"Mr. Chen, do you really not collect taxes in your base area?" A voice suddenly popped up from the group of captives. It was a wounded soldier with a bandage wrapped around his arm.

"May I ask when I said 'no taxes'?" Chen Ke asked.

"You said no taxes just now," the excited captive shouted loudly.

"Regarding taxes just now, I only said two things. First, no landlords collecting rent. Second, no officials extorting. But our base area still has to collect taxes. If we don't collect taxes, our base area also has officials, and everyone has to eat." Chen Ke couldn't say that the base area didn't collect taxes because that wasn't a fact. Rebels of all ages loved to shout about not collecting taxes, such as the slogan "No grain tax when Chuang Wang (Li Zicheng) comes" by the rebels at the end of the Ming Dynasty. It sounded very cool, but it was nonsense in actual operation.

"Since you collect taxes, what's the difference between you and the Great Qing?" The wounded soldier continued to shout. Hearing such inflammatory words, many wounded soldiers who originally had longing looks on their faces immediately looked as if they suddenly realized the truth.

It seemed this one was a spoiler. Chen Ke looked at the wounded soldier's clothes; he looked like an officer. Presumably, after hearing Chen Ke's words, he felt resentful in his heart, so he came to stir up trouble or something.

Chen Ke was not afraid of such a level of provocation at all. One doesn't know the cost of fuel and rice without being the head of the household. When Chen Ke was a common person in the 21st century, he was very unhappy about paying taxes. Now that his identity changed, he also felt that collecting taxes was necessary. No one wants to pay taxes. If taxation is called a "bad deed" of the state, then this is a "necessary evil."

Chen Ke said loudly, "Most of you are injured. I won't talk about blood donation. Without doctors, without these blood-drawing syringes, even if I cut a hole in my body with a knife and let out a big bowl of blood, this blood couldn't be transfused into the wounded. You all saw this with your own eyes, right?"

Hearing this, the attention of the captives who started to disapprove began to concentrate again. In fact, more than half of the people had experienced injections these days, and the vast majority of people had seen scenes of others getting injections. These exquisite needles and a large amount of transparent glassware surprised the officers and soldiers of the Hubei New Army very much.

"These medical equipments are manufactured by our base area ourselves. We have specialized factories to manufacture these medical equipments. The workers who manufacture these equipments have to eat and drink; we must pay wages to these workers. They don't farm themselves, but everyone has to eat every day. We don't steal or rob; if we don't collect taxes, what do these people eat? These doctors have to learn the knowledge of curing diseases and saving lives. When they learn this knowledge, they can't farm while learning; they also have to eat and wear clothes. Without the tax revenue of the base area, it is impossible to have such a large group of people. Without such a large group of people, who will treat everyone? Everyone is a soldier; suffering such injuries, what would be the result if no one treated you? To treat everyone, our base area spent a large sum of money. Where does this money come from? It comes from taxes."

Hearing this, the New Army wounded soldier who came out to pick faults just now stopped speaking. No matter how deep their feelings for the Manchu Qing or Zhang Zhidong were, the ones saving this group of people now were the People's Party. The Manchu Qing and Zhang Zhidong just drove them to this deadly battlefield, and then Li Yuanhong led them from failure to destruction. The diehards in the Hubei New Army might have the courage to pick faults with Chen Ke at this point, but they didn't have the courage to point at Chen Ke and curse directly.

Seeing that he made the wounded soldiers of the Hubei New Army accept his statement again, Chen Ke continued, "We collect taxes, but we don't collect exorbitant taxes and levies. The agricultural tax is thirty percent, and you don't have to pay silver, just grain. The tax for doing business is ten percent, and there are no other taxes besides this. Most importantly, there are no landlords in our base area, no tax collectors who live on collecting taxes. The government collects taxes directly from the people; everyone doesn't have to suffer layers of exploitation."

A major problem with the tax system in the Manchu Qing era was not collecting in-kind, only money. This tax model led to cheap grain and expensive money. If farmers wanted money, they could only rely on selling labor or selling grain. In a small-peasant economy society, making money was not that easy. After the First Opium War, China's silver flowed out in massive amounts, which further led to the bankruptcy of the rural economy. When foreign goods began to impact the Chinese market, firstly, the outflow of metal currency accelerated, and secondly, rural handicraft industries continued to go bankrupt. The entire small-peasant economy began to accelerate bankruptcy.

