Chen Ke was originally scheduled to meet with Yuwen Badu that evening, but he suddenly received a telegram. Yuan Shikai was preparing to dispatch an envoy to the base area to negotiate "commercial issues" with Chen Ke. The People's Party Central Committee had predicted Yuan Shikai would initiate these negotiations two months ago; unexpectedly, Yuan had managed to hold out until now before coming to talk business.

Weighing the two matters, Chen Ke discovered he actually didn't want to meet with Yuwen Badu. For an organization like the People's Party, dealing with external affairs was far easier than internal ones. This wasn't complacency on Chen Ke's part. Although they hadn't yet reached the high degree of organizational intensity of the Party in history, as long as the People's Party made a resolution, no person or organization within China's current scope could stop their actions. Not even Yuan Shikai, who was about to seize the nominal leadership of China, nor the entire Beiyang clique behind him. Precisely because of this, Chen Ke knew he had to meet with Yuwen Badu and resolve the problems Yuwen Badu was facing.

Different positions lead to vastly different ways of thinking and results. Chen Ke didn't like to wildy guess at his comrades' thoughts; everyone had limitations, and Chen Ke had his own. As his actual status and authority grew, Chen Ke found he had to endure and bear many things. When the base area was just Northern Anhui, Chen Ke could directly correct local issues. Now, even if he saw a problem, he couldn't simply criticize it, and sometimes even had to say things against his own will. Because Chen Ke's authority required him to be the formulator and maintainer of the entire system, and this position did not allow him to comment on those inevitable minor incidents.

Disorderly bypassing the chain of command—the "closest" historical example was Chiang Kai-shek. Baldy Chiang was in the habit of bypassing the high command to direct division commanders or even regiment commanders directly. The result was a complete mess in the War of Liberation. If a mere regiment commander dared to use Chiang's handwritten orders to defy their direct superiors, there was no need to consider the normal operation of that system. Chen Ke demanded of himself that he absolutely must not repeat those mistakes. Party committee discussions were one thing; as a Party member temporarily residing in Anhui, he had the qualification and obligation to participate in the organizational life of the Party committee. But in actual operations, as a central leader, he could only command his direct subordinates and absolutely must not bypass levels.

Pondering these heavy work matters, Chen Ke returned home. His daughter, Chen Qianru, screamed "Papa" as usual and threw herself at him. In the past, Chen Ke would have immediately felt his mood lighten. But today, even as he lifted his daughter into the air with a smile, his expression remained absent-minded.

A child wouldn't understand an adult's thoughts. Chen Qianru pulled at Chen Ke, trying incoherently to tell him about the day's events. Chen Ke heard but didn't register a word. Just then, He Ying came over and picked up Chen Qianru. "Yueyue, play with Mommy. Let your Papa rest a while."

Giving his wife a grateful smile, Chen Ke leaned back against the headboard, closed his eyes, and began to weigh the situation in Anhui. Anhui was the earliest base area and was now the most troublesome one. Most of the cadres capable of shouldering heavy responsibilities had been sent to new base areas. A significant portion of those remaining were of the mediocre sort—not good enough for high posts but too good for low ones. When manpower wasn't so dispersed, this group of mid-level cadres could honestly perform their abilities at the grassroots level. Later, as many vacancies appeared in Anhui's work, many cadres with insufficient grassroots experience were pulled directly into current positions. If Lu Huitian and others were still there, Yuwen Badu would have been fine doing any job. But the current batch of mid-level cadres, lacking accumulated experience, exposed comprehensive problems.

This wasn't to say Yuwen Badu didn't have problems. The current problem was that Yuwen Badu lacked the ability to command mid-level cadres with greater finesse. More specifically, Yuwen Badu lacked the ability to command the various departments and bureaus within the province.

Just as he formed a judgment and before he could expand his train of thought, He Ying called Chen Ke for dinner. Chen Ke didn't delay; he stuffed the usual amount of food into his stomach without any impression of the process. After eating, he kissed his daughter's little cheek and got up to return to the office. As soon as he entered, Yuwen Badu was already waiting there.

"Chairman Chen, I want to transfer jobs," Yuwen Badu said straightforwardly.

"Why?" Chen Ke asked.

"I originally hoped to work in the Construction Department. Let me build roads and houses; I feel that suits me," Yuwen Badu said firmly.

