On the Wuhan wharf on the Yangtze River, Hubei Provincial Party Committee Secretary Lu Huitian stood beside Chen Ke and asked with a slight stutter, "...Just shipping them away like this?"

"Just shipping them away like this," Chen Ke answered crisply.

It was a whole ship of Base Area "Red Star" brand steel heavy plows. The cargo ship wasn't even full; some empty tonnage would be used to pick up some chemical products near Anqing before leaving.

"And then the money in the bank is just a few pieces of paper?" Lu Huitian had gone with Chen Ke to sign the agreement. It was just signing a few documents, and the transaction was completed. Seeing no real gold or silver, Lu Huitian felt very uneasy. Moreover, for every trade, inter-bank transfers required handling fees. The British devils casually skimmed money off this. Even though Chen Ke had explained the role of finance to the comrades, Lu Huitian still found this reality extremely hard to accept.

"Modern banks are all like this. The British are endorsing the Japanese, what are we afraid of? The transfer has already been made directly." Chen Ke felt this was quite normal. "The British are so powerful because they control the financial industry. We have to rely on the British banks for large-scale trade right now."

"Why don't we do business directly with Japan?" As the Hubei Provincial Party Secretary, Lu Huitian harbored a grudge about being fleeced by the British in the middle.

"Because our banks haven't opened in Japan. If the Japanese took a draft or deposit slip of unknown authenticity and asked us for money, would you feel at ease?" Chen Ke could accept it, and even if he couldn't, there was no other way.

"Can't we use these plows ourselves? The Base Area needs them too." Although Lu Huitian knew why they were exporting, and had agreed to the deal, he still couldn't help but feel this dissatisfaction.

"I don't want to export them either, but if we don't export, where do we get the money to import? Waiting until we can manufacture steel plant equipment ourselves will take several years. And we've calculated it, with current production, it's not even enough for you to do experiments. Secretary Lu, turn grief into strength and do a good job of your own industrial construction. If you feel like you're not in the mood to work, just think back to your mood right now, and you'll immediately have motivation." Chen Ke comforted Lu Huitian.

Comrades were beginning to encounter modern commerce and were gradually learning to view the situation from a global perspective. This was inevitably a process. As a person from the 21st century, Chen Ke felt that being able to accept globalization—whether it was the so-called Chinese "shirts for planes" or the earlier Soviet "grain for machinery"—proved one thing: for a vast socialist country with a large population, even if it temporarily accepted becoming the bottom layer of the world trade system, as long as this great power could continuously accumulate capital through this trade system and strengthen its own education and heavy industry systems, rising up was not a particularly difficult thing.

The prerequisite for this rise was that the earned capital be used for national construction, rather than being carved up as profit by capitalists. If the earned capital continued to be invested in "light industry," a sector that seemingly offered short-term profits, the domestic economy would completely become a slave to foreign big capital. The "Latin Americanization" of Latin American countries was a lesson from the past.

Chen Ke's firm support for the socialist system stemmed from the accumulation of history. In the full century from 1910 to 2010, any country or region that rose up did so with the support of heavy industry. The Soviet Union and China, two great powers that changed the global situation in the 20th century, invested heavily in universal education and heavy industry development.

Chen Ke could completely understand Lu Huitian's mood of being unable to accept this fact. Chen Ke himself had once been quite dissatisfied with the fact that China occupied the bottom layer of the world's factory. It was only after China accumulated enough to break through the bottleneck and experienced explosive development that the past arduous accumulation seemed to have value. So Chen Ke smiled and said, "Look at it from another angle. Our sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid have started selling well recently. Raw silk production has also come up."

Hearing the words "raw silk," Lu Huitian's heart gave a jolt. When Chen Ke convened the Hubei Provincial Party Committee meeting, he listened very calmly to the comrades' introductions, but he specifically dragged Lu Huitian to the wharf to look, clearly not to praise Lu Huitian for a job well done. "Chairman Chen, don't mention that raw silk. Bringing it up makes me feel even worse," Lu Huitian said with great regret.

The export volume of raw silk in the Base Area over the past year or so could be described as advancing by leaps and bounds. The Base Area began industrial layout at the end of 1906, and in early 1907, in addition to formally starting large-scale mulberry tree planting, they also began overall trial production. With the government's strong support and guidance, the Base Area lacked neither land for planting mulberry trees nor labor for the sericulture industry. What was lacking was simply the entire industrial chain including investment, training, and product acquisition. After the land reform in Anhui, the People's Party had the ability to complete this industrial chain, and raw silk production grew explosively.

