Lu Huitian was a man of rather strong character. Even after crying his eyes out from the emotional release, by the time he had wiped his face clean with a towel, he had already recovered his usual composure. "Chairman Chen, let's continue discussing work. I felt aggrieved, but now I feel like that wasn't entirely the case."

Chen Ke understood Lu Huitian's feelings well; this was also a new realization for Chen Ke recently. Without revolutionary consciousness, revolutionary work was too easily perceived as a grievance. Chen Ke said very seriously, "Comrade Lu Huitian, establishing revolutionary faith is a difficult thing. Revolutionaries are materialists; they believe in science and democracy. They believe in their ability to constantly understand and transform the world. If one cannot recognize the social nature of humanity, working becomes extremely difficult."

Lu Huitian indeed had this understanding. When Chen Ke was presiding over the work in Hubei, Lu Huitian had felt immense pressure, and his goal in doing things had once shifted to seeking approval from others. Fortunately, Lu Huitian was indeed capable. He soon discovered that this approach was wrong; Chen Ke never judged comrades' work based on others' evaluations. "Business is business"—Lu Huitian actually thought this phrase could, in a certain sense, serve as his revolutionary guide.

Revolution is revolution, and the success or failure of the revolution is composed of the success or failure of revolutionary work. If this attitude is taken as the benchmark, then any act of relying on others to prove oneself is a near-counter-revolutionary practice. After truly realizing this, personal honor and disgrace become insignificant. Even the act of using personal honor and disgrace as a benchmark to measure one's value is extremely harmful.

Lu Huitian wanted to discuss these feelings with Chen Ke, but he felt that after truly understanding them, discussing them further would be meaningless. Comrades who understood these things had the consciousness; talking about it in the abstract was superfluous. Comrades who didn't understand simply didn't understand; talking about it would be pointless and would instead trigger many unnecessary misunderstandings.

Thinking it over, Lu Huitian asked, "Chairman Chen, do you have any other work instructions? If not, I have many things I want to ask you."

Chen Ke waved his hand and leaned back in his chair. "Comrade Lu Huitian, a heart-to-heart meeting is about discussing the abstract, not the practical. Cry out grievances if you have them, pour out bitterness if you have it. But after the heart-to-heart meeting is over, work must be done as it should be; emotions cannot be brought into the work. So, Comrade Lu Huitian, for work matters, there is the Party Committee and the organization. My talk with you is to let you relax psychologically, to put down your burden and march forward with a light pack. After I leave Hubei, the work matters will all press upon you. If problems arise, I can only look to you. I hope you can learn to relax yourself and learn to know yourself."

Hearing Chen Ke say this, and seeing his serious yet relaxed attitude, Lu Huitian was finally sure that Chen Ke truly trusted him completely and had never thought of resolving the differences in Hubei's work direction by replacing him. Confirming this, a kind of very pragmatic joy rose in Lu Huitian's heart. This meant Lu Huitian could continue to complete his own work in the Hubei post.

Since it was out of such a pragmatic attitude, Lu Huitian immediately realized that his preparation for Chen Ke's departure from Hubei was far from adequate. Instead, he now had many questions to ask Chen Ke. "Chairman Chen, I feel that the current work in Hubei is getting harder and harder. With you in charge of Hubei's work, many tasks became easy and simple. With you leaving, I have no confidence in my heart."

Chen Ke laughed. "Comrade Lu Huitian, what is the Party organization for? Isn't it to solve problems through the organization when they arise? If you think I am the one who can lead Hubei's work, then that's wrong. It's not that I can lead, but that the Party organization is operating more and more smoothly. Comrade Lu Huitian, when you talked about progress last time, I felt that was the attitude of a true revolutionary. The times are progressing, and the revolution is also progressing. We are progressing, and the enemy is also progressing..."

Lu Huitian interrupted Chen Ke, "The problem is that you, Chairman Chen, are leading everyone to progress. I can't achieve that step."

