He Qian's journey was unusually smooth. She took the train from Beijing all the way to Hankou, and then took a boat from Hankou down the river. Originally, she thought the distant relative of the Sun family was an incapable young man, but unexpectedly, this silent young man handled things very briskly.

Whether on the train or on the boat, what everyone discussed was nothing more than the major event of the People's Party annihilating the Beiyang Army recently. Among various versions, irresponsible claims accounted for 100%. Some said the People's Party killed the Beiyang Army until corpses piled up like mountains, and even led all Beiyang Army captives to the Huai River and chopped off their heads. The corpses filling the river blocked the Huai River completely. Some corpses even floated into the sea along the Huai River. Others said a part of the Beiyang Army fought a bloody path and escaped back to Xuzhou. When someone mentioned the People's Party's notice calling Cixi the "Manchu Qing Bandit Gang Female Bandit Chief," everyone shook their heads and sighed, saying the People's Party had too much guts.

He Qian couldn't help wanting to laugh hearing this. The People's Party had rebelled openly; was there still any question of guts being big or small?

Listening all the way, people on the train generally didn't mean to support the People's Party's rebellion. Everyone sighed that the Manchu Qing was about to perish, but no one thought about whose hands the Manchu Qing would perish in. Revolutionary parties like the Tongmenghui and Guangfu Society didn't have much influence among the common people, and no one really took these people seriously. The People's Party, which rebelled armed and defeated the Beiyang Army, was the focus of everyone's attention. But no one really treated the People's Party as a new government capable of replacing the Manchu Qing. At least on the Beijing-Hankou Railway train, the People's Party was not accepted by the crowd.

When taking the boat from Wuhan, the discussions around were different. There weren't many passengers on the boat to Anqing. Everyone's discussion was whether the People's Party would attack the three towns of Wuhan. The Hubei New Army suffered two consecutive major defeats, and the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army had appeared at Huangpi Pass as a deterrent. These facts had a more real impact on Hubei people. Since the People's Party could eliminate tens of thousands of Beiyang troops, the Hubei New Army with less than ten thousand people was simply unable to withstand a single blow; this was the consensus of Hubei people. The three towns of Wuhan were a wealthy area; the People's Party couldn't turn a blind eye to Wuhan. Those rebel troops wearing dark blue military uniforms might attack at any time.

Precisely because of such realistic considerations, Hubei people on the boat had a more pragmatic understanding of the People's Party. For example, everyone could accept the local public security order in Anqing. It was just that doing business couldn't evade taxes, but there was no extortion either. This was the thing Hubei people on the boat understood least. This was a very strange view: if paying a certain amount of money to the people handling things below, everyone could accept it. If it was completely government tax collection, everyone couldn't fully accept this fact instead.

He Qian didn't rest well along the way, feeling groggy all over. She could still listen to some discussions of fellow travelers in the first few days, but after rocking on the boat, she got seasick and couldn't listen to other discussions anymore.

Entering Anqing city, He Qian endured the physical discomfort, asked the City Management personnel for the location of the government, and went straight to the door. Hearing that He Qian was a relative of Chairman Chen Ke coming to visit Chairman Chen Ke, the reception staff didn't look respectful but frowned instead.

"Please follow us to the back, okay?" The staff said vigilantly.

He Qian didn't expect the People's Party staff to have this reaction. She and the distant relative of the Sun family were taken to the back and questioned separately. While He Qian explained her relationship with Chen Ke, the distant relative of the Sun family faced the staff of the People's Internal Affairs Committee and said frankly: "My humble name is Sun Yongying. I am here by the order of Lord Yuan Shikai to pay respects to Mr. Chen Ke. To discuss how to redeem the captured Beiyang officers and soldiers."

After listening to the two reports, Zhang Yu kept a gloomy face and didn't make a sound. The speed of Beiyang's movement was really somewhat unexpected. Zhang Yu originally didn't plan to intervene in such troublesome matters, but Zhang Yu was somewhat unhappy about the scope of authority of the People's Internal Affairs Committee. This newly built organization, like the Discipline Inspection Commission, was an internal department. Zhang Yu came from a bureaucratic background and understood system operation extremely deeply. When Chen Ke established various systems originally, they were already very complete. with the existence of these two powerful departments, Zhang Yu vaguely felt a kind of unease.

