Pu Guanshui learned military knowledge in Germany. The tradition of the German army, to put it nicely, is rigor and discipline; to put it badly, it is rigid and dogmatic style. Since Pu Guanshui entered the military academy, he was indoctrinated day after day. Perhaps because of this education, Pu Guanshui was an unpopular and misunderstood existence in the Beiyang New Army. Acting together with the Insurance Corps this time, Pu Guanshui didn't think in his heart like others thought, that he should be the rightful leader in this small troop. On the contrary, since he accepted Chen Ke's order, Pu Guanshui believed he was completely in the position of a responsible person in this operation. Although as the Deputy Commander of the Anhui New Army, he was considered a high-ranking official in Anhui. But in this operation of picking up and dropping off New Army officers and soldiers, Pu Guanshui believed his status was even below the commander of the Insurance Corps. What Pu Guanshui had to do was merely manage the troops affiliated with the New Army well, not take over all command power as the number one boss.

If others could know Pu Guanshui's true thoughts, whether the Insurance Corps or the New Army officers and soldiers, they would probably be shocked. But Pu Guanshui didn't think his attitude might be called "noble character"; he never thought about publicizing himself. Completely complying with his own character and choosing his stance according to the current actual situation—Pu Guanshui was such a person.

How Pu Guanshui thought and acted was his own business. Others had no obligation to understand or support Pu Guanshui unconditionally. On the entire fleet, everyone respected Pu Guanshui very much. The leader of this fleet was Zhang Yu, Detachment Commander of the Insurance Corps Waterway Detachment. His military rank level was equivalent to Deputy Regiment Commander, and he was also considered one of the top seven senior officers in the army. Hearing the gunshot, Zhang Yu, who was studying the route and schedule of this operation, rushed out of the cabin immediately to observe the enemy situation.

There shouldn't be any suspicious existence nearby; if there was, the scout should have reported long ago. Actually, when Zhang Yu looked around, the scout on the mast was also observing hard. Then, the gunshot rang out again, still a solitary sound.

"Captain Zhang, the one firing should be behind that earth slope." The scout determined the direction and shouted to Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu looked in the direction of the scout's finger. That couldn't be called an earth slope anymore; a hill blocked his line of sight. Until now, there was no sign of human activity on the ridge of the hill, not looking like there was an ambush. If it were normal, Zhang Yu would definitely order the fleet to accelerate and leave this place of trouble. But this time he was somewhat hesitant because in the plan, the fleet would drop off a large batch of returning officers and soldiers less than ten *li* ahead. Zhang Yu had also sailed on this river channel many times. Chen Ke ordered the fleet to clarify the situation on both sides of the river channel as much as possible. Zhang Yu thought for a while and simply went back to the cabin to confirm with the map. Sure enough, there was a town named Liujiapu in the approximate place where the gun fired. There was also a fortified village (*Wei Zi*) over by the town. Since no ambush appeared, Zhang Yu estimated that something happened in Liujiapu. Flipping through the marching itinerary and roster again, Liujiapu was the hometown of two Anhui New Army soldiers.

Now, Zhang Yu couldn't make decisions on his own. Pu Guanshui's cooperative attitude had always been very satisfactory, but involving matters of the Anhui New Army, Zhang Yu felt he must communicate with Pu Guanshui. While ordering the fleet to maintain Level One alert, Zhang Yu took a small boat to Pu Guanshui's boat.

"What does Captain Zhang plan to do?" Pu Guanshui asked after listening to Zhang Yu's introduction.

"I want to send a few people to see what exactly is going on." Zhang Yu's answer was very traditional and conservative. But this was also considered the most normal response measure.

"There is a Liujiapu nearby. Two New Army brothers get off the boat here. Since you want to send people over, how about letting the two of them lead the way?" Pu Guanshui asked.

