Pushing open the door and stepping out of his room at the guesthouse, Xu Yue immediately heard uproarious laughter outside. The entire Beiyang guesthouse in the Imperial Capital was filled with cheers and laughter, the atmosphere exceptionally lively.
Listening closely, he could roughly tell that it was also due to the aftermath of the Sino-Japanese Alliance's earlier misfortune.
It had to be said that the Sino-Japanese Alliance had been completely caught off guard by the developments in this Punishment mission. Moreover, too many people were involved, and they belonged to different corps. There was simply no way to keep it under wraps.
That was why the pieces Beiyang had planted among them had easily stolen the intelligence, allowing it to spread so quickly.
Naturally, the Beiyang elites in the guesthouse had also learned the news.
"This is karma."
"Yeah. How about holding a party tonight to celebrate?"
"That feels damn good!"
"..."
Those carefully selected to enter the Imperial Capital this time were all future pillars of Beiyang.
The recent clashes between Beiyang, the Qing Court, and Japan had left them exhausted, while also filling them with deep dissatisfaction.
The decaying Qing Court occupied the nation's most concentrated and finest resources and controlled the Dragon Veins and national fortune, yet Beiyang did not take them seriously. They were confident that, under Lord Yuan Shikai's leadership, they could defeat them in battle.
However, compared to the outside support the Qing Court possessed, Beiyang's disadvantage was truly enormous—so terrible it could only be described as unbearable to look at. They had even had to seek out Italy's representative.
Now that they had suddenly received such favorable news, they felt thoroughly vindicated.
Those who had faintly regarded one another as competitors before had now put those thoughts aside and immersed themselves in delight.