"Comrade Lu Huitian, why did I choose you as the Hubei Provincial Committee Secretary back then? Because you have a merit that I cannot match. You may not be very good at pioneering, but you are very good at organizing. You are very good at the institutionalization of the organization. The fact that you could withstand the pressure this time and understand the current situation on your own proves that you indeed have such strengths. Ordinary comrades would lose their bearings when encountering this kind of organizational pressure. They wouldn't know where to place themselves. You found your position, which shows that you are indeed competent for this job."

"That was just me throwing caution to the wind," Lu Huitian laughed helplessly.

Chen Ke nodded repeatedly. "Yes, the problem is that many comrades cannot throw caution to the wind. So your current work is to organize the comrades through the system to complete the immediate tasks—sing the song of the mountain you are on. The current work in Hubei is to complete such massive investments immediately. These massive investments will also bring great social impact. You must stabilize the situation based on our People's Party's philosophy. At this stage, you must not only stabilize these tasks but also lead the comrades to deepen their understanding of social labor and social progress during the work."

Hearing this, Lu Huitian confirmed his work direction. He asked with a smile, "Just asking as a joke, will this lead to a Right-deviationist tendency? These tasks are about establishing order. If comrades feel that there will be changes in the future, people's minds will be unstable."

Chen Ke also laughed. "You! As long as you grasp the fundamental of the Laborers' Alliance, no one can override the laborers. Grasp this core, and it will be fine. Moreover, I want to give you a 'big Rightist' job: promote enterprise cost accounting in the industrial sector. Management positions are also just a part of the labor process. Managers are not the lords of the past, but management work is not about being a 'good old boy' in the traditional sense either. Try to promote this work."

The nature of the People's Party determined that ideological seminars must be turned into pragmatic meetings. In other political forces, this kind of relationship between Chen Ke and Lu Huitian would certainly evolve into "mutual suspicion between monarch and subject," but in the new political system, the contradictions were completely resolved. When Chen Ke and Lu Huitian reached an agreement on the basic point that "all choices are for completing revolutionary work," the dispute turned into a simple and straightforward discussion.

This was a characteristic within the People's Party, and also a point that other political forces could absolutely not understand. For example, within Beiyang, the largest political group in China.

"Cao Kun doesn't want to go to Shaanxi?" Yuan Shikai asked coldly.

"Yes, Cao Kun's intention is to go pacify Inner and Outer Mongolia. Someone might have leaked some news," Wang Shizhen replied.

"Who leaked it?" Yuan Shikai asked.

Wang Shizhen shook his head but did not answer.

Based on Yuan Shikai's understanding of Wang Shizhen, this matter was certainly not leaked by Wang Shizhen. Now, all the Beiyang generals were trying to seize favorable positions. Of course, if this position could bring rich returns, that would be even better. This news also shouldn't have been leaked by Lu Huitian, Yuan Shikai judged. The People's Party knew very well when to advance and retreat; since they sought great things, they wouldn't cause trouble for Yuan Shikai over such trivial matters. Then it must have been betrayed by some attendants.

Thinking of this, Yuan Shikai felt both angry and helpless. He knew this kind of thing was unavoidable. Even Yuan Shikai himself had worked hard to befriend eunuchs when Empress Dowager Cixi was alive. Often, a few simple dialogues contained immense benefits. Given Cao Kun's character, if he didn't know that Yuan Shikai was preparing to invest in the wool business, he certainly wouldn't want to go to a bitter and cold place like Inner and Outer Mongolia. Now that he volunteered, he definitely knew some inside information.

And since Cao Kun knew about this, needless to say, this news would soon spread throughout Beiyang. Everyone wanted to make a fortune from Zhangjiakou, the future trade hub.

"Fine! Since Cao Kun is willing to go to Inner and Outer Mongolia, let him go." Yuan Shikai stood up with his hands behind his back and said, "Then is Feng Guozhang willing to go to Fujian?"

