He Zudao always followed Chen Ke's footsteps closely; this was a generally recognized fact within the People's Party. Even so, it was the first time He Zudao saw that Chen Ke, who always appeared with a posture of integrity and justice, actually had a completely different side. He Zudao didn't consider Chen Ke a "great sage," at least not the kind of great sage who was full of righteousness from head to toe. What he couldn't figure out was exactly what kind of insight Chen Ke used to see through enemies. He Zudao also didn't understand why, after understanding the psychology of bad people, Chen Ke wasn't angry at all, as if this was something that should happen naturally.

For this reason, He Zudao specifically went to find Chen Ke at night privately to ask for advice. Everyone was busy, and Chen Ke was even busier, so He Zudao only dared to go visit Chen Ke after nine o'clock at night. Chen Ke yawned as he put down the official document in his hand, "Zudao, what's the matter?"

He Zudao asked straight to the point: "Chairman Chen, I want to ask, why do you know the thoughts of those bad eggs, yet you aren't angry at all?"

Chen Ke yawned again before saying: "Zudao, you do political work. I ask you, what do you think politics is? What is the State?"

Although he didn't understand why Chen Ke asked this, He Zudao still answered concisely: "Politics is interest. The State is a tool for class rule."

Chen Ke looked exhausted too. While yawning, he said: "Since you know very well that politics is interest and the State is a tool for class rule, then why get angry?"

"But, I just can't swallow this breath." He Zudao was speaking his heartfelt words. The more he strove to practice revolution, the harder it was to endure those people and things that destroyed the new system.

Chen Ke couldn't help laughing after hearing this. "Zudao, when I was young, I also loved to get angry. I felt this in the world was wrong, and that was wrong; anyway, no one was right. Resenting heaven, resenting earth, resenting the air; after resenting the Soviet Revisionists, I resented the American Imperialists."

Actually, Chen Ke wasn't much older than He Zudao, but when the two talked privately, Chen Ke always spoke in the tone of an elder, and both were very accustomed to this.

"Chairman Chen, what are Soviet Revisionists and American Imperialists?" He Zudao asked.

"This, well, you'll know in twenty or thirty years." Chen Ke skillfully avoided the topic and continued: "As a communist, as a member of the People's Party, our starting point should be life, not revolution. The purpose of revolution is to let everyone live better and obtain liberation. Not just liberation in terms of productive forces, but also self-liberation. My family was extremely strict with me since childhood. At that time, I longed for freedom, to be able to go wherever I wanted just like I had wings. Later, I discovered that so-called flying freely was just like that, nothing more. The thing I longed for changed; I hoped to be able to have a clear conscience. I hoped that every time I patted my chest and asked myself, 'Old Chen, do you have a guilty conscience?' I could answer righteously, 'I have a clear conscience.' Then I discovered that ever since I could remember, I hadn't done many things with a clear conscience."

Hearing Chen Ke talk about this topic, He Zudao was very interested. Chen Ke loved to say "A genius's first cry is not a good poem either." In He Zudao's view, Chen Ke was a genius, and He Zudao was very interested to know exactly how Chen Ke grew into a genius.

"Why do I always have a guilty conscience? Because for any single thing I did, I didn't do it for the sake of doing the thing itself, but to get the result I wanted. For example, I cared about a person with the goal of hoping the other party would be good to me, not because I cared so much about that person. It was just that I personally was empty and lonely. Anyway, generally speaking, it was all this kind of foolish practice of doing things to achieve a goal, so the process was never sincere. Haha." Speaking of his own past foolish conduct, Chen Ke couldn't help laughing.

He Zudao's character was very serious. Or rather, people in this Late Qing era were all struggling for life and death; basically, there were no bored people like Chen Ke. He couldn't understand how a person could do things unrelated to their own likes and dislikes.

