Zhou Shuren originally thought he would stay in Rizhao for a while, but unexpectedly, with a single order from the People's Party, the field hospital and the wounded were all loaded onto trains and transported to Qingdao. Zhou Shuren himself had already decided to stay behind for now; he just hoped the medical team from Hangzhou Hospital could return smoothly. Everyone has their own aspirations; the medical team had already done their best here, and the doctors and nurses all had the intention of returning to Zhejiang.

"Director Li, what are these wounded being transported to Qingdao for?" It was impossible for Zhou Shuren to say straight away that he wanted to leave.

"Not all of them are going to Qingdao. After reaching the Jiaoji Line, they will turn directly towards Jinan and hand these wounded over to the Beiyang side," Li Bing replied. This was a tradition of the People's Party. Because they had families in Hebei, very few Beiyang Army officers and soldiers would surrender to the People's Party. In order to expand the influence of the People's Party's policy of "preferential treatment of captives," the wounded were all sent back to the Beiyang side.

After listening to Li Bing's introduction, Zhou Shuren continued to ask, "Director Li, I wonder if our medical team can be sent back first?"

"That group of volunteers can be sent back first. But the people from the medical team should not go back for the time being." Li Bing's expression was quite serious.

"Why?" Zhou Shuren was very puzzled. Since there were no wounded to treat, forcing the medical team to stay was meaningless. The People's Party did not lack these few doctors, nor did it lack the skills of these people.

"The news from above ordered this. The reason was not stated very clearly, but it roughly says that Mr. Cai is preparing to conduct a purge within the Guangfu Society." Li Bing replied somewhat hesitantly.

"A purge?" Zhou Shuren immediately became tense. He remembered when he came, Cai Yuanpei's trusted aide Wu Yutang kept demanding that Zhou Shuren "draw a clear line" with the Western Zhejiang Branch of the Guangfu Society.

Li Bing nodded, "Since the higher-ups say so, there should be such a thing, but I am not very clear about the more specific details. The higher-ups said this matter is very complex and involves many forces. Many of you are from Western Zhejiang, and I'm afraid it's not very appropriate to go back now, so we are asked to forcibly keep you here. We have absolutely no malicious intent, but since there is such an order, we must execute it."

Zhou Shuren fell silent. This news was too unexpected. "Who exactly is involved in this matter?"

Li Bing said comfortingly, "I don't know about this either, but it shouldn't be some small figure. Brother Zhou, it's useless for you to be anxious. It's just right to take this opportunity to exchange medical skills well with the colleagues from Hangzhou Hospital. Don't waste time."

This suggestion couldn't be called bad. Zhou Shuren responded with a bitter smile. He knew Li Bing could only tell him this much, but Zhou Shuren felt very uneasy about who the "big shot involved in the Guangfu Society purge" was. One could understand with a little thought that if there was a big shot involved, it would likely be Yuan Shikai. But Zhou Shuren clearly felt that the matter was definitely not that simple.

The big shot supporting Cai Yuanpei's purge was indeed not just Yuan Shikai. The British had put in great effort this time in promoting the southern provinces to join the anti-People's Party alliance. Even before Japan's defeat, the British side had attempted to contact Cai Yuanpei, the Speaker of the Zhejiang Provincial Assembly and President of the Guangfu Society.

This change came from the British investigation into the People's Party's railway system. Ever since the People's Party seized Qingdao, they had detained all Germans and taken over German assets. Among them were a batch of industrial enterprises such as the Sifang Locomotive and Rolling Stock Works, and there was no lack of personnel like railway experts. As for the German railway design drawings, not a single one escaped. The British originally didn't care about this; it was only right and proper for the defeated to be controlled by the victors. It wasn't until the People's Party effectively began operating these factories and controlled railways in a short period that the British began to become alert. After investigation, the British found that the People's Party did not lack students who had studied in Germany. Among the heads of the People's Party's industrial departments, quite a few had experience studying in Germany. Obviously, the People's Party was absorbing and digesting German railway technology.

After the People's Party formally expressed their intention to expel British influence, the British began a comprehensive investigation of the People's Party's strength. When they analyzed the People's Party's railway power, the British were stunned. Centered on the four coal and iron complex industrial bases of Hanyang Iron and Steel Group, Maanshan Iron and Steel Group, Zaozhuang Iron and Steel Group, and Hefei Iron and Steel Group, the People's Party was building railways at an astonishing speed. These areas were originally inland, where British influence did not penetrate deeply, and intelligence processing capabilities were insufficient. When the People's Party's railway system was aggregated, the British discovered that there were over 2,000 kilometers of railways known to be completed and open to traffic alone. The railways under construction exceeded 6,000 kilometers. The railways of this era certainly did not have the level of the 21st century; the technical content was not high, and construction was relatively easy. The British certainly wouldn't think to compare these railways vertically with 21st-century railways they hadn't seen either. But the British understood one thing very well: the role of railways for the inland.

