It is good that there are people who show loyalty. But there is no such thing as a free lunch, and the price of loyalty is to ask Chen Ke to give reasons for others to be loyal to Chen Ke.

"Reasonable. I'm usually a lover of reasoning. I don't have much to say to the big guy right now. Surely you understand. Chen Ke's voice was warm and cheerful. The comrades attending the meeting stretched their necks one by one to look at Chen Ke. Everyone knows that Brigade Commander Chen is a scholar. There are cultural classes in the army, and cultural knowledge is taught on a mandatory basis. To put it bluntly, it is to teach literacy. However, the textbooks for literacy are not the traditional Chinese basic textbooks "Three Character Classic" and "Thousand Character Text" or anything. It is a booklet specially written by Chen Ke.

The basic content of the course is to teach everyone to write their own names and learn to write the names of other comrades in the same unit. The slightly higher content is the ninety-nine arithmetic table. In addition to these instrumental cultural knowledge, the core content of other cultural courses is nothing more than a few, such as "labor is the most glorious", "distribution according to work", "the people are the masters of the country", "the people are the masters of the land", "unity is strength", and "the people want to be liberated".

In the course of study, comrades naturally asked about the origin of the cultural instructors' insurance group. As the supreme commander of the insurance regiment, the comrades were naturally very concerned about Chen Ke's background. After the instructor's admiring introduction, the comrades learned that Chen Ke was an overseas student who had returned from overseas. What an international student is, in fact, these peasant soldiers who have never even left the local area naturally don't know. watched the cultural faculty introduce Chen Ke in an admiring tone. In the impression of these ordinary people, the cultural teachers who can teach them literacy are the scholars. And the higher the status, the higher the knowledge. Brigadier Chen Ke, who has the highest status in the insurance regiment, is still a scholar who has returned from overseas, so he naturally has a university background.

I can also understand the same principle as Brigadier Chen Ke, and the soldiers feel very fresh. Quite a few people have excited smiles on their faces.

"We can't be hungry when we have a full stomach, and now we can't grow enough food to eat next summer's harvest. By next summer's harvest, we'll either starve to death or flee the famine. Chen Ke's voice was loud enough for every fighter to hear.

This is indeed a truth that every warrior can understand, and after hearing this, everyone's faces are difficult to look at.

Chen Ke's attitude was still enthusiastic, he didn't care about everyone's faces at all, he said loudly: "Everyone is from farming, what can be grown in such a muddy field now." Whatever you plant, it will soak and spoil, and you won't be able to grow crops at all. If we don't drain the water, we won't be able to grow enough food to eat next summer's harvest. In the past, these words were addressed to comrades within the BJP. The reason why Chen Ke wants to say to the middle and high-level is that there is a very unbearable bitterness. Most of these party members and comrades have no experience in farming. If you just rely on farming, you can't accumulate the money for these people to study. Therefore, it is very important for these comrades to understand the significance of large-scale water conservancy construction.

Today was the first time that Chen Ke explained the reasons for his heavy work to the comrades at the grassroots level, and to Chen Ke's surprise, all the comrades at the grassroots level understood it.

The loyal warrior who had just stood up to show his loyalty clearly understood what Chen Ke meant, and it seemed that he had already prepared for the question. As soon as Chen Ke's voice fell, the soldier continued to ask, "Brigade Commander Chen, you just said that you will only collect 30% of the rent in the future. That's right. ”

"That's right." Chen Kelang replied.

"You just said that you want to divide the land, right?" The warrior then asked.

"That's right!"

"And how long can these days last?" The warrior asked the question that was of most concern to him.

"What do you call this comrade?"

"My name is Hua Wenyu." The warrior replied in a loud voice.

"Comrade Hua Wenyu, I want to ask. Who do you think doesn't let everyone live like this? Chen Ke asked rhetorically.

"Hmm!" Hua Wenyu was speechless for a while.

"It's the landlord, it's the government!" Someone in the crowd shouted.

Hua Wenyu gritted his teeth, his heart was crossed, and he shouted: "Yes! It is the landlord and the government. ”

When Chen Ke heard this, his heart was overjoyed. But his face was still calm, "Comrade Hua Wenyu, how long have you been in the insurance group?" ”

"Three months."

"How many words have you learned?" Chen Ke then asked.

"More than two hundred." Hua Wenyu said proudly.

"Unity is strength. Can you write these six words? ”

"Yes."

"Then come up and write it out for me on the blackboard."

As soon as Chen Ke's words fell, Hua Wenyu strode out, and each company had two large blackboards. One piece is mainly used to write various announcements. The other is mainly used for cultural education. Hua Wenyu picked up the chalk and wrote the six characters "unity is strength" on the cultural and educational blackboard.

