After Yuan Shikai read Zhang Zhenfang's telegram, he just snorted coldly and handed the telegram to Wang Shizhen next to him. Wang Shizhen picked up the letter and read it carefully, saying that many people in the People's Party have recently left the party, and Zhou Zhentao, who once served as the division commander of the People's Party, stayed in Kaifeng for a while and talked with Zhang Zhenfang about the whole situation.

Wang Shizhen is the Minister of the Army, and he is also responsible for intelligence work. After reading it, he frowned slightly, recently the People's Party has carried out a severe crackdown on Beiyang's intelligence network, and Wang Shizhen, who is in Beijing, has not received this news.

"What does this telegram mean? If you want to say something, write a letter directly, what can't you talk about? Yuan Shikai asked. received such a telegram from Zhang Zhenfang without a beginning or end, which made Yuan Shikai very strange.

Wang Shizhen, as usual, thought silently for a while before slowly replying: "I think Zhang Zhenfang's errand in Henan is not good, he doesn't dare to say some things." ”

With the telegraph and the Jinghan Railway, news between Henan and Beijing could arrive in just one day. Yuan Shikai trusted Zhang Zhenfang's cousin very much, and he had also heard about the "infiltration" of the People's Party in Henan, but so far the People's Party has not taken the initiative to send troops, and Yuan Shikai is also happy that Zhang Zhenfang maintains the situation in Henan. Hearing Wang Shizhen say this, Yuan Shikai felt that something was indeed wrong. Yuan Shikai asked Wang Shizhen, "Why didn't Zhang Zhenfang say it directly?" ”

Wang Shizhen replied: "Zhang Dudu was ordered by the president to supervise Henan, and he tried his best to do his errands well. I don't easily complain to the president about something, and I think the president might as well send a telegram to ask him what happened. If you want to come, Zhang Dudu will tell the truth. ”

After listening to Wang Shizhen's suggestion, Yuan Shikai did not nod in agreement, nor did he shake his head in disagreement. There was a hint of hesitation on his face, and after a pause, Yuan Shikai said: "Appointment secretary, now that the state affairs are difficult, which province is not clamoring for money, food, tax reductions and exemptions. Even if I sent a telegram to inquire, Zhang Zhenfang said nothing more than these things. Even if he did, what could I do? The appointment of him as the governor of Henan is to ask him to take care of Henan's affairs well, and to complain to the central government about everything he encounters, but he has set a bad example like the previous dynasty. ”

In the last few years of the Qing Dynasty, the central government's finances dried up, especially after the Gengzi indemnity, the central government asked the provinces to bear the indemnity. Even in the event of floods and droughts, the central government has adopted the method of asking local governments to collect relief materials. Since the localities cannot count on the central government, local officials naturally deviate from the central government. The fall of the Manchu Qing Dynasty was as dusty as the dust was due to the fact that the gentry who were responsible for paying taxes and the officials in charge of collecting taxes were detached from the central government.

Yuan Shikai was naturally very aware of this change, and those landlords who had never seen the world and those revolutionary parties dominated by overseas students could naturally think that the Manchus were the culprits of everything. They are either shouting "constitutional" or simply "revolutionary". It seems that after the Manchus handed over power, the world would be able to rule greatly. Of course, Yuan Shikai can't agree with this idea, when the little emperor Xuantong was in power, many problems faced by the country could not be solved simply because a little doll in Xuantong got out of the dragon chair, or the Manchu group was swept away. After Yuan Shikai came to power, not only did these problems not be solved immediately, but because of the change of regime and social turmoil, it was even more difficult to clean up than before. The appointment of provincial governors was to let them solve the problem for Yuan Shikai, not to let Yuan Shikai wipe their butts.

Wang Shizhen also knew this very well, and Wang Shizhen did not agree to overthrow the Manchu Qing Dynasty from the beginning. This is of course because Wang Shizhen believes that loyalty is a necessary moral integrity, and partly because Wang Shizhen believes that "implementing a constitutional change in the national system" is acceptable, but it is completely unrealistic to try to solve practical political problems by changing the dynasty. The result of rash action can only be "suffering before benefiting from it".

At present, the Beiyang government is barely holding up the situation, that is, it is just reluctantly. At present, there are three pillars of Beiyang, one is the Beiyang Army, the second is that there is a "covenant that is not a covenant" with the People's Party, and the third is the support of foreign governments for the Beiyang government.

