He Qian's journey was unusually smooth, taking a train all the way from Beijing to Hankou, and then taking a boat down the river from Hankou. originally thought that the distant relative of the Sun family was a young man with little ability, but he didn't expect this young man who didn't say anything to be very quick.

It's on the train or on board. What everyone is discussing is nothing more than the recent major event of the People's Party's total annihilation of the Beiyang Army. 100% of the arguments are irresponsible. The People's Party killed the Beiyang Army like a mountain of corpses, and even led all the prisoners of the Beiyang Army to the Huai River and cut off their heads. The corpses of the river blocked the Huai River. Some of the corpses floated down the Huai River into the sea. It is also said that part of the Beiyang army fled back to Xuzhou. When someone mentioned the People's Party's notice that Cixi was the "female leader of the Manchu bandits", everyone shook their heads and sighed, saying that the People's Party was too bold.

He Qian couldn't help but want to laugh when she heard this, the People's Party has openly rebelled, what kind of guts is there to ask?

Along the way, the people on the train generally did not support the rebellion of the People's Party. Everyone sighed that the Manchus were dying, but they didn't think at all about whose hands the Manchus were going to die. The influence of these revolutionary parties among the people is not great, and no one really takes these people seriously. The armed rebel People's Party defeated the Beiyang Army, and these people were the focus of attention. But no one really saw the People's Party as a new government that could replace the Manchus. At least on the train on the Jinghan Line, the People's Party was not accepted by the masses.

When I took a boat from Wuhan, the discussion around me was different. There were not many passengers on the ship to Anqing, and the discussion was whether the People's Party would attack the three towns of Wuhan. The Hubei New Army suffered two successive defeats, and the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army once appeared in Huangpi Pass in a deterrent manner. The impact of these facts on the people of Hubei is even more tangible. Since the People's Party was able to wipe out tens of thousands of Beiyang Army, the Hubei New Army, which numbered less than 10,000, was simply vulnerable, and this was the consensus of the Hubei people. The Three Towns of Wuhan are wealthy areas, and it is impossible for the People's Party to turn a blind eye to the Three Towns of Wuhan. The rebels in dark blue uniforms could come at any time.

It is precisely because of such realistic considerations that the Hubei people on the ship have a more pragmatic understanding of the People's Party. For example, the local public order in Anqing is acceptable to everyone. It's just that you can't evade taxes by doing business, but there's no extortion. This is the least understood thing by the Hubei people on the ship. This is a very strange point of view, and if you pay a certain amount of money to the people who are working below, everyone can accept it. It is completely the government that collects taxes, and everyone cannot fully accept this fact.

He Qian didn't rest well along the way, and the whole person was groggy. In the first few days, she could still listen to the discussions of fellow travelers, but after a moment on the boat, she was a little seasick, and she could no longer listen to other discussions.

After entering Anqing City, He Qian endured the physical discomfort, asked the urban management staff about the seat of the government, and went directly to the door. The reception staff heard that He Qian was a relative of Chairman Chen Ke and came to visit Chairman Chen Ke. These people did not look awe-struck at all, but frowned.

"Would you like to come back with us?" The staff said vigilantly.

He Qian didn't expect the staff of the People's Party to react like this, and she and her distant relatives of the Sun family were taken to the back and questioned separately. When He Qian explained her relationship with Chen Ke, a distant relative of the Sun family faced the staff of the People's Party Internal Affairs Committee and said calmly: "My name is Sun Yongying, and I came to visit Mr. Chen Ke on the order of Lord Yuan Shikai. Discuss how to redeem the captured Beiyang soldiers. ”

After Zhang Yu listened to the two reports, his face was gloomy and silent. The speed of Beiyang's movements was really a bit unexpected. Zhang Yu was not prepared to meddle in such troublesome matters, but Zhang Yu was a little unhappy with the terms of reference of the People's Internal Affairs Committee. This new organization, like the Disciplinary Commission, is an internal department. Zhang Yu was born as an official and had a deep understanding of the operation of the system, Chen Ke was very complete when he established various systems, and with the existence of these two powerful departments, Zhang Yu faintly felt a sense of unease.

After thinking about it, Zhang Yu still didn't want to meddle in things that were outside his purview. If this was Chen Ke's decision, Zhang Yu's opposition would be even more meaningless, and after the second anti-encirclement and suppression, Chen Ke's prestige in the army completely reached a level that no one could match. Not only Chen Ke, but also Hua Xiongmao, who commanded the siege battle, and the river flotilla that shelled Huaiyuan County, were all fully recognized for their status. No matter how great Zhang Yu's contribution on the southern front is, his name has been completely suppressed. If there is a collision between these two inspection departments at this time, Chen Ke will make an order, and Zhang Yu will never object.

