"The Yankees must not be trusted!" After the conclusion of the negotiations with the US representatives, Chen Ke first reported the process and results of the negotiations to the comrades of the Politburo, and then gave such a definition.

Originally, many comrades had a certain appreciation for the conditions put forward by the United States, and if the United States could force Britain to accept the "fait accompli" that would happen later, then the United States would be helpful to the Chinese revolution. After listening to Chen Ke's judgment that he was full of distrust of the United States, many comrades felt that Chen Ke was really a bit capricious.

Chen Ke didn't care about this strange look at all, "Don't believe the Yankees because the Yankees have begun to guard against us." That's right, the Yankees are now trying to borrow our strength, and similarly, the Yankees are the first of all the European and American countries to assess our power in a positive way. When the United States expands its influence, they will definitely have a more correct judgment on us. So you can't trust the Yankees! ”

These remarks are Chen Ke's summary of the countless storms and hardships after World War I, World War II, and the founding of the Republic and countless painful lessons of various countries, and he cannot take those things out as examples now. So comrades don't understand Chen Ke, and there is no way. He continued: "The campaign to attack Tianjin begins now, and only after the railway is opened can we complete the Northeast Campaign more smoothly. There's nothing to think about too much now. I now ask, are your comrades ready to be besieged by Britain and France after the end of the war in Europe? ”

"Why only Britain and France?" Zhang Yu said jokingly.

"Because the Allies have been beaten, they can't afford to use troops against us. As long as we succeed in retaking Korea, Japan will be crippled. As for the United States, they don't have so many interests that they must take the lead. Of course, if we fail, the United States will definitely still participate in the military operations of Britain and France. Chen Ke replied calmly.

"If there were only Britain and France, we would be reassured." Zhang Yu is very confident in this.

It's not just Zhang Yu, the other comrades really don't feel afraid. Many comrades of the People's Party have been to Europe and the United States, and the long distance is quite in line with the "tyranny of distance". After the recent war, the comrades have gained considerable confidence in a civil war of more than a million dollars.

"Then give Pu Guanshui an order now and attack Tianjin!"

Pu Guanshui finally received the order on December 1, and since the central government issued the order, it must indicate that the central government has made all the preparations. And Pu Guanshui has another feeling, he now wants to send a telegram to the central government, Tianjin has basically been captured. But after thinking about it, he felt that it was really boring for him to do this. Now that the Central Military Commission has issued an order, Pu Guanshui will not complete the task before finally controlling Tianjin.

In the end, Pu Guanshui sent a telegram to the Military Commission, "If the defenders of Tianjin retreat to the south by boat, whether to block it." ”

The Military Commissar responded, "Let them go!" ”

Pu Guanshui sent another message with a little trepidation, "Can I encourage them to go?" ”

The Military Commission immediately responded, "That's very good! ”

Strategically speaking, it was actually a good thing for the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army to let all the defenders of Tianjin withdraw to the south by boat. As far as the bears of the Beiyang Army are concerned, they still can't exert their combat effectiveness locally, and they have traveled thousands of miles to Fujian and other places, and it is impossible to pose any threat. Not to mention, after withdrawing to the south, how much logistical pressure will be created on Feng Guozhang's Beiyang Army in the south.

The only regret for Pu Guanshui was that at least half of the 100,000 Beiyang troops in Tianjin could not have made it to the south. Now these 50,000 people are working in the prisoner-of-war camps of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army. The military uniforms provided to the Northeast are due to these people. Spinning and weaving may not be something that the Beiyang Army can do, but they can still do it with masks and cotton. Especially when the fruits of labor are linked to food.

The chief of intelligence quickly summed up the latest situation of the Tianjin defenders, "Since October, more than 20,000 of the 100,000 Tianjin defenders have deserted, 20,000 have simply defected to us, and some have come to us to ask us to let them go home. The total number is nearly 60,000. We've already contacted the remaining 40,000 people. More than half of them are willing to go home, and more than half of the remaining 10,000 people want to go to Shanxi. Only a small group of officers wanted to go to Feng Guozhang. ”

"Send someone to tell them that they will either disarm and surrender, or they will go to Feng Guozhang. There is no third way option. Pu Guanshui replied, thought about it, and said, "Let Comrade Li Runshi be responsible for this matter." ”

At this time, Li Runshi was in charge of the dredging of Longxu Ditch in the south of Beijing. As the northern end of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, Beijing was not short of water in 1915. Later, whether it was the diversion of water from Luan to Tianjin, or the later south-to-north water diversion, it was to solve the shortage of water supply caused by urbanization, and secondly, to improve water quality.

