Duan Qirui's steward had arranged "Eight Immortals tables" for the guests, with eight people per table. Hearing the thin official say that the people He Rui employed were all from the Beiyang clique, most of the diners at this table were stunned. After a moment of thought, someone slapped the table lightly and praised, "What this brother says is true!"

However, others might not see it that way. Someone asked, "There are foreigners among these cabinet members. How do you explain that?"

Without needing the thin official to explain, someone beat him to it: "That Morrison was an advisor when Duke Yuan was alive. Although he is British, he followed Duke Yuan for many years. He can also be counted as one of our Beiyang people."

This statement was a bit far-fetched, but not necessarily unreasonable. Everyone hoped in their hearts to be employed by the new government, so they naturally didn't want to nitpick.

Someone beside him poured a cup of wine for the thin official before asking, "Brother, I wonder how 'new school figures' should be defined?"

The wine at the banquet was shochu produced by the Northeast Grand Distillery. Aside from being a bit strong, both the taste and the kick were excellent. The thin official, who was fond of wine, raised his cup and drained it in one gulp. After putting down the cup and savoring it for a moment, he said, "From the end of the Qing Dynasty to the present, there have always been people calling themselves new school figures. Everyone has seen so many people claiming to be new school. What do you gentlemen think a new school figure should look like?"

This question stumped the people at the table. Someone said unconfidently, "If you ask me what a new school figure should look like, I can't explain it clearly either. But a new school figure should at least have studied abroad and drunk foreign ink."

Hearing this explanation, the others felt it made sense and nodded in agreement. Before the thin official could speak, someone at the next table said, "Drinking foreign ink doesn't necessarily make one a new school figure. Look at the current Premier, Wu Youping. He's only in his early thirties, yet he has become the Premier. In the former Qing Dynasty, this Wu Youping would be a Grand Councilor, a Prime Minister, ranking first among civil officials. He was a student of the Beiyang Railway Official School. He never studied abroad."

Hearing this, the thin official looked appreciative and stood up to invite him. "Brother, could you come over to this table?"

The person who spoke stood up. Dressed thickly for winter, this person stood up looking round as a ball. He poured wine into his own cup, then carried it over. Someone pulled out a seat for him, and when he sat down by the table, the clothes on his chest trembled a few times along with the fat on his belly.

Someone recognized him as a minor official in Beijing who was often mocked for his physique. The thin official didn't mind; he said, "What this brother described is exactly the appearance of today's new school figures. Looking at everyone under Chairman He, one must be a new school figure of Beiyang origin to become an official."

The crowd only cared about becoming officials; they didn't really care about new or old schools. Seeing that the thin official had a conclusion, they hurriedly asked how to look at it. The fat official over there chuckled, a look of disapproval on his round face. The thin official then said, "Please, brother, tell us your thoughts."

Everyone's gaze shifted to the fat official, but he held his wine cup without making a sound. It wasn't until someone spoke up to ask for advice that the fat official replied, "The newspapers have published the current cabinet list. First, let's talk about the 'Five Tiger Generals' under Chairman He; they are all from the Baoding Military Academy. This Baoding Military Academy was established by Grand President Yuan. Those who entered this school are our Beiyang people."

As soon as this statement came out, some people couldn't help but frown. The fat official continued, "The people in the cabinet are either government-sponsored students sent abroad by Beiyang or graduates of various Beiyang schools. I've said this much; do you all still not understand?"

The crowd seemed to have caught onto something, but it still felt like looking at flowers in the fog. They could only say, "Brother has high insight," while still not understanding in their hearts.

The thin official first toasted the fat official with a cup. "Brother is a clear-minded person."

After drinking, seeing others looking at him again, he explained, "In the past, when speaking of Beiyang, it was either the Huai Army lineage of Li Zhongtang or those from the Beiyang Army background who served as soldiers under Grand President Yuan and were promoted by him and his subordinates. If others claimed to be Beiyang, they would only be laughed at."

This was clear, and everyone understood. Beiyang's power over the court did not mean the whole court was Beiyang people. To be considered 'Beiyang,' one had to have relatives or teachers from the Beiyang lineage. Just like the Beiyang Six Towns, two towns had Manchu commanders, and those two Manchu nobles were not really regarded as Beiyang.

The thin official continued with his view. "Under Chairman He, they are either government-sponsored students paid for by Beiyang, graduates from military academies opened by the Beiyang Army, or graduates from schools with the word 'Beiyang' in their names. As long as they have such origins, they are Beiyang people, and Chairman He will make great use of them."

Everyone recalled the resumes of the ministers published in the newspapers and felt that things were indeed so.

The fat official followed up at this point, "So, Chairman He's government is what the imperial court should look like. In the Qing Dynasty, Grand Councilors and ministers of various ministries were all *Jinshi* [successful candidates in the highest imperial exams]. Now that the imperial examination is gone, the Beiyang government-sponsored students and the various schools built by Beiyang are the new imperial examinations. Everyone should remember that back in the Qing Dynasty, officials in the capital came from all over, with all kinds of accents. When Grand President Yuan came to power, the only ones left in the court were his few people; there weren't many with southern accents left in the capital. But look at Chairman He's ministers; thirty to forty percent are Southerners. Look at their origins: either the Beiyang Railway Official School or the National Peiyang University. Brothers, I've said this much; do you still not understand?"

