The newly born Red Russian regime was terrifying and mysterious, the October Revolution shook the world with a single gunshot, all the powers were trembling, and they formed an interventionist army to strangle red Russia. On the espionage front line, it was also the case that Consul General Kanda had received a secret order from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to closely monitor every move of the Russians in the Far East, so he attached great importance to this matter.

  The Far East is now a complex and turbulent place, with the collapse of the Russian Empire bringing endless opportunities to the Great Japanese Empire. Places like Vladivostok, Harbin, Mongolia, and the Chinese Eastern Railway, which were once part of Russia's territory, colonies, sphere of influence, and assets, have become targets for Japan's ambitions. The sudden appearance of a Red Russian spy in Beijing has sparked all sorts of speculation, and to achieve the Empire's grand goals, both civil and military officials must exert their utmost efforts to investigate.

  Recently, a large number of White Russian refugees have flooded into China, among whom there must be Red Russian spies. Fang Zhe and Yamamoto discussed it and decided to start investigating the White Russian refugees in Beijing while putting pressure on the Beiyang government, warning them not to secretly collaborate with Japan on any small moves.

  "Tomorrow I will go to visit Duan Qirui and ask him to explain the details of this matter." Fang Zejun said.

  ……

  At the entrance of the military training ground, four tall soldiers stood upright, wearing yellow uniforms, holding Type 30 rifles made in Japan, with puttees and ammunition boxes. Everything on them, including the fabric and buttons of their uniforms, was imported from Japan, and this huge expenditure also came from the Japanese loan of Saionji.

  These soldiers were different from the original Beiyang Army, they were newly recruited healthy young farmers from Anhui, Shandong and Henan provinces, trained by Japanese instructors, and could be called the elite of the elite. Their military pay was higher than that of ordinary Beiyang Army, their food supply not only guaranteed full meals but also occasionally included meat dishes to celebrate special occasions, making them feel invincible.

  The soldier at the gate saw an old man in a long gown and horse jacket sauntering over, and immediately stopped him: "Halt! This is a military area, you can't enter!"

  The old man was taken aback for a moment, then smiled warmly: "I am Duan Qirui."

  "It's nobody, just get lost!" The big-headed soldier said with a face full of impatience.

  The old man didn't get angry, he retreated a few steps and stood outside the warning line. At this time, an officer hurried over from behind, his boots were polished, his sword was clanging, and the three stars on his French-style shoulder epaulets showed that he was an army colonel.

  "At attention!" The sentry soldiers immediately stood at attention, their waists straight as a pen, the bayonets gleaming with cold light. The colonel didn't even glance at them and hastily bowed to the old man, saying: "Director, please."

  The old man smiled, nodded slightly to the soldiers who saluted him, and strode into the gate of the military training ground with a vigorous pace, clearly a veteran general who had been through many battles.

  "Directing... Duan Qirui." The soldiers only then came to their senses, originally he was the former Premier and current Director of the War Participation Bureau, Director Duan. They had actually offended Director Duan's authority, several soldiers couldn't help but sweat profusely.

  The Chief of Staff's office, Xu Shuzheng, dressed in military uniform, came out to greet him and said with a smile: "Director has arrived, your house hasn't been swept, come sit down at my place first."

  Duan Qirui entered the office, first discussing some training matters, then asked: "Today, Japanese Envoy Komura Jutaro came to visit me and mentioned that a secret Russian envoy had appeared in Beijing. I wonder if you understand this matter?"

  Xu Shuzheng smiled and said, "The news from Xiao Tan Gongshi is quite fast, but it's completely wrong. The person who came to Beijing is not a secret envoy of Soviet Russia, but a secret envoy of the Russian Provisional Government. Their highest ruler wants us to send troops to assist in destroying Soviet Russia together."

  As he spoke, he detailed the situation of his meeting with Andrei yesterday. When it came to the two escaping from the muzzle, Duan Qirui sighed: "Yuezheng, you are a bit too reckless in doing things. When two countries are at war, they do not kill envoys. No matter whether the other side is a provisional government or Soviet Russia, we should pretend to be snakes and observe the changes quietly."

  Xu Shuzheng walked to the wall, pulled open the curtain and revealed a large strategic map: "Director, look at my northern territory, which has been cut off by the Russians. Now that there is internal strife in Russia, it is a good opportunity for me to send troops to recover the lost land. The Russians have always been greedy and wolf-like, regardless of whether they are Soviet or Tsarist, so there's no point in talking to them. This matter is confidential, if Japan finds out, they will definitely intervene in our military operations, so I think the best way is to let them disappear."

  Duan Qirui nodded slightly and said: "So, you are planning to use troops in the North."

  Xu Shuzheng pointed at the map and said: "Governor, look at how vast China is. Has there ever been a region that we directly controlled?"

  Mentioning this, Duan Qirui couldn't help but feel depressed. Although he was the behind-the-scenes boss of the Northern Warlord government, apart from Beijing, he didn't have any territory directly under his control. The warlords in various parts of the country were carving up their own domains, and the military governors of each province were like local emperors, openly obeying but secretly disobeying the central government's orders. As for the Southern Government in Guangzhou, it was even more at odds with the Northern Warlord faction.

  Without a territory, there is no revenue. The Beiyang government's revenue only has a few meager items: the customs duties at Chongwenmen, the remaining Boxer Indemnity, and the income from a few railways. All added up, it barely covers the expenses of government officials, let alone enough to support the army.

