Before coming to Shenyang, Joffe thought that if the interview went smoothly, he would stay in Shenyang for a relatively long time; three or five days would just be the beginning, and ten days might not be impossible. Leaving on the third day after arriving in Shenyang was indeed beyond Joffe's expectations.

Seeing that parting was imminent, He Rui took out a thin envelope and handed it over. Joffe felt that He Rui didn't look like the kind of person who gave money, but he didn't take it immediately either.

He Rui smiled. "We have set up liaison offices in Beijing and Shanghai, as well as distribution stations for the *Northeast Daily*. I have already sent a telegram to the liaison offices. If you encounter problems you cannot solve, you can try to find them at the liaison offices."

For Russians operating in China, such a gift might be of great help to their safety. Joffe took the envelope and sincerely expressed his gratitude to He Rui.

Seeing He Rui preparing to say goodbye, Joffe suddenly remembered a question he was a bit curious about. "General He, why did you change the name of Fengtian to Shenyang?"

He Rui answered plainly, "Because this place was originally called Shenyang; Fengtian was a name for political propaganda."

Joffe was speechless for a moment. He Rui's words were correct in a sense, but publicly declaring the cancellation of political propaganda was also a form of political propaganda. As a revolutionary, Joffe knew this very well.

Walking out of the government office building, Joffe stopped and looked back at this magnificent building; the window of He Rui's office couldn't be seen from the outside. Joffe believed He Rui must be very clear that the Bolshevik government's diplomatic mission would next go to Beijing to meet the leaders of the Beiyang government, and would continue south to contact Sun Yat-sen in the south. When contacting Beiyang and Sun Yat-sen, the Bolshevik regime delegation would conduct negotiations beneficial to the Bolshevik regime on the condition of harming He Rui's interests. But He Rui didn't mind this; this was the magnanimity of a politician.

There was still some time before the train departed. Joffe took out the meeting report he had written in the VIP room.

"...He Rui is a political party leader with a global vision. Judging from the local governance of the Northeast, his comrades are excellent. He Rui and his Civilization Party will become the force leading China in the future. It was confirmed in the conversation that He Rui will not engage in parliamentary party politics, nor does he wish to see the emergence of bourgeois political parties, but He Rui does not oppose the emergence of capitalists. The stance of his Civilization Party tends more toward bourgeois reformism. However, in opposing the imperialist global order, He Rui's attitude is very clear, willing to cooperate with progressive forces opposing imperialism, and suggesting that the Bolshevik Central Committee conduct higher-level talks with He Rui..."

Looking at this report, Joffe felt an inexplicable melancholy in his heart, but couldn't figure out where this feeling came from.

Forcing himself to find a reason, Joffe could only suspect whether he might have been influenced by the scholarly air He Rui displayed during the conversation.

After pondering for a while, Joffe still couldn't determine any reason. But this feeling of melancholy lingered in his heart, faint but real.

Joffe could only force himself to gather his emotions and focus his thoughts on the upcoming diplomatic work.

Arriving in Beijing, Joffe saw a tea stall at the entrance of the train station selling the *Northeast Daily*. He bought a copy and saw that the newspaper described the 'Rice Riots' that had begun to end in Japan.

While in Shenyang, Joffe had begun to like the *Northeast Daily*. The content of this newspaper didn't seem extremely revolutionary, but was full of healthy and uplifting spirit. Those reports concerning the lives of ordinary people were very interesting and emitted the breath of life. What Joffe liked most were the news and commentary.

Now Japan was invading Russia, and the outbreak of the 'Rice Riots' in Japan was good news for the Russian Bolshevik government. The *Northeast Daily* was a Chinese newspaper, so its stance naturally wouldn't be on Russia's side.

"...To divert domestic contradictions and offset the impact of the socialist revolution in Japan, Japan launched a military invasion of Russia. However, because of the military invasion, it conversely triggered domestic rice riots, causing Japan's domestic contradictions to be displayed more intensely. From a historical perspective, this is truly an interesting correlation..."