"Then why do you feel your current work doesn't suit you?" Chen Ke's tone revealed none of his emotions.

"..." Yuwen Badu couldn't articulate why it didn't suit him. After pondering for a good while, he said, "The comrades have a lot of criticism regarding my work."

"What did Comrade Ren Qiying say?" Chen Ke continued to ask.

"Comrade Ren Qiying thinks that in much of my work, I'm either too loose or too strict with the comrades below. But I can never grasp the right degree. It's not just the comrades who are dissatisfied; I'm also very dissatisfied with myself."

"Comrade Yuwen Badu, I must criticize you first," Chen Ke said unceremoniously.

Yuwen Badu seemed mentally prepared. Facing Chen Ke's criticism, he looked straight into Chen Ke's eyes without a hint of shrinking back.

Chen Ke didn't care if Yuwen Badu's expression was determined or tragic. He tapped the desk with his finger and said in one breath, "This request you are presenting to me now is desertion in the face of battle, fear of work. Is this the attitude of a Party member? Is this the attitude for work?"

No matter how Chen Ke scolded him, or even if he immediately dismissed him, Yuwen Badu wouldn't have been surprised. But the meaning within Chen Ke's words was actually demanding him to persist, which greatly exceeded Yuwen Badu's imagination.

"Chairman Chen, I indeed haven't done the job well..."

Chen Ke immediately interrupted Yuwen Badu, "How do you know you haven't done it well? Here! You say you haven't done well, fine. Tell me, where haven't you done well?"

Yuwen Badu cited several examples, such as insufficient tax revenue and fluctuating progress in public works, including flood control dikes. Very concrete and representative, but in Chen Ke's view, completely meaningless. When Chen Ke presided over Anhui, these problems had all appeared, and they were problems that would exist for a long time. But as long as one could go down to the front lines to study them practically, none were unsolvable.

"Then to which comrades did you assign these tasks?" Chen Ke asked.

"I grabbed them myself," Yuwen Badu answered with a guilty conscience.

"That seems to be my working method from back then," Chen Ke replied expressionlessly.

"Yes," Yuwen Badu showed a look of shame. "Chairman Chen, I really can't compare to you. You could solve problems just by looking around casually. I squat at a spot for a long time and still can't find the key points or smooth out the relationships."

Looking at the sincere Yuwen Badu, Chen Ke felt the evil consequences of his previous "one-man show" had fully manifested. This really couldn't be blamed on Yuwen Badu; Chen Ke even thought Yuwen Badu's performance had greatly exceeded his expectations. Chen Ke relied on a hundred years of hindsight, especially an understanding of New China's construction experience. It wasn't arrogance; asking Yuwen Badu to compare with Chen Ke in these aspects was truly unfair.

"Comrade Yuwen Badu, then why don't you boldly hand over the work to the comrades below? We've always talked about perfecting the system within the Party; you should solve these problems by perfecting the system. We're not afraid of working slowly. I'm worried now that if you rush to complete the workload like this, problems are bound to arise in the process."

Yuwen Badu answered gloomily, "Chairman Chen, for some jobs, if they aren't fully completed, the benefits of the whole project won't show. The masses are different now compared to the first few years. In the beginning, having a bite to eat was enough. These past few years, the masses can eat their fill, even eat meat, and as a result, they demand more. Chairman Chen, I'm also from the countryside. You know that when country folk get tangled up with you, it never ends. You can't tell them how much profit there is. If you say nothing and make them work, they fear you won't pay and will do whatever you say. Once you say how much benefit comes from doing how much work, they think that benefit is already in their pockets. No amount of supervision works; they're more self-righteous than you."

There was no way around this sort of thing. Let alone country folk, Chen Ke himself had done such things. Hearing this, he could only grin bitterly.

"Also, the situation in Anhui has changed greatly. Those willing to work honestly have either followed us—joining the army, going to the cities—or stayed home to focus on farming. Now, when recruiting labor, many who come out are loafers. They can't farm well, the cities don't want them, so they hang around everywhere waiting for opportunities. Managing them is especially difficult..."

Yuwen Badu was determined to explain the situation clearly to Chen Ke this time, recounting everything from top to bottom tirelessly. Chen Ke listened and took notes; in the blink of an eye, over three hours passed. Only when Yuwen Badu's mouth was dry did he finally stop.

