Yuan Shikai believed that Zhang Zhidong's impeachment of En Ming was a gesture of opposition to himself. Wang Shizhen's view was subtly different from Yuan Shikai's. He advised, "Duke Yuan, I don't think Zhang Zhidong necessarily means that."

From Yuan Shikai's heart, he didn't want to fall out with Zhang Zhidong at all. Although Wang Shizhen's words were refuting his thoughts, Yuan Shikai was not annoyed but asked eagerly, "Pinqing, how do you explain this?"

"Duke Yuan, you and Zhang Zhidong are both external officials. Why was Zhang Zhidong suddenly called into the capital now?"

"This?" Yuan Shikai was also very puzzled about this matter. Although he had many doubts in his heart, Yuan Shikai dared not guarantee that he could accurately grasp Cixi's psychology.

Wang Shizhen didn't guess Cixi's psychology. He continued, "Although Zhang Zhidong prides himself on being a Pure Stream, he can definitely cooperate fully with Duke Yuan to promote constitutionalism. Since Zhang Zhidong sent troops to retake Anqing and Chizhou, impeaching En Ming is a matter of course. It may not necessarily be malicious towards Duke Yuan. Moreover, the court plans to make Zhang Zhidong a Grand Councilor. I think Zhang Zhidong impeaching En Ming means he wants his own man to serve as the Governor of Anhui."

"So that's it." Yuan Shikai's eyes lit up. The position of Grand Councilor looked high and powerful, a goal for countless people to strive for. But for "external officials" like Yuan Shikai and Zhang Zhidong, it was an arrangement of apparent promotion but actual demotion. As the Governor-General of Huguang, Zhang Zhidong controlled a Division of New Army, and his students and former subordinates were all over the court. Although he was outside the court, he could control the court situation remotely. But now that he was in the court, although his status seemed higher, he would be subject to many constraints. Once he handed over the position of Governor-General of Huguang, Zhang Zhidong would lose his direct support forces. Yuan Shikai was proficient in the power tactics of officialdom, but being besieged on all sides now, he just hadn't thought it through for a moment. Hearing Wang Shizhen's hint, Yuan Shikai suddenly saw the light.

Once some things are figured out, there is no need to continue talking. As long as Wang Shizhen's judgment was correct and Zhang Zhidong just hoped to place his own man in the position of Anhui Governor, then Yuan Shikai knew exactly how to execute it without asking Wang Shizhen at all. As long as he got rid of Zhang Zhidong's hostility, Yuan Shikai could concentrate on dealing with his biggest political enemy, Cen Chunxuan.

Thinking of this, Yuan Shikai breathed a sigh of relief. His purpose for this trip was to resolve the conflict with Zhang Zhidong. Since Wang Shizhen had pointed out the solution, Yuan Shikai felt that the purpose of coming to offer condolences today had been achieved. He had no thought of continuing the conversation. Although Wang Shizhen was Yuan Shikai's confidant, Wang Shizhen himself was not good at conspiracies and tricks. More accurately, Wang Shizhen simply didn't like participating in under-the-table conspiracies. Dealing with Cen Chunxuan required exactly conspiracies, so Yuan Shikai prepared to bid farewell.

Unexpectedly, just as Yuan Shikai was about to bid farewell, Wang Shizhen asked, "Duke Yuan, how do you plan to deal with the People's Party in Anhui?"

"Mn? What does Pinqing mean? Zhang Zhidong has already sent troops to retake Anqing and Chizhou; presumably, they won't let the People's Party off." Yuan Shikai perfunctored.

Wang Shizhen knew Yuan Shikai was perfunctory with him. The Manchu court needed to pay money to mobilize the New Army to suppress rebellions. The New Armies were now in the hands of local authorities everywhere. Mobilizing them once cost a lot, so except for large-scale civil uprisings, local small rebellions were ordered to be suppressed locally. But in this Anqing rebellion, the People's Party struck extremely ruthlessly, taking out the provincial capital of Anhui first and capturing all provincial officials in one net. Moreover, the People's Party grasped the timing extremely well. Anhui was under the management of the Governor-General of Liangjiang. After the great flood last year, at least three million refugees were wandering everywhere. Civil rebellions rose one after another in various places, and Governor-General of Liangjiang Rui Fang simply couldn't attend to everything. In addition, the Yue Wang Society and Restoration Society occupying Anqing and Chizhou surprisingly just defended the cities and waited for external responses, without being able to expand their territory substantially. So the task of suppression finally fell on the head of the Hubei New Army commanded by Huguang Governor-General Zhang Zhidong. Zhang Zhidong could send troops to take Anqing and Chizhou along the Yangtze River, but Zhang Zhidong would absolutely not send troops deep into Anhui to attack the People's Party in Fengyang Prefecture.

