Since the end of the "Dingwei Political Tide", Yuan Shikai finally breathed a sigh of relief. Cixi finally recognized the face of hypocrites like Cen Chunxuan who claimed to be "Pure Stream." The fame-fishing Pure Stream in the court was almost swept away. After Yuan Shikai submitted his self-defense memorial, Chen Ke's matter was considered passed. Although Cixi's fear of the Beiyang clique was almost public—three of the five Grand Councilors were non-Beiyang or "anti-Beiyang," and Yuan Shikai was forced to hand over many concurrent "errands"—Yuan Shikai could accept this change. This was just the normal performance of rulers throughout history. Whenever there was a strong group like Beiyang in any court, the monarchical power would instinctively suppress it.

On August 1, 1907, just after Yuan Shikai got up, the housekeeper came in to pay respects with a strange look. Yuan Shikai knew the housekeeper must have urgent business. He washed up simply and sat upright in the small living room. Yuan Shikai had such a habit: no matter where he was, whether sitting on an armchair or a sofa, he never liked to lean back, but sat upright with a straight back. Coupled with the air of long experience, he was majestic even at home.

The housekeeper dared not say too much. While presenting a piece of paper peeled off the wall, he said cautiously, "Master, many such notices were posted in the capital this morning."

Yuan Shikai opened it and his eyes widened immediately. He had seen many big scenes in his life, seen many absurd things, and heard many boastful or arrogant nonsense. But today, he really knew that there were still things in the world beyond his imagination. The name of this notice looked excessive at first glance: "Open Letter to the Manchu Qing Bandit Gang." This was a notice from the People's Party. The content was not special, using vernacular Chinese. The first half told the whole country that the Manchu Qing Bandit Gang's running dog Zhang Zhidong ordered the Manchu Qing Bandit Gang's thug Li Yuanhong to lead the Hubei New Army to attack the People's Party base area, and now the seven thousand Hubei New Army soldiers were completely annihilated. In the second half, the People's Party announced that this was a great victory for the people's revolution, and such victories would come one after another until the people's revolution completely eliminated the Manchu Qing Bandit Gang.

At the end of the announcement, the People's Party warned the Manchu Qing Bandit Gang's female bandit chief Cixi, as well as the Manchu Qing Bandit Gang's running dog and thug Yuan Shikai, the Manchu Qing Bandit Gang's running dog Zhang Zhidong, and others, that the victory of the people's revolution is an historical inevitability, advising the female bandit chief Cixi to recognize the situation and surrender quickly. The People's Party would judge and liquidate the crimes of the Manchu Qing Bandit Gang fairly and openly, giving them their deserved end.

Countless people scolded Yuan Shikai as a living Cao Cao these years, but calling Yuan Shikai a "running dog and thug" was the first time. While feeling surprised, Yuan Shikai actually sorted out the outline of the People's Party's address. The Manchu regime was called the Manchu Qing Bandit Gang by the People's Party, Manchu civil officials were called bandit gang running dogs, and Manchu military officers were called bandit gang thugs. And Yuan Shikai, who grasped both military and political affairs, honorably held the title of both running dog and thug concurrently. It seemed that the People's Party evaluated Yuan Shikai extremely high, actually ranking Yuan Shikai as the number two figure in the Manchu Qing Bandit Gang, only second to the Manchu Qing Bandit Gang's female bandit chief Cixi.

According to the People's Party notice, Zhang Zhidong's seven thousand Hubei New Army soldiers were all finished in four days? Yuan Shikai didn't quite believe this. Not long ago, Wang Shizhen made such a prediction, believing that Li Yuanhong was not the opponent of the People's Party. But both Wang Shizhen and Yuan Shikai thought it would be a tragic battle. The People's Party might be good at fighting, but Li Yuanhong led seven thousand people. Both sides were bound to have a tragic battle with heavy losses on both sides. Yuan Shikai knew the strength of the Hubei New Army, which was one of the few New Army troops in the country that could compete with the Beiyang New Army. Since Hubei could manufacture weapons and equipment itself, the equipment and training of the Hubei New Army were considerable. Not to mention seven thousand Hubei New Army soldiers, even seven thousand pigs couldn't be killed in four days, right?

Just as he put down the announcement, the servant at the door came to report, "Master, someone is at the door to deliver an urgent official document." Yuan Shikai immediately felt an ominous feeling in his heart.

The document didn't mention Li Yuanhong's fate, only saying that the People's Party retook Anqing. The Hubei New Army troops defending Anqing were released after surrendering. Yuan Shikai was also a veteran soldier. Anqing, hundreds of *li* away from Hefei, was captured; besieging Wei to rescue Zhao was not played like this. Li Yuanhong was probably doomed.

