The Second Regiment of the Insurance Corps undertook the arrest work this time. As the Political Commissar, He Zudao certainly had to command this operation personally. He Zudao had been to the refugee camps many times. It had the same design as the Insurance Corps. A well-shaped (#) structure, straight roads, completely identical intervals. On the open space circled by small paths, completely identical straw sheds were built one by one. The only thing that could distinguish these straw sheds was the sign nailed to the pillar.

This was a camp of several thousand people after all. Open-air kitchens, bathhouses, and toilets built on the periphery were arranged quite reasonably. The entire camp was orderly. Although the Second Regiment dispatched ten companies, nearly two thousand people. Each camp could be assigned two companies, four hundred people. However, when these four hundred people split into multiple groups and entered the camp, it felt like entering a vast maze.

At the preparatory meeting for the Second Regiment's dispatch, Chai Qingguo thought dispatching five companies should be enough to handle it. But He Zudao thought ten companies must be dispatched. This meant the Second Regiment had to dispatch two and a half battalions; more than half of the troops had to be invested in this operation.

"Commissar He, there's no need to mobilize so many people, right?" Chai Qingguo was very puzzled; catching some petty thieves didn't need such trouble at all.

"The problem is, we have to catch more than seven hundred people. When we act, we also have to prevent them from fleeing in all directions. Dispatching ten companies is not too many."

"Catch more than seven hundred people?" Chai Qingguo was also scared by this number, "Didn't we already catch more than two hundred people a few days ago?"

"These seven hundred people have some connections with those people; there must be some accompanying the bound ones (*pei bang*), right?" He Zudao laughed. But his smile was not so natural.

Before this operation, He Zudao specially asked Chen Ke for instructions on this matter. Chen Ke's arrangement was not simply to solve some bandits. If it were just so, there was absolutely no need to use the Second Regiment. Each camp had its own guard team inside. Another reason Chen Ke wanted to do this now was for the discipline of the harvest season.

Refugees had been hungry for so long. When the harvest period arrived, everyone would definitely hope to store more grain for themselves. As the saying goes, with grain in hand, one doesn't panic in heart. This was originally understandable. But to put it bluntly, the cooperative relationship between the common people and the Insurance Corps was far from fish-and-water affection between the army and the people. If the common people had grain to feed themselves, the cooperative relationship with the Insurance Corps now would immediately have problems.

Although Chen Ke firmly believed in the stance of "People's Revolution," the current Chen Ke also had the iron heart of a politician. To achieve the goal, before the ultimate big killer "land distribution" was completed, Chen Ke didn't think the common people should be allowed to obtain the ability to act freely at all.

Although Chen Ke had this plan, he didn't say it straight at the meeting. This was also considered a test for the comrades, to see who exactly could propose this suggestion. More importantly, with what attitude the comrades would propose this suggestion.

He Zudao was trustworthy. Chen Ke revealed his thoughts to He Zudao comprehensively.

"Secretary Chen, if so, which people exactly should I strike this time?" He Zudao didn't discuss Chen Ke's right or wrong at all; he went straight to the theme of his work.

"Who is most likely to steal things?" Chen Ke asked.

"This..." He Zudao really hadn't considered it. After pondering for a while, he answered: "Those who have no way out?"

"Haha, Zudao, I say you have been in Shanghai for so long. How many of those hooligans (*bie san*) have no way out? If really having no way out, those people can go sell their lives. The vast majority of petty thieves are lazy people. Gluttonous and lazy, unwilling to work. And have no guts to be robbers, so they have to do petty thefts."

Hearing Chen Ke's explanation, He Zudao pondered for a while and really had a feeling of suddenly seeing the light. "Then Secretary Chen means?"

Chen Ke handed a thick list to He Zudao, "Lu Huitian did this job well. He gradually separated those gluttonous and lazy ones. When arresting, you catch those few teams with the worst performance and most love for slacking off for me."

Holding this list in his hand felt heavy. He Zudao asked puzzledly: "Those people seem to have done nothing now, right?"