Wang Shizhen was well aware of Yuan Shikai's difficulties. Even as the dignified Beiyang Minister commanding the Beiyang clique, Yuan Shikai couldn't do whatever he wanted. But Wang Shizhen still insisted on his own idea. "Duke Yuan, I have checked Chen Ke's matters. A year ago, his followers were at most a hundred or so, but in less than a year he could destroy the Anhui New Army. He had no money and no grain, yet he could accomplish such things. If the court ignores the People's Party, give him another half a year or a year, Chen Ke will definitely become a major threat."

"Then what does Pinqing plan to do?" Yuan Shikai had enough respect for Wang Shizhen.

Wang Shizhen answered firmly, "Duke Yuan, why not let Zhang Xun cut the weeds and dig up the roots?"

Hearing Wang Shizhen's words, Yuan Shikai's eyes lit up. "This is excellent."

When coming out of Wang Shizhen's house, Yuan Shikai was in a very good mood. As long as the problem of Zhang Zhidong could be solved, Yuan Shikai could concentrate on dealing with Cen Chunxuan. Sitting in the carriage, Yuan Shikai re-sorted the sequence of events in his mind.

After the court decided on constitutionalism, everyone inside and outside the court knew that this would be a major event determining future political fate. The characteristic of constitutionalism was nothing more than a "responsible cabinet." To put it in more understandable terms, the power once held in the hands of Manchu nobles and the central government would be formally transferred to the cabinet and provincial assemblies through "constitutionalism." The Mutual Protection of Southeast China in the Gengzi year essentially established the semi-independent posture of various places, especially the southern provinces. Once past the Huai River, except for a few treaty ports that could barely be controlled by the court, local financial power was basically semi-independent.

In recent years, this situation was still just a default state for everyone. Once constitutionalism was established, this political pattern would be established in the form of law. The Qing court, which held total power, would transfer most of its power to the cabinet and localities.

Regarding constitutionalism, Yuan Shikai's wishful thinking was definitely to dominate the center. He proposed a plan to replace the Grand Council with a cabinet and secretly decided to let Prince Qing Yikuang be the future Prime Minister of the Cabinet and Yuan Shikai be the Deputy Prime Minister.

But for such a major event, other forces would absolutely not sit and watch Yuan Shikai's Beiyang clique monopolize power. The group led by Qu Hongji and Cen Chunxuan prided themselves as leaders of the "Pure Stream" and were actually quite active privately. Cen Chunxuan, who was still Governor-General of Liangguang at the time, intervened in Shanghai, the area where constitutional forces were most active in modern China, and instigated the establishment of the first domestic constitutional organization—the Constitutional Preparation Association. Cen Chunxuan's old subordinate Zheng Xiaoxu served as the president, and Cen Chunxuan was naturally the self-evident backstage boss. In the organization of constitutional groups, the "Pure Stream" obviously took the lead. Yuan Shikai had no choice but to go out personally, frequently sending amorous glances to some leading figures of the constitutionalists, repeatedly declaring "I can give up being an official, but the constitution cannot fail to be established."

On November 6, 1906, the Qing court announced the central official system. The Beiyang plan to establish a cabinet was completely overturned by Cixi, who was persuaded by Qu Hongji. The Grand Council was retained unchanged. Minister of Personnel Lu Chuanlin, Minister of Army Tie Liang, Minister of Civil Affairs Xu Shichang, and Minister of Education Rong Qing all left the Grand Council. Only Yikuang and Qu Hongji remained in the original Grand Council. Later, Grand Secretary Shi Xu and Guangxi Governor Lin Shaonian were added upon Qu Hongji's recommendation. This restructuring also forced Yuan Shikai to resign from eight concurrent posts and hand over the military power of the four Beiyang divisions.