"Send these two people to the base as soon as possible." Zhang Yu gave the order.

He Qian is also really hard, she didn't stop rushing all the way, and took the boat after the horse. Where has she experienced such wind and sun exposure from a young lady, even if her body is almost collapsing in the road of this intensity, He Qian's spirit is still tightened, "Never let people see your hardship, and you must not fall behind." Regarding the matter of four people "escorting" two of them, He Qian didn't take it to heart at all. Now that it has fallen into the hands of the People's Party, He Qian doesn't care about this matter at all.

Almost groggily arrived in Fengtai County, and as soon as He Qian landed on the shore, he saw the crowd gathered everywhere. The docks are lit up as if they were having some kind of grand festival.

"Brothers, what are you celebrating?" Sun Yongying's physical strength was okay, and he asked a few People's Party escorts who were either reading books or silent along the way.

"I guess it's a celebration of this great victory." The staff of the People's Internal Affairs Committee replied that the four comrades also wanted to watch the celebration, but they could not have time to attend it until the work at hand was completed, and they urged: "Let's hurry to the reception department." ”

The "reception department" of the People's Internal Affairs Committee was also in the county seat, and the group barely made it through the dense crowd of celebrations and walked slowly forward. The county town is full of excited people, and the police force is everywhere to maintain order.

"Down with the Manchu bandits!"

"Long live the people's government!"

"Long live Chairman Chen!"

“…………”

The cheers came and went in this crowded crowd, and some of the onlookers simply sang, "Unity is strength, unity is strength, this strength is iron, this strength is steel, harder than iron, stronger than rigid......"

Thousands of mass opportunities are a force in themselves, an atmosphere. This song is a popular song in the base area, and there is no one who cannot sing it among the members of the People's Party, government cadres, and members of state-owned enterprises. In Fengtai County, the proportion of these people accounts for more than half, and some people start to sing. This is the most instinctive reaction of the masses, and when they are finally able to express their emotions, singing together becomes the best option.

Not only the masses of the people were affected by this celebration, but even the staff of the People's Internal Affairs Committee, who couldn't help but sing together as they watched He Qian and Sun Yongying go to the reception department, "Fire at the counter-revolution and let all undemocratic systems die!" Towards the sun, towards freedom, towards New China, emit a thousand rays of light! ”

As soon as the song fell, the crowd immediately burst into cheers. He Qian was already very uncomfortable, and this earth-shattering chorus shook her extremely uncomfortable, and her stomach immediately churned. He Qian tightly covered her mouth and retched a few times, if she hadn't eaten anything, she was afraid that she would vomit in public.

The dissatisfied eyes of the surrounding masses immediately gathered on He Qian, the base area did not block the news from Beiyang, and the base area even made several large feasts for comprehensive evacuation. Everyone was frightened for so long, and what they got was the news of the total annihilation of Beiyang. After the big stone in everyone's heart hits the ground, the irrepressible ecstasy is needless to say. In addition to many celebrations and commendations, the captured Beiyang high-ranking officials also paraded through the streets. On such a good day, He Qian's haggard look was not good-looking, and the appearance of wanting to vomit in the crowd was even more out of place.

However, He Qian's discomfort was just a trivial matter, and soon someone sang loudly, "We workers have strength!" Hey! We workers have power! Busy at work every day, hey! I was busy with work every day, built high-rise buildings, built railways and coal mines, and transformed the world into a different shape! ……”

There are a large number of workers in Fengtai County, and these songs in praise of the labor workers are extremely popular among the workers. In this era, there are many opera programs that praise various emperors, generals, talents, and beauties, but there is no song that praises laborers positively. Even if there are songs about laborers, they are all grievances, and how to work hard to live is trapped in food and clothing.

The song "We Workers Have Power" is generous and heroic, shaping the power of the workers to change the world, and there is no one among the workers who does not sincerely love this song that praises themselves. The chorus immediately shook the earth. One by one, everyone clenched their fists and sang the people's songs with various emphases and scales. This is the people's celebration, this is the people's festival. No more singing praises to others or watching their joys and sorrows. At this moment, what fills the hearts of the people is their own feelings and their own excitement. Many people have burst into tears of excitement. Many people don't even realize that tears have spread over their faces, and everyone forgets everything, just singing songs in praise of themselves. The loud singing pierced the sky above Fengtai County and went straight to the vast sky.

