Master Liu Ba, Liu Wenxiu, had a scholarly name, but he was not a scholar. In fact, he never liked reading much. So Master Liu Ba had never read the poem "The wind fills the tower before the mountain rain comes (*Shan Yu Yu Lai Feng Man Lou*)." At this time, Chen Ke had just written the outline of the Vernacular Standard Outline, which had not even been popularized in the Fengtai County base area, so Master Liu Ba naturally couldn't have heard the phrase "the calm before the storm."

There is a saying called art originates from life. Master Liu Ba was a layman in literature and art, but an absolute expert in life. Yesterday, the appearance of several mysterious men in blue and the shocking shot of that gunman made the family guards naturally hope never to encounter such a gunman again. But Master Liu Ba wanted very much to have a good talk with this gunman and the force behind him.

As the descendant of a family that had stood firm in Huaibei for decades, Master Liu Ba relied not on a benevolent heart, nor on ruthlessness. If one must say, Master Liu Ba existed as a preserver rather than a pioneer. Although decisive when encountering things, he absolutely didn't like to intensify contradictions in daily life.

To not intensify contradictions, communication is needed, and communication requires an object of communication. If the flood hadn't reached such a level, Master Liu Ba might not necessarily refuse to give some grain to ease the contradiction. This natural disaster exceeded the scope of Master Liu Ba's control, so he had to choose the strategy of suspending communication and closing the door to defend himself. Such a strategy certainly stabilized the interior, but it also cut off Master Liu Ba's connection with the outside world.

When refugees attacked the door, Master Liu Ba could still make up his mind to adhere to his closed-door strategy because he knew the refugees had limited strength and couldn't make any mystery. But the appearance of the mysterious blue-clad gunman proved that a powerful force had fully intervened in Liujiapu. This group of blue-clad people quickly persuaded the refugees to leave. In the following two days, the outside of Liujiapu was extremely quiet. The refugees who usually came to beg disappeared completely. Family guards might feel relieved, but Master Liu Ba was not so relaxed; he only felt an increasingly strong sense of crisis.

When Liu Wentao entered his own courtyard, he saw his eldest brother pacing back and forth in the courtyard with his hands behind his back. Whenever encountering difficult problems, Master Liu Ba paced back and forth like this, considering countermeasures.

"Big Brother, I sent out two more waves of people," Liu Wentao said.

"Mn." Master Liu Ba responded subconsciously but didn't stop his steps at all. Seeing his big brother didn't speak, Liu Wentao dared not leave, just standing by and waiting. Until his legs were a bit sore, Liu Wentao still didn't see his big brother speak. He was considering whether to just go back to the room first, but saw Master Liu Ba, Liu Wenxiu, stop suddenly.

"Number Two, we have to send people out," Master Liu Ba said abruptly.

"I have already sent out several waves of people," Liu Wentao answered hurriedly.

"Not sending out spies and messengers, but taking a large group of people out. Let those wearing blue clothes know our power," Master Liu Ba said slowly.

"Know our power?" Liu Wentao obviously didn't understand his big brother's idea. This fortified village, those hundreds of people on the wall, were enough to prove the power of the Liu family fortified village. How else to let the blue-clad people know the power of the Liu family? Moreover, although people were sent out, news about those blue-clad people hadn't been sent back yet. Even if wanting to let those blue-clad people know the power, one had to find them first.

Liu Wentao stood on the wall and saw that shot personally. The vigorous posture and decisive shooting of the blue-clad gunman waving the red flag made him feel palpitations every time he recalled it. Subconsciously, Liu Wentao didn't want to meet that gunman again at all. And this attitude turned into language became another saying, "Big Brother, I think they don't have many people..."

"Not many people?" Liu Wentao interrupted his brother's words, "Not many people, why didn't those disaster-stricken bandits come these two days? What did they eat these two days? What did they drink? Did they eat those few people wearing blue clothes?"

Master Liu Ba was very dissatisfied with his brother's attitude. "Number Two, if they fought on that day, it would be as you said, they didn't have many people. Now two days have passed, and they still haven't moved. The consumption of nearly a thousand people is not a small amount. You know clearly what this natural disaster looks like. Even if this stuff was transported from our Wuhe locally, just these grains would require how many people to transport. Moreover, they are obviously not the government coming for disaster relief. You tell me, these people transported so much grain just to relieve those poor bastards? Do you believe this?" Master Liu Ba became angrier as he spoke, and his voice became louder.

