"Believe it or not, we, the People's Party, have no desire to intervene in Jiangsu's taxation," Qin Wu'an said to Li Yaoguang, the secret representative from Jiangsu.

Chen Ke had given Qin Wu'an full authority over the negotiations, setting two bottom lines: the People's Party would absolutely not directly intervene in Jiangsu's political struggles, and the People's Party would absolutely not engage in money-losing trades.

Hearing Qin Wu'an's words, Li Yaoguang was somewhat surprised. He Sui had believed the People's Party would certainly take this opportunity to intervene in Jiangsu's affairs; since they had come knocking on the People's Party's door, they had to be prepared for this. Qin Wu'an's clearly implied stance left Li Yaoguang puzzled. He tentatively asked, "If we wish to achieve tax concessions, your side will certainly have to negotiate with Governor Wang. This isn't intervening in Jiangsu's taxation, but rather a tax issue that the Silk Industry Company must inevitably face."

"Our support for your side is because there is money to be made. If we intervene too much, making Governor Wang think we aren't here to cooperate and make money but to shake his position, that is not our intention. We do not wish to see such a result."

Li Yaoguang watched Qin Wu'an calmly state his views, but internally he was cursing. If they could make money by honestly following the rules, why would Jiangsu come to find the People's Party? The Jiangsu side wanted to use the People's Party to pressure Wang Youhong. Since Qin Wu'an refused to take the bait, Li Yaoguang simply laid his cards on the table. "If your side holds such an attitude, even if a joint company is formed, the tax concessions would only be for your side. I would very much like to know now, does your side wish to cooperate with Governor Wang, or with us, the Citizens Party?"

Qin Wu'an liked this clear-cut attitude. The current key was who the People's Party would cooperate with. To put it more bluntly, did the People's Party support Wang Youhong's existing rules, or the new rules the Citizens Party was attempting to establish? Qin Wu'an smiled, "Even if we are willing to cooperate with the Citizens Party in the silk industry, it can't be that both of us go to Governor Wang and demand he accept our conditions. I believe that with Governor Wang's personality, he would resolutely refuse."

Li Yaoguang gave a dry laugh. If the People's Party and the Citizens Party really went "hand in hand to Governor Wang Youhong to make direct demands," let alone Wang Youhong not agreeing, even if the Citizens Party were in power, they wouldn't agree either. This wasn't just a matter of face; it was a fundamental issue of who had the final say in Jiangsu. The one holding the gun in Jiangsu was still Wang Youhong. If Wang Youhong used military means to protect his power, the People's Party, who also had guns, naturally wouldn't be afraid, but the Citizens Party, without military support, would suffer.

The sorrow of not having guns lay here: anyone could speak reason, but without guns, often what was said was spoken in vain. Since Qin Wu'an's attitude was such, Li Yaoguang could only speak directly. "We hope to gain your side's support, but not military support, nor do we need your side to declare open cooperation with us. We hope to restore the official post of 'Provincial Administration Commissioner' (*Bu Zheng Shi*) in Jiangsu. And this position of Provincial Administration Commissioner must be elected by the Assembly. The authority of the Commissioner must also be determined by the Assembly. As long as your side can do your utmost to push for this, we would be endlessly grateful."

The People's Party had captured several Provincial Administration Commissioners. For instance, Feng Xu, who was currently leading the "Cultural and Historical Office" in revising Chen Ke's book *Chinese Cultural Inheritance and the Rise of Materialism*, had once been the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Anhui. Qin Wu'an understood the powers of this office quite well. Hearing Li Yaoguang say this, he actually became genuinely interested in the Jiangsu Citizens Party's plan. "Do you want to restore the official title called Provincial Administration Commissioner, or do you want to restore the official position of the Provincial Administration Commissioner? There is a very big difference between the two."

The Provincial Administration Commissioner in the Qing Dynasty had considerable power. The authority of this official position included three main aspects:

1. **Transmitting Government Decrees:** The Commissioner received administrative affairs and decrees assigned by superiors and proclaimed them to the various prefectures, sub-prefectures, departments, and counties, supervising their implementation.

2. **Managing Subordinate Officials:** The Commissioner managed officials at the prefecture and department levels, issuing salaries on schedule, assessing performance, and reporting to the Governor-General or Governor.

3. **Controlling Finance and Tax:** The Commissioner was responsible for collecting taxes across the province and managing fiscal revenue and expenditure. They also managed civil matters such as household registration, tax service, population, and land statistics for all prefectures in the province.

(Also included was the supervision of triennial provincial exams).

If the Jiangsu Citizens Party wanted to place these three powers in the hands of the Assembly, the entire political landscape of Jiangsu would undergo a massive shift. Qin Wu'an knew that Wang Youhong had gone to great lengths to grasp the power of Jiangsu in his hands; he would not easily transfer this portion of power to the Assembly. In fact, let alone Wang Youhong, the People's Party wouldn't do this either. The People's Party itself, through perfecting its organization, had gradually established a system capable of operation. One of the cores of this system was that power belonged directly to the People's Party. These powers didn't even belong to the bureaucratic system under the People's Party's rule. If one had to say who could obtain these powers, it would only be the broad masses of working people, not other political forces.