The "Pure Stream" actually took the lead in the central government. The upper level didn't work, but Yuan Shikai's action to seize real power locally went smoothly because of Yikuang's cooperation. On September 11, 1906, Liangguang Governor-General Cen Chunxuan was first transferred to be Governor-General of Yun-Gui. Yun-Gui Governor-General Ding Zhenduo was transferred to govern Min-Zhe. Min-Zhe Governor-General Zhou Fu succeeded Cen, making Liangguang fall into the hands of Yuan Shikai's relative by marriage, Zhou Fu. It was difficult for Cen Chunxuan to accomplish anything in the border areas of Yun-Gui. On October 19, Yikuang's eldest son, Minister of Agriculture, Industry, and Commerce Zai Zhen, and Grand Councilor Xu Shichang went to the three northeastern provinces to inspect. It seemed that the power of the three northeastern provinces could be held in the hands of Yuan Shikai's Beiyang clique.

But Cen Chunxuan didn't buy this at all. He didn't go to Yunnan to take office but ran to Shanghai, where information and transportation were convenient. "Started by feigning illness, then asked to go abroad, and finally blackmailed the Qing court to allow foreign loans," intending to sit and watch the situation, waiting for an opportunity to move. The Qing court was helpless. On March 3, 1907, Cen Chunxuan was transferred to be Governor-General of Sichuan, but Cen Chunxuan still sat still.

A few days ago, on March 30, Minister of Posts and Communications Zhang Baixi died of illness. This was a fat vacancy. The postal system had rich returns. In the current situation, whoever could control the Minister of Posts and Communications could make a large number of people switch to their sect. Yuan Shikai would absolutely not let it go. Once he seized the Minister of Posts and Communications, Yuan Shikai believed he could master a sufficient number of supporters in the court, completely suppress the "Pure Stream," and seize the leadership of constitutionalism.

However, the closer it got to this time, the fiercer the counterattack of political enemies. According to reports from Yuan Shikai's spies, Cen Chunxuan was preparing to enter Beijing. In the places where this Cen Chunxuan, known as the "Official Butcher," served, countless officials were killed. He abruptly dyed his hat button red with the blood of so-called "corrupt officials." Yuan Shikai had never had a shred of good feelings for such people who fished for fame and were harsh and ungrateful. Cen Chunxuan claimed to be an incorruptible official, but why were those he killed always opposing factions and officials who disobeyed orders? To put it plainly, wasn't this still attacking dissenters? It was laughable that contemporaries were deceived by Cen Chunxuan's false appearance, actually coming up with something like "Southern Cen and Northern Yuan." Could a true gentleman disobey the court's transfer order and hide in Shanghai feigning illness to avoid disaster? Thinking that he had to be mentioned in the same breath as such a hypocrite as Cen Chunxuan, Yuan Shikai felt nauseous.

But a hypocrite like Cen Chunxuan should absolutely not be underestimated when striking with full force. Yuan Shikai originally had a lot of preparations, but he never expected that he actually had some flaws. When Chen Ke entered Beijing the year before last, Yuan Shikai saw that Chen Ke was a disciple of his old friend Yan Fu and was from Henan. The person looked very good too, quite having the demeanor of a disciple from a noble family. He had a moment of soft-heartedness and actually helped Chen Ke make a match. He never expected Chen Ke to turn around and run to Anhui to rebel. Now there was party struggle in the court. The characteristic of party struggle is to use any means necessary; who reasons with you? Once Cen Chunxuan seized this handle, he would definitely exploit it greatly. Wang Shizhen worried that Chen Ke would become a major threat; Yuan Shikai understood the reason for Wang Shizhen's worry very well. But in this situation, Yuan Shikai would rather no one knew that Chen Ke was rebelling in Anhui. As long as he could seize the leadership of constitutionalism, when Yuan Shikai held great power, he could naturally send troops to eliminate Chen Ke. No matter how capable Chen Ke was, Yuan Shikai firmly believed that as long as the Beiyang Army moved, they could easily exterminate Chen Ke. But in the current situation, it happened to be the time when Yuan Shikai least wanted Chen Ke's affairs to cause a sensation in the world.

Sorting through these things in his mind, Yuan Shikai felt his mood gradually calm down. Thinking about it, Wang Shizhen's suggestion wasn't bad. Zhang Xun was now serving as the Admiral of Jiangnan, commanding the New Army Ninth Division stationed in Nanjing. Some time ago, because of the floods in Anhui, plus more than fifty thousand refugees in Nanjing causing trouble due to hunger, and the strict investigation of revolutionaries within the New Army Ninth Division in Nanjing, Zhang Xun was unable to move. Now that the Hubei New Army had retaken Anqing, should the Ninth Division be allowed to send troops to eliminate the People's Party?

