The first moment Zhang Youliang saw Hua Xiongmao and Xu Dian, he understood that the visitors had ill intentions. His courtyard wasn't anything special originally, nor was it big. To give the few little thieves of the Insurance Corps a show of strength (*xiamawei*), twenty-some people were lined up from the main gate to the main hall, making the courtyard immediately appear overcrowded. Everyone in the line carried knives and guns. Looking at his subordinates lined up in two rows, Landlord Zhang felt he had somewhat regained the feeling of being an officer in the Huai Army back then. However, Zhang Youliang hadn't reached the rank of Battalion Commander and hadn't been able to command a troop independently. He had always stood during Huai Army military meetings. He never had a chance to sit in the center with subordinates lined up like this. So Landlord Zhang's mood was still quite good.

When Hua Xiongmao and Xu Dian came in, they didn't care much about the people lined up on both sides. Since they would definitely be searched before entering the door, the two of them didn't carry weapons at all. Twenty-some people caused no pressure at all for a Company Commander and a Political Commissar who managed a fully staffed company. The Insurance Corps now used a "four-four system," meaning one company had four platoons, one platoon had four squads, and one squad had twelve people. A fully staffed company had more than two hundred people in total. During the flood, there was absolutely no lack of labor. The members of the Insurance Corps were between sixteen and thirty-six years old, and in this era, they could be called strong and robust. So those twenty-some people didn't make the two feel any fear at all. Not only that, besides disaster relief and transportation, the Insurance Corps had three drills a day—morning, noon, and evening. In terms of team discipline, they were far superior to this rabble.

Seeing the two young men walk into the hall fearlessly, Zhang Youliang knew something was wrong. When collecting rent every year, Landlord Zhang only needed to bring a dozen people to scare the tenant farmers so much they didn't dare to breathe loudly. But in such a dense space with twenty-some people, the comers actually had no fear. Could this Insurance Corps really be a group of fierce bandits?

When the two announced their identities—one a Military Provincial Graduate, one a student returned from abroad—Zhang Youliang was not so frightened instead. In his view, these two people were relying on their status. Although their words might not be credible, their speech and deportment were obviously not bandits but scholars. Zhang Youliang still had this bit of judgment.

However, since it was on his own turf, Zhang Youliang wouldn't lower his own status. Among his children, there were those serving in the Beiyang Army now. Even if the other party had some power, Zhang Youliang wasn't too worried. Landlord Zhang didn't stand up; he just looked the two up and down. "What business do you two have in Yuezhangji?"

Hua Xiongmao said clearly: "We are ordered by Insurance Corps Battalion Commander Chen Ke to discuss a matter with Mr. Zhang. Although the water has receded now, don't count on this year's harvest. If we can't start rush-planting immediately, the common people definitely won't survive this year. Our Insurance Corps is organizing production self-salvation. Seeds and seedlings are almost all ready. Only this land has no settlement. We came to visit Mr. Zhang this time because we heard Mr. Zhang is a prominent figure in Yuezhangji. We want to ask Mr. Zhang to take the lead and gather the people of Yuezhangji to discuss a countermeasure."

Zhang Youliang sat in the center, and his eldest son and third son sat on both sides. After hearing this, Zhang Youliang didn't utter a sound, but these two Little Landlords Zhang immediately flew into a rage. When Hua Xiongmao spoke, he was in a standing-at-attention posture, his feet neither too wide nor too narrow, his military posture quite standard. Speaking out so frankly gave people a good impression. But the content was extremely excessive. As outsiders, the Insurance Corps had no dealings with Yuezhangji at all. Everyone knew that trouble would definitely happen after the flood. The Insurance Corps' request for meeting was actually to demand Yuezhangji obey the Insurance Corps' order to hold a meeting. It was truly "if this can be tolerated, what cannot be?"

"Fart!" Zhang Youliang's eldest son couldn't help cursing out loud.

According to the general situation, the status of the person sitting is higher than the person standing. Zhang Youliang and his sons sat on chairs in the main hall, while Hua Xiongmao stood. But the person standing had a height advantage. His sharp gaze looked down at Eldest Young Master Zhang from above. After all, he had been leading troops for more than half a year; when Hua Xiongmao's gaze swept over, Eldest Young Master Zhang felt like two sharp swords were shooting over. He couldn't help but lean his upper body back. As his momentum weakened, he actually couldn't say the words that followed.

Zhang Youliang refused to pick up this conversation; if he picked it up, he would definitely show weakness. Before he could speak, Hua Xiongmao continued, "It is already summer; even if we rush-plant, we won't harvest much grain. Our Battalion Commander Chen Ke means that he hopes all the land in Yuezhangji can be taken out for everyone to farm together, and the harvested grain will be distributed according to population. At any rate, let everyone survive the disaster year first. For the few months of replanting, our Insurance Corps can provide everyone's rations. But this land, we have to borrow it from everyone. I hope Mr. Zhang can have a compassionate heart to save the people. If you lend this land and save the people of Yuezhangji, this secret virtue will definitely benefit your descendants."