Since Qin Wu'an was clear about the role of the Provincial Administration Commissioner, Li Yaoguang felt it was much easier to communicate. He said seriously, "Of course we want to restore this official position, not just bear the empty title of Commissioner."

"It is impossible for us to directly demand Governor Wang do this. That would be equivalent to interfering in Jiangsu's internal affairs." Qin Wu'an shook his head repeatedly.

"But if your side insists on this, Governor Wang will agree." Li Yaoguang spoke very decisively. "Jiangsu's taxes are extremely heavy. If we can use this tax change to lower the taxes, the livelihood of the Jiangsu people will certainly improve. This is a good deed that benefits the region. We still hope your side can lend a hand. If this matter can be accomplished, your side will only need to provide 15% of the capital in the new Silk Industry Company to obtain 20% of the shares. We will absolutely not break our promise."

To accomplish such a big thing, and only get 5% of the shares? Qin Wu'an had to admit these Jiangsu profiteers were quite interesting. And this 5% wasn't for free; the People's Party still had to put up 15% of the funds. This was simply a wishful calculation.

"We absolutely cannot make Governor Wang willingly hand over such great power to the Assembly." Qin Wu'an believed this cooperation could not proceed.

"Governor Wang definitely won't be willing, and we don't expect your side to force Governor Wang to be willing. We only ask that your side make Governor Wang superficially make this decision. The rest of the matters, we the Citizens Party will do ourselves. Whether it can be done or not is our affair." Li Yaoguang threw out his final card.

Qin Wu'an found this suggestion quite interesting. What Wang Youhong refused most right now was being openly shamed by the People's Party. If it was a private agreement and didn't need to be known by everyone, this was something that could be tried.

After some discussion, the two reached a consensus in principle. Li Yaoguang immediately brought over a small bundle. "This is three hundred taels of gold. This is the handling fee for your Party. On the day this matter is accomplished, we will definitely present another nine hundred taels."

Such naked bribery was truly undignified, but Jiangsu and the People's Party base area were so close; Jiangsu knew the news that the People's Party executed corrupt officials almost every month. Li Yaoguang simply gave the money directly. As for whether Qin Wu'an would privately keep it or what he would do, that was Qin Wu'an's business.

Sure enough, Qin Wu'an did not decline. He called in an accountant to verify the quality and weight of the gold, and in the end, asked Li Yaoguang if he wanted a receipt. Li Yaoguang felt doing this was truly comical enough, but thinking carefully, if he had this receipt in hand, it would be easier to account for when he returned to Jiangsu. So he asked Qin Wu'an for a receipt.

The receipt was a printed standard receipt form. "Received from Li Yaoguang: Gold, three hundred taels, four mace, two candareens. Receiver: Kong Jun. Western Calendar: February 1, 1912." Besides Kong Jun's signature and seal, there was also the receipt seal of the People's Party Finance Department. The document was in quadruplicate. Li Yaoguang signed and stamped each one. The handover procedure was considered complete. Li Yaoguang took the invoice copy, while the other three were taken away by the People's Party accountant.

"Your side really has strict systems," Li Yaoguang, who also did business, couldn't help but praise.

Qin Wu'an laughed, "Three hundred taels of gold. If there weren't a system, heads would roll if this were investigated."

Li Yaoguang felt Qin Wu'an seemed to be boasting, but also warning him not to have any crooked ideas. Actually, three hundred taels of gold really wasn't a particularly large sum in the late Qing officialdom. For someone of Qin Wu'an's prominent position in the People's Party, it counted for even less. But Qin Wu'an was clearly not joking. Li Yaoguang couldn't treat it lightly, so he simply continued to ask, "Minister Qin, where will this money be sent in the end?"

This was a bit of making conversation. The flow of money was not spoken of clearly in Chinese officialdom. Unexpectedly, Qin Wu'an actually answered, "After this money passes inspection, it will be turned over to the National Treasury. The Finance Department doesn't keep money for itself."

"Since the Finance Department manages finance, surely it keeps some money for itself?" Li Yaoguang was genuinely interested.

"Our base area doesn't have an Assembly, but we have a People's Congress. The Finance Department's budget also has to be approved by the People's Congress before it can be withdrawn. It's not that because we manage the money, we can do whatever we want." Qin Wu'an gave a reply.

"Our Jiangsu Assembly meets at any time. Why haven't we heard of your side's Congress meeting often?" Li Yaoguang was very curious.

This question actually made it somewhat difficult for Qin Wu'an to answer. Up to now in the People's Party base area, the People's Congresses at all levels existed basically as a formality. The People's Party itself held all power within the base area. Although in theory, the People's Party's power came from the People's Congress, in reality, no one genuinely took the Congress seriously.

Seeing Qin Wu'an's expression wasn't very good, Li Yaoguang immediately changed the topic. "The remaining nine hundred taels, after the matter is successful, we will send someone specifically to present it. At that time, just let him bring a receipt back."

Since Li Yaoguang was so tactful, Qin Wu'an also changed the subject. "Running back and forth carrying gold is truly troublesome. I would suggest you deposit the money in our People's Party branch in Jiangsu. That would be extremely convenient."