"Who are our friends? Who are our enemies? This is the primary question of the reform." Governor Wang Youhong did not know how many times he had recited this sentence in his heart. Whenever his train of thought hit a wall, he would silently recite this sentence to guide his thinking back to its original source as much as possible.

On the paper in front of Wang Youhong, a sentence was written: "Practical protection of the most fundamental interests of the vast gentry class is a question of major principle."

Writing this line was very easy, but putting it into practice was difficult beyond measure. Wang Youhong never had any intention of protecting the interests of those below. In his eyes, those silly kids in the People's Party were truly bewitched. They gave up a good life and were dead set on "seeking welfare for the vast common people and creating a tomorrow."

During the floods in Northern Jiangsu this year, few refugees fled to Southern Jiangsu. Instead, quite a few gentry fled to Southern Jiangsu with their families. The People's Party was quite righteous; they never looted floating wealth. But they dug up the roots of the gentry—they confiscated land. Those gentry with blood debts on their hands were killed off early on. In other places, whenever there was a disaster, the People's Party would run over to provide disaster relief and implement land reform along the way. The main force of disaster relief was the army. Wherever the army went, they did not commit the slightest offense against civilians, and the People's Party proclaimed everywhere, "The People's Army consists of the sons and brothers of the common people!" They made it seem almost real.

Wang Youhong absolutely did not believe the People's Party's propaganda. From Chen Ke's many documents, Wang Youhong changed "the Party commands the gun" to "Governor Wang Youhong commands the gun."

In Wang Youhong's current ideal, the best political model for Jiangsu would be a shrunken Manchu Qing court. The Wang Youhong family would hold power, reigning for generations. The military generals would be die-hard loyalists of the Wang family, while civil officials would be filled by assemblymen. The overall situation would be very much like how Chen Ke of the People's Party currently held power. But no matter how he looked through Chen Ke's articles, they only talked about people's revolution and intra-party democracy. They never talked about how an individual could master power. Such a clever person, yet he never considered himself. This was too reckless.

Realizing he was thinking about Chen Ke again, Wang Youhong forcibly pulled back his thoughts and wrote "Practical protection of the most fundamental interests of the vast gentry class is a question of major principle" on the paper again.

Even if he wanted to imitate Chen Ke, Wang Youhong only controlled the army. Regardless of whether Chen Ke was hypocritical or not, the People's Party did indeed have the support of the common people at this stage. Wang Youhong had sent quite a few spies to Anhui, and the people of Anhui naturally supported the People's Party resolutely. Even the "former gentry" who stayed in the base areas and didn't flee, although they harbored resentment about losing their land, did not complain about their current lives. As long as they were willing to work, they wouldn't go hungry. Middle peasants, rich peasants, and small landlords lived even better than before because they were willing to work hard.

Looking back at Wang Youhong, the gentry were all hypocritical. These people's minds were all on Zhang Jian, the former Speaker who had entered Beijing. If it weren't for the recent crisis in the sericulture industry, they would probably still be lukewarm towards Wang Youhong. If he couldn't effectively utilize this sericulture crisis to establish Wang Youhong's prestige and grasp the sericulture industry in his own hands as much as possible, Wang Youhong was worried that he might not be able to pass the hurdle of the 1911 assembly elections.

These past few days, Wang Youhong had racked his brains and investigated everywhere, and finally had a preliminary concept. However, he really had no bottom line on whether it could be realized. "I'll just try serving these bastards once," Wang Youhong thought. If these assemblymen still didn't appreciate it, then Wang Youhong would have no choice but to use the army.

The next day, Wang Youhong went to the assembly early in the morning. The newly built Nanjing Assembly was a hall that could accommodate several hundred people. It was equipped with electric loudspeakers bought from foreigners. When Wang Youhong arrived, almost all the assemblymen had already arrived. This sericulture matter involved a wide range of people; the gentry families had all participated in the sericulture industry more or less. Up to now, neither the spring cocoons nor the summer cocoons could be sold. If this situation continued, the autumn cocoons would probably also be hopeless. The assemblymen had already thought of every possible way, but looking at it now, there was absolutely no avenue for a solution.

When Wang Youhong ascended the podium, the assemblymen stared at him anxiously one by one. If there was anyone left to rely on now, it was probably only Governor Wang Youhong, the person with the highest official rank. Although they didn't know how capable Wang Youhong actually was, the assemblymen instinctively believed that those with high official ranks would have more solutions.