Chen Ke used to think the Manchu government "is just rotten, just rotten," but he didn't quite know why it was so rotten. Until returning to this era, he began to understand where the Manchu Qing was rotten. The corruption of the Manchu personnel themselves was a major reason, but the fundamental problem of the Manchu system was a more primary factor.

"The most critical thing is not just collecting taxes, but where the state spends the taxes. The government of our base area runs factories, and we have to pay wages to workers. Our base area runs schools, and we have to pay wages to teachers. Our base area builds bridges and roads, and there are specialized engineering troops. We also have to pay wages to the engineering troops. In this place where we are all now, doctors, nurses, and these workers hired to wash bandages, I also have to pay wages. Where is the money collected from taxes used? It is used in these places. If you don't believe what I said, you can ask. If you don't believe the staff of our People's Party, you can ask those female workers hired to wash bandages. See if we paid them. Of course, you eat rations as soldiers, and the Manchu Qing also paid you. But besides you people, how many common people in your Hubei can be provided employment and given wages by the state? You might as well think about it properly."

After these words were spoken, the wounded soldiers of the Hubei New Army stopped making sounds. Everyone actually didn't misunderstand the reasoning; it was just that no one had ever reasoned with everyone like this. The Manchu regime's propaganda on "hierarchy" was extreme. Officials could easily decide the life and death of common people. Officials who bullied people less were good officials. Who dared to ask Manchu officials where the taxes they paid went?

After Chen Ke finished these words, he suddenly thought of the Republic in the 21st century. The Republic was far from being a paradise on earth, and tax transparency wasn't great either. But to give a simple example, Chen Ke himself finished university from primary school, and his family's finances were also very relaxed. Compared with the situation in Europe and America where one has to pay back school loans for decades after finishing university, Chen Ke and his peers were happy beyond bounds. Although not in the 21st century, Chen Ke's nature as a "50-center" (pro-government commentator) was still there, and he couldn't help defending the Republic in his heart.

The guy who tried to stir up trouble just now triggered Chen Ke's association. Once the people at the bottom have the idea of revolution, this idea will instinctively overthrow everything that oppresses them now. What the people feel painful about is nothing more than taxes and the people who bullied them in reality. History has proved one thing: the spontaneous disorderly power of the people basically represents destruction. This power can destroy an old world. But revolution does not equal destruction; the great meaning of revolution lies in creating a new and better world. If this power cannot be guided correctly, the situation will be even worse after the destruction work is completed. The fall of the Manchu Qing is a clear proof. It was not until the 38th year after the fall of the Manchu Qing that China was truly unified by a political party unparalleled in Chinese history. In these 38 years, areas outside the Party's rule were filled with wailing.

Chen Ke knew he was actually powerless to stop the occurrence of this inevitable historical process. He only hoped to rely on his own efforts to shorten this stage as much as possible. Pass through this stage early and enter the new stage of China's strong rejuvenation. If he hoped to shorten the process of this labor pain, he must give clearer guidance. This was Chen Ke's job, and this was also where Chen Ke's mission lay.

Seeing that what he said had touched the hearts of the captives to some extent, Chen Ke was unwilling to "draw legs on a snake" (ruin the effect by adding superfluities). Wanting others to accept one's own reasoning is their own business. Pulling up seedlings to help them grow is harmful and useless. Chen Ke said one last sentence, "Everyone rest well and recover soon. During this period, you might as well think carefully about why you risked your lives for the Manchu Qing, and whether this risk is worth it. Especially after you return to Hubei, you will very likely have to fight us under the drive of the Manchu Qing. I think everyone should think this question through clearly. The troops of our People's Party know that engaging in war is for ourselves, for our elders and relatives, and for the common people of the world. Who are you fighting for?"

After saying this, Chen Ke got off the platform, checked the basic work of the POW camp, and returned to the headquarters.

Back at the headquarters, He Zudao had already brought several political commissars to wait for Chen Ke. They were not anxious because of waiting at all; instead, they were enthusiastically discussing some work matters. Seeing Chen Ke enter the door, the political commissars stood up and saluted, and Chen Ke returned the salute. As soon as everyone sat down, He Zudao said, "Chairman Chen, we political commissars held a meeting about this election work. Now we want to report the work to you."