Thinking carefully, Yuan Shikai felt it was inappropriate again. If the Ninth Division eliminated the People's Party, then the Hubei New Army would have to withdraw from Anqing and Chizhou. After all, Anhui was under the jurisdiction of the Governor-General of Liangjiang. As subordinates of the Governor-General of Huguang, the Hubei New Army's presence itself involved endless bureaucratic disputes. Since Yuan Shikai wanted to reach a compromise with Zhang Zhidong, he had to give Zhang Zhidong face. Thinking back and forth, Yuan Shikai felt he still couldn't use the Ninth Division. If he couldn't use the Ninth Division, the remaining choices were only the local defense troops, training troops, and Green Standard Army. But using these forces would be worse than using the Ninth Division.

The problem with the court sending troops now was not a lack of soldiers, but a lack of money. It wasn't that wars hadn't been fought in recent years, but after every war, big trouble would arise due to military funding issues. Yuan Shikai had impeached Cen Chunxuan using the issue of military funding for the Western Campaign in 1904. Now if Yuan Shikai dared to launch such a big battle, it would simply be giving Cen Chunxuan an excellent excuse. The reason Zhang Zhidong could send troops in the name of the Governor-General of Huguang was precisely because Zhang Zhidong didn't ask the court for military funding for this dispatch. Zhang Zhidong could do this, but Yuan Shikai couldn't.

Thinking it over and over, Yuan Shikai had to choose a compromise plan. Temporarily ignore Chen Ke's affairs. As long as the Hubei New Army was still in Anqing, presumably Chen Ke wouldn't dare to act rashly. As long as he could obtain the leadership of constitutionalism, Yuan Shikai could do whatever he wanted then.

"Chen Ke, as long as you don't blow things up, I'll let you live a few more months." Yuan Shikai thought angrily in his heart.

Chen Ke, far away in Anhui, didn't know that Yuan Shikai had let him off the hook again. Chen Ke's history knowledge wasn't great; he knew nothing about the "Political Tide of Dingwei Year (1907)" that decided the fate of the Manchu Qing. Moreover, since Chen Ke followed Grandpa Mao's line of people's revolution, people's revolution requires mobilizing the people. Just implementing this program, the very immature organization of the People's Party had reached the limit of its ability. Even if Chen Ke knew history, he simply had no power to intervene in this internal struggle of the Manchu Qing.

Chen Duxiu acted extremely quickly. As soon as he arrived at the Hefei base area and met Qin Wu'an, the Party Secretary of Hefei, he immediately demanded to see Chen Ke. Regardless of whether Qin Wu'an was willing, he wanted to set off immediately. Qin Wu'an had no choice either. The Yue Wang Society came with more than a thousand people. The Hefei base area was newly opened. The troops had now gone down to the local areas. Including cadres and troops, there were only just over three hundred people in Hefei city. With more than a thousand Yue Wang Society people stationed outside Hefei city, Qin Wu'an dared not make a move himself. He had to send people to escort Chen Duxiu and several other main cadres of the Yue Wang Society to Fengtai County, while he worked and secretly guarded against the Yue Wang Society followers. Fortunately, the Yue Wang Society brought a lot of grain and money before coming out, plus Chen Duxiu took the hardliners in the Yue Wang Society, Bai Wenwei and Chang Hengfang, with him when he left, leaving the relatively moderate Xiong Chengji and Shi Dekuan to temporarily manage the troops. So no conflict had arisen yet.

When Chen Duxiu and the others appeared in Fengtai County like a bolt from the blue, Chen Ke was startled. Originally, Chen Ke thought that even if the Yue Wang Society ran away, they wouldn't defect to him. Given the high-spirited attitude of the Yue Wang Society at the time, how shameless would they have to be to run to defect to the People's Party? He never expected Chen Duxiu to actually be able to swallow his pride.

But Chen Ke couldn't ignore Chen Duxiu. Even if just for the more than a thousand people Chen Duxiu brought, Chen Ke had to figure out what exactly Chen Duxiu planned to do.

Chen Ke's impression of Chen Duxiu was mainly "Right opportunist capitulationist." Since Chen Ke had this view in his mind, seeing Chen Duxiu really surprised him greatly. The Chen Duxiu in front of him didn't have the weak feeling of a "Right opportunist capitulationist" leader at all. On the contrary, Chen Duxiu's eyes were bright, and there was actually an aggressive flavor in his attitude. This wasn't something he deliberately put on, but a tough attitude from the heart. Chen Ke really felt it strange that such a person became the representative figure of "Right opportunist capitulation." Generally speaking, such a person should be unyielding rather than submit.

