It was already late September. A gust of autumn wind blew, drilling into the beautiful collar of his western suit. *Ta Kung Pao* journalist Mo Yang shivered. He picked up the tea bowl and took a sip; the tea was already cold. Instead, he felt invigorated.

Looking at his prepared interview outline again, Mo Yang selected a question. "May I ask the Governor, is proclaiming himself Emperor the only choice left for the President?"

"The biggest problem Yuan Gong faces right now is the issue of political legitimacy. The Southern Revolutionary Party has consistently insisted on a republic for over a decade; the legal tradition [legitimacy] after realizing the republic is actually not in the President's hands. If Yuan Gong wants to obtain legal tradition, he must receive genuine support from all provinces across the country. And what do the southern provinces supporting the Revolutionary Party want? They want local autonomy, limited government, and paying little or no tax to the central government. Given Yuan Gong's political philosophy, this is undoubtedly splitting the country and absolutely unacceptable. If he cannot obtain legitimacy politically, he can only rely on pure military conquest. Now the Beiyang Army has become politicized, divided into various local factions, plus the provincial governors—in reality, it is no longer possible to unify China by military conquest. The only method left for Yuan Gong is to proclaim himself Emperor, obtaining legitimacy by restoring the imperial system. As long as he obtains legitimacy, he can rebuild central finance and then solve other problems."

"Can the large loans help the President solve the problem?" Mo Yang pressed.

He Rui shook his head. "They can't. Because the Great Powers aren't that strong. Even if the Powers lend money to Yuan Gong with all their might, what Yuan Gong has to face after proclaiming himself Emperor is a long and protracted war of unification. The Powers cannot afford such a scale of investment financially, let alone having absolutely no diplomatic willingness to facilitate China's unification."

"If loans can't solve the problem, what situation will the President face after proclaiming himself Emperor?"

"China at present can no longer accept the imperial system. The reasons vary. Local forces cannot accept a centralized central government; governors want to obtain financial rights within their spheres of influence; the cultural class believes the imperial system is backward and the cause of China's weakness. Ordinary people cannot understand why Yuan Gong forced the Qing Emperor to abdicate only to become Emperor himself. So the matter has nothing to do with Yuan Gong's thoughts anymore. As soon as he proclaims himself Emperor, he will immediately face opposition from everyone. With Yuan Gong's current strength, he cannot cope with it."

Hearing He Rui answer like this, Tong Bokang's expression was full of helplessness. He couldn't help lamenting, "Is there really no one willing to do something for the country with a heart of justice? The United States also has local autonomy; why can't China?"

Seeing Tong Bokang's heartfelt distress, He Rui answered sympathetically, "The United States only has two neighbors: one is Canada, the other is Mexico. If China also only had these two countries around it, China could also adopt a system of local autonomy."

This comfort actually provoked Tong Bokang's anger. His tone was almost an interrogation: "Governor He, perhaps things won't turn out as you predict."

He Rui couldn't help sighing this time. "I'm afraid Yuan Gong's thoughts are the same as yours. Before the cards are revealed, Yuan Gong also expects things to go as he wishes. But the economic base determines the superstructure. A divided economic system has already taken shape; personal wishes and ambitions are just personal thoughts."

At this time, Mo Yang had already begun to write furiously, recording the interview content quickly. Writing to a point, Mo Yang looked up and asked, "Governor, once this interview is published, the world will surely be shocked. If the Governor has any concerns, part of the content can be omitted."

He Rui shook his head. "Just report it truthfully; I have nothing to hide."

"Then before the draft is sent out, I will ask the Governor to look it over."

Seeing both journalists start recording, Zhao Tianlin waved to He Rui. The two walked to the edge of the harvested field. Zhao Tianlin asked in a low voice, "Brother He, do you think the President is proclaiming himself Emperor for the sake of the country? But previously when you spoke of the President becoming Emperor, you said matters of seeking personal gain are all small matters."