Thinking over and over, Zhang Yu still didn't want to intervene in matters outside his scope of authority. If this was Chen Ke's decision, Zhang Yu's opposition would be even more meaningless. After the Second Counter-Encirclement, Chen Ke's prestige in the army completely reached an unparalleled level. Not only Chen Ke, but Hua Xiongmao who commanded the siege battle, and the inland river fleet that shelled Huaiyuan County, had their status fully recognized. No matter how great Zhang Yu's credit on the southern line was, his fame was completely suppressed. If there was a collision with these two inspection departments at this time, with a transfer order from Chen Ke, Zhang Yu had absolutely no possibility of opposing.

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

He Qian was really tough too. She traveled without stopping along the way, taking a boat after riding a horse. Where had a person of young lady origin like her experienced such wind and sun exposure? Even if her body was almost about to collapse in such intense travel, He Qian still kept a string tight in her spirit: "Absolutely don't let people see my suffering and tiredness; absolutely cannot fall behind." Regarding the matter of four people "escorting" the two of them, He Qian didn't take it to heart at all. Since she had already fallen into the hands of the People's Party, He Qian didn't care about this matter anymore.

Arriving in Fengtai County almost groggily, as soon as He Qian went ashore, she saw crowds gathered everywhere. The pier was decorated with lanterns and colored streamers, as if celebrating some grand festival.

"Brothers, what is being celebrated here?" Sun Yongying's physical strength was still okay. He asked several People's Party escort personnel who either read books or kept silent along the way.

"It should be the celebration of this great victory," the staff of the People's Internal Affairs Committee answered. The four comrades also wanted to watch this celebration in their hearts, but the work at hand hadn't been handed over completely, so they had absolutely no time to participate. They urged: "Let's hurry to the reception department."

The "reception department" of the People's Internal Affairs Committee was also in the county town. The group managed to pass through the dense celebrating crowd and walked forward slowly. The county town was full of excited crowds, and police troops maintained order everywhere.

"Down with the Manchu Qing Bandit Gang!"

"Long live the People's Government!"

"Long live Chairman Chen!"

"......"

Cheers rose one after another in this crowded throng. Some spectator square formations simply began to sing songs. "Unity is strength, unity is strength. This strength is iron, this strength is steel. Harder than iron, stronger than steel..."

Thousands and tens of thousands of people gathering was a kind of power, a kind of atmosphere in itself. This song was a popular song within the base area. People's Party members, government cadres, and members of state-owned enterprises; there was not a single one who couldn't sing it. In Fengtai County, the proportion of these people accounted for more than half. Someone started, and immediately people followed and sang loudly. This was the most instinctive reaction of the masses. When they could finally open their mouths to express their emotions, singing together became the best choice.

Not only were the people masses influenced by this celebration, even the staff of the People's Internal Affairs Committee were the same. While watching He Qian and Sun Yongying go to the reception department, they couldn't help singing together too. "Fire in unison at the counter-revolutionaries, let all undemocratic systems die! Towards the sun, towards freedom, towards New China, emitting ten thousand rays of light!"

As the song fell, a burst of cheers erupted from the crowd immediately. He Qian was already very uncomfortable. This earth-shaking chorus shook her extremely uncomfortably, and her stomach immediately churned. He Qian covered her mouth tightly and retched a few times. If she hadn't eaten nothing, she might have vomited in public.

The dissatisfied gazes of the surrounding masses immediately gathered on He Qian. The base area didn't block the news of Beiyang attacking. The base area even held several grand banquets for comprehensive evacuation. Everyone lived in fear for so long, and what they got was the news of annihilating Beiyang. After the big stone in everyone's heart fell, the uncontrollable ecstasy went without saying. This grand celebration not only had many celebrations and commendations, but the captured Beiyang high officials were also to be paraded through the streets to the public. On such a good day, He Qian's haggard look was already unsightly, and her appearance of wanting to vomit in the crowd was even more out of place.

However, He Qian's discomfort was only a small matter. Soon someone sang loudly again: "We workers have power! Hey! We workers have power! Busy with work every day, hey! Busy with work every day, built high-rise buildings, built railways and coal mines, transformed the world into a new look! ..."

The number of workers in Fengtai County was large. These songs praising labor workers were extremely popular among workers. In this era, there were plenty of opera programs praising various emperors, generals, ministers, scholars, and beauties, but there wasn't a single song praising laborers positively. Even if there were songs about laborers, they were all mournful, about how hard they worked to live but were trapped by food and clothing.