The latter two pillars are quite unstable, and the People's Party has not joined the Congress until now. The secret agreement between Chen Ke and Yuan Shikai was of great help to Yuan Shikai on the surface, and even if it was leaked, it would not be able to deal any blow to Chen Ke's reputation, but it would make Yuan Shikai's image of "selling out for glory" in China deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. The Beiyang government simply had the means it could use to suppress Chen Ke.

As for foreigners, the British, in order to ensure the smooth implementation of the quota trade agreement, were very entrenched in Yuan Shikai. This kind of entrapment is nothing more than an expedient measure of the British, and if there is a slight problem with the quota trade agreement, the British entrapment can immediately turn into coercion. As for the Japanese side, they are looking for interests in the three eastern provinces and hope to expand their investment in the three eastern provinces. There is no heartfelt support for Yuan Shikai himself at all.

Yuan Shikai is nominally the president of the Republic of China and has the power to command the world. In fact, in addition to Yuan Shikai's ability to command the Beiyang Army, it would be good if the governors of other provinces could not cause chaos to Yuan Shikai. In order to maintain the power of command to the Beiyang Army, no matter how much tax Yuan Shikai's government could receive, it had to take out several million taels of silver every year to scatter it to the Beiyang Army. The financial burden is simply too heavy.

Both are politically savvy and have worked together for many years. You don't even need to mention a word to know the situation you are facing. Yuan Shikai didn't speak, and Wang Shizhen didn't speak. After a long while, Yuan Shikai said: "Hireqing, I have made up my mind, and the current thing is to take advantage of the opportunity of the quota agreement to expand our Beiyang exports." Only after the money is in hand can the situation be stabilized. Chen Ke can make a fortune from exports, and we will definitely be able to too. ”

"What about Governor Zhang?" Wang Shizhen asked. Since Zhang Zhenfang has sent such a telegram, it would be unsympathetic if the central authorities completely ignored it.

Yuan Shikai replied calmly: "Tell him that no matter what the People's Party makes to make trouble, he has to stabilize Henan." As long as this hurdle is passed, the matter of the People's Party will definitely be resolved. ”

Two days later, Chen Ke couldn't help but smile after reading the content of this telegram: "Oh? Have you passed this threshold? It seems that Yuan Shikai really doesn't want to take advantage of the fire to rob. ”

Shang Yuan didn't have any plans to make fun, he asked with a straight face: "Can Henan hold on?" ”

Hearing these murderous words, Wu Xingchen couldn't help but smile and said: "Zhang Zhenfang is just a little more from the spy faction, Secretary Shang, you look even more angry than the comrades of the People's Internal Affairs Committee." ”

Shang Yuan was amused, "I'm not angry with Zhang Zhenfang at all." Without him in Henan, we would not have been able to gain a foothold in Henan so quickly. It's just that Chairman Chen has long noticed the local Bai Lang in Henan, and with Wang Jingwei by Bai Lang's side, the alliance is now eager to lay down its own territory. How far does Commander Wu think they can be defeated? ”

Wu Xingchen put away his smile, "Henan is not only one Bai Lang now, Bai Lang can fight again, it is still a simple peasant uprising, I am afraid that it is not the opponent of the Beiyang Army." On the contrary, how should we deal with Bai Lang and these rebels? ”

Speaking of this, Wu Xingchen glanced at Chen Tianhua, "Director Chen, the peasant uprising is now spontaneous, and it is far from being conscious. They are only instinctively rebelling against the injustice they encounter. Personally, I don't think they should be supported. You've worked with Pang Zi twice, can you still not know about their virtues? ”

Chen Tianhua didn't answer immediately, Wu Xingchen's example was really good, and after thinking for a moment, Chen Tianhua nodded yes, "If Bai Lang himself doesn't really understand the essence of the revolution, and is just a local armed leader who has risen up, I agree not to give him any support." However, it is necessary for us to send someone to seize the command of this armed force, we can ignore Bai Lang's life and death, but we cannot ignore the life and death of the common people. ”

"What do you mean......" Wu Xingchen was very interested in Chen Tianhua's words.

