The journey back to Nanjing from the Huaihai Province base area was smooth. The People's Party had re-dredged the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, making Li Yaoguang's boat trip from Xuzhou to Nanjing quite fast. He finally rushed back to Nanjing on February 5th, the day of *Lichun* (Start of Spring).

Upon receiving the news of Li Yaoguang's return, six key cadres of the Citizens Party immediately held a meeting at the home of the interim party leader, Xie Siji. After introducing his experiences on the trip, Li Yaoguang took out the receipt. He Sui, Xie Siji, and the others passed it around, then read the certification letter written by the People's Party. He Sui and Xie Siji exchanged glances. Xie Siji then took the receipt and the letter and lit them over a candle. Two of the other four cadres showed surprise on their faces, but it was only surprise; no one made a sound, let alone stopped him.

Li Yaoguang was quite moved by this. It wasn't because of the money. Even describing it in the most understated terms, these six key cadres of the Citizens Party could not be called poor. Zhang Yutong was already one of the wealthier members of the Jiangsu Citizens Party, but compared to these six, Zhang Yutong was merely a local rich man. Xie Siji, He Sui, and the others each owned a silk reeling factory, and even Li Yaoguang held shares in a silk reeling factory.

Currently, three hundred taels of gold was worth about three thousand taels of silver. If the matter could be accomplished, they would have to give the People's Party another nine thousand taels of silver. This money was shared equally among the six cadres. However, these young men, including Li Yaoguang, didn't care about spending this money. To get things done, one had to spend money; to get big things done, one had to spend big money. Moreover, in many cases, or perhaps most cases, the people who were truly capable of getting things done were not actually coveting that specific sum of money. Giving money and receiving money was a matter of attitude, a matter of rules. The rules within the ruling class could not be broken.

Similarly, the handler had to follow the rules, just as Qin Wu'an had proposed giving a receipt and a certification letter. This was a manifestation of the strict system of the People's Party. The Citizens Party had heard that corruption was absolutely forbidden within the People's Party, and while everyone was skeptical, the People's Party's style was clearly that of the ruling class: taking money meant getting things done. Saying clearly "I can't do it," or simply "I don't want to do it for you," might cause unhappiness for true members of the ruling class, but it wouldn't forge a grudge. As the saying goes, "Business may fail, but benevolence remains," and "Ugly words spoken upfront prevent awkwardness later." But whether a person acted openly and aboveboard depended on whether they could be true to their word and resolute in their actions.

Furthermore, true rulers all possessed a certain quality: they all understood "having a beginning and an end," and they handled matters in distinct stages. Receiving money and giving a receipt proved that the act of receiving money had come to an immediate, stage-specific conclusion. If it were a pauper—at least a pauper in spirit—a guy who couldn't bear to see money, or those without a sense of responsibility, they would definitely carefully store the receipt Li Yaoguang brought back. In fact, it wasn't that they had planned how to use the receipt, but that such people always tried to hold onto some leverage over others. If they didn't do so, they would feel as if something was missing.

Xie Siji burning the receipt and the certification letter directly expressed a simple attitude. This matter ended here. He neither wanted to hold any leverage over Li Yaoguang or the People's Party, nor did he want to inadvertently let others hold any leverage over him. The attendees remained silent; they all understood this tacitly. At this moment, silence spoke louder than words, and they didn't think explanations would be of any use. Those who understood would understand. For those who didn't, explaining was useless and would only invite trouble for oneself.

"Did the People's Party say when there would be a result for this matter?" Xie Siji asked.

"No," Li Yaoguang replied.

"Then did they say when they would start working on it?"

"After the Spring Festival," Li Yaoguang continued to answer concisely.

Xie Siji tilted his head slightly, pondering. He Sui said, "There are still thirteen days."

Xie Siji paused for a moment before nodding. "Exactly thirteen days. We don't need to wait for them completely. In these few days, we need to pay New Year calls and give gifts to Governor Wang and his subordinates. It's a good opportunity to sound them out. Assemblyman He, how about you go find Yu Chen?"

"I can," He Sui replied. "Yu Chen is now the Chief of the Police Department. I don't know if he has any interest in taking on the duties of the Tax Police as well."

Xie Siji shook his head slightly. "I think we shouldn't alert the snake in the grass regarding that. Yu Chen prides himself on being incorruptible and not coveting power. Wang Youhong has promoted him exceptionally time and again and values him greatly. If we express that intention, I'm afraid he might see through something. If he informs Wang Youhong, our efforts will be wasted."

The cadres nodded slightly at these words. He Sui said, "Then I'll just directly say that we want to unify taxes on the Silk Industry Company matter and see if Yu Chen supports it. If he agrees with our idea, I'll ask him if he can recommend anyone to help."

"I think saying that is enough," Li Yaoguang replied.

"We'll speak the same way to others. Let's not say anything asking for a snub to the current person in charge of the Tax Police," Xie Siji said.