"Sometimes we have to take precautions before they happen. We can't control whether they are innocent now; we have to ensure no trouble happens at the critical moment." Chen Ke's voice was understated. But He Zudao couldn't quite accept it. "Secretary Chen, this time is to catch criminals. If these people haven't committed crimes, is it unnecessary for us to be so ruthless?"

"They might do it, might not do it, but we can't take this risk. Moreover, I'll say this upfront: this is just the beginning of the cleaning. These people are just forced labor. Since they are unwilling to work diligently, we help them correct these lazy habits. Later on, we still have to clean up quite a few people. At that time, we will absolutely not be so polite." Chen Ke's voice was faint, but He Zudao heard a strong killing intent from Chen Ke's voice.

Chai Qingguo had learned a lot of cultural knowledge these days. At least he could understand the vernacular official documents of the Insurance Corps. He flipped through the thick list, then looked up at He Zudao. Chai Qingguo keenly discovered He Zudao's abnormality.

"Commissar He, what's wrong? Do these people have any big problems?" Chai Qingguo asked.

"No big problems. I just feel that catching so many people is not easy to explain to the common people." He Zudao stalled Chai Qingguo's words very well. After all, having worked for so long, He Zudao was no longer that frail and simple youth. What's more, there was no problem with these words. Chai Qingguo completely didn't see that what He Zudao thought was completely unrelated to this.

"You are the Political Commissar; naturally, you have to handle this kind of thing. I won't worry about it." Chai Qingguo laughed.

He Zudao smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Then I have to have a good talk with Secretary Lu. He is responsible for the camp matters and has to explain to the common people. This is not my turn to come forward."

"Even you, Commissar He, have times when you push away work. Rare, rare." Chai Qingguo simply laughed loudly.

He Zudao made no explanation. After discussing the scale of troops to dispatch, he really went to find Lu Huitian to discuss the problem of how to explain to the masses.

Lu Huitian was one of the few people in the Insurance Corps who wore glasses, but he wasn't seen wearing them today. Seeing He Zudao bring a document, Lu Huitian fished out his glasses. The broken temple of the glasses was tied with a wooden stick, looking shabby enough.

"Secretary Lu, this..." He Zudao watched Lu Huitian adjusting the position of the glasses strenuously and couldn't help saying a sentence.

"Commissar He, it's nothing. At least the lenses are saved, right?" Lu Huitian laughed, "I heard Secretary You is engaging in glass production. Can produce lenses, naturally can produce spectacle frames, right? There will be white flour steamed buns, there will be big chunks of pork, there will be everything." After Lu Huitian finished speaking, he laughed loudly *haha*.

These were words Chen Ke said at the meeting to boost everyone's morale, which became popular language in the Insurance Corps for a while.

Joking aside, Lu Huitian was not sloppy at all facing work. He flipped through the list of these hundreds of people to be arrested. Lu Huitian then handed the roster back to He Zudao, "Commissar He, it's these people. Usually always slacking off. Heard Secretary Chen say these people will undergo labor reform under your supervision. After you catch these people, train them well. These people are gluttonous and lazy usually, affecting morale very much. Cleaning them up is a good thing."

"Secretary Lu, did these people do any petty theft usually?"

Taking off the broken-leg glasses, Lu Huitian rubbed the bridge of his nose, "No petty theft temporarily. You also know things in the camp are kept uniformly. Grain is distributed uniformly; there is basically nothing to steal. Moreover, there are many patrols in the camp, just to guard against someone doing bad things."

He Zudao was not very close to Lu Huitian, but being able to manage a camp of tens of thousands of people well, even if the system designed by Chen Ke was good, it wouldn't work without some real stuff. Although Lu Huitian was not a pioneering talent, he had quite some ability to maintain achievements.

"Catching so many people at once, how to explain to the common people?" He Zudao asked.

"Do you think the common people find these people pleasing to the eye?" Lu Huitian asked back.

"This..." He Zudao really didn't understand the feelings of the common people very well.