"Wang Jingwei is now in Bai Lang's team, and what he wants is to influence this team. We can also send someone to join Bai Lang's team. After the fall of the Manchus, I have been reflecting on what Chairman Chen said that the Manchu rulers did not even have a special common interest with the banner people. Can the interests of the leaders in the White Wolf team be the same as those of the ordinary participants in the White Lang team? Can Bai Lang's team align with the interests of the people in their area? As long as the comrades we sent out can hide their identities and stand with the local people in Henan, I don't think there is any need to discuss whether Bai Lang is personally successful or not. ”

Wu Xingchen and Chai Qingguo were both born in the peasant uprising, and they listened to Chen Tianhua's words very clearly. Penetrate into the insurrectionists and seize real power in the rebel army by following the line of the people's revolution. It would not be difficult for the People's Party to directly seize ostensible control of Henan. The difficult thing is that after the People's Party seized the superficial control of Henan, it still wandered outside the people of Henan. By participating in the Bailang Uprising, the People's Party could really begin to take root in Henan. This is indeed a very effective strategy.

Chen Ke was admitted to graduate school that year, but he was not admitted. He was deeply impressed by the last political question of that year, to the effect that there was a stage in the history of the party that required party members to join various local forces and seize the dominant power of these local forces. Chen Ke probably remembers that he was explaining the problem from the perspective of conspiracy. He was quite proud when he answered this question. I feel that my experience of history has been given a chance to be displayed.

What was written at that time, Chen Ke himself has long forgotten. But Chen Tianhua's suggestion reminded Chen Ke of that question. If the current revolutionary cause is an exam, Chen Tianhua can at least get a full score on this question.

Shang Yuan, Wu Xingchen, and Chai Qingguo did not have any objections, they just thought that they needed to select outstanding comrades to implement this plan. Wu Xingchen emphasized an important point, "In terms of the control of power, the leaders of the peasant rebel army are only more proficient than our comrades in the People's Party. Bai Lang can have considerable influence in the local area, so he is naturally not incompetent. The more shrewd he is, the less he can let him know the identity of our comrades. ”

The comrades talked for a while, and seeing that Chen Ke had never participated, Chen Tianhua turned to Chen Ke, "Chairman Chen, what is your opinion on this approach?" ”

"I think it's a good idea, and everyone can be responsible for it. If I have any advice on this matter, I'll do it. What we want is to take root in Henan, not follow Bai Lang. Be a local leader, not a cronie of Bai Lang. ”

The comrades nodded again and again, if they wanted to be Bai Lang's cronies, they were destined to break away from the masses. Wu Xingchen nodded again and again, "I really have to do this." ”

Shang Yuan didn't quite understand the characteristics of the peasant rebel army, he had been engaged in regular government work until now, so Shang Yuan directly asked what he cared about, "Chairman Chen, I support you earlier and I mean that Yuan Shikai may not be able to survive this pass?" ”

Seeing that someone noticed this, Chen Ke smiled and said, "Everyone thinks that Yuan Shikai can exterminate Bai Lang. However, it is unlikely that this war will end anytime soon. If it's over in a month or two, we naturally don't have much to say. If this war lasts for a year, or even two years. We have always looked down on Yuan Shikai, but other provinces originally didn't know Yuan Shikai's reality and reality, what would they think when they saw Yuan Shikai's performance in Beiyang? ”

The People's Party adheres to the materialist view of history, that is to say, everyone pays lip service to the people, not to the immortal emperor, and does not pin their hopes on the occasional heroes. It's just that when facing Chen Ke, everyone feels that they have temporarily violated their understanding. Chen Ke said that Bai Lang might be able to hold out for a year or two, and the comrades couldn't help but think about it according to the line of thought that Chen Ke envisioned, and even unconsciously, the comrades believed that Bai Lang could hold out in the face of Beiyang for a year or two.

"If you have to fight Bai Lang for a year or two, you can only say that Yuan Shikai is incompetent." Wu Xingchen was the first to answer.

Chen Ke nodded, "So, I face this matter from the perspective of interests." We don't want any official involvement, once there is an explicit intervention, Beiyang feels that failure is nothing. Now Beiyang itself admits that it cannot defeat our People's Party. If Beiyang tries his best, he still can't exterminate Bai Lang. Their weakness is not only exposed in the eyes of the people of the world, but the Beiyang Army itself will feel extremely discouraged. At that time, we can talk about the central authorities. ”

"The problem of the central government?" Including Shang Yuan, there are some people who don't fully understand.

