On July 2nd, the Republic of China's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tang Shaoyi, had just arrived at his office when his secretary came to report, "Minister, Chancellor Zhao Tianlin has sent someone to deliver a letter."

Tang Shaoyi had only assumed the post of Foreign Minister on June 30th. It had been no more than three days. Hearing that Zhao Tianlin had sent a letter, he hesitated slightly about whether to see the messenger.

Seeing Tang Shaoyi's hesitation, the secretary asked, "Should I go out and accept the letter on your behalf?"

Tang Shaoyi still appreciated Zhao Tianlin, so he replied, "Let him in."

After the secretary left, Tang Shaoyi sighed slightly. That Zhao Tianlin chose to follow He Rui was something Tang Shaoyi had completely not expected.

Tang Shaoyi and Yuan Shikai had a mutual appreciation for each other. In the 20th year of Guangxu (1894), Japan used the Donghak Peasant Revolution as a pretext to send troops to Korea. Since Yuan Shikai had been stationed in Korea for over ten years and had always been hostile to Japan, he was seen as a major obstacle, and Japan wanted to eliminate him quickly. Yuan Shikai telegraphed Li Hongzhang requesting to be recalled and proposed that Tang Shaoyi act in his stead.

When the Japanese learned of this news, they plotted to assassinate Yuan. Upon hearing the news, Tang Shaoyi immediately sought help from the British Minister to Korea, John Jordan, and together they planned a rescue operation for Yuan. On June 16th (July 18th), Yuan Shikai disguised himself and fled. Tang Shaoyi escorted him to the Han River, where he boarded a British warship prepared by John Jordan.

Therefore, Tang Shaoyi actually appreciated He Rui's interview last October, believing that He Rui was trying his best to dissuade Yuan Shikai at the time. But this young kid He Rui had seized power in the Northeast, causing quite a shock within the Beiyang government.

At present, the ambitious Feng Guozhang had finally revealed his true colors. On May 18th, Feng Guozhang invited representatives from provinces that had not declared independence to convene a meeting in Nanjing. Feng Guozhang intended to force Yuan to step down through the Nanjing Conference and replace him. However, due to Ni Sichong's sabotage and the differing strategies of the generals' representatives from various provinces, the Nanjing Conference was aborted. Feng Guozhang had outsmarted himself and was denounced by public opinion: "Rather than calling it a conference to resolve the status of Yuan, it would be better to call it a conference to resolve his own status."

However, He Rui, this 25-year-old fledging, had unexpectedly seized power in the Northeast at this delicate moment, making the warlords everywhere feel very jealous. For a time, all kinds of rumors were boiling over, and He Rui's deployment of troops for exercises outside Shanhai Pass in order to obtain Duan Qirui's authorization made those warlords who commanded heavy troops feel all sorts of expectations.

While he was considering these things, the messenger had already been led in. The visitor bowed and presented the letter. In the letter, Zhao Tianlin congratulated Tang Shaoyi on his assumption of the post of Foreign Minister and greatly praised Tang Shaoyi's past achievements. Tang Shaoyi became one of the third batch of young students sent to study in the United States in the 13th year of Tongzhi (1874), later entering Columbia University. Seeing this junior alumnus who had studied in the US more than ten years later than him being so sincere, he felt a bit of fondness in his heart.

After reading the letter, Tang Shaoyi asked about Zhao Tianlin's current situation. The messenger briefly introduced Zhao Tianlin's recent situation and continued, "Chancellor Zhao has now assumed the post of Director of Education outside the pass and is preparing a railway academy to cultivate railway talents, preparing personnel for the future construction of our country's own railways."

"Oh?" Tang Shaoyi felt a bit more excited. In the 33rd year of Guangxu (1907), Tang Shaoyi was appointed Governor of Fengtian and was responsible for foreign negotiations in the Northeast region. He intended to introduce British and American capital to build a railway running through the entire territory of the Northeast to check Japan. But Japan wooed the United States and signed the Root-Takahira Agreement first, causing Tang Shaoyi's plan to fail.

