Lu Zhengping never thought he could become the Municipal Committee Secretary of Anqing. The position of Municipal Committee Secretary belonged to civil administration. Lu Zhengping came from the army; he had never thought that one day he would actually engage in civil administration work. So although he was a civil official, his mindset was still that of an army political cadre. Lu Zhengping served as both Municipal Committee Secretary and Political Commissar of the troops. He knew the significance of his position as Municipal Committee Secretary was even thinner; Chairman Chen wanted Lu Zhengping to do the work of the army well. In the upcoming war, Lu Zhengping, who came from the reconnaissance troops, hoped the troops could be more active when facing the Hubei New Army.

Zhang Yu came from being the captain of the Water Detachment and was also Lu Zhengping's old superior. When Zhang Yu talked about military struggle, Lu Zhengping listened to Zhang Yu's views very seriously.

"Regarding the actions of the Wuhan side, we must obey the command of the Central Committee and cannot act unauthorizedly." Zhang Yu's words were simple and clear, full of political correctness.

Listening to this speech which sounded like nonsense, Lu Zhengping really couldn't figure out what Zhang Yu was up to. Fortunately, there was no pretentious atmosphere in the meetings of the People's Party. Zhang Yu explained immediately. The People's Party didn't have enough troops now, and the Anqing side didn't need to count on reinforcements from the Central Committee at all. Without reinforcements, with the current more than 1,200 troops in Anqing, plus the nearly 400 people of the Yue Wang Hui who couldn't be counted on, facing the Hubei New Army which occupied advantages in numbers and equipment, even if the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army had small tactical victories, it was impossible to have a major impact on the situation.

"Then what exactly is Mayor Zhang's idea?" Lu Zhengping asked.

"My idea is to see if we can concentrate forces to fight a battle of annihilation. We definitely can't deal with the Hubei New Army's navy. Fighting south of the Yangtze River, it is very likely that the enemy's navy will cut off the route across the river. So except for leaving a small unit guarding the ferry crossing on the opposite bank of the river, our main force should withdraw back to the north of the river. If the Hubei New Army relies on the navy, then we will withdraw from Anqing according to the Central Committee's plan. If a part of the Hubei New Army troops takes the north of the river, we will see if we can annihilate their land forces north of the river."

"I agree with Captain Zhang's plan," Lu Zhengping said. He inadvertently addressed Zhang Yu by his old title, but Lu Zhengping didn't notice the difference at all.

Zhang Yu's entire plan indeed obeyed the Central Committee's established policy: "We can abandon Anqing, but we cannot let the Hubei New Army continue north." Lu Zhengping absolutely supported this plan. If they could annihilate the Hubei New Army troops north of the river, even if the Hubei New Army didn't withdraw troops, or captured Anqing with the navy as the vanguard, their troop numbers wouldn't allow them to continue attacking the base area.

Seeing his plan received Lu Zhengping's support, Zhang Yu just nodded simply. This was actually the first step of Zhang Yu's real plan. "Commissar Lu, I want to ask you a question. Have you ever thought about working in Anqing all the time? I don't mean purely military work, but continuing to work as the Anqing Municipal Committee Secretary."

Lu Zhengping really hadn't thought about this question. He looked at Zhang Yu doubtfully. Was Zhang Yu considering working in Anqing long-term now? "Work arrangement issues still have to be decided by the organization," Lu Zhengping answered.

"The organization's decision is only one aspect; the comrades' own intention is also a very important part," Zhang Yu explained. "If we have the intention to work in Anqing, and our work performance in Anqing is excellent, then we should be able to continue."

Zhang Yu didn't think his whole life should be persisted in as a soldier to the end. The reason he engaged in military work was that the base area lacked military personnel at that time, and he obeyed the organization's arrangement. Zhang Yu came from an official family; his interest in civil administration work was far stronger than engaging in military affairs. Like most other County Committee Secretaries in the base area now, Zhang Yu's life goal and reference was Chen Ke, the Chairman of the People's Party. Chen Ke's outstanding strength in military and political affairs made Zhang Yu admire him extremely. Zhang Yu was also a young man, and his age was not much different from Chen Ke's. If he hadn't met Chen Ke, it would be fine, but the experience of participating in building the Anhui base area together with Chen Ke made Zhang Yu want to try and see if he could reach Chen Ke's level. Zhang Yu didn't want to stand above Chen Ke, but similarly, he didn't want to only be able to look up at Chen Ke's back.

