Chapter 72

  Important people are not always easy to see, which is not necessarily because those people are arrogant and rude, but because there are too many people who want to see them. Important people are busy with things, where do they have so much time to see some unimportant idle people? Chen Ke was hesitant about what reason to use to go see Yuan Da Tou. Going to see Yuan Da Tou as Yan Fu's disciple would clearly be going to ask for an official position or express Yan Fu's good intentions towards Yuan Da Tou. If he went under the pretext of doing business with honeycomb coal, it is estimated that even the doorman at Yuan Da Tou's gate could send Chen Ke back.

  Moreover, Yuan Dage had been very busy in recent years, training the Beiyang New Army and establishing a police system. He was fully committed to these two tasks and achieved great success. He probably didn't have time to meet with someone as insignificant as Chen Ke.

  He basically agrees with Chen Ke's view, but he thinks that Yuan Shikai may not be unwilling to see Chen Ke. If Yuan Shikai doesn't see Chen Ke after seeing Yan Fu's letter, then Yan Fu will absolutely not give this letter to Chen Ke. With the attitude of treating a dead horse as if it were alive, Chen Ke simply took Xie Mingxuan and Chai Qingguo together to Xiaozhan Station.

  Yuan Shikai's Beiyang New Army was stationed in Xiaozhan for military training, and the history textbook taught by Chen Ke recorded little about the Beiyang Army. Before the Northern Expedition, various warlords fought each other, and those famous figures were mostly high-ranking generals of the Beiyang New Army. Wu Peifu and Duan Qirui were also considered to be among China's most renowned figures. However, they belonged to an older generation. In 1912, the Qing dynasty collapsed, and in 1927, Chiang Kai-shek launched the April 12 counter-revolutionary coup, making the conflict between the Nationalists and Communists the sharpest and most important contradiction in China. Nevertheless, within 15 years, the Beiyang Army went from being invincible to becoming a nobody, with an extremely rapid decline.

  Winter has arrived, and the weather is quite cold. Chen Ke doesn't care about temperature, but rather style, wearing a pair of leather boots purchased in this era, with autumn clothes and pants on the outside, including a deep blue striped woolen long johns, a light gray wool sweater, and a gray coat. This outfit is the thickest among the several sets he brought. On top of this outfit, Chen Ke wore knee pads and a woolen cloak, which often appears in movies about northwest knife-wielding heroes. In fact, this heavy clothing is necessary for horseback riding in winter. Anyone who can afford it will have one. At this time, he, along with Chai Qingguo and Xie Mingxian, all wore such woolen cloaks and rode together.

  "Mr. Chen, I heard you and those gentlemen discussing rebellion. Why is it different from what we brothers discuss among ourselves?" Chi Qingguo had been attending the meeting all along but never spoke up. It wasn't until he was alone with Chen Ke that he asked his question after they left the city and made sure no one was around. Luckily, he also had such patience. For a Jianghu person, this kind of self-control is extremely rare.

  "Wu Xiong has told everyone how to turn from a bandit into an outlaw, right?" Chen Ke laughed.

  As soon as Chai Qingguo mentioned the course taught by Wu Xingchen, he immediately became interested. "That's right, I really didn't think that fighting had so many twists and turns. But Brother Wu said it well, if your subordinates are still a group of bandits, then this guerrilla warfare won't have any chance to be displayed."

  "So we still need a base area, our own territory. What we are discussing now is the construction of base areas."

  Chai Qingguo suddenly realized, "I said it sounds just like being an official! From farming to business, and then industry, I really didn't know there were so many paths."

  Chen Ke was very satisfied with Chai Qingguo's understanding, especially his humble attitude. He smiled and said: "Why are the Beiyang Army more powerful than us? It's because they have a large territory, can recruit soldiers, provide money and food, and manufacture weapons. If we want to fight them, we must also have such a territory."

  After hearing Chen Ke's words, Chai Qingguo couldn't help but laugh and say: "Isn't that going to sit on the world? I can't do this, I don't recognize many characters. Listening to several gentlemen talk about those rebellious things, not recognizing characters is not feasible. Mr. Chen, Mr. Tianhua, and Brother Wu are all knowledgeable, they went to the Pang brothers' place. You should also recommend a few people to me. If it's really not possible, let Mr. Xie follow me."

  Chen Ke was always unable to get along with the heroes from the countryside, and Pang Zi had an absolute aversion to him. The other good men also deliberately avoided Chen Ke. Only Chai Qingguo still showed some respect for himself. He couldn't help but ask: "Brother Chai, Brother Pang dislikes scholars so much, I suppose you must have suffered at the hands of scholars in the past..."

