On September 18th, Wang Shizhen returned to Beijing from Shenyang. Unlike last year when Zhang Xiluan invited him to Beijing to discuss taking over as Minister of the Army, only an Army major and two attendants were there to meet his train.

Wang Shizhen walked outside, looked at the rickshaws waiting outside the station, and said, "I will walk to Tieshizi Hutong."

The major was startled and quickly apologized, "Lord Wang, please do not blame us. There have been too many people using cars recently, and we couldn't allocate one at the moment..."

Wang Shizhen interrupted the major, "I am not angry. I just want to walk and take a look." He then walked onto the streets of Beijing with his hands behind his back.

Compared to last year, the streets of Beijing were still bustling. The Northeast Army had won successive victories, and the Japanese army had not broken through the Yalu River defense line, so there was no panic in the city. Some remaining slogans could still be seen on the streets, all celebrating the great victory of the Northeast Army.

But beneath this bustle, the sense of decline was even more pronounced. In particular, the pedestrians on the street, wearing long robes and mandarin jackets or short cloth shirts, were all dressed in the style of the former Qing Dynasty. People wearing Western-style clothing, especially young people, were rarely seen. On the contrary, those stubborn people who continued to keep their queues appeared quite conspicuous.

For a moment, Wang Shizhen even felt that he was in Beijing at the end of the Qing Dynasty.

"School should be starting around this time, right?" Wang Shizhen asked the major following him.

The major sighed, "Reporting to Lord Wang, if it were previous years, the students would have returned to school by now. However, since the Spring Festival this year, many students have gone to Outside the Pass. Especially after the Japanese army was thwarted at the Yalu River defense line, more and more students have left. I heard that many school classrooms only have a few students left, and they had to merge disciplines and suspend many classes."

Wang Shizhen did not say anything more and just continued to walk forward. When there were many young people in the city, Wang Shizhen hadn't really paid attention. Now that the number of young people in the city had decreased significantly, and those coming and going were mostly the elderly, children, and middle-aged men, Wang Shizhen realized that the market had been so hugely affected.

Thinking back to the Northeast, the streets and alleys were full of young people. although there were many young people and many things that an old man couldn't get used to, that vitality truly reminded Wang Shizhen of the years of training troops at Xiaozhan. Wang Shizhen had not expected that the current Beijing was far inferior to the Northeast.

Walking to the Presidential Palace in Tieshizi Hutong, Xu Shichang and Duan Qirui were already waiting inside. Seeing Wang Shizhen, they quickly stepped forward to ask, "Brother Wang, you said in the telegram that you met He Rui. What did He Rui say?"

Wang Shizhen told President Xu Shichang and Premier Duan Qirui the results of the meeting. "Brother He wants to invite President Xu to serve as the Chairman of the Political Consultative Conference and concurrently as the Curator of the National Institute of Culture and History. He wants to invite Brother Duan to serve as the Speaker of the Parliament."

"Political Consultative Conference? National Institute of Culture and History?" Xu Shichang had never heard of these two names.

Wang Shizhen explained. The Parliament is the highest organ of state power; this did not need explanation. The Political Consultative Conference, however, is a deliberative body. The people in the Political Consultative Conference could be called the pure stream (Qingliu) or the gentry. In short, these people can make suggestions on state affairs, but they are only suggestions.

However, Wang Shizhen was very interested in the position of Curator of the National Institute of Culture and History. "Brother He said that since the fall of the Manchu Qing, many historical documents preserved by the Manchu Qing have been lost. The Institute of Culture and History is responsible for collecting and organizing these documents and files. The Curator of the Institute of Culture and History and the Curator of the National Library can be regarded as the *Jijiu* (Libationer)."

Hearing this official title, Xu Shichang's eyes lit up. He had passed the provincial civil service examination in his early years and later became a *Jinshi*. He had a profound foundation in national studies. He not only wrote books and established theories but also studied calligraphy. He was skilled in landscape painting, which was quite elegant. His calligraphy followed Su Shi, with slight variations in style. He could write poetry and founded the Wanqingyi Poetry Society to recruit fellow poets and compile Qing poetry.

Xu Shichang did not dislike being the Chairman of the Political Consultative Conference where the 'pure stream' resided. As for the Curator of the National Institute of Culture and History, responsible for organizing historical archives and documents, in ancient times, this was the position of 'Libationer'. For a scholar, this position was simply something to dream of. Xu Shichang had long been physically and mentally exhausted by the current situation. He wanted to find a place to enjoy his old age. The Curator of the National Institute of Culture and History was undoubtedly a position more suitable for Xu Shichang's thoughts than any other.

Seeing that Xu Shichang was so quickly bought over by He Rui's arrangement, Duan Qirui was a bit unconvinced. Especially since Xu Shichang was a scholar, not being the President was no real loss to him. But Duan Qirui still had to be responsible to so many brothers in the Anhui clique. If he learned from Xu Shichang, Duan Qirui wouldn't know how to conduct himself.

Wang Shizhen turned to Duan Qirui, "Brother Zhiquan, Brother He was very clear. The land must be state-owned; there is no discussion on this matter. As for the reason, Brother Zhiquan should be very clear. In my humble opinion, if the Beiyang brothers do not agree, Brother He will not leave any face for anyone. Go ahead and fight for supremacy."

Duan Qirui was speechless for a moment. Zhang Xiluan had said before that what he could strive for on behalf of Beiyang was equal treatment for the Beiyang Anhui clique and the Beiyang Fengtian clique. Since the Anhui clique and the Fengtian clique were both of the Beiyang lineage, they had actually been quite connected over the years. Up to now, compared to figures of the same level in Beiyang, He Rui and those in the Northeast Government could be described as 'destitute'. What was more fatal was that the Northeast Government was carrying out land reform. Once equal treatment was applied, the upper and middle layers of Beiyang would immediately go bankrupt.

In fact, the upper echelons of Beiyang knew very well that the source of the Northeast Government's power lay in the fact that after land reform, the people had land to till. Those who didn't want to farm could go to the city to do business or enter factories. Those with ability could even open their own workshops. The tax rate in the Northeast was definitely not light, but because taxes could be collected, there was naturally no need to extort the easily bullied commoners. Therefore, the entire Northeast had become wealthy, with money to go to war with Japan. Not only did the upper echelons of Beiyang admire this greatly, but even the middle layers yearned for the strength of the Northeast Government.

***

The money that the Beiyang crowd had accumulated over these years was mostly used to buy houses and land. Once the Northeast Government came to power and Beiyang received the same treatment as the Northeast Government, these savings would immediately vanish into nothing. This was the reason why Beiyang, from top to bottom, refused to accept it.

Duan Qirui had graduated from the Japanese Army Academy. At this time, he also knew that Japan could no longer continue the fight, and Japan did not intend to continue. As long as the Northeast signed an armistice treaty with Japan, the Northeast Army could march south unscrupulously.

Whether to choose the Beiyang brothers or bow to reality. Duan Qirui was left with only these two choices. And there was not much time left for Duan Qirui.

Duan Qirui thought left and right, and still said, "Can we invite Brother He to Beijing for a meeting?"