Because of a lack of sympathy for losers and no enthusiasm for being a "revisionist," Chen Ke had never paid attention to Chen Duxiu's history. Facing Chen Duxiu, Chen Ke had to treat him as a completely ordinary person.

The Yue Wang Society cadres traveled all the way here. Whether Hefei city or Shouzhou city, although not comparable to Anqing, they were also famous cities. The People's Party's sickle and hammer flag could be seen everywhere, and people in blue military uniforms working with the common people could be seen everywhere. The Yue Wang Society cadres couldn't even count how many People's Party members were in the base area. And the leader of this huge area, these several large cities, and at least tens of thousands of People's Party members, was the person before their eyes.

It was the first time Chen Duxiu and the others met Chen Ke. Chen Ke was at least more than half a head taller than all of them. His sturdy figure gave people a feeling of pressure. But what surprised these people even more was Chen Ke's youthful appearance. The leader commanding this huge force was actually a young man in his twenties. The Yue Wang Society crowd couldn't help but feel a sense of jealousy in their hearts.

Sitting down in the conference room, the Yue Wang Society people introduced themselves. Whether Chen Duxiu the "Grand Commander," Bai Wenwei and Chang Hengfang the "Commanders," or several other "leaders" with exaggerated titles. Anyway, according to these titles, the Yue Wang Society would need at least over a hundred thousand people to be worthy of the names. Chen Ke's side was much simpler: People's Party Chairman Chen Ke, Deputy Director of the People's Party Fengtai County Office He Yaqing, and two guards. This wasn't Chen Ke deliberately slighting the Yue Wang Society. With the continuous expansion of the base area, the cadres of the People's Party had already been sent out. Those left in Fengtai County seat were some low-level cadres. Moreover, the People's Party never supported idlers. If He Yaqing, the Deputy Director of the County Party Office, hadn't come to report work to Chen Ke today and been forcibly pulled by Chen Ke to keep him company, Chen Ke would have had to face this group of Yue Wang Society people alone.

Chen Duxiu was straightforward, but he revealed his weakness as soon as he opened his mouth. "Mr. Chen Ke, we ask you to support the revolution."

As the leader of the Yue Wang Society, these words were not wrong from the standpoint of the Yue Wang Society. The Yue Wang Society had fallen into a low valley now; from their perspective, they needed the support of the People's Party at this time. And Chen Duxiu also had reasons to say so. The Yue Wang Society considered itself a local force in Anhui, and their comrades came from all over Anhui. In their view, the People's Party was pure outsiders. Many Yue Wang Society cadres still had a psychological advantage of "I am a local." Even now, the Yue Wang Society still had its own wishful thinking. They hoped the People's Party could give them a piece of territory to let them regroup and fight back to Anqing. Of course, if the People's Party was willing to help the Yue Wang Society take Anqing like two months ago and let the Yue Wang Society return in glory, that would be even better.

As a cadre of the Yue Wang Society, Chen Duxiu naturally couldn't fail to support his comrades' ideas. Moreover, when Chen Duxiu founded the Yue Wang Society, he used Yue Wumu as a rallying call. Since the Yue Wang Society had already raised the banner of Yue Wumu, the People's Party should show some submission to the great cause no matter what. Although there was no such clear thought in his heart, in his subconscious, Chen Duxiu thought "justifiable" was still deserved.

Hearing Chen Duxiu's words, Chen Ke felt it necessary to broaden his horizons. He asked, "What kind of support do you gentlemen hope to get?"

"Mr. Chen, if possible, we want to recruit troops in Hefei and then fight back to Anqing." Chen Duxiu said hurriedly.

After hearing this sentence, Chen Ke lost the patience to continue listening. What were these revolutionaries thinking? The Yue Wang Society recruiting soldiers and buying horses in Hefei—then what was the People's Party? Doing work for others for free? Chen Ke felt it was necessary to let the Yue Wang Society see the situation clearly. He said, "Our People's Party has already established a new government in Hefei. Recruiting soldiers is within the authority of the new government. It is rather inappropriate for you gentlemen to recruit soldiers in Hefei."

Before Chen Duxiu could answer, Chang Hengfang took over the conversation. "Mr. Chen, your words are wrong. Since we are all revolution, why distinguish between you and us? You took so many things in Anqing; did our Yue Wang Society ever say anything? Now, we just want to recruit some soldiers in Hefei. What is inappropriate?"