  "Although Pang brother looks rough, his family is actually full of bookworms. Uncle Jing in Nangong County is not an ordinary wealthy family, but a very big one at that time. He doesn't like bookworms because his family has too many of them. I'm not good enough, I don't know any bookworms. Mr. Chen must help me."

  This statement made Chen Ke feel suddenly enlightened. All along, he had been puzzled by the Revolutionary Party's practice of sending a personal military advisor to liaise with local heroes. In Chen Ke's opinion, what could a military advisor who relied on his eloquence do? After listening to Chai Qingguo's words, he suddenly realized that he had simply put himself in the shoes of those heroic outlaws. If there was such a "military advisor" by his side, Chen Ke would definitely want to get rid of him. However, these heroic outlaws might be good at robbery and plunder, but they were certainly not capable of construction. They needed their own "tutor", that is, someone with culture. Someone who could understand accounting and have some skills. The Pang family itself could provide such people, so it was only natural that Chen Ke would resist the idea.

  So should he send someone to go with Chai Qingguo? This idea was immediately negated by Chen Ke. The person sent must have very strong abilities, and at this stage, Chen Ke himself lacks such people around him, where can he find extra manpower to send out for development?

  Looking at Chai Qingguo's eager eyes, Chen Ke smiled and said: "Brother Chai, there is no such person by my side. Xie brother is very important to me, I really can't send him to you."

  After hearing this, Chai Qingguo's disappointment was evident on his face. Chen Ke knew that further explanation would only hurt the harmony. He shifted the topic to the situation in Shandong province.

  From Beijing to Xiaozhan, there is an official road. Xie Mingxian and Chen Ke are not good at riding horses, so they ran for a while and let the horses walk for a while. There wasn't much time to talk on the way. They set out early in the morning and arrived in the afternoon, when they saw the camp of the new army from afar. The closer they got to the military camp, the more soldiers came and went on the road. There were five-man patrol teams and three-horse reconnaissance teams coming and going constantly, giving people a sense of strict discipline. Chai Qingguo and Chen Ke had watched the Hejian Autumn Exercise together and had seen the grand formation of ten thousand men, so they were somewhat used to it. Xie Mingxian had never seen such an imposing scene before, and his face immediately became tense. "We haven't done anything wrong, don't show weakness," Chen Ke hastily said to Xie Mingxian.

  Xie Mingxian was not a young man who didn't understand things, he had also participated in the imperial examination and could be considered to have seen the world. Since Chen Ke's words were correct, Xie Mingxian relaxed his attitude, and his expression changed. The military camp area was very large, but there were no buildings inside, only the roofs of the houses could be seen on the walls and fences. There were still many such houses, and Chen Ke suddenly felt that if he really sold honeycomb coal, the sales route here should be very good.

  As the patrolling infantry and cavalry passed by Chen Ke's side, they all looked at the three people. They saw that the three people were calm and composed, with a short-haired young man in the middle, two men with queues on either side following him, which made them even more puzzled. After all, it was not wartime now, and the patrol was just routine. Seeing the three people heading towards the gate, no one stopped them.

  "It's all bark and no bite. Not even a bit of vigilance." Chen Ke said in a low voice with a smile. Upon hearing this, Xie Ming nodded slightly. Chai Qingguo, on the other hand, responded with an exaggerated "hmm", seemingly eager to gain a psychological advantage over the Beiyang Army.

  Less than a hundred meters from the gate, Chen Ke let everyone dismount and walked over with their horses. The sentry saw that the three men were not hostile, but just stared at them. When they arrived at the entrance, Chen Ke bowed to the sentry and said loudly: "I am Chen Ke, entrusted by Mr. Yan Fu, the former principal of the Beiyang Naval Academy, to pay respects to Governor-General Yuan Weiting of Zhili Province. I have a letter with me."

  Official announcements in the government office are always formal. This is the most convincing way, although they knew Chen Ke was here to do this, but when Chen Ke said it loudly, Xie Mingxian and Chai Qingguo felt that their status had also risen a lot after listening, and they couldn't help feeling excited, and their chests were straightened a bit.

  The sentry saw Chen Ke's attitude was neither humble nor arrogant, and his words were so reasonable and confident. Moreover, the person he mentioned was not someone that these low-ranking soldiers could reach, so they didn't dare to neglect him. They let Chen Ke wait at the door, and one of the sentries ran into the guardhouse to report. A moment later, a man came out, Chen Ke hadn't studied the shoulder badges of the Northern Army, but judging from his appearance, he seemed to be a low-ranking officer. The officer asked Chen Ke about his origin, and when he heard that Chen Ke was sent by Mr. Yan Fu, his attitude immediately became more respectful. "Mr. Chen, military orders do not allow you to enter the camp, please wait outside for a while." After saying this, he rode a horse next to the guardhouse towards the inside of the military camp.