  In the sixth year of the Republic, Zhang Xun led his troops into Beijing, using the name of mediating the conflict between the Presidential Palace and the Imperial Court to restore the Qing Emperor. As the Premier himself, he had no troops to deploy, so he asked Cao Rulin, who was close to Japan, to intervene. He borrowed one million yen from the Japanese Mitsubishi financial group, and also used 500,000 yuan of salt tax revenue to buy off Li Changtai's concubine, asking her to persuade Li Changtai to send troops. After spending a large sum of money on mobilization fees, he asked Cao Kun's Third Division and Feng Yuxiang's Sixteenth Mixed Brigade to intervene, finally pacifying Zhang Xun's 5,000 soldiers.

  After this battle, Duan Qirui became a hero of the Second Revolution. At the same time, he also realized that to do something big, he must have his own direct line troops.

  Someone sent a pillow while sleeping soundly. Japanese businessman Saien Ki secretly contacted Duan Qirui and borrowed tens of millions with extremely favorable conditions, borrowing tens of millions of yen to train three elite divisions. From organization to uniforms, it was almost a replica of the Japanese army, even the horses pulling the artillery were imported from Japan. With this army in hand, Duan Qirui finally felt he had some confidence.

  He nodded and said, "Yu Rong's intention is to recover Outer Mongolia."

  "Not only Outer Mongolia, if conditions permit, I would like to take the opportunity to recover Vladivostok as well. Recovering our ancestral land is a soldier's duty, and this move can greatly boost the morale of the Chinese people and unify the country, which is just around the corner. In fact, I have been planning this for some time now, but it's a matter of great importance and cannot be leaked, so I had to make a ruthless decision."

  Duan Qirui said: "You've worked hard again, just go ahead and do this. I'll cover for you with the Japanese. As for the escaped Russian envoy, we must use all our strength to capture him."

  ……

  Unconsciously, the bus stations, train stations and various city gates in Beijing have all added patrols and plainclothes detectives. On the walls, wanted notices were also posted. Since there were no photos, the wanted notices had two stone-printed portraits, obviously drawn by a famous painter, depicting Andrei and "Julian" quite vividly.

  Chen Zikun pulled a rickshaw out the door to scout around, deliberately walking back and forth several times at the city gate, even standing in front of the wanted poster for half a day. However, the police officers and detectives nearby didn't give him a second glance, because the handsome young man with a stylish haircut and an eight-character mustache in the picture was really too far off from this slovenly rickshaw driver.

  It's not very dangerous for myself, but what about Andre? Although there are many foreigners in Beijing, most of them are active in the Dongjiaominxiang area. If a foreigner with a high nose and sunken eyes appears on the main street, even if the police don't catch him, the common people will gather to watch first.

  Chen Zikun returned to the Zi Guang Car Factory and discussed with Andre how to escape, which became the biggest problem. After thinking for a while, Chen Zikun thought of another acquaintance.

  ……

  Liuguo Restaurant, Yao Yile hurriedly walked in and came to the front desk to ask: "Is Mr. Solomon back?"

  The waiter said: "Miss Yao, Mr. Solomon went out yesterday and hasn't come back."

  Yao Yilei's face turned pale, the news of last night's gun battle at Anfu Hutong had already spread among Beijing's elite circles. Those who were dissatisfied with the Anfu faction were gloating, some said that Xu Shuzheng had encountered an assassin, while others said it was an internal power struggle, but Yao Yilei knew that this gun battle must have something to do with Zhu Lijun.

  She didn't dare to go ask Xu Shu-zheng directly, so she had to run to the Liu Guo restaurant to find someone, but the news she got was so unsettling. Mr. Zhu Li-an, wasn't he already dead in Anfu Hutong?

  Miss Yao, although a woman of refinement, had heard some things about officialdom. Uncle Xu, despite his smiling and courteous appearance, was actually ruthless. General Lu Jianzhang of the Beiyang Army, who often caused trouble for Duan Qirui, was invited by Xu Shuzheng to a banquet in Xiaohuayuan and shot dead with one bullet. If a high-ranking general could be treated this way, what about Mr. Solomon?

  With a restless heart, I walked out and happened to meet Lin Changmin and his daughter Lin Huiyin. As they were also students of Pei Hua Girls' School, Lin Huiyin politely greeted me: "Hello, Miss Yao."

  "Hello Mr. Lin, hello Miss Lin, what's this?" asked Yao Yile.

  "Oh, just visiting a friend." Lin Changmin replied politely but coldly. He and Yao Yilai's father were colleagues, but one belonged to the research department and the other to the new transportation department, so they had no dealings with each other, and therefore he was not willing to talk much with Yao Yilai.

  "But Yao Yilei asked: 'Are you looking for Mr. Solomon? They were invited by Director Xu last night and haven't returned yet.'"

  Lin Changmin exchanged a shocked glance with his daughter, clearly they had also heard about the incident in Anfu Hutong. Xu Shuzheng's ruthless methods were naturally more familiar to Lin Changmin than to Yao Yile. He vigilantly scanned the restaurant's hall, where two men wearing fedoras sat on the sofa, their hat brims pulled low, pretending to read newspapers. Near the public phone in a corner of the hall, a man held the receiver, but his hawk-like eyes were fixed on this side.

  "Thank you, we're not looking for Mr. Solomon," Lin Changmin said, slightly bowing his head to Yao Yire and leading his daughter into the restaurant.

  Yao Yile was very disappointed. When such a thing happened, she didn't even have someone to talk to about her feelings. Those girlfriends of hers only liked Parisian perfume, Russian fur coats, South African diamonds, and men with shiny hair who could write vernacular Chinese. Thinking of these things made her feel disheartened. As they left the Liu Guo restaurant and got into their own car, she gave a low command: "Drive."

  Suddenly a young man in a restaurant uniform stepped forward quickly and said in a low voice: "Miss Yao, I saw Mr. Solomon."

  Yao Yile's eyes widened as she cautiously glanced at the entrance of the restaurant, then pulled out a 10-yuan note and asked: "Where is he?"