Chai Qingguo poured out a lot of bitterness and also gave Chen Ke quite a few new ideas. After Chai Qingguo left, Chen Ke was thinking about countermeasures when he heard someone calling him. Turning his head to look, he saw Hu Xingzhi walking over quite freely and easily. Looking at the conference room, it was obviously a temporary recess to let everyone rest a while. The landlords either sat in their seats in the room, went to the toilet, or walked out in twos and threes to gather together and talk in low voices.

Chen Ke smiled and said: "I was thinking about some matters of our Insurance Corps. Mr. Hu, are you used to staying in this military camp?"

The Level One alert at the gate was no joke; no one was allowed to enter or exit without a pass, aiming to ensure safety. If a camp raid happened, the Insurance Corps would really be finished. Moreover, by controlling the heads of landlord families, the landlord families were leaderless and dared not do anything outrageous.

"Guests follow the host's convenience; I'll stay however arranged. Moreover, I didn't expect the Insurance Corps barracks to be so quiet and tidy. When this meeting is over, I even want to stay a few more days," Hu Xingzhi also smiled and said.

Chen Ke naturally wouldn't care about such polite remarks; he just smiled and didn't pick up the conversation.

Seeing Chen Ke didn't respond, Hu Xingzhi smiled slightly and continued: "Mr. Chen seems not to believe it. I am a few years older and have seen many people. I have only seen Mr. Chen Ke as the one who can manage tens of thousands of people in an orderly manner. If one didn't know the situation, just looking at the appearance in the county, this would be a peaceful year. How could one know that a flood just passed? So I really want to make friends with Mr. Chen properly."

If this kind of gesture of goodwill was in the past, Chen Ke might really have believed it, but now it couldn't fool Chen Ke. He also smiled: "After the flood, everyone does things involuntarily. No matter who we fight against, we can't beat God (*Lao Tian Ye*). In order to survive, we have no choice either."

Hu Xingzhi didn't care about the toughness implied in Chen Ke's words at all. He said very seriously: "Dying during the flood is just dying; actually, it's rather quick. The most uncomfortable thing is after the flood. The harvest of this year is gone. Trying to live until next year is extremely difficult. Mr. Chen leads the Insurance Corps and dares to lead the common people to make a living; I admire such courage very much. I really want to lend a hand."

This was still polite talk. The landlords had reached a consensus on the Insurance Corps using the land temporarily; they accepted it. But they were very stubborn about how long the "borrowing" would last. Shang Yuan demanded to borrow for two years, and the landlords naturally were unwilling. They demanded the land back after rush-planting and rush-harvesting were finished. And the People's Party had absolutely no intention of returning the land. Both sides were entangled endlessly on this issue. Chen Ke felt Hu Xingzhi came to strike up a conversation to lobby him privately.

Hu Xingzhi knew Chen Ke's thoughts. He laughed: "Being able to pull up such a big scene, Mr. Chen naturally won't be thinking of seizing our land. Leaving aside the flood matter, with Mr. Chen's capability, even in a peaceful year, there would be no problem for us landlords to pay monthly tribute to the Insurance Corps. We can't beat you. I'm just curious; Mr. Chen spent such great effort and brought so many people to do such a big thing. There are already signs of chaos in this world. If saying Mr. Chen wants to carve out a territory and become a king, it doesn't look like it to me. I just want to know what exactly Mr. Chen is for?"

Hu Xingzhi's words made Chen Ke feel that this landlord had some ideas. Other landlords were just trying to keep their own land, but this Hu Xingzhi could ask this question. Now Chen Ke certainly couldn't tell Hu Xingzhi, "I want to rebel." He laughed: "Mr. Hu, protecting the territory and comforting the people (*Bao Jing An Min*). A person has to do something accumulating virtue in this life, right? Coming to our Fengtai County and encountering this matter, I have to do it too."

Seeing Chen Ke still had no intention of telling him the truth, Hu Xingzhi pursed his lips and made up his mind, "Mr. Chen, you talk about borrowing land. In my opinion, this borrowing land is like Liu Bei borrowing Jingzhou. If I lend it out, I know it won't be so easy to get back. The meat in the mouth, who would be willing to spit it out unless a knife is on the neck? But I see Mr. Chen's magnanimity is not that of a greedy person. The reputation of the Insurance Corps in our Fengtai County is not bad. Spending such trouble to grab land, I actually don't believe it. Moreover, the hundreds of thousands of *mu* of land in Fengtai County are not much. If the Insurance Corps swallows it in one gulp, it can't digest it either. What do you say, Mr. Chen?"

