In the Changchun military camp, the two regimental commanders of the 27th Division and Cheng Ruofan's regiment quickly took over the barracks. The two 27th Division commanders invited Cheng Ruofan to their side for tea. After the three sat down, Commander Su of the 27th Division laughed. "Commander Cheng has only been outside the pass for half a year, yet he has been promoted to Regiment Commander. It seems Governor He values Commander Cheng very much."

Cheng Ruofan's rank of Major was genuine, granted by Zhang Xiluan's order before this defense change order was issued. His rank of Regiment Commander was not nonsense either. He Rui had expanded the army to 7,500 men, forming three regiments, in a short time. Cheng Ruofan was already the Commander of the 2nd Regiment.

Hearing the flattery from outsiders, Cheng Ruofan smiled. "Two brothers, this is a change of defense. We will stay in Jilin for two years. I wonder if you two brothers have any thoughts on the station?"

Hearing about dividing territory, the two commanders perked up but soon lost interest. The 27th Division was originally stationed in Fengtian, responsible for the Fengtian and Liaodong regions. This area was the richest region outside the pass. Even if they had territory in Jilin, it was far inferior to their previous station.

Commander Song laughed. "A change of defense always implies a return. When does Brother Cheng think we can return to Fengtian?"

Cheng Ruofan disapproved in his heart but said, "This requires the Marshal's order. This brother is just acting on orders; what can I know? Two brothers, what is in my heart right now is Marshal Zhang's prestige. With just one sentence, he can make the Jilin Provincial Army obey orders. It is truly admirable."

The two commanders of the 27th Division were stunned. They didn't expect Cheng Ruofan not to boast about himself but instead praise Zhang Xiluan's prestige.

The two of them had suddenly received Zhang Xiluan's order and led troops to Changchun with Cheng Ruofan. Arriving suddenly in strange Changchun, both were somewhat uneasy, not knowing what they would encounter. Now that two of the three regiments of the Changchun 23rd Division had been ordered to Fengtian, leaving only one regiment locally, they were completely relieved. Hearing Cheng Ruofan say this, they followed suit and praised, "Marshal Zhang traversed the area outside the pass 40 years ago, fighting both Russians and Japanese. Who outside the pass doesn't know Marshal Zhang's prestige?"

Seeing the two commanders' moods were very genuine, Cheng Ruofan went with the flow. "Since that's the case, we will listen to Marshal Zhang's arrangement. You two brothers have followed the Marshal for so long; you will definitely be promoted."

Seeing Cheng Ruofan so humble, Commander Song of the 27th Division also relaxed. The upper echelons of Fengtian had heard that Marshal Zhang appreciated He Rui, and He Rui had indeed done many impressive things after arriving outside the pass. But these soldiers outside the pass still felt they were Zhang Xiluan's old subordinates, while He Rui was just a newcomer; in terms of seniority, he was inferior to those outside the pass.

After chatting for a while, Cheng Ruofan took his leave. Upon returning to the station, he found the civil administration cadres were already holding a meeting. Cheng Ruofan thought about it and went to the meeting place. He saw Tang Gui speaking to a group of cadres: "...Comrades, start collecting intelligence in Changchun. We have experienced, participated in, and witnessed these tasks in Siping, and studied them in training classes. What the people of Siping like, the people of Changchun will also like. That is organizing municipal administration and sweeping black and eliminating evil. Only by collecting intelligence well first can we act freely later."

Cheng Ruofan sat in the back row without saying a word, his heart somewhat churning. These civil administration tasks, without exception, required the troops to conquer the territory first to be pushed forward smoothly. He Rui did exactly this to seize political power in Siping, and now Cheng Ruofan had to do these tasks in Changchun.

Recalling everything He Rui did in Siping, Cheng Ruofan was somewhat worried he couldn't achieve He Rui's level in the provincial capital, Changchun.

***

At this time, He Rui was sitting opposite Zhang Xiluan. Zhang Xiluan put down the telegram and thought for a moment, having already outlined the current situation outside the pass. Of the three regiments of the 27th Division, two were sent to Jilin to switch defenses with the 23rd Division. Two regiments of the 28th Division had already set off for Heilongjiang to switch defenses with the local garrison.

He Rui now had three regiments in hand. One regiment was split into three battalions, heading to Changchun, Heilongjiang, and the 28th Division's station in Beizhen, Jinzhou, respectively [to monitor/control].

If the local provincial army in Heilongjiang could send two regiments to Fengtian, He Rui's two regiments against the four regiments from the two provinces outside would be enough to hold the line. He could only do this much for He Rui; future matters would depend on He Rui's own ability.

Thinking of this, Zhang Xiluan asked, "Brother He Rui, you have many associations with high-level Japanese. I wonder if Brother He has communicated with them?"