Lu Zhengping didn't have such thoughts. His pursuit in life was very simple: do his own job seriously and well. So he couldn't understand this thought of Zhang Yu. He felt that where exactly he worked, whether in the troops or in civil administration work, would naturally be arranged by the organization. Zhang Yu could understand Lu Zhengping instead; precisely because of this, Zhang Yu wanted to cooperate with Lu Zhengping. Zhang Yu continued to persuade: "Commissar Lu, Anqing is a very thorny place for the entire base area now. Anqing is too easily subjected to military strikes. Moreover, as a commercially developed area, if Anqing cannot be effectively utilized, this city will become a burden to the base area instead. I believe you and I can definitely open up a situation here. Make Anqing a treasure bowl for our base area. I trust Commissar Lu's character and ability. I won't talk about the organization's thoughts; I just want to ask Commissar Lu, do you want to create a situation for our base area or not?"

If he used official position and future to persuade Lu Zhengping, Zhang Yu thought the effect wouldn't be too good. But since Lu Zhengping was loyal to the organization, persuading from the perspective of being responsible to the organization would have the best effect. The situation was indeed as Zhang Yu thought. Lu Zhengping thought for a while before saying: "Captain Zhang, I definitely hope to do more work for the organization. But if the organization has any new arrangements for me, I will also definitely prioritize the organization's intention."

Zhang Yu nodded. "I am not choosing the plan to defend Anqing as much as possible for my own status. If we can defend Anqing at a small cost, it will have the greatest benefit for the revolutionary cause. What does Commissar Lu think?"

Lu Zhengping also expressed agreement with this. Chen Ke gave the Anqing side sufficient freedom of decision, so defending Anqing and destroying the enemy was of course the best. Moreover, Zhang Yu had already stated he wouldn't let the troops fight recklessly, so Lu Zhengping had no reason to oppose.

The two leaders of military command and military administration reached a common combat determination. They first discussed the overall idea, then gathered the cadres of the troops to hold an operational meeting.

Chen Ke was a supporter of Grandpa Mao, so he didn't completely copy Grandpa Mao's way of building the army. In terms of troop construction, Chen Ke proposed the army building idea of imitating a part of the German General Staff. The German General Staff had very distinctive characteristics in personnel arrangement. At least in the various materials Chen Ke saw, the German General Staff didn't adopt a model where military commanders and staff officers were completely separated. Low-level military commanders would enter military academies for further studies after experiencing front-line combat tempering, and then return to work in the troop staff department. After experiencing staff work, they would go to the front line to engage in command work again. Since the founding of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army over a year ago, it had adhered to the program of the Party commanding the gun, and implemented a rotation system for officers and staff officers in troop construction.

Staff officers emphasized planning, while military commanders emphasized grasping opportunities and military determination during combat. Although there would definitely be some people who tried to draw a tiger but ended up with a dog (failed to imitate well), gathering the characteristics of despising preparation that military commanders were prone to commit and the lack of decisive determination peculiar to staff officers, the essence of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army was the Party commanding the gun. Such people simply couldn't rely on any "connections" to get promoted in the troops, nor could they exist in the troops for a long time. And those soldiers who could combine the commander's determination and the staff officer's emphasis on preparation were all soldiers with strategic vision. Even if only 5% of the commanders in the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army could reach this realm, Chen Ke could wake up laughing from his dreams.

There were more than 40 main commanders in Anqing, all of whom had participated in short-term military academy training. There were 14 who had served as both military commanders and staff officers. Zhang Yu let them form a Staff Section. Regarding Zhang Yu's plan, the attitude of the Staff Section was very consistent. The People's Party's military academy emphasized military preparation extremely; the slogan "Do not fight a battle without preparation" was written on the most conspicuous wall of the military academy.

"Besides intelligence from the base area, how do we collect intelligence from Hubei?" The first question raised by the Staff Section was this. Before Zhang Yu made up his mind to fight the Hubei New Army head-on, the Staff Section had been formulating a military plan to adopt guerrilla warfare on the periphery after abandoning Anqing.