Before Chen Ke could say anything, Bai Wenwei had already secretly tugged at Chang Hengfang's sleeve. Chang Hengfang thinking for the Yue Wang Society wasn't wrong originally. The problem was that this was so irrational that even Bai Wenwei, a revolutionary activist, couldn't listen to it anymore. After stopping Chang Hengfang, Bai Wenwei said, "Mr. Chen, Anhui is so big. Our Yue Wang Society wants to borrow a piece of land from Mr. Chen. Hefei or other places are fine. Let us shelter there temporarily. When we retake Anqing, we will definitely return that place. I wonder what Mr. Chen thinks?"

Chen Ke originally planned to find time to hold a Party Committee meeting to discuss how to solve the Yue Wang Society matter. Hearing Bai Wenwei's words, he could already imagine what the comrades would say about this in his mind.

At this time, someone in the conference hall was heard saying, "You are 'Borrowing Jingzhou'." The speaker was He Yaqing, the Deputy Director of the Fengtai County Office sitting next to Chen Ke. In his university days, Chen Ke had participated in a small project regarding the sewage treatment problem of small paper mills using wheat straw as raw material along the Huai River. Chen Ke prepared to copy a few of these small paper mills, which must be completely shut down in the late 20th century, in the early 20th century. He Yaqing came to listen to Chen Ke's work arrangements but was forcibly pulled to sit with him. Hearing the speeches of the Yue Wang Society cadres, Chen Ke could still maintain a calm state of mind, but He Yaqing couldn't stand it anymore.

Bai Wenwei turned to He Yaqing. "Brother, your words are wrong. Back then, Sun Wu united to resist Cao, only then was there the great victory of the Battle of Red Cliffs..."

He Yaqing didn't want to hear Bai Wenwei's nonsense at all. He immediately interrupted Bai Wenwei. "Liu Bei at least had Jiangxia at that time; what do you have? I said it wrong just now; you are not borrowing Jingzhou. Wasn't Anqing lent to you by our People's Party? As a result, you lost Anqing, and now you run here to ask for territory? You really have the nerve to say such things."

The evaluation of the Yue Wang Society within the People's Party was not high. Since the People's Party withdrew from Anqing to the base area, the Yue Wang Society had never sent anyone to express gratitude. This arrogant and rude behavior made many comrades in the Party very dissatisfied. It was just that everyone was busy to death and had no energy to think about the Yue Wang Society's affairs. Unexpectedly, after the Yue Wang Society failed in Anqing, they actually ran to the base area to talk nonsense to Chairman Chen Ke. He Yaqing immediately retorted mercilessly.

As long as anything involves real interests, everyone will haggle over every ounce. Chen Ke might still be able to consider from a long-term perspective, but He Yaqing wouldn't consider that far ahead; he just wanted to consider from the immediate interests. The People's Party worked hard to conquer the territory and started even harder construction work, yet the Yue Wang Society ran over to demand a share of the spoils. He Yaqing would absolutely not allow such a thing to happen.

Encountering such fierce opposition, the cadres of the Yue Wang Society fell silent. They once thought the People's Party's power was not very strong. During the Anqing Campaign, the People's Party dispatched three thousand troops, and the Yue Wang Society thought that was the entire military force of the People's Party. So although Shi Dekuan once said the People's Party had many troops, the cadres of the Yue Wang Society felt it was at most five or six thousand people. When withdrawing from Anqing, the Yue Wang Society still had more than one thousand one hundred people. In their view, the People's Party still needed the Yue Wang Society's military strength to fight the Manchu Qing together. But after the Yue Wang Society cadres saw the base area with their own eyes, they realized that the number of troops in the base area far exceeded their imagination. Troops in dark blue uniforms could be seen everywhere along the way. They were already diffident. Seeing Chen Ke so young, they wanted to bluff Chen Ke. After being fiercely criticized by He Yaqing, these people didn't even dare to toughen up to refute.

After a while, Chen Duxiu asked, "Then what does Mr. Chen Ke plan to do?"

Chen Ke originally wanted to broaden his horizons, but with the situation changing like this, he had to state his decision. "We have a children's song in our base area. The song sings: 'Where does a happy life come from? It relies on labor to create.' If you gentlemen want to stay in Hefei, it is also possible. We will first designate a piece of land for you, and you can start by doing military *tuntian* (military farming)."