Ren Qiying used the management methods learned in the "Labor Camp" during the flood last year, plus some knowledge about logistics learned from Yuwen Badu, and casually asked about basic aspects such as enemy strength and marching. She immediately exposed Song Jiaoren's lies. Song Jiaoren's face turned red instantly.

Seeing the situation was wrong, Huang Xing hurriedly smoothed things over for Song Jiaoren. He said with a straight face, "How can such a major event be told to a girl like you!"

Ren Qiying did not pursue the victory. She just wanted to give Song Jiaoren a head-on blow. For those who were full of big words, giving them "rules" was also a last resort. Since Huang Xing began to be poor in words, she should also make some statement on this matter. Ren Qiying laughed heartily, "I am just a civil official, not a soldier. Indeed, I cannot intervene in military command matters."

Although the words were polite, Ren Qiying clearly pointed out that she "could not intervene in military command" only because of institutional reasons. This did not mean that Ren Qiying could not participate in military operations. But the meaning of these words was too subtle. If it were Chen Ke, he would naturally understand. Ren Qiying didn't know if Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren could understand.

There was no point in continuing the conversation here. Ren Qiying suggested the two rest, but Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren were anxious to see Chen Ke. Seeing their attitude was very firm, Ren Qiying had to send a communicator from the county to take them to Yuezhangji. Chen Ke was inspecting the election in Yuezhangji.

Yuezhangji was once the target of the first military operation of the People's Party, and now it was the earliest rural base area of the People's Party. The main road leading to Yuezhangji had basically been completed. Different from the lively area near the dock centered on cargo loading, unloading, and storage, the roadside from Fengtai County to Yuezhangji was the technological essence area of the People's Party. Units including schools, scientific research, and factories were connected one by one. From the perspective of this era, these units each enclosed a large piece of reserved land.

Because they were unhappy in their hearts, Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren didn't speak. Even looking at the large unit parks, the two didn't ask the communicator walking beside them. But after walking for a while, the two were still attracted by the scenery on the roadside. In fact, this scenery was nothing special. If it were a person from the 21st century, they would definitely not feel anything special because the scenery on the roadside was very monotonous.

The People's Party implemented "Big Government," and the entire agriculture was considered preliminarily planned. Not to mention the small trees planted neatly by the roadside, it was also the same in regional planning. On the vast fields, trees, bamboo forests, and crops were planted in neat large patches. Even the open fields after harvest were continuous in patches. The neat ridges only had a certain degree of curvature when encountering ditches and ponds; otherwise, they extended straight away. In between were not-so-narrow dirt roads.

Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren were dumbfounded. The farmland in Fengtai County was very different from the rural areas in the south composed of small pieces of land with different shapes. Compared with the orderly vast land here, the rural areas in the south were like a beautiful and gentle Jiangnan girl, while Fengtai County was a rough and heroic big man.

"I didn't expect the land here to be so regular." Huang Xing sighed.

The communicator in the county was a young man, just twenty years old. His knowledge couldn't compare with Guide Ma Hongsheng, who came from the reconnaissance troops. Hearing Huang Xing say this, the communicator said proudly, "There was a big flood here last year. A year ago, it was still a large mud pond. These are all lands we opened up ourselves. When opening new land, Chairman Chen personally led people to plan. Originally, we didn't believe we could make it so regular ourselves. As a result, we really made it this year; we were also very surprised ourselves."

Huang Xing looked at the fields stretching as far as the eye could see. He was truly shocked. "Could it be done like this in just one year?"

The communicator also participated in rural construction. He replied enthusiastically, "Yes, men and women, old and young, all went into battle together. Chairman Chen personally took the lead. Party members of the People's Party, cadres and soldiers of the troops all personally repaired ridges and reclaimed land for farming. We spent a lot of effort. I was responsible for planting bamboo at that time. Look at the bamboo forest by the pond over there; it was planted by our County Party Committee."

Following the direction of the communicator's finger, sure enough, there was a large bamboo forest by the pond. The bamboo was not yet as tall as a person; it should be planted this year.

"When the bamboo grows tall, the scenery should be good." Song Jiaoren laughed. Ponds, lotus flowers, bamboo forests. If a pavilion were built for people to fish leisurely, this would be one of the favorite sceneries of literati.

"Bamboo is used as building material." The communicator didn't have such elegance. He talked about the original purpose of planting bamboo forests.