Scolded by his brother like this, Liu Wentao also felt quite losing face. But his brother always saw things accurately. Since he said so, there must be a reason. "Then how many people does Big Brother want me to take out?" Liu Wentao asked straightforwardly.

"Sigh! If only I had given some grain to those poor bastards at that time." Master Liu Ba suddenly sighed deeply, "In the final analysis, my selfishness was heavy. Thinking that like this now, the land will definitely be barren until next year. And next year may not necessarily harvest much grain. I'm afraid our own grain won't be enough. Actually, giving some grain to those poor bastards wouldn't have caused such a mess. Now that people died, it's useless to say anything."

Brother suddenly said such a sentence; Liu Wentao became very puzzled instead. In such a big disaster year, giving grain simply couldn't be started. You give today, do you want to give tomorrow? Do you really want to feed those poor bastards?

"Big Brother, you saying this... what do you mean?" Liu Wentao originally wanted to say Big Brother's idea might not be right, but on second thought, Big Brother was not the kind of person who liked to regret. Saying so must have his own meaning, so the opposing words turned into an inquiry.

Hearing his brother's inquiry, Master Liu Ba sighed, "If we gave a little grain, we wouldn't be unaware of where those people wearing blue clothes are now. Go to the village and ask a little, and we would know immediately."

"I have already sent people to the village to inquire," Liu Wentao answered hurriedly.

"Humph," Master Liu Ba smiled bitterly, "Do you think those little cubs dare to enter the village?"

Facts proved that Master Liu Ba's view of his family guards was correct. The spies sent by Liu Wentao really didn't dare to enter the village. The nearby villages basically became ruins now. They circled far outside the village and left. The tragic door attack battle the day before yesterday burned nearly twenty people to death. Plus those common people rushing up who were beaten to death, this was twenty-odd human lives. If these spies stayed inside the fortified village, they might feel safe. But being in the vast outside, these people only felt as if they were in enemy territory. The flood these days had given these people a psychological suggestion: only inside the fortified village was safe; leaving the fortified village, everything was dangerous.

"Brother, let's go back," a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy in the spy troop looked at the uninhabited village ruins in the distance and asked.

"Tenth Master (*Shi Ye* - Liu Wentao) ordered; we have to finish looking at these few villages." The person called brother by the boy said. There were four people in the spy troop, two older ones and two teenagers. Although Liu Wentao was not as far-sighted as his brother in big matters, he had some tricks in small matters. He didn't choose any shrewd and capable ones, but chose relatively honest people. Those slippery ones sent out would only make up a lie to deceive him when coming back. Those honest people couldn't make up lies well; they knew they couldn't deceive Liu Wentao, so they would work hard instead.

As Liu Wentao thought, those older ones were also afraid, but they were more afraid of offending Liu Wentao. Although the younger brother spoke the same fear as himself, the older one insisted on finishing looking at the few villages first. "Let's go, let's go to the next village." The brother took the lead and pulled the younger brother away.

Just after they walked far, two Insurance Corps soldiers suddenly stood up in the ruins of the village. For Liujiapu's strategy, the Insurance Corps had corresponding countermeasures long ago. A few smart people might be produced in a solitary earth fortified village, but in the People's Party and Insurance Corps, they confronted these smart people with overall advantages such as system and institution. Although there seemed to be no one outside Liujiapu, the Insurance Corps scouts had already laid their nets. As soon as the Liujiapu fortified village sent spies, the Insurance Corps scouts monitored them. The monitoring method was not tracking, but squatting at planned points ahead according to the plan made in advance and based on the spies' action routes and characteristics.

Soon, scouts passed information back to the staff department quickly through semaphore and by changing the placement of some inconspicuous items in obvious places.