In 1908, the Base Area tentatively sold 10,000 piculs of raw silk. In 1909, it exploded directly to 100,000 piculs. And in 1910, it was expected to reach 180,000 to 220,000 piculs. When Lu Huitian was the Fuyang Prefectural Party Secretary, he didn't put much heart into this sericulture work. So every time he thought back on it, Lu Huitian regretted it terribly.

And the current Southern Anhui Regional Secretary Zhang Yu, although he argued with Chen Ke every time, executed the Central Committee's orders most resolutely. Yingshan County was once under the jurisdiction of Southern Anhui. Because of a lack of land, it was so poor they couldn't even afford pants. Chen Ke had once required Zhang Yu to put great effort into developing sericulture and tea in Yingshan County. Without a second word, Zhang Yu almost executed the entire families of the local landlords and tyrants who had blood debts in Yingshan County, while forcibly pushing for land reform. Later, a comrade named Li Shouxian became the Yingshan County Party Secretary. After more than a year, even in a place as deadly poor as Yingshan County, they sold 4,000 piculs of silk and 1,000 piculs of tea in 1909. It was said that the lives of the local masses had already seen huge improvements. After seizing Hubei, Zhang Yu resolutely refused to hand over Yingshan County. It was only after Chen Ke personally issued the order that Yingshan was reassigned to Hubei. Lu Huitian had heard that Chen Ke once praised Li Shouxian as ranking in the top five among this batch of county magistrates. After personally going to Yingshan County to take a look, he was also convinced.

Because Yingshan was poor, a county of less than 140,000 people actually provided 10,000 troops willing to be soldiers just to eat. The remaining 130,000 people, under the arrangement of the County Committee led by Li Shouxian, all had work to do, and every village engaged in production. Compared to before, it was completely new. The most magical thing was that Li Shouxian actually managed to get the whole county to cut their queues. Even in the old Base Areas of the People's Party, such a political achievement hadn't been achieved.

Coming back from inspecting Yingshan County, Lu Huitian put in a ruthless effort. The areas in northern Hubei near the Yangtze River were not wealthy. when arranging work, especially in the sericulture industry, Lu Huitian put in great effort. "We in Hubei attach great importance to the development of the sericulture industry this time."

"Whatever you do, don't apply a one-size-fits-all approach; adapt measures to local conditions. Whether an industry is suitable for local characteristics, we still need to investigate more. Secretary Lu, many things shouldn't be rushed. Recent work in Hubei should still focus on land reform. Without land reform, nothing can be discussed." Chen Ke's thinking was different from Lu Huitian's. "The money the Base Area is going to invest in Hubei in the near future is scary. Without a stable foundation, I'm really on tenterhooks."

"Once the economy goes up, many things will change," Lu Huitian always believed.

"Comrade Lu Huitian, our entire foundation lies in land reform. If there is no land reform, then the changes in the localities will provide opportunities for the reactionary landlords and gentry, allowing them to have money to maintain their rule. In a situation where the people do not understand why their lives have improved, they might very well attribute the credit to the landlords and gentry. This is harmful to our work." Speaking of this, Chen Ke finally stated the real reason why he wanted Lu Huitian to accompany him to the wharf. "Comrade Lu Huitian, I see that the current Hubei Provincial Party Committee's working methods are not very understanding. I want to talk to you now to see how you view this issue."

Even though he had prepared himself to be criticized, Lu Huitian didn't expect that Chen Ke was criticizing the Hubei Provincial Party Committee's train of thought. Lu Huitian had discussed this issue many times with comrades at the Provincial Committee meetings, so he felt relieved of a burden. He answered fluently, "Chairman Chen, we feel that violent land reform is likely to trigger extremely negative effects in Hubei. The existing military force is not yet sufficient to fully roll out construction. And as we start to promote a lot of production now, we are bound to occupy a dominant position. To take root at the grassroots level, we must cut into the grassroots. Based on the experience of Fengtai County, our current promotion of land reform in the disaster areas of Hubei has been very effective. We have basically grasped the dominance of land reform. However, in other areas, our enemies are the clan forces. The clan forces in rural Hubei are very strong. In areas where land reform has already been implemented, the economic driving effect we lead is obvious. For areas where land reform has not been implemented, we prepare to intervene with economic means, using economic influence to gradually control those non-land reform areas, and then the resistance to land reform will be smaller."