Seeing this new scenery, Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren were quite excited and talked more. The communicator knew that the two were going to see Chairman Chen Ke, thinking that they should not be enemies. Plus young people love to show off, so he talked about the rural construction of the base area all the way.

The communicator ran everywhere originally, transmitting orders and news, and had much more knowledge than ordinary action personnel. Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren also wanted to know the situation of the base area. At first, chatting with the communicator, the two sighed with emotion. Listening later, the two spoke less instead.

Many members of the Tongmenghui came from landlord and merchant backgrounds, and many were also from big landlord backgrounds. However, these people's understanding of rural system construction was limited to their own land. There was not a single person who had a comprehensive understanding like this People's Party communicator. This was not just farming, but from land measurement and division to the construction of irrigation systems and the rational allocation of various lands. Just knowing these things would be considered extremely knowledgeable and capable in the Tongmenghui. This communicator was ordered by You Gou (Note: Context implies You Gou is a superior, possibly implying he works under her or general command). Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren felt that the status of the communicator was not high. Even a small clerk with not high status in the People's Party could have his own understanding of the entire county. Huang Xing didn't feel this fact deeply, but Song Jiaoren felt a strong discomfort.

To manage a place, there must be personnel familiar with the local situation. If an official is parachuted to a certain place, he is basically blind. Song Jiaoren originally thought that the People's Party became a force by gathering a group of desperadoes. As a senior cadre of the Tongmenghui, Song Jiaoren really didn't think there were many real revolutionaries in China. He took it for granted that most revolutionaries who "understood revolutionary concepts" were now in organizations like the Tongmenghui or the Restoration Society. Now seeing this communicator, he truly felt to what extent the power of the People's Party had grown.

Of course, without the vast and neat fields in front of him, and without the communicator "pointing out the rivers and mountains" (commenting on state affairs), Song Jiaoren would not admit this fact. Only after seeing with his own eyes that the People's Party had transformed the countryside on a large scale did Song Jiaoren know that the Tongmenghui had been left far behind by the People's Party.

"Is the appearance of this countryside planned by Mr. Chen Ke personally?" Song Jiaoren asked.

Mentioning Chen Ke, the communicator became even more spirited. "This was Chairman Chen personally organizing surveying teams, organizing engineering teams, and mobilizing the masses to participate in labor. Before these lands were sorted out, Chairman Chen had people draw a huge picture. The current appearance is exactly the same as in that picture. But that picture was removed this year; you two can't see it."

Hearing this, Song Jiaoren pursued a question, "Is Mr. Chen a native of Fengtai?"

Mentioning Chen Ke's origin, the communicator was stunned. He really hadn't thought about this question. After thinking for a while, the communicator replied, "Chairman Chen is a Northerner. But our Fengtai County people feel he is one of our own in Fengtai County."

Song Jiaoren fell completely silent. If Chen Ke was a native of Fengtai County, it was possible that Chen Ke had had the idea long ago. Since Chen Ke was not a local of Fengtai County, it meant that Chen Ke designed the appearance of the new Fengtai County only after arriving in Fengtai County. Song Jiaoren couldn't think of anyone in the Tongmenghui who could have such management and planning capabilities.

The communicator talked for so long and was tired. He asked Song Jiaoren, "Mr. Song, where is the base area of your Tongmenghui?"

Song Jiaoren and Huang Xing knew that the communicator didn't mean to embarrass them, but even so, awkward looks appeared on their faces. Song Jiaoren thought for a while before answering, "We have our own territories in Guangdong and Hunan. But our headquarters is in Japan."

"Why did you go to Japan to set up headquarters? It's too far from your base area. How to communicate? You have to take a boat across the sea." Although the communicator didn't know the situation of the Tongmenghui, he had received certain geographical knowledge education. Imagining the Tongmenghui according to the base area's situation, he immediately raised questions peculiar to communicators.

Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren were even more embarrassed after hearing this. They couldn't say that the Tongmenghui had no base area in China at all, and many uprisings were eliminated by the Manchu Qing. Although those engaged in politics have to accept the problem of spitting in one's own face and letting it dry, insisting on comparing the situation of the Tongmenghui with the People's Party, both of them had self-esteem. They really couldn't do things like lying boastfully or humiliating themselves.