Hua Wenyu's handwriting is okay, and there is no mistake in writing. Chen Ke pointed to these big characters and asked: "Comrades, why can the landlords oppress our common people?" It's because we're not united. Zhang Youliang is an example. How many people is he? Many of our comrades have participated in the battle to break Zhang Youliang's encirclement. Tell me yourself, how many people died with Zhang Youliang in the end? Who's going to say that. ”

"Brigade Commander Chen, Zhang Youliang's subordinates have a total of ninety-seven people. I was in charge of counting. A warrior stood up in the crowd, and he shouted with excitement on his face.

There are more than 200 people in a fully established company of the insurance regiment, and the 97 people are less than half of a company. Many of the soldiers who attended the meeting were new recruits, and they immediately burst into laughter when they heard this number. It is a big joke that more than 90 people dare to challenge the thousands of people in the insurance group.

"Zhang Youliang is really bold." Some fighters laughed loudly. Such ridicule immediately caused laughter from everyone.

"That's right. Zhang Youliang is only ninety-seven people. When we beat Zhang Youliang, there were almost 1,000 people in the insurance group. Let's beat him up to one out of ten. Zhang Youliang is a fart. But why did Zhang Youliang dare to speak out at that time and want to do something to our insurance group? Have you ever wondered? ”

The question is indeed a bit deeper. Chen Ke's original intention was to hope that everyone could understand that Zhang Youliang relied on threats to intimidate everyone to be so arrogant. But this brings us to the realm of self-criticism. Chen Ke hopes that everyone will stand up and mention this issue themselves. So wait for the comrades themselves to say.

The first to answer was Hua Wenyu, "That's because the brigade commander rushed to the forefront." If someone takes the lead, we dare to fight. ”

Chen Ke didn't expect Hua Wenyu to actually pat himself on the back. "Your mother!" Chen Ke scolded in his heart. If it was before, Chen Ke was afraid that he would be fooled by this. This kind of "cunning" peculiar to Chinese peasants is really impossible to prevent. Hua Wenyu looked like a sycophant, but in a sense, he wanted to "set rules" for Chen Ke. If Chen Ke was slapped by this sycophant, he proudly thought that "the victory is because he took the lead in the charge." "Every time you fight from then on, does Chen Ke want to take the lead in the charge? If the battle is lost, some people say, "This time the battle was lost because Brigade Commander Chen did not take the lead in the charge." Or said something strange, "Brigade Commander Chen will take the lead in the charge, and we will win." "What are you going to do after that?

"Comrade Hua Wenyu, what you said is not right." Chen Ke categorically refuted it. "We beat Zhang Youliang, not because I was in the front. It's all the people in our insurance corps who are charging. ”

What is called stressing principles and politics? Chen Ke didn't go to a party school, so he really didn't have official training. But as far as he now knows, principles and politics are the ideas and systems of the organization. As the leader of the People's Party, Chen Ke must be responsible for his words and deeds at all times. Your words and deeds must never go against the ideas of the political party. You can't make a mistake in any of your own words.

And the same problem, facing different periods and different objects, has to adopt different methods. This is also where political work is complicated. But in the final analysis, stressing principles and politics is the core. What is right is right, and what is wrong is wrong. For what is right, there must be support. If you are wrong, you have to oppose it. And it must be clear-cut.

"It's useless for me to head alone. Why did Zhang Youliang originally only have ninety-seven people, and he was able to do evil and be powerful in Yue Zhangji. Because everyone is not united. How many people could the comrades have gathered at most? Dozen, twenty? Compared with Zhang Youliang, everyone can't compare to others in terms of numbers. And in case the leader is defeated, the others will be afraid. And they scattered. So Zhang Youliang is so good. Yue Zhang gathered tens of thousands of people, and no one dared to oppose him. That's because people aren't united. Speaking of this, Chen Ke pointed to the words on the blackboard and read aloud, "Unity is strength!" Unity is strength! Comrade Hua Wenyu, let me ask you, if you are allowed to take the lead in the charge, are you afraid? ”

Hua Wenyu was criticized by Chen Ke in person, and he was made quite faceless. The envious gazes of other comrades have also become an indescribable feeling. Hearing Chen Ke's question, he immediately straightened his waist and said loudly: "I'm not afraid? ”

"Why aren't you afraid?" Chen Ke asked.

Hua Wenyu was speechless for a while. He can't say that he is not afraid to say it because he has to fight now.