Seeing Chen Ke nod in agreement, He Zudao explained the thoughts of the political commissars. The main view of the political commissars was that the area where the election was implemented must be the old area of the People's Party; there was no need to rush in the newly liberated areas. The actual influence of the People's Party had not entered all base areas. If elections were held, I'm afraid dregs would float up. The political commissars all believed that there were still some forces in the locality that needed to be eliminated first, and these forces themselves happened to be quite influential locally. If this group of people were elected as representatives of the People's Government, it would be too troublesome to eliminate them later. And the common people's view of this would also be very poor.

From the perspective of governance, the political commissars' views were very reasonable. For example, the Jianghu secret societies that Chen Ke always wanted to eliminate actually didn't have a bad reputation now, and some landlords were far from being heinous people. If this group of people became officials, even Chen Ke felt it would be troublesome.

"I know the comrades' views, but I don't agree with some of your views. In the short term, elections will indeed cause some chaos; the common people have no election experience. And I also think one-person-one-vote elections will often become very nonsensical things." This was Chen Ke's heartfelt words. He knew many local grassroots cadres. Since the promotion of village-level elections, many "bribery elections" had occurred, and many local gang forces also began to emerge. Elections are actually an action dominated by "personal interests." It has a flavor of "After me, the flood!"

Looking at the political commissars nodding secretly in agreement one by one, Chen Ke poured a basin of cold water on them next. "But have comrades considered a problem? Elections are not just those bastards participating; our People's Party and the masses of the people are also participating. Comparing numbers, the number of the masses is overwhelming. Do you think our People's Party comrades can't get the support of the masses?"

The political commissars fell silent after hearing this. "From the perspective of political struggle, letting that group of monsters and demons jump out is not a bad thing, especially at this stage; it is simply a good thing."

"Chairman Chen, why do you say that?" Even He Zudao didn't understand Chen Ke's meaning a bit.

"The common people elect representatives they identify with because they believe these people can bring them benefits. But do you think anyone in this group really starts from the perspective of the people's interests? They definitely want to grab for themselves. I have said many times that the eyes of the masses are sharp. Whether this group of people grabs for themselves, the masses see clearly. Similarly, our People's Party stands on the interests of the people; the masses will know by comparison. Now our People's Party works alone, and the masses get real benefits; this is true. But the current view of the masses is that as long as they meet good officials, it's fine. It doesn't necessarily have to be your People's Party. Let's let everyone see through the election that in this current world, only the People's Party stands with the people."

The political commissars were dumbfounded. Normal people prioritize reducing current trouble. Chen Ke not only didn't try to reduce trouble but now even actively took on trouble.

Looking at this group of political commissars, Chen Ke knew he had scared them. Because although all of Chen Ke's thoughts were inherited from Uncle Karl (Marx) and Grandpa Mao, Chen Ke came from the downstream of history. Uncle Karl and Grandpa Mao certainly had the greatness of pioneers, but they couldn't see the process the cause went through. From the perspective of seeking truth from facts, Chen Ke was located downstream of history. He had seen all those things that actually happened, so naturally, he had less passion of a theorist and more coldness of a doer. The most important thing was that Chen Ke had seen countless manifestations of things "not happened" in this era, so he naturally acted with calmness and confidence.

The People's Party established by Chen Ke was not a "charlatan" organization. Chen Ke always had to explain the development of things and reasons clearly. This was also the reason why Chen Ke could establish huge prestige in less than two years. These comrades faced the future revolutionary prospects, couldn't see clearly, couldn't understand, but the revolutionary situation "predicted" by Chen Ke became reality almost without deviation. After this happened a few times, no one in the Party dared to oppose anymore. Big things and small things were all predicted correctly by Chairman Chen Ke. Everyone was too busy following; except for ambitious people, who would think of opposing?

Since the People's Party was not a "charlatan" organization, Chen Ke had an obligation to explain the reasons for his considerations clearly.

"Comrades, let's still consider according to basic thinking. First, on material preparation. The land in the current base area is divided into land owned by the masses and state-owned land. State-owned land belongs to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. Now it is temporarily hung under the National Defense Science and Technology Commission. That is to say, through land reform, we have obtained the ownership of most of the land. So the grassroots government organizations only manage the people; they don't have extra land to squeeze. Our People's Party talks about people's interests. That other group considers themselves, and they don't have extra land to use. Apart from exploiting the common people, what other tricks can they play?"