The next day, when Yu Chen learned that He Sui had come to visit, he was in a dilemma about whether to receive him. He Sui was a Jiangsu Provincial Assemblyman; logically, there was no reason to refuse a meeting. But He Sui visiting in person was definitely not as simple as giving a New Year's gift. After thinking for a moment, Yu Chen sent someone to invite He Sui in. If He Sui really had something to say, it would actually be easier to refuse him face-to-face.

The two young men sat down, and the orderly served tea and withdrew. Both of them were returned students. In fact, the young people rising in Jiangsu now all had overseas study experiences. He Sui's family was extremely wealthy, so he had gone to Britain. Yu Chen, Xie Siji, and Li Yaoguang had gone to Japan to study. Before the fall of the Manchu Qing, the government acted without any method; when they said they would implement New Policies, they did it with foolish, sweeping cuts. Abolishing the imperial examinations blocked the path for scholars to advance, yet they simultaneously required that newly recruited government personnel must have received a Western-style education. At that time, there were simply not that many Western-style schools in China, and even the new-style schools were not integrated into the national talent selection system. Consequently, the wealthy went to Europe and America, while the majority who had some money, but not much, had to run off to Japan to study. Yu Chen was one of them, and the young core cadres of the Jiangsu Citizens Party now were also all returned students. They actually had some genuine connections with each other.

After a few words of New Year's greetings, He Sui went straight to the point. "Director Yu, I wonder if you have heard that the representatives who went to Anhui for inspection this time want to establish a Silk Industry Company encompassing Jiangsu's sericulture?"

Yu Chen had naturally heard of it; not only had he heard of it, but he also attached great importance to it. If this company could be established, it would be equivalent to a huge source of tax revenue, and the Police Department also wanted a share of the pie. "I have heard about this."

"Then Director Yu must know the news that we want to fix this tax?" He Sui asked.

"Tax collection is not under our jurisdiction. I have only heard rumors," Yu Chen refused to take a stance.

If Yu Chen wouldn't take a stance, He Sui had to. "Director Yu, if such a company is formed, the number of common people planting mulberries and raising silkworms will definitely increase. Since mulberry is planted in the fields, naturally, grain cannot be grown. But with the current various taxes and levies, the Tax Police don't care what we plant. For one *mu* of land, the mulberry tax must be paid, and the grain tax must also be paid. The common people really cannot bear the burden. Our intention is to simply fix this tax revenue. We have to let the people catch their breath."

He Sui wasn't making this up. Jiangsu's tax revenue had completely inherited the model of the former Qing. The taxes didn't seem heavy, but the items were extremely numerous. After the "Joint Provincial Autonomy," Jiangsu temporarily didn't have to pay money to the central government. However, the various taxes that existed in the former Qing had not been reduced by a single item. For example, the tax allocated to each province for the Boxer Indemnity was still collected as usual, even though the provinces no longer had to pay the indemnity.

Yu Chen did not agree with this practice. He believed that "good steel should be used on the blade." Since tax revenue was so important, it should be managed more effectively, not just collected whenever possible. In addition, Yu Chen knew very well that a considerable part of the taxes collected by the Tax Police did not enter the Jiangsu provincial treasury but was ruthlessly exploited by various levels, with perhaps close to half falling into the pockets of those below.

However, this matter involved too much, and Yu Chen didn't want to place himself at the forefront of the storm. He demurred, "Assemblyman He, I cannot make the decision on this matter either. If you want to get things done well, Governor Wang must make the decision."

"Governor Wang is likely afraid that tax revenue isn't enough. If no one is willing to mediate this matter, I'm afraid Governor Wang will still be unwilling to adjust. Director Yu, Jiangsu currently relies entirely on raw silk exports to make money. If we cannot make a breakthrough here, and if the Jiangsu sericulture industry collapses, Governor Wang will lose even more. I know Director Yu is highly valued by Governor Wang. We would like to ask Director Yu to explain this matter clearly to Governor Wang."

"I'm afraid that won't work. Governor Wang is a man who strictly adheres to rules. He often tells us about the time he served as a bodyguard for Empress Dowager Cixi. The Empress Dowager liked a famous opera singer in the capital. Once, the Empress Dowager was waiting to watch a play, but that person didn't come. He didn't rush over until just before the singing started. The Empress Dowager waited for the famous singer to finish singing before asking him why he came so late. The famous singer replied that he had overslept. The Empress Dowager asked again, 'Did your family not wake you up?' The famous singer replied that his family knew he had a bit of a temper when sleeping."

Although He Sui was a returned student, he had never had the opportunity to come into contact with an existence of Empress Dowager Cixi's level. Listening to Yu Chen retell the story, He Sui was actually somewhat captivated. He couldn't help but ask, "Then what did the Empress Dowager say?"

"Brother He, take a guess," Yu Chen laughed.

He Sui thought for a while. "Since that person admitted he overslept, presumably the Empress Dowager scolded him?"

Yu Chen shook his head slightly and said with a smile, "I originally thought so too. But Governor Wang said the Empress Dowager not only didn't blame this famous singer but actually rewarded him with some things. The Empress Dowager said, 'Even small households know to follow rules. Rare, rare.'"

Hearing the undertones, after Yu Chen finished the story, He Sui's expression involuntarily turned quite ugly.