He Rui's face changed. "Who said this to Lord Zhang? I'm afraid that person wants to make Lord Zhang think this subordinate wants to defect to a foreign country. This subordinate is Chinese and would absolutely never do such a thing!"

Zhang Xiluan was indeed somewhat worried that He Rui would collude with Japan. Seeing He Rui's firm attitude, he continued to ask, "Brother He, I have been outside the pass for so many years and know the difficulties of Manchuria and Mongolia deeply. This place is sandwiched between Japan and Russia, and the country is weak. Resisting the pressure from Russia and Japan is by no means easy."

"Marshal, the opportunity Japan gained after the Meiji Restoration was the opportunity to develop productive forces. The so-called productive forces are by no means simply guns, cannons, and steamships. For a modern country, developing productive forces means shaping the country into an organizational structure for developing productive forces. Yuan Gong said that if he succeeds in proclaiming himself Emperor, he will bury his head in management for ten years, then raise his head to meet Japan. This subordinate believes that what Yuan Gong wants to bury his head in managing is still the Manchu Qing set of things. Everything done is to fill the treasury, establish factories and arsenals. After having strength, fight wars with foreign countries. If it were really that simple, there were many famous officials in the Manchu Qing era who engaged in the Self-Strengthening Movement for decades, but none succeeded."

Zhang Xiluan nodded slightly. He was 73 years old this year. He had seen many famous ministers of the restoration and heard those famous ministers describe how to revitalize the country. There were even quite a few revolutionaries unafraid of death who desperately sought to see Zhang Xiluan and tell him their revolutionary theories.

Those revolutionary principles sounded flowery but had absolutely no feasibility. What the famous ministers of the restoration said and did was exactly the path He Rui described. If it were truly useful, the tragic defeat of the First Sino-Japanese War and the shame of the Boxer Year [1900] would not have happened.

"Lord Zhang went to Siping before the New Year and asked why this subordinate insisted on pushing land reform even at the cost of offending so many gentry, and why I wanted to attract investment despite the chaos foreigners might cause in Siping. This subordinate has already explained the reasons to Lord Zhang. Land reform is to eliminate social contradictions, developing Siping from a small-peasant economy society to a small-commodity economy society, thereby developing the domestic market and productive forces. Attracting investment is to use foreign markets, capital, and technology to develop domestic production capacity. And these things must be done by the government rebuilding the system according to the model of an industrialized society to operate the production methods of an industrialized country."

Hearing this, Zhang Xiluan couldn't help sighing slightly. He Rui also stopped speaking hurriedly at this time.

Zhang Xiluan picked up the teacup and sipped slowly. His expression was calm, but his heart was filled with emotion. He was really old!

Listening to He Rui's explanation and what he saw in Siping, Zhang Xiluan could clearly feel that what He Rui said was sincere, and the results achieved were just as He Rui said. Although the level of industrial development couldn't be seen yet, He Rui had already let the people of Siping live a better life under this new system. Siping's tax revenue not only didn't decrease because of this but increased greatly.

If he were ten years younger... no, five years younger. Zhang Xiluan would reuse He Rui and manage well outside the pass.

However, age was unforgiving. He didn't have such physical strength and energy anymore, and the situation no longer allowed Zhang Xiluan to continue in the area outside the pass. Zhang Xiluan knew very well that he no longer had the ability to clean up the current situation.

Thinking of this, Zhang Xiluan became even more uneasy about what He Rui would do in the future. If he handed the current authority to He Rui, Zhang Xiluan had to consider his reputation after death. Zhang Xiluan summoned his spirits and continued to ask, "Brother He, how do you think we should deal with Russia and Japan?"

He Rui believed Zhang Xiluan had no other choice at this time, so he told the truth. "Russia will have a revolution within two years at most; the Tsarist government won't last. This subordinate will definitely do his best to build six divisions within two years. When the Russian Civil War breaks out, I will march north, not only recovering the Chinese Eastern Railway but also recovering the national territory occupied by Russia. At that time, I ask Lord Zhang to lead the various armies outside the pass to accomplish this great event! When the lost territory is recovered, Lord Zhang's prestige will definitely be no less than that of Lord Zuo [Zuo Zongtang]!"

Zhang Xiluan's eyes lit up, and his heart moved. But Zhang Xiluan was Zhang Xiluan after all; he was not easily persuaded. But his suspicion of He Rui had basically been eliminated.

Just then, Adjutant Liu delivered a telegram. "Marshal, two regiments of the 28th Division have arrived in Changchun and are heading for Heilongjiang."

Zhang Xiluan already knew that Heilongjiang Governor Zhu Qinglan was a revolutionary, and Heilongjiang Provincial Army Commander Xu Lanzhou opposed Zhu Qinglan raising troops against Yuan Shikai. His face sank, and he ordered, "Invite Zhu Qinglan and Xu Lanzhou over!"