Working together these few days allowed Zhang Yu to understand Pu Guanshui deeper and deeper. Pu Guanshui was completely not a lord-type person. Besides reading books, he studied the marching route every day. He didn't speak a superfluous word normally, and when he should speak and act, he never disappointed Zhang Yu. Based on these alone, Zhang Yu respected Pu Guanshui very much. Insurance Corps soldiers might not know that the People's Party ultimately wanted a violent revolution, but Zhang Yu, as a senior officer, naturally couldn't be unaware. The relationship between Pu Guanshui and Chen Ke was very "iron" (close). Zhang Yu didn't doubt at all that in the future Pu Guanshui would also become his revolutionary comrade-in-arms. Although he also had some thoughts about status in his heart, Zhang Yu felt cooperating with Pu Guanshui was a very good thing. Since Pu Guanshui proposed a reasonable suggestion, Zhang Yu naturally wouldn't oppose it.

"I'll pick three more people and let the five of them go together. The fleet will stop temporarily in place. What does Commander Pu think?" Zhang Yu asked.

Pu Guanshui thought for a while, "I think the fleet should still proceed according to the plan. It's desolate here and not easy to dock. It's inconvenient for troops to get on and off. We'd better dock at the planned ferry crossing. If large troops need to be used, at least we know how to go on the road, and it's easier to organize even if a fight starts."

Zhang Yu actually didn't want to really engage in battle. His task this time was to pick up and drop off personnel, not to fight. So his original idea was just to clarify the situation. As long as it didn't delay his work, he could pretend not to see it. But Pu Guanshui obviously didn't think so. This surprised Zhang Yu a bit.

"Captain Zhang, I've been thinking these days. Under natural disasters, not everywhere has a figure like Wenqing who can let the common people survive somehow. The common people are not the kind of people who would rather commit suicide either. Who doesn't want to live? Wenqing looks like he is forcing landlords, but he is already polite enough. Really leading Insurance Corps comrades to fight family by family, can Fengtai County landlords be more formidable than Zhang Youliang? But other places don't have people like Wenqing. The common people won't be so polite to landlords. At this time, starving to death is certain death, but breaking the fortified village may not necessarily result in death." There was no fluctuation in Pu Guanshui's voice, just simply stating facts.

But Zhang Yu wouldn't just listen and let it be, "Commander Pu, do you mean to let us help the common people attack the fortified village?"

"Not helping the common people attack the fortified village. My New Army brothers' homes are there. If they want to fight, I can't stop them either." Pu Guanshui answered very simply.

Zhang Yu was speechless. Thinking carefully, Pu Guanshui's words were not unreasonable. If the common people wanted to attack the fortified village, these few people of the fleet couldn't stop them at all. Moreover, this operation itself focused on picking up and dropping off New Army officers and soldiers. There was absolutely no reason to ignore the wishes of New Army officers and soldiers to care for those unrelated landlords. But in this way, the officers and soldiers of the Insurance Corps would have to be involved in the battle. This obviously conflicted with Chen Ke's orders.

Seeing Zhang Yu looking troubled, Pu Guanshui laughed: "Captain Zhang, don't worry. I will absolutely not let Insurance Corps brothers fight for nothing. And I will absolutely not let brothers assist in defending the fortified village. If they want to attack the fortified village, I will personally lead them to fight. What everyone wants is the grain in the fortified village, not the landlords' lives. But if they fight anxiously and so many people die, once the fortified village is broken, the landlords' whole families will die. I am also considering for the landlords. If they are willing to release grain, naturally peace will reign. If they really refuse, I'll take people to break the fortified village; the landlords can at least save their lives."

Pu Guanshui's words were gentle and calm, but Zhang Yu felt an indescribable pressure in them. Pu Guanshui was an imperial official; leading people to break a fortified village personally, wasn't he afraid of landlords suing him? But Pu Guanshui's attitude was obviously not joking. Zhang Yu suddenly suspected whether Pu Guanshui was hiding something from him.

But they couldn't just wait like this. The fleet didn't anchor; they were moving while talking. Talking a bit more, the fleet would probably run to the destination not far away. "Send people down to look first." Zhang Yu said.

A small boat carried five soldiers to the shore. Watching them climb up the earth slope without hesitation and then disappear behind the earth slope, Zhang Yu could never turn his eyes away. He wanted very much to see through what exactly happened behind the earth slope at a glance. Only then could he issue instructions early. Zhang Yu suddenly remembered a term Chen Ke used in military class, "Fog of War." Before obtaining specific intelligence, a commander can assume there is an impenetrable fog on the battlefield. And due to communication means, even if intelligence is obtained, it is outdated intelligence. So commanders are required not only to have the determination to execute orders resolutely but also to have anticipation.

