He Rui was treating his comrades to a meal, and Morrison was also warmly entertaining Jordan at his home. Jordan was somewhat preoccupied as he entered Morrison's residence. It wasn't until he settled onto the *kang* that his expression relaxed a bit.

Morrison had heard some news that the diplomatic talks were not going smoothly, but he didn't care. Such diplomatic thrust-and-parry was common in Europe; it was just that British diplomats in the Far East had been domineering for too long. They had formed fixed impressions, and their diplomatic skills had grown rusty and atrophied.

Jordan rested for a while before asking, "Mr. Morrison, does He Rui deliberately exclude you from some meetings when arranging government work?"

"No," Morrison answered decisively. "I attend all government work meetings, and the content of these meetings is later formulated into work plans. General He's administration is quite transparent."

"More transparent than in Europe?" Jordan asked. Although he didn't want to believe it, he was somewhat inclined to do so.

"General He's party meetings are not open to the public. Moreover, the Northeast has not yet established an assembly, so the overall political transparency is not as high as in Europe. However, General He is reviewing the Northeast's parliamentary system, and I believe that in two or three years, we will see a political system similar to Europe's."

"Then will this political system be British-style? Russian-style? American-style? Or... Napoleonic?"

Hearing Jordan's words, Morrison smiled slightly. He was the first person in the Far East diplomatic circle to use Napoleon to describe He Rui. That Jordan said this now proved he had also begun to truly take He Rui seriously. Morrison sighed, "General He is a very brave man."

Jordan nodded slightly in agreement. In all of China, whether it was the Beiyang government or the revolutionaries in the South, everyone was cowed by the name of the British Empire. Even Japan, where He Rui's alma mater was located, held the same attitude. But He Rui did not. Jordan had already applied maximum diplomatic pressure on He Rui. If it were other upper-class Chinese figures, even if they used various tricks to muddle through and delay, they would still be afraid—afraid from the bottom of their hearts.

He Rui was not afraid at all. Not only was he unafraid, but he also engaged in a tit-for-tat diplomatic game with Jordan. Looking back now, He Rui had firmly grasped the core principle of diplomacy: who makes the rules!

Jordan was just a diplomat and had no qualifications to formulate political rules for the Far East. This was the objective reality. But in the Far East, it seemed that no one had truly understood this yet. Over time, even Jordan himself had forgotten that he must consider this factor first.

Having figured out the reason for the failure of this diplomatic mediation, Jordan relaxed. He was getting on in years. Touching his balding head, which had only a few wisps of hair left, Jordan asked Morrison about He Rui's administration so far.

Morrison appreciated He Rui's governance very much, and even gave a lot of praise to He Rui's land reform. This reminded Jordan of something. At this time, the food Morrison ordered had been served. Jordan ate a piece of stir-fried liver tips and laughed, "In Beijing, too many people fiercely criticized He Rui for plundering the local gentry. It seems that in He Rui's future parliament, it will be difficult to see MPs from gentry backgrounds."

Morrison liked *Shao Nanbei* very much. This dish, stir-fried with mushroom slices and bamboo shoots, was delicious. Eating a piece of bamboo shoot, Morrison shook his head slightly. "Your Excellency, General He is a very broad-minded person. The purpose of his land reform policy is not to eliminate the gentry, but to eliminate the unreasonable parts of the social system."

Jordan had been chatting with Morrison for quite a while. Hearing Morrison evaluate He Rui like this, he answered slowly, "If you persist in such an attitude, people will take you for a Communist."

Hearing this, Morrison was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help laughing along with Jordan.

***

The next morning, Morrison found He Rui. "General, I heard that you and Minister Jordan had a very unpleasant conversation yesterday."

He Rui shook his head. "I think it was a very good meeting. Through frank talks with Minister Jordan, we fully exchanged views and enhanced mutual understanding."

Hearing He Rui use such a set of diplomatic vocabulary, Morrison felt he understood the situation. He smiled and said, "General, my wife's birthday is coming up. I want to hold a dance for her today. I wonder if the General can attend."

He Rui looked at Morrison with a smile. "Since it is an invitation from Director Morrison, presumably those attending will be prominent foreign residents in Fengtian."

Hearing He Rui say this, Morrison was even more sure He Rui understood his intent, and answered decisively, "They are all very prestigious foreign and even diplomatic figures."

"I will definitely attend," He Rui said, expressing his acceptance.

Just as Morrison said, the prominent foreigners in Fengtian attended the dance. In a world where a cruel war was raging, people with money were naturally prominent. In the past two years, quite a few speculative merchants had run to the Northeast, but He Rui's requirements were very clear. Without asset certification or endorsement from foreign banks in the capital, those coming Outside the Pass to do business had to produce real gold and silver. So most of the foreign figures who could still remain in Fengtian now had received invitations.

