Minister asked the question he was most concerned about. The British always maintained skillful means; they would absolutely not play all their chess pieces to death. Britain was an island nation, and the continental situation changed in the blink of an eye. If Britain could not consider interests purely and maintain skillful means, it would have been impossible for it to stand tall for hundreds of years.

"The People's Party's recent strategic goal is to unify China. These Chinese people have always lacked a spirit of compromise. It seems that unifying China is a mandate of heaven for them, a destiny, an obligation." Sir Humphrey's voice was full of regret. This attitude of the Chinese made the British, who were accustomed to the chaotic situation in Europe, feel very unaccustomed.

"Hmph!" The Minister also expressed his displeasure.

Despite having been insulted by Chen Ke, Humphrey still replied, "I am not worried that the People's Party will defect to Germany. This is not just about the People's Party seizing Qingdao from Germany. The Chairman of the People's Party, Chen Ke, is a very rational politician."

The British Minister also deeply agreed with this. Chen Ke's diplomatic skills had a strong flavor of British profit-seeking. For the sake of profit, Chen Ke never cared about face. But in terms of core interests, Chen Ke had never made the slightest concession. Such a person would absolutely not let personal emotions dominate interest considerations.

"Then let's temporarily watch Beiyang's performance," the British Minister said.

If Gu Weijun knew this, he would definitely not be able to resist announcing loudly to everyone in Beiyang, "My judgment was correct!" Unfortunately, he could not do this.

As Gu Weijun's father-in-law Tang Shaoyi expected, Gu Weijun did indeed successfully persuade Wang Shizhen, and then successfully persuaded Yuan Shikai. Then this 26-year-old young man became a public enemy in the eyes of many Beiyang officials. To be able to gain the favor of Yuan Shikai and Wang Shizhen, and at the same time determine Beiyang's direction on such major policy matters, meant that Gu Weijun had become a new dignitary. Of course, the premise was that Beiyang could defeat Japan. Out of the officials' instinct, their first feeling was envy and jealousy of the 26-year-old Gu Weijun.

Gu Weijun soon felt this malice. Yuan Shikai summoned Gu Weijun many times, asking this young man to help him analyze problems and plan some matters. Beiyang officials who originally almost ignored Gu Weijun were now deliberately ignoring him with obvious malice. This ugliness made Gu Weijun very dissatisfied.

The People's Party had already seized southern Shandong, which was on the surface, and the rural areas in other parts of Shandong were also mostly controlled by the People's Party. In many cities other than Jinan, as long as Beiyang had no garrison, the People's Party had actually taken over local affairs.

Two towns of the Beiyang Army were advancing towards Yantai under the command of the newly promoted Commander of the Beiyang 4th Army, Wu Peifu. Once Yuan Shikai made up his mind, his actions were still quite impressive. At least Yuan Shikai knew that if the People's Party acted first to resolve Yantai and annihilated another Japanese division, he would be extremely disadvantaged politically. Because no matter what, Japan was defeated in Qingdao but occupied Yantai. Yuan Shikai could not shirk the responsibility for this loss of territory. The Sendai Division had also suffered losses in Qingdao and was at its weakest right now. If under such circumstances, Beiyang still could not defeat the Japanese army, it would show that Beiyang had absolutely no possibility of winning against Japan.

Wu Peifu was a person strongly recommended by Duan Qirui. Duan Qirui believed that Wu Peifu was resolute and decisive, and could shoulder heavy responsibilities. Yuan Shikai also knew of Wu Peifu, so he entrusted him with this heavy responsibility. To be able to get such an opportunity, Wu Peifu was very grateful for the recognition. Regarding others' ridicule of Wu Peifu, thinking that Wu Peifu had taken on a task close to sending himself to death, Wu Peifu did not care. To be able to represent the Beiyang Army to strike the Japanese army, Wu Peifu also had a sense of pride as a national hero. The 4th Army had two towns of new armies under its jurisdiction. They were all personally trained by Wu Peifu. Wu Peifu was extremely strict in training troops on weekdays and had great confidence in his troops.

When the Beiyang 4th Army arrived near Yantai, scouts reported that no signs of the People's Party's actions were found in the surroundings. Wu Peifu's last worry finally disappeared. On a dirt slope, Wu Peifu's personal soldiers had already set up a large electric loudspeaker bought from the People's Party. Wu Peifu held the microphone at the highest point, first scanning the dense and vast formation before his eyes, and then shouted loudly. The power of the electric loudspeaker had been adjusted to the maximum, and Wu Peifu's voice was transmitted to the ears of all soldiers with high pitch.

"Brothers. We Chinese have been repeatedly defeated in battles against the great powers. Foreigners simply look down on our China. Even the little Japanese, who have always been weaker than us, look down on us. Not long ago, the little Japanese were beaten by the People's Party and fled in panic. As a result, they ran here to Yantai. This shows that we Chinese may not necessarily be unable to beat the little Japanese. It just depends on whether we dare to risk our lives."

When Wu Peifu was delivering the mobilization speech to the whole army, suddenly the whistle of artillery shells came from the air. Compared with the Beiyang Army's 75mm guns, and even the 105mm guns imported from Britain, this whistle was sharper and more violent. The explosions caused when the shells hit the ground made all the Beiyang troops feel the earth shaking violently. The horses were terrified by the vibration and neighed; some horses even raised their front hooves high, and several cavalrymen were thrown off their backs.

Wu Peifu stood motionless on the platform, coldly watching his subordinates start to gather the horses and maintain order. Seeing the highest commander so resolute, the commotion in the military formation also gradually returned to calm.

"Brothers, this is the Japanese trying to scare us? This cannon looks quite bluffing, but if it were useful, the Japanese wouldn't have run from Qingdao to Rizhao! Brothers, everyone knows that fighting a war involves death. This time the pension is doubled. Everyone fight this battle well, just to let the Japanese understand that our Beiyang Army is not a soft persimmon that anyone can pinch!" Wu Peifu said this, and he patted the pistol at his waist. "This time in the battle, the supervising team is going to be for real. Those who advance will be heavily rewarded, and those who retreat will be beheaded. Everyone, do not harbor luck. After the infantry fills in, the platoon leader fills in; after the platoon leader fills in, the company commander fills in; after the company commander fills in, the battalion commander fills in. If you all finish filling in, I will take the remaining people to fill in!"