At that time, Zhang Yu felt Chen Ke's term was too bookish. But looking at the earth slope his line of sight absolutely couldn't penetrate, although knowing his subordinates were acting, he absolutely couldn't know what they saw before they came back.

"If encountering this situation, one must execute the order firmly to the end." Chen Ke's words echoed in Zhang Yu's ears again. Turning his head again, he saw Pu Guanshui didn't get excited or look out, but sat back at the table to study the map. Completely the appearance of resolutely executing orders Chen Ke talked about. Zhang Yu suddenly understood one thing: compared with Pu Guanshui, he was indeed inferior at least now. While Zhang Yu worried about completely unknowable things, Pu Guanshui had already begun to prepare for the next thing by studying the map, this known data. As a soldier, Pu Guanshui was indeed above Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu originally wanted to look at the map with Pu Guanshui, but on second thought, as the commander of the fleet, looking at the map was not his task. Commanding the fleet to dock and leave shore. Sending people off, picking people up—this was his task. Since Pu Guanshui was the commander leading the Anhui New Army officers and soldiers, then Zhang Yu himself must do the pick-up and drop-off task well. He called his subordinate and issued the order to accelerate. The signal flag of the signalman passed from one ship to the next. With the arrival of the order, sails were pulled high, oars were put into the water, and the speed of the fleet picked up quickly.

Among the five people in the reconnaissance troop, four were Insurance Corps soldiers, and only one was New Army soldier Zhou Yisheng. After everyone climbed over the hillside, they immediately encountered the ground at the bottom of the slope which was terrible to the extreme. No one had been here for a long time. After the ground was submerged by water for several months, the soft mud was covered with a thick layer of fine sand. Sandy soil had no adhesion at all, nor could it store water. Dried by the sun, the gray-white ground presented a cracked appearance. The soft sandy soil looked angular, but collapsed completely as soon as it was stepped on. Everyone walked deep and shallow on this cracked earth like a desert. Although they wanted to increase speed very much, the ground condition was too bad to walk fast at all.

Moreover, the flood soaked for several months; trees and grass bushes were all drowned. The sun's exposure these days made dead plants become dry and scorched yellow. If not for the scorching sun overhead making people sweat all over quickly, the surrounding scenery seemed like the dead wilderness of early winter. No birds or beasts, no insects. Quiet to the point of being somewhat creepy.

Fengtai County had restored cultivation long ago. Chen Ke very foresightedly got many saplings to plant, and commanded troops to cut down those dead trees. Grass bushes also had specialized restoration. Plus the green crops growing all over the vast fields, Fengtai County had restored vitality. The Insurance Corps soldiers left Fengtai County only three days ago. Suddenly marching in this completely strange, endless dead wilderness, the huge contrast gave them a feeling of suddenly entering an unknowable world. Comrades looked back at the hillside blocking the river. Just a slope separated two worlds.

Whether soldiers had undergone systematic scientific training was most obvious in marching performance. Insurance Corps soldiers accepted the training plan formulated by Chen Ke. In the physical exercise knowledge Chen Ke studied, heavy physical labor is not exercise. The more heavy physical laborers, the more they need targeted and systematic exercise. After Insurance Corps soldiers accepted systematic training, their steps were brisk one by one, and their breathing was much steadier. Seeming not walking fast, they could maintain forward movement at an average speed for a long time. Anhui New Army soldier Zhou Yisheng could keep up at first, but was out of breath after walking only twenty minutes. Seeing other comrades show no fatigue, he wanted to say something but didn't say it. Zhou Yisheng panted heavily, mustering up his strength to try hard to keep up with everyone's pace.

Walking for another dozen minutes, the leading squad leader said: "Rest for five minutes." The small unit stopped. The New Army soldier sat on the ground and refused to move again. Insurance Corps soldiers were not like this. They stretched their muscles and bones first. When sitting down, they elevated their feet to let the blood in the feet flow back as soon as possible. Not only that, everyone's hands were not idle, untying and re-tying their leggings. While tying leggings, they exchanged their experiences.