As for how to use the prisoners of war of the Beiyang Army, this has always been a headache for the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, but fortunately, the war in Hebei is basically over now. After guarding the passage of Taihang Mountain, Duan Qirui, who fled to Shanxi, did not have the ability to fight back in the short term. Therefore, Li Runshi suggested "exchanging labor for freedom". For Beiyang officers and soldiers, in addition to ordinary screening, labor screening should also be carried out. Li Runshi's point of view is that "if they are released without education, it is likely that these people will become a local scourge." Shall we kill it again then? Marx's social division, social class, is based on the fact that those who participate in social labor are members of society. A lonely primitive man, let alone no private property, is naked, and he cannot talk about the proletariat. Because he is not a member of society at all. ”

Pu Guanshui was very impressed by this evaluation, because when he considered the class division himself, he first crossed the question of the degree of participation of the other party in social production.

Facts have proved that Li Runshi is quite capable in the management of the prisoner of war camp. In the 50,000 or 60,000 prisoner of war camps, nearly half of the prisoners of war won the position of accepting the control of the People's Party in a little more than a month by organizing the prisoners of war to participate in social labor. The information provided by nearly half of the POWs was too rich. Not only were the officers who originally hid their identities arrested, but the guys who did not hide their identities as officers, but who hid their previous bandits, robbers, etc., were also found out.

When the local government of Hebei was established, it needed Liwei. Liwei is not only to simply intimidate the people, but also to prove to the people that the People's Party is capable of managing real local affairs. Helping the people repay their blood debts is undoubtedly an important part. The best way to bring to justice those bandits who have committed misdeeds where they have done evil is to bring them to justice.

What shocked Pu Guanshui was that Li Runshi not only caught the bandits, but also raised the question of why the bandits became bandits. The bandits must have done a lot of bad things, but these bad things were because they were originally motivated to satisfy their desire to eat, drink, prostitute and gamble, or because they were desperate to try to resist oppression. In the process of rebellion, I involuntarily did something that I had to do? Lee thinks it's necessary to be screened.

After listening to Li Runshi's suggestion, Pu Guanshui thought to himself, "Zhang Yu, this bastard is really discerning, why haven't I met such a talent before?" But even if I meet it, I'm afraid I won't be able to understand it. ”

Therefore, within more than a month, Li Runshi was promoted like a rocket and sat in the position of director of the Beijing Municipal Propaganda Department and member of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee.

After Li Runshi, who was on the construction site, got the order, he changed his clothes without saying a word, took a shower and set off. First, they took a train to the vicinity of Tianjin and were escorted by troops to the Tianjin Garrison Headquarters. Before Li Runshi arrived in Tianjin, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army had already contacted the local defenders in Tianjin. The local defenders sent guards to "escort" the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army messengers to Tianjin.

At this time, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army had been blockading Tianjin for more than three months. Tianjin is already a consumptive city, and the local food is not enough to support its needs. Although there are army stockpiles of grain, according to the intelligence of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, this grain is simply not enough to support next summer's harvest. Not to mention the death of Yuan Shikai, the Beijing government collapsed, and Duan Qirui fled west. The defenders of Tianjin had no food and military salaries to replenish them, and they were able to hold out until now and have not been completely destroyed, which made Li Runshi very interested.

The Beiyang Army officers and soldiers who came to greet them all wore military uniforms, and the soldiers carried rifles. The officers were all armed with short guns. However, judging from the spirit, these people are no longer soldiers, but some ordinary people wearing military uniforms. The concentration, solution, and agility of the SLR soldiers are not seen in the Beiyang Army at all. They are more like they see being a soldier as a kind of livelihood that can be paid without working. It's like the people who play tricks on stage.

Li Runshi doesn't have any hobbies, he just loves to smoke cigarettes. When he almost subconsciously took out his cigarette, the eyes of these Beiyang officers and soldiers fell on the cigarette roll and lighter in Li Runshi's hand. Of course, it is impossible to give lighters to the Beiyang Army, and even a cadre of Li Runshi's level cannot have the money to send out a dozen lighters at one time.