"Gentlemen, this sericulture crisis involves a wide area. After investigation, I have slightly organized a sequence. Please listen." Wang Youhong was imitating Chen Ke's speech. When Chen Ke discussed problems, he always clarified the problem first. Then he would recount the countermeasures.

Starting from the general situation of the Southern Jiangsu sericulture industry, previous years' sales channels, and characteristics, to the problems encountered this year. Wang Youhong pointed out that the main buyers of raw silk were actually foreigners. Because the situation had been chaotic these past few years, the demand for consumer goods like silk in the North had shrunk tremendously, and the People's Party had reached a bulk sales agreement with the foreign devils, snatching away the market for Southern Jiangsu silk cocoons. Combined, these directly led to the overall crisis of the Southern Jiangsu sericulture industry.

The assemblymen actually knew some of the situation, but everyone was thinking about how to find sales channels. They had a feeling about the ins and outs of the matter but lacked a complete understanding. Hearing Wang Youhong speak so eloquently, many people only now suddenly realized the truth. As Wang Youhong incisively discussed this matter, the assemblymen gradually gained confidence in Wang Youhong. Since he had already grasped the pulse of the matter, Governor Wang Youhong must have come up with a solution.

"Gentlemen, I also checked. Compared to our Southern Jiangsu sericulture industry, the People's Party has the following characteristics. First, the silkworm breed is good. That Great White Silkworm is probably double the size of the silkworms raised by our ordinary families, and it spits more silk. In terms of quality alone, it probably has the grade of Nine-Li Silk. Second, the volume is large. As far as I know, the People's Party sold 32,000 quintals of raw silk this year. In quality, we can't compare. In quantity, we also can't compare. If our Jiangsu does not reform, this business will probably become increasingly difficult to do." Wang Youhong made such a summary.

That the People's Party had good silkworm breeds was something the Jiangsu assemblymen knew about. But hearing the figure that the People's Party sold 32,000 *dan* (should be quintals/dan, context implies huge amount) of raw silk, everyone was stunned. One quintal is 200 *jin* (approx 100kg), one *dan* is 100 *jin* (approx 50kg). For these silkworm raisers, it was very capable for an ordinary family to sell five *dan* of cocoons. Subtracting the pupae inside the cocoons, the extracted raw silk was only one quintal or 200 *jin*. 32,000 *dan* of raw silk, that would require at least 320,000 households raising silkworms. These households were nothing, but the demand for mulberry leaves would be too great. For a time, a buzzing sound filled the assembly hall.

Wang Youhong did not give time for this news to ferment. He continued, "As far as I know, the People's Party has already made up its mind. Next year's raw silk exports will double, reaching 64,000 quintals..."

*Boom!* The assembly hall boiled over completely. Although an electric loudspeaker was used, Wang Youhong's subsequent words were almost completely drowned out, "The year after next, the People's Party prepares to double it again, exporting 128,000 quintals."

"Do they want us to live or not!"

"Let the Anhui bumpkins grow mulberry and raise silkworms themselves."

"These rebels want everyone's lives!"

Watching the frenzied assemblymen, Wang Youhong was very happy in his heart. The greater the threat of the People's Party, and the greater the blow to the Jiangsu sericulture industry, the more opportunity Wang Youhong would have. Of course, if Wang Youhong's plan failed, he might completely lose the support of the assemblymen. However, Wang Youhong's prediction of the People's Party's raw silk exports for next year was originally made up. As the saying goes, "turn to any doctor in a critical illness"; only if these assemblymen were thoroughly frightened would it be possible for them to truly defect to Wang Youhong.

The assemblymen's performance also confirmed Wang Youhong's guess about them. Soon, assemblymen began to ask Wang Youhong for help. The leader was none other than Zhang Yutong, who had once begged at Wang Youhong's door. "Lord Wang, please, you must think of a way. If this goes on, we will have no way to live."

"It's not that there isn't a way, but I don't know if you gentlemen are willing," Wang Youhong said, pretending to be in a difficult position.

"As long as you can point out a method, we will definitely do it," Zhang Yutong said with extreme anxiety.

"Gentlemen Assemblymen, if our Jiangsu continues to grow mulberry and raise silkworms according to the current methods, we certainly won't be the People's Party's opponents. However, people say, 'stones from other hills may serve to polish the jade of this one.' Sometimes, we also have to learn other people's methods," Wang Youhong replied.