By 1923, it had only been twelve years since the fall of the Manchu Qing. Those who came to congratulate Zhang Xiluan on his birthday had mostly been officials. Although their backgrounds varied, they weren't ignorant of the Manchu Qing system. Hearing this, how could they not understand? Many people already showed joy, and someone said hatefully, "It's been so chaotic these years that the family rules have been thrown to who knows where. When I get home, I'll dig out the family rules. If those brats at home don't study hard, they'll definitely get a beating!"

The fat official chuckled, "Little dolls not studying hard indeed deserve a beating! Minister Zhao Tianlin is from our Tianjin Wei. In Tianjin Wei, who doesn't know of Minister Zhao! Minister Zhao graduated from the National Peiyang University, then studied abroad and got a PhD in the United States. This is equivalent to being the *Zhuangyuan* [top scorer in the imperial exam]. Minister of Water Resources Lu Daoming studied in the United States; that is a *Jinshi*. The current Premier Wu Youping and Minister of Industry Zhuang Jiaxiong are both *Tongjinshi* [Associate Jinshi]. Don't look down on *Tongjinshi*; in the Qing Dynasty, many *Tongjinshi* became Grand Councilors. Wasn't Lord Zeng Guofan a *Tongjinshi*?"

At these words, everyone laughed loudly. This was a true story. Zeng Guofan suppressed the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and held high power in the court. However, he was a *Tongjinshi* and held a grudge about it all his life. There was an anecdote that when Zeng Guofan was reciting poetry with others, someone said 'Ru Furen' [like a wife/concubine], and someone else matched it with 'Tong Jinshi' [like a Jinshi]. Zeng Guofan, who was nearby, heard it and thought the other person was mocking him, and was furious at the time.

This table of people talked eloquently and laughed loudly. People at nearby tables had long pricked up their ears to listen. At this moment, several people came over with wine cups, sighing, "Alas! Listening to your words is better than reading books for ten years! If Chairman He's government is truly as you say, then it is a really good thing!"

"Yes! The former Qing suddenly abolished the imperial examination, throwing the official and military systems into chaos. After Beiyang came to power, the so-called recruitment of famous scholars was just for show. In reality, they used their own private people! If the new government can really restore the exams for officials, even if we aren't employed, at least our children will have something to hope for!"

Although people at the nearby tables didn't get up to come over, the topic of conversation shifted from how to find an official position for themselves to the official selection mode of He Rui's new government. At this time, He Rui's new government had been established for less than fifty days. Everyone didn't dare to be completely sure, but they still looked forward to the new government being able to restore the traditional imperial examination system.

Of course, in this era, the term 'Imperial Examination' would naturally not be used anymore, so changing it to 'Examination' was also fine.

The people present discussed spiritedly. At the banquet, a short man didn't drink much; he just listened, his brows slightly furrowed. At this moment, the thin official stood up to take his leave. The people at the same table wanted to keep him for a while longer, but the thin official said, "Gentlemen, I never expected to be received by Duke Zhang. The alcohol is going to my head now, so I will take my leave."

After speaking, he exchanged names with the others and left in a leisurely manner. Not long after, people in this restaurant left one after another, leaving only a few who still had some expectation of seeing Zhang Xiluan remaining in their seats.

The short man also stood up and left. He hadn't spoken much with the crowd, and the others didn't pay him any mind. The man walked along the street for a few blocks, stopped to look left and right, and seeing no one noticing him, entered a small alley and returned to his residence.

Sitting at the desk, the man picked up a pen and started writing, using Japanese. His brows were slightly furrowed; he would write for a while, then stop to ponder for a while. He wrote for the entire afternoon, only finishing when it got dark. The man lay down on the bed exhaustedly, looking at a patch of mottled light and shadow illuminated by the dim street lamp outside the window, and couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

This person was a Japanese intelligence agent who had lived incognito in China for over ten years, doing his best to collect various intelligence. Today, he hadn't treated Zhang Xiluan's birthday banquet as a particularly big event, but just went to listen for intelligence out of habit.

The land redemption-style land reform He Rui conducted was proceeding very smoothly in Beijing, Tianjin, and Zhili. This Japanese intelligence agent knew very well that in at most one year, when the 1924 harvest was completed, the common people would completely trust the new government. Society would likely stabilize. This was already immense pressure for Japan, which was struggling to recover from the Great Kanto Earthquake.

Unexpectedly, even this group of old Beiyang officials abandoned by He Rui's new government saw hope in He Rui's government! This was hope for the future brought about by the reconstruction of order.

Of course, this group of old upper-class people was not loyal to He Rui; what they sought was merely the future of their own children. Through a formal official selection system similar to the imperial examination, these people's families had hope. If Beiyang warlords were in power, official appointments and dismissals would depend entirely on the decisions of the warlord and the small group around him, and capable people would not get opportunities.

From a national perspective, selecting outstanding talents through a formal system would only make the country stronger and stronger. Japan's previous unwritten national policy foundation was that China would decline day by day amidst division, allowing Japan to maintain its advantage at an extremely low cost and obtain various benefits from China. Now that China was becoming stronger, Japan would only become relatively weaker. As one waned, the other waxed; Japan's future was very pessimistic.

With such a mood, this Japanese intelligence agent couldn't fall asleep for a long time. It wasn't until late at night that he unknowingly fell asleep. Even so, his sleep was very fitful. In various nightmares, the Japanese intelligence agent's body twitched from time to time.