"The President proclaiming himself Emperor is a major event for Chinese politics. But in my view, evaluating political events shouldn't be about private morality, nor personal thoughts. Since the President has already ignored reality and engaged in wishful thinking, proclaiming himself Emperor is itself a personal desire."

Zhao Tianlin sighed after listening. After a while, he sighed again. "I attended Mr. Yan Fu's classes and heard Mr. Yan speak on *Evolution and Ethics*, proposing natural selection and survival of the fittest. I felt my horizons open wide and was overjoyed. Mr. Yan Fu joined the *Chouanhui* [Society for Peace] to promote the President proclaiming himself Emperor. If the situation really turns out as Brother He analyzed, it is a pity for Mr. Yan Fu, a pity."

He Rui didn't soothe Zhao Tianlin's sentimentality but turned to ask about the education issues Zhao Tianlin was responsible for. "Brother Zhao, are the literacy and primary school work arrangements for the more than four hundred villages and towns in Siping ready?"

Zhao Tianlin's eyes brightened immediately, and he answered confidently, "It will definitely be resolved before winter comes. I asked Mayor Wu; he said most villages and towns have already determined teaching locations, and classes can start then." After speaking, Zhao Tianlin couldn't help asking, "Brother He, is there really no problem with the funding?"

"This time we banned opium and thoroughly cleaned out those old officials, gaining an extra ten thousand silver dollars or so. Brother Zhao need not worry about funding."

Here, Mo Yang and Tong Bokang first finished recording the exclusive interview quickly, then went back to the hotel to cross-check with each other. They wrote out the interview draft and sent it to He Rui. Soon the draft was sent back. Taking advantage of the time when Mo Yang was doing the final proofreading and organizing, Tong Bokang went to request a meeting with He Rui.

At this time, He Rui was dressed in farmer's attire again, looking like he was about to go out. Tong Bokang asked, "Is the Governor going to harvest in the fields again?"

He Rui answered with a smile, "Last time was the last batch of grain for this year; all government civil servants participated in the rush harvest. Now the grain harvest is finished; this time we are going to build a reservoir. Does Journalist Tong want to go together?"

Tong Bokang lost interest in this and directly spoke the most uncomfortable part of his heart. "Governor, there is one thing I don't understand. Why do you oppose local autonomy so much?"

"Go find a set of clothes and shoes for Journalist Tong," He Rui ordered the orderly. After speaking, He Rui said to Tong Bokang, "From the perspective of geopolitics, China's geographical location is not suitable for local autonomy. Around China are three Great Power countries: Britain, Russia, and Japan. Across the Pacific, there is the United States, the world's number one industrial country. There must be a centralized state to protect China. As for China's interior, there are always areas suffering disasters every year. Just along the Yangtze River, many banks need to be guarded during the flood season. A polity of local autonomy does not have the ability to solve such problems."

"But the imperial court levies exorbitant taxes, and the people suffer deeply," Tong Bokang replied loudly.

He Rui looked at Tong Bokang. "Shanghai is full of concessions; there shouldn't be imperial courts levying exorbitant taxes there, right? Journalist Tong works at *Shen Bao*; you should know that in Shanghai during winter, thousands of unclaimed corpses have to be collected in a single day."

Hearing He Rui mention this, Tong Bokang was speechless for a moment. At this time, the guard had already brought a set of clothes and handed them to Tong Bokang. Tong Bokang looked at these tattered clothes, gritted his teeth, and prepared to change.

Then he heard He Rui laugh, "Take off your silk shirt and everything. As long as you start working, sweating down your back, you won't be cold very soon."

Tong Bokang saw that He Rui was also bare-chested with a tattered garment over it. He hardened his heart and answered, "Alright."

Seeing Tong Bokang forcing himself to look spirited, He Rui laughed. "These tattered clothes are indeed intentional. Journalist Tong, farmers absolutely won't wear good clothes when going to the fields. We are going to roll in the mud; wouldn't good clothes be ruined?"