After glancing at the comrades around him, Li Runshi understood why there was a cigarette in the materials he applied for before departure. Of course, Li Runshi and others will not unjustifiably accuse others of enriching their own pockets and abusing power for personal gain without investigation and confirmation. Looking at those Beiyang officers and soldiers staring at the cigarette rolls, some of them kept their throats rising up and down. He hurriedly gave everyone cigarettes, and finally handed the remaining small half pack of cigarettes to the leading officer. At this time, all the Beiyang officers and soldiers immediately had the spirit after lighting the cigarettes, and their attitudes were extremely enthusiastic.

The group continued to walk inside, and the front line of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army troops besieging Tianjin, trenches, sandbags, barbed wire, and Li Runshi had all seen them. In the besieged city of Tianjin, Li Runshi saw it for the first time. The Beiyang Army on the opposite side also built defensive positions, and compared with the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, it was the gap between brick houses and adobe houses. Not only the difference between the material and the pattern, but also the understanding of the war and even the attitude of the different builders towards the work can be clearly distinguished. The defense system of the Beiyang Army was not only unreasonable, but also became tattered due to lack of maintenance in just over three months. What's even more amazing is that many places that should be sealed off have simply left gaps because some soldiers find it inconvenient to walk.

The group was just about to enter the city, but they heard a thunderous noise in the distance, and soon there was a violent vibration on the ground, and a violent explosion was heard a moment later. The people of the army were all too familiar with the sound, it was the sound of shelling. And this shelling was clearly large-caliber artillery. The Beiyang Army that came to greet Li Runshi was originally listless, and now it was not immediately full of hostility. The officer who took the lead looked at Li Runshi with panicked eyes, "This boss, are you the People's Party going to fight?" You said it earlier! ”

Li Runshi hurriedly replied: "If we really want to send troops, we will definitely tell everyone." That's not what we did. Listen to the sound, how does this look like it's coming from the seaside? ”

After Li Runshi's persuasion and appeasement, Beiyang, who was in charge of greeting him, finally settled down. The officer couldn't help but say, "Could it be that the foreigners are ready to attack us?" ”

"What's going on?" Li Runshi hurriedly asked.

The officer first dropped the butt of the cigarette, then shivered and lit one for himself, took a puff, and then said: "I also heard that the foreigners have been asking us to give them their lives recently. Our boss has always refused. I heard from other brothers, the boss said, it is unreliable to take refuge in foreigners, and the bosses of the People's Party have said that they will treat prisoners preferentially, but they will never let go of traitors. ”

Of course, Li Runshi knew about this, Pu Guanshui had clearly sent a message to the defenders of Tianjin, and he had also scattered leaflets to Tianjin. Clearly tell the defenders of Tianjin that if there is a civil war, everyone will be their own master. It's not about who's right and who's wrong. So give preference to the captives. If the defenders of Tianjin took refuge in foreigners and became traitors, there would be only one way to die.

Pu Guanshui was not an unknown person in the Beiyang Army back then, if he hadn't left the Beiyang Army, it would be more than enough to be a military commander now. After joining the People's Party, Pu Guanshui, as a rebel general in Beiyang, is a bad example of Ping Suli who is often mentioned and scolded and ridiculed, and his popularity is much higher than when he was in Beiyang. Such a notorious big man will never let go of the "traitors" when he speaks, but the Beiyang Army really believes that Pu Guanshui will definitely kill the traitors.

"Comrade Runshi, let's withdraw first. It's too dangerous here. Said the comrade who traveled with him.

Li Runshi thought for a while and said categorically: "Don't withdraw, since it was a foreigner who called, I believe that the Beiyang Army also needs our help." They are all Chinese, and we can't throw them down. ”

Pu Guanshui received the news that a foreign army was trying to attack Tianjin two hours later, and the first thing that popped up in Pu Guanshui's mind was the country of Japan. From a purely military point of view, Japan is also the right one. As long as they can occupy Tianjin, even if it is only to control it, the Japanese army can threaten the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, so that the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army will not be able to reinforce the Northeast in an overall situation.

Politically, if Japan is so tough, other countries may be able to get into the troubled waters. Anyway, there is a consensus among these countries when it comes to dealing with the BJP.

Naturally, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army could not do anything here and watch the Japanese army occupy Tianjin, so Pu Guanshui immediately ordered the troops to march towards Tianjin, and seize control of Tianjin no matter what.

Two hours after this order was issued, that is, just before the troops besieging Tianjin were preparing to attack, news suddenly came back that, under the persuasion of Comrade Li Runshi, the Beiyang defenders in Tianjin agreed to "conditionally" cede Tianjin. This news really surprised Pu Guanshui.