Hearing the bell for serving porridge ring on time, a thought immediately popped into Hua Xiongmao's mind: "At a time like this, we're still feeding this bunch of disaster victims?" However, although he thought so in his heart, he couldn't say it with his mouth. It wasn't because the ideal of "saving the country and the people" reminded Hua Xiongmao that he should treat the people kindly, but because some things made it inconvenient for Hua Xiongmao to say such words. Everyone's eyes in the room fell on Shang Yuan. Since Shang Yuan said Chen Ke gave him full authority to handle this matter, everyone must respect Shang Yuan's authority at this time.

Hua Xiongmao advocated using a military background to quell this disturbance from the beginning, but this stance did not receive widespread and explicit support. Zhang Yu, the commander of the Water Detachment, did not oppose directly, but his mention of "the attitude of the people in external areas in the future" was explicitly opposing military suppression. Once this statement came out, the military cadres who rushed to the conference room now stopped speaking.

In the long run, these disaster victims were all good sources of soldiers. Expanding the troops of the People's Party had already been put on the agenda, and expanding the ranks required sources of soldiers. These disaster victims struggling on the death line would probably dare to do anything just to eat a full meal. If there were thirty or forty thousand troops daring to fight, sweeping across Anhui would be a piece of cake. Offending them now was somewhat not worth the loss. This was the reason why the military cadres were not very willing to speak.

Shang Yuan had already seen the comrades' gazes, and he also knew this was not the time to drag things out. "I will go and talk to the disaster victims now. All units guard key departments well, but the troops blocking the meal should be moved away first. We block the disaster victims from eating on one hand, and say we have no other intentions on the other hand; this can't be justified no matter what."

After speaking, Shang Yuan stood up. "Comrade Dai Enze, you come with me. Move the police force away first."

Dai Enze looked at Hua Xiongmao somewhat uneasily, then stood up.

Although very unhappy in his heart, Hua Xiongmao still spoke up to stop them. "Wait, let's determine the positions of various units first. In case something happens, it will be easier to mobilize."

Proposing such a request was not Hua Xiongmao trying to sing a different tune; on the contrary, this was true support for Shang Yuan. If Shang Yuan didn't say it and Hua Xiongmao did nothing, that would be undermining him. Now that so many troops outside had come, Shang Yuan couldn't mobilize the troops directly. Problems would definitely arise then. Although he was very unhappy with such a practice in his heart, Hua Xiongmao still had to choose cooperation.

Of course, there were other reasons for doing so. Such non-cooperation absolutely couldn't fool Chen Ke. If Hua Xiongmao didn't cooperate, when the matter was over, Chen Ke would absolutely not pretend not to see. In addition, the highest leader of the troops in the conference room now was Hua Xiongmao; everyone remained silent out of respect for Hua Xiongmao. The more it was such a time, the less Hua Xiongmao could engage in personal struggles of will.

Hearing Hua Xiongmao's words, Shang Yuan blushed slightly on his serious face. He had neglected this matter; he only thought about the police system but forgot that these comrades from the troops absolutely didn't come alone. They definitely brought their respective troops to help. Steadying his mind, Shang Yuan asked the guard to bring out the map of Fengtai County seat. This was a 1:5000 military map; it could be said that in 1906 China, there was absolutely no such detailed map of Fengtai County. Chen Ke's wife, He Ying, besides being a probationary member of the People's Party, was also one of the leaders of the mapping department. Under her leadership, maps of Fengtai County, Fengyang Prefecture, Anhui Province, and even the whole of China were being drawn.

After the map was spread out on the table, a box containing specially made glass chess pieces was also brought up. The troops didn't have the capital to scribble on the map. The comrades of the troops gathered around, each picking up one or more glass chess pieces of different colors. Then they placed the chess pieces on the map to indicate the position of their own troops.

To the west and north was the main force led by Hua Xiongmao. The Water Detachment blocked the bank of the Huai River to the south, and to the southwest was the Water Detachment Special Task Force. The police force roughly surrounded the refugees in the county town in an incomplete ring. Other troops in the military camp were responsible for defending the military camp, the waterworks, and the newly built testing ground of the mechanical industry department.

Looking at it this way, the situation became very clear. With the introduction of the comrades, everyone including Shang Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. This disaster victim disturbance happened in a rush; under such circumstances, various units arranged their positions almost instinctively. The deployment of various units achieved the isolation of disaster victims from attacking agricultural areas and important places. Even if the matter couldn't be resolved peacefully, the loss could be minimized. As long as important facilities could be preserved, it didn't matter at all even if the disaster victims tore down Fengtai County seat.

