Outside the window was pitch black, yet a bluish-white light reflected on the window paper, making it impossible for Shen Zengzhi to distinguish whether it was day or night outside. Yan Fu on the opposite bunk had stopped turning over, and his breathing gradually calmed down. The bunk in the prison was not much different from the bunk in the Insurance Corps barracks. If anything, the prison was not very ventilated and was even warmer. The bedsheet on his body was very thin and couldn't block the cold air at all. Shen Zengzhi envied Yan Fu quite a bit; on such a chilling night, Yan Fu could still sleep.

The events of the day put heavy pressure on Shen Zengzhi. There was actually no resentment or unwillingness in his heart. Chen Ke's revolutionary principles failed to convince Shen Zengzhi, but Shen Zengzhi was completely overwhelmed by Chen Ke's firm attitude. Although Confucianism talks about Benevolence, Confucianism absolutely does not believe in nor advocate the power of the people. Chen Ke's monster-like existence puzzled Shen Zengzhi very much. A person who firmly believes that uneducated common people possess supreme power is a genuine madman in the eyes of Confucians. Recalling everything during the day, Shen Zengzhi understood very well that this madman Chen Ke had real stuff. But a madman is a madman; "The people may be made to follow a path of action, but they may not be made to understand it." Shen Zengzhi firmly believed that once the people possessed power, they wouldn't do anything other than make trouble.

The night grew deeper and the chill heavier. Shen Zengzhi wrapped the bedsheet tighter around himself. According to Chen Ke, the treatment in the People's Party was all like this; cadres had no privileges either. Whatever ordinary officers and soldiers used, People's Party cadres used. No wonder the People's Party was so anxious to build houses; without houses, this winter really couldn't be passed.

Shen Zengzhi didn't understand why exactly Yan Fu wanted to join the People's Party. To atone for sins? Or for ambition? In short, after Chen Ke bitterly scolded Shen Zengzhi, Yan Fu unexpectedly expressed willingness to join the revolution. Shen Zengzhi knew Yan Fu was not a person easily persuaded; since he made up his mind, it was impossible to change. But Chen Ke could actually persuade Yan Fu; this was really puzzling. What exactly was Yan Fu after?

Perhaps his body gradually adapted to the cold, or perhaps tiredness could not be resisted. Thinking and thinking, Shen Zengzhi fell asleep.

When the bugle sounded, Shen Zengzhi was not woken up. What woke him up was the rumbling sound of footsteps, the sound of hundreds and thousands of people stepping together. Opening his eyes, Shen Zengzhi felt his body had no feeling, like a piece of wood. He turned his stiff neck and saw Yan Fu had already got up.

"Where is Brother Yan preparing to go?" Shen Zengzhi asked with effort.

"Going out for a run." Yan Fu didn't hesitate at all. Morning exercise was a long-standing habit of Yan Fu. Since leaving the army, Yan Fu hadn't experienced this feeling for a long time. "Brother Shen, you rest a while longer." After speaking, Yan Fu covered Shen Zengzhi with his own bedsheet. The heat remaining on the bedsheet was transferred to Shen Zengzhi, and he immediately felt much warmer.

As soon as he went out, Yan Fu heard shouting. That was the shouting of various units calling their own soldiers. For Yan Fu, an old soldier who had engaged in military construction and military education for more than twenty years, the camp of the People's Party was so familiar and so cordial. Without even using his eyes, Yan Fu could know which troops were old troops and which were new troops just by listening to the sound. Yan Fu was very clear about Chen Ke's old foundation in the Shanghai era. Chen Ke had only those few dozen not-so-loyal followers back then. Now there were thousands of people in the camp. Regardless of the length of time the troops were formed, discipline from top to bottom had been established. Yan Fu's gaze finally fell on a place. Sure enough, as he thought, in front of that most well-trained and elite team, Yan Fu saw Chen Ke's tall figure. Yan Fu walked over quickly. "Wen Qing, which team do you want me to join?"

"Mr. Yan, from now on we address each other as comrades. This is our rule." Chen Ke said seriously. "There is no high or low in the revolutionary ranks; once joined the revolution, everyone is a comrade. Everyone's dignity must be equal."

Although not very used to Chen Ke's way of speaking, Yan Fu was not a pretentious person either. He nodded. "Then how should I address Wen Qing?"

"Everyone usually calls me by my job title, Chairman Chen."

"This title has a very ancient flavor." Yan Fu praised.

"I plan to appoint you as the leader of the Special Action Group. We will attack Anqing within a month or two, so I hope you can transport that batch of iron to our controlled area within a month. Don't run today; I'll take you to see the commander of the Water Detachment right away. He will be responsible for leading the fleet to Hanyang. The sooner this matter is done, the better."