Hearing that Zhao Tianlin had actually started doing the same thing, Tang Shaoyi praised, "This is a good thing. Go back and tell Chancellor Zhao, please ask him to be diligent. If there is anything the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can assist with, the Ministry will certainly do its best."

Hearing this, the messenger said respectfully, "Railways require a large amount of surveying. The surveying equipment outside the pass is of various types and complex. Chancellor Zhao wants to unify the standards. He has already prepared the money and contacted people in Paris, France, and can pay at any time. However, the General Conference on Weights and Measures is an organization targeting nations. We still need Minister Tang to send a telegram to the Republic of China's Minister to France, asking him to contact the members of the General Conference on Weights and Measures, so that the General Conference can issue a set of certified platinum-iridium alloy prototypes and nickel-steel secondary prototypes for the instrument factory to use."

Listening to Zhao Tianlin's request, Tang Shaoyi felt this was just a small matter, so he continued to ask, "Did Chancellor Zhao send you for any other matters?"

"Chancellor Zhao said that this time is to congratulate Minister Tang on his new appointment. Troubling Minister Tang already makes him feel very apologetic. If you can assist, it would truly be an overwhelming joy."

Tang Shaoyi felt that the guy in front of him probably wasn't telling the truth. The current He Rui was already a famous figure in the Republic of China, yet a year ago, probably only the Ministry of Foreign Affairs knew much about He Rui. Since this guy wouldn't tell the truth, Tang Shaoyi simply went with the flow, called his secretary, and asked him to immediately take this messenger to handle the matter.

In the afternoon, the secretary returned. "Minister, Chancellor Zhao's matter has been settled."

Tang Shaoyi was stunned for a moment before remembering the matter handled today. "Where is the person sent by Chancellor Zhao?"

The secretary had received benefits from the messenger and had eaten a good meal at a restaurant in the capital at noon, so he reported truthfully, "The messenger saw that the matter was done and has already left."

"Did he... say anything else?" Tang Shaoyi was a bit surprised.

"He just thanked the Minister for his help," the secretary replied.

"He Rui actually didn't ask him to say anything?" Tang Shaoyi was even more puzzled. Receiving a clear answer from the secretary, this person had indeed just come to ask Tang Shaoyi to send a telegram to let the Republic of China's Minister to France help obtain a set of certified platinum-iridium alloy prototypes and nickel-steel secondary prototypes from the General Conference on Weights and Measures for the instrument factory to use.

This time, Tang Shaoyi was greatly surprised. There were so many warlords in the Republic of China, rich ones and poor ones, but Tang Shaoyi had never seen a warlord who would lift a finger for the matter of standard weights and measures. As far as Tang Shaoyi knew, let alone doing it, those warlords wouldn't even think about it. What these warlords thought about was entirely their own territory, troops, and power status. They had truly never even heard of a purely technical organization like the General Conference on Weights and Measures.

In 1908 (the 34th year of Guangxu), a request was made to the International Bureau of Weights and Measures to custom-make a construction ruler (32 cm) and a Kuping tael weight (37.301 g) platinum-iridium alloy prototype and a nickel-steel secondary prototype each. In 1909 (the first year of Xuantong), the prototypes and secondary prototypes were accurately calibrated by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures, given certificates, and brought to China. The Qing government manufactured local prototypes based on the secondary prototypes and issued them to all directly controlled provinces as standards for verifying various weights and measures, so that the values of weights and measures units in the late Qing Dynasty could have a metric production standard.

It was also at that time that Tang Shaoyi learned of the existence of such an organization as the 'General Conference on Weights and Measures'.

For a time, Tang Shaoyi's impression of He Rui wavered. It seemed that this young warlord was truly different.

But Tang Shaoyi dared not believe this matter was true. He changed his thought; perhaps this matter was merely being pushed by Zhao Tianlin.