President Feng Guozhang hadn't expected that He Rui would suddenly come to Beijing. When he heard the news, Feng Guozhang wasn't even in Beijing but in Tianjin, meeting with a group of old Beiyang brothers who were living in retirement.

Hearing the news, Feng Guozhang was stunned for a moment, then his face darkened unhappily. The group of old Beiyang brothers were also bewildered by this news, their gazes shifting between Feng Guozhang and Zhang Xiluan.

Zhang Xiluan didn't know what He Rui wanted to do, nor did he care. Facing everyone's gaze, to save everyone's face, Zhang Xiluan picked up his teacup and sipped slowly, not meeting anyone else's eyes.

Feng Guozhang suddenly laughed out loud. "Haha. Old Brother Zhang, I'm really old; the young people already look down on me."

Although Feng Guozhang was laughing, the group of old brothers didn't laugh. He Rui's action indeed fit Feng Guozhang's interpretation.

Zhang Xiluan put down his teacup. "Brother Huafu is joking. Why don't you send a telegram to Beijing, Brother Huafu? I think He Rui will come to Tianjin."

Seeing Zhang Xiluan smoothing things over, Feng Guozhang didn't answer immediately. If things could really turn out as Zhang Xiluan said, it would barely save Feng Guozhang's face. But once He Rui didn't do so, Feng Guozhang's face would be completely lost. At that time, Feng Guozhang would have forged a grudge with He Rui, and it would be hard for the two to meet in the future.

The group of old Beiyang brothers were all masters of worldly wisdom; how could they not know Feng Guozhang's thoughts? Although some people wanted to take the opportunity to stir up trouble and incite Feng Guozhang to fight to the end, seeing that everyone else remained silent, they didn't dare to speak rashly.

Feng Guozhang stood up to take his leave at this time, and the crowd didn't ask him to stay. When Feng Guozhang left, Zhang Xiluan also wanted to take his leave. Wang Shizhen spoke up, "Brother will see you out."

The two walked to a secluded spot in the courtyard, and Wang Shizhen asked, "Big Brother Zhang, He Rui is 28 this year, right?"

Zhang Xiluan originally thought Wang Shizhen wanted to ask about the purpose of He Rui's trip and had made up his mind not to talk about it. Unexpectedly, Wang Shizhen suddenly popped this question, which was quite unexpected. Wang Shizhen continued, "Brother He hasn't married at this age; didn't Big Brother help him arrange one?"

"I can't understand the minds of young people anymore," Zhang Xiluan laughed. After speaking, he left the gathering place on his own.

Meanwhile, in the flower hall of the Premier's Office in Beijing, Duan Qirui said with a kindly expression, "He Rui, having reached this age, haven't you thought about getting married?"

Duan Qirui was the Premier of the Republic of China, and it was he who arranged for He Rui to go outside the pass. Within the Beiyang clique, everyone considered He Rui to be on Duan Qirui's side. Several accompanying officials nearby stared at He Rui, waiting for his answer. For Duan Qirui to play matchmaker for He Rui definitely wouldn't disgrace him. As long as He Rui agreed, it meant the two sides had built a political alliance.

"Please help with this matter in the future, Director-General. This subordinate came this time for national affairs. The Director-General may not know, but when the British sent their Consul in Shenyang to meet with Morrison, they actually said they wanted to let the Czechoslovak Legion in Russia pass through the Northeast to reach the port. It is truly outrageous!"

Hearing that He Rui neither refused nor agreed to Duan Qirui's offer to be a matchmaker, the officials didn't find it strange. Only Foreign Minister Lu Zhengxiang, who had been invited, had his eyes light up and stared closely at He Rui.

Duan Qirui couldn't figure out what He Rui meant either. Was the purpose of this young Fengtian clique leader's sudden arrival for diplomacy?

He Rui didn't keep them in suspense and continued analyzing, "Director-General, with the outbreak of the Russian Civil War, Britain and France are determined to manipulate things, striving to make the forces supporting Britain and France the future government of Russia. In this subordinate's view, the British doing this is to probe this subordinate, to see if this subordinate will get on the British boat. This is their wishful thinking. This subordinate is Chinese and naturally takes China's interests as the sole standpoint. Coming here this time is to discuss this matter with the Director-General."