Chen Ke felt his brain was a bit numb. He stretched and said in a very casual tone, "Comrade Yuwen Badu, Comrade Ren Qiying asked you to report like this, and you finally did."

"Cough, cough!" Yuwen Badu choked on a sip of water and coughed repeatedly. Before fully recovering, he looked at Chen Ke with surprise and guilt. "Chairman Chen, how did you know?"

Chen Ke didn't know originally and hadn't thought of it at first. But hearing Yuwen Badu speak so eloquently, thoroughly, and completely for so long without a script—if Yuwen Badu had this level of competence, he certainly wouldn't be so universally complained about by the comrades.

Looking at Yuwen Badu's slightly uneasy expression, Chen Ke wondered if it was feigned or if Yuwen Badu really felt that unease. But regardless of the case, Yuwen Badu didn't truly have the thought of giving up his current position. Everything has its positive and negative possibilities.

As for whether Chen Ke himself was relying on political maneuvering or the Party organization, there wasn't much choice. "Starting tomorrow, we will conduct a public discussion on Anhui's institutional arrangements. I think it is necessary to discuss establishing a civil service system in Anhui."

After sending Yuwen Badu away, Chen Ke was in high spirits. He paced back and forth a few steps but still felt the mental fatigue couldn't be eliminated. The civil service system could be said to be the core of the bureaucratic system. The Party had suffered greatly back then when establishing the bureaucratic system; various high-ranking Party cadres were directly responsible for establishing civil service systems in different places, which sowed the seeds for the full-scale outbreak of many contradictions later.

The People's Revolution must rely on comprehensive democracy. Theoretically, the people have the full right to freely manage their own affairs. Through People's Congresses at all levels, the people exercise their power. However, the problem lies in the fact that comprehensive industrialization requires a strong government. If the government doesn't take charge, industrial groups will jump out to create a situation favorable to themselves.

Historically, the bureaucratic group had a special fondness for the Soviet-style bureaucracy-supreme system, which was also the cause of later large-scale political movements. History has proven countless times that no bureaucratic system is loyal to the people; the bureaucratic system is loyal to power. Only if the People's Revolution can allow the people to master power is it possible to solve this problem fundamentally.

Moreover, the nature of the bureaucratic system determines that it is only responsible to superiors. This is understandable; if someone engages in "holding the people hostage to enhance their own standing," they are absolutely an ambitious schemer. Not to mention the bureaucratic system won't tolerate such people, Chen Ke wouldn't allow such people to exist within the system either. How to combine the bureaucratic system with the People's Revolution is truly a huge political subject.

To think it has come to this step! Chen Ke didn't know whether to feel lucky or suspect he had gone down a diverging path. Unable to reach a conclusion after much thought, Chen Ke simply chose to go home and sleep.

At daybreak, things started happening. Taking care of his daughter getting up, brushing teeth, washing face, cooking, feeding—He Ying and Chen Ke busied themselves for a while before the work was done.

"Papa, come back early," Chen Qianru said quite fluently.

"Mhm, I'll try my best." Chen Ke kissed his daughter's little cheek, hugged his wife, and then set off.

In the office, Qi Huishen was already waiting. "Chairman Chen, what did Comrade Yuwen say yesterday?"

"Don't worry about him. What were you preparing to say?" Chen Ke asked.

Qi Huishen's attitude was firm. "I want to say just two things. Yuwen Badu has made no major errors in his work, far from grounds for dismissal. Anhui is an old base area; provincial committee comrades compare Yuwen Badu with you, so naturally, many problems appear. If we really compare work ability, most comrades compared to Yuwen Badu are 'seven and a half taels against half a catty'—about the same. It's just that each comrade has strengths in certain areas. If we dismiss Comrade Yuwen Badu, whose work is imperfect, just because we hear people talking, this sets a bad precedent. If one must be dismissed for not being perfect, heaven knows what state Anhui will end up in."

Hearing this, Chen Ke offered no evaluation. "And the second thing?"

"Ren Qiying does not have the ability to take charge of the Governor position. With Yuwen Badu in front blocking for her, Ren Qiying can work freely. If Ren Qiying takes over Yuwen Badu's position now, she won't be able to bear such immense pressure. Comrade Yuwen Badu is at least a revolutionary; Comrade Ren Qiying is a bureaucrat. In my view, we need to break up this pairing now," Qi Huishen said more unceremoniously.

