The winter in the capital was very cold. The only benefit might be that the smell of urine and feces from the corners of every street was significantly fainter than in other seasons. However, the sky full of wind and sand made the capital's sky gray and gloomy. The slender Yang Du, dressed in a long gown and mandarin jacket, covered the lower half of his face with a handkerchief as he sat in a rickshaw amidst the flying dust and sand.

The rickshaw puller lowered his head, narrowed his eyes, covered his nose and mouth with a sweat towel, and ran quickly against the wind, finally stopping in front of a decent courtyard house.

Getting out of the cart, the strong wind blew up the hem of Yang Du's long gown directly. Yang Du grabbed the corner of his gown and walked to the door. Before he could knock, the door opened. A servant came out to welcome him against the strong wind, saying only, "Please come in," then blocked the wind to let Yang Du into the house.

The master of the house was waiting in the main hall. It was Yuan Shikai's foreign aide, George Ernest Morrison.

Once the door closed, although the wind swept across the roof making a sound like a wolf's howl, a brazier was burning inside the room, and the air emitted the scent of incense, like two different worlds compared to the outside.

Wiping his glasses with a handkerchief, Yang Du asked urgently, "The Great President has already declined the 'urging to ascend' from the National People's Representative Assembly twice. Why does Mr. Morrison want to leave the capital at this time?"

Morrison replied calmly, "*Ta Kung Pao* has an exclusive interview with me. I need to go to Tianjin."

Yang Du knew this was an excuse. Although *Ta Kung Pao* was a major newspaper, it wouldn't be difficult to have a journalist come to the capital for an interview. He said decisively, "I will send a telegram to Tianjin right now. They can even go to Siping outside the pass, thousands of miles away, how can they not come to the capital!"

After speaking, he made a gesture to leave. Seeing Yang Du like this, Morrison stopped him and asked him to sit down, then said, "Mr. Yang, the Great President's approach is too clumsy. I originally thought that after He Rui wrote that exclusive interview, the Great President had understood the situation of various social strata in China. I didn't expect the Great President to treat proclaiming himself Emperor as the goal instead."

Hearing such an accusation, Yang Du lowered his head slightly and sighed, but then raised his head again. "Mr. Morrison, I have advised the Great President several times, requesting him to reuse He Rui and let He Rui take charge of outside the pass. He Rui graduated first from the Army War College and, judging by the newspaper reports, has quite the means in Siping. Since He Rui understands that the Great President is for the unification of China, and has the gratitude of the Great President's recognition, he will surely serve wholeheartedly. When He Rui has some strength, and when the Great President proclaims himself Emperor, if those who feign compliance stir up rebellion after the proclamation, there will always be a reliable force. But the Great President doesn't want the Beiyang brothers to misunderstand, so he refuses to agree. Mr. Morrison, why don't we go see the Great President together now and recommend He Rui at the same time? With the Great President's high regard for Mr. Morrison, there is a sixty or seventy percent chance he will agree."

Hearing Yang Du speak like this, Morrison shook his head. "Mr. Yang overestimates my influence on the Great President. Moreover, I never had the will to interfere in China's political situation. I support the Great President in achieving centralization in China, but achieving centralization in China and restoring the monarchy are two different things. I believe Governor He Rui saw this clearly, which is why he analyzed China's situation like that in the interview. Hasn't Mr. Yang understood He Rui's analysis on this?"

Yang Du didn't answer immediately. The curse that four generations of the Yuan family couldn't live past 57 was something everyone in Beiyang knew but dared not say. In 1909, Yuan Shikai was dismissed and sent back to his hometown by the Prince Regent Zaifeng on the grounds of a foot ailment. While living in seclusion in Zhangde, he became obsessed with physiognomy, fortune-telling, and feng shui. It is said that a physiognomy master who was quite famous locally also claimed that Yuan Shikai would not live past 58.

