Finally arriving at the Beijing Train Station, Xu Lanzhou and Feng Ling rushed straight to Zhang Zuolin's residence in the capital according to the address as soon as they got off the train. Arriving at the gate of the mansion, they happened to see Zhang Zuolin coming out neatly dressed.

Seeing the two, Zhang Zuolin was stunned, then hurriedly stepped forward to hold Feng Ling's hand. "Big Brother, you have suffered!"

Feng Ling was Zhang Zuolin's sworn elder brother, a relatively upright man and a tough guy. After being sidelined by Zhang Xiluan, stripped of military power by He Rui, and politely escorted out of the territory, he hadn't said much along the way. Seeing his brother's consolation now, his eyes finally turned red.

Xu Lanzhou didn't have a good relationship with Zhang Zuolin, but he had no other choice at this time. Seeing Zhang Zuolin was somewhat emotional, he hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Brother Zhang, we are waiting to follow you to fight back inside the pass!"

Zhang Zuolin sighed. "Alas, you two came just in time. Let's go mourn the Great President."

"What? The Great President has passed away?" Xu Lanzhou was bewildered by this news. Along the way, he and Feng Ling were worried about being assassinated by He Rui, so they dared not leave their sleeper cabins at all. They had no idea what had happened outside.

Zhang Zuolin nodded. "You two follow me to mourn. Show your faces in front of everyone, let the figures in the capital know you have arrived."

The mourning hall was not set up in the Presidential Palace residence. Seeing the beautiful building, Feng Ling and Xu Lanzhou were somewhat stunned. Presumably, mourning Yuan Shikai was not an easy task. Although Zhang Zuolin, Feng Ling, and Xu Lanzhou had all been Division Commanders and were considered figures of some standing, this was the capital. Among these three, only Zhang Zuolin counted as a figure here. A Major at the door didn't want to let the two unfamiliar faces, Feng Ling and Xu Lanzhou, in.

Just as the situation became awkward, the Major suddenly ran off to welcome a new mourner. Xu Lanzhou turned his head to look and felt a burst of anger rush from his chest to his forehead. He saw Zhang Xiluan, who had caused him to fall to this state today, arriving at the door.

Zhang Zuolin hurriedly stepped forward to greet him, "Minister Duan, you've come."

Hearing this address, Xu Lanzhou dared not act rashly immediately. He never expected that the person beside Zhang Xiluan was actually the current Secretary of State and Army Minister, Duan Qirui.

Zhang Xiluan saw Zhang Zuolin, Feng Ling, and Xu Lanzhou, but didn't greet them. He just said to Duan Qirui, "Brother Duan, I'll go in to mourn first."

Duan Qirui nodded. After Zhang Xiluan stepped inside, Zhang Zuolin hurriedly waved to Feng Ling and Xu Lanzhou, letting them come over. He then introduced the two to Duan Qirui. Duan Qirui looked them up and down, then said to the Major, "They are with me."

The Major saluted immediately. Duan Qirui led the three through the main gate. Zhang Zuolin whispered, "I wonder when Minister Duan will be free?"

"After the *First Seven Days* [first week of mourning]," Duan Qirui replied, continuing forward as he spoke. Xu Lanzhou wanted to follow, but was stopped by Zhang Zuolin. "Minister Duan is busy; let's not be tactless."

Indeed, Duan Qirui was very busy now. Arriving before Yuan Shikai's spirit tablet, he knelt and bowed. After rising, he offered incense. Outside the mourning hall, meeting Zhang Xiluan again who had finished his worship, Duan Qirui sighed, "When the Great President was critically ill, he refused to go to the hospital and refused to take medicine. Alas... if he had been willing to go to the hospital, I'm afraid it wouldn't be like this."

Zhang Xiluan didn't agree with Duan Qirui's statement; instead, he admired Yuan Shikai's unyielding nature in his heart. How could Yuan Shikai not know his own physical condition? Doing so was just to seek a quick death. Weren't the people who forced Yuan Shikai to such a state Feng Guozhang and Duan Qirui? Now that Yuan Shikai could no longer mobilize Beiyang at all, if he lived a few more years, who knew how he would be humiliated by these Beiyang figures!

