Wang Zhenpeng hesitated for a moment, looked up and glanced at his third brother in front of him, who often made him feel jealous. After all, this was his own brother. In the end, familial love conquered the demon of jealousy. Wang Zhenpeng took a deep look at Wang Zhenyu, turned around and shouted to the soldiers who had already harbored doubts: "You guys continue to investigate, I'm going back to my quarters to rest."

  After finishing speaking, Wang Zhenpeng left the Chaoyang Gate in big strides. Wang Zhenyu nodded his head in satisfaction and didn't say anything else, only letting the horse carriage return home.

  And the twenty flag bearers secretly cheered and quietly opened the Chaoyang Gate.

  "Trash can" Yuan Shikai, who had always been particular about being dignified and composed, was now in a thunderous rage. He directly grabbed a stack of documents from the table and flung them at Lei Zhengchun and Wu Binghu. These two men, who could make the people of Beijing tremble with fear just by stamping their feet, were now drenched in sweat and almost kneeled down before the President.

  "You guys say it yourselves, what's the situation? Right under your noses, they're waving your flag and not only did they bury the Qing family alive, but also made off with 100 million yuan of Qing's money in Hui Feng! A whole 100 million! Do you know how much trouble this will cause if it falls into the wrong hands?"

  Lei Zhengchun was sweating profusely, silently cursing the Iron Blood Patriots for their shameless disguise. How dare they impersonate his own Military and Political Law Enforcement Agency? This was going to bring him bad luck! With a hint of resentment, Lei Zhengchun replied, "Your Excellency, please calm down. It's not that we're incompetent, but rather these rebels are too cunning."

  "You guys are always monitoring the Wang's residence, aren't you? Extortion is quite active, don't think I don't understand. Burying 80 people alive requires a huge pit, how long does it take to dig such a big hole? With so much time, didn't your Military and Political Law Enforcement Agency and the Capital Police Department discover anything unusual? A bunch of useless fools."

  Lei Zhen Chun's heart was not convinced: "The King's palace is not small, and these scoundrels are also cunning and ruthless. Taking advantage of the dry season, they dug a hole in the empty pool of the palace and then easily buried the ten people. But if this matter is brought up again, Old Yuan will definitely make himself a target to be shot."

  After having such an idea in mind, Lei Zhenchun naturally did not dare to say another word and honestly admitted his mistake.

  As for Wu Binghu, he was also sweating profusely, but since he had some years of experience with Old Yuan, his performance was much more calm than Lei Zhenchun's. At this moment, he stood there silently, eyes fixed on the ground, not making a sound.

  Yuan Shikai scolded for a while, seemingly tired from scolding, coughed twice and said: "All of you, stop wasting my time. Bring out your skills, this Iron-Blooded whatever society of yours, I want an explanation within ten days, do you hear me?"

  "Please rest assured, Mr. President, I will definitely"

  "Get out of here and stop shouting slogans!" Yuan Shikai waved his hand in annoyance, shooing the two big troublemakers away like flies. He had many more annoying things to deal with now.

  "Xiong Bingzhang recently had a disagreement with Duan Huizong, it seems like they have been at odds constantly." Yuan Shikai turned his head to ask Yang Du.

  Yang Du has already started following Yuan Keding to busy himself with the affairs of persuading the premier. As for the situation in the State Council, he didn't know much about it, so he was very cautious and said: "I've heard that our old Beiyang seems not to buy into Premier Xiong's account, and privately they are all secretly plotting to replace the premier."

  Yuan Shikai remained silent for a moment, then muttered to himself: "It seems that Gong's wings have hardened now. I should also consider replacing him as Premier."

  Xiong Xiling, who was being considered for replacement by Old Yuan, was having dinner and tea with three guests in his own mansion. The three guests were none other than Liang Qichao, Cai E and Wang Zhenyu.

  At this time, Liang Qichao's identity was the Minister of Justice in Xiong Xiling's cabinet and the leader of the Progressive Party. In history, this Progressive Party was once a prominent existence during the Northern Government of the Republic of China, and it was more prosperous than the Nationalist Party at that time. The reason is that Liang Qichao and his Progressive Party were not simply a political party, but had a military backing, with Cai E as its leader, which was the largest military force supporting the Progressive Party. It was precisely because of the support of Cai E's local warlords that Liang Qichao had his current status.

  Historically, Xiong Xiling's cabinet of talents only lasted until February 1914. Now with the support of Wang Zhenyu-led local armed forces in Hunan and Guangxi, he should have been able to last longer in theory. However, history played a huge joke on him. It was precisely because of the support of Wang Zhenyu and other hometown troops that Xiong Xiling, as the premier, felt confident enough to openly defy some of Yuan Shikai's orders. He even countered the aggressive moves of Duan Qirui and others from the Beiyang clique. As a result, Xiong Xiling's government, which was self-proclaimed as a cabinet of talents, began to totter. Yuan Shikai would not allow a strong premier to appear above his head, no matter how long they had known each other, including Xiong Xiling.