Although Yang Du himself didn't really believe this, Yuan Shikai had passed his 56th birthday this year, making him 57 in nominal age. Even for a normal person, passing away at this time wouldn't be strange, let alone the Great President Yuan Shikai who handled ten thousand matters a day. If Yuan Shikai were gone, Yang Du couldn't imagine who else could shoulder the great cause of restoring China's unified central government.

At this time, the wind outside subsided slightly. Morrison's servant served tea. Yang Du took two sips, feeling he couldn't use the worry about Yuan Shikai's lifespan as a reason, so he turned the topic back to He Rui. "Mr. Morrison, since you care so much about He Rui, what kind of person is He Rui in your eyes?"

Morrison thought for a while. "Mr. Yang, I heard of He Rui's reputation long ago. He Rui wrote books and established theories in Japan. Having read He Rui's *A Preliminary Explanation of Geopolitics* and *East Asian Confucian Civilization and the Future of the World*, I initially thought He Rui was a European. His exposition of the world situation reminded me of the time when I was studying in the UK, listening to lectures at the university. I must say, I never thought I would encounter a scholar with a global vision in China."

Yang Du was stunned. He knew Morrison appreciated He Rui, but he didn't expect Morrison's evaluation of He Rui to be so high. This piqued Yang Du's curiosity. "Mr. Morrison, you evaluate He Rui like this. Compared to Li Hongzhang, Lord Li, how much difference is there in He Rui's vision?"

A hint of a smile appeared on Morrison's chiseled face, and even his sharp eyes seemed a bit softer. "Mr. Li Hongzhang's understanding of the world was still an Eastern court model. Governor He Rui's concept is completely a European model. His vision is not limited to the single country of China but looks at the whole world. The difference between the two, to use a Chinese saying, is that they are 'horses and cattle not reaching each other' [completely unrelated], with absolutely no basis for comparison."

Yang Du changed the question. "Does Mr. Morrison think Governor He's knowledge is similar to those currently in the Chinese government?"

Morrison thought for a while and shook his head. "I don't know many officials, and Chinese officials are not accustomed to expressing their views on the world situation. So I cannot make a comparison."

Yang Du still didn't give up and simply asked, "What if we forcibly compare He Rui with Mr. Morrison?"

Morrison laughed. "The reporter interviewing me in Tianjin this time happens to be the one who interviewed Governor He Rui. I would actually like to ask that reporter this question. If Mr. Yang really wants to know, why not go with me?"

Yang Du understood Morrison's attitude and sighed. "I want to stay in the capital to assist the Great President. I hope Mr. Morrison returns to the capital soon."

Sending Yang Du away, Morrison packed his luggage, bid farewell to his wife, and headed to Tianjin. Getting out of the car at the entrance of the *Ta Kung Pao* newspaper office, he saw the main door of *Ta Kung Pao* open, and the newspaper's General Manager Ying Lianzhi led a group of editors and reporters walking out quickly. Ying Lianzhi stepped forward and warmly shook Morrison's hand, laughing, "Mr. Morrison coming to *Ta Kung Pao* for an interview really brings honor to our humble newspaper. Please come in."

Amidst the welcome of the newspaper staff lining the path, Morrison followed Ying Lianzhi into the newspaper office. Ying Lianzhi first introduced the prominent figures in *Ta Kung Pao* to Morrison, then brought out a reporter about thirty years old with a beautiful mustache. "This is reporter Mo Yang. He is responsible for this exclusive interview."

Mo Yang was also a bit excited, stepping forward to shake hands with Morrison. "Thank you, Mr. Morrison, for agreeing to this interview. I wonder if Mr. Morrison has any requirements for this interview?"

Morrison looked at the group of people around him and replied, "I hope to be interviewed alone. Let's arrange the location at the hotel where I am staying."