  At the gate, Chen Ke also found it inconvenient to speak. Today was a cloudy day and the military camp was flat, with a gentle breeze that made it quite cold. Chen Ke had always liked standing upright, looking majestic, but this posture didn't help keep warm either. Xie Mingxian and Chai Qingguo were already behind the horses, using them to block the wind. But Chen Ke remained rooted to the spot. The sentry beside him was also leaning against the camp gate, but here was a windy spot, and after blowing for so long, the sentry's face had turned somewhat pale. Chen Ke smiled slightly at him, and the sentry forced a smile back, then put his hands in his sleeves.

  After a while, two horses ran over. The first was the low-ranking officer, and the one behind him had shoulder badges similar to Bo Guan Shui's. As they approached, everyone could see their faces clearly. Chen Ke saw that the man had a knife-like face, thick eyebrows and big eyes, with several just-right scars on his face, looking quite fierce. After seeing Chen Ke, the man was obviously shocked. The kind of ferocity unique to soldiers actually eased up a lot.

  The officer asked Chen Ke about his purpose and background again, and also asked for the letter. Chen Ke thought that this person should not privately keep the letter, so he handed it over while thinking that he had missed an important step, which was to ask for bribes. This year, asking for bribes is a common practice. It's unknown whether the Beiyang Army is special or what. Since the mid-level officer went in, Chen Ke took out the prepared gift money from his pocket and smiled while chatting with the sentry and the low-ranking officer, and handed it over. The two of them smiled and accepted it without any refusal.

  The low-ranking officer even suggested that Chen Ke retreat to the sentry post to avoid the wind. Chen Ke hastily said: "Brother, you're kind to me, but it's a bother for you. There are rules in the army camp, I couldn't let your kindness be seen by my superiors and get you scolded. It's better for me to wait here." The officer didn't force Chen Ke, took the money and smiled as he entered the sentry post.

  After waiting for a while, the middle-ranking officer returned. "General Yuan wants to see you," he said simply.

  When Chen Ke heard the news, he felt very surprised. Originally, he had expected to wait in line for a few days after sending the letter and waiting for an audience with Yuan Shikai. To say nothing of Yuan Shikai's personal virtues or vices, Chen Ke could imagine how busy Yuan Shikai must be with his daily work. He hadn't expected that as a nobody, he would be able to get an audience with the Governor of Zhili and the Minister of Beiyang so quickly just by sending a letter. What kind of face was this? Chen Ke felt it was unbelievable.

  But since Yuan Shikai wants to see Chen Ke, the front is a dragon's lair and tiger's den, Chen Ke also has to go. Chen Ke turned around and said to the two people behind him: "You can go back first. I'm not convenient to take you in."

  Xie Mingxian and Chai Qingguo were disappointed upon hearing this, but it was understandable. Everyone had not expected Chen Ke to get an audience so soon before they came. Since things didn't go as planned originally, everyone just went with the flow. The two bid farewell with a bow.

  Chen Ke followed the officer inside. He tried to get close, but the officer remained silent. Chen Ke offered him "yi jin", and the officer took it without hesitation. With Chen Ke, he arrived at a place in the military camp that was similar to a government office. The two dismounted their horses and the officer led Chen Ke inside. People coming in and out were all mid-to-high-ranking officers. When Chen Ke came in, he had already taken off his sheepskin coat and put it on the saddle. At this time, his outfit was quite eye-catching. From time to time, someone would ask the officer in front who Chen Ke was. All they knew from the conversation was that the officer's surname was Wu.

  Entering the yamen, turning left and right, they arrived at the door of an office. Officer Wu went in to report first, then came out to bring Chen Ke in. As soon as they entered the room, they saw a person sitting behind the desk, whose face Chen Ke was familiar with - it was indeed Yuan Shikai's appearance. Next to him stood another person, whom Chen Ke did not recognize. This man was quite slender and calm, although he wore a military uniform, but looked like a scholar, only without the subtle pretentiousness of scholars. He should be a remarkable person. However, Chen Ke couldn't care about that much, he bowed deeply and said in Henan dialect: "Greetings, Governor Yuan."

  "You're Chen Kuang, the author of that book, aren't you?" Yuan Shikai's Henan dialect sounded quite familiar to Chen Kuang. However, the content of this sentence was quite surprising to him. Had Mr. Yan Fu sent his own book to Yuan Shikai?

  "The common people are just like Chen Ke." Chen Ke did not dare mention anything about that book, so he could only use a simple self-introduction.