Chen Ke laughed *hei hei* after hearing this, but didn't answer.

Seeing Chen Ke didn't mean to deny, Hu Xingzhi continued, "If the Insurance Corps wants to forcibly seize my family's land, unless my whole family dies, I will definitely fight Mr. Chen to the end. But if Mr. Chen can convince me, taking out my family's thousand-odd *mu* of land is just taking it out. Being so capable at a young age, Mr. Chen doesn't need to have any worries. Whether war or peace, we just need to speak clearly directly. If what Mr. Chen says is reasonable, we might as well cooperate sincerely. What's the point of always being double-faced like this?"

Having said this much, Hu Xingzhi's intention to defect was already very obvious. With Chen Ke's experience, this Landlord Hu was either insidious and cunning, or really able to pick up and put down. Although he couldn't be sure which side this Landlord Hu would stand on in the end. But Chen Ke knew Hu Xingzhi was not a character easy to deal with. Zhang Youliang's whole family and people attached to him were just under supervision now. In order to reassure the participating landlords, Chen Ke had already stated this matter clearly. Could it be that Hu Xingzhi knew Chen Ke was unwilling to kill easily, so he wanted to clarify this?

However, Hu Xingzhi asked the question very well. He saw that Chen Ke was struggling now and needed allies. So he threw out an argument Chen Ke couldn't refuse. Even if he refused now, this matter would have to be brought up in the future. And at that time, there would be no possibility of mutual trust between the two sides. Since Hu Xingzhi expressed friendliness first, Chen Ke really couldn't slap this hand aside. After thinking over and over again, Chen Ke had to state the future plan as Hu Xingzhi expected.

Anyway, there was already the precedent of Zhang Youliang, so Chen Ke simply didn't even hint at threats.

"The Insurance Corps won't leave the county. So we have to organize the land in the county. And since we organize it, our county is located in the southwest corner of the Huainan Plain, with mountains, water, and land. As long as there is overall planning, it will inevitably be wealthy. Farming in bits and pieces like now, everyone will definitely still be poor..."

Hu Xingzhi listened very seriously, nodding from time to time. After Chen Ke finished speaking. Hu Xingzhi didn't get excited; he asked: "Mr. Chen, 'land to the tiller' has been said for thousands of years, but I haven't seen how long it can be executed. If it's according to what Mr. Chen said, ten-odd years might be fine. But after ten-odd years, the population will increase sharply, but this bit of land in Fengtai County won't increase. What can be done then? Still no land to farm."

Hu Xingzhi spoke reasonably. Chen Ke had no intention of refuting either. He laughed: "Don't talk about the future; even now, how many idle people are there in the county? Still very many. If just distributing land, it won't solve the fundamental problem. In our Insurance Corps, there are plenty of students who studied abroad and university students in China. If land distribution is successful and the common people can be at ease, and our Insurance Corps has credit, we will open factories and mines here. Of course, we also have to train troops; otherwise, there will be many people coveting such a piece of fat meat. These factories, mines, and the Insurance Corps, how many people can do things? Children can also go to school for free. After learning things, how many serious things can they do?"

"Mn." Hu Xingzhi lowered his head to think for a moment, then continued to ask: "I won't talk about landlords' land being taken away; this is already a big matter. If it's really as Mr. Chen said, at that time, the Insurance Corps will definitely be the master in this county. Mr. Chen said there are returned students and university students in the Insurance Corps, and the number is large. Those are talents; governing such a small county town is absolutely no problem. I just want to ask one thing: if Mr. Chen's wish comes true, where does Mr. Chen want to place us at that time? People like us have only this bit of land to maintain our livelihood for generations. First, we haven't read books; second, our numbers are small. Mr. Chen has plenty of talents under him, and the common people will also follow Mr. Chen. Even if we temporarily muddle along with the title of People's Representative, it's just to keep up appearances. It would be fortunate if we don't die in the future. Even if Mr. Chen acts righteously and gives us the land money. When we arrive underground, we can't face our ancestors."