The assembly hall instantly quieted down. The assemblymen looked at Wang Youhong with blank or shocked eyes. After a moment, Zhang Yutong stammered and shouted, "My Lord, absolutely not! We absolutely must not learn land distribution from the People's Party!"

Hearing Zhang Yutong's words, the assemblymen who hadn't thought of this key point also jumped up as if their buttocks were on fire. They shouted one after another, "My Lord, the reason the People's Party are rebels is that they broke the rules of thousands of years. They confiscated everyone's land and distributed it. My Lord, absolutely not."

Hearing the assemblymen's shouts, the big stone in Wang Youhong's heart finally fell to the ground. He simply didn't want to learn the People's Party's land reform. Those young people of the People's Party pushed land reform with a terrible determination, but they all followed Chen Ke with equal determination. And Wang Youhong absolutely did not have such a group of followers. "Who are our friends, who are our enemies." Wang Youhong absolutely did not consider the people to be his, Lord Wang Youhong's, friends.

"Gentlemen, gentlemen, quiet down!" Wang Youhong shouted for a good while before calming the clamor in the assembly hall a bit.

"This official has absolutely no intention of learning the People's Party's land reform. Please rest assured on this point. The learning I spoke of refers to the People's Party's method of growing mulberry and raising silkworms." The electric loudspeaker projected Wang Youhong's resonant voice into the entire venue. The assemblymen also gradually quieted down.

"We don't need to distribute land. As long as everyone unites, growing mulberry and raising silkworms will have scale. The reason the People's Party is capable is that the government they established is capable. I also know that the gentry have always hoped that the government manages as little as possible. But looking at the People's Party's government, it is indeed much stronger than other current governments. presumably, you have all seen the People's Party's mulberry orchards, silkworm farms, and filatures. They are fully owned by the People's Party. The common people just go in there to work, and wages are given to the common people according to the amount of work done. The common people farm on ordinary days, and go to work when they have leisure, adding a livelihood. This is not me boosting others' morale and extinguishing my own ambition. Just on this point, our Jiangsu really can't compare." Wang Youhong spoke with fervor and assurance. In this world, if one wanted to gather power, one must start with land. Confiscating the gentry's land was definitely not feasible, but Wang Youhong had to integrate the land to the maximum extent and achieve a unified system. If he couldn't do this, Jiangsu definitely wouldn't be able to hold on.

The assemblymen were all gentry; they certainly were unwilling to let the government intervene in local land. As the saying goes, "an official passing through is like a razor"; once the government intervenes in any industry, it will strip you clean just like shaving a head. Wang Youhong clearly revealed such intentions. The assemblymen immediately became alert.

Wang Youhong had also gauged the assemblymen's thoughts accurately. He said calmly, "I am just a Governor. The People's Party is powerful; even the Beiyang is not their opponent. I won't brag; if they fight their way over, I can't hold them off. Northern Jiangsu was taken away by the People's Party, and now the People's Party has already started land reform in Northern Jiangsu. Quite a few gentry have run back. Gentlemen can also see clearly that wherever the People's Party goes, they will definitely distribute land. If we ourselves cannot twist into a single rope to jointly deal with the People's Party... the People's Party is only a few dozen *li* from Nanjing. They can fight their way over whenever they say so. This official will definitely do his best to resist for you gentlemen, but I can only do my best to resist; I cannot guarantee victory or defeat."

As soon as the assemblymen heard that Wang Youhong had intentions of quitting, they immediately became anxious. Everyone knew the People's Party's military power was strong. The individual power of landlords and gentry absolutely could not stop the People's Party's attack. The only thing they could rely on now was the army in Wang Youhong's hands. Zhang Yutong hurriedly shouted, "Lord Wang, what exactly is your plan? Just say it. As long as we can do it, we will definitely obey."

"Sigh! Gentlemen Assemblymen, these words are incorrect. It's not that I have some plan. Since we are an assembly, then according to the characteristics of reform and constitutionalism, we discuss Jiangsu's regulations ourselves. If a result is discussed, this official will be the first to abide by it. In discussing regulations, this official is just one among the assemblymen. It's not like whatever I say goes."

The assemblymen originally didn't really want Wang Youhong to dominate the situation. Hearing him speak like this, everyone felt it was reasonable instead. Thus, under this situation, the assembly actually began to operate truly.

