January 3, 1916.

This should have been the third day after Yuan Shikai's grand coronation ceremony. Sir John Jordan, the British Minister to China, hosted a cocktail party in Beijing. Diplomatic envoys from all nations except the Central Powers attended. When Morrison arrived at the venue, he saw it was already full of guests.

Seeing Morrison enter, people came up to greet him immediately. Morrison knew what they wanted to ask. Sure enough, everyone was interested in when Yuan Shikai's coronation ceremony, which had been forced to cancel due to the war, would be held.

Morrison smiled bitterly and shook his head. "Oh, I am no longer the President's advisor. How could the President notify me of his decisions?"

The inquirer didn't give up but pressed, "Do you really have no news at all?"

Just then, Jordan's attendant came over and whispered a few words to Morrison. Morrison took the opportunity to escape the trouble and followed the attendant inside.

In a small room, Jordan was waiting for Morrison. Once the door closed, the noise outside was shut out. Jordan handed Morrison a glass of wine and asked about Morrison's contact with Yuan Shikai. Morrison shook his head vigorously. "Your Excellency, I have given up cooperation with him. It is truly hard to imagine that a big shot with such long political experience could make such a clumsy political move."

Minister Jordan laughed. "You are too harsh on our friend, Morrison. How do our friend's subordinates view this matter?"

Morrison thought of Yuan Shikai's subordinates, and suddenly He Rui's image popped into his mind, which surprised Morrison himself.

At this moment, Jordan continued, "I agree with your view. I'm afraid our friend won't pass this test. Who do you think will be the next leader of North China?"

Morrison organized his thoughts before answering, "I think Mr. Duan Qirui and Mr. Feng Guozhang are the most likely to take over the presidency."

Jordan's view was similar, so he continued to ask, "What about the South? Can Mr. Sun Yat-sen unify the forces of South China?"

"I think the possibility is very low. Although Mr. Sun Yat-sen has high prestige, when President Yuan Shikai is forced to withdraw from the political stage, the southern warlords won't adopt an election system."

Minister Jordan clearly resonated with these words and revealed a knowing smile. Sipping his wine slowly, Minister Jordan asked, "Do you think there are other candidates in China who might become future leaders?"

"I haven't seen anyone in that regard for the time being," Morrison replied.

"I heard you made a special trip outside the pass to meet a very interesting young man."

"Your Excellency, that was indeed a very interesting young man. When talking with him, I even suspected I was in a university in London."

Seeing Morrison was very interested in He Rui, Jordan was somewhat curious. "A scholar-type soldier?"

"Describing him as a scholar isn't quite appropriate. I feel like I saw a young Napoleon."

"Oh? You actually have such high expectations for him?" Jordan laughed.

A frank smile appeared on Morrison's face. "I hope God doesn't let such a thing happen."

At this time, someone knocked on the door. Morrison stood up and opened it, seeing an officer standing outside. Jordan introduced, "Mr. Morrison, this is the new Military Attaché to China, Lieutenant Wallis. Lieutenant, this is Mr. Morrison."

After shaking hands with Lieutenant Wallis, Morrison took his leave from British Minister Jordan. The ball had already started, and couples were dancing gracefully on the floor. Morrison found a seat nearby to sit down; at least no one would run over to ask questions at this time.

Lighting a cigarette, Morrison became a bit disappointed as he smoked. Even though he used exaggerated descriptions, he still failed to leave a deep impression of He Rui on Jordan. That meant the British side was unlikely to contact He Rui.

As a political broker, Morrison hoped the British government would pay more attention to local Chinese talents. However, British ministers to China had limited interest in this; their attention was basically focused on figures who were already famous in China. He didn't know whether to view their style as arrogance or laziness.

At this time, a gentleman walked up to Morrison with two cocktails. Morrison retracted his legs, which had unknowingly stretched out fully, to avoid blocking the way. However, the gentleman stopped in front of Morrison. "May I sit down?"

Although Morrison didn't know who this gentleman was, his thick, fluffy blond hair reminded Morrison of someone.

After sitting down, the gentleman handed a cocktail to Morrison. Morrison took it, thanked him, and waited for the gentleman to speak first.

"My cousin Johnson mentioned Mr. Morrison in his letter," the gentleman introduced himself.

Now Morrison understood and asked, "Mr. Johnson left Siping?"

"No, he said Mr. Morrison approved of Siping Governor Mr. He Rui very much, so he stayed in Siping to see if there were business opportunities. And he kept pestering me to give him some orders."

"May I ask who Your Excellency is..."

"I am Cameron, serving under His Excellency the Governor of New Zealand."

After chatting for a while, Morrison learned that Cameron had given a small order to Johnson. This puzzled Morrison. "Why didn't Mr. Cameron look for suppliers in New Zealand?"

"Oh!" Cameron had a look of exaggerated disdain. "You know, those workers in the colonies are lazy devils. Five people working probably require three overseers."

Morrison chuckled lightly. Although these words were exaggerated, they were at least a description of a certain fact. So Morrison changed the question. "You could also place orders in Japan."

Cameron didn't answer but asked Morrison instead, "Your Excellency, the price my cousin gave me is even lower than Japan's, very cost-effective. So I am very surprised; does Siping really have a lot of good labor?"

Morrison pursed his lips and shook his head. "For the specific situation in Siping, Mr. Cameron will have to ask your cousin, Mr. Johnson. I can only guarantee that Siping Governor Mr. He Rui is an excellent ruler."

"After reading Johnson's letter, I am very interested in this Governor He. So I wanted to ask Mr. Morrison to tell me more." After speaking, Cameron waved for a waiter carrying wine to come over and placed two more glasses in front of them.

***

*Achoo!* He Rui sneezed. Arriving in front of the British Club, as soon as the door curtain was lifted, the smell of cigarettes mixed in the hot air rushed to his face, especially mixed with the smell of local dry tobacco pipes from the Northeast, making He Rui sneeze.

While taking out a handkerchief to wipe his nose, several British merchants came out of the club to welcome him, smiling at He Rui and Zhuang Jiaxiong. "Your Excellency Governor, Happy New Year."