Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren left Shaoxing and went directly to Anqing, the influence of the League in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River was not very large, and the information in this era was not smooth, so the two of them left in a hurry, and they even doubted that the People's Party would have put its headquarters in Anqing. If this is the case, the two of them can take a lot of unjust paths.

When the ships arrived in Nanjing, there were more Qing troops on board for inspection. Fortunately, the two got Tao Chengzhang's guidance and chose to disembark directly in Nanjing, rather than continuing to swim upstream. Both of them are people who have traveled south and north to see the world, and this temperament alone is different. The League also had some connections in Nanjing, and with the help of local comrades, the two took a boat to Wuhu. Although Wuhu was strictly defended, it was not so troublesome because there was no large-scale garrison. Coupled with someone answering, the two finally boarded the boat to Anqing again.

Very few people disembarked in Anqing. It was already a BJP-ruled area, and no one wanted to ask for trouble except for a few who had to disembark here. The empty wharf is proof that Anqing's once-buoyant shipping economy has taken a major hit. Song Jiaoren breathed a sigh of relief, if the dock is lively now, it will show that the People's Party has now won the hearts of the people. If the BJP wins the hearts and minds of the people, it will never want to deal more with the League.

Although there were few people on the dock, there were soldiers who were in charge of monitoring the dock. This was the first time Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren had seen People's Party soldiers, and they all had short hair and wore dark blue military uniforms. The soldiers did not stand still, some of them were in charge of directing traffic, and some of them were leading some men in light yellow vests to clean up. Huang Xing's eyes were sharp, and he recognized the words "urban health" written on the shoulder blades on the back of these yellow vests, and there was a number under the words.

Although it is not the bright yellow silk vest of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, Huang Xing feels even more nondescript when he sees such a dress. The yellow vests were all braided, the BJP fighters were all short-haired, and such a group of people mixed together and worked hard, and there was an indescribable sense of coordination and incongruity at the same time.

The two of them stood in place and looked at the environment vigorously, which immediately attracted the attention of the soldiers. Four soldiers with guns held rifles on their shoulders in their hands, and a man who could have been an officer approached. "Two, get off the boat and go this way."

Looking at this posture, Huang Xing knew that things were not quite right, and he and Song Jiaoren were targeted. He hurriedly explained in a low voice: "I am from the League and want to ask to see Chairman Chen Ke of your party. ”

The officer's eyes lit up immediately, "Please come with me." ”

The soldiers on the dock did not follow, but they did not immediately lift their alert, but kept an eye on Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren. The two were taken into a house outside the dock, where another person was in charge, and the officer said a few words to several people in the house, and then left. Although the people here do not carry rifles on their backs, they are sturdy and look very unusual. The waist is bulging, and there are no pistols.

"Sit." The leader of the house was quite polite. But the stool that sat Huang Xing and the others was a cone cut off from it, and Huang Xing didn't know that this was a special table and chair for the People's Party when interrogating prisoners. Practice has shown that this kind of thing is uncomfortable to sit on, but it is absolutely impossible for the person being interrogated to hold and wield it.

The officer didn't care if Huang Xing was comfortable sitting, he took out a notebook and asked, "Name." ”

This attitude like that of the prisoner made Huang Xing extremely unhappy, Song Jiaoren saw that Huang Xing's face had changed, and hurriedly tugged Huang Xing's sleeve. Song Jiaoren said: "In Xia Song Jiaoren, this is Mr. Huang Xing. We would like to ask to see Chairman Chen Ke of your party. ”

Song Jiaoren originally thought that these people in the People's Party should know their name, at least they should know Huang Xing's name. Unexpectedly, the officer opposite did not think so at all, he exchanged glances with another officer, and the officer entered the room at the back, and after a while took out a booklet. Then two officers and one of them began to ask questions in front of the booklet.

This question is actually relatively simple, it is all about the life and deeds of Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren, and some questions are deliberately asked wrong. This made Huang Xing angry, is there such a shabby person? He couldn't help but say loudly: "I heard that King Yuehui has returned to Anqing now, as long as you call the people of King Yue to recognize us, you will know if we are impostors." ”

The officer was not angry when Huang Xing shouted two sentences, he nodded, "This is also the way." Who do you know? ”

Three hours later, Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren were finally led out by Chen Duxiu and others. Huang Xing, who was already very dissatisfied with the officer's style, was stopped again before going out, and the officer even asked Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren to sign the release document. If it weren't for being on the territory of the People's Party, Huang Xing would never be willing to accept this nest.