The staff department was like a lively big beehive at this time. The combat plan was improved and refined step by step with the enrichment of information. Initially, the Waterway Detachment wanted to attack the fortified village with a burst of enthusiasm. But before dispatching troops, the comrades of the troops already knew that a forceful attack would inevitably result in a large number of casualties. Now since the situation had changed, there was no need for a temporary forceful attack. The troops could plan in detail and then conduct more thorough combat. The Waterway Detachment naturally wouldn't be stubborn to attack forcefully. Liu Wentao gave the Insurance Corps time, and Zhang Yu made full use of this time and manpower. The troops conducted specialized training targeting the internal terrain of the Liujiapu fortified village.

And the New Army led by Pu Guanshui could also play its role. He transferred some New Army officers and soldiers from poor backgrounds who were relatively reliable to provide more effective technical services. Engineers had exerted their abilities in drawing maps, finding various roads, and agreeing on various communication methods.

If before, the technical support provided by New Army officers and soldiers might make Insurance Corps officers and soldiers feel some admiration, this time there was no such situation at all. Because all technical support was practiced according to the tutorials provided by Chen Ke.

Actual combat is the best learning place. This time the Insurance Corps in the Waterway Detachment could actually gather a complete small group for attacking Yuezhangji. From staff officers to engineers, from scouts to field hospitals. The tutorials Chen Ke gave them along the way were completely formulated for attacking fortified villages. Pu Guanshui was a professional soldier, a professional. Picking up these things, he knew the knack at a glance. Moreover, his ability to understand the combat case tutorials provided by Chen Ke and various links of troop combat was far higher than that of Insurance Corps comrades.

With Pu Guanshui's help, comrades had a deeper understanding of Chen Ke's war attitude and the application of war technology. In these two days, there were often exclamations of sudden realization in the Waterway Detachment. "So fighting a battle is like this" was a sentence appearing with very high frequency.

Even a professional like Pu Guanshui admired Chen Ke incomparably. He knew best that officers experienced in hundreds of battles might be able to achieve Chen Ke's level in execution, but turning these military concepts into teaching materials and refining them into regulations required not only actual combat ability but also a profound understanding of war itself. Refining regulations can best show a soldier's military quality. Pu Guanshui had seen many people who talked about war on paper; in the Beiyang New Army, such people could be said to be measured by carts and bushels. Regulations written with various professional terms like jokes, and regulations written by officers at all levels according to their own preferences that were even more ridiculous than jokes—Pu Guanshui couldn't even laugh seeing them.

And Chen Ke's regulations made Pu Guanshui laugh out loud occasionally in private. Unlike things written by those soldiers, Chen Ke's wording showed at a glance that he was not a soldier, and he used vernacular. So it was inevitable to have words as wordy and unclear as chatting about family affairs. But these layman terms spoke expert words. What made Pu Guanshui particularly admire were not those concise words, but those explanations facing complex situations. Chen Ke chattered about various complex situations, then classified them one by one. Then told the method, then narrated the reason why to do so.

Such text made Pu Guanshui feel very interesting. A person taught others how to fight using a method like talking about farming. This kind of thing was unheard of and unseen by Pu Guanshui. While the Insurance Corps officers and soldiers were confused. The work of analyzing the real situation and then selecting a solution consistent with the current situation was undertaken by Pu Guanshui. While doing work in this area, Pu Guanshui pondered and refined these tutorial regulations of Chen Ke in his heart.

In the beginning, Pu Guanshui felt he could be competent for this job. But the more he thought about these things written by Chen Ke, the more he felt these things couldn't be deleted. The text might be refined, the wording might be professionalized. But these tactical things mentioned by Chen Ke only made Pu Guanshui feel more reasonable the more he thought about them. And Chen Ke didn't say too much; on the contrary, Chen Ke still had a lot of things not explained clearly. Many wonderful parts could even lead Pu Guanshui's train of thought very far away unconsciously.

Pu Guanshui naturally couldn't know that a guy like Chen Ke, a dabbler on the 21st-century internet, had also read dozens of classic military works and PLA tutorials, as well as many tutorials for local militia combat in the war-preparation era. Having spent countless hours bragging and discussing with military enthusiast friends online, his knowledge was not that detailed and organized stuff originally. Chen Ke's knowledge was messy, mixed with various things. From the line infantry shooting in the 18th century to various land, sea, and air tactics in the 21st century, fully interwoven into a complex chaotic system. Chen Ke himself also spent a lot of effort to straighten out his knowledge in a certain aspect into something that could be written. Even so, Chen Ke unconsciously stuffed a lot of messy things into this system of attacking fortified villages.