After putting down the document, Yuan Shikai ordered, "Send someone to investigate quickly who posted this notice. Also prepare a horse; go to Wang Shizhen's place."

Actually, not many people posted notices. Yuan Shikai had been very unlucky recently, so the Yuan family was very alert to the wind and grass outside. Wang Shizhen didn't have this leisure. He read the notice and document carefully twice before saying, "Li Yuanhong is finished."

Yuan Shikai also knew that Li Yuanhong was definitely finished. On the way, he was thinking about other things. "Pinqing, you are about to take office as the Admiral of Jiangbei immediately. To what extent do you think the situation will change?"

Wang Shizhen couldn't assess the situation in a short time either. Although Yuan Shikai was anxious, Wang Shizhen didn't want to talk nonsense. After pondering for a long time, Wang Shizhen said, "Since Li Yuanhong is finished, and Chen Ke has occupied Anqing, he will either seize the Grand Canal to cut off grain transport, or send troops to Wuhan. No matter what Chen Ke does, it is destined not to be peaceful next."

Usually, Yuan Shikai agreed with Wang Shizhen's views very much, but this time he didn't agree much. Perhaps because the identities of Yuan Shikai and Chen Ke were somewhat similar, both commanding a military and political group, they always subconsciously started from the overall situation when considering problems. Yuan Shikai asked, "Pinqing, do you mean Chen Ke has to find a way to solve the money problem?"

Beiyang controlled the finance of Zhili, and money was spent like running water every year. Chen Ke was in such a poor place as Anhui, which also suffered a flood last year. War is a gold-swallowing beast; Yuan Shikai could imagine how strapped Chen Ke was.

Wang Shizhen didn't manage Beiyang's finance; he only knew about financial issues but couldn't be called proficient. Yuan Shikai's question made Wang Shizhen dare not answer easily. After thinking for a while, Wang Shizhen brought up another topic. "Duke Yuan, the Hubei New Army suffered heavy losses this time, but Your Excellency cannot speak easily about this matter. On the contrary, Zhang Zhidong suffered this great defeat and will definitely not let it go. Although Chen Ke's article is arrogant, it is beneficial to Duke Yuan. He spoke wildly about Duke Yuan, very disrespectful. But to prove himself, Zhang Zhidong will inevitably talk nonsense about Duke Yuan. Duke Yuan needs to be careful."

Yuan Shikai had already thought about Zhang Zhidong's possible reaction. The Hubei New Army lost almost half of its troops. The remaining troops were at most ten thousand. These ten thousand people were probably not enough to defend Hubei. If Chen Ke sent troops out of Huangpi Pass, he would hit the three towns of Wuhan directly. If the three towns of Wuhan were lost, or even just Hanyang on the north bank of the Yangtze River was lost, the arsenal of the Hubei New Army would be finished. If Zhang Zhidong wanted to retrieve the decline, he would either unite with Yuan Shikai or push the responsibility to Yuan Shikai. After all, Yuan Shikai's "failure to recognize people" was already public. If Yuan Shikai had seen early on that Yan Fu and Chen Ke were both "rebels," there wouldn't be today's result.

"I really underestimated Chen Ke." Yuan Shikai sighed. "Such a character actually refuses to contribute to the country. Pinqing, since Zhang Zhidong's Hubei New Army is unreliable, I'm afraid the Beiyang New Army still has to quell the rebellion."

Wang Shizhen was actually most worried about this. He had also seen the Hubei New Army during the Hejian Autumn Maneuvers. Even the Beiyang New Army was unlikely to catch all seven thousand Hubei New Army soldiers in Hefei and Anqing in one net within four days. Moreover, if the Beiyang New Army quelled the rebellion, it would be an expedition far from home, and there were too many unfavorable situations. Heaven knew what Chen Ke had turned Anhui into now. Caution was the best policy when the enemy situation was unclear. He replied, "Duke Yuan, I am going to take office immediately. Then I will carefully inquire about Chen Ke's situation. Moreover, the court suspects Duke Yuan very deeply now. I'm afraid it's not so easy for Duke Yuan to want to lead troops to quell the rebellion personally. And Duke Yuan, even if you lead troops personally, as long as there is a small setback, those with ulterior motives will definitely make a big fuss. Please be careful about this, Duke Yuan."