Chen Ke didn't want to say more about these things either. He continued: "Later, I also participated in quite a few businesses, and they all failed. Only when I truly reflected on these failures did I understand why I failed. Because in these things I participated in, everyone's goal was success, to make big money after success. Because we had this kind of thought, we lost the scientific attitude. The scientific attitude is to respect the objective laws of things. It's not what you think this thing is like, but to objectively observe, participate in, and experience the laws of these things themselves. If you yourself are objective, your own emotions are unnecessary. Anger is a personal problem, while objective laws have nothing to do with you personally; they exist objectively. Just like those bad people; whether you get angry or not, they will do that anyway."

He Zudao felt Chen Ke was really tired right now; his attention was obviously not focused, and he spoke incoherently, turning seven corners and eight bends before reaching the main topic. As a result, in the end, it was just a simple sentence: " The emotion of anger is unnecessary." It wasn't that He Zudao didn't know he shouldn't get angry; it was just that after thinking of those bad eggs who would commit outrages, he got angry involuntarily. More accurately, when thinking of these people, his instinctive first reaction was to execute these people.

Seeing He Zudao frowning with a look of indignation—his face was a bit flushed because his emotions were relatively agitated—and seeing this appearance of a "man of justice suffering grievance," Chen Ke couldn't help laughing heartily again. "Zudao, my expression when I was young was exactly like yours," Chen Ke said while laughing. Being laughed at by Chen Ke like this, He Zudao's face was no longer just flushed, but held back until it was somewhat purple.

He Zudao had been a political commissar for so long after all; his loss of composure in front of Chen Ke only lasted a short while. Looking at Chen Ke's gentle gaze, He Zudao quickly recovered a certain degree of composure. "I really want to solve all problems immediately. Your method is a bit too slow."

"I think to be accurate, it is slower than you think," Chen Ke corrected. "Zudao, when you go upstairs, you definitely know you have to pass every single step. This has nothing to do with whether you are anxious or not. You can't just rush at the surface of the goal. This time, looking from the surface, it's about getting rid of those people. You rush up and kill those people; do you think this achieves the goal? If it were as simple as killing people, do you think I am an indecisive person? I executed over eight hundred people in one breath back then without blinking an eye."

Mentioning that suppression of counter-revolutionaries, He Zudao actually calmed down. The number of people killed that time was so large that He Zudao was quite frightened at the time. He knew Chen Ke's only hesitation back then was because he was moved by compassion, but in the end, those eight hundred or so people were still all killed. After the great execution ended, the atmosphere in the base area immediately improved a lot, and no one dared to openly oppose the government orders of the new government anymore. This was also one of the important reasons why many comrades leaned towards violent implementation this time.

"Chairman Chen, the situation this time is relatively similar to the last time, so quite a few comrades feel we can adopt violent means," He Zudao explained.

"The difference is huge. Last time, those people had already done bad things. We killed them, and the people masses knew the rules we set could not be challenged. Most importantly, the land reform system we promoted indeed let the people enjoy benefits and improved their standard of living. The people felt that with such good policies, this bunch actually attacked our People's Party government; these people were indeed seeking their own destruction. Now those bad eggs haven't jumped out yet, and they haven't done bad things yet. If you kill them, what does that count as?"

He Zudao still felt he couldn't quite accept Chen Ke's idea. "Chairman Chen, since those people are scourges, why must we wait until those people have done bad things before acting?"

Chen Ke guided him around a big circle before He Zudao finally asked the relatively core question. Chen Ke also felt relieved. "Zudao, assume, assume the path I pointed out is absolutely correct. How many people do you think can do as I say?"

He Zudao fell silent. The answer was obvious; not many people could do it. He Zudao believed that many people actually didn't sincerely support the policies Chen Ke promoted. When specifically executing them, everyone might still abide by these regulations, but no one really cared why Chen Ke wanted to do so. Only after Chen Ke's predictions turned into reality could people, including He Zudao, understand the ingenuity within. The premise of understanding was still Chen Ke saying it himself. When Chen Ke didn't speak, there were quite a few people guessing Chen Ke's thoughts, but not a single one could guess correctly.