"Feng Guozhang is willing to go," Wang Shizhen replied. Among the Three Heroes of Beiyang, Wang Shizhen, the Dragon of Beiyang, was good at strategy and was Yuan Shikai's most important advisor, giving an impression of unfathomable depth. Duan Qirui, the Tiger of Beiyang, was daring and responsible, with strong capabilities. Feng Guozhang was called the Dog of Beiyang because he was loyal and willing to do very troublesome but lackluster work. So Feng Guozhang was not picky at all.

Seeing Yuan Shikai was very depressed, Wang Shizhen continued, "Lord Yuan, Cao Kun can also be considered decisive in action. Now that Shaanxi is in such chaos, he would actually be a suitable candidate. If he refuses to go, I think we might as well let Duan Qirui go. We must not only control Shaanxi but also consider entering Sichuan from Hanzhong in the future. Sichuan must not fall into the hands of the People's Party under any circumstances. In the Yunnan Military Academy forces in Yunnan and Guizhou, Cai E has already emerged. Moreover, I heard that Yunnan-Guizhou and the Liangguang regions are separately discussing alliances for self-protection. If we drag on too long, I'm afraid Sichuan will also be dragged in. Since our Beiyang has decided to stabilize the situation, we might as well make preparations early."

"Pinqing, I know all these things you said, but there is no money to deploy the troops. I originally thought that if Cao Kun was willing to be this Governor of Shaanxi, the deployment costs wouldn't need to be so high. But Duan Qirui's subordinates made a fortune in Jiangnan. It's fine to let them stay in Beijing, but to make them go to Shaanxi to risk their lives, I really don't feel at ease," Yuan Shikai replied. Every battle of the Beiyang Army required large economic stimulus; Yuan Shikai knew this very well.

But Shaanxi was even more chaotic than Fujian. Those rising in rebellion were not the New Army, but the Shaanxi Tongmenghui. More accurately, it was the Gelaohui in Shaanxi rising in rebellion under the leadership of Tongmenghui members. Yuan Shikai was determined to completely eradicate this group of people. The People's Party could no longer be shaken; Yuan Shikai could only accept that. But if a new revolutionary party occupied land, Yuan Shikai would not be at ease.

"Lord Yuan, then how about letting Duan Qirui come back to take charge of the Ministry of Army, and I will lead the troops to Shaanxi," Wang Shizhen offered a new suggestion.

Yuan Shikai immediately refused, "No, Pinqing, you must stay in the center. Ask again if anyone is willing to go to Shaanxi."

If Cao Kun knew Yuan Shikai's evaluation of him, Cao Kun would definitely cry out that he was wronged. In fact, Cao Kun wanted to go to Inner and Outer Mongolia really not because of economic issues, but because he knew he might not be able to conquer Shaanxi.

More than a month had passed since the great battle in Shaanxi, and detailed news had already been transmitted back to Beijing. The Gansu and Shaanxi Green Standard Army had always been brave and skilled in battle. Although the part that went to Beijing to rescue the Emperor was annihilated, this did not make Cao Kun, who knew the inside story, underestimate the Gansu and Shaanxi Green Standard Army. Without Beiyang tampering in the dark, the People's Party could not have ambushed them so easily.

And the total annihilation of the Gansu and Shaanxi Green Standard Army in Xi'an city, the fierce battle involved, also had a flavor of being capable of moving one to song and tears. Ever since the troops of the Gansu and Shaanxi Green Standard Army who went to rescue the Emperor were annihilated, the Green Standard Army had sensed the danger of revolution. The troops participating in the rescue were all loyal to the Imperial Court; after this group was finished, the Green Standard Army began to reorganize. The Shaanxi Gelaohui finally found an opportunity. The leading figure in this was Zhang Yunshan.