Yuan Shikai knew how many people were waiting for him to make mistakes now, even Zhang Zhidong thought so. This wasn't that Zhang Zhidong wanted to hit a person when he was down, but if Yuan Shikai lost a battle, Zhang Zhidong would immediately have a reason to defend himself. At that time, Zhang Zhidong would definitely not hit him when he was down, but would "support" Yuan Shikai. Then, with the so-called "law does not punish the majority," the responsibility for Zhang Zhidong's previous failure could be easily pushed away. Thinking of this, Yuan Shikai couldn't help smiling bitterly. With a formidable enemy in front, he, as a heavy minister of the court, could only worry about his own safety. This battle was already full of difficulties before it was fought.

The two stopped talking about this. Yuan Shikai was not an idler; he had to prepare for the subsequent political turmoil. Moreover, he was already suspected; contacting Wang Shizhen too much was not good for Wang Shizhen either.

Sure enough, as soon as Yuan Shikai arrived at the Grand Council, he saw the other four Grand Councilors waiting there with gloomy faces. Zhang Zhidong spoke first, "Duke Yuan, the Empress Dowager orders you and me to have an audience."

Cixi's face was extremely ugly. Although this old lady in her seventies knew the news of the defeat, she completely didn't expect that as the actual ruler of the Great Qing Dynasty, she would be scolded as the "Manchu Qing Bandit Gang's Female Bandit Chief" by notices posted in the capital. Originally, the eunuchs didn't dare to tell Cixi about this, but Cixi understood these slaves very clearly. With a casual glance, she could see the thoughts of these slaves from their faces. These people were originally responsible for inquiring about news outside. Seeing the faces of the eunuchs responsible for inquiring about news were not very good, Cixi knew something big had happened. No one dared to refuse to answer Cixi's questions. After a few interrogations, the eunuchs told the truth trembling with fear and caution. Under Cixi's strict order, the notice was handed up tremblingly by the eunuchs. The subsequent official document from the Ministry of Army made Cixi understand what exactly happened.

"Lord Yuan, what kind of talent is this Chen Ke exactly, to make Lord Yuan value him so much and act as a matchmaker personally?" Cixi's words were full of malice.

Yuan Shikai climbed to his current position relying on Cixi's trust. Hearing this, Yuan Shikai lay prostrate on the ground tightly. Unlike those fools who only knew how to apologize, Yuan Shikai knew he couldn't say that. He answered cautiously, "Old Buddha, Chen Ke is a disciple of the rebel Yan Fu. Your subject has old ties with Yan Fu. Since Chen Ke asked your subject for help, your subject felt he couldn't refuse."

"Humph." As a woman, Cixi didn't dislike or oppose matchmaking. She actually didn't intend to pursue this matter relentlessly. But being scolded by Chen Ke all the way to the capital, if Cixi didn't scare Yuan Shikai, the depressed anger in her heart couldn't be easily dissipated.

After asking Yuan Shikai, Cixi looked at Zhang Zhidong again. This heavy minister of the New Policy was someone Cixi relied on now. Up to now, Zhang Zhidong's impartial style satisfied Cixi very much. Cixi originally wanted Zhang Zhidong and Yuan Shikai to promote constitutionalism together, but she didn't expect that one of these two heavy ministers acted as a matchmaker for the great rebel Chen Ke, and the other let the great rebel Chen Ke eliminate seven thousand core troops. What kind of person was this young man Chen Ke?

"Lord Zhang, can the Hubei New Army still fight?" Cixi asked next.

Zhang Zhidong was afraid Cixi would ask this. If he said they could fight, given the current situation, he feared they couldn't win a victory in the short term. If he said they couldn't fight, then the political credit Zhang Zhidong had accumulated so far would go bankrupt instantly. However, Zhang Zhidong was an old slicker in officialdom after all; he didn't panic too much encountering such a situation. Zhang Zhidong replied, "Old Buddha, if we want to exterminate the Anhui bandit trouble relying solely on the Hubei New Army, it would inevitably be protracted. The best strategy at this time is to mobilize various New Armies to encircle and suppress together. The Beiyang New Army fights from south to north, the Hubei New Army goes down the river, and the Admirals of Jiangnan and Jiangbei fight from east to west. Under the three-sided encirclement, the Anhui bandit trouble can definitely be quelled."

Hearing Zhang Zhidong say "relying solely on the Hubei New Army would inevitably be protracted," Cixi felt a burst of boredom in her heart. She had heard too many words from such old slickers. Bandit suppression cost a lot. If acting according to Zhang Zhidong, mobilizing the forces of the Beiyang New Army, Hubei New Army, and Jiangnan and Jiangbei Admirals, half of the court's income this year would probably be used on exterminating the Anhui bandit trouble. The court's income was already making ends meet; fighting such a huge costly war again gave Cixi a headache just thinking about it.