Zhang Youliang was a man who had fought wars and crawled out of piles of dead people. Plus he was sixty-eight years old this year; his blood was not so impulsive anymore. Even so, the first time he heard others relay Hua Xiongmao's words—his lackeys had already softened the words in the middle a lot when relaying—he was already angry enough for his hair to stand on end. Hearing Hua Xiongmao say it so frankly this time, that anger simply couldn't be described in words.

The attachment of Chinese farmers to land is incomparably deep because land is the lifeblood they rely on for survival. Farming, harvesting; without land, it meant no possibility of living. Cherishing land extremely was a necessity for them to survive. Perhaps this world had a wide sky and sea, but farmers had no ability to travel the world at all. For them, a radius of a few dozen *li* was the entire world of their lives. Their own land was the only foothold in this life.

For landlords, greed for land far exceeded that of farmers. Land was not only the most basic source of their livelihood but also the proof of their ability in this life. Everything they did was to grab land and increase land. Even in dreams, their thoughts had expanding their own land as the sole goal.

Of course, Landlord Zhang Youliang didn't analyze himself so seriously. The only thing he felt was a palpitation rising along his spine; that was anger from the marrow. He no longer considered that the two people in front might have "degrees/titles" or might have someone behind them. What Zhang Youliang saw at this moment were merely two enemies trying to take his life. The two youths in front with standard military posture and composed expressions were two evil spirits, evil spirits trying to seize everything of Zhang Youliang. The blood flowing in Zhang Youliang's aging blood vessels began to heat up, even boil. From these words, Zhang Youliang already knew one thing: the Insurance Corps would absolutely not let the matter drop with him. Hua Xiongmao's words were clear in logic and explicit in thought. If they were just demonstrating to him, they would absolutely not say this.

Zhang Youliang stared at Hua Xiongmao's eyes; this was to make the final judgment. What made his hair stand on end was that Hua Xiongmao's expression had none of the hypocrisy peculiar to those who exaggerate; Hua Xiongmao's demeanor was the seriousness peculiar to those who tell the truth. That was the focus only present when words and actions matched.

Since this flood, Zhang Youliang had always been worried that the victims would rise up and make trouble. So when the People's Party saved the people, he shut them out. He gathered all his subordinates in Yuezhangji just to suppress any unrest that might happen against him. Towards the newly emerged Insurance Corps, Zhang Youliang even adopted a tit-for-tat posture, threatening and reporting to officials. As a soldier, Zhang Youliang knew very well that in such a critical time, sitting there was waiting for death. Everything he did was to eliminate any object that might constitute a threat.

But it was truly "sitting at home, disaster comes from the sky." The Insurance Corps had no intention of letting him go at all; they had already pressed to his door. Under anger, Zhang Youliang became extremely sober instead. There was absolutely no possibility of compromise between him and the Insurance Corps. What needed to be done now was to keep these two people in his hands. Since these two both had "degrees/titles," they should be people of high status in the Insurance Corps. As long as he kept them in hand, even if the Insurance Corps attacked, forking these two out and putting a knife on their necks, the Insurance Corps people would at least have some hesitation for fear of hurting the hostages (*tou shu ji qi*). Zhang Youliang made a decision in an instant. As for the consequences of arresting these two people with "degrees/titles," Zhang Youliang didn't consider it at all. If there was no peace now, there would be no future at all. Thinking of this, he looked at Hua Xiongmao and Xu Dian again.

The subtle change in Zhang Youliang's expression didn't escape Hua Xiongmao's observation at all. The moment Zhang Youliang looked at Hua Xiongmao, their gazes collided in the air. The pupils of the old and the young both shrank slightly. Hua Xiongmao had seen through Zhang Youliang's thoughts in an instant.

Chai Qingguo never thought he would march in such a hot and humid swamp. Shandong had canals and was close to the sea, so Chai Qingguo had no resistance to water. But in this swamp in Anhui, when feet sank into the muddy water, the temperature difference felt was not as big as in Shandong. The mud was warm, absolutely without the icy feeling of the water bottom in Shandong. This made Chai Qingguo very reassured.

After the Military Commission decided to eliminate Zhang Youliang, the regular military forces of the Insurance Corps began to operate. The First and Second Companies had undergone relatively systematic military training, so this heavy responsibility naturally fell on them. But the art of war says "engage with the orthodox, win with the unorthodox." If two companies moved out with great fanfare, everyone was afraid of leaking the news. So finally, the decision was made for the Second and Third Companies to attack Yuezhangji. Among these two companies, the Second Company was naturally the main attack force.

