In the morning, Zhong Yifu, dressed in plain clothes, entered a teahouse with a cultural instructor.

The waiter had seen Zhong Yifu come for three days straight, so he hurriedly brought tea and asked with a professional smile, "Master Zhong is early today."

Zhong Yifu paid for the tea and tossed a few copper coins in his hand. The waiter immediately leaned in close and whispered, "Master Zhong, what would you like to inquire about today?"

The accompanying cultural instructor smiled. "According to the rules, bring some snacks first, and we'll talk slowly!"

This cultural instructor was named Chen Deli. He grew up in the slums of Tianjin. He lost his father at a young age and was raised entirely by his mother and half-grown elder brother. Before finishing higher primary school, he went to a tea shop to work as a waiter and bookkeeping apprentice. He was smart, diligent, meticulous in his work, and very familiar with the ways of the streets, so Zhong Yifu valued him highly. This time, scouting for information in Siping, he specially brought him along as a helper.

Before long, tea and snacks were served. The waiter rubbed his hands and came up. Taking the tip, he heard Zhong Yifu ask, "Waiter, yesterday you said there are six major merchant guilds in Siping. I walked along the streets; how come I only saw five guild halls?"

"Master Zhong, the one you didn't see belongs to Third Master Zhou. Third Master Zhou mines gold in Heilongjiang and mainly goes to Russia to buy and sell things. He doesn't usually come to our Siping."

"If he doesn't come to Siping much, can he still count as a merchant guild? But since he dares to mine gold, it seems this Third Master Zhou must have quite a few guards." Zhong Yifu sighed deliberately.

"That, I don't know."

Zhong Yifu added a few more copper coins for the waiter. Only then did the waiter whisper, "Master Zhong. I just heard people say that Third Master Zhou has two or three hundred men who can shoot guns. And forty or fifty who can shoot from horseback. Whether it's true or not, I'm not clear either."

"If I want to visit Third Master Zhou, when will I have to wait until?"

"In the autumn, Third Master Zhou will come to Siping once. If Master Zhong comes to do business then, you should be able to see him."

Zhong Yifu had initially fabricated an identity as a merchant from Fengtian coming to Siping and Changchun to check out the market. At this moment, he followed the waiter's words and asked, "I wonder what other big shots will be coming then?"

"Master Zhong, it's hard to say if big shots will come then. But I heard a big shot came recently—a Governor He from the capital. After arriving in Siping, he hasn't been seen; he only sent his Vice Commander and two Battalion Commanders to visit the Mayor, the Police Chief, and the President of the Chamber of Commerce. I wonder if Master Zhong has heard of him?"

Zhong Yifu shook his head. "Never heard of him." Feeling his answer was too casual and unlike a merchant, he smiled and added, "He came to Siping from the capital; how could I meet such a big shot?"

As they were speaking, a man looking like a small merchant suddenly ran in from outside. Entering the shop, he shouted, "Boss Han, Boss Han."

The shopkeeper walked out from the back room and smiled. "Boss Zhu, what happened to make you so anxious?"

"Boss Han. Has that Governor He arrived in Siping?" Boss Zhu said urgently.

"Didn't Governor He arrive three days ago? How is he arriving in Siping again?"

"Oh my! It was a mistake before. Governor He didn't come to Siping with the troops; his subordinates came first. I heard people say that the soldiers in the Siping barracks all came out to line up in welcome. Later, Commander Song of the Garrison Regiment personally went to the barracks to pay respects to Governor He."

Shopkeeper Han of the teahouse was stunned for a moment, saying thoughtfully, "Really? This Governor He puts on quite a show."

Boss Zhu spat, "Pah!" He said grumpily, "Every time a Marshal comes, they increase taxes, demand grain, and press-gang men." Thinking about it, he became uneasy again. "Boss Han, you have wide connections on the street; we can't afford to offend anyone who comes. How about we pool a sum of money and send it over first?"

Shopkeeper Han of the teahouse gestured toward the inner hall. "Boss Zhu, let's talk inside."

Hearing that He Rui had arrived, Zhong Yifu had no mind to inquire further. He drank a mouthful of tea casually and stood up to leave. The waiter hurriedly said, "Boss Zhong, if you want to ask about market prices later, just come to the teahouse to find me."