Chen Ke listened very carefully and understood. Lu Huitian and the others hoped to adopt a gentle administrative method to promote the People's Party's control in Hubei. This was also the difference in revolutionary and governance thinking between Lu Huitian and Zhang Yu. Zhang Yu was a Party Secretary of regular military origin. His style was simple, brisk, crude, and fierce. He would kill the landlords with blood debts, and then send cadres to promote land reform under the protection of bayonets. But Zhang Yu doing this also had his own advantages.

Anhui was conquered by the People's Party, and the People's Party's army already had strong influence among the people. Because of poverty, the masses' backlash against land reform was not strong. Since farming didn't yield much profit anyway, after changing the land ownership system, as long as life could change for the better, the masses would have to be crazy to oppose land reform. Moreover, the People's Party cadres were very concentrated at that time. Chen Ke sat in the Anhui Center, and experienced cadres were all concentrated in Anhui. Even if it was a bit crude and simple, the masses could accept it.

Hubei was a new area. The People's Party entered Hubei by relying on strong external intervention, and there was no large influx of internal Hubei comrades joining. The Central Committee was very worried that if work was carried out according to the Anhui model, Hubei would turn into a military suppression. That was why they dispatched a civil service route cadre like Lu Huitian to preside over the Hubei situation. But Chen Ke felt that the Hubei Provincial Party Committee led by Lu Huitian was a bit too weak in its view of revolutionary struggle.

"Comrade Lu Huitian, all the revolutionary successes we have achieved now are first built on the collapse of the old system. Whether it is Anhui or the areas in Hubei where land reform has now been completed, it was floods that destroyed the old system. In such an intense situation, where the old system could no longer maintain the normal lives of the masses, we were able to achieve a victory like smashing dry weeds and rotten wood. I have always believed that in areas where land reform has not been completed, our primary task is to make the old system collapse, not to cooperate with them. Who are our friends and who are our enemies? This is a very realistic question. Our primary task is still revolution, not compromise."

It wasn't that there were no such views within the Hubei Provincial Party Committee; in fact, using natural disasters as an opportunity to cut into local work had always been an important means for the People's Party. But Lu Huitian always felt that this means was a bit too harsh.

"Chairman Chen, isn't this 'those who submit to me prosper, those who resist me perish'? I believe that the revolution should first prove its justice, and then be promoted. Yes, using the condition that the old system is powerless to deal with various situations to make them collapse, and then establishing a brand-new system is indeed very fast. But the masses in those areas will suffer great pain and loss. Chairman Chen, you believe that human heads are not chives; they won't grow back after being cut. Sitting by and watching other areas collapse... how many more people will die?" Lu Huitian really had a compassionate attitude.

"Comrade Lu Huitian, I emphasize repeatedly. It is not us who are launching the revolution, but the people who need the revolution. Layout the entire industrial chain to Hubei. Apart from the areas where we have already completed land reform, do you think that in those areas where the old system still exists, the ones who benefit the most are the masses, or those people within the old system? If you let the gentry and clans get a large amount of funds in this industrial chain, do you think this has any benefit for the masses? Or are you still prepared to incorporate this group of people from the old system into the new system?" This was what Chen Ke worried about the most.

"We have started experimenting with reforming the old system in several counties. Chairman Chen, our Provincial Committee has also discussed this many times. The landlords and gentry will absolutely not voluntarily withdraw from the stage of history. If you don't hit the reactionaries, they won't fall. The revolution ultimately relies on violence, not persuasion. I also absolutely support this point." Lu Huitian also understood Chen Ke's thoughts perfectly well. Regarding Chen Ke's wish to gain control of the entire grassroots level as soon as possible, and then quickly promote revolution and economic construction. But Lu Huitian, in his work, felt that this was a bit wishful thinking. "We in the Hubei Provincial Party Committee hope to try a brand-new method, which is to try to win the basis for our People's Party's existence through some means while the old system still exists. Just like we did with the People's Congress elections in Anhui. The enemy still exists, but we unite the masses through striving, and finally change the local situation step by step."

"Then how long do you think such a method will take?" Chen Ke did not want to overthrow the Hubei Provincial Party Committee in one fell swoop and then implement work completely according to his own meaning. If the Base Area was still just Anhui province, Chen Ke might have been able to do so, but now with the land of four provinces, if Chen Ke still did this, something big would happen. Regardless of how Lu Huitian's personal views conflicted with Chen Ke's, these resolutions were the decisions of the Hubei Provincial Party Committee. Chen Ke himself could not violate organizational principles and forcibly change the already determined local plans. Facing such a situation, Chen Ke had to wait and see the results of these attempts.