Inland transport is inconvenient. If one studies the routes of the People's Party's railways, one can discover that the People's Party's railway construction is very utilitarian and practical. Either connecting important iron and steel bases with important cities, or connecting important cities with important grain-producing areas. Building railways requires a large amount of grain. The People's Party used huge manpower to connect grain-producing areas. Leaving aside the military role, just the grain consumption saved in transportation alone was enough to feed over a hundred thousand railway builders.

After confirming this news, the British faces turned green. One reason they were originally not too enthusiastic about supporting Yuan Shikai was that the British actually didn't believe the People's Party really possessed an army of over one million. At least based on direct and indirect contact between the British and the People's Party, the British believed the People's Party's total troop strength was at a level between 200,000 and 300,000. Yuan Shikai repeatedly said the People's Party had 800,000 troops, but the British didn't believe it. Because Yuan Shikai told the British that most of these 800,000 troops were in the countryside. The British Legation felt Yuan Shikai was looking down on British intelligence. Troops stationed in the countryside were a big joke. They even thought Yuan Shikai counted the People's Party's local tax collectors as troops.

After confirming the People's Party's railway construction and counting in the People's Party Railway Corps provided by Yuan Shikai, the British finally really believed Yuan Shikai wasn't wrong. To build over 2,000 kilometers of railways within a short two or three years, it was impossible without 200,000 people, and these 200,000 people must be able-bodied laborers. Although they didn't know how the so-called "Railway Corps" was trained, in Britain, 200,000 able-bodied men building railways could go to the battlefield with rifles and a little training. Moreover, the British this time also believed in the People's Party's "Engineering Corps" mentioned by Yuan Shikai. In the investigation targeting Huaihai Province, the British found the People's Party dredging canals, building dams, and constructing irrigation channels. These things were not work that could be completed by Chinese peasants farming the land. Since there was the matter of the Railway Corps before, the British no longer dared to treat the People's Party's "Engineering Corps" as non-existent.

Calculating in a quite conservative way, the number of People's Party Engineering Corps would also exceed 100,000. 100,000 Engineering Corps, 200,000 Railway Corps, 300,000 Field Army and defense troops, the total number was also at a level above 600,000. This was double the number the British originally thought. The current number of the Beiyang Army was just approaching 1.2 million. There was still a distance of 600,000 from the 1.8 million troops Yuan Shikai expected. With the combat effectiveness displayed by the People's Party, the British didn't think these 1.2 million Beiyang troops were opponents of the People's Party's over 600,000 troops.

The British originally also had a psychological bottom line. If the People's Party fought into Hebei, this was the British psychological bottom line. At that time, they believed they must start doing something to Beiyang, either support or abandon. Now the British discovered that the reason the People's Party didn't attack into Hebei but turned to attack Hunan was not that the People's Party was insatiable or lacked troops. It was that the People's Party was making comprehensive preparations. When the railway system and logistics system could project the People's Party's 600,000 troops into Hebei for combat, what Beiyang would face would be an irresistible devastating torrent.

After confirming the deduction results, Sir Humphrey immediately expressed that they might as well abandon Beiyang. Since it was impossible for Beiyang to have a chance of winning no matter what, then either release the Japanese, or the British implement comprehensive intimidation against the People's Party. Or try to maintain the situation as much as possible, and after the war in Europe ends, the British would return to Asia with the prestige of victory to beat the People's Party to pieces.

But other personnel of the Legation did not support this. Britain was not optimistic about the expectation of the future war. Originally Britain thought Germany could only last for half a year at most. After the Battle of the Marne, Britain thought defeating Germany would probably take a year and a half later. With the People's Party's current performance of frantically building railways, a year and a half later, let alone Beiyang, they would probably have been annihilated. Even if Beiyang was not annihilated, the People's Party's railway construction mileage should exceed 6,000 kilometers. The Germans fully utilized railways to mobilize troops and implemented interior lines movement in the Franco-Prussian War, so they defeated the French army.

The People's Party is a local snake in China. With sufficient railways as transportation tools, how many people would the British have to send to China to defeat the People's Party which can produce weapons and ammunition itself?

So currently, it is no longer a question of how to support Beiyang, but a question of how to treat the People's Party. The British Legation has long ceased to regard Chen Ke as an uneducated and uncultured Chinese native rebel. They now also admit that the People's Party led by Chen Ke can be considered a very alternative "quasi-industrial nation political organization." Such an organization can only become stronger and stronger with time. The British Legation no longer dares to be arrogant about this. If time is given to the People's Party, the price Britain has to pay to strike the People's Party can only be greater and greater. Whether to negotiate peace with the People's Party or strangle the People's Party in its infancy, the British found that time was not on their side.

So after a long discussion, the British decided to first try to form an anti-People's Party alliance, and then talk about future steps.