When Jordan entered the European-style venue, the invited guests all came forward to greet him. Seeing such a group of well-dressed Europeans, Jordan's mood improved significantly.

Fifteen minutes later than Jordan, He Rui walked into the venue in uniform. The style of the Northeast Army uniform had been determined, but He Rui did not wear the black military uniform today, changing instead into a set of "Field Grey" service uniform. As usual, there were no medals or ribbons on the uniform. Only the gold stars on the General rank insignia were shining.

Seeing He Rui come in, the guests surrounded him even more enthusiastically. Although part of their purpose was indeed to celebrate Morrison's wife's birthday, their main objective was to see He Rui. This was especially true for the French merchant Magloire and the British merchant Johnson, both of whom had privately petitioned He Rui to serve in the Northeast government.

More British and French merchants wanted to see the result of the matter. If He Rui accepted more foreigners to serve in the Chinese government, it would naturally be very good news for the business community.

Although Morrison had to some extent become a communication channel between foreign merchants and the Northeast local government—and he had fulfilled the function of this channel well—no one would think there were too many channels.

Sure enough, He Rui didn't care about the guest acting as host, because the Northeast was He Rui's home field. After meeting and shaking hands with a group of merchants, He Rui asked Morrison, "Have Mr. Magloire and Mr. Johnson arrived?"

Without waiting for Morrison to answer, the two men parted the crowd and walked up from the back row. He Rui waited for them to approach and asked, "After discussion by the government, we would like to hire Mr. Magloire and Mr. Johnson as our formal consultants. I wonder if you two are interested?"

Hearing this news, many merchants could hardly conceal the envy on their faces. Although Magloire and Johnson were very happy, they were not overly excited. They just stepped forward to express their willingness to accept the invitation. If China were a Great Power like Russia, Magloire and Johnson would have been overjoyed. Unfortunately, it was not.

Even so, to become officials—and officials with real power—was something the two merchants could readily accept.

After announcing the news, He Rui began to chat with various figures attending the dance, following the proper etiquette. Not long after, the music started. He Rui politely declined the invitations of several ladies, took a glass of champagne, and walked towards the rest area.

At about the same time, Jordan also walked towards the rest area. The two met again. He Rui raised his glass to Jordan, as if the war of words yesterday had never happened. Jordan had the same reaction, and the two sat naturally in a quiet spot. Someone was already standing at the entrance, blocking out a space for the two big figures to talk freely.

"Does General He have any views on the future?"

"Does Mr. Minister want to talk about peace or victory?"

"No, I am very interested in the future situation in the Far East."

"From China's perspective, we will naturally strive to complete the industrialization process that was interrupted twenty years ago. A peaceful environment is beneficial to China. For peace, we will do our best. However, what ultimately determines the situation in the Far East is still the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. In the future, there may also be American influence."

"The United States?" Jordan strongly disliked new interveners appearing in the Far East.

He Rui did not hide anything. "Even if the Anglo-Japanese Alliance cannot continue, the United States will hope to establish its own influence in the Far East. But no matter the situation, China will become the cornerstone of peace in the region."

Since He Rui was so frank, Jordan also decided to probe further. "Does Your Excellency expect to become China's future leader?"

He Rui answered, "Is this question from your own interest, Minister, or is it authorized by the British Foreign Office?"

Jordan felt like he had hit a wall again. He Rui's tone was still elegant and his attitude sincere, but his stance was extremely tough. It was clear that this local chief of Northeast China was very confident.

Since he had not received authorization, Jordan brought the topic back to the original content. "Does Your Excellency consider Japan a threat to China?"

"No, Japan has never been a threat to China. Historically, Japan has become a trouble for China several times, but that is a matter determined by the geography of the two countries. China's threat always comes from within. When China itself is weak, everything around it is a threat. When China can execute sound politics and development, everything around it is a friend. In China's thousands of years of history, such cycles have occurred too many times."

"Does Your Excellency have the confidence to complete China's industrialization?" Jordan asked, watching He Rui's reaction seriously.

"It is China that needs industrialization, not that *I* want to complete China's industrialization," He Rui corrected.

Jordan thought for a moment, somewhat shaken. "Does Your Excellency mean that China wants to become a Great Power?"

He Rui smiled. "Your Excellency, there are so many countries in the world. Regardless of the characteristics of the country itself, purely from the perspective of national expectations, which country does not want to become a Great Power?"

Jordan lifted his champagne and took a slow sip, feeling truly moved. He Rui had already made a judgment: the Russian people's war weariness would determine that a government advocating withdrawal from the war would come to power. And He Rui himself had seized upon the need for China to become a world Great Power again and was firmly pushing forward his efforts. Although it was impossible to judge whether He Rui would succeed now, such a person would definitely affect the entire situation in the Far East. What kind of challenges would He Rui bring to the British Empire?