If it were Insurance Corps soldiers, their understanding of military affairs was not deep. Those messy things couldn't arouse their interest at all. While Pu Guanshui, this expert, was much more sensitive to these contents than the half-baked Insurance Corps members. He keenly felt the digressions carried in this theme. And these digressions were not unreasonable, which made Pu Guanshui doubly confused. Chen Ke was definitely not a general experienced in hundreds of battles; Pu Guanshui could be sure. Chen Ke absolutely hadn't received formal military education; Pu Guanshui could be even more sure. But Chen Ke's military concept was very advanced; as a soldier, Pu Guanshui felt this fact very clearly.

Chen Ke had his own unique and profound views on politics, and also had ability and potential in military affairs that Pu Guanshui couldn't see the end of. When resting, Pu Guanshui couldn't help thinking, maybe he really met the legendary "Wise Master" (*Ming Zhu*)? Because regardless of other things, at least Pu Guanshui knew deeply that no matter what, he couldn't lead an army like the Insurance Corps. Even if he was put in Chen Ke's position, Pu Guanshui could absolutely not do it.

Obtaining the news that the Liujiapu fortified village sent spies, the staff department immediately commanded the common people to transfer their residence. Anyway, the ground was full of sand now, which had an advantage instead: bacteria didn't breed severely. The residence of refugees was temporary originally. Transferring was just transferring. The spies couldn't find any news, but went back to report happily instead.

Regardless of what reaction Liujiapu had internally, the Insurance Corps decided to break the fortified village; this plan couldn't be changed. With the help of local refugees, the situation of the Liu family fortified village was analyzed more and more clearly, and the training became more and more targeted. With the completion of reconnaissance and training, the combat plan also matured day by day. At noon on the third day, the command post of the Waterway Detachment had issued the decision. Formal combat would begin on the fourth day.

If it were the elite experienced in hundreds of battles like the PLA or Eighth Route Army of later generations, fighting a small fortified village wouldn't take such a long preparation time at all. But for the Insurance Corps, an army established only half a year ago, being able to train and prepare in this initial regular mode, three days could only be said to be absolutely not long. Chen Ke had spent so much effort, and it was finally the season of harvest.

According to the regulations of the People's Party and Insurance Corps, pre-war mobilization had started long ago. Why fight, what is the purpose of fighting—it was said clearly and openly in the team. As an old unit with many Party members, even ordinary soldiers knew some of the People's Party's ambitions more or less.

Rebellion was not a rare thing for Chinese common people. throughout the Manchu Qing Dynasty, there was almost no year without rebellion. Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and Nian Army were relatively large ones. Rebellions launched by White Lotus Sect and other organizations were all over the place. Small-scale rebellions rose one after another.

Compared with other dynasties in Chinese history, the Manchu Qing never had a true peaceful year. The emperors of this regime, except for Yongzheng alone, no one really wanted to establish a peaceful world. This regime was essentially established on the basis of thorough oppression. The so-called enlightenment in the later period was just powerless to oppress.

The only Yongzheng who looked like a Chinese emperor was forced to write a book *Record of Great Righteousness to Dispel Confusion* (*Da Yi Jue Mi Lu*) in the later period of his life. Chen Ke had read it; the brother inside simply spoke frankly, saying whatever he had. Many words even seemed incomparable childish for a politician. But such childishness and eager mood could prove instead that Yongzheng himself really wanted to fulfill the obligation as an emperor. Because this book was distributed nationwide, Yongzheng hoped the common people of the whole country could know his painstaking efforts and his actions.

Except for such a person as Yongzheng, other eras of the Manchu Qing were thoroughly dark and cruel. This was also the reason why uprisings continued everywhere.

So the soldiers of the Insurance Corps didn't have any prejudice against rebellion, nor did they have any enthusiasm from the bottom of their hearts. Moreover, this was just breaking a fortified village. Even if Party member officers knew the significance of breaking the fortified village this time, the soldiers hadn't understood the historical significance of breaking the fortified village this time.