After determining this issue, He Zudao suddenly saw the true reason for his anger clearly. He believed he was useless and couldn't share the work for the beloved Chairman Chen. He Zudao actually knew his ability was constantly improving, but precisely because of the improvement in ability, He Zudao saw the gap between himself and Chen Ke like a chasm even more clearly. This was also the thing He Zudao found hardest to accept. He Zudao hoped that as long as Chen Ke uttered a sentence, he could do the thing to Chen Ke's degree, or at least to a degree that satisfied Chen Ke. The actual situation was that He Zudao found he couldn't even truly understand Chen Ke's meaning. This couldn't help but make He Zudao anxious, couldn't help but make He Zudao angry.

Chen Ke didn't know He Zudao's thoughts. At this moment, what he truly hoped was that He Zudao could make a breakthrough. Seeing He Zudao silent, Chen Ke simply explained: "I know it's hard for everyone to do it, because everyone hasn't seen the new system and doesn't understand it. Comrades and the common people in the base area still use the thinking of the old era to view problems. To let them transform their thinking to the thinking of the new era requires great effort, which is why I want to let those bad eggs jump out. These bad eggs are actually capable; precisely because they are capable, they can contrast with us better. Only because there is a contrast can the difference between the new system and the old system be seen by everyone, and can everyone know of the existence of a new world different from the old system. Even if just to complete our cause, we have to let them jump."

Looking at Chen Ke's calm expression, the sense of shame in He Zudao's heart rose a lot again. He asked: "Chairman Chen, then why can't everyone directly accept what you say? Wouldn't that be faster?"

"Accepting any new thing requires a process; this is a normal law. And I believe the people masses can accept new things, because everyone's goal is to make their own life better. The new system is obviously more effective than the old system. So I'm not anxious at all. Zudao, the reason the old system can exist is that the old system definitely has its rationality. Since the old system has already existed for thousands of years, it's impossible for the new system to completely replace the old system in just a few years. Such an attitude is unscientific. We are not immortals; we can't rely on a mouth to convince the comrades, to convince the common people. Only by working steadfastly, by the scientific attitude of doing without saying and not claiming credit, can we win over the common people."

After Chen Ke finished speaking, He Zudao felt even more ashamed. "Chairman Chen, I've disappointed you," he said sincerely.

Chen Ke was somewhat surprised by these words from He Zudao. "Zudao, did someone say something?"

He Zudao hurriedly said: "No, Chairman Chen, no one said anything. I just feel I'm useless. Seeking instant success and quick profits only makes you worry more."

"Zudao. You haven't disappointed me. With you here, I'm very at ease about the political work department. I'm already busy like this now; without you here, I couldn't hold up even if I worked myself to death." After speaking, Chen Ke patted He Zudao's shoulder. "Zudao, I thank you very much. You have put in a lot of effort for the revolutionary work; I see it all. It's just that I am sometimes too lazy and have strong dependency. You do well, and I feel it's as it should be; this way of mine made you misunderstand."

"Chairman Chen, please never say that." He Zudao hurriedly explained. Everyone saw the heaviness of Chen Ke's work with their own eyes. As long as he wasn't resting, Chen Ke was working. As a married person, Chen Ke actually rarely had time to sit there and eat a meal with his wife. Chen Ke often approved documents and made plans all night in the office. Now that the work in the base area was so heavy, many mid-level comrades wished Chen Ke could take on more work. Executing orders was always much easier than making a plan. When Chen Ke started self-criticism, He Zudao immediately felt very fearful.

"Zudao, this revolution we launched is not just my cause. This revolution is also your cause, and everyone's common cause. I feel you have a shortcoming: you lack a dominant attitude too much. Let me put it this way: if I die, do you hope I die with peace of mind?"

"Chairman Chen..." He Zudao's face flushed red with shame.