After confirming the positions and guard tasks of various units, Shang Yuan finally had a feeling of reassurance. After confirming the liaison officers, he stood up. "I will go with Comrade Dai Enze to persuade the common people now." Shang Yuan prepared to leave after speaking, but he suddenly thought of something, stopped again and asked: "Which comrade rang the porridge bell outside?"

The comrades of the troops looked at each other; no one had notified them about ringing the bell. Hua Xiongmao looked left and right, and suddenly laughed: "If the one ringing the bell isn't Wen Qing, it's He Zudao."

After hearing this, Shang Yuan felt this news really didn't help him much. He took Dai Enze and left in a hurry.

After Shang Yuan left, the comrades of the troops had nowhere else to go for the time being, so they simply sat around the table. No one spoke first; everyone had their own thoughts, and these thoughts couldn't be spoken out for the time being. Generally, under such circumstances, Chen Ke would sit in command and issue orders; at that time, everyone would definitely speak freely and cooperate sincerely. Now Chen Ke suddenly quit; although Shang Yuan's status was not low, letting him hold the power of action temporarily, not everyone was necessarily convinced. What restrained everyone was the discipline developed these days, not anything else. So facing such a big problem, the comrades' emotions were not so high instead.

Hua Xiongmao had always been Chen Ke's diehard follower. When the scale of the People's Party was small in Shanghai, Qi Huishen, who engaged in political work, appeared and formed a certain "confrontational" situation with Hua Xiongmao. After arriving in Anhui, Qi Huishen stayed in Shanghai, but Shang Yuan replaced Qi Huishen's position. Although he always controlled the vital power in the People's Party, Hua Xiongmao was never able to become the second-in-command in the political sequence. This was a matter Hua Xiongmao was very depressed about.

Zhang Yu's situation was much simpler, although theoretically he belonged to the troop system. However, the Water Detachment had always been directly commanded by the Party Committee, and Hua Xiongmao's orders were not so absolute. Now was the time for the Water Detachment to show its skills. Even if Hua Xiongmao, as a veteran, had a higher status in the future, Zhang Yu had at least established his own connections and had grassroots influence. As a revolutionary from a family of minor officials, Zhang Yu knew better than anyone what possessing grassroots connections meant. Although he didn't support Shang Yuan sincerely at all, he had to ensure that no new troubles would appear in future work. What meaning did creating tens of thousands of grudge-holding common people have for Zhang Yu? So he had to oppose Hua Xiongmao's tough attitude.

Other comrades didn't have enough status and were even less suitable to speak now. So the conference room fell silent like this.

The silence didn't last too long. Other comrades who received the notification began to rush back. Xu Dian rushed in hurriedly from outside; as soon as he entered the door, he saw a pile of military cadres sitting idly here, and he was stunned immediately.

"Where is Secretary Chen? Why didn't the troops set up a guard?" Xu Dian asked in surprise.

No one answered immediately; everyone looked at Xu Dian's surprised expression. This sentence already indicated Xu Dian's stance. This university student who graduated from the Law Department of Tokyo University supported strong action. Hua Xiongmao had once captured Zhang Youliang with force in Zhang Youliang's fort together with Xu Dian, fighting a bloody path out. They were also friends of life and death, so Hua Xiongmao didn't let Xu Dian stand there foolishly. He opened his mouth to relieve the situation: "This matter is responsible by Secretary Shang Yuan. Secretary Shang Yuan has gone to persuade the disaster victims now; before leaving, he let us stand by here."

"Ah?" Xu Dian was quite puzzled. "This matter is obviously instigated by bad people, stealing things, destroying crops. Do these disaster victims still think they are reasonable?"

"Then Secretary Xu, what do you think should be done?" Zhang Yu asked. Xu Dian was not a Politburo Secretary, but the Secretary of the Politics and Law Committee, also managing discipline. Zhang Yu's form of address originally had some provocative meaning.

Xu Dian obviously didn't hear the subtle feeling in these words. He answered immediately: "What to do? I think now is the time to establish rules. These disaster victims should be brought under our revolutionary banner. It is a troubled time now; it won't do without rules. The troops surround the disaster victims, and then tell the disaster victims that there are bad people among them. If we blindly accommodate, I'm afraid it will become indulgence. Moreover, if we don't explain clearly, it will appear that we are unreasonable."