Duan Qirui listened to He Rui speaking full of new-style terms. Although he could understand, it was far from his own habits, and he couldn't help feeling a little emotional in his heart. Foreign Minister Lu Zhengxiang couldn't help but say, "Marshal He's words are admirable."

He Rui nodded to Lu Zhengxiang to express thanks. Seeing Duan Qirui didn't speak, he continued, "Director-General, in this subordinate's view, what the British seek is to support the anti-Bolshevik forces within Russia, but Britain suffered heavy losses in the Great War and is unwilling to support other Russian forces on a large scale. Please look, Director-General..."

Saying this, He Rui took out a map. Duan Qirui also became curious at this time, so he stood up and said, "Let's talk at the table."

The map was quickly spread on the table, and everyone stood around it. They saw that the spheres of influence of the Entente Powers and the Central Powers had already been marked on the map. He Rui pointed at the map and began to explain. The line from St. Petersburg to Moscow in northern Russia was completely controlled by the Bolsheviks. Western Europe was now a mess of fighting, and there was no way to transport weapons and ammunition to the Russian White Army in southern and eastern Russia through here.

The route to southern Russia was now controlled by the Entente Powers, especially the Bosporus Strait, which was in the hands of the Ottoman Empire.

He Rui's finger slid all the way along the Trans-Siberian Railway and stopped after passing the northern line of the Chinese Eastern Railway, which had been taken by He Rui. "Director-General, this is the British plan."

Duan Qirui was a smart man and already understood the British intention to use this transportation line controlled by the White Army. Pondering for a moment, Duan Qirui asked, "He Rui, what do you want the Foreign Ministry to discuss with Britain?"

The meeting lasted for several hours. After dinner, Duan Qirui and Foreign Minister Lu Zhengxiang had a long talk with He Rui. It was late at night, so Lu Zhengxiang slept directly in the guest room of the Premier's Office. Because of mental excitement, Lu Zhengxiang couldn't fall asleep lying in bed.

Lu Zhengxiang, who had more than a dozen years of diplomatic work experience in Russia, was simply like a fish in water during this meeting. His previous experience was fully utilized and received great affirmation from Duan Qirui. However, what excited Lu Zhengxiang was another matter.

From becoming a fourth-class secretary and interpreter at the embassy in Russia in 1892 to 1918, 26 years had passed. In these 26 years, facing international issues with this global vision was a first. Moreover, China's ruler spending ten hours discussing diplomatic content entirely from a pragmatic and grand strategic height was unprecedented.

Even if Duan Qirui didn't understand diplomacy well, he fully understood how to negotiate and compromise with Britain. This made Lu Zhengxiang discover one thing: it wasn't that high-level officials like Duan Qirui didn't want to handle diplomacy well. Duan Qirui wanted to handle diplomacy well and very much wanted to obtain national interests through diplomacy. But Duan Qirui didn't understand international diplomacy, couldn't seize fleeting opportunities, and couldn't construct a situation beneficial to China.

Thinking of this, Lu Zhengxiang forced himself to fall asleep. Because He Rui, who initiated this diplomatic action, was leaving Beijing and returning outside the pass tomorrow. In the limited time between dawn and He Rui's departure, some details had to be finalized.

In his grogginess, someone shook Lu Zhengxiang's shoulder, calling softly at the same time, "Minister Lu, Minister Lu."

Lu Zhengxiang only felt extremely sleepy and turned over unhappily. But suddenly remembering there was business today, his grumpiness upon waking dissipated by more than half.

However, his head was groggy after getting up. Lu Zhengxiang sat up with difficulty and ordered, "Brew me a pot of strong tea!"

The servant advised, "The Premier has already prepared bathwater for the Minister."

Less than an hour later, Lu Zhengxiang appeared in the conference room looking somewhat radiant. Duan Qirui came from a military background; although his eyelids were a bit swollen at this time, he still looked energetic. It was just that the color of the tea in the cup by his hand was very dark, and the frequency of Duan Qirui sipping tea was also quite high.

He Rui looked a bit pale, and his eyes were somewhat red. Duan Qirui sighed, "He Rui, you haven't slept all night; can your body handle it?"

Lu Zhengxiang was stunned, then saw He Rui take out a stack of written documents. "Director-General, this is the record of yesterday's meeting. This subordinate has already written down thoughts on the details."

