Floods can be divided into two types: short-term and long-term. The results caused by these two situations are completely different. After a short-term flood, sand and soil are left on the ground; after a long-term flood, clay is left on the ground. This results from the mixture in the floodwater settling in different patterns depending on the stagnation time of the water flow.

The Anhui flood of 1906 was the latter. After the torrential rain lasting for two months finally stopped, the originally solid ground had completely softened. The already soft ground was infiltrated by a large amount of moisture, plus a thick layer of mud covering it, turning it completely into a mud pond. The grass and crops on the ground had long been soaked to death, and even the remaining debris was covered under the thick mud. What remained on the ground were some aquatic plants. After the flood receded, a small part of these plants that once existed in the water did not flow away with the water but were left in the mire, dying in the scorching sun, or simply already dead. Meanwhile, other fungi and algae were reproducing vigorously. These tiny organisms were full of vitality, covering large patches of the mire with a thin layer of green. The air was full of moisture, mixed with the strong fishy smell emitted by these microorganisms. Under this greenness, fish corpses could be seen from time to time. They were also left on the swamp, and then as the water slowly disappeared, they died of hypoxia in the mud. Because even the scavengers were swept away after the flood, the fish corpses were relatively intact.

However, no one was interested in these things. Those fish corpses had long been soaked like mud, only maintaining their shapes because no external force changed them. A small team was trekking through the mire left by the flood in a light boat. When oars or poling poles occasionally touched these dead fish, a large chunk of their flesh was immediately taken down, revealing the white skeletons.

He Zudao and six comrades were traveling through this mire in a boat equipped with wooden runners. After the flood, the original road could not be found at all. Some places were still navigable by boat, but more places could only rely on people to drag the small boat modified into a mud sled. Every step was deep or shallow; one never knew what would be encountered in the next step. Sometimes one would simply sink into the swamp suddenly. A strong hemp rope was tied around every comrade's waist, and the other end of the rope was tied to the boat. If danger really occurred, relying on the rope could at least save their skins.

There were two ways to get to Yuezhangji. One was to follow the Huai River westward, then go north through the lakes to reach the destination. The other was to go all the way west from the county town, passing through the disaster area that had turned into a swamp to reach the destination. The Insurance Corps dispatched two teams. One team was led by Yuwen Badu and Hua Xiongmao, taking a boat by water. He Zudao's team took the land route. The reason for taking this arduous road was definitely not because Chen Ke had nothing better to do. The Secretariat Committee determined through several meetings that Yuezhangji should be the first target. Attacking the earthen fortified village of Yuezhangji would be the first formal military operation of the People's Party, so the marching route had to be determined in the early stage.

Quite a few bamboo poles were placed on the small boat, with red cloth strips tied to the tops of the poles. He Zudao and the others inserted such markers in relatively solid places, aiming to provide guidance for future land marches. It wasn't just those small plants submerged under the water surface that were soaked to death; even trees couldn't be spared after two months of soaking. After the water receded and the buoyancy support was lost, trees with shallow roots had already fallen in this mud pond. Those that barely managed to remain standing were also crooked. He Zudao pushed the big tree in front of him hard. This elm tree stood relatively straight, but He Zudao, a relatively thin young man, pushed it askew. The tree roots were exposed from the mud, and He Zudao quickly jumped away. He and the comrades watched helplessly as the tree crashed into the muddy water. The habitual idiom to describe big trees is "deep roots and lush leaves," but the exposed tree roots were not very big. The roots that should have been strong presented a white color like radishes. With a pinch of fingers, they snapped crisply. Even tree roots were soaked like this; how could such land be cultivated?

After arriving in Anhui, He Zudao was either in the county town or on a boat; he hadn't been to the countryside yet. So upon learning the news that the landlord of Yuezhangji threatened to lay hands on the Insurance Corps' grain, he was very angry and felt that the landlord named Zhang Youliang was really too arrogant. But seeing such land with his own eyes, he could at least understand Chen Ke's worry about landlords inciting the people.

Looking around, there was no sign of human habitation as far as the eye could see. All that could be seen was swamp. The group were all military backbones of the Second Company. Yuezhangji was only a few dozen *li* away from the county town. With everyone's marching ability, they should have arrived by now. As a result, after walking all morning, the county town could no longer be seen. And Yuezhangji, dozens of *li* away from the county town, was nowhere in sight. All that remained between heaven and earth was this seemingly endless swamp. It was as if this swamp had existed here eternally since the creation of the world.

With the sun scorching overhead and water vapor steaming underfoot, He Zudao felt parched instead. He took a bamboo tube from the boat modified into a mud sled, pulled out the wooden stopper, and gulped down a big mouthful. Don't look at the water everywhere; let alone drinking it, just smelling the taste, that fishy smell was very unbearable. So the "tap water" in the bamboo tube appeared so sweet and refreshing at this moment. Seeing He Zudao, who had rolled into a mud-caked figure, start drinking water, other comrades who were also like mud-caked figures gathered around to get water to drink.

Chen Ke had spoken about the "water pollution problem." If production was to be restored here, let alone how to deal with this mud pond, just the drinking water for personnel was a big problem. Digging wells was out of the question; water could only be transported from outside. If not for the water plant Chen Ke set up over in the county town, He Zudao couldn't imagine how to survive in this stretching mud pond. The People's Party had nearly a thousand Insurance Corps members under its command, plus thousands of Insurance Corps family members organized, this force could be described as "strength in numbers." But how many people could a county town have? The number of farmers in other places was greater. When tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of people came to look for grain, what use would these few thousand people be?

Just after a morning of trekking, He Zudao determined one thing: in this extraordinary period, forces like Yuezhangji that tried to take the lead in trouble must be eliminated.