The solution Qi Huishen proposed made Chen Ke's eyes light up. Old comrades viewed problems differently. Chen Ke was also very dissatisfied with Ren Qiying inciting Yuwen Badu from behind to probe the Central Committee. Work is work; Chen Ke felt that whether Yuwen Badu suited the post depended on work performance, not playing politics and balancing acts. Yuwen Badu was fundamentally inept at politics. If a reason had to be found, it was that Yuwen Badu couldn't solve problems, and Ren Qiying didn't firmly suggest the correct path to him.

"Freezing three feet is not one day's cold. The problems can't be just with the two of them. Is there also a problem with the execution and understanding of the system?" Chen Ke asked.

"If there is a problem, it's also what you've emphasized repeatedly: thinking too much for themselves. Considering their position as a kind of benefit. Treating power as their own possession. This sort of thing is too hard to reverse," Qi Huishen answered decisively.

Chen Ke smiled bitterly. "Then if we dismiss, both must be dismissed. We can't leave one alone. And this is also a problem of the Provincial Party Committee. right now, the two of us feel they are unsuitable, but I feel the comrades below might be even worse than them. From yesterday's look, Comrade Yuwen Badu still wants to work; he just lacks work ability. Comrade Ren Qiying is at least a pretty good bureaucrat. She at least has a conscious or unconscious cognition of the bureaucratic system. I'm afraid the comrades below aren't even as pure as these two."

Qi Huishen was responsible for the Party School and Cadre School construction; he could understand Chen Ke's seemingly light words. "Then we need to conduct larger-scale training in Anhui, and we also need to perfect larger-scale system construction. We must first make the metaphysical system sound."

These were actually things Chen Ke had intentionally or unintentionally recounted before. That Qi Huishen could speak so clearly showed he truly understood Chen Ke's thoughts. However, Chen Ke was still a bit uneasy, so he asked, "Huishen, from the perspective of the entire revolution, who do you think are our friends, and who are our enemies?"

"Anyone who colludes with and relies on the European and American powers is our enemy. At the current stage, anyone who is anti-imperialist and anti-feudal can be considered our friend. This is also the root that wasn't stated too explicitly in 'Analysis of Classes in Chinese Society'," Qi Huishen answered.

"Then I want to tell you something. Song Jiaoren wants to come here to seek support. What do you think?"

"That depends on his relationship with foreigners, or rather, what his relationship with foreigners will be in the future," Qi Huishen didn't feel conflicted at all.

"What about the Tongmenghui?"

"The Tongmenghui is inextricably linked with the European and American powers; we can already characterize them as enemies."

"Then what about our cooperation with the foreign devils?"

"Us..." Qi Huishen hesitated. If one spoke of who had the most economic cooperation with foreigners within the scope of China, the People's Party was likely the leader among all factions.

"Then it should be based on whether national rights are sold out... no..." Qi Huishen thought for a while and was actually stumped by this question. "Chairman Chen, what do you think?"

Chen Ke answered, "The European and American powers aren't all incomparably evil. Our normal trade with them has nothing to do with selling out national sovereignty. We welcome normal trade, but we will absolutely never become the running dogs of the European and American powers in squeezing the Chinese people."

This answer was logically self-consistent and highly operable. Qi Huishen nodded repeatedly. He absolutely didn't oppose normal cooperation; without normal commercial trade with the foreign devils, the base area's industrial development would be greatly affected.

"But why did Chairman Chen think of discussing this?" Qi Huishen felt it was strange.

"Yuan Shikai is sending someone. I personally feel Yuan Shikai can't hold on financially. He's coming to ask for money." Chen Ke said with a cold sneer. A friend of Chen Ke's in the past believed that the Boxer Indemnity amount was large for an agricultural country, but really not a particularly special amount for an industrial country. Chen Ke naturally believed not a cent should be given, but when really calculated, it wasn't an astronomical figure even for a primary industrialized region like the base area.

The negotiations between the base area and the British were progressing very well. The British side firmly requested a trade quota of 100 million pounds between the two sides by 1912. 100 million pounds in these years equaled 750 million taels of silver. The British could skim about 10 million pounds of benefit from this. That was 75 million taels of silver. Under other circumstances, how many wars would the British have to fight to get these benefits?

Undoubtedly, Yuan Shikai already knew this news, and he wanted a share of the pie. That was why he sent someone. Chen Ke needed comrades within the Party to stand firmly with him.