Hearing Morrison relay British Consul Henry's wish to let the Czechoslovak Legion pass through the Northeast to go south, Zhao Tianlin immediately and unhappily refused, "Impossible!"

After speaking, Zhao Tianlin noticed He Rui sitting next to him and knew he shouldn't have said that. But the words were already out, and Zhao Tianlin had no intention of taking them back. Whether from a legal standpoint or from national pride, Zhao Tianlin could not accept letting foreign troops pass through Chinese territory.

Morrison didn't continue to persuade. He knew this request was asking too much of He Rui, and relaying it was just to complete his due diligence. Thus, the three fell into a subtle silence.

He Rui didn't start from legal or nationalistic sentiments; the request raised by the British Consul triggered He Rui's strategic considerations. Based on the news already received, the goal of this legion composed of tens of thousands of Czech soldiers was to return to their motherland, the Czech lands. However, at present, this army couldn't easily pass through the chaotic Ukraine region embroiled in the Russian Civil War. The most convenient route home was to reach East Asia via the Trans-Siberian Railway and then depart by ship from East Asia.

As long as it was an object mentioned by the British, it was basically an object the British wanted to utilize. So where exactly did the British goal lie?

Thinking of this, He Rui asked, "Mr. Morrison, what did the British say about how to pay for the Russian weapons?"

This was the task He Rui had given Morrison; issuing currency required collateral. Whether grain, cloth, bonds, or stocks, they all worked, but the most effective collateral was precious metals. He Rui knew that both the White Army and the Czechoslovak Legion held a portion of the Russian state treasury's gold.

Morrison felt he had done his best to complete He Rui's work and frankly stated, "Consul Henry hopes to pay in pounds sterling."

He Rui pressed on the point he didn't understand. "Using pounds isn't the problem; the problem is, who is paying the pounds?"

"Consul Henry said he would discuss this matter personally with Your Excellency Chairman," Morrison replied.

Realizing Morrison had been refused, He Rui considered briefly and decided to immediately send a telegram to the Northeast Office in Beijing at Wudaokou. "Morrison, you receive Consul Henry today; I suddenly have something to attend to."

After speaking, He Rui stood up and left, leaving a stunned Morrison in the office.

Radio telegrams traveled at the speed of light through the earth's atmosphere. Reflected by the ionosphere, the radio waves emitted by a small radio station covered a vast area when they returned to the ground. The radio equipment at Wudaokou in Beijing amplified these faint electrical signals through electronic devices, restoring and converting them into audible sounds.

Hearing the final end signal, the telegraph operator wearing headphones sent back a short confirmation signal almost instinctively, then immediately delivered the translated content represented by the radio signals to the Office Director. Thirty minutes later, a car drove out of the office, heading straight for the British Legation in the Dongjiaomin Quarter.

British Minister Jordan, learning that the letter delivered by the secretary came from He Rui, didn't really want to open it. He Rui's European style gave Jordan a headache, and since Jordan was currently under orders to contact Japan regarding the invasion of the Russian Far East, he really didn't want to spend time dealing with He Rui.

But Jordan opened the letter in the end. The letter contained brief content written in beautiful cursive script: "Regarding Russian affairs, I wish to meet with Your Excellency Minister. If Your Excellency is busy with official duties, I will contact London directly through the Republic of China's Ambassador to the UK."

Seeing this plain-toned content, Jordan felt the strong style of He Rui. Even Japan wouldn't make such a statement so carelessly. However, He Rui's approach was actually correct because the people who decided Jordan's actions were in London; the British Foreign Office was Jordan's direct superior.

Jordan could certainly ignore He Rui, but the executor of any action in the Far East would be Jordan. If he only took orders from London, Jordan would lose his initiative.

Having decided in his heart to meet with He Rui, Jordan still wanted to make things a bit difficult for him, so he drafted a telegram: 'Feeling unwell today, cannot bear the fatigue of travel. Hope General He can come to Beijing for the meeting.'

Since He Rui wanted something, let him come to Beijing personally. At least in terms of momentum, Jordan didn't want to be at a disadvantage.

However, after the telegram was sent, Jordan regretted it a little. With He Rui's style of not willing to play second fiddle, he probably wouldn't adopt a low posture so simply. Moreover, He Rui had no reason to bow to Jordan now. But the telegram had been sent, and Jordan couldn't recall it. Checking the calendar, today was May 22, 1918. Jordan felt that letting things take their course was also a good choice.

On May 23, just as Duan Qirui sat down in the Republic of China Premier's office, an aide walked in quickly and presented a telegram.

Looking at the aide's expression, Duan Qirui didn't look at the telegram but asked directly, "Who sent it?"

The aide quickly answered, "Reporting to the Premier, it is a telegram from He Rui."

Just hearing He Rui's name, Duan Qirui frowned. Among all the Beiyang warlords, He Rui was undoubtedly the youngest. Calling him 'Little Brother' was already flattering him by the Beiyang bigwigs.

But He Rui opposed Yuan Shikai's declaring himself emperor, opposed the division of China, recovered Outer Mongolia internally, took the Chinese Eastern Railway externally, and made Japan unable to act rashly diplomatically. Through newspaper propaganda, He Rui was undoubtedly the one with the best reputation in the Beiyang clique now.

The current Beiyang clique was divided into Feng Guozhang's Zhili clique and Duan Qirui's Anhui clique. He Rui, this 'Little Brother', had greatly increased in strength and was already called the Fengtian clique, implicitly becoming the third-ranked power within Beiyang. A telegram from such a guy probably meant nothing good.

Composing himself slightly, Duan Qirui opened the telegram. After reading for a moment, his face became serious. The aide could see that Duan Qirui's expression wasn't anger, but confusion. Sure enough, after pondering for a moment, Duan Qirui stood up, handed the telegram to the aide, and paced in the office with his hands behind his back.

The aide quickly read the telegram and also fell into thought. He Rui's telegram informed Duan Qirui that because Britain intended to let the Czechoslovak Legion travel to the port via the newly recovered Chinese Eastern Railway in the Northeast, He Rui wanted to enter Beijing to discuss this matter with Duan Qirui.

It must be said, this was a serious affair of state. From any angle, He Rui couldn't act on his own initiative. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was under Premier Duan Qirui, so coming to discuss with Duan Qirui was a matter of course.

However, He Rui coming to Beijing to discuss national affairs in accordance with the system revealed a strong sense of weirdness. The aide felt things shouldn't be like this.

When Duan Qirui walked back to his seat and sat down, the aide looked at Duan Qirui's expression and asked, "Premier, shall we send a telegram to He Rui?"

Duan Qirui had clearly made a decision and answered decisively, "Tell He Rui I'll wait for him in Beijing."