When the group came out of the house, Chen Duxiu said with a smile: "Mr. Huang Xing doesn't have to be angry, in fact, it's not just you, it's the People's Party." If you refuse to sign, the BJP cadres will not be able to report the matter to their superiors. ”

Chen Duxiu said this, Huang Xing didn't want to say anything, and the group chatted while walking. Knowing that Chen Ke was not in Anqing, Huang Xing was a little disappointed. As he was talking, he heard the sound of gongs and drums suddenly sounding not far away. When I looked that way, I saw that it was in another place at the turn of the street, and it was blocked by private houses. However, the other people were very conspicuous, they were wearing black vests, and they were in the same style as the people cleaning the docks, except that the shoulder blades on their backs were written with the words "City Management", and the number was also underneath.

"What does this city management do?" Huang Xing saw that these people were all strong guys, but he didn't know what to do.

"These are chengguan, the equivalent of the Japanese police. Responsible for the maintenance of law and order. Chen Duxiu explained.

"How many people are coming from the People's Party?" Huang Xing thought it was incredible.

"These chengguan are not from the People's Party, but recruited by the People's Party in Anqing City." Chen Duxiu explained.

"The People's Party is rich, huh?" Huang Xing couldn't help but say. If it can recruit people locally, the People's Party will definitely have to pay them, and in a depressed port like Anqing, the People's Party still has the financial resources to recruit people, which is really wealthy.

Chen Duxiu's face changed slightly, but he didn't answer. Song Jiaoren saw a sense of loss in Chen Duxiu's dark color, and he then asked, "Mr. Chen, what's wrong with this recruitment?" ”

Since Song Jiaoren asked, Chen Duxiu also said it directly. The People's Party recruited these people not to give them gold, silver and copper coins, but to pay a kind of paper money called "renminbi". These banknotes can be used to buy grain and daily necessities from the "supply and marketing cooperatives" opened by the People's Party in Anqing. The supply and marketing cooperatives have cheap commodity prices, and they only accept RMB, and they do not accept any gold, silver and copper coins.

Huang Xing didn't understand the economy, and Song Jiaoren didn't understand what the meaning of this "renminbi" was. Chen Duxiu looked at the confused two people, and had mixed feelings in his heart. He didn't understand why the BJP had to put such effort into it, but it took a month for him to figure out what the BJP was planning. "Two, now the market in Anqing is depressed, and there is no business at all. The people are having a hard time, but you can earn renminbi by working in factories run by the People's Party and other so-called municipal departments. After earning RMB, you can buy food and daily necessities. If you don't work under the BJP, it's going to be a very difficult time. It's a shame to say that our King Yue will be in Anqing for a few months, and he has brought Anqing to a situation where all industries are withering......"

Seeing that Chen Duxiu fell into a mood of self-blame, Huang Xing still didn't understand what this economic policy meant, Song Jiaoren was smarter, and he probably heard the clue. "Mr. Chen, are you saying that the People's Party is now the only merchant in the city that has surplus grain for sale?"

"Yes, the BJP hired labor to buy grain in the neighborhood and also brought some grain from other places. Then they were sold at a parity price, and in order to avoid someone hoarding Juqi, they did not use gold and silver, but in yuan. If you want to earn RMB, you can only get it by working for the People's Party, which gives the people of Anqing a way to live. When Chen Duxiu said this, his tone was full of remorse. He didn't completely regret the rule of the Yue Wanghui back then, he was more concerned about why he didn't have such insight back then. If King Yue could take such a method when he would occupy Anqing, he would not sit back and eat empty.

After the implementation of the People's Party's economic policy, the people had to contact and cooperate with the People's Party, and with the participation of the people from Anqing, the People's Party finally restored order and hygiene to Anqing, which was in a state of decay and chaos. Even though life is still difficult, the attitude of the people towards the BJP has changed a lot.

"Mr. Chen, isn't there anyone printing fake money?" Song Jiaoren couldn't help but ask.

Chen Duxiu took out a piece of "RMB", and Song Jiaoren was taken aback after reading it. Although this banknote is not as beautiful as that printed on the yen and foreign currencies, the paper is tough and straight, and the printed pattern is clean and tidy, so it is extremely difficult to imitate it. In a hurry, don't even think about imitation. His first thought was that Chen Ke actually got foreign banknote printing equipment.

This is not imported equipment, Chen Ke worked in a factory that produced PS boards, and he knows the difference between positive printing and negative printing. Positive printing is letterpress, the protruding part is hydrophilic, and the non-protruding part is hydrophilic, and the protruding part adsorbs ink when printing. Negative printing is the opposite, the part that needs to be printed is concave, this part absorbs ink, and the protruding part does not absorb ink. Foreign newspaper printing is mostly negative printing, so the handwriting is clear and the pattern is neat.