The plan this time was actually very simple: courtesy first, soldiers later. Hua Xiongmao went ahead to make the final "diplomatic effort." Regardless of the result, the two companies would launch an attack that night to capture Landlord Zhang Youliang's fortified village. The marching route of the troops was not by water, but by land. Although water transport was convenient, according to the investigation in recent days, Zhang Youliang controlled the dock. Going by water had absolutely no way to avoid their scouts. The Insurance Corps didn't have heavy firepower like artillery. Storming the Zhang family fortified village defended by walls would certainly result in considerable casualties.

Although going by land was slow and marching would consume a lot of physical strength, the advantage lay in the fact that this large swamp area was basically a no-man's-land now. As long as scout teams were sent out first to control scattered personnel that might appear, the march of the main force would be very concealed. He Zudao scouted the path personally. Although he didn't like his Political Commissar much, Chai Qingguo had enough confidence in He Zudao's meticulousness and seriousness in doing things. Since He Zudao said the main force could pass through this swamp, then they could definitely pass. As Chai Qingguo thought, the markers set by He Zudao along the way guided everyone to pass through the swamp safely. Although the road was muddy, it wasn't un-marchable. There were no impassable problems either.

For the Second and Third Companies' operation this time, the Third Company's main work was to undertake the task of the logistics (*zizhong*) troops. Chai Qingguo had never fought a battle so "troublesome" before setting out. The importance the Military Commission attached to the Insurance Corps' first battle naturally went without saying. But Chen Ke didn't repeatedly emphasize the importance of this battle. He just asked everyone lightly, "Do you know the significance of this operation?"

The comrades naturally knew that if this operation failed, it would directly lead to the failure of the rush-planting work. Seeing the comrades understood this completely, Chen Ke began to formulate plans with the Military Commission comrades. This plan really meant being detailed down to the last triviality. Starting from when to begin marching, how much dry food and drinking water to carry, the plan was mostly filled with logistical functions. Chai Qingguo felt that the plan for the army's deployment was much more troublesome than taking care of a grandfather. Discussions on eating, drinking, shitting, pissing, and sleeping occupied the vast majority of the plan. Instead, for the combat plan, Chen Ke didn't interrupt much. He let the few comrades leading troops put forward their own views.

Chai Qingguo had fought battles. Although he didn't have much experience of winning battles, he could be considered experienced at any rate. He knew that facing the enemy's fortified defensive positions would definitely have a considerable impact on the morale of the troops. Chai Qingguo knew the influence of morale on combat deeply. If both sides fought on flat ground, if you charged hard, the soldiers would at least have that burst of spirit. Anyway, charging forward with everyone, if one died, one died. But facing a fortified village, with the enemy above shooting desperately, just hitting a few people would have a very big impact on the morale of the troops. Enemies who seemed integrated with solid city walls were more terrible.

Other comrades had no combat experience. Although they had undergone military training, training was one thing, and fighting was another. Among them, only Chai Qingguo could raise some relatively reliable questions.

At the end of the meeting, Chen Ke formulated three combat plans. The most ideal plan was to get as close to Yuezhangji as possible, and suddenly rush out in two columns at dusk. One column would suppress the enemy at the dock, and the other would seize the main gate and kill into Zhang Youliang's fortified village. The least ideal plan was to storm the fortified village. Anyway, the key point was the seizure of the main gate. Chen Ke provided a kind of explosive, which was truly powerful. The people who made this explosive were led by You Gou. After processing lard, they finally produced the final product. In the test, a bomb the size of an ordinary earthen jar blew the test site into a mess. And the bomb You Gou finally provided actually weighed more than twenty *jin*, as big as a small half of an earthen vat. Blowing open the gate of a fortified village should be no problem.

Taking out his pocket watch to have a look, it was already twelve o'clock noon. Chai Qingguo had excellent eyesight and saw a black dot on the horizon from afar. And the scout team led by He Zudao also sent back news that they were about to walk out of this swamp and arrive at Zhang Youliang's fortified village.

"Everyone stop and rest," Chai Qingguo shouted. The soldiers passed this news back one by one. Chai Qingguo not only didn't rush forward but went backward instead. This was the military regulation formulated by Chen Ke: when the troops rested, the military commander must check whether there were stragglers in the troops and supervise grassroots officers to arrange for soldiers to rest. Before this operation, Chen Ke emphasized this matter specially. Chai Qingguo must ensure the discipline of the troop march. Before attacking Yuezhangji, all members must arrive, and they must have more than an hour of rest time.

"Damn it, soldiers can rest, but I can't rest." Although he didn't say it with his mouth, Chai Qingguo was still very dissatisfied in his heart.