After Xu Dian finished speaking impassionedly, the conference room fell into silence again. This way of solving the problem was also a choice. At least Hua Xiongmao himself supported it; this was the solution he thought of earliest. Moreover, Hua Xiongmao made such a choice not only for the reasons Xu Dian spoke out. As a commander ranking first or second in the Insurance Corps, Hua Xiongmao also worried about the emotions of the common people. The theft and destruction of crops by disaster victims had an extremely bad influence among the common people. The common people were already very dissatisfied with disaster victims eating their own grain, but everyone was unwilling to cause more trouble. Now that the harvest season had arrived, the common people did not show the slightest tolerance because the harvest was in sight. The emotions of the common people, precisely because they knew there was tangible hope, could not accept any act of destroying their future lives even more.

Regardless of how Shang Yuan's action could solve the disturbance of disaster victims most quickly, if this matter couldn't give the common people an explanation, let alone the common people couldn't accept it, the soldiers in the troops couldn't accept it either. In Hua Xiongmao's view, the prestige of the People's Party in Fengtai County was not only achieved by benevolence but also by absolute military force strong enough to easily eliminate Zhang Youliang and suppress landlords to spit out land. Once the people questioned the military force of the Insurance Corps, then many unpredictable things would follow.

Disaster victims can get illegitimate benefits by causing trouble; can't the common people of Fengtai County cause trouble too? The Insurance Corps dares to suppress disaster victims, but does the Insurance Corps really dare to suppress their own fellow villagers?

Thinking of this, Hua Xiongmao felt a burst of irritability in his heart. He let out a long breath and then stood up. "I'll go to the troops to take a look."

No one dared to stop Hua Xiongmao from leaving. Everyone watched Hua Xiongmao stride out of the conference room; no one made a sound.

"Brigade Commander Hua." Xu Dian suddenly shouted, then chased out. He soon caught up with Hua Xiongmao.

Hua Xiongmao didn't stop his steps, only asked, "What is it?"

While speeding up to keep up with Hua Xiongmao, Xu Dian said urgently: "Brigade Commander Hua, we are about to implement the judicial system. This matter was originally a good time to establish prestige; no one can act recklessly in Fengtai County. We have to think about the common people's view of this matter."

These words hit Hua Xiongmao's psychology, but he didn't express agreement either. Regardless of what the final situation of this matter was—suppression, deterrence, or withdrawing troops after the matter ended—Hua Xiongmao had to let the troops be mentally prepared. Just knowing that disaster victims were making trouble but having no orders, he didn't know what the troops stopped outside the county town would become now.

Xu Dian mistakenly thought Hua Xiongmao didn't agree with his idea. He immediately said: "Without trust, the people cannot stand. We only say the People's Party and Insurance Corps are the people's team. Now when the people need the Insurance Corps to protect them, is this matter just dropped so easily? How to explain to the troops?"

Hearing this, Hua Xiongmao stopped abruptly. Xu Dian didn't expect Hua Xiongmao to stop so crisply; unable to stop his feet for a moment, he took one or two more steps forward before stopping. Turning around, Xu Dian simply blocked in front of Hua Xiongmao. "Even if we can't establish prestige now, once the disturbance of disaster victims calms down, we have to use some heads to establish prestige anyway. Use heavy punishment in troubled times; blindly showing favor is definitely not going to work."

Hua Xiongmao stared at Xu Dian, and Xu Dian looked back at Hua Xiongmao without flinching. He saw Hua Xiongmao frown and speak: "Do you think Wen Qing can't think of these?"

"Ah?" Xu Dian couldn't immediately understand Hua Xiongmao's meaning.

"Secretary Chen is much smarter than you and me. If you can think of it, he can definitely think of it too. Now he just handed the matter to Secretary Shang Yuan to handle. If the matter calms down temporarily, we still have to hold a meeting." After speaking, Hua Xiongmao pushed aside Xu Dian who was blocking him and walked towards the back gate of the military camp away from the county town direction.

People came and went in the military camp; everyone was anxious, and the walking speed was obviously much faster. Hua Xiongmao's figure soon disappeared into the hurried crowd. Xu Dian stood there thinking for a while before suddenly understanding. Hua Xiongmao's words actually already expressed support for him, but this support was not cashed now, but would appear at the Party Committee meeting "if the matter calms down temporarily."

Having received such explicit support, Xu Dian immediately felt much more relaxed. He didn't chase Hua Xiongmao anymore, but turned and walked back towards the conference room.