  "Premier Ren, I've already heard rumors that Old Yuan plans to replace me as Premier. As the Minister of Justice, do you have any plans?" Xiong Xiling smiled and looked at Liang Qichao with a wine cup in hand.

  Li Hongzhang, on the other hand, calmly picked up a dish and put it in his mouth: "I never get tired of eating this Beijing mutton hot pot. I remember the first time I had this dish was during the Guangxu years when I and Kang Nanhai were summoned by the Emperor to Dongzhimen. Now thinking about it, it's been almost twenty years."

  Xiong Xiling was still quite familiar with Liang Qichao. He drank a cup and asked in front of Cai E and Wang Zhenyu: "Mr. Ren, everyone here is his own person, Song Po is your student, Wen Zheng is my fellow townsman, if you have anything to say, you can speak freely."

  Li Hongzhang chuckled and put down his chopsticks, saying: "Actually, there's nothing much to say. Old Yuan has made up his mind, and I'm sure you've also seen through it, Mr. Xiong. It's just a matter of restoring the imperial system. I, Li Hongzhang, was once a member of the royalist party. Now that I think about it, this Qing dynasty should have perished long ago. If it hadn't, heaven would not have allowed it."

  After finishing, Liang Qichao continued to eat his hot pot mutton slices. Wang Zhenyu was very interested in this giant who left a deep mark in the political and cultural field of the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, and he listened with rapt attention to Liang Qichao's next high-level discussion.

  "It's been almost twenty years since we, the people who came to Beijing for the imperial examination, were still scholars. We advocated for reform not to overthrow the dynasty, but to hope that through reform, we could enrich the country and strengthen its military. At that time, the Qing Dynasty was still struggling internally and externally, with a thousand wounds and on the verge of collapse. The princes and high-ranking officials held esteemed positions, but none of them were willing to save the Qing Dynasty. They were more concerned with how to move the wealth of the Qing into their own homes. Take, for example, the Prince of Qing who took over as the head of the military from the Prince Gong. He was the one whose mansion was recently buried by people. You think he didn't see the situation clearly? You think he didn't know that everyone in the Qing, from top to bottom, was corrupt? Not to mention him, even Empress Dowager Cixi knew all about these rotten things. But they were not willing to reform because they were all calculating their own small interests. So, they are not really the nobles of the Qing Dynasty; they are just parasites attached to it. Now that the revolution has succeeded, what we wanted through reform was just to give up a little bit of interest and cut off a little bit of flesh to give the people some hope. But these vested interests were not willing to do so. Now, with the revolution, they have to surrender even their lives. Haven't you seen how those former Qing royal family members are now? They are all anxious and cannot rest, constantly plotting to escape to the concessions."

  Xiong Xiling nodded and said, "I've heard that someone in Tianjin found the bodies of Qing Shuang's father and son, just waiting for someone to confirm. Yesterday's billions of wealth, what's the use? It's just a skin bag, a grass mat."

  Li Hongzhang raised his wine cup and laughed: "Let's not talk about the past, but as a lesson from history, although the Beiyang government is new to politics, it has inherited all the bad habits of the Qing dynasty. It has corruption, bribery, warlordism, and separatism - none of these are lacking. What else does Yuan Shikai have besides his tens of thousands of troops? If he were willing to reform and innovate, there might be some hope for this situation. But Yuan is old and no longer has the energy and ambition he had in his youth. His plan is to use the Beiyang government to control the country, and then use the imperial system to control the Beiyang government. I, Li Hongzhang, dare say that restoring the imperial system will be a disastrous move. Not only will it not revitalize the Beiyang government, but it will also accelerate its decline. More importantly, Sun Yat-sen and those revolutionaries will seize this opportunity to rise again. Don't believe me? Let's wait and see."

  Cai E somewhat disbelievingly said: "Teacher, these days I often see the Grand President and haven't seen him having any thoughts of restoration. Moreover, the current Beiyang is not a monolith, Feng Guozhang is holding onto the southeast and refusing to let go. How could Old Yuan dare to restore the imperial system at this time?"

  Li Hongzhang raised his hand and downed a cup of white wine: "Song Pao, my intention is very clear. In front of Governor Xiong, I hope you and Wen Zheng can find a way to leave Beijing as soon as possible and return to the local area to control the old troops and observe the situation quietly. However, if this idea is good, it should be said openly. It's likely that Wen Zheng has a chance to escape, but as for Song Pao, you are in control of Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan provinces, and Old Yuan will not let you go no matter what."

  Cai Songpo heard this and could only drink a cup silently nodding his head

  Wang Zhenyu, who had been silent all along, suddenly became spirited and looked at Xiong Xiling: "Lord Xiong, can I still go back to Xiangxi?"

  Xiong Xiling raised his wine cup and said, "Governor Ren's idea is worth a try. Speaking of which, your Hunan and Guangxi provinces are not considered good territories in the eyes of our old friend Yuan."