Because there was only one copy, Duan Qirui read it first, and Lu Zhengxiang read it afterward. The content was indeed as He Rui said, all matters discussed until late last night. Although He Rui's writing was entirely in the vernacular and contained quite a few new terms that were unfamiliar to read, the entire process and relevant key points were analyzed extremely clearly.

Lu Zhengxiang couldn't help but admire in his heart, and his view of He Rui changed greatly. It must be said that He Rui's evaluation among the Beiyang high-level officials wasn't good. The Beiyang high-level officials knew foreigners thought He Rui was very formidable, so they also felt He Rui must have extraordinary points. But the Beiyang upper echelon actually didn't know exactly how formidable He Rui was. The only thing they knew was that He Rui had good vision and could always seize opportunities.

How many times can one fight in life? Everyone knew clearly what end Yuan Shikai came to after his strenuous struggle. Just one failure, and a person in a high position could be ruined and crushed. But similarly, seizing just one opportunity could lead to soaring into the sky. Therefore, the Beiyang upper echelon and high government officials willing to talk about He Rui mostly thought He Rui had 'pretty good luck'.

At this moment, Lu Zhengxiang realized that He Rui didn't just have pretty good luck; rather, He Rui had vision unmatched by anyone in the Beiyang clique.

Seeing Lu Zhengxiang finish reading the document, Duan Qirui asked with a bit of worry, "He Rui, everything else in your plan is good, but in the initial negotiation with the British, you actually want to make things clear first. Isn't that being too arrogant?"

"Director-General, this diplomacy is a dialogue between the Republic of China government and the British Cabinet. Only by letting the British know completely that we are very clear about what the British want, and we are also willing to provide what the British want, can we make the British put down their doubts. This subordinate believes the British will definitely understand. There is no room for subtlety in diplomacy. Those seemingly obscure dialogues are just everyone using the established diplomatic jargon of Europe and America. This jargon is unknown to outsiders, so it looks strange. Since China doesn't have such diplomatic jargon, it's better to speak one's mind directly, with making the other party free of ambiguity as soon as possible as the primary goal. Refinement and elegance cannot be attended to at this time."

Hearing this, Lu Zhengxiang felt he agreed deeply. But Duan Qirui frowned slightly in thought, drinking several mouthfuls of strong tea during the interval, before suddenly realizing, "So what you are thinking, He Rui, is very different from what I am thinking."

Hearing this, Lu Zhengxiang couldn't help but be surprised in his heart. First, he was moved by Duan Qirui's frankness. Second, he discovered that a big shot like Duan Qirui had more limited knowledge of international diplomacy than imagined.

But this couldn't be said. Lu Zhengxiang looked at He Rui. He Rui answered frankly, "Director-General, we Chinese talk about benevolence, righteousness, and morality. Diplomacy between great powers talks about pure interest. This subordinate is just using the European and American diplomatic model to deal with Europe and America. I've made the Director-General laugh."

Duan Qirui waved his hand, his eyes much brighter.

However, He Rui didn't continue this topic. "I wonder if the Director-General has any other questions about these?"

Duan Qirui thought for a moment. "He Rui, looking at your arrangement, is it to be as soon as possible?"

"Precisely so. The sooner the better; there is no room to hold out for a better price in this matter. Although it is diplomacy, the Director-General can view this matter as going out to buy a steamed bun: handing over money with one hand and receiving goods with the other. If one tries to calculate for more benefits, I'm afraid it would be painting legs on a snake."

Duan Qirui didn't answer. Looking at his slightly frowned brows, it seemed he was considering whether what He Rui said was true.

He Rui didn't continue either, instead saying, "Director-General, this subordinate will take his leave now."

Duan Qirui was somewhat surprised. "Oh? He Rui, you are going back outside the pass? Why not stay in Beijing for a few more days?"

"This subordinate came this time for this matter. Since I've already explained it clearly to the Director-General and there are no other matters within the country, this subordinate will naturally go back. If the Director-General has any instructions in the future, a telegram to this subordinate will naturally be obeyed."

Duan Qirui hesitated to speak, finally saying, "Since that's the case, I'll trouble Minister Lu to send Little Brother He to the station on my behalf."

Hearing Duan Qirui start calling He Rui 'Little Brother He', Lu Zhengxiang felt something in his heart and quickly stood up.