Chen Ke didn't mean to deliberately make things difficult for Hua Wenyu, he continued: "We beat Zhang Youliang to let everyone live a good life. Even if you are unfortunately killed. The rest of the comrades will not be frightened into running away. They will definitely fight until they defeat Zhang Youliang, win the victory, and gain these lands. Let everyone have land to plant. If you are unfortunate enough to die, your family will also be able to see victory and get the land. Because we are united, because we all think the same thing. ”

Hua Wenyu's originally somewhat embarrassed emotions disappeared, and Chen Ke actually said how he felt at that time. When he rushed to the enemy with his comrades, he really had nothing to fear. Because everyone around him was charging, and all his comrades were shouting and running around him. In such a torrent, Hua Wenyu has no fear. His mood at that time was completely fueled by a kind of high-spiritedness, an inexplicable excitement. It wasn't until the victory was easily won that Hua Wenyu felt incredible. Those high enclosures, those hundreds of captives, if you face it alone, it is something that you dare not think of. But with everyone, it's all done so easily.

"Unity is strength! Comrades, we must unite. Chen Ke shouted, "But why unite, what do we want to do together?" What I want to say now is that in the next three months, we must rebuild the food we can eat next year. One person, or a family, or a village, can't do it. Everyone came from farming. In the current situation, if you want to grow food for tens of thousands of people to eat next year, you can't do it without unity. You say no. ”

Among the soldiers of the insurance regiment, the old soldiers who participated in the annihilation of Zhang Youliang were already brightened, and Chen Ke's words reminded them of the battle not long ago. This is the first time in everyone's life that such a high place can be easily trampled under the feet. It's something they've never experienced before. It's an experience they're proud of. Although the new soldiers did not have such an experience, they also knew that Chen Ke was right, and now this muddy land after the flood cannot support tens of thousands of people.

"Brigade Commander Chen, it's so hard, how long do we have to do it? It's really exhausting to do this every day. I've never worked so my own. A warrior who looked like he was forty years old stood up and asked. It was hard to see his appearance in the night and firelight, but the dull wrinkled skin and the bruised tendons proved that the warrior was a peasant who had worked his hands.

"This comrade, why did you join our insurance group." Chen Ke asked.

The middle-aged warrior was a little speechless when he heard this.

Chen Ke smiled: "This is the meeting of the soldiers' committee, and I am also an ordinary soldier like you. If there is anything to say, this is the place for everyone to speak from the heart. ”

Hearing Chen Ke say this, the middle-aged soldier replied with some cringe: "I joined our insurance group, first, to have food, and second, our insurance group must preside over the land division." After I joined, with the support of our insurance group, my land will not be bullied. ”

These words were the heartfelt words of the participating soldiers, and Chen Ke smiled slightly after hearing it. That's what he wants to hear.

"You are right, comrade. First, the insurance group will let everyone eat. Not only will our own soldiers eat, but also the people of our Fengtai County will eat. Second, our insurance group will inevitably preside over the future division of land. And I have to say it in the first place, this time the land division, the insurance group will inevitably leave us 20,000 acres of land. Our insurance group will not leave Fengtai County, we will take root here. ”

"Buzz". The fighters were boiling at that time. Fear, joy, horror, all kinds of emotions are mixed together. Twenty thousand acres of land, a number that made all the warriors feel dizzy. How much land would be seized by such a amount, but how much property would the insurance group own. Between the gains and losses, the soldiers heard Chen Ke shouting loudly: "Comrades, be quiet, many comrades have not come here for a day or two. Comrades do not deal with us for a day or two. Have you seen our insurance group up and down to take a little bit of the people for themselves? Do you have. ”

This is true, the insurance group never takes anything from the people for themselves. This is the consensus of veterans and recruits of the insurance regiment. Chen Ke's words effectively implied that the insurance group did not rob the people. This calmed down a lot of people's emotions.

"The 20,000 acres of land are planted and eaten by our insurance group. There will be no money for food and money from the people. Our insurance regiment is the army of the people, and we will not and will not take a needle from the people, will not take a thread from the people, and will not take a grain of grain from the people. So what do we eat? It is to farm the land and feed ourselves. The reason why it is so hard now is because we have to farm the land and open up the wasteland. It's not going to work so hard. As a brigade commander, I will farm the land with everyone, harvest together, build houses together, and live together. Whatever you do, I will do. The officers and men of our insurance regiment are one, and no work is done by soldiers, and those who are officers do not have to do it. There is nothing that an officer can eat, and a soldier cannot eat. We are a community, and we are all an army of the people. We must unite, otherwise, when our insurance regiment presides over the division of land in the future, we will not be able to fight those enemies. ”

Everyone understands Chen Ke's words, but these words describe a future that these people who have been in a loose state of society for generations have not thought about. They can't imagine what such a future should be. However, since Chen Ke led that small team to Fengtai County, he had never done anything to harm the people. In this year of catastrophe, the insurance group actually maintained order in Fengtai County and the livelihood of the people. From this point of view, Chen Ke would not have any other intentions when he said this. Even if there were, it was something beyond the imagination of the peasants.