Zhang Yunshan was from Tayi, Chang'an. He lost the opportunity to go to school in his childhood and learned to play the bugle from a Shanxi man. Later, his bugle skills became the best in Guanzhong. In the late Qing Dynasty, he served as a soldier in Tao Qinsu's battalion, traveling all over Qinghai and Xinjiang. After returning to Shaanxi, he served as a bugler in the Military Preparatory School and the Army Primary School. When the New Army was trained, he became the bugle officer of the brigade headquarters. The year before the Xinhai Revolution, he opened a 'mountain hall' (secret society lodge) in the New Army. Because he was straightforward and good at socializing, getting along very well with the soldiers, not long after opening the hall, he absorbed more than a thousand brothers, forming his own power in the New Army. Relying on this force, Zhang Yunshan leaped to become a Xinhai celebrity in Shaanxi.

In the view of the Gelaohui, the so-called "revolution" was nothing more than destroying the Qing and restoring the Ming. If the uprising succeeded, the day for the Gelaohui to rise would arrive. Thus, the leaders of the Gelaohui openly hung up the Hongmen signboards everywhere, opened halls to worship ancestors, distributed membership ranks widely, and expanded their power. They turned Xi'an into a foul atmosphere.

And after Yuan Shikai usurped the central power and convened the National Assembly, it gave the Gelaohui members a clear hint: "Power is only power when it is in your own hands." The Federal Self-Government of Provinces meant Shaanxi people running their own house, and the Gelaohui, as a native local force in Shaanxi, could represent the Shaanxi locality far better than those currently on the stage.

The local Tongmenghui in Shaanxi contacted the Gelaohui and formed the Shaanxi Revolutionary Party Alliance. These people originally planned to rise up on October 6th (August 15th of the lunar calendar). The news of "Killing the Tartars on August 15th" spread like wildfire everywhere. Because the Shaanxi authorities took strict precautions, they sent people everywhere to spy, and even opened and checked letters to grasp the revolutionaries' uprising plan. After some detective work, they found that the Jianben School and the Gongyi Book Bureau were secret activity bases for the revolutionaries, and also identified some revolutionaries by name. Thus, Shengyun, the Viceroy of Shaanxi and Gansu, ordered a secret plot to immediately arrest and execute these revolutionaries.

In order to arrest the revolutionaries in the New Army, they decided to transfer the New Army to outer counties in batches, on one hand dispersing the New Army's strength, and on the other hand arresting and killing revolutionaries separately. At the same time, they transferred the Patrol Battalions stationed in outer counties to the provincial capital Xi'an to strengthen the city defense. The situation was grim, and the uprising was imminent. At this time, Jing Wumu and other Tongmenghui leaders were not in Xi'an because they had gone to Weibei to organize uprisings. Revolutionaries Qian Ding, Zhang Fang, and others then agreed to start the uprising ahead of schedule on the night of September 10th, deciding that Zhang Fenghui, a staff officer of the New Army Brigade Headquarters and commander of the First Battalion of the Second Regiment, would serve as the commander-in-chief of the uprising.

September 10th was a Sunday, the day for the New Army to receive pay. After receiving pay in the morning, most people in the barracks left the camp to go out, except for a few duty officers. After breakfast, Zhang Fang and Zhu Xuwu led the New Army into the city through the West Gate under the pretext of going to Baqiao to wash horses, and arrived smoothly at the Dongyangshi Arsenal according to the original plan. Dang Zixin also led a crowd into the city through the South Gate and marched towards the Arsenal. At this time, hundreds of unarmed soldiers and Gelaohui brothers had already gathered in groups of three or five around the Arsenal. Just as Zhang Fang was discussing the route to enter the Arsenal with the garrison platoon leader and warehouse soldiers contacted in advance, the police came to question them several times. It was already around 10 am. Seeing the urgent situation and fearing further changes that would ruin the entire uprising plan, Zhang Fang made a prompt decision and ordered to rush into the Arsenal to seize guns. After seizing the guns, they immediately fixed bayonets and loaded bullets, quickly occupying the Arsenal. Then they opened the Xianning County and Chang'an County prisons, released the detained prisoners, and shouted everywhere: "Uprising to expel the Manchus, it has nothing to do with Han merchants and civilians!" asking the citizens not to panic.

