Since the transition of power from the Beiyang regime, Zhang Xiluan felt he had fulfilled his obligations to his old Beiyang brothers. From that point on, he was utterly without desire or requests. He asked nothing of Duan Qirui or Xu Shichang, and he asked nothing of He Rui.

Duan Qirui naturally understood this. Hearing Zhang Xiluan's straightforward question, he answered frankly, "Brother Zhang, I have come to ask a favor of you. Brother He recently announced the list of ministers for the provisional government. These young brats have no regard for us Beiyang men; they’ve given all the official posts to Brother He’s people. I wonder if you are aware of this, Brother Zhang?"

Zhang Xiluan asked unhurriedly, "No regard for Beiyang? Brother Zhiquan, do your words imply that Brother He and his associates are not people of our Beiyang?"

Duan Qirui froze, immediately realizing his phrasing was inappropriate. He hurriedly corrected himself, "Brother Zhang is right, I spoke in anger. But I am not truly angry with Brother He. It is those who lost their official positions who keep thinking there are still backdoors to exploit. Brother Zhang, your word carries the weight of nine tripods within Beiyang. If you were to speak to the brothers, they would understand that further efforts are futile."

Hearing that Duan Qirui wanted him to play the villain, Zhang Xiluan criticized him without hesitation. "Brother Zhiquan, I must blame you first. In April of this year, when the situation of the war became clear, if you had yielded real power in the localities to Brother He, given his conduct in the Northeast, those brothers would certainly have been retained. The unworthy ones would have been replaced later, but for those Beiyang brothers with ambition and decent character and ability, Brother He would not have cast them aside as he does now."

Duan Qirui had long regretted it. He Rui was a man of his word; he had honored every promise made to the Anhui clique. This made Duan Qirui regret his hesitation even more. He had never imagined that He Rui actually possessed the strength to build the government down to the grassroots level, completely shattering the traditional governance pattern where "Imperial power stops at the county level." When village governments were established in every village across Beijing, Tianjin, and Zhili, the old Beiyang brothers were completely dumbfounded.

Duan Qirui pleaded, "Brother Zhang, I already know I was wrong. I only ask you to see the Beiyang brothers one more time. As long as you give the word, these brothers will give up hope."

Zhang Xiluan did not refuse immediately. He knew very well what these Beiyang brothers were fussing about, and he was even more astonished that He Rui’s strength had reached such a level. Even Zhang Xiluan would not have dared to believe it until he confirmed that someone had actually built a government organization extending from the center down to the villages.

Duan Qirui and the Beiyang crowd certainly knew that a regime extending from the capital to the villages signified immensely powerful strength. They also knew clearly that establishing such a regime required a massive number of officials and incurring enormous costs to pay their salaries. Therefore, they did not believe He Rui could do it. Regarding the rumors from the Northeast, these Beiyang figures felt it was merely wartime propaganda used to scare the enemy. In a non-war era, with He Rui being a newcomer, they assumed he would have to use some locals and borrow the strength of local powerbrokers. They never expected He Rui to be so fully prepared, relying on the massive number of personnel he brought with him to build an unprecedented government system.

Official positions have their own system; one radish, one pit. He Rui’s people had occupied all these pits, leaving no room for the Beiyang personnel. The Beiyang crowd no longer dared to hold their heads high; they were willing to compromise and start from minor positions. But in the current situation, there was not even a chance to be a minor official.

Zhang Xiluan did not want to exert effort for these people, but he also knew that if he didn't come out to refuse them, those who still wanted to be officials would certainly come to bother him. Evasion would be useless. Even if these people didn't dare to find Zhang Xiluan, they would desperately seek out the Zhang family members.

Regardless of how outsiders viewed them, Zhang Xiluan felt that his descendants were merely ordinary people. Compared to He Rui’s brilliant talent, and compared to the tenacious character of He Rui’s subordinates, the Zhang family children fell far short. With such ordinary aptitude, having finally encountered this opportunity of a change in dynasty, they should cherish and grasp it. Ordinary people are inevitably influenced by others, and Zhang Xiluan did not want his children to be led into a ditch by those fellows who were proficient in sycophancy and dragging others down into the water because of their own weakness.