The surrounding reporters all showed envious expressions. The exclusive interview with He Rui caused quite a sensation after it was published, but for *Ta Kung Pao*, a newspaper that clashed with Yuan Shikai, He Rui's stance wasn't considered radical, and the Beiyang high command didn't respond to this interview at all. Although the newspaper's upper management rated the interview highly, it didn't generate a huge reaction among the public.

Now, interviewing the British representative Morrison, who was rumored to support Yuan Shikai's proclamation as Emperor, the news effect would definitely be very strong. With this interview falling into Mo Yang's hands, other reporters couldn't help but be envious. However, since Morrison specifically named Mo Yang for the interview, other reporters really had no way to fight for this opportunity.

*Ta Kung Pao* President Wang Zhilong hurriedly responded, "Good, when should we send reporter Mo Yang to visit?"

"Tomorrow morning at 9 o'clock, I will wait for Mr. Mo Yang at the hotel."

Mo Yang rushed to the hotel where Morrison was staying early in the morning. In the lounge at the entrance, preparing and repeatedly confirming the interview questions, at 9:01, Mo Yang knocked on the door of Morrison's room.

Soon, Mo Yang was invited into the room by Morrison. According to interview customs, both sides had to engage in some friendly exchange first. Mo Yang had just chatted about the second topic when he heard Morrison ask, "I have read reporter Mo's interview with Governor He Rui. The interview content was very brilliant, profoundly expounding on the current situation of North and South China. Congratulations to reporter Mo for producing such an outstanding report."

Mo Yang smiled and expressed his thanks, already feeling in his heart that things weren't that simple. Sure enough, Morrison continued to ask, "Since it was an exclusive interview, presumably reporter Mo had a very deep exchange with Governor He Rui. Is there anything that left a deep impression on reporter Mo but wasn't written in the report?"

Mo Yang thought for a while and laughed, "If I tell these anecdotes to Mr. Morrison, will Mr. Morrison also tell me similar anecdotes in the interview?"

To this question, Morrison smiled without speaking. Mo Yang had no choice but to tell Morrison the scene of his interview with He Rui. Hearing that He Rui actually went down to the fields to harvest, Morrison couldn't imagine at all how He Rui, in a Governor's outfit, worked in the fields. So he asked, "Was Governor He wearing a military uniform?"

Seeing Morrison frowning, Mo Yang laughed, "Haha, it seems Mr. Morrison didn't expect it either. When Governor He went down to the fields, he was wearing a set of peasant clothes, and they were tattered. In our China, peasants wear this when they go down to the fields."

Morrison had taken thousands of photos of all levels of Chinese society, and the image of peasants working immediately floated in his mind. The tattered clothes didn't surprise him, but the protagonist in this picture was completely different from Morrison's imagination. A soldier who could write *A Preliminary Explanation of Geopolitics* should be an elegant staff officer in Morrison's imagination. What was the purpose of such a soldier going down to the fields to do farm work?

Seeing Morrison fall into thought, Mo Yang didn't want to be tricked into talking by Morrison in turn, so he requested to start the interview. However, the interview disappointed Mo Yang a bit. Morrison emphasized support for restoring centralization and also rated Yuan Shikai's own ability very high, but he didn't talk about Yuan Shikai proclaiming himself Emperor. Although it wasn't worthless, it was far from the expected interview.

When Mo Yang asked about the British attitude towards Yuan Shikai proclaiming himself Emperor, Morrison replied, "Please ask His Excellency Jordan, the British Minister to China, about this matter."

This was an evasion. Mo Yang stopped his pen and asked another question, "Does Mr. Morrison support the Great President proclaiming himself Emperor?"

Morrison replied frankly, "I support China restoring centralization."

Ending this interview of limited significance, Morrison recalled Mo Yang's description of He Rui in the room. Originally, he had considered whether to go to Siping. The description of He Rui personally going down to the fields to work strengthened Morrison's curiosity. If he were just a scholar-type soldier, exchanging letters with He Rui would be fine. But the matter of He Rui working in the fields made Morrison feel that He Rui was definitely not as simple as described in the newspaper.