After a small paper mill with a pollution level and technical level close to the beginning of the 21st century was built in the base, it was experimented to mix raw silk and cotton into paper fibers to make paper for speculation. This method is to copy some of the paper recipes used as gimmicks in a movie about World War II Jews making counterfeit money for the Nazis, but I didn't expect it to work well.

Chen Ke used the yin engraving technology again, and You Gou took some core technical personnel to finally solve the refining of hydrophilic electrolytic aluminum and the hydrophilic ink adsorption material based on rosin. Even so, the printing of banknotes has wasted a lot of effort, the yield rate is less than 30%, and all the waste banknotes are burned.

Song Jiaoren couldn't understand the use of these techniques at all, he took the banknote and saw carefully, in addition to the pattern, the front center of the banknote is a portrait of four figures side by side, the one on the left is holding a hammer, like a worker, the one with a turban and a hoe in the middle should be a peasant, the one on the right is a soldier of the People's Party, and the one on the far right is a woman with a pickaxe, which looks like a village girl. Under the four characters is a sentence, "The people of the whole country unite to jointly turn over the Manchu Qing Dynasty and build a new China." In the upper right corner of the banknote is written the word "Wumao" in Chinese characters, and an Arabic numeral "5" is printed underneath.

Conversely, there are various patterns on the back, and in the middle is the symbol of a sickle hammer. Below is a line of words, "People's Bank of the Republic of China".

"The Chinese are very good?" Huang Xing read beside him. Song Jiaoren couldn't help but correct, "It's the People's Bank of China." ”

All the words used on this five-cent coin are simplified, and it is no wonder that Huang Xing will admit his mistake. With a red face, Huang Xing turned his face away.

Returning the five cents to Chen Duxiu, Song Jiaoren asked, "How many things can I buy with these five cents." ”

"Two catties of rice." Chen Duxiu replied.

"Such a piece of paper is worth two catties of rice? The People's Party's money is worth a lot. Huang Xing said in surprise.

"So they only give this kind of renminbi to the people who work, and now there is a black market to buy and sell renminbi, but the People's Party has very strict control over the issuance of currency. It's really hard to find. Chen Duxiu replied.

While speaking, everyone had already arrived at the residence of King Yue. This is a large courtyard in the city, and there are less than three hundred members of the Yue Wang Society, and this large courtyard and a few nearby houses can already be inhabited.

After Chen Duxiu, Song Jiaoren and Huang Xing sat down together, Song Jiaoren said: "Mr. Chen, this Anqing incident has made the comrades of the Yue Wang Association suffer. ”

Chen Duxiu smiled, "Mr. Song, Mr. Huang, you came just in time." We, the Yue Wang Society, have decided to join the new government in Anhui, although not to join the People's Party, but to follow the People's Party in the revolution. That's why I'm just going to inform you that our King Yue will officially withdraw from the Alliance. ”

This news hit Song Jiaoren even harder than the withdrawal of the Liberation Society, and Song Jiaoren felt as if his heart was falling straight down towards a bottomless abyss. Chen Duxiu's attitude towards the People's Party was not very friendly, but Song Jiaoren knew that Chen Duxiu and Yue Wanghui had already made up their minds to defect to the People's Party. Song Jiaoren didn't even have the courage to stay, he just looked at Chen Duxiu in amazement.

Chen Duxiu didn't care too much about Song Jiaoren's mood, he said: "Our Yue Wanghui hastened up this time, not only is it useless for the revolution, but it has harmed the people of Anqing. King Yue will be very sad about this. So we decided to join the Anhui People's Government and do something for the people of Anhui. In this case, the Yue Wang Guild can no longer stay in the Alliance. Please tell Mr. Sun about this when he goes back. ”

Huang Xing couldn't help but say, "Mr. Chen, you are climbing a high branch." ”

Song Jiaoren was afraid that Huang Xing would say something even more ugly, so he hurriedly stopped, "Brother Huang......"

Chen Duxiu was not moved by Huang Xing's attitude at all, "Brother Huang, before the uprising, Anqing was not prosperous, at least the people were still passable. But you didn't see the tragic situation of Anqing when our King Yue would retreat from Anqing, this is the People's Party returned to Anqing for a month, and worked hard to rectify, so that Anqing has what it is today. If our King Yue will again claim to be a revolutionary hero, it will be shameless. Therefore, we can only atone for our sins by doing real things for the people. ”

"What does that have to do with quitting the Alliance?" Huang Xing couldn't accept this.