Sun Yongying listened to the song and looked at the excited crowd around him, and he felt a chill from the bone marrow in his heart. Yuan Shikai ordered him to come and talk about the ransom of the Beiyang officers, and Sun Yongying remembered the almost unconcealed uneasiness on Lord Yuan's face. Nearly 20,000 new troops were wiped out, and Sun Yongying himself didn't really believe it. Not only the 20,000 new troops, but also the two leaders of the Beiyang Army, Wang Shizhen and Duan Qirui, were actually in the hands of the enemy at the same time. How can a group of bandits be so capable?

Along the way, Sun Yongying actually tried his best to observe, but everything he saw could not prove that this poor place in Anhui had this ability. Although it is orderly, there are also steamboats walking in the river. But compared to the bustling cities of Beijing and Tianjin, these are nothing at all.

Until I saw this festival with my own eyes, I don't know how many people attended, and I saw that it was almost a celebration like another world. Sun Yongying understood how much influence the People's Party had in Anhui. There are a lot of cars in Beijing City, and there are naturally many onlookers. But those people either praise the majesty of the government and see a lot of details about the driving. Some of them are bored, arrogantly selling all kinds of anecdotal stories about the princes. Where is there such a situation of unity.

Sun Yongying also participated in a lot of drills of the Beiyang Army, and the soldiers were just to complete the drill tasks. Except for the noisy days, there was not much excitement in the troops. Although everyone in the training is also brave, compared with the celebratory crowd, it is obvious that they are strong from the outside. This kind of heartfelt emotion of the celebration crowd is absolutely not available in the Beiyang Army. Not to mention the pride, self-esteem, and strong sense of hatred in these songs. If each of these people was given a gun, Sun Yongying had no doubt that they would be able to rush forward in defiance of the rain of bullets and bullets, and smash all the obstacles that dared to stand in front of them.

"This is really a bandit." Sun Yongying said silently in his heart.

Suddenly, a loud military horn sounded in the middle of the song, and the cheers immediately sounded like a tidal wave. The song faded down, and almost everyone craned their necks to look forward. The red flag fluttered, and a group of soldiers sang a loud song and strode along the street under the guidance of the red flag. "Onward! Forward! Forward! Our team is facing the sun, stepping on the land of the motherland, carrying the hope of the nation, and we are an invincible force. We are the sons and daughters of the workers and peasants, and we are the armed ,...... of the people."

Naturally, the number of soldiers was not as large as that of the crowd, but the loud voice was not at all overwhelmed by the cheers of the crowd. Amid the military songs, the soldiers of the troops, carrying rifles on their backs, rumbled through the crowd with marching steps. The crowd was not deterred by this tough military atmosphere, on the contrary, when they saw the majestic and high-spirited soldiers, the cheers became particularly fierce.

These red-clad troops were all meritorious personnel in battle, and many people among the masses knew the fighters among them. Seeing his loved ones hold their heads high, this pride and joy are even more high.

After the ranks of the soldiers passed, there was a sudden noise among the crowd, "Down with the Manchu bandits!" "Down with the Beiyang Army!" "Down with the counter-revolution!"

At this time, it was the officials of the Beiyang Army who were paraded in the streets, not only the Beiyang officials, but also the senior officials of Anhui who had been captured before, and the Anhui Governor Enming and others were also mixed with the Beiyang Army officials and brought out.

He Qian and Sun Yongying almost subconsciously squeezed into the crowd, both of them wanted to see the captive team. The staff of the People's Internal Affairs Committee immediately grabbed the two of them, "What are you guys going to do?" ”

"Let me see." He Qian hurriedly said. She was worried that her husband, Sun Yongsheng, was also on the team. But he couldn't help but hope that Sun Yongsheng would be in this team. If you can see Sun Yongsheng, at least it proves that he is still alive.

Sun Yongying didn't care much about Sun Yongsheng, he just wanted to see if Wang Shizhen and Duan Qirui were in the team. Yuan Shikai explained that he must find a way to save these two people back.

"Don't look at it. Hurry to the reception. "The comrades of the People's Internal Committee are afraid that the two of them will do something out of the ordinary. So to prevent the two, it is better to take the two away. No matter how the two of them resisted, it was still a breeze for four people to clean up two people. dragged and dragged, He Qian and Sun Yongying were forcibly taken away.