Chen Ke raised his hand to stop He Zudao from continuing. "Zudao, if you want me to die with peace of mind, then it means I'm not worried at all that there will be no successors to the revolutionary cause after I die, and that the revolutionary cause will definitely be able to be pushed forward and achieve complete victory. In this Battle of Hefei, Li Yuanhong requested surrender, and Mr. Yan dared to go to Li Yuanhong's fleet alone. Why was that? Because Mr. Yan knew that even if he was killed by a desperate Li Yuanhong jumping over a wall, we could still win this campaign completely. He wasn't afraid at all. Zudao, I said long ago that revolution isn't my personal cause. Don't revolutionize just to be loyal to me. This mindset is unscientific. If you truly want to be loyal to me, then you must treat the revolution as your own responsibility, not just be responsible to me. Our power comes from the people; you must be responsible to the people."

He Zudao never thought Chen Ke had such deep expectations for him. Although the sense of shame hadn't completely disappeared, what occupied He Zudao's heart at this moment was a kind of touching emotion and satisfaction from the bottom of his heart. This was the emotion of having one's value acknowledged by the person one respected. He Zudao suddenly felt that everything he had done in the past had been rewarded. The previous various dissatisfactions and anxieties vanished in an instant.

Although Chen Ke couldn't completely understand He Zudao's psychology, he could see that the thing confusing He Zudao had disappeared. He couldn't help but urge again, "In the future, don't consider me when considering problems; consider problems from the perspective of the people."

The next day, the political commissars held a meeting. They suddenly discovered that He Zudao seemed to have changed into a different person. If yesterday He Zudao was still about the same level as everyone in considering problems, then today He Zudao had obviously kept up with Chen Ke's train of thought. The political commissars actually involuntarily leaned Chen Ke's ideas towards conspiracies and tricks, while He Zudao obviously took winning over the masses as the core goal.

Since He Zudao originally had similar thoughts to these comrades, now he connected to Chen Ke's thoughts above and could understand everyone's thoughts below. After half a day of discussion, several political commissars finally understood Chen Ke's true thoughts.

After understanding the core program of "fighting for the masses," the political commissars discovered an extremely nonsensical thing. This was originally the problem Chen Ke had explained from the beginning. It was just that after explaining this core program, Chen Ke talked about the specific execution methods again. As a result, everyone thought this method had too much of a calculating flavor, and instead lost the true direction of the policy.

Seeing that the political commissars understood the essence of the matter, Chen Ke said: "Comrades, I am not engaging in conspiracy. I said earlier, conspiracy is deception based on interest. I feel I can call this method of mine an 'Open Stratagem' (*Yang Mou*). Because those people, based on their class position, will definitely do this. We are just giving them the chance to jump out and do this. I emphasize again. Our revolutionary cause is to serve the interests of the people masses. In the revolutionary cause, who is our friend and who is our enemy, we must distinguish clearly. We must neither treat the masses as our enemies nor treat the enemies as our friends and let the enemies sneak into our ranks. This point must be distinguished clearly."

Xiong Mingyang had studied at Fudan Public School after all; he had thoroughly understood Chen Ke's meaning. He lost yesterday's fickleness and said with a slight frown: "Chairman Chen, why must we promote the local election system? Our strong leadership is actually more efficient."

"We are engaged in a people's revolution. The two pillars of a people's revolution are Science and Democracy. If we don't let the people participate in this people's revolution through local elections, then the people won't have a political stance based on their own interests. That means the people haven't participated in this people's revolution. To put it more bluntly, the people cannot sincerely support us. All our victories up to now are based on the people's support. Perhaps because we promote local elections, some people will sincerely oppose us. But, because we promote local elections, the majority of the people will choose to support us. We cannot fail to promote local elections just because we have to face some small difficulties and are afraid of trouble."

Xiong Mingyang nodded slightly. Thinking of the difficulties to be encountered in this local election, just thinking of a part of the difficulties, Xiong Mingyang couldn't get excited no matter what.

Chen Ke wasn't excited either. He said with a serious expression: "Of course, I must emphasize one thing. Our People's Party Constitution states clearly that our People's Party is the vanguard representing the interests of the Chinese people. To forge iron, one must be strong oneself. Besides accelerating the recruitment of party members, we must strengthen Party construction. This local election will be a challenge more difficult than revolutionary war. I hope everyone can have sufficient mental preparation and must do this work well."