"Zudao, to be honest, I really admire the common people now. I won't talk about your work; tiring to death. The common people are also tired. But if you really explain it clearly to the common people, they are also very reasonable. Everyone is in the same boat now. The common people also don't hope there are lazy people on this boat. Seeing crops growing out, the common people are relieved. For these people, you catch them boldly; it's okay."

"What to say to the families of these people? After all, we are tying their family members away." What He Zudao worried about most was this matter.

Lu Huitian shook his head helplessly, "Secretary Chen asked me to prepare a public trial assembly to sentence those who committed crimes publicly. Those lazy ones actually are not unrelated to those stealing from the grain depot. Just catch them to work for a while; I can probably suppress it here. Just don't beat them to death or disable them."

"This..." He Zudao still felt it was not quite appropriate. Although he hadn't heard the term "unjust, false, and erroneous cases," He Zudao always felt something was not quite right about using violence like this.

"The organization has arranged it; let's go. If we don't beat down the arrogance of these criminals, the people's hearts won't be stable either. We can't retreat unconditionally, making people feel the Insurance Corps is a bit strict but nothing more. If people feel the Insurance Corps can be bullied, that won't do. Look, catching those participating in theft these days, the common people didn't say anything, right?" Lu Huitian comforted.

Since Lu Huitian also said so, He Zudao could only agree with this idea. Even so, when He Zudao led the team to arrest personally, he still felt faintly uncomfortable in his heart. Although he had been to ordinary refugee camps many times, He Zudao was not unfamiliar with this place. But thinking that in case the common people couldn't accept the Insurance Corps' statement and made trouble together... This huge camp suddenly gave He Zudao a feeling of strangeness. Four hundred people counted for nothing in this camp of thousands, like scattering a handful of rice in a water vat. Because most common people went to work, the camp was empty, which gave He Zudao a sudden feeling of uneasiness.

There were more than one hundred and twenty people to be arrested in the No. 1 Male Camp. They simply didn't know a disaster was imminent. Since Lu Huitian began to divide teams, providing food according to labor volume, teams working more would have increased food. Since these people refused to work well, the improvement in food was very limited. The food originally provided by the Insurance Corps was to ensure no one starved to death; being full was out of the question. With insufficient food for months, plus these guys were not the kind who liked labor, they naturally didn't have the vitality unique to laborers. They all looked listless.

Lu Huitian asked them to line up on the playground in the center of the camp. When they found hundreds of soldiers surrounding them from all directions, these people panicked. But although the Insurance Corps soldiers had heavy work, their diet was passable, half full. Moreover, discipline and organization far exceeded these lazy people. Plus the Insurance Corps' military training was in place. He Zudao announced in public that these people needed to be taken away to assist in the investigation because they participated in the theft of the grain depot.

This gang didn't know what "assist in the investigation" meant exactly. But the action of Second Regiment soldiers rushing up to tie people made them understand what happened. These people panicked completely. But no matter how they begged, the Second Regiment soldiers didn't loosen up at all.

He Zudao did the mobilization work personally before departure. Watching the fierce performance of the soldiers one by one, he couldn't help recalling the scene during mobilization.

"Comrades, today we are going to catch people. Catch bad people. What did they do? They went to the Insurance Corps grain depot to steal things. Who is the grain stored in the grain depot for?"

"For the common people to eat!" The soldiers answered one after another. He Zudao had been talking and exchanging hearts with everyone at soldiers' meetings of various units these days. This concept was instilled repeatedly.

"Whose team is our Insurance Corps?" He Zudao continued to ask loudly.

"We are the common people's team!" This was the standard answer.

"Since we are the common people's team, then someone steals the life-saving grain of the common people; can we let them go?" He Zudao continued to ask.

"No!"

"Right, we can't let them go! They not only stole things but also ruined a lot of grain. In this disaster year, how many human lives could the grain they ruined save? They are not stealing things; they are harming people; this is harming human lives!" He Zudao shouted in one breath, then scanned the soldiers. He saw the soldiers were emotional one by one; the pre-war mobilization had an effect.