"Our ideal of joining the League was to overthrow the Manchus, and now that the People's Government has been established in Anhui, the Manchu power is gone. We feel that when we have fulfilled our obligations, we will do things in the future, not talk about revolution. So everyone's choices are different, and there is no point in staying in the league anymore. ”

Huang Xing still didn't give up, but since Chen Duxiu had made up his mind, he was not moved at all. Whether Huang Xing was sneering or pleading, Chen Duxiu had no intention of changing his mind. Song Jiaoren saw that there was no other room, so he had to say that he would inform Sun Yat-sen about the Yue Wang Society. Song Jiaoren asked Chen Ke where he was, but Chen Duxiu was not sure, and he suggested that Song Jiaoren and Huang Xing go and ask Zhang Yu, the mayor of Anqing City of the People's Party.

When resting at night, Huang Xing sat on the bed sulking, and Song Jiaoren didn't say a word. The strength displayed by the People's Party made Soong Jiaoren feel extremely uneasy. He also thought that the establishment of a revolutionary government would immediately trigger a chain reaction throughout the country, and that the Manchu dynasty would collapse in an instant. In fact, there was indeed a chain reaction, but this reaction was actually a reshuffle of the forces of the revolutionary party. The League, which once held the revolutionary bull's ear, is now in a situation of rebellion and separation. The People's Party had become the center of revolution in Anhui, and the various revolutionary forces actively or passively abandoned the League and turned to the People's Party. So far, the BJP has not shown its attitude towards the League at all. Song Jiaoren felt a great uneasiness.

After Song Jiaoren saw Zhang Yu the next day, he was even more sure of his thoughts. Zhang Yu is very young, less than thirty years old. The revolutionary party in these years was generally very young, and what impressed Song Jiaoren was that Zhang Yu did not look like a revolutionary party at all, but like a shrewd and capable senior official of the Young Zhuang faction. In addition to having no braids and no cumbersome etiquette, Zhang Yu's whole person is an official in military uniform. He does not smile, his eyes are deep, and he is neither stern nor indulgent. When I greeted Song Jiaoren and Huang Xing, I didn't know what Zhang Yu was thinking.

However, it didn't take long for Song Jiaoren to see the difference between Zhang Yu and the Manchu officials. Zhang Yu has no shelf, let alone any official authority. After calmly listening to Song Jiaoren's idea of asking to see Chen Ke, he quickly gave an answer. "It is possible that Chairman Chen is in Hefei now, but I was informed a few days ago that Chairman Chen will return to Fengtai in the near future. Since both of you are revolutionary comrades of the League, I suggest that you go to Hefei first, and if you do not meet Chairman Chen, then go from Hefei to Fengtai County. Do you need guards, two? ”

This attitude of taking matters into account impressed Song Jiaoren, and Zhang Yu had neither hostility nor good intentions. Just put forward a solution to the problem on a case-by-case basis, which made Song Jiaoren scratch his head. If it is an official of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, he always reflects his existence intentionally or unintentionally. Either to show that he has status, or to show that he has a background, or simply to hope that the other party will "pay respect" to his official status. But Zhang Yu didn't, Zhang Yu just told Song Jiaoren how to solve the matter. Everything else seems to have nothing to do with Zhang Yu.

Whether this is respect or ignorance, Song Jiaoren can't figure it out.

Zhang Yu waited politely for a while, and seeing that Song Jiaoren was silent, he asked, "Do you two want guides?" ”

Faced with this uncourteous but thoughtful attitude, Song Jiaoren had no choice but to reply: "Then it's tiring." ”

Zhang Yu showed Song Jiaoren what efficiency is, he spent a minute conveying the order to the clerk, and the clerk spent ten minutes to hire a guide, and then Zhang Yu suggested that Song Jiaoren and Huang Xing go on the road.

Song Jiaoren didn't know whether to believe Zhang Yu or not, but what could he believe if he didn't believe it? He had to follow the guide out, but he saw that there were already three horses outside the door, and the guide took the lead in getting on the horses, and soon the three of them left the gate of the Anqing Municipal Party Committee.

"Mayor Zhang, they've already set off." The clerk informed Zhang Yu of the news.

"Send a message to the base." Zhang Yu ordered. After saying this, he left Song Jiaoren and Huang Xing behind. Zhang Yu Yes, things are piled up, where is the heart to put on these two guys. What's more, Chen Ke has already sent a circular letter to cadres from all over the country, and when he encounters a cadre of the Alliance who has come, he can send it directly to Chen Ke after verifying that he is in the right position. Zhang Yu didn't have that much to think about.