Hearing the gunshots, Zhang Fenghui led the troops quickly to the Arsenal through the West Gate. On one hand, he organized forces to set up posts and defenses to guard against Qing army attacks; on the other hand, he notified the uprising New Army to set up a temporary headquarters at the Arsenal for liaison and unified action. Other uprising troops also quickly occupied various strongholds according to the plan. Qian Ding led his troops to occupy the Provincial Treasurer's Yamen and the Drum Tower, one of the commanding heights in the city; Zhang Baolin led his troops to occupy the South Courtyard Gate of the Shaanxi Governor's Yamen; Wan Bingnan led his troops to occupy the Military Advisor's Yamen. Seeing the New Army uprising, the residents in the city cheered with excitement. Some sent food and drink to the righteousness army, some set up tables with tea at their doorways to comfort the righteousness army, and some cut off the queues behind their heads, wrapped white cloth around their arms, and joined the uprising. The Muslims in the provincial capital also gave strong support to the uprising army. On the eve of the Xi'an uprising, Zhang Yunshan and Ma Yugui (Hui ethnicity), leaders of the Gelaohui in the New Army, entrusted Jin Qiheng, Bai Yulin, and others, leaders of the Gelaohui among the Muslims, to secretly organize a Muslim army to prepare for the uprising. On the day the Xi'an uprising broke out, they received notification from Zhang Yunshan and Ma Yugui and immediately rose in response. Ma Wenying, who had a certain reputation among the Muslims and had served as a commander (battalion commander), also gathered more than 500 Muslims. They went from West Street through Mutoushi to the Arsenal to receive firearms and ammunition, and were ordered to maintain order in the Muslim quarter and actively participated in the battle to besiege the Manchu City. Because the uprising army acted quickly and had strong support from the broad masses of citizens, the uprising army controlled most areas outside the Manchu City within the city walls in just half a day.

The Manchu City was the area where the Xi'an Eight Banners troops and their families were concentrated and lived. It was surrounded by walls for defense. After receiving news of the New Army uprising, Xi'an General Wen Rui immediately rushed back to the Manchu City from the Consultative Bureau and ordered the garrison in the Manchu City to close the city gates tightly, resist stubbornly, and confront the uprising army across the city walls.

The next day, the uprising army began to storm the city walls defended by the Manchus. This was a tough battle. regarding exactly how many people died in the battle, there are various accounts ranging from tens of thousands to several thousand. But the result of the war was that the Green Standard Army, including the Manchu district, was slaughtered until not even chickens or dogs were left.

In the news Cao Kun received, the uprising army had already established a tenet before the battle: "Spare neither chickens nor dogs after the battle." This news spread widely. And the Xi'an General, the Manchu Wen Rui, also mentioned this in his urgent telegram. He bitterly begged Yuan Shikai to send troops to mediate this matter, saying that as long as the uprising army was willing to spare the Manchus' lives, they only wished to go to the Northeast to farm and stay alive, wanting no other possessions. The telegram also stated clearly that if the uprising army attacked the city, they were ready to perish together.

Fighting with such a do-or-die attitude, these Gansu and Shaanxi Green Standard troops definitely fought with their lives to break the city walls. And to slaughter tens of thousands in the Manchu City at the end of the battle, this couldn't be done without a military force of over ten thousand.

Thinking that he had to go and fight desperately with such a group of people, Cao Kun felt very unsure in his heart. Of course, he was willing to be a provincial governor, but if he failed, the competitors behind him were lined up in a long queue to kick Cao Kun out. Cao Kun could not fail; failure meant not only failing to be the Shaanxi Governor but also not being able to become a governor of other provinces in the future. By comparison, going to Inner and Outer Mongolia was a relatively relaxing job.

As for Yuan Shikai firmly believing that Cao Kun had his eyes on the future wool business, he really wronged Cao Kun.

However, the current system of Beiyang was just like this: everyone spoke polite words on the surface, but when actually doing things, they always prioritized their own interests. From this perspective, Yuan Shikai did not completely wrong Cao Kun.