"...Because the Japanese government purchased a large amount of rice and released it into the Japanese market to calm grain prices, this rice riot seems to have ended. However, the intensification of social contradictions triggered by the rice riots has not only not been weakened but will instead make the Japanese people realize that this riot swept the country yet did not change the existing order of Japan in the slightest because the Japanese people were not organized to struggle against the Japanese government. With this rehearsal, the socialist struggle in Japan will be ignited like a spark setting a prairie fire, launching resistance against Japan's current social system..."

After reading it, Joffe was truly puzzled in his heart. Looking only at the articles in the *Northeast Daily*, they were basically consistent with Bolshevik methodology, but He Rui actually allowed capitalists to exist in economic operations. In Joffe's view, this was undoubtedly naive!

Prohibiting capitalists from forming bourgeois political parties couldn't possibly make capitalists serve the cause of communism. Although He Rui offered an explanation, Joffe still couldn't accept the view that 'developing productivity requires striking a balance between efficiency and fairness'. This was also the reason why Joffe considered He Rui's political party to belong to the 'bourgeois reformists'.

Putting away the newspaper, Joffe composed himself and began to carry out his work in Beijing, China. What worried Joffe was that if the level of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs was like He Rui's, they would refuse to contact diplomatic personnel sent by the Bolshevik regime. The Bolsheviks had encountered such problems in other countries.

After meeting the personnel of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China, Joffe found the situation worse than he thought. That indifferent attitude and disapproving expression proved that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China didn't take the Bolshevik government seriously at all.

Originally, Joffe thought he wouldn't need to seek help from He Rui's forces so early, but now he had to go to the liaison office established by the Northeast Government in Wudaokou.

Just as He Rui said, the personnel at the liaison office had indeed received notification. Learning that Joffe looked forward to meeting high-level officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic, they agreed. Now Joffe began to be certain that He Rui's influence in the Beiyang central government was far greater than that of an ordinary warlord. It was very likely that in the eyes of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic, He Rui had an identity like a 'Prince-elector'.

More than an hour later, Lu Zhengxiang received the Director of the Northeast Office in his office. Learning of Commissar Joffe's request for a meeting, Lu Zhengxiang felt he had to meet him for He Rui's sake.

Sending off the Director, Minister Lu Zhengxiang felt that this guy He Rui was really diligent in doing things. A few days ago, Lu Zhengxiang had received a letter from He Rui. He Rui told Lu Zhengxiang that if the Russian Bolshevik government wanted to establish diplomatic relations with the Republic of China, the 'border demarcation issue' must be explicitly raised at the initial stage of establishing diplomatic relations. This was a diplomatic tradition; if not raised at that time, it would expose the extremely unprofessional status of diplomatic standards.

Lu Zhengxiang completely agreed with He Rui's evaluation of diplomatic professionalism, but let alone the Republic of China, starting from the Qing Dynasty, China had constantly ceded territory and paid indemnities, and had never had the experience of gaining territory. After receiving He Rui's letter, Lu Zhengxiang immediately went to see Duan Qirui and showed He Rui's letter to Duan Qirui as well.

Duan Qirui valued He Rui's views very much. Previously, He Rui asking the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to come forward and contact Britain to jointly oppose the Bolsheviks had brought Duan Qirui great benefits. The British probed Duan Qirui in many ways, asking if Duan Qirui could get He Rui's military support in case of a military conflict.

Regarding how to answer, Duan Qirui let Lu Zhengxiang come forward. Lu Zhengxiang elegantly used diplomatic language: "Premier Duan Qirui and Chairman He Rui are both committed to opposing the division of China."

The British diplomatic personnel understood the meaning in these words and threw out another difficult question: "Will Your Excellency Duan Qirui support Chairman He Rui to become his successor?"

If it were Lu Zhengxiang's personal view, he would be quite happy to see He Rui succeed Duan Qirui as Premier. But Lu Zhengxiang knew very well that the rules of Beiyang were definitely not like this, so he answered tactfully, "Our country has its own parliament; the candidates for President and Premier are decided by members of parliament."

The British diplomatic personnel smiled and didn't ask further.

There was nothing to ask about this matter. Whether Feng Guozhang or Duan Qirui, both knew they couldn't overthrow the opposing side. Now the dispute between the President's Office and the State Council was very fierce, so they could only take a step back each and let Xu Shichang serve as the President of the Republic.