Chen Tianhua asked in surprise: "Chairman Chen wants to be the president?" ”

"What's so good about that big president?" Chen Ke smiled, "Why do I call the current government the Beiyang government? Because all the departments in this government are in the hands of the Beiyang faction. At a time when Beiyang is completely powerless and incompetent, it is necessary for us to seize part of the power of the central government. Of course, we have the final say in our base areas, and we also have the final say on a considerable part of the power in the central government. ”

"Taking advantage of his illness to kill him, this is also a matter of course." Chai Qingguo immediately agreed.

"So the comrades suggested that we achieve our infiltration of Henan through the Bailang uprising, and I support it. However, if Beiyang's weakness and incompetence are fully openly manifested, this is the direction in which we will take advantage of this matter. Of course, before we can do that, we need to take advantage of this excellent time to complete the internal rectification. Our goal has always been to liberate the whole of China, and after all the rectification is completed, we will begin to try to take charge of the central authorities. ”

Everyone nodded their heads again and again, this goal has not been put forward so clearly for a long time, and in the face of the complicated practical work, the comrades have no time to determine this distant problem.

With everyone's support, Chen Ke began to assign specific tasks. "Now it is necessary to set up five sets of leading bodies for the party, government, military, people's congress, and CPPCC. Each team must have its own clear division of labor. For example, the government team, let's not come up with so many ingenious things. The main point at the moment is that agricultural and industrial production must be socialized. The government is responsible for guiding and organizing labor, and why I repeatedly emphasize the greatness of the Chinese people, because ordinary Chinese people have a consensus, and the Chinese people know that they do not work for a day and do not eat for a day. As long as the government can effectively popularize science and democracy at the grassroots level, the work should not be a problem. Without strong grain production capacity, there will be no future for China. As the old Chinese saying goes, the people live on food. ”

There is no longer any need to deliberately convince the comrades that the People's Party has been able to gain tremendous support in the countryside in recent years because the People's Party has begun to effectively introduce administrative officials into agricultural production, which was originally the responsibility of the broad masses of the working masses themselves. Without all kinds of support from the government, it would not have been possible for the agricultural production efficiency in the rural areas of the base areas to increase so quickly.

"Of course, the five major teams are not their own evidence, and the whole country is playing a game of chess, and we must pay attention to cooperation in this regard. It can't be said that they have passed the buck when they encounter problems, and they are unwilling to take credit when they encounter them. This is the question of improving the organization in the future. ”

After Chen Ke finished speaking, Shang Yuan couldn't help but smile, and he said with a high-spirited attitude: "The workload is not small. ”

"yes, it's a lot of work." Chen Ke nodded in agreement, "Then in agricultural production, there needs to be a backbone, a main force, and a mainstay." I believe that the engineering and railway corps are the mainstays of this kind of construction. Comrade Chai Qingguo, I would like to ask you if you are willing to undertake the work of the Huaihai Provincial Engineer Corps. This will be a heavy task related to the infrastructure construction of the entire Huaihai Sea, and I will even set up an engineering command college and a railway college to train a large number of professional and technical personnel in this field. But this force must have reliable comrades in charge. ”

Chai Qingguo was not surprised by Chen Ke's words, and many people outside rumored that Chen Ke was ready to hand over the formation of the engineering corps to Gu Lu to be responsible. Chai Qingguo didn't even have the interest to refute the rumors. If Chen Ke is ready to let Gu Lu be in charge of this branch, then why should he arrange Chai Qingguo as the commander-in-chief of the project, in charge of the Xuzhou Yunlong Lake project. The meaning of this could not be clearer.

Chai Qingguo had already thought about his own going, and when he heard Chen Ke ask, Chai Qingguo immediately got up and saluted Chen Ke, "Resolutely obey the organizational arrangement." ”

Chen Ke also stood up and returned the salute seriously, "With you in charge of this important work, I am really relieved." ”

Chai Qingguo nodded, "Chairman Chen, if you let me be the person in charge, I also have to put forward a condition first, whether Comrade Gu Lu is going to leave it to Chairman Chen for your own use, or whether it is going to be reserved for the engineering troops, this comrade I want it." You must promise me. ”

"Of course." Chen Ke nodded yes.