Cao Cuishan never expected that his son going to the county town to get reinforcements would result in reinforcements indeed arriving, but his son being beaten bloody and brought to the door bound in ropes. No matter how firm Cao Cuishan's attitude against the People's Party was, he was after all just a local landlord. Seeing this situation, Cao Cuishan no longer dared to open the door to welcome the government army. He couldn't care about his son's life or death. Ordering the family servants to shut the door tightly, Cao Cuishan felt his heart thumping wildly. He clutched his chest and ordered: "Hurry up and hide the valuables!"

The five hundred or so regular Beiyang soldiers were in no hurry. They surrounded the Cao family courtyard in an orderly and airtight manner. The Cao family's guards and servants had also lost the will to resist. Cao Cuishan's chaotic mind was entirely considering how his son Cao Yifeng had offended the Beiyang Army officers. He didn't think about how the Beiyang Army was logically supposed to be here to suppress the "unruly people" who advocated joining the People's Party, but after they arrived at Cao Family Shop, they ignored the unruly people completely and went straight for the Cao family compound. Since the Cao family was thoroughly surrounded, Cao Cuishan couldn't see that after the villagers saw the Beiyang Army charging aggressively into the village, those "unruly people" who advocated joining the People's Party had already started fleeing with their families.

"Gentlemen, we are all on the same side. Don't misunderstand, don't misunderstand." Cao Cuishan didn't dare open the door either; he just shouted from inside with a trembling voice.

"Since we are on the same side, what do you mean by keeping the door closed, Old Master Cao? Are you guarding against thieves?" The Beiyang soldiers outside shouted angrily.

Keeping the Beiyang Army outside the door was indeed not the way to treat guests, but the way to treat guests first required confirming that those coming were guests. With the Beiyang Army's fiendish appearance, they didn't look like guests at all, but rather a group of evil spirits coming to the door. Moreover, these evil spirits had none of a guest's humility or caution. Seeing the Cao family not opening the door, someone was already banging on the door with a rifle butt. The gate was quite sturdy; after a dozen bashes, there was no sign of it opening. Then, amidst the stopping shouts of people outside, the door-bashing stopped.

Before Cao Cuishan could catch his breath, he heard a dull sound coming from the door; someone had started kicking it. Relying on the sturdy door bar, the Beiyang soldiers outside kicked it a dozen times without kicking the gate open. However, Cao Cuishan could already be certain that this matter would definitely not end well. By now, everyone else had hidden inside the rooms. Cao Cuishan's wife was scared to tears; she stumbled over, grabbed Cao Cuishan's arm, and cried out: "Master, what is happening outside? Aren't we Beiyang people? Why is the Beiyang Army attacking us?"

"What are you crying for! Is someone dead?" Cao Cuishan shouted. Being shouted at like this, Cao Cuishan's wife, even though panic-stricken, dared not shout anything more.

Straightening his clothes, Cao Cuishan said to the servants: "Open the door."

No one moved. Everyone in the Cao family looked at Cao Cuishan with surprised eyes. If they didn't open the door, they could at least hold out for a bit; if they opened the door, heaven knew what unexpected disaster would occur.

Seeing his own people not moving, Cao Cuishan shouted to the outside: "Military lords, wait a moment, I will open the door immediately," while walking towards the gate himself. Although Cao Cuishan didn't know exactly what the Beiyang Army outside intended, there was basically no difference between opening the door a moment earlier or a moment later. If there was a difference, it was that voluntarily opening the door could preserve a bit of face. If the Beiyang Army outside tore off all pretenses and charged in, they would be even more unscrupulous.

Just as he pulled down the door bar, the gate was violently pushed open from the outside. Cao Cuishan's agility wasn't too bad; he stumbled back a few steps and managed not to be knocked down by the Beiyang soldiers swarming in. Carrying rifles, the Beiyang soldiers rushed straight into the courtyard from the gate impatiently. Then they entered every room they saw, forcibly dragging everyone inside, regardless of gender or age, out. Men's pleading, women's screaming, and children's crying filled the Cao family courtyard in an instant.

Soon, the Cao family members were gathered in the middle of the courtyard, a group of soldiers half-raising their rifles at these people. The soldiers who had once blocked the courtyard entrance quickly made way. An officer who was not tall, wearing a blue military uniform and a battalion commander's rank badge, strode in from outside.

Even seeing the Beiyang Army rushing in, Cao Cuishan could still hold his ground. But seeing this person, especially seeing that person's pair of eyes, Cao Cuishan felt a chill in his heart. Those were a pair of sharp triangular eyes, slightly incongruous on a round face. But the expression on that person's face and his sharp gaze were full of power, carrying an indescribable hostility. The feeling the Beiyang Army battalion commander gave Cao Cuishan was like an unscrupulous poisonous snake, entering the Cao family gate greedily and focusedly.

"You are Old Master Cao, right?" The Beiyang Army battalion commander had a Shandong accent.

"That is me. May I ask how to address this officer?" Cao Cuishan hurriedly said respectfully.

"My surname is Hu, my name is Hu Chuankui." The battalion commander said without any avoidance.