Like the situation faced in Party history, the People's Party had to tell the soldiers why to break the fortified village. The significance of breaking the fortified village. Seeing those refugees too horrible to look at, sympathy naturally arose in the hearts of Insurance Corps soldiers. And the People's Party's actions in Fengtai County, Fengtai County being able to defeat natural disasters and restore production. Precisely served as a living model, telling the soldiers who just participated in post-disaster reconstruction work that natural disasters were not invincible. The reason why these common people of Wuhe County actually fell into such a desperate situation must be because bad people were doing evil. As long as these bad people were knocked out, the common people of Wuhe County, at least Liujiapu, could live a hopeful life.

During mobilization, a simple soldier asked why there were no bad people making trouble in Fengtai County. As a result, the comrades roared with laughter. "With our Insurance Corps here, which bad egg dares to make trouble!" Comrades answered this question immediately. The soldier sat down blushing. But that red face was not only because of shame; a large part of the reason was that he understood that as a soldier of the Insurance Corps, he had unknowingly guarded the elders of his hometown from being bullied.

Actually, many soldiers didn't have this consciousness before. They just accepted the leadership of the People's Party and Insurance Corps in confusion, and joined the Insurance Corps to get a mouthful of life-saving food. Until seeing the "real disaster area" with their own eyes, they knew what kind of miserable fate they could have encountered. And what kind of achievement they themselves created with their own hands under the leadership of the People's Party and Insurance Corps.

Mobilization went smoothly. After Pu Guanshui finally determined all combat plan details, he also wanted to see the situation of the troops. Of course, there was another reason attracting him. The neat slogans outside made Pu Guanshui very curious. That was a voice full of enthusiasm, even full of a feeling of childish fun. Pu Guanshui really didn't understand why shouting a slogan could shout out a happy feeling. War should be "The wind is whistling and the Yi River is cold" (*Feng Xiao Xiao Xi Yi Shui Han* - tragic/solemn). It should be solemn and chilling. This happiness was really too trifling.

When Pu Guanshui arrived at the troop gathering place, he heard the most incredible slogan content in his life. Accurately speaking, that was not a slogan; that was Q&A.

"How should everyone walk?" Political Commissar Li Zhao shouted.

"Follow the cadres!" Comrades answered in unison.

"Cadres ask everyone to stop; what should everyone do?"

"We stop immediately!"

"What if injured?"

"Obey the orders of cadres and doctors!"

This is the program of action on the battlefield, the way of action. Methods to deal with various problems encountered. Most Insurance Corps soldiers recognized some characters, but these characters were not enough for them to read the thick tutorials and regulations written by Chen Ke smoothly. So the Insurance Corps communicated through this collective Q&A method, instilling combat essentials into soldiers.

Pu Guanshui never thought that such a mode could be adopted in the army. In the New Army, discipline inculcation relied on beating. Even an officer like Pu Guanshui, who was already considered very good, still didn't oppose corporal punishment. But the Insurance Corps was not like this; they instilled again and again through methods soldiers could understand, training time and time again.

Looking at the happy but serious faces of the soldiers one by one, Pu Guanshui suddenly had a doubt: can such training really be effective?

And on the other side, a burst of shouting came suddenly, which startled Pu Guanshui. Looking over, he saw more than three hundred refugees not far away, carrying ladders, holding various farm tools and spears made of wood, practicing shouting. This was part of the combat plan. The Insurance Corps didn't want to alert the enemy. If fighting, they would invest elites to solve the enemy with the speed of thunder covering ears. And burying explosives at the enemy's place was an important part. Digging soil at night made too much noise, so people were needed to distract the enemy's attention. The refugees led by Zhou Xingrui just undertook this task. Starting tonight, they would go to harass the enemy. At this time, practicing well was also necessary.

This was the first real battle in Pu Guanshui's life. He looked at his pocket watch. It was already four in the afternoon. Before long, the prelude to this operation would begin. What kind of battle was waiting for him exactly? Pu Guanshui only felt inexplicable excitement mixed with a strand of fear. That was real fear. Swallowing a mouthful of saliva to moisten his dry throat, Pu Guanshui decided to go to sleep for a while. Because for the subsequent battle, there was no more time to sleep.