However, the two were not simply retreating. During the parliamentary re-election, they had already arranged people loyal to themselves as members of parliament. Now there was a title outside called the 'Anfu Club'.

The real power figures retreated behind the scenes, and the power of the country was handed over to the parliament. Not only did it look good on the surface, but it also showed the high character and integrity of the two. However, this matter might work to deceive people who knew nothing, but for high-level officials and foreign diplomatic missions, it was as clear as a mirror.

As the Foreign Minister of the Republic, Lu Zhengxiang was also helpless. Lu Zhengxiang felt there was little hope for He Rui to take over Duan Qirui's Anhui clique. If He Rui wanted to hold power, he would probably have to defeat Duan Qirui's Anhui clique and Feng Guozhang's Zhili clique to get his wish. Lu Zhengxiang would rather maintain the status quo than see the country fall into full-scale civil war again.

The next day, Joffe met Foreign Minister of the Republic of China Lu Zhengxiang. Joffe expressed the wish of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) for both sides to establish diplomatic relations to this Foreign Minister in fluent Russian.

Lu Zhengxiang thought for a moment and raised a question. "Then where should the border line be drawn?"

This question struck directly at Joffe's difficulty and also made Joffe feel that the Beiyang regime and the overthrown Russian Tsarist regime were probably birds of a feather. Fox-like cowardice, lion-like ferocity. Seeing the opponent in weakness, they would pounce and bite.

This was not to say He Rui was some good person. If the standard for a good person was a kind normal person, the more excellent the strategist and politician, the farther they were from the good person standard of a kind normal person. He Rui was an extremely excellent strategist and politician.

From a political perspective, the Beiyang Foreign Minister didn't care about the wishes of the Bolshevik regime itself, nor did he consider the strategic thinking of the Bolshevik regime. Just acting according to imperialist rules—this was something the Bolshevik regime could absolutely not accept.

So Commissar Joffe said, "Your Excellency Foreign Minister, I wonder who the Republic government considers to be the Republic's greatest strategic opponent at present?"

Lu Zhengxiang hadn't expected Joffe to converse in this way, and couldn't help feeling somewhat that the Bolshevik regime was too opportunistic. No matter what situation the Republic faced, at least the diplomatic situation was much better than Russia's! Britain had formally proposed to the Republic government to oppose the Bolshevik regime together. Although He Rui had explained the British tradition of being a shit-stirrer very clearly in the letter—Britain's purpose in doing this was to pull other countries together to deal with Russia and then profit from it—China used to be the object besieged by others. At this time, Duan Qirui also had a clear attitude: the Sino-Russian border demarcation issue must be resolved, and Russia must return the land it occupied from China.

Duan Qirui definitely wouldn't let his Anhui clique troops deploy; if troops were really deployed, he would definitely make He Rui act. So Lu Zhengxiang was very clear about Duan Qirui's line of thought: occupy the benefits, absolutely bear no risks.

Such negotiation was a bit fresh for Lu Zhengxiang, but for Joffe, who participated in the *Treaty of Brest-Litovsk* negotiations, it was inevitably too boring. Compared with the Republic government's flimsy verbal threats, Germany's threat was unknown times greater. Although the strength of the Republic's Foreign Minister couldn't be called clumsy, compared with He Rui... Joffe didn't know whether to think He Rui wasn't Chinese or to think the Republic's Foreign Minister wasn't Chinese.

Since they were citizens of the same country, the gap in vision and philosophy was inevitably too large.

Finally, Joffe understood the attitude of the Republic government. Russia must first spit out the land occupied by Tsarist Russia from China, and only then might the Republic government discuss with the Bolshevik regime the issue of whether to recognize the Bolshevik government.

So the next day, Joffe expressed his thanks to the personnel of the Northeast Office in Beijing and took a train to the south that same day.

Arriving in Guangzhou, China, Joffe felt he had returned from autumn to summer. It was already cool in the Northeast, not enough for Russians to wear coats, but in Guangdong, wearing a single layer of clothing still made Joffe feel very hot.