"My personal estimate is two to three years," Lu Huitian answered firmly.

"Alright. The Central Committee is about to make a huge investment in Hubei. A heavy industry base is to be established in Wuhan. The existing industrial chains will first be laid out in areas where land reform has been completed. To complete this work, I prepare to stay in Hubei for a period of time." Chen Ke said it lightly.

Lu Huitian pursed his lips slightly. If Chen Ke was going to stay in Hubei for a period, as the Chairman of the People's Party, he would definitely want to fully grasp the work in Hubei. Judging by Chen Ke's current attitude, he was determined to turn around the current situation in Hubei. Although he knew clearly that his power would be weakened, Lu Huitian unexpectedly found that amidst his grievance and unease, he actually had a feeling of peace of mind. In any case, where Chen Ke was represented success.

And the heavy industry center had always been one of the pinnacles and pillars of the great future Chen Ke had described to the comrades of the People's Party. Lu Huitian really wanted to see with his own eyes that great industry that had only appeared on paper established in Wuhan.

Early members of the People's Party generally had a deep impression of Chen Ke, which was that Chen Ke was particularly rich. Including Hubei Provincial Party Secretary Lu Huitian himself; although rationally he knew this was incorrect, emotionally he couldn't turn it around no matter what. Back in the Shanghai era, Chen Ke was the one who could always make money. And this money was displayed in a particularly expressive way. For example, the Shanghai Renxin Medical College, which was still operating normally. Those tall school buildings and vast playgrounds gave the young comrades who followed Chen Ke in the beginning a strong sense of belonging.

After arriving in Fengtai County, Lu Huitian, who managed the "Labor Camp," found that no matter how bad the surface situation was, the funds from Shanghai for the People's Party ensured that the People's Party never lacked transport ships and labor tools. Even when rations were down to only enough for a few days, the People's Party was always able to pass the critical juncture; this breath of life had never been interrupted.

Lu Huitian clearly admitted that everything in the Base Area now was produced by the working people with their own hands. But the working people had lived by their hands for thousands of years, always accompanied by the precariousness of hunger and the threat of death. Every turmoil, large or small, could cause thousands upon thousands to die violent deaths. Unlike now, where the masses in the Base Area could always save their lives from threats and move towards a better life.

At every critical moment, Chen Ke was always able to get money and turn money into things that could be seen with the naked eye. As if he could turn stone into gold; sometimes Chen Ke's methods simply made people feel like he was a magician. In a certain sense, it was precisely Chen Ke who created an impression among the comrades that revolutionary theory and reality were disjointed.

Production self-help in disaster areas became the material basis for the battle to seize dominance of the Base Area. Land reform became the cornerstone of troop recruitment. Labor liberation first became the foundation for seizing Base Areas in other provinces. And the unified efforts of the entire Base Area once again became the foundation for dealing with foreigners.

Although the high-level officials had heard Chen Ke's expectations for the next thirty years, the comrades didn't understand these expectations at all. They felt that Chen Ke was dragging the People's Party from one victory to another, but the final destination was beyond the comrades' line of sight and imagination.

If it were comrades like Zhang Yu who argued for the sake of arguing but followed the steps in practice, no matter what they thought in their hearts, there would be no problem with their work. But Lu Huitian knew that many comrades like himself felt increasingly unadapted. When it was time to talk about theory, Chen Ke promoted practice. When it was time to carry out the practice of "saving the country and the people," Chen Ke instead promoted theory. What was the true face of this "People's Revolution" that the vast number of People's Party members participated in personally? Was it to ruthlessly overthrow all domestic and foreign oppressors, or was it like Chen Ke, cooperating with all domestic and foreign oppressors? Everyone's view was different.

So in Hubei, Lu Huitian decided to practice according to his own ideas for once. The result was the same as usual: Chen Ke immediately jumped out to stop it.

"Chairman Chen, I have a request," Lu Huitian couldn't help but say.

"Secretary Lu, what is it?"

Looking at Chen Ke's heavy-hearted appearance, Lu Huitian's words were firm and powerful. "Please make sure to resolve all our confusions before leaving Hubei this time, okay?"

Contrary to Lu Huitian's expectations, Chen Ke was neither angry nor did he give Lu Huitian a lecture on 'hating iron for not becoming steel.' Chen Ke frowned slightly and said in a worried tone, "That is indeed my intention this time."