  A big shot's demeanor is indeed different. Yuan Shikai didn't have so many pleasantries, and after asking Chen Ke to sit down. Looking at Chen Ke sitting steadily in the chair, he couldn't help but burst out laughing. "When Brother Ji sent me Wen Qing's book, he also wrote a letter. The letter was very polite, saying that Wen Qing is your disciple, Brother Ji, and hoping I would take good care of him in Beijing. As a result, I waited for so long before Wen Qing came to see me."

  This is quite a clever remark, the core idea is to ask Chen Ke what you mean. It's been so long since you came to Beijing and only now come to see me. I've given enough face to Yan Fu, how are you going to save my face?

  Chen Ke absolutely did not want to lose face in front of Yuan Shikai, but Chen Ke also absolutely could not lose Yan Fu's dignity. Although he didn't know what Yan Fu had written, he thought that it was definitely not as polite as Yuan Shikai had said. He pondered for a moment, then said:

  "Sir, before I came to Beijing, my family teacher repeatedly instructed me that coming to Beijing was for me to gain experience and not to rely on our family's old connections to seek a shortcut to success. My family teacher knew that you, sir, cherish old relationships and mentioned it many times, so I didn't dare to come visit you rashly."

  Yuan Shikai smiled and said, "Fourth Brother is still so self-disciplined. Since Wen Qing has said so, it seems that he has gained something from his travels in Beijing."

  "Once I met Bo Guan Shui by chance and we composed a song called 'The Beiyang New Army Advances' together." Chen Ke replied.

  When he heard this, Yuan Shikai was slightly surprised. He liked the song very much and had heard that it was composed by Bu Guanshui, an officer of the new army in Anhui. Yuan Shikai knew something about him, a student who returned from abroad, but shouldn't have any musical foundation, presumably someone else did it for him. But he never thought it would be Chen Ke's work. Since Chen Ke dared to say so, he should not be deceiving himself.

  "That tune is quite well done." Yuan Shikai said with a smile.

  "Sir, you have trained a tiger-wolf army, I can only compose a majestic melody to match such an army." Chen Ke hastily flattered.

  Yuan Shikai was truly delighted, "It seems that Wen Qing and I have a good affinity with Beiyang. Is Bo Guanshui your friend?"

  "Not until I arrived in Beijing." Chen Ke briefly recounted how he met Bu Guanshui. Then Chen Ke said, "This time I came without expecting you to lift me up so much, sir. Originally, I was prepared to present the special medicine when you summoned me. This time is just a visit and tribute, the medicine is not on my person. I didn't think it through, please forgive me, sir."

  Yuan Shikai just smiled when he heard this, since he had already understood Chen Ke's experience, and there was nothing else to say. "That's quite troublesome for Wenqing. Wenqing has enthusiasm, if someone else had done that song, they would have come to us long ago. Now that Wenqing is here, I wonder what can I help him with?"

  "I set up a factory in Beijing and produced something." Chen Ke briefly stated the matter of the beehive coal. Yuan Shikai listened to Chen Ke's detailed data, only nodding slightly. After Chen Ke finished introducing, he said: "Most of those who are with me now were former colleagues from the Tianjin Manufacturing Bureau. Now that this thing has been made, I am worried about encountering some trouble. So I want to entrust this factory to Beiyang. But I don't know the way, so I dare to ask you, sir."

  Yuan Shikai listened to Chen Ke's words, nodded, but didn't speak immediately. After a while, the leader of Beiyang said: "I understand. There's no need to rush this matter. So, Wenqing, leave your address and I'll send someone to find you."

  Yuan Shikai didn't explicitly say it, but by saying so, he had already made some promises to Chen Ke. Chen Ke naturally thanked him hastily. After the main topic was discussed, everyone chatted for a few sentences about Yan Fu's recent situation. Then Yuan Shikai saw off his guests with tea.

  After all, it was a military camp, and when Chen Ke came out, his sheepskin coat and knee pads were still on the saddle. The Wu officer accompanied Chen Ke out of the camp, only to bid farewell with a bow. Chen Ke looked at this taciturn officer, but couldn't quite understand his attitude. Not long after their conversation, Chen Ke urged his horse to head back in the direction they came from. Xie Mingxian's riding skills were not good, and he definitely couldn't keep up. Along the way, thinking about this meeting with Yuan Shikai, Chen Ke felt as if he had just woken up from a dream. Some details he couldn't even recall. Of course, Chen Ke also didn't have the audacity to stare at Yuan Shikai's face without stopping.

  As he thought back to this meeting, he also considered the future, and didn't know how far he had run, when he saw the familiar figures of two horsemen in front of him. Chen Ke shouted at the two men as he urged his horse to catch up.

  The 72nd