In July 1917 (the 6th year of the Republic), because the Beiyang warlords led by Duan Qirui dissolved the parliament and abolished the *Provisional Constitution*, Sun Yat-sen united with the southwest warlords to establish a military government in Guangzhou. He was elected Grand Marshal to conduct the Constitutional Protection War. However, Sun Yat-sen was ostracized by warlords and politicians within the military government and had to resign from the post of Grand Marshal in May 1918 (the 7th year of the Republic). The failure of the First Constitutional Protection War made Sun Yat-sen realize that both northern and southern warlords were birds of a feather.

So in the summer of 1918, Sun Yat-sen sent a telegram expressing congratulations from Lenin and the Soviet government on the great victory of the Russian Revolution. The reason Joffe insisted on coming to see Sun Yat-sen was also because of this telegram.

In China, the Duan Qirui government stood on the side of the Entente Powers, following the British government to besiege Russia. Sun Yat-sen had been the President of the Republic and the Grand Marshal in the Constitutional Protection War, possessing huge influence in China. Between the Beiyang government and the Southern government, supporting Sun Yat-sen was the best choice.

As for He Rui... the more Joffe admitted He Rui's strength, the more he could feel He Rui's danger. This young 'Prince-elector' who appeared in the Chinese political arena like a meteor could absolutely not be used by anyone. If possible, Joffe would rather deal with the Beiyang government than conduct formal negotiations with He Rui.

As soon as the train stopped at the station, a military band was heard playing. Not long after, a group of soldiers walked onto the carriage, asking loudly, "Which one is Mr. Joffe!" "Where is Mr. Joffe!"

Although he didn't know the other party's intention, Joffe stood up. "I am Joffe!"

The soldiers immediately came forward to salute and escorted Joffe off the train. Looking at the banner held high above the military band, the accompanying Russian comrade explained to Joffe, "It was Grand Marshal Sun Yat-sen who sent people to welcome us."

Joffe felt relieved. Far from Beijing, the center of Beiyang rule, Sun Yat-sen's influence was huge, enough to stand up to Beiyang as an equal.

Looking at the soldiers who came to welcome him, Joffe exchanged a few pleasantries but found himself uncontrollably comparing these people with He Rui's troops. And intuitively speaking, Joffe was not optimistic about the Southern army.

Leaving aside height, just in terms of military uniforms and deportment, He Rui's army was obviously well-organized and well-trained. As for the demeanor of the soldiers, these Southern soldiers felt somewhat like the White Army. They were often accustomed to staring with wide eyes, posing as soldiers, as if worried people wouldn't know they were soldiers possessing military force.

He Rui's subordinates were much more restrained, a feeling more similar to the German army. Moreover, He Rui's troops wearing service uniforms made the Northeast Army officers look like they had received secondary or higher education. The military uniforms of the Southern army looked like a group of arrogant soldiers. The gap between the two sides was indeed a bit large.

Soon, Commissar Joffe met Sun Yat-sen for the first time. His appearance was clear and bright, his gaze bright. Only his hair was somewhat gray and slightly thin. Sun Yat-sen also introduced his main comrades to Joffe.

Joffe politely shook hands with these people and couldn't help thinking of He Rui again. Sun Yat-sen's attitude toward his comrades was more like treating followers, treating subordinates. In contrast, He Rui's attitude was treating comrades. Facing Commissar Joffe, He Rui was obviously consistent with his comrades, so there wasn't particularly much communication between them; all actions were very consistent.

But between Sun Yat-sen and his comrades, there was excessive communication and excessive small movements. And when Sun Yat-sen introduced his comrades to Joffe, there was also that flavor of 'showing off' typical of old-school Russian officers. As if proving he had so many subordinates could reflect his personal value.

These manifestations were not deliberate but revealed unconsciously. Precisely because of this, Joffe had roughly felt why Sun Yat-sen clearly became famous earlier than He Rui and had much richer political experience than He Rui, yet He Rui possessed strength Sun Yat-sen couldn't compare with.

According to the intelligence obtained by the Bolsheviks, most of He Rui's subordinates were graduates of military academies or other regular schools. And they were not Northeast locals but followed He Rui from wealthy areas like Beijing and Tianjin to the Northeast, an economically not-so-superior region.

Such an organization was exactly the same as the Bolsheviks; a large number of Bolshevik leading cadres chose to follow the communist ideal in this way, and no amount of arduous environment made them waver.