Last year, when Chen Ke proposed the division standard of three *mu* of land per person, many comrades still felt that this land was given too much. Someone even suggested that two *mu* of land was enough. Now listening to Chen Ke's explanation, everyone finally realized. The reason why Chen Ke gave more land was that the People's Party actually obtained control of more land. In the later stage, there would be more advantages. Some comrades looked at Chen Ke with wrong eyes. At that time, Chen Ke never mentioned these current reasons, only saying how necessary three *mu* of land was for the masses, which simply meant lying with open eyes.

Chen Ke didn't care about this gaze at all. Although he marked the name of this political commissar in his heart, Chen Ke also planned to record it in his diary after the meeting so as not to forget it later. But his heart was calm, and his tone continued to explain calmly, "Second, in terms of employment means. Everyone knows the situation in rural areas very well. Besides farming, the common people come out to work. Our state-owned enterprises have basically unified the factories up and down the base area. Moreover, there are many workers working in our state-owned enterprises, so we accumulate fast. What's more, private enterprises want to earn profits; their exploitation must be much fiercer than ours. I say it again: the eyes of the masses are sharp; everyone knows how to compare. Under comparison, who do comrades think can win the final competition?"

As the saying goes, with grain in hand, there is no panic in the heart. Money is hard currency. After Chen Ke finished explaining these, the political commissars were convinced that state-owned enterprises could master the largest and most money. With grain, money, and guns, there was simply no need to fear those "monsters and demons" playing any new tricks.

"Third point, on the organizational model. Our People's Party's organizational model stresses science most. We treat problems with scientific methods and thinking. And those people haven't learned these, haven't experienced these. Their organizational model is inevitably unscientific. Unscientific things will inevitably be defeated by science. So I rather hope they jump out now. They haven't learned what our People's Party promotes; they are even hostile. Since they are hostile, naturally it is impossible to learn our scientific attitude and methods. If we wait until these people contact and learn, our struggle with these people will be more difficult. At that time, the situation will be much more difficult than now. So I hope they jump, and I also hope they jump as high as possible."

The political commissars were speechless by this point. They originally thought that once the people's election was promoted, it would be a crisis-ridden and difficult thing immediately. After listening to Chen Ke's explanation, this situation looked bright instead. This 180-degree turn in thinking was so rapid. The beautiful prospect and huge contrast made the political commissars grin foolishly one by one, but they couldn't speak.

"Fourth point, I also want to talk about the issue of settling accounts after autumn. Some people just want to be this official to satisfy their craving. This is also human nature. But everyone can imagine, once power is in hand, orders are carried out. It can be imagined how they will use these powers. They will commit crimes, or at least they will offend people. At this time, we should settle accounts after autumn. We know they will definitely do these bad things, but when they haven't actually done them, if we get rid of them, the common people will think they are pitiful, and think we are tyrannical and unreasonable. When they have done these bad things, and we get rid of them again, the common people will only feel happy and happy. We eliminated harm for the people. So wait for them to jump themselves; why let these guys be martyrs? They don't deserve it."

Xiong Mingyang was relatively tough. After hearing this, his face was full of joyful and fierce smiles. "Chairman Chen, I know. Now I know what to tell the soldiers."

Chen Ke stopped Xiong Mingyang's enthusiastic statement on the spot. "You, you don't know. Let me ask you a question: do you think I am playing conspiracies by considering problems like this?"

"How could it be! Chairman Chen, I don't think this is a conspiracy at all." Although he said so with his mouth, Xiong Mingyang's expression had already betrayed his mind.

Chen Ke said seriously to Xiong Mingyang, "Comrade Xiong Mingyang, all these deductions of mine are not me deliberately luring those monsters and demons, but as long as there is a chance, the monsters and demons will jump out to do this themselves. This is their nature. They didn't do this only because they didn't have the chance to do this."

Xiong Mingyang obviously just wanted to reassure Chen Ke now. He responded repeatedly. "Correct, correct."

Chen Ke didn't mean to perfunctory at all. "Comrade Xiong Mingyang, and comrades attending this meeting. First, you must keep the content of this meeting confidential. Second, starting tomorrow, you must come to me to participate in meetings discussing mobilizing soldiers. Whoever can't really understand can't participate in the propaganda activities to mobilize soldiers. I'm waiting to see your performance."