"Although we don't have enough people, I think everyone can pool wisdom and analyze the war situation ourselves," Zhang Yu answered. He led by example and proposed his own ideas. Before the Hubei New Army persecuted the officers and soldiers captured by the People's Party on a large scale, Zhang Yu actually didn't really want to fight the Hubei New Army head-on. Since the Hubei New Army acted perversely themselves, the thousands of officers and soldiers captured in the Battle of Hefei could no longer become the combat power of the Hubei New Army. The Hubei New Army at the beginning of the year had a force of 16,000 people. After the 7,000 troops participating in the attack on the base area were expelled from the Hubei New Army sequence, the Hubei New Army only had 9,000 people left. In the upcoming battle, the troops the Hubei New Army could send out couldn't exceed 4,000. And once these 4,000 people were divided into two routes, north and south of the river, the number on the north bank would very likely be just over 2,000. The Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army now had more than 1,200 troops in Anqing. With such a force ratio, Zhang Yu was confident in annihilating the enemy.

"Captain Zhang, this is the most favorable consideration for us. If the enemy changes slightly, or if the Hubei New Army lets those captives take the lead, our plan won't be able to proceed. If we must fight, more plans are needed," Operations Section Chief Li Yuanjie said.

Zhang Yu was also very clear about this nature of staff officers. He answered: "I have already made the determination to fight the enemy head-on north of the Yangtze River. I now need the Staff Section to provide military plans in this regard. What is the upper limit of enemies we can handle in a frontal battle? Moreover, what kind of combat means do we need to adopt, and where to engage the enemy? These all need comrades to complete together."

The participating commanders looked at each other. This was the first time they fought independently, separated from the command of the Central Military Commission. Previously, they won every battle because under the direct leadership of Chairman Chen Ke, no matter how big the battle was, everyone didn't worry. Now asking everyone to make decisions and judgments themselves, even the most confident comrades couldn't help feeling a sense of unease.

Zhang Yu knew the comrades' unease; he himself also had a sense of fear. Once separated from the support of the Central Committee, with only 1,200 troops facing the entire Hubei New Army, it would be strange if there was absolutely no unease. But Zhang Yu quickly thought of Chen Ke. Did Chen Ke have no unease in so many campaigns he commanded? In military meetings, Zhang Yu was the person who expressed the most doubts. He knew Chen Ke sometimes didn't have completely fail-safe preparations either, but Chen Ke had unshakable military determination. And facts proved that every command of Chen Ke achieved unprecedented victory. So Zhang Yu forcibly suppressed his uneasy mood and said loudly: "All military responsibilities will be borne by me. I now issue the order, requiring comrades to start formulating plans to annihilate the enemy north of the river."

When the commanders still didn't dare to be completely sure, Lu Zhengping said: "I support Captain Zhang's opinion. We will fight the Hubei New Army head-on north of the river."

Since the leaders of the military command and military administration departments reached an agreement, the commanders stopped opposing. The topic of discussion entered specific execution aspects.

Zhang Yu and Lu Zhengping soon personally felt the talent gap between the Central Base Area and Anqing. If it was just executing the plan given by the Central Military Commission to "withdraw from Anqing and fight on the periphery," the commanders in Anqing could still be competent. But to formulate a plan for comprehensive combat with the Hubei New Army north of the river—there were more than forty participating commanders, while the Central Military Commission had no more than twenty people. The comrades in Anqing were double the number of comrades in the Central Military Commission, but the efficiency of formulating plans was several times higher in the Central Military Commission than the comrades in Anqing.

"I indeed can't compare to Chairman Chen." Zhang Yu thought to himself. Chen Ke alone could formulate the overall concept of strategy. Zhang Yu himself could only provide a goal; he himself couldn't straighten out the train of thought for the war. The direct result of being unable to straighten it out was that Zhang Yu involuntarily thought from the perspective of the "best case scenario." He also wanted to "consider problems comprehensively," but grasping the overall war situation was beyond Zhang Yu's ability. The military meeting was held all afternoon, and everyone discussed until late at night, but they still couldn't produce a complete plan.

Exhaustedly announcing the adjournment, Zhang Yu returned to his dormitory. He suddenly suspected whether he was doing a stupid thing. If following the original plan of the Military Commission, the troops in Anqing were absolutely enough. Let alone the Hubei New Army sending out 4,000 people, even if the Hubei New Army sent out 6,000 people, they would have to station at least 3,000 people in Anqing. In the guerrilla warfare on the periphery, Zhang Yu could absolutely use the 1,200 people in his hand to solve these 3,000 people. Wait until the central troops annihilated the Beiyang New Army; if the Hubei New Army didn't flee, they would only end up with the whole army being wiped out. The difference between the two was just Anqing changing hands once more. And his own combat idea might be correct, but this really exceeded the strength of the current Anqing garrison troops.

