Liu Yiwu's answer came the next day, over the Super-Thunder Wave station.

They had talked it over all night, and the line they settled on for him was this. He should establish a cooperative relationship with the Central Provisional Government. If that government proved to be the legitimate authority, working for the country and its people, the Eastern Theater Command would declare itself under that government's jurisdiction.

The China Rescue Team differed only on political ideals; if they too were working for the country and its people, he could make contact.

As for the Jingang Art's Buddha-Land on Earth and the Great Manchu State: the first was a religious power, and religion makes fanatics of people, and plainly no partner to work with. The Great Manchu State was the private creation of a man blinded by greed, and no better a partner.

There were many more details besides, and Shen Cong noted them down for now.

But he took the Eastern Theater Command's plan as no more than a reference. What to do and what not to do — he had a code of his own for that.

"First thing is to get the details straight on all four powers. The two Sea Patrol Brigade soldiers gave me the outline, but I can't take all of it on faith. Baoding is the China Rescue Team's ground. Maybe I should go there and find somebody to question, then set the two accounts side by side and see what's true."

From Dacheng County to Baoding was better than a hundred and twenty kilometers.

Not far, except that no expressway ran straight between them. A provincial road used to make the link, but nothing of the provincial road could be found now — primeval jungle had swallowed it and broken it up. One careless turn and a man would be lost in the forest, so Shen Cong had to go around. Expressways had been built well, and traces of them survived.

He went back to Cangzhou first, then took the Baoding–Cangzhou Expressway and set out for Baoding.

He had only gotten as far…