In the Legation Quarter of the capital, where most foreign embassies were gathered, a New Year's reception was being held at the French Consulate on January 1, 1917. Diplomats from the foreign missions attended with their wives.

Perhaps it was because the Battle of the Somme had ended and the Allied Powers had not been defeated by Germany, or perhaps the peaceful atmosphere of the Far East made it difficult for these diplomats to truly feel the brutality of the war. In any case, these well-dressed men and women were in high spirits and genuinely enjoying the joy of the New Year.

The British Minister, John Jordan, had completely moved on from the passing of his old acquaintance, Yuan Shikai. He was currently discussing the leading figures of China with the French Minister, his tone filled with disdain.

Just then, the Russian Minister appeared at the venue, attracting considerable attention. This was perhaps the treatment Russia deserved; after all, in the past year, Russia had achieved a major victory in the "Brusilov Offensive" during the summer. The Austro-Hungarian Empire had lost 1.1 million men, and German casualties had reached 350,000. Consequently, the Austro-Hungarian Empire's backbone had been broken, leaving it completely incapable of performing in the subsequent stages of the war.

The British and French Ministers stepped forward to exchange pleasantries with the Russian Minister. Upon returning to his seat, the French Minister suddenly remembered something. "Your Excellency, the rifles produced by that young friend of Morrison's have actually passed Russia's acceptance inspection. Did you exert some influence?"

Jordan was taken aback. The region outside the pass was considered very underdeveloped even within China. If not for General He Rui, the Zhen'an General, fully committing to attracting investment and consistently expressing his stance that China should join the Allied Powers as soon as possible, Jordan would not have had a strong impression of him.

The reason he supported British merchants purchasing from outside the pass to some extent was that France's influence on Russia was too great. Since French merchants had gone to the Northeast, British merchants naturally had to go as well.

Facing the French Minister's question, Jordan smiled. "I should be the one asking you that."

The French Minister was slightly surprised but immediately dropped the subject. Jordan keenly sensed this shift and couldn't help but wonder: could the descriptions of the Northeast in Morrison's letters actually be true?

Jordan wasn't in a hurry. With Morrison serving as the Director of the China Merchants Bureau in the Northeast, it felt like having Robert Hart as the Inspector-General of the Qing Customs—he could always get firsthand information. Confirming the details was just a matter of writing a letter.

After the reception ended, Jordan suddenly remembered this matter before retiring to the embassy to rest and gave instructions to his secretary.

A week later, the secretary presented a thick letter to Jordan, who had completely forgotten about it. He only recalled mentioning it after his secretary reminded him.

After opening the letter and reading for a moment, Jordan frowned. In the letter, Morrison praised He Rui to the skies, stating that He Rui was the only powerful figure in all of China who truly possessed a global vision. This tone reminded Jordan of Morrison's praise for Yuan Shikai's imperial bid; it was precisely because of Morrison's efforts that Yuan Shikai had failed so miserably. In terms of friendship, Jordan's relationship with Yuan Shikai far exceeded Morrison's.

Continuing to read, Jordan finally found something of interest. He Rui's accounting methods were indeed amusing. While other Chinese warlords wanted weapons and support, He Rui was much shrewder. He was building his own military-industrial system and gaining favor by repeatedly expressing support for the Allied Powers.

After thinking it over, Jordan called his secretary and ordered, "Send a telegram to London. Many upper-class figures in China have realized the necessity of joining the Allied Powers, and General He Rui, the highest administrative official in the Northeast, is one of them..."

Jordan's telegram was merely archived; the Foreign Secretary only glanced at it before setting it aside. The Far East was a very unimportant place in Britain's current strategic landscape, as long as no trouble arose.

If the Minister of Munitions, Winston Churchill, hadn't specifically mentioned He Rui at the cabinet meeting on January 7th, the Foreign Secretary would have forgotten about this telegram entirely. But since it was brought up, the Foreign Secretary went back to retrieve the telegram. He Rui's name was indeed there, but the Foreign Secretary didn't understand how Churchill would know this person.

The Foreign Secretary's chief secretary had no such doubts. Seeing that his superior needed guidance, the secretary brought in several newspapers, specifically yesterday's issue of *The Times*. As an elite from a long-standing bureaucratic tradition, the secretary turned to a specific page. The Foreign Secretary put on his glasses and saw the news report: "As the Chinese general most staunchly supporting the Allied Powers, General He Rui's administration in Northeast China has already loaded the first batch of weapons for transport to Russia. Accompanying them are large quantities of war-sustaining supplies, including soybean oil, beet sugar, maltose..."

After finishing this article analyzing Northeast China as a stable supply base for Russian war materials, the Foreign Secretary took off his glasses. Now he understood what was going on. Without this *Times* article, fewer than five people in London would know the name He Rui. But with *The Times* report, the situation was completely different.