So Zhang Xiluan agreed to Duan Qirui's request. "Brother Duan, you arrange this matter."

Duan Qirui felt a great sense of relief. He knew deeply that these Beiyang fellows were absolutely not the type to share adversity. At this moment, Duan Qirui was powerless to help them further, and among this group, there were certainly those who wanted to gain benefits by selling out Duan Qirui. If Duan Qirui wanted to protect himself, he had to draw a clear line with these people now, to save himself from being dragged down without even knowing it.

As for how to do it, Duan Qirui had already made a decision. "Brother Zhang’s eightieth birthday did not invite any guests. Why not host a banquet for the brothers on the day before the New Year?"

Zhang Xiluan nodded. "I will ask Brother Duan to handle this matter, but Brother Duan must absolutely not pay for it on my behalf. If Brother Duan cannot agree to this, then let the matter drop."

Duan Qirui rejoiced in his heart. Although he felt Zhang Xiluan should come forward to help resolve the trouble, he hadn't been sure. Hearing Zhang Xiluan avoid suspicion like this, he completely relaxed. He immediately guaranteed, "Please rest assured, Brother Zhang. I will absolutely not put you in a difficult position."

The so-called "day before the New Year" was December 31st of the Western calendar. It was exactly seven days from now, giving Duan Qirui just enough time to prepare. Duan Qirui rose to take his leave and went to handle the matter.

***

Unlike Duan Qirui, who was desperately kicking people out, Zhao Tianlin was trying every method to invite experts to join. After meeting with Cao Yunxiang, the President of Tsinghua School, the two chatted as they walked, and unknowingly entered Cao Yunxiang's office. Cao Yunxiang introduced in detail his goal and plan to turn Tsinghua School into a modern university.

Zhao Tianlin would never complain about having too many university students; one of his purposes in coming here was to personally hear President Cao Yunxiang's plan. Cao Yunxiang was a sensible man. Seeing that Zhao Tianlin was not enthusiastic about Tsinghua School continuing to send students to the United States, he knew that given the He Rui government's hardline nationalist stance, they would absolutely never accept unequal treaties.

Even though abolishing the treaties might obstruct studying abroad, Cao Yunxiang did not touch upon it. Instead, after introducing the Tsinghua University construction plan, he once again congratulated Zhao Tianlin on taking charge of education, science, culture, and health.

Because the congratulations came from the heart, Cao Yunxiang's eyes were shining. "Brother Zhao, since the New Policies of the late Qing, it is truly delightful to finally have a genuine scholar serve as the Minister of Education. Look, so many gentlemen coming and going outside, all wanting to catch a glimpse of Brother Zhao."

Zhao Tianlin smiled faintly and said nothing. Cao Yunxiang continued his praise, "Among the ministers in the provisional government list, there are four doctors and nine bachelors. I wonder if Brother Zhao believes that our Republic can enter an era of Technocracy?"

As soon as these words were spoken, there was immediately some movement outside. The door, which had not been tightly closed, was knocked open. As if a gourd rack had been pushed over, several young teachers who had been eavesdropping outside lost their balance and fell through the doorway.

Caught eavesdropping, the young teachers looked a bit embarrassed as they got up. The leader bowed slightly to Zhao Tianlin. "President Zhao, we have made a fool of ourselves."

Other young teachers, as well as the teachers watching from outside, also greeted 'President Zhao'.

Hearing this address, Zhao Tianlin was certain that in the hearts of the Beijing academic community, he was 'Zhao Tianlin, Doctor of Law from Harvard University, USA, and President of Peiyang University'—he was one of their own in the eyes of academia. Since everyone was so enthusiastic, Zhao Tianlin said to Cao Yunxiang, President of Tsinghua School, "Since so many friends are here, why don't we go to the conference room to talk?"