The so-called five minutes was this period of time reorganizing leggings. After everyone finished organizing, they stood up preparing to continue forward. Zhou Yisheng hadn't recovered yet. Just as he was struggling to stand up, he saw two Insurance Corps soldiers walk over and hold him up. The leading squad leader laughed: "Walk a bit more and it will be smoothed out; don't stop."

After speaking, two people walked holding the New Army soldier. With someone holding him, Zhou Yisheng felt much better. Walking for a while, he finally recovered. His breathing stabilized, and his footsteps were not so heavy. "Brothers, you don't need to hold me. I'm much better; thank you very much."

The Insurance Corps soldiers smiled, let go of Zhou Yisheng's arms, and continued to walk silently with heads buried.

"Brothers, how exactly did you train?" Zhou Yisheng recovered his strength and couldn't help asking.

"Think nothing, walk forward." An Insurance Corps soldier gave an answer.

Zhou Yisheng couldn't figure out if this was answering his question or admonishing him how to march. Although his body could adapt to such marching speed, without someone holding him, he soon felt insufficient strength. He had to close his mouth and try hard to keep up with everyone's pace.

Walking for another while, bypassing the hill in front, the field of vision suddenly opened up. The small plain behind the hills unfolded in front of everyone. Like the hilly area passed, the small plain was also the same sandy land, the same gray-white. Trees and grass bushes were all withered and yellow, without breath of life. Under the sun hanging high, it was so empty and silent. But at the edge of that gray-white earth, it appeared mottled because of human traces.

Many people gathered there.

"What to do?" The Insurance Corps soldier asked the leading squad leader.

The squad leader turned his head to look at Zhou Yisheng standing there panting non-stop. Everyone couldn't figure out the situation at all. Being too far from the crowd, they couldn't see clearly what was going on. But this flat ground had no place to hide at all. As long as they got closer, they would be discovered by that group of people immediately. Now the squad leader needed Zhou Yisheng to provide intelligence that could serve as a judgment for the next action.

"My home is over there; I'll go over and have a look first." Zhou Yisheng noticed the squad leader's gaze and said hurriedly.

"Let Comrade Lu Zhengping go with you." The squad leader said, "Pay attention to safety; run back immediately if encountering danger." He couldn't help instructing again.

The New Army and Insurance Corps soldiers responded at the same time, then ran towards the crowd. Both soldiers were considered to have seen "big scenes." Gatherings of thousands of people were common to them. Hundreds or a thousand people opposite shouldn't have made them feel much pressure. But in this disaster year, everything became very different. Both had seen the miserable state of the common people. So many people gathering here, it must not be something like a temple fair.

Walking only a short distance, people at the edge of the crowd had already noticed them. If normal, everyone wouldn't care too much. But now most eyes looked at the two soldiers. Their neat military uniforms and forceful steps made the crowd alert. An invisible pressure made both soldiers feel very wrong. But Zhou Yisheng had already seen his acquaintance in the crowd. His heart relaxed for a while, then he shouted loudly: "Third Brother, it's me. I am Yisheng."

The person called was Zhou Yisheng's third brother, Zhou Yizheng. Seeing the comer was actually his younger brother, Zhou Yizheng also felt very surprised. Especially since the younger brother didn't take the main road but popped out from the hilly area by the river, which made Zhou Yizheng confused. But the younger brother arrived in front of him very quickly. When the two stood opposite each other, Zhou Yizheng saw his younger brother's eyes turn red, and tears had already flowed out. "Third Brother, how did you become so thin? Are Dad and Mom okay?"

Zhou Yisheng completely didn't expect his brother to be skin and bones. Or rather, he could have thought of it originally; this was also the reason why Zhou Yisheng rushed back in a hurry. But seeing it with his own eyes, Zhou Yisheng still couldn't help crying. Brother Zhou Yizheng's skin color was originally relatively dark, but now the skin turned into a bluish-yellow color. Hair was like withered wild grass, without the slightest luster, as if it could shatter upon touching.