"Political Commissar, with this way of walking, what if we can't arrive by tonight? Can this boat sleep a few of us?" A soldier put down the bamboo tube and asked.

"If we can't arrive during the day, we'll walk through the night. No matter what, we must reach Yuezhangji before dawn tomorrow." He Zudao had no intention of resting at all.

Marching in such a swamp consumed enormous physical strength. Hearing He Zudao say this, several comrades felt it was a bit too harsh. "Political Commissar, it's not that we don't do our best. This place is too hard to walk."

He Zudao could understand the comrades' thoughts. He put the bamboo tube back into the boat before saying: "If it weren't hard to walk, why let us walk it? Isn't it because of the belief that we can definitely achieve the goal? We are not walking for ourselves; thousands of people behind us are waiting for us to report good news. If we can't even endure this bit of hardship, can we face those fellow villagers behind us?"

Hearing He Zudao say this, everyone stopped making a sound. There were people from Yuezhangji in the small squad. They were ordinary people kept outside the fortified village by Zhang Youliang during the flood. If not for being brought back to the county town by the People's Party together with their families, I'm afraid their bones couldn't be found by now. But after all, the comrades had never walked such a road. To be honest, if not for the People's Party's rescue, many of them hadn't even been to the county town dozens of *li* away. Let alone following the Insurance Corps to transport grain hundreds of *li* away. For these warriors who were ordinary farmers a few months ago, this was something beyond imagination, something they hadn't even heard of.

The soldiers were very simple. Since the People's Party could save them, and there was food to eat after joining, and even enough rations for their families, these people were willing to risk their lives for the People's Party to survive. Since He Zudao, who had extremely high prestige in everyone's mind, led the team personally, everyone accepted it.

Seeing everyone was persuaded, He Zudao continued: "Then let's have a meeting first to discuss. Based on what we saw this morning, which places are easier to walk, so we can be faster in the afternoon and spend less effort exploring the path."

Compared with He Zudao and the others, Hua Xiongmao and Yuwen Badu taking the water route were much more relaxed. At this time, their boat had reached the destination. Near a "dock" at Yuezhangji. From a distance, a tall earthen fortified village could be seen towering in the distance. The earthen fortified village was built on a high slope, with a brick and stone structure. Northern Anhui was the old nest of Li Hongzhang's Huai Army. Most of these earthen fortified villages were built by retired Huai Army officers. These Huai Army officers were either from local landlord backgrounds or had established considerable military merits when following Li Hongzhang to suppress the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Nian Army, becoming landlords after returning home in glory. There were many bandits in Northern Anhui. Building earthen fortified villages could guard against bandits on one hand, and on the other hand, through building such earthen fortified villages, it also allowed these retired officers to master the power in the countryside. After all, these officers had followed Li Hongzhang to fight east and west, and their organizational ability was much stronger than rural local landlords. After mastering the power in the countryside, they supported connections and sent their children into the Beiyang Army, which became an outlet for the children of these places. Historically, Duan Qirui was called the "Anhui Clique" (*Wanxi*) not only because he was from Anhui, but because there were quite a few people from Northern Anhui in his troops.

Guard at the "dock" was very strict. After all, many "commanders" inside the earthen fortified village were retired soldiers. They still had some minimum organizational skills. Moreover, according to the People's Party's investigation, this Landlord Zhang Youliang didn't farm the land himself at all; his land was rented to others to cultivate. Quite a bit of information pointed out that Landlord Zhang Youliang seemed to be the pillar behind a group of bandits.

The People's Party flag was planted on the bow of the boat, very eye-catching. People on the dock saw it from far away. Hua Xiongmao had excellent eyesight; he saw someone running back into the earthen fortified village to report. And the others on the dock were already waiting in full battle array. It really meant facing a formidable enemy.

"What do you do?" The Insurance Corps' boat couldn't dock. Two small boats had already driven out, blocking in front of the Insurance Corps. The person on the bow shouted loudly: "Who are you?"

"We are from the county Insurance Corps, here to visit Old Master Zhang Youliang." Hua Xiongmao's voice was clear and bright, carrying very far.

The other party didn't expect Hua Xiongmao to be so direct. He was stunned for a moment before asking: "What business do you have visiting Old Master Zhang?"

"Many people from our Yuezhangji went to the county town to flee the disaster when the flood happened. Now the water has receded, and we thought that everyone has to eat and can't starve to death. But there isn't enough grain, so we want to discuss with Old Master Zhang to let everyone come back. Let everyone farm the land of Yuezhangji together, and don't collect rent. At least grow something to eat, so everyone can survive this disaster year first." When Hua Xiongmao shouted these words, he used full breath, his voice bright and far-reaching. Not only did the people on the two small boats opposite hear it clearly, but even those on the shore heard it clearly.

Everyone was stunned after hearing this, and then a burst of laughter rang out immediately. It was mixed with various mockeries.

"Don't pay rent? Everyone farms Yuezhangji's land together? Haha, hahahaha!"

"Farming land without paying rent? Are the Insurance Corps people stupid!"

"Hehe, what do you take Old Master Zhang for?"

These mocking sounds were issued by people holding weapons or even firelocks and fowling pieces. Presumably, these people should be the guards of this earthen fortified village, or simply the bandits rumored to be closely related to Landlord Zhang Youliang. Those without weapons who were just on the side mostly didn't laugh; instead, they looked at Hua Xiongmao dumbfounded.

Hua Xiongmao didn't care about these laughters at all. He looked at the person on the opposite boat who was looking at him like a monster and continued to shout: "At any rate, we traveled dozens of *li* by boat to rush here. Brother, trouble you to announce us."