Songs like *We Workers Have Power* were generous and heroic, shaping the power of workers to change heaven and earth. How could any worker not sincerely love songs praising themselves? The chorus immediately rang out earth-shakingly. Everyone clenched their fists one by one, singing the people's songs with various accents and various scales. This was the people's celebration; this was the people's festival. No longer needing to praise others, or watch others' joys and sorrows. At this moment, what filled the hearts of the people was their own feelings, their own excitement. Quite a few people were already moved to tears. Many people didn't even notice tears already overflowing on their faces. Everyone forgot everything, just singing loudly praising their own songs. The loud singing pierced the sky of Fengtai County, rushing straight towards the vast horizon.

Listening to the song and looking at the excited crowd around, Sun Yongying felt a chill from the marrow of his bones in his heart. Yuan Shikai ordered him to come discuss redeeming Beiyang officers. Sun Yongying remembered the almost unconcealable unease on Lord Yuan's face. Nearly twenty thousand New Army troops completely annihilated; Sun Yongying himself actually didn't quite believe it. Not only these twenty thousand New Army troops, but two leaders among the Beiyang Army, Lord Wang Shizhen and Lord Duan Qirui, actually fell into enemy hands at the same time. A group of bandit troops could actually be so capable?

Along the way, Sun Yongying actually tried his best to observe, but everything he saw couldn't prove that this poor place Anhui had such ability. Although order was orderly, and there were steamships traveling in the river channel. But compared with prosperous Beijing and Tianjin, these counted for nothing.

Until seeing this celebration with unknown number of participants with his own eyes, seeing this jubilation almost like another world. Sun Yongying finally understood how much influence the People's Party had in Anhui. There were many carriages of princes going out in Beijing city, and naturally, there were many onlookers. But those people either gestured and praised the majesty of the government office, or those who had seen much critiqued the details of the carriage. Some bored ones arrogantly showed off various anecdotes of the princes. Where was there such a situation of millions of people of one mind?

Sun Yongying had also participated in quite a few Beiyang Army drills. Soldiers were just completing drill tasks. Except for paydays, it wasn't actually that lively in the troops. Although everyone in training was also fierce and brave, compared with this celebrating crowd, they were obviously strong in appearance but weak inside. This emotion from the bottom of the hearts of the celebration crowd absolutely didn't exist in the Beiyang Army. Let alone the pride, self-esteem, and strong meaning of sharing hatred against the enemy overflowing in these songs. If each of these people were given a gun, Sun Yongying had no doubt they could ignore the rain of bullets and rush forward, crushing all obstacles daring to block in front.

"These are really fierce bandits." Sun Yongying said silently in his heart.

A resonant bugle sound suddenly rang out in the singing, and cheers sounded like a sea tide immediately. The singing gradually fell, and almost everyone stretched their necks to look forward. Red flags fluttered; a team of soldiers singing a resonant song strode along the street under the guidance of the red flag. "Forward! Forward! Forward! Our team faces the sun, stepping on the motherland's earth, bearing the nation's hope, we are an invincible force. We are the sons and brothers of workers and peasants, we are the people's armed force..."

The number of soldiers naturally couldn't compare with the spectating masses, but that resonant voice wasn't overwhelmed by the cheers of the masses like a sea tide at all. Amidst the military song, the soldiers of the troops carried rifles on their backs, stepping with marching steps, rumbling past the crowd. The masses were not deterred by this tough military style; on the contrary, seeing the valiant and spirited sons and brother soldiers, the cheers became exceptionally intense.

These troops draped in red and colorful silk were all meritorious personnel in the battle. Many in the crowd knew the soldiers among them. Watching their own relatives holding their heads high, this pride and joy soared to an unparalleled height.

After the team of sons and brother soldiers passed, a clamor suddenly rose in the crowd. "Down with the Manchu Qing Bandit Gang!" "Down with the Beiyang Army!" "Down with counter-revolutionaries!"

What came over at this time was the Beiyang Army officials parading through the streets. Not only Beiyang officials, but previously captured Anhui high officials, Anhui Governor En Ming and others were also mixed with Beiyang Army officials and brought out.

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

"Let me look." He Qian said hurriedly. She was very worried that her husband Sun Yongsheng was also in this team. But she couldn't help hoping Sun Yongsheng was in this team. If she could see Sun Yongsheng, it would at least prove he was 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 had instructed that he must try every means to save these two back.

"Stop looking. Hurry to the reception center." The comrades of the People's Internal Affairs Committee were afraid the two would do something out of line. So rather than guarding against the two, it was better to take the two away and be done with it. No matter how the two resisted, it was still easy for four people to deal with two people. Dragging and pulling, He Qian and Sun Yongying were forcibly taken away.