Cao Yunxiang had already introduced the plan for Tsinghua School to establish a university to Zhao Tianlin, and seeing that Zhao Tianlin was quite approving, he naturally had high expectations. It was approaching the New Year, and the period from the New Year to the Lunar New Year was the critical time for formulating the fiscal budget for 1924. As long as Tsinghua School's plan to establish a university department was included in the budget list, the matter would be settled. At this time, letting Zhao Tianlin meet the teachers, if it could lead to Zhao Tianlin having a favorable opinion of them, would be very beneficial for entering the Ministry of Education's budget allocation list. Naturally, he was happy to facilitate it.

The Grand Auditorium had been lent to Minister of Commerce Morrison, so before long, the teachers of Tsinghua School and a portion of the outstanding students arrived at the Small Auditorium. Seeing Dr. Zhao Tianlin with their own eyes, the teachers and students were all in high spirits.

Once everyone was seated, a young student immediately stood up and asked a question similar to President Cao Yunxiang's. "Dr. Zhao, hello. I am Wang Zaoshi, a student in the Tsinghua School political preparatory class. I have a question: Has the current government entered the stage of Technocracy?"

Facing the enthusiastic gazes from the audience, Zhao Tianlin answered frankly, "The current government is not a Technocracy, nor is it a parliamentary system. Rather, it is Scientific Governance and a Democratic system. Science and experts are not the same thing, and parliament and democracy are also not the same thing."

Hearing such a precise description, the eyes of the Tsinghua School teachers and students shone even brighter. Everyone held their breath and concentrated, listening to Zhao Tianlin's speech. Wang Zaoshi couldn't help but ask loudly, "May I ask where the difference lies?"

Zhao Tianlin stood up, motioned for Wang Zaoshi to sit down first, and then began to explain. "The distinction between science and experts lies in the fact that science moves permanently forward, while experts are merely people who are walking ahead in a certain field at a certain stage. Scientific research never ceases; a hundred schools of thought contend, pushing out the old and bringing in the new. Technocracy is indeed much more advanced than rule by power-holders, but compared to Scientific Governance, it is inevitably narrow."

Hearing this, enthusiastic applause erupted among the teachers and students. At this time, Tsinghua School's main work was providing preparatory education for studying in the United States; the teachers and students were not academic heavyweights like Zhao Tianlin. Even so, everyone understood Zhao Tianlin's emphasis on 'a hundred schools of thought contending, pushing out the old and bringing in the new.' The teachers and students of Tsinghua School were all outstanding talents from across the country; such an academic environment was undoubtedly what they looked forward to.

Zhao Tianlin raised his hand and pressed down. The teachers and students quickly stopped applauding and cheering, suppressing their excitement as they waited for Zhao Tianlin to continue speaking.

"Parliament and Democracy are also not the same thing. Any organizational system has a scope of application, and democracy is no exception. Ancient Greek democracy, French democracy, and American democracy produced different parliaments because of their different scopes of application. Greece had a tax-paying citizen system, France considered nationals as citizens, and the United States is more complex. But all of them are different from China's tradition. In China's tradition, due to the elimination of the aristocracy and religion, there is a tendency where the scope of application is that everyone is human. Under such a system, China's democratic system is a democracy based on all Chinese people. Under such a scope of application, Scientific Governance is even more needed to coordinate with it."

"Is everyone equal?" a student couldn't help but shout excitedly.

Zhao Tianlin smiled faintly and asked in a loud voice, "Gentlemen, the phrase 'everyone is equal' is just a propaganda slogan. If one really wants to implement it, conditions must be added. Everyone is equal—equal before whom? I wonder if you have considered this matter?"

Hearing this question, the teachers and students in the audience froze for a moment, and then joy arose in everyone's heart.

Especially those who doubted whether Dr. Zhao Tianlin had turned into an official under power completely put their minds at ease. A person who could ask such a question must be a true scholar.