The assemblymen hoped for constitutionalism because they wanted to intervene in the government's operation. With the Manchu Qing government's chaotic power system, intervening was equivalent to possessing a huge part of the power. But once they really held a meeting to discuss this power distribution issue, the assemblymen discovered that their little calculations were only suitable for the Manchu Qing's chaotic power system. That system could manage everything, yet didn't need to be responsible for anything. If one were a high-ranking official in that system, that would be great. But that system simply couldn't solve any of the immediate problems. To solve problems, there must be a government organization with strong power and clear responsibilities. Looking all over the world, only the People's Party had this kind of government organization.

Governor Wang Youhong had at least read quite a few of the People's Party's documents. He gave a simple explanation to the assembly. The Jiangsu Provincial Constitution needed to establish rights and obligations. First was where the power of Jiangsu Province actually came from. The People's Party's attitude was very simple: "Power comes from the people." When the Jiangsu gentry heard this, they immediately began to oppose it. This power definitely did not come from the people; power must come from the gentry.

The concept that power belongs to the gentry existed, but the expression was very difficult. First was the definition of gentry. What exactly was a gentry member? Someone with an examination degree? Someone with land? Or someone who opened a factory? Should a gentry member's wife possess gentry status? Should a gentry member's relatives also possess gentry status? Were these relatives paternal relatives? Or did it include maternal relatives? A gentry member's rich relatives could of course be classified into the gentry ranks, but could a gentry member's poor relatives also possess gentry status?

The discussion on the source of power went on for two days. All sorts of ideas came out one after another, but were denied by the assemblymen one by one. The more seriously the political discussion was conducted, the more the gentry vaguely felt a concept of class. What everyone wanted was to be rulers, not to be the ruled. Wang Youhong saw the opportunity was about ripe. He said loudly to the gentry who had already started to lose patience and reason, "Gentlemen, I think we should set the source of power on the identity of 'citizen', shall we?"

"Citizen?" The assemblymen had no concept of this word.

"A citizen is a person with the right to vote. Our assembly is elected. Whoever has citizen status has the right to participate in electing the assembly. The power of the Jiangsu Government comes from the Jiangsu citizens!" Wang Youhong's words were sonorous and forceful.

Most of the assemblymen were confused by the word "gentry" and its definition. It took a good while before everyone realized that this "citizen" was another name for "gentry." Moreover, citizenship rights meant the gentry's election power.

"Good! This is good! The power of the Jiangsu Government comes from the Jiangsu citizens!" The gentry, as if waking from a dream, all praised loudly.

Having determined the source of power, the subsequent matters were much easier to handle. Regarding citizens, first, women were cleared out of the ranks of citizens. Next, males under 18 years of age were also expelled from the citizen ranks. Then, people with assets less than a certain amount were also expelled from the citizen ranks. Once a few conditions were determined, less than 15% of the people in Jiangsu Province remained who possessed citizenship rights. This made the assemblymen very satisfied. Under this satisfaction, they even very magnanimously reconsidered the power clauses. Everyone even magnanimously passed a newer amendment, "Jiangsu's power comes from the Jiangsu people. The Jiangsu citizens among the Jiangsu people who meet the election conditions are responsible for electing the assembly and government to lead Jiangsu affairs."

The assemblymen recited and discussed this content repeatedly, everyone feeling satisfied. Wang Youhong was even more satisfied. With this source of power, he could determine these people's property by applying for citizen status.

Next was the establishment of the three major power organs: administrative, legislative, and judicial. The Jiangsu Provincial Assembly possessed legislative power, the Jiangsu Provincial Government possessed administrative power, and the yet-to-exist Jiangsu Provincial Court possessed judicial power. After the concept of the three major power organs was established, the assemblymen's minds became active.

This kind of collision of thinking was very meaningful. Through these two days of discussion, Wang Youhong gained a true understanding of many things in Chen Ke's manuscripts. For example, regarding the regulation that the persons in charge of the three major power organs could not concurrently hold positions in the other two major organs, he completely understood what was going on. If a person was an assemblyman, and also a government department staff member, and also a member of the court system, he would possess immense power and influence. Therefore, Wang Youhong firmly required that there be no concurrent posts among the three.

On the issue of no concurrent posts, the assemblymen and Wang Youhong wrangled for two days, and finally felt that what Wang Youhong said made sense. But the reason for their thinking was rather dark: if they themselves couldn't hold three posts concurrently, but other assemblymen held three posts concurrently, everyone wouldn't be able to stand that kind of irritation.