Song Jiaoren was relatively quick-witted. He laughed, "I see that Miss Ren Qiying in your county is young, but her position is not low. You call her Director. What official in the Manchu Qing does this Director correspond to?"

Although the communicator was young, he had seen quite a few scenes. He knew Song Jiaoren was changing the topic. He answered every question Song Jiaoren asked, but Song Jiaoren was secretive. Facing such an attitude, the communicator also became unhappy. To this question, he answered coldly, "Equivalent to a County Magistrate."

A girl looking less than twenty years old being a magistrate? Although their imagination had been constantly refreshed in the People's Party base area, this answer greatly impacted the limit of Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren's imagination. "Is this Miss Ren Mr. Chen's confidant?" Huang Xing asked.

The communicator was very disgusted with this remark. "What confidant or not? We talk about work ability here, not personal relationships. Director Ren works very well, so she can naturally undertake this job."

"Talk about work ability, not personal relationships." These words were really resounding. Although Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren didn't believe it at all, psychologically they were still overwhelmed by the communicator's righteousness.

The communicator was not telling lies. Everyone was watching Ren Qiying's promotion. Nothing more than following the Party early, working hard without complaint, and being the most arduous. Moreover, Ren Qiying had a great advantage: she never hid secrets. If there were any new work ideas, Ren Qiying always held meetings to discuss with everyone. If there were any new work methods, Ren Qiying always promoted them in the unit. Of course, Ren Qiying had another great benefit. Although the communicator himself had this feeling, he didn't clearly use it as a standard to judge Ren Qiying.

People in the County Party Office felt that Ren Qiying would continue to be promoted. The base area was not a "small government" like the Manchu Qing, but a genuine "Big Government." The number of government employees was large. If everyone worked well, there was no lack of promotion opportunities. Following a leader like Ren Qiying, one could learn things, and promotion was not hopeless. Although the communicator himself didn't have the consciousness of being a "bureaucrat," in this environment, he naturally developed this kind of thinking.

Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren naturally didn't know the communicator had such ambition. Compared with the People's Party, the Tongmenghui's current revolution was basically a grassroots troupe entertaining themselves. Specific promotion issues were not within their consideration at all. How to pull people to risk their lives was the urgent task of the Tongmenghui. Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren were also afraid that the communicator would continue to ask questions about the strength of the Tongmenghui, so they stopped talking. The three began to hurry silently.

Shocked by what they saw along the way, Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren were full of chaotic thoughts. So much so that they forgot to consider one thing: since cadres at all levels of the People's Party had such insight, how could Chen Ke, the leader of the People's Party, be worse than these people?

The election in Yuezhangji was very lively. Where had the common people elected officials themselves for thousands of years? The principle of this election was not difficult to understand. The propaganda these days had made it clear that the new socialist system promoted by the People's Party was to let the common people live a better life. Science and democracy were the two pillars of the socialist system. Officials were the government organization mode ensuring scientific promotion from the national system. So the newly set positions included town head, village head, culture and education, health, sports, and other positions.

Chen Ke had been resisting talking about the meaning of revolution extensively, and now he was finally rewarded. Due to actually doing a lot of construction work, the people also got tangible benefits from these construction works. Most importantly, the People's Party did not monopolize knowledge but taught the principles and methods of why doing so to the people. The people were not just passive onlookers. Under the threat of floods, the people actively participated in it to survive. Various scientific and technological means could also prove that what the People's Party said was true reasoning.

Taking health cadres as an example, the People's Party didn't talk about epidemic prevention, things the common people thought were mysterious. As soon as microscopes were promoted to the countryside, taking something out of everyone's teeth gaps and nail dirt, and then looking under the microscope, seeing so many "little bugs" inside was immediately better than a thousand words. The people believed that the "bacteria" mentioned by the People's Party existed, and then many normal extensions began to appear on this principle.

The same was true for farming. The common people knew to select seeds. The seeds grown by the specialized seed cultivation center on artificially created fertile land were large and full, looking like good seeds at a glance. Everyone was naturally willing to spend some money to buy these good seeds. Of course, these policies and services were not forced on the people. Chen Ke absorbed lessons from history. The Party in history really demanded absolute unity on these matters, which caused many problems instead.