Halfway back, Zhong Yifu thought about it and felt something was wrong. After all, he was on a mission; going back like this was somewhat inappropriate. Xu Jia had proposed mission discipline: unless notified, one could not return unauthorized during the day. Stopping to think, Zhong Yifu ordered, "Chen Deli, let's switch clothes. You continue to collect intelligence."

Having an excuse, Zhong Yifu wore the attendant's clothes and headed straight for the station, entering the barracks through the back door.

In the main hall, He Rui was holding a meeting with Xu Jia and the others. Seeing Zhong Yifu enter, he nodded and signaled him to sit down.

The intelligence on Siping had been written into a summary. Siping was originally a small place. After the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway, as a hub on the transportation line, although it couldn't compare with Fengtian and Changchun, it still had a population of over two hundred thousand.

Looking at the status quo in the Northeast, the military configuration couldn't be considered weak; there was a Garrison Regiment with over 500 men. Because it was a crossroads, relationships in the city were intricate and complex. Prominent figures checked and balanced each other; for example, Police Chief Duan Changgui and Siping Mayor Peng Minsheng were in cahoots, and they were not on the same path as the Garrison Regiment.

In the work plan, the gentry who didn't hold military or political power weren't considered the current key focus or the main investigation targets for this stage. But after all, they were an important component of the city. As the meeting reached this point, Zhong Yifu hurriedly opened his notebook and began to talk about the merchant guilds he had investigated.

Merchants traveling outside the pass all had to have their own armed forces. The presidents of the five major merchant guilds in Siping each controlled a guard unit. Merchant guild members relied on these armed forces to transport goods and protect their own businesses.

Aside from this, the only armed forces remaining in Siping were a Japanese squad stationed near the station and the Russian railway agency guards who came to patrol regularly.

After finishing the investigation content, the group of cadets couldn't suppress their curiosity. Zhong Yifu was the first to ask, "Commander, you went to the Kwantung territory to negotiate this time; the little devils didn't make things difficult for you, right?"

He Rui smiled slightly. "It was fine. We exchanged some political and economic interests, and it's been handled properly. If you are interested, find a time later, and I'll explain it to you properly. But right now, let's deal with Siping's problems first."

Seeing that the municipal administration, police organizational structure, and basic military intelligence analysis were complete, He Rui frowned and asked, "Regarding the rapid takeover of Siping, do you have any suggestions?"

The group of cadets spoke all at once. Some suggested training troops first and seizing power when the opportunity arose; some suggested taking office first and slowly sorting things out, struggling step by step to slowly gather power; someone even suggested sending personnel to infiltrate slowly.

He Rui shook his head. "Our task is heavy now, and time is tight. I'm afraid we don't have the time to tangle with these local snakes. I think it's better to cut the Gordian knot; delay brings trouble." He turned to Xu Chengfeng. "Chengfeng, go send a telegram to Major General Hamamo Matasuke, Chief of Staff of the Kwantung Governor-General's Office. Tell him that I will officially take office at noon the day after tomorrow and will host a banquet at the Huaqing Tower Hotel in Siping. Invite Major General Hamamo Matasuke to attend."

According to the organizational structure, every meeting had a recording clerk. The clerk this time was Tang Gui, who was being cultivated as a key talent. Hearing the invited guest, he looked shocked and forgot to record for a moment.

He Rui shook his head, took the record book, wrote down the content of the telegram, and then put the book back in front of Tang Gui.

Zhong Yifu looked at He Rui, then at Xu Chengfeng, truly puzzled. He wanted to ask but didn't dare. He turned to look at Xu Chengfeng with a questioning gaze, but saw Xu Chengfeng looking solemn and not voicing any objection.

Then he heard Xu Jia ask, "Commander, how exactly did it go at the Kwantung Governor-General's Office this time?"

He Rui replied, "No rush to talk about that. Later, we will hold a class specifically on politics, economics, and diplomacy, and I will supplement everyone's knowledge. Now, let's deal with Siping's problems first. Go to Huaqing Tower and place the order now. In addition, reserve a banquet for 500 people. We will invite the officials to eat in the morning the day after tomorrow, and in the afternoon, we will reward the officers and soldiers of the Garrison Regiment."