The brother's limbs appeared very slender. The skin wrinkles on the arms exposed outside the tattered clothes were deep, like withered branches. It seemed he had been hungry for a long time. But Zhou Yizheng's abdomen bulged strangely high. Zhou Yisheng saw refugees all along the way these days. Most refugees were like Third Brother Zhou Yizheng, limbs dry and thin, but abdomen bulging like this because of eating indigestible things. Probably things like Guan Yin Earth (*Guan Yin Tu*).

Zhou Yisheng was originally very worried about whether his family could survive the flood. Seeing his third brother alive, he really felt very lucky. Seeing his third brother's miserable state, Zhou Yisheng became even sadder.

"Dad, Mom, Big Brother, Sister, Younger Brother, Younger Sister, are they all okay?" Zhou Yisheng asked hurriedly.

"Old Five, is it really you back?" Zhou Yizheng held his brother's hand, daring not believe it. "You were in Anqing, thousands of *li* away from here. How, how did you come back?"

The Zhou brothers were immersed in the excitement of reunion, while Insurance Corps' Lu Zhengping was far less moved. Unknown when, the refugees had surrounded them. Lu Zhengping suddenly found that he and Zhou Yisheng were really too conspicuous. Both people's complexion and attire were very ordinary. The Insurance Corps paid great attention to personal hygiene; both washed very clean. Among this group of dry, thin, and filthy refugees, they were simply dazzling.

Lu Zhengping couldn't help leaning closer to Zhou Yisheng. Although the surrounding refugees were miserable, unlike those refugees who were completely desperate, there seemed to be flames burning in these people's eyes. That excited and indignant gaze seemed to be a thousand-foot flame, wanting to ignite everything around.

Just then, Zhou Yizheng suddenly burst into loud crying. He shouted while crying: "Old Five, Old Five, Dad and Mom are gone. Little Sister is also gone. Big Sister is sick with only one breath left. Big Brother and Little Brother were washed away by water; not even a shadow can be seen. I let them down; I let you down."

Zhou Yisheng completely didn't expect his family to suffer such misfortune. Hearing Third Brother's words, the whole person was nailed to the spot like being struck by lightning. He only felt chaos in his brain, buzzing in his ears. Third Brother's crying and shouting became distant. Zhou Yisheng's mouth opened and closed subconsciously, opened and closed again. As if wanting to say something, but couldn't say anything. Suddenly, Zhou Yisheng's face was full of anger. He grabbed the clothes on Third Brother's chest fiercely. But the already tattered clothes were torn off a large piece silently by his forceful pull. It seemed they had long been thoroughly rotted by soaking. Watching Third Brother tottering like a withered leaf under his violent action impact. The anger on Zhou Yisheng's face instantly turned into grief. Third Brother was also a famous strong man in the village. During autumn harvest, carrying three bags of grain and walking was also vigorous. Working in the fields could make others stare straight. Now he was thin and weak like this. Zhou Yisheng subconsciously always felt nothing big would happen at home. This was not because he didn't know how terrible the flood was, but because he had inexplicable confidence in Third Brother. But Third Brother had become like this; presumably, he had done his best.

"Dad! Mom!" Zhou Yisheng let out a heart-rending roar, then hugged Third Brother and cried loudly.

The crowd didn't have the slightest excitement because of the brothers' reunion. No one spoke. No one was moved. Everyone stood in place without saying a word. Except for angry eyes, Lu Zhengping couldn't see any other emotions.

"Little Five! You're back! Good that you're back! Good that you're back!" A middle-aged man separated the crowd and walked over. Lu Zhengping scanned the middle-aged man, and his eyes fell on the man's hand. The middle-aged man held a pistol in his hand.

Zhou Yisheng didn't respond at all, just hugging Third Brother and crying bitterly.

The middle-aged man grabbed Zhou Yisheng's shoulder, "Little Five, don't cry. Fathers and elders are together today, going to find Liu Ba to fight desperately. Starving to death is death; fighting Liu Ba desperately is also death. We can't let that old bastard off cheap no matter what. You are a soldier, Little Five; are you going?"