There are only three things that everyone knows, first, the insurance group will not leave. Second, the insurance group will own 20,000 acres of land. Third, such a change will completely change everything in Fengtai County. And this change is something that no one can shake.

"Brigade Commander Chen, I'll follow you." Hua Wenyu took the lead in expressing his position, "I'm not afraid of anything, I'll follow you." ”

Someone took the lead, and the veterans also stood up to express their position.

"Brigade Commander Chen, I'll follow you too."

"Me too."

"Me too"

This is the Chinese people, who will choose to obey in the face of irresistible forces. But these people may not be able to understand that the power possessed by Chen Ke and the insurance group comes from these soldiers themselves.

Probably more than half of them expressed obedience, and the rest did not object.

"Comrades, I know what you are worried about. You fear that your land will be divided. If there is no land, there is nothing. You don't have to worry about this at all, what we have to worry about is whether we can grow food for next year in these three months. If you don't have food for next year, any extra words are nonsense. And in the next few days, I'll tell you more about it. How is this land going to be divided? ”

In the excited or puzzled eyes of the comrades, Chen Ke ended his speech and left the venue. Leave behind the chattering warriors.

Chen Ke did not break his promise, and for the next few days, he attended the meetings of the soldiers' committees of various units. Spread the word about it. On the other hand, large posters were erected on various construction sites.

Hao Ju is almost the only one in the insurance group who learns Western painting, and the reason why this original son was involved in such an organization as the People's Party is quite simple. He took part in a march in Shanghai and was unfortunately arrested. That's why they were coerced. After Chen Ke handed over the work of drawing large posters to the propaganda officer, who had been in charge of propaganda and leather printing, Hao Ju was finally able to return to his old job.

The huge poster depicts a large-scale landscape painting of the "New Countryside". Rolling flat land, churning water wheels in silver-threaded canals. The smooth road between the fields is flanked by two rows of beautiful trees. Peasants and fighters of the insurance regiment worked in the fields. In the distance, the three-storey building is shaded by beautiful trees. Chen Ke did not create, but sketched the rural landscape of the 21st century with a pencil. The work of the lottery was handed over to Hao Ju to do.

After Chen Ke spent seven days of the evening attending a meeting of all the soldiers of the two regiments of the 359th Brigade of the Insurance Regiment. This huge poster, which looks extremely rough to Chen Ke's eyes, has finally been erected. Chen Ke can finally tell everyone what the future looks like.

In this era of 1906, because of the scattered land, a direct result was caused. Even if the land is uneven, the systematic irrigation system does not need to be thought of. The same is actually true in Fengtai County. One of the "benefits" of flooding is that it leveled the land to some extent.

After the large poster came out, Hao Ju slept for a day to relieve the extreme fatigue caused by a few days of sleeplessness. Cadres of the People's Party and the Insurance Corps can also point to posters to explain the purpose of the construction of various facilities and the effects of the construction after completion.

The warriors may not like the style of Western paintings, but it is much more convincing to explain them in this way than to speak in vain. The once-boiling resentment in the troops has been fully evacuated.

And, most importantly, the most arduous civil work was initially completed. Depending on the terrain, the troops completed the construction of the first drainage ditches. Groundwater from the surface and shallow layers of groundwater enters the drainage ditches and is then diverted into the low-lying area that serves as a water storage site. Although the ditches collapsed in many places during the immersion, and because there were no good mapping tools, many of the ditches were not able to flow smoothly on their own. But these are minor problems. A simple little waterwheel runs and drains the water through a shallow newly dug ditch. The wet ground began to dry up quickly, and the warriors, all of whom were farmers, knew that farming would be much easier next. This year's harvest has been guaranteed.

Just as Chen Kezheng was in the army to pacify the soldiers and point out the new road, Pu Guanshui, the deputy commander of the Anhui New Army, boarded the ship to Fengtai County as agreed.

Anhui's provincial capital, Anqing, is located on the Yangtze River, and is actually a military stronghold rather than an economic center. Anqing is surrounded by mountains on three sides and faces the Yangtze River on one side. The 60-day heavy rain that ravaged Anhui did not affect Anqing, and after leaving Anqing, he took a boat to Fengtai County, and after only half a day, Puguanshui seemed to see hell on earth.