In dealing with such problems, the American way was not bad. There was a section of highway in the United States that was very dangerous. So the Highway Administration hung various signs in dangerous places, but car accidents were more than before. Later, they used reverse thinking and simply removed these signs, only writing "This road is dangerous, please pay attention to protect yourself" in large letters at the entrance of the highway. The number of car accidents fell sharply instead.

Finally, American experts concluded that when those signs were hung out, the drivers who saw them not only didn't feel dangerous but subconsciously thought the danger had been forewarned. This thought gave drivers a deeper psychological hint: "The danger has been removed." Under this hint, drivers' attention was not focused instead. Only when drivers were told there was danger on the road but not told where the specific problem would occur, would drivers concentrate fully.

This theory was used by the American right wing to oppose "Big Government." Although Chen Ke himself was a "Big Government" advocate, he believed that even "Big Government" could not learn the European social security policy from birth to grave. Facts have proved that "high welfare," a thing decadent capitalism tried to buy the people with, was destined to go bankrupt.

Big Government only provides basic "guarantees" and adheres to the basic concepts of the socialist system. Managing their own affairs still has to be practiced by the people themselves. Chen Ke firmly believed that normal people ultimately hoped for "life." Not shedding blood and sacrificing lives for some bullshit concept. Since the people could fight others desperately for an offensive sentence, Chen Ke also firmly believed that the people would fight the enemy to the end to defend the happy life provided by the socialist system to the people.

Then what this socialist system has to do is not to incite the people to sacrifice, but to guide the people onto the path of science and democracy. Even if there are some rebellious guys among the people, when they turn over a new leaf, the state still has to give them a way to live a normal life.

Because Chen Ke didn't propagate these things, nor did he propagate the bright future of communism much. The common people naturally didn't know Chen Ke's thoughts, and even most comrades of the People's Party didn't know Chen Ke's true thoughts. Because of this, the more practical propaganda slogans proposed by Chen Ke, "Labor is the most glorious," "The People's Party is the vanguard of the people's interests," "The Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army is the army of the people's sons and brothers"—these things that could be practiced most concretely became everyone's unified view, and were implemented one by one in hard work. Professional party hacks hadn't appeared in the People's Party yet.

The same was true for the election. Chen Ke certainly couldn't say, "You just elect like this first. When you make jokes and bump your heads in the attempt process, you will believe that what I, Chen Ke, said is correct."

He could only say to the people, "Since under the new system the people are masters of their own house, the people should choose officials they trust to serve the people."

So Chen Ke stripped the grassroots government bare through land reform policies. Reality told Chen Ke that as long as there was still land in the village that could be sold freely, village officials would definitely have designs on these lands. Not giving people opportunities to make mistakes is the greatest protection.

Based on various preparations in the early stage and absolute foreknowledge of future inevitable mistakes, Chen Ke was very relaxed. He had only one purpose for inspection, which was to effectively ensure that the people's election indeed achieved "fairness, justice, and openness." This is the basic concept and basic rule of democracy. Chen Ke formulated this rule, so he had the obligation to guarantee the normal operation of this rule.

The arrival of Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren surprised Chen Ke a bit, but he didn't have any special feeling. As the host, Chen Ke needed to entertain guests. The item for entertaining guests was not eating and drinking, but going to participate in the election work together.

The common people were very excited about the new thing of election. They couldn't understand the significance of their doing so yet. Although the whole thing helped the common people establish the thought of being masters of the country, it was just a beginning now. The whole election situation looked like a lively temple fair. Like other places in the base area, the People's Party did not run for some nominal leadership positions including village heads and town heads. Instead, they aimed for medical, scientific and educational positions requiring professional knowledge, and extremely important political positions like the Women's Federation.

A few days ago, the elections for these positions had ended. The People's Party members encountered no competition at all and easily got all "service positions." Today was the "highlight," electing the village head of Yue Wang Ji Village.

The election of the village head required proposing an election platform. People from the People's Party didn't participate, so no candidate could speak a complete set of election standards clearly, let alone systematically propose concepts of serving the masses or developing Yue Wang Ji. The whole platform statement felt quite like a farce.

Chen Ke accompanied Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren to watch the election. He scanned the venue seemingly aimlessly and saw a few familiar faces. Those were members of the "People's Internal Affairs Committee." Their job was to collect intelligence and see how many people would speak anti-Party remarks on this day when everyone was easily excited. These anti-Party remarks and remarks the common people were more concerned about would be collected and summarized. Providing services for policy formulation.