Unhappy in his heart, Zhang Xiluan asked, "Brother Duan, how come I heard that in the Great President's posthumous edict, Li Yuanhong is ranked first among the successors?"

Duan Qirui's expression was full of helplessness. Yuan Shikai was still the President of the Republic when he died. According to the system, the President determined the successor. So many shallow people thought Yuan Shikai would let his son succeed as President. But when the box containing the list of successors was opened, there were three successors inside: Li Yuanhong, Xu Shichang, and Duan Qirui.

This list showed that Yuan Shikai's political wisdom had not disappeared. If one assumed an extreme situation where Yuan Shikai published this successor list before proclaiming himself Emperor, and then clearly stated the reason for using the monarchy to obtain legitimacy, I'm afraid Cai E's reasons for rebellion would really have been fewer.

But these were all assumptions. With the situation as it was, everyone could only dance on the already determined stage. Just as he wanted to probe Zhang Xiluan's view on He Rui's stance, he saw Zhang Xiluan frowning. Following Zhang Xiluan's gaze, he saw a foreigner wearing a long gown and mandarin jacket coming to pay respects. He heard Zhang Xiluan ask, "Brother Duan, who is that foreigner?"

Duan Qirui snorted coldly. "This person is called Morrison. He was the one who incited the Great President to proclaim himself Emperor."

"Oh?" Zhang Xiluan had been outside the pass for a long time and wasn't familiar with affairs inside the pass. He saw that Morrison didn't kneel and bow in the Chinese way, but bowed three times, then turned and left the mourning hall.

Duan Qirui snorted again and said, "This Morrison has a close relationship with He Rui. I wonder if you knew that, old brother?"

Zhang Xiluan shook his head. He Rui attracted investment outside the pass and did business with many foreigners. Morrison was just one of them in Zhang Xiluan's eyes.

Morrison wasn't unaware of Chinese mourning etiquette, but he was in low spirits and didn't want to follow local customs. The people coming to mourn were all big shots within Beiyang, but in Morrison's view, with Yuan Shikai dead, the most valuable Chinese big shot Morrison knew had exited the stage. Regardless of the future of the Beiyang big shots, they were not cards in Morrison's own hand.

Leaving the mourning hall, Morrison returned to his residence and changed into a suit. To express his proper attitude, the suit was black. His family had already prepared his luggage. Morrison went straight to the train station and boarded the train to Fengtian.

Lying on the sleeper, Morrison had thousands of thoughts in his mind. Would the next big shot really be He Rui? Morrison didn't dare to be sure.

But Morrison had to place a bet. If a political broker didn't establish a relationship with valuable people, he would be unable to perform, like a gambler without a copper coin in his pocket. Now the Beiyang figures were very wary of Morrison, and Morrison had no interest in establishing relationships with the Southern Revolutionaries. The only person left to choose was He Rui.

Two days passed in a flash. Morrison walked out of the Fengtian Train Station and was stunned for a moment. This was Fengtian, not Siping, but there was already the feeling that He Rui would bring.

That was the feeling of order.

Traffic police on the streets, vehicles moving on the right, street signs at intersections. Just one glance, and one could understand that there was a force here leading order and maintaining order. And this force never hid its existence.

The pressure suddenly lightened a lot, and Morrison's mood even relaxed to the point of being somewhat cheerful. Arriving at the shops outside the Fengtian Train Station, he saw a row of shops with open doors. Walking into one at random, he saw quite a few newspapers placed in a conspicuous place on the counter. Morrison asked, "Boss, are there any new newspapers?"

Seeing this foreign devil speaking decent Chinese, although somewhat surprised, the boss answered, "The newest newspaper is the *Northeast Daily*."

Hearing the name, Morrison understood that He Rui had already established a firm foothold in Fengtian. He smiled. "Give me a copy."

Opening the newspaper handed over by the boss, he saw the headline wasn't the news of Yuan Shikai's death, but a news article with a photo: *Northeast Land Reform Advances Rapidly, the Day of Land to the Tiller Is Being Realized*.

In the photo, the people of the Northeast were measuring land. Everyone was busy, with looks of full concentration.