Before leaving, Jordan personally visited the General Zhen'an's office to bid farewell. He Rui spoke with Jordan cordially, like an old friend, and presented two old wild ginseng roots as a parting gift. Jordan, having served as the British Minister to Korea and now as the Minister to China, naturally understood that this gift represented goodwill from the East Asian region.

Although Zhao Tianlin was the Director of the Department of Education, he was currently acting in a diplomatic capacity and would escort Jordan to the railway station.

Seeing Jordan and He Rui standing together, one truly felt the emotion of looking at an oil painting. Jordan, an old man with thinning hair, sported a prominent pair of upper-class European mustaches and wore a Victorian-style suit. Magnificent, yet revealing an aura of the old era.

He Rui wore a simple military uniform, his face clean-shaven, and beneath his refreshing appearance lay vigorous vitality. Together, they seemed like a collision of two eras, or perhaps the boundary between two eras.

"I will ask Director Zhao to escort the Minister to the station. As for the establishment of the consulate in Fengtian, Director Zhao will be responsible for that," He Rui said at parting.

Jordan did not mind whether Zhao Tianlin was the Education Director or a diplomatic official. He Rui was the supreme administrative chief of the Northeast, but not the king of a local kingdom; he did not have the authority to establish diplomatic institutions.

Leaving He Rui's office, Jordan felt quite emotional along the way. Zhao Tianlin, who shared the car, had studied international law and was also a formidable opponent.

At the time of parting, Jordan instructed his secretary to cooperate with Zhao Tianlin to get the consulate settled as soon as possible.

***

Early morning, in the high-end residential area of Tianjin, newsboys delivered newspapers from door to door. Zhang Xiluan's servant was already waiting; as soon as the newsboy arrived, he opened the door and took the stack of papers.

Pulling out the *Northeast Daily*, placing it on top, the servant delivered the stack to Zhang Xiluan's study. Before long, Zhang Xiluan, dressed in casual clothes, entered the study, picked up the *Northeast Daily*, and began reading.

Around mid-morning, Zhang Xiluan took the car He Rui had sent him and went straight to a teahouse. This teahouse was built in an antique style, with courtyards, ponds, flower beds, and plum blossoms. A waiter led Zhang Xiluan into a courtyard reserved for high-ranking retired officials like him, where several people were already seated.

Zhao Erxun, Wang Shizhen, Wang Zhanyuan, and Meng Enyuan, the Jilin Military Governor effectively exiled by He Rui. All were Beiyang figures, including Wang Shizhen, the "Dragon of Beiyang" among the Three Heroes of Beiyang.

Zhao Erxun came from a family of officials, a famous minister of the late Qing, and a *jinshi* from the Daoguang era. Seeing Zhang Xiluan enter, he laughed, "Brother Zhang, Duan Zhiquan rarely complains about people, but he can't help complaining about your eye for talent."

Zhang Xiluan did not answer. His gaze swept over the table, seeing several newspapers, one of which was the *Northeast Daily* he had read that morning.

Since everyone knew the same news, Zhang Xiluan found an empty chair and sat down, resting his hands on his cane, smiling. "Speaking of which, it was Duan Zhiquan who sent He Rui outside the Pass. What does he have to complain about?"

Although Meng Enyuan had left Fengtian safely with the wealth he accumulated as Military Governor, if He Rui were to be brought down by the Great Powers, Meng Enyuan would naturally be happy. He chimed in, "Duke Zhang, I heard that the British and French Ministers have publicly stated they will absolutely not accept He Rui acting recklessly. He recovered the Chinese Eastern Railway and provoked the foreigners. I am worried for He Rui."

Zhang Xiluan didn't want to pay attention to Meng Enyuan, but ignoring him completely wasn't appropriate, so he simply said, "My worthy brother He Rui is cautious, and this time he has a valid cause. The *Northeast Daily* states clearly: since Russia intends to betray the Allied Powers, the Republic of China, as a member of the Allies, naturally has no reason to sit idly by."

Zhao Erxun chuckled softly. "Hehe, Duke Zhang is being too protective. With He Rui acting like this, I fear the foreigners won't accept it. What do you think, Brother Wang?"

Wang Shizhen didn't want to get involved in such a discussion, but since Zhao Erxun insisted on pulling him in, Wang Shizhen shook his head slightly. "What I care about is that He Rui stated in the newspaper that he dispatched twelve divisions to complete the operation to recover the Chinese Eastern Railway. Brother Zhang, exactly how big of a family fortune did you leave for He Rui?"

Zhang Xiluan certainly knew what he had left He Rui. Apart from an empty treasury, there was an empty arsenal. If there was anything of value, it was perhaps the seal of the General Zhen'an.

But given He Rui's shrewdness and capability... one division of 5,000 men, twelve divisions would be 60,000. If two soldiers shared one gun, or even three, it wasn't impossible.

But the Russians on the Chinese Eastern Railway numbered about 20,000. And the *Northeast Daily* clearly stated: twelve divisions, 120,000 men, resolving the issue of Russians within the Northeast borders completely within two days. This number also seemed reasonable.

Seeing Zhang Xiluan remain silent, Wang Shizhen said to Zhao Erxun, "Brother Zhao, He Rui has also made significant achievements in diplomacy. I feel this matter may not turn out as those in the Capital think."

Hearing Wang Shizhen's words, Zhao Erxun didn't know how to answer for a moment. He personally had no acquaintance with He Rui, neither liking nor disliking him. But in decades, apart from the Victory at Zhennan Pass, this was one of China's handful of external victories. Zhao Erxun felt some emotion in his heart.

And in terms of scale and result, He Rui's victory was more commendable than Feng Zicai's Victory at Zhennan Pass. Finally, Zhao Erxun sighed. "Sigh. Now Duan Zhiquan doesn't want trouble, but the young students in Beijing and Tianjin, hearing about the recovery of the Chinese Eastern Railway, have been marching and celebrating for days. Some even want to march to the State Council to demand the recovery of Shandong. This may not be a good thing."

Among those present, except for Meng Enyuan, all were major figures who had seen decades of ups and downs. They knew what Zhao Erxun meant. Young people didn't care about the consequences; seeing He Rui recover the Chinese Eastern Railway and take back all Russian concessions outside the Pass, their blood boiled, and they cared about nothing else.

How could these foolish students know that even if things had a good start, they might not have a good ending?

The group of old men were each thinking their own thoughts when they heard distant shouting from outside the wall.

"Recover the concessions!" "Restore Shandong!" "Drive out the Japanese invaders!"

Zhao Erxun sighed almost inaudibly. One didn't need to look to know these were students marching in Tianjin. Not just Tianjin; students in the Capital were doing the same.