The speed at which things calmed down far exceeded when they erupted. As soon as the bell for serving porridge rang, the disaster victims had a conditioned reflex impulse to get porridge. And at this time, Magistrate Shang Yuan appeared. The disaster victims saw the appearance of the Magistrate wearing official robes. The Magistrate only took two policemen into the area where disaster victims were most concentrated, which made everyone feel much more at ease.

Shang Yuan stood on a stool. The number of disaster victims near him was countless; there must be tens of thousands no matter what. Dai Enze next to him was a bit better, but the other policeman acting as a guard had never been surrounded by so many people; his face was a bit pale. Shang Yuan didn't feel fear, or rather his fear had long been replaced by a sense of frustration. After Chen Ke quit, Shang Yuan faced Hua Xiongmao's opposition again. Now this burden was entirely shouldered by him alone. Shang Yuan only felt a pressure in his heart he had never felt before. This was facing tens of thousands of people; if he couldn't solve the problem, it might trigger a chaotic fight involving more than a hundred thousand people.

The disaster victims ate very little on ordinary days; the People's Party consciously controlled the disaster victims' food intake to avoid trouble. Hunger greatly reduced the physical strength of the disaster victims, while the Insurance Corps and the police force were full and well-trained. If thousands of soldiers and horses came to kill, these nearly hundred thousand disaster victims were simply not opponents and would definitely be beaten into fallen flowers and flowing water.

But Shang Yuan didn't want to adopt such radical methods at all, so he absolutely couldn't make mistakes. The disaster victims didn't make a sound. They actually didn't know what to say. Question the Magistrate? But question what? Beg the Magistrate not to drive them away? But obviously, the Magistrate didn't mean to drive them away. So although the disaster victims muttered below, no one dared to say anything straightforward to Shang Yuan.

Because there were many disaster victims, Shang Yuan did his best, shouting almost hoarsely: "Fellow villagers, bad people have mixed into us, spreading rumors everywhere. Now porridge is about to be distributed immediately. The purpose of them spreading rumors is to make everyone go hungry. Regardless of what the bad people said, let's all eat first. Talk after eating."

The disaster victims didn't really encounter any unbearable mistreatment originally. Now hearing the Magistrate speak, and the content was letting everyone go to eat, immediately someone turned to get food. But the people behind wanted to hear clearly what the Magistrate said; they squeezed forward desperately, blocking the way of those disaster victims who wanted to leave. The dense crowd immediately rioted.

Shang Yuan knew the situation where the Insurance Corps once brought pork to comfort the troops, resulting in a disturbance in the Reclamation Brigade causing people to be trampled to death. Seeing the situation was about to turn chaotic, the experience summary of the summary meeting within the People's Party targeting this stampede incident immediately took effect. Shang Yuan hurriedly instructed Dai Enze with a few sentences, and Dai Enze went to take orders. Shang Yuan gave a few instructions to the other policeman, and then shouted together: "Everyone don't move first. The porridge distribution place has changed. Everyone don't move first. The porridge distribution place has changed."

Hearing that the porridge distribution place had changed, the people who were originally going to get porridge immediately walked back. The originally opposite flows of people finally resumed the same direction. Everyone prepared to listen to the Magistrate tell the new place for porridge distribution. But they heard Shang Yuan shout: "Everyone must not squeeze. With so many people, squeezing casually might cause human lives to be lost. We distribute porridge to save everyone. If distributing porridge causes human lives [deaths], isn't that harming everyone instead?"

This shouting was far less anxious than just now. Shang Yuan waited for the crowd to release the news themselves before continuing to shout. The content of the shouting was just that everyone shouldn't crowd and shouldn't cause accidents.

Not long after, the police force also began to shout everywhere, asking everyone not to crowd, and those who should eat go to eat. While shouting, they persuaded those disaster victims who refused to move to go eat.

"Brother, aren't you hungry if you don't eat?"

"If you should eat, you still have to go eat."

The common people hadn't eaten their fill originally. On ordinary days, everyone refused to move just to reduce the feeling of hunger. After tossing about meaninglessly for the whole morning, their stomachs were empty long ago. The police didn't beat people, just persuaded everyone to go eat. Someone had already run towards the porridge distribution place long ago; others who were not quite assured finally succumbed to hunger. The police force evacuated the disaster victims on one hand and maintained order on the other. It took more than an hour for the disaster victims who had gathered together to finally disperse.