Tired all day during the day, Zhang Yu felt exhausted. Thinking over and over, Zhang Yu felt his eyelids getting heavier and heavier, and he actually fell asleep unknowingly.

The military meeting continued the next morning. Everyone racked their brains on how to fight this battle. Approaching noon, the duty officer of the intelligence room ran into the conference room. He handed a document to Zhang Yu. This was a communication text written on thin paper made by the People's Party with its greatest effort. Carrier pigeons were responsible for communication. The code above was actually very simple, just Pinyin. However, the nine Pinyin letters "abcdefghi" were replaced by "123456789." Of course, the final pronunciation could only be understood using Putonghua. Without undergoing the People's Party's formal cultural education, no one could crack this code at present.

Since it was a communication from the Central Committee, everyone exerted great effort to start translating. After many discussions, what was finally spelled out was an operational suggestion. The Central Military Commission had learned the news of the Hubei New Army persecuting captives on a large scale. Based on this latest change, the Central Military Commission suggested that the troops stationed in Anqing conduct combat with the Hubei New Army north of the river when conditions were ripe.

Seeing the Central Committee supported Zhang Yu's combat idea which hadn't been reported yet, the comrades in Anqing felt a burst of relief in their hearts. With Chairman Chen's support, everyone was full of confidence in victory. Even Lu Zhengping, who supported Zhang Yu from the beginning, showed a smile on his face.

On one hand, Zhang Yu was satisfied that his adaptability didn't go in the wrong direction, but Chen Ke's quick reaction made Zhang Yu feel disappointed in himself.

This document explained that a more detailed combat plan would be sent subsequently, but the Central Military Commission suggested the main combat mode adopt the "16-Character Tactics" method of guerrilla warfare. Choose areas where the Hubei New Army troops north of the river were separated from the support of the Hubei Navy's naval guns to fight the enemy. Moreover, to allow the troops to fight more effectively, the Central Intelligence Department in Hubei would send people to transmit intelligence directly to Anqing. Specific situations would be contacted with Zhang Yu and Lu Zhengping by special personnel arriving in Anqing later.

And the document specifically stated that during this operation, they must be careful of the Yue Wang Hui. If possible, it would be more appropriate to send them away.

Chen Duxiu didn't know the People's Party's evaluation of him. When he left the Anqing Municipal Government, he felt the whole world had changed. The sky was gloomy, and the scenery in his eyes also became unrecognizable. Chen Duxiu had never felt so useless. If the failure of the revolution was still a problem of ability, then being unable to even handle normal life was a problem of character. Zhang Yu used simple words to let Chen Duxiu realize where the essential difference between the People's Party and the Yue Wang Hui lay. Chen Duxiu found there was a gap like a chasm between the two. This gap was simply not something Chen Duxiu could bridge.

Long ago, Chen Duxiu felt that the people of the People's Party, whether officers or soldiers, had extremely alternative temperaments and styles. Now he finally figured it out: in this abnormal era, thousands and tens of thousands of officers and soldiers of the People's Party living a normal life was the biggest abnormality in this era.

Looking up at the surroundings, the common people of Anqing were busy one by one, looking like they also began to gradually live a normal life. Anqing City was an important city along the Yangtze River. Before the People's Party took Anqing twice, this city had experienced tragic siege and defense battles during the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom period. Chen Duxiu was from Huaining County, Anhui. Huaining County belonged to Anqing in the 21st century. So regarding that tragic war, Chen Duxiu had heard his family talk about it when he was young. In 1861, the Taiping Army and the Xiang Army fought fiercely in Anqing. After a series of cruel battles, on September 5, Zeng Guoquan ordered the Xiang Army to resist the attack of Chen Yucheng's troops with a part of the force, while the main force launched a fierce attack on Anqing. The Xiang Army's cannons blasted down the north city wall of Anqing, and the Xiang Army swarmed in. At this time, the Taiping Army inside the city was so hungry they couldn't even hold their guns, but everyone fought to the death and absolutely refused to surrender. The Xiang Army killed and set fire everywhere in the city, slaughtering a total of more than 16,000 soldiers and civilians in the city. Countless corpses flowed down the Yangtze River, densely packing the river channel. Thus, Anqing City fell, and the defending Taiping Army was completely annihilated.

After two wars, the People's Party didn't destroy Anqing but quickly restored the normal rhythm of life. The Yue Wang Hui, on the other hand, made Anqing live through a terrible period. Chen Duxiu felt ashamed just thinking about it.