"Now, we are going to set off to catch them. Catching these people is saving the common people. Does everyone think you can do it well?"

"Can do it well!" The soldiers shouted in unison.

"Very good, set off now!" He Zudao issued the order.

These soldiers who had undergone pre-war mobilization showed no mercy facing "criminals." Two holding down one. Regardless of whether these arrested people begged, cried, or pleaded for mercy. Holding down and tying up. Also regardless of whether the one tied was someone they knew.

"Military morale can be used (*Jun Xin Ke Yong*)." He Zudao could only evaluate like this.

When Zhang Xiuhua hurried to the camp, she just met He Zudao leading the troops escorting those people out of the camp. Seeing a woman wearing an Insurance Corps military uniform coming to the camp gate, the soldiers looked over with curious eyes one after another. Being looked at by so many people, Zhang Xiuhua's face turned red immediately. She stepped back a few steps, wanting to detour to another gate. Just about to turn around, she heard a scream, "Sister! Sister! Save me! Save me!"

Turning her head to look, it was actually Zhang Xiuhua's younger brother, Zhang Fourth Brother. Seeing his sister, this child immediately began to call for help with snot and tears. Zhang Xiuhua walked up hurriedly, wanting to hold her brother. But she was blocked by the soldiers of the Second Regiment.

"This... this comrade, what do you want to do?" The speaker was a squad leader. His curious eyes carried vigilance.

"That is my brother; why do you want to arrest him?"

"He stole together with people. We have to take them back."

Before Zhang Xiuhua could speak, Zhang Fourth Brother shouted, "Sister, I didn't go, I didn't go. The day they called me, half of my food was snatched away, and I was starving to death. I didn't want to move at all, so I didn't go. I really didn't steal things."

This defense in desperation became a "confession." Zhang Xiuhua cursed her brother in her heart for being useless.

With Zhang Fourth Brother making such a fuss, the team immediately began to be somewhat chaotic. A moment later, both He Zudao and Lu Huitian hurried over to see what was happening.

Seeing a female soldier appearing beside the team, and there seemed to be her relative among the arrested people, the two thought news leaked. Lu Huitian hurried to stand out. His nearsighted eyes squinted to identify carefully before saying: "Isn't this Comrade Zhang? Do you have any business?"

"Secretary Lu, this is the document for you." Zhang Xiuhua didn't forget her work.

"Oh, then let's go inside to talk." Lu Huitian didn't want everyone to block the gate.

"Secretary Lu, can you release my brother first?" Zhang Xiuhua said hurriedly.

"This won't do," Lu Huitian answered. He originally thought Zhang Xiuhua would continue to beg, but didn't expect that besides a disappointed expression, Zhang Xiuhua actually didn't continue to pester. After handing over the document, Zhang Xiuhua stood up to bid farewell with anxiety. This surprised Lu Huitian quite a bit.

Zhang Xiuhua didn't return to the female camp, nor did she chase the soldiers who took her brother away. In these days, she understood one thing: the Insurance Corps had huge rules. As an ordinary soldier, she couldn't stop anything at all. Only high-ranking cadres could make the Insurance Corps release people. Even middle-ranking cadres were probably powerless. Zhang Xiuhua originally wanted to visit You Gou. Now she walked fast on the road to the county town even more. The only person she could beg was You Gou.

She didn't know what her brother participated in exactly, but from her brother's words, Zhang Xiuhua knew things were bad. She walked hurriedly while thinking over and over about what was going on. But what made Zhang Xiuhua herself feel incredible was that for the Insurance Corps taking away her brother, Zhang Xiuhua actually didn't have a trace of resentment.

Arriving at the test site, Zhang Xiuhua saw You Gou's familiar figure from afar. Short hair, free and easy manner. Among a group of men with queues, she was really very eye-catching. But for some reason, Zhang Xiuhua dared not go over to ask You Gou for help just like this. She could only stand there from afar, watching You Gou working.