Seeing that his minister still seemed to fail to grasp He Rui's value, the chief secretary handed over several other newspapers, including *Le Figaro*.

The Foreign Secretary had no trouble reading French newspapers. Even in wartime, the French press couldn't resist taking jabs at the British. The article first attacked Minister of Munitions Churchill for escaping the investigation of the Dardanelles Commission and returning to politics. It then mocked Britain's incompetence, forcing the Ottoman Empire to the side of the Central Powers over a meaningless battleship.

Meanwhile, wise French merchants, led by Maglon, had opened up military production in Northeast China, providing urgently needed weapons and supplies to France's close ally, Russia.

Now the Foreign Secretary finally understood why Churchill had brought up a Chinese general. Since Churchill had returned to the political stage, the Foreign Secretary had no reason to oppose him. It was just leveraging the situation; the Foreign Office had plenty of ways to do that.

"Send a telegram inquiring about the needs of He Rui's military industrial enterprises," the Foreign Secretary ordered.

By 1917, radio was in widespread use. Through military channels, the Foreign Secretary's message quickly arrived in the capital. Jordan immediately realized his opportunity had come. But how could the Minister of the majestic British Empire personally visit a warlord? Jordan sent his secretary instead.

Regarding He Rui, the secretary was much more diligent than Jordan. On the way, he read the information about He Rui several times.

He Rui was born in 1890. At 16, he went to Japan to study at the Imperial Japanese Army Academy. After graduation, he served in the Japanese Army and subsequently passed the entrance exam for the Army War College. He returned to China in May 1915 and was immediately sent to the Northeast.

Having prepared for a long time on the train, the secretary was still somewhat surprised by He Rui's excessively youthful appearance when he saw him in person. At least in Europe, such looks would be considered under twenty. However, Chinese people generally looked younger, so the secretary reminded himself that he was facing a 26-year-old general, composed himself, and shook hands with He Rui.

Arriving at the Zhen'an General's Office, the secretary found that He Rui was not shocked by receiving British support, nor did he show the kind of self-satisfaction of a scheme succeeding.

"I fully understand Britain's feelings for the sake of war and victory, because I personally share the same wish. One of the biggest problems facing the Northeast right now is the need for copper, nickel, and chromium—metals for manufacturing weapons and ammunition. The French side did promise to provide us with these materials, but their transport capacity is far below British standards, and supply is very tight. Recently, Russia has requested an order for ten million rounds of ammunition, and we simply have no way to fulfill it."

The secretary was prepared for He Rui to ask for a lion's share and smiled. "I wonder how much General He requires?"

He Rui waved his hand, and an adjutant brought up a list. The secretary took it and saw that the list was thoughtfully written in English, with a format completely following British reporting standards.

It clearly specified the chromium and nickel content required for each weapon, as well as the dimensions of the Russian standard Mosin-Nagant cartridges and the composition and quantity of gunpowder required. Below that, the total amount needed for the Russian requirements was listed.

When the secretary finished reading, He Rui said sincerely, "The minimum amount we need is this much. If the British side is willing to sell us more, we can continue production."

Hearing that He Rui wanted to "buy" rather than demand, the secretary relaxed. Although the money for these Russian weapons came from Britain and France anyway, business was business, and the British Empire would never accept extortion from He Rui.

So the secretary said, "Does Your Excellency have any other requests?"

He Rui answered sincerely, "In order to let the whole world see the sincerity of China's cooperation with the Allied Powers, I suggest a joint military exercise between the British garrison in China and our Northeast troops. This will effectively demonstrate solidarity and express the appropriate attitude."

The secretary was momentarily stunned by this suggestion. Just as He Rui said, a joint military exercise itself signified an attitude, a declaration. Whether Germany would be frightened was unknown, but Japan would certainly feel nervous.

Thinking of Japan's attitude and the current view of the British Far Eastern Department towards Japan, the secretary felt that holding such an exercise would actually be a good choice. But this thought only churned in his mind for a moment before dissipating; such a major matter was not something a secretary could decide.

So the secretary smiled and said, "I understand Your Excellency's attitude. The urgent task now is to provide more supplies to Russia. As I just said, the materials are available, but we need more key metals. If you wish to increase production capacity, we also need more complete sets of equipment."

"Do you have a plan?" the secretary asked.

He Rui had his adjutant bring another plan. "This is the plan drafted by Mr. Morrison, the Director of our China Merchants Bureau. Mr. Morrison is also here; if you have anything you don't understand, you can ask him."

The secretary looked at Morrison sitting nearby, feeling that this political broker had found a new partner after Yuan Shikai.

Since Morrison had placed his bets, the secretary asked, "Mr. Morrison, do you have a moment?"