As for the government's organization, Wang Youhong copied the People's Party's government organization. The assemblymen didn't understand these things; they just heard that it sounded reasonable, so they agreed to Wang Youhong's suggestion.

After spending ten days coming up with a rough framework, the assemblymen's focus returned to how to solve the sericulture crisis. Wang Youhong proposed a land policy of establishing "Rural Land Societies" in the localities. This policy superficially resembled the People's Party's agricultural cooperative model, but this organization firstly did not have farm tools provided by the government, and secondly did not have rural supply and marketing cooperatives disguisedly subsidized by the government. It was said that every household would invest shares based on land, and the government would guarantee that they received profit distribution according to the land ratio. But the landlord gentry undoubtedly obtained comprehensive land dominance.

This established "Rural Land Society" would pay taxes uniformly and provide labor services uniformly. And the government would undertake social responsibilities such as building water conservancy and paving roads. Regarding the sericulture industry that the gentry cared about most, Wang Youhong expressed that he would strive to introduce excellent silkworm breeds, set up specialized schools, and have the government build filatures to seek channels for bulk sales.

Not only regarding the overall allocation arrangement of the sericulture industry, Wang Youhong expressed that he would start many industries on official land, inviting assemblymen and gentry to participate in investment and construction, sharing profits.

This was truly "losing at sunrise but gaining at sunset." The assemblymen never imagined that they could obtain the local land control they dreamed of in such a way.

In this session, the assembly also formulated rules for assembly meetings. A regular meeting of half a month would be held every month to discuss various issues. And recently, the assembly was to form a special legal committee responsible for leading and supervising the "Civil Law," "Criminal Law," "Commercial Law," and "Marriage and Property Inheritance Law" adapted from the "Great Qing Code."

In his speech before the recess, Wang Youhong made a report, "Gentlemen Assemblymen, I announce one more thing. We will first formulate the Civil Law, which will protect the tenant-farmer relationship. It will neither let tenant farmers suffer losses nor let employers suffer losses. Please rest assured on this point."

The humor in Wang Youhong's words made quite a few assemblymen laugh out loud. Wang Youhong continued with a smile, "Gentlemen Assemblymen, this is a great meeting, this is a victorious meeting. From now on, we will unite under the banner of the Jiangsu Constitution, work hard together, advance together, perfect various systems of Jiangsu, and push Jiangsu's constitutional cause to a new peak."

The assemblymen stood up together and applauded enthusiastically. At this moment, Wang Youhong knew that he had already mastered considerable popularity.

"Gentlemen Assemblymen, everyone should now hurry back to fulfill your obligations as assemblymen and propagate the assembly's regulations to the localities. And this official will also find sales channels for the cocoons as soon as possible. But let me say this upfront: even if a buyer can be found, the price won't be high. Everyone, don't blame me because of price issues then. I hope that when we meet again next month, everyone will have completed their work. If that can really be achieved, I will treat everyone to drink celebration wine to our hearts' content then!"

Just after Wang Youhong finished saying this, the assemblymen applauded enthusiastically again with joy on their faces. This was Wang Youhong truly expressing that he would undertake the responsibility of cocoon sales.

As soon as the assemblymen left, Wang Youhong immediately sent someone to take a fast boat to Anqing to contact Zhang Yu. Firstly, it was hoping to talk about the cocoon acquisition issue. Secondly, he hoped to be able to discuss next year's sericulture production cooperation with Chen Ke. On the first question, Zhang Yu answered very readily: as long as the quality was passable and the price was low enough, he could acquire the cocoons here.

As for the second question, Zhang Yu also clearly informed him that he could report it for Wang Youhong, but regarding Chairman Chen Ke's attitude towards this matter, that could not be guaranteed.

The envoy went back with a thousand thanks. When Wang Youhong heard these two pieces of news, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Wang Youhong could effectively control Jiangsu, he didn't mind letting Chen Ke earn a sum from it. If Wang Youhong didn't understand before, now he could completely imagine how many tragedies of the populace would happen during this land annexation. And how brutal the actions of the landlords who controlled the local areas would be in extracting productive forces.

But what did these things have to do with Wang Youhong? Wang Youhong didn't have the slightest psychological burden. Not only did he not have it, he could even already imagine how much benefit these disputes would bring him.