For fighting wars, Cixi trusted Yuan Shikai more. She turned her head and asked, "Lord Yuan, what do you think?"

Yuan Shikai had long had a plan for such questions. He said frankly, "Bandit suppression matters can be fully arranged by the Ministry of Army."

Now those in charge of the Ministry of Army were the hardliners of the Imperial Clan. Although they couldn't convince the six Beiyang Divisions for the time being, they could at least reassure Cixi.

Hearing Yuan Shikai's answer, Cixi replied after a long time, "I know."

However, Cixi still brooded over Chen Ke's "great disrespect." She was not from the main palace origin. In the long court life, to ensure her life safety, Cixi had suffered so much sarcasm and ridicule. It wasn't easy to hold power, yet she was actually scolded as the "Manchu Qing Bandit Gang's Female Bandit Chief." This breath was really hard to swallow. "After catching Chen Ke, he must be escorted to Beijing for me."

Chen Ke learned about such a meeting from the intelligence sent from Beijing a few days later, and the specific content wasn't very detailed either. At least he didn't know Cixi's words about wanting to get him into Beijing. But it must be said that when Chen Ke issued this notice, he knew Cixi definitely wanted to cut him into a thousand pieces. But Chen Ke actually wanted to say a sentence to Cixi too: "After you old woman dies, I will drag you out of the grave to sunbathe."

When Chen Ke was young, he watched "The Great Thief of the Eastern Mausoleum." He actually didn't completely deny the actions of "archaeologist Sun Dianying." Chen Ke had actually decided that among the Manchu emperors, except for Yongzheng, the tombs of other Manchu royals, regardless of gender, had every necessity to undergo "archaeological excavation." After the archaeology, those grave mounds could be flattened. Keeping these grave mounds was really an eyesore.

For the Manchu Qing's renewed encirclement and suppression, Chen Ke could fully imagine it. Before annihilating the Hubei New Army, Chen Ke still had some worries about military operations. The destruction of Li Yuanhong gave Chen Ke a clear understanding of the Manchu Qing's military capability. Under the strategy and tactics learned from Grandpa Mao, the combat effectiveness of the Manchu Qing could basically be described as vulnerable.

In the two small battles before and after annihilating the Hubei New Army this time, more than nine hundred Hubei New Army soldiers died in battle, and more than two thousand two hundred were injured. The Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army had more than one hundred and thirty dead and three hundred and thirteen injured. The comrades of the Military Commission were extremely satisfied with such battle results. Hearing that the Manchu Qing was preparing for a large-scale encirclement, although most comrades of the Military Commission were still nervous, they were not as panicked as when facing Li Yuanhong's troops.

"Chairman Chen, how should we fight the next battle?" Hua Xiongmao was the first to express his stance. He was no longer prepared to plan any campaign independently. Since Chen Ke planned better than himself, it was more appropriate to let Chen Ke express his stance first.

Chen Ke actually hadn't fought a battle of such a large scale either, but there were plenty of battles larger than this that he had studied on the Internet. So although Chen Ke was not a strategist, the knowledge learned from those best strategists in human history was enough to deal with the Manchu Qing dregs whose combat power barely exceeded five.

"In this battle, we cannot let the enemies twist into a rope. We must concentrate superior forces and defeat them one by one. So intelligence work must be done well. Who to fight first, who to fight next; this order cannot be wrong." Chen Ke began to act as the campaign general planner.

During the War of Liberation, the Party's troops could win with fewer numbers by relying on how to choose enemies. They always chose the enemy who had the deepest conflict with other troops and was most isolated to fight. Utilizing the characteristic that the enemy was unwilling to risk their lives to rescue, concentrate superior forces to fight a war of annihilation.

Regarding Chen Ke's strategic planning, no comrade was willing to question it anymore. The situation Chen Ke faced now was much better than Grandpa Mao's situation back then. Grandpa Mao was not the core leader of the Party for the first dozen years. Later, the revolution had no way out, so the predecessors had to acknowledge Grandpa Mao's leadership. Chen Ke created the People's Party single-handedly, plus he hadn't made mistakes so far, so the comrades obeyed Chen Ke's authority almost instinctively.

After talking about the general strategic plan, Chen Ke talked about the key to execution. "Comrades, our military strength is now the minority, so we can only isolate the enemy by relying on our mobility, relying on intelligence collection, and relying on cutting off the enemy's traffic lines. So our own marching ability must be improved."