The high efficiency of the People's Party exceeded Yan Fu's imagination. There were no polite formulas, and the chief officer didn't try to take on everything. After introducing Zhang Yu, the commander of the Water Detachment, and Li Zhao, the political commissar, Chen Ke left. The persons in charge gathered for a meeting. Zhang Yu stated clearly that he would lead the team personally. Yan Fu was very satisfied with this. This highly responsible mode was in the same vein as the naval mode Yan Fu was accustomed to. After the discussion ended, Zhang Yu took Yan Fu to see the fleet. The clean decks that had been scrubbed repeatedly reminded Yan Fu of the habits of the Beiyang Navy again.

The troops didn't set out immediately after reaching a preliminary plan; the Staff Department was responsible for formulating the sailing plan. Route and time planning were big matters. Such staff work was Yan Fu's forte; juniors like Zhang Yu could only be sincerely convinced in front of the old senior.

While Yan Fu led the "inland river fleet" to engage in work, Chen Ke couldn't be idle either. He convened a meeting of comrades from the Public Security, Procuratorate, and Court departments. "I want to formulate the 'Civil Law' and 'Marriage Law'." Chen Ke issued the order directly.

Xu Dian immediately became happy as if he had taken a stimulant. Other comrades lacked basic judicial concepts and were completely confused about this task proposed by Chen Ke.

"Since we want to distribute land, we must have a charter. Everyone learned the part about small peasant economy in the Party School, right? I won't talk about the long-term significance of formulating laws. Now one of the main tasks of these two laws is to go all out to disintegrate the small peasant economy. The foundation of the small peasant economy is the family, and the family is the basic social unit combined by marriage. Who do you think are our enemies and who are our friends in this aspect?"

Public Security, Procuratorate, and Court were actually still one family now, or rather the police system. Everyone didn't understand such a profound revolutionary question very well. "Chairman Chen, just say it straight," Lin Shenhe asked.

"Our enemy is the clan. The feudal clan has great influence on family members; clan elders can even directly sentence family members to death. what do these clan elders rely on? They rely on influence over land and justice. Since we want to eliminate the small peasant economy and bring the people under the control of the government, we must completely eliminate the influence of clan forces on the common people."

The comrades of the Public Security, Procuratorate, and Court still didn't understand what exactly Chen Ke was talking about. The only thing everyone truly understood was that the People's Party must directly control the people's lives. Dai Enze learned a term at the last meeting; he couldn't help asking: "Is it still mobilizing the people to struggle against the people?"

*Pfft*, Xu Dian couldn't help laughing out loud. This laughter was full of agreement.

Seeing Chen Ke didn't mean to criticize this statement, Lin Shenhe asked: "How to struggle?"

"Give benefits to those who are most oppressed and at the bottom. In order to protect such benefits, the people can follow us." Chen Ke pointed out, "We want revolution, and what revolution pursues is universal equal benefits. We must grasp this point."

The three heads of the Public Security, Procuratorate, and Court—a law student, a former patrolman cadre, and a former ordinary citizen—lowered their heads and pondered for a while, but couldn't grasp the main point. Hearing Chen Ke's meaning, he wanted to create something shocking to the world but reasonable. But how to satisfy these two points at the same time? The heads of the three violent organs were very puzzled. However, two of the three were old party members; they knew the rules of the People's Party. Chen Ke allowed you to talk nonsense after thinking seriously, but Chen Ke didn't allow you not to think. The cadres in the People's Party were all capable of doing things; those comrades who drifted along were all doing dead-end jobs at the most grassroots level. Anyway, everyone was used to Chen Ke making the final decision; even if they said it wrong, no one would settle accounts later. So Xu Dian proposed his idea first: "Through marriage certification? Anyone we don't approve of can't get married?"

"This definitely won't work; the common people will absolutely not agree to doing this." Dai Enze immediately negated this attitude. "However, for soldiers in the army getting married, we can require our approval. And anyway, soldiers must back up their own people."

"Use the method of inheritance rights?" Lin Shenhe was a former patrolman cadre after all, and had some understanding of foreign laws. "If the state doesn't recognize it, they can't get inheritance rights?"

It seemed this was the limit of the comrades; Chen Ke was certain. He didn't want to waste time either, so he revealed his thoughts directly. "I want to confirm that this land distribution targets individuals, not families. Women and men have the same standard. Men can be distributed three mu of land, and women are also to be distributed three mu of land. Calculated by head, not by family. Moreover, when a woman marries, these three mu of land must go with her as dowry."

The three heads of the judicial sector really didn't expect Chen Ke to come up with such a method. Dai Enze looked completely shocked; the low status of women in the countryside was really at the very bottom. Even Dai Enze didn't think there was anything reasonable about distributing land like this. Thinking that the land distributed to his daughter would be dowry for someone else's son in the future, he immediately felt a burst of resistance in his heart.

Lin Shenhe had contact with foreign justice; although he felt puzzled, the degree of shock was far less intense than Dai Enze. But Lin Shenhe didn't feel deeply about the people's revolution and was very puzzled about the inherent meaning of Chen Ke's plan.

Xu Dian was from a law background after all. A moment later, he shouted loudly: "Wonderful!"