"Battalion Commander Hu, this..." Cao Cuishan had originally thought this Beiyang Army battalion commander would at least not dare to announce his name, but unexpectedly, the man openly stated his name. If it were ordinary times, doing so would be a friendly gesture, but the Beiyang Army had rushed into the Cao family like wolves and tigers; such an action gave Cao Cuishan an ominous feeling.

"Old Master Cao, I heard your son is also a Beiyang Army battalion commander. Since that's the case, I might as well speak frankly. Our Beiyang Army has rules for deploying troops. Ten silver dollars for setting-out fees, two silver dollars for marching fees, two silver dollars for tea fees. When fighting, five silver dollars for funeral arrangements must be paid in advance. According to you, this Cao Family Shop only has unruly people rebelling. We don't need to discuss the life-selling money for leading the charge. This time we came with a total of five hundred brothers. Before coming, our Brigade Commander said this is a county matter, so the county has to pay. The County Magistrate said since it was Old Master Cao who spoke, he couldn't refuse to give face. But the county has no money, so this money still has to be paid by you, Old Master Cao. This brother from the county yamen who accompanied us can testify."

After Hu Chuankui finished speaking, he waved to a tax collector beside him. The tax collector hurriedly stepped forward, first cupped his hands to Cao Cuishan, and said: "Old Master Cao, after your young master met our Magistrate, the Magistrate specifically said that this Beiyang Army deployment requires expenses, and these expenses must be borne by your Cao family. Your young master agreed repeatedly. The Magistrate specifically said these expenses wouldn't be small, and your young master still agreed. Look, this is your young master's petition and the Magistrate's inquiry; it's all written clearly on it. Your young master signed it."

After saying this, the tax collector took out an official document and handed it to Cao Cuishan. Hearing this, Cao Cuishan completely understood what had happened. The Magistrate had made the Cao family bear all the money that should have been borne by himself, and had tricked his son using the form of an official document. Taking the document and opening it, it was indeed so. In the conversation between the Magistrate and Cao Yifeng, these words were spoken very cleverly. The Magistrate's words sounded like he just meant a token gesture, using terms like "rewards" and "comforting the troops," but the Magistrate shrewdly used the phrase "remuneration shall be decided by the Beiyang Army" in the document. Cao Yifeng's fingerprint was pressed on this sentence. Cao Cuishan was initially angry at how his son could be such a fool. But on second thought, since the Magistrate intended to cheat them from the start, presumably these words were never spoken to Cao Yifeng at all, but were written in the document. How would Cao Yifeng dare to question the Magistrate's document? Naturally, he pressed his handprint wherever he was told to.

Seeing the look of anger changing on Cao Cuishan's face, Hu Chuankui didn't wait for Cao Cuishan to say anything. He spoke: "Old Master Cao, you must feel that I am being unreasonable. But nothing can be accomplished without rules. This is the rule in our Beiyang Army: we take money to do things, take money to sell our lives. Otherwise, with so many brothers running back and forth for a hundred *li*, what are they after? Old Master Cao, you feel I am taking money from you here, but you have to think clearly, your young master also takes money just the same when deploying troops elsewhere. Rules are rules; they are the same everywhere."

Hu Chuankui's tone was sincere and earnest, one could even say sonorous and forceful. Those Beiyang soldiers under Hu Chuankui were originally just looking to make a fortune. Now, after listening to Hu Chuankui's words, the guilt brought by that tiny bit of conscience in their hearts had dissipated completely. They felt their actions were quite in accordance with moral principles.

Although Cao Cuishan absolutely didn't want to be extorted by Hu Chuankui, strangely, he was only dissatisfied with the fact that he was being extorted, but didn't object at all to the reasoning Hu Chuankui stated. Cao Cuishan letting his son join the Beiyang Army was definitely not for any loyalty to the sovereign or service to the country. In Cao Cuishan's mind, the concept of a nation didn't exist at all. Although Yuan Shikai was the Great President, in Cao Cuishan's eyes, he was just a high official, completely different from the sacred and inviolable Emperor. The reason for joining Beiyang was simply that Beiyang was the biggest power in Hebei, while the People's Party's land reform policy sounded terrifying. Since letting his son become a soldier was entirely for profit, Hu Chuankui talking about profit in every sentence actually suited Cao Cuishan's taste.

However, agreeing with Hu Chuankui's attitude was one thing; willing to pay was another. Cao Cuishan would absolutely not foolishly take the money out. Let alone a setting-out fee of ten silver dollars per person, Cao Cuishan felt that giving one Beiyang soldier ten *wen* was too much. So Cao Cuishan was completely unmoved, just standing there without saying a word.

At this point, someone had to come out to smooth things over. The tax collector obviously played such a role. Seeing the situation had become deadlocked, he hurriedly stepped forward and smiled: "Old Master Cao, the sun is so poisonous outside, we don't need to talk under the big sun. How about this, let's go inside to talk."

Hu Chuankui just smiled after hearing this. Since the Cao family members inside the rooms had all been dragged out, he unceremoniously strode towards the main house. The two tax collectors, disregarding whether Cao Cuishan was willing or not, pulled and dragged Cao Cuishan into the main house. After the few of them went in, the tax collectors closed the door, leaving the crowd in the courtyard.