"Folks, after I am elected village head, I will definitely be able to manage everyone well." The one currently on the stage was shouting his campaign manifesto hoarsely.

"Uncle, just manage yourself well." A young man's voice came from below. This was terrible; the dark crowd of onlookers all burst into laughter. The face of the candidate on stage turned red, and he couldn't go on for a while. But it seemed this one was somewhat educated. After being embarrassed for a moment, he gritted his teeth and simply took out a written manuscript from his pocket and read from it.

Now the common people clamored even more. When the People's Party ran for other positions, they all released campaign platforms without scripts. No one had ever read from a script like this before. Some frowned, and some simply mocked the candidate again. The scene became very chaotic. The cadres of the People's Party hurriedly maintained order and managed to quiet the common people down with difficulty.

Chen Ke was also amused by the sentence "After I am elected village head, I will definitely be able to manage everyone well" at the beginning and laughed loudly. But he laughed for a moment and stopped. Just watching the candidate on stage quietly.

Huang Xing was attracted by this lively scene, looking left and right very excitedly. Song Jiaoren had been secretly observing Chen Ke. Chen Ke's youth surprised Song Jiaoren very much. Song Jiaoren was born in 1882 (Note: Text says 1892, but historically Song was born in 1882. 1907-1882=25. Text says "born in 1892, 25 years old in 1907" - math error in text. 1907-1892=15. Assuming 1882 is correct for age 25). Chen Ke was "two years younger" than him (implies Chen Ke is ~23? Previous text said 26-27. Inconsistency in text or Song's perception). Chen Ke's appearance looked younger than Song Jiaoren, making it hard to see the age difference between the two. Moreover, Chen Ke was different from those "majestic, enthusiastic, graceful, and temperamental" revolutionaries Song Jiaoren often saw. Chen Ke's behavior and speech were very natural. At any time, people felt Chen Ke was not deliberate. When he wanted to laugh, Chen Ke showed a "heartless" smile. When not laughing, the muscles on his body and face were completely relaxed. Coupled with his tall and sturdy figure and piercing eyes. It gave Song Jiaoren a feeling of hair standing on end on his back.

Song Jiaoren couldn't figure out what Chen Ke was thinking, but he intuitively felt that Chen Ke knew exactly what he was thinking. Just like after meeting the two, Chen Ke kindly invited them to watch the election together. Regardless of expression and movement, Chen Ke was extremely magnanimous. The content he spoke didn't have a single word of nonsense, nor did it contain any implied content. All showed that Chen Ke sincerely invited the two to visit.

The election was indeed very fresh, and Song Jiaoren also loved to watch it. It was the first time in thousands of years that Chinese common people chose officials they identified with. While Song Jiaoren was excited, he felt Chen Ke was too natural, as if the election he had never seen before was something Chen Ke had experienced dozens or hundreds of times. Chen Ke saw the past and future of the election clearly.

Such demeanor made Song Jiaoren feel both fascinated and fearful. Precisely because Chen Ke didn't deliberately put on an unfathomable appearance, this unfathomableness was even more frightening. With this mood of awe, Song Jiaoren made a correct judgment instead: "It is simply impossible to make Chen Ke truly cooperate with the Tongmenghui."

Chen Ke didn't care how Song Jiaoren saw him. His mind had long thrown Song Jiaoren to the nine heavens. What Chen Ke thought about was another matter. Following this election was the election of local people's representatives. The representatives elected by the people's representatives after the second election would form the first Anhui Provincial People's Congress. The People's Congress was not just representatives from various places; the People's Congress would formally establish the legal tradition (*Fatong*) of the new government, which was the legal tradition from the broad masses of people. This was a political trick Chen Ke had to play, and also something Chen Ke had to maintain and defend. Regarding the fact of the establishment of this legal tradition, Chen Ke felt his attitude was a bit too inclined towards Machiavellianism. He was pondering how exactly to establish his own position.

Behind these three people with different moods and almost completely different thoughts and positions. Chen Ke's guards pressed their hands on their waists. They watched the surrounding crowd vigilantly, especially Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren. As long as Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren made any move that posed a threat to Chen Ke, they would immediately stop or even shoot Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren.

At this time, noise rang out in the venue again. The candidate on stage had finished reading the manuscript. As he stepped down, another candidate with a tense face and trembling legs began to ascend the stage.