Hu Xingzhi's words were clear and awe-inspiringly righteous. Chen Ke didn't feel there was any problem with these words at all. A revolutionary must first be loyal to his country, while landlords first be loyal to their families. In this sense, Chen Ke felt Hu Xingzhi could also be considered a confidant (*Zhi Ji*). Neither of these two loyalties was wrong.

Chen Ke detested the "Elites" (*JY*) of the 21st century very much, that is, the "Fifty Cent Party" (Wu Mao) [Note: Wait, usually "JY" refers to "Jing Ying" (Elites) or "Public Intellectuals" who are often criticized as pro-West/anti-China in this context, often called "US cents" or "Gong Zhi". The text says "Wu Mei Fen" (Five US Cents). So it refers to those who are pro-American/anti-system for money/benefits]. If these people could speak their true feelings, "I want to sell votes for money, I want to reap without sowing, I want free welfare," Chen Ke's disgust might not be so strong. But those people were clearly loyal only to themselves; Chen Ke felt they probably didn't even have much loyalty to their own families. But these people just liked to talk big about "out of love for China" while demanding a pile of "XX values." This double-faced style made Chen Ke detest them to the extreme. This group of 21st-century people, their level and breadth of mind were far inferior to Landlord Hu Xingzhi in front of him, and far inferior to those landlords in the conference room.

So Chen Ke still wanted to use reason to convince Hu Xingzhi. In this era, meeting someone who could "listen to reason," even if the standpoint was completely opposite, Chen Ke didn't feel annoyed at all. He even liked it a bit. A "confidant" doesn't necessarily have to be a friend, just like Baldy Chiang was in a sense a "confidant" of Grandpa Mao and others. Baldy knew very well that the Party's socialist policy was absolutely incompatible with Baldy's own policy. So starting from 1927, Baldy deliberately planned to eliminate the Party. And Baldy and his set of policies were indeed smashed by the Party.

"I remember Mr. Hu's family has scholars," Chen Ke laughed.

"My unworthy son only passed the exam for *Xiucai* (Cultivated Talent) and is now seeking a job in the provincial capital Anqing."

"Since he is serving in the provincial capital, he naturally knows a lot of news. I returned from studying overseas; I studied in both Europe and the United States. I think Mr. Hu must know about the Southeast Mutual Protection Movement."

"Heard a little about it."

"Then Mr. Hu should have heard that foreigners fought into Beijing and signed a treaty. China has to compensate foreigners 450 million taels of silver. That's just the principal; as for interest, added up it must be several hundred million taels. The Imperial Court itself eats from the people and drinks from the people. Will they produce a single copper coin themselves? Southeast Mutual Protection was just not wanting to get involved in this muddy water. But foreigners got 450 million taels of silver from China this time; do they want to get it next time? Just like our Insurance Corps, if we set a monthly tribute for you gentlemen, when do you say your payment will end? We can only increase the money, not decrease it. Do you say this reasoning is correct?"

Hu Xingzhi looked at Chen Ke with a strange look, as if knowing Chen Ke for the first time, and also like some doubt in his heart was finally resolved.

Chen Ke didn't care that much. He smiled and said: "If there were no foreigners outside, the world wouldn't be in chaos. Mr. Hu sits on these lands and acts as a gentry tyrannizing the area; this is an inevitable thing. People like us can go overseas to study and go to university. Our family life was originally moist (comfortable). If the world were peaceful, we couldn't have run to this Fengtai County to make these troubles. But just now Mr. Hu said the signs of chaos in the world are already established. I am a returned student. There are plenty of returned students in the Insurance Corps, and plenty of university students studying in Shanghai and Beijing. We have seen what foreigners did, and we know what foreigners want to do. We also know how useless the Imperial Court is. Foreigners will definitely fight their way in, and the Imperial Court definitely can't resist. 'The duck knows first when the river water warms in spring.' We are those ducks in the water. We know."

Listening to these words, Hu Xingzhi's face, which was originally quite good-looking, had turned somewhat green. While Chen Ke talked with fervor and assurance, smiling all over his face, as if telling some happy joke. The two formed a sharp contrast. Many people saw it. The Insurance Corps comrades naturally wouldn't come over to disturb, and some landlords who wanted to come over to see what was happening were all driven back to the conference room. For a time, the conversation between the two became the focus of everyone's attention. Everyone's face had more or less curiosity or nervous expressions. Although the break time was over, Shang Yuan was not in a hurry to hold the meeting. Hu Xingzhi had faintly become the core figure of the landlords in these two days. If Chen Ke could convince Hu Xingzhi, then other landlords would also succumb.

Forcibly suppressing the thought of going over to listen, Shang Yuan sat in the seat of honor, his eyes never leaving Chen Ke and Hu Xingzhi in the distance. He saw Chen Ke standing straight. Although he occasionally waved his arm and had some other small movements, he appeared so unrestrained and natural, looking like a different person from that young man who always looked like he had heavy worries on his mind before. While Hu Xingzhi, although holding his hands behind his back, his waist unconsciously hunched a bit, as if suppressed by Chen Ke's words.

"Wenqing, work hard," Shang Yuan said silently in his heart.

"Then Mr. Chen is determined to rebel?" Hu Xingzhi finally opened his mouth to ask.

"Rebel? Whose rebellion?" Chen Ke asked back.

"Naturally rebelling against the Imperial Court." Hu Xingzhi said this sentence with some difficulty in breathing.

"Mr. Hu, I see your conversation is elegant and hits the point. You must be knowledgeable. Have you heard of anyone who succeeded by rebelling for the sake of rebelling? Which of those famous roving bandits didn't die without a burial place? Confucius said, 'The superior man stands in awe of the ordinances of Heaven.' I am also a believer in Confucianism. If it is in the mandate of Heaven, I will not turn back. If it is not in the mandate of Heaven, I won't even look at it. I don't have this plan to rebel, but I encountered the matter in Fengtai County, so I have to manage it to the end. I can tell you clearly, we don't want your land, but these lands must be taken out for us to use now. We will also guarantee that your land deeds won't be confiscated. As long as Magistrate Shang Yuan is here for one day, we won't want your land. But you definitely won't win if you go to file a complaint. I'll say this upfront: if the world is going to be in chaos, it will be in these three or four years. After Shang Yuan finishes this term, if the world is not full of beacons of war, then my own family also has a thousand *mu* of grain fields; I will go back to my own home to farm."

These words were very generous at others' expense. Hu Xingzhi looked at Chen Ke with disgust. He thought in his heart: *Damn you, why don't you do this in your home? You insist on running to our Fengtai to do it. Doesn't this make it clear you are afraid of implicating your family? We are not related to you, so you naturally aren't afraid.*

Chen Ke knew Hu Xingzhi's thoughts. He laughed: "You don't suffer a loss either. How many people do you have to hire and how much money do you have to spend to build water conservancy in Fengtai County? Our Insurance Corps undertook it all, and didn't ask you for money. Shang Yuan can't be the magistrate here forever either. His family has high officials in the Imperial Court. Since Mr. Hu's son is serving in Anqing, just go ask and you'll know. When Shang Yuan is the magistrate in Fengtai County, we can be unscrupulous. If he is not in Fengtai County, we also have to pack up and get out, right? If the world is not in chaos, the Imperial Court wanting to deal with our Insurance Corps is just a lifting of a hand. If the world is in chaos, Mr. Hu, do you say the Imperial Court still has the strength to deal with us?"

Hu Xingzhi had never seen someone like Chen Ke. He had seen bandits and roving bandits, he had seen those speaking bureaucratic jargon, but he really hadn't seen someone like this who could mix the two together. When Chen Ke used threats and inducements, Hu Xingzhi felt it was really irresistible. He originally thought Chen Ke was not easy to deal with. Unexpectedly, when Chen Ke cast aside those past appearances and revealed his true colors, he was so fearsome. But Chen Ke was still a reasonable person in Hu Xingzhi's heart. He emboldened himself and asked: "What Mr. Chen said is also true. I still want to ask the previous matter: what exactly is Mr. Chen after?"

Chen Ke restrained his smile and answered seriously: "Mr. Hu, I really respect you because you are loyal to your family. And my comrades and I are loyal to China. China is not the Imperial Court's China, but the common people's China. The Imperial Court can't save the common people now; we will save them. The Imperial Court can't save China; we will save it. We are not wanting to rebel; we want to save people."

Looking at Chen Ke's serious and earnest expression, Hu Xingzhi couldn't figure it out. was